Chapter 33 – Feeling Uneasy
Fourth Year
August 22nd, the first time since Sirius returned home that he wouldn't be spending the night at home, and for some reason, it made Tawny uneasy. Sirius had been home about a month now, and every night since then he had snuggled up to her in bed as she fell asleep and he… tried. Since his appointment with Aurora Delaney and their impromptu trip to Godric's Hollow, he had been getting slightly better. Was he sleeping through the night? No, but he was improving. She had only woken up a handful of times to him curled up at Snuffles, and each time he'd be placed at the end of the bed rather than across the room on the floor. In Tawny's eyes, this was significant progress.
But going to the Quidditch Cup with Harry and the Weasley's meant that he would be staying the night with them in London, rather than snuggling up next to her. As she lied awake in bed that night, she felt as though the bed was empty. She felt ridiculous thinking so. Hell, she had spent the majority of the last thirteen years sleeping alone. Why was another night by herself so difficult?
Unable to stand it any longer, she got up, hoping that a cup of tea would settle her mind. She slipped on her slippers and her robe before tiptoeing down the stairs, doing her best to remain quiet. When she reached the bottom, she noticed the light still on in the living room. Entering, she spotted Remus laying on the couch, asleep, with a copy of the Daily Prophet open on his chest. He was still in his regular clothes, but he had kicked off his shoes onto the floor. A cup of cold tea and his wand sat on the coffee table in front of him, indicating that he had been asleep for quite some time.
Tawny smiled and gently removed the Prophet, placing it on the coffee table next to the teacup. With her wand, she summoned a blanket from the basket by floo and laid it across. She figured it would keep him warm much better than the paper would have. She pressed a kiss to his hair before settling into the armchair next to him with the Prophet.
The front cover was all about the Quidditch Cup, discussing who was going to win the title: Bulgaria or Ireland. Even with their regional loyalty to Ireland, the Prophet was predicting Bulgaria to take the title thanks to their young and incredibly talented seeker, Victor Krum. Tawny knew the boys would have a fit reading this, seeing that they both left the house that morning decked out in green, orange and white attire. Although Harry did spend a good bit of time telling Sirius about Krum's impressive run as a first-year professional player – all information he had gotten from a Krum obsessed Ron Weasley.
After briefly skimming the section, she moved on to the next page which was Rita skeeter's gossip column. She had moved on from discussing Sirius to follow the cup, recounting what she knew was exaggerated interviews with professional quidditch players. To her surprise, she did not have an interview with Victor Krum. Tawny predicted he either turned her down, or she was saving his interview for after he caught the golden snitch. At the bottom of the page, she had run an advertisement for her upcoming book: The Wrongful Conviction of Sirius Black, which she would be available to the public right before the start of the school year. Tawny knew that regardless of accuracy, the book would be flying off the shelves and the harassment of her and Sirius would amplify once again.
Not wanting to read the gossip, she skipped over it and moved on to a few other articles. None of them really drew her attention though. She was about to put the paper away when she caught a glimpse of an advertisement on the back. Squished in the far-left hand corner of the page, was an add depicting a familiar face: Bertha Jorkins.
Have You Seen This Witch?
A picture of a slightly plump woman with short, wavy dark brown hair. She wore a beret on her head a smile on her face that reminded her of Rita Skeeter's infamous grin.
Bertha Jorkins, 37
Works for the Department of Magical Games and Sports at the Ministry for Magic. Last seen in Albania on holiday last month but has not returned. If you have any information regarding her whereabouts, please inform the Aurors office at the Ministry for Magic.
*There will be no reward offered at this time*
Tawny remembered her from her days back at Hogwarts. Bertha had been three years above her in school, a member of Slytherin house. All Tawny remembered about her was her keen ability to spread gossip like wildfire and her lack of common sense. Regardless of her view of Bertha, Tawny was surprised her missing advertisement was so hidden in the Prophet. Was Bertha being missing any less important than the Quidditch Cup? It seemed that way.
"What are you doing up?" Remus asked with a yawn.
