Chapter 24: The Power to Control
It was two days after he left Hogwarts did Sirius finally track down Professor Moony somewhere in the outskirts of Muggle London.
He padded down the dirty cobbled streets, too intent on finding his friend to bother about what the Muggles he was passing were thinking about him. Most people gave him wide berth, but once in awhile he heard someone say that someone should call for a dog catcher. Not interested in hanging around for that, he was finally able to track Remus down to a tired-looking terraced house. The paint was peeling and there were several shingles missing from the roof, but he could see that there were some bright flowers in the spotless window.
Yes, he had a feeling that Remus was here… even without the address that Dumbledore had given him. Quickly jumping over the rickety and rusty gate, he went straight up to the front door and sat there, barking loudly a few times before he could hear someone inside moving around.
A few minutes later, the door opened and Remus stuck his head out to see what all the noise was and stopped dead when he saw him.
It was the first time Sirius had seen him since their encounter at the Shrieking Shack. The flecks of silver in Remus's hair were now more pronounced so that he looked a good ten years older than he really was… while his face looked haggard and so much older than Sirius remembered. But despite all this, Sirius could see his friend's eyes were bright, alert, and intense as ever as he looked up and down the street quickly, making sure that it was safe.
"Sirius!" he exclaimed quietly, surprise and shock on his face before giving him a warm smile in welcome and Sirius wagged his tail happily. Remus quickly stood back and let him in. As soon as he closed the door, Sirius gave a joyful bark before he launched himself at him that almost knocked him over.
"Enough, enough," Remus laughed, sounding much more like the kid that he used to poke fun at school. As he pushed him away, he locked the door behind him as he looked to him and said, "Padfoot, it's good to see you - you have no idea how good. But why are you here? And where's Buckbeak?"
The dog changed into Sirius, standing up—his good mood fading slightly as he thought about how to explain all this.
"Dumbledore's looking after Buckbeak's for me for now," he answered, deciding to start off with the easiest answer first before he went on, "He sent me here with some bad news, Moony. And I mean BAD news."
Remus's smile quickly turned into a worried frown and asked, "Harry…?"
"He's OK," Sirius reassured him before he sighed and added, "Well… maybe not okay… but he's still alive."
"Oh, I can already tell that I'm not going to like hearing about this," Remus said, leading him to a worn-out kitchen and offered to make some tea. As he did, adding a little Firewhiskey in the brew, he listened to Sirius start to tell him everything that happened just a few nights ago.
"I'd been worried about him since I heard that he was in the tournament," Remus confessed, nodding his head to an old newspaper on the table.
"You aren't the only one, mate," Sirius sighed. "Ever since I heard, I'd barely had a moments rest. I thought that it was the tournament that I had to worry about… but the end of the Third Task was just the start of it."
He continued with Harry's account of the events in the graveyard. When Remus heard the part Wormtail had had to play, his almost ended up breaking the teacup in his hands.
"Peter," he said with disgust.
"And none of us knew," Sirius said bitterly, wishing that he had more Firewhiskey. "While I was sitting in Hagrid's pumpkin patch, Harry was fighting for his life. You should have seen him, Remus," he said, sighing heavily, leaning his forehead against his palm, suddenly feeling like he aged another hundred years. "He looked so lost, so scared, Remus… I… I honestly didn't know what to do."
Remus sighed, running his hand through his hair. "And it was Cedric Diggory that was killed?" he asked sadly.
"I take it you knew him?" asked Sirius, knowing that tone.
"He was one of my students," Remus said mournfully. "A brilliant student… one of the best I've ever seen."
"Really now?" he asked grimly. "That's a shame."
"I'm sure his parents must be devastated. I assume they were there?" Remus asked knowingly.
"Yes. There was quite a lot of commotion after," Sirius explained. "I don't know exactly what happened on the field, but I could hear them all shouting. Crouch Jr. used the ruckus as a distraction so that he could drag Harry off to his office. He tried to do him in, but Dumbledore showed up with McGonagall and Snape to save him. They interrogated him with Veritaserum before telling Fudge what happened. And you know what that idiot did?"
"What?"
"He brought a Dementor with him into the castle and it gave Crouch the kiss," Sirius shivered.
Remus stared at him. "Just like that?"
"Yeah, you should've seen the look on Dumbledore's face," Sirius told him quietly. "He looked ready to curse him for that. That Fudge sure botched things up this time."
