Disclaimer: I do not own anything in the Harry Potter Universe. I am just using the characters and ideas and making my own story.
A/N: A BIG thank you to those of you that took the time to read Chapter 1. I enjoyed reading the reviews and I encourage any of you that read it to leave a review so I know how you are liking what I have or if you dislike it. Your opinions matter and who knows your thoughts might shape a chapter! So Read and Review to let me know if I am doing it right. Again I am still looking for a Beta. So if you know anyone please let me know.
Happy Reading!
Aftermath: Chapter 2
The old saying was true, 'money talked, bullshit walked.' Hermione had been in Madagascar for a little over two hours and she already had a place to live. After a few short layovers she arrived there late afternoon, early evening. She took some time to change and apply makeup and fix her hair before she marched into the nearest city hall requesting addresses to homes that were secluded. When she put her money down on the counter the woman gave her directions to the local realtor. Hermione walked from the city hall to the office and strolled in. It was extremely hot in the little room where one woman, mid-thirties sat at a computer. Hermione knew the language of Madagascar was Malagasy. Sadly, she knew very little of it. But, she did know French. So she was lucky on at least one front. She tried picking a town that is visited frequently by tourists. She smiled and walked closer to the woman.
"Can I help you?" She asked.
"Ooh, I am glad you speak English. I am afraid that my Malagasy is very poor. But I do know fluent French." Hermione stated.
"That is alright, Madagascar is visited frequently by Americans interested in the culture. So most of the business owners here are fluent in Malagasy, French and English, some even Spanish." She responded. "But if you are going to be around the locals, you might want to try learning Malagasy." She said with a smile. "Now, are you here for a visit, or staying a while?"
"Thank you very much. And I am going to be staying awhile so, I need a place to live at. I am prepared to buy it outright." Hermione responded.
"Then I can help you, my name is Mindy. Please sit." She stood up and pointed to a chair. Hermione walked over and sat down. "Can I get you some coffee?" Mindy asked her.
"No, thank you. I am fine. I just need a place to stay for a while." Hermione responded.
"Okay then. Well, what are you looking for?" She asked.
"Something small, I don't need two floors, or many rooms. It will be just me. I also want it to be secluded, but at the same time close to a town so I am not completely cut off from reality. I don't want to easily be found." Hermione said.
"Okay…" Mindy said a bit suspicious. "May I ask why you want to live here in Madagascar, Miss… Ummm… I didn't catch a name." She said.
Hermione could sense the suspicions in her voice and face. This was Madagascar. It was not every day someone with a British accent arrived throwing around money asking for a place where she would not be found. Hermione thought ahead to this. She knew exactly what lies she was going to tell.
"Black, Mrs. Sirius Black." She said giving the name of someone who she knew was dead, had no children, and would not come looking for her. "I know this might seem odd to you, but my dear husband recently passed away. He was a fair bit older than me and died of congestive heart failure. It was a horrible shock to me losing him when our life together just started. He was a wealthy business man, well known by society in the place we lived. People have been hounding me since his death asking me questions about his company, and what not. I could not heal being there surrounded by people that we lived next to, people that knew my name and face. I have a husband to mourn for and I was not able to do that there.
"And you see we never got a honeymoon because of his work. But he promised to take me to Madagascar, this summer, next month actually, for our honeymoon, on our fifth anniversary." It was here that she let out a fake sobbed and allowed a few tears fall. Mindy gave her a tissue, tears welling in her eyes too. The both were silent for a while, "sorry about that. I am still very emotional about it. But as I was saying, we were going to come here together, and spend a whole month. Now that he is gone, I just felt like being here would be the best place to begin healing. I figured that if I took a year off and came here, next summer I would be a whole different woman and I could return, take over my husband's company and continue his legacy. I don't want to be found while here." Hermione said with a small smile. Her fingers were crossed that this would work. She was not a very good lair.
"Yes, of course Mrs. Black. Let me print off a few listings for you. Take the afternoon to visit them and then call my cell when you find one you like; we can sign the papers and you can move in." Mindy said typing something into her computer. A printer began to hum a few minutes later.
"We have four that meet your request." She said handing over the papers. "Here is all the information you need."
Hermione looked at the four sheets of paper. Each paper had a picture of a small bungalow on them and pictures of the inside, as well as, maps of the locations and buying details. She only looked at each of them for a second before she made her choice, page two. A two room bungalow, all open except for a small spare bedroom, and bathroom. It was located about an half hour away from the town she was in, had its own ocean access and beach, and was secluded enough that someone had to know it was there to be noticed. It was fully furnished and was previously owned by an elderly couple that no longer was able to travel to Madagascar. The place was in foreclosure and was a steal.
