Edited by: Orlaith

Black Chronicles

Seidon stared down on the small pool and sensed that he was being watched. He looked up at the stars; creatures like the centaurs studied the stars for over four thousand years, he wondered why such things needed careful study. He only knew that in a few hours, the sun would be a glow in the eastern horizon. He changed back to his proper form and walked along the lakeshore. “Tenebrus, I believe whatever it is that you wished to discuss, can wait. We are being watched.”

The kelpie jumped as a soft voice echoed inside his head. ‘Suspicious by nature; a very typical trait of a kelpie.’

The Gryffindor common room looked quite empty. However, crouched by the shadows, Hermione Granger lay hidden as she bidded her time. Her patience finally paid-off as the doorway creaked open.

“Incarcerous!” Ropes shot out of her wand, which effectively bounded her victims.

Hermione sighed and hoped that the guys had not yet woken anybody with their racket. She sent five chocolate frogs towards their destination. Hermione smiled, the boys ought to be grateful that she used Sirius’ stupid ‘jump him and tie him up’ idea instead of the other one, which involved a ‘permanent sticking charm’

“I can’t believe that slimy, two-faced, in-bred, prat truly had us by the palm of his hand!” Ron growled as he paced.

Sirius shook his head. “I was the one who was truly fooled. Sorry I doubted you guys, and fell for all those slick lines of his.” He stared into a space.

“I really started to believe that maybe he had sort of finally accepted me in his family and…” Sirius closed his eyes and leaned back unto the wall.

Ron frowned. “It must be truly hell to have to live with the guy...”

Sirius glared at Ron. “They took me in when nobody else would! Not everyone can have a perfect existence like you.”

Ron rolled his eyes exasperatedly. “Perfect existence! For your information Mister I-have-to-live-with-a-dark-background, at least you have it easy and get the best of everything, without even lifting a finger. You never even struggle to get those perfect grades of yours…”

Harry understood where Sirius was coming from, for he himself wished that he had a warm, loving and closed knitted family like Ron’s. But Harry had long since given up any hope that the Dursleys would eventually forget their hatred towards him, and possibly accept him. “You have to admit Ron, being poor and average is better than being hated.”

Both Sirius and Ron glared at Harry. Fred and George stared at one another in dismay, unable to believe that Harry would say something so tactless and hit both Ron and Sirius with just one statement. Harry’s own eyes widened as he realized what he’d let slip.

Hermione had decided that boys’ bickering had gone far enough. “Stop it you two. It seems that you don’t even need Draco’s meddling to go against one other.” Hermione was satisfied to see that the boys at least looked ashamed.

Sirius looked down onto the floor and mumbled. “Sorry, Ron.”

“Ditto, Black.”

Harry looked at both his friends and apologized as well, “I shouldn’t have said what I said either...”

Ron smiled up at Harry. “No problem, Harry.”

“Yeah, we both had it coming,” Sirius nodded in agreement.

Fred grinned. “Now that we have everything settled. We ought not to let dear Draco get away with what he’s done.”

“What better way to do that than through a prank?” George’s eyes twinkled mischievously at the thought.

Hermione rolled her eyes. “Is pranking all that you idiots can think of? You guys ought to first make it up to Neville for...”

She was however interrupted by Ron, “I thought its still ‘target the teacher’s week’?”

Sirius laughed. “It is, but we can make a few exceptions. I have just the prank for that two-faced snake.”

Fred and George grinned at one another and figured this ought to be a good prank for Sirius to grin so evilly. “Do tell!”

Hermione stifled a sigh and wondered if she should tie the boys up again, just to make them listen.

Sirius paused for effect and asked his question, “Are you guys familiar with the art of illusions?”

Hermione shook her head. “It’s an obsolete form of magic, for the preparation is time consuming, and it can easily be thwarted by a simple truth revealing charm.”

“True. But it’s harmless and perfect for a prank of two.” Sirius answered with a smile.

Sirius leaned back, a quill in one hand and the Black Chronicles on another. He stared at the empty page and began to write:

Sometimes I wonder. It was said that everything in life has a purpose, and I think about the purpose of my being in this time and place. Am I truly meant to be here? Am I meant to be estranged from the family with whom I was born to? Most people only have awful things to say about my parents and brother, but I remember them as my family. In a way I think I’m luckier than Harry, at least I had them for the first 6 years of my life.

The Black Family crest appeared on the page and a familiar cursive writing made its way onto the pages:

Sirius stifled a groan and wrote:

Thanks a lot Aris. First, I didn’t ask for your advice; I happen to be contemplating on my own. Second, you have a rare gift to confuse the already confused. Why do you always insist on these riddles?

The cursive script appeared once again.

Sirius groaned, and grumbled about crazy ancestral guides as he closed the book.

Ron yawned and wondered if all this was worth it. He then remembered their targeted victim, and decided that it was worth this much trouble. Ron studied the map once again. “Okay, it’s this way.”

Behind Ron, Harry sighed. “You know it’ll be a lot easier if we did this the way Sirius originally planned.”

Ron rolled his eyes. “Look, I’m not in the mood to deal with that kelpie at this ungodly hour. Sirius and my brothers are probably still trying to convince the almighty Seidon to cooperate. At least we have a head start.”

Harry shook his head. “But, they’ll probably finish with those pranks for Snape, Hagrid, and Flitwick, before we do on this assignment of ours. All this sneaking around takes up plenty of our time.”

