Disclaimer: All character and the world in this story belongs to JK Rowling. I own nothing.
A/N: Before the start of Book-2 I had planned that I would conclude the hearing by the third chapter i.e. Chapter 21 but it's difficult to control the flow of words so as things stand, the hearing will be in the next chapter. This chapter is quite emotional and I hope you like it.
Please Review.
Chapter Twenty-One: Accident
"It's me."
Ron looked more shocked than anyone else in the room. He wasn't given a chance to collect his wits before his mother had him in a bone-crushing hug.
"Our Ron is made a prefect, I'm so proud of you. That makes everyone in the family!" Mrs. Weasley gushed over it.
"And what are we mother?" One of the twins commented.
"Next door neighbours?" The other one completed.
All they received in return was a glare. Sirius entered the kitchen to this scene but before he could ask what was happening, Harry stood up from his seat, congratulated Ron and left the kitchen. Everyone was shocked at Harry's behaviour, Hermione followed him and Ron wasn't very far behind. Harry entered his new room but did not close the door, an invitation for Hermione to come and talk to him. He wasn't expecting that Ron would come too.
Hermione entered the room and gave Harry a hug from behind, her head resting on his shoulder. "It's ok, Harry. Nobody cares if you are made prefect or not."
Harry wasn't given an opportunity to respond before Ron barged in. "What's wrong with you?"
Harry suddenly turned, throwing Hermione off-balance, he had to grip her forearm to steady her. "Ron, can we talk about this later?"
"Why? Can't you just accept that I am made prefect? Why can't you be happy for me?" Ron's tone was filled with accusation, his voice was quite loud. Hermione did the only sensible thing and locked the door with a flick of her wand.
"I am happy for you Ron. Congratulations!" Harry replied, there was no joy in his words, they were empty of any positive emotion.
"Yeah, you are." Ron chuckled dryly, he was still holding the badge in his hand that was clenched in a fist. "What's the matter with you? Can't you just be happy that for once something good is happening with me?"
"What do you want me to say, Ron, huh? To say that I'm happy for you, I'm proud of you when the truth is that I don't think you deserve it." Harry was now getting even more angry, Hermione had to step between the two. "Calm down, Harry."
"The great Harry Potter does not think his sidekick to be worthy to be a prefect. You think only you can be prefect, huh? Harry Potter has everything and he wants everything, he got money, he got the girl, he won the tournament and now he wants to be prefect." Ron had stepped closer to where Harry stood, the only space between them was occupied by Hermione who was trying to push them away but was miserably unsuccessful. "Please stop talking Ron, you don't know what you are talking."
"How could I know, I'm nobody. I will show you Harry potter that I deserve to be the prefect." Ron turned and left the room without any more words.
Harry took a few steps back and dropped down on his bed, Hermione closed the door before turning back to Harry. "Why are you reacting like this?"
"Not you too, Hermione?" Harry closed his eyes, his face covered with his hands. "You know that he doesn't deserve to be a prefect, Hermione."
"I know but that doesn't that he is not. You should be happy for him, Harry. He was made prefect, he did not ask McGonagall for it." She pulled his hands away from his face so that she can look at his face. "Right now, you are behaving exactly how he did after your name came out of the Goblet of Fire. He is not responsible to be made prefect, Harry."
Harry just stared at her, he couldn't believe that she would compare his behaviour to that of Ron last year. He wanted to shout at her too but he tried to understand what she was saying, she was usually right. He wanted to tell her that she was probably right but before he could, there was a knock on the door. Hermione opened the door, on the other side stood Sirius, a sad look on his face.
"May I come in?" He asked to Hermione who stepped away from the door to let him enter. He sat next to Harry on the bed, his arm around Harry's shoulder. "How are you feeling?"
"What do you think?" Harry snapped, looking away from Sirius.
Sirius sighed before looking at Harry, it was difficult for him to be the wise one. "You know something, Harry, your father wasn't a prefect either. In our year, Remus was made the prefect."
Harry head immediately turned towards Sirius, a surprised look on his face. "He was not? But he was Head Boy."
"That he was but you don't need to be a prefect to become Head Boy, Harry. You know your mother was prefect just like our Hermione here, she became the Head Girl too." Sirius told, a small smile on his face, remembering his school days. "You don't need to prove anything, Harry, to anyone. Your parents would have been proud even if you are not the prefect. I know because I am, I am proud of the person you are growing up to be. But you need to cherish the accomplishments of your friends too, Harry. Ron did not make himself prefect, he was select, don't hold him responsible for something that he did not do."
Harry nodded meekly, he was ashamed of how he had acted a few minutes ago. Sirius gave him a pat on the back before he stood up. "Come on, I want you to meet a friend of mine."
Sirius walked out of the room, Harry and Hermione a couple of steps behind. He climbed the stairs to the top floor, this floor only had three doors, two on right and one on left. There was a wrought-iron spiral staircase leading to the attic.
"Sirius, have you changed your mind yet?" Hermione asked, a pleading look on her face.
"About what?" Harry asked, the matter of discussion unknown to him.
"No, Hermione." Sirius answered, "I need to first check all of them, they are not safe."
"What are you guys talking about?" Harry asked. They were now standing in front of the last door on the right side, the door had a brass doorknob in shape of a coiled snake.
