Resolutions

By Neurotica

Twenty-Eight

Is the Future of the Wizarding World in Jeopardy?

Special Correspondent Rita Skeeter Reporting

Following the most recent attack on the Ministry of Magic last week by the group called the Death Eaters and, rumors say, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named himself, questions have arisen as to just how much longer the wizarding world can withstand the attacks. It has been proven time and time again that those with the intentions of keeping us safe are incapable of protecting themselves, let alone the entire magical community.

Minister of Magic Amelia Bones has been rumored to be suffering from an illness that has kept her out of the public eye for months. There are no allowances into her office without submitting to a search—and even once allowed in with the Minister, a team of burly Hit Wizards stands in the shadows, glaring threateningly until the visitor is intimidated into forgetting what they were there for in the first place.

Meanwhile, inside sources report the Auror squads, led by Sirius Black, have fallen into disarray. The younger Aurors are described as inexperienced and immature, and lack the proper training to fight in the war we've found ourselves in the midst of.

But the Aurors aren't the only department within the Ministry who've shown ineptitude in their jobs. Emmeline Lupin, the Head of the Department of Magical Transportation and wife of werewolf Remus Lupin, has disappeared from her post. The official reason for this is "maternity leave"—St. Mungo's Healers say she is pregnant with twins. This reporter, however, wonders if something else is at work here; a reliable Daily Prophet associate received a letter in July stating that Mrs. Lupin was involved in breaking into several Ministry offices—

"Bloody hell," Sirius spat in disgust, tossing the newspaper on to the table as though it had bitten him. "Why in God's name are they going after Emmeline?"

Naomi sighed and shook her head from behind the desk in her classroom. "A lack of anything else to report on? She's an easy target? I don't know... I'm surprised, with the amount of loathing Skeeter holds for you, that she hasn't delved into my past yet."

"Let her try," Sirius growled. "One of these days, I'm going to get her on something, and she won't be able to squirm her way out of it." He glared at the newspaper. "Well, at least she's finally gotten Remus' name right. Shame. Now I don't have any reason to call him Norris."

Christmas holidays were quickly approaching—less than a week left—and along with that came end of term exams. Harry spent as much time as he dared studying while still trying to squeeze a few hours worth of sleep into his day. As was always the case when exams grew nearer, Hermione was a nervous wreck. She was more stressed than Harry had ever seen her before a test, and when he, very stupidly, asked why, she very frantically told him that there were only a few months before graduation and it was absolutely critical that they all score well on N.E.W.T.s in order to get good jobs.

Life after graduation was something Harry was still trying hard not to think about; he'd still not decided whether he wanted to be an Auror or if he'd rather try for another career. His application was still buried somewhere in his trunk and every time he opened the lid, he could almost hear it nagging him to hurry and make a bloody decision. He sometimes wondered if the application hadn't been charmed to nag at him.

But on the afternoon before exams began, no matter how much he knew he should have been studying, Harry positively refused to even think of anything further than the day ahead of him. He, Ron, and Ginny had decided to drag Hermione, literally kicking and screaming, out of the school, and down to Hagrid's for tea. The Head Girl refused to speak to any of her friends, just to Hagrid, for pulling her from her precious studying, but she eventually started to relax, and the fear Harry had for Hermione killing him for having a part in dragging her from her books began to subside.

"So what're your plans for hols, Hagrid?" Ron asked after swallowing a mouthful of fudge.

Harry's eyebrows shot up when he saw the half-giant blush. "'M'goin' down ter France for 'bout a week," Hagrid muttered a bit bashfully.

Harry and Ron exchanged a small grin. "Are you going to visit Madame Maxime?" Ginny asked slyly.

"Maybe," Hagrid replied, his blush showing more prominently. He cleared his throat as his eyes darted to one of his dresser drawers. "Don't you lot have exams ter study for?"

"I've been trying to tell them," Hermione vaguely waved a hand at Harry and Ron, "for days. But that's not important; we didn't know you were still seeing Madame Maxime..."

Hagrid cleared his throat again and shuffled in his chair nervously. "'Course I am… Why wouldn't I?"

Ron shrugged, grinning widely. "You just never mention her."

"What's it matter?" Hagrid asked defensively.

Ginny rolled her eyes. "You're our friend and we're interested in your life. That's why it matters."

"Exactly," Harry said. "So are the two of you serious?"

"Right, that's enough," Hagrid said, standing suddenly and going to the door. "You four have studyin' ter do and it's gettin' late. You should be gettin' back ter the school."

Ron and Harry rolled their eyes at one another as Hermione and Ginny stood. Hagrid held the door open, not looking at any of them as they said their goodbyes and left the hut.

