Lies
By Neurotica
Twenty-Two
The fortress of Azkaban had always been one of those places the entire wizarding community believed to be impossible to infiltrate. The mere feeling of the island was enough to make one want to run and hide under their bed. Azkaban was like Hogwarts; nobody dared attack or raid the prison.
But with the attack on Hogwarts still fresh in their minds, the wizarding world found themselves facing yet another weakness in their midst. The prison's wards had been completely dismantled, allowing Apparition directly onto the island—something that was highly prohibited and punishable by the Ministry of Magic.
Sirius Black was one of the first to arrive on the island after it had been discovered that Azkaban was deserted. The feelings of impending doom he normally felt when he arrived at the prison were replaced by confusion, anger, and distress. The dementors were gone, along with the hundreds of prisoners that had been held there. There were no traces of where they had gone, either. No footprints, no magical residue, nothing...
For the first time in his career, Sirius didn't know where to begin or what to do. He had nothing to work with, no clues to help decipher the mystery. He was lost.
"Pettigrew's gone," Kingsley said quietly after his own search of the prison. "Why would they take a soulless Death Eater?"
"To make us ponder that exact question," Sirius said flatly, looking around the island. He didn't have time to wonder about the location of his soulless ex-friend; he had hundreds of psychotic maniacs on the loose. "Do we at least have a list of prisoners?"
"Tonks and Avery are getting the records together," Kingsley confirmed.
Sirius nodded pensively.
It wasn't hard to figure out who had raided Azkaban Prison, or why, for that matter. Voldemort now had the most dangerous, most feared witches and wizards in the country in his ranks once more. If things were bad before this, it wasn't difficult to conclude that things had just gotten much worse.
Sirius made his way around the island and inside the prison for the fifth time since his arrival. He was only doing it to make the reporters believe he was taking this seriously. While he was taking the breakout seriously, deathly seriously in fact, without anything to work with, there wasn't much he could do at the moment.
An hour past sunset, Sirius gathered his Aurors around the entrance of the prison for a quick briefing before they went home or back to the Ministry, and professionally explained to his team the consequences that would befall them if they spoke with reporters. Once he had them all petrified (well, not Kingsley and Tonks so much—nevertheless they understood that Sirius wanted no inside leaks of information), he assigned a team to stand guard on the island until morning.
Glaring at the reporters that had congregated on the edge of the island, Sirius, Kingsley, and Tonks said goodbye to the other Aurors and Apparated just outside Order Headquarters.
"Tonks, if you trip over that bloody troll's leg again, I will personally make sure you are on Floo Regulation watch for the next month," Sirius said irritably, feeling the beginnings of a migraine as he lead them up the front path of Number Twelve.
"A bit testy tonight, isn't he?" Tonks muttered to Kingsley.
"I heard that," Sirius said, tapping his wand on the front door and opening it. The three Aurors entered the house and began to make their way to the kitchen. A pair of eyes on the second landing, however, caused Sirius to send the other two ahead of him.
He walked tiredly up the stairs and sat next to where Harry had hidden himself in the shadows. "Spying is illegal, you know," he said lightly, lying back on the floor and crossing his arms over his chest.
"I wasn't spying..." Harry said, looking over the banister. "Why's Snape here?"
Sirius sat back up instantly and looked horrified at Harry. "Snape's here?" he said quickly.
"Yeah, he came in about an hour ago with Dumbledore and McGonagall."
"Bloody hell," Sirius muttered, or rather, whined.
"Why are they here?" Harry asked.
Sirius sighed. "We'll talk later. Have you eaten?" Harry nodded. "Good. Go up to your room and keep busy for a few hours. And unless you want your memory modified, I suggest you stay away from the kitchen," he added at Harry's too-quick agreement.
Harry's shoulders slumped in defeat. Sirius smirked knowingly, ruffled his godson's hair, and rose from the floor. With a final glance to be sure Harry was indeed going up the stairs, Sirius made his way to the apparently impromptu Order meeting occurring in the basement kitchen.
Snape was standing before the Order, explaining something, when Sirius walked in. The Potions Master paused long enough to glare at Sirius as he sat in between Remus and Arthur.
"Don't let me stop you," Sirius said, leaning back in his chair and earning a slap in the back of his head from Remus.
"As I was saying," Snape continued, "the Dark Lord has developed what could be called a portkey to transport himself and his Death Eaters away from battle at his convenience. As demonstrated at Hogwarts last week, though the Dark Lord does not carry the Mark himself, he need only touch his forearm with his wand to activate this portkey. To my knowledge, Lucius Malfoy was the test subject for this discovery when he appeared to Azkaban Island last year. Every Death Eater, since the Dark Lord's return, has been equipped with this portkey, and it will only function when the Death Eater is in close proximity to the Dark Lord."
