Lost: One Godson, Answers to Harry

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It wasn't until mid-morning the next day that Sirius, moping around the flat, heard a whooshing sound and rushed into the main room to find an exhausted-looking Remus Lupin climbing out of his fireplace, grumbling loudly that he hadn't eaten since yesterday. Sirius hurried to pull up a chair and whip together breakfast for his friend, then sat down opposite him and waited with tense nerves for Lupin to finish eating.

"Well?" Sirius asked, arms folded and one foot jiggling with impatience, once Lupin finally pushed away the empty cereal bowl and the plate that had held toast and eggs. "Has he talked yet? Has he said anything?"

Lupin sighed and pushed his bowl away. "I'm sorry, Sirius."

"Nothing? But Dolohov must know – he was the one who took Harry!"

"I know, I know," Lupin rubbed his head wearily. "I've already had a row with Dumbledore this morning over the whole thing. But all Dolohov said was that after…after the Death Eaters Disapparated from the Great Hall they rallied at some meeting point, and Bellatrix Lestrange ordered him to follow her with Harry…he claims he doesn't remember any more. And he was under Veritiserum, so I'm afraid I have to believe him."

Sirius felt his stomach curl up into a heavy, painful lump. He had barely slept last night. He had been so sure that Dolohov would have the answer; Dolohov would be able to lead the Order straight to Harry. To have that torn away made him feel sick and desperate.

The image of his Godson flashed through his mind. Recently, dreams had surfaced in his sleeping mind of the basement where he, Sirius, had been held captive, all those years ago, in the days after the murder of the Potters. But in the dreams, it was now Harry whom Sirius could see – Harry, bound and unconscious, lying helpless at the feet of Bellatrix Lestrange. Or, worse still, Harry cornered and frightened, holding out his arms and crying for Sirius – but Sirius could never reach him…

"Don't give up yet. Dumbledore thinks Dolohov has probably had his memory obliviated very neatly," Lupin continued. "And he says any memory charm can be broken, with time and effort. He'll keep at Dolohov – it just might take some days. But if the man knows anything about Harry, Dumbledore will get it out of him. I promise."

"Promise," Sirius crossed his arms on the table and rested his forehead on them, hiding his face. His voice, slightly muffled, gave a bitter laugh. "Dumbledore and his promises. They've been a great help so far, I can't wait to see what Dumbledore's promises do next – you know, maybe I should have gone to join the Death Eaters last night, I think they'd be more helpful than your Headmaster has been…"

"Stop it," Lupin said in exasperation, "Dumbledore wants to break the memory charms in Dolohov's head just as much as you do. And so do I," he added pointedly. "So just stop acting like you're the only damn one who cares about Harry. But there are other things at stake here too – Dolohov claims he doesn't know how the Death Eaters found out about the meeting of the Order, or how they knew Tonks was receiving the instructions for entering the Fidelius charm from me. Dumbledore reckons he's had that wiped from his memory too, which means there is much more here than simple bad luck for us."

Sirius made a sneering face. "Bet you anything Snape's been dabbling with the Death Eaters. He's always been into the Dark Arts. Why did Dumbledore want you to stay behind, anyway?"

Lupin ran his hand through his greying hair and made a face. "He was testing me. The Death Eaters finding out about Tonks really scared him, he had to make sure I wasn't under the imperius curse, or worse – a traitor."

"You? He didn't! Besides, I thought there was no way to tell if someone was Imperiused…"

"Dumbledore can tell," answered Lupin simply.

"…and if he was so sure someone was a traitor, why didn't he hold me back to test me too?"

Lupin shook his head. "You didn't know I was going to give Tonks the secret, so you couldn't have been the one who told the Death Eaters. They probably didn't know that we were even using the fidelius charm until they questioned Tonks. Dumbledore says that you-know-who was at Tonks' parents' house last night, and he…he used legilimency on her himself…"

Lupin gave a small shudder and put his hands around the mug of orange juice Sirius had provided. After a moment, he continued. "I've been at St Mungo's this morning."

"She's alright?"

"Roughed up pretty bad, but its all superficial damage, nothing the Healers couldn't fix in a jiffy. She's very drowsy. They've got her full of sleeping potions, so she kept dozing off halfway through her sentences. She doesn't remember much about last night," Lupin shrugged, "but she feels awful about letting herself get caught by Death Eaters."

