In the Shadows (Wizarding War)

by CL-Avery

It is 1978. Fresh out of Hogwarts, Claudia Avery joins the Auror Office to fight the rise of Voldemort and to put her father where he belongs, in Azkaban. How will she juggle the demands of her new boss, Alastor Moody, missions for the Order, and growing up to be (not so) responsible adult? Will she succeed, or will the war destroy everything she holds dear? This is a sequel.

13. Chapter 13 (The Daily Prophet)

"Are you absolutely sure about this?" Sirius asked, as he and Claudia were walking up a central-London street hand-in-hand.

"How many times are you going to ask me?" she scoffed in response. "I'm sure."

"It's going to hurt." Sirius' voice was dancing, making it clear he thought Claudia was going to chicken out.

"I know!"

"Especially if you're going for the forearm!"

Claudia stopped in her tracks and put her hands on her hips. "You said," she barked and frowned. "Yours is much bigger and in the same place. So, stop patronising me!"

"Well, then." Sirius chuckled. "Here we are." He gestured towards a muggle tattoo parlour.

There was something hugely satisfying about doing all kinds of things the muggle way – using a lighter rather than a wand to light a cigarette, having flat with electricity and a fridge. Every one of those things was like a little rebellion against how they were raised.

And a muggle tattoo was up there with running off to join a travelling circus.

That thought brought a smile to Claudia's face. "Are you coming with me?"

"So, you are scared?"

Claudia rolled her eyes and sighed. "Maybe a little."

Sirius laughed and grabbed her in his arms. "I was thinking about getting another one myself," he whispered and kissed the top of Claudia's head. "Something simple, like the uruz ruin on my wrist."

"Symbol of freedom?" Claudia asked, remembering her studies of ancient ruins.

"And strength, tenacity, courage..."

"You think a lot of yourself," she laughed, freed herself from her boyfriend's embrace and pushed open the door to the tattoo parlour.

Sirius followed her. "And that's news to you?"

The tattoo artist, a burly man covered head-to-toe in ink, shoved a thick book of designs into Claudia's hands. "In ten minutes, we start."

Claudia manically flicked through the pages until she stumbled on an intricate design of a star that she liked. She picked that one for the biggest star in the Canis Major constellation (the one her boyfriend was named after) and then a simpler design for the other stars. Sirius helped her draw the Canis Major on a piece of paper, and they were good to go.

"Ready, Miss?" the tattoo artist asked, and when Claudia nodded, he showed her towards a curtained-off area. "Bobby's going to sort you out," he added towards Sirius. "Wait here."

Claudia swallowed dry when she saw all the instruments lined up, and she was right to be worried. The whole thing felt like an army of cats was trying to scratch her to death. But an hour or so later, it was over. It may still have been little red and swollen, but she felt so proud.

There it was. A constant reminder of the most important person in her life.

It was better than a wedding. And most importantly, her mother would faint if she saw it.

"How's the pain?" Sirius popped his head in through the curtain, his own wrist wrapped in a clear film.

"What pain?"

"Don't be a hero," Sirius said with a smile.

"If I say it hurts, will you take me to dinner?"

Sirius chuckled and kissed her. "You're a piece of work, Avery."

"Takes one to know one."

Couple of days after getting her tattoo and stuffing her face with some Chinese food, Claudia was at work again. The tattoo stopped bleeding, but it was now itching like crazy. She could barely concentrate on whatever it was she was supposed to be doing and had to keep repeating the tattoo artist's words. "Do not scratch it, do not scratch it."

Claudia's mumbling got interrupted by the arrival of someone unexpected, her fellow Order member, Fabian Prewett. He was dressed in black jeans and a tweed waistcoat, his long red hair swept into a messy ponytail.

"Fabes!" Oscar ran over to him and gave him a hug. "What are you doing here? It's too early for the pub."

"I need to talk to your boss."

"Oh," Oscar smirked. "And here I was thinking you came to have a beer with your best friend."

"Don't get jealous." Fabian poked Oscar with his elbow. "I came to talk to Moody about Rosier."

Oscar's smile had vanished in an instant and his eyes immediately travelled to Claudia, as did Fabian's.

She slowly stood up. "Come with me," she mumbled hoarsely. Her throat was so tight she could barely hear those words herself. "He's in his office."

"What's going on?" she whispered nervously to Fabian just before she knocked on Moody's door. They barely spoke to each other until now, but she could tell from all those Order meetings that Moody trusted him. And besides, what she had to lose by asking. There was no need to be nervous.

