Of Love And War

Chapter One ? The Past Is Checking Up With Us

Hermione Granger had a reputation as quick on her feet, especially where teachers were concerned. So as Harry and Ron stood, dumbfounded by this stranger's recognition of what they had assumed was the secret Animagus form of Harry's godfather, Hermione did what she does best.

"I'm sorry, but did you call Harry's dog ?Sirius'? You must be confused. This is Snuffles. The only Sirius I can think of is the Dog Star. Are you our new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor? I'm Hermione Granger, and this is Ron Weasely and Harry Potter. You are...?"

She had said all of this so quickly that for a moment Arabella was stunned. However, she too had once been the legitimate front for her friends' more dubious efforts and knew exactly what was behind those words.

"I am Professor Arabella Figg and that is NOT ?Snuffles!' Now I want to know..."she began, but before she could verbalize an empty threat, the boy who was obviously Harry Potter spoke up.

"Uh, hate to interrupt, but I think I hear the lunch cart! Bye!" Before she could blink, the three children and ?Snuffles' had run out of the compartment and Arabella could only stare at the open door they left. Shaking her head, she slowly slid it closed, chuckling. It really was like old times, only this time; she was the teacher getting duped.

"I must be getting paranoid," she said, sitting back down, "I mean, Sirius Black, escaped criminal, hanging about with Harry Potter, the boy who lived, on the Hogwarts express. Right."

But still... those eyes...

***

Ron was panting heavily by the time they found another compartment. At first, Harry thought it was just from running like fools around the train, but when he saw fear in his eyes, his own heart began to pound.

"What's wrong, Ron? You look like you just saw the Bloody Baron!"

"Ara... Arabella Figg is an Auror! Like... a big one!" This garnered an eye roll from Hermione, but Harry was very interested.

"She worked with Mad-eye Moody all those years, tracking down You-Know-Who and the Death Eaters! She's a good friend of my mum and dad, and she still works for the Ministry! I mean, what if she thinks she's found the infamous Sirius Black! I mean, she doesn't know about the whole not-a-murderer, your nice godfather Sirius Black!"

Hermione looked up, a look of mild confusion apparent on her face. "I don't think that was suspicion in her eyes, Ron." She said this quietly, which in and of itself was odd for her, but Harry sensed something else as well.

"Really? What do you think it was Hermione?" He said this without a hint of derision in his voice, but Hermione still bristled.

"I don't know!" Harry smiled. The irritation on her face showed just how much not knowing something bothered her. "I just don't..."

"There you go, Herm," Ron interrupted, "With that ?Teachers Are Infallible' bit of yours. It wouldn't be smart for us to keep parading Snuffles around her until we know for sure."

"Well Dumbledore obviously hired her!" Hermione said, her voice reaching the higher tones of her register. "And he knows Sirius is innocent!"

"Whatever," Ron said with a dismissive wave of his hand. "All I know is that we should steer clear of her for the meantime."

Sirius set his head on his paws at Harry's feet. He reached down and scratched his godfather between the ears.

"Sure wish you could transform here, Snuffles," Harry said. "I bet you know all about her, huh?" With that, Sirius looked up at Harry with very sad eyes, something that he wasn't at all used to seeing. As far as he was concerned, we couldn't get to Hogwarts fast enough.

***

Disembarking from the Hogwarts Express the trio saw no sign of Arabella. She made sure of that. She watched as they clamored into a horseless carriage along with a small redheaded girl who Arabella was sure was the Weasely's youngest daughter Ginny. That meant the tall boy was most likely Ron. It had been awhile since she had seen any of them. Arthur had timidly approached her almost three months ago, and had been pleasantly surprised to find her already abreast of the situation. Remus had already contacted her at Dumbledore's behest, and she was more than willing to scout out who was willing to believe the truth, the truth that Voldemort had truly returned.

It hadn't been easy. Moody, who had been her main confidant among the Auror was, of course retired. The majority of those who had actually fought during the Dark Times were as well, thus the pool of those who would believe her was greatly reduced. The newer bunch were untried and far too naïve to be trusted with the knowledge that the greatest threat to Wizardom had returned. She was stuck with the handful of those who had fought with her before. The current total was five.

But Dumbledore had other plans for her than sitting and stewing in the Ministry. She had to laugh when she first realized that he was serious about her taking the job. She was kind of ashamed to admit that the first thing that crossed her mind was the look on Snape's face when he found out. Even though she hadn't spoken to him since Hogwarts, she was sure things had not altered one iota since then. They had not gotten along then, and she wasn't about to make and effort to change that.

After the three teenagers had left her compartment, amazingly she had been able to block any further thoughts of Sirius or Hogwarts from her head without the aid of a stunner. This was partially due to what was obviously a ?lover's spat' which took place outside her compartment door.

"But Draco, darling..." a whining female voice pleaded.

"Stop calling me that!" This voice was male. The only Draco she could think of was Draco Malfoy, the son of that prat Lucius. Would he be at Hogwarts? Of course, he was Harry's age. "I don't know where you came up with this half baked..."

"Are you saying we're over?" Arabella had to stifle a snicker. The actors on Neighbors had better line play than this.

