Heaven and Hell

20th Chapter - Family Ties

(October 1981)

Serena felt a bit dizzy when she and Sirius landed in a small village. Apparating by herself was one thing; she could control everything, knew exactly when she vanished and reappeared. However, being Apparated by someone else was a completely different matter and far more unpleasant. The moment that it started was always a little unnerving, and, to add to the discomfort, Apparating additional mass was also more difficult and therefore a rougher ride.

At least Sirius had brought her in one piece to wherever they were.

Serena took a deep breath of the cool, fresh air that smelled a lot better than the smoke-filled atmosphere at Sirius' place, and ventilated the dizziness out of her mind.

Before her queasiness could vanish completely, though, another stir in her body increased it again. It felt as if her insides were knotting and she fought the sudden urge to double up. The familiar sensations spreading through her body told her she was changing shape. Her skin became tighter, her hair grew longer and darker and her whole posture straightened up. One hour must have passed since she had taken the last sip of Henrietta's Polyjuice and she was transforming back into her natural self. Fortunately, the transformation never lasted long and the nausea diminished as quickly as it had come.

Sirius adjusted her handcuffs so that she couldn't pull out her now smaller hands. Then he gave her a rough dig in her back, steering her towards an ancient-looking cottage at the end of the lane. It was built of rough-hewn stone blocks and surrounded by huge oak trees, each of which seemed to be ten times older than the cottage itself. Light shone out from a window on the upper floor, and Serena spotted a long-haired shadow pacing behind the window, rocking a small bundle. That had to be Lily, putting little Harry to bed.

When she tore her gaze away from the window, she caught Sirius scrutinising her with an odd look. He abruptly broke the eye contact and opened a gate in the white paling fence that surrounded the property. Without letting go of Serena's arm or taking his vigilant eyes off her, he led her across the stone path through the front garden and towards the front door.

He knocked, firmly and briefly. It took a couple of seconds before they heard someone descending the stairs.

Despite not having heard his voice for years, Serena immediately recognised James asking from inside, "Who's there?"

"It's me, Padfoot," Sirius replied.

The door opened, and for the first time in over three years Serena stood face to face with her brother. He looked different, she noticed. More grown up than the last time; more like an adult than an adolescent. She wondered if she looked different to James as well.

Upon seeing her, James' face darkened. "Why have you brought her here?" he asked Sirius sharply. When his eyes fell on her handcuffs, he added, "And why didn't you take her to Azkaban, where she belongs?"

"She wants to talk things out with you, she said." Sirius answered laconically.

"But I don't."

During the exchange of words with Sirius, James hadn't so much as glimpsed at Serena. Now he reached for the door to close it.

However, Serena had already steeled herself against the hostility that James would show her, and determined to win him round, she put her foot in the door.

"Jim, please listen to me. I know you hate me. But you don't know all facts. Let me tell them to you. Give me five minutes, and then I'll leave. But listen to me first, please!"

James didn't seem moved by her plea.

"Take your foot away," he answered coldly.

"I told you so," Sirius cut in. "You promised to leave if he didn't want to see you. Let's go."

Serena shook her head; she didn't want to give up that quickly. It wouldn't hurt James to lend her his ears for a few minutes. Why didn't he realise that?

She should have planned this better, she admonished herself. Her mind had been completely focused on the question of how to find James, and what to tell him about her life, but she hadn't thought about what to do if he wouldn't hear her out, despite her pleas.

Suddenly she got help from an unexpected source.

"It wouldn't do any harm to spare five minutes of your time to listen to what she has to say, James. She's your sister, after all." Lily stood at the bottom of the stairs and gave her husband an insistent look.

Momentarily indecisive, he returned Lily's gaze for a couple of seconds. Finally, he grudgingly stepped aside with a glare at Serena. "Okay then, come in. You have exactly five minutes."

Sirius still maintained his painful grip on Serena's left arm when he led her past the front door and into the kitchen to the right side of the stairs, bluntly refusing to leave her out of his sight, even though she begged him to wait outside with Lily. James added that he would tell Sirius everything anyway, and that she had only four minutes left.

Reluctantly, Serena gave in. She had asked for five minutes and they had been granted. Well aware that she wouldn't get more time by arguing who was allowed to listen, she sat down at the kitchen table and began to speak. She knew that she spilled secrets that needed to stay secret at all cost, but she was pretty sure that neither James nor Lily nor Sirius would pass on this information to the Dark Lord. Actually, right now, she didn't even care. All she wanted to do was make her brother realise that she wasn't the monster he saw her as.

Calmly, Serena told them about Moody's visit at Hogwarts, her agreement to spy on Lord Voldemort, her efforts to save innocent lives and her unsuccessful attempt to steal Voldemort's Pensieve. She didn't hold back that, as a consequence, she incurred Voldemort's wrath and his promise to kill not only her but all of her family. She also mentioned Bellatrix's prophecy and explained why her true occupation as spy was still a secret. Finally, she gave a description of her escape from St. Mungo's and her new life in Two Oaks.

