It was a cold morning, the kind that awakens you instantly and sends your
breath outward in a puff of crystallized air.
Inside the Three Broomsticks, Sirius Black sat at the bar, absentmindedly clutching a butterbeer. The pub was bare for the most part, a wizard here and there, and a witch robed head to toe in her cloak sat in the far corner.
Sirius sighed softly, and stared into the golden liquid in front of him as he ran a slim hand through his unkempt hair. So much had changed. and so fast.
A small bell tinkled in the depths of the pub, and a man stepped through the door. His maroon cloak swept past his feet, and the billowing hood completely swamped his features. The man reached up and removed the said hood, exposing a worried face that scanned the room with equally worried hazel eyes.
James Potter's eyes roved until they landed on Sirius, and he quickly, yet nonchalantly, moved to his side.
"You had us all terribly worried, even Dumbledore!" He whispered frantically, sliding onto a stool.
Sirius didn't respond, and watched as Madame Rosemerta carelessly took his two sickles.
"Sirius! Listen to me!" James face was tired, and there were small, yet prominent bags under his eyes.
"Listen, you need to get out of here. The Death Eaters are everywhere, and thanks to your brother they know you're a part of the Order. You don't even have a hood on to cover your face, and you don't know who could be watching!"
Sirius looked up.
"Voldemort's out there, Sirius." James hissed.
The witch in the corner shifted uncomfortably.
James stood up, and gestured towards the door. The pair stood, and together they walked outside into the crisp winter air. Sirius shivered in his thin robes, and turned his head to see the hooded witch following at a distance. He raised an eyebrow to James, who slightly shook his head in reply.
Sirius followed James down a side alley, where a dying willow tree was situated tightly between two buildings.
"Sit."
Sirius stubbornly sat at the base of the willow, crossing his arms. He was just considering saying something to James when the witch suddenly apparated in front of James, who immediately drew his wand.
"Relax, Potter" Came the cool voice of Lily as she lowered her hood. Even though Sirius had known her for years, she still took his breath away with every time he saw her.
She smiled up at James as he took her hand in his. Sirius cleared his throat.
"Oh, yes." Lily said, looking up. "You weren't followed."
Sirius rolled his eyes. "So how long have you been tracking me?"
Lily raised an eyebrow.
"Well, you are not exactly an easy person to track, Mr. Black. It took me two days to find you, then another to contact the Order."
Sirius scowled.
"Speaking of which," James began, an odd gleam in his eye. "Your mother has contacted the Order, she-"
"Cursed you to oblivion and threatened to kill everyone, didn't she?" Sirius interrupted.
James shot him an angry look.
"Actually Sirius, she-"
But what she was, Sirius never found out. For at that moment, Lily began to stumble, and James was just in time to catch her as she crumpled. He looked into her eyes.
"Death Eaters. run." She mumbled, and went limp.
James immediately grabbed Sirius, yelled, "Apparate, now!", and a second later they had disapparated together. Sirius rubbed his eyes at the bright sun and cheery sky that now greeted him, which contrasted harshly with the bitter cold he was just in.
"Where are we?" He questioned.
"Somewhere south of Paris. We didn't have anywhere safe enough to go in England for headquarters."
"France? But." Sirius furrowed his brow. "But isn't this area known highly for its werewolf packs.?"
James regarded him levelly.
"We're using Remus' familys' old place for headquarters."
"Oh."
Sirius looked down, and kicked over a small stone.
"But how did you transport the three of us all the way to France?!?! You couldn't have simply apparated."
James replied irritated, trying to count the stones on the road and support Lily at the same time.
"Of course we didn't apparate, we used a portkey."
Sirius looked confused.
"A port."
"Ssh! 27.28..ah! 29!"
James picked up the said rock and held it out to Sirius.
"My hands are a bit full. Just tap it once and say 'Sugar quill.'"
Sirius didn't question, but merely did as he was told. Seconds later, the rock began to grow. It grew, and changed. When it was finished, Sirius could only stare.
"It's a box..." He said dubiously, eyeing the small cube in front of him.
"Cardboard, actually." James responded brightly. "Come on."
Sirius followed as James crawled down to the box and opened the flaps.
"Here, support Lily while I go in first."
Sirius continued to watch skeptically as James crawled as far into the box as he could go, which was to about his shoulders. And then kept going.
"Wha.hey!"
Sirius jumped as Lily regained consciousness.