"I honestly don't know what to say to that," Remus whispered.
"It's a lot to digest, I know," Sirius agreed. "But basically what it means is that the Order of the Phoenix will be getting back together again, with Voldemort back and angrier than ever."
"What else happened?" Remus asked determined to get ever detail he could.
"Well, Fudge got angry and left the ward, saying that he was going to talk to him about how the school was being run," Sirius explained, before going to tell him how Dumbledore made him and Snape shake hands and agree to least try and act like they tolerate each other.
Remus smiled. "I'm sure you enjoyed that."
"Oh, yeah," Sirius snorted sarcastically. "I loved shaking hands with that slimy git…"
"He's really not that bad, Sirius," Remus offered softly before asking, "But what's this about Harry seeing James and Lily?"
"Their after-images at any rate," Sirius said, and going into more details about what Harry told them. they went on talking for the rest of the night before they practically fell asleep at the kitchen table—and having nightmares about everything they heard about… unsure which part was the worse.
*A few days later*
A few days had passed since Sirius showed up at Remus's house, being the bearer of bad news. Remus was quite busy contacting all the members of the original Order of the Phoenix where were still alive and telling them that it was time for an emergency meeting.
"All we need now is a place to hold it," he told him late that evening, both of them enjoying a stew of vegetables—it had been so long since Sirius had a home-cooked meal that he almost cried with happiness.
But before he could finish enjoying it, there was a loud knock at the front door. Sirius froze as Remus jumped up and went to the door. Sirius transformed back into Padfoot and waited as he heard the door open and shut.
When he came back, it was Dumbledore who was with him and Sirius felt some relief, wishing that the old man thought to call before coming and scaring them…
"Sirius," he acknowledged, eyes twinkling as Sirius regained human form and pulled out a chair to sit down.
"Sir," Sirius nodded, quickly asking about how his godson was doing.
"He's…" Dumbledore said slowly, as if wondering how to best put this. "Dealing with it all as well as can be expected," he sighed at last and Sirius sighed. Of course Harry would still be having a hard time coming to terms with all this.
"He was in the hospital wing for only two days before Madam Pomfrey felt that it was safe enough for him to leave," Dumbledore told him truthfully.
"But is he safe?" Sirius pressed on urgently, for some reason feeling more anxious by the second, and wishing that he could see Harry right now with his own eyes.
"Nothing else has happened over the last week," Dumbledore told him. "He left on the Hogwarts Express just this morning and should be back to Privet Drive right about now. He will be safe there so long as he's inside the house."
"What do you mean?" Remus wanted to know, taking a seat beside Sirius.
"Still, I would feel better if we put measures in place to watch over Harry while he's at the Dursleys," Dumbledore went on as if he didn't hear the question. "I don't think it likely there will be an incident but better to err on the side of caution."
"I don't see why he has to go there at all," Sirius frowned, now starting to become annoyed with how Dumbledore was dancing around his questions. "Wouldn't he be safer in the wizarding world? Like with Ron Weasley's family or with us…" his face brightened and added hopefully, "He could come and stay here with Remus and me."
"That's not possible at the moment, Sirius," he answered gently and at once, Sirius could feel anger boiling inside him.
"Why not?" Sirius demanded heatedly. "You know that Remus and I would protect him with our lives."
"Yes, I know," Dumbledore nodded, sincerity in his tone. "But that's not the issue here, Sirius…"
"You don't trust us, do you?" Sirius demanded loudly, drowning out his voice, not even sure himself why he was so upset. "You don't think that we'd be able to do even that much right?"
"It's got nothing to do with—" Dumbledore disagreed, but Sirius was on his feet again.
"I'm his godfather! And now you think that I…" Sirius was so close to shouting.
"Sirius—" Dumbledore called out.
"Sirius, please!" Remus cried loudly as he put a hand on his shoulder to calm him. At his touch, Sirius remembered where he was, and his harsh breathing started to calm down. He glanced at his friend… and then he slowly sat down. Feeling his anger slowly disappearing at Remus turned back to Dumbledore and asked why Harry would be safer with the Dursleys instead with them.
"Because his aunt is his mother's sister," he answered simply.
"What does that have to do with anything?" Sirius barked irritably.
