"One is a magical plant," James sighed, with a look of exasperation on his face, "The lupine plant is a flowering shrub-like plant found in the non-magical world, and is a favorite food of porcupines. You know, the little animals that have spikes growing out of them? Non-magical dogs fear them . . ." He paused and watched Peter scribble this down onto his piece of parchment, "By the way, where�s Sirius? He�s gone, again."
"Sirius?" Remus looked up from his book, "I�m not too sure, I thought he had to stay behind in Transfiguration to talk with Professor Dumbledore about something." He glanced around the library, almost as if expecting to see his friend, but instead, he caught sight of his dreaded enemy, heading straight towards them.
"Malfoy!" James looked in the direction where Remus motioned, "What do you want?!" The Slytherin boy hurried to the Gryffindor table and frowned at Sirius�s empty spot. Hatred flamed across the table, but Peter soon turned back to his report, which he needed to have finished soon.
"Potter, I do believe last time out in the Forbidden Forest, we had a deal," Malfoy whispered, harshly, "Duel for the glory of Gryffindor. Seems as though we haven�t decided on a victor . . ."
"You heard Dippit . . ." James began, but Malfoy interrupted with a sickly smile, "Afraid Gryffindor? Afraid to meet Slytherins in a fair duel? In that case, I am the victor, and your house of Gryffindor . . ."
"Who says I decline the challenge?" James snarled angrily, "Sirius is my second, who is yours?" Peter looked a little too pleased not to have to attend this duel, for as a second, he would have to take over the duel if the other fell. He would have gladly fought for the honor of Gryffindor, but still, it was better to stay inside Hogwarts castle, where it was safe both from Slytherin wands, and the headmaster�s warning.
"So I suppose Severus and I shall see you two Gryffindors at midnight, in the Forbidden Forest, exactly where we fought last time." Malfoy smiled, "This time, the headmaster shall not interfere and we shall determine the best house in Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry!"
James scowled at the fleeting back of Lucius Malfoy, but Peter busied himself, loading his quill up with ink, "So James, what do you have to do tonight?" His friend did not answer, but seemed off in a world of his own. Peter waved his quill around, "James? Your agenda seems rather full . . ."
"Great! Have I overbooked my schedule again?!" James sighed, rather annoyed, "I have to do that Herbology report due tomorrow, study for a Defense Against the Dark Arts quiz, as well as duel for the glory of Gryffindor! Ah, the life of an average Hogwarts student!"
"So, Sirius is your second?" Across the table, Remus closed his textbook. Despite his best intentions, he couldn�t help but notice the jealousy that dripped from his own words. "You had better tell Sirius about all this . . . and hurry back here. We have to read up on that Blocking Charm, it wasn�t really working the last time I used it . . ."
"Remus," James was clearly torn by his previous quick decision, "You aren�t mad at me are you? Jealous? By stating that Sirius was to be my second, I didn�t want to offend either of you, but I just thought that after your lunar phase, Remus, you wouldn�t be up to fighting a duel." To his relief, Remus smiled and nodded, with a sense of deep understanding.
James leaned back in his chair, deep in though, twirling his own feather quill between his fingers. To find Sirius . . . How was he to find his friend? Sirius could be anywhere given the hour after last class ended. He could be somewhere in Hogwarts, the neighboring village of Hogsmead . . . or Sirius could even be riding his broomstick on the his way to Egypt!
With a sigh, James glanced at his friends for help, but neither of them would possess the information he was seeking. Deciding that since Sirius had disappeared after his last class, the Transfiguration classroom gave him the greatest chance of finding his friend. Rather glad that he had deduced one of Sirius�s possible locations, James picked up his books and left the company of his friends, both still working diligently.
"Severus!" Lucius hollered across the Slytherin Common Room, drawing the attention of all within. He finally spotted his friend, working at a table at the other side of the room who did not look up when he was called. Hurrying over to Severus�s table, Lucius was no less excited, but lowered his voice, "I have challenged Potter and Black to a duel and they have accepted! You�re to be my second . . . Tonight shall be the last for those Gryffindors! Tonight, at midnight, we shall meet in the Forbidden Forest . . ."
"Did you say midnight?!" Severus interrupted suddenly, looking up from the star chart he was completing for Astronomy, "But Lucius! Adhara and I are planning to finish our Astronomy project tonight on the North Astronomy Tower! How can I be completing my work and be second in a duel at the same time . . ."
Lucius waved a casual hand, interrupting his friend, "If you and Adhara have previous arrangements, than find her and cancel them! You can do the project later! My friend, this is to be the end of our rival house!"
With a hasty sigh, Severus set down his quill and gave his friend a wary look, "Lucius, I don�t want any part in this . . . However, I do understand the laws of this magical realm. If you have enlisted me in this duel, then I must go." Lucius stared at his friend as though that point were totally obvious.
"In that case," Severus continued, picking up his wand from the table, "I must find Adhara to explain the sudden change in plans. She said that she needed to talk with Professor Dumbledore about the transfiguration of a broomstick into a sofa . . ."
