Haunted by her second year and now with a murderer on the loose, Gwenevere Everill finds herself facing more battles that she does not think she can win.
Tormented by dementors and struggling under the impact of her new studies, will Gwen be able t...
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The news of Sirius Black's escape had unsettled the Wizarding and Muggle Worlds alike. The Minister for Magic had, of course, alerted the Muggle Prime Minister of the escape, given Sirius Black had no care for human life, magical or Muggle.
As summer continued, not much was heard about Sirius Black. Several sightings were reported, and yet the man managed to stay hidden. It was all her brothers seemed able to talk about, every time Gwen was with them or overheard a conversation, they would bring up Sirius Black.
'Do you reckon he's got some kind of invisibility cloak?' Felix asked one day after lunch. Gwen was sitting at the desk in the drawing room, writing a letter for Harry's birthday, Orion, her owl, waiting patiently for her to finish.
Edward shook his head. He was sprawled over one of the armchairs, reading the latest sighting in the Daily Prophet. 'No, he escaped from Azkaban, Felix. Doubt he had anything on him.'
'But how did he do it?' Felix said, exasperatedly.
That was the question on everyone's mind. Azkaban was supposed to be impossible to escape, and, according to their father, was one anyone very rarely got released from. Those who did live out the sentences ended up going mad. It was guarded by dementors, and Gwen had only ever heard of the horrors they inflicted on witches and wizards that found themselves locked up.
According to Edward, it was deserved.
'He probably knows a lot of Dark Magic,' Eddie said. 'Wouldn't be surprised if the Dark Lord taught him some.'
Gwen sealed Harry's letter, attaching it to the small parcel that was his gift, and gave it to Orion, stroking the top of his head affectionately before he flew out of the open window.
Lucille wandered into the room, helping Tolkey the house elf carry two trays of snacks.
'Just leave that one there, Tolkey,' she told the elf, who nodded, then scurried from the room. She took a biscuit from one of the trays and flopped down onto the sofa opposite Eddie. 'Dad says Sirius Black was spotted in London.'
The other three's heads snapped toward Lucille.
'What?'
She nodded. 'This morning. A Muggle saw him in Kensington.'
'Kensington?' Gwen said. 'Why there?'
Lucille shrugged. 'Dunno. Dad says he's probably looking for someone.'
Felix's eyebrows furrowed. 'Who? Everyone's looking for him, and the money rewards are insanely high. I doubt anyone would help him stay hidden.'
'And all the old Death Eaters probably wouldn't help him,' Eddie said, then leaned forward, beckoning the others closer.He lowered his voice. 'I overheard Mum and Dad a couple nights ago talking about it. Apparently he was the one who helped bring on the downfall of the Dark Lord.'
The other three shared a look.
'How'd he do that?' Felix asked.
'I dunno, couldn't hear. They heard me opening the bathroom door and stopped talking.'
Gwen mulled over the words. Hadn't Sirius Black been a Death Eater? She wondered what had made him change his mind. And if he had in fact been part of the reason why Voldemort disappeared, why would he murder all those Muggles?
The four of them sat in silence for a moment, then Felix finally voiced the question they'd all had for years out loud.
'Do you think Mum and Dad can communicate telepathically?'
Gwen was surprised he'd finally said it. None of them had missed the way their parents would suddenly stop speaking, sharing looks that lasted a little too long to be anything less than a warning hush. All of them had noticed it, but none of them had voiced it to each other.
There were many things their parents hid from them, and they'd learnt long ago to not question it.
'They're probably Legilimens,' Eddie said finally, his eyebrows creased in thought.
Lucille looked at him. 'What?'
'Legilimens,' he said, glancing over his shoulder to check their parents weren't about to walk into the room. 'It's kind of like mind reading. I don't really understand it, Professor Snape explained it to me once when I'd read it in a library book. It's probably why none of us can ever get away with anything.'
The others shared pointed looks. That much was true; somehow, their parents had always known whenever any of them had tried to hide anything. They'd never understood how; Felix had once suggested that maybe they had some of the house elves spying for them. Even then, some things had been said between them that one of their parents would suddenly bring up the next day over breakfast.
That was why Gwen was surprised that neither of her parents had mentioned anything about the night terrors she suffered. She'd never been able to hide anything before. Even when she'd spent the summer at the Weasleys' the previous summer, she hadn't told anyone where she was going and had just taken the floo system out of the house one morning. When she'd next seen her parents - in the Hospital Wing at Hogwarts after she'd almost died at the hands of Lord Voldemort's memory - her father had pointedly told her that if she ever pulled a stunt like that again, he would make sure that all her contact with the Weasleys would be cut.
Even so, something struck a murky memory deep in Gwen's mind.
'What did you say it was?' she asked.
'Legilimens,' Edward said. 'Legilimency. It's powerful magic to, like, look into peoples' minds.'
Legilimency. Gwen had heard that before, but for the life of her she could not remember where.
Lucille was still focused on the thought of Sirius Black. 'How did he escape, though?' She asked. 'How is that even possible?'
Another silence settled on the Four. No matter how often that question was asked, no one could come up with a feasible answer. It seemed even the Ministry had no idea how he'd done it.
'Well,' Eddie said. 'Sirius Black may be a murderous, raging lunatic, but he's extremely intelligent.'
Despite hating to admit it, Gwen had to agree.
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A/N
Wow, it's been a while
Hello, Hola, Bonjour, sorry I've been MIA for a while - life sometimes just gets in the way lol
Anyway, I've written the next couple of chapters so they should all be uploaded soon and in quick succession so you will not be starved, fear not dear readers
Also, just wanna say a huge thank you if you've read the last two books, because they have been getting a LOT of reads recently and I'm so so grateful