Dumbledore sighed and he confessed the reason; the truth that Harry was safe in the house of his mother's sister. That, so long as he remained there, Voldemort couldn't touch him; Dumbledore then leaned forward and said firmly, "I have no doubts about you, Sirius. Either about your allegiance or your abilities. I know that you would rather die than let anything harm Harry. I hope you believe me."
Sirius glared at him, but slowly nodded in understanding. He so badly wanted to talk to Harry again, but if he was safest in that house, then he decided to let it go for now.
"Which reminds me," Dumbledore said slowly, as he pulled out a long box from the inside of his cloak and pushed it across the table towards him, "I have something for you."
Puzzled, Sirius opened it and then caught his breath. There was a wand…
"It's not the same as your old one," Dumbledore said as he took it out and ran his fingers along it almost reverently. "But it is an excellent one… very near to the one that you used to have."
"It's nice…" Sirius muttered, unable to say anything else, "Can't remember the last time I held my own wand…"
He pointed to a teapot on the counter, and with a small pop, it turned into a large turtle.
"Thank you, sir," he swallowed gratefully, now feeling guilty from his shouting earlier as he turned it back into a teapot.
There was an awkward pause and then Dumbledore nodded. "You're welcome, Sirius. If we are to fight in this war, you need a wand for your own. And while I have not been unprepared for Voldemort's return, it will not be easy and we need all the help we can get. Ever since he disappeared thirteen years ago, I always knew that he would find a way back. How long… I didn't know… but I knew he would return." He gave a sad smile. "Of course, other people do not want to face the truth."
"You mean the Ministry," Remus spoke up knowingly as Sirius continued to try out simple spells with the wand.
"I've tried speaking to Fudge again about this. It would be so much easier with the Ministry taking the lead," he sighed. "Unfortunately, he continues to deny the truth. I don't know what I'll have to do to convince him."
"He can't honestly think that you are making this all up," Sirius said darkly, remembering the way that Fudge was acting the night of the Third Task. It was a like he was dealing with an angry toddler who didn't want to go to bed and got angry at his parent. "Just pretending it's a lie doesn't make it one! It's only going to help Voldemort out!"
"I know," Dumbledore nodded in agreement before going on, "But luckily, we have time to prepare ourselves and to cut him off before he gets too much power. Thanks to Harry, we know he's returned and what he's planning. And we have new additions to our ranks. Alastor had told me that he has several young Auror's in mind… of course, we need to establish a Headquarters."
After a few minutes of silence, Sirius spoke again.
"I think I can help you out with that," he said softly, thinking—as if remembering a distant dream, "I know a place that we can use for Headquarters."
Sirius turned to him and gave him a rather grim smile. "I will introduce you to my loving family home."
*A few hours later*
After making a few extra precautions, the three of them appeared in an alleyway, about a block away from the house. Sirius led the way across the street, and through a shortcut that led them straight until they were all standing outside a gloomy looking house between number 11 and number 13. A house that he had sworn that he would never return too… he felt like he would be coughing up his own blood at the thought of setting foot here again…
Dumbledore raised his Deluminator and caused all the lights to go out before Sirius was able to transform from his dog form.
"Grimmauld Place?" Remus asked him in surprise once he was back on two legs. "I thought you said that when you left this place, you left for good."
"Yeah," Sirius stated angrily. "But I heard that my dear old mother's finally gone. Even though she disowned me, the house is still mine. It's a safe place. My father put all sorts of spells on the house to keep Muggles and any other wizards from ever finding it—don't know why they ever would want to," he added in a dark undertone. Honestly, anyone who knew his family history… who would want to come here in their right minds? "I'm sure we could put more up. But the house has been empty for about ten years now, so who knows what's happened since then."
He then walked up the front steps, banged on the front door, before he kicked the door open, having wanted to do that ever since he was little. "HONEY? I'M HOME!"
"Sirius, please, control yourself," Dumbledore said as he followed.
"Oh, excuse me," Sirius said, his voice dangerously mock-pleasant. At that moment, they heard loud screeching… it was a horrible, blood-curdling screech that made it feel as if his eardrums were going to bleed. No… it couldn't be… he was sure she was gone…
But at that moment, a curtain in the hallway suddenly was blown open, and there was a portrait of a hag that he had tried to forget all these years. "Filth! Scum! By-products of dirt and vileness! How dare you befoul the house of my father's -"
"Ah," Sirius said coolly over the loud noise. "Mother dearest." He marched right up to the portrait, just happy that he didn't have to deal with the living version of her anymore. "Hello, you ugly, old hag!"