He held his hands over his head, stretching his tired muscles. The full moon had been the night before, leaving Remus a little sore from his transition. That was the first full moon in forever that Padfoot was able to join him and Tawny in the shack. Now with the wolfsbane potion, and his need for being in the shed since they were in a muggle neighborhood, after all, there was no wandering around the woods, but it was nice for him to have the shaggy black dog at his side again.
"Couldn't sleep. What about you? I see you fell asleep on the couch again."
"Oh, you know me, I fall asleep reading all the time." Remus smiled, sitting up. "Why can't you sleep?"
"Worried about Sirius, I guess… It's weird that he's not home."
"It's even weirder that Sirius being home is the new normal." Remus laughed. "I don't think I'm used to him being home just yet. It still surprises me every time that I walk through that door and he's sitting on the couch… It's been so long I almost think I'm hallucinating."
"I know… it's different coming home knowing he's here. It's… comforting. Not that it wasn't before, I just… I don't know. I've missed him so much and for him to be here, having dinner with us every night and waking up to him every morning… finding his black dog fur all over the house… as messy as it is I would do a million vanishing spells a day if it means keeping him here. I keep feeling like he's going to just disappear again."
"Trust me, Tawn. Pads isn't going anywhere. I think you're stuck with him."
"I hope so." Tawny smiled, running her fingers over her engagement ring.
"Has Sirius said anything about making 'that' official since he's been home?" Remus asked, noting her movements.
"No. I think he still has some recovering to do. A lot if we're being honest."
"He'll get there," Remus assured her. "He's been through a lot over the years. But if there is one thing I know about Sirius, it's how much he loves you. Just give it some time. When he's ready he'll be begging you to marry him."
"I know," Tawny said. "I hope Sirius and Harry are having a good time."
"With as much as those too love quidditch, I know they are. Even if the Irish lose."
…
"That was bloody incredible! You were right about Krum, Harry, but thank Merlin for Ireland's chasers."
"You're telling us! Look, at this, Sirius!" Fred said, holding up his and George's shared money pouch, now four 42 galleons, fifteen sickles, and three knuts heavier than it had been that morning.
"We've got plenty of money now to fund the next installment of Weasley's Wizard Wheezes products!" George cheered. Sirius could see them now, testing all of their new products on the younger students. If their new ideas where anything like their Ton-Tongue Toffee they had given Harry for his birthday, Hogwarts was in deep trouble.
After the boys left that night, Remus, Harry and himself had all tried the candy, their tongues swelling immensely. Tawny about died of laughter seeing their tongues dragging on the floor as they ran around the living room in amusement. She had made sure to snap a magical photograph of them before restoring their tongues to normal size. Sirius had mentioned to her about investing in their new company, but Tawny told him be could as long as he was willing to face the wrath of Molly Weasley. He dropped the subject, having no doubt that Molly Weasley would turn him into a pile of ash for doing such a thing.
"I for one can't wait to see what you do with your winnings, boys." Sirius smiled, taking a seat in one of the chairs at the dining table. He watched as the Weasley boys, and Ginny had a heated discussion about the match, acting out the favorite parts and dancing around in celebration.
Hermione, on the other hand, sat with Arthur, drinking a cup of cocoa and having their own discussion comparing quidditch to muggle sports. She was educating him the best she could, while Arthur found every word fascinating. Outside, the Irish fans were celebrating, cheering to no end, and shooting off filibuster fireworks. It reminded him of the '74 Cup, right after Syria beat Madagascar and James cheering to no end about the victory. He couldn't believe that had been twenty years ago now… it felt just like yesterday.
"Having a good time, Sirius?" Harry asked, taking a seat next to his godfather.
"The best," he replied, throwing his arm over Harry's shoulders. "Being here, with you, and the Weasleys, watching quidditch… I feel more like myself than I have in years. I needed this."
"I don't know if I've told you this, but, I'm glad you're back."
"I am too, Harry." He smiled, ruffling his godson's messy black hair. "Think you might want to play professional quidditch one day? I think I could even drag Tawny to one of these if she knew she'd get to see her boy be the next Victor Krum."
"I'm not that good." Harry blushed, looking towards the floor.
"Are you kidding? Of course, you are! I watched you play last year, in all your matches, as Snuffles of course."
