Consequences
By Neurotica
Ten
Back at Order Headquarters, Emmeline was sitting at the kitchen table with Mundungus, enjoying a large lunch prepared by Molly. She'd always liked the old crook, even in Hogwarts; Mundungus was a Gryffindor, a year above Sirius and Remus. He'd just finished telling Emmeline and Molly how he'd avoided arrest a few times using his Occlumency skills when the owl flew through the fireplace. The brown bird dropped a letter on Emmeline's plate and flew back out of the house.
"Who's 'at from?" Mundungus asked thickly through his sandwich, ignoring the glare Molly was sending him.
"Don't know," Emmeline said, unfolding the parchment. It was a hastily written note in Sirius' handwriting.
'Attack at Gringotts. Everyone's okay. Don't let Molly leave HQ. I'll explain later. Sirius.'
Emmeline raised an eyebrow and glanced quickly at Molly before folding the letter and placing it into her robes.
She cleared her throat and sipped her pumpkin juice. "So, Mundungus, the Aurors can't do Legilimency, can they? That's quite interesting," she said, hoping neither of them noticed the change in her behavior.
She could only be so lucky.
"Emmeline," Molly said suspiciously, cutting off Mundungus' reply. "What was in that letter?"
Emmeline shifted in her chair, feeling like one of Molly's children. "Nothing important," she lied. Luckily, Molly wasn't a skilled Legilimens.
"Emmeline..." Molly said with narrowed eyes.
Molly Weasley may not have known Legilimency, but she didn't spend the better part of twenty years raising children not to know when someone was lying to her. Emmeline tried to go back to her meal, but found it rather hard to swallow all of a sudden... Finally, she sighed. "There's been an attack at Gringotts. Sirius is there, and he has everything under control. He asked me not to let you leave Headquarters," she admitted.
"Gringotts?" Molly cried. "Bill's there!"
"Molly, calm down," Emmeline said hurriedly. "I'm sure Bill is just fine. Sirius said everyone was all right."
But Molly wasn't to be calmed so easily—Sirius didn't call her a mother hen for nothing. She stood from her chair and started moving frantically around the kitchen, muttering worriedly to herself.
"Molly—" Emmeline tried again as the Weasley matriarch began to leave the kitchen.
The fireplace burst to life at that moment, and Arthur's head could be clearly seen spinning in the now green flames. "Molly!" he shouted into the kitchen, looking for his wife. "Molly, where are—"
"Arthur!" Molly cried, rushing to the fireplace. "Gringotts... Bill..."
"Bill's fine," Arthur said hurriedly. "He's here at the Ministry. Came in with Sirius and Kingsley about fifteen minutes ago."
"Oh, thank goodness," Molly sighed. She must have noticed the look on her husband's face at the same time as Emmeline and Mundungus. Arthur's face looked stressed, horrified, sad, and angry all at the time. "What is it, Arthur?'
"It's Percy," Arthur said heavily. "He's been arrested along with the Death Eaters."
Molly paled and fell backwards. Mundungus caught her before she hit her head on the stone floor.
Sirius stood just outside the stone interrogation room, looking through a glass mirror. It was charmed so that he could see what was happening in the room, but those inside only saw the stone walls. Currently, Percy Weasley was sitting at one end of the metal table, staring at his feet while Kingsley watched him from his position against the wall.
"Tell me, Percy," Kingsley said quietly. "What could possibly convince a wizard of your heritage to join Lord Voldemort?" Percy winced at the name, but was otherwise unresponsive. "You know, I've known your mother and father for many years, Percy. Now, you may not be the richest family in the wizarding world, but I've never known two parents who loved their children more than yours do."
Sirius smirked. Kingsley knew how to lay it on thick... His smile faded when Percy finally began to speak. His voice was cold, nothing like the boy Sirius had known for years, the boy who had unknowingly taken in the Death Eater responsible for Sirius' imprisonment and James' and Lily's deaths as a pet.
"My parents are ignorant," Percy said; he spat the word 'parents' in disgust. "They know nothing of how to survive in this world. My master has shown me what it takes, and what is possible when you seek power. I now know how blind my parents have been. My father with his obsession with Muggles..." Percy's lip curled in a very Severus Snape way—that was quite disturbing to Sirius. "That's the reason my family never had the wealth we deserved, being a pureblood family."
Sirius thought he'd be sick soon. The way Percy was speaking about his family... It vaguely reminded Sirius of him and his own family, his blood family. The only difference was that Sirius was never a Death Eater and the Blacks always had money. Perhaps it was the look of pure hatred in Percy's eyes when he spoke about his mother and father that reminded the Auror of the Blacks in such a strong way...
