Chapter 471
Cedric pushed a hand through his hair.
"Look, I said I understand and I do." Harry fiddled with the edge of his cloak. "I
even agree with your Dad kind of that it's not that fair on you when you were
expecting the whole school to be behind you to have some of your support
pointed in my direction instead." He pressed his lips together. "Sirius and I
were talking the other day and…we talked about the fact that neither of us
really considered just doing the minimum for the tournament and just letting
you guys play for the win. But we both concluded that we can't for reasons
why we decided to play to win in the first place which have nothing to do with
you or the other Champions, and have everything to do with…"
"Beating the bad guys who entered you in the first place." Cedric said. "I read
the interview you gave and I get it."
And hadn't Harry talked about his other competitors in glowing terms in that
interview? Cedric felt a shiver of shame flow through him again and he
adjusted his hold on his broom. "I do know it's not your fault that you're in this
position." He said apologetically.
Harry flushed.
"And I'm really sorry about the badges." Cedric continued. "I had nothing to do
with them but…they were out of line."
Harry's lips twisted. "Yeah, they were a bit much." He pushed his glasses back
up his nose. "It'd be nice if you could tell your supporters that you want a fair
competition and no name-calling or bashing or…"
"Dirty tactics." Cedric nodded slowly, because he could do that. "A fair game. I
like that."
"Great," Harry smiled at him widely, "and speaking of which, it kind of brings
me to what I wanted to talk to you about in the first place."
Cedric stilled. "Oh?"
"When I was at Quidditch practice with Viktor he asked me if I'd ever come
across a dragon before," Harry explained, "and I thought he was asking me
about something that…well, it doesn't matter, but I, um, didn't really pay
attention to Viktor until a, um, source heavily hinted to me that the first task is
going to be dragons."
Dragons.
And suddenly he could see the letter from his father with the hint about
dragons written as though in capitals and red ink. His Dad had tried to tell him,
Cedric realised, possibly because his Dad had to have been told about the
importing of the dragons into the country as part of his job. He'd completely
missed the clue, placing dragons as a minor possibility once he'd done his
research on the tournament.
Cedric felt the need to sit down, his knees suddenly weak. He locked his
knees to keep upright. "That's…"
"Insane." Harry finished with a nod. "I know. Anyway, I checked with Viktor and
he admitted he was hinting to me because he'd found out from someone, and
he has tried to get you alone to hint to you too but…like I said, it's been
difficult, so I said I'd try and tell you too."
Cedric frowned. "Why?" The other two would have had a massive advantage
if they'd kept the information to themselves.
Harry's cheeks went red. "Well, even though neither Viktor or I got told in a
way that the rules don't allow…we both want a fair game." He gestured at
Cedric. "And besides the tasks were made more dangerous because I was
entered and if I can help keep everyone alive…"
That made sense, Cedric mused, taking in Harry's evident guilt about it
despite it not being his fault. Crouch Junior had a lot to answer for.
"So Fleur knows?" asked Cedric. He got on well with the Veela from
Beauxbatons. She'd come and sat next to him in the library on a couple of
occasions and…and he suddenly realised why she'd so prominently placed a
book on dragons down beside him the other day.
"Apparently she got Viktor's hint straight away." Harry rolled his eyes.
"Yeah," Cedric murmured, "I think she tried telling me too but I didn't take the
hint." He decided not to say anything about his Dad; that situation was
complicated enough without adding to it.
"At least you know now, right?" Harry said encouragingly.
"Right." Cedric agreed faintly, because it was better to know than to have
been surprised with it on the day of the task. "Merlin! Dragons!"
Harry nodded sympathetically. He cast a look out toward the castle. "I should
get back before Sirius starts to think I've been kidnapped or something."
Cedric took a deep breath. "Why don't we walk back together? Maybe it'll help
squash some of the…you know."
Harry's face lit up and he hurriedly bundled his invisibility cloak to a pocket in
his outer wear before he dismantled the spells keeping them hidden. "I
watched you for a while flying," he admitted as they made their way out of the
stands, "where did you learn those drills you did at the end?"
They talked Quidditch all the way back into the castle and Cedric tried not to
feel self-conscious at the attention they were drawing. He wasn't surprised to
see Granger and Weasley waiting for Harry near to the main staircase.
"Hey, why don't you come and join Viktor and me tomorrow? I'll ask Fleur too."
Harry invited as he got near to them. "We've got the pitch booked for eleven."
"Sounds good." Cedric said genuinely. "And Harry: thanks."
Harry waved and walked off to join his friend and brand new girlfriend. Cedric
shook his head, ignored the staring of the other students and made for
Hufflepuff with a spring in his step.
He had some reading to do on dragons.
o-O-o
20th November 1994
Remus dumped his case on the floor of the reception at Black Manor and
rubbed the back of his neck tiredly as he wandered through to the library and
ostensibly his and Penny's office.
"You look exhausted." Penny commented as he entered. "Sit! I'll go and make
you some tea."
Remus frowned. "Where's Kreacher?"
"Out looking for the Crouch elf." Bill raised the book he held in greeting. He
sat in one of the comfortable chairs tucked in front of Penny's desk. "Hi."
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
--------------
Chapter 472
"Hi." Remus responded automatically and sighed when he realised his
exchange with Bill had allowed Penny slip out to make tea.
Which he actually would appreciate so maybe he wouldn't complain but
simply say a grateful thank you.
"I didn't realise you had another trip overseas planned." Bill said, lowering his
book.
"Sirius sent me to Romania." Remus said succinctly. He grimaced and
motioned weakly with his hand as he slumped into his own chair with a sigh.
"Actually, I volunteered."
Bill's eyes brightened suddenly as he made the connection. "The dragon
reserve where Charlie usually works? You were checking which dragons are
missing."
"Got it in one." Remus said. "We didn't want to put Charlie in a difficult position
by questioning him further. It was good of him to send a hint through Ron as it
was."
"That's Charlie for you." Bill said with brotherly fondness. Charlie was brilliant
about putting himself on the line like that. "So, any empty pens?"
"As far as I can make out from questioning the tour staff as we went round the
different habitats, there are four types missing a dragon." Remus said with
satisfaction. He'd had to be incredibly sneaky in his questioning but he hadn't
been a Marauder for nothing. "A Chinese Fireball, a Hungarian Horntail, a
Swedish Short Snout and a Welsh Green."