"I bet you cheered her up," Sirius said, but he did not smile as he said it. He wasn't thinking about teasing Lupin at that moment. His stomach felt full of lead, and Dolohov…Dolohov will know…kept running through his head like the dirge at some inane funeral.

Lupin went slightly pink at Sirius's comment and stared into his orange juice. He cleared his throat before he went on, "Actually, she kept asking about you, when she heard you might be joining the Order. And about her parents, but they're both fine, they turned up while I was still there. The Healers made me leave because she started cheering when I told her Dolohov was going to Azkaban."

"Azkaban? But…you said they were still…still questioning him about Harry!"

Lupin nodded. "Dumbledore will keep questioning him, but he can't keep Dolohov in an empty classroom at Hogwarts. He's being handed over to the ministry-"

"But he knows all about the Order, now! Dumbledore must be mad…!"

"No, he's sorted it all out. Haven't you read the paper this morning?" Lupin bent down and pulled a copy of the Daily Prophet out of the cloak he had discarded on the floor. He unfolded it and spread it out in front of Sirius. "It's a late morning edition, the Ministry held up the printing presses just to get the story in today's news. Moody's very pleased."

Sirius took the paper. On the front page, smiling nervously and waving at the camera, was a large picture of Arthur Weasley. He was shaking hands with Minister Moody while several Aurors stood menacingly behind the two of them. The headline declared:

EARLY BIRD CATCHES THE CROOK

"Ministry worker Arthur Weasley, a dedicated member of the Defence Department, has always gotten to work on time. But today his punctuality paid off for him and the Ministry when he arrived to work early this morning to find a wanted Death Eater trying to break into a restricted area of the Ministry.

Antonin Dolohov, who has been a fugitive for several years since he escaped Ministry custody just after being convicted of the brutal murders of Gideon and Fabian Prewett, was caught this morning trying to enter a highly guarded door in the depths of the Ministry. Mr Weasley, the man who caught the dangerous wizard red-handed, managed to stun Dolohov before raising the alarm. Trained Aurors arrived on the scene within minutes to take Dolohov into custody. Dawlish, one of the Aurors, said that Dolohov was, "probably confunded, by the look of him."

Minister of Magic Alastor Moody said that Weasley showed, "real nerve" and is planning to offer the courageous worker an Order of Merlin, Second class. Mr Weasley, however, says he plans to refuse the award, as he "only did what anyone would do. It wasn't brave or anything," a modest Weasley told reporters, "really, I just want everyone to forget about it."

Sirius, despite his disappointment about Dolohov's lack of information, could not restrain a quiet chuckle. "Poor Arthur. It was all a set up, I suppose?"

"Yes," Lupin watched the photograph of Mr Weasley trying to shield his eyes from the flashing of the cameras. "Dumbledore couldn't let the Ministry get a hold of a prisoner who would gladly spill secrets about the Order. You know how paranoid Moody is when it comes to Dumbledore doing things behind his back. He modified Dolohov's memory so that he wouldn't know where he'd been all night, then Kingsley left him with a freezing charm outside the door to the Department of Mysteries and Arthur just had to wait until the morning, walk up, stun him properly and call the rest of the Aurors. Dumbledore had a hard time convincing Arthur to go through with it, I'll tell you that, but eventually he agreed. This way, Dolohov goes to prison without anyone knowing he had anything to do with the Order."

"Except the Death Eaters," Sirius replied.

"Yes, but they're going to realise that Dolohov failed his mission and I don't think they'll be too happy with him. He might be glad he's stuck in prison instead of in their hands," Lupin pointed out.

Sirius thought of Dolohov sitting in Azkaban, and the faint possibility that Dumbledore would be able to break his memory charm and maybe – just maybe – find out something about Harry, and the knots in his stomach loosened a little. He wished he could go to Dolohov's cell right now, force him to tell… never mind Dumbledore or Dementor guards… once again he saw Harry, calling for him…

His morbid thoughts must have showed on his face. In an attempt to distract him from thoughts of Dolohov, Lupin pulled the newspaper back and pointed out a few articles of minor interest. Sirius grunted morosely in reply, not listening to a word he said, until one name in particular cropped up.

"I see Lucius Malfoy has made a 'stunning donation' to the Ministry," Lupin grumbled, flicking over a page.

Sirius raised his head a little. "I thought he was in prison?"

"Malfoy?" Lupin asked, glancing at Siriud. "No, he got off on nearly all charges – that was months ago, didn't you know?"

