A Sirius Affair

A SIRIUS AFFAIR

Chapter 11

Potions and Spells

Jeralyn was walking along the sidewalk to her potions lab. It was a warm day, and she needed the exercise to clear her head. She knew most of her assistants had been taken into Ministry custody, and now she had heard her herb source, Rufus Frost, had been questioned by Potter and was no longer responding to her owls. Of course, she knew she should count herself lucky that she had escaped from Peregrine's house prior to the arrival of the Ministry. On top of it all, she was sure she was being watched and followed. Just as she approached the old churchyard a few blocks from her lab, she saw it again.

"Damn, that's the second grim I've seen in the past few days! Aren't they supposed to only show up at night?" she thought as a shiver ran down her spine. "Sloan would have been so worried about seeing all these grims. Hmm, I don't know . . . just looks like some old stray dog to me," she said to herself.

But the dog started to pace her as she continued along. "Sloan would say it means I'm in big trouble. If I can just get this last batch done and sold, I should be okay for awhile. At least until this whole thing with Sloan's death blows over." Thoughts were spinning through her head. She knew the Ministry and Potter, whoever he worked for, were closing in on her. But Sloan had owed her a lot of money before he was killed, so she needed this batch of potions to give her enough galleons to leave town for a good long while.

The grim disappeared after she passed the church, and by the time she arrived at the lab, it had warmed up to be a sweltering day. She knew once she got all her cauldrons going it was going to be an inferno in the lab. She walked into the narrow nondescript building nestled amidst various warehouses in this industrial area of Cardiff. There was an office in the front of the space with a desk, some filing cabinets and a bookcase, mainly serving as a foil to curious muggles or wizards alike. A door behind the bookcase hid the potions lab itself from view. Tapping the bookcase twice and muttering Alohamora, Jeralyn watched as the bookcase swung forward to reveal the door to the lab. The lab was a large open room with six brewing stations. Each brewing station consisted of a large cauldron positioned next to a table with a black granite top. A clipboard listing the potion, ingredients added, brewing time, and general comments was resting on each table. There were a couple of stools at each table, as well as a clean-up area along the back wall.

Jeralyn propped the door open, dropped her bag on the front table, and proceeded directly to the shelves that lined the walls of the lab. She took a jar containing blue liquid from the shelf and set about painting all the doors and window sills with the liquid, after which she would open the window. The blue liquid was a potion she had developed that allowed her to open the windows and doors without the doors appearing open to people on the outside. It also cooled the room by 10 degrees. Finally, and this was the touch she was particularly proud of, it allowed her three cats to come and go as they pleased through the open door, but prevented people from entering.

There were four cauldrons simmering when Jeralyn arrived. One was a strength enhancing potion, one was for increased speed, one was an attraction enhancement potion, and one was just some soup she had started that morning and planned to eat for dinner that night. She had worked for about half an hour when she heard a rustling in the office. She looked up, expecting to see one of her cats sauntering in, but saw instead, "That bloody grim again. What the hell is that dog doing in here? Get out of here dog! Go on now. . . ."

Three things happened all at once and so quickly that she didn't have time to even draw her wand. First, a wizard stood where the dog had been; she was immobilized with cords shot from the wizard's wand; and then as she watched, he cast an anti-apparition spell over the lab and office. "Hello, Jeralyn. So nice to see you again," Sirius said with a smirk.

"YOU!!!! What the bloody hell? Damn, you're an animagus, aren't you?" Jeralyn exclaimed.

"Five points to . . . Slytherin I should imagine?"

"But, how can you be an animagus?" she said as a wave of understanding spread across her face. "Is that how you avoided the Ministry all those years? You're unregistered, aren't you?"

"My, my. You are quick. Five more points for Slytherin," Sirius stated calmly.

"What do you want from me this time, Mr. Black?"

"Same thing as last time, but this time I know you have them."

"Pettigrew's bones?"

"Yes, his bones. My sources tell me you took them from Peregrine's dungeon right before you blew the place up," Sirius replied with a slight touch of anger in his voice.

"Well, I thought that would be a nice touch . . . just to muck up the investigation."

"So, where are those bones?" Sirius asked, persistently returning to the subject at hand.

"Why do these mean so much to you anyway?" she asked calmly.

"What's it to you?"

"Maybe I have them, maybe I don't. If you tell me why you want them, really nicely, I might tell you where they are."

"I have you tied up! Why in the bloody hell do I need to talk nicely to you?" he said incredulously.

"Because I might have something you want. Why should I give them to you rather than another collector who would pay dearly for them? I can assume, since you do have me tied up, you aren't planning on paying for them?"

"No, I'm not paying for them. And, I'm not a collector either," Sirius added.

