Chapter 20
The doors of the broom closet were ripped open and a redhead peered into the empty darkness. He reached his hand out and when he came into contact with nothing he left just as quickly as he had come. He ran back out into the corridor and straight into two other redheads.
"Whoa Ronny slow down!" George exclaimed as Fred steadied Ron.
"Have you found him?" Ron asked. The worry clearly visible in his eyes. The twins shook their heads.
"He is not in any secret passage..." Fred started "..inside or outside of Hogwarts" George finished. Ron made an unhappy noise.
It was that moment that Hermione came running around the corner. Her bushy brown hair was a mess.
"Have you found him?" She asked as she tried to catch her breath. After Ron had woken up this morning and found Harrys bed empty he had already felt a spark of worry. Now it was shortly before curfew and there was still no sign of Harry. Ron was now more worried than ever. He had even ignored his anger towards Hermione and had asked her if she had seen Harry. When she had answered no and she had seen that Ron looked really worried she had started to feel anxious. The two of them had run into the twins, who had offered their help searching as well. All four of them shook their heads.
"Shouldn't we tell a professor?" Hermione asked anxiously and for once Ron was inclined to agree with her. The twins looked at each other and shrugged.
"But we should ask professor Lupin or Dumbledore, they won't take away his dads heirloom." Ron whispered the last part so that only Hermione could hear the words. Immediately they made their way towards Professor Lupins office only to find it empty. That only left Dumbledore and he could be anywhere and nowhere. They could only try out his office. The twins split from them trying to avoid the headmasters office but they promised to look for Harry on their way to Gryffindor tower. They would probably have to visit his office soon anyway with their track record. They were running as they made their way towards Dumbledore's office. Just as they rounded the corner they crashed into somebody. It was the second time in one night that Ron had run into someone and his nose had just stopped hurting.
"Careful there !" Professor Petterson exclaimed as he steadied Ron. The thank you Ron had almost let out was held back by annoyed anger. His and Hermione's expressions immediately closed off. They still hadn't forgiven him for lying. Petterson just sighed. The two of them walked around him without saying anything to him. They were completely ignoring him. As they passed him Ron saw out of the corner of his eye how Petterson rolled with his eyes. Ron glared at him and Petterson just answered with a cheeky grin.
"Oh!" Petterson called suddenly. "If you guys are looking for Harry I just saw him head into the direction of Gryffindor tower!" He said before he left turned their back towards them, waved and left. Ron was about to offer an angry retort when Hermione grabbed his sleeve and pulled till she was dragging him along. No amount of annoyed and angry sputtering made her release the grip she had on his poor robe. In the end Ron gave up and settled for a scowl. He crossed his arms as much as was possible as Hermione dragged him through the corridors back towards Gryffindor tower and anybody who looked at him wrongly or found it funny was glared at.
She only released his sleeve when they were standing in front of the fat Lady, who had returned to her Portrait only with two towering security trolls. Blacks visit had one upside Ron thought sardonically he had managed to get rid of the annoying, idiotic and in his opinion insane knight that had been her substitute. They had finally fired Sir Cadogan after Black had broken in.
"Thank you very much for that wonderful drag-along." Ron said with sarcasm and straightened his ropes.
"Don't be such a baby Ron!" Hermione said with an eye roll . Ron was just about to give an annoyed retort when the fat Lady noticed their presence. Yet before the fat Lady could say anything or god forbid start singing again Hermione had already said the password and the portrait swung to the side. He followed her with an annoyed huff. Sometimes he didn't know why he was friends with her in the first place. Well he knew. The troll and his snot were at fault that the three of them were stuck together and if he was truthful he wouldn't have it any other way. He could hate her at times but she was still his friend. Someone who was too intelligent for her own good and sometimes so blind to the most obvious things. He was still angry at her, more than angry at her. It would take him a while to forgive her for Scrabbers and for Harrys broom but he would not be angry forever. He could not be angry forever. He would forgive her but he needed time and having her dragging him around didn't help sort through his anger and grief. He needed to sort through his feelings without the cause of his anger next to him but he couldn't really blame her since he was the one that had asked Hermione for help. Harry was more important than his emotional turmoil and if finding Harry was only possible with her than he would swallow his anger and pride. Not that her help was apparently needed.
