Dog Star Rising

Dog Star Rising

Author's Notes--Thanks as usual to my faithful reviewers! Bottlebrush--I hadn't thought consciously about Asimov's laws when I wrote the last chapter, but you're right that they must have been in my subconscious somewhere. Lizzy--even though we have the Minister's admission in private that Sirius is innocent at the beginning of HBP, it doesn't seem to have ever been announced publicly; at least that's my reading of the situation.

Chapter Six

Knowing Sirius as they did, none of the others had any doubt that he meant exactly what he said: that when he tracked down Dolores Umbridge, she would not survive the encounter. A confused babble of voices broke out as everyone tried at once to dissuade him from putting this plan into action. Harry and Remus each caught hold of one of Sirius's arms, and with a bit of effort they managed to propel him back into his seat at the table. The stony expression on his face, however, indicated that he was far from convinced.

"Padfoot, we can have her arrested and prosecuted for this," Remus began, sitting down as well. "She'll wind up spending years in Azkaban--and I don't want you back in the cell next to hers!"

Hermione shook her head, looking troubled. "Erm...Professor?" she interrupted. "Of course I don't want Sirius back in prison--and it's mad for you to risk it," she added, looking over at Sirius. "But, Remus, are you certain we could send Umbridge there? We have no evidence about the dementor attack other than her confession, and she's sure to deny making it."

"And that sneaking pack of Slytherins that were in the office with us would lie for her, too," Ron added. "Hermione and I have talked about this. We can't prove a thing--it will just be our word against theirs."

"Perhaps," Remus conceded thoughtfully, "though if she left any evidence of giving that order anywhere in the Ministry records, one of our Order members there should be able to find it, now that they know where to look."

"Do you really think she'd be that careless?" Hermione pressed.

"Well, if nothing else," Remus argued, "we have evidence engraved in Harry's flesh that will be impossible for her to explain away. Sirius is absolutely right--what she did to Harry amounts to repeated torture. No teacher has the right to assault a student that way under any circumstances. And do we know whether Harry was the only one subjected to this--this barbarity?"

"Lee Jordan was, I know," Harry admitted. To Sirius, he explained, "He's a friend of Fred and George's. You might remember him--he used to be the Hogwarts Quidditch commentator, and he's the one who told me I had a cool dog when you came with me to the train platform that day. But even if both of us are willing to testify, and I show my scar--"

Hermione picked up the argument again. "Do we know for certain that what she did was really illegal?" Remus stared at her as though she were raving, but Hermione continued, "She wasn't just a teacher, you know, or even just a headmistress. The Ministry appointed her High Inquisitor of Hogwarts--do we really know what powers that might have granted her? For all we know, she was acting completely within the law."

Remus opened his mouth, then shut it again.

"That's why we didn't go to anyone at the time," Ron explained. "I told Harry to complain to McGonagall or Dumbledore right away when I found out what Umbridge was doing to him, but he said that if they tried to stop her, it would likely mean trouble for them, and later when I told Hermione, she said Harry was right."

"And you didn't see fit to inform me either?" Sirius asked, his voice rising. "Harry, you wrote to me about having detention with Umbridge the first week of school that year--had this begun already?"

Harry nodded. Before Sirius could say anything further, he added, "And this is exactly why I didn't tell you. I knew you'd never let it pass. You'd have lost your temper and done something reckless that would have got you locked up again. This was between Umbridge and me, and I handled it. I'm fine. It's over. The lot of you can stop making a fuss any time."

Sirius drew in a breath, color deepening in his face. Before he could start to bellow, however, Remus broke in sharply. "No, Harry, you are not fine, and this certainly is not over. I understand the constraints you three were under, and I appreciate your desire to protect Sirius and your teachers, but let me make this perfectly clear: it is not all right for anyone to attack and injure you that way, no matter how many inflated titles she gives herself. One way or another, Dolores Umbridge is going to pay for her actions."

"I'm sorry, Remus," Harry replied, "but I've seen too much of the Wizarding legal system already to expect justice from them. You weren't there at the hearing the day I was nearly expelled. I hadn't done anything wrong, but Fudge wanted to convict me, and if Dumbledore hadn't been there, he'd have succeeded. They didn't even pretend to give Sirius a trial before throwing him into Azkaban for life--or Hagrid either, back in our second year! And look how long it's been since they promised to reopen Sirius's case, and we've heard nothing about an official pardon, even though they know he was innocent. Umbridge is one of their own. If we try to take this to court, I'm betting they'll protect her."

"Don't forget that Umbridge did all this under Fudge's government," Remus pointed out. "Scrimgeour won't have to protect himself here--he could see this as a golden opportunity to make Fudge look worse."

