Wandless - A Harry Potter Fanfic 28 Chapter 10 - The Story Of Sirius Black And Hells Hunter

"You have to eat something Harry," Vincent advised as he watched Harry look extremely nervous for the upcoming quidditch match.

"I know, I know," Harry said as he looked outside at the stormy weather. "Why aren't you out there setting up?"

"Do you think I can set up in this rain," Vincent said feeling down. "I would have asked the teachers for help, but everyone's on alert due to Sirius Black."

Hermione and Ron silently sat down at their table, not looking happy at all. Arnya took a seat next to Hermione and silently poured some apple juice for herself.

"Crookshanks?" Vincent guessed making Hermione and Ron glare at each other again.

"Her cat keeps coming into our dorm to attack Scabbers!" Ron said angrily. "Hermione has not kept her eye on it, letting the b.l.o.o.d.y thing do whatever it wants! Not to mention it always goes after him, why not anything else?! You know Scabbers is sick!"

"It's a cat Ron! Cat's eat mice!" Hermione argued back. "It could probably smell Scabbers!"

Harry and Vincent both looked at each other with helpless expressions. While they can see Ron's point, being that Hermione should keep her pet under control, they did think that Ron taking all his anger out on Hermione was a little to much.

"Then again, if it wasn't for Crookshanks, I wouldn't have spotted Sirius," Vincent thought before pausing. "But it does seem a little coincidental. Why was Crookshanks out there in the first place?"

Vincent felt like he was on the verge of something and folded his arms, "Let's a.s.sume the possibility, no matter how small, that Crookshanks is indeed working with Sirius Black. Crookshanks walking to the front door and leaving could have been a signal of sorts to Sirius to enter or something. But if Crookshanks is working with Sirius Black, why doesn't Crookshanks get what Black wants, it's only been after Scabbers so far."

"It's time, Harry," Oliver Wood came over and patted Harry's back. "We can beat Diggory, I know it!"

"See you guys in a bit," Harry waved at the group as he left.

"Hope he'll be fine," Vincent muttered with Arnya nodding beside him.

"The storm is pretty bad isn't it?" said Arnya.

Hermione and Ron didn't even so much as look at each other as they made their way to the stands. Vincent had received plenty of hopeful looks that turned disappointment as they noticed none of his cooking materials were with him.

"A lot of the students were looking forward to it," Hermione said, finally smiling a little. "I could have helped you set up something waterproof."

"It's not the stand I was worried about, but the food," Vincent explained. "No one likes eating soggy food."

Hermione then started talking with Arnya while Vincent and Ron walked silently behind.

"Ron, I know you're mad," Vincent whispered. "But don't take it out on Hermione like that."

Ron sighed in frustration. "I know, I know ok? But she doesn't keep an eye on her pet and lets it do whatever it wants no matter how many times I tell her. Not to mention that she knows that Scabbers is sick."

"I know, but at least try." Vincent left it off with that as they entered the stands, the rain belting at them.

"Isn't there a spell that can keep us dry?" Vincent yelled over the noise. "A s.h.i.+eld charm perhaps?"

"A s.h.i.+eld charm on a large scale would interfere with the game, even if its on the stands due to players flying over them!" Ron answered surprising the rest making him turn slightly red. "What?! I know quidditch too!"

"Impervious!" Hermione called, pointing her wand at Vincent, Arnya, and Ron. Soon, they felt the rain slide off them, as if it was evading them.

"Convenient," Arnya praised.

"Thanks Hermione," said Vincent. "Wouldn't the Harry benefit from this?"

Hermione clapped her hands in realisation. "Oh! That's right! I'll help him at the next break."

The game wasn't pleasant to watch, the rain and flashes of lightning made it hard to make what the players were doing. If it wasn't for Lee Jordan's commentary then no one would even know what was going on.

During their break time, Hermione rushed down to help Harry.

"It's not looking good for Gryffindor," Ron cursed. "Who knew the Hufflepuffs were this good?!"

"It's not just the Gryffindor team that practiced hard," Vincent commented. "Cedric is a great captain so it's no surprise that their good. Although, Wood's not a push over either."

As they were talking, Arnya felt a chill and looked around the stage. She then spotted in the distance, a flutter of black and narrowed her eyes. She tugged at Vincent's sleeve and brought his head down for him to hear.

"Dementors, at least a hundred are heading here," Vincent's eyes widened.

He nodded in understanding before das.h.i.+ng off through the crowd with Arnya trailing behind, although slower.

"Just helped Harry—wheres Vincent and Arnya?" Hermione asked as she made her way back.

Vincent ignored all the cries of annoyance and anger against him as he pushed through the crowd. He couldn't see the Dementors, but he trusted in Arnya's claim as he headed towards the teachers booth.

"Against these things, I can't do squat," Vincent thought as he took out gloves which he slipped on. "This is taking too long."

