Sirius Black

Are you still at Malfoy Manor?

How is everything going? You don't want to kill her already, I hope. Well, Draco's probably keeping her calm, I expect.

You know, I don't want to pry into their business but something's not adding up.

• Ron wants to know about transfiguring animagi into other animals and what effect that might have, as a precaution in case Glozeman tries transforming him


• He also asked about the forced reformation spell, since someone in their class knew it and they weren't already familiar with it (and why didn't Albus teach it to him? That's a question for another day)


• Private messages among Harry, Ron, Sally-Anne, Justin and Pansy (which could be anything, I admit)


• Harry asks us about Peter because he's been 'thinking about other animagi'?


• Sally-Anne asks me (and the other Animagi) about remaining in animal form for 'a really long time' and whether if one did so for sufficiently long periods, if one would turn into that animal


• And now, after we've been discussing Peter with Harry, he sends them all another Private Message

....

Doesn't Sally-Anne have a pet rat?

Well, even if Bea was the one who played with them most tonight, I do love my presents. Inappropriate, unintentional humour and all.

And look, given how Dora's quest is going with my mother's portrait, buying a new sugar and cream set wasn't all that daft an idea.

Well?

Did you listen?

Was it all right?

They want me to stay and do it again in an hour, just before they go off the air for the night. I suppose I should post the transcript as well.

Look, could one of you come and sit with Hermione?

Terry's shown up, out of the blue, in his animagus form.

I think it's more about him satisfying himself that she's all right than it is about him wanting to comfort her. I don't want to leave her alone, poor thing, but under the circumstances, she's liable to cling on to him for dear life, and neither of them need that kind of complication. (Especially since, well. We've already had one unrequited love exposed tonight. Merlin. Still processing that. You know I teased him about fancying her and I thought it was just that: a joke.)

I wouldn't ask while the garden's open except. To be honest, I could use a little time as Padfoot myself.

So, how did everything go? I'm guessing you had to leap straight back into delivering drinks. Sometimes I think we ought to stop replenishing the heating charms in the garden but then, we really do need the dosh.

Anyway, I hope that it was fairly straightforward.

We've had quite an exciting day here, on the other hand. Seven hours of contrariness punctuated by tossing two meals right across the kitchen, a 'nap' that I later learned consisted of popping the heads off all her dollies, tearing the pages out of three books and breaking the present Uncle Charlie gave her last year. And attendant crocodile tears, of course.

Then there was the whole scene when Harry, Justin and the other flyers came back here for a cup of cocoa and I forbade her coming down to visit them all. Last thing we need is for her to overhear their reports or to connect the faces she saw here with tea at Laszlo's.

Add to that, Snape was banging about in the still room complaining about the noise (a 'distraction from important endeavours' and other choice phrases) and bloody Kreacher acting all miserable again. No idea what he was on about this time. Wailing almost as loudly as Albia and apparently with just as little reason.

I've finally got her bathed and in bed but not without another row about it. Merlin, I've never seen hair that shade of green, or a face so purple. She even grew little horns when she was really going for effect.

When you do shut down for the evening, bring me back a pint or two, will you? If I'm still awake, I could use the drink.

Four days later and I still have occasional spasms. Morgana, this not being able to be Padfoot is almost as bad as when Bella cursed me and I had to stay Padfoot.

Mostly it's just being stuck in this house all the time, with that wretched elf.

I've been thinking about what we can do to prevent him betraying us if something should happen to me. Obviously, the orders I've issued him never to contact anyone who hasn't been told the secret of the Fidelius is perfectly effective while I'm alive. The question is what he'll do once I'm no longer his master. Will he accept the will as it's written, will he decide that Bella or Narcissa are his new mistresses, will he defer to Draco or Hydra or will he go and hang himself with my father's bootlaces?

It's complicated, because my mother's will actually left the property to Narcissa but my father's magical protections meant she couldn't take possession of the house. I wrote a will as soon as we were able to open it up, of course. But will Kreacher honour it if I'm not in the picture?

