Harry Potter belongs to JKR
Chapter 70
Harry forced himself to walk the hallways of St. Mungo's, to not break into a run. The crumpled parchment in his hand held only a single a short message, and he shoved it into his pocket as he pushed the recovery room door open. There, sitting up in bed, a plate of runny eggs and soggy bacon in front of him, sat his godfather, Sirius Black. He looked up at Harry and a small grin broke across his face, and he started to wave, but then the smile faded.
"Harry…?" he whispered, "How long was I out?"
Harry looked down at his Auror robes and then at his godfather again.
"Three years," Harry said as he crossed the distance and embraced Sirius as best he could with the tray on the bed, "three and a half years… and… Merlin, you smell like soggy dog."
Sirius coughed and cleared his throat, his voice still raspy.
"Three and a half… and, we won?" Sirius asked.
Harry nodded.
"We won," he said.
Sirius pumped a fist.
"I fucking knew you had it in you," he said, "where's Remus? The healers won't tell me a damn thing."
Harry's expression fell, and he saw it reflected in Sirius' face.
"Oh, he um… he didn't make it," Harry said, "I'm sorry."
Sirius' silver-flecked eyes took on a faraway look.
"You'll have to tell me everything," he said.
Harry nodded.
"Not here though, Grimmauld. Kreacher can cook us something hot," he said, "and edible."
Sirius tugged at the top of his hospital smock.
"Need clothes first, can't be walking around with my arse hanging out," he said, "much as it might be amusing, it looks a mite cold outside."
Ten minutes, one shower, a change of clothes, and several signed forms later, Harry exited the floo into Grimmauld, followed closely by Sirius Black, who let out a low whistle as he stared at the walls, the furniture, everywhere at once.
"You've been busy," he said.
"Oh-" Harry said, but before he could finish, a pop interrupted him as Kreacher appeared.
"Master Harry has…" Kreacher said, and then the aged house elf stopped and stared at Sirius, "Young Master has returned. Kreacher thought Master had been killed."
Sirius smirked.
"Not quite," he replied.
"Nas… blood…" Kreacher said, then bowed low to Harry, "Kreacher lives to serve the noble house of Black."
"Even with Sirius alive, Kreacher is still bound to me? That's interesting," Harry thought. He filed it away for future investigation.
"Kreacher, make us up something hearty," Harry said, "do we have ingredients for beef stew?"
"We do," Kreacher replied.
"Excellent, a bowl for each of us please," Harry said.
"Kreacher hears and obeys," the house elf said, then vanished with a pop.
Sirius stared at the spot where the house elf had been.
"I've never seen him so well behaved," he said.
"Well… a lot's happened," Harry said, "have a seat, I'll tell you everything."
Sirius stared at Harry a moment.
"You look just like your father, you know, even more so now than before," he said.
Harry smiled and gestured to the seat, and Sirius sat down in the armchair and crossed his legs at the knee, and Harry started talking, relaying to Sirius the history of what had happened after the battle at the Department of Mysteries at the end of fifth year. At first, Sirius kept interrupting with questions, but as the story continued and Kreacher arrived with two large bowls of hot stew and sliced bread, Sirius fell silent as he listened and ate. Harry left out anything to do with the horcruxes and the Deathly Hallows, of course, but Sirius paid rapt attention, nibbling as he listened, until he was cleaning the bottom of the bowl with a broken slice of bread.
"Hang on, you flew out of Gringotts on a bloody dragon?" he asked.
"Yeh," Harry said, "it was-"
Sirius exploded in laughter, slamming his back against the chair so it tipped up on two legs.
"That's bloody brilliant!" he said.
"Ahh… yeah but not so brilliant perhaps because I ended up having to pay a fine, and all the gold you left me is gone," Harry said. He prepared to duck.
Sirius paused as he processed the statement.
"Gone, all of it? How?" Sirius asked.
"The goblins were going to get us thrown in Azkaban if I didn't pay to repair the damage we caused. Kingsley tried to step in but it wasn't possible under the law," Harry said, "so… I paid."