Her eyes bulged when she saw him. "YOU!" she screeched, her voice filled with rage at seeing him. "Blood traitor, abomination, shame of my flesh!"
Really? He'd been gone for years and she was still using the same old insults? You think after all this time, she could've thought of something more interesting to screech out. "Sorry!" he yelled sarcastically, putting a hand to his ear. "Can't hear you!"
And with a bang, he pulled out his wand and the curtain was blown over to cover the portrait before she could retort. Feeling lighter, he turned back to the other two who were staring at him, as if they'd never saw him before.
He didn't care as he told them, "You have no idea how long I wanted to say that."
Dumbledore looked like he wanted to say something, but before he could, something slinked across the hallway. A horribly familiar house-elf, wearing almost nothing except a filthy loincloth, was seen slinking through the shadows. The elf walked forward and bowed low, "Master Sirius," he said, before he added in an undertone, "My mistress's greatest disgrace has returned to bother poor Kreacher… oh, the shame."
"A house-elf?" Dumbledore repeated as Sirius groaned in horror.
"Not you!" exclaimed Sirius with utter disgust.
"Who is that?" Dumbledore asked him.
"Kreacher," he growled, quickly explaining, rolling his eyes. "Horrible little toerag. I see he hasn't changed all this time. I thought he was dead to. Oh, well… maybe the shock of giving him clothes would do it."
Kreacher slunk past them as if he couldn't see them and wandered off, glaring at Sirius all the way. "Greatest disgrace. Master has returned. Mistress's greatest disgrace…"
"Shut up, Kreacher," Sirius yelled at him.
"Kreacher," asked Dumbledore kindly, coming forward, "are you the only one keeping the house up or are there others here?"
"Who is this old man talking to Kreacher as if he knows?" muttered the house-elf to himself, convinced that Dumbledore couldn't hear him. "Why is he acting like he knows Kreacher? And who is the other man that the blood-traitor brought?"
"Didn't I tell you to shut up?" growled Sirius as Kreacher glared back, all the horrible memories of being trapped in this living hell suddenly coming back like a river bursting through a dam.
"Sirius!" Dumbledore scolded softly. "Don't treat him like that. He could pose a threat to us if he falls into the hands of some of your other relatives."
"He can't leave," Sirius said, rolling his eyes, as he watched Kreacher walk out of the room with narrow eyes.
"Sirius, I understand that having Kreacher here is hardly ideal," Dumbledore told him, "But this is his house, also. If we do use it for headquarters, then we simply have to live with him, and to do that, we'll have to treat him with kindness and respect."
Sirius didn't answer, his eyes narrowed in dislike as the elf went off into the dark house.
"Sirius?" Remus asked in worry.
"I heard you. Not that I think it'll help his mood any…" he added in disgust. "It'll be easier just to sack him already…"
"Dumbledore is right, Sirius," Remus said slowly. "If we antagonize him, he'll find ways to twist your words and keep doing things…"
"All right, all right…" he snapped irritated, though he highly doubted it.
*That night*
Most of the Order was indeed already gathered there. Arthur and Molly Weasley both sat at the table, across from Dedalus Diggle and Emmaline Vance. Bill Weasley was at the side, watching them all, as old friend Elphias Doge was humming softly to himself. Hestia Jones was looking around the room, as Mad-Eye took his seat at the corner of the room.
Mad-Eye had brought with him two Aurors. The first was a young witch with violet hair and heart-shaped face that could only be Nymphodora Tonks. Sirius sat there and stared at her… the last time that he saw her was when she was a little girl, hardly more than four or five years old. It was hard to believe that she was his little cousin all grown up. She sat there brightly and looked around interestedly, as if wondering what would come popping out of the woodworks.
The second man that Mad-Eye brought was Kingsley Shacklebolt who stood tall and solid, with rich dark-chocolate skin. He wore a silver hoop in his right ear and no hair on his head, and overall cut a striking figure—almost like a rock that stood tall against the raging tides. As he went to take his seat at the table, he saw that Remus was giving Kingsley a wary look. So this was the man who was in charge of hunting him down? He made sure to sit as far away from him as possible as he sat under the table.
