Brewing Teas and War

Chapter 69

Saturday, November 8

Sirius had been keeping watch for the night and had given into sleep for a little less than an hour before he was up at the crack of dawn as he was wont to. He hadn't always been an early riser – in fact, he and James usually slept in and turned up to class at the last possible minute, annoying the teachers in the process.

In Azkaban too, Sirius could hardly distinguish between night and day and sleep came to him when his mind was spent and body ready to shut down from the fatigue.

However, when Sirius had been on the run, he had nothing but the sun to depend on to tell him the time of day and it had conditioned him to be up with the birds.

His mother would have been proud about one thing at least - the unnecessary thought crossed his mind before he shook his head, wishing he did not think about that woman.

He took out a cigarette and set the tip alight with his wand before taking a deep pull.

Ron and Hermione were tucked into sleeping bags that the latter had the foresight to bring along in her little, beaded bag even though it would have been quite unnecessary since they had Kreacher.

Ron had wondered why they could not Apparate to Potter Manor along with Kreacher seeing that house elves could Apparate into protected buildings like Hogwarts.

Sirius had explained that Dumbledore had added his own protection to the house much like his forefathers had done to Grimmauld Place, which would prevent Side-Along Apparition with the house-elves into said buildings.

"And the same protection was added to Hogwarts last year when the Aurors had stepped up security. Dumbledore himself did it," Sirius had said to which Ron slumped in defeat.

"Alright, alright. Nothing's that simple, I get it."

Sirius left the cave and out to the rocky, winding road that led down the hill. Thin rays of sunlight peeked into the mouth of the cave and he blew off smoke, frowning.

He had not forgotten Peter's last words. He's got Harry.

He had been certain Peter had said that to him on purpose, knowing his death would be imminent otherwise. Sirius did not like to entertain the possibility of it being true. Voldemort would have surely crowed it to the world if he had got his hands on his godson.

But something was nagging in his mind, something foreboding and not quite right.

If it had been a lie, why would Voldemort's hand have killed him?

Ron grunted in his sleep. Sirius glanced at him out of the corner of his eye.

The three of them could hardly continue to stay in the cave for much longer. With the Order currently instructed to lie low and seeing that they could not possibly go back to Potter Manor, Sirius knew it was the right time as any to go ahead with their plan of breaking into Hogwarts to search for the Horcrux.

At that moment however, a bear Patronus materialized from the walls of the cave startling Ron and Hermione awake.

It spoke in George's urgent voice. "Catherine's dead. We think it's Proudfoot, but he escaped before we could apprehend him. Be on your guard."

"What?" Ron blanched. Hermione put a shaking hand to her mouth, her eyes filling with tears. Sirius understood their despair—Catherine Johnson had been their friend and their tutor for the last few months. The loss was bound to hit them hard.

Sirius had no doubt that George and the others were mistaken in their attempt to apprehend Proudfoot, even though he seemed the obvious choice. Poor bloke, to have lost his friend and his girlfriend in one day…

"That murderous git!" exclaimed Ron, fuming.

"But how?" asked Hermione through her tears. "How could he have been the one to do it? The Vow should have f-finished him."

Sirius was certain that Hermione would figure out the real traitor in a jiffy if she put her keen mind to it.

He pulled out the mirror he had been keeping in his pocket. "Minerva?" he called, his voice slightly echoing in the cave. Out of the corner of his eyes, Sirius could see both Ron and Hermione turn towards him in unison.

Minerva McGonagall appeared frazzled in a tartan dressing gown when she popped up on the mirror before him. She frowned on seeing him. "Sirius? What are you—?"

"It's time," he said shortly.

Minerva's eyebrows flew into her hairline and she visibly paled. "Are you - are you certain? You said it wasn't until the holidays!"

"I know what I said, but we've had to change our plans," said Sirius. "The Order was ambushed last night. We have little time to waste."

