HOA

Lookie, an update!

July 31st, 7:36am

"Happy Birthday to me," I sang to myself as I munched on my breakfast cookie and finished charming the pile of completed letters in front of me. "Happy birthday to me."

Above my desk, there was a small fire floating in front of me as the many angry letters from Order members – mostly Molly – burned. All the ones from Dumbles had been about not leaving the house, while the rest had been about all the pranks I had been pulling, which had been quite a lot if I was honest. The ones going on at Number 12 were just the beginning, as were the ones I had been pulling on my stalkers.

Catching the angry letters on fire and watching them burn while I ate cookies was becoming one of my favorite pastimes.

You know, besides pranking the hell out of all of them.

At this point, I don't even know why they expect me to stop. I leave surprises for all my stalkers at the beginning of their shifts, and then see how hard it is for me to ditch them.

It really, really wasn't hard. At all.

Was it cheating that I used the Cloak? I wasn't sure. I also wasn't sure if I cared.

My head tilted to the side.

Nope, I didn't care.

Just like how I didn't care that Petunia had started a new rumor about me because of my hair. Or that Dumbles didn't like me leaving the house. Or what Fudge was saying about me. Or most things if I was honest.

After all, I had managed this all without nearly as much fun the first time around. Which was probably why I was so bored all the time.

I had done all of this before.

Hence, the extreme pranking.

You know, besides payback.

I was bored.

Very bored.

Very very very bored.

Like…smash my head into a wall until it's bloody bored.

I was even getting bored of pranking. Just a bit.

Wow, even my thoughts feel bored…shorter than usual. Wait, what?

I shook my head rapidly and thankfully everything seemed to return to normal when I stopped. Or whatever form of normal existed in my mind. Did I even have a normal? I really wasn't sure.

Oh well, at least it didn't feel like I was thinking in bullet points anymore. That's always a plus. It's rather bad when your own thoughts make you worry and not because of what you're thinking but how.

ANYWAY, I was not exaggerating when I said I'm bored. I've seemed to have run out of things to do, I've done so much in the past week; and I wasn't exaggerating…much. Between pranking the Order, I've been exercising, listening to music, buying music, going to the movies, did random things with my magic to practice, and randomly roamed the countryside.

I even took an IQ test one day when I got REALY bored and visited Potter Manor. The place really needed to be refurbished, cleaned, and rebuilt… but it was still in better condition than Number 12. Oh, I also learned that apparently past/future knowledge in a bubble universe makes you immune to the Fidelius spell if you already knew where something was. So yeah, that was useful.

Speaking of the Fidelius, I hadn't managed to find Peverelle Manor yet. Not that I've looked all that much… or that I care all that much. It's more the fact that my Sister made sure I would get it. I want to know why.

I'm a curious person. Sue me.

Or rather, let me sue the Ministry.

That would be fun!

Speaking of the Ministry, I was stopping by there today to see if Madam Bones had managed to do anything with the package I had sent her. Was I being slightly impatient? Quite possibly. But oh well. I'd rather be pushy than without a godfather.

The fun part of this was that I was going to have to make sure that I wasn't recognized in the Ministry. Not that I was too worried about that, I looked pretty different with my hair and without my glasses. Not wearing baggy, god-awful clothes helped as well.

I honestly didn't expect the meeting with Madam Bones to take that long. I had always respected the woman, and I held her niece Susan in even higher regard. Though I had no idea what I was going to do for my birthday after the meeting. Oh well, we'll see what the bubble universe throws at me.

Waving my wand, I charmed all of the letters sitting on my desk to go flying off towards their recipients. With a twitch of a finger, I Banished the ash remains of the angry letters I had received.

Making sure I had everything I needed, I wrapped myself in the Cloak's energy and climbed out the window. I would be apparate to London at the end of the street.

"Happy Birthday to me. I have no idea how old I am. Who knows, maybe I'm 103. So, Happy Birthday to me."

Thankfully, Diggle didn't hear my giggles as I snuck by.

My stalker guards really did suck at their jobs.

Half an hour later, every single Order member received a letter. Dropped onto their heads, into their laps, onto their breakfasts, and even into the bathtub, they magically appeared. Each member was suspicious, especially with all the pranks that had been happening recently. After casting numerous spells – about thirty five in Mad-eye's case – they all hesitantly opened them.

Only for a loud song to be played from every single envelope.

