Chapter Five

Back to Halloween night,

One hour before Choosing

Fourth Flour Hogwarts

"Get in there you freak!"

"Yeah, maybe your imaginary friends can help you, you freak!"

Why? Luna was huddled on the floor of an abandoned classroom with her legs hunched up to her chest, her arms around them while trying to maintain her serene face. This was being severely tested as Cho Chang, Marietta Edgecombe and Maisy Turner took turns with clothes-shredding charms, nasty stinging hexes and just their hands to rid her of her clothes and leave awful welts and bruises on every exposed bit of skin they could find. And considering her state of undress, just her undergarments, that was a lot of exposed, chilly skin.

Luna Lovegood knew she was a little different. Her mother had talked to her about what she saw, how she saw the world, when she was little. Before the accident. Luna knew that she was seeing peoples' auras, and that the little creatures she saw everyday weren't part of the everyday wizarding world.

After what was probably six minutes, but felt like thirty to the young girl, the bullies seemed to tire of getting no reaction from her, so with one last quick jinx they left, laughing.

Luna stood up and rushed to the door as they closed it behind them, but just as she reached it, she heard Cho's voice cry out "Duro!" and she felt the doorknob turn to stone. Slamming the door in frustration, tears finally spilling out of her eyes and running down her cheeks, she tried the door one last time, but since it was stone, the lock was broken. Sinking down into the corner of the dusty room, trying to warm her shivering body, Luna tried to figure out why they did this to her.

Why did they do that to her? She had never done anything to them, all she was trying to do was clear the nargles from the bookshelf in the common room.

Luna Lovegood knew she was a little different. Her mother had talked to her about what she saw, how she saw the world, when she was little. Before the accident…

Luna knew that she was seeing peoples' auras, and that the little creatures she saw everyday weren't part of the everyday wizarding world. It was a part of her heritage from her mothers' side of the family. But what she also knew was that it was a rare gift, and so she played the part of "Looney" very well to not arouse attention from people who would use her gift for worse things. Too well, she thought, wiping the tears on her cheek away with the back of her wrist, that she completely forgot to be aware of her surroundings, and the result of her acting had led to, well…

Poor Luna hated this. This was now the fourth time that Chang and co. had humiliated her and shoved her away in an abandoned room of the castle. This was the first time though, that she had been stone-locked into the room. And they had taken her wand from her, leaving her completely trapped, only one dirigible plum earring and her undergarments left on her small frame.

The worst part was, was that she was going to miss out on watching the Tournament Choosing Ceremony. Speaking of…

The time in the room seemed frozen, as Luna was the only moving thing in it, so the time that passed while she was trying to calm down was unnoticed. What was noticed, about a half hour after she had been locked-in, was the light pulse of a fiery magic, coming from a few floors below.

Luna only noticed the magic when she stopped shivering. Somehow, even she didn't know how, the magic coming up was a warm wash of power, a feeling she had gotten while watching the of-age students put their names into the Goblet over the past day or so. She smiled, at least she would now know what was happening downstairs.

Now that she could at least feel when the selections were made, Luna relaxed a little bit, the warmth of the Goblet of Fires' magic heating her a little, and the part of the room that she was in, so she settled back against the wall a bit more and waited.

One pulse, two, then three, all a little staggered apart, all of which warmed her but those three weren't the surprising part. Luna's ability to feel magic, while above ordinary than the rest of the Hogwarts student body, was not prepared for what came next.

She had assumed, correctly, that those three would be the three Champions being chosen, and after that she thought the fire would fade away, leaving her in the cold again. Nope.

About fifteen seconds after the third wave of magic, just when Luna thought the magic was going to fade away, another fiery wave, this one slightly stronger than the last three. It was strong enough to heat her up enough for her to sweat a little bit, but only for a second.

Luna knew that something was about to happen, some sort of intuition or seer blood in her, she didn't know how, but she then unfolded her body and sat in the lotus position just like her mum had shown her when she was younger and started to send out her magic slowly.

In doing this, she could feel some of the major magical auras throughout the castle. Feeling out the magic around her, and expanding it outwards, she could feel the people who were in the Great Hall, specifically the headmasters' magic, as well as the fiery magic of the Goblet.

She had felt those sort of magics before, during the normal school day, but two of the tendrils of magic were different. One was in Headmaster Dumbledore's office, almost a ball-like spot of intense magic, the other almost blinded her senses, it was that strong. Just like the fourth wave from the Goblet though, it only lasted about a minute. Luna watched it expand outward and upward, reaching up to the ball of magic in the headmaster's office, and just as it connected-

Luna gasped as her eyes flew open. When the magic connected it had been so powerful that the magic had knocked her out of her trance. She quickly centred herself again, trying to chase the magic that had reached her, but it was fading fast. She managed to memorise the feel of it though, trying to save it in her memory, so she would know who it belonged to. With how strong the magic was, it was strong enough to knock her out of her mage sight state, which meant they must be beyond powerful, someone of extreme importance within the magical world. Someone who was a leader almost, perhaps even, a ruler? She would only find out after she left, whenever she escaped from the room, however.