Minerva's shock transformed into one of grave thoughtfulness, as she pursed her lips and narrowed her eyes.

Sirius added, "I'll get everything ready by six o' clock in the evening. Is that enough time?"

Minerva seemed hesitant but she still nodded. "Yes, that should be enough to prepare everything. Weasley and Granger?"

"Are here with me," said Sirius, nodding. "We'll meet you at the gates at six."

When Minerva disappeared off of the mirror, Hermione and Ron came over to him, trepidation evident in their faces.

"We're breaking into Hogwarts today?" asked Hermione in a high voice.

Sirius nodded. "The sooner we do so, the better."

Ron let out a breath of air, muttering, "Merlin help us."

oOo

Remus was tired. Dead tired.

The full moon had ended the night before and it had been especially brutal, not least because Sirius had not been there with him. Even though Remus never asked of him, he had come to expect Sirius' company since Christmas of last year, like he had always done during their better times. For Sirius himself to politely decline, while not offending to Remus, was still quite probably the first occurrence in his life.

The thought had been upsetting, coupled with the knowledge of Sirius admitting openly to not trusting any of them enough that he had made them sign the Unbreakable Vow.

You're being unreasonable, a rational voice said inside his head.

Sirius was a grown man and so was he. Remus couldn't possibly have expected him to join in on his monthly jaunts for the entirety of his life. And he knew Sirius had been busy all week with something – for Sirius to accompany him during his transformation and tire himself just for his sake would not be something Remus could allow on good conscience.

He breathed in the cool air and rubbed his face with his partially frost-nipped fingers.

He welcomed the voice of reason, which had apparently taken a break for three nights in a row, as it was inclined to during the full moons.

He let out a deep sigh, feeling the ache in his bones as he lay on the cold, damp ground. The sky had begun to lighten and a grey mist hung low in the morning air. The forest he had taken to frequenting for his full moons since he had moved to Potter Manor was sequestered in a mountain north of the village. The vicinity was without human inhabitation and perfect for werewolves to roam free without fear of attacking anyone.

And so it was with a little jolt of surprise that he looked up to see a Patronus emerge into the clearing where he lay shivering and half-naked.

The werewolf Patronus spoke in Dora's voice, "Headquarters was ambushed last night. We made it out but Death Eaters know the general location of Potter Manor. I'm stuck inside and being watched as we speak. Sirius took Ron and Hermione somewhere else. None of us are in immediate danger and Sirius says we're to lie low for a while. So I'd tell you to stay put wherever you are a little longer till Sirius can let us know what we ought to do next. I hope you're not too beat up from last night, my love."

Even as his heartbeat quickened at the dreadful news, he couldn't help but feel like he wanted to shut his eyes and sleep where he lay, uncaring of the chilly morning. Dora had said none of them were in immediate danger… he could be forgiven just this once… if he ignored the problems of the rest of the world and dealt with his own.

Remus must have slipped into a deep sleep for when he was woken up yet again by a Patronus, there was some warmth in the humid air and his stomach was complaining irritably about the lack of food.

The dog Patronus spoke in Sirius' voice. It seemed to be a general instruction asking all Order members to refrain from contacting him or Ron and Hermione until further notice.

Remus did not like the sound of that. The three of them had been planning something for months and he had a feeling that whatever it was would be put into effect without any more delay. If Sirius was going to do whatever it was that Dumbledore had asked him to, then the Order would have nothing else to do but wait.

But the Order had been ambushed, their Fidelius broken. Someone must have sold them out and Remus wondered if it had been the traitor amongst them that Sirius had been talking about.

He sat up and pulled on his shirt with shaking hands, wondering what he was going to do if he could not go to Potter Manor or the Combe Abbott.

His stomach made the decision for him as it grumbled loudly. Seeing no other choice, he Disapparated to Hogsmeade.

oOo

In the fifteen years that Remus had spent deprived of his best friends' company, he had become a rather frequent patron of the Hog's Head. This was especially true after some nights of his full-moon transformations. The wolf within him had taken a long time to grow accustomed to the solitary nights that it had taken it out on itself, leaving him bruised and bloodier than it had been during his younger years.

