Finding Hope in Darkness

Chapter 9

...

And life moved on -like it always does. After his meeting with Dumbledore, Hadrian spent the rest of summer with his makeshift family, and Harry happily occupied their time. He and Footy (apparently it was a compromise, seeing as naming him Padfoot wasn't allowed. Sirius twitched every time he heard the name while Remus was having a blast.) ran around the house and garden, and Harry even insisted the stuffed animal be brought along on any outings they ventured on.

As it was, Hadrian finally managed to accomplish something noteworthy two weeks before start of term.

"I can't believe this." Remus sighed, his voice warm. "This must be unprecedented."

"Oh, stuff a sock in it." Sirius laughed. The man was giddy with glee. "This is brilliant!" And he transformed into Padfoot, bouncing around the wolf in their sitting room.

The wolf in question, was standing perfectly still, tongue lolling out of its mouth in silent mirth, as it watched it's friends' movements.

Hadrian was thrilled. Not only had he finally managed the animagus transformation, but he could see! Well... in a way, at least. He slowly blinked, relishing in the fact that he could tell a difference. Padfoot barked happily and snapped playfully at his hind leg. Hadrian scoffed and snapped back, not really putting any effort in the motion.

His sight wasn't perfect. It was far from it, in fact. He blinked again and tried to focus. It had been such a long time since he had tried to focus his eyes on anything, it took a few tries. Yes, he could see a blob that vaguely reminded of a human where he could smell Remus. But he could see colours! He hadn't seen colours in five, almost six years! To say he was excited was an understatement. A new smell demanded his attention, as a white blur slowly approached him on the floor.

/You have finally found a way out./ Albe hissed. She didn't congratulate him, but the notion was still there, in her voice. Hadrian marvelled at the fact that he could still understand her. /Maybe now the Mutt will be better behaved?/ She added sullenly, although she didn't sound too hopeful. She let out an exceedingly angry hiss when Sirius immediately proved her wrong by almost stepping on her in his excitement.

/I take it back. The Mutt will never be anything but just that!/ Albe sounded thoroughly offended. Hadrian walked up to her -on all fours. He had paws!- and sniffed tentatively in her close vicinity. His instincts told him to be wary of her, but his human mind knew better. She was a dear friend. Albe flicked her tongue out at his wet nose, in a quick kiss, and then retreated as far away from Sirius as possible, while still remaining in the same room. Hadrian happily trotted over to Remus and inspected him closer. As if sensing his intentions, Remus stood perfectly still even when he rose on his hind legs, placing front paws on either side of his neck.

He strained his eyes, narrowing them slightly. When his nose was practically pressed against Remus', he could make out a semi-clear image of his friend's face. It was still blurry and fuzzy in the edges, but it was passable.

He looked so young!

Sure, there were a few worry lines that didn't really belong on a twenty three year old. But there was no grey in his hair, he had less scars than he had thought, and there was a lightness over him that he couldn't remember. His Remus had always been shrouded in a heaviness that had seemed to cling to his very skin. The only person able to lift it even the slightest, had been Tonks.

But then again... losing all your friends in virtually a couple of days would do that to you.

"...do I pass the inspection?" Remus asked, a slight smirk on his face. Hadrian huffed amusedly, gave him a quick lick on the cheek and then rounded on Sirius. Padfoot had been trying to gain his attention for the last five minutes, and was currently staring intently at him, half crouched down on the floor, with his behind stuck up in the air, tail wagging furiously. All in all, he looked ridiculous. As a wolf, though, the invitation to play was clear as day, and they spent the next fifteen minutes chasing each other through the house.

"Alright. Enough!" Remus chuckled. "You'll tear the kitchen to pieces!" He exclaimed. Hadrian paused and looked at him, or rather, in his general direction. With a final nip at Padfoot's side, he transformed back into a human.

Ha was wearing a face splitting grin and summed it up in three words. "This is amazing!"

"Isn't it?" Sirius sounded just as excited. He had turned back into a human a mere heartbeat after Hadrian.

"And I can see!" He continued, barely taking time to pause.

The two Marauders stilled. "What do you mean?" Remus asked carefully. You didn't have to be a genius to figure out Hadrian's lack of sight was a somewhat sensitive topic. Not that Hadrian would grown depressed if it was mentioned, but it was a clear damper.

"It's not like I can see perfectly, or anything. But I can see colours, Moony!" Hadrian practically bounced up and down.