"No," Sirius frowned. "Wasn't he arrested for Death Eater activities?"

Lupin nodded. "But it was…er, it was earlier this year, right around the time that the Death Eaters invaded Hogwarts. Dumbledore was furious. He spent weeks helping the Aurors plan and instigate a sudden raid of Malfoy's estate, and they got gallons of evidence that he'd been working for you-know-who for years. But then just the next day, the Death Eaters attacked Hogwarts, and in all the fuss afterwards, Malfoy never made it to trial. He claimed the things in his house were planted by the Ministry, that he'd been under the imperius curse, that – well, he made a lot of excuses, and they set him free."

"What?" Sirius gaped. "That black-hearted, slithering son-of-a-bitch?"

Lupin smiled wryly, glad to have Sirius' attention away from thoughts of Harry's plight. He said, "There was a bit of a tussle over the whole thing. Moody wanted to throw Malfoy straight to the dementors, especially after all the work he'd done trying to corner Malfoy, all the evidence they'd collected. Dumbledore agreed – I haven't seen the two of them so united since Moody became Minister. But there were some senior members of the Ministry who felt differently. Barty Crouch, you remember him, he's head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement – he insisted Malfoy's excuses were valid," Lupin made a sickened face, "and despite everything Malfoy's done over the years, they just let him go."

"But…why?" Sirius shook his head. "What could Crouch possibly have gained?"

"Money, maybe, though Barty Crouch isn't the sort of man to accept bribes. Information about something, most likely," said Lupin. "But it's a mystery, isn't it? Because if Malfoy gave information about the Death Eaters, which seems like the only sort Crouch would care about, why is he still alive? Why didn't You-Know-Who have him killed the moment he stepped out of the Ministry's custody? Anyway," he finished, taking a sip of the orange juice. "That's all old news. Malfoy's been accused of being a Death Eater a couple more times since then, but he's always wriggled out of it – gold does wonders for the reputation, you know. I don't personally think Malfoy is the killing or torturing type anyway – he probably supports Voldemort mostly in the financial sense."

Sirius pulled the paper back, while Lupin got up to make sure there was no more bacon in the pan, then summoned the box of cereal and poured himself his fourth bowl. He really was hungry, having not eaten since he had left Hogwarts the day before.

"Did you see this?" Sirius said, looking at a small article on the back page. "There's a new head of the Department of the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures. Dolores Umbridge."

Lupin inhaled a large spoonful of cereal and choked, spraying milk and meusli across the table. He coughed violently for several seconds while Sirius conjured a box of tissues and a glass of water.

"Do you know Dolores Umbridge?" he asked curiously.

"Only by reputation," Lupin wheezed, taking a sip of water and coughing again. "What does it say?"

Sirius read through the article. "…experienced member of the Ministry…blah, blah, blah…Umbridge says she plans to put tighter restrictions on the governance of sentient animals such as centaurs, giants and, most especially, werewolves. Oh, I see," he raised his head to look at Lupin, who was glowering at the newspaper as if it had personally instated Dolorus Umbridge into the Ministry.

"She's crazy," he declared vehemently. "Got a grudge against all 'half-breeds', as she calls him. She'll have them putting collars on centaurs and keeping merpeople in glass tanks and…oh, I hope she doesn't find out Rubeus Hagrid has giant blood, she'll have a field day…come to think of it, I hope she does find out," Lupin amended, "because then Dumbledore will give her what's coming to her…"

Sirius had hardly ever heard Lupin speak so resentfully. He looked at the article again. "But I thought Minister Moody had gotten over the whole werewolf issue once they cracked down on Fenrir Greyback's group after the rally in Paris last year?" he asked. "I mean, Moody wouldn't ever go in France's direction and really make life difficult for werewolves, would he?"

Lupin continued to glare at the newspaper. "Maybe Moody wouldn't," he muttered. "But Dolores Umbridge already has in a lot ways. And she's got a lot more where that came from."

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Work was over for the day. Diagon Alley was closing down, the shops pulling screens over their windows and the last trickles of witches and wizards hurrying home before dark, their packages tucked securely under their arms. Sirius wandered away from Gringotts bank, his hands in his pockets and his collar folded up to protect his neck, as a freezing winter wind was rushing down the street, sending battered Ministry leaflets tumbling past his ankles.

He collected his bike from the Leaky Cauldron and wheeled it out onto the street. He was just mounting it when a voice called out from behind him.

