Harry Potter A New Sirius Black

Susan lay in her bed, unable to sleep. She had been tossing and turning all night, recollections of what had happened over the past few days running through her mind. It was unbelievable to think that only a few days ago, she had been highly anticipating the end of the Triwizard Tournament. And indeed, it had ended, but in the worst way possible. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't get her friend's blank, lifeless eyes out of her mind.

She rolled over onto her other side, trying to get comfortable even though she knew sleep would be impossible. It was already almost dawn, and she hadn't slept a wink. Her brain kept rewinding back to the moments after she and Hannah had informed the staff and Harry's friends of Jeff's petition, his threat to kick Harry out of Hogwarts. She'd never forget the way in which he started bullying the younger students into signing it if they were hesitant. "Do you want your friends to end up like Cedric? All you need to do is sign this, and that threat will be gone. If Harry's not at Hogwarts, his enemies can't come after him here, and no one else will get caught in the crossfire," he'd coerced them, and unfortunately, she'd seen some go along with it. She wondered how many others had signed after she and Hannah had left the common room. The way he had used the younger children's worst fears had made her sick to her stomach.

Well, you got what you wanted, didn't you? she thought then, feeling tears come to her eyes for what felt like the thousandth time since she'd seen Cedric lying so terribly, horribly still on the Quidditch pitch. Harry's gone. He's not at Hogwarts anymore. My God, I hope he's okay.

After she and Hannah had interrupted the staff meeting and then gone to the hospital wing, they hadn't wanted to return to the common room. As much as they understood the reasons why they weren't allowed in to see Harry, they wished they'd been able to, so they could give him their support. But they didn't object, because they knew Harry needed the support of those he trusted most.

Hannah had been particularly miserable - what reason would Harry have to trust her at all, even in the future? As they'd walked out of the wing, Susan had wound her arm around her in comfort. She realized how much her best friend truly regretted her misjudgment of Harry two years ago. She couldn't be prouder of who Hannah had become now; the way she'd defended Harry in the staff room spoke volumes.

Instead of returning to the common room, the girls decided to sit on a bench in the vicinity of the hospital wing. Even if Ron, Hermione, and Ginny would be there for a while, they wanted to stay in the area so they could ask after Harry once they came out. They sat there, not knowing what to say; their minds were too full of emotions. Anger and grief swam through their bodies in equal measure.

Then, sooner than either girl had thought would happen, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny came out of the hospital wing, but Susan knew instantly that something was terribly wrong. Hermione and Ginny both had tears running down their faces, and Ron looked numb and lost.

Susan felt dread coil in her stomach, and she saw the fearful expression on Hannah's face as they jumped up off the bench and hurried towards Harry's friends.

"What is it?" Hannah asked breathlessly. "What's wrong?"

"Aurors are here," Ron said, his voice coming out in a monotone. "They've come to the school."

Susan felt like a bucket of icy water had been poured over her. "What?" she whispered, horrorstruck. "They've come for Harry, haven't they?"

"They have," said Ginny, furiously wiping her eyes. "But ..." Her voice became a whisper as she came closer to the two girls. She looked closely at their faces, searching for something in their eyes. Hermione and Ron followed, the former unable to stop her own tears.

"But what?" asked Hannah, her face white. "Oh God, what's happened to him?"

Ginny, having come to a decision, whispered, "He's safe. He's gone into hiding. We can't tell you who took him, but he's safe."

.....

Join my P*atreon and dive into over 60 advanced chapters!

Link: p*atreon.com/Nebula_Scribe (Remove the *)

Plus, enjoy the next two chapters for free—grab them while they're fresh!