Lies

By Neurotica

Two

Sirius sat in his office, his legs on the desk and his chair leaned on its back legs, going over the list of new Auror candidates that were about to become qualified and finally join the Ministry. They had spent the better part of three years attempting to prove themselves worthy, and Sirius thought, for the most part, they looked to be quite a promising addition to his ranks. He reached the bottom of the list and nearly fell to the floor along with the chair he'd been sitting in.

"How could I have missed that?" he muttered to himself, staring at the name.

Nymphadora Tonks.

Sirius had only sat in on a few of the Auror training classes in the last two years; he had been too busy organizing security for the coming Quidditch World Cup. Not to mention the Malfoy case, and a top secret event only those privileged few in the Ministry knew about. But even still, he should have been able to pick out his second-cousin amongst the candidates. Sirius snorted aloud. It had taken him a few moments to remember that little Nymphy (a name she despised more than anything—which was why Sirius used it) just happened to be a metamorphmagus.

"That's why I didn't recognize her..."

"You know, Black, talking to yourself is the first sign of insanity." Kingsley Shacklebolt smirked, leaning on the door frame of Sirius' office.

Sirius grinned, still looking at the parchment in his hands. "You've known me for years, Kingsley; was that really the first sign of my insanity you've been able to spot?"

"No," Kingsley said lightly, stepping into the office. "Just thought I'd mention it." He crossed the room and sat in a chair across from Sirius, putting his own feet up on the desk.

"Looking good so far," Sirius said, referring to the candidates. "Nymphadora Tonks—"

"Er, she prefers to go by Tonks," Kingsley said with a wince. "I, er, forgot once, and she accidentally kicked me in my shin, left a nice bruise and everything."

Sirius laughed loudly. "Yeah, that's her all right. She's my second-cousin."

"That explains a lot," Kingsley said thoughtfully. "She's stubborn as all hell."

"Yeah, that's definitely a family trait," Sirius said. "So do we have everything ready for the staff meeting this afternoon?"

"Sure do, boss. I've already gone around, asking who's going to the cup and who's not. I think a few of them were trying to get out of duty, but I got them in the end."

Sirius smirked, looking back down at the parchment in his hands. "Don't hurt my Aurors, Shacklebolt," he muttered.

"Never," Kingsley said.

"Do we have enough, then?" Sirius asked.

"We still might need a few people. Ten more should cover it."

Sirius nodded. "Well, we can get a few of the candidates to help out."

Kingsley raised an eyebrow. "You sure about that?"

"Why not? It's not like this is going to be a tough job. They just have to stand at the gates, rechecking identification."

"Whatever you say," Kingsley said, looking skeptical. "Speaking of the Cup, you going?"

"Are you kidding?" Sirius said, his eyes shining excitedly. "Of course! Got the tickets months ago! 'Course, I only just told Remus and Harry. Wanted to make them think I couldn't get them and surprise them last minute."

"Did it work?"

"I guess. When I talked to Remus, Harry had just left his office, so I didn't get a chance to talk to him. But I'm sure he's excited," Sirius said. "How about you? You going?"

"Nah, couldn't get tickets. They sold out pretty fast," Kingsley said sadly. "But I get to play big bad Auror man, so it won't be all a waste."

Sirius laughed. "Maybe you could talk to Bagman. Arthur Weasley said he got top box from him."

"Eh," Kingsley said, waving him off. "England didn't make it in, so I'm not all that fussed about it. Maybe next time."

"Black, the Minister wants to make sure you've got enough Aurors for the cup. She says if you need more she can get DMLE," said a young blond-headed Auror named Bill Maxell.

"Er, tell her I'll let her know tomorrow, after we've had the meeting. I think we're pretty much covered though," Sirius said.

"Okay," Maxell replied, leaving the office.

"Hey, did Bagman tell you the details about the thing at Hogwarts, yet?" Kingsley asked.

Sirius grinned. "Yeah, the other day. Should be a great one. James and I had a petition going in third year to get the Tournament reinstated. We never did hear from them..." he said, looking dispirited.

