Chapter Eight: Rumours

A deathly hush fell across the crowd. Sirius stared down at them all, a sea of white faces stared back up at him.

'What's he got…?' he heard the whispers start to break out, 'what did he do…?'

He saw Remus appear in the crowd, and look up at him in bemusement - and then James barged his way through, 'What's going on…?'

'Is that …?' the murmurs were still swirling through the crowd, 'is that Mrs. Norris ? What has that nutter done to her now?'

'I didn't…' he started to say, he searched out Remus and James and made eye contact with them. 'I just found her like this… I didn't…'

'What's going on? What's going on? Why aren't you all in bed?' A wheezy voice and the sound of flatfooted soles slapping on stone floors heralded the arrival of Filch. Sirius felt his heart sink. 'I could get the cat o' nine tails on you, chain you all up by your ankles- that'd…' he came to a halt. 'What are you all looking at?'

Slowly, he looked up.

Sirius felt his cheeks burn - and he heartily wished he had just left the dratted cat to struggle, so he could be down there looking up, with everyone else, and not up here, looking down about to be…

'BLACK!' Filch roared. His face had turned bright purple, one eyelid was twitching and a vein was throbbing in his forehead looking like it was about ready to explode.

Sirius sighed.

'MY CAT! WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO MY CAT? WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO MRS. NORRIS?'

'Nothing I -'

'GET HER DOWN, GET HER DOWN RIGHT NOW!'

'I'm trying! But…'

'I'LL SEE YOU EXPELLED FOR THIS, LADDIE.'

'I DIDN'T DO ANYTHING!' Sirius lost patience and roared back at the caretaker - the deathly hush fell across the crowd once more … And then, as if things couldn't get worse, the sharp tapping of boots announced the arrival of Big Macca herself.

'What, in Merlin's name, is all this hullabaloo? - Mr. Fenwick, I'm astonished you have not got everyone safely back into the tower, this sort of nonsense is not …' She looked up, caught sight of Sirius and Mrs. Norris and her words trailed off. Her eyes narrowed and her lips went very thin and very white.

Once again, Sirius felt his heart sink like a stone.

'Everyone - follow Mr. Fenwick back into the common room - straight to bed. Black, get down here this instant .'

'WHAT ABOUT MY CAT?' Filch yelled, as Sirius started to slide back along the beam, away from Mrs. Norris. 'HE PUT HER UP THERE HE NEEDS TO BRING HER DOWN.'

'I will get her down, Mr. Filch - Potter, Lupin, you stay here too.' The two boys, who had been hovering undecided as to whether to follow everyone else or wait to see what happened to Sirius, looked relieved at being given permission to stay. Sirius, however, felt no such relief, his heart was pounding and his stomach felt like lead, as he slid back across the rafter and then began his ungainly descent down the face of the wall.

The moment his first foot touched the floor, he felt a hand seize the back of his robes and he was yanked beside Filch and then held prisoner in his grasp. From this close he could hear the rattle of the caretaker's wheezy breaths in his chest. He tried to struggle, but Filch only gripped him harder.

Meanwhile, Professor McGonagall had pointed her wand at the unfortunate Mrs. Norris. 'Tranquilius,' she murmured, and the cat stopped struggling and her terrified eyes went blank. ' Renodo ,' The elongated tail started to untie itself, slipping through its own knots like a thread unravelling (it was oddly satisfying to watch and, if Sirius's heart had not been so heavy, no doubt he would have enjoyed it immensely).

The tail finished unwinding and Mrs. Norris was freed, McGonagall guided the cat back down to the ground with her wand, where she picked her up. The trance she had put her in was obviously still holding as, despite still being monstrously transmogrified, Mrs. Norris remained very still and calm. 'Everyone, to my office,' the prof barked, and she swept away, carrying Mrs Norris. James and Remus followed on - and Filch, with Sirius still firmly gripped by the collar, brought up the rear.

Once inside Big Macca's office, with the door closed, the professor laid the cat on her desk and then took a pinch of floo powder and threw it into the fireplace. 'Albus - I need a word.'