"Sirius! Sirius, wait!"

He turned and saw Remus Lupin hastening down the pavement towards him, a much-patched scarf wrapped around his throat and his robes rippling in the wind. Sirius raised his hand to acknowledge him but Lupin did not return the gesture: his face was strained and pale. Before Sirius could ask what was wrong, Lupin jogged up to his side. "Did you hear?"

"Hear what?"

"Dolohov's dead! He's been murdered!"

Sirius sucked in a quick breath. No – no, it couldn't be – Dumbledore hadn't questioned him properly yet, they hadn't found out about Harry – no, not now, their only link could not die now.

Lupin was blowing on his hands to keep them warm. He must have walked all the way to the Leaky Cauldron just to bring this news.

"By who?" Sirius growled, trying to keep himself from shouting. A cauldron of lead seemed to have been poured into his stomach.

"A Ministry worker, an Unspeakable, I think…"

"An Unspeakable? From the Department of Mysteries?"

"Yes," Lupin nodded feverishly. "I just saw Hestia, she was going to visit Tonks, and she got the news from Kingsley who was coming to take Tonks back to Auror headquarters; she's all patched up. Kingsley said he going to go back to the Ministry right now, they're going to question the man as soon as he wakes up. Kingsley was one of the Aurors that caught the guy. Rookwood, I think his name is…anyway, they think he's a spy for you-know-who. They were transferring Dolohov to a permanent residence in Azkaban tomorrow, and Rookwood broke into his cell in the Ministry and killed him, just like that…the Ministry is in an uproar, Hestia said…Rookwood's been an Unspeakable for about twenty years now, apparently, so if he is Death Eater…and he could have put the Imperius curse on all sorts of people in the Ministry, maybe someone in the Order…"

He was nearly hopping from foot to foot in anxiety. Sirius bent down to start the ignition of the bike, then he looked at Lupin and said firmly. "Get on."

"What?" Lupin looked aghast. "I'm not riding that machine!"

"Fine, I'll go to the Ministry by myself," Sirius replied, raising his voice over the rumble of the motorbike's engine.

"You're not going to the Ministry…!"

"Yes I am," said Sirius, turned to Lupin. "Don't you see? Dolohov is captured; Rookwood kills Dolohov, blowing his cover as a spy – why would You-Know-Who want Dolohov dead that badly? Dolohov must have had information that You-Know-Who had to prevent anyone from knowing. What information could be that vitally important?"

Lupin shook his head in disbelief. "You think Dolohov did know about Harry."

"If he did, I'm going to punch someone, because now we'll never know," Sirius said bitterly. "But maybe Rookwood knows something, and if he does, Dumbledore is going to be there getting it out of him. And I want to be the first to know what Rookwood has to say. Now, come on."

Muttering about helmets and their absence, Lupin swung his leg over the bike behind Sirius. He hadn't ridden this thing since before Harry had been born, and whether or not the bike was in a worse state of repair since then, he did not want to find out the hard way. He called above the roar as Sirius revved the motorbike up. "Where do I hold on?"

"Just grab my jacket," Sirius yelled. "And you better hold tight, we're going up."

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They landed with a thud outside the cracked and graffiti-covered telephone booth in the empty, windswept street with its overflowing skip and grubby little pubs. Lupin, who was still shouting in a kind of hysterical babble about Muggles and the statute of secrecy, hurried off the bike and waited for Sirius to lean it carefully against the brick wall beside the telephone booth.

The two of them crammed inside the tiny booth, which would have been a tight fit even if they hadn't both been wearing layers of winter clothes. Sirius was nearest the receiver and he lifted it, and then looked awkwardly at Lupin.

"Er…can you remember the number?"

"I'll do it," Lupin snatched the phone and dialled. After a moment, a cool female voice asked them both to state their name and business.

"Remus Lupin and Sirius Black, visiting Arthur Weasley to congratulate him," Lupin said at once.

"No we're not…"

"Shush, Sirius, they're not going to let us in if you say you're coming to gatecrash an interrogation."

"I'm not! And can't they tell you're lying?"

"I'm not lying, I do want to congratulate Arthur."

"But he didn't even…"

"Shush!"

Two silver badges clattered out into the coin tray and the ground began to rise up as they sunk down into the ground. Neither of them spoke over the dull grinding of the booth: Lupin still seemed to be furious about Sirius flying his bike in broad daylight, and Sirius was too pent-up with nerves to even think about making casual conversation. He fumbled to pin the silver badge onto his coat.

