A/N: Thank you. I'm so happy that people actually like this, but the web
site is giving me the worst kind of problems. As anyone may have guessed,
the characters aren't mine, with the exception of Fox and a few others that
are coming soon!
-Anna Dearest
Chapter 4
"FOX!" the voice of Albus Dumbledore called as soon as they arrived at Headquarters. The small traveling party dusted themselves off while an almost frantic Dumbledore called the crow to him. "I need you to take this to Arrabella Figg as quickly as possible. This is urgent; someone's life is at stake. Be quick and be careful. I can't trust a regular owl with this."
Dumbledore tied to parchment to the obedient crow's leg. Seconds later she was gone, fulfilling her duties with pride. All eyes in the kitchen were on Dumbledore as he watched the bird soar out of the kitchen. Snape was still there, looking quite nettled at the Headmaster for sending her off so quickly.
"What was that all about?" Remus finally asked.
"It was simply an urgent message for Mrs. Figg," Dumbledore shrugged. "Harry! How are you?"
"Fine," Harry muttered, still dusting soot off of him.
"Those Muggles are retched," Moody growled. "Fussing about everything, they were."
"That's the Dursleys," Harry sighed.
"Remus," Dumbledore murmured.
"Ah, yes. Harry, why don't you come to the drawing room for a moment? There's something I need to discuss with you."
"Alright."
Remus then lead the way into the drawing room filled with derelict furniture, obviously without much use in years. He and Harry took seats facing each other, Remus looking increasingly nervous with each passing second. Harry simply looked to his former professor, waiting for whatever news to hit him.
"Firstly, Hermione's coming tomorrow. Ron's already here with the rest of his family," Remus stated, but Harry could tell that wasn't the main news.
"What is it, professor?"
"Please Harry, call me Remus."
"Er.alright.Remus, what is it?"
"Well, I know about a particular dream you had a few nights ago. I know about who you saw in it." Remus paused here, waiting for what he said to get to Harry. Looking up, he saw that Harry had paled considerably.
"What do you mean?"
"Did you see someone in your dream besides Sirius?"
"Yes, actually, I saw someone else. I don't know who it was. How do you know-?"
"The girl you saw was dreaming this also. You both saw each other, and she was really there. As for the rest of the dream-."
"That's just it, it was only a dream." Harry began to look extremely downtrodden, at least until he heard Remus' next statement.
"That might not be the case at all. In fact, all the evidence points towards your dream being true."
"What?"
"Percy Weasley was sent to the Department of Mysteries to check up on the matter. He said that there was a small pool of blood in the center of the chamber, a fairly fresh one at that."
"But Sirius is dead. You and Dumbledore were all too willing to admit to that."
"Well, Dumbledore did a bit of studying. He found that sometimes, when you pass over to the other side, without actually dying, that sometimes you are given a choice as to whether you pass on or go back. Sirius was only hit with a Stunner. He may just be one of these special cases."
"How is this even possible?"
"Harry, this is the wizarding world."
"But he's been gone for weeks."
"I know, but just think. Sirius may very well be alive and on his way back to us. That may be why young Percy couldn't find a trace of him in the building any longer."
"What about the other person in my dream?"
"I don't know how to explain that. I don't even understand it myself. For now, we just wait for any sign of Sirius."
"We just wait?"
"Yes. And in the meantime, tomorrow when Hermione arrives, you all go to Diagon Alley to get your supplies. Just be careful and keep an eye out for things."
With that, the two of them left the drawing room, going back to the kitchen where the rest were ready to greet Harry. The Weasleys were the first to crowd Harry. Each one of them insisted on either a hug, a pat on the back, or in the very least, a handshake. Mrs. Weasley, as usual, engulfed him in one of her backbreaking hugs.
"Hello Harry dear. All of your things are already up in the same room you stayed in last summer," she said, not yet letting go. "We'll all go to Diagon Alley tomorrow. We may as well make a day of it."
**********
"Sir, are you okay?" a young girl asked that heap of robes lying on the forest floor. "Can you hear me?"
Sirius, just skin and bones it seemed, looked up into the eyes of the young girl, her blonde pigtails bouncing. He grunted in response and tried to lift his emaciated body from the ground. The girl cried silently as she watched his futile efforts.
"Hold on! I'll go get my mum! She'll be able to help you!"
The young girl scurried off through the forest, pigtails flying out behind her. With a final effort, Sirius hid himself. He couldn't get caught, not when he had distanced himself so far from the Ministry. The last of his strength gave out as he managed to hide himself successfully.
**********
"Harry, it's so good to see you!" Hermione squealed as she launched herself at him. It was the following morning, and they were greeting Hermione at her arrival. "Ron!"
"Yeah Hermione, good enough a time to strangle us!" the lanky redhead Ron gasped as Hermione, to both boys' dismay, hugged the life out of them.
"It's just a hug Ron, get used to it!"
"How's your summer, Hermione?" Harry asked.
"I found some great new books that are absolutely fascinating!"
"You should have seen that one coming, mate!" Ron said, clapping Harry on the shoulder.
