Friend Since Birth

*****
The last of summer break trickled away in a wash of heat and news that there’d been an attack in Surrey by a pair of stray Dementors. Arianna took note that it just so happened to be centered around Privet Drive and while no one had been hurt thanks to a squib who called the Aurors before they could do any damage, it still begged the question of who exactly had allowed the Dementors into the muggle world. She wasn’t naïve enough to believe it was coincidence that they appeared anywhere near the Dursleys. Or that there’d been a Squib close enough to Harry’s former residence to report the issue. Pity the creatures had been chased away before kissing anyone. She was grateful Harry hadn’t had to defend himself, though. As the only active magical in the area, it would have been laughingly easy to trace who was responsible for any magic and he’d have to face trial for Underage Magic….

It went without question that it wouldn’t matter he’d be defending himself.

Knowing the current administration after intense research and training by her godfather, she had no doubt Harry would have been dragged in front of the full Wizengamot if only to discredit him more. Not get a warning like most. The Prophet was still denying everything and Arianna couldn’t wait for a chance to implement their plan to deal with that. A trial would have been hard, but it would have proven the perfect opportunity for maximum shock value to put the word out there about the truth of a number of situations, the attack on Harry the least of them.

She’d have to settle for their original plan and so she made her way down Diagon Alley, fresh from spending the last week and most of the morning taking any and all OWLs and NEWTs the goblins could arrange, backdate, and file at the Ministry. It was an easy way to get the magical population to recognize her, as she usually spent the afternoon in the Alley itself, shopping for the sake of visibility, though she’d spent not a small amount of time with Twilfit, altering pieces she’d found in her mother’s vault and expanding her own wardrobe now. And anyone who ventured near enough for her to discount their abilities to dress themselves…

If she’d spent more than a few moments simply staring around her with a sad, pained smile at the wonderous sight of a busy shopping alley with its colors and sounds and scents around her, that was her own business. It was a sometimes harsh reminder that she’d spent a long time staring at her memories of the place only, unable to see or move.

But the true goal was the tests. She’d be damned if she allowed her enemies to question her abilities and taking a few tests to assure her intelligence wasn’t a problem was one of the easiest tasks she’d faced lately. The next would prove a bit more of a challenge and she snickered at the thought of how this particular afternoon would play out.

Padfoot snorted at her side and she snickered back, amused beyond belief that this mad plan was already working as eyes followed her along her way yet again. It was a risky plan as it relied on the populace to react and since so many were probably spelled or potioned, it was difficult to guess how that reaction would play out. And Diagon was packed with last minute school shoppers and children, adding to the guesswork as there were witches and wizards from both sides of the previous war mingling and trying valiantly to ignore the other in a truce for school. And many were tracking her progress out of the corner of their eye, obviously trying to either place her face, with her muggle dyed dark hair twisted elegantly and pinned to her head to keep the strands off her neck, slight makeup to distort her features from the familiar lines of Lily Potter, or her now standard embroidered and close cut dueling robes with small panels of dragon-hide armor and enough cooling charms involved that she was fairly sure she could keep a snack in her pocket without it spoiling but kept her at a nice temperature in the almost boiling heat of the alley, knee-high and practical boots, and her Aiaia ring prominent on her hand. All if it screamed her high breeding.

More than once she considered hexing her godfather for his teasing and if he wolf-whistled at her again, she would make her displeasure known.

All in all, she usually garnered a lot of attention whenever she walked the Alley. Today, however, she ignored it all as her new guards kept the crowds at least partially maneuverable and she made her way towards Twilfitt again. The now expected destination was the excuse for her continued visit, but she really did want to put in an order for appropriate clothing for Remus this time. The man’s wardrobe was just appalling, and she’d finally managed to pin him down long enough to get his measurements.

