A/N) I have, unfortunately, slowed down in my writing of this story, however I am 8 chapters ahead at the moment. Though I have planned out the majority of this story, I am not exactly following it, especially with Chapter 65, which is the chapter I am currently struggling with writing. I don't know how this will effect the rest of the plan, but I hope I can steer myself back on track. And now onto the chapter...
Chapter Fifty-Seven: Andromeda Black
Sunday 18th October 1995
"What exactly is this place?" asked Harry, staring around in wonder at the hall (which he had not even known existed) where their secret defence lessons were going to take place. Along the wall there were shelves of defensive books, as well as a few on curses and duelling. There was a duelling platform raised in the centre of the room, but larger duelling mats placed strategically around the room.
Sirius grinned at his godson. "I'm surprised you haven't found this place yet, Harry. It's very useful. It's the Room of Requirement. It becomes anything you want it to – the only thing it can't do is give you food. Your father and I stumbled across it in our first year after we had dropped a couple of dung bombs just down the corridor. We were looking for somewhere to hide and, well, this place suddenly appeared, though it was more of a small cupboard then. This was also the place where we learnt all about Animagi and how we achieved the transformation. The Room of Requirement became a home to us. It was here, at the end of our seventh year that James proposed to Lily. I never got to see what he made the room like then..."
"It becomes anything you want it to?" questioned Hermione. She was still pale and a bit peaky but had insisted on coming to the first defensive lesson Sirius was holding. That morning had been the first time she had gone down the Great Hall for breakfast; people had stared at her, even though word had leaked around the school that she had been safely returned - staying in the Hospital Wing had stopped a lot of people from seeing the truth for themselves. Though she had politely made conversation with those that had spoken to her, her demeanour showed that she was still far from healed, but in order to do so, she had to return to a normal routine. Despite Sirius telling her that he didn't want to pressure her, she had been determined to join Harry and Ron that day.
Sirius nodded. "It does. Say you wanted a place to rest. You walk outside the patch of wall three times thinking about what you want; after the third pass the room appears. If you are in the room, and you want a bed, you just think it and then it appears." He closed his eyes just for the briefest of seconds and then Harry gasped as a bed suddenly grew out of the far wall. "See. But since we don't need a bed for these lessons, I'll just get rid of it."
"Can anyone find us?" asked Ron. "I mean, doesn't the door we come through show up?"
Sirius shook his head. "Not if you word your request correctly. I asked for a place where we can hide our defensive lessons from everybody in the castle. Even people who are tracking your movements wouldn't be able to find this place, no matter how much they ask the room to reveal it to them."
"Awesome." Ron sounded amazed by the intricate workings of the room.
"Isn't Remus supposed to be helping out?" asked Harry. "You said you needed a test dummy."
Sirius shifted on his feet. "Unfortunately he can't make it tonight, and I don't plan on testing out any spells tonight. I could ask the room to create dummies for us however some of the spells that need to be practised need to be tested upon a living person so that you can understand the full effects. It is how Auror training works. He'll be able to come for the next lesson, which will be next Wednesday, where he will also begin your Apparition lessons as well. Because lessons will be running late to encompass all of this, you will need to have your cloak and the map on hand as inevitably we will be practicing pass midnight. Authorising the three of you to wonder the castle after hours would be too much trouble, and could leak out among the student body. That would make things difficult for the Professors. And this is how Dumbledore prefers it: on the low-key and on the quiet." He clapped his hands together. "Right, shall we get started?" He gave them a dazzling grin, lifting his wand as he did so.
"What are we starting with?" asked Hermione, eagerness in her voice, her right hand clutched on her wand. She was glad to be working towards fighting back. She needed to.
Sirius frowned as Harry and Ron pulled out their wands. "First things first, I think we need to work on a duelling stance. You won't remain in that stance as you fight, especially if you are facing Voldemort. He will make you move, so you need to adapt a stance for various positions you may find yourself in. What I am about to show you are stances that are learnt within the Aurors. It is the first thing you are required to master before you can continue with your training, however you are not in Auror training, so I will not be waiting for you to master any duelling stances; I just want to show them to you so you have the basic idea. Whether you find yourself in a situation where you need them or not remain to be seen, but considering this is a war we fight in, undoubtedly you will." He pointed towards the first mat to his right. "Harry, you go there, Ron to his left and Hermione on his right."