I'll be watching you

Every breath you take and every move you make

Every bond you break, every step you take (I'll be watching you)

Every single day and every word you say

Every game you play, every night you stay (I'll be watching you)

Every move you make, every vow you break

Every smile you fake, every claim you stake (I'll be watching you)

Every single day and every word you say

Every game you play, every night you stay (I'll be watching you)

All of the letters burst into flames as soon as they were done playing the song snippet, and in a certain dusty, musty old house, Sirius turned to the Headmaster.

"Do you still think she doesn't know?" He asked him sarcastically, an eyebrow raised. Albus just shook his head slowly, and wondered if Sirius and Remus had invited him to breakfast on purpose.

Suddenly, he was being bombarded with Patroni, Howlers, and frantic owls from every other Order member regarding the latest prank and what it meant.

Sirius just leaned back and laughed as everyone else – besides Dumbles – fled from the chaos that was consuming the kitchen.

"Took you long enough to catch on." The animagus commented.

The old wizard simply sighed.

How on earth had she found out about the Order?

I could have apparated straight into the Ministry, but I felt like walking today. So after a nice stroll around London and a quick bite at a local bakery, I closed myself into the visitor entrance's phone booth and typed "MAGIC" into the phone.

If that was subtle I didn't know what was.

Note the sarcasm.

"Welcome to the Ministry of Magic, please state your name and business here." A woman's soft but almost mechanical voice echoed through the air.

With a shrug, and a mental nudge from the Cloak, I said, "E're Immortalis, and my Business is my own."

With a swish, a nametag appeared as the box started lowering into the ground. The tag read: E're Immortalis, her own business.

Laughing at the cheek of the magic, I stepped out of the magic phone booth and into the crowd. The Cloak's magic wrapped around me softly, not enough for me to be invisible, but just enough for people to not notice what I was wearing.

I didn't think that walking around the Ministry in a jeans miniskirt, knee high black boots – I have some strange obsession with boots… I honestly have no idea why – a white Tshirt, and a black leather jacket was a good idea. Or at least, not if they could tell what I was wearing.

It had either been this or a custom made dress. But I was saving that dress for the trial, so this outfit had won out.

Passing through security had been easy. They didn't even look at me, much less ask my name. And it wasn't like it mattered if my wand was on file. Who would think to look in the visitor's log for a wand that matches mine's description anyway? Not a wizard or witch, that's for sure. They don't have enough logic.

Making my way down to the DMLE was even easier. The lift I took had been empty, although the auror's floor was insanity. I managed to catch a glimpse of Kingsley and saw Tonks' pink hair out of the corner of my eye before I slipped over to Madam Bone's office.

Her secretary was writing away rapidly with a quill, and I suddenly had the strong urge to conjure the poor girl a typewriter at the very least. She wasn't much older than me, physically at least, with long braided blonde hair and wispy blue eyes that made me think of Luna.

She paused in her task as I approached and I made sure to try and make my smile light and kind as I let the Cloak's magic fade. Her eyes widened at my appearance, but not much. Ah, mundane-born then, cool.

"Can I help you?" She asked me hesitantly, obviously thinking I was lost or something. Well, the "or something" part was right at least.

"Hello, can you let Madam Bone's know that she has a visitor?" I asked the woman, whose eyes widened before she looked at me apologetically.

"She's not seeing any visitors right now, Miss. If it is an emergency matter, perhaps I can direct you to one of our senior Aurors? If not, I can take a message for her." She said, and I had to admit that she knew what she was doing.

I smiled at her more. She was a good kid.

"Could you just let her know that the paranoid package sender is here? She'll know what I mean." I asked her, knowing that Madam Bones would want to see me. I could've just given the girl my name, but being enigmatic was fun.

The girl had barely poked her head through Bones' office door before she jumped backwards and said with a squeak,

"She'll see you now, Ma`am!"

I smiled at the girl again, before entering Madam Bones' office.

"Good morning, Madam Bones." I greeted as I entered her warmly colored and tastefully decorated office.

The woman in question, monocle in place and stress lines around her eyes, simply frowned at me.

"Hello, Miss Potter." She said sharply and I didn't bother to correct my name. Peverelle-Immortalis was a trump card that I was saving.

Relieved that she wasn't using the typical pureblood greetings – which were stupid and I didn't use anyway – I sat down in the indicated armchair. The desk between us was dark oak, and covered in stacks of paperwork. I almost felt bad, adding to her workload. I had always hated paperwork the first time around.

But then again, who didn't?

"To what do I owe this pleasure?" Madam Bones asked, getting straight to the point though I had a feeling she knew exactly why I was here.