And as much as she was loath to have them, or even explain why they felt the need to follow her around in shifts of four, her new guards needed clothing that befit the guards of a wealthy pureblood lady. For now, many were in borrowed things as their armor would draw too much attention. She wanted people questioning but too afraid to approach. Armor from so many ages would lend more to the former than the latter and there was only so much that could be done with the current selection to make them fit men that varied so much in size. And she really didn’t care about the grumbling some of them had made at the strange feeling of the vastly different fashions. Even so, there had already been a few questions about the presence of the guards by a few brave souls. A few quiet words about it being tradition or required by her inheritances tended to shut people up and get them to leave her alone. No one wanted to ask too much about family traditions, since most knew older families protected such secrets with family magic. With rather spectacular consequences for those that tried to break them. And, if she was honest, a few questions were far better than being swarmed.

The lilting chimes that indicated the start of their plan sounded in the bustling Alley, echoing off the close packed buildings and loud enough to cut across the noise.

The already confused crowd started searching for the source of the noise, only to be diverted by the fluttering of a bolt of unfinished white fabric and the unnatural fog the Twins had gleefully figured out how to produce appearing that created a dim atmosphere. It had been a last minute add, since London was enjoying one of its few sunny days, but it seemed to work well enough and would allow a better view. Then the copied courtroom pensive, something that had taken up a majority of Sirius’ time while she was in tests to manage, started up amd projected the copy of Harry’s memory onto the suddenly still fabric, the colors and movements quite clear with the dimmer alley.

It had taken her weeks to convince him to allow her into his mind, past his beginner shields, to view the memory and copy the relevant portions. He’d been reluctant to relive the events and she could understand, especially after his interview with Kingsley about the Dursleys, but it was the news that he’d only have to do it once, then they could use the memory as his testimony instead of making him relive it over and over again that finally convinced him. And the idea that it could just get some people off his back about the ‘lies’ he was telling.

Once in his mind and after having viewed the whole day herself, she decided to go from the short conversation between him and the Diggory boy in the maze until after Crouch Jr had been discovered and had tried to kill her brother. She’d hesitated at including some of it, but it was agreed that the more untampered it was, the better as it would prevent people from trying to claim it was fake. With Harry safely ensconced at Grimmauld, helping Molly in her latest cleaning spree, he had the perfect set of witnesses to confirm he wasn’t involved. And if Harry was asked how he did it, he would be able to honestly say he had no hand in the act beyond providing the memory to a trusted family friend, since they’d also not told him exactly what they were planning to do with it. The whole affair would put Remus in a tight spot, as the only known family friend still around and sane, but the wolf had gladly beat a hasty retreat out of the country on ‘Order’ business in order to assist in getting word out and adding another layer of protection on his godson. In reality, he was joining his brother in America for a few days to meet the family who’d adopted Romulus before the pair would return to wreak havoc on Dumbles by playing off their twinness. Courtesy of lessons from the Weasley and Prewett twins that had a history of switching places frequently.

As the memory continued to play, she half watched the memory and half watched the crowd. She had to be able to say she watched without appearing to have been prepared, so she allowed her emotions to slip through as if she were watching the scenes for the first time. When Voldemort stood in his returned form, hissing at the rat, she growled loud enough for the witches and wizards around her to take a step back, even if there wasn’t room for it. Padfoot next to her wasn’t much better and she knew they looked a pair, her in her dragon-hide armor and heavily embroidered summer robes and the giant black guard dog. She took a quick glance around, to buy her some time to calm and quickly hid her satisfied smile.

Many of the shop owners were standing in the doors of their businesses, having come out to see what held the attention of the crowd. Aurors were standing on the edges, having reacted to a possible attack, their red robes and drawn wands distinctive. Knockturn had poured into the main Alley when news reached them, the dark robes and sometimes hooded faces just as distinctive as the Auror red. Every single witch, wizard, child, and being in the Alley was staring transfixed at the projection, faces a study in emotion. When the memory got to the point of Harry’s return to Hogwarts, with the body of the Hufflepuff held so tightly in his hands they ripped the fabric to get him off, the crowd started babbling, thinking it was over. Only to fall silent again when fake Moody made his entrance and subsequent interrogation and monologue. When the Polyjuice wore off, she could hear many of the older shoppers swear.

