Warning: Character death.
Resolutions
By Neurotica
Forty-One
Over the next few weeks, Harry realized just how attached he'd gotten to Hogwarts. He enjoyed being around Remus and Sirius more often, but they were usually busy at the Ministry or doing something for the Order. Emmeline had returned to work as well, and that only left Naomi to deal with teaching the four Gryffindors what they needed to know for exams and N.E.W.T.s. Luckily, Sirius had contacted Andromeda and she agreed to help with the potions parts of the exams on her off days from her own job.
Whenever his nose wasn't stuck to a book, Harry had to watch Ron glare at Percy every time he walked past. Personally, Harry thought Percy was better off wherever he'd been before—between Fred, George, and Ron, it would be a miracle if Percy made it through the next month without being badly hexed. Ginny had reacted to Percy's return by merely ignoring her older brother altogether. She didn't acknowledge him around the house and she pretended she hadn't heard him when he attempted a conversation with her. The only person who'd welcomed Percy back with open arms had been Mrs. Weasley, and she seemed to have blocked out all the reactions of her other children in regards to him.
None of the underage witches or wizards were permitted outside Number Twelve without an escort, and even then, they weren't allowed to stay out longer than an hour at a time. Flying was strictly forbidden, even in the charmed field Sirius had told Harry about when they'd first come to Grimmauld Place. The kitchen was off limits for long periods of time for Order meetings, and no one saw any reason to tell any of the younger residents what was happening. Fred and George had apparently been inducted into the Order, which surprised Harry and Ron—the twins hadn't even hinted that it'd happened. And even they wouldn't give the "young'uns" any information.
The Daily Prophet was full of articles about Hogwarts closing for days after it had happened. Rita Skeeter reported that she'd known all along that Hogwarts was in danger while Albus Dumbledore was in charge. After reading this article, Sirius had punched a wall. Harry noticed his godfather had a shorter temper than usual these days, and the smallest thing set him off.
Meanwhile, life outside Number Twelve was getting worse. Daily reports of wizard and Muggle deaths had come into the house via Sirius, Remus, and Tonks, who'd started coming by more often. The dementors had come back in droves, Kissing hundreds of people in a few days' time, and the Ministry had no way to drive them off—they seemed resistant to patronuses, something that baffled Remus to no end.
"If this keeps up, there's not going to be anyone left to fight Voldemort," Harry overheard Sirius telling Remus one evening while they were talking in the library. "Nothing we do is working... at all..."
"What about what Mad-Eye told you and Proudfoot? Have those... suggestions been used at all?" Remus asked. Everyone had started speaking like they knew there was an eavesdropper, if for no other reason than they didn't want Harry and his friends to understand what they were discussing.
"No," Sirius said heavily. "I'm trying to avoid it, but it's looking like I won't be able to, doesn't it?"
Harry wondered what it'd been that had made Sirius so reluctant. Normally, he'd do whatever it took to capture Death Eaters. What could Mad-Eye have suggested that Sirius seemed to despise so much?
"What if something I do gets back to Harry? Or Mira?" Sirius asked heavily.
Remus was quiet for a few moments. "They'll understand," he said quietly. "I think it's getting to the point that we're all being forced to do things we wouldn't normally do..." Harry strained his ears, but couldn't hear what Remus said next. "You think I wanted to do any of that?"
"No, of course not," Sirius said quickly.
"Do what you have to do, Sirius, and don't hesitate when the time comes. I know you of all people want Malfoy off the streets, and this may be the only way."
He could hear their footsteps coming nearer to the door, so Harry left quickly after that to avoid being caught eavesdropping by his guardians. He went to the drawing room where Ron, Ginny, and Hermione were passing the time by playing a game of Gobstones, and quickly told them what he'd heard.
"So Mad-Eye's got a weapon that'll take the Death Eaters down, but Sirius doesn't want to use it?" Ron said. "That doesn't make any sense."
"I don't think it's a weapon," Harry said slowly. "Maybe a spell or something, but yeah, he doesn't want anything to do with it by the sound of it."
"Wonder what it is."
"Well, it's like Remus said, isn't it?" Hermione said. "It's gotten to the point that we've all got to do things we'd rather not. I'm sure he didn't want to kill Greyback, but he had to."
Harry nodded. "It wasn't just Greyback he killed, though..." His friends looked at him in question, and he hesitated, not wanting to make Remus out to be a monster. Still, they deserved to know. "Remus and the female werewolves fought the males on the full moon. And according to Remus, none of the males made it out alive."
Ron and Ginny looked surprised, but Hermione nodded. "I read in the Prophet that the Ministry had disposed of a bunch of werewolves, and I'd wondered if Remus had anything to do with it, but I obviously didn't want to ask."
