CHAPTER 3 – DARK TIMES
Sirius went on with
Sheeba's narrative, "Sheeba and I started dating almost at the same time as
James and Lily did. We kissed for the first time exactly at the place where two
years ago I ran away from Hogwarts with Buckbeak. Remus didn't change at all; I
knew he was very fond of both Sheeba and Lily, however, Peter started feeling
excluded from our circle of friends in order of I being dating Sheeba, and
James being dating Lily. I and James tried to show him that nothing was changed,
but he always said he didn't trust on Sheeba, and he never allowed her to get
closer to him. We thought it came from his cowardice. At the end of our sixth
year at Hogwarts, Sheeba could finally get rid of those damned gloves, changing
them eventually for some special gloves which just allow good forebodings. When
she touched me…"
"Although Sirius was
part of my life," Sheeba went on, "what prevented me from having great
predictions about him, when I touched him without my gloves, I heard horrible
cries of pain and a terrible anguish. I saw him suffering for a great deal of
time, what made my heart get broken, afraid. I wasn't fainting when I had
strong predictions, as it happened before. However, I always saw a good thing:
Sirius would always be against Voldemort."
"At that time, the
Dark Times begun; many wizards started to get very frightened," she said,
"There were many death rumors that a little afterwards were confirmed. Lord
Voldemort was close to acquire the maximum power. And those who were afraid of
him even refused to say his name. Our group – except for Peter – didn't make
it. Albus Dumbledore was our mentor and we weren't afraid of Voldemort, as he
wasn't either. Our Graduation day at Hogwarts arrived. As my heart was beating
twice as fast as usual, I heard my name being called to the Futurology
Commission of the Ministry of Magic. I would finally work with my forebodings and make a good use of them: against
the Dark Forces. Sirius, Remus and James would be part of a Combat Order
against the Dark Wizards. Lily would be specialized in healing those wizards
who were hurt in the combats. Peter Pettigrew asked to work in a more distant
place, he said he wanted to engage himself in the combats far away from his
friends. Everybody believed in this, except me, who always had doubts about
him. However, I never had how to confirm anything. Severus Snape also
disappeared."
"Lily and James got
married a few days after our Graduation. I and Sirius wanted to do the same,
however, my work at the Commission was exhaustive as Sirius's at the Direct
Combat also was. My work was collecting the rests of duels and clues of those who had disappeared and then,
find out what exactly had happened and where should the Aurors go to find
wizards who committed any atrocity… I had a 100% index of rightness. At the end
of the day, I usually was really jaded. At this time, Sirius was way too far
from me, but we talked to each other everyday, and sometimes, he showed up on
his enormous motorcycle and went out with me. At these moments, we both wanted
to forget we were living in the Dark Times…"
"So then, Voldemort
turned his attention towards the Order which Sirius, James and Remus were part
of. Lily was pregnant and invited me and Sirius to be Harry's godparents. Your
christening day was the last time I saw your mum. It was a happy day among the
hard times we were living: I and Sirius got engaged then. I decided I would
take off my gloves and touch James and Lily to find out if they were in danger.
When I touched your dad, I saw he was in much more danger than even Sirius. I
told him that they needed to hide as soon as possible. So then, I touched Lily,
and I saw her dying for you, Harry. I knew then that I couldn't avoid her death
unless Sirius was their Secret-Keeper. He was the only and last chance, and for
me, it was quite clear. I made James and Lily promise they would use Sirius as
their Secret-Keeper. Then, I held you in my arms, Harry. I immediately saw a
sharp green light in the darkness and you crying. A moment later, more of this
green light and a cry of pain. I looked astonished at your innocent childish
face and said, to everybody's surprise 'This boy,' I told Lily, 'this boy is
the solution! He's going to save the world from Voldemort!'"
"It didn't occur me
that, for that purpose, the Fidelius Charm ought to be broken and your mother
would have to die," Sheeba went on, "I wasn't counting on a lost link in the
chain. Sirius walked be to home and again, I made him promise he would be the
Potters' Secret-Keeper. It's necessary six months to guarantee the Fidelius
Charm success. During this preparation, I assured that Sirius would be the
Secret-Keeper. I communicated with the couple and with Sirius everyday. One
day, at a normal labour day, I fell across the rests of a duel, in which one of
the participants had surrendered. It was Severus Snape. The other duelist was
doubtlessly Albus Dumbledore. I rode my broomstick to Hogwarts and I found
Dumbledore safe and sound. Then I asked what I already knew 'Why did you
forgive Snape, Headmaster?' I knew Voldemort had appointed Snape to kill
Dumbledore. Dumbledore headed me towards the Hospital Wing where Snape was
lying unconsciously, the Dark Mark glowing on his forearm. I touched it and I
forebode what I had seen years ago: the bitterness of sorrow. Severus Snape had
changed his convictions."
"I also saw Snape in
the future; helping our side, and then, teaching at Hogwarts… and picking on
you because of the anger he felt towards your dad. Dumbledore told me once,
'Sheeba, Severus used to think that he would be important just as he was the
hammer. Now, he'll discover the importance of being the anvil. While he is
among the Death Eaters as a Double Agent for our sake, he will be taking
beatings like an anvil, but he's effort is going to placate his heart.' I
didn't understand his words then, for I was way much worried about Sirius and
Potters' Fidelius Charm. I didn't talk to him for about two days. I needed to
come back before the charm was concluded, but something delayed me in almost a
week: Professor Viviane Lake was kidnapped in Hogsmeade. Voldemort wanted to
hear about his future, and as he wasn't glad with what he heard, he killed her
without mercy. I just found her when it was too late. I thought the next one
would be me."
