"LIONESS" ARIELLE MANE RETURNED HOME
To Fill a Vacancy at Wizengamot

"Oh, Merlin...!" Sirius opened his eyes wide to see the banner headline on the front page. Harry had been cleared of all charges, and dropped at Grimmauld Place by Arthur going to Bethnal Green. Harry handed Sirius the latest Daily Prophet at lunch.
"Kingsley gave it to us," said Arthur from behind them. "—when I met him at Auror Office. We both met her there, Sirius. The woman you chose—lovely and elegant... Oh, Molly, I just praised his fiancée...!"
Molly, who was preparing lunch for Harry, looked Arthur reproachfully. But Sirius seemed not to hear their conversation at all. His eyes fastened on the article.
There was Arielle's photo inserted. She, in the monochrome photo, was smiling warmly and waving her hand to Sirius, and, the necklace of the four-leaf clover was shining on her chest. He stared at her face for a while and then, began to read the article.

Arielle Mane, also known as 'Lioness' or 'Mad-Eye Junior,' had returned to Britain as a Senior Auror on the night of the second August, the spokeswizard of the Ministry announced last night. She fills a vacancy at Wizengamot created by Albus Dumbledore's resignation.
After You-Know-Who fell, she had been transferred to the Department of International Cooperation and sent to Japan as a member of goodwill mission. She stayed there as a Professor of Defence Against Dark Arts at a Japanese wizarding school for fourteen years.
Mane answered our interview briefly. "I'm so glad to return to Britain," said Mane, wearing a smile. "An Auror—it's the job I chose at the age of sixteen. I need a rehab to fight, I guess. I haven't used even 'Expelliamus' out of the classroom. I was a teacher who hadn't fought for years."
It was the first time her transfer to Japan was officially announced. Her returning was also made public nearly two weeks after she actually returned. Some suppose she was called back to hunt Sirius Black, at large for two years, but her task was not defined.
Arielle Mane is well known as the only survivor of the Manes' tragedy happened on ninth April twenty-four years ago, her own eleventh birthday. Twenty-eight Manes and relatives gathering at the birthday party found murdered and Arielle survived by hiding in a barrel in a cellar—

"She's—she's still alive," said Sirius in a tearful voice. "I—I thought she'd already—d—died..."
His grey eyes got moist with tears. He saw Harry's face and opened his mouth.
"You met her, too, didn't you?"
"Yes, and—she helped me with coping with the hearing! She spoke for me, she told them she'd met Dementors," replied Harry with excitement. "She was the witch who saved me on that night," Harry gave him a broad smile. "She happened to come across the Dementors on the way to London... And the Patronus! Her Patronus was a dog, see? It's you!"
"Oh, yes..., yes." Sirius managed to say few words. Of course, he realised her Patronus hadn't been a dog, but a lion. However, it was not a serious question for him. He was just happy to hear her Patronus was a dog, which meant she was more or less, still, caring him.
"Sirius..., look!" Harry noticed something written above the headline. The note looked like just a scribble. He didn't know whose handwriting it was, but he could easily guess it should be Kingsley's.

