Chapter 2: Track Record

I saw Death Eaters walking the streets while I was having dinner with Rose's family. They weren't wearing their masks, but I knew who they were after the many balls I had to go to. I told everyone to get down and stay quiet before I headed outside to confront them. I managed to persuade them to leave, stating that I was gathering information and that they would blow my cover – Voldemort wouldn't be pleased with that. Thankfully, they were low-ranking Death Eaters who would never have an audience with Moldy much less question him. We were safe, for now.

BLACK STILL AT LARGE

Sirius Black, possibly the most infamous prisoner ever to be held in Azkaban fortress, is still eluding capture, the Ministry of Magic confirmed today.

"We are doing all we can to recapture Black," said the Minister of Magic, Cornelius Fudge, this morning, "and we beg the magical community to remain calm."

Fudge has been criticized by some members of the International Federation of Warlocks for informing the Muggle Prime Minister of the crisis.

"Well, really, I had to, don't you know," said an irritable Fudge. "Black is mad. He's a danger to anyone who crosses him, magic or Muggle. I have the Prime Minister's assurance that he will not breathe a word of Black's true identity to anyone. And let's face it — who'd believe him if he did?"

While Muggles have been told that Black is carrying a gun (a kind of metal wand that Muggles use to kill each other), the magical community lives in fear of a massacre like that of twelve years ago, when Black murdered thirteen people with a single curse.

Leo snorted at the picture of the sunken-faced man with long, matted hair blinking slowly up at him before handing it off to Sirius to peruse. In the time he had been at Grimmauld, Sirius had recovered a bit from his time in Azkaban. He was now clean and well-dressed, his beard neatly trimmed and his hair had taken on a healthy shine. His face was no longer quite so sunken in and color had returned somewhat to his cheeks. Six weeks of full meals, a warm bed, pleasant company, and no dementors had worked wonders for the man's health.

"Maybe I should invest in a gun," Sirius mused thoughtfully. "Need something to do Wormtail in with, after all."

"You'd end up shooting yourself, Padfoot," Remus snorted, sipping his cup of coffee.

Sirius pouted as Leo chortled at this, seeming to be in agreement as he ate his porridge. It was a week following Leo and Harry's birthday, during which time Remus had ample opportunity to recover from his full moon experience. When he returned, it was with a copy of the Daily Prophet and a few classic movies he knew Leo would appreciate. Unfortunately, since Grimmauld didn't have any outlets, he didn't have a telly to watch the movies on.

"We could always just get you a new wand," Leo suggested.

"Right, I'll just stroll right into Diagon Alley and ask old Olli for one. Shouldn't be a problem," Sirius rolled his eyes, frowning when Leo flicked bits of porridge at his face.

"Don't play with your food, Leo," Remus idly chastised him, taking the Prophet back from Sirius.

"Yes, mum," Leo replied sarcastically. "What I mean is that I could go to Diagon Alley and request another one. I have to go there today anyway to stock up on school supplies, so I might as well."

"What're you gonna do? Walk up to Ollivander and tell him a basilisk ate your wand -" Sirius snorted.

"Well, now that you say it, it sounds stupid," Leo frowned, having planned to do just that. "I'll just have to figure out some way to persuade him. Shouldn't be too hard, he was awfully fond of my dad."

"That's right, I forgot Cas used to work with Ollivander between seasons," Sirius responded thoughtfully.

"Cas used to play Seeker for England," Remus explained, noticing Leo's confused look. "He liked jobs that kept him out of the fight but kept him busy. He was never one to sit idly by and twiddle his thumbs. A trait, I find, he shares with you."

Leo grinned in response to this before finishing his porridge, getting dressed in Muggle clothes, and calling for Kreacher to take him to Diagon Alley. Once there, he walked down the busy streets toward Ollivanders before stopping and staring at the large crowd surrounding Quality Quidditch Supplies.

Curious to know what the crowd in the shop was staring at, Leo edged his way inside and squeezed in among the excited witches and wizards until he glimpsed a newly erected podium, on which was mounted the most magnificent broom he had ever seen in his life.

"Just come out — prototype —" a square-jawed wizard was telling his companion.

"It's the fastest broom in the world, isn't it, Dad?" squeaked a boy younger than Leo, who was swinging off his father's arm.

