Fork in the Road

Between her meetings, paperwork and an increasingly desperate effort not to think about a career-altering decision she had to make, Claudia barely made it to lunch. Her eyelids kept falling, her brain was asleep… It was nice of Sirius to think she was herself again, but that did not explain away this awful tiredness, the fact she could barely walk up the stairs to his room or the fact she had a panic attack in the middle of a Wizengamot hearing.

She did not feel like struggling along, so she dragged her heels to see Clotilda, the Department of Mysteries' healing magic specialist.

"You look like death." Clotilda did not beat around the bush.

"I'm just tired."

"I told Agrippa you were back too soon. I've seen many come back from Azkaban, it'll take a year before you're truly recovered."

"I don't have a year… Is there anything you can do?"

"What did St Mungo's say?"

"Don't have time to go to St Mungo's-"

"You have to make the time…"

Claudia sighed and reached for the doorhandle.

But Clotilda interrupted her retreat: "Do you think Voldemort is back?" When she saw Claudia hesitate, she scoffed. "Come on, Claudia, you know how I feel about Fudge. I'm hardly going to run to him to tell on you."

"I think we should plan for the worst- I think that debating whether he's returned or not is a bit of a distraction. But I don't have enough time or energy to convince that-" she stopped, just before she called Fudge something very ungenerous.

Clotilda floated over to one of her tall storage cabinets and took out a small, purple vial. "No more than three drops a day."

"No more than three drops a day."

With thanks, Claudia left and put three drops of Clotilda's potion into her coffee the moment she was in her office. She pulled out the two-way notebook from her bag – new protective charms allowed her to use it in her office more openly – and found that there were several fresh messages.

'They have definitely figured it out. Whispering behind my back all day, averting their eyes any time I look at them.'

'I can't take it anymore. Dinner is at five and you better get your tiny arse over here. I am not telling them alone.'

'Claude! This is not funny!'

No, it was not funny, she thought. If any of them let slip she was staying there, the consequences… She shuddered as the shadow of Azkaban run up her spine.

'Told you-' she replied and then submerged herself back to work.

Powered by the potion, she raced through the specification of the two apparition shields. They were both excellent, with very little between them. She closed her eyes and blindly picked up one of the parchments – a decision was made. Wand in hand, she stood up and readied herself to mutter the incantation; her office was as good of a start as any. But she made the mistake of glancing at her watch before casting the spell.

It was ten past five. Time to put Sirius out of his misery.

The atrium was empty; she was going to do what she always did- apparate to the bushes right in front of Grimmauld Place and then sneak into the house under her invisibility cloak. But just as she took out her wand and focused on her destination, someone grabbed her arm. It was too late to stop the spell now, they were in motion-

In a panic, she jabbed her wand into the hand that held her and- with a scream- the grip loosened. When she landed on her feet, she was alone. She put on her cloak and hurried across the street.

But before she made it into the house, she saw someone running into one of the side streets. "Are you hurt?" they yelled. "I'll call for an ambulance." Ambulance. Must have been a muggle. They turned and run back into one of the houses.

She went to peak around the corner. A man was sitting on the ground, holding his hand. Blood was streaking down his face. Claudia raised her wand and peeked into his mind- a Prophet journalist.

Taking a deep breath, she gripped her wand to steady herself. Without a second thought, she healed his wounds, wiped his memories of ever leaving the Ministry with her. And now go back where you came from, she thought. "Imperio," she muttered. All before the helpful muggle came back out onto the street. In a blink of an eye, she was done.

She backed into the square and leaned against the wall. Just a couple of minutes to catch a breath, to compose herself… But her brain did not feel like gaining composure. She was lucky it was only the Prophet who tried to follow her. This could have been so much worse. If it was the aurors, or Death Eaters… She pushed herself off the wall. Does not bear thinking about, she thought and entered the house.

Sirius nearly run into her in the hallway. "You're late."

"I got followed by a Prophet journalist," she hurled out. "Grabbed me as I was apparating here. It's fine-" she reassured him., as the panic set on his face. "He'll have no memory of any of it. And I sent him far from here, just to be sure."

"You terrify me sometimes," Sirius sighed and kissed her on the head. "Come on, they're waiting." He grabbed hold of Claudia's hand and pulled her through the hall, down the stairs and into the basement kitchen. Claudia would much rather deal with another journalist than with what was waiting for her here.

