16
Albus Dumbledore heaved an exasperated sigh as he watched the young blonde Muggle girl's mind start to shatter and collapse within herself, though the Hogwarts Headmaster could not fault her for her initial reaction upon learning that magic, witches, and wizards existed.
Not to mention, stepping through a Portkey and falling on top of Sirius Black's kitchen table, and now being forcefully told that she was not permitted to return home to her family until The Morning Killer was apprehended, being forced with no other option available but to stay with Remus for the time being until this was sorted out.
He supposed, were he in her shoes, he would have had a similar reaction. The aging old wizard's eyes softened and glistened with an emotion akin to sadness as he peered at the young woman, who seemed to be roughly Remus's wife's age, twenty-six or seven years old, Renee Barreau was, if he had to pinpoint her age, through the lenses of his half-rimmed, silver moon spectacles.
Professor Dumbledore slowly raised one of his withered hands, his good hand, the one not injured by accidentally putting on Tom Marvolo's old ring, and allowed it to pass over the heavily lined features of his tired face. When the appendage ghosted over the bridge of his nose, Albus paused for a moment, and gave it a slight pinch, lifting his glasses slowly in a show of frustration.
Out of the corner of his eye as he made to turn away, he noticed Miss Barreau almost sanguinely lift her head and regard him in silence, though she said not a word, he could see the beginnings of tear tracks forming in her eyes.
Albus shot the young woman what he hoped to be an apologetic glance as best he could, given what she must be feeling after such a taxing night, and silently motioned for Remus to please follow him into the kitchen to give the others who had witnessed that little display in the living room parlor an update.
As he settled into the kitchen of Number 12, Grimmauld Place, whereby this point late into the evening, the only ones waiting for an update, given the lateness of the hour, were Mr. and Mrs. Weasley and Sirius, all of whom were looking exhausted.
Albus did not bother to stifle his chuckle at seeing Sirius bounce the newborn baby on his lap, entertaining the two-week-old infant with stories of his and Remus's miscreant youthful adventures at Hogwarts.
The baby was entirely too young to understand a word of what his godfather was saying in animated tones, though the sight was a welcome change from Black's earlier demeanor towards the young Muggle girl, who, Albus knew, was not going to react kindly towards Sirius or Remus at this point in time, and he owed it to the three of them sitting at the table to say as much.
Albus peered at the group gathered around the kitchen table, sitting, waiting, and all of them acting like polite adults while they waited for the Hogwarts Headmaster and founder of the Order of the Phoenix to gather his thoughts. As he did, it quickly became clear to him that the poor creature was not quite ready to accept her newfound change in environment, nor her reality.
Her grim future reality is that, until the Aurors could manage to catch this serial killer, the young Muggle girl could not be permitted to return home. It appeared to him as well that Dumbledore (who considered himself quite an excellent judge of character) could find no lie within her glistening sky-blue orbs when he had spoken with her in an attempt to coax the truth from her lips.
Only that of severe confusion and a great deal of fear at her unknown circumstances of what was going to become of her, her job, and her family.
Albus could sympathize with Miss Renee Elizabeth Barreau, he really could, though no fool was he. He simply could not permit the young woman to return to her home, to the life as she knew it while their suspect remained at large.
Whoever she saw in the alleyway tonight has framed Mrs. Lupin, he thought agitatedly, sighing deeply for the third time in the span of a single hour, and the troubled feeling that pricked at his conscience at the back of his mind was beginning to grow, festering, spreading like Dark magic in the confines…
Professor Dumbledore grunted wordlessly once to clear his throat, the edges of his beard twitching without prompting.
"I do hope you are quite pleased with yourself, Mr. Black," he grumbled irritably, glowering at Sirius.
The Hogwarts Headmaster did not bother glancing around the kitchen as the man in question, along with Arthur, Molly, and Remus swiveled their heads up and to the entryway of the kitchen, where Dumbledore lingered in the doorway, though he felt the atmosphere tense up and he could swear he felt a chill prickle as gooseflesh on his arms and the hairs on the back of his neck stood as he moved swiftly towards the table and made to stand next to Sirius.
Sirius's own expression, much to Remus's chagrin as the distraught father of Teddy Lupin and wife to Nymphadora Tonks-Lupin moved to stand by his friend, having placed a gentle hand on Sirius's shoulder, as if to caution him, rapidly changed from one of an eerie, calm content look, to one of growing rage.
