Icey's Note: Revised 6.26.2010
(Ice: Hey, guys! Here's the next chapter. Just a warning- Sirius calls Peter a "bastard" in this chapter. That's it, though.
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.)
Sirius leaned his motorbike up against the side of the broken phone booth and stepped inside. He made sure to keep a protective arm around his small godson, Harry Potter, who was fast asleep, and a tight grip on the turncoat Animagus, Peter Pettigrew, as he dialed 6-2-4-4-2.
A cool female voice echoed through the graffiti-covered phone booth. "Welcome to the Ministry of Magic," it said. "Please state your name and business."
Sirius hesitated. He wasn't entirely sure if this booth actually reported visitors to Ministry officials or if it just made badges and forgot all about the visitors. Then he shrugged.
I might as well use my real name, he thought to himself. I'm about to be arrested anyway.
"Sirius Black, Peter Pettigrew, and Harry Potter," he said quickly, tightening his grip on Wormtail, who was beginning to struggle. "We're here to get arrested!"
Sirius tried no to laugh when the change slot spat out three badges. The top one read:
Sirius Black
Suspect
The cool female voice echoed through the phone booth again:
"Thank you. Visitors, please take the badges and attach them to the front of your robes. Visitor to the Ministry, you are required to submit to a search and present your wand for registration at the security desk, which is located at the far end of the Atrium."
Sirius gave a bark of laughter. "Yeah, right," he laughed. "As if I'm going to do that when the entire country is out to get me!"
The phone booth shuddered and began to move. Sirius looked up sadly at his motorbike as it slid out of sight.
"Bye, bye, bike!" Harry said, waving his hand bye-bye.
"Hey, Harry. I didn't know you were awake!" Sirius said to Harry, grinning at him.
"Pafoo!" Harry giggled, wrapping his small arms around Sirius.
Suddenly, Wormtail started struggling in Sirius' hand.
"Oh, no, you don't," Sirius growled, tightening his grip around the Animagus even more. "I'm going to put you down for a moment, okay, Harry?"
"O-tay, Pafoo!" Harry said cheerfully as Sirius gently set him down on the floor of the lift.
"Here we go," Sirius muttered as he turned into Padfoot. He quickly snatched up Wormtail in his jaws.
Harry cried, "Pafoo doggy!" and clambered clumsily onto Padfoot's back.
The door of the lift slid open, and the unlikely trio slipped of toward Mad-Eye Moody's office.
Alastor Moody paced his office floor.
"Where are you, Sirius?" he muttered impatiently as he turned to pace in the other direction. His head snapped up as he heard claws scratching at the door.
What the-? What kind of idiot would let their dog…
Mad-Eye's thoughts trailed off as he used his magical eye to look more closely at the dog that was sitting outside the door.
With a grunt, Mad-Eye Moody opened the door and let a dog, a rat, and a human child into his office.
He turned to face the dog, who was currently holding the rat in its mouth with a vice-like grip.
"Hello, Sirius," Mad-Eye said to the dog.
"Hello, Sirius," Peter Pettigrew heard from somewhere over his head.
Peter—actually, technically he was "Wormtail" at the moment, since he was in his Animagus form—twisted and squeaked in his captor's grip.
"And Peter, too," Mad-Eye's voice continued. Wormtail felt a huge human hand pull him none too gently out of the dog's fierce grip.
Oh, great. I'm dead meat. No more Peter Pettigrew after this, Wormtail thought fretfully as he thrashed around struggling to free himself.
What's going on? one-year old Harry Potter wondered. What's Pafoo doing? Where's Mama?
As soon as he thought of Mama, Harry started crying. He wasn't sure what had happened to his Mama. All he remembered was a flash of green light and a high, cold voice. He was pretty sure, though—as sure as a one-year-old boy could be—that his Mama wasn't coming back, not ever.
"Ma!" Harry whimpered, gripping Pafoo's fur more tightly. "Mama! Ma!"
Instantly Pafoo became what Harry thought of as "normal Pafoo"—a human with dark hair and grey eyes.
"It's okay, Harry," Pafoo said softly as he brushed Harry's unruly black hair out of his brilliant green eyes. 'Everything's going to be okay, I promise."
"Mama," Harry whispered as he snuggled closer to Pafoo.
The other man in the room spoke up.
"So, Black, why exactly are you turning yourself in? What do you want out of this?"
Sirius Black raised his eyebrows at Mad-Eye Moody.
"Isn't it obvious?" he asked, glancing down at Harry, who was snuggled in his embrace. "I want the bastard who betrayed the Potters to—well, actually, I would be quite happy if you would let me do the honors of killing him," Sirius growled, glaring at the quivering rat that was caught in Mad-Eye's tight grip, "—but if you don't let me, then he at least should be sent to Azkaban."
Mad-Eye raised his eyebrows. "You didn't betray the Potters? I was under the impression that you were their Secret-Keeper."
