Resolutions

By Neurotica

Twenty-Two

A week and a half following the discovery of Minister Bones' involvement in the Ministry office break-ins—investigations were still on-going—Sirius awoke in a very cold sweat, feeling as though he'd been in a continuous battle for months. He glanced over at Naomi still sleeping and slipped out of bed. He went to peek over the bars of Mira's crib to see her still asleep as well, then wandered out into the sitting room of Naomi's private quarters and sat heavily in an armchair, staring blankly at the floor. Not five minutes later, he heard his wife enter the room and saw her sit in front of him on the coffee table.

"You had that dream again."

He slowly looked up at her and nodded.

"Was it the same as the others?"

"Mostly," he said hoarsely, not bothering to clear his throat. "It's still a lot of blurred colors and sounds, but towards the end, it's becoming a lot clearer..." He sighed. "I'm fighting Bellatrix in that chamber Tonks and I went through. She tries to stun me, and I duck, mocking her, telling her she can do better than that. And finally, she does—her next stunner catches me in the chest, and I fall right through that... veil..." The last word was choked. "I can see Harry and Remus before I go through—it's like slow motion. They both look completely terrified—I've never seen either of them look like that. Then everything goes black, and I wake up."

Naomi moved to sit in his lap, wrapping her arms around his neck. "It's only a dream, love," she assured quietly. "You're not going to fall through some tattered curtain and die. You're going to stay with me and watch our daughter grow up beautifully."

"I know it's a dream." Sirius sighed, drawing figures on her leg with his finger. "But I don't understand it. Every time I have it, I wake up feeling like it should've happened, that I shouldn't have lived this long."

Naomi sighed. "I told Remus about your dreams," she said carefully. He looked at her in surprise. "I was worried about you and curious about this veil..."

"And did he know anything about it?"

"No, but in typical Remus-fashion, he looked it up," she answered. "The veil was used by the Wizengamot centuries ago as a death sentence. Anybody who walks through it..."

"Dies," Sirius said very quietly.

She shook her head. "Not exactly. They don't exist in our world anymore and they can't come back, but they're not dead, per se. They're stuck in a sort of limbo where they remain for thousands of years. They don't get the luxury of choosing to come back as ghosts or going to wherever it is people go after they die. All the people they ever loved, everyone they'd hoped to see again once death took them... They never get that chance. They're stuck with only memories of their past life, and eventually, they lose even those."

"So they're stuck in their own personal hell until they go mad?" he said dully. "Sounds like Azkaban..." He hugged her closer. "Naomi, I was so close to walking through that bloody thing that night. If Tonks hadn't been there, I might have. The voices... It was like they were calling to me... I swear I heard Julia at one point. It felt like I was in a trance or something, like I was fulfilling my destiny somehow." He smiled wryly. "I thought I was stronger than to fall for something like that. I'm an Auror for Merlin's sake; I'm supposed to be vigilant about things like that."

"You're not perfect, Sirius," Naomi said. "Remus and Harry can confirm that..." He chuckled a little. "We all have our weaknesses—I'm the perfect example." She lifted her left sleeve, revealing the blackened skull and snake tattooed on her forearm. "What matters is that I've realized my weaknesses, and if I may be so bold, I think I'm a much better person for it. You realized when Tonks pulled you from that veil that it would have been a mistake to go through it, and that is what is important. You didn't go through it, you're still with us, and you're not going anywhere." She kissed him deeply, trying to make him forget about his dream—it mostly worked.

"I'm not going anywhere, you say?" he asked softly when they finished. She nodded. "Well, if you don't mind, I have a very full bladder, and a trip to the restroom may be required—unless you really don't want me to go anywhere…"

She rolled her eyes, chuckling, and removed herself from his lap so he could go to the restroom.

A few days later, Harry, Hermione, and Ron were making their way to Defense from Transfiguration. Professor McGonagall was beginning to teach them about human transfiguration, and she hoped before Christmas holidays, the N.E.W.T. level students would be able to test out their newly learned material on one another.

"Hey, Ron," Harry said quietly as they walked down the corridor. "Have you gotten any further on your Animagus transformation?"

