The Squib and the Werewolf (book 2)

59. Broken And Angry

Raya wasn't sure how long she spent kneeling on the cold stone floor, inside the Department of Mysteries.
It could have been minutes or hours. She wouldn't have known.
She didn't take her eyes off the veiled archway, as that was where she had last seen Sirius.
There were people walking around the room, and talking, but Raya blocked them all out.
Sirius was dead.
She would never again hear his laugh, or see him smile, or kiss his soft lips.
He was gone, and she knew she would have to spend the rest of her life alone and broken.

"Raya".
She felt a hand on her shoulder, and looked up to see Dumbledore standing beside her.
"Let's get you home" continued Dumbledore.
Raya made no attempt to move, but she didn't need to, for Dumbledore apparated them back to Grimmauld Place.
When they arrived in the kitchen, they saw Kreacher smiling to himself.
The elf took one look at Raya's distraught face and began to laugh.
"He's dead! Master Sirius is dead!" Shouted Kreacher excitedly.

Raya frowned and stood to her feet, knife still in hand.
"Did you have something to do with this?" Demanded Raya.
"Kreacher does not need to serve Master Sirius anymore" smiled Kreacher.
"Answer me elf! I am your Mistress, and you will do as I say!" Ordered Raya, as she raised her knife.
Dumbledore placed his hand on Raya's arm, stopping her.
"I will deal with this" he said calmly.
"No. The elf cannot lie to me, as I am a Black, so I should be the one to question him" replied Raya.
"I am a very skilled Legillimens, so I will be able to get the truth out of him, I promise... You should leave the room while I talk to Kreacher. I will come and find you when I'm done" informed Dumbledore.

Too upset to argue, Raya lowered her arm and began to head to the nearest bedroom, unable to return to her own, where Sophia was sleeping. As she thought that seeing her daughter's face would break her completely.
Once she was alone, she began to cry, and the tears would not stop.
She had lost the love of her life, and there was nothing she could do to bring him back.
Raya only managed to stop herself crying, when she heard Dumbledore enter the room.
She quickly wiped her face dry and turned to face the old man.
"Well?" She questioned.
"It seems that Kreacher has been serving more than one master for a while. He has been in contact with Narcissa Malfoy and Bellatrix Lestrange" revealed Dumbledore.

"But surely he can't have disobeyed direct orders from Sirius, and told the death eaters what the Order have been up to" frowned Raya.
"No, he couldn't give up Order secrets. But he was able to tell Voldemort that the one person Harry would do anything for, was Sirius. Which is where Voldemort got his idea to plant the false image in Harry's head. Voldemort knew Harry would come running to rescue his godfather" informed Dumbledore.
"That traitorous elf" spat Raya.

"It turns out that Kreacher was the one who injured Buckbeak earlier today, to ensure that if Harry tried to contact you using floo powder, he would not be able to. Harry did do this, and Kreacher lied to him while you were tending to Buckbeak, telling him that you were out, and that Sirius was at the Ministry" revealed Dumbledore.
"Kreacher instructed Harry to go to the Ministry, knowing that we would all follow to protect him. He hated us that much that he wanted to kill us?" Questioned Raya.
"He was an unwilling slave, acting out against cruel masters, so you must not judge him too harshly" answered Dumbledore.

"I can do what I like! The elf is my responsibility, as I am a Black, and if I want to kill him, then I can. That is my right. He doesn't deserve to live for what he has done. I can never trust him again, so I have no use for him!" Shouted Raya.
"If you do not wish to see him again, then instruct him to work at Hogwarts. That way he is out of your hair" replied Dumbledore.
"No! Why should he get to live, when so many good people have died?" Questioned Raya.
"Kreacher is a small, simple animal. He may not be innocent. But he is not responsible for Sirius's death, for he did not kill anyone. So, I beg of you, don't kill him as revenge for Sirius's murder".

"You're right. Kreacher is not responsible for Sirius's death... But you are" spat Raya coldly.
"You can blame me if you like. I will not stop you" said Dumbledore calmly.
"You aren't even going to try and defend yourself?" Quizzed Raya.
"No. We all played our part in his death. If I had told Harry the truth, then maybe we wouldn't be here"
"There is no maybe about it. You should've told Harry about the Hall of Prophecies, months ago. And you should've told him the truth about his visions. You also should've been the one to teach him Occlumency, so that something like this couldn't happen. But instead you gave Snape the job of teaching Harry, when the two hate each other. And you decided that keeping Harry in the dark, was somehow the best option".

"You haven't asked me where Harry is, or if he is alright" said Dumbledore.
"Don't try and make me the bad, uncaring person! If Harry was in any danger, you would've told me by now. And since I can't imagine you would have left the boy at the Ministry, I assume he is at school" replied Raya.
"Well, you are right, I sent Harry to my office via Portkey, and I will join him soon. You'll be pleased to know that the Order, and Harry's friends will all make a full recovery. They will all be fine" informed Dumbledore.
"Sirius won't be. He's dead, because of you!"
"While I accept that I may have done things that ended up with us going to the Ministry, I did not kill Sirius".

"Right now, I blame you more than Bellatrix. She may have shot the spell that ended his life, but none of us would have been there in the first place, if you had told Harry the truth... You see, this is why I don't tell lies anymore. I don't like keeping secrets either, because it never ends well for me, and the people that I care about" admitted Raya.
"Harry is going to need your support, now more than ever" replied Dumbledore.
"How can I support Harry, when I feel like I am about to break into a million pieces? I've still got to tell Jamie that his father is dead. And I definitely won't be in a good place once that is done. I cannot take Sirius's place and become what he was to Harry".

"I've got to head to Hogwarts to talk to Harry. Would you like me to bring you along, so that you can speak to Jamie?" Asked Dumbledore.
"Yes. I need to be the one to break the news to him, just like I did two years ago, when we thought Sirius was going to have his soul sucked out by a Dementor" answered Raya.
"Alright then. Do you want to go and fetch your daughter before we leave?" Questioned Dumbledore.
"No, she will be O.K on her own for a little while longer. And when I've finished talking to Jamie, I will bring him back here, for there are things we need to discuss. I will also have to talk to Harry as well"
"When we arrive at Hogwarts, I will send word to Remus, so that he can come here to watch over your daughter".

"It's a bit late to start acting as if you care about me and my family" spat Raya.
"I do care-" started Dumbledore.
"No, you don't. If you did care, you wouldn't have allowed Umbridge to scar Harry and Jamie, by making them write with that horrible blood quill. And if you really cared about Harry, more than yourself, you would have told him the truth... I am done playing your games, Dumbledore. If you don't tell Harry the truth, when we return to Hogwarts, then I will, and I mean it this time. I am not keeping things from that boy anymore" interupted Raya.

"Don't worry, I intend on telling Harry the contents of the prophecy when I next see him. Voldemort tried possessing Harry tonight, and it nearly killed him, as he cannot be close to a soul as pure as Harry's. So, I don't think he will be trying that again any time soon. Which means it should be safe to tell Harry everything he needs to know, without also telling Voldemort" admitted Dumbledore.
"I don't care if it is safe or not. Harry is being told everything, whether you like it or not" informed Raya.
"You are very stubborn" commented Dumbledore.
"So everyone tells me" muttered Raya.