AUTHORS NOTE! :P
Hey :) so now here's the new chapter, and I hope everyone likes it.
Now I shall answer some reviews...
jdr ride: there will be some action in this chapter :)
pyro and darnet co: thanks :) i'll try and change the point of views a bit more
Courtney DiLaurentis: including this chapter, there is five chapters left until the yule ball.
and thanks to everyone else that reviewed, as always I appreciate them all :D
I will warn you in advance, this is a loooong chapter :D
Now, on with the chapter!
-Rach ;)
Max's POV
The next morning, Harry told me, Hermione and Nudge all about what happened in Potions yesterday when we left. Half way through the class, Colin Creevey came in and told Snape had Harry was wanted for photographs. Harry had to go upstairs with the other champions for the wand weighting ceremony, which was basically just checking that your wand had no problems and was fully functional. Then he had an interview with Rita Skeeter, a reporter for the Daily Prophet.
"How did the interview go?" I asked. Harry rolled his eyes. "Terrible. She was writing all these things that I never ever said, and asking me all about my parents. Dumbledore came in and got me away from her though."
After the interview, Harry said that they had a photo-shoot, then were allowed to leave. "Well, sounds like you had fun," I said, smiling at him. He groaned and said, "I never want to see Rita Skeeter again."
Over the next fortnight, the prospect of talking face-to-face with Sirius was the only thing that actually made me feel really happy. The same went for Harry. He seemed to have gotten over the shock of being a champion, but now he just seemed scared of what he was about to face. I was even feeling nervous for him. The first-task was drawing steadily nearer.
To be honest, I didn't know how Sirius was going to make Harry feel any better about having to perform an unknown piece of difficult and dangerous magic in front of hundreds of people, but the mere sight of a friendly face should be something comforting for Harry. After Harry showed us the letter, he wrote back to Sirius straight away saying that we would both be in the common room at one o'clock on the 22nd of November, and the three of us stayed up late coming up with an idea to get rid of any stragglers that were still in the common room at that time. If worst came to worst, we were going to drop a bag of Dungbombs but we were hoping we wouldn't have to do that- Filch would skin us alive.
Life for Harry, believe it or not, became worse because Rita Skeeter had published her piece on the Triwizard Tournament, and it turned out to be not so much a report on the tournament, but more of a highly colored life story of Harry.
Most of the front page had been taken up with a picture of Harry; the article (continuing on pages two, six and seven) had been all about Harry, the names of the Beauxbatons and Durmstrang champions (which had been misspelled) had been squashed into the last line of the article, and Cedric hadn't been mentioned at all.
The article had appeared ten days ago, and people were still laughing and making comments when they walked passed Harry in the corridors. Rita Skeeter had written a lot of things I knew Harry would never say in his life.
I suppose I get my strength from my parents. I know they'd be very proud of me if they could see me now. . . . Yes, sometimes at night I still cry about them, I'm not ashamed to admit it. . . . I know nothing will hurt me during the tournament, because they're watching over me. . .
Rita Skeeter had even interviewed people about Harry.
Harry has at last found love at Hogwarts. His close friend, Colin Creevey, says that Harry is rarely seen out of the company of one Maximum Ride, a stunningly pretty girl who, like Harry, is one of the top students in the school.
When I read that line, I blushed furiously. Now, everyone asks me when Harry and I started dating, and some people even told me that we were really cute together. People actually believed it!
From the moment the article appeared, the both of us had to endure people- Slytherins mainly- quoting it at us as we passed and making snide comments. Harry had to endure much more then me, and I could see it was starting to take its toll on him.
"Want a tissue, Potter, in case you start crying in Transfiguration?"
"Since when have you been one of the top students at school? Or is this some secret school you and Longbottom had started together?"
"Hey- Harry!"
"Yeah, that's right," Harry shouted, turning around, having enough, "I've just been crying my eyes out about my dead mum, and I'm off to do a bit more."
"No- it was just- you dropped your quill."
It was Cho Chang. I looked at Harry to see him blushing furiously.
"Oh-right-sorry," Harry said, taking the quill from her.
"Er...good luck on Tuesday," she said, "I really hope you do well."
Harry groaned, looking very angry at himself.
I was getting my own fair share of unpleasantness too, but so far I hadn't started yelling at innocent people, but I had made some sassy remarks to Slytherins, which usually leaves them standing on their own, trying to figure out how I insulted them.
"Stunningly pretty? Her?" Pansy Parkinson shrieked the first time she had come face-to-face with me after reading the article. "What was she judging against- a squirrel?"
"Well, at least I don't look like a crossbreed of a pug and a cow," I had said, without even blinking. She pursed her lips, and I could actually see the gears in her head spinning as she tried to think of an insult.
However, whenever someone would shout a quote at Harry, he would clench his teeth. Hermione would whisper, "ignore it, ignore it Harry."
But it was clear that Harry wasn't able to ignore it. Ron hasn't spoken to him for weeks, and although Fang and Iggy were mainly hanging around with Ron, they still talked to us, but not as much as I would have liked. Nudge was getting very upset about the two of them, thinking that the flock was breaking up. When I said this to Fang and Iggy, the two of them just shrugged and told me to tell Nudge to stop worrying. But ever since Nudge said it, I couldn't help but think it too. What if our flock was breaking up, just because of this stupid tournament?
