A/N) Thank you for all the reviews, especially with the comments about the arranged marriage between Sirius and Avril. I was really unsure when I wrote that in, so I'm glad it has worked! I am currently writing Chapter 66. The chapters are getting longer and longer now so may take me more time to complete, however I am still quite a way ahead of myself so I hope to stay updating twice a week.
Onto the chapter in which Christmas is not what our heroes expect it to be...
Chapter Fifty-Eight: Christmas 1995
With the traitor uncovered, Sirius spent the majority of his time trying to build a case against Avril Leverg however she was slippery and hid her trail well. Only Kingsley knew of her true allegiance; they had decided to limit the amount of information she received, but not enough so as to rouse her suspicions. They also couldn't exclude her from meetings of the Order of the Phoenix otherwise her suspicions would be aroused, so Dumbledore ensured only minor information was reported in the meetings. As Avril Leverg had been a member of the Order in the first war, she was an old-timer and expected to be kept in the loop, so trusted was she. It was important she didn't figure out that she was suspected as a traitor. Sirius eavesdropping on her conversation between Bellatrix Lestrange and Barty Crouch Junior wasn't enough proof to question her, at least according to Minister of Magic, Rufus Scrimgeour. It probably hadn't helped that Rufus, when he had been an Auror, had worked alongside her as her partner. He required more proof before he would authorise Kingsley to haul her into questioning, just in case Sirius had been mistaken.
As the weeks passed, heading quicker and quicker towards Christmas, Harry, Ron and Hermione progressed quickly with their Defence lessons with Sirius. They had even begun with mastering the Patronus Charm, the spell in which Harry had started to learn back in his third year when the Dementors had been guarding the school. He had never succeeded in creating a full Patronus before, but within four lessons of starting, he managed to create a corporal Patronus. It had been a stag, his father's Animagus form. Seeing the stag before him, Sirius had sunk to the floor, memories washing over him. The rest of the lesson had been spent with Sirius and Remus talking wistfully about the days they had run the Hogwarts grounds during nights of the full moon. Though they should have been practicing, the appearance of Prongs had brought back the past. Neither of the Marauders had ever expected to see their friend's Animagus form again. And they had rediscovered it in Harry.
Their Apparition lessons had started to become more successful. Though Harry had yet to achieve full Apparition, he was still feeling something at work whenever he concentrated. Ron, on the other hand, had splinched himself once, however both Sirius and Remus had managed to put him back together without needed to call in the proper officials. If they hadn't been able to fix him, they would have been in a lot of trouble with the Ministry for teaching them how to Apparate before they were of age. After all, they shouldn't be taught Apparition until their sixth year. What Sirius and Remus were doing was highly illegal.
As Harry had predicted more than a month before, the week of detentions he still needed to serve fell in the week preceding the Gryffindor verses Slytherin Quidditch match. Thankfully, his week of no practice didn't harm the team one bit and Gryffindor won 370-160.
The weather was getting colder but still their lessons continued and Voldemort remained silent, biding his time. The Wizarding world was uneasy, unsure of what to think of the quiet that had been surrounded them. Sooner or later Voldemort would strike, and Harry knew he had to be ready.
Before they knew it, Christmas was upon them and the school term was ending. Students who were staying for the holidays eagerly signed up while those that were leaving spent the last few days looking for any possessions they may have lost during the course of the first part of the year. Harry was returning to Grimmauld Place with Ron, while Hermione was to return to her parents for the first three days before she and her parents were brought to the Burrow where they would celebrate Christmas. After what had happened to their daughter earlier that year no one could fault them for wanting to spend time with her, but Hermione also had to be protected, due to her status as one of Harry's best friends.
They would have brought Hermione's parents to Grimmauld Place, however the protective charms upon the house meant that no Muggle could enter it (and even Sirius couldn't break down the Muggle Repelling Charm that his parents had put in place, without putting at risk his family's home), so with Dumbledore's permission, Sirius, Remus and Kingsley Shacklebolt had warded up The Burrow, adding on four layers of security, keying them all to Sirius and Remus. If any of the wards fell, they would know. Kingsley had also pulled in a few favours so that The Burrow, for the duration of their stay, would be connected to Hogwarts via Floo, just in case the Death Eaters did attack them.
