Hope In Hiding (Book 2 of the Lost Potter Series)

More Waiting

After Olivia flew back to the cave, it commenced another few weeks of lying in wait— sleep, eat, wait, repeat. Olivia tried to get in a routine of studying Latin and practicing her powers in the meantime, but without a clock to aid her her time management was dismal at best. This period got a brief ray of sunshine when Harry sent a letter of further distress at Hogwarts.

The letter detailed a rather odd encounter with Mr. Crouch, who appeared to have gone insane and somehow made it from his house to the forbidden forest. What really got Sirius riled up, however, was Harry's wandering of the forest at night. As soon as Sirius has finished reading he began to scribble a response (with Olivia adding in a PS after he had finished):

Harry — what do you think you are playing at, walking off into the forest with Viktor Krum? I want you to swear, by return owl, that you are not going to go walking with anyone else at night. There is somebody highly dangerous at Hogwarts. It is clear that they wanted to stop Crouch from seeing Dumbledore and you were probably feet away from them in the dark. You could have been killed.
Your name didn't get into the Goblet of Fire by accident. If someone's trying to attack you, they're on their last chance. Stay close to Ron and Hermione, do not leave Gryffindor Tower after hours, and arm yourself for the third task. Practice Stunning and Disarming. A few hexes wouldn't go amiss either. There's nothing you can do about Crouch. Keep your head down and look after yourself. I'm waiting for your letter giving me your word you won't stray out-of-bounds again.
-Sirius

PS. I agree with all of Sirius's paranoia here: don't be stupid, or you're going to get yourself killed. Just please stay as safe as possible, yeah? Hello to the others! -Olivia

"We ready to send?" Sirius asked as Olivia gave him the parchment.

"Yup, and now to wait for the return owl."

~

Turns out the "return" owl was to come even more weeks later, after Harry had an episode with his scar hurting and went to Dumbledore with it. After a mess with the pensive (Olivia was surprised that she knew more about that then Sirius), the two cave-dwellers were becoming more agitated to do something than ever. Sirius began sending owls to Harry (and possibly others) constantly, with Olivia reading less than half and getting input in only a third of those. Sirius was getting worked up again, and while Olivia wanted to know what was going on, she knew calling him down was a bigger priority if Harry was to have any comprehensible advice from his godfather.

"If he's getting stronger...at the same time...can't be a coincidence..." Sirius muttered in his sleep, Olivia watching over him as the sun rose behind her. She sighed at him, nudging him slightly to wake him up. He woke up with a start, his breathing hitched.

"Sirius, when's the last time you want for a run? Or ate something bigger than a mouse?" Olivia lectured him, feeling weirdly maternal about it all.

Sirius tried to wave her off,"Its not important—"

"It's is important," Olivia cut him off, "What good are you completely mad? Or dead, even? Go find something to eat at Hogsmeade—I'm serious here."

Sirius looked ready to argue, but Olivia shut him up with a glare, pointing at the cave exit until he transformed and walked out, not seeming very thrilled about the idea.

Soon enough it was time for the third trial of the Triwizard Tournament, and Sirius and Olivia were forbidden from even leaving the cave—on Dumbledore's orders— due to the massive amount of people showing up to watch. Olivia had the idea to send him a good luck card to hopefully calm his nerves.

"How about a paw print from you, and a claw print from me, and just a simple good luck under it?" Olivia suggested, an extra piece of parchment in her hands. Sirius seemed to agree with this, and after they'd finished it as best they could, they sent it with an owl off to Hogwarts, their nerves as high as ever.

~

By nightfall, Olivia found that Sirius was so wound up he was unbearable. Deciding to go for a fly around, she hopped out of the cave silently, not even attracting his crazed attention as she went. She soared over the wizarding town, looking down on the unusually still night with some uneasiness—she could feel something going wrong, but she couldn't tell what. She felt her wing cramp up in some unknown pain, and hoped that Harry wouldn't gain another scar on that dark night.

And then there was a screaming inside her head. It was Harry's voice, but she couldn't ask him what was going on. It was as if he was a recording she was listening to, unable to talk back. Soon after the screaming started, a searing pain shot through her leg, the pain so excruciating that she was forced into a down spiral, the snow barely cushioning her fall. The screaming stopped when she hit the snow, the pain feeling as if her spindley leg had been sawed clean off. She struggled to stand, calling out to Sirius as she did—Sirius? Sirius! Something's gone wrong!

She was barely able to take off before another pain hit her—a pain she knew only once before. Someone had cast the crucio curse on Harry, and she was feeling only a third of the pain he was, yet she still could not bring herself to move. Flashes of Voldemort— no doubt from Harry— and Lucius performing the same curse overruled her sight entirely, leaving her convulsing in the snow. She couldn't feel herself crying, or hear the screeching she didn't know rooks could make, because it was only pain.

Olivia felt the curse end, yes, but it too late to get back up. Her mental scars had been torn open, and there was no waking her up for hours after. She saw flashes of events from Harry's point of view— Voldemort, bright lights, even a glimpse of familiar faces— but other than that, the little bird was dead to the world for quite some time.

~~

And we're almost done with GoF!!! I'm so excited to be moving on from the Tournament soon, it's pretty hecking boring to write.

Anyway, please leave feedback, and I hope you enjoyed!