Sirius turned towards the teenagers and pointed to the door on the other side of the broad corridor. "That is the Black Family Library, Hermione here wants to spent her days there but you have seen enough of this house to know that how dark it can be. The books are not safe, I just want to make sure that they are before I allow you to enjoy them."
He turned back towards the door and turned the door knob, he did not open the door immediately, he waited a moment before slowly opening the door. The room was quite large, double the size of the room Harry was staying in. The room was messed up, it looked like a cross between a messy room of a teenaged boy and a dry forest. On the right side of the wall was a large bed, at least eight feet in width, on top of it was the friend Harry hadn't met in a year.
"Say 'hi' to Buckbeak." Sirius said before waving his hand towards the Hippogriff. Harry stepped ahead and bowed to the proud creature and waited for its approval. He stepped closer to the winged animal when he got the affirmative bow, he patted its beak and caressed its neck. "Hello Buckbeak, it's nice to meet you again."
"Don't spend much time here, Harry. Come down in an hour or so and apologize to Ron." Sirius left with those words.
-0X0-0X0-0X0-
When Harry and Hermione came down from the top floor, the house looked empty, there was no sound coming from kitchen. When they entered the kitchen, Ginny and Ron were busy playing a game of chess and they were the only people present there. When the couple entered, Only Ginny recognized their presence, Ron did not even look up from the chess board.
"Where is everyone?" Hermione asked to Ginny.
"Mum went to Diagon Alley to get supplies and the school books. The twins are either in their room or they have apparated to Lee's. Sirius and Moody is in the Library, busy checking the books." Ginny answered while turning to look at the two. "You have something in your hair, Hermione."
There was a feather stuck in her bushy mane, Harry plucked it away. She muttered thanks and flashed him a smile, Harry reciprocated the gesture. Harry then turned to face Ron, he steeled his resolve and squared his shoulders, he needed to apologize to Ron.
"Ron, I need to say something." Harry said flatly, he had had enough internal turmoil for today. Ron did not respond, he did not even show that he heard him. "I apologize for my behaviour this morning, I hope you can forgive me."
When no words came from him, Harry rested his hands on the table and leaned forward. "I was just feeling jealous, Ron and I hope you would understand. It's not like I was the only one who said something hurtful."
Ron's head shot up from the chess board, he stood up abruptly. "You have to tell me that I was in wrong, even in your apology."
Ron left the kitchen and walked straight to his bedroom, Ginny followed him out, a confused look on her face, the chess board and the match was left abandoned. Harry decided that it was better if they stayed in Harry's room for a while. They started on their way up, they have had a rollercoaster of a morning, Hermione was a few steps ahead of Harry. As they were climbing up the stairs, Harry was looking at the showcases and Hangings on the sidewall of stairs. There were very peculiar things there, intriguing and exquisite, some were disgusting even like the mounted heads of the house-elves. Harry was near the second-floor landing when he noticed a box in the showcase, it was made of bronze and crystal. The looked like a beehive, the walls were bronze and the core was crystal, something grey was swirling inside. Harry stepped closer to it and picked up the box, there was crystal lid over it with a bronze lining. Harry could not resist himself from opening it, it was the wrong thing to do.
The moment the lid was opened, a dark grey smoke came out of it like a cloud with an ear-splitting shriek and blasted Harry off his feet. He was thrown back from the stairs, hitting the glass showcases on the other side of sidewall, shattering the glass completely before falling to the stairs below. Hermione just stood there, rooted too the spot in shock, unable to comprehend what just happened. She was brought out of her state when a door opened above and Sirius leaned over the stairs, "what happened?"
"Harry!" She ran down the stairs, two at a time; she kneeled where Harry lay motionless, his eyes closed, a pool of blood was forming near his head. She gently lifted his head and rested it in her lap. "Help! Sirius! Harry is bleeding!"
-0X0-0X0-0X0-
It had been six hours since the accident, Harry was still unconscious, his condition critical. Harry was in a special, private ward in St. Mungo's; nobody was allowed inside the ward, except the Healer team. Hermione was sitting in the waiting room outside the ward, her clothes stained with dried blood, tears flowing down her face. Sirius was in his animagus form, his head resting in Hermione's lap, anyone could tell that how sad he looked. Tonks was sitting next to Hermione, Hermione's had was resting against her shoulder, she could feel the tremors in her body. Ron was sitting on the opposite side of the room, his head in his hands, Molly and Ginny were sitting next to him.
Moody was standing guard to the entrance of the waiting room of the ward, the door of the ward was through the waiting room only. They had not wasted any time in bringing Harry to the wizarding hospital, Moody had seen to it, he was in mission mode. Hermione was inconsolable, when they reached St. Mungo's she refused to leave his side, to make her stay out of the room the healers had to threaten her that he might die if she did not allow them to continue. Dumbledore was informed by Moody when they arrived, Mrs. Weasley came when she got the news after reaching Grimmauld Place. Moody had called Tonks for backup, she was the only Order member available at hand and it was a good thing that she was able to get Hermione to calm down.
