Truths
By Neurotica
Twenty-One
Wormtail's watery blue eyes stared into Sirius' grey ones nervously. Sirius glared back with the utmost hatred. Actually, hate wasn't a strong enough word for what Sirius felt for his former friend; there was no word for that feeling.
Sirius watched Wormtail cower back slowly and begin to shake. Sirius' eyes narrowed and his glare hardened with enough venom that if looks could kill, Wormtail would be dead three times over. Wormtail turned to his right, tapped James on the shoulder, and pointed to Sirius. James turned to Sirius with a large grin and a cheerful wave. Sirius' glare softened a bit. Wormtail disappeared from the frame.
"You all right, Black?" said a deep voice across from Sirius.
Sirius jumped a bit in his chair and looked away from the photo on the wall he had been glaring at for the past fifteen minutes. "Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine, sorry. Just zoned out, I guess."
Kingsley Shacklebolt nodded, but didn't look convinced. "I was asking if Pettigrew has any remaining family."
Sirius sat up and thought hard. "Well, his dad died a few months into third year. His mum died about three years ago from what Remus told me. He's an only child... I'm pretty sure his grandparents are dead. I don't know about any aunts or uncles or cousins or anything. He never mentioned any," he replied with a shrug.
Kingsley nodded again and went back to the parchment he'd been studying.
They were trying to find any place Wormtail could possibly be. Remaining friends had been ruled out; Wormtail's only friends at Hogwarts—as far as Sirius knew—were the Marauders. It was a possibility he could be hiding out with a fellow Death Eater, but that was hard to prove, seen as how every known Death Eater was in Azkaban or had claimed to be bewitched just after the war. If he was hiding in his Animagus form, it was going to be nearly impossible to find him. But Sirius would not give up hope.
The Department of Magical Law Enforcement had kept Wormtail's Animagus abilities confidential for the time being. The Auror squads knew, but no one else had the information. Sirius and Kingsley, however, had talked Moody into making it public knowledge; it may make things easier for them. After a discussion with the Minister of Magic, Moody was going to make the announcement during a press conference in three days.
So at some point in those three days, Sirius had to get up the nerve to tell Arthur Weasley the truth about Wormtail. It had been a week since the meeting at Hogwarts, and every time Sirius started to tell Arthur, he lost the courage. Every time, he kicked himself mentally, asking himself the same question, "Am I a Gryffindor or not?"
In Sirius' defense, it was a rather tough subject to bring up. One can't just go up to somebody at the water cooler and say, "Hey, you know your son's rat? Yeah, he's an Animagus Death Eater who killed twelve Muggles, and betrayed his best friends. So did you see that Quidditch match the other day?" It didn't work like that. It was a situation to be handled delicately.
Moony would know what to do... Sirius sighed.
He took a look around Auror Headquarters and spotted the one person he had hoped to avoid until at least lunchtime. Arthur Weasley walked cheerfully between cubicles, receiving slight glares from some of the other Aurors as he whistled a tune, and headed straight for Sirius and Kingsley.
"Morning, Sirius, Kingsley," Arthur said happily.
"Morning, Weasley," Kingsley said distractedly, flipping through files.
"Hello, Arthur. What brings you down this way?" Sirius asked.
"Well, Molly wanted me to ask if you, Remus, and Harry would like to join us for dinner tonight. The kids seem to have taken a liking to Harry and they've been asking when they would see him again," Arthur said.
Sirius was slightly surprised at the invitation. He had gotten the feeling that Molly Weasley didn't much care for him. "Oh, er, yeah. That sounds nice. Harry seems to like your kids, too. He keeps going on about your twin boys."
Arthur smiled. "Fred and George. Yes, they're slight troublemakers, but haven't done anything too terrible..." Sirius watched Arthur trail off and shudder before he went on. "Anyway, wonderful. So come by around six. Molly will be delighted to hear you're coming."
Sirius and Arthur said goodbye, and Arthur headed back to his own office in Misuse of Muggle Artifacts.
Funny how things work out, Sirius thought. He and Remus could tell Molly and Arthur that night. Sirius cringed at the thought of what Molly's face would look like. But they have to know... Sirius convinced himself before he began some paperwork.
Remus and Harry sat at the kitchen table, an assortment of books and parchment spread out in front of them. Harry's tongue was sticking out slightly between his lips in concentration as he moved the quill across the parchment.
Finally, after a minute, Harry let out a cry of triumph. "I did it! Look, Remus!"
