Chapter 20: The Curious Case of Black

"What are you doing?" Theodore gushed as Matthias folded a piece of parchment into something that resembled a bird's beak.

Matthias brought it up near his face and gestured it to open and close like it was talking. "It's a snapper," he grinned.

"I fail to see how that can help us."

Matthias clicked his tongue. "Your lack of faith wounds me, partner in crime. You still have that Sickle?" Theodore balanced the silver coin in between his fingers and pushed it near the snapper. "Now watch me create magic," he alternately tapped both items on the table, and with a derisive wave, cast "Sero lligo."

Both the sickle and snapper emitted a reddish hue color that converged into a thread-like connection between them before vanishing. Matthias picked up the sickle and it rolled it over to the Minister's table. He aimed his wand at it, before it rolled too far and whispered, "Auscultio minimare"

The snapper shook and hovered lowly on top of the table. It opened its mouth piece and voices, sounding especially like Professor McGonagall's own, came out from out of it. "–grew – another friend of the Potters. Maddened by grief, no doubt, knowing that Black had been Potter's Secret-Keeper, he went after Black himself."

"How did you do that?" Theodore gaped. Matthias shook his hand dismissively, silently telling him that he'll explain it later. They both leaned in closer to the snapper and eavesdropped in on a conversation they shouldn't be listening in in the first place.

"Pettigrew… that fat little boy tagging around after them in Hogwarts?"

"Hero-worshipped Black and Potter, never quite as bright as them."

"There, now, Minerva. Pettigrew died a hero's death. Eyewitnesses – Muggles, of course – told us how Pettigrew cornered Black…" the connection died for a moment. Matthias had to recast the spell on the silver coin on the ground.

"–lew Pettigrew to smithereens…" the connection died again.

"I hate it when this one doesn't work with me" Matthias grumbled annoyingly under his breath. He shook his wand fervently as though the problem was in it.

Theodore peered under the table and cast the same spell he'd seen Matthias use on the sickle. The voices came back, a tad louder this time, and Matthias applauded Theodore's command of a new spell.

"Don't try and one up me now, Nott," Matthias jested. Theodore merely flashed him a proud smile and resumed snooping.

"– normal Black seemed. He spoke quite rationally with me. It was unnerving. You'd have thought he was merely bored. Asked if I'd finish with my newspaper, cool as you please, said he missed the crossword. It was astounding how the Dementors had little effect on him, that's coming from someone placed in the most heavily guarded places in Azkaban. Dementors outside his door day and night."

"But do you think he's broken out to do–" someone gasped "Good gracious, Minister he isn't trying to rejoin You-Know-Who, is he?"

"I daresay that is his – er – eventual plan… But we hope to catch Black long before that. Alone, You-Know-Who is less powerful, but give him his most faithful servant back, and I fear to think how quickly he'll rise again…" There was a small chink of glass on wood.

"You know, Cornelius, if you're dining with the headmaster, we'd better head back up to the castle," said McGonagall.

One by one, pairs of feet picked themselves up and walked out of the pub. A static crunch came from the snapper followed by a loud ear-piercing sound. Matthias and Theodore both backed away, hand clasped over one ear as they grimaced at the high pitched sound.

McGonagall looked over their general direction upon hearing it, and honed in at Matthias and Theodore, seemingly catching on their sudden distress.

Matthias immediately crushed the snapper with an arm and pretended to rest his head on it. "I'm just saying that if we try something as stupid as that, we might get caught."

Theodore looked at him crazily. "What are you – Ow!" – Matthias kicked him under the table and he mirrored his smile. "Not if we're careful. Besides I know someone who can… help… us…" his voice droned out as the last of the Minister's company left. He shot Matthias a glare, "That hurt."

"Sorry," Matthias apologized.

All of a sudden, the door burst open on its own, allowing an abrupt gust of cold winter air to blow inside the pub and snow to messily fall unto the ground. Footprints that was simply too small to have been Hagrid's own marked themselves on the snow. Ron and Hermoine then ran after the Minister's group with obvious worry etched on both their faces.

"That was… weird," Theodore mused, at loss for words.

Matthias nodded in agreement. He looked over his shoulder to check on something and much to his surprise, he saw three unfinished tanks of Butterbeer on Hermoine and Ron's table. "That's even weirder. The missing cup is back."

"You know…" Theodore started. "When we passed by Weasley and Granger earlier, I felt like I brushed some kind of fabric. I looked back and they were talking to someone that isn't there. And just now, they had one extra Butterbeer."

"What are you saying?" Matthias egged him on.