"Something had to be done," Ginny said. "It's not like Remus to just sit around and watch people be hurt." She glanced furtively at Hermione. "And most of the Ministry was too afraid to do anything about it."
"Harry, d'you reckon the Order's worked out who the spy is yet?" Ron asked. "I mean, they've known about it for weeks now, and I'm sure Sirius and Remus told Dumbledore..."
Harry shrugged. "I dunno," he said honestly. "Sirius and Remus won't mention anything associated with the Order to me."
"But you're the one who told them about the spy!" Ron said indignantly. "You should have some involvement..."
"They probably don't want Harry to know more than he has to, Ron," Hermione said patiently. "We already know Voldemort has no problem breaking into his mind, and he's already been possessed once... Maybe Sirius and Remus think that if Voldemort knows Harry knows more about the Order than he should, Voldemort will try and possess him again."
Harry wished Hermione hadn't said this, as Ron was now looking at Harry as though waiting for some sign that Voldemort was inside his best friend's mind. "That's why I'm in Occlumency, isn't it?" Harry asked uncomfortably. "And I'm loads better at it than I was when that happened."
"Let's just drop it, alright?" Ginny said. "No one's being possessed and you need to stop staring at him like that, Ronald," she added to her brother sharply.
"Sorry," Ron muttered to Harry.
"No worries," Harry muttered back. "I only wish we could get out and do something. Even at Hogwarts when security was tighter than it'd ever been, we were allowed to go out for fresh air."
"Well, aren't you and Ron going to the Ministry with Sirius tomorrow?" Hermione asked, giving up on the game they'd been playing and reaching for a book.
"Yes, but like that's going to be any fun," Harry said. "They're doing preliminary interviews for the Auror program. It's going to be two hours in a small room with some old wizard asking boring questions and expecting ten minute long answers."
"And have your been preparing yourselves?" Hermione asked shrewdly.
"What do you think?" Ron asked for a grin. It faded quickly at the look on his girlfriend's face. "Er, maybe we should do some preparation, Harry. Maybe Sirius will give us some help..."
Ginny laughed as Ron pulled Harry from his chair and marched him out of the room to search for Sirius.
Remus' eyes were hurting. He, Naomi, and Emmeline had been discussing matters of the Order for hours now, and he couldn't remember the last time he'd gotten a decent night's sleep. They'd gotten on the subject of the spy Harry had heard Voldemort talking about. None of them could think of anyone within their circle who could have betrayed them. Dumbledore hadn't mentioned it since the first night he'd been told about it, and nobody pressed him for information.
"We've gone through the list of every person who's ever attended an Order meeting, and there's still no hint of who it could be," Emmeline said exhaustedly. "Would anyone really put it past Voldemort that he would let Harry hear that, knowing he would tell us, just to get all of us paranoid?"
"No," Remus said fairly. "But I'm not sure that's what it was. Harry said Voldemort didn't even seem to know he was there until the very end. Everything else Voldemort said was accurate, so I think we should treat this like it is true."
"You think I'm not taking this seriously?" Emmeline asked crossly. "My children are in this house, and there's a chance that one of our supposed friends is actually working for Voldemort."
Remus closed his eyes tightly, just as he'd been forced to do several times during that discussion. "Emmeline, I'm not trying to pick a fight with you," he said calmly. "I'm just saying we need to be well aware of the dangers, and to treat everyone who comes into this house with caution."
"We should probably talk about something else," Naomi said quietly.
"What else is there to talk about?" Remus asked. "We've exhausted every subject there is ten times over."
"We could talk about Mira crawling for the first time," Naomi said, smiling. "Of course she went right to Harry, but still..."
"Like that's much of a surprise," Emmeline said, smiling as well. "She adores Harry."
"Sirius seemed a bit putout by it," Remus remembered, grinning. "Then he spent the next two hours trying to get her to crawl to him. I think she teases him on purpose. She still hasn't done anymore accidental magic."
"She will," Naomi said certainly. "When she's ready, she will."
"Evening, all," said a bright voice entering the kitchen. The three of them turned to find Charlie and Tonks looking just as tired as everyone else was, but oddly happy. "It's a wonderful day, isn't it?" Tonks went on, beaming.
Remus raised an eyebrow. "Have you been hit by the Imperius Curse?" he asked cautiously. "Because anyone who's been in the country over the last month knows it isn't a wonderful day."
Charlie laughed. "No, no. Nothing like that," he said, seeming happier than anyone had a right to these days.
Remus saw something sparkle and looked around for the source. When he found it, he hid a smile, deciding to let the news be given at some point in the next five minutes instead of ruining it. Everyone deserved the right to be happy, and Remus wasn't going to ruin their moment.
