Our Endless Numbered Days
Prologue-Only Ones Who Know
Front Page of the Daily Prophet June 30, 2000
MINISTER FOR MAGIC AWARDS BLACK ORDER OF MERLIN POSTHUMOUSLY
By Fiona Davis
Picture Caption: Harry Potter (left,), seen here with long time girlfriend, Ginevra Weasely, and Josephine O'Hara (right) accept Order of Merlin, First Class, in the stead of Sirius Black from Minister for Magic, Kingsley Shacklebolt.
Minister Shacklebolt called a press conference early yesterday morning to bring attention to his decision to absolve Sirius Black, accused and convicted of the betrayal of Lily and James Potter and the murder of Peter Pettigrew and twelve muggles, of all crimes. "Black's imprisonment for a crime which he did not commit is an unspeakable tragedy. He was thrown in Azkaban without a chance to defend himself. Peter Pettigrew was the one responsible for betraying the Potters and killing twelve muggles. He faked his death to hide the fact that he was a Death Eater. There is evidence of this, including the body of Peter Pettigrew, found after the battle of Hogwarts. In light of this, testimony that I received from Black himself, in the brief time I knew him while in The Order of the Phoenix, Albus Dumbledore, Harry Potter, and Mrs. O'Hara, there is no doubt in my mind that Black is innocent of the crimes he was accused. In honor of his service to the Aurors during the first war, and the part he played in the Order of the Phoenix during both wars, I award Black for his bravery and courage in the face of adversity, Order of Merlin, first class," the Minister remarked. There to accept the award was Harry Potter, Black's godson and wizard celebrity, and Josephine O'Hara, close friend and confidante. Black's cousin, Andromeda Tonks, was also in attendance with her grandson, Ted Lupin. Potter spoke briefly, highlighting "how great a man Sirius truly was. He sacrificed everything he had for those considered family. I am proud to call him godfather and friend." Josephine O'Hara, nee Flanders, daughter of former muggle Prime Minister Joseph Flanders, graciously thanked Minister Shacklebolt for taking the time to correct the mistake and restore Black's good name. When pressed further for details of her relationship to Black, O'Hara had no comment.
Fiona Davis read her article once more, a frown marring her pretty face before she looked back up at the house across the street, the stately door, painted black, with a simple, yet elegant, gold knocker and a welcome mat outside. Josephine O'Hara lived there with her husband and her two year old daughter, Sophia. Josephine O'Hara grew up taking care of her younger brother, the popular musician Henry Flanders, of the band Rising Element. Her father was the Prime Minister of England for the majority of Josephine's adolescence, retiring from office just after she graduated from Cambridge. This was all that Fiona knew, all that the file at the Ministry had ever said about the woman. No one else seemed to know anything about her. But Fiona was going to find out.
Taking a deep breath, Fiona folded the newspaper back up and placed it under her arm. She climbed the stairs leading up to the door pausing only briefly to recall what her co-worker, photographer, and long time friend at the Daily Prophet, a muggle born wizard named Harrison Michaels, had told her about ringing the door bell. Carefully pressing the button, Fiona almost jumped when she heard the chime ring throughout the house. She waited a moment and then faintly heard footsteps approaching the door. The lock clicked and the door swung open, revealing Josephine O'Hara, her long brown hair twisted carefully on her head in a neat bun, wearing jeans and a red long sleeved shirt, a gold and red scarf that Fiona instantly recognized as being a Gryffindor House scarf tied around her neck.
"Yes?" Josephine asked and Fiona found that her voice had run away from her. She just stared at the tall, willowy woman in front of her. Josephine's lips pursed and she studied Fiona's face closely. Recognition flittered into her eyes and she frowned. "No comment." Josephine's hand went to close the door and Fiona finally snapped out of her daze.
"Wait!" The door stopped closing at the half way point.
"Give me one reason why."
"I just…I want to know! Please, you have to tell me!" The door opened up again and Josephine looked down at Fiona puzzled.
"Want to know what?" Fiona took a deep breath and started.
