The Last Gryffindor (Sirius Black)

Final

I wasn't stupid.

When I received a letter from Hermione stating she thought she might know my father and was interested in discussing matters in person with both me and the man in question — who she refused to explicitly mention by name through OWL post — I hesitated. Who wouldn't? Father or not, he was still a mass murderer. I couldn't very well overlook that fact.

Needless to say, I didn't particularly want to be murdered. It would put a damper on my day.

Hermione hadn't even mentioned him at all in the first two letters, where she tried to convince me to visit her in Britain, to no avail. My business with her had concluded when she led me to discovering my mother, so going through all that trouble of finding passage — be it via broom or special Floo Network connections — hadn't seemed worth it by a long shot, no offense to her.

Mentioning the man my mother claimed was my father, however, had at least piqued my interest.

I still wasn't keen on dying, though.

Which begged the question of why on Earth Hermione would be consorting with an escaped prisoner of such renown, especially being a close friend of Harry Potter, who Sirius Black had famously been hunting only two years ago.

My curiosity, Maellie concluded when we Floo'd into an inn on the outskirts of Hogsmeade, was going to get me killed. Worse, she added, it was going to get her killed along with me, since she couldn't very well let me go meet any murderous relatives alone.

It was a gamble, a gamble for them to assume I wouldn't immediately turn them in to the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, and a gamble for me to assume I wasn't going to be promptly slaughtered.

"Hermione," I said, stepping toward the witch shifting anxiously from foot to foot alone outside the pub where we agreed to meet.

"Caius!" She spun to face me and breathed a sigh of relief, as though she hadn't fully expected I'd show.

"Sirius," I corrected, feeling I might as well give her my first name now that my secret was out.

She blinked owlishly. "Pardon?"

"My name. It's Sirius Caius, but I go by Caius, seeing as my father's reputation precedes him."

"Oh." She blinked again, followed by a subtle wince I probably wasn't supposed to see. "I didn't know that. I suppose it makes sense."

"No one asked, but I'm Maellie, and you better not be leading us into a trap, because I adore drowning my enemies and feasting on their bone marrow," Maellie said sunnily, at total odds with her dark words. She held out a hand, which Hermione took rather apprehensively.

"Hello," Hermione replied, and then peered over at me. "I... didn't know you were bringing company."

"I'm his hired muscle," Maellie responded for me, flexing one arm.

"It seemed wise," I said, shrugging.

We were a team. I had her back, and she had mine. Always. I didn't need to explain that to anyone.

"I see..." Hermione shuffled from foot to foot, obviously conflicted about more people being involved in this illicit business than was absolutely necessary. Seeing I wasn't about to budge on bringing Maellie along, Hermione pointed to a rocky outcropping looming outside the little wizarding village. "We're meeting them over there."

Maellie whistled appreciatively, bumping my elbow with her own. "Now, that is a prime real estate for getting murdered."

"Who all is 'we'? " I asked warily.