"Precisely. So what I want to know is why you want them badly enough to break in here and tie me up. I have a right to know, I think. It's not asking too much, is it?" She paused, "Besides it seems I'm probably going to Azkaban soon. They aren't going to ask about these damn bones at any trial I might have; they have nothing to do with brewing illegal potions after all. And, once I'm in there, I'll be in no condition to tell anyone anything. You of all people should understand that!"

He considered her for quite a long moment. "All right, here's the short version. These bones could clear me of the massacre I went to Azkaban for."

"Clear you?! Don't tell me -- you didn't kill 13 people with one curse? There goes another mainstay in my belief system . . . poof!"

"What do you mean by that?" he asked in a surprised voice.

"That curse! I've been looking my whole life for that curse! But, it wasn't just the curse . . . you were my role model! I've had a crush on you since I was 13 years old, you know. I even had your wanted poster hanging over my bed in my room at Hogwarts," Jeralyn added slyly, smiling at the look of horror and disbelief on Sirius' face.

"What? I was your role model? Who the hell brought you up anyway?"

"Oh, my parents were do-gooders . . . Hufflepuffs," she sighed in disdain. "No . . .they didn't know . . . and still don't that I prefer the dark arts."

Sirius couldn't believe it; he just stood there shaking his head.

"You look very different now, but I can't believe I didn't recognise you all the same . . . Of course, when Rufus said your name, it all clicked," she continued.

He turned deadly serious again. "So, are you going to tell me where those bones are, or shall I force you to brew up some Veritaserum?"

"You wouldn't do that. Besides, I don't have the ingredients for it," she said blithely.

"Well, I happen to know a curse that will come up with the same end result as the Veritaserum potion." He shrugged as he waited for her response.

"Now, you're bluffing. Besides, I thought you were one of the good guys. Wouldn't that get you in trouble?" she said in a mocking tone.

"Well, let's see . . . currently I'm being hunted for murdering in cold blood a certain wizard known as Sloan Peregrine, a fine upstanding wizard from a distinguished old family by all accounts. I already have 13 deaths on my record, plus an escape from Azkaban. I have the dubious reputation of being a ruthless dark wizard. How much more trouble could I get in? What would a charge for using an illegal curse hurt? Add a few years to my existing life sentence? No, the only one hurt by the Veritas curse would, of course, be you."

"I see your point. . . very well, you do have good reason to want those bones I suppose. They may as well go to you. On one condition . . . .," she paused and smiled slyly. "You untie me and give me the chance to fulfill all my adolescent fantasies, and then I give you the bones."

At this, he burst out laughing. "Right, let me get this straight. I untie you, have sex with you, and then you give me the bones? That's rich!"

"From what I understand you would have gone along with it in your youth," she said sharply, obviously taking his laughter for the rejection it was.

"Well, luckily, some of us recover from our youth. No, no, no. . . I don't think so, Jeralyn. Thanks but no thanks," he said, shaking his head. "What better way to screw me than when I'm busy screwing you after all?"

"All right . . . so don't untie me . . . have sex with me anyway. I always liked it tied up," she said with a pouty smile. "And, then I'll still give you the bones."

"You are insane!"

"Oh, I see . . . so I'm not your type, is that it? What do you like? Probably only Gryffindor witches or. . . no, wait, I know. . . no-talent muggles who can't compete with your greatness," she said sarcastically.

Sirius looked up a bit too quickly, struggling to keep his face neutral, but it was apparent to her that she had hit a nerve.

"You do! That's disgusting! You won't have sex with me because you're in love with some lame, no-talent muggle, who you can intimidate with your magical prowess!"

The tone of her voice finally broke through the calm Sirius had been trying hard to maintain during this confrontation. He pushed her against the table, looking directly into her eyes, his own eyes blazing, and said through clenched teeth, "Look, you foul little witch, there is no way I would ever even consider having sex with you if my life depended on it, so leave that out of any deal. And, let's look at this situation, shall we? I have you tied up; you are in no position to make demands. So let's get to it. Tell me where the bones are, and I'll be on my way. Oh, and maybe I won't kill you! After all, what's one more death on my record?"

"All right, all right . . .don't get that temper up. I've heard about your temper, and by the way, I think it's very sexy," she added. Seeing the expression on his face, she hastily went on, "But, enough of that. The bones are in my safe. It has to be opened with my wand and with my hands. So you'll have to untie me and give me my wand."

"Right. That's the oldest trick in the book."

"It may sound like a trick, but it is the truth. If you want those relics, you'll have to let me get them."

"I don't suppose I have a choice?"

She shook her head, and they moved over to the corner where the safe rested on the floor. Sirius untied her and tentatively handed her wand to her with the admonition, "If I so much as see a hair twitch in my direction, you will be stunned for a right long time, got it?"

"Yes, yes. I know . . . no twitching . . . blah, blah, blah," she muttered as she crouched down to open the safe.