Bill blinked. "Buggeration. They're not exactly holding back on the danger
then."
"The Horntail's the worst." Remus said thoughtfully. "It has a lot of extra issues
given the spiked tail and just generally the temperament. The Chinese Fireball
has a spiked necklace though which could be bad…out of all of them I hope
Harry faces the Welsh Green. It's a docile breed and fairly lethargic in its
movements." He grimaced. "Knowing Harry's luck, he'll probably get the
Horntail."
Penny entered with a large tea-tray. "I brought some for you too, Bill."
"Thanks, Penny." Bill leaped up to help her clear a space on her desk.
Penny played Mum and poured the tea, adding milk and sugar to taste. She
passed Remus his mug straight away and he wrapped his hands around it
with a sigh.
"Marry me, Penny." Remus joked.
Penny laughed. "You only want me for my tea-making abilities."
"That's not true!" Remus rejoined. "You're brilliant at indexing too!"
Penny laughed again but subsided with a heartfelt sigh. "I don't think I'll be
marrying anyone any time soon."
Bill winced and blew on his tea. "Percy will come round."
"He was fairly explicit in telling me we were over, Bill." Penny said sadly.
Remus sent Bill a look asking if that was true and Bill gave an awkward nod.
"I'm sorry, Penny," Remus said compassionately, "I didn't realise you'd broken
up." Although he wasn't surprised that Percy was pushing people away in the
aftermath of what happened.
Penny nodded, pale but determined looking. "I haven't been telling anyone
because I was getting used to the idea and…" she tapped her mug and made
a half-shrug, "I still thought I would be able to convince him it was a mistake."
"It is a mistake." Bill said firmly. "He's making a lot of decisions now that he
wouldn't make if he was thinking straight."
"Maybe, but as my friend Julie said, maybe he does need the space to deal
with what he's going through." Penny replied just as firmly. "I would prefer to
still be his girlfriend and be there to support him but if he needs space…well,
I'm going to give it to him."
There was a resoluteness to her tone that evidently warned Bill off arguing
since the eldest Weasley sibling nodded instead.
"Maybe space is what he needs." Bill sighed. "Merlin knows nothing else
seems to be working."
"Sirius told me Percy resigned from the Ministry." Remus said slowly. He
wasn't sure Sirius's plan of employing Percy was a good one as wellintentioned as it was. He liked Percy but Percy needed to gain some maturity
and perhaps the lessons he was faced with learning in the fallout of Crouch
Junior's impersonation of Crouch Senior would help him to do that.
"Hatter accepted immediately." Bill said. "I think that was one of the things that
has Percy so upset. He worked hard in his job and he was good at it. He had
a lot of plans and ambitions tied up with the Ministry so his entire career plan
has just combusted. It's a lot to take in."
And there was the obvious issue of Percy having to deal with the knowledge
that he'd worked alongside the enemy for so many months – had in fact
helped the enemy.
"It doesn't sound like he's coping well." Remus murmured.
Bill sipped his drink. "He's pushing people away. He barely speaks to my Dad
or me; hasn't sent a letter to Charlie or the twins or Ron or Ginny even after
that mess with Jessica Philpott. He's in his room all day, crawls out for meals
that Mum makes him, and that's it." He tipped his head in Penny's direction.
"We were all disappointed when he told us he'd broken up with Penny but he
won't talk about it."
"He's definitely hurting." Penny agreed with a soft sigh. "I think he's pushing
people away because he blames himself for everyone getting hurt at the
World Cup but…" she gave a helpless shrug. "It's hard to help someone who
doesn't want to be helped."
It sounded like Percy was drowning in self-recrimination.
Remus nodded. He'd have to talk with Sirius and tell him the steward's
assistant thing was a no-go until Percy got his act together himself. They
wouldn't do him any favours rescuing him from his own mess.
"How was Romania?" asked Penny, changing the subject in an obvious way
that indicated she'd had enough of talking about her ex-boyfriend.
Remus filled her in on his success. "I've already told Sirius the news over the
mirror so he can help specialise Harry's preparation over the next couple of
days; create a strategy for each dragon."
"Is he going to tell the other Champions about which types will be included in
the task?" Penny asked.
"I don't know but I suspect Harry will tell them." Remus said.
Penny pushed a lock of hair behind her ear. "Sirius mentioned that Harry was
determined to make it a fair fight and I guess that means they all have the
same information."
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
--------------
Chapter 473
"I got the impression from talking to Harry that he wants to make sure that
they all come out alive." Bill commented quietly. "He's aware that the tasks
were made more dangerous by Voldemort because of him so…"
That sounded like Harry, Remus mused. He'd have to tell Sirius but he
doubted that Sirius wasn't already aware. He was just very pleased that Sirius
was on site for Harry. If Harry had had to go through the whole thing
alone…he shuddered.
Thank Merlin Cedric Diggory had finally found some backbone and made a
gesture of friendship towards Harry. Hopefully it would stop the worst of some
of the comments that he'd had to suffer since his return to Hogwarts.
"You should have seen them this morning though, Remus. All four Champions
had a practice Quidditch session." Bill commented wryly. "Totally confounded
the press who ended up watching."
"Well, one of the aims of the competition is to promote intra-school
relationships." Remus said dryly.
"That's what Fleur said when they got questioned."
Remus's eyes narrowed at the red slashes of colour across Bill's cheeks.
"Fleur, huh?"
Penny smiled teasingly at Bill and Bill rolled his eyes.
"She's seventeen and still at school." Bill said. "But yes, she's a good looking
girl and we've run across each other a few times since Halloween."
"Isn't she a Veela?" Remus asked out loud.
"Quarter, I think." Bill said casually as though to convey there was nothing
unusual in his knowing such a specific piece of information.
"More likely she's tracking you down and bumping into you accidentally."
Penny said dryly.
"Caro might have said the same thing." Bill muttered, hiding his face in his
mug.
Remus took a gulp of his tea. "I thought you were still seeing Alicia?"
"I am," Bill said, "which is why there's nothing happening with Fleur, and even
if I wasn't seeing Alicia, there wouldn't be anything happening with Fleur
because she's too young for me."
Penny raised an eyebrow. "It sounds to me like she has a bit of a crush
though."
"Well, if she tries anything more than 'bumping into me,' I'll let her down easy,"
Bill said with a touch of exasperation, "but in the meantime there's no harm."
