The Straw
*****
She looked up in surprise as the threads shifted. Hmm. That was new. He wasn’t supposed to join so quickly and yet…
“Perhaps you should focus on your potion,” the once broken man urged with a token sneer.
“Yes, professor!” she chirped, turning back to her potion class with an airy smile that caused more than one concerned gaze.
It wasn’t her fault that her visions sometimes caused her to miss a critical step in her potions. But there hadn’t been an explosion since her first class. Or, at least, one she hadn’t gotten a protective bubble around in time.
*****
Sirius stalked down the halls of Gringotts, levitating Kings behind him, and tried not to wince at the idea of what awaited him. Curse Kingsley for forcing them to move up his cleanse…
“That better not be an emergency behind you, Black,” Eir snarled as she worked on one of the scheduled Aurors.
Sirius plastered on a smile and bowed low to the head healer.
“You know I’d never do that to you, Healer Eir,” he said with as much charm as he could muster. Which was a lot.
“Yes, that’s why you brought me that young metamorph before we’d even recovered fully from the first round. Or when you brought that grizzled old geezer in that questioned our abilities and insulted my mate.”
“I did apologize for him,” Sirius muttered in Gobblygook.
“You shouldn’t have had to,” Eir hissed back in the same language. “So, who have you brought this time? Another cousin?” she continued in English.
“More a friend. Maybe a brother in arms,” he said in English, glancing at his protégé with no small amount of hope.
He really did think Dumbledore had potioned the man, or even messed with his mind. And he did consider the dark-skinned man to be his brother. No one else would have survived his ‘training’ regime back when he’d been an Auror. There was a reason he had a reputation of being a hardass and it was well earned. He suffered no fools and that was before he got a first-hand look at what corruption in the justice system could do. Now, even Graves had urged caution and leniency on a number of Aurors they’d uncovered. Graves. The man who survived Grindelwald and was purging a corrupt government yet again.
To have his former partner here to be cleansed under suspicion of being a spy, unwilling or not, was not how he had envisioned this going. Yet he knew Eir would do her utmost to clear the suspicions and whatever was affecting Kings. Just like she had with everyone previously. And once he was clear, Remus might even agree to add him to the Fidelius. They could do with another competent Auror on their side and he wouldn’t fault anyone for falling for Dumbledore. He couldn’t with how much proof they were uncovering that the bastard had been at it so long, most everyone alive would never suspect. That tended to happen when they were potioned while at school. Just like their parents. And their grandparents. It was going to take years to undo everything Dumbledore had managed to achieve in his efforts at world domination.
And they couldn’t even start on the legal issues until Arianna could take her seats in the Wizengamot. Granted, that was scheduled for the next day, but still…. It was long overdue and she was still hesitant. It had taken a concerted effort to get her to do so before they’d fully cleared the Aurors, but they’d managed to clear enough that she would have official guards at the meeting. She couldn’t take her own guards into the chamber, but Artair would hear nothing of not going at all. Sirius couldn’t even fault him. But having Tonks and Moody in the hall itself, along with another four loyal Aurors guarding the only entrance and exit to the Wizengamot was what finally convinced her. Even if no one knew who she really was, the age of the name she was acting under was enough to warrant Moody basically demanding at least four guards.
Kingsley would still be out of commission tomorrow, if his cleanse went like the last sixty they’d done, but he’d be there for the next one. That much Sirius could guarantee if he was right.
Eir sighed but nodded at an empty bed at the end of their healing hall. “Put him there. I’ll put him in next and we’ll mirror call you once he’s done, so you can add him if needed.”
“Thanks, Eir!” he chirped, bending down to press a soft kiss to her cheek and darting away before she could hex him for the impudence.
“You are very lucky I like you, Lord Black!” Eir shouted after him, to the snickers of those in the hall still awake after their own cleanses.
“I know!” he shouted back as he scurried farther away, pulling Kingsley after him. “Now, Kings, just be a good boy and relax here for a bit. Healer Eir will see to you soon and I’ll do my best to explain later. Right now, though, I’ve got to check in on my pup,” he muttered, setting his friend down gently and leaving. The ropes would be easy for the goblins to remove and he had no doubt the man wouldn’t be able to escape the healing hall. Even if he did, he was still in the bowels of the most secure bank in the world.
He entered the office Arianna had claimed and smiled at her slumped over the desk, snoring lightly, quill still in her fingers and Ragnok muttering to himself at his own desk in the expanded space.
“Going well, then?” he asked, smiling to himself even as he eased her from her slump and into his arms gently.
