Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.
Warning: None for this chapter
Chapter 63 – Uncertain Times & Disclosures Long Past Due
Three of the four Marauders arrived in Gryffindor Tower and wasted no time in settling themselves back in their dormitory. James had found a message from Peter that promised his arrival on Wednesday – the earliest his mother would allow him to leave her. And I'm meant to be grateful for that, his missive had said, displaying a taste of bitterness that his three mates felt was a bit uncharacteristic of the friend they knew. Deciding that there was little to be done until Peter actually returned and they could all spend time together again, James, Sirius and Remus turned their attention back to the most interesting topic of the moment: Alphard Black – and his presence in Hogwarts castle.
Sirius had brought the others up to speed on his conversation with his uncle, and the appearance of Thomas O'Hanlon. Alphard had stated that Sirius possessed only the necessary facts of the tale – and that was certainly true. The older wizard was equally accurate in his prediction that his great-nephew was sure to put his very capable mind to the task to riddle out the rest. Alphard's presence on the train had momentarily distracted the young wizard from his ruminations; once he was alone with his mates, however, he returned to the puzzle full bore.
"Doesn't it seem to you like there's more to tell?" James sat cross-legged on his bed, his prized Nimbus 1000 across his lap and his newly acquired broom conditioning kit open beside him. He paused, twig clippers in mid-air as he looked over at Sirius. "I mean, really – why would your father go to O'Hanlon for help in getting you back into the family fold?"
Sirius shrugged, torn between wanting to tell them everything he knew – including what Kate had shared about her father's death – and hesitating to share the secrets of another. Still, it's not really a secret, is it? It's more history; history that could help protect Kate.
"Padfoot?"
Sirius was pulled from his internal debate by the sound of Remus' voice. When he turned to answer, Sirius noted the look of concern on his friend's face – and he felt his own flush in response. Secrets told to protect others. We've been there before, haven't we?
"What is it?" Remus asked, kindly.
Sirius shook his head. "There is more to it," he said. "But the story isn't mine to tell."
Remus drew a breath. "Sometimes, when all the options are weighed, and if it is for the right reason, telling someone else's story is the right thing to do." His voice was mild, but Remus' eyes never left Sirius' face.
"That was unexpected, Remus," Sirius responded easily, returning his friend's frank gaze.
"More than one lesson can be learned from a single mistake," came the gentle response. "And learned by more than one person. Not all stories involve secrets; not all situations are alike."
Sirius swallowed thickly and nodded. "Thanks, Moony."
"Right," James piped up from his corner, where he had observed the exchange and was anxious to move on. "Out with it, Pads."
With small smile in Remus' direction, Sirius began to relay the tale that Kate had shared about her parents' courtship, marriage and the events that befell them all - courtesy of her grandfather's affiliation with Orion Black. When he had finished, James let out a low whistle.
"Blimey. The Blacks do get around, don't they?"
"All the way to America, apparently," Remus nodded.
James carefully placed his broom at the foot of his bed, then reached over into his night stand and pulled open the drawer. Pulling out a rather crumpled piece of parchment, he tossed it onto the bed and turned to Remus. "Oi, Moony; have you got one of those Muggle biros? I can't be arsed to dig around in my trunk for a quill." Moments later, the young wizard deftly caught the pen that Remus tossed over to him. "Thanks, mate. So, let's see how this fits together."
"What do you mean, Jamie?" Sirius crossed the room and sat down next to his friend.
"We've got a lot to figure out – and a lot of information to sift through, right? Not to mention all the witches and wizards who've popped up in all the various events we've either lived through or heard about. I don't think we'll be able to make any kind of real sense of it all until we get it down on parchment where we can start to look at it to see if there are any common threads," James explained.
Sirius and Remus exchanged a look and Remus came over to join the other three. Sirius nudged James' shoulder. "Remember how you told me you couldn't make up your mind about becoming a professional Quidditch player or an Auror after school was over?" James nodded. "Go with Auror. You seem to have the knack for investigations." Sirius ducked to avoid a sharp thwack on the top of his head.
