Chapter 5 ~ Found
"Mur?" Remus was on the first landing, looking up at his old friend as she cast spells on a door that had been unused for as long as he'd lived at 12 Grimmauld Place. She looked frustrated.
"Do you know what he did to this?" she asked, slumping against the opposite wall. She watched him trot up the remaining steps.
"He told us this room was off-limits," Remus admitted, already piecing together why that might be the case.
Muriel's emotions got the better of her. Sirius still hadn't woken, and she had no idea if he ever would, but right now, she just wanted a place to rest. She threw herself at the door. It didn't budge. "But this is MY room!" She pounded on it again. "Damn it, let me in!"
Remus gasped when the door opened and unceremoniously dumped her on the floor. "That's nice, he charmed it so only I could – " She stopped speaking abruptly as her eyes scanned the room. The window was covered in plywood, and the bed had been overturned. Glass littered the floor where the painter's mirror had been smashed. The robes Mrs. Black had instructed the house elves to provide, which she'd left behind upon returning to school, had been shredded, and now lay in a multi-colored heap beside the wardrobe. The wardrobe itself was missing a door.
Remus followed her inside and his mouth fell open. He should have known better than to let her see this.
"He hates me, Moony," she whispered. He watched her pull her knees up to her chest and quickly knelt beside her.
"Don't Mur, he doesn't hate you. He was just angry." He hadn't been there when Sirius first reopened the house, but he could imagine the fury it would take to do this kind of damage. He helped her to her feet before she could start crying in earnest. "You sit with him, okay? I'll get this cleaned up for you, and you can move your things in tonight."
He led her out the door and up the next flight of stairs to Sirius' room, where she sat, quietly composing herself before anyone could join her. Then he headed back downstairs to see how much of her room he could salvage.
* * * * * * *
"You. What are you doing here?" Sirius squinted up from his bed at eyes he had almost forgotten.
"Relax, Black, you've had a rough summer." Muriel looked away to find that the Bloody Baron and Peeves were sitting quietly behind her in midair, "Baron - take Peeves home." Peeves blew a raspberry at her, but allowed the Baron to guide him through the wall. The other ghosts had returned to the castle hours before. When she turned back toward him, she saw that Sirius had fallen asleep again.
Arthur and Molly Weasley came upstairs, carrying tea for Muriel. "He woke up enough to recognize me, and he wasn't very happy," she told them. Arthur reached out to put a hand on her shoulder, but pulled back abruptly as Sirius sat straight up in bed.
"What are you doing here? GET OUT OF MY HOUSE!" Muriel smiled sadly at Molly and got up to go without a word. But Remus, running up the stairs, took her by the arm and brought her back into the room.
"I should think you'd be a little more grateful!" he exclaimed, looking angrily at Sirius.
"Remus, please, it's all right." Muriel could understand why Sirius might not want to see her.
Arthur coughed a bit, congratulated Sirius on his recovery and exited with Molly in tow. Remus dropped Muriel's arm, gave Sirius a warning glance and also left the room. It was then that the doorbell rang. Sirius grimaced, waiting for his mother's portrait to begin screaming. "I took her down." Muriel said softly. "I hope you don't mind." For just a moment Sirius almost smiled, but then his lips tightened.
"Learned a few tricks on vacation, did you?" he asked scathingly. He looked around the room for anything else to focus his eyes on. Finding nothing, he looked back at Muriel.
"I wanted to tell you myself, but there was no time. Father shipped me off without so much as a word, and they've watched every path back all this time. It was only 4 days ago that I got the okay from Fudge to be back in the country at all." She didn't mention that this permission was bought with Wormtail's arrest.
Sirius chose to ignore this comment entirely. "How did you do it? How'd you get me out of there?" His voice was softer now, so she did her best to match it.
"It was the poltergeist. I met one while I was," she paused, then continued in a rush, "traveling. When Remus told me what you fell through, I remembered the poltergeist saying something about ghosts being able to travel back and forth through an archway like that in - in America. Regular ghosts couldn't affect anything on either side. But he could. So I got the Bloody Baron to take Peeves into the archway. It was he who pulled you back. We were so worried when you came back through unconscious. It was possible that coming back through the barrier might have separated you from your body, then we'd have no way to find you. But it didn't. You went in whole, so you came out whole." She'd spoken so fast that it had seemed a great jumble to her, but when she caught his eyes, she saw that he was finally calm.