Kingsley laughed. "Too late now, eh?" Sirius chuckled and nodded. "Well, I best be off. Leave those candidates alone too long and things start to break."

"It's Tonks, I assure you. Girl couldn't take two bloody steps without tripping over her feet when she was a kid," Sirius said, grinning.

"Even though it's still true, I am telling her you said that," Kingsley said, pointing at Sirius threateningly.

"Do what you will. I'll come by later and check things out. I've got a report on Malfoy I want to read over first."

"Alright, see you later," Kingsley said, leaving Sirius alone.

Sirius sighed and opened his desk drawer. He pulled out a large file with Lucius Malfoy written in large letters on the tab. Sirius flipped through to the very back of the file where a black and white picture of Malfoy was glaring at him.

"Where are you, you son of a bitch?" Sirius muttered to the picture. Malfoy made a very rude gesture with his middle finger causing Sirius to thump the photo. Malfoy rubbed the spot on his forehead Sirius had hit and glared harder at the Head Auror. "I will find you. That's something you can count on," Sirius said casually, flipping back to the latest report.


Remus strolled through the castle, saying hello to his students as he passed, making his way to the Great Hall for a much needed lunch. The morning had been rough; he was forced to place two Slytherins and a Hufflepuff in detention for fighting, not to mention the two third year Gryffindor boys (who shall remain nameless) he caught sneaking into the kitchens for a snack at three in the morning—Remus had had a craving for double chocolate cake and a cold glass of milk, and caught the boys sitting in front of a whole apple pie.

He turned a corner and nearly ran right into Sibyll Trelawney. Slightly surprised that the Divination teacher had left the sanctuary of her attic, Remus hid his surprise when he recognized her. "Oh, hello, Sibyll. How are you this afternoon?" he said kindly, helping his colleague get her bearings so she wouldn't fall.

Trelawney looked up at him with wide eyes—not that Remus could really tell with those glasses she wore — and pointed a shaky finger at him. "You are on the verge of terrible things, my child." Remus barely held back a snigger. "Are you certain you would not like me to read the lines of your palm? Perhaps I could help you avoid great tragedy," she said in her odd misty voice, reaching for Remus' hand.

"Er, no, Sibyll, it's quite all right," Remus said, linking his hands behind his back. "I like surprises. Now, if you would kindly excuse me, lunch is calling my name."

Looking slightly disappointed, Trelawney reclaimed her normal voice. "Very well. Good day, Professor."

Remus watched her continue in the direction of her classroom and shook his head. This had been the second time in six months she had offered her "services" of her "Inner Eye." Laughing to himself, Remus continued to the Great Hall.

He entered through the large doors behind a straggling group of Ravenclaws and made his way to the Gryffindor table. Hermione, it seemed, had taken a break from the never-ending studying she had been doing and was enjoying a salad. Harry and Ron, however, had their noses stuck in books, taking messy notes as they read. Remus walked behind Harry, and ruffled his hair.

Harry groaned in frustration, but did not turn. "Could you please stop doing that, Remus? I've almost got it lying flat!"

Remus laughed. "Harry, you are never going to get your hair flat. The strongest hair potions and charms couldn't get that hair flat." Harry turned and glared at Remus. Remus smirked. "Going to try and contradict me, are you?'

Harry shook his head, and turned back to his book.

"What are you studying?" Remus asked, looking over Harry's shoulder.

"Divination," Harry and Ron mumbled.

Remus laughed again. "Ah yes, I almost forgot: Professor Trelawney tried to read my palm again just now."

Hermione snorted rather uncharacteristically. "The only way she could read your palm is if you wrote something on it with your quill."

Remus grinned. "Now, now, Hermione."

"She told me the grim was in my crystal ball again today. Is Sirius coming for a visit anytime soon?" Harry asked hopefully.

"Actually, he is. He says he will be here for your Quidditch match on Saturday. But she's still on about the grim, is she?" Remus said.

"Yep," Harry said, still reading his book.

