263Chapter 15: Pasts Fought
Chapter 15
Pasts Fought
James paced nervously around his living room. It has been a week since he sent the letter to Sirius and Remus, and still no reply. Snuffles meowed as he curled around James' leg, searching for attention. He looked down and bent to pet him. Then, there was a pecking at the window. Confused, yet hopeful, James looked up at the window to see a barn owl waiting outside. He opened the window and let the owl fly into the room. There was a letter attached to its leg, and James unrolled it easily as the owl pecked at a small dish of owl treats. The owl waited, as if for James' reply, so he sat down and unrolled the letter.
James
It's been a while hasn't it? Remus and I were really surprised that you sent this, but alright. We're coming. Expect us an hour after the owl arrives. If we plan this out right, hehe.
Sirius
As soon as James read the letter, he looked up at the owl, a sense of happiness surge in him. That was Sirius' owl! "An hour," he said. He figured that Sirius and Remus does not need a reply, but wrote one just in case. It took him five minutes to write one, and tied it to the owl. As soon as the owl left his home, James sat down in one armchair, feeling pleasant, the nervousness overwhelming him again. Then, two minutes later, his fireplace surged into life, green fire flaring from the logs as two grown wizards stepped through. James recognized them immediately as Sirius and Remus brushed the ashes off of their cloaks. "Here we are, right on time," Sirius smiled as he looked around.
"You're early," James couldn't help but drawl. "Fifty minutes early."
"But who's counting?" Sirius grinned, ignoring the awkwardness that fell between the old friends. He looked at James as he got up. "You uhh look good James," he said.
"So do you," James nodded. "R-Remus."
"You wanted to tell us something? That you needed our help?" Remus asked, sounding awkward as he looked around James' living room.
"Yeah," James sighed. "Sit-sit, this'll take awhile."
Sirius and Remus looked worried as they sat down in a nearby sofa as James sat in his armchair. He looked at his old friends, not knowing where or how to begin. He looked confused, grasping at straws in his head as he thought of the best point to begin. Miraculously, as if sensing his master's desperation, Snuffles came running in and jumped onto the mantle.
"You got a cat," Sirius said.
"Yeah… Snuffles," James said a bit stiffly. Sirius snickered and James looked at him.
"I knew you didn't forget about us," Sirius smirked. "See Remus? He named the cat after me."
"I see," Remus nodded, he turned his attention back to James and said a bit more softly, "What is it you wanted to tell us?"
"Well… where should I begin?" James sighed. He looked up at his old friends, and stayed quiet, trying to find a place to begin. Sirius and Remus waited patiently, Sirius taking to watch Snuffles as James thought, lost in thoughts. Then, after he was sure he got the jumbled pieces of his memory together, James began to talk.
"This began… with my parents. Mostly my mother. You know how they were always sweet to us right? And that they treated you Sirius, like a second son? Well, as loving as they were… they were also hateful. Not like the snobbish Malfoys or their lot, but still hateful in their own way. I never told you this, but when they learned that you two were umm snogging… mum had some choice words to say about it. They didn't say anything because you guys are… were my best mates, but still… Anyway, she and dad didn't like guys… kissing. Or even holding hands. Remember those girls they showed us at our seventh year? Those sisters? That was because they saw you and Remus kissing in our backyard. I've locked the portraits in the basement if you want to ask them.
"Anyway… umm something happened in fifth year, well the summer before it. You see, there was this muggle, I forgot their name, I don't even think it matters. Anyway, this muggle, he was our age, and this was all before me and Lily got together, I remember that he used to roam around. Somehow, he got near the Potter Manor, and pass our Anti-Muggle charms. Maybe he was a Squib, doesn't matter, but he came to Potter Manor where he, well he caught me practicing magic. I was scared that he was going to scream or something, but instead he was completely amazed. He asked me to perform some more spells, so being the cocky boy I was of course I did, showing off the strongest and hardest spells I knew. He was completely entranced; it was awesome during the time.
