Chapter 10

Alastor tapped his wand on the battered black door of number twelve Grimauld Place. Several clicks were heard before it swung open. Madeline and her brother stepped inside the dark hall. Madeline wrinkled her small nose.

"It smells musty. Can't we open a window?" she said.

Alastor ignored her and shut the door which re-locked itself. Scuttling noises could be heard behind the skirting board as they walked down the hallway.

"Does Sirius have pets?" asked Madeline.

"It seems he does now," came a familiar voice.

Madeline's eyes lit up. "Sirius!" She ran to him and they hugged.

"How have you been?" he asked.

"Lovely," she beamed.

"Hello Alastor." The two men shook hands. "Dumbledore would like to see you about..."

"Yeah, yeah," said Alastor. He turned toward his sister. "Don't get into mischief."

She rolled her eyes. "I'm not a child, you know."

"Sometimes I wonder," he muttered as he stumped off.

"Come on, let me show you around." Sirius took Madeline's hand and they walked to the sitting room.

"I can't believe you grew up here. It's not you at all," observed Madeline looking around the gloomy room.

"That's why I moved out at sixteen. I wasn't exactly the son my parents hoped."

"Neither was I," she smirked.

He laughed, recalling her history. Then he picked up a guitar that was leaning against a grandfather clock. and leapt over the back of the sofa and plopped himself down onto it. Madeline kicked off her shoes and climbed nimbly over it and sat with her feet up expectantly looking at the guitar.

"I've been practicing that song," he smiled.

"Which song?"

"You know, the one you made up." He strummed and sang, "Strangers on this rode we are on."

She snickered. "I didn't make that up! It's from a Muggle band, The Kinks. Something you had said just reminded me of it, is all."

"Oh," he chuckled.

"So go on. Let's here it," she urged..

He kicked off his own shoes and put his feet up on the sofa and played rather well and sang even better. Madeline joined him in singing the Chorus. "We are not two. We are one."

They laughed, talked and sang for the better part of an hour just as though no time had elapsed since they were last together, as old friends can do, even though their entire time together on the island had amounted to no more than a handful of weeks.

This is how they were, on opposite ends of the sofa with their bare feet entwined, when Professor Snape entered. He looked at the two of them and his eyes narrowed. "Does the Order have yet another useless member or is she merely employed as your playmate, Black?" sneered Snape.

Sirius got to his feet and was about to rip into him when Madeline cut in with a laugh and said in teasing sauciness, "Oh Professor, you're just envious because I've got a top secret mission."

"And what would that be?" he asked icily.

"I could tell you, but then I'd have to kill you," she winked with a grin.

He was about to reply when Dumbledore and Moody walked in.

"Come dear, no more time for death threats. We're going," said Alastor.

She stood up on the sofa and kissed Sirius on the cheek. "Bye now."

"Don't go," he said.

Alastor said, "We'll be back on Thursday."

"Tomorrow I start my new assignment," said Madeline enthusiastically. "Hello and goodbye Dumbledore," said Madeline. She turned to Snape, "It was nice to see you professor." He didn't reply.