"Irish International Side's just put in an order for seven of these beauties!" the proprietor of the shop told the crowd. "And they're favorites for the World Cup!"

A witch moved to the side, and Leo was able to read the sign next to the broom. Before he could do so, however, he spotted someone he wasn't expecting to see.

"Harry?"

Sure enough, the boy jumped and turned around, surprised to see Leo standing behind him. Not wanting to draw attention, Harry dragged Leo out of the crowded shop and began to explain everything that had happened over the past week that had led him to Diagon Alley.

Apparently, Marge had gone too far and insulted his parents, prompting him to use accidental magic to blow her up. Leo was disappointed when Harry clarified that she only swelled up into a balloon and floated away. Panicking about using magic outside school again, Harry had inadvertently called the Knight Bus and had it take him to the Leaky Cauldron. Leo almost asked why he hadn't gone to Grimmauld but then recalled that he had a couple of houseguests he didn't want Harry meeting and held his tongue.

Harry informed him that he met Fudge at the Leaky Cauldron, and Leo's eyebrows furrowed together in confusion. The Leaky Cauldron was swell and all – it was a great place when Leo had needed to wallow in self-loathing during his summer last year – but it was hardly the sort of place one would find the Minister of Magic. Harry explained that it was because he was concerned about the looming threat of Sirius Black.

"...He told me something else, Leo," Harry continued hesitantly. "He told me that, well, Black is your uncle."

"Yeah, I know," Leo shrugged. "Why do you think I go by 'Evans' when I'm out in the wizarding world? I don't need that sort of publicity."

"You knew?" Harry asked, astonished.

Leo nodded, replying that the twins had told him in his first year.

"You seem... oddly okay with being related to a mass murderer," Harry remarked.

"There're worse people to be related to," Leo waved a dismissive hand.

"Like who?"

"Voldemort."

"Fair point."

They then went to the Apothecary to replenish their store of potions ingredients, and as their school robes were now several inches too short in the arm and leg, they visited Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions and bought new ones. Most important of all, they had to buy their new schoolbooks, which would include those for Leo's two new subjects, Care of Magical Creatures and Ancient Runes.

Leo got a surprise as he looked in at the bookshop window. Instead of the usual display of gold-embossed spellbooks the size of paving slabs, there was a large iron cage behind the glass that held about a hundred copies of The Monster Book of Monsters – the same book that had almost torn Sirius' leg off. Torn pages were flying everywhere as the books grappled with each other, locked together in furious wrestling matches and snapping aggressively.

As they entered Flourish and Blotts, the manager came hurrying toward them.

"Hogwarts?" he said abruptly. "Come to get your new books?"

"Yes," said Harry, "We need —"

"Get out of the way," said the manager impatiently, brushing them aside rather rudely. He drew on a pair of very thick gloves, picked up a large, knobbly walking stick, and proceeded toward the door of the Monster Books' cage.

"No worries, we've already got those," Leo informed the man. "We just need some of the less violent books now."

A look of enormous relief spread over the manager's face. "Thank heavens for that. I've been bitten five times already this morning —"

A loud ripping noise rent the air; two of the Monster Books had seized a third and were pulling it apart.

"Stop it! Stop it!" cried the manager, poking the walking stick through the bars and knocking the books apart. "I'm never stocking them again, never! It's been bedlam! I thought we'd seen the worst when we bought two hundred copies of the Invisible Book of Invisibility — cost a fortune, and we never found them... Well... is there anything else I can help you with?"

"Yes," said Harry, looking down his booklist, "I need Unfogging the Future by Cassandra Vablatsky."

"And I need Ancient Runes Made Easy by some bloke named Laurenzoo," Leo added.

"Ah, Divination and Ancient Runes," said the manager, stripping off his gloves and leading them into the back of the shop. "Both difficult subjects."

"I've never been one for the easy road," Leo gave a lop-sided grin.

The man gave a small chuckle before walking away to retrieve the two books and handing them to the boys.

"Anything else?" he said.

"Yeah, Intermediate Transfiguration and The Standard Book of Spells, Grade Three," Leo informed the man.