"Find her," Lucius grinned, "I promise you, my friend, you shall not regret this! All of Slytherin shall be worshipping the very ground upon which you walk tomorrow, for you have helped in the downfall of Gryffindor!"
However, Severus shared none of his friend�s enthusiasm. Exiting Slytherin Tower, he recalled Lucius�s parting words . . . True, all of Slytherin would be extremely glad that Gryffindor was gone, and in truth, so would he. But still, Lucius would not be as sure of the results if he had not enlisted special help. Probably his master, Lord Voldemort and a union with the Dark Side. Severus frowned as a sudden chill shuttered through him. He hated those of the rival house . . . but for such desperate measures, and such risks . . . did he hate Gryffindor that much?
"Severus?!" Adhara came striding towards him, rather confused, "What�s wrong?" Did he really look that troubled? Severus sighed and shook his head, but from Adhara�s look of concern, he knew that she was not fooled.
"Lucius has challenged Gryffindor to a duel to be fought tonight." Severus began, "However, I have an unruly suspicion that the representatives of Gryffindor House shall not only meet Lucius and myself." His mind raced, "I was about to go looking for you, we obviously can not finish our Astronomy project tonight . . ."
"That�s all right, we can always do that later . . ." She touched her wand to the stone in the wall to allow their reentry into Slytherin Tower. But then she trailed off, and turned to face Severus, looking rather scared, "Who are you to be dueling?"
Severus surveyed her strangely, but answered, "James Potter and Sirius Black."
"What?!" She gasped and dropped her armload of books, "Severus! You can�t!"
"I can�t what?" Confused, he gave her a look of bewilderment. For a moment, she was silent, picking up her books, but then Adhara seemed to make a quick decision and walked hurriedly away from Slytherin Tower. Severus watched her for a moment, but then quickly followed, "Adhara, what is it? What is wrong? We�ve dueled those two Gryffindors many times! Why can�t we duel with them now?"
She stopped suddenly, and looked around, as if she was followed by something. Finally, Adhara turned back to Severus, "What did you mean when you said that the Gryffindors shall not only meet you and Lucius?"
"Lucius has enlisted extra help for the destruction of Gryffindor." Severus bit his lip, unsure of how to continue, "He seems sure that our rivals shall die tonight . . ." She was about to interrupt, but he held up a hand to stop her. In a steady voice, he calmly answered her unspoken question, "Lucius is an active supporter of the Dark Side, a Death Eater with contact with the Dark Lord who has promised to help. Nothing short of death awaits those Gryffindors, possibly a fate far worse."
"How could Lucius . . . ?" She whispered, her voice breaking, "He couldn�t be a Death Eater, Severus! I trust him! How could he possibly be involved with dark magic? You�re joking, you must be!"
He shook his head sadly, "The Death Mark, Adhara, I saw it with my own eyes . . . I don�t want any part in this, but I am bound by the rules of magical dueling!"
"I see . . ." She whispered, "Severus, can�t you talk with Lucius?"
"It pains me to say so, but he is beyond help, Adhara." Severus nodded slowly, "But I shall see what I can do." She smiled gratefully and walked quickly away from him. He did not stop her, but hurried back to Slytherin Tower and sought out his friend.
"Am I glad I found you!" James smiled, exasperated, but extremely glad that he found Sirius at the end of the hall, looking rather dazed. Walking hurriedly towards his friend, he quickly explained, "You�re to be my second to a duel, tonight at the top of the clock. Malfoy challenged me and let�s just say that he made me an offer too good to refuse!"
"Duel? Against Slytherin?" Sirius echoed, "Why? What for?" Suddenly, he could not feel the bottom of his stomach as panic quickly crept up inside him, "James, you can�t be serious! We can�t duel against the Slytherins! What about Ad-" Luckily, he caught himself in time, and James seemingly did not notice anything, "What about the headmaster?"
"Don�t worry about him. Professor Dippit wouldn�t think that we�d have another duel so soon!" His friend waved a casual hand, and started to walk towards the Great Hall, "I�m rather hungry, aren�t you, Sirius? I suppose it is better to duel on a full stomach than an empty one. Shall we find out what our dinner consists of?"
"I suppose . . ." Sirius sighed, but followed his friend�s lead towards the Great Hall. A duel against Slytherin? What would result from a Gryffindor victory? A Gryffindor defeat? His thoughts were quickly transported to Dumbledore�s hopes that peace could be achieved between the pair of rivals, and they had sworn to observe this peace. However, why was he suddenly forced to break his oath and duel against Slytherin? Oh why hadn�t James asked his opinion before he had forced Sirius to be his second? To take an active role in the conflict between two houses?
"Sirius?" James asked, giving his friend a look of concern, "Are you all right? You seem rather preoccupied. Don�t worry about the duel, we shall get the better of those stinky Slytherins, shall we not?" He smiled easily and searched Sirius�s face for any trace of a solution to his problem. "Everything�s going to be fine, Sirius. Look, you don�t see me panicking, do you? It will be a perfect opportunity to prove that Gryffindor is the greatest house of Hogwarts and we shall conquer the Slytherins. Isn�t that what every Gryffindor wants?"