"Everyone, this is Claude…"

She scanned the room. Molly, Arthur, Hermione, Harry and one of the Weasley children- Everyone was staring at her, completely motionless. "I think I met you all at the World Cup, she whispered. Although there were more of you-" she pointed at the Weasley kid.

"Ginny and the twins are visiting their aunt today," Arthur explained. "Ron wanted to stay."

I'm sure he did, Claudia thought and sat down on the chair that Sirius pulled out for her. Harry was opposite her, flanked by his best friends. Molly was standing behind them, with a pot of potatoes in her hand. Claudia did not need to read her mind to know what she was thinking, Molly's face said it all.

"What brings you here tonight?" Arthur broke the ice. "I assumed you were keeping a low profile with the Order after the trial."

"I briefly met Hermione on my way from the kitchen this morning, so I thought I should probably say hello to everyone," Claudia said meekly.

"Are you in the Order?" Ron asked. "Didn't know there was a meeting this morning."

"No. I just…" She glanced at Sirius, who was grinning. He was having far too much fun for Claudia's liking. "I just stay here."

Long silence ensued. Anyone who looked like they were about to ask where exactly in the house she was staying each night was at a receiving end of Molly's death stare. So instead, they focused on putting some meat and vegetables on their plates.

As the Weasley matriarch walked around the table and gave everyone a couple of potatoes to complete the meal, Sirius decided to be helpful for a change. "Not everyone who is on our side is in the Order," he said as he loaded some food on an empty plate and passed it to Claudia. "We need information from people in all sorts of jobs, and Claude's position at the Ministry is invaluable. But it also means that no one can know she's ever set foot here. So, we're relying on your discretion..."

No one said a word. The awkwardness was killing Claudia from the inside. "Although," she cleared her throat. "I think Fudge would sooner forgive me living here, than agreeing with Dumbledore about Voldemort's return."

Sirius laughed, and so did Arthur, but the rest of them were unmoved. Harry in particular.

"What is it like to be an Unspeakable?" Hermione asked. "Only we are going to be having career conversations this year, and-" she stopped suddenly. Ron was scowling at her. "I'm just interested, that's all," she added hastily.

"It really depends on the specialty and research field. We have potioneers, healers, theory of magic specialists."

"What's your specialty?" the girl asked, not giving anyone else a chance to speak.

"Since I got promoted? Paperwork and politics. But it used to be mind magic."

"We haven't done any mind magic at school yet- Only seen memory charms when Professor Lockhart-"

"Please…" Claudia scoffed at the mere memory of the man. "Obliviation is child's play. There is so much more to mind magic. You got Legilimency that can help you understand someone's darkest thought, deepest desire, heal even. And then there is mind control… I could make you believe the most horrifying thigs, do anything I want you to do. I've seen spells far more powerful than the Imperius Curse. I-"

"But you wouldn't perform any of them!" Molly Weasley put a stop to Claudia's explanation. "Because it's all very wrong and illegal." Her tone resembling the one Claudia remembered from Fabian's funeral.

"Legality doesn't really come into it for Unspeakables." Claudia was undeterred. "We're meant to test the limits of magic, make sure the Ministry is always one step ahead of the darkest of wizards."

"The Ministry allows you to do dark magic?" Hermione gasped. Claudia had a slight inkling that she was a little appalled.

"Who is to say what is dark magic? There is just magic… The same spell can be used to inflict both good and evil." The girl was hanging on Claudia's every word. "Take the Imperius Curse. If I see that someone is in an imminent danger, maybe they want to jump of a bridge. Is it bad to put them under Imperio and get them to safety? Is it wrong to use it to protect someone you love?"

"Yes!" Molly nearly shrieked. "It's an Unforgiveable Curse for a reason. It has always been illegal. Say something, Arthur!"

But before Arthur could form a response, Sirius jumped in. "Then why did the Ministry authorise the aurors to use Unforgivable curses in the last war? The Ministry made them legal when it suited them."

"Did they get used a lot?" Arthur asked.

"I certainly used them," Claudia interjected. "And I was not the only one..." She sighed. "There has always been more nuance to dark magic than the Ministry would like the ordinary people to believe."

Arthur gave her a sad smile, and Molly retreated to the pantry, muttering something about showing Claudia who was ordinary…

Ron tore himself from his food. "What's the Darkest spell you've ever cast?"