"My brothers and sister are no better," Percy continued coldly. "Befriending Mudbloods and half-breeds... I tried to help them... to steer them in the right direction, and I would have succeeded if Black hadn't intervened."
Sirius' eyes narrowed. What did he mean by that? Sirius thought back through the last few months for something Percy could have done that Sirius had interfered with. The same thought seemed to enter Kingsley's mind at the same time as it did Sirius'. The black Auror shot a startled look between Sirius and Percy.
Harry...
Percy Weasley poisoned Harry.
Sirius felt his temper rise in a way he hadn't felt since the day he'd cornered Wormtail in London. Fire was boiling in his veins, filling his insides. He was sure that if he looked into a mirror his eyes would have been blood red.
"But as always," Percy went on. Big mistake on his part... "Harry Potter escaped my master's plans."
That was all Sirius needed to hear. Growling, he went to burst into the interrogation room. Kingsley must have anticipated his moves—an advantage of having the same partner for ten years. "Colloportus!" Kingsley shouted, locking the door to the small room Sirius was in.
"Congratulations, Percy," Sirius heard Kingsley say coldly. "Not only have you earned yourself a room at the luxurious, newly reopened prison of Azkaban, but now you've got Sirius Black after your blood. Quite an accomplishment for someone as young as yourself."
Sirius sat between Emmeline and Tonks while Kingsley broke the news about Percy to Molly and Arthur. Sirius was torn between feeling sorry for the Weasleys and wanting to murder their third eldest son slowly and painfully. He settled for glaring at the fireplace.
Molly was crushed, to say the least. Her tears had stopped half an hour before, but she continued to sob dryly into Arthur's chest. Arthur, on the other hand, was trying to remain strong for his wife and took a different approach; his face was tense and he nodded distantly to what the Aurors were telling him. Neither of them wanted to believe their son had done the things he was accused of doing—they wanted proof.
Reluctantly, and only after Sirius nodded for him to do so, Kingsley pulled out his wand, muttering a spell. Percy's voice was suddenly amplified through the tip of the wand.
"My parents are ignorant," Percy's cold voice echoed off the kitchen walls. "They know nothing of how to survive in this world. My master—"
"ENOUGH!" Molly cried weakly.
"Finite," Kingsley muttered, averting his eyes from Molly's. The recording of Percy's confession disappeared, leaving the room in a tense semi-silence. The only sounds were Molly's continued sobs and Arthur's sniffs. Finally, Sirius could no longer take it. He left the room as silently as possible and went up the stairs. He'd meant to go to his own room, but continued down the hall and entered Remus' bedroom.
All of his friend's books were still in the various, scattered places Remus had left them before leaving on his mission. An old Muggle record player sat in a corner beside the bed—it had once belonged to Mrs. Lupin. The Marauders used to love going to Remus' home and listening to the different records she had. Sirius, James, and Peter were always highly impressed with the Muggle contraption, being from pureblood families themselves. The record player hadn't worked in years, and Remus had been trying to fix it to show Harry before he left. It was one of the only things Remus had that once belonged to his parents. Besides the cottage, of course, but until the wards around the land could be replaced, there was no returning there...
Sirius followed his friends sleepily from the open field they used for Quidditch to Remus' cottage. The other three Marauders were talking animatedly about the different plays they'd made, but Sirius preferred right now to just listen for a change. In three weeks, they would begin their seventh and final year at Hogwarts. The full moon had passed four nights previous, leaving Remus feeling tired but cheerful, and up for just about anything Sirius and James could come up with, including Midnight Quidditch. The two of them had decided to pick up Peter and head to Remus' for the remainder of the summer.
They could have stayed at Sirius' small flat for the three weeks, but Sirius lived in the middle of London, and they surely couldn't play Quidditch anywhere around there. Not to mention, none of them were very good cooks, so they'd have to find somewhere to eat every night. The end result had been to go to the Lupins'. Mrs. Lupin had made them home-cooked meals every night, and Mr. Lupin allowed them to use his old Quidditch gear whenever they wanted to. All in all, Sirius thought it was a good deal.
"Hey, Moony," Sirius called to the front.
"Yeah?" Remus called back.
"Think your mum saved us any casserole?"
"Padfoot, you already ate all the casserole," James said.
"Oh yeah," Sirius said thoughtfully. "How about that cake?"
"You ate that, too," Remus said, amusement evident in his voice.
"Well, damn," Sirius muttered. "What about—hey, why'd you guys stop?"
Standing at the edge of the wood, the other three Marauders were looking high above Remus' cottage. Sirius craned his neck to see the eerily glowing Dark Mark blinking menacingly down upon the four boys. Sirius looked over to James, who was looking at Remus.