The lead healer had informed that Harry had 23 laceration on the back of his head and back, many of them had glass pieces embedded in them. He had lost significant amount of blood and they were able to neutralize the blood loss. They were able to diagnose that whatever the smoke was, it was poisonous and bewitched. But they had no idea what it was and how to counter it, they were trying their best to contain the poison from spreading and attempting to break the curse. Dumbledore had spoken with the healer, he wanted information so he could try to find the way to counter the curse and neutralise the poison. He had left within minutes, he looked like a man on a mission. But before he left, he asked Hermione to repeat the incident and needless to say that her emotions got better of her and she could not
When Mrs. Weasley returned from Diagon Alley, she had brought supplies for a party to celebrate Ron becoming the prefect. But all those plans were put to rest when she saw the note Ginny had left behind. She had rushed to the wizarding hospital as soon as she got the news but by that time everything was in order. The twins were absent as they did not have any knowledge of what has happened, they were still with Lee Jordan.
Hermione was repeating one phrase inside her head, 'please stay alive', like a mantra. This wasn't the first time she had to wait for him to return to consciousness, no, but this time it was different. She held him when he was bleeding in her lap, she felt utterly useless, helpless. Every moment that passed between the incident and Harry being treated by the healer, it was painful beyond her imagination. Now she wasn't allowed to be with him, to hold his hand, caress his cheek while he slept. She was sitting outside, waiting for something positive to happen.
This was going to be long wait.
-0X0-0X0-0X0-
He was running, as fast as he could, his breathing uneven. He did not know where he was or where he was going, all he knew was he had to run. The stopped and turned to look around, all he could see was darkness, smoke rising from the ground, utter destruction. It took a minute for him to realize that it was Hogwarts, falling apart, burning, broken. He was standing in the courtyard, it looked like the castle had collapsed on itself, there was not a single tower standing, not a single turret intact. The ground was littered with the broken glass, wood and rubbles. He dared to walk ahead, for a moment nothing happened but then, suddenly the temperature dropped, the air turned heavy with dread.
He turned to see what was happening, he knew but he needed to be sure and his assumption was right, it was a horde of dementors. There were too many of them, hundred may be more than that, he had survived a situation like this before, he could do it again. He checked his pocket for his wand, it wasn't there neither was it in his holster. He was wandless and hence defenceless. He did the only thing he could think, he ran towards the castle. He needed to find someplace where he could lock himself to avoid a confrontation with the awful creatures. His legs led him towards Gryffindor tower on muscle memory, he did not found a single room where the door wasn't blasted off of its hinges.
He turned left and kept running, and the end of the corridor he saw a pair of dementors so ran in the opposite direction. He took the stairs, climbed up, a dementor was floating towards him, he banked right and avoided the creature but maintained his pace. He took the next turn but he realized a moment later that it was a mistake, the corridor was a dead end. He turned but it was too late, dementors were now swarming toward him. He could feel the cold, the dreadfulness within himself, he prepared himself mentally to resist. He clasped his hands around his mouth, trying his best to keep his mouth closed. It didn't take long for them to reach him, Harry was surrounded by the tall floating figures in black cloaks, a pungent smell of rotting flesh coming from them.
His worst memories fleshed in front of his eyes like a horror movie, as clear as if it was happening right here, right now. His mother's death, her screams were followed by the scenes of the graveyard. The scenes changed but they were as horrific as the last one, then there was this memory. It wasn't a memory exactly, more like his fear was just realized. He was kneeling and someone was standing in front of him, someone he dearly cared for, it was Hermione. Her back was towards him, her arms outstretched, she was shaking her head. "Not him, kill me instead!"
"Step away, foolish girl." A hissing voice said from the other side of Hermione, she was blocking his vision.
"No, please leave him. Kill me." Hermione said in a shaking voice, Harry could hear the desperation in her voice.
"Avada Kedavra"
A jet of green light shot towards her and the next moment she collapsed in his arms, her caramel brown eyes unseeing. He was holding her close to himself, her back resting on his lap. He looked up and there he stood, in his black robes, his red eyes fixed at Harry, his wand aimed at his heart.
"You will suffer, Harry Potter! Everyone you hold dear will die in your arms, because of you."
-0X0-0X0-0X0-
There was only one thing in his mind, to find a cure for the curse. The healer had told him that the poison and curse were connected, they were fused to generate the effect. Harry was suffering from continuous seizures, his muscles were contracting and loosening periodically like a pulse. He had an elevated heart rate, his brain was in overdrive, a heavy blood-rush towards his brain. He had investigated the spot of accident and the responsible artefact. The crystal-bronze showpiece belonged to the Black family, no doubt about that; similarly, there was no doubt about the fact too that it was quite dark in nature, just like the old family.
He had called Severus for help, Severus was an expert on Dark Arts and potions; if anyone in the order could help in this situation, it was this man. He had taken the artefact with him to Hogwarts, he needed his lab equipment to find a solution. It won't be easy though, Blacks were known for their extensive knowledge of Dark Arts. He decided to research the library for a solution for this crisis. That has to be the only place he could find a solution; the other option was to create it on his own.
He needed to be quick, time was a precious commodity which they could not afford.
-0X0-0X0-0X0-
"Mistress Cissy, the task is done. The poor elf did what you asked." The old elf said while bowing to the witch in black robes.
