Reign O'er Me

cts

Story Summary:
This fic picks up from where OotP ended; unlike many fics dealing with this period that are angst-ridden, this fic explores a different direction - what might happen if Harry should instead start to get his life together.

Chapter 16

Chapter Summary:
Nothing like a bit of shopping for some stress relief, to show off your partner, or pick up some new threads... and does Wormtail have any chips left?
Posted:
08/16/2004
Hits:
3,222
Author's Note:
Thanks again to my most excellent beta Emma-Kate. And check out her fic on Astronomy Tower


Chapter 16 - Bargain

I'd gladly lose me to find you
I'd gladly give up all I had
To find you I'd suffer anything and be glad

I'd pay any price just to get you
I'd work all my life and I will
To win you I'd stand naked, stoned and stabbed

I'd call that a bargain
The best I ever had
The best I ever had

I'd gladly lose me to find you
I'd gladly give up all I got
To catch you I'm gonna run and never stop

I'd pay any price just to win you
Surrender my good life for bad
To find you I'm gonna drown an unsung man

I'd call that a bargain
The best I ever had
The best I ever had

I sit looking 'round
I look at my face in the mirror
I know I'm worth nothing without you
And like one and one don't make two
One and one make one
And I'm looking for that free ride to me
I'm looking for you

- Bargain, The Who


On Friday morning, the routine they had begun the day before continued to fall into place. All four teens arrived in the kitchen at just past nine; Molly had already seen Bill, Charlie and the twins off, and Remus had disappeared somewhere inside the house. Earlier, when Dudley had arrived, Sirius had prepared a plate for him - one with rather small portions, from Dudley’s point of view - following a whispered conversation with Molly. Even before he was completely finished, Sirius told him it was time to get started and led him away. Molly wasn’t entirely sure what Sirius had been talking about, other than it somehow involved the motorcycle. Apparently this particular muggle machine required a lot of something called “elbow grease.”

Sirius was seated at the table, reading the Prophet when Harry and Ginny arrived, followed a few minutes later by Ron and Hermione. Molly prepared plates for Harry and Ginny while Hermione loaded one plate for Ron and another with a much smaller breakfast for herself. Sirius put down the paper as they sat and told them that the trip to Diagon Alley was on for tomorrow and that they should have a late breakfast and to be ready to go by a little after ten.

They chatted until Remus came in just before ten to collect them for their Defense lesson. Harry suddenly remembered McGonagall’s request from the day before; Sirius told him not to worry; he would take care of it.

Defense practice didn’t go as well as breakfast. In attempting to cast a Patronus, Harry managed no more than a silver mist that dissipated quickly; Ginny didn’t manage as much a puff of vapor. Hermione had no trouble producing her otter, while Ron succeeded in almost producing a true corporeal Patronus. Lupin would not comment, but Hermione seemed certain that its form was a bear. As their time came to an end, Lupin sent Ron and Hermione on to the kitchen and said, “Is something going on that I should know about? Harry, you’ve been able to cast that spell without a problem for a couple of years now.”

“We’re both a little knackered, I guess,” Harry replied. “The bonding thing is suddenly going a lot faster…”

“And the new hasn’t worn off yet,” Remus said pointedly, though his grin took away most of the sting.

Both Harry and Ginny looked surprised for a moment, and then Harry remembered that a werewolf’s senses were far more sensitive than normal. “Yeah, I guess that’s true, too. Sorry.”

“How?” Ginny asked through their link.

“He’s a werewolf. His sense of smell or maybe hearing.”

“Don’t be. Just be aware that you really do need to sleep, both of you, for your magic to be at its full potential. And tomorrow, you’ll be out in public where, if something should go wrong, you may need it. We’ll work again on Monday.”

They went to the kitchen, ate lunch, then McGonagall arrived, and Sirius led them to another basement room that Dobby and the other elves had outfitted as a classroom. McGonagall seemed satisfied with the results; she settled behind the desk at the front of the room and began a discussion on the theory behind the spell they were using. After being satisfied they had some grasp of the theory, McGonagall put them to work again on the balls of clay as she and Sirius talked softly. As three P.M. approached, only Hermione had achieved any degree of success; her ball of clay appeared to liquefy briefly before shifting to a more rounded shape. Ron, Harry and Ginny failed to make any impression on their clay.

Perenelle arrived; the next two hours were again spent on discussing Apparition theory and navigation. She reminded them to read the books Bill had brought, and perhaps Monday they would be ready to make their first attempts at application. She then checked Harry and Ginny as she had the previous day, then repeated having them separately grasp her hands while breaking their contact. This time, they held their hands apart for several minutes before Perenelle said, “Excellent. Rejoin hands for a moment, then I want you to stand, then release each other. Then, Ginny, please take a step away from Harry. As before, if you feel the link begins to weaken, rejoin hands.”

They did as Perenelle had instructed; Ginny took a short step, then the two teens stood, watching each other carefully. After two minutes had passed, Perenelle said, “Very good, another step, please, Harry.”

Ten minutes later found them six paces apart, then each of them moved toward the other and rejoined hands. Perenelle nodded, pleased. “Excellent; you have come further than I had expected. I believe there is little risk in attempting this on your own, if you exercise caution. Just pay careful attention, and I believe it would be prudent for the moment if you did not move beyond each other’s reach unless others are present. This may also make things somewhat less awkward tomorrow.”

Ginny grinned as she looked at Harry. “Don’t think this means we won’t hold hands tomorrow. I want everyone to know you’re off the market. I hope we see Cho.”

Ron pointed out that it was far more likely they would run into guys Ginny had dated, given there were a number of them, then Ginny asked Ron how he was planning to deal with a certain famous Quidditch player. Perenelle interrupted long enough to take her leave; Ron and Ginny continued to tease each other as they walked toward the Kitchen.

Sirius and Remus were sitting at the kitchen table; as they walked in, Remus was saying, “But I just don’t see how you could possibly bring them here, it’s just too risky. They’re muggles, Sirius, be realistic. And there’s no way you could bring them here without compromising the security.”

“Then we’ll just have to pick another place. The Great Hall at Hogwarts would work.”

Remus shook his head. “What about their kit? Why can’t you just hire…” Then they both noticed the teens had entered the room.

“Later, Moony,” Sirius said. “How’d your last lesson go, guys?”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dumbledore and Nicholas Flamel returned to Hogwarts as the dinner hour approached; they walked from the gate and continued on to the Great Hall. Perenelle was already seated; otherwise, the hall was empty. “You have managed to return quite a bit earlier than I had expected; is everything proceeding as it should?” she asked.

“At least as well as we had hoped. Brian was able to adjourn the Wizengamot with little opposition,” Nicholas answered. “Most were weary and ready to spend time elsewhere, and several factions have realized that there is little to be gained by remaining in session other than continued stalemate. The two largest factions are attempting to build coalitions, but that will necessarily happen in back rooms and in much smaller groupings.”