An ironic development, for he had always been alone during the full moons when he was a child. Then, it had not been as difficult as it was now.

Or, Remus thought morosely, he had forgotten the pain of it since his friends had taken it upon themselves to ease his burden. Remus had almost come to—not enjoy, but at least—not hate the idea of having his logic and his morals stripped away from him for three days each month.

But one act of betrayal from Peter had changed quite literally everything in less than a day. Remus had lost all of his friends, as had the wolf.

Broken and poor, getting through each day had seemed an insurmountable task, his body going through the motions and his mind bereft of any sort of appeal with life. The monthly transformations were agony and he yearned for company, even though the people he wanted to spend his time with were all gone.

After one particularly harsh night, he had made his way to the Hog's Head. Without a single Sickle on him and feeling so hungry that he had wondered if he would even make it past the night, he had stumbled over to the stool beside the dirty counter. Aberforth Dumbledore was one cantankerous warlock, but Remus had known the man for a long time since they both belonged to the first Order of the Phoenix.

While he was surly and generally disagreeable, he had not passed up the opportunity of helping Remus despite all of his grumbling. He had offered him food and a place to sleep if he ever had the need, all without a single Knut spent from Remus' pocket. Thus became their long-standing acquaintanceship, one that Remus had come to treasure as much as the trust his older brother had shown in himself as a boy.

It was with that thought that he arrived in Hogsmeade after he had taken some polyjuice potion.

The wizarding village was relatively empty at the afternoon hour, a light smattering of snow on the roads and atop the houses. Remus felt a cold shiver as he saw the cloaked Dementors floating up the road, straight towards his direction. He fisted his hands into his pockets, clutching on his wand as he hurried to the old pub, before they could cross paths.

He very nearly bolted into the front door and shut it behind him forcefully even though the Dementor was a good twenty feet away. He was breathing hard from the escape and a gruff voice grumbled nearby, "Absolute buggers the lot of 'em! Scaring away the handful of customers I do get! One day I'm going to throttle one of 'em with my bare hands—"

Remus let out a small sigh of relief on hearing Aberforth's voice. He made his way through the empty pub and plopped himself on a stool beside the counter.

"—and make it seem like those masked hoodlums did it! And what do you want?" finished Aberforth irritably.

Remus smiled tiredly. "Toddy, hot with a shot of Firewhiskey please."

Aberforth frowned in slight recognition at his specific tastes. "Firewhiskey from the barrel, I take it?"

"You always know what I want, Abe."

Aberforth's brilliant blue eyes widened slightly behind his grubby glasses. Without question he moved to fulfil his request and a moment later, Remus could smell the warm scent of the spiced tea brewing.

"Rough moon?" grunted Aberforth, pushing a mug of the steaming tea towards him before adding the Firewhiskey.

"I've had better."

"You shouldn't have come here," came Aberforth's muttered disapproval as he cast a wary glance at him while he sipped on his toddy. "You have a Dementor's Kiss hanging above your head, d'you know that?"

"I know," said Remus quietly. "I suppose desperate times call for desperate measures."

It was plain to see that Aberforth was inquisitive, but he refrained from asking Remus exactly what was bothering him.

Aberforth hadn't been much of an active member in the Order for the past year. Dumbledore had initially called him in while bringing together the Second Order, but he had been on the side-lines only, not as willing as he once was to participate in the so-called resistance. It was only a matter of time before it was agreed upon that he would no longer take an active part in the Order. He cited his age as a reason, but Remus knew there was more to it than that.

"Funny," said Aberforth warily. "I thought the Order took care of its own."

"The Order is currently in a bit of a spot. We're to lie low for a while."

