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Hogwarts
–Damian Hawthorne–
His eyes snapped open, his body completely rested in just a few hours of sleep, as he slowly sat up on the bed and saw the time. It was 2 AM, as was expected when he went to sleep.
An entire week had passed since the Troll incident, three days since regular classes had begun. Things had settled down, a bit anyway. There was still a lingering tension in the castle, especially since the news of Filch's death had been made public.
As expected, there had been some celebration from insensitive students, but that had been shut down hard by the Heads of Houses. The two Slytherin prefects had quit their positions and were now regular students, a decision that was entirely understandable since they were quite easily dispatched by the troll.
And that was despite them, according to the rumours anyway, using some Dark curses and spells as well. He had a hunch that their use of said Dark Spells was kept out of their official record in exchange of their silence, especially since they were surely aware of the anomalous nature of that troll.
That silence certainly did not last long as the rumours began swirling around the castle mere hours after they were released from the Hospital Wing and deemed ready for classes, but that was all they were, rumours. Along with the dozen other rumours circulating, it diluted their impact by a lot, safeguarding that secret.
After all, part of that secret also had Tommy boy's hand on it, which meant that Dumbledore would have set off a national panic attack if he had revealed everything on it. The one good thing that came from it was that he hadn't seen Quirell since that day.
The official story was nothing, actually. McGonagall just informed them that Quirell had retired and had left the castle immediately, and the Ministry was going to appoint an Auror as a temporary replacement until the school could hire a teacher for DADA. That temporary replacement was still not here, so they were getting that time slot free. It must have been the concession Dumbledore gave to the Minister. Have an Auror stationed at the school, but in the guise of a teacher.
The unofficial story was that he had fled before the curse on the position could act on it, which was bull because he had been the teacher for a few months at best. The rumours also said that the troll attack was just the curse acting up earlier than usual, which was a certain leap in logic.
Whatever the case may be, it was truth that Quirell had disappeared without any indication whatsoever, and that had happened after the attack, which either meant that Tommy boy fled the castle, which was unlikely since he had let the Troll loose for a reason, or Dumbledore had finally manned up and killed the weasel, which was also a little unlikely, based on his past actions but whatever it was, Quirell was gone.
It was bound to rouse Dumbledore's suspicions if he hadn't offed the guy already.
Shaking his head, he changed his clothes and began the very easy process of sneaking out of the castle. He had kept a close watch these past three days and had realised that the Auror mostly taught and then slept at night.
There was no replacement hired for Filch, which meant it was up to the Prefects to make sure no one left the dorms, something that didn't even register as an obstacle to him. He figured that waiting any longer might just drive Sirius up the wall even further, so he ventured out of the castle carefully, making sure to use the secret passages that led to the lower levels, before entering the Sewers, then flying straight up and voila! He was out of the castle before anyone even knew of it.
Now, Teddy was a deep sleeper, but he wouldn't want to risk his cover, so he flew a little distance away before performing a series of chain teleportations that ultimately culminated in him popping up in his Portal room. Seeing the familiar plain walls that housed some of the deadliest weapons he had made, he smiled and entered his Lair.
The more time he spent in Hogwarts, the more he missed this place and the freedom that came with it. The ward matrix, too surged forth as if missing him, which was false since he knew it was not sentient, but he liked to think that one day, it could do that too.
Heading to his office, he watched as Sirius continued to read the newspapers. He seemed collected, which was good. Oddly enough, while he was holding a newspaper in one hand, folded shut as he continued to read through the other newspaper.
He supposed that the subsequent clarification and proper reporting from international newspapers meant that Sisus was aware of the sole death of that troll incident and the identity of the casualty. The identities of the Slytherin prefects were also released to the public. Apparently, the concept of privacy, especially for minors, meant very little to the newspapers like the Daily Prophet, and even their parents did not care much for it. He supposed that it could be worn as a badge of pride that their students fought a troll.
Shaking his head, he decided to finally meet Sirius face to face, well, with a mask on anyway, since he wanted to get the final details hashed out, and that could not be done with the magical equivalent of a PA system.
___xx__
–Sirius Black–
He read through the international newspaper calmly, something about a Dragon reserve in France being burned down with all the Dragons somehow whisked away undetected, but his attention continued to wander to the other newspaper he hadn't let go of since he first read it.