The warmth of the common room enveloped them as they entered. The warm fire was burning and the few students that had stayed during the Christmas holydays were mingling in front of the fire. Fred and George were sitting in a corner whispering to each other. When they noticed the two of them they winked and nodded towards the direction of the boys staircase. Ron nodded in thanks but he was wary. If there was one thing he had learned while living together with the twins all his live was that one was never ever safe from any of their pranks. And since Scrabbers death the two of them had started targeting him more than ever. It was their way of trying to lift his spirits. Not that it helped it made thing worse. It did not lift your spirit to be pranked at least twice every day. Now that they were nodding towards the boys dormitory he wasn't so sure if it was really Harry in there or if there was not another prank waiting for him inside. Yet before he could give voice to his worry Hermione was already on her way up the stairs. Another thing that irked him that the girls could enter the boys dormitory without the stairs turning into slides. The girls could spy on them all they wanted. Hermione threw him a glare over her shoulder and with a resigned sigh he followed her up the stairs towards their room, which was a mess. Well at least Harrys side of the room was tidy but he couldn't remember if he had put the clothes from yesterday away or if they were still laying across the floor. With a shrug he followed Hermione into their room. From the way Hermione wrinkled her nose the room was a mess even though Ron found that it was not as messy as it could be and his clothes were still laying on the floor. Yet the room appeared to be empty. There was no Harry. But then the bathroom door opened and a drowsy looking Harry stepped into the room. He was already wearing his pajamas and his hair looked like a mess. More of a mess than usually. A single white feather was stuck in his hair. He yawned and looked at their relieved expressions in confusion. He walked past them and fell into his bed. Not even a question about why Hermione was there. She already opened his mouth probably for a long lecture but Ron beat her to it.
"Where were you?" He asked not without a hint of anger in his voice. A small part of him was smug that he had beat Hermione. Harry burrowed underneath his blanket till only his messy black hair was sticking out.
"Godrics Hallow" He mumbled. He must be really tired. Normally Harry was still completely awake during this time of the evening. Hermione and him shared a worried glance. Godrics hallow was on the other side of England according to his knowledge. He frowned. How the hell had Harry gotten there?
"And how in Merlins name have you gotten to Godrics Hallow?" Hermione asked sternly before he had the chance to. She had found the same thing strange as him. One did not just simply go from Hogwarts to Godrics Hallow.
"Black." Harry started to slur the word as sleep started to claim him.
"Ah okay?" Ron said automatically. It took a moment for the implication to sink in. "Wait-WHAT?! Black as in Sirius BLACK?!" He exclaimed but he didn't receive an answer because Harry had already fallen asleep. He and Hermione looked at each other wide eyed.
' Remus gnawed on his lip nervously as he hid inside a dark corner of Knockturn alley. He checked if someone was looking and made a hasty hand movement. James immediately jumped out from behind a trash bin a few meters behind him and ran to his side. Peter followed close behind him. His chubby little hands were trembling in fear. He didn't like the atmosphere of Knockturn alley and Remus couldn't hold it against him. After all he felt the same way. the whole dark and gloomy street made him feel uncomfortable and apprehensive .
"Can you still see them?"James whispered as he peeked around the corner. Remus nodded. He could see the Black family clearly in front of him. Ms. Black had her fingers wrapped around Sirius wrist. Sirius was scowling, glaring and struggling against the hold his mother had on his arm. He had called out to them in Diagon alley but before he could reach them his mother had grabbed him and started dragging him off. The three of them had shared worried glances before following them. Luckily they were spared the sight of Mr. Black. The only ones were Sirius, his mum and his little brother, who Ms. Black had dropped off at the bookstore before pulling Sirius along with her into the dark corners of Knockturn alley. They had stood in front of the entrance to Knockturn alley worrying for a moment. It had taken quite a bit of talking and reassurances to get Peter to enter the alley. They had pulled their hoods up to hide their faces and had pulled their wands. Their hid their hands beneath their cloaks, making sure that no one of the few people inside Knockturn alley saw their pulled wands.
