"What are you two doing here?" Sirius asked Ginny and Luna. He and Remus were now sitting at the table with them.
"We had to talk to you," Ginny said.
"Ginny, where have you been? Your mother told us that you were missing. Everyone thinks you went off to find Harry, Ron, and Hermione," Remus stated.
"I didn't. I was captured by Death Eaters," Ginny shook her head.
"When? How?" Sirius asked.
"The day Diagon Alley was attacked. I was at the shop with the twins. Mum, Dad, and Bill had gone to the Ministry," Ginny replied.
"Where have you been?" Remus wondered.
"Gringotts."
"Gringotts?" Sirius repeated.
"Yeah. I was held in a cell way underground with a few others, including Luna," Ginny nodded.
"Who else was there?" Sirius asked.
"Lavender Brown, Ron, Hermione, and Harry. Lavender didn't make it. She was killed," Ginny replied.
"How did you two escape?" Remus said.
"We all did. Harry, Ron, and Hermione sent us away. They stayed at Gringotts."
"Why would they stay?" Sirius said to Remus.
"There's a Horcrux in one of the vaults," Ginny told them.
"So why did you come here instead of going home?" Remus asked.
"It's too dangerous to go home and Harry said to ask you two if Luna and I could stay at your place," Ginny responded.
"Of course you can. Stay as long as you want. We're almost never there so you'll pretty much be living on your own," Remus and Sirius nodded.
"That's okay. Thanks," Ginny smiled.
"Come on. We'll take you there now," Sirius stood. The others followed suit and they went outside. They disappeared and were at the house.
"All right. So you can sleep where you want. Eat what you want. We'll have to get some of your clothes. You'll both be totally safe here," Remus told Ginny and Luna.
"Thanks again," Ginny gave a small smile.
"It's no problem," Sirius shook his head. "We have to get back to work. Settle in. We'll get clothes as soon as we can."
"Bye," Ginny watched them disappear then closed and locked the front door. She went around the house and made sure all windows and entry/exit doors were locked. She went back downstairs. "Go have a shower, Luna. It'll help," she said softly. Luna nodded and went upstairs.
Ginny wandered into the living room and gazed at the many pictures on the walls and on the mantelpiece. Harry, at all different ages, was in every picture. He was alone in many. Others were him and one of his guardians. And others were all three of them. There were quite a few photos of Harry, Ron, and Hermione and some with Ginny. She smiled at a picture of herself and the trio. She watched as they started laughing. She felt her eyes water and turned from the picture. She went to the stairs and headed to Harry's bedroom. She walked through the open door and felt the tears fall. Ginny picked up a picture that was on the end table. It had been taken the summer before her fifth year, before Harry's sixth. It was a picture of her and Harry. He had his arms wrapped around her waist. She smiled to herself as Harry kissed her.
"Ginny?" Luna's voice made her jump and she dropped the picture. It hit the floor and the glass shattered. She swore. "I'm so sorry, Ginny. I just wanted to tell you that Sirius is downstairs."
"It's okay, Luna. Thanks. By the way, I'm going to sleep in this room. Just so you know," Ginny stood, all the glass in her hand, the picture and frame in the other.
"Okay," Luna nodded and walked downstairs, Ginny following. Ginny watched her head to the guestroom then disappear inside. Ginny went to the living room. Sirius was setting two fairly large bags on the floor.
"Hey," Ginny said.
Sirius turned. "Hey. I brought you and Luna clothes. There're bathroom things in there too."
"Thanks," she gave a small smile.
"Is everything all right?"
"I guess. I dropped one of the pictures from Harry's room and it broke. He would be so mad at me," she replied.
Sirius smiled softly. "He wouldn't be mad. It can be fixed." He pulled out his wand. "Reparo," he said and the photo was fixed.
"I miss him so much and I've been with him for the past five or six days. I just want things to be what they were," Ginny stated, staring at the picture.
"If you asked anyone, they'd say the same thing. They want things to go back. You're not alone, Ginny. There are a lot of people who miss Harry, who want him to come back with Ron and Hermione. Listen. He'll come back. I know he will," Sirius told her.
Ginny nodded. "Thanks again, for everything."
