Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter
...
Susan was still in the process of unpacking her belongings for the holiday when there was a knocking on the door. She wasn't expecting anybody to visit her for at least a couple days into the holidays so surely it wasn't one of her friends. That only made it more suspicious because that meant that it was somebody looking for her aunt. Given the time of the evening, Susan could deduce that it likely wasn't somebody from the Ministry.
Did that mean her Aunt Amelia actively had a friend coming over?
Did that mean her aunt had made a friend?
Curiosity was suddenly creeping over Susan as her mind flew through several possibilities. Footsteps echoed through the house as her last remaining relative made her way to the front door. Susan practically sprung out of her room, positioning herself in such a way that she could peer at the door without it making it look too suspicious. Or at least she thought as much. In reality it was very much obvious to anybody who was able to see her that she was actively spying on whatever was about to transpire.
"Amelia, could you tell me why you summoned me at this bloody time of the night?"
"Shut up and get in!"
As Amelia shut the door behind her guest, Susan had to prevent herself from shivering at the sight of Sirius Black. The grizzled man was somewhat of a sight to behold, a man who had been imprisoned in Azkaban for over a decade and had managed to come out of it with his wits still intact. The fact that he had been innocent the entire time only served to make the story even greater.
"This better be important," grumbled Sirius as he and Amelia moved away from the opening passage towards the living room. Such movement however robbed Susan of her vantage point.
Creeping through the house on her tip toes, actively trying to be as silent as possible, Susan made her way to the edge of the hallway and peered around the corner.
"Surely he's told you something about the bloody things," grumbled Sirius, just from outside Susan's line of sight.
"If he had, do you honestly think I'd keep such a thing secret?" responded Amelia as she marched back and forth. "It's hard enough to try to hunt down something when you don't even know what it is you're looking for. The last thing we want to do is not tell one another what we are actively trying to find."
"Well, on something of a positive, it has taken a lot of persuading and a lot of promised gold changing hands but I've managed to convince a couple Goblins to do an audit on my cousin's vault. All well and good but it's not worth squat if I don't know what it is we are looking for."
"I take it such a deal is under the table and I'm going to pretend I didn't hear it," grumbled Amelia. "What was the significance of the Locket, the one that Harry destroyed. The other ones I know about were His diary and the Diadem of Rowena Ravenclaw."
"Okay," said Sirius slowly as he absorbed this information. "Ignoring the diary, did Harry make mention of how he found the Diadem or let alone where he knew where to look? Actually, no, scratch that, we already know the answer and I hate it."
"Indeed," said Amelia as she collapsed on the nearby armchair. "We are currently playing catch up regarding a game that Harry has not only played once before but now is rewriting the rules as he sees fit."
"Leaving us to play back-up."
"Quite," grumbled Amelia in annoyance. "Regarding the Goblins, I still have two of the destroyed Horcrux' that Harry gave me. If there's any residual magic on them, the Goblins could actively try to track something by looking for something of a similar nature magic wise as opposed to a specific item."
"That could work," said Sirius, his voice perking up a touch. "As for the Locket, the Black family acquired it generations ago with the belief that it belonged to Salazar Slytherin."
"So, ignoring his personal diary, we've had two items belonging to incredibly powerful wizards who founded Hogwarts. Ignoring how he found those items in the first place, I'm starting to see a bit of a pattern and unfortunately it makes me believe I know where one is."
"Wait? Really? How?" asked Sirius in a rapid pace.
"Basically the Ministry is abuzz at the moment with the fact that Lucius Malfoy gifted Fudge the cup of Helga Hufflepuff," stated Amelia as she bit at her thumb. "I was fully under the belief that it was a duplicate or a fake. After all, nobody really just gives somebody else a thousand year old relic. If it's the real thing though, and if it's got a piece of his soul in it we need to get it out of hands immediately!"
"So we go to his office in the morning?" suggested Sirius. "Basically take it from him and make sure it's not what we think it is and if we destroy a priceless relic in the process, so be it?"
"No, we leave now," commanded Amelia.
"Storming the Minister's home, you spoil me Amelia."
"Not the time Sirius."
"Right."
Susan acted quickly, moving with as much haste as she could without so much as making a single sound towards her bedroom. She didn't quite understand everything that she had heard but knew that it was rather important stuff. Important stuff that it seemed Harry was a part of, which by this stage she should have just guessed as much.
She could hear the closing of the door, leaving herself the only human left in the residence. Given that her Aunt hadn't come to check on her before leaving was an indicator of just how serious the situation was. Hopefully the two of them could manage to solve whatever problem they were about to engage in because if they didn't...well, given their tone earlier it wouldn't be good.
...
Harry sat in the living quarters after having had dinner with the Delacour family. While he could briefly recall trying some of the French food that Hogwarts provided when Beauxbatons was there, actively seeing a smorgasbord of it was something entirely different. Being as good of a guest as he could be, he actively tried as many things as he could and swallowed all of it, regardless of whether it suited his palate or not.