The four of them had gotten detention from Snape for shouting at him about Hermione, and I was really hoping that when they came back they would all be best friends again, as if nothing had happened, but the day of their detention was also the day that Rita Skeeters article came out, and that only made Ron believe more that Harry was really enjoying the attention.
Me and Hermione were absolutely furious with all of them, and we did all we could to get them to try and talk to each other again, with the occasional help from Nudge and Ginny. Harry said he would only talk to Ron if Ron admitted that he hadn't put his name in the goblet and apologized for calling him a liar. Ron just refused to talk to us, including his own sister.
"I didn't start this," Harry said stubbornly. "It's his problem."
"You miss him!" Hermione said impatiently. "And I know he misses you too!"
"Miss him?" Harry said, "I don't miss him."
But I could see in his eyes that he was lying. Without Ron, Fang and Iggy, there was much less laughs, and because of Hermione, we spent most of our time in the library. Harry still hadn't mastered Summoning Charms, and Hermione insisted that learning the theory would help him. We consequently spent a lot of time pouring over books during lunchtimes.
I noticed that Viktor Krum was in the library an awful lot too, and I was wondering what he was up to. He never seemed to be studying. But then one day, while we were sitting at the desks finishing Transfiguration homework, I noticed that he was staring at us from where he was standing at the shelves. I looked at him over the top of my book, so he wouldn't notice me, and realized I was wrong. He wasn't staring at us. He was staring at Hermione.
I grinned, knowing that Hermione thought Krum was good looking, even if she never said anything. She often complained about Krum always being in the library- not that he ever actually bothered us- but because wherever Krum went, he was followed by a group of giggling girls who often showed up to spy on him from behind bookshelves, and Hermione got distracted from the noise.
"He's not even that good-looking!" she snapped one day, glaring at Krum, but I could see the faint blush creeping up on her cheeks. "They only like him because he's famous! They wouldn't look twice at him if he couldn't do that WonkyFaint thing-"
"Wronski Feint," Harry said through gritted teeth. I could just imagine Ron's face if he heard Hermione talking about WonkyFaints.
On the Saturday before the first task, all students above third year were allowed to go to the village of Hogsmeade. Nudge, only being in second year, was upset that morning because she couldn't go. She cheered up a little when I told her I'd bring her back so much sweets from Honeydukes that she wouldn't have to eat again until she was twenty.
Me and Hermione told Harry that it would be good for him to get away from the castle for a while, and Harry didn't need much persuasion.
"What about Ron though?" Harry asked, more to Hermione than me. Hermione had been talking to Ron more then I have lately, and honestly, I didn't really want to talk to him until he apologized to Harry. "Don't you want to go with him?"
"Oh...well," Hermione blushed. "I thought we might be able to meet them in the Three Broomsticks."
"No," Harry said flatly.
"Oh, Harry, this is so stupid-"
"I'll come, but I'm not meeting Ron. And I'm wearing my Invisibility Cloak."
"Oh alright then," Hermione snapped. "I hate when you wear the cloak. I never know if I'm looking at you or not."
So Harry ran up to his dormitory to put on his cloak and Hermione and I waited in the common room for him. A few minutes later, I heard Harry whispering, "It's me. Let's go."
We set off for Hogsmeade, and I had to admit, it was very strange talking to Harry, seeing as we couldn't see actually see him. We watched other students as they entered the village, most of them sporting SUPPORT CEDRIC DIGGORY! badges, but there were no horrible remarks coming our way, and no one was quoting that stupid article.
When we walked passed the Forbidden Forest, I felt myself shiver, wondering whether the Erasers and whitecoats were still in there, and whether or not they were actually going to do something.
"Come on, Harry, just take the cloak off! No one's going to bother you here!" Hermione pleaded when we finally reached the village.
"Oh, yeah?" we heard Harry's voice ask. "Look behind you."
Me and Hermione turned around, and from what Harry told me about her, I knew that it was Rita Skeeter and her photographer emerging from the Three Broomsticks. I hated her instantly. Her blond hair was set in elaborate curls, and she was wearing heavily jeweled glasses studded with rhinestones. She had penciled-on eyebrows, and I saw when she was talking to the photographer that she had three gold teeth. She was carrying a crocodile-skin handbag that went horribly with her magenta colored robes.
Talking in low voices, the two of them passed by me and Hermione without even looking at us, which was a shame because I was giving Skeeter my death glare, which was enough to made a whitecoat run away from me once when I was eight. When they were gone, we heard Harry saying, "She's staying in the village. Probably coming to see the first-task."
As he said it, I felt my heart start beating faster with worry. We hadn't talked much about what could possibly be coming up in the first-task, because the three of us were too worried to talk about it, even if none of us said it.
"Why don't we have a Butterbeer in the Three Broomsticks, it's kinda cold, isn't it? We don't have to talk to Ron," I added when Harry never said anything. Hermione agreed, and the three of us walked into the Three Broomsticks.
It was packed inside, mostly with Hogwarts students, who were enjoying the free afternoon, but also with magical creatures I don't see much anywhere else. Seeing as Hogsmeade was the only all-wizard village in Britain, creatures like hags probably thought of the village as a haven, because they haven't adapting as well as wizards to fitting in in the Muggle world.