"Well Hermione! It's so good to see you!" Mrs. Weasley said, striding over to the fireplace where the friends were greeting each other. "Go on upstairs and put your stuff away, then we can head out."
"Yes, Mrs. Weasley."
Ginny Weasley, the youngest Weasley, and the only female sibling hopped off her chair to help Hermione, red hair flying behind her. The rest of the Weasley family, Harry, Remus, Mad-Eye, and Tonks were all ready to go.
"You all need to have your wands with you. If you see ANYTHING suspicious, you need to come and tell one of us immediately," Moody barked. "We're getting there by Floo Powder, we'll arrive at the Leaky Cauldron."
While everyone was preparing to go, the blue-eyed crow soared through the open door and into the kitchen. Seeing no response, they all assumed she'd already taken it to Dumbledore. With a suspicious growl from Moody, Remus talked to the bird.
"Come on, Fox. Dumbledore said that if you arrived back here, that you were to come with us." With those words, the crow glided onto Remus' shoulder, sitting quite peacefully as though that was her understood place to be.
Landing quite awkwardly in the Leaky Cauldron, everyone stood there dusting himself or herself off, not noticing all the stares they were receiving. They were a rather large group to be arriving by Floo Powder. Fox ruffled her feathers until all the soot had fallen, before sitting again on Remus' shoulder.
"Alright, everyone go wherever you need to," Moody said, "Just be sure to meet us back here in a few hours."
With those words, everyone headed back into the courtyard behind the dingy pub. With a tap of Remus' wand, the archway formed in the center of the wall, leading the way into Diagon Alley. Everyone then set out his or her separate ways. Harry, Hermione, and Ron set off to Madame Malkin's Robes for All Occasions first, since their own robes were fast becoming too short. The twins, no longer attending Hogwarts, went looking for anyone familiar. Ginny stuck with her mother and father while they began the search for supplies. The rest of the traveling party quickly began scouring the streets, looking for someone even slightly suspicious.
Later, with sets of new robes in their bags, the three friends made their way to the Flourish and Blotts to get their new books. While browsing the shelves during their search, they ran into quite an unwelcome visitor. With his sleek blonde hair and wide sneer, Draco Malfoy may as well have been the most snobbish person in existence, with the exception of his father.
"Well look here. We've got the Mudblood, the Weasel, and the Potty. Quite a combination if you ask me," Malfoy sneered.
"Go away, Malfoy. We're not in the mood to be pestered by insolent little boys," Hermione retorted.
"Only filth comes out of a Mudblood's mouth, so just shut it!" Malfoy snapped.
"Only filth comes out of the Malfoy family last time I checked," Harry spat at his enemy. He and Malfoy had been enemies since they talked on the train on its way to Hogwarts.
"Potter, I heard about your loss, and I dare say how 'sorry' I am," Malfoy said in mock sadness.
"You've got something coming for you, Malfoy," Ron growled.
"Until your family finally decides that money is an asset, Weasel, shut your hole!" Malfoy shot back.
"And until you learn some manners, Draco Malfoy, I'd suggest you shove off!" a voice behind them called to Malfoy. They spun around, expecting anyone but whom they saw, a complete stranger.
"Your father's not going to be pleased about this!" Draco shot back, only this time with fear in his voice.
"If it mattered to me, you'd know," the stranger sighed simply. With that, Malfoy turned on his heel and left.
"We can't thank you enough," Hermione said. "He's always trying to bother us in some form or another."
"If he gives you any trouble at all, I'd be only more than happy to help," the young girl standing before them replied grimly.
"Do I know you?" Harry asked.
"You may, but I know you. Harry Potter, the one and only. But, you may have seen me before, I admit to that." Harry blushed furiously, while Ron just gaped. Hermione, however, was immensely interested in the girl's history.
"Are you a student at Hogwarts? I don't believe I've ever seen you around." Hermione stated, with curiosity ever present on her face.
"No, I've never attended Hogwarts, or any other wizarding school for that matter. For a while I lived with a witch named Tabetha Tophirk, she tutored me and taught me everything I needed to know."
"Why didn't you live with your parents?" Ron asked, shaking himself out of his silence. At this, the girl's face darkened.
"Oh, well my mother's dead. My father's not much of a father. I suppose you could call him a Death Eater. I could never live with someone so involved in the Dark Arts. Other than that I have no family."
"Oh," Ron mumbled, "Sorry, I was just curious. I know you probably don't like talking about it."
"It's not as hard as you'd think. My mother, yes, that's a bit hard to talk about. But as far as my father goes, he's dead to me too."
"I see you all have met Fox," a slightly amused Remus Lupin said from beside one of the bookshelves.
"Fox? Isn't that the crow you had with you earlier?" Harry asked.
"Yes," Remus grinned. "She's quite a Polymagus."
"A Polywhat?" Ron asked.
"A Polymagus," Fox sighed. "I can turned into different animals at will."
"She can scare off Malfoy, that's all I need to know," Ron laughed, but Hermione began looking suspiciously at Fox.