"Talking of crushes…" Penny smirked and handed Remus a letter.
Remus took it gingerly since it was purple parchment. He grimaced as he
opened the missive and then went bright red at the lewd suggestion written
down.
"Wow," Bill said, "that must be some letter."
Remus carefully folded it.
Penny grinned at him. "Tonks was most insistent you receive it as soon as you
got back."
"Bloody Padfoot!" Remus muttered and waved the letter. "This is his fault!"
They both looked at him questioningly.
"You both know Harry is now dating Hermione?" Remus began.
Bill raised his eyebrows. "I think the whole world knows Harry is dating
Hermione, Remus, it's been front page news for the last week."
"Yes, well, at the family dinner, Andy took Harry's new romance to mean that it
was time for Sirius to start considering his own love life." Remus explained.
"Sirius, in an attempt to divert her match-making attention from himself,
declared that I was looking for someone."
Penny burst into giggles.
Remus tried to glare at her and failed.
"Are you looking for someone?" asked Bill, amusement shining out of his
freckled face.
Remus clutched his mug tighter. "No, not really? I just…I ran into an old flame
when we first went to Paris and I might have, in a momentary moment of
weakness, mentioned to Sirius that it would be nice to be with someone."
Which it would.
"So Tonks…"
"Isn't serious." Remus stated firmly. She had teased him after the dinner and
the letter was probably a continuation of that. "It's a joke." It had to be. There
was no way a feisty young woman like Tonks would be interested in an old
wolf like him.
"Are you sure?" Penny asked, wiping away tears of laughter. "Because I have
to say, she looked pretty serious when she dropped the letter off." She
waggled her eyebrows.
Remus blushed and cursed himself for blushing.
"Tonks is straight-forward. You should just ask her." Bill advised, draining his
mug and setting it back on the tray.
"Even if she is serious," Remus countered, "she isn't someone I would date."
Bill and Penny both looked at him with varying expressions of surprise.
"Why ever not?" asked Penny finding her voice first.
"Tonks is great." Bill added, clearly gearing up to defend his friend.
"Yes, she is," Remus said quickly, "she's smart and funny and very charming
in her own way," he continued, "but, setting aside that she's also a great deal
younger than I am, she's also a member of the Ancient and Noble House that
I work for which makes any relationship beyond friendship a tad inappropriate
and risky."
Penny's confusion cleared. "I can understand that. If things go badly…I doubt
Sirius would fire you or anything but it would make things awkward, wouldn't
it?"
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
--------------
Chapter 474
"I guess I understand that," Bill subsided back into his chair, "but I should
warn you that Tonks isn't the type to give up all that easily."
"How's the search going at Hogwarts?" Remus asked, deciding a change of
subject was definitely in order.
Bill sent him another amused look at his avoidance of talking more about
Tonks. "Badly. We've covered a good part of the route we think Riddle must
have taken to the Headmaster's office for his DADA interview but there's
nothing so far." He grimaced. "Honestly, we could look for years and find
nothing. Hogwarts is a strange building."
Remus sighed and rubbed his brow, considering the problem. "Maybe we
should ask the portraits or the ghosts if they saw something or where they
would hide something?"
"That's not a bad idea although I'm not sure how helpful it would be in truth.
We could just end up expanding the possible list of places to search." Bill
said, turning it over in his head. "At least it gives us a second plan of attack
beyond widening the search pattern if we don't find anything on the route. I'll
talk to Caro; see what she thinks." He sighed. "You heard Lawrence has been
admitted to Saint Mungo's?"
Remus nodded sadly. The former member of the treasure team had been
cursed when he'd put on the Gaunt ring trying to get to the Resurrection stone
to speak with his dead daughter. He had been steadily declining in health ever
since and nothing they had done with the exception of a potion Severus had
created had helped. Eventually Lawrence had stopped taking the potion
though, accepting his fate.
Remus let them lapse into silence as he savoured the tea and worried over
how to tell Tonks to back off without it making things awkward.
"How's it going at the chateau?" Bill's question dragged Remus's attention
back to the library.
"There are eleven werewolves there now." Remus said slowly, organising his
thoughts. "Ten of them are from Fenrir's pack, mostly couples but two single
male werewolves…and a non-pack werewolf who heard from one of the
European packs that I was offering sanctuary."
"That's good, isn't it?" Penny said. "That word is getting out?"
"I don't know." Remus sighed heavily and tried to ignore the beginnings of a
headache that always appeared when he thought about being an Alpha and
forming a pack. It hadn't been in his plan. He didn't want a pack per se. He
wanted the family he'd built with Sirius and Harry over the Summer. But he
couldn't deny other werewolves a way out from Fenrir's distorted views of
packdom, especially when it served to ensure Fenrir couldn't count on his
pack to support Voldemort. Nor could Remus turn away someone like Clara.
Her story was very similar to Remus's – bitten as a child, raised by her
parents, and educated by them with the hope she could still have a similar life
to the one she would have had without lycanthropy, only for their dream to
peter out under the reality of how hard it was for werewolves to find work in
the wizarding world. Clara had gone to the continent to seek work. She'd been
introduced to the packs but, just like Remus, fundamentally didn't agree that
she should identify as a werewolf before she identified as a witch.
"I was a witch first and my parents raised me to be a witch." Clara had said as
they'd talked the night she had arrived over a bottle of red wine and some
crackers and cheese. "I don't deny the need to belong somewhere but I
want…I want people who understand that being a werewolf is only part of who
I am, not the sum of me."
It resonated deeply with Remus's own views. And perhaps, Remus mused, he
could admit that the thirty-one year old redhead with the sweet smile and
warm brown eyes was somewhat attractive. Which was another good reason
to meet with Tonks and get things straightened out before she went overboard
with her crush or joke…whichever it was that was motivating her pursuit of
him.
He belatedly realised Penny and Bill were waiting for him to expand on his
last statement.
"I never wanted to build a pack?" Remus offered. "And yet, here I am building
a pack." He cast a longing look at the empty mug and Penny plucked it out of
his hands to refill it. "I'm also concerned that once it's known, it's going to do
damage for Sirius and Harry politically."
Penny poured more tea into his mug and handed it back to him. "Sirius has
plans upon plans to deal with the news going public." She reminded him. "You
shouldn't worry."
"And yet I do." Remus responded her with a quiet thank you for the second
mug.