"It's, well, after the press conference, I really got to thinking. I mean, let's face it, how would someone like you, social elite of the muggle world, ever cross paths with Sirius Black? It just didn't make sense. So I tried to find out the connection on my own, and I went through the ministry files, at least, in the Department of Muggle Relations, where they have all the files about muggles who know about magic, but, there wasn't anything there. At least, not anything of worth. Then, my mate Harrison, well, he suggested that I come down here and talk to you. I told him no, that you'd never talk to me, especially not after I'd been so annoying at the press conference, but he told me to come anyway. Said that the worst that could happen was that you'd say no. Literally pushed me out the door of the Prophet and told me not to come back until I came here. So I guess I did. I came to figure it out because for the life of me, I can't get it out of my mind!" Fiona finished with a huff and Josephine smiled slightly at the young woman in front of her.
"You went through the wrong files. Why don't you come in? I'll make some tea." Fiona stared at Josephine for just a minute, shocked that the woman was willing to listen to her, to tell her what she wanted to know. "Oh, come on, I don't bite!" Without another moment's hesitation, Fiona walked inside, shutting the door behind her. She stared around curiously at Josephine's house, the light gold walls giving the foyer a homey feel. The walls were decorated with pictures, mostly of a little girl that Fiona assumed was Sophia.
"Sugar in your tea?"
"Yes please, Mrs. O'Hara," Fiona murmured absently as she stared around the room, fascinated by the fact that muggle photographs didn't move. She had heard so from Harrison on numerous occasions, but she hadn't believed him. Josephine came out of the kitchen, silver tray filled with two cups for tea, some sugar and milk, and the kettle setting them down in the coffee table in the sitting room.
"You know, you don't have to stay in the foyer. Come here, sit for a while. And you can call me Josie by the way. No need for formalities. I'm about to tell you something I haven't told anyone else, at least not in its entirety." Fiona, blushing a little, walked forward and sat down on the couch.
"If I'm going to call you Josie, you can call me Fi. That's what my friends call me anyway." Josie cocked her head to the side.
"Fi? As in Fiona?" Fiona nodded. "And your surname? I don't think we ever got introductions right."
"Oh, um Davis. Fiona Davis." Josie nodded and poured the tea. The two women sat in silence for a moment, attending to their drinks.
"Do you have a way of recording this?" Fiona nodded and produced a piece of parchment and a quill. Josephine laughed. "That will never fit everything!" Fi smiled.
"It's been charmed to expand however long I need it to. And the quill takes notes by itself. Not that stupid Quick Quotes Quill that Skeeter used. This quill copies down every word you say so that I have a full transcript of the interview. Less mistakes are made that way. Certainly makes the paper look better. Now, if you don't mind me asking, what do you mean I checked the wrong files?" Josie chuckled.
"It's just that, Sirius, well…You should have checked the aurors' files. That's how I met him. He was sent as a body guard for my family in case that crazy Lord Voldemort came knocking on our door." Fiona flinched slightly at the name and Josephine rolled her eyes. "He's dead now you know? At least, that's what I've been told. Saying his name isn't going to bring him back from the dead. The old man, oh why can't I remember his name. Started with a D or a B I think. You have to remember, it's been a long time for me. Four years since I was involved in any aspect of the wizarding world. And even then I only knew the bare minimum. Anyway, the old man, his name, it was…Bumblebee or Diddidore—"
"Do you mean Dumbledore?" Josephine smiled brightly.
"Yes, that's the one. Anyway, he told me, back in the second war, that fear of a name only increases fear of the thing itself. He was a wise man. I liked him quite a bit. It's a shame he's dead too." Fiona nodded her head in agreement. "Anyway, that's how I met Sirius. But I'm skipping ahead a bit. I mean, yes, meeting Sirius as an auror is where the story of him and I start, but in order to understand the whole thing, we need to go back just a bit to the story of me. You see, I was coming home on the train from my private school, freshly graduated, and I was angry, really angry…"
A/N: So this is my first foray into the realm of SBOC fics, which I absolutely adore. Really, all I'm thinking is "What the hell am I doing?" While I enjoy reading HP fics, writing them is an entirely different story; I'm way out of my element here. But I've had this and Chapter 1 written for over a year now, so part of me just wants to get this off my computer and have someone else see it. Sadly, working on this at the moment is not top priority. I want to though. I'm hoping some encouragement will help to get me started. Reviews are appreciated but never necessary.