The pub was so packed that I had to walk slowly and carefully so I didn't bang into anyone, or fall over and go right into Harry, which would let everyone see him. Harry and I slowly edged over to a table in the far end of the pub while Hermione went to get the drinks. On my way through the pub I spotted Ron, Fang and Iggy sitting with Fred, George and Lee. Resisting the urge to say something to them, I just walked right passed them, making sure they saw me, but I didn't look back at them. We finally reached the table and sat down.
Hermione joined us a minute later and handed me my butterbeer, then she slipped Harry his under the cloak.
"We look like such idiots, just the two of us sitting here on our own. It looks like we're on a date," I said.
"Well, at least I brought something to do," Hermione said and pulled out the notebook in which she had been using to keep a record of all the S.P.E.W members. I saw all of our names at the top of the short list. It seemed such a long time ago that we had all sat together, making up the predictions.
"You know, maybe I should try and get some of the villagers involved in S.P.E.W," Hermione said thoughtfully, looking around the pub.
"Yeah, great," I said, only half listening.
"Hermione, when are you going to give up all this spew stuff?" Harry asked.
"When house-elves have decent wages and working conditions," she hissed back. "You know, I'm starting to think it's time for more direct actions. Do you know how to get into the school kitchens?" she asked, looking between me and invisible Harry.
"Nope. Ask Fred and George," I said.
Hermione lapsed into thoughtful silence, occasionally scribbling something into her notebook. I didn't know what Harry was doing. I drank my butterbeer, then looked around the pub. Everyone seemed relaxed and happy. What I wouldn't give to just be one of those people, relaxed and nothing to worry about.
Suddenly, I felt something touching my hand, which was left on the table, but when I looked up, there was no one there. I looked at my hand and saw that someone had put a small piece of parchment into my hand. I looked at Hermione, but she was still writing in her notebook, and I couldn't see what Harry was doing. I pulled open the note and read it.
Meet me at the lake tonight at eleven. I want to talk to you. -Ethan.
I looked around the pub and found Ethan sitting with all his friends, a full glass of butterbeer in front of him. He looked over at me and grinned. I hesitated, then nodded, smiling. He beamed, then turned back to his friends.
I looked back at Hermione, but she hadn't noticed anything.
"What was that about?" Harry asked.
"Huh?" I asked, still looking at the note in my hand. "What was that about with St. James?" he asked again.
"Oh, nothing. He just wants to meet me tonight," I said. Harry didn't say anything after that.
"We'll be speaking to Sir- er, Padfoot, in less then twelve hours," I said, just realizing it.
"Yeah, I know," Harry said, and I could hear the smile in his voice.
"Look, it's Hagrid!" Hermione said suddenly.
The back of Hagrid's enormous, messy head- he had thankfully stopped trying to brush his hair- emerge over the crowd. I wondered how I didn't spot Hagrid earlier, but looking carefully, I saw that he had been leaning low, talking to Professor Moody. Hagrid had his usual gigantic tankard in front of him, while Moody was drinking from his hip flask. Madam Rosmerta, the landlady, didn't seem to think much of this; she was shooting Moody glares as she cleared up glasses from the tables around him. Perhaps she thought it was an insult to her drinks, but everyone that was in Moody's class would know better. Moody had told us in our last Defense Against the Dark Arts class that he preferred to make his own food and drink at all times, because it was so easy for a Dark wizard to poison an unattended cup.
As I watched, I saw Hagrid and Moody get ready to leave. I didn't know whether I should wave, or smile or something. Moody, however, paused, his magical eye on our table in the corner, where Harry was sitting. He tapped Hagrid in the small of his back (unable to reach anywhere higher) muttered something to him, and then the pair of them made their way across the pub towards us.
"Alright Hermione, Max?" Hagrid asked loudly.
"Hey," I said.
Moody limped around the table and bent down, so it looked like he was reading the S.P.E.W list, but then he muttered. "Nice cloak, Potter." Moody grinned.
"Can your eye- I mean, can you-?"
"Yeah, it can see through Invisibility Cloaks," Moody said quietly. "And it's come in useful at times, let me tell you."
Hagrid was beaming down at where at Harry was sitting too. I knew Hagrid couldn't actually see Harry, but Moody had obviously told him where he was. Hagrid bent down, pretending to be reading the S.P.E.W notes too, then he whispered (the whisper was clearly only for Harry's ears, but people keep forgetting about my enhanced senses. Oops.) "Harry, meet me tonight at midnight at me cabin. Wear that cloak."
Straightening up, Hagrid said loudly, "Nice ter see yeh, Hermione, Max." He winked and departed, Moody following him.
"Why does Hagrid want to meet me tonight at midnight?" Harry asked, sounding surprised.
"I dunno. Why does Ethan want to me meet me tonight at eleven?" I asked, looking at the note again.
"Well, I don't know the answer to either of them," Hermione said. "But I wonder what Hagrid's up to. I don't know whether the two of us should go out tonight," she looked around her nervously and hissed, "It could make you late for Sirius."
"I'm gonna have plenty of time," I said. "Two hours. Why would Ethan want to stay talking for two hours? I'll be grand," I said, waving away the thought of being late.
"Well, you know that St. Jam- Ethan just wants to talk, which really shouldn't take that long. I have no idea what Hagrid wants," Harry said.
Hermione suggested for Harry to send Hedwig down to Hagrid with a note explaining that he couldn't come down that night- that is, if Hedwig was willing to go- but Harry decided that he would just go down and find out quick what Hagrid wanted him for.
