The Enemy & The Vow

Chapter 64

It was late afternoon, just past lunchtime. Most of the inhabitants of the Combe Abbott were congregated in the drawing room like one big, happy family, having a jolly time joking around, the twins providing most of the entertainment with what seemed to be a hairbrush that magically transformed their hairstyle – it certainly ought to have spawned out of their joke shop.

Fred and George were sporting ludicrous hot pink quiffs and neon green curls much to the amusement of the people gathered around them.

When Sirius entered the room however, everyone took one look at him and broke into cheers and applause.

"Well done, Sirius mate!" "You killed his bloody snake!" The twins exclaimed, curtseying and taking off their imaginary hats to him.

Tonks beamed from beside them, her brown hair seeming deceptively plain next to the twins. Even though Tonks was not so far gone as to avoid everyone altogether, Sirius had seen her occasionally out on the grounds alone and in her own space. Her father's death was still too raw and new but it gratified him to see her surrounded by people who did not allow her to wallow for too long. "It's nice to see you back on your feet so soon, Sirius," she said with a relieved smile. "You gave us all a right good scare."

Sirius watched the proceeding with impassivity, his triumph at having killed Nagini long forgotten. He searched the room for Hermione and found her missing. "Where's Hermione?"

The exuberant atmosphere quietened at once picking up on his disinterest. Tonks' smile faltered, but she still managed to say in a light tone, "Ron and Hermione are upstairs. Remus gave them a ton of homework," she said, glancing at the latter who was gazing at Sirius with curiosity.

Sirius gave a short nod and proceeded to climb up the stairs, leaving the others whispering amongst themselves. He knocked and let himself in when Ron acknowledged him. The room had become their own little meeting place whenever they needed to discuss the Horcruxes. Ron was sprawled on the floor, surrounded by scrolls of parchment and a stack of books, the picture of an industrious NEWTs student. Hermione was curled on the armchair beside the window with Crookshanks dozing on her lap and a book in her hands, likely having finished her homework by now. Both of them looked up at him with mingled relief and surprise.

Hermione straightened up, her voice higher than usual. "Sirius! Did you do it? Did you actually kill the snake? Tonks said—"

Sirius nodded. "We have one less Horcrux to worry about."

Ron whooped and jumped up to his feet, scaring Crookshanks, who hissed and sprang out of Hermione's lap. "Ah, finally! Something to cheer about!"

"Are you okay, Sirius?" asked Hermione, looking at him with wide eyes. "Remus said you were injured. If it was anything like Ron's dad's wound…"

"It's taken care of," said Sirius, lifting his shoulder reflexively and testing its soreness. "I'm here for something else. I need that book about the Horcruxes, Hermione – the book you stole from Dumbledore."

Hermione squawked, offended at his turn of phrase, "I wasn't stealing it!"

"Yeah, yeah. We know, Hermione," said Ron exasperatedly, his lips twitching. "We're glad you did."

Hermione shot him a disgruntled stare but proceeded to rummage into a small, beaded bag that was perpetually slung across her shoulder. Ron turned towards him, intrigued. "Why do you need it?"

Hermione pulled out the old, weathered book and handed it to Sirius without question, but still had a keen expression on her face. Sirius looked at the unassuming book and glanced up at them both, hesitating. "I—I'll let you know as soon as I've got enough information."

He had no idea how they would receive the information that Harry, their best friend, was likely being possessed. Even if they could keep a secret, their worry would only be more cause for the rest of the Order to suspect that something was not right. No, it was best that he kept it a secret for now.

With a tap of his wand, he shrunk it to fit inside his pocket and left the room. He tried his best to avoid the crowd downstairs, but thankfully they left him alone.

He headed back up the driveway and was surprised to see Percy making his way in through the gates. Percy stopped short on seeing Sirius, the latter moving closer to the red-haired boy with the horn-rimmed glasses. "Afternoon, Percy," nodded Sirius amicably.

"Good afternoon," he said hoarsely, before clearing his throat. "How are you on your feet already?"

"Some inside help in St. Mungo's worked to my benefit," said Sirius lightly. "Actually, I needed to speak to you."

The freckles on Percy's face stood out against his pale skin and bright hair. "Speak to me?"

"Yes," said Sirius, drawing up to him and leaning in. "I've heard a rumour that the ICW wrote to the Minister. You don't suppose you could verify that for me, could you?"

"The International Confederation of Warlocks?" asked Percy, his eyebrows flying up to his hairline. "I am certain I would have known something about it if it were true. Any message for the Minister goes through me."