"We have a bit of an announcement to make," Charlie said, beaming all around as he put an arm around Tonks' shoulders.
"We're getting married!" Tonks finally blurted out, obviously unable to hold it in any longer.
Remus got away from the happy squeals of Naomi and Emmeline and went over to Charlie, who was watching the women happily. "Congratulations," he said to the younger wizard, shaking his hand. "I wondered when it would finally happen."
Charlie shrugged. "It wasn't really a question of if, you know, but when. There's been so much going on, and I wasn't sure if it was really a good time, what with McGonagall and Hogwarts...… And my dad..."
Remus smiled understandingly. "Well, I think I can speak truthfully when I say Arthur would be very proud of you, Charlie. Have you told your mother yet?"
"No, not yet. It's only just happened, and Bill says she and Percy went back to the Burrow to pick up his things," Charlie said, the happy look on his face fading.
"What do you think about this Percy issue? I haven't asked you about it," Remus said.
Charlie shrugged again, an unusually ugly look on his face. "I think I've convinced myself he's been Confunded," he said. "I can't think of anything else that would've made Percy do what he did or say the things he said." Remus was sure Charlie was thinking about how Percy had called his parents ignorant for their views on good and evil. "We're watching him closely, Bill and me, and Fred and George of course, and if he slips up once..."
Remus didn't need Charlie to finish the sentence to know Percy wouldn't make it away from the Weasley brothers if they suspected he was trying to fool their mother. "Well, don't dwell on all that tonight," Remus advised. "Tonight is one for celebrating. I'll round everyone up for a late night party. I think everyone deserves a little fun after the last few weeks."
Charlie and Tonks' engagement party went on well into the night; the lights didn't go out until near two-thirty in the morning. As a result, there wasn't much sleep for most of the residents of Number Twelve, and those who'd had to get up early were falling asleep over their breakfast. Ron and Harry were among them, both trying to stop yawning long enough to eat their eggs and bacon. Remus was able to read his morning paper in silence, though he didn't get farther than the front page headline before choking on his tea and startling everyone awake.
"That's horrible," he breathed, staring at the picture.
"What?" everyone asked sleepily.
"Muggle parliament was blown up last night," Remus said slowly, reading through the article quickly. "The Muggles think it was just a Muggle terrorist with a bomb, which fits in nicely with the other explanations the Ministry has given them about what's been happening."
"And what was it really?" Sirius asked.
"Well, I'd venture to guess that it was a very powerful Reductor curse," Remus said, passing the paper to Emmeline. "There've been no traces of a bomb, of course, and the Ministry's assuming Death Eater involvement."
Tonks snorted into her oatmeal. "Assuming Death Eater involvement?" she repeated with a dark laugh. "They're joking, right? Who else would have done that?"
Remus could only shrug.
After breakfast, the group heading to the Ministry pulled on their cloaks and walked out onto the empty streets of Grimmauld Place.
"Right," Sirius said after an initial look around the neighborhood to make sure there was nobody watching them. "Ron, Harry, we're Apparating to the Ministry. Only we can't go in directly. There's an alleyway right next to the Ministry—that's where we have to go. Can you two get there without getting lost?"
Harry and Ron nodded.
"All right. Nobody leaves the alleyway until we're all there," he told the group. "See you lot in a minute." A second later, with one last glance at Harry, he was gone with a soft pop.
"You two go next," Remus said to the younger wizards. "We'll be right behind you."
Harry breathed in deeply, closed his eyes in concentration, and felt the familiar sensations of Apparition, then the street disappeared and he reappeared in a dimly lit alleyway. A pair of hands pulled him away quickly and Ron appeared next. Harry looked up and found Sirius not watching the alley, but looking out on the London streets. In the near distance, Harry could see crowds of people he assumed were Muggle police searching for the source of the explosion in the parliament building. There was still a good bit of smoke rising into the air.
Once everyone had arrived, Sirius tore his eyes from the street and led the group to the telephone booth Harry knew to be the Ministry visitors' entrance. They took the journey underground in two groups. Harry went with Sirius, Remus, and Emmeline, and Ron with Tonks and Charlie.
"Pin those to your robes, boys," Remus said, nodding at the small silver badges Ron and Harry each held. "Also, take out your wands and Apparition licenses. You'll need to show them to security." They both did as told and followed Sirius and Remus to the security desk. Emmeline, Charlie, and Tonks went on while they waited, wishing Harry and Ron luck during their interviews.
"Morning, Eric," Sirius said when they approached the desk.