"Ronald!" Molly was clearly not out of earshot. Her head popped back into the kitchen. "One more question like that and you are going straight to bed."

"I'm afraid that's classified." Claudia said with a slight smile. "But it's been a long time since I got to do something truly interesting. Mostly just boring Ministerial business now…"

"Like sitting on the Wizengamot," Harry mumbled, finally breaking his silence.

"You saw me at your hearing, then?"

"You voted with Fudge." Harry was boring his eyes into her. Was this a test of some sort? Or did he really not get why she had to do that?

"You won that vote already," she said impatiently. "And I had to. If I voted with Dumbledore, that would be the end of my career."

Harry looked far from satisfied but took another bite of his dinner.

"Look- we all believe you, Harry," Sirius pitched in. "But the Order needs Claude in her job. More than we need her to be shouting out the truth about Voldemort's return."

"My dad tells the truth, and he still got his job," Ron replied with his mouth full. "Would the Ministry really fire you?"

"Yes, they would," Arthur said with a laugh. "You cannot compare us. I don't have the Minister's ear, and I am certainly not being considered for the Under-Secretary job."

Claudia did not know that job offer was public knowledge. "How do you know about that?"

"It's an open secret… I am still in awe at how you managed it, given your associations-" he nodded towards Sirius.

"Do the Ministry know about you two?" Hermione asked.

"No one is going to forget us in a hurry… Not the Ministry, not the Prophet." Claudia sighed. "Not anyone."

"We were going to get married, everyone knew that." Sirius said, reached for Claudia's hand under the table and squeezed it. "And then I got arrested."

"And I got fired from the Auror Office." Claudia looked at Sirius. The grin that has been present on his face the whole evening had vanished. "Not a good look for an auror, apparently, to be engaged to a mass-murdering Death Eater. I was lucky not to end up in Azkaban too." She pressed her fingernails into her palm. "Of course, I still got my chance to experience that first-hand."

Sirius planted a fleeting kiss on her temple. He took a few breaths as in to say something, but no words came out of his mouth. Because there were no words that could help alleviate the memories of Azkaban-

Her bottom lip began to tremble. "I'm wrecked. If you excuse me…" She stood up- "I'm going to go to bed." She had no intention on crying in front of all these people.

Sirius began to get up. But Claudia squeezed his shoulder and gently pushed him back into his chair. "You stay, please," she mouthed and made her way out of the room. "Goodnight, everyone."

But before she could make it to the third step of the grand staircase, Molly came out of the kitchen to follow her. "Claudia, a word…"

Claudia wiped her eyes, grudgingly descended a step and folded her arms across her chest. This was exactly what she needed right now.

"I overheard the children talking earlier-" Molly began but stopped, looking down at Claudia's feet and up again, as if to see of Claudia would come down fully so they were closer in height. As it was, Claudia was towering over Molly. "If you plan on staying in this house again, I think it would be altogether better if-"

"If I plan on staying here again?" Claudia barked, staying exactly where she was. "This is Sirius' house. We live here, together." She sneered. "Please tell me you don't have a problem with us living together unmarried…"

"I do not have a problem with that," Molly replied sternly. "What I have a problem with is you walking around practically naked with the children staying here."

"I wasn't naked! And I wasn't exactly planning on meeting anyone at four o'clock in the morning."

"It's bad enough you fill their heads with that nonsense about dark magic. I don't need you filling their heads with- with-"

"With what?"

"You know what I mean-" Molly tuned and stomped off into the kitchen.

"If you mean sex, I'm pretty sure they're aware of it!" Claudia hurled after her.

Mrs Weasley stopped in her tracks, paused for a second. Claudia's fists were clenched. She was not exactly proud of herself, but the memories of the nasty things Molly said to Sirius the night Harry arrived made her care a little less about Molly's feelings. But Molly did not dignify Claudia's childishness with a response and walked briskly into the kitchen, shutting the door behind her.

Claudia slumped onto the stairs. She could not face the climb now. Her head was buzzing with faces and words- work, the dinner, Molly, Fudge… It was all too much. She could not think. She could not move. She could barely breathe. Clotilda's potion must have stopped working.

She barely noticed Kreacher walking past, muttering something about her being unfit to be the mistress of this house. She could not have agreed more with him…

Soon after Kreacher crawled back into his den, Harry flew out of the kitchen and stomped up the stairs past Claudia, followed by Ron and Hermione. None of them really looked at her, let alone spoke to her. This was just great, she thought.