Remus continuously kept glancing between Harry and Fox, his eyes dodging their looks. Both of them seemed to notice this behavior and exchanged worried glances. Then, without warning, Harry remembered her. Once her caught her eye, he realized who she was.
"I do know you!" Harry cried.
"What?" she asked.
"From the dream! I remember your eyes! It'd be quite hard to forget them," Harry replied.
Remus and Fox both paled. While the former professor's face was contorted with a look of fear, Fox's was etched with recognition. For a moment she said nothing, and just stuttered a response.
"Now I remember!" she finally gasped.
"What dream?" Hermione asked.
"I'll tell you later," Harry mumbled.
"Well," Remus muttered, breaking the silence, "I'd suggest you finish getting your supplies. We're supposed to meet at the Leaky Cauldron for lunch in one hour."
Everyone then continued making their purchases, but the three friends kept a careful eye on Fox as she browsed the shelves looking for anything that might interest her. Hermione seemed to be unusually suspicious. After making their purchases, they turned around to find her already gone.
"That's strange. I guess she made her purchases right before us," Hermione whispered, but she seemed uncertain. "Where to next?"
"Well, we still need to go to the Apothecary and stationary shop. I personally need to get some owl treats for Hedwig," Harry responded.
"Sounds like a good plan," Hermione beamed. "I need to get some food for Crookshanks myself. I suppose that means a stop to the Magical Menagerie."
All three companions did make a day of it. After going to the Apothecary and the stationary stop, they all headed to the Magical Menagerie. Stepping into the store was always quite an experience. The walls were lined with cages and tanks with the oddest creatures inside. Harry, Hermione, and Ron all stepped up to the counter, asking for whichever kind of food they needed. Hermione was well remembered, being the only person to want the bandy-legged cat christened Crookshanks.
"Harry, Ron, look!" Hermione whispered, nudging both boys in the ribs. The boys looked where she was pointing and found Fox conversing quietly with the cats on the wall.
"I don't trust her one bit," Ron mumbled. "She's talking to cats, and acting like they're talking back!"
"They might be," Hermione shrugged.
"What do you mean? They're cats!" Harry laughed.
"Well, Polymagus are very rare. They can turn into any animal at will, and it's a gift since birth. It's not like with Animagus where you have to work for it. She may be the only Polymagus in a century. Who knows? They may be able to converse with animals."
"Even more reason not to trust her," Ron sighed. "That's just weird! And it's dangerous. She could spy really well."
"Maybe she's helping Dumbledore," Harry chimed in, "she did deliver something to Mrs. Figg for him."
"I don't care. She's a bit too odd for me," Ron concluded.
"Let's just hope she's helping Dumbledore. Just like Parseltounge, Polymagus are bad!"
"What do you mean?" Ron asked.
"There has only been one Polymagus in history that wasn't involved in the Dark Arts, and to be perfectly honest, he was out of his mind! Most are born into families with complicated or even deadly situations. They're powerfully magical though, but deadly all the same," Hermione sighed.
"I hope you're not TRYING to get me to trust her," Ron shuddered.
"No, I don't think any of us should trust her yet. It could lead to trouble," Hermione finished. She picked up her cat food and started out the door. As the boys followed her, Harry looked at his watch and figured that they should start heading up to the Leaky Cauldron, unless they wanted Mad-Eye Moody to get started on them for their incompetence.
They pushed through the crowd of Diagon Alley until they saw a crowd of men bedecked in black hooded cloaks. They all seemed to be either shaking in excitement of fear, whispering maniacally to one another. Harry stopped Hermione and Ron in their tracks. Hermione let out a strangled sob as they tried to blend back in with the crowd and sneak past. Fortunately, their luck was pointing to good that day. They managed to creep past the odd crowd and picked up their pace as they neared the Leaky Cauldron.
"What took so long?" Moody barked.
"There was a crowd of men in cloaks, we couldn't see their faces. We just wanted to get by unscathed," Hermione explained.
"Alright then," Tonks said. "What do we do?" She turned her head to Moody.
"We wait for Remus and ask if they're still out there," Moody growled. Right on cue, Remus Lupin strode into the dimly lit pub and straight towards them. "Remus, see anyone suspicious?"
"No," he replied after a second of confusion. "I caught Mrs. Malfoy giving me hateful looks, but that's the closest thing to suspicious that caught my eye." With a shrug, Remus sat down between Harry and Tonks. "Get all of your supplies?" he asked Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny. "Good."
The whole traveling party sat down for a nice lunch with some of the tables connected in one of the corners to seat all eleven of them. It was quite enjoyable sitting there with all the Weasleys and Hermione. However, the good mood was short lived. All eyes turned on Remus when he spat out the tea he was drinking all over the table.
"Remus?! What's wrong?" Mrs. Weasley asked frantically. Remus stood up and went to the wizard sitting across from him at the other table. They could barely hear him ask in the most polite voice he could muster, "Sir, may I have your paper?"