They had kept a watch on Avril Leverg and any communication she was receiving ever since Sirius' discovery, however even Dumbledore wasn't naive to think that she wouldn't work out where Harry and Sirius were staying. He was expecting an attack; Lord Voldemort had stayed too quiet for the silence to continue any longer.
Christmas morning arrived and Harry woke to the sound of a dog panting near his ear. He groaned, pushing the dog's nose away from his ear, already knowing what his godfather was about to do next. Fortunately, Harry's hand was the only part of him that got slobbered as he pushed the dog off the bed and scrambled out the other side, preventing Padfoot from jumping back on him.
"Sirius, its seven-thirty in the morning!" he said, wiping his sleepy eyes with the backs of his hands. "Did you have to get me up this early?"
The dog barked an affirmative and then transformed back into Sirius Black. He stood there, holding his stomach, chuckling madly. "I always did this to James, but then your father lived for presents. You should have seen him on your first Christmas." He sagged, his face suddenly saddening. A sad smile crossed his face.
"Sirius?" asked Harry, tentatively. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah..." Sirius stepped back towards the door of Harry's bedroom. They would be Apparating to the Weasley's at midday. "I'll go and cook breakfast... come down when you want to." He left the room quickly, shutting the door behind him.
Harry watched him leave, a thoughtful look on his face. He knelt down and felt around underneath the bed, his fingers grasping hold of the plastic bag that he had hidden Sirius' present in. He lifted it up and placed it on the bed, scrambling onto the covers and gently pulled out the photograph album he had prepared as a gift for Sirius. On the leather bound cover was etched the words in gold, eloquent lettering: PADFOOT & PRONGS.
It had taken months to prepare and it had only been completed with Remus' unending help. He knew Sirius still missed his best friend deeply, still carried the guilt that it was his fault that James and Lily had died; Harry figured that Sirius would never get over it, but he could help him along, couldn't he? He didn't know whether he had done the right thing in organising this present for his godfather but he figured he would appreciate the effort he had put into it.
Running his hand over the cover, Harry carefully placed it back in the paper bag. He'll like it, he reassured himself.
"Good morning, Harry!" Remus beamed as Harry walked into the kitchen, his arms clutched around the present he undoubtedly had just wrapped up.
"I thought you were at the Burrow this morning?" asked Harry, placing the present on the surface of the table. "Checking on security?"
Remus shook his head. "No, Kingsley did it for me. He told me to keep an eye on that mangy mutt over there." He pointed towards Sirius who was at the stove frying bacon and eggs, while simultaneously attempting to toast some bread. "Here, sit down. He'll join us in a minute and then you can give him your present."
Harry leaned in closer to Remus. "You're looking forward to Sirius getting this, aren't you?"
Remus grinned wolfishly. "Of course."
"Are you talking about me again?" Sirius raised his voice, having clearly overheard their conversation.
"Oh, don't worry, Padfoot, it's all bad!" chuckled Remus.
"Hey!"
"Now where's my breakfast?"
"If you think after that cheek, Mr Moony, that you are getting breakfast, you've another thing coming!"
"Surely you haven't forgotten what happens when you let a werewolf go hungry?" asked Remus, tears of laughter almost running down his face.
Sirius approached the table and placed a plate of food each in front of Remus and Harry. "Just shut up and eat or I might change my mind at feeding you."
Harry couldn't help but notice the humour reflected in his godfather's eyes as he turned away from the table, collected his own plate and returned, sitting opposite Harry and began to eat.
"So, Harry, what's the parcel?" asked Sirius, swallowing a piece of crusty bacon.
"You'll find out," grinned Harry. "But you'll like it."
"As long as its better then receiving maggots from Kreacher," muttered Sirius.
After breakfast they relocated to the living room where a green Christmas tree stood in the corner of the room, decorated with golden snitches balls and red and gold chains. There was a small pile of presents under the tree which Sirius informed Harry were all his; he and Remus had already exchanged gifts before Harry had come down. In total there were twelve presents, all of whom, save for one from Remus, Sirius had brought for Harry.
Once Harry had opened his presents, he slid his own one to Sirius. "This is for you..." He sounded nervous and Remus gripped his shoulder, reassuring him.
Sirius picked up the parcel, placing it on his legs and started to carefully tear the paper away. His eyes widened when they fell on the emblazoned words on the front cover. He met Harry's green eyes. "You didn't have to do this..."
"Yes I did. Look inside it."