"Don't worry about it. I have to go. See you later, Ginny." He headed outside.
"Bye."
"Death Eater," Harry hissed. The others looked ahead and saw a figure coming towards them through the darkness. They had gone down two floors and it had grown dark. The trio had had to light their wands.
"There's no where to hide. What do we do?" Hermione whispered.
"Fight," Harry said.
"That'll attract other Death Eaters," Ron replied.
"We're going to meet up with a bunch of Death Eaters anyways," Harry stated.
"Hey! You four! Stop right there!" the Death Eater suddenly yelled.
"Here we go," Harry muttered. They raised their wands.
"Lower your wands! Lower them now!" the Death Eater yelled again.
Harry frowned. "I know that voice."
"Who is he?" Ron asked.
"It's one of Sirius' Aurors." Harry said. "It's Brad Walker."
"You're kidding?" Hermione stated.
"Sirius is having some serious issues with his team," Ron added.
"Yes, he is," Harry sighed. "Brad Walker!" he yelled.
"Harry, what are you doing?" Hermione hissed.
"How do you know me?"
"You work for my uncle. At the Ministry. You work for Sirius Black," Harry answered.
"Stupefy!" Walker yelled.
"Protego!" Harry yelled. "Protect Griphook!" he yelled to his friends.
"Avada Kedavra!"
"Look out!" Harry shouted and they all jumped aside, away from the curse's path.
"Expelliarmus!" Ron cried.
"Crucio!"
"Ron!" Harry and Hermione cried as the curse hit Ron and he fell to the ground, screaming.
"Stop it! Please!" Hermione sobbed, falling beside Ron.
"Stupefy!" Harry yelled.
Breaking the Cruciatus curse, Walker shouted, "Avada Kedavra!"
"Stupefy!" Harry yelled at the same time. The Killing Curse soared through the air and hit Griphook at the same time Harry's stunner hit Walker. "No!" he yelled.
"Harry! Griphook!" Hermione cried.
Harry ran to where Griphook had fallen. "No. No, no, no, no. NO! God damn it, please, no!" he screamed.
"Harry," Hermione whispered. She was holding Ron's hand and staring at Harry who had tears running down his cheeks. "What do we do?" she added. Harry stared at her.
"It's Saturday morning. I have to hire three people by Monday," Sirius tossed another file onto the desk. He and Kingsley were in his office looking at applications. "And no one's good. Almost all of these are people who just graduated. Who have no experience."
"That's what the training's for, Sirius. You and James didn't have any experience either. Remember? It was hell training you two," Kingsley told him.
"We had more experience than these people," Sirius tossed aside another file.
"Not really, Sirius. You did have something most people don't though," Kingsley said. Sirius looked at him curiously. "You had ambition. You wanted to be there. Both you and James. Most people apply because they need a job and we're usually hiring. You and James were here because you wanted to be. Not because you needed jobs and I happened to be hiring," Sirius stared at him. "I gotta go. I'll talk to you later, boss." He dropped his pile of files on the desk and walked out.
Sirius stared after him. As he looked through more applications, memories swam into his head.
Flashback
"I can't believe we're here. We're a year out of school and we've been hired as Aurors," James Potter said to Sirius Black. They were standing in a room with a bunch of other people at the Ministry of Magic.
"How does Lily feel about this?" Sirius asked.
"She didn't like it at first. Said it was too dangerous, but she's okay now. What about Summer?" James answered.
"She hasn't really said anything. I don't think she's happy with it,"Sirius said.
"We're gonna be the greatest Aurors in London," James smiled.
"Right you are, Prongs."
The door opened and three wizards stepped in.
"Good morning. You eighteen wizards have been chosen to begin training to join my team. In order to make it, you must have ambition, pride, knowledge, and strength. Training will only help you with knowledge and strength, the others you may have. You may not. We'll see. To do well, you have to want to be here. I can pick out a few right now," the black, balding wizard said and gazed at James and Sirius. "I am Kingsley Shacklebolt. This is my second-in-command, Alastor Moody, and this is Derek Dawlish. We will all be training you. I will also be training a select few privately. If you are chosen, then you definitely belong. Training begins now. You will be divided into three groups."