"Remember the Prophet exposé I mentioned on the Rosier case?"

"Enter!" Moody's voice carried through the door.

Claudia ignored him. "Yes."

"It's being published tomorrow," Fabian replied. "It took longer-"

"Are you going to come in?" Moody roared from the inside of this office so loudly, it startled Claudia. She sighed and opened the door.

"Fabian says the exposé on the Rosier case is being published tomorrow," she explained and shut the door behind the both of them.

"What does it say?" Moody asked.

Fabian looked at him, then at Claudia and took a deep breath. She feared the worst. "They found out who was the auror that killed him…"

And there it was. Rosier coming back to haunt her.

Moody scoffed and leaned over to rummage through the drawer of his desk.

"Can we stop it?" Claudia asked, her voice trembling slightly.

"No." Fabian shook his head. "But you can manage it. You should take few days off. Don't walk from the Ministry home, or Prophet people will follow you. Apparate everywhere and don't answer any questions."

"Why not?" she asked.

"If you don't give them anything, the story will die down in a few days," Fabian explained. "But if you keep feeding it, it will never go away."

That made sense. Claudia noticed that Moody stopped rummaging through the cupboards and looked up at Fabian.

"Who leaked it?" he growled.

"I don't know," Fabian replied. "Rita's good and she never reveals her sources."

"If I get my hands on them…" Moody hissed and resumed his rummaging.

Claudia watched him, expecting (or at least hoping) he was going to say something to make this better. But he did not.

"I should take my leave," Fabian whispered. "If you need anything, just ask." He put his hand on Claudia's shoulder and squeezed it.

"Thanks," she mumbled absent-mindedly, still watching what Moody was up to. His lack of concern was really starting to bother her. As she heard Fabian close the door behind him, she could not take it anymore. "Is that all you got to say? Worry about who leaked it?"

Moody did not look at her. He pulled a book out of the drawer, clutched it victoriously, and smiled. "Here it is."

Claudia scoffed, turned on her heel and was planning to walk out and smash the door on her way out…

"Avery!" Moody shouted and it made her turn back to face him. "Catch this."

In a split second, Claudia had the book between her palms. She turned it and looked at the cover. 'Advanced protective spells for all types of dwellings.'

"Use them," Moody said. "All of them."

"Why?"

"Because this means you are a target."

"Thanks," Claudia mumbled, her anger gone. "But I don't know. They already have enough to make me into a target, but they haven't come after me yet. I think that's my father's doing."

"You killed one of them, you will be a target."

"I really don't think so. No one is going to go behind my father's back."

"Don't be naïve," Moody said. Claudia could almost see his eyes roll. "Voldemort is going to order your father to kill you. Do you really think he's going to say no?"

Claudia swallowed dry. If it was anyone else, her father would not hesitate, she was sure. But the things she knew, about the artefact, about Linda. She told her father that if he harmed her, all his secrets would be spilled. But was that still enough to keep her alive?

"Just be more careful," Moody interrupted her train of thought. "Enhanced protection on your place. No unnecessary trips. You know the drill."

"I really don't think-"

But Moody ignored her. "Does your father know where you live?"

Claudia shook her head, slowly losing the will and the energy to fight Moody on this.

"Is your fireplace secured against unauthorised travel?"

"We aren't connected to the Floo Network."

"Smart," Moody nodded. "Very smart… And you relatives? Or Black's? Any of them you speak to? Or have over?"

"I really should go home," Claudia mumbled and began to back out of Moody's office again. She was not sure how much of this she could take. She had to keep telling herself that Moody meant well, and this was his way of showing he cared. He surely was not trying to scare the shit out of her on purpose.

"Change the address on all your subscription. No one must know where you live." He paused. "And ask Primrose to change the address on your employee record. She changed mine years ago."

"To what?" Claudia asked, suddenly curious. "I have no other address I can put down."

"None of your business."

"Helpful." She rolled her eyes. "Why bring it up, then?"

"Oh no," Moody chuckled. It was weird. Claudia was not sure whether she had ever seen him laugh before. "My address with the Ministry is 'none of your business'."

Claudia had to laugh too. "I'll do that," she said, still on her way out. But then, she paused and turned back to face Moody properly. "What about work?" she asked tentatively, remembering the time she was forced to sit on the side-lines in the aftermath of the Rosier incident. "You aren't going to make me take it easy again, are you? Suspend me?"