At half ten that night, I asked Fred and George to distract everyone in the common room. With no questions asked, they both hopped up on a table and started shouting at everyone about Weasley's Wizard Wheezes. When no one was looking except Harry and Hermione, I nodded at them, then slipped out of the portrait hole.
"Where do you think you're going?" the Fat Lady shouted after me as I ran down the stairs. "It's passed curfew!"
I ignored her and walked quickly but quietly through the castle, keeping an eye out for Filch, Mrs Norris (his ugly cat) or any other teacher. I reached the entrance hall without seeing anyone, and fortunately the front doors were left unlocked. I slipped passed them quietly, then ran across the grounds to the lake. Ethan wasn't there yet, so I sat down on the grass of the bank and relaxed.
I looked around me, and noticed that there were drag marks on the ground, as if there had been a fight. That was when I noticed the blood.
I spun around. Something told me that that was Ethan's blood. The hair on the back of my neck prickled, and I got the strange feeling that something was watching me.
I sensed the Erasers before I saw them, but I wasn't quick enough. I feel into darkness.
Ethan's POV (about half an hour earlier)
I was so excited to be meeting Max, just the two of us, that I left the castle at ten o'clock. I knew I was really early, but I wanted to practice what I was going to say to her. I was going to tell her how I felt about her, then I was going to kiss her. That much I knew. But how do I tell her how I feel?
I sat down on the bank of the lake, running my hands through my hair. I closed my eyes, and imagined her face, her eyes, her smile, the way her hair flew gracefully around her back when she walked...
I heard footsteps behind me so I sprang to my feet, prepared to see Max, but instead, there was no one there. I frowned, looking around at the trees and at the lake, but there was no sign of anyone. I sighed, shaking my head and sat down again. When I sat down, I was sure that I heard the sound of a branch breaking. I stood up again, my hand in my pocket, ready to get my wand, but I didn't see anything. Cursing, I sat down once again. It's probably just an animal, I told myself, a dog, or a cat or something.
For another few minutes, I just lay back in the grass, trying to think about what I would do once Max came. I had it just figured out when I heard more footsteps, it sounded like there were at least ten people. I raised my head slowly, wondering why there was that many people out this late. But when I spotted them, I felt my heart stop.
They were like werewolves, only they couldn't be werewolves. I've seen pictures of werewolves, and these things were not even close to how they looked. These things were walking around on two legs, and while they were covered in hair, and had razor-sharp claws and teeth, there was still something strangely- human, about them.
All of them advanced on me, grinning like they were all playing a brilliant game. I scrambled to my feet and backed away until I felt the water splashing against my runners. "What are you?" I asked, stuttering over my words. Oh, Merlin, I wished I was braver. Max would never stutter if she was facing this things. I don't even know why I had asked them a question. These were animals- they couldn't talk.
"We're your worst nightmare," one of them growled. I backed up more, surprised that they could talk, and that they all had thick, American accents. I kept backing up until I was ankle deep in the water. They all howled with laughter, the sound like nails being drawn down a chalkboard.
"So, you're waiting for the little birdie?" another one of them asked.
"Birdie? I don't know what you're talking about," I said, my voice sounding slightly more even.
"Are you, or are you not, waiting for one Maximum Ride," he asked, coming closer to me and grinning. He was so close that I could feel his hot breath on my face.
"Maybe I am, maybe I''m not. Why do you care? What do you want with her?" I said, hoping I sounded menacing, but seriously doubting it. "Oh, we've known the little birdie longer then you have, boy," another one of them said.
"Why do you keep calling her birdie?" I asked.
"She hasn't told you? She agrees to meeting up at the dead of night, but yet she hasn't told you her biggest secret? Tut tut, shame on her," one of the werewolves said.
"You don't know her. You're lying. Max wouldn't know things like you," I said, suddenly feeling braver then I felt.
"Well boy, she doesn't know us by choice," one grinned, and they all howled with laughter again.
"What do you mean?" I asked.
"Has she ever talked about her life before this little freak place?" the thing asked.
"No. I never asked. I know she's an orphan," I said.
"I do believe that next time you see the little birdie, you ask her about her past," the wolf-man said.
"I will," I said fiercely. They all chuckled.
"Maybe you'll never get the chance," one of them said, and he pounced on me. I cried in shock and surprise as I fell back into the water with the werewolf on top of me, growling. I screamed when I felt a sharp pain rip through my arm, and I looked down to see that the werewolf had clawed at my arm, and it was bleeding. I hated the sight of blood- especially my own. I felt weak. I let myself go limp, then the werewolf dragged me out of the water and threw me down onto the ground. My arm ached, and so did my chest because my heart was beating so fast.
"This boy is pathetic. I would of thought Maximum had better taste," I heard one of them say. "We'll bring him into the Forest. You five, stay around here, out of sight, and wait for Maximum. The rest of us will be back at the usual place with the boy."
I heard one of them coming over to me, then I felt arms around me. I struggled, but it didn't make a different. I was weak, and pathetic, just like they said. I wasn't even able to help my own baby sister when she needed me most. "Knock him out, will you? He won't stop struggling," I vaguely heard one of them growling.
The last thought I had before the thing holding me knocked me out was Max, what have you done to know these things? And for the love of God, stay in the castle. Please.