“Where do we stand?” Perenelle asked.

“Both sides are close,” Dumbledore replied. “Though there are some who have pledged to both sides who are trying to hedge their bets, their primary objective being to be on the winning side, as well as a handful who have not yet committed.”

“And there are a few additional places that could be claimed by those with hereditary rights under the Convention of 1605. Harry, as sole heir of the Potter family, could claim one such place, while either Harry or Sirius is the heir of the Blacks,” Nicholas added. “It appears we may need them.”

“Are there any such that the other side could use?”

“As far as we can determine, only the older Lestrange brother. It seems unlikely that he would make the attempt,” Dumbledore said. “Of course, there are a few others where the identity of the heir is unclear or unknown, or even if there is one. And there are one or two others that we are unsure of where their loyalties might fall. Arthur, Amelia and several others are working to clarify matters tonight and tomorrow; we should know by then if we will need to draw Harry or Sirius into this. It is my hope we can avoid that.”

“Have them ready, Brian,” Perenelle said. “Things can change, even at the last minute. Be prepared even if you do not need them.”

Dumbledore nodded. “At least one of us will need to speak to them both tomorrow following Diagon Alley unless Arthur and Amelia are unexpectedly successful in their efforts. How are Harry and Ginny progressing?”

“More swiftly than I expected,” Perenelle replied. “They were able to separate by several paces without ill effect, and I have told them they might begin to cautiously explore this on their own. But it will still be at least a few days, even at their current pace, before they can risk being widely separated for an extended period.”

“Would both being in the chamber, but separated, suffice?” Dumbledore asked.

“It is difficult to be certain at this point. Do remember that much of this is based on guesswork, Brian. Truly, all we can be reasonably sure of is what we observe as we move forward, if that.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Sirius, it’s barely been twenty-four hours. I think it’s nothing short of remarkable that I have anything at all to report this soon.” Jon Howe looked at Sirius peevishly from the fireplace. “I wouldn’t have gotten as much this quick if I weren’t spending your gold like a drunken sailor to move you to the head of the queue.”

“Sorry, Jon. I’m just tired of waiting. At least it’s a start, and it confirms what little I did know. What next?”

“We try to pick up the trail on the other side. We know it was a Caledonian flight. I’ve already brought in a private firm. I don’t have a lot of contacts in that part of the world, but the firm’s used this agency before; they did good work for us.”

“Okay, let me know as soon as you have more. And when you have anything definite, I want to be there myself.”

“I will. Good night, Sirius.”

“’Night, Jon.”

Sirius sat back in the chair and after a glance to ensure he was still alone, pulled out a ragged scrap of parchment from his pocket and smoothed it out on the table in front of him. The ink had faded, and it was almost illegible, but the words had been burned into Sirius’ memory a little more than two weeks before when he’d discovered the parchment.

He stared at it for several minutes before refolding it and replacing it in his pocket. “Maybe just a little longer,” he said quietly to himself.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After eating, the four teens had climbed to the fourth floor sitting room where they had spent a couple of hours, mostly in companionable silence reading the Apparition text. Ron, finding the words were starting to blur together, said, “You know, we have all weekend. How about a game of Chess or Exploding Snap?”

“We also need to spend some time on portkeys,” Hermione reminded them. “We’ve not done anything with that at all.”

“Don’t forget about Diagon Alley tomorrow,” Harry said. “It might be a better idea to make it an early night. I’m tired anyway.”

Ron looked at Harry skeptically. “Tired again? This early? What’s going on with the two of you that you’re always so tired?”

“Maybe it’s the bonding,” Harry suggested.

“Maybe it’s you and Ginny would rather just be alone,” Ron countered.

“Maybe it’s we’ve spent so much time snogging the last two nights that neither of us got much sleep, and earlier in the week none of us got much rest. And this morning it finally caught up with us; we paid for it in Defense practice,” Ginny said with a touch of annoyance. “And we’re going to be out in public tomorrow, you know.”

“More than I really wanted to know, but I guess that’s what got your bonding back on track?” Ron asked, grinning.

“Call it a side effect,” Harry said. “Anyway, Ginny’s right. Tonight we really are going to sleep early.”

“Come on, Ron, we could do worse than to make an early night of it, too. Let’s head on down; I want to show you something I found in one of my books, anyway,” Hermione said.

After Ron and Hermione were gone and they had closed up for the night, Harry said, “Let’s make an effort to have some fun together tomorrow, all four of us. I don’t want to loose what the three of us had, Ginny; I just want to make you a part of it.”

“I know.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The next morning Ginny woke first. It was only a little after seven, but she felt fully rested and knew she wouldn’t be able to get back to sleep. Harry was sound asleep; she watched him for a few minutes. She then summoned her sketchpad and drawing pencils and began sketching Harry as he slept.

Harry woke two hours later. Ginny had finished drawing him some time before, but she had continued to work on the next page. Harry put on his glasses and asked, “Can I see?”

Ginny flipped the page and handed it to him. “You make me look pretty good, Gin. You’ve got talent.”

“I’ll get your hair to lay flat like that sooner or later,” she said.

He flipped the page. “Hey!” she objected.

“Like mother, like daughter, I see,” Harry said with a smirk, staring at a page filled with random doodles including a snitch and what looked like the upper reaches of the Gryffindor tower. There were also two columns where Ginny had signed her name in a variety of ways, all ending with Potter. Ginny Potter. Ginny W. Potter. Ginevra Potter. Ginevra W. Potter. Ginevra Weasley Potter. He flipped to the next sheet; it was still blank. “Well, at least there’s not any kids' names.”

“Yet,” she replied, grinning wickedly. “Besides, if you want to get technical, I guess that’s actually my legal name, you know. Under wizarding law, successful bonding is proof of marriage, just like a binding magical contract or declaring it in front of three witnesses.” Seeing his expression, she added sweetly, “Didn’t know what you were getting into, Potter? Maybe you should have checked it out before you swept me off my feet. Why do you think Dad was so freaked out? But don’t worry, I think I’ll go by Ginny Weasley at least until after Hogwarts.”

Harry, still trying to absorb this new twist, asked, “Who swept who? Is there anything else I should know that you’ve not told me?”

“Probably. If I think of it, I’ll tell you. Eventually, anyway.”

“I’m surprised Hermione didn’t blurt it out.”

“She grew up a muggle, too. There are a lot of gaps in what both of you know that anyone who grew up in the wizarding world takes for granted, and the practice isn’t that common anyway so she may not have stumbled across that particular detail.”

“How’d you know?”

“I used to read a lot of mushy romance stories, and if you repeat that, you’ll live to regret it. If you’re lucky.”

“What’s wrong with that? I’ve even caught Hermione with some of those paperbacks.”

Ginny snickered. “Really?”

“Yeah, she’d transfigured the cover to something else, but once I looked over her shoulder to see what she was smiling about….”