At last a sliver of light shone out at their feet and grew taller and taller until Sirius had to turn his face away so his eyes could adjust to the sudden brightness. Then the door of the booth sprang open and they stepped out into the Ministry of Magic.

The peacock-blue ceiling glowed down at them, the golden symbols sliding across its surface in a meaningless dance. The statue of magical brethren, with its five golden figures gleaming in the light from the ceiling, seemed to represent the only smiling faces in the huge room. Most of the people hurrying about were looking glum or distracted. It was evening, so the long hallway they had entered was not crowded, and there were long lines in front of the fireplaces and workers headed home for the night.

Sirius made to walk straight down the hall, but Lupin grabbed his arm. "We have to present our wands for a search. Or do you want to be arrested and thrown in there with Rookwood? – Actually, scratch that, you probably do…"

Grudgingly, Sirius allowed Lupin to lead him over to the desk at their left with a sign over it reading Security. They both handed over their wands and the bored-looking man ran a secrecy sensor over their chests and backs, and then waved them onwards.

"We'll have to find someone we know, I can't remember my way around in here," Lupin said, trying to stand on tiptoes to see over the heads of a crowd of witches and wizards who had just come streaming out of the elevator. Sirius, who was considerably taller, scanned the faces of the crowd, searching for anyone familiar.

"Sirius! Remus!" A bright voice cried from a group to their left. Lupin's cheeks flushed instantly pink and Sirius raised his hand and waved furiously at Nymphadora Tonks, who was hurrying towards them. She had a white patch taped her cheek and was limping ever so slightly, but seemed otherwise healthy. Her hair was blonde, short and curly today, but as she got nearer the tips darkened to mousy-brown.

Sirius grabbed her and pulled her into a hug as soon as she got within arm's reach. "It's good to see that you're yourself again."

"Thanks. I assume you've heard about Dolohov?"

At once both of them turned on her. "What has Rookwood said? Have they questioned him? Is he a Death Eater?"

"Yes – yes, he is – they're still down there now, in the cells under the Ministry, they've got all these awful potions and Moody's there and there's a crowd and – I shouldn't be here at all, but when Kingsley said he was going to find out whether they'd gotten Rookwood to talk or not I made him take me too," Tonks was speaking so quickly she sounded like a blur. "But someone noticed me after a while and they kicked me out a few minutes ago. Dumbledore, he just walked in there and they had Rookwood doped up on truth serum and Dumbledore just said, 'What information were you trying to silence when you killed Antonin Dolohov?' And Rookwood's eyes were all rolled back in his head and he said, 'My lord said he had to die. He knew about the Potter boy.'"

Sirius felt a steel hand clutch his heart and twist sharply. Lupin put his hand to his mouth.

Tonks' voice grew higher and more excited, "And then Dumbledore asked, cool as anything, 'Have you seen the boy?' And Rookwood said, 'Many months ago' so Dumbledore asked, 'and where was it you saw him?' And everyone was so quiet, you could have heard a pin drop, and the whole crowd is leaning forward, and the Rookwood takes this gulping breath, like he's trying to fight the truth serum but he can't stop himself speaking, and he recites this address…"

"Where?" Sirius found he had grabbed Tonks' arm and was gripping it very hard. He forced himself to relax his hold. "Where was it?"

"I don't know, it's nowhere I've heard of," Tonks shook her head. "But everything is happening now – oh, look!" She pointed behind him. The elevator had opened again and Dumbledore was striding out of it. He was accompanied by Minister Moody, several Ministry workers, and a number of Aurors, including Kingsley Shacklebolt, Emmeline Vance and Sturgis Podmore.

Moody kept glanced shiftily at Dumbledore, and as they passed the fountain of magical brethren, the two of them parted on either side of it. The Aurors all followed Moody, but as Dumbledore headed off alone, several people seemed to materialise out of the crowd. They were all members of the Order: Minerva McGonagall, Dedalus Diggle, and Hestia Jones among them, and Dumbledore bent down a little to speak to them. On the other side of the room, Minister Moody was talking to his circle of Aurors in a similarly wary manner.

Sirius, Lupin and Tonks dashed over to meet them. Dumbledore straightened up. "We have very little time, though Kingsley and Emmeline will try to delay Moody as best they can," he was saying, and then he saw the three newcomers and his gaze hardened. "No – before you even open your mouths – no. You will stay here."

