Chapter 14: Sirius

March 5, 2002

Dawn and Ginny walked hand in hand into the Great Hall for dinner. They passed Pansy Parkinson's gang of Slytherin girls. All of them were looking at something neither of them could see and sniggering heartily.

Pansy's pug-like face peered excitedly at the duo. "There they are, there they are!" she giggled, and the knot of Slytherins broke apart.

Dawn saw that Pansy had a magazine in her hands—Witch Weekly. The moving picture on the front showed a curly-haired witch who was smiling toothily and pointing at a large sponge cake with her wand.

"You might find something to interest you in there, Potter!" Pansy said loudly, and she threw the magazine at Dawn, who caught it, looking startled as she and Ginny made their way to the Gryffindor table.

When Dawn sat down, she looked at the magazine and found what Pansy and the other Slytherin girls had been looking at. A color photograph of her with Ginny below the headline of: Dawn Potter's Secret Heartache.

A girl like no other, perhaps—yet a girl suffering all the usual pangs of adolescence, writes Rita Skeeter. Deprived of love since the tragic demise of her birth parents, fourteen-year-old Dawn Potter thought she had found solace in her steady girlfriend at Hogwarts, Pureblood Ginny Weasley. Little did she know that she would shortly be suffering yet another emotional blow in a life already littered with personal loss.

Dawn crumpled up the magazine as she pulled out her wand. "Incendio," she said as she pointed her wand at the magazine which caught fire and quickly burned itself to ash.

"Ten points from Gryffindor!"

Dawn and Ginny startled turned and saw Buffy standing behind them with Ron, Hermione and Harry.

"Dawn, you know better than to start a fire. Or did you forget what happened back home?" Buffy said.

Dawn sighed she did remember. When she had found out she had been the Key not only had she cut herself in a desperate plea to understand. But before trying to run away from home she had burned her diaries. "Sorry," she said as she also remembered what Buffy had done afterwards. How Buffy had explained to her that it didn't matter where she had come from that she was her sister and nothing would ever change that.

"What was in the magazine?" Harry asked as he sat beside Dawn.

"That Skeeter woman was at it again," Dawn said.

"She wrote a story saying Dawn and I had broken up," Ginny added.

"Why that," Ron said quite angrily. "No one writes stuff like that about my little sister or her girlfriend, who also happens to be one my best friends."

"In this I have to agree with Ron," Buffy said. "More fuel for the fire when I get that lawyer."

"She didn't owl that story in," Dawn said. "She has to be back from wherever I sent her as there was a picture of me and Ginny."

"That is weird," Buffy said. "When did she get the picture. Was it the last time we saw her?"

"No," Dawn said. "The picture had to have been taken after you revealed yourself, Buffy, at the second task."

March 6, 2002

Dawn and Ginny left the castle at noon to find a weak silver sun shining down upon the grounds. The weather was milder than it had been all year, and by the time they arrived in Hogsmeade, both of them had taken off their cloaks and thrown them over their shoulders.

Dawn was carrying a bag of food at Harry's request. She and Ginny were to meet Harry and Buffy to give Sirius some food. Apparently, Sirius was hiding out currently around Hogsmeade.

They went into Gladrags Wizardwear, Dawn bought Ginny new dress robes of the prettiest blue that brought out the blue of Ginny's eyes. (A/N)

Then, at half past one, they made their way up the High Street, past Dervish and Banges, and out toward the edge of the village. Neither Dawn nor Ginny had been this way before, but they were following the directions that Harry had given them.

"When we find Sirius," Dawn said. "Be prepared to find a black dog. Sirius is an unregistered Animagus. Harry told me and Buffy that he and our dad became an Animagus because of Professor Lupin.

"Who's a werewolf," Ginny said.

"Right so that when he was the wolf his friends would be there beside him till morning," Dawn said.

"That's the best story I've ever heard," Ginny said.

"I'd do the same for you," Dawn said as Ginny smiled at her and kissed her.

"You are running late you know that?" Harry said as he and Buffy came up beside them.

"Was just telling Ginny about Sirius," Dawn said. "So, she wouldn't be frightened when she saw him in his Animagus form."

The winding lane lead them out into the wild countryside around Hogsmeade. The cottages were fewer here, and their gardens larger; they were walking toward the foot of the mountain in whose shadow Hogsmeade lay. Then they turned a corner and saw a stile at the end of the lane. Waiting for them, its front paws on the topmost bar, was a very large, shaggy black dog, which was carrying some newspapers in its mouth…

"Hi, Sirius," Buffy, Dawn and Harry said.

