Dance of the Fairies, Flight of the Phoenix
Chapter 31:- Morning News
"You understand our terms then, Minister Fudge?" snarled one of several Gringott's Goblins that stood in a ring around Cornelius' desk.
"Absolutely yes, of course," Fudge nodded, trying very hard not to rub the sleep out of his eyes - he had not gotten a wink of sleep that night and it didn't look like he was going to get the chance to hit the hay anytime soon. "Rest assured Ragnok, we want the menace that is these Fairy Tail mages to be stopped just as badly as you do. And we will do everything in our power to ensure that they will not get anywhere near Gringott's bank again."
"I should hope so," Ragnok wrinkled his obscenely long nose. "Do you realise how bad this is going to be to our image? Nobody has ever broken into our bank, in all of its long history, and made it out with anything! Not only did these offworlders breach our security, they also took half of it away with them! There is to be no mercy given to them. None! And rest assured that if you back out of this arrangement, we will be closing the doors of our bank to you and all of wizardkind."
"As soon as you've rebuilt the doors, that is," Scrimgeour muttered under his breath, his hand over his chest where a Stunning spell had hit him only a few hours ago. Fortunately though the Goblins didn't seem to hear him, and they filed out of the room, gnashing their teeth and looking no less livid than they had when they'd walked in several hours ago.
Fudge ran a hand over his face as the door closed, looking up at the Head of the Auror department and several Wizengamot members that had risen to join the meeting.
"How can these keep happening?" Fudge asked, locking eyes with Scrimgeour. "If these Fairy Tail mages are not brought down then we are in serious risk of them destroying the entire Wizarding World as we know it! They break into two of the most secure places in London and leave without a single casualty, they destroy a town, they reveal magic to the Muggle population on a massive scale that we can barely cover up… how much longer is it going to be before they do something we cannot recover from?"
"If I might, Minister," Scrimgeour cleared his throat. "I would suggest an alternative path to hunting them."
"You are surely not about to suggest what I think you are going suggest, Scrimgeour. You would still offer a hand in friendship to them after all this. They broke into Gringotts. Gringotts! Even if I were to propose something as ludicrous as shaking hands with these… monsters… the Goblins would never work for Wizardkind again. How long would it be before another war breaks out with their race?"
"If I might, Minister," piped up the stern voice of Amelia Bones from where she was sat in the corner of the room poring over several scraps of parchment. "If I am reading this report correctly, then the attack on this bank… it did not appear to be a robbery. Certainly it doesn't appear as if anything was taken. Nothing significant enough to be noticed anyway. In fact, it says here that none of the vault doors were opened or even damaged during the entire skirmish."
"What are you saying, Madame Bones?"
"I'm saying that Fairy Tail broke into Gringotts and the only thing that left when they did are the Dragons and the Sphinxes. Only living beings. Which, I might add, the Goblins all kept prisoner down there."
"…You're saying you feel this was a humanitarian act?" Fudge blustered.
"That is what the evidence seems to suggest. The level of power these Fairy Tail mages possess clearly indicates to me that if they so chose, they could have broken into almost any vault in there and made off with anything that suited their fancy after all."
"All the more reason that they should be brought down now before they realise that," Fudge raised a finger. "It sounds to me like we were extremely lucky. They unleashed seven dragons on the middle of London! If you ask me they were probably hoping the Dragons would descend upon the city and cause chaos! We're lucky the winged reptiles decided to pass it by and that the attack happened at night! People still heard the roars and saw the lights, but most couldn't make out what was going on out there so the cover story of a practice fireworks display for November 5th should hopefully work, but if it had happened during the day we'd all be in trouble. And even if this was some kind of… bare-faced rescue mission from a bunch of Whomping Willow Huggers, we cannot forget the other things that they have done. We must not let them believe that they can simply walk all over us. How long before they seized control? How long before they decide to supplant each and every one of us here?"
"Minister…" Scrimgeour started, but he was cut off.
"And most importantly… how long before more arrive? Hmm?" Fudge looked hard at Scrimgeour. "I don't believe anyone is still sceptical of their claims that they come from another universe. And if they indeed are, then there is a whole world of others just like them out there. They could be the advance guard for an invasion!"
Most of the Wizengamot members were nodded, looking around fearfully as if expecting for the Fairy Tail mages to come blasting through the wall and slaughter them at any moment. Scrimgeour glanced over at Amelia, and was somewhat relieved that Madame Bones didn't appear to be among the terrified. She was pursing her lips, looking sceptical of Fudge's claims. And Scrimgeour could probably see why. She was, after all, looking at the report and therefore knew one irrefutable fact.
That there had been no casualties or even serious injuries amongst the Aurors that had been sent there that night.