He stood in the centre of the room, right foot in front of his left and his wand outstretched in front of him. "This is the classic duelling stance – it is the one most witches and wizards use, especially if you are not trained Aurors. You are all taught to duel in this manner, but it is not realistic. So, you have to adapt, you have to be fast, you have to be thinking while acting. If you are hit by a curse, you have to train yourself to ignore the pain, otherwise you will lose focus and you will die. I don't want that to happen to any of you. The first duelling stance you need to learn is how to get into one quickly and efficiently as possible after you have been thrown to the ground. My technique is simple however contraire to what I said earlier, I need one of you to curse me so I can show you what I mean."
"What would be the best one for us to use?" asked Harry. "I don't want to hurt you."
Sirius frowned, his mind running through the variety of spells, charms and curses he knew of, however the majority of them his three students wouldn't know about. "I think to be safe, use the Banishing Charm on me. It should cause me to fly across the room. Even though it's meant to work on objects, the charm can be used to send people away." He raised his eyebrows at the three of them. "I'm assuming you know that spell?"
Hermione nodded. "We learnt it in fourth year Charms."
"Good," he smiled softly. "I also presume you have mastered it?"
Harry raised his wand. "Yeah, I did."
"Considering Lily was brilliant at Charms, it doesn't surprise me her son is excellent at the subject," smiled Sirius. Harry's cheeks reddened and Sirius chuckled. "Okay then, Harry, are you ready to hit me?"
His godson nodded; a determined expression on his face. Sirius held his wand loosely in his right hand, letting it hang at his side. He waited, mentally running over in his head what he had to do as soon as Harry cast the spell.
"Depulso!"
The spell hit Sirius in the chest and he went flying, his back impacting hard against the wall. He slid to the floor, but he was already moving, rolling to the side and then coming up into a duelling crouch, his wand pointing directly at Harry. Carefully, he got to his feet. "That's what your reaction should be. As soon as you reach that mark you should be fighting back and then moving again. But you have to be fast. Do not stay in the place where you have fallen, move and that is where the roll comes in." With a flourish, he pocketed his wand. "So, this is what you are going to do. Each of you have your own mats – so, first of all, without wands, please –" he watched as they each placed them beside their individual mats, "I want you to do a roll and then come up in crouch stance. It doesn't have to be exactly like mine; everyone is an individual, but the goal has to be the same. We will practice that first, and once I think you've handled it, we'll try with you holding wands. Are you ready?"
All three of them nodded.
"Okay then, go."
"What did you think of that, Hermione?" asked Harry softly, once they had returned to Gryffindor Tower and Sirius had left for Grimmauld Place.
"It was enlightening," she replied. "Knowing different stances is essential to survival, that way we can easily adapt in battle when thrust into a difficult situation. What about you?"
Harry chuckled. "It was fun, especially when Ron accidently hit Sirius in the stomach when he came out of his roll."
"Hey!" Ron was indignant. "He shouldn't have been standing behind me!"
Hermione rolled her eyes in exasperation. "And how are you meant to learn to fight and defend yourself adequately, Ronald, if he isn't standing by to evaluate your performance?"
Ron opened his mouth to say something but closed it again, not really knowing what to say. Hermione smirked, knowing that she had won that particular battle for now.
Harry watched his friend carefully; he was glad that Hermione was putting effort into the lessons, but he was concerned that she wasn't having fun. Considering what she had gone through they hadn't been expecting miracles, but Hermione snapping at Ron was one of the traits of their friendship: it signalled a recovery on her part.
Still it was good to see laughter in Hermione's eyes as she had jokingly snapped at Ron.
As the weeks passed Harry, Ron and Hermione continued to work hard; the two boys managing to juggle their schedules accordingly to Quidditch Practice while at the same time taking lessons from Sirius and Remus. Apparition lessons were not going as well as Sirius' lessons were; Remus was an excellent teacher, however the complexity of the task was difficult for them all to achieve. Professor McGonagall had given up her Transfiguration room in order for them to practice as it was impossible for them to Apparate in the Room of Requirement, so Professor Dumbledore had temporarily lifted the enchantment on McGonagall's classroom every Wednesday evening.
