On instinct, the two of them ducked underneath the kitchen table. The pounding on the door continued more urgently. "Sirius Black, Remus Lupine, if you don't open this door, we will be forced to break it down!"
"The name is Lupin, idiot!" Remus spat at the door, offended. "Sirius, how in the world do they know that we're here?" Sirius grinned feebly.
"I sort of told Jessica where to reach me and--"
"Jessica?!" Remus screeched. Sirius cowered. Then, a cry was heard from upstairs. Harry had woken up. "Oh no! Harry's awake! If he doesn't shut up we'll be discovered!" Meanwhile, booming knocks were still heard along with demands.
"SIRIUS BLACK AND REMUS LUPINE! THIS IS YOUR LAST WARNING! YOU HAVE UNTIL THE COUNT OF THREE! ONE--"
"Do the silencing curse," Sirius whispered hurriedly.
"I would, but that won't stop the Muggle law enforcers from breaking the door down," Remus explained, a tone of fear in his voice.
"TWO--"
"Well, do something Moony!"
"I can't think of anything! Why don't you do something? You're capable of thinking too!"
"THREE--" With a final shout, the door was kicked off its hinges, leaving the doorway open. "Alright, Sirius Black and Remus Lupine, come out with your hands up!" Then, an unfamiliar voice was heard.
"Stupefy!" Two dull thuds marked the collapsing of the limp policemen bodies. Feeling it safe to come out of hiding, Sirius and Remus stepped out from under the table hesitantly. An old, frail looking man was standing at the doorstep, perched atop the unconscious bodies.
"Who are you?" Remus asked courageously.
"Why hello…you must be Remus Lupin, and your friend there must be Sirius Black," the old man said, unusually calm. Remus peered over at Sirius, who was clinging nervously to his shirt and wringing it. Remus turned to look at the old man again.
"Who are you?" he asked again.
"I represent the Ministry of Magic, you two are to be taken down to the Minister of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement for questioning." Remus' knees buckled.
"Sir, we didn't do anything, I swear!" he said, panicking. Harry's cries were still coming from upstairs loud and clear.
"I'm sure of that," the old man said sarcastically. He rolled his eyes. "You have just broken the code of Magical Concealment, so even if you didn't steal that Muggle contraption, you still have a fine to pay!"
"Magical Concealment? That's bull! The Muggles just think that we're a couple of crooks stealing a car, they didn't witness any magic!" Sirius shrieked, coming out from his momentary speechlessness.
"Yes, but wouldn't you rather that we modify all of the Muggles' memories than have you two running from their law enforcers for the rest of your life?" The old man's words hit Sirius and Remus stupidly in the face. "Now, come with me, and we can sort this all out," he said.
"But, we're taking care of a friend's baby, we can't just leave it here," Remus said. The old man rolled his eyes impatiently.
"Fine then, you can bring it--"
"Him," Sirius said firmly.
"You can bring him along, but don't expect me to baby-sit it when you're in for questioning."
Under the hawk-like eyes of the old man (whom they haven't discovered the name of yet), Sirius and Remus gathered their belongings and Harry, and set off for the Ministry of Magic through a Muggle car that the old man drove. They reached London, to an enormous building right in the heart of the city. One might wonder what a building, holding such valuable secrets of the Magical world, was doing right in the center of a Muggle city. Well, the label on the building simply stated "Pipe Manufacturers", a building that Muggles would automatically avoid. But if, for any reason, a Muggle would wander into the Pipe Manufacturing Building, their thoughts would be altered and they'd find themselves bustling off to another building.
Following the old man, Sirius carrying the baby bag and Remus carrying Harry, they ventured into the vast hall of the Ministry of Magic. Walking through various corridors, they finally reached the wing of Magical Law Enforcement. The both of them were in awe at the powerful aura the whole place gave. Every corner you looked, there was always some sort of professional feeling radiating from it. The old man ordered Sirius and Remus to sit, and they sat obediently, hoping to avoid anymore trouble. Minutes passed, the clock ticking at the back of their minds, as excuses and explanations reeled within every part of their brain. Finally--
"Sirius Black and Remus Lupin, please go into this office to your right." They looked up and saw the secretary pointing to a door with a golden plaque, the words "Bartemius Crouch" engraved boldly upon it. Remus gulped hard, he heard of Bartemius Crouch…he was sometimes described as a restless maniac, never willing to give up on his hunt for wrong doers. The door swung open, and they were met with a curt man sitting behind his desk with his hands folded casually on it. The look in his eyes though, was nothing casual. All signs of madness, anger and rage swirled around it as his pupils darted back and forth between Sirius and Remus.
