Chapter 26 Cursed Blessing

"Spent the morning with the Slytherins, Mur?" Remus asked tersely as she sat down. She pulled her wand out of her pocket and set it on the table beside her, knowing that it was a petty and thinly veiled threat. Then she ignored him.

"How are you feeling?" she asked Sirius, praying that Remus hadn't already told him something.

"Fine." He sounded depressed, and she reminded herself that he ought to, since she'd made him forget the day that had cheered him up. He'd looked back down at his food, but Remus was still staring at her angrily, so she decided to answer his question instead.

"I spent the morning at Gringotts. I'd hoped to get there before Papa officially disowned me, but I didn't make it in time." She forced a wry grin on her face as Remus began to look uncomfortable. It's difficult to be angry with someone when you think they haven't a knut to their name.

Sirius looked up ruefully. "I've been thinking about that all day. I was – er – I mean, when my mother disowned me, she took my vault key, but I thought we'd be alright as long as you – "

He didn't finish, and he didn't need to. Muriel knew exactly where he was headed with that thought. She would have been thinking the same thing. Unfortunately the goblins had confiscated her key as well. She grabbed a piece of bread and buttered it thoughtfully as the boys sat, silent.

"How the bloody hell are we going to live?" Sirius whispered finally. "There has never been a Mrs. Black who had to work for a living, and I'll be DAMNED IF – "his voice was rising dangerously, but at a sharp look from Mur, he shut his mouth. There were still a few Slytherins in the great hall who would enjoy carrying this tale back to his mother.

She pulled an envelope out of her pocket, as he gulped down a glass of water and set it down heavily on the table. "I think we're going to live quite well, actually. Besides, you know I'm going into auror training as soon as we leave here."

He ignored that last comment as he reached distrustfully for the letter. She'd said she hadn't made it to the bank in time to arrange anything. And yes, he remembered that she wanted to be an auror, but working because you wanted to and working because you had to were two different things entirely, in his mind.

All thought on that front ceased, however, as he unfolded the parchment and began to read.

Dear Miss Deesia,

We are writing to inform you that a vault was opened in your name at Gringotts, London yesterday. Below you will find pertinent information regarding your funds. You should also find two keys enclosed. We were given to understand that the account will be shared with Mr. Sirius Black and made a joint account when your wedding takes place.

We at Gringotts wish you well, and hope we can continue to serve you.

Sincerely,

Snalkmoth
Head Goblin

Deposit 8:12 AM 3,000,000 galleons, 4,682 sickles

Deposit 8:19 AM 652,000 galleons, 2,198 sickles

Total on account: 3,652,000 galleons, 6,880 sickles
"Sweet Merlin," he whispered. "That's enough to live on all our lives. Where'd it come from?" Sirius reread the letter, hardly daring to believe its contents. Remus, reading over his friend's shoulder, didn't look quite so angry with Mur anymore, though he seemed decidedly uncomfortable as he shifted in his seat.

"Our parents' vaults, I would say. It's probably less than a quarter what your actual inheritance would have been, but I think Regalus has been exceedingly generous." His eyes snapped up from the paper to meet hers, disbelief etched all over his face.

"My brother has no spine, Mur," he said, shaking his head. "There's no way he'd dare to defy my parents and do something like this."

"Well, Papa doesn't even have 3 million galleons in our account, so I can only imagine it came from yours. And Regalus may not have thought of it himself, but with the right person pushing him, I think you'll find he has enough spine to stand up to your parents."

"But wouldn't your father have given himself away by opening this account? I mean, Malfoy is still on the governing board at the bank. Surely he'd be watching for something like this."

Muriel stayed silent for a moment. She'd hoped not to have to go into who exactly had suggested this to Regalus. She was pretty sure that Sirius wasn't going to take the news well.

"You're right," she admitted finally. "Papa couldn't have done it. But there is one other person who has a key to the Deesia family vault."

Remus figured it out first and his mouth dropped open. Almost without thinking, he put a silencing charm on his friend, keeping his wand under the table. It occurred to him that Muriel was starting to rub off on him, but he resisted the urge to smirk at that thought as Sirius stood abruptly and threw the paper onto the table.

Muriel closed her eyes as he opened his mouth to say something she imagined would be nothing short of offensive. An instant later, Sirius realized that Remus must have hexed him. He picked up his empty water glass and shattered it on the floor before stomping out of the great hall, his loud footsteps making up for the failure of his voice.

Thankfully Regalus and Macnair had left beforehand. She would hate to think that Regalus believed Sirius wasn't grateful. He WAS grateful to his brother. But he was not capable of being grateful to Severus. Muriel had expected that it would be that way, and she wasn't disappointed.

"Thanks, Moony," she whispered, refolding the letter and putting Sirius' key in her pocket with her own. She caught his eye, only to find that some of his anger had been rekindled.

"I think that earned me some answers, Mur," he said quietly. She nodded.

"Up for a walk?" They ended up behind the greenhouses, a place that Muriel had come to associate with forgiveness, and Merlin knew she felt the need for that now.

"Have you ever made a choice because it was the only choice you COULD make, even though you knew it was wrong?" she asked finally, breaking the silence. She sat against the glass wall, staring into the woods.

"No. But I've watched you do it more times than I can count." Remus answered dryly, throwing himself onto the grass with a dull thump. Hadn't her use of the Cruciatus curse on Severus in their 6th year been the same thing?

She laughed humorlessly at this. "I can't tell you what I erased from his memory, Remus, it would defeat the purpose. Just know that I did what I thought was best."

"Best for Sirius or best for you?" he asked wisely. She didn't answer, so he added another option. "Or best for Severus?" It wouldn't have mattered what tone of voice he'd used. Even the most gentle voice in the world would have made that sound like an accusation.

She jumped up with her wand in her hand before he could react. "I ought to throw you in the nearest patch of devil's snare!" she exclaimed angrily. Remus only looked up at her mildly until she sat back down, the flush leaving her face slowly. She'd never seen devil's snare in the forbidden forest anyway.

"I saw you crying," he said finally. This was never a good thing to admit to Muriel, but for once it had bearing on the topic. "Whatever it was must have hurt you as much as him." His shoulders tensed even as she relaxed. "I guess I'll just have to trust you," he finished. He knew that if he pushed it, he'd be getting a memory charm as well. She nodded.

"Let's go find him, Remus. I don't want him to hurt himself."

Remus was inclined to think that Sirius was a lot more likely to hurt Severus than himself. He had never shared the arrogant outlook that seemed second nature to Sirius and James, but he understood it very well, having lived with them for the better part of seven years. And accepting that Severus had managed to provide for both Sirius and Muriel was NOT going to come easily to Sirius Black, no matter whose money it had originally been.