Soon Halloween was upon them; the weather getting steadily colder as winter began to approach. Sirius had managed to book time off from the Aurors. Surprisingly, since his and Hermione's rescue from the Riddle House, Voldemort had been rather quiet. There had been no deaths; no disappearances and no threats. That was suspicious in itself, until an Order of the Phoenix meeting cleared everything up.
Voldemort was wary, biding his time to see if Harry showed power that the Dark Lord himself did not have. There had been whisperings that the Dark Lord had been planning on attacking Hogwarts, but this had been before Sirius had given him a part of the Prophecy, but now Snape was reporting that those plans were on hold, and that it was all down to Voldemort being fearful of Harry and the power he wielded. He would not face Harry until he knew what power he had: in short, Sirius' confession had brought the Order and the Wizarding World a reprieve.
But as soon as the Dark Lord realised that he did not know the entirety of the Prophecy or figured out that the power Harry had was in fact love, he would persecute the war to its end. Privately, Dumbledore had warned Sirius that he would not be safe, especially once it became clear that Voldemort had been fooled by a blood-traitor. Voldemort would want revenge; when that day came Sirius knew for his own safety that he would have to go into hiding, until then, he could remain actively within the Aurors. He was already a target but Voldemort was not known for his forgiving attitude towards traitors or deceivers.
And Sirius had deceived him.
He could only hope that Voldemort would not discover the entirety of the prophecy. He didn't relish the thought of going into hiding.
Saturday 31st October 1995
They had decided to go to Hogwarts for Halloween night, choosing to sit at the Gryffindor Table with Harry so that they could catch up. As it was a special feast, the lesson scheduled for that night had been cancelled, but would occur the next day instead. It was during that Halloween Feast where Sirius recounted tales of past feasts (alongside Remus Lupin) at the Gryffindor Table, getting laughter from the majority of the hall when he explained about the prank he and James had pulled on the Slytherins during their third year. They had charmed all the Slytherin's clothing to transfigure into Muggle Halloween costumes. During the main feast, James and Sirius had snuck down to the kitchens and succeeded in charming the table where the Slytherin food was set, so that when a student of the serpent house took a bite out of pumpkin cake, the effect would be immediate. Needless to say the Slytherin's hadn't noticed that it was pumpkin cake doing that to them; it was only when the majority of the table had fallen for it, had a Ravenclaw finally worked it out. It had been a complicated prank to achieve, but in the end it had been worth their effort, even if it had earned them a week's detention.
"But how did they know it was you?" pressed Fred Weasley, impressed by the pranks that both Sirius and Remus had pulled during their days as students.
"Simple," Sirius had smiled, "James and I were missing from the Halloween Feast but then suddenly appeared before deserts arrived. McGonagall had noticed that we hadn't been there one minute and the next we had been. We had slipped in under James' Invisibility Cloak and 'appeared' when no one was looking, but McGonagall doesn't miss a trick, especially when it was known that James and I were usually behind any mischief." He had thrown a glance at Remus then. "But she had never suspected you."
Remus had laughed. "I was the good boy, who would suspect me of any wrong doing?"
However the fun and laughter were now over and both Sirius and Remus had volunteered to patrol the school grounds. Officially Hogwarts Professor's and a small team of Aurors patrolled the grounds and corridors every night, but for this evening, especially since they were there, Sirius and Remus had joined the second shift that had started at midnight, afterwards in which they had planned to return to Grimmauld Place.
They were passing the stone circle when Remus grabbed Sirius by the back of his robes and hauled him behind the nearest stone, pressing his friend's back against it, hand on his mouth. Sirius raised his eyebrows but didn't struggle, realising that there probably was a very good reason for Remus to have done that. A frown was across his friend's face, and out of the corner of his eye he noticed a figure walking briskly past the stone circle, bypassing the path, but attempting to blend in with the surroundings. The figure was heading towards Hagrid's Hut, but Sirius was certain their true destination was the main gates of Hogwarts.
"This is just a hunch, but I think we might have just found our traitor," whispered Remus into Sirius' ear, removing his hand from his friend's mouth. "Miss Leverg is not on patrol tonight..."
"Avril Leverg?" hissed Sirius. "The Defence teacher and an Auror?"