"... and when Dumbledore wrote to me that you've got a son, I suddenly realised how much I actually missed you. I felt as if I couldn't stand it one more day without seeing you. I decided to tell you everything, hoping that you could forgive me."

When she ended, a long silence followed, in which all three of her listeners mulled over what they had just heard. Serena had told a lot, and of course she had needed more than five minutes, but James had attentively followed her account without one single glimpse at his watch.

Finally he cleared his throat.

"I must admit that this was an interesting story, but how can we know that you didn't make it up?"

"Ask Dumbledore. He'll confirm it."

Sirius shook his head. "He's away on business. We cannot reach him for the next two days." He gave her a distrustful look. "That's convenient for you, isn't it?"

James pushed back his chair and sprang up, startling Serena with the sudden, loud scraping sound of the chair's legs on the floor. Walking over to the room on the other side of the stairs, he explained, "I'll call Moody. Either she told us the truth, and then Moody'll confirm it. Or she lied, and then Moody will be delighted to arrest her, as he's been trying to do ever since she escaped before her trial."

Serena noticed that the kitchen didn't have a fireplace. The other room probably had one, and that's why James had gone there.

"Sirius, keep an eye on her, I don't want her to make a bolt for it if the latter should be the case," James called as an afterthought from the other room.

"Of course," Sirius grunted. He touched the handcuffs that Serena still wore with his wand. They vibrated for a few moments, sprouting extensions that connected with the armrests of the chair that she sat on.

She didn't comment on this precaution; it was only a matter of minutes until Moody would confirm her story, and then they would remove the handcuffs. Suddenly, a thought hit her that almost made her panic: what if Moody deemed it more important to keep these things secret than the reconciliation with her brother? Moody and James were both Aurors and knew each other. But how well? Did Moody trust James enough to let him know the truth? Or would he just call Serena an imaginative liar, come to arrest her and later send her home, telling the others that she had escaped once again?

When she heard Moody's voice greeting James, muffled through the distance, it sounded alarmed. Surely, James wouldn't call him in the middle of the night if it wasn't important.

Serena pricked up her ears, and heard exactly what she had dreaded. Before James could even start on reiterating what his sister had told him, Moody cut him short, denying everything.

"Whatever she told you to win you round, it's not true. Don't believe one word from her, James."

Serena could practically feel the temperature in the kitchen drop; Sirius gave her an icy look, and Lily's expression was one of sad disappointment. Cursing the chains that kept her on her chair and prevented her from going over to the fireplace and speaking to Moody, she clung to the thought that, at least, she hadn't failed completely. To keep up the pretence of her being evil, Moody would have to stop by and pick her up. Perhaps then she could try to talk him round. Serena calmed a bit at this thought and almost failed to recognise the meaning of Moody's last words before he cancelled the connection.

"Too bad that she's gone," Moody said calmly, not sounding the slightest bit frustrated. "I would have loved to finally arrest her. Ah well, I'll have to carry on chasing her then. I'll catch her one day, she can't evade me forever. Good night, James."

A hiss indicated that the flames had fizzled out. A moment later James returned to the kitchen.

"It seems that you indeed told us the truth," he said to Serena, sounding surprised. "Take her handcuffs off, Sirius."

Sirius scrutinised James as if he was looking for physical signs that his best friend had gone mental. "Pardon? Didn't Moody call her a liar just a minute ago? How come you suddenly believe her more than him?"

"Didn't you get Moody's message? He's not interested in arresting her, which in fact means that Serena isn't a Death Eater. Of course Moody couldn't plainly say so, you never know who's listening in on the Floo."

"Then you believe me? And forgive me?" Serena anxiously asked, hope growing in her chest.

"Yes, I believe you. And about forgiving... There's nothing to forgive, I suppose. You didn't do wrong. But I'd be grateful if you'd forgive me for doubting you," James answered apologetically.

Serena suddenly felt a lump building in her throat. For ages she had been longing for this moment. Her brother wasn't angry with her anymore. She blinked heavily because tears of joy welled up in her eyes and threatened to obstruct her view.

She lifted her hands to give him a hug, but a rattling sound reminded her of the handcuffs that still restrained her to the chair.

After a last quizzical look at James, Sirius shrugged his shoulders and touched the cuffs with his wand again. They opened and dissolved into thin air.

Finally free, Serena flung her arms round James' neck, savouring the blissful feeling of having got back something extremely important.

"I'm so glad that this is settled," she breathed, overjoyed. "Please, never let us quarrel again."

"Agreed!" James answered, returning the hug.

Lily didn't wait long before joining the embrace. "I'm glad that you came and cleared things up," she said to Serena. "James might not admit it, but when we thought you had joined the Dark side, it hurt him deeply."