He then jumped on the edge of the stand, with voices of surprise behind him, and threw a pulse potion down and stretched out both his hands. One of them emitted a s.h.i.+eld in front of him while the other was concentrated on the potion that started flying back.

"I might be mad after all," Vincent smiled sourly as he jumped down, using the s.h.i.+eld to connect with the potion bottle.

...

Professor Snape has his usual glare as he sat in the teachers stand. His glare was set on a certain boy flying in the rain, looking for the golden snitch, just like someone he knew so long ago.

He absolutely loathed how alike they both were and continued glaring until a large bang from the stands sounded, making all the teachers look curiously to see a figure zooming straight towards them on a transparent s.h.i.+eld. Snape felt gobsmacked as the figure zoomed straight towards him.

BANG!

Vincent got up and looked around for Dumbledore who sat there stunned at his entrance among other teachers.

"Vincent, what—?"

"No time Professor," Vincent interrupted the Headmaster who looked taken aback. "Dementors, about a hundred, heading here right now!"

Dumbledore turned stern and a hint of fire flashed through his eyes, "Are you certain?"

"Arnya said it," Vincent stated.

"...Very well," Dumbledore nodded, knowing how powerful a vampires sight was. He then coughed. "While I am thankful for the information, would you be so kind as to get off Professor Snape?"

Vincent looked confused before he turned pale. Without looking down, he carefully made his way off his landing site before a hand grabbed his leg.

Vincent's felt his brow twitch as he looked down to see a scarily calm Snape glaring at him.

"Prof—Professor," Vincent weakly smiled. "Fancy meeting you down there."

"I'll, deal...with...you later," Snape muttered as he shakily got up and stumbled towards Dumbledore, leaving Vincent to have, despite the weather, cold sweat flow down his back.

"I'm so dead," Vincent thought.

Dumbledore stood at the front and pointed his wand at his throat and yelled in a voice that boomed around the stadium. "Silence!"

Everyone in the Quidditch match stopped talking as they turned their attention to Dumbledore.

"Dementors have been spotted making their way here!" chatter rose among the students. "Keep calm, the teachers of Hogwarts will protect you and make sure none of you are harmed! Please exit in an orderly manner!"

"What's happening up there?!" someone in the crowd yelled, making everyone look up. Some girls screamed as they noticed the commotion high above the stadium.

"Harry!" Vincent noticed it as well, his face going pale as he saw Harry seemingly avoiding something far up in the sky. "Harry fainted the last time he encountered a Dementor, if he faints now—!"

Just as Vincent feared, Harry's figure seemed to go limp and he fell off his broom which got blown away. As Harry's body picked up speed Dumbledore muttered a spell before pointing at Harry, slowing his body to a degree and softly landed on the ground.

Cedric flew down seconds later to make sure that Harry was alright along the rest of the team. Vincent sighed in relief before looking at Dumbledore who made an expression that Vincent had never seen before.

He was furious.

Dumbledore strode out of the stand just as Arnya entered. "You warned them?"

"Yeah, thanks for the warning," Vincent said gratefully.

Arnya looked at him and nodded. Vincent swore he saw a flash of a smile.

He then noticed Dumbledore storm onto the field. He suddenly had a very chilly feeling. "How many Dementors are here?"

"...A lot," Arnya said as she looked around. "But don't worry, even though I never witnessed it personally, Dumbledore should be able to—"

"GET OUT OF MY SIGHT!" They heard Dumbledore bellow as he raised his wand, releasing a faint wisp of light became stronger, forming a pheonix of sorts which flew into the sky. Instantly, Vincent felt the chilly feeling disappear with a warmer feeling entering his body in place of it.

"What kind of spell is that?" Vincent thought as he stared at the mighty image of the conjured phoenix, staring down on them from above.

"His Patronus spell blew away all of the Dementors," said Arnya. "No wonder he's regarded as the strongest wizard alive."

"A patronus spell?" Vincent questioned.

"A defensive charm of the highest grade," Vincent turned to the side to see Snape looking down at the scene with his usual glare. "Also known as the only spell to work against Dementors."

"Really? That's amazing," Vincent muttered as he stared at the Phoenix beating its wings.

...

"Sorry Harry, this was all that could be recovered," Hermione said as she showed a bedded Harry his Nimbus, or what remained of his Nimbus.

"What on earth happened?" Vincent said looking at the spread out sheet full of splinters. "It looks like it got hit by the Whomping Willow."

Vincent noticed the look on Hermione and Ron's face and felt his eye twitch. "It hit the Whomping Willow didn't it?"

"It hit the Whomping Willow," they both confirmed, all signs of aggression from earlier gone.

Harry just sat there, lifeless at what he had just experienced. Adding the state of the broomstick probably did not help his mental state.