"Why's he so jumpy about Maxime?" Ron asked as they trekked their way back to the castle through the snow. "The last time I ever saw him like that was when we were trying to get information about the Chamber of Secrets from him."

"And even then, he didn't kick us out like that..." Harry said.

"I wonder how much time he's spent with her without our knowing," Ginny wondered aloud. "It's not like we see him much during the summer or when we're on holidays."

"I always thought he was just out on Order business during the summer," Harry said. "And that could be true; he's down in France with Maxime trying to recruit or spy, or whatever."

"Isn't that what he and Maxime were doing when Remus disappeared?" Hermione asked. "Spying on Death Eaters?"

Harry shrugged. "I've heard different stories—by accident, of course," he added at his friends' looks. "I think there was something going on with the giants—Hagrid was trying to get them on our side instead of Voldemort's. Obviously it hasn't worked, since there've been attacks since Remus has been back from France..."

"Well, whatever's going on, I'm happy for Hagrid. He deserves it," Ginny said.

Hermione nodded, then glanced at her watch. "I'm going to go study. We've only got eighteen hours before exams begin—" Harry and Ron groaned. "—and if we want to squeeze dinner and sleep in there, we need to get to work."

Ron looked over at Ginny. "Just be glad you're only a sixth year or you'd be involved in this."

Remus entered Number Twelve with a bag of food Emmeline had desperate cravings for—cantaloupe, chocolate, mayonnaise, pickles, ice cream; and that was just the first meal she ordered. Shuffling on the staircase caught Remus' attention, and when he turned towards the source of the noise, he felt his eyebrows on the rise. Sirius was standing at the base of the stairs in front of his mother's portrait, his arms crossed, a look of deep thought on his face.

"Padfoot..." Remus said carefully, shifting his bag to the other arm. "What are you doing?"

Without looking away from the portrait, Sirius muttered, "There's got to be a way to get her off this bloody wall..." Remus watched as Sirius approached the wall and ran his hand down the side of the black frame.

"Sirius, we've tried everything," Remus said. "Unless you take out the entire wall, you're not going to get rid of her." He instantly regretted his suggestion when his best friend's face lit up just a little. "Sirius, that's not a good idea—"

"Oh, but it's a brilliant idea, my dear Moony," Sirius said, finally turning to face Remus. The werewolf was a tad concerned by the grin spreading across Sirius' face. "I have no idea why I didn't think of it before. You might want to consider going down to the basement unless you want to risk getting hit by pieces of rubble."

Remus contemplated talking Sirius out of whatever he was planning—most likely taking out half of the front of the house—but after a second, he decided it would be better just to move on and find his wife. "I'll be in the kitchen if you need me, Sirius."

Sirius muttered something Remus wasn't sure if he even wanted to hear, so he continued on to the kitchen with his bag of groceries without a backwards glance. He tried not to think about what Sirius was doing or whether the Muggles would be able to hear, see, or feel the inevitable explosion that would come from the front hall. While in the kitchen unloading his grocery bag, he braced himself for the Reductor curse Sirius would undoubtedly use—he had developed an unnatural fondness for the curse—but fifteen minutes later, he still hadn't heard anything. Still rather nervous about going to check on Sirius, he made a pot of tea and sat down at the table and grabbed for the Daily Prophet Sirius had already gotten a hold of—the sections were out of order, and the sports page and crossword puzzles were at the very front. He glanced at Rita Skeeter's column, but ignored the headline—something about the Ministry leading the entire wizarding world to death —

"Hey, you," came a voice from the stairs.

Remus turned and smiled as Emmeline made her way down the stairs. He got up from the table and helped her to a chair. "As happy as I am to see you, darling, what are you doing downstairs?"

She rolled her eyes. "Do you have any idea how boring it is to just sit in bed for days at a time?"

Remus raised an eyebrow. "I've had a lot of experience with bed rest, dear," he said dully. "There have been times that I spent weeks in bed after the full moon."

Emmeline sighed. "Okay, so you have an idea," she said. "But this is different; I feel fine, and I hate lying in while everyone else is up and about and having a good time."

"Who's having a good time around here? I just got home from the store," Remus said.

"Sirius seems to be having fun in the hall. Is there any particular reason we are currently lacking a wall in the front hall?"

Remus groaned. "He actually did it?" He shook his head. "Must've put a silencing charm around the wall... He's trying to take his mother's portrait down," he added at his wife's raised eyebrow. "Like an idiot, I suggested he just take the entire wall out and rebuild it—I didn't think he'd actually do it."

"You've known him for how long and you think he wouldn't take a suggestion like that and run with it? So long as he gets the wall up before the Fidelius charm falls apart, there isn't really any problem."

