"You mean to tell me Death Eaters were let into the castle, Bellatrix bloody Lestrange was let into this castle, and you don't think her werewolf goddaughter had anything to do with it?" Alastor Moody scoffed, arms crossed over his broad chest. He watched the professor in front of him for a moment, the sparkling blue eyes regarding him calmly.
"Miss Swift's situation is an unusual one, admittedly; but she ran away from her home, Alastor. While she has not told me explicitly, I do believe it is because her family wished the worst for her. She is no familiar of Bellatrix Lestrange's, nor any other family members you may wish to bring up. Now if she had done something suspicious, or behaved unusually, I would understand your accusations. But on current grounds, I will not allow you to interrogate my student- Especially when she has had such a trying time, and will continue to until the full moon passes." Albus Dumbledore said, watching the Auror huff grumpily. His partner stood beside him, lips pursed in thought.
"I do understand your reasoning, Albus- The girl appears to be close to my boys, and if she has their trust she has mine. But, because of her family, and whether she still considers them as such or not, she is still a prime suspect. This is the second time Death Eaters have gained access to this castle- There are three kids missing, Albus, and we must explore every possibility. Luna is welcome to go through her full moon unbothered- But afterwards, we will need to speak with her. But it won't be an interrogation. Right, Alastor?" Richard nudged his fellow Auror pointedly, and Moody finally gave in with a nod, still looking less-than-pleased about that idea.
"Very well. The girl can go through this next moon- tomorrow night, if I'm right, which I usually am- but she will be kept in a small quarters and guarded. I don't want her to escape, nor any attempts of someone to try and break her out." Alastor said gruffly, looking over to Richard. "No offense, Potter, but I don't trust your boys to not do something reckless."
"They're smart- They'll understand, and I'm sure so will she. They are young, but certainly not unreasonable. I'll talk to them." Richard said, turning to the Headmaster. "Does this sound agreeable to you, Dumbledore?"
"Unfortunately, yes. Let it be known I wish no discrimination to be shown towards Miss Swift however. She is no less human than you and I."
"Understood perfectly, Dumbledore." Richard nodded once, and Alastor Moody grunted before rising from his seat, leaving the room without another word. Turning back to Dumbledore, he stared at the older man thoughtfully, brows furrowed. "Sometimes I feel you do not quite understand that I am not a prejudiced man."
"It is not you I am concerned about, Richard. Alastor is a fair man, but a harsh one. I sometimes worry for Miss Swift's stability. I simply do not wish to see her too shaken up." Dumbledore sighed as he took a seat at his desk, fingers folded neatly in front of him. Richard raised an eyebrow.
"Albus, a girl that can withstand running from home is anything but weak. And writing to an Auror, one that undoubtedly knew she was being searched for, was no cowardly move."
"I do not mean she is weak. I mean she is wary- Less so than when she first arrived, but all the same- I want her to understand she remains safe here. With these attacks, I fear I have already put my foot in my mouth." Dumbledore admitted. "She has but a few weeks left in this castle, and I fear I will no longer be able to provide safety here for her. I have been searching for a safe house, but most are either full or unwilling to take in a werewolf."
"James and Sirius will be returning to the Den after school is over. She is welcome to join them, if she wishes- Remus as well, and Peter. Of course, I still would like to know her better. I'd prefer to have a house guest see me as a friend, and not an Auror looking to lynch her for something she's no control over." Richard said wryly, resting his elbows on the arms of his chair. "Is there anything else you wish to speak of with me?"
Dumbledore smiled then. "Only that James is growing into a kind young man."
"Excellent. I must find Alastor- I feel it may be best if we talk to the five together, as well as Miss Evans. We will have more Aurors arrive shortly, just to guard over the castle during nightfall. Until we find how they got in, I've no wish to leave the school unwatched. Is this reasonable to you, Albus?"
"I find it is. Good day, Richard- I will expect to see you at dinner." Albus said, looking at the older Potter from behind his crescent glasses. Richard nodded once, a respectful gesture before he too left the room, in search for his son and his friends.
