Lies

By Neurotica

Twenty-One

Harry stepped off the Hogwarts Express right behind Hermione and Ron. Four Aurors were standing at the barrier to the Muggle world, instructing students when it was safe to pass through. It took nearly an hour to reach the front of the line, during which Ron and Hermione promised to visit Harry at Grimmauld Place—they were both quite interested in seeing the home that Sirius had grown up in—Hermione for the history, Ron for the lack of anything better to do over summer holidays.

Since the house was under a strong Fidelius Charm, Albus Dumbledore would have to be the one to tell Harry's friends how to get there. Harry made a mental note to remind Sirius and Remus to talk to Dumbledore when he got home.

"Next," called the Auror in charge of the students. Harry couldn't recall his name "Hey, Harry. Black's waiting for you just on the other side. Have a good summer."

"Thanks," Harry said with a smile. He crossed through the barrier and was met with a pair of strong arms grabbing him around his waist from behind, pulling him away from the crowd. Out of pure instinct, Harry reached up and hit his attacker hard in what felt like the face.

"Ow, Harry! Damn," Sirius cried, releasing Harry and grabbing at his eye.

When his heart had stopped racing, Harry had the decency to look sheepish. "Sorry," he said, picking up his trunk and Hedwig's cage from where he'd dropped them. "You all right?"

"No. I'm going to have a black eye thanks to you," Sirius said, his hand covering his eye. "Not a bad hit, though," he added with a grin.

"You're such a girl," Harry grinned back. "Where's Remus?" he added, looking around for his favorite werewolf.

"He's busy today," Sirius said evasively. "He'll be around tonight."

"Okay," Harry said slowly, handing his trunk to Sirius as they made their way through the train station.

Once again, a Ministry car had been provided to take the pair back to Number Twelve. During the ride, Sirius filled Harry in on what had been happening since they'd seen each other the week before. Voldemort had been eerily silent since his attack on Hogwarts, and though he hadn't said it aloud, Harry could tell his godfather was uneasy by the calmness in their world. 'The calm before the storm...' Harry recalled the Muggle term he'd heard Remus use a few times when Sirius hadn't pulled any pranks for an unusual amount of time.

They arrived in front of Numbers Eleven and Thirteen and took Harry's belongings from the boot of the car. Sirius handed him a slip of parchment that read: 'The Headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix may be found at Number Twelve, Grimmauld Place, London.' Harry already knew what to do and handed the parchment back to Sirius for immediate burning, once away from the eyes of Muggles, and they made their way up the front stairs.

"Keep quiet, Harry," Sirius murmured as he opened the front door with a tap of his wand.

Harry nodded and followed Sirius into the house. Sirius gestured for Harry to go up the stairs while he closed the doors. The younger wizard tiptoed past Mrs. Black, up the stairs, and walked down the hall to his bedroom.

"Right." Sirius put a sleeping Hedwig on Harry's desk "It's not as good as your room back at the cottage, but it'll do. Get your stuff unpacked and put away, and come down to the kitchen. We've got something to discuss," he said gravely.

"I didn't do it," Harry said automatically. Being raised by Marauders did strange things to one's psyche.

"'Atta, boy." Sirius grinned proudly, ruffling Harry's hair. "See you downstairs."

Sirius left the bedroom, with Harry wondering what he could have possibly done in the past week to cause Sirius to take that, er, serious tone of voice.

Harry quickly put his school things in their proper places and made his way down the stairs in the direction of the basement kitchen. As he passed a linen closet, he could feel eyes upon him, but when he turned to look, the closet was empty. Harry raised an eyebrow and continued on his way. He entered the kitchen to find Sirius sitting on a counter, talking quietly with Emmeline Vance.

"Hello, Harry," Emmeline greeted with a smile.

"Hello," Harry said, glancing questioningly at Sirius. Had his godfather found another girlfriend?

"Have a seat, Harry," Sirius said, rubbing his eyes tiredly.

"What's wrong?" Harry asked, looking from Sirius to Emmeline. "What's happened?"