As if right on cue, Sirius walked down the stairs, whistling happily. He smiled charmingly at the Lupins and went to the stove to pour his own cup of tea before sitting across from them. "What's that Muggle movie where the girl drops a house on the evil witch?"

"The Wizard of Oz?" Emmeline said.

Sirius nodded. "That's the one. Well, the wicked witch is dead and she isn't coming back. And before you ask, Moony, yes, I replaced the wall. Now we can put up pictures of the kids or something."

"I can't say it's not a relief to know that if someone trips in the hallway—" Sirius' cough sounded a lot like 'Tonks', "—she won't be screaming in our ears." Remus shook his head but chuckled. "How did it take us so long to come up with that?"

"No idea, but it was genius." Sirius grinned. "So are we ready to start decorating for Christmas?"

Remus smiled at the look on his best friend's face—he acted like a big kid most of the time, but around Christmas, it was definitely a lot more obvious. "Well, Harry comes home in about three days, so we can start tomorrow." Sirius' face fell. "We've also got to prepare for the Weasleys coming to stay with us. Molly hasn't said anything, but Bill and Charlie asked if they could come for Christmas; they don't think it'd be a good idea for her to stay at the Burrow for her first Christmas without Arthur."

"Oh, right," Sirius muttered. "Almost forgot... Well, we've got plenty of room and it'll be nice to have everyone here again."

"It's going to be strange, though, not having Arthur around while everyone else is here," Emmeline said quietly.

"Everything will be fine," Remus said bracingly. "We just can't let Molly be on her own for too long; she's probably already thinking about it, and she's keeping busy to make everyone think she's fine."

Sirius nodded and looked over at Emmeline, his eyebrows rising. "Aren't you supposed to be on bed rest?"

Emmeline glared at him. "After lunch I will go back to bed. Will that make you two feel better?"

Sirius and Remus looked at one another, then back to Emmeline. "Yes," they said together.

She rolled her eyes. "Gits."

For everyone else in Grimmauld Place, Christmas holidays were starting out quite well. The kids were relieved to be away from school and especially that exams were over for the time being; the adults were having a good time hiding presents and decorating the house. Emmeline was just happy to have more company while she was stuck in bed—Remus was becoming a lot stricter with his wife, especially after she was found trying to clean the library with her wand one afternoon. The only person who wasn't enjoying the holidays was Sirius. He'd been stuck at work twelve hours a day at least picking up assignments from Aurors who'd taken off work for Christmas. Vaguely, he thought he probably should have taken off work too, but responsibility had overcome him and he realized that if he'd gone on holiday like everyone else, nothing would have gotten done until the New Year.

At least I'm not the only prat stuck here... he thought, glancing out his office window. Proudfoot was still working, as were Davies, Savage, and Tonks. But Tonks starts her days off tomorrow. Maybe I should give her an assignment that takes her through Christmas... No, she'd probably kill me if I even suggested it. He sighed. And it would be like Voldemort to start attacking on Christmas Eve—we've already figured out he doesn't take holidays. Maybe he should; it'd do him some good... He raised an eyebrow at himself. What the hell am I thinking? Voldemort on holiday—it's insane.

"Care for some company, Auror Black?"

Sirius looked up and smiled widely. "I could always use the company of two beautiful women," he said, standing and going around his desk. He took Mira from his wife's arms and kissed the baby's head. "What are you two up to?"

Naomi shrugged. "We were doing some Christmas shopping and Mira decided she wanted to see you."

Sirius smirked. "She can't even talk, love."

"Yes, well, I know what my daughter wants," Naomi said, grinning. "How's work coming along?"

"Same old, same old," he responded, going back to his desk and sitting. Naomi sat across from him. "People are reporting Death Eater sightings, we go out there, and realize people are just being paranoid. I think we've only had five legitimate sightings in the past two weeks."

"You say that like you're disappointed."

"Yes and no," Sirius replied, balancing Mira on the desk. "It'd be nice to catch a few more, but I know the next time we get a chance, it'll mean someone's died."

"Wonderful to see you have the Christmas spirit, Sirius," Naomi said flatly. "You've got Bellatrix and Malfoy now, so the more dangerous Death Eaters are behind bars. Now all you really have to deal with are the ones who really don't know what they're doing."

Sirius looked at her darkly. "Those are the ones I'm worried about. They may not know what they're doing most of the time, but they're being led by someone who does know what he's doing. And I guarantee he's training those idiots to do what Bella and Lucius and all the others we've arrested have done."

"When do you get off work?" Naomi asked.

