Playing With Magic

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Chapter 27: The Reunion Of Lupine Creatures

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3 November, 1991 - Sunday

St Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries

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The last decade had not been kind to Sirius Black.

From fighting in a war, failing to catch the rat, being blamed for the rat's actions, then spending years in the five star hotel known as Azkaban.

The hallucinations were bad before, thanks to the dreadful room service provided by the Dementors. But now? Now, they were so realistic a slap wasn't enough to snap himself out of it. It really did feel like he was actually given freedom and taken to St Mungo's. The bed was even soft, something his previous hallucinations couldn't pull off. The hard stone floors in that dreary place just wouldn't allow it.

The air he breathed smelt like what he remembered St Mungo's was like. There was real sunlight, not like the shitty sunlight blocked by clouds all the time, but real sunlight. And it was warm. It was never warm in Azkaban. This must be the work of one of the new recruits, no one would bother going that far to moment inmates, it was seen as a waste of time. A beating here and there was much more satisfying. 

Well, at least for the guards it was. After a while, Sirius kind of just got used to it. He deserved it. After all, he got them killed. Lily and James. He deserved what he got for it. The beatings, the Dementor visits forcing him to relive his worst failures over and over again, he deserved it all. He even went as far as asking the guards not to heal the woods when they were done. They didn't listen. No one wanted to leave evidence for when inmates were inspected.

It was moments like this, during sleep, that his own mind chose to torture him itself. No external help needed. Just memories. And who said Griffindores couldn't use their heads? It was one thing reliving failures, but showing you how good you had it, how happy everyone used to be, only to wake up and realise where you were and how badly you had fucked up. Now that was a real bitch.

He had made a promise to Charlus and Dorea when they took him in after leaving the Black madness behind, to keep their son safe, to be his brother, and now James is on the other side before he is. What a way to reward their kindness.

Stirring himself from his torment, Sirius awoke to a headache much milder than he was used to, eyes already welled up from the memories. Clenching his jaw, he barely withheld the urge to shout in frustration like he did only a few nights prior, or the few nights prior to that one. Opening his eyes, he winced, not used to the amount of light coming out of the windows.

Windows, Sirius thought. There were never any windows in my hotel room. Trying again, he slowly opened his eyes little by little while bridging an arm up to block the excess light from entering. Successful, frantically looking around. 

"You look like shit," Sirius blurted out as he laid eyes on his old friend, Remus Lupin, wearing what could only be described as 'something pulled out of someone else's ass'. He sat there, slumped in a chair in the corner of the room, looking dishevelled and guilt-ridden, dark circles under his eyes and clothes all rumpled.

"Only slightly worse than he normally was during or after a full moon," Sirius thought

"So do you, Padfoot," Remus gave a sad scoff, a small, humourless laugh escaping his lips as he gestured to a mirror on the table beside him. "The full moon was a week and a half ago, so everyone's fine on that front."

Sirius frowned, confused as to why he would let him know when the next full moon was, it wasn't like it was a bother between them, it was mid-day, they had plenty of time to get sorted and weather the moon.

"You said that out loud," Lupin added, catching on to Sirius's thought process.

"Ah, that made sense," Sirius acknowledged with a small nod before grabbing the mirror and taking a look at his own reflection. He barely recognized the gaunt, hollow-eyed man staring back at him. He looked like he hadn't eaten in days. Taking a deep breath, he ran his free hand through his hair in frustration, a habit he had developed only a few days into his incarceration. His hair was long and matted, his skin pale and sallow. And yet, he still looked better than he felt.

"Still look better than you," Sirius shot back, attempting to add an extra jab to lighten the mood further but failing miserably, if Lupin's face was anything to go by. The reality of his situation began to sink in, and he looked back at Remus. "So that was all real then? I'm out of that place?"

"They caught Peter," Remus said leaning forward, eyes filled with a mixture of relief and sorrow. "You were freed, Padfoot. The truth about Peter, him being the real secret keeper, the murdered muggles, it all came out. You're in St. Mungo's now, safe."

"Wormtail, that fucking rat!" Sirius exclaimed with a sneer before shaking his head, still trying to process everything. It was one thing to torture yourself, but he only did that thinking Wormtail was dead. If he had known, he would have searched the ends of the earth for even an ounce of revenge. Funking rat. "How was he even still alive?"

Remus nodded, his expression grim. "He was disguised as a Hogwarts student's pet rat, hiding in plain sight," Remus explained. "Another student at Hogwarts uncovered the truth when they were trying to become an Animagus themself. They brought Peter to McGonagall and Dumbledore, and a trial was held."

"Bwahahaha," Sirius laughed hysterically, not even sure himself if he was laughing at how obvious Peter was being, or at his own misery. "Another generation of Gryffindors becoming Animagus while still in school- brilliant!"

"Ravenclaw, actually," Remus corrected, but was simply ignored.

"Let me kill him," Sirius practically growled like he was in his Padfoot form, eyes squinting as he gripped the sheets. "The rat needs to die, right, the fuck, now!"