"Albus, I'm coming," Lupin stepped forward.

"No Remus, we are dealing with this," Dumbledore said sharply, and then he swept his eyes of the rest of the group and said. "Now, quickly."

"Wait!" Sirius tried to grab Hestia, who was nearest, but there was an echoing crack and every one of them disappeared. Tonks turned her head to where Moody and his Aurors were standing on the other side of the room, and had been alerted by the loud crack. A moment later, all the Aurors Disapparated as well.

Sirius made a noise that was half-growl and half-moan. They had gone to find Harry, and left him behind…

"What's going on?" Tonks burst out savagely, spinning around as if hoping to catch someone who could explain to her and nearly hitting Lupin with her crutch. He stepped back hurriedly to avoid the crutch and put his hand to his forehead in a despairing gesture.

"They're trying to get there first," he glanced at the ceiling as if all the erratic behaviour was beginning to make him dizzy. "They both have the same destination but slightly different intentions. Moody is trying to get to Harry before Dumbledore, and Dumbledore is trying to slow Moody down. Whoever reaches Harry first gets to decide…to decide what to do with him…" his voice trailed away.

Sirius balled his fist, and Tonks back away, concerned that he was going to hit the person nearest to him. But through his gritted teeth all he said was, "They should be working together, damn them! They don't even know who, or what, will be protecting Harry. And Dumbledore tells me to stay put…"

Lupin nodded in agreement. He suddenly raised his hand and called, "Arthur! Over here!"

Tonks and Sirius both looked up as Arthur Weasley trotted over. He took one look at their distraught faces and said cautiously. "Dumbledore's gone where Rookwood said, has he? And the Minister too?"

"How do you know all that…?" Lupin began.

Arthur beckoned. "My office is down the corridor from the Auror offices. Come on, you can wait there. We'll be able to see when they return."

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"When I used to run the Misuse of Muggle Artefacts department, I had a dreadfully small office, you know," Mr Weasley said jovially as he lead the three of them past the empty cubicles where the sign Auror Management hung. Nobody else was smiling: Lupin had gone pale and kept fiddling with his hair, Sirius was wearing his hostile gorilla expression so that nobody wanted to look at him, and Tonks was looking miserable and having trouble keeping up because of her limp. "Like a broom cupboard, it was. But, then of course, the Ministry was overrun, and Moody took over and rearranged the place. Took them months to rebuild everything that was blown up in the fighting, but I got a new room and a new job."

He stopped outside a door that said, Defence Research: Muggle Artefact Enchantment and opened it, stepping back to allow the others to enter first.

Lupin hated to think how small Arthur's old office had been like. This was one certainly bigger than a broom cupboard, but not by much. A large portion of the space was taken up by an enormous white block that looked like a muggle refrigerator, the other three-quarters was filled by three small squashed desks covered in a huge number of what looked like complete junk. There were alarm clocks, nail clippers, stereo headphones, wind chimes hanging from the ceiling, two marionettes that were tussling fiercely on a pile of blueprints, safety pins, a small pile of origami figures, an electrical razor, a toaster that bleeped faintly, a stick of muggle deodorant that was oozing a luminous blue liquid, and boxes and boxes filled with no end of strange contraptions.

"There's three of us in here, but Gosden and Hay have gone home for the night," Arthur explained as he manoeuvred his way around a wastepaper bin that seemed to be filled with flaming teeth. "We're trying to design new weapons and things for the Ministry, but we're just the muggle artefacts department, the big defence research goes on across the hall way, and in the Department of Mysteries as well, they say – but no one knows for sure, of course," he opened the refrigerator and poked at something inside with his wand. Within were shelves and shelves of objects, around floated a thick white mist.

"What is that?" Tonks asked, pointing at the refrigerator.

"Incubator," Arthur replied, as if this explained everything. Tonks looked as if she wanted to inquire further, but at that moment there was a loud thump as Sirius sat down very heavily on one of the desks, causing the marionettes to roll off onto the floor to continue their wrestling.

Arthur conjured a pot of tea and poured it into four chipped mugs he'd picked up off a filing cabinet in the corner. He tried to make conversation a few times but got nothing but grunts in reply. Lupin sipped continually at his cup and had to keep pouring himself fresh ones, while Sirius was not drinking, just clutching the mug so hard his knuckles were white. Every few minutes, Tonks stuck her head out the door and looked down the corridor to where she could see the Auror cubicles, but each time she returned shaking head.