Theodore shook his head, the only logical explanation he had in mind slipping past him. "I honestly don't know, but it's something."

Ignoring their mystery man, Matthias and Theodore spent the next few minutes trying to piece together any new information they overheard about Black with the pieces they already knew instead.

It turns out that Black was the Potter's Secret-Keeper. A role given only to a person's most trusted confidant.

Matthias initial confusion over trying to understand Black's ability to betray his friends only made him more confused and angry at the man. More questions were brought up than answered and he was feeling a little annoyed by it now. It all feels so convoluted.

Theodore however, understood it far better than he did and explained. "It's not that complicated Matthias," he reiterated. "Black sold them out. He was their Secret-Keeper, for whatever secret it was, and was finally able to reap what he's sown all those years. You-Know-Who found the Potter's, killed them, then ran. Pettigrew tried to avenge them and failed. Black was caught and sent to prison, only to escape years later to kill Harry in vengeance for You-Know-Who."

Matthias snarled, running his hands through his hair, unable to accept something so clean-cut of an explanation such as that. Logical, yes, but he can't help but questions one thing. The same thing that bothered him months back. Where did Black's loyalty truly lie?

"No, there has to be more. Something we missed," he mulled over as they walked back to the castle grounds.

Theodore sighed and caught Matthias' shoulder. "I know this sounds like a very interesting mystery to you, and it is, but this is as far as we go. Yes, there could be more, but we aren't going to figure that out. We're not going to get anything more than we already do. Black's the worst kind of person there is, is that too hard to understand?"

"I just –" Matthias inhaled, "– I want to understand how he can live with it. You heard the Minister back there. Black looked like he wasn't even bothered by being in Azkaban for what? Eleven years? And I've visited Azkaban, only a few minutes sure, but I can feel every bit of me being taken apart. I can't even begin to imagine what years of imprisonment there can do to a person."

"And he was their Secret-Keeper, Theodore," Matthias added. "Secret-Keeper! They trusted him enough with their life. That's like me trusting you with a secret I'll never tell anyone, because we've been friends for years–"

"We've only been friends for three months," Theodore reminded him.

"I know, but hear me out –" Matthias kept his argument. "Hypothetically, imagine we've been friends for years. Imagine all the memories, the good and the bad. Imagine we've been together through hell or high-water so much so that I trust you enough with my own life. Then I make you Secret-Keeper. I tell you secret that answers a question your family has secretly been searching for all these years. Will you betray me then? Just because you had a duty to your family?"

Theodore frowned. Matthias can already see the gears in his head running. "Matthias this is different–"

"Will you?"

"No," Theodore finally answered. "I'm not abandoning my father. No matter what it is we've been through."

A wave of disappointment spurred from Matthias and he felt his hand shake. He hid it inside his jacket's pocket and lowered his head. Of course, family would always be thicker than blood. How can he be so stupid to think someone would throw away their life for his own? Loyalty is earned; not attained by mere years of being acquainted.

Matthias looked up at Theodore and saw a cloud of regret pass over his eyes. The younger of the two sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose in agitation. He shouldn't have made this personal. "I'm sorry," he apologized sincerely. "I shouldn't have said that. I know how close you are with your vater. I was just trying to make a point."

Theodore shook his head, "I understand that you don't understand how Black can choose his family over his friends, and desperately want to. I get it. I don't quite get how he can choose so easily either, because all that we know is found on the surface. There has to be more, I know, but let me throw the question back to you." He looked at Matthias and asked, "If I tell you a secret that can ultimately save you mother, and sharing that secret to your family will cause me my life, will you sacrifice me for her?"

Matthias opened his mouth to answer, but said nothing. It was simple, it should be simple. He wouldn't give up his friends for anything, but his mother was also very important to him. She still is. If given the chance to bring her back… will he do it? In exchange for Theodore?

The simple answer should be – No, he wouldn't, and yet… he can't choose. "That's not fair," was all he managed to say.

"Exactly," Theodore deadpanned. "It's not that simple, and I know you want it to be. Black must have thought it over the same way we did if we're put in his shoes."

"It's unfair," Matthias sighed. "I can't imagine how Pettigrew must've felt."

Theodore nodded in agreement and patted Matthias' head to calm him down. "I know."

Matthias saw the other Slytherin's off Hogsmeade station the next day. There was a lot of drama, mostly involving him crying and refusing to let Theodore board the Express, but it was a heartfelt farewell nonetheless.

