Consequences

By Neurotica

Twenty-Seven

Despite Naomi's very clear warning just a few hours before, Sirius showered and dressed in his Ministry robes as if there wasn't someone planning to assassinate him that day.

"Nobody, least of all Lucius 'Look-How-Blond-My-Hair-Is' Malfoy is going to keep me from going on with my life as normal," Sirius said stubbornly.

"Sirius," Remus said as if he was talking to a rather stubborn three-year-old. "He's trying to do just that, you idiot." Sirius only rolled his eyes at his best friend, took some toast from a plate on the kitchen table, and Apparated from cottage. Only residents of the cottage could Apparate or Disapparate from the house, thanks to the wards Dumbledore and Mad-Eye had put up.

"He's a dead man," Remus said, staring at the spot Sirius disappeared from.

Emmeline turned from the kitchen window. "He'll be fine..." she said, obviously unsure herself. "Nobody who doesn't work in the Ministry is going to get in."

"That doesn't mean a damn thing," Remus said quietly. "Naomi said Malfoy is using various disguises. He could be using someone who works with Sirius... Someone in Auror Headquarters."

Their conversation ceased abruptly when Harry walked into the kitchen, yawning widely and looking around.

"Please don't tell me he went to the Ministry," Harry said flatly to Remus. Emmeline and Remus' silence was enough of an answer for him. "And he asks me if I have a bloody death wish," Harry said angrily. Remus didn't even reprimand him for his language—he thought, considering the circumstances, Harry was completely in line.

Security around the Ministry of Magic, specifically Auror Headquarters, had tightened to the point that it took the employees half an hour get to their workstations. Though Sirius insisted he could handle Lucius Malfoy, Hit Wizards had been assigned to him as bodyguards. He couldn't even go to the bathroom without one of the gorilla-looking wizards following him.

When Tonks tried to enter his office later in the day, the Hit Wizards put her through several identity tests. They nearly arrested her due to her Metamorphmagus abilities, but Sirius performed a quick forensics spell and that took care of that. The nearly irate witch glared at her cousin as he barely concealed his laughter—she'd been poked a few times too many with a secrecy sensor. "You know, for someone whose life is in danger, you're in a damn good mood," Tonks said grumpily, sitting down in front of Sirius.

Sirius rolled his eyes. "Lucius Malfoy has been threatening me for years. He actually sent me a letter a few years back..."

"You're not scared at all?" the witch checked.

Sirius shrugged nonchalantly. "No more than usual. If by some chance he does get through the Atrium to down here, there's no way in hell he's going to get close enough to me to do anything."

"What about poisoning your lunch? He doesn't have to be close to do that," Tonks pointed out.

Sirius raised an eyebrow. "You seem to have thoroughly thought through how to kill me, Nymphy. Are you trying to get my job?" Tonks glared at both the accusation and the nickname. "Lunch is taken care of; Remus is bringing it from the Leaky Cauldron. And I'm sure my new mates outside the door will search him and my lunch very thoroughly..."

"Speaking of Remus," Tonks began. "Have you thought about the possibility that Naomi told you guys about Malfoy to get out off your guard so they could attack Harry...?"

Sirius nodded. "That was one of the first things we talked about after Naomi left." He rubbed his eyes warily. "We've got Sturgis Podmore and Mad-Eye spending the day at the cottage—that was with Remus', Emmeline's, and Harry's knowledge. I talked Bones into sending a few Hit Wizards under Invisibility Cloaks to hang out around the cottage. And yes, Mad-Eye knew about it beforehand."

Tonks laughed—the first laugh Sirius had heard from her in months. "Kingsley always said you were protective of Remus and Harry..." she trailed off looking a bit lost.

"Tonks..." Sirius said softly, standing to comfort his cousin.

"I'm fine," she said hastily, though Sirius saw her wipe at her eyes. "I'll be fine." Before he could stop her, she left his office in a rush, muttering something about finishing a report.

One of the Hit Wizards poked his head through the office door to check if Sirius was all right. "What?" the Head Auror snapped. The other wizard raised his hands as if in surrender and went back to his post. "It's going to be a long day," Sirius muttered to himself.