"After I showed off, we got to talking, and he kept visiting over and over again. Obviously we made sure not to let my parents know, who knows what would happen if they knew their only son was talking to a strange Muggle/Squib. Probably be nice to him, until they know what we were umm doing. You see, the more he came over, the closer we got. It wasn't anything serious, God no, we were only fifteen, and nothing serious happens when you're fifteen. We didn't do much at all, it was just two blokes hanging out. One showing off his magic, and the other truly awed and inspired by it. It was always on Potter grounds so the Trace never went off. Sometimes he showed me these lame Muggle tricks that I pretend to find amusing, but other than that we just hung around. Then, one day the Squib, I'm pretty sure he was a Squib thinking back on it, maybe he had a Squib parent and a Muggle one, who knows, anyway he just went up to me one day and kissed me. Right on the lips, first one. It was weird, but we both liked it, and again this was before Lily and I and I honestly didn't felt any of that serious stuff towards the guy, I just liked kissing him. So we started kissing. After we talk, or hung out as I make sticks dance, we would just start randomly kissing.
"But unfortunately, while we were kissing we were usually focusing on the other person that we forget to check that we were alone. One day, he was on top of me and we were kissing, fully clothed Sirius, don't give me that look! One day we were busy snogging when… mum walked in on us. We were in the garden behind some bushes and mum was taking a walk, but she heard us and came to investigate. When she saw the Squib on top of me, I don't know if she panicked or was immediately furious, but the next thing I knew he was off of me, and rolling on the ground next to me. There was yelling and shouting, the words 'poof' and 'fag' was thrown around, as well as calling the boy a muggle. She—she called me a disgrace to the family and told me that dad would definitely hear about this. But before she left she pointed her wand at the boy and wiped away his memories She then told me that if I ever looked for him again I'll be written out of the Potter family, only heir or not. So I didn't look for him, and for the rest of the summer every day I heard about how two men snogging is gross, and wrong that it just sunk into me.
"When I met Lily, and we knew about you, I've tried my best to keep that stuff from coming back. I told Lily this, and she helped as well, though not a day went by she didn't tell me to tell you guys—"
"What that you're gay?"
"Sirius!" Remus hissed, elbowing his husband. James gave them both a flat look before continuing.
"I am not gay Sirius. I'm bisexual, there's a difference. So yeah, never saw that boy again, not that I care, again nothing serious. But because of what my mum and dad basically treated me, I sort of became a huge prat, and without Lily to help me and the whole You-Know-Who trying to kill our only son… I said some things that I really regret. So… sorry."
"All's forgiven!" Sirius smiled immediately. "You really should have told us sooner James, all those years wasted. Why just think our sons might have been best friends by now!"
"You have a son?" James asked, the shock that Sirius easily forgave him overtaking him for only a moment.
"Yeah, of course we do," Sirius said. "He's starting Hogwarts next year. Going to be a Gryffindor, I can tell."
"Anyway, his name is Orion," Remus said as he stood up to rifle through his pockets. "Pretty sure we have a picture somewhere…"
"Why doesn't he just meet the real deal?" Sirius asked. "He should be home."
"No, he should be at your aunt's, remember?" Remus said as he stopped looking through his pockets. He looked between Sirius and James and smiled at James, "Good to see you again James, we need to talk more, catch up. But I need to go back to Hogwarts."
"Yeah," James nodded. He watched as Remus went to his fire and disappeared in the emerald flames. He looked at Sirius and waited for him to talk.
"So, let's go pick Orion up," Sirius grinned. "Come on."
James looked at his friend confused before shrugging. "Let me just make sure Snuffles' dishes are full," he said.
Sirius nodded and followed James as he walked into the kitchen. James whistled as he filled Snuffles' bowl. "He's surprisingly dog like sometimes," James said. "We need to whistle to tell him his food is ready."