He then came back and resumed his seat between Harry and Tonks. He immediately flipped through to the article that had stuck his fancy. Harry was about to get concerned when he heard Hermione gasp right beside him. He took a closer look at the Daily Prophet article, and clearly saw:
SIRIUS BLACK SITED NEAR LONDON'S MINISTRY BUILDING The infamous murderer Sirius Black, who we haven't seen hide now hair of for over a year, has been sited near London's Ministry of Magic building. A young girl by the name of Cassidinia Hornfry spotted Black in the forest near her house. She did not immediately recognize Black for who he was until she ran to get help from her mother. According to Hornfry, Black is just skin and bones, appropriate punishment, of course. The Minister of Magic, Cornelius Fudge has asked that all witches, wizards, and Muggles alike keep their eyes peeled, so that maybe we may finally put an end to this terror. "With You-Know-Who back, of course Black is active," says Fudge. "We must be careful, because we all know what Black's capable of doing." --Cadilid Ringdon
"Oh my goodness," Mrs. Weasley gasped. "But he's d-d-dead. H-how could s- someone spot h-him if he's g-gone?"
"Quite the contrary," Remus replied. "Percy was sent to the Ministry to check out this matter, and it certainly appears that he's alive, though not at all well."
"What do we do now?" Mr. Weasley asked.
"I suggest we send out a scout," Moody said. "Maybe now Riddle will be some use. Where is she anyway?"
"She was in Diagon Alley," Remus replied. "I saw her in Flourish and Blotts."
"R-R-Rid-Riddle?" Ginny asked, her small voice shaking in fear. It was completely understandable, of course.
"What's your point?" Moody growled.
"Mad-Eye." Remus warned.
"What? They don't know yet?" Moody barked. His magical eye swiveled to look at all of them, especially Harry.
"Riddle? Why does that sound familiar Harry?" Ron asked.
"Tom Riddle." Harry whispered.
"Dead on!" Moody cried. "This boy's a genius!"
"WHAT?" Ginny squealed.
"Now is not the time," Remus muttered. "We need to get back to Headquarters, and someone needs to find Fox."
"Too late," Fox's voice said behind him. Moody growled in response.
With the surprise appearance of Fox, the whole group made their way to a fireplace near the back of the dingy pub. It wasn't the main one, but it insured their privacy nonetheless. Everyone formed a line in front of the large hearth, and one at a time they stepped into the flames, shouting out for Headquarters. With a final look about by Moody, everyone was on his or her way back to Number Twelve, Grimmauld Place.
"Riddle!" Moody barked at Fox, his magical eye not letting her out of his line of sight. "We need a handy scout, and seeing as how you're definitely 'handy' at such things, let's send you out!"
Ginny went as far as to fall into a chair shaking. Moody laughed at this, which only made the poor girl jump. Harry looked closely at Fox, and he could actually see some of the same features that Voldemort had when he was in school, still under the name of Tom Riddle.
"What are you waiting for? Need another invitation?" Moody growled. Fox looked around the room at all of the people staring at her, most in total shock once they pieced the puzzle together. "We need you to try to find someone for us. He may of course be in the form of a big black dog, but his name is Sirius Black. See if you can't surprise me. Find him before the Ministry does."
At first, Fox seemed just a little shaken up, but quickly recovered from it when she heard she was needed. With a quick nod in Moody's direction, she swept out of the room. The room stood still for a moment.
"Well," Molly Weasley finally said, "Go put your shopping away. I'll come get you for dinner later."
All of the Weasley children, Harry, and Hermione made their way quietly up the stairs and into their rooms. After everyone stored their shopping away, everyone began to congregate in Harry and Ron's room. Questions soared back and forth about who Fox really was.
"Harry, what about this dream?" Ron finally asked.
"Oh, that," Harry replied half-heartedly. "I just had a dream about Sirius coming back through the veil. In the dream, I saw Fox there."
"Told you she couldn't be trusted," Ron said.
"Don't jump to conclusions Ron. How is she related to Voldemort?" Hermione wondered aloud. A flinch ran through the room at the mention of Voldemort's name.
"I don't know, but it's obvious that she is. Whenever I said Tom Riddle, did you see how Moody reacted?" Harry began to add in to the conversation.
"She's quite young to be too closely related," Hermione said. "Tom Riddle went to Hogwarts over fifty years ago."
"That doesn't mean that he wouldn't want someone to carry on his name and duties," Remus said from the doorway. Everyone in the room froze, they didn't know how he would react, but Hermione took charge.
"Professor Lupin, do you know anything about her?"
"Yes, and please just call me Remus." With a sigh, Remus began retelling what Dumbledore had told him. He retold about her mother and one of her brothers being killed, and also how she still had two living siblings.
"What happened to them?" Hermione asked.
"I don't know. From your conversation in Flourish and Blotts, I just now found out that she was living for a while with Tabetha Tophirk," Remus sighed. "Don't be so quick to judge though, she does seem quite the character."
"How could I see her in my dream though, and how could she see me?" Harry wondered aloud.
"Dumbledore says that she lives through Voldemort's connection to you. She is connected to her father, both by blood and by hate. She's bitter about it though," Remus sighed.