"I know," nodded Sirius. "Which is why I wanted to ask you if you knew anything about it."

"I do not," said Percy at once, adjusting his glasses. "I would have informed something of that importance to you or Remus if I had even a hint that it was possible."

"I thought so," said Sirius. "If the Order could supposedly contact the ICW, we could have the entire Ministry under scrutiny. I would have welcomed the opportunity to see our puppet Ministry taken down for good. It's a shame it's only a rumour."

"Who told you about it?" asked Percy inquisitively.

"Just someone I met in a pub," said Sirius shrugging, seeing no necessity to divulge his sources.

Percy seemed to visibly slacken. "We have rumours abound everywhere nowadays."

Sirius nodded in agreement before frowning. "What are you doing here in Headquarters? There is no meeting today."

Percy flushed beet-red and said uncomfortably, "I wanted to meet with Fred and George for something."

Not wanting to pry into their family affairs, Sirius simply gave a parting nod and walked out of the gates. Instead of Apparating, he strode further away, pondering.

Had the ICW written to the Minister or not? Gwen seemed to strongly believe it was true, but Percy didn't. Sirius supposed that even Kingsley and Proudfoot could not have known about it or they would have informed Remus as Percy had told.

He wished he could speak to Gwen to ask her who her sources were, but she was not at Hestia's home when he had left that morning, nor was she in Headquarters as she had said she would. He felt the stirrings of doubt churning within his mind. Something about the situation felt odd to him.

Sirius stopped and turned around tracing his path back to Headquarters, intending to ask Remus if he had seen Gwen, when he bumped straight into Percy again. The latter seemed to have been hurrying back up the driveway and stumbled back with the force at which they had both collided.

Sirius held out a hand, steadying him. "I thought you said you wanted to see your brothers?"

Percy was momentarily stupefied at the sight of him, but then cleared his throat. "I've forgotten to bring them the money," grumbled Percy, straightening his crooked glasses. "They might be my brothers, but when they mean business, they mean business."

Percy must have wanted to purchase from the twins' joke shop. Sirius knew those boys well enough to agree with Percy's remark. Percy darted off out the gates and Sirius watched him leave, his distrust heightening.

Sirius forewent his initial plan of meeting with Remus and Apparated to Hestia's place. He clutched the wand in his pocket as he made his way to her front door, Mad-Eye's voice echoing in his head with his catchphrase, 'Constant Vigilance!'

When Hestia opened the door, she glanced at him with a mixture of surprise and concern. Sirius skipped straight to the point. "Is Gwen here?"

"No," said Hestia with a frown. "I reckon she said she was going to Headquarters first and then head somewhere else for a round or two with her friends. You know how she gets, cooped up in here."

Sirius nodded and in a moment of gut instinct had decided what he was going to do next.

"Alright," he said shortly. "Come with me."

Hestia was unsurprisingly taken aback by his abrupt statement. "What? Why? Where?"

"I'll tell you when we get there, just hurry," said Sirius urgently.

"Wait a minute," she said warily, pulling out her wand. "If you're Sirius, prove it to me."

Though Sirius wanted to leave the place as soon as he could, he commended her precaution, even if it was an added bother. In the blink of an eye, Sirius shifted to his Animagus form.

Hestia lowered her wand at the sight of Padfoot. "Okay," she said uncertainly, "but where do you want to take me?"

Sirius changed back and said once more. "Do you trust me?"

Hestia held his gaze before she nodded reluctantly, "Well, yes – but—"

Sirius caught hold of her arm and nearly dragged her out of the door. Hestia made a sound of surprise and pulled away. Sirius stopped and turned towards her, an explanation nearly already out of his mouth. But Hestia was only shutting the front door before she took his hand again. "Now we can go."

Despite it being no time or place for humour, Sirius found himself containing a smile. Hestia's dark eyebrows were drawn together, her hand clutching his just a little bit tighter than he was used to. It was plain to see that she was anxious by the situation, but the fact that she trusted him and came along despite his lack of any explanation evoked something inside him that he could not quite describe.

Without further ado however, he Disapparated with her by his side.

oOo

Hestia opened her eyes to find that they were in a dark and empty alleyway. Judging by the bustling street up ahead with people and cars zooming to and fro, she could tell they were in muggle London. It was a good thing that she was still in her jumper, instead of her robes or she would have stood out like a sore thumb.

Sirius led her out of the alleyway and into the streets. With both of them undisguised except for their muggle clothes, she felt completely exposed. She clutched her wand inside her pocket as it was the only thing that kept her grounded – that and Sirius' hand on her forearm.