Remus nodded. "Almost positive that was her. Looks to me like she didn't want to be seen, wearing black like that... I could be wrong, but why take the trouble to hide oneself and why leave the castle at this time?"
"All good points," murmured Sirius. He grabbed his friend's arm. "Stay here. I'll follow."
"I'm not useless, Padfoot," replied Remus.
Sirius threw him a roguish grin in the dim light. "I know, but you can't do this." Immediately he transformed into the large black dog that Remus knew so well. He was already bounding away on foot when his sensitive ears picked up Remus groaning to himself: "I should have known he was going to do that."
Padfoot followed the figure quickly and silently through the grounds, past Hagrid's Hut and towards the school gates. He hid amongst the undergrowth as the figure disabled the wards on the school gates and slipped outside them. That was another clue that the mysterious figure was indeed distinguished Auror, Avril Leverg. Only five people in the Castle could disable all the wards on the gates, and Avril was one of them.
The figure walked a little way into the darkness, leaving the gates open, but Padfoot slipped outside with ease. He padded into another bush, his eyes watching the figure that was now pacing in circles just to the side of him. So far, so good.
Minutes passed and nothing happened and then - just as he was beginning to wonder if something was going to happen – two people emerged, walking up the hill. Sirius recognised them for who they were: Bellatrix Lestrange and Barty Crouch Junior.
Clearly the injuries that Barty Crouch Junior sustained during the rescue attempt have been expertly healed... Typical.
"You're late," Avril Leverg's husky voice came out of the darkness.
Padfoot edged closer, pricking his ears, listening in.
"We do not keep to your schedule!" hissed Bellatrix Lestrange, fingering her wand, her eyes darting back and forth between Avril and the open gates of the school.
"Don't even think about it, Bella. Hogwarts is not for your taking this night!" Avril jabbed Bellatrix in the chest with a finger, and Padfoot was surprised when his insane cousin didn't screech or react at her.
They are on good terms then...
"Have you got the information for our Lord?" asked Bellatrix, her eyes narrowing to slits.
"No, I am afraid not. Potter has not shown any power that the Dark Lord does not have. He is mediocre at best, sloppy and the Mudblood helps him out, a lot," replied Avril.
"You know you will be punished for this," said Barty Crouch Junior. "You were tasked to find out this information; you teach the brat, and still you failed."
Avril seemed unfazed by the threat being made. "The Dark Lord understands that I am unable to push Potter. He, himself, might not know what power he has. If I am to succeed in this task I need more time to get to know the brat. He increasingly disappears every Wednesday and Saturday nights: consequently enough, Bella, that is when your blood-traitor swine of a cousin is present. I believe Black is teaching the boy things. Whatever it is, he knows what the power is and is training the boy to control it properly."
But the power Harry has is not what you think it is! thought Padfoot, smugly.
"Unfortunately, Avril," hissed Bellatrix, her voice dangerously soft, "my dear cousin is unattainable at present! My Lord does not wish to strike until he knows what power the Potter brat HAS! You had better find out what it is."
Avril was about to speak when Barty Crouch got in first. "You are close to Black through the Aurors. You can make an excuse to talk to him. No one suspects your true allegiance; getting to him won't be a problem for you. You are an expert torturer; you know how to break a man. He already caved in before, he'll do so again."
Not bloody likely!
"And blow my cover?" Avril nearly yelled. "The Dark Lord will lose his spy within the Ministry, the Aurors, the Order and Hogwarts if I do that! I will no longer be of any use to him! Destroy eighteen years of hard work? Not likely!"
Eighteen years? Padfoot was shocked by that reveal.
"Not if you are careful," whispered Barty, "especially if you kill Black after you are finished with him and erase any evidence that would point to you."
Great, another plot to kill me, just fantastic, mused Padfoot. Still, at least he knew who had been betraying the Order. Everything made sense now. Avril Leverg had been one of the few Aurors he had trusted with information on his own whereabouts. He had never have guessed that she was a traitor. She had been an Auror during the first war, and had shown nothing but loyalty to the Order, the Ministry and the Aurors. She had gained people's trust, enough so that when she asked questions she was given the answers, especially if she already had authorisation for said information. Certainly, Avril had known that Sirius and Harry were spending Harry's birthday at Hogwarts; she had known Sirius had planned to meet Harry in Hogsmeade, and she certainly had been partial to when the Lestranges had been scheduled to go to Azkaban prison, meaning that she had leaked all of that to the Dark Lord resulting in the subsequent attacks on Hogwarts and Hogsmeade and the escape of the Lestranges before they reached Azkaban prison following their capture at the Riddle House.