Remus smiled broadly as he looked over Harry's parchment. The six-year-old had written different Quidditch terms beneath the places Remus had done examples. Harry's handwriting was large and messy, but Remus could make out the words "Keeper" and "snitch."
"Wonderful job, Harry! You're getting better at this!" the wizard said, ruffling Harry's hair.
Harry smiled proudly, looking back over his work.
In the past few days, Harry had shown interest in learning to read and write. Remus, being the tutor he was at Hogwarts, offered to teach his surrogate godson while Sirius worked. The fact that Sirius had a job, and Remus did not, didn't bother Remus near as much as it would have a few years ago. Though Remus wished he could get a well paying job with the Ministry, he was happier spending his days with Harry.
"What time's Sirius getting home?" Harry asked, eyeing the clock on the wall anxiously.
Remus smiled. "What? I'm not good enough company for you?"
"No, I was just wondering," Harry said a little too innocently.
Remus raised an eyebrow. He knew that innocent look. It was the same look James had after he charmed Snape's school books to snap shut on the Slytherin's hands. "What did you do?" he asked warily.
"Nothing."
"Harry," Remus said sternly.
Harry sighed. "I put a wet-start firework in his bed. I was going to throw a water balloon at it when he came home," he said, defeated.
Remus held back a smile... barely. "Not a bad idea. But I know how to make it better."
Harry grinned at the mischievous Marauder smile on Remus' face.
"Honey, I'm home!" Sirius called cheerfully as he Apparated into the cottage.
Remus and Harry sat innocently together on the sofa reading a book.
"Shut up, Padfoot," Remus said with a grin. Harry began to giggle, but Remus silenced him with a look. "How'd your day go?" he asked casually.
"Fine." Sirius sighed as he collapsed into his armchair "No new news about the Muggles," he said with a slight glance at Harry. The still hadn't told him about the Dursleys—they weren't sure if they even should; why bring up topics that would torment him? "Er, Arthur Weasley came into headquarters today."
Remus looked up. "And?"
"He asked the three of us over for dinner tonight with his family."
Remus raised an eyebrow—Sirius was really starting to hate that eyebrow. "You haven't told him yet."
Sirius sighed. "No, I haven't. How am I supposed to tell him something like that?"
"I know it's hard, Sirius, but the man has the right to know."
"I know, I know," Sirius said, rubbing the back of his neck. "I thought maybe you could help me tonight," he added with the charming smile that got him nearly anything he wanted.
"That smile does not work on me, Padfoot. I don't know why you even try," Remus said flatly.
Sirius dropped the façade. "Please, Moony," he begged. "You were always good at these things."
"I have never had to tell anyone something like this before, Sirius!" Remus rolled his eyes at Sirius' pleading, puppy dog look. "Fine. I will help you. I put emphasis on help. Only because they need to know and you don't have the nerve to tell them. What time do we have to be there?"
Sirius grinned. "Six. Thanks, Moony, I owe you one. I'm gonna go grab a shower real quick."
Harry giggled into his book, peering over the top at Sirius as he walked out into the hall. Sirius stopped and raised his eyebrows.
"Book's funny," Harry managed to say through his laughter.
Sirius looked at the book title: Herbology Made Fun for Your Child. "Right," he said slowly. "I'm going to go to the shower now." Looking suspiciously at Remus and Harry, Sirius backed down the hallway slowly, and locked the bathroom door behind him.
Remus and Harry grinned at each other and snuck quietly down the hall behind Sirius. They heard Sirius cough... undress... only another few seconds... Sirius turned the water on...
Bangs, cracks, and lights erupted in the bathroom amidst Sirius' screams. Remus and Harry collapsed against the wall in laughter.
Sirius yanked the door open a few seconds later with a towel around his waist. "What the hell!" he cried.
Neither Remus nor Harry could get a single word in through their laughter. Sirius folded his arms across his chest, leaned against the door frame, and waited.
Ten minutes later, and very red in the face, Remus took a deep breath and looked at Sirius with a large grin. "Harry's idea," he said, pointing to the boy next to him rolling around on the floor.
Harry managed it sit up. "Hey! It wasn't my idea! It was yours!"
"You were the one who wanted to use wet-start fireworks, Harry, not me."
Sirius sighed and waited for their little argument to end—it was highly amusing.
"Oh yeah," Harry said thoughtfully. "But you were the one who made them invisible and put them in the shower."
Remus turned and grinned at Sirius. "Damn right, I did."
Sirius finally laughed. "Nice, boys, very nice. Now before I go back in there, are there any more invisible things I need to know about?"