"But she's going to find Sirius," Ginny spoke up.
"Yes," Remus replied. "If anyone can, it's her. I'm sure of it."
Chapter 4
"FOX!" the voice of Albus Dumbledore called as soon as they arrived at Headquarters. The small traveling party dusted themselves off while an almost frantic Dumbledore called the crow to him. "I need you to take this to Arrabella Figg as quickly as possible. This is urgent; someone's life is at stake. Be quick and be careful. I can't trust a regular owl with this."
Dumbledore tied to parchment to the obedient crow's leg. Seconds later she was gone, fulfilling her duties with pride. All eyes in the kitchen were on Dumbledore as he watched the bird soar out of the kitchen. Snape was still there, looking quite nettled at the Headmaster for sending her off so quickly.
"What was that all about?" Remus finally asked.
"It was simply an urgent message for Mrs. Figg," Dumbledore shrugged. "Harry! How are you?"
"Fine," Harry muttered, still dusting soot off of him.
"Those Muggles are retched," Moody growled. "Fussing about everything, they were."
"That's the Dursleys," Harry sighed.
"Remus," Dumbledore murmured.
"Ah, yes. Harry, why don't you come to the drawing room for a moment? There's something I need to discuss with you."
"Alright."
Remus then lead the way into the drawing room filled with derelict furniture, obviously without much use in years. He and Harry took seats facing each other, Remus looking increasingly nervous with each passing second. Harry simply looked to his former professor, waiting for whatever news to hit him.
"Firstly, Hermione's coming tomorrow. Ron's already here with the rest of his family," Remus stated, but Harry could tell that wasn't the main news.
"What is it, professor?"
"Please Harry, call me Remus."
"Er.alright.Remus, what is it?"
"Well, I know about a particular dream you had a few nights ago. I know about who you saw in it." Remus paused here, waiting for what he said to get to Harry. Looking up, he saw that Harry had paled considerably.
"What do you mean?"
"Did you see someone in your dream besides Sirius?"
"Yes, actually, I saw someone else. I don't know who it was. How do you know-?"
"The girl you saw was dreaming this also. You both saw each other, and she was really there. As for the rest of the dream-."
"That's just it, it was only a dream." Harry began to look extremely downtrodden, at least until he heard Remus' next statement.
"That might not be the case at all. In fact, all the evidence points towards your dream being true."
"What?"
"Percy Weasley was sent to the Department of Mysteries to check up on the matter. He said that there was a small pool of blood in the center of the chamber, a fairly fresh one at that."
"But Sirius is dead. You and Dumbledore were all too willing to admit to that."
"Well, Dumbledore did a bit of studying. He found that sometimes, when you pass over to the other side, without actually dying, that sometimes you are given a choice as to whether you pass on or go back. Sirius was only hit with a Stunner. He may just be one of these special cases."
"How is this even possible?"
"Harry, this is the wizarding world."
"But he's been gone for weeks."
"I know, but just think. Sirius may very well be alive and on his way back to us. That may be why young Percy couldn't find a trace of him in the building any longer."
"What about the other person in my dream?"
"I don't know how to explain that. I don't even understand it myself. For now, we just wait for any sign of Sirius."
"We just wait?"
"Yes. And in the meantime, tomorrow when Hermione arrives, you all go to Diagon Alley to get your supplies. Just be careful and keep an eye out for things."
With that, the two of them left the drawing room, going back to the kitchen where the rest were ready to greet Harry. The Weasleys were the first to crowd Harry. Each one of them insisted on either a hug, a pat on the back, or in the very least, a handshake. Mrs. Weasley, as usual, engulfed him in one of her backbreaking hugs.
"Hello Harry dear. All of your things are already up in the same room you stayed in last summer," she said, not yet letting go. "We'll all go to Diagon Alley tomorrow. We may as well make a day of it."
**********
"Sir, are you okay?" a young girl asked that heap of robes lying on the forest floor. "Can you hear me?"
Sirius, just skin and bones it seemed, looked up into the eyes of the young girl, her blonde pigtails bouncing. He grunted in response and tried to lift his emaciated body from the ground. The girl cried silently as she watched his futile efforts.
"Hold on! I'll go get my mum! She'll be able to help you!"
The young girl scurried off through the forest, pigtails flying out behind her. With a final effort, Sirius hid himself. He couldn't get caught, not when he had distanced himself so far from the Ministry. The last of his strength gave out as he managed to hide himself successfully.
**********
"Harry, it's so good to see you!" Hermione squealed as she launched herself at him. It was the following morning, and they were greeting Hermione at her arrival. "Ron!"
"Yeah Hermione, good enough a time to strangle us!" the lanky redhead Ron gasped as Hermione, to both boys' dismay, hugged the life out of them.
"It's just a hug Ron, get used to it!"
"How's your summer, Hermione?" Harry asked.
"I found some great new books that are absolutely fascinating!"
"You should have seen that one coming, mate!" Ron said, clapping Harry on the shoulder.
"Well Hermione! It's so good to see you!" Mrs. Weasley said, striding over to the fireplace where the friends were greeting each other. "Go on upstairs and put your stuff away, then we can head out."