Making his way to his feet, Remus walked over to his last living friend he had left to rot in that hellhole, reached out, and placed a comforting hand on Sirius's arm. "They were going to let you make a statement, but you were deemed 'Not fully cognisant enough to provide accurate enough information for the trial'."

Sirius's eye twitched as he stared up at the Moony, "Fuck 'em."

"But," Lupin continued now with an amused smile. "You seem better now after the Healers have seen to you. They'll be back to take your statement, then you'll get to decide which penalty he deserves. The viel, or Dementors."

"Dementors," Sirius replied instantly with a devilishe smile, emotions wirling behind his eyes. After what he did to Jmes and Lily, it was what he deserved. "Definitely, Dementors."

After a moment of silence, Remus whispered, bringing Sirius out of his thoughts, "Sirius, I'm so sorry." 

"I'm so, so sorry, Sirius." Remus continued, taking a deep breath, eyes reflecting years of guilt and regret, and he looked even more haggard than he had been a few seconds ago. "I should have realized sooner. I should have done something... anything. But I didn't know who the Secret Keeper was. I thought it was you. I blamed you. I-I didn't know. I'm so sorry."

Seeing his friend starting to break down, Sirius shook his head, his own eyes welling with tears. "No, Remus. It wasn't your fault. It was mine. It was my plan to change the keeper to Wormtail. I thought it would be safer, that it would throw Voldemort off our trail if we constantly changed keepers. I was so sure that if there were any spies they would catch on and constantly be giving Voldermort the wrong information. Maybe even use it as a way to lure the snakey cunt out."

Sirius finally broke, sobbing like he had never done before, leaning forward, burying his face in his hands. The plan was simple, it wasn't like he was capable of complex plans anyway. He'd leave those to people like Dumbledore. But the plan was simple and foolproof enough that even Lily agreed with it. It was, after all, her Fidelius Charm to begin with. He should have thought of an Unbreakable Vow, they all could have taken it. They all would have taken it. Well, almost all.

Remus immediately wrapped his arms around Sirius.

"It's okay, Sirius. It's okay," Remus murmured, his own voice thick with emotion. "You did what you thought was best. You tried to protect them."

Sirius cried openly, the pent-up grief and guilt of ten long years in Azkaban pouring out of him.

'It wasn't enough, I wasn't enough. I never was. I let them down,' Sirius thought, as Remus held him tightly, offering silent support as Sirius let it all out. After a few moments, Sirius began to calm, his sobs subsiding into shuddering breaths. When he finally pulled back, he wiped at his eyes with a shaking hand. "How... how is the pup?" he asked, his voice barely more than a whisper. "How is my Godson?"

Remus winced but quickly hid it with a small smile. "Harry is safe, Sirius. He's at Hogwarts, and he's doing well. Dumbledore keeps me updated with monthly letters, I'm sure you'll be getting them now too."

"James and Lily…" Sirius managed a weak smile through his tears. "Have you been taking care of him? Where have you guys been living?"

"Dumbledore wouldn't tell me where Harry's been living." Remus shook his head sadly at the fact that he was never allowed to visit or raise the pup. "Said it was safer if no one knew where he was living, that way no one can make any attempt on his life after getting the information from one of us." 

"Bollocks to that!" Sirius exclaimed, taking a deep, steadying breath, feeling a glimmer of hope amidst the fuckery that was the last decade. If anyone was going to raise the pup, then it was going to be him. He needed to be raised like a true Marauder, not like whatever the fuck Wormtail turned out to be. "Where the bloody hell is the cunt? I need to give my statement to get this over with. I need to see my Godson!"

Hearing his stomach rumble, he added, "And someone get me some bloody food!"

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Hogwarts - Headmaster's office

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Taking his hand out of the Pensive, Severus opened his eyes again, blinking a few times to allow his eyes to adjust to the afternoon sunlight coming through the large windows. Not listening to the Headmaster's warning about rushing into the memory seemed like a bad idea now.

"And you still don't believe he could be the next Dark Lord?" The Potion's master questioned as he peered at the man who could have easily closed the curtain with a wave of his wand but chose not to. Talk about being unnecessarily petty. Sighing, Snape limped over to the desk and took a seat in one of the free chairs.

"Oh, I have no doubt that he could be the next Dark Lord. Anyone could, really." Dumbledore answered casually, putting another lemon drop in his mouth. "I have, however, come to the conclusion that, should he ever turn on the world, it will have been retribution for something society had done to him." 

"You have only met him once before attending Hogwarts and once afterwards. The last time you were able to get even a semblance of his mind was when he was barely a child out of diapers." Snape pointed out. "You don't know the boy."

"I am not naive enough to believe there is not even a single chance he could be influenced into going down the wrong path." Dumbledore shot back, shaking his head. "I am simply saying all we would have to do is keep his connections to certain families to a minimum."

"Yes, controlling a child's group of friends, much like the Weasley and Potter brat," Snape drawled, eyeing the Headmaster suspiciously. Of all the people on the train, there had to be a reason Potter ended up with the Weasleys, and Snape suspected the Headmaster had something to do with it. All he was able to confirm was that they used the muggle entrance to the train station, which made no sense considering they were purebloods and had never done so before.