Once everyone was seated, Dumbledore came forward, and began the meeting by telling the guests the entire story of how Voldemort had struck when they least expected it during the end of the Triwizard Tournament and has now returned to power. As well as telling how Cedric Diggory truly died, and how Harry had narrowly escaped with his life. He then spoke of Fudge's refusal to believe the truth and the danger he was now leading the whole wizarding world into. The rest of the table was silent as he spoke; no one spoke a word, just horror-struck at what they were hearing. Several of them had initially wanted to think that Voldemort was gone for good, but when he mentioned Fudge's behavior—his ever growing paranoia, they all admitted that he seemed willing to do anything to hide something.
He also told them about smear campaign directed at, both himself and against Harry. By reminding them all, that the Ministry and the Daily Prophet had sung a different tune in previous years—but now that Harry was saying something they didn't like, they had turned on him, thinking that he could be discredited because he was young.
"Although," Kingsley said slowly, "He was Confuded by Sirius Black into ranting that Black was innocent. No telling what he could have planted in Potter's mind."
Sirius couldn't hold back the snort. Like he would do that…
"That is because Sirius's case never came to trial," Dumbledore answered. "On the surface, it seemed too clear-cut that no one had bothered. Even I had thought that Sirius had committed those acts."
Sirius didn't dare look at anyone at those words, knowing that he had no one to blame but himself for never telling anyone else about this.
"However, over a year ago, Harry and his friends helped to fill in all the blanks. Because the case was never taken to court, no one ever found out that an innocent man was sentence to twelve years in Azkaban," Dumbledore finished.
They all gasped at the news, except for Molly, who was glancing anxiously down at him, as if expecting him to change back at any second.
"The story Harry and his friends told does not contradict any of the evidence, and it also matches precisely with the account Sirius himself gave me the night he was briefly recaptured," Dumbledore finished.
"And you believe a murderer?" Kingsley demanded slowly. "There were eye witnesses who saw him kill a whole street of people! And the notions I've heard of those kids claiming that Peter Pettigrew having lived twelve years as a rat with a missing toe is far-fetched."
Hearing it like that, Sirius had to admit that it did sound crazy, but then again—he had heard wilder stories. He had to fight back the urge to bite Kingsley on the leg as Dumbledore explained in his usual calm tones, "Far-fetched, but not impossible, and in my years I have seen many far-fetched stories turn out to be true. Perhaps Sirius could have offered evidence to prove his claim. When we held our own Inquisition, we threw away the chance to ever know."
"I find that hard to believe," Kingsley said, now turning back to Remus. "And I heard that you were once one of Sirius's Black's close friends?"
Sirius raised his head, now really having to fight the longing to bite. He better not take any of this out on Remus…
Remus nodded firmly. "Yes," he answered. "And I only recently managed to befriend Sirius again after I learned the truth."
When they all stared at him, and Remus went on at once, "I was there that night. He told me everything, and I have to say that it explained a great deal more than I ever thought possible. The Sirius Black I first knew, never would've betrayed his friends or join with Voldemort—" several people flinched at the name but he kept going, "So when I heard of what he had done, I thought that it had been a mistake at first. And I am sorry that I never did a thing about it."
He sighed as Sirius looking up at him gratefully; his heart now heavy with all the guilt at putting Remus alone all these years.
"But my dear friend is innocent," he finished softly. "And I will stand by that, whatever anyone else here says."
"And you are that werewolf teacher that we heard so much about?" Hestia asked.
Remus blanched slightly, but he muttered, "Yes. I am… ah… I have lycanthropy, yes."
"Professor Lupin," Kingsley said, nodding, some of his distrust fading slightly as he said, "I remember now… I've heard quite a bit about you; all the reliable things have been good."
Nymphadora leaned across the table to look him in the eyes, with bright-eyed curiosity. Her eyes were rather like those of a child looking at an exotic creature in a zoo, but he didn't take offense, and indeed when she ducked to the side to try to see his profile, he obligingly turned his head. "That's kinda cool," she said.
Typical Dora… she honestly hasn't changed a bit since she was little.
Dumbledore stepped forward, silently asking for Sirius to come stand next to him. "This," he said to everyone as Sirius did, "Is none other than Sirius Black."
Tonks whipped around to stare at him. Kingsley started back in disbelief, but for only a moment before Emmaline cried out, "You're joking!"
