Black Jack

Chapter I

Beyond the Sea

It's far beyond the stars

It's near beyond the moon

I know beyond a doubt

My heart will lead me there soon.

(Beyond the Sea--Bobby Darrin)

John Dare had seen many things in his fifteen years on the London patrol.

He had only been instated for a month when Sirius Black killed thirteen people. Being the rookie, he had to be the one to inform some of the families that their loved ones were dead. He filled out application forms for other jobs that very same week. He thought that if he couldn't stop people like Sirius Black from committing crimes like that, then he shouldn't be a copper.

But Sirius Black was caught, and the world was secure again.

Over the next few years, Dare worked his way up the ranks, and made the world safe from people like Sirius Black. Sirius Black had long since escaped from prison...what prison, no one ever confirmed. But it didn't matter that no one quite knew from whence he escaped. He was a convicted killer.

He escaped.

He could kill again.

Black may not have been making front-page headlines anymore, but he was still considered a threat, and he was still on Scotland Yard's Most Wanted list.

So when one of the Constables brought someone in for questioning who claimed to have helped Black (who hadn't surfaced for two years), he couldn't believe his luck.

He wanted to put Sirius Black back where he belonged.

"Funny thing, sir," Inspector Henry Stanton said. "Looked for records on this bugger...files, driver's license, holdings, insurance, bank accounts. Only record we could find on him was in the archives dating back to the year 1788. Perhaps he's psychotic, sir."

"According to the report, he didn't know that Black was a criminal. Doesn't quite add up there," Stanton said, catching his meaning. "How could he be psychotic and not know about a high-profile case like Black's, yet claim to know who he was? Pretty weird, wouldn't you say?"

"If I were trying to avoid being thrown in the clink, I believe I'd tell you I was the Queen of England just to get off. Search the local sanitariums and interrogate the employees with that mug shot in hand. Inquire as to whether they've seen the suspect. We've got him for bribery, but that's a misdemeanor, and we can only hold him for forty-eight hours, so step on it, eh?"

"What if we can't discover his identity?" Stanton asked.

"We'll discover his identity, mate," Dare said. "If he's got a name, we'll find it."

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Meanwhile...

Ottery St. Catchpole, England:

Lovegood Residence

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Jason Lovegood couldn't believe his ears.

It couldn't be real.

It was too impossible to be real.

He had bewitched the Extendable Earbox, copyright of Weasley Wizard Wheezes, Inc. to repeat what that Muggle officer had just said.

And yet, he had just heard it with his own two ears.

Someone had just recently claimed to have been talking with Sirius Black.

No doubt 'Dung would want to know about this one. No doubt a lot of people would want to know about this one.

If Sirius Black somehow survived the veil, then...

Is my wife still alive? he wondered. Surely, after all these years, Diana wouldn't be.

But Sirius Black had been gone for months. If Sirius Black could come back from beyond the veil, then why couldn't Diana Lovegood?

Regardless of whether or not she could return, there would doubtless be those who would want to be informed. It could prove useful. Finally, he might actually have a lead.

Finally, after all these years of searching for answers, he might actually get some.

His hand was shaking so badly that he could barely make the owl to Mundungus Fletcher eligible.

Dung--

Heard something over a contraption the Weasley boys invented. You might want to have a listen. You really might want to have a listen.

--Lovegood

In an instant, Mundungus Fletcher Apparated into the Lovegood foyer.

"Some loony says 'e talked ter Sirius an' ye called me away from a deal fer tha'?" Fletcher said, punctuating his annoyance with an indignant grunt.

"People don't talk to the dead everyday, you know," Lovegood said as an excuse.

"They talk ter portraits, dun' they? An' ghosts? They're dead as broomsticks."

"Muggles, at any rate," Lovegood amended. "Don't. Talk to the dead, you know. They're too scared to talk to the dead. They think it's catching. I just want to find out who this chap is. If he claims to be doing Sirius a favor, Dumbledore might want to hear what Sirius wants to say."

"Should I make arrangements?" Fletcher asked, examining an expensive-looking candlestick. "Is that gold inlay?"