"We never were on, Pansy!" The Malfoy boy's slow drawl changed sharply.

"But what about the Yule Ball?"

"Pansy, you blackmailed me into that and you know it." Arabella couldn't see him, but she was certain he was smirking. "Threatening me into taking you hardly is consistent with undying love and devotion. I believe the term for that is stalking, actually."

This Pansy's voice got considerably darker. "You seemed to go along with it quite willingly last December. Perhaps I should let everyone know your little secret."

"Oh yes, I'm quite sure that no one in the school suspects that my father is a Death Eater." Arabella only nearly contained a sharp intake of breath. She and Mad-eye had always been certain that Lucius bought his innocence, and to hear from his own son's mouth was something she never thought she would hear.

"No, I don't think that's going to work this time, dear," he hissed, a cruel emphasis tacked on the end. "Tell anyone whatever you want. It doesn't change the fact that I would rather kiss a Flobberworm than you."

Some very hard footfalls went in opposite directions, and Arabella was left with something other than her past to dwell on.

She had always felt that Lucius was more than a minor functionary. If so, then perhaps Voldemort's right hand man had returned to him. But that brought the questions back to Sirius, and quite frankly that defeated the whole ?stop thinking about Sirius' premise.

Climbing into her own carriage with some of the prefects willing to travel with a teacher, she cleared her mind of all her questions, content that soon enough they all would be answered.

***

"Oy, Harry!"

Clamoring out of their horseless carriage, Harry, Ron, Ginny and Hermione were greeted by Ron's twin brother's Fred and George. It wasn't as if the suspicious grins on their faces were anything new, but even these two usually took a little longer on school grounds to get into trouble than two minutes.

"Lo, Fred, George," Harry said, a grin on his face. "What are you two up to?"

"Or would have to kill us if you told us?" Ron added.

"Naw, just as long as you didn't tell anyone until the statute of limitations is up," Fred said jauntily. "How long is that again, George?"

"Seven years, last time I checked," added his twin. "I wouldn't go in there at the moment if I were you."

"Why not?" Hermione asked, a suspicious grin of her own forming.

"Well, you see good ol' Peeves left us all sort of ?Welcome Back' present in the entryway this evening."

Just then a there was a loud bang behind the doors. George opened the door wide so they could all see the other students slipping and sliding on a rather large proliferation of blue and green marbles scattered all over the floor, with Peeves cackling above.

"You see, we didn't appreciate falling all over ourselves on our way to learning and enrichment." At this, Hermione snorted. "Well, anyways, we have rigged a bit of a surprise ourselves for our dear Peeves. It just wouldn't do for you four to be caught up in it."

"Now, him," Fred interjected, pointing over at Draco Malfoy, entering the castle without his usual escort of Crabbe and Goyle, "I couldn't care less if he fell on his arse."

"Just what is it that we're avoiding?" Ginny asked, raising one eyebrow. "I mean, I'm not a complete idiot, I think I can avoid a few marbles."

As soon as the words escaped her mouth, the marbles began to shake against the flagged-stone floor, causing Peeves to halt in mid-swoop above a crowd of third years. The marbles then began to shoot, pelting the poltergeist in a rather painful hail of debris.

"That, my dear sister," Fred said, his grin now from ear to ear, "Was what you were avoiding."

After skidding and sliding across the entryway on what was left of the marbles, Harry waved goodbye to ?Snuffles' as he shuffled down the hallway towards the Headmaster's Office. Once he was out of sight, the dog slowed down considerably and seemed to almost mope his way towards the gargoyle. Sitting down for just an instant, the gargoyle sprung aside and there stood Albus Dumbledore.

"Ah, yes," the wizened old man said, his eyes twinkling behind the half- moon spectacles. "Right on time, Snuffles." With that, he moved aside and made a sort of bow to the shaggy dog at his feet. Anyone passing by would be more than a little confused at this turn of events, but of course, not to anyone who actually had been in Hogwarts for any amount of time at all.

The rode up the moving staircase in silence, not surprising as Sirius still hadn't transformed. As soon as the door was closed, however a very human Sirius Black was speaking a great deal.

"She was on the train, Albus! You didn't tell me that she accepted," Sirius said, his voice sounding oddly strained and his eyes over-bright.

"Well, you never did ask, Sirius," Dumbledore said patiently, although his white mustache did twitch. "Arabella is desperately needed here, as you are, my boy. We need her help. I know your history, however..."

"History? Professor, it's a little more than simply a history. I mean..."Dumbledore calmly silenced him with an upheld hand.

"I know, Sirius, but unfortunately that is for you two to deal with. We need every card in our deck in order to defeat him this time. That includes both of you."

Sirius bowed his head, his forearms against his knees. He looked like a man broken.

"You know what happened, don't you?" he said, looking up at the old man before, seeming to try and grasp a sliver of comfort, even if there was none there."She left. She saw me, and the explosion, and left."

Dumbledore went up to Sirius and placed a hand on his shoulder. "You need to speak with her yourself. She needs to know, and besides," he said as he walked over to the door and opened it. "You need to stop letting the past dictate the present. This isn't the time to be living in yesterday's sorrows."