"No," he said serenely, "I am being completely serious about this. It's all true. Sirius Black is an unregistered Animagus, as was James Potter and as is Peter Pettigrew. But Sirius was never in league with Voldemort—" more shuddering "—and was not the Potters' Secret-Keeper. About a week before the night that the Potter's were killed, Sirius and Pettigrew, or Wormtail as is his nickname, switched places at the last moment. This was done to try and misdirect Voldemort. As we all know, at the time, we got wind that there was a spy within the Order who had been passing information to the Death Eaters for about a year already. And the truth is it was Peter Pettigrew… not Sirius."
"But he still killed all those Muggles, as well as Pettigrew," Kingsley pointed out at once, but Dumbledore kept shaking his head.
"No," Dumbledore said and Sirius looked away, shame filling his heart at the memories. "After the Potters' deaths, it was Sirius, not Peter, who went after the other mad with grief, and it was Peter who caused an explosion and killed those innocent Muggle bystanders. He cut off his finger and escaped as a rat, leaving Sirius to take the blame. And we never bothered to discover the truth."
They all sat there, dumbstruck for a second, but Tonks asked, "How do you know this?"
"Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, and Hermione Granger will all be evidence of having seen Pettigrew the night Sirius was captured at Hogwarts," he said, and the Weasleys looked up at him, startled.
"As will Professor Lupin," Dumbledore said. "Unfortunately, Pettigrew escaped, and the word of three students and a werewolf weren't enough proof to the Ministry and they didn't hesitate for a moment to sentence Sirius to the dementor's kiss without a second thought had he not escaped himself."
"Mum always said she could never imagine Cousin Sirius as a Death Eater," Tonks offered and Sirius looked back up to her to see her thoughtful look as she kept talking. So Andromeda never thought he was a killer? For some reason, that seemed to lift some of the heavy weight off his shoulders.
"What about him?" Kingsley asked slowly, pointing at him and Sirius felt his dislike rise even higher. "If I'm going to believe that this is Sirius Black, I need to be able to recognize him."
"He can resume his human form if it's safe for him to do so," Dumbledore stated.
Kingsley said in his deep voice, "If he is innocent, he has nothing to fear from me."
"Very well," he said and looked down to Sirius, "Sirius? If you would be so kind as to join us?"
Sirius looked up at him, not wanting to, but deciding to trust him. If nothing else, he could at least defend himself now that he had his own wand again. So he transformed, and predictably, they all stared at him as if they couldn't believe their eyes.
"Sirius Black?" Kingsley asked calmly and Sirius nodded to him.
"Wow, Cousin Sirius!" Tonks exclaimed getting up to shake his hand. "I don't know if you remember me do? The little girl that you used to babysit and said that I was a four-year-old bundle of terror?"
Sirius blinked before he gave her a rather wicked grin. "Course I do," he said hoarsely, remembering fondly of those horrible hours of keeping that wild child under control. "You used to drive me up the wall."
Dumbledore smiled and then went on with the story. "I know that this is hard to believe, but the truth is that Sirius is innocent and he wants to help with the Order. I will vouch for it myself."
They were all still looking at Sirius warily, but not as if they still thought that he was a murderer. Dumbledore then went on with the most important part that they needed to discuss.
"We have a spy who is believed to be a trusted servant of Voldemort," he said. "And thanks to him, as well as the information that Harry had been able to give me, we know what Voldemort is after. We have the names of several Death Eaters who had returned to him the night that he returned. Voldemort is planning on building his army back up again before he comes out into the open. He wishes to become as strong as possible before he lets us all know that he is back."
"What are they?" Kingsley asked at once as Sirius took his seat at the table.
"That he is planning on gathering the dementors of Azkaban," he answered. "Now, I did warn Cornelius that he must remove the dementors from the prison, but of course he refuses to do so. This will surly led to a break-out along the road. When this will be, I cannot answer, but it will only be a matter of time before they join Voldemort. As we all know, dementors don't show loyalty. Fudge may convince himself that they would never betray him, but he is setting things up so that he is placing Voldemort's most loyal supporters under the control of creatures who will join Voldemort as soon as he asks them."
"Oh, great!" Mad-Eye barked out, sounding grumpy. "All that trouble to put them in there in the first place and now they're going to be breaking out again. Just my luck…"
"And we also know that he is also planning on sending Death Eaters to take into service the giants as well. Now, I have some good friends who are already on the way north to try and convince them to join our side, but we cannot get our hopes up just yet."
"So what do we do?" Arthur asked.