Sirius opened the album. Inside were all the pictures of James and Sirius that Harry could get his hands on. Remus had been instrumental in finding the majority of them – he had taken risky jaunts back to the house in Godric's Hollow to find them and had then copied the original photos before giving them to Harry to put in the photo album. He had also gone out of his way to contact old school friends – and unlike Hagrid before him – had asked for photos, not of James and Lily, but of James and Sirius, ranging from their first year at Hogwarts to just a few months before that fateful night had occurred.
"Why did you do this?" asked Sirius, his voice cracking.
"Because you and my dad were the best of friends: brothers. This book is meant to celebrate that friendship and it keeps my dad's memory alive," explained Harry. "Remus helped with it... I couldn't have done it without him."
Sirius didn't know what to say so instead he stood up and pulled Harry into a hug. "It means a lot you did that for me," he said.
Harry smiled. "I know, but I'm glad I did."
They were sitting down in the Weasley's cramped kitchen when Sirius leapt to his feet, his wand instantly in hand. Remus, too, had shown signs of discomfort. They traded glances with one another before hastily excusing themselves from the table and running out of the kitchen. Everyone around the table stared in shock at their abrupt departure.
"Mum?" asked Ginny. "Where have they gone?"
Mrs Weasley grabbed her daughter's hand. "Don't worry, Ginny dear, I'm sure everything is alright."
"You don't think that...?" Ron leaned in to whisper in Harry's ear.
"It's Voldemort?" sniffed Harry, the uncomfortable feeling in his stomach suddenly rising. "Yeah, I do. If it's something bad to worry about they would want us to –"
He was cut off as Remus came rushing back into the room, his face flushed, the bottom of his robes singed. "Everyone get out, now!"
Harry leapt to his feet, grabbing his wand as he did so. "I can help!"
"No, you can't," Remus grabbed his shoulders, "trust me, Harry, you do not want to go out there!"
"But Sirius –"
"Sirius can handle himself! The wards are not yet down; he's trying to hold them up so all of you can get to safety! Arthur, get the Floo going! Bill, Charlie, Percy, with me!" Remus ran out of the kitchen once more, quickly followed by Bill, Charlie and Percy at his heels.
Arthur Weasley leapt to his feet, his thin face stark white. His wand was in his hand. "Everyone get out of here now! Molly, Floo Powder!" He crossed to the fire place and grabbed a pot sitting on top of it and handed it to his wife.
"But we can help!" yelled Fred, jumping to his feet.
Arthur shook his head. "I need you two to help your mother get the Grangers out! They don't know Floo powder! There are more than enough of us to hold them back while you make your escape!" He was already running towards the kitchen back door, wrenching it open. Through the opening they could already hear the sounds of a battle and could see the flickering of what was a fire spreading across the ground. They heard Remus yell Sirius' name and Harry almost leapt out of his chair before reasoning and logic caught up with him.
He knew that he wasn't ready to fight back, despite the training he had, now was not the time. He had to be patient; his time would come, but getting himself killed before then would not help him or the others.
Arthur met his wife's eyes. "I'm going to help the others. We'll join you when we can." And he was gone, slamming the door behind him; the noise of the battle outside muffled by the closed entrance.
For such an urgent situation the atmosphere was surprisingly calm; the remains of the turkey cooled in the middle of the table, their half eaten dinner forgotten by the abrupt departures of Sirius and Remus. No one dare moved, frozen to the spot. But Harry was the first one to react from the sudden stillness; leaping from his chair, he ran to Molly Weasley's side.
"Mrs Weasley, we need to leave."
She nodded, shaking her head. "Paul, Marie, you two and Hermione need to leave first." She pushed a bit of Floo powder into Paul's hands, motioning him towards the fireplace. "Take it and get to Hogwarts."
"Mum, they've never travelled by Floo powder before!" shouted George, rushing forward to take his own sample of Floo powder. "Watch me," he instructed, and threw the Floo powder into the burning fire. The orange flames flickered and changed to a brilliant, bright green. George stepped into the flames, yelling: "Hogwarts!" They saw his body twist away and then he was gone.
"What was that?" Marie asked, clutching her daughter by the arms.
"Travelling by fireplace," replied Hermione. "It's our only escape route. Mum, dad, you have to trust them. It'll feel uncomfortable... but you'll be safe."
BOOM!
Something rocked the side of the house, causing dust to fall from the ceiling.
"The wards are failing," muttered Molly, glancing around at her children. They had to leave!
