Wand-Leader & The Spy

36- No More Hiding

London, September 28th, 1999, 17.14 hours

"Cheer up, Ron! No one died, and you can soon get rid of that horrible beard. I'd keep the hair dye though."

Ron Weasley, sitting on a conjured seat in the new safehouse, glared at Harry's godfather. Sirius was sprawled on a couch - colored red and gold - and acted as if there was no reason to worry.

"What's wrong with redheads?" Ginny asked. Ron's sister was perched on the armrest of Harry's seat, one arm around his shoulders. She sounded a tad suspicious, and Ron could see her twirl her wand.

"There's nothing wrong with redheads," Sirius said. "But keeping the dark hair would make it easier for his lover to pick him out of the rest of your family."

"Sirius," Harry said in an exasperated voice, "that was an awful attempt at a joke even for you."

The older wizard pouted. "I'm just trying to lighten the mood here. It's not the end of the world - we all knew that sooner or later, our role would be revealed."

"But we hoped for later rather than sooner," Harry said. "Besides, Snape was killed. That's not exactly a time to make jokes."

"You wouldn't say that if you'd known him." Sirius shook his head. "But I guess he did redeem himself by killing Malfoy and getting killed by Voldemort."

Ron stared at Harry's godfather, then closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "Aren't you afraid that your relationship with Sarah will be wrecked?"

Sirius smiled, obviously ignoring the muttered 'what relationship?' from Harry. "Not at all! As you have proven, Wands dig secret agents."

Ron exchanged a glance with Harry and his sister. Harry rubbed his forehead and Ginny shook her head.

Sirius sighed. "You're a really tough crowd, you know?"

"We're in a really tense situation, you know." Harry glared at him.

"Well, I can be serious if yo…" Sirius stopped talking when Ginny pointed her wand at him. Sighing, he continued: "I know it looks bad, but the Wands are not stupid. They know we need each other to defeat the Dark Lord. And they know the truth about Malfoy. It won't take them that long to get over their resentment that we killed the Malfoys and hid it from them."

"I hope you're right," Ron muttered. His and Hermione's relationship really didn't need more strain. And he couldn't help thinking that if Dumbledore shared Sirius's optimism, he'd not have told the wizard to wait with Harry in the safe house instead of remaining in the Ministry with the professor.

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An hour and a half and a quick trip to Diagon Alley to buy newspapers later, Harry and Ginny were trying to understand The Quibbler, Sirius was taking a nap in the bedroom of the flat and Ron was reading the Tribune Magique. The headline spoke about the 'return of the exiles', but was mostly speculation. There was no official statement, and no comments from those like Dumbledore who actually knew what was happening. He didn't mind, it was just a way to occupy his mind until...

A knock on the door interrupted him. He went and checked through the spyhole, then opened the door. "Hermione!"

She stepped inside, smiling, but he could tell she was worked up. And when he hugged her, he could feel how tense she was. "I take it that the Wands didn't react too well to the revelations today?"

The witch shook her head. "Better than I'd feared, worse than I'd hoped." She sighed, not letting go of him. "Sarah gave a speech. She rallied the Corps, but… "