"Wait a second," Sirius interrupted before he could stop himself. "Does that mean Voldemort was at Azkaban last year?"
Snape's jaw clenched, not only at Sirius' interruption, but also at the sound of the Dark Lord's name. "Yes, Black, that's exactly what it means," he said through clenched teeth. Sirius and Kingsley exchanged a glance—that would explain many things...
"How does this portkey work?" Emmeline asked.
"I am not positive, but I believe it is some sort of charm," Snape answered with more patience than he had with Sirius.
"Why did You-Know-Who attack Hogwarts in the first place?" Molly wondered aloud.
"I believe the answer to that is obvious: he wished to finish off Harry Potter that night. Obviously, he failed, and he was none too pleased when I met with him the following evening."
Sirius ignored the tone of slight disappointment when Snape talked about Harry, for the time being. "And just for my personal interest, where were you that night?"
Again, Remus smacked Sirius. Many of the other Order members looked up interestedly for Snape's answer. "That is not important, Sirius," Dumbledore said, standing and looking as though he wished to join in on Remus' attack on Sirius' head.
Sirius slumped back in his chair as Snape moved from the head of the table back to a dark corner. He acts more and more like a spider as the years go on. Probably from living in those bloody dungeons for half his life, Sirius thought. He amused himself for a moment at the thought of smashing a spider-Snape under his boot.
"As you are all undoubtedly aware, the fortress of Azkaban has been raided," Dumbledore said, taking charge of the meeting once more. "While this is an unfortunate occurrence, it should not lessen our resolve in the fight against Voldemort. Many of the Death Eaters who returned to Voldemort's ranks are familiar foes to the Ministry, and to many of you present tonight."
Sirius sighed as a few heads turned his way. It was a known fact that one of the freed Death Eaters was his dear, sweet, psychotic cousin.
The meeting went on for another hour. Sirius was asked to report his findings at Azkaban just before they ended for the night. It was a short speech, however, since he'd found absolutely nothing there.
Dumbledore dismissed the Order and asked to speak privately with Molly and Arthur. The three of them were left alone in the kitchen while Sirius and Remus showed the Order members out. Luckily for them, Snape had departed on his own.
"How're you feeling?" Sirius asked casually, sitting on the bottom stair while Remus leaned against the door.
"Fine, no thanks to you," Remus replied, looking at his friend.
"Oh, so that's why I'm going to have a bruise on the back of my beautiful head in the morning, eh?" Sirius said thoughtfully.
"You're an arrogant bastard, Sirius. And no, that's not why I kept slapping you. There's no point in goading Snape on like that—he'll start something without your help."
"Don't lecture me, Remus. I'm not in the mood," Sirius said, massaging his temples. "What does Harry know about the Order?"
Remus sighed at the change of subject. "Only what we told him when we moved in here, and what you told him last night when you told him about Occlumency," Remus said.
"So nothing, then," Sirius muttered. "He wants to know why Snape's here."
"And you want to tell him... what, exactly?"
Sirius raised an eyebrow at Remus' slightly sarcastic tone. "He should know what's going on, Remus."
Remus could feel an argument quickly approaching, like a volcano ready to explode. Sirius' voice was calm but firm, a good indication that the Auror was preparing to battle. "There's a reason he's taking Occlumency. If Voldemort was to break through into his mind right now... Harry's already in Order Headquarters. Do you really think he needs to know more?"
"What, so now he's a liability?" Sirius asked heatedly.
Remus clenched his jaw. "That's not what I said, and you know it," he said through gritted teeth.
"No, but that's what you meant," Sirius said calmly.
"Do you always need an argument?" Remus asked, pushing himself from the door. "You have a bad day and now you want to take it out on everyone else, is that what this is? Good night, Sirius," he said, ending the conversation and walking past Sirius to his bedroom.
Sirius stayed at the foot of the stairs and waited for Dumbledore and the Weasleys to emerge from the basement and leave for the night. His only point to Remus was that Harry should be informed of some of what was going on within the Order. As far as Dumbledore was concerned, as he mentioned the boy's name at least twice every meeting, Harry would play a large role in the war, and he, in Sirius' opinion, had more right than most in the Order to know what was happening, even if they didn't include him in the meetings.
Dumbledore finally led Molly and Arthur up from the kitchen. They said good night to Sirius, asking him to say good night to Remus and Harry for them, and left the house. Sirius slowly made his way up the stairs and to Harry's room. He knocked and entered to find his godson hunched over a book. "Hey, kid," he said, sitting on Harry's bed. "What're you working on?"