"Not until I find out what I can about him, eh?" Lovegood said, taking the candlestick from him and putting it on a shelf just out of Fletcher's reach. "I want to scout it out first. See if this bloke's on the up-and-up."

"Can' be no good if 'e's on the up-an'-up, Lovey," quipped Fletcher

"Aye," Lovegood said, nodding in agreement. "Why do you think I'm aiming to find that out? And stop calling me Lovey."

"Arrested John Doe who was dressed in a funny clothes and hat like he just came from a costume party," said someone from inside the box. "Dreadlocks, dark-skin, dark hair, 5'8, wiry build. Says he's Jack Sparrow, but I don't think he's in his mind. He was picked up for harboring a known criminal." A static pause was heard, and then: "Sirius Black."

"He got out of Azkaban," declared Fletcher as if that meant everything. At least Lovegood thought this was what he had, in fact, said.

"Regardless of whether Sirius Black is still alive," Lovegood said, handing his guest a cup of Earl Gray, "we have to discover as much as we can about how this man came to England. For the first time, there's solid proof about what is behind that veil. For the first time in recorded history, someone's come back from the other side."

"That 'pends," Fletcher said.

"Upon what?" Lovegood said distractedly, mentally checking his possessions.

"Your meanin' of solid," Fletcher said, inspecting the silver spoon Lovegood gave him to stir his tea with. "An' proof."

"Alert that group of yours. Find out what happened."

"What's it worth to me if I do, Lovey?"

"I need to know what's beyond that veil. I need my wife back," Lovegood answered, ignoring the stupid moniker for once.

"That don't answer my question," Fletcher said.

"Whatever you want, Fletcher," Lovegood answered quietly.

With a nod and a pop, Fletcher was gone, and Lovegood was left alone again in his den.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

12 Grimmauld Place

London, England

A few minutes later

****

The Order continued to use Twelve Grimmauld Place as headquarters after Sirius' fall through the veil. It was indeed the perfect place for someone to hide. It was big enough to house as many people as necessary.

Fletcher found it empty when he Aparated into the foyer. He knew Remus Lupin had to be there. The were-wolf had nowhere else to go.

"Lupin! Get yer bloomin' arse down here! I got news!" he bellowed.

Seconds later, Remus Lupin came down the stairs. He hardly looked healthy.

"You should get out more." Fletcher said in lieu of a hello.

"Is that all you bothered me about? Because if that is, I believe I will go about my day. Stay here if you like, but I'm going back upstairs," he said, setting foot on the bottom step.

"Went to see Lovegood today," Fletcher said offhandedly. "Had an interesting eavesdropping on the Met."

"If you want me to bail you out," Lupin said, "you're on your own. Now, if you'll excuse me..." he trailed off, making his way further up the massive staircase.

"Lupin," Fletcher said with a note of desperation in his voice. "It's about the veil. Someone made it through th'other side. They're rottin' in the clink at the mo'. The person that made it through to the other side said he was tryin' to come here. As a favor for Sirius."

"Fletcher, you should stop taking whatever drug you're on that's making you delusional, because it's affecting your career."

"Remus, I 'eard'em say it with me own ears. I'm a lotta things, but I'm not crazy. If he's speakin' the truth...think of it...if the order got information about the veil, well, we'd be a step ahead. Just fer knowin' a bit more than them."

"Be that as it may, Sirius is gone. I can't just go down to the Met Jail and spring every loon that comes through! Besides, if this were a notion that I'd even for a minute entertain, I'd have to consider the fact that I'd be committing a number of Muggle legal offenses."

"Wet blanket," Fletcher grumbled.

"I'm not a kid anymore," Lupin justified. "The things we did in those days all have consequences. Consequences that even Harry has to pay for to this day."

"Since when has that stopped you or the Marauders before, Lupin. No sense fergettin' that law-breakin' tradition, eh?"

"I'm not a Marauder anymore," Remus fired back. "The Marauders are gone."

"Consider for one minute that this Sparrow fellow is correct. Consider that, and then tell me if the Marauders are gone. 'Sides. Yer not riskin' much. Just findin' out what you can. Then you can go back to wallowin'."