"Harry, will you be—?" Hermione asked concerned.

"I'll be fine, just, leave me alone for a bit," Harry said rather quickly.

Vincent gave a pat on a dejected Hermione's shoulder before turning to Harry, "Well, get better soon."

"Yeah, sure," Harry muttered as they all walked out.

It was only once they were outside did Ron start cursing.

"Hufflepuff won?! Why?! How?!" said Ron angrily. "They only won by default due to the lead in points! If those Dementor's didn't interrupt, Harry would have caught the snitch!"

"Calm down Ron," said Vincent. "the important thing is that Harry didn't go splat on the ground."

Ron blankly looked at Vincent. "This is how you comfort people?"

"...I admit I could have phrased that better," Vincent coughed.

Hermione sighed before looking at Vincent. "Mind explaining what you did back there?"

Vincent gave a confused look at Hermione when she pointed at the gloves which he was still wearing. "What exactly did you do?"

"Oh, it's a new rune I got from Ollivander, allows me to pull items towards me," Vincent explained as he took of the rune from his right hand. "All I did was use a pulse potion to collide with the s.h.i.+eld on my left to launch me towards the teachers stand."

"...You're—you know what, I shouldn't even surprised anymore," Hermione sighed.

When they made it back to their common room, Ron glared at Crookshanks that loitered around the boys dorm and pushed it to the side with his leg.

"Move you sick little ginger—something," Ron growled as he entered the dorm.

Vincent scratched Crookshanks behind the ears and looked at the mangy cat with curiosity. No matter how ridiculous thought it was, he couldn't rule out the fact that Crookshanks is working with Sirius Black.

"Don't know if you understand me, but if you visit Sirius, then take this note to him," Vincent held a letter that Crookshanks followed with it's eyes. "This is going to be on my desk, think you can do that?"

Crookshanks meowed as he rubbed his head against Vincent's leg before strolling off.

"Think it understood me?" Vincent asked Blimp which sat in his pocket. Nyx decided to wander off on its own so he had no idea where she had gone.

Blimp just looked up at him making Vincent roll his eyes. "If you weren't cute, I would have sold you."

During the weekend, Harry was not allowed to head out throughout that whole time. He did receive a stream of visitors that included Hagrid, McGonagall and his Quidditch team which visited him on a daily basis. Cedric also came by to offer his condolences, which if said by any other person, it would be like bragging to Harry about his victory. But from Cedric, he looked extremely sincere and apologetic about the whole match, making it hard for anyone to hate him.

Harry's return, although joyous, was accompanied by the teasing of Malfoy and his gang that imitated Dementors. Vincent had to physically restrain Ron from throwing a crocodile heart at Malfoy during potions.

"Let me at him, Vince, let go of me," Ron muttered.

"Are you mad?!" Vincent whispered desperately. "He's goading you, and Snape's here."

Ron angrily glared at Malfoy who looked absolutely pleased with himself. Ron took a deep breath. "I'm calm, let me go now."

"Great, now let's—" Vincent turned back to his potion making only to hear a loud splat accompanied by a girlish scream.

"Weasley, fifty points from Gryffindor," Snape's droning voice came as he waved his wand, removing the blood and gored from Malfoy's gagging face.

Vincent turned to Ron who spread his hands. "Worth it."

Professor Lupin was back much to the joy of everyone. He did indeed look like he had just recovered from a sickness with the dark bags under his eyes and his clothes looking more than a little roughed up.

He cancelled the essay that Snape had a.s.signed them, leaving only Hermione dismayed.

"I've already finished it," said Hermione, looking disappointed. Arnya just gave her an encouraging pat on the back.

The lesson was far more enjoyable then their previous one, they were taught about small creatures known as Hinkypunks that Lupin had brung in a small gla.s.s box, small one-legged creatures that were made of smoke.

"Lures travelers into bogs," said Professor Lupin as they took notes. "You notice the lanterndangling from his hand? Hops ahead—people follow the light—then—"

The Hinkypunk made a horrible squelching noise against the gla.s.s.

After the lesson, as they were heading out, Harry was called back by Professor Lupin for a chat.

"Wonder what that's about?" Ron wondered out loud.

"Probably about the Quidditch match," Hermione said.

"Well, Lupin wasn't there..." Vincent muttered before noticing that Hermione wasn't next to them anymore.

"I guess, hey, there's another Hogsmeade trip right on the last weekend of the term, what should we do then, Hermione?" Ron finally noticed the absence of Hermione and looked around weirdly. "That's funny, I swear she was right next to us."

Vincent and Arnya exchanged knowing looks.

During the last few weeks of the term, Hogwarts was filled with the Christmas spirit. Teachers decorated their cla.s.srooms and students were all happily discussing their holidays. Like last year, Vincent was heading back to London.

