:-[Chapter 54]-:
"For the next duel," Dumbledore started. "I would like to ask Miss Susan Bones from Hufflepuff and Mister Harry Potter from Ravenclaw to take their positions for the next duel of the second-years."
This time, the crowd exploded in whispers, hearing the name of the Boy-Who-Lived. Amelia Bones, who was in the stands to assist the second-phase tournament surrounded by her security force of Aurors, was actively encouraging her niece, who blushed intensely under the attention.
"Ignore them, Susan. Concentrate on me." Harry said to his friend.
"You're right, Harry." Susan nodded. Let's do this!" she finished with a confident smile.
:-[T.A.B]-:
Sirius was looking absently at the Marauder's Map while waiting for Harry's duel. Looking at the piece of parchment was a nostalgic trip for sure. So many memories of inspecting the entire castle for secret passages with his Gryffindor friends. So many times, they were caught, while wishing to have something that could have warned them.
"You seem heavily nostalgic, looking at that map, Black." Morris said, sitting beside him.
"You would be too if you knew what this map means to me. Me and my friends have passed so many hours making this it's incredible to have it after all this time. Maybe with this, Harry will..." Sirius was saying before coming to an abrupt stop, his voice choking in his throat.
Peter Pettigrew's name had just appeared on the map, in the Divination Tower.
"William, do you see what I see, here?"
"Jesus fucking Christ." the Native-American gasped. "Let's go. Dimitriov, you come with us. Samuels, you stay with Harry Potter, watch his back in case something happens."
"Yes, yes! Let's bloody go!" Sirius said, a hint of madness in his eyes at the idea of catching the little rat traitor.
"Sirius wait, we need a witness for this. We can't just storm through the castle doing what we want. The Head of the DMLE is right there and we have probable cause that a mass murderer is in the school. Regardless of your case against the man, the children are the priority here. Think about Harry, please." Morris said.
"Fine! You get her and I'll..."
"No! You need to fucking think, Black! That is exactly what put you in fucking prison in the first place! Wait here, I'll get Bones first and you can follow."
Sirius grumbled harshly against his bodyguard but otherwise listened to him. He went to wait for Amelia and William at the Great Hall's massive gates. He only waited a couple of minutes, but it felt like an eternity. Dimitriov had to put a hand on his shoulder to make him stop jumping in place.
"Do not worry, Black. We'll find the man." said the Russian man, in his thick accent.
Amelia arrived with two Aurors besides her and William Morris, who was armed with his metal staff inlaid with runes. She looked pretty mad at the moment.
"I do hope this is for a good reason, Mister Black." Amelia started. "My niece is about to start her duel against, must I remind you, your own godson?"
"I know Amelia but look here! This is the Marauder's Map, and it can show anyone in the castle."
"Okay, and?" the Auror said impatiently, tapping her foot on the stone ground.
"Look!" Sirius said hurriedly, pointing out the name Peter Pettigrew, seemingly with Professor Trelawney in the Divination Tower.
"Are you sure about this, Sirius?" the redhead asked. "I've never heard of this map, what is it?"
"I'll explain everything once we get there. Can we just go? Harry will easily forgive me if I bring him the reason his parents are dead." the ex-prisoner of Azkaban said.
"Very well. Weber, Phillips, stay here to protect the students in case something happens. You will speak with the faculty and tell them what is going on." Amelia ordered, before seeing the hurried look on Sirius' face. "Sirius, there is over a thousand children with all their families right here in the Great Hall, I must think about them too."
"Fine! But you and I can go first! We both know where the tower is, and they can follow us, especially McGonagall in her cat form."
"Go, boss. We'll handle security here, you have my word." the one called Weber said. "If there is truly a mass murderer here, the priority is to capture him as soon as possible and get him out of Hogwarts."
Amelia simply nodded at her Auror and grabbed Sirius by the shoulder, looking deep into his pale eyes. "Sirius, I am trusting you on this. Let's go."