Paul was already stepping forward, his arm shaking, fearful of the unexpected, but he threw the powder in his palm into the now-bright orange flames, and then stepped into them as they turned green, shouting 'Hogwarts' as he did so.
"Marie, Hermione, you're next," said Molly, thrusting the jar out to them. "Hurry!"
Within seconds they were gone too.
"Ginny, Harry, you're next! Quickly now!" Molly waved them forward, even as something else rocked the ceiling above, more dust falling down upon them; the ceiling creaking ominously. Fred exchanged a nervous look with Ron. The whole house could come down at any minute!
Harry grasped the Floo powder in his hand, stood back so that Ginny could leave first. Another shake to the house, even as Ginny spun away. He threw his own powder in the fireplace, hating himself for leaving Sirius behind, but he understood why he had to. Today is not my fight, he thought that over and over in his mind, even as he stepped into the green flames, yelled his destination and felt his body begin to spin.
He fell, sliding out of the fireplace in Dumbledore's office. A strong arm hauled him to his feet and he looked up into the eyes of George Weasley.
"You okay?"
Harry nodded, rubbing the soot off his trousers as he moved away from the fireplace. He saw Hermione and her parents sitting on spare chairs in the office, rather shaken by the effects of the Floo powder. Ron came tumbling out next quickly followed by Fred.
"Where's Dumbledore?" asked Ron, standing up, wincing slightly at the ache in his back. He had unfortunately managed to knock his shoulder while spinning through the grates.
"He's sent for help," answered George. "He wasn't surprised to see me tumbling out of the fireplace though. I think he expected something like this to happen."
There was a thud and Molly tumbled out of the fireplace, panting. "I only just got away!"
"What happened?" Harry was the first to react, his heart pumping in his chest. Please not Sirius...
"The wards fell, they broke through them. I was just about to escape when Bellatrix and that husband of hers got into the house. If I had waited a second longer..." She didn't finish her sentence but everyone in that room knew how close they had come to losing Molly Weasley.
"What about Sirius?" asked Harry, fear embedding itself in his gut.
"I don't know," said Molly gently. "I think they were all still fighting when the Lestranges broke into the house."
Silence fell in the room. No one could do anything, apart from wait for Professor Dumbledore to return from wherever he had gone. He was not the only one who could lose a loved one. Mrs Weasley's husband and three eldest children were still out there, unaware that they had escaped.
The waiting game began.
"Everbero!"Sirius yelled, pointing his wand in any and every direction, and firing off every spell he could think of. The wards had just shattered; The Burrow now vulnerable. He had felt them collapse, had known they had broken through..."Extundo! Suffocoum! Rumperis!"
A Death Eater fell as the bone breaker curse slammed into his back, probably shattering his spine. Sirius didn't have time to wonder if his opponent had died, he only had seconds to spare. The tracking and bonding spell that Dumbledore had placed on himself and Harry more than a year ago was still active; it had never been removed. He could still discern his godson's location, if he risked trying to connect his own mind to Harry's. He didn't even know whether he would still be able to do so since Harry was successfully employing Occlumency to keep Voldemort out.
"Remus! Cover me!" Sirius dived back behind the line that Remus, Bill, Charlie, Percy and Arthur had formed, all of them battling bravely against the Death Eaters rushing towards them. They were briefly shielded by the stalls where the chickens were kept, but The Burrow itself was now a flaming building, everything inside it destroyed by the anger of the Lestranges. He figured that meant Harry and the others had successfully escaped to Hogwarts, but he didn't want to risk leaving without knowing the truth that everyone was safe. He didn't even bother to explain himself; he just dropped to his knees behind Remus and Bill and sent his mind whirling outwards, connecting with his godson's. He saw a flash of a familiar office in his mind's eye and pulled away, relief rushing through his body. Occlumency hadn't stopped the spell from continuing to work and the most important thing was that they were safe, all of them were.
"Arthur!" he yelled, over the noise of continuing curses hitting against the building. "They're at Hogwarts! Get out of here!" He leapt out of the cover, firing off curse after curse after curse. A well timed strike curse impacted against a female Death Eater's chest and she went flying, her back impacting against a tree, slumping to the earth, unmoving.
