Michael Brown
It was a quiet August afternoon. My parents and sister were currently away buying school supplies for Lily, so for the first time in a while I was alone at home. Seizing the opportunity they gave me, I decided to do something fun and do a general house sweep, looking for any evidence of government surveillance. Since it had been a long time since I had had such an opportunity, with most of the year spent dealing with the magical regime, it turned out to be quite an enjoyable afternoon for me.
I was in the middle of rummaging through the bathroom, browsing the cabinet in search of hidden compartments, when Recorder-kun, which had been checking my parents' bedroom to keep me from seeing images I was really not meant to see, appeared next to me with an unexpected message.
"MICHAEL BROWN. I HAVE HALTED MY TASK OF INVESTIGATING THE LAIR OF YOUR PROGENITORS TO INFORM YOU THAT A REVENANT IS APPROACHING YOUR LOCATION. IT IS STANDING IN CLOSE PROXIMITY TO YOUR CHOSEN DWELLING" Recorder-kun said, its voice as always deep and full of static. Hearing this, I stopped my previous task and looked at him confused, not really sure what he was talking about.
Receiving no further explanation, I decided to just look out the window and see what he was talking about. What I saw was quite unexpected, though certainly not unwelcome.
I saw Tom, wearing some sort of inconspicuous gray coat and black hat, standing on the other side of the road and watching my house from a distance. He must have seen me staring at him, as he immediately reached into his pocket and subtly flicked three flashes of green light from within it. Recognizing the pre-arranged sign, I quickly showed him my two index fingers followed by my left ring finger and a silent clap, proving my identity. Tom seemed to be satisfied with this, as he nodded slightly and began walking toward my house with some eagerness in his step.
Not wanting to keep my guest waiting, I immediately turned away from the window and quickly ran down the stairs to greet him properly. Tom didn't even have time to press the bell as I opened the door and welcomed him with a huge smile on my face.
"Hello, Tom! It's been..." I began excitedly, happy to see my friend after such a long time apart, but I went silent after looking at him properly, my smile slowly fading. There was something off about him, a change that he didn't seem to have noticed himself. Unable to remain silent about such an obvious issue, I continued, my voice turning serious: "...You have blood on your hands, Tom."
Tom tensed upon hearing my words, his face turning grim. He seemed almost surprised to hear such words from me, as he looked at me with wide eyes, but he soon collected himself and spoke.
"Yes, it's true. I have blood on my hands and I'm not going to apologize for that. I want to create a better world, one where people don't have to die, but until then..." Tom began to speak, growing more determined with each word. At first his tone was solemn, but then it began to turn into something else. Although I was very curious about what he was going to say, I was quite sure that there was some misunderstanding between us, so I quickly interrupted him.
"I... think you misunderstood me, Tom," I said, stopping him in his tracks. Noticing his confused expression, I pointed to his hands. There was some dried blood on them, quite visible in the warm rays of the afternoon sun. "I meant literal blood. Just look at your hands."
After he did so, Tom looked at me with a slightly embarrassed expression on his face. There was of course no blush on his face, as I doubt his body was even capable of that, but the meaning of his gaze was clear.
"That's... I apologize. I had to deal with a certain inconvenience before our meeting and it looked like I forgot to clean myself," Tom said, after which he waved his wand and removed all traces of blood. I knew that this must have been quite embarrassing for him, so I decided not to continue the subject.
"You don't have to apologize. It's just a sign that you take your mission seriously," I said encouragingly. "But I'm sure that's not what you wanted to discuss. Please, come in. I'll prepare some tea and then we can talk."
After I made some tea, we both sat down in my living room, ready to talk.
"So how are you, Tom?" I asked excitedly, looking at my friend with some curiosity. I hadn't heard from him since our conversation in the Chamber of Secrets, so I was very curious about his situation. For all I knew, he had already defeated the Shadow Council and become the ruler of all of wizarding Britain... Well, probably not, but it wasn't entirely impossible. "I haven't seen you for ... five months now? You must have been busy."
"As a matter of fact, yes, I have been quite busy lately. Although there are some things I can't tell you yet, I've already started planting various seeds that will eventually lead to the downfall of the current regime." Tom said, giving me a satisfied smile. His smile then faded though, suggesting that things were not going as smoothly as he implied. "But while I'm pleased with the results of my efforts so far, I have encountered a problem. Given that I don't have any reliable subordinates, I'm forced to do everything on my own. As you can imagine, doing this for the past few months has been quite exhausting for me."
"I see, so you want me to help you with your work?" I asked, hoping he would let me join his rebellion. Although he had previously been opposed to my involvement, maybe a few months of hard work had changed his mind. My hopes were however quickly crushed, as Tom only shook his head in response.
"No, as we have already discussed, you would be more valuable at Hogwarts. However, I think you can help me choose the right candidate for the job. We both know that you have certain... sources that give you a lot of insight into information that would otherwise be unobtainable," Tom said gently, seemingly hesitant about how to broach the subject with me. To be honest, I wasn't entirely surprised by his words. I had already suggested during our previous conversation in the chamber that I knew many important secrets. Nevertheless, I understood his hesitation, since we had never really discussed the source of my knowledge. Therefore, I waited patiently for his question, giving him as much time as he needed. "Do you perhaps know a person I could trust as my subordinate? And I don't mean a mere foot soldier, but a subordinate capable and intelligent enough to work without my constant supervision. Someone I could trust and who would relieve me of some of my responsibilities."
...huh, that was actually a good question. Did I know anyone I could recommend to Tom?
While it was true that my "unique situation" had given me a lot of insight into the wizarding world, most of that information was either misleading or outright false. Therefore, I could not honestly say that I would be able to trust anyone enough to recommend him to Tom.