Sirius hesitated the barest of moments, and then he grinned and gave a bear-hug to all three of them.

Finally Serena panted, laughing, "Ok, if you really believe me then please stop crushing me."

They loosened the embrace and sat down around the kitchen table again. Sirius suddenly burst out, "Then it was him after all!"

"Who?" James asked, not able to follow Sirius' mental leap.

"Ronald Henderson. He was a Muggle-born and one year behind us at Hogwarts. James, you must remember him, you saved him from Malfoy's hex once. Death Eaters wiped out his family shortly after he finished Hogwarts. When I was in Diagon Alley a while ago, looking for a present for Harry's first birthday, I met a man in the toy shop who looked exactly like Ronny. He bought some extremely odd looking toys for his newborn daughter. I could have sworn that it was him, but he insisted on being Roger Lovegood, and having never heard of a Ronald Henderson."

Sirius gave Serena an inquiring look. "So could it have been him?"

She shrugged. "I don't know. It's possible, though. The Hendersons were the first family I saved. But I have no idea about their new identities or their whereabouts; that was Moody's job."

Before anyone could respond, they suddenly heard crying coming from the upper floor. Lily frowned. "Now we've been so loud we've woken Harry up! Great. I better look after him." She turned towards the stairs.

"Would you mind if I join you?" Serena asked cautiously. "I'd love to meet my little nephew."

"Oh, no, we don't mind," James answered, smiling. "He's awake anyway; by all means, go and say 'hello' to him."

In the end, they all trooped up the stairs and entered the nursery at the end of the upper corridor. When Serena looked in the cot, she met a curious gaze from the greenest eyes she ever had seen. Harry fell silent the moment he saw her.

"Hello, sweet little rascal. I'm Serena, your aunt," she greeted him softly.

Harry uttered an unarticulated sound and stretched his tiny hands out towards her. Serena took him out of his bed and into her arms.

James and Lily exchanged puzzled looks.

"I think he likes you," Lily said. "That's funny, usually he isn't very fond of strangers."

"I must say," James added with a wide grin spreading on his face, "you look very proficient at holding him. I'm sure, if you have children one day, you'll manage them fabulously."

"I know," Serena replied, grinning too. "In fact, I've already had more time to practise than you."

As if to prove it, she shifted Harry sideways so that he rested on her hip, supporting his back with her left arm. Then she used her free hand to retrieve a photograph from her robe, showing it to James, whose eyes went as wide as saucers. Curious, Lily and Sirius craned their necks to see the picture as well. The photograph showed a radiantly happy Serena, holding a baby boy in her arms, who was currently busy sucking on a strand of her long hair.

"Is he yours?" James asked incredulously.

"Of course he is, dimwit!" Lily rebuked her husband, but in an affectionate tone. "He's the spitting image of Serena."

Serena nodded in agreement. "This is my son Jon. Actually, his name's Jonathan, after Grandpa, but you know me, it's much too long to call him that. This picture was taken shortly after he was born. He's seventeen months already. My pride and joy."

While James gazed in wonder at the photograph, Serena looked at Harry. He had fallen asleep again in her arm. Tenderly, she put him back in his cot.

"He inherited your eyes, Lily. And most of the rest from Jim, I'd say," she said quietly, so as not to disturb Harry's sleep.

"Yeah," Sirius consented, grinning. "Looks like his father, the poor lad."

James gave Sirius a deadly glare while Serena softly sniggered.

"We better leave before you wake him up again," Lily whispered and strode towards the door.

At the doorframe she bent down, sighing. She picked a red toy parrot from the floor and put it back on a shelf beside the door.

"Look, James, he's done it again."

"He's way too young to do this. I'll check the shelf, it's probably loose."

"You checked it already, James. Believe me, it's Harry."

"Harry's what?" Serena asked, curious.

"He seems to have a certain dislike for this toy parrot," James explained. "It's always lying on the floor when we come in. Lily thinks that Harry throws it out of his sight, and since he can't reach the shelf, he must be using magic to get rid of it."

"Isn't he a bit young for doing magic?" Serena wondered.

"That's what I said," James concurred, arching an eyebrow at Lily.

"He probably doesn't do it consciously, but nevertheless, he does it, I'm sure," Lily answered, dismissing the objection. "In any case, we should remove this clock from his room."

"It's a clock?" Serena cast a closer look at the familiar looking parrot. "Hey, I know this thing! It's loud, it's ugly, but I have never seen a clock more precise and reliable."

"Yeah, that's right," James confirmed. His expression brightened up when an idea hit him. "Well, Harry doesn't like it. And basically it's yours anyway. It was a Christmas present from me, you remember?"

She nodded cheerfully. "How could I forget?"

James took the parrot from the shelf and handed it over to his sister. "Here, take it. Scare your own son with it. With greetings from his uncle and aunt."