Ron grinned. “Then it’s a good thing we have plenty of that. Anyway our task is plenty more fulfilling. Why do you think I volunteered for this particular prank?”

Fred and George Weasley watched the small pool, when a dark haired boy emerged from a portal that had opened behind them.

“Too bad I don’t have Potions for the first period. How are Harry and Ron doing?”

Fred grinned. “Fortunately George and I have Snape for our first class. Ron and Harry are inside Malfoy’s room.”

George turned to the kelpie. “Seidon, can you help them make a quick escape?”

The kelpie snorted. “Was there ever any doubt? Why am I doing this again?”

“Because of your innate charitable nature, and willingness to share a bit of your gifts to us who are not fortunate enough to be born a kelpie,” Sirius quickly supplied.

Fred nodded. “Right. Sharing to the less fortunate is such a noble practice for such a noble creature.”

George held back his laughter, for he thought Fred and Sirius had laid the flatteries a little too thickly but, to his amazement, the kelpie took all of it in. The creature accepted their nonsense all too willingly. He shook his head, unable to believe that kelpies were known for their cunning. For George had never met anyone more gullible than Seidon.

Draco Malfoy yawned and stretched his arms. He grinned as he looked forward to create more chaos for those Gryffindorks. He put on his slippers and walked into the bathroom. He blinked as he saw his reflection, and screamed.

Crabbe and Goyle rushed in and saw snakes atop Draco’s head, instead of his normal white blond hair.

“Don’t you dolts just stand there! Do something!” Draco screamed.

Both boys looked at one another dumbly. They ran out of the room and rushed back in with their wands.

Severus Snape ran up towards the Slytherin boy’s dormitories. He could hear Draco Malfoy as the boy wailed in anger and yelped in pain. He opened the door to find that Draco had snakes on his head instead of hair; while the two bludgeoning idiots otherwise known as Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle, threw fire and stinging hexes onto the snakes. Most of their hexes missed the snakes and either hit the wall or Draco himself.

“Enough!” Crabbe and Goyle stopped throwing their hexes and stared dumbly at Snape, while Draco just whimpered by the corner. Snape picked up a knife by the desk and walked up to Draco. He grabbed one of the snakes by the head and slashed it. He was surprised that, upon doing so, the snake reverted back to white blond hair. Severus Snape frowned, "This may be a new variation of the ‘Medusa Curse’,” he muttered softly to himself, as he grabbed another snake and continued to chop the snakes’ heads off, one after another. When finally, he slashed a snake head and came upon white blond hair with a small green cylinder clipped on it.

Severus Snape blinked and he saw that Draco’s hair was back to normal, although several clumps had been chopped off. A few sections of Draco’s hair had been burnt off as well. Snape frowned and stared at the green cylindrical object. He never thought he’d come across an ‘Illusion Tube’ in this day and age.

Madam Pomfrey walked inside the teacher’s lounge. “The boy’s fine. Although it will talk a day or two for his hair to grow back to normal, his two friends caused most of the harm. What were those two thinking?”

Severus Snape sneered, “Crabbe and Goyle are incapable of thinking. It’s in their genes.”

Albus fingered the three cylindrical green objects and smiled. He had been surprised when both Hagrid and Flitwick rushed inside his office in panic; their bodies interchanged but not their voices. When Severus came and presented the first ‘Illusion Tube’, it merely took a ‘Truth Revealing Charm’ to counter-act the effects. “I have to say, I’m impressed. Constructing an ‘Illusion Tube’ is no easy task.”

Snape glared at the Headmaster. “What we ought to discuss, is how to put a stop to those misfits.”

Remus Lupin shook his head. “Severus, we have no proof that S.P.A.W.N. did this. Moreover, we do not know who S.P.A.W.N. is.”

Dumbledore smiled patiently.“You should all calm down. After all, there was no harm done.”

“Easy for you to say. You weren’t turned into Hagrid,” Flitwick grumbled.

“Being shrunk ain’t easy either!” Hagrid countered mutinously.

Fred and George Weasley grinned at one another. Sirius’ time delayed charm on Snape’s hair should work seamlessly with the charmed hat.

Severus Snape entered the room angrily, for Dumbledore still refused to do anything drastic about the S.P.A.W.N. problem. He wondered if things could get any worse.

Snape whirled around and wondered where the sound emanated.

“I know what you mean. All that grease does major damage to my poor lining.”

Snape glared at his bowler’s hat, which lay on top of his desk. He pulled out his wand and attempted to un-charm the hat “Finite!” The Potions Professor was surprised when his spell seemed to ripple around the hat and then reverberated a beam of yellow light right back at him. Snape opened his mouth and found that he could not speak. A single pink card appeared on top his desk. He realized those hoodlums, better known as S.P.A.W.N., must have placed a ‘Silencing Ward’ around the hat.

The first voice that seemed to originate from above him spoke again. “I need shampoo...”

Severus Snape realized that it was his hair that spoke.

The hat answered. “I sympathize with you. Someone ought to tell him that he looks ridiculous whenever he does that whiplash move of his, which slaps his face with all that grease.”

Snape’s hair answered. “I think he believes it makes him look cool, thought it’s a statement that screams ‘I’m Mr.-Bad-Guy! Fear me!’ but nobody wants to tell him that it only makes him look like a greasy vampire.”