Once Eric the security wizard finished checking the boys' identification, wands, and running a secrecy sensor around them, he nodded for them to move on, his brow furrowed as he looked more closely at Harry. Sirius glared at him and stepped between the wizard and his godson. "Mind your business, Eric, not ours," Sirius told him coolly. They passed through the golden gates, Sirius hand still on Harry's shoulder, and entered the lifts. When they reached level two, Sirius, Ron, and Harry got off, waving to Remus.
"Good luck," Remus said, waving back with a smile and a wink at Sirius.
"So what now?" Harry asked his godfather as he led him and Ron to Auror Headquarters.
"Well, you've got to wait for your turn to be interviewed," Sirius said. "There's a small waiting room where you'll sit with the other applicants until your name is called."
"Morning, Sirius," a few Aurors called once they entered the doors. Sirius acknowledged them with a wave.
"There aren't many applicants this year, only ten or fifteen, so it won't be that long a wait. Remus and I will take you back to Number Twelve around lunchtime, which is probably when you'll both be finished anyway."
"No, that's not long at all," Ron muttered.
Sirius looked at him apologetically. He opened a door in the very back of headquarters and gestured for them to enter. "Come see me when you've finished, all right?"
Harry nodded. "See you."
Once Sirius closed the door Harry turned around and indeed saw about a dozen other people in the room. Sitting in a corner was someone he and Ron knew well. "Neville!" Ron said, sounding surprised. "What're you doing here?"
"Same thing you are," Neville said, grinning. "I wondered if someone I knew would show up soon."
Harry looked around and found a few of the others were people in their year he only knew by sight. He recognized one or two of them to be from Ravenclaw, a Hufflepuff, and to Harry's surprise, a Slytherin he'd never spoken to. The rest must have already left school—Harry didn't know them at all.
"Who's doing the interviews, any idea?" Ron asked Neville.
Neville shook his head. "None," he replied. "I thought Harry might know."
"Nope," Harry said. "Sirius wouldn't tell me a thing when I asked him."
"Well, since we're going to be here a while, good thing I brought Exploding Snap cards," Ron said, pulling the deck from the pocket of his robes. "Want to play, Neville?"
The three boys played cards for nearly an hour and a half before the first person was called, and every time someone made the cards explode, they received glares from the other people in the room, some of whom had brought books to read.
Neville was the first of them to be called, three hours after they arrived, and was led nervously out of the room by a thin blonde witch Ron enjoyed looking at whenever she'd come into and left the room. "See you, then," Neville said, standing from the floor where they were playing and wiping his sweaty palms on his robes.
"Good luck," Harry and Ron called to him before the door closed.
"So why do we have to sit here for so long?" Ron asked. "It can't take that long for an interview."
"They want to see how you handle nerves," a wizard in the corner said impatiently. He looked only a few years older than Harry and Ron. "They're watching us."
Harry and Ron looked at each other, then around the room, as though expecting to see a pair of eyes in the wall. When they didn't find anything, they looked at each other again, shrugged, and went back to their card game.
It was another hour before the witch returned again. "Harry Potter," she said kindly, smiling as Harry stood. "Come with me, please."
"Have fun, mate," Ron said. "See you in a bit."
Harry gave him a wave and followed the witch down a few doors. "In there," she said brightly. "Good luck."
"Er, thanks," Harry said, opening the door expecting to see an old wizard sitting at the table. Instead he saw a grinning wizard with long black hair. "Sirius! What're you doing here?"
"I work here," Sirius said simply. "The wizard who was supposed to do your interview owled in sick, so here I am. Surprise!"
Harry laughed and sat down. "Brilliant. Did you do Neville's interview as well?"
"No, that was Mad-Eye, poor kid," Sirius said. "I'm sure he did fine." He looked over Harry's shoulder. "Oy, Proudfoot! Hang on a minute, Harry."
Harry watched with a furrowed brow as his godfather stood up and hurried out of the long room to stop his second-in-command.
"Is everything ready for tonight?" Sirius asked him in a quiet tone. Harry strained his ears.
"Yeah, but no one seems too keen on joining us, so it's going to be just you and me," Proudfoot said, glancing at Harry. Harry turned around quickly.
Sirius turned to look as well before speaking to Proudfoot again. "Well, let's not tell the wives, then, eh?"
Proudfoot laughed. "Right," he said. "Well, I'll let you get back to your interview. Hello, Harry," he added a bit louder.
Harry turned and waved brightly at him.
"Get to work," Sirius said. "I'll get with you once I finish with the applicants."
Proudfoot went on his way and Sirius reentered the room, closing the door this time. "I'm not telling you, so don't ask," he said before Harry even opened his mouth.
Harry sighed. "Fine," he grumbled.