"Just like his namesake," Sirius grinned, causing James to chuckle. And with that one single joke, the awkwardness that stood between James and Sirius like a wall of ice melted away. When James was busy taking care of Snuffles, he turned his attention to Sirius, and allowed the man to lead him back into the living room. "Did you actually lock your parents' portraits in the basement?" he chuckled.
"Yeah," James said. "They called my son a—well you know."
Sirius just nodded and smiled at James. "I understand. So, shall we? It'll be easier to travel by Apparation."
"Yeah," James nodded as Sirius place a strong hand on his shoulder. James felt a pull at his navel and soon felt as if he was being shoved into a small cylinder as he and Sirius apparated away from the Potter house. When James' feet land on the ground, he looked around to see he was in a cozy muggle-ish living room. "Dad!" a voice yelled, followed by the sound of footsteps.
James looked around to see a little boy running into the room, followed by a sort-of familiar woman. "Hey there Andromeda, how's Tonks?" Sirius smiled at the woman as he bent to hug his son.
"Nymphadora is fine," the woman said, emphasizing her daughter's name. She turned her attention to James and gasped. "James! Why—it's been years! Surely you remember me?"
James looked at the woman and thought for a second. "Aren't you the Black that married a muggle? What Sirius said? Andromeda?"
The woman chuckled, "At least I'm remembered for that. Orion just had lunch," she said turning to look at Sirius again.
James let the two adults talk as he looked down at Orion. He looked just like a miniature Sirius. He had the same ruffled black hair that James remembered Sirius had when he was young, but also he couldn't help but notice that there were strands of hair that was a vivid bubblegum-pink. His big eyes were light brown, freckled with gray that James guessed he got from his other father, Remus. He looked up to Sirius, confused over the very unusual hair color.
"Sirius?" he asked, "Why does your son have pink hair?"
Sirius turned to look at James before looking down at his son. When he saw the pink strands of hair, he began to laugh. "Playing with Tonks?" he asked.
"Yeah, she showed me how to do this!" Orion smiled. Sirius laughed again and said, "Well, let's change it back alright? Doesn't seem appropriate for a first time meeting."
"Okay," Orion said. Then, with great concentration, the boy closed his eyes and James thought of a small strawberry as the boy's cheek flushed as he tried to change his hair back to normal.
"I didn't know there was metamorphmagi in your family, Sirius," James said as Orion's hair changed to its natural blackness.
"Me neither until this guy just woke us up, his nose looking exactly like Remus'," Sirius said, pointing to his son. "You know Andromeda's daughter is a Metamorphmagi as well? Tonks' her name."
"Tonks…" James said, "That sounds familiar… is she an Auror? I heard about some new ones, one of them a girl with pink hair. Moody has her."
"That's my daughter," Andromeda said. "She isn't qualified yet, but hopefully soon."
"Well, I'll have to have a look at her then," James said.
"Dad? Who's this?" Orion asked, finally looking at James. Sirius smirked at him and said, "You remember that old friend we told you about? The one who we thought was good, then turned into a protective loon after You-Know-Who?"
"Yeah," Orion said, missing the sharp look James was giving Sirius.
"Meet the loon Ori! James, this is our son Orion. Orion, this is your dad's and mine old friend, James Potter," Sirius smiled.
"Potter? Like Harry Potter!?" Orion said excitedly.
"Yes, Harry's my son," James said. "He's in Hogwarts right now."
"Cool!" Orion said. "Is it true that Harry beat You-Know-Who when he was a baby? And that he wasn't seen since?"
"Umm well…" James said awkwardly, not wanting to talk about that night.
"And how about for some reason both that guy with the turban and Gilderoy Lockhart had to quit after being a teacher at Hogwarts for a year?" Orion asked again.
"Where did you even heard about that—"
"Oh-oh, how about—"
"That's enough Orion," Sirius chuckled. He looked up at James apologetically. "Sorry about that, he's a curious kid."