As she opened the door to the safe, Sirius murmured "Stupefy," and Jeralyn slumped to the floor. "You won't be needing this," he said as he removed her wand from her hand and slid it into his pocket. He moved her to the side and looked into the safe. No relics, but there was a vial of black liquid labeled "Sleeping Death," another vial with a green liquid labeled "Enslaver," and a vial with a clear liquid labeled HCl.

"Damn," he swore. He stared over at her murderously. "Enervate! Where are the bloody bones?"

She smiled, knocked his wand out of his hand and disappeared.

She had apparated to the other side of the room and was heading for the door. He leapt up and lunged after her, managing to tackle her in the doorway between the office and the lab. She twisted around to face him as he pinned her arms over her head.

"Now this is more like it," she said with a sardonic smile.

Sirius just rolled his eyes and said, "And, yes, that is a wand in my pocket." With that, he summoned his wand and bound her again.

"Right then," he said. "Tell me where those bones are, or I kill you now and find them myself!"

"Fine," she shot back angrily. "They're in the file cabinet, and you don't need to untie me to get them. Third drawer down."

"How do I know they're the right ones?"

"You don't," she said simply.

Sirius shot her a withering glance and opened the drawer. There was a small box with bone fragments and ash inside. Moving Jeralyn to a nearby chair and binding her tightly to it, he then cast a silencing charm over her as he really didn't want to listen to any more of her prattle or propositions. His first instinct was to take the relics and go straight to Harry, but then he remembered the remarks Cordelia had made about how evidence was obtained. He sat at the desk and wrote out a note to Harry indicating where Jeralyn and the relics were. This strategy had the added benefit of allowing Harry to catch Jeralyn with quite a number of illegal potions brewing, not to mention the hazardous ones still in plain view from her open safe.

After dispatching one of the safe owls he had summoned, Sirius cleared the desk and placed the relics in the center of the desk, where they couldn't be missed or confused with anything else. He then transformed into his dog form and went outside to wait for Harry.

About an hour later, he saw Harry, one other I.D. agent, and two Ministry agents apparate to the front door. Harry glanced up and smiled right at him, nodding. Sirius nodded back and padded off.

As Jeralyn watched helplessly, Harry retrieved the box with the bone fragments, not alerting any of the other agents as to the importance of that particular contraband. As he was searching the desk, he came across Peregrine's glasses. "Might come in useful," he said to himself as he slipped them into the pocket of his robe.

********************************

Cordelia finally got to Harry's flat, though she couldn't have said quite how. She knocked, and the door opened. She glanced inside, as there was no one on the other side opening the door, and saw Hermione sitting on the floor with a couple of books propped open around her. "Hello, Cordelia," Hermione said brightly as she looked up. Her tone changed immediately as she took in the expression on Cordelia's face. "What's wrong?" Hermione said, getting up quickly.

"Where's Harry?" Cordelia asked with a note of panic in her voice as she looked wildly around the flat.

"He's gone. Ginny said he left early Saturday morning . . . . something about an emergency at work. He hasn't been home since I got back late Saturday afternoon. Did something happen to Sirius?"

Cordelia was pacing, chewing on her lower lip. "Sirius is in a fix, and it's all my fault. You know the whole story with Peter Pettigrew . . . how he was killed and all?"

"Yes."

"Right. Well, a few weeks back, Sirius learned that Pettigrew's bones were being sold in the dark community . . . that's what you call it, right?"

"Right."

"Sirius wasn't interested in them until I told him I thought they could be identified as Pettigrew's through DNA analysis. Have you heard of that?" Cordelia asked.

"Yes, actually I have."

Cordelia chuckled, "Harry and Sirius had not, but Harry thought that you'd have heard of it. Anyway, I also mentioned that I thought there was an analysis that could show that the bones and the finger that Pettigrew cut off didn't die at the same time."

"That would be great! That could corroborate Sirius' story," Hermione exclaimed.

"Yes. Yes, it would . . . if it worked. Unfortunately, I just found out it won't, in fact, work," Cordelia muttered, still pacing. She went on to explain what her friend had explained to her and why it wasn't possible to use this technology to help Sirius.

"Why is that your fault?"

"The problem is, on my faulty information, Sirius went after those bones. Some dark wizard got killed in the process - not directly by Sirius, but other people who were there would be all too willing, according to Sirius, to put the blame on him. So he's gone back into hiding until this can be cleared up. If I hadn't been fool enough to shoot my mouth off on a subject I know so little about, that dark wizard wouldn't be dead, and Sirius wouldn't be out there somewhere in hiding," Cordelia said as she gestured towards the window.

"Oh, I see," Hermione said gravely as she thought for a bit. "Maybe there's some sort of spell or charm that would do essentially the same thing. Do you have the finger yet?"

"No. Harry was going to try to get it from Pettigrew's mum, if she's still alive."

"Right. Well. . . maybe I can help. Stonehenge, the school I go . . . er . . . went to that is . . . has a great library. I'm not doing much right now. I could go straight away and then get back with you later this evening," Hermione offered.