"Potions," Harry muttered, not looking away from his book. Sirius groaned in sympathy. "What'd you do to Remus?" the boy asked a moment later.
Sirius raised an eyebrow. "Excuse me?"
Harry sat his quill down on the desk and turned to face Sirius. "What did you do to Remus?" he repeated clearly. "He passed my room without stopping to say good night, muttering about getting you neutered."
"Ouch," Sirius said, wincing at the very idea. "Nothing for you to worry your little head about, Harry. So, any plans for the summer?"
"You mean, besides learning to defend my mind from the evil wizard who wants my head above his fireplace?"
"Besides that, yes."
"Nope, that's about it," Harry said lightly.
Sirius chuckled and let his eyes wander towards Harry's bedside table, which held an old picture of the Marauders on Lily and James' wedding day.
"Sirius?" Harry said hesitantly.
"Mmm?"
"Who was that woman that came out of Voldemort's wand after my parents?"
Sirius sighed. He'd never spoken of Julia to Harry before tonight. He'd only talked to Remus about her once or twice in the past eight years, and even then he'd changed the subject abruptly. "She would have been your godmother," he said quietly, looking into Harry's green eyes.
"Oh," was all Harry could say, noting the saddened look in Sirius' own eyes.
"You would have loved her," Sirius whispered with a smile. "She never took any crap from anyone. Least of all me or James." Harry smiled and allowed his godfather to reminisce for a moment.
"How was flying today?" Sirius asked after a few quiet moments.
"Not bad," Harry nodded. "The clearing behind the cottage was better, though."
Sirius nodded. "I miss the cottage, too. Of course, anywhere is better than this bloody place."
Harry chuckled. "Hey, at least you're not stuck here every minute of every day."
"I would have to kill myself if that ever happened, Harry," Sirius said flatly. "And now I am going to bed. The Ministry's going to be hell tomorrow..."
Remus made his way to the basement kitchen the next morning for breakfast. He would have to leave soon on Order business for Dumbledore. He would be organizing a plan to increase the wards around Azkaban. The Ministry of Magic had contacted the Headmaster the night before, after the Order meeting, and Remus had only received an owl from Dumbledore that morning, asking him to look up all the former charms and spells surrounding the prison. He—
"Master does not know..." Remus heard Kreacher muttering. "Master and his nosy werewolf and their brat don't know what Kreacher knows..." Kreacher began to laugh croakily while Remus stood beside an open door with a raised eyebrow.
Calmly, Remus crossed the threshold of the room. Kreacher was bent over a stack of old Black family photos, busy tearing out Sirius' face from them. "You know, Kreacher, I don't think Sirius would appreciate what you're doing to his photos," Remus said.
Kreacher started and turned to face Remus. "Kreacher is only taking out the rest of the Black family. He is not harming Master's photo." A grin spread across Kreacher's ugly face. "Horrible Mudblood-loving blood traitor he is," he muttered in a tone he obviously believed to be under his breath. Remus, however, heard him loud and clear.
"Stay out of trouble, Kreacher," Remus said slowly, leaving the house-elf alone with the photos. They would have to keep a closer watch on Kreacher in the future. The old house-elf was mad, at best. Granted, Sirius probably didn't help matters by locking Kreacher in the upstairs bathroom before every Order meeting. Remus and Dumbledore had warned Sirius on many occasions about mistreating Kreacher. There were still a few Black family members alive who just so happened to be Death Eaters. And Kreacher knew enough about what the Order was doing to report to Narcissa Malfoy, or worse, Bellatrix Lestrange.
Harry was sitting at the kitchen table when Remus entered. The Daily Prophet was lying open against a jug of pumpkin juice while Harry read. The teenager made no move to signal he was aware of Remus' entrance into the kitchen. The elder raised an eyebrow, poured himself a cup of coffee, and sat at the table beside Harry.
Remus picked up a corner of the newspaper and dropped it quickly as he spotted the bony face of Bellatrix Lestrange glaring at him. It was too early in the day to have to look at that face...
"How can she be Sirius' cousin?" Harry asked, slowly taking a bit of his cereal. "They don't even look like each other."
"When they were younger, they looked like they could be brother and sister. But don't tell Sirius I told you that. He used to hex people who asked him why his sister was a Slytherin," Remus said.
"I'd probably do the same thing," Harry said. Beside the article on the Azkaban escapees was a list of crimes committed by the more dangerous criminals. A picture of Peter Pettigrew staring dazedly at him stirred something in Harry's mind. "I had a dream about him..." he whispered.