It was about the death of Filch and just Filch, with no other students dead. He had all but collapsed on himself when he first read it and since then, had refused to part with it, feeling as if he let go, this dream would unravel and then he would have to face the horrible reality where he had failed Harry twice.
So, while he had calmed down a bit from his outbursts, he needed that piece of paper to reassure him that Harry was fine and he was not wasting his time here. On the flip side, his outbursts and violent nightmares had reduced in frequency even more. He no longer felt the need to test the enchantments in this place against his will to kill himself.
So, there he was, in the middle of a reading session, when he felt it. Goosebumps arose across all his body as he instinctively stood up, his hand twitching as if searching for a wand somewhere, while he discarded the other newspaper but kept the Daily Prophet one close. His neck was on a swivel, looking all around his cell, seeing nothing, but he was sure that it was not an illusion.
Someone or something was coming, and the magical feedback alone was creating such intense reactions in him. The last time this had happened was when he had been cornered by Voldemort, and had first row seats to a battle between the likes of magical titans like Dumbledore and Voldemort. It was as if magic itself recognised the difference between someone like him and someone like Dumbledore, and was screaming at him about it.
To get away, to get out of the area, to save himself, that he was going to die if he faced that kind of magic.
Those were the messages he had received from his mind back then. He had been much weaker back then, not having fully grown and already committed to Dumbledore's agenda, which was a stupid thing to do, but he was a stupid teenager at the time so it could be forgiven.
Now, he was not at his best shape these days, anyone could tell that, but he had recovered a fair bit in the days he had been here, so he knew he was not hallucinating when he felt that titanic magical signature. The food here was really good, and the water had something mixed in it that just helped him feel well rested, even after he woke up twice in the middle of the night due to nightmares.
There!
He squinted, taking a step back, as one section of the wall, the walls that were covered in this wall of energy that could become very soft or very hard, depending on the intent of his actions, rippled before the entire wall slid down, into a hole in the ground.
His eyes widened when he saw him. A full body cloak, with the head area covered in darkness, was walking towards him. His back, already flat against the wall behind him, he looked at the man with slight trepidation as the cloak was pushed back, revealing an unassuming looking face?
"Sirius Black," The voice itself was modulated, which meant that the face was fake too, but it beat the hell out of talking to a mass of darkness, so he let that go, "I apologize for the delay."
Huh?
The confusion must have been naked on his face as the man explained, "Due to circumstances you must be aware of," he gestured to the newspaper around his bed, "I have had to postpone your meeting with Harry. The entire castle is under scrutiny, Harry even more so, which is why I believe it is prudent to delay your meeting."
The word delay lit up something fierce within him, "So, what? You want me to waste here while you–"
"No." He was interrupted by the man's voice, further putting him off balance.
"In the meantime, we can do something about your prisoner status."
"What?"
The man then sighed, and then began explaining, as if he was a toddler who just could not understand some stuff until it was dumbed down enough for him.
After the rather lengthy explanation about his legal status, his property, the seat of the House of Black, his right to exert his power on the Wizengamot, Malfoy becoming the legal heir if he did not show up, and more, he couldn't wait to help the man.
Truth be told, he was ready to do whatever the man wanted when he heard that a Malfoy was going to inherit the House of Black if he did not do something, instead of Harry. The other stuff was just a bonus on top.
"I see. Thank you for your cooperation. Until then, I would advise you to stay put. Also," The man then waved his hand, as the floor below him just gave up, plunging him into darkness for a split second before he dropped onto a ground so soft, he just knew that it was the energy field doing the work.
"These are your new accommodations. I trust you will find them far more appealing. I will contact you in a week."
The bastard's voice echoed around the room, or rather, a large apartment area, but he was nowhere to be seen. A moment later, something smacked into him from the top. He flinched and saw that it was the newspapers he had been reading earlier.
Looking up, the hole it had come from had already disappeared, becoming the smooth walls lined with energy fields once more.
Damn you, Warden!
Even so, he smiled, retrieving the newspaper and heading out to do a tour of the apartment. While no Grimmauld Place, it was good enough for a single person, especially since he did not have to cook or clean. Also, he hated Grimmauld Place with all his heart anyway, so technically, anything could be considered an upgrade.
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