Author's note: Sorry for the delay in this chapter. I hope the length and content make up for it. Enjoy!
Chapter 32 – An Unexpected Encounter
Professor Keenan felt a mixture of exhaustion and irritation as he gazed down at the miscreants. This was far from what he'd envisioned for the afternoon. This meetup with his friends might have been impromptu, but that didn't mean he hadn't been looking forward to the short break. End of the year was a stressful time for teachers. He'd noticed the students were more restless with the warmer weather and end of the term so close. Still he hadn't expected to have to deal with rule breakers outside the castle.
He'd barely shrugged off his cloak, exchanging only the briefest of pleasantries, when he spotted them – James Potter and Sirius Black. Keenan had looked away and then back at them hoping the stress was making him see things. He even pondered pretending to not have seen them. He might have looked the other way if it had been anyone other than those two boys. They'd given the staff more trouble than any other students; Sirius Black in particular. Rebelliousness among teenagers was common, but these two boys tested the rules to the limit. Even the seasoned Professors had difficulty in correcting their negative behavior. The consequences didn't appear to bother them in the same way as other students.
He explained to his friend Rose, and her brother Julian that he'd just recognized two of his underage students near the bar, and that he needed to have a word with them. He was conscious of the fact that this would be the first time his friends had seen him yield this level of authority.
"Don't be too hard on them, Alex," Julian said looking rather amused at the situation.
Julian didn't know his history with these two boys, and the fact that only severe penalty had some impact on their behavior. Though not as much as the Hogwarts's staff had hoped; it hadn't stopped Sirius Black from being out of bounds while on probation.
Keenan was satisfied to see the boys pale under his unrelenting gaze, shifting uncomfortably in their seats. He would not allow them to talk their way out this.
"So you thought you could sneak into Hogsmeade, and no one would notice?"
"We didn't skip class." It was James Potter that spoke first. His tone was polite and his face earnest.
"And that makes this better? You are out of bounds. You left school grounds without permission. And this rule breaking is in direct violation of Mr. Black's probation!"
At the mention of his name, Sirius Black looked up. His dark eyes flashed with the usual defiance. It was not in the boy's nature to act contrite and ashamed even when caught red-handed.
"We were celebrating," James explained bringing Keenan's attention back on him. "We learned today that Sirius can stay with me over the summer." It was obvious Potter was trying to steer the conversation in a different direction. It was a smart tactic to take…bring this back to the trouble Sirius was having with his family. It was hard not to feel sympathy for a student in Sirius's situation.
"He already knows," Sirius cut in, fiddling with a bottle of butterbeer. It was true as he'd helped test the box of letters Sirius's parents had sent for curses. McGonagall had also communicated to him that she'd be speaking to Sirius shortly.
Unknown to the boys, there had been a contingency plan if the Blacks had refused to let their son stay at the Potters. While Dumbledore would not give Sirius sanctuary at Hogwarts, the Headmaster would also not lock Sirius in a room until his parents came to retrieve him. There were ways to sneak out of the castle, and apparently Black and Potter had already found at least one. Keenan knew it would have likely been his responsibility to get Sirius out of the castle before the Blacks arrived. Though where they'd keep Sirius all summer if the Blacks chose to fully pursue his location had never been answered. Thankfully the Blacks had not forced them into that situation.
Keenan took a deep breath. "I was relieved as anyone to hear the good news. Though I fail to see why this celebrating needed to occur here – outside the castle? Surely you could have commandeered butterbeer or a bottle of fire whiskey from a fellow student?"
"Fire Whiskey?" James looked aghast. "That would be against the rules too, sir."
Keenan was not persuaded by James's mock outrage. "A slap on the wrist in comparison to what is awaiting you."
James frowned, glancing with worry at his best friend. "Surely this isn't that big a deal. Hogsmeade is within walking distance of the castle."
"I assure you it is a big deal." He guessed that James was attempting to seek reassurance that this was not an expulsion worthy misdeed. The punishment would be up to Dumbledore. Black knew that under the terms of his probation further rule breaking would be dealt with more harshly than usual. Sirius had only himself to blame if his actions caused his expulsion. As unlikely as it would be for Dumbledore to expel Sirius, it would do the boys good to worry about potential life changing consequences.