Looking at the parrot clock, Serena smiled. "Okay, I'll take it," she said. "But only to do Harry a favour." She pocketed the parrot. "Anyway, thanks."

"And now let's go back down," Lily whispered when the boy stirred in his cot, "You don't want to wake Harry up again, do you?"

This time they didn't sit down in the kitchen, but in the much more comfortable living room on the left of the stairs. Lily conjured four mugs of hot coffee and then they took turns in telling about the joys and sorrows of raising children or being a godfather of one.

"Since Jon learned to walk, nothing's safe from him anymore. I have to guard him round-the-clock," Serena said.

"Oh, I know what you mean." Lily sighed. "And Harry always grabs something that he shouldn't, when I don't have a free hand to take it away from him."

James laughed. "Lily's become quite adept with performing wandless Accio and Levitation Spells recently."

The hours flew by, and by the time Lily couldn't manage to suppress a hearty yawn, the sky was already beginning to turn red in the east.

"I suppose I've kept you long enough from sleeping. I'd better leave," Serena finally said.

* * *

Lily wasn't the only one who yawned; Severus was deadly tired as well. He hadn't dared enter the grounds of the house, of course, fearing that he would set off some kind of alarm. Instead, he had climbed one of the ancient oak trees on the other side of the street, and from there he had watched them through a window, using a Magnifying Spell on his eyes.

However, Serena showed no signs of attacking anyone. After a while, her brother had gone to the room opposite the kitchen and called someone by Floo. Since he couldn't see the fireplace directly, Severus hadn't been able to recognise who it was. When Potter had returned to the kitchen, Black had removed Serena's handcuffs and they had engaged in a group hug. Later the four of them had sat down in the living room, drinking coffee and talking for hours.

But now a new day dawned, and since nothing had happened that would have given Severus a chance to save James Potter and repay his life debt, his mood had reached a new all-time-low. He had sat uncomfortably in that wretched tree, stayed up all night, almost frozen to death, and all for nothing. To cap things off, his first lesson of the day would begin in less than an hour.

The front door opened and Serena stepped out, ready to leave.

"As soon as this war's over, we'll visit you," James promised his sister. "I hope you aren't angry that Sirius will Obliviate your memory of our whereabouts."

"Oh no, it's okay. A sensible security precaution." Serena turned to Black, wearing a frown. "By the way, it was pretty careless of you to take me here. What if I had lied to you, if I'd been after Jim? You gave me handcuffs, but you didn't check if anyone followed me, for instance. You really should be a bit more cautious in future. If something should happen to Jim and his family, I'll make you regret it. Be warned."

These words had sounded extremely serious, but Serena's eyes were full of mischief. Seeing Black's embarrassed face, she broke into a laugh and a second later her brother joined in.

Finally they all said goodbye to each other, and Black and Serena Disapparated. Severus supposed that they had gone back to Black's house where he would cast a Memory Spell on Serena before sending her home. Definitely nothing that he felt the need to watch. He Apparated directly to Hogwarts, or at least as close as he could, and hurried the rest of the way. Hopefully, he would have enough time left to gulp down a cup of the strongest coffee that the house-elves could produce before his teaching started.

* * *

Two days later, Sirius admitted to James, "I can't get Serena's words out of my head. I've put you in danger."

James grinned at Sirius' uneasiness. "She was mocking you, didn't you notice? I know that you wouldn't do that."

"But she was right. Of course, I would never endanger you on purpose. But unintentionally I did it. And it could happen again. I don't think that I'm suited for being Secret Keeper."

"Oh come on, Padfoot. I trust you with my life, and that of Lily and Harry. I wouldn't do that if I wasn't completely sure that you were the right man for this job."

"You don't know me as well as I do", Sirius said quietly. "You may trust me, but I don't trust myself."

* * *

Having become reconciled with her brother, Serena returned to Two Oaks in a much better mood than she had left it. Henrietta was agog to hear every detail of the reconciliation, and Serena didn't tire of telling her about it. Instantly, Henrietta eagerly began to plan the Potters' visit.

"When they come, I'll make an apple pie. Or perhaps I should put plums in it, that'll make the pie juicier. I wonder whether they like plums? Maybe I should make both, and then they can choose..."

Serena laughed, pointing out the fact that weeks or rather months would pass until they would come. At the moment they had to stay in hiding from Voldemort, and there was no end in sight.

A scant two weeks after Serena's return, a flame roared up in the fireplace. She was sitting on the terrace, playing with Jon, when she heard a voice calling from the living room, "Serena? Henrietta? Is someone there?"

Curious, she went into the house to find a green shining face in the fireplace. Her face brightened up when she recognised Albus Dumbledore.

"Why, hello, Professor!" she greeted him happily. "Long time no see! I didn't know that this fireplace is connected to the British Floo network, or I would have called you long ago. How are you?"

Dumbledore, however, was wearing a solemn face.