Remus couldn't help but smile; he had never seen Hadrian exude such childish exuberance before.

"What's so special about colours?" Sirius asked, honestly confused.

Hadrian rounded on him. "You try spending life without colours for six years, and then ask me that." He retorted lightly.

Sirius considered his words a moment, and then decided to disregard them for now. "Anyway. Now you can join us on the next full moon!" The excitement was back in his voice.

"Sure." Hadrian grinned. "But first, we'll have to register." He added, suddenly serious. "Don't think I've forgotten about that." A knowing look on his face. Sirius grimaced.

"He's right, Padfoot. It really is the perfect opportunity to come clean." Remus agreed. When Sirius pouted, he added exasperatedly. "You're an Auror, for Merlin's sake. Technically, you're honour-bound to arrest yourself!" And wasn't that thought amusing?

"Alright, fine!" Sirius threw his hands up in surrender.

"Good. Then we can go in a few minutes. Harry's already over at Alice and Frank's for a play-date; he won't be coming home until tonight." Hadrian grinned. Remus quickly agreed and Sirius was forced to comply; outnumbered two to one.

"So are you coming with us, Moony?" Sirius asked as he sat down by the kitchen table.

Remus regarded him a moment, before letting out a small sigh. "I think it would be better if I stayed here."

"Why?" Hadrian sounded honestly surprised.

"Well. Werewolves aren't exactly popular in the Ministry..." Remus couldn't quite stomp down on the uncomfortable, awkward feeling that surfaced.

"Oh, sorry." Hadrian blinked. "I honestly forget that people usually have such a problem with werewolves." He sighed tiredly. "People are idiots." He summed up his feelings on the subject.

"Well, there is some cause behind the fear." Remus reluctantly admitted. "There were a handful of Werewolves that did a lot of damage during the war."

Hadrian nodded. "Greyback." He growled. He mentally bristled at the mere thought of the man. And that was in the loosest term of the word. Greyback was more monster than most magical creature Hadrian had met. Even Hagrid's Acromantulas had a more sound reason behind their killing tendencies. The giant spiders had to eat, and to do that, they had to kill. Greyback, though... There was no such excuse for that. Heck, even the Basilisk had been ordered to attack the students, without much choice in the matter.

Sirius and Remus exchanged a look, but didn't ask. At this point in time, they weren't sure they would want to know.

"Anyway. Let's get going then." Sirius rose and waited impatiently for Hadrian. At the amused, questioning look from Remus, he explained. "If we're doing this, we might as well get it over with."

"You're right." Hadrian sighed and followed suit.

"I'll have dinner ready for when you get back." Remus promised. "You think it'll take more than a few hours?" He directed the question at Sirius.

"Hmm. Maybe. It depends if anyone will try to be troublesome." He sent Hadrian a worried glance.

"I see."

Ignoring their worrying, Hadrian headed for the fireplace. "Let's go then, Sirius." And he dragged the man with him.

The fact that Sirius was a ministry employee did have its advantages. Their fireplace had a direct floo connection to the ministry atrium.

"Lt's get this over with." Sirius muttered and then threw a handful of floo power into the fireplace, before stepping into the green flames.

...

Flooing when you were blind was not something pleasant, or something to recommend. Hadrian groaned miserably as he picked himself up from the stone floor.

"Graceful." Sirius commented, snickering.

"Shut it, Mutt." Hadrian muttered back. Albe's nickname had somehow stuck with him, much to Sirius' growing irritation. He dusted himself off and then straightened. "Alright. Where to first?"

"I think you'd better go weight your wand, first of all."

Hadrian let out a resigned sigh and then nodded. "I suppose so. Lead the way, Auror Black."

"Of course, Professor Orsus." Sirius answered pompously and marched off. Hadrian followed with a grin.

A moment later, they found themselves in front of the wand weighting table, and the wizard managing it.

"Auror Black." He greeted Sirius respectfully.

"Hi, Herbert." Sirius answered cheerfully. "How're you doing?"

"Just fine." Herbert answered with a grunt. "Aren't you on vacation?" He eyed Sirius up and down, accepting his wand.

"I am." Sirius grinned. "I'm here on personal business today."

"I see." He then turned to Hadrian. "Your wand." He hadn't exactly been nice and polite before, but turning towards Hadrian he became downright rude.