"Anyone else building a pack and I'd worry," Bill admitted, "but you're you
so…that's something, isn't it? And maybe the way to look at it isn't that you're
building a pack but creating a sanctuary for other werewolves to be able to
live and work in relative peace with the aid of Wolfsbane to help them."
It was the picture Sirius was going to paint with the press eventually; Remus
knew that. "It's just not a comfortable position for me." He sighed and took
another sip of the too-strong tea. "I guess I should get used to it though. Emile
was expecting another five to turn up this week."
"Are you going back out there?" Bill questioned, picking up the book he'd
discarded.
"After the first task." Remus said decisively. He had to go back, welcome the
newcomers and make sure they understood the rules. Besides, it would be
nice to see Clara again, he thought wistfully. He set his tea down and reached
for the stack of unopened correspondence on his desk.
Sirius was right in that it was becoming increasingly obvious he needed an
assistant, Remus considered tiredly. He definitely needed someone even if it
wasn't Percy. Keeping up with the Black and Potter estates and keeping
control of the Malfoy finances was a full time job without the extra work of
helping Harry with the tournament and establishing the werewolf sanctuary.
Maybe the truth was that he didn't have time to have a love life.
And on that depressing note, Remus thought with rueful amusement, he
should get back to work. He opened the first letter and smoothed it out.
POP!
Penny screamed as Remus shoved his chair back, his heart stampeding in
his chest at the loud noise, his wand already in his hand as was Bill's as they
stared at the sight in front of them.
Kreacher.
He was unconscious and he was wrapped around the body of another elf.
.....
20th November 1994
The atmosphere in the Hogwarts' infirmary was tense.
Sirius glanced around the gathered group; Remus and Bill stood by one bed,
guarding the unconscious elf laid out on the blankets; Dumbledore, Moody
and Snape hovered at the end of the beds. He, Harry and Dobby had
gathered next to Kreacher's bed where Helen Jordan was conducting a health
assessment.
Jordan stepped back from the infirmary bed and sighed, lowering her wand.
"I'm not an expert on elves but he's severely exhausted as far as I can tell. He
used a lot of his energy to get back to Black Manor and transporting another
elf alongside himself."
Dobby tentatively reached out and touched Kreacher. He snatched his hand
back and pulled at his ear. "Moved through wards meant to keep all but blood
out. Used Winky bound to the blood to fool them."
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
--------------
Chapter 475
"Well, that would do it." Jordan said dryly. "I think he'll recover in time."
Dobby nodded enthusiastically.
Sirius guessed that he was confirming Jordan was right.
The doctor walked around the bed and they followed her over to the second
elf, a female elf who looked rather too thin and abused.
"She is being Winky." Dobby confirmed. "The Crouch elf."
"I can't believe your elf actually found her, Black." Moody said, his magical eye
whirling.
"Kreacher is very resourceful." Sirius admitted, glancing back with no small
amount of guilt at the unconscious form of the Black family elf.
Jordan pursed her lips and her wand weaved in a familiar pattern as she
conducted the diagnostic. "Hmmm. It's not good news." She said. "I can't say
for certain because she's an elf and the assessment is meant for someone
human, but it's telling me that she's taken something like a Draught of the
Living Death."
"Ah," Dumbledore's expectant face fell, "how unfortunate. We had hoped to be
able to question her on the whereabouts of her master."
"You have to admire his smarts." Moody said. "Knew she was a weak point so
he took her out of the equation."
"But didn't kill her because the bond provides him with protection from being
found by other elves." Remus sighed and whirled away to stare out of the
large infirmary windows.
Sirius wondered if the callous treatment of the elf wasn't pressing some of
Remus's werewolf buttons. It wasn't as though werewolves were treated any
better.
"Poor Winky." Harry murmured. His wide green eyes were moving over the
elf's battered body.
Sirius put a hand on Harry's shoulder to comfort him – or maybe himself. He
cleared his throat. "Remind me; there's no antidote to the Living Death, is
there?"
Snape sneered at him as expected. "If that is what this is. There are a few
other draughts that it could cause the same long term catatonic effect. The
Dark Lord knows all of them."
"Can you…" Sirius flapped his hand in a motion that he hoped said 'find out
which potion it was.'
"Perhaps." Snape said sounding bored. "I would need some of the elf's blood
to test and isolate the potion's properties." He met Sirius's gaze derisively.
"However, there is no antidote for any of the potential potions."
Sirius raised his own eyebrow. "Then, you'll have to create one, won't you,
Snape."
Snape was too much of a Slytherin to gape at him but Remus's muffled snort
by the window and Bill's choked cough expressed their view of his outrageous
suggestion. And he knew it was outrageous but it was necessary. They
needed the antidote and to talk with the elf.
"Just like that?" derided Snape, his voice shifting up two octaves in incredulity.
"Oh for Merlin's sake," Sirius said, "you're a Potions Master, Snape, and as
much as I think you're a crap teacher, I know just how skilled you are at
creating potions. I know you're more than capable of creating an antidote."
"With what supplies?" demanded Snape. "Or are you expecting me to use the
school's?"
Sirius rolled his eyes. "I'll supply you with whatever you need. Just make a list
and give it to Remus."
Snape stared at him. "You're serious."
Sirius repressed the urge to be childish and make a name-related pun. "She
could be the only way of finding out where Crouch Junior and the rest are
hiding, so yes: I'm serious." He held Snape's gaze. "Deadly."
Snape gathered his robes around him. "Very well. I'll work on discovering
what potion was used and creating an antidote."
Sirius nodded sharply in acknowledgement. He wasn't going to say thank you.
He would rather walk over hot coals.
"Splendid!" Dumbledore clapped his hands and beamed at them both.
Merlin. Sirius repressed the urge to cover his face with his hands at
Dumbledore's evident approval at him and Snape working together. He
decided ignoring it was the better part of valour and headed back to the prone
form of Kreacher.
For all of Kreacher's hard work since Sirius had become Lord Black, Sirius still
harboured the memories of the cruelties Kreacher had perpetrated against
Sirius as a child. Perhaps his mother had ordered it but Kreacher had been
the one to execute the instructions whether denying him food or chaining him
into the basement or…
Sirius shook the thought away. Sometimes he wondered if Lily and Hermione
hadn't the right of it where elves were concerned. The bond between wizards
and elves might keep the elves alive but it was too corruptible. His mother had
used Kreacher as a weapon and so had Crouch with Winky – and on the
other side of the coin, both Dobby and Winky had been abused by their socalled masters.
