"I'll be back soon, Sanders. Tonks and I just need to talk to Seth Ledger," Sirius told Damian Sanders.
"No problem. Hey, is Remus okay?" Sanders asked.
"Yeah, he's all right. Just has to stay in the hospital for a few days," Sirius nodded. He and Tonks walked to their right, heading for the interrogation room Seth was being held in. Sirius held the door open for Tonks and followed her inside.
"Hello, Seth," Tonks said as she and Sirius sat across from Seth.
"It wasn't me, I swear. I would never do that. I was being controlled. The Imperius Curse," Seth blurted.
"Seth, we need you to tell us about the events leading up to the attack," Tonks said.
Seth sniffed. He had tears running down his cheeks. "I can't remember much. I remember going to our little library in the department to find something then I went back to my office. There was someone there. I thought it was Remus, but the person had a black cloak on. There was a white light. That's the last thing I remember. A white light," he explained, more tears falling.
Sirius and Tonks glanced at each other. "Did you see the face of the person in your office?" Tonks wondered.
"No. It was dark. He stayed in the shadows so I couldn't see his face," Seth shook his head.
"He? If you couldn't see the person how do you know it was a man?" Tonks frowned.
"He spoke once. When he cast the curse," Seth replied.
"What did he say?" Tonks asked.
"He said 'Imperio'," Seth responded.
"'Imperio'? You're positive about this?" Tonks raised an eyebrow.
"Yes, I'm sure. I'm telling you. I was being controlled by the Imperius Curse," Seth sobbed.
"Seth," Sirius spoke for the first time. Seth looked at him through tear filled eyes. "I believe you. I do, but without any proof, no one else will. I wish I could do something, but you're being sent to Azkaban."
Seth burst into tears. "I can't believe I attacked Remus! I would have killed him! I deserve Azkaban!"
"You don't deserve Azkaban, Seth," Tonks said softly.
"Remus is going to be okay, Seth. This isn't your fault. You were being controlled," Sirius told him.
"I don't want to go to Azkaban," Seth whispered.
Tonks and Sirius looked at him sadly. "Seth," Seth looked at Sirius. "Would you like to see Remus?" Sirius asked.
"Yes," Seth nodded.
"Come on. I'll get you in," Sirius stood up with Tonks. Keeping Seth between himself and Tonks, Sirius led the way out of the Ministry, getting rid of all Aurors who tried to stop them. They disappeared at the Apparation point. Sirius also led the way into the hospital and up to Remus' room. Voices flitted out of the room. The Weasley family was visiting. "Stay here," he whispered to Tonks and Seth. They nodded and he walked into the room.
"Hey, Sirius. You came back quickly," Remus stated.
"Yeah. I have someone who wants to talk to you," Sirius looked pointedly at the Weasleys.
"We'll go in the waiting room," Bill smiled. The family left.
"Who is it, Padfoot?"
"Tonks, bring him in," Sirius called into the hall. Tonks entered with Seth.
"Hi, Remus," Seth muttered. He was still crying.
"Hey, Seth."
"Remus, I'm so sorry! It wasn't me! I didn't do it! I was being controlled! I'm sorry!" Seth burst into tears again.
"Seth, calm down. I know you were under the influence of the Imperius Curse," Remus said.
"You-you do?" Seth sniffed.
"Yes. I've seen it before. I knew it as soon as I looked in your eyes," Remus smiled softly.
"Thank you, Remus," Seth gave a weak smile.
"Time to go," Auror Zack Taylor took Seth's arm.
"Goodbye, Remus," Seth said sadly and allowed himself to be lead outside.
"Bye," Remus sighed. "How long is he in?"
"Twenty-five years for right now. It has a good chance of changing to a life sentence and it probably will," Sirius replied. He saw a tear fall from the corner of his friend's eye.
"It wasn't his fault," Remus muttered.
"I know but there's no evidence," Sirius stated.
"Yeah," Remus replied shortly. "You both should probably get back to the Ministry. See you later," he added.
"Yeah, okay. Bye, Moony," Sirius sighed and left with Tonks.
"You can't do anything, Sirius. There's no proof that Seth was under the Imperius Curse," Tonks told him.