"Okay, but . . . I can't just go home and wait. I'd go mad! I'm coming with you. I may not know anything at all about magic, but I do know how to research," Cordelia said with such conviction that Hermione couldn't refuse her.

"Are you sure? The language can be a bit arcane," Hermione cautioned.

Cordelia nodded. "Couldn't be any worse than some of the caselaw I read in law school."

"All right then. Come on."

They stayed at the library until it closed at 10:00 that night, grabbed some take away curry and lugged a dozen books apiece back to Hermione's flat. After awhile, they both started to get silly. Cordelia's emotions were running very close to the surface. She knew she must either laugh or give into the crying she had been on the brink of since she learned that she'd been wrong about the DNA analysis. Cordelia could see that Hermione was doing all she could to keep things light.

"Okay, here's a good one," Cordelia said, opening up Dry Bones by Ezekiel Corporal. "Spells to preserve bones, spells to crush bones (already dead of course), spells to carve bones. Spells to identify really good soup bones, now there's one I need . . . nothing. Nothing in here," she said tossing the book to one side.

"Hey, here's a clever charm on using your bones as musical instruments. Make your bones sing!"

After that they were off, trying to find the silliest charms. Once they found a good one, Hermione would demonstrate if possible, and it wasn't long before they were both in hysterics.

About 3:00 a.m., they finally ran out of giggles. They were quiet for a long time as they continued to skim through the books. Cordelia sighed, put down her book and rubbed her eyes. She couldn't bear to look at another spell just now; she needed to take a break. As she got up to get some water, she asked, "So, it's really over between you and Rufus?"

Hermione put a bookmark in her book and got up. Stretching, she came over to the kitchen counter. "Yes, I think it is. He really was a wonderful, warm man who really only wanted to take care of me. But, I suppose he just wanted more than I was able to give right now," she mused.

"More than you could give?"

"Yes . . .you know, he was always on me to move in with him. He'd been pressuring me about that for months. I guess marriage wouldn't have been too far off in his mind. I just wasn't ready for all that. I've only just graduated, and I want to focus on my career. I can't see being ready for that type of commitment for a long time in fact. All the signs were there of course. With Rufus I mean . . . it probably should have been over ages ago. And, of course, he never understood about Harry and me. I mistakenly thought that my relationship with Harry was the real problem with Rufus. But now that I've taken a long look at everything while I was away on holiday, I really do think it was only a matter of time since we wanted different things at this point in our lives. And . . . of course, he clearly was never going to understand my relationship with Harry."

"Maybe he understands better than you know. . . ." Cordelia replied cryptically.

"I doubt that. He always insisted there was something between us," Hermione replied breezily.

"Isn't there?"

"Well, there is something, but it's not the least bit romantic. We've known each other since we were 11 years old. We've been through countless adventures and depended on each other for our lives. A romantic love would really get in the way of being there for each other. It's so important to me that he be there . . . that he always be there for me," Hermione said, staring off into space. Then, obviously trying to change the subject, she asked, "So. You obviously care a great deal for Sirius. Is it love?"

"Yes, it is," Cordelia answered without a hint of doubt in her voice. "He's everything I've ever had on my list. And, you know, he's single and not gay . . . two big pluses in my experience with dating." She laughed and added, "He can also change into my favorite breed of dog, and he can apparate home for lunch, which could come in quite useful - depending on what you want for lunch."

Hermione laughed. "I never thought of it like that. I take it he's a pretty tasty lunch?"

"Oh my, yes! I don't know if it's because he's magic or because he's dead sexy, but it's different with him. I've had great sex before mind you, but this goes deeper than that. I lose any sense of reality when I'm with him," Cordelia said, blushing a bit. "Hermione, I've been dating for more than 20 years. I've dated some great guys and some real losers. I never believed in love at first sight. I always thought it was rubbish. But when I looked into his eyes that first time, there was a connection, a need to know more, a compulsion to find him. Everyone says when it's right you just know."

"I guess," Hermione answered doubtfully.

They were silent for awhile. Finally Hermione said, "Right, well, we need to find that spell if you're going to have any more lunches with Sirius." Cordelia laughed as they set back to work on the spell books.

They were still looking through spell books when Harry came in about 5:00 a.m. By this time, the flat was strewn with take away boxes, various dishes, glasses, an empty wine bottle, piles of books and several reams of parchment.

"Looks like a late night revising session. What are you two up to?" Harry asked suspiciously then added, "Welcome back, Hermione. What did you buy me in Paris?"

"Ha! As if you ever like anything I buy you when I'm on holiday. It's in the kitchen. I bought you two bottles of wine, but Cordelia and I finished one off last night, or I suppose it was this morning by that time," Hermione laughed as she got up to give Harry a welcoming hug.

