The Half-Blood Black

Chapter Thirty-Six✨

I sit in the bleachers next to everyone as they announce all the victors. When they announce Harry I stand with Gryffindor and hold up my sign. He smiles at all of us and waves and winks at me when he sees my sign. I've drawn a big pair of wire glasses with a crack on the front of them, snowflakes all around with POTTER printed in large letters. I knew he would appreciate it.

It takes forever but eventually they all get into the maze and we sit there. My owl, Scones, flies above me and suddenly drops a note into my lap.

Lyra,

Meet me where you and Cedric were earlier. Must speak to you immediately.

Sirius

I look around and then stand abruptly. I leave the arena and make the trek down to the water, it's eerily dark and scary down here.

"Lumos Maximus." My wand lights up as I am surrounded by light.

"Hello." Mad Eye says stepping out from behind a tree.

I jump, then laugh nervously. "Moody? What are you doing here? Have you seen Sirius?"

He licks his upper lip and his neck twitches to the left. He shakes his head no and hobbles toward me. As he gets closer his skin looks to be waxy and ... like it's coming off?

"Mad Eye what happened to you?" I say.

Moody's neck strains and he rocks back and forth, grabbing onto a bush.

"Lyra?!" Remus says crashing out of the woods. "Lyra!"

"Remus..." I say scared.

I back away from Mad Eye but he advances, shooting a quick stupefy spell at Remus.

"Remus!" I yell.

"Lyra? Lyra are you okay?!" I hear my father call from somewhere in the woods.

"Sirius!?" I yell back.

I try to make a bolt for the woods, but the way Moody is basically melting in front of me mesmerizes me. I stare and then finally he reels over then stands back up-- it's not Mad Eye. It's someone completely different.

Tonks, the Weasleys, and my father burst out of the woods and stare at the man who used to Moody and me.

"We're gonna get you," the man says.

"Barty Crouch Junior?" Sirius says.

Everyone pulls out there wands and Remus runs toward me before Barty Crouch Junior points his wand at me.

"One more step and it's all over, we all know the spell and I won't hesitate to use it." He snarls.

I stumble trying to move towards my father. He's crouched down, his clothes a mess, covered in mud. He has his hand out toward me, but I'm too far away to reach him.

"Sirius ..." I whimper.

"Silence!"

"Lyra, luvvy ... don't move." Tonks says.

There is a swishing noise in the air and I look up to see black streams flying through the air.

"He's back." Arthur Weasley says.

"Of course he is back!" Barty Crouch Junior says, laughing menacingly.

There is a loud thud as a very large man with sleeked back greasy hair lands next to him. He looks wild and Tonks has a look of fear cross her face before she looks at Lupin.

"Fenrir." Remus says pointing his wand from Crouch to the other man.

"Remus Lupin ... I knew you'd be here." Fenrir says before turning to me and stepping forward. "Fenrir Greyback, nice to meet you."

I don't say anything and my body shakes as he gets closer to me until we are chest to chest.

"If you touch her I swear on Merlin--!" Sirius says running towards us.

Tonks grabs him and pushes him back, standing in front of him when Crouch points his wand at him.

"Why are we here?" Molly Weasley says, never taking her eyes off of me and her wand off of Barty Crouch Jr.

"I said SILENCE!" Crouch junior says. "Greyback."

Greyback raises a large hand, placing the back of it on my cheek. My skin crawls as it slowly traces a line down my neck, all the way to my exposed collarbone. I think I'm going to throw up before he removes it, then lifts it again and slaps me. My whole face goes numb and I fall to the ground, pain exploding everywhere on my face.

Remus yells. Fenrir goes sprawling back into a tree and it snaps before falling down. Spells and lights are thrown around and I yell out Lumos trying to get some light.

"He's baaaaaack...." Crouch Jr says.

Greyback, Crouch, and the third man all turn into what look like dementors and fly into the air, disappearing over the arena.

"Lyra!" Sirius yells running toward me. "Are you okay? What happened before we got here?"

"I'm ... I'm fine. Just shaken up." I say trembling. "He just ... it was Mad Eye and then it wasn't and..."

Everyone looks at each other and then Severus Snape bursts out of the woods. He looks at all of us disheveled and then walks over to us slowly.

"I couldn't warn you in time..." Snape says. "It was last minute. I couldn't intercept the letters but once I saw Lyra leave the stands I thought something was wrong. Then they told me they were hunting you down ... is this everyone?"

"Yes." Sirius says walking over to him.

Tonks envelopes me in a huge hug. "How's your face?"

"It fucking hurts." I say grimacing. It hurts to talk and I think I feel it swelling.

"I think you've gotten a broken cheek bone. Nothing Madam Pomfrey can't fix though...lets get you up to the castle, hmm?"

"Wait," Remus says, standing from his crouch next to us. "Your mark, Severus."

Severus looks up from Sirius and to Remus with a wild look

"Your. Mark." Sirius says.

Snape rolls up his sleeve to show off the Dark Mark, moving about on his arm.

"The Dark Mark." I whisper.

"Severus, we need to get out of here. Get Lyra back to Hogwarts and then make sure that Barty Crouch Jr doesn't get anywhere. Please ... tell Dumbledore." Sirius says.

Sirius looks like he wants to go, he wants to do more. Snape nods at him and then disappears into the forest. Tonks says something to the Weasleys and they apparate away. Her and Remus stand by the tree line keeping watch as I walk to Sirius.

"Sirius," I call out, still holding my face as dark spots swim across my eyes, my body getting weaker as the pain gets stronger. "You have to go. You can't be seen here. They'll lock you up immediately." 

"I can't leave you --" he says defensively. 

"Dad, there are some things that are far too dangerous for you to be a part of. You can't be found on the grounds of Hogwarts, let alone anywhere for that matter. You need to go home and you need to stay there." 

"But--"

"The Order of the Phoenix is in no business of planning an attack on Voldemort right now." I pause, the pain growing worse, I think I'm going to throw up. "I never said this, and I will deny it, but I need my father more than they need their member." 

He smiles down at me, trying to give me a hug before I dodge him, my body in no position to be touched. "Oh my little star." He sighs.

"Sirius," Remus says. "I hate to break this up but she is right. We need to be going soon. Soon as in now."

Sirius nods. "I'll see you when the semester is over. We can spend all summer together. Maybe you can teach me the ways of a muggle. And I know Kreacher will be missing you."