"This one, please." She said pointing.
"Don't you want to visit it first?" Mindy asked.
"No, I don't. It is perfect." Hermione opened up her purse, took out the money, added in a little extra and handed it over. Mindy gave her the paperwork to fill out, (she filled it with lies), and the keys. She was in the office a little over an hour. Once she had the key she apparated to her new house.
It looked better in real life, then in the pictures. It was small surrounded by beautiful psalm and fruit trees. Flowers grew in excess around the door and under the front windows; a stone path lead up to the door lined by red bricks. There was a small porch that had a cabana type chairs and table on it with an umbrella. She could imagine herself sitting there looking out over the white sandy beach that was her front yard, reading a book. She was going to like it here, like it here very much.
She walked up the path and unlocked the door. With it being vacant for so long she figured that it would be hard to open, but that was not the case. The door was a gateway to her new life. She thought back to the fire she created. It was simple enough for people to figure out that she set it herself, and after no body was found they would realize she was out there somewhere, but they would never find her. Even if they sent her an owl post and followed the owl, it would lead them to a mail box somewhere in Australia, and then it would make its way, through the power of magic, to her here. She would also get warned by an intruder charm if anyone found her mail box in Australia. She was actually quite pleased with that small stop over before she landed here.
The gateway to her new life was beautiful. There was only one room which was surrounded by windows. She was standing in the living room. She noticed a TV in an entertainment center, a few wicker chairs and a wicked couch, it might have been made from wicker, but it looked very comfortable. Behind that to the right wall, there was a little bedroom area. A large bed surrounded by gossamer curtains had a frame of wicker as well. Wicker side tables hugged the right and left side, along with a wicker trunk at the foot and a wicker dresser against the right far wall. Next to the dresser was a door, which Hermione assumed led to the second bedroom, and the bathroom. The kitchen was in the left corner. It was chrome and felt so out of place compared to the rest of the house. There was tons of counter space, and cabinets, which made her smile. She loved cooking, not too many people knew about her secret passion, but it was a passion all the same.
A table and two chairs were situated in front of a set of sliding glass doors. On the opposite side of the doors was a deck, with a thatched roof, tiki torches, a patio set, and a hammock. It was so cheesy, but it is what she wanted, it was very unHermioneish. She needed that. She needed the escape. There was no way she could ever look at any of her friends again. They all lied to her, they all made her out to be a fool, carrying on like her and Ron was a happy couple. Her only concern was her parents, they would be devastated that she just disappeared but she would send them an owl shortly explaining everything, just not right now. Right now she had work to do.
With a flick of her wand she began giving her bungalow a good scrub. While her wand was scrubbing she began unpacking her clothing. The dresser in the room had five drawers. Two small top ones that was perfect for her bras, underwear, and socks. The next drawer, which was similar in size and shape, she filled with her pajamas, the middle one had her shirts and the bottom one she placed her pants and shorts. She packed a few dressy things that she needed a closet for. She placed them on hangers and walked through the door next to the dresser. Just like she thought there was three doors; one to the left, and two to the right. She opened the first one on the right and there it was a small closet. She hung up the clothes and closed the door.
The spare room she was going to use as her wizarding room. A place to work with potions, practice new spells she was going to create, or just a room to go when she was feeling a bit homesick. She would work on that room later, for now she wanted a bath. Going back into the main room she grabbed a printed maxi dress and some clean underwear. She even grabbed a towel, she figured that if there were towels in the bathroom they would be covered in dust and dirty. The last thing she needed was her toiletry kit. Once her arms were loaded with the items she walked to the bathroom door and pushed it opened.
"Holy crap, this is huge!" She said and it was. The room was every bit as large as the main room. Windows and mirrors paneled the room, making it feel larger then it was. The room was decorated with plants and flowers, and had pink plushy rugs. There was a huge vanity with lights surrounding it, a glass shower that had jets running along the back and front sides, a deep claw food tub, a closet, which she walked over too and discovered it had not only towels and washcloths in it, but a washer and dryer. She smiled. She did not want to always be using magic, so having a few muggle utilities was just perfect. She looked around for a toilet of some sort, but there wasn't one.