"Where are we? Did we make it? What happened?"
Sirius could only nod.
"Oh, come on."
Lily crawled into in the box, and then gestured for Sirius to follow after her. Sirius did follow, meekly. Lily rummaged in her cloak for her wand.
"Lily, why did you faint back in Hogsmeade?"
"I didn't faint." She responded stubbornly. She rapped at the back wall of the box with her wand, and smiled coyly, eyeing Sirius.
"I solemly swear I am up to no good."
Despite himself, Sirius grinned at the phrase that had been coined back at Hogwarts.
Sirius was startled when James opened the flap of cardboard from the other side like a door.
"Ah, Lily! Good to see you've come around."
Lily flashed him a slight scowl.
"Come on in."
Lily crawled through first, and next came Sirius, his tall frame barely fitting between the narrow space. As soon as he made it through, he felt three pairs of hands help him up. Remus, James, and Peter were all smiling down at him. Sirius saw that he was now in a cozy little cabin, nicely decorated and full of welcome, small and cramped as it was.
"Well, Padfoot, it's about time!"
"Yes, we were all so worried!"
"Here, try one of Remus' pastries, they're delicious!"
Sirius bit his lip and thanked then all heartily, allowing himself to grab one of the honey-encrusted scones.
"We were starting to wonder whether Regulus had gotten to you first!"
Sirius grinned, but on the inside he seethed at the reference to his brother. Regulus! That slimy, turncoat disaster of a wizard! That hated, that foul-"
He continued to rant in his mind, totally oblivious to the world around him.
*************************************************
"Worthless! I tell you, that man is utterly worthless!"
Voldemort hissed at the sprawled figure in front of him.
"You don't dare to call my plans worthless, do you?"
His red eyes were narrowed to slits.
"No master, no! It is just. how could that pet of Dumbledore's be worth our trouble? We've been searching for Sirius Black for days." Days! And we---"
"Stop your pathetic whining." Voldemort cut in.
"Besides, I can see that his is back among the Order now. You were too slow." The man cringed, bracing himself for the curse that would punish him. It never came. He chanced a glance up, and saw his master engrossed in thought.
"How are the plans coming along for the raid? Is everything ready?"
The man started, but quickly recovered.
"Yes, my lord, it is as you have planned."
"Good. But one thing." Voldemort's eyes gleamed. "Add Regulus to the raid." The man nodded, not being one to question the will of the dark one.
"It shall be as you wish."
A swish of a cloak and a few muttered words later, the man was gone. Alone, Voldemort rapped his long, thin fingers against the wood of his chair.
""Blood versus blood, so-called 'good' versus so-called 'evil'. Who will win Dumbledore?" His voice shrank to a deadly whisper.
"Who will win?"
********************
"Sirius! I need to speak with you."
Sirius nodded curtly, inwardly dreading the conversation that was to follow. Dumbledore's blue eyes were twinkling as always, but their gleam was shrouded by worry and...fear?
"Come here, please." He gestured to the pantry.
Sirius eyed him, but said nothing. Once inside he plopped down on a crate of butterbeer. Dumbledore remained standing.
"As you may, or may not be aware of, Sirius, you were being hunted during your absence."
Sirius merely scowled.
"I know, they said they'd been tracking me for days while I was out there..."
"No Sirius. Not Lily and James."
Sirius looked up.
"A band of Death Eaters had been searching for you even since you ran off so unexpectedly."
Sirius stared at the floor, a vain attempt at ignoring the guilt that welled up inside of him.
"They were on orders to capture you; I assume Voldemort saw you weren't among us. But, they nearly succeeded. However, you are fortune Lily was able to sense them in time while you were in the alley, or not only would they have captured you, Sirius, but James and Lily as well."
Sirius was about to open his mouth to reply when the pantry door opened.
"Oh! Sirius, Dumbledore! I didn't realize anyone was, er, in here."
Lily bit her lip and looked up at James, who was staring at the two in confusion.
"Come and join us you two, I'm just explaining some things to Sirius."
Lily and James both scuttled quickly into the room, like a pair of naughty school children who were about to be punished. "I believe Sirius was just about to ask how Lily could have sensed the Death Eaters, and why she fainted."
Sirius abruptly lowered his finger and closed his mouth in surprise. Lily, however, put on a sour face.
"I didn't faint."
Dumbledore regarded her lightly through his half-moon spectacles. She blushed.