Harry sat at the kitchen table staring moodily at a bottle of butterbeer in front of him. He'd wanted to go for a fly, but due to the threat on Sirius, he wasn't allowed. Nor was he allowed to go to the Burrow for the day. He'd asked if his friends could come to the cottage, but Mad-Eye had put a stop on that almost immediately; a Death Eater could be impersonating any one of them. When Harry gave Remus an exasperated look, the werewolf merely shrugged and went back to his newspaper.

"You know, if you're really bored you could go clean that disaster area you call a bedroom," Remus said lightly, sitting down beside the boy. "We've only been back here for three days and already you can't walk through there without fear of something reaching out and pulling you under the bed." Harry rolled his eyes and sighed. "Okay, you don't want to clean. What about your summer homework?" Harry glared at that suggestion. Remus sighed this time. "Harry, I don't know what to tell you..."

"When's Sirius going to let us know he's still alive?" Harry asked flatly.

"I'll be taking him lunch soon. No, you can't go," Remus added as Harry opened his mouth hopefully. "They're not allowing anybody without a Ministry badge in after the St. Mungo's attack."

"This sucks," Harry grumbled.

"I agree," Remus said, nodding. "But we're better safe than sorry. Lucius Malfoy has been threatening to kill all three of us for years, and it seems he's finally gotten the courage to try it again."

Harry raised his eyebrows. "You think he's afraid of Sirius?"

Remus smiled. "To a point, yes, I do believe he is. Voldemort knows how powerful Sirius is, and though I don't think Voldemort is afraid of him, I do think his Death Eaters are."

"But why?"

"Sirius has proved time and time again that he is reckless and unpredictable. Death Eaters prefer targets whose actions can be monitored and easily over-powered. Sirius doesn't allow that; he's never done the same thing twice in a battle. He'd be a terrible subject for Polyjuice Potion." Remus smiled warily. "Most of the world could be fooled, but you and I would be able to realize something was off in a heartbeat."

Harry chuckled in agreement. Before he could reply, Mad-Eye limped into the room. "Lupin, if you're taking Black lunch, I suggest you get moving."

Remus looked at his watch and nodded. "Right. Harry, Emmeline and Sturgis are here, and Mad-Eye said he spotted a few Hit Wizards under Invisibility Cloaks in the front yard earlier. I have the two-way mirror, so let me know if you need anything. And stay out of trouble..."

Harry nodded and allowed Remus to ruffle his hair a bit before leaving. The teenager almost immediately went back to staring broodingly at his butterbeer bottle.

Wrapping her cloak tightly around her, Naomi walked swiftly through the dungeon-like corridors of the Dark Lord's hideout. She'd tried many times to look for windows, in the hopes of gathering her bearings and maybe figuring out where the hideout was located, but there wasn't one window in the place.

She'd hoped to see Lucius at some point during the day, to discover if Sirius was alive and well, but again, she'd had no luck whatsoever. She didn't dare ask around to the Death Eaters who'd taken up residence in the hideout—the ones who'd been broken out of Azkaban. For one, many of them weren't too thrilled with her; they'd been loyal to the Dark Lord much longer than she, and she was his "third-in-command"; the one depended upon to develop attack strategies against the Order of the Phoenix.

Lucius Malfoy seemed to be the exception, in the extreme. At first, she'd told him to bugger off, that she wasn't interested in anything he had to offer—he'd been lonely, he'd said. But the more she'd thought on it, the more she'd realized how much more she could find out if Malfoy trusted her enough to have her, a blood-traitor to the other Death Eaters, in his bed every few nights. They were far from the most enjoyable experiences of her life, but if he was drunk enough, he'd let things slip—like how he planned to assassinate Sirius Black.

She rolled her eyes at the memory of Lucius telling her how, when, and where he was going to kill Sirius. He'd been so cocky about it, as if nothing in the world would be able to stop him. The way he'd been going on, Naomi was surprised nobody else knew of his little plan. Of course, she'd play dumb, like she always did when asked of how plans were leaked—the Dark Lord, for some very odd reason, never suspected her, and anyone who accused her of betraying him was punished on the spot. If she didn't know any better, she'd say the Dark Lord had developed some sort of parental feelings for her. Of course, that was impossible, considering said Dark Lord never showed compassion for any of his followers—Naomi was no exception to that; she'd been punished before when her "master" was upset, just not as often as some of the others. Like Bellatrix Lestrange, who seemed to be getting on the Dark Lord's bad side more often than not lately. But whatever the Dark Lord felt for her, it was definitely an advantage for her. It meant he didn't suspect her of being a spy for the Order yet, and the last thing she wanted was to be suspected by the Dark Lord.