The bond.
He never wanted to acknowledge that there was a bond between him and his
elves. He wanted to think of himself as an enlightened employer of them
rather than the slave master that held their magical leash. But there was a
bond and he was a slave master – a master with responsibilities to his slaves.
Kreacher had been magically exhausted following Sirius's order.
Sirius cleared his throat and placed his hand with the House of Black ring on
Kreacher's chest. "Familius magicus donum."
Silver light erupted beneath his hand and Kreacher's body lifted from the bed
a little as he absorbed the magic of the House of Black. Sirius held the
position until Kreacher began to stir. He took his hand away and waited.
"A gift of magic?" Harry murmured beside him.
"Kreacher was injured in service to us." Sirius said quietly.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
--------------
Chapter 476
Kreacher's large eyes opened slowly and he breathed in deeply. His gaze flew
to Sirius. "Lord Black." He attempted to sit up.
"Easy, Kreacher." Sirius motioned for him to remain lying down. "Rest. You
depleted your magic quite badly retrieving Winky."
The elf shuddered. "She's being in the old London paupers' crypt, Lord Black,
protected by old magic."
"How did you find her?" Moody asked bluntly.
Kreacher glared at him.
Sirius pinched the brow of his nose. "Answer Moody's question."
"I follows Winky's blood from Crouch house. Used it to enter bad wards."
Kreacher waggled his ears. "Is hard sometimes to keep trail."
"Did the trail take you anywhere else?" Moody asked briskly.
Kreacher shook his head.
"I'll go tell the Rat Squad." Moody headed out of the infirmary.
It was probably too late to catch anyone there. No doubt the elf had been
stowed there when the others had gone into hiding after the Crouch place had
become untenable.
"You did good, Kreacher." Sirius said. "Go back to Black Manor and rest for
the day. You can begin your usual duties again tomorrow."
Kreacher popped away.
"Thank you for releasing my patient." Jordan said dryly.
Sirius gave an embarrassed cough and shot Harry a betrayed look at his snort
of laughter.
"What's going to happen to Winky?" Harry asked, gesturing back at the bed
holding the battered elf.
"She will need to remain in close proximity to my work." Snape pointed out.
"I would suggest a small room for her here." Jordan sighed. "But neither
Poppy nor I have the time to look after her and…"
"Dobby bes looking after Winky." Dobby offered immediately, daring a look at
Harry, his ears drooping a little. "If Harry Potter is not minding Dobby looking
after Winky."
"I think it's a great idea, Dobby." Harry said with a grin.
Dumbledore smiled benevolently. "Then it is agreed. Winky will stay in the
infirmary and be looked after by Dobby while Severus attempts to heal her."
"It could take months." Snape warned.
"Then, we'd best let you get started." Sirius said, slinging an arm around Harry
to direct him out of the infirmary. He jerked his head at the door, catching
Remus's and Bill's eyes so they knew to follow them.
The walk to their rooms was quick but Sirius wasn't surprised to see Amelia
and Rufus waiting for them by the portrait with Moody.
"You'd better come in." Sirius said giving into the inevitability.
He didn't object when Harry sat down with them to discuss the latest
developments. He knew as much as he'd wanted to keep Harry away from
everything, he had more right to be there than anyone.
"Moody's updated you?" Sirius checked.
Amelia nodded briskly from her place on one of the sofas; Rufus sat
awkwardly beside her on one side, Moody on the other. Bill sat next to Harry
on the other sofa, Remus perched on the arm. Sirius settled for standing in
front of the fire.
"So we know Crouch went to London." Sirius summarised. "Is it possible that's
where they're hiding out?"
"Anything is possible." Rufus shot back with an irritated scowl.
Amelia shot him a look that told him to behave. "London would be a good
place for them to disappear into given it's one of the busiest wizarding places
in Britain."
"And that's not counting muggle London which is a teeming metropolis."
Remus added thoughtfully. "We could search London for years and not find
them there."
"That's the truth of it." Moody agreed gruffly.
Rufus sighed heavily. "I'll have the Rat Squad check out the crypt tomorrow."
"I'll come along with them if it's OK." Sirius offered. "My animagus form is
good at tracking."
"You were the best tracker the department had back in the war." Moody
agreed.
"I'll come too? Sometimes the wolf picks up on scents." Remus offered with a
mild mannered smile that said he was harmless really.
Rufus huffed out a breath but nodded. "Fine. You can come by the DMLE and
meet up with Wood in the morning."
"You might need a curse-breaker." Bill piped up.
Rufus glowered at him.
"He's right." Amelia said, her tone rich with amusement. "Better Bill and Caro
than someone who doesn't know the reason why we need to go poking in a
crypt."
"I don't really have a choice, do I?" said Rufus with both busy eyebrows
lowered.
"No." Amelia agreed cheerfully. "This is the best lead we have since the
seaside cottage idea doesn't seem to be leading anywhere at all."
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
--------------
Chapter 477
Rufus grimaced. "London isn't exactly much of a lead." He suddenly shifted to
stare at Harry. "You're not coming, Potter."
Harry blinked at him in apparent confusion. "No, I kind of have school
tomorrow. Although…" he looked at Sirius with a half-hopeful expression.
While Sirius might have let him sit in on the meeting, there was a line and
Sirius was drawing it.
"You don't kind of have school tomorrow," Sirius replied firmly, "you do have
school and you need to incorporate Remus's latest intelligence in your
preparations for the first task on Wednesday."
Harry sighed dramatically and flopped back on the sofa.
"Besides," Sirius pointed out, "do you really want to go poking around a crypt?
Dead bodies and bones and dirt and…"
"OK," Harry said hurriedly, raising his hands in surrender, "if you put it like
that."
"That's the reason I like crypts." Bill declared with a grin.
"Good for you." Sirius said, amused as Harry's mock look of horror.
Rufus turned to Sirius. "Have to admit that it was a good idea sending your
own elf after Crouch's. Shame she's out cold."
"Do you think Snape will be able to find an antidote for her?" Amelia asked.
Sirius shrugged. "I'm not his biggest fan but he is brilliant with potions."
"There was a reason why Voldemort held him in such high esteem despite his
halfblood parentage." Remus said dryly. "If anyone can find an antidote, it's
Severus."
"I don't disagree with either of you and you're both forgetting that the lad's got
a point to prove," Moody said, "he'll create the antidote."
