Avery Exposed
Back in her living room the very same evening, Claudia stood motionless, staring at the spot by the fire where they made love just last night. Angry tears were forming in her eyes. How could he betray her like this? How could he just leave? Without an explanation…
More in hope than expectation, she checked her notebook again. But he has not replied. She bit her lip and picked up a quill but had nothing new to say.
'Please, just come home. We can talk…"
After staring at the page for tenor minutes or so, Claudia snapped the notebook shut in frustration, grabbed a bottle of whiskey, and crawled into bed.
When she woke up in the morning, her face was puffy, her mouth dry, and her head felt like it was split open by a particularly violent spell. After glancing at the whiskey bottle, Claudia understood why. It was nearly empty.
She just about managed to drag herself to the shower. When she undressed, she glanced at her tattoo, which was still intact. That made her more upset than reassured. If he was alive, what excuse did he have to ignore her like this? What right did he have to leave her in the dark?
But there was no reprieve when she got to the office, as Oscar was onto her even before she sat down.
"So?" he barked. "Did you talk to him?"
Claudia blinked twice. At first, she had no idea what he was talking about. But then, she remembered.
"Only briefly," she lied. "He's away now. But he said it was a ruse, something he was doing for Dumbledore."
"Right…" Oscar mumbled. "What kind of a ruse?"
"I'll talk to him properly when he gets back," Claudia said, trying very hard to keep her voice from breaking. "I want to get to the bottom of this as much as you do, trust me."
"And when will he be back?"
Claudia nearly burst into tears but managed to steady herself in time. "A few days, at most."
With that, their conversation was over. Oscar seemed somewhat reassured, and Claudia could focus on what mattered today - the preparations for the official search of her parents' house. Moody asked her to draw a detailed map of the property, so the team could come up with a plan. Each of them would get a team of Hit Wizards on the day to help.
Claudia worked into the night, remembering every cupboard and hidden nook. She did not even make it home, instead falling asleep on Moody's sofa. Maybe it was because she was exhausted. Maybe because she could not face coming back to a cold and empty flat, and then lying to Oscar about it again.
By nine o'clock the following morning, everyone was ready to go. Ewan was sent to Frederick's office at the Ministry with a team of Hit Wizards to detain him for the day. Once he was secured, the rest of them moved on the Avery's family home.
It was strange for Claudia to stand on the doorstep of her parents' house again. Even stranger as she was doing it as part of an investigation team of about a dozen Ministry officials. In some ways, she could not wait to see the look on her mother's face. After all the torment that woman had put her through.
Unfortunately, it was not to be as both Cassandra and Marcus had their wands taken and were marched up to their rooms by Hit Wizards before Claudia could talk to either of them. Still, it felt good.
But before she could enjoy their misery any further, she made the mistake of stepping into one of the downstairs rooms.
Her stomach turned. The whole room, at least fifteen feet across, was filled to its limits with something Claudia was not expecting.
Heaps and heaps of wedding crap.
At first, she thought it was all for Marcus, but then she spotted a grand, puffy dress and a pile of glittering invitations. Hesitantly, she opened one and nearly dropped it on the floor in disgust as it began to play a soppy melody.
But the whole thing only got worse from there.
'Mr and Mrs Frederick Avery request the honour of your presence at the marriage of their daughter
Claudia Lavinia
to
Sirius Orion Black
at Number Six, Frognal Gardens, Hampstead, London on Saturday, the second of January nineteen-eighty-two at two o'clock in the afternoon.'
Claudia had no words. How could her mother ever think that this was acceptable? Did she not take a hint from the fact Claudia did not tell her she was getting married? How could Cassandra ever think her daughter would be happy about this, let alone show up to some charade organised by the parents she had not spoken to in years?
But then the anger gave way to heartbreak, and she had to wipe her eyes again – there was no groom to speak of anymore. The man she was supposed be getting married to was gone…
Mercifully, she was spared further self-pity-
"What's all this?" one of the Hit Wizards asked, picking up the invitation.
Claudia sighed. "My mother being utterly delusional..."
"You aren't getting married?"
"I am," Claudia said hoarsely. "But I haven't spoken to her in years and certainly don't want her anywhere near it."
The Hit Wizard frowned. "That seems extreme. Almost too extreme…" It was clear he did not believe Claudia's explanation, which made her blood boil.
