Sirius Black

Sorry, puppy. I had to dash out in response to Snape's distress call. He and Poppy took it upon themselves to confront Minerva and--well, Snape came back to find her drunk and transformed to her cat form.

You remember that time that James transformed when he was already too drunk to stand?

Well. The thing is that a stag's a much larger creature than a cat but neither one was made to process alcohol.

Anyway, he needed me to intervene with the Hominem Reddulio but we all decided someone better stay and keep an eye on her while he and Poppy start work on a potion. I gather it's some tricky business (and not a few of the ingredients were only just brought to us in the solstice run. Seems you're not the only one who corresponded with Aleks separately). They'll be at it for a while.

Oh, and he's got a shopping list. He might turn up at Doughty Conduit around closing time to raid the private stockroom, now that Aleks' latest shipment has been stowed. Myrrh resin and a particular strain of cardamom and - oh, whatever else he was saying. Wasn't really listening. Anyway, I think we have the cardamom but I'm not sure if we realised it was meant for him, so it might actually have made its way to the shelves.

He wants to run some sort of test on it when it gets here. But now that I think about it, I heard Aleks say something about not being able to get the myrrh resin at a decent price and I had no idea what he was on about at the time - turns out it's for Snape. Maybe we can send Ellie out to beg some from another apothecary.

Well. If you've already transformed, you'll not see this until morning, anyway, but I should be home by then and I'll see you when you wake up.

And if you haven't, I'll be home as soon as I can. Perhaps we'll be lucky and you'll skip a month?

Merciful Morgana, he's growling that this is taking too long. ('Stop writing sweet nothings, Black. I need an extra pair of hands.' Hmph. I ought to bring one or two of those new albums back with me tomorrow and torture him while I'm cat-sitting!)

Well?

You wanted to see it.

Let's have it. I mean, I see I've been a right git, as she says (well, from her side) but what now?

Is it good or bad that no matter what she quotes (and Dora, that's Uriah Heap, that last bit), all I can hear whenever she starts on lyrics is 'Go Ask Alice' - and no, not just because Allie's usually my first line of defence when it comes to girls. Because I wish it had been on one of the albums she'd nicked. Perhaps I'll send her a copy of Lewis Carroll, as well.

Bugger all. I've been working on this bloody Grim Truth all day and I'm fucking nowhere.

All I've got is, 'What in Merlin's name is WRONG with you all?' and that's no good.

Maybe Mac's right and these posts are useless. It's not like I can give people a blueprint, 'Here's how to throw off the yoke of oppression' - MLE will simply stop them in their tracks.

And I've had another letter from Justin. Hydra Lestrange is going to get that lad killed if he's not careful.

Can you let Dora close up alone? I need a fresh bottle.

I couldn't help but notice that Miss Parkinson fell ill today. Is she all right?

She didn't mention what made her feel unwell, by chance, did she?

If not ... I think I may know what set her off. In case you need to know in order to help.

And if she did tell you anything ... well, have at. I know it was bound to pour vinegar on the wound but - well, I couldn't see a way round it. And I guess I underestimated her reaction, at that.

Er.

Look, I ... think we'll be better off if you and Dora have some of that 'alone time' we talked about, yeah?

Besides, if we're going to get anyone out at the Solstice, someone's got to be running the countryside and helping out. The Players can only do so much.

So.

I'm checking in on John and Lucinda, all right?

And I'm not cross. If you're not. I just .... You and Dora just need me to not be cramping you so much, that's all.

Dora you'd best get home if you can.

Remus is downstairs with that bloke. You know the one.

I'd do the negotiating but - well. And Bea's fine but I don't know if you've seen, Terry's supposedly making a run for it sometime in the next I dunno how long.

And I know Frank's got it, and Steve, but

Well. I feel bad not being there, is all, if the kid comes through successfully.

More than that, I think Remus is starting to sweat a little too much.

Circe. Where's the polyjuice? I'll look for your hairbrush if you're going to be much longer.

Well, we found him.

Merlin. Hermione, your friend is certainly one stubborn little cuss. He wouldn’t come with us, no matter what Frank and I tried to tell him. Though, to be fair, I think we might have convinced him to go, but we were interrupted.

Let me back up and tell it in the right order.

So, first, last night, Frank and I arranged to ‘borrow’ the cart with Carrow’s food deliveries and Frank got us in with only a mild Confundus. I caught Terry’s scent just about immediately once we came through the gatehouse, and then we saw him walking on the wall. We headed straight up there.

He recognised Padfoot and I’m pleased to say he seemed genuinely happy to see me - but then he got very nervous about seeing Frank. Of course, Frank was polyjuiced. We ducked down behind the wall and I transformed, and introduced him to my companion. Frank reminded him about having met him before - something I’d quite forgotten about - and we added that we’d both been responsible for kicking Carrow’s teeth in last year. At last he visibly relaxed in front of us - and then we noticed what was wrong.

He’d been beaten. Savagely.