Theodore promised to mail him a letter once he gets home, while Zabini promised to send him a very memorable present. Their words were enough to lift Matthias' spirits up if only a bit, and he saw them off with a grin that never failed to light up everyone's spirits. It wasn't until Daphne approached him from the side to slip him a roll of parchment did he drop said smile.

"Don't open it till we're gone," she instructed before filling in after the others. "Have fun having the castle on your own, Braun. Try not to burn it down."

Matthias supposed he stopped breathing for a while after Daphne flashed him a smile because the next thing he knows, the Express was already moving. He ran the entire length of the station while waving at them only slowing to a halt as he reached the end. He watched as the Express disappear along the horizon and looked down at the piece of paper on his hand.

Pulling one end of the string that kept the paper rolled, Matthias opened the letter and caught his breath. His eyes slowly grew in disbelief and his lower lip quivered in shock. Daphne just gave him her mailing address!

"Braun, move your slow arse up – What'r you –!" Filch bitterly growled in warning from behind Matthias, only to be cut short by hands grabbing his own and being forced to jump around circles.

"She gave me her mailing address, Filch!" Matthias cried. "Her mailing address! She's giving me a chance!"

"Sure, kid," Filch scowled after he pulled his hands away. "Good for you. Now get out of here. Back up the castle. Go on!"

Matthias, still high on believing, pirouetted on his heels and did as told. He walked up the stretch of Hogsmeade village towards the castle and traversed the castle's halls, on his way back to the dungeons, all without moving his attention from the address on his hands.

The only time he actually looked away was when he heard a couple of familiar voices come from a nearby corridor. Curious to know as to who else decided to stay behind this holiday season, Matthias followed the voices and saw Hermoine's bushy brown curls disappear into the bridge leading to Hagrid's cabin.

On a normal day, Matthias would assume that Hermoine and the others were only visiting their dear friend Hagrid but after eavesdropping on their talk about Sirius Black yesterday, Matthias knew the visit was more than just a social call.

There was still gaps in his knowledge about Sirius Black and if there was anyone who knew more than he did, it's probably Harry, and by extension, his friends. He silently trailed after them in the bridge and watched them descend the hill down to Hagrid's hut.

He juggled around the options in his head. Matthias can choose to ignore them and in turn take Theodore's advice to forget about the entire Black ordeal, or he can return to his new found interest of eavesdropping in hopes of learning more about Black and finally getting some closure. Glancing down at the Daphne's mailing address on his hand for help, Matthias laughed.

"Scheiß drauf, lass uns das machen," he nonchalantly said and pocketed the paper in his jeans. He slid down the shallow trench of glittering, powdery snow, and jumped off the slope once the terrain plateaued. He kept his head down the entire time as he stepped closer towards the small house and cupped his ear by the door.

Buckbeak tilted its head curiously at Matthias upon noticing him, and the latter pressed a finger on his lips, silently calling for the Hippogriff's cooperation. Surprisingly enough, Buckbeak ignored him and returned to harassing a dead weasel on the floor.

Now that he thought about it, what is Buckbeak doing so far away from the other hippogriffs…?

"Yeh don' know them gargoyles at the Committee fer the Disposal o' Dangerous Creatures!" cried Hagrid from within the hut.

Matthias frowned. Why were they talking about the Committee? Weren't Harry and the others here to ask about yesterday's revelation? As Matthias shifted his weight, he accidentally knocks over a clay pot on his right and winces at the loud crash it made. "Scheisse."

"Buckbeak what'r ye doin' out der!" came Hagrid's booming voice.

Matthias gasped and quickly jumped over the porch to hide himself behind a giant pumpkin on the left most side of the hut. He pressed himself as close as he can to the wall and held his breath when Hagrid stepped out to look around. He isn't afraid of being found out, no. But he'll be damned if he let himself get caught without even trying.

"What is it, Hagrid?"

"Nofin', nofin', Buckbeak's just enjoying 'imself out der," Hagrid turned around and slammed the door behind him shut before he resumed ranting.

A large sheet of snow from roof, chaffed off the ceiling and fell on top of Matthias, burying him in a cold blanket of wet snow. Matthias had to bite back a sneeze to avoid giving himself away and resorted to shivering under the cold embrace of snow. He should've worn more jackets… "Toll, einfach toll," he mumbled to himself and cleared the snow off him.

"Won't make no diff'rence!" sobbed Hagrid. "Them Disposal devils, they're all in Lucius Malfoy's pocket! Scared o' him! An' if I lose the case, Buckbeak–" Hagrid gave a loud wail.

Matthias grunted. He suddenly understood everything. Buckbeak was going on trial for attacking Malfoy. And knowing the Ministry… the trial is only procedure. They'll surely sentence the poor hippogriff to death nonetheless.