"I didn't go in there whole, Mur," he said quietly, looking down at his hands. Muriel's breath caught in her throat for an instant, but when Sirius looked up, he was looking past her with a face full of intense dislike. "I thought it wouldn't be long before you arrived, Snape," he said coldly. Muriel turned quickly in her chair, but said nothing.
"I just came to deliver a potion for Lupin. He contacted me earlier today. I thought I would look in and see if you had awakened." The look in his eyes was intent and unkind. "Now that I have seen, I shall go. Good day." He turned to go before Sirius spoke again.
"Aren't you even going to say hello to Muriel? After all she gave up for you I should think you'd want to at least greet her."
Snape turned back, looking almost triumphant. "Hasn't she told you? She's working at Hogwarts now, and we have already had time to get reacquainted." With this, he turned on his heel and left. They heard the front door slam a moment later. Muriel was shaking her head.
"There is no way for me to force either of you to be kind to one another. If you insist on baiting him like that - " but she never got to finish her sentence. Feet were thundering up the staircase, announcing Harry's arrival. Rather than pass him outside the door, Muriel gave Sirius a small smile and apparated to the kitchen.
The door banged open again and Harry stopped short. Sirius, struggling to compose himself, held out an arm, and Harry ran forward again. "I can't believe it," he said hoarsely, "Everyone said there was no way. I tried everything, even the mirror!" he exclaimed. "I even asked Nearly Headless Nick. He said there just wasn't any way you could be all right."
Sirius and Harry were both grinning like fools by evening. Muriel had composed herself enough to return, accompanied by a rather large wolf - bigger even that Sirius was as a dog! Harry blinked once or twice then said, "Professor Lupin?" At this the wolf jumped up onto the bed and curled up at Sirius' feet, winked at Harry, then closed his eyes and went promptly to sleep. Muriel was levitating two trays of food, her expression carefully neutral.
Harry brought over a little table for himself as the first tray landed gently in Sirius' lap. She left without saying anything and Harry was grateful. It gave him more time to spend with his Godfather. "Have you seen the paper yet," he said immediately, "you're free - they caught Wormtail! Sirius sat up a bit straighter at this, and Remus, waking, chose this moment to fix him with a glance that was meaningful even from a wolf.
"Who caught him?" Sirius asked, still looking at the wolf as Harry pulled the paper out of a back pocket and handed it to him.
"Doesn't say."
"Mur?" Remus was on the first landing, looking up at his old friend as she cast spells on a door that had been unused for as long as he'd lived at 12 Grimmauld Place. She looked frustrated.
"Do you know what he did to this?" she asked, slumping against the opposite wall. She watched him trot up the remaining steps.
"He told us this room was off-limits," Remus admitted, already piecing together why that might be the case.
Muriel's emotions got the better of her. Sirius still hadn't woken, and she had no idea if he ever would, but right now, she just wanted a place to rest. She threw herself at the door. It didn't budge. "But this is MY room!" She pounded on it again. "Damn it, let me in!"
Remus gasped when the door opened and unceremoniously dumped her on the floor. "That's nice, he charmed it so only I could – " She stopped speaking abruptly as her eyes scanned the room. The window was covered in plywood, and the bed had been overturned. Glass littered the floor where the painter's mirror had been smashed. The robes Mrs. Black had instructed the house elves to provide, which she'd left behind upon returning to school, had been shredded, and now lay in a multi-colored heap beside the wardrobe. The wardrobe itself was missing a door.
Remus followed her inside and his mouth fell open. He should have known better than to let her see this.
"He hates me, Moony," she whispered. He watched her pull her knees up to her chest and quickly knelt beside her.
"Don't Mur, he doesn't hate you. He was just angry." He hadn't been there when Sirius first reopened the house, but he could imagine the fury it would take to do this kind of damage. He helped her to her feet before she could start crying in earnest. "You sit with him, okay? I'll get this cleaned up for you, and you can move your things in tonight."
He led her out the door and up the next flight of stairs to Sirius' room, where she sat, quietly composing herself before anyone could join her. Then he headed back downstairs to see how much of her room he could salvage.
* * * * * * *
"You. What are you doing here?" Sirius squinted up from his bed at eyes he had almost forgotten.
"Relax, Black, you've had a rough summer." Muriel looked away to find that the Bloody Baron and Peeves were sitting quietly behind her in midair, "Baron - take Peeves home." Peeves blew a raspberry at her, but allowed the Baron to guide him through the wall. The other ghosts had returned to the castle hours before. When she turned back toward him, she saw that Sirius had fallen asleep again.