As he spoke the words, they sounded incredibly naïve, and he tried to convince himself it was the best he could have done at the time, given the circumstances.
"Bloody goblins. Bunch of crooks. So… everything's gone?" Sirius asked.
"Well, the heirlooms and stuff are still there, but most of the gold is gone, yeah," Harry said.
"Huh," Sirius said as he rubbed his hand over his mouth thoughtfully, then he looked relaxed, almost relieved.
"Still hilarious, would have been more worth it if I'd seen it," he muttered.
"You're not angry?" Harry asked.
"Not really, it was your gold," Sirius said, "anyway, on with the story!"
Harry couldn't help but smile. He continued filling Sirius in, through Voldemort's defeat and the aftermath.
"Wait, Remus, and Andy's daughter?" Sirius asked.
Harry grinned.
"Yeah, and they had a son, Teddy," Harry said, "I'll bring you to meet them soon."
He continued on through the post-war events and funerals, joining the Aurors, chasing down the remaining Death Eaters, losing Tammy, discovering Bellatrix was alive, discovering that the Minster for Magic was actually Gellert Grindelwald, everything that had happened over the past year and a half. He left out Hermione's romantic relationship as that was a whole other swarm of doxies to address, and deserved its own conversation. At times, Sirius looked like he wanted to ask a question, but then made a motion with his hand to encourage Harry to keep talking.
"And that brings us to last week, when Ugluk the Bold showed up after we had Grindelwald tied up, and split his head open with an axe," Harry said.
"So… that's it then, everything's gone quiet?" Sirius asked.
"Well, aside from the impending ICW task force investigation of our handling of the Statute of Secrecy," Harry replied.
"Huh," Sirius said as he leaned back in his seat, "and Bellatrix is still alive?"
"Haven't seen her for a week, but I assume so," Harry replied.
"And she's not a radical bloodthirsty blood purist maniac?" Sirius asked.
"It's complicated, but it seems she's had a change of heart," Harry replied.
"I wonder how much of that was Hermione's doing…" he thought.
Sirius nodded and yawned, and Harry looked up at the clock on the mantle; they had talked straight through midnight and on to one o'clock in the morning.
"I need to get to bed, work tomorrow," Harry said as he stood up, "err, make yourself at home, I guess."
"Very funny," Sirius replied with a smirk.
Harry stood in the rear of the briefing room with his arms folded as Robinson went through the detailed review of the aftermath of the attack in Trafalgar Square, and the two other coordinated rituals in Dublin or Manchester. Luckily, all three had been stopped, but the obliviators had been working overtime to chase down any loose ends and cover them up.
"There hasn't been any sign or word from Grindelwald since Trafalgar, so it looks like the bastard might actually stay dead this time," the acting Head Auror said, "we've notified the German Ministry to be on alert, but their response was to vote in favour of sending an ICW task force here, which will be arriving the day after tomorrow."
This caused a stir among the lieutenants. Harry had already been briefed, so he focused on their reactions, who was surprised, who was thoughtful, who was angry...
"Orders from the top are clear, we need to ensure everything is in tip top shape; we can't afford another breach at this point. The Muggle Worthy Excuse Department blamed the attack on fringe elements of the IRA, including…" he said and flipped through a few cards, "chemical weapons that induced hallucinations. Double check with your teams, and submit any additional potential breaches directly to your superior officers, today, so we can coordinate prior to ICW arrival."
He went through a few other points and delegated a several business-as-usual DMLE responsibilities, then dismissed the lieutenants to cascade to their teams. Amidst the scraping of wooden chairs, Robinson motioned Harry over to him. He sidled past the other Aurors and nodded to the acting Head Auror.
"Potter," Robinson said quietly, "Fawley's looking for you, she didn't say what about."
Harry nodded and saluted, then headed up to the Director's office. Ann, Rebecca Fawley's secretary, motioned him in, and he quietly closed the door behind him. The Director of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement wore a scooped-out blouse today, white, as always, revealing the smooth skin of her upper chest and the barest hint of the swell of her breasts. Harry made sure to maintain eye contact as he sat.