Hestia thought it redundant to ask him again but curiosity was eating at her. "Why are we in muggle London?"

Sirius was as tense as he had been when he had taken off from her house that morning when his house-elf had dropped in. "In a moment," he murmured, his sharp eyes darting around their surroundings vigilantly.

They reached a quaint café, replete with umbrellas and tables set up outside. Hestia was bemused when Sirius led her to one of the tables. The sky was steadily growing darker as twilight approached, people frolicking about doing their shopping or heading back home from work. A young waitress in jeans and a beret hat asked for their order and Sirius motioned for Hestia to go ahead, as if he couldn't be bothered with it.

The waitress shot her a pitiful look. Hestia ordered only tea for the two of them, seeing as she could not bring herself to even pick up the menu. Everything about the situation was making her agitated and it did not help that Sirius was not speaking anything to her, absorbed as he was in his own contemplation.

Hestia waited as patiently as she could, but by the time their tea arrived, she couldn't take it anymore.

"Do you plan on speaking anytime soon or are you going to continue ignoring me?"

Sirius' eyes snapped up to meet hers, before he looked around himself. He leaned forward across the table. "What do you want me to say?" he murmured quietly.

"For starters, what in the name of Merlin are we doing here?" she hissed, unconsciously lowering her voice to match his.

Sirius' guarded expression twisted into a humourless smile. "We could be on a date."

"Sirius," she sighed exasperatedly, unable to appreciate any jokes at the current moment. The smile was wiped out and he exhaled, running a hand across his face. "I'll—I'll tell you in a bit. I just need to..." his statement dwindled into a mere shake of his head, unable to convey whatever it was that was consuming his thoughts.

Hestia could say nothing to that without sounding insensitive. She settled for taking a sip of her tea and grimaced at the strong concoction, very much unlike the way she was used to making it. Why muggles paid money for this muck was a mystery. After a long moment, she glanced at Sirius, who was playing with the rim of the teacup, staring into it instead of drinking it.

Hestia could only guess at what was troubling him by what she already knew. When Kreacher had popped in that morning and announced that Potter's house-elf had shown up, Sirius had raced off without a second glance.

Somehow, she knew that Harry himself had not turned up or Sirius wouldn't be sitting there with her. Surely he wasn't dead, but something had happened to upset Sirius. In the two years she had known him, she knew one thing about him for certain – if Sirius did not speak up on what was troubling him on his own, no one could get whatever it was out of him, sometimes not even his best friend.

Resigned to her circumstance, Hestia unwillingly finished her tea, only to have something to do. After a moment, Sirius picked up his teacup and drank it in one rather unaffectedly.

He set down his empty cup, grimacing. "That tastes awful. Shall we go somewhere else? I'm famished and I don't reckon I want to have anything else in here."

Hestia pursed her lips, exasperated by his caginess but when Sirius paid for the tea and stood up, she followed him nonetheless. She trusted he was not having her around without reason, even if she could not understand why. The two of them walked in silence, the cold air whipping against her exposed calves. They made to a pub down the street which was teeming with people at the evening hour, loud and raucous men and women winding down after a day at work. Hestia found seats in the back while Sirius went ahead to order something and she cast a warming charm on herself. Traipsing around in November with nothing but a jumper and a skirt was not the brightest of ideas.

"It's steak night today," said Sirius when he returned and set down the food and drinks.

Hestia went straight for the glass of warm mulled wine eliciting a raised eyebrow from Sirius, as if he was surprised to see her drinking at all.

"What?" she asked in annoyance. "I'm half-Welsh."

Sirius let out an amused snort. "I know that."

It must be common knowledge since he was friends with her cousin. Hestia muttered, "And I didn't know we were talking anytime soon."

Sirius was digging into the steak, seemingly in better spirits. "You want to know why we're out here?"

Hestia peered at him through narrowed eyes. "One of my many questions for you tonight."

Sirius' smile was forced. "I have a hunch. I'm afraid to find out that it's going to be right."

"A hunch?" Hestia could not make heads or tails of what he was saying. She frowned, trying to understand his vague implication. "If whatever it is, is proved right, how bad is it for us?"

"As bad as it can get," said Sirius furtively, knifing his steak. "I just don't want to think about it for a while," he said, chewing with an apprehensive look on his face, "before I know everything's gone to the dogs. Go on – eat, before your steak gets cold."

Hestia was as much in the dark as she had been since the start of the evening. Seeing no more point in trying to get him to talk, the two of them ate in companionable silence.

