"That fucking bitch!"
"Sirius, please calm down, you're scaring the house elves," Remus observed, as his old friend suddenly threw a chair across the study, the ancient chair legs snapping off as they impacted the wall.
"Don't tell me to fucking calm down, Remus," Sirius snapped back at his old childhood friend. "That bitch went behind my back and contacted Harry directly, when I had already told her no," the new Lord Black stalked across the room, pacing backwards and forwards like an angry beast.
"I am Harry's guardian; I speak for him, yet she totally disregarded me!" Sirius yelled out, as he sat down in the second chair to prevent that too from being thrown across the room as Sirius continued to pace about.
He recognized what the true issue was; it wasn't the fact that Madam Bones had contacted Harry behind Sirius' back, it was that Sirius had been disregarded, had been ignored, just like they had done to him after the war.
He had been disrespected and insulted by her actions, no matter how well meaning her actions were intended to be. It was like she was saying that he was both unsuitable and unfit to serve as Harry's guardian, and that had wounded Sirius' pride terribly.
"Yes, she was a bitch," he agreed with his friend, knowing that it was better to let the man vent his anger before trying to reason with him. "She shouldn't have contacted Harry as she did, but—"
"Damn right," Sirius voiced, interrupting his speech.
He gave his friend a sour look at the rude interruption. "But what's done is done," again trying to move the discussion to more productive grounds.
"Now is not the time to sulk and stew over a minor insult; there are much bigger issues in play," again playing the voice of reason, like he always did at times like these. At this, Sirius just sent him an accusing glare.
"Don't tell me you support her idea of letting Peter go free? After everything he's done?" Sirius accused, his best friend's eyes flaring in anger. "James and Lily are dead due to him; he even tried to fucking kill Harry!" The dog animagus stepped forward.
"I spent over a decade rotting in prison surrounded by soul sucking demons due to him. And Merlin only knows how many good people were tortured, raped, and killed because of information the traitor passed along during the war. He doesn't deserve to go free! Exile is no punishment to him; he has no family here! He has nothing to lose and just about everything to gain!"
"True," he admitted, also acutely feeling the betrayals his old friend committed. "But he's just one Death Eater, Sirius, and by far not the worst of them. Dozens more walked free with that fucking imperious defence. If Peter is willing to testify against them for a chance to walk free, shouldn't we at least consider it? Peter was just a grunt, a rat, a small fish in their organization.
With his testimony, we could finally get people like Lucius, a current Lord of the British Wizengamot, a despicable man that shapes policy to this day, and a dozen others just like him," using the name he knew Sirius hated with an unbridled passion was a low blow, but hopefully it'd prove effective. Catching his breath, the dog animagus started to calm down, somewhat.
"We all know Malfoy was part of You-Know-Who's inner circle; he was also the one with the deep pockets helping to push his master's political agenda, buying votes and allies.
If they can arrest him with Peter's information, they can then question him under veritaserum and get more answers. As soon as they get one dirty secret, it's another crime they can charge him for. And that will allow them to ask more questions. How many people could be brought down by Malfoy's interrogation alone?"
"I still can't believe that that bastard walked free; they all should have been given the kiss after You-Know-Who fell," Sirius grumbled, as he stalked around the room, before finally sitting down behind his desk and pulling out a bottle of fire whiskey and a couple of crystal shot glasses.
He watched as Sirius poured himself a glass before downing the honey brown liquid quickly. "Also think about it this way, Peter will stop trying to kill Harry. Harry will be able to have a normal life at Hogwarts without having to look over his shoulder all the time," he argued, playing the Harry angle.
"Harry will never be able to have a normal life thanks to Peter. He's a bloody orphan, remember?" Sirius spat back. "And that's all thanks to Peter."
He refused to take the bait. "Harry isn't the only war orphan, you know," Remus countered, whilst pouring himself some whiskey, wondering if his argument was even partly successful. If not, he would just have to wear Sirius down until he saw reason.