"I wish crap like this was too extreme for my mother," she barked. Still in disbelief over her mother's audacity, she dropped the wedding invitation to the floor and went to search elsewhere.
But the search was getting nowhere. For hours, three aurors and a dozen of Hit Wizards searched every cupboard for that secret study Mulciber mentioned and found nothing. It was getting dark outside, and everyone was getting desperate. They knew Crouch would never let them come back, so Claudia decided it was time to play her last card.
She supressed all the rage about Barraclough's death and knocked on the door of Marcus' room. He was the most likely to break.
"Come in!" shouted the Hit Wizard who has been watching Marcus all day.
Claudia opened the door to see her brother sitting on the bed with his shoulders slumped. He went ashen when he saw her.
"Leave us alone," she hissed.
"I have my order to stay no matter-" the Hit Wizard attempted to defend himself.
"And I'm ordering you to leave us alone," she barked.
Once the dejected Hit Wizard did as he was told, she finally turned to her brother.
But he spoke first. "I want you to know," he whispered. "I didn't mean to betray you. I had no choice. You must believe me."
Claudia took a deep breath, fighting an urge to yell at him. He was so weak! So pathetically weak! "This is your chance to make up for it," she said instead.
Marcus swallowed dry. "He'll kill me."
"You're on your way to Azkaban as it is. You have very little to lose."
Marcus looked around, frowning. "What do you want?"
"The secret study."
He stared at her for some time. "How do you know about that?"
"Mulciber mentioned it. His memory is coming back, you know… Another reason for you to start cooperating with this investigation."
Marcus stood up and started to pace around his room. "Alright, alright," he mumbled. "You need his signet ring. There is a spot on the ornate mirror in his study where it slots in."
"Is that all?"
"Yeah," he sighed.
"Great," Claudia mumbled and went back downstairs without giving her brother a further thought. She sent one of the Hit Wizards for Frederick's signet ring, and within twenty minutes, Ewan had come with it instead.
"Why do you need it?" he asked.
Claudia pointed towards the mirror. "It slots into the mirror over there. Supposedly, it hides a passage to the study we've been looking for all day."
Ewan put it in, but nothing happened. So, he tried again, and again. "Are you sure this is meant to work?"
"Let me have a go," Claudia whispered and took the signet ring out of Ewan's hands. Slowly, she placed it onto her right ring finger. Her grandmother's somewhat disturbing family motto was staring back at her. When she slotted the ring into the mirror, she waited but nothing happened.
"Macht dem Starken," she uttered in German and the whole wall panel moved to reveal a dark staircase.
"How did you?" Ewan gasped.
"Must be blood magic." Claudia shrugged, lifted her wand to light up the passage and descended down. "I just said the family motto."
"What does it mean?"
"Power to the strong."
What they found in the study was even better than Claudia could have imagined. It appeared that her father could not quite help himself but to keep immaculate records. There were surveillance reports on Linda, Geneva papers Frederick should not have had, files on Buttons and Ted Tonks.
How arrogant was he? Claudia thought. How safe he must have felt in his position not to destroy all of this? She could not help but smile that it was her father's arrogance that was finally going to bring him down.
Even Crouch came to have a look at what was found, and immediately gave an order to arrest Frederick, Cassandra and Marcus. With the three suspect safely in the Ministry's holding cells, Moody wasted no time coming up with a game plan for their interrogation.
"Wife and son first, Frederick last."
"Yes, boss," Claudia said with a smile. Despite everything, she could hardly contain her glee.
"Now, go home. All of you. Try to get some sleep."
The mere thought of going home made Claudia shudder. But Moody was likely to claim his office tonight, so she had little choice. She contemplated going to see Alice, but she knew that Alice would make her talk and that was the last thing Claudia wanted.
So, she procrastinated in the office as long as she could, before reluctantly apparating home. She finally made it to the flat by about two in the morning, downed a glass of sleeping draught and crashed into bed. If she had to be in the flat, she was not going to be awake for it.
At around six o'clock in the morning, there was a meek knock on the door, which woke up Claudia up from a heavy dreamless sleep. She jumped up and ran to the door…
But it was only James-
"What are you doing here?" she mumbled, rubbing her eyes. "You shouldn't be here. It's dangerous."
James walked into the flat and shut the door firmly behind him. "Yesterday's clothes?" he whispered.