Snape grabbed the rude bowler hat and stalked out of the room. He swore that he’d get S.P.A.W.N. one of these days.

They waited until they were sure that Snape was finally out of an earshot, the whole class then erupted in laughter.

Fred grinned. “So, Gred, what’s the next game plan?”

“You know, Forge, I happen to think that Sirius’ prophecy on Percy’s hair is sheer genius.”

Fred leaned closer towards his brother. “You have a plan?”

George shrugged. “Not yet. We could brain storm about this tonight.”

Draco Malfoy growled as another Gryffindor student pointed to his hair and laughed. Those Gryffindorks would pay. He would tell his father about this incident and whoever was responsible would pay.

Draco smiled as he slipped the rolled up old paper in Harry Potter’s bag.

Ron still believed that this was a bad idea, as were most of Sirius’ class project ideas. However, Harry believed otherwise, and said that this particular last minute idea of Sirius’s was brilliant. Ron swallowed hard and hoped Harry’s assessment of the situation was correct, for they were the only ones who were grouped into three. Most of their class merely paired off, thus the higher expectation on them. He silently cursed Sirius and his twin brothers for all their bloody pranks, their activities distracted Harry and Ron from their schoolwork, thus all three of them, completely forgot about this project. Ron cleared his mind of one particular image of himself with his hands about Sirius Black's neck. He forced himself to smile and, with a shaky voice, started the read the introduction that Sirius hastily had written.

“Good Morning, everyone. Hermione and Neville previously discussed Leprechauns in detail, the creature of our choice happens to be a native of Scotland and are greatly feared by Leprechauns. These Scottish Water Demons are said to despise Leprechauns so intensely that they drown all in sight. Whenever this creature is in the area, you will not find a Leprechaun within the vicinity.”

Ron was rewarded by a withering look from Hermione. He, in return, gave her a triumphant smile, for it felt good to show Miss Know-it-all that she missed one particular fact in her oh-so-detailed report.

Harry took over to discuss the kelpies’ roles as guardians of lakes and rivers, as well as their magical capabilities. Sirius of course, went overly dramatic on his discussion of how a kelpie drowns its victims. Ron grinned as the class gasped and shuddered at Sirius’ graphic descriptions. The youngest of the Weasley brothers smiled. He was beginning to think that maybe, this was not such a bad idea after all. They may lack the visuals and distribution materials that Hermione and Neville had for their report, but their dealings with the kelpie made them very knowledgeable about the creature. Moreover, their planned grand finale would more than make-up for their lack of visual materials.

“...Some books stated, that to control a kelpie, all you need is to place your bridle on them, and then they will ‘act’ all docile and obedient. That’s the problem. It’s all an act...” Sirius smiled as he held the whole classes’ attention. “… a tall tale fabricated and encouraged by kelpies so they can easily trick some hapless idiot to jump onto their backs, and bide their time to drown the designated victim.”

Hermione raised her hand. “Are you saying that the books are wrong?”

Harry was glad he’d bumped into Professor Lupin and was therefore able to garner a few historical facts. “It’s interesting to know that most of the known wizards who are said to have tamed a kelpie disappeared, in more or less two years after they have tamed such a creature.”

“Gilderoy Lockhart is still alive, and gorgeous!” Lavender Brown gushed dreamily.

Seamus Finnigan muttered loudly. “I can’t wait for him to meet his watery grave.”

Most of the girls in class glared at Seamus.

Hermione continued to argue, “Just because a few of the wizards disappeared, there were no indications that the kelpies are responsible.”

Ron grinned. “We figured you’d say that, so we thought it best that everyone get their facts straight out of the horse’s mouth. Literally.”

Sirius gestured to the middle of the room. “So without further ado, we present to you, Seidon the Kelpie!”

Hermione gasped as a soft blue orb glowed in the middle of the room; this orb elongated and stretched. A large horse emerged from this portal. The horse had a silky blue-black coat, as well as cat-like eyes and teeth, droplets of water sparkled from its mane as the horse reared back and gave an eerie horse-like battle cry. Hermione stared in shock as she realized that right in front of her was a real kelpie. On the front right-hand corner of the room, Professor Quirrell fainted as the rest of the class screamed and rushed toward the door.

Ron gaped at the now empty classroom and grumbled. “Way to go, Black. Brilliant idea indeed.”

Harry sighed and sat on the floor. “I hate to say this Sirius, but maybe you should have toned down on those drowning descriptions of yours.”

“But, I had them hanging on to my every word. At least people didn’t fall asleep on me, as they did on that first report,” Sirius protested.

From her seat, Hermione cleared her throat and smirked. “At least Professor Quirrell was awake all though-out my report.”

Sirius glared at the kelpie. “And why did you have to go and give that battle cry thus scare your audience off.”

Hermione was surprised that Sirius told the kelpie off with such familiarity, and was even more so when the kelpie took in a human form. She couldn’t help but note that there was something familiar about the kelpie’s stance. Although she was sure that she had never met him before.

The kelpie held its head up high, and took the seat at the middle of the platform. “The amount of humans that a kelpie can scare with that single battle cry is a denomination of his or her power. We firmly believe that fear connotes to strength. I think I did rather well. So are there any questions for me? I look forward to enlightening you humans on our ways.”

“Open your eyes you daft horse! You scared off your audience! So there’s no one left to ask you any questions!” Ron rolled his eyes in exasperation.

