Granvile Lace

The morning sun had tickled Claudia's eyelids, but she refused to open them. On some level, she was sure that last night was a dream and, if only she kept her eyes shut, it might come back. She would be with Sirius again…

But then, she noticed a sensation. Something, or someone, was brushing the top of her hand.

It was not a dream. Claudia inhaled and peeled her eyes open. A somewhat blurry Sirius was laying on a pillow right next to her, playing with her ring.

"Morning," she whispered.

"Morning," he replied with a smile and then gripped her turquoise signet ring between his fingers. "What's this one?"

"It's for work," she said with a yawn. "Gives me access to secret papers and stuff."

"And this one?" he moved his fingers to hold her opal ring.

"That one's from Moody."

"Eh?" Sirius uttered in apparent disbelief. "Never had him pinned as someone who likes jewellery."

Claudia chuckled. "It's a dark detector, really..."

"That's more like him…" Sirius smirked. "How's the old man? Still mad?"

"Madder, if anything," Claudia sighed. "This one time…" She sat up and put on her glasses. Talking without them was somewhat disorientating. "He ate some bad prawns in a pub and now he's convinced that someone's trying to poison him." She looked into the opal ring, which was as clear as day, and mindlessly turned it around her finger a few times. "But he's one of the very few people from my old life who isn't dead and still talks to me," she whispered.

"He must have been the first one to think I was a Death Eater."

"He didn't, actually." Claudia shook her head and tore her eyes from the ring. Moody would have skinned her alive if he knew where she was right now. "He had the same theory as I did."

"That's something, I guess-" Sirius said and planted a gentle kiss on Claudia's shoulder. "How's everyone else… How's Remus?"

Claudia shrugged. "No idea. I haven't spoken to him in twelve years."

"Why?"

"You know why…"

Sirius dropped his head against the headboard. "Can't believe he'd really think I did it," he said with a sigh.

"Well, you didn't exactly make yourself look innocent…" she whispered and looked away. She lacked the courage to tell him why Remus thought he did it. She could barely bring herself to recall the memory, let alone recount it. Besides, any conversation with Sirius about it would sure reveal that, for a few drunk days, she may have believed it herself. And that would unravel this moment and destroy the peace they both so needed.

"What's wrong?" he interrupted her thinking.

"Nothing…"

"Claude?"

"I forgot you were always able to read my face…" she said with an awkward chuckle. Sirius gave her a long inquisitive look, but said nothing, so Claudia continued. "Reminiscing about the end of the war isn't exactly fun for me."

Sirius reached for her hand and started at her for a few seconds. "I heard some stuff when they brought my cousin and the Lestranges in… I don't-"

Tears forced themselves into Claudia's eyes. She was not even thinking about that!

Sirius, clearly noticing her distress, pressed his face against Claudia's temple and kissed her. "I'm sorry," he whispered. "All this death…"

"Alice isn't dead-" Claudia mumbled and wiped her eyes. It was hard, but she had to continue, before Sirius got his hopes up. "But she has no idea who she is, who Neville is. She's been living in St Mungo's all these years. Oblivious to the world around her. Hasn't said a word…" she added tearfully.

Sirius wrapped his arms around Claudia's head. "I'm so sorry, Claude. I had no idea."

She took a few shaky breaths. It would have been so easy just to break down, but that was not what he needed from her right now. He was the one who needed to be mended, needed to be fed, needed to heal. He needed her to hold it together for a little longer. How hard could that be? She managed to keep it together for twelve years. What was another day…

"I'm fine," she whispered. "It's been a long time…" Claudia looked at her watch. It was nearly eight in the morning. Soon, the aurors watching her would sure notice she was gone.

"It's getting late, you should go back-" Sirius began to sit up. "You mustn't get caught. Not on my account."

Claudia chuckled and pulled a pillow over her head. How did he always know? "I don't want to..."

He patted her lower back. "Come on, don't be reckless."

