Sirius Black

Alice, Frank: Thank you again. I'll definitely want to go back and see what I can get assembled. The engine and carburetor need significant reconditioning but it'll be much easier to put the spells in place on them before they're fitted into a frame. I thought I saw a few Triumphs and even a Royal Enfield; I'll have to look at the numbers to make sure they're compatible, though. Also see what manuals the place might have.

Anyway, it's brilliant. I'm glad you waited until after the lessons to show me. As it was, I hope Maureen didn't get too tired of Bea. (Oh, and please tell her I appreciate her volunteering to mind the monster, but I might take it personally if she keeps ducking Potions to do it. Perhaps we could ask Florrie to switch off now and then.)

I do think it's good for the young miss, anyway. Seeing other kids, playing. Between that and her earlier bedtimes she might just turn out civilised yet!

Any further word, any of you? How has the Ministry been today, Bill? Charlie, have the dragons settled down?

If something large is occupying their attention, maybe we could turn that our to advantage somehow. Could we stage another large breakout like Derby? Maybe get Davidson and Turner into position somewhere in the south?

Or ... has anyone checked the wards? Frank, fancy a sail? I'm sure we'd have known if suddenly the country became accessible to the outside but if the anti-muggle charms weren't affected then perhaps no one's noticed.

But there must be something we can do.

Frank, how's little Tim settling in to the nursery?

For the rest of you: We managed to get him away from Mr and Mrs Peploe today. We talked about offering them the chance to do what was right, and being prepared in case it didn't go well this time round. In the end, just as we were approaching the Peploes' quarters, we overheard them in the midst of quarrelling.

We held up a moment to listen. I shan't repeat the invective Mrs Peploe was shrieking at her husband but - well, Frank and I decided then and there that modifying their memories and getting young Bartemius away from them as quickly as possible was the best course.

We Confunded them long enough to sign the baby's death parchments and leave a copy with them. (I've got the Ministry copies and Dora can pass them to Nick on her next shift.) Then before we left, we made the suggestion to them that both their children had died of a defect which would surely afflict any third child, if they tried again.

Yes, I know. But given that they've already had two children, both of whom were born magical, we thought it best not to have to do this a third time.

Should've written earlier but I'd only just got back to Doughty Conduit and there was a sudden and immediate need for a certain young miss to have a bath. Then she required that 'Sinbad' accompany her on her goodnight rounds and - well. We've only just got her to go to sleep.

This evening we're making space in the storeroom for the good we're about to retrieve in the morning.

Frank, everything ready? Mac, how about on your end? I'm leaving here after we lock up for the night, so I should be at the rendezvous point in time for the tide to change.

Last chance for requests: I've got a little room in my pack for anything that ought to be ferried from here to you lot out west.

Oh, and Arthur, Molly: I've just reminded myself that after the holidays, we ought to check back with Miss Perks' mother and see if we can't think of a convincing way to arrange for her to join one of the enclaves living rough. But after the holidays - it's just been far too busy here to worry about anything other than tonight's run.

Well, that and the graffiti that keeps showing up and getting people talking. Last night there was a chalk drawing on a wall three blocks away. Depicted a Dark Mark with stars covering the eyes and open mouth. A little further down, someone had added a makeshift dog carrying a dead snake in its fangs.

I hope I'm being paranoid if I say I find images of dogs a little disquieting, especially so close to the shop.

I've been tromping about as Padfoot for most of the day but I just chanced transforming to catch up on the journals, in case Stint has been spotted anywhere (not here, by the way, it's all clear).

Have you noticed some of the traffic from Rosier, Rookwood and Crouch? Private Messages to 'Toshenka.'

That can only be one person, surely? It's not Karkaroff. And how many others of Eastern European descent were there in Voldemort's close circle?

Arthur, have you heard from Minerva about it? Tell me you've kept Molly from going round the twist that he's back.

Frank, tell Neville and Evelyn to be a bit ginger with Allie this morning. She's okay but probably a little, er, slow-moving.

She's on her way back; I made her stay at Grimmauld for fear she'd splinch if she tried returning last night.

We talked, most of the night. Well, I let her talk. Seems like she needed a good crying out.

So I'm just reading through everyone's conversations now but it's rather remarkable how Alice and I covered most of the angles people have discussed.

Except the one about letting Hermione and Terry tell their friends a couple of choice pieces of information. (And I agree with Dora, Moony: You're brilliant.)

But I've been thinking about it, off and on, ever since they all started asking questions and the letters came from more than one or two people and so on. Eventually this lot are likely to all ask for induction into the Order.

And I agree with Poppy that we can't allow them to continue forcing our hands.

In all honesty, I'm more concerned with what happens if they don't come to us about joining. Fred, George, you said before that you didn't think everyone on your lock would be good to add to the Order and not just because of their ages. The thing is, unless we're sure of their intentions, it's an unconscionable risk even to confirm their suspicions about the links they've already made.

However, all that having been said, trust has to start somewhere. I think we might let Hermione and Terry tell them the facts in Moony's proposal but also tell them that we have a message: Good show, you're all very clever, keep sticking together and helping each other, yes, we'll consider new recruits but no, not until you're of age.

That might stave off the uncomfortable conversations for a while, at least.


I also think it's high time we found something to do that would actually move things along a bit. I know we're making progress but it's a bit too slow and incremental for me. At our current rate of smuggling it's going to be another ten years before we have enough of them distributed.

Allie,

We've hit upon a solution to our little problem of becoming cramped over on Doughty Conduit. (Er, Frank. We're getting a bit too cramped at Doughty Conduit and so far the things we've tried have attracted the wrong sort of attention. Nothing to worry about but it's caused us to be a little more creative in our thinking. Just in case Allie hasn't caught you up.)

But you know how it is. One solution leads to another problem.

So. I'm trying to remember the steps of the Fidelius. I know there's the perimetre walk and the hearth ash bit and I remember the runes to obscure north and west, but I can't visualise the rune for east, at present. And I've drawn the one for south a few times but it doesn't look right. And there's the spell itself, of course.

And we also wondered - Well, I mean to say, we thought. You see, it needs to be done quickly and without anyone noticing. But we wanted to ask if one of you would be Secret Keeper for us. Either of you. And if so, could you pop down to London tomorrow, and we can have a go at it tomorrow night?

Hermione,

I think you'd better tell the rest of the Order what you told me yesterday. About Voldemort.

In case you can't get to it: She told me he's changing. Physically. I'd like her to elabourate more but I think she's right in guessing he's using progressively Dark spells to change himself. Trouble is I can't tell why. Macnair, you were close to him for a while. What's his purpose? Any idea?

And there's been a shift, she says, in his attitude toward Harry - and that's troubling as well. Well, not because I want the bugger keeping Harry all that close, but because if before he was concerned for Harry's well-being and that's shifting ... then it might signal he's less invested in keeping Harry safe.

Moreover Frank, I've been thinking: Now that you're back I think we ought to try again for Terry. I think we could convince him to come with us given enough time. I definitely want to make sure he's got enough to eat and that he's being looked after. Fancy a short trip next week?

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.