The kelpie snorted. “They’ll be back. What human can resist getting a second glimpse of a kelpie such as myself?” He then changed back into a horse and strutted about the room.

Sirius laughed. “So, does this mean that classes are officially over?”

Harry grinned. “Seems so.”

Ron groaned and started to hit his head against the nearby wall and wondered what he had ever done to deserve this. He would fail Defense Against Dark Arts all because of a moron named Sirius Black, and an equally daft kelpie, and from Harry’s reaction to all this, Ron can definitely say that idiocy is a catchable disease.

“Excuse me?” Hermione raised her hand, “I’m still here, and I do have some questions to ask.”

Albus Dumbledore chuckled. For all his years in Hogwarts, a school year had never been as exciting as this one. “Calm down children. Why don’t we all just go back to that class and allow Mr. Potter, Mr. Black and Mr. Weasley to finish their report? I can assure you that it’ll be safe.” He shook his head and led the back towards the Defense Against Dark Arts classroom.

“Yes, theoretically we may be able open a portal to the realm of the dead, but it has never been done, because firstly, we don’t know where that realm is and if such a realm existed in physical form …” Seidon turned towards the door and smiled triumphantly as the class trickled back inside. “…Hah! Told you they’ll be back! And you people doubt my understanding of human nature.”

Ron moaned. “Now that kelpie is going to be even more impossible.”

Sirius grinned. “Cheer up, Ron, at least now you’ll not end up with a ‘D’. So this also means that my plan has been reverted to its ‘Brilliant’ status.” He then pointed his wand towards Professor Quirrell. “Enervate.”

Today, the first year Gryffindors would take their first practical exams for Transfiguration, and Sirius Black was bored. Minerva McGonagall made Sirius sit at the very back of the room and threatened to take off house points from Gryffindor should Sirius speak out of turn. Waiting around and keeping his silence was not something Sirius enjoyed. He stared intently at his desk, and noticed a small marking which stated ‘Fred Weasley was here!’ Sirius grinned and figured he could out-do that. He pulled out his wand and started to get to work.

Minerva McGonagall was glad that all seemed quiet; she was surprised that even Sirius Black managed to keep his silence. She back tracked her thoughts, for Sirius Black was never silent without a reason. The Deputy Headmistress intently watched the dark haired boy, who had his head bowed down and seemed very much pre-occupied on whatever it was that he was doing. The Transfiguration Professor had long since formulated a theory that ‘Sirius Black is always up to no good.’

Sirius grinned and admired his work. On the center of his desk is a full-coloured caricature of a man with an overly large nose, slightly blackened skin and stringy lavender hair. The man wore a feathery pink headdress with bright blue feathers on his backside. Underneath the caricature, Sirius wrote, ‘Watch the Snivellus Show!’

“Mr. Black!”

Sirius grinned. “Hello, Minerva, what do you think? Do I have the makings of a great artist like my ancestor Nathaniel Black? I heard that he painted that ceiling on our Great Hall.”

The Deputy Headmistress could not believe the audacity of boy in front of her, “I’ll have you know Mr. Black, defacing school property, as well as disrespect to your teachers, are punishable offenses.”

Sirius feigned innocence. “But Nathaniel was never accused of ‘defacing school property’ when he painted that ceiling, and which teacher did I offend in this masterpiece of mine?”

Minerva McGonagall held back an urge to roll her eyes, “I’m sure Professor Snape would not find your work amusing”

By now, most of the students in the room craned their necks as they tried to get a glimpse of Sirius’ so-called masterpiece. As Sirius looked down at his work and grinned. “Well what-do-you-know, he does resemble Professor Snape!”

A scatter of laughter was heard around the room. The Deputy Headmistress gave the insolent boy a hard look. “Detention after dinner for you, Mr. Black, and 3 points from Gryffindor.”

Sirius pouted, “You know, you could have let me down easy.”

The class erupted in laughter as Minerva McGonagall shook her head and wondered what she ever did to deserve this.

Sirius stared forlornly at his desk, for Professor McGonagall erased his masterpiece. He looked around the room and eyes settled on plain black cloth. He grinned as he just came up with another idea to pass his time.

Minerva McGonagall gave Hermione a smile as the girl successfully transfigured the cup and saucer set into a turtle and reverted it back to its original form. “Very good Miss Granger, 5 points for Gryffindor. Mr. Black, please step up, it’s now your turn.” The Transfiguration Professor frowned, for she was greeted by complete silence; she turned around to call upon her problematic student once again. “Mr. Black!”

The obviously startled Sirius Black, jumped and grinned. “Finally?”

Dean Thomas leaned back and peered at Neville’s back and grinned. “That’s cool! Hey, Sirius, can you do mine next?”

There were a few giggles at the back of the room. Minerva McGonagall’s eyes narrowed as she made her way towards the back of the classroom once again.

The Transfiguration Professor saw that Sirius managed to draw another caricature this time at the back of Neville Longbottom’s robes. The new caricature was a moving one, where a slightly chubby boy was staring in horror at a bubbling cauldron, a man with an overly large nose and greasy hair approached. The cauldron exploded on the man’s face and the chubby boy peered up from under the table. Underneath the caricature were the words, ‘Potions 101 �“ Lesson #1 Duck!’.

“But Neville is not school property. Unless of course he’s a school slave but human slavery has been banned for over a thousand years … or …unless…” Sirius paused and stared at Neville, then pointed his wand towards the chubby boy, who visibly cringed, “Aperio!”