Remus saw the two of them go around a corner and immediately he followed. When the air seemed to be clear he signed to James that he could follow as well. Peter hastily stumbling after him. Remus saw them standing in front of the entrance to a shop. Ms. Black was clearly trying to drag Sirius inside but Sirius had started to struggle more than ever and they all could hear him cursing his family. He was practically screaming insults at his mother and some of them were quiet colorful. Remus winced after a really nasty one and he could see James smirk out of the corner of his eye. But his smirk transformed into outrage as soon as Ms Black had slapped Sirius. Remus balled his hands into fists and he had to suppress the angry growl that threatened to spill from his throat. James was just about to jump out of their hiding space and rush over to Sirius. Remus laid a hand on his shoulder and shook his head. There were two more people out in the street and they might be able to take on one trained adult but not three of them and he had no doubt that the other two would come to Ms. Black aid. He wanted to curse her just as much as James but they were at a disadvantage. James scowled and stopped but his body was still strung tight. He would rush out at the next provocation and Remus wouldn't be able to stop him. He wouldn't even want to. Sirius was stunned. Remus knew that it was unusual for his parents to get their hands dirty. They had listened tight lipped when Sirius had told them of his home situation last year. James had destroyed the bathroom mirror after he had told them.
"Maybe there is a backdoor?" James whispered.
"o-or an open w-w-window?" Peter sputtered. Remus nodded. They couldn't leave Sirius alone with his mum. She was up to something and it was very highly not good in the least. There was a small alleyway on the side of the shop.
"We need to rip the Gryffindor seal off of our uniforms." Remus said and it spoke of their trust that the other two didn't question it. They simply ripped it off and stuffed it into their pockets. It would be really bad if she saw their seal. She would immediately know that it was them. Also Gryffindor students in Knockturn alley were a rarity. They didn't need to attract more attention than necessary.
"Here, Peter." Remus pulled out the daily prophet he had just bought in Diagon alley out of his bag and pressed it into Peters hands, who just looked at him in total confusion but James seemed to get the general idea. He pulled out Peters Gryffindor seal and transfigured it into the seal of Slytherin before sticking it onto Peters uniform.
"Peter stand in front of the alley way, reading the prophet. If someone asks you what you are doing here just say that your dad had some business inside that store." Remus said quickly.
"James and I will go into the alley to check for an entrance. You have to tell us if someone is coming and if everything is clear when we get back out!" Remus said as he looked straight into Peters watery blue eyes. He looked scared but he nodded and Remus sighed in relief. Once more he checked if the air was clear. James and Sirius exchanged a nod and immediately set off towards the alley way. They hid behind the trash bins in the entrance of the alleyway. Peter leaned against the stores wall next to the alley entrance and opened the daily prophet. His hands were trembling. There was door but it was locked and all the windows on the first floor were closed but the window on the second floor was open.
Remus muttered a quiet curse .He turned towards James and was about to ask James what they were supposed to do now when he came face to face with a grinning James. In his hands he held his broom.
"Shrinking spells are quiet handy!" he said with a smirk and wink towards Remus and he just shook his head with a fond smile.
Softly they took off the ground without a sound. The broom steadily gained height. They landed silently in the dimly lit hallway. James shrunk his broom and packed it away inside his bag.
At that moment a scream tore through the silence. They didn't need to guess whose voice it was. Caution flew out of the window. It was Sirius voice. Their laughing, loud, loyal and crazy friend. Remus heart was beating frantically. Sirius should never sound like that. He never screamed. Even when he had broken his leg he had not screamed or cried. He didn't want to imagine in what kind of pain he was to scream like that. A mantra of no was swirling inside his head. James was running right next to him. His face was filled with anger Remus had never seen before. His hands were clenched around his wand just like his own. They came to a stop in front of a closed door. They could hear Sirius mothers voice from the other side. She was shrieking and raving. Even through the door they could hear Sirius defiant but pain filled no. The suppressed pain in their friends voice was what gave them the last push.
They busted the door open at the same time not even trying to utter an alohamora . The storeowner and Ms. Black had their backs turned to them. A mistake.
"Petrificus totalus!" Remus bellowed and watched in satisfaction as it hit Ms. Black right in the back. She fell forward face first. Hitting the ground with a loud thud.
"Expilliamus!" James roared at the storeowner, who had pulled his own wand. The wand flew through the air.
"Petrificus totalus!" Remus bellowed once again and watched in grim satisfaction as the storeowner fell backwards not moving a single muscle. He may not have hurt Sirius but he had also not prevented it from happening.
"You guys ..." Sirius had struggled to sit up on the floor and was now staring at them wide eyed. "You guys have a real flare for the dramatics!" He said with a weak smile. There was blood smeared on his lip and he looked deathly pale. He was trembling softly. Nearly unnoticeable. James immediately crashed onto the floor next to Sirius and pulled him into his arms. He was trembling just as much as Sirius as the two of them clung to each other. Remus smiled softly.