Rejoining us tomorrow evening

The next day Arielle stopped work earlier and Apparate to Hogsmeade. She walked through the high street. The scenery reminded her of a lot of memories.
The Hog's Head was as shady as it was in her Hogwarts years. She had neither gotten near nor entered there. Why here?—doubted Arielle. As far as she knew, he would never choose the pub to have a talk secretly.
She stepped into the pub. It was a dirty, dingy room filled with rough wooden tables and chairs. It smelled strange, too. She chose the table by a window she expected to see Hogwarts Castle through. The window was so filthy that she couldn't see anything thorough it.
There were also some people at the bar; all of them were hiding their faces behind something like a veil.
"Tergeo," Arielle flicked her wand. Now she could see the blurred shape of Hogwarts.
"What?" Arielle heard a grunt from behind. The barman was an old, grumpy-looking man with a great deal of grey hair and beard. He looked as though a dusty Albus Dumbledore. Surprisingly, she thought she'd met him before but she couldn't remember when.
"Firewhiskey, please," said Arielle. "I'd like the biggest bottle, if you have."
"Biggest bottle? You tippler..."
The barman took out the 'biggest' bottle below the bar. She flicked her wand again; there was a glass with a delicate relief. The next flick filled it with some cubes of ice.
Then, she heard a distinctive clucking footsteps approach. She turned her head, and as soon as she saw who was coming, she sprang up from her seat.
"Ah, ah—Mad-Eye!"
'Mad-Eye' Moody's magical eye had been watching around. Arielle was all smiles and almost threw herself into his arms. Instead of hugging her, Mad-Eye held out his hand to her. Arielle and Mad-Eye shook their hands.
"Eight Sickles," the barman returned and banged the bottle of Firebolt Whisky against the table. "And what?" The barman said to Mad-Eye.
"One Butterbeer," replied Mad-Eye. "I'll get them."
"Ten Sickles, then," the barman again grunted.
She realised Mad-Eye got a little older, but his looks hadn't changed so much; his face was covered with scars and a chunk of his nose missing—she suddenly remembered how he'd lost most of his nose—and what happened to her then. A shadow passed over her face.
Mad-Eye received a bottle of Butterbeer and gave silvers to the barman. He pushed the bottle toward Arielle without any words and drank from his personal silver flask. She giggled to see that, opening her bottle of whiskey. She poured it to the brim of the glass and drained it with one gulp. She felt her throat burned.
"Happy to meet you again," said Mad-Eye looking at Arielle with his both normal and magical eyes. She was looking outside through the window. "Getting lost in thought, eh?"
"I've long missed Hogwarts," she gave an absent-minded answer, still looking over there. "Not only Hogwarts. I missed everyone—everyone here."
"Some realised 'Mad-Eye Junior' disappeared," he drank from his flask again. "—but nobody looked for you—because everyone knew Crouch did," he began spinning the magical eye. "He didn't want to work with you. Now he's dead. So—Fudge did call you back to spy us." Mad-Eye said strongly, to her surprise, he didn't lower his voice at all.
"To spy you?" Arielle put her glass on the table. "Why?" she leaned forward to wait for his next words.
Arielle realised Fudge was discrediting Dumbledore—if he really wanted her to spy Dumbledore and his followers—Dumbledore and his followers—an idea came to her mind but she wasn't sure whether it was right. Arielle asked Mad-Eye in a low voice.
"Well..., Mad-Eye, why did you ask me to come here?" Arielle had a number of questions. "You'd like have a talk with me secretly, wouldn't you?"
"Yes, of course, Arielle." Mad-Eye's voice sounded satisfied. "I haven't gotten dotty yet to take Fudge seriously. And, this place was the best as far as I know unless you've been followed by someone."
Arielle quickly turned her head unknowingly. There were several wizards or witches hiding their faces and the barman drying a glass with a dirty cloth.
"Don't worry, my eyes haven't seen anything unpleasant," now his both eyes looked at her. "Potter was lucky enough to have a witness Fudge couldn't ignore," Mad-Eye was probably all smiles, but his face looked only twisted with too many scars. "And your new Patronus, pleasant... pleasant."
"Who told you about my new Patronus?" asked Arielle at once, but Mad-Eye ignored.
"You like living here again? I heard you still stayed in the inn of Leaky Calderon."
"Yes, of course, Mad-Eye. I'd liked to meet you, too. But—" Arielle lowered her voice. "Fudge's made me so busy... he asks a lot to me. And—he said he'd wanted me to fill the vacancy of Dumbledore at Wizengamot. Why did he resign? Fudge pushed him to do?" Arielle said impatiently.
Mad-Eye again made a smile with satisfaction.
"I'm so relieved to see you are what I knew... Yes, Fudge is scared of Dumbledore."
"Why?" Her jaw dropped.
"'Cause Fudge's thought Dumbledore is recruiting his own army to defeat him... Actually his idea was not too wrong, though. Yes, Dumbledore wants warriors who know people holding the power often get mad. See? Kingsley and I have asked recruiting you, Arielle Mane 'the Lioness'!"
"So you mean Fudge's gotten mad?"
"Yes,"
"He's discrediting Dumbledore?"
"More than discrediting, Arielle. It'd take so much for Dumbledore to get imprisoned, the worst case we can imagine."
"He'd get imprisoned?"
"He can if he continues defying." Mad-Eye spun his magical eye once and said. "But Dumbledore's recruiting to fight against Voldemort, not Fudge."
Arielle was holding out her hand to the glass, but stopped. Voldemort?
"He's back?" she knitted her eyebrows.
"Yes, but Fudge doesn't believe," he snorted. "Potter witnessed his return with his eyes and soon told to Dumbledore... Arielle, to tell the truth, I was packed in my trunk for nine months—by Crouch Junior. He'd escaped from Azkaban—"
Mad-Eye told her briefly what happened to Harry and how Voldemort succeed to return.
"So—Fudge decided not to believe he'd returned—"
"Yes, you now see how terrible, eh?"
Arielle shut her mouth. She came to hate the power itself. She asked him her next question.
"I heard it was you who'd tempted Crouch to send me to Japan as professor."
"Oh yes," Mad-Eye admitted. "Let me say it was for you, Arielle. I'd liked you stay in a quiet place... to protect you until we need to call back. You remember what Witch Weekly wrote about you?"
"I know it exists to be sold well," she smiled bitterly to hear the magazine's name. "But thank you, Mad-Eye. I did enjoy teaching there... I was... deserted, doubted, and my fiancé was a murderer and got imprisoned, and you know..." She poured her glass with whiskey, and gulped.