We healed him as best we could - my guess is that he had ruptured something internally - and Frank had to rebreak one finger so we could set it properly. I don’t mind telling you it crossed both our minds to go and find Carrow then and there. Must have shown on our faces because Terry immediately told us not to pay Carrow another visit. He also wouldn’t settle until we put some glamours on the wounds to make them look like they were still healing at a normal pace. Frank set them to fade over time and that calmed him down considerably.

He apologised to me - to me! - for not coming with me that day when I tried to rescue him, the day Carrow left the school. He stammered something about Alecto hurting Hermione. I guess they’ve brainwashed him pretty well on that score. Frank and I told him he shouldn’t have worried about that, that we’d never have let them hurt her. Showed a little pluck then, he did, and asked how we’d have managed that.

Well, that gave Frank the opening to give him the portkey - though we also offered that he could come with us right then and there, if he wanted. He shook his head, said Carrow’d already taunted him about some kind of tracking spell. Frank pulled out his wand to check, and the bastard hadn’t been lying. He’s done something to Terry - blood magic, I think, and it keeps tabs on the kid.

We gave him the portkey anyway, told him to hide it, and told him about our friends in Sherwood forest, so he can find them if he needs to do. The tracking spell’s a problem, but Frank and I figure we’ll know if he activates the device and we can make sure that if Carrow follows, he’s never coming back. (I also reminded him that the tracking spell might not hold if he can master the Animagus transformation. After all, changing seemed to break a few enchantments placed on me when Bellatrix was on my tail.)

Well, Terry got a funny look and he showed us a bracelet round his wrist. We hadn’t noticed it until he pointed it out - and that’s after running two checks over him for health and then that charm - but he told us his friends made it for him. (And he looked sidelong at Frank when he said it, Alice; I’m sure he meant to include Neville in that statement, but didn’t want to admit it straight out.) He showed us the bead that conceals where he keeps his wand and said he could get another one to hide the portkey.

‘Sounds like you have some good friends,’ I said.

‘Yeah. The best,’ he told us. Then another one of those sideways looks, this time at me. “I've kept your secrets. And I've kept their secrets. The thing is...some of them are starting to be some of the same secrets.’

While I was still trying to decide what to say to that, Frank asked what he meant. Terry talked about keeping his wand hidden and learning magic and such.

‘But my loyalties to you don’t conflict with my loyalties to them,’ he added.

I gave his shoulder a squeeze and told him no, I didn’t think they did.

I think he was about to say something else, and Frank and I were gearing up to try again to get him to come with us right then and there, but just at that moment we heard Carrow give a massive shout for Terry to come attend him. He transformed in an instant - fear, first, and told us to move, not to get caught - and then somehow he made himself look stupid, vacant and a little dead inside. I guess he’s had to learn how to mask his real cleverness over the years with that murdering son of a bitch.

There wasn’t any point arguing with him, not with Carrow bellowing that he’d have Terry’s head on a platter if he didn’t jump to. I reminded him to keep practising and transformed back to Padfoot. All we could do was complete the delivery and bring back the cart.

Luckily, the pub where we got it has a fully stocked cellar. Frank and I are agreed on the single best way to spend the rest of this afternoon. It’s that or talk our way back into that castle to thump Carrow again, despite what Terry asked us.

BUGGER BUGGER BUGGER

I knew they'd try something.

Snape and Macnair are on the Hogwarts grounds.


AND SO IS HARRY.


Frank - Kingsley - WHOEVER - Need backup. Fast.

I think we've enough time to get to him before the moon's up.

Bugger all.

No - before I get into that. I'm okay. Pomona's been seeing to me when she can, and Greenhouse 4, if you remember, has that little potting room off the main chamber, where I can hide during the one or two lessons she has to teach the NEWT students. I think a Gryffindor boy caught a glimpse of me just as I was arriving but I hid quickly enough. I haven't heard any other murmurs about it, and certainly no students have come out looking or approached the greenhouses with any sort of hesitation, so I think I dodged that hex.

It's something else, though. An owl.

Bugger.

Right, no good way to say it, so out with it, then. Fair's fair: You can take the piss all you like, mate, for how I reacted when I found out you'd gone and got my own cousin up the duff. Wand's in the other hand, now, isn't it?

Yeah. It's Terrie. She's

Well.

Bugger.

Look, don't - don't tell anyone else, will you? Not even Allie.

Bugger all. Complicated.

Morgana and Maeve, Allie.

She's done it again.

That Parkinson girl. She wrote a (really dreadful) poem for my brother. And sent it ... to me.

He's dead, isn't he? Really dead. Forever. And if you're dead then nobody will be left to care about him but me. So I really hope that you aren't. Dead, I mean. Because if you both are, then I don't know what I'd do.

Get used to disappointment? Bloody Baron's bones!

More than anything I want to tell her that she's in for massive disappointment if she keeps on building Reg up like a hero. Like he was trying to steer her one way or another. My brother was a lot of things, Allie, but he never met a conviction he couldn't gainsay.

Merlin. Between this and Moony and Terrie it's a miracle I'm still willing to keep myself in hiding.