Although Vincent knew that Sister An would continue to help if asked, he also didn't want to s.h.i.+rk away from his responsibilities. Vincent knew that the only reason she did this was to give him the chance to attend school, something he had never done before. She knew that Vincent would continue to feel guilty if he abandoned his self-proclaimed responsibility for something that he wanted to do, so she decided that this was the least she could do for him. Ron and Hermione decided to stay at Hogwarts to keep Harry company, seeing as how he definitely needed it after his recent experience.

The day before the trip to Hogsmeade, Arnya made her way to Professor McGonagall's office with a parchment in her hand.

"Here's my permission slip," Arnya pa.s.sed Professor McGonagall who took the parchment with a complicated expression.

"Arnya," Professor McGonagall looked inside and felt her brows twitch when she saw the signature. "Your circ.u.mstances were told to me by Dumbledore, you did not need a permission slip."

Arnya and Professor McGonagall just stayed silent as they stared at each other. Time ticked by as the atmosphere got more awkward.

"Well, excuse me," Arnya said before silently wheeling herself out, leaving Professor McGonagall to look at the 'signature'.

"...Some signature," she thought as she looked at the b.l.o.o.d.y handprint on the parchment attached with some words:

LET MY DAUGHTER GO...OR ELSE

"Does Dracula know how to do a signature?" Professor McGonagall thought.

On the Sat.u.r.day of the final week of the term, Vincent and company waved goodbye to Harry as they made their way to Hogsmeade.

"So where to first?" Ron asked as the group.

"I was thinking we could do some Christmas shopping, how about Honeydukes?" Hermione asked. She turned to Arnya. "There's more of those blood flavoured lollipops there."

Arnya's eyes sparkled as she immediately followed Hermione while Ron and Vincent just looked at each other.

"Honeydukes it is then." said Ron.

Vincent found Arnya in front of the unusual taste's section and was eyeing all the candy there.

"So vampires do like blood?" Vincent asked as he walked up.

Arnya nodded, not turning her head. "For vampires, it's a delicacy. However, ever since the non-aggression pact with the Ministry, it's extremely rare for us to have any."

"Huh," Vincent thought. He then picked up a blood flavoured toffee. "Pick what you want, I'll buy it for you."

"You sure?" Arnya asked.

"Yeah, why not?"

"Should we get some for Harry too?" Ron asked as he came over

"I think their only for vampires," said Hermione with a bag of sweets she's planning to buy at her side.

"Then what about these?" Ron picked up a jar of c.o.c.kroach cl.u.s.ters and held it up to Vincent who shook his head.

"Definitely not," Vincent said along with a familiar voice behind them.

Ron, startled, nearly dropped the jar when they turned to see Harry standing there smiling at them.

"Harry!" squealed Hermione. "What are you doing here? How—how did you—?"

"Wow!" said Ron, looking very impressed, "you've learned to Apparate!"

"Course I haven't," said Harry as he rummaged through his pockets. He then pulled out a parchment. "Fred and George gave me this."

"And what exactly is 'this'?" Vincent asked with interest.

Harry toned down his voice to a whisper, "It's a map that shows everything and everyone on Hogwarts. It's activated by a certain sentence."

"How come Fred and George never gave it to me!" said Ron, outraged. "I'm their brother!"

"But Harry isn't going to keep it!" said Hermione, as though the idea were ludicrous. "He's going to hand it in to Professor McGonagall, aren't you, Harry?"

"No, I'm not!" said Harry, sounding horrified at the thought.

"Are you mad?" said Ron, goggling at Hermione. "Hand in something that good?"

"If I hand it in, I'll have to say where I got it! Filch would know Fred and George had nicked it!"

"But what about Sirius Black?" Hermione hissed. "He could be using one of the pa.s.sages on that map to get into the castle! The teachers have got to know!"

"He can't be getting in through a pa.s.sage," said Harry quickly. "There are seven secret tunnelson the map, right? Fred and George reckon Filch already knows about four of them. And of theother three—one of them's caved in, so no one can get through it. One of them's got theWhomping Willow planted over the entrance, so you can't get out of it. And the one I just camethrough—well—it's really hard to see the entrance to it down in the cellar—so unless heknew it was there—"

Vincent cut in, "Where abouts is the entrance that you went through?"

"Through the three eyed-statue on the third floor—"

"That was where I had lost Sirius the night I chased him." Vincent said seriously, making the group turn pale.

"B-but look," Ron pointed to a notice placed on the door to Honeydukes.

//BY ORDER OF THE MINISTRY OF MAGIC

Customers are reminded that until further notice, Dementors will be patrolling the streets ofHogsmeade every night after sundown. This measure has been put in place for the safety ofHogsmeade residents and will be lifted upon the recapture of Sirius Black. It is thereforeadvisable that you complete your shopping well before nightfall.