"I can see that," James said nodding. "I don't know why exactly they left. Dumbledore told us that Lockhart just left and Quirrell, well he just disappeared."
"Ohhh. Will the same thing happen to Dad?" Orion asked.
"I don't know," James shrugged. He looked at Sirius and checked his watch. "Well, thanks for coming to see me," he said sincerely as Andromeda left the room. "I'm sorry that it took me this long to umm, well get my head out of my arse."
"Ehh it's fine James," Sirius smiled. "Just don't make a habit of keeping things from us."
"Of course not," James nodded. He sighed and looked down at Orion. "Now I just need to make up to Harry…"
"Oh don't tell me," Sirius moaned. "You said the thing your parents said, didn't you?"
"Yeah," James admitted, hating himself.
"James! Well, if you need any help, I'll do my best," Sirius said.
"Yeah thanks," James said. He looked down at Orion and said, "Nice to meet you kid, hopefully we'll see more of each other. Next time I'll see if I can bring Harry along."
"Alright! Bye," Orion said, quickly leaving the room. Sirius looked at James with a certain smirk as he brought the cheerful mood back. "So, does Harry have a boyfriend yet?"
"Actually yeah," James said. "Though I wish I actually learned it from him rather than Lucius Malfoy."
"Malfoy? What does he have to do with it?" Sirius asked.
"My son is dating his son, Draco," James said. "One second…" He dug through his pocket and pulled out a folded picture. It was the one Parkinson took months ago. "See? That wasn't taken consensually, however."
"Look at them, they're starting younger and younger aren't they?" Sirius said, looking at the picture. "You think they've declared their love yet?" he chuckled.
"I hope not! Thirteen is way too young to fall in love. Hell it's too young to even start dating," James said. "If Harry tells me he loves Draco it'll be the end of me."
"Because it's Malfoy?"
"Because they're too young!" James said again. "Lily and I were almost twenty before I said I loved her, and we were dating for three years."
"Beat you there, we were eighteen and dating for two," Sirius said.
"Point its, it's been years yeah? Harry and Draco they've been what doing this for what eight, nine months? That is way too soon. And he's Thir-bloody-teen!" James said.
"I am sensing an overprotective father moment, but I can understand," Sirius nodded. "If Orion comes up to me and tells me he's in love at thirteen I'll probably laugh before setting him right."
James laughed and said, "Thanks for understanding. Hopefully Harry will too. If he and Draco continue this, then I'm fine, but nothing serious happens when you're a teenager. Especially when you're so young like him."
"I don't know, I did learn how to turn into a very handsome big dog as a teenager," Sirius said.
"Besides that Sirius. Nothing serious happens in relationships when you're a teenager. Harry and Draco can say their 'I love you's but only after they graduate. Or at least wait till they're in their sixth year," James said.
"I hear you," Sirius nodded. "Listen, I have to take care of a… rat problem, alright? We need to do this again soon."
"Yeah, sure. Hopefully with all five of us?" James asked. Sirius agreed.
James and Sirius said their goodbyes and James left the room by Floo Powder, feeling as if a huge weight has been lifted from his shoulders as he walked into his office. He sat down contently in his chair and looked at his picture of Lily. "I told them Lily," he said. "And I think I feel better… yeah."
It was the dead of night at Hogwarts. The courtyard was washed with moonlight, as the cloudless night watched upon the sleeping castle. Everything seemed to be asleep, not even the trees made a sound as a light breeze push through them, bringing an ominous air to the castle. The only sounds that the castle can hear were the ominous, peaceful air as the castle was lulled to tiredness. Not even the sounds of doors opening, and footsteps on pavement could have woken the castle as two figures met in the courtyard, each with a vendetta against the other, both with a similar goal. When they reached the middle of the courtyard, they both just stared at each other, both waiting for the other to make the first move.
The two continued to glare, wands at the ready, until the first one spoke. "Flint."