"There's something of a delicate matter that needs to be dealt with," Fawley said without preamble, "You're aware that the muggle worthy excuse department blamed the recent breaches on the muggle Irish Republican Army?"
Harry nodded.
"Good. What you may not be aware of is that in the course of the investigation into Grindelwald's finances, we've discovered a former member of the resistance group, a muggle named Kilian O'Donnell, has been working with vampires and leprechauns alongside the remnant Death Eaters. It's a major statute breach," Fawley said.
"…I had no idea," Harry said.
"Right, here are the details," Fawley said as she passed him a thick folder. Harry flipped it open to find a dossier of several rough looking individuals. There was O'Donnell and his son, Martin, plus two other individuals of interest, people who often worked with them and had been tangentially involved with financing: a boxer named Bruno McKay and his associate, Darren Welch.
Harry looked up to find Fawley studying him carefully.
"Considering the current situation with the ICW, the newly elected Minister Macnair has deemed it necessary to take him off the board, quietly," Fawley said, "Seeing as you've spent extensive time living among muggles, he's personally requested you be assigned to this task; Robinson doesn't know. I'll leave it up to your discretion as to how you handle the specifics, but the muggle authorities have been looking for an excuse to lock up Kilian and his son for over a year. It seems the vampires and leprechauns have been covering for them, but with Grindelwald and his funding gone, and the Death Eaters killed or in Azkaban, they're all alone. The Minister is concerned they may attempt to go public and cause further embarrassment to the Ministry. Your mission would be to ensure they're obliviated, quietly, inform us when it's done, and then the Minister's office will coordinate directly with the muggle government to have them arrested."
"When?" Harry asked.
"ICW is here the day after tomorrow, so today would be best," Fawley replied, "are you up to it?"
Harry scanned through the list of offences O'Donnell and his son had been involved with or suspected of: bombings, shootings, murder, match fixing, loan sharking, money laundering, narcotics, extortion…
"We'd be doing the world a favour," he thought.
"Alright, I'll do it, but I'll need a few others in case it gets dangerous," he said.
"Up to you," Fawley said, "but not too many, it needs to stay quiet and off the record. Kilian and his son are currently at his home address. Intel places McKay and Welch at Bruno's flat in London, but it's not certain how long they'll be there."
"Right," Harry said as he mentally mapped out both addresses, "I'll get right on it."
With two targets each at two locations, he'd need another three Aurors.
"I suppose I can handle it with our team alone, have Ron head out with Liz and I can go with Matt…" he thought, "but I have Hawkins too, and he has a lot more experience… yeah, I'll send Liz with Hawkins to investigate McKay and Welch to find out if they know anything, while Ron and I handle the father and son."
Draco lounged on one end of Bruno's leather couch while Darren again pulled the lever on the brand-new reclining armchair to extend the leg rest with an annoying clunk. While the flat was still as run down as ever, with the money rolling in, the boxer had started upgrading his furniture. Draco took a swig of beer as another twinge of pain echoed across his chest. It still hurt to be here, where Mary used to live, but day by day, the pain dulled from agonising stabbing to dull ache. Distraction helped, and he refocused on the new television set, far too large for the tiny table it sat upon. England held a comfortable lead in the Rugby World Cup Final, thanks in no small part to the excellent play of aging star Michael Baker.
A graphic of Baker flashed on the screen, next to a few bullet points outlining the extremely lucrative three-year contract he'd just signed with the Mercer Killer Bees. The sound of a cash register echoed to Draco's ears, and a thrum went through his chest at the thought of his expected cut.
"Hang on," he thought as a warning bell went off in his head, "that was-"
"What the fuck?" Darren said as he pointed. Draco looked back at the screen and the news ticker scrolling by on the bottom.
Former IRA captain Kilian O'Donnell and son arrested at home, news at 11.
"Shit," Bruno said as he started to check his phone. A knock sounded at the door, and the boxer moved warily to crack it open an inch.
"That was definitely some kind of revelio charm," Draco thought as he slipped his wand into his hand.