The report described the events in great detail. How the Ice Moulding Mage had kept up a firm defence when he could have easily gone on offence and how the flying woman with glasses used some kind of explosive dust that could have, if she so wanted, enveloped the whole group of Aurors and caused terrible damage to any who didn't get out of the way in time and yet she too had only used it as a defensive barrier. And though the unknown party hidden behind the ice wall had been fighting back against the Aurors fiercely, not one Killing Curse had been fired. In fact, he had seen not one spell that would have caused serious damage to anyone.
The more Scrimgeour battled these people, the more he became convinced that if they wanted to cause harm, somebody would have died by now. They didn't act like terrorists. And yet Fudge and so many other people, important or otherwise, seemed so terrified at the prospect of what they could do that they just didn't seem to be considering the evidence properly as to what they would do.
"If it helps…" Auror Proudfoot raised his hand. "We do have two Fairy Tail mages in custody now."
"What!?" Fudge looked up sharply.
"What!?" Scrimgeour snapped his head around at the exact same time.
"Yes. Along with Sirius Black," Proudfoot puffed his chest out slightly, looking rather pleased with himself all of a sudden.
"Why was I not informed of this immediately?" Scrimgeour barked, striding over to loom over Proudfoot. In all honesty considering everything that had happened at Diagon Alley he had quite forgotten that Sirius Black had also been on the target list that night.
"The matter at the bank and the meeting with the Goblins seemed more pressing, sir," Proudfoot replied. "The three prisoners are down in the holding cells below now, under constant guard from Dementors…" At that his face fell slightly and Scrimgeour picked up definite traces of guilt in his features. "They're… quite well contained, sir. That is why I thought it could wait."
"Well do not wait any longer," Fudge practically jumped around his desk. "Lead me down to the cells now! How did we come to capture two Fairy Tail mages along with Black in the first place?"
"They were with him, Minister," Proudfoot said as he led the way, the majority of the room filing out behind him. "Two women, a redhead and a brunette… they seem to be associates with Black. They're the ones who harboured him at the Muggle Bed and Breakfast before they were flushed out by the Muggle police force."
"Associates of none other than Sirius Black!" Fudge cried. "You believe them to still be humanitarian now, Scrimgeour? If they were not trying to cause us harm why would they associate with a known felon and mass murderer?"
"Deception," Scrimgeour pointed out. "Black might not have told them who we really is," but Fudge didn't even seem to hear him. Instead he ploughed on with the question on everybody's mind:-
"But however did you catch them?"
"The Dementors, sir," that guilty look flashed across Proudfoot's face again. "We just sent them in as instructed and… well, they had a pretty violent reaction to their presence Minister… the redhead in particular… I don't think I've ever seen anyone scream so loudly before a Dementor… not even the inmates of Azkaban. And the brunette didn't take long to succumb to them either."
"Interesting. Then it appears the Dementors are the key," Fudge mused. "If they can have such an effect on one or two Fairy Tail mages then they can have a similar effect on others. I want Dementors stationed everywhere we can spare them - the Ministry, Diagon Alley, Hogwarts! Everywhere!"
"But Minister, you stationed Dementors at Hogwarts two years ago!" Madame Bones protested. "And you had to withdraw them because they almost planted a Kiss on a student. On Harry Potter, no less!"
"Then we must make sure to keep them under firmer control. These Fairy Tail mages are far more dangerous than Black could ever be, and I will take all precautions to ensure the safety of the Hogwarts students. And I am sure that Dolores would very much agree with me."
"And Dumbledore?" Scrimgeour asked pointedly.
"Dumbledore will be dealt with, and in this case I am sure even he would agree," Fudge replied.
A few minutes later and Proudfoot led them into the holding cells. Fudge's eyes practically lit up when he saw the hunched form of Sirius in the corner of the first one, rocking backwards and forwards slightly with his hands over his ears while the Dementor standing at the other side of the cell seemed to grope the air in his direction, as if desperate to come closer to him and feed upon any remaining traces of happiness he had left… and possibly more… while a Patronus in the shape of a badger stalked up and down the outside, keeping those in the corridor safe from the Dementor's adverse effects.
"Well, that at least is one menace to the Wizarding community that we can now firmly say has been dealt with," Fudge nodded. "Excellent work, Proudfoot. I think this deserves for you to be rewarded with the Order of Merlin, First Class."
"Th… thank you, Minister," Proudfoot nodded, as the group moved on to the next cell, in which sat Cana Alberona. The brunette was hugging her knees as she pressed herself against the far wall, her chest heaving and her eyes wide and unblinking, as she struggled for breath.
"I'm… I'm not worthless…" she whispered to herself in a voice that was almost more hoarse than the rattling breath of her Dementor cellmate. "I'm… I'm not worthless… I'm not…"
Scrimgeour grimaced. He never liked sicking a Dementor on anyone if he could avoid it, but this girl already looked like she'd spent several months locked up in Azkaban prison!
"What kind of magic does she use?" he asked brusquely.
"She appears to have some kind of ability based on using magical cards. We confiscated them of course," Proudfoot tapped the box which contained Cana's deck and everyone else drew back from it as if they might explode at any moment.