Remus rolled his eyes. "I wouldn't be too fussed about it if I were you. She's been doing that since before I started teaching here from what Professor McGonagall was saying. But I will see you three later, lunch is waiting."

"Bye," the three chorused.

Remus walked to the staff table and sat between Flitwick and Dumbledore.

"Good afternoon, Remus," Dumbledore said.

"Hello, Albus. You haven't by chance seen Severus this afternoon have you? I need to have a chat with him," Remus said, loading his plate with food.

"I have not. I believe he is preparing his exams. Is it about your potion?" the Headmaster inquired. Snape had been, er, kind enough to start making Remus' Wolfsbane Potion when he started at Hogwarts three years previously. Remus had a strong feeling it was only because of Dumbledore's insistences that he even did it.

Remus swallowed a bite of bread and shook his head. "No, nothing like that. Actually, I wanted to speak with him about his treatment of Harry in classes. I'm sure you have heard of the incident that occurred last week?"

"I did. I was surprised at the behavior on both parties." Dumbledore nodded.

"As was I. I've already spoken with Harry about it, and I thought I would have a chat with Severus as well."

"I am certain you will see him before long," Dumbledore said, taking a bite of his chicken casserole.

Remus nodded. Not long enough, though, he thought, going back to his meal.


Sirius held back a grin as he listened to the grumbling Aurors. "C'mon, people! Where's your sense of Ministry togetherness?" Sirius laughed at the raised eyebrows. "Look, if you lot don't help me out, I have to go to DMLE." There were many sympathetic groans. "So any volunteers or do I need to start picking at random?" Hesitantly, hands went into the air. Sirius beamed at them all. "Smashing! So between us and the few select candidates, we should be covered for the Cup. Now onto other business: Taylor, how are you coming along on the Baldham case?" Sirius said to the long brown-haired wizard.

"Not bad, boss. I'm almost positive he's still running around Surrey. Should have his location pinpointed in a day or two," Taylor replied.

Sirius nodded in approval. "Good. Sooner we get him in the better. Lawrence, any lead on the werewolf case?"

Lawrence, a tall redheaded witch, sighed. "No. After the full moon last month, he's just disappeared."

Sirius frowned. The case was one of a young wizard, only twenty-two years old, who had been bitten by a werewolf a few months ago. As revenge for his newly cursed life, the wizard had been attacking innocent people, Muggles included, on the full moon. The death toll was now up to ten, and there was a life long Azkaban sentence awaiting him. Sirius had to remind himself that they weren't all like Remus...

Running a hand through his hair, Sirius sighed. "Okay. Get with Magical Creatures, Beings unit, and see if they have anything. Full moon is in two weeks."

Lawrence nodded.

"All right, I think that covers everything for today. Those who have volunteered for the Cup—I know who you are—hang back; I want to go over a few things with you real quick. The rest of you can go home. See you tomorrow," Sirius said to the Aurors.

The large group stood or pushed themselves from against the wall where they were leaning and made their way out of the briefing room. Once all but twenty-five of them were left, Sirius briefed them on what would be expected at the Cup. It only lasted fifteen minutes—there would be a more detailed meeting in July for all working Ministry members. As they were headed out the door, Sirius called, "Oh, and proper Muggle attire is required. So I suggest you get working on that soon." There were a few more groans for the pureblooded among the group.

Sirius sat next to Kingsley. "How much you want to bet half of them show up looking like our worst idea of a Muggle?"

"No way in hell I'm betting on that; you'd win." Kingsley laughed. "Any idea which candidates you want?"

"You know them better than I do, but from what I was seeing today, Tonks is a good bet. Never knew she had it in her to be an Auror. Er, that kid with spiky hair..." Sirius trailed off.

"Davies?"

"Yeah, him. So, Tonks, Davies." Sirius looked back at the candidates list "Smith, Larson, and the Evans kid."

"Evans? You sure about that? He seemed a bit hesitant today."