"He might," Harry conceded, "but I wouldn't count on it. When I had that conversation with him last Christmas, he told me he'd been getting information about me from her. And I showed him my scars that day, too, and he wasn't surprised by them at all."

Remus looked down at the table for a few moments. "All right, then," he said at last. "You do have a point--we might have a real battle on our hands if we took this to the Wizengamot. I still believe we'd win--but something else has occurred to me as well: we'd also be putting Harry squarely in the public eye. Right now, it's best for him to stay unnoticed--especially if the five of us are going to have a chance at bringing down Voldemort."

Harry drew in a deep breath and started to speak.

"However," Remus continued, with a pointed look at Harry, "we may be able to take some action behind the scenes. At the very least, this should give us a bit of leverage with the Ministry that we've sorely needed. Since the central issue is the abuse of Hogwarts students by a Ministry representative, I believe that for now we should turn this matter over to Minerva. She can file an official complaint with the Ministry, and if nothing else, that should be sufficient to insure that there will be no further Ministry interference at Hogwarts for some time--something I know she's been concerned about."

He lifted an eyebrow inquiringly at Harry, who shrugged and said, "Sure, you can tell Professor McGonagall about Umbridge, if you want. I don't want her to have any trouble with the Ministry this year."

Sirius cleared his throat loudly, and Remus turned to him. "No, Padfoot, I don't think it's an ideal solution either, but for now it will have to do. We've finally found the way to defeat Voldemort, and we can't afford to let ourselves be distracted from that by a petty bureaucrat like Umbridge. She doesn't pose nearly the threat that the Death Eaters do. But after we have dealt with Voldemort once and for all, then we'll be free to settle other scores.

"And when that day comes," he continued, his voice slipping into a growl, "I promise that you and I will pay Dolores Umbridge a visit." His teeth flashed in a fierce and predatory smile, far from his customary gentle expression. "I believe that a practical demonstration of this unusual quill of hers is in order. Perhaps we could--suggest--that she put it to good use in writing a few nice, long letters of apology. To Harry, to Lee, and to anyone else we can think of."

"Which the two of us will dictate?" Sirius asked grimly. "Moony, I will have to see a great deal of that woman's blood on the parchment before I'm satisfied..."

"As will I, but that should be easily arranged. With the notorious Sirius Black and an unrestrained werewolf both standing over her, I have no doubt Dolores Umbridge will be eager to cooperate--and she'll keep her mouth shut afterwards, as well, since she would have to implicate herself in order to complain."

"Just a minute, both of you," Harry interrupted. "Do I have any say in this at all?"

"We shall be happy to listen to anything you have to say, Harry," replied Remus impassively, "But if you're asking us to forget what that woman did to you, you will be wasting your breath."

"Were you listening a few minutes ago when I talked about how it felt to know that Sirius was dead because of me?" Harry asked. "I don't want to go through that ever again. There's no reason for the two of you to risk your lives or your freedom going after Umbridge--she's not worth it."

"She may not be worth it, Harry," said Sirius quietly, "but you are."

Harry continued as though he hadn't heard this remark. "And while we're on the subject, Remus, you can forget this idea of 'the five of us' taking on Voldemort. That was Sirius's plan, not mine, and I haven't agreed to it. You can help Hermione with the research, if you like, and I'll be very grateful, but facing Voldemort is my business, and mine alone. It's bad enough that Ron and Hermione are stuck in the middle of this. You and Sirius need to just--bugger off."

Both men seemed stunned by this blunt declaration, and Harry took advantage of their silence to continue. "You can't protect me anymore. You have to understand that. Everyone who's ever tried to stand between me and the Death Eaters has been killed--my mum, my dad, Professor Dumbledore, even Cedric Diggory-- and I won't be responsible for your deaths, too." Harry's voice had started to shake, but now he drew himself up in his chair and looked levelly at Sirius. "The prophecy wasn't really destroyed in the battle in the Ministry, you know. Dumbledore knew what it said, and he told me that day in his office." He slowly repeated its words, concluding, "So you see, it has to be me. No one else has a chance against Voldemort, and I can't let the two of you get in the way."

Harry folded his arms, bracing himself for a fierce confrontation as he waited for the men's reaction to his words. The two of them exchanged a brief glance, but when they turned back to Harry, instead of anger, both were smiling in what seemed to be amusement.

"I've never been one to put much stock in prophecies, Harry," Sirius began, "but I must say, I've suspected something like this for years, and I daresay Moony has as well. Dumbledore began hinting about a connection between your destiny and Voldemort's even before you were born."

"And the entire Wizarding world has been calling you 'The Chosen One' for a year now," added Remus. "No surprises there."