"Okay, Mister Potter, on with the interview," Sirius said, earning a glare from Harry. "Keep in mind I didn't write these questions—they're standard for this interview, and every Auror here was asked them during their preliminary." Harry nodded as Sirius arranged a blank piece of parchment and a quill to write as they talked.
"Applicant name, Harry Potter," Sirius said briskly—the quill began to move. "Age seventeen years, final year of Hogwarts School. First question, Harry: Please give me a brief overview of your life until now."
Harry stared at him. Sirius looked back amusedly. "You're kidding, right?"
Sirius rolled his eyes. "Strike that last," he said to the quill. The quill scratched out a line and paused over the parchment. "No, I'm not kidding."
"Sirius, you know more about my life than I do!"
"True, but the people who have to help make a decision on whether you make it into the Auror program don't. Leave out all the Voldemort and prophecy bits. Be sure to mention your dad..." Sirius sighed and looked at the quill again. "Continue..." The quill waited for Harry to begin talking and started taking down every word he said.
Later that night, Harry and Ron were sitting down to dinner with the rest of the house when Sirius and Remus finally came in. The two younger wizards immediately began to annoy Sirius into telling them how they did in their interviews.
"Could you at least let me take my cloak off?" Sirius asked with a grin. He did and sat down at the table. Harry and Ron sat down on either side of him, staring at him.
"Leave him alone," Mrs. Weasley chided them, handing Sirius a plate of food. "He'll tell you when he's ready."
"You do realize, Molly, that Sirius is only holding out to see how long Harry and Ron can go without going crazy," Remus said, kissing Emmeline.
Harry groaned loudly. "Come on, Sirius," he said, tugging on his godfather's arm, knowing immediately he was acting childish.
"All right, all right," Sirius said, laughing as he put his fork down again. "You both did excellent work. Ron, Mad-Eye spoke very highly of you. In fact," he added, pausing for effect as Ron leaned forward eagerly, "he's decided to sponsor you."
"Ron, that's wonderful!" Mrs. Weasley said proudly. Tonks' jaw dropped.
"Sponsor me?" Ron said with a confused look on his face.
Remus smiled. "Every time Aurors are accepted to the program, another Auror sponsors an applicant. The Auror trainee is partnered with his sponsor until he completes the program. Mad-Eye only accepts the best for his sponsorship."
"I thought he'd pick Neville Longbottom," Sirius said. "Mad-Eye sponsored his father. Sponsored James, too, now I think about it."
Harry grinned. "Who sponsored you?" he asked Sirius.
"Naomi's dad, actually," Sirius replied. "He was one of the best. He and Mister Potter were partners for years before Mister Potter was killed."
"Should we bother asking who you'll be sponsoring this year, Sirius?" Naomi asked.
Sirius grinned and draped an arm around Harry. "Why, my godson, of course. Everyone wanted him, naturally, but I thought it best that he be paired with someone who's actually going to teach him something instead of staring at his scar."
"What about you, Tonks? Who'd you take?" Ginny asked.
"Neville," Tonks said. "Harry and Ron were both already taken before Sirius and Mad-Eye even walked in the room, so Neville seemed to be the most levelheaded of the rest."
"You'll like him," Harry said, nodding, as he finally started on his dinner. "He used to be really nervous and twitchy, but I don't know, he's changed a lot in the last few years."
"Neville's a good kid," Remus agreed. "I always knew he'd turn out well, once his grandmother backed off a little."
"As horrible as it is to say it," Sirius said grimly. "It was probably that last attack on St. Mungo's that snapped Neville out of it. Mad-Eye said he'd mentioned his parents' deaths as a reason he wanted to be an Auror in his interview." He glanced at his watch and jumped a bit. "Well, I need to be going. Proudfoot and I are working late tonight."
Remus looked at him oddly; obviously, Sirius hadn't mentioned this to him. "You're not even going to finish your dinner?"
Sirius grabbed a dinner roll, stuffed it in his mouth, waved, and left the kitchen.
Naomi stared after him. "Why is he working late?" she asked, looking over at Remus. "Did he tell you?"
Remus shook his head. "No," he replied. "But they're probably just working out where the Death Eaters are..."
Two Aurors under Invisibility Cloaks slowly made their way through thick brush, trying not to make too much noise, but knowing they weren't very successful. A hand made its way out of one of the cloaks and signaled to the other Auror that they'd found their lookout point. After a few moments of stepping on one another's feet and toes, the two Aurors arranged themselves behind a high bush and pulled off their cloaks.
"I think you broke my fingers," Sirius whispered to his partner, gently feeling the hand Proudfoot had stepped on.
"Sorry about that," Proudfoot whispered back. "I'd heal them, but it'd give us away. Did you bring your Omnioculars?"