He wouldn't be having the escargot again. Harry was sure it was a delicacy in French cuisine but his taste buds simply weren't attuned to it.
Harry's eyes darted to the nearby walkway, months of teenage women targeting him having allowed him to see the small figure in the corner of his peripherals. Thankfully this time, it seemed as if he didn't need to defend himself.
At least not yet.
"Greetings Gabrielle," said Harry, giving a small nod of his head. "Can I help you at all?" For a full ten seconds the young Veela said nothing before she looked over her shoulder at something else before walking away leaving Harry somewhat flummoxed.
In the place where Gabrielle had stood previously, Appoline walked into view as she looked down the corridor where her youngest daughter had made her escape before entering the area where Harry was sitting. "May I come in?" she asked politely.
"Of course, it is your home after all," gestured Harry.
Appoline gifted him a warm smile before she strutted into the room in a way which Harry found quite seductive. He could only imagine if she were to walk down the street just how many men would find themself unable to avert their gaze. "I do 'ope you 'ave enjoyed your evening," she said as she took a seat and made herself comfortable.
"It has been quite pleasant," said Harry. "I take it Luna and Fleur are preparing themselves for the rest of the night."
"Among other things," said Appoline. "You need not worry about your friend 'Arry. I assure you that I will treat 'er as if she was my own daughter."
"I never had any concern that that wouldn't be the case," said Harry. "Seeing how Fleur acts around her, I can only imagine how protective she will be of Luna once they return to Beauxbatons. Gabrielle however I'm yet to get a proper read on."
"I believe I know why."
"Oh, pray tell," said Harry as he leaned forward in curiosity.
"We Veela always found ourselves attracted to warmth, something which is often open to interpretation. The warmth of companionship can be equivalent to a raging inferno if the person is right. Even I can tell 'Arry that you are a very warm individual and a select few Veela would be unable to 'elp zemselves around you."
"More women to worry about, got it," said Harry with a nod of your head.
"Your warmth 'owever is unlike something I 'ave witnessed," said Appoline, sharpening her gaze.
"How so?"
"Hmm, 'ow do I put zis," pondered Appoline. "While I can feel your warmth, zere is something else. Zere is something zere zat your warmth is pooling into, as if filling a void which should not 'ave been there from ze start. I would 'azard a guess that it 'as something to do with you 'aving survived when you were but an infant."
"This void, is there anything specific you can tell me about it?" asked Harry.
"I can only tell zat it is not like it once was and that, given time, it will be completely gone," said Appoline softly. "I'm not sure if zis was any 'elp to you."
"More than you know," said Harry, able to make his own deductions from what Appoling had said. Theoretically, this void was caused by the fact that he used to be a Horcrux. His warmth filling where it once was could very well be seen as confirmation that he indeed no longer had a fragment of Tom inside of him. While he had pretty much put that theory together already, it was nice to get some relatively conclusive evidence to put that theory to rest once and for all. "While I by no means mind the company of the fairer sex, will I be seeing your husband during my stay?"
"Sadly, I must say that you will not be meeting my 'usband," said Appoline. "'e is off on a business trip and will not be 'ome until after you 'ave left. I assure you that it pains me to say that you will 'ave to contend with ze company of ze 'fairer sex,' as you so graciously put it."
"Oh goodie."
...
"Minister, open up!" commanded Amelia as she banged on the front door. "Cornelius!"
Sirius meanwhile exhaled deeply, having watched Amelia prattle on without results for the better part of two minutes. "Alright Amelia, stop embarrassing yourself and let me open it up," he said.
The look that Amelia shot at Sirius could have cracked glass. "This is the home of the Minister of Magic, it is protected by every conceivable ward to prevent anybody from using magic to get in. Did you think you were just going to cast Alohamora and be done with it?" she scoffed.
"Hardly," said Sirius as he rummaged in his trouser pockets before pulling out a couple bobby pins.
"Am I meant to believe that you just so happen to carry such items on you?" asked Amelia as she raised an eyebrow.
"I took them from the side table back at your place when you said we needed to leave immediately," said Sirius as he knelt next to the doorknob and got to work picking the lock. "I imagine these belong to your niece and with a little alteration they'll get the job done."
"Do I want to know how you know this in the first place?"
"How do you think me and the boys got into so many places back in Hogwarts," said Sirius with a smile as he reminisced about simpler times. "Half the professors offices were locked and warded beyond belief, it just meant that we had to discover different ways to get what we wanted."
"Given how often you four got into trouble, of course you managed to find ways to sneak around the obvious," scoffed Amelia, doing her best not to show any sort of praise towards Sirius' behavior.
"Speaking of sneaking around, your niece was listening in on our conversation."