"I have several ideas," Dumbledore assured him. "However, there is something that I must tell you all. Thanks to our spy, I know that there is one more thing besides his army that Voldemort is planning on obtaining. Something that is currently in the Department of Mysteries."
He sighed, and Sirius looked up at him, suddenly curious to why the old man was suddenly looking so uneasy. "I am going to tell you all something," Dumbledore said slowly. "Something that only a handful of people know. Before Voldemort fell, a prophecy had been made… a prophecy foretelling of Voldemort's defeat."
"A prophecy?" Bill repeated almost in awe.
Dumbledore nodded. "A prophecy that has to do with Voldemort… and Harry Potter."
Stunned silence filled the room. Sirius felt his stomach plummet as he slowly glanced up at Dumbledore in horror. "Shortly before Harry was born, this prophecy had been made… Voldemort knew that this existed; however, he only knows the first part. The reason that he was defeated for so long was because he set out to kill Harry Potter that night… believing that he was putting a stop to it. But as he only knew a small part of it, he made a grave mistake, thus resulting in his downfall for thirteen years."
He took a deep breath and finished by saying, "The record of the prophecy is being kept where all prophecies are… the Hall of Prophecy in the Department of Mysteries."
"So…" Arthur said slowly, "He's planning on getting it and hearing all of it?"
Dumbledore nodded.
"But you seem to be awfully aware of what it says," Sirius said through narrow eyes, the news of this prophecy felt like a punch in the face.
Dumbledore gave him a sad look and admitted, "Because I was the one whom it was made to when the Seer predicted it."
Sirius couldn't believe what he was hearing. So the old man knew this for all this time?
"I am the only person who knows the full contents of the prophecy and I have never told another soul about it… not even Harry knows its existence. The point is, Voldemort is afraid of Harry."
"Afraid of him?" Hestia repeated startled.
"Yes," Dumbledore admitted as Sirius stared at him. "Harry has already faced Lord Voldemort, not once, but four times including his escape from him last year."
They gasped at the news, knowing that most full-grown wizards were usually killed when faced to face with Voldemort, but a child escaping so many times…?
"Which is why Voldemort doesn't plan on moving out into the open without knowing everything," Dumbledore went on. "While I can't tell you all what the prophecy says—not that I don't trust you—" he added when Sirius glared at him fiercely.
"But the fact is, the less people who know the truth, the less chances that the words will make it back to Voldemort," Dumbledore finished and Sirius hated the fact that he was right about that. "Now… for those of you who don't know, the records that are being kept in the Ministry are made so that only the people they refer to can lift them from their shelves. Anyone else will suffer madness. So, in other words, the only people who would be able to pick it up are either Harry Potter or Voldemort."
"So, there's nothing to worry about," Tonks asked, sounding more upbeat. "I mean… if he's not planning on showing himself to the Ministry until he gets it, but is one of only two people who can get it… then…"
"That's the kind of thing I expect a kid to say," Moody grunted.
She turned to him furiously and snapped, "I'm not a kid!"
"Oh, use your head, Nymphadora," he told her grumpily.
Tonks looked furious, but Dumbledore broke them off by saying, "We must not assume anything. There is always a chance that he will find a way to get around it. And if he gets his hands on it, then it could lead to Harry's death…"
Sirius froze and stared at him. So if Voldemort ever heard the whole thing, would Harry really be put into that much danger?
"Which is why we mustn't ever let him hear it. We must keep guard over it, as well as young Mr. Potter…"
"What about Harry anyway?" Sirius asked at once, almost afraid of the answer.
There was a long pause…
"Under the circumstances..." Dumbledore said slowly, "And now that Voldemort has returned, I think that we can all agree that Harry's safety is our first priority. The most certain way to ensure that would be for him to stay at his aunt and uncle's house. As long as he's with his Aunt, he's with his mother's blood, the blood will give him the best protection that we can offer. The magic that protected Harry from Voldemort back then is present wherever Lily's blood is, including in his aunt…"
Sirius felt rage inside him once again, and shot him a menacing look, but he didn't say anything. He stayed quiet for the rest of the meeting. He sat there and waited as they all got up and left one by one… until finally it was him, Remus and Dumbledore at the kitchen table.
"Look, I know I'm a wanted criminal and it's unsafe for me to go out but there are ways that I could do something useful," Sirius said, not at all happy about Dumbledore's suggestion to keeping him locked in this house. "I mean… I can turn into a dog for crying out loud!"