Sirius finished first and waited for Hestia, remarking languidly, "I still think this could have been a date."

Hestia glanced up to see that though Sirius wasn't smiling, his eyes had softened.

"I hope not," said Hestia lightly. "If it was, then it was the least romantic date I've ever been on."

Sirius laughed, seeming much more like himself than he had been all evening. Hestia finished and was about to stand when Sirius sat up in his chair. "Could you wait here for a couple of minutes? I'll be right back. Don't go anywhere without me, alright?"

Hestia nodded wordlessly, having mistakenly assumed that he was going to the backroom. She was surprised to see him leave through the door instead and what was a couple of minutes stretched to a quarter of an hour. A middle-aged couple asked for her seat and Hestia gave it to them, seeing no reason to hold on to it. She walked out of the pub and stood close by, torn between the need to simply go home or head back to Headquarters, just in case.

She wanted to be upset with Sirius, but she couldn't. Sirius had been extremely cautious all through the evening and she knew there was definitely something of much greater importance going on behind the scenes that she was just not privy to.

She glanced at the pocket-watch that Dedalus had once given her before she turned her attention back to watching the streets for a while.

Sirius making his way through the crowd of people was a welcome sight. His cold demeanour was not, however.

If he had been tense before, he was downright infuriated now. His wand was still in his hand and he didn't seem to have even noticed that he hadn't pocketed it, away from the sight of the muggles. Hestia frowned, waiting for a response that she knew now would never come.

"Let me guess," said Hestia. "You can't tell me where you'd been off to either?"

"It doesn't matter," said Sirius in a biting voice. "We have a full Order meeting tomorrow at six. Inform the others."

Hestia had no idea what had caused him to become so angry, and the abrupt call for a full meeting was even more perplexing. She reached out and touched the side of his arm. "What is going on, Sirius?"

Sirius relaxed his stance by only a smidgeon. "I'll let everyone in on it tomorrow," he explained. "But before that, we've got something to do. I believe you were right. I reckon it's best if your house is protected by the Fidelius."

Hestia's eyes widened in alarm. "What? But why—who knows—?"

"I can't tell for certain, but I believe someone on the other side knows you're in the Order—"

Sirius had said a Fidelius was redundant just until morning. Hestia could not fathom what could have happened that made him change his opinion so soon.

"—or at least the fact that you were helping me. Come on, let's not waste any time out here. The Fidelius," he said, making a nod and they Disapparated to her house together.

oOo

When Sirius reached Potter Manor after the shocking discovery he had made that evening, the last thing he wanted to do was read a book.

But Harry's life depended on it and Sirius himself could not have rested if he did not get to the bottom of the problem that Harry was facing. He perused Magicke Moste Evil well into the night. The horror he had felt on learning the process of creating a Horcrux made him need a good swig of Firewhiskey, amazed at the depths to which Voldemort had sunk into to achieve immortality.

As much as the process itself repulsed him, he was more interested in learning the powers a Horcrux held as its own entity.

Horcruxes did have the ability to possess people as Ginny had once been, but it was a rare occurrence. The fact that it required a strong emotional bonding, made him question what in Merlin's good name Harry had done to get the locket attached to him. He wondered if Harry had put it on, like Dumbledore had with the Gaunt's ring and the resulting fear of Harry being cursed made his stomach roil.

He made it a point to question Twitchet again if she had seen Harry wearing a locket. Sirius thought his heart had skipped a beat when she confirmed it. But Twitchet didn't seem to think Harry was injured in any way – at least no sight of dead or blackened skin.

He had a feeling that every Horcrux would behave differently. Ginny hadn't been fatally injured after all, but she had been possessed and was made to do things she couldn't remember doing. That seemed more likely in Harry's case as well, in his opinion.

The question then was why Harry kept avoiding him. He seemed to have recognized the problem within him, but had not deduced it was because of the locket. He had sent Demelza to safety knowing he was a danger to her. Why then would he not come to Sirius for help?

Sirius had to get to his godson. But to find Harry when he was actively avoiding him was proving to be very difficult. Harry was not particularly aware of a lot of protective enchantments. This was both a blessing and a curse – for Sirius himself had taught him that it was sometimes best to hide without magical means, which were usually traceable.

If Harry hid in the muggle world without using magic, Sirius would be hard-pressed to find him, but so would Voldemort and the Ministry. He could not risk sending a Patronus without knowing if he was hiding or in the open, but Sirius was growing desperate.

He pulled out his wand and after a couple of unsuccessful attempts, produced his Patronus, the large dog trotting around the room, awaiting his command.

oOo

Harry glanced at the clock, ticking away.