Keenan continued. "While you are at Hogwarts, the staff is responsible for your safety. We can't protect you when we don't know where you are. There are real dangers outside the castle, and some students are at greater risk than others. The safest place in the world is within Hogwarts' walls." Keenan didn't think he needed to elaborate that Sirius Black needed to be more vigilant than most students. He looked at the half consumed butterbeers. "Are you paid up?"
"Yes," Sirius said pushing the bottle he'd been fiddling with towards the middle of the table.
"Ok." Then an idea popped into his head. "Hand me your wands, and then we can go."
Keenan did not often confiscate his students' wands, and in all honesty he didn't enjoy doing so. He was aware it was a common punishment among the elitist pureblood wizard families. A wand was an extension of one's self, and taking it away was supposed to be humiliating and emasculating. Professor Dumbledore discouraged this punishment among the staff, but it was allowed. He felt that something else was needed to get the point across to these particular students. Otherwise it would be like all the other times, he'd march the boys into the Headmasters office, they be admonished, serve their detentions, and no real lesson would be learned. By taking their wands perhaps they'd feel the consequences more keenly.
James Potter looked irritated, but he handed his wand over without a fuss. Sirius though crossed his arms, suspicious and defensive. "Why do you want our wands?"
"Carrying a wand is a privilege, and one you have forfeited by your continuous poor decision making, and disregard for the rules. You may be turning of age next year, but neither of you have shown the maturity that goes along with it!"
For a moment Keenan feared he would have to disarm Sirius by force. Any hope for this to be a positive teaching moment would disappear if it came to that. Finally, Sirius dug into his pocket and rolled the wand across the table.
Keenan snatched it up. "We're going straight to Dumbledore's office. Get up. Come on."
The boys followed his instructions reluctantly. They shuffled to their feet, taking their time to fasten their cloaks. A quick glance outside confirmed the light rain had persisted. He hadn't noticed all the other patrons watching until he herded the boys through the bar. He stopped them at the table where his friends sat. "I'll have to reschedule. I need to get these two back to Hogwarts and deal with it all."
Rose frowned. "Do you have a moment to pop into my father's shop? It's just around the corner. My father would love to see you, and your present is there. Julian forgot to pick it up." The present she was referring was for his birthday, which had fallen last week during OWLs.
"Sorry about that," Julian replied still looking rather amused by the situation, winking at the boys.
Keenan glanced at his charges. He wanted to get them back to the castle as soon as possible, and he could just tell Rose to mail the present. At the same time, the shop wasn't far and letting the boys fret about their fate might do them good.
"Ok, but I can only spare a few minutes."
Sirius walked beside James following Professor Keenan, and his friend. The male friend had stayed behind at the bar. Keenan hadn't bothered to introduce them, so he did not know her name. He squinted up at the sky; the light rain falling down on them barely dotted their cloaks.
Sirius felt uneasy. Professor Keenan's comment about the dangers lurking outside of Hogwarts for him in particular echoed in his mind. Lately Hogwarts hadn't exactly been safe for him. He'd been attacked several times this year; the most recent one that had involved James was still in the forefront of his mind. Right now, he was feeling particularly exposed without his wand. Professor Keenan could not have known that his parents' favorite punishment was locking away his wand during school breaks. His brother had always escaped that particular reprimand even in the rare moments he misbehaved. Sirius had never thought one of his Professors would use that same form of punishment. He hoped this was temporary measure. Sirius grimaced; the Slytherins would mock him endlessly if he had to ask for his wand at the beginning of every lesson.
"Listen, I'll take the blame for the idea," James whispered, quickly seizing a moment that Keenan was distracted by his chatty friend.
It took a moment for Sirius to answer having to change the focus of his thoughts. "I don't think that will help. I did go along with the idea."
"I'll say I forced you."
"How? What did you do? Threaten not to sit with me during lunch?" Sirius cracked a smile. "No one will believe that."
"It might just be enough –"
"To not get me expelled?" Sirius finished.
Just then Professor Keenan turned back to glance at them. "There's to be no talking."