"Yes, Mrs. Weasley."
Ginny Weasley, the youngest Weasley, and the only female sibling hopped off her chair to help Hermione, red hair flying behind her. The rest of the Weasley family, Harry, Remus, Mad-Eye, and Tonks were all ready to go.
"You all need to have your wands with you. If you see ANYTHING suspicious, you need to come and tell one of us immediately," Moody barked. "We're getting there by Floo Powder, we'll arrive at the Leaky Cauldron."
While everyone was preparing to go, the blue-eyed crow soared through the open door and into the kitchen. Seeing no response, they all assumed she'd already taken it to Dumbledore. With a suspicious growl from Moody, Remus talked to the bird.
"Come on, Fox. Dumbledore said that if you arrived back here, that you were to come with us." With those words, the crow glided onto Remus' shoulder, sitting quite peacefully as though that was her understood place to be.
Landing quite awkwardly in the Leaky Cauldron, everyone stood there dusting himself or herself off, not noticing all the stares they were receiving. They were a rather large group to be arriving by Floo Powder. Fox ruffled her feathers until all the soot had fallen, before sitting again on Remus' shoulder.
"Alright, everyone go wherever you need to," Moody said, "Just be sure to meet us back here in a few hours."
With those words, everyone headed back into the courtyard behind the dingy pub. With a tap of Remus' wand, the archway formed in the center of the wall, leading the way into Diagon Alley. Everyone then set out his or her separate ways. Harry, Hermione, and Ron set off to Madame Malkin's Robes for All Occasions first, since their own robes were fast becoming too short. The twins, no longer attending Hogwarts, went looking for anyone familiar. Ginny stuck with her mother and father while they began the search for supplies. The rest of the traveling party quickly began scouring the streets, looking for someone even slightly suspicious.
Later, with sets of new robes in their bags, the three friends made their way to the Flourish and Blotts to get their new books. While browsing the shelves during their search, they ran into quite an unwelcome visitor. With his sleek blonde hair and wide sneer, Draco Malfoy may as well have been the most snobbish person in existence, with the exception of his father.
"Well look here. We've got the Mudblood, the Weasel, and the Potty. Quite a combination if you ask me," Malfoy sneered.
"Go away, Malfoy. We're not in the mood to be pestered by insolent little boys," Hermione retorted.
"Only filth comes out of a Mudblood's mouth, so just shut it!" Malfoy snapped.
"Only filth comes out of the Malfoy family last time I checked," Harry spat at his enemy. He and Malfoy had been enemies since they talked on the train on its way to Hogwarts.
"Potter, I heard about your loss, and I dare say how 'sorry' I am," Malfoy said in mock sadness.
"You've got something coming for you, Malfoy," Ron growled.
"Until your family finally decides that money is an asset, Weasel, shut your hole!" Malfoy shot back.
"And until you learn some manners, Draco Malfoy, I'd suggest you shove off!" a voice behind them called to Malfoy. They spun around, expecting anyone but whom they saw, a complete stranger.
"Your father's not going to be pleased about this!" Draco shot back, only this time with fear in his voice.
"If it mattered to me, you'd know," the stranger sighed simply. With that, Malfoy turned on his heel and left.
"We can't thank you enough," Hermione said. "He's always trying to bother us in some form or another."
"If he gives you any trouble at all, I'd be only more than happy to help," the young girl standing before them replied grimly.
"Do I know you?" Harry asked.
"You may, but I know you. Harry Potter, the one and only. But, you may have seen me before, I admit to that." Harry blushed furiously, while Ron just gaped. Hermione, however, was immensely interested in the girl's history.
"Are you a student at Hogwarts? I don't believe I've ever seen you around." Hermione stated, with curiosity ever present on her face.
"No, I've never attended Hogwarts, or any other wizarding school for that matter. For a while I lived with a witch named Tabetha Tophirk, she tutored me and taught me everything I needed to know."
"Why didn't you live with your parents?" Ron asked, shaking himself out of his silence. At this, the girl's face darkened.
"Oh, well my mother's dead. My father's not much of a father. I suppose you could call him a Death Eater. I could never live with someone so involved in the Dark Arts. Other than that I have no family."
"Oh," Ron mumbled, "Sorry, I was just curious. I know you probably don't like talking about it."
"It's not as hard as you'd think. My mother, yes, that's a bit hard to talk about. But as far as my father goes, he's dead to me too."
"I see you all have met Fox," a slightly amused Remus Lupin said from beside one of the bookshelves.
"Fox? Isn't that the crow you had with you earlier?" Harry asked.
"Yes," Remus grinned. "She's quite a Polymagus."
"A Polywhat?" Ron asked.
"A Polymagus," Fox sighed. "I can turned into different animals at will."
"She can scare off Malfoy, that's all I need to know," Ron laughed, but Hermione began looking suspiciously at Fox.
Remus continuously kept glancing between Harry and Fox, his eyes dodging their looks. Both of them seemed to notice this behavior and exchanged worried glances. Then, without warning, Harry remembered her. Once her caught her eye, he realized who she was.