"Oh, and be careful about a rat escaping through here! Pettigrew is an illegal Animagus." Sirius said before finally following Amelia Bones out of the Great Hall.
:-[T.A.B]-:
"Expelliarmus! Rictusempra!" the young girl casted towards Harry who managed to easily move himself out of the way of the bright coming lights.
The young wizard counterattacked with his own Disarming Charm, but to no avail. The redheaded witch was quick on her feet, making her tough to hit. Harry needed to find a way to make her stop moving.
"Aguamenti! Glacius! Glacius!" Harry casted in quick succession. The first spell hit Susan everywhere, and she was now wet from head to toe. The first of the Freezing spell hit the young Hufflepuff on her leg while the second hit her on her arm that didn't hold her wand.
"Incendio!" the Bones Heiress incanted on her frozen leg, freeing her of the ice in an instant. "Expelliarmus!" she quickly counterattacked but missed due to Harry bending his knees.
"You're quick, Harry. Just as good as my Aunt Amy told me." Susan complimented while holding her guard up.
"Thank, you. Likewise, Susan." Harry said, doing the same as her. He didn't wait any longer, casting multiple offensive spells, effectively making her lose her balance and she fell on her knees. "Expelliarmus!" he casted. The red beam of light went straight to Susan and hit her, effectively making her lose her wand that was immediately caught by Harry.
"Bloody hell, Harry. You're fast. I give up, I cannot do wandless magic, yet." Susan said, lifting her arms above her head.
"Winner, Harry Potter, by Disarming Charm!" Professor Flitwick said, his voice barely audible over the roar of the crowd for their Boy-Who-Lived.
It was then that something even louder was heard. The upper part of the Divination Tower exploded in smoke.
:-[T.A.B]-:
Sirius, Amelia, William and Dimitriov were running the fastest their legs could move them. The ex-prisoner of Azkaban was leading the group, having the most motivation. The very few students that didn't attend the tournament were quickly forced to get out of the way of the four running adults.
The Lord of the House of Black never felt so close to capturing Peter. This time, surely. This time, he had the Head of DMLE with him, Amelia Bones and William Morris, the leader of the Ashen Hippogriff following him.
Arriving at the Divination Tower, they waited impatiently for the ladder to magically descend.
"Never liked this class." Sirius grumbled, starting to make his way up said ladder before getting stopped by William with a hand on his shoulder. "What!?" he whisper-shouted.
"We need to be quiet. If Pettigrew is really there, he doesn't need to hear us coming. Director Bones, can you cast a spell for our footsteps and the sound of our voices?" Morris asked the woman.
"Already done, Mister Morris." Bones answered, finishing her wand movements, making the Native-American nod in her direction.
"Dimitriov, you stay here in case something happens. Cover our backs. Sirius, Director Bones and I are going up the ladder. Let's move."
Amelia, Dimitriov and Sirius didn't say anything but listened to the man. Two of them were under his orders but the first was about to give the exact same order, which was the reason why she kept to herself, impressed at the man's quick logic.
Sirius was the first up the ladder, refusing all together with a simple look to be second or Merlin forbid, third. The man looked at the map once again, confirming that Peter was still in Trelawney's office. Both their names still were. Sirius helped the others to clamber into the classroom while keeping an eye on the map.
"He is still here." Sirius confirmed.
"Let's go." William said, holding his staff with both hands.
Sirius watched as Amelia casted other spells silently on them, effectively making them silent to any sound. William was beside him a determined look upon his face. They all nodded to each other and slammed the door open, making the professor inside gasp in fright.
"What is this!" Trelawney exclaimed in an overly dramatic tone. "Who dare..."
"Shut up you old bat!" Sirius yelled. "Peter, where are you, you filthy rat?" he finished by casting the human-presence-revealing spell. Only a small glow appeared, hiding behind a pile of books laying everywhere.
"Accio rat!" Amelia casted but said rat only hit the books between them and thus freeing himself out of the spell. The rodent tried running everywhere but to no avail.