“She should have known better than to try and sneak into the bank to visit her mate and think she could sneak out without my guards pinning her down to discuss this,” Ragnok said with a huff, waving a stack of parchment at him menacingly. “I do not care that she had plans to visit next week for a dedicated few days and only had a few minutes to see Dragon Handler Weasley. Some of this cannot wait.”
Sirius snickered again but laid his charge gently on the sofa they’d moved in within days of having the office assigned to them. Arianna had spent many a night on it and Sirius was known to sometimes make use of it, especially just after they started on the Aurors. He’d spent the night for a few of the Aurors, upon request, though he did not like sleeping in the open hall when he could be behind warded doors. A sentiment no one really argued with.
“You should go easier on her,” he muttered in Gobblygook, turning to the chief goblin with protective fire in his eyes even as he tried to show respect. “She’s trying to do a lot on her own and if we burn her out, we lose a valuable addition to our efforts and jeopardize the progress we’ve made.”
“I understand that,” Ragnok denied in the same language, even as he sighed and started collecting his pages. “But we also cannot wait on certain things. I will not fault you for taking on the Aurors, as they will be needed since the treating the Nation has with the magicals is so strict on what my warriors can do to assist, but we are already spread thin. It is why we are performing the cleanses as quickly as we safely can. The sooner we get these business plans in motion, the sooner we are able to tell who will be an ally and who will be an enemy. Gold is paramount to both sides and this will split the rock well, even if it just shows those who would help for the gold alone, without exposing secrets she does not want known at this time. But we need more in the Fidelius. More allies, more bodies, more protection for everyone. A dragon’s ire is difficult to challenge, but a dragon backed by all races is even more so. Her guard will help with that, since there are so many represented there and some from very rare ones, but gold will increase the chances of drawing the more stubborn ones to our cause without excessive bloodshed. If I and my kin were not so very well aware of your histories and hearts, the Nation would not have thrown our lot in with yours without at least one duel, most likely to the death, and quite a lot of gold.”
Sirius sighed at the honest chastisement, dropping into a nearby chair and glancing over the lists Arianna had strewn about. He stilled upon seeing the ‘to do’ list she had.
-Set up Defense classes for Harry/friends
-Talk to Tina about helping Theseus/Graves with classes
-Review Recall for Aiaia
-Review progress on sanctuary set up
-Attend Wizengamot *DO NOT CURSE Dumbledore or Umbitch
-Get Sirius and Remus bonded
-Get Newt to assess Adaya
-Figure out Harry’s Animagus & help him achieve it
-Review Wit/Wile’s business proposal and product testing
-Arrange training for Ron with Artair – Artair may have already started
-Discuss properties with Zoe
-Arrange toys for elf kids *GET LIST FROM BOBBIN
-Press charges against Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon
-Assess if Dudley is squib/any compulsions
-Arrange for innocent prisoners in Azkaban to be treated by mindhealers
-Visit Hogwarts to assess Room of Hidden Things, clean out
-Determine if Voldemort had more horcruxes *diary, Harry, ???
-Assess Voldemort’s current moves – Being too quiet
-Get Malfoys OUT *move to Den immediately if needed and move from there
-Protection charms for Snape ASAP
-Review progress on removing Dark marks
-Get owl
-Propose changes in laws *see Graves/Theseus/Tina’s notes and focus on creature laws first
-Invest in Uncle Jake’s newest bakery
-Send thank you present to goblins
-Add the following people to Fidelius and Den if approved
*Andromeda Tonks
*Nymphadora Tonks
*Ted Tonks
*Amelia Bones
*Alastor Moody
*Kingsley Shaklebolt
*Minerva McGonagall (after cleanse)
*Pamona Sprout (after cleanse)
*Filius Flitwick (after cleanse)
*Vector (after cleanse)
*Peeves the poltergeist (if possible)-Draft changes to Prefect/Head Boy/Girl structure at Hogwarts *RIDICULOUSLY stupid to add so many responsibilities/expectations during OWL year…. Maybe mentor program?
-Find trusted reporter for future press releases
-Name Sirius as co-Captain of the Guard with Artair
-Assess wards at Den again *changed after a few weeks with Harry there
-Figure out how to charm ceiling at Hogwarts to act as Pensive *idea about showing memories in mass without courtroom pensive…
-Review clothing Bobbin and Thread have assembled at Arcadia Manor
-Assign Percy to review other Recalls when he has a chance *does he really have time when running a department? Should assign him with reaching out to other nations instead?
-Find the Heir of Pendragon so you don’t have to be queen due to Emyrs…
-Take Dumbledore down
And it went on and on…. Sirius could only spot three items completed. Getting Harry healthy, getting Harry to school, and bonding the house elves. Anything else they’d accomplished, working on the Aurors, getting wands, the protective charms she’d insisted on, getting the Fidelius working. None of it was an item she’d checked off. As if she wasn’t done with it.