The comment went ignored as Dumbledore put another lemon drop in his mouth before continuing, "He is spending time with Ms Greengrass, sort of a tutoring arrangement on weekends in Exchange for books and knowledge on magic. I assume they primarily want him for his potential to find a cure for their family Blood Maladictus curse."

"They are part of the Neutral Faction and were never Death Eaters. Solving that curse would benefit everyone involved, along with the rest of the magical world," Snape responded, having no doubt the school painting provided that bit of information. Unless the Headmaster himself made it a habit of following the boy around. "What would be the problem with his connection to them?"

"Well, as remarkable as Mr Grey's talent with magic is, there is always the possibility that he will be unable to succeed in that endeavour, as many before him have also," Dumbledore explained. "When that time comes, I would like to make sure he isn't discarded to the wolves, as they say."

Snape continued for him, "You want to make sure he isn't used as some kind of sacrifice to Death Eaters, depriving you of yet another powerful asset."

Dumbledore 'humm'ed but said nothing, going back to his sweets.

"The warning you had me give to the students was enough to stop aggression towards the boy, not that he needed it," Snape said. "If anything, we saved the rest of the school from him fighting back against his aggressors. They changed their tactics after seeing what he's capable of."

"-And chose to get on his good side to gain his trust and assistance,I'm aware." Dumbledore continued for him as he interlocked his fingers, having finally had enough sweets. At least for the next few seconds. If it wasn't for magic, Snape was almost certain the headmaster would be struggling to chew his food.

"We can't exactly punish students for being nice, now can we?" Snape questioned with a slight frown, before elaborating. "They would go straight to their parents and it will just look like you were making a political move. The Wazingmot would be against you, even the ones on your side."

"Indeed," Dumbledore agreed with a nod. "But we can offer him the information he requires ourselves, he will no longer need their assistance-"

"-And will be indebted to you," Snapes said, leaning back in his chair, only to raise an eyebrow after a moment's thought. "You plan to use the Black Library. Get Serius to give him access as a 'thank-you' for getting him out of Azkaban. That way, there won't be any political blowback whatsoever."

Dumbledore nodded, "I will converse with Lord Black soon. Hopefully, it won't be a problem."

"Cygnus can't be happy about that," Snape pointed out. "One second, he's Lord Black and looking forward to having his grandson, Draco, take over when he's gone. The next, he's having to give it all up to the nephew he thought was disowned, leaving his direct descendant to dry."

Snape found it rather amusing, watching Malfoy Sr venting his frustrations earlier through the flew network. It didn't help that Cygnus already had one foot in the grave with his health declining. If Sirius had been released a while later, they may have had at least something to grasp onto.

"Oh, I'm sure they will get along just fine," Dumbledore shrugged, eyes twinkling for the first time during the conversation. "Nothing beats a good family reunion."

"Just keep the mutt out of the school. He's caused more than enough trouble here as is." Snape sneered as he made his way to his feet, heading for the door.

"Do remember to keep an ear to the ground would you?" The Headmaster added just as he reached the door.

"I always do."

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Hogwarts - Second-floor girls' lavatory

Johnathan Grey

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"~Open~" I ordered in Parselmouth, standing directly in front of the snake-engraved sink. Then the sink began to move, stone shifting, much like the entrance to Diagon Alley, revealing a large gaping hole leading down. I made sure to have a ward set up to prevent any noise but did nothing else to prevent people from coming to find me. Myrtle was already enough to put most people off using these toilets anyway.

"~Stairs~," I voiced again. Seeing nothing happened, I shrugged. It was worth a shot, at least. Using [Dragon Body], I reinforce my body before jumping down down the pipe, the slick, cold surface rushing past me as I descended. Landing gracefully at the bottom, no doubt a by-product of the Dragonborn adventures, I quickly cast [Magelight] spell to illuminate the surroundings. The glowing orb of light hovered above my left hand, as I used the other to continuously cast others on the damp, stone walls as I moved forward.

Making my way through the long, twisting corridor, the air grew colder as time went on, and the sound of dripping water echoed around me. Then I was met with the pale, dry husk of shed Basilisk skin. Not one to waste potential Ritual of Potion's ingredient, I reached down to touch the rough, scaly texture and placed it in the Hoard with a thought.

"Definitely going to make a belt," I muttered. Continuing on, I approached the massive, enchanted, heavy steel hatchway door adorned with seven snake-shaped locks

"~Open~" Speaking in Parseltongue again, the snakes began to slither, unlocking the mechanisms with a series of metallic clicks. The eighth, larger snake, slithered around the edge of the door, completing the sequence. Yeah, taking that enchantment. Sharing is caring, Salazar, you know how it is. Now, lay back in your grave and watch as I kill your pet.

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"Dementors Force Us To Live Our Very Worst Memories. Our Pain Becomes Their Power."

— Remus Lupin

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