"All right; let's get started with the 'who' of it all," James said, pen poised to write. "We'll start a column for each wizard or witch we know of now and line up beneath them the names of others we know are connected to them in this whole mess. When we're finished, we should be able to narrow one master list down to those who appear everywhere."
Remus frowned. "But if we follow that logic, won't everyone be connected to … well, everyone else?"
James shook his head. "No. Part of the process will be categorizing the names and identifying how they're connected. There will be some who are innocent bystanders, others will be family members – do you see where I'm going, Moony?"
Remus nodded. "Perhaps it will also give us an idea of who else might be involved – based on the other affiliations of those on the list. Good thinking, James."
James re-positioned his pen and looked over at Sirius. "Shall we start with your family, Pads?"
Sirius shrugged. "Might just as well; they're all over this, aren't they?"
"So, there's your father," James said, writing Orion Black at the top of the page and drawing a line under his name. "Who is connected to Kate's grandfather, her father – and to Kate." James finished writing the list and sat up. "I suppose that to be accurate, I should add your name, as well, Padfoot."
"In the interest of being accurate, yes," Sirius rolled his eyes. "He's my father, Prongs; it would be difficult for him not to be connected to me, wouldn't you say?"
Remus took a breath. "You're not finished, James. You need to add Kate's mother, based on your plan to categorize his associates and, of course there's Cygnus Black, Eduard Bullstrode, Abraxas Malfoy, Rosier, Antonin Dolohov and Orcus Mulciber." He paused as James added the men to the column of names. "And one more; Thomas O'Hanlon."
The young wizards were silent as James added the name. When he had finished, he wrote the name Cygnus Black at the head of a new column and underscored it. The first person added beneath the heading was Orion Black and the second was Roderick Morgan. James' finger ran down the list of names beneath Orion's column, pausing on the last. With a brief glance up at Sirius, he added a third name, Thomas O'Hanlon. "I can see a pattern forming," he murmured.
"Not too surprising, is it?" Sirius replied, gaze fixed on the parchment. "Should you add me, as well?"
James shook his head. "I don't think so, Pads. You didn't know him after all."
Sirius shifted restlessly. "I still think I should be there. You can tag me as 'family' – more's the pity – and remove me later if you need to do that."
James added his name at the end of the column.
"Do we know of any of Cygnus' other affiliates?" Remus wondered aloud, thinking back to the story Sirius had earlier recounted.
"Rosier, Dolohov and Mulciber," Sirius said quietly. "And Eduard Bullstrode."
"Right," James said, adding the last name.
The boys continued their work without interruption – and without notice of the time. The sound of a knock on the partially closed dormitory door roused them sharply from their task.
"That can't be anything productive," Lily observed, lifting her chin in the direction of the ink-covered parchment in James lap.
Remus and Sirius rose quickly from their seats as James put the parchment into his bed stand drawer.
"What are you hiding over there, James? A monumental stunt designed to let the whole of the school know that the four of you are back in good stead? " Lily started to walk over toward James' bed, but Remus handily blocked her path.
"Christmas list," he said with a crooked smile. "You wouldn't want to spoil any surprises, would you?"
Lily put her hands on her hips and looked appraisingly at her friend. "'Christmas list'," she repeated skeptically. "You actually expect us to believe that James Potter is thinking about Christmas - in August?"
James slid around Remus and looped his arm around the redhead's waist. "Maybe I'm turning over a new leaf, Lils," he said with a smile. "So, what brings you to the Gryffindor boys' dormitory, Miss Evans? Did you miss me enough to break the rules, perhaps?"
Lily's face flushed, but she recovered herself quickly. "While you three were working on your Christmas lists, Kate and I visited the kitchens and have sandwiches and butter beer down by the fire in the Common Room." She gently disengaged herself from James' arm and stepped quickly toward the doorway. "Now, if you're too occupied with your project to join us, I'm sure we can bring it over to Professor McGonagall's sitting room and share it with her!" Lily stepped into the hallway and started for the stairs. "You know, that's not a bad idea. Forget that I bothered you," she called over her shoulder as she disappeared from view. "Kate!"
