They found Remus wandering around the 3rd floor corridors. It had been a grueling task, what with the fact that they didn't have the marauders map with them; that was with Remus as well. The entire group had scoured the first three floors, searching for their friend until they finally found him holed out in the trophy room, panicked about he had seen Lucius and Snape walk past earlier. Cielo could remember the priceless expression on Remus'; face when he had seen them strolling along with Regulus.
"What the hell's he doing here?" Remus had shouted, storming up to the the youngest black and practically lifting him off the ground as he grabbed him by the collar of shirt.
"Relax!" Bridget had rushed forward, and, with the assistance of Cielo and Rachel, she managed to pull the angry teenager away from Regulus, who just stood there wearing an amused expression. "He's here to help."
Remus had scoffed, narrowing his eyes as he surveyed the boy standing in front of him. "I'll believe that when I see it," he growled, James and Sirius exchanging nervous looks when his voice got a little too much like an animal's for just a 'normal boy'. Thankfully, none of the girls with them noticed, excluding the odd look the teen received from Rachel.
"Well then," Regulus had turned around with a wide, confident smirk spread across his face, looking over his shoulder and flicking a hand towards the werewolf's direction. "Come see."
The group was now following Regulus back to the the lowest floors, and the Cielo eventually noticed that they were headed towards the front doors. "We're going outside?" she questioned, confused. "Isn't the chamber supposed to be inside the castle?"
Regulus shrugged, continuing to walk on. "It's inside, just but you can't get to it through the castle."
Bridget fell into stride with Cielo, both of them walking just several inches behind the black haired boy. "Well where's the entrance then? If it isn't in the castle."
"Hogsmeade," was the simple answer, which surprised mostly the entire group.
"It's in Hogsmeade, really?" Cielo asked, awed. How could the small, harmless little wizarding village have anything to do with something to do with so something so evil?
"Yeah, under the Hog's Head," he Regulus confirmed as the group neared the village. How none of the teachers hadn't noticed their disappearances yet, was a mystery to him; none of them had gone to classes since the kidnappings of Olly and Tia, which had been almost three days ago now.
"Are you kidding me?" Rachel scoffed, feeling the anger bubble up inside her stomach like a raging fire. "Death Eaters have really taken to hiding in plain sight, haven't they?" Shaking her head in disappointment, and a bit at the stupidity she was feeling, "I always knew I didn't like that place for a reason."
"My thoughts exactly," Fabian put in, trying to lighten the mood as he huffed out a small chuckle. "They had the worst butterbeer, that place."
"Ha," Gideon let out a tiny snort, taking the glares he received from the marauders. "Yeah, they do kind of suck." The group, now indulged in an uncomfortable silence, continued to trudge down the beaten path. As they neared the village, an uneasy feeling began to form in Cielo's middle.
"Does anyone feel like this is going to fail epically?" she asked, already shoving a shaky hand into her pocket, her fingers curling around the base of her wand.
"Well, I'm not a hundred percent it'll work," Crystal mumbled, appearing on Cielo's other side. "Plus, we're down three. Peter practically blew his hand off in charms the other day, so he's stuck in the Hospital Wing, and well," she cleared her throat, looking away as her gaze met with the roof of the very place they were headed to. "We know where Olly and Tia are..."
"God, will everybody just shut it?" Remus snapped, pinching the bridge of his nose with his thumb and forefinger. He looked severely annoyed. He was thankful when the rest of the group complied, and they spent the rest of the time traveling in silence. The group of ten made it all the way to the entrance of the Hog's Head, finding it dark and abandoned for the night.
Rachel pulled out her wand, glancing at the red-headed boy who had come to stand beside her as she pointed the tip of her power at the lock that was bolted to the heavy wooden door. "Alohomora," she whispered stealthily, as she heard the satisfying click of the door unlocking. The door creaked open, all of the teenagers wincing at the loud noise. They knew the owner lived just above the shop, so they were sure to tip-toe along and be as quiet as possible.
"Where's the door?" Sirius asked his brother in a soft whisper, having to lean just next to his face in order to be heard. Regulus didn't dare try to speak at all; instead, he just lifted a hand to point at the liquor counter, before sneaking around the cracked granite island and crouching down behind the shelving, running his hands across the surface of the floor. Once he felt the bump of the slightly raised wood, he pulled out his wand.
"Reveal yourself," he ordered, and suddenly a latch was visible on the floor. Regulus pulled the latch upwards, giving him access to a rickety, crumbling old set of stairs carved of stone. "Right," he whispered, standing up. "Who's going first?"
