The Marauders - Order of the Phoenix - Part Two

I Wanna Rock and Roll All Night

A bit after midnight and Alastor Moody was still leaning over his desk, pouring over the reports he was getting in from eyewitnesses in North Ireland, claiming to have seen Giants heading South. There were photographs, broken trees and toppled-over houses, great footprints pressed into marshes, and dark shadows looming over villages. There were reports from muggles and wizarding folk alike, long tangents about horrific damages and signed affidavits saying that the muggles memories were properly modified and they were returned safely to their homes. They would be monitored for six months to ensure the memory modification charms held, and there were descriptions of the aurors who would be stepping in as new co-workers or employees at favorite shops, banks, and restaurants that the muggles affected frequented.

He could've been done and home by now if he'd been able to concentrate, but here was a small, square silver box that sat on his desk that vibrated with the noise levels of the cell block to monitor if there was anything happening in the floors below. It would make a funny humming noise every time the sound decibels went over a certain level, indicating some sort of chaos or mayhem afoot.

Sirius Black had been downstairs for roughly four hours and it had not stopped humming since the moment he arrived.

It was humming so loud it was vibrating across the desktop.

Moody had gone downstairs twice to make sure it really was only Black singing that was making the monitoring block react that way and he'd confirmed both times it was. Three different aurors had come up to his office and begged off for the night.

"Nobody can put up with that without going mad," one of them said defensively when Moody tried to deny their request to leave.

The monitoring block vibrated its way right off the edge of the desk and hit Moody in the foot with a heavy thump that stung like a stubbed toe and he cursed, bending over to pick it up and slamming it onto the desk with frustration.

Finally, Moody got up, fed up, and stomped his way down the corridor.

Mad-Eye stomped into Mr. Underhill's office, looking utterly perturbed. "Good, you're still here."

"Working on the paperwork for Black's case," Underhill answered without looking up from the parchments on his desk.

Moody sat heavily with a sigh in the chair facing Underhill. "About him. He's driving my men down in the cellblock mad."

"Oh? How?"

"That confounded singing! What is the matter with him? I think we ought to get him tested before releasing him."

"He's perfectly sane, He's bored."

"Well he needs to bloody well knock it off or I'll --" Moody mimed swatting something around, grumpily making a face like an exhausted old rhino.

"You're the one enforcing the 48 hour hold. Let him go, if he's that annoying."

"You'd love that wouldn't you?"

"Hmm?"

"Me letting off some bloke you're clearly on the side of. What's it about this one? Is it because he's the Potter boy's mate?"

"No." Underhill shuffled some of the paperwork about. "It's because he didn't do what that crazy old woman says he did and I don't like sending innocent men to Azkaban. I should think you'd understand that?" Underhill leaned back. He grinned. "Besides, I got myself a nice little bonus prize. Potter's agreed to come back on staff. Isn't that delightful?"

"Mmhm," muttered Moody, who'd been badgered by Dumbledore for months for letting Potter off. "And yer sure Black ain't guilty and your shiny prize ain't got you starry-eyed for him?"