Ron shook his head. "I haven't really worked on it since sometime in June. Maybe when you get back from wherever it is Dumbledore's taking you, you can give me a hand?"

Harry nodded. "Of course. Ginny, don't you need to be getting along to your next class?" he added with a grin, spotting his girlfriend lingering just outside the Defense classroom.

"Thanks, Mum," she replied sarcastically, greeting Harry with a kiss. "In a minute. I was just wondering if you lot have heard anything about Professor Black's lessons for today?"

"No, should we have?" Harry asked, peeking into the room —he couldn't see anything out of the ordinary.

"You're going to love it," she said, grinning. "See you lot at lunch!"

"What is she on about?" Ron asked, looking after his sister as she caught up with a few friends.

"Knowing her, it could be anything," Harry replied, chuckling. He led the way into the classroom, not seeing Naomi anywhere, and went to the front, dropping his schoolbag on the center table. Hermione sat beside him, Ron on her other side. They were relatively early for class—most of the students lingered out in the corridor until the last minute and there was still about fifteen minutes before the lesson began.

After a few minutes' wait, Naomi's office door opened, and the three Gryffindors could hear a booming bark-like laugh. Naomi, grinning broadly winked at them in greeting and turned back to her office, whispering something that made the laughter cease and the laughter's owner cry indignantly. A moment later, Sirius was behind Naomi at the top of the stairs. "I do not snore that bloody loud," he insisted to his wife.

"Oh yes, you do," Harry said, turning his godfather's attention his direction. "What're you doing here? Shouldn't you be at the Ministry?"

"Probably," Sirius said, furrowing his brown thoughtfully. "Actually, I'm taking a day off from the Ministry; after a week and a half working eighteen hour days, I decided I deserved one—"

"To make what would otherwise be a very long-winded excuse," Naomi interrupted, "Sirius has decided to lecture for my classes today."

"Wicked!" Harry and Ron said in unison while Hermione looked eagerly interested. "And it's a double-period, too," Ron added.

Sirius grinned. "Which is why I've got a bit more planned for you lot than I did with the others. Oh, and Naomi, let's wait till the end of the lesson for questions; that blond boy last class wouldn't let me get a whole sentence out before his hand shot up."

"Creevey," Harry said promptly, elbowing Ron as his best friend sniggered into his hand. "He's been following me around since his first year wanting autographs and pictures—it only got worse when his brother Dennis started."

"So Harry Potter's got a fan club? Where can I sign up?" Sirius teased with a grin. Harry made a motion with his hand that made Naomi threaten to take points from Gryffindor. Harry knew she didn't really mean it.

Soon after, the classroom began to fill up, many of the students glancing curiously at Sirius as they took their seats. The Slytherins glared and sneered as they entered and sat at the back of the room.

"Good morning, class," Naomi greeted them. "As you've probably already discovered, we have a guest speaker today. He's been in the Auror program with the Ministry for nearly twenty years, and he's been Head Auror for a little over eleven. Some of you know him better than others, but certainly you all have at least heard his name. I expect you all to give him your full attention." She looked pointedly at the back of the class where Nott and Zabini were whispering conspiratorially. The two boys looked up, sensing the look, and rolled their eyes at their professor. "And now I hand the class over to Head Auror Sirius Black."

All the Gryffindors clapped and cheered, having known Sirius quite well—whenever possible, he joined them during their parties after winning Quidditch matches—the Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs were more polite, and the Slytherins crossed their arms and glared. Sirius only smiled and stood from where he'd been leaning against Naomi's desk. "Thank you, Professor," he said in what Harry knew to be his cheeky tone—Naomi glared. "And good morning to you all. Today I've come to speak to all the Defense Against the Dark Arts classes about the Auror squads, but since the N.E.W.T. class is a double period, I've arranged something a bit different.

"The training an Auror has to go through before he or she qualifies can be very strenuous. It involves physical as well as mental exercises that can and will leave you feeling exhausted. I've arranged to put you through a few of the lighter physical training exercises, to give you an idea of what it takes to make it as an Auror. Now, if you will, I'd like you all to stand so I can give us some space to work." They did, the Slytherins more grudgingly, and with a wave of his wand, Sirius vanished all the desks and chairs. With another wave, five dummies varying in shape and size flew from Naomi's office and positioned themselves before the class.

