The Squib and the Werewolf (book 2)

55. Mass Breakout

Although Raya was sad when the boys returned to Hogwarts, she still had Sirius, Sophia, and Remus to take her mind off of things.
Sirius was very quiet after Harry and Jamie left, so Raya made it her mission to cheer him up.
This was working rather well, until about a week after term started, when things took a turn for the worst.
Raya woke up one morning in 12 Grimmauld Place and found the bed beside her empty.
Sophia was still in her toddler bed on the other side of the room, so Raya knew Sirius wasn't feeding her breakfast. Which is why his absence scared her, as he never headed downstairs without her.

Raya quickly threw on her dressing gown and headed downstairs to try and find Sirius.
The sound of voices coming from the kitchen, told Raya where she needed to go.
She pushed open the door and inside the room she found Sirius, Remus, Moody, and Kingsley all huddled over the kitchen table.
Having guests in the house made Raya uncomfortable, since she was still in her pyjamas.
"Why didn't you wake me?" Asked Raya.
Everyone turned and looked over at her.
"Remus came to get me, but I thought I would leave you sleeping a little while longer, as you looked so peaceful" admitted Sirius.

"What's going on then?" Questioned Raya.
Remus attempted to hide the newspaper on the table in front of him, but Sirius stopped him, and pushed the Daily Prophet towards Raya.
"There's been an unfortunate turn of events" revealed Sirius.
Raya frowned and picked up the Prophet to see what was making everyone so worried.
She gasped and nearly dropped the paper when she read the headline on the front page.
"Mass breakout from Azkaban. Ministry fears Black is 'rallying point' for old death eaters" recited Raya.

Raya's eyes moved from the headline to look at the 10 black and white photographs of the escaped criminals.
There were 9 wizards, who's names she recognised instantly, and 1 witch who Raya knew just by looking at the picture.
"Bellatrix" whispered Raya.
"Yes. My deranged cousin has escaped Azkaban with the rest of the low lifes" said Sirius coldly.
"Dolohov is one of them. I wonder how Molly is going to cope when she finds out" mumbled Raya.
"Probably as well as the rest of us. And of course, I get the blame for the breakout".

Raya looked away from the prisoners photos, and began reading the article.
Fudge blamed Sirius for the breakout, and claimed that he was now the death eaters new leader.
"This is just wrong!" Shouted Raya, as she slammed the paper back down onto the table.
"I'm just glad that your name wasn't mentioned, as that would have put you in danger. It's a good thing that Fudge doesn't think you are helping Sirius with all this" admitted Remus.
"I don't care about myself, Remus. I'm more concerned with the fact that my husband is being blamed for joining forces with 10 incredibly evil people, who were all a part of Voldemort's inner circle" snapped Raya.

"Fudge has no choice but to blame Sirius for the breakout. He's been telling the whole world that Dumbledore and Harry are liars, and that Voldemort isn't back. He can hardly turn around and say, 'sorry everyone, Dumbledore warned me this might happen, the Dementors have joined Voldemort and now his worst supporters have broken out of Azkaban'. He can't contradict himself like that. So, he has to make Sirius the scapegoat" sighed Remus.
"But it's not fair. Sirius risked his life in the first war, just like the rest of us. He doesn't deserve to be branded a traitor" replied Raya.
"Just leave it. What's done is done" mumbled Sirius.

"How could we have just let this happen? How could Dumbledore have let this happen? What's the point of having a death eater spy, like Snape, if he can't give us the heads up on things like this?" Questioned Raya.
"Severus couldn't have prevented this, even if he knew about it, because he has to keep pretending to be a loyal Voldemort supporter" reminded Remus.
"He could've told us about it, even if he couldn't stop it, so that we were prepared" snapped Raya.
"He's been at Hogwarts all week, so I expect this breakout came as a surprise to him, just like it did to us".

"Is there any other bad news you want to give me? Come on, pile it on. My husband is being accused of more crimes he didn't commit, and 10 murdererous criminals are loose! If there is anything else you want to get off your chest, I suggest you say it now!" Shouted Raya.
"Well, there is one other thing" said Kingsley calmly.
"What now?" Groaned Raya.
"You remember Bodrick Bode, don't you?"
"The Unspeakable who ended up in St Mungo's, after being found in the Department of Mysteries, not making any sense?"
"Yes, him. He was found dead this morning by a Healer".