A moment later, the flames turned green and flared upward and a large shape, revolving very fast, became visible. Seconds after that, Dumbledore himself had stepped out of the grate, brushing ashes off his robes and straightening his hat. He smiled, genially, 'You called, Minerva? Always a pleasure - though the hour is rather late perhaps…'

'Albus,' there was a hint of warning in her voice, and she cast a dark glance towards her desk. Dumbledore followed the direction of her gaze, and his smile faded and the light went dim in his eyes.

'I see,' he said heavily. He crossed to the desk and began to examine Mrs. Norris, prodding her and peering at her so closely that the tip of his long nose almost touched her fur. After a long moment, he looked up. 'And why are these three boys here?'

Sirius's heart hammered all the harder in his chest. Filch twisted his collar. 'BECAUSE THIS UTTER MANIAC CURSED MY CAT!'

'I didn't, I -'

'LIAR!'

'Argus - ' Dumbledore's tone was mild, but Filch fell silent immediately. 'Minerva, explain to me what has happened here.'

'Black was found with her. She'd been transmogrified and tied to the rafter with her own tail. The poor thing was terrified. Black was sitting right beside her, where she was hanging.'

'You did this?' Dumbledore gave Sirius a swift and searching look, and his tone was disappointed.

'No - Sir, I-'

'Of course he didn't do it,' James burst out, his face shining bright red. 'Sirius wouldn't hurt someone who couldn't fight back like that - he's not a bully - he…'

The door opened at that exact moment, and a rotund, velvet clad belly - followed shortly by the rest of Professor Slughorn - came marching in. 'Minerva, m'dear - a word…'

He came to a stop and blinked in surprise to find the office so crowded. 'Merlin's beard! What's all this?'

'MY CAT'S BEEN CURSED!'

'Transmogrified,' Professor McGonagall corrected. 'And Black, here, was found at the scene of the crime.'

Slughorn did a double take, when he spotted Sirius standing there under arrest. 'Just the man I wanted to talk about,' and he reached behind him and pulled forward none other than Snivellus, who was looking pale and sulky, but otherwise none the worse for wear for his stint in the cupboard. 'It seems your students, Minerva - specifically these three - have been cursing my students, specifically Severus … and now it turns out Black is cursing cats, does it?' He shook his head, ''Pon my word … a rum do.'

'I didn't curse the cat. Or Transmogrify it - or hang it - or anything,' Sirius burst out loudly. 'I just found her - I was up there trying to get her down when everyone … caught me.'

'A LIKELY STORY!' Filch roared, giving Sirius a fierce shake. 'YOU WERE CAUGHT RED HANDED. YOU CURSED THE SNAPE BOY THEN YOU CURSED MY CAT!'

'We all cursed Snape,' James shouted. 'Well - not Remus - but me and Sirius, we both cursed him - and why not? He cursed my broom at the Quidditch.' (Severus blanched - his already pale face went the colour of curdled milk, and then a bright red and then settled on a porridgey grey, and all the heads in the room turned to look at him.) 'But Sirius didn't curse that cat, what was done to her was sick - and Sirius isn't sick.'

'This would not be the first time young Black has been guilty of dark deeds in the castle, Minerva,' Slughorn reminded Professor McGonagall. 'You must remember the nasty business last year… and then the spectacle he made of himself at the Quidditch match, attacking Severus - whom he has also attacked again this evening… '

It was Sirius's turn to flush. It looked bad - he knew it. His record was against him. But Dumbledore - it seemed - was not.

'I think,' he said gravely, 'I would like to hear from Mr. Black what has transpired this evening. Start with meeting Mr. Snape - and continue until your narrative leads us to the point where we find ourselves now.'

So Sirius explained - admitting to cursing Snape and stuffing him in the cupboard ('but we do that all the time - there's nothing dark about it, he does just as bad to us…') and how they had left him and gone to the feast ('I was there the whole time - ask anyone,') and then separated out and raced back to the dorm (he missed out the part about the vanishing door and the secret passage he had never found before… he did not think doors no one else could see would help his credibility). 'And then I heard this noise - a distressed sort of mewling… and I followed it and I saw… well I couldn't tell what it was from the ground, so I climbed up to take a better look, and I was just trying to help when … I was only trying to help, I didn't curse her - I swear.'

