Raylynx's POV
Places like Diagon Alley and Hogsmeade were packed all the time, as though people were overcompensating for the few years of utter isolation. I was constantly being chased around at the Menagerie by people who wanted a "fluffy little lion". I yowled and hid wherever I could. Maggie interpreted my desperate unwillingness to be purchased as a terrible tragedy and she sympathetically and affectionately termed me "Crookshanks". "I'll always want you," she assured me. "Don't worry about being bought, Crookshanks. Just be happy." She would pet my head and scratch behind my ears and I would purr happily at her. But minus the constantly being chased as a cat, I took advantage of my newfound freedom.
In the evenings, I stayed in Crookshanks form and went to watch the Dursley's house on Privet Drive. I had gotten the address from McGonagall. Nothing really happened, especially since Harry was a baby. He was hardly ever taken outside and even when he was, he was all wrapped up. I never even got a proper glimpse at his face. But I still watched the house, knowing my godson was in there.
When I wasn't busy being a cat, I was training intensely as an Auror. Alice and Frank were accepted as Aurors-in-training within one month of graduating Hogwarts. It took me seven weeks just to be accepted into the program. It really was not easy. Studying to become an Auror made me remember how bad I was at learning in a structured way. The practical things were fairly manageable- the drills, the simulations, the actual doing-it, but protocol and procedure seemed to slip through my mind. Then there was the fact that I no longer had the King's wand. Luckily, it was only the actual boost of power from the King's Wand that was taken away and not all of the experience I had accumulated during that time. I was still proficient at wandless magic and could operate in the range of magic I had learned when I held the King's Wand, but I had fallen several levels, especially in the Dark Arts and in Healing. Furthermore, I had to rethink the way I approached situations. I couldn't just throw curses at my opponents- my wand would protest. I had to figure out ways to hinder them or put them out of action indirectly and without fatal damage. But despite the frustration at the sudden loss of efficiency, I had to thank my lucky stars that my old wand worked for me at all. It had to warm up to me over several weeks before I felt its allegiance re-attach itself to me, though it still felt much more hesitant than it did during Hogwarts.
The first time I took the written test after three weeks of cramming, I failed. So I pulled out all the books again and really studied hard for four weeks. The second time around, I managed to pass the written portion just above the average score. However, thanks to Alice's recommendation and my prior experience with fighting Dark Wizards, I managed to rank quite high on the second set of Initiation tests, and ended up in a fairly high position. John Dawlish, William Savage, and I were put under Kingsley Shacklebolt's leadership. Shacklebolt recognized me immediately as one of the Order members who had helped foil the Death Eaters' attempt on his life back at the masquerade. He had given up campaigning as the Dark Lord rose and shifted into his more directly aggressive Auror position with dignity, ambition, and grace. I respected him immediately, and liked him a lot after a few weeks of working under him. As Alice predicted, even though we were barely in-training, we were often sent out to do fieldwork.
Dawlish and I were running down the alleyway, chasing a werewolf. Savage and Shacklebolt were supposed to come from the other side and capture it before it gave into the forest. But our timing was a second off and the werewolf managed to leap through us and streak towards the forest.
"Damn it!" I cursed.
Breathing hard, Shacklebolt said, "It's all right. The werewolves will head underground, anyways. It's more important for us to capture the remaining Death Eaters."
But that wasn't how I felt. That werewolf had been Fenrir and I had wanted to capture him so badly for personal reasons.
Savage spat at the ground and said, "What's the point? All the real Death Eaters are just paying their way out of imprisonment, anyways."
"Not true," Dawlish replied, with his quiet optimism. "Moody caught Mulciber two days ago. And they got Sirius Black, too, remember?"
My head turned in Dawlish's direction before I could stop myself, but I looked towards the ground so as not to give my emotions away.
"Let's head back for the day," Shacklebolt said. "I'm going to Mulciber's trial tonight. It might give us some new leads, though I highly doubt he'll open his mouth. I'll report to you all if he decides to say anything."
I'd wanted to catch Fenrir partly to have an excuse to talk to Remus. He'd been avoiding me for over a month now. When I finally got fed up with him avoiding me after two or three weeks, I trekked over to his place to see him. I accidentally walked in on him conversing with a woman. Her name was Delaney and I remembered her as a Ravenclaw two years below us. She had just graduated from Hogwarts, then. Remus told me that they were seeing each other. So I let him be and stopped bothering him.