"Wood," said the other.
"I'm surprised you showed up," Oliver smirked. "Thought you were going to wuss out and call Filch."
"Course not," Flint smirked, "If I can't beat you for the Cup, then I'll just beat you in a duel."
Oliver Wood smirk cockily. "You're not going to win," he said. "And after I beat you, you'll leave me and George alone. Forever."
A laugh caught in Flint's throat as he glared at Oliver. "As if I'll lose to you poof," he said. Then, with speed Oliver didn't see, Flint brought his wand up and yelled, "Stupefy!"
"Protego!" Oliver yelled, the stunning spell blasted into nothingness as it hit Oliver's invisible shield. He glared at his opponent before whipping his wand, "Rictusempra!" A silver light shot from Oliver's wand and hit Flint straight in the stomach. The Slytherin doubled over and started to uncontrollably laugh as Oliver's tickling charm hit him.
Still laughing, Flint struggled to point his wand at Oliver. He laughed out a spell, and a white light fired from his wand. The spell lashed out onto Oliver, hitting him in the wrist where an angry welt appeared on it. Oliver screamed in shock and pain before grinding his teeth. He ignored the pain as he fired a disarming charm, which Flint dodged. Flint was still chuckling, but he seemed to have full control of his body as he started firing jinxs and hexes randomly, all of them aimed directly at Oliver.
Oliver only had a second's notice to dodge the spells, running behind pillars and stone benches to avoid the spells. When he stopped to counterattack, Flint yelled "Locomotor Mortis!"
Oliver's legs snapped together, and he instantly fell, rolling around on the floor, scrapping his cheeks. He turned onto his back, the pain far less than getting smacked by a bludger, and said, "Relashio!" The spell forced Flint back, the boy flying into the air a couple of feet off the ground before falling onto a stone bench. Oliver heard the crack of the bench as Flint's back landed on it, the boy flipping over it and hitting his head on the stone floor. Oliver didn't care as he pointed his wand at his legs and quickly said the counter-jinx, warmth and movement returning instantly to his legs.
Oliver jumped up to see Flint staggering to his feet, grunting in pain at his back. Oliver couldn't help but smirk at that and he pointed his wand at Flint. "Expelli—"
"Stupefy!" Flint roared. The stunning spell forced Oliver back to the ground as he flew back, barely holding onto his wand. Flint smirked cockily and walked slowly towards Oliver. "Told ya you'll never win," Flint gloated. "Looks like Weasley's ass will be mine again. Maybe this time I'll do something to make sure he'll never run from me again. How about—"
"Expelliarmus!" Oliver yelled from the ground. The red light hit Flint's hand expertly and his wand flew into the air. With Flint wandless, Oliver quickly got to his feet as the wand fell before him. He pointed his wand again at Flint and yelled, "Stupefy!"
Flint fell to the ground, and in his anger Oliver continued, casting the same stinging hex that Flint casted on him. Welts appeared on Flint's arms as the Slytherin Quidditch Captain cried in pain. Just to make sure Flint had learned his lesson, Oliver kneeled before Flint's body and made a fist.
"You will leave George alone," Oliver seethed before punching Flint's nose, a satisfying crunching sound filling the air. Blood gushed from Flint's broken nose and, satisfied, Oliver stood up to leave. When he reached the outskirts of the courtyard, the door opened and a voice yelled out, "What in the blazes is going on here?"
Oliver looked to see that Filch was standing in the only entrance. "Who is stupid enough to be outside with dementors around?" Filch grumbled as he held his lantern higher, the light revealing Flint. As the caretaker walked up to the still bleeding Filch, Oliver sneaked around the courtyard, making his way to the door. "What are you doing out of bed?" Filch growled at Flint as he groaned. "Get up! Let's see Slytherin eh? Just wait till Snape hears about you. You're all bruised up, obviously been dueling, and out of bed—"
Oliver heard a meowing noise and turned in horror to see Mrs. Norris standing right behind him, trialing him as he almost escaped. "And there's the other one! Three weeks detention I think! Just wait till I tell your Heads of Houses. Off to bed!"