"Wouldn't dream of it," he replied, all serious again. "This office is probably the safest place you can be right now."

"Good," Claudia said, packed her things and apparated home with a little smile on her face. She would be at the centre of a media storm from tomorrow, but at least she was not staring down the tunnel of another suspension.

But all positive thought abandoned her when she entered the empty and cold flat and realised, she would not have anyone to help her process it all. She had completely forgotten that Sirius was on a mission tonight.

She dug up her two-way notebook, wrapped herself in a blanket and sat down on their bed, Moody's book on advanced protective spells also in her hand. Her wand was within reach, ready to be used at a moment's notice.

"When are you going to be home?" she wrote, her fingers stiff and her chest tight. She did not often feel anxious, so when she did, it was always very noticeable and extremely uncomfortable.

It had only been few minutes before Sirius' response appeared. She did not even have a chance to open Moody's book.

"Benjy's taking over the guard duties tomorrow morning. Can't really leave before then. Everything ok?"

Claudia had no idea what to write. If she told him, he would rush home and whoever he was guarding would be in danger.

"Where are you?" She wrote in the end. Maybe she could go and see him. Moody would not like that, but it was better than being alone.

"You know I can't write that down, sorry."

Claudia shut the notebook in anger. Sirius was right, of course, but it was still infuriating. When did he get so sensible? She pulled her knees close to her chest and reached for the book. She tried to read it but could not. All the words merged into one and not a single one of the spells stuck in her mind. So, she opened the notebook again and saw more of Sirius' handwriting. It looked rushed.

"Is everything ok? I could leave Tony here alone. It should be fine."

She took a deep breath and picked up her quill again. "No, please don't do that. Just come home as soon as you can."

"You're freaking me out, Claude."

"It's fine. Don't worry. Please don't leave Tony in a lurch."

She put the notebook down and crawled out of bed to pour herself a glass of fire-whiskey. Standing by the window, glass in hand, she struggled to understand why she was freaking out about this.

She did not much care if Moody thought it put her in more danger. And she certainly did not care that Rosier was dead. Or that her father might try to kill her. What else was new? He threatened her and then his son tried to finish the job.

So why care that everyone knew? The fire-whiskey was burning the back of her throat as she struggled for answers.

Claudia walked over to the drinks shelf and topped up her glass. Then, she crumbled on the sofa. She sipped her drink until her eyes began to close. Fighting it was pointless.

"Claude," she heard a whisper and jerked awake.

"What time is it?" she hurled out. "You didn't leave Tony there, did you?"

"Hey, it's alright," Sirius whispered and stroked her hair. "It's nearly five and Benjy's there now."

"I must have fallen asleep." She looked down to see an empty whiskey glass that was still in her hands. "What time is it?"

"Five." Sirius prised the glass out of Claudia's hands. "What is going on?"

She sat up in the hope it might make her more awake. "The Prophet knows it was me who killed Rosier. And they're going to publish it tomorrow."

Sirius sighed and sat down next to Claudia. "What does it mean?" He rubbed his palms.

"I don't even know," Claudia sighed. "But Moody thinks we need to start being more careful."

"What else is new…" Sirius smirked.

"He thinks the Prophet article makes me into more of a target. That the Death Eaters might try to take revenge."

The smirked was wiped off Sirius' face by those words. "He isn't wrong…"

Claudia pinched the bridge of her nose. "It all depends on whether it suits my father more if I'm alive or dead." She paused and sat up straight. "I think alive for the time being. I don't think he would want to-"

"Claude," Sirius interrupted. "Do not try to rationalise this. I'm not going to bet your life on a whim of your father. We're going to be careful."

"It'll mean a lot of changes. For both of us," Claudia whispered. "No more muggle tattoo parlours or Chinese food. No more pub!"

"I'll survive without going to the pub," Sirius tried to laugh it off and wrapped his arm around Claudia. "Well, I'll give it a go..."

Claudia dropped her head on Sirius shoulder. "Should have known it would always come to this, that we would live in the shadows like criminals."

"Let's go to bed," Sirius said with a yawn. "And deal with all this in the morning."

"I'm so tired," Claudia mumbled and let Sirius help her off the sofa. She crashed into bed and did not remember anything other than Sirius pulling the blanket over her and kissing her forehead. She was out before he managed to lay down next to her.