But I missed him. I spent whatever time I could at Alice's house, trying to make up for our lost time together, but as she was a full-time Auror, she was busier than I was. I often ran into Augusta Longbottom instead. She took care of Neville while Alice and Frank were off chasing Dark Wizards and Creatures.
Worn-out from hunting Dark Creatures all night, I slept for three hours before I woke up and Apparated to Hogsmeade, where I changed into "Crookshanks" and slipped into the Menagarie. I dozed off tiredly with my bottlebrush tail wrapped around myself until the bell over the door chimed, announcing Maggie's arrival.
"Crookshanks!" Maggie delightedly picked up my snoozing self and placed me on her lap. She proceeded to scratch my neck and hug me.
"You've been gone a lot more often lately," Maggie said. I purred softly and sleepily licked her wrist.
Maggie had been a lot busier lately, given that the Magical Menagerie had gained enough of a reputation to stock all sorts of animals now. On top of that, there was a young nervous bloke trying to woo Maggie. He came in all the time to try to work up the nerve to ask her out. He usually ended up buying something random and walking out forlornly. I was sort-of worried to be honest. He might end up buying the whole shop if he didn't work up the nerve in time. Hell, he might even buy me. I hissed angrily and clawed the air when he tried to approach me last week. He bought some evil-looking red-eyed mice that day instead.
As I slowly became accustomed to the Auror position, I started to learn the workings of the Ministry. Bartemius Crouch, or "Barty", the man who so hated me and refused to let Sirius stand trial, was the Head of Magical Law Enforcement. His whole campaign was based on being tough on crime, and that had made him highly popular in the fear-ridden times of the Dark Lord. I never lost sight of the fact that he was the one who had sent Sirius to Azkaban without a trial. And I wondered if he knew that his own son was a Death Eater. Sometimes I could barely keep myself civil when Bartemius Crouch passed through the Auror halls.
I spent hours on end learning protocol in Auror headquarters. I knew that the faster I could slip into my role as an Auror and learn the interior of the Ministry, the faster I could be on the field and the faster I could help Sirius. Each day, I went home mentally exhausted. I turned on the bath. It was a habit of mine, to sit in the bath. I was going to irreversibly turn into a prune soon, if I didn't stop. It would be my second Animagus form, I thought wryly. Human, cat, prune. Perfect.
I drew my knees to me and put my head down.
You fool. You utter fool.
Of all the illusions to give into, why the one of love? Choose power, greed, or ambition. But not love. Why did you choose the one that would hurt the most?
Sirius' POV
I kept waiting for someone to come get me. Dumbledore, Raylynx, Moony… Surely one of them would manage to get me a trial and from there, my innocent would be proved in a heartbeat. But they never came. The days passed until time became a blur. I transformed into a dog and breathed shallowly, lying against the cold prison floor.
I could feel myself weakening. The rune that Raylynx had inscribed on my chest faded as the days went by. I swear sometimes I could feel power draining from the rune, exhausted from constantly warding off the dementors. Come to think of it, maybe that's what saved me from Peter's curse. There was no way I could have left that scene so unharmed. My chest had been totally unguarded because I had been about to throw my own Stunner at Peter. It was a miracle that the Magical Enforcement Squad had taken me into custody, rather than tiny bits of me. But then, if my being alive was subjecting me to this despairing hell, was it really Protection after all? Maybe she had cursed me instead and I'd fallen for her so hard that I'd been blind to the fact that she'd been playing me.
Day in, day out, I kept reliving my worst memories.
Being slapped hard by my mother as a young child for asking Narcissa why she chose to marry someone unworthy of her in front of Lucius and his guests…
Being thrown against a wall by my father's spell for standing up against his pureblood mania…
Being cursed by Bellatrix and having her repeatedly break my mental barriers over and over again…
Being cursed by my parents again for defending Andromeda and feeling the stinging cuts lashed across my back…
Arguing with James about the prank I'd played on Snape and realizing that Remus couldn't look me in the eye anymore…
Flying through heavy rain, barely staying conscious, and thinking I'd never make it to the Potters and remembering Regulus' betrayed expression when I escaped Grimmauld Place…
Thinking that Remus might be the spy when I realized he hadn't reported in weeks…
Learning that both my parents had passed away and being unable to tell anyone and feeling a strange guilt…
James telling me that Marlene and her whole family had been slaughtered and realizing they hadn't told me because they thought I might be the traitor…
Watching Remus leave Raylynx's house after Caradoc accused him of being the traitor and being torn between wanting Remus' safety and Raylynx's safety…
Seeing Raylynx's body floating in the bath tub, pale and still, as though she were dead…
Those months where Raylynx had deserted us and having to wonder if she had betrayed us or if she was dead…
Weeping besides James' dead body and thinking that even if Peter was the traitor, I was still responsible for all of this…
Being dragged away by Hit Wizards as I laughed hysterically, realizing I had been outwitted and had lost everything because of one filthy rat…
In my state of half-sleep and in my human form, I gritted my teeth and my hands curled up into fists as I remembered Peter.