"What we're beginning to find out, Sirius, is that evil can be sensed on many different levels. There's beginning also to be a pattern with the families who are surviving Death Eater attacks. Every single one that has survived did so, because they apparated and fled mere seconds before the Death Eaters arrived. Upon talking to the families themselves, the wives or mothers all claimed to have felt an overwhelming stifling feeling. They said their bodies went numb with cold, and the sensations were so much to bear that their emotional capacities couldn't handle it."
"But sir, how does this tie in with Lily?"
"Patience, Sirius. As I was saying, the women all were able to sense the approaching evil, and in due time warn their families. I researched, and they all had one thing in common. They were all carrying something, something which made them sensitive to evil. Something that was so pure, so innocent, that nothing with even a smidge of darkness could penetrate it."
Sirius raised an eyebrow.
"And that would be..?"
"They were, all of them, pregnant."
Sirius stopped, his mouth a wide O. He turned to Lily, who was grinning sheepishly and turning the color of a beet.
"You....you...you're...I..him..you..pregnant??"
James recovered first.
"It has been three months now we've been married, Sirius. Don't act so shocked."
"But..you..ah.." "Will you be his godfather?" Lily blurted out.
James looked at her, surprised. Then he turned.
"Yes, would you?"
Sirius looked dumbstruck.
"Ye-yes. Of course. But, how do you know it's a he?"
Lily smiled.
"A mother just knows these things.."
Her hand drifted slightly towards her midriff.
"Yes, well, I'm sure young able-bodied men and woman would much rather be doing other things than holding conference with a dusty old man in a pantry."
Every laughed.
"But, before you go, a serious word."
Everyone paused.
"Our spies tell ys that a raid is planned tomorrow night. The Death Eaters plan to murder the Prewett brothers. We have warned them, and they've decided to stay and fight rather than flee."
Dumbledore smiled sadly.
"They have always been brave."
He gazed at those assembled before him.
"But I'm afraid," he began slowly, as if regretting each word, "that not all circumstances call for bravery."
"I need you to forcefully take the Prewett brothers and bring them here. Their knowledge and skill is irreplaceable, and we are so few. You must bring them back here, at all costs, but that does not include your lives. You have to move quickly, now, and reach them before the Death Eaters do. I'm counting on you." (TBC)
Inside the Three Broomsticks, Sirius Black sat at the bar, absentmindedly clutching a butterbeer. The pub was bare for the most part, a wizard here and there, and a witch robed head to toe in her cloak sat in the far corner.
Sirius sighed softly, and stared into the golden liquid in front of him as he ran a slim hand through his unkempt hair. So much had changed. and so fast.
A small bell tinkled in the depths of the pub, and a man stepped through the door. His maroon cloak swept past his feet, and the billowing hood completely swamped his features. The man reached up and removed the said hood, exposing a worried face that scanned the room with equally worried hazel eyes.
James Potter's eyes roved until they landed on Sirius, and he quickly, yet nonchalantly, moved to his side.
"You had us all terribly worried, even Dumbledore!" He whispered frantically, sliding onto a stool.
Sirius didn't respond, and watched as Madame Rosemerta carelessly took his two sickles.
"Sirius! Listen to me!" James face was tired, and there were small, yet prominent bags under his eyes.
"Listen, you need to get out of here. The Death Eaters are everywhere, and thanks to your brother they know you're a part of the Order. You don't even have a hood on to cover your face, and you don't know who could be watching!"
Sirius looked up.
"Voldemort's out there, Sirius." James hissed.
The witch in the corner shifted uncomfortably.
James stood up, and gestured towards the door. The pair stood, and together they walked outside into the crisp winter air. Sirius shivered in his thin robes, and turned his head to see the hooded witch following at a distance. He raised an eyebrow to James, who slightly shook his head in reply.
Sirius followed James down a side alley, where a dying willow tree was situated tightly between two buildings.
"Sit."
Sirius stubbornly sat at the base of the willow, crossing his arms. He was just considering saying something to James when the witch suddenly apparated in front of James, who immediately drew his wand.
"Relax, Potter" Came the cool voice of Lily as she lowered her hood. Even though Sirius had known her for years, she still took his breath away with every time he saw her.
She smiled up at James as he took her hand in his. Sirius cleared his throat.
"Oh, yes." Lily said, looking up. "You weren't followed."
Sirius rolled his eyes. "So how long have you been tracking me?"
Lily raised an eyebrow.