"What?" Remus said, looking up quickly from the article he was reading on incompetent Ministry officials, written by Rita Skeeter.
"Yeah..." Harry said slowly, his brow furrowing in thought. "It was a few weeks ago... I forgot all about it."
"And what was the dream?" Remus asked, not sure if he really wanted to know.
"It's kind of blurry, but Wormtail was here, in this kitchen, standing with his back to the door. I walked up to him—at least, I think it was me—and tapped him on the shoulder. That's where it ended," Harry said.
"Did your scar hurt afterwards?"
Harry shook his head. "No. That's why I forgot about it, I think."
Remus nodded. It made absolutely no sense for Harry to be dreaming about Wormtail. Maybe it wasn't Wormtail... No, Harry had seen enough pictures of the man to know what he looked like, even from behind. "Do you remember anything else?"
"No," Harry said regretfully. "Sorry."
"Don't be sorry," Remus muttered distractedly. "Listen, do you think you'll be all right here alone for a few hours? I've got some things to do for Dumbledore and you can't come with me, and—"
Harry laughed at Remus' rambling. "Remus, I'm almost fifteen. I think I can handle a few hours alone in a big bad house."
Remus smiled. "Right. Sometimes I forget you're not six years old anymore. You're just too darn cute," he said, pinching Harry's cheek.
"Ow, Remus! Stop!" Harry said.
Remus laughed and ruffled Harry's hair. "If you need anything, Sirius should have the two-way mirror on him."
"Kay," Harry muttered, turning to the sports page. "See you later."
"See you," Remus said before going up the stairs.
Harry spent the afternoon reading up on Occlumency from a book Emmeline had lent him. The subject was actually quite interesting when it came to different ways dark wizards would penetrate the mind. Invading dreams seemed to be the most popular scenario, unfortunately for Harry. One wizard had delved so deep into the mind of another that he had gone insane.
"You know, if I keep catching you reading and studying, I'm going to think you've turned into Remus," said a muffled voice from beside Harry's leg.
Harry looked down at the two-way mirror and smiled at Sirius. "Hey. I was just reading up on Occlumency. Figured I ought to know something before my lessons."
"Uh huh," Sirius grinned. "Listen, can you tell Remus I'm going to be a little late tonight? We're still trying to figure out how the wards on Azkaban were dismantled."
"Yeah, sure," Harry said. "And if you're lucky, I might even save you some dinner."
"If you eat my dinner, you're grounded," Sirius said.
"Whatever you say, Sirius," Harry grinned.
"I'm serious!"
"That's what I said!" Harry said. "See you tonight."
Sirius disappeared from the mirror, and Harry placed it on the table in front of him. He closed his book and stood from the library sofa.
Harry went into the kitchen for a butterbeer and a snack. He jumped when he heard a sound from inside the fireplace—someone was trying to Floo in. Remus had placed a charm on the fireplace so that no unwanted guests would be permitted inside. Harry took out his wand and waited. After a moment, a shape began to form and emerge from the fireplace.
Harry lowered his wand and grinned. He'd know that form anywhere. "Hey, Hagrid," he said when the half-giant stumbled across the grate.
"'Lo, 'arry," Hagrid murmured. "Always hated Floo."
Harry chuckled and pulled out a chair for the visitor. Once Hagrid's green color from Floo travel had mostly faded, Harry asked, "What are you doing here, anyway?"
"Eh? Oh, uh, jus' needed to talk wit' Sirius or Remus. They here?" Hagrid asked.
"No, Sirius is working late and Remus is doing something for Dumbledore," Harry answered.
"Oh, well, it's not important or nothing," Hagrid said unconvincingly. "Jus' needed some information."
"What kind of information?"
"Nothin' you need to be worryin' 'bout," said Hagrid firmly.
Harry raised an eyebrow, but knew better than to press the subject. He offered Hagrid a butterbeer, but the gamekeeper declined; he had to be getting back to Hogwarts soon.
Not ten minutes later, Hagrid left and Harry went back up the stairs to the library to continue his study of Occlumency.
While Harry was down in the kitchen, Kreacher snuck into the library, searching for an old pendant that had belonged to his mistress. He passed by the coffee table and noticed a book lying beside an old mirror. Kreacher recalled that his mistress' blood-traitor son used to talk with his filthy Gryffindor friends with it; he'd eavesdropped enough on his mistress' son in his youth to know what it was.
Kreacher reached out for the mirror and hid it in his pillowcase-toga in one swift movement. Forgetting about what he was doing in the library in the first place, Kreacher headed up to the attic.
