Disclaimer: I do not own anything in the wonderful wizarding world and all credit must be given to Ms. JK Rowling, however, anything unrecognisable is of my own creation.

Chapter 33: Interrogation

Surprisingly the Marauders were all packed when it came time for the Christmas Holidays. We all dragged our trunks down to Hogsmeade, through the snow that had appeared overnight, and which was making Messrs. Padfoot and Prongs act like five-year-olds. They're even more excited about getting home now, with the hope that Potter Manor is under a thick blanket of snow. I watched Sirius and James throwing snowballs at unsuspecting bystanders as their trunks floated after them. Messrs. Padfoot and Prongs take no prisoners when it came to snowballs, and it was a few moments before a stray one hit me. James and Sirius froze at this point: Sirius looked horrified, whilst James spoke.

'Oops.' I cast as the word left James's lips.

'Ventus!' A spiraling jet of wind shot out the tip of my wand, hitting the trees above and knocking the snow from their branches. James and Sirius couldn't move quick enough, meaning a large volume of snow crashed down on top of them. They were now stood up to their knees in snow, looking as if they'd been in an avalanche. The sound of laughter filled the air around me as James and Sirius stood there stunned: Sirius pouted at me.

'That wasn't nice, Mynee...' He started shivering. '... now we're all wet and cold, we'll catch our deaths.' I wondered forward to help Sirius out of the snow, responding to his comment.

'Oh don't be so melodramatic. You're both perfectly capable of basic drying spells and heating charms.' I took hold of Sirius's hands at this point and pulled. Once the boys were free, they dried themselves off and we continued down to Hogsmeade without further mischief. We boarded the Hogwarts Express and settled into the Marauders compartment, where I found myself snuggled against Sirius's side. The next I knew, Sirius was kissing me and I was opening my eyes, not realising that I'd dropped off to sleep. I was sure my eyes had only been closed for a moment, but we were now in Kings Cross. Sirius spoke.

'Mynee, we're here.' I stretched, glancing around the compartment to find everyone retrieving his or her trunks from the overhead storage. I let go of Sirius so that he could retrieve our trunks and the next second I was engulfed in Lily's arms.

'Have a good Christmas, Mynee.' I grinned.

'You too, and I'll see you New Year's Eve.' Lily nodded, letting go of me and moving onto Remus, before finally turning to James. Lily hugged James the tightest, and as she did James kissed her before whispering into her ear. Whatever James said made them both flush red, before Sirius interrupted the moment.

'Where's my hug Evans?' Lily glared at Sirius, before ignoring him and turning back to James.

'See you soon, love you.' James returned the sentiment, as Lily left the compartment. Sirius leaned out the door after her, yelling.

'Evans! If you're going to be Prongsie's wife one day, then you should be nicer to you're future brother-in-law!' I watched a stunned expression cross James's face, as Remus laughed.

'Sirius, you'll scare her off.' Sirius grinned widely, throwing his arm around James.

'Nah, she'd love to be Mrs. Potter someday.' We exited the compartment after this, soon finding our way off the train, so we wondered along platform 9 3/4 where we found Mr. and Mrs. Lupin first. I let the boys say goodbye first, because it's always awkward and rushed. Sirius hugged Remus last, before I walked forward towards the werewolf: I hugged him and kissed him on the cheek.

'Have a lovely Christmas, don't eat too much chocolate: and I'll send your potion next week.' Remus was slightly flushed red as I pulled away, probably from the kiss. I smirked. 'Messrs. Moony don't make me kiss you again.' He grumbled something under his breath at me, before leaving with his parents. I watched as Remus and his parents disappeared through the crowd, though, I could feel Sirius standing a little too close by my side. I glanced towards him. 'You alright?' Then I noticed the pouted on his lips, and realised he was about to say something stupid.

'Where's my kiss? I get jealous when my Mynee kisses other blokes.' I sighed, but pecked Sirius on the lips.

'You're ridiculous, you know that?' Sirius just grinned, as Peter's mother found us. I smirked as Peter's mum embarrassed him with an overbearing embrace and sloppy kiss. Ms. Pettigrew seems like a lovely woman, little overprotective and motherly; she certainly doesn't deserve a coward as a son. James and Sirius smirked as Peter flushed red: James spoke.

'Have a great Christmas, Pete.' Peter was about to mumble a response when Ms. Pettigrew spoke.

'Peter, it's time to leave. Your Aunt is visiting this evening.' Peter's face fell at the mention of his Aunt, but he muttered goodbye and trailed after his mother.

Dorea and Charlus found us soon after Peter had left, and as per usual, Dorea pulled James into a bone-crushing hug. James whined, meaning Dorea let go with a bit of a frown: however then Sirius spoke, and made Dorea's frown disappear.

'What about me? Don't I get a hug?' Dorea seemed touched that Sirius wanted a hug, and spoke as she hugged him.