The boys paused long enough to look at each other before racing after the young witch. They stepped off the last stair and entered the Common Room to find both girls sitting on the sofa, looking over at them in great amusement.
"'I'm sure we can bring it over to Professor McGonagall's sitting room and share it with her'," James mimicked Lily's earlier threat. "I knew you wouldn't prefer her company to ours." He took a seat next to his girlfriend and planted a kiss on her cheek.
"Well, perhaps not today," Lily allowed. "But there are moments!"
Sirius handed Kate a bottle of butter beer before lifting one in Remus' direction. "Here you go, Moony." Settling down next to Kate with his own bottle, the young wizard sighed contentedly. "Now, this is the way the Common Room should always be: filled with a lovely fire, beautiful witches and plenty of butter beer!"
Remus lowered himself into a deep armchair and stretched his long legs out over the matching ottoman. "I will have to agree with you there, Padfoot!"
"'Padfoot'," Lily snorted. "You know, since you told us the logic behind that nickname, I swear I've never once seen you wandering about in your stocking-feet! I smell a rat, I believe!"
James' eyebrows rose into his very untidy hairline. "What does a rat have to do with it?" His eyes darted about the room as if checking to see if a very familiar rodent had made his way into the Tower.
Remus shot a warning glance at the disconcerted wizard. "It's a Muggle expression, Prongs; that's all."
Sirius felt Kate's fingers tighten around his own but the couple remained silent.
"And it means that there's something off about this whole situation," Lily added. "Prongs, Padfoot; I think there's more to all of this than you've told us."
The redhead looked round the room at the wizards who were now looking everywhere but in her direction.
Sirius attempted to inject a bit of levity. "Come now, Lils; I've already explained James' nickname to you. Surely, by now you need no further description." He waggled his eyebrows at her suggestively and was dismayed when Lily's demeanor did not change. Not going to be as easy as it was the first time, then. Sirius chanced a look at James, then Remus. Maybe it's time to bring them in on all our secrets; they can certainly be trusted – they've proven that time and again over the past year.
"Mates?" James' voice called Sirius back from his own thoughts. When their eyes met, James lifted his eyebrows slightly – first in Sirius' direction, then in Remus', receiving barely perceptible nods from both. "Right." James pushed himself up and off the couch and perched on the low table in front of the sofa. Remus joined him.
"I'm not sure I like this," Lily murmured, gazing at the wizards in front of her. Turning her attention to James, she spoke quietly. "This isn't simply another of your outrageous Marauder moments, is it?"
James reached for her hand. "No, Lily; it's not. Although, I'm sure there would be any number of people who would think 'outrageous' to be accurate if they knew what I'm - what we're – about to tell you. Lily, Kate – that's the thing here: no one else can know! Not your parents, your sister, no one. You both must promise us."
Kate and Lily looked at each other then back at James. "Of course we promise," Kate said, shifting her glance to Sirius as Lily also verbalized her agreement.
Sirius squeezed her hand and leaned over to kiss her cheek. "I couldn't tell you everything this summer; only Padfoot was mine to tell. Forgive me?" His whispered confession over, he drew back to look at her face. Kate nodded, smiling softly and Sirius rose to join his friends.
"We should probably move some of this out of the way," Remus said. Soon, the wizards had cleared a considerable space between the hearth and the sofa on which the girls still sat. Satisfied they had sufficient room for what they had planned Sirius and Remus withdrew to one side, yielding the floor to James.
"Right. Well, here's the thing. When we found out about Remus, we hated that he had to go through his transformations alone every month. We knew there was nothing we could do for him as human beings, at least not without putting ourselves – and Remus – at great risk. We spent so much time researching the problem and finally discovered a way that we could be with him each full moon – and perhaps prevent the wolf from hurting himself so badly." James paused, running his fingers through his hair and obviously searching for something more that would explain their decision.
"Prongs," Sirius said quietly. "Perhaps you should just show them, yeah? I think it's time."
James looked at Lily once more, then closed his eyes and summoned the magic that would complete his transformation. Moments later, he opened his eyes and gazed down at two obviously astounded young women.