When she woke up, Sirius was sitting at the dining table and frowning over a copy of the Daily Prophet.

Claudia grimaced as she remembered Moody's instruction to change her address on the subscription. She really ought to have done that last night, if they were going to take this seriously. "What's the damage?"

"They tried to get a comment from your father."

"What?" Claudia jumped up from bed, half-run across the flat and snatched the paper out of Sirius' hand. She scanned the article and there it was, right at the bottom.

Miss Avery's father is the prominent Frederick Avery of the Department of International Magical Cooperation. When asked for a comment, Mr Avery said that he is not going to comment on any matters relating to his estranged daughter.

However, the Prophet understands from a source close to the family that Miss Avery is a troubled young woman and has been formally disowned by her parents. It is unclear whether that is in relation to the murder of Mr Rosier.

"I'll give them a troubled young woman," Claudia growled, scrunched the paper, and threw it into the bin. "I hate this."

"Why?" Sirius shrugged. "No one believes this garbage paper anyway. Not after they printed all that crab about muggle-born magic being unstable."

Claudia closed her eyes. Sirius was right, no one who mattered believed the Prophet anymore. It was something else… And then, she realised.

"It's the pity. That's the thing that annoyed me the most last time." Claudia sighed, finally feeling like she figured out her anxiety. "All these people asking me how I was doing, implying I should be feeling guilty. Everyone wanting to talk about it, all the time."

"Anyone who tells you to feel guilty is an idiot."

"I know," she sighed. "I don't want to talk about it anymore. I'm going to work."

"But Fabian said-"

"I don't care what Fabian said," she barked. "I need to do something useful."

Claudia showered, threw on some fresh clothes, and stormed off. Sirius clearly knew better than to stop her.

She kept her head down as she run through the Ministry corridors. She did not make eye contact with anyone, but was convinced they were all staring at her, whispering even. When she finally reached her office, she smashed the door behind her so hard that the glass nearly fell out.

"You are supposed to be at home," Barraclough began.

"I want to be useful."

"Fine," he sighed. "A fresh batch of intelligence reports just came through. You can check them for anything that might help our cold cases."

"Mulciber…" Claudia whispered.

"All of our cold cases," Barraclough said, his eyebrow slightly raised. "You know what the boss said about Mulciber."

Somewhat relieved that she had something to occupy her mind, Claudia started to make her way towards her desk. Then, she caught sight of Oscar, who was folding the Prophet in front of him.

"I'm sorry," he mumbled.

"No jokes?" she smirked.

"Not today."

"I must really be in trouble," Claudia attempted to make light of the situation, but it did not seem to reassure Oscar in any way.

He got up, followed her to her desk, and leaned over the walls of her cubicle. "It doesn't look pretty now," he began. "But it will blow over. Fabian said so. In a few months, no one will even remember."

"Thanks."

"In the meantime," Oscar smirked. "I'll curse anyone who comes in here to snoop."

"Your services are greatly appreciated."

The fact that Sirius, Barraclough and Oscar all had her back made Claudia feel heaps better, and she got stuck into the intelligence reports.

An hour in, there was absolutely no sign of Mulciber, or anyone else the team was trying to track, in any of them. At least Oscar managed to scare off couple of people who came and poked their heads into the office to see what Claudia looked like.

But Oscar went to the bathroom just before lunch, and one visitor did manage to get in.

"I need to talk to you," a familiar voice sounded over Claudia's head.

With a sigh, she looked up to see her ex-boyfriend towering over her. "What do you want?" she barked.

"I want you to tell me what you said to Eleanor the other night," Julius said. "She's been weird ever since and last night, she broke up with me."

"Do you really want me to explain by anyone would break up with you?"

"I knew this was a mistake," Julius said rolled his eyes. "Still cannot have an adult conversation with you."

"Well you shouldn't have chosen today of all days to try…"

"Why?"

"You really are thick… Don't you read the papers?"

"Of course, I do. Normally-"

"Just get out." Claudia growled.

"Tell me what you said to her!" Julius was clearly getting quite agitated. "I want to fix this."

"Then stop being a fucking coward and stand up for her."

Before Julius had a chance to respond, the door creaked open, and Sirius walked in.

Julius made a frustrated gesture. "Last fucking thing I need," he mumbled, pushed past Sirius, and vanished.

Sirius followed him with his eyes, looking very much like one more word from Julius might cost him his life.