"No," Remus whispered, not taking his eyes off the sky.
"Moony," James said quietly.
Remus didn't answer. Instead, he dropped his broomstick to the damp ground and ran through the backyard, pulling out his wand as he went.
"Bloody hell," Sirius muttered for lack of anything else to say.
"C'mon," James whispered before following Remus' path inside the cottage.
The lights were still out in the kitchen, but the glow of the Dark Mark filled the room creepily.
"Where'd he go?" Peter whispered.
"This way," Sirius said, pointing down the hallway. Exchanging quite a dark look, the three teenage wizards cautiously walked down the hall, finding where Remus had gone immediately. Peter let out a loud squeak as they entered.
Remus was kneeling beside his parents' bed, sobbing heavily. Mr. Lupin was beside his son on the floor, his wand still held tightly in his hand. Mrs. Lupin remained in their bed—being a Muggle, she'd been defenseless against any attack.
"Lumos," Sirius muttered the tip of his wand lighting.
James managed to shake himself from some sort of daze and went to Remus' side, rubbing his back consolingly, trying to whisper words of comfort.
"Pete," Sirius whispered hoarsely. "Go firecall the Ministry." Peter nodded vaguely, still staring wide-eyed at the Lupins. "Peter, now," Sirius said firmly. Peter snapped out of his daze and left the room quickly.
Carefully, Sirius and James helped Remus off the floor and led him to the kitchen, turning on lights as they went. Sirius dug through the cabinets, searching for the bottle he knew would be there. Finally, he found it and took a glass from the sink, filled it to the rim with the amber-colored liquid and set it in front of Remus.
"Drink this, Moony," he muttered, sitting on Remus' other side.
Sniffing loudly, tears still falling from his eyes, Remus downed the glass of firewhiskey in three large gulps. Peter returned a few minutes later and informed them that the Ministry would arrive soon.
Once Remus had calmed down a bit, he was led into the living room for a lie down. Sensing he was about to doze off, Sirius, James, and Peter went out the front door to await the Ministry's arrival.
"He can't stay here," James said suddenly.
"He can stay with me," Sirius said, peeking through the open door at Remus.
"Why'd they come here?" Peter whispered fearfully.
"'Cause they're evil gits," James muttered.
The conversation was ended abruptly by the sound of a dozen loud pops in the front yard. Out of pure instinct, James and Sirius pulled out their wands and stepped in front of Peter, protecting him from danger as they always had. The wands were lowered when they realized the Aurors had arrived.
"James?" one of them called.
"Dad?" James called back, squinting to see in the dark.
"You boys all right?" Mr. Potter asked, eyeing the three of them in turn.
"Fine," they muttered.
"Where's Remus?"
"On the sofa. We left Mr. and Mrs. Lupin where they were," Sirius said quietly, looking to the ground.
Mr. Potter nodded. "I want you three to gather all of your things and go to Sirius' flat. Stay there until I call for you. Understood?"
"What about Remus?" James asked.
"We've got to take him into the Ministry for a bit," Mister Potter said regretfully. "I will personally see that he's okay, and I'll bring him to Sirius' in a few hours." He began to head into the house when he stopped suddenly. "Oh and James, you should let me tell your mother what happened tonight."
James nodded in understanding. The Potters and Lupins had been good friends ever since James and Remus had introduced them after their first year at Hogwarts.
Briefly, the boys saw an Auror guide Remus' hand to an old book and the next second they disappeared.
"He'll be all right, boys," Mr. Potter assured quietly. "Come on, now. I don't want any of you here when we start the investigations."
James led the three of them to Remus' bedroom where all of their trunks were. Once they'd packed, the three Marauders went to the living room, trying to avoid looking into the Lupins' bedroom, and stepped into the fireplace.
Harry, Ron, and Hermione sat around a table in the Gryffindor common room with books and rolls of parchment spread out between them. Three days into the new term and they already had more homework than they were used to. Professor Lockhart (who was a bit of a joke amongst the students already) had assigned them to research the most ridiculous potions imaginable—hair-coloring potions, teeth whitening potions, and even a potion Lockhart claimed to have discovered himself. It was a bravery-strengthening potion that was supposed to give the drinker unlimited amounts of strength and courage for twelve hours. He said he developed it before fighting a werewolf who'd been terrorizing a small village in France.