"Ladies, say hello to Prongs," Sirius said, approaching the large stag and patting his shoulder.
Lily rose first, taking a tentative first step toward her boyfriend in his amended form. James stood still, but lowered his head slightly as Lily reached up, resting a finger against a sturdy antler. "Prongs," she whispered, running her finger along the smooth surface then dropping her hand to stroke the side of his face.
"Lovely," Kate said softly, coming up to the stag's other side and patting his shoulder as Sirius had done.
Suddenly the shimmer of magic surrounded them and the stag disappeared, leaving an obviously insulted – and very human – James Potter standing before them.
"Lovely?" James grumbled, but his face softened as Lily hugged him.
Sirius snorted. "I think you've insulted his ego, Katie-girl. Jamie prefers to be described as 'majestic' and 'powerful' when he's strutting about in all his antlered glory. Feeling a bit doe-like, are we, James?"
"Shut it, you," James responded, adding, "I believe it's to you, Padfoot." He and Lily stepped to one side and Kate resumed her seat on the sofa where she could watch Lily's face. She caught Remus' eye and he dropped her a quick wink – which she returned. This should be fun.
Sirius took James' place in front of the hearth and grinned at Lily. Seconds later, the large, black dog that was his alter ego stood before them.
Kate chuckled. "Isn't he lovely, Lils?"
The stunned redhead looked over at Kate and shook her head. "I can't believe it," she said, jumping slightly as Padfoot's cold nose nudged her hand. "Stop that," she commanded when Padfoot licked her fingers. The dog huffed and sat down hard in front of her, cocking his head and staring at the young witch with Sirius' brilliant blue eyes. Lily finally laughed and patted the top of his head. "He does make a lovely dog, doesn't he?"
Sirius growled before transforming back into his normal state and it was James' turn to laugh. "Care to take back that 'doe' comment, Pads? Or are you feeling a bit bitc-…"
"Alright, Prongsie; I take it back. No need to expand that thought any further!" Sirius rose from the floor and reclaimed his seat next to Kate.
"So, you transform and keep Remus company in the shack every month?" Lily asked, looking from one wizard to the other.
"They do," Remus nodded. "And, as you've noticed, I have suffered significantly less injury than before they accomplished this feat."
"What about Peter?" Kate suddenly thought of the absent member of the Marauders' quartet. "Is he…."
Sirius spoke first. "Yes; he's an Animagus, as well. He's not very fond of his form, but he's dead useful in freezing that bloody Whomping Willow every month!" At Kate's curious expression, he continued with a wry smile, "He's a rat we've named 'Wormtail'. You can now better understand Prongs' earlier panic when you said you smelt a rat, Lils." The group laughed.
Lily shook her head. "Animagi; who would have thought it? It's very advanced magic."
"Surprised we accomplished it, are you?" Sirius asked, but there was no malice in his tone.
"No, actually," Lily replied. "When you get something into your heads – and it means enough to you to see it through – I've learned that you can be quite dedicated; quite successful, as well. I am amazed that you've managed to keep it quiet. How long have you been Animagi?"
"Almost a year," James confessed and shifted nervously at Lily's incredulous gaze. "Listen, it wasn't all that difficult. We don't transform more than once a month. We transform well away from the castle – and no one sees us but Remus."
"But you didn't tell anyone; that's not like any of you," Lily protested. "You've been the center of everyone's attention for years – bragging about your accomplishments. If you were ever to brag about anything, I would have thought it would be this. It makes no sense to me that you wouldn't …." She stopped speaking and closed her eyes as an idea formed and grew in her head. "You're not registered, are you?"
"No," said James. "And we won't, so don't campaign for it, Lils. We did this for Remus and if the Ministry were to find out that three students risked themselves with such advanced magic on his behalf, they could use it against him."
"And since we did this to keep him safe to start with, there's no way we're going to have any part in endangering him with the Ministry or anyone else," Sirius put in, his tone as adamant as James' had been.
Lily held up her hand. "I understand. And I love Remus, too. I would never be a party to anything that could hurt you, Remus – or any of you." The redhead looked over at her best friend. "Kate, I would suspect that you agree with me on this."