"What did he want?" he hissed.

"Never mind that…" Claudia did not particularly feel like re-living her Hogwarts years, the mutual jealousy between Julius and Sirius still very fresh in her mind. She did not blame either of them but still… "What are you doing here though?"

"Figured you won't be able to go out to lunch," he smiled and lifted a brown bag above his head. "Brought you something… Do you have some place here we could eat?"

"Well, there is always my desk," Claudia said and scooped the intelligence reports away to make some space.

"Very sophisticated. You aurors really know how to live," Sirius smirked as he pulled up a chair, sat down next to Claudia and opened the bag to reveal a couple of sandwiches. Claudia grabbed a piece and got stuck in.

Sirius picked up the file from the top of the pile. "What are these?"

"Every now and then, we go through all the intelligence reports to see if there is anything on our cold cases," Claudia explained. "Don't tell Moody, but I've been particularly looking out for Mulciber."

"Your idiot ex reminded me," Sirius mumbled. "Did you see in the news who replaced Buttons as Head of-" he paused. "Well, whatever he was head of."

"Head of the Census Office," Claudia replied with her mouth full. "And no, who replaced him?"

"Nott," he smirked. "Presume they are related."

"Better not be his uncle," Claudia whispered remembering what Julius said just before they slept together for the first time. "He has a dubious loyalty," she added significantly.

"Of course he does…" Sirius opened one of the intelligence reports and began to read. "These really are quite dull," he mumbled after a few seconds.

"Stop reading them," she laughed and shut it in front of him. "Moody's going to kill you."

"She's right," Oscar said, standing in the door. Claudia turned and saw Ewan was now with him.

"I once had a girlfriend visit me here and he nearly hexed us both," Ewan said.

Oscar laughed and punched his cousin on the shoulder. "That's because you were making out with her on his couch!

"Same difference," Ewan smirked. "In any case, you better hide him."

Sirius picked up another intelligence report. "Not scared of Moody," he mumbled and got reading again.

Claudia smiled at him and finished her sandwich. Then, she grabbed an intelligence report herself.

After ten minutes or so, Sirius raised his head again. "Julius didn't bother you, did he? Because I-"

"I can handle Julius," Claudia mumbled.

"I know you can. But-"

"It was nothing like that. He thinks Eleanor broke up with him because I put her up to it."

"And did you?"

"I don't think she needed any encouragement…" Claudia chuckled.

Sirius' eyes narrowed. "You did break up with him before we, you know..." He trailed off and looked around. "Before we got together properly."

"I thought I did." Claudia grimaced. "But he didn't think so. He bought me a Christmas present, tried to give it to me on the Hogwarts Express back to school. It was not pleasant."

"No wonder he hates your guts."

"It's not like you're blameless," Claudia smirked. "I was still with Julius when you told me you loved me and kissed me. Remember?"

Sirius smiled and slid his hand around Claudia's waist. "I remember," he whispered. "I also remember you kissing me back." He leaned in to kiss her.

"Not here," Claudia giggled. She looked around nervously and pushed him away. "If you want to stay, read these and look for Mulciber." She reached for a stack of files and dropped them in front of her boyfriend.

Sirius rolled his eyes but opened the first report. For ten minutes, he managed to stay silent. "What about this?" he asked and pointed at whatever it was he was reading.

Claudia leaned over and skimmed the passage.

"Nah," she shook her head. "He's an Imperio specialist. This is way too gruesome for him."

Just as Sirius picked up another report, Moody walked in.

"Oh, shit," Claudia gasped and start pulling the papers away from Sirius.

"Black," Moody mumbled and continued towards his office without as much as a proper look towards Sirius.

"Afternoon," Sirius said, shooting Moody a smile and watching the old auror disappear into his office.

Claudia sat at her desk frozen, looking from Sirius to Moody's door, then at Oscar and Ewan who were both peaking from their cubicles looking somewhat disappointed.

Then, without warning, Moody's door crashed open. "Black!" he yelled. "You don't work for me. Get out of here!" He turned and shut the door behind him again.

Claudia could hear giggling from the direction of her colleagues. They were always insufferable when proven right.

"He didn't mind me when I was snooping around Manchester for him," Sirius smirked and closed the file he was reading. "I better go," he added, kissed Claudia, and set off before Moody decided to seal his fate.

"See you at home." Claudia shouted after him.

Sirius flashed her one more smile and he was gone.

