Lies

By Neurotica

Twenty-Four

Should Black Resign?

Special Correspondent Rita Skeeter Reporting

Since his appointment to the position of Head Auror with the Ministry of Magic seven years ago, Sirius Black has not been fairing much better than his predecessor, Alastor "Mad-Eye" Moody. If anything, Black has made our world worse that it was with the paranoid ex-Auror.

After his famed release from Azkaban Prison, where he was being held for "crimes he did not commit," inside sources report Black has moments of rage in which he destroys the Ministry's Auror Headquarters, and forces those below him to pick up the mess. Insiders further report that since the death of his long time girlfriend, Julia Sedler, Black is a borderline alcoholic.

He has allowed the mass breakout from Azkaban, where his cousin, infamous Death Eater Bellatrix Lestrange, was also imprisioned to occur. Many seem to believe Black assisted the prisoners to escape. He's further done nothing to end the series of deaths that have occurred since the return of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named.

There are also reports of Black's close relationship with Minister of Magic, Amelia Bones, being "more than professional." Black, along with Bones, has kept many things from the wizarding public in recent history, including Black's longtime friendship with werewolf Norris Lupin—former Defense Against the Dark Arts professor at Hogwarts School where Black's godson, Harry Potter, currently attends.

Sirius Black is dangerous at the head of our law enforcement. With nearly daily attacks from He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, we must ask ourselves one question: Do we really want an unstable, violent alcoholic leading our Aurors into battle?


"I think I am going to be sick," Sirius said flatly from behind his desk at the Ministry on Monday morning. Kingsley had walked in, casually, holding the rolled up newspaper. He, casually, asked if Sirius had yet read the Daily Prophet. Sirius, knowing his second-in-command so well, knew something wasn't right with the way Kingsley, casually, leaned against the door frame.

"So who's the inside source, d'you reckon?" Kingsley asked—again—casually.

Sirius pointed a finger at his friend threateningly. "If you don't bloody stop that, you are so fired."

Kingsley laughed at his boss' threat—he knew better. "You wouldn't dare," he said. "Somebody's got to clean up the mess you make around here."

Sirius stuck up a finger in a rude gesture, causing Kingsley to laugh harder as he left Sirius' office.

"Asshole," Sirius muttered, slamming his door shut with a wave of his wand.

"Careful, everyone! He's getting violent again!" he heard Kingsley shout. The rest of the Aurors laughed and went back to their business.

Over the past week, since the breakout from Azkaban, things around the Ministry had been, to say the very least, busy. Walking down the corridors to the elevators, one could feel the tenseness of the atmosphere around them. If possible, the community was more worried now than when Voldemort returned.

Posters had been hung in various locations of the escapees and those who had been taken hostage. There were still no leads as to where Voldemort had taken the prisoners. Perhaps he had some secret fortress of his own...?

The entire situation was making Sirius' head spin—too much had happened in such a short span of time. He'd been pulled in for questioning for the simple fact that he shared blood with Bellatrix Lestrange. He, of course, had not an earthly clue as to where she was or he would have captured her a week ago. Her and her bastard of a husband.

Of all of his family members, Sirius despised Bellatrix more than the rest of them combined. Bellatrix had been the reason, in Sirius' opinion, that Regulus had become a Death Eater. She was psychotic and evil when she was twelve, and it only increased as she grew older. Add her lack of mental stability to the fourteen years she'd spent in Azkaban and you've got your worst nightmare walking freely again.

A knock on the door pulled Sirius from his thoughts. "Go away," he said with no conviction. He continued to concentrate on the report he'd been forced to write about Azkaban. Not until he felt eyes watching him did he look up.

Remus was sitting in the chair across from him, a smirk on his face. "What are you smiling about?" Sirius grumbled, setting his quill down.

Remus shrugged, still smirking. "Just never thought I'd ever see you doing homework again."

"Shut it, Norris. Did you read the papers today?" Sirius asked.