Finally, the memory faded out and the Alley was silent.

When the final message showed, Arianna smirked at the reaction.

STILL THINK HE’S LYING?? Was projected in large bold letters.

The Alley erupted in noise and she disappeared with the crack of apparition. Remus’ clothes would have to wait. She had to get away to cover her laughter.

*****
Gideon watched as Arianna apparated away and snickered. If he was not mistaken, she’d been seconds from laughing and had managed to forget Sirius in her effort to escape quickly. But he had no doubt the Animagus would get himself home if the suddenly aggravated guards didn’t take him.

“What do you think, brother mine?” Fabian hissed into his ear, watching the magicals around them lose their collective minds.

“I think we’re lucky there was stores of Polyjuice potion and the Lady had no qualms about letting us use some to walk around before we announced ourselves,” he answered back, even as he hugged their soulmate to him tightly. “How about you, my dear?”

“I think I like Lily’s kid,” Marlene said with a laugh. “Wicked smart and conniving.”

Gideon wasn’t sure which one she was referencing but figured it could apply to both.

“Well, at least someone’s got a head on their shoulders. Could you imagine things if Sirius was in charge?” Fabian drawled. “I hate to see where we’d be if they hadn’t rescued us. I am loathed to admit it, but there was no way we were getting out of there without help.”

“Yeah, and now we get the unenviable task of liaising with the dozens of very rightly pissed off purebloods who were locked up with us for unknown reasons. I’m not sure how much longer I can deal with some of them without cursing them. Like we asked to be least affected by the time…” Gideon said with a groan.

“Well, would you rather give the task to the Lady?” Marlene pointed out even as they made their way through the throngs of still stunned shoppers to the entrance to Gringotts. “She’s already overwhelmed and I don’t envy her when she finally hits her breaking point. Talking to a bunch of our classmates in the same situation shouldn’t be too hard.”

“Depends entirely on whether or not you were known for pranking them incessantly when in school…” Fabian said with a snicker.

“Yet we keep doing it anyway,” Marlene said with an eyeroll as they managed to get inside before the Aurors managed to gather themselves enough to start rounding everyone up for questioning.

The goblins would hide them as they had been since they woke.

*****
In his cursed muggle father’s mansion, Voldemort snarled at the reports from his servants. A few of his loyal had been preparing to send their brats to school, visiting the shops in Diagon Alley when the event occurred. And were reporting in as they could.

It was a setback he was not happy about. He’d hoped to have at least a year in the shadows before he announced his presence back among the living. A year to recruit former allies and remind his followers just exactly how he felt about failure. And a year to dig into the prophesy his best spy had given him, find a way to hear the whole thing so he could figure out how to overcome it.

Severus was still out of touch and he did not appreciate the delay. He would ensure the man remembered where his loyalties should lay when he finally got his hands on the potions master. And then he would demand answers to how this had happened. How no one seemed able to tell him more about the prophesy. How it was months after his return and he had only seen Severus a few times while others of his followers were groveling at his feet daily in an attempt to regain their honor for failing him. How the brat had gotten his memory displayed in such a public way.

How the brat had managed to escape in the first place. Not only in the graveyard, but in the previous attempts to kill him.

He snarled at the latest follower to report in and didn’t hesitate to snap at his servant.

“Wormtail!” he snarled. “Bring me a drink and tell the rest that unless they have information beyond the projected memory or a plan to discredit the brat to prevent this from being an issue, to expect a Crucio!”

The sniveling rat nodded frantically and disappeared into the hall.

Just in time to dodge the explosion of rage from the man that had the dusty chandelier crashing to the ground of the ballroom.

*****
“I know the plan was to leave quickly after it was over, but did you have to leave me behind?” Sirius grumbled as they reconvened in the lounge of the Den. “How were you expecting to explain away leaving your dog in Diagon?”

“By saying with as much distain as I could that my guards would have brought him,” Arianna said as she paced the room. “Besides, I thought that would be easier to explain than laughing maniacally about finding out Voldemort was back. Did you see their faces?”