Suddenly, the rat jumped into the air, trying to escape, but was hit by the Animagus reversal spell sent by Sirius. He was a very short man, even shorter than Samuels. His thin, colourless hair was unkempt and there was a large bald patch on top. He had the shrunken appearance of a plump man who has lost a lot of weight in a short time. His skin looked grubby, almost like Scabbers's fur, and something of the rat lingered around his pointed nose and his very small, watery eyes.
"Peter Pettigrew. We finally see each other again." Sirius snarled, a hint of madness in his eyes. "You will pay for everything you have done in your miserable life."
Peter however didn't waste time speaking. Quicker than his three opponents could react, the rat Animagus swiftly took a wand out of his sleeve and casted yet again the strongest spell he knew in his repertoire.
"Bombarda Maxima!"
All hell broke loose.
:-[T.A.B]-:
William Morris had trained all his life to fight against wizards and witches. His style of fighting has raised a lot of eyebrows, even within his own soldiers. The Ashen Hippogriffs were his pride and joy but even after these many years of fighting, the man had a never-ending fight in front of him, due to who he was.
The speed with which Pettigrew cast his spell took him completely by surprise. Only his many years of training with his metal staff saved him. The beam of light was coming straight at him. Using his inlaid runes metal staff, the Native-American deflected the spell in the air towards the window which was luckily open.
The Bombardment spell was effectively deviated into the open sky without damage to the castle. What William didn't see coming was the two other spells of the same kind that Pettigrew casted afterwards and silently.
The first spell hit Sirius's Shield Charm, absorbing part of the spell's power. The second hit the wall behind them, propelling rocks and debris everywhere within the room. Amelia, even though she had her shield up, was propelled towards the opposite wall and hit her head violently on it, making her lose consciousness. Sirius and William were on the ground, trying to regain their senses but to no avail. Their heads were spinning and all they could hear was a high-pitched whistling sound.
Nobody was able to stop Peter from returning to his rat form with the help of the wand that he had. The little rodent managed to successfully hide when Dimitriov arrived and saw his client, boss and Head of the DMLE on the ground, the latter completely knocked-out and bleeding. Pettigrew fled towards the ladder while the Russian was casting first-aid spells on the four adults.
"Dimi..triov... don't...let... him...leave..." Sirius begged before losing consciousness in turn.
:-[T.A.B]-:
Remus didn't believe it at all. Peter in the castle, and by chance, at the same time as Sirius. It was like a badly written joke. When the Divination Tower exploded, creating a shockwave that resonated within the entire castle, he wasn't so sure anymore.
Some students in the Great Hall screamed in fright while the many parents tried to reassure them. The professors present all had their wands at the ready, prepared to defend the students. Albus Dumbledore was at the forefront, his magical aura flaring hard and demanding the attention of all in the stands.
"Everyone please. Stay calm and inside the Great Hall. Aurors Weber and Philips are already on their way to the tower with Deputy Headmistress McGonagall herself to see what is going on." the old man asked with his grandfatherly voice.
"Why didn't you go yourself, Headmaster Dumbledore?" Lucius Malfoy said, his voice pompous and holding his son close to him. "I would have thought that your place would be in the middle of significant events."
"Not when the majority of the student population is already here. Hogwarts' wards are operational. No one can Apparate away within the castle's ground. I will protect the Great Hall in case of something..."
Albus didn't have the time to complete his sentence before a beautiful silvery cat appeared out of nowhere and flew towards him.
"Albus, the tower is safe. Prepare portkeys enough for three people to St Mungo's and call the Aurors."
:-[T.A.B]-:
Susan was panicking. Her Aunt Amy was nowhere to be seen, same for the two Aurors accompanying her. Hannah was attempting to calm her down but to no avail. It took Neville and his soft words of encouragement for the young redheaded witch to finally calm down.
"What is going on? Where is Aunt Amy?" the young girl asked for the umpteenth time.
