Sensing Magic
by Teddylonglong

Please refer to chapter 1 for my disclaimer and warnings. Thank you.


Marvolo did not ask. He merely quirked an eyebrow at the elf, and Severus smirked in amusement, when Draht simply popped away.

"The last time he said that, he killed the old coot Rosier." Marvolo's voice was barely above a whisper, followed by a deep sigh. "Do I even want to know?"

"Probably not," Artemis Nott replied, just when one of his elves announced the arrival of Lord Black.

"Bring him here."

With a bow towards his master, the house-elf vanished only to return with Sirius a few minutes later.

"Good evening, or should I rather say good morning?"

"Hello to you, too, Black," Severus replied in a faint attempt to lighten the mood, causing the Auror to nod at him.

"Lord Gaunt, thank you for the information concerning the prisoners. They have all been apprehended and sent back to Azkaban. Except for…" he looked at Bellatrix, and Severus noticed that he firmly kept a hand on his wand, even if it pointed towards the floor, "… Bella."

Marvolo, Severus and Artemis took turns explaining about the witch's earlier questioning under Veritaserum.

"There is a known antidote against Veritaserum. How can you be so sure that she did not take it in advance?" The Auror stared at them in apparent disbelief.

"Do you believe that Malfoy would have told us where to find the escapees if not under the influence of Veritaserum?"

'This will get us nowhere,' Severus thought in annoyance, as the thought of his own, warm bed and Regina's company pressed itself to the forefront of his mind. "Black, if it interests you, we, which means the Weasley twins, my son Harry and I, have developed a neutraliser, an antidote to the antidote against Veritaserum. It nullifies the antidote."

"A neutraliser?" Black's eyes widened with apparent excitement. "Are you sure?"

Severus gave the man a sharp nod.

"Are you willing to provide an adequate number for the Auror division?"

Severus nodded again.

"Bella, will you accompany me to the ministry and spend the rest of the night in a ministry holding cell? I'll see to it that you'll be questioned again in the morning, and then we'll see."

Bellatrix agreed, and everyone bade each other good night and returned to their respective homes.

HP

On Monday morning, the front page of the Daily Prophet was covered with two large photographs. One of them displayed Lucius Malfoy and Dolores Umbridge walking very close to each other through a ministry corridor. The next showed what many wizards and witches recognised as Azkaban.

The various headlines screamed in red letters:
'Escapees apprehended at Malfoy Manor'
'Lucius Malfoy and Dolores Umbridge discovered barely alive'
'Bellatrix Black found innocent'

'On Saturday evening, the Aurors were alerted to the fact that Lucius Malfoy and Dolores Umbridge were guilty of freeing the prisoners of Azkaban, which according to Lord Malfoy had been possible, because Dolores Umbridge, the undersecretary to Minister of Magic, Fudge, was in control of the Dementors.
The prisoners were indeed found at Malfoy Manor; however, Malfoy and his girl-friend, as he stated himself, were absent. Only when the Aurors searched Umbridge's apartment, they found the missing suspects. Apparently, they were taking a shower together, when they were attacked by an unknown force. Both are in critical conditions. We do not know yet what happened and if they will survive it. They have been taken to a secure room in St. Mungo's for treatment. We will of course inform you should we receive further information.'

A few lines further down, another paragraph told the readers about Bellatrix, who had been thoroughly questioned under Veritaserum at the ministry. When her innocence had been proven, Lord Black had resolved her marriage to Rabastan Noname, former Lestrange, and added her back to the Black family.

HP

'Oh right. Now, I know what Dad asked me to keep Draco company at the Gryffindor table this morning,' Harry thought, giving his blond friend a concerned look, when he remembered something. 'Umbridge? Dad, wasn't that the witch in pink robes, who was so nasty, when I attended the Wizengamot, and wanted to kick Lucy and me out?'

'Yes, son. By the way, I just received a letter from Black. The ministry orders 1000 doses of the neutraliser. They pay 100 Galleons per dose, and we can deliver them as we see fit.'