“I’m trying the revealing charm to check if Neville’s a house elf in disguise,” was Sirius’s wide-eyed response.

The room erupted in laughter; even Neville could not help but laugh at Sirius’s idiotic antics.

“Double detentions for tonight, Mr. Black.”

Hermione Granger could not believe it, not only did Sirius Black manage to out-do her, but he also managed to gain his three detentions from Professor McGonagall in a single class. Hermione had to admit, Sirius arranged for a very impressive show. First he changed the colours of the cups to yellow, blue, green and red. He then transfigured the yellow cup to a badger, the blue to an eagle, the green to a flobber worm; this of course elicited a round of laughter from the Gryffindors. The final transfiguration, however, was the most impressive as well as idiotic. Sirius transfigured the red cup into a full-grown lion, which, as expected, caused quite a bit of chaos inside the room.

Sirius, of course was stupid enough and claimed ‘house spirit’ as an excuse for that moronic stunt, which earned him his third detention for that single class.

Classes were over; Sirius, Harry and Ron lounged by the lake. Sirius leaned on the tree trunk and complained, “It’s just not fair that every one of the teachers is singling me out. I mean what have I ever done to deserve such a treatment?”

Harry and Ron stared incredulously at their companion.

Harry smirked. “How about the fact that you never do your homework?”

Ron laughed and continued. “Or the fact that you call Professor Snape an ignoramus and Professor McGonagall your goddess, or all those detentions you rightfully earned? Just out of curiosity how many did you get so far this year?”

“612,” Sirius responded nonchalantly.

Harry stared at Sirius. “612 detentions! And it’s not even Christmas break. Sirius, aren’t you overdoing it?”

Sirius grinned. “The current record is 896. I just thought I ought to make sure that when I set a new record. I had better make it very difficult to beat.”

“No one even came close to beating that record in 20 years. Well maybe Fred and George did get 798 last year, but that’s not even close,” Ron mused.

Harry shook his head. “Sirius, don’t you think that there’s such a thing as too many detentions?”

“There you have it. I have too many detentions. How does anyone expect me to find time to do homework?” Sirius laugh as he laid upon the grass.

Ron rolled his eyes. “Maybe if you spend less time on pranks...”

Ron was interrupted as Percy approached the group. “Sirius, the Headmaster is requesting to see you in his office.”

All three first year boys worriedly looked at one another.

Ron bit his lower lip. “Now you’ve done it, Black. I told you, that lion was a bad idea.”

Sirius frowned. “I think you’re jumping the gun, Ron. No one has been expelled due to too many detentions before.”

"No one had as much detention as you do, Black," Ron sighed.

Harry’s eyes widened. “Dumbledore can’t expel you. I mean you haven’t harmed anyone, and you’re doing fine with your classes.”

Sirius stood up and acted a lot more confident than he truly felt. “Who said anything about being expelled?”

Ron stood up to follow Sirius and Percy. “I’m coming along.”

“Me too,” Harry scrambled up to follow the three.

Percy glared at the two. “The Headmaster specifically asked for Sirius, not Sirius and friends.”

Harry calmly answered the pompous prefect, “I think it’s up to the Headmaster to decide whether or not he wants us around too.”

Percy sighed. “Fine. But for the record, this was entirely your idea.”

All four Gryffindors were surprised to find Professor Lupin waiting by the gargoyle. “Thank you, Percy. Sirius, you best go up and wait there.”

“We’re coming along.”

Remus Lupin smiled, for it was quite rare for Harry to impose his will on anyone but, unfortunately, for this particular situation the Headmaster requested for Sirius alone. “I’m sorry, Harry, I cannot let you and Ron in. Sirius, please proceed upstairs.”

Sirius frowned took a step up and turned around. “Don’t worry guys; I’m sure it’s not that bad.” He forced a smile and headed upstairs.

Remus turned towards Harry and Ron and gave them a reassuring smile. “There’s no need for you two to worry, Sirius may have caused plenty of undue stress to the entire faculty of this school, but he’s not in any major trouble.”

Both boys looked relieved as Remus headed towards the stairway entrance of the Headmaster’s office.

“So what now, Harry?”

Harry decided that now was a good opportunity to check out the mirror again. “I have something to show you...”

Sirius shifted nervously in the seat as he waited for the Headmaster. He pulled out a leather-bound book from his book bag and flipped it open and wrote down on the blank page:

‘Dad, I think I’m in trouble.’

Remus Lupin walked in to find Sirius writing and reading intently on what seemed to be an old leather book. The history professor frowned, for the pages of the book seemed empty. He wondered what Sirius had been writing and reading from it. “Interesting book you’ve got there, Sirius, is it any good?”

The boy jumped and dropped the quill that he held. “Professor Lupin, I didn’t hear you come up.”

Remus noted that the quill held no ink stains. The book on the boy’s hand seemed old and had the Black Family Crest on its cover. “Black Chronicles? An interesting title; is it about your family's history? Or is it a journal?”

Sirius grinned and figured that he could trust Remus Lupin. Since the History Professor seemed interested in the book, Sirius gladly explained. “Both. It’s a gift from my dad, this book has been in the family for generations.”

Remus looked curiously at the book. “May I?” The man was surprised that Sirius handed him the book willingly, he thought that this would be good indication that the book held no unnatural hold on the boy. He opened the book and confirmed that the pages were indeed blank.