Half past one.

Twelve hours since Harry had arrived in room thirteen of the gloomy Railview Hotel on the outskirts of Cokeworth.

Twelve hours since he had sent away Demelza and Twitchet.

Perhaps, it was Harry's inner fear that he would lose sense of his time that he had taken to glancing at the clock every few minutes.

It had been the right thing to do, he told himself. Harry had never been more unnerved than when he had found himself holding a wand against Demelza, who was on the floor, crying after he had hit her.

How had he allowed himself to hit her? It had been the strangest feeling, like he had been a puppet on a string, unable to control his actions, unable to do anything but watch himself doing it. He was fully aware that if Twitchet had not put herself in front of Demelza, he would have seriously injured her.

That had been the last straw and Harry had let Twitchet know immediately that they would need to go back home to make sure Demelza and Twitchet were safe.

He hadn't planned to go along and he did not reveal that bit of information to them, not until they had left. Since the house was under the Fidelius, Twitchet had needed to get the secret from… the Secret Keeper.

Harry felt his heart beat faster, reverberating in the base of his throat.

He swallowed anxiously and ran a hand through his hair in a measure to calm himself. He couldn't bear to even think of his name without a torrent of fury overtaking him and he could not understand why. If he really reflected on it, he would work himself into a panic since he could not put a face to his name either nor recall exactly why he was important.

It doesn't matter, he told himself. He should worry about the Horcruxes and the Elder Wand instead.

Harry closed his eyes, fatigued from his thinking and the ever present sledgehammer pounding in his head. He wished he could get a good long sleep, without any disturbance or nightmares. He pulled open his rucksack, rummaging for what he didn't know.

He found a bottle at the bottom of his rucksack labelled Dreamless Sleep Potion. He vaguely remembered having taken it a while ago and thought it would not be a bad idea if he imbued some at the moment. But the idea of sleeping and waking up days later was unsettling. Harry needed something to ensure he would be awake come morning. He contemplated using the alarm clock on his bedside, but couldn't trust that it would be effective. He somehow knew that sounds wouldn't bring him out of his sleep.

A moment later, an idea struck him and he pulled out his wand, thinking hard for the name of the spell. It came to him in a moment, like someone had whispered it to him. He murmured, "Serpensortia!"

A thin, black snake about five foot long shot out of the end of his wand. The snake looked around hissing threateningly, "Who calls for me?"

"I did," said Harry, and the snake turned to look at him curiously.

"A speaker?"

"Yes."

"I am at your service, master," the snake hissed bowing reverently.

Harry watched the snake, uncoiling and twisting its sleek black body – a sentient being that could keep him company. He wondered why he had not thought of conjuring an animal earlier and bent down to meet its eyes face-to-face. "How do I call you?"

"You may wish to call me anything, master," it said, and in its eagerness, the snake got entangled in a knot by its own tail. He found its deference amusing and chuckled, boldly picking her up. He didn't know how he knew it was a girl, but he supposed her hissing sounded a bit higher – and melodious – if that could be said about a snake.

The snake wound its way up his arm, gazing at him with glinting yellow slits for pupils. At that moment however, something big and bright galloped into the room, startling Harry who dropped his arm which he had been holding out.

In the centre of the room, was a large dog made of blinding white light and Harry felt an irrational hatred in him. The dog spoke in a voice that was all too familiar yet foreign, "If you're hearing this, take off the bloody locket right now! You wouldn't be doing this if only you'd—"

Harry didn't know when he had pulled out his wand, but he could distinctly feel the blood rushing in his ears when he shot a jet of fire at it.

The spell passed through the dog Patronus inflicting no harm, but the Patronus dissolved at the first touch of his spell, which however, had lighted the bed and caused a fire. With a wave of his wand, a stream of water gushed forth putting out the fire, the sheets burnt and shrivelled. The room was plunged into darkness again and Harry could hear only the sound of his own laboured breathing.

"What was that, master?" the snake hissed, still coiled around his arm.

Harry stared at the spot where the Patronus had been, the image of the bright dog imprinted in his eye.

"An enemy."

oOo

Tuesday, November 4

Sirius dressed into his muggle clothes for the morning despite having gotten barely a couple of hours of sleep.

Harry had not responded to his Patronus. Sirius was sure now that the damage the locket was capable of inflicting on Harry was much greater than Hermione had theorized. Finding Harry and destroying that locket was of paramount importance, but it was not an easy task when Harry kept eluding Sirius knowingly. The Patronus had been his last ditch attempt before he was beginning to admit that he was forced to call it quits.