Sirius' eyes flashed, and for a moment, Mad-Eye's grip on his wand tightened. "I would never have betrayed the Potters," Sirius said, his voice choked with emotion. 'I would have died before I would have betrayed my best friend. It's my fault that the Potters are dead," Sirius said shakily, "I won't deny that, but I wasn't the one who betrayed them, I swear."
Mad-Eye Moody looked at Sirius with his normal eye (he was keeping the other eye on Wormtail). Comprehension dawned in his grizzled face.
"You switched places?" he inquired.
Sirius nodded.
"Well, I suppose there's only one way to be sure you're telling the truth, Black," Mad-Eye said lightly.
"Veritaserum?" Sirius asked grimly.
Mad-Eye inclined his head slightly. "Yes, but not for you…" he said, glaring down at the shaking rat in his hand.
Mad-Eye Moody pulled open a drawer in his desk and dug around in it for a few moments.
Sneakoscopes, broken quills, half-empty ink bottles…I really need to clean out this desk, Mad-Eye thought impatiently. How can I be so organized normally, yet my desk is a disaster area?
Mad-Eye muttered a few swear words. "Damn Snape," he growled. "I used the last of my Veritaserum when I questioned him last week."
Mad-Eye noted how Sirius' eyes narrowed with dislike when he heard Snape's name mentioned. Huh, Mad-Eye thought with some amusement, apparently I'm not the only one who loathes Snape.
"I'll have to borrow some from Ted Tonks," Mad-Eye mumbled to himself as he sat down to write a note.
Tonks-
I need more Veritaserum. I am about to question a very important suspect in the Potter case and I just ran out of the stuff.
Bring it soon—and quietly, Tonks. Avoid Barty like the plague.
-Moody
"That should do it," Mad-Eye growled as he folded the note and sent it on its way.
Eight-year-old Nymphadora Tonks was bored.
Why in the name of Merlin's shortest micro miniskirt did Dad have to take me here for "Bring your daughter to work" day? I mean, most kids think the Aurors' office is interesting, but noooo…nobody to talk to, nobody to play with…all I'm allowed to do is sit here and be quiet. I mean, Dad should know by now that it's impossible for me to sit still and be quiet!
Suddenly, a note flew into the room.
"Look, Dad, a flying note just entered your office!" Nymphadora shrieked as she fell backwards out of her chair.
Ted Tonks sighed and looked up at the ceiling, where the note was flying in circles around his head like some bizarre halo.
"It's from Mad-Eye!" he announced as reached up, caught it, and slit it open.
"Mad-Eye? Really? Mad-Eye Moody? Do we get to see him, Dad? Do we? Do we? Do we?" Nymphadora inquired, picking herself up off the floor and doing a sort of jig around her father's desk.
Ted Tonks had stiffened slightly as he read the note. He looked up slowly at his daughter and said quietly, "No, Dora, I don't think you should come with me."
"Why not?" Nymphadora cried impatiently. "I can come! I can handle it! It'll be a lot more interesting that staring at the inside of your cubicle all day! Please, Daddy?"
Ted Tonks sighed as he looked at his daughter with sad eyes. "No, Dora, you can't come. It's about the Potter case."
Nymphadora looked at her father, her blue eyes full of impatience and anger. "Come on, Dad. This Potter case-you've been talking about it at home with Mum, I know you have! Every time I walk into the room you get all quiet! You won't tell me anything about it! At this rate all my friends will know about the Potter case and I won't! You talk about murder cases all the time at home, Dada. Why can't you talk about this one?"
Ted Tonks sighed again. "This case-is different," he murmured finally. "It involves a little boy and his parents."
Nymphadora felt momentarily puzzled. A little boy and his- Oh. Her eyes grew wide.
"You mean-those Potters?" she asked quietly. "You mean, Harry Potter, the little boy who defeated Voldemort?"
Ted Tonks nodded slowly.
"Daddy," Nymphadora said softly, "I know you want to protect me from the world. I know you still see me as your little princess. But inside, I'm not anymore. I can handle these things. I want to be and Auror, like you, someday, and if I don't start looking at this stuff know, I'll never be brave enough to. I'm coming with you whether you like it our not," she announced primly, snatching up the note from Mad-Eye.
"What did Mad-Eye need? Ver-it-a-serum?" Nymphadora inquired, sounding out the unfamiliar word. "Well, show me what that is, Daddy. I need to know this stuff."
Nymphadora's dad quickly pulled out a bottle of Veritaserum and explained its properties as they headed for Mad-Eye's office. Nymphadora tried to memorize everything her dad told her.
If I want to help Harry Potter, then I'll have to learn all of this boring stuff! she thought to herself as the approached Mad-Eye's office door…
Please review!
-Icey
(HUZZAH! ANOTHER CHAPTER REVISED! It's like pulling teeth over here, I swear.)