"Sit," he demanded, gesturing towards the black leather cushion chairs in front of his desk. Sirius and Remus stiffly settled themselves onto the chairs, both their hearts beating fast and quite painfully against their chest. "So…we have two criminals in our hands." He scrutinized them with his icy glare. Sirius and Remus recoiled in their seats. "It's really ironic how thoughtless you crooks are. The Ministry already has enough issues to deal with considering reports of missing people and murders all under the name Voldemort…but you crooks don't care. You want to make us Ministry workers lose sleep, dealing with mere acts of crime. Well, don't think I'm going to go easy on you! I have half a mind to turn you into Azkaban and order the same output those damn Death Eaters receive!"
Sirius and Remus were shocked speechless. This Crouch character was insane! Fortunately, they were interrupted from their thoughts from the door banging open by a middle-aged, bustling man. He carried a briefcase with him, but his air wasn't as professional and powerful as Crouch's. Crouch looked up, disturbed. He sighed. "Cornelius, what do you want?"
"I just came here to tell you that the Minister of Magical Concealment has found a solution to the problem without sentencing these men to…Azkaban, as you have so graciously offered," Cornelius said, dropping a hint of sarcasm at the end of his sentence. Crouch's pale face turned crimson in record time.
"What?!" he yelled, slamming his fist down on his desk. Sirius and Remus sunk further into the cushion of their chairs, and Cornelius flinched at the sudden outburst. "Damn it, Fudge! Why didn't you tell that blasted Minister of Magical Concealment to stay out of this? We here have things under control in the Law Enforcement wing!"
"Yes, we are clearly aware of that, Crouch, seeing as you have told us incessantly day after day," Cornelius answered coolly, his bustling aura gone. Instead, a sense of taking charge was there.
"That's Mr. Crouch to you, Fudge, and don't you forget it. I am a Minister, and a Minister deserves respect from the lower classed workers," Crouch said. If looks could kill, Cornelius would have been dead six times before he hit the ground. But since looks can't kill, Cornelius simply looked at him with distaste.
"Yes sir," he said, but Sirius swore he heard him mutter 'but you're not the Minister' under his breath. "But, I am here to fulfill my duty. And my duty is to bring these men under the custody of the Minister of Magical Concealment." Crouch looked like he was going to let another stream of interventions and insults come out, but Cornelius hastily continued. "We have permission from the Minister of Magic, sir, and that I dare say is enough to let you handle our own situations." A drastic moment of silence followed, but Crouch waved his hand impatiently.
"I have more important stuff to deal with anyway! Take them away, before I change my mind." Cornelius beckoned Sirius and Remus to follow him, and they did so eagerly. Anything to get away from the lunatic was welcome.
"Good way to handle Crouch, Mr. Fudge!" Sirius exclaimed, really impressed. Cornelius just nodded modestly.
"Thank you, he just throws empty threats. He'd never commit a crime if his life depended on it. It's all words. Anyway, I really just have to tell you that the Ministry will just pass on information to the Muggles and say that we captured you two. That way, they won't keep on chasing you…they'll just think you're safely stored away in a jail cell." Sirius and Remus sighed with relief. Thank God that was over! "The rest of the magical community will just be informed that it was all a mistake. It was only a few Muggles just fooling around. It was a lucky thing that the picture of you two wasn't high in quality. Anyhow, have a good day and stay out of trouble!" He strode off, leaving Sirius and Remus to high five each other in victory.
"Oh yes! We're not going to get murdered by Prongs and Lily!" Sirius sang. After getting Harry away from the secretary whom baby-sat him while they were in Crouch's office, the two of them left in high spirits.
Author's Note: Ah! The fic is almost finished, finally! Thanks for actually getting this far. Don't forget to review. Sorry about the delay in release, but FF.Net was down so I was unable to post this up. Also, a little hint of writer's block was with me…ahem. Anyway, stay tuned for the next chapter. Please leave your e-mail address if you would like to have personal updates on this story (if you have left it before, please leave it again, I lost all addresses. Sorry).