//End Notice

"That notice means nothing," Vincent shook his head. "Sirius could escape Azkaban, is it that unlikely that he could pa.s.s the Dementors here?"

A grave silence fell over the group. Vincent sighed. "Well you're here now, nothing else we can do." He gave a smile. "Let's just enjoy today, then we can decide what to do from there."

"Yeah, forget about all this downer stuff," Ron said enthusiastically. "We have to show you around now that you're here."

Hermione sighed. "Don't say I didn't warn you."

"Have you seen the Jelly Slugs," Ron showed Harry around Honeydukes leaving Hermione looking ticked off.

"Don't just ignore me!"

They all paid for their sweets before leaving the sweet shop. The whole of Hogsmeade was filled with the Christmas spirit, with all the snow and decorations, it felt extremely cosy.

Vincent pa.s.sed a spare cloak from his bag to Harry who nodded in thanks as he put it on.

"What doesn't that bag have?" Harry asked.

"Anything I'm not prepared for," Vincent gave a vague answer.

Ron and Hermione were all pointing out all the shops as they pa.s.sed.

"—we could visit the Shrieking Shack."

"—or Zonkos—"

"Hey why don't we take a look at the Three Broomsticks, b.u.t.terbeer would be nice right now," Ron suggested.

There was no argument as a majority of them were freezing. They entered the small in where they found seats.

It was extremely crowded, noisy, warm, and smoky. A curvy sort of woman with a pretty face was serving a bunch of rowdy warlocks up at the bar.

"That's Madam Rosmerta," said Ron. "I'll get the drinks, shall I?" he added, going slightly red.

"He fancies her?" Harry asked, leaving Vincent and Hermione to sigh.

They made their way to the back of the room, where there was a small, vacant table between the window and a handsome Christmas tree, which stood next to the fireplace. Ron came back five minutes later, carrying five foaming tankards of hot b.u.t.terbeer.

"Merry Christmas!" he said happily, raising his tankard.

Vincent took a sip and sighed, while the drink was indeed delicious, it did feel a little sugary. He was interested in how to replicate the same warmth the drink gave but then grimaced when he considered the possibility of magic being used.

"Everything has magic, even the food," Vincent thought.

A sudden breeze brushed past his skin. The door of the Three Broomsticks had opened again.

Professors McGonagall and Flitwick had just entered the pub with a flurry of snowflakes, shortly followed by Hagrid, who was deep in conversation with a portly man in a lime-green bowler hat and a pinstriped cloak — Cornelius Fudge, Minister of Magic.

In an instant, Ron and Hermione had both placed hands on the top of Harry's head and forced him off his stool and under the table while Vincent and Arnya shuffled around to block him from view.

Somewhere above him, Hermione whispered, "Mobiliarbus!"

The Christmas tree beside their table rose a few inches off the ground, drifted sideways, and landed with a soft thump right in front of their table, hiding them from view.

"A small gillywater —"

"Mine," said Professor McGonagall's voice.

"Four pints of mulled mead —"

"Ta, Rosmerta," said Hagrid. "A cherry syrup and soda with ice and umbrella—"

"Mmm!" said Professor Flitwick, smacking his lips.

"So you'll be the red currant rum, Minister."

"Thank you, Rosmerta, m'dear," said Fudge's voice. "Lovely to see you again, I must say. Have one yourself, won't you? Come and join us..."

"Well, thank you very much, Minister."

Vincent took another sip of his drink, curious to what brought the Minister here.

"So, what brings you to this neck of the woods, Minister?" came Madam Rosmerta's voice.

Fudge made a sound, as if looking around for anyone listening in before talking quiet voice, "What else, m'dear, but Sirius Black? I daresay you heard what happened up at the school at Halloween?"

"I did hear a rumor," admitted Madam Rosmerta. "I'm amazed at muggle boy, Vincent right?"

"Did you tell the whole pub, Hagrid?" said Professor McGonagall exasperatedly before answering. "What he did was reckless. No child should have to fight against murderers."

Vincent coughed silently as everyone looked at him weirdly, with Hermione mouthing, 'have you?'

Vincent mouthed back 'not now."

"Do you think Black's still in the area, Minister?" whispered Madam Rosmerta.

"I'm sure of it," said Fudge shortly.

"You know that the Dementors have searched the whole village twice?" said Madam Rosmerta, a slight edge to her voice. "Scared all my customers away... It's very bad for business, Minister."

"Rosmerta, dear, I don't like them any more than you do," said Fudge uncomfortably. "Necessary precaution... unfortunate, but there you are... I've just met some of them. They're in a fury against Dumbledore—he won't let them inside the castle grounds."

"I should think not," said Professor McGonagall sharply. "How are we supposed to teach with those horrors floating around?"

"Hear, hear!" squeaked tiny Professor Flitwick, whose feet were dangling a foot from the ground.