'Oh wow, that's brilliant. Can I begin brewing in our Potions class later on?'

Severus gave him an unobtrusive nod, causing Harry to smile. 'I's so cool that our potions really help people,' he thought. Every weekend, they brewed two or three doses of the wolvescure for the muggle government, and while he did not have as much free time as the other first-years, Harry felt very happy to be able to help people. 'Just like everyone helped me, when I needed it,' he thought, fully contented with his current life.

HP

"Meli?"

"Sirius?"

Sirius let out a deep sigh. "Is it only me, or do you also believe that Dumbledore is nuts?"

"Pardon me?"

Sighing again, Sirius told his wife what had been bothering him ever since he discovered the prisoners at Malfoy manor. "Marvolo really seems to be on our side. Do you believe that he told the truth the whole time?"

"Yes dear. Seeing how he behaved during the Wizengamot meetings and whenever we met him, I think so."

"Why does Dumbledore tell all these things about him then?"

Meli shook her head. "Perhaps, Dumbledore is too fixed on him as his enemy? I am not sure, but I'm not going to become a member of his Order of the Phoenix even when Lily will be older."

Sirius nodded in understanding. "I will quit his chicken order. We should even ask him to find a new place to meet with his followers."

Meli chuckled. "Well, considering that you have allowed Bella to live on the top floor now, it'll be better. He won't believe in her innocence either, and I don't want to see any fights here in our house."

"That's true. I think I'm going to visit my godson and pay the headmaster a visit right away. Why don't you come with me? You could visit Regina, while I talk to Dumbledore."

"Do you think that we're welcome to visit them?" Amelia glanced at her wrist watch. "Oh well, it's an hour before curfew. Let me call Regina and ask."

HP

Ten minutes later, Sirius flooed to the Prince quarters at Hogwarts, closely followed by Amelia who was carrying Baby Lily.

"Hello Amelia, hello Sirius. I'm sorry, but Severus and Harry are still in the lab. At least Harry should be back in about thirty minutes though."

"Then I'll go and visit the headmaster first." Receiving a questioning look from Regina, he explained that they had decided to change sides and wished Dumbledore to find a new place for the meetings of his chicken order.

Regina shook her head in apparent amusement. "First of all, welcome to our side, Amelia and Sirius. Secondly, however, I'd like to ask you to seek Severus' advice as to what to say to Professor Dumbledore first. He knows the situation better than me, but you probably don't want Dumbledore as your enemy."

Sirius nodded in understanding. "It's fine. I won't tell him that we changed sides, just that we don't want the Order in our house anymore."

Little could he know what kind of consequences his actions were going to have.

HP

When Harry returned home from the Potions lab, where he had spent the evening with the twins studying for their mastery, he noticed in surprise that Amelia and Sirius were visiting. He quickly followed Lucy's example of greeting them; however, instead of licking their hands like the canine, he allowed them to carefully hug him without flinching back.

Not daring to ask why they were visiting in the evening of a normal weekday, he listened with interest, when Sirius told him everything about his change of opinion towards Marvolo and Dumbledore.

"I'm sorry for not believing you sooner." He sounded remorseful. "I just told the old coot that he can't use my house for his meetings of the Order of the Phoenix anymore. He didn't take it well." Sirius chuckled. "The windows of the headmaster's office were shaking, and I quickly left, before he could develop any idea of harming me."

Harry nodded in understanding. "Well done, Sirius. I'm happy that you're on our side now."

HP

"I can't believe it." Molly handed the letter from Albus to him. "Sirius kicked the Order out of his house."

Arthur looked at Molly with bewilderment. "Why would he do such a thing?"

"Perhaps, the twins have convinced him to work together with Voldemort?"

Arthur shook his head in annoyance. "He's not Voldemort anymore. You should put a little more trust into our sons. Amelia told me the other day that they, Harry and Severus even brew potions for the muggle government."