They both fell silent not speaking again the rest of the way. They stopped at a shop called Goblets of Things. It was a store that Sirius had never been inside. It wasn't the type of store that attracted students and was too common for a Black. The woman tried the door, but it was locked. "That's odd…maybe my father is taking a break. Not to worry, I have a key."
She led them inside the store, the bell ringing gently four times as they walked through. It was oddly quiet inside and dark- most of the lights were off, except for several floating candles casting long shadows. Keenan's friend started off towards the interior of the store calling out for her father.
Keenan turned to them with a stern look. "Wait here. Don't touch anything. No talking."
"Yes, sir," James answered.
There was a loud crashing noise, and some shouting. Professor Keenan whipped his wand out peering around them. "Wait outside. Now!"
Keenan didn't wait to see if they'd follow his instructions, instead he dashed off down the aisle and out of sight. James went first toward the door. He jostled the handle, but it wouldn't open.
"It's locked," James informed him.
Sirius tried it himself, but to no avail. They needed their wands or the door key. There was a large bang and then a scream- a woman's scream. The uneasiness he'd felt before intensified. Something was amiss. Another scream – this time louder.
They looked at each other and without discussing it; they started walking further into the store. It appeared they were only confirming Keenan's earlier words about their poor decision making. As sixteen year olds with no wands, they were more of a liability than anything. The aisles were packed with items. There were tall book shelves that reached the ceiling stuffed with odds and ends for sale. They walked under a low hanging chandelier made of animal bones. There was a tower of ornate plates and bowls that swayed dangerously. Many of the items appeared only stable from magic, and Sirius felt that the place was one Finite Incantatem from ascending into chaos.
"Disgruntled customer?" James asked, trying to lighten the situation as their shoes crunched on broken ceramic. Perhaps that's all this was…an angry customer unhappy with a sale? Sirius hoped so. They were getting closer, and they could hear arguing that led to another brief scream.
"Wish we'd brought the Cloak," Sirius whispered. Of course, they hadn't anticipated needing to be invisible. They were confident in their ability to sneak in and out of the castle without the Cloak's help.
"Here." James pushed a metal rod that had been discarded on the floor into Sirius's hands. For himself, James picked up a wooden leg possibly from a chair. As they continued on they held their 'weapons' up. While a wand would have been preferable, the rod felt strong and reliable in his hands, and it gave Sirius more courage as they continued forward.
"Find the intruders!" an older voice said loudly. There was a bright flash of light and suddenly the bookcases around them sprung to life. Sirius was forced to step out of the way so he wouldn't be crushed. He chose left (he'd later realize he should have stepped right), and in a blink of an eye three tall bookcases now separated him and James. Then the bookcases began to move again forcing him further and further to the left, pushing magically the other items in its path. He dropped the metal rod as he backpedaled, running into tables and tripping over a tricycle. He was forced further and further back. When his back hit the wall, he tensed expecting to be crushed to death, but the bookcase came to a firm stop only two centimeter from his face. He was trapped, bruised, but alive. Sirius almost called out to James, but he didn't want to bring unneeded attention to his friend.
There was another flash of light that almost blinded Sirius, and someone gripped his arm harshly, pulling him through the now small gap between the bookcases. He was pushed to the floor, two lit wands in his face. He shielded his eyes with his hands.
"That's an impressive security system you have," a young, drawling male voice said, "but all you've caught is a boy… Who is he?"
"I – I don't know."
Having regained his ability to see, Sirius noted the first voice was masked, but second man was short-statured and elderly; likely the owner of the store and the father of Keenan's friends. And with a jolt, he recognized the black mask, something he'd only seen in the newspaper, as worn only by Death Eaters.
Why were Death Eaters at a thrift shop?
"He came in with your daughter!" The masked figured suddenly peered at him closer. "Wait a second – he looks familiar…" The man straightened up and while Sirius couldn't see his mouth – he could hear the sneer in his voice. "This here is Sirius Black."
"Black?" There was now fear on the older man's face. Sirius supposed he could understand that. Getting the Black's angry didn't usually go well for people.
"Don't worry…this one the one that ran away. Disowned by his family. Isn't that right?"
Sirius glared at the man. It was pointless to deny his identity. He was recognizable. He knew that.