Remus pretended to think hard. "Nope, not that I know of. Harry?"
Harry shook his head, still laughing.
Sirius nodded and went back into the bathroom. Before he closed the door, he looked out at his family and grinned evilly. "You do know, boys, that this means war."
Remus and Harry's grins faded instantly.
"Wonderful meal, Molly," Remus said, wiping his face on a napkin.
"Thank you, Remus," Molly replied as she served Harry a third helping of roast beef and potatoes.
"Yeah, this is great. I haven't had such a good meal since Hogwarts. Thank you for having us over," Sirius said, watching Molly cut Harry's roast.
"It's our pleasure, dear. You three are welcome hear anytime."
The Weasleys, Sirius, Remus, and Harry were gathered around a large table in the backyard of the Burrow. The children sat on one end talking and laughing, while the adults sat on the other discussing the Ministry and Quidditch.
"Mum, can we take Harry to play some Quidditch?" asked the Weasley's eldest son, Bill.
"I don't see why not, but you'll have to ask Remus and Sirius if it's okay, first," Molly replied, refilling Harry's pumpkin juice.
All the kids looked hopefully at the two wizards.
"Can I? Please?" Harry asked eagerly.
"Where do you play Quidditch?" Sirius asked Bill. He wasn't too keen on letting Harry wander too far off without an adult with a wand nearby. Not after the dementors...
"Just over that hill." Bill pointed. "He'll be okay. And we'll be back before dark. We promise."
All the children nodded enthusiastically. Sirius looked at Remus in question.
Remus nodded. "Sure, but if there're any problems, let us know immediately."
"We will," Bill said. The children got up from the table and ran to the broomshed.
"Can I have my broom, Sirius?" Harry asked, bouncing on his feet.
"Impatient, aren't we?" Sirius grinned. He reached into his cloak and pulled out Harry's broom. Once it was enlarged, Harry climbed on, and waited.
"Aren't you going to do the charm?" the boy asked.
Sirius hesitated, but set his wand down on the table. "I think you're getting good enough that you don't need the charm. Just be careful, okay?"
Harry beamed as he hugged Sirius and Remus before flying off after the calling Weasley children. Sirius and Remus watched him anxiously as he flew over the hill.
"He'll be okay. Bill and Charlie will keep a close eye on him," Arthur assured them gently.
Remus tore his eyes from the sky and smiled at Arthur and Molly. Both smiled back knowingly.
"Harry is such a wonderful boy. Amazing manners; a few of my children could learn a thing or two from him," Molly said fondly.
Sirius finally looked away from the distant hilltop where he could vaguely see shapes in the sky. "Don't let him fool you, Molly. That boy can cause some trouble. You should have seen what he and Remus did to me today."
Remus laughed. "You had it coming," he muttered.
"Well, I think it's great what you two are doing for him. If anyone deserves a good life, it's Harry. I always wondered what had happened to him after all the business with You-Know-Who," Molly said. "Sorry," she added at the suddenly tense looks on Sirius and Remus' faces.
"Don't worry about it, Molly." Remus smiled.
"Speaking of You-Know-Who," Arthur said quietly and seriously. "Any news on Peter Pettigrew, Sirius?"
Sirius exchanged a quick look at Remus before he cleared his throat. "Er, funny you should mention that, Arthur..." He scratched his head, wondering where to begin. "You said your son had a rat?"
Arthur nodded. "Yes, Percy had a rat..." he said, unsure as to what his son's rat had to do with a Death Eater.
"Well," Remus began awkwardly. This really is hard... he thought. "There's something we think you should know."
"Okay," Molly said slowly, eyeing the two younger wizards in confusion.
Sirius looked at Remus. "Start at the beginning, eh?" Remus nodded. "Right, well, back in Hogwarts, James Potter, Pettigrew, and I decided we wanted to become Animagi." Sirius did not want to bring up Remus' condition without discussing it with him first, and that made it harder. "We succeeded in our fifth year."
"Wait just a moment... You're an Animagus?" Molly asked loudly.
"Yes," Sirius replied calmly. "But I'd prefer if you didn't tell anybody; I'm not registered."
Molly and Arthur exchanged a shocked look.
"Anyway," Sirius continued, "James' form was a stag," he held Harry's stuffed animal up for emphasis, "I'm a dog, and Pettigrew..." he took a deep breath, "is a rat."
Arthur raised his eyebrows, Molly gasped. "S-sorry, could you repeat that?" Arthur asked hoarsely.