"Did it happen?" The witch asked in a stern voice.
"It did mistress, it did." The elf answered, bouncing from one feet to the other, an evil gleam in his eyes. "Kreacher made sure that the boy opened the box."
"Very good."
-0X0-0X0-0X0-
Amelia was a bit shocked when she received the information from one of her sources at St. Mungo's that Harry Potter was brought in this morning for some accident. Dumbledore had put all the pressure on the hospital administration to stop any leak of the information. If the extent of his injuries was to be believed, Amelia had to check him and find out what was happening. She decided to visit him after she was done with the office for the day.
When she entered the hospital through the floo, she asked the receptionist for the direction to the ward where Harry Potter was. The receptionist was hesitant, Amelia hated to do this but she had to tell her that she was the Director of DMLE and threaten her mildly to get the information. He was in the private ward on the ground floor, the ground floor was for artefact accidents and the private ward was for extreme cases. She did not waste any more time standing there and started walking towards the room at a brisk pace. As she turned towards the ward, she saw a familiar face with an electric blue eye revolving in the socket.
He was sitting in a chair outside the closed door to the ward, his wand held firmly in his right hand.
"What happened Mad-Eye? How is he?" Amelia asked worriedly.
"An accident, he is still unstable." Moody answered flatly, both his eyes fixed on Amelia.
"Excuse me, Mad-Eye, I need to see him." Amelia said while taking a step towards the door.
"I can't allow that, Amelia. Dumbledore's orders." Moody answered, standing in front of her to block her approach.
"He has no authority here Mad-Eye so if you would let me through…." She attempted to take a step but she was again blocked by Moody.
"Sorry Director Bones but you have no authority here either. There is no case to be investigated here." Moody was firm in his response.
"Look Alastor, I'm not here officially, I just want to see the kid." Amelia replied calmly, she knew that it was pointless to force her way through, Moody was her mentor during her training years and she respected that.
"The kid is out, Amelia. You can talk to him when he wakes up." Moody answered in a gruff voice.
"What's the matter?" It was Tonks, she had just stepped out of the door to check what was going on, she didn't expect her boss to be here. "Good evening, Director. I wasn't expecting to see you."
"Go inside, Nymphadora!" Moody growled.
"Good evening auror Tonks, I wasn't expecting to see you either. What are you doing here?" Amelia responded, a bit surprised at seeing Tonks there.
"I was…. Harry is a friend you see; his family was close to mine." Tonks answered a bit hesitantly, she wasn't good at cooking stories.
"So, you are also in Dumbledore's club." Amelia said, it wasn't a question, more like an acknowledgement. "I had my suspicion about you, I got the proof now. We will talk about it later."
Tonks just gave a curt nod but she also remained at the door. Amelia wasn't finished yet, "who else is there, auror?"
"Just few close friends and family." Tonks answered vaguely.
"But is thought Harry Potter was an orphan. I didn't know he had a family, Susan never told me." Amelia probed a bit more, there was no politeness in the conversation. Amelia could see that both of them were worried about something and they were trying their best to keep her away. She could sense that something suspicious was going on, call it instinct if you would, she needed to get through.
"Oh you misunderstood director. It's just me, Hermione, Weasleys and Padfoot." Tonks answered but realized a moment later that she had spoken one word too many.
Amelia did not show any reaction to the answer, it took a moment for her to process the names. She had heard the last one years ago, she knew the man very well, too well actually. She did not waste any moment before pulling out her wand, Moody had expected it so he was quick in pulling out his own. He was late just by a faction of a second, he was quickly disarmed by Amelia, the spell threw he off balance. Amelia pushed away a shocked Tonks who fell to the ground and opened the door to the waiting room with a flick of her wand.
There he sat, in his animagus form. The rage, the fury she was feeling then was beyond her comprehension. She started to walk towards him, he changed into his human form, a spell was just on the tip of her tongue when she was disarmed by Tonks from behind. Even then she did not break the stride and punched the man in the face with all her might. He was bleeding from his nose, completely disoriented and on the floor. There were loud shrieks from the two female Weasleys, Hermione was preoccupied to react and Ron was too shocked to make any noise.
Sirius was on the floor, Amelia was sitting on his chest, her hands were holding him by his collar. "You treacherous bastard! You are under arrest."
Moody and Tonks had walked into the waiting room and closed the door, their wands aimed at Amelia's back. It was Moody who spoke, "take a step back Amelia, you don't know what you are getting into."
Amelia pulled out her spare wand and turned swiftly to face the two. She was distracted by the opening of the door and in that moment, she was disarmed by Moody. It was Dumbledore, standing in the doorway, a concerned and defeated look on his face. Dumbledore entered the room and locked the door behind him, he put a silencing charm on it.
"Things are not how they appear, Amelia. You need to trust me on this." Dumbledore said in a grandfatherly way. He took a step ahead carefully, his hands raised in a defensive way. "Alastor, Nymphadora, please lower your wands."
The two members of Order complied with that request. Sirius was still on the floor but he was trying to get up, Hermione was trying to pull him up by his elbow. Dumbledore pulled out his wand from his sleeve, his other hand still in the defensive position. "I am not going to attack you, Amelia, trust me."