"Here you go." Hadrian smirked knowingly. "Everything satisfactory? Good. Let's go, Sirius." And he dragged his friend along before he could ask any questions.

"What was that about?"

"I believe he remembers me from the day of your trial. I wasn't in the best of moods that day." Hadrian grinned. "Especially not considering the fact I had Wormtail in my pocket."

"Ah. That would explain it." Sirius returned the smile as he sent an amused glance over his shoulder at the grumpy old wizard. "Come on. We need to go to my office." And they entered one of the golden elevators.

A few moments later, they stepped out on the floor of the Magical Law Enforcement Department. Also home to the Auror Office, as Sirius excitedly explained, as he dragged Hadrian along by the arm.

"Let's go to Amelia Bones. I like her, and she'll take care of this in a jiffy." He babbled happily. Hadrian simply smiled. Madam Bones had been the head of her office, in Hadrian's time. He wondered what position she had now. As it turned out, Madam Bones had begun her career just a few years ago, and was nothing more than a standard office worker. They entered her small, shared office and Hadrian took in what appeared to be a desk covered in mountains of paper. A stressed young witch was bending over a report, taking notes in the margin, as Sirius walked up to her desk.

"Amelia." Sirius greeted her, suddenly much more composed.

Hadrian suppressed a snort. Was Sirius honestly flirting with Madam Bones? Really? The witch in question looked up, eyeing Sirius with a sceptical expression.

"Auror Black." She didn't sound thrilled. "I thought you were on vacation."

"I am." Sirius leaned against her desk, coming precariously close to tipping the stacks of paper. "We're here on personal business." He fired off a charming grin.

"It seems to me as if the entire Ministry is keeping tabs on you, Sirius." Hadrian commented amusedly. He then turned towards Amelia. "We're here to register as Animagi." He explained. Madam Bones had always liked straightforward people.

"Both of you?" He could hear the surprise, and slight doubt in her voice.

"Both of us." Hadrian confirmed, nodding. "Are there some sort of forms we need to fill out?"

"...Yes. One moment please." She got up and walked over to a document cabinet by the wall. After having rummaged through it for a good ten minutes, she came back. "Here." She held out two identical forms, one for Sirius, and one for Hadrian. "Sorry for the wait, but Animagi are very rare. It's not often I have to get out these forms."

"Don't mention it." Sirius had apparently used the time to recover from Hadrian's insinuations. "Is there anywhere we can sit down and fill these out?" He asked.

"You can use Nicolas' desk; he's gone home for the day." Amelia answered after a brief pause.

Hadrian studied the parchment in his hands as best he could, and then let out a frustrated sigh. "Miss Bones? Is it possible for you to help me fill this out?" He asked reluctantly. He didn't really want to ask, but Sirius would be filling out his own.

"Why?" Amelia looked up at him, eyebrows raised. "It's not that complicated."

"It is for me." He muttered. "I can write, but I doubt you'd be too pleased if I scribble all over the page." He waved the form slightly back and forth.

"And why would you do that?"

"I'm blind." He grinned. "I can't really read what it says, or see where to fill out what."

"Excuse me?" She sounded baffled.

Hadrian's grin faded into a muted smile. "My eyes are useless. At least in my human form." He shrugged. "So would you be willing to assist me?"

"Alright." Amelia answered slowly, staring at him. She took the parchment from him and Hadrian settled down in the chair in front of her desk. "Name?" She asked, picking up the quill she had used when they had entered.

"Hadrian Orsus."

"Date of birth?"

Hadrian considered that a moment. "29th of July, 1960." That would at least be close to his real birthday, if you disregarded the year.

She proceeded to ask him a number of questions, ranging from occupation to residency, and Hadrian told her. She even jotted down the fact that he would be staying at Hogwarts for most of the year.

"Well then. I think that's all." She confirmed, a few minutes later. "That just leaves taking your picture, as a human, as well as a wolf." She smiled at him. "Mr Black. Are you done filling out your form?"

"Hm?" Sirius startled. "Oh, yes, of course." He sprang up from his seat and hurried up to give her the parchment he had been scribbling on. Amelia rolled her eyes.

"It'll take some time for the right people to confirm the documents, so if you come back in say... forty minutes, I'll take you along to get photographed."

"Alright. Thank you for your time, Amelia. You're a witch like no other." Sirius winked.