Then…
"AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH! GGGAHHNNNNN! AAAAHHHHHHHH!"
Scrimgeour's spine stiffened and he bolted to the next cell along, seeing a redhead in a white frilly top and blue skirt convulsing on the ground like she was having the most violent seizure he'd ever seen. She clutched her head and howled for several seconds before she collapsed, limp as a discarded doll, into an unconscious state.
"What happened?" Scrimgeour asked.
"That's… just the way she reacts, sir…" now the guilt was really hitting hard on Proudfoot's face. "Every time she wakes up in the presence of a Dementor she immediately starts screaming. I… I don't think I've ever seen anyone so tormented by one."
"It's horrible," Amelia whispered, looking very physically ill as she stared at Erza's face, twisted into an expression of terror even in her comatose state.
"So… now that we have them… what do you intend to do with them?" Scrimgeour folded his arms, waiting for Fudge's verdict.
"Yes… yes, well… let's see… ah, Weasley, take note of this please."
"Yes, Minister," the bespectacled form of Percy Weasley nodded fervently as he made a piece of parchment hover before him and took out a Self-Inking Quill.
"I want you to dispatch word to the Daily Prophet. If we hurry then even now we might be able to make the morning addition. I want the full story spread out to every Wizarding home in the country, stating that Sirius Black will receive the Dementor's Kiss tomorrow, or rather today, at midday. I would have it done now, but I would like to question him about his association with his connection with Fairy Tail first. Oh, and don't mention the two of them were caught together, just say that we also have two Fairy Tail mages in custody, both of whom will be sent to Azkaban until the Wizengamot has decided on how to proceed with their sentence."
"Azkaban!?" Scrimgeour barked, startling Fudge and making him jump half a foot into the air. "You're going to take that woman… that girl there… and send her off to the densest population of Dementors in the northern hemisphere? That's practically torture! Subjecting her to the Cruciatus Curse would be more humane!"
"What else do you propose I do with her?" Fudge blustered, straightening his bowler hat which had almost gone flying off his head. "We can't give her an opportunity to escape and besides, she is a criminal. Azkaban is where we send criminals - that's how it works."
"But she hasn't done anything wrong other than be associated with people who have. And neither has the brunette for that matter."
"We will deal with them properly after we have dealt with Black. For now, they will go to Azkaban and there is nothing more to be said on the matter." Fudge said. "Now if you'll excuse me I'd like to get at least two hours of sleep if I can. Weasley, hurry to the Prophet now. This will definitely make their front page."
As Percy hurried away and the majority of the Wizengamot filed out of the room, Scrimgeour felt a hand placed on his arm and glanced down to see Madame Bone looking up at him.
"Might I suggest that until we can find some proof that Fairy Tail are not as malicious as the Minister is painting that you become a little less outspoken about it? You might be at risk of losing your position if he suspects you are growing too sympathetic."
"I'm relieved at least someone else is on the same mindset," Scrimgeour replied. "Sending those girls to Azkaban… that just isn't right."
"Fear is often the death of reason. And the Minister seems to fear a great many things… and let's be honest, the Fairy Tail members haven't exactly been doing a lot to dissuade those fears," Amelia shook her head. I can only hope that a solution is found quickly. If that girl goes insane in Azkaban… they might never forgive us."
All through the night, Lisanna powered her wings forward in beats so powerful that they almost seemed to create miniature shockwaves through the air behind her as they passed. Her spiked tail undulated behind her like a colossal whip, and her side panged at her from where Natsu had unknowingly struck her with his Dragon Slayer magic.
Not that she was aware of her actions… the instincts of the Horntail had swallowed up her own entirely, suppressing her consciousness beneath its own so that while Lisanna was technically in control of the body, technically the one flapping the wings, the Horntail's mind was still running the show.
As she flew, the sky around her began to brighten, the vestiges of dawn beginning to wash over the world like the incoming tide. Her stomach began to cry for attention, alerting Lisanna to the need to feed. She had not eaten for days… and she could smell food down on the ground. Horses, cows… something down there would be worth catching and devouring.
But just as she angled her body westwards to follow the scent of a particularly delicious smelling cow…
"HHHHRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAWWWWWWWWWRRRRRR!"
Lisanna's head snapped around as the mighty roar ripped through the sky around her, just in time to see a colossal form covered in hard, bronze scales come shooting out of a nearby cloud to crash straight into her, claws snagging at her shoulders and a gigantic blunt head slamming into the side of her own!
Another dragon! And this one seemed to be even larger than her! How it had managed to sneak up on her without her smelling it was a mystery, but Lisanna instantly responded with a roar of her own and lashed out with her teeth, snapping her jaws around the dragon's neck only for her teeth to clash against thick armour that her fangs couldn't pierce. Two huge feet kicked her in the gut and shoved her away and as she rolled backwards in the air she lashed up with her tail. The spikes clashed against her attacker's stomach hard enough to create sparks but they seemed to cause no damage to the other dragon at all as it upended itself with a tilt of its massive wings and powered down, slamming straight into her stomach in mid-air and body-slamming her down towards the ground.