Angry that he couldn't escape in time, Oliver threw Flint as many sharp looks as he could as they were forced to follow Filch inside. Filch led them to his office where he wrote their detentions, the two boys glaring at each other and saying nothing as he did so, before kicking them out. Oliver ignored Filch as he made his way directly towards Gryffindor Tower, his victory now feeling sour by the three weeks of detention he now had to serve.
"So what?" Blaise asked. He finally was able to hang out with Ron before the exams started. Ron was awkward about how it was just them two, but he was grateful for the break from studying. He had just finished telling Blaise about Hagrid's appeal, and how they were bringing an executor to it. "That's it? They already made their decision?"
"Yeah," Ron said, irritated. "And I've spent ages reading up on stuff for him; they can't just ignore it all!"
"That's awful," Blaise frowned. "Is there anything you guys can do?"
"No, just hope that Hagrid wins the appeal," Ron said. Blaise nodded and took a step closer to Ron. Ron barely noticed as he continued to rant. Blaise was being a good listener as Ron complained. They turned the corner and Ron looked at Blaise.
"Hmm?" Blaise asked.
"Nothing," Ron said, looking away. He didn't notice Blaise's smirk as he again took a step closer. "So Ron," Blaise said, "How is the uh… rat situation?"
Ron looked at Blaise for a moment before sighing. "Fine, I guess. I mean, Hermione and I made up a while ago. Though I'm not going near that damn cat soon," Ron said.
Blaise nodded. "Didn't you told me that your parents' are buying you an owl?"
"Maybe they will," Ron said. "They might, that's what I said." Blaise nodded and looked at his friend. "Do you know when…"
"Huh? Oh it's on the sixth, the day we finish the exams," Ron said.
"You and Harry going to visit?" Blaise asked.
"Yeah, we're thinking of," Ron said. "Me, Harry, and Hermione." Blaise nodded and looked outside. "You heard about the duel between Wood and Flint?"
"Yeah," Ron said smirking, "George and Fred told me all about it." Blaise smiled at Ron's higher mood. "Wood beat Flint in a duel and broke his nose," Ron said.
Blaise nodded and smiled, "I know! You should have seen the looks he was giving everyone the next day. Draco and I couldn't stop laughing."
"You mean Malfoy can laugh?" Ron gasped.
Blaise snickered and nodded, "Yes believe it or not, he does."
"You're pulling me," Ron said. "There is no way that prat can laugh."
Blaise shrugged and said, "Believe what you want Ron, but Draco can in fact laugh. And like a real laugh, not one of those snickers."
"Sucks Wood have detention though," Ron said. "It would've been brilliant if only Flint got caught."
"Yeah," Blaise nodded. "Flint's stuck cleaning all of Snape's cauldrons."
"Wood's polishing the suits of armor," Ron said. "George is hating it, it's digging into their time."
"How you feel, if you don't mind me asking," Blaise said suddenly. "About your brother, you know, dating a guy?"
"He's loads better than Flint if that's what you're asking," Ron said. "I can't believe he even thought about snogging that troll! George must have been hit by a Delusion Charm or something."
"No, no, I mean him dating a guy in general," Blaise said. "Though I agree, Flint's a bit of a troll."
"Nothing's wrong with it," Ron shrugged. "I mean, if he's happy then go ahead. I just don't want to catch him and Wood snogging onto of the kitchen table or something."
Blaise chuckled and smiled at him, "Because it's weird to see your brother kissing?"
"That and I eat there!" Ron said horrified, shuttering at the thought. "I don't want to put my food on a place someone snogged on!"
"Fair enough," Blaise chuckled. "What if you just see them, I don't know, snogging somewhere else, like a couch or something."