Claudia's eyes were heavy, she wanted to go to bed. But the thought of getting up… She'd apparate, but her wand was in her jacket, and she would need to get up to get it. Before she made a decision whether to get to her coat or sleep on the stairs, Sirius appeared and sat down next to her.

"Everything alright?" she mumbled. "Harry left in a bit of a huff."

Sirius exhaled into a tired smile. "That's my fault. I thought he was joking and laughed at something he said, but it turned out he was serious."

"What did he say?"

"Doesn't matter." Sirius stood up and extended his arm. "Let's get you to bed. You look exhausted."

Claudia took his hand and stood up. Sirius wrapped his arm around her waist, and they began to walk. Slowly. One step at a time.

"What did Harry say?" she whispered, remembering her earlier question as they passed the room the boys were staying in.

"What sort of mood are you in?"

Claudia stopped in her tracks. "Why?" she hissed, using the opportunity to catch a breath.

Sirius nudged her further up the stairs. "Between the talk of dark magic and the Wizengamot vote, you left a bit of a Death-Eatery impression." Siris let out a stifled laugh again. "Not helped by the fact that Harry seems to think that all Slytherins are Death Eaters. A fair assumption if you ask me…"

"Stop laughing," she barked. "Do you realise how insulting this is? To me, to your judgement, to everything we've been through?"

"Don't make a big deal out of it… He has hard time trusting people, surely you get that. And I think the subtlety of politics goes a little bit over his head. You voting against him at the Wizengamot… He'll find that difficult to get over."

"It was the right decision. I won't make any apologies for that." They were at the top of the stairs now.

"I know it was." Sirius opened the door to the room. "But he's his parent's son."

"Say no more…" She sat down on the bed and threw off her shoes. Pragmatism had never been James' or Lily's strong suit.

"Come on, Claude." He sat down next to her. "He isn't the first person to think you're a Death Eater and he won't be the last. Comes with the territory-"

"Is that supposed to make me feel better?"

"It's supposed to make you take it easy on him." He kissed just behind her ear. "He'll come around. Both James and Lily grown to like you." He smiled to himself. "Sometimes, I think back to how much James hated you at the start, how he tried to break us up. And then, in his last days…"

"He came to see me once you vanished. I yelled at him-" she sighed. "I was so angry with him because I thought you chose to protect him instead of me…"

"Trust me, he was angrier with me when he got back. Nearly punched me in a face."

"I should have been in Harry's life." Claudia remembered the scene she saw in the Mirror of Erised. Sirius, Harry, Neville… The happy little family they could have had. "It's all my fault he thinks I'm a Death Eater now…" It would never have happened if she was in his life. If she raised him like her own.

"Once I got arrested, Dumbledore was never going to let you see him."

"It doesn't change the fact we were meant to bring him up. And I should've tried harder."

"The only thing we can do is try to make up for it. Find a chance to talk to him. Let him get to know you." He brushed her hair and planted a kiss on her forehead. "I've never met anyone who didn't love you once you let them in, once you allowed them to realize how truly remarkable you are."

Claudia looked into his eyes. They were begging her to fix this. "Fine… I'll talk to him."

"You should go to sleep."

"I can't get up to go brush my teeth. The bathroom is so far away."

Sirius slid off the bed and returned within the minute holding Claudia's toothbrush and a glass of water.

"Thank you." She sat up.

"You don't have to thank me. For anything. Ever-" He passed her the toothbrush and sat down next to her. "Claude, I-" he leaned for a kiss, then froze.

"You what?"

"Saying that I love you doesn't even begin to cover how I feel about you-" he brushed her face again. "I would've given up a long time ago if it wasn't for you. Long, long time…"

She pulled him closer- "You and me both-" and finished the kiss. "Are you coming to bed too?" she uttered when their lips parted.

"Brush your teeth," he said. "And if you're still awake when I come back from the bathroom-" he kissed her again, this time on the neck.

"I'll be awake."

"No you won't." He laughed and jumped off the bed.

And he was right. Claudia nodded off before he even left the room. But she repaid him with coffee and a soapy shower in the morning.

"Claudia!" Remus' voice carried through the hallway of number twelve Grimmauld Place just as she was about to leave for the office.