"I was wondering how far along the investigation into Sirius' innocence was coming." I asked, putting emphasis on investigation because I knew there was very little to investigate, only verify.

Madam Bones sighed, closing her eyes and rubbing her temples, removing her monocle. A bit settled in her stomach. Uh-oh, that wasn't a good sign.

"I was going to owl you…" Madam Bones began and I sighed. That really wasn't a good sign.

"What happened? I had all of the documentation and proof you needed! You know no one can fake Gringotts documents, and memory tampering is extremely obvious. So what happened?! You've had a week, Madam Bones. Why hasn't there been any progress?!"

I didn't mean to snap, ok maybe I sorta did. I just hadn't expected to.

But come on. I had wanted Sirius free for decades that I could remember! Being exonerated after death was very different than being declared a free man! God damn it I just wanted Sirius free.

"Miss Potter!" Madam Bones snapped at me, and all the sudden my fury faded as I realized just how exhausted the woman looked.

"Sorry," I muttered softly as the Cloak poked my magic in scolding manor. Ok, so I was still rather bipolar. Sue me.

"In a perfect world, Miss Potter, Sirius Black would've been declared a free man days ago…"

"In a perfect world, Madam Bones," I interrupted coldly. "My godfather would never have gone to Azkaban in the first place and my parents would still be alive so why don't you just get to the chase."

"Fine, I'll be blunt." Susan's Aunt said coldly, glaring at me. I figured that I had gotten on her last nerve, but I honestly didn't care.

"Someone – I believe one of my junior Aurors – tipped off Fudge and his goons about what was going on. I don't know how, and I cringe thinking about why. All I know is that three days ago Minister Fudge stormed into my office and ordered me to cease looking into anything that had to do with Sirius Black. He claimed that you were simply trying to stir up trouble and attention with even more lies. I went around him, and tried to bring it up in the emergency Wizengot session yesterday. I was shot down by at least three different Lords, the Minister, and his god awful Undersecretary. I was humiliated, and my job threatened.

"I'm no fool, Miss Potter, and no matter what those idiots believe, I'm no pushover either. I know how corrupt and backwards our government is, and while I will continue trying to find a way to push Mr. Black's exoneration forward, I also know that I am needed in this office. If I am dismissed, for whatever reason, I know that a spineless fool, or worse a Dark supporter, will take my place.

"And I'm sorry Miss Potter, but I can't let that happen." Madam Bones finished her tirade with a determined look on her face, ready to take any angry rebuttals that I threw her way.

But I didn't.

I didn't yell, or scream, or get angry.

Instead, I simply sat there, my hands folded beneath my chin and my mind spinning. I understood, by god did I understand. Madam Bones was stuck between a rock and a hard place with very little maneuvering room.

The silence stretched on, though time means little to me. My mind world with possibilities as I changed plans, balanced variables, and tried to work in all the factors. … A rock and a hard place indeed.

Well, it was good then that I was quite efficient at worming my way out of tight spots.

Eventually, I broke the silence. Straightening up in my chair I looked Madam Bones straight in the eye and nodded.

"Well then, thank you for trying Madam. I would appreciate it if you would keep all of the important information on you at all times in the coming weeks, but don't worry. My godfather will be free before the beginning of Hogwarts' term."

I stood up, nodding to the woman. But she quickly followed me, her eyes wide and slightly worried.

"But!" She protested, leaning forward onto her desk, "What are you going to do, Miss Potter?!"

She sounded worried, concerned, and I simply gave her a small smile that probably looked more mischievous than innocent.

"Oh, that's the beautiful, thing Madam Bones." I said with a knowing chuckle, "I'm going to do very little."

Turning on my heel, I strode towards her office doors. I could feel the confusion flooding off the witch but I didn't care. Everything would make sense to her soon.

"Wha…" She began to ask as I slipped open her door. Only pausing enough to look over my shoulder and give her a face splitting grin.

"Oh, don't worry Madam. You'll know when the time is right." I giggle after my cryptic little message before vanishing out into the bustle of the Auror office.

Maybe that was why Albus was also so cryptic. It is surprisingly fun.

I giggled again as the Cloak twitched in anticipation as I faded from sight.

And the fun was only just beginning!

Soooo, not nearly as long of a wait this time. Nice right? Anyway, I was planning on bringing Mortem back this chapter but…yeah, so next chapter I promise.

I hope you all enjoyed it, and I'll definitely try to update sooner.

Thanks to all of ya, you rock! Especially all of you who've reviewed. You double rock! XD
Cp