She knew a muggle house had to have one, everyone house had one, it must be hidden she thought. She began moving her hand along the walls until she found the door she had been looking for. It was next to the door to the closet. It was small, but she liked the fact that it was separate. She decided to leave the door open; maybe she could do without some of the mirrors. She felt like she was in a dressing room. Hermione placed her clothes on the vanity, and drew a bubble bath. She poured in some bath salts and some lavender smelling cream bath and let the water turn it frothy. For a moment she thought about drawing the blinds on the windows, but she decided against it. She was in the middle of nowhere. Rather than closing the blinds she went ahead and pulled open the windows to let the warm evening air wash in. Once her bath was ready she stripped out of her clothes and sunk into the hot water. She was far from being okay, but she was on her way to trying to repair her life.
XXXXX
He was in Spain when the Taboo on his name went off. Someone was talking about him in Madagascar. He could hear what was being said, someone was saying she was his wife, and he was a business man. "What the bloody hell?" he asked aloud. The other men at the table looked at him.
"Good hand there, Black?" The fat chubby man asked. You could hear his thick Spanish accent. He was in the middle of a poker game. It was not the best time to have someone claiming they were married and he was a muggle businessman. The voice sounded similar, he could not put his finger on it.
Sirius swallowed back his shot of tequila and showed his hand. "Royal flush, boys. I win!" He said pulling in the chips. "And if I am not mistaken, this hand ends the game. Pay up!" He said grinning.
"Damn, Black, you almost always win! You gotta tell me how to do it." Another one of the guys said, pulling out his wallet and forking up the money.
Sirius held out his hand. "Magic, boys, just magic." He said grinning bigger. For the past year he had been playing poker every afternoon with the same guys. It was the only normalcy in his life on the run. He guessed he was not running anymore, the Ministry had cleared his name after Voldemort came back five or so years ago, and everyone thought he died in the Department of Ministries, but that was just his cover. He was not going to allow Voldemort to use him in the war. Thankfully, he was gone, killed during the year Harry took off after his sixth year at Hogwarts. Sirius had regular contact with Harry, and a few others, but that was all. He liked being on the go, traveling, seeing the world. He would visit Harry, or Harry would visit him, but most of the time he kept to himself.
"Good ol' Black, always robbing us blind. I don't even know why we try playing against you!" The chubby man stated.
He accepted their money, "a round of drinks on me." He told the bartender. The dingy tavern owner poured the drinks and they all took their shots.
"Will you be back tomorrow?" One of them asked.
"Probably. Same time and same place!" He said as he paid his tab and left the tavern. Sorry boys, he said to himself. He would not be returning the next day. He was going to be going to Madagascar to find out who in the hell is claiming they were married!
He went to his hotel room, another dingy place, just big enough for him to sleep. He threw his belongings in a knapsack, went to the front desk, settled his bill, and then walked out the door and out of town. He could not go apparate until he was out of the city. Spain was filled with witches and wizards, he was not going to risk his cover and let others know who he really was, and his intentions were to come back here once he figured out who was using his name.
Sirius Black walked briskly through the town, people greeting him as he passed. He enjoyed life in Spain. It was his first home in a long time. He had friends; actual people that did not mind his worn down and tattered clothing, people really wanted to see him. God, he even had a muggle cell phone on which his friends would call him. His life did a whole 360 when he, 'died.' He didn't know he could be so happy. True, he missed James and Lily, but he still had contact with Harry and Remus. Besides Dumbledore, no one else knew he made it out alive. The three of them made a pact to keep him a secret, and if and when the time was right, Sirius might try to reenter society. Harry did ask if he could tell Ginny, and Sirius said yes. He understood that Harry did not want to enter into marriage with a secret that large hanging in the back of his mind. Sirius was even at their wedding once she finished school. That was just about a year ago. Ginny sometimes would join Harry when Sirius and Harry met up.
Just outside of the city limits, Sirius could still feel the Taboo on his name lingering in his body. With a deep breathe he apparated to the general location where his name was mentioned. He was standing on the outskirts of a small town. He established the Taboo with Dumbledore's help right after his faked death. Dumbledore thought it was a good idea to help him keep tabs on those that might be following him. After the supposed death his name was mentioned at lot, but he stayed close to the Hogwarts grounds and Dumbledore helped him with the Taboo urges. But, it was five years later. No one talked about him, only in passing, just a few words. No one said they were married to him.
Sirius changed into his animagus form, a beastly black dog with shaggy hair. Whoever it was that used his name had to know what he looked like. Very few knew of his animagus form. It would be safer to travel in this form. The sun was sinking low in the sky; perfect time to creep around. With a smile and an animal howl he began stalking through the town.