"They what?" Molly's eyes narrowed in apparent annoyance, as she summoned a small pile of parchment and a quill from the side board. Apparently noticing his questioning look, she announced, "Anyway, I'm going to write Sirius a Howler."

Arthur gave her the sternest glare he could muster. "You will not do such a thing."

"I will."

"Molly, as the head of House Weasley, I am warning you now."

"He deserves it," Molly replied and set to work.

'That's it,' Arthur thought and without a further word stepped into the fireplace and made his way to his office, even if it was much too early for work.

HP

Arriving at his office, he made himself a strong coffee, before he sat down at his desk and absentmindedly flicked his wand to switch on the screen on the nearest wall. The screen showed all the ministry employees in alphabetical order, and behind their name was a dot displaying a specific colour depending on whether the employee was at home, at work inside the ministry or on duty elsewhere. He absentmindedly thought of Sirius Black, realising that the dot behind his name was red, meaning that he was still at home.

'Of course; who else would come to work as early as me, if only to get away from Molly's shenanigans.'

When the red dot turned green, showing that his colleague was at the ministry now, he played with the thought of seeking him out, not only to ask what had happened between him and Albus out of sheer curiosity, but also to make sure that Molly had not really sent that Howler. As the head of House Weasley, it was his obligation to do something about this kind of behaviour by a member of his family.

HP

He slowly made his way to the Auror division, only to stop dead in his tracks, when a well-known voice sounded all over the corridor.

"Sirius Black, how dare you take away our headquarters? How dare you go against Professor Dumbledore? He's a good man and only has our best interests at heart. You're corrupting my family into following Voldemort. Return control of this dirty snake pit to Professor Dumbledore immediately and find somewhere else to live. We have a right to this house. We cleaned it and got rid of the evil of your family. I expect that you will leave during the next three days."

Letting out a deep sigh, he continued walking. "Sirius," he addressed the man, who was surrounded by his colleagues, who were all laughing as if they found the situation highly amusing. "I am sorry. I take full responsibility for my wife's actions and as the head of House Weasley I apologize and will remove Molly from my family today."

"Arthur, there's no need for such actions, and we all know that you don't condone her sending Howlers to people."

"Thank you, Sirius, but my word stands. Oh well, I suppose I'll have to look for a new place to live."

"I can offer you a room at my house if you don't mind living in the same house as Meli and me as well as Bellatrix Black."

"Oh, I read about her in the Daily Prophet. It's really hard to believe, but I suppose that you have checked what she told you in detail."

"Did you know that your twins together with my godson and Prince developed a neutraliser for the antidote to Veritaserum? They even made a contract with us to sell us as many doses of the potion as they can brew."

Arthur smiled, happily. "In contrary to what Molly uses to say about them, they're sons to be proud of."

"Definitely. Oh well, Arthur, take the Floo to Grimmauld Place and speak with Meli. She's still at home with Lily. I'll call her to inform her to expect you right away."

"I shall take the day off today and head to Gringotts first," Arthur decided, inwardly groaning at the thought of what he had to do.

HP

In the evening, Harry was just brewing the next potion on his list for the mastery together with the twins, when Regina entered the lab.

"Fred and George, Professor McGonagall just called me to tell you that your father is in her office and would like to talk to you. Your siblings have been notified by her house-elf."

The twins lightly bowed their heads in her direction uttering a collective "Thank you," before four eyes looked questioningly at the Potions master.

"Go on. I'll put your potions under a stasis charm. You can continue tomorrow," Severus replied to the unasked question, and the twins dashed away.

"I hope nothing bad happened," Harry said, absentmindedly, as he tried to concentrate on the task at hand.

The twins did not return, before he finished his potion, and when he walked back home together with Severus and Lucy, he thought to Ginny, 'Is everything all right?'

