Circle's Close

Chapter Twelve: The Hanging Tree

***

The drive from the Burrow to Ottery St. Catchpole was quite peaceful, as light flakes of snow drifted down from the gray sky above them. Harry, Ron and Hermione decided to leave Mr. Weasley's car out of sight, along a more private road, so as not to attract any Muggle attention. From where they deserted the car, they walked the rest of the way to where the Hanging Tree once was. As they approached the scene, a strong, howling wind started to blow from the North, making the falling snow whip against their faces, and the trio struggled with their scarves to block the harsh weather.

It was times like these that Harry wished he could wear his own warm, hooded cloak, as opposed to the winter ski jacket that he was forced to wear. Why couldn't Muggles have the sense to include the same features in their standard clothing? One glance at Ron and Hermione told him that they were wondering the exact same thing.

"Do you think we could go into the cafe over there for shelter?" Ron shouted over the shrieking winds, as he pointed somewhere towards their left. His face was as red as his hair and his teeth chattered as he spoke.

"We can't!" Hermione shouted back. "It's Christmas! Everything is closed!"

Hermione looked far worse off than either Harry or Ron. Her long, chestnut hair whipped across her face, getting into her eyes and mouth as she spoke. Her face was red, her lips chapped, and Harry vaguely wondered if her love for snow stretched this far.

But as they continued to approach the spot where the Hanging Tree once stood, Harry saw a tall figure, his back to them, and oddly enough the cold wind and snow didn't seem to affect the man at all.

Sirius Black simply stood there, hands tucked into his coat pockets, oblivious to the three 17 year-olds approaching him. Harry stopped in his tracks, holding out his arms to stop Hermione and Ron with him.

Ron turned to Harry, his mouth open in horror. Harry could tell exactly what was going through his mind. If Sirius found them there, he would most definitely tell the Weasleys, and Harry wasn't sure whose wrath he'd rather face: A former Marauder, or Molly Weasley.

He thought of turning around and heading straight back to the car, but something held him fast to the ground. Whether it was his cursed curiosity, or whether he was rigid with indecision, Harry couldn't decide.

"Come on," Harry told Ron and Hermione, nodding from them to Sirius. They nodded, matching pained expressions on their faces.

Harry led the way while Hermione and Ron trudged through the accumulating snow behind him.

Harry barely had time to speak, when Sirius slowly turned around, a bemused sort of expression on his face. He didn't look the least bit angry or disappointed, and this was a relief to Harry.

Then he remembered that Sirius was a master at hiding his true feelings, and the relief that Harry had felt quickly evaporated.

"Should I be surprised that you're here?" Sirius asked them.

Hermione and Ron opened their mouths to reply, but closed them, deciding that Harry would probably be the only person able to handle this particular situation.

"We heard about the Hanging Tree, Sirius. First on the news, and then in the Daily Prophet," Harry told his godfather.

"So that would explain why you're here, and not at the Burrow, where you're supposed to be...you know...staying out of trouble like I specifically asked," Sirius said, and Harry flinched.

"We didn't really expect to find you here," Harry said, hoping that this would pass off as an apology.

"And I suppose that makes this OK? Do Molly and Arthur know you're here?" Sirius said, looking sharply at Ron, who took an involuntary step backwards.

"They don't know..." Ron said, swallowing thickly.

"But it was my idea," Harry cut in quickly, drawing Sirius' attention back to himself. He wasn't going to let Ron and Hermione take the blame for something that they weren't responsible for.

Sirius gave Harry a very patient, level look, which in turn only made Harry feel more anxious.

"You weren't supposed to find out about this. The Weasleys didn't want you to know, but I warned them...that you'd eventually figure it out for yourselves," Sirius told them, a corner of his mouth tugging upwards.

Harry was grateful for the howling wind, which meant that Sirius couldn't hear him sigh with a newfound relief.

"Do you know anything?" asked Ron, somewhat more bravely than he felt.

Sirius gave an audible sigh, running a hand through his dark hair. He looked extremely troubled, confused, the lines of fatigue around his eyes making him look weary and exhausted.

"Let's get back to the house," suggested Sirius. "I'll explain all I can there."

*
Harry knew that it was safe to go back to the house, Draco and Ginny were probably on the top floor, and Draco had been warned to stay out of sight.

But as Harry, Hermione, Ron and Sirius entered Harry's home, Ginny was already at the front door, her face was flushed, her brown eyes wide with shock at the sight of them.