The more credible teachers had given them assignments more pertaining to their O.W.L. year. Even Mad-Eye was increasing the level of difficultly of his lessons. Professor Lupin had taught them about dementors, but Mad-Eye was teaching them how to repel the dark creatures—something that usually wasn't on the curriculum until seventh year. Everything Mad-Eye was teaching them was something they could use to defend themselves in battle. Later in the year, Mad-Eye had told them, he'd be starting a group devoted to defending against spells. They would learn the spells and protective charms, and even have supervised duels amongst one another. All in all, regardless of the reasons for the group, the students were growing excited with its prospects.
Another thing Harry was highly looking forward to was the new Quidditch season. Since the previous year had been the Triwizard Tournament, the House Cup hadn't been played for since Harry's third year. Oliver Wood, their former team captain and Keeper, had left school that year, so a new captain would need to be appointed. Angelina Johnson had informed Harry their first night back at Hogwarts that she was the new captain. Tryouts would be held in two weeks for a new Keeper.
On a totally unrelated subject, Ron had suddenly taken an interest in the weather outside after classes, and took great care of his new broomstick—a gift from his parents for becoming Prefect—at night before bed.
"Harry," called a muffled voice from Harry's school bag. The three friends looked at each other curiously until realization dawned on them.
Harry reached into his bag and dug out the old two-way mirror. His godfather was in the glass, pretending to smile... again... "Hey, Sirius," Harry whispered into the mirror, turning to make sure he wasn't being overheard.
"Hey, kid. How're things?" Sirius asked.
"Not bad. We're doing homework."
"Good... good..." Sirius muttered looking away from the mirror. Harry raised an eyebrow and cleared his throat.
"Sorry," Sirius said with another fake grin. "Staying out of trouble so far?"
"Yeah, we've only been here for two days, Sirius," Harry said.
This time, Sirius really did grin. "Never stopped us."
Harry and Ron laughed. Hermione didn't seem to know whether to laugh or look disapprovingly at her friends. "So how're things at... home," Harry said lamely.
"This isn't home, Harry," Sirius said firmly. "But things are... well... it's a normal day for the fighters of good." He laughed uneasily.
"Sirius!" yelled a voice in the background.
"I've got to go. We're getting ready to have a... well, a dinner party. Take care of yourself, Harry, and give Ron and Hermione my best," Sirius said before winking and disappearing.
"Bye," Harry muttered to his own reflection.
"Well, he sounds cheerful," Ron commented sarcastically as Harry put the mirror carefully back into his bag.
Harry smiled humorlessly. "That's my godfather."
"Do you think something's wrong?" Hermione asked quietly.
"I'd bet my Firebolt on it," Harry said darkly.
Hermione gave him a small smile, exchanged a look with Ron, and went back to her schoolwork. Harry found that he could no longer concentrate on Potions. A short while later, he packed his books back into his bag, said good night to his friends, and headed up the stairs to the fifth year boys' dorm.
A short, last-minute Order meeting was taking place in the basement of Number Twelve. There weren't many in attendance at the meeting; Dumbledore, McGonagall, and Mad-Eye had remained at Hogwarts for this meeting, sending notes of things that needed to be covered. Kingsley was put in charge for the night since Sirius was still angrily brooding over Percy Weasley. Molly and Arthur had called it a night right after dinner. Besides Kingsley and Sirius, Tonks, Emmeline, Bill Weasley, Dung, and Elphias Doge were in attendance.
They were discussing Percy, a topic that upset Bill to no end, when an owl flew in with a letter for Kingsley. He read it through once before glancing quickly at Sirius and clearing his throat.
"Our last order of business for the night," Kingsley began, "is Severus Snape."
Sirius groaned loudly and dropped his head onto the table in frustration. Tonks grabbed some of his long hair to keep him from doing it again. "You don't need a concussion tonight," she muttered.
Kingsley smirked. "Anyway, Dumbledore was going to arrange a meeting in order for Snape to get out of Ministry captivity. However, he's been recently informed that Voldemort is sending a few Death Eaters into the Ministry to break him out. It's happening tonight, just after midnight, and he's asking for our cooperation."
"What?" Sirius and Tonks cried out.
"He wants us to let the Death Eaters in the Ministry to break Snape out?" Sirius asked incredulously. "Is he mad?"
"Probably," Kingsley said thoughtfully. "But he has it on good authority—or so he says—that all they're going in for is Snape. They're not supposed to harm anybody that doesn't get in their way."
"This is too bloody much!" Sirius shouted. "I... you can't expect me to let bloody Death Eaters into the Ministry of Magic without capturing them."
"Sirius is right," Bill said. "That's against everything we're doing. And what makes Dumbledore think he can trust a Death Eater, anyway?"
Kingsley threw his hands up helplessly. "I don't know. I'm just relaying the message."