The older man looked nervous. "What should we do with him?" His voice trembled slightly.
"Take him to my Uncle; he'll know what to do."
The masked man grabbed Sirius's wrists and bound them together in front of him. He was handed off to the older man. The owner had surprisingly strong grip and he jostled Sirius towards the back of the store where the register was located. It was even messier in this area, evidence of a physical and magical scuffle by the looks of it.
Another man stood in robes so dark green that it appeared black, hands clasped behind his back. He was masked as well. In his regal robes he looked out of place. Near him on the floor moaning slightly, eyes closed, and unconscious was the woman. Blood streaked down her face, and Sirius realized he was in worse trouble than he'd first thought.
"I bring you Sirius Black." That's when the owner pushed Sirius suddenly forward. As Sirius tumbled to the floor right at the feet of the Death Eater, the older man moving with more agility than his age suggested threw himself on top of his daughter. There was a large pop as the two of them apparated out of the store.
The Death Eater laughed. "He thinks the Dark Lord will forget his betrayal – foolish man." His icy blue eyes bored into Sirius through the holes of the mask. He flicked his wand and the ropes around his hands unwound. "So Sirius Black – what brings you here?"
Sirius rubbed his wrists glaring up at the man. With the wand still trained on him, he didn't dare try to stand. "Shopping."
"So, it's a habit of yours to go shopping in closed shops? Hmm?" The Uncle paused. "I know three other people entered the shop with that man's daughter. You see he helpfully told us that the bell will ring once for every person stepping in. Let's wait while my associates find your friends and we can have a nice long chat about what to do with you."
While the Death Eater had been speaking, Sirius had been carefully feeling for some weapon. As his hands grabbed something sharp, he flung it directly toward the man's face. The man deflected the piece of ceramic with such ease that the slight triumph Sirius had felt was quickly diminished.
The Uncle looked amused. "Was that necessary? We were having a perfectly civil conversation." He pocketed his wand showing he did not see Sirius as any sort of threat. The Death Eater scrutinized him. "Where is your wand?"
"I don't have it with me."
"A wizard without a wand is no better than a Muggle –" The Uncle was cut off, but a large crash and some muffled shouting. "Enough of this. I know how to get your friends to come out of hiding. Crucio!" The man went so quickly from speaking politely to casting one of the Unforgivable Curses that the pain hit Sirius before he could mentally prepare for it.
The pain was unbearable. A white, hot stabbing sensation. Every muscle and nerve called out in distress. It was impossible not to scream.
"Crucio!"
The pain only doubled, consuming his every thought. His arms and legs twitched and jerked as he continued to cry out in agony.
When the pain subsided, he was not aware immediately. He flinched when he felt someone touch his shoulder. He opened his eyes to see the worried face of Professor Keenan. Sirius sat up suddenly, dizziness overcame him. As the room stopped spinning, he spied the Death Eater stunned on the floor. The Uncle's wand lay only centimeters from his outstretched hand.
"What hurts? Anything broken?" Professor Keenan questioned.
Sirius almost laughed because everything hurt. He chose to only answer the second question. "I don't think anything is broken. Did you see James?"
"No…hopefully he's hiding." Professor Keenan did some sort of enchantment that warmed Sirius slightly. He felt a bit stronger, but his body still ached. "Where are Rose and her father? Last I saw she was -"
"Gone. Apparated."
Professor Keenan looked perplexed by this information, but there was no time for explanations.
"Stand up carefully," Keenan instructed. Sirius swayed slightly upon standing, but once he was upright, he felt better. "Take this." Keenan handed him a wand. It wasn't his, but James's. He didn't see the point in saying anything as the Death Eater on the floor was already beginning to stir and his 'friends' were still wandering through the store.
Keenan kicked the Death Eater's wand further away. Then he trained his wand back on the man. "I'll tie him up, and we'll find Potter and get out of-"
"I wouldn't do that if I were you."
Sirius recognized the same drawling voice from earlier. It was the nephew of the knocked out man on the floor. It was a bad sign to see he was carrying the wooden post that James had grabbed earlier as a weapon.