"Bruno McKay? Please let us in," a male voice asked alongside a whispered word from deeper in the stairwell.
"Sure," Bruno said and he unhooked the chain and stepped back as the door swung wide.
"Confundus charm," Draco thought.
"The fuck?" Darren said as he stood up.
An older, clean-shaven man with grey streaks in his dark hair stepped into the room. Draco spied the wand held low in one hand, and he immediately raised his own, only to be met with a mirrored action.
"Drop your wand," the man said.
"How about you drop yours?" Draco replied, "who the fuck are you and why are you here?"
Bruno looked back and forth with a confused expression in his eyes as Darren fumbled at his ankle and came up with a silver revolver. A shimmer in the air hinted at a protego shield protecting the intruder, but his wand remained pointed squarely at Draco.
"Fuck, I don't have my cane," he thought.
"Lieutenant Hawkins, DMLE," the intruder said, "identify yourself."
"Fuckin' bobbies," Darren said, and that seemed to snap Bruno out of it. His eyes hardened and tried to reach for the Auror's arm, but bounced off the shield.
"Whoa whoa!" Draco said as he set his wand on the coffee table and held up both hands, "everyone calm the fuck down. Darren, put down the gun."
The dealer wavered, then set it down on top of the television and held up his hands, though he still wore an incredibly confused expression.
"I'm Malfoy, I'm a member of the Wizengamot," he said as he pulled off his baseball cap.
"Draco Malfoy?" Hawkins asked as his eyes narrowed and then widened slightly in recognition. A second Auror entered the room, a young brown-haired witch with wide blue eyes. Her face swam around in Draco's mind for a second, looking for something to connect to, and then it came to him: Auror Moore, one of the ones who had searched him for contraband in Diagon Alley some months ago.
"Fuck," the Auror lieutenant said, "what in Merlin's name are you doing here?"
"I…" Draco started, then he glanced at both Bruno and Darren, "can we talk privately?"
Hawkins looked to Moore and she stepped forward and waved her wand over Draco as Bruno and Darren alternately watched and exchanged glances.
"Pouch?" she asked, and Draco ducked his head as he removed it and set it on the table. Her wand stopped over his enchanted glove and he undid the strap and laid it next to the pouch and wand. Moore stepped back and nodded to the Auror lieutenant.
"Both of you have a seat, enjoy the match, while I try to sort this out," Draco said. He led the way through the darkened hallway to Mary's old room. The Auror sealed the door behind them and the air filled with a low buzzing as he cast a privacy charm.
"Is the Statute no longer a bloody concern?" Draco asked, "why are Aurors here with wands out?"
Hawkins ran a hand through his hair.
"These two have been working with a muggle terrorist who was part of Grindelwald's organisation," he said.
"And they just found me, marked former Death Eater, sitting on the couch with them, wonderful," Draco thought. The one saving grace is that they hadn't simply stunned everyone down and sorted out the aftermath. The only likely reason was his status as Wizengamot member. His mind raced for options, a way to extricate himself from the situation.
"Shit, they're going to obliviate both of them… that's going to fuck up the operation," he thought. He needed time to think.
"And? They're just muggles… unless you're worried about a Statute breach, but then… then where are the obliviators?" he asked.
A slight flick of the Auror's eyes, and Draco suspected something was amiss.
"Perhaps reporting another Statute breach after the farce at Trafalgar Square might be a problem for the DMLE?" he thought.
"We're only investigating at this point," Hawkins replied, "again now, what in Merlin's name are you doing here? I've half a mind to bring you in for questioning."
"I bet you would. We're watching the Rugby World Cup Final," Draco replied, "I met Darren during my probation, Bruno's his best mate."
All true. Draco idly wondered if omissions counted as lying to law enforcement.
"Bullshit," Hawkins said.
"Something's not right, he should have arrested me already. Let's see what he thinks about a paper trail…" Draco thought.
"It's the truth, get the Veritaserum, I'll testify," Draco said, "hell, I'll even pay for the official Ministry review, if it'll get the DMLE off my back."
Hawkins pursed his lips and regarded him cooly, as if weighing his options.