The improvement to Claudia's mood caused by Sirius' visit did not last long. More and more people came peeking into the office, coming to see who was the auror at the centre of the media storm. Even Oscar shoving a filing cabinet in front of the door did not help. You could still hear the humming through the door.

"Claudia." Barraclough sat down next to her at the end of the day. "This is not a punishment, but-" he began.

Claudia rolled her eyes. "Here we go."

"I want you to take a few days off. Just until this calms down. It's impossible to do any work here."

"Fine," Claudia growled.

"Please understand."

"I don't."

Claudia picked up her jacket and stormed out. It was not fair. All she did was to do her job, everyone told her that. Moody even said she did well. But now, she was being punished again.

Her sulkiness did not get better for the next few days. Claudia sat at home again, bored out of her mind. Her tattoo was still itching. She did all of Moody's protective spells twice over, and even started cleaning the flat and sorting out her clothes and papers. That was how bad it got.

One evening, Sirius was on a mission and Claudia just about had enough. She needed to get out of there for a bit.

"Screw the enhanced security protocols," she mumbled, threw on her old Slytherin Quidditch training top and her trainers and went for a run, wand safely tucked in her sleeve.

She groaned as she turned up Primrose Hill. She would normally avoid running this way because it was a steep climb, but tonight, she wanted it to hurt.

At the top of the hill, she bent over, her hands on her knees. Her lungs were burning with the cold October air. She was panting. It was already getting dark, and the crowds had disappeared. Claudia tilted her head to the side to see there was no other person for miles.

Out of nowhere, she heard a noise and shot up, her fingers instinctively gripped around her wand.

A figure moved out of the shadows. They were dressed in a cloak and not like any muggle Claudia had ever seen. This was no time to take any chances. Without warning, she hit them with the stunning spell, and they tumbled to the ground.

"Expelliarmus!" she mumbled over the lifeless figure, and then waved her wand to slide their hood off.

Her stomach did a somersault when she saw the face of the assailant.

It was Regulus.

She had no idea how long she stared at him. What was he doing here? Was he trying to kill her again? Who sent him? These questions must have swirled around Claudia's head for a while, as Regulus' eyes were just beginning to open.

"I just want to talk," he mumbled.

Claudia kept aiming her wand at him, remembering the second wand trick all too well from her auror interview. Her mind kept looking for an explanation. Why would Regulus want to talk to her? What did he want?

"Move and I'll blast you into the sky," she growled.

"Claudia, please. Trust me."

She scoffed. "Are you out of your mind? How could I possibly trust you?"

Regulus sat up under Claudia's watchful eyes. "I suppose," he mumbled. "But I'm trying to sort out a few things. And I wanted to apologise."

"For what exactly?"

Regulus took a deep breath. "It was me who attacked you. Not my idea, but I was the one who did." He paused. "And I'm sorry about it."

Claudia did not flinch. Her brain was still in overdrive trying to figure out what was going on. What brought this on? And her lack of reaction must have thrown Regulus off.

"You already knew…" he whispered.

"Put two and two together a while back." She had enough presence of mind not to tell him how she knew and undo all the hard work back in seventh year. He may have been acting weird but he was still what he was, a servant to the Dark Lord.

Regulus looked away and began to rub his palms. Claudia bit her lip when she realised that it was the same thing Sirius did when he was upset.

"Does he know?" he whispered.

There was no need to say who he meant by that. "He does."

Regulus dropped his head in his hands and his shoulders began to shake.

Claudia watched him, all crumbled on the ground. This was not the brazen teenager who threw her off the Quidditch team. He looked completely broken. "Reg, what's going on?"

He looked up at her, tears in his eyes. "It's so much worse than I thought it would be."

"What is?"

Slowly, Regulus pulled up his shirt sleeve. Claudia stopped breathing for a moment in anticipation.

A there it was. The Dark Mark. With the skull, the snake, the lot.

Claudia had never seen one in real life. It was huge. She finally understood why she never saw her father or brother in a t-shirt. It was just at that moment, Claudia's own left forearm itched. That's where her Canis Major tattoo was. As was Sirius' fox... The irony was not lost on her.

"I thought it was a sure way to be great…" Regulus continued. "Not to be ordinary. But-"

"That's the dumbest reason I've ever heard to join the fucking Death Eaters," Claudia snapped, interrupting him. "You knew what they were like. You knew my brother! You knew what they were capable of."