"Who's this Death Eater he seems to trust so much?" Tonks muttered, looking around the table.
Kingsley and Sirius exchanged a glance. "It's Naomi," Sirius said. "Used to be a friend of Remus' and mine in school. Long story," he added at the questionable glances he was receiving from those who didn't know Naomi. "She's had a change of heart, or so she says, and wants to help out the Order."
"Do you trust her?" Emmeline asked quietly.
"No," Sirius said, looking at the witch. "But that's why Dumbledore is Dumbledore, and I'm not."
Sirius and Kingsley arrived at the Ministry at eleven-thirty that night. They instructed Eric the security wizard to take a nice, long break and made their way to the Ministry holding cells.
"Do you have a plan?" Kingsley muttered, pulling an Invisibility Cloak over himself.
"Do I ever have a plan?" Sirius asked. "Wait here," he added, pushing open the metal door leading to the holding cells. "Evans!" he shouted, trying not to look into any of the cells.
"Yes, sir?" Evans said, coming out of the bathroom.
"Change of plans," Sirius muttered to the young Auror. "You're being relieved for the night. I'll take over."
"Um, okay, thank you, sir," Evans said quietly and a bit confused. "See you, then."
Sirius grunted in response, sitting on the small desk, trying to figure out what he would do when the Death Eaters arrived. Once Evans was gone, the Head Auror sent a glare to the prisoners and stepped out into the hall where Kingsley was supposed to be.
"Kingsley," he whispered.
"Right here, boss," Kingsley's deep voice said from behind him.
Sirius jumped and turned. His second-in-command had pulled off the hood of his Invisibility Cloak, his head grinning at Sirius. "Don't do that again," he threatened.
"Or what? Going to sack me again?"
"You could only be so lucky," Sirius muttered with no real conviction. "I want you to go up to the Atrium and wait for the Death Eaters to show. Follow them. If they go anywhere but here, stun the lot of them."
"Got it, boss," Kingsley said, replacing his hood. Sirius waited until he saw Kingsley's hand wave at him from him and returned to the holding cells.
"Having problems, Sirius?"
"Shut it, Percy, or I'll shut it for you," Sirius growled, sitting at the desk again.
"Temper, Black," Percy said. Sirius could hear the boy smirking. "That's what got you thrown into Azkaban last time."
"Actually, Percy, it was your pet rat that got me thrown into Azkaban," Sirius said coldly. Percy was silent for a few moments. "What's the matter, Perce? Didn't know you were keeping a murderer on your pillow for five years?"
"It only pleases me to know I helped keep one of my master's most loyal servants alive. Peter Pettigrew was the one who found the Dark Lord, after all," Percy said haughtily.
"He was also the one who sent your master to his destruction in the first place, if I remember correctly," Sirius said darkly. "Now shut up before I stun you..."
Not ten minutes later, the door to the holding cells opened. Sirius pulled out his wand—not intending to use it, but so the Death Eaters didn't know he was aware of what they were up to.
"Sirius Black," said a familiar voice. "It has been a while, hasn't it?"
"Indeed it has, Naomi," Sirius replied, catching her wink under her hood.
"Stun him," Naomi said carelessly.
"It will be my pleasure," said another Death Eater.
Before the red jet of light hit him, Sirius vowed to get back at Naomi the next time he saw her.
"Sirius... Sirius, wake up," Kingsley's voice broke into Sirius' mind.
The Head Auror opened his eyes with some difficulty and looked up at Kingsley's worried face. "Wha' 'appened?" he mumbled drunkenly.
"You were stunned," Kingsley said lightly, helping Sirius sit up. "But I couldn't bring you 'round with just Ennervate. How long's it been since you slept?" he added, eyeing his friend suspiciously.
"Dunno," Sirius muttered, his memory finally coming back to him. "Did they get Snape?"
"Yeah, the others tried to get the Death Eaters to free them, too, but Naomi wouldn't let them. After they left, I stunned all the prisoners to stop their bloody yelling, and I've been trying to wake you since."
"How long have I been out?" Sirius muttered, rubbing his head as if he had a horrible hang over.
"Two hours."
"Wonderful."
Kingsley chuckled. "Come on, let's get you back to Headquarters. I'll hold down the Ministry for the night." He helped Sirius to the Atrium where he took a fireplace back to Number Twelve. When he fell out of the green flames, he was helped up by Emmeline and led to the kitchen table. "Well?" the witch asked quietly.
"Don't worry," Sirius muttered, laying his head on the table. "Your former love is safe and sound in the hands of the Death Eaters."
He saw Emmeline roll her eyes at his sarcasm before he closed his own.