Who knew when she would be rescued again…hopefully it was one of the elves, and not a teacher of Filtch, that would be horrible and embarrassing. Maybe that adorable little elf with the mix-matched socks would come by again, he always helped her when he saw her. Maybe…

Luna slowly drifted off to sleep against the wall of the classroom, not feeling the warmth of the magic still surrounding her, nor the slight glow that was gently fading in and out of visibility over her skin, keeping her safe for the night.

Early morning November First

Sirius POV

The fog was slowly rolling through the streets of London as a silenced and disillusioned Hippogriff gradually glided into Grimmauld Place, stopping across the street from Number 11 and Number 13.

Seeing as it was just past midnight, there was no one out and about, but the rider of the majestic creature still checked his surroundings carefully before dismounting and guiding the animal up the path, thinking of Number 12, and waiting for the townhouse to materialise before climbing the few dilapidated stairs up to the door.

At the top of the stairs, using the borrowed wand he had lifted while on the run, the fugitive lifted the spells hiding him and Buckbeak from sight. Sirius then took out the small knife he had been carrying since he left Hogwarts, and after checking his surroundings again, quickly sliced his palm deep enough for blood to pool in his hand, before wiping his blood onto the front door. This allowed him to feel the wards of the house as they transferred to him, before he spoke.

"I am the Lord Black, I claim this house as mine, so mote it be."

After saying that, he felt the final parts of the wards transfer to him, as well as the Lord's ring appear on the ring finger of his right hand. His hand had also healed after the door took the blood payment, so he didn't need to worry about healing it himself.

Leading Buckbeak over the threshold into the house, Sirius walked into the hallway. He didn't get more than halfway however before the screech of his banshee-like mother's voice started screeching at him from what looked like a portrait of her on the wall.

"YOU! HOW DARE YOU ENTER THIS HOUSE! YOU SHOULD BE DEAD! YOU BLOOD-TRAITOR! ABOMINATION OF MY WOMB! YOU AND THAT FILTHY CREATURE NEED TO LEAVE NOW! HOW DARE Y-"

She was cut off in more ways than one, as since she had insulted Buckbeak with that horrid voice of hers, Sirius had stepped aside with a smirk on his face to lean against the dusty fading wallpaper to allow Buckbeak the room to move. When he did, well…

There's a reason you don't insult Hippogriff's. As soon as the word filthy had left her mouth in regard to Buckbeak, he had run forward the few steps to the portrait and reared up as much as the tight hallway would allow, before lashing out with his razor sharp and magically enhanced talons, to completely rip Walburga Black's portrait into shreds. Kinda put Sirius's attack on the Fat Lady's portrait at Hogwarts a year ago to shame, really.

The instant that Buckbeak's talons had penetrated the canvas of the portrait, it went immediately silent in the dingy hallway. Buckbeak stepped back a pace, ruffling his feathers in anger while Sirius stood behind him, stunned, and started to clap slowly, in awe of the magnificent creature in front of him.

Clap, clap, clap.

"Buckbeak, my good man, that, was incredible!" Sirius exclaimed in his drawling voice.

The Hippogriff seemed to preen a bit at the praise, tossing his head back and almost having a grin on his beak.

"Well, how about we head- "

"NOOOOooooooo!" Both the Lord and Hippogriff's head turned toward the portrait again, but this time the long-drawn-out wail of anguish had come from a house elf that had popped in front of it and was now wailing and banging his head on the floor of the dingy hallway.

"NO! My Mistress, who dares! Kreacher shall have revenge for my Mistress! He shall!" Kreacher turned to the other occupants of the hallway and blindly lunged out, but Buckbeak – who was already angry at the portrait, plus very hungry after the long flight from the Black Island in the middle of the Black Sea – quickly stooped down and, quite disgustingly, bit Kreacher's head clean off, resulting in a spray of blood on the carpet and Buckbeak's feathers and fur. Sirius stood there bewildered and disgusted, as the body of the house elf fell onto the carpet, and he heard a crunch from Buckbeak which made his stomach turn a bit. Sirius stayed back as Buckbeak finished his meal, ripping the horrendous loin cloth from the elf's body before crunching his way to eating it all.

Still slightly revolted, Sirius waited for Buckbeak to finish then just lead the creature up the three flights of stairs to the top floor and into his mother's old room. When they arrived up there, after Sirius dismantled no less than three hexes on the stairs and two curses on the landings, plus a trick banister that would have pulled any who touched it into the wall behind it, the new Lord Black untied the rope around his friend and let the Hippogriff explore the room.

Sirius left Buckbeak surrounded in feathers and fluff as the Hippogriff ripped and shredded the bed and pillows to make a suitable nest for himself, and laid down to sleep off his, unexpected, meal.

Sirius shut the door behind him softly and shook himself.

"Well," he muttered to himself, "That wasn't how I expected that to go. But good riddance!" And he walked down the flight of stairs to what used to be the Heir suite and into his old room.

With a wave of his wand and a few air-freshening charms, he flopped onto his old bed and sank into the mattress. Pulling the cover over himself, he promised he would write to Harry and let him know he was back in the country and that he was safe. He didn't think that there would be much else that Harry would be worried about…right? And he fell asleep, with dreams about headless house elves serving hippogriffs with crowns on their heads flitting around his brain.