"Listen, Hagrid," said Harry, "you can't give up. Hermoine's right, you just need a good defense. You can call us as witness–"

"I found a book about hippogriff-baiting in the Legal section a while back. I'll look it up for you again, Hagrid." Hermoine added. "We can make that defense! Buckbeak did nothing wrong, they'll have to see that!"

Hagrid howled more loudly, and Matthias found himself regretting his decision to come here. This felt like an intimate discussion among long-time friends, and here he is eavesdropping. He steeled himself. He's already here, he can't possibly back out now. The chances of him being found out are high if he left now.

"Yer' right…" Hagrid said as he blew his nose. "I can' afford to go ter pieces. Gotta pull meself together… "I've not been meself lately see," he said. "Worried abou' Buckbeak, an' no one likin' me classes –"

"We do like them!" lied Hermoine at once.

"Yeah, they're great!" Ron backed her up. Matthias could only roll his eyes at the sound of Ron's voice. "Er – how are the flobberworms?"

"Dead," answered Hagrid gloomily. "Too much lettuce." Someone gasped out of worry over the horrible things, but all Matthias can read from that was fake sentiment. If anyone were to properly respond to the news of dead flobberworms it would be – Thank the heavens for lettuce.

Matthias fought back another sneeze again that made him sound a lot like a hiccupping child when Hagrid reminisced about his brief time in Azkaban. He wrinkled his nose in intrigue but didn't really catch what caused Hagrid's past detainment.

It wasn't long after that when Gryffindor's finally decided to leave. Matthias let out a thankful sigh and rubbed his hands together. He's freezing down here. They exchanged their farewells and gave Hagrid their last minute assurances before making their way up the hill and back into the castle.

Matthias counted to twenty before running after them and scurried his way back to the common room; none the wiser about Sirius Black.

The next morning, Matthias felt awfully feverish.

He felt warm all over, had an annoying headache, and he could barely breathe through his nose. Forcing himself out of bed brought dark circles around his eyes which caused him to lose balance and fall face first down Zabini's bed. He sneezed violently and cursed the moment he thought it was a good idea to eavesdrop on someone else's conversation, outside, in the snow, wearing only a thin long sleeved shirt, a parka, and jeans.

Matthias willed himself to walk to the Hospital wing, where Madame Pompfrey was shocked, perhaps angry, to have a patient this early in the break. He had to lie about what caused his flu overnight, and thankfully enough Madame Pompfrey didn't ask any further questions.

She sat him down on one of the beds and scolded him for being too reckless around in the snow while she forced down the last of her Pepperup potion into Matthias' throat. It tasted awful. Like cough medicine mixed with dirt and oily fish.

Matthias wanted to vomit the potion out but Madame Pompfrey forced him to keep it in. He felt his face grow hotter than normal and his ears burn. He reached up to feel them, only to notice that they were steaming, like, hot tea, steaming. He began to panic, but Madame Pompfrey assured him that this was normal and that it should go away soon.

Heeding her words, Matthias left the Hospital wing while his ears continued to blow warm air. He rubbed his ears consciously and decided to make a detour back to the kitchen to hopefully get something to eat, and take his mind off this peculiar medication.

Matthias stopped in front of a fruit portrait that hung innocently on a wall near the Hufflepuff common room and tickled a pear found on the lower right. Something mechanical clicked from behind the portrait and Matthias pushed the painting open. It swung backwards to reveal a lowly lit kitchen filled with hundreds of house-elves roaming about, working on cutting, and preparing the food for tonight's meal.

"Master Braun has returned!" an elf, working closest to the door, revealed his presence and a couple of others swarmed around his feet to greet him.

"Hey, guys," he said with a soft smile. "You happen to have another cup of cocoa lying around? I kind of feel bad right now."

"Of course, of course, Master Braun!" a couple of them cheered and frantically shoved each other to prepare a warm cup on the dot.

The others urged him to seat near the fireplace and threw an old tattered blanket over him. They asked him about his ears and voiced out their concerns as to whether he was sick. A few of them inquired if Matthias would want something else to help him get better.

Matthias laughed. House-elves are so eager to please. "I think I'm craving for cookies right now," he thought out loud. "Maybe those will make me feel better?"

There was a short pause among the elven crowd and a few of them scrambled to bake him a batch of cookies. While he drank his hot cup of steaming warm chocolate, and waited for the cookies to finish baking, Matthias indulged the house-elves by sharing a few of his favorite Brother Grimm fairytales. The elves reacted accordingly to his dark tales.