"Of course." Amelia sounded exasperated, but not disapproving. She wasn't quite as stern as Hadrian remembered her. Well; she was younger. And she hadn't been forced to deal with years of Fudge's idiocy yet. That would make a difference in anyone.

"Come on, Hadrian. Let's go to the cafeteria while we wait." And with a last smile at Amelia, he left the room. Hadrian gave her a nod of thanks and then followed Sirius.

...

The cafeteria was crowded with people trying to get a bite to eat. It appeared to be lunch-time. Sirius led their way up to a small table, and grabbed a cup of coffee.

"What do you want?" He asked absentmindedly. Hadrian smirked at him.

"Water's fine, thank you." He wasn't particularly fond of coffee, and wasn't in the mood for tea. "So. Amelia, huh."

"Huh?"

"Intelligent answer, Sirius." Hadrian grinned. "Are you seriously flirting with her?"

"Well... why not? Just because I'm flirting doesn't mean I want to marry her or anything."

"True." Hadrian conceded. "But do you really want Bones to be out for a piece of your hide?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.

Sirius grimaced. "Merlin, no!" He sent him an irate glare. "She knows it's all in good fun."

"Alright, then." Again, Hadrian couldn't suppress the smirk at his friend's expense.

"Come on, let's go find a seat." Sirius muttered.

Despite the crowdedness, it wasn't too difficult to find seats. Hadrian and Sirius spent half an hour sitting silently by a table by the wall, both lost in thoughts. Once Sirius had finished his second cup of coffee, he got up.

"Let's go. We might as well go back early." He shrugged off Hadrian's questioning look. Hadrian shrugged and followed suit. They were walking back across the emptying room to leave their drinking utensils to the witch working behind the counter, when Hadrian's sensitive ears picked up something that caused him to abruptly stop. Sirius paused, looked back at him, and then retraced his steps.

"What are you doing?"

Hadrian barely heard him. He had gone rigid and was gritting his teeth; he did not like what he was hearing. "What is he doing here?" He ground out tersely.

"Who?"

"I didn't know you let Death Eaters into the Ministry." Hadrian hissed.

Sirius looked around, bewildered by Hadrian's behaviour. "Death Eater? Where do you see someone like that?" He sounded honestly concerned.

Hadrian wasn't paying him much attention, however. He was far too busy trying to reign in his temper, and forcing himself to refrain from drawing his wand. Lucius Malfoy had just entered the cafeteria, accompanied by none other than Fudge! He wanted nothing more than to curse the bastard senseless. And then hand him over to Moody. Yes, that would be a fitting solution. Sirius' questions brought him back to the present.

"Malfoy!" He hissed an angry answer. He was gripping his glass so tightly that his knuckles were white. Sirius eyed him warily. "And what is he doing near Fudge?" Hadrian demanded to know, his voice muted.

"Eh, Hadrian. You might want to tone down the death glare." Sirius cautioned worriedly, glancing around them. Hadrian was beginning to attract attention.

The sound of cracking glass cut through the pleasant conversations of the room like a knife.

"You're bleeding." Sirius stated, inspecting his hand, which still clenched over a few shards of broken glass. That looked painful. Hadrian didn't seem to even notice. Sirius was getting seriously worried when his friend's expression darkened further. He took out his wand, vanished the broken glass, banished his cup to the kitchen and then dragged Hadrian from the room before anyone got cursed.

...

"So how did it go?" Remus asked cheerfully from the kitchen.

"Um..." Sirius sent Hadrian a worried glance. "Well, the registration went without a hitch." He said slowly.

At his hesitant reply, Remus frowned and joined them in the sitting room. "Why? What happened?" He did a double take when he caught sight of Hadrian's face. He was looking like he wanted to murder someone. But it was more than that; he had never seen Hadrian so agitated before. Not even after the attack on Longbottom Manor. "What happened?" He repeated, face solemn.

"Malfoy was at the Ministry!" Hadrian spat out the name.

Remus glanced at Sirius.

"Yes. He entered the cafeteria right when we were about to leave." He confirmed with a nod. "Hadrian wasn't exactly happy to see him..." His voice trailed off, eyeing said man cautiously.

"What happened to your hand?" Remus suddenly noticed the blood. "Let me have a look at that." And he took a firm hold of Hadrian's left hand.

"It doesn't matter." Hadrian muttered darkly.

Remus gave him a look that clearly stated he wasn't convinced.

"Well. If it's any comfort, I doubt anyone who looks into the Animagus registration list will ever want to mess with you, mate." Sirius chimed in cheerfully.