_
"What do you mean, 'talk to her'? You're not interrogating her." James Potter stared defiantly up into the face of Alastor Moody, who stood with his arms crossed as he glared back, obviously in no mood to deal with the teenage boy.
"We've cleared it with Dumbledore- Just talking, no wands, no pressure, just old fashioned conversation. Your father seemed sure you kids would be reasonable about this-"
"She's our friend. You can talk to her, but we're staying with her." Peter said stubbornly from where he stood by James. Moody grunted in acknowledgment, face looking rather red even from where Luna sat on the hospital bed, curled into Sirius's side.
When Moody had approached them, had pointed at Luna and barked out "Come!" Sirius had held onto her, and he hadn't moved a moment except to raise his head to glare at the Auror.
"Unbelievable. Completely ridiculous- Children! RICHARD!" Alastor bellowed when Richard Potter turned the corner, looking rather amused at the sight before him.
"Are you being unreasonable, Jamie?"
"You're not interrogating Luna."
"We're not interrogating her, James. Luna-" Richard look to Luna now, and Luna stared back evenly as Richard smiled, not unkindly. "We just want to talk. Your story is an interesting one, and it's procedure we must go through. We're not going to talk to you either, until after the full moon has passed- Alastor was supposed to come and simply let you know, so we wouldn't surprise you." Richard said pointedly then, giving his companion a sharp look. Luna looked between the two Aurors hesitantly, feeling a bit like a trapped animal. In Moody's eyes, she was fairly certain she was one.
"You don't have to do anything you don't want to." Sirius's voice was a whisper in her ear, quiet and comforting. Luna shook her head though.
"That's not true. They'll talk to me no matter what I want." She whispered back, holding onto his hand tightly as she spoke. She was sure the pressure was far past comfortable, but he was nice enough to not say anything. Looking to Richard, she couldn't bring herself to return his kind smile.
"Tomorrow afternoon, then- If it's okay. The mornings after, I tend to sleep in." Luna said hesitantly. She felt another shoulder press against hers, and she was grateful for Remus's presence. Richard nodded once, and relief broke through Luna.
"That sounds reasonable. I hope you don't take offense, but we'll have you kept to a single room and watched over- As procedure, and for your own protection. It's been understood the relationship with your family is more than tedious, and we don't want any harm to come to you." Richard informed her. Sirius squeezed her hand gently, and Luna let herself relax back into him, for the first time smiling at Richard without too much hesitancy.
"Thank you, Mr. Potter."
"Call me Richard, Luna, as the rest of the boys do." Richard told her warmly, brown eyes as kind as his son's before he turned to his partner, and the smile fell from his face. "Come on, Alastor. Let's go contact the department- Perhaps this will be a good opportunity for some of the trainees to gain some experience."
"Aye." Was all Moody said, eyeing Luna and Sirius shrewdly one last time before he turned away, and with one last wink from Richard the two Aurors were on their way. Luna closed her eyes, hiding her face in Sirius's shirt.
"You alright, Luna?" Sirius asked, sounding genuinely concerned as he used his good arm to rub comfortingly up and down her arm. She let out a quiet sigh before she nodded.
"Yeah. Your dad is nice, James." She told her friend, and James smiled sheepishly.
"Yeah. Sometimes too nice, though."
"I thought he was rather lovely." Lily Evans added from her bed, looking up from the Witch Weekly magazine she was flipping through, provided for her by Peter. James turned a faint shade of red, mumbled something and went to go sit by Peter on the bunk across. Luna sighed.
"None of this feels real yet."
"I don't know. It feels pretty real to me." Sirius said good-naturedly, letting out a faint laugh when Luna rolled her eyes. Lily smiled tiredly her from her bed, shutting the magazine.
"I understand. It's too close. It was too much- It feels like it shouldn't have been real. Like that much couldn't have happened."
"It's all very surreal. It will set in in awhile, for all of us I'm sure- Shock only takes so long. Then there'll be calming potions all around." Remus said knowingly, falling back onto the bed. Everyone made small sounds of agreement,
With her eyelids growing heavier, Luna hadn't realized she was leaning fully against the Gryffindor boy until they were nearly falling back, and Sirius was repeating "Ow" at increasing levels of volume.