The two dragons grappled with either other as they plummeted earthwards, a mess of flailing wings, flashing claws and swinging tails as they battered at each other relentlessly. Lisanna scrabbled at it madly, lunging her jaws for one of its wings only for it to lurch out of the way and a clawed foot to seize her nose and shove it downwards.
The ground grew ever closer rapidly, so Lisanna snarled and twisted about until she could see the dragon's huge head before her own, golden eyes staring into her own as she opened her jaws and blasted a huge gout of flame from the back of her throat right into its face. The fire washed over the scaly head, hungrily licking at the bronze armour but the dragon didn't even seem to blink! Instead, it opened its own jaws and exhaled some kind of… mist… that dispersed Lisanna's attack and whooshed over her own face like a wave. Lisanna sneezed, coughing and spluttering as she felt a sudden weariness crashing over her… her eyelids drooping and her muscles slackening as she started to fall asleep in mid-air!
The last thing she saw was the other dragon's gigantic teeth right before her face before her eyes slowly closed and her world went dark.
Pantherlily grunted as he made his way down the stairs of Grimmauld Place an hour or so after sunrise. He hadn't gotten nearly enough sleep. None of them had really… but Dumbledore had arrived at headquarters not that long ago and had called an emergency meeting of the Order, asking the Fairy Tail members to attend as well.
The black cat found himself dwelling on what had happened last night after they had escaped from Diagon Alley. He, Remus and Moody had had to take a few trips via the Portkey cage before they had finally arrived in Egypt, which was apparently too far to make a single trip. But, once they had arrived in the middle of a desert and right in front of an enormous statue of another Sphinx, Lily slipped through the bars and grew into his larger form to yank the door to the cage open.
The Sphinxes had filed out in single file, with Sobekneferu bringing up the rear as Lily closed the door behind her.
"There you are," said Lily. "Home free. And I recommend you ladies keep an eye out for Goblins in the future. No doubt they'd like to replenish their stock of guards in the near future."
"No doubt indeed," Sobekneferu purred, stepping around Lily and rubbing her flank against his legs like a household cat. "Speaking of which, we'd better get out of this area. There are tombs around here that could be crawling with Goblins. Thanks for all you did for us, big boy. Is there any way I can repay you?"
"I bet I could think of something," snickered another Sphinx, and the whole group purred.
Lily coughed slightly, and immediately jumped up to land on top of the cage in his smaller form. "That is… very kind of you," he said. "If I ever think of something then I will be sure to come back and call on you. But for now, knowing you're free of your chains is more than enough."
"Suit yourself," Sobekneferu tossed her head and tail at the same time. "Well, thanks again. Come on girls, its time to see the world." And she lead the way across the sand as the entire feline group hurried off into the distance, soon lost to sight in the dust cloud that they kicked up around them.
"That was… awkward…" Lily coughed as he descended to the ground next to Remus and Moody.
"Well if Exceed society is anything like that of humans, you did the right thing in turning them all down," Remus nodded sagely.
"…Them all…?" Lily blinked. "I thought only Sobekneferu was…"
"Oh, she was only the most outspoken," Moody gave a growling chuckle. "All of them were interested. Sphinx society is a lot like that of a lion. Male Sphinxes are extremely rare, so when one is found, its usually with a lot of female ones, all of which are his mates."
"Something tells me you would have had a hard time coping with that," Remus snorted at the look on Lily's face. "Looks like you dodged a Killing Curse there."
"So it seems," Lily nodded slowly.
But that had all been yesterday. Now the black cat was hurrying down the stairs along with everyone else, into the kitchen. With a full compliment of the Order except Sirius and every Fairy Tail mage accounted for with the exception of Natsu, Happy and Lisanna, the room was now getting extremely crowded. Dumbledore was at the head, staring levelly at them as they entered and found a place to stand around the walls, before he opened the meeting with the words:-
"Well, last night was an unmitigated disaster."
"You can say that again," Lucy rubbed her forehead with her fingers. "Though… in all fairness we should have known better than to send Natsu out to search for Sirius. We really should have guessed that he'd try something like that."
"You Fairy Tail people promised that you would consult us before doing something rash like this," Hestia Jones protested, holding up an early issue of the Daily Prophet as she did. "Now its all over the news that you attacked the bank and tried unleashing dragons on the city."
"The paper didn't even mention that there were no human casualties. Not did it say you also rescued the Sphinxes," Professor McGonagall agreed. "They've done nothing but put a negative spin on this, and at this moment I hardly think we can blame them. This Order is supposed to be focusing its attentions on stopping You-Know-Who, not on harbouring a bunch of offworlders who insist on causing trouble whenever they can."