Professor Dumbledore could practically see the tension emanating off of the younger man's shoulders in waves as Sirius's hands shook, and he thought for a moment that he heard Harry Potter and Teddy Lupin's godfather growl with the effort to restrain himself, not wanting a repeat of what happened earlier.
Though Remus quickly removed his hand the moment he felt and witnessed Sirius half-rise from his chair, Sirius's formerly pensive expression melting, sliding off his face, only to quickly be replaced by one of immense irritation as he silently handed his two-week-old godson back to Remus.
Sirius's dark brows furrowed in a frown, creating lines upon his otherwise smooth forehead, and the corners of his mouth curled downward, creating a deep groove near his mouth, and in the dim light of the kitchen, Sirius Black looked truly haunted and emaciated, much as he had years ago when he had first escaped from Azkaban Prison.
"And what," Sirius growled in a lowly bark, his tense voice almost reverberating off the walls of his parents' kitchen, "pray to tell me, Albus, is it that you think I've done? You cannot blame me for my reaction towards that woman falling through my ceiling," he snarled, his lips curling upward to regard his gums in a most doglike, animalistic lowly snarl.
Professor Dumbledore merely proceeded to raise his eyebrows in alarm and peered at Sirius Black over the rims of his silver half-moon spectacles, gazing down at the man who was a good head or two shorter than he was.
His blue eyes, normally alight with a twinkling sense of mischief, held none of the kindly warm sparks that could usually be found within, and instead, when Sirius lifted his chin and met Albus's gaze, he was met with disapproval.
"The young woman is understandably distraught, beside herself with a great deal of confusion and is in an immense amount of fear. Given the circumstances, Miss Barreau is in no condition to be approached by you, Black, or anyone else for that matter at the present moment, until she's had some time to process the harsh reality of her current situation. I cannot permit her to return home, sir."
It did not escape Professor Dumbledore's attention that Remus, Molly, and Arthur all shot each other worried glances, clearly wary of an impending argument that was beginning to escalate between the two men if Albus could not implore Sirius to see how this was going to work from a new perspective.
Sirius merely narrowed his light gray eyes at the older wizard before huffing in frustration, having a feeling he knew where Albus was going with this, and he was quick to decide, judging by the way a coil in his gut twisted and churned, that he did not like. At all. He pretended to ignore Remus noticing the glimpse of resigned frustration, and that hint of guilt on his handsome face.
Lupin noticed the shift in his friend's behavior and couldn't help but feel pity for Sirius. It wasn't his fault the young woman had unceremoniously and clumsily fallen through his parents' kitchen ceiling. He had not asked for this.
Just as I didn't expect Dora would get arrested tonight, he thought bitterly, clenching his teeth in anger, feeling his molars lock together in rancor.
Sirius inwardly groaned, stifling his urge to roar like an enraged, wild dragon as he noticed the man's eyes suddenly alight with that suspicious spark.
If Albus noticed Sirius catching onto his sudden shift in his countenance, he paid it no mind. The Hogwarts Headmaster proceeded to clasp his fingers together, wincing only the once as the blackened, charred skin of his hand brushed against his other good hand. He scrunched his nose and pulled a face but did not comment.
The corner of Albus's lips twitched as he fought back the beginnings of a smile.
"It would seem that, given the young woman's unfortunate circumstances of merely being in the right place at the wrong time, we find ourselves at an impasse. Nymphadora Tonks-Lupin has been falsely arrested for a crime that all of us here in this room knows she did not commit. However, that will not be enough to satiate those at the Ministry or the Warden of Azkaban Prison merely based on our word of mouth," he sighed.
"Her memory?" Sirius prodded, a hint of annoyance laced throughout his tone, and it did not escape Dumbledore's attention at how hoarse the man sounded. "Were you able to extract it?" he asked, looking to Remus for confirmation, who promptly shook his head no, though he said nothing.
"I am afraid that she is still quite mistrustful of us, given the circumstances and the manner in which she arrived here tonight," Albus continued, furrowing his greying brows at Sirius's constant interruptions.
Albus shot Sirius a withering look that would have turned the man to stone had Professor Dumbledore the ability. "Particularly you, Mr. Black."
Sirius bristled, silently seething. "So, what, then, do you suggest we do about it?" he barked by way of response, his frown deepening. "We need her memory to free my cousin! We can't just forcefully extract it from her, Albus!"