"All the same," demurred Fudge, "they are here to protect you all from something much worse... We all know what Black's capable of..."

"Do you know, I still have trouble believing it," said Madam Rosmerta thoughtfully. "Of all the people to go over to the Dark Side, Sirius Black was the last I'd have thought... I mean, I remember him when he was a boy at Hogwarts. If you'd told me then what he was going to become, I'd have said you'd had too much mead."

Vincent places down his mug in interest. He knew that Sirius was accused of betraying the Potters, but how, he didn't know. His eyes went to Harry's who looked interested. Vincent started worrying about how Harry will react to the information, but was brought back to the conversation at hand.

"You don't know the half of it, Rosmerta," said Fudge gruffly. "The worst he did isn't widely known."

"The worst?" said Madam Rosmerta, her voice alive with curiosity. "Worse than murdering all those poor people, you mean?"

"I certainly do," said Fudge.

"I can't believe that. What could possibly be worse?"

"You say you remember him at Hogwarts, Rosmerta," murmured Professor McGonagall. "Do you remember who his best friend was?"

"Naturally," said Madam Rosmerta, with a small laugh. "Never saw one without the other, did you? The number of times I had them in here — ooh, they used to make me laugh. Quite the double act, Sirius Black and James Potter!"

Vincent heard Harry drop his tankard with a loud clunk.
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"Precisely," said Professor McGonagall. "Black and Potter. Ringleaders of their little gang. Both very bright, of course—exceptionally bright, in fact—but I don't think we've ever had such a pair of troublemakers—"

"I dunno," chuckled Hagrid. "Fred and George Weasley could give 'em a run fer their money. Even Vincent set a new record of blowing up the a majority of the school."

"You'd have thought Black and Potter were brothers!" chimed in Professor Flitwick. "Inseparable!"

"Of course they were," said Fudge. "Potter trusted Black beyond all his other friends. Nothing changed when they left school. Black was best man when James married Lily. Then they named him G.o.dfather to Harry. Harry has no idea, of course. You can imagine how the idea would torment him."

"Because Black turned out to be in league with You-Know-Who?" whispered Madam Rosmerta.

"Worse even than that, m'dear..." Fudge dropped his voice and proceeded in a sort of low rumble. "Not many people are aware that the Potters knew You-Know-Who was after them. Dumbledore, who was of course working tirelessly against You-Know-Who, had a number of useful spies. One of them tipped him off, and he alerted James and Lily at once. He advised them to go into hiding. Well, of course, You-Know-Who wasn't an easy person to hide from. Dumbledore told them that their best chance was the Fidelius Charm."

"Dumbledore knew he was after them?" Vincent thought, frowning.

"How does that work?" said Madam Rosmerta, breathless with interest. Professor Flitwick cleared his throat.

"An immensely complex spell," he said squeakily, "involving the magical concealment of a secret inside a single, living soul. The information is hidden inside the chosen person, or SecretKeeper, and is henceforth impossible to find — unless, of course, the Secret-Keeper chooses to divulge it. As long as the Secret-Keeper refused to speak, You-Know-Who could search the village where Lily and James were staying for years and never find them, not even if he had his nose pressed against their sitting room window!"

"So Black was the Potters' Secret-Keeper?" whispered Madam Rosmerta.

"Naturally," said Professor McGonagall. "James Potter told Dumbledore that Black would die rather than tell where they were, that Black was planning to go into hiding himself... and yet, Dumbledore remained worried. I remember him offering to be the Potters' Secret-Keeper himself."

"He suspected Black?" gasped Madam Rosmerta.

"He was sure that somebody close to the Potters had been keeping You-Know-Who informed of their movements," said Professor McGonagall darkly. "Indeed, he had suspected for some time that someone on our side had turned traitor and was pa.s.sing a lot of information to You- KnowWho."

"But James Potter insisted on using Black?"

"He did," said Fudge heavily. "And then, barely a week after the Fidelius Charm had been performed—"

"Black betrayed them?" breathed Madam Rosmerta.

"He did indeed. Black was tired of his double-agent role, he was ready to declare his support openly for You-Know-Who, and he seems to have planned this for the moment of the Potters' death. But, as we all know, You-Know-Who met his downfall in little Harry Potter. Powers gone, horribly weakened, he fled. And this left Black in a very nasty position indeed. His master had fallen at the very moment when he, Black, had shown his true colors as a traitor. He had no choice but to run for it—"

"Filthy, stinkin' turncoat!" Hagrid said, so loudly that half the bar went quiet.

"Shh!" said Professor McGonagall.