"I know, but Seth is one of Remus' best friends. Now he's being taken away. It must be reminding Remus of when James and Lily died and I got arrested," Sirius answered. Tonks didn't respond. It was rare that Sirius talked about his best friends dying and being arrested. "I have to do something. I have to help Seth."
"Sirius, there's nothing we can do. I'm sorry," Tonks repeated.
"We're Aurors, aren't we? There's always something. I'm going to figure out what this something is," Sirius walked in the direction of his office. Tonks groaned and rolled her eyes. She might as well get a head start. She'd be helping out sooner or later anyways. She followed Sirius' path.
"Hermione, drink some water," Harry said, handing her a bottle. She was still in Ron's lap, holding one of his hands in a death grip. Harry had managed to get the steel out and heal the wound.
"Harry, what's in that vial?" Ron asked.
"Phoenix tears. Contains healing powers. I couldn't heal the wound with just the tears or just healing charms, so I combined them. She'll be limping for a couple days but she'll be fine," Harry explained. He took the black tie off Hermione's leg and shoved it in his bag.
"Thanks, Harry," Hermione smiled, handing the bottle of water back to Harry.
"You're welcome. Are you feeling okay?" Harry stated.
"Yeah, I feel fine. A little light headed, but I'll be okay," Hermione replied.
"How are your hands, Ron?" Harry grinned.
"Shut up, Harry," Ron rolled his eyes. Everyone laughed.
"All right. We have two choices. One, we climb back up and go back to the house or two, we go down this passage," Harry sighed. "What do we do?"
"Passage," the others said together.
"Passage it is. Tyler, would you mind carrying Hermione's bag?" Harry replied.
"Of course not." Tyler slung Hermione's bag over one shoulder.
"I am perfectly capable of carrying my own bag," Hermione argued, standing up. Harry and Ron caught her as she swayed and almost fell down. "Maybe I'm not."
"Ron, you'll have to help her walk," Harry responded.
"That's fine," Ron put his arm around her waist and she put her arm around his neck.
"Okay. Let's get going," Harry headed down the passage, his wand still lit. Ron and Hermione followed, then last was Tyler.
"Lupin is in the hospital, my Lord." Summer Watts told Voldemort.
"Very good, Summer. What about Tyler?" Voldemort asked.
"He is still with Potter, Weasley, and Granger. The full moon is in five days. It will happen then," Summer responded.
"Fabulous. Thank you, Summer. Go," Voldemort told her and she walked away.
"Sirius, it's almost been three hours. I don't think there's anything we can do. We just don't have proof that Seth was being controlled," Tonks said, rubbing her dry, tired eyes. She had been in Sirius' office going through all information on Seth and thinking about what Seth had told them.
"How could someone walk through a department without being seen by anyone?" Sirius wondered.
"I don't know, Sirius. I don't know," Tonks groaned. "Maybe the person was invisible. Maybe no one pain attention. Maybe the person looked like someone else. I don't know," she added irritably.
"Looked like someone else," Sirius repeated.
"What about it?" Tonks sighed.
"Maybe the person looked like someone else. Polyjuice Potion. It changes appearance, not voice," Sirius replied.
"Okay," Tonks said, looking at her cousin, waiting for him to continue.
Sirius rolled his eyes. "Seth said he couldn't see the person in his office because it was dark. Maybe he recognized the voice though. Maybe he did see the person when the spell was cast," he explained.
"But he said the person stayed in the shadows," Tonks pointed out.
"That's what he remembers. He may be remembering it wrong," Sirius answered.
"It's possible," Tonks nodded.
"We've got to talk to Seth again," Sirius stated.
"Sirius, if he couldn't remember things a couple hours ago, I doubt he'll remember now," Tonks crossed her arms.
"Mr. Black, Tonks," Sanders knocked on the open door.
"What's up, Sanders?"
"Seth Ledger is in the interrogation room. He's asking for you two," Sanders told them.
"We're coming," Sirius tossed the papers he was holding onto his desk, then left with Tonks. They walked down a corridor and to the interrogation room Seth had previously been in.
"In there, boss," Sanders held the door open and Sirius and Tonks walked in.
