Prisoner of Azkaban
Chapter Seventeen
Visit
Amestrian Border
Early Morning
Sirius decided it was time to try once again. He had studied the magic around the border all night and was ready to try one last trick before giving up and starting the search for a different access point. The key, he decided, was similar to that in Azkaban. As the dog, his mind was simpler, easier to ignore deeper concerns. He simply let everything out of his mind except for the thought of protecting Harry. There was still resistance, far more than he had expected, but worked. He was able to push through the boundary.
Unfortunately, he quickly discovered, not without sounding some sort of alarm, because guards quickly began appearing everywhere near the breech. He kept to the shadows, even as they searched, doing his best to avoid detection. One of the guards said just a few feet away, "It's no good in the dark. We need to call in the wizards to double check."
"Are we certain anything actually came through though?" asked a second guard as Sirius tried to pull further into the shadows. A wizard could be a bigger issue, though not completely. Not unless Remus had told them what he was, which now that he thought about it should be a concern. Remus was clearly a turncoat. It wouldn't have surprised Sirius if he HAD told them. Either way, he needed to get away from the area as fast as possible.
"Something came through, trust me." Said the first guard. "I may not be a magic user, but I AM sensitive to magical…whatever, that's why I was given this assignment."
"Okay, then let's call it in." the second guard agreed as they walked away, and mentally cursing Sirius wandered away from the border as fast as possible. Hopefully whatever Wizard they brought out wasn't good with tracking spells, or any reliable information about him. It doesn't matter though, he wasn't going to turn back now, not this close to James' kid.
Fuhrer's Mansion
Amestris
On Friday afternoon Ron, Hermione, Neville as well as Ginny arrived home with the Elrics to visit over the weekend. It had taken time to arrange between the school, their father, and the other parents though both Mrs. Longbottom and the Weasleys had been reassured of the security around the mansion. The kids helped unintentionally when Ron had mentioned how the Elrics were currently being watched at school by several men in uniform as a precaution.
He had brought it up because his friends thought it was funny that Neither Anya nor Huan had been sent additional security. Ron himself had said nothing to the other children, though he knew the reason was because of Sirius Black. Apparently, no one was concerned for any of the kids aside from Yuery.
Yuery's mom met them in the study as they appeared, with a tired smile. "Hello children. Dad will be home soon, why don't you show your friends to the guest suites? "
"Will he be held up long? He didn't have any scheduled meeting this morning?" Yuery asked as they all filed out of the room.
"There was an incident report filed at the Creta border that he needed to read. Nothing major." Mom said. "Dad will tell you all about it when he returns, I'm sure. Now, Armstrong and Breda have offered to be your escorts for the weekend so please do not cause them any trouble. They agreed to a tour of the city tomorrow morning as long as everyone behaves."
"Will we get to visit the Armstrongs? Their place is always fun." Will asked excitedly.
"I'm not certain. Go on now, be good hosts." Mom left them there, as the boys lead their guests into the rooms normally used by Emperor Ling and his family when they came out. It was in the same wing as their own apartment, and next to Uncle Al and Aunt Mei's official apartment. The rooms they showed their guests to included three small bedrooms available for them to use, the master bedroom was off limits. There was a sitting room, and a dining room as well as a small kitchenette that was stocked with drinks and snacks for them.
"So, rules." Yuery began as he led them into the sitting room. "One. Do not leave the apartment without an escort. This is a big building and while it is our home, it is also a place of business. Two. You can go anywhere inside the apartment as long as it is already unlocked but do not unlock any rooms that are locked. These are the rooms used by the Imperial family of Xing, so please don't cause trouble. Three. Bedtime is the same here as at school. Four. When we are out with the guards, stay with the guards and listen to what they say."
"You aren't allowed to wander around your own house? It's your house." Ron asked with a confused frown.
"We can go anywhere we want in our apartment, but the mansion overall has areas that are off limits. We also are on high alert right now which limits movements even more." Yuery said with a shrug of someone who was used to the rules.
"High alert?" Neville asked nervously.
"Sirius Black." William provided seriously. "It is believed he wishes to breech our borders and may be a threat to Brother. However unlikely it is for him to actually cross the border; we must be careful."
"It isn't the first time we have been on high alert, don't worry, the mansion is perfectly safe." Maes assures. "Yuery show them their rooms, I'm hungry."
Ministry of Magic
London, England
Dumbledore was not pleased when he had been called to Fudge's office. He was very busy after all, but he also needed the Ministry on his side on the matter of Harry Potter, so he arrived sober and in a fair mood. Fudge greeted him with a somber expression before they sat, and Fudge waved off his assistant. "We must discuss the security around the school, I have received several complaints from concerned parents on the matter."
"Sirius Black has no interest in the school, not without young Mr. Potter's attendance." Dumbledore said with a sigh. "Though his withdraw is concerning overall, it did work in our favor for the moment."
"Ah yes, while we are on the subject, do you know why his guardians chose to withdraw him? It was my understanding that the Amestrians were receptive to the idea of opening communication with the magical world." Fudge said with a frown. "We have heard very little from them since his withdraw however."
"I believe that is the doing of his adoptive father." Dumbledore said with a sad sigh. "The child was showing interest in learning about his true family history. I believe the man was unhappy with this, fearing the boy may chose to stay here in England where he was born."
"Really? The man seemed very reasonable the few times I was able to speak to him. Though he does seem rather young, doesn't he?"