Max's POV
I groaned, my head throbbing from where I had gotten hit with the huge, thick branch. I felt nauseous, so I kept my mouth closed so I wouldn't barf. I could feel something wet and hot trailing down the side of my face. I opened my eyes, taking in my surroundings. I was propped up against a tree in large clearing, lit up by a fire, with my hands and legs tied. I looked around, and froze when I saw all the Erasers. There must have been at lest thirty of them, but there were no whitecoats in sight. The Erasers had there backs to me, and didn't know that I was awake.
"Max?" I heard a familiar voice whispering. I looked to my right and chocked back a gasp.
"Ethan? What the hell are you doing here? How did they get to you? Are you alright?" I asked in a rush, but I wasn't loud enough for the Erasers to hear me.
"I was waiting for you, and they sneaked up on me. There wasn't anything I could do. I'm sorry," Ethan said.
"Don't be sorry, it's not your fault. They're here for me," I whispered. "If anyone's sorry, it's me."
"I don't blame you for this, Max. It's not like you called them here," he said.
I shuddered and said, "Trust me, I would never call them. I don't even know how they got into the grounds." I turned my head more so I could see Ethan properly, and that was when I noticed his arm. "Ethan- your arm-" I started, but Ethan cut me off. "Don't worry about it. It doesn't hurt that much anymore. What about your head?"
"It hurts, but not that bad," I said. "It's still bleeding, you know," he said. I nodded. "I know."
He seemed to hesitate, then he said, "Those wolf-things told me to ask you about your past. Is there something I should know?"
I didn't answer, I didn't know how to, but at that moment, the Erasers noticed that we were both awake. "Ah, the love birds are awake!" I blushed and said, "We're not love birds. Let us go."
"I don't think so. You see, the owners of the School were slightly annoyed when you and your little friends got away last summer," the lead Eraser said. "Well, we were hardly going to wait around now were we?"
"Maybe you should of stayed there, so that this wouldn't be happening right now. You're endangering one of your little freak friends. How does that make you feel?"
I knew what they doing, they do this all the time. Just trying to make me feel bad and guilty so I wouldn't have any fight left. But they had done this so many times that it didn't affect me anymore.
"I feel great, actually, thanks for asking," I said, smiling. "Although, I don't appreciate being tied up, so if someone could untie me, I'd be a lot more happier."
"We're not stupid, freak. We're not untying you."
"What? You're not stupid? Well, you had me convinced," I said, my face straight.
The Eraser growled. "You're going to stay here until our boss tells us where we have to bring you. And no one will find you, so there's no point in trying anything."
"Me? Try something? I wouldn't dream of it," I hissed through clenched teeth, a wave of dizziness overtaking me when I moved my head slightly.
The Eraser went right up to me and put his face right up to mine. "Glad to hear it, sweetheart," he said, and his breath smelled so bad that I started retching. He glared at me, thinking I was messing with him, trying to get him angry on purpose, but seriously his breath smelled so bad!
"Something wrong, birdie?" he asked, getting even closer to me.
"Ever heard of a tic tac?" I snapped, glaring back at him. He roared and raised his hand, and slapped me right across the face. I fell over onto my side with my arms in front of me, my cheek throbbing.
"Max!" Ethan shouted.
"Shut up," one of the Erasers shouted at him. Ethan kept quiet, but I could feel his eyes on me as the Eraser that slapped me reached down and twisted me over so that I was on my back, with my arms bent uncomfortably under my back. I hissed, feeling the rope that was around my wrists scraping off the skin of my hands. I stared into the Erasers cold eyes, and willed myself not to look away until he did.
"Leave her alone!" Ethan shouted.
"I told you to shut up!" said the Eraser that seemed to be second-in-command, then he kicked Ethan in the stomach. Ethan cried out and fell down, then he was right beside me. "Are you okay?" I asked. He nodded, unable to speak. His breathing was uneven and heavy, so I knew he was winded. "Take big, deep breaths, okay? Copy me," I told him, and I started taking deep breaths, and stopped when Ethan started copying me. After a few minutes, his breathing was back to normal. "Okay now?" I asked. "Yeah, thanks," he said,
"Sorry to break up the romance," the head Eraser said mockingly. "But the boss just contacted me. Time to go. We'll be leaving in ten minutes."
The Erasers walked over to where they had left all there things. As soon as they turned there backs on me, and raised myself on my elbows, and when I saw a thick branch, I dragged myself over to it, stopping every few seconds in case the Erasers heard me. I grabbed the branch awkwardly, and started sawing at the rope around my wrists. I could feel Ethan watching me, but I didn't look at him.
Finally, after minutes of sawing, the ropes broke free. I bit down on my lip when I saw my wrists, the skin red raw and bleeding.
Without a sound, I started undoing the ropes on my legs. The knot was tight, but the rope finally fell to the ground, my legs free. I moved soundlessly over to Ethan, and, looking over my shoulder every few seconds, started undoing Ethan's ropes.
When we were both free, I stood up. Another wave of dizziness overtook me, and I thought my legs were going to give way, but Ethan put a hand around my waist until I could stand up properly. I knew we weren't just going to walk out of this clearing, that there was going to be a fight, so I tried telling Ethan without actually talking to leave and go back to the castle. He seemed to know what I was trying to say, and he shook his head, his eyes determined.
