Chapter Thirteen: Capture

Summary: Thirteenth chapter. Thirty-six to go. That about sums it up.

Harry didn't stop to think what to do. Turning about he bolted back up the steppes and grabbed the door handle. But the door had been locked.

Harry reached into his pocket and pulled out his wand.

"Aloha mora!" He shouted at the lock.

He barely managed to yank the door open and dive back into the shop as he felt his shirt slipping free of grabbing hands. He darted between the cases as quickly as he could, praying the front door of the shop hadn't been locked as well.

Harry fell against the glass door and landed out in the narrow alleyway. Apparently the Deatheaters hadn't expected him to escape their ambush attempt.

Struggling back to his feet, Harry started to run, screaming Sirius' and Arabella's names as he went, never daring to look back.

Out on the street, a happy Snuffles thumped his tail as Arabella finally came out of the shop. He watched her cross the street, looking eagerly up at her as she stopped in front of him. The heat was building and he was more than ready to get rid of the heavy fur.

"Now that wasn't so long, was it?" Arabella asked, scratching Snuffles on his head.

Snuffles barked once, then whined softly.

Arabella stood back up and looked about, then turned quickly back to Snuffles. "Snuffles?" She questioned, a small note of panic in her voice suddenly. "Where's Harry?"

The dog looked about apprehensively, then turned quickly back to Arabella.

"Snuffles?" Arabella repeated. "Where is he?"

The dog looked about quickly, obviously having no answer to her question.

Arabella grabbed the dog by the scruff of the neck hard enough to invoke a soft whine. "You were suppose to be watching him! You were suppose to be taking care of him! What in Merlin's Beard were you thinking about?"

Arabella was barely keeping her composure. Trying to stay calm and think and not attract attention, she looked frantically up and down the street for any sign of her godson. But there were so many people. So many tall, thin people with black hair. How were they ever going to find him?

Arabella trying frantically to think of what to do when Snuffles suddenly lifted his head in the direction Harry had left in. In a second he was off, running down the street towards the alleyway.

Arabella turned just as the dog took off running. "Snuffles!" She had the presence of mind to call out. Unsure of what had alerted him, she took off after him. By the time they reached the alleyway Arabella could hear what Sirius' sharp canine ears had picked up through the blur of voices and sounds out on the street. The paniced cries of her godson.

"Harry!" Arabella cried. Pulling out her wand she ran towards the sound with the large black dog in front of her. Half way down the alleyway Arabella caught sight of Harry. Behind him a small group of black-hooded figures with masks slowed their pursuit slightly at the sight of the figures heading towards them.

The large black dog positioned himself between the two factions, standing his ground as Harry ran past him and straight to the protective arms of his godmother.

"What's the matter with you?" A small, squeaky voice piped up. "Are you honestly afraid of a woman and her dog?

At the sound of the voice Snuffles ears perked up. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. Instantly the form of the dog vanished just as the owner of the voice pushed his way through the Deatheaters.

"Perhaps you'd like to show them how it's done, Peter?"

Pettigrew turned about abruptly. "Sirius!" He stated, the shrill, high squeak in his voice quite audible.

Behind Sirius, Arabella tightened her hold slightly on Harry as she stared in disbelief at the small, slightly portly figure standing in front of the Deatheaters.

"Peter Pettigrew." She whispered.

But Arabella didn't have long to ponder the sudden resurrection of the supposedly murdered Pettigrew. Sirius had already raised his wand. Arabella quickly grabbed Harry and dragged him toward the opening to the street.

Not long after Sirius had joined them, he and Arabella had laid out a plan of defense for any situation where Harry might be in danger. Sirius' part was to stand and fight. Arabella's part was to get Harry to safety as quickly as she could. The problem was, no one had explained the plan to Harry.

A sharp pull on her arm brought Arabella to a sudden halt.

"Arabella!" Harry protested. "We can't leave Sirius back there alone."

"Sirius will be fine," Arabella insisted, tugging on Harry's arm more insistently. "He's a fully qualified Auror. We know how to handle ourselves in a fight."

"Against almost a dozen other wizards?" Harry protested harder, still fighting Arabella's lead.

Arabella turned abruptly to her godson, taking him by the arms. "Listen to me, Harry," She stated firmly, fixing a hard stare on him, "why do you think the ministry was so willing to believe your godfather killed thirteen people all those years ago? Because he very well could have. Not because that was the kind of man he was. Because that's the kind of power he yielded. Believe me, he can handle this."

Harry tried to protest further, but quickly found himself back out on the main street. Turning around, a flash of light streaked past him from the alleyway. Fortunately Arabella managed to pull him to the side just in time. Unfortunately the fight going on in the alleyway was by no means escaping the attention of the crowded street. Suddenly people had begun to scream and run in every direction. Arabella kept a firm hold on Harry's arm as she pressed them both back against the wall of a building. In what seemed like only a matter of seconds there were suddenly a dozen or more small popping noises heard among those struggling to get to safety as ministry wizards appeared.

Shoving their way through the scrambling people, they headed straight for the alleyway.

Back in the alleyway Sirius was indeed holding his own quite well. Several of the Deatheaters already lay stunned on the pavement as the others were running for cover while trying to protect themselves. It was Pettigrew who first saw the ministry wizards coming down the alleyway.

"Masks!" Pettigrew yelled at the remaining Deatheaters. "Take the others and head for the street. Disapparate as soon as you can. Move!"

Almost at once the remaining Deatheaters stripped off their masks and grabbed their fallen comrades and headed for the street with Pettigrew bringing up the rear.

Coming down the alleyway the ministry wizards suddenly found themselves assaulted by a small group of people frantically scrambling for the entrance. As they tried to stop them, a small man came running up to them waving his arms frantically.

"Sirius Black! Sirius Black!" He squeaked in terror, pointing down the alleyway. "He's back there. He attacked us. Hurry!"

The ministry wizards ran past the small, frightened man and headed down the alleyway with their wands out. Standing for a moment at the mouth of the alleyway, Pettigrew caught sight of Arabella as she stood trying to keep herself and Harry from being trampled by the frantic crowd. Pettigrew gave her a small, triumphant smile as she looked up and saw him standing there. Then, suddenly, he disappeared.

Arabella stood stunned as she watched the commotion. What had happened? What was Pettigrew looking so pleased about? And where was Sirius?

But in one horrified moment all her questions were answered. Catching sight of movement coming out of the alleyway, Arabella watched in utter, stunned silence as a group of ministry wizards led a bond, defeated looking Sirius Black out of the alleyway.

"Oh no!" She cried. "Sirius!"