“Yes,” Artair said. “Are magicals so naïve now that they would believe the information printed in one paper?”

“Unfortunately, yes,” Arianna said, picking up her pacing. “But the prank went off flawlessly and I’ve no doubt the story will be in the evening post. The pensive is spelled so only an Auror can touch it and they’ll make quick work of verifying the memory as authentic. With so many people there, there’s no way they can try to cover it up. I saw that horrible Skeeter woman there and there’s no way she’ll not write about it. Even if her bosses demand she do so.”

Sirius shuddered in horror at the thought of that woman, but sighed.

“I should get back to Grimmauld, check in on Harry.”

“Just remember that you’re meant to have been at Gringotts, going over some documents found in another vault but belonging to the Black family,” Arianna said.

“Yes, dear,” Sirius said with a chuckle before making his way to the apparation point. “Seeing as how I came up with that excuse and Ragnok did in fact find such documents in the vaults Batty Bella had, it even rings true. No need to tell anyone I looked at them last week with Andy.”

After a few weeks at the Den, Arianna had restricted the wards to only allow apparation in a few rooms, after one too many pranks by the twins when they visited. Now he had to walk almost back to the entrance hall to be able to leave and he wasn’t sure he liked it. The place was so big it could take ten minutes to cross the distance, depending on where in the Den he was at that time. Arianna had talked about adding another point on the other side of the massive property but hadn’t yet had time. She was currently finalizing her plans to bond the elves and he’d have to bring Harry by a few days before the start of the school term for him to bond his own. She was scheduled to do hers before, so she could be recovered from the magical drain in time to help him with his, but it would be tight.

Today was supposed to happen a week ago, but it had taken longer to duplicate a courtroom pensive than he’d planned, even with Severus assisting, and they’d been unsuccessful in finding one in one of the known vaults. Now, they had only four days before the teens would head off to school and Arianna was bonding the elves yet today. They were hoping her disappearance would not be noticed, or if noticed, attributed to being frightened of what she had witnessed. His former training told him the Aurors would be questioning everyone they’d seen in Diagon, but with the number of people, he didn’t expect them to come calling for her for a while. Especially since no one really knew who she was or where she resided. The goblins wouldn’t give up the information, either. But he had to get to Grimmauld before the news reached the townhouse so he could be the one to bring it, under the guise of spying as Padfoot.

He appeared on the stoop and immediately made his way quietly into the house, wincing when the shouting hit him as soon as he opened the door.

“MUDBLOODS AND TRAITORS!!! HOW DARE YOU DEFILE MY ANCESTRIAL HOME! GET OUT!!”

He sighed, wondering who exactly had woken her, then rushed to close the curtains.

“Shut up, you old bat!” he snapped as he wrestled with the fabric.

“BLOOD TRAITOR! YOU SHAME THE FAMILY BY DARING TO WEAR THE HEA-“

He finally managed to get the crazy woman hidden behind the black velvet and stumbled back against the wall in relief. Gods he hated her. And did she have to always manage to say the one thing he never wanted to think about? As if he didn’t already feel he didn’t deserve to be Lord Black. He’d never wanted it but here he was. And Regulus had point blank refused it when he offered, citing his growing pregnant belly and a distinct disinterest in politics, even if he was damn good at it… Regulus agreed to be his advisor but that was it.

“Alright, Sirius?” one of the twins asked, peeking around the corner to the kitchen.

Sirius thought it was George but he wasn’t sure and he couldn’t get a good whiff of the redhead’s scent to know for sure.

“Yeah, kid,” he muttered, pushing himself to his feet and brushing off imaginary dust. “Just a long day.”

“Sounds it,” the other twin said, popping up behind Sirius and almost getting hexed for his troubles. “Sorry.”

Sirius sighed, letting his wand drop to point at the floor and rubbing a hand through his hair. Gods he needed a drink. And less stress. And this was just the beginning. Maybe he should take a page out of Arianna’s book and dedicate a room for wholescale destruction…. It would feel wonderful to lash out at something and know he wasn’t about to accidently damage some poor teen for startling him.

