Unexpected Conversations
Chapter 39
Sunday, January 5
When the train had departed and Sirius and the Weasleys disappeared from sight, Harry and Ron found seats together in an empty compartment where Harry finally got the opportunity to tell Ron about Malfoy and Snape. Ron was appropriately astonished and chagrined when Harry felt vindicated in saying that he had been right all along about Malfoy being a Death Eater. Though Ron also shared the same concerns as Sirius, Harry was glad when Ron said he believed him.
The two spent a while playing Exploding Snap while snacking on pumpkin pasties and Harry was wondering why Hermione hadn't found them in the compartment yet, though he had definitely seen her on the platform.
His musing was interrupted as the door opened to reveal a scowling Parvati. Ron looked at Harry with a smirk, but Harry felt like groaning – he could already tell he would not enjoy this conversation.
"I want to have a word with you," she said coldly and Harry nodded before following her out. The corridor was not empty, so she gestured to the farthest end which was secluded enough.
Harry braced himself as she turned towards him, arms crossed. "What the bloody hell were you thinking, Potter?"
It felt weird hearing her call him by his surname, making Harry assume that she was genuinely angry.
"Er—what do you mean?" said Harry tentatively. His sense of dreams and reality was muddled enough that he did not want to admit to something that he was not sure had happened.
"Don't you remember what happened at Slughorn's party?"
"We—danced?" ventured Harry doubtfully.
She looked around herself, making sure that there were no eavesdroppers before she hissed, "We snogged!"
Harry groaned, equal parts appalled and embarrassed. "That was real? I was pretty sure I had been dreaming!"
She looked furious now. "You don't even remember?"
"I'm terribly sorry!" said Harry, wondering why three-quarters of his conversation with her was always some form of apology by him. "I was a little drunk and I should not have taken advantage of you…"
"You didn't take advantage of me…" she mumbled with an annoyed expression before shaking her head. "But, the point is – I don't want you to ever mention that again to anyone, ever! Not even your friends, Ron and Hermione, alright?"
"Of course!" exclaimed Harry readily, wondering why on Earth he would even do such a thing. It was embarrassing enough that he had kissed her when he had been drunk, despite repeatedly telling Ron and Hermione that he saw her as nothing more than a friend.
"I mean it, Harry. I think we should stop pretending to fancy each other from now on," choked out Parvati, as if she was swallowing back tears.
Harry blinked. Well, he didn't remember a time when he had ever pretended to fancy her, but something sounded off in the way she was talking.
"What's wrong?" asked Harry frowning.
"It's—it's nothing," said Parvati, brushing it off, but Harry was really concerned now.
"Something's happened, hasn't it?" asked Harry curiously. "Tell me what's happened."
Parvati was wringing her scarf between her hands, as if she was having an internal debate whether to tell him or not. Finally, she gave in.
"My dad got a death threat over the holidays," said Parvati, speaking quickly, her voice breaking as she lowered it to a whisper. "He is a Department Head in the Ministry, you see. It's nothing worrying as there are Aurors surrounding him 24/7, but still, I thought—I thought it was because of you!"
Harry was thoroughly flabbergasted by the accusation. "Me?" he asked hoarsely.
"Harry, I'm sorry. I shouldn't—I'll just go…" said Parvati, making a move to leave when Harry took hold of her arm and turned her towards him. She refused to meet his eyes.
"Parvati, what do you mean it was because of me?" asked Harry firmly.
"I thought – maybe somehow— the Death Eaters found out about you and me. If they thought we were together or something, they could target me or my family," said Parvati, still looking at a spot over his shoulder instead of his eyes. "I know it's selfish of me, Harry, but I want my dad safe, so we have to stop meeting after this."
Outwardly, Harry was expressionless, but his mind was buzzing with this information. There was no Death Eater that could know of his so-called relationship except for Malfoy, seeing as he was the one in school with him. He must have heard of the rumours that Parvati and Harry were going out and relayed them to the Death Eaters. That was the only explanation that made sense to him.
"I'm so sorry! What must you think of me?" She looked genuinely apologetic as she started crying in earnest, and Harry patted her on the shoulder awkwardly.
"It's alright," said Harry understandingly. "You want to keep your family safe. I'd do the same if I were you, too."
But even after Parvati had left and Harry slowly walked back to his compartment, he could not shake off the thought that he was a real danger to the people he loved.
Ron was telling him about the dreadful Christmas present he had gotten from Lavender. Harry was not paying attention and was startled when Ron hit his head with a Chocolate Frog card.
"What's gotten into you?" he asked.
Harry looked up, puzzled, when Ron spoke again, "Did Parvati dump you or something?"