Claudia had to laugh again. Her? Reckless? Who was Sirius to accuse her of that? But she had to acknowledge that he was right, and so, very grudgingly and very slowly, she got dressed. "When will I see you again? And before you say we shouldn't-" she added quickly. "I don't care if it's not completely safe. I need to see you."

"Let me get to Hogwarts first, get settled. We can see each other after..."

But that was not good enough for Claudia. They had no means of communicating. They had to agree more detail than that. "I'll come on the Sunday before Christmas, once everyone goes home. I don't think the soul jewel will get me past the Hogwarts' apparition shield, so we need to think of something else." She paused to think. "Shame the Shrieking Shack is sealed from the Hogsmeade side."

Sirius' eyes had lit up as if he was sixteen again and planning to get into trouble. "Not necessarily. Dumbledore taught Remus the spell with which it's sealed in case he wanted to use it on his home during full moons."

"And Remus told you."

"Obviously," Sirius scratched his head. "Let me think, let me think… Occludo Omnino. Or something like that. If only I could remember the counter-spell."

"Don't worry about that, I can find a counter-spell," Claudia said. "That settles it then. We'll meet in the shack."

The mischief had gone out of Sirius' eyes. "I'm still not sure this is a good idea."

"At six o'clock. Sunday before Christmas," Claudia repeated. "We aren't debating this further."

"Alright-" Sirius relented. "It's not that I don't want to see you. Quite the opposite." He brushed her hair with his fingers.

"I know…"

"Anything else I should know before I get to Hogwarts?"

Claudia thought for a moment, wondering if there was any point of telling him not to go. But there was not. Yes, she was scared for him, but she also understood why he had to do this. Why he had to go find Peter. As for his original question… She paused, then grimaced- There was something. Something he was not going to take well. Her attempt to find the right words got interrupted.

"Claude-" he said slowly, as if he knew she was hiding something big from him. "What is it?"

"Snape-"

Sirius' features hardened. "What about him?" he hissed.

"He's the new Potions Master…"

"WHAT?" Sirius barked. "HOW DID THE DEATH EATER SCUM?" His chest was rising and falling, but then his face melted into an uncertain smile. "You got me. Very funny-"

She put her hand on his shoulders as gently as she could and continued. "I'm not kidding… It's true."

"But Dumbledore would never-" Sirius' anger was rising again.

"Dumbledore doesn't give a shit," Claudia sighed. "He says Snape changed sides half-way through the war, became a spy for the Order."

"Bullshit! We would've known."

Claudia scoffed. "Forgot what I said? We were kids, pawns… We were never told the whole truth. No way we would have known Dumbledore had an agent among the Death Eaters."

"But- Snivellus told Voldemort about the Prophecy… He may as well have killed James and Lily."

"I know…" Claudia tried to hold his hand, but he snatched it back. "But remember why you're going to Hogwarts, alright?" she said, trying to hide the hurt in her voice. How could he push her away like this? After everything- "Peter's there. And killing Snape isn't going to help you catch him."

"I can kill them both."

Claudia bit her lip. This was why everyone thought he was a mass murderer. The anger in his eyes. The tension in his jaw. The inability to resist an impulse. This is why they all thought he had it in him. Because in some ways, he did- She pushed the thought away, as there was no point starting an argument. "Prioritise Peter-" she hissed.

Sirius grumbled something incomprehensible and turned away. Claudia stared back at him for a while but then merely sighed. She may have not seen him for twelve years, but there was still no point arguing with Sirius when he was in this mood. Any tenderness in his mannerism was totally gone. It was all determination now. His mind was made up and no one, not even Claudia, could change it.

"Let's get out of here," he said after a few seconds.

"Yeah…"

As they packed up the room, Sirius refused to take any of the things Claudia brought for fear it would tie her to him if he got caught. He just about agreed to use her cloak to get out of the hotel and back into the alleyway where they met the night prior. Once there, and once she promised not to confide in anyone about their meeting, they stared at each other, clearly uncertain about what to say next.