"Wait, you came, as your animagus? That means you're the dog I saw at the Hufflepuff match. Professor Trelawny's ridiculous predictions made me think I saw the grim."
"I wasn't going to miss seeing my godson in action. I am sorry about your broom though," Sirius apologized. "I hope the firebolt made up for it."
"Are you kidding? That broom is amazing? Did you see me in the match against Ravenclaw? I've never flown so fast in my life!" Harry smiled, nearly jumping out of his seat.
"Of course, I saw that match! I wasn't going to miss an opportunity to see you play! I thought your dad good, but you're even better. He could've played professionally if he wanted, you know, so you definitely could."
"Why didn't he?"
"There was a time when all he wanted to do was play quidditch, but as we got older and Voldemort became more powerful, he wanted to help. Right, when he got out of school he trained to become an Auror and joined the Order of the Phoenix. He would've done anything to stop him, and he did…" Sirius trailed off for a minute, another memory of Godric's Hollow running through his mind. "Enough about that. Tell me about school. Is Peeves still giving Filch hell?" Sirius said, changing the subject. Harry, not wanting to bring up more pain for Sirius, proceeded to tell him all about Peeves and his never-ending missing of being up to no good.
The evening drifted on and the cheers faded as everyone, even the other Irish supporters began winding down. Growing tired, everyone headed to bed. When Sirius's head hit the pillow, he almost immediately fell asleep, memories of the night translating to sweet dreams. For the first time in a long time, he slept peacefully… At least until he was abruptly woken up by Arthur at two o'clock in the morning, with news that the cup was under attack.
Outside, fans were running rampant, most of them still in their pajamas. Screams were coming from all different directions, and everything was bathed in warm orange light from the fires that were burning around them. Many of the tents had caught fire, only enticing more worry from fans as they ran for their lives. In the distance around them, they could see several people floating high above the crowd, kicking and screaming in the air. Beneath them, Sirius could barely see the tips of black hoods.
Arthur urged the kids to head for the woods, claiming they would be safer there. He went to tell Sirius to do the same but stopped himself before asking, knowing immediately that Sirius would not run away from a fight. The kids took off for the woods, and Sirius, Arthur, Bill, and Charlie split up, each intent on helping the ministry take down the hooded figures.
Sirius ran, squeezing through many fleeing wizards. Other hooded wizards were running around, spells flying, many of them the cause of the fire. Sirius shot of stunners as he ran, only narrowly missing the figures. Each spell was returned by another, causing Sirius to duck behind tents, or dive to the ground in some cases, only barely dodging jets of red and white light.
Fans continued to rush around them, causing Sirius to not only defend himself but the people around him. One of the figures shot a spell for a young boy, likely not much younger than Harry, causing Sirius to jump in front of him, throwing up a shielding charm. The spell rebounded off the shield, hitting the tent in front of it, catching the canvas on fire. The Irish flag hanging on the front of it went up in flames as well.
"Don't take it out on the Irish fellas!" Sirius yelled, firing back a stunner. Sirius grinned as he hit one of the hooded figure square in the chest while he flew back, hitting the ground. His friend, who had also been shooting spells fired a curse off a Sirius in revenge and then immediately disapparated, leaving his buddy alone.
Sirius intended to run after him but changed directions when he saw what was ahead of him. In front of him, a figure in a black hood was levitating a woman high above the ground. She was flailing in the air, begging to be let down, tears streaming down her face in fear.
"Stupefy!" Sirius shot a stunner, immediately hitting the hooded figure right between his shoulder blades. He fell to the ground immediately, releasing his magical grasp on the muggle woman. Sirius swiftly pointed his wand at the woman and muttered, 'aresto momentum,' slowly lowering the woman to the ground. The moment she landed; she took off running in panic.
Sirius would have been intent on stopping her and wiping her memory of the event, but the figure in the hood began to move and scrambled for his wand on the ground in front of him. With a quick 'petrificus totalus' the hooded figure froze, their arms and legs locking in place. At this moment he didn't care about the statue of secrecy. What mattered was stopping this person from getting away and figuring out what the hell was going on.