The black dog sniffed the bag that Dawn had brought and wagged its tail once, then turned and began to trot away from them across the scrubby patch of ground that rose to meet the rocky foot of the mountain.

Sirius led them to the very foot of the mountain, where the ground was covered with boulders and rocks. It was easy for him, with his four paws, but Dawn, Ginny and Harry were soon out of breath. They followed Sirius higher, up onto the mountain itself. For nearly half an hour they climbed a steep, winding, and stony path, following Sirius's wagging tail, sweating in the sun, the shoulder straps of Dawn's bag cutting into her shoulders.

Then, at last, Sirius slipped out of sight, and when they reached the place where he had vanished, they saw a narrow fissure in the rock. They squeezed into it and found themselves in a cool, dimly lit cave. Tethered at the end of it, one end of his rope around a large rock, was Buckbeak the hippogriff. Half gray horse, half giant eagle, Buckbeak's fierce orange eye flashed at the sight of them. "Bow," Harry whispered.

Buffy, Dawn and Ginny did as instructed and followed Harry's example and bowed. After regarding them imperiously for a moment, Buckbeak bent his scaly front knees.

"You can pet him now if you want," Harry said.

Dawn rushed forward and stroke Buckbeak's feathery neck.

Buffy and Ginny followed Harry's gaze to the black dog, which had just turned into Sirius.

Buffy walked toward Sirius and pulled the man into an embrace. "It's nice to finally meet you in person."

"Likewise, Buffy," Sirius said. "Dawn, I do believe you have the food. Chicken!"

Dawn nodded as she walked over to Sirius. She hugged him first before opening the bag and handing over a bundle of chicken legs and bread.

"Thanks," said Sirius, opening it, grabbing a drumstick, sitting down on the cave floor, and tearing off a large chunk with his teeth. "I've been living off rats mostly. Can't steal too much food from Hogsmeade; I'd draw attention to myself." He looked toward Ginny. He had been expecting Ron or Hermione as he knew them but not Ginny. "Now who do we have here?"

"Ginny Weasley, sir," Ginny said. "I'm Dawn's girlfriend."

"And Ron's sister," Harry added.

"It is a pleasure to meet you, Ginny," Sirius said.

"Is it safe for you to be here?" Buffy asked.

"Relatively," Sirius said. "You four, Hermione, Ron and Dumbledore are the only ones around here who know I'm an Animagus."

"My next question, what are you doing here?"

"Fulfilling my duty as godfather," said Sirius, gnawing on the chicken bone in a very doglike way. "I want to be on the spot. The last letter … well, let's just say things are getting fishier. I've been stealing the paper every time someone throws one out, and by the looks of things, I'm not the only one who's getting worried."

He nodded at the yellowing Daily Prophets on the cave floor.

"I've had Harry stop his copy," Buffy said as Ginny moved over to the papers and start looking through them. There were two:

The first bore the headline Mystery Illness of Bartemius Crouch, the second, Ministry Witch Still Missing—Minister of Magic Now Personally Involved.

"Percy, one of my older brothers, said Mr. Crouch was suffering from overwork," Ginny said as they looked at her. "This article on him makes it sound like he's dying."

"He did look ill," Harry said, "the last time I saw him up close." He looked at Buffy. "The night my name came out of the goblet…"

"Which good news, Harry is no longer officially or unofficially a champion. I had to reveal myself," Buffy said. "The second task I deemed unfair without knowing everything. Harry, who at the time had drank Polyjuice potion to look like Dawn, Hermione and two other students were held hostage underwater by the merpeople. I didn't know what would have happen after the hour was up. So, I ended the glamour charm and revealed myself to the merpeople. I then started freeing all the hostages. I after all had a duty as a Slayer to do."

"Which moves the target from Harry now to you, that is if someone was trying to do Harry in that is." Sirius said.

"I remember seeing Mr. Crouch's house elf, Winky, saving Mr. Crouch a spot at the Quidditch World Cup," Ginny said. "But he never showed."

"That's right," Harry said. "With introducing Buffy and Dawn to Fudge and Lucius Malfoy I forgot about that."

"Dad said that Mr. Crouch sacked Winky," Ginny said.

"Crouch sacked his house-elf?" Sirius asked.

"Yeah, dad said it was at the Quidditch World Cup," said Ginny.

"Wait was that before or after we saw the Dark Mark?" Harry asked.

"After," Ginny said. "In fact, it was a few minutes after if I remember what dad said correctly."

Sirius started pacing up and down the cave. "Let me get this straight," he said after a while, brandishing a fresh chicken leg. "You first saw the elf in the Top Box. She was saving Crouch a seat, right?"

