Fate

Chapter 28 - Five Minutes Ago

Harry grimaced as he felt his left arm tingle slightly and took a break from his reading to reach down and scratch the pain away. His hand then went up to his scar as he felt another twinge from Voldemort. Over the past hour they had been becoming more and more frequent and his headache continued to grow.

Not quite sure what to think of it, Harry leaned back slightly, trying to clear his mind and remember the rather sparse Occlumency training he had received.

As he took another deep breath, he was assaulted once again with a sharp jab of pain in his scar, so unexpected that both hands flew to his head and he fell out of his chair, loosing his balance.

He hit the floor with a thud, hardly realizing the sharp pain in his side as his scar began to burn more and more intense in his forehead.

He considered crying out and was about to do just that when his whole world suddenly went black.

----

James and 'Remus' both whirled towards the house upon hearing 'Sirius'' all too painful scream.

Peter suddenly became second priority.

They rushed towards the house, neither seeing and neither really caring as Peter slowly disappeared back into the forest, trying desperately to scramble out of sight.

James lifted his wand, blasting away the locks on the cellar door and throwing the two wooden planks aside as they both scrambled to go help their friend, whatever the cost.

James was the first to enter the room and the sight was awful. Cetus Black was collapsed by the wall, crumpled in a heap and apparently unconscious as he wasn't moving. His wand lay near him, snapped in half. 'Remus' rushed to Arianna who was in an opposite corner, blood already seeping into the floor from a large gash in her left leg and neither could tell if she was breathing.

James, however, scrambled over to the still-as-death form of his best friend. Terrified tears pricked at James' eyes and he almost didn't make it to 'Sirius'' body. He fell to his knees a foot short, reaching over tenderly and with shaky arms, turned his friend face up and let out a strangled sigh of relief as 'Sirius' took in a sharp breath, wheezing and coughing.

"Bloody hell, Sirius..." James whispered, reaching down and propping him up so that his air could flow better. "What happened?"

"Mors...mordre..." 'Sirius' coughed out and with just one word, James understood explicitly. He shut his eyes tightly, hoping to stop the tears as he thought of the pain that Sirius had just gone through.

Among 'Sirius'' awful memories of his home, was the time, right before he decided to run away, when his father attempted to put the Dark Mark on him. Of course it didn't work, only Voldemort had the power and control to be able to control such powerful dark magic, but 'Sirius' confided in James the immense pain that it was still able to put him through. He had described it like a Cruciatus curse concentrated entirely on your arm and at a point it felt like your arm had been cut off. On top of that, it was like a second Cruciatus over your entire body. After the incident, 'Sirius' had run away to the Potters and never spoken to his family again. At least until that night.

James glanced over to Cetus Black's still form. He turned back to 'Sirius'. "What did you do to him?"

'Sirius' coughed again, shaking his head slightly and James understood that he didn't exactly know what happened. Sighing, James pulled 'Sirius' closer to him, hugging him tightly. "Merlin....don't do that again, Padfoot..." he whispered, more tears pricking at his eyes as 'Sirius'' screamed still echoed in his head. He felt 'Sirius' weakly try to hug him back and the gesture made James hold him even tighter.

"James?"

A breathless 'Remus' came over and knelt down by James. James looked over at him, not bothering to hide his tears.

'Remus'' face was already white and he looked tensely at 'Sirius'. "How is he?"

"He needs to get to St. Mungo's," James said carefully, trying not to have his voice shake as he spoke.

"Arianna has lost a lot of blood," 'Remus' said quietly, bowing his head slightly. James' head jerked up and he heard 'Sirius' whimper a bit at Arianna's name. His eyes traveled to Arianna's still form and he saw that 'Remus' already had her on a magical stretched and there was a large bandage covering her leg. "We've got to get them some medical attention now."

James turned back to 'Remus'. "One of us has got to tell the others." He finally heard his voice crack.

'Remus' must have heard the desperation in his voice because he just nodded slightly. "You stay with them, Prongs. I'll get word to Hogwarts."

