Disclaimer: It's all J.K. Rowling's.
Author's Note: Does this qualify as 'a few days'? I hope so. Just to eliminate any confusion, this begins at about the same time that Chapter Seven does. If you review this time, please tell me how I did with Sirius' and Remus' characterizations. I'm not at all sure how they turned out, so I would really appreciate any input. Thanks to all of you who left reviews last time and please enjoy!
Aftermath and Awakenings
Part VIII
A Harry Potter fanfic by Aira
***
Sirius Black glanced anxiously out the window, towards the sky, as if the owl from Dumbledore he so desperately wanted would just appear if he just looked long and hard enough. It had been nearly a week since the Headmaster had written, a far cry from the every-other-day messages Sirius had been used to receiving, informing him of Harry's well-being. With each passing day, Sirius felt the burden of concern for his godson increase to the point that it was all that he could do to maintain what was now his normal lifestyle-if life as an escaped convict could ever be considered normal, that is.
Harry's safety was like a hundred-pound weight on soul that gnawed at him almost constantly. Harry was *his* responsibility. It was *his* job to take care of him. He had failed to take proper care of Harry for the past fourteen years of his life, and Sirius was determined not to let that extend any further. Not when Harry needed him the most.
His thoughts were interrupted by the quiet shuffling of footsteps. He glanced up to see Remus, who wore an expression that Sirius suspected was similar to his own. Worry marked his face, along with the deep shadows under his eyes that signified the troubled sleep Sirius knew they had both experienced.
Breakfast was painfully void of any discussion, a fact that Sirius was both maddened by, yet oddly grateful for. He had never really been content sitting around doing nothing. In order to achieve any sort of satisfaction, Sirius had to feel as though he was doing something. This character trait had, unfortunately, had only been inflated by his time in Azkaban. After twelve years sitting in a cold, damp cell with only his thoughts for comfort, Sirius seemed to be wanting to make up for lost time by being as active as possible. Idleness tore at him, as did the terribly blank silence. At least talking would give him *something* to keep himself occupied with.
On another level, Sirius was strangely gladdened by the lack of conversation. There just didn't seem to be a need for it. Remus seemed to understand what he was thinking, and voicing his concerns out loud would only add to the anxious thoughts that were already turning somersaults in his brain. The worries he shared with his friend, Sirius thought, were best expressed without words.
Even as he mindlessly took a bite of his toast, Sirius' eyes kept rolling towards the sky, which was far too sunny for his mood. Why, *why*, was there no owl from Dumbledore?
After several minutes of alternately eating and staring hopefully out the window, Sirius couldn't stand the tension anymore. Consequently, he did something he was very prone to: losing control. "Dammit, Remus! God knows what's happening at that school! Enough sitting around waiting!"
Remus only frowned at this, although he was evidently not taken aback by Sirius' outburst. "Let's not do anything rash," he said in a tone so level and reasonable that it made Sirius want to ram his head into the nearest wall.
"So we're just going to sit here and let Harry be…" Sirius had started out in an angry, demanding tone, but his voice cracked as he trailed off, not wanting to think about what he had been about to say.
"Of course not," Remus' voice was still the embodiment of composure, though he too appeared to be shaken by the thought. "Look, I know what you're thinking. You're planning some outrageous scheme to get into the castle and check up on him. But you have to *think* about this, Sirius. If you go and get yourself caught, or killed, how will that help Harry?"
Sirius glared, but he knew that his friend had a point. "You have to be rational about this," Remus concluded gently.
"And meanwhile a hoard of Death Eaters could be entering Hogwarts."
The words were spoken thoughtlessly, and Sirius winced at his carelessness. While he had contemplated the possibility to a great extent, it stung to actually hear the words spoken out loud, even when they came from his own mouth.
Sirius closed his eyes in grief, and James' dead face burned into his mind. Except that suddenly, the lifeless image changed. It was Harry.
*
By the next morning, Sirius' feelings changed from just barely hanging on to life to being more or less possessed by his desire to see Harry and ensure that he was safe. Remus was, of course, as cool and collected as ever, but Sirius knew better than to take this at face value. He knew that, despite Remus' equanimity, his friend was almost as concerned as he was.
This was proven when Remus agreed quite readily to Sirius' suggestion of Portkeying to Hogwarts to see if there was any trouble. Yesterday's lecture about ration was apparently forgotten, though he did warn Sirius that if he tried to do anything impetuous in the course of checking up on Harry, he would certainly have something to something.
And several minutes later, Sirius felt a sharp gust of wind as he suddenly found himself staring up at Hogwarts.
