Sirius and Harry, Sirius's godson, were waiting for dinner, talking about the Dementors' attack. Sirius had escaped from Azkaban two years ago, and now, was hiding in Number Twelve, Grimmauld Place—the Black family's house. Since his mother died, it has belonged to Sirius, the last Black left. And this place was now, the Headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix. It's the secret society founded by Albus Dumbledore. It's the people who fought against Lord Voldemort and the Death Eaters last time. Sirius was also one of them.
"A witch—came by a broomstick?"
"Yeah, and she saved me and Dudley, my cousin. Her Patronus was a dog, I think."
"I—we—don't know who she was," said Sirius. "Did she certainly save you?"
"I'm sure so," replied Harry. "She seemed only to have passed by—and travelled long—she was wearing goggles and a cloak—and the trunk was quite large—"
Sirius looked perplexed.
"So, I mean—I doubted whether it was she who set the Dementors on you, but she seems not... Anyway, it's a really important point, Harry. Can a witch accidentally passed by there—in Little Whinging?"
Sirius was completely amazed to hear the story of a witch with her Patronus, a silver dog. Considering of what he heard at the Order's meetings, he thought nobody knew the witch who saved Harry and his cousin with a Patronus—
"Yes, I couldn't protect even her, either—" whispered Sirius sadly, gazing after a red-haired plump woman going out of the kitchen. After dinner he had a quarrel with her—whether the Order should give information to Harry. Of course he tried not to show his feelings, but he did get deeply hurt to hear what she, Molly Weasley, said—"—it's been rather difficult for you to look after him, or, to care for her—while you've been locked up in Azkaban, hasn't it?"
"I think, personally, she said too much to you, especially mentioning about her," said a balding, bright red-haired man, Molly's husband. "Sorry, Sirius."
"Don't apologise, Arthur. She's right," said Sirius distressfully.
"She seems to have died long before, doesn't she?"
"We have no particular idea, but I'm afraid... she seems so." said a young witch with a bubblegum pink hair. "We can see she'd relegated to the Ministry of International Cooperation, er—as you already know. But we have no information why she is not there now."
"Barty Crouch did," said Arthur. "He took it out on her, Mad-Eye Junior. It was she who caught his son—"
"Nonsense, I mean—he summoned her to a hearing after you were sent to Azkaban—" said a wizard with a light-brown hair. "So, you seemed to have doubted her as well as me—"
"Yes, Remus—I'm so sorry. I didn't told her we'd changed the Secret-Keeper. You know about her cousin—the only one of her relatives, who joined the Dark Side, I mean—I thought she'd helped him in any form, or, got forced to do so. I feel such a fool. But she spoke for me—'he didn't have a Dark Mark, anywhere on his body.' my love..." Sirius sighed. "It must be the only, biggest, and last thing she could say for me."
Everyone turned silent. In fact, nobody at the table knew why she'd disappeared from even the Department of International Cooperation. The young witch was the first who opened her mouth.
"Sirius,"
"What, Tonks?" Sirius replied.
"Mad-Eye is still looking for her," said Tonks. "Only he seems to believe we need to know how she spent the rest of her life, er—and Kingsley seems to help him."
"Mad-Eye always thinks of her special. Kingsley was her best colleague." Sirius said in a quiet voice.
"But why?" asked a tall, young wizard with red hair. It was Bill, the eldest son of Arthur and Molly.
"Why? Ah, I see, you'd been too young to know what happened to the Manes," said Sirius. "Because of the worst and last tragedy Mad-Eye had faced. She was the only survivor—he could save only her."
"So she owed her life to him." Bill looked now satisfied.
"He'd got angry to hear she was becoming an Auror, I heard so from her long ago," said Sirius. "But it's also true she was an outstanding, talented Auror—they two filled one third of Azkaban together. I feel like I can understand why—why Mad-Eye got angry. She'd managed to survive the tragedy, and Mad-Eye did like her as though she was his own daughter. But—she disappeared after her fiancé got sent to Azkaban. There's only one reason possible—the Death Eaters might have killed her, or—"
The door of the kitchen opened, and Molly Weasley returned. She went her children's bedroom to see, or hear, them in bed and sleeping.
"What were you talking about?"
"About her," replied Sirius through clenched teeth. "About my dead fiancée, whom you mentioned, thankfully."
In the afternoon of the next day, Sirius was in the drawing room, looking up the Black family tree. He sighed to see a burn next to the name of Regulus, his brother who died about fifteen years ago.
"In my opinion, Kreacher, the House of Black is not noble and the most ancient. I know one tapestry handed down for few more centuries than this. You must know the answer—but yes, one of your greatest mistresses did ruin it..."
"M—mister! You mean the house of the blood-traitors! My poor mistress, nothing had disappointed her more!"
"Shut up, Kreacher! Go away!"
Kreacher, the old, ugly house-elf serving the Black family, couldn't defy his own master, and went out saying all the complaints he had. Sirius was gazing after him with rancour. A look of sorrow—than anger—appeared on Sirius's face.
Sirius began to tell Harry about the Black family. Behind them, Ron and Hermione, Harry's close friends were listening to their conversation. Fred, George, and Ginny, who are Ron's siblings, were also interested in what they were speaking. They'd been getting rid of Doxy in the drawing room, but everyone seemed to forget what they were doing.