“We heard her go quiet and figured we’d come see who had gotten to her.” George said softly, coming around the corner enough for Sirius to confirm his previous assumption. “How’d it go?”

“You’ll see come the evening post,” he answered, making his way towards the kitchen so they could stop whispering. At least they’d gotten very good about talking about specific topics in vague enough terms that no one would guess their real meaning. “Where’s Harry?”

“Talking to Ron in his room,” Fred immediately said, staring at him intensely.

Sirius rolled his eyes and sighed. Of course…. They’d developed that excuse as a way to explain Harry talking to Arianna on his mirror…. Ron didn’t mind and often spent the time reviewing his previous years’ textbooks. With his blocks removed, the boy had found it mildly easier to study and, when Arianna had discovered he had trouble with reading, she’d searched until she’d found a spell that would read the text to him softly so only he could hear. Once that was perfected, the young Weasley had practically inhaled his books, much to the shock of anyone who knew the boy before.

Sirius made his way to the room, laughing quietly at the bushy haired girl perched on the window seat located a landing away from the Heir suite, a book clutch in her hands and eyes frantically searching the pages.

“Mr. Black!” Hermione squeaked, quickly hiding the book but not before Sirius caught the title.

“Looking at possessing someone?” he asked with an amused quirk of his lips, ignoring the title he couldn’t get her to stop using. At least it was better than Lord....

“Just research,” she said too quickly.

“Ah, because that book on possession is considered light reading,” he said, nodding solemnly. He laughed when she blushed brilliantly. “Keep your secrets, then, young woman,” he said, bowing slightly. “But perhaps concerned questions would produce better results than stalking.”

He gave her a knowing glance and smiled when she sputtered. But before she could rally and proceed to follow his advice by starting in on him, he turned away and quickly made his escape. Curiosity was sometime a dangerous thing, but he’d try to never discourage it in such a bright witch. And he was not afraid of her. No. He just held a healthy respect for someone who reminded him a great deal of Lily Evans when she was in a mood.

“You’re going to need to make a decision on her soon, lads,” he said as he entered his godson’s room after the quiet permission was given. “She’s resorting to staking out the stairwell since she can’t get in here.”

“Who’s stalking?” Arianna’s voice demanded from the mirror. She’d finally figured out the spell James had taken so long to perfect, allowing the mirror’s owner to add a certain number of people to the spells, but she was making good progress on additional, if limited, sets. Sirius was eager to have another way to talk with his pups, since soon they would both be gone again and he wasn’t exactly sure how he felt about them being so far from his protection.

“Hermione…” Ron grumbled as he perused his potions text and the pictures Arianna had sketched for him to show him the various types of cuts often used when preparing ingredients. It looked like he was trying to compare the needed cuts and the potions they were used in. “Our best mate at school. She’s bloody brilliant, if a bit scary sometimes. I’m not exactly stealthy enough to fool her so she’s been hounding me for why I’ve been pranking mum…”

“And she’s been wondering exactly why she’s not allowed in my room when she visits the boys’ dorm all the time at school,” Harry muttered, staring dejectedly at the small mirror he held and smiling weakly. “Nobody here is particularly happy I’ve taken the Heir suite, even if Ron didn’t care and Sirius gave it to me. Probably something to do with the permanent silencing charms on it. And they won’t listen that I happen to like being closer to Buckbeak’s nest in the attic. He’s still a bloody brilliant creature and he lets me preen his feathers or brush him sometimes.”

“Because he’s secretly a bloody peacock,” Sirius said, trying his best to contain his fond exasperation. “And if anyone tells him I said that, I’ll gladly hide behind you.”