"Stop em, or leave them alone," Ron said. "Why you asking all these questions?"
"No reason Ron, no reason. Just need to get my mind from the exams," Blaise said. Ron chuckled and agreed. "So, what are your plans for the summer?" Blaise asked.
"Dad'll probably get tickets for the World Cup," Ron said. "So we'll go there and see the Irish win."
"The Irish?" Blaise chuckled. "Didn't we have this conversation? The Bulgarians are going to win."
"Nah-uh the Irish," Ron said smiled. Blaise laughed and shook his head. "Whatever you say Ron, whatever you say."
The two continued to talk and walk around the castle. They've gained a few weird looks, but they didn't notice as they talked about nothing. Their excitement and conversation echoed throughout the castle as they walked. Even though they entered June, a chill surrounded the castle as exam week began, an unnatural hush fell over the castle. The third years emerged from Transfiguration at lunchtime on Monday, limp and ashen-faced, comparing results and bemoaning the difficulty of the tasks they had been set, which had included turning a teapot into a tortoise. Hermione irritated the rest by fussing about how her tortoise had looked more like a turtle, which was the least of everyone else's worries. Blaise and Ron barely saw each other, only giving friendly "hellos" and "how are yous" as they past. Ron noticed that the week seemed to affect Harry worst as he kept looking over at the Slytherin table, undoubtedly looking at Draco. It was worse during their Charms exam, as they had that class with the Slytherins, so Ron noticed that every now and then Harry looked at Draco when he was supposed to be performing a Cheering Charm on Ron. As a result, Harry overdid it and Ron ended up in fits of hysterical laughter and had to be led away to a quiet room for an hour before he was ready to perform the charm himself.
Their exams continued in a cycle of study, hastily eat, take, hastily eat, take, and study more. Both Ron and Harry seemed to lose track of time as their lives been consumed by the exams. Before they knew it, though thoroughly exhausted, they were on the last day of exams. Harry felt nervous, as it was also the day of the appeal, and both he and Draco had a horrible feeling as they talked about it in their brief time they had together the night before. But he had to push those feelings aside as he Ron walked towards their last exam: Divination.
They climbed up the marble staircase, where they saw many of their classmates sitting on the stairs, trying to cram in a bit of last-minute studying.
"She's seeing us all separately," Neville informed them as they went to sit down next to him. "Have either of you ever seen anything in a crystal ball?" he asked them unhappily.
"Nope," Ron said in an offhand voice. He kept checking his watch; Harry knew that he was counting down the time until Buckbeak's appeal started. Ron looked at Harry and whispered, "You sure there was nothing Malfoy couldn't do?"
"He kept sending letters, but he never got replies," Harry whispered back.
The line of people outside the classroom shortened very slowly. As each person climbed back down the silver ladder, the rest of the class hissed, "What did she ask? Was it okay?"
But they all refused to say.
"She says the crystal ball's told her that if I tell you, I'll have a horrible accident!" Neville squeaked as he clambered back down the ladder.
"That's convenient," Ron snorted. "You know, I'm starting to think Hermione was right about her, she's a right old fraud."
"Wish she'd hurry up though," Harry said, checking his watch. Soon, the familiar, misty voice called for Ron over their heads. Ron grimaced and left Harry alone as he climbed the ladder. Harry settled himself on the floor with his back to the wall, his mind across the grounds with Hagrid.
Finally, after about twenty minutes, Ron's large feet reappeared on the ladder. "How'd it go?" Harry asked.
"Rubbish, couldn't see a thing , so I made some stuff up Don't think she was convinced, though…" Ron said.
"Meet you in the common room," Harry muttered as Professor Trelawney called his name.
The tower room was hotter than ever before; the curtains were closed, the fire was alight, and the usual sickly scent made Harry cough as he stumbled through the clutter of chairs and tables to where Professor Trelawney sat waiting for him before a large crystal ball.