"I see," said Aberforth, with his piercing eyes gazing at him in a manner starkly reminiscent of his brother. "So Sirius has decided to follow in the footsteps of my long-gone brother, eh?"

Remus paused in his act of taking a sip and frowned at him. "I don't understand what you—"

"Don't be thick, Remus," snapped Aberforth. "I've known you and Sirius since you were boys. For him to not accompany you during a full moon is practically unheard of."

Remus lowered the mug slowly, uncertain if his previous disappointment with Sirius had shown on his face. "We're not children, Aberforth. Sirius is busy as it is."

"Doing what? The Order hasn't done much in a while, has it?"

Remus raised an eyebrow at the old warlock and said mildly, "You don't have to pretend you still care about the Order, you know."

"Who says I don't?" snapped Aberforth.

"If you did, you would have stayed on."

Aberforth made a noise of incredulity before he sneered, "With my brother leading us again? I reckon I've learnt my lesson countless times that he's no good at looking after people."

"Dumbledore cared—"

"All Albus cared about was himself," said Aberforth loudly, speaking over him with a hard look in his eyes. "I've been saying that all along, Remus, but you and your friends were too busy worshipping him to not see it for yourself, until it was too late."

Remus had known Aberforth's perpetual misgivings against Albus for as long as he had known him. He and his friends had always chalked it up to an unfortunate case of sibling rivalry, Sirius even joking that it seemed extraordinarily similar to the relationship he shared with Regulus.

Aberforth was saying, "Look at the first Order. You can't tell me Dumbledore was actually bothered about any of you. He didn't even think to wonder how it was possible that Sirius could have betrayed James, did he? Didn't try to understand why Sirius had any reason at all to sell them out?"

Remus was quiet, the cutting words a stark reminder of the same thoughts he himself had had when he first learned about Sirius' innocence. For all Remus had believed Dumbledore's word that Sirius was a murderer, a part of him had still held on to the hope that his friend could never have done what Dumbledore and the Ministry had claimed him to – betraying James and Lily. He had witnessed James and Sirius together from beside them for years, even felt a tad jealous of their closeness. It was inconceivable, the idea of one betraying the other.

Even after Sirius' escape, Remus had fought with himself, not knowing why he wanted to refrain from giving the Ministry any intelligence about Sirius' Animagus or the fact that he possessed knowledge of all the secret tunnels inside Hogwarts.

That had been one of the biggest factors which had warmed Sirius to him soon after the truth came out. An entire year of his internal struggle had been worth it and had ended up saving his friendship.

"And the Prewetts!" continued Aberforth, unknowing of his musing. "They could have been saved if Albus hadn't stubbornly insisted on keeping all of the members' missions private. Just like you were asked to keep your werewolf meetings a secret and you and your friends paid the price for it."

Remus swallowed, unable to retort.

Aberforth had already seen the slight defeat in his posture and pressed on. "When Sturgis was released from Azkaban after those six months he spent doing his dirty work, Dumbledore should have thought to check if Malfoy's Imperius still had any hold over him, shouldn't he? We wouldn't have lost another of ours so soon otherwise."

Remus finally found his voice. "None of us had thought of it even in our wildest dreams. Malfoy couldn't possibly have any reason to hold on to the Imperius for six months while Sturgis was in Azkaban. What happened to Sturgis is the fault of all of us, not just Albus."

"Don't go making excuses for him, Remus. Are you telling me, 'the greatest wizard in all of magical Britain', could not have even supposed it was possible?"

Aberforth shook his head, an expression of disgust curling his lips. "I thought he would've had some sense beaten into him after all those years. But I saw with my own two eyes that it was anything but. He still treated us like pawns in his grand-scheme, still hadn't learnt a thing or two about putting other people first. I had no use being part of something so cold and sinister."

He glanced at Remus and nodded with a grimace. "I hope for your sake at least, that Sirius doesn't go down the same path."

oOo

Griselda Marchbanks breathed through her nose. At one hundred and forty three, she had no business taking part in infiltrating one of the most heavily guarded buildings in magical Britain.

