A/N: Houses Competition Round One baybeeee

Title: See You Tuesday

Ravenclaw, Astronomy

Prompts: Character: Sirius Black (1); Situation: mistaken identity (8)

Word Count: 1234 (lol)

Warning for referenced abuse (I don't go into detail but it is mentioned briefly).

Random thought of the day: do you think the Order had a derogatory nickname for the Death Eaters? Like how the clone troopers in Star Wars call the droids 'clankers'? I feel like that should be a thing but I can't think of what it would be.

Sirius ducked around the corner, keeping his head low and letting his hair fall over his face. It was a bit of a risk, going out to Diagon Alley when Voldemort was coming after Order members with extreme prejudice. Lily had needed those potion ingredients, though, and Merlin knew he wasn't letting either her or James leave the house. Not after what Dumbledore had told them. The Fidelius Charm would be put into place in a few days, and he wouldn't be able to visit as oftent anymore.

And he'd be damned if he left Lily and James without something that could help them even the slightest in the long run.

Diagon Alley was eerily empty, most of the shops sporting boarded-up windows or darkened signs. A lone advertisement for Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor, brightly colored and vibrant against the grey cobblestones, caught his eye. He hoped Florean was all right. Aiding the Order often came with a steep price, especially when you refused to move to safety.

He just had to get to the apothecary, just the apothecary, he told himself. He really should have Disillusioned himself, but he certainly would draw attention to himself if he did it now. A person vanishing from sight (without the tell-tale crack of Apparation) would make people wonder if he had something to hide; he would stick out in their minds. Whereas if he just turned up the collar of his robe and kept his head down, he would look like any other nervous occupant currently on the street. Nothing to take note of here, no sir, he thought, allowing the ghost of a smile to touch his face.

He made it to the apothecary with no trouble, slipping in the door and wincing when the bell overhead rang. Couldn't be helped, he supposed.

"Be there in a moment," the clerk called from the back room.

Sirius ignored him, instead beelining for a shelf to his left—he'd spotted one of the ingredients that Lily had requested.

"Are you finding everything all right?" the clerk asked, popping up on his left. Sirius nearly threw the bottle of crocodile's tears into the man's face, startled.

"Er—yeah, I'm fine," he said uncomfortably. "Just need a few things."

"Are you sure you don't need any help? What are you looking for?" the clerk pressed, sounding a little desperate. Sirius felt a little bad for the guy. It had to be simultaneously mindlessly boring and highly stressful, trying to man the shop in an atmosphere like this. There were probably hardly any customers coming in, and the Death Eaters were known to do sweeps of the Alley for fun, breaking windows and just causing chaos. Sirius had gotten into a couple duels that way, trying to limit the damages (and doing his best to take down a few Death Eaters while he was at it).

"I really only need one more thing, mate," he answered, however. Lily hadn't requested much. "I'll get it myself. Thanks," he tacked on hastily.

The clerk seemed to deflate. "Oh, all right," he said morosely, slinking back behind the counter. Sirius turned away to hide his smile. It wouldn't do to let the poor man see him laughing behind his back.

He rounded up the last ingredient and paid quickly. The clerk waved him out of the shop, a miserable look on his face.

Sirius paused on the doorstep. Should he Disillusion for the trip back? He'd been all right so far, and honestly, wearing the charm for any amount of time was bloody uncomfortable.

A friendly shout interrupted his dithering. "Oi! I know you!"

Sirius lifted his head to see a round-faced, black-robed man coming toward him, chin-length blonde hair parted in the middle and a grin on his face. Sirius didn't recognize him at all.

"Er… hello," he said, as the man hurried up and began pumping his hand enthusiastically. "Have we met?"

The other man scoffed. "Oh, come on, we talked last night! Wilbert Goshawk?"

"Ah, yes," Sirius said, despite never having seen the man before in his life. "I'd forgotten, sorry."

Wilbert (apparently) waved a careless hand. "Oh, no trouble at all. You Blacks are all so important and well-connected, can't expect you to remember everyone you meet!"

Sirius wanted to say there were several scars on his back that said otherwise (you will know all the names at this party, boy, or I'll take more of it out of your hide) but held his tongue. "What brings you here?" he asked instead, trying to figure out how this fellow knew him and why Sirius didn't recognize him. Was he someone in the Order with Polyjuice and a cover name, having a bit of a laugh at his expense? Why didn't he have the same nervous air as everyone else on the street?

"Just getting the lay of the land, what?" Wilbert said with another grating laugh. "Getting a feel for everything. Seeing which windows haven't been broken yet and all that."

"Right," Sirius said slowly. "I've got places to be, so why don't we start walking?" It wasn't a good idea to linger on doorsteps—or anywhere, really—for too long in times like these.

"Yes, yes, of course, of course," Wilbert said, genially, walking along with him.

This man cannot take a hint, Sirius thought, annoyed. He was just drawing in breath to tell the idiot to piss off when his next words stopped him cold.

"So will you be coming on the raid Tuesday, Regulus?"

Sirius shot him a sharp look. Fortunately, Wilbert was looking ahead, a slight smile playing over his mouth.

"Of course I will," Sirius replied, his mind racing. This man was a Death Eater. That explained the confidence, but he couldn't be a very high-level one—or even a well-connected pureblood—because he either didn't know who Sirius was, or didn't know Regulus well enough to tell that Sirius wasn't him.

And there was a raid happening on Tuesday. Wilbert had been 'getting the lay of the land'—did that mean he was in charge? Or had he just been marking targets for himself?

"I'm thinking we should go for the ice cream shop," Wilbert was saying. "He's getting rather full of himself these days, isn't he? We ought to take him down a peg."

Sirius hummed mindlessly in agreement. A raid. He'd have to warn Florean. And the other Alley shopkeepers. Could he use his brother's identity to finagle any more information out of this guy?

For one second—just one—he considered Imperiusing him, just to get him to tell what he could.

Then a voice in his head that sounded an awful lot like Remus said, But if we do that, that means we're no better than they are. That's one of the Forbidden Curses for a reason, mate.

Sirius hated that his conscience sounded like one of his best friends. It made it much harder to ignore. Especially when it had a point.

"I think this is where we part ways, old boy," Wilbert said, clapping him on the back with a slightly malevolent smile. The arm of his robe slipped back just enough for Sirius to see his Dark Mark. "See you Tuesday."

"See you Tuesday," Sirius echoed, grinning dangerously as Wilbert Apparated away. Oh, he'd be here on Tuesday all right.

But first, he had some owl post to send.

And a trap to set.