Sirius Black

Could either of you make sure the Floo is clear?

Mr Padfoot and the Professor would like to sneak off to the park and we don't want to frighten any customers - or Ellie - on our way through.

Did Terry come for his lesson today, Remus?

I had a chance to talk to Frank about the kid, very briefly, after we ran off Stint last night.

It's pretty much what we thought. And I think there's more Frank's not saying but even that's pretty close to what you and I were guessing, Moony.

And then there's something else. You saw that Pomona included a private message at the end of all her and Poppy's teasing last night? Well. I'll copy it out for the two of you, since really it's meant for all three of us:


I owe you an apology. All three of you at Laszlo's.

I overreacted, at Christmas. And then compounded the unfairness by never explaining why. I still don't want to go into it, really, but my marriage was really very bad, I was forced out, and. Well. Enough said.

Not that I'm not abundantly happier where I am now, and with a far better circle of friends than I'd ever imagined finding, but some things get a hold on you and don't let go for a long time.

Thank you for coming to help. And for helping me convince Poppy that it's needed.


I mean to say. I assumed she was long over whatever was bothering her, since she's been talking to us and acting normally (well, normally for Pomona, anyway). So. Obviously I've no hard feelings and I'll tell her so. But I'm not sure what to make of the rest of it. None of our business, is it.

Still it seemed like maybe you both ought to see it. And Dora, maybe you know what she's on about? Poppy told me a tiny bit - more than I really want to know, in fact - but. I dunno. Witches talk to one another, don't they.

At any rate, no sign of Stint here so far, though Poppy said he popped in at the weather station again. Luckily, Poppy's been in much better spirits, although she didn't dare smile or laugh in his direction lest he realise she'd seen our adventure last night.

No repercussions from that, either, at the moment. 'Kenny' and 'Ellie' went for a walk in the hills this morning, now that Poppy's back to herself. I'm not sure about Pomona but I think I'll stay around another day, just to look after her, but if Pomona is ready to leave then I might slip off and return as Padfoot to save on potion.

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.

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?

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.

Allie, I saw your note of yesterday. Time to let you two in on a little secret: I've become a tutor again. At this rate I shall be as qualified as anyone at Moddey at teaching muggleborns.

You've no idea how the proximity of the Dementors is affecting everyone up the castle - for myself, I find I'm in no mood to have an argument with Poppy or Minerva or any of them, so except for Pomona I'm simply steering clear.

Well, that's ... problematic when the N.E.W.T. exams are ongoing (And O.W.L.s next week, as we've just been reminded). I had to break cover and get myself up to that extra-large storage cupboard up on the 6th floor (Moony, you know the one we used to lock up the Slytherin team's brooms that year they were being absolutely murderous about the Final?). I made it inside no problem - as Padfoot, just in case. I mean to say, not that a large dog wouldn't raise just as much alarm, if he were seen, but at least it wouldn't be another sighting of Sirius Black's ghost, eh?

As I say, I made it to the cupboard but I wanted to put a locking charm on and another to alert me should anyone come too close. That meant wands, of course, which meant I needed my thumbs.

I swear I looked about before I changed. I promise you both I was sure I was completely alone, not a whiff of Peeves or any teachers patrolling. Not even to Padfoot's nose. But no sooner did I change than I heard a tiny gasp from the corridor to the left, just where it turns. I don't know which of us was more startled or more frightened.

No, I do know - I was more startled, but he was more frightened. Our Terry.

Allie, if you could see him. You'd want to catch him up and hold him tight until he just about breaks. Skin and bones, practically, and stunted despite the regular meals he's been getting with Minerva (and I gather he can cadge the house-elves with the best of them). And so scared of what I'd do. I ought to have Obliviated him on the spot - if he'd been a student I certainly would have done - but the moment I realised it had to be Terry, I just couldn't do it.

The moment he realised who I was, he practically fell to the ground and wanted to know what he could do to help. It was more than a little embarrassing, to tell truth - worse than Turner that first time, and that includes him falling overboard trying to hop from Frank's boat to mine. It was just ... Merlin, the boy looked at me with such ... trust. Absolute faith, like my being at Hogwarts meant liberation on the spot.

Once we both recovered our wits, he asked about the transformation. 'Could you teach me to do that? I've been trying on my own but I can't seem to get anywhere.'

Well. In for a Sickle, in for a Galleon, right? 'Only if you promise not to tell anyone,' I heard myself saying. 'Not just that I'm alive and here at Hogwarts, either. The Ministry don't know I'm an Animagus - no one can know that, do you understand?'

He fell to his knees again, swearing all sorts of loyalty and repeating that he'd do anything to help the fabled Sirius Black.

Merlin. I hope I never get used to people treating me like a messiah.

Anyway, we met again last night and after that exchange he had with Carrow I decided just helping him with a transformation isn't enough. I mean to say, I think he could do it eventually, he's got a good deal of innate talent, but it'll take him a while yet. He needs better defences and more quickly than that. I ... I told him to bring his wand next time.

I know, I shouldn't have let on that I know he has a wand. He put it together immediately, much more quickly than I would have guessed, that I must have had a hand in getting the wands for him and others like him. (MORE grovelling, which I could only get him to stop by putting him back on to showing me what he can do with the blessed thing.) He and Hermione have been working - and I think, Allie, with your Neville. At least, he seems quite friendly with your boy, from some of the questions he was asking. He's got some strong instincts for shielding and blocking spells. I think he'll need significant work at offence, as he's really rather timid about taking the initiative. And no wonder, with monsters like Carrow kicking him about his whole life.

We plan to meet about every other night. More than that and I fear he'll drop from exhaustion. But meanwhile, I wanted you two, especially, to know that I'm in contact with him, and looking out for him along with Harry and Hermione.

Better get myself hidden before the students start tromping about.

Oh - Hermione knows and I've confirmed with him that he can talk to her about it, though I haven't said that she has anything to do with us. He'll probably work that out on his own, as well. Fiendish clever, he is, did I mention?