"Yeah… this is definitely some cloak and dagger shite," Draco thought. He had to tread carefully… if these two Aurors were operating in secret, the danger to him was actually far greater. He slipped his hands into his pockets and leaned against the desk.
"Look, I don't know what's going on, and I don't want to know," Draco said, "I can vouch for the two in the other room. They might not be a hundred percent clean by muggle police standards, but they don't know anything about us," Draco said, "there's no Statute breaches here, except for when you two came barging in through the door."
"So, no objection to a bit of legillimency?" Hawkins asked as he raised his wand slightly.
Draco scoffed.
"I didn't say that. There's plenty up here I prefer to remain private," he replied as he tapped his temple, "if it's absolutely necessary, I'll come into the Ministry for an official memory review, on the record."
Hawkins paused again.
"Gotcha," Draco thought, but he kept his features schooled and impassive.
"Actually, there was one incident," the pureblood added, "Auror raid, at Erith Pier a few weeks ago? Where your mates cocked up capturing Alecto Carrow and Rodolphus Lestrange. The two in the living room both saw it. I found out after the fact and convinced them not to say anything… but you know what, you're right, I really should file an official report."
Hawkins grit his teeth.
"Alright, you've made your point," the Auror said as he slipped his wand into his holster, "I have a better idea. We'll head back in there, I'll verify they're not involved with any Death Eater activity, and we'll obliviate them of the last twenty minutes or so, and then we'll never discuss this incident again."
Draco pretended to consider the offer for a long moment, then stuck out his hand.
"Lieutenant Hawkins, you have yourself a deal," he said. They shook, and then Hawkins led him back into the main room.
"Alright, we're goo…" Draco said, but he trailed off at the sight of both Bruno and Darren knocked out, one on the armchair and one on the couch.
"Sorry, they kept trying to talk to me," Moore said.
Hawkins rolled his eyes.
"We're good, just need to obliviate them of this visit," he said, "we'll do them one at a time. You watch Malfoy."
He levitated Bruno to the bedroom.
"Auror Moore, good to see you again. I hope you're keeping well," Draco said.
"Well enough, thank you," she replied. It seemed she wasn't keen on conversation, so Draco sat down to watch the end of the match. He found he couldn't really focus on the game owing to the heavy stare the Auror levied on the back of his neck, so he focused on finishing his beer instead. His stomach turned somersaults, but on the outside, he forced his body to relax, to portray complete apathy to the presence of two Aurors in the flat. Hawkins returned and levitated Darren to the back room, and a few moments later emerged again.
"Malfoy," he said, and Draco stood up, "keep yourself out of trouble."
"Likewise, Lieutenant Hawkins," he said, "Auror Moore, good day."
She nodded to him and the two filed out of the flat. Draco retrieved his effects and went to check on Darren and Bruno.
Ron knocked on the other side of the cube wall.
"Hawkins is back," he said.
Harry stood up and slipped out of his cube to meet the lieutenant and Liz halfway, then motioned them into a meeting room.
"And?" he asked as he closed the door behind him.
"They're clean, weren't involved with the Death Eaters at all except for a few gold drops, but they didn't actually have any contact with the Death Eaters themselves, or the vampires, or leprechauns, so, no Statute breach," Hawkins said.
"Okay… okay great, I'll let the higher ups know," Harry said. They'd probably still be arrested by the muggle police, but that wasn't the DMLE's responsibility.
Liz cleared her throat and Hawkins pursed his lips.
"There is one more thing… Draco Malfoy was with them," he said.
"What in the…?" Harry thought. Ron swore under his breath.
"Malfoy?" he asked, and Liz nodded.
"Yes. He.. somehow figured out that we're trying to keep this operation quiet, kept making noise about filing an official report or coming in to make a statement on the record," Hawkins said.
"Shoulda stunned him and brought him in for good measure," Ron said.
The Auror lieutenant completely ignored him.
"There wasn't anything immediately incriminating, aside from his presence, but it's too much of a coincidence for something to not be going on," Hawkins added.