"Sorry." She mumbled, hurrying to sit up- But then Sirius shifted, and Luna was resting back comfortably against the sheets of the Infirmary bed. Then he was leaning over her, black hair framing his face in a way so attractive Luna found it unfair.
"You should kiss me." She requested, voice slurred a little by sleep. Sirius gave a faint grin, obviously amused by her sleepy request.
"Maybe later?" He suggested, and Luna smiled at him, blue eyes staring up at him mischievously.
"Definitely later." She said confidently, right before her chin dropped and she was fast asleep.
_
With Luna sound asleep by his side, Sirius wasn't given much else to do but people watch- With her hand still in his, he didn't want to wake her, and no one was in the mood to really talk.
James was going back and forth between his bed and Lily's, concerned and hovering even when she insisted she was fine with a small smile and cheeks as red as her hair. Sirius thought it was amusing, seeing the two flit around each other, always touch-and-go moments.
Peter, after insisting on fetching everyone drinks or food, had crashed onto one of the beds in the Infirmary, his snoring providing background to the rest of the murmuring voices that filled the Hospital Wing.
Remus seemed completely exhausted, lying on his stomach in one of the beds. He hadn't moved in about an hour, and Sirius was near positive he had fallen asleep with his face buried into the pillow. Couldn't blame him, though- The bloke had one hell of a night coming up, and sleep was definitely something he needed.
Luna stirred faintly, and for a moment Sirius thought she had woken- But she simply rolled closer to him, tucking her head against his shoulder. It made him smile, something soft and tender- He rather liked being close to her. At this proximity he could see the freckles that were usually almost invisible, dotted along her pale skin.
"You want to come get some food with me? They're serving breakfast in the Great Hall." James spoke quietly as he approached Sirius, rubbing at his eyes behind his glasses. Sirius bit down on his lip, considering- On one hand, he didn't want to be away from Luna. On the other, he was starving.
"Sure, Prongs. Let me just- Oh, morning, love." Sirius said, cringing as Luna opened her eyes a bit.
"You getting food?" She mumbled, letting her hand slip from Sirius's so she could curl up more comfortably. Sirius nodded, brushing back some of the hair from her face.
"Yeah. You want anything?"
"Just some bacon please. Or toast."
"Sure thing. I'll get you both." Sirius promised, and Luna gave him a small smile before falling back asleep. Free from her grip, Sirius stood up and looked to James, who was staring at him with the biggest shit-eating-grin that Sirius nearly smacked him there.
"What?"
"You're so whipped."
"I'm whipped? You're the one hovering over Evans!"
"I'm being a good friend- She's got a broken arm-"
"I've got a broken arm! With no help from you, might I add-"
"I was Imperiused!"
"I was tortured!"
"Well Bellatrix is a bitch!"
"Well- Do you expect me to disagree with you on that?" Sirius scoffed, and the two boys stared at each other for a moment before they went for each other, wrestling much like they had since they were younger- Playfully, but Sirius would be damned if he didn't pin James to the floor first.
"Boys- Boys, stop this! I want you out if you're going to behave like this!" Madam Pomfrey was quick to jump at them in the middle of their scuffle, and with Sirius's legs still around James's waist they were made to leave the Hospital Wing, separating only once they were able to get Sirius's Doc Martens unhitched from the wool of James's sweater.
"I won that." James said breathlessly as they started the trek down the hallway, and a bit out of breath himself, Sirius decided not to say anything(Even if he had totally kicked James's ass).
The Great Hall seem unusually loud as they entered, the busy buzz of student's voices filling up the room. Sirius was very aware of the eyes that were on them as they walked to their table, and a small part of him enjoyed it- He could use a little good attention after last night.
"Oh, thank Merlin!" Mary MacDonald let out a cry, rising from the table and hurrying to embrace Sirius, then James. "The rumors about you five are awful- It's not true that Lily lost her hand, is it?"
"No, she's still got it. She lost a leg though." Sirius replied pleasantly, cringing when James smacked his arm and corrected him.