Albus nodded his head in agreement. "No, that we cannot. If we were to try, we would only succeed in frightening the poor creature even more than she already is, not to mention besides, in her panicked state of mind, we would risk her memory of tonight in Echo Alley becoming damaged, hazy. She might not remember the details exactly as they were, which would prove detrimental to our goal of ensuring your wife returns home to you and your son, Remus."
Lupin slowly swiveled his head to regard the Hogwarts Headmaster and his best friend, clutching his son in his arms close to his chest.
"I have extended the offer to have her come back with me to our home, but I don't think it wise at this point in time, Albus, given how you all saw how she reacted towards….this," Remus murmured, a light pink blush speckling along his cheeks as he shifted Teddy in his arms, using his free hand to gesticulate wildly towards the grotesque-looking scars on his face.
Sirius paused, feeling the worst of his anger dissipate as he heard the antagonized hurt tones laced throughout his best mate's voice as it warbled.
He bristled, thinking it wasn't bloody right of that Muggle woman to judge Remus based on his appearances, on his scars. He had not asked to be a werewolf. And then, a thought occurred to him, one he felt instantaneously foolish for not having considered before.
She doesn't the truth about Moony.
Sirius had always prided himself on being a man who had been taught growing up not to judge others based on looks (of which Moony, Sirius hated to admit it, wasn't exactly the most handsome bloke in London, and never would be with his scars) or his occupation (in this case, he didn't have one, though he blamed the Anti-Werewolf Legislation Act for Moony's inability to find work.)
As such, the girl in his living room parlor, sitting in his chair while she sorted through whatever myriad of emotions were flitting through her head, did not know of the troubles that poor Remus faced when it came to the world, how the rest of wizarding society treated a man with his current condition.
And because this girl, Renee Barreau, did not have a grasp on the daily struggle his best mate faced, she was as a result, unaware of the wound she had inflicted. Sirius heaved a heavy sigh, already knowing where Albus was headed.
Sirius inwardly groaned, not wanting to offer the Muggle woman a room, but he could tell by the growing look of annoyance in Professor Dumbledore's shining blue orbs, the man was waiting for Sirius to make the offer of his own volition.
"She—she can stay here, Professor. If she is in danger as you say that she is, though I still don't like her," he growled, still not sure he fully trusted her story that Tonks had sent her, wondering if she was allied with the Death Eaters, or perhaps somehow put under the influence of the Imperius Curse.
He gave his head a curt shake to clear it and continued.
"I'm not about to turn a young woman out on the streets alone with a killer after her. I can prepare one of the spare bedrooms up here for her to sleep in. Moony, you and Teddy stay too," Sirius murmured, glancing sideways at Remus out of the corner of his eye. "With that creep after your wife, my baby cousin," he growled through gritted teeth, "there's a good chance he's been following her for a long time, Moony. I don't want you and Teddy returning home tonight, or the next few nights, for that matter. I don't think it's safe for you to be alone. Stay here."
If Remus was surprised at all by the nature of Sirius's request, he hid it well. He inclined his head as a show of gratitude. "Thank you, Sirius. We will."
Professor Dumbledore gave a curt nod of his head in agreement, absentmindedly twirling his wand in between his fingers, a contemplative look in his eyes. One that Sirius knew immediately as the Headmaster turned his gaze on him that he knew he did not like.
This was not going to be good.
"Excellent, Mr. Black," he murmured courteously by way of responding, inclining his head slightly as a show of respect. "Since you have so graciously opened your home to the poor dear, I'll leave it to you then to ensure that our guest stays out of trouble," he added, unable to stop the small smirk from forming on his face as his beard twitched of its own accord. "I am, for the time being, appointing you personally as Miss Barreau's protector, Mr. Black."
"I…" Sirius stammered, feeling his face flush red in anger at the indignation. This was not at all what he had meant by the gesture of opening his home to the young Muggle lass, and the fact that he had no apt response to offer up by way of a follow-up retort, knew that it spoke volumes to Albus.
Albus merely proceeded to study Sirius's rapidly reddening face in a wave of flustered anger as he peered at Black over the rims of his spectacles, cobalt blue eyes twinkling with what Remus could only describe as laced with mischief.
Professor Dumbledore folded his hands together in front of him.