Upon receiving their books, the two parted ways after Leo told his cousin that he had business to handle at Gringotts. He felt guilty for lying to Harry but knew it had to be done for Sirius' sake. He hesitated outside Ollivander's shop before taking a deep breath and striding inside, a loud tinkling filling the shop as he stepped inside. Mr. Ollivander appeared from between the shelves, not seeming at all surprised to see Leo there.

"Ah, Mr. Black, welcome back," Mr. Ollivander inclined his head slightly. "I figured you would return, though I expected it to be sooner."

"I feel like I should be insulted by that," Leo frowned.

"Not at all, Mr. Black, not at all," Mr. Ollivander replied cheerfully, reaching below the counter and pulling out a wand case. "I figured you might be by for this."

"What is it?" Leo inquired, striding closer.

"The wand of one Sirius Black," Mr. Ollivander responded, gaining a shocked look from Leo. "The Ministry tasked me with its disposal after your uncle's arrest. I could not bring myself to destroy such a finely crafted wand, so I kept it all these years. After his escape, well... my curiosity got the best of me and I examined the wand carefully and found that it had committed no dishonorable act. Unsurprising, given reed and dragon heartstring only attach themselves to the most loyal of wizards."

He met Leo's surprised expression, his own a mask of blank impassivity as he handed the box to the blonde.

"I trust you will get this to where it belongs?"

Leo only nodded mutely.

"Bloody hell, he kept it all these years?"

"That's what he said," Leo replied with a shrug, taking a bite out of his shepherd's pie.

It was dinnertime, and Leo had returned Sirius' wand to its very surprised rightful owner. Sirius had spent the next hour twirling it around, casting charms and eventually managing to turn Leo's hair an awful shade of lilac. Leo had scowled and drawn his own wand, and a very silly duel ensued.

Giant bubbles sprouted from their wands, releasing noxious gasses when popped. The floor was turned into a giant trampoline and the walls were decorated with a variety of bright, nauseating colors. When Kreacher came into the room to see what the commotion was all about, he nearly had a heart attack.

When Sirius commented that he was disappointed that Kreacher hadn't keeled over from shock, Leo hit him with a Scouring Charm and bubbles burst from his mouth. Sirius couldn't decide if he was proud or upset but retaliated with a Babbling Curse. Leo talked incessantly for two minutes before Sirius immediately regretted his decision and undid the curse. Afterward, the two sat down for dinner and Leo told the story of how he had obtained the wand.

"What would you have said if he hadn't given it to you?"

"Probably told him a basilisk ate my wand," Leo grinned, receiving a snort of laughter.

The sound of the front door opening and closing reached their ears followed by the sound of rapid footsteps as Remus descended the stairs and took his seat next to Leo. Kreacher set down a serving of shepherd's pie in front of him, mumbling under his breath as Remus politely thanked him.

"How'd the meeting with Dumbledore go?" Sirius asked, prompting Leo to glance up curiously as they both shoveled food in their mouths.

"He offered me a job as the new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor," Remus replied, patting Leo on the back as he choked on his food.

"You're the new DADA professor?" Leo asked incredulously.

"You don't seem too thrilled with the idea," Remus responded, accepting the cup of tea Kreacher handed him and drinking it slowly.

"Well, I don't exactly have the best track record with them," Leo reminded him. "Killed one and put the other into a coma. Job outlook isn't looking too good for you, Moony."

Over the summer, he had told both Moony and Padfoot everything that had happened at the end of his first year. They were outraged and appalled by what Quirrell had done and, when Leo informed the pair that he had been the one to kill him, he found himself enveloped in a tight hug from both sides as well as heavy reassurance that he had done nothing wrong.

"To be fair, they were both gits who attacked you," Sirius replied, taking a bite of his pie. "They deserved what they got. Just a shame that you had to be the one to do it, kiddo."

"I made a vow to protect Harry no matter what," Leo responded with a small shrug, not really bothered by it much anymore. "Sometimes that involves doing the hard thing that no one else will do. I made peace with that after my duel with Riddle."

"That's very mature of you, Leo," Remus smiled proudly.

"Yeah," Sirius frowned, reaching over the table and putting a hand on Leo's forehead. "Are you feeling alright, kiddo?"

Remus had to hold Leo back as he tried to jump over the table.

A/N: I just want to give a huge thank you to everyone who's been reviewing this story and the previous stories. It really means a lot to me and has been keeping me motivated to continue this story. Thank you all for your kind words and support!