Ginny laughed. “Did she realize you knew?”

“Yeah, she threatened to hex me, too, especially if I ever said anything to Ron.”

“Let’s get ready and go down. I’ve been awake for awhile, and I’m hungry.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A little before ten, Harry and Ginny climbed down the stairs to the kitchen, Ginny wearing her “He caught the snitch, and I caught the seeker!” top; she had placed the same lettering on his formerly plain black shirt, changing only the gender of the pronoun. They’d dressed muggle style; it was supposed to be warm today, and robes would have been hot.

The twins had taken places at the table, each on one side of Remus, as if to make sure he would not escape. The two oldest Weasley brothers, Molly, Tonks and Sirius were also seated, though Molly rose when the two teens entered, but Ginny asked her to stay seated, and releasing Harry’s hand, the two of them prepared plates for themselves. “It’s nice being able to use both hands at the same time again,” Ginny said as they joined the others at the table. They spent the next few minutes explaining that they could move apart as much as a few paces, at least for a short time, without ill effects.

Ron and Hermione arrived; they served themselves and found places at the table. Once they had settled, Tonks said, “Okay, this is how it’s going to work. We’ll portkey from here to the twins shop; Moody, Professor Dumbledore and the Flamels will meet us there. From there, we’ll go to Gringotts first and then to the other stores. Since it may take Harry and Sirius a little longer at Gringotts, we’ll divide up and take the rest of you on to Flourish and Botts until Harry and Sirius finish up at the bank, then we’ll go as a group wherever else you want to go. It’s important that no one goes wandering off alone or gets separated. There’ll be a good numbers of Aurors there, but not enough for everyone to go off in six directions all at once. Understood?”

“I thought we were supposed to take care of Remus…” Fred started to object.

“Oh, you will, you will,” Tonks promised. “And yes, I know you’re in the Alley every day, but if anything does happen, we’ll need your wands… and I don’t intend to miss out when you do get Remus to Madam Malkin’s. So you can come along for the ride with everyone else.”

Sirius turned toward Molly and said, “Molly, give the kids their keys.”

“Sirius,” Molly objected. “With you back that hardly seems right.”

“We’ve gone over this before. It’s still what I want to do, and it makes it that much harder for things to sort out in favor of my cousins. Let them have a bit of fun before everything gets all tied up after the rumors start flying. And my feelings will be hurt if you don’t splurge a bit on yourself and Arthur, too.”

Molly reluctantly gave in and reached into her pocket and slid two keys across the table to Ron and Ginny, and said, “I expect you both to act like you’re responsible.”

Harry asked, “Where’s Dudley?”

“Oh, he has a few tasks to complete today,” Sirius said. “Needs to finish up setting up the gym equipment, then he has just a bit more work to do for me. Dobby is going to keep an eye on him while we’re out. He’s working on the gym stuff now.”

Harry started to object, but Sirius cut him off. “Nope, nope, don’t say it. I know it’s not nice, but he’s going to get a taste of what it feels like; privileges are earned, not his by right.” Even Molly nodded, backing Sirius.

As Ron finished breakfast, Tonks pulled out the key ring and expanded it. As they stood, Molly flicked her wand and the dishes rose off the table and floated toward the sink. They all touched the portkey, and Tonks triggered it; a moment later they were inside Weasley’s Wizarding Wheezes in Diagon Alley. Lee Jordan was behind the counter; Moody stood near the locked door, looking outwards, while Dumbledore and the Flamels had been examining the merchandise. Dumbledore approached the twins and said, “I strongly suspect Mr. Filch shall be kept busy updating his list of forbidden items next term.”

“Our benefactor has already said that the measure of our success…” George began.

“…Is when Filch has banned more of our products than Zonkos'.” Fred finished.

“I suspect you will be well on your way within a week of the beginning of the next term,” Dumbledore said, as Molly frowned.

“But it would never have been possible without our first…” George said, noticing his mother’s disapproval.

“…And our only investor.” Fred finished, pushing Harry forward; Ginny, holding his hand, stumbled with him.

“He risked a most horrible fate….” George said, looking pointedly at Molly.

“A fate worse than death, it’s said, but only because someone was careless with their sums,” Fred said, looking pointedly at George.

“Hey, the punishment fit the crime; Harry’s family now,” George replied as he winked at Ginny. “And Sirius gave us a huge boost and made it possible to do things a lot faster.”

“Yeah, we’ve even been putting Galleons back into Gringotts,” Fred added. “By the end of the summer it should be more than we’ve taken out. A whole lot more than we would have with some entry-level parchment-pushing job in the Ministry.”

“You can really make a living at this?” Molly asked. “It’s not a flash in the pan?”

Both twins nodded, as Bill commented, “The scuttlebutt around the Alley is that they’ll do pretty well. There’s not been much in the way of new products since Zonkos developed most of their product line thirty years ago. Most of what they sell now is the same stuff they had when I was in school.”

“I’m sure the kids will want to come back and stock up, but first, we need to visit the bank,” Sirius said. “We’ve got a lot of ground to cover today; we’d best get started.”

Moody gave instructions for their marching order and reminded them that they were to stay together in a group, ideally with the teens toward the center at all times. It was important that they all maintain “Constant Vigilance!” and to speak out if they saw anything that looked even slightly out of the ordinary. Then, he and Tonks stepped out of the shop, quickly scanned the street, and motioned for the others to follow. George told Lee to go ahead and open for the day, and that they would see him later.

They reached Gringotts without incident. Harry, Ginny and Sirius were lead off somewhere inside the bank, while Hermione exchanged banknotes for Wizarding Money. Molly left following one of the Goblins to visit her vault, while Ron waited for Hermione to finish so she could accompany him to his. The Aurors, Professors and four Weasley brothers waited.

Surprisingly, Sirius, Harry and Ginny returned first. As they started to sit with the others, Tonks asked, “Don’t you need to visit your vaults?” as Bill grinned knowingly.

“No, they were ready for us,” Sirius said. “They had a couple bags of Galleons waiting for each of us, and these.” He held out a device that looked like a small muggle calculator. It was black with gold letters that read Gringotts Preferred. “Apparently this works like a muggle credit card. You enter an amount and push the button, and it comes back either approved or funds unavailable. Then you push another button to complete the transaction, and Gringotts transfers the necessary gold to the store’s account. They also had credit cards for us both that would work in the muggle world. Thanks, Bill.”

“Don’t mention it,” Bill replied. “The Gringotts Preferred transfer cards are pretty new. Most of the stores in Diagon Alley are set up to take them, but only a handful have been issued yet other than to employees for testing purposes. But the plan is to make them available to anyone who regularly makes large purposes. Not only is it easier than lugging bags full of gold around, but this way, the gold never has to leave the bank, and it should cut down on traffic in the vaults.”

“I didn’t know Gringotts did muggle credit cards,” Harry said.