"Nah, he'll be okay. He just didn't like a big black bloke standing over him with his wand pointing at his face shouting threats and curses. When I did it, he seemed fine." Sirius smirked at Kingsley. "I think he's a bit intimidated by you, Kingsley. But I know better; deep down you're just a big lovable teddy bear, aren't you?" Sirius pinched both of Kingsley's cheeks.

"Never. do. that. again," Kingsley said through clenched teeth, trying not to laugh at Sirius.

Sirius grinned. "Come on, let's get the hell out of here."

The two Aurors stood and made their way out of the room, checking Headquarters for any stray Aurors working late before they locked the doors behind them. They walked silently to the lifts that would take them to the Atrium, then walked past the Fountain of Magical Brethren, and got in line for the fireplaces.

"So, you seeing Hestia tonight?" Kingsley asked slyly.

"Why would I be seeing Hestia?" Sirius replied, not looking at Kingsley.

"Rumor has it you've been seeing a lot of her."

"Rumors are wrong."

"Are they?"

"Yes."

"Hmm," Kingsley said, not convinced one bit.

"We're friends, that's it," Sirius said quietly.

"Right. Well, I'll see you tomorrow, Sirius. Don't stay out too late." Kingsley winked and stepped into the fireplace, saying his address, and disappeared.

Sirius rolled his eyes before stepping into the same fireplace and saying the address of the cottage. He disappeared in the flames, spinning, and finally coming out of his own fireplace. He stepped out, dusted the soot off his robes, and looked around the dark, quiet cottage. He sighed.

After three years of this, I should be used to it, he mused.

He crossed through the living room into the kitchen and looked through the day's post that was sitting on the kitchen counter. Most of it was junk mail and he threw it into the rubbish bin. He received a letter each from Remus and Harry, making him smile. But before he could open either of them, another letter caught his eye. Sirius' name was written in elegant, unfamiliar handwriting, and there was no return address.

Auror instincts kicking in, Sirius waved his wand over the aged looking parchment and muttered a tracking spell. The parchment glowed red for a moment before fading to black; the origin of the letter was undetectable. Raising an eyebrow, Sirius performed a number of other spells on the letter (portkey detection, identity spells—though he didn't think these would work—and a spell to tell him how long ago the letter had been written).

Sirius bit his top lip in thought. "You're not a portkey, and I don't know who wrote you or when..." he said to the letter. After five minutes of glaring at the letter, Sirius decided to be courageously stupid. He slit the letter open with his wand and sighed in relief when nothing exploded—Remus wouldn't have been too happy with that. He opened the letter and began to read. The longer he read the writing on the parchment, the more anger, shock, and a little fear filled his insides.

"This isn't happening... No bloody way..." he muttered, staring at the cupboard before him. Looking back at the letter, Sirius had to steady himself against the counter. He did not know whether to jump for joy or go on a killing spree... He decided a second brain would be needed.

Clutching the parchment in his hand, Sirius went back to the fireplace, threw in a pinch of Floo powder, and said Kingsley's address. After a few long minutes, Sirius' partner's head was looking at him through the flames.

Without so much as a greeting, Sirius said, "You need to get over here. I just got a letter from Lucius Malfoy."


Harry, Ron, and Hermione crept through the darkened Hogwarts halls under Harry's Invisibility Cloak.

"Ron! You're stepping on my heels!" Hermione hissed.

"Well, if you'd walk faster..." Ron retorted.

"Will you two shut up? We're almost outside," Harry said over his shoulder.

Hermione, who was about to snap back at Ron, closed her mouth and continued to follow Harry. They reached the castle's front doors moments later and Harry pushed them open easily.

Once on the grounds, Harry looked up to the sky automatically. At least it's not a full moon, he thought, remembering clearly the last time he had risked an outing at Hogwarts on the full moon.

The three friends crossed the grounds quickly and quietly until they reached Hagrid's hut. As Harry raised his fist to knock on the door, however, he heard another voice inside. Harry groaned audibly. Why did Remus have to come tonight?

"Well, are you going to knock?" Ron asked.

"Remus is in there..." Harry replied as Hagrid's door was wrenched open. The boy's fist was the only thing visible.