Kate nodded. "Very much so. I won't fuss at you to register and I'll keep the secret. I promise."
"I promise, as well," Lily said.
"Brilliant!" Remus offered the first comment in quite some time, his face and tone reflecting his gratitude at the reception his friends' Animagi status had received.
In short order, the room had been returned to its original condition and the five friends to their former places.
"Well, then," James began. "Now that we've settled that bit of news, perhaps we can chat about something else for awhile; although I will tell you that I can't imagine anything being quite as impressive as what you've just experienced!"
"Oh, I don't know," Lily replied. "Alphard Black becoming the new DADA professor seems a fair rival for the title. What do you make of it?"
Sirius glanced briefly at James and Remus. They had talked about his great-uncle's appointment on the train and the boys' earlier exercise in the dormitory evidenced their collective belief that the entire story had not been told. Why should Kate and Lily feel any differently, after all?
"You heard Uncle Alphard on the train; some wizard showed up at his door with a picture of me and a story about getting me back in my family's good graces," Sirius said. "He said he was a business acquaintance of my father's and thought he'd do him a good turn and try and make contact with me. Uncle Alphard didn't much care for him – or his story – and neither did Dumbledore. He figured that it was better if Uncle Alphard wasn't as accessible for future visits. Quirrell was out of commission in the mountains somewhere – courtesy of a very accommodating troll – so Dumbledore asked Uncle Alphard to take over DADA temporarily," Sirius' delivery had become a bit monotone by this point in his recitation; everyone had already heard this earlier in the day on the train, after all … well, a somewhat altered version of what I already knew.
"But who was this wizard and why was he enough to motivate Dumbledore to move your uncle out of Paris and into Hogwarts?" Kate wondered aloud. "I mean – think about it…"
"Think about what?" Sirius' voice rose slightly. "Look, we all know that there is any number of dark wizards out there – any of whom would be very happy to do my father's bidding. Why would this one cause any more concern to him than another? Besides, Uncle Alphard worked to help defeat Grindelwald; he can certainly take care of himself against the current crop of extremists."
Kate put her hand on Sirius' arm and spoke quietly. "Sirius, I think Dumbledore was concerned about both of you. It's more than an extremist, after all. Based on what your uncle told us, your father is somehow involved with this wizard and would likely send someone else on his errand if this messenger was unsuccessful. I'm certain that Dumbledore anticipated this. Moving your uncle to Hogwarts will protect him from any more aggressive messengers that might be sent."
Sirius shook his head. "Look Kate - you know that I spoke with my father after I'd left Grimmauld Place. He knows that I'm not coming home – that I no longer consider myself a Black. Orion Black is many things, but stupid isn't one of them. He knows that there's no messenger he can send who will change that." And this particular messenger is way too close to you for my own comfort. Leave it alone, Katie.
"But your mother has already voiced her own desire to see you; Dumbledore brought you here early to protect you from her. Perhaps your father isn't really motivating the situation," Kate pointed out in reply. "Perhaps he's appeasing your mother with these attempts to set up some sort of contact with you."
Apparently, 'leaving it alone' isn't on today's agenda. Sirius took a deep breath. "I don't want to talk about her; I don't even want to think about her. Look, we just got here; we've got a week before everyone else arrives. Can we just please leave it for now?"
Kate looked at him sharply and, seeing the tension in his face, nodded. "Of course. I'm sorry; I didn't mean to upset you."
I'm sorry, Kate. Sirius rose. "I'll be back later." He headed over to the stairs leading to the dormitory and disappeared from view.
Moments later, footsteps were heard on the staircase as Sirius made his way back downstairs and moved swiftly through the common room and out the portrait hole.
"Well, that was certainly odd," Lily observed, looking around at the others. "I wonder where he's gone…"
James and Remus exchanged brief look before James spoke. "Dunno, but Uncle Alphard would be my best guess. Let's leave him to it."