"Hello Serena. It's nice to see you too. Usually, your fireplace isn't connected," he explained gravely. "A Floo technician owed me a favour and connected it for today. Something has happened and I wanted to inform you personally, before you read about it in a newspaper."

Dumbledore's expression became even sadder. In a sudden sense of foreboding, Serena felt a cold fist reach out for her stomach and close around it.

With a Herculean effort, she forced her tongue that had suddenly gone dry to form her next words. "What's it?" Her heart pounded wildly in her chest, trying to escape the all-oppressing fist.

"James is dead," Dumbledore answered heavily. The words weighed upon Serena's mind like they were made out of lead. "And Lily too. Lord Voldemort has finally found and killed them. I'm sorry."

Serena collapsed in the nearest chair, needing something stable to support her, and she hardly noticed Dumbledore's next words.

"There's also good news, though. Harry is alive. When Lord Voldemort attempted to kill him, he couldn't do it. His power is broken, and he has disappeared."

Serena swallowed. The fist around her stomach extended its pressure to her other internal organs. Her pounding heart felt trapped like a fluttering bird, threatening to break under the force.

How could this be? Only a few days ago, she had talked to James and Lily, had laughed with them; and now they were dead. She couldn't take it! She had missed her brother for so long, and now she wouldn't see him ever again. Now, that he finally wouldn't refuse to talk to her, he wouldn't be there anymore.

Tears burned in her eyes. An entire family, people that she deeply cared for, were wiped away like crumbs off a table. Suddenly Serena realised that Dumbledore had said that Harry was still alive.

Sniffling, she straightened up. "I'll come to England to get Harry," she said briskly, in a broken voice. "Can I use this fireplace or is the connection only for talking?" Taking care of her nephew would hopefully help her to keep her mind away from thinking about his dead parents.

Dumbledore shook his head glumly. "I'm sorry, but you can't come. The Ministry of Magic is still searching for you. And even if they knew the truth, if they abandoned your case, they would never allow you to care for Harry. Not with your past."

A part of the overwhelming ache in Serena found an outlet and transformed into anger. "Since when is adopting a child Ministry business? Harry's my nephew, I have every right to raise him!"

The greenish face in the fireplace was sympathetic, but didn't give in. "Harry is a special case," Dumbledore explained calmly. "He is the Boy-Who-Lived, who survived Lord Voldemort's Killing Curse. Harry is the symbol of the end of the war, and of a new beginning. People are highly aware of him; they take notice of everything that concerns his welfare. I am afraid that they won't allow someone with Death Eater connections like you to even come near him. But don't worry, Harry won't end up in an orphanage. Lily's sister Petunia will take care of him. And Harry will be safe there from possible grudging Death Eaters who think they have to get back at him for breaking Voldemort's power. Petunia's blood relation to Lily, a connection carrying ancient and very powerful magic, will see to that."

"Petunia?" Serena didn't claim to know Lily's family, but shouldn't she have noticed if Lily had a sister? "I can't remember a Petunia Evans. Which House was she in?"

"She wasn't in any Hogwarts House. Petunia is a Muggle; as is her husband Vernon Dursley and their son Dudley. I believe that this is exactly what Harry needs now. In a Muggle family, he can grow up far from the commotion about him, as a very normal child. It's better for him not to be confronted with the fuss about who he is until he is old enough to understand it."

Serena let out a breath that she hadn't been aware of holding. "Well, if you think that's the best for him..." She sighed. "I wonder how Voldemort found them. Jim told me that they were going to use the Fidelius Charm to hide from Voldemort. Didn't they manage to perform it in time?"

"They did, one week ago," Dumbledore said gravely. "And this was their undoing. Sirius Black became their Secret Keeper and he betrayed them."

Serena stared at him in disbelief. "Sirius? This can't be. He was Jim's best friend, why should he betray my brother?"

This time, it was Dumbledore who sighed. "We were all as shocked as you. But Sirius was their Secret Keeper; he was the only one who could give away the hiding place. And when Peter Pettigrew cornered him, Sirius openly admitted his guilt. Then he killed Peter and twelve innocent Muggles before he could be arrested."

Serena's mind, at first numbed by the terrible news of James's death, slowly gathered speed again. She would never have suspected Sirius of working for Voldemort, and she tried to find an argument that supported him. But what came to her mind only supported the assumption that Sirius indeed was a traitor.

"I begged him to bring me to Jim, but Sirius didn't want to, because he was afraid that I could try to harm Jim!" she murmured, more to herself than to Dumbledore. "It was only for show! I had this funny feeling, as if he had been convinced too easily. But I didn't complain, I wanted to find Jim, after all. Sirius probably hoped that I would save him a dirty job and sell Jim to Voldemort!"

Incensed, Serena began pacing in front of the fireplace. Should she have been more suspicious of Sirius? If she had warned James, instead of joking about Sirius' carelessness, would he have believed her? Would he still be alive?