It was practically a contest the way Sirius and Remus both darted towards the staircase, almost shoving each other out of the way as they tried to stumble down the narrow space at the same time. The rest sighed and exchanged both annoyed and exasperated looks, before they began to follow the two eager boys down into the ground. Cielo went first, then Crystal who was followed closely by Gideon, James trotting after just a foot behind him. Regulus tugged Bridget by the arm as the two began to march after the others, leaving just Rachel and Fabian at the top still.
Letting out a loud sigh, Rachel turned to the red-head beside her, her heart thumping like a well oiled machine that was just a little to loud in her ears. "You ready?" she asked, her palms sweating. This was it. They'd either save their friends or die trying, though Rachel was hoping for the first option. There were ten of them, sure, but who knew how many recruits You-Know-Who had picked up and sent here as reinforcements, or guards? For all they knew there could be hundreds of trained killers waiting in the damp basement they were about to crawl into.
Fabian turned to the blue eyed girl next to him and nodded, trying his best to flash her a smile; but as he found out, he couldn't seem to conjure one. Instead, he pursed his lips grimly and nodded yet again, bumping her shoulder softly with his. "Always," he whispered. The tiniest grin graced his features for just a moment, which was a bit odd and almost inappropriate considering what was about to go down. Carefully, he reached over with his large hand and took Rachel's much smaller one in his, intertwining their fingers and giving her hand a reassuring squeeze. Rachel squeezed back, closing her eyes for a moment and leaning into the taller boys side, resting her head in the crook of his neck. She felt a pair of soft lips press against her hair, and she too was able to flash a little smile, leaning into the comfort of the boy next to her.
Pulling away, Rachel opened her eyes and stared down at the dark, wet passageway the held the telling of their future. "Come on," she whispered to Fabian, not letting his hand go as she began to descend the stairs. "We should get going."
Clearing his throat, Fabian mumbled a quick "yeah, okay," before putting Rachel ahead of him, and they stepped into the darkness, pulling out their wands as Fabian shut the door behind him. "Lumos," they both cast the spell, the tips of their wands lighting up with a shining, blue glow. Not too far ahead, they could see the lights coming from their friends wands as they crept towards the challenge that awaited them.
"It's just down this hall," Regulus called softly up to the as he squeezed past the others so he was leading the group, much to the dismay of the marauders. Once Rachel and Fabian caught up with the rest of their friends, they realized that they were now walking on flat ground. Or, she supposed, what passed as flat ground down here. The flooring beneath them was old and cracked, sticking up in some places while in others there were sizable chunks of mossy stone, missing completely until somebody would trip over the piece a few yards later. Nobody realized that the two in the back were still holding hands, and neither did the pair whom were actually partaking in it.
After a few minutes of not-so-silent walking that was supposed to have been stealthy and quiet, the ten teenagers came to another heavy, older looking door. There was mold and moss growing across the thick wooden planks that were held together by rusting bars of iron, and there was a gigantic handle that could probably give you tetanus just by looking at it. "Alright," Regulus began speaking cautiously, but with an authoritative undertone to his voice. "This is a lot more simple if we just do it like this; guys go in first, since there are more of us and we tend to be a bit more aggressive when we fight. So we'll barge in first and fight who ever is in there. Then the girls are going to run in after about thirty seconds and untie Tia and Olly. They're tied to a pair of poles on the far right side, towards the back." Regulus paused to look at everyone, making sure they understood. Just to assure him, a few of them nodded in recognition. The youngest Black nodded back before continuing. "Now once the two girls are untied, I want all of you to get out of there right away. Don't look back, don't stay and fight and most of all don't hesitate. These people might be teenagers, but they're beyond their years in knowledge of the Dark Arts. Don't think they won't hesitate to kill you if they see the chance."
"Well what about you guys?" Cielo asked, concerned. "Do you just expect us to leave you there?"
"That's exactly what I expect you to do," Regulus told her, before his gaze flickered over to Bridget. "We'll hold them off to get you as long a head start as you might need, and then we'll be right behind you. I promise, we won't let anything happen to you guys."
Bridget stared at Regulus, half scared for her life and half proud of the boy standing in front of her. It took enough courage to acknowledge that what he was doing was wrong, but to in turn help his enemy defeat the friends he had been working with in order to save a couple girls whose lives weren't really even his most important interest or attraction. Bridget was trying to figure out why he had changed his mind and agreed to help them, when he was clearly about to deny her plead for help. What had softened his heart, what had made him stay? "That's not what we're worried about," she told him, her eyes full of concern. "What if something happens to you?"