"Thank you, I do too like whatever you bring me. You just don't go on holiday enough for me to have a vast collection of memorabilia," he teased as he returned her hug and kissed her lightly on the forehead. Harry pulled off his cloak and hung it by the door and kicked off his shoes, running a hand through his hair he asked again, "So what are you two really up to? It's about Sirius, I take it?"

"I learned yesterday afternoon that DNA analysis won't work on remains that have been cremated," Cordelia explained.

Harry still looked puzzled at all the books spread everywhere. Hermione spoke up before he could ask. "We've been trying to find a spell that might essentially do the same thing as the DNA analysis would have. No luck as yet, but we've still got quite a few books we haven't searched through yet."

"Well, if I could make a suggestion . . . you both look knackered. If there is something useful in any of those books, I'm not sure you'd see it in this state. Why don't we all get some sleep, and then we can talk about this more in a few hours?" He moved into the kitchen to look for his bottle of wine.

Cordelia looked wearily at the clock. "Argh! I've got to go. I have to be at work in 3 hours for a meeting! Should I come back this afternoon sometime to help?" She looked desperately anxious.

Hermione put her hand on Cordelia's arm, "No I think we can handle it from here, but I will call you as soon as we find something, and we will find something. I just know we will."

Cordelia smiled weakly as she got up and grabbed her coat from the armchair. "Hermione, thanks for being here yesterday. I don't know what I would have done if you hadn't been here." Hermione nodded and waved as she headed back towards her bedroom.

Harry stepped out into the hall with Cordelia. "Listen, don't worry about Sirius. He's okay, and he's not in some cave somewhere. He's got a roof over his head, a warm bed and a kitchen. And . . . I know what it feels like to lose him. I won't let that happen to you."

"Harry, what if this doesn't work? Can he go back to his inconspicuous muggle status, or will he have to stay out of sight?" Cordelia asked hesitantly.

"Well, if this doesn't work, I suspect, at the least, he'd need to leave the country. He could probably go abroad and continue the inconspicuous muggle life there, but he'd really need to be a muggle. No magic at all for a good long time," Harry mused.

"That would kill him," Cordelia observed.

"Beats going back to Azkaban."

"Yes, I suppose you're right. Thanks, Harry." She stepped up and gave him a hug, then turned and repeated, "Thanks," before hurrying off down the stairs.

*********************************************

Harry had already fixed coffee and was skimming the Daily Prophet when Hermione finally staggered out of bed around noon. "Toast?" he asked as he shoved a plate toward her.

"Umm . . ." she muttered distractedly, grabbing a piece and opening up a book from the pile of research books. She began thumbing through the book rapidly, oblivious to Harry's bemused expression.

"Ahem," he cleared his throat, and she glanced up long enough to grab her mug of coffee before turning back to her book. "What is your strategy there? Haven't you covered quite a few books since yesterday afternoon?"

"Well, we've by no means looked at them all yet," she said distractedly.

"Ah, of course. The answer must be in those books somewhere though, right?" Hermione muttered indistinctly but didn't even glance up to reply to his needling. He watched her flipping pages rapidly for a few moments and sipped his coffee. At last, he said slyly, "You wouldn't be interested in an owl post we just received from Neville, would you?"

"Neville?"

"Yes, you know, our friend Neville . . . the one who's revising for his detective exam through the Ministry," he replied nonchalantly. He smiled innocently as she looked up from her book. Harry got up and moved over to the stack of books on the floor, looking at the spines and occasionally pulling out a volume to check the inside page if the spine was worn. "Ah, yes. Here we go. I was afraid you might not have bothered to take out a basic text like this."

"Which one?" she asked quickly, moving her chair back from the table so abruptly that she accidentally planted one of its legs on Crookshanks, causing him to sputter angrily.

Harry held it up for her to see: Fun Facts about Forensics by Fiona Flamecaster. He brought it back to the kitchen counter. She moved to grab the volume, but he held the book up out of reach and began thumbing through the index. "Yes, this must be it."

He set the book on the counter opened to the following charm, and they studied it together for quite awhile.

Wizard Replication:

ILLEGAL FOR USE ON LIVE SUBJECTS IN MOST JURIDICTIONS

• Charm will extract magical essence, project and cause a visualization of the subject.
• Used to identify remains of a dead subject or to determine the true identity of a heavily disguised live subject
• CAUTION: Use will extract some magical essence from the subject. Use on a live subject will harm the subject's magical abilities (NOT RECOMMENDED).

INSTRUCTIONS:

This Charm is a combination of three difficult spells. They should only be attempted by someone experienced with casting advanced spells and charms.

CAUTION:

• Spells must be performed correctly and in the correct order.
• Spells can only be used once on a dead subject (All magical essence is extracted).
• Spells should NOT be used on a live subject.

Spells:

Arracher Essence

Regarderum

Optometet

NOTES:

• Spells must segue smoothly into one another or the process will break down.
• Charm should be performed on as much of the body as possible.
• The amount of magical power necessary to achieve an effective result is inversely proportional to the completeness of the remains.