"Lily's fine, so is everyone else- A little shaken up, but we all are. Is there still food left?"
"Tons of it, but it's surprisingly not that great. The house elves weren't allowed in the kitchen till late this morning. Apparently some of the students had gotten attacked there, they were sweeping it-" Mary paused then, catching the sheepish looks on the boys' faces. "It was you two, wasn't it?"
"Unfortunately, yes. We are all fine though- Is everyone here?"
"It seems like it. A lot of the Slytherins are missing from their table, but after last night, who can blame them for hiding?" Mary asked, letting out a sigh. "The ones that have shown up have been getting glared at or hexed all morning."
"Probably serves them right." Sirius scoffed, frowning. James was too, but refrained from saying anything, turning to Mary.
"We're just here to get some food then head back to the Infirmary." He said, and Mary was very helpful about helping them gather it. Soon enough they had two platefuls of bacon and toast, and a pitcher of orange juice to go with it all. Mary kissed Sirius's cheek as they left the room, and though James had given him a curious look Sirius merely ignored it. Mary was a good friend.
"Have you slept at all since last night?" James asked as they walked, balancing the plate in his hands carefully. Sirius gave a small shrug.
"Not really. I'll be fine though- Maybe I'll take a nap."
"I'm sure you will. I'd think you'd be homesick for your bed by now."
"Honestly, I haven't though about it much. Been too chaotic, I guess. Adrenaline is up- Not much room to think about sleep." Sirius said simply.
James considered this, a thoughtful expression on his face as they entered the Hospital Wing. "True- Hey- Evans, what are you doing?"
"I'm fine!"
"Your sling is not supposed to look like that." Sirius said amusedly, staring at the redhead. She was standing up, one arm behind her back while the newly-healed one was up above her head. The strap of the sling seemed to have gotten twisted, and while Sirius did feel for her- It couldn't have been that comfortable- It was a hell of a funny sight.
"Will one of you stop staring and give me a hand?" Lily huffed, obviously annoyed at the lack of usefulness from the boys. Both hurried to set down their plates, and in a matter of seconds they had managed to get the Gryffindor girl free from her sling.
"How'd you even manage to do that?" James asked as Lily righted herself, straightening out her shirt.
"I'm not quite sure- I was just trying to get my jumper on, I was cold- Could you hand it to me, by the way? It's on the floor now." Lily sighed, murmuring a quick 'thank you' as Sirius handed the desired jumper to her.
"Is this the same kind of "I'm not quite sure" as when you apparated your arm off?" Sirius asked teasingly. Lily scowled at him, playfully hitting him with the jumper bunched up in her hand.
"No. And can we not talk about that?" She asked, cheeks a faint pink. "That's still embarrassing."
"It happens- Remus lost his eyebrow, remember? And Peter lost an entire finger." Sirius said comfortingly. Lily smiled gratefully, sitting back down on her bunk.
"Very sweet of you to remind me, Black. Now, I know you two got food- Care to give me some?"
"We've got toast and bacon, and some orange juice. Have your pick." James said, already picking the plates up from the ground. Lily did just that, and they were able to make a table by pushing two smaller ones together. With the smell of food in the air, Remus was quick to wake and join them, followed soon by Peter. With Luna the only one asleep, Sirius took it on his shoulders to save her some food, even fighting off a hungry Remus for the last piece of bacon.
"Now that's love." Peter commented amusedly as he finished his toast, wiping at the crumbs on his mouth. Sirius only grinned back, batting Remus's hand away from his saved plate one last time.
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Writing is hard. But thank you for being so patient with me! My school/personal/life-in-general schedule has been super crazy busy as of late and I'm trying to edit it when I can! I appreciate ya'll so much for that, I really do.
I promise I'll try to get the next chapter up super, and have it be slightly longer as well.
As always, let me know what you thought of this chapter by voting, commenting, or sending me a quick message! I always love to hear what you have to say. Your opinions mean a lot!
Please forgive me for any mistakes made editing wise; My main focus was getting this up and ready to read. Also, I watched Brooklyn 99 while I edited. No regrets.
I will be better focused next chapter too.
Luv ya,
-Lily