Sirius suddenly understood how the woman had fallen asleep in a meeting with the chief goblin while discussing business.
“She’s not been sleeping, has she?” he hesitated to ask.
“No,” Ragnok said bluntly. “And I’ve already sent a note to Eir to inform her. I suspect Lady Aiaia will be facing the wrath of my mate and your cousin upon her wakening. They do not take well to stupidity, even less so when it affects a charge’s health. I would highly suggest reading your cousin into the Fidelius soon, or she may write the whole thing off as an eccentric foreign born idiot not worth her time even with how rich she is. Lady Aiaia hasn’t broken character once since seeing the witch and I fear it is adding to the stress.”
Sirius sighed and pulled out his mirror to call Remus, thankful that the set he and James had used in school were still stashed in his hiding spot in the Heir suite. It seemed to be time for the intervention they’d discussed. She was far too much like her parents, yet without the stopgap of a significant other or friends to stop her when she got bad. Only them. And they should never have let it get this bad…
*****
Regulus sighed as he sank into a chair in the study they’d converted for him. He was tired after a day cleaning. The basilisk was mostly processed and he’d started tackling the grime and damp the Chamber basically dripped with. At least he got to spend days on his own, to deal with the monumental task of catching up with the events of the last fifteen years.
Fifteen years.
It still blew his mind that he’d been assumed dead for fifteen years. Twelve of which his hothead brother had spent in the tender care of Dementors. Even now, after many mindhealer sessions and getting his chosen family back, Regulus could see the change in Sirius. He was more withdrawn than he’d ever been, even when their parents were at their worst just before he ran away. He sometimes laughed and Regulus could hear the forced quality of it. He would turn and call out for James, only to almost crumble in grief. If Harry was around, it would be grief, pain, and shame.
Regulus was not naïve enough to think it didn’t hurt them both whenever Sirius slipped up.
Yet he couldn’t help his brother. He could barely help himself. He was still weak from the family magics that kept him suspended in time and froze his child in his own body. Occasionally, vague memories of his brother’s gentle hands tangled in his core crept into his dreams, but that was all he remembered. And yet it still affected how much magic he could use.
He’d barely started on cleaning and he’d been down here for months by now. And every spell took far longer to cast and affected far less than he liked.
At least he’d gotten Peeves on his side, somehow. The poltergeist was proving a boon to keeping his thoughts from consuming him. After his confrontation with Sir Nicolas, Peeves had somehow warded the Chamber from the castle ghosts so he had no new visitors. Only Peeves himself. And Peeves had taken to pranking him to keep him from storming out of his relatively safe hideaway to smack his brother for being an idiot. Or from hunting down his husband and bondmate for the same.
As much as the two hated each other, Regulus couldn’t get over how much alike they were sometimes…
Meanwhile, he was stuck in the hidden Chamber of a founder, safe from a returned Dark Lord and a manipulative bastard of a Headmaster. And growing more and more incapable of seeing his feet each day.
If Severus didn’t visit as often as he did, Regulus had no doubts he’d have staged a breakout weeks ago.
He didn’t need the sunshine or fresh air like Fred and George seemed determined to give him. He was quite happy just staying in and reading if needed. There were so many books he’d like to read to both review his schooling and increase his list of spells. He could spend months in the Black Library if he wanted. He didn’t protest the excursions because he knew Severus worried and the baby liked when he walked the grounds.
No, what had him stressed was how little he could do to help hidden away. Sirius obviously needed a calm head around and Regulus was sure Remus wasn’t helping. The wolf was either panting after his brother or out scouting potential allies. Neither would reign in Sirius’ need to be obnoxiously dramatic or help with the lingering issues from the time at Azkaban.
He also wanted to help his little godniece and godnephew. He may not be blood-related to the two, but he felt drawn to protecting both Potter children. And the fact that both were almost adults puzzled and concerned him.
His own body was younger than Arianna. He was only a few years older than Harry mentally. And yet he’d grown up with both their parents and was married to Severus. It was leading to a lot of confusing feelings and expectations…
But he still wanted to help. Sitting in the dark, removed from the world again was making him itch.
He’d have to figure out how to help eventually.
With his second wind, he got out of his chair with a little effort and turned to return to the chamber. Only to pause to contemplate a painting he’d ignored previously. There was a subtle sheen on the canvas, an almost forgotten depth to the paint that reminded him of one of the hundreds of portraits and paintings in the castle proper above his head.
Hmmm, he supposed the cleaning could wait just a bit more. After all, it had waited this long.