Of Trust and Traitors

Chapter 1

It was a dark and stormy night. The almost-full moon was hidden by clouds, the only light came