"Why?" Remus asked absentmindedly, cleaning the wounds in Hadrian's palm, and then conjuring a neat bandage, that he tied around the cuts.

"You should have seen the photographer." Sirius snickered. "He looked like he was afraid to even take the picture, especially when Hadrian was scowling at him." He laughed out loud. "He was about to wet himself when the flash actually went off!"

"Amusing as that thought might be." Remus began, trying furiously to stop his lips from twitching. "I would like to know what called for such a reaction in the first place." He turned his full attention on Hadrian.

Hadrian slowly walked over to the nearest seat, and sank into the armchair. "I despise that man." He hissed. He couldn't stop his hands from clenching into fists.

"But what did he do...?" Remus asked, clearly trying to understand.

Hadrian took a deep breath, held it for a few moments, and then let it all rush out. He took off his shirt. He didn't have to see to know that both Remus and Sirius were giving him confused looks. "He did this." He pointed at one scar. "And this." He pointed at another. "And these. And of course, there's this one. I remember he took especial pleasure in giving me this one right here." He tapped the scar splotching the small of his back. "In fact, I believe it was his idea to use potions to begin with." He finished darkly and then shuddered. The room had grown uncomfortably quiet.

Remus exchanged a shocked glance with Sirius. His black-haired friend's facial expression was darkening by the second, as realisation sunk in.

"That bastard!" He hissed, pacing back and forth in front of the fireplace. "He was one of the ones..." His voice tapered off.

Hadrian gave a curt nod. "Yes. He was quite the eager participant." He voiced coldly.

As much as Remus wanted to growl out loud at the mere thought, there was one thing that truly bothered him. "But he hasn't done it yet."

"What?" Sirius clearly did not get what he was talking about.

"True." Hadrian reluctantly admitted. "But that does not mean he wouldn't do it, if ever presented with the opportunity."

"Yes, I know. What I meant is; we can't do anything against him." And didn't he regret it.

"Well..." Sirius didn't sound the least deterred. "Can, and can."

"Do you want to go back to Azkaban, Sirius?" Remus snapped.

Sirius blanched at the mere mention of the place. "No, thank you." Was his quick response.

As satisfying it was that Sirius finally listened to him, his heart clenched when he saw the haunted look in his friend's eyes.

"And well... there is one redeeming point of that man." Hadrian reluctantly admitted.

Sirius turned incredulous eyes on him. "Really? Malfoy? What could he possibly do to redeem himself?"

"He fathered a son."

"And? As if that's difficult." Sirius sneered.

Remus, however, studied Hadrian thoughtfully. "You were friends with the Malfoy heir?"

"Not exactly friends." Hadrian smiled as he thought back to his school years. "We were mortal enemies in school." He rolled his eyes at the memories. "But Draco...all things considered, her turned out alright." He shrugged.

"How could you even suggest that? He's a Malfoy!" Sirius sounded -oddly enough- almost insulted by the notion.

"And you're a Black."

Sirius visibly deflated. "Point." He grudgingly admitted. That didn't stop him from glaring daggers at Remus, though.

"He saved my life." Hadrian said calmly. He had managed to wind down now. Albe had heard the commotion their arrival had caused, and she entered the room.

/Hadrian. You're back./ She sounded pleased, but then paused. /This room smells of blood and agitation./ She stated, hastening her way towards her human. After she had slithered up into his lap, she examined Hadrian's hand closely. /What happened?/ She demanded sharply. And Hadrian told her.

Sirius eyed the snake warily. He ignored the fact that Hadrian was hissing to it, but if its' agitated spitting and hissing was anything to go by, he wasn't telling it anything good.

"How did he save your life?" Remus seemed unable to wait any longer, fixing Hadrian with an expectant look. Not that Hadrian could tell, though.

Hadrian sighed. "He's the one who got me out of captivity." He placed a hand on his bare chest. "At great risk to his own safety, I might add." He added firmly, as if sensing Sirius coming comment. Sirius obediently closed his mouth again.

"What happened?" Remus asked mutedly. He was filled with such soul-wrenching sadness thinking of what Hadrian had been through. That feeling doubled when he thought of who Hadrian really was. That things had spiralled so out of control...