An hour went past, and then two. Arthur left to send an owl to his wife to tell her he would be home late. Tonks curled up on a chair in the corner and dozed off to sleep, snoring with her head tipped back. Lupin and Sirius simply sat, neither speaking nor looking at each other.

And then they heard voices talking quietly and many footsteps. Lupin raised his head, realised what the voices meant, and jumped to his feet. He rushed out into the corridor, then reached inside to grab Sirius' sleeve and pull him out too. Kingsley Shacklebolt and Sturgis Podmore could be seen speaking to each other in one of the cubicles down the hall.

When Kingsley looked up a few moments later to see Sirius and Lupin standing in the doorway to the cubicle, he drooped a little. Sirius was rigid, his face blank, his jaw so tense he couldn't speak. Lupin spoke for him. "Please – what's happened?"

Podmore went to join a number of other Aurors who were talking a little way away. Some of them glanced at Sirius and Lupin but most did not know what they were doing here and so ignored them. Kingsley leaned against his desk.

"Nothing," he said quietly. "There was nothing there. The house was abandoned."

"Abadoned?" said Lupin stupidly.

Kingsley nodded. "The house was just outside of London, it was barely more than a small villa in the midst of a poor muggle neighbourhood. The Aurors and the members of the Order arrived together and went in together – I promise you, we did not try and compete to reach the house first, we stood together – but inside, it was empty. It looks as if it has probably been empty for at least a few months. If the Death Eaters ever used it for anything, they were long gone."

Sirius made a convulsive movement as if to grab the wall of the cubicle for support. Then he whispered hoarsely. "Was there anything? Please – was there any sign…?"

Kingsley nodded. "Yes," he turned and picked up a bundled cloak sitting on his desk. He unrolled the thick material and folded it back. Within lay a ragged piece of wood, about as long was his forearm and as thick as his wrist. Chunks had been gouged out of it, and though it was flattened at one end, the other end was broken and splintered.

"It's the leg off a chair," said Kingsley softly. "Found in one of the back rooms of the house, a room with no windows and a heavy bolt on the door. There were more scratches on the walls and floor, and the remains of the rest of the chair. But mostly importantly," he raised his hand and rolled the chair leg over to expose the other side, "there was this."

Scratched deeply into the soft wood were the letters HP.

Lupin closed his eyes. Sirius stared at the letters, his face still expressionless. His hands were shaking very slightly.

"He was there," said Kingsley. "He was there, and he was alive. But we searched the house for any clue as to where he could have gone, and found nothing. I am sorry."

The chatter of the Aurors down the hall died down. Kingsley began to wrap up the broken chair leg, speaking quickly. "That's the Minister arriving. I should not be seen talking to you, as I am not supposed to be sympathetic to the Order. You should go."

Lupin nodded and stepped out of the cubicle onto the carpeted hallway. Sirius did not follow him: he raised his hand. His voice was not even a whisper as he spoke. "Kingsley – couldn't I – couldn't I have it? It's all the proof I have that he's even alive…"

"I'm sorry," Kingsley shook his head and put the bundled bit of wood back onto his desk. "We will need to hold on to it until the Minister has seen it. Goodbye, Sirius."

Lupin took a hold of Sirius' arm and pulled him out of the cubicle. He came without a struggle. They headed back to Arthur Weasley's office, where Tonks had woken up and was leaning out to look for them, rubbing her eyes sleepily. Arthur himself reappeared from a side corridor and hurried them back into his office.

Tonks and Arthur waited, but it was evident from their faces that they had already gathered that there was no good news.

Lupin tried to give a hopeful smile, but it only looked painful. "The house was abandoned," he shrugged. "I guess…I guess we'll just go home for now. Tomorrow, we'll keep looking."

He felt a wild frustration rush up in him, as if blood had been suddenly pumped through his brain and then was gone. Sirius did not speak.

Nothing. It had all come to nothing. Dolohov was dead and his secrets were dead with him. And now they were back where they had started. Lupin tried not to think about it, and when he thought about it, he tried to deny it, yet the overwhelming truth was that they were no closer to finding Harry than they had been six months ago when he had disappeared.

But far away, in an old house on a hill, Harry Potter was finding his own way out.

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TBC

A/N: I'm sorry it's taken so long, but there will be Harry next chapter. I promise. I promise! Next chapter will be all Harry.