“They do, but again, not a lot, and only for VIP customers. We’ve had a relationship with Barclays for a long time, but there’s less than a few hundred of them all together.”

“This actually makes some things easier for me,” Sirius said. “I was intending to spend some dosh in the muggle world anyway; this makes it that much simpler.”

Molly then returned, still looking a bit dazed, then Ron and Hermione. “On to buy books?” Tonks asked as they rose.

As they exited Gringotts, Hermione was struck with a worrying thought. “Wait! How do we know what books to buy? We’ve not seen our OWL results yet!”

Dumbledore smiled magnanimously. “I believe I can assure you that your marks were sufficient that you can select NEWT level classes in any of the courses where you took the OWL, Hermione.”

“How about potions?” Harry asked, quietly. Ron looked anxious as well.

Dumbledore and Nicholas Flamel exchanged a look before Dumbledore replied, “I’m afraid the scoring is not yet complete…”

Perenelle cut him off. “Honestly, Brian, you didn’t used to be this stuffy. Harry, both you and Ron buy your NEWT potions books. You will have your lessons in NEWT potions; we do know your scores showed sufficient mastery of the material for that. If Severus is unwilling to instruct you, there are other qualified instructors who will.”

“As I was saying,” Dumbledore continued mildly, “while the scoring is incomplete, I believe it would be prudent for you to purchase the necessary books if that is what you wish to take.” Then, Dumbledore whispered to Nicholas, “I had thought you were to assume the role of Harry’s advocate.”

Nicholas, who had chuckled quietly through most of the preceding exchange, replied softly, “Something about these four and Sirius has awakened Perenelle’s maternal instincts with a vengeance, Brian. And I wouldn’t change it if I could.” Nicholas then said so they all could hear him, “And, Ginny, I believe it would be prudent for you to buy the sixth year Defense text, as well as the fifth. If the details in scheduling can be worked out, I would prefer you in that class.”

“But… what about the OWL?” she asked.

“From what you have already accomplished in the DA, I believe you could pass that with ease,” Nicholas replied. “Why should you waste a year reviewing when you might actually need some of the skills taught in the NEWT class?”

They entered Flourish and Botts, with most of the party remaining near the front of the store while the students selected their books. Nicholas and Perenelle vanished somewhere into the back of the store. When they had moved away from the adults, Ron said softly, “Do you get the impression that Perenelle Flamel doesn’t exactly see eye to eye with old Snape?”

“They were having a pretty strong disagreement the morning Sirius came back,” Hermione said. “But could you imagine what it would be like to take Potions from Nicholas Flamel?”

“That sounds like the best idea I’ve heard,” Ron replied, “since McGonagall picked the Quidditch captains.”

They picked out their schoolbooks; Hermione picked out an armload of additional books and Harry also selected two extras, one on shield charms and another on healing spells. Ron expressed pleasure at not having to look through the used books, trying to find a copy in good shape. Ginny had picked up a Care of Magical Creatures text even after Ron told her she could have his old copy. “Next year, I won’t have to use any books with Hermione’s name doodled all over it,” Ginny said as Ron blushed. Ginny ended up promising Hermione that she’d let her have Ron’s hand-me-down books that she still had; Ron looked as if he were trying to remember everything he might have written down.

When they approached the counter to make their purchases, Sirius strode up and placed his Gringotts device on the counter. “This one’s on me, guys. I want to see how this gizmo works.”

Sirius confirmed to the clerk that he was talking about all four of them; the clerk totaled their purchases, then took Sirius' device and entered the total. The card flashed, “Approved,” in green script, and the clerk pointed to the purchase button; Sirius pressed it. The clerk took the card, placed it in a slot in a small box, and pressed a button on the box. A panel on the box flashed, “Complete,” and the clerk handed his card back. “That’s only the second one of those I’ve seen,” he said. “But it’s a lot easier than counting all those Galleons would have been. Thank you, all.”

The Flamels had come to the counter while Sirius had paid for their books; they quickly made a purchase and then joined the others. “Where next?” Moody asked.

“Quality Quidditch Supplies,” Ron said, firmly. Nodding at Hermione, he added, “She got hers, now it’s my turn.”

Moody nodded as the others laughed; he and Tonks again ventured into the street first and then motioned for the others to follow.

When they reached Quality Quidditch Supplies, most of the adults elected to stay outside; only Tonks and Perenelle entered the store with them. Ron made his way to the display Firebolt, and picked it up, examining it carefully. Seeing him, a clerk, perhaps two or three years older than Ron stepped from behind the counter and said grumpily, “Can’t you read?” pointing to a nearby sign that said, “Please Do Not Handle The Firebolt Unless You’re Buying.” Ron looked up, startled from his reverie, and then replied, “Well, I’m certainly not taking this floor model. It’s scratched; here, look, near the logo. But I would like a new one, and a traveling case as well.”

The clerk was a bit surprised but recovered. “Very well, I’ll get one from the back. You realize this is the most expensive broom made and how much it costs?”

Ron managed a worried look before asking, “Do you think I should buy a spare?” as Hermione hit him on the arm.

“Better bring two up anyway. I’m buying one, too,” Harry said.

The clerk disappeared into the back of the store as Ron asked Hermione, “Are you sure you don’t want a decent broom?”

“It’d just be a waste of money. Your old one is far more broom that I’ll ever need, if I ever fly on one again,” she replied.

Ginny had selected a pair of leather gloves and a servicing kit; she and Harry moved to the counter while Ron tried to convince Hermione of what she was missing. The clerk brought up two Firebolts and their cases; Harry inspected one of the brooms briefly before nodding his approval and handing the clerk his transfer card. The clerk looked at it, impressed, then took a closer look and noticed Harry’s scar. “You’re him; I mean, you’re Harry Potter.”

Harry nodded, warily. “Yeah, but…”

“Wait, please, just wait here, just a minute, please,” he said, as he rushed into the back of the store.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Outside Quality Quidditch Supplies, Sirius noticed that a number the people in the street seemed to be recognizing him. Albus Dumbledore was also seemed to be attracting a certain amount of attention. No one attempted to approach anyone in their party, though a few nodded or waved to Dumbledore; perhaps that was understandable with the set of Moody’s expression and ready wand.

Sirius took a step toward Dumbledore and said, “If your reporter wanted rumors flying, it looks like she’s going to get her wish.”

“And likewise for you, Sirius,” Dumbledore replied.

“Speaking of wishes, do you know when Harry’s last birthday party was?” Sirius asked.

Dumbledore gave Sirius a guarded look before replying, “I would hope… No, I’m afraid I don’t know.”

“It was almost fifteen years ago. Relax, Albus, I’m not going to rag you about that. But I do want to make up for it in about a month. But there are a couple of issues, like getting a place where Harry’s friends can come without risking security at Headquarters, and something else I want to do….”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

They ended up waiting more than a minute, but finally a different man emerged who was quite a bit older, perhaps forty-five years of age. “Mr. Potter,” he said, holding out his hand across the counter. “I’m Daniel Fancourt; I’m the chief designer for Firebolt Racing Brooms.”

