Sirius Black

SIRIUS ORION BLACK and Remus John Lupin lie in state in Westminster Hall for two weeks, in magical stasis, whereafter they are buried in a tomb under a newly-erected monument to the Heroes of Albion, which had been installed at the centre of Green Park in the interim. It is estimated that more people attended in person than any state funeral on record, in addition to those who listen on the wireless. It is also the first national broadcast to air on the newly restored telly service. Later, a statuary is added to the monument, depicting a wolf and a very large dog, standing on either side of a young man with spectacles, a gangling figure, and unruly hair. In years to come, the monument is a site for rallies, candlelight vigils, remembrances, marches, speeches, the occasional protest, and many a picnic luncheon, too. Wreaths are placed upon it every Remembrance and Victory Day.

CHECK IN.

Poppy, Ron, Bill, anyone who KNOWS where they've gone or what Bella's gloating about, CHECK IN.

Hydra's in Penzance; I'm heading there.

ALERT.

Dolohov may be waiting, as well as others.

I've just been told about Justin.

This is exactly what I was talking about this afternoon. WHY did he go after Antonin bloody Dolohov on his own? Or Ptolemy sodding Baddock or whomever.

Was it really necessary to put an eighteen-year-old in harm's way at this stage?

Alice. Enough. There are plenty of us to assume the risks. Rachel, put them on reserve, please. At least until the worst threats have been resolved.

Did we find Montague and Finnigan a place to stay that's sufficiently far from - well, from anyone else?

We knew that re-integrating would be a challenge, well, here's our very first live test of whether we can get the next generation to get along, after all the bad blood.

I hope we don't have to place a guard outside their door or anything.

Mind you, I'm not saying Alice made the wrong call to get Ginny back, but I wonder if we should have insisted that Finnigan pay at least some dues before expecting the others to simply break bread with him.

My sources tell me you went up for a nap after lunch. Don't want to wake you if you're getting a good rest. I think I've made some progress on the Polyjuice detector, though. It doesn't seem to mind Animagi anymore, at any rate. I've asked Sluggy for a bit of Polyjuice and I think some of the trainees will be volunteered to take it when we're ready to try it out.

I've been thinking about where we go from here, when it's time to go. Too bad Septima won't let us all stay; it seems like it's good to be round younger people, for one thing, and besides that we can't really beat the castle for its position, defences and amenities. Space for everyone and all that. Have you had conversations with Alice about it? I've been avoiding asking but I suppose we ought to talk. I don't think it's wise to pull back behind Moddey. Grimmauld's in the heart of London, so that's not very feasible. Given what you told me about the farm that lifted Fidelius only to be attacked the next day, we certainly can't advocate for removing any of the protections on Bedford, Aldrich or anywhere else currently under the spell. So.

Probably too much to hope that Draco, Hermione and all the others would want to take over a small village somewhere so we can all continue to live and work nearby. Well, there's a little time to think about it, though it's only a month til they chuck us out of here. They'll have a quality Polyjuice detector installed by then, right across the main entrance, too. What do you reckon we could convince her to hire us on as teachers?

Anyway. Come down when you're ready and double-check the runes on this frame?

(And, you know, next time you're having trouble sleeping, you don't need to leave. If I'm that desperate to sleep, I can always change. Padfoot doesn't care if the light's on or off. He might help you, too.)

Rachel, what's the likelihood that your source in the Death Eaters could give you warning the next time they decide to impersonate us?

Ginny Weasley's got additional confirmation that those attacks could be the key to winning over anyone who's still on the fence about whether or not we're the good guys.

I think we're about ready to go. Radhika and Ellen are going to take photographs to establish that Draco and I are working with the good people of Brighton to rebuild their boardwalk.

Merlin, what a massive annoyance, but I admit I'm looking forward, in some ways, to doing a little work with my hands.

Alice, I left something for you in the drawer of your desk. Open only when you're alone. Circe knows I needed one after John's service, and Remus mentioned you were feeling particularly tense, too.

Anyway.

We'll be back by dark, I expect.

I didn't want to disturb yesterday when you had your (much deserved) day off, but, have you heard from Nick and John? They said something about a quick jaunt back to the Ministry for - a missing box of files? I know we tried to retrieve as much as possible as quickly as possible. They insisted it was essential, though, to the redistribution project, and that they'd be quick and careful getting in and out.

I've been asking round, quietly, and no one seems to have seen them since yesterday lunchtime. Twenty-four hours is not what I'd call quick.

You haven't heard that they hit trouble and had to lie low, have you?

Bill,

That parchment and everything for the Goblins - Draco's coming up to the Great Hall. I said you'd meet him. I hope you don't mind. I'll come down, too, if you like.

He'll sign whatever we need, just please if we can minimise what he has to do, that's for the best. I mentioned the trust. If he can sign the parchments for that at the same time, so much the better.

I didn't tell him you might need a print or a drop of his blood but he'll do whatever we need to do to get this over and done.

Right. It took all hands but we managed to hit and/or protect all the Sleeper caches we knew about. We estimate that the Death Eaters got to more than half before we could cast the Fidelius. And worse, it looks like Crouch sent out nine teams overnight.

I hope some of them were to stop the Fiendfyres. Must have done, though, right, or we'd have heard about it from our sources?

Rachel, if Bill can't get us that list quickly, I think Lee ought to mobilise the button network to inquire about additional caches - any we can find. Might not be a bad idea, anyway, since we can prioritise to avoid places where we're likely to encounter Crouch's forces.

And we'll need every available person who can both Apparate and cast Fidelius.