Harry nodded dumbly, unsure how to explain, when Ron shook his head sagely, "Girls. They're nutters."
He could not even bring himself to reply when Neville arrived at their compartment along with Dean and Seamus.
"Hi, Harry, Ron. Where's Hermione?" asked Neville, sitting beside Harry, Seamus and Dean taking the opposite side. Ron grew moody and Harry had to speak instead, "She'll probably find her way here soon enough. How was your Christmas?"
"It was good," said Neville. "My great uncle Algie gave me books on all sorts of hexes and jinxes to be able to protect myself. After that attack by Bellatrix Lestrange, he says we need to be prepared for anything. I can't wait to practice them in Hogwarts as I can't do magic at home."
Seamus sighed, "It's a shame we had to stop the DA meetings. You taught well, Harry."
Harry grinned, "With Quidditch and the NEWT workload, we'll be lucky enough to get some sleep, let alone a DA meeting."
"So, what are we going to do about the match with Hufflepuff, Harry?" asked Dean enthusiastically and the boys lapsed into discussions of gameplay and strategy together.
oOo
Harry met up with Hermione only after they had reached Hogwarts as he was making his way to the common room after dinner along with Ron.
"Where were you on the train?" asked Harry loudly.
"I was with Ginny and Luna. How was your Christmas?" asked Hermione matter-of-factly as Ron walked faster to join them.
"It was alright," said Ron at once when Hermione interrupted as if she hadn't heard him. "I've got something for you, Harry."
They reached the portrait to their common room and Hermione gave their new password, "Abstinence."
"Precisely," said the Fat Lady in a feeble voice, and swung forward to reveal the portrait hole.
"What's up with her?" asked Harry.
"Overindulged over Christmas, apparently," said Hermione, rolling her eyes as she led the way into the packed common room. "She and her friend Violet drank their way through all the wine in that picture of drunk monks down by the Charms corridor. Peeves caused quite a ruckus mocking them when I had gone down to the staff room to meet with Professor McGonagall. Anyway…"
She rummaged in her pocket for a moment, then pulled out a scroll of parchment with Dumbledore's writing on it.
"Great," said Harry, unrolling it at once to discover that his next lesson with Dumbledore was scheduled for the following night. "I've got loads to tell him — and you. Let's sit down —"
But at that moment, there was a loud squeal of "Won-Won!" and Lavender Brown came hurtling out of nowhere and flung herself into Ron's arms. Several onlookers sniggered; Hermione gave a tinkling laugh and led Harry to a spare table.
"So how was your Christmas?" asked Harry, trying to ignore Lavender's antics.
"Oh, fine," she shrugged. "Nothing special. How was yours?"
"Pretty good," said Harry, glancing at Ron who looked as uncomfortable as he felt. Hermione followed his gaze and scoffed derisively. Upset by the growing distance between his two best friends, Harry turned to Hermione beseechingly. "Look, Hermione, can't you —"
"No, I can't," she said flatly. "So don't even ask."
"I thought maybe, you know, over Christmas —"
"It was the Fat Lady who drank a vat of five-hundred-year-old wine, Harry, not me. So what was this important news you wanted to tell me?"
She looked too fierce to argue with at that moment, so Harry dropped the subject of Ron and recounted all that he had overheard between Malfoy and Snape.
"So my theory, and Sirius and Ron agree with me, was right!" said Harry, a little too excitedly. "Malfoy is a Death Eater and he's got something to do with Katie's curse."
Hermione took a moment before speaking slowly. "But it seems like Dumbledore is already trying to take care of it. Why else would Snape try and ask Malfoy what he was doing?"
Harry said nothing. Everyone seemed to think Dumbledore was all-knowing and thus would take care of Malfoy and Snape. Maybe, he should believe it too. But why was he having such an uneasy feeling regarding this?
oOo
Monday, January 6
Hestia checked her pocket watch as she hid behind the hedges outside the old country house of the Lestranges. Sirius should be here any time soon.
When he had called out her name to partner with, Hestia had to admit she had been a little flattered. But now she was cursing herself for accepting it in the first place. She had not considered that Sirius' tardiness to the Order meetings would carry over to his missions too.
She huffed in annoyance as the chilly wind ruffled her blonde hair. The Polyjuice would be wearing off soon and she did not want to take another dose and be stuck in the form of this blonde Muggle for another hour.
Bellatrix Lestrange had not made any move to come out of her house. Sirius and Hestia had kept watch for nearly a week now and it was quite spooky with how nobody seemed to live there. Perhaps she was relying on other travelling methods that the Order could not track. If so, they were simply wasting their time waiting around here.