Another ramification of her visit occurred to her and drained all colour from her face. "Oh no!" she exclaimed. "I'm such an idiot!" More sheepishly, she added, "I'm afraid that I did something very stupid."

Dumbledore looked at her in alarm. "What did you do?"

"Well, as you know, I visited Jim two weeks ago. I talked things out with him, told him everything. And when I say everything, I really mean every single thing - about my work as spy, about the people I saved and so on. I was positive that Jim would keep it to himself. Sirius sat next to Jim and heard all of it. I didn't mean any harm by it; by Merlin, I thought Sirius would be as trustworthy as Jim was. He probably passed it on to Voldemort the very next day."

Serena hung her head, awaiting the inevitable admonishment for her great blunder. There was a reason for keeping secrets from everyone, even friends and family. Regardless how trustworthy people seemed, there was always room for unpleasant surprises.

But the telling-off didn't come; Dumbledore only shook his head. "That was indeed very careless of you. But I think I can understand your motivation. However, it seems as if we were lucky. Either Sirius didn't get a chance to pass on this information, or Lord Voldemort didn't have enough time to do anything about it before his downfall."

Serena gave a sigh of profound relief. "Thank Merlin."

"Of course," Dumbledore interposed seriously, "there are enough Death Eaters left who are fanatic enough to continue with Lord Voldemort's work, even though he is gone. There are quite a few who believe that he will return one day. A belief that is not unfounded. It would be rather unfortunate if the prophecy became public knowledge."

Serena nodded. "But how can we prevent Sirius from telling anyone? What if he tries to make a deal with them? To use this information to save himself from Azkaban?"

Dumbledore stroked his long beard, something he always did when he concentrated. "I'll make sure that Sirius won't get an opportunity to pass on any information," he finally said thoughtful. "Since he has already confessed his guilt, it shouldn't be too difficult to convince the Wizengamot to sentence him without a trial. I'll see to it that Sirius will never leave Azkaban again. He will not be able to pass this information on to anyone."

She nodded in agreement, her face a mask of grim determination. "This could work. Of course it's highly unfair to Sirius, but selling Jim and Lily to Voldemort wasn't fair either."

"Now that we have settled that, I have another question," Dumbledore said, changing the subject. "Alastor Moody would like to visit you some time soon. Do you mind if I tell him where to find you?"

"No, of course not," Serena answered, wondering what Moody could possibly want.

They exchanged a few parting words, and five minutes later the fire went out and Dumbledore was gone.

During the conversation, James' death had drifted to the back of Serena's mind. But the lack of distraction in the suddenly silent room recalled everything with fresh intensity. She drew up her knees, embraced her legs, and wept. Jim was dead! She wouldn't see him ever again. He would never again play a prank. It was so unfair, he and Lily had been so young; they still had had so many years before them! And Harry was orphaned at the age of one. Would the Dursleys give him as much love as his parents had done? As she would have done if she had been allowed to raise him? She couldn't help but give vent to her tears, to cry out her loss to the world.

Henrietta came in, and when she saw her friend sitting in a chair crying, she did not pry, but fetched a glass of warm milk and put her arm comfortingly around Serena's shoulders. Yet, it took a long time until Serena's tears ceased to flow.

* * *

Four months later, when Serena and Henrietta had just finished their breakfast, there was an energetic knock at the front door. Henrietta opened the door, and froze. She looked rather unsure whether she should run away screaming, or if she would be better off slamming the door in the stranger's face first, and then run. Paralysed, she stared wide-eyed at the bizarre man on the threshold.

Worried about her friend's behaviour, Serena went to see what was terrifying her. Upon recognising the visitor, she brightened up, and, overjoyed, she swept to the door and gave him a hearty welcome-hug.

"Hello Alastor! It's so nice to see you again! Please, come in!" she greeted Moody and ushered him into the house.

"Henrietta, this is my dear old friend, Alastor Moody."

When Serena introduced Moody as an old friend, great relief washed over Henrietta's face. Despite his somewhat intimidating appearance, she plucked up her courage and took his offered hand, welcoming him into her home.

Since Serena had last seen Moody, several scars had been added to his appearance. A big chunk of his nose was missing and he had lost an eye. The eye socket wasn't empty, though. An unnaturally blue, unnervingly staring, obviously magical eye incessantly swivelled around in the eye socket, totally independent from the other eye.

Still nervous, Henrietta watched it for a while. When Moody looked at her with it, she almost fled to the kitchen, muttering about making some tea.

Noticing her uneasiness, Moody took care not to gaze at Henrietta too often with his magical eye after she returned. When he commended her on the superb flavour of the tea that she cultivated in her garden, she finally warmed to his unusual appearance and relaxed a little. She even managed to ask him a few questions about life in good old England, now that You-Know-Who wasn't around anymore.

