Resurgence of Evil

CHAPTER 4

Sirius sighed to himself. Dammit, he was going to be late, again. Rushing to an elevator, he stuck his hand in to keep it from leaving without him. The doors bounced open and he found himself facing Remus and Minerva.

"Hello, Padfoot," said Remus, the tinge of a smile coloring his voice.

"Don't say a word," Sirius growled under his breath.

"A word?" asked Remus, smiling outright.

Sirius laughed, and said, "At least I'm not the only one who's late."

"Who says we're late?" asked Remus.

Sirius pointed to the enchanted clock above the elevator door that informed them - vociferously - that they were indeed going to be fifteen minutes behind.

"Whoops," Minerva muttered, glaring at the clock, and Sirius and Remus exchanged matching grins.

By the time they walked in the door - seeing Ron barely ahead of them pushing into the office - the room was a hubbub of conversation.

Glancing around, Sirius caught some of the conversation - "just waiting for-"

Harry and Neville were talking, and from the look on his face, Neville had just been asked to be Harry's baby's godfather. Thinking of his godson having children of his own made Sirius feel a medley of emotion - age was first, followed by pride, gratitude that he was alive to see this, and sorrow that James and Lily weren't.

Pushing these thoughts to the side, he discreetly glanced at the tall, straw-haired young man sitting in the corner. Draco Malfoy had changed from the youth Harry had hated and Sirius had felt suspicious contempt for. It was as if a layer had been stripped away, a layer that had been a complete lie.

It hadn't taken Sirius long to see that Harry had not been the one who had killed Voldemort. He couldn't accurately explain what had happened, to Voldemort or to Draco, whom he dragged back to the Burrow more than three-quarters dead. And, despite his faith in his godson, Sirius couldn't imagine anyone dueling with Voldemort and not coming out of it without more than a single Cruciatus.

So when Harry had told him of what had really happened, he hadn't been very shocked. Nor had Remus, but Minerva had been floored. She hadn't been directly involved, and had only heard secondhand from the papers.

That was what Sirius found the most interesting about the entire affair. It was true that now, after his parents' death, it was clear that Draco didn't resemble them as much as everyone had thought. His hair he did keep slightly longer than was custom, but it had deepened to a dark gold, rather than the icy blond of his youth that he could have inherited from either parent. His skin had darkened, but his eyes were still as pale as ever. He had also filled out slightly, and although he was still lean, he was no longer as slender as he had been.

And, something Sirius found the most peculiar, his entire demeanor had flipped. The boy was no longer haughty, but unassuming and reserved. He had, from all accounts, violently opposed any suggestion of telling the world that he had defeated Voldemort. That was practical, Sirius admitted, but also astonishingly unlike the arrogant heir to the Malfoy fortune.

Sirius noted that everyone was looking for a seat, and he took a chair between Harry and Remus, sitting opposite Ron. Neville was on Harry's other side, directly opposite Draco.

Blair began, outlining the situation concerning the Death Eaters, but most of information Sirius already knew. He noted Malfoy's small frown when the critical nature of the situation was made clear, and the boy also made it clear, when questioned, that he had no idea who the new leader could be.

Sirius shot a sharp glance at Harry when Neville snapped at Malfoy, but his godson said nothing. A bare minute later, Neville had thrown a spell with all the speed of a well-trained Auror, and Sirius was pulling his wand.

Sirius frowned. Malfoy was on the floor, wand in hand, and face set. The chair was barely useful for firewood.

The spell had - stopped, somehow, inches from Malfoy, giving him time to get away, before it died. And the Truth-Speaking spell did not stop, for anything. It was unblockable. And in raw form, it should have done more than just shattered the chair - it should have ripped a massive hole in the wall to boot.

Sirius recalled, suddenly -

"Look," he said, "I’m a criminal. Voldemort is after me, and no one in the wizarding world will hesitate to kill me. Maybe you know what I’m talking about." Malfoy gave Sirius a swift glance, waited a beat before continuing. "I don’t want to become more of a target than I already am."

Sirius clenched a fist at the reminder of his years hiding from the law. "Question answered. Now, what the hell did you do back there to deflect my spell?" His voice was puzzled, harsh, but not angry.

Malfoy shrugged. "Basic counterspell."

"Bullshit," Sirius snapped, whipping out his wand and centering it on Malfoy's heart. For a moment Sirius wondered if he even had one - that face, even looking death in the eye, was far too calm.

"Do you really think that if it didn’t work then it’ll work now?"

Damn. Malfoy had a point, Sirius realized, slowly lowering his wand. The bare truth was that he didn't know what had happened down there, but it was like nothing he had ever seen. And if it was turned against Harry, against Ginny and Ron and Hermione -

"I need to know what you did," he answered.

"You’ll never find out," he replied evenly, making Sirius clench his teeth in frustration. "Suffice to know that it works every time, and you can’t get past it, except maybe with an Unforgivable Curse. The Potters and Weasleys verify everything I tell them with veritaserum, and I’m content to stay out of the way here."

He'd been satisfied then, and later, watching Malfoy when the boy thought he was alone, he'd seen that Draco didn't seem to want to cause trouble, and didn't appear to be plotting any one of a hundred Death Eater schemes. He'd also been surprised by the boy's calm when faced with Voldemort and Death Eaters.

But now - Malfoy didn't look calm. In fact, the heart Sirius had wondered if he possessed seemed filled with rage. "What the hell was that about?" he snarled, still on the floor.

Harry responded and Sirius, like Draco, was surprised by the answer. It seemed that Malfoy wasn't the only one who had changed. But he was jerked back to the present as Malfoy stood, wavering slightly, and took one step, sagging against the wall. His eyes closed, and his face was heavily lined with exhaustion.

Sirius glanced at Harry, who was frowning. Ron had a dark look on his face that was slightly tinged with a concern that he no doubt was trying to suppress. This didn't appear to be something they had counted on at all.