"This is why I couldn't do the goodbye last time," Sirius broke the silence. "I suck at this…"

"That's a shit excuse for what you did to me, Sirius, and you know it-" she barked.

"So, you are mad at me," he snarled. "I was beginning to wonder when the yelling would start."

"I'm exceptionally mad at you. But-" Claudia took a few breaths to calm down, walked over to him and placed both of her hands on his chest. "I'm so relieved you are here that I'm actually minded to forgive you."

Some of the tension left Sirius' face and he hugged her. "I know I'm a nightmare, I'm sorry…"

She shrugged. "I'm a nightmare too." Then, she lifted herself on her tiptoes and kissed him. "I'll see you at Christmas," Claudia whispered as their lips parted.

"Claude, I still don't know if that's a good idea-"

She put her finger across his lips. "I'll see you at Christmas."

Sirius smiled weakly, gave Claudia a slight nod, transformed and then run off. Meanwhile, Claudia made her way back to London. She did not fancy getting splinched again, so she did not try to apparate all the way back without the aid of the jewel. Instead, she snuck into one of Edinburgh's wizarding pubs under her invisibility cloak and took the Floo network to Manchester. From there, she apparated home.

But when she landed in her hallway, she immediately noticed an unusual noise coming from the landing at the top of the stairs. Still under the cloak, she looked at Moody's opal ring and saw a couple of men gesturing at each other in front of what was unmistakable her front door. She had seen them before, skulking around Gower Mews… They were aurors.

"Did you hear that?" one of them said. "Someone's downstairs."

The other auror leaned over the banister and looked right at the spot where Claudia was standing under her cloak. "There is no one here. You're imagining things."

"I'm not, I swear!"

"Let's just get in there and get it over with before Lace demotes us."

Claudia swallowed dry and then, as silently as she could, backed out into the street and ran around the block so that she could more easily apparate on the flat roof that served as her flat's makeshift balcony. If she valued her position at the Ministry (and her freedom), she had to get inside before those two morons managed to break in. She cast a spell to open the bedroom window from the outside and climbed in.

Relieved that the two aurors were still audibly arguing outside of her door, she hastily changed into a t-shirt and shorts, ruffled her hair, and grabbed a toothbrush. With the deception set, she took a few deep breaths and swung her front door wide open. The two aurors, who seemed to have been huddled over her lock with their wands out, jumped so high they nearly hit their heads on the low ceiling.

"Can I help you?" she said, faking a yawn.

"We knocked-" one of them recovered enough composure to speak. "There was no answer. We just-" he trailed off, unable to find a suitable excuse.

"Just wanted to check Black hadn't murdered you," the other auror filled in.

"Well, he hasn't…"

"Why did you not answer the door?"

"I was sleeping."

"Rather heavily…" the older of the aurors said as he straightened his back, clearly trying to intimidate Claudia with his height.

"Have you heard of sleeping draught?" Claudia smirked and then rested her hands on her hips. Below the veneer of confidence, however, her heart was beating fast. This was one fucking close call. "Look, I'm clearly alive. And I'm not going to invite you in for a coffee, so you might as well fuck right off."

The aurors grumbled and began to back down the stairs.

"And tell your boss," she yelled after them- "that if I catch you trying to break into my flat without a formal authorisation again, he can expect to have to answer for himself in front of the Minister!"

She shut the door behind them and dropped to the floor. As the adrenaline washed away, Claudia realised her hands were trembling. If she left Edinburgh five minutes later, or forgot to put the cloak on before apparating, she would be on her way to a Ministry holding cell.

As she got ready for work, Claudia's mind wondered away from the aurors on her tail, and onto how she left things with Sirius. So much had been unsaid between them, both good and bad. But it was a start. He was free and, by some miracle, still seemed largely himself. Unlike the other Azkaban detainees she had met in her line of work.