She was their leak! It all made sense, but this was not the time to expose her. For a start they needed evidence before they could arrest her, and considering she was one of the most well respected Aurors in the profession, there would be an outcry among the division if they were forced to arrest one of their own without the proper proof. They would have to plan this carefully, and Dumbledore would have to be informed. For now, he had to wait, wait for the Bellatrix and Crouch Junior to leave so that he could return to the castle and warn the Headmaster.
Staying crouched in the bushes, Padfoot continued to listen, wondering why Avril Leverg had decided to betray them all.
"Are you sure?" Dumbledore seemed almost shocked to hear the news that Sirius had brought him.
A stiff nod. "I'm sure. Avril Leverg is the leak. It makes sense." He bit his lip. "She told Voldemort about the original rescue plan, resulting in Hermione and I being moved to the Riddle House." Remus had informed him that someone must have betrayed the mission. "My question is what made Avril turn? Has she always been working for Voldemort?"
"Isn't Miss Leverg from one of the old Wizarding families?" questioned Dumbledore, his blue eyes shining behind his glasses.
Sirius frowned and glanced to Remus. "I don't know. I don't recognise her name... If she was I would have thought the Blacks would have attempted an arranged marriage or something...Or she would be on the Family Tree, not that I've studied it in detail in years though."
"She's French," said Remus automatically. "Leverg is an old Wizarding family in Europe, a very old and powerful family, but that is all I know. The French keep the allegiances to the light and dark closed tight. Is there anyone you know who might be able to tell us whether Avril is a one off or if her whole family support Voldemort?"
"Andromeda would know," replied Sirius quietly, his mind still whirling with the idea that one of the most trusted Aurors in the Ministry of Magic was a traitor.
"I will deal with Miss Leverg at the appropriate time," explained Dumbledore, "but for now she will stay in her post. Sooner or later she will slip up and leave evidence behind so that we can arrest her. I will notify Kingsley Shacklebolt, however I will instruct him to continue to provide information to her, because she may come to suspect that she has been discovered and we do not want her to run off. She will stay where she is, until the right moment comes to expose her for what she is."
Armed with the knowledge that Leverg was from a French Wizarding family, Sirius took it upon himself to see if he could learn anything more about her, without needing to confront her. Dumbledore had advised him to stay away from her, especially if she was going to try to extract what Harry's power was from him. The Headmaster had also told Sirius where his cousin Andromeda was now living. She had joined the Order and was now living in one of the few safe houses that Dumbledore had set up. He had made a quick trip back to Grimmauld Place where he had studied the Black family tapestry where he had found a Leverg on the tree who had married into the family in the late 1700's, confirming that Avril Leverg was, indeed, one of pure blood. But why not any other marriages with my family?
The following morning Sirius had Apparated to the outskirts of Andromeda's home. Having been given the ward key by Dumbledore, he could easily walk up to the door, however he had sent a note ahead to inform his favourite cousin that he was coming for a visit. He figured if he turned up unannounced, Andromeda wouldn't hesitate to curse him, especially if they had been told that no one could enter their property without knowing the ward key.
He walked up the garden path, noting the pond to the side of it, and approached the blue door. There was no number on it; there was no need for one to be – after all, if one was under the protection of the Order who would need a proper address, especially if it was in a secluded part of the country?
He rapped his knuckles on the door and stepped back, waiting.
The door opened and a woman with long, light brown hair, with kind caring eyes stood there. She resembled her sister Bellatrix, but unlike his Death Eater cousin, Andromeda Black was kinder and loving and it showed on her face as a grin broke out on it, shattering any illusions that she was her older sister.
"Hello Andromeda," he smiled. He didn't know whether she would prefer to be called 'Dromeda' or 'Andie', which had been one of two names she had usually gone by. Sirius had been one of the few who had been allowed to use both pet names. She was older then he had last seen her, but she hadn't aged much, but there was worry in her eyes: the fear of war had brought that there, he was sure of it.