He glanced at his watch. "Soon—within the next hour at least. I hope," he added in a mutter. "Are you two going back home?"

She nodded. "I've got presents to wrap, then I'm going to help Molly with dinner."

A look of bliss appeared on the Auror's face. "Ah, a Molly Weasley patented meal—I never get enough of her cooking."

"We know," Naomi said. "You're the reason the rest of us never get second helpings." Sirius chuckled, smoothing back the short black hair on Mira's head. "We'll let you get back to work and see you when you get home."

"Love you both," he said, kissing his wife and handing Mira over to her. "I'll see you shortly. Don't eat without me."

Naomi winked on her way out of the office.

Not long after his wife left, Sirius decided he was done for the evening. All his paperwork was done—and he'd only whined about having to do it for half an hour, a new personal record—his Aurors were busy with their own work and they'd be finishing soon, there'd been no reports of Death Eater sightings, and no problems that needed to be dealt with. But just as he stepped out of his office, he found that leaving the Ministry for the night would not happen as quickly as he'd hoped.

Rita Skeeter was standing at the opening of Auror Headquarters, being held back by Proudfoot and a few other male Aurors. "Sirius," she gushed, ignoring the look of utter loathing on the Head Auror's face. "It's been so long! I just had to come see you."

"Yeah?" Sirius said, raising an eyebrow. "And how exactly did you get down here?"

Skeeter flashed her gold teeth. "Press privilege," she said dismissively. "But you're not the one who should be asking the questions, I am, and I have many questions for you."

"Is that so?" Sirius said coolly. "Well, then, Rita, ask away. I'm sure my Aurors would love to give you the answers you so desperately search for. Not that anything we say will make it into that atrocity you call a newspaper anyway."

The reporter looked momentarily offended. "My dear Sirius, such hostility and so undeserved... What have I ever done to you?"

Rather than spend the next twelve hours going over exactly what Rita Skeeter had done and said about him, Sirius settled on rolling his eyes. "Ask your questions and be gone, troll." Tonks snickered from behind him and Proudfoot's lips twitched. "What do you want?"

"I was merely curious about how this measly excuse for an Auror squad is supposed to protect our community," Rita asked in a sickeningly sweet voice that reminded Sirius of Delores Umbridge. "I only count twelve of you and such a low number of Aurors couldn't possibly be any match against an army of Death Eaters..."

"Rita," Sirius said with as much patience he could muster—which wasn't saying much. "You've seen time and time again how my Aurors are in action. If the time comes that we need to call people in because of an attack, I assure you there will not be an issue. Now, kindly remove yourself from my offices before I take the liberty of doing it for you."

"Anything you wish, Sirius, but first I must ask why it is that so many of your friends have been rumored to be involved in horrendous crimes, but have escaped arrest," Rita said. "For example, I have it on good authority that your wife has had close ties with—"

"Silencio," Sirius said, his eyes suddenly furious. He allowed Rita to get over the shock of being physically silenced before replacing his wand to his robes and speaking again. "I asked you to remove yourself from my offices, Miss Skeeter. You've failed to cooperate, so now I get to do something I've wanted to do for many years. Proudfoot, Davies, please escort Miss Skeeter to the holding cells for the night. Release her tomorrow morning. Even she should get the pleasure of spending Christmas Eve in whichever way she chooses. And if she ever comes back into Auror Headquarters, she is to be taken to Azkaban for a week."

Proudfoot hid a grin. "You got it, boss," he said in his slightly hoarse voice. "Davies, come on... This way, Miss Skeeter..."

Roars of laughter followed Sirius' story about what took place with Rita Skeeter. Remus was laughing so hard he was crying while Harry, Ginny, and the Weasley boys were doubled over. Molly was looking at Sirius with a look of pride, something he wasn't used to seeing from her, nor was he certain how to handle. Naomi was trying to control her laughter so she wouldn't drop Mira, and Hermione didn't seem to know how to react; though laughter was beginning to win the battle.

"You should've done that years ago," Remus said once his own laughter subsided. "Not necessarily throwing her in the holding cells—though I'm not against your doing that—but the silencing charm. Brilliant, Padfoot."

Sirius grinned. "It was either that or listen to her accuse my family of things she had no idea about. It was all hearsay, even the bits about Naomi."

"I told you it wouldn't take long for her to catch wind of that," Naomi said, still sniggering. "Oh, I wish I'd been there to see it."

"You'll probably get another chance, Naomi," Harry said, wiping tears from his eyes. "Rita Skeeter doesn't learn lessons; she just keeps coming back like some fat, ugly insect... What?" he added at the look on Emmeline's face.