Focused on the person ahead, Sirius didn't notice the stunner coming his way. One moment he was about to approach the hooded figure, the next he had been knocked back into a tent, his head hitting the post rather violently, causing him to fall directly into the canvas. The white tent immediately collapsed around him, swarming him in the white canvas.
Sirius groaned in pain, clutching his head as the pain pulsed through him. He laid there, wrapped in the canvas, slowly moving. Whoever had stunned him had fired one hell of a spell. His body hurt the impact of the spell and the fall and his vision was slightly blurry, most likely from the knock on the head and the smoke in the air.
As Sirius laid there, slowly trying to move, someone yelled, "Finite Incantatum,' immediately followed by shuffling of person's feet on the dirt. "Get up, dad."
"I told you to stay in the woods." A deeper voice claimed, as heard the SMACK of them hitting the other's bare skin.
Sirius sat up, his eyes trying to readjust to the scene. From what he could tell a blonde-haired boy was standing next to the masked hooded figure, however, his face was blurry.
"If I had stayed in the woods, Black would have figured out who you are!"
"Shut it, Draco!" Draco? Why was that name so familiar? Sirius, asked himself, standing up slowly and rubbing his eyes, trying hard to get them to clear. "Let's go!" The voice rang out again, and with a loud CRACK, the pair were gone.
The commotion continued around him, as Sirius found his balance. Everything became clear once more, although he knew he was likely going to have a headache in the morning. "That damn kid and his stunner…" He grumbled, about to take off looking for more hooded figures.
Before he could move again there was a loud blast, and then everything around him was lit with a green light. Sirius looked to the sky seeing the all too familiar green skull, twinkling shining in the night sky, a serpent slithering from its mouth, hissing at everyone below. The screams became louder, and people began running around him in terror at the dark mark staring down at them.
"No, no, no, no, no…" Sirius whispered as the flashbacks started replaying in his mind of the last time he saw the dark mark: floating high above St. Mungo's, unknown whether Tawny was alive inside. The fear flowed through him and his heart rate spiked, the panic set into his mind and body. "No, she's not here! She's at home, she's safe!" He repeated, unsure if he was right as the feelings came back with a vengeance. He threw his hands in his hair, gripping tightly at the scalp, begging for the memory to fade. Deep down he knew she wasn't there, but his mind was playing tricks on him, taking him off the grounds and placing him back at in front of Mungo's. "No, no, no!"
"Sirius!" Arthur called ahead of him, but he was too busy fighting his mind to hear him. "Sirius!" Arthur was now standing right in front of him, hands on his arms trying to pull him out of his panic attack.
"I have to get to her! I have to see if she's alright!" Sirius pleaded, dropping his arms from his head and looking directly at Arthur. Arthur stood there, confused, noting the deep fear in Sirius's eyes.
"Who are you talking about?"
"Tawny! She's inside and the Dark Mark is up! That means someone is dead, Arthur! I can't let it be her!"
Almost instantly, it clicked in his mind what Sirius was on about. "Sirius, Tawny is at home. We're at the cup. She's safe. This mark is different. Please, understand." Arthur reassured him, rubbing his shoulders, trying to bring him back.
"What's happening, Arthur?" Sirius asked, trying to calm himself down, shoving the memories down deep.
"Someone has put the Dark Mark in the sky, we don't know who."
"A death eater?"
"Potentially. We don't know for sure. You need to find Harry and get him home, now. If this really is You-Know-Who and the Death Eaters' doing, then Harry needs to be safe."
Harry… Sirius thought, snapping out of his desperate thoughts, shifting his focus to his godson. "He's with your kids. Should I bring them with me?"
"No, I'll come for them. Get Harry and get out of here, Sirius! Go, now!" Arthur yelled before leaving Sirius and running back into the commotion.
Immediately, Sirius took off towards the woods. He ran, and as he was in the midst of jumping over a broken tent post he transfigured into Snuffles to run even faster. His heart was racing, panic settling within him. Almost thirteen years without a trace, and now the death eaters back at it. Could he really be back? Why now? He didn't have the answers to the many questions flooding his mind. What he did know was if Harry was in danger, he would do anything to save him. He wasn't going to let Voldemort near him, not again.