"I met him!" growled Hagrid. "I musta bin the last ter see him before he killed all them people! It was me what rescued Harry from Lily an' James's house after they was killed! Jus' got him outta the ruins, poor little thing, with a great slash across his forehead, an' his parents dead... an' Sirius Black turns up, on that flyin' motorbike he used ter ride. Never occurred ter me what he was doin' there. I didn' know he'd bin Lily an' James's Secret-Keeper. Thought he'd jus' heard the news o' You-Know- Who's attack an' come ter see what he could do. White an' shakin', he was. An' yeh know what I did? I COMFORTED THE MURDERIN' TRAITOR!" Hagrid roared.

"Hagrid, please!" said Professor McGonagall. "Keep your voice down!"

"How was I ter know he wasn' upset abou' Lily an' James? It was You-Know-Who he cared abou'! An' then he says, 'Give Harry ter me, Hagrid, I'm his G.o.dfather, I'll look after him —' Ha! But I'd had me orders from Dumbledore, an' I told Black no, Dumbledore said Harry was ter go ter his aunt an' uncle's. Black argued, but in the end he gave in. Told me ter take his motorbike ter get Harry there. 'I won't need it anymore,' he says.

"I shoulda known there was somethin' fishy goin' on then. He loved that motorbike, what was he givin' it ter me for? Why wouldn' he need it anymore? Fact was, it was too easy ter trace. Dumbledore knew he'd bin the Potters' Secret-Keeper. Black knew he was goin' ter have ter run fer it that night, knew it was a matter o' hours before the Ministry was after him."

"But what if I'd given Harry to him, eh? I bet he'd've pitched him off the bike halfway out ter sea. His bes' friends' son! But when a wizard goes over ter the Dark Side, there's nothin' and no one that matters to em anymore..."

A long silence followed Hagrid's story. Then Madam Rosmerta said with some satisfaction, "But he didn't manage to disappear, did he? The Ministry of Magic caught up with him next day!"

"Alas, if only we had," said Fudge bitterly. "It was not we who found him. It was little Peter Pettigrew — another of the Potters' friends. Maddened by grief, no doubt, and knowing that Black had been the Potters' Secret-Keeper, he went after Black himself."

This time, it was Vincent that dropped his jug. His eyes widened in pure shock as he took in the information.

"Pettigrew... that fat little boy who was always tagging around after them at Hogwarts?" said Madam Rosmerta.

"Hero—wors.h.i.+pped Black and Potter," said Professor McGonagall. "Never quite in their league, talent-wise. I was often rather sharp with him. You can imagine how I—how I regret that now..." She sounded as though she had a sudden head cold.

"There, now, Minerva," said Fudge kindly, "Pettigrew died a hero's death. Eyewitnesses—Muggles, of course, we wiped their memories later—told us how Pettigrew cornered Black. They say he was sobbing, 'Lily and James, Sirius! How could you?' And then he went for his wand. Well, of course, Black was quicker. Blew Pettigrew to smithereens..."

Professor McGonagall blew her nose and said thickly, "Stupid boy... foolish boy... he was always hopeless at dueling... should have left it to the Ministry..."

"I tell yeh, if I'd got ter Black before little Pettigrew did, I wouldn't've messed around with wands—I'd 've ripped him limb—from—limb," Hagrid growled.

"You don't know what you're talking about, Hagrid," said Fudge sharply. "n.o.body but trained Hit Wizards from the Magical Law Enforcement Squad would have stood a chance against Black once he was cornered. I was Junior Minister in the Department of Magical Catastrophes at the time, and I was one of the first on the scene after Black murdered all those people. I — I will never forget it. I still dream about it sometimes. A crater in the middle of the street, so deep it had cracked the sewer below. Bodies everywhere. Muggles screaming. And Black standing there laughing, with what was left of Pettigrew in front of him... a heap of bloodstained robes and a few — a few fragments—" Fudge's voice stopped abruptly. There was the sound of five noses being blown.

"Well, there you have it, Rosmerta," said Fudge thickly. "Black was taken away by twenty members of the Magical Law Enforcement Squad and Pettigrew received the Order of Merlin, First Cla.s.s, which I think was some comfort to his poor mother who died soon after."

"But that's not the worse of it isn't it?" Madam Rosmerta's sniffled voice sounded. "She took it the worse after that didn't she, poor Annie."

Vincent leaned closer, hoping to hear more.

"h.e.l.ls Hunter, Annie Pettigrew," Fudge muttered. "From what I heard, she wasn't even there when it happened, I recall she was at the Wizarding School Uagadou, to study more about self-transfiguration there. I recall her returning for the funeral, face painted in terror, disbelief, and misery. It was a face I'd never forget."

"Yes," McGonagall sniffed. "Poor little Annie, she and Lily stuck together like glue. In fact, despite her low grades, she excelled at practicality. In fact, she created her own spells due to that."

"I remember Annie from school," Madam Rosmerta muttered. "So kind and determined."

"Do you know how she got that nickname?" Fudge questioned solemnly.