Alice's POV
"Good work, both of you." Gregory, the lead Auror, gave Frank and I a nod of approval. "So it turns out that the wine cellar of that abandoned restaurant is a Death Eater hideout. This is very valuable information, indeed. We'll keep an eye on it. Ms. Longbottom, if you would file your report in the 'PRIVATE' cabinets upstairs, I would be very thankful."
"Of course," I said, stepping forward to receive the file from him.
Frank and I exited the meeting room.
"You go on ahead and check on Neville, I'm sure your gran is exhausted from looking after him all night," I told Frank.
Frank chuckled, "As if Gran could be exhausted." But he nodded and kissed me good-bye.
"I'll have dinner waiting," he promised, and took off.
I made my way up to the private storage rooms in the Auror Department, file in hand. These were the rooms were all of the secret information Aurors had managed to find was filed away.
I lifted my wand and brought down the protective wards, which sprung back up after I entered the room. I quietly made my way around the corner when suddenly, I saw a familiar mane of hair.
"Ray?"
Raylynx jumped and hastily shoved shut a drawer full of files. She turned around and saw me standing there.
"Oh Merlin, Alice…" She put a hand to her heart for a second.
"What are you doing here?" I asked her.
My eyes moved to the drawer she had just shut. She deftly stepped in front of it.
"I was just, um, researching for my next mission. Shacklebolt requested that we brush up on- um, werewolf locations, so yeah."
I knew right away that she was lying. Not only did I recognize all of her lying mannerisms from our school days, but Gregory had also told Frank and me that all werewolf missions had been stopped short, in order to focus on the fleeing Death Eaters.
"Right," I said, hiding my knowledge.
"I'll just be on my way, then," Raylynx said, and walked past me.
I filed away my document first, and then I went to the drawer that Raylynx had been looking at.
I paused. It was the list of witnesses for high-profile cases, listed in alphabetical order by the defendant's last name. Near the front end, my eyes caught the name "Black". I pulled out the file and found myself staring at the names of the witnesses involved in Sirius Black's case.
Is that what Ray was after? It must be… But why?
Then, a memory rose from the depths of my mind.
A large group of us were sitting in the Three Broomsticks. I was ecstatic to see Frank after so long, but then I realized that not everybody was on my level. I noticed Raylynx looked a little out of it, and then realized that she was staring at Sirius. I wondered then if she liked him. I had never gotten to ask her.
I stared at the document in my hand.
Unauthorized removal of documents could lead to suspension or termination. I don't actually know what Raylynx wants this for, either. And yet…
My mind shut off then, and my heart made my decision for me.
"Alice, that's dangerous. You don't know what Raylynx is up to," Frank chided me gently when I told him what I'd done.
"It won't be anything bad," I reassured him.
"How would you know for sure?" he asked. "I know she's not a bad person, but we've all been through a tough time and we're all prone to making reckless decisions."
I shook my head. "She's not reckless, Frank. Not when it comes to important things."
Frank studied me, then he sighed. "You trust her, don't you? I can't argue with you if you trust her so deeply."
"I do," I said quietly.
Frank nodded and then he reached out to me. I snuggled up against his chest and said, "I don't know why, Frank, but ever since I first saw Ray, all those years ago in the Great Hall, I wanted to be there for her. She looked so small and lonely, but also so strong and curious, and I knew I wanted to be close to her. And no matter how much the world has changed, I feel as though that part of her hasn't. I hope, more than anything, that she never loses who she is."
Raylynx's POV
The next day, at work, I found a file wedged inside the lower cabinet of my desk. I hesitated pulled out the envelope, not remembering when I'd stashed it there. I started to pull out the document from inside when the title caught my eye.
Witnesses in the Condemnation of Sirius Black by the Wizengamot Headed under Bartemius Crouch.
My jaw dropped.
I quickly looked down the envelope, not daring to pull it out.
Sure enough, there was a long list of witness names.
I hastily shoved the papers back in the envelope, folded it, and tucked it in my cloak pocket.
I was not a moment too soon.
Savage came into our office a split second later.
