The Music Box

Chapter Four: Back to the Shrieking Shack

“Padfoot!” Harry yelped, jumping up, nearly falling back on Ginny.  

“I take it you know the dog?” Ginny asked, still shielding herself with Harry's body.  

“Of course I do, he's my... Harry stopped himself. He wasn't sure that Sirius wanted Ginny to know who and what he was. “ He's my friend. I sometimes see him when I come to Hogsmeade.” 

“I see. Well what is he doing here do you think?” she said nervously, keeping her eyes on the dog.

Harry began petting the rather large black dog, who licked his hand a few times before beginning to tug on the sleeve of his shirt.

“I was supposed to meet him today, but I forgot,” Harry said reluctantly. “I think he has come here to find me.”  

“Smart dog,” Ginny said, impressed.  

Padfoot began tugging on Harry's shirt even harder now.  

“I think he wants us to follow him,” Harry said, getting back on his feet before helping Ginny up as well.

Padfoot looked at her skeptically.  

“I think she should come too, Padfoot. This is Ginny Weasley,” he said to the dog. Padfoot sniffed her hand for a moment, as if verifying her, and then he wagged his tail and went off. By now, Ginny was completely bewildered.

“Harry, I don't understand. Does this dog understand what you're saying?”

“Yes,” Harry said, taking her hand. “I will explain, I promise. But first I think we should follow him.”

Padfoot led them behind the Shrieking Shack. It had only been two years since Harry had found out about his godfather, and now he was about to share one of his biggest secrets with Ginny. He hoped she would take it well. In the house, Harry stopped Ginny as Padfoot left the room.

“Lets wait here for a moment.” 

“Harry, what are we doing here?” Ginny pleaded. She watched Padfoot's shadow carefully against the wall creeping from the other room, as he transfigured back into a man.  

Ginny dug in her nails, as she grabbed Harry's arm tightly.

“He's an animagus!”  

“I know,” said Harry.

“Do you remember a couple of years ago when Ron broke his leg? You know, the year we had Professor Lupin at Hogwarts?”  

“Yes,” Ginny said quizzically.

“Well, I found a lot about my parent's past that year.”  

“Okay...”         

Harry looked over to the shaggy haired man standing in the doorway. Ginny followed his stares. Her mouth gaped open once again.  

“Ginny, I want you to meet Sirius Black, my Godfather.”  

Harry only barely caught Ginny as she fainted in his arms.

 

*                      *                      *

 

“That went well,” Harry said sarcastically, laying Ginny on the floor, trying to revive her.  

“Better than most,” Sirius said walking over to them. “She'll be fine in a minute.”  

Harry grimaced. Sirius gave a smirk to his godson. “I didn't mean to interrupt you two, you know.”

Harry looked back at him. “I'm sorry Sirius. I really didn't mean to forget our meeting.” He wasn't sure for what he was more embarrassed, forgetting about meeting Sirius, or getting caught with Ginny in a rather intimate moment.

Sirius kneeled beside them, putting his hand on Harry's shoulder. “It's alright, although I was a bit worried. That's why I came looking for you,” he looked down at Ginny. “She is a pretty girl though, reminds me of your mother a little bit.”

Harry smiled at that.

Ginny began to stir. “Harry?”  

“I'm here.”

Ginny looked up at Sirius and quickly scrambled to her feet behind Harry. “Do you have any idea who that is?” she said pointing a shaky finger at Sirius.  

“Ginny, calm down. Let me... Harry paused, looking at Sirius, “Let us explain the situation.”

Harry and Sirius took turns explaining what happened with Wormtail and his betrayal of Harry's parents. As well as the events that transpired only two years ago. Ginny just sat there enthralled in the story, barely taking the time to blink.  

“And all this time, I thought Crookshanks ate Scabbers,” she finally said after they finished.

“And it's extremely important that you keep it a secret,” Sirius pressed.  

“Don't worry, if there is one thing she can do, it's to keep a secret,” Harry said, winking at her.  

“Well good,” Sirius said in relief. “Now down to business, what's been going on Harry? You said that you've been having dreams again?”

Harry and Ginny proceeded to tell Sirius about how Ginny got her enchanted music box from her father, giving way to an admittance of both of them having dreams of her father's death being a murder, rather than an accident.  

Oddly, Sirius had not seemed interested at all about the murder or that Voldemort might have had something to do with it. What had interested him was the mention of Ginny's music box.  

“Ginny,” Sirius said after much pondering, “What does this music box look like?”

When Ginny described the box to him, his brow sank deeper into thought.

“Sirius, there was another thing,” Harry said, hoping to help him figure out whatever was on his mind about the music box. “The song it played was strange, but eerie all the same, like I had heard it before.”

Sirius looked at him most seriously as he grabbed Harry by the shoulders. “What was the melody? Can you hum it for me?” He let go of Harry, realizing his own sudden reaction. Harry thought a moment, trying to remember the exact melody, but it was Ginny who chimed out the tune, note for note. Sirius sat there with a look of astonishment. He got up and began pacing back and forth, muttering to himself and laughing.  

“I can't believe it . . . this whole time . . . Weasley had it the whole time!”  

Ginny looked at Harry for an answer, but he just shrugged in confusion himself.

“But Mr. Black sir, I don't understand. What does my music box have to do with anything?”

Sirius stopped in his tracks, and walked back over to the bewildered pair of teenagers. He kneeled back down and looked at Ginny with a sobering look upon his face.  

“I have heard many rumors about your father's death. It seems that shortly after his death, his office was burgled. Someone rifled through the office looking for something, yet nothing appeared to be taken. Whomever was searching through that office never found what they were looking for.”  

Harry felt more confusion than ever. Ginny sat there, captivated, waiting for the answer she was so eager to find. Sirius continued, “Now Ginny, you said that your father had this box in his office for years before he gave it to you for a gift, but he never knew who it really belonged to.”  

“Well yes,” Ginny searched her mind or some meaning to his words. “It was in the Ministry Archives, but no one seemed to remember who it belonged to or how long it was there.”  

“A memory charm!” Harry said, sitting up in his seat in revelation.  

“Yes,” said Sirius with a look of satisfaction by his godson's cleverness. "It is my belief that whoever searched your father's office Ginny, was looking for that music box."

"But why?" Harry and Ginny said simultaneously.  

“But I can't be sure,” Sirius went on to himself, scratching his shaggy head. “Ginny, were there any markings, like an inscription or initials on the box at all?”

“I don't remember seeing any,” Ginny said, trying to remember, while holding back the tears again falling down her face.  

Still talking to himself, Sirius said, “No, they are probably hidden,” he turned back to Harry, who was now comforting Ginny in his arms. “You have to go back and look for them.”  

“Whose initials are we looking for?” Harry pleaded.  

“Your mothers, Harry.”