"Ginny? What are you doing here?" asked Sirius curiously. The Weasleys were allowed free reign of the house whenever they needed it, so Harry knew that Sirius wasn't upset that he found her in his empty home.

Ginny paused for a moment in the doorway, breathing very fast and trying her best to look calm. Harry and Hermione forced their expressions to match Ron's and Sirius' own look of bewilderment, and waited for her answer.

"B-bathroom...I...n-needed," she stuttered. Ginny took a deep breath and took a moment to gather her bearings.

"I needed to use the bathroom, Sirius. Percy has been spending his entire morning in our own. He's so girly it's scary!"

Ron snorted with laughter, while Sirius merely grinned as Ginny pulled on her coat and slipped on her shoes.

"Could you tell your parents we'll be there around 4?" Sirius asked her.

Ginny nodded with a smile, turning to her brother. "When will you be home, Ron?" she asked.

Ron scratched his head, deep in thought. "Within the hour. I shouldn't be too long here," he said, remembering that his mother wanted his help preparing for Christmas dinner.

"We'll see you then," Ginny said quickly, and closed the door behind her as she left.

After hanging up their own coats and taking off their shoes, the three teenagers and adult made their way into the family room, where Sirius immediately created an inviting fire with a flick of his wand. Hermione, catching Harry's eye, told the others that she needed to use the washroom, and practically ran up the stairs. Harry knew that she was merely giving Draco an extreme warning to stay out of sight.

When she returned, they all took their seats, Hermione on the couch with Harry, Ron on the love seat, while Sirius sat in the armchair. They waited for the older man to begin.

"Maybe we could all use some butterbeer," Sirius suggested, and with another wave of his wand, a tray appeared with four steaming tankards of hot, delicious butterbeer. The tray settled itself on the coffee table, and each of them took a mug.

Now that they were warm and comfortable, Sirius cleared his throat.

"I must press upon you that what you're about to hear is in no way any laughing matter," he told them, looking serious. "Not to mention, Ron, that your parents did not want any of you to find out about this. They made me swear that I wouldn't so much as hint at anything, and to be honest, I didn't agree with them. But I respected their wishes...or at least I tried to."

"Why were you there, Sirius?" Harry asked him again. "Was this the favor for Dumbledore that you mentioned earlier?"

Sirius gave Harry an odd smile, and nodded.

"So that means Dumbledore is worried, doesn't it? If he's sending you to investigate for him," said Hermione.

Sirius turned his gaze to Hermione, a thoughtful expression on his face. "He's being very cautious," was his answer.

"So tell us about the Tree, Sirius," Hermione pleaded, looking very much like the eager student that she was.

Sirius took a sip of his butterbeer, put the mug on the table and drew himself up, making Harry feel like he was straight back in his Defense Against the Dark Arts class.

"In the days before the Ministry of Magic was formed, the wizarding world was one of anarchy," Sirius began. "No one meddled in another's business. On the downside, this also meant that if any witch or wizard got into trouble, there would be no one to help them. So if a group of Muggles surprised a wizard and tied him up, what could he do?"

"A wizard without a wand is no better than a Muggle," Hermione added reasonably.

Sirius nodded, smiling.

"Exactly. Take it from me; even when I had been free from Azkaban those few years, without a wand, my magical abilities were useless. The Ministry snapped my wand once I was arrested," he told them.

"And they provided you with a new one from Ollivander's, once your name was cleared, right?" said Ron knowledgeably, having heard this from his own father.

Sirius nodded, and continued with the brief history lesson.

"Even though there was no order before the Ministry was created, there were still occasional conventions."

"Like the Warlock Convention of 1709, which outlawed dragon breeding, right?" said Hermione, and she bit her bottom lip automatically, looking slightly embarrassed.

"Sorry," she apologized. "Sometimes I just...interrupt people. I don't mean to..."

Sirius and Harry exchanged a grin.

"Not at all, Hermione. Anytime any of you have any questions or comments, interrupt me all you like, OK? Let's just pretend we're in class for a moment."

Harry and Ron nodded while Hermione looked relieved.

Sirius then pressed his hands together, palm-to-palm, and continued with the lesson.

"In the old days, witches were hanged, not burned. And it wasn't just Muggles who did it. In the days of mob rule, a group of good witches and wizards might have hung a Dark wizard."

Ron frowned, puzzled. "Why didn't they just have the Dark wizards destroyed, you know...with the Killing Curse or something?" he asked. "It's obviously more simple than hanging a person..."