She mentally berated herself for having succumbed to Sirius Black's guile. She had reckoned the boy would quite likely do with some good advice on how to get the Wizengamot on his side. Even if at least half of them were Imperiused and the rest threatened to do someone else's bidding, Griselda liked to think a revolution was possible if only someone had enough daring.

Black seemed to her, to possess the kind of nerve and ability to do something of the like. His escape from Azkaban and then subsequently turning up inside the Ministry itself, fighting against the very same men he had been accused of supporting, had stupefied her colleagues at the Wizengamot – Griselda had been witness to it.

And then the revelation that his godson was none other than Harry Potter, who was quite probably the most famous wizard since the last two decades, was simply the icing on the cake.

To overthrow the Ministry seemed right up his alley if he so desired.

Alas! All that the lad wanted to do was to use her to break into Hogwarts to get his hands on something seemingly very important to end the war.

He refused to reveal his reasons but when Minerva also vouched for him, Griselda had no other choice but to agree to go along with his wild plan.

She adjusted her grip on her tapestry bag as the carriage she was currently occupying treaded along the well-worn path in the twilight. There was an unnatural chill in the air as they began to get closer to the gates of Hogwarts. Griselda clenched her jaw when she saw the large, cloaked Dementors hovering near the gates.

The carriage stopped and Griselda felt a heavy coldness weigh down on her. She pulled out her wand and murmured, "Expecto patronum!"

Her eagle Patronus soared out of her wand, circling her carriage. The Dementors fell back just as a lamp came bobbing down the driveway past the gates, silhouetting two figures.

Griselda watched as the gates were opened and the figures came into stark view. She climbed out of the carriage.

"Good evening, Griselda," offered Minerva politely.

"Evening, Minerva," nodded Griselda as she stepped out, her tapestry bag dangling off her forearm.

Immediately Argus Filch moved forward with one of the Probity Probes that was rampant in the Ministry these days. Griselda tamped down on her annoyance and held out her hands slightly, as the caretaker passed the thing over her. "That will be all," said Griselda shortly, before turning her back towards him.

"Professor Marchbanks," wheezed Argus and Griselda turned back with one raised eyebrow. "Your bag," he said and Griselda pressed her lips together.

She held out the little bag towards him, opening it. "This? And what do you expect to find in it? Dragon eggs?"

Argus' eyes widened in undisguised fear as he merely peered into the little bag to inspect it. Seeing nothing of value, he gave a shake of his head. Griselda scoffed at him before she glanced at Minerva, who discreetly pocketed her wand, and motioned for her to follow along. Minerva's Confundus had worked flawlessly on Filch.

They made casual talk, commenting on the Quidditch season in loud tones as they made their way up to the castle.

Dinner was underway inside the Great Hall but Griselda was stopped at the entrance hall by two new faces. A lumpy witch with a pallid face and a stocky looking wizard stood waiting.

"And you are?" asked Griselda boomingly, not bothering to hide her disdain.

"The Deputy Headmaster and Headmistress," hissed the wizard contemptuously. "Amycus and Alecto Carrow."

Griselda gave Minerva a look, before speaking, "And why am I not being received by the Headmaster of Hogwarts?"

"Headmaster Snape is busy with affairs that don't concern you, Marchbanks," the woman, Alecto, said scornfully. "It's not his duty to wait on old witches who want to come and go as they please."

"Mind your manners, Carrow," snapped Griselda, bristling. "As the head of the Wizarding Examinations Authority, I have every reason to meet with the Headmaster. A number of governors and parents are having concerns regarding the horrendous curriculum in place. No doubt on account of the Headmaster's new and unskilled teacher recruits."

Alecto pulled out her wand, hissing. Griselda merely waved her hand dismissively and caused it to fly off her grip. Alecto blinked stupidly, as if unable to believe how Griselda had disarmed her without a wand. Amycus glanced at his own wand unsurely.

"Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to need a short respite before I have to see the Headmaster. I've come a long way and age is surely not on my side," she said loftily before turning towards Minerva. "If the Headmaster is unavailable, I will speak with you within the hour, Minerva."

"Now look here, Marchbanks," began Alecto. Griselda was satisfied to see her somewhat unnerved, despite the loathing on her face. "As Deputy Headmasters, you will talk with us or not at all."

"You're asking me to talk to you about your own incapability of being teachers in this school?" said Griselda slowly, before blinking. "I suppose there is hope for you after all."

Without waiting to see their expressions, Griselda gave her back to them and made her way up, Filch bustling along with her guiding her up to the room she was usually granted whenever she made her visit.

When Griselda had shut the door and locked it, she removed her scarf and placed the tapestry bag on the floor. She waved her wand and it snapped open, and out stepped Sirius Black, along with Ronald Weasley and Hermione Granger, two more of his Order members.

"—I'm just saying, a Homonculous charm would make it much easier," said the girl, Granger, likely carrying on a conversation that the three had been having while they had been camping inside her bag.

"That's a bit complicated and I'm not exactly at the top of my game to remember all of its intricacies," said Black, peering into a piece of parchment before adding thoughtfully. "Maybe if Remus and I put our heads to it and we had at least a few days between us, we could have done it. But Remus hasn't been available the last couple of days, has he?"

Weasley regarded Griselda apprehensively. "Did everything go without a hitch, Professor?"

"It seems the Headmaster is unavailable," said Griselda shortly.

Black's eyes snapped up to meet hers even as Weasley exclaimed in relief, "That's bloody brilliant!"

"Snape's not here?" asked Black, eyes narrowed. "Minerva didn't mention that earlier."

Griselda felt her mouth twist in a grimace. "I wanted to question Minerva, but the Carrows are a right piece of work. Talking to her alone seems nigh impossible. I'm to speak with them instead of Snape."

The bushy-haired Granger turned to Black. "Well, isn't it obvious, Sirius? Why else would Snape be unavailable? He's a Death Eater. He's probably off to do whatever You-Know-Who wants him to do."

Black seemed very concerned by that information. At that moment, there was a loud crack. A house-elf drowning in layers of jumpers and a tea-cosy for a hat had Apparated into their room. It bowed low as soon as it set its eyes on the three of them. "Miss and sirs! Dobby is delighted to help Harry Potter's friends!"

"It's good to see you too, Dobby!" said Weasley beaming.

The elf snapped its fingers and two vials appeared out of thin air, containing a few strands of hair by the likes of it. It stretched out its thin hands handing each of them a vial.

"Thanks, Dobby," said Granger kindly, taking the vial that the elf offered. She took out another flask from her pocket which Griselda knew contained Polyjuice Potion and added her hair into it as did Weasley.

"Professor," said Black, rolling up the parchment in his hand, "you can go on ahead to meet with the Carrows. I know you said you can handle them, but I would be comforted to know if you also took Minerva with you."

Griselda appreciated his concern. "The Headmaster's Office is not without its advantages. Whilst being surrounded by all the portraits of the Headmasters and Headmistresses of Hogwarts, I'm certain nothing untoward will happen, Black. Even with the Carrows."

Black nodded. "Keep them distracted for as long as you can. Minerva will let you know when it's safe for you to head back here."

Potter's friends had already taken the Polyjuice Potion and were transforming in a corner of the room. Griselda took one look at the faces of the red-haired girl and black-haired boy before she glanced at Black again. "Good luck."

With that she left the room, hoping everything went without a hitch.

oOo

Remus had rested at the Hog's Head and after some food inside him, was alert enough to want to check on the Order in Sirius' absence.