Her response came immediately. 'Ah, Harry. My Dad separated from my Mum, and my brothers are having a big fight in our study room. Could you perhaps join us? Maybe, you can talk some sense into them.'

'I'm not a member of the family, dear, but all right. I'll give it a try.' He quickly explained the matter to his parents, before he popped himself right in front of the first-year study room, leaving Lucy at home, seeing that she was fast asleep on the sofa with her head resting on his mother's lap.

"It's all because you're making deals with You-Know-Who." Ronald was shouting, when Harry entered the room. "There, he's another of You-Know-Who's followers."

"Ronald, please behave yourself." Ginny's voice cut the air. "Neither Harry nor the twins are Death Eaters, and I have attended one of Marvolo's rituals. He's not evil at all. In fact, he was quite brilliant."

"Tell him…"

"… considering that you've got Mum's temperament…"

"… and are equally able to voice your opinion…"

"… and of course…"

"… you're absolutely right."

"Now Ron, as Dad told us that he left the Burrow to Mum, you can go and stay with her during the holidays." Ginny shrugged.

"Even together…"

"… with our most wonderful brother…"

"… Percy," the twins chorused, grinning broadly.

Ronald mumbled something that sounded like "Death Eaters," before he left the room, sending a glare at Ginny and Harry as he went.

"Where is everyone else?" Harry asked in surprise.

Ginny scoffed. "My brothers made such a spectacle that everyone else fled the room an hour ago. It's almost curfew anyway. We better return to the common room, too."

Harry quirked an eyebrow. 'It must be beyond curfew already,' he thought, as he opened the door to step out into the corridor.

From just around the corner, they heard a strict voice. "Twenty points from Hufflepuff, Mr. Weasley, for being out in the halls after curfew."

'Minerva,' Harry realised in shock. 'Ronald will certainly give us out.' He quickly held out his left arm to his friends. "Here, grab my arm, quickly."

An instant later, they were not only invisible, but Harry already popped them right in front of the entrance to the Slytherin common room, where he released them.

"Thank you, Harrykins…"

"… for saving us from an angry lioness."

"Good night, Harry, and thank you very much." Ginny smiled.

"Good night," Harry replied, grinning, as he transformed into his majaroo form and dashed home, much to the siblings' apparent amusement, as he heard them laugh aloud, before the distinctive sound of the portrait to the common room opening penetrated his ears that were especially sensitive in his Animagus form.

HP

Minerva let out a deep sigh, when she bade Oliver Wood good-bye in front of the fifth-year study room and headed towards the headmaster's office. 'I'd rather have tea with Regina, Poppy and Severus,' she thought in annoyance that only intensified, when Ronald Weasley stumbled out of the first-year study room just in front of her. With a glance at her wrist-watch, she confirmed that curfew for the first-years had already commenced.

Around the next corner, she caught up with the boy. "Twenty points from Hufflepuff, Mr. Weasley, for being out in the halls after curfew."

"What about Ginny, Harry and the twins? They're still in the study room, too."

Lacking any better idea, Minerva turned on her heels and stepped into the first-year study room, which to her relief was completely empty.

Glaring at Ronald, she took another ten points from Hufflepuff, 'Sorry Pomona,' before she advised the boy to return to his common room without further delay.

Transforming into her feline form to soothe her mind, she dashed towards the headmaster's office only changing back in front of the annoying busybody of a gargoyle.

HP

"Albus," she greeted the headmaster, doing her best to keep her voice void from the annoyance she felt, as she entered his office.

"Minerva, thank you so much for joining me on this fine evening. Would you care for some fire whisky?"

She glared at the old wizard. "I'd rather appreciate some tea. I still have work to do. Which means that I don't have much time tonight."

Albus nodded in apparent understanding. "Sorry for keeping you, then. I will make it short. Considering that we can't use the Black residence for our Order meetings anymore, I was thinking about using a room in my old home. Do you think that would be appropriate?"