James' relieved expression gave him all the "thank you" he needed and with one finally last look at 'Sirius', 'Remus' disappeared up the stairs, on his way to get help. James looked helplessly down at 'Sirius'', who now appeared to be unconscious, and at once snapped into action, determined to not let either of them die.

He whipped out his wand carefully conjured a stretcher, lying 'Sirius' gently on it, careful to not touch his left arm which hung significantly more limp than his other arm. After linking both Arianna's and 'Sirius'' stretcher's together, he reached in his pocket, bringing out the portkey that Dumbledore had made for them. He held onto it (a broken pocket watch) with one hand and gripped the edge of 'Sirius'' stretcher with the other.

"St. Mungo's," he whispered.

And all three of them disappeared from the house, leaving nothing but Cetus Black's unconscious body and a terrified Peter Pettigrew who continued to run as far away from the house as he possibly could.

----

'Remus' knew luck was with him as he ran up the front stairs at Hogwarts and saw the dim outline of an older Sirius Black pacing around the foyer of the grand castle.

"Sirius!" 'Remus' shouted, practically out of breath. Why couldn't they make it easier to get to Hogwarts?

Sirius whipped around, quick as lightning and at once met 'Remus' halfway, gripping his shoulder tightly, holding him up as 'Remus' struggled for breath.

"Sirius...Arianna, they're at St. Mungo's."

It seemed those were the only words that Sirius needed.

----

"Remus! St. Mungo's, now!"

Remus was startled by the frantic Sirius black that rushed into the hospital wing, and ever remembering his duties as current best friend, he immediately rose up, going over to calm him down.

"What is it? Are they back?" Remus said quickly. He got his answer immediately as 'Remus' followed Sirius into the infirmary and gave him a weak smile that didn't reach his eyes. Remus frowned, looking back to Sirius.

"What happened? Are they okay?" Remus reached out, grabbing Sirius' arm to stop him from leaving the room.

"She's in St. Mungo's, Remus...Merlin, she's still alive...." He said frantically. He finally glanced up at Remus. "I'm there too, but I've still got to be okay because I'm still alive now and-"

"Sirius...Sirius, snap out of it!" Remus reached over, grabbing both of Sirius' arms and shaking him slightly to stop his mindless babbling. Sirius did manage to calm a bit, but he didn't look up at Remus. "You can't just walk into St. Mungo's? What are you thinking?"

As much as it pained Remus to tell that to Sirius, he knew that it was true. No matter how dire the emergency got, there was no way that either of them or Harry could step foot into such a public area. It was as good as suicide as the space time continuum would probably explode.

Then again, they had already done a lot to make it bloat just a bit.

He glanced over at his younger self, still getting used to seeing such a young and healthy version of him. "Can you get the Headmaster? And find Harry too if you can."

'Remus' seemed to hesitate for a moment and Remus saw him glance desperately at the still unconscious Emily on the hospital bed. Remus felt a small pang in his heart at the glance, but managed to give 'Remus' a reassuring nod.

True to his character, 'Remus' let it go immediately nodding back and rushed out towards Dumbledore's office. Still holding onto one arm, Remus guided Sirius to a chair, making him sit down on it.

"Get a grip, Sirius," Remus scolded gently. "You gave them all the help you could. You did everything that was possible. Don't start beating yourself up because they're in the hospital. Just be glad that neither of them is dead."

"Yet," Sirius grunted, holding his head in his hands and staring at the floor.

Remus just sighed, understanding both sides of the coin and deciding to just leave him be. Sirius may have been reckless, but he knew how high the stakes were and he knew that leaving Hogwarts again, for either of them, was just asking Voldemort to find them.

He stood up, walking out of the infirmary and making sure that Sirius didn't follow. Closing the door behind him, he was just in time to catch Harry running towards him, a terrified look on his face.

"Remus! Remus! He's here! He's coming!" The young teen shouted desperately, sweat covering his face as he finally almost collapsed in front of Remus.

Remus caught him in his arms instinctively and tried to steady him, wondering exactly what he was talking about. He opened his mouth to as just that question before his eyes fell on Harry's scar and his heart dropped.