Once Sirius was finished, Dumbledore was quiet for a long moment - and then : 'I believe you,' he said, gravely.

'What?' Filch and Slughorn sounded equally flabbergasted. Snape looked annoyed. But Sirius sagged with relief and James grinned.

'Headmaster - my cat has been cursed, I want punishment.'

'And I agree punishment must be meted out,' he bent down and inspected Mrs. Norris again. 'But to the right person.' He straightened up again.

'Dumbledore - think - Morgana Murrows, Severus - just this evening. Black's history is against him.'

'And it is exactly that, Horace - history. Mr. Black was punished severely for Morgana - and by all means you are free to punish the three of them as you see fit for their actions against Mr. Snape this evening, but I do not believe he is guilty of this…'

He pointed his wand at Mrs. Norris and muttered 'Dissuo '. Immediately the transmogrification wore off, and Mrs. Norris returned to her normal size and shape, her tail shrank back and the sedation wore off. She gave a mewl of fright and then leapt into Filch's arms, where she huddled against his chest and trembled in fear.

'And that's the end of it? We just forget about it?' Filch's face was purple and he was spitting with rage.

'Certainly not… This is a matter most troubling, and not one that I think we can sweep under the carpet. But without further evidence we must bide our time… You were, locked in your own supply cupboard just two days ago, is that correct?'

Filch's purple face turned red. 'That was Peeves. '

'Perhaps … but I fear there is something beyond the tricks of Peeves, or school boy high jinx going on here … I believe we are seeing the beginning of something far darker. Something far nastier is at play and we must remain vigilant if we are to guard against it. But punishing the innocent will get us nowhere - so, Black, Potter, Lupin - off you go, Horace, you may sort their detentions out tomorrow. But for now, all the students need to be safely in their beds.'

And with that - and not quite daring to believe it was that easy - Sirius was dismissed.

…

They found Peter waiting for them up in the dorm, looking utterly bewildered. 'Where have you been? I've been here ages - and I got stuck in that trick stair, how come I was the first one back?'

Sirius only grunted, dropped down on his bed and tugged the curtains closed, hiding himself from view. Peter stared at the velvet drapes in curiosity and then back to the others, 'What…?'

'It was a bad ending to the night,' Remus told him - and explained what had transpired, while Peter looked more and more disquieted with every passing word.

'So they put you three in detention?' he asked, once Remus was done, 'What are they doing about Snivellus cursing James' broom?'

James snorted in disgust, 'Nothing - they all glossed straight over that part. Perfect, prissy Snivellus gets away with murder - and meanwhile Barking Mad Black, the dangerous nutter, is in another dentention. Sometimes… I swear this whole place is against us. Remus didn't even hex Snivellus! And he's pulled into it just because he was there …' And he snorted with disgust again and, like Sirius had done, flumped down hard on his bed and dragged his curtains around to obscure him from view.

Peter and Remus were left, staring at each other. Remus shrugged. 'It is what it is, I suppose … night, Peter.'

'Night, Remus.'

…

Later on, when James was snoring, and Peter's breathing was deep and heavy, Remus lay still, staring up at the canopy, and listened to the deadly silence coming from Sirius's bed. That level of quiet could only mean Sirius had not fallen asleep, that he was lying awake, stewing, seething, worrying… Remus wasn't quite sure what he would be doing, or how he would be feeling, but he knew he wouldn't be happy.

After what seemed like an aeon of stillness, Remus gave a sigh, swung his legs over the side of his bed and padded on bare feet across the cold floor of the dorm. He rapped gently on the bed post. 'Sirius, can I come in?'

There was a grunt, which Remus took for a yes - so he parted the curtains and crawled inside, huddling up under the blankets. 'Shove over, it's cold.'

'This isn't the normal way round that we do it,' Sirius said, shifting over.

'No - but it's alright to switch from time to time.'

'If you say so - I prefer it the other way.'