"I realise that now," Regulus barked. Then, he sighed. "I should go. This was a bad idea." He began to get up.

There was something about him though, something that made Claudia find that smidgen of empathy that she had buried deep in her heart. "Reg, wait…" she whispered.

Regulus froze and dropped back to the floor.

"If you really mean it, having second thoughts." Claudia was hesitating. It was a big risk. "The Order can protect you."

"I doubt anyone can protect me. You have no idea what he does to people who have doubts."

"We can try."

"I don't want to hide. I need to do something. Something to make this right. Can I-" he stuttered. "Can I have my wand back?"

Claudia thought for a minute. The idea she would hand a wand back over to a Death Eater was ridiculous. She ought to have arrested him right there. But she just could not do it. "There you go," she whispered and tossed it at his feet.

Regulus bent over and picked it up. "Tell Sirius I'm sorry."

"You can tell him yourself." She tried getting through to Regulus for the last time. "He's going to be home by now. You can come with me. You two can talk."

"I don't feel like dying just yet," Regulus smirked but you could hear the sadness in his voice. "Besides, I have things to do." He pulled his hood over his head. "Goodbye Claudia. And do be careful, that Rosier stuff riled them up."

And with a pop, he was gone.

Claudia gripped her own wand and apparated home too.

"Where have you been?" Sirius barked the moment she opened the apartment door.

"Went for a run." Before Sirius could yell anymore, she explained. "I had to get out of here for a bit."

"You should've waited for me. The Death Eaters could be looking for you. You could've bumped into any of them."

For a split second, she wondered whether she should tell him but quickly realised she had no choice. The last time she tried hiding something from Sirius about his brother, they nearly hexed each other. "I did bump into Regulus."

Sirius' face twisted into an angry grimace. "This is why you weren't supposed to go anywhere! You could've died."

"It wasn't like that…" Claudia said as calmly as she could. "He just wanted to talk. He's scared, and he wants out."

"I bet he does," Sirius scoffed, his arms now folded firmly across his chest.

"I think Voldemort might kill him..."

"I don't care."

"Sirius, listen to me. He's your brother."

"He's not," Sirius barked. "He stopped being my brother when he tried to kill you."

"Please, listen-"

"Just drop it," Sirius yelled. "Unless you want me to kill him myself..."

"Fine," Claudia snapped. "Have it your way, then."

Claudia went to the shower and when she got back, Sirius was sitting on the sofa reading a book. He stayed like that for the next two hours, his brows furrowed. But not once did Claudia see him turn a page. She had some leftover dinner and eventually went to sit down next to him.

Sirius pretended for another twenty minutes that he was reading, but then shut the book and lowered himself to lay on Claudia's lap.

She started to stroke his hair. Maybe he had cooled off enough to listen to her. He needed to go after his brother. He was the only one who could bring him over. And it was not just sentiment and her old friendship with Regulus that was driving Claudia here. He would have made a valuable source. He would have known at least some of Voldemort's plans… She took a deep breath and opened her mouth.

"Still don't want to hear it," Sirius growled.

Claudia chose not to press it. He had not cooled off enough after all. Once he wanted to talk about, and she was sure he would want to at some point, he would open up. Pushing him into it now would just make him angry and meant he would never be able to have a proper conversation about it.

"I have an idea," Sirius said suddenly and sat up. "It's genius." He jumped to his feet, took out a box from the bottom of the bookshelf and started digging through it. There were old books, pieces of parchments, quills.

"What's this?" Claudia asked, completely in the dark about what he was up to. She hoped that it was something to do with Regulus, maybe a way to contact him.

"All the stuff we used to make the map," he said not raising his eyes from the box. "I thought, maybe- There it is!" he exclaimed.

"Want to make a new map?"

"Not exactly," he finally looked up and smiled. "I thought that we could enchant something to always know that we're ok, or at least alive."

This did not sound like Sirius was trying to find Regulus. "And the map helps how?"

"When you got hurt, I was just looking at the map, remember? And your label flickered," he explained. "Something in here can determine if someone is dead or alive. If we can use that spell on something, we will always know."

"The tattoos," Claudia was on her feet too. "We could enchant my Sirius star, so it disappears if something happens to you!"

Sirius grinned at kissed her. "It's late. Go to bed and I'll have it figured out by the morning."