And to top it all, his efforts were required elsewhere now with more pressing necessity as last night had proved that the safety of the Order was at stake.

He would have to put off his worrying for Harry, at least for the moment, even if he could never do so completely. Sirius still held out an irrational hope that Harry would make it back to him. Harry had survived against insurmountable odds multiple times in the short span of his life in the magical world that Sirius rather believed he would pull some kind of miracle out of his arse, knowingly or unknowingly.

The loose end then was Demelza as she had been witness to whatever Harry was going through. Sirius had learnt a fair bit about her family that morning and while she had dissented, he had no other choice but to leave her with her parents and persuade them to go into hiding. It was best to modify her memories of meeting and living with Harry before he left her with her parents as well. While it was not ideal, it was the safer choice – for her and for Harry.

He had originally thought to let her stay with the Order in Headquarters, but it would only cause more problems with having to explain to the other members how he had found her. It took him the better part of the morning to clean his hands off of her, feeling a tad guilty at the look of the poor girl's parents, who he understood were the worse kind of muggles.

He knew his day was only going to get more difficult as evening approached and the full Order meeting loomed ahead.

oOo

The dining area of the Combe Abbott was packed at a quarter to six. Aside from a few like Hagrid and Minerva and the Weasleys who were being watched, every single member of the Order was attending that day.

Sirius was yet to arrive and it was no surprise to any of them as they continued to converse amongst themselves and the ambience was quite pleasant, if a little uneasy. Kingsley, Percy and Proudfoot were the last to arrive, their work at the Ministry keeping them unlike the others.

"Do you have any idea why Sirius called for a full Order meeting on a random Tuesday?" asked Kingsley, taking the chair beside Remus, who shrugged.

"Isn't he supposed to be down for the count?" asked Proudfoot, loosening the fastenings of his pristine robes. "Something about a snake bite that would not heal?"

Sirius chose that moment to arrive, effectively ceasing all talk. Remus was surprised by his promptness, even though it did not help ease his nerves – Sirius hadn't been in a good state last evening and Remus was worried that the meeting was called in response to whatever it was that had upset him.

Kingsley must have felt the same for he remarked with candour, trying to lighten the situation. "Sirius being punctual for a change? To what do we owe the pleasure?"

A few chuckled in good humour, having been familiar with his tardiness for a while now.

Sirius, who would have usually taken the jab in good spirits and perhaps even made a joke about it, wore a dour expression as he took his seat, his eyes cold and devoid of mirth.

A Dementor could have been in their proximity for the sudden drop in temperature. None of them were smiling now. Remus was baffled by his friend's behaviour. He wondered what had caused the change, for he was certain there was a good reason for it.

Sirius swept a penetrating glance around the room, meeting every single pair of eyes – Remus' met his only with puzzlement. After a brief moment, Sirius spoke, "If there's anyone in this room who has harboured ideas to leave the Order, you may say so now."

Remus was unsurprised when not one of them made any movement to agree.

"Then shall I take it that every single one of you joined the Order with your own free will? That you were not forced or coerced by anyone to do so?"

Almost everyone were frowning or watching Sirius with wide eyes as was the case with the younger members.

"Sirius…" began Dora, clearly as perplexed as he was feeling. "What are you—"

"Quiet, Dora," he said simply before continuing like there had been no interruption. "By now, you must all know what happened to the first Order of the Phoenix. Twenty four members. Twenty four witches and wizards who decided that they would fight for something bigger than themselves and they gave their lives doing it."

He paused, likely remembering their fallen friends, but it only added to the apprehension in the room.

"You know why?" he asked. "Because of one man, one vermin amongst them who mercilessly ratted them out to Vol—You-Know-Who. The Prewetts, the Mckinnons, Fenwick, Bones, the Potters…"

The stirrings of emotion laced into Sirius' voice. Remus could see everyone listening in rapt attention.

"Even if you did not think too much about it at the time, you chose to be a part of something bigger than yourself again, knowing that there's no promises, no guarantees. And you made me your leader – by choice or out of lack of choice. I don't know what you think of me, but that I still hold responsibility for all of your lives is of very much importance to my conscience. If one of you dies, that blame is on me and I will have to carry it for as long as I live."

"Sirius," wheezed Elphias Doge, his lit pipe slack in his mouth, forgotten. "We would never blame you, the same way we would not blame Dumbledore. There is only so much one man can do."

"We knew what we were getting into," said Kingsley in his deep voice.

"I must agree," said Edmund Abbott, nodding as did most others in the room.