'So why didn't you come over then?'

'I didn't want to bother you.'

Remus rolled his eyes and gave Sirius a shoulder barge. 'You always bother me. What's so different about tonight?'

Sirius sighed. 'I'm being soft,' he said. 'I know I am…'

'What do you mean?'

'I just … you heard what Slughorn said, bringing up Morgana last year - and what they were saying out in the crowd, calling me a nutter … it's like James called me: "Barking Mad Black". That's what everyone sees - isn't it? Someone mental. The first person to suspect if something goes wrong, because I pushed a suit of armour on top of Morgana that one time …No matter what, they're always going to look at me and see a murderer - or at least an attempted murderer.'

'Since when do you care what people think?' Remus was incredulous, but he fought to keep his voice low so as not to wake the others. 'You're always telling me "bollocks to other people" when I get all mopey about … my furry little problem.'

'Fine - I'm being a hypocrite as well as soft. Happy?'

'Not if you're not happy. Sirius - you're right when you tell me off, when you don't let me wallow in my own melancholy - which I would probably do all day every day, if it wasn't for you. Bollocks to other people . There's nothing wrong with me - and there's nothing wrong with you. And if other people want to say there is - well - they're the ones that are wrong.'

'I don't help myself though, do I? I don't exactly walk around like the poster boy for even tempered sanity.'

Remus bit back a smile. 'You have a personality of extremes… you're a man of strong passions…'

'Steady on…'

They both laughed. 'But that's just who you are and there is nothing wrong with that,' Remus continued. 'And anyway - you have nothing to worry about - Dumbledore is on your side.'

…

But the next day was to prove that, while Dumbledore may be on Sirius's side - nobody else seemed to be. The four of them were met with whispers and dark looks from the moment they stepped into the Great Hall for breakfast, the following morning; some first years from other houses even going so far as to stand on their seats, craning their necks for a better view of Sirius.

The whole sorry story seemed to have travelled through the school faster than a dose of salts, and it seemed very much like every last student had tried Sirius in his absence - and found him guilty.

Thursday was, in some ways, Sirius's worst day of the week - as, Herbology aside, every class he had contained Slytherins; he did not have any prep periods to get homework done and he rounded the day off with flying (and if there was anything worse than just being forced to be with Slytherins in general, it was being forced to be with them while making a fool of yourself on a broomstick).

'Just keep your temper,' Remus intoned under his breath, gripping tight to Sirius's arm, as they took their seats at the back of Potions - and all eyes fell on them. James stuck his finger up at Natasha Perell, who tutted, tossed her hair and looked away with a mutter of 'mental the lot of them.'

'Keep your temper,' Remus repeated.

'There's really nothing to look at,' Peter told Leticia Zabini, who was openly staring at them (though he blushed as he said it, she was very pretty - though he would never admit thinking so to James). 'Honestly, he didn't do anything.'

'He just strangled a cat.'

Remus gripped Sirius's arm all the harder, 'ignore ignore ignore.'

…

Remus sat and fretted all the way through prep. Sirius was in Arithmancy - with Snivellus - and only James to restrain him (and James had very little in the way of natural restraint himself). He watched the clock - and prayed for the lesson to be over, and that, when the bell went, Sirius would not have done anything else to land himself in trouble.

Lunch was difficult - once again, heads swivelled, eyes stared and whispers followed them wherever they went. In the end, they went up to the fourth floor and hid in the secret passage behind the mirror until it was time for Charms. The Slytherins were just as loathsome in Charms, and (if possible) even more loathsome in Flying but, despite the rest of the school's best efforts to provoke him (and the fact that Peeves' rendition of 'They say that he's barking…' now came with dance moves), through an act of titanic willpower, Sirius managed to get through the day without losing his temper and hexing anyone into oblivion - or in any other way disgracing himself.

'It will blow over,' Remus told him, as the three of them scrubbed the floors outside the dungeons during their detention. Sirius grunted, dipped his scrubbing brush back into the soapy water and began to attack a dirty mark on the floor with perhaps a bit too much vigour. 'I mean it - it all blew over last time…'

'And you were actually guilty then!' James piped up.