Instead of answering straight away, Sirius got up from his seat and started to slowly pace back and forth in front of the fireplace. He looked deep in thought, and Harry wondered if he was actually bothered by the question. But then Sirius turned back to them; his face set in a grave expression, his eyes darker than Harry had ever seen them, reminding him of the person who had spent 12 years in Azkaban.

"Yes," he said slowly, "they could have used the Killing Curse, or some other form of Dark magic. Some did, in fact. But there's a reason why those Curses were finally outlawed. Dark magic corrupts the soul. It exacts toll on the user as much as on the victim. No decent witch or wizard ever relished using it, even in a good cause.

"And even if that weren't the case," he continued, "being destroyed is not necessarily the same thing as dying. Take Harry for example. When Voldemort hurled the Killing Curse at him, it rebounded and hit himself instead. He was destroyed, but not killed. And since he was destroyed by magic... he could be revived by it as well--and he was."

Harry knew that this was true. Voldemort had come back when they had finished their 4th year. And half a year ago, the Ring Spirit had destroyed Voldemort--destroyed--but did that mean he wasn't dead? According to Sirius, this meant that Voldemort could come back.

He looked at Hermione as she looked at him, and he could see her brain working beneath her deep, mocha eyes. She was coming to the exact same conclusion.

But as Harry opened his mouth to ask a question, he heard a peculiar noise coming from outside the family room. A sort of shuffling, a creak of the floor. He turned his head toward the direction of the doorway, expecting to see a certain Slytherin blond lurking nearby. But he saw nothing, and instead turned his attention back to the conversation, where Hermione was now speaking.

"But why this particular tree?" she wondered.

"Well," Sirius said, pondering the question. "The Tree is full of spirits of those Dark wizards who were hanged. In fact, that's what it's mostly famous for. It's even why most Muggles avoid it to this day. People can sense the Dark Spirits that have lingered on after death. Their hatred and desire for vengeance are the ties that bind them to our world. The Tree is pure evil...and it can be used for evil purposes."

Hermione shivered, though the room was far from chilly. Harry resisted the urge to wrap her in his arms, wanting nothing more than to protect her from all that was bad in the world. Instead, he rested his hand on her arm, giving it a gentle squeeze, and she smiled at him in appreciation.

"For now, I'm going to ask you three to watch yourselves, and please...don't get yourselves involved. If there is anything Dark going on, there's nothing that any of you can do."

Harry felt the urge to instantly disagree, but he managed to keep the thought to himself. Maybe Sirius was right; maybe this WAS a situation that would be better off left to the professionals. He glanced at Ron, hoping to get a glimpse of what he was thinking at the moment about this new stack of information, and he noticed Ron's face screwed up in concentration. He looked slightly put out about something.

"Blimey, Sirius," Ron grumbled, avoiding the older man's eyes. "You're still treating us like kids. I'm almost 18, y'know. And as for Harry and Hermione, did you know that Mad-Eye Moody suggested that they would make good Aurors?" he said, and Harry detected a light trace of bitterness in his voice. "I mean, of course it was just Barty Crouch who said it...but the real Moody told Dumbledore the same thing...later on."

Surprisingly, Sirius didn't look the least bit upset at this. In fact, if anything, he looked disappointed.

"I don't doubt it," he said to them. "And a part of me wishes you two were old enough to be trained as Aurors. I'd feel so much better knowing that you two could defend yourselves."

Harry and Hermione exchanged surprised smiles at the compliment, while Ron sat up in his seat, anger flashing in his light blue eyes for not being included, once again. Harry caught this before Ron could say anything by jumping in.

"This is Christmas! We shouldn't be talking about dark spirits, haunted trees, or people getting hanged..."

Sirius heaved a sigh of relief, while Hermione nodded in agreement. Ron simply stared at Harry, looking as though he wanted to say some scathing remark, but nothing came out, and Sirius took this opportunity to swiftly change the subject.

"So, Ron, how's your broom holding out?" Sirius asked the red head, and Ron's eyes widened in sudden remembrance.

"My broom! Leah! I completely forgot about her!"

"You never told her that you were leaving, I take it?" said Hermione, in a lecturing tone.

"I forgot!" Ron cried again, standing up and rushing to the front door.

The others followed him.

"I'm sure Charlie took good care of her," said Harry, a sly twinkle in his eye.

As Ron slipped on his jacket he glared at his wizard friend. Hermione slapped Harry on the arm in a reprimanding way.
"I'll see you at 4, then?" Ron asked.

Sirius smiled kindly at the red head. "We'll see you then, Ron. And if you could-"

Sirius suddenly looked amazingly uncomfortable.