"What do you want, James?"
He sighed. "I saw you the other day on the street. And I had to come and see you, to see how you were doing."
"Fidelius Charm? Impressive," she said, ignoring his question.
"Yeah…"
Claudia could feel welling up. "Who's your secret keeper?"
"I can't say…"
"That explains where Sirius is," she snapped and turned angrily away from James. Partly because she could not bear looking at him. Partly because she did not want him to see her cry.
"Claudia, I didn't ask him to leave here. I would never."
"Well, he did," she growled. "For all the talk of wanting to protect me, for wanting to be with me until his last breath–" there was no stopping the tears now – "he just fucked off without any sort of explanation."
"He does want to protect you. That's all he ever wanted."
"Rubbish!" she snapped. "When it came to it, he chose to protect you, not me!"
James' eyes were glittering too. "He loves you. More than anyone."
"What good is that to me?" she said and threw her arms into the air. "I have to get ready… Got to interrogate my own family today."
"Claudia, wait!" James reached for her arm and stopped her from marching into the bedroom. "Whatever he's doing, he's doing it to protect you. I promise you that."
She sighed and leaned in for an awkward hug, but James gripped her in his arms instead. And would not let go.
"Everything is going to be alright," he whispered. "He does love you. He will come back, I promise."
That was too far for Claudia. She grabbed onto James' arm and buried her face in his chest. "If you see him again, tell him I miss him," she said between sobs. "Tell him I deserve better than this." She did not like sounding this desperate, begging James like this, but what was the point in dignity anymore? What was the point in anything with Sirius gone?
"I will, I promise you."
Claudia forced a smile and then sent James on his way. She went to wash her face, thrown on some fresher clothes and went into the office. Once there, she drank a copious amount of coffee and successfully avoided Oscar until it was time to begin Cassandra's interrogation.
Moody and Adebayo were doing the interrogating while Claudia, Oscar and Ewan watched from the room next door.
Cassandra floated in wearing glittering robes of pale lilac silk. Her hair was still perfect. How did she managed to look like this even after spending a night in the Ministry's holding cells, Claudia did not know.
"Is that your mother?" Ewan asked, with his eyes fixed on Cassandra.
"Yup."
"She's-" he began absentmindedly.
"If you say she's hot," Claudia interjected, "I'll kill you."
"Well-" he mumbled.
"Ewan!"
Ewan chuckled but did not dare to take the conversation any further, choosing instead to focus on the interrogation. Even after half an hour, Moody and Adebayo were getting nowhere. Cassandra answered every question they threw her way by either saying that her husband was a good man, or that all this was just a huge misunderstanding. It was as if she existed in a completely parallel universe – she did not really follow politics, she barely knew who Voldemort was or what he did, she denied any knowledge of the Death Eaters…
Oscar leaned towards Claudia, who was now working very hard to contain all the rage she felt in her chest. "Do you think it's possible she really doesn't know?" he whispered.
Claudia shrugged. "I threw it in her face once, when she was having a go at me for ruining the family's reputation."
"What did she say?"
"That I didn't know what I was talking about."
Back in the interrogation room, Moody slid a note to Adebayo, who got up and within seconds emerged through the door of the side-room. "We need something to rattle her," he said to Claudia. "What's her greatest weakness?"
Claudia thought for a second. "She wears this mask of a perfect wife with a perfect life. To her, appearances are everything. But she's an insecure, nasty piece of work underneath." She reached for the piece of parchment Adebayo was still holding in his hand and scribbled on it.
'She's secretly and half-blood (very shameful), and used to beat the crap out of her daughter. And that's not the Cassandra she wants people to see.'
Then, she passed it back to Adebayo.
"Are you sure?" he asked after he read the note.
"Just do it," she said resolutely.
And just as fast as Adebayo came, he left, and within seconds Claudia's note was in Moody's capable hand.
"Mrs Avery," Moody began with renewed determination. "I'm struggling to believe you know so little about your husband's dealings."
"It's not my place. I'm his wife, not his assistant or political advisor," Cassandra said with a force chuckle.
"But he trusts you?"
"Of course, he trusts me!"
Claudia could tell from her mother's eyes that she was furious at being treated like this. Maybe there was hope. Maybe she was going to crack sooner rather than later.
"Despite your blood status?" Moody asked. "We all know what his views on blood purity are."