Wondering how Sirius managed to preserve his humanity, Claudia made it to the Ministry's atrium. But something was odd. It was quiet. Too quiet for a morning rush-

And then, it hit her. It would have indeed been too quiet for a Monday morning. Except, it was not a Monday today… It was a Saturday. She chuckled and shook her head. Well, since she was here, she might as well look for that counter-spell to get into the Shrieking Shack. It did not take her long and as an added bonus, she also found papers describing what seemed like a set of exceptionally powerful protective charms that could keep Lace and his lot well at bay.

When Claudia slowly strolled back to the Department of Mysteries on an actual Monday morning, her flat even more impenetrable than before. She was just checking changes to her schedule with Auberon, when the Head Auror blasted out of Agrippa's office.

"This place is a disgrace," he sneered as he walked past Claudia and out of the Department.

Claudia only had a second to contemplate what happened between him and Agrippa, when she heard a loud crash through her boss' door. Everyone in the outer office jumped to their feet and looked at each other.

"I got this," Claudia mumbled and moved towards Agrippa's office. If anyone had experience of dealing with angry aurors, it was her.

Agrippa was leaning against a bookshelf, rubbing his shin. There was no doubt how his injury had occurred – one of his side tables was turned over and the contents of the drawers splattered over half his office floor.

"Aren't you a bit old to be kicking furniture about?" She walked over to his desk and poured him a cup of tea.

Agrippa dropped into an armchair and Claudia forced the tea into his hands. "I know you aren't supposed to tell me anything," she said. "And I'm not asking you to. But please talk to me. I hate seeing you like this." She paused and sat down opposite him. "Particularly because I've got a feeling it's kind of my fault…"

"He wants us to give him the technology to track all magical signatures. Says he has the backing of the Minister."

These words had a similar effect on Claudia as if someone poured a bucket of icy water over her head. "Is it within our capability?" she asked, half-knowing what the answer would be.

"I shouldn't be telling you," Agrippa said, turned his face towards one of the magical windows that brought fake sunlight into his office, and then took a long sip of his tea.

"You know I can be discreet…" she implored him.

"That's not the issue…" Agrippa paused for a few moments and sighed. "We have the capability already. It's one of our best guarded secrets."

"Who knows about it?" Claudia asked, desperately trying to steady her breath. She was expecting they had been working on tracing. But not this… "Is it Gordon's department?" Her brain was working at million miles. If Gordon knew, it would be in Fudge's hands in a matter of days.

"No, only K.P. It's his own work."

"You have to bury it in the inner sanctum," Claudia replied. "Or better still, burn it."

"You would say that… Wouldn't you?" Agrippa said and turned back to stare into Claudia's eyes so intensely, she feared for a moment that he was going to try to read her mind.

She did not blame Agrippa for not trusting her. Given everything that had happened, he would be a fool to do so. But this tracing technology was bigger than that. It felt like an age had passed before Claudia found the right words. "Sirius isn't an idiot. He knows tracing is a possibility. He isn't going to use magic-" Only to fix his bloody teeth, Claudia remembered but banished the thought. "So, surrendering this research won't help them catch him, but it will set an awful precedent. You cannot tell them you've got it."

"I've never outright lied to Fudge." Agrippa scratched the back of his neck. "I'm not cut out for this."

"It's not that hard," she smirked. "It's our one duty, Agrippa. Test the limits of magic and make sure no one abuses it. And that includes the Minister." Agrippa said nothing, so Claudia continued. "You know I'm right… Otherwise you wouldn't have been destroying your office earlier."

"Perhaps."

"You wouldn't just be giving this to Fudge. But to every future Minister of Magic. And we have no idea what kind of bastard is going to come next."

Agrippa sighed. "Let me talk to K.P."

Claudia knew that this was the right time to let the issue rest, for now. The last thing she wanted was to make Agrippa angry and determined to prove her wrong. She stood up and said her goodbyes, making a mental note to tell Sirius not to use any magic…

For the next few weeks, Claudia woke up every morning, desperate to talk to Sirius. She wanted him to be right beside her as she went from meeting to meeting, listening to her gripes and keeping her calm. And most of all, she wanted him next to her when she was tossing around in her bed at night, with her brain on fire. The aurors, the tracing, Fudge… Of course, she was happy that Sirius was no longer in Azkaban, but it also felt as if her world was getting smaller and smaller, giving her little space to breathe. And there was only one person she wanted to talk to about any of this. But that was not possible because that person was running across Scottish moors disguised as a dog.

