-Sirius Black-
People are dead.
Four.
Four people have died.
No, four people were killed.
She killed them.
Stella Killed them.
I don't think I'll ever be able to forget the sound of their bodies breaking on the pavement and the look on McGonogal's face in the moments after. And when Stella smiled like killing those people was the easiest thing in the world and said "Welcome to the Game."
We weren't meant to be there but of course we were. As the aurors raced after Stella and McGonogal passed us in the archway of the Great Hall, she gave us her most grave look and I knew that she was silently urging us to stay and to not follow them.
But follow them we did.
While they faced off in the Courtyard outside the front door, just before the bridge James, Lily, Peter, Remus and I hid on the shadowed arches of the pavillion, watching from the sideline. And maybe we shouldn't have, maybe we should've taken one look at that haze of insanity in Stella's eyes and bolted.
But it was like witnessing a car crash being that you just couldn't look away.
And as those hideous words left her lips, in the handful of seconds before she dissolved into thin air, she looked over at us her eyes cold and daring as if the words were meant for us too.
"Welcome to the Game."
Then when she was gone, the shocked silence that had kept us in it's hold dissipated and the full weight of what happened started to settle in. Lily was the first one of us to move and James automatically moved with her. My feet took a few more tries before they started to work, the cold of Stella's stare lingering in my bones.
"Professor?" Lily choked out and McGonogal whipped around and fo a moment her stricken expression met ours before she mannaged to mask it- poorly.
"Get back to the Common Room." She ordered allthough her voice wavered and her eyes glistened.
"Are they dead? Are they really dead?" James spoke up, clenching his fists to stop his hands from shaking. It didn't work, his hands still shook just like his voice did on the word 'dead'.
More aurors started to fill the courtyard, ther usually impassive faces becoming vulnerable at the sight of their fallen comerades. They were too late to do anything but stop and stare at the destruction that had ensued but maybe they were the lucky ones, lucky it wasn't them broken on the pavement.
"Get them out of here. Gryffidor Common Room. Now!" McGonogal barked, some of the authority coming back into her voice.
The aurors in the face of their grief launched into action like they were trained to do, rounding us up and pulling us away from the courtyard as we didn't know whether to fight to stay or be glad to leave. So we stayed in a sort of suspended silence all the way from the front doors to the Common Room.
One of them said something about security messures before the fat lady painting closed us in and Remus let out a humourless bark of laughter.
"Security measures?" Remus spat out once we were alone, the rest of the Gryffindor House still at dinner, "Did they not see bodies? Do they think their immune? " he yelled.
"Moony." Peter mumbled, putting a hand on Remus' arm but he just shrugged Pete off.
"No one's immune!" He cried, anger and frustration coated his voice but the glisten of tears in his eyes gave away how truly devastated he was.
"It's not her." I said quietly, my voice shaking.
"She killed four people today. Four people!" He continued, not hearing me. Lily let out a sob and James' hands came up, like he wanted to reach out and take her into his arms, but then lowered them as if he remembered himself.
But I needed to be heard.
"It's not her! It's not Stella!" I roared, stopping Remus in his tracks. Everyone's eyes were on me, searching me, trying to take on my words, my outburst.
"No matter what happens," I began my eyes sweeping over all of their frightened ones, "No matter what she does, we have to remember that it's not her. It's him. Voldemort. He killed those people tonight. Not her." I spat the words out as if they tasted foul in my mouth. They did.
"He's controlling her. Using her. Defiling her in the worst way- her thoughts, her words, her actions, her body!" I choked up, my anger becoming that awful kind, that wet kind- where your voice shakes and your body trembles and your eyes burn with hot angry tears.
"So what do we do, Sirius?" Lily spoke up, her voice small and afraid. James really did reach out to her then and Lily accepted his touch, even leaned into him.
"We're gonna save her."
~~~
I had no idea how. None of us did but we knew we had to and we knew we'd do anything we could to do so. Lily couldn't go back to her room, I'm not sure if it was fear or just a comfort thing- maybe both- but she stayed in the spare bed in our room. The bed that Stella stayed in at the start of fifth year. What seems like a lifetime ago.