"What is it, Sirius?" Ron asked curiously, not at all certain that he was going to like what Sirius had to say.

"Well...it's just that...could you maybe...not tell your parents what I told you here just a moment ago? Molly Weasley doesn't have a magic eye like Moody, but she seems to miss nothing, and I've never had to face her wrath before."

The two younger wizards and one witch burst out laughing, while Sirius chuckled lightly with them.

"No problem, Sirius. I can't say that I blame you," Ron told the older man, and then he was gone, shutting the door behind him.

As Sirius turned to make his way back to the family room, Hermione tugged on Harry's arm, holding him back for a moment.

"Maybe we should tell Sirius about Draco now, before Remus does show up, do you think?" she suggested.

Harry bit his bottom lip, an overwhelming sense of anxiousness settling in his stomach.

So many thoughts were racing through his mind at the moment. How would he tell him? How would Sirius react? Would he throw Draco out? Send him back to the Malfoy Manor, or Hogwarts? And then another thought hit him, worse than anything he had thought so far. Would he tell the Weasleys?

There was nothing he could do about it, Harry realised. Worrying about it didn't help the situation, and Hermione WAS right. Now was the only good opportunity to tell Sirius all about Draco Malfoy.

"OK. You're right," he told her, trying to gather up some confidence.

Hermione hugged Harry close, planting a kiss on his lips, trying to chase away all his self-doubt.

"You're not in this alone, Harry Potter," she told him. "You never have been. If you take the fall, then we take it together, always, remember?"

Harry took a deep breath and smiled. "Thanks," he simply told her, his hand finding hers as their fingers laced together.

They made their way to the family room, where Sirius sat in the armchair, staring at the colorful Christmas tree. Harry and Hermione sat side-by-side on the sofa, closer together now that Ron had left, with their hands still linked together.

Harry took a deep, cleansing breath, ready to take the plunge. It was now, or never.

"Can I ask you a question, Sirius?" Harry asked.

Sirius turned his gaze from the Christmas tree to Harry and Hermione, and catching the terrified expressions on their faces, his eyes suddenly shadowed with concern.

"You know you can," Sirius told him kindly, somehow sensing that Harry was having a very difficult time with what he wanted to say.

But Harry's whole face changed, from worry and fear, to innocent curiosity.

"I was just wondering..." he said, tilting his head to the side, and focusing his eyes on the corner of the ceiling, "how would you feel if..."

The words weren't coming to Harry, and the panic he had felt seemed to double, gripping him painfully. Get the words out, Harry...you've already prepared yourself for the worst, he told himself.

Sirius frowned more deeply. "Go on, Harry. You'll feel better once you say it," he told him.

Harry swallowed, and gave a short nod. "OK. Actually, my first question is: You know all about Draco Malfoy, right?"

Sirius gave Harry a quizzical look. "I know about the Malfoys, but I don't know much about Draco, no. Other than what I learned about him in class. And of course, how you two never got along," Sirius said, not at all sure where this was going.

Harry took another deep breath, feeling slightly braver. "Well...what would you say if I told you that we no longer hated each other?"

A long silence followed this, where Sirius simply stared at Harry. Hermione tensed, and Harry held a bated breath.

"Well, I guess I would have to ask you what changed your opinion about him," Sirius finally said, and Harry let out his breath.

"What if...I told you that someone showed me that he's not such a bad guy?"

Sirius leaned forward in his chair, piercing Harry and Hermione with a steady look.

"Something tells me these aren't just your regular, hypothetical questions. What are you trying to tell me, Harry? That you've patched things up with Draco Malfoy? If that's the case, then honestly; good for you. It takes a person of strong-will and an open mind to truly bury the hatchet with a school enemy," Sirius told him.

Harry gave Sirius a regretful look. "Actually, that's only part of it," he said, and Sirius had never seen Harry look so apologetic and terrified in all his life.

"What Harry's trying to say, Sirius," Hermione said, taking the lead, "is that while he and Draco have managed to patch things up between them, Harry and I wanted to do something nice for him...for Draco..."

Sirius' eyes now focussed on the young witch, his eyes narrowed, but he didn't interrupt her.

"You see, Draco didn't really have a place to stay this Christmas. He didn't want to go back to his Manor, and he didn't really want to stay at the school...so we both decided to invite him here, and stay with us."

Another long pause followed this announcement, while Harry and Hermione braced themselves for the worst.

"So he's here...right now..." Sirius finally said.

Harry nodded numbly. Any minute now, Sirius was going to erupt.

"And he's been here all week," Sirius said, trying to clarify the facts.