"No doubt," Harry said, "I'll look into it, thanks for letting me know."
"Anytime, sir," Hawkins said.
"Good job, both of you, dismissed," Harry said, "and remember, don't breathe a word of this to anyone."
They saluted and filed out, while Harry and Ron remained behind until the door shut behind Hawkins and Liz.
"What in Merlin's name would Malfoy be doing there?" Ron asked, "no way he was working with the Death Eaters…"
Harry squinted his eyes as he tried to fit the pieces together. It did seem like an awful coincidence, but…
"That muggle girl, the one that died, remember? I wager whatever is going involved her somehow," Harry said as he shook his head slowly, "but that's how he was able to get the location of Carrow and Lestrange… these two had connections to people who were working with them."
Ron stared down at the table at that.
"So what do we do?" he asked quietly.
"What to do?" Harry thought, "He's undoubtedly involved with some morally questionable individuals, but at the same time, he put himself at risk to help capture the last of the Death Eaters, and the magic proof mobile phone pouches are brilliant. At the same time, we've been ordered not to stir up a mess."
"We do our jobs. We watch him," Harry said, "make sure he doesn't put a toe out of line. Long as he keeps to the straight and narrow, we leave him alone."
Ron nodded.
"I can live with that," he said, "Hungry, dinner?"
Dinner sounded good. Harry responded by opening the door but as he fell into stride with Ron and walked to the canteen, he couldn't shake the sense that something lay in wait, just around the corner…
Harry appeared in the living room with a pop, and the sound of shouting echoed from upstairs. He took the steps two at a time to find Kreacher and Sirius locked in a tug of war over what looked like a keychain. Sirius had the house elf in a head lock and Kreacher kept twisting away to keep him from taking the chain.
"Let go, you ungrateful shite, it's mine!" Sirius said.
"It was a gift from Master Regulus!" Kreacher said.
"It was a bloody prank, he nicked it from me in the first place!" Sirius said.
"Honestly Sirius?" Harry said.
Sirius, as if noticing Harry for the first time, dropped the house elf and put his hands behind is back.
"He started it," he said.
Harry almost couldn't believe his ears.
"Kreacher, go make us some dinner," he said.
Kreacher bowed low, then blew his nose, expelling a bogie directly onto Sirius' shoe before apparating away.
"You see what I have do deal with?" Sirius asked as he attempted to scrape the disgusting snot onto a nearby bureau.
"Maybe if you were a bit nicer to him?" Harry said.
"I tried, but he's always muttering insults just under his breath, it's infuriating," Sirius said, "Being stuck in here, no offense, I love what you've done with the place, but it's worse than last time. At least then there were people coming and going. I can't stay inside forever."
Harry set his work satchel on a bureau.
"I told the Department of Mysteries you weren't up to an interview yet," Harry said, "soon as they see you out and about, they're going to want to talk to you, and probably run some tests or something."
Sirius pulled a face.
"Those elitist pricks can go fuck themselves," he said.
Harry smirked.
"You did fall out of the Veil, something that's never happened before. I can see where they're coming from," he said.
Sirius shoved his hands in his pockets much the way Ron did when faced with a mandatory task he wasn't looking forward to.
"I don't remember anything from inside," he said, "They can't force me to go."
Harry leaned against the doorframe.
"No, but they could make my life fairly unpleasant… tell you what, tomorrow's Sunday and I have brunch with the Weasleys," Harry said, "you could join us."
Sirius at first looked apprehensive, then apparently put on a brave front.
"That sounds fantastic. Molly always was an excellent cook," he said, "and it'd be good to meet your fiancé… again. Cripes, it's so odd to say that out loud."
Harry grinned, then left for his room to change and send a note to Ginny to let them know he was bringing Sirius. The following morning, Harry flooed first, followed by his godfather. The late autumn sun streamed in through the windows, and clatter of pans and utensils echoed from the kitchen.
"Place looks fantastic," Sirius said as he looked around, "is that roast beef I smell?"
