Chapter V - Lost and Found

It wasn't long after the meeting that the Advance Guard was sent to retreive Harry Potter from his aunt and uncle's house on Privet Drive. As soon as Harry got settled in, he started to help with the cleaning, much to Mrs. Weasley's relief. It was quite a job, and even with ten of them it was going to take a while.

It was Mrs. Weasley who happened on a curious thing when the childrens' return to Hogwarts neared, a glint of gold shoved in the corner of an old drawer, wedged in a crack that had started to rot. Carefully she pulled it out and dusted it off before noticing something inside of it, three sets of numbers spaced with a delicate dash. When she realized what it was, she took it immediately to Sirius.

He said a quiet thanks when she handed it to him; though they frequently argued over Harry there was no ill will between them. She nearly clasped her hand around his in apology before leaving to finish going through the drawer. He looked up to see his two friends pass by the door. They glanced in before stopping, catching the look on her face before she left the room.

Sirius stood there as if debating whether to show them or not.

"Mrs. Weasley asked where you were," Rosemary said as they stepped in. "She said she found something of yours. I guess she already brought it to you. What was it?"

"Something I lost a long time ago," he said, looking at his palm.

"Sirius... We'll get her back," Remus spoke up and Rosemary nodded. "Snape will keep watch-"

Sirius looked up at him. "I don't want to rely on Snivellus, Remus. He'd have me thrown back in Azkaban if he could. If Dumbledore would just let me go-"

"You know he won't. You're still-"

"A wanted man? I know. I don't care."

"Please, Sirius," Rosemary said, shaking her head. "Don't do anything rash. Dumbledore will come through. If you like, we can all go express our concern about leaving Snape in charge to him now."

Sirius seemed to brighten up at this, which was not quite what she had expected. Without a word he walked out of the room, slipping the object out of view. Remus and Rosemary glanced at each other before hurrying after him.

"That's not what I- wait!"

They arrived downstairs in time to see Sirius arguing his best with Dumbledore. Dumbledore, however, didn't seem fazed.

"But surely you can't expect me to trust-"

"I expect nothing of you, Sirius. Severus has proven himself loyal to us many a time."

"Loyal? He was right there- he could have done something!"

"And risk his life and our only source of information on Voldemort?"

"Better his life than hers!"

"I stand by my decision to leave you in charge of our headquarters and Snape in charge of watching her as well as Voldemort, Sirius. You are a good man, but rash-"

"Please, sir..." Rosemary stepped into the dining room with them; Remus reached to pull her back out but she slid her arm out of his grasp. "We all think that maybe there's more that could be done. Maybe not right away, but before... anything happened. If you could just consider it..."

Dumbledore turned to look at her, smiling slightly. "I will consider it. It will take time, but we may discuss it at the next meeting." With that he turned and left.

Remus entered the dining room as Sirius took a seat with a huff and Rosemary sat next to him. Remus sat across from them. For a while none of them spoke.

"He will consider it, Sirius," Rosemary said quietly, catching a glint of gold on his finger. "We don't have to like Snape, but like it or not Dumbledore trusts him. Maybe it'll come up in the next meeting and then we can vote on it."

A throat cleared in the doorway, and the three of them looked over. It was Harry. He stood there, clasping a piece of paper in his hand.

"Harry," Sirius said invitingly. Harry walked to him.

"I was wondering if you could tell me-" He held out the paper to Sirius. "Who this is. Profess- Moody started muttering and wouldn't say."

Sirius looked at the paper, and the other two leaned to see. It was a picture they had taken over fourteen years ago, when the Order of the Phoenix was first started. Many of the people in it died that year- including James and Lily, Harry's own parents. Sirius' eyes fell on the person to which Harry pointed. His face fell. Without looking at Harry, he got up and left the room, leaving Harry staring after him.

"Why did he leave? Who-"

The other two caught a glimpse of the picture and at each other. Rosemary nodded briefly, and Remus looked back to Harry. "That woman beside Sirius in the photo... That was Lauren, a very good friend of ours, and of your dad's. She is also Sirius' wife."

"Is?"

"Was," Remus corrected himself. He glanced at Rosemary, not sure how much he could say. She gave the slightest of shrugs. "We believed her to be dead, years ago."

"Taken," Rosemary interjected quietly. "Which is worse, really?"

"So on his finger-"

"His wedding ring, yes." Remus smiled. "All of our cleaning has done some good. Now, if you'll excuse us, Harry, we have secret matters to discuss." He gave a nod and Harry headed back out, picture in hand.