With a sigh, she turned. It was a miracle she managed to avoid him for this long given they were living under the same roof. Because every time she looked at his face, she remembered her last days in Azkaban, and that it was Remus' words that made her want to die. And she was not keen on reliving it.

"Have you seen the Prophet today?" he waved the papers in the air as he approached.

"No."

"I think you should read it."

One glance at the front page and it was clear why Remus made that judgement.

'HAVE FUDGE LOST HIS MIND?'

'The Prophet understands that Cornelius Fudge is considering Claudia Avery for a position of a Senior Under-Secretary. This comes less than two months since Miss Avery stood trial for treason at the Wizengamot. Although cleared at the time, questions of her loyalty remain-'

She threw the papers back at Remus. "I think I've read enough-"

"What are you going to do?"

She shrugged. "I don't know. I have to go."

Avoiding the prying eyes, Claudia scuttered through the Ministry and shut herself in her office. This is what her life would be like if she took that job. Front page after front page, no doubt inspired by Umbridge's connection in the Daily Prophet's editorial office. Could she really take it? Could Sirius?

Auberon stuck his head in.

"What do you want?" she hissed, resenting the interruption. "If it's another journalist…"

"It's someone called Edward Tonks. Says he is your lawyer?"

Claudia jumped to her feet. This had the potential to be a lot worse than a bad front page. "Show him in."

"Good to see you looking better," Ted attempted a smile.

"Please tell me you aren't here to tell me I'm getting arrested again-" she tried to mask her fears with a joke.

"Nothing like that. But-" he added before Claudia's anxiety truly vanished. "I was followed. I was offered money, a lot of money, to give information on you."

"The Prophet?"

"I assume so. But it could have been anyone…"

"They followed me too."

"I'm going to give you unsolicited advice now… Sorry about that." Ted shifted uncomfortably on his feet. "Do not take that job. I know you were holding things back at the trial. And kudos for that, not many people would be able to after three months in Azkaban, and under veritaserum too. But they will follow you day and night, scrutinise your every action. The truth is going to come out."

"The truth?" She had a feeling he knew what the truth was.

"I asked Dora if she's seen her cousin lately. She said no, but she's always been a terrible liar."

Claudia's insides contracted. This is why she did not want everyone to know. All the assumptions, all the guesses. But she knew Ted was right. Deep down, she knew that the moment the article came out. There was no way she could take that job a live. "Would you and Andromeda like to come for dinner?"

"Would love to."

"I'll send a message through your daughter. Once things cool off a bit…"

"Good idea."

Claudia did very little work for the rest of the day, and the internal agony continued well into the evening. "I'm going to say no to Fudge," she whispered after an hour of tossing about in bed, hoping that Sirius was still awake. "I don't have a choice. The scrutiny- if would cost us both our lives."

He turned to face her. "I'm sorry…"

"It's not your fault."

"I spoke to Moody and Oscar again about it today-"

"I still don't care what they have to say."

"They saw the Prophet article too. And they no longer care about what's best for the Order. They just want you to be safe. That's all they care about-"

She sighed and covered her face with the palms of her hand. "I can't believe I'm putting safety before ambition."

The tips of Sirius' fingers run through her hair. His lips touched her cheek. "I'm sure you'll find a way to make up for being sensible."

"Shut up-" she laughed and let him wrap her in his arms.

Claudia slept on it and when she did not change her mind by the morning, she made an appointment to see Fudge, to tell him her decision to stay in the Department of Mysteries.

"Agrippa convinced you to stay, didn't he?"

"It's not the right time for me to move, Minister. You've seen the Prophet… I'm honoured you've asked me, I really am. But I cannot accept the job."

He sat down. It was clear he expected this answer and, after the Prophet article, probably hoped for it too. "I've just had Lucius Malfoy in here."

"He wants the job?" Claudia asked, ready to change her mind and take the job on the spot if Fudge said yes.

But he shook his head- "He came to see me as one of the Hogwarts' governors. Dumbledore still had not found a Defence Against a Dark Arts teacher for next year. It's a serious issue, and I've decided to pass a decree to give the Ministry the power to appoint professors if Dumbledore cannot find someone."

"Can't imagine Dumbledore will be pleased about that."

"Lucius suggested Dolores."

"Umbridge? A teacher? After what she did?"

"I need someone to keep an eye on Dumbledore. Make sure he is not up to anything untoward."