The witch's brow was furrowed in thought, like she was trying to remember something; then she shook her head slowly. "Nothing..." she said quietly. "I just thought I remembered something, but I don't know what it was."

Remus raised his eyebrows.

"And if you say anything about my being tired and worn out, I'm going to hex you," Emmeline said as her husband opened his mouth. He only shrugged and went back to his tea.

"I'd still like to know how she got into the Ministry," Charlie said. "She wouldn't say?"

Sirius shook his head. "All she said was 'press privilege,' which means she snuck in somehow—no reporters are allowed in the Ministry anymore."

"Wouldn't security have stopped her?" Hermione asked. "They couldn't have possibly missed her."

"Unless she was under some sort of disguise," Ginny said. "Maybe she had an Invisibility Cloak."

Remus shook his head. "No, there aren't many disguises in the Ministry that can get through the charms and wards. So if she was under an Invisibility Cloak or something like that, it would have been detected."

"So that would mean it's something that's not simple," Ron said.

"Admirable deduction, little brother," Fred said. "Why are we discussing Rita Skeeter on the eve of Christmas Eve? Shouldn't we be eating, drinking, and being merry?"

Sirius chuckled. "My thoughts exactly. Mister Moony, if you'll be so kind as to grab the drinks, I will be delighted to retrieve the food."

Remus stood by the wall of the kitchen and looked on as his family and friends talked and chatted. Tonks had arrived earlier along with her parents—Ted was spending a lot of time disapproving of Emmeline's being out of bed for such a period, but agreed that she couldn't be forced to stay upstairs while everyone was down there having a jolly old time. He did make her allow him to give her a quick examination, after which he informed her that the twins were still growing just fine and were perfectly healthy.

Sirius was at the table with Bill and Charlie while the two brothers discussed Quidditch—Sirius was busy looking dreamily at his wife and daughter, both of whom were on the kitchen floor with Ginny and Hermione. Harry and Ron were challenging Fred and George to a game of Exploding Snap, and losing dreadfully. Andromeda was supposedly helping Molly with kitchen clean up, but Remus suspected they were too busy talking about Tonks and Charlie to do much cleaning. The only person missing from the group this evening was Bill's fiancée Fleur—she was in France preparing for the wedding, which would take place three days after Christmas. The couple was having the wedding in London, in a secret location only known by wizards—it was the same place Lily and James had had their wedding; it would be interesting to see how Sirius reacted when he realized what the place was.

Christmas would hopefully be quiet that year. There was already a lot going on within Number Twelve without having an attack from Voldemort ruin the mood. According to Sirius, the Death Eaters had been quiet, and Remus hoped, for a change, that wouldn't mean they were planning something. Of course, knowing how the war had gone thus far, he wouldn't get his wish, but it wasn't a complete waste of thought.

"And of course there's the father-to-be, standing all by his lonesome... Again..." Sirius said, grinning at his best friend. "Come on, Mister Moony, join the party for a change. Have a drink, eat some food, correct my poor story telling."

Remus laughed. "That would take all night, Padfoot," he said, joining Sirius, Bill, and Charlie at the table.

"Have you decided on names for the babies, Remus?" Charlie asked, passing the older wizard a glass of wine.

Remus glanced over at Emmeline who was now in deep conversation with Molly and Andromeda. "We've thought up a few things, but we haven't settled completely just yet."

"I still say you should name one of them Sirius," the Head Auror said.

Remus raised an eyebrow. "Why would we do that? I know how badly you were teased because of your name in school; why would I put one of my sons through that misery?" He laughed at the rude gesture his best friend gave him.

"Hey, what d'you reckon Harry's up to?" Bill asked, glancing at the boy in question.

Remus turned to look—Harry was ignoring his game of snap with the other Weasley boys and staring rather openly at Ginny with a look on his face Remus had never seen him with. Harry must have sensed the looks of the other wizards; he glanced over at them, his face turning beet red, and quickly went back to talking with his friends.

Sirius raised an eyebrow, smirking. "If I didn't know any better, Remus, I'd say our boy's fallen in love."

"Tell me you're not just realizing this," Remus said dully. "Harry's been looking at her like that for a long time now."

The smirk faded. "You're lying."

"No, he's not," Charlie said. "I've noticed it too. As have Fred and George... and even Dad, before he passed."

"How'd I possibly miss it?"

Remus snorted. "Sirius, you didn't even know Charlie and Tonks were together until my and Emmeline's wedding. You just don't look hard enough."

Sirius sighed. "Am I really that clueless?"

Unfortunately for him, the level of volume in the kitchen had suddenly disappeared, and everyone heard Sirius' rhetorical question. Being the loving, supportive friends and family they were, they replied with a near collective yes!