"Then you will understand what I'm about to do is for your own sake as it is for mine?" said Sirius, leaning forward and as he did so, a scroll of parchment and what was suspiciously a Blood Quill levitated from beneath and settled itself weightlessly on the centre of the table magnetizing all eyes towards it.

"Is that what I think it is?" yelped George, paling at the sight.

"What is this?" asked Proudfoot, his eyes narrowed in suspicion and not a small amount of terror.

Sirius clenched his jaw, before speaking coolly, "I want you all to make the Unbreakable Vow to me."

Remus was astonished by his statement, but the rest were in varying degrees of shock and even fear as they collectively objected.

"You've got to be joking?" said Percy weakly.

"The Unbreakable Vow!" exclaimed Gwen, with the hint of a tremble in her usually bold voice. "But—but breaking the vow would mean certain death!"

The younger members were suitably frightened, gasping in horror.

"That is a snag only if you're breaking the vow," said Sirius unaffectedly, furrowing his eyebrows at her.

"Sirius, that sounds excessive," said Dora, trying to sound reasonable despite her evident shock. "Surely, you trust us?"

Even before Sirius could respond, Remus knew the answer to that. "I don't trust anyone," said Sirius, plainly. "Not even you."

Dora was deeply offended by his statement, her eyes narrowing in disbelief. "I'm Remus' wife! I've been your friend for three years now. If that doesn't count—"

"It doesn't count for anything," said Sirius, a tinge of anger creeping into his tone. "Pettigrew and I were the closest of friends. For eleven years, if you should know. That didn't count for a bloody thing, did it now?"

Remus felt a muscle jump near his jaw at the reminder of their once friend. It still astounded him how they had been blindsided. It was the one mistake that had cost James and Lily their lives, Sirius his freedom and Remus, his friends. And Harry, his parents.

"But, Sirius," squeaked Hermione, her face paler than usual. "The Unbreakable Vow? Even Dumbledore wouldn't ask us to do something like that!"

"And look where that led him," said Sirius harshly. "Killed by the man who he was certain was on his side. Not everything that Dumbledore did is the wisest thing to do, Hermione. He was just a man like any other. What we can do, is to learn from his mistakes. And giving my trust blindly is a mistake I will not make. Not at the cost of our lives."

"Sirius," said Remus and was startled when all heads turned towards him beseechingly as if they thought he was going to be the one to make Sirius see sense. "Why such an extreme measure and why so abruptly? Has anything happened that makes you question the trust of any of us?"

"You've hit the nail on the head, Remus," said Sirius lightly. "Something has happened to make me assume that we have a liar amongst us. And believe it or not, I have a very good idea of who it is."

Remus glanced around the table, meeting the eyes of his fellow members, who seemed to think like he did that they could catch the culprit.

"Then why didn't you say so?" said Abbott. "We can have him make the Vow alone instead of subjecting all of us to it."

"Or her," corrected Sirius before turning to glance at them all again. "And no, I won't do that. This is me giving you one final chance to do the right thing without having your name besmirched forever. You sign this piece of parchment, you make a Vow to never double-cross an Order member or to reveal any information to the other side with the intention of harming them or seeing them dead, and we'll go on as if none of this ever happened."

Unfortunately, it sounded extremely reasonable even to Remus, who was more surprised that Sirius hadn't called them out and inflicted his wrath on them already.

"If you don't, however," said Sirius quietly, his voice barely above a whisper, yet still audible and thrumming with menace. "Forget about your reputation, I will personally hunt you down and kill you if that is the last thing I will ever do."

No one dared to speak for a moment at the plain threat Sirius issued.

No one, except Kingsley.

"I don't mean to question your authority, Sirius," he began in his deep, even voice, a soothing balm to the tension in the room. "But weren't you the one who suspected Remus wrongly to be the traitor during the First War instead of Pettigrew? What makes you certain you've got it right this time?"

If Sirius was incensed by Kingsley's question, he didn't show it. "Because last night, there was an aborted mission by the Death Eaters to sabotage me while I recuperated in Hestia's home."

Remus felt his eyes widen at Sirius' revelation – was that why Sirius had been upset when he visited the other evening? If so, it was a mighty stroke of luck that Sirius had been healed by the time.

Sirius continued, "No one but the people in this room was aware that I was staying there. It stands to reason that one of you wanted me out of the way while I was incapacitated."

"The Death Eaters could have somehow gathered that information, couldn't they?" asked Catherine. "They knew you were injured and you were obviously bound to be in the house of one of the Order."