Dumbledore gave him a sad look. "Sirius, I know that this is hard for someone like you, but Wormtail surly would've told Voldemort and the others about you by now."
Sirius thought that over before he cursed loudly and pointed out, "Well, even if my big disguise is useless, there still Polyjuice Potion, charms that can change my appearance… I won't use the same face every time!"
"Do you really think I haven't considered these options?" he asked sadly.
"Then why -" Sirius began, wondering just why he couldn't be allowed outside as well.
"Haven't you considered that all the member's lives are in danger when they go on Order business? That there might be some reason why I wanted to keep you safe?" he asked him.
Sirius blinked in surprise. What did any of that have to do with this?
"Sirius," he said carefully, "I am keeping you safe simply because Harry needs you to remain safe, alive and out of Azkaban."
"Don't bring my godson into this," Sirius said warningly, not liking anyone using Harry like a bartering chip. "He doesn't have anything to do with the fact that you don't want me to leave."
"He has everything to do with it," Dumbledore stated. "Harry needs you, Sirius. He will need you to help him get through this war. Harry is going to have a tough year, the toughest he's had yet and I cannot help him. In fact, I will have to distance myself from him, which will him feel abandoned and alone."
"Why?" Remus asked at once as Sirius stared at him, not liking where this was going. "You were always so fond of him… always spoke so highly of his abilities."
"I am. But the truth is… and I didn't tell the rest of them this… but there is a connection between Harry and Voldemort… one that has surly gotten stronger since the end of the tournament," Dumbledore confessed.
"What do you mean by a connection?" Sirius demanded, now starting to feel real panic taking hold in his heart.
"I mean, that there's no telling what Voldemort will be able to do to Harry even when he's far away," Dumbledore said softly. "I don't know just how strong this connection is… but there's a chance that Voldemort might be able to use this."
"What do you…?" Sirius began but Dumbledore explained, "When I first saw the scar on his forehead, I guessed what it could've meant… I guessed that it might be the sign of a connection forged between the two of them. For it became apparent to me right away that Harry's scar was able to warn him whenever Voldemort was close to him. And just last year, he started having those dreams…"
"Dreams?" Remus repeated but Sirius shook his hand down at him, remembering what Dumbledore told him about these dreams.
"Harry was able to see into Voldemort's mind through his dreams," Dumbledore said softly and Remus stared at him. "Of course, Harry has no idea… and has little, if any, control over it. This ability to be able to sense him no matter where he is, and to know what he's feeling has obviously become more and more pronounced since Voldemort returned to his own body and his full powers. But now, I am concerned that Voldemort might be able to use this…"
"Use it how?" Sirius asked, his insides feeling cold at the thought.
"He doesn't know about it yet," Dumbledore told him. "But if he should ever discover it, there is a chance that Voldemort could try and use Harry to spy on me."
"Spy on you?" Sirius repeated, wishing that he could hear something that actually made sense to him.
"If Harry was able to see into Voldemort's mind by accident, then there's a chance that it could work the other way as well," he told him grimly. "Which is why I can't allow myself to get to close to him. If I treat him as any other student, then Voldemort will be less tempted… and Harry will be more protected. You see?"
Sirius frowned, not liking this one bit as Dumbledore finished, "I'm not any happier about this than either of you. But it's for Harry's safety. At the moment, Voldemort doesn't know about it, and I intend to keep it that way. But what I'm trying to say here, Sirius, is since I will no longer be able to be there for him. He will need someone to talk to, someone who understands what it is like to be belittled and hated… he will need someone to talk to other than Ron and Hermione. Quite apart from that, you are the only family Harry has and he would be devastated if he lost you."
Sirius gave him a long look. He wanted to fight more than anything… but the idea of him hurting Harry anymore than he had been felt like a punch to the gut.
"Sirius," he said gently. "He's lost so much that he loves already, Sirius, and I don't think I could stand it to see him lose anymore." He shook his head, "And I don't think he could stand it if he lost more than he already has."
Sirius just continued to just look at him darkly but knew he was right. Though why Harry would feel something like that for him, he didn't know. "I'm sorry Sirius, I know you wanted to fight but—"
"Save it," Sirius grunted, throwing himself back into his chair. "Looks like you finally found a way to control me."
He would put up with this… but not for Dumbledore or the Order… he was doing it for Harry and him alone.