"Thanks, Sanders," Tonks said as Sanders closed the door. She and Sirius sat across from Seth. Sirius looked at him closely. Seth was pure white. His eyes were red and had a look of terror in the them that Sirius knew would never leave. "Hi, Seth."
"Hi. Thanks for coming," Seth answered. His voice was hoarse like it hadn't been used in years.
"It's no problem, Seth," Sirius smiled. Seth tried to smile, but it was weak and didn't reach his eyes.
"Why did you want to talk to us?" Tonks asked.
"I remembered something from the attack. Well, from when I entered my office and the person was there," Seth told them.
"What did you remember?" Sirius wondered.
"I did see the person. When he sent the Imperius Curse, it lit up his face for a split second," Seth said.
"Who was it, Seth?" Tonks asked.
"It was-it was Sirius," Seth finished, his eyes filling up with tears. Sirius and Tonks looked at each other then back to Seth.
"Ah, hell! Dead end!" Harry groaned when they arrived at the end of the passage.
"What now? Do we go back?" Ron wondered.
"We might have to," Harry sighed, looking around.
"Wait, what's that?" Tyler spoke. He was looking at the ceiling. Harry raised his wand to light up the ceiling more.
"It's a trapdoor," Harry realized. He pushed on it but it wouldn't move. "It's too heavy. Tyler, help me out."
"Okay," Tyler walked to stand beside Harry and together they pushed on the ceiling as hard as they could. It began to lift. "Come on. Keep pushing," Tyler urged. They pushed harder and harder. Soon it could be slid to the side.
"Finally," Harry breathed deeply. "We've got a way out. Let's go," he grabbed one of the sides of the opening and pulled himself out. "Hermione, you next," he called down. She limped over to the opening and hoisted herself out, Harry helping. Soon after, Ron and Tyler had come through.
"We're in a street," Ron observed.
"Crescent Street," Hermione said.
"We need to find out where the Lovegoods live," Harry replied.
"We need a library then," Hermione told them.
"There must be one somewhere around here," Harry said, looking both ways down the street.
"It is! It's Harry Potter and his friends! I told you it was them, Sophie!" two girls around sixteen came running up to the trio and Tyler.
"I can't believe it! The Golden Trio here in Jackson!" the second girl shrieked.
"Jackson? Jackson, Mississippi?" Hermione frowned.
"No, no. Jackson, Tennessee," the girl named Sophie corrected.
"Could we have your autographs?" the second girl said excitedly.
"We're in Tennessee," Ron gasped.
"We don't do autographs. Sorry," Harry said.
"Oh. Okay," Sophie said. She and her friend turned to leave.
"Maybe you can help us!" Harry called after them. The girls quickly ran back to the trio and Tyler.
"Definitely," they nodded profusely.
"We're looking for a library but we don't know our way around. Could you lead us to one?" Harry asked.
"Of course! Follow us!" Sophie exclaimed.
"This is Tyler," Harry told the girls.
"Nice to meet you. I'm Sophie," the girl who had brown hair stated. She pointed to her friend who had blonde hair with black streaks. "This is my best friend, Becca."
"Hello, Sophie. Becca," the trio and Tyler greeted.
Sophie and Becca stared at the trio with glazed eyes and wide smiles. "Umm, library?" Hermione stated.
"Right! Follow us," Becca nodded. Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Tyler frowned at each other then followed the overly excited girls. Harry, Ron, and Tyler kept their wands out. Something was odd about the situation.
"Becca and I know all about you three. We know every detail of your adventures," Sophie responded.
"That's…" Harry trailed off.
"Creepy," Ron finished for him. Harry nodded.
"Are you really in the middle of saving the world from You-Know-Who?" Becca asked.
"Umm, we're trying to stop him, yeah," Harry answered slowly.
"That is so cool," Becca and Sophie laughed.
"You try it then," Ron muttered. Hermione lightly slapped his chest. He shrugged.
"Here we are. Jackson Public Library," Sophie pointed to a large, one-story, brick building.
"Thanks, Becca. Thanks, Sophie," Hermione smiled at the girls.
"It was our pleasure."
"Bye," Tyler and the trio walked up the concrete stairs and pushed through the large wooden doors. There were several shelves of books. There weren't many people. About three were at shelves and three were sitting at the tables.