"Shacklebolt wants us all down at the courts. Moody's captured another one."
"Right," I said, standing up.
We trooped down together to the courts.
I saw Dumbledore sitting calmly in the back row. He attended every single trial. I didn't acknowledge him as I made my way up the benches and sat beside Shacklebolt and Ahmed. I was still too upset that he had ignored my right to take custody of Harry. I checked on the Dursley's residence often, and never liked what I saw of them. They seemed to be petty-minded people. They were nothing like Lily and James. Sirius and I would have had many, many faults, of course, but even then, Harry would have been better off with us.
"Excuse me," I said to the person sitting at the end of the row I needed to slide into. I sat beside Shacklebolt, who greeted me with a short nod. Ahmed, the person sitting on Shacklebolt's other side, was also a top Auror. He was a British man of Indian descent and one of the most intelligent people I had ever met. He had a bit of a temper, which always made me laugh, but only when he wasn't yelling at me. He was too high up to have much to do with me, thankfully.
Savage and Dawlish came, too.
"You called us, boss?" Savage said to Shacklebolt as they took the seats behind us.
"Yes," Shacklebolt said. "This one might be willing to speak."
"Who-?" Dawlish began to ask, but then the trial began.
"Bring forth the accused," Bartemius Crouch said coldly.
Two bodyguards dragged in a familiar shape on shackles.
My eyes widened and I stiffened.
They attached the shackles to the chair. The person sitting in it looked tired, haggard, and ready to take his own life. The circles under his eyes and the scars on his body were clear markers, not only of a battle against others, but of himself.
"Audrey Zena, you have been called before us on Charges of violent Crime, the unauthorized use of Dark Magic, war crimes, and for membership of an illegal organization under service of a Dark Wizard. Do you plead guilty?"
The Wizengamot waited for his response. He said nothing, only stared numbly at the floor.
"Do you plead guilty!?" Crouch shouted, his eyes bulging slightly.
Audrey remained completely silent. He kept his eyes on the floor, as though he did not have the energy to lift them.
"Do you have a defense?" another Wizengamot member called out. I recognized her as Amelia Bones.
Silence.
"If there is no reply, the defendant will be convicted and sentenced immediately!" Crouch barked.
Audrey kept his silence.
Afterwards, we all shuffled out of the court.
Shacklebolt sighed. "Looks like I was wrong. We wasted our time here. I'm sorry."
"Take a ten minute break," he told us. "I'll see you back at the offices."
We all nodded and split.
I immediately ran down the hall and followed Audrey's receding figure. He was being taken to the boat with a bodyguard, being taken to Azkaban.
"Wait!" I shouted, catching up.
The guard stopped. I recognized her. It was my old Order partner, Emmeline.
"Raylynx," Emmeline greeted me. "You need to stay back. I'm taking him to Azkaban."
"Wait. Can you just wait one second?"
"You can't talk to him, Ray. It's against protocol."
"Please," I begged.
She sighed. "Fine, but make it quick."
Throughout all this, Audrey ignored me, refusing to look at me.
"Why don't you just say something, Au- Zena? I'm sure they'll lighten the sentence if-"
"Don't talk to me," Audrey said curtly. "It won't do you any favors. I'm not going to give anything up."
"Listen-"
"That's my boss. I have to go, Ray." Emmeline jerked Audrey forward.
He looked back, eyes still to the ground, and mumbled, "I'm glad you're alive. I thought you were a goner when I saw that siren strangling you."
What? Siren? Wait, that was you. You saved me.
I opened my mouth to call out for him again, when somebody stepped briskly behind me.
"May I ask what you think you are doing here? Aurors are not prisoner guards." Bartemius Crouch's cold, sharp voice sounded behind me.
I turned around to face him.
He recognized me and his face turned into a sneer.
"Excuse me, your Honor," I said scathingly, and walked off.
I began my search for witnesses. I soon discovered that every single witness on the list was a Muggle. I found the first couple witnesses on the list that very day. But to my utter dismay, the Memory Charms placed on them were perfect. They remembered nothing, only that a gas-leak had occurred. This, of course, was a false memory implanted by the Muggle-Worthy Excuse committee. As I watched them struggle to remember a painted-over memory, I was so deeply tempted to use Legilimency and enter their minds to break the Memory Charm. But I knew that I ran a high risk of breaking their minds because the Memory Charm was so absolute. I shook my head. Never again. Not after what I did to Amy.
Stepping out of the fourth witness' house without any further information, I muttered yet again, "Damn it."