And just like that, Halloween had arrived. And, as it fell on a Sunday, it also coincided with her regular meeting with Alastor Moody. They abandoned lunch since he refused to eat anything anyway and went instead for an evening drink. Her old boss was already waiting in the East London pub he had picked out when she got there. It was dark, and his scarred face looked even gloomier than usual in the unforgiving light of the fireplace that illuminated him.

Claudia waved at him, ordered her drink and Moddy's second round at the bar, and made her way to the table. But Moody's expression had not changed. She sat down, and he was still boring his eyes into her, making her wonder if he had been petrified.

"What?" she said with an uncertain laugh, hoping to break the ice.

"Just trying to ascertain how much trouble you're in-" he mumbled without breaking eye contact.

"They've got nothing on me, just scare tactics." She shrugged.

"Oscar said that Lace's got it in for you."

"Lace is a moron…"

Moody finally moved. He leaned in and furrowed his brows. "He's a well-connected moron, and a diligent one," he said in a patronising tone. "And I don't believe for a second you don't know where Black is. I knew you two, remember?"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Claudia never enjoyed being told off, even less so now when she was well past being a child.

"It means that I've never met two people quite so obviously unable to stay away from each other," he hissed.

"He hasn't done it- He's innocent-" Claudia whispered, toying with ignoring Sirius' plea and explaining everything. But she did not get the chance-

"Claudia," Moody dropped his voice into a menacing whisper. "You need to be careful. You have a profile now, you're a much bigger prize than you were back then. They're all out to get you."

Claudia was saved from further berating by the arrival of their drinks. Moody was being typically paranoid. And she was very much done discussing it. Sirius was right, no one was prepared to hear him out just yet. And a bit of heat from the Auror Office was not something Claudia could not handle. So, she purposefully changed the subject. "We might all have a bigger problem if Fudge gets his way." It was Claudia's turn to whisper. "When you were still at the Auror Office, do you ever remember the top brass wanting to develop tracing of magical signatures of adults? To help with solving cases?"

"Do I remember?" Moody snarled. "Crouch was desperate for it. But it's not possible, doesn't exist-" he trailed off.

Claudia said nothing. She picked up her coke and slowly took a sip, knowing full well that Moody would be able to put two and two together.

"Does Fudge have it?"

Claudia shook her head.

"Do your lot have it?"

She decided that best approach would be to pretend she did not hear Moody's question and let him make his own conclusion. "Fudge and the aurors are putting a lot of pressure on Agrippa."

"Agrippa wouldn't-"

"Agrippa is cracking, let me tell you."

"But if they can track magical signatures, they can track anything. Any specific spell being cast, even a word being spoken. Would wipe out any sense of freedom or privacy."

"You don't have to tell me."

"You have to stop this!" Moody hissed. "Talk to Agrippa, he trusts you!"

"I'm not sure he trusts me on this one, given… You know."

"This is bigger than Black."

"I told him that already. I think it is sinking in but apparently lying doesn't come naturally to him."

"So you lot do have it then…"

She shrugged. "I really can't say any more."

Moody frowned but decided not to push her. But his mood was ruined anyway. He spent the rest of their drinks ranting about the Ministry and anyone who worked in it. Normally, Claudia would be well up for it, but she had more important things on her mind today so excused herself at the first opportunity and headed home.

When Claudia entered Gower Mews, it was nearly pitched black. She could barely see the two aurors stationed in front of her flat emerge from their poor hiding places.

"Where have you been?" one of them asked once they stepped into the light of the streetlamp.

"I don't have a curfew-"

"Answer them!" Granville Lace's face was now illuminated also. What on earth was he doing here?

Claudia crossed her arms. "In a pub-"

"With whom?"