Cassandra blinked. "What do you mean?" she said in a voice that was slightly higher than her usual pitch.
"You're a half-blood, aren't you? Is it possible your husband wouldn't trust you on matters of blood purity as a result?"
"Of course, he trusts me! It is just not my place! I am a wife and a mother. A good one too!"
Claudia could not help but laugh. A good mother? That was a delusion too far, even for Cassandra.
"You have two children, correct?" Moody continued to Cassandra's vigorous nods. "Would they both agree you're a good mother?"
Cassandra blinked. "My daughter and I had some differences recently," she said, attempting a smile. "But I'm sure even she would agree that I always had her best interests at heart. She's getting married, you know, my Claudia," Cassandra said sweetly. "I've been so busy with preparations."
Her mother's performance made Claudia want to vomit.
"Were you ever violent towards either of your children?" Moody asked nonchalantly.
Cassandra froze. All the pleasantness was gone. Her eyes darted around the room and at the note that Moody had folded in front of him. "Did she told you to say that?" There was suddenly coldness in her voice.
"Just answer the question," Moody hissed. "And remember, you are sworn to speak the truth."
But it turned out that Claudia was right, Cassandra was near breaking point. "That little ungrateful bitch! She put you up to it!"
"You mean your daughter?"
Cassandra scoffed, her face full of the rage that Claudia was all too familiar with. "Daughter. What sort of daughter turns on her father? What sort of daughter deserts her family like this? What sort of daughter does not tell her own mother about getting married?"
Unfortunately, while it was immensely satisfying to watch Cassandra break down, it did not lead to a confession or any new evidence. Maybe she really did not have a clue.
Next up was Marcus. And with that came Oscar's turn to sit next to Moody, as Adebayo went to take Frederick's first wife testimony. Claudia stayed in the adjacent room, hating her time on the side lines. But even she had to admit it was unlikely her presence would help the interrogation in any meaningful way.
She could tell her brother was twitchy, nervous. But he held the line just as well as his mother. His father was a valuable member of the wizarding society, and a respectable Ministry official. That secret chamber must have been some kind of a mistake.
"Blah, blah, blah," Claudia mumbled to herself as she nearly nodded off listening to him.
In the end, he gave Moody nothing new and was led away back to his holding cell.
Just as the team got back to their office to regroup, Adebayo came back.
"Anything useful?" Moody asked.
Adebayo shrugged. "Not really. All she could tell me was that Frederick was friends with Riddle at school and definitely part of his gang. But she did not think they kept it up after school. Avery started a job at the Ministry pretty much straight from Hogwarts and did well."
"Is that all?" Claudia said with a sigh.
"Then, it got a bit touchy-feely for me," Adebayo shrugged. "She said their marriage was arranged. He was perfectly courteous, but there was never any passion apparently. That's why she knew he was having an affair with Cassandra. When he started seeing her, he changed apparently – he was warmer, even happy."
Claudia could not quite believe her ears – was it possible her parents were actually in love at some point? That her father was capable of any kind of warmth? No, that was a ridiculous thought. Something fishy must have been going on.
The whole team worked through the night, going through all case files, all the evidence from Frederick's secret study, and pouring over the transcripts of the interrogations. They took turns sleeping for a couple hours each on Moody's sofa to refresh.
Eventually, it was Claudia's turn. But she could not sleep. It was not like interrogating her family and leading a search of her childhood home, was something she was used to. But that was not what was troubling her, not really. That gave her a buzz, a sense of purpose. Sure, she was a little worried her father would find a way to weasel out of it. But that was nothing compared to the worry she felt about Sirius.
She was mad at him this morning for leaving. But being angry at Sirius was never an emotion she could sustain for long. When she was alone and exhausted. When she was just that little bit chilly in the middle of the night, all she wanted was for him to hold her. To stroke her hair-
The door to Moody's office cracked open. "I brought you an extra blanket," Oscar whispered when he noticed she was awake.
"Thanks."
He hesitated for a moment. "Any news from Sirius?"
Claudia shifted to buy herself more time to come up with a credible lie. "I'm sure he's going to be back in a few days," she said finally, desperately hoping she was being convincing. "Trust me, he's not the traitor…"
"Fine," Oscar mumbled and placed the blanket slowly over Claudia's legs. "Try to get some rest."
