Disclaimer: None of it's mine
Chapter 5: A "Sirius" approach
Ron ran down the stairs as fast as his very long legs could carry him. (Bloody hell, he'd been doing an awful lot of running up and down the stairs lately!) The first thing he saw was Ginny, very red-faced and screaming at the top of her lungs. Mrs. Weasley was trying to comfort her, with an apparent lack of success, as the noise level did not depreciate. The door was open and a man stood there. It was Sirius Black.
"Sirius!" Ron yelled in relief. And to think he'd been worried that something terrible was happening! He was interrupted in the act of hugging the man(he was, after all, very glad to see him) by a gasp from Ginny.
"Ron," she breathed, "he's a MURDERER!"
Ron was puzzled for a moment, and then remembered that Ginny had not been with them at the end of the Tri-Wizard tournament, and didn't know that Sirius was innocent. "It's okay, Ginny," he said after swallowing a slight pang of guilt for not having told her before, "Sirius didn't really do any of those things. It was Peter Pettigrew..."his voice trailed off then. He had been just about to tell her how Peter had really been Scabbers, but then thought (rather wisely,actually) that it might make her more hysterical than she was already, finding out that for years a traitor had lived among them.
Ginny (to everyone's great relief, including Fred and George who had, at some point joined the group unnoticed) stopped screaming and looked at her mother questioningly.
"Yes, Ginny, it's true. He really is innocent. And he's Harry's godfather, and an ally of ours, now."
Ginny looked from her mother to Sirius and back to her mother again, who smiled encouraginly at her. She seemed to get control of herself. "I'm sorry, Mr. Black,"she said, her voice a little shaky. "I din't mean to scream. It just really startled me to find you at the door, especially after everything that has been going on."
Sirius, who had been smiling at Ron, sobered instantly. "It's quite all right, Ginny" he said seriously. "There HAS been a lot going on, and you had every right to be frightened. I fear things may only get worse in the months to come. We all have a lot of work and hard timed ahead of us."
Ginny did not look particularly reassured by these comments, but held her tongue. Sirius turned to Mrs. Weasley, then. "How have you been, Molly?"
Mrs. Weasley took a deep breath and squared her shoulders. "We've been holding up as well as can be expected. There have been articles in the Daily Prophet lately-I Don't know if you've read them..." her voice trailed off, and she sneaked a glance at Ron, who suddenly felt as if his stomach was in his throat, and all he wanted to do was throw up and get rid of it. How could he have forgotten, for even a second, about Hermione?
Ron was at Sirius' side in one large step. "Sirius," he said. "Do you know what's happened to Hermione? Where is she? What happened to her parents? Is she safe? How can you be sure if she's safe?"
Sirius held up his hand. "Whoa, Ron, slow down. Hermione is perfectly safe. Her parents were buried this morning, and Hermione is at Hogwarts with Dumbledore. She's more than a little shaken up, of course. It was very lucky she wasn't at home when the Death Eaters came to her house. She's going to need a lot of support from her friends right now to help her get through it. Which brings me to another point. Harry."
"Have you heard from Harry, then? Is HE alright?" Ron asked quickly, conscious of an incredible feeling of relief, and the return of his stomach to it's proper place.
"I have heard from Harry, he's fine, but he doesn't know yet what has happened. I have spoken to Dumbledore, he has given his permission for Harry to stay here, and Hermione as well, if that's okay with you and Arthur, of course," Sirius said, turning to Mrs. Weasley at the tail end of his sentence.
"Of course it's okay, " Mrs. Weasley replied, looking surprised that he had even asked. But are you sure it will be...er...completely safe for them?"
"Certainly it will. Remus Lupin, as well as a few other friends of ours, will be by later this morning to cast enchantments around the house. They'll make it so well-hidden that the Death Eaters could be standing on top of it and not know it's there. This was part of my reason for coming here. I wanted to make sure everyoner was okay with that."
Mrs. Weasley looked at her family and smiled bravely. "Anything we can do to help Harry or Hermione is fine, and if there's anything we can do to further you in your work, we will."
Sirius smiled. "Thank you, Molly. I was actually hoping I could borrow Ron for the afternoon?"
Mrs. Weasley looked hastily at Ron, who was trying very hard not to look eager. She looked as if she was about to object when Ron interrupted her. "Of course, Sirius! Anything we can do to help, right?" He glanced at his mother, who was looking perturbed about something.
"Of course," she said finally, smiling weakly. "Any way we can help."
"Great!" Sirius said enthusiastically. "Let's go get Harry.
To be continued.
A/N I promised myself that this would be a long chapter, and it's not. I just felt that if I continued it, it would become drawn out and boring, which I don't want at all. Oh well, maybe after I work on it for awhile, I'll become a proficient enough writer to be able to do what I want with my story...right now it's kind of cotrolling itself.
Thanks to all my new reviewers: college girl, max(ie), Seeker 2000, fantine, Genabeeb, sara, Angel Eyes, Emily, trina-k and Sparklies 5. Hope you'll keep reading!!
Nikalee
P.S Hopefully no one read the fifth chapter when I put it up the first time. I uploaded the wrong file, and the whole thing was a horrible mess!