Amelia nodded slowly. "Good. If we can get to talk with the elf…"
"She won't tell us anything." Rufus said. "Her bond won't let her betray her
master."
Sirius tapped the mantelpiece and said nothing. The spell his grandfather had
taught him would work for a short time, he was certain of it.
Amelia got to her feet, prompting Rufus and Moody to do the same. "I'll see
you at the Ministry tomorrow."
"I should get going too." Bill said once they'd left. "Oh hey." He nudged Harry's
arm. "Thanks for talking with Ginny. I don't know what you said but apparently
she's agreed to do the mind healing."
"You should thank Hermione." Harry replied. "She was the one who convinced
me to talk to her." He pushed himself off the sofa. "She still hasn't convinced
Ron."
The fallout of the attack on Hermione had been tremendous. All three had
planned to prank Hermione because she was going out with Harry. Jessica
had taken it a step further choosing a malicious spell rather than the paint that
the girls had agreed upon. Both Ginny and Lydia, who had immediately ran to
her brother to confess her part given the political implications, had been
horrified by Jessica's spell but couldn't deny they'd planned the ambush
together. They'd been lectured by the staff and their parents about their
attitude regarding Harry and Hermione, and specifically about the stalking,
which everyone admitted had they stepped in sooner might not have led to an
attack. Since Jessica had been expelled, the other two girls had taken on
board the seriousness of what had happened. However, Ron was giving his
sister the cold-shoulder and silent treatment.
Bill winced visibly. "Don't remind me." He waved and departed.
"Moony," Harry asked, "which of the dragon types is the most dangerous?"
Remus startled as though he'd been thinking about something else entirely.
"Hmmm? Oh, the Horntail is considered the most dangerous."
"Right," Harry said, "I'll look that one up first then, knowing my luck I'll be the
one to get it." He wandered away to the stairs and left Remus staring
bemusedly after him.
Remus turned to Sirius.
"He's not wrong." Sirius said, folding his arms across his chest.
But thankfully they knew what the dragon types were and that there were
dragons. Hopefully it would be enough to keep Harry alive. That belief was
with him the next morning when he met up with everyone else for the search
of the pauper's crypt.
The Rat Squad was out in full and Shacklebolt and Tonks had been included
since they were still leading the investigation into the missing pregnant
Summers woman. With the inclusion of Remus, Bill and Caro, Sirius was
reminded of the treasure hunt to find the ring. The conference room was
packed. He felt a pang of loss that Harry was missing out but since he was
also mostly relieved that Harry was missing out on digging through bones, he
paid it no attention.
"Can we pretend for a moment that I'm in charge?" Rufus barked from the
front.
Amelia raised an eyebrow from her place beside him but said nothing. It was
very amusing how Rufus changed colours rapidly under her relentless stare
though.
"Of this briefing." Rufus managed to get out after he'd turned purple.
Remus turned to Sirius with a look that Sirius hadn't seen since they'd both
been at Hogwarts – mischievous and snickering; school boys making fun of a
too fussy professor.
Sirius had to work hard to keep himself from giggling and he arranged his face
into his best 'I'm listening' expression even though he wasn't because it wasn't
like he didn't already know what was going to be said.
Tonks passed Sirius a note.
It was addressed to Remus. Sirius's eyebrows shot up. Really? He'd seen
Tonks flirting with Remus at the family dinner after Sirius had pointed Andy at
Remus's love life so she'd leave his alone but…really? There was a hell of an
age difference and the whole awkwardness thing if romance didn't work out.
Tonks wagged her eyebrows at Sirius meaningfully, turning them green then
blue before they shifted back to her usual colour of pink. He guessed she was
determined to follow through with her flirting and since Moony did need to get
some fun in his life…
Sirius slid the folded piece of paper to his right and nudged Remus. Remus
glanced at him and Sirius motioned with his eyes to the paper. Remus
frowned. He shot a look at Tonks who was purposefully not looking at either of
them. Remus glared at Sirius who raised both eyebrows because how was
Tonks passing notes to Remus his fault? Well, beyond the whole throwing
Remus at Andy and taking part in the passing of the notes thing.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
--------------
Chapter 478
Remus picked up the note, read it and turned an impressive shade of red.
Oh, Sirius was so going to tease him for that later.
"Does anyone have any questions?" asked Rufus loudly.
The room was silent.
"Director?" Rufus said politely.
Amelia shook her head. "I've nothing to add." Her gaze swept over the
assembled team. "Except good luck."
Rufus banged his fist on the top of the desk and marched out of the room.
Wood, who had been placed nominally in charge of the search, got to his feet.
"I'll organise our portkey. Everyone else get ready and meet back here in
fifteen."
Sirius was ready and he knew Remus was too. They had both dressed for the
occasion in black muggle jeans, black t-shirts and jackets that were warm but
provided plenty of movement. Sirius didn't mind any of his outfit getting dirty or
binned because he fully intended to bin every single piece of clothing after
digging in bones. He put his feet on the table and leaned back in his chair to
wait for the others to come back after changing out of their robes.
He hid his grin at Remus's embarrassment as Tonks swept past him with a
bawdy wink.
"Don't laugh!" Remus remonstrated in a hiss. "You should see what she
wrote." He pushed the piece of paper at Sirius.
"Size doesn't matter to a metamorphagus."
Sirius spluttered with laughter in the thankfully empty room.
"This is all your fault!" Remus said, hitting Sirius's arm.
"She's just having some fun with you, Moony." Sirius said soothingly. "Merlin
knows you could use some fun."
Remus gave him a disappointed look. "Apart from how awkward it would be if
things didn't work out, she's too young, Sirius!"
"Yeah, I kind of figured those would be your objections." Sirius preened a little
at getting that right.
"You can't think this is a good idea." Remus waved the paper at him.
Sirius sobered up a touch and sighed, letting go of his want to tease Moony.
"On the one hand, I think you and Tonks dating is hilarious and a bad idea,
you're right. But Tonks is…she's brilliant and you'd have fun with her. And I
think you'd force her to grow up a bit and that's not a bad thing." He held up a
hand when Remus went to argue. "But it's not really any of my business."
Remus regarded him thoughtfully. "That's actually a very mature response,
Padfoot."
"I've grown as a person." Sirius deadpanned.
"You have."