Remus threw him a dark look and splashed him with the water.

'Oi!'

'Ignore him. You know what this place is like, something else will happen - or The Kneazles will release a new song or - or - well nothing ever stays still for five minutes here. You'll be old news by the end of the week, I promise.'

'Unless the next thing gets blamed on me, as well,' Sirius replied rather grimly.

'But Dumbledore's on your side - he knows it's not you … You don't need to worry about getting expelled, so...'

'Sirius, mate,' James stopped scrubbing, he rested back on his heels and rubbed his hair out of his eyes, leaving a trail of soapy suds stuck to the rim of his glasses. 'You just need to pick yourself up and brush yourself off. Believe me. Look at me - I had a lot resting on that Quidditch match, you know. I had all sorts of ideas … I thought I was going to win us the match and then the cup, I thought I was going to become Quidditch Captain, and then play for the Falcons and then for England - I thought I was going to win us the 1982 world cup and that match was the start of it all. When Snape ballsed it all up for me, I was pretty pissed off about it; more than pissed off - I thought I was done - washed up, my career over before it had started. Like Snivellus had jinxed my life the way he jinxed my broom.'

He shrugged. 'But now I realise - I'm being an idiot. Snape can only ruin my Quidditch career if I let him … and I've decided, the only reason I won't be playing in the 1982 world cup is if I'm already dead. Snivellus will have to kill me to stop me.'

Sirius stopped scrubbing. 'What on earth has that got to do with me?' he asked in bemusement.

'I'm just saying - people can only break you down as far as you let them. You know you didn't do it, we know you didn't do it and Dumbledore knows you didn't do it … Honestly, who cares what anyone else thinks? Just - get on with your life, it's the best revenge.'

…

So Sirius did his best to prove to everyone he did not care what they thought of him. The four of them publicly celebrated his birthday with much vim and vigour, handing over presents at breakfast and setting off Dr. Filibuster fireworks at tea. He brought his toaster down to Muggle Studies to show Professor Humdrum, along with the screwdriver Remus had bought him as a present. 'I've been using my wand to undo the screws,' he told the teacher earnestly, 'but look what this does…' and, after delighting the teacher with a demonstration of a Philip's Head upon a screw, the whole class were set an essay on the uses of muggle tools - three feet long (if anything, this made Sirius even more unpopular than supposedly hanging Mrs. Norris had).

Time passed. The full moon came and went, as did the third edition of Sabrina13, James practised Quidditch all hours, Peter worked on his comic, and - up in the dorm - still trying to avoid the masses - Sirius worked on his toaster, while Remus kept him company, reading his new book on Banshees.

As November deepened, the weather worsened, the skies grew dark and cloudy, the rain poured and James would frequently return from practice dripping in mud and shivering with the cold.

'You could find a nice, indoor hobby - like toasters,' Sirius told him one evening, when he arrived back in the dorm gasping - his glasses steamed up and raindrops dripping from the tip of his nose.

'Yes - and then I'll join the gobstones club for good measure.'

'What's wrong with the gobstones club?'

'Have you seen the dweebs that go to gobstones club? Nerds pick on them.'

Sirius threw his pillow at him, 'You like playing gobstones!'

'Yeah - but there's no need to join a club … Health, fitness, exercise - that's what you should be doing in your spare time.'

'I'm not about to go and freeze my balls off on a broomstick and call it fun.'

James watched him for a moment, fiddling with some wiring - his brow wrinkled in concentration. 'Each to their own, I suppose,' he said - before heading for the showers.

It finally stopped raining a few days into December, the ground started to harden with frosts and then - about two weeks before they broke up for Christmas, the sky suddenly turned a dazzling, opaline white, and they woke up to three feet of fresh snowfall.

'Excellent,' James breathed, and - in true group fashion - the four of them bunked off A History of Magic and went sledging instead.

'Maybe this was a mistake,' Peter panted as they all huffed and puffed their way back up the mountainside. 'I can't feel my toes.'