Remus sighed reluctantly. "Where's Sparrow being held?" he said, moving for the closet to grab a Muggle three-piece suit he had tucked away.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Meanwhile...

Met Police Station

Downtown London, England

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Lupin thought that it was too good to be true.

In his experience, anything that was too good to be true usually was. But Mundungus Fletcher seemed sober enough. And when Lovegood replayed the message on the Extendable Earbox, it was still one of the craziest things he'd ever heard. Yes, it was crazy--Sirius had fallen through the veil. He was gone. And as much as he wanted Sirius back, there was nothing that he could do to reverse it.

Not to mention the fact that there were things that just didn't add up.

By and large, the office bustled about, not giving Lupin a second glance. He hadn't worn a suit since his brief stint at Hogwarts, and felt rather like he was wearing a Halloween costume.

"Excuse me," Lupin asked a beefy, surly gentleman sitting at the front desk. "I was wondering if you might help me..."

"Sorry, mate, it's past the five o'clock whistle. Visi'in' hours are over," he half-grunted, not even looking up from his magazine.

"I just wanted to talk to one of your prisoners very briefly. Surely, it can't be too much trouble for you to let me see..."

More firmly, this time, the copper said: "You can talk to whoever you want talk to at nine tomorrow morning, sir. Now, if you please, I have work to do," he said, turning back to his magazine.

"It's a matter of some urgency that I'm afraid can't wait until then."

"If it was a matter of some urgency, you could've come before five," he said, brooking no argument in his tone.

Think, Moony...think...who gets to talk to prisoners no matter what time it is? Wait...didn't Sirius once say that the Malfoy's family barrister was permitted to see Bellatrix in Azkaban? Perhaps Muggles have a similar sort of thing...

"I'm Jack Sparrow's barrister," Lupin said with a new air of authority. "I demand to see my client at once."

"Ah, you're his barrister, eh," the copper said, eyeing him with scrutiny. "Why didn't you just say so! Perhaps you could clear up a few things for us."

"Such as?"

"Why he has no record of existing in either this country or any other for that matter with exception to arresting documents dated back to the fifteen hundreds?"

"Ah. That. Well. He took an assumed name when your colleague arrested him," Lupin stammered. In his panic, he thought of the one Muggle name and address that came to mind: "His real name is Vernon Dursley. Of Number Four Privet Drive, Little Whinging."

"Dursley, eh? Let me check the reference," he said, keying in the address. "Is that one v or two?"

"Just the one," Lupin said.

"Ah, yes, there it is. That explains everything, then. Very well. You can get a security pass second office on the right."

Remus nodded a thanks, and once he was given a pass, he was allowed to Jack Sparrow's cell.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"If you could be so good as to give MR. SPARROW and I privacy, Constable," Lupin said politely, hoping that the man on the opposite side of the bars would follow the cue. " I'd be obliged. This sort of information between him and his BARRISTER is, as you can imagine, highly private."

"That's Captain Sparrow if you please," Jack corrected lazily when he was sure the guard was out of earshot.

"What ship do you captain?" Lupin asked.

"The Black Pearl," Jack said as if it were a question a very stupid person would ask.

"For what were you arrested?" Lupin asked now, wondering what to make of this man.

"If I answer is it going to get me out of jail?" Jack demanded.

"Possibly," Lupin answered. "It depends on the answer. Bearing that in mind, I'll ask you again. For what were you arrested?"

"I mentioned the name Sirius Black, and they decided that was enough to throw me in the gallows," Jack said, leaning against the bars. "I've never been caught this quickly before. I once outran an entire Naval fleet. To be outrun by that sorry bunch out there is rather depressing."

"Sirius Black?" Lupin said, suddenly turning pale. "You knew him then?"

Jack only nodded.

"Where are you from?" Lupin asked.

"Hell, mate," Jack said. "The Caribbean to be more precise."

"How old are you?" Lupin wanted to know.

"200 years old."

"They were right," Lupin said, sighing wearily. "You are crazy."

"I am," Jack said proudly, "but I am also 200 years old. Anyhow, where am I?"