Claudia was lost for words. Umbridge as a teacher. Teaching Neville- Teaching Harry. This was a disaster. Unmitigated disaster. "Is there anything that would change your mind about this?"

"You have concerns?"

"I have a godson at Hogwarts. I have concerns-" she paused. Her brain was working at million miles to try to find a way out of this. "About his wellbeing, if he's in some way used in the vendetta against me."

Fudge blinked twice. Did she overstep? "You have my word your godson will be safe."

"He's friends with Harry Potter-"

"Perhaps you should advise him to choose better friends."

"He's just turned fifteen. He's hardly going to take my advice on who he should be friends with. I certainly didn't at that age-"

"The decision is made, Claudia." Fudge stood up and walked over to a pile of papers, which he began to read. He was done with Claudia for the day.

"Fine." She mumbled and stormed off to the Department of Mysteries, thanking all the deities known to man that she did not take that job. Because if she had to spend the rest of the day sucking up to Fudge, it would kill her.

The Order meeting in full swing when Claudia got to Grimmauld Place – Dumbledore was sure to be telling them about Umbridge. She tried waiting up but could not keep her eyes open. Once Clotilda's potion worn off, it had really worn off.

Time flew and soon, it was Harry's last night in Grimmauld Place. Sirius was getting rather tetchy over the last few days that neither Harry nor Claudia made any attempts to clear the misunderstanding about Claudia's loyalties. It was time to fix it.

To make matters worse, she was late leaving the office and barely conscious. She reached into her pocket and took out Clotilda's potion- couple extra drops could not hurt. She could always take less tomorrow.

Harry was sitting in the corner of the room, alone. "Go," Sirius hissed. "This is your last chance. Unless you want him to spend the next three months him worrying that I'm sleeping with a Death Eater."

"Fine…"

She shuffled her tired legs over to Harry and sat down next to him. For a second, they sat in silence. Claudia was looking around the room for any help to start this conversation and then her eyes landed on the banner celebrating the new prefects. "I remember when I got my prefect badge…" she mumbled.

"Did you get a party too?" Harry asked bitterly.

"No, I certainly did not get a party." Harry looked at her quizzically, so she explained. "My brother was meant to be the prefect in the family, he was meant to be the one with brains."

"Does he not have brains?"

"He's the one who you saw in the graveyard when Voldemort returned- So, no…"

"How do know about-" he trailed off. His eyes landed on Sirius on the other side of the room.

"He told me about it," she explained. "But I would've guessed anyway. Both my father and brother were Death Eaters during the first war. My father is too ill to answer Voldemort's call, so it had to be my brother. My idiot coward of a brother."

"How does one become a Death Eater?"

If he truly thought she was one of them, this was a very bold question to ask. How very James of him… "My father was at school with Voldemort. I think lot of the early ones were his classmates. And a lot of the children of the original Death Eaters joined in too. And their friends… They all got a special task before they were allowed, to prove their loyalty- My brother was supposed to find a dark artefact. And I know that because I found it first."

"Did you want to joint?"

"No. I just wanted to prove I was better than them-" She mumbled. "Not everyone is put in Slytherin because we believe that purebloods are superior. Some of us are put in there because we are stupidly competitive, and would stop at very little in order to win…" Claudia laughed. "Became especially handy on the Quidditch pitch. Until your father broke my ankle."

That brought a little smile to Harry's face. "Did you know him well?"

Claudia nodded. "Once he realised that I was not dating Sirius to spy on the Gryffindor's Quidditch tactics… I'll remember this forever-" she chuckled as James' face popped into her head- "I was the captain of the Slytherin team and there was a lot of bad blood between us and the Gryffindors, especially Sirius. When everyone found out we were dating, they voted me out of the team." She sighed, remembering Regulus this time, and the beginning of his downfall. "When I told James, he hugged me and called me by my first name for the first time. He must have thought that if I was willing to sacrifice Quidditch for Sirius' sake, I was worth having around." She looked over to where Sirius was standing, Remus was talking at him, but Sirius was looking down at the stem of his glass, moving it aimlessly around.

Harry was looking at him too. When Sirius lifted his head and noticed his godson's eyes on him, he grinned. Rather forcefully.

The boy took a deep breath. "Hermione thinks part of him wanted me to get expelled so that I could come live here," he mumbled.

"Hermione is right." She awkwardly patted Harry on the arm. "But a bigger part of him knows you belong to Hogwarts." She briefly contemplated warning him about Umbridge. But if he was anything like James, then warning him would only make things worse.