"Minerva is right I'm afraid," Dumbledore sighed. "This cannot go on. For now we are an operation that works in the shadows, just as Voldemort himself is now doing. But sooner or later the general public are going to realise the harsh reality that the Dark Lord really has returned, and when they do they are going to similarly find out about us and what we have been doing. Including how we worked hard to keep you out of the hands of our own Ministry."
"Surely the fact that you're working to stop Voldemort would be grounds enough to make them trust in your decision to help us, right?" Wendy asked.
"I wouldn't think so," Gray wrinkled his nose. "They'd just assume that the Order had combined forces with us to take down both Voldemort and the Ministry. They'd assume the reason we're combating Voldemort is to eliminate the competition for who will rule when the Ministry falls."
"Precisely," nodded Dumbledore. "Which is why I must really, truly urge you to reign your… destructive tendencies in."
"Not to worry, Dumbledore," said a voice as a previously invisible Mavis floated into view and landed delicately on one end of the table. "It will not happen again. I am invoking a new protocol. Until the Third Master is found and returned, all Fairy Tail members will have to gain permission from either myself or from an Order member before they can go out and do anything of this nature again. Is that understood?"
Most of the mages around the room looked thoroughly shame-faced, especially Wendy who had, after all, let her love of dragons get the better of her in this instance too. Gajeel grunted and looked mildly indifferent but he too superseded to the First Master's authority."
"You have our word," Gildarts said, his voice seeming to quieten the entire room down. "No more spontaneous missions… no matter how well-meaning they may be."
"Thank you," Dumbledore said. "With any luck we can still turn this situation around for the good of us all. And with that said, I'd like to welcome our newest recruit to the Order. Miss Delacour, I am sure you will be a fine addition to our team. How are you settling in?"
"Well…" the quarter-Veela coughed from where she was sitting next to Bill. "Zis 'as been… difficult… to take in. But I zink… given what I saw yesterday… zat I can 'ardly just sit back and 'xcuse myself. I believed 'Arry about ze Dark Lord as soon as I 'eard about what 'appened to Zedric. I 'ave zought many a time what might 'ave 'appened if it 'ad been me zat touched ze Cup and was whisked off to zat Graveyard. I will gladly join zis fight."
"We're happy to have you on board," Arthur nodded with a smile.
"Yes…" Molly said slowly, eyeing how close together Bill and Fleur were sitting with a slightly peeved look. "Yes, we… certainly are."
"Good," Dumbledore nodded. "But now we must turn our attention to more… pressing matters. For it seems that the skirmish at the bank was not the only thing that happened last night."
"Is it Sirius?" Levy asked worriedly.
"Yes," Remus sighed heavily, looking particularly haggard as he picked up a copy of the Prophet and passed it to Levy. The blunette quickly donned her Gale-Force glasses and rushed through the front page of the newspaper in two seconds flat. She instantly gasped and cried, "Sirius has been caught along with two Fairy Tail members…!?"
"What?" several voices across the room yelled at once.
"Which ones?" Gray asked instantly.
"It doesn't give name, but it describes them as two women… one with brown hair… and one with red… and Evergreen is here that narrows the suspects down to two."
"Erza-san…" Juvia breathed.
"And Cana," Evergreen finished.
SLAM!
Several Order of the Phoenix members fell off their chairs as the entire dining room table splintered into fragments under the fists that had suddenly pounded into it, leaving Mavis hovering in the air once more. Veins had appeared in Gildart's forehead, his pupils almost narrowed into slits. The normally cool and placid man suddenly looked absolutely terrifying.
"My daughter," he growled, in a voice almost more primal than even Natsu's angriest tone. "They have my daughter as a prisoner?"
"And Erza and Sirius too," Lucy said. "How the heck did they manage to capture Erza?"
"It says here that they sent in Dementors to bring them down," Levy said. "Oh gods… I hate those things."
"Damn, no wonder Erza was taken," Gray hissed, his fist clenching so tightly he could have crushed rock in it. "The kind of shit that she's had to go through… the terrible things she's seen… and those Dementors bastards just made her relive all that! I'll kill them!"
"Where?" Gildarts asked. "Where… is my daughter?"
"Apparently they've been taken to Azkaban prison," said Kingsley. "I don't envy them… I've been there a few times and even from the outside its a terrible place."
"Take me there," Gildarts strode towards him through the wreckage of the table. "Take me there now."
"Gildarts, wait…" Molly started.
"If you think I'm going to leave Cana in the middle of a fortress full of soul-sucking demons for one second longer than necessary…" Gildarts interrupted, but Molly quickly interrupted him back, getting in front of him and placing her hands on his navel (as he was so tall she couldn't reach much higher without looking ridiculous).
"I know… believe me, I know how you feel. If it was my Ginny in there… or any of my sons for that matter then I would absolutely distraught… but you can't just go charging into Azkaban. It's full of the most dangerous criminals of all of Wizarding Britain! If you charge in there and destroy everything they could escape!"
