A Snake in the Nest, Chapter Nineteen
Without the many Weasley children with them, dinner was quite a bit quieter than any of them expected. The moment Molly entered the house, Sirius and Remus found themselves swept into a big hug, with Molly babbling something unintelligible.
She moved on through the children, though their hugs weren't as long nor as awkward. Arthur settled for shaking their hands.
"Hello Arthur. I heard you found some interesting things in Malfoy's manor a few days ago." Remus led them inside, hanging up coats and scarves.
"Yes. It was, err… an anonymous tip-off to look under the dining room. Quite a horde of things." He told Remus of the things he'd found, which were rather gruesome. Molly was fussing over Sirius.
"You still look a bit peaky. I have some good soup that'll help that. Honestly, don't they feed people in Azkaban?" She paused, looking a bit sheepish. She opened her mouth to apologize, but Sirius cut her off.
"Peaky? I'll have you know that I spent several months in Hawaii! I'm as tan as they come! And Remus has been forcing food down my throat since I got here. Soon I'll be as fat as old Slughorn!" She relaxed, and they went to eat.
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"Say hi to Harry for me!" Sirius called as they left through the Floo, before turning back to his book. It gave no clue as to where the spells were, except that they were somewhere in the Department of Mysteries. Which was huge, and well-guarded. He'd looked at this particular manuscript at least four times, and hadn't found a thing.
"I feel like Moony…"
"Miss me already?" He jumped, whirling around to see Remus emerging from the fire again.
"You're back already?" Remus frowned, glancing at the clock.
"I've been gone for an hour. You didn't notice?" Sirius held up the book in answer. Remus sighed, and pulled the book away, setting it on the table.
"We're going to talk to Dumbledore this evening. Until then, don't worry about it. Okay?" Slowly, Sirius nodded.
"Good. Now come on, we're going to fly for a bit."
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School was abuzz with news. Nearly Headless Nick and Justin Finch-Fletchley had both been Petrified, and Harry was the only one on the scene at the time. Fred and George both found this to be hilarious, and followed Harry around, calling him the 'Evil Overlord,' and causing general mischief.
Ginny was rather twitchy, though she seemed more relaxed when talking to Luna than when she was anywhere near her fellow Gryffindors.
On the train, the four Anima had drifted between deciding on what they were going to do about Jerard and discussing what could have happened with the Potion. When they got to school, however, they found that Hermione was in the Hospital Wing, covered in fur.
"I think we can assume it didn't go well." Husky muttered dryly as the seventeenth person of the day told them that Harry was Slytherin's heir and Hermione might be part werewolf. Cooro was amusing himself by alternately making up weirder rumors and telling the gossip-mongerers off for their tales.
"It's more fun when the last group can hear what I'm saying to the next," he told Neville, who had found them walking to the Tower. Neville only shook his head.
"You would find that funny." He added in a whisper, "we'll tell you what happened in your dorm later." Nana was a bit disgruntled at that; without Hermione, she was the only girl sneaking into the boy's dorm, which was frowned upon. She didn't say a word, but made a note to try and arrange a different meeting place. What was so wrong with the Common Room, anyway?
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"So, basically, you've got nothing." Husky concluded when the others finished their story. Neville snorted; he hadn't gone with them, instead playing lookout on where Crabbe and Goyle were locked up.
"Well, we know who it wasn't, at least. And we got that tip for my Dad, so that's something." Ron defended, but it was half-hearted. They really hadn't gotten anything, besides a lot of trouble. The only other thing worth even mentioning was that Scabbers had been disappearing often, then coming back without warning. It was odd, but not very interesting.
Their news was far better.
"Sirius is with Remus now? Brilliant!" Ron exclaimed, nearly falling off the bed in his excitement.
"And your parents know, so you don't have to watch your tongue as much." Harry pointed out. He'd already known about it (the photo had arrived with the Christmas gifts), but hadn't wanted to say anything, so he could talk to his parents privately for a bit first.
He was sure the others knew this, but no-one said anything. He knew he would have to get rid of it eventually, to free his parents from it or something else. But just… not yet.
He realized he'd missed most of the conversation when a single sentence interrupted his musings: "And then the puppy turned into a wise man from Tibet with a trout on his head and asked whether I knew the Beatles," Cooro concluded. The others evidentially knew what this was about, as none of them wore the expressions of confusion that Harry was sure was on his face.