Harry noticed Tonks and Perenelle moving closer as he took the man’s hand. “Nice to meet you, Mr. Fancourt. I have one of your brooms that I’m rather fond of.”

“Yes, I’ve seen you fly a few times at Hogwarts,” Fancourt replied. “And honestly, you put some of the professional players to shame. In fact, watching you influenced some of the tweaking we did when designing our latest model. You’ve heard of the Cleansweep Eleven?”

Harry nodded. Ron had been sorely tempted by the new Cleansweep broom, but had ultimately decided on the Firebolt; Harry wasn’t entirely sure of why. Fancourt continued, “At Firebolt, we do not intend to be anything other than the market leader, ever. Since we finished designing the Firebolt in early ’93, we’ve been working hard on the next generation. It’d have most likely have come out next year, but we’ve moved up the introduction to this fall instead because of the Cleansweep Eleven, as we have a product ready to go that’s head and shoulders above any other broom now, including the original Firebolt.”

“I’d read rumors in Which Broomstick,” Harry said, “but if it’s not going to be released until later this year….”

“It’s not going to be released to the public,” Fancourt said, stressing the last word, “until this fall. However, I do have a few of the first production run here now, and I’d like to make two of these available to your friends instead of the original Firebolt they were going to purchase - they are both on the Gryffindor team, I believe? And also, with our compliments, one to you as well.” .

“Brilliant!” Ron said, beaming. Ginny looked thrilled as well.

Harry took a moment to recover. “That’s an incredibly generous offer, but I can’t…”

“Certainly, you can, Mr. Potter,” Fancourt said. “We always make a few of the first production models available to Quidditch stars or the like, on a complimentary basis, who try them out for us.”

“I’m not a professional Quidditch player,” Harry protested.

“But you are a bit of a public figure, Mr. Potter, and one we’ve been very proud to have associated with our brooms. I’d be honored if you’d accept.”

Mess this up and you’re a dead man, Potter. And then I’ll get whatever’s left over when Ron’s finished with you,” Ginny thought to him.

Harry glanced back toward Ron; the lust in his eyes was unmistakable. “Uh…” He glanced at Ginny; she had the same gleam in her eyes. “Thank you just doesn’t seem to be adequate for something like this,” Harry said, nodding his acceptance, “but thank you very much.”

“Excellent. Give me a moment,” Fancourt said, disappearing again into the back. A few moments later, he emerged again, followed by the clerk who carried three black hard shell cases that said “Firebolt II” in flaming letters along the side.

“It was a pleasure meeting you, Mr. Potter. If it’s alright with you, might I owl you and your friends in a month or two with some questions about how the brooms perform?”

“Yes, of course,” Harry said.

“Very good. And I’ll hope to see you again on the pitch at Hogwarts. Make sure you get their contact information, Ollie,” Fancourt said. “And if you have any questions, please owl me direct, Daniel Fancourt. Good day, Mr. Potter, it was a pleasure meeting you.”

“Likewise. And thank you again.”

The clerk, Ollie, asked for and then wrote down Ron and Ginny’s names on a piece of parchment, then commented, “You don’t know how lucky you are. These are only the second, third and fourth brooms Mr. Fancourt has released.”

“Who has the other one?” Ron asked.

“I didn’t tell you this, but Galvin Gudgeon got one a couple days ago.”

“Wicked!” It couldn’t get better than this, Ron thought.

“Cannons fan, eh? Well, if it works out as well as Mr. Fancourt thinks, you’ll see the whole team flying them this season.”

“How much more is the Firebolt II?” Ron asked, remembering that he’d withdrawn enough gold for what he’d planned to purchase, but not a lot more.

“Mr. Fancourt said to charge you like it was a normal Firebolt,” the clerk replied. “I don’t think they’ve decided on pricing yet. My guess is the Firebolt will come down some, and the Firebolt II will be a bit higher.” Ollie entered the total on Harry’s card, and after Harry pressed the purchase button, he finished processing the transaction. He placed Ginny’s other selections in a bag, then handed them their new brooms and other purchases. Next, he began the long process of counting through Ron’s Galleons; Ron didn’t seem to mind, as he stroked the case lovingly. Harry and Ginny stepped away from the counter and joined Hermione, Tonks and Perenelle.

“Looks like there’s occasionally some good to come out of the fame,” Tonks said.

“Ron seems to be thrilled,” Harry replied. “If he and Ginny are happy, it’ll have been worth it.”

They stood waiting for a few more minutes while Ron finished his purchase. Finally, he was ready to go, and they approached the door. Tonks caught Moody’s eye, and he motioned for them to come out.

“Three brooms?” Molly asked as they emerged.

Harry nodded, “Yeah, but it’s complicated. I’ll explain later.”

Moody wanted to get them moving. “Next?” he asked.

“Madam Malkin’s,” one of the twins said. “We want that notebook.”

There were no objections, and Moody led them to Madam Malkin’s Robes for All Occasions. There, the twins pulled Remus Lupin inside as Sirius and Tonks trailed along, laughing, Sirius reminding them that only the latest fashions would do, and nothing too plain. The five of them spoke to Madam Malkin for a few moments before she turned them over to an assistant who lead them to a fitting room in the back. Ginny and Hermione pulled Molly and Perenelle toward the dress robes while Harry and Ron followed, Harry taking care to stay reasonably close to Ginny as she seemed a bit distracted by the clothing on display and the knowledge that for the first time she could pick anything she liked. Bill, Charlie, Moody and Flamel had remained outside; Dumbledore had entered as well and was fussed over by Madam Malkin, who led him to a rack where she thought he might find something of interest.

They were at Madam Malkin’s for almost two hours. The twins finally emerged from the back, grinning widely, with an exhausted looking Remus and a cheerful Sirius and Tonks. Hermione and Ginny had each selected two dress robes and three sets of new school robes, including one heavier set of winter robes. Molly had selected two new robes, as well as two new dress robes for Arthur, but only after bit of pushing and encouragement from Ginny.

After picking their robes, Ginny selected a couple pair of jeans and a new jumper and then she and Hermione began to work on Harry’s wardrobe. Harry patiently tried on each item they asked; what Ginny selected did look pretty good, and she seemed to get a lot of pleasure out of it. When they finally emerged from the store, even Dumbledore carried a package, and after they exited, Sirius handed him a second, and said, “Thank you, Albus. No hard feelings, ok?”

As the day progressed, they visited several other stores, including the Apothecary, the stationary store and Eeylops Owl Emporium, where Ron purchased an owl for Hermione, a large Brown owl. Finally, after stopping at Florean Fortescue’s Ice Cream Parlor, they returned to Weasley’s Wizard Wheezes.