"Alright." Claudia kissed him back. She brushed her teeth and climbed into bed. She watched Sirius for a while through the gap in the door, until her eyes began to close. She wanted to do something about Regulus, but it needed to wait till tomorrow. The earlier run did take it out of her.

When she woke up, she could see Sirius was still in the living room. She yawned and made her way over.

"Have you slept?" she whispered and squeezed his shoulder.

"Not quite… But I got there," he said and shoved a piece of paper into her hands.

"That's a long incantation," Claudia mumbled, still too sleepy to take in the three words. There was something about souls and symbols.

"It needs to be cast by the person whose life you want to track. And you need to think about what you want the spell to do as you do it. We didn't use exactly this on the map, but it came up in our research."

"Alright." Claudia smiled and extended her arm. "Do it."

"Anima Symbolo Impartiri." He said, the tip of his wand resting on the part of Claudia's tattoo that was supposed to represent him. A small glowing circle appeared, rounding the star for few seconds and then disappeared.

"Did it work?" Claudia uttered.

"No idea," he shrugged. "Let's hope we only find out when we're hundred…"

"Good point," she said, examining her now enchanted tattoo. It looked exactly the same as before. "I suppose there is no way to test it."

"Not unless you kill me," Sirius said with a laugh. "Now, my turn."

"Do you want the whole fox to disappear?"

Sirius thought for a moment and then shook his head. "No," he said. "Just like yours I want at least some of it to stay, to remember you forever."

"We could deca-"

"Please don't say decapitate it," Sirius jumped in before Claudia could finish her thought. It made her smirk; he knew her too well. "I know," Sirius said after a short pause. "Make it close its eyes."

"Perfect. Less gruesome." Claudia smiled and picked up the parchment to memorise the incantation.

Few seconds later, she pointed her wand at her patronus tattooed on Sirius' forearms and visualised it with its eyes closed.

"Animam Symbolo Impartiri."

This time, two glowing circles appeared and rounded the fox's eyes.

"Now, we will always know." Sirius said rather solemnly for a change and wrapped his arms around Claudia.

"I should see if Barraclough lets me back," she sighed and glanced at the clock. It was nearly eight. "I can't stay at home anymore." That was of course only part of the reason she wanted to get back… Last night, just as she was falling asleep, she had a thought.

"Please be careful."

Claudia nodded, deciding that she was not going to tell him about the last thing Regulus told her. That the Rosier stuff riled the Death Eaters. If she did, she was pretty sure Sirius would never let her out of his sight.

Barraclough just laughed when he saw her enter the office. "I thought it would be too much to ask to keep you away for more than four days."

"So, I can come back?" Claudia asked hopefully.

"I suppose," he sighed.

Rather happy with herself, Claudia sat down at her desk. There was still the pile of unfinished intelligence reports. She opened the first one, but she was no longer only looking for news about Mulciber. She was desperate to find any sort of clue about what happened to Regulus to set him on the path of regret.

After few fruitless hours, it struck her. There was a better way. She stood up and looked around the office. And she got lucky, because Oscar was the only one there. He was the one person unlikely to get mad at her over that run.

Slowly, she walked over to his desk. "Don't be mad," she whispered.

Oscar looked up from his own work and grinned. "I'm listening…"

"I went for a run yesterday-" she begin and Oscar theatrically shook his head in disapproval. "Yeah, I know. Spare me the lecture," she sighed. "And I bumped into an old friend from Slytherin, who I lost touch with."

Luckily, Oscar picked up on her significant tone. "An old Slytherin friend who turned out to be a Death Eater?"

Claudia nodded. "He seemed really scared. Like he wanted out."

"Why are you telling me this?"

"I was wondering if there is any way, informants maybe, to find out whether he's ok."

Oscar's eyes narrowed. "Why do you care?"

"It's Sirius' brother."

"Oh, for fuck's sake…" Oscar exclaimed. "Did he put you up to this?"

Claudia snorted. "The exact opposite actually. You aren't to mention this to anyone, ok? Especially not to Sirius."

"Fine."

"His name is Regulus Black."

"Leave it with me," Oscar replied. "There is someone who might know."

A/N – As I mentioned few weeks ago, Lady_Murphyy and I have done a bit of an experiment – a fic that includes both of our OCs. It's called 'Torn Apart by Love and War' and it's a series of one-shots from the First Wizarding war. It's now completed and over 50,000 words. If you are interested in what may have happened if Sirius and Claudia tried to be friends while dating other people, give it a read. Spoiler alert: they fail.