"Maybe we'll get chosen for the private training," Sirius whispered.
"I hope so," James nodded.
"Andrews, Culet, Chase, Daker, Forman, and Stanley. You will be trained by Auror Dawlish," Shacklebolt said. The six who were called followed Auror Dawlish from the room.
"Hopefully we're on the same team," James muttered.
"Gaines, Hayden, Lezak, Murray, Porter, and Wesler. You will be with Alastor." The six left.
"Yes! Same team!" Sirius and James clapped hands.
"The remaining will be trained by me. I'll tell you this. There are two standing in this room that will get my special training. They will be notified in a few minutes. For the next three weeks, all of you will come here at five-thirty a.m. sharp and meet in this room. If you're late, you will leave. Understood?" Everyone nodded. "Good. Be here tomorrow." The trainees began leaving. "You two. Stay back." He pointed at James and Sirius.
"Yes, sir?" James said.
"What are your names?"
"Sirius Black."
"James Potter."
"You two must be the youngest trainees this year. How old are you?"
"We're both eighteen. We just graduated from Hogwarts a year ago," Sirius answered.
"Amazing. You know, the minute I stepped in this room, I felt something. Something from you two. I don't feel it often. It's strong on you two."
"What is it?" James wondered.
"Ambition. You are both full of it. You both are here because you want to be, not because you need a job. Though I'm sure that is a reason as well. You two are special. Young and full of ambition. You are the two that will be getting my special, private training. Welcome aboard." The Auror offered his hand. They shook it, too shocked to speak.
End of Flashback
Sirius smiled. He and James had wanted to be there more than anything. It had paid off. Kingsley trained them and they became London's two best Aurors. It had been amazing. They both got the job they wanted. They worked together everyday. They solved cases together. They caught Death Eaters together. They hunted Voldemort together. Yet, it had been James that died. Not Sirius. Not both of them together. Just James.
"Mr. Lupin?" Luke Cameron knocked on the open door.
"Yes?"
"The body of the boy from San Diego has been brought in. It's down in the morgue."
"Thanks. Is there any ID yet?"
"Not yet."
Of course not. "Thanks, Luke." Remus headed down to the morgue. He pushed through the doors and entered the morgue. "Hello?"
"Hello, Mr. Lupin. You're here for the boy, I assume?" a woman said. She was Kimberly Maki.
"Yes, Kimberly," Remus nodded.
"This way. Poor boy. So young. I believe only about fifteen or sixteen," Kimberly sighed. "Right over there. He just came in so I haven't had time to clean him off. There's lots of blood on the face." She pointed to a silver examining table occupied by a body covered in a white sheet.
Remus slowly moved towards the body, hoping it wasn't someone he knew. He made it to the body and pulled back the sheet. "Oh my God!" he turned away.
"Mr. Lupin, are you okay?" Kimberly asked, concerned.
"I know that boy. I taught him at Hogwarts."
"What's his name?"
"Colin Creevey. He's sixteen."
"Poor kid."
"I have to go. Bye, Kimberly." Remus left the morgue and headed back up to his department. He pushed open the glass doors and walked in. He went straight to his office and sat down.
"Mr. Lupin? Is there an ID on the boy yet?" Luke asked.
"Creevey. It's Colin Creevey," Remus answered. Luke nodded and left, probably to tell the family of their loss. Remus sat back and began thinking of others he knew that would go undercover. He didn't want to send anyone but he would be fired otherwise.
"Harry, we have to go. More Death Eaters will be coming. We have to go to the vault. We have to get the goblet," Hermione said. Harry was still staring at the lifeless body of Griphook. He knew she was right, that they had to leave, but he couldn't make his body move.
"Harry. Come on, mate." Ron had finally gotten up and was breathing normally.
"But-but-"
"Harry, we have to," Hermione repeated. Suddenly there was a crash, making the trio jump. "Harry, we have to go. Now."
"Let's go!" Harry shouted and jumped up.
"Where are we going? How do we get to the vault?" Hermione asked as they began running in the direction they had been heading.
"We have to get down another floor," Harry said, skidding around a corner.
"How? Death Eaters will be everywhere now," Ron stated.