He flicked his wand and Sirius's nose was mended, another flick and the blood stains were gone from Sirius and Hermione's clothes. He then turned back towards Amelia and looked her in the eye. "I think we should all sit down. Molly, would you take the kids back to headquarters?"
Molly gave him a curt nod before turning towards her children, neither of two complained about it. But Hermione wasn't going to leave and she registered her intentions in the boldest tone. "I'm staying."
"You need to leave, Ms. Granger. There is nothing here you can do." Dumbledore wasn't backing down.
"I am not leaving, Harry." She answered, she won't concede this time.
Dumbledore decided that it was fine to let her stay. "Molly, please take them back."
Ron was about to protest but a glare from his mother stopped all those protests and the Weasley family walked out of the room. Moody made sure that the door was locked and there were charms on it to finish all possibilities of eavesdropping. They all sat down, Amelia taking the seat farthest from the others, she was returned her wands and she held onto one of them, her primary. Dumbledore flicked his wand and five crystal goblets appeared out of thin air, floating three feet above the floor. With another flick, they were filled with water which he then turned into firewhisky. He offered one to each of them except Hermione, Amelia hesitated before taking one, she did not drink from it, she just held onto it. "I can't believe you would betray that boy with this traitor Dumbledore. What's your story, huh?"
"Amelia, please calm down, all your doubts will be put to rest but I would expect you to keep an open mind about it." Dumbledore said in a calm voice. He understood that everyone was on edge right now, especially Amelia Bones. "You first need to understand that Sirius is innocent."
She just scoffed at it but did not say anything, she waited for remaining of the explanation. "He was framed by Pettigrew and before you ask, yes he is alive. He was the secret-keeper of Potters, he was a Death Eater. That day, when Sirius was arrested, Pettigrew blasted the street, cut his finger, turned into his animagus form which is of a rat. He then ran into a sewer before the aurors reached the site. He remained as Weasley's pet rat for twelve years, he was the Death Eater that helped Voldemort return to his body. Meanwhile Sirius was thrown into Azkaban without a trial and he was unable to appeal."
Amelia was shocked to silence, her eyes wide like saucers. Dumbledore sighed before continuing, "last year, when Sirius was caught, Harry tried to explain the situation to Fudge but he refused and then the events of last month changed the equation completely."
"I know, it is too much to take in Amelia, believe me I was shocked too. You should think it over tonight, if you still think that we were in the wrong, I would surrender for being accomplice and you can arrest Sirius." He stopped at that before rising to his feet, "I just hope that you are still the same person that was made the Head Girl all those years back."
Dumbledore gave a nod to Sirius and he turned back into his animagus form, Dumbledore then opened the door before walking out of the room. Amelia just gave a dry chuckle before she downed the spirit in one go, she left the room without another word. The room was eerily silent, a silence that was broken by Tonks's words, "I need to get some coffee."
Tonks left the room, Moody took up his guarding duties, leaving Hermione and Padfoot alone in the waiting room. Padfoot leapt up to sit on the seat next to Hermione, he sat on his hind legs. Hermione turned towards him and hugged the shaggy black dog. Padfoot rested his doggy-head on Hermione's, he could understand what she was going through at the moment.
But at least the day was almost over.
-0X0-0X0-0X0-
"Auntie, what happened? Where were you? Are you okay?" Susan was worried for her aunt. Amelia would usually return home on time when Susan was there or she would inform her via floo. But today she was late, uninformed and if that wasn't enough cause of worry, she looked distraught, her face was as pale as milk. Amelia stepped out of the floo and collapsed on the couch in front of the fireplace. She did not have enough strength to answer her niece.
"Twinkle!" Susan shouted and a moment later, an elf appeared with a cracking sound wearing a grey tunic, the elf bowed curtly. "Get some iced water, be quick."
The elf disappeared the same way it appeared only to reappear a few seconds later, with a goblet of water over a tray. Susan did not waste any time and handed the goblet to her aunt, Amelia held it gingerly but did not drink from it. There were too many things going through her mind right now, she needed some time to think through everything that had taken place in that room in St. Mungo's.
She stood up slowly and started to walk towards the stairs leading to her study. Her steps felt heavy, she had to put a lot of effort to go all the way up. "I'll be in my study. Please don't disturb me."
Susan was stunned to silence, she hadn't seen her aunt behave in this manner ever. She needed to know if anything was wrong, her imagination was constructing scenarios which she knew were not possible but she couldn't help it. She did the only thing she could think of, she floo called Hannah. The person who responded on the other end was Mrs. Abbott.
"Hello auntie, where is Hannah?" Susan asked impatiently, anyone could tell that she was worried about something.
"Hello Susie, is everything alright?" Mrs. Abbott replied. When Susan just gave a nod, she told her that Hannah was upstairs, in her room. "Could you please call her, it is important."
"Sure honey. Just wait a second." She left to call Hannah, Susan could hear the hurried footsteps on the stairs. Hannah was kneeling in front of the fireplace in her pyjamas in no time. "What's up, Susie?"
"Can you come over, Hannah?" Susan pleaded, tears were forming in her eyes. Hannah agreed and asked her to move out of floo. A minute later, Hannah Abbott was standing in front of the couch where Susan sat.
"What happened, Su?" Hannah asked in a concerned manner.