"It can only be cast once," she murmured softly after they'd read the background, instructions, incantations and the intended results. "So this will prove who the bone fragments belong to, but how do we show when and how they died?"

"That might be a bit trickier. But I do have an idea. One that might truly need your research and academic abilities." Harry crossed over to his cloak and extracted a pair of glasses. "These are Sloan Peregrine's glasses."

"I won't ask how you obtained them, but . . . .how will they help with this?"

"Do you remember that time a few months ago when you came in and Peregrine was here? You had accidentally picked up his glasses at the E² meeting. He had just finished telling me how they worked. He said when others wore them, they could see through the eyes of the Peregrine that owned the glasses. In other words, they told you a Peregrine's present. I also figured out that when he wore them, they could tell the future or at least options about the future."

Hermione was catching onto his train of thought. "If they can tell the present and the future, there must be some way to get them to tell the past?"

"Exactly! That's what I was thinking. Peregrine told me they had been in his family for several hundred years. Have you ever heard of a talisman like this?"

"You know I do remember something from a lecture on talismans during my first year. It was a colloquium done by an Italian witch. I don't recall her name. She was a visiting scholar that year doing research on the Crown Jewels. I must have her name in my notes somewhere. How long do we have?"

"They've scheduled a hearing for evidence surrounding Peregrine's death for next Wednesday, but we won't be able to present anything regarding Pettigrew's death at that hearing. If Sirius is charged in Peregrine's death, I'm going to request that they also try him for Pettigrew's death. Since he never did have a trial in Pettigrew's death and the death of all those muggles, I think they might grant that request." Harry looked worried.

"Why would trying him on Pettigrew's death help him in Peregrine's death? I would think you would want to keep the trials separate."

"I was thinking if we can show that Sirius was wrongfully imprisoned for the death of Pettigrew, then it might give them pause before convicting him of Peregrine's death on flimsy evidence." Harry sighed.

"Well . . . interesting theory, if the Ministry will allow it. I'm not sure at all whether they will consent to mixing these two issues," Hermione said doubtfully.

"Well, it's worth a shot. If we can use the spell to show that the bones and the finger are from the same person, Pettigrew, and if we can use those glasses to show how Pettigrew died, or at least give some temporal reference to when he died, we might have a chance of clearing Sirius in Pettigrew's death. As for Peregrine's death, I know he's innocent, but there is going to be conflicting testimony, so developing who can be trusted will be vital."

"We have our work cut out for us, don't we? Well, first things first. How do we get those bone fragments from Sirius?"

"I think I can manage that end," he replied shortly, avoiding her inquiring gaze. He shifted his attention quickly back to the spellbook, hoping to put off additional questions regarding his own knowledge of Sirius' whereabouts.

Hermione sighed. She'd seen that expression on Harry's face too many times in the last couple of years to expect she'd get any real answers. Shifting gears slightly, she said, "We'll need Pettigrew's finger too. Have you had any luck in contacting his mum?"

"I have it. It turns out that Pettigrew's mum died a few years ago, which could be a good thing since I reckon the truth would have been very upsetting for her."

"If his mum died, then how . . .," Hermione began.

"His aunt was living in his mother's former home. She . . . uh . . . may have mistaken me for my dad, you know . . . one of Peter's old school buddies and all that," Harry said a bit sheepishly.

"Harry! Doesn't that seem just a bit deceitful?"

"She was old! I introduced myself as Harry, but . . . well, I think all she really heard was Potter, and she remembered that Peter had been good friends with my dad at Hogwarts. At least I think that must be what she thought based on what she was saying to me. I just didn't bother to . . .erm . . . correct her misimpression of my identity." He shrugged and pointed back to the spellbook.

"Okay, so I'll try to find something about past, present, and future talismans, and I'll also start practicing the components of this charm," Hermione said in a determined voice.

"I thought I'd cast the charm," Harry interjected.

"I think it better be me who performs the charm," Hermione insisted. "Look, the book very clearly says that it should be a witch or wizard who is accustomed to performing very advanced magical spells and charms."

"But, it also says that the more powerful the witch or wizard casting the spell, the better the chance of success."

"Harry, charms were never your strongest subject. I don't dispute that you're a very powerful wizard, but your innate powers won't be much help if the spell isn't cast correctly. It can't be repeated you know. We only have one chance to cast the spell," Hermione persisted.

"I know there's only one chance with this spell, but that's why it's very important for it to be cast with the most magical power behind it. These are obviously not complete remains, and it says that the less remains there are, the more power required," Harry replied stubbornly, getting up to retrieve his coffee mug.

"Harry, I really think you're letting your relationship with Sirius affect your judgment. It's critical that the spell be cast properly that one and only time."