He wandered towards the kitchen as a light patter from the steps heralded Ginny's appearance. He red hair bounced and she didn't slow down at all as she ran straight into Harry's arms, embracing him tightly and then kissing him deeply, her lips warm and comforting against his.
"I could get used to a lifetime of this," he thought as she pressed into him.
"I missed you," he said, "are you sure you have to head back for the second half of the season?"
She grinned mischievously.
"Now that all the Death Eaters, and the second most notorious Dark wizard of the twentieth century, are done and dusted, you could always quit the Corps and follow me around instead," she said, "become a professional quidditch junkie."
Harry grinned. It sounded like a tempting offer.
"Out!" Mrs. Weasley shouted, and a red-faced Sirius scampered into the dining room. The place rapidly filled up with redheads, and after much shaking of hands and clapping of shoulders to greet the newly returned Sirius Black, they sat down to eat. George kept stealing glances at Sirius but they sat on opposite sides of the table so there wasn't much of an opportunity for conversation. In between brunch and dessert, Harry nudged Sirius.
"Come on, there's something I want to show you," Harry said as he stood up. He braved the biting wind and jogged out to Arthur's shed, threw open the doors, then whipped off the sheet and wheeled out Sirius' old motorbike. Sirius' eyes widened when he saw it, and he walked up to it with a smile, then caressed the handlebars as if he were afraid it would fall apart at the lightest touch.
"Added an invisibility booster, as well," Arthur said as he waggled his eyebrows, "you could take it up for a spin."
Sirius smiled, but Harry felt like he was holding back somehow.
"Alright. Shall we, Harry?" he asked as he motioned to the side car.
Harry stepped in and squeezed into the cramped seat, while Sirius mounted up and kicked started the bike with a rumble. He revved the engine a few times, and Harry caught a smirk, then they were up in the air above the Burrow, circling about with the wind in his hair.
"Brilliant!" Harry said with a laugh. They floated even higher, close to a puffy cloud, where Sirius slowed the bike down and drifted in the breeze. Harry leaned back and folded his hands behind his head despite the gusty chill.
"This is nice, isn't it?" Harry said.
"Yeah," Sirius replied, but he wore a frown.
"What's wrong?" Harry asked.
"I missed your whole life, haven't I. All of it," Sirius replied.
The sun shone in from the side, highlighting the shadows of Azkaban on his face.
"Well… it's not like my life is over yet," Harry said.
"Yes, but I mean… you're not a kid anymore. You're all grown up, put down not one, but two Dark Lords, Auror captain-"
"Acting captain," Harry muttered.
Sirius made a dismissive motion with one hand.
"Getting married. You don't need a godfather anymore," he said.
"Yes I do," Harry said, "I mean, for the grown-up part, I suppose. But I still need you."
Sirius smiled sadly.
"No you don't, not really," he said, "and I can't stay right now."
A jarring pain went through Harry's chest. He'd only just gotten him back, and now he was leaving again?
"What? What do you mean? Where will you go?" Harry asked.
"I don't know, but I can't stay here, not for now anyway," Sirius said.
"I don't understand, why not? And what about Teddy and Andromeda? You haven't met them yet," Harry said.
"I… I can't right now. How can I explain it…. Imagine if everyone you knew from school, all your friends, were dead, and it was just Teddy who you were supposed to take care of, but you'd barely seen in a decade and a half," Sirius said, "I can't. I'll be back, I promise. Right now though, I need to get out and clear my head a little bit."
Harry thought for a moment that Sirius might be trying to run away from the Unspeakables, but then he considered his godfather's words. What would it be like for him if Ron, Hermione, Neville, Luna, Ginny, and all the rest were dead and gone?
"But.. you've only just returned," Harry said.
"I know. I'm a shite person," he said, "I'll be back to visit though, count on it. When's the wedding? I definitely won't miss that."
"I don't know, late spring most likely," Harry replied.
Sirius nodded.
"Well, I'll owl you. Hopefully I'll be back before then and you won't even have to tell me the exact date," he said.