'Boredom can be just as numbing as the cold - I can't feel anything at all in History of Magic, nevermind my toes,' James told him. 'Last week, I thought I might have actually died - and then gone to hell - and it was still History of Magic.'

'I wish Binns would hurry up and die.' Sirius blew on his hands in the hope of getting some feeling back into his fingers. 'Then we might get a decent teacher. '

'Do we really have to wish death on our teachers?'

'Oh come on, Moony - he's about a hundred and fifty anyway, what difference does it make? … Fine,' he amended, when Remus continued to stare at him in disapproval, 'I hope Binns retires soon - takes a leaf out of Tenebris's book. Better?'

'Better… it'll be weird when Tenebris goes, and we get a new Defence teacher.'

'Yeah, you might not be teacher's pet anymore.'

'Oh ha ha,' and he shoved Sirius, who shoved him back, he stumbled and fell, right into a deep drift of snow. Immediately, Sirius dove on top of him, stuffing fistfulls of snow down the back of his robes. 'Stop! Stop!'

'Never!'

...

Towards the end of term, when the Christmas trees were being brought into the Hall and the delicious smells of Christmas cooking were wafting tantalisingly down the corridors, a notice went up to say that the final Saturday before the holiday would be another Hogsmeade weekend.

'What do you reckon,' James asked, under his breath, as they stood in the middle of the crowd swarming the notice board. 'Are you going to use the secret passage?'

Sirius nodded, 'you bet - but I'd better set out earlier than the rest of you, it takes a long time to come down from the mountains.'

So, early on Saturday morning, Sirius put on his cloak, scarf and mittens and crept off to the fourth floor, while the other three went down to breakfast.

'And where is Mr. Black this morning?' an acerbic voice from behind them made Peter spill his coffee - and they all whipped around to see Big Macca eyeing them suspiciously.

'He's - he's up in the dorm,' James said, putting down his cup so the rattle didn't betray his lies. 'Sulking because he can't go to Hogsmeade.'

'Hmmm,' she gave them a swift, searching look and then walked away. The boys watched her go.

'When we're in Hogsmeade - remember to keep an eye out for tabby cats with spectacle shape markings,' Remus said.

'She definitely knows we're up to something.'

'Oh - we're always up to something,' James had recovered, and was now airily buttering his toast. 'She has no idea what we're actually doing .'

It was just starting to snow, as they set out from the castle - light flakes drifting down from the sky, and the air was clear but bitterly cold. The snow on the ground had compacted and frozen solid overnight and the three of them clutched onto each other as they slipped and slid down the road to the village, trying not to fall on the icy surface.

It began to snow heavier - and heavier. What had been little white motes dancing on the breeze turned into powdery snitches plummeting from the sky. The sky itself darkened - and soon they were in the middle of a blizzard, and barely able to see their hands in front of their faces.

'This is rotten weather to explore the village in,' James called out, they all linked hands so as not to lose each other.

'I think we'll need to go inside - once we've found Sirius.'

'I hope he makes it out of the mountains OK.'

They finally reached Hogsmeade and, instead of heading inside for warmth and shelter, followed the path back out - past Dervish and Banges - where they were due to meet Sirius at the stile at the end of the road. When they got there he was already sitting on it, huddled as deep into his cloak as was possible.

'This was a terrible idea,' he said to them, when they arrived. 'I could be up in the dorm, playing with my toaster.'

'Nah - come on - Three Broomsticks, Butterbeer - I want to show you what a stunner Madam Rosmerta is.'

'... Er … OK,' Sirius shot a puzzled glance at Remus, who only shrugged, and the four of them trudged back down to the path towards the pub.

The Three Broomsticks was heaving, and the boys had to remove their cloaks as soon as they entered, as it was so stuffy and warm between the packed in bodies and the roaring fires. They found themselves a table, and then James - blushing slightly - offered to go and buy the drinks. Peter cheerfully volunteered to help him carry. They disappeared, leaving Remus and Sirius alone at the table.

'It wasn't too much trouble, coming down the mountain?'

'Nah - I'm as sure footed as a mountain goat.'