Jon, on the other hand, was absolutely fascinated by Moody's magical eye, and not scared in the slightest. He watched it spin around with rapt attention, and when Moody looked at him, he laughed out loud with childlike pleasure.

After the introductory small talk, Moody gave an account of life in Britain. Much had changed since Voldemort's downfall. Serena was glad to hear that most Death Eaters were captured or dead. Quite a number of them were still free, however, since many had claimed that they were forced into their actions through blackmail or the Imperious Curse. Others had covered their tracks so perfectly that he Ministry couldn't prove anything against them.

Serena wondered what had become of Severus. She considered him to be too proud to hide behind a lame excuse like the Imperious Curse. His function as the Dark Lords' personal potion brewer wasn't the world's best kept secret either. Chances were good that he had ended up in Azkaban.

"Oh, and I have something for you," Moody interrupted her ponderings. "A late birthday present, if you like."

He rummaged about the pockets of his travelling cloak, and finally produced a roll of parchment that wore the seal of the Ministry of Magic.

She curiously broke the seal and perused the document. The letter informed her that all charges against her had been dropped, and that the warrant of arrest had been declared void, signed by Bartemious Crouch, the Ministry's chief prosecutor.

Her heart made a joyful leap. "They acquitted me! Great Merlin! How on earth did you manage that?"

"It wasn't me, the credit belongs to Albus. He pestered Crouch so long until he signed it just to be left alone. The miraculous disappearance of all evidence against you certainly helped the matter along as well as the lack of eyewitnesses to testify against you."

Even if Moody's magical eye didn't posses an eyelid, Serena could have sworn that he had winked when telling her about the loss of all evidence against her. She decided that she better not ask how such a thing could happen.

"No eye witnesses?" she asked instead, nonplussed. "What about Rosier?" She couldn't imagine why any of her former Death Eater fellows would refuse to drag her in, in the hope that the Ministry of Magic would throw her into Azkaban, after seeing that the Death Eaters hadn't managed to find and kill her.

"He's dead," Moody growled, unconsciously pinching his nose. "Wouldn't come quietly when I cornered him. He even took a chunk of my nose with him."

So that's what happened to Moody's nose, Serena thought. Well, being dead was indeed a reason to keep silent. "What about Malfoy?" Would she be so lucky to hear that Malfoy was dead as well?

"Claimed to have been under the Imperius Curse and unable to remember a thing." Moody's expression told clearly how believable he deemed Malfoy's statement.

"And Sev?" Severus had been the third and last member of their little team who possessed memories, albeit wrong ones, of Serena murdering innocent people.

"He won't testify against you." When Serena looked impressed because she would never have expected this of Severus, he added grimly, "Don't feel flattered. He certainly isn't doing it for you. Albus vouched for him, so he was spared a stay in Azkaban. Told the Ministry that Snape turned spy and is not a Death Eater anymore." Moody issues a contemptuous snort. "I wouldn't have vouched for him. Once a Death Eater, always a Death Eater, I say. And the whole spy thing - Albus never before mentioned anything hinting at Snape being one of us. Isn't it odd that none of us knew about such an arrangement?"

He shook his head in disbelief. "I tell you what I think happened. Your fine friend traded his freedom for yours. He made a bargain with Albus, promising not to compromise you, and Albus got him off the hook in return." Moody snorted again. "I hope this spy tale will backfire on Snape - when the other free Death Eaters hear about it, hopefully they'll turn on him."

Serena was shocked. It wasn't like Severus to make Dumbledore lie for him to save his skin. It wasn't like Dumbledore to lie. But then, Azkaban was a scary place. If Dumbledore hadn't seen any other way... And Severus was a Slytherin; Slytherins had no problems cutting down a bit on their personal pride when it was necessary to prevent greater harm being done to them. Anyway, in all probability, she would never meet him again, so there was no point in burdening her mind with musings over his motives. It sufficed that he had kept silent and the Ministry had dropped her charge without Dumbledore having to disclose the prophecy.

"So I'm free now? Free to return to Britain? To see Harry?" A hopeful glow lit her face.

"You can go wherever you like. Except near Harry - in this respect the Ministry was uncompromising. You're banned from visiting him, talking to him or otherwise trying to contact him. I'm sorry."

She swallowed. No Harry. Well, at least she wasn't wanted by the Ministry anymore - she should be grateful for what Dumbledore had achieved instead of crying over what he hadn't. And perhaps, sometime later, when the dust had settled a bit, perhaps then the Ministry could be convinced to cancel the ban.

"There's another reason why I came here -" Moody began, but he didn't get round to finishing his sentence. Suddenly, Serena jumped up in an urgent need to chase after her son. Jon had decided that a roll of parchment with a nice red seal on it made for a great toy and had snatched it from the table, hurrying out of the room with his haul clutched to his chest. It took Serena a few minutes and a cookie to convince the boy to leave the parchment to his mother without crying for the rest of the day.

When she finally returned, Moody got up from his seat.