"Couldn't find mine so I nicked Remus'," Sirius said. "Now I think about it, I probably should have asked him to come along... we'll probably need backup at some point."
Proudfoot murmured his agreement and took out his own Omnioculars, looking out over the dark lawn. "You're sure he's going to be here?"
"As sure as I am about anything else," Sirius replied.
"And why haven't we done this before? It's kind of obvious he'd come here, don't you think?"
"Yeah, which is why I never thought of it. He'll know we've got something monitoring who comes and goes from here, and he'd know this would be the first place we looked, so I never thought he'd be stupid enough to come back."
"Turns out we're the stupid ones," Proudfoot said. "We should have staked this place out months ago."
"Months ago, he was in Azkaban."
The two Aurors sat in silence, waiting for some sign of life within Malfoy Manor, and near midnight, they wondered if they'd picked the wrong night for a stakeout. Sirius hadn't even really planned out what they would do if they did see Malfoy or some other Death Eater. He knew what he wanted to do, but doubted Proudfoot would let him get away with it. Then again, Proudfoot wanted to do the same things, so maybe Sirius would get his wish.
Around two in the morning, Sirius began to fall asleep, but was woken quickly when Proudfoot elbowed him in the shoulder. "What's that?" Proudfoot whispered, pointing at the front driveway.
Sirius raised his Omnioculars to his eyes, adjusted them a little for night vision, and found what his partner was looking at. Two figures had just Apparated onto the grounds: one was a hooded person, the other what looked to be a dog. With a raised eyebrow, Sirius looked at it closer. It was mostly black but with a blond, almost white stripe running from its nose to its bushy tail. Its ears were larger than a dog's and even from this distance, Sirius could see the ears twitching, listening for anyone around it.
Sirius pointed his wand at the animal and robed figure, and muttered very quietly, "Muffliato."
Proudfoot looked at him in question.
"Making sure they can't hear us," Sirius explained. "You reckon that's really a dog?"
"Not a dog," Proudfoot said at once. "That's a jackal, I'm sure of it."
"Okay. Do you reckon that's really a jackal, then?"
"Don't know. Could be, but why would someone bring one here?"
Just as they looked back, the jackal began to change and Sirius felt like he'd been slapped in the face. It was Lucius Malfoy. "He's a bloody Animagus!" he whispered loudly. "Well, that explains everything, I guess..."
Proudfoot was still staring, openmouthed. "So you were right... An Animagus can break out of Azkaban..."
Grinning widely for some reason, Sirius cast a Disillusionment spell on himself and stood. Proudfoot almost immediately pulled him back down. "Don't you remember what happened last time you did that?" he asked.
Sirius rolled his eyes. "Fine, how do we get them, then?"
"I say we just start throwing spells," Proudfoot said. "I'm in the mood for a fight, how about you?"
Chuckling, Sirius shook his head. "I knew I chose you as second-in-command for a reason," he said. "We should probably go for them before they head inside, so they don't have anywhere to hide."
After a count of three, Sirius and Proudfoot stood in unison and shot stunning spells at Malfoy and the other Death Eater as they started up the stairs to the front door. Both spun around and fired back, missing the Aurors by inches.
"COLLOPORTUS!" Sirius shouted, his wand at the door to lock it. "IMPEDIMENTA!" His spell hit Malfoy, knocking him backwards into a tall white pillar outside the door.
"CRUCIO!" Malfoy shot back. Sirius dodged it easily. "DIFFINDO!"
The spell caught Sirius' shoulder, slicing it open. Sirius yelled in pain and frustration, and started firing spells at random as he and Proudfoot broke through the bushes to better face the Death Eaters. "Nice night, isn't it, Lucius?" Sirius asked loudly, ducking a stunning spell.
"Quite, Black," Lucius said back. "Almost as nice as when I met with Minerva McGonagall. PROTEGO!"
Sirius growled as his Reductor Curse missed its target. "STUPEFY!"
The two wizards were dueling so fiercely that their spells lit their surroundings almost as bright as daytime. Neither of them paid any attention to Proudfoot and the other Death Eater. Sirius used every spell he could think of, hitting Malfoy with only half of them—they'd both become so schooled in the other's fighting technique that they could almost read each other's mind. Sirius decided to break the pattern, be more unpredictable than usual. He began to cast a tickling charm, assuming Malfoy wouldn't think he would use such a harmless spell, when he was lifted off his feet and thrown ten feet away. He looked up, ignoring the pain in his back and head, and saw the spell hadn't come from Malfoy, but the other Death Eater.
"Get up, Black!" Malfoy shouted. "Face me like a man!"