"Then, it happened.
The Potters were killed and you know what happened next. The whole Commission
turned against me. They said I was wrong when I chose Sirius as the Potters'
Secret-Keeper. They said I let myself be covered because of the fact he was my
fiancé. Even though I had hit rock bottom, I decided I would make my last work:
examine the place where Sirius had been arrested. I needed to know the truth.
The first thing I saw was Peter Pettigrew's finger, and as soon as I touched
it, I knew. Sirius was innocent, the owner of that finger was
alive, and killed the thirteen Muggles around just to incriminate Sirius. As I
stated this, I was summarily fired and almost considered conniver. I was
forbidden to see Sirius, and it was Dumbledore who saved me from going to
Azkaban."
"He showed the
Commission a dossier saying that I was under much emotional commotion when I
examined that place, and that it may had confused the Touch of Prometheus.
Among other things, he said that Sirius had been taken by the Dementors in the
day that we would be getting married. When Dumbledore talked to me in private,
he told me that it would be impossible to prove that Wormtail was alive without
showing where he was. Dumbledore himself didn't believe Sirius was guilty, but
he didn't have how to prove if he was innocent or not. Sirius's behavior seemed
just to be showing he was really guilty. After all, I never knew that Wormtail
turned into a rat. Voldemort took upon himself to cast a charm at Pettigrew, a
Confusion Charm. And any prediction I would make about him would be as
incoherent as if made by a Cassandra."
"Dumbledore made me
admit I could have been wrong. It would be my first mistake in years, exactly
about the man I loved. The Ministry of Magic didn't want me anymore. So, I
asked Dumbledore to help me, I was willing to go away from everything and
everybody. It may seem strange, but Dumbledore hide me among the Muggles. I was
going to work secretly for the police by the means of the policeman who had
been my neighbor, as a paranormal examiner. I was considered eccentric by my
Muggle colleagues: I used the phone very little, I had an owl in my office,
pictures of a man , who nobody ever ventured to ask who he was, on my desk, in
short, a madwoman who helped the solution of more complex cases. I went on with
my 100% index of rightness between the Muggles, plus I had the advantage of
dealing with much less careful criminals than wizards were. During this time,
Harry, I accompanied you from far away. I had to struggle so then I wouldn't turn
that awful family into an onion plantation…"
"I'd been among
Muggles for ten years when I got a letter from Dumbledore: the Ministry's
secret police needed somebody like me: although many people hated me, there was
nobody else able to take the job," she said, "The last available Cassandra died
of age, and nobody trusted on charlatans like Sybil Trelawney. I was hired with
the best salary and big boss status. During all those years, I've been looking
for Wormtail without succeeding. I couldn't ever have known that he would spend
12 years transformed. I can barely stand being a single day as a tiger…"
"To know how Sirius
was doing," she went on, "I used to make use of a resource: I touched his
personal objects – mainly his engagement ring - that were with me. I knew that
in his minds, he could only think of his being innocent. I cried in relief
every time I saw that Sirius kept his mental sanity even though he was
surrounded by Dementors. One night, I woke up with my heart beating twice as
fast as usual: I knew Sirius had escaped from Azkaban. I've passed over a year
awaiting for him to look for me when I received a letter from Dumbledore in
which he apologized for distrusting my foreboding. He told me he had talked to
Sirius, who said that he didn't want to see me. Sirius was hurt because of me,
after everything I had done. Dumbledore also told me, in the letter, everything
I didn't know about Wormtail. My prudence made me wait more. When the evidences
of Voldemort's been arising again were quite visible for me, I started looking
for hints about Wormtail, this time knowing more things about him, and passed
them to Dumbledore. When I was transferred to here, I've just been waiting for
the right moment to meet you, Padfoot."
"I've never gotten
closer to you, Harry, because I didn't want to cause you trouble. The last
thing a boy like you need is trouble for having a godmother who is looked-upon
dislike by the Magical World; having a renegade godfather seemed awful enough.
I reconsolidated prestige as a witch, and now, I know my reputation won't do
you any harm. Almost fifteen years ago, when I touched you, I knew I wouldn't
have the right to interfere in the bad things you would be through, because
they would make you stronger, as my being sorted into Ravenclaw made me
stronger too."
Sirius looked
seriously at Sheeba when he said, "Now that you explained everything to our
godson, give me my engagement ring back."
"First of all, you
need to stop using lent wands. I won't be engaged again with a wizard who
doesn't have even his own wand to use…" she took off carefully a long and light
wand from her robes, "Let's see… oak and unicorn hair, sixteen and a half
inches," Sheeba mimicked mockingly Mr. Olivander, the wand maker.
Sirius, whose jaw had
just dropped, asked, "So it's been with you for all the time?"
"Yep, and so is your
motorcycle, that is in the garage," she laughed, "but you have to promise me
you'll just use it after you clear your name."
Sirius seemed to
agree, but he had a look on his face that told Harry that he was not going to
keep this promise.