“Amazing isn’t it? But no one can read it except the one who wears the family ring.” Sirius sauntered over to the History Professor; he pointed to the first portrait “That’s my dad. He looks a whole lot older than I remembered him to be, but then I was 6, when I last saw him.”

Remus held back a shudder, for he did know who Orion Black was. He, however, held back his opinion back, for he knew that all of Sirius’ experiences with his parents were those in the first six years of his life. The boy would likely have an idealized picture of them despite the public’s general perception.

Sirius pointed to the next portrait, “That’s Aris, he’s the first of the Blacks and he likes to mess with my mind by writing in rhymes and riddles.” He pointed to the final portrait. “That’s Nathaniel, he’s an artist thus he thinks it gives him the right to act all moody.”

Remus Lupin chuckled at the boy’s enthusiasm. He was about to ask a bit more when the door to the Headmaster’s inner office opened. “Remus, Sirius, this way please.”

Sirius frowned and remembered that Lucius Malfoy was the current Head of the School’s Board of Governors, and given the current state of Draco's hair ... "If this is about Malfoy's hair. I didn't do it. No one saw me do it. You can't prove a god-damn thing! You can even check my wand and see that I never activated any ‘Illusions Tube’."

Remus Lupin chuckled as the Headmaster's eyes twinkled in amusement. “This has nothing to do with Mr. Malfoy’s hair. Although I’m curious how you came about that information on the Illusion’s Tube.”

Sirius bit his lower lip and knew that he had now placed himself in a bind, “Uhh...will bribery get me out of trouble?”

Lupin and Dumbledore looked at one another and chuckled.

“Oh. What has our great family come to? How could this brat even be Orion’s son? He definitely lacks the finesse and manners expected from the members of the Great House of Blacks.”

Sirius turned around and recognized the portrait. “Oh go choke yourself! Oops, I forgot, you already did.”

The man on the portrait frowned. “And such coarse display of insolence. It’s no wonder Slytherin could not accept him.”

Sirius rolled his eyes. “Would the snake like another bowl of cherries?” He pretended to choke and made some gagging sounds.

Remus Lupin sighed. “Sirius, I believe the Headmaster wishes to discuss a matter to you and there are some people inside waiting.”

“Ok, Professor Lupin.” Sirius then turned back towards the portrait and gave a formal bow. “It was nice seeing you again, old bat.”

The portrait of Phineas Nigellus Black stared down upon the boy, “The feeling’s not mutual.”

Sirius walked inside the office the sight that greeted him was not one that he had expected, “Kingsley! Hestia! What are you guys doing here? Hey, Mr. Moody, miss me?”

Kingsley Shacklebolt and Hestia Jones returned the boy’s enthusiastic embrace, whereas Alastor Moody rolled his eyes.

Kingsley grinned. “Hey, Hellspawn! Don’t mind Alastor, the old guy is just disappointed that his proposal to have you replace the Dementors was rejected.”

Moody sighed. “That’s because those quill pushers had never have any hands-on experience on having you around.”

Minerva McGonagall nodded in agreement. “Amen to that.”

Remus Lupin leaned over to Hestia Jones, and asked, “Is he for real? If so, it’s no wonder people thought he’s losing his sanity.”

Hestia laughed. “No, it’s just an inside joke among us. This started when Alastor was in a foul mood and he was grumbling about the Dementors’ many demands. Sirius just happened to aggravate matters by spiking his water.”

Remus shook his head and smiled.

Kingsley introduced the tall purpled hair girl beside him. “Sirius, this is Nymphadora Tonks. Your 2nd cousin and Andromeda’s daughter.”

Sirius stared at the girl and glared. “Meda? She hates me. Cissa told me so. She hates the whole family. She is not family anymore.”

Remus sighed. “Sirius, you do understand that Andromeda does not hate you. Just everything the Black Family has come to represent.”

Nymphadora Tonks stared hard at the boy. “And you do? Do you have any idea at all, of what your parents and brother have done?”

Sirius looked at the girl straight to the eye, “That doesn’t matter. They’re family. The past is over.”

“That’s easy for you to say. You weren’t there! You didn’t lose...”

The argument was interrupted by a soft female voice, “Hem hem…” The woman who interrupted, had a somewhat squashed face, curly blond hair with a small ribbon which held it back. “…you two could discuss that interesting family matter later, what we need right now is the boy’s cooperation on the kelpie problem.”

Sirius looked puzzled. “Seidon? What has he done now? To his defense I don’t believe he pulled those pranks. Kelpies dislike pranks and believe them to be a pointless Leprechaun activity.”

The woman gave Sirius a saccharin sweet smile. “Look, Sirius, you may have been led to believe that the kelpie is harmless, but historically speaking those creatures are dangerous. The school’s board of directors would not allow such a creature to reside in Hogwart’s lake and endanger your fellow students. What we’re asking is that you assist Minister Fudge in relocating the creature.”

The short balding man smiled. “I’ll even allow you to stand by my side as the press takes pictures of me, when I place a bridle upon the creature.”

Sirius stared at the man in horror and he turned towards the Headmaster. “You can’t do this. You gave Seidon your word that you’ll let him be, as long as he doesn’t harm anyone.”

The Headmaster looked at the boy sadly. “I have informed Cornelius about my reservations on this plan of his, as well as my firm belief that it will cause undue harm.”