Harry nodded. He wasn't happy about it, but at the same time, he got the sense that Sirius was the kind of person who needed his freedom. His godfather steered the bike down to the ground and they returned for dessert. Then Sirius said his goodbyes as if he planned to be back the following week, mounted up his old motorbike, waved to Harry, flipped on the invisibility booster, and flew off into the winter sky for destinations unknown.
Later that same day, Harry made the trip out to muggle London, to Hermione's parents' old home. She greeted him with a hug at the front door, and ushered him inside and out of the cold. The place had been fixed up beautifully, whether by Hermione herself or the Ministry, Harry wasn't sure, though he noted gaping absences where the expensive electronics that had been destroyed during the raid still hadn't been replaced.
"Tea?" she asked, "it'll be a good test for the new stove."
He nodded and sat down at the kitchen table while she put a kettle on.
"I've had delivery workers and contractors coming and going every day for the past week," she said, "it really is a mess of paperwork, especially trying to coordinate the Ministry and the muggle workers, and right when I'm really not in a place to be dealing with it, too."
She returned and leaned on the granite countertop.
"Where are my manners? How have you been?" she asked.
"Good. Things are settling down," Harry replied, "Sirius is leaving."
Her eyebrows came together.
"Leaving? Why? To where?" she asked.
"As for where, I don't know. He didn't say, and I didn't press him," Harry replied, "he did mention that everyone he knew from school was gone."
"Hmm," Hermione said, "I suppose that's true, even Snape. It must be really difficult."
"Yeah, so I figured I should be a big boy and not pester him," Harry said, "though I admit, I am a bit disappointed. I'd hoped to have more time with him."
Hermione nodded and fiddled with a loose string dangling off the cuff of her sweater.
"Any word about Grindelwald?" she asked, "or… Bellatrix?"
Harry shook his head.
"No, nothing from either of them," he replied.
Hermione hmm'ed and stared off into the distance. She didn't even blink when the kettle started to whistle.
"You're thinking about her, aren't you?" Harry asked.
Her eyes widened as she came back to the present.
"Oh bugger, the tea," she said.
She returned a moment later with a tray holding two steaming cups and jars of honey and cream.
"Hermione?" Harry said, and she stopped fussing with the tea and stared resolutely down into her cup, "you're worried about her, aren't you."
She hesitated for a second, then nodded.
"I mean, the fact that out of anyone in the world, she can probably take care of herself aside, if you're worried, why not go after her?" he asked.
"I… I shouldn't," she said quietly, "it's probably better this way."
Her fingers kept worrying the strand of wool, threatening to unravel her sleeve. Worse than that, to Harry's ears, it sounded like she was trying to convince herself.
"So, that means she still has feelings for Bellatrix?" he thought, "I guess it kind of makes sense, seeing how long they dated and then they were stuck living together… question is, what to do about it?"
He pushed the tray of tea aside.
"It's just the two of us, come on, what's really going on?" he asked.
Her lower lip trembled, and she bit it.
"Okay… I have a confession," she said with a sharp exhale, "I can't stop thinking about her. It's all the time, from the moment I wake up to the moment I fall asleep. I… I've never felt like this, about anyone."
She stared at the wall behind Harry.
"Please don't think less of me," she whispered.
He blinked.
"I… how could I ever think less of you?" he replied.
She looked at him then, gratitude in her eyes, and smiled, genuinely.
"I don't even know where to start looking," she said.
"Why not start with her family? Draco and his mum?" Harry asked.
She took a weary sigh and stared off into the distance again. It was the obvious starting point, and Harry couldn't believe that she hadn't thought of it herself. Whatever the reason that stood in her way, lingering dislike of Malfoy, or his home, she had obviously been hesitant to take that first step.
"Maybe just a little push," he thought.
The realisation that this was exactly the type of thing he suspected Dumbledore often did was not lost on him, but Hermione, along with Ron, was his best friend; he couldn't simply sit silent while she agonised.
"Hermione," Harry said, calling her back to the present, "what are you waiting for? Just go."
She took a deep breath, nodded, and stood up.
"Right," she said as she drew her wand then looked at Harry, who remained seated.
"Right. Wish me luck," she said, then apparated with a pop.