With that, Albus left for the Great Hall, and Sirius was left with his own thoughts.

After he had grabbed the satchel of food prepared for him by Dobby on the request of Dumbledore, Sirius, once again under the guise of ?Snuffles' lumbered up to the cave he had stayed in during the Triwizard Tournament last year. Dumbledore had agreed that this would be the safest place for him to stay. Remus could lay low at the castle and attract far less attention that a shaggy black dog, even at Hogwarts.

He couldn't help but feel like he'd run a marathon as he transformed once more into a human. The day had been rough on him, to say the least. He could still remember the casual way Dumbledore had thrown her name into ?the old crowd' in the hospital wing that night. He was mildly ashamed that he hadn't the guts to go to her himself. Remus had given him the token ?you've got to face her sometime' speech, but it just didn't seem right. It had been two years on the run for him, and it seemed from his end that every day during those years had emphasized his guilt in her eyes...

***

He blinked through the blue-gray smoke, making the whole scene in front of him more dreamlike and unbelievable. There were Muggles all about, some screaming and crying in fear, some lying on the ground, apparently dead. A gaping crack in the street opened to the sewer below, where Sirius spotted a long, wormlike tail slithering down into the crevasse. Peter had escaped.

Not only did he escape, he had effectively framed Sirius in his murder along with a dozen or so Muggles thrown in for good measure. The irony was not lost on him; he would probably rot in Azkaban for the rest of his life for the murder he had failed to commit. He began to laugh, but not his usual chuckle. This was the laugh of the insane, the laugh that grips the soul and convinced the Muggles still around that he truly was mad.

He looked up as the swishing of cloaks heralded the arrival of the Ministry. The fragments of his mind slowly reassembled as he saw Arabella turn towards him. In that instant, he felt his heart break.

"No." She looked as if she wanted to turn her eyes from him, but was utterly powerless to do so. "It can't be." Her voice sounded curiously childlike, almost broken with sadness and disbelief.

"Oh God." Mad-eye Moody clunked up beside her. "Sirius Black."

Arabella looked towards him again, and in that moment Sirius willed every fiber in his being into making her believe in his innocence, even if she was the only one who did. He thought he saw something flicker there in her dark brown eyes, but they hardened over, and she had turned away.

"Moody, I'm sure you'll understand, but I just can't be here." Her voice was still edgy, but now detached as well. "I'll make my excuses to Barty." With that she Disapparated, leaving him to his haunted memories for the next twelve years...

***

...And now she was back. Nothing he had heard since escaping had eliminated the possibility that she thought he was a covert Death Eater; that he had sold Lily and James to Voldemort. Even Remus hadn't believed him until he knew of the existence of Pettigrew. The thing was, if she really thought him guilty, why didn't she come and find him on the train? After all, it wouldn't have been hard for her to track him down in that contained area, not withstanding her extensive training as an Auror. Did she have doubts? Didn't she wonder why he was with Harry Potter, the son of the man he supposedly betrayed? It just didn't add up.

That did not mean that he was prepared to reveal himself on a hunch. They were both fighting the same enemy now; that much was certain. However, he couldn't see how things would ever be the way they were. Too much had changed. There was every possibility she thought he was with Voldemort right now. Lying down on the cold floor of the cave, he fell into a fitful sleep, punctuated with dreams of Arabella vanishing before his eyes.

"My dear, this will be your office, and you will find your room behind that statue of Morgana in the corner. Classes begin tomorrow morning at eight sharp, and there will be a space reserved for you at the High Table at all meals naturally. Your schedule of classes is on your desk. I dare say you remember where your classroom is?"

Arabella had to smile. When she had been a student herself, she had quite a reputation for, among other things, knowing the school like the back of her hand.

"I think I can remember, professor." Dumbledore returned the smile.

"It's been long enough, Arabella. Please call me Albus. I'm very glad you came to join us. I know it had to be hard to give up your career."

Arabella shrugged, but the blush that darkened her normally pale skin told how she really felt. "I didn't plan on being an Auror my whole life anyway. Heaven knows the paperwork alone was enough to kill me." She managed a flippant grin."Besides, with Voldemort back, my place is here."

"Well said. I'll leave you to survey your new home. I still have to reprimand those young Weasely boys for irritating our local irritation." The twinkle in his eye told Arabella that more than likely he would be asking for tips rather than doling out detention.

The door closed behind him, and Arabella sank into her new chair, still trying to piece together the events of the day. During the Sorting Feast, Harry and his friends kept shooting furtive looks up towards her at the High Table. She wasn't quite sure what they were expecting her to do. It's not as if she was going to jump onto the table and start shrieking ?Sirius Black is a Dog!' or something! She supposed from their point of view she was the suspicious Auror who was more than likely on the trail of the notorious Sirius Black. Most of her colleagues at the Ministry certainly believed him guilty. She herself had many doubts before today. But the way Dumbledore kept looking at her during the Feast, and from the look in his eyes, she was certain that Sirius had rejoined his master.

And that master was Albus Dumbledore.

***