"Why do you need-" She pushed past him and began walking up the stairs.

"With whom?" he yelled and yanked her arm backwards.

"Alastor Moody, if you must know…" she answered and shook Lace's grip off her. She tried to sound casual, but was undeniably taken aback by the strength of the questioning. "What's happening?" she added as she began to climb the stairs.

"Your boyfriend tried breaking into Hogwarts tonight."

Claudia's stomach sunk and her right hand mindlessly held onto her left forearm. "Did you catch him?" she whispered, unable to feel anything through her coat. She was just at the top of the stairs.

"Wouldn't you like to know?" Lace barked.

"I would." Claudia rediscovered some of her composure and turned around. "Since your people were telling me just the other day that he's been trying to kill me."

For a moment, Lace considered his options. "He got away," he said finally.

"Too bad-" Claudia smirked, took a couple steps to her apartment, and shut the door… She stumbled towards the sofa and dropped into it with a loud sigh. "Who's reckless now," she uttered and dropped her face into her hands. That was one way to settle in at Hogwarts- A heads up would have been nice.

She could just imagine the mess she was going to encounter tomorrow. Sirius' escape was going to be all over the newspapers, everyone will be staring at her again. And poor Neville-

Claudia picked up her quill and some parchment and wrote a short note to her godson.

''I know you must be scared, Nev. And I know what I said back in the summer must be sounding really hollow right now. But please try to trust me. I can explain more at Christmas. You should come visit me. Love, Claudia.'

The next few days were just as Claudia predicted, awful… But knowing that Sirius was still free gave her the strength to keep going. And on Monday morning, Claudia was called to Crouch's office for her first meeting of the World Cup Task Force. As she walked down the grand corridors of the International Magical Cooperation Department, she saw a somewhat familiar figure behind the desk in front of Crouch's office. With every step she took, she hoped that her eyes were deceiving her.

"I have a meeting with Crouch," Claudia said to the secretary as formally as she could.

Her stomach turned when the secretary looked up. "You are the Avery he has scheduled?" she asked, her eyes glowing. "I haven't see you since-" the woman stood up.

"Since Hogwarts," Claudia replied. "What lovely time we had sharing a dorm for seven years." Her voice was dripping with sarcasm and resentment. Penelope, one of her awful Hogwarts roommates, was the last person she expected and wanted to see here.

"Aren't you a bit young to be heading up a department?" Penelope asked with a smile, seemingly ignorant of Claudia's bitter tone.

"Aren't you a bit rich to be working at the Ministry?" Claudia hissed, in a desperate attempt to banish those awful memories that made her feel so very small.

Penelope's smile had vanished. "My father remarried, and mum and I lost everything. It's been horrible-"

"Right," Claudia mumbled, wishing with all her heart that Crouch would emerge and end this excruciating conversation. But instead, it got a whole lot worse. Claudia's eyes travelled to a picture on Penelope's desk and the smiling face of her first boyfriend was staring back at her.

Penelope noticed what Claudia had just seen. "We're engaged…" she said, her smile returning.

"Good for you-" Claudia looked at her watch. Why was Crouch late? Today of all days? The one time she would actually have been pleased to see him.

"You're engaged too?" Penelope asked and pointed at Claudia's left hand. "That's some ring. Can I have a look?"

Penelope's familiarity was beginning to really bother Claudia. Did she not remember what happened when they were at school? "Is your boss going to be long?" Claudia ignored her old classmate's question.

"Shouldn't be, he's usually pretty punctual." Penelope replied and then gasped. "You were engaged to Black, weren't you? I read it in the papers. Is that who the ring is from?"

Claudia was about to raise her voice and tell Penelope to fuck off, when the door to Crouch's office flung open.

"Where is Ludo?" the Head of International Magical Cooperation barked.

"I'll send for him, Sir," Penelope replied meekly.

"I told you to remind him to be on time," Crouch snapped at his secretary.

"I tried-" Penelope stuttered and averted her gaze.