Sirius risked a glance over his shoulder seeing first Percy Dis-Apparate and then Arthur. But then, even as Charlie Weasley made a move, more figures suddenly Apparated in front of Sirius, clad in Auror robes and normal wizard dress; at the head of the group was Kingsley Shacklebolt. They leapt into action quickly, casting shield charms to protect themselves. A killing curse shot out from the end of Mulciber's wand, striking an Auror in the chest.
"Protego!" Sirius cast the shield charm just as a curse sailed toward him. It rebounded off his shield and into the dark night. "Venderum!" he retorted, the spell sending Bellatrix Lestrange flying off. She landed with a thud, snarling as she got to her feet, aiming right towards him, but Sirius ducked as a killing curse flashed where he had been standing. His eyes searched the field of battle; Voldemort had not joined the melee, trusting his servants to do his dirty work for him. He grinned nastily as the Death Eaters were now vastly outnumbered by the combined efforts of the Aurors and Order members that would undoubtedly have responded to Dumbledore's call.
The next spell died on his lips as everything went quiet. The Death Eaters were gone. Standing from his crouch, Sirius glanced around, his eyes briefly flashing over the burning building that was the remains of The Burrow. He noticed Bill and Charlie, who had not left, run towards their childhood home, casting the water-spray charm, coating the flames in cold freezing water, but it would be too late. He glanced around and saw Kingsley walking towards him, a prone, tightly bound body, floating behind him.
"We've got her," said Kingsley, a glint of triumphant in his dark eyes.
Sirius moved to look at the body: it was Avril Leverg, clothed in Death Eater robes and on her arm, now exposed, was the gleaming mark of Lord Voldemort's. He could already see the shock radiating across the Order and Auror's faces as they took in the form of their friend and colleague; the person who, in the end, had betrayed them all.
Sirius, Bill and Charlie Apparated to Hogsmeade in the early hours of Boxing Day, where they quickly jogged to the gates of Hogwarts and then walked from the gates up to the Entrance Hall where they found Arthur Weasley waiting for them.
"They're in the Great Hall," he nodded towards the doors that were slightly ajar behind him. "Is anything salvageable?"
Sirius bit his lip. "Unfortunately, your home was destroyed in the fire. The Lestranges did a thorough job." He shifted on his feet. "You and your family are welcome to come and live at Grimmauld Place, if you have nowhere else to go." The Weasley's had moved there during the previous summer, however once the children had gone back to school, Molly and Arthur had returned to The Burrow. They had overlooked the danger they were in just be their son associating with Harry Potter; Sirius couldn't blame them for that. Voldemort had been too quiet and this had been his first attack in months but he had not been personally involved; a false sense of security had fallen over the Wizarding world, one that made them all think that there would be no harm in returning to their home and spending Christmas dinner with friends and family.
The Weasley's had paid for that mistake; their home, all their possessions gone and destroyed.
"We would appreciate that, Sirius," said Arthur Weasley.
"Least I can do since it is my fault the wards fell and allowed them to get past me to do that damage," said Sirius bitterly. "One of these days I'll get them."
"You kept the wards up long enough for my family to escape. You saved them," replied Arthur. "I am grateful for that and I owe you for what you did."
Sirius immediately shook his head. "No, you don't owe me. This is a war, Arthur. Favours are not accumulated in war; people do what they can to save others, no matter the consequences. That is one of the first things an Auror learns. You don't owe anybody."
Shuffling on his feet, Arthur clearly uncomfortable with Sirius' claiming that he didn't owe him, but he understood that Sirius would never let him intentionally repay it. "Okay. Harry's with Molly and the others if you want to see him."
"Thanks." Sirius walked briskly passed Arthur, pushing open the doors to the Great Hall and stepped inside. The Weasley family were crowded around the edge of the Gryffindor table; Hermione and her parents a part of the group.
"Sirius!" Harry leapt towards him. "You're ok!"
"Didn't Dumbledore tell you?" asked Sirius.
"'Course he did," grinned Harry, "but I had to see you to be sure. We overheard him mentioning something about a traitor being caught during the attack?"
"HARRY!" That was Mrs Weasley, her eyes flashing darkly.
Sirius rolled his eyes. "I'm his official guardian, and this will come out in the papers eventually, and you'll be able to guess when you get a new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher when you return, anyway; they may as well know, Molly. It's not exactly an Order secret."
She frowned, but continued to glare at Sirius.
"He is right, Molly," said Arthur, stepping up behind Sirius.
"Are you saying that Professor Leverg is a Death Eater?" questioned Hermione. "But she's an Auror!"