"Nothing's happened. I've just been really tired. Sit, stay a while," Sirius said with a smile. Harry obeyed and slowly sat across from Emmeline. Sirius jumped off the counter and summoned three butterbeers for them to drink. He passed the bottles around the table and sat between the other two.

"You want to start?" Sirius asked Emmeline.

The witch rolled her eyes but smiled. "Harry, what do you know about Occlumency?" she asked.

"Er," Harry said, looking at Sirius.

"I'll take that as not much." Emmeline chuckled. "Well, in simple terms, Occlumency is the art of blocking one's mind from outside invasion. I've been asked by Headmaster Dumbledore to teach you these skills in order to keep Lord Voldemort from penetrating your mind when you're most vulnerable. Mainly, when you're asleep."

Harry's eyebrows rose a bit. Emmeline had actually said the name. I think I might like her...

"Harry, you know about the prophecy," Sirius said, looking graver than Harry had ever seen him. "You know what's at risk if Voldemort gets a hold on it. My job, and Remus' job, is to make sure you are safe, first and foremost. I will not allow you to get hurt so long as I am around to do so. You have to work hard at this, Harry. Do you understand?"

Harry nodded, looking his godfather in the eye. "When do I start?" he asked quietly.

"Monday, if that's okay with you. I've got a lot of work at the Ministry, but it'll start slowing down by then. I'll come here around six and we'll begin the lessons," Emmeline said. Harry nodded as the witch stood. "I've got to go. It was good seeing you again, Harry, and I'll see you next week."

"Thanks, Emmeline," Sirius said as she left the kitchen. He turned back to Harry to see him staring at the kitchen table. "What?" he said softly.

"Is he after the prophecy?" Harry asked.

"Dumbledore thinks so, yes," Sirius said calmly. It reminded Harry of the way Remus acted when he was put on the spot. "That's why you need to study Occlumency. It's not easy, and it's not fun, but if you work at it, it'll do wonders."

Harry nodded, thinking hard about something Sirius couldn't begin to figure out.

"How about some chess while we wait for Moony to get home?" Sirius asked.


Remus sat down at a table in the back of the Leaky Cauldron after ordering a drink. He'd once again met with Quirrell upon Dumbledore's request. The odd but bright, wizard had many connections with foreign witches and wizards that many in the Order didn't have. Quirrell was hesitant about joining the fight, but after some intense persuasion from Remus, he'd agreed to meet with Dumbledore at the very least.

Remus hadn't been sleeping well in the past week. He wasn't sure if it was due to stress or exhaustion, but he'd been having odd dreams about Sirius and Harry climbing out of Voldemort's wand and playing Quidditch in a golden-colored diamond. He put his head into his hands and closed his eyes while he waited for his drink.

Moments later, a glass was placed next to his arm. He muttered thank you and expected the waitress to walk away. He opened his eyes and looked to his left, spotting a shadow.

"Can I help—" he began, moving his eyes away from the table and up to the witch beside him. His jaw locked as he slowly sat up and back into his chair. "What are you doing here?" he spat quietly, sticking a hand into his robes casually for his wand.

"I work here," she said quietly, not taking her eyes away from Remus'.

"I've never seen you here," Remus replied coldly. He really didn't need this right now...

"I know. But I've seen you in here with Sirius and Harry a lot," she said with a small smile. "He looks just like James."

Remus' temper began to flare at the casual comment. It looked as though it had caused her everything to admit it. "What do you want from me, Naomi?" he growled.

Naomi looked back towards the bar nervously and turned her attention fully to Remus. "Just to talk," she whispered pleadingly.

Slowly, unconsciously, Remus removed his eyes from her hazel ones and glanced down to her left forearm, which was covered by the sleeve of her robe. He hadn't seen her in almost fourteen years and all of a sudden, here she was, right in front of him, twice in one week. He'd loved her with everything he had those many years ago, and she'd crushed him. She'd ruined everything they'd had together, and for what? A tattoo and a Dark Lord who wanted Remus' family dead.

Remus picked up his glass of firewhiskey, drank it in a few gulps, and slammed the glass down on the table, causing a few of the Leaky Cauldron's patrons to start and look at him. Remus stood shakily and turned to Naomi. "I don't think so," he said softly. He began to walk away, but turned around before she was out of earshot. "I'd watch out if I were you," he said casually. "Sirius knows everything."