He turned around and transfigured the two chair that were standing in the corner of the room into two sets of ropes. With a wave of his wand they curled around the storeowner and Ms. Black. He tied Ms. Black extra tightly and maybe even a little too tightly but she deserved it. James had probably already realized it as well. It hadn't taken him long to figure out that she had likely used an unforgivable on her own son. She could rot in hell. He took he wand from her grasp and hid it behind one of the empty bookshelves.
He nearly stumbled over an amulet as he made his way towards Sirius and James. With a frown he reached down.
"Don't!" Sirius bellowed and Remus immediately stopped and pulled his hand back as if he had been burnt. "Don't touch it! It's cursed."
"Did she try to put it on you?" James asked while he checked Sirius for any injuries as pulled him to his feet. Sirius nodded as he swayed slightly.
"It's slowly erases the memories of the wearer", Sirius muttered darkly. "I flung it into her face." He said dryly and both he and James saw that Sirius was masking his hurt.
"Let's get you out of here" Remus said softly as he helped James steady him. Sirius threw his arms around him and hugged him. Remus was startled but relaxed into the embrace.
"Thank you" He whispered. Remus smiled. He knew that Sirius would do the same for him. "You're welcome!" He whispered back as he returned the hug. Sirius pulled back. Sirius was quiet and didn't say another word. Remus and James exchanged a worried glance before they slowly helped Sirius out of there.'
Remus bit his lip nervously as he started into his jug of Butterbeer. He had chosen a secluded table in the far corner of the Leaky Cauldron. He was waiting for both James and Sirius to come back from their little missions. They had promised to meet here at two in the morning. Now it was nearly three. They were late. With the worry the memory of their first encounter with Knockturn alley had returned and only made Remus more anxious. James had voluntered to take over Knockturn alley. Sirius obviously knew why James had insisted that he take over. After all he had not as many bad memories of the place as Sirius. The time when they had saved him was for sure not the only time he had been forced to enter Knockturn alley.
Sirius had taken over Diagon Alley and so he had ended up with Dumbledore's office. It had been fairly easy to get inside. Once one had rattled off all possible sweets in existence. The book as Remus had suspected was not there but there had been other interesting works lined up in Dumbledores bookshelves. Maybe he would ask him to lent some of them to him. It hadn't taken him long to check through the office and he even had had time to correct some more essays before coming here. Even this late in the night there were still customers. One seemed to be a bachelorette party whose witches were more than just a little drunk. A few of them had already sent him quite a few flirtatious looks, which made Remus only want to pull the hood over his face all the more. Their obvious attention did not help his worry regarding his friends. He could understand if they were half an hour late but a whole hour was bothersome. He couldn't even get up and leave to check on them. He checked his clock once more and finally the familiar figure of Sirius female disguise sat down in the chair next to him.
"What took you so long?" Remus whispered.
"Too many books" Sirius muttered and sent him a dark look before ordering some firewhiskey. Remus just rolled his eyes. "and not the book we are looking for" He answered before Remus could ask.
"Any idea what's taking James so long?" He asked and the worry in his voice was clearly noticeable. Sirius looked at him slightly startled.
"What do you mean? He wasn't here yet?" At Sirius worried look he shook his head.
"That's not good at all!" Sirius growled. He knew all too well what kind of dangers were lurking in the shadows of Knockturn alley. And Remus could clearly see in his eyes all the scenarios he was going through in his head. The worry clouded his eyes and he immediately stood up leaving his firewhiskey untouched. Remus didn't think about it before he followed him. They swiftly crossed through the pub and just as they opened the door to the back James stepped through the door. He was still wearing the disguise of Petterson. His blond hair was wet from all the snow that was falling. He was grinning at them .
"Worried?" He asked teasingly and Sirius scowled but didn't deny it.
"The book was not there" James said with a resigned sigh.
"And what took you so long? Too many books?" Remus asked with a small smile and Sirius muttered something undistinguishable under his breath,
"Nope, but I had an insomniac shop owner." James said with a grimace.
"What did you do?" Remus asked suspiciously and James sent him his best innocent grin, which Remus didn't belief for even a second.
"What makes you think I did anything to him?" James asked. There was glint in his eyes. Sirius snorted.
"Right and I am Dumbledore!" Sirius said with an eye roll. James laughed.
"What did you do?" Remus asked again. His eyes narrowed in suspicion.
"You will see tomorrow" James exclaimed with an enigmatic smirk before walking past them into the pub. He took a seat at their table and took a sip of Sirius firewhiskey.
"Oy! That's mine!" Sirius exclaimed as he made his way over to James.