"What! How did that happen?" Asked Raya.
"He was killed by a pot plant that turned out to be Devils Snare" answered Kingsley.
"It's a very sneaky way to murder someone. Send them a plant as a gift during Christmas, and no one will suspect a thing, until the killer plant murders him in his sleep" growled Moody.
"He was murdered?" Quizzed Raya.
"It seems that way" sighed Remus.
"But why kill him now?" Frowned Raya.
"Because he was getting better, and very soon he would have been able to tell people what had happened to him. Voldemort couldn't have that, so he tasked one of his death eaters to kill him" answered Sirius.

"Merlin's beard. This day just can't get any worse" sighed Raya, as she sat down in one of the kitchen chairs.
"This is only the beginning. With all of his death eaters at his side once more, Voldemort will be able to ramp up his crimes, just like he did last time. And it won't be long before we are in another full scale war" admitted Remus.
"But this time we don't have the Ministry or the aurors on our side" added Sirius.
"I know. Which makes our job a whole lot harder" replied Remus.

Raya closed her eyes, and her mind drifted back to the first wizarding war.
She pictured all the brave Order members who had died fighting like heroes; Fabian, Gideon, Benjy, Caradoc, Marlene, Dorcas, Edgar, and so many others.
All the pain and suffering came flooding back, as Raya remembered how dark things had once been.
And knowing that those bad times were just around the corner, made Raya feel helpless and so without hope.

Raya snapped her eyes open and jumped out of her seat, "I just need a minute".
She headed to the nearest empty room so that she could get a hold of her emotions by herself.
But she wasn't alone for long, because Sirius joined her a few moments later.
"I came to check on you... Are you O.K?" Asked Sirius.
Raya spun around to face him, with tears in her eyes, "What do you think?".
Sirius placed his arms around her and held her tight.
"It's going to be alright" he promised.

"How can you say that, when everything around us is falling apart? We fought for a world in which our children could be free. But now they are going to have to grow up in a war, just like we did. Everything we sacrificed was for nothing. We achieved nothing" sobbed Raya.
"That's not true. We did achieve something. We put a stop to Voldemort for several years. And the boys were able to grow up without being afraid of Voldemort" reminded Sirius.
"We had nothing to do with that. It was Harry who stopped Voldemort back then. All of our suffering, and all of the people who died, was for nothing. Everything we did was completely pointless, just like it is now" replied Raya, as she pushed herself away from Sirius.

"What we are doing now is not pointless. If it weren't for us, Voldemort would already have got his hands on the prophecy" said Sirius.
"If it weren't for the brave Order members who protect the door at regular intervals, you mean. Me and you don't do anything for the Order" admitted Raya.
"You're the one who doesn't want to get sent on missions because you don't want to help Dumbledore" replied Sirius.
"And I still don't. This breakout doesn't change anything. I still will not be his disposable toy soldier again. I am the only one who gets to decide which battles I fight".

"So, when the time comes, you will fight with us?" Questioned Sirius.
"Of course. I may hate Dumbledore, but I hate Voldemort even more. And if there is a battle to come in the future, you know I'll be there, by your side... Like Moody said when he first started to train me, I'm a fighter through and through" admitted Raya.
"I know you are. That's one of the reasons I love you... Come on, let's head back to the kitchen. The rest of the Order will be arriving soon, so that we can plan what to do next. And as you and I have fought these death eaters before, those in the Order will need our input" replied Sirius.

"I'm going to go and get dressed before everyone else arrives, as I don't fancy the whole Order seeing me in my pyjamas" admitted Raya.
"Alright. Go and get dressed then, and I will see in the kitchen when you're ready" replied Sirius.
Raya headed towards the door, but before she left, she took one last look over her shoulder at Sirius, who's face had fallen, when he thought she wasn't watching.
He had been trying to be brave for her, when inside he felt like he was falling apart.
"I love you, Sirius Black" announced Raya.
Sirius looked up at her and smiled, "I love you too".