Sirius tried to stand and found he couldn't move his legs. Beginning to panic, Sirius aimed his wand at the house behind Malfoy and shouted, "REDUCTO!" Within seconds, the walls and windows of the house exploded and large pieces of rubble began to fall, trapping Malfoy to the ground. The Death Eater's hand and wand were still visible, and Sirius wasn't sure if Malfoy was still alive, so he was hesitant to get any nearer.
With a final yell of "PETRIFICUS TOTALUS!" Proudfoot finished with his Death Eater and ran over to Sirius. "You all right?" he asked.
"Dunno," Sirius replied. "My legs feel weird... I can't move them..."
"Where's Malfoy?"
Sirius pointed his wand at the pile of rubble. "Under there," he said.
"You think he's dead?"
"Well, those weren't tiny pebbles that fell on him, so I'm assuming he is... But I'm not putting anything past him or Voldemort." Sirius sat up to face the pile better. "Look, his hand's twitching..."
"Bloody hell, how'd he live through that?" Proudfoot asked in amazement. "Should we move the rocks?"
As much as he hated to, Sirius nodded. He and Proudfoot started casting Wingardium Leviosa to move the rocks off Malfoy's body. When they'd mostly uncovered the Death Eater, they found he was indeed still alive, but barely. His face was cut up and bleeding and he seemed to have more than a few broken bones.
"Coward," Malfoy said in a raspy voice, looking coldly at Sirius. "You can't even kill me properly. Do it... I know you want to, Sirius, I know you dream of it..."
Slowly, almost as though the Imperius Curse had hit him, Sirius raised his wand and pointed it at Malfoy, all the hate he'd ever felt for the man boiling over. He half-expected Proudfoot to knock his arm away, but it never happened. I can end this all right now. No more Malfoy... No more wondering if he'll ever get a hold of Naomi or Mira or Harry, or any of my family...
He glanced at Proudfoot who had a blank expression on his face. "Do what you have to do," he said quietly. "It'll stay between you and me, you have my word."
Sirius licked his lips, staring at Malfoy's cold grey eyes, trying to say the words, but unable to. Of course he wanted to. It'd been one of the only things on his mind since Malfoy had killed McGonagall. Now was his chance...
We all have to do things we don't want to do, Remus' voice said to him. Do what you have to do, Sirius, and don't hesitate when the time comes...
Well, the time had come, all right.
"I can't do it," he said after a few minutes, feeling very angry with himself. "I can't bloody do it..."
Proudfoot nodded. "Well, I don't think it matters anymore," he said, still looking at Malfoy.
The Death Eater's eyes had closed, and his head had fallen to his shoulder. He was dead.
Proudfoot had taken Sirius back to Number Twelve, hoping only a few people were still awake to minimize the amount of questions he'd have to answer. Luckily only Remus was awake when the two Aurors entered the door, Proudfoot floating Sirius' unconscious body in front of him. After they'd found Malfoy had died, exhaustion from the fight and blood loss seemed to have taken over. Remus took one look at his best friend, sighed, and silently led Proudfoot to the drawing room where they laid Sirius on the sofa.
"Do I even want to know?" Remus asked as he helped heal Sirius' injuries.
"You'll find out when you get the Prophet tomorrow night anyway. I'm sure they'll do a special edition for this," Proudfoot said.
Remus stopped what he was doing and raised his eyebrows. "You have my attention."
"Lucius Malfoy is dead," Proudfoot said. "A spell hit Malfoy Manor while Sirius and I were dueling with him and another Death Eater, and a lot of the rubble fell on him."
"Was it Sirius' spell?"
Proudfoot glanced at his boss. "I told him I wouldn't say anything."
Remus nodded. "I'll take that as a yes." He'd known Sirius was going to do something about Malfoy, and he'd had a suspicion it would result in Malfoy's death in the end. Remus couldn't find anything inside himself to feel bad for Malfoy—his hate for the Death Eater was nearly as strong as Sirius'. Remus only wished Sirius would have let him live long enough to get information from him. There were still things the Order didn't understand—how Lucius had arranged Mira's kidnapping from Azkaban; how Lucius kept getting past wards; how Lucius had found out McGonagall had been his family's Secret-Keeper...
"Do you think you can handle it from here?" Proudfoot asked. "I've got to get back to the Ministry; I transported the other Death Eater to the holding cells."
"Yes, I think he'll be all right. Thanks for bringing him by."
"Don't mention it," Proudfoot said, glancing at Sirius again. "Just send an owl tomorrow and let me know how he is."