The squashed faced woman sneered. “I knew it. He’s a Black. He would obviously take the dark creature’s side. Let us be off then, for the press is waiting. And, Albus, do make sure that the boy stays put and not interfere.”

“I’m sorry, Sirius, my hands are tied in this matter,” Albus Dumbledore sighed.

Remus Lupin stared at all the occupants of the room in shock. “You do know that once the kelpie perceives that it’s being attacked, it will view all human beings in the vicinity as a threat.”

Cornelius Fudge scoffed the History Professor’s worries. “It doesn’t take a high-level wizard to deal with a kelpie. I’m sure I can manage. As you can see we have the best Aurors on stand-by, just in case.”

Sirius tried to plead with the Aurors. “Moody, Kingsley, Hestia .. Please don’t do this. I don’t want to see any of you or Seidon hurt.”

Hestia Jones gave the boy a sympathetic smile. “Don’t worry, Sirius. We’ll be gentle to the kelpie. Nobody’s going to get hurt.”

“You don’t understand. The bridle is a ruse. There’s no truth in that. Seidon will attack to protect his territory.”

Cornelius Fudge snorted. “And so the boy claims that all the experts were wrong. Do you claim to know more about kelpies than the hundreds of wizards far older and more experience than you?”

Sirius met the Minister’s eye. “No, but I know Seidon.”

Hermione Granger approached Neville. “Hey, Neville, do you need help in taking off that silly doodle of Sirius’? Stupid git, he promised to stop picking on you.”

Neville’s eyes widened in surprise. “I think this is pretty cool. I’m the first one to get a 'Sirius Black Original'. There happens to be waiting list for people who want one. Seamus, Dean, Harry and the Weasley Twins already got theirs.”

Hermione stared at her friend dumbfounded. She then looked around the room. “Where is everyone.”

“I think most of them went off to the lake, they said that the Minister of Magic will be there,” Neville answered distractedly.

The unicorn raised her head as she heard the sound of frantic black wings from above. ‘Drydar, It’s Seidon...’

The unicorn nodded. ‘I know. I felt him draw his power upon the waters.’

The thestral stomped her foot in frustration. ‘I can’t stop him. I tried, but he wouldn’t listen.’

The unicorn bowed her head. ‘He is beyond listening. His natural instinct has taken over. For a kelpie, this is merely an act of self defense.’

‘Is there anyway to make him see reason?’

The unicorn stared at the setting sun. ‘The only thing more powerful to a kelpie than its survival instinct is a life-debt.’

The thestral looked upon the unicorn hopefully. ‘Sirius Black and Harry Potter saved Seidon’s life.’

The unicorn’s green eyes brightened. ‘Then there’s hope yet. You seek out Harry Potter, and I, Sirius Black.’

Fred Weasley frantically studied the map.

George pointed to a couple of red dots and the names Harry Potter and Ron Weasley appeared. “There! Come on!”

Harry frowned at the rolled up newspaper paper which he found inside his bag. The paper looked old, but Harry had decided to look upon it later. For now he wondered as to why Ron saw an ideal future, whereas he and Sirius a more desirable past.

Harry was startled from his reverie when the door burst opened and the Weasley Twins rushed in.

Fred frantically grabbed Ron and pushed him away from the mirror and ignored his younger brother’s words of protest. “Ron! Harry! We’ve got to go over to the lake now!”

“Why? What’s wrong?” Harry asked, confused.

George looked at both boys straight to the eye and both first years could see the worry reflected in them. “Seidon.”

Fred nodded. “The Ministry plans to relocate him, and there are members of the press around to record the event.”

Ron looked surprised. “The Headmaster allowed this? And Seidon didn’t protest?”

Fred and George looked at one another. “We don’t know. But we’ll bet our pranking license that Seidon would protest. They also had Sirius locked inside the Headmaster’s office.”

Harry stood up and ran towards the door. “What are we standing around for? We’d better head for the lake.”

Ron frowned. “What about Sirius?”

Harry sighed. “At least he’s safe.”

Sirius grouchily kicked the door. He looked around the room. His eyes landed on a bird perch that upon careful observation, merely contained ashes. Sirius however did not have the luxury to contemplate on the Headmaster’s many peculiarities. He was surprised when the door suddenly swung open on it own, and a soft voice echoed inside his head urging him to come downstairs.

Sirius was not sure whether he should trust the voice, but curiosity and the urgent need to reach the kelpie won over common sense. He ran downstairs to meet whatever it was that had called to him.

Sirius was stunned by the sight in front of him. For by the foot of the stairway stood a dark willowy mare with a spiked horn. The horse’s strange green eyes looked straight at him.

‘Hurry up and climb on. We do not have much time.’

Sirius realized that this creature was a dark unicorn. “Who are you? And where will you be planning to take me?”

A voice answered inside his head. ‘Who I am, does not matter. Someone needs to reason with the kelpie. You and the Potter boy are the only ones who can make him listen to reason.’

Sirius gave the creature a puzzled frown. “Why do you say that?”

Sirius eyes widened, “Was anyone hurt? Did Seidon...”

The unicorn shook its head. ‘I was too far away. I did not sense any death but I felt the panic among the humans. And I felt the kelpie draw upon his power and unite himself with the lake. However, I can tell you this, I worry for those humans. Seidon was able to survive in the midst of the forbidden forest with only a small river to draw upon. He is highly creative, and now with a magical lake at his command, he would be an extremely dangerous enemy...’