"I'll be fine," Regulus waved a hand, dismissing the subject, but Bridget wasn't done.
"But you basically betrayed them, I mean.. they'll be after you, Reg," she reminded him, though the fact that his expression changed made it pretty clear he was already aware of that. "I'm trying to figure out what made you change your mind... what could you gain from helping us, besides your head on a platter?"
Regulus glanced at her nervously, shrugging. "Not what, who," he corrected her, before dropping the subject completely and going back to the plan; what they were here for. But both he and Bridget knew that whatever conversation they had been hinting at having was definitely not over, and would most positively be continued if both of them survived to see the sun rise. "Everybody ready?" he asked.
"Not yet," Fabian spoke up, grabbing Rachel's hand. "Give us a second?" he pleaded earning a tight-faced nod from Regulus. Fabian tugged Rachel to the back of the group, looking back to make sure nobody was watching them. "Look," he said, taking her other hand as well. "uh..." not being able to know what he should say, Fabian did the next best thing. Closing his eyes, he leaned forwards and pressed his lips against Rachel's, just for a moment. The girl didn't even get a chance to respond to his actions before he pulled back, wrapping her in a tight hug as she stood there in complete and utter shock. "In case I don't make it back," he whispered in her ear. They hugged for at least half a minute, before they heard Regulus clear his throat from up front. Fabian kissed Rachel's check, squeezing her one last time in his arms, before reluctantly stepping back and joining the boys back up the front. Rachel was left standing in the back, staring after him helplessly as Crystal walked over to her and wrapped an arm around her shoulders, giving her a grim smile.
Fabian nodded at Regulus, signaling that he was ready now. The youngest Black nodded, before speaking; "Alright, guys go in one three," the boys all readied their wands; placing them in front of their faces, looks of utter determination and rage on their faces. "two," Regulus placed his hand on the door handle, his fingers curling around the piece of metal, gripping it tightly while the everyone whispered "Nox" and the lights at the tips of their wands went out, leaving them in darkness. It felt like nobody was breathing. Forget the pin, if a feather landed on the floor they would know a mile away. "one, go!" Regulus shouted in a loud whisper, yanking the door open and lurching through the archway, followed by the other boys. The second they had darted through the doorway, shouts could be heard and the obvious sounds of fighting and curse words filled the air.
Cielo, Crystal, Rachel and Bridget were left in the hallway, they being nervous wrecks as they counted to thirty. A cry of pain came from inside, and Bridget put a hand against her mouth. "Holy crap," she muttered, terrified. What was happening in there? Who got hurt?
"Thirty seconds," Crystal stuttered, placing a hand on the already open door. She drew her wand up to protect her face, before she ran into the room, the other three girls following her. Whatever they had been expecting to see, that definitely wasn't what they saw, what they were met with. Gideon was on the ground, wand raised as he clutched his stomach, Fabian standing over him, casting endless spells at a group of three Death Eaters. Remus was in a furious battle with Lucius Malfoy as James was being backed into a corner by Zabini and Bellatrix. Regulus and Sirius were, surprisingly, fighting side by side, advancing forward on a group of four students, Severus Snape being recognizable amongst them.
"Go! Go! Go!" someone shouted, before a yelp came after that and the sound of someone falling. Nobody dared look to see who it was, the four girls taking the instructions Regulus had given them and running to the back, towards the right. There, just as promised, they saw Olly and Tia tied two a pair of thick, marble columns. Tia would've seemed as if she were sleeping, if it weren't the shudders running through her body every time she took a breath. Olly was barely keeping herself conscious, her eyes half open, half closed, her glasses crushed to dust at her feet. The hair on both of them was tangled and unruly, and Tia was bleeding from her arm.
"Oh my god," Rachel choked as she caught her best friend when she fell just after Bridget cast the spell to undo the ropes. Olly collapsed into Rachel's arm, it being no surprise when Tia fell into Crystal just the same way. Olly clutched at tightly as she could onto the back of Rachel's robes, just managing to stand up as they began to exit, Crystal and Cielo dragging Tia along, one of her arms slung around each of their shoulders. Bridget was jogging next to Rachel and Olly, wand out as they made their getaway.
As they were passing the Black brothers, Bridget heard someone call out, "Crucio!" She turned just in time to see the red colored spell connect with her stomach sending her crashing to the ground in a screaming heap. As she fell, her head slammed into the rock hard ground, bashing against a stone. Her screams died out as she slipped into unconsciousness, though nobody knew if that was good or bad, seeing as she couldn't feel the pain now that she wasn't awake.