Remus took over. "Pettigrew's Animagus form is a rat. He's got watery blue eyes, a fat bald tail, a large scar on his stomach, and he's missing a toe on his right paw," he said quietly in one breath, averting Molly's and Arthur's eyes.
"Are you trying to tell us," Molly said in a wavering voice, "that you think our son's rat was actually an Animagus."
The looks she was sending the younger wizards was enough to make them shrink back into their chairs. "Yes, we believe so," Remus confirmed quietly.
The Weasleys went pale. "My son... my son had a Death Eater on his pillow for five years?" Arthur said, horrified.
Sirius nodded, meeting Arthur's eyes. "Yes," he said simply. There was nothing more to say, or so he thought.
Remus managed to add something. "I think, and Dumbledore agrees with me, that when he left your home and came to mine, thinks he was going after Harry," Remus said.
"My god," Arthur muttered, grasping his wife's hand. All four sets of eyes drifted to the spot the children could be seen flying.
"That couldn't have gone worse," Sirius said, following Remus out of the cottage fireplace a few hours later with a sleeping Harry.
"I don't know, it wasn't so bad. Molly took it better that I thought she would. At least she take her wand out on us for not telling them sooner," Remus replied as they walked to Harry's room.
Sirius nodded as he put Harry into bed, covered him with a blanket, and kissed his forehead. He and Remus left the room and headed into the living room where both wizards collapsed on the sofa.
Sirius looked lazily over at the window. "Hey, we got a letter," he said. He retrieved his wand and summoned the letter from the open window sill. Remus rolled his eyes at his friend's blatant laziness.
Sirius read the letter quickly, and lit it on fire with the tip of his wand. "Order meeting at Hogwarts in two days, at ten o'clock."
Remus nodded, and soon after, both went to bed.
"The Ministry is still unsure as to the motives of Vernon and Petunia Dursleys' murders," Dumbledore spoke from his podium. "I believe, however, that it was arranged by Voldemort." A shudder ran around the room; Dumbledore ignored it. "Voldemort sent Death Eaters to attack the Dursleys when he realized it would not be so easy to obtain Harry Potter."
"What?" Sirius asked loudly.
Dumbledore nodded grimly. "The Dursleys were not the first to be attacked, however. Dementors were sent to attack you and Remus, Sirius, in the hopes of gaining Harry. When they failed, Voldemort was furious and released his anger on the Dursleys, leaving a message for us all that he would be returning."
"That's why they were sent..." Remus said quietly.
Dumbledore nodded again. "At the moment, Voldemort is quickly gaining strength. I do not know, however, how or when he will regain his body, but it will happen. He is handing out orders to a small group of Death Eaters who have already rejoined his ranks."
"Wormtail," Sirius and Remus said simultaneously.
Again, Dumbledore nodded.
"How do you know all this, sir?" Emmeline Vance asked. Sirius and Remus jumped, forgetting they weren't alone in the room.
Dumbledore looked at every face before him and answered mysteriously, "I have my ways, Emmeline. And I cannot put these—ways—in jeopardy by telling any of you. I hope you will forgive this."
The room nodded vaguely.
"Does the Ministry have this information?" Elphias Doge said.
"Yes, they do. Madam Bones does at the very least; she has been most cooperative with our efforts."
Doge nodded and stared at the table top.
Minutes passed in silence before Dumbledore spoke again. "Before I conclude this meeting, I have a request of you all." Everyone looked up into the blue eyes of the only wizard Lord Voldemort ever feared. "The school year will be commencing soon, and it would be best for us, and for the students, if we were able to find a location where we could meet in seclusion outside of the school. A place not many people know about, somewhere it would not seem odd to have many people coming in and out at different hours of the day or night would certainly be preferable. If any of you know or hear of such a place, please let me know as soon as possible."
The meeting ended. Chairs scraped against the stone floor as witches and wizards left the room, chatting quietly.
Remus stood, and started to make his way for Harry, but Sirius remained in his chair, his face in deep thought. "Sirius?" Remus said, placing a hand on his friend's shoulder.
Sirius ignored Remus and stood, making his way to where Dumbledore and Moody were talking. Remus watched in curiosity.
"I know a place, sir," Sirius said somewhat reluctantly.
Dumbledore turned and looked at Sirius as if knowing what the younger wizard was going to say. "Where, Sirius?" he asked quietly.
With a grim, lopsided smile, Sirius replied, "The Most Noble and Ancient House of Black."