"London. England. How did you get here from the Caribbean? Never mind how you got to the Caribbean--how did you get into the year 1996?"

"Sailed, naturally. Savvy?"

"All the way to London England into 1996?" Lupin echoed incredulously. "It must have been a long journey."

"I was in a cave on an Island called Isla de Muerta. That's where we found your friend. Did you make him walk the plank?" Jack accused as though it were worse than murder.

"He fell through an arch that goes between life and death," Lupin said. " If what you are saying is true, then the arch is somehow connected to your Isla De Muerta."

"What I am saying is true. You'd be better off with me out of here so that I can tell you all you need to know. And I have a map to the island."

"Look, Captain Sparrow, not to say that I'm not impressed that you'd go to all this trouble for a friend. No offense, naturally, but why should I believe you? There are things that don't add up. How did you know you'd find yourself here in London during the same time Sirius left?" Lupin demanded. He wanted to believe, but something about it still seemed all too convenient.

"He didn't know I came here."

"But you said that you were doing this as a favor for him?"

"I'm a pirate, not a saint. I don't do anything unless there's something in it for me. And now, if you'll excuse me...I didn't come here to rot."

"What precisely did you come here for?" Lupin demanded.

"What do pirates do anything for, mate?" Jack said with a wry grin. "For the loot."

He's definitely a Slytherin. Lupin mused silently.

"You mean to say that Sirius is paying you to do this? Is that how..."

"Look, mate..." Jack said, clearly getting fed up with Lupin's lack of knowledge about his situation. "I didn't just land through some kind of veil. That's what your friend did."

"But you said..."

"No, listen to me, I didn't bungle about in time. Black did."

'Then how..." Lupin asked, clearly getting frustrated.

"Am I still standing here and not lost to Davy Jones' Locker?"

Lupin nodded lamely.

Jack took something shiny from his boots.

"See this?"

"How did you get in here with that?" Lupin wondered aloud. "Didn't they take it with the rest of your effects?"

Jack shook his head. "They didn't take it because I'm Captain Jack Sparrow. And I've lived a lot longer than they have. When you've been around a few centuries, you learn quite a few tricks."

"So why are you seeking Black's residence just now?"

"Sixteen years ago, I found an article featuring Black. I remembered someone with that name with his spittin' image as a crew member on my ship The Black Pearl. Figured he was a descendant with an uncanny resemblance, but I heard dribs and drabs here and there of his story, and everything added up, and I realized he was an old crew member."

"He was a crew member?" Lupin echoed, finding it hard to believe that Sirius would work under someone like the man in front of him.

"Aye. Didn't know the starboard from the hull, and he was stubborn and self-righteous, but he was sharp and quick. Made a good pirate, and saved me ship and me neck more times than I want to admit. I kept a piece of Cortez's cursed gold so that I could keep on sailing. A watery grave was no place for me, savvy? So, years later, I saw his picture on a poster in the Caribbean, I realized he was me old crewman. Did a little investigating and found out that Sirius Black the crewman and Sirius Black the murderer were one and the same. And I knew something wasn't how it was supposed to be."

"That still doesn't explain why you're only just now seeking out his address."

"He rested on an island where I was hiding from the law at the time," Jack explained, "and I helped him hide out for a while because he said he was stinking rich. He said he was punished for a crime he didn't commit, and since he was a good crewmember to me aboard the Black Pearl, I gave him a hand. I didn't set out to find him until now because I couldn't get off the island until now. And now I've come for the booty. I told you what you want to know. Do we have an accord?"

"For what?"

"I get you to the Isla de Muerta to find your friend, and you get me out."

"What makes you think we can? Why should I trust you?"

"What other option do you have?"

"Sparrow, sit tight. I have a few er...influential friends who can help break you out," Lupin said, turning to leave.

"It's CAPTAIN SPARROW, YOU WANKER!" Lupin heard behind him as he left.

Lupin was trying to figure out how he was going to explain this to the rest of the order. He could hardly wrap his mind around it himself.

But if what this man says is true...Lupin kept wondering if Sirius is alive...

No. He couldn't hope that. He couldn't afford to.