Minerva sighed, knowing that Albus had not entered Dumbledore manor ever since his younger sister Ariana had perished during a quarrel between him and his former lover, Grindelwald. Perhaps, even his brother Aberforth had been involved, too, but as the death of his sister was a taboo topic with Albus, she was not exactly certain.

"Has Aberforth ever checked on the house?"

Albus shrugged. "I think he goes there from time to time to renew the bond with the house-elves, but that's it."

"If there are house-elves, it should be all right. If you wish, I can accompany you there once during the weekend."

"Would you really do that? Thank you so very much. I'd like to go on Saturday morning then, so that we can have an Order meeting on Sunday."

Minerva agreed and quickly finishing her tea excused herself for the night.

HP

On Saturday evening, most of the school gathered in the Great Hall just like on the previous Saturdays, to practise the Patronus charm.

Thinking of Felix, who was getting really fast on tiny feet, and how he had run towards him and Lucy through the herb garden, only to try slinging two small arms around his legs, Harry cast the charm. He did not expect anything but the white mist he always got upon trying to cast the Patronus charm. However, this time, something was different. The mist seemed to slightly take on a corporeal form.

'Is that a dog?' Harry wondered in surprise, just when the mist vanished.

"Harry, that was kind of a figure." Hermione stared at him in apparent amazement.

"Yes, but I'm not sure what it was." Harry felt enthusiastic. Tuning out his seemingly over-excited classmates, he concentrated on the happy feeling he had experienced in the memory of Felix and recast the charm.

A moment later, a dog of a form similar to Lucy's set off and ran all over the Great Hall, closely followed by two monkey Patroni and a barking Lucy. Half-way through the Great Hall, the dog became mistier and finally vanished into thin air, closely followed by the monkeys, leaving a seemingly disappointed Lucy, who let out a small yowl.

"Who managed to cast these Patroni?" Remus came over to the group of first-years in apparent delight.

"The monkeys were ours." For once, the twins spoke together. "And the dog was Harry's."

"Poor Lucy, wanted to play. Sorry Lulu, when we get home later on, I'll transform into my doggy form and play with you."

"Very well done, Messrs. Weasley and Harry. Now, don't cast the charm again too soon. Give your magic time to replenish. Next week, you can try again, and after a few tries, they'll probably become stronger and will manage to run through the Great Hall and then return to you."

"Monkeys?" Harry quirked an eyebrow at the twins, once the professor proceeded to the next group. "How fitting."

"Oh well, can you imagine…"

"… how boring it would be…"

"… if everyone had a canine Patronus?"

"Absolutely," Harry agreed, rolling his eyes. "Are you going to become monkey Animagi as well?"

The twins exchanged a look of apparent excitement. "Oh right, can you teach us how to become an Animagus?"

Harry shrugged. "Why not? Regina, Hermione, Teddy and I are always practising in the evenings, after I'm finished in the lab. Feel free to join us at any time."

"Won't the professor mind?"

"Dad? No, I don't think so. You're in Slytherin anyway. I think he tolerates quite a lot from his Slytherins." Harry grinned, knowingly.

From that time onwards, the twins began to join the first-years and Regina in the Prince quarters after finishing up in Severus' lab. As Harry was already done with his second Animagus form, he often spent some time in his majaroo form for the others to observe and to better get to know their chosen animal. However, at the same time, he began to work on his third Animagus form.

"What is your third form…?

"… Are you going to become a monkey, too…"

"… so we can roam the school as the three monkeys?"

Rolling his eyes at the twins, Harry began to consider the matter. "Well, eventually, I want to become a phoenix, but I wouldn't mind becoming a monkey on the way."

Teddy stared at him in apparent shock. "I hope you're joking. If you need another form, why not become an elf?"

Harry's grin vanished from his face, as he stared at his best friend in shock. 'I hadn't even considered that,' he thought in surprise. 'Would that even be possible?'

"I don't think that'll be possible," he said, lightly, resolving to secretly practise and surprise Teddy if he managed the transformation.