"Dear Merlin..." he breathed out, hardly daring to realize what Harry was saying. His scar was bright red against his pale feet and Remus could make out remains of wiped away blood lingering near it.

"Remus...Harry?!"

Sirius must have heard Harry's cries for he peaked out of the hospital and immediately rushed over to Harry, putting a hand on his shoulder and helping Remus steady him.

"Sirius...now," Harry emphasized, pushing away from them to stand on his own and leaving one hand holding his forehead. "He's coming now..."

Sirius paled instantly, obviously catching on faster than Remus.

Harry was saved from any more questions as a large explosion rocketed the north end of the school, knocking them all off their feet and Remus and Sirius got the gist of just exactly how soon "now" was.

Lord Voldemort was attacking Hogwarts. Now.

----

The wards were never broken at Hogwarts, it was a fact. A fact of life no different than snow fell in winter and flowers bloomed in the spring. And yet something somehow had gotten through the wards without the castles consent.

Albus knew he was the first one to realize it. Of course he considered Harry's connection to Voldemort and pondered if Harry had seen this coming and if he had, why he hadn't told anyone?

Nevertheless, for whatever the reasons, Albus knew that the wards had been breached and he was trying to remain calm as he considered his options.

It was still the summer, and therefore he didn't have students to worry about. In fact, the only people he really had to worry about were the mysterious time travelers, no doubt the main reason the wards had been broken. There was still a sufficient amount of protection around Hogwarts and he wasn't sure whether or not it would hold the intruders or not. But he didn't want to take that chance.

He considered going to face the intruders alone, trying to draw Tom (for only Tom would be foolish enough and powerful enough to invade Hogwarts) away from the school. But he knew that was near suicide, even if he showed the full extent of his powers.

He rounded his desk, quickly leaving word with Fawkes for all the remaining staff in Hogwarts to meet him in the entrance hall and hurried there himself. He had rounded the corner when he ran straight into a frantic 'Remus Lupin'.

"Professor Dumbledore!" 'Remus' said in relief. "You have to come quick! Sirius and Arianna are in St. Mungo's and James is with them!"

Albus hitched in a breath at the news. All he could cling to now was that neither of them were dead. He knew that he had to move fast if he was going to save Hogwarts and his students, past and future.

"Remus, listen to me very closely," Albus said gravely, starting to lead 'Remus' back to his office. "You must go to my office and use the floo to get to St. Mungo's. If the floo isn't working, call Fawkes to you and he will take you there." He paused, seeing the question on the young man's face before it was asked. "You must get word to the ministry that Hogwarts is under attack."

'Remus'' eyebrows shot up and he looked behind them frantically. "What? Now? But no one can-"

"Lord Voldemort is marching upon this school at this very moment, Remus," Albus interrupted, not wanting to waste any time. "I cannot leave while Hogwarts is in danger. You must go and get help."

Dumbledore had not thought of sending someone for help, but since stumbling across 'Remus' he had found the perfect opportunity to kill two birds with one stone. 'Sirius'' and Arianna's fate were now in the hands of the healers at Hogwarts, but Albus knew that both 'Remus' and James needed to be there with their friends. Emily was still lying in the hospital wing, but Albus knew that nothing could be done about that knew. She would only fall if Hogwarts fell, and Albus was not going to let that happen any time soon.

'Remus' had gone very pale and his eyes frequently darted to the empty hallways around him, but he managed to square his chin and nod sharply towards Albus, understanding his order. For even though Albus was his old Headmaster, he was also the leader of the Order of the Phoenix, and 'Remus' would heed his words.

At that moment, sooner than Albus would have wanted, a large explosion rocked the school and both of them were knocked off their feet. 'Remus' scrambled up at once and went over to help Albus stand, but he waved the boy away.

"Remus. Go." He said firmly, ignoring the ach in his side as he propped himself up on the nearby wall and waved his old student away.

'Remus' shot him a pained look, but bit his bottom lip and ran off. Albus watched him until he disappeared up the staircase to the headmaster's office.

----

'Remus' scrambled out of the fireplace in the floo room at St. Mungo's and at once rushed up to the receptionist there who was filing her nails and seemed rather annoyed that he was bothering her, despite that it was her job.