*
Sirius' thoughts were of a foreboding nature as he loped through the corridors of the castle as a dog. He must have looked quite peculiar to anyone watching; a large black dog romping through Hogwarts at the side of a man was no usual sight. He only hoped that he and Remus would be able to make it to Dumbledore's study without being seen. For a moment Sirius entertained himself at the thought of what might happen if they came across Filch, who would certainly not be pleased by such a humongous dog dripping mud over his precious hallways. However, he quickly sobered himself with the thought of why he was here in the first place. To check on Harry. That was what was important.
Luck was on their side for the time being, apparently. The two made it to the stone gargoyle that marked the entranceway to Dumbledore's study with no mishaps. It was exceedingly fortunate that the students were in class and didn't see their former Professor being accompanied by such an impressive-looking canine. Sirius resisted the strong impulse to take a peek inside the classrooms and look for Harry. Soon enough, Remus was saying the password, and the gargoyle sprung open.
The pent-up energy that Sirius had just barely been restraining came rushing up to him at once as he entered the circular room. He gave a few barks, and rushed forward on all fours. This instigated Remus to roll his eyes, but he was feeling too good to care. All right. Now he was finally *doing* something other than waiting around anxiously. He glanced around the room eagerly, searching for Dumbledore.
To his great disappointment, Dumbledore was nowhere to be seen. Sirius gave a low growl at this fact, which only confirmed his troubled suspicions. His heart was beating at an abnormally fast rate, his mind exploding with all of the possibilities. In fact, it was only with a second glance around the room that he noticed that he and Remus were not alone.
Appearing suddenly behind Dumbledore's great desk was a woman. Tall, thin, and dirty blond, at the moment she had a superficial smile plastered on her face. "What do you want"? She snapped. Her tone held pretended cordiality that was somewhat out-weighed by impatience.
"I have an appointment with the Headmaster."
Remus spoke levelly, but one glance at his face told Sirius that his old friend was just as taken aback as he was. Obviously sensing danger, he had drawn his wand.
"Well then," spoke the woman.
That spoken, she drew her own wand like lightning, and pointed it directly at Remus. For one terrible moment, Sirius held his breath. 'No, no, no…' echoed his frantic mind. 'This can't happen.'
For a few seconds that seemed to stretch out into hours, Sirius really thought that she was going to kill Remus, and his heart grew heavy with the thought. He would not let that happen. Not again. He nearly collapsed with relief when the incantation that left the woman's lips was simply "Stupefy!"
Though Remus was rendered unconscious immediately, Sirius acted quickly. He speedily ran up to Remus' still body and transformed at top speed. Grabbing his friend's wand almost instantly, he pointed it at the stunned woman and performed a Stunning spell of his own.
Sirius didn't even try to stop the grim yet satisfied smirk that worked its way onto his face whilst the gaping woman fell to the floor. Whoever she was, she deserved it. 'Maybe even a Death Eater…' he thought grimly.
Sirius then pointed the wand at Remus, and muttered the counter-curse. His gray slowly fluttered opened as he regained consciousness and pushed himself off the floor with a sense of great confusion. "Would you mind telling me what's happening?" he questioned wearily.
"Good question. Very good question."
*
Ten minutes later, Sirius found himself glancing down at the unconscious body of the strange woman. Remus had suggested that they examine her. To see if she carried any clues as to why she was in Dumbledore's study, why she attacked, whether she was Death Eater. Sirius had been unable to come up with a better suggestion as to what they should do at the moment, though he doubted very much that they would find anything informative.
He was mistaken, however. As his eyes fell on the woman's thin hand, an odd-looking ring caught his eye. Stepping forward to inspect it further, Sirius gasped in shock. This was unbelievable. Simply unbelievable. Impossible. Ludicrous. His mind flashed to a Defense Against the Dark Arts text he had read almost two decades ago. Could the supposedly legendary ring he'd read of really be on this woman's hand?
Sirius motioned to Remus to look. Peering forwards for a better glimpse, his eyes widened, and he too gasped. "I thought it was a myth!" Remus said breathlessly.
"I thought so, too," Sirius responded. "Apparently not."
***
Author's Note: I know, I know, it's rotten of me to keep you hanging like that yet again. Once again, I ask you to hold all tomatoes! I actually have a reason for the semi-cliffhanger, though: The explanations I have to do would take way too long for this chapter. I promise that *a lot* of questions you may have will be answered in the next chapter, which will hopefully be out soon. (Key word: hopefully) And FYI, the next chapter will probably be in Remus' point of view. I didn't mean to meander so much away from our favorite three, but this chapter turned out to leave a lot more loose ends than I'd originally intended. My apologies for that, and I only hope that you had as much fun reading Sirius' POV as I had writing it.