'You're mother and father are masochistic cretin to not want you as a son.' Sirius grinned widely, before returning to my side and taking my hand. Charlus then suggested that we made a move, before offering Dorea his arm and leading her towards the platform's floo network. We followed behind them: I listened as Charlus told James and Sirius about the snow, which just made them more and more excited, to the point where Dorea was threatening calming draughts. I walked into the fireplace with Sirius when it was our turn, and as I threw down the floo powder we both spoke in unison.

'Potter Manor!' The green flames erupted around us as Kings Cross disappeared and we reappeared in Potter Manor. Pomsey and Baxter appeared almost instantly to collect our trunks, whilst Sirius dragged me out of the living room and up the stairs. Him and James chanting 'snow, snow, snow' as they went. I rolled my eyes.

'You two are so childish.' I pulled my hand out of Sirius's, because by now we were outside James and Sirius's bedrooms. 'I'm going to unpack first, so I'll see you two outside.' Sirius and James didn't respond to this and swiftly dashed off to prepare themselves for the snow. I wondered, at a more reasonable pace, into the guest room where I'd be staying over Christmas. I decided to unpack without the use of magic, because I was in no hurry to get outside in the freezing cold. It was nice to have some peace and quiet for a change, without Sirius complaining about being bored. I was unpacking for around half an hour, before wrapping myself in warm clothes, and heading down to join the boys. I was halfway along the hallway when Dorea dragged me into a guest bedroom. I watched Dorea secure the door and cast a silencing charm. I had a feeling that I knew what this was about, though I hadn't exactly figured out how to explain it to her. I remained silence as Dorea turned to face me, pointing her wand towards me and speaking.

'You'd better have a good explanation as to why a boy I consider a son was in hospital with traces of inactivated Basilisk venom in his blood.' I gulped. I knew she'd detected the Basilisk venom when she preformed that diagnostic spell on Sirius last month. I was silent, thinking about how to respond, and when I didn't Dorea continued. 'I'm waiting Miss. Granger! How did the heir to the Black family get Basilisk venom in his bloodstream?' I took a deep breath as Dorea took a step closer to me with her wand still pointing in my direction.

'I... I can't tell you the truth.' Dorea didn't seem to accept this as a suitable answer: her eyes narrowed.

'You're not leaving this room until I know... even if I have to force it out of you.' I gulped again.

'I... I can't. It's too dangerous.' Dorea cast, barely missing me, as if to prove her seriousness.

'I don't care. Sirius is as good as my son, you are going to tell me.' I was now unsure what to say. There was silence for a moment, before I sighed. I couldn't lie to Dorea: she's been like a mother to me since I arrived here. I have to at least tell her half the truth.

'He impaled himself on a Basilisk fang, whilst slaying the one that lived in the Chamber of Secrets at Hogwarts.' Dorea seemed confused by this.

'The Chamber is just a myth...' I shook my head, interrupting Dorea.

'No, it's real. Sirius and I went there to defeat the Basilisk, because we needed its venom to destroy the Dark Lord's horcruxes.' Dorea froze at this point, as I covered my mouth. That may have been a little too much information.

'You what?!' I sighed again.

'The Dark Lord's created horcruxes, I can't tell you how I know, but it's true.' Dorea seemed thoughtful for a moment, before lowering her wand slightly towards my wrist. I knew what she was about to ask me, so I raised my arm and rolled up my sleeve to show her that I'm not a Death Eater. 'I can't say anymore, it's too dangerous.' Dorea lowered her wand.

'Could you tell me if I'm sworn to secrecy?' I found myself considering an unbreakable vow, but it was useless, because I knew it wouldn't protect my secret. Dorea wouldn't think twice about sacrificing herself to save James. I mean she'd just threatened me because she thought I was trying to poison Sirius. I sat down on the bed, before responding.

'Could you promise not to break an unbreakable vow, even if it meant saving James's life?' I frowned as pain appeared in Dorea's eyes. 'Sorry. I shouldn't have mentioned that, it's not going to happen.' I gazed into my lap, unable to make eye contact with Dorea. There was silence for a few minutes, before Dorea's voice appeared.

'What if I agreed to an injunction charm?' I glanced up towards Dorea, who continued. 'It would physically prevent me from mentioning anything you told me... I'd just find myself unable to speak if I attempted to talk about the subject.' I felt a smile appear on my lips once Dorea had finished speaking. I said I'd tell Dorea and Charlus the truth, if they agreed to injunction charms, and the next second Dore was hugging me. 'I'm so sorry that I doubted you, hun... you're like a daughter to me, you know that?' I hugged Dorea in return, telling her that I didn't blame her for jumping to conclusions, and that I'd explain everything this weekend.

A/N: Hey everyone, sorry this took so long. Hope you all enjoy it, and all have a good Christmas (if you celebrate). Next chapter is Hermione telling Dorea and Charlus the truth, and hopefully I'll update quicker. Love RoxannetheLaugh x.