After an hour or two with them, Matthias finally excused himself from their company, complete with a plate of cookies on hand as he made his way back to the dungeons for some light reading. He owed Theodore Manxmouse and Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.

From the corner of his eyes, Matthias saw Hermoine guiding a megaton of books in the hallway with her wand. He blinked, confused. Why is Hermoine the only other person he sees in the castle?

He approached her slowly, waiting for Harry or Ron to trail behind her, but to his surprise, she was alone. Smiling at the perfect opportunity to talk to her, he fell in line with her and offered her a cookie as greeting. "Good morning, 'Moine. Want one?"

"Matthias!" she squeaked in surprise. "Hi! I didn't know you were around, oh – thank you." She picked up a piece from the basket and chewed on it demurely. "Are these fresh?"

"Off the oven, yeah." Matthias raised his nose proudly. "Olly made them. She's really good with dessert." Hermoine tilted her head and Matthias explained that she's a house-elf.

"Oh, well, give her my thanks. That was really good." Hermoined finished off the cookie in her hand and resumed to guiding the stack of books before her to the side.

"What you got there?" Matthias quipped as he tried to catch a glimpse on the book titles. He already had an idea as to what she's reading about, but Hermoine didn't know that.

"Just some light reading."

Matthias picked up one of the books from her pile and read the cover, "Law and Literature. You call this light reading? It's a law book, Hermoine. I know you're smart and all, but I don't think we even have to read these."

Hermoined grabbed the book back from his hands and scoffed. "Maybe I want to be a lawyer in the future, you wouldn't know. And maybe I'm just doing the necessary reading for an early start."

"Right," Matthias drawled, unconvinced. "Well whatever, that's your business, missus. Where's Harry and Ron by the way? You shouldn't be alone right now, especially with Black roaming around."

"Roaming around?" Hermoine blinked. "What do you mean roaming around? You've seen him?"

Matthias shook his head. Hook the line. "I'm just saying that if this guy wants Harry dead, he wouldn't be opposed to using his closest friends against him. I just want you to be safe."

"I'm as safe as I can be, Matthias," Hermoine assured him. "You don't need to worry about me or Harry; or Ron too, if you still care about him even for a tiny bit."

Matthias laughed. "Okay, fine. Ron too. You know… Malfoy's been talking about Black for quite some time now." – Sink her – "He mentioned something about Black being the Potter's Secret-Keeper. I'm not really sure. But I thought you can, maybe, enlighten me about it?"

Hermoine stopped on her tracks and stared, horrified at him. "How do you know that…?"

"I told you," Matthias smiled, "Malfoy told me."

Hermoine looked away, thinking. "Why… Why don't you ask him instead? He seems to know a more about Black than we do anyway."

She was avoiding the subject.

"You know how he is, he keeps the most interesting bits to himself," Matthias grinned. "I'm just a curious mind, Granger. I don't know a single thing about Black, being a foreigner and all. I just want figure the guy out."

"Figure?" Hermoine echoed. "What do you mean figure him out?"

Matthias shrugged. "People are making him out as this crazed murderer, but I feel like there's something more to Sirius Black than what the papers say. And you, being Harry's friend, should know something right?"

She back-pedaled, looking a little apprehensive. "I don't know what you're playing at Matthias, but I'm going to advise you to step this one out. You don't know who you're messing with."

"Maybe," Matthias shrugged, "I just want to understand how Black can do that."

"Just… how much do you know?"

"I don't know. Why don't you tell me?"

"I –" Hermoine stammered. "It's not my secret to tell Matthias. Even I want to know what's really going on here, but I can't tell you anything. I hope you can understand that."

Matthias hummed in defeat. He's not going to force her to give the candy. "Alright, fine. I'll figure it out on my own. And don't worry, I'll be careful," he claimed with a wave of his hand. "Good luck bringing up a solid case for Buckbeak by the way. Once the Committee has decided it's hard to change their minds."

Hermoine blinked in surprise. "How do you know –" she cried again, but Matthias was already walking away. "Matthias!"

A/N: Another multi-chapter drop after so long? I had time and two days of suspended classes turned out to be a blessing (when I should be studying). So we are close to reaching the climax of the year, which we all know where is headed. I'd like to hear what you all think of the story so far, do don't forget to leave a review, and follow/favorite to have your quick updates! Love, love.

German translations; these are all google translated so feel free to correct me if it's wrong and I'll correct them accordingly. It's greatly appreciated:

Scheiß drauf, lass uns das machen - Fuck it, let's do it / Toll, einfach toll - Great, just great.

Sushi out~