XXXXXXXX
James' guess proved true. It took Sirius little time to traverse the distance between Gryffindor Tower and the second floor DADA classroom – and his uncle's rooms beyond it. As the conversation in the common room had unfolded, Sirius had recalled differences between his conversation with Uncle Alphard in Paris and the tale the older wizard had shared on the train. He had suspected that Dumbledore had discussed more with Alphard than the DADA position; what to tell the students – including Sirius – must have been part of that discussion. Sirius knew that Uncle Alphard would never lie to him – or withhold information if asked direct questions. As he approached the doors to the classroom, Sirius' hand closed around the parchment he'd shoved into his jeans pocket back in the dormitory. It was time for some direct questions.
Sirius walked through the open door to the DADA classroom, passing under the large dragon skeleton suspended from the high ceiling. Wall torches flared as he passed and their light cast a slight orange glow on the ancient bones as Sirius approached the wooden staircase that led to his uncle's quarters.
"Uncle Alphard?" Pausing in the doorway, Sirius looked quickly around the office. Other than the fire crackling merrily in the hearth, there was no sign of habitation. The young wizard tentatively crossed the threshold, acknowledging to himself that while these rooms might be assigned to his uncle, they were still the domain of the DADA professor. For the first time, Sirius found himself wondering just what kind of impact that might have on their relationship.
"Albus? Is that you?" Sirius jumped as his uncle's voice sounded from the open doorway at the back of the office.
"It's me, Uncle Alphard," Sirius replied, and was soon standing face to face with the older wizard.
"Sirius, my boy!" Alphard drew him into a warm hug. "What brings you here?"
Now that he was actually standing in the same room with Alphard, he found himself uncertain about how to begin. 'I don't think you've told me the whole story behind what happened in Paris' didn't seem to be the way to go.
"I wanted to talk more about Thomas O'Hanlon," Sirius said in a rush.
"Ah. I suspected that this would happen." Alphard put his arm around Sirius' shoulders and gently guided him toward the sofa in his sitting room. As they sat down, Alphard gave him a wink. "I thought I might have had more of a chance to settle in before it did, though!"
Sirius smiled a bit ruefully and shrugged. "Would you rather I left?"
"No, but we may be interrupted; if we are, we will need to finish our conversation tomorrow. Acceptable?"
Sirius nodded. "Will it do me any good to ask who or what might interrupt us?"
Alphard chuckled. "Let's see where our conversation takes us before I decide whether or not I'll answer. Now, why don't you tell me what's bothering you."
"Why didn't you tell James, Lily, Kate and Remus everything you'd told me about what happened in your apartment?" Sirius decided to take the direct route.
His great-uncle responded in kind. "It wasn't prudent to do so. Can you guess why?"
"Because of Kate."
Alphard nodded once. "Partially, yes; but that is not the whole of it. You are already aware of the fact that James' father was part of my meeting with your Headmaster – and that he was there in his official capacity."
Sirius raised his eyebrows. "But he's head of Wizarding Britain's MLE…" his voice trailed off as he gave in to the thoughts coursing through his brain.
We were right about this one, Albus, Alphard mused silently as he watched his great-nephew's face. He will work it all out on his own if we do not tell him the whole of the matter.
"This connects to the disappearances in London that Mr. Potter's been working on, doesn't it?" Sirius finally looked back at the older wizard, who nodded in response.
"It may; we do not know all of the details as yet. Would you mind very much if I asked you a question?" When Sirius shook his head, Alphard continued, "How much have you shared with your friends?"
"Nothing more about what we discussed," Sirius answered honestly. "But …" he stood and fished the parchment from his pocket. Sitting once again, Sirius unfolded the paper, smoothing out the wrinkles against his leg before speaking again. "… we've done a bit of sleuthing of our own."
Alphard took the parchment now extended toward him with a nod. "Amazing how right an old wizard can be sometimes," he muttered as he scanned the sheet of names. After a moment or two, he spoke in a more normal tone. "Tell me about your sleuthing."
Alphard listened intently as Sirius re-told the thought process behind the list of names, nodding at various points, but refraining from comment until the story of Kate's father came up – and Sirius explained that this, too, had been shared with his friends. He recalled his conversation with Remus earlier in the day. It was true, for all of his natural reluctance to tell Kate's story – there were times when disclosing the business of another was vital in ensuring their security.