"These dummies can be set to various speeds and experience levels, depending on the witch or wizard practicing with them. So split up into five groups and line up in front of a dummy—we're going to have a bit of a contest, see who does the best. Your professor has a large block of Honeyduke's finest for the winner."

Harry caught Naomi moving out of the corner of his eye, indeed holding up a very large block of chocolate. He grinned at Sirius. "You stole that from Remus' stash," he whispered as the groups lined up.

Sirius grinned back. "I won't tell if you don't," he said. Harry laughed as he joined Hermione, Ron, and Neville Longbottom in front of a tall, weedy-looking dummy—Harry thought it sort of resembled Nott.

Once all the students were in place, Sirius activated the dummies—they all stood up, holding fake wands. "The dummies are set to perform like in a duel—they'll set their own levels once they get an idea of your personal experience. So the first person in each group step forward—everyone else please back up — and bow to your dummy." Sirius heard Naomi's snort of laughter and turned to grin at her just as she bowed—he glared. The students bowed and the dummies bowed back. At Sirius' order of "Begin!" spells began to fly.

The Head Auror watched very closely—Harry was the first in his group along with Theodore Nott, Dean Thomas, Ernie Macmillan, and Susan Bones (Sirius wondered if she'd heard about her aunt yet). They all did quite well, Sirius thought five minutes later as the next person in each group stepped forward. Harry had, of course, a bit more experience than the others in this, and his skill was only matched, it seemed, by Nott.

Once every student had a chance at their dummy and minor injuries were treated—Neville Longbottom had been hit with a mild burning hex, while Seamus Finnigan was sporting a black eye after his dummy cast a punching jinx—Sirius performed a quick spell on each of the dummies to tell him who had been most accurate with their spells.

"It seems we have a tie," he said, mildly surprised. "Theodore Nott and Harry Potter both achieved ninety-eight percent accuracy with their dummies. Come on up, gentlemen, and claim your prize." To be fair, he split the huge block of Honeyduke's chocolate down the middle and gave one half to each of them. He watched them glare at each other as they walked back to their respective groups of friends.

He sent the dummies back up to Naomi's office and brought back the desks and chairs so the students could sit. "You should all be proud of yourselves—you did exceptionally well in that little exercise, which isn't surprising, considering who your past professors in this class were. So are there any questions?"

The students asked general questions about what it was like to be an Auror and so on, but towards the end, Theodore Nott raised his hand. Sirius barely held back a groan and pointed at the boy to ask his question. "Where'd you get that scar?" Nott asked boldly.

Sirius' hand automatically went up to his neck where the scar he'd received after his duel with Lucius Malfoy was still very prominent. "I got this in battle," he said stiffly.

"With who?" Seamus Finnigan asked. His question had been asked in curiosity rather than coldness, as Nott's had.

"A Death Eater," Sirius answered shortly. "Yes, Hermione?"

"How long does it take to become a qualified Auror, and what other things do you do, besides catching Dark wizards?"

Sirius was silently thankful to Hermione. He really didn't want to get into a discussion about Malfoy with a bunch of Slytherins present.

After a few more questions, Sirius picked up a stack of files on Naomi's desk given to him by McGonagall. "The Ministry is looking for qualified candidates to join the Auror program. If you're interested, speak with your head of house about getting an application. I've already begun going over a few of the applications for those who've submitted them. At the end of the year, once a decision has been reached, I'll contact your head of house to schedule meetings with those who've made it through. In the meantime, those who are studying to become Aurors, keep up on your lessons—each one of them is highly important. For those who are going into other fields, I wish you luck." At that moment the bell rang. "Thank you for a great lesson," Sirius said to them as they picked up their bags and left. "Have a good day."

Naturally, Harry, Ron, and Hermione hung back to congratulate Sirius on a superb lesson. "Not that your lessons aren't superb," Harry added hastily at Naomi's raised eyebrow.

Sirius chuckled. "Well, I'm glad you enjoyed yourselves. And Harry, don't go blabbing to Remus that I stole his chocolate."

"Or if you do, make sure to mention it was for the sake of education," Naomi said. "There's no way he'll be upset about that."