The moment Sirius Reached the woods he changed back, searching on foot for his godson. He yelled out for Harry, his wand tip being the only light, minus the green sheen of the dark mark sneaking through the gaps in the trees. Even from the forest, he could hear the screams of the wizards, fleeing in panic. Many of the had taken to the woods as well, trying to get out of the line of fire.
Although he had only been searching for minutes, it felt like hours. And then, after calling his name for the hundredth time, he got a response. "SIRIUS!" Looking to his right, he saw Harry, Ron, and Hermione headed straight towards him, panicked and confused expressions on their faces.
"Harry!" He cried, sweeping the boy in his arms. He squeezed him tightly, just to make sure he was really there.
"What's going on, Sirius?" Harry asked, pulling away from his godfather, concerned.
"I'll explain later, but we have to go, now." Sirius took his hand, hoping to step back and disapparate, but Harry stopped him.
"What about Ron and Hermione?" He asked, gesturing to his friends.
"Arthur will come for them. They're safe here. You aren't."
"Why am I not safe? Who are those people in the hoods? What does that mark in the sky mean?"
"I promise to tell you everything when we get home," Sirius began, holding Harry's shoulders to looking directly in his eyes. "Harry, we need to go right now. I have to keep you safe." Reluctantly, Harry nodded, agreeing to leave willingly. Sirius quickly told Ron and Hermione to stay hidden and then took Harry's hand and disapparated with a CRACK.
…
Back at home, Tawny and Remus were sitting in the den, both clutching a cup of hot tea in their hands, going on about their busy week ahead of them. Remus had a job interview coming up at the end of the week, one of many he had been on that summer. With Snape leaking his secret about being a werewolf on top of Rita Skeeter's gossip column airing his testimony about it from the trial, he had been having quite a difficult time finding a job in the wizarding world. No one wanted to hire a werewolf. If this interview for a tutoring job didn't pan out, he thought he might have to consider finding a job in the muggle world.
"You know I could try getting you a job a Mungo's." She suggested, sipping her tea. "It wouldn't be anything like being a professor at Hogwarts, but I might be able to find some work for you to do. I can ask around this week if you like."
"You don't have to do that."
"I want to." Tawny insisted. "The reason you can't get a job isn't that you're not qualified, it's the stigma about werewolves. I can't promise you anything like your old job, but maybe I can find someone at Mungo's that will look past that and hire you for your talents. Just let me try at least."
"Okay, fine, but don't get your hopes-" Remus was interrupted by a loud CRACK outside the house, accompanied by the noises of what he could only assume was someone vomiting in the front yard. 'I'm sorry, Harry,' someone said, while the nausea continued.
With one shared looking at each other, both Tawny and Remus jumped up from their seats and ran for the front door. The moment they stepped outside, Tawny spotted Harry, hunched over and clutching his stomach, while Sirius was running around the edges of the yard, frantically waving his wand.
"What is going on?" Tawny asked, running to Harry's aid.
"I'm still not used to disapparating," Harry said, dry heaving.
"Tawny, Moony, hurry and help me set this protection charms!" Sirius yelled. He wouldn't look back; he was so focused on the task at hand.
"What do we need protection charms for?" Tawny asked, brushing the hair out of Harry's face.
"Take care of Harry, I'll help him," Remus said, rushing to help Sirius.
Tawny wrapped Harry's arm around her neck and helped carry him inside. She sat him on the couch, as she summoned her first aid kit to her side.
The kit happened to be a large briefcase with an undetectable extension charm on it. Inside included endless amounts of gauzes, sterilizers, and small viles of various potions. Tawny had originally made the kit for Remus to take to the shrieking shack with him on full moon nights back at Hogwarts. He had kept it after school for his transformations, and since moving in with Tawny, she would happily refill it whenever the supplies were running low.
She deciphered through the viles, finding an anti-nausea potion to help alleviate Harry's symptoms. "Drink this. You'll feel better." She promised. Without hesitation, Harry drained every last drop of the potion, which almost instantly calmed his stomach.
"What happened, Harry? Why did you and Sirius disapparate home? I thought you were taking a portkey back to the burrow tomorrow?"
"There was an attack at the cup."