She saw something approaching from the corner of her vision and she turned around, wand at the ready. It was the familiar black dog that slinked into the shadows before transforming into Sirius.
"Well, you're here early," she said, rolling her eyes.
"Has there been any activity around here?" asked Sirius, ignoring her jibe.
"None. It's simply a waste of time in my opinion," said Hestia, scowling.
Sirius sighed, "I don't think Bellatrix is living here."
"That can't be! Moody was watching her a few months ago in this same house!" exclaimed Hestia.
"Yes, but I think somehow she must have gotten wind of the fact that we're watching her," said Sirius, looking beyond the hedge and at the front door of the house. "That is the only explanation I have of why she's suddenly missing."
"You don't think she could be with You-Know-Who, do you? In his hiding place?" asked Hestia, frowning.
"It is a possibility. Bellatrix is Voldemort's right-hand man—woman—after all," he corrected himself.
It was strange to think that for fourteen years, she had thought that position belonged to him, and yet here they were.
"We must inform Moody. We could put our time to better use," said Hestia.
Sirius looked at her properly now, eyes gleaming. "Exactly! Do you have another vial of your Polyjuice Potion?"
"Yes. Why do you ask?" asked Hestia warily.
"Drink it and come with me!" said Sirius, already turning to leave.
"Where?" asked Hestia, only slightly taken aback by his sudden change of plans.
"I need backup if I'm going into Knockturn Alley."
oOo
"Tell me why we are going to Knockturn Alley again?" asked Hestia, securing her scarf around her neck with one hand, her wand gripped in her other. They had Apparated straight into Diagon Alley, the regular crowd more subdued than usual. A small number of people were walking fast, huddled together doing their shopping.
"Dung is around here at the moment," said Sirius, eyes trained forward as he walked purposefully.
A young man, who had been hurrying in the opposite direction, bumped into Sirius on his way. Hestia caught a glimpse of a freckled face wearing glasses when Sirius turned to glare at him. The man gasped and scurried away after picking up his parcels hastily.
They turned left and entered Knockturn Alley, which seemed to be empty at first glance though Hestia spotted a couple of people lining the street as they walked further down the alleyway. Hestia looked around her, taking note of anyone even remotely suspicious. This proved to be quite pointless as everyone looked to her, like they were hiding something. An ancient warlock with a missing arm was chatting with what looked to be a vampire, who was glancing around himself furtively. There were a couple of men dressed in shabby robes peering into a bag that was emitting sparks.
Hestia had never been one to traverse this seedy alley for the notorious types of people it attracted. She stuck closer to Sirius when she saw a man with long, matted hair, grinning at her lecherously, revealing pointed teeth.
"How do you know he is here?" whispered Hestia curiously.
"I've had him followed for days. Just under here," he said, taking hold of her arm and dragging her to an alcove behind a shop which had a dusty board that read 'Cobb & Webb's' and seemed to have been closed for good. He looked at her with an air of seriousness, "You stay here and cover for me. Keep an eye out."
Without waiting for her response, he walked out of the alcove and toward the run-down building with boarded windows opposite the Cobb & Webb's. He leaned against the wall in a relaxed manner, blending with the dark background in his black robes, hidden in plain sight under the shadows.
They were waiting, for what she did not know. After some time, Sirius had lit a cigarette and was taking a long drag from it, looking quite striking as the shadows darkened his deep-set eyes and the cleft in his chin.
Hestia snapped out of her reverie and hit herself with the heel of her palm. She was here to watch out for suspicious people, not admire Sirius Black, no matter how good he looked.
After about a quarter of an hour (Hestia had been checking her watch every five minutes), someone came out of the run-down building with a bag of something in his hand, looking remarkably familiar.
She saw Sirius straighten as he snuffed the cigarette with his boot and raised his wand simultaneously. A non-verbal spell hit Mundungus and he fell to the ground, stiff as a board.
Sirius levitated the man, and checking to make sure no one was watching, he walked straight towards her hiding spot. He jerked his head to the side, indicating her to move out of there, and he took Mundungus into the alcove.
"Keep your eyes open," he added again to Hestia, who nodded, feeling slightly vulnerable standing in the open. She was very thankful that she was disguised to look unassuming.
"Don't try to run away now, Mundungus," said Sirius, quite cheerfully, as he undid the charm.
A groan of frustration ensued from Mundungus, who then grinned on seeing him. "Ah, Sirius mate! Been a long time, eh?"
"Well, you have been pretty elusive, not showing up to meetings. Care to enlighten me why?" asked Sirius, his wand still pointed straight at Mundungus, who glanced at it in fear despite the carefree tone of his voice.