Author's Note: Does this qualify as 'a few days'? I hope so. Just to eliminate any confusion, this begins at about the same time that Chapter Seven does. If you review this time, please tell me how I did with Sirius' and Remus' characterizations. I'm not at all sure how they turned out, so I would really appreciate any input. Thanks to all of you who left reviews last time and please enjoy!
Aftermath and Awakenings
Part VIII
A Harry Potter fanfic by Aira
***
Sirius Black glanced anxiously out the window, towards the sky, as if the owl from Dumbledore he so desperately wanted would just appear if he just looked long and hard enough. It had been nearly a week since the Headmaster had written, a far cry from the every-other-day messages Sirius had been used to receiving, informing him of Harry's well-being. With each passing day, Sirius felt the burden of concern for his godson increase to the point that it was all that he could do to maintain what was now his normal lifestyle-if life as an escaped convict could ever be considered normal, that is.
Harry's safety was like a hundred-pound weight on soul that gnawed at him almost constantly. Harry was *his* responsibility. It was *his* job to take care of him. He had failed to take proper care of Harry for the past fourteen years of his life, and Sirius was determined not to let that extend any further. Not when Harry needed him the most.
His thoughts were interrupted by the quiet shuffling of footsteps. He glanced up to see Remus, who wore an expression that Sirius suspected was similar to his own. Worry marked his face, along with the deep shadows under his eyes that signified the troubled sleep Sirius knew they had both experienced.
Breakfast was painfully void of any discussion, a fact that Sirius was both maddened by, yet oddly grateful for. He had never really been content sitting around doing nothing. In order to achieve any sort of satisfaction, Sirius had to feel as though he was doing something. This character trait had, unfortunately, had only been inflated by his time in Azkaban. After twelve years sitting in a cold, damp cell with only his thoughts for comfort, Sirius seemed to be wanting to make up for lost time by being as active as possible. Idleness tore at him, as did the terribly blank silence. At least talking would give him *something* to keep himself occupied with.
On another level, Sirius was strangely gladdened by the lack of conversation. There just didn't seem to be a need for it. Remus seemed to understand what he was thinking, and voicing his concerns out loud would only add to the anxious thoughts that were already turning somersaults in his brain. The worries he shared with his friend, Sirius thought, were best expressed without words.
Even as he mindlessly took a bite of his toast, Sirius' eyes kept rolling towards the sky, which was far too sunny for his mood. Why, *why*, was there no owl from Dumbledore?
After several minutes of alternately eating and staring hopefully out the window, Sirius couldn't stand the tension anymore. Consequently, he did something he was very prone to: losing control. "Dammit, Remus! God knows what's happening at that school! Enough sitting around waiting!"
Remus only frowned at this, although he was evidently not taken aback by Sirius' outburst. "Let's not do anything rash," he said in a tone so level and reasonable that it made Sirius want to ram his head into the nearest wall.
"So we're just going to sit here and let Harry be…" Sirius had started out in an angry, demanding tone, but his voice cracked as he trailed off, not wanting to think about what he had been about to say.
"Of course not," Remus' voice was still the embodiment of composure, though he too appeared to be shaken by the thought. "Look, I know what you're thinking. You're planning some outrageous scheme to get into the castle and check up on him. But you have to *think* about this, Sirius. If you go and get yourself caught, or killed, how will that help Harry?"
Sirius glared, but he knew that his friend had a point. "You have to be rational about this," Remus concluded gently.
"And meanwhile a hoard of Death Eaters could be entering Hogwarts."
The words were spoken thoughtlessly, and Sirius winced at his carelessness. While he had contemplated the possibility to a great extent, it stung to actually hear the words spoken out loud, even when they came from his own mouth.
Sirius closed his eyes in grief, and James' dead face burned into his mind. Except that suddenly, the lifeless image changed. It was Harry.
*
By the next morning, Sirius' feelings changed from just barely hanging on to life to being more or less possessed by his desire to see Harry and ensure that he was safe. Remus was, of course, as cool and collected as ever, but Sirius knew better than to take this at face value. He knew that, despite Remus' equanimity, his friend was almost as concerned as he was.
This was proven when Remus agreed quite readily to Sirius' suggestion of Portkeying to Hogwarts to see if there was any trouble. Yesterday's lecture about ration was apparently forgotten, though he did warn Sirius that if he tried to do anything impetuous in the course of checking up on Harry, he would certainly have something to something.
And several minutes later, Sirius felt a sharp gust of wind as he suddenly found himself staring up at Hogwarts.