"We'll deal with it when we get there. Hurry," Harry replied. They ran down a few more corridors then came to a dead end.
"Oh no! There's no way out!" Hermione cried, gazing around.
"There has to be. This is the only corridor. Griphook was bringing us this way," Harry moaned.
"We have to get out of here. We'll be caught," Hermione said.
"There has to be something," Harry repeated. Ron began pushing on the walls and stomped on the floor.
"Ron, stop that. You'll-" Hermione was cut off as they began falling through the air. After a few seconds, they landed on a concrete floor.
"Ron? Hermione? Are you okay?" Harry asked, slowly sitting up and peering through the settling dust.
"Yeah. I'm all right. A bit more sore though," Ron groaned.
"I'm fine too," Hermione answered. "Where are we?"
Harry looked around, the dust having cleared. They were in another vault, but it wasn't empty. "We're exactly where we need to be," he finally said, staring at the wall across from them. There was a golden plaque on the wall with writing.
Lestrange
"Luke. I need you to find a few people for me. They're old friends of mine," Remus said.
"Of course."
"Okay. Their names are Tiffany Swan, Jack Morton, and-" he trailed off.
"Mr. Lupin?"
"And Danny Ledger," Remus finished.
"I'll see what I can do," Luke nodded and left. Remus sighed and walked from the department, wandering absently. He soon realized he was heading to Sirius' department. He continued and went to Sirius' office. He knocked.
"Come in," Sirius called and Remus entered. "Hey, Moony. What's up?" Sirius looked up from files on his desk.
"Not much. I was just walking. Ended up here," Remus shrugged.
Sirius frowned. "Is everything okay?"
"Nothing's been okay for almost two months. Anyways, not really. I'm asking Seth's brother to go undercover," Remus replied.
"Is that a good idea?"
"No, but I don't have a choice. I'll lose my job if I don't find three people and I don't know many werewolves. Just because I was one, doesn't mean I know many. I wasn't very popular."
"You were at school," Sirius grinned.
"Only because I was best friends with you and James. I would have been invisible otherwise."
"True, but you were still one of the coolest kids at Hogwarts. One of the biggest pranksters."
"Very true," Remus agreed. "How are you doing with the Aurors?"
"Hell. There's no one good."
"You have to pick people or you'll be fired too."
"I know. Damn Minister," Sirius grumbled.
"I should go. I asked Luke to find people for me. I'll see you later, Padfoot," Remus left and went back to his department.
"Mr. Lupin, I found the people you asked for," Luke stated.
"That was fast."
"You were gone for a half hour, sir."
That was a long walk. "Oh. So, what do you have?"
"Tiffany Swan died two years ago. Murdered. Death Eaters," Luke began. Remus sighed. "Jack Morton is living in Philadelphia."
"What about Danny?"
"Living right here in London. Six-oh-five, forty-ninth street."
Remus stared at him. "Are you sure?"
"Positive. Why?" Luke frowned.
Remus sighed again. "That's where Seth lived."
"We're in the Lestranges' vault?" Hermione looked around as the three of them stood up.
"Yeah. The plaque says 'Lestrange'," Harry nodded. He was looking at the contents on the floor in front of them. They had just missed falling into the golden items.
"So, what do we do?" Ron asked.
"We find the goblet," Harry said simply.
"How? Everything in here will burn and cut us. Cursed, remember?" Hermione stated.
"We don't really have a choice here, Hermione," Harry told her. She sighed. They stared at the shimmering gold and silver. Harry pulled off the cloth Hermione had put around his upper arm. He dropped it on a nearby goblet.
"What are you doing?" Ron wondered.
"Obviously clothing doesn't burn," Harry said.
"That doesn't really help us, Harry," Hermione replied.
"I don't know. We'll just have to go for it," Harry shrugged.
"Dig? With our bare hands? In there?" Hermione said slowly. Harry nodded. "Have you completely lost your mind?"
"We don't have a choice," Harry repeated. They glanced at each other and went back to staring at the cursed contents.
A/N: Keep in mind that this story was written before I fell in love with Severus Snape :P And, also, my Griphook was not a backstabbing bastard like he was in the real book. :P