"You do not understand," Gildarts shook his head firmly. "None of you can. Cana's eighteen years old, and I only found out she was my daughter five minutes before Acnologia descended on Tenroujima to attack us. For the first eighteen years of her life I never even knew I had a child. I was never there for her when she needed me, and when I finally promised to be a father to her she was ripped away from me again. Now I know where she is, and she's in possibly the worst place on this entire world. I will not sit on the sidelines while she is there."
"Nobody here doubts your love for your newfound daughter, Gildarts," Dumbledore spoke up. "But do you not remember what we were just talking about?"
"He's right," Mavis said as she stepped up next to Molly. "You gave your word there would be no more rashly charging in. And that includes now."
"You're suggesting we leave her there?" Gildarts said incredulously.
"Absolutely not," Mavis replied. "We will certainly rescue her. And Erza, and Sirius too. But we have to go about it in the right way."
Gildarts wrinkled his nose and relented, but he didn't relax even in the slightest. "Very well but I am going to Azkaban. I will not be left behind, not this time."
"Very well," said Dumbledore. "But I think you should be the only Fairy Tail mage that does."
"Why?" Juvia asked. "The rest of us want to rescue Erza-san and Cana-san too. Juvia considers them both dear friends… she can't just stay behind?"
"I'm afraid that I must insist you do," Dumbledore replied. "If a party is going to be sent on a rescue mission to Azkaban, it should be kept as small as possible. And let us not forget, it is not just your friends Erza and Cana that are particularly prone to the effects of Dementors."
"He's right about that," Levy shivered. She noticed Gajeel was looking at her and quickly stepped out of his line of sight behind Lucy.
"Agreed," Gray bit his lip hard, remembering well how vivid Deliora's roars had been in his ears after just five seconds of being near one before. Juvia placed a hand on his shoulder, and this time he didn't shrug her off, grateful for the comforting touch.
"It looks like this time will be a mission primarily for the Order," Kingsley said. "I would volunteer to take part myself, Dumbledore, but I am afraid I will be needed in the Ministry today. I was in charge of the hunt for Sirius… I'm going to have some explaining to do."
"Sirius is another top priority," Tonks nodded, looking physically ill and anyone who knew Dementors well could tell she was picturing what might happen at Sirius' upcoming execution. If that was the right word… after all he wouldn't die if a Dementor managed to suck his soul out. But for lack of a better word… that's what they were going with. "We have to figure out a way to get him out of there, no matter what. And he's scheduled to be executed in just a few hours!"
"And yet… how can we?" Lupin asked hoarsely. "The last time that Sirius was held captive, Fudge made the mistake of leaving him alone in his imprisonment which was what allowed Harry and Hermione to rescue him on the back of a hippogriff. He's not going to make that mistake again - Sirius will be under constant watch right up until the final moment… how can we hope to just… pull him out from under the Ministry's nose?"
"I don't know! But we have to… I'll turn traitor right in front of Fudge if its to get my cousin his freedom back."
"Now who's the one thinking of rushing in?" Gajeel smirked slightly. "I don't suppose you'll be wanting us to just run in there and bust him out like we did before, huh?"
"It would be best if that could be avoided I think," McGonagall nodded.
"Hmm…" That may be," Dumbledore said, running his hand over his beard thoughtfully. "But there is not going to be any way to rescue a man as heavily guarded as Sirius right in the middle of the Ministry of Magic itself… without a little drama unfolding, I suppose."
"What are you saying, Dumbledore?" Kingsley asked.
"I am saying that I might just have the beginnings of an idea," Dumbledore's eyes were twinkling again. "And this time… I would be asking for a little offworldly help."
"From us, you mean," noted Charla.
"What would you have us do?" Lucy asked immediately. "If there's any way we can help to rescue an innocent man, I think I speak for everyone here when I say we'll do it. Right guys?"
"Aye!" several of the mages cried, which made a far-off Happy sneeze and almost drop Natsu out of the sky.
"This time though, it will call for no small degree of subtlety if we want to do this right," Dumbledore replied. "Here is where my train of thought is heading…"
Harry had barely slept that night either for obvious reasons. The sun was coming up outside and while Neville, Seamus and Dean slept peacefully, he could only sit in his bunk, wringing his hands and hunching his shoulders. He was unable to focus on anything other than what might be happening to Sirius right now… effectively the only family he had left… on the run again.
Ron had stayed awake most of the night too, constantly supplying him with reassurances that didn't help ease Harry's worrying but did make him grateful that Ron was at least trying. But eventually the youngest Weasley brother had been too tired to continue and had nodded off with his face buried so deep in his pillow that if it wasn't for the constant rising and falling of his back to indicate his breathing that Harry would have thought he was dead.