"Serena, it's time to go. But first I'd like to hear your opinion about something. Could you accompany me?"

She nodded, with a questioning look. "Sure. Where to?"

Moody didn't answer, simply grasped her arm and Disapparated with her.

At their destination, Serena gazed around, wondering why Moody had brought her there. Prairie stretched in all directions - an ocean of waving grass as far as her eyes could see. The only other thing was an assembly of rocks, approximately a few hundred feet in diameter and as high as a steeple.

"Where are we?" she asked, overwhelmed.

"We're still in Iowa, a few hundred miles away from Two Oaks," Moody explained and set off in the direction of the rocks.

"And what do you want to show me? These stones?"

"Sort of," he muttered and pointed his wand at them.

Suddenly the rocks began to flicker, as if hot air was rising in front of them and disturbing the view. Then they became transparent and vanished completely, unveiling a group of buildings. A five storey building was surrounded by several smaller, two and three storey houses. They all looked like they had been recently renovated - the walls were gleaming white, renewed windows with sparkling clean window-panes had been installed, and the roofs were newly tiled.

Serena could see busy wizards and witches hurry between the buildings. One wizard levitated a black board and carried a large box with his other hand. Another wizard followed him with a pile of benches that threatened to crash down any moment; however, both of them disappeared from sight without losing anything.

Then a witch exited one of the smaller buildings, followed by a group of pillows and bed sheets. Only at second glance, Serena saw that the sheets and pillows weren't floating, but were carried by a few house-elves, who were almost entirely hidden under the heaps of white fabric.

"This is an Auror academy," Moody explained when they stepped between the buildings. "At least it used to be. When we ran short of Aurors during the war and obtained reinforcements from Ireland, and later from the United States, Voldemort reacted quickly and destroyed every facility that educated Aurors. The former headmaster of this academy, and the few students and professors who survived the attack two years ago, have been busy hunting Death Eaters ever since. But now that the war is over, the survivors have returned to rebuild the American Auror Academy. The buildings are reconstructed, the furnishings are mostly set and the campus is more or less ready to be swarmed with new students. Come, Serena, I'll show you around a bit."

Motioning for her to follow him, Moody set off walking around the campus. Curious, she followed him. He showed her the refurnished classrooms, the dormitories, the new Quidditch pitch, the gymnasium and many more things, also taking the opportunity to introduce her to several wizards and witches whom they met on their tour.

Two hours later, Serena decided that she had seen enough. "Alastor, what's the point of showing me all this?" she asked.

Moody regarded her with an amused look. "I thought you would have figured it out by now," he answered. "The point is that the courses start soon; at the beginning of September, to be precise. Not many professors have been able to return, and the headmaster still hasn't found enough people to cover all subjects yet. Someone with your skills and experiences is urgently needed here, and you would be most welcome. You could share your knowledge with others. For instance, you could teach the Aurors-to-be how to stand up to Dark magic."

"Stand up to Dark magic? Why do you think I'd know enough to make lessons out of it?"

Moody gave her a lop-sided grin. "Albus told me about your nightly visits in the Restricted Section - the day when I came to Hogwarts to offer you a job as spy. Naturally, I thoroughly questioned him about you beforehand."

"And you still offered me the job?" She was baffled.

"Of course. You proved that you could do things on your own initiative. And you managed to go unnoticed except by Albus, and that was only because he happened to see you one night - Invisibility Cloaks don't fool him, you know. I think this qualified you more than anything else to become a spy."

At a loss for words, she continued to stare at Moody in utter astonishment, mouth slightly agape, and unperturbed, he carried on, "You've had quite an extended holiday. Jon is now how old? Two? He is certainly old enough that you don't need to be there for him twenty-four-seven. You could leave him with Henrietta during the day. The academy isn't that far from Two Oaks, you always can Apparate home in the evenings. And teaching here would certainly be more interesting than painting Henrietta's house for the fourth time in two years."

"You really want me to teach here? But the students can't be much younger than I am. They wouldn't respect me as their professor, would they? - And what about you? You're certainly much more qualified to teach here."

"Oh no. All my life I've caught villains, most of them Death Eaters, and I lost quite a few parts of me on the way. I've had enough of it. I'll retire on my well-earned pension soon."

Hesitating for a moment, he studied Serena's face. He seemed to like what he saw, because his face lit up when he added, "You don't have to decide right now, Serena, but please don't leave your acceptance until September, okay?"

"My acceptance? So you assume that I'll accept?"

Moody grinned again. "Of course I do. I think I know you well enough to predict your decision. As nice as it may be to lead a life of leisure with Henrietta and Jon, it really isn't to your palate in the long run. You crave a bit of variety in your life, and it is offered to you here. Teaching here would give you a task, would give you a purpose in life again. Plus, it's a challenge that you can't resist, am I not right?"

And he was right; Serena had already started to like the idea of training the next generation of Aurors very much.