Sirius and Harry had played four games of chess while they waited for Remus to get back to Number Twelve. Sirius glanced at his watch worriedly every few moments, wondering if something had happened to his friend during his meeting with Quirrell. Sirius had never met the other man and therefore, didn't trust him one bit.

By one in the morning, Harry was falling asleep at the kitchen table. His arm had knocked Sirius' chess pieces to the floor. He'd refused to go to bed until Remus came in, and Sirius couldn't force himself to do the parental thing and send him to bed.

At two in the morning, Sirius found himself laying his head on his arms, drifting to sleep as well. The slamming of the front door jolted both wizards awake.

"Wha' 'appened?" Harry muttered sleepily, wiping drool from his face as he looked around the kitchen.

Mrs. Black began her screaming three seconds later. Sirius and Harry exchanged a glance and raced up the stairs to the front hall.

"BEASTS! FILTH! ABOMINATIONS!" she shouted.

"Oh shuddup!" Remus was yelling back. Sirius noticed immediately that his friend was wavering as he stood.

"Help me, Harry!" Sirius said over his mother's screams. Together, the two of them pulled the curtains over Mrs. Black's portrait.

They turned to find Remus leaning against a wall, grinning stupidly. "I know you!" he said, pointing a shaking finger at Harry. "You're Prongs' boy!"

Harry raised an eyebrow at Sirius. "Uh, yeah, Remus, that's me."

"I think it's time for bed, Harry," Sirius said slowly. Harry nodded in understanding and made his way up the stairs. "Moony," he said, moving cautiously to his friend. "Are you drunk?"

It was a pointless question; Sirius could smell the firewhiskey on Remus' breath a mile away.

"Nah, Padfoot! M'not drunk!" Remus slurred, still grinning.

"Right, I think it's time you got to bed too, Remus."

"Not tired, Pa'foot," Remus yawned widely, falling over slightly.

Sirius shook his head, put his arm around Remus' waist, and helped him up the stairs.

"Saw Prongs last week, you know," Remus said matter-of-factly as he watched Sirius remove the werewolf's boots and helped him lay down on the bed.

"I know, Remus, I was there," Sirius said. "We'll talk in the morning." Sirius began to move away, but Remus caught his arm.

"You're the best friend ever, Padfoot," Remus said, grinning again.

"Thanks, Remus. Good night," Sirius replied, prying his arm from Remus' grip. He turned off the bedroom lights and shut the door as he left.

Sirius went down the stairs and found Kingsley leaning casually against the front door.

"Don't tell me you're drunk, too," Sirius whispered.

Kingsley chuckled. "No, I'm not drunk. But that doesn't sound too bad at the moment," he added thoughtfully. "Lupin get back all right?"

"Yeah, I just got him upstairs. Did you find him?" Sirius asked, leading his friend to the basement kitchen.

"Yeah. He was in Hogsmeade, across from the Shrieking Shack with an empty bottle of Ogden's, muttering about ex-girlfriends and tattoos."

"Naomi," Sirius muttered. "She became a Death Eater not long before Lily and James died. Only girl Remus ever dated, in or out of Hogwarts."

"Harsh," Kingsley said. "I've never seen a file on a Naomi, though."

"That would be because the only person who ever knew about her being a Death Eater was our drunken friend, until last week," Sirius said.

"Ah," Kingsley said. "Well, I just wanted to make sure he got back okay. He'd have been no match against a Death Eater, had one showed up tonight."

Sirius nodded. "Thanks for that. I'll see you tomorrow."

After Kingsley left, Sirius made his way to his own room, but not before looking in on Harry and Remus. Both were sleeping deeply, snoring loudly.

Sirius hadn't seen Remus so drunk in years. The occasional drink to wind down in the evening was all the werewolf usually had. Sirius was the one who drank until the world seemed normal, and it was odd to see the roles reversed.

Sirius' last thought before he closed his eyes was, He's gonna feel that in the morning...


Sirius walked down to the kitchen the next morning, dressed in his Ministry robes, to find Remus and Harry sitting at the table. Harry was in pajamas still, eating a bowl of cereal and snickering at Remus' appearance.