"Hey! What the hell?" the Erasers started shouting.
"Max, come on!" Ethan shouted, grabbing my hand. He started to drag me towards the trees, but I jerked my hand out of his.
"This is my fight," I said simply and turned back to the Erasers and took a fighting stance, the one Jeb taught me when I was ten. "You're gonna fight all of us on your own, sweetheart?" Head-Eraser sneered. "Yes. And don't call me sweetheart," I growled, then sprang forward, with a snap kick right to his chest. He stumbled back, and I was immediately surrounded by Erasers. I kicked and punched at everything I could see, and blocking everything that was coming at me. I had most of them down when one of them sneaked up behind me and grabbed my arms. He pulled me down onto my knees, but before he could even do anything, he was blasted backwards into the trees. I looked across from me and saw Ethan with his wand out, looking stunned at what he did.
I smiled at him but never got to say anything before there were more Erasers surrounding the both of us. I did a roundhouse kick and managed to knock two Erasers into a tree, then punched one in the nose, feeling the bone break under my fist. I could hear Ethan shouting spells at Erasers behind me.
Soon enough there were only five Erasers left. I wish I could just take out my wand and take a rest from fighting, but I had left my wand on my bed back in Gryffindor Tower, thinking I wouldn't need it. Well, I'd never do that anymore.
I cried out in pain and surprise when I felt a sharp pain rip through my side. An Eraser had just clawed right through my shirt and cut up my side. It was bleeding, but not very badly. I wheeled around and kneed the Eraser right where any man should not be kicked. He screamed and bent over, and that was when I kneed him right in the head, knocking him out.
I looked around the clearing, and saw that Ethan was unscratched with a protection charm around him, and he just did a full body bind on an Eraser. Now there was only one left. He didn't seem like a typical Eraser, so that made me think he was new. He took one look at us, muttered, "I'm sorry. I never wanted them to do this to me."
"You think I wanted them to do this to me?" I asked, glaring at him.
He shook his head, turned around and ran off into the trees. I let out a breath and leaned against a tree, my hand on the wound at my side. Ethan came up to me, his face surprisingly pale. "Are you okay?" he asked.
"Yeah. You?" I asked.
"Yeah, they never hit me. You're hurt," he noticed.
"Eh, I'm fine, nothing to worry about. Let's get out of here before any of them wake up," I said. We walked through the trees, and it was only when we were walking for ten minutes that I realized how deep we were in the Forest. It was nearly an hour before we saw the light of the moon again.
"Max, I think we need to talk," Ethan said suddenly when we were at the edge of the Forest. He stopped walking, and sat down against a tree. I sat down beside him, knowing he was going to ask about the Erasers and the School.
"What about?" I asked, playing dumb.
"What the hell were those things?" he asked.
"Human-wolf hybrids," I said, looking down at my dirty converse.
"Hybrids? So they weren't werewolves?"
"Well, I suppose you can call them that if you want," I mumbled.
"How do they know you?" he asked.
"Because I'm a hybrid too," I said too quietly for him to hear.
"What?" he asked. I took a deep breath and looked him in the eyes. For some reason, telling Ethan about my past was more difficult then telling Hermione, Harry or Ron, or anyone else that knows. I broke the eye contact and focused on the little beetle was scuttling along the ground by my shoes.
"I know them because I'm a hybrid too," I said again, more clearly this time. Ethan heard me this time, and for a few minutes he just stared at me, speechless.
"You mean- you're one of those wolf things?" Ethan asked, his voice raising a few octaves. I chuckled darkly, and said, "No. I'm a different hybrid to them, but we were created in the same place."
"Created? What kind of hybrid are you?" he asked, sounding a bit freaked out.
"I'm an avian hybrid," I said.
"Avian?" he asked.
"Yeah, bird. I have- er, wings," I mumbled, still staring at the beetle, that had stopped scuttling and was still.
"Wings?" Ethan chocked. I nodded, not able to look at him. He didn't say anything for a while, and I put my head in my hands. I just completely ruined our friendship, and now he won't want anything to do with me, because I'm a freak-
"What do you mean created?" Ethan asked finally.
"Well, I was born normally like everyone else, but I was kidnapped only a few hours after I was born and taken to a lab in America called the School, where they did experiments on me and gave me wings," I explained. "We got busted out when I was ten."
"We?" Ethan asked.
"Er- yeah, there was six of us. Fang, Iggy, Nudge, Angel and the Gasman are all avian hybrids too, and together we're the flock," I said.
It was another few minutes before Ethan said, "That's so damn cool."
I looked up at him. "What?" I asked, stunned.
"You have wings! That's really cool!" he said.
"You don't care? You don't think I'm a freak?" I asked without even thinking.
Ethan grinned at me. "Of course not. I think you're even more amazing then before."
I smiled and rushed over to him and threw my arms around his neck. He hugged me back and said, "Tell me everything about the School. I want to know about your past."
We spent about another hour sitting by the trees, and I told Ethan everything up until I was ten. He listened to everything without interrupting me. I didn't tell him about Donovan- I couldn't find the proper words. When I finished, I look down at my watch. It was ten to one in the morning.
"Oh crap I'm going to be late!" I exclaimed.
"For what?"
"To talk to my dad," I said without really thinking.
"Your dad? I thought your parents were dead," he said.