*
Sirius' thoughts were of a foreboding nature as he loped through the corridors of the castle as a dog. He must have looked quite peculiar to anyone watching; a large black dog romping through Hogwarts at the side of a man was no usual sight. He only hoped that he and Remus would be able to make it to Dumbledore's study without being seen. For a moment Sirius entertained himself at the thought of what might happen if they came across Filch, who would certainly not be pleased by such a humongous dog dripping mud over his precious hallways. However, he quickly sobered himself with the thought of why he was here in the first place. To check on Harry. That was what was important.
Luck was on their side for the time being, apparently. The two made it to the stone gargoyle that marked the entranceway to Dumbledore's study with no mishaps. It was exceedingly fortunate that the students were in class and didn't see their former Professor being accompanied by such an impressive-looking canine. Sirius resisted the strong impulse to take a peek inside the classrooms and look for Harry. Soon enough, Remus was saying the password, and the gargoyle sprung open.
The pent-up energy that Sirius had just barely been restraining came rushing up to him at once as he entered the circular room. He gave a few barks, and rushed forward on all fours. This instigated Remus to roll his eyes, but he was feeling too good to care. All right. Now he was finally *doing* something other than waiting around anxiously. He glanced around the room eagerly, searching for Dumbledore.
To his great disappointment, Dumbledore was nowhere to be seen. Sirius gave a low growl at this fact, which only confirmed his troubled suspicions. His heart was beating at an abnormally fast rate, his mind exploding with all of the possibilities. In fact, it was only with a second glance around the room that he noticed that he and Remus were not alone.
Appearing suddenly behind Dumbledore's great desk was a woman. Tall, thin, and dirty blond, at the moment she had a superficial smile plastered on her face. "What do you want"? She snapped. Her tone held pretended cordiality that was somewhat out-weighed by impatience.
"I have an appointment with the Headmaster."
Remus spoke levelly, but one glance at his face told Sirius that his old friend was just as taken aback as he was. Obviously sensing danger, he had drawn his wand.
"Well then," spoke the woman.
That spoken, she drew her own wand like lightning, and pointed it directly at Remus. For one terrible moment, Sirius held his breath. 'No, no, no…' echoed his frantic mind. 'This can't happen.'
For a few seconds that seemed to stretch out into hours, Sirius really thought that she was going to kill Remus, and his heart grew heavy with the thought. He would not let that happen. Not again. He nearly collapsed with relief when the incantation that left the woman's lips was simply "Stupefy!"
Though Remus was rendered unconscious immediately, Sirius acted quickly. He speedily ran up to Remus' still body and transformed at top speed. Grabbing his friend's wand almost instantly, he pointed it at the stunned woman and performed a Stunning spell of his own.
Sirius didn't even try to stop the grim yet satisfied smirk that worked its way onto his face whilst the gaping woman fell to the floor. Whoever she was, she deserved it. 'Maybe even a Death Eater…' he thought grimly.
Sirius then pointed the wand at Remus, and muttered the counter-curse. His gray slowly fluttered opened as he regained consciousness and pushed himself off the floor with a sense of great confusion. "Would you mind telling me what's happening?" he questioned wearily.
"Good question. Very good question."
*
Ten minutes later, Sirius found himself glancing down at the unconscious body of the strange woman. Remus had suggested that they examine her. To see if she carried any clues as to why she was in Dumbledore's study, why she attacked, whether she was Death Eater. Sirius had been unable to come up with a better suggestion as to what they should do at the moment, though he doubted very much that they would find anything informative.
He was mistaken, however. As his eyes fell on the woman's thin hand, an odd-looking ring caught his eye. Stepping forward to inspect it further, Sirius gasped in shock. This was unbelievable. Simply unbelievable. Impossible. Ludicrous. His mind flashed to a Defense Against the Dark Arts text he had read almost two decades ago. Could the supposedly legendary ring he'd read of really be on this woman's hand?
Sirius motioned to Remus to look. Peering forwards for a better glimpse, his eyes widened, and he too gasped. "I thought it was a myth!" Remus said breathlessly.
"I thought so, too," Sirius responded. "Apparently not."
***
Author's Note: I know, I know, it's rotten of me to keep you hanging like that yet again. Once again, I ask you to hold all tomatoes! I actually have a reason for the semi-cliffhanger, though: The explanations I have to do would take way too long for this chapter. I promise that *a lot* of questions you may have will be answered in the next chapter, which will hopefully be out soon. (Key word: hopefully) And FYI, the next chapter will probably be in Remus' point of view. I didn't mean to meander so much away from our favorite three, but this chapter turned out to leave a lot more loose ends than I'd originally intended. My apologies for that, and I only hope that you had as much fun reading Sirius' POV as I had writing it.