"No!" Regulus shouted as he watched her collapse. In a feeling-driven rage, he turned and pointed his wand at the person who had cast the spell upon Bridget. And, before Sirius or anyone else could stop him, he already had yelled the words that would change everything. "Avada Kedavra!" he screamed, furious. It seemed as if everyone paused their fighting the watch in terror as the green spell reached out like a lightening bolt and struck the wizard in the center of his chest, everyone sucking in a nervous breath as they saw the life drained from his body, the empty shell that was left falling to the ground in a heap.
"Damian!" someone shouted, and the fight was back on, more violent and furious than previously.
"Rachel," Olly muttered, digging her heels into the ground, reaching into her friends pocket. "Where's my wand?"
"No," Rachel protested, taking Olly's hand and lifting it out of her pocket, but it was too late. She had found her wand, which Rachel had picked up and placed in her robes after she found it on the astronomy tower when Olly had been kidnapped.
"I'm fighting," her best friend declared, pulling away from Rachel and stumbling over to stand next to Bridget's unmoving body, protecting her as best she could.
"Dang it," Rachel muttered to herself, before running over and standing next to Olly, holding out her wand as one of the Death Eater fighting Sirius and Regulus escaped from their clutches, along with one of the wizards battling James. They both gathered together and pulled their wands on Rachel and Olly, the group of four beginning to fight.
Spells were flying left and right, and Cielo was surprised to notice that the thousand-year-old room hadn't collapsed down on them yet. She and Crystal had managed to carry Tia all the way to the door, when they looked back in, glancing at their friends. Rachel and Olly had stayed behind to help fight, and they -and everybody else- weren't looking good. Then again, neither side was. There were casualties on both good and evil teams. A shout reached Cielo ears and she turned to see Olly clutching her side, wincing in pain as smoke emitted from her shirt. Cielo came to the realization that her friend was being burned. "Go!" Olly hissed through her teeth, biting the inside of her cheek in order to fight through the pain. She turned to look at Crystal and Cielo as they held up, distracted as another spell hit her in the back. She winced and made a noise of utter distraught, before waving her hand frantically at the door. "Go!" she shouted, yet another spell connected with her side as she turned to face her opponent. Crystal and Cielo exchanged regretful looks, before they struggled out the door, holding Tia in their arms. Just after they left, Olly and Rachel were both hit with a pair of spells. Olly, having been hit multiple times already and definitely not being at full strength, doubled over in pain, kneeling down while pressing her head to the cold stone she was standing on.
Sirius noticed this, and naturally, he was furious. Asking his brother if he could handle Snape and the other death eater, he rushed to stand behind the two wizards battling Rachel and Olly. He knew he wouldn't be able to hit them with a spell and he didn't want to kill or torture them. So instead, he settled for something else. Not caring that he would be exposed, he placed his wand beneath his teeth before shouting, "Hey!" All four of the wizards averted their attention to Sirius and saw him with his only weapon stuck between his teeth. Olly watched, amazed, as Sirius Black began to shrink. His skin darkened and became furry, his back hunching and his hair shrinking back into his head. His mouth and nose became wet and grew out, a long, pink tongue flopping out as the wand dropped to the floor. His legs thinned out and grew to reconnect themselves at his bum, the place where his knees should be bending in a way that no human legs should bend. His fingers turned into paws, a tail growing from his behind as a pair of thin, floppy things emerged from either side of his head.
Soon, everyone was left staring at the giant black dog, who was standing there, staring at the two Death Eaters. He barked loudly before charging at them, tackling the blonde one who had been casting spells at Olly. He jumped up onto him, sinking his teeth into the man's shoulder. He dug his long fingernails into his stomach, before turning and launching himself at the other teenager, who was too shocker to move a muscle as he was taken down by the massive beast.
Moments later, a shout came from the corner where James had been backed up against the wall. The young Potter was gone, but there was a large deer in his place, charging at a single wizard, head bowed and antlers pointed straight at the Death Eater's behind. Another man tried coming up behind it -or James, Olly wasn't sure- but the deer simply reared up its back legs and planted a kick in the wizards stomach. Remus continued to cast spells, and even the rats in the room were helping out, running up the legs of the Death Eaters and scratching or biting them with their tiny hands and mouths. The chaos turned the tables immediately, and soon Olly and Rachel were back on their feet, next to Regulus and Remus, casting spells like their lives depended on it; which they did. The four of them formed a circle around Bridget, protecting her as the last of their enemies were taken down by the animals.