Harry and the Weasleys ran towards the lake when they were suddenly blocked by none other than Percy Weasley. “Stop! We, prefects are sending everyone back towards the house because the kelpie just went out-of-control. We were warned that even innocent by-standers will not be safe around that area.”

Percy was surprised when he felt an invisible force nudged him aside forcefully. Harry, Ron, Fred and George saw this as an opportunity to make a run for it. However, only Harry got past for something invisible also blocked Ron, Fred and George’s path.

Nymphadora Tonks uttered a low curse as she stumped and fell; her palms met the shallow shores and her wand clattered a few feet away.

“Tonks! Look out!”

Kingsley Shacklebolt’s warning came too late; a large wave of water fell upon his young apprentice. There was a soft blue glow and then she was gone. Kingsley knew that he would have time to grieve for his student, his former mentor, and Hestia later. That is, if he survived at all. He muttered a low curse; they should have listened to Sirius. If anything else this mission was not just any ordinary disaster. It was an extremely costly disaster.

The Minister of Magic was the first one to fall by the kelpie’s hand, then Hestia who had tried to save a couple of reporters, followed by Alastor Moody, and just now his young apprentice. He cursed himself for not being alert when all this started…

Kingsley Shacklebolt stifled a sigh as he, Hestia and Tonks held the reporters back. Cornelius Fudge had just made his big speech about ensuring the safety of the children and how he’d be getting rid of the Kelpie himself, for there was no task too trivial for the Minister of Magic. Kingsley wondered as to why he had to be dragged along for this publicity stunt. Even though he was glad to see Sirius again, he almost wished he had been assigned to Azkaban duty

The Auror’s train of thought was interrupted by a round of applause. He turned his attention back to the matter at hand; Cornelius Fudge had successfully lured the Kelpie towards himself and placed the bridle upon it.

Kingsley frowned, for the Minister seemed to be tugging the bridle in an awkward manner, then he noticed the panicked expression on the Minister’s face. He turned to his left and saw that Moody had also noticed. Both of them rushed towards the Minister, but it was too late. The creature started to drag Fudge towards the lake. The Minister opened his mouth but seemed unable to make a sound, just as he was also unable to release the bridle.

The reporters and photographers rushed in to get a better picture as well as take a closer look upon the situation. All this happened while Moody and Kingsley ran towards the lake to try save the Minister, they were blocked by a wall of water. Kingsley raised his wand and threw a hex, but the wall diverted the angles of his shots, making them miss the Kelpie. He watched in horror as the kelpie created a whirlpool that gave an eerie blue glow. The creature threw the Minister inside; its cat-like eyes narrowed as it turned its attention onto the crowd.

To his right, he heard someone scream and saw that a couple of reporters who had stood by the shoreline had fallen into a glowing blue hole. Hestia dove towards the screaming civilians. She attempted to pull the reporters out, but a new hole suddenly formed beneath her; she too fell.

Alastor Moody started to shout for everyone to get out of the water. When the water around Alastor rose up. He saw Moody throw a spell to disperse the waters; unfortunately Moody didn’t see the large glowing blue wave behind him, the wave fell on top of his mentor, and then Alastor Moody was gone without a trace.

Kingsley Shacklebolt pushed aside all thoughts about his comrades and concentrated on the trouble at hand, he ordered everyone to fall back. He realized that their intervention had made things worse. Now Hogwarts had to deal with a very angry and dangerous kelpie.

Albus Dumbledore closed his eyes and breathed deeply. “This has gone far enough. I’m sorry it had to come to this, but it seems that we no longer have a choice on the matter.”

Minerva McGonagall nodded and took her place by the Headmaster’s side.

“No Minerva, you and the rest of the staff stay back. We cannot afford to lose more people.”

Steely eyes flashed defiantly at the Headmaster. "Alastor Moody also had his shares of battles, and that did not help!”

Dumbledore calmly met her gaze. "Alastor was caught unaware. No one had expected the kelpie to fight back like this, nor had we expected such an efficient strike. Just trust me on this.”

Minerva McGonagall nodded reluctantly and signaled the rest of the staff to hold back.

Albus Dumbledore walked onto the lakeshore and called out to the kelpie. “Seidon.”

The powerful stallion changed to a young man with long black hair braided all the way to his back. The kelpie eyed the old man calmly. “Hello Headmaster. So are you turning your back on our deal as well?”

The Headmaster sighed, “And so shall I.” He pulled out his wand. “I’m sorry it has to come to this.”

The kelpie changed back into a horse and sent whirling blue waves towards the Headmaster.

The Headmaster sent a lightning spell towards the kelpie, “Aduro!” and shielded himself from the kelpie’s attack, “Protego.”

Sirius reached a hill where he got a good view of the lake, he watched in horror as the Headmaster and the kelpie faced off. He heard the kelpie screamed in pain.

“Seidon!”

The creature's pain must have intensified the strength of its whirling waves, thus enabled it to break through the Headmaster’s shield.

A short distance away, Harry heard the kelpie’s cry of pain and Sirius called out to it. He saw a soft glow of blue light against the backdrop of the setting sun, which emitted its last few rays onto the horizon.

AUTHOR’S NOTES

This the first time I've written an action sequence. What do you think?