Aria Black and the Order of the Phoenix

Sick and Messed Up

The Disilusionment charm has almost worn off by the time I finish the trek to the Hog's Head. I tie a cloak around my shoulders and step inside the dodgy bar.

I wait at the front for the barkeep for several minutes. When he does arrive, he scurries through the unoccupied bar with a smelly goat at his heels.

"We're closed," he snaps.

I lift the hood off my head. "I am here on family business. Do you have a place for me?"

The barkeep huffs in annoyance. He picks a crumb or two out of his beard and turns on his heels. I follow him to a room in the back with no windows. He opens the door and shoves me inside. I can hear the locks engaging behind me.

No one is inside the room. I grip my wand, wondering if I am about to be kidnapped.

The room is small, with two wooden chairs and a small table in the corner. I sink down onto one chair, tapping my foot anxiously. Where is Sirius? Am I early?

I seem to wait forever before the door opens again. Sirius stands in the doorway, looking slightly disheveled. He steps aside to help a struggling figure into the room. Nick.

"Nick!" I cry, bounding forward to catch my gangly brother before he falls to the ground.

Sirius thanks the barkeep and closes the door behind him. "You made it. Good."

I sweep Nick's unruly hair out of his face, and pull his head into my lap. He is sweating profusely, and drifting in and out of consciousness, it seems.

"What's wrong with him?" I ask, patting Nick's hair softly.

Sirius sinks into a chair dejectedly. "What do you think?"

I sigh. "He's drinking again. I thought we got rid of everything." My nostrils flare. "Did you buy more?"

He shakes his head. "No. He just got crafty. In the beginning, he tried to bribe Order members for some alcohol. Then he searched their coat pockets while we were in meetings. He even summoned nearby drinks to the porch. Once, he asked Molly to make him his favorite meal. Gave her the ingredients and everything. She stepped out of the kitchen to use the loo and he made his own concoction with the ingredients."

My jaw drops. Nick did all of that just to get a drink? The addiction is worse than I thought.

"I didn't know what to do..." Sirius murmurs. He resembles the very same man that broke down in the cottage after going to Marlene's house. That was the night he and Nick met.

"How could you keep this from me? How could Remus?"

He sighs. "Remus told me that you needed to focus on your studies, and that you would drop everything and fly to Grimmauld Place if you knew."

The hurt of his betrayal burns my chest. "He doesn't know you brought Nick here."

He nods, casting a mournful look at a stirring Nick. "I didn't know what to do. The Order voted that they would give him a week to show improvement before they kicked him out. Said that he was a danger to their secrecy. He can't leave Grimmauld Place, Aria."

"How could they do that? Didn't Remus stick up for him? Or Mrs. Weasley?"

Sirius puts his head in his hands, wiping a bit of sweat off his forehead. "Remus was disappointed with the outcome, but he told Nick that it was a product of his own choices. Molly was pretty quiet. I think she is still upset at him for tricking her. I did what I could, Aria, but he has to improve. If they kick him out-"

"I know," I whisper, heart racing in my chest. It is then that I see a flash of Nick in Sirius. That broken, passionate desire to save everyone sounds just like my brother.