The black dog and the deer trotted over to two different places, and soon their body parts began to shift again. Both animals grew hair again and the fur disappeared, their tails shrunk back into them, their legs shifting around to the correct position and growing toes. The snouts shaped themselves back into noses and mouths, their paws and hooves disappearing. In their places were left James Potter and Sirius Black, the rats running back to their hiding places as both teenagers grinned at each other before bending down to pick up the wands they had dropped.
Olly opened her mouth to say something, but Sirius beat her to it. He marched straight over to her, a wild grin spread like butter across his face and he threw his arms around her, squeezing the witch so tight she was afraid of loosing her breath. Gripping the back of his shirt, Olly squeezed her eyes shut tightly and hugged him back, almost laughing out of relief. Sirius watched over her shoulder as Remus stomped over to Tia, not even saying anything as he pulled her right into a bog, heartfelt kiss. Their arms wrapped around each other, Sirius knew his friend had found somebody who loved him. Sirius loosened his grip on Olly, pulling back a bit before placing his lips on hers, pressing them against her with conviction. It wasn't a steamy make out, or a face-eating competition; it was simply a kiss. Olly pressed back, breathing in, relieved.
"Thank god," Sirius laughed against Olly's lips, lifting her up and spinning her around in a circle before putting her down. "Don't ever get kidnapped again, alright?"
Olly chuckled, nodding as she rested her head on his shoulder. "I wasn't planning on it," she grinned up at him, straightening up and pressing her lips to his one last time before pulling away, glancing at the Death Eaters sprawled out on the floor in various uncomfortable positions. "We should get going," she observed, her tone becoming a bit more serious.
"Yeah," Remus agreed with Olly. When the pair of black haired teenagers looked over at him, they saw that he and Tia were standing very close to each other their fingers intertwined. Sirius nudged Olly with his elbow upon seeing this, smiling down at her suggestively before reaching out and taking her small hand in his larger one, giving it a reassuring squeeze.
"It's over, don't worry," he reminded her, planting his lips on her forehead.
Olly nodded as the group made their way towards the door, following the path that Cielo, Crystal and Tia had taken to get back up to the castle; they had a lot of explaining to do to the staff, and a lot to fill Dumbledore in on. Regulus had taken the liberty of picking up Bridget and carrying her, and he wouldn't let anybody else touch her. "Yeah, for now," she muttered under her breath. She had a feeling this wasn't over. But despite the fact that the wizarding world was suddenly in a much bigger danger than it had been at the beginning of the year, Olly felt content. In fact, she felt completely happy. And she had Sirius Black to thank for that.
A/N: LET ME JUST TELL YOU THAT WHILE I WAS WRITING THIS CHAPTER HALF THE TIME I WAS SQUEALING LIKE A BABY PIG ABOUT TO BE SLAUGHTERED AND TURNED INTO BACON. My OTP got together and even though I'm writing the book I couldn't have been more happy about how them getting together happened. (OTP = Rachel and Fabian)
Now... I have a few things to discuss with you readers. So first of all, I made a list of all the ship names for this book, since there are a lot of ships(obviously):
Sirius + Olly = Scolly | Remus + Tia = Ria | Fabian + Rachel = Fachel | Crystal + Gideon = Crideon (hehe foreshadwing) | Bridget + Regulus = Bridgulus (also foreshadowing lol) Calum + Cielo = Calelo | James + Lily = Jily (who's your favorite ship? Mine either Fachel, Scolly or Bridgulus. I honestly can't choose, lol)
Second of all: you buggers are so lucky that I have this thing called a heart. Basically I was debating whether or not I should kill a main character this chapter. So I sent a list of names that weren't important in the real Harry Potter or that werent even existing in that world, and sent them to my friend Marco and told him to pick a name and then that person would die. He picked Gideon and I was going to do it but the I was like "wait, one pair of twins was already ripped apart I can't do that" so then I told him to pick another name and he chose Bridget. But then I felt I couldn't do that because I had plans for her so I decided she would just get hurt and I'd kill off an unimportant death eater. You're welcome :)
But yeah.. I hope you guys liked the chapter! Plus, they found out that Sirius and James are animagus! And did you get the hint about the rats? Peter sent them, at least thats what I had in mind when I wrote the chapter. But anyway, thanks for reading, next chapter will be really important, so don't miss it!
polkadotPotter xXx