"Oh, yes. Harry and I had quite a long, loud laugh over that," Remus grinned.

"I'm glad my pitiful job as Head Auror has brought you entertainment," Sirius said flatly, but allowing a small grin himself. "What are you doing here anyway? Thought you were staying back at Headquarters with Harry."

"Harry's with the Weasley's for the afternoon. I had to come in to register today."

"Register? For what... Oh..." Sirius said in realization.

"Yeah," Remus muttered. "Every year for the past thirty-two years," he said. Ever since his werewolf bite at the age of four, Remus would have to go to the Werewolf Registration offices to update his files.

"How'd that go?"

"Fine. They asked questions, took a few tests, reminded me to stay clear of other people during the full moon and sent me on my way."

"What tests?" Sirius asked.

"Blood."

"Fun."

"Mm-hmm. So are you taking a lunch break anytime soon?"

"May as well. It's not like I have anything better to do at the moment," Sirius said.

"Any luck with Azkaban?" Remus asked as they walked out of Headquarters together.

"Nope. Not one damn clue on anything. They disappeared without a bloody trace. No one has seen hide nor hair—no offense—of any of them. Which shocks the hell out of me; when Voldemort—" a group of elderly wizards squeaked and jumped as they passed. Sirius and Remus ignored them. "—came back, we were getting calls twice an hour about 'sightings'," Sirius said. "Leaky Cauldron, then?"

Remus chuckled. "Fine by me."

"See you there," Sirius said, entering the fireplace in the Atrium.

"I hate Floo," Remus muttered before following Sirius.


Emmeline Vance arrived at Number Twelve that evening for dinner with Sirius, Remus, and Harry before Harry's first Occlumency lesson.

"It's better to do this on a full stomach," Emmeline said, cutting her steak.

"I think she just wants free food." Remus grinned. Emmeline rolled her eyes and smiled.

"I think someone needs to stop flirting in front of the child," Sirius muttered under his breath as he leaned over Remus to get a slice of bread. Remus slapped him in the forehead.


After dinner, Emmeline and Harry moved to the library. Emmeline closed the door and curtains, lit a few candles, and placed a silencing charm around the room. During his readings, Harry had learned the easiest way to learn Occlumency was to be in a dimly lit room with no outside noise.

"All right, Harry," Emmeline said, sitting on the edge of a desk. "The first thing I'm going to try and teach you is how to close your mind. The key to this is to close your eyes and void your mind of all thoughts and feelings. Once you've done this, take deep breaths to relax your body," she explained quietly.

Harry did as instructed. There was a faint buzzing in his ears, but he was feeling quite relaxed. "Good," Emmeline said softly and slowly. "Now, Sirius and Remus told me you can throw off the Imperius Curse. We're going to use sort of the same techniques here.

"When the Imperius Curse is performed on a person, there has to be a reasonable amount of power behind it to break through the victim's mind. Our goal is to not allow someone to break through the barriers you set. This will help to keep somebody from performing Imperius on you as well. Does that make sense?" Emmeline asked.

Harry nodded. "Yeah," he murmured, his eyes still closed.

"Okay. Now I am going to try and break through to your memories. When you begin to feel me in your mind, try and push me out. Got it?"

"I think so."

"On three, then. One... two... three... Legilimens!" Emmeline cried.

The sensation of Emmeline forcing herself into Harry's mind was very different from the feeling of the Imperius Curse. It felt like someone was pushing hard on Harry's forehead. He could, however, feel himself in more control than with Imperius. Emmeline, unfortunately for Harry, had more experience in this particular field. Harry could suddenly see different flashes from his childhood jumbled together. Walking between Sirius and Remus through a perfectly clean home... dancing books in Dumbledore's office... pranking Sirius' shower with Remus by his side.

Those memories immediately filled Harry with happiness and love for his guardians, but the memories began to change. He saw himself being dragged down a staircase by Lucius Malfoy... Wormtail cutting open his arm—

"NO!" Harry shouted.