"As I turned to be seventeen, I began to live by myself—No, soon I shared the flat with someone. Uncle Alphard left me much Galleons—I'd lived with my girlfriend for years—happily."
Sirius added some words at last, in self-deprecation. Harry realised something, but hesitated to ask whether his idea was right.
"Lunch," said Molly's voice. She brought sandwiches and cakes on a huge tray for lunch.
"...Well, I might remain on the tapestry—if I hadn't run away—but—my dear mother didn't like the Mane family, so the same result might have fallen."
"Sirius, may I ask you a question?"
Harry was sure his idea was right.
"Anything is okay,"
Sirius said so, but he looked as though he was going to receive a death sentence.
"S—Sirius, I haven't heard so—but, but—did you have—a wife?"
Molly, her children, and Hermione said nothing. Ron got choked.
Sirius kept silent for a moment, too. And he made up his mind to say.
"No, I didn't, Harry. But—I did propose to the girlfriend I'd lived with for years–'her' Molly mentioned yesterday. It was a few months before I got imprisoned to Azkaban."
Sirius heaved a great sigh. The drawing room seemed to get even much quieter.
"Look at this," Sirius pointed at something like a pin on his robe. It was a four-leaf clover. Though the robe has got tattered during imprisonment in Azkaban and escape from there, it had been shining mysteriously as well as fourteen years ago. "We'd exchanged four-leaf clovers on that day."
Sirius breathed another sigh and continued. "Arielle Mane—she was elegant, beautiful, and mild. Unlike me, she knew being loved by her family. I always felt comfortable when next to her... She loved me. And I—still love her. After graduating Hogwarts, she became an Auror—an outstanding Auror. Kingsley nicknamed her 'Lioness.' Yeah, she fought bravely, or manly, like a lion starting the game—I've run down by her once, only once—scary, I was so scared."
Sirius smiled in disgust, missing her.
"She was the last living one—of the Manes. The Manes were all talented, quite wealthy family—her father was an amusing merchant, her great-aunt was a popular fashion designer—and—many more, anyway." said Sirius quietly. "Voldemort and the Death Eaters might have directed their attention to their talents, maybe wealth too. But the Manes, one of the oldest pure-blood families, decided to take Dumbledore's side—and, the whole family, except Arielle, the twenty-eight people, was murdered by the Death-Eaters on Arielle's eleventh birthday. They attacked her birthday party held at Manes' house, when all the relatives gathering. It's said it was a warning for the future to others—what would happen if we resist them. It was the first tragedy the organized Death Eaters carried out."
Sirius took out some photos from his robe and handed them to Harry. There was a happy couple, Arielle and Sirius, in every photo. Sirius looked much more handsome than now. Harry fixed his eyes on the woman next to Sirius. He'd seen her in a photo, too; she was next to Lily Potter in the photo taken at his parents' wedding.
But he thought—was it really the last time I saw her? He felt as if he'd met her recently.
The twins—Fred and George were looking at Harry with a wistful look. Harry made an eye contact with Sirius—and passed the photos to them. They said 'Thanks.' to Sirius, and saw the photos. The other four, Ron, Ginny, Hermione and Molly also saw them with their heads together.
"Anyway—she survived the tragedy. She played hide-and-seek against the Death-Eaters, Harry. Before they find the youngest daughter of the Manes hiding in a barrel filled with potion, plenty of Aurors and Hit Wizards—as many as, or, more than the Death-Eaters—arrived at the Manes' manor. ...And, one of the Death-Eaters was—this."
Sirius pointed at the name on the tapestry—Bellatrix Black.
"It was the debut of my dear cousin," said Sirius. "Her Master praised her for killing Arielle's mother and sisters? Or, she got punished because they couldn't slay off all the Manes?"
Sirius raised his voice in anger, and clenched his fist, glaring at the name.
"W—why doesn't the Order ask her to join it?" asked Harry reservedly.
Sirius just smiled sadly, and he opened his mouth.
"After I was sent to Azkaban," Sirius sighed again. "—she was summoned to a hearing."
"How come?" Harry got surprised.
"Because her fiancé turned to be a murderer, and, her cousin was once suspected of being a Death-Eater... Barty Crouch Senior, as I told you before, the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement at that time, treated her harshly. It was she who caught Barty Crouch Junior... and he, Crouch Senior, seemed to think he could clear his name... if Arielle turned out to do something for the Dark Side. Of course, she was innocent, but Crouch relegated Arielle Mane to the Department of International Cooperation—saying he thought highly of her linguistic ability—yeah, she was quite good at any foreign languages, probably being a merchant's daughter... But soon she disappeared even from the Department. Nobody knows why... Even Daily Prophet didn't mention it—Crouch must have put pressure on them. Foolish idiot—many of the people knew her better as the only survivor of the Manes' tragedy...or, Mad-Eye Junior, who was a young, outstanding Auror. Later Crouch was demoted there himself... It's said Crouch and some high officials had something with her disappearance—but I think—"
"You think—?" Harry looked up his godfather's, agonized face.
Sirius answered nothing. He drooped his shoulders, sighed once again, and went out of the room.