Amelia couldn't prevent the sigh that escaped her lips. "And you decided not to stop the conversation we were having?" It was clear how aggravated Amelia was purely by the tone of her voice. "You've deliberately put my niece in danger."
"By hanging out with Harry she was already in danger," said Sirius as there was a satisfactory click of the lock. "Regardless of whether you like it or not, Harry is a target who you can't protect all the time whether he needs it or not. If our enemies decide to hurt him in a way that he can't defend, then they are going to target those close to him in order to get to Harry. Don't say that it won't happen because these were the tactics that were used against us."
The grimace on Amelia's face said more than words could but she ignored it all as she stepped into the Minister's house. She would consider Sirius' words at another time. Right now she had to focus on the job at hand. "Cornelius!" she shouted as she entered the house.
No answer.
"Cornelius!"
No answer.
"He hasn't been home," summarized Sirius. Amelia shot him a look practically demanding him to elaborate. "I take it he wears a rather extravagant coat, one that isn't currently on the coat rack on the corner there. Either he hasn't left the Ministry or he decided to go elsewhere after he knocked off. One way or the other it means that he is not here right now."
"I know that," grumbled Amelia.
"So either you mobilize the entire DMLE to try to track down the Minister of Magic who could quite actively be out down the Leaky Cauldron for a drink with old comrades or you wait until tomorrow morning to deal with him in the office."
"And what if he's not in the office?"
"Then you can mobilize your unit without making it look like you're on a wild goose chase," stated Sirius. "If anyone asks you about tonight, you play it off as if you got an anonymous tip and acted accordingly. If nobody asks, then no worries. Right now, we're standing in the Minister of Magic's house after having broken in without a permit and while it's been fun and all, the longer we stay here, the worse the situation becomes."
"Fine," grumbled Amelia. "I've learnt all I needed to. Let's go."
For once, Sirius did not have a witty remark. Or at least chose not to make one.
...
Susan had put herself to bed sometime ago, having not known how long her aunt would be out for the night. After having eaten dinner and brushed her teeth, Susan had decided that she had had a big enough day and chose to call it a night. All the while trying to do her best to pretend that she hadn't eavesdropped on a conversation between her aunt and Sirius Black.
So with the blinds closed and no light in her room, Susan tried to get to sleep.
That was until a crack of light shone beneath her door from the hallway. It seemed as if Amelia was home. Susan made no sound however as she pulled the blankets ever closer.
Footsteps could be heard from the entrance and Susan couldn't help but wonder whether her Aunt had managed to do what she had set off to do with Sirius. Had it been a success? A failure? Would she even tell her regardless of what the outcome had been? After all, she was a girl fourteen years of age and her Aunt was the head of the DMLE. There wasn't really much that could be discussed over the dining table.
Susan remained in silence as footsteps sounded as if they were coming ever closer. Eventually, the light coming into her room was hindered by a shadow, her Aunt standing right outside her door. Seconds passed as Susan wondered just what her aunt wanted. Did she merely want to check whether she was asleep? Did she want to wish her a good nights sleep?
The door opened slowly and Susan was glad she wasn't facing the opening as light flooded in while the shadow her Aunt cast only seemed to loom larger. Once more steps echoed forth as Amelia made it closer to where Susan lay.
Susan meanwhile was in something of a state of panic. Had whatever Amelia and Sirius set out to do failed spectacularly and the two of them needed to leave immediately? It was an absolute longshot but it still wasn't something that she couldn't discount the possibility of. This was the world of Magic and if Potter Club had told her anything it was that what was expected didn't necessarily mean it was what was what one should expect.
"Susan," came Amelia's voice, far softer than Susan had heard in a long time. "Are you awake?"
Susan could hear a hint of desperation in her Aunt's voice. As much as she was, she didn't know whether responding or not was the best thing to do right now. However, she arguably went with the choice that was best with her gut. "Auntie Amelia, what's wrong?"
"Oh," said Amelia before a pause that only felt slightly uncomfortable. "Nothing's wrong. It's just, I know that, you might have...heard some things tonight that may be a bit hard to understand."
Susan pushed herself into a sitting position and was able to look her Aunt in the eyes and could see the concern on her face. As much as Susan wished to say something, she couldn't find the words necessary for the situation.
Hence, Amelia continued. "It was brought to my attention tonight that, you are growing up and I can't be there all the time to watch it happen. So, I think that, against my better judgment, I think you and I should spend this time while you're at home bracing for what, may, come to pass. How does that sound?"
Susan was able to hear the uncertainty that had radiated through her Aunt's voice through her speech. There was an underlying level of concern that was almost unprecedented. Susan wasn't sure what it was but Amelia had come to some sort of understanding tonight, whether she liked it or not.
Hence, Susan was only able to produce a single word answer.
"Yes."
...
Hope you enjoyed.