"I believe he is young actually, though I do not know much of their culture. He may not be considered young by their standards. His father is young as well after all and runs their entire country." Dumbledore nodded. "Though if their age of majority is lower than ours it could work in our favor as well, the boy would likely return should he be allowed the choice."
"It was my understanding from speaking to their leaders that this is not the case however… I do wonder as to their level of concern. No one would try to take the child from them, he is legally their child after all." Fudge frowned again; he had wondered about some of Dumbledore's wording. Perhaps the man had misspoke at some point and caused the concern accidentally.
"I believe that would be the work of the woman who had attempted to claim she was Perenelle Flamel. Her true name was Dante Hohenheim, she had a deep hatred of magic users, which is why she attacked the school a few years ago." Dumbledore replied in a tired voice. "She was unfortunately, at some point for a short while, Edward Elric's stepmother, or so I am to understand. Either his stepmother or his birth mother. I'm afraid I am not familiar enough with their politics to be completely certain. She, I believe, passed on her dislike of magic to her son."
"He did not seem to dislike magic during our talks. Though in politics very rarely does one show their hand. It is possible I missed it, while you were able to see a different side of him after all he spent months at the school."
"Indeed. Speaking of the school, if you insist on Dementors, I must insist they not be allowed on the grounds, they may guard the borders." Dumbledore said steering the conversation back to the point of the visit rather than continue to speak of Elric.
"It is for the safety of the students and reassurance of the parents Dumbledore; I really must insist that they guard. However, I will agree that they remain outside the grounds, provided they are not hindered should Black appear anywhere nearby. We cannot afford for that madman to get anywhere near the children."
Amestrian Countryside
Sirius had made his way passed the fields and into the wilderness over the course of the day. He was grateful for the cover of trees, even as he wandered closer to the train tracks to help negotiate the unknown countryside. He had been in the dog form almost exclusively for weeks now and decided to shift back for a short while. The guards had been looking for the dog after all, and though he was wild looking he was clearly human.
He worried at one point as he walked along that the wanted posters of him had made it as far as Amestris. Perhaps, he decided, it would be better to stick to the wilds and avoid any towns he came across. Though this meant he would have to find his own food instead of ordering something from an inn or begging for something from a kitchen as the dog. He was undecided on how exactly he would handle it should he run into other people this close to the border, but once he was closer to the cities he would change back and beg as he had in England.
He was still thinking about this when he heard the patrols approaching his location. He assumed at least they must be the patrols, as they were clearly in uniform, though he had thought he had gotten far enough from the border not to be bothered. Thinking quickly, he hid in some bushes as the men passed him speaking of dinner, and the upcoming shift change.
There was very little to hide with in the countryside, it was not forested, more bushes and tall grasses than anything else. He watched them walk away, and he gathered from their conversation that they were not actually on the border but rather protecting a nearby town in case something was to happen near the border. He debated following them as the dog in hopes of gaining a meal before he decided not to take the risk and shifted into a dog to hunt down a rabbit instead.
Fuhrer's Mansion
Dining room of the Fuhrer's Apartment
Yuery, William, and Maes brought the others over as soon as it was close to dinnertime. Normally, with the current security levels no one aside from their family would be allowed inside but their parents had made it clear to the guards that the children had been given permission to enter.
When they arrived the only adult inside was their grandmother. She, along with their sisters as well as their aunt and uncle were at the table already. "Hello children, I'm afraid my husband and son will not be joining us tonight. Your mother is also running late, boys, so we are to start without her."
"Why is everything alright, Nainai?" Yuery asked with concern. It was rare for them to miss dinner and usually meant there was a big issue over at command.
"Just paperwork Yuery, don't worry." She replied, "Your mother went to invite General Armstrong and Colonel Breda to join us so the other children could meet their escorts for tomorrow."
"Wasn't Armstrong one of the ones who came to the school last year?" Ron asked. "It sounds familiar."
"Both have been to your former school, yes, but I thought it best that you are properly introduced." She smiled at Ron, "After all, you will be following them around the city tomorrow. Yes, I heard of your request earlier boys and confirmed that they will also be taking you to the Armstrong mansion for lunch tomorrow rather than return here. Draco Black will also be joining you in the morning."
Winry came in followed by Alex Armstrong and Heymans Breda at that point and introduced the two men. Armstrong, as he had a tendency to do, loudly and warmly greeted the children. Breda was just as friendly, as usual, he cut Armstrong off before the taller man could go into a full speech. "I've known them both my whole life," Yuery said quietly as Breda explained to Armstrong that he had all weekend to explain his family history, "Breda can always get Armstrong to calm down. Oh, but when we are out Armstrong will be very serious, so don't think he's mad at us all of a sudden."
"How will we know if we annoy him then?" Ginny asked curiously.
"I don't know, I don't think I've ever actually annoyed him." Yuery said with a shrug. "I can ask my Dad; he annoyed them when he was our age."
"Are you better behaved then your dad was then?" asked Neville with amusement.
"No. He just has less freedom to move." Riza said from the top of the table, which is when the children realized the adults were listening to their conversation. "Tomorrow you will follow the normal rules. You are not enlisted; you will not mimic your father."
"Got it." Yuery said seriously. He hated to be in trouble with any of his family, but his grandmother was the worst one to annoy. Even his grandfather avoided it, and he was in charge of the whole country.
A/N: Due to personal obligations, there will not be a chapter released next week(I will not have access to the internet). I will try to release two chapters the following week to make up for the delay.