I think there are a few possible solutions but none of them are guaranteed. Since I can't do much else with this ankle still healing, and with my tremors I better not handle sensitive potions measurement, we may as well discuss the options.

All right.

Bea's down for the night.

Kreacher's Merlin knows where.

Let's have it, then. I know, I know, I'm an utter prat. What else?

Moony and I (and Bea) spent the night in Grimmauld Place last night, first time we've been back for a full night since Ellie came.

We figured that'd be best since Ellie's still a bit skittish, but it was the full moon so Remus needed a safe transformation place and we didn't want to risk Ellie coming upstairs to check on Bea with only a door between her and a werewolf. And I couldn't have seen to Bea as a dog, or risk Ellie coming up to stumble on me, either.

Well, anyway. That part worked out well enough. But the part that we found curious was Kreacher. Do you know, I think he actually might have missed us?

Well. I say us. Really I think he missed Bea.

Dora, we may want to think about going back to Grimmauld a little more frequently, especially if we're not going to be able to tell Ellie the truth before next month. I dunno how he'll react if we only come back to give him Bea to look after for a few hours. When she's asleep, no less.

Anyway. I'm sending a final owl to Aleks to confirm what he's bringing us. Wands, of course, and the staples: Fruit, sugar, spices, chocolate, tea, coffee, so on. Poppy, I got your list (or rather Mr Ponds did) and I'm sending it along. Anti-fungal creme, really? And camphor and cotton and all the usual items.

Anyone have last-minute additions? No guarantees but if it's something simple enough we've a little time.

(That reminds me: The wards will have to drop when Beauxbatons and Durmstrang take their delegations home. Frank, Kingsley: Do you think we could get people out then, if we had a vessel to take them?)

Fred, George: Have you heard any more from Terry?

Well, meanwhile, it's past time that we told you all about having Hydra over for tea.

So, to set the stage, of course, we've spent some time keeping Doughty Conduit look occupied. For one thing, we don't know how soon the Ministry might wish to inspect us, but for another, on the assumption that Bellatrix wanted to spy through Hydra, we figured she ought to be presented with the picture of domesticity. We even put Bea down for her nap in the pram in the kitchen.

Hydra and the nanny arrived promptly at two and I think at first Remus feared Mrs Baylock meant to stay and observe the whole visit but she made one or two disparaging remarks about the shop and then told Hydra she'd some errands of her own and would return for her at half-past-three.

Hydra looked around the shop while Dora went to see if Bea'd woken up yet, which she had, so they proceeded to the kitchen. At first she seemed quite shy but she kept sneaking me looks when she thought Dora couldn't see and finally she asked if I'd bite. Dora said no, of course not, so she tried giving me a scratch. Before I knew it she was sneaking me bits of her sandwich (she only ate the cress and the dill, no meat). Remus came in once the shop was between customers and almost called me Padfoot (we'd agreed on Sinbad for Hydra's benefit, since I've no idea whether she'd tell Justin about meeting a dog named Padfoot!) but he caught himself just in time. I don't think she noticed.

Moony kept pushing sweets on her. She'd make a remark about how 'Mummy' wouldn't like her to have too many sweets but then she'd take another biscuit as if defying Bellatrix were more delicious than the treat itself. And I'll admit, she spoke glowingly about Justin.

But there's one thing that happened - well, I'm sure if we've not heard about it by now, it probably isn't an issue. Still. Bea was showing off for our guest, with Dora's help, doing her parlour tricks of changing her hair colour and such. And she did something ... I've never seen her do it before, nor had Remus, I think, but she changed her face to look more like a dog's, then back to human. And she kept switching back and forth, three or four times running, and then said 'Da!' and then started all over again. Remus thinks she was just jealous that Hydra seemed to be paying more attention to the dog than to Bea. But if Bellatrix forces her to put her memories in a Pensieve or tries to Legilimise her, it might come out.

Fred and George, you're more likely to know what she's like when she's not with her mother. I'll grant that she seems remarkably adjusted for growing up that viper's daughter but - is it likely she's able to keep her mother from rifling through her thoughts?