"I do know you!" Harry cried.
"What?" she asked.
"From the dream! I remember your eyes! It'd be quite hard to forget them," Harry replied.
Remus and Fox both paled. While the former professor's face was contorted with a look of fear, Fox's was etched with recognition. For a moment she said nothing, and just stuttered a response.
"Now I remember!" she finally gasped.
"What dream?" Hermione asked.
"I'll tell you later," Harry mumbled.
"Well," Remus muttered, breaking the silence, "I'd suggest you finish getting your supplies. We're supposed to meet at the Leaky Cauldron for lunch in one hour."
Everyone then continued making their purchases, but the three friends kept a careful eye on Fox as she browsed the shelves looking for anything that might interest her. Hermione seemed to be unusually suspicious. After making their purchases, they turned around to find her already gone.
"That's strange. I guess she made her purchases right before us," Hermione whispered, but she seemed uncertain. "Where to next?"
"Well, we still need to go to the Apothecary and stationary shop. I personally need to get some owl treats for Hedwig," Harry responded.
"Sounds like a good plan," Hermione beamed. "I need to get some food for Crookshanks myself. I suppose that means a stop to the Magical Menagerie."
All three companions did make a day of it. After going to the Apothecary and the stationary stop, they all headed to the Magical Menagerie. Stepping into the store was always quite an experience. The walls were lined with cages and tanks with the oddest creatures inside. Harry, Hermione, and Ron all stepped up to the counter, asking for whichever kind of food they needed. Hermione was well remembered, being the only person to want the bandy-legged cat christened Crookshanks.
"Harry, Ron, look!" Hermione whispered, nudging both boys in the ribs. The boys looked where she was pointing and found Fox conversing quietly with the cats on the wall.
"I don't trust her one bit," Ron mumbled. "She's talking to cats, and acting like they're talking back!"
"They might be," Hermione shrugged.
"What do you mean? They're cats!" Harry laughed.
"Well, Polymagus are very rare. They can turn into any animal at will, and it's a gift since birth. It's not like with Animagus where you have to work for it. She may be the only Polymagus in a century. Who knows? They may be able to converse with animals."
"Even more reason not to trust her," Ron sighed. "That's just weird! And it's dangerous. She could spy really well."
"Maybe she's helping Dumbledore," Harry chimed in, "she did deliver something to Mrs. Figg for him."
"I don't care. She's a bit too odd for me," Ron concluded.
"Let's just hope she's helping Dumbledore. Just like Parseltounge, Polymagus are bad!"
"What do you mean?" Ron asked.
"There has only been one Polymagus in history that wasn't involved in the Dark Arts, and to be perfectly honest, he was out of his mind! Most are born into families with complicated or even deadly situations. They're powerfully magical though, but deadly all the same," Hermione sighed.
"I hope you're not TRYING to get me to trust her," Ron shuddered.
"No, I don't think any of us should trust her yet. It could lead to trouble," Hermione finished. She picked up her cat food and started out the door. As the boys followed her, Harry looked at his watch and figured that they should start heading up to the Leaky Cauldron, unless they wanted Mad-Eye Moody to get started on them for their incompetence.
They pushed through the crowd of Diagon Alley until they saw a crowd of men bedecked in black hooded cloaks. They all seemed to be either shaking in excitement of fear, whispering maniacally to one another. Harry stopped Hermione and Ron in their tracks. Hermione let out a strangled sob as they tried to blend back in with the crowd and sneak past. Fortunately, their luck was pointing to good that day. They managed to creep past the odd crowd and picked up their pace as they neared the Leaky Cauldron.
"What took so long?" Moody barked.
"There was a crowd of men in cloaks, we couldn't see their faces. We just wanted to get by unscathed," Hermione explained.
"Alright then," Tonks said. "What do we do?" She turned her head to Moody.
"We wait for Remus and ask if they're still out there," Moody growled. Right on cue, Remus Lupin strode into the dimly lit pub and straight towards them. "Remus, see anyone suspicious?"
"No," he replied after a second of confusion. "I caught Mrs. Malfoy giving me hateful looks, but that's the closest thing to suspicious that caught my eye." With a shrug, Remus sat down between Harry and Tonks. "Get all of your supplies?" he asked Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny. "Good."
The whole traveling party sat down for a nice lunch with some of the tables connected in one of the corners to seat all eleven of them. It was quite enjoyable sitting there with all the Weasleys and Hermione. However, the good mood was short lived. All eyes turned on Remus when he spat out the tea he was drinking all over the table.
"Remus?! What's wrong?" Mrs. Weasley asked frantically. Remus stood up and went to the wizard sitting across from him at the other table. They could barely hear him ask in the most polite voice he could muster, "Sir, may I have your paper?"