"See? I told you it would get his attention!" Cooro cheered, seeing Harry staring at him in bewilderment. The others had all collapsed into various forms of laughter. Soon after, they departed for bed.
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Jerard watched the castle carefully. More attacks, on another boy and a ghost, of all things. Security was even tighter. If he wanted to get a student from here, he'd be better off waiting until the Chamber closed once again. He left again, to plan for his search in the Ministry. He could worry about a captive later.
He didn't notice that a lone pair of hazel eyes watched him from the shadows, with an arrow pointed at his chest.
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It was several weeks after Christmas, Hermione was out of the Hospital, and they were all talking to Myrtle again.
There was a perfectly good reason for this: her entire hall was flooded, and they were curious little second years, after all.
Myrtle cheered up as they entered (read: Cooro), and was almost pleasant as she told them that someone had thrown a book at her head. Harry picked it up gingerly, and revealed it was a diary.
"It's blank." Hermione thought it was cursed. Ron thought it was boring. The others were asking Myrtle other things to cheer her up, and didn't care. When they left, it was still in Harry's bag.
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There were four figures slipping into the Forest Saturday afternoon, hidden by thick rain and fog. It is the day after the disastrous Valentines Day.
"Honestly, we could have picked a better day to do this," Nana grumbled, pulling her cloak closer to herself. It was marginally warmer in the Forest, more due to the lack of rain than anything else.
"It's easier this way. The rain makes it unlikely that anyone saw us go in, and we won't be missed until dinner." Husky pointed out, sounding annoyed. Really, though, it felt more like their adventures back home than anything they'd done here, so it was a half-hearted feeling.
On the other hand, is it really home now? When he tried to think of home, images of their world faded into a large warm house, and playing Quidditch in an open field.
He was broken from his musings as he stumbled on a root, nearly falling. Senri caught him at the last minute, while Nana giggled, her earlier discomfort forgotten. He glared, but didn't say anything.
Yup. Just like old times. He'd even brought his staff.
They walked further into the woods, careful not to leave their path. They didn't talk much; the Forest gave off the feeling that one should be silent within it's borders.
A crashing sound from their left startled them all, and they grouped together in a defensive stance that was so natural they barely noticed they'd done it.
A figure stepped out onto the path, and saw them. He stepped forward, revealing his face. Senri and Cooro relaxed.
"Hello Firenze. It's been a while." He looked at them solemnly.
"Little crow. What business do you have out in the woods so late, and with so many dangerous foes lurking?" Cooro's eyes shifted slightly, and he abruptly looked far older than he was.
"We come to warn you of the serpent that lurks in your nest. While the hawk Petrifies our castle, it will come upon you unawares from behind." He shook his head, as though to clear it, then continued, in a more normal tone.
"There is a man in the Forest who means harm to all that live. He plans on performing a spell no person was meant to complete. He will raise the dead." He looked plaintively at the centaur before him.
"Please, do you know anything that can help us?" The look he was given was calculating. He ignored the others, who were giving Cooro odd looks.
"There is such a man. He reeks of evil. He has watched the castle many times, but has never left the Forest borders. He has left, on occasion, to elsewhere. We are not sure of exactly where he stays, for he wards the area with spells." Cooro nodded, looking a bit disappointed. Firenze continued uninterrupted.
"He has gathered several extremely strange ingredients, such as ancromactula legs and a bowtruckle nest." He handed Cooro a rough piece of paper, with scrawls of writing over it.
"He also is accompanied often by a rat. That is all I can tell you. I must ask that you let me escort you to your castle once again." He didn't wait for an answer, and began to walk past them, leading away from the depths of the forest.
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"So what was that speech you gave Firenze, anyway?" Husky asked as they walked back up the grounds. He was a bit disappointed that their adventure hadn't been as long, but at least they had something to work with. Cooro shrugged.
"Just kinda popped out, I guess. Like a formality I learned, then forgot." Husky frowned, but he was familiar with random bits of his past falling into his speech and actions, so it was certainly possible that Cooro had done so as well.
Why he'd ever learn something like that in the first place, however, hadn't been determined.
"Now what? Should we look into it ourselves, or tell someone?" Husky frowned, taking the list from Cooro and glancing it over.
"I'm not exactly sure what we can tell them, besides the fact that he's making a Potion for the spell."
"Which implies that he already has the spell." Nana pointed out.
"Which means he broke into the Ministry and took something that should be very heavily guarded."
