Part I
Part I
"I think you should try and find her again."
Sirius Black, Auror and fallen heir to the infamous House of Black, frowned and looked up from his newspaper to find Remus Lupin, his best mate of ten years and boyfriend of just over two, standing in front of him, looking apprehensive but determined.
After a moment of mutual staring, Remus sat down at the kitchen table and clasped his hands together in front of himself, his hazel eyes watching Sirius carefully. In response, Sirius placed his newspaper down and leaned back in his chair, studying the other man and trying to process the words that he had just heard.
He reckoned he knew what Remus was talking about, but he was confused as to why the long-dormant subject had been brought up. After all, he didn't talk about it much, but Sirius hadn't seen his cousin, Andromeda Black, in years; not since she left The Noble and Most Ancient House of Black to marry for love and happiness rather than power and social status.
Where Sirius couldn't stand most of his family, he could her. Alphard Black and his cousin were about the only biological family members that he could tolerate. His uncle Alphard had been a grumpy old codger, but he had always treated Sirius with respect. And Andromeda had undoubtedly been his favourite cousin; she had always been there for him and she was incredibly kind, despite who she had grown up with.
Sirius had lost contact with his cousin after she left school.
Once Andromeda had graduated from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, she had run away from the suffocating Black household to marry a middle-class Muggle-born wizard – a Hufflepuff by the name of Edward. As soon as the family had found out what she had done, they had disowned her and cut off all ties. Walburga Black had scorched her off the family tree and the rest of the family had elected to pretend that she had never even existed in the first place.
Andromeda Black was certainly not the first to be disowned, and she definitely wasn't the last.
Sirius had tried to find her, the summer between his fifth and sixth years, after he ran away from the Black family himself. He had wanted to reconnect with her; to be her family again; to know that he had made the right decision in leaving. But he had quickly discovered that finding Andromeda was easier said than done.
No matter what he did or who he asked, he couldn't find seem to locate her. Every time he thought he was close or that he had a lead, something always came along and knocked him down. Andromeda Black seemed to have disappeared off the face of the planet. And, eventually, as Sirius was nearing the end of his seventh year, he gave up. It was too painful, hoping and then being cut down, so he gave up on his search and talked about her little.
So, when Remus suggested that he try and find her again, Sirius was understandably confused. He had already tried, and he had failed. Multiple times. He didn't quite fancy going on a ghost hunt again.
"Sorry?" he asked, thinking that perhaps he had misunderstood his partner.
"I think you should try and find Andromeda again," Remus repeated patiently, pausing to gauge Sirius's reaction. When Sirius did nothing but stare back blankly, he continued, "You said it yourself: she was your favourite cousin. And you miss her; I know you do. She's your family, Padfoot – the only part you could actually stand."
Sirius smiled bitterly and straightened up in his chair, leaning forward across the table and staring into the hazel eyes that he knew so well. "Moony, I've already tried. I spent months – years – trying to find her," he reminded, "And I couldn't do it. What makes you think I could now?"
"You have me this time," Remus stated simply.
Sirius snorted but his bitter grin transformed into a more genuine one as he thought about Remus's words.
He wasn't necessarily alone before. He had James. But even with their connections, he and James had still come up empty-handed. He had Remus and Peter to a certain extent too, but they couldn't really help all that much because Peter was too busy trying to pass his exams and Remus... well, Remus had his own issues to deal with, and Sirius really hadn't wanted to add more. Remus had been there for him in other ways, though; talks late at night with the other Marauder had helped him deal with dead-ends and rejections more easily.
He didn't have Remus completely last time, but he did now...
"Say, hypothetically, that I did try and find her again," he began hesitantly. "How would you suggest we do that exactly?"
Remus grinned and Sirius recognised it as the smile that he wore during their Marauding days; the one that said: I have already thought about this and I know exactly what to do. It made Sirius feel nervous and delirious but in the best possible way.
"Simple," Remus replied. "There are files on everyone in the Ministry Archives. We both work at the Ministry and we both have contacts there. I suggest we utilise those contacts." He leaned in and placed a hand over Sirius's, his thumb smoothing over prominent knuckles. "Pads, you were sixteen the last time you tried. You didn't really know anyone. You do now. We're bound to find someone in the Ministry who knows where she is."
Sirius bit his lip and looked down at the warm hand on his.
Remus was right. He was only sixteen years old the last time he had searched. He knew virtually no one back then. Now, however, he knew people. He was an Auror. It was basically his job to find people. He also had Remus, who knew a lot of different people; people who worked in Research and the Archives.
Remus was also right when he stated that the Ministry held files on everyone in the United Kingdom's Wizarding World. It didn't matter if you were a Squib, or living in the Muggle world, or a Muggle-born that didn't even know anything about sorcery or the Wizarding world. If you had Magic in your blood, you were noted in the Archives. And just because the House of Black had rid themselves of Andromeda, it didn't mean that the Ministry of Magic had.
The more Sirius thought about it, the more convinced he was that they could find her.
"You really think we could find her?" he asked quietly.
"I know we can," Remus replied firmly, squeezing Sirius's hand reassuringly.
Sirius worried his lip for a long moment, thinking it through once more, before he nodded and gave a nervous grin. "Alright, then," he said. "Okay. If you think we can do it, then let's try and find her."