“Noted. Harry, I’m glad you have a place to escape to,” Arianna said, speaking up a bit so everyone could hear her mirror voice, her amusement evident in her tone. Then her smile faded a bit. “From your letters and our conversations, it sounds quite a bit like no one wants to admit that you should be involved in anything Order related. I wholly disagree with them, but I also don’t know how we’ll get around that, so I’d say don’t worry about it. You’re returning to school soon and I’ll be whisking you away in two days anyway. Focus on that. However, I would also suggest that if you’d like Hermione to join the Fidelius and be included before it’s infinitely harder to get her to the goblins, get to discussing. While we all know how to sneak in and out of Hogwarts, I don’t relish the thought of doing so within the first month or so of a new term. And I’ve no doubt she’ll drive you both barmy before then. I don’t want to risk your friendship especially because you literally can’t tell her anything. I also have a few more things for you so keep checking your message boxes. I’m not sure when I’ll have time to send them over and I doubt it will be before you head back.”

Ron and Harry exchanged an excited look and Sirius smiled. Arianna presents were quickly becoming a favorite time for anyone who knew her. Already, the boys were all in love with their holsters and message boxes. The twins had even managed to tweak theirs to allow for larger packages to pass through the magics. Another feat the goblins were a bit shocked about and had quickly secured a patent on for the pair, with a generous percentage for the Nation of course. Those boys and finding loopholes….

And everyone was thrilled the holsters had worked as promised, keeping them free of potions and spells, though they now had confirmation that Molly was responsible for most, if not all, of the potions they had been dosed with. Sirius had secreted away an entire plate for testing, thanks to the house elf who’d been doing their cooking prior. Little Parsnip had been horrified when she delivered the results from Severus, but she’d agreed to leave it alone as long as her new masters proved they weren’t being hurt. Having her check them daily was adding to their confidence in the holsters’ magic being sustainable. A good thing when the boys would be heading back to Hogwarts and a conceivably more dangerous environment, if the rest of their suspicions were to prove true.

“Now, I’ve already told you about what happened in Diagon, so Harry, I wanted to check in with you. Do you want Sirius and Ron to leave so we can talk privately?” Arianna continued.

Sirius wanted to protest, but he had already figured out how Arianna operated and respect for privacy didn’t even begin to cover the Hufflepuff’s general operations. She was positively manic about it. Privacy and respect for boundaries. The only reason she’d never hesitated to touch him and Remus is because they’d drilled a blanket permission into the little girl’s head well before she’d become this impressive woman. And impressive she was, often startling him with how mature and well reasoned she could be. Only some of that could be attributed to her Ladyship rings and the spelled memories a few of them boasted. The rest was all his little Prongslette. James and Lily would be so proud.

“No, they can stay,” Harry said after a moment’s contemplation. “Not like I’ve really got many secrets from them anyway, at this point.”

“Harry, we both know that’s not true,” Arianna said quietly. “But everyone has secrets and no one should be forced to give them. If you want them here, fine. But if you’re allowing them to stay because you think I expect it, then don’t.”

Sirius wanted to ask what secrets his little pup could still have, when most had been ripped from him over the last month, but he wasn’t going to ask. He knew Arianna had said what she had as a challenge, both to Harry and to himself and Ron, and it was a challenge he would not fail. She was subtly reminding them both that they had secrets they were keeping from Harry as well, just like she had her own. Secretes that would never be shared with another person. And they had to be ok with that. Being friends, being family, did not negate the need for some secrets. Just the trust that needed information would make its way to the people who needed it.

Such Slytherin maneuvering…

Harry sighed, before turning to Sirius and Ron with a pained expression. “Would it be alright if you both left?”

Sirius wanted to whimper at the uncertain tone of the words, so unlike the confident teen Harry had turned into over the last few weeks. It physically hurt him to hear Harry sound so strained, so like how he’d sounded over the last year…. But he nodded sharply and turned to leave, Ron following a moment later.

“Come on, Weasley,” he said as he held the door for the redhead. “Let’s see what Wit and Wile have cooked up recently. Maybe get their thoughts on a certain bookworm.”

The squeak from down the hall had Sirius laughing heartedly. Well, one shouldn’t try to listen in on conversations.