"Sirius, I've told you before to call me 'Dromeda' or 'Andie'. I don't mind which." She stepped away from the front door and Sirius stepped inside the hallway, his eyes running over the photos on the wall, most of which showed Nymphadora Tonks growing up. But there was one that caught his eye and he moved towards it.
The photo he now looked at showed himself as a ten year old boy, looking bored out of his mind; the photo having been taken just after his father had proclaimed him his official heir of the Black family. Beside the young Sirius stood Regulus Black, his younger brother, the one who had died in the Dark Lord's service. The hand that rested upon Regulus' shoulder belonged to a then 19 year old Bellatrix Black, beside her stood Andromeda at 17 years of age, with Narcissa Black to the right of Andromeda. Both Andromeda and Narcissa had still been in the throes of their Hogwarts education when the photo had been taken; Sirius just a year away from starting.
"I remember when that was taken," he mused, his voice low. "Bella was on about Voldemort. Reg was excited to hear all the stories of how wonderful he was... I was expected to join him, I'm glad I didn't." He turned to face his cousin. "It's good to see you."
Andromeda smiled warmly. "It's been a long time since we've seen each other. October 1981, right?"
He nodded. "Just before James and Lily died... I came to say goodbye before I was planning on going into hiding. That went well, that did. That crazy idea of mine." He was still bitter, still blaming himself.
"It's not your fault," said Andromeda. She led him into the living room area, where he promptly sat down on the sofa. "No one expected it could have been Peter."
"But everyone expected it to be me." He shook his head, wiping away the memories that had been dragged to the surface. "Sorry. I came here for a reason and I hope you can help me."
Andromeda sat beside her cousin, her hands in her lap. "It depends on what it is."
"You were always interested in the family history and other Wizarding lines..." he took an deep, steadying breath, "do you know anything about the Leverg family? I know they are French and that one of our great-great something grandfather married the daughter of a Leverg..."
Andromeda was frowning, and Sirius' hopes began to fall. If anyone would know anything about the Leverg family, his cousin would, but the expression on her face showed that she wasn't sure. "I don't know, Sirius. I've heard the name before and it is an old Wizarding family, a very pure one. I think the Lestrange's are related to them..."
"Do you know anything else?" he prodded. "For instance to whom they have shown loyalty to in the past?"
"By blood you mean?" she cocked her head at her younger cousin.
"Yeah... I know this is a lot to ask of you – and I can't tell you why, at least not yet."
"I understand that it is Order of the Phoenix information that I am not privy to."
"How'd you guess?" A lopsided smile spread across his face.
Andromeda laughed. "Because I know you, Sirius. You are loyal; you would never give anything away to anyone. You would never betray your friends or your family, and by family, I mean your godson."
But I did betray him, thought Sirius. I told Voldemort part of the prophecy.
"Sirius?" She had noticed the frown on his face.
"Nothing."
Andromeda scrutinised him for a few minutes more before leaning back against the comfy cushions of the sofa. "I can recall mother telling me years ago that Leverg was one of the most ancient and pure European families. The Leverg family had always rebuffed our ancestors' attempts to marry into it. You know how the Blacks are power-hungry? Well, if we'd have succeeded in marrying into the family, the Blacks would more powerful than they are now. I do not know why they rebuffed our attempts, but I am sure our ancestors wouldn't have chased them continuously if they did not hold to the pure manic way that our family did."
"So you think that if they were a British Wizarding family they would have supported Voldemort?" asked Sirius, curiously.
Andromeda nodded. "I think so."
"Then it all makes sense," he said to himself. "'Dromeda, have you ever heard of an Avril Leverg?"
"Wait," she raised her hand, "I think I have... father mentioned about how Uncle Orion was trying to-" she gasped.
"What is it?" He sat up straighter, watching his cousin with his intelligent eyes.
"Do you remember what the catalyst was for you running away from your family?"
"My father had succeeded in negotiating an arranged marriage for me which I did not agree with," he stated. And then his eyes widened in realisation. "You're not saying that... that... Avril Leverg was meant to be the bride?"