"Don't be so sure," Harry muttered under his breath.

"So Sirius, have you really been looking over Auror applications?" Ron asked, trying to sound casual.

Sirius nodded. "I have," he confirmed solemnly. "And like I told everyone else, keep up with your studies, and your chances of getting into the program are pretty high."

Ron looked surprised. "Really?"

The Auror shrugged. "You didn't do too shabby with that dummy—with a little more work, I think you'd make a pretty decent Auror."

"Thanks," Ron said looking both shocked and pleased.

"What about you, Hermione?" Naomi asked. "I don't think I've heard you say what you want to do after Hogwarts."

"I've thought about becoming a Healer," Hermione said. "Or maybe a job with Gringotts, like Ron's brother Bill."

"Hmm," Sirius said thoughtfully. "I could see you as a curse-breaker or something like that. Then of course, there's Harry. You know, I haven't seen your application yet, mate."

Harry shifted a bit uncomfortably. "Oh, well, I've been busy with one thing or another," he said dismissively.

Sirius nodded slowly. "You do still want to become an Auror, don't you?"

"Yeah," Harry replied. "I just... haven't had time to do the application."

"All right," Sirius said suspiciously. "Well, you only have until the first of January, so I'd get a move on..."

Harry nodded and glanced at his watch. "Well, we should go. Charms next. See you, Sirius, Naomi."

Sirius waved the three Gryffindors out of the room, a pensive look on his face. "What's wrong?" Naomi asked, sitting beside him on her desk.

He shrugged and sighed. "I'm starting to wonder whether he even wants to become an Auror anymore. He's not mentioned it in months, and when I gave him the application over the summer, he didn't seem too enthused about it."

"Would you be disappointed if he decided he wants to do something else?"

"A little, maybe," he admitted. "But it's his decision, and if he doesn't want it, I'm certainly not going to force it on him. It's confusing, though; he's talked about being an Auror since he found out what an Auror was."

Naomi kissed his cheek. "Don't worry over it too much. Come on, we've got a free period, and I want to see my daughter."

Sirius smiled, took his wife's hand, and let her lead him out of the classroom.

Before dinner that night, Harry snuck up to his dorm room to his trunk, searching for two completely unrelated items, one of which was acquired by means of Naomi—she'd used Harry's gold and gone to Hogsmeade for it after she caught him trying to sneak through the statue of the one-eyed humpbacked witch. The other item was his application for the Auror program. It wasn't that he didn't want to be an Auror like his father and godfather, but he was wondering if that was indeed the correct path for him to take. Yes, being an Auror had been the only thing he'd ever seriously considered doing, but he was wondering if there might be something that better suited him. He just wasn't sure if, after the war was ended, he'd still want to be an Auror—though if the war was still going on, being an Auror could be very beneficial to him.

But looking back on everything that's happened to Sirius and the stories I've heard about what my dad went through, do I really want to go through that?

His mind scoffed. You're about to risk your life in an attempt to get rid of Voldemort, and you're worried about a few extra scars?

Fighting Voldemort will only be a one-time occurrence, hopefully. Being an Auror is every day.

Sirius has been looking forward to the day you entered the Auror squads since you said you wanted to join. Do you really want to let him down by telling him you don't want to follow in his footsteps?

Harry sighed, staring at the application. Sirius said he had another two months to get it in, so he could take his time in deciding...

"Harry, are you coming to dinner or not?" Ron shouted up the stairs.

Harry put the application back in his trunk, covering the item Naomi had picked up for him—that was another thing he would have to think on, but it would have to wait until after Halloween at least, after he and Dumbledore returned from their Horcrux hunt.

It'll be a bloody miracle if I make it through this year without dying from stress and/or exhaustion...

"On my way, Ron!" he yelled back, closing his trunk and leaving the dorm.

Sirius entered Remus and Emmeline's guest quarters feeling very thoroughly confused and a tad worried. "Have either of you seen my wife?" he asked after a minute or two of looking around the room. He hadn't seen Naomi since about an hour after dinner. Mira obviously wasn't with her, since his baby girl was asleep in his arms.

"Last I saw her, she was heading to Dumbledore's office," Remus said, glancing at his watch. "That was around six-thirty."