The memories disappeared and Harry found himself on the floor of the library, breathing heavily. Emmeline was kneeling by his side, her eyes wide. "Oh god, Harry, I'm so sorry," she said, helping Harry from the floor. "I tried to pull back when the memories changed, but I couldn't. Are you all right?"

"Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine," Harry panted, sitting on the sofa, his sweating head buried in his hands.

"Here, have some chocolate or Remus'll be after my blood," Emmeline said, handing Harry a chocolate bar and sitting beside him.

Harry opened the wrapper, broke off a piece, and popped it in his mouth, letting it melt slowly.

"That was good for your first time. You did push me out eventually. I tried to stick with the happier things, but everything else kind of knocked them out of the way," she said, her voice full of remorse.

"It's okay," Harry said, staring at the fireplace. He hadn't thought about his kidnapping in that sort of detail in years.

"Do you want to try again? I'll understand if you don't."

Harry sighed and nodded. "Yeah," he said quietly, finishing his chocolate and standing.

"All right, this time, I want you to concentrate on pushing me out of your mind. Normally, the easiest way is to use your wand, but since it's summer and you're still underage, it's out of the question. Besides, the stronger you are without a wand, the easier it will be with a wand. On three again... One... Two... Three... Legilimens!"

Harry was sitting on Remus' lap reading a book... flying with Sirius in the clearing at the cottage... walking through the forest behind the cottage... dementors were gliding through the trees...

He could feel Emmeline getting deeper inside his thoughts. "NO!" he shouted again. This time he stayed standing, though he was once again breathing heavily. He opened his eyes and saw Emmeline smiling widely at him. "Very good, Harry!" she said. "The whole time I could feel you pushing me out. Not bad at all."

Harry smiled weakly as she handed him another piece of chocolate.

"How do you feel?" Emmeline asked, looking him over critically.

"Tired," Harry said honestly.

"Yeah, Occlumency will do that," she said regretfully. "But you're already better than I was at my first lesson. I ended up in hospital for a week afterwards." Harry chuckled. "We'll try one last time, and then we'll stop for the day. This can get fairly draining for a beginner."

On the third try, Harry succeeded in pushing Emmeline from his mind quickly. There had been a brief glimpse of Harry sitting beside Remus on a hospital bed when he was six, but the memory went no further.

Emmeline was quite pleased with his progress so far. She explained to him the different techniques he could use to close off his mind before sleep. The two arranged another lesson for Wednesday evening and left the library to join Sirius and Remus.

"How'd it go?" Sirius asked, trying not to grin at Remus' blush.

"He's a natural," Emmeline said happily, sitting at the table across from Remus—who avoided the witch's eye—and accepting the butterbeer Sirius handed her. "Few more lessons and he should have the basics down."

"That's my boy," Sirius said proudly, ruffling Harry's hair.

"Stop," Harry muttered, pushing Sirius' hand away. He sat beside Remus and laid his head in his arms, closing his eyes.

He muttered bye and thank you when Emmeline stood to leave half an hour later. He moved around a bit in his chair to get more comfortable and fell asleep.


"He may be a little weak tonight," Emmeline said to Sirius and Remus at the front door. "But a good night's rest and he'll be back to normal."

"Anything we should watch out for?" Remus asked.

"Well, he might still have dreams until he can fully master Occlumency, but as long as he clears his mind before sleeping, it will be harder for anyone to force themselves in there. One thing I will warn you about, though, I slept walk when I first started learning. It varies from person to person; you might find he'll sleep in later than usual due to the weakened state of his mind," Emmeline explained. "Other than that, nothing."

Sirius nodded. "Well, thank you, again, Emmeline. We will see you on Wednesday."

"Not a problem. I'm happy to help. See you." With a final smile at Remus, Emmeline left.