"I will," Remus said with a smile. He walked Proudfoot to the door, then locked it behind him. He considered going to wake Naomi up to tell her Sirius was back, but wanted to figure out a story to tell her before Sirius decided what he wanted everyone to know. He finally decided just to sit with Sirius until morning, see if he woke, and let him do the explaining.
Next morning, Remus woke up and groaned. He'd fallen asleep in a chair beside the sofa Sirius was sleeping on, and as a result, his entire body was stiff. He stood and tried to stretch his back, but was interrupted by a voice at the door of the drawing room.
"Is he okay?" Harry asked, looking at his godfather worriedly.
"He will be," Remus assured him. "He's just exhausted."
Harry raised an eyebrow. "From what?"
Remus sighed, wondering if he should tell Harry the truth or not. He was of age now, and he could handle a lot more than he could when he was thirteen. "Sirius and Proudfoot found Lucius Malfoy, and there was duel. Sirius was hit with a few curses and when he fought back, I think it took a lot of energy from him. Proudfoot said Sirius was hit with a curse that seemed to have temporarily paralyzed Sirius' legs. If he's still having trouble with his legs once he wakes up, I'm going to call Ted Tonks and see what he can do about it."
"And what if there's nothing Ted can do?" Harry asked. "What if Sirius is paralyzed for the rest of his life?"
Remus gulped; he'd tried to avoid that scenario since Proudfoot told him what had happened to Sirius. "If there is no counter-curse, we'll help Sirius adjust as best we can. But I'm certain he'll be all right." No matter what he'd said, Remus was very worried that there wasn't a counter-curse, and Sirius would be in a wheelchair for the rest of his life.
That would be worse than when he lost his magic. He'll start getting depressed, and it will be difficult to get him out of it.
"Oh my god!" Naomi gasped. Apparently she'd passed the drawing room on the way to the kitchen, finding Remus and Harry standing beside the sofa. "What happened to him?" She immediately went to Sirius' side, knelt next to the sofa, and took her husband's hand.
Remus sighed and repeated what he'd told Harry. "We just have to wait until he wakes up to find out what the situation is."
It didn't take long for the rest of the house to find out what happened to Sirius. Remus was getting a bit claustrophobic with all the people in the room. "No offense to anyone," he said loudly over the chatter, "but I think it's best if we all just let Sirius relax until he wakes up on his own."
Molly began to shoo everyone out of the drawing room, telling them to get ready for breakfast. "You let me know if there's anything I can do, Remus Lupin," Molly said sternly. "I'll bring breakfast up for you, Emmeline, and Naomi. I'm sure Harry will sneak back up here once I turn my back, so I'll make him a plate, too."
Remus chuckled. "That's very much appreciated, Molly."
Molly smiled. "You're very welcome, Remus," she said. "Would you like me to call Ted Tonks?"
Remus' smile faded as he looked over at his best friend's unconscious body. If Ted came sooner rather than later—they didn't know when Sirius was going to wake up—maybe he could figure out the counter-curse. "I think that is a brilliant idea. Do you know the address?"
"After watching all of you calling him, I have it memorized, just in case of an emergency. And this is an emergency," Molly said. "I'll call him now."
"Thank you," Remus said as Molly left the room.
Sirius can't be paralyzed permanently, Remus tried to assure himself. There has to be something that can make his legs work again. He'll be up and walking in a few days.
With those thoughts in his head, Remus went to sit beside Emmeline and took her hand for comfort. He sat there for what seemed like hours thinking about how Sirius could ride a broom or play Quidditch if he was paralyzed. Ted finally arrived, and did a quick examination. When he finished, he asked Remus, Emmeline, and Naomi to leave the room.
"The spell I'm about to use could be dangerous, and I'd rather not risk injuries," Ted said. "I can shield myself from it, but it would be easier if I was alone with Sirius while I did this. You can come back when I've finished."
Remus expected Naomi to argue, but she nodded, kissed Sirius on the forehead, and followed Remus and Emmeline up to the library.
It was going to be a very long day.
Not everyone in Number Twelve was concerned about Sirius' health. One person sat in the kitchen looking around at the others with eyes that had faded slightly in color.
This person had put up a decent front during all the worried discussions about whether Sirius would be okay, but he honestly didn't care at the moment. He'd been careful to avoid anyone that could figure out his secret—his master wanted all the information he could get, and if someone figured out he wasn't entirely himself, the entire mission would be over. That was not a risk he could take. The Dark Lord had threatened to kill him and his family if he was found out. When he was himself, he knew something wasn't quite right, but he couldn't quite pinpoint what was different. He'd shrugged off the feeling of weakness, figuring he was just coming down with a cold.
"Bill, could you help me set the table?" his mother said.
He shook his head to get the sensation of floating out of his brain and stood to help his mother with breakfast.