Sirius Black

Hermione, Remus tells me you asked about a party in honour of Minerva.

Of course, we can mark the occasion.

But he said something in the course of it that I want to clear up. He said, 'Technically, it's your house.'

Look. All I've ever wanted is for this place to be a home for whoever needs it. Right now that's you, and Draco and Sn Severus.

Oh, all right, I know only you and Remus can probably see this, but I'm making a point: This is your home, for as long as you want it to be. And you've every right to invite members of the Order into it for occasions such as this.

So. No more of this business how it's my house and I need to approve visitors or parties or whatever else you've planned. So long as Alice has given them the secret, they're welcome whenever you invite them.

That's that.

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.

Formulae 1-4 failed.

Of note: iteration four resulted in foaming at step six. Adjusted for viscosity in iteration five; better consistency but turned black just going into step eight, then solidified before steps 9-12.

About to start iteration six. Maybe need an adjustment before adding the powdered beetle horn but after the sliced arrowroot. I'm thinking two drops of salamander oil ought to keep both colour and liquidity. Don't want to use more in case it affects the temperature of the solution.

Will let you know what happens.

I'm heading to Minerva's to relieve Frank and Alice. Additional buffer would not go amiss, if you cared to come along.

Been thinking about what you said the other day, the messages between their Neville and the Finnigan lad. D'you suppose it means they're better mates than we realise? Or are you leading somewhere else with it.

Merlin, if we have to tell Frank again that Neville can't be inducted to the Order ... I don't know how he'll take it. Not well, and I can't blame him. But if the boy's hiding something ....

I guess we'll have to ask if he's said anything that Alice and Frank haven't told the rest of us.

Right. Floo. Another night of ignoring the (constant) snide remarks out of the malevolent minger.

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!)

Listen. Remus and I took ourselves on a jaunt last night.

We thought, with the school pretty nearly empty, we could dash in and hide a book in the library stacks. Then when they're back, Fred and George could 'find' the book and use it to work on Occlumency. And boys, if you happened to share some of it with your other friends, well, that would be just fine.

We got up to Hogwarts and used the second-floor tunnel (the one that opens up under the portrait of Maghnus the Munificent) and we were on our way to the library when we saw a door about to open. So we hid.

I'm still not sure I want to contemplate why a witch would be leaving your quarters, Snape, at that hour. But off she went and she wasn't even retching. So maybe you weren't in and she was trying to spy on you. Or 'Milland' as the case may be.

Well, obviously we had to follow her to find out her game. We kept a safe distance and she led us into an office - Alecto Carrow's, but it wasn't Alecto Carrow we were following. But she let herself in and immediately got on the Floo to make a call.

We had to lurk in the corridor - in fact the one time Remus tried creeping closer he nearly got caught - so we could only catch a few phrases. They were dead interesting phrases, though:

'I need more time' (for what?)
'You've no idea the paranoia around here'
'They all support Minerva even if she's a drunkard' (Sorry, Minerva!)
'No, I don't know who's poisoned Alecto' (emphasis mine)


So. Yes, we did something on our own; it was dangerous; we're well chagrined we didn't seek permission or let anyone know. We thought you'd all rather maintain plausible deniability.

The important thing is: You've got a spy at Hogwarts. A female, anyway. Doing something to undermine you, Minerva.

And someone's poisoning Alecto Carrow. Is it too much to hope they'll succeed? Kill the Secret Keeper and that ends the Fidelius. We could get to Terry.

Of course, perhaps whomever's working on her is thinking just that. But who? DogStar? Not sure they'd care about one little muggleborn teenager. Crimson Company? They have a completely different agenda, it's all about reassignment of wealth with them. Merlin knows the Carrows have enough enemies between them, it could be anyone.

And I also find it singularly interesting that our resident spy at Hogwarts, the one who went there on his own authority precisely because he could be so useful, either didn't know any of this - or didn't bother to tell us. Which was it, Severus?

Right, I know you and Allie want me to play nice with that git, but what in Mordred's name is he on about, 'some people weren't as privileged as you'? If he wants to call being practically locked in my room for that whole summer with nothing to do except work on the transformation privileged, then I suppose I was.

I'll tell you one thing: I don't half like him underestimating our Terry like that.

For the time being.

Kingsley, you got my Patronus. Sorry, that's all I had time to manage last night.

Time, ha. Funny.

I left Moony back at Tilda's, once he was able to transform. Dora I'm afraid he won't be any use to you with Bea, but he's okay. Truly - he was even lucid enough to take a few steps over the threshold. I thnk that potion had an effect even though he missed the final dose.

And about that: I'm sorry. Well, I'm sorry we frigtened everyone. It was ....

I'm still trying to piece it all together. I think the Snape and Macnair that Remus and I spotted must have been the second ones. Is that right, Hermione? That's why they were in the Shack when we fell back there and why they didn't know anything about keeping Buckbeak from mauling you lot.

I can explain more to Frank and Kingsley this morning. Snape claims he wants to join us. I didn't believe him - still not sure but he insisted on the Unbreakable Vow. Macnair too. I mean to say, Macnair swore it too. And me. I don't necessarily trust them to help Harry when they can but then, I don't much care if they die breaking their promise to him, either. Meanwhile we were just getting to explanations when we heard the alarm had gone up and MLE were heading for the Shack. So we ran for it.

Dora, Poppy, you must believe that Remus and I thought we had time to get Harry and Hermione away from Snape when we went out there. Neither of us expected it to get this complicated. He changed as we left the tunnel; Hermione tripped and then she realised Miss Parkinson was also on the grounds, trapped up a tree. Snape and Macnair scattered and Harry ran with him. And the Malfoy boy woke and ran and - I'm not quite sure how, but Alecto Carrow came upon us. I had to change to duel her.

Then Harry came back - he's going to be an ace duellist - and I told him and Pansy and Hermione to run to the castle fast as they could. Only then Harry gave me the time-turner. Hermione, I'm getting it out of order again, Morgana, this is confusing. Help me out where I've got it wrong.

What I do remember is that Harry told me that I had to take Buckbeak and get Snape and Macnair out of the tower after they were taken there - and then give the time-turner to Snape so that he and Macnair could rescue Buckbeak and save Harry from getting mauled. Understand? I couldn't argue it - I mean to say, they already had done, which means I must have done. I found the creature nearly mad from all the Dementors near the lake, although just as I arrived I saw the glow of a patronus somewere nearby. I got them out and had to let Buckbeak go so I could find Moony.

That's why I proposed the rendez-vous. Frank, yes, please come along. I just don't trust them - swearing to protect and help Harry (and not to harm him) doesn't mean they won't have any scruples about anyone else.