"Where do we look?" Ron asked.
"I'm not sure," Hermione shrugged.
Harry sighed. "Choose a shelf and look. Take anything that looks promising." So the four of them split up and began searching the shelves.
"We just need to find a way to prove someone impersonated me and used the Imperius Curse on Seth," Sirius said. He was sitting by Remus' bed with Tonks.
"How do you plan to do that?" Tonks crossed her arms.
"I haven't figured it out yet. You're supposed to be helping me," Sirius stated.
"Let me know when you think of something. I'm going to see Kingsley." Tonks stood and walked out the door.
"How are you doing, Moony?" Sirius asked.
"Same as three hours ago," Remus whispered.
"Why do all the near-death experiences happen to us?" Sirius stated.
"We're just that lucky," Remus smiled.
"I guess so."
"And by that I meant we're just that lucky to have Harry. It was a package deal and we knew it. We took him anyways," Remus replied.
"You were right. Something's going to happen on the full moon. I just don't know what," Sirius told him.
"I told you," Remus smiled. The smile faded. "Shouldn't I be the depressed one? I'm the one who almost died. The one who's stuck in the hospital for almost a week. What's up, Padfoot?"
"If I had stayed longer this wouldn't have happened to you. It's my fault," Sirius said.
"If I could, I would slap you right now," Remus stated.
"Allow me," Tonks had returned. She slapped Sirius across the head. "Now, why did I hit Sirius for you?"
"He's blaming himself for me getting attacked," Remus told her.
"Ow!" Sirius yelled. Tonks had slapped him again.
"How the hell is this your fault?" Tonks frowned.
"I had been with Remus before the attack. If I had stayed longer, I could have prevented everything," Sirius repeated. "OW! Tonks!" he had been hit again.
"You deserve it! There is no way in hell that this is your fault. You were there then you left before anything happened! Not your fault!" Tonks said loudly.
"You sound like Harry," Remus stated.
"How?" Sirius wondered.
"Something bad happened. You're blaming yourself. Tonks and I are telling you it's not your fault. Sound familiar?" Remus answered.
Sirius looked at them. "You're right. I'm sorry. I'm kind of stressed out. There's lots going on," he sighed.
"How long has it been since you've slept, Sirius?" Tonks asked.
"More than twenty-four hours. Might be more than forty-eight. I'm not sure," Sirius responded.
"That's it. Come on," Tonks grabbed Sirius' arm and pulled him up. "You can come see Remus later. Right now, you're going to sleep. I'll take over. If I need you, I'll come get you," she told Sirius.
"What? Tonks, no, I-"
"Bye, Remus. See you later," Tonks waved and dragged Sirius out the door.
"Bye, guys," Remus laughed.
"That's the last time I do that disguise. That was horrible," Bellatrix said to Summer. The Polyjuice Potion had worn off and Sophie and Becca turned back into Bellatrix Lestrange and Summer Watts.
"Well, they're in the library now," Summer replied.
"Time to call everyone," Bellatrix took out her wand and put it to the Dark Mark. It glowed. She and Summer looked into the sky as all the other Death Eaters began showing up in whirls of blue and black smoke.
"Is it time, Bellatrix?" Voldemort asked.
"Yes, my Lord," Bellatrix smiled.
"Very good," Voldemort and the Death Eaters headed down the street and to the library.
"I've got three books. What about you three?" Harry put three books on a table. His friends and Tyler came over with books in their arms.
"Two books and a copy of The Quibbler," Ron said.
"Three books," Tyler replied.
"Two books and files on some retired Aurors," Hermione stated.
"That sounds valuable," Harry said.
"I don't know if Xenophilius Lovegood is in here though. Hoping," Hermione told them.
"Let's look at those files first," Harry sighed and they all sat down. Hermione put the files in the middle of the table and everyone took one. They had to read through them to find out who the files were about. After about fifteen minutes, Harry suddenly stopped.
"What's wrong, Harry?" Hermione asked.
"Someone's coming," Harry muttered. Just then he screamed in pain and a hand went to his scar. The door was suddenly blown open and all the lights went out. "Voldemort."