"Right!" he exclaimed before looking uneasy. "I dunno, mate. The Order don't pay me, you see. And the climate's ripe for business too."
"Of course it is," scoffed Sirius. "I'll deal with that later. I have some questions for you. Have you noticed any Death Eaters around here? Have you been approached by any Death Eaters for information about us?"
Hestia rolled her eyes before casting a muffling charm around her. One would think Sirius would have learnt to be cautious, having been on the run for years and all.
"Blimey! I don' do business with 'em!" choked out Mundungus, as if it was the most insulting thing he had heard of.
"I'm not asking if you do business with them, Dung," said Sirius, lightly. "I'm asking whether anyone has tried to get information out of you?"
"I don't come 'ere too much, Ministry raids an' all," admitted Mundungus. "I come here only to meet my buyers."
"And who are these buyers?" asked Sirius, not quite successful in hiding his curiosity.
"Ah… I can't tell you tha'," muttered Mundungus.
"I'll give you one chance to rethink that decision," said Sirius, still keeping his tone casual.
"No, I really can't tell you that. I've no idea who they are mostly," said Mundungus, grimacing.
"So, they could be Death Eaters and you wouldn't know," said Sirius, visibly frustrated.
"It don' bother me as long as they pay. I've seen the werewolf 'ere though, visitin' Borgin and Burkes…"
"What?" growled Sirius as he gripped the front of Mundungus' filthy robes with one hand and pushed him against the wall. "Greyback? When?"
"Las' week I reckon. Let go, mate!" exclaimed Mundungus with a slight whimper. Sirius let go of his collar and Mundungus straightened before speaking again. "He's a real piece of work. Terrified my buyers away…"
"Did you see what he bought?" interrupted Sirius urgently.
"I don' stick my nose in tha' werewolf's business," said Mundungus, looking alarmed.
Sirius took a moment to consider something before he said, "Too bad, because I've got a job for you, Dung. I want you to watch out for Greyback if he visits Borgin & Burkes again and to tell me what he's interested to buy or has bought, you hear me?"
"Mate, I 'ave 'ad enough of this Order," said Mundungus, looking like he wanted to be anywhere but here.
"I'll pay you."
" 'ow much?" asked Mundungus quickly.
"Fifty galleons."
"Seventy," bargained Mundungus predictably.
"It's fifty or nothing. It's very reasonable considering what you're making at the moment," said Sirius firmly, jangling the bag of money that Mundungus had with him.
"Deal."
"Good. And remember, I'm having you watched. It won't be difficult finding you again," said Sirius warningly.
"Alrigh' alright! I'll come by 'eadquarters next week," grumbled Mundungus.
"No, this isn't Order business. I want you to send me a Patronus when you've found something useful and meet me here," said Sirius.
"You've got yourself a deal. 'ave my fifty galleons ready," said Mundungus grinning before Disapparating with a crack.
Hestia stared at Sirius, who looked up frowning. "What?"
"I thought Dumbledore told you to Obliviate him," said Hestia disapprovingly.
"I need to know what Greyback is up to," said Sirius shortly.
"And having Mundungus on the loose without Obliviating him means putting all our necks on the line. You want to risk that for information on Greyback's shopping list?"
"I know that Greyback along with a couple of Death Eaters are very interested in something from Borgin & Burkes. They're up to something," said Sirius.
"What makes you sure they haven't already bought it yet?" asked Hestia.
"They're not going to buy it," said Sirius knowingly. "But the Death Eaters want to use it, whatever 'it' is."
Hestia pursed her lips, not bothering to ask where he was getting all this information or what he planned to do with it. The less she knew, the better.
They walked out of Knockturn Alley when Hestia saw a man leaning against a lamp post with his hood up straighten as they passed him. Hestia was quite sure it was the same man that had bumped into Sirius earlier.
She gripped Sirius' hand and whispered, "There's a man following us."
Sirius didn't stop walking, but it was clear from the sharpening of his eyes that he had got the message. He nodded imperceptibly as he casually turned to look around himself.
But Sirius froze, staring straight at the man. Alarmed, Hestia too turned around.
"Percy?" asked Sirius, eyes narrowing.
The man lowered his hood, revealing horn-rimmed glasses and a mop of curly red hair, looking remarkably similar to the Weasleys.
Percy's eyes widened in shock. "How do you know me?"
"I know your entire family," said Sirius matter-of-factly.
"Of course," said Percy, nodding. He looked around himself, as if making sure nobody was watching, before saying, "I need to talk to you, privately."