Behind him was another masked man, large and muscular; and dragging James along. James was dumped on the floor like a sack of turnips. James fell hard, unable to fully break his fall with his hands bound. Sirius met his gaze across the room, and it gave him some courage to see the fiery anger in friend's eyes rather than fear. James had already sustained several injuries; his lip was bloodied and a large bruise on his cheek was swelling.
Sirius held his wand out towards the approaching Death Eaters hoping no one noticed the slight shake to his outstretched arm. Keenan kept his wand trained on the Uncle.
"Your quarrel is with the owner of this ship," Keenan stated his voice steady, authoritative. He glanced back and forth between the two Death Eaters and the Uncle comatose. "We have no part in that. We can all leave peacefully."
"No quarrel?" the Nephew repeated with a laugh. "You attacked my Uncle and you were going to tie him up. And this brat –" He paused to lightly kick James. "Came at us with a wooden post. A wizard fighting like a common Muggle!"
The only injury Sirius could see was the large Death Eater's right hand looked slightly swollen.
"Though I do have to admit there is nothing like the satisfaction of flesh hitting flesh." He then kicked James viciously in the stomach. James barely bit back a moan, and Sirius wasn't even aware he'd begun to move forward until he felt Keenan pull him back firmly. He knew it was stupid to go charging in, but how was he supposed to watch them hurt James?
The Nephew turned towards them, his eyes flitting between Professor Keenan and Sirius, before settling on Sirius. "This is exactly what you are going to do. First you will toss me your wands. Then you will get on your knees with your hands behind your head." He waited a moment for them to follow his instructions. He sighed in exasperation. "Or…" He shrugged. "We can always use the curse practice."
The large Death Eater calmly pointed his wand at James, and shouted, "Crucio!"
James wasn't ready to give in; using the reflexes he'd honed from Quidditch, he threw his body to the left. The curse hit the ground right near him, the wooden floor splintering from the impact. Sirius jumped into action first; his first spell went wild, bouncing harmlessly off a mirror.
"Impendienta!" shouted Sirius, stopping the Death Eater in his tracks.
James immediately started scrambling towards them, but the large Death Eater was quicker. A Tripping Jinx sent James tumbling back to the ground.
Sirius sent a protection charm around James. "Protego!"
"Stupefy!" Keenan's stunner caused the large Death Eater to crumble to the floor.
The Nephew (and only awake Death Eater) began to engage Sirius in a duel. A slicing hex missed him by a width of a hair. He was a skilled duelist and Sirius was forced to simply defend himself until Keenan joined in. Out of the corner of his eye, Sirius could see that James had picked himself off the floor again. Instead of moving towards them, James had decided to remove himself from the action. It was a good decision as James was an easy target with his hand still tied.
The advantage was starting to sway in their way. The Nephew was growing tired, his spells sloppier. Sirius was starting to believe they could win this. If only they'd known about the fourth Death Eater in the shadows. If only James had known he was heading straight into his path.
Sirius heard disturbance to his left, but he was too engaged in the fight to look immediately.
"Enough!" The word was bellowed from the shadows, loud enough to get their attention.
Sirius's stomach dropped as a tall, thin figure appeared with James in his grasp. The tall Death Eater had positioned James in front of him as a shield with his wand jabbed at the base of James's neck. There was something else in James's demeanor that hadn't been there before…he looked defeated.
"Enough," the tall Death Eater repeated tightening his hold on James who started to choke until the Death Eater eased off. By then Sirius, Keenan, and the Nephew had all ceased their dueling; though no one lowered their wands. There was a sudden, tense silence as they all appraised the situation. The tall Death Eater moved forward, closer to where his comrade was still laying stunned on the ground. "Drop your wands."
Professor Keenan and Sirius stayed still, wands at the ready.
"Drop your wands," the man repeated, "or I'll start disfiguring this boy…I always like to start with the eyes…" He abruptly let off the pressure on James's throat and moved the wand tip near James's right eye.
"Wait…" Keenan said quickly.
"Drop them!"
"Ok. Ok." Keenan tossed his wand forward.
"Now on your knees. Hands to your head."
Keenan obeyed, lowering to the ground and following instructions.
"You too, boy!"
"Don't listen–" James tried to say, but he was quickly silenced as the Death Eater jabbed James with his wand.