After all, he desperately wanted Peter to pay for his crimes as well, probably just as much as Sirius did considering everything their old friend had done. Peter had betrayed his personal trust and had attempted to discredit him as well. He had sold out their side and James and Lily were dead because of it, along with so many others.
But Peter was a small fish and, like Albus had argued during their meeting earlier that day, Peter's freedom was a small price to pay if it allowed them to arrest and prosecute so many far more important and influential Death Eaters who had managed to escape justice. It was for the greater good, one in exchange for the many, and despite his own personal feelings on the matter, he couldn't help but agree with the wise old headmaster.
---
( Hogwarts' Greenhouses )
Hearing a firm knock on her private greenhouse door caused her to look up from the maturing crop of mandrakes she was currently caring for.
She huffed at the untimely interruption to her important task before quickly throwing some soil back over the crying magical plants to keep them warm and to protect them. This also muffled their magical cries, allowing her to safely remove her earmuffs.
Mandrakes were truly wonderful plants, used in all manner of potions for their powerful qualities in restoration. She moved gracefully across the stone pebble floor of the greenhouse whilst skilfully dodging the attacks of the man-eating Vip'ca'ract Man Trap, its thorny green vines shooting out speedily, trying to ensnare her and pump her full of its toxic venom.
Examining the shadow as she approached the greenhouse door, she found that it was likely too small to be a professor, well, except perhaps Filius, so it was probably one of her students. She realized that it was a Ravenclaw at the sight of the blue tie, rather than one of her own badgers seeking an audience with her, before finally recognising who it was through the glass: Harry Potter.
Seeking her out after class was rather unexpected, since the young lad had the joint top grades in the class and had demonstrated considerable knowledge of the subject, but clearly had no real love for the subject itself, like most young people these days.
It was simply just another class for the Ravenclaw genius, who undoubtedly only put in so much effort to ensure his own academic position at the top of the class. So the question was, what did he want? Unfortunately, she couldn't think of any good reason why he would be here.
She pulled back the glass door so that she could speak to him. "Mr. Potter, what can I do for you this evening?" she enquired pleasantly.
"First of all, I'd like to apologise for my lack of attention in class today; my mind was elsewhere," he offered in apology, taking her by surprise, as students rarely apologised for such minor offences.
Smiling at the apology, 'How sweet of him,' she thought. "Think nothing of it; we all have bad days," she offered wisely, whilst making a waving gesture, dismissing the issue. "Was there anything else you wished to talk about?"
"Thank you for the offer, Madam, but that is unnecessary. Plus Professor Flitwick might get jealous, thinking you're trying to poach me away from Ravenclaw house," he offered back with a charming smile. She suppressed her own laughter and instead just smiled. 'A bit full of himself,' she noted, seeing the boy's father's influence coming through, or maybe even his godfather's. 'On the bright side, at least he's not pranking everyone.'
"Is there anything else, Mr. Potter?" she enquired, wanting to get back to her work before the evening turned too late, so she could put her feet up in a hot bath and relax.
"Now that you mention it, yes," the dark-haired Ravenclaw replied, getting her attention. "Allow me to get straight to the point. I have a number of business assets which specialize in the cultivation of magical plants and ingredients of varying levels; however, I would like to introduce some fresh blood into my workforce.
Ideally, people with new ideas and creative approaches to the field, people who can help add some new energy and drive to my businesses, and, of course, hopefully increase the overall profits. I was wondering if you knew anyone who would be interested.
Maybe a soon-to-be graduating student or students, for instance? Or recent graduates who failed to find meaningful work in this field? I know, for instance, that first generation magicals often have difficulty getting into their desired career here in Britain, since most 'traditional' employers prefer magically raised children."
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A/N :
Hey guys, I wanna fix the grammar in chapters 10–70, but I need to know which ones are bad so I know where to start.
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