"I don't know, Susan." Harry said, patiently. "Sirius is not here either and he left with the Ashen Hippogriffs, leaving only Samuels here." he finished, pointing at the man right behind him.
"Not by personal choice, let me tell you kid. Take no offences, but my boss is up there, and I have no news either." the mercenary said roughly.
"None taken, Samuels." the young raven-haired boy nodded to the Russian. "I appreciate you looking over us and I understand your feelings. I don't know what is going on either."
"Something is wrong." Luna said, the only Hogwarts' Champion yet. "It is like with my mummy. I-I can feel it."
"What do you mean, Luna?" Harry asked kindly. He knew it was a tough subject for the young blonde.
"Something terrible has happened. Someone is dead, I can feel it in my bones."
"Dead? Who, Luna?" Susan inquired, on the verge on panicking.
"I'm sorry, Susan, I don't know." the Lovegood Heiress answered, tears forming on the border of her eyes.
:-[T.A.B]-:
Poppy Pomfrey was in what you could call a warzone. There were no other words for it. Rocks and debris littered the ground. Fortunately, no students were in the vicinity when the explosion occurred, be they inside the castle or outside which was why she was called directly to the scene and to the patients.
Blood was everywhere. Due to his long black hair tucked in a ponytail, Poppy recognized William Morris, the leader of the Ashen Hippogriff, on the ground, softly groaning. Casting multiple spells on the man, she raised her eyebrows high in the air seeing the result but otherwise didn't say anything as the man wasn't in immediate danger.
"How is he, Madam Healer?" Dimitriov asked, worry evident in his voice.
"He will be fine once we are at St Mungo's. Excuse me, I need to inspect the others."
She then went to Sirius Black, as he was closer. The man was completely out and severely bleeding from the head. The same went for Amelia Bones. She had the side of her head completely covered in blood and was losing it fast.
"Bladsy!" she immediately called out loud.
"Madam Pomfrey wants Bladsy." a house-elf dressed in all white said, suddenly appearing beside the healer, Dimitriov and McGonagall.
"Bring me Blood-Replenishing potions right now. Enough for two male adults and one female adult."
The house-elf didn't answer the Healer's order to save time. The male house-elf reappeared with the three potions a couple of seconds later and gave them to Madam Pomfrey who was still chanting spell after spell on the three downed magicals.
"Oh dear, Poppy... there is a fourth body here under the rubble. It's Sybil." Minerva said, gasping in shock.
The healer immediately went to see for herself after making sure her three patients were out of immediate danger. When she arrived to where her college was laying on the ground behind her desk, she noted her death. It was then Poppy noticed the transfiguration professor send her cat Patronus to the Headmaster.
"Mister Dimitriov. I know I have no authority whatsoever on you, but could you possibly go and alert the Aurors downstairs about the state of their Director?"
The Russian man nodded, knowing he couldn't do anything at the moment for his boss. He patted William's shoulder twice and went to do what the Deputy Headmistress asked of him.
"What could possibly have happened here?" Pomfrey muttered, mainly to herself, before going back to the three patients still alive, a lonely tear falling from her cheek.
:-[T.A.B]-:
Healer Li from St Mungo's couldn't believe it. Reports of an attack on Hogwarts itself were pouring in and the Healers on the clock were told to expect many injures coming from the Portkey zone. Never before, an attack on the castle had happened in its history and now, the entire top of the Divination Tower was apparently demolished.
Three pairs of people suddenly appeared in the zone, half of them covered in blood and dust. Immediately, Konan went to the closest and what she saw made her stop right in her tracks. Sirius Black, the infamous wizard was back in her charge. She casted multiple spells on the man, to do her own prognosis.
"I see the work of Poppy Pomfrey on him. She already stabilized him and gave him a Blood-Replenishing Potion." Healer Li said, sure of herself.
"Same here. Director Bones, however has a skull fracture and is in critical condition. We need to bring her in the ward as soon as possible." another Healer, a man said, before levitating the woman into the air and leaving quickly.
"This man needs care also." the third Healer confirmed before doing the same.