"Nobody knows Hestia's in the Order," said Sirius instantly. "The Death Eaters should not have any reason to know where I was unless they were gathering information from the inside. You're an Auror, Catherine. Tell me, what should be done if there is a reason to suspect a traitor is among our ranks?"

Startled on account of being put on the spot, Catherine stuttered, "Er—Auror Protocol would involve questioning and keeping tabs on the suspect till we can get proof to sentence him."

Sirius let out an incredulous, albeit humourless laugh. "Innocent until proven guilty, is that what the Ministry is preaching? Merlin's beard, the hypocrisy!" He shook his head, his features hardening once more. "We might as well be sitting ducks if we wait around for proof. I'd like to see us all alive out of this war this time, not have our names on a roll call of martyrs."

Remus knew, in that moment, Sirius had won them all over to his side. What had been a cloying atmosphere of fear and suspicion for the past few minutes, seemed to dissolve and Fred raised his hand, exclaiming, "I second that!"

There were fervent cries and nods of approval around the room, even if some were muted and hesitant. Sirius leaned forward and the parchment and quill magically moved closer to him. He picked up the quill and signed his name on the top, his hand bleeding as it moved across the parchment. Unusually, the injury in his hand didn't heal in seconds as it was usually wont to. Sirius pulled out his wand and touched his bleeding arm and it healed instantaneously.

As much as Remus disapproved of Sirius' methods, he could understand their immediate predicament and there were no better alternatives to Sirius' solution that he could think of. Hadn't they already learned their lesson, not once but twice?

Sirius looked up at them, wordlessly searching for the one who would do the honours first. Remus volunteered, knowing he would be sorely disappointed in himself if it were someone else. The merest of a smile touched Sirius' lips.

One by one, the signatures were added to the parchment, Remus and a few others helping to heal the ones who could not do the charm themselves, the rest watching in idle fascination as Sirius waved his wand and tendrils of brilliant light engulfed the parchment, the Vow binding them.

"You know," said Lee quite cheerily, "I never thought it possible to be relieved after making an Unbreakable Vow of all things."

"Quite the feeling, I say," said George in return.

"That's what Dark magic does to you," said Proudfoot tetchily, while he rubbed the back of his palm. "Gets you hooked on for more and more."

"You'd know all about it, wouldn't you?" huffed Dora.

Proudfoot stiffened. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Don't act like you don't know what I'm talking about," snapped Dora, before muttering under her breath. "Slytherins."

"How dare you!" hissed Proudfoot when Catherine rose up, her dark eyes glinting at her friend.

"Because Patrick's a Slytherin makes him more likely to be a traitor? Weren't you the one who was vocal about being fair and unbiased, Tonks? And yet you are not above making a prejudiced assumption yourself!"

Dora flushed, but held her ground. "Catherine, if he is a turncoat—"

"No!" exclaimed Catherine hotly. "Don't even say another—"

"That's enough."

At once, everyone turned to see Sirius, standing up himself, pocketing the parchment and quill. "This is why I made you sign the Vow. So we can move on from making baseless accusations. I want all of you to be alert but I don't want to see anyone throwing around your speculations. Whoever was the spy is no longer a spy. And Tonks," he said, turning to look straight at her, his eyes taking on the cold, haunted look whenever the subject was brought up. "Pettigrew was a Gryffindor. That should be enough reason to believe that house has nothing do with it."

And with that, Sirius left them in the wake of an uneasy silence which was abruptly broken by Fred.

"Boy, am I glad we have him on our side," he said, half-laughing causing a round of titters in the room.

They began dispersing after that when Remus turned towards his wife, who was predictably in a bitter mood. "Don't say anything," she grumbled once she caught his gaze. "I heard what Sirius said loud and clear."

"I wasn't going to," said Remus lightly, draping his arm around her waist and leading her away from the crowded room. "I was only wondering if you want to go out for a drink. Just the two of us."

Since Ted Tonks' passing, they were yet to venture out of the house for a night out. Dora had been in alternating pleasant and miserable moods for quite a while that Remus thought it would be a refreshing change to have some time together alone.

Dora cracked a small, relieved smile and leaned into his side. "I'd love that."

oOo

A/N: Sorry for the late update. I've been down with a Grade 3 sprained ankle for the past 35 days and the fact that it was the holidays meant I couldn't find enough time to write. Hopefully this update makes up for it.

I'd love to hear what you think, so pull out that keyboard and start typing ;)

Edit: A previous update mentioned Hestia as half-Irish. But it's supposed to be half-Welsh. Don't know how I never caught that even after twelve revisions :(