"I think so... Uncle raged at father for hours after you left home, how you had managed to destroy the union of two powerful Wizarding families. I believe Avril was the only girl left to be married; her elder brothers had already settled down and her family were looking for a suitable suitor for their daughter. Their power in the French Wizarding world was waning so they came to us, knowing that if you and Avril married, their reputations would be restored."
Sirius was shocked to say the least. He had not been expecting that revelation. "Blimey, no wonder mother sent me that screeching howler at the Potters. I never knew who it was..."
"If you had known, would you have stayed?"
"Nope." He didn't even need to think about it; already knew that was his answer. "I will only marry for love, not for power." He swallowed, his mind working through the cultivation of information that had just been dumped on him. "Avril Leverg? But...but!" He was speechless.
"She's a Death Eater, isn't she?" Andromeda seemed to have guessed his purpose in coming to her. "And she is also an Auror for the Ministry, isn't she? I just remembered that Nymphadora used to talk about her when she was training."
Sirius could only nod in confirmation. He had the information he had come for: he knew why Avril Leverg was working for Voldemort. Old family, old values, it was that simple. "But why would she be an Auror, fighting for the light? She's been in the division since I was. We went through training together!" And then he realised. "It was me. She was after me."
"What makes you say that?" asked Andromeda. "She's never hurt you, has she?"
"Not directly, but she has sent Dementors and Voldemort after me and the second time, he succeeded in getting me. My family never gave up trying to recruit me to Voldemort, what if they planted her within the Aurors as a way to try to recruit me or deliver me to their hands? And all this time, because she was never discovered, she stayed in a comfortable job, hunting down her colleagues when Voldemort fell... and since he returned, she has been serving him."
Andromeda considered his words. "And you believe her being arranged as your future wife has everything to do with this?"
He nodded, frantically. "Of course! Why not? I prevented – no, I stopped – her family from retaining their power on the Wizarding world by running away from home. She must hate me..." he swallowed. "All the attacks on me, even before James and Lily died, were all of her doing!" He held his head in his hands.
"Sirius, what do you mean by attacks?" Andromeda's hand was on his arm.
"Before Azkaban... I was regularly attacked by Death Eaters, all of whom were trying to get me to join Voldemort... I didn't know how they knew where I was. Alastor Moody told me that I was being watched because I was defying Black tradition. I always had the feeling someone was watching me, but I never thought it could have been a colleague of mine."
"You have no proof that she was behind those attacks," said Andromeda, carefully. "You're just assuming because it makes sense with events happening now. Have you thought they could have just recruited her?"
He shook his head, adamant that he was right. "I don't think so. I overheard her say to Bellatrix that she couldn't throw away eighteen years of hard work. She's been Voldemort's ever since 1977, just as I was starting my seventh year," he explained further, "I bought my own place during the summer of sixth and seventh year, and I did get visitors even then. She's been tracking me all this time. She hates me because I ruined what should have been a blissful future for her. I know you don't necessarily agree with me, and you think I'm jumping to conclusions here, but it all fits. She's always been the leak, always the betrayer, but she's played it so well that no one would suspect her." Just like Snape; Dumbledore believes he is on our side, but Voldemort thinks Snape is his. "I need to talk to Dumbledore." He stood up abruptly. "Thanks Andie, for everything."
"I didn't even do anything," she said lightly.
"You did, you helped me figure out what has been going on. Now I've just got to stay out of trouble long enough to expose Leverg for who she really is, and not get killed or captured again in the process."
A small smile crossed Andromeda Black's face. She pushed her brown fringe out of her eyes and pulled her younger cousin into a hug. "You be safe, okay? I don't want to wait another fourteen years before I see you again."
"I'll come by often, I promise," he replied, before walking into the hallway, opening the front door, and walking away from the house that protected his cousin and her family from the worst of the war, for now.
To be continued...
Please let me know what you think!
The arranged marriage between Sirius and Avril Leverg was an idea that came to me in the midst of writing this chapter, certainly I believe the old pure-blood families did do that but I don't know how feasible it is in the context of the world JKR created, so I'd appreciate comments on that.
Coming soon - Christmas 1995 - in which Christmas doesn't go as smoothly as our heroes want it to.
Apologies that there isn't a preview, I am finding it a bit difficult to select a preview from the text. I can promise that it will be action-packed though!
Until Thursday,
the-writer1988