"You all right, Potter?" Moody approached them. He squeezed Claudia's shoulder.

"Yeah, fine," mumbled Harry.

"I've got something that might interest you," Moody said and pulled out a tattered photograph from his robes. Instantly, Claudia recognised it as the photo the Order took back in the war.

She stood up. "I'll catch you later," she mumbled to Moody. She had done enough reminiscing for one night. There was only as much nostalgia as her soul could take.

"Are you leaving?" Moody asked.

"Tired…"

"You do look like hell."

"Thanks," she mumbled and then turned to Harry. "It was good to talk to you, Harry. Good luck at school."

"Thanks."

Claudia paused for a second to see if the boy would say any more, but he did not. She climbed the stairs, drunk a vial of sleeping draught to counteract any remainders of Clotilda's potion and collapsed into bed.

When she opened her eyes, the room was pitched black. She stretched in bed but found it empty. Within a blink of an eye, Claudia was coming down the stairs, looking for Sirius. But with every step she took, the air got colder and her chest tighter. They were here, she just knew. She picked up pace, taking two stairs with each step. But she was getting nowhere. The stairs just kept coming. She felt something under her feet and fell…

She kept falling and falling. Then, she was laying on a forest floor. Wet moss was surrounding her, consuming her. She was sinking into it. Her fingers were trying to grip it. But she kept slipping.

Claudia fought to free herself. Suddenly, she was sitting. Sirius was lying next to her. Claudia allowed herself to exhale. A nightmare.

She reached for him.

Her shrieks echoed through her head.

There was a hole in his chest. His heart. His heart was gone.

She looked at her hands. There was blood. Dripping down.

His heart was in Claudia's pale, bony fingers.

"No!" she cried. "Please, no!"

Claudia shot up to sitting. She was still in bed. And she was still alone. But the sheets seemed real enough, and she was not holding any organs in her palms. Maybe she had truly woken up this time.

After a few deep breaths, she summoned enough courage to get out of bed and walk out of the room to look for Sirius. She took the stairs slowly, making sure they were real too.

To her enormous relief, Sirius was sitting in the library and seemed very much alive.

"Why are you still up?" she whispered, pushing the nightmare to the back of her mind.

"A bit of trouble with a boggart. Are you ok?"

"Just a nightmare," she mumbled and sat down next to him. Gently, she pressed the side of her head against his chest. The sound of his heart was proving very reassuring. With every beat, she could feel herself getting calmer.

"We could have saved ourselves a lot of trouble if we just got married after school," Sirius said. "We would still end up here, exactly like this."

Cludia could not help but laugh. "Do you not remember when my father nearly sent me to Durmstrang because we were friends? He would have never allowed me to marry you."

"You mother would've persuaded him. Marriage to the heir of the House of Black. She'd be the mother to the most revered lady in wizarding England."

"Shut up. I'd be terrible at it. Even Kreacher thinks so," she mumbled into his chest.

"Kreacher is an idiot."

"Well, he's right about this."

"No argument there." Sirius laughed. "I'd be terrible at it too. We could be terrible together."

She lifted her head slightly to look into his eyes. "We can still have it. Well, a version of it-" she uttered. "I don't want my mother anywhere near us. But we can find a way to have a life that doesn't involve hiding, or the war."

"We will." Sirius held her face in his hands and kissed her. "I have to believe we will. That's the only thing that gets me through these fucking Order meetings."

"We will," she whispered and without thinking, her fingers travelled toward the buttons of his shirt. She needed to feel close to him, and for a few seconds truly believe they would get to live a life that did not involve living in the Blacks' family tomb, and worrying about what Voldemort was up to.

He grabbed her by the waist and threw her on the sofa. "I can guarantee-" he uttered- "that my parents would never have sex in the library."

"Why?" She shrieked and grimaced. "Why would you say that?"

Laughing, Sirius leaned in for another kiss, his fingers making their way across Claudia's ribs and up her chest. "I'll stop if you want me to," he teased her, knowing full well that she was not going to ask him to do that.

"There are children in this house!" a voice echoed through the room. Claudia's head collided with Sirius' elbow as they both struggled to sit up. Sharp pain had taken over her mind for a moment.

"Molly," Sirius growled. "We knock!"

"I knocked," Molly huffed. "You were clearly too busy to hear me."