"... I won't last so long,"

He didn't know what to say.
"In our side, nobody wants you to die so easily," he looked at her with both eyes again. "Anyway, you are still alive. You'd thank me. You'll get so relieved to be alive from the bottom of your heart."
"Oh, I always thank you. You'd trained me so strictly," said Arielle ironically; she'd get amazed to hear his next words.

"Listen, Arielle, Sirius Black is innocent."
"W—what?"
"Your fiancé is innocent." Mad-Eye repeated seriously.

"He is—innocent?" Her jaw again dropped.
"No kidding," Arielle said so, but she liked to depend on his words. Her hands touched the necklace of the four-leaf clover on her chest as though they'd led by it.
"Oh, he has a similar one, doesn't he?"
"Y—yes. D—did you meet him?"
"Oh, oh, Arielle. He gave over his late mother's house to the Order of the Phoenix."
"The Order of the Phoenix..." Arielle heaved a sigh. "So... the Order harbours him?"
"Yes, but he won't like to hear he's 'harboured,'" said Mad-Eye quite seriously. "You're a valuable potential. We want you to rejoin us as soon as possible."
"Yes, Mad-Eye, right now."
"You want to meet him again?"
"I—I miss him so much." Arielle took a deep breath.
"Of course, I heard he'd escaped there. Nobody knew where he ran. I never thought he'd tried to find me, but—I got quite surprised to hear he was hunting Harry. I didn't completely believe he was serving for the Dark Side."
Arielle drank whiskey again. It didn't burn her throat; she felt herself warmed to the core of her body. Fourteen years passed since we got separated—will he hold me as he did? Does he still love me? And—will he accept what I've never told him for fourteen years?
"Then, Arielle, I ask you again. Would you rejoin the Order of the Phoenix again?"

"Yes, of course, Mad-Eye," replied Arielle strongly.

Suddenly, the wizards and witches in the pub removed their veils and stood up and walked up to them, as though Arielle's reply was the sign. She sprang up took few steps back, but as soon as she saw who they were, her smile broadened. They were all the original member of the Order—but soon she realised a young witch she'd saw a few times at the Ministry.
"Hello, Arielle. Long time no see!"
It was the man Arielle knew the best. Remus Lupin cracked a smile and hugged her as though she got swallowed into his arms.
"Remus, are you all right?" asked Arielle in a tearful voice. He looked as though he'd got old two times faster than she did.
"So-so. Anyway, I release you because I don't want to get scolded by someone you know. Let me introduce this witch who's joined us."
Next to him, there was a young witch with a bubblegum pink hair and twinkling dark eyes.
"This is Nymphadora—"
"How many times do I need to say? Don't call me Nymphadora—"
"Oh, sorry, Tonks. This is Nymphadora Tonks—"
"Please call me just Tonks. I'm Tonks... Well, I've seen you somewhere before—"
"She's at Auror Office too!" Mad-Eye butted in.
But her name reminded her of an old memory. Not at the Ministry—she was sure she'd actually met her before.
"Y—yes! I'm so s—sorry."
"Don't mind," Arielle smiled. "Just call me Arielle."
Tonks was staggered to see a Senior Auror. In the other side, there was Emmeline Vance, and next to her, there were Dedalus Diggle, Hestia Jones and Sturgis Podmore. Arielle knew them well. She shook hands with all of them and drained the last glass of whiskey.
"Oh, Arielle, you do drink quite a lot!" Emmeline chaffed to see her drink much.
"Then—we don't need to stay here long. Let's go—eh? Who gives an arm?" said Mad-Eye.
"A—are we going now? And—what d'you mean—'give an arm'?" Arielle asked him with a blank look.
"We need to take you there by Side-Along Apparition," Mad-Eye went out the pub, and others followed him. "I know you can Apparate well, though. But you're going to where you don't know—the risk of Splinching. We'd like to take no risks, Arielle."
His answer was perfect. Remus shut the door from behind. Nobody stepped towards Arielle to lend an arm; they were giggling exchanging glances.
"Arielle, hold onto my arm—and then we won't have future trouble, eh? Guess if Remus's—we have no moment to mediate."
"Mad-Eye, you've said such a joke before?"
Tonks said behind Arielle. Everyone except Arielle laughed; she couldn't understand what he meant. As Mad-Eye told, she held his arm tightly.

"C'mon! Let's be off!"