"Hannah, did anything happen today at the ministry, did your father say anything?" Susan asked, her voice shaking a bit.
"He didn't say anything but he looked fine. Why?" Hannah answered, she did not know what was troubling her best friend. Hannah sat next to her and took hold of her hand. "Did something happen to auntie Ami?"
"I don't know, Hannah but she looked troubled." Susan answered and leaned in to rest her head on Hannah's shoulder. "I hope everything is alright with her."
"I think she is just stressed at work. There is nothing you need to worry about, Su. Now cheer up." Hannah said to her in a happy tone and gave her an encouraging smile.
"You know, I have something to tell you." Susan said while slowly clearing the unshed tears from her eyes and putting a smile on her face. She put her hand in her pocket and withdrew something, she opened her fist, in her hand was the Hufflepuff prefect badge.
"Congrats Susan, that is great." Hannah pulled her into a tight hug, an excited shriek escaping her. "Who else if not you, Su!"
"I don't know, maybe you." Susan said to that rhetoric question. Hannah answered without even thinking, "nah, I am too funny for that."
"Somebody got a big ego." Susan commented laughingly. "I might need a pin to burst the big head balloon."
"Looks like someone is already doing her prefect duties." Hannah replied, before she dove in to tickle Susan.
-0X0-0X0-0X0-
She was standing in her niece's nursery, watching her sleep in her crib. She looked angelic, pure and peaceful, Amelia just wanted to watch her every moment of her life, she was the last of her family. She gently caressed her chick, making sure that she did not wake up. Amelia was trying to push everything out of her mind that she had come to know today, the news disgusted her.
Potters were killed last night, betrayed by their closest friend, their secret-keeper, Sirius Black. Even if Voldemort was gone, the situation wasn't a happy one. The little Potter was an orphan and the person who would have been responsible for him in the situation was the reason behind the death of parent. Black did not stop there, he killed 13 civilians in broad day light along with Peter Pettigrew, another one of James Potter's close friends. Amelia wasn't one of the aurors that went to arrest Black but she had heard the details of that incident. There was no trace of Pettigrew's body except a finger, after that, Black had blasted a curse in the street that costed thirteen civilian lives, and he stood there, laughing like a maniac. He did not even protest when aurors went to arrest him, he kept laughing. He was sent to Azkaban without any delay.
It was painful, the treachery, the betrayal; James Potter considered him a brother, Sirius lived in his house when he ran away from his ancestral home. Potters accepted him into the family with open arms. The fact that James Potter made him Godfather to his firstborn was proof enough of his trust in Sirius Black. Who knew that the Blacksheep of the Black House had a heart as black as his name.
There was more to the reason behind her misery, something closer to her heart. James Potter's trust wasn't the only thing the last of Blacks broke, her trust and heart had suffered the same fate. She left the nursery and went to the living room, she did not want to break down in front of her sleeping niece. She went and sat on the couch in front of the fireplace, the heat of the fire was pleasant but the heat was nothing compared to what she was feeling right now, the fury was burning inside her like Fiendfyre. She pulled out her wand from the holster and removed the glamour charm from the engagement ring she was wearing. She put down her wand on the centre table before removing the ring from her finger.
She looked at the piece of jewellery that Sirius has given her two weeks ago, the day he proposed before going into hiding. Merlin! She can't even look at it without feeling betrayed. She threw the ring in the fire with all the force she could muster, tears were now flowing freely down her cheeks, she was sobbing uncontrollably, her breathing was erratic. She buried her face in her palms to muffle the noise. She could not believe that she had trusted that man, she had bared heart, her soul to him. She felt violated, disgusted at herself, she had let that man touch her, love her. How naïve she was, young and foolish; she was an auror and yet she had let someone deceive her.
Sirius was a year younger than her, a year behind her in school. He had a roguish charm to him, he was a smooth talker, his image was that of a ladies' man. She hadn't had much interaction with him in school but she was aware of his reputation. She was surprised when he had joined the Auror Academy, it was during a time when Wizarding World was at war, Ministry was losing aurors at very high frequency, there was pressure to induct aurors quickly. The three-year program was replaced with a one-year advanced program and he had joined the auror team when he was a few weeks older than nineteen. And as luck would have it, they were on the same squad.
It wasn't love at first sight, no, it gradually developed. Initially, Amelia hated him, he was too reckless, insincere, irresponsible but she came to know a different Sirius Black in their time together. They grew closer and closer but Sirius wanted to keep it a secret and Amelia agreed wholeheartedly. Sirius had told her that it was the only secret he had kept from James, Amelia scoffed at that memory. When they got serious, things started to fall apart, her elder brother and his family were murdered with her parents. They were not the last ones, her younger brother and his wife were also murdered, leaving behind their one-year-old daughter behind. Susan, she was now her responsibility, they were now the last of Bones Family. Through all this turmoil, Sirius was by her side, her rock. When Sirius asked about any possibility of them being together, Amelia had put two conditions forward. The first was that she would not change her family name, that meant that Sirius would leave his family-name behind. The second was that they would adopt Susan as their daughter and she won't have any kids of her own so that there was no possibility of any biasedness in future.