"From what I was told, I was held captive for one week and two days." Hadrian began. He looked distant, as if he wasn't fully in the room with them. "I couldn't believe them at first; I thought I had been held for months." He let out a weary sigh. "At least, that's what it felt like. Anyway." He mentally shook himself. "Bellatrix brought her beloved nephew down to my cell one day. I was in so much pain by then I hardly cared about anything anymore." He shrugged. "I believe she wanted to teach him some of the beauty of the Art, as she put it." A bitter smile twisted his features, making him look rather frightening; scars and all.

"Draco would do many things for his family... torture was not one of them. I don't think he had the stomach for it. Or took that kind of pleasure from other's pain." He shrugged again. "Anyway. He went against everything he had been brought up to believe in, everything his family stood for, and helped me escape."

"Just like that?" Remus felt his eyebrows rise towards his hairline.

"Yes." Hadrian nodded. "Just like that." He made a brief pause. "He waited a week, to keep suspicions off himself, and then left Malfoy Manor, never to go back. He became one of my -well, not the closest, that's to be sure- friends. The two of us had both seen a side of the war that not many others had, and it was comforting to know you weren't alone."

"Sounds like you trusted him." Remus commented thoughtfully.

"Completely. Not many others did, though. But I knew where Draco stood." His voice was firm, as if prepared to take on any objections they might raise. Out of habit, Remus was sure.

Hadrian suddenly smirked. "I even got Ron to work together with him properly."

"A Weasley?" Remus couldn't quite keep the amused doubt out of his voice.

"I never said it was without complaint." The smirk was fully developed now. Remus snorted. He had no trouble imagining that at all. Silence fell over them again, this time a much more comfortable one.

Remus marvelled at the fact that Sirius hadn't said a thing in almost ten minutes. But of course, it wouldn't last.

"Alright." He grudgingly conceded. "I suppose he's not entirely worthless."

Hadrian and Remus both burst out laughing. It was such a relief after the heavy topic of conversation, it dispelled any lingering darkness in the room.

"Dinner is just about ready." Remus got to his feet, walking towards the kitchen. "Can one of you floo over to Alice and Frank and get Harry?"

"I'll do it." Hadrian rose and quickly pulled on his shirt again, placing a grumbling Albe gently on the seat he had previously occupied . "I'll tell them the good news!" He grinned excitedly, bad mood all but forgotten. Remus exchanged amused grins with Sirius and then disappeared into the kitchen.

Hadrian really was ridiculously happy to finally have managed to transform. For once, Remus actually looked forward to the next full moon.

...

Albus sat in front of his desk. Distantly annoyed with the fact that he seemed to spend most of his waking hours in this seat, he picked up the next parchment to be read over and signed. Damn all this paperwork. Much to his surprise and delight, however, the fireplace flared up with bright green flames and interrupted him.

"Albus." A very familiar voice grumbled from the flames. Albus smiled at the head of one of his oldest friends.

"Alastor. Why don't you come on through?"

"Don't mind if I do." Alastor's head disappeared, only to be replaced by the wizard in person a moment later. Alastor absently dusted ash off his robes, and then thumped over to the desk, taking a seat without waiting for an invitation.

"To what do I owe the pleasure?" Albus asked jovially, conjuring a tray with a tea set and a plate with biscuits from the kitchens. Alastor didn't comment; far too used to Albus' quirks by now to bother.

He took a biscuit and poured himself a cup. "Have you heard the news?" He asked promptly.

"I suspect not, from the way you say it." Albus' eyes twinkled. "I'm afraid I've been cooped up here doing paperwork." He sighed mournfully, eyeing the remaining stack of paperwork resentfully.

Alastor snorted. "That's nothing." He huffed. "You should see the desk waiting for me in the Auror office." He snorted.

"Have you been skipping out on your paperwork again, Alastor?" Albus admonished lightly.

"Seeing those idiots running around trying to order me to do it is my greatest source of entertainment." Alastor huffed out a rough laugh, his magical eye spinning.

"Alastor. That's not very nice." Albus reproached, his eyes twinkling furiously with repressed mirth. He waited patiently for Alastor to take a sip of tea.

"Well. Orsus and Black went to the Ministry today." He said finally said. "Registered as Animagi. It's the talk of the office." He chuckled. "And you should see Orsus' photo. Looks like he wants to kill someone." He didn't sound the least worried.

Albus looked at him curiously. "Out of everyone I know, I thought you would be the most suspicious of him." He commented lightly, an innocent smile playing on his lips.

