Blood of the Moon {Remus Lupin}

Chapter 74

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It had been months since Auriga had argued with Sirius. Or as she liked to refer to it: her apology. For now they were civil to each other, what with them being the only occupants of the house.

But when Auriga arrived back after work, she was slightly nervous when she saw that he was sat, stony faced at the kitchen table instead of dancing around like he usually did. He looked up when she came in. "You're back," he pointed out quietly.

"What's going on?" Auriga asked, dropping her bag on the table. "Has someone been hurt?"

Sirius nodded. "Ron," he said, and Auriga felt her palms begin to sweat. "He's been poisoned."

"Merlin's beard," whispered Auriga, taking a seat opposite him. "Will he be alright?"

Sirius shook his head. "We don't know yet. Pomfrey's still working on him." Auriga felt her throat dry up, but couldn't bring herself to stand up and get it. She wasn't overly fond of Ron Weasley, but he was still just a child, and a child that could just as easily be Draco. "Dumbledore told me to let a few Order members know."

Auriga nodded in silence. "Have you heard from Harry?"

"What?" asked Sirius, seeming distracted. "Oh, no. I'll write to him when we know what's going on." Auriga nodded again.

"Should I cook something?" she offered, just wanting to help more than anything.

"No, I'll start in a minute," Sirius promised. He finally met her eyes, looking regretful.

"What else is it?" pushed Auriga. "There's something else."

Sirius sighed. "Do you think...it could've been Draco? I mean, two attacks at Hogwarts..."

Auriga took a deep breath. "The thought crossed my mind," she admitted. "For the Bell attack too. But he seemed so well over Christmas. So normal. A bit down, but I think that's just him and Harry."

Sirius nodded. "But who else could it be?"

"There are thousands of people in that school, Sirius," said Auriga. "It could be any one of them." He nodded again, looking back down at the table. "I'm going to get showered - let me know if anything changes?" He nodded.

*****

"...and so it really is vital that we have witches and wizards in the Auror office from all backgrounds, whether they're muggle-borns or purebloods," concluded Auriga to the fifth year Defence Against the Dark Arts class. They showed varying levels of interest. Some looked glad Snape wasn't doing a lesson, some looked revolted at the idea of being an Auror, and others looked genuinely curious. It was a far shout from the seventh years, who had looked both terrified and eager, and the sixth years, who had kept glancing at Harry Potter, expecting something to attack him and therefore them at any minute. Poor souls.

"Do you have any questions?" asked Augustus, stepping forward.

"How qualified do you have to be to join up?" asked a Gryffindor.

"Good question," said Auriga. "The usual in five O NEWTs in Defence, Transfiguration, Herbology, Potions and Charms. I was more qualified because I had field experience already. If you don't make the grades, a good alternative route is to train as a Hitwizard first."

"So, are you an Auror?" a Slytherin from the back asked Augustus with a frown.

"I'm not," said Augustus with a smile. "But I keep the Auror Office updated on certain topics that have otherwise inaccessible information."

"So you're a snitch?" asked the girl next to her. The pair of them giggled.

"Five points from Slytherin, Avery," called Snape from the corner.

"That's one way of putting it," said Augustus with a shrug. "But it's worth noting that without 'snitches' the work of the Aurors would be greatly hindered."

"And on that note," said Auriga, "If any of you ever have any information on any cases that come up in the news or from rumours, you can contact us at this address." She flicked her wand and dozens of purple pamphlets glided across the room, landing in front of the students. A couple of them were stuffed into pockets or bags, but most were being flicked through.

"Well, thank you very much, Auror Malfoy," said Snape. "Mr Carrow. Do you need showing out?"

"Oh, no, thank you, Professor," said Auriga, buckling her bag shut. "We'll manage." He nodded and the pair of them left.

"Well, I think that went rather well," said Augustus as they headed down the corridor. "Especially given the age group."

"Yeah, it did," Auriga said. "Obviously not as well as the others but still pretty good."

They walked in silence, their footsteps echoing off the worn-in walls. Something occurred to Auriga. "Some of those kids have Death Rater parents," she pointed out. "And you just admitted to helping the Aurors."

Augustus shrugged. "It'll be fine."

"I'm serious!" said Auriga. "Look, I can arrange for some witness protection if you need, or-"

"Look at you, getting all worried," said Augustus, an amused smile on his face.

"I'm not worried," said Auriga. He raised his eyebrows. "You're a civilian. And my first priority is protecting civilians," she explained.

"OK, then," said Augustus, not sounding convinced. "But I promise you, I'll be fine."