The moment Oscar closed the door, Claudia burst into tears and pulled the blanket over her head to make sure no one else could hear her cry. Lying to Oscar made her feel rotten. But what choice did she have? If she told him the truth, he would raise hell, and send dozens of Hit Wizards after Sirius. And no matter how stupid he had been, whatever Sirius was up to, he must have had a plan. And that plan was not going to benefit from the involvement of Hit Wizards.
Claudia did not get a wink of sleep that night and needed three cups of coffee in the morning just to recover enough energy to be able to drag her heels towards the interrogation room.
Clutching her fourth, she watched as Frederick answered every question Moody threw at him with calm and confidence. Nothing had phased him.
"And that secret chamber in your house?" Moody growled, beginning to show his own frustration.
Frederick shook his head. "I have never seen that before. Neither the room, not the documents you have allegedly found there."
"So how do you explain it?"
"Someone must have planted them to frame me. I am not the only person with access to that house."
Claudia sat up a little straighter. What was he implying? Would he really throw Marcus under the bus just to save his skin? But that particularly unpleasant train of thought was interrupter by a woman, slightly older than Claudia, who was also watching the interrogation.
"I've rarely seen anyone this stoic in an interrogation," she said softly. There was just a hint of a French accent in her voice. And she looked French too. Her curly dark brown hair was tied together in a messy updo, and her skin was of a darker tone also. "It's almost impressive how detached he is."
"Not so impressive if it's your overriding childhood memory," Claudia mumbled in response.
"Oh, you are the daughter!" The woman's eyes lit up. "Tell me, have you ever seen him express empathy of any kind?"
"Who are you?" Claudia asked, somewhat perplexed. She had never seen this woman around the Auror Office, and they did not usually let civilians in here.
"Oh, sorry… I'm Édith," she replied. "Édith Debois. I work in the Mind Room and dabble in muggle psychology. I'm muggle-born and my brother is a psychiatrist, you see." She paused. "Psychiatrist is a doctor specialising in mental health. My brother and I compare notes and occasionally, I advise internal affairs on interrogations. Helping them understand the suspect's motives a little better."
"You work for Agrippa?" Claudia asked.
"Yes…"
Claudia had found that reassuring. "What was your question again?"
"Have you ever seen him express empathy of any kind?"
"No."
"Secretive?"
Claudia smirked. "I found out this year he was married before he married my mother. And until I started working at the Ministry, I didn't even know what his job was."
"Calculating?"
"Oh yes," Claudia sighed. "He made his son and every single one of his friends run around Hogwarts and complete tasks for Voldemort, just so he could win favours with him."
Édith turned back to face the window where the interrogation was taking place. "He is quite charming…"
Claudia's face twisted in disgust. "It seems to be working for some people," she mumbled, remembering Linda. He had affairs… Although I'm not sure it was for love. I'm pretty sure he set up his former lover for a crime he committed."
Édith hummed and kept staring at Frederick.
"Why are you asking all these questions?" Claudia asked.
"I think he's what the muggles would call a psychopath."
"What's that?"
"They tend to have impaired empathy and remorse, and egotistical traits."
"Sounds about right…" Claudia mumbled. "Can I ask you something?"
"Sure."
"Would someone like that have any qualms about framing a family member, let's say their child, for their crimes?"
Édith did not hesitate. "No. There is just no remorse. They would not necessarily have any emotional attachment to the child, so might not see them any differently than an acquaintance, even a stranger."
"Great," Claudia mumbled, suddenly feeling a little sorry for her brother. How did he not see this coming? He should have given up their father when he had a chance.
Soon after that, the interrogation was over. Again, without anything new coming to light. Clearly, being a good liar was a family trait.
The interrogations have taken a toll on everyone. When they assembled in Moody's office again, most slumped to their chairs. Oscar was laying on the floor, staring at the ceiling. And Claudia was curled up at the foot of her desk. Even those who did not ordinarily smoke had a cigarette in their hand. No one wanted to talk.
Primrose brought some sandwiches, and they all munched them in silence. But Claudia was not hungry, so she continued to smoke, staring at her feet. All she could think about was what she just witnessed. How could her father be so calm? Marcus so cowardly? Cassandra so stupid? And as for Claudia herself…
She spent nearly a year on this! Sure, they had a lot of circumstantial evidence, and what they found in the secret study was pretty conclusive. But she was sure her father had something up his sleeve… How else could he be still holding up this well under interrogation? All the while Claudia, and the rest of the team, found themselves crumbling.