"Right," said Harry, Dawn, Buffy and Ginny together.

"But Crouch didn't turn up for the match?"

"No," said Harry. "I think he said he'd been too busy."

"Did any of you find your wands missing?" Sirius asked.

"I did," Ginny admitted. "Dad said they found it on Winky."

"Did you check your pockets for your wand after you'd left the Top Box?"

"No," Ginny said. "I didn't need it. I didn't even realize it was missing till after we took a port key back home."

"Are you saying whoever conjured the Mark stole Ginny's wand in the Top Box?" Dawn asked.

"It's possible," said Sirius.

"So how did the house elf get the wand," Buffy wondered. "The person I saw cast the Dark Mark was at least human."

"Who else was sitting around you?" Sirius asked.

"My family," Ginny said. "Except for my mom who had stayed home."

"Us," Buffy said as she motioned toward herself, Harry and Dawn.

"Some Bulgarian ministers… Cornelius Fudge… the Malfoys…" added Harry.

"The Malfoys!" said Ginny suddenly, so loudly that her voice echoed all around the cave, and Buckbeak tossed his head nervously. "I bet it was Mr. Malfoy! After all it was because of him that I got You-Know-Who's diary my first year at Hogwarts."

"That was just before you broke out of Azkaban," Harry said.

"Anyone else?" said Sirius.

"No one," said Harry.

"Yes, there was, there was Ludo Bagman," Dawn reminded her brother.

"Oh yeah…"

"I don't know anything about Bagman except that he used to be Beater for the Wimbourne Wasps," said Sirius, still pacing. "What's he like?"

"He's okay," said Harry. "Before he learned Buffy was doing the tasks, he kept offering to help me with them."

"Did he, now?" said Sirius, frowning more deeply. "I wonder why he'd do that?"

"Said he took a liking to me," said Harry.

"Hmm," said Sirius, looking thoughtful.

"We saw him in the forest just after the Dark Mark appeared," Buffy said.

"Yeah, but he didn't stay in the forest, did he?" said Dawn. "When you told them where you had seen it go up. They went in search of the actual person who did it."

"Ginny, when the elf had been discovered holding your wand, did your father say what Crouch did?"

"I think that was when he sacked her," Ginny said.

Sirius ran a hand over his unshaven face, evidently thinking hard. "All these absences of Barty Crouch's… he goes to the trouble of making sure his house-elf saves him a seat at the Quidditch World Cup, but doesn't bother to turn up and watch. He works very hard to reinstate the Triwizard Tournament, and then stops coming to that too… It's not like Crouch. If he's ever taken a day off work because of illness before this, I'll eat Buckbeak."

"D'you know Crouch, then?" said Harry.

"Oh, I know Crouch all right," Sirius said quietly. "He was the one who gave the order for me to be sent to Azkaban—without a trial."

"What?" Buffy and Dawn said together.

"You never had a trial?" Buffy asked.

"No," Sirius said. "Crouch used to be Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. He was tipped for the next Minister of Magic. He's a great wizard, Barty Crouch, powerfully magical—and power-hungry. Oh, never a Voldemort supporter. No, Barty Crouch was always very outspoken against the Dark Side. But then a lot of people who were against the Dark Side… well, you wouldn't understand… you're too young…"

"That's an excuse I've heard too many times," Buffy said. "Do you know everything I've seen in the last five years."

"I got the gist, Buffy, when I read Harry's letters," Sirius said. "Out of everyone in this cave you are likely the one who might understand. Imagine that Voldemort's powerful now. You don't know who his supporters are, you don't know who's working for him and who isn't; you know he can control people so that they do terrible things without being able to stop themselves. You're scared for yourself, and your family, and your friends. Every week, news comes of more deaths, more disappearances, more torturing… the Ministry of Magic's in disarray, they don't know what to do, they're trying to keep everything hidden from the Muggles, but meanwhile, Muggles are dying too. Terror everywhere… panic… confusion… that's how it used to be."

"Well, times like that bring out the best in some people and the worst in others. Crouch's principles might've been good in the beginning—I wouldn't know. He rose quickly through the Ministry, and he started ordering very harsh measures against Voldemort's supporters. The Aurors were given new powers—powers to kill rather than capture, for instance. And I wasn't the only one who was handed straight to the dementors without trial. Crouch fought violence with violence, and authorized the use of the Unforgivable Curses against suspects. I would say he became as ruthless and cruel as many on the Dark Side. He had his supporters, mind you—plenty of people thought he was going about things the right way, and there were a lot of witches and wizards clamoring for him to take over as Minister of Magic. When Voldemort disappeared, it looked like only a matter of time until Crouch got the top job. But then something rather unfortunate happened…" Sirius smiled grimly. "Crouch's own son was caught with a group of Death Eaters who'd managed to talk their way out of Azkaban. Apparently, they were trying to find Voldemort and return him to power."