There were a number of customers in the store; Lee Jordan looked a bit ragged, as if he had had a rough day. George, catching the pleading glance Lee gave him, joined him behind the counter; Fred led the others to the back of the shop, other than Moody who remained out front on watch, and said, “It’ll be a little more private for you to portkey from here. But wait a second before you go.” He stepped back into the front of the store and returned a few moments later six packages that he distributed to his two youngest siblings, Harry, Hermione, Sirius and Dumbledore. “These are samples, guys, and on the house,” Fred said. “Use them freely, we’ll have another larger batch for you before you head to Hogwarts to show around and share,” he added to the four students.

“Mr. Weasley, are you encouraging my students to bring the sort of items I’ve seen displayed in your store to Hogwarts?” Dumbledore asked. “You are creating a difficult moral dilemma for me. You take away any sort of plausible deniability, particularly when you give me the same package of your wares; yet, if I object, Harry might not wish me to accompany him on any future shopping expeditions.”

“There are not any forbidden items in there, Professor,” Fred said, laughing,

“Yet,” Lupin commented.

“Oh, come on, try a few, Professor. At least you’ll know what to expect.”

Dumbledore nodded, eyes twinkling. “Very well, Mr. Weasley. I look forward to experiencing your creativity. Now, if those returning to Headquarters would gather their things and grasp the portkey, the rest of us will return to Hogwarts. Thank you all for a fascinating outing. It has been many years since I have visited Diagon Alley like this.”

As Tonks pulled the portkey from his pocket and expanded it, Bill and Charlie told them they were remaining in Diagon Alley, Remus said he had to pick up something from Hogwarts, but Perenelle said that she would accompany them back to Headquarters for a few minutes. Sirius, Molly, Tonks, Perenelle and the four teens touched the portkey and were transported back to the kitchen at Grimmauld Place.

“Now, before any of you get ideas about disappearing, I want everything put up properly. Clothes in drawers and closets, school supplies in trunks, and your books in your rooms,” Molly said.

They all left the kitchen, heading for the stairs. Perenelle held Sirius back for a moment, said something, then they followed as well. Perenelle followed Harry and Ginny to the forth floor; on reaching the sitting room, she took a seat in one of the overstuffed chairs and told them to put their things away, then she wanted to talk to them for a moment.

They entered the bedroom, but Dobby was waiting for them. He took charge of their packages and told them to entertain their guest. As they left the room, Dobby was enlarging their packages back to their original sizes and had started sorting their clothes.

They sat on a couch near Perenelle and waited. She asked, “How was today for you? You seemed quite comfortable joining hands, then moving apart, and then joining again. You looked little different from a normal, infatuated couple on a date.”

“It was… well, normal, I guess,” Ginny replied. “I hardly had to think about it; a couple times I could feel a little tug when we started get too far apart, but a step or two toward Harry, and everything was okay.”

“Pretty much the same for me. At first, I tried to watch how far we’d moved apart, until I realized I could feel it, too,” Harry said.

“Very good, indeed. May I again impose?” Perenelle asked.

They held out their joined hands; Perenelle held them for a few moments, before releasing them and smiling. “Again, your progress remains excellent. Did everything else today meet your satisfaction?”

“The only thing that Diagon Alley is missing is a place like Honeyduke’s,” Harry said. “The sweets shop there just isn’t as good.”

Sirius walked in, and Perenelle motioned for him to close the door and sit. She cast some sort of spell towards the door; most likely a silencing spell, Harry thought. “Thank you, Sirius. Brian, or I suppose I should say Albus, and Nicholas asked me to talk for a bit with you now, as they will both be rather involved this evening in the discussions going on with some members of the Wizengamot. Two sides have formed, each trying to ensure themselves of sufficient votes to appoint the next Minister and government, and undoubtedly, the control of the Wizengamot is at stake as well. Our opposition has sought to seek out anyone with a vote who might be sympathetic to their cause, or who might be swayed by gold. Nicholas believes that Lucius Malfoy has offered much to ensure a government favorable to his interests will come into power.”

“And likewise, Albus is forced to do the same thing, looking to find every vote he can, and the House of Black is one of those named in the sixteen-oh-whatever concordant or whatever it was,” Sirius said.

“The 1605 Convention,” Ginny said. “It’s what the current Ministry is based on.”

Perenelle nodded. “Ginny’s right, and yes, the numbers are close, and it may be that we will need both the Black and the Potter votes to prevail. Yes, Harry, your family was also named in the Convention, and now that you are legally recognized as an adult in the Wizarding world, there should be little grounds to challenge your right to vote in the assembly. The case with Sirius, however, is more complex. It may be, Harry, that as Sirius’ heir and with his legal status in question, you might control that vote as well.”

“What are we supposed to do?” Harry asked.

“Perhaps nothing; I believe Albus would prefer to keep both of you out of the middle of this if possible; both he and Nicholas are working to ensure a large enough margin where you are not needed, however, it may turn out we will need to call on you, perhaps as early as Tuesday or Wednesday of next week. If it comes to that, however, it may be necessary for Harry, or perhaps both of you to take your place in the Wizengamot, at least briefly.”

“How will my status, or lack thereof, play out in all of that?” Sirius asked.

“We’re not sure, actually, though that is one of topics they intend to explore this evening with Amelia Bones,” Perenelle replied. “But I will share the same idea with you that I did with Nicholas….”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After talking further with Sirius, Harry and Ginny, Perenelle left to return to Hogwarts, Molly fixed a meal, and Hermione pushed them to spend some time studying, claiming that they’d had their quota of R & R for the weekend. They spent some time reading and discussing the Apparition text and then Hermione spent some time walking them through the theory behind the portkey charm. Afterwards, they played a few hands of Exploding Snap before calling it a night.

Sunday was also a quiet day, the teens slept late, spent some time studying and some relaxing; a rather pale and shaky Remus reminded them that tonight would be the full moon, and they should stay away from the special reinforced room that had been constructed for his use in the cellar. Dudley had finished putting together the exercise equipment, and Sirius had him spend a couple hours showing them how to use the various machines. Dudley was in his element for once and seemed to know what he was doing. Sirius had spent a good portion of the afternoon with his head in the fireplace; twice he chased the teens from the kitchen as a call came for him through the Floo network.

Dumbledore arrived around six that evening and spent most of the next two hours locked in the drawing room with Sirius; then, when they finished, Sirius rushed off to join Lupin in the cellar while Dumbledore spent a few minutes with Molly; he then found Harry with the other students in the fourth floor sitting room practicing the portkey spell. He watched quietly for a few minutes, then drew Harry to a corner for a moment, telling him it appeared to be quite likely they would need both he and Sirius in the Wizengamot when the vote was called, perhaps as early as midweek. After watching them work for a short while longer, Dumbledore departed.