"Um, I wonder what�s for dinner," Sirius mumbled, avoiding James�s last question entirely, wanting to keep from answering that question ever. Wasn�t he a proud Gryffindor? Wouldn�t he do what was best for his house? But what about Adhara?
Although Sirius seated himself next to Remus at one of the four long tables in the Great Hall, the Gryffindor table, he did not register his friend�s presence in his mind which was racing with thoughts. He had to fight in this duel, or did he? If James won, then himself, as his friend�s second, wouldn�t have to lift a wand. But what if something happened to James . . . ?
He wanted to scream with frustration, but Sirius bit his lip instead. How was he to stop this duel from taking place, or was it within his power to do so? Before he had met Adhara, he would have jinxed and cursed many a Slytherin without hesitation, but now he saw that not all Slytherins were evil, and that they could not simply be classified as the �enemy�. He heaved a sigh of desperation, but Sirius forced a smile when he sensed many looks of concerns from Gryffindors along the table. By the end of the meal, he had decided on one possible way to find a solution to his problem; Adhara was to be visited by the phoenix once again, shortly before midnight.
Sure enough, that night the phoenix returned. Adhara felt her heart swell with joy as she rushed onto the balcony to meet Sirius. The large bird fluttered to the balcony next to her and instantly changed back into the Gryffindor wizard she had grown to love. Adhara smiled, thrilled that Sirius was able to visit her, "Sirius!"
"Adhara, I . . ." Sirius grabbed her hands and covered them with his, staring into her eyes, his own portraying deep sorrow and wounding pain. His heart soared up into his throat and tears stung his eyes in the soft silence that followed. How was he to explain that in a short time she was to be fighting against her friends? Would she ever understand that it was not his choice, that he was forced to?
Before Sirius could think any further, his knees gave way and he knelt before her. Clasping her hands in his, he blinked back hot, scalding tears. He took a deep breath and looked up into her surprised eyes, "Adhara, forgive me!"
"Sirius?!" She finally found her voice, "What are you doing?! Sirius, get up! What are you talking about?!" Panic rose inside Adhara, what was going on? What had happened? Forgiveness? Why did Sirius need to beg her for that?
"I didn�t want to . . ." Sirius whispered, "But James never told me . . . Adhara, I�m to second a duel against Slytherin! How could I possibly do that? Adhara, I never knew, I . . ."
"Yes, the duel," Adhara suddenly remembered what Severus had told her that afternoon, "Sirius, you must not go. Lucius has enlisted the support of the Dark Lord himself, who shall show absolutely no mercy. You can not go!"
"Lord Voldemort?!" Sirius gasped, "How could Malfoy . . . a Death Eater! Malfoy is a Death Eater! I don�t understand how I didn�t see it all before! One with such a dark soul would of course practice dark arts . . ."
"Sirius," Adhara knelt down so that she was level with him, "You must not go. We all have heard those terrifying stories of the Dark Lord and his frequent use of the three Unforgivable Curses. The use of even one of these curses will automatically grant the user a life sentence in the infamous wizard prison, Azkaban. I have heard that Lord Voldemort, if merciful, uses the killing curse, Avada Kedavra, which kills instantly. However, almost all of his victims are not so fortunate and shall not meet such a quick death. It is either the Imperious curse which puts one under the Dark Lord�s total control, or the Cruciatus curse, which inflicts torturous pain. Sirius, you can not second that duel!"
"I must go, Adhara," Sirius suddenly stood, and turned away from her, "I�m so sorry, but I must! How could I leave James to face these horrors by himself?" She groaned, how could he be so stubborn? "So what if you where there? It would not help your friend in anyway! The Dark Lord would eventually kill you both! Talk with your friend, you both need to keep away from there!"
"Back away from the duel and sacrifice the glory of Gryffindor?!" Sirius snarled, his eyes narrowing, "Never, Adhara!"
"The glory of Gryffindor? Is that all you care about?!" She snapped, "Is that all? Isn�t there more important things in your life? So you shall loose your life for the glory of an inanimate object? What is Gryffindor? Nothing!"
"Adhara," He sighed, unsure of his hasty choice, "Please forgive me, but I must!"
"Then so be it." Adhara turned and gazed at the stars above, "Sirius, if you think that is best, then I shall respect your opinion."
Relieved, Sirius gave her a warm smile, "Adhara, I must go now, but first thing after this duel, I�ll come back as a phoenix. Wait for me, all right?"
"Of course, Sirius." She swallowed a lump in her throat and squeezed his hand tightly, and voiced the question which had been gnawing at her mind ever since she heard of this duel. "I shall see you again, right?"
Sirius laughed, "Of course, you�re so silly, Adhara. You�ll see me again in less than an hour! See you later!"
In a flash of light, he had gone and the scarlet phoenix was in his place, once again. Tears flooded Adhara�s eyes as a sickening feeling she could not ignore rose inside herself. Was she ever to see Sirius again?