Arthur and Molly Weasley came upstairs, carrying tea for Muriel. "He woke up enough to recognize me, and he wasn't very happy," she told them. Arthur reached out to put a hand on her shoulder, but pulled back abruptly as Sirius sat straight up in bed.
"What are you doing here? GET OUT OF MY HOUSE!" Muriel smiled sadly at Molly and got up to go without a word. But Remus, running up the stairs, took her by the arm and brought her back into the room.
"I should think you'd be a little more grateful!" he exclaimed, looking angrily at Sirius.
"Remus, please, it's all right." Muriel could understand why Sirius might not want to see her.
Arthur coughed a bit, congratulated Sirius on his recovery and exited with Molly in tow. Remus dropped Muriel's arm, gave Sirius a warning glance and also left the room. It was then that the doorbell rang. Sirius grimaced, waiting for his mother's portrait to begin screaming. "I took her down." Muriel said softly. "I hope you don't mind." For just a moment Sirius almost smiled, but then his lips tightened.
"Learned a few tricks on vacation, did you?" he asked scathingly. He looked around the room for anything else to focus his eyes on. Finding nothing, he looked back at Muriel.
"I wanted to tell you myself, but there was no time. Father shipped me off without so much as a word, and they've watched every path back all this time. It was only 4 days ago that I got the okay from Fudge to be back in the country at all." She didn't mention that this permission was bought with Wormtail's arrest.
Sirius chose to ignore this comment entirely. "How did you do it? How'd you get me out of there?" His voice was softer now, so she did her best to match it.
"It was the poltergeist. I met one while I was," she paused, then continued in a rush, "traveling. When Remus told me what you fell through, I remembered the poltergeist saying something about ghosts being able to travel back and forth through an archway like that in - in America. Regular ghosts couldn't affect anything on either side. But he could. So I got the Bloody Baron to take Peeves into the archway. It was he who pulled you back. We were so worried when you came back through unconscious. It was possible that coming back through the barrier might have separated you from your body, then we'd have no way to find you. But it didn't. You went in whole, so you came out whole." She'd spoken so fast that it had seemed a great jumble to her, but when she caught his eyes, she saw that he was finally calm.
"I didn't go in there whole, Mur," he said quietly, looking down at his hands. Muriel's breath caught in her throat for an instant, but when Sirius looked up, he was looking past her with a face full of intense dislike. "I thought it wouldn't be long before you arrived, Snape," he said coldly. Muriel turned quickly in her chair, but said nothing.
"I just came to deliver a potion for Lupin. He contacted me earlier today. I thought I would look in and see if you had awakened." The look in his eyes was intent and unkind. "Now that I have seen, I shall go. Good day." He turned to go before Sirius spoke again.
"Aren't you even going to say hello to Muriel? After all she gave up for you I should think you'd want to at least greet her."
Snape turned back, looking almost triumphant. "Hasn't she told you? She's working at Hogwarts now, and we have already had time to get reacquainted." With this, he turned on his heel and left. They heard the front door slam a moment later. Muriel was shaking her head.
"There is no way for me to force either of you to be kind to one another. If you insist on baiting him like that - " but she never got to finish her sentence. Feet were thundering up the staircase, announcing Harry's arrival. Rather than pass him outside the door, Muriel gave Sirius a small smile and apparated to the kitchen.
The door banged open again and Harry stopped short. Sirius, struggling to compose himself, held out an arm, and Harry ran forward again. "I can't believe it," he said hoarsely, "Everyone said there was no way. I tried everything, even the mirror!" he exclaimed. "I even asked Nearly Headless Nick. He said there just wasn't any way you could be all right."
Sirius and Harry were both grinning like fools by evening. Muriel had composed herself enough to return, accompanied by a rather large wolf - bigger even that Sirius was as a dog! Harry blinked once or twice then said, "Professor Lupin?" At this the wolf jumped up onto the bed and curled up at Sirius' feet, winked at Harry, then closed his eyes and went promptly to sleep. Muriel was levitating two trays of food, her expression carefully neutral.
Harry brought over a little table for himself as the first tray landed gently in Sirius' lap. She left without saying anything and Harry was grateful. It gave him more time to spend with his Godfather. "Have you seen the paper yet," he said immediately, "you're free - they caught Wormtail! Sirius sat up a bit straighter at this, and Remus, waking, chose this moment to fix him with a glance that was meaningful even from a wolf.
"Who caught him?" Sirius asked, still looking at the wolf as Harry pulled the paper out of a back pocket and handed it to him.
"Doesn't say."