Sirius shrugged. "Unfortunately she's also been working with Voldemort since the first war. She's the one responsible for passing information to Voldemort on my movements. She joined the Aurors back when I did just to keep track of me. No one suspected her. Remus and I caught her leaving Hogwarts suspiciously and I followed. She was talking to Bellatrix outside the gates. We've known since Halloween that she's the traitor, but we couldn't act on it as we didn't have any hard proof to arrest her until tonight. She was there at The Burrow, and we captured her. She was one of the Ministry's top senior Aurors as well."
Percy groaned. "The Prophet will have a field day with this!" He had been working for the Ministry for the last year and a half and was slowly climbing the ladder.
"The Minister believes that the public had a right to know that one of their 'protectors' has been betraying us all. Considering Avril and Rufus were partners in the Aurors, I can imagine he is quite hurt by the news that she has always been a Death Eater," said Sirius, pulling a hand through his hair. "However, I only came by to make sure that everyone is alright. I need to return to the Ministry."
Harry's face fell. "Will you be back soon?"
"I hope so." His lips twitched in a smile. "If I'm not back by morning, Remus will be escorting all of you back to Grimmauld Place." His eyes moved to Hermione and the Grangers. "Unfortunately, my house has been warded against Muggles, and I cannot lift the charms without endangering the rest of the protections. I believe Professor McGonagall and Professor Dumbledore will be attending to your situation and providing the best place for you to go that will keep you out of danger?"
"We were told that..." whispered Paul, "we won't be able to see Hermione?"
Sirius composed himself, knowing that this would be the hardest thing he would have to do. "Our world is in a state of war as you know; you have a daughter that will be in line for death because of her birth, it would be best if Hermione remained in the safety of the Order. You two will be cared for and we would do our best to arrange times for you to see her, but until Voldemort is killed, the only option we can offer you, is sanctuary. It would be safer in the short term if you broke contact with Hermione; it could save your and hers life if you remained apart. I hate to tell you this, but it's an option you have to consider. Dumbledore and McGonagall will explain it better, I am just passing on the message I received."
Paul and Marie exchanged a significant look, seeming to understand the tense situation that was going on. He could see that they didn't like it one bit, but as long as they were willing to consider it, a compromise that would please both parents and daughter would be found.
He met Harry's gaze. "I have to go. I'll return as soon as I can, okay Harry?"
His godson gave a nod and sat back down at the table. He hated leaving Harry like this, but Kingsley Shacklebolt had asked him to interrogate Avril Leverg; he had only been given leave of an hour to get to Hogwarts, ensure that everyone was safe and sound and then get back to the Ministry. With a brief wave to everyone else, Sirius Black turned from the table and strode from the Great Hall, his robes billowing behind him.
Avril Leverg had been placed in the securest Ministry cell available on the premises. Layer upon layer of shields and wards had been cast on the cell to prevent her from even attempting to escape. The chair she sat in had chains that wrapped around her wrists, ankles and upper chest. In that position, no one should be able to escape, but it had been none to happen once or twice. Sirius sat opposite her, his hands laying on the top of the wooden desk placed within her cell for this interrogation. He didn't intend to use any methods on her; he hoped she would talk.
"You know why you are here, Avril," he began, hoping that using her first name would inspire politeness on her part, "so I won't go into the crimes you have committed. Instead, we will move past that. Will you tell me why you betrayed the Ministry and the Order?"
Her ice blue eyes stared deep into his and he felt a shiver run up his spine. She hated him.
"I have betrayed no one!" she spat, her voice hoarse. "I have kept to my values, unlike you, you filthy blood-traitor!"
Sirius raised his right eyebrow contemplating the women in front of him. Now that she had been caught out, she was not bothering to hide herself. The Dark Mark on her arm was enough to convict her; she may as well go all the way, now that there was no hope of freedom for her.
"My values have always been the same," Sirius answered, "and they will never change."
"You were brought up as a pure-blood Wizard! You shouldn't be with the disgusting half-bloods and Mudbloods that populate our world! You should be fighting against them!" she spat.
"Not all pure-blood wizards are racist," he stated calmly. "How long have you been a Death Eater?"
"I don't think you need me to tell you that!" she retorted, angrily.
"No, I don't, but for the record I need to hear it from you." He crossed his arms, daring her to defy him.
"Since 1977."