"That's what I thought until last summer," I admitted. "My mother is dead, but my father isn't."
"Who's your dad?" he asked.
"I don't think you'll believe me," I said, grinning darkly. Ethan said, "Of course I'll believe you. I believed everything about the wings and stuff, didn't I?."
I sighed. "Sirius Black. Sirius is my dad." Ethan's eyes widened and said, "But- he's a murderer!"
"No he isn't," I said a bit more harsh then I intended. "He's innocent. He was framed for those murders and everything else the Ministry said he did."
Ethan seemed to hesitate before he said, "I believe you. That must of been awful," he added after a minute of silence, "Being locked up in Azkaban for twelve years, knowing you're innocent, but having no one believe you."
"I know. I'm sorry about what happened. I'm sorry that they hurt you" I said, standing up. That was when I noticed that the beetle was still on the ground. Maybe it had died. Oh well.
"It doesn't hurt that much anymore," Ethan said, moving his injured arm around as he stood up beside me. "And don't worry about it. I don't blame you. I'll walk back to the castle with you."
We walked back up to the castle, and I was fingering the cut on my head. It stopped bleeding, but it still stung, and my face and shirt were covered in dry blood. When we passed the lake, Ethan asked, "Can I- can I see them?" he asked. He sounded as if he had wanted to ask that question for a while.
"See what?" I asked, looking at him out of the corner of my eye.
"You're- you're wings," Ethan said, blushing. I looked around, and when I saw no one around, or no lights on in any of the many windows, I dragged Ethan over to behind the tree by the lake, just in case. I pulled off my jumper, and slowly, I spread out my wings. Ethan gasped and said, "They're beautiful." My face went deep red, and I could see Ethan blushing too. I pulled my wings back in tight to my back, then pulled on my jumper when I thought I heard something. I looked around but didn't see anything, so I dismissed the thought. "Thanks," I managed to say.
I blushed even worse when Ethan took a step closer to me, and his face was right in front of mine. He leaned down, his eyes asking if I wanted to him to continue. I nodded ever so slightly, then closed the space between us. Our lips met, and then we were kissing. Ethan's lips were soft and gentle. He hands went around my waist, pulling me closer to him, and I put my arms around his neck, my hands in his hair. Time seemed to freeze; not that I'm complaining.
I pulled away from Ethan when I heard that same noise again, like a clicking. But it seemed like as soon as we pulled away from each other, the noise stopped. I looked at Ethan, but he didn't seem to have heard it. That was when I realized what just happened.
"Ethan- I'm sorry. I shouldn't have done that. I'm not really looking for something like that, not with the Tournament, and with Harry in the Tournament, and then the Erasers-"
"Harry? That's what it's about? You don't like me. You like Harry, don't you?" Ethan said, not sounding angry, but not sounding happy either.
"What? No. I never said that. He's my friend, Ethan, and I'm worried about him being in this Tournament! If it was one of your friends, then you'd be worried too!" I said.
Ethan scoffed, and rolled his eyes. "You know what? Just forget that all of this happened, Max. I'll see you around." Then he turned around and walked back to the castle, leaving me on my own by the lake.
I walked through the portrait hole, lost in my thoughts, and jumped when I saw Harry leaning down in front of the fire. And in the fire, was Sirius's head. With what just happened in the last few minutes, I had forgotten about our meeting with Sirius. Neither of them noticed me walked into the common room.
I walked in just as Sirius was saying, "Don't mind me, how are you? And where's Max?"
"Er- I'm not really sure where she is. She was meeting a boy by the lake, and she should be back any minute," Harry said. I stood awkwardly by the door, suddenly aware of how dirty and bloody I was. I coughed, and Harry spun around and saw me.
"Max! Where have you been?" That was when he noticed all the blood and mud. "What happened?" he asked.
"I'll tell you later," I said through clenched teeth, not wanting Sirius to know that there were Erasers in the grounds, or else he'll come bursting through the school gates. I just hoped Sirius wouldn't notice the blood. I did my best to wipe away as much as I could as I walked over to the fire, then I covered most of my face with my hair.
"Hey Sirius," I said, smiling.
"Hi, Max. What kept you?" he asked.
"Nothing, the time just got away from me. Sorry," I said. "How have you been?" I asked. Sirius looked different from when I last saw him. When we had said good-bye, his face had been gaunt and sunken, surrounded by a quantity of long, black matted hair- but now his hair was short and clean, Sirius's face was fuller, and he looked younger.
"I've been alright," I said.
"What about you, Harry?" Sirius asked.
"I'm-" Harry started, then he paused, frowning. Then suddenly, Harry was talking more then I've heard him talk in days- about how no one believed him about no entering the tournament himself, how Rita Skeeter had lied in the article, how he couldn't walk anywhere without being sneered at- and about Ron, and his jealously.
"...and now Hagrid's just shown me what's coming up in the first task, and it's dragons, Sirius. I'm a goner," Harry finished desperately.
I stared at Harry, wide eyed. Dragons? Was the Ministry freaking insane? Sirius was staring at the both of us with his eyes full of concern, eyes that still had the deadened, lost look that Azkaban had given him.
"Dragons we can deal with," he said and I stared at him in shock, "But we'll get to that in a minute- I haven't got long here... I've broken into a wizarding house to use the fire, but they could be back at any time. There are things I need to warn you about."