"Good day, my dear," she said softly. "If you would kindly gaze into the Orb. …Take your time, now …then tell me what you see within it. …"
Harry bent over the crystal ball and stared, stared as hard as he could, willing it to show him something other than swirling white fog, but nothing came. His mind began to wander, first to Draco. He missed his boyfriend, and wanted desperately to see the blonde Slytherin. But still the white fog just swirled as his mind drifted towards Hagrid and Buckbeak, so he did what Ron did and decided to pretend.
"I dark shape… um…"
"What does it resemble?" Professor Trelawney whispered, "Think, now… boy or animal?"
"Animal… A hippogriff," Harry said firmly.
"Indeed!" Professor Trelawney whispered, scribbling keenly on the parchment paper upon her knees. "My boy, you may well be seeing the outcome of poor Hagrid's trouble with the Ministry of Magic! Look closer. …Does the hippogriff appear to …have its head?"
"Yes," Harry said firmly.
"Are you sure?" Professor Trelawney urged him. "Are you quite sure, dear? You don't see it writhing on the ground, perhaps, and a shadowy figure raising an axe behind it?"
"No!" Harry said, starting to feel slightly sick.
"No blood? No weeping Hagrid?"
"No!" Harry said again, wanting more than ever to leave the room and heat. "It looks fine it's flying away. …"
Professor Trelawney sighed. "Well, dear, I think we'll leave it there. … A little disappointing …but I'm sure you did your best."
Relieved, Harry got up, picked up his bag and turned to go, but then a loud, harsh voice spoke behind him.
"IT WILL HAPPEN TONIGHT."
Harry wheeled around. Professor Trelawney had gone rigid in her armchair; her eyes were unfocused and her mouth sagging.
"S—sorry?" Harry said.
But Professor Trelawney didn't seem to hear him. Her eyes started to roll. Harry sat there in a panic. She looked as though she was about to have some sort of seizure. He hesitated, thinking of running to the hospital wing—and then Professor Trelawney spoke again, in the same harsh voice, quite unlike her own.
"THE DARK LORD LIES ALONE AND FRIENDLESS, ABANDONED BY HIS FOLLOWERS. HIS SERVANT HAS BEEN CHAINED THESE TWELVE YEARS. TONIGHT, BEFORE MIDNIGHT …THE SERVANT WILL BREAK FREE AND SET OUT TO REJOIN HIS MASTER. THE DARK LORD WILL RISE AGAIN WITH HIS SERVANT'S AID, GREATER AND MORE TERRIBLE THAN EVER HE WAS. TONIGHT …BEFORE MIDNIGHT …THE SERVANT …WILL SET OUT…TO REJOIN… HIS MASTER. …"
A/N: So sorry for the delay. I've been pokemoning hardcore. I almost have a full Pokedex. That's right! I'm almost to 721! Anywho, I hope you all liked this chapter! Hopefully next chapter will come quicker!
Angelcataanna: Yes that was cute, too bad there was no cuteness in this one. Only grim and grimmer.
Themysteriousdude321: Thanks! Scorbus? What is that?
Littlesprout: Is he really an ass? Okay yes, but is he that big of an ass?
SkyiMello: Again, is James really an idiot? Maybe, but hey parents have a lot of influence.
Kigen Dawn: Bigger? You want bigger, you get bigger. And I'll keep biggering and biggering until I can bigger no more! And the finals are over? Well, the Quidditch Final yes, but there are still the exams lol.
Jokul Frosti: Anticlimactic!? When have I ever intentionally done something anticlimactic and leave it there!? Except for that one time…
Isis: Yeah, he did.
Ern: It was the letter he started, but couldn't finish.
Hyper-Blossom Z: Aren't they stinkers?
David-El: Yeah, it's like taking a character and doing different things to them but keeping them in the same antagonistic role lol. I mean, maybe I can try and make him into a good guy… but ehhh maybe next time.