Konan took care of Sirius with the help of another Healer who didn't mind helping the infamous man. After making sure that the blood stopped flowing, Healer Li brought Sirius into a private room. Once inside, both healers started casting many spells to make sure they didn't miss anything.
"He looks fine, Konan." said the second Healer. "I think we can revive him."
"I agree. Rennervate." Healer Li said, casting a red light on Sirius, making his eyes flutter.
"Peter!" the man gasped weakly.
"There is no Peter here, Mister Black." Konan said, her voice soothing. "Please calm yourself."
"Wh-Where... Where is Harry? Is he safe?"
"You mean your godson? I do not know Mister Black." Healer Li confessed sadly. "Only three people, you included have appeared in the Portkey zone. No children were among you all."
"W-What... What about Morris? And Amelia?"
"I can't say, Mister Black, but I'll go get that information when I know that you are out of danger. Please, relax and close your eyes while me and my partner are making sure of that, okay?"
"With pleasure, Healer Li." Sirius said coyly.
Nobody saw the little beetle in the corner of the room, one with distinctive marks on its ugly head.
:-[T.A.B]-:
:-[November 1st, Sunday, 1992]-:
TERROR AT HOGWARTS
By Rita Skeeter
On Halloween yesterday, the second part of the Dueling Tournament commenced. This reporter was sent by the Daily Prophet in the hope of interviewing our future champions. The events of the day, however, were far more dramatic than what we could imagine.
Leaving in the middle of the tournament, just before his godson, Harry Potter even began his duel, the infamous Lord Sirius Black, brought with him the Director of the DMLE and two of his mercenaries that he calls bodyguards into the depths of Hogwarts aways from the events. This reporter found it suspicious that Lord Black would simply leave the Great Hall, so I followed them.
They led me towards the Divination Tower, where Lord Black couldn't stop talking about Peter Pettigrew, the man thought to be dead for eleven years. I could see the others were not as convinced as the man but for an unknown reason, they still followed him.
When they arrived at the tower, they climbed up and this reporter didn't have to wait a long time before she heard screams coming from inside. Hell broke loose when I heard the biggest explosion in all of my life that still resonates in my head at the moment while I write these lines.
The results, dear readers are atrocious. This reporter has the immense regret to announce the death of Sybil Trelawney, Professor of Divination at Hogwarts for more than ten years. The cause? This reporter was able to hear multiple Bombardment Spells but the Aurors on scene didn't find the wand that had perpetrated the crime. Every wands, even the one of the Director were inspected and each wand only shows various defensive spells. Madam Trelawney's own wand wasn't found at the crime scene.
The Dueling Tournament was postponed for the duration of the investigation and castle's reparation. For the results, only first-year Loony Lovegood, daughter of the strange Xenophilius Lovegood, self-proclaimed magizoologist, has won the first round.
In summary, dear reader, we have a Director in a coma, two mercenaries who cannot do their jobs and a Lord who thinks he can do anything.
For more details, please follow this reporter in the Daily Prophet.
:-[T.A.B]-:
:-[Author note: And we have our first death in the Harry Potter universe, Sybill Trelawney! Next chapter: Harry V Draco!]-:
Thank you everyone for reading Chapter 54 of The adventure begins! Please let a review in the comment, letting me know what you think about my story or what you would like to see.
Criticism is always welcome as long as it is constructive.
Thank you to abarai72 for his amazing help in developing this story!
To 22: Hey my man! Thank you again for reading. What did you did of the multiple twists during this chapter?
To joharasbel: Thank you!
To stargate-sg1sg1: It will show in the coming adventures, but for now, Harry doesn't really mind it. Sure, he thinks about Sura and his child, but he know he was in a simulation. Thank you so much for you review! Please tell me what you think about this one!
To ExplodingBlitz: Sadly, Sirius wasn't quick enough for him to catch the little rat, but it isn't over!
To Blaze1992: Little hint for you my friend, wait for next chapter and you'll see! Harry vs Draco!