"And what time is it now?"

"Eleven-thirty."

Sirius walked around the sofa and sat in an armchair, arranging Mira into a more comfortable position. "So she's just disappeared?"

"No," Remus said patiently. "She's in Dumbledore's office."

"Why?"

"Couldn't tell you, mate, but he sent her a note and it seemed rather urgent," Remus said. "You'd just left for your patrol around the grounds."

Sirius sighed, now feeling very worried. "He wouldn't ask her to do anything dangerous, would he?"

Emmeline shook her head. "I'm sure it's nothing like that," she said, not looking at all certain. "It's probably just something in relation to her lesson plans. Maybe someone complained that you were in her classes today."

"Maybe," Sirius said faintly, not catching Emmeline's joking tone. Just as he'd made up his mind to burst into Dumbledore's office, the portrait hole opened and Naomi climbed through. Sirius stood slowly, looking at her. She was smiling a little shakily, but looked elated over something. And it looked as though she'd just finished crying. Remus wordlessly took Mira from him, and he met his wife halfway across the room. Before he could say anything to her, she threw her arms around his neck and kissed him—it was quite possibly the best kiss they'd ever shared, second only to the one she'd given him after he'd proposed. He pulled away, panting slightly, some minutes later. "Not that I'm complaining," he said quietly, holding her as tightly as she was him, "but where did that come from?"

She took in a shaky breath and looked around at Remus and Emmeline, both of whom were looking rather amused, and released Sirius from her death grip. "Dumbledore called me to his office this evening," she said quietly, sounding like she was about to burst if she didn't get this out. "He said he'd spoken to Snape yesterday about something related to me."

"What?" Sirius asked in surprised, quite prepared to storm Dumbledore's office if Naomi's next words included anything along the lines of "Lord Voldemort" and/or "mission."

But Naomi didn't have a chance to explain. "You seem different," Remus blurted out suddenly, his eyes slightly narrowed. Sirius looked back to his wife. He couldn't see anything different about her... "Not your hair," Remus went on. A smile began to grow on Naomi's face. "Your eyes look a little bloodshot, but the same as always. You're a tad pale, but I don't think that's it." He sniffed the air in Naomi's general direction. "You don't smell any different…"

Before Sirius could point out how creepy it was for Remus to know what Naomi smelled like, Emmeline gasped. "You're wearing short-sleeved robes!" she exclaimed, her jaw dropping. This would seem like a rather odd observation, except that it was very rare that Naomi showed off her arms—she hadn't done so for sixteen years... Not since—

"Give me your arm," Sirius demanded, reaching for the left one without waiting and turning to over to see the inside. He nearly fell over. "Bloody hell," he breathed, staring wide-eyed at the bare area of skin. "Your Dark Mark is gone!"

Naomi nodded, smiling widely. "Snape told Dumbledore how to get rid of it—he only just discovered it recently." She sounded very choked up. Sirius looked away from her arm to her face and found her eyes were filled with tears. "I never thought I'd get rid of it. I thought I'd have to look at it every day for the rest of my life and have it remind me how stupid I was."

Sirius wrapped her in a tight hug, picked her up, and spun around with her a few times while she cried and laughed at the same time. When he sat her on her feet again, he caught her lips with his, expressing his happiness for her without words. They released each other reluctantly and Remus stood, beaming, handed Mira to Sirius, and gave Naomi his own hug. He kissed her cheek and whispered something in her ear that Sirius and Emmeline couldn't hear, but made her laugh quietly and nod. After hugging Emmeline, Naomi took Mira and sat practically on top of Sirius in the armchair.

"How did he do it?" Emmeline asked. "Did it hurt?"

Naomi nodded as Sirius slid his arm around her waist. "It hurt very badly," she said. "I remember the night I got the Mark, and that was horrible pain too, but this was about ten times worse. Snape was there the whole time and he had me drink about four of the most disgusting potions over a three-hour period—I almost threw them up. Then Dumbledore stood in front of me, tapped his wand to the Mark, and started muttering something—it almost sounded like that spell Emmeline used when she was trying to get the map of Voldemort's hideout to work. And it hurt a lot worse than that did too—I kept trying to pull away, but Dumbledore's got a very strong grip for a man his age. It wasn't just my arm that hurt, either; my entire body burned. All three of you have felt the Cruciatus Curse, right? Well, it was like that, except it lasted about half an hour. By the end, Dumbledore and I were both exhausted. Unfortunately, he wasn't done; he did a dozen other spells, half of which I've never heard in my life—he was making sure there was no more connection between me and Voldemort."