Sirius didn't know what to do. He was exhausted and scared, and he would not save himself if it meant harm would come to James. There was nothing to suggest to them that the Death Eater wouldn't follow through on his threat. Professor Keenan gave him the slightest of nods, so Sirius threw his wand to the side, and then sunk to the ground.
"Very good. Very good," the Nephew stated. "Tie them up and search them."
The tall Death Eater pushed James to the ground before moving forward. Sirius's hands were bound in front of him first before he was roughly searched. He then proceeded to do the same thing with Keenan. And that's when the hidden wand in Keenan's pocket was discovered. Sirius's real wand and the one he'd forgotten about until that very moment. The man grinned at them before chucking the wand into the shadows.
Keenan tried again to diffuse the situation. "We are unarmed. We are no threat to you now."
"Quiet!" the Nephew barked. He first roused the stunned large Death Eater. Upon finding James on the floor beside him, the large Death Eater kicked him in the ribs in retaliation for being cursed. The Nephew ignored this, and proceeded to wake up his Uncle.
The Uncle surveyed the situation slowly and in control. "I see I missed a lot." His eyes swept over to James lying on the floor to Sirius and Professor Keenan on their knees, bound and defenseless. "So you've caught them all?"
"Yes, Uncle. I've taken care of the situation."
The man gave the briefest of nods before striding over to James. He half knelt beside him. He grasped a hold of James's chin as he examined the bruise and other physical damage. He had been roughed up badly. James winced though kept whatever thoughts off his tongue. "Bit heavy handed with this one, nephew," he remarked.
"It was needed, I assure you," the Nephew replied icily.
"Hmm," the Uncle said. "Fleamont Potter's brat. I knew your father at Hogwarts. He was always a fighter. I wouldn't expect anything less from his son." The Uncle flicked his wand and the rope binding James's hands unwound. He stood before offering his hand to James.
James rose to his feet refusing to take the Uncle's hand. The Death Eater placed a hand on the back of James's neck. Then he forced James towards them and to his knees on the other side of Professor Keenan. He didn't bother re-tying James's hands confident he had them under his complete control.
Perhaps Keenan sensed the Uncle as the leader would be the easiest to persuade and the one most likely to listen to reason. "We are not a threat to you. These boys are underage. Let me get them back to Hogwarts safely. Nothing has happened yet that cannot be undone or forgotten. I know the owner of this shop's daughter, but the boys have nothing to do with any of it."
The Uncle considered Keenan's words. "Wrong time? Wrong Place?"
"Yes. Exactly."
"It's not that I don't believe you…"
"Then let us go."
"Let's not get ahead of ourselves. Let's begin with who you are?"
Keenan glared, but he kept his voice as civil as was possible in their current predicament. "I'm a Professor at Hogwarts. I teach Defense Against the Dark Arts."
This elicited a chuckle from the four Death Eaters.
"Really?" the Uncle mocked. "Defense against the Dark Arts? Defense against us?" He gestured around the room. "I hate to state the obvious, but I think you need a bit more practice in the subject. Surname?"
Professor Keenan paused. He must have guessed where this was going. "Keenan. And yes, before you ask, I am Muggleborn."
The large Death Eater hissed and there an abrupt shift in the atmosphere as the room felt suddenly less friendly and colder.
"So we've caught a Mudblood." The Uncle nodded at James. "Scion of generations of blood traitors." And then he moved within inches of Sirius, pushing the tip of his wand to the base of Sirius's neck. Sirius stayed still, staring up at the man with all the defiance he could muster. "The rotten apple of the most Noble and Ancient House."
"Enough of this Uncle. We've been here too long." The Nephew was looked back to the front of the store as if he expected Aurors to come charging through any minute. "Let's be rid of them and go!"
Keenan tried again. "Let the boys go. I'll stay willingly."
"What value would a nobody… a mudblood be to me?" The Uncle stepped back, letting off the pressure on Sirius's throat.
"I've worked closely with Dumbledore for a year. I have valuable information on him."
"An interesting proposal, but I have personal matters that I need to take care of. You see both these boy's fathers have slighted me in the past, and I swore I would repay them one day…and here we are with their sons at my mercy."