He knew Avril was at least a year older than him. "Why did you join Voldemort's ranks?"
"Because of you!"
Sirius raised his eyebrows even further.
"Me?"
"Yes! YOU! Our families were negotiating a marriage that would make the Blacks and Leverg's the strongest families in the European Wizarding World! Your rebellious attitude prevented that from happening! Do you know how much power you could be wielding now, Black?" she asked, her voice softening, only slightly.
"I have never cared about power," he shrugged, "and besides you could have always married my younger brother."
"You were the legitimate heir! No matter how much your parents despised you, they still tried to save you! They didn't want to officially disinherit you just in case you came around and joined the Dark Lord's cause!" snapped Avril. "But you didn't! Marrying your younger brother would not have brought my family status! You were the only acceptable one!"
He chose to ignore this and continued with the questioning. "What was your purpose in joining the Aurors?"
"You know the answer to that!"
He nodded. "I do, but I need to hear it from you."
"The Dark Lord wanted you on his side; it was my job to deliver you. I figured that he could turn you and then the marriage would take place! But no, you were just too damn good! I had to get close to you, but you were forever going off with that Potter and his Mudblood wife making that impossible to achieve!" Avril's voice had risen as she had spoken, so that she was nearly shouting by the time she had finished.
Sirius narrowed his gaze. "Don't you dare insult my best friends in front of me!" he said, very quietly, his voice low and menacing, and for a few seconds Avril shrunk back in her chair, fear reflecting in her eyes, but then her lips quirked upwards and her eyes flashed in triumphant.
"So you do have a dark side. Pity you would use it to defend that scum!"
Sirius sighed. "Cease with the insults, it would make my job a lot easier if you did, but then, since you hate my guts, I doubt you would want to do that."
"You've got that right," she replied, darkly.
"Then there is no point in continuing with this interrogation is there?" he asked calmly.
"No, there isn't."
He stood up from his chair. "I would have been the best person to talk to, you know, but I won't stand for insults. Understand this, Avril, you will be sentenced to Azkaban; there is no way out of that. You'll next interrogator will be a lot less kind to you then I have been." And with that he walked from the cell, not looking back once at the woman who had done everything she could to turn him over to Voldemort.
"It appears I will be requiring a new Defence Against the Dark Art's Professor," said Dumbledore, looking Sirius straight in the eye. He was about to continue when Sirius cut him off.
"I know what you are going to ask, and the answer is no. I have to stay with the Aurors. They need me more than ever now that Avril has been uncovered. Much as I would love to be near Harry for the rest of the year, I'll still be seeing him twice weekly for our lessons regardless... I am presuming they are still continuing?"
Dumbledore inclined his head. "Yes, they are. From what you have told me previously, Harry and Mr Weasley and Miss Granger are progressing rather well. They will be well up to succeeding in the task that will be given to them in the coming months."
"Are you going to tell me what that task is yet, or will you leave me in the dark still?"
"I think I will wait. It will become relevant, Sirius, and you will know everything then." The Headmaster folded his hands in front of him. "Since you have declined the offer, I have no choice but to give the position to Severus."
Sirius knew there would be no point in arguing in that appointment. He would have picked Remus but the Wizarding community would revolt if that happened, especially considering the majority of the werewolves were on Voldemort's side. Defence teachers were notoriously hard to come by and Snape was, by far, the easier choice. "What about a Potions Master? Aren't they harder to find then a Defence teacher?"
Dumbledore's eyes twinkled behind his glasses. "Oh, I think I know the right fellow for the post, however I may need the assistance of Harry. I know he won't return unless he has something worth collecting."
"Oh no," muttered Sirius, putting his head in his hands. He knew exactly who Dumbledore was talking about. "You mean Horace Slughorn, don't you?"
"I do indeed, Sirius, I do indeed."
To be continued...
Please let me know what you think!
Next chapter: Horace Slughorn - Harry meets an old Hogwarts Professor. This chapter does rely on the chapter in the book, there will only be a few more chapters like that, so please bear with me. There is a preview below...
"Sirius has been teaching you how to interpret things from an Auror's eye, hasn't he?"
"Your father, on the other hand, wasn't as brilliant as her though."
"Perfectly understandable, Harry, but if you want an answer to your question, perhaps asking Sirius would be the best way for you to go. I am sure he can explain it much better than I ever could."
Will be posted on Monday.
Until then,
the-writer1988