The evening passed uneventfully; Ron had taken his Firebolt II to the sitting room and had borrowed Harry’s servicing kit to apply a completely unnecessary coat of polish. Ginny had done the same thing before retiring Saturday evening; Harry hadn’t opened his yet. They spent some time speculating on how they might get some flying time, either in the meadow near the Burrow or on the Hogwarts pitch.

The next morning, the routine they had begun at the end of the previous week broke down; when they came down for breakfast, Sirius told them that Remus had experienced a very bad night, even with the Wolfsbane potion, and he was simply not up to meeting with them that morning; Sirius told them they were to spend an hour working out on the new exercise machines and then spend some time dueling each other. Sirius was preparing to leave for his meeting with Rita Skeeter; he asked Harry if he could borrow Hedwig to send a message to Dumbledore to alert him to Remus’ condition.

Sirius Apparated directly to one of the back rooms at the Leaky Cauldron; Rita Skeeter was waiting for him, a bottle of Odgen’s Really Old Firewhiskey and two glasses on the table in front of her. Sirius gave her a winning grin; this was already starting off better than he’d expected.

They spent the next two hours talking and forming a mutual admiration society. Sirius praised Harry, Hermione, Ron, and Ginny to an eager and avid listener who wanted nothing more than to ensure Harry Potter took his rightful place with the greatest heroes of the wizarding world, with her scooping the competition in the process, of course. She’d done even better than she’d hoped with the price she’d gotten from the previous articles, and here was a story that put that earlier piece to shame, along with a colorful, dynamic, swashbuckling personality who’d already been the focus of intense media attention, who’d been shamefully wronged by the system, and was ready, willing and eager to perform center ring in his own personal media circus… with her as the exclusive ringmaster. It didn’t get much better than this.

After two hours, the bottle was empty and Rita’s quill had filled several rolls of parchment with notes. Sirius agreed to meet with her again in a few days to look over her draft and if possible, arrange for her to meet again with the teens so she could ask them some questions, which was perfect; Rita had the feeling that the best way to get Harry’s willing cooperation in the future would be to approach him through Sirius.

Sirius returned to Grimmauld Place to check on Remus; if anything, he was worse. Over his objections, Sirius placed a call to Madam Pomfrey, who promised to stop by that afternoon to check on him. It was rapidly approaching one when Hedwig returned with a message from Dumbledore, which said if Remus couldn’t make it, things were too uncertain to attempt to move it to later; Sirius should come alone if necessary. He was to meet Nicholas Flamel in the lobby, who would brief him there.

“Well, I guess it’s still on after all,” Sirius said to the teens and Molly, who were sitting with him at the table. “Wish me luck that I don’t actually go ahead and commit one of the crimes I was charged with.”

“Sirius,” Harry said, concerned, “please, don’t do anything like that. He’s not worth it.”

“I won’t really do anything, Harry, other than scare the hell out of him. I’m just making noise. Besides, I really can’t imagine Peter knowing anything important anyway.”

Sirius arrived at the Ministry a few minutes later and found Nicholas Flamel waiting for him. There was a bit of difficulty getting past the sentries, who at first reacted to Sirius as if he was a fugitive, then as an imposter for someone known to be dead; Flamel told them that the rumors of Sirius' death, not unlike his own, were premature, and that Sirius was there at Dumbledore’s personal request. That last bit seemed to carry some weight; the guards let them pass without further argument.

Flamel lead him to the elevators, and they descended to Level Nine and then took the stairs to Level Ten. Dumbledore was waiting in the hallway with Tonks and Kingsley Shacklebolt. Seeing them approach, Shacklebolt unlocked one of the doors and pulled the heavy door open.

Dumbledore led them through, and Shacklebolt locked the door behind them. Dumbledore said, softly, “Pettigrew is in the fourth cell on the right. I have arranged that he is the only prisoner in this immediate area, though there are others further down the corridor. Silencing spells have been cast to ensure the other prisoners, which include Lucius Malfoy, are unable to hear anything that might be said. All of us will remain nearby, but if possible, it would be better if you could determine if he knows anything of value within the hour.”

“I doubt it will take that long, Albus. I’m not exactly wanting to chat about the good old days,” Sirius replied. “Let’s get it over with.”

Shacklebolt lead Sirius down the hallway and unlocked the cell. Peter was in the corner, sitting on a cot, staring at the floor. Sirius entered, and Shacklebolt locked the door and moved back down the hallway, leaving Sirius locked in the cell with Pettigrew. Sirius waited for a minute, but Pettigrew did not look up. Finally, Sirius said, “Ok, Peter, you wanted talk. You better get started…”

Pettigrew jumped and looked up for the first time. Seeing Sirius there, he drew back into the corner in fear. “But… but… Moony was… Sirius!”

“Moony was busy, and I drew the short straw, so I got stuck with vermin control today.”

“But… you’re…”

“Alive? Why yes, as a matter of fact I am. I suppose I should thank you for that, Wormy, for showing Harry where that book was. I mean, they’d have figured it out anyway, but it got me back a day or two sooner. What do you think Old Snake Breath will think about that, you helping out Harry and your old pal Ron Weasley like that?”

“I… I didn’t.”

“Yep, I’m afraid you did, Wormy. Right to the very book they needed, where you hid it twenty years ago. Don’t worry, Old Red Eyes will read all about it in the Prophet in a day or two, if he knows how to read, that is. Now, you seem to have convinced Dumbledore you know something useful, but the Professor was always a soft touch, so you’ve got a couple minutes to convince me that you’re more useful alive than dead. Otherwise, since I’ve already done the time, I figure I might was well commit the crime. Especially since I can’t be charged for it again.” Sirius looked at him speculatively.

“Sirius… please… I’m sorry….”

“Not nearly as sorry as I am, Peter. No matter what you know, it won’t bring James and Lily back, or make up for the hell Harry’s gone through. You know, killing you slowly a dozen times wouldn’t even be a down payment on what I went through in Azkaban, and that doesn’t hold a candle to what Harry’s life has been like. A litter of kittens doesn’t have enough lives to satisfy what you owe.”

“I wish… I wish you had caught me a couple of years ago at Hogwarts. That… that would have been better, I guess. I was never strong…”

Sirius cut him off, “I’m not interested in that, Wormy. Whine on your own time. What do you know that’s useful? Maybe you have the address of Tom’s current pad? That might be worth something. Or maybe you could ID all his followers?”

“No… I don’t know where his is, but I do know who some of the followers are. But I have something else. Something the Dark Lord doesn’t know.”

“Wormy, you, holding out on your master? You don’t have the cods. And if you did, I hear he doesn’t like that sort of thing, Wormy. What was that? Your final bargaining chip, just in case?”