Before he could wonder how exactly he ought to meet up with Dora, what with the knowledge that she was being watched by Death Eaters, he received her Patronus asking him to meet with her as soon as he could at Harry's house.

Perplexed by the turn of events, Remus had made his way to an empty Potter Manor, devoid of any Death Eaters.

Dora was relieved on seeing him, but instead of her usual kiss in welcome after a full moon, she spoke hurriedly, "I found him! I found Harry! He was here and then he took me to Gringotts and—"

Remus' eyebrows flew into his hairline. "What?"

Dora launched into the incident that had happened merely an hour ago. Remus was certain his stomach had flipped at least thrice by the time she was done with her story.

Not only had Harry turned up, he had Imperiused Dora? To break into Gringotts? What on earth?!

"Are you sure it was him?" asked Remus gruffly, incensed by the idea of Dora being on the receiving end of an Unforgivable curse. "Was it an impostor? Did you ask him the security question?"

"I didn't ask him any question, but it was Harry," she added hurriedly when Remus became enraged at the idea of her making such a simple mistake. "How else do you think he could come inside here with the Fidelius still around?"

"But Sirius isn't here, is he?" Remus rounded on her. "If he's been caught…"

Dora was already shaking her head before he could complete his statement. "It was Harry, Remus. I know him. Besides, he didn't make me do anything untoward when he'd Imperiused me. He was in a hurry and only wanted to ensure he could get me to comply as soon as he could. I'm not saying that isn't wrong. But nonetheless, it was clear to me he was Harry alright."

Remus still could not wrap his mind around the idea that Harry would resort to casting the Imperius curse on anyone, let alone Dora.

"But that's not all," she said abruptly before pulling him by the hand and into the house. "Look what I found here."

Dora went up to the armchair by the fireplace that Sirius loved to occupy nearly always. There were a number of quills strewn haphazardly across the writing desk beside a half-full ashtray. Clearly, Sirius had spent a lot of time here, but Remus realized there was no parchment.

"Look," repeated Dora, as she parsed through a single scroll of parchment that was kept by the mantelpiece before handing it to him. Remus was quick to recognize the rough sketch of a hand-drawn map of Hogwarts.

He glanced up at Dora with a raised eyebrow.

Dora elaborated, "I found these last night. I went through it all – there were more which, incidentally, disappeared this morning – Sirius is definitely planning to break into Hogwarts. With Ron and Hermione if what I'd seen in the other parchments made any sense. And I have a feeling he's going to do it today."

Remus frowned. "What's this got to do with Harry breaking into Gringotts?"

"I don't know," said Dora. "But Harry broke into Gringotts of all places to get his hands on Hufflepuff's cup. I haven't a clue why, but what if Sirius is going to do something similar in Hogwarts? What if all of this had to with that mission that they claim Dumbledore gave them?"

Remus had no doubt that Dora was making sense.

Dora continued her reasoning fervently, looking somewhat anxious. "The Death Eaters had been waiting around Potter Manor since last night, but were gone by the time Harry made his way here. When Bellatrix came into Gringotts, she seemed to be expecting a break-in was going to happen today and she was right. Those scrolls of parchment that Sirius had used to lay out his plan disappeared today as well. I don't quite understand yet how or why all of this is linked, but I have a feeling something big is going to happen."

Remus didn't quite know what to believe. On one hand, it seemed a stretch to imagine anything of import could be occurring behind those unconnected events. But Remus shared the same intuition as Dora did. It would be foolish to dismiss them – Harry, who had never once contacted Sirius had found his way back home, even if for a short while and even if all he needed was Dora's Metamorphmagus abilities; Sirius, who had instructed the Order to refrain from contacting him or Ron and Hermione. And then, the information that Sirius had been planning to break into Hogwarts.

He was certain Dora was right.

Remus nodded. "We need to regroup with the Order."

oOo

A/N: Here's some trivia to interest you: every single incident of Remus changing to a werewolf corresponds with the real full moon dates of the year 1997.

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