"And is there?" Sirius asked quietly.

Naomi smiled, looking into Mira's sleeping face. "None," she said in slightly shocked happiness. "I'll never feel my arm burn when the Death Eaters meet, and if Voldemort shows up wherever I am, he can't use the Mark to take me anywhere. It's over." Her voice was lost in emotion, and she momentarily buried her face in Mira's hair—Sirius could feel her shoulders shaking.

"Congratulations, Naomi," Remus said, smiling, when she looked back up.

"Thank you," she said quietly. Sirius could tell there was much more she wanted to say to them, but couldn't find the words. "I don't know what I would have done without the three of you," she finally said very quietly, staring at her knee. "I know none of you trusted me at first and I still don't blame you for it; I wouldn't have trusted me, either. But you did let me in eventually, and I'm eternally grateful for that—"

"You don't need to thank us for that, Naomi," Emmeline said. "All three of us treated you horribly for months, because we wouldn't get past what we thought you were to see what you were trying to do for us."

"If anything," Sirius said, "I should be thanking you for giving me the chance to be with you. We'd never have this little angel if you hadn't." He reached over and traced Mira's cheek softly with a finger.

"Looking back on it all, Naomi," Remus said a bit hesitantly. "I do understand why you did it—it was stupid—" Naomi choked out a laugh through her tears, "—but I understand. If I'd been faced with the ultimatum back then of seeing you killed or joining Voldemort, I would've had a difficult time arguing against joining."

"It's just such a relief," Naomi said. "It feels like this huge weight has been lifted off my shoulders—I don't have to be afraid of Mira asking what's on my arm when she's old enough and I don't have to figure out how to explain it to her. And I won't have to watch Sirius cringe every time he looks at my arm when he thinks I'm not paying attention."

Sirius winced. "Sorry," he said, kissing her temple. "I just always thought you were far too beautiful to have something so ugly and evil on your body."

She smiled and kissed him softly on the lips. "Well, now you don't ever have to worry about it again," she said. "And unless you boys are against it, I could really use a strong drink about now."

"I'll take sparkling pumpkin juice if you're ordering," Emmeline said.

Sirius grinned. "Who am I to argue with such beauties? I think a celebration is most definitely in order."

"This weekend, I'm taking you shopping if you're up to it, Em," Naomi said as Remus went to the fireplace to call for a house-elf. "I've got to get a whole new wardrobe now that I can show off my arms again."

"And such lovely arms they are," Sirius said taking her left arm and planting kisses all along the inside of it from her hand to her elbow.

Emmeline rolled her eyes, smiling. "I'd say get a room, but I'd rather you not take mine..."

Sirius looked up and grinned mischievously at her. "There's always the bathroom or the linen closet."

Naomi elbowed him, her eyes dancing. "There'll be time for that later, my love," she whispered suggestively in his ear. His eyes widened as she continued her whispering. "But first, we celebrate," she said, turning back to Remus and Emmeline, leaving Sirius looking rather putout. He tried to argue that drinking was no longer important, but at that moment, a house-elf arrived with firewhiskey and pumpkin juice—he took the glass and gulped it down quickly.

"What'd you say to him?" Remus asked, grinning as he took his own drink.

Naomi grinned back. "Definitely not appropriate for young ears, Lupin."

"And if she told you," Sirius said slightly hoarsely, "I'd have to kill you afterwards."

Remus chuckled, handing Emmeline her pumpkin juice. "I'm sure I've heard it all before anyway. From Emmeline," he added hastily at his wife's and best friend's glares. He held out his glass in a toast a few minutes later once everyone was ready for a refill. "To new beginnings," he said, smiling at Naomi.

She smiled back as she, Sirius and Emmeline raised their own glasses. "New beginnings!"