Hopeless : Sirius Black's daughter Book 2

The End

"Cedric Diggory was murdered by Lord Voldemort." said Dumbledore at the end of year feast.

A panicked whisper swept the Great Hall. People were staring at Dumbledore in disbelief, in horror. He looked perfectly calm as he watched them mutter themselves into silence.

"The Ministry of Magic," Dumbledore continued, "does not wish me to tell you this. It is possible that some of your parents will be horrified that I have done so - either because they will not believe that Lord Voldemort has returned, or because they think I should not tell you so, young as you are. It is my belief, however, that the truth is generally preferable to lies, and that any attempt to pretend that Cedric died as the result of an accident, or some sort of blunder of his own, is an insult to his memory."

Stunned and frightened, every face in the Hall was turned toward Dumbledore now... or almost every face. Over at the Slytherin table I saw Draco muttering something to Crabbe and Goyle. But at the Ravenclaw table I saw Cho Chang crying her heart out. My own eyes started to water. I turned back to Dumbledore.

"There is somebody else who must be mentioned in connection with Cedric's death," Dumbledore went on. "I am talking, of course, about Harry Potter."

A kind of ripple crossed the Great Hall as a few heads turned in Harry's direction before flicking back to face Dumbledore.

"Harry Potter managed to escape Lord Voldemort," said Dumbledore. "He risked his own life to return Cedric's body to Hogwarts. He showed, in every respect, the sort of bravery that few wizards have ever shown in facing Lord Voldemort, and for this, I honour him."

Dumbledore turned gravely to Harry and raised his goblet once more. Nearly everyone in the Great Hall followed suit. Many of the Slytherins however, didn't do it. This made me so angry that even if I knew that they weren't responsible for my loss, I wanted them to pay. All of a sudden the plates and goblets from the Slytherin table soared into the air and knocked them on the heads and clattered breaking on the floor. Oops. I hadn't meant to do that. Everyone turned to the Slytherin in shock but the real Moody stared straight at me from the staff table. He stood up and whispered something to Dumbledore.

After the feast Dumbledore summoned me into his office. I had a feeling that I knew what it was about especially since I found Moody there as well. He kept looking over his shoulder and his eye kept spinning faster than ever.

"Will you stop being twitchy? I think it is contagious." I said sitting down.

"You would be too if you spent nine months locked in a trunk." he growled. It was weird that this was actually my first time talking to the guy I had thought I knew.

"No. I'd make someone pay." I stated.

"Like you just did in the Great Hall?" asked Dumbledore.

"So what if I did?" I snapped.

"Miss Black, the practice of soul magic alone is enough to send you to Azkaban. Using it against another is worth a life sentence." said Moody and Dumbledore nodded.

"I conveniently left kept that from the Ministry's radar. You would do well not to use it." he said. I started crying. I couldn't help it.

"I wanted them to..to pay. They were disrespecting Harry's bravery and..and insulting Cedric's..his memory." I sobbed. Apparently both men had never had to deal with a lady's tears before so they were lost.

"I'm sorry. Can I go now?" I asked.

"Yes but keep a low profile Miss Black." said Dumbledore.

"I have to leave as well." said Moody.

When we got outside it was raining.

"It is summer. Why is it raining?" I asked.

"Because you are crying. The earth is responding to your mood. Your emotions are connected to the atmosphere." said Moody. Okay that was weird.

"Miss Black if a dead person tries to talk to you, contact Dumbledore or me, all right? It could be the spirit within you." he added.

"My mother contacted me but-" I started but stopped when the colour drained from his face. Without a word he turned back to Dumbledore's office.

****

The ride on the train back home was a blur. In no time at all, we were at King Cross station. Before I stepped out, someone called me. Someone I had been avoiding. Cho Chang.

"Camilla, I just thought you should know, it's next week Friday." she said

"What?" I asked in confusion.

"Cedric's funeral." she said tearfully.

Mrs Clearwater was waiting for me at King's Cross. She gave me a warm hug but I had eyes only for the large black dog next to her. My father barked in greeting. Seeing him, seeing everyone who survived through the dire cards that were dealt to us, made me realise that perhaps the situation is not, after all, totally hopeless.

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