Sirius made his way back to the kitchen, snickering. Remus rolled his eyes, closed the door, and followed him. "What, may I ask, is so funny?" he said.

"If you don't see it, I have nothing to say," Sirius said airily. "Come on, let's get Harry to bed."


Just as Emmeline had said, Harry was dreaming. He was in a large black forest (Why is it always a forest? he wondered as he walked).

Up ahead, he could see a large group of black cloaks forming a circle. He pushed through the ranks easily—as if he were meant to be at this meeting. A tall woman with long blonde hair and beautiful hazel eyes was kneeling before Voldemort, her head bowed.

"Tell me what you know," Voldemort said quietly.

"Just that they're no longer at the cottage Lupin grew up in. Black and Lupin are very protective of the boy. He is rarely without one of them by his side," the woman said.

"What do you know of the prophecy?"

The woman jerked her head up in surprise. "Prophecy?" she blurted. Realizing her mistake, the woman looked immediately back to the ground. "I know nothing of a prophecy, my Lord."

Harry could tell the woman wasn't lying by the look on her face. Were they talking about Harry's prophecy?

"How is it," Voldemort hissed to his Death Eaters, "that none of James and Lily Potter's supposed friends know of the prophecy? I find it highly displeasing that in fifteen years none of you have bothered to find me correct information."

The woman kneeling before the Dark Lord shivered as Voldemort began to pace around her. "I want this information," Voldemort said in a dangerously soft voice. "I do not care what it takes. The Ministry of Magic has undoubtedly increased their security around the Department of Mysteries. You will, however, find another way in. Or you will have the unpleasant pleasure of answering to me. Is that clear?"

A collective "Yes, Master" shivered around the Death Eater's ranks. "Very well," Voldemort said. "Lucius, tell me how our—test subject—is fairing..."


Harry was being shaken forcefully. He jerked his head up from the table, nearly colliding with someone behind him. Sirius was leaning across the table, watching him concernedly, while Remus knelt beside him. "All right, Harry?" his godfather asked quietly.

Harry gulped and nodded. "F-fine," he whispered.

"What happened?" Remus asked.

Harry explained the events of the dream he'd just seen. When he reached the part about the woman kneeling beside Voldemort, Sirius and Remus exchanged a startled, knowing glance, but said nothing.

They were quite interested in what Voldemort had said about the Department of Mysteries being guarded. When Harry asked what that meant, Remus told him to continue with the dream, earning a glare from Sirius.

"He told Malfoy to update him on how the test subject was fairing, and that's when I woke up," Harry finished.

"Test subject?" Remus questioned, looking at a highly bewildered Sirius.

"That's what he said," Harry muttered, rubbing his forehead.

"Scar hurt?" Sirius asked.

Harry shook his head. "Just a regular headache."

Remus nodded. "I've got some Pomfrey-brand headache potions upstairs. We'll get you some while you get ready for bed. Don't forget those techniques Emmeline showed you."

Harry nodded and allowed Sirius to lead him up the stairs. His head was still spinning from both the Occlumency lesson and the dream. He was surprised his scar hadn't hurt tonight; normally, it was unbearable after a Voldemort dream. Maybe Occlumency wasn't such a bad thing, after all.

"—listening to me, Harry?" Sirius said, tossing the teen his pajamas.

"Sorry, what?" Harry muttered, changing his clothes.

"I said, Arthur and Molly invited you over to their house for dinner before Charlie leaves for Romania," Sirius said.

"Oh, alright," Harry said. "Are you and Remus coming?"

"Probably not. It's Thursday and we've got something to do. And don't ask, because I can't tell you." Sirius chuckled at the look of indignation on Harry's face.

"Okay, Harry, here's your potion. Get some rest and call if you need us," Remus said, entering the room.

"Thanks," Harry murmured, draining the bitter potion.

Sirius and Remus said good night and left the room. Harry closed his eyes, voiding his mind of all thoughts, and began to drift off to sleep.