Sirius’ remark touched a nerve; Pettigrew showed a flash of guilt before he tried to dodge the question. “No, it didn’t take long after he regained his body to… to know I’d made an even bigger mistake…”

“You better stop playing games, and tell me what you know. In another minute, I’m going to walk out of here, tell Dumbledore you wasted all our time, and suggest they put you in some low security cell somewhere and let Voldemort solve our problem for us. He’s not going to be very happy with you. And it’ll be real easy to get rumors flying around the Ministry about you offering to sell him out. Isn’t your buddy Malfoy just down the hall?”

“Okay, okay… come closer.”

Sirius took several steps, and then squatted in front of Wormtail, placing them at eye level with each other. “One false move, Wormy, and Padfoot will neuter you the hard way. And enjoy ever minute of it.”

Wormtail leaned toward Sirius and whispered for several minutes.

At first, Sirius listened with growing anger and then his face became hard. When Pettigrew finished, he said flatly, “You’re lying.”

“It’s true, Sirius. I swear it. I’ll repeat it under Veritaserum.”

Sirius noticed something from the corner of his eye. He said, “Don’t go anywhere, I’ll be back.”

He walked to the door, and called Shacklebolt. A few moments later, he had huddled with Dumbledore, Flamel and the Aurors. He had carefully looked over the area, and then said, “We’ve got a problem; one of those damned ears the twins make was in his cell. I didn’t react to it or give any sign I’d seen it, but it needs to be traced. And I need Veritaserum.”

“Does he have something?” Dumbledore asked.

“I don’t know yet, says he does, but I think he’s lying his arse off. And if it is true… I just hope it is bullshit. And dammit all, it may already be compromised. If it’s real, you better get him to Hogwarts and keep him there. In fact, either way he’s dead if he’s left here and what he told me gets back to Voldemort.”

Dumbledore pulled a small vial from his pocket and gave it to Sirius. “Only three drops, Sirius. Now, go back and act if nothing is wrong, but wait for at least two minutes before doing anything that would cause Pettigrew to say anything else that might be of interest. That should give Tonks and Kingsley time to trace the ear back to its owner.”

Kingsley again led Sirius back to the cell, and then, after opening it, they began quietly following the string from the ear down the hallway.

Sirius stood looking at Pettigrew for a minute before saying anything. “Well, Wormy, guess what? Someone just happened to have a bottle of confession juice handy, how about that? Still want to stick to the same story?”

Pettigrew nodded without hesitation.

“You know, if Snake Boy ever finds out you were holding out on him, especially if this codswallop is true, he’s going to want your rats' arse even worse than I do. And I want you pretty damn bad. Ever seen how a terrier shakes a rat? Some days that thought was the only thing that kept me going.”

There was a soundless flash from the direction Tonks and Kinsley had gone, and suddenly the ear was jerked from the room.

“Oh, how careless of me,” Sirius said. “I forgot to mention one of your pals was apparently listening in.”

Pettigrew was in a panic. “Malfoy… Sirius, you’ve got to help me…. Please, Sirius, I’m sorry. I’m sorry… Please, I’ll do anything, please, get me out of here, Padfoot, they’ll….”

“Well, stop whining and open your mouth and swallow this. I’m going to start with three drops, but if you’re lying, you’ll get the entire bottle, even if I have to rip open your throat and pour it down.”

Pettigrew opened his mouth, and Sirius carefully let three drops fall on his tongue. Sirius squatted down again, putting himself at eye level with Pettigrew; he waited for a few moments, then asked, “Was what you whispered to me a few minutes ago in this cell completely true?”

“Yes.”

“Oh, shit.” Sirius thought for a moment. “Peter, why did you betray James and Lily?”

“Because I was in over my head before I realized what I was I was getting into. By the time I knew, it was too late. They said they wouldn’t harm James or Lily, the Dark Lord only wanted the baby, then I’d never have do anything again.”

Sirius - somehow, though he’d later admit it was a close thing - restrained himself from transforming and ripping out Pettigrew’s throat then and there. After a minute, the pragmatic side of his mind asserted itself, and he mustered enough control to ask, “Why’d you go back to Voldemort?”

“Because I was afraid of you. I was tired of being a plaything. I wanted to be somebody important. I wanted respect.”

“Is anything that you’ve told me today,” Sirius paused to word his question carefully, “been at the direction or request of the Dark Lord or any of his followers?”

“No.”

“If the Dark Lord finds out what you’ve told me, will he be pleased?”

“No. He will be angry. He’ll find me, no matter where I hide. He’ll torture and then kill me. Slowly.”

“Why are you turning on Voldemort?”

“He’ll kill me sooner or later, for no reason other than it strikes his fancy at the time…. I’m tired of being tortured because I can’t read his mind or for his amusement. Because of the horror the world will be in if he does win. Because I saw he could be beaten. Because I hate what I am… what I’ve become… and I hate what I did to James and Lily. And what I did to Harry. Harry spared my life; this secret and my life are all I have left to bargain with. To make amends with.”

Sirius stood and then moved back two steps before giving the trembling Pettigrew a long, thoughtful look. “Okay, Peter. This is going to largely be out of my hands, but let me see what can be done.”

Sirius went back to the door of the cell; Dumbledore and Flamel were nearby, Dumbledore had the key in hand. Dumbledore released Sirius, noting even in the dimness of the corridor that all color had drained from Sirius’ face. Tonks and Shacklebolt rejoined them a moment later. “This may be very bad,” Shacklebolt said. “It was Malfoy that had the ear. And he was writing notes as quickly as they could and then sending them out of his cell. If even one of them gets out into the Ministry, it’ll fit right in with all the other papers and notes. We’ll never find it. We stunned Malfoy, but did nothing else so far.”

“Oh, shit.” Sirius thought for a moment. “Do you know how much he heard? Did you get any of the notes?”

“Yeah, we grabbed a couple,” Tonks replied, “but it didn’t tell us much, it was in some sort of cipher.”

“Albus, get him out of here; do it now,” Sirius said intently. “Get him to Hogwarts or Headquarters. You don’t have to worry about him running. It’s real.”

“What?” Dumbledore asked.

“Not here. Just get him out of here, and do it now. Unless Peter’s managed to overcome three drops of Veritaserum, it’s real, and it’s important, and trust me, it’s worth cashing in all of those emergency chits you have. Don’t stand here, go do that Chief Warlock stuff; do what you have to make this stick. And you’d better memory charm Malfoy if you can’t AK him outright, and if possible, round up those parchments.”

Dumbledore nodded. “Nicholas, if you would handle the memory charm and then join me in the chamber, and Kingsley, please try to determine if any of Malfoy’s notes escaped; Tonks, stay with Pettigrew until he’s done and then the two of you move Pettigrew to Hogwarts on my personal authority, and hold him there. Make sure no one talks to him. Sirius, as soon as Nicholas and I can get free, we will join you at Headquarters.”

Sirius nodded; he followed Dumbledore back toward the main corridor as the others went back into the cellblock.


Author notes: Thanks for the reviews, and please review and ask your questions. I will reply in the review forum, or via email.