She lit up another cigarette, her hands shaking with exhaustion, and tried to wipe her tears away. But to no avail. Suddenly, everything had come crashing down on her. So many people she cared about had died. The Order was a mess. And yet, one of the top Death Eaters barely broke a sweat despite overwhelming evidence against him.
"It's not fair…" she mumbled, unable to keep it inside any longer.
"We have enough, Claudia," Ewan said, trying to reassure her.
"And what good is that?" she barked, finally looking at him. "The war is nearly over. We're swimming against the tide. Even if we do get them, what if Voldemort takes over the Ministry in a week, what then? It's too late… We left it too late."
"The Ministry will not fall that easily," Adebayo tried to reassure her, but Oscar had other ideas.
"Of course, it will!" he hissed, still staring into the ceiling. "We have barely any aurors left. Hit Wizards and patrol are depleted. If they aren't dead, they're under Imperio-"
Everyone felt silent, and one by one, they all turned to Moody, hoping for any kind of reassurance, any kind of wise words.
"What are you looking at me for?" he shrugged. "I want to fucking cry myself. But the only thing we can do is to get that smug bastard into Azkaban. Because if by some miracle the Ministry survives this, we cannot have likes of him around here."
"Hear, hear," Adebayo mumbled.
"Enough of the self-pity, let's get to work," Moody said and stood up. "You-" he pointed at Claudia. "You get something to eat first."
Claudia did force herself to eat some of the sandwiches and, feeling a little better, spent the next two hours staring at the testimonies again. But with every page, her blood pressure was rising.
"Waste of time," she hissed to herself. It was time to try something different.
She waited for the Ministry to get less crowded and after hours, she made her way to the holding cells to pay her brother a visit. She did not tell anyone else. They would have plenty of opportunity to yell at her if her plan failed. It was not difficult to convince the guards to let her in. They were too tired to notice that the suspect had the same family name as the one clearly visible on Claudia's auror badge.
Few deep breaths later, she reached for the handle and opened the door to Marcus' cell. There were no windows, just a metal bed and a bucket. It did not have the same traumatising effect as Azkaban had but smelled just as badly.
Marcus looked up at her but stayed silent, sitting on the bed.
"You must know he's going to throw you under the bus," she began quietly. "He's already started to prepare the ground for it."
Marcus shook his head. "No," he whispered. "All I've ever done was for him…"
"Forgotten you tried to sell him down the river last year? I'm sure he knows. And he has no capacity for forgiveness."
"He doesn't know. He can't know. You don't understand, he'd kill me."
"You have no choice. Unless you speak up now, you're going to Azkaban tomorrow and he walks free."
"You're asking the impossible."
Claudia resisted the urge to yell at him. Fine, he was scared. Fine, their father was a monster… But how could he be so weak? He was her scary big brother after all. One of the strongest and most popular students Slytherin ever had. If only his school gang saw him now… A mere shadow of who Marcus used to be. They would beat the crap out of him!
She dug her fingernails into her palms to control her temper. "Sleep on it." She was almost ready to leave, when she had another thought. "Did he mention Sirius to you? Having talked to him or something?"
"Black?"
"Do you know any other Sirius?" she hissed.
Marcus shook his head. "No. Father clearly doesn't trust me that much..."
"That's because he knows you tried to betray him."
Marcus looked at his sister and swallowed dry. "Claudia- will you really be able to protect me?"
"Unlike father, I'm willing to try…"
Marcus had no response to that.
Claudia snuck back into the office and rolled out one of the Ministry's sleeping bags on the floor of Moody's office. They were all sleeping there that night. Or, in Claudia's case, pretending to sleep while tears rolled down her cheeks. There were only as many hours in the day she could hold it together for, and those hours were depleted.
She rolled up her sleeve to look at her tattoo. The star was still there. At least he was alive.
Gripping her forearm until it hurt, she rubbed the star with her thumb. Wishing, with all her heart, that Sirius could feel just how much she wanted him back. How much she needed him back… With a fleeting kiss on the forearm, she folded it under her head and shut her eyes.