To be honest, Harry knew there was little reason to worry. As Hermione had said, it was extremely unlikely they knew where Sirius had come out of the fire and he had spent two years on the run already. And of course the Ministry didn't know about his Animagus form. Surely Sirius, of all people, would be fine.
But that didn't stop Harry from worrying either.
Just as the clock was reaching seven in the morning, round about the time that the castle would begin to stir, the door to the boy's dormitory creaked open. Harry looked up immediately to see Hermione peaking through the gap. The bushy haired girl spotted that he was awake and hurriedly beckoned to him. Catching the urgency of her mannerism, Harry instantly guessed that it had something to do with Sirius and leapt out of bed, grabbing Ron's shoulder and shaking him as he passed.
"Hnngh… huh… what…?" Ron looked up sleepily, but it didn't take long for him too to realise what was happening and he almost fell out the bed in his efforts to follow.
Hermione led the boys down the stairs to the common room where Pantherlily and Charla were waiting for them on the table. Ginny, Fred and George were also already there.
"Where's Happy?" was the first thing Ron asked.
"Long story," Charla massaged her forehead with one paw. "But he's alright as far as we know."
"Did you find Sirius?" Harry whispered urgently, his knuckles turning white under the death grip he had on the back of a nearby chair.
"No… but we have news," Pantherlily said. "And we thought you should hear it from us before you read about it in the morning paper. It's… not good."
Harry's heart momentarily stopped. "He's been captured, hasn't he?"
"…Unfortunately yes," Charla said, to a sudden chorus of gasps and some particularly colourful expletives from the twins.
"This is my fault! I should have just told him it was too dangerous to talk through the fire!" Harry growled, furious with himself. "Has… Have they… done… it?"
"If by 'it' you mean given him over to the Dementors then… no, they have not done that yet," Charla replied. "It seems we lucked out in that regard - he was caught in the company of two of our own friends from our world. All three of them were taken prisoner, and they probably want to question him about that first. But 'it' is scheduled to happen at midday today."
"They want to question him?" Ginny asked quickly. "Well then… what if they give him Veritaserum? If they did that then maybe he could use that to tell them all that stuff about Wormtail? Surely they'd believe him then and maybe they'd let him off!"
"No, they won't use Veritaserum," Hermione shook her head.
"Why not?" Ron asked.
"Because it's not considered reliable enough," Hermione said. "Some people can resist its effects if they know how, especially if they know or at least suspect that they're going to be given it. That's why they don't just arrest people and force-feed it to them to find out whether they're guilty or not. If Sirius was given it and told them about Pettigrew, they'd just assume he was one of those who can resist it."
"So what… they'll just… question him for a while and then have his soul sucked out as soon as they're done with him?" Ron looked like he wanted to throw up.
"I'm sure Dumbledore will think of a way to get him out…" Hermione was unconsciously wringing her hands now. "I mean… he has to, right? He wouldn't just leave Sirius in the lurch?"
"I need to get to the Ministry of Magic," Harry said before either of the Exceed could reply, immediately turning and running for the portrait door.
"Harry! Harry, what are you doing?" Ginny shot to her feet.
"I'm not going to stay here while Sirius is in trouble," Harry declared as he hurried out, the others hot on his heels. "I'll hex my way through Umbridge and Fudge himself if I need to. But I am not going to lose him!"
"Harry, slow down!" Charla barked as she swung around in front of him, flaring her wings in his face to bring him to a halt. "Dear lord… do you always just rush in like this without a plan?"
"Usually… we kinda do, yes," Ron said.
"Well you'd make a very good fit in the Fairy Tail guild then," Pantherlily smirked wryly. "Only this time, we're listening to Dumbledore first. There is a plan, Harry. It's being put into motion as we speak."
"Then I want to be a part of it," Harry stated firmly. "I'm not going to just sit here. Not this time."
"Harry, you can't be a part of it," Hermione reasoned. "If you were seen in helping to rescue Sirius then they'd use it as an excuse to expel you and arrest you instantly. Lord knows, the Ministry's been looking for enough excuses to at least do the former already. You can't help him."
"Er… actually he can," Lily smirked.
Everyone turned to stare at the black cat with varying reactions. Ron and the twins looked nonplussed, Hermione incredulous and Harry… extremely surprised. He'd gotten so used to people telling him that he couldn't do anything but stay in school that suddenly being told the opposite almost sent him physically reeling.
"What?" he blinked.
"You can help," Charla said. "You're actually part of Dumbledore's plan. He's going to want you there at the execution."
"If it all works out," Lily nodded. "You'll have your own part to play in rescuing your godfather."
"But that's crazy!" Hermione squeaked. "Has Dumbledore lost his mind?!"
"Perhaps. Perhaps not," Lily said. "But this time he's calling on you, Harry. We need you there… but we also need something else from you too."
"What's that?" Harry asked, a little warily.
The black cat and held out a paw:-
"One of your hairs."