"Well, you are not exactly an easy person to track, Mr. Black. It took me two days to find you, then another to contact the Order."
Sirius scowled.
"Speaking of which," James began, an odd gleam in his eye. "Your mother has contacted the Order, she-"
"Cursed you to oblivion and threatened to kill everyone, didn't she?" Sirius interrupted.
James shot him an angry look.
"Actually Sirius, she-"
But what she was, Sirius never found out. For at that moment, Lily began to stumble, and James was just in time to catch her as she crumpled. He looked into her eyes.
"Death Eaters. run." She mumbled, and went limp.
James immediately grabbed Sirius, yelled, "Apparate, now!", and a second later they had disapparated together. Sirius rubbed his eyes at the bright sun and cheery sky that now greeted him, which contrasted harshly with the bitter cold he was just in.
"Where are we?" He questioned.
"Somewhere south of Paris. We didn't have anywhere safe enough to go in England for headquarters."
"France? But." Sirius furrowed his brow. "But isn't this area known highly for its werewolf packs.?"
James regarded him levelly.
"We're using Remus' familys' old place for headquarters."
"Oh."
Sirius looked down, and kicked over a small stone.
"But how did you transport the three of us all the way to France?!?! You couldn't have simply apparated."
James replied irritated, trying to count the stones on the road and support Lily at the same time.
"Of course we didn't apparate, we used a portkey."
Sirius looked confused.
"A port."
"Ssh! 27.28..ah! 29!"
James picked up the said rock and held it out to Sirius.
"My hands are a bit full. Just tap it once and say 'Sugar quill.'"
Sirius didn't question, but merely did as he was told. Seconds later, the rock began to grow. It grew, and changed. When it was finished, Sirius could only stare.
"It's a box..." He said dubiously, eyeing the small cube in front of him.
"Cardboard, actually." James responded brightly. "Come on."
Sirius followed as James crawled down to the box and opened the flaps.
"Here, support Lily while I go in first."
Sirius continued to watch skeptically as James crawled as far into the box as he could go, which was to about his shoulders. And then kept going.
"Wha.hey!"
Sirius jumped as Lily regained consciousness.
"Where are we? Did we make it? What happened?"
Sirius could only nod.
"Oh, come on."
Lily crawled into in the box, and then gestured for Sirius to follow after her. Sirius did follow, meekly. Lily rummaged in her cloak for her wand.
"Lily, why did you faint back in Hogsmeade?"
"I didn't faint." She responded stubbornly. She rapped at the back wall of the box with her wand, and smiled coyly, eyeing Sirius.
"I solemly swear I am up to no good."
Despite himself, Sirius grinned at the phrase that had been coined back at Hogwarts.
Sirius was startled when James opened the flap of cardboard from the other side like a door.
"Ah, Lily! Good to see you've come around."
Lily flashed him a slight scowl.
"Come on in."
Lily crawled through first, and next came Sirius, his tall frame barely fitting between the narrow space. As soon as he made it through, he felt three pairs of hands help him up. Remus, James, and Peter were all smiling down at him. Sirius saw that he was now in a cozy little cabin, nicely decorated and full of welcome, small and cramped as it was.
"Well, Padfoot, it's about time!"
"Yes, we were all so worried!"
"Here, try one of Remus' pastries, they're delicious!"
Sirius bit his lip and thanked then all heartily, allowing himself to grab one of the honey-encrusted scones.
"We were starting to wonder whether Regulus had gotten to you first!"
Sirius grinned, but on the inside he seethed at the reference to his brother. Regulus! That slimy, turncoat disaster of a wizard! That hated, that foul-"
He continued to rant in his mind, totally oblivious to the world around him.
*************************************************
"Worthless! I tell you, that man is utterly worthless!"
Voldemort hissed at the sprawled figure in front of him.
"You don't dare to call my plans worthless, do you?"
His red eyes were narrowed to slits.
"No master, no! It is just. how could that pet of Dumbledore's be worth our trouble? We've been searching for Sirius Black for days." Days! And we---"
"Stop your pathetic whining." Voldemort cut in.
"Besides, I can see that his is back among the Order now. You were too slow." The man cringed, bracing himself for the curse that would punish him. It never came. He chanced a glance up, and saw his master engrossed in thought.
"How are the plans coming along for the raid? Is everything ready?"
The man started, but quickly recovered.
"Yes, my lord, it is as you have planned."
