Chapter 9
A/N: This chapter is dedicated to javalon14, who's inspired me with her Sirius fanfics, given me advice, and never ceases to deliver some of what I view as the greatest fanfiction literature I've read thus far. Hope you like it, J. Thanks for taking this journey, as slow and arduous as it's been, with me. And thanks to all my other readers. Favourite, subscribe and review, lovies!
Remus and Tonks were to only two in the kitchen when Angie got down there to make her tea. They were sitting at the corner farthest from the door, talking in hushed voices, heads together, both with the cheesiest smiles on their faces. Angie cleared her throat when she walked in, to announce herself; Remus and Tonks broke apart immediately, looking away from each other, eyes searching the room feigning interest in the floor and wall-panelling, and turning as red as radishes. Angie chuckled and shook her head as she got the kettle down from the cupboard and started filling it with water from the tap.
'I think you ran everyone else out of the house, Ang,' Remus said after a while. Angie turned around to look at him: he was trying to look stern, but she could see and had heard the playfulness on his face and in his voice.
'You'll have to take that up with your friend, Remy. It's not my fault,' she smiled back.
'I just might do that,' Remus laughed. 'That's why Dora and I stayed down here – almost far enough from the source.'
'Earplugs work nicely, you know,' Angie retorted jokingly.
When she'd finished making her tea, she sat down across from Remus and Tonks, staring at no particular spot on the table while she sipped her tea.
'So,' she said after some time, 'you didn't tell him anything?' She looked up at her brother. She tried to keep her expression indifferent, or at least soft, but he could see a fire in her eyes that flared up when she was angry.
'I didn't think it was my place to say, Angella. What happened between you two, is between you two. You don't need me as a third wheel.'
'You became part of the situation and not a third wheel when you gave us refuge at your apartment, Remus. I would have thought that over the last year or so since you two have been talking again, you would have told him at least something.'
'The subject never came up.' He was trying to be covertly defensive; she wasn't buying it.
'Bring it up! Pipe up, Remus John; not everyone will bring up the subject they are the most interested in...'
'I wouldn't say he was interested in it.'
Angie huffed agitatedly. She wasn't going to play verbal tennis match right now, least ways not in front of Tonks.
Sirius and the triplets walked in at that point; Alli was holding a Daily Prophet in one hand, and an excruciatingly long piece of parchment in the other. Sirius looked even happier than he had half an hour before.
Alli smacked the newspaper onto the table in front of his mother. 'Take a look at that,' he said triumphantly. Angie noticed that all three of her children had the smuggest of countenances. And, for the love of the gods, they looked like their father.
Angie looked down at the front page of the paper. Her jaw dropped. There, in moving black and white, was a picture of her children, the Minister of Magic, and...Peter Pettigrew.
'Wha...How...I...heh,' was all she could manage. Remus pulled the paper towards him, spun it around, and immediately looked stupified. He gawped at the picture, up at his sister, over to his nephews and niece, and back down at the paper – all the while, his mouth opening and closing like a fish out of water. It seemed he had forgotten how to speak.
'That's an advanced copy,' Doro piped up from a corner close to the door. He had his arms crossed and his prideful expression had changed to irritation. 'Tomorrow morning, wizards and witches everywhere will know the truth about Dad and Pettigrew. He was interrogated under the influence of Veritaserum before being given the Dementor's Kiss and then shipped off to Azkaban. There's also been a congratulatory celebration scheduled for tomorrow at Hogwarts –'
'We'll finally get to play a set for you, Daddy!' Trili interrupted. Doro glared at her. 'What's crawled up your ass?' she asked him, affronted.
'Nothing.' He jerked his head to the side so he wasn't looking at anyone, but his face became more stone-like. He'd seen Remus and Tonks holding hands under the table.
Angie stared him down knowingly for a bit before giving up for the time being.
'Well,' said Sirius after taking a gulp of Angie's tea, 'I feel like a walk –'
'No!' chorused everyone in the room. He jumped.
'Why the hell not?'
'That's an advanced copy of the paper! No one knows yet except for us and the other Order members and Dumbledore. You go walking out of the house now, something's liable to happen!...'
'Like what? A citizen's arrest? C'mon now, Angie, I just want to go for a walk!'
'No. Now quit whining. I stopped having to deal with selfish toddlers twelve years ago.'
The next morning, Sirius was the first one awake. He kept jumping on the bed he and Angie shared, banging on Remus's bedroom door, and shaking the triplets awake. When everyone had finally had enough and dragged themselves out of bed, it was well past eleven o'clock in the morning and McGonagall was waiting for them in the foyer.
Angie came down the stairs first, yawning widely, followed by Sirius.
'Oh, Professor,' she said sleepily. 'Wasn't expecting you.'
'I've come to collect you all for the party,' she said cheerily. She almost looked like she was bouncing on the balls of her feet.
'What, now? Lemme get some food first,' came Alli's mid-yawn remark as he ambled slowly down the stairs.
After everyone had grabbed a quick bite, they had Flooed to the teacher's lounge off the corridor of the Great Hall. Angie could hear innumerable students talking excitedly in the entrance and the Great Hall. She wondered if Harry and his friends knew yet.
Everything went uncannily dark in the Great Hall and whispers erupted before dying down. She heard Doro open the introduction to the song with his electric guitar, shortly joined by Trili on drums and Alli on bass. She waited for her cue before running out and setting of the pyro and starting the entertainment.
During the entire concert-part of the celebration, she kept her eyes on Sirius who was seated with Remus, Harry, Hermione, Ron and the other Weasleys at Gryffindor table. They ended the set with For Those About to Rock by AC/DC in honour of the Order members, most of which were there. Then Dumbledore thanked them and raised his hands for attention and silence.
'Now, I would like to welcome the Minister of Magic, Mr Cornelius Fudge, here to congratulate and apologise to Sirius Black for wrongful conviction without trial and imprisonment. Then, there is a surprise for everyone.'
Fudge's speech was quite long, but it was everything Angie had always sworn she'd make him say if she had had to torture it out of him with her bare hands – that he was sorry to her and her children for robbing them of Sirius; that he was sorry to Sirius for robbing him of his freedom and for causing the entire Wizarding community to fear and despise him when he was innocent. Then he described how Peter was now in Azkaban, a soulless shell of a person, and recounted what had really happened the day after the Potter's deaths.
With that, Dumbledore nodded to someone in the back of the Hall by a side door. The door was opened and out walked Lily and James. A collective gasp could be heard as a monstrous tapestry unraveled from the ceiling behind Fudge. The couple walked up behind the Minister, tapped him on both his shoulders, and smiled hugely at him once he turned around. Fudge looked near to fainting and had to be lead from the Hall. It was later heard that Madame Pomfrey had to give him a bit of black tea with firewhiskey.
The celebration and entertainment went on for the rest of the day and, after all the students had gone to bed, some of the teachers and all of the Order members present went down to Hogsmeade, to the Three Broomsticks, to reminisce.