Rocks…
…An… awful lot of rocks…
That was the first thing that Lisanna saw when she opened her eyes. Her very much human eyes.
"Nnngh…" she moaned, pushing herself upwards and clutching at her head woozily, little bits of dirt and dust falling out of her white hair. "Wha… what happened?" she rubbed her eyes, blinking in an attempt to focus her vision. She appeared to be lying on a wide rocky ledge about halfway up a mountain, rugged hills and peaks stretching out around her for as far as she could make out. Her clothing was frayed and torn in some places, her head was pounding and there was an odd taste in her mouth. One that she couldn't quite seem to place.
Why was she here? She couldn't seem to remember a thing about how she'd got here… what was the last thing she could remember… Natsu doing something reckless… the goblins… the bank…
The dragons.
Lisanna gasped and sat up, her heart pounding as her mouth instantly went wide. She'd tried to do a Take-Over on a dragon… no… she had succeeded in doing a Take-Over on a dragon. But everything that had happened after that was a mess in her mind… some kind of blur… a jumble of thoughts she could only pick out parts of. Natsu roaring, plumes of flame, screaming goblins…
In a flash, she realised what had happened.
"I lost control…" she whispered. "Just like Elf-niichan did that time… I… became buried in the dragon's mind… oh no… oh gods…" she scrambled her way quickly to her feet. "Did I hurt anyone!? Are the others okay!? NATSU!? WENDY!?… JUVIA!? CHARLIE!? MOLLY!?… ANYONE!?"
She cupped her hands on either side of her mouth to scream for the others, but there was nothing… just her echoes bouncing off the cliffsides around her… and obviously this wasn't London. How far had she flown to get here? And… if she'd hurt… if she'd killed…
She clapped a hand to her mouth, her stomach heaving and she only just managed to stop herself from being sick at the thought. Was this how Elfman had felt two years ago? No, it couldn't be - he'd been absolutely sure that he had killed her back then. And if this was how Lisanna felt after not even knowing whether she had or not…
She'd always known her brother had felt terrible but to feel more terrible than this…?
But the shadow that fell across her interrupted her thoughts. Her head snapped up and she gasped at the gargantuan form that swooped overhead, beating its wings hard as it prepared to come in for a landing. The blast of wind it created with its wingbeats alone, knocking Lisanna off her feet with a yelp and she scrambled backwards across the ledge, backing into the wall of the mountain which seemed to shake as the beast landed on a larger ledge just below the one she was on, jolting Lisanna onto her back with the impact of its feet hitting rock.
The Take-Over Mage could only stare open mouthed in abject horror at the colossal Dragon before her. It was enormous, easily bigger than any of the ones she'd seen in Gringotts and possibly big enough to rival even Acnologia. Its thick scales were a dusty bronze colour, and seemed to cover its entire body, even its chest and underside which was different from the soft bellies of all the other dragons she'd seen in this world.
Its legs and shoulders were encrusted with smaller scales that looked like knobbly chain mail and its neck and back were covered in large ridges that ran all the way down to the tip of its thick tail which was tipped with several long, lethal looking spikes. It's wings were each the size of a marquee, with four long, skeletal bones that splayed out, thin skin stretched between them to form a massively wide surface area while a single claw jutted out from each the joint they all connected to, exactly like a bat's wing. And as they folded into its sides, the dragon stepped forward. Lisanna's ledge only came up to just below its shoulders so it still towered over her and bathed her in its shadow as it peered down at her.
Lisanna could only stare, transfixed, at its head. It had three distinctive short horns at the back that looked a bit like a crown from a certain angle, and had several much, much smaller horns over each eye which almost made it look like it had eyebrows. Its nose was rounded and blunt with two gaping nostrils and its large eyes had golden irises that locked onto her like a pair of headlights on a frozen deer.
In spite of her terror, Lisanna couldn't help but think this was a truly magnificent animal.
But then it opened its jaws, revealing row upon row of viciously pointed teeth within. She heard the dragon sucking in a breath through its nose and she instantly clamped her eyes shut, waiting for the inevitable deluge of fire that would engulf her and end her life.
"Greetings, Lisanna Strauss."
…Huh?
Lisanna's eyes snapped open, staring incredulously at the dragon, who was now smirking. Yes, smirking! It's mouth had curled into an amused grin that was almost human-like and its chest and neck shook as a breezy chuckle escaped from its throat. The voice had been smooth and steady, rather rich actually, and it seemed to wash over Lisanna's ears like she'd been dunked in a tank of pure wisdom.
"I apologise for my abrupt entrance, but I grew hungry waiting for you to wake up," the dragon said.
A million and one questions exploded into Lisanna's mind, but all she could seem to find the ability to say was… "Eh?"
The dragon laughed again. "Oh, it's been too long since I've spoken to someone new. Yes, I rather think I will find this very refreshing. As I said, greetings, Lisanna. My name is Kilgharrah… and I think we have quite a lot to discuss."