"Or he found some forgotten copy of it somewhere, instead."
"Or the potion is entirely unrelated to this, and is for the part involving the human sacrifice." Cooro pointed out, shivering from both the cold and his own words. The others considered this, and nodded.
"Or that." Husky shook his head.
"Look, let's try and find out exactly what this potion could be. If we can't find anything soon, we'll give it to Dumbledore or Remus. Agreed?" A moment of silence.
"Agreed." They slipped into the castle, unnoticed except for a pair of twins, who wore expressions of glee. They stopped them as soon as the four were safely inside.
"Looks like our little friends were on a quest tonight."
"Might important one, by their faces."
"Shame it's against school rules."
"Mighty shame."
"We ought to report them, really."
"For their own good, of course." Husky sighed, trying to work through the various parts of his mind to find the one that understood the twins.
"If they'd like to tell us something,"
"We might not report them,"
"So long as it's good." They finished simultaneously, grinning like the Cheshire cat and his evil twin. Cooro managed a grin back at them.
"How's this? We tell you in our dorm after dinner? Less likely to get eavesdroppers, and then I can eat." The twins thought for a minute, nodding.
"But if you try and get out of it, you won't have a moments peace." George warned, before they all entered the Great Hall, hiding their cloaks in Fred's bag. The other four come in later, but after a warning look from Husky, don't ask any questions.
Later, they sit in the dorms, just the Anima and the twins. The other four are looking into something (Husky is pretty sure he heard the words 'diary' and 'Hagrid' in it somewhere), and didn't come up.
"So, what're you four so involved in?" Fred looks confused, like he can't decide whether they're serious or joking. Cooro doesn't even hesitate, and spills out the long, complicated story of their arrival, the portals, Jerard, Sirius Black and their recent visit to the Forbidden Forest.
All throughout, the twins remained silent, frowning. They then looked at each other, muttering for a moment, before looking back at them.
"That photo… do you have it?" Cooro hands it over. Husky turns to stare at him.
"Where'd you get that?" He shrugs.
"Borrowed it from Harry." George leans in to look at it, and they are startled by a voice.
"You going to stare at us all day?" They both jump, and Sirius laughs. Remus simply shakes his head. James and Lily are sleeping.
"So… all they said was true?" Remus nods.
"Every word. I trust you aren't going to blab all over the school?" The look on his face clearly says he trusts that they won't.
"Ah, come off it, Moony! They're like me' n Prongs were back then; they won't tell." Fred blinks.
"Prongs? Moony?" The men, barely that, in the photo look up.
"Yes…?" George's eyes widen.
"As in, of Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot and Prongs? The Marauders?" Sirius grinned happily.
"Padfoot speaking. Why, you heard of us?" Fred grins at it in disbelief. Husky wonders how they strayed so far from the topic.
"Heard of you? You four,"
"Are only our idols! Do you know,"
"How much mischief,"
"You've helped create?" He pulls out an old piece of parchment, and the two in the photo lean in, staring, before looking at each other and grinning.
"The map." The twins begin to ask questions, and it looks like it'll go on all night, before Husky interrupts.
"If I might ask a moment of your time, what should we do about the list we got?" Remus looks up at him. The twins and Sirius are still talking.
"Send it to me. The real me. No, that might get intercepted… here, just read it aloud. We can look for it later." Husky does so carefully, while Remus jots it down.
"This is very helpful… yes, very indeed. Though, I am going to warn you. When the real me gets wind of this, you four are in for quite a lecture." Nana scoffs.
"You think we're bad…" Luckily for the Golden Quartet's own secrets, Remus doesn't hear her, and instead tells them to get to bed. When the twins (and Sirius) protest, he shakes his head.
"You act like this is your last meeting. When I know for a fact your family is visiting over the summer." The twins grin at that, and are soon sheparded out. Cooro follows, returning a moment later without the photo. Nana leaves as he enters, bidding them goodnight.
"You stole the photo, didn't you?" Husky asks from the bed.
"Yup! But I put it back, so Harry'll never know. Now, we're going to look into the Potion as well, right? Cause I'd hate to just hand over our hard work to someone else." Senri nods from where he is changing.
"Can't let them have all the fun, can we?"
Yeah, I wasted a lot of pages to say very little. I know. On the other hand, most of the little details I've been stressing over have been pounded out, so…well, you lot won't notice a difference, but it'll be easier on me, anyway. Happy last days of summer.