Remus watched James suspiciously for a moment. He had most definitely done something that had not been planned. Even if he pestered him James would remain tight lipped and would not reveal anything before tomorrow. So they had to wait for tomorrow. At Sirius fanatical waving Remus made his way over to the two of them.
Harry stared at the article of the daily prophet that Ron had thrust in front of his face. They were currently sitting in the great hall eating breakfast when the daily prophet had arrived. With a small sigh he took the news paper from Ron. Ron was still miffed that he hadn't told him where he went the other day. Harry still hadn't gotten around to telling him about his parents and Sirius. And to be truthful he had no clue how he was supposed to tell him. He couldn't just shout it out after all no one would believe him. It was not common that dead people didn't remain dead. He really wished that there was a how-to-explain-to your- friends-that- you're-father-is-no-longer-dead-book. He pushed the thoughts aside and concentrated on the article Ron had forcefully shoved into his face.
The headlines were written in bold black ink. The words double break in were what one noticed immediately. It reminded him of the article they had read back in first year. When the break-in in Gringotts had happened. Only this time the Break-in had happened in Diagon alleys bookstore. It was reported that nothing had been stolen but that all of the books had been transfigured into chickens and that all the monster books of monsters in the cellar had been freed. The bookstore had gone under in chaos and there was still no sign of the culprit. But it was not this part of the article that caught his attention. The article also stated that there had been a break in into one of the stores of Knockturn alley. It said that the store was overrun with a thousand black bugs and that there had been a message written in black ink on the second floor. A black lion had been drawn with the words 'Not forgiven and never forgotten' written underneath it with red ink that looked like blood. The shop owner also said that he was threatened but he would not go into detail. To the question if his attacker had been Sirius Black he also answered with silence. Harry put the paper down and looked over to the teacher table. His eyes narrowed in suspicion at the satisfied look in his father's eyes and the annoyed eye roll Pr-Remus gave as he put down the newspaper. Remus made some weird gesture towards his father before he got up and left the great hall. His father followed him after a few minutes.
" I will be right back." Harry said without looking at Ron and Hermione. She was sitting with them again even though they were still not talking to each other. He left the great hall and trailed after his dad. An arm shot out from one of the empty classroom and dragged his dad inside. Harry followed silently and spied around the corner. Remus had pulled his father inside.
"What were you thinking?!" Remus as good as growled. Before James could answer he interrupted him. "Scratch that. Why weren't you thinking?!"
"Oy! I was thinking!" James protested.
"No you were clearly not! Showing yourself to that Storeowner is bloody madness!"
"Who said that I showed him my face?" James asked with a smirk. Remus narrowed his eyes.
"Who did you show him?" James grin broadened in answer.
"Sirius!" His smile was a little wicked and Remus groaned.
"Right, great. NOT!" Remus exclaimed.
"Relax, Moony." James said as he patted Remus shoulder. Remus just glared at him. He took a few deep breaths trying to calm himself. Harry had to wince slightly in sympathy. He had only known his father and godfather for a little more than a day but he had already realized that they could be exhausting.
"Why did you show yourself?" Remus asked with a tired sigh.
"As I said he was awake and payback!" At the last word his father's smile was nearly evil.
"Payback?" Remus asked with a raised eyebrow.
" For his wonderful amulet that Ms. Black nearly put around Sirius neck!" James growled in a low voice.
"Not forgiven and never forgotten" Remus muttered softly and his stance softened slightly. James nodded at his words.
"What did you say to him?" He asked with a worried undertone.
"I made him swear to never ever let children anywhere near any of his goods again or otherwise there would be even less found than a finger." The words were said with a smirk as if they were a joke but his eyes were dead serious. Remus sighed and rubbed his temple.
"Next time please don't be as reckless" He whispered softly. His father nodded before he turned around towards the door behind which Harry was hiding. He quickly ducked out of the way hoping that they hadn't seen him.
"Harry! Get over here" His father called with a chuckle. Harry sighed. He had hoped to remain unnoticed. With a grudging sigh he walked over to them. Both Remus and his father were smiling at him. He relaxed when he realized that they were not angry.
"Harry" James laid his hands on Harrys shoulders. At Harrys confused expression he smiled a small wicked grin. "What do you think about a nightly visit to Malfoy manor?"
A.N.: I hope you enjoyed this chapter. The next chapter will deal with the destruction of Malfoy manor :'D I will try to finish it as quickly as possible.