Sirius had agreed to both the conditions without a moment's hesitation, he had proposed the next afternoon. Amelia was immeasurably happy, she could not define the level of happiness she was feeling in words.
But then everything turned to ashes, her dreams, her life, her happiness.
She decided then and there, she would not let someone betray her again, the only person who deserved her unconditional love was her niece and no one else. She would not make a mistake like this in future, Sirius will be the last man to play with her heart.
-0X0-0X0-0X0-
Amelia was sitting behind her desk in her study, a crystal goblet filled with firewhisky in her hand. She was swirling the contents of it, her eyes looking in the distance. She drained the contents of the goblet before refilling it, she took a detour down the memory lane, she paid a visit to her younger self. The day she vowed to not let her mind and heart mingle. That memory and the events of this evening had given birth to a hundred doubts and a thousand questions, none of which she had any answers to.
What if he was innocent? What if she had tried to talk to him? What if she had trusted him just a bit more? What if she had seen to his fair trial? Had she taken a premature judgement based on a prejudiced thought? Was her decision completely emotion influenced?
She emptied the contents of the goblet before rising from her chair, she took a few steps gingerly. She had had enough liquor for one evening and yet her sorrows weren't drowned, they swam in the sea of alcohol, trying to drag her deeper into the abyss.
She needed to sleep, to get her emotions and her thoughts in order.
-0X0-0X0-0X0-
"Hello Severus, I wasn't expecting you so soon." The old wizard said to his colleague.
"I have something." The man in black cloak walked over to Dumbledore's desk and placed the artefact gently. "It does not belong to Blacks."
Dumbledore shifted uncomfortably in his chair, his eyes were still on the potion master. "How did you reach the conclusion and forgive me for asking but is it relevant?"
"It is very relevant Headmaster. I reached to this conclusion because I can recognize my own brewing." Snape answered before taking the seat. Dumbledore slowly rose from his and walked to the fireplace, "what is it?"
"The potion was just a hallucinogen, it was my own formula, but it has been tempered with. The symptoms it would have caused would be different then what he is experiencing." Snape's face was completely devoid of expression.
"What do you think, Severus?" Dumbledore's voice was more curious than worried.
"The potion must have been embedded with Cruciatus, I do not know how that can be done but I am certain that Dark Lord did it himself. I can guess why the Dark Lord would do such thing and I know you must have already guessed." Snape answered flatly. He stood up and turned to leave but was stopped midstride by Dumbledore's voice.
"It won't cause permanent damage?" Dumbledore asked without turning to look at him.
"Dark Lord wants to make his mind vulnerable for his probing, the boy would have no mind shields then. He would use more direct approach for something permanent. Regular calming draught and dreamless sleep potion might help the kid. The curse would be over in couple of days." Snape left the room with that.
-0X0-0X0-0X0-
Amelia woke up with a severe headache, she was having trouble opening her eyes, she was too old for this. She slowly moved towards the bathroom, there might be some pepper-up potion to kick start her day with more energy. Luckily there was a vial present, she felt quite better once the potion started to take effect. She took a hot shower to get the blood flowing and to wash away the stink of alcohol. Once she was done getting ready for the day, she walked down to the kitchen where her niece sat at the small breakfast table.
"Good morning auntie." Susan said in a happy tone and gave a bright smile. "How are you?"
Amelia noticed that Susan was in the middle of having her breakfast when she entered. "Good morning, Susie. And I apologize for yesterday."
Amelia walked up to her and gave her a tight hug from behind, she bent down so her lips were just millimetres away from her ears. "I love you pumpkin and I am sorry."
Susan just gave a small nod which Amelia felt as Susan's ear just grazed her lips for a moment. "I have something to tell you auntie."
Amelia broke the hug to look at her, Susan turned in her chair to properly face her aunt. She dug into her pocket and pulled out the prefect badge to show her aunt. "I received it yesterday."
"Congratulations pumpkin, you deserve it." Amelia pulled her into another hug and gave her an encouraging pat on her back. She drew back and sat in the next chair before asking, "so, what are we doing to celebrate it?"
-0X0-0X0-0X0-
Dumbledore had received a letter from Madam Bones a few minutes ago, she had asked for a meeting. She wanted to do the meeting in his office and asked him to let her through the floo. He had opened the floo connection immediately and waited for Amelia to arrive. The fireplace turned green for a moment and Amelia stepped out, dusting the soot off her robes.
Dumbledore stood at his place to welcome her. "Good Evening, Madam Bones. Please Have a seat."
"Good evening, Headmaster." She took the seat, she had a determined look on her face.
"You are aware that I can arrest you for providing asylum to Black." That wasn't a question but Dumbledore nodded in response. "I checked the records, the case file is confidential and can't be accessed without an executive order."
Dumbledore just gave her a solemn nod so Amelia continued, "you knew this, you have seen the files when you were Chief Warlock."
"I checked the records last year. There was no file, no investigation and no trial. He was arrested and sent straight to Azkaban. Emotions were running high that day nobody was in a mood to think about the procedures." Dumbledore answered, a sombre look on his face. "I could have told you this earlier but you needed to see it yourself. That is the only file on a Death Eater that is confidential. What does that tell you?"
"They were trying to downplay it, Bagnold and Crouch." Amelia answered. "They needed a someone to take the fall."