He then came back and resumed his seat between Harry and Tonks. He immediately flipped through to the article that had stuck his fancy. Harry was about to get concerned when he heard Hermione gasp right beside him. He took a closer look at the Daily Prophet article, and clearly saw:
SIRIUS BLACK SITED NEAR LONDON'S MINISTRY BUILDING The infamous murderer Sirius Black, who we haven't seen hide now hair of for over a year, has been sited near London's Ministry of Magic building. A young girl by the name of Cassidinia Hornfry spotted Black in the forest near her house. She did not immediately recognize Black for who he was until she ran to get help from her mother. According to Hornfry, Black is just skin and bones, appropriate punishment, of course. The Minister of Magic, Cornelius Fudge has asked that all witches, wizards, and Muggles alike keep their eyes peeled, so that maybe we may finally put an end to this terror. "With You-Know-Who back, of course Black is active," says Fudge. "We must be careful, because we all know what Black's capable of doing." --Cadilid Ringdon
"Oh my goodness," Mrs. Weasley gasped. "But he's d-d-dead. H-how could s- someone spot h-him if he's g-gone?"
"Quite the contrary," Remus replied. "Percy was sent to the Ministry to check out this matter, and it certainly appears that he's alive, though not at all well."
"What do we do now?" Mr. Weasley asked.
"I suggest we send out a scout," Moody said. "Maybe now Riddle will be some use. Where is she anyway?"
"She was in Diagon Alley," Remus replied. "I saw her in Flourish and Blotts."
"R-R-Rid-Riddle?" Ginny asked, her small voice shaking in fear. It was completely understandable, of course.
"What's your point?" Moody growled.
"Mad-Eye." Remus warned.
"What? They don't know yet?" Moody barked. His magical eye swiveled to look at all of them, especially Harry.
"Riddle? Why does that sound familiar Harry?" Ron asked.
"Tom Riddle." Harry whispered.
"Dead on!" Moody cried. "This boy's a genius!"
"WHAT?" Ginny squealed.
"Now is not the time," Remus muttered. "We need to get back to Headquarters, and someone needs to find Fox."
"Too late," Fox's voice said behind him. Moody growled in response.
With the surprise appearance of Fox, the whole group made their way to a fireplace near the back of the dingy pub. It wasn't the main one, but it insured their privacy nonetheless. Everyone formed a line in front of the large hearth, and one at a time they stepped into the flames, shouting out for Headquarters. With a final look about by Moody, everyone was on his or her way back to Number Twelve, Grimmauld Place.
"Riddle!" Moody barked at Fox, his magical eye not letting her out of his line of sight. "We need a handy scout, and seeing as how you're definitely 'handy' at such things, let's send you out!"
Ginny went as far as to fall into a chair shaking. Moody laughed at this, which only made the poor girl jump. Harry looked closely at Fox, and he could actually see some of the same features that Voldemort had when he was in school, still under the name of Tom Riddle.
"What are you waiting for? Need another invitation?" Moody growled. Fox looked around the room at all of the people staring at her, most in total shock once they pieced the puzzle together. "We need you to try to find someone for us. He may of course be in the form of a big black dog, but his name is Sirius Black. See if you can't surprise me. Find him before the Ministry does."
At first, Fox seemed just a little shaken up, but quickly recovered from it when she heard she was needed. With a quick nod in Moody's direction, she swept out of the room. The room stood still for a moment.
"Well," Molly Weasley finally said, "Go put your shopping away. I'll come get you for dinner later."
All of the Weasley children, Harry, and Hermione made their way quietly up the stairs and into their rooms. After everyone stored their shopping away, everyone began to congregate in Harry and Ron's room. Questions soared back and forth about who Fox really was.
"Harry, what about this dream?" Ron finally asked.
"Oh, that," Harry replied half-heartedly. "I just had a dream about Sirius coming back through the veil. In the dream, I saw Fox there."
"Told you she couldn't be trusted," Ron said.
"Don't jump to conclusions Ron. How is she related to Voldemort?" Hermione wondered aloud. A flinch ran through the room at the mention of Voldemort's name.
"I don't know, but it's obvious that she is. Whenever I said Tom Riddle, did you see how Moody reacted?" Harry began to add in to the conversation.
"She's quite young to be too closely related," Hermione said. "Tom Riddle went to Hogwarts over fifty years ago."
"That doesn't mean that he wouldn't want someone to carry on his name and duties," Remus said from the doorway. Everyone in the room froze, they didn't know how he would react, but Hermione took charge.
"Professor Lupin, do you know anything about her?"
"Yes, and please just call me Remus." With a sigh, Remus began retelling what Dumbledore had told him. He retold about her mother and one of her brothers being killed, and also how she still had two living siblings.
"What happened to them?" Hermione asked.
"I don't know. From your conversation in Flourish and Blotts, I just now found out that she was living for a while with Tabetha Tophirk," Remus sighed. "Don't be so quick to judge though, she does seem quite the character."
"How could I see her in my dream though, and how could she see me?" Harry wondered aloud.
"Dumbledore says that she lives through Voldemort's connection to you. She is connected to her father, both by blood and by hate. She's bitter about it though," Remus sighed.
"But she's going to find Sirius," Ginny spoke up.
"Yes," Remus replied. "If anyone can, it's her. I'm sure of it."