He came back in and took a seat on the couch, running his fingers through his unkempt hair. "Look, I know charms are your specialty. But, I still think it's important to put as much power behind this spell as possible; the results are so critical. I think my relationship with Sirius could actually work in our favor - my relationship with him will strengthen my will. And, well . . . I do perform well under pressure," he said with a wry grin. Seeing that she wasn't still objecting vehemently, he went on, "And even though the spell can't be cast in its entirety but one time, I will most definitely need your help on learning the various components of it and how to segue them properly."

"Well . . . I suppose that all makes some sense," she said slowly.

He nodded. "I'll be around all week. This is my priority at the moment." He bit his tongue, trying not to allude to the fact that he was leading the investigation into this matter at the I.D.

"Okay, I don't have anything else to claim my attention. I'll head back to the library later today."

Harry got up, stretching. "Yeah, well, I think I'd better shower and see what Ginny's up to. I left rather abruptly Saturday morning."

********************************************

It was Saturday, but Cordelia had been working most of the day. She arrived at her mum's flat late as usual. She just couldn't seem to get her act together these days. She was constantly distracted by thoughts of Sirius and still trying to decide what to do about her job. Her mum was actually making dinner, which was a rare experience. She'd apparently recently acquired a Lebanese cookbook and took it as a challenge to try some of the recipes. Cordelia was doubtful this foray into the kitchen was going to be successful. Luckily, she knew the phone number of the nearby Chinese take away shop by heart.

Kate Hunter, Cordelia's mum, had various saucepans and pieces of cooking equipment strewn everywhere when Cordelia came in. She glanced over her Mum's shoulder. "What will that be?" she asked tentatively.

Kate spoke without even looking up from the ground lamb mixture she was working with. "Baked kibbie. Cordelia, be a love and dice up that onion for me, will you?"

"Sure. Mum, is the food going according to plan, or shall we just order out?"

"No, so far so good. Now be sure to dice it finely. I don't want big hunks of onion…the recipe says finely dice. Oh and run it under water so you don't go crying all over the cutting board."

"I may cry Mum, but it's not going to be because of the onions."

"Oh? Have you chased that lovely wizard dog away already?" her Mum teased.

"No, I did not chase him away! He did have to go away though . . . ," she said, trailing off.

Sensing the note of sadness in her daughter's voice, Kate Hunter said, "Tell me what's happened then, dear. Just keep talking while I finish these things off, all right?"

"Well, he couldn't tell me the whole story because he said they would come question me, and it would be better if I didn't know," Cordelia said as she inexpertly hacked up the onions.

"They? Who would come to question you? And, about what, dear?"

Cordelia had to speak up over the whirring blender as her Mum blended chickpeas, yogurt and various spices for the hummus. "The officials from . . . the Ministry of Magic. Sirius was in the wrong place at the wrong time it seems, and well . . . someone was killed. I know he didn't kill this guy though."

"Cordelia, this man sounds like trouble. Isn't this the second time it hasn't been his fault? And you believed this line? Darling, won't you ever learn?"

"MUM!! Yes, I believe him. Besides, Harry, his godson, corroborated everything he told me. And Harry's flatmate, a witch named Hermione, also seemed to believe that something terrible must have happened. I had no reason to believe what Sirius told me was just a line to dump me. If that had been what he wanted, a simple 'We shouldn't see each other anymore' would have sufficed."

"Right, well, darling, you can hardly blame me for jumping to the wrong conclusion given your history with men and the way they seem to lie to you."

"Mum, he isn't lying. He is in a rather desperate situation, but it really has nothing to do with how he feels about me. Do you want to hear the story or not?"

"Of course I do. Tell me everything."

So she did. She told her all about the night Sirius had left, about the limitations of DNA analysis, what Harry had been able to tell her about where Sirius was and how he was doing and the spell that Hermione and Harry had found to mitigate the problem with DNA. "It seems a lot hinges on whether he was guilty or innocent of the crimes he was originally imprisoned for committing. If they can show that he was innocent then, Harry seems to believe they would be more likely to think he is innocent now."

"What if they can't prove innocence in either event?"

"I don't know, Mum," she said with a heavy sigh. "I've been thinking of all the contingencies, and I'm not really pleased with any of them." Cordelia dumped the onions into the saucepan, rinsed off the knife and sat down on a kitchen chair.

"What do you mean?"

"The absolute worst case is that he can't prove his innocence and the wizarding officials find him. I don't even want to think about that. It would be very bad, indeed." She paused, drawing her leg up on her chair. "Medium bad case: he can't prove his innocence, but they don't find him. He's avoided their law enforcement for eight years now, and he's pretty good at it."

"What would happen then?"

"Harry told me he would most likely have to leave Britain and not practise any magic for a very long time."

"Where does that leave you? Would you think of leaving with him, provided he asked you?"