Remus looked like death warmed over in the sun. He was still in the crumpled robes from the night before, and his normally neat hair was sticking up more than Harry's. A cup of hot coffee sat between his elbows, and he had his head in his hands.

Sirius signaled for Harry to keep quiet as he snuck up behind his friend. "Morning, Moony!" he said loudly, right next to Remus' ear.

Remus jumped a foot in the air and immediately grasped his aching, spinning head. "Dammit, Padfoot," he muttered.

"Language, Remus, there's a child present," Sirius said with a wink to Harry. Harry grinned and shook his head.

"I'm going back to bed," Remus said, slowing standing and making his way up the stairs.

Sirius laughed, sat in Remus' spot, and began to drink Remus' coffee. "Any plans today, Harry?"

"Well, I wanted to go flying, but is there even anywhere I can go in London?" Harry asked, drinking the left over milk from his cereal.

"Hmm," Sirius thought. "A few blocks down, there is a field James and I used to fly in during summer holidays. Whether or not Muggles have found it, I don't know. Back then, somebody put up repellent charms around it."

Harry nodded. "Can I go check it out?"

Sirius shrugged. "Fine by me," he said. "But leave a note for our hung-over werewolf, and be back before dark."

"Yeah, what was up with him last night?" Harry asked.

"I don't know, Harry. Sorry you had to see that. He hasn't done that, as far as I know, since after your parents died," Sirius said honestly. "I'm going to have a talk with him tonight and see what the hell was going on. I'll see you later, kid. Be careful flying," he said, standing and ruffling Harry's hair. He stepped into the fireplace and said clearly, "Ministry of Magic."

Harry looked into the fireplace pensively for a few moments before heading up to his room for his Firebolt.


Sirius' workload that day was larger than normal. As he sorted through the paperwork, he seriously contemplated leaving the Ministry and flying with Harry for the day.

But of course, being the Head Auror, he couldn't possibly do that; it would be highly unprofessional. Kind of like the time he and Kingsley had ducked out of work early a few years ago to go to that Quidditch match...

He found a report Kingsley had written about the final task of the Triwizard Tournament. It wasn't really a report so much as a long piece of parchment with a load of scribbled notes with question marks beside most of them. A list of Death Eaters Kingsley had recognized was written along the edge, along with a list of people injured during the battle on the Ministry's side.

One thing Sirius could say about his second-in-command was that he had an amazing memory for detail. There were three columns with small numbers beside them for the Unforgivable Curses Kingsley had heard, and if possible, by whom they had been used.

Towards the end of the "report" was a word that had been embellished and circled numerous times: "How?" It didn't take a genius to figure out what the word was referring to. How did Voldemort and his Death Eaters Disapparate from Hogwarts grounds at the exact same time? (Did they Disapparate?)

Sirius recalled Voldemort touching his left arm with the tip of his wand and the Death Eaters glowing blue before disappearing. But as everyone from Dumbledore to Hermione Granger had pointed out, you can't Apparate or Disapparate from Hogwarts grounds. Dumbledore had been investigating the occurrence—which, in Sirius' opinion, meant he was asking Snape.

Kingsley entered Sirius' office a few minutes later and handed him a fresh cup of coffee. "Thought you could use a break," he said, sitting in front of Sirius.

"When it comes to paperwork, I could use a break every five minutes, mate," Sirius said, sipping his coffee. He grinned suddenly."Speaking of which, I was just going over your, uh, report."

Kingsley chuckled. "Yeah, sorry 'bout that. I was in a hurry. Thought you might want something sooner rather than two months down the line."

"No worries," Sirius said. "I—" he broke off as a frantic young Auror rushed into his office.

"We've got a problem," he panted.

"What else is new?" Sirius muttered, causing Kingsley to snort into his own coffee.

"Azkaban's been invaded. The prisoners, dementors, and wizard guards are gone. All of them," the Auror said.

"What? When?" Sirius yelled, jumping from his chair.

"Early this morning, apparently. We just got word from the Minister. Nobody discovered it until the guards going in for the shift change showed up and found the place deserted."