She looked over her shoulder briefly before pushing open a stone door. She felt little pity for the man sitting on a cot in front of her. Granted, she was basically in the same position he was. Although she did still have a soul... He deserved what he'd gotten after what he'd done to Lily and James, and later to Harry. She still wasn't sure why the Dark Lord was using Peter—he was practically useless now, and under Imperius, he was just another soldier.

"Hello, Peter," she said quietly, standing in front of her former friend's bed. He made no sign that he'd even heard her, but stared past her at the wall opposite him. She'd never seen him do much of anything else since she'd begun visiting him a few months before. She waved a hand in front of his face, and he slowly turned his head towards her, staring at her with his mouth partly open. He blinked at her, his eyes still as dead and dull as ever. She furrowed her brow, noticing something flash in his eyes. "Peter, can you understand me?" she asked, feeling a bit stupid. He blinked again.

"That's impossible," she muttered under her breath. Peter was moving his hand up, his expression still blank, and reached out to touch Naomi's face. She grabbed his cold hand gently and stared at him. "Are you in there, Peter?" Again, she felt stupid. She knew enough about Dementor's Kiss victims to know that once someone was Kissed, there was no chance of recovery. Peter shouldn't have been able to respond to her at all. She recalled having read something at Flourish and Blotts about a wizard trying to return souls to Dementor's Kiss victims, but she was sure his studies were proven wrong; she hadn't read much of the book... Naomi wondered idly if the Imperius Curse had some effect on his mind...

There was a commotion in the corridor outside Pete's door, starting Naomi from her thoughts. "I'll come back, Peter," she said quietly, patting the wizard's hand and standing. She looked back at her former friend to find him in the same position as when she'd entered before leaving.

Sirius and Remus were quietly enjoying their lunches from the Leaky Cauldron, both too tired and tense to make conversation. Now that Sirius thought about it, it probably hadn't been the best idea for Remus to come to the Ministry. If Malfoy was indeed planning on attacking the Auror that day, he would just be getting a bonus with Remus there—Sirius was sure his best friend wasn't far behind him on Voldemort's "to-do" list.

Sirius actually hoped Malfoy would show up; he'd been wanting a piece of the Death Eater for many years. And if Malfoy was stupid enough to show up at the Ministry of Magic, even if he was under Polyjuice Potion, well, that just made the entire situation all the more humorous for Sirius.

"What did she mean by 'I have my ways'?" Remus muttered suddenly. Sirius figured he was thinking out loud.

"Who?" Sirius asked, taking a bite of his salad.

Remus started a bit, obviously unaware that he'd spoken aloud. "Oh, er, Naomi..." Sirius looked at him with a raised eyebrow. "Don't look at me like that. It's suspicious, isn't it? Why would Malfoy tell her that kind of information? Do you not remember how he treated her when she and I were together?"

Sirius abandoned his meal and sat back in his chair, crossing his arms over his chest. "Might I ask why you care?" he said carefully. "You've told me many times you feel nothing for her..."

Remus shrugged and looked away. "I know when she's lying, Sirius... I've always been able to tell when she's lying. Right now, she's hiding something from all of us—Dumbledore included, and I'm just curious as to what that could possibly be..." He trailed off, staring at the floor.

"Whatever it is, Naomi can handle herself. She's proved that many times in school against us," Sirius said, unsure of what Remus was thinking or what he wanted to hear. He didn't bring up the fact that Remus hadn't realized Naomi was lying to him for months when the Death Eaters started trying to recruit her.

Remus sighed and opened his mouth to speak, but at that moment, Tonks burst into the office. "They've caught someone in the Atrium. They're not sure if it's Malfoy, but the identity tests were going haywire."