"I don't want you to try," Crouch yelled. "I want you to actually do the things I ask you to do. For once…"

For a second, Claudia contemplated whether to come to Penelope's aid, as Ludo being late was unlikely to be her fault. But she ultimately decided against it and followed Crouch into his office. She did not owe Penelope anything.

As Crouch sat down behind his desk, Claudia observed his face for a few seconds. It was clear he had lost a lot of weight and looked paler than ever. It made her insides somewhat warm to see him visibly miserable.

"I'm not entirely sure what the Minister thought I could help with," she said finally. "Is there a Department of Mysteries angle that I'm missing?"

Crouch sighed. "We aren't anywhere near that level of detail. We're months behind schedule. I'm handling the international negotiations – who gets invited, who gets what VIP tickets," Crouch explained in a weak voice. "Ludo is supposed to be dealing with the sporting side – team's requirements, rules… Which leaves the domestic side; a total mess."

"Domestic side?"

"Security, rules about what can be brought into the country by foreign wizards, that kind of stuff. Except every single person who knows about security is busy with-" he looked up a Claudia. "Never mind…"

Claudia would have thought that remembering Sirius and what he meant to her would ignite the old Crouch, but she was wrong. He looked just as defeated as before. Slowly, he continued. "Look, I need all the help I can get. And you're clearly capable. I'm prepared to forget everything, if you could just deal with-"

The rest of Crouch's sentence got drowned out, as Claudia clutched the side of the chair. Oh, how gracious to him to forget everything. How arrogant of him to assume he was the one who was meant to be doing the forgetting… Bastard-

"Do we have a problem?" Crouch asked, his eyes narrowing.

Claudia cleared her throat and took a breath, trying to control the fury that must have been visible on her face for Crouch to ask that question. "No problem," she said in an icy tone. "What needs to be done?"

Crouch chose to believe her words rather than her demeanour and moved on. "I need someone to devise the rules of what can be brought into the country by foreign wizards. Your stint in the Auror Office should help, however brief..."

"It should, shouldn't it…" Claudia could not resist. He clearly remembered what he did to her. And yet, not a hint of remorse?

Crouch looked at his watch. "Bagman clearly isn't coming…"

"I'll see you next week then." Claudia got up and backed out of the office before she snapped and cursed him. She stormed past Penelope and into her office.

Without even knowing what was happening, her boot met with the top of her coffee table and, in an instant, Claudia was hopping on one leg, growling with pain.

She heard laughter and turned towards the door-

"What did the Head Auror do to you?" Agrippa asked, standing in the door of her office.

"Crouch-"

"Understood…"

"And to think he could have been the Minister of Magic if it wasn't for the mess with his son."

Agrippa sighed. "You don't have to labour the point, Claudia. I spoke to K.P."

"And?"

"We're going to keep it back for the time being."

"For the time being?"

Agrippa silence her with a gesture. "I understand your point, Claudia."

"If you did, you would destroy it. Or let me." She limped closer to him, trying to ignore her pain. "Just tell me where the research is. I'll sneak in a burn it. And if anyone ever asks questions, you'll have a fall guy. No blood on your hands so to speak."

Agrippa shook his head. "I won't let you do that."

"So, you rather live with a risk that this will get into the wrong hands?"

"That's a risk I'm prepared to live with."

"But-"

"There is no but, Claudia. I'm an Unspeakable first and foremost. This is amazing work. I will not be responsible for destroying years of research on a whim."

"A whim? The implications-"

"The decision is made."

"Fine," she hissed. "I just hope it won't come back and bite you in the arse."

"If it does, I've got you to fix it." His face softened. "I'll even let you destroy it all if it comes to it."

Claudia could not help but smile. "I'm not a very good Unspeakable, am I?"

"No… But you are the deputy I need. I hope this Black thing will blow over soon."

"You and me both."

Claudia did not have to wait long to find out how things could have gotten worse for her. On the third of November, her morning was interrupted by a loud knock. Waiting at the door was none other than Granville Lace, triumphantly waving a piece of paper.