"Crouch's son was caught?" gasped Ginny.

"Yep," said Sirius, throwing his chicken bone to Buckbeak, flinging himself back down on the ground beside the loaf of bread, and tearing it in half. "Nasty little shock for old Barty, I'd imagine. Should have spent a bit more time at home with his family, shouldn't he? Ought to have left the office early once in a while… gotten to know his own son."

He began to wolf down large pieces of bread.

"Was his son a Death Eater?" said Harry.

"No idea," said Sirius, still stuffing down bread. "I was in Azkaban myself when he was brought in. This is mostly stuff I've found out since I got out. The boy was definitely caught in the company of people I'd bet my life were Death Eaters—but he might have been in the wrong place at the wrong time, just like the house-elf."

"Did Crouch try and get his son off?" Buffy wondered.

Sirius let out a laugh that was much more like a bark. "Crouch let his son off? Anything that threatened to tarnish his reputation had to go; he had dedicated his whole life to becoming Minister of Magic. He dismissed a devoted house-elf because she associated him with the Dark Mark again—doesn't that tell you what he's like? Crouch's fatherly affection stretched just far enough to give his son a trial, and by all accounts, it wasn't much more than an excuse for Crouch to show how much he hated the boy…then he sent him straight to Azkaban."

"He gave his own son to the dementors?" asked Harry quietly.

"That's right," said Sirius, and he didn't look remotely amused now. "I saw the dementors bringing him in, watched them through the bars in my cell door. He can't have been more than nineteen. They took him into a cell near mine. He was screaming for his mother by nightfall. He went quiet after a few days, though… they all went quiet in the end… except when they shrieked in their sleep…"

"So, he's still in Azkaban?" Harry said.

"No," said Sirius dully. "No, he's not in there anymore. He died about a year after they brought him in."

"He died?" Buffy asked.

"He wasn't the only one," said Sirius bitterly. "Most go mad in there, and plenty stop eating in the end. They lose the will to live. You could always tell when a death was coming, because the dementors could sense it, they got excited. That boy looked pretty sickly when he arrived. Crouch being an important Ministry member, he and his wife were allowed a deathbed visit. That was the last time I saw Barty Crouch, half carrying his wife past my cell. She died herself, apparently, shortly afterward. Grief. Wasted away just like the boy. Crouch never came for his son's body. The dementors buried him outside the fortress; I watched them do it."

Sirius threw aside the bread he had just lifted to his mouth and instead picked up the flask of pumpkin juice and drained it. "So old Crouch lost it all, just when he thought he had it made," he continued, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. "One moment, a hero, poised to become Minister of Magic… next, his son dead, his wife dead, the family name dishonored, and, so I've heard since I escaped, a big drop in popularity. Once the boy had died, people started feeling a bit more sympathetic toward the son and started asking how a nice young lad from a good family had gone so badly astray. The conclusion was that his father never cared much for him. So Cornelius Fudge got the top job, and Crouch was shunted sideways into the Department of International Magical Cooperation."

Sirius heaved an enormous sigh and rubbed his shadowed eyes. "What's the time?"

Harry checked his watch. "It's half past three," he said.

"We got to get back," Buffy said. "Well these three for sure do anyways."

"Now listen…" Sirius said as he looked at Buffy. "Don't let Harry, Dawn, Ginny, Ron or Hermione sneak out of school to see me, all right? Just send notes to me here. I still want to hear about anything odd. But don't let them leave Hogwarts without your being with them. Of course, I would prefer if you didn't leave Hogwarts either. Since you are now the fourth champion, the target is on your back, it would be an ideal opportunity for someone to attack you. Especially if it meant getting Harry reinstated back as the fourth champion."

"I wasn't planning on taking any chances," Buffy said.

"I'll breathe freely again when this tournament's over, and that's not until June. And don't forget, if you're talking about me among yourselves, call me Snuffles, okay? I'll walk to the edge of the village with you see if I can scrounge another paper."

He transformed into the great black dog before they left the cave, and they walked back down the mountainside with them, across the boulder-strewn ground, and back to the stile. Here he allowed each of them, including Ginny, to pat him on the head, before turning and setting off at a run around the outskirts of the village.

Author Note: In the books Ginny's eyes were brown. In the movies they were blue because the actress who played her had blue eyes. I didn't want to have Dawn get Ginny a brown dress so I went with the movie version for the color of her eyes.