He said it with enough sincerity that Sirius knew he meant it which caused a
warm achy feeling in his chest because Sirius might have always yearned for
Remus's approval after the thing with Snape, and it always felt good to get it.
Remus sighed and shifted position in the uncomfortable conference room
chair. "I think I might like someone else?"
Sirius raised an eyebrow. "Who?"
"Her name's Clara." Remus said. "She's one of the werewolves at the
chateau. She's…we have a lot in common."
He schooled himself not to wince and swallowed the urge to press Remus for
more details. "Well, if your interest is elsewhere, I'd tell Tonks before her
pursuit gets…more direct and leaves her open to being embarrassed because
she simply thinks you're playing hard to get."
"Right." Remus said. "You're right. I'll invite her out for coffee or lunch or
something."
He looked terrified. Sirius patted him on the arm. "Good man."
There wasn't a chance to discuss it further as everyone piled back into the
room and they took the portkey to the wizarding pauper's crypt.
They landed at the entranceway in a derelict cemetery on the East side of the
River Thames. The white crumbling edifice that housed the steps down looked
unsound. Two of the outside columns had crumbled, one was cracked. The
stone door was wide open but cobwebs hung on the upper corners and over
every surface of the bare inside. Whatever minimal decoration there had
been, had long since eroded leaving an empty shell.
"Well, this isn't creepy." Tonks said brightly, breaking the silence.
"I've seen worse." Caro rejoined dryly.
Brooks cast a magical light ball into the air to illuminate the immediate area.
"Darren, Marina," Wood pointed at Cambridge and Ambrey, "you stay out here
and keep watch. Keith, if you run some traces out here; see if we can pick
anything up."
Brooks nodded.
"Bill, Caro," Wood motioned to them, "you follow after me," he turned to
Remus and Sirius, "then you guys."
"Kingsley, Tim; you have the rear." Wood motioned at Shacklebolt and
Chambers. "Tonks, you stay with the civilians."
"Fine with me." Tonks said as she manoeuvred in between Sirius and Remus.
Sirius gave Remus a sympathetic look but he focused his attention on falling
into line behind Bill and not falling down the worn stone steps that led down
into the bowels of the crypt. Wood sent up light balls as they went so the dark
oppressive tunnel was well lit.
It still raised Sirius's discomfort level, bringing back the tickle of the memories
he associated with Azkaban. The dank and decaying smell in his nostrils didn't
help either. He shivered under his heavy canvas jacket and gripped his wand
a little tighter. He initiated some breathing exercises that he'd learned during
his time at The Valley clinic, because keeping himself calm was a good thing,
and he resisted the pull to fall into Padfoot where the worst of his memories
would be dulled and fuzzy.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
--------------
Chapter 479
It was a long trip downwards and when the steps finished, the tunnel opened
out into the burial crypt. It ran for miles under London, backed onto the
muggle sewers at some point, the river in other places. There was just
enough room width wise for three men to stand shoulder to shoulder but the
ground beneath their feet was grimy and the walls were filled with bodies and
bones. Small creatures scurried in the shadows.
"OK, so is it just me," Tonks said as they walked further into the innards of the
crypt, "or is it much creepier down here than upstairs?"
"It's always creepier when there are rats." Caro agreed with evident distaste.
Wood slowed as the crypt branched off. He raised his wand. "Which way?"
Remus weaved his wand in an archaic motion but Sirius could see him
surreptitiously sniffing. "There's evidence of new blood that way." He pointed
to the left.
"Kingsley, how about you, Tonks and Caro check that out?" Wood pointed to
the right. "Just in case."
Kingsley, Tonks and Caro acknowledged the order and moved off.
The rest of them headed down the left branch of the crypt. It felt like they had
walked for miles when Remus spoke again, almost shocking Sirius who had
fallen into the lull of the quiet.
Remus sniffed again. "There's blood ahead."
Sirius shook himself, pulling his mind back to the present. "Fresh?"
"Yes." Remus said.
Bill cast ahead and grabbed Wood's arm as he went to move forward. "There
are blood wards just around the next bend. Serious blood wards and a trip
alarm."
Wood frowned in the dim light. "Let's keep our wits about us then."
They inched forward carefully around the corner and peered down the long
tunnel until disappeared into darkness.
"Stop!" Bill ordered. He cast carefully. "It's a tricky trip alarm. It's been set-up
to trigger some kind of signal to someone when something magical passes
through it." He pointed with his wand. "It covers the entire tunnel like a forceshield." He frowned and reached into his ubiquitous back-pack, bringing out a
wooden object.
It looked like a hollowed out square cube, Sirius mused.
Bill placed it on the ground and with his fingers gently nudged it into the ward.
"It's non-magical so it shouldn't trigger the ward. I've left this far end outside of
the ward so…" He aimed carefully with his wand and non-verbally cast at the
cube.
The spell hit the cube outside of the ward. It grew rapidly until it almost filled
the tunnel providing a safe way through for them. Sirius clapped Bill on the
back.
"Clever." Remus remarked with relief.
"We should still proceed with caution," Bill said, although he flashed a smile at
them both, "it's possible Kreacher already triggered the trip and we might
have company."
Sirius considered the possibility and bared his teeth in a parody of a smile.
"Let's hope so." He would love to get his hands on any of them – Peter,
Crouch, Travers…
Wood shot him an exasperated look. "It'll be my arse on the line if you get
injured."
"Don't worry," Remus said dryly, "Amelia knows what he's like."
Sirius harrumphed and froze at the sight of the wall coming up on his right. It
was crumpled in the middle, debris falling into the tunnel along with a number
of bones that were being chewed on by a couple of rats.
"Well, that's where all the blood is concentrated." Remus said, pointing
towards it.
Bill took his time casting the diagnostics. "I have no idea how Kreacher
survived busting through these blood wards except for the fact that he's an elf;
they've been set-up to be deadly to wizards."
"Let's see if we can find a trail." Wood suggested.
Sirius nodded and raised his wand, beginning the tracking spells he had
learned as a Hit Wizard.
Remus sniffed the air. "The scent of blood is overwhelming everything else
but maybe I can track it if I get a good enough sniff." He wandered closer to
the blood ward.
"Careful, Remus." Sirius cautioned him.
"It probably wouldn't kill me." Remus muttered, but he stayed back and Sirius
counted it as a win.
He turned his attention back to the tracking spell and froze. There was a trace
of recent magic; very recent magic; animagus magic.