Claudia, rubbing her painful skull, was expecting Molly to storm out, but instead, she took out a piece of parchment from her nightgown. "Arthur got this message. Something is happening at the Ministry." She placed it on the piano stool and backed out of the room. "I thought you should know."

When Molly was out of the room, Claudia quickly pulled her t-shirt back down and stood up. Sirius was already holding the letter in his hand.

"It doesn't say much."

"I still have to go in."

He sighed. "Another thing a proper lady of this House wouldn't do. Go to work in the middle of the night."

"Or go to work at all-"

"Quite." He planted a brief kiss on her head. "Be safe."

Within five minutes, Claudia was in the Ministry. She has had many conversations – with the guards, the aurors, the Hit Wizards - but none of them told her anything, as this was an internal affairs matter. All she managed to ascertain was that an intruder was arrested around the entrance to the Department of Mysteries.

But that was enough for Claudia to join the dots. The Death Eaters must have made an attempt at the Prophecy.

As there was no discernible benefit in trying to get any more information (internal affairs people were notoriously tight-lipped), Claudia spent the rest of her night enhancing the Department of Mysteries' security measures and waiting to be briefed.

Just after eleven o'clock the following morning, the internal affairs team entered her office to inform her that Sturgis Podmore has been arrested for attempting to break into the Department of Mysteries. Motive, according to the investigators, was unknown.

"If you don't need me, I need to go home," she said to Agrippa once the investigators were done.

"Catch up on sleep?"

"Yeah," she uttered. She was sure the Order would let her take a nap once she told them they had another spy in their midst... At least she did not join that pathetic cabal, she would have been dead if Podmore knew about her loyalties.

"Sturgis Podmore…" She hurled out the moment she run into Sirius in the hallway. "Did he know about the Prophecy? He was the one trying to break into the Department yesterday. He must have told the Death Eaters."

"He isn't a spy," Sirius said. "He was on guard duty."

"What guard duty?" she barked.

"The Order has been taking turns keeping an eye on the Prophecy."

"In my department?" she hissed. "And you did not feel the need to tell me?"

"You didn't want to be in the Order," he replied in a mocking tone.

Claudia's eyes widened. "How dare you? You know how important that job is for me!"

But before he could reply, the bell rang. They stood in silence, staring at each other. The bell rang again.

"Emergency Order meeting," Sirius mumbled. "Sturgis wasn't authorised to break in like this. Something must have gone wrong."

"This is not over-" she hissed and stomped over to the library. She paced and paced as Order members flooded into the kitchen. How could he not tell her? How could they just all sit in her kitchen, plotting about how to keep her Department safe? And what did they know anyway?

Claudia growled and flew out of the library and towards the kitchen. They were hopeless without her!

The moment she barged in, about half the Order members jumped to their feet. Some even drew their wands.

"Why don't you take a seat, Miss Avery-" Dumbledore said, which seemed to have calmed everyone down. "We think someone put Sturgis under Imperio. Could use your expertise."

She sat down next to Sirius, refusing to look at him. She could feel him lean closer- "I'm sorry," he whispered.

"I don't want to hear it."

Snape was staring at them with a smirk on this face.

"What are you looking at?" Sirius hissed.

"Marvelling at the effectiveness of the Ministry's new veritaserum," Snape said with a sneer, unmistakeably referring to Claudia's less than truthful interrogation.

"Anyone finds out Claude is here, I will know it was you who told them. And I will kill you with my bare hands."

"Or maybe you could get Lupin to do your dirty work again-"

"Enough!" Dumbledore's voice echoed through the kitchen. "This is not going to help us win this war. Now-" he added when neither Sirius nor Snape made an attempt on the other's life. "Claudia- will you go back to the Ministry and speak to internal affairs about getting access to Sturgis? I would like you to confirm whether he is under Imperio or not."

"I can try-" she said hesitantly, looking at Sirius and wandering whether it was safe to leave him alone with Snape.

But by the end of the meeting, he seemed to have calmed down a little. His jaw was no longer clenched, and neither were his fists. Even his breath was steady when he leaned toward her once the meeting was over. "I wanted to tell you. But if you didn't know about it, you couldn't be blamed for- well, this cock up."

Claudia sighed. That, she understood. "Fine, you're forgiven- But promise me you won't hide things from me again. After all, we're in this mess together now."

"You didn't have to come down here."

"We both know I did."