"Perhaps you really will have to face Voldemort on your own in the end," Sirius went on. "Merlin knows you've had more than enough experience doing that already. But 'Chosen One' or not, you're still our Harry, and if you think that either of us is going to allow you to go through all of this on your own, you are sorely mistaken." Sirius leaned forward, watching Harry intently. "Why is it that you agreed to let Ron and Hermione come with you?"

"Couldn't stop them," Harry admitted.

"And you think that you could stop us?" Sirius shook his head, gazing fondly at his godson. He was silent for a moment, then asked, "Harry, do you remember what it felt like that day when you thought Voldemort had captured me?"

"I'll never forget. I saw him torturing you...I didn't know if I'd be able to get there in time..."

"You knew, didn't you, that if I could have communicated with you, I'd have told you to stay at Hogwarts--that I'd have wanted you safe, no matter what Voldemort might do to me?"

Harry nodded, and Sirius continued, "But would anything I or anyone else could have said at that moment have prevented you from coming to my rescue anyway?"

"Of course not!"

"Well, there you are, then. Moony and I will not stay behind in safety while we know that you three are in danger--it's as simple as that."

Harry opened his mouth to argue, but Sirius silenced him with a raised eyebrow. "When I interrupted that row between you and Moony, he was preparing to hex you halfway into next week rather than let you risk your life walking out of here alone, and I assure you he'd have done it. Try to leave this castle again without agreeing to let the two of us help you, and you'll have to get past us both. I warn you--I think you'd have a better chance against Voldemort."

Before Harry could interject another word, Sirius asked, "Now--did Dumbledore offer any speculation about this 'power the Dark Lord knows not'?"

"He said it means the power of love," Harry answered uncertainly. "But I have no idea how that could possibly help."

"Don't you see, Harry?" Hermione broke in. "Love is the power that is bringing you allies right now. With Sirius and Remus both helping us, we have a much greater chance of finding and destroying all the Horcruxes. Don't be dense enough to turn that away."

While Harry stared at Hermione in surprise, Remus quietly spoke up. "You really are astonishingly like James at times, Harry. Your father made a very similar speech to us when we volunteered to go with him on his first truly dangerous mission for the Order: noble, selfless, 'I don't want your deaths on my conscience,' et cetera." He smiled. "We had no intention of deserting that brainless, obstinate, misguided prat then, and we're not abandoning you now. And try not to worry too much--Padfoot and I have been fighting Death Eaters for many years now, and we've proven devilishly difficult to kill."

"I hereby declare this issue settled," Sirius pronounced. "There will be no more argument about it." He scowled pointedly at Harry, as though daring him to raise any further objection, and a brief silence followed.

"So," Remus asked, taking a drink of butterbeer and leaning back with a resigned air, "what else has been happening for the last year that no one has told me about?"

Harry took a drink from his own bottle, considering. "Well, if you really intend to help us, and if I can't stop you..."

Remus gestured for him to continue.

"Then the most important thing is to tell you everything we know about the Horcruxes." After waiting for Remus to fetch parchment and quill from his desk to take notes, Harry recounted all that he could remember from his private sessions with Dumbledore and the Pensieve, with Sirius filling in supporting details. By the time Harry was ready to open a second bottle of butterbeer, he had reached the night of Dumbledore's death and was preparing to tell the story of their expedition to the cave. Not even Ron and Hermione had heard all of the events of that night, and as Harry recounted the nightmarish tale of how he had forced Dumbledore to drink the potion, he had to look down at the table, away from the shocked faces that surrounded him. As he talked, though, he felt Hermione taking hold of his right hand and holding it tightly, and then Sirius grasping his left. At last, he reached the point in the story at which he and Dumbledore Apparated back to the village. "And then we saw the Dark Mark in the sky, above the school."

"The Death Eaters were there when you returned?" asked Sirius. "But how did they manage to enter the castle?"

"Draco Malfoy," Harry answered. "I knew he was up to something all year; I just didn't know what." He recounted the history of his suspicions, starting with Malfoy's trip to Knockturn Alley before the start of term, and including, for Sirius's benefit, a description of his own discovery and subsequent use of the Half-Blood Prince's Potions text. Both men had heard from Dumbledore about Harry saving Ron's life with the bezoar, and were eager for further details, but Harry brushed off their exclamations of praise. "It was just really lucky I thought of it, that's all." Harry's account of his duel with Malfoy in front of Moaning Myrtle was also hesitant, as he reluctantly admitted how he had nearly killed the other boy with the Sectumsempra Curse.

Remus did not let this incident pass without comment. "I can't believe no one told me about that--not a word from Minerva or Dumbledore, either one! Harry, believe me, if I'd known, I would have come up to the school at once."