...Well, there was one person.
Sirius Black.
According to Ministry propaganda, Sirius Black was Lord Voldemort's second in command. He was allegedly his most loyal and fanatical follower, who was responsible for blowing up a street and killing more than a dozen Muggles, as well as murdering Peter Pettigrew. Just hearing about it made it obvious that this was not what really happened. It was an obvious demonization carried out by the Ministry, done in the same way they did with Tom. If I was right, Sirius Black was in fact a daring rebel, loyal to the cause and his leader, whose accomplishments were corrupted by his lessers.
But I wouldn't let Sirius work with Tom based solely on unreliable assumptions. What really confirmed my theories about Sirius' true nature was the false knowledge about him and Peter Pettigrew that was instilled in my head.
I didn't know why, but someone was trying to convince me that Sirius Black wasn't actually Tom's follower. Supposedly, he was only framed by Peter Pettigrew, the real Death Eater, and sent to Azkaban for twelve years. Time that Peter Pettigrew spent as the Weasley family's pet. This made absolutely no sense, especially considering that the Weasleys were some of Dumbledore's staunchest supporters. Pettigrew could have simply left Britain or even become the pet of some random wizard, yet this supposed coward chose to spend twelve years in the company of his mortal enemies.
I had no evidence, but I suspected it was all Dumbledore's plan.
Was I supposed to believe that Dumbledore had not investigated Sirius' case, simply allowing him to take responsibility for the Potters' deaths without even confirming his guilt? Or that he would simply allow one of Voldemort's followers to spend years as a pet of the Weasley family? No, it was far more likely that Dumbledore had planned everything from the beginning. Pettigrew was in fact Dumbledore's agent, who not only framed Sirius, Tom's most loyal follower, for all these murders, but also spent the next twelve years watching the Weasleys, and later Harry Potter, on Dumbledore's behalf, informing him of their plans and making sure they remained loyal.
Taking all of this into account, I was fairly confident that I could trust Sirius. Despite the lies spread by the Ministry and the people responsible for my memories, I believed that Sirius Black was a benevolent supporter of Muggle rights and a loyal friend who would do anything for his allies. That's why I knew I could recommend him to Tom.
"...You know, I think I might know someone who would fit your description." I said, rubbing my chin. My words made Tom look at me with hope in his eyes, which was clear proof that he wasn't lying about the exhaustion. "Tell me, have you heard of Sirius Black?"
Sirius Black
Sirius was lying on his bed, staring silently at the ceiling of his cell. A heavy storm was raging outside, illuminating his cell with flashes of lightning and drowning out the screams of the other prisoners, but Sirius didn't care. He was more interested in thinking about his old friends and past regrets, something he had done every day for the past twelve years.
Memories of James, Lily, Remus and Harry have allowed him to survive all these years, keeping him sane despite Azkaban's best efforts.
The Dementors, those damned soul-suckers acting as prison guards, were unable to take them away from Sirius because those memories, while important and precious, were not happy ones. No, they were memories of loss and regret, fueled by the knowledge that he would never see any of them again. Still, they allowed Sirius to move forward, even though it would have been much easier to give up.
It was a sad existence, spent mostly dwelling on past regrets and loss, but it was an existence nonetheless. It was the only revenge he could exact on Pettigrew, the traitor responsible for his torment. That rat probably thought Sirius would die in Azkaban, unable to cope with both dementors and betrayal, but Sirius would never give him that satisfaction. No, he would live as long as he could, never letting Pettigrew feel safe, constantly haunting his thoughts. He would...
Suddenly, when he was in the middle of imagining new ways to kill Pettigrew, the outer wall of his cell exploded, sending chunks of stone everywhere and letting the storm into the cell. Sirius, shocked by the sudden explosion, jumped out of bed and instinctively moved his hand toward the nonexistent wand. After realizing that he was defenceless, he briefly considered turning into a dog, but immediately decided to hide that card for now, as it could come in handy later.
He didn't have time to do anything else, as a mysterious figure entered through a hole in the wall, wearing a dark hooded cloak and a bizarre white mask. They seemed unconcerned about the storm, ignoring the heavy rain and wind around them, instead focusing only on Sirius, staring at him with unsettling intensity.
"Sirius Black, I presume!" A figure shouted through the storm. Their voice was strangely distorted, presumably to hide their identity. Sirius did not know who the mysterious newcomer was, so his body got tense, ready for a fight. They seemed to have noticed Sirius' nervousness, as they raised their hands in a reassuring manner. "You don't have to worry, I'm not your enemy! I came here to free you, Sirius Black!"
"Why should I trust you?!" replied Sirius, suspicious of the figure's motives. Why would someone go so far as to break into his cell to free him? Not even Remus would do something so reckless! Admittedly, this was mainly because the man probably still believed Sirius was responsible for the deaths of James and Lily, but that wasn't the point. It seemed that the character expected him to be on guard, as they immediately responded, their voice confident.
"Because I'm the only person who can help you hunt down and expose Peter Pettigrew!" The figure shouted, freezing the blood in Sirius' veins. They knew about Pettigrew! And they wanted to help him! He didn't know how to react as long-forgotten hope filled his body, only slightly tempered by suspicion toward the figure. Unaware of his inner shock, the figure extended his hand, clearly expecting Sirius to accept it. "The Dementors will soon notice my actions, so you must choose now! You must ask yourself what you really want! Do you want to spend the rest of your life in Azkaban?! Or do you want revenge on Pettigrew?! Choose, Sirius Black!"
Despite all his reservations and suspicions about the figure, the choice was simple.
Sirius took the Figure's hand and they both disappeared, leaving behind an empty cell.