We stayed up late, no one talking but no one really able to sleep. And we kept the light on.
In the morning, at breakfast, I held my breath while entering the Great Hall my eyes immediately going to Stella's usual spot at the Slytherin table between Bellatrix and Narcissa. It was empty and I couldn't work out whether I was happy or sad about it.
Then the next 'hold my breath' moment happened halfway through a square of grain bread toast and some too sweet pumpkin juice.
As people started to slowly filter out of the Hall to their first class, McGonogal's hand came down on Lily's shoulder.
And so I held my breath.
Without realising, we had taken the long route to the Great Hall this morning passing by the main doors that were wide open to allow the morning Spring sun to shine through but we weren't looking at the sun, we were looking at the cobblestones.
And they were bare. No bodies. No blood. Nothing. They were bare and since then I had been wondering whether everything that had happened last night was going to be swept under the rug and we just weren't going to talk about. If McGonogal had now realised this was much bigger than us and was going to take matters into more proffessional hands.
So when she approached us I held my breath not knowing what to expect.
"What class do you have first?" She began, the question directed at all of us.
We were all silent for a moment before Peter answered.
"Ancient Runes."
McGonogal nodded.
"Not anymore. Come to Dumbledor's office instead. All of you." She instructed and we all exchanged looks.
She gave a nod as if affirming her request, gave Lily's shoulder a soft squeeze and then glided out of the Hall in true McGonogal fashion.
"What do you think that's going to be about?" James asked carefully after watching her go.
"Things need to be said. Plans need to be made. Stella's no longer a small problem, she's a serious threat." Lily replied, pushing her scrambled eggs around her plate.
"A 'villain' if you will." Remus added and we let out a chorus of half-hearted laughs.
We ended up being one of the last people at breakfast, in a way procrastinating the meeting but in the end we had to face the music.
Usually Dumbledor's office is sealed off, password protected, but today the stairwell was open and waiting for us which made my palms sweat but Lily charged ahead, leading her band of not so merry men. When we reached the door, lily had already knocked and we were already being let in by a somber Dumbledor.
"Thank you all for coming, we will make sure you're caught up in your schoolwork." Dumbledor began as we filed in. McGonogal stood by Dumbledor's desk and Dumbledor moved to join her.
"That's okay Proffessor, this is important." James replied.
"So it is my understanding that the five of you had an altercation with Miss Hart last night during dinnertime and then witnessed her attacking the aurors brought in to deal with the possibility of dark magic involved in the situation...?" Dumbledor began, McGonogal nodded along but Lily was pissed.
"I'm sorry, possibility? Is there realy any doubt? She's bein possessed by Voldemort!" Lily was quick of the bat to correct him, her voice climbing with her anger.
"I do believe your right Miss Evans, there is no question of the dark magic intertwined in Stella Hart's life. Especially after last night. I admit I wasn't sure but now I am completely." Dumbledor responded and Lily simmered down a bit.
"What we did call you in to talk about is the death of four aurors at her hands. We have mannaged to keep this out of the media as this is a very sensative situation and The Minister is aware of what is going on and the auror organisation is aware and preparing but we want to keep this as contained as possible. For Stella's sake." He explained and we continued to stay silent just gleaning his information and trying to process it as much as we could.
"What we want is to assure you," McGonogal spoke up, "That your protection- and Stella's- is our primary focus being that we know from the third task in the Tri Wizard Tournament last year, is that Voldemort is targeting you six above anyone and anything else. The School and the Ministry are aware and have been keeping a close eye on you this past year to ensure your safety. We still don't know why but we can assume that what he is doing to Stella is a way to take you all down."
A chill settled over me and I think the others too. They were just saying what we had all been thinking, at least I had, but hearing it out loud was difficult. With all that was happening, it was easy just to focus on Stella and the problems surrounding her instead of thinking about how it could be Voldemorts way of hurting all of us.
"So what do we do?" I asked, finally speaking up.
McGonogal looked at me with sad eyes and I tensed, waiting for her to say the classic "I don't know" but it never came.
No, the next thing that was spoke was not what I had anticipated at all.
"Are you talking about me?"