"You would?" Harry asked. "Why?"

"Well, for one thing," Remus answered, shaking his head, "I'd have begun by giving you a proper telling-off! Harry, every first-year Hogwarts student knows better than to test an unknown spell on a human being. That's a basic magical safety principle, and I can't believe you'd forget it, even in a stressful situation." He continued in a gentler tone, "But mostly, I'd have been there to stand by your side and argue the case why you shouldn't be expelled. Snape must have been foaming at the mouth to have you chucked out."

"Actually, he wasn't. He just gave me detention--and now I know why. He didn't want anyone else to find out how I learned that spell." Harry explained how Hermione had figured out the Half-Blood Prince's identity. "And I was really sorry for what I did to Malfoy at the time, but after what he did later--"

"I quite understand," Remus said quickly, nearly managing to drown out Sirius's muttered, "I'm just sorry Snape was there to heal the little sh..."

Remus delivered a kick to Sirius's leg under the table, to which Sirius responded with a look of wide-eyed innocence.

"Anyway," Harry went on, "I found out later that what Voldemort wanted Malfoy to do was kill Dumbledore. He'd tried with the necklace, and the poisoned mead, and on the night Dumbledore died, he let the Death Eaters into the castle through the Room of Requirement. He'd found a pair of Vanishing Cabinets, and after he fixed the one at Hogwarts, a group of Death Eaters traveled through from the other one in Borgin and Burke's shop." He looked around the table at Remus, Ron, and Hermione. "I wasn't there when they arrived--do the three of you want to tell this part?" Ron picked up the thread of the narrative, aided by Hermione and Remus, until they reached the point at which Snape ran past Remus up the stairs to the tower. Then, taking a deep breath, Harry began to describe everything that had happened in that tower from the point when he and Dumbledore reached it. Sirius listened in silence, his eyes fixed on Harry's face. The other three, as well, listened closely as Harry tried to remember every detail of the conversation between Dumbledore and Malfoy.

"I thought Dumbledore was going to talk Malfoy out of it, at first. He was wavering, especially when Dumbledore offered to protect him and his mum--and now I think that remark that 'he cannot kill you if you are already dead' must have been meant as a hint for me, too, but I never picked up on it." He gave Sirius a brief, rueful smile. "But then the other Death Eaters arrived, and after them, Snape."

When Harry described how Snape had responded to the pleading of the weakened Dumbledore with an "Avada Kedavra!", Sirius completely lost his composure. He lurched to his feet, taking an empty bottle from the table along with him, turned around, and hurled the bottle with all his strength against the far wall. A shower of broken glass fell onto Hermione's trunk, and a prim-looking witch in eighteenth-century garb indignantly exclaimed "Well!" and flounced out of her portrait, which was hanging only a foot or so away from where the bottle had hit. Ignoring her, as well as the group around the table, Sirius next began pacing back and forth, gesturing wildly and swearing at the top of his lungs with a fluency and invention that impressed Harry and Ron immensely.

Remus motioned to the three teenagers to let Sirius alone. He himself sat patiently listening to his friend rant and occasionally sipping his butterbeer. When Sirius finally fell silent, leaning against a bookcase with his back to them, Remus said quietly, "Sirius--there's more, if you're ready to hear it."

Breathing heavily, and with an expression on his face that would have made Snape run for his life if he'd seen it, Sirius slowly returned to the table. Remus nodded to Harry. "Go on; he needs to know it all."

"It's about...my mum and dad," Harry began cautiously. A tremor ran through Sirius's body, and his face became noticeably paler, but his eyes stared steadily into Harry's as Harry explained how he had learned that Snape had been the one to draw Voldemort's attention to them all those years ago.

This time, Sirius did not respond with threats or curses. He merely leaned forward and buried his head in his hands. He made no sound, but the others saw his shoulders heaving.

"I tried to stop Snape from getting away that night," Harry continued, still looking at Sirius worriedly. "I chased after him as soon as Dumbledore's spell wore off me, and I caught up with him outside of Hagrid's. But he blocked every spell I sent at him..."

"Of course he did, Harry," said Remus. "He's a fully trained wizard who's been a Death Eater since before you were born. No one would have expected you to be a match for him--you're lucky to be alive, in fact."

"I tried everything I knew," Harry answered. "I even sent a Cruciatus Curse at him twice, but--"

Sirius abruptly swung toward Harry and grabbed his arm. "You did what?" he hissed, glaring fiercely at Harry through red-rimmed eyes.

Looking around the table, Harry saw Remus, Ron, and Hermione all staring at him in horror. "What?" he asked.

"Harry," said Ron, freckles standing out in sharp relief against the pallor of his face, "you used an Unforgivable?"