Chapter 5: A "Sirius" approach
Ron ran down the stairs as fast as his very long legs could carry him. (Bloody hell, he'd been doing an awful lot of running up and down the stairs lately!) The first thing he saw was Ginny, very red-faced and screaming at the top of her lungs. Mrs. Weasley was trying to comfort her, with an apparent lack of success, as the noise level did not depreciate. The door was open and a man stood there. It was Sirius Black.
"Sirius!" Ron yelled in relief. And to think he'd been worried that something terrible was happening! He was interrupted in the act of hugging the man(he was, after all, very glad to see him) by a gasp from Ginny.
"Ron," she breathed, "he's a MURDERER!"
Ron was puzzled for a moment, and then remembered that Ginny had not been with them at the end of the Tri-Wizard tournament, and didn't know that Sirius was innocent. "It's okay, Ginny," he said after swallowing a slight pang of guilt for not having told her before, "Sirius didn't really do any of those things. It was Peter Pettigrew..."his voice trailed off then. He had been just about to tell her how Peter had really been Scabbers, but then thought (rather wisely,actually) that it might make her more hysterical than she was already, finding out that for years a traitor had lived among them.
Ginny (to everyone's great relief, including Fred and George who had, at some point joined the group unnoticed) stopped screaming and looked at her mother questioningly.
"Yes, Ginny, it's true. He really is innocent. And he's Harry's godfather, and an ally of ours, now."
Ginny looked from her mother to Sirius and back to her mother again, who smiled encouraginly at her. She seemed to get control of herself. "I'm sorry, Mr. Black,"she said, her voice a little shaky. "I din't mean to scream. It just really startled me to find you at the door, especially after everything that has been going on."
Sirius, who had been smiling at Ron, sobered instantly. "It's quite all right, Ginny" he said seriously. "There HAS been a lot going on, and you had every right to be frightened. I fear things may only get worse in the months to come. We all have a lot of work and hard timed ahead of us."
Ginny did not look particularly reassured by these comments, but held her tongue. Sirius turned to Mrs. Weasley, then. "How have you been, Molly?"
Mrs. Weasley took a deep breath and squared her shoulders. "We've been holding up as well as can be expected. There have been articles in the Daily Prophet lately-I Don't know if you've read them..." her voice trailed off, and she sneaked a glance at Ron, who suddenly felt as if his stomach was in his throat, and all he wanted to do was throw up and get rid of it. How could he have forgotten, for even a second, about Hermione?
Ron was at Sirius' side in one large step. "Sirius," he said. "Do you know what's happened to Hermione? Where is she? What happened to her parents? Is she safe? How can you be sure if she's safe?"
Sirius held up his hand. "Whoa, Ron, slow down. Hermione is perfectly safe. Her parents were buried this morning, and Hermione is at Hogwarts with Dumbledore. She's more than a little shaken up, of course. It was very lucky she wasn't at home when the Death Eaters came to her house. She's going to need a lot of support from her friends right now to help her get through it. Which brings me to another point. Harry."
"Have you heard from Harry, then? Is HE alright?" Ron asked quickly, conscious of an incredible feeling of relief, and the return of his stomach to it's proper place.
"I have heard from Harry, he's fine, but he doesn't know yet what has happened. I have spoken to Dumbledore, he has given his permission for Harry to stay here, and Hermione as well, if that's okay with you and Arthur, of course," Sirius said, turning to Mrs. Weasley at the tail end of his sentence.
"Of course it's okay, " Mrs. Weasley replied, looking surprised that he had even asked. But are you sure it will be...er...completely safe for them?"
"Certainly it will. Remus Lupin, as well as a few other friends of ours, will be by later this morning to cast enchantments around the house. They'll make it so well-hidden that the Death Eaters could be standing on top of it and not know it's there. This was part of my reason for coming here. I wanted to make sure everyoner was okay with that."
Mrs. Weasley looked at her family and smiled bravely. "Anything we can do to help Harry or Hermione is fine, and if there's anything we can do to further you in your work, we will."
Sirius smiled. "Thank you, Molly. I was actually hoping I could borrow Ron for the afternoon?"
Mrs. Weasley looked hastily at Ron, who was trying very hard not to look eager. She looked as if she was about to object when Ron interrupted her. "Of course, Sirius! Anything we can do to help, right?" He glanced at his mother, who was looking perturbed about something.
"Of course," she said finally, smiling weakly. "Any way we can help."
"Great!" Sirius said enthusiastically. "Let's go get Harry.
To be continued.
A/N I promised myself that this would be a long chapter, and it's not. I just felt that if I continued it, it would become drawn out and boring, which I don't want at all. Oh well, maybe after I work on it for awhile, I'll become a proficient enough writer to be able to do what I want with my story...right now it's kind of cotrolling itself.
Thanks to all my new reviewers: college girl, max(ie), Seeker 2000, fantine, Genabeeb, sara, Angel Eyes, Emily, trina-k and Sparklies 5. Hope you'll keep reading!!
Nikalee
P.S Hopefully no one read the fifth chapter when I put it up the first time. I uploaded the wrong file, and the whole thing was a horrible mess!