"I'm looking for Sirius Black and Arianna Moore," 'Remus' said quickly, ready to bolt as soon as she told him.

The woman gave him a doubtful look, rolled her eyes and slowly reached down, thumbing through the names on the magical parchment in front of her, her eyes going slower than 'Remus' thought was possible.

"Can you hurry, please?" Remus tried through the grit of his teeth, trying to sound polite. This only seemed to annoy her further as he stopped, slowly looking up at him and raising one eyebrow.

She didn't even say anything, which made 'Remus' even more angry. Merlin! It must be a requirement on a receptionist application to be annoying and haughty.

So he just rolled his eyes, backing off a bit which made her look back down again and continue to scan the names.

After waiting an eternity, an amount of time that 'Remus' found entirely too long, she looked up at him with a bored sort of expression. "Mr. Black and Miss Moore are in the intensive section of spell damage level 4..."

'Remus' cut her off immediately by darting from the room and rushing to level four.

Intensive section....that didn't sound good at all, though he wasn't surprised. He was just grateful James had obviously been able to get them here quickly and right into the healers...

He finally reached the fourth floor, ignoring a few calls for him to slow down ("This is a hospital, young man!") and was right about to step through the doors labeled "Intensive Section" when he was stopped by a tall wizard in Healer's robes.

"Hold on there, son. You need authorization to get through those doors."

Already annoyed and more frightened than he cared to admit, 'Remus' was about to snap back at the wizard when another voice yelled at him.

"Remus!"

Finally relieved about something, 'Remus' rudely pushed past the wizard and met James halfway, startled at his shaking form and white face.

"What's going on? Are they alright?"

James shook his head frantically, looking like a lost little boy who didn't know how to react to a situation. "I don't know. They won't tell me anything!" He threw his hands up in the air in defeat and went back to sit in the chairs outside of some doors that Remus noticed were labeled "High Risk-Emergency". He shuddered at the hospital smell, the smell he knew he would never like and never get used to, and sat down next to his friend.

"James..." 'Remus' whispered to his friend. "I went to Hogwarts, but Dumbledore just sent me here alone..." James looked up in surprise and 'Remus' felt himself start to shake a bit as well. "Hogwarts is under attack, Prongs. Voldemort's there."

The news seemed to shock James into a stupor for he didn't even blink for a full thirty seconds, merely stared at 'Remus' as if he didn't quite hear him correctly.

"Hogwarts....b-but, that's impossible!" James breathed out. He glanced around. "Merlin, we have to tell someone! They'll need help!"

"I know," 'Remus' said urgently. "I've got to floo call some of the members of the Order, but you stay here and keep me infor-"

He cut himself off as the door next to them clicked open and both of them looked up in surprise as a Healer walked out softly, shutting the door quietly behind her and then turning to face the two of them. 'Remus' recognized her as Tanya Higgins, a Ravenclaw five years ahead of them in Hogwarts who had become quite good friends with Lily when Lily had been learning emergency med-witch procedures at the hospital.

The grave expression on her face gave away more than either of them wanted to hear.

'Remus' already felt tears in his eyes, not even knowing what was wrong or which friend was possibly gone already, but not being able to hold them back.

"James....Remus..." She acknowledged them both with a short nod which neither returned, not out of rudeness, but out of grief and anticipation of the worst. "Sirius is resting as comfortably as we are able to make him at the moment. He may wake up in two hours or he may wake up in two days. He suffered great trauma under some form of the Cruciatus curse, especially on his left arm which was severely broken and had several torn ligaments..."

'Remus' reached over, squeezing James' shoulder for support as he saw the tears refuse to fall down his friend's horrified face.

"But thankfully, we are confident that he will be alright after some serious rest and recovery time..."

She paused, paling a bit before clearing her throat slightly and continuing.

"Arianna lost a tremendous amount of blood for a body so frail, revealing days of torture under both the Imperious and Cruciatus curses. Her mind was also shot a bit through the haze that the Imperious inflicted upon her. We...we were unable to stop the blood flow from the large gash in her left leg..."

"She died about five minutes ago."