"Good. But one thing." Voldemort's eyes gleamed. "Add Regulus to the raid." The man nodded, not being one to question the will of the dark one.
"It shall be as you wish."
A swish of a cloak and a few muttered words later, the man was gone. Alone, Voldemort rapped his long, thin fingers against the wood of his chair.
""Blood versus blood, so-called 'good' versus so-called 'evil'. Who will win Dumbledore?" His voice shrank to a deadly whisper.
"Who will win?"
********************
"Sirius! I need to speak with you."
Sirius nodded curtly, inwardly dreading the conversation that was to follow. Dumbledore's blue eyes were twinkling as always, but their gleam was shrouded by worry and...fear?
"Come here, please." He gestured to the pantry.
Sirius eyed him, but said nothing. Once inside he plopped down on a crate of butterbeer. Dumbledore remained standing.
"As you may, or may not be aware of, Sirius, you were being hunted during your absence."
Sirius merely scowled.
"I know, they said they'd been tracking me for days while I was out there..."
"No Sirius. Not Lily and James."
Sirius looked up.
"A band of Death Eaters had been searching for you even since you ran off so unexpectedly."
Sirius stared at the floor, a vain attempt at ignoring the guilt that welled up inside of him.
"They were on orders to capture you; I assume Voldemort saw you weren't among us. But, they nearly succeeded. However, you are fortune Lily was able to sense them in time while you were in the alley, or not only would they have captured you, Sirius, but James and Lily as well."
Sirius was about to open his mouth to reply when the pantry door opened.
"Oh! Sirius, Dumbledore! I didn't realize anyone was, er, in here."
Lily bit her lip and looked up at James, who was staring at the two in confusion.
"Come and join us you two, I'm just explaining some things to Sirius."
Lily and James both scuttled quickly into the room, like a pair of naughty school children who were about to be punished. "I believe Sirius was just about to ask how Lily could have sensed the Death Eaters, and why she fainted."
Sirius abruptly lowered his finger and closed his mouth in surprise. Lily, however, put on a sour face.
"I didn't faint."
Dumbledore regarded her lightly through his half-moon spectacles. She blushed.
"What we're beginning to find out, Sirius, is that evil can be sensed on many different levels. There's beginning also to be a pattern with the families who are surviving Death Eater attacks. Every single one that has survived did so, because they apparated and fled mere seconds before the Death Eaters arrived. Upon talking to the families themselves, the wives or mothers all claimed to have felt an overwhelming stifling feeling. They said their bodies went numb with cold, and the sensations were so much to bear that their emotional capacities couldn't handle it."
"But sir, how does this tie in with Lily?"
"Patience, Sirius. As I was saying, the women all were able to sense the approaching evil, and in due time warn their families. I researched, and they all had one thing in common. They were all carrying something, something which made them sensitive to evil. Something that was so pure, so innocent, that nothing with even a smidge of darkness could penetrate it."
Sirius raised an eyebrow.
"And that would be..?"
"They were, all of them, pregnant."
Sirius stopped, his mouth a wide O. He turned to Lily, who was grinning sheepishly and turning the color of a beet.
"You....you...you're...I..him..you..pregnant??"
James recovered first.
"It has been three months now we've been married, Sirius. Don't act so shocked."
"But..you..ah.." "Will you be his godfather?" Lily blurted out.
James looked at her, surprised. Then he turned.
"Yes, would you?"
Sirius looked dumbstruck.
"Ye-yes. Of course. But, how do you know it's a he?"
Lily smiled.
"A mother just knows these things.."
Her hand drifted slightly towards her midriff.
"Yes, well, I'm sure young able-bodied men and woman would much rather be doing other things than holding conference with a dusty old man in a pantry."
Every laughed.
"But, before you go, a serious word."
Everyone paused.
"Our spies tell ys that a raid is planned tomorrow night. The Death Eaters plan to murder the Prewett brothers. We have warned them, and they've decided to stay and fight rather than flee."
Dumbledore smiled sadly.
"They have always been brave."
He gazed at those assembled before him.
"But I'm afraid," he began slowly, as if regretting each word, "that not all circumstances call for bravery."
"I need you to forcefully take the Prewett brothers and bring them here. Their knowledge and skill is irreplaceable, and we are so few. You must bring them back here, at all costs, but that does not include your lives. You have to move quickly, now, and reach them before the Death Eaters do. I'm counting on you." (TBC)