"Precisely." Dumbledore gave her another nod.
"I want to meet him. Alone." She demanded firmly.
"That can be arranged."
-0X0-0X0-0X0-
Sirius was waiting impatiently in Dumbledore's office for the last ten minutes. He had arrived from St. Mungo's with Bill when he received a message from Dumbledore to come to his office immediately. Bill was having a walk around the castle while Dumbledore had left the office when Sirius arrived and asked him to wait here. 'Wait for what?' he didn't specify.
The floo activated with the green flash before a female figure stepped out of the flames. He knew that face, he would have identified it in a crowd of thousands and yet his first response was to pull out his wand. He could not take the risk; the stakes were too high. He lowered the wand when he saw that she wasn't pointing hers at him.
"I could have attacked you." Sirius asked rhetorically.
"You couldn't risk it, I am the only thing that stands between you and Azkaban right now." Amelia answered flatly, no emotions on her face. She moved to sit on the chair in front of Dumbledore's desk.
"What do you want?" He asked her aggressively, he did not move from his place, he was now standing in the centre of the room.
"Answers." Amelia turned her chair so she could look at him.
"If you are here then Dumbledore must have told you already." Sirius responded, he could not thing a reason why she would interrogate him when Dumbledore must have explained everything clearly.
Amelia leaned back so that her back was resting against the back of the armchair. "There are a few dark corners. Why didn't you tell me that you weren't the secret-keeper?"
Sirius looked in her eyes, they weren't filled with hatred rather they held disappointment. "Absolute secrecy was required."
"When did the switch happened?" Amelia was now curious.
Sirius sighed, his shoulders sagged at the memory, "the day I…. the day we…. It doesn't matter. It was necessary and Dumbledore agreed with that."
She understood what he did not say completely. "I need an answer, Sirius, a clear and direct answer."
"I think this has gone long enough." He turned to leave but his steps were halted by the voice from behind.
"I am not done questioning yet, Mr. Black." Amelia shouted, her façade of calmness started to fall.
"But I am done answering." He turned back but one of his hand was on the door knob. "I have answered enough questions and I am done with it. Look, I'm innocent and if you can't trust my words then trust Dumbledore's judgement at least. But if that is not enough for you then I don't know what would be."
He had opened the door and was about to step out when Amelia asked in a tender voice. "Was 'Us' ever true, Sirius?"
"It doesn't matter now."
-0X0-0X0-0X0-
He knocked on the wooden door before he was commanded to enter. He entered and closed the door behind him, he did not waste any time in bowing to his master, his blonde hair falling to cover his face. "It is done master. The boy is in St. Mungo's."
Voldemort looked at his follower before he asked him to stand up straight. "It is futile. Fools!"
Voldemort was thinking about the genius of his plan. Dumbledore's little party did not know that their elf was still obedient to Narcissa Malfoy, it was a surprise to Voldemort himself. The elf could not take them to the place but he could transport things. This was a gold mine, now he just needed to device a plan. Snape's little piece of information about Harry Potter's vision was very crucial, Voldemort was sure that if the mental shields were down, he could enter the boy's mind. If the distance made it difficult, he could at least feed him some things. All he needed was to make his mind pliable, nothing that few Cruciatus can't do. But he needed for the boy to stay alive, for the time being, he would have his uses. Snape was happy to brew a hallucinogen for him and Voldemort embedded the potion with Cruciatus curse. The method of embedding the potion with a curse wasn't new to him, he had done it before and the result was more than satisfactory.
And seemed like that was the case this time too.
-0X0-0X0-0X0-
It had been a week since the accident, Harry was still unconscious. The only thing that changed was that now he wasn't experiencing the seizure, he wasn't for the last 5-6 days since he was administered the Calming Draught and Dreamless Sleep Potion. He was bring given the two on regular intervals. The poisons effect was subdued but it was still in the system, the curse was slowly waning. The visitors were now allowed, they were allowed the same day his seizures were brought under control.
Hermione hadn't left the Hospital, even for taking a bath or for meals, she hadn't left his side except for the natural causes, she had barely eaten anything. She just there, by his side, holding his hand, his hand was limp, she did not want to use the word 'lifeless'. He looked so small lying on the bed in the hospital gown, so fragile, his skin was as while as porcelain. She gently moved his hair away from his face, his eyebrows were knitted together, his forehead creased. She slowly caressed his forehead, patting it rhythmically, there was no response.
Dumbledore had spoken to the healer and the healer had announced that Harry was out of danger but they had no idea when he would wake up from this magical coma. Hermione wanted nothing more than for him to open his eyes but there was a small voice in the back of her head which was whispering that he might never wake up. She pushed that blasted voice further back.
She bent down to rest her head where his hand lay clasped in hers. Before closing her eyes, she gave him a smile.
"Good night, Harry."
-0X0-0X0-0X0-
A/N: Please Review, they are the encouragement. I would like your opinion about a relationship between Amelia and Sirius, I haven't decided if I want to or not. In the broader scheme of things, it won't make a huge difference but reader's opinion is important. On a different note, I would not be able to post till the end of July, got a busy schedule and that's why I am posting second chapter this week. But I would still like to know about your reaction to the chapter.