"That would settle it, then. Remus, I will expect you to be ready at 9:45 to accompany me and Miss Barreau to Azkaban Prison. Given it is currently only…" Here, he had to pause for a moment to glance up at the clock on the wall, "five past five o'clock in the morning, it is still early yet, but I do recommend getting some sleep while you are able. Your wife will surely have words to say to you later today if you show up looking like you currently do," he explained tiredly.
He turned towards Sirius and fixed Black with an admonishing, icy-blue stare. "I will expect you to treat Miss Barreau with a modicum of kindness going forward, Sirius, given you're her new partner for the time being. If you do not, I shall know," he grumbled darkly, promptly turning his back on Sirius and the others and politely excusing himself, saying he would return in a few hours.
Without so much as a word to the others, Albus Dumbledore turned on the heel of his boot and with the familiar all-too loud crack! Disapparated and left.
Sirius groaned in exasperation and thumped his hand alongside his forehead and down his face. What in the name of Merlin's left saggy testicle was Dumbledore thinking?! Was the old wizard finally off his rocker? Cracked? Touched in the head?! He—he could not—would not—be her guard!
Padfoot whiplashed his head sharply upwards to regard Remus and shot his best mate what he hoped was a pleading look of true, genuine desperation.
"No," Remus answered firmly, a muscle in his jaw twitching and the skin of his brow pulling taut, and Sirius watched with a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach as Moony promptly shook his head and shifted his son in his arms.
"Please," Sirius begged, shaking his head, carding his fingers through his dark shoulder-length locks. "Words aren't my strong suit, Moony. Help me."
But Moony shook his head. "You are the one who created a wedge between the two of you, Sirius. Whatever relationship we're expected to form with Miss Barreau until my wife is released and we can send the girl home where she belongs, needs repairing, and this cannot come from me. You are the one she has not yet made amends with, and this partnership of yours and Miss Barreau's is only going to work between the two if you are the one who takes the initial first steps. She has nothing to apologize for, Sirius. She was well within her rights to be mad, with you, and with me. For my own part, I know I should not have lost my temper with her. I've apologized, though, and she seems to have forgiven me," Remus spoke up, something in his previously hard expression softened slightly as he looked at his best friend and last fellow surviving Marauder aside from Peter, who, though the two of them would never admit it out loud except to one another in private, they hoped the traitor was suffering, that his betrayal would ultimately be the man's downfall one day.
Sirius resisted the urge to seize on tufts of his hair and pull them out, almost growling as he gnashed his teeth together with the effort to restrain himself. Merlin damn you, Albus, he thought angrily, feeling his nostrils flare.
Remus, sensing Sirius remained unconvinced, heaved a sigh and turned away, baby Teddy cooing quietly in his arms as he turned to quit the scene of the kitchen and make to head upstairs to get what little sleep he could manage.
Though not before Lupin paused and risked one last glance over his shoulder. "It's going to be up to you to make the first move and apologize, Sirius," he murmured, his voice sounding less hoarse than it did earlier, which Sirius took to be a good sign. It meant that Moony had calmed significantly.
Sirius merely grunted wordlessly in response, though then a thought hit him.
He did not exactly know what to do to provide some modicum of comfort to the young Muggle woman. This was the first Muggle that had ever dared to set foot in his parents' house. He snorted. No doubt his mum's screaming portrait and blasted Kreacher, Merlin damn that wretched, accursed house-elf, would have a few choice insults to sling her way once they laid eyes on her.
"What do you suggest I do, Moony?" he asked, letting out a sigh and reaching up a hand and gingerly rubbing his neck before moving and doing the same to his right arm. "You saw the way she was looking at me in there!"
Remus nodded. He had seen it. In an eerie way, it had caused Remus to feel an inexplicable feeling of déjà vu when he had sat with Renee Barreau and Dumbledore in the parlor, being reminded of the first time Tonks looked at him. Though look at how that turned out, he thought, not bothering to hide the soft, gentle smile that crept at the edges of his lips, much to Sirius's chagrin.
"What?" Sirius snapped moodily, not getting his friend's sudden shift in countenance. "You know something, Moony. What aren't you telling me?"
Lupin chuckled to himself and shook his head to clear it, turning back around to head upstairs, though his need for sleep and to put Teddy down in his crib did not stop him from calling out to Sirius over his shoulder as he left.
"Might I suggest starting to make amends over a good cup of hot tea?"