"Yes," said Hermione.

Another pause, while Sirius registered the information.

"So I'm going to take a wild guess, and wager that the real reason Draco is here is not for either of you, but for someone else...the same 'someone else' that made you see Draco in a different light?" Sirius said.

Harry looked up at the older man, a startled look on his face.

"Ginny Weasley?" Sirius suggested.

Harry looked at Sirius in amazement. "How did you know?"

Sirius gave Harry a pointed look, but Hermione was the one who answered.

"Ginny ran into us at the door, remember? She told us she was using the bathroom."

"But in fact, she was with Mr. Malfoy," said Sirius, smiling crookedly.

Harry nodded in response, not knowing what to say or what to do. Hermione seemed to be the one with her feet firmly on the ground, which made Harry all the more relieved.

"We wanted to tell you before we left for the Holidays, but Ginny swore us to secrecy, and we were worried that you would tell the Weasleys. They don't know," Hermione told Sirius.

"They can't know," Harry added, his eyes silently pleading with Sirius. "It's up to Ginny whether she wants her family to know..."

Sirius looked at Harry, not with the scorn or anger that Harry had expected, but with understanding.

"I won't tell them," he said. "But I take it that Ginny and Draco are aware that you were planning to tell me about this?

Harry nodded. "Ginny wanted to be here, to help us explain, but her mom wanted her home."

"I'm impressed, really, that Ginny can be so forgiving," Sirius said thoughtfully. "After what happened to her in her first year, with the Chamber of Secrets, and considering the fact that it was Lucius' doing that put her in that position. If she can get over the fact that Draco is associated with what she had to live through, that's saying something."

Harry nodded, unsure how to reply to this. Apparently Sirius didn't expect an answer, as he continued on in his thoughtful manner.

"Then it was Ginny who inspired this sudden change in your opinion about your ex-arch enemy?" guessed the older wizard.

Harry drew a deep breath and then let it out slowly, measuring out his words carefully.

"I can't quite put it into words, Sirius. I think...after knowing about Ginny and Draco, I realised that maybe he really deserves a second chance. So that's when I offered him a place to stay here, so he could spend his Christmas with Ginny."

Sirius seemed to be working through an inner struggle. He looked proud and frustrated, looking like he wanted to scold Harry, but couldn't find it in himself to do so.

"And you really believe he's not the horrible arch-enemy that you've grown to hate? He's Lucius Malfoy's son!" Sirius exclaimed.

Harry wondered if Draco could hear Sirius all the way from upstairs, but felt that now wouldn't be the time to ask Sirius to keep his voice down.

"I know who he is!" Harry hissed, suddenly feeling very doubtful about everything. Had he done the right thing bringing a Malfoy into his home? No, he thought again. He'd been through this. He'd spent a lot of time working through all the pros and cons, and in the end, he had made the right choice.

Hadn't he?

"But he's not the same person, Sirius," Harry said, as calmly as possible. The only way to get Sirius to see it the way he did was by showing just how strongly he felt about his own convictions. In order for Sirius to believe in him, he needed to believe in himself.

"If Ginny can see the goodness in him, then so can I. And I'm doing it for her, not for me. I'm sorry for dragging you into this," said Harry, standing up.

"Where are you going?" asked Sirius.

"To tell Draco that he has to go home, or back to Hogwarts," Harry said, feeling and sounding thoroughly disappointed.

"Sit down, Harry," Sirius ordered in a soft tone.

Harry obeyed his guardian, trying to avoid Sirius' dark eyes, which were startlingly calm.

"I never said I want him to go home," Sirius told Harry, his tone strong and honest.

Harry slowly rose his head to meet Sirius' kind gaze.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"You know exactly what I mean. But I want you to listen to me carefully, Harry. I plan to bring Lucius Malfoy down, so I hope that you're right about Draco, or else he'll end up going down with the rest of the Death Eaters. Alright?"

Harry stared at him a moment, hardly believing his ears. Then he said, "If he's really in league with his father, Sirius, you'll be the least of his worries. I can promise you that."

The corner of Sirius' mouth twitched upwards, and he nodded. "OK. We'll talk more about this later, but for now, bring Draco downstairs. I'd like to welcome our guest properly."

Harry gave Sirius a suspicious look that Sirius understood too well.

"I won't say anything inappropriate," he told his godson, grinning in spite of himself. "And I promise not to turn him into a ferret."

Hermione and Harry laughed, feeling lighter and happier, as relief washed over the young wizard. That was one secret out of the way...just one more to go...

To Be Continued...