Alastor scoffed. "I'm no idiot. I know there are a lot of things with Orsus that you're not telling me and that doesn't add up." He pinned his friend with a sharp glare. "But the man's got balls. And more honour than I've seen anyone possess in a long time."

"Yes. He does, doesn't he." Albus took a sip of his own tea, savouring the taste.

"And I suspect it'd be very bad for your health to make Orsus your enemy." Alastor continued.

"Yes. He's hardened by the war in a way you rarely see in people." Albus agreed. He had seen it clearly, already the first time he had laid eyes on him.

Alastor grunted his agreement, taking another biscuit. "He's dangerous, I tell you. There aren't many people out there who would willingly step in front of the Secare curse." He commented, idly wondering how long it'd take his friend to catch on.

As predicted, it didn't take long. Albus choked on his tea, sputtering and dabbing at his beard with a quickly conjured napkin. "Are you suggesting...?" He eyed the grizzled old Auror intensely. "You are, aren't you." It wasn't exactly a question.

"Lestrange aimed that curse at me. Would have caught me right in the chest, too." Alastor growled. "Orsus was eilling to sacrifice his arm to shield me, with nothing more than a fraction of a second to consider the options. That's fast thinking, I tell you. And on a whole, the best option." He added the last part thoughtfully, not quite grudgingly. There were a lot of people who wanted Alastor out of the way, now that the war was over. They kept insisting he was too old and too paranoid.

Albus smiled knowingly. "Don't let them convince you to retire just yet, old friend."

Alastor scoffed. "As if I'd let them! They'd be running around the Ministry like headless chickens without me there." He took another sip of tea, going through his thoughts. "I'm just saying. The Secare curse is very hard to shield against, and it's just a hair away from the Unforgivables. Stepping in its' way like that; he knew the best course of action, and didn't even hesitate to go through with it."

"Really, Alastor?" Albus didn't sound convinced. "You think getting hit with that particular curse was the best course of action?"

"Normally, I'd call the poor soul an idiot and let him bleed to death." He agreed. "But under those particular circumstances, yes. There was no time to do anything else." He stressed this fact. "And the kid knew it."

"Mhm." Albus hummed noncommittally.

"You don't believe me." Alastor stated. "I tell you, there are Aurors my age who still aren't able to call shots like that in the midst of battle."

"I'm impressed." Albus finally admitted. Alastor's pleased smile froze, and he narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "He's managed to gain not only your approval, but your respect as well." He added softly.

Alastor growled. "That's not the point!" His rough voice bit out.

"Ah, but it is." Albus insisted with a wide smile. Alastor glared at his infuriating friend a moment, before simply giving up. Albus had always been hopeless.

They were silent for a while, both lost in their own thoughts.

"Was that the only reason you came over? To tell me of how Hadrian and Sirius registered as Animagi?" Albus asked, eyes twinkling again.

"No." Alastor snorted. "That'd be a waste of time." He admitted. He eyed Albus, turning completely serious. "The Aurors in charge of the Lestrange case have lost the trail, completely." He said, voice grim. "We can find a trace of her."

"That is quite serious." Albus straightened, all signs of amusement and friendly banter gone.

"I know." Alastor huffed. No reason to tell that to him. "You better tell that Potter boy's family. They're potential targets."

"I'll make sure to let them know." Albus inclined his head. "Although I must admit that I've taken steps to ensure their house has quite formidable protection."

"Of course. You'd be daft not to." Alastor eyed his friend. "I'd think almost every Death Eater still on the loose is itching to off the child who disgraced their leader." He hummed.

"Exactly." Albus sighed. "I'm just glad he has three protective and quite ferocious guardians." He smiled thinly.

"They'd do well to keep their guard up. Constant vigilance! It never hurts." He grunted as he struggled to his feet. Damn leg; it was always bothersome after a long day. "I need to get back to the office. I'm sure those idiots have managed to get themselves into some kind of trouble by now." He muttered darkly.

"Go and make sure they haven't." Albus waved him along as Alastor limped over to the fireplace.

"Take care of yourself, Albus." Alastor cast him a last glance over the shoulder. "Potter isn't the only one who's makes a great target."

"Take care, Alastor." Albus smiled, watching him step into the green, roaring flames. He leaned back and propped his elbows on the desktop, braiding his fingers together. It was with a heavy sigh he vanished the tea pot and biscuits, returning to the work at hand.

...