We turned to see Stella leaning against the doorway, watching us with something dangerous behind her ocean eyes.
"Stella?" I breathed, unable to keep the shock out of my voice. Where were the aurors who had been stationed outside of Dumbledor's office?
She smiled.
"Sorry I'm late.You know how much I just love being the centre of attention." She laughed, pushing off from the door and waltzing into the room. No one spoke.
"So what secrets are we spilling tonight?" She asked, trailing her fingers across a tall cabinet. My eyes darted to McGonogal and Dumbledor who frzen to the spot, bodies tense as they watched Stella closely.
"Is it the fact that I'm devastatingly gorgeous?" She asked playfully almost sounding like the old Stella, It made my heart ache. When she didn't get a reaction she continued, "No? I spose you all know that. It's not much of a secret." She laughed again.
"Or that I'm intelligant? No one thought I was. You all thought I got by on my parents good name and some wicked charm, but you were wrong." Her eyes snapped onto Remus had pulled out his wand ever so slowly and quick as a flash she flicked her hand and his wand went flying from his hand and into hers.
"Do you belive me now?" She asked, snapping it in two. I flinched at the sound, she continued.
"Although I haven't been in the buisness of using my intelligance for good lately. I spose that makes me more cunning than intelligant. But why the disntiction?" She cried, throwing up her hands, "Good or bad? It makes no difference. We're all the same when it comes down to it. We break the rules for ourselves and we break necks for our loved ones." She told us
"Stella please-" Lily began but Stella cut her off by slamming her hands down on the front table.
"How many necks am I going to have to break until you stop underestimating me?" She growled, her eyes wild and unnerving.
"Yours?" She pointed at Lily but then my nervous shift in movement caused her eyes to flicker to me and her hand followed, "or yours?"
I shook my head sadly.
"I never underestimated you stella." I said softly, tilting my head. I could've sworn I saw something flicker behind her dark eyes but then it disappeared and I guess I must have imagined it.
"Lying to save yourself, however is bold but foolish and it won't work. You will die, though by my hand or his? We haven't decided yet." My heart stilled and my hands trembled and I swore the room temperature dropped. It was rare that Stella spoke about Voldemort and when she did it just reminded us how dangerous this all was.
Stella continued like nothing was wrong.
"Were you talking about everyone that I've hurt? Well there's not enough hours in the day since I was a bitch from the start." She laughed agin but it was cold and humourless.
"Or were you talking about the people that I've killed?" Lily took in a sharp breath that didn't go unnoticed by Stella, I think she actually enjoyed it.
"I must say that was quite drastic even for me but it had to be done. I needed to do something to get your attention." She said it so flippantly like killing people was nothing.
"Do I have it now?" She asked, her eyes on Lily.
"Yes." Lily whispered.
"Good." Stella grinned triumphantly.
"Oh and there was one last thing what was it?" She mused and green sparks danced over her palms. McGonogal and Dumbledor finally spurred into action and slowly began to descend the stairs into where we were standing.
"Oh I know it, it's on the tip of my tongue." Wind began to pick up despite their being no open windows and the sky was blue outside.
"Do you know?" She asked, her eyes alight on McGonogal and Dumbledor who weren't going to reach her in time. They just weren't. The wind whipped around us, thunder boomed and lightening flashed and the green sparks in her hands danced. She raised her closed fists up to her face.
"I just can't remember."
She opened her hands and the windows above Dumbledors desk shattered, the paintings fell, wind and rain hurtled around us and it felt like we were in the eye of a storm. You couldn't see or here you could only endure.
Then as quickly as the storm began, it stopped and when my vision cleared, Stella was gone.
I turned to McGonogal who looked just as shell shocked as I felt and I echoed my question from before the madness ensued.
"So what do we do?"
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AUTHORS NOTE
Hello, it's ya girl. Updating instead of packing. What's new.
THERE ARE ONLY TWO MORE CHAPTERS OF 'THE NIGHTMARE' LEFT IF YOU THINK SHITS GONE DOWN YOU AINT READYYYYY!!
Don't forget to vote and comment because it means the absolute world to me!!
*big loves my dudes*
-J xx