"Like what?" I asked. Surely there wasn't anything worse then dragons?
"Karkoraff," Sirius said. "He was a Death Eater. You know what Death Eaters are, right?" We both nodded.
"He was caught, he was in Azkaban with me, but he got released. I bet everything that's why Dumbledore wanted an Auror at Hogwarts this year- to keep an eye on him. Moody caught Karkaroff in the first place."
"Karkaroff got released?" Harry asked. "Why did they release him?"
"He did a deal with the Ministry," said Sirius bitterly. "He said he'd seen the error of his ways, then he named names...he put a load of people into Azkaban in his place. He's not very popular there, I can tell you. And since he got out, from what I can tell, he's been teaching the Dark Arts to every student in that school of his. So watch out for the Durmstrang champion too."
"Okay," Harry said slowly.
"So are you saying that Karkaroff put Harry's name into the goblet?" I asked.
"If he did, he's a really good actor. He seemed furious about me getting picked. He wanted to stop me from competing."
"We know he's a good actor," Sirius said, "because he convinced the Ministry to set him free. Now, I've been keeping an eye on the Daily Prophet-"
"You and the rest of the world," Harry said bitterly."
"-and reading between the lines of the articles. Moody was attacked before he started working at Hogwarts last month. Yes, I know Skeeter said it was a false alarm, but I don't think so, somehow. I think someone tried to stop him from coming to Hogwarts. I think someone knew their job would be a lot more difficult with him around. And no one's going to look into it too closely; Moody's heard intruders much too often. But that doesn't mean he doesn't know how to spot the real thing- Moody was the best Auror the Ministry's ever had."
Sirius hesitated.
"I've been hearing some very strange things," he said slowly. "The Death Eaters seem to be a bit more active than usual lately. They showed up at the World Cup, didn't they? Someone set off the Dark Mark... and you've heard about the witch that's gone missing?"
"Bertha Jorkins?" Harry and I said together.
"Yes. She disappeared in Albania, and that's definitely where Voldemort was last. And she would of known about the Triwizard Tournament, wouldn't she?"
"Yeah. But it's not likely she just walked right into Voldemort, is it?" I said.
"Listen, I knew Bertha," Sirius said. "She was at Hogwarts me and and you're dad, Harry, but she was just a few years older then me. She was an nosy, no brains. It's not a good combination. I'd say she'd be very easy to lure into a trap."
"So Voldemort could know about the tournament? You think Karkaroff could be here on his orders?" Harry asked.
"I don't know," Sirius said. "I just don't know. Karkaroff doesn't strike me as the type who'd go back to Voldemort unless he knew Voldemort was powerful enough to protect him. But whoever put your name in that goblet, Harry, did it for a reason, and I can't help thinking the tournament would be a very good way to attack you and make it look like an accident."
"Looks like a pretty good plan from where I'm standing," Harry said bleakly. "They'll just have to stand back and let the dragons do their work."
"Right- these dragons," Sirius said, speaking very fast, "There's a way. Don't be tempted to try a Stunning Spell- dragons are strong and too powerful to be knocked out by a single Stunning Spell. You need about a dozen wizards at once to overcome a dragon-"
"Yeah I know, I just saw," Harry said.
"But you can do it alone," Sirius said. "There is a way, and a simple spell is all you need-"
But I held up a hand to silence him, my heart pounding as if it would burst. I could hear footsteps coming down the spiral staircase behind us.
"Go!" I hissed. "Go! There's someone coming!"
Together, Harry and I stood up and blocked the fire. I heard a tiny pop from the fire and knew that Sirius was gone. I watched the bottom of the spiral staircase. Who decides to go for a stroll at one o'clock in the morning, and interrupt Sirius telling Harry how to deal with the dragon?
It was Ron. It was strange not seeing Fang and Iggy with him. Ron stopped dead when he saw the two of us, then he looked around.
"Who were you two talking to?" Ron asked.
I looked at Harry, frowning, then back at Ron. "Er- each other? There's no one else here, Ron."
"No, I heard a third voice. Like an adult. Who were you talking to?" Ron asked.
"What's it to do with you? What are you doing up this time of night anyway?" Harry snarled.
"I just wondered where you-" Ron said, looking at Harry. He broke off. "Never mind. I'm going back to bed."
"Just thought you'd come nosing around, did you?" Harry shouted.
"Sorry about that," Ron said, his face red with anger. "Should've realized you two didn't want to be disturbed. Max, I'm surprised at you. I didn't think you'd help him practice for his next interview."
Before I could say something, Harry seized a badge that read POTTER REALLY STINKS off the table and threw it, as hard as he could, across the room. It hit Ron square on the forehead.
"There you go," Harry hissed, "Something for you on Tuesday. You might even have a scar if you're lucky. That's what you want isn't it?"
Harry strode across the room towards the stairs. I thought Ron would stop him, even punch him, but Ron just stood frozen on the stairs, not looking at anything as Harry stormed upstairs.
Hey guys! because this chapter is sooooooooooooooo looooooooooooooooooooooong, this authors note with be short!
and I'm sorry if it was kinda bad, and rushed, but it has been a while since I updated, so... hope you all enjoy it! :D what do you think of the little Eax moment? ;)
Hope everyone likes it, and when you review, you get cookies and butterbeer! so...
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-Rach ;)