"An attack? What kind of attack?" Tawny asked, already feeling anxious.
"I dunno. Mr. Weasley, Bill, Charlie, and Sirius ran off to help the ministry and had us go to the wood to escape the chaos. There were these guys in black hoods and masks, levitating people in the air. Muggles, I think." Tawny felt a chill go through her, knowing exactly what she was talking about. Men in hoods playing with muggles for entertainment… had to be death eaters.
"Everyone was screaming and running, and tents were catching on fire, and there was this big flash of light, and this green skull was in the sky… Next thing I knew Sirius was running up to me and telling me we had to go right then. That's when we disapparated." Harry looked up, seeing the panic in Tawny's eyes at his words. "Tawny? Are you okay?"
Before she could answer, Sirius and Remus came through the door, wands in hand. Sirius was breathing heavily, gripping his wand tightly with one hand and running his other through his hair desperately.
"Sirius is it true? Did someone put the Dark Mark in the sky?" Sirius nodded slowly, and Tawny clutched her chest in surprise.
"The Dark Mark? Is that what you call the skull? What does it mean?" Harry asked, looking between the concerned faces of his guardians.
"The Dark Mark is the symbol of Lord Voldemort, Harry," Remus answered. "During the war, whenever someone was killed, death eaters would put the mark in the sky. If someone came home to find the symbol over their home… they knew what would be waiting for them inside."
"So, the guys in black… they were death eaters?"
"It appears so. I almost had one of them, too. If it wasn't for some meddling kid. He caught me off guard and he and his father got away." Sirius said, rubbing the back of his head from where he fell.
"Why were they at the cup? What does this mean?" Tawny asked, eyes wide with worry.
"I dunno," Sirius replied. "Arthur and the others were still fighting them when the mark went up. He wasn't sure what was happening, or if anyone had died. We just knew that the mark was in the sky and we had to get Harry out of there in case…"
"Not saying he is, but this wouldn't be the first time he's been back," Remus added. "Somehow, someway he keeps finding a way."
"What do you mean, not the first time?" Sirius asked, clearly confused. Tawny, Remus, and Harry took a moment to fill him in on the past couple of years with Quirrell's affinity for turbans and the reopening of the Chamber of Secrets.
"The death eaters are new though. If they're not in Azkaban they've been in hiding since then. It's been thirteen years… why would they come back now?" Everyone fell silent, no one wanting to confirm or deny whether Lord Voldemort had found another way to return again, or what was so different about this time.
Tawny sent everyone to bed after that, insisting that everyone needed sleep after the night's events. For the second time that night, Tawny laid in bed, staring at the ceiling. Even with Sirius beside her, the uneasiness remained, now more amplified than ever.
Lord Voldemort hard returned before… twice in the past three years. But not once since then did she have this dark of a feeling. Death eaters running about, muggles in dangers, dark marks in sky, and Harry's scar had been burning lately… No, this felt all too familiar. She couldn't help but feel the war was approaching again. But how? Why now? What did this mean for Harry?
Just the thought of it made her angry. This was supposed to be over. James and Lily sacrificed their lives to stop Voldemort and save Harry. He was supposed to be dead. This… this was supposed to be over. But somehow, someway Voldemort kept rising from the dead. Now, with Sirius back and her family was finally whole – as a whole as it could be – again. She had more to lose now than she had before… She hadn't lost her best friends and put her life on hold with Sirius for this. No! The universe couldn't be doing this to her, not again.
Thinking back over what Sirius and Harry had told her, she focused on what she did know. Yes, the death eaters were there creating havoc and hurting muggles. But, neither of them said that Voldemort was alive. She just had to hope and pray that he wasn't. Maybe the former death eaters got a little too drunk in celebration and decided to have their twisted version of fun. The truth is, that she didn't have enough information just yet to know. She'd have to wait until morning for that.
Once again, Sirius awoke from a nightmare, this with time tears streaming down his face. With one look at Tawny, he choked out, "Thank Merlin," before collapsing into her arms. As she sat there, stroking his hair and reassuring him she was okay, she couldn't help but think that what was supposed to be a great night, turned into another year of contemplating whether or not she should actually send Harry back to Hogwarts.