"If I want to be with him, I guess I'd leave the country." She shivered a bit. "I'm not sure I'm ready to make that big a move. While I'm not getting anywhere at Slaughter and May, it is a good job, and it would be difficult to start over somewhere else with new law and licensing requirements. Then, there's the flat. I've finally gotten it just the way I always wanted it. Could I give all that up for a man? I do love him, but I swore I would never leave everything for a man. The positive thing about that scenario is that he's forced to be a regular man, not a wizard. I wouldn't have the magic intimidation factor hanging over the relationship I suppose."

"What if they can prove him innocent?"

"That would be wonderful . . . I think. Except that it means he can be a true wizard again, and where does that leave me? I am hopelessly mundane when compared to the magical community. You should have seen them at the party at Harry's flat a few weeks ago. It was all good fun, but it does make me feel rather deficient. It makes me worry that he would eventually grow weary of my lack of ability and go back to the witches he was so fond of before his prison stint."

"Do you think whether you are magic or not matters to him?"

"I didn't think so at first, but when confronted by the possibility of it being available to him again . . . I don't know."

"You miss him," Kate stated more than asked.

"It's like there is a hole going right through me, Mum. How the bloody hell did I get to this state?"

"The fact that you miss him this much makes you vulnerable to all kinds of faulty assumptions, don't you think?" Kate queried as she got up to check on the kafta skewers in the oven.

"You're probably right. We just never got around to talking about any kind of commitment. I don't know if he's thought about it."

"Let's just say for argument that he didn't care about your magical ability, and he wanted to marry you. Would that resolve your feelings of magical inadequacy?"

"I'm not even entirely pleased with that possibility. Would the wizarding community accept a muggle? Could I continue to go about my business, or would I have to give up this world for the wizard world? I have no earthly idea what it would be like to live in that world. Would I accept them, and would they accept me? I find myself thinking it wouldn't be so bad to live wholly in the wizard world, but then there's the little voice in the back of my head that says, 'Noooo, don't do it. Don't give up everything you've built for a man. He'll leave you and then where will you be? You'll have nothing to go to if you should want to leave him.'"

"Has he said you have to give up anything to be with him? Why can't you work in your world and he work in his world and at night you meet up and live in a world the two of you build?"

"Wouldn't that tend to separate us from each other though?" Cordelia asked.

"A little separateness is not always a bad thing. You father and I flourished in our communities. He stuck with the business community, and I gathered with all my friends in the art community," Kate said simply.

"But at least your communities weren't hidden from one another."

"True."

"But then there is the part of me that is intrigued by the wizard world. What if I want to live within it, particularly if we have children? Is there a spot for me? Or, am I being too naïve to think that there are muggles working in wizard businesses? Can you imagine trying to learn wizard law? And I was worried about another country!"

"You're thinking about children? Oh, my, Cordelia this sounds serious," Kate said in a bemused voice.

Cordelia shot her Mum an exasperated look.

Once she'd recovered from the shock that Cordelia was actually talking about having children, Kate went on. "Cordelia, dear, I think you're worrying about way too many possibilities. A lot of this is conjecture and completely out of your control. My best advice is to wait and see how all these events play out. Then worry about making the life-altering decisions. What you can decide now is how important he is to you and decide what you could live with and more important what you can live without. It's not necessarily a bad thing to give up bits of a life you've built for yourself to build a life with someone else."

"I've given up bits of my life before with disastrous results. Kind of makes me nervous to do it again for anybody."

"But, Cordelia, if you are actually thinking about having children for the first time in your life . . . at least the first time I've heard you actually bring up the subject, this man is not just anybody."

"Don't read too much into the children thing, all right?" Then in an altogether unsubtle way of changing the subject, Cordelia asked, "How's the farm? Are you going up there this weekend?"

"Yes, Trevor and I are going up."

"Trevor . . . Uncle Trevor?"

"Well, he's not your real uncle. You did know that, right?"

"Yes, but I didn't know you two were familiar enough to spend the weekend at the farm together."

"He's been up there before with me. He helps me with the gardens."

"Oh, really? I thought Mr. Bealls took care of the gardens."

"He does, but I wanted to rearrange the beds and add some container gardens to the back porch."

"Uncle Trevor, eh. One bedroom or two, Mum?" she asked with a bemused smile.

"That, my dear, is none of your concern." Kate said this without looking up from her sauce, but Cordelia could see a bit of a blush in her cheeks. "When are you going up there? It's been ages. You won't recognise it. It might be good for you to get away."

"Not now, Mum. Maybe once this business is resolved with Sirius. I had thought I might take him up there. He grew up in Dundee, and I thought it would be a nice holiday for the two of us. Would that be all right?"

"Absolutely, darling. It's as much your farm as mine. Just let Mrs. Bealls know so she can get the house ready with groceries and linens and that sort of thing."

"Thanks, Mum . . . for everything. And your food is actually smelling edible this time," Cordelia said in a more than surprised tone.