If she got two-hour sleep by the time Moody woke everyone up, it would have been a lot. A mountain of sandwiches (and even more coffee) later, Adebayo went on an errant, and the rest of the team got to work again. Or at least pretending to, until the caffeine kicked in enough for their brains to work.
Just before two o'clock in the afternoon, Crouch strode into their office, wearing a solemn expression.
"I came to tell you all in person," he said. "That it is my view, and the view of the Head Prosecutor."
Claudia swallowed dry… This was it. He was going to tell them the case has collapsed.
Crouch continued. "That with the secret chamber, we have enough to move towards a trial."
Claudia nearly burst into tears, this time with relief. "I think his son will also testify. I'd give him another night in the cells to soften. But he will," she said.
"Helpful," Crouch said with a nod. "But not essential." He looked at his watch. "Today is the thirty-first of October…" He hummed. "The prosecutors will be here little later to take your paperwork and start working up a case. I think trial before Christmas should be possible."
Within the hour, the prosecutors were in the offices of Moody's team taking over all the paperwork and meticulously cataloguing it. It made Claudia feel like a librarian rather than an auror. But maybe, just maybe, there was a little flame of hope in her chest. Crouch agreeing to take the case to trial was good news, however Claudia looked at it. Sure, her father might yet weasel out of it by blaming Marcus. But things were bound to come out that would destroy his reputation and that could only be a good thing. And maybe once her mother is humiliated, she would talk too.
Just as Claudia began to relax, however, Moody stumbled into the office ashen- faced. He pulled up the nearest chair and sat down on it.
Ewan jumped to his feet. "What happened, boss?"
"Adebayo's dead."
"How?" Ewan said so quietly Claudia could barely hear him.
"Just walking on the street," Moody whispered with a shrug. "They picked him off just as he was coming back to the Ministry."
Ewan began to cry and went to give Moody an awkward hug. Even Oscar got a reassuring pat on the back.
But Claudia just stood there. She did not know how to react. All the news did was make her feel numb. So many aurors and Order members died lately… Not that she did not care about Adebayo, she did. He had grown on her. But there was only as many times as one could feel grief with the intensity she felt when Barraclough died. Or Fabian. There were only so many tears one could shed.
That night, once the prosecutors left for the day, Claudia resisted pleas from Oscar and Ewan to stay at theirs. In a way, she wanted to. She hated going to an empty home. But she had this feeling, or maybe it was more of a hope, that tonight might be the night Sirius would finally come home. Maybe James had a chance to talk to him. Maybe all the whispering into the tattoo had worked. Maybe he had seen sense. She also desperately needed access to her batch of sleeping draught, just to shut her brain for a few hours.
Claudia apparated to the street, where the last of the Halloween pumpkins were still burning, and walked up the stairs. She had to stop half-way to catch her breath and give her tired legs a break.
Her heart was pounding when she got to the top.
She stuck a key in the door, shutting her eyes as if that would help bring Sirius back.
But the flat was empty and Claudia burst into tears again. She really thought he would have come home. For a while, she contemplated going to see James again, but he left her cry on the street once before, so what was the point doing it again?
Instead, she took out her notebook and began to scribble with a shaking hand-
'I'm begging you, please come home. I need you. I can't handle this on my own.'
She did not even wait for a response this time. Deep down, she knew it would never come. So, she drank a large glass of whiskey, and an even larger one of her sleeping draught, and collapsed into bed. Mercifully, the combination worked fast and within minutes, she was asleep.
When Claudia finally woke up, the sun was shining through the window. "Shit," she whispered when she saw the clock. It was ten o'clock in the morning!
Once she fully opened her eyes, she finally noticed the rhythmic noise that woke her up. A noise of an owl aggressively tapping on the window. As she crawled towards it to open it, she noticed her left forearm was numb. Must have slept on it funny, she thought.
It proved difficult to untie the message from the owl's leg with one hand, but eventually she managed. It carried a short note from Moody.
'Office, now! No detours.'
"I'm just couple hours late," she growled and rolled out of bed. "Give me a fucking break."
But as she was getting dressed, her mind started to wonder if this was about something other than her lateness. What the fuck could have happened in the few hours she was gone? Has Marcus confessed already? Has her father escaped?
Buttoning her shirt, she noticed her arm was still numb. The star was still where it was supposed to be, at least- But something felt off.
Reluctantly, she pinched the skin under the tattoo.
And felt nothing.