"We got the search warrant!" he beamed and pushed his way into the flat.

"Good for you," Claudia said bitterly, trying to hide her nervousness. As she watched the aurors pile into her flat, the only thing she could think about was that if they found the entrance to the attic, she was done for. It made her stomach do several somersaults.

The aurors searched for an hour, turning out every drawer, lifting every carpet and commenting on every picture of Sirius they managed to get their hands on. That, she could take. But every time one of the aurors got anywhere near the hidden entrance to the attic, Claudia's heart climbed into her throat, making it impossible for her to hear or say anything.

But the enchantments were working, and Lace was becoming increasingly more snappy with this team.

"Something's got to be in the piano," he barked at the greenest-looking auror, who must have been the trainee. "I want it searched. Smash it to bits if you have to."

"Don't you dare-" Claudia jumped to her feet, quite prepared to defend that piano with her life. But someone pulled her back.

"Boss, it's a piano," Oscar's voice flooded Claudia's ears. He walked over to Lace and took him aside. "We don't want to look too desperate, do we? Smashing musical instruments isn't the right choice here," he whispered, probably to make Lace believe he did not want Claudia to overhear.

"Fine," Lace hissed. "But get her out of here. I cannot stand her watching me with that smug face." He was too angry to whisper.

Oscar complied with his boss' order and steered Claudia towards the kitchen.

"How come you are here?" she asked. "Do they not know just how far back we go?"

"My boss-" he began to explain.

"Charming man…" she could not resist jumping in.

"Well, he certainly thinks so," Oscar uttered and then took a step or two closer to Claudia to make sure they were not overheard. "He doesn't tend to have a very high opinion of women, you see. He thinks since we're close, you must be in love with me. And eventually, you'll tell me everything you know."

"What a moron…"

"No argument from me."

"Coffee?"

"I should really be working-"

"Isn't having a chat over a cup of coffee exactly the sort of work your idiot boss wants you to be doing?"

"Fair point-"

Claudia laughed and poured out a couple cups of coffee from a pot she brew earlier. The momentary silence also provided a good opportunity for her to eavesdrop on how the search was going. No one was screaming jubilantly, which was surely a good sign.

"You seem happy-" Oscar interrupted her thought process.

"That's not a crime," Claudia smiled and took a sip of coffee.

Oscar chuckled. "Well, in this case it probably is-"

Claudia clasped her mouth with her hands to stop herself from laughing and alerting all the other aurors about the inappropriateness of her conversation with Oscar.

"Shut up-" she said with a laugh.

Oscar laughed too and then took a few sips of his coffee. His face suddenly changed. "Could you do me a favour? Could you keep Moody out of this? He's in enough trouble as it is…"

"What kind of trouble?"

Oscar growled in frustration. "The usual… Interfering with cases, obstructing investigations. The last thing he needs is to be questioned because he's your alibi for Black's break-in at Hogwarts. Let alone if you-" he paused. "Confided anything in him."

"I wouldn't get him into trouble, you know that…" Claudia whispered. "And as for the alibi, I don't think I would've gotten away with-"

Oscar cleared his throat. He was staring over her shoulder. Claudia turned and saw Lace's angry face. "Fernsby, let's go."

"You're leaving already?" Claudia asked as innocently as she was capable of. But underneath that sarcasm was a very real relief.

Lace did not rise to her provocation and simply turned around and left. Oscar, and the rest of the team, followed suit.

Ignoring the mess the aurors made during the search, Claudia immediately made her way into the attic. She knew that she had to get rid of the most incriminating things. There was no way she could risk her flat being searched again. But, as she sifted through them, she struggled to throw out any of it – the jewel, the memories she took from the Department of Mysteries, the black market Pensieve… It was all too valuable.

As she sat in her attic, staring at a pile of evidence that would land her in Azkaban, it finally hit her. All these years, she did not care if she got caught because it would mean Sirius would not be in Azkaban alone. But now that he was out… It changed things.

She wanted a life, a real life. And it was within reach. She had hope.

And hope made her scared.