"I heard that she went on to 'hunt' plenty of Death Eaters, or so I heard," McGonagall answered. "Just like any other Auror right?"

"If all she did was bring them in, then that would be all," Fudge chuckled darkly. "But why is her t.i.tle just as known among the Ministry as Mad-Eye Moody when he had put away over half of the prisoners in Azkaban?"

Fudge took glance at the people on the table with a grim look. "It's because she didn't bring them in. Not long after the night that Sirius was brought to Azkaban, reports of dead Death Eaters turned up one by one. At first no one cared seeing as how they ruined plenty of lives, but after a while, seeing all of it piling up, the Ministry of Magic had no choice but to investigate this matter. During the investigation, we had just organised a team that included me and Dumbledore himself, to save Frank, and Alice Longbottom from a hideout of Death Eaters. As you know, we were too late." everyone went silent in the memory of Neville's parents. "But what was never leaked to the public, was one of the worse scenes I had ever seen. When we arrived..."

"Death Eaters corpses littered the very ground, with Annie Pettigrew standing above them all like an angel of death."

Everyone at the table went silent from horror and shock. Vincent's mind went blank as he tried to process what exactly he just heard.

"S-She killed all of them?"

"No, when we got there she was about to finish Bellatrix Lestrange off with her sword, dyed red in blood. Even Bellatrix, the mad woman, was absolutely terrified. First time I'd seen her beg for her life actually. If it wasn't for Dumbledore there, she would have continued killing every loose Death Eater," Fudge sighed, tired. "Dumbledore himself had to restrain her by force, where they ended up dueling, her skills were far beyond what anyone had ever seen. It was also the first time in my life where I saw Dumbledore come out injured."

"She injured Dumbledore?!" Hagrid yelped.

"Although Dumbledore was trying to restrain, their dual was one I would never forget," Fudge muttered. "Annie Pettigrew was far more powerful than any of us realised. She managed to combine magic with her skills in a blade to fight in a way I never had imagined. I reckon even Dumbledore had never faced someone that used muggle skills so effectively or magic as creatively as her. Ever seen that scar on Dumbledore's leg? Well that was one of many that was inflicted on him before he won."

"My word," Madam Rosmerta put her hands over her mouth. "What happened to her next?"

"She disappeared from the wizarding world," said Fudge. "Dumbledore and her made arrangements so that she could live out the rest of her life in peace. I think she was running an orphanage or something. But that's it. In all honesty though, I can't blame her. Her best friend dead, her brother dead, her mother dead, all because of someone that she once considered close being a traitor. It's amazing how she didn't lose her mind, or maybe she did."

Madam Rosmerta let out a long sigh before bringing back the conversation to Sirius Black. "Is it true Sirius Black is mad, Minister?"

"I wish I could say that he was," said Fudge slowly. "I certainly believe his master's defeat unhinged him for a while. The murder of Pettigrew and all those Muggles was the action of a cornered and desperate man—cruel... pointless. Yet I met Black on my last inspection of Azkaban. You know, most of the prisoners in there sit muttering to themselves in the dark; there's no sense in them... but I was shocked at how normal Black seemed. He spoke quite rationally to me. It was unnerving. You'd have thought he was merely bored — asked if I'd finished with my newspaper, cool as you please, said he missed doing the crossword. Yes, I was astounded at how little effect the Dementors seemed to be having on him — and he was one of the most heavily guarded in the place, you know. Dementors outside his door day and night."

"But what do you think he's broken out to do?" said Madam Rosmerta. "Good gracious, Minister, he isn't trying to rejoin You-Know-Who, is he?"

"I daresay that is his—er—eventual plan," said Fudge evasively. "But we hope to catch Black long before that. I must say, You-Know-Who alone and friendless is one thing... but give him back his most devoted servant, and I shudder to think how quickly he'll rise again..."

There was a small c.h.i.n.k of gla.s.s on wood. Someone had set down their gla.s.s.

"You know, Cornelius, if you're dining with the headmaster, we'd better head back up to the castle," said Professor McGonagall.

Footsteps sounded out, indicating that they were leaving. The door of the Three Broomsticks opened again, there was another flurry of snow, and the teachers had disappeared.

"Harry? Vincent?"

Ron and Hermione looked at both Harry who returned to his seat and Vincent who sat the silently. They were both staring at them, lost for words.

"I'll meet you guys back," Harry excused himself as he stormed out the inn.

"Harry!" Hermione called as he left. Vincent just watched Harry and felt like he should say something, but after hearing all of that, he didn't know what to say. He was also pretty shocked at what he heard.

"Vincent, you alright?" Arnya's voice brought him back, Vincent gave a wry smile as he got up.

"Yeah, all fine, I think we should head back," Vincent walked out the inn leaving Ron and Hermione to look at his back worryingly while Arnya placed her mug down and followed.