Sirius wasn't shocked that his father had enemies. His parents considered themselves practically nobility, and that meant everyone else was below them. Everyone else was meant to show them respect even if their blood was almost as pure. But the Potters? He knew adults weren't perfect and that included James's father, but he had trouble imagining Mr. Potter doing something so terrible that a man would be willing to go as far to revenge against it through his offspring.
Sirius first thought he was imagining it, but there was a faint banging in the background. Then it began to grow louder. Someone was knocking on the front door. The large Death and tall Death Eaters looked at each other uneasily. And then there were two loud pops as they disappeared out of the room. The Uncle did not acknowledge their dismissal. He'd already made clear that their mission for the Dark Lord was over, and this was now personal. A smaller number of Death Eaters was only a positive development, but they were in no better position of escaping.
"I am feeling generous…so I'll allow two of you to live. I'm being more than fair: one act of retribution in exchange for two acts of clemency." The Uncle paced slowly in front of them. "I am giving you a pass, Professor. It will be between your students."
"Why is that?" Keenan questioned. "Afraid someone on your level might fight back successfully?"
The Uncle ignored Keenan's taunt, and he darted his wand between James and Sirius a few times. His wand than settled on James, who flinched slightly. "Who to choose? The beloved son? A loss that might devastate a father to the point of ruin? Or?" His wand then pointed at Sirius, and he stared back at him boldly. "Or the outcast? The son that ran away? A loss felt just as keenly despite the first born being such a disappointment…"
The Death Eater must have sensed what he was thinking. "Yes, Sirius? Something to say?"
"I'd think whatever wrong my father has done would be much worse than Mr. Potter's."
"What's this? Are you volunteering?"
The banging in front of the store was growing louder and more insistent. Had the owner of the shop alerted the Aurors? If so, didn't they realize they were in danger? Why were they still knocking?
"No," James cut in his voice hoarser than usual. "No, he's not."
The Uncle chuckled. "Very valiant of you both. Makes me almost want to reconsider…"
"A mudblood would be a larger knot on your belt."
"You too? I never considered my three hostages to be so eager for death. Still I think it is best that I choose."
"We should go…before we get caught," the Nephew interrupted.
"No, not yet." The Uncle trained his wand back on James and then on to Sirius. Back and forth several times.
A large thud reverberated throughout the room – indicating the door to the store had been broken. The Nephew glanced behind him. "Be safe, Uncle." He disappeared with a pop.
Sirius expected the Uncle to follow. The store had been breached. He'd be caught any moment. Instead the Uncle's wand rested back on James and this time it stayed on him. "I'll tell your father you faced death bravely." Sirius saw James glance at him one last time, and he watched his best friend close his eyes –
"No!" Sirius choked out as he heard Avada Kedavra!
Only then did he see the green light…and it wasn't heading for James, but directly towards him. He couldn't process it; he wasn't even afraid…and then something solid pushed into him. Sirius toppled to the side, pain shooting in his shoulder as he hit the ground.
Sirius pushed himself up with difficulty feeling disoriented and confused. James was beside him, his hands fumbling to untie the rope around Sirius's wrists.
"He's gone," James stated his voice shaky and rough.
Sirius massaged his hands, raw and red from the rope. "How am I still –"
The word alive died on his lips because he noticed the body - right beside him- touching him.
"No!" He pushed away from James to reach over. Rolling the body face up, the lifeless eyes of Professor Keenan stared up at him. The truth was dawning on him. He'd been deliberately pushed out of the way. He'd been pushed out of the path of the Killing Curse.
There was a clamoring of boots and they were surrounded by navy-blue robed Aurors, all shouting at them and pointing their wands threateningly.
"Hands up!"
"Get your hands up!"
Author's note: First of all, thank you for reading this, and please leave a review with your thoughts.
I've known since beginning this story that Professor Keenan would lose his life saving Sirius. I wrote a first draft of it early on in the story. So this chapter has changed a lot over the years. I've rewritten and edited this chapter many times. When it was finally time to post this chapter, I realized it needed more editing. Then I took a break to step back from the chapter, and did more editing. I'm finally satisfied with it, and I'm hoping it meets expectations.