"I know that there's more," Sirius finished. "And I know that you know what it is." He paused as if deliberating the advisability of further comment. Finally, his inner conflict was settled. "Whatever it is that I don't know is most likely being kept from me because you – or Dumbledore – think that I will react badly to it; that I will act stupidly and get hurt – or worse – in the process. Well, if that's what you're thinking, you'd be wrong. You have no way of knowing this, but I did something stupid last term – something without thought – and almost lost everything that means anything to me. It's fixed now and I like to think that I've learned from it. I'm not saying that I'd never do anything stupid again – just that I'm working really hard to think before I act. I think that list shows that James, Remus and I aren't going to hare off on some wild scheme."
"You know, Sirius, when Dumbledore, Hal and I met this afternoon, one of the first questions Albus asked me was how much you knew about my visitor. I told him that you knew only the facts but that I was concerned that there wasn't greater risk in keeping the details from you. It was my thought that you might just get it into your head to act alone and, for that, I apologize. I did you an injustice that I won't repeat. You should know that Dumbledore is concerned for your safety, as well – but did acknowledge that encouraging your sleuthing – at least on an intellectual level – might hasten our own discovery process. Before you get too excited, however, his sense of caution prevailed and the decision not to share more information with you was upheld – and agreed upon by us all." Alphard leaned toward Sirius, never breaking his gaze. "I no longer agree with that decision." Alphard rose and walked toward the fireplace, taking some time to gaze into the flames before turning to speak again.
"We are facing dark times, Sirius – very dark times, indeed. I have said this to you before; I've made no secret of my thoughts on the matter. The last surge of darkness – organized as it was – brought tremendous loss and destruction to our world. If the signs are any indication, what is to come has the potential to be far worse. I am going to tell you about my meeting this afternoon – on the condition that you give me your word that you will not act on this information. You may share it with your friends and you should feel free to examine the facts and explore the possibilities." Alphard paused and lifted the parchment. "It would certainly appear that you and your friends possess some rather distinct investigatory skills."
Sirius smiled. "And to think that most people just admire us for our mischief-making abilities; well, the students, anyway."
"Is this finished?" Alphard returned to the couch, eyes moving over the parchment once again.
"Not yet," Sirius said. "We were just about finished compiling the list when the girls interrupted us. We barely got it back in James' drawer before Lily could grab it for a closer look. Poor Jamie wound up spinning a tale about Christmas lists to throw them off the scent."
"I rather thought those two were quite bright young witches," Alphard replied, looking over at the younger wizard. "You don't share my opinion, then?"
"Oh, they're definitely bright," Sirius nodded. "Too bright, if you ask me. I wouldn't necessarily mind having Lily's help, but if she's involved it would be harder to keep Kate out of it – particularly now, before the rest of the students are back in the castle." When Alphard didn't speak right away, Sirius looked up at him. He was surprised to see the stern expression that greeted him, but he held firm. "No."
Alphard sighed. "Sirius, I know that you want to protect her; believe me, I understand the sentiment. It was for your protection that I initially agreed to keep the additional details of my discussion with Hal and Albus from you. That said, it was ultimately for that same reason that I changed my mind."
"I don't understand the similarity here," Sirius' expression had moved from firm to defiant.
"Don't you? Come, come, boy; you're not stupid – think! The more that young woman knows, the better able to protect herself she will be – particularly when she is at home and away from the natural protections afforded her here. Would you have her walk into her home, with Thomas O'Hanlon present, with no knowledge of what transpired in Paris? Of his affiliation with your father? Of his suspected allegiances?" At this, Alphard raised the parchment again to emphasize his point.
Sirius felt himself tense further with each word that came from Alphard's mouth. When Alphard pushed the parchment toward him, Sirius caught sight of some of the names. Malfoy. Bullstrode. Black. Uncle Alphard was right. It was more dangerous for Kate not to be in on their suspicions and on-going discussions.
"Well?" Alphard's voice was softer, less terse than before.
"You're right, of course. She has to know. I'll tell her tonight."