'It'll be harder going back up - the weather's closing in.'

A cloud crossed Sirius's face. 'Yeah - well - if I'm not back in the dorm by bedtime - send a search party.'

Peter and James arrived back, clutching four butter beers and a bag of peanuts. 'She laughed at my joke!' James announced excitedly.

'Who did?'

'Madam Rosmerta! I think she likes me… look at her, Sirius - foxy or what?'

Sirius glanced across at the bar. '...Er - yes, lovely.'

'Lovely? What are you - her grandma? She's totally hot.'

'A total babe,' Peter agreed.

'If you say so.'

'Remus,' James turned to him for support, 'is Madam Rosmerta - or is she not - the hottest bird you've ever seen?'

'I - er … isn't she a bit old?'

'She's 21 - I asked.'

'And you're 13.'

'I'll be 14 in March.'

'Oh, well - how can she possibly resist your manly wiles?'

They all snorted into their butterbeer. Just then a blast of cold wind caused the flames of the fire to gutter, as the door was thrown open and a flurry of snow blew in along with … 'Oh balls ,' James hissed. For none other than Big Macca herself had arrived, along with Flitwick, Sprout and Hagrid. They seemed to be locked in a serious discussion.

'It's their last weekend too,' Remus whispered, 'we're such idiots - what if the prof sees …'

They all looked at Sirius and then - as one - pushed him under the table. Then James took out his wand, murmured 'mobiliarbus ,' and levitated a nearby Christmas tree a few feet to the left, plonking it down in front of their table so it blocked them from view.

Peter began to giggle.

'What's funny?'

'Just - Sirius under the table - it's like having a dog.' He patted Sirius's head. 'Good boy…ow.' Sirius had bit his finger.

Meanwhile - just visible between the branches, a pair of sparkly heels had tapped their way over to the teacher's table and started handing out the orders - a small gillywater, a half of stout, a cherry syrup and soda with ice and umbrella and, finally, four pints of mead (all four for Hagrid). The teachers fell silent until the last of the drinks was handed out. 'Well that was what Albus told me, and I'm sure he wouldn't want it to become common knowledge,' McGonagall said quietly, once the sparkly shoes had tapped away. 'But I know he's very worried about it all.'

The boys glanced at each other, shushed each other, and then leaned in to listen.

'It is a dark business, a dark business,' Flitwick said, shaking his head.

'I dunno why he's even letting the blighter in the castle - if it was up to me I'd kick him ter the far side of the moon.'

'Yes well, Hagrid, it isn't up to you - and I think Dumbledore just wants to get a good look at him.'

This time, the boys' glances were confused.

'And it was this Dark Lord who reached out to the Headmaster?' Sprout asked. 'Requested a meeting?'

Behind their Christmas tree, the boys gasped.

'Yes - of course Dumbledore wants nothing to do with him, and would greatly prefer that he not be allowed anywhere near the students … But he also feels that, well - maybe this is his last chance to make him see reason, to broker a peace.'

'I'd just tear 'im limb from limb.'

'Thank you, Hagrid.'

'Just sayin'.'

'It makes me cold to think,' Sprout said - and she really did shiver as she spoke, despite the heat of the fire, 'that in a few days time, he will be here in the village. Really here. Among us.'

'He's always seemed such a shadow,' Flitwick agreed. 'Not quite real.'

'Oh - he's real enough,' McGonagall said, 'and on Thursday night, he will be at the school - meeting with the Headmaster. May his interview be a brief one - and may he never darken our doorstep again.'

The four of them all shivered once again at the thought of the Dark Lord and then - once their drinks were finished - they got to their feet and left the pub, heading back out into the blizzard.

Sirius scrambled out from under the table, as soon as the door had closed behind them, and stared around at his friends. 'Did I hear that right?' he asked.

'It sounds like … it sounds like Lord Voldemort himself is going to come to Hogwarts - next week,' Remus said. They all went quiet for a moment and then -

'Men,' James looked around at them seriously, 'the Dark Lord himself is coming to our home. The enemy is breaching our walls. it is our solemn duty to make sure that we get a good look at him.'