Remus only shook his head. "Well, get in here, no use staying outside in the cold."

Harry took off the cloak revealing Hermione and Ron behind him. All three smiled guiltily at their professors.

"Hey, Remus, Hagrid," Harry said.

"I didn' know you three was comin' tonight," Hagrid said from his table, smiling at the three students.

"Nor did I," Remus said, shutting the door. If Harry hadn't been so worried about what detention he would have now, he would have noticed the humor in his guardian's voice. "And I have a feeling you didn't consult the map before you got here, either."

Harry shook his head. "Forgot," he mumbled.

"Are we in trouble?" Ron blurted out.

Remus looked at the three of them in turn, and then to Hagrid. "What do you think, Professor Hagrid?"

"Oh, I dunno, Professor Lupin. Maybe a week's cleanin' frog guts off Snape's dungeon ceilings'd teach 'em," Hagrid replied.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione looked horrified from Hagrid to Remus. "You wouldn't..." Harry said to Remus.

"I don't know, Harry. I did tell you the other night not to be sneaking out. Not to mention the fact that Sirius and I raised you better; you should always check the map..."

"B-but you and Sirius and my dad used to sneak out all the time," Harry stammered.

"We did, but we were smart enough not to go where two of our teachers happened to be meeting," Remus said, trying hard not to laugh at the horrified looks on his students faces.

"Remus... please..." Harry said with the same puppy dog eyes Sirius used when he wanted something, usually Remus' last chocolate bar.

Remus couldn't hold in his laughter any longer. Once he calmed a bit, he looked at the three of them. "I'm not going to punish you for visiting Hagrid. This time," he added at the relieved looks on the three of them. "Next time, remember the map..."

"Thank you, Professor," Hermione said with a relieved smile.

Remus nodded, still smiling. "Well, sit down, have some tea. How is studying going?"

Harry shivered. "Bad. Potions is impossible...."

Ron nodded fervently in agreement.

"I can't say I'm any better in Potions than you two are, but if you follow the directions you should be okay," Remus said.

"Not with Snape breathing down your neck," Ron muttered.

"Can we not discuss studying? Please?" Harry said pleadingly.

Remus and Hagrid laughed.

They began talking about the upcoming Quidditch Cups (both school and world). Sensing Hermione's boredom, Remus changed the subject to Buckbeak the Hippogriff.

"I think Sirius is interested in meeting him," Remus said to Hagrid. "After I mentioned the attack on Draco Malfoy, he was quite eager. Said Buckbeak was his new hero..."

Hagrid chuckled. "Yeah, he would say that." Hagrid's smile faded. "Horrifyin', that was. Thought I was gonna loose me job!"

Remus smiled. "Absolutely not. From what I heard, Malfoy wasn't paying attention in class. It was his fault. And besides, he's fine now."

Harry, Ron, and Hermione nodded.

"He deserved it," Ron said. "After everything he's said to Harry, he should have gotten more than that." Harry stamped on Ron's foot. "Ow! What was that for?"

"What's he been saying?" Remus asked, turning to Harry.

"Nothing," Harry said a bit too quickly. "Honestly, I can handle it."

"If he says anything about his father..."

"I know, tell you or Dumbledore," Harry finished Remus' warning; he had been getting it since the first day of school.

Remus nodded. "Well, I better get these three back to the Tower. We all have classes tomorrow. There' no point in putting the cloak back on, you're with me," he said to Harry, Ron, and Hermione as he stood.

"I'll see yeh all tomorrow," Hagrid said, holding Fang back.

"Night!" Harry, Ron and Hermione said, following Remus out the door.

Remus led them through the castle and to Gryffindor tower. "No more late night outings; you've got exams," he said, looking at Harry sternly.

"Okay. Night, Remus," Harry said.

"Night, Professor," Ron and Hermione said.

"Fortuna major," Hermione said to the Fat Lady.

"Good night, kids," Remus said, watching them clamber through the portrait hole. He began walking back to his office, desperate for a few hours' sleep.