Sirius cleared his throat carefully, his eyes seeking out the rats near the wall.
One of them was almost right next to Bill; the other back with the bones close
to Remus. He had a fifty-fifty chance of guessing correctly…
"Moony."
"Yes, Padfoot."
"Did you know that Ron discovered his animagus form?" Sirius asked
casually, taking a step closer to Wood where he had an open shot of the rat
by Bill's foot.
Remus froze, his eyes darting to Sirius's with the right question, and Sirius
nodded almost imperceptibly.
Bill turned to look at them both quizzically.
"Nope, can't say I did." Remus stretched as though he was completely
relaxed, his keen gaze taking in the position of the rats. He took a step back
to give himself a clearer shot of the one close to him.
With practiced ease both of them spun in unison and yelled the spell to force
an animagus back into human form.
The rat by Bill quickly formed into the visible shape of Peter Pettigrew.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
--------------
Chapter 480
But Peter was quick, already firing his wand at the ceiling and bringing a
deluge of debris down that cut Remus and Bill off from Wood and Sirius who
both had to take cover or get hit with the falling ceiling.
Sirius threw a cutting hex at him through the cloud of dirt and Peter squeaked
as he threw himself sideways to avoid it but he couldn't quite escape it and it
impacted his shoulder. He threw another expulso at them. Wood dived to one
side, throwing up a shield in front of him, and Sirius dived to the other. The
expulso ricocheted off the shield and into the wall behind Wood, causing it to
fall and knock him on the head. He slumped to the ground.
Sirius coughed and cast another cutting hex.
Peter squeaked again, created a thick bank of fog even as he changed back
into Wormtail, the hex flying over his head. He scuttled away into the dense
grey mist.
Sirius cast a glance at Wood, and despite his want to chase after Peter,
hurried over to check on him. "Wood?" He felt for a pulse and found one.
Wood coughed weakly and stirred at Sirius's touch, his eyes blinking open.
"Are you…?" Sirius asked quickly.
"Fine," Wood clutched at his bleeding head and motioned down the tunnel,
"go!"
Sirius changed into Padfoot and scented the rat – there was a blood trail.
Padfoot gave a howl of rage and Sirius fought hard to keep control of his form
as he began the chase. Peter must have changed back, Sirius thought as he
bounded down the tunnel. He would have caught up with a rat before now
whereas Peter in human form could have gotten a good head start. He
thanked Merlin that his animagus form had good night vision; the dark of the
tunnel was oppressive.
He skidded to a halt at a junction; left or right…
He sniffed the ground anxiously and found a smear of blood to the left…but
his nose pointed him right and he took off again.
The flash of a spell sailed through the air and Sirius leaped to avoid it, twisting
to land on the wall with his back paws to rebound off it, adrenaline surging
through him.
Peter was close!
Padfoot skidded around another corner and Sirius ducked hurriedly as
another spell flew towards him. He snarled at the sight of Peter stood in front
of a dead end; the lower two thirds a wall, the upper third iron bars covered
with a metal mesh and the shimmer of the magical barrier that prevented
magic from seeping through into the muggle world. The sound of rushing
water beyond gave away that they'd reached the muggle sewer system; the
glimmer of a shaft of sunlight flowed over the bars.
Sirius lowered his head and growled, preparing to pounce.
Peter changed rapidly…
Sirius jumped…
And Wormtail disappeared into a small hole at the foot of the wall.
Sirius just avoided crashing into it and he shifted back to human form, hitting
the wall with his fist as he glared through the bars and mesh at the sight of
Peter changing from his rat form to stare back at him safely on the other side,
sunlight from a drain high above gilding his dirty form. Neither of them could
cast anything because of the magical barrier.
For a long tense moment their gaze held.
Peter turned away…
"James loved you, Peter!" Sirius yelled. "How could you do that to him?!" He
had loved Peter too. The betrayal cut deep and painful.
Peter's shoulders slumped as he stopped but he didn't look back over his
shoulder at Sirius. "I told you the truth in the Shack, Sirius. I was scared."
The quiet rush of the sewer water almost made him inaudible but Sirius heard
him.
Sirius placed a hand on one of the bars and levered himself up against the
wall. "We were all scared, Peter. It's no excuse."
Peter laughed humourlessly. "You think I don't know that?" He shook his head.
"It's too late now anyway. I made my choice."
"It's not too late." Sirius said immediately. "You don't have to do this, Peter! Do
you…do you remember when Harry was born? Do you remember what we
promised James, Peter? All of us standing around the crib the night they
brought him home?"
They'd promised to protect Harry; all of them, every single one of the
Marauders.
"The Dark Lord will kill him no matter what we do." Peter said eventually. He
raised a hand to his hurt shoulder and winced as his hand came back bloody.
"No, he won't." Sirius argued fiercely. "Not if you do what you promised James
in the first place and protect his son." He gave a harsh bark of laughter. "Harry
saved your life in the Shack, Peter. You owe him."
"So that means I have to die for him?" Peter finally looked back over at Sirius.
His round face was streaked with grime, his thinning hair askew. "I'm not you,
Sirius! I'm not brave enough to put myself between the Dark Lord and a
boy…a boy I don't even know."
Sirius banged his hand on the bar as Peter went to leave again. "That's a lie!"
He shouted. "You know Harry, Peter! You know him because you watched him
for almost three years as Ron Weasley's rat! You know he's good and kind
and brilliant!" He searched desperately for an argument that would convince
Peter to give himself up, hating that he couldn't just stun him. "He's defeated
your Dark Lord three times in the time you've known him! He defeated him at
eleven and he defeated a shade of him at twelve. Your Dark Lord fears him!"
"You might be right about that." He said tiredly.
"You know Harry can defeat him if you stop bloody helping him then!" Sirius
said sharply. Come on, Wormy, Sirius thought; come on!
Peter faced him again and smiled sadly. "I've made my choice, Sirius." He
straightened, catching and holding Sirius's furious glare. "I am the Dark Lord's
willing servant, Sirius, just as Harry is his unwilling enemy." He touched his
shoulder again, his voice dropping to a murmur that Sirius struggled to hear.
"It will all be decided one way or another on the eve of the Summer solstice."
And Peter shifted into Wormtail before Sirius could do more than gape at him,
scuttling away and out of sight.
Sirius slammed his hand against the bar once more and slumped against the
wall. So close…he'd been so close…