Sirius and Remus turned back to each other, the former grinning excitedly as if Christmas had come early. Both wizards bolted from their seats instantly and raced through Auror Headquarters after Tonks, the Hit Wizards guarding Sirius struggling to keep up. When they reached the Atrium, Sirius was shaking in anticipation; they found a large group of Ministry officials with their wands out and pointed at the same spot.

"Head Auror, Head Auror... Move aside," Sirius muttered, pushing his way through the crowd, Remus right on his heels. The two friends made it to the front and looked down at their feet where a wizard with long brown hair lay unconscious.

"We're just waiting for the Polyjuice to wear off," Arthur said when he spotted Sirius. He looked just as excited as the Auror to be on the verge of capturing Lucius Malfoy.

"Are you sure it's him?" Remus asked, not wanting to get his hopes up too much. He wanted to see Malfoy pay for his crimes as much as Sirius did.

Arthur shrugged. "We think he somehow jammed the identity charms. Says his name is John Springer. Ever heard of him?"

"No," Remus answered.

"Well, he's got no identification on him at all. We've got his wand, though..."

"Where?" Sirius asked suddenly, turning his head from the captive.

A witch handed it to him and he examined it closely before performing Priori Incantatem. Suddenly, and very unexpectedly, a loud bang sounded and Sirius was thrown back into the crowd as if a rubber band had been attached around his middle. Though surprised by the sudden movement, Sirius was caught by a few wizards standing at the front of the group.

"Bloody hell!" one of them cried, looking down at Sirius. Remus pushed past the group that moved around his best friend. Sirius had been knocked unconscious.

"How could Priori Incantatem do that?" Charlie Weasley asked as Remus knelt beside Sirius.

"Could have been from the force of the last spell, whatever it was," somebody suggested, but Remus had another idea. He took the wand that was still held tightly by Sirius—he had to pry the wizard's fingers from around—and laid it on the floor. There were deep indents around it where Sirius' fingers had been, as though they were burned into the wooden tube. Looking fearfully from Sirius to the wand, Remus came to his shaky conclusion:

"It was a set-up," he whispered, thinking how ingenious the plan was. "This isn't Malfoy... It might be, but I highly doubt it. Whoever it is, being caught was part of the plan; it's what they wanted… They probably knew Sirius would come running, and he'd want to test the wand... Oh dear god… the wand... it was cursed to backfire... We need to get Sirius to the hospital..."

Without waiting for anyone else, he floated Sirius' unconscious form in front of him, and down the lifts to level two where the temporary hospital had been set up after the attack on St. Mungo's. A Healer spotted them almost immediately and took over Sirius, floating him to an empty bed. Arthur and Charlie arrived a moment later with Tonks, who held the wand found in the Atrium.

"Is he all right?" Arthur asked quietly and worriedly as the Healer called over a few of his colleagues, the last of which—a tall blonde witch—conjured a curtain to surround Sirius' bed.

Remus tried to answer Arthur's question, but couldn't find his voice. Sirius had endured many injuries in his lifetime, but most of them had been so minor he'd been released from hospital that same day—only once, maybe twice, had he had to remain in hospital for longer than that. Remus tried to listen in on what was happening behind the curtain, but realized immediately that a silencing charm had been placed around it. Arthur, at some point, made him sit—apparently, he'd grown pale and was starting to shake. He wasn't sure why he was so worried, but he had a bad feeling about that wand.

Not until two hours later did a Healer come out to speak with them. Sirius' health had been stabilized, the Healer said, but there was significant damage to his body. His magical abilities had been completely drained—right now he could basically be classified as a Squib. Hopefully, his magic would return with time, but none of the Healers were sure when he'd be able to even make a feather float again.

"But he's going to live. Right?" Tonks asked.

The Healer gave her a small smile. "He will live."

Suddenly, Remus understood. Malfoy wasn't trying to kill Sirius—although that probably would have been preferred, he was trying to take Sirius out of the action.

Looks like it worked... Remus thought wryly.

Arthur asked if they could see Sirius, but the Healer said no, Sirius needed to rest right now. They could come back tomorrow for a full report, and if he was up to it, they could see Sirius. Charlie helped Remus stand—he'd somehow lost control of his legs—and muttered something about Harry and the cottage—Remus couldn't hear properly, either. Nonetheless, moments later, he was being set down in an armchair and Charlie was calling for Emmeline and Harry.