He glanced at Hestia when Sirius asked, "How do I know this isn't an elaborate trap set by the Ministry?"
"I'm not here representing the Ministry," said Percy quickly.
Sirius stared at him before nodding. "I can take care of this. You better go," he said, looking at Hestia.
"What if he's a Death Eater impersonating Percy?" whispered Hestia.
"I'll be on my guard," said Sirius.
Hestia looked back worried. "I'll wait at Headquarters. If you don't come back within half an hour, I'll send you a Patronus."
A smile flickered on Sirius' lips as he nodded again and Hestia Apparated away.
oOo
"So what did you want to talk to me about?" asked Sirius lightly. He and Percy had found a table in a corner of the Leaky Cauldron and Sirius had cast the muffling charm around them after getting themselves two Butterbeers. Percy looked anxious and determined in equal measure as his eyes darted around nervously.
Sirius had heard about Percy from both Harry and the twins. The Weasleys refused to mention his name ever since it became known that he chose the Ministry over his own family. And as much as he disliked Percy for not standing up to the Ministry when they had put Harry through a hard time last year, some part of him was curious to know why Percy would do so in the first place. It baffled him how the son of someone as good and noble as the Weasleys could go wrong.
"How – How is my family?" asked Percy hoarsely after a long moment, still not meeting his eyes.
"They're doing alright," said Sirius, narrowing his eyes before adding, "Why don't you ask them yourse—"
"I have made a terrible mistake!" interrupted Percy.
Sirius watched him quietly, as Percy stammered, "I was foolish to think — if they can be wrong about you for fourteen years… and Harry – I understand he's your godson and I apologize for what I've done to him."
Sirius was quite stunned, so to speak. The twins had always been very vocal when they spoke against him, saying that he chose to turn his back on his family and that he was quite a 'pompous git'. It seemed out of character for Percy to come up and admit to his mistake.
"Why have you come to me?" asked Sirius curiously. "As much as your apology is overdue, I think your family is the one who needs to hear this, not I."
Percy wrought his hands together in obvious discontent. "I can't—they wouldn't understand—"
"What wouldn't they understand?"
"They would not understand that what I did was not out of dislike towards them!" exclaimed Percy heatedly. Instinctively, Sirius looked around himself before remembering that he had already cast a muffling charm.
Percy continued again, though he lowered his voice. "They think it is entirely my fault for going against their wishes."
"Is it? Entirely your fault, I mean?" asked Sirius.
"I will admit most of it is my fault. But my family was not very supportive of what I wanted to be either," said Percy, frowning.
"What you wanted to be..." repeated Sirius thoughtfully. "I might be wrong, but it seems to me that all you wanted was a career at any cost, even if it meant your own family."
"They've been talking about me, haven't they?" asked Percy indignantly.
"They only stated facts," said Sirius shrugging.
"They don't understand how important my career is! Fred and George — it's easy for them to mock me — they have that little shop that is doing well and they expect me to what? Settle for a lowly desk job that pays me the same forever? Is it so wrong that I wanted to go higher than any of them?" asked Percy, his cheeks flushed.
"You would give up your family for a career?" muttered Sirius again, grimacing distastefully. "And once you earn all that bags of gold, then what?"
Percy looked angry but he did not respond for some time. Sirius said, "I don't know about you, but family is everything. And you are lucky to have a family that's good and kind and will accept you back if only you apologized."
It was a long moment before Percy finally muttered, "I'm sorry."
Unbidden to him, Sirius felt pity on the poor boy. For he was just a boy, nearly only Regulus' age when he, too, had made a mistake. Sirius hoped he would see the error of his ways and make it back to his family, unlike his own brother.
"You have no need to apologize to me. You can ask your apology to Harry if it means that much though," said Sirius, shrugging. "But, in my opinion, your family needs to hear it first. Why don't you approach your mother? I know she's the one who misses you most."
Briefly, Percy looked hopeful before his expression shuttered. "It's—it's difficult."
"It is," nodded Sirius. "But we're gearing towards a war and it would be better if we didn't put off our apologies till it's too late."
Percy looked down sombrely, before raising his eyes up. "Please don't tell anyone what I told you, not even my family."
Sirius rolled his eyes exasperatedly. "I just said —"
"I know what you said. But I need some time," said Percy uncomfortably.
"I understand," said Sirius, looking to make sure that Percy knew he really did. Percy stared at him before nodding once.
"Don't linger too long. It isn't exactly safe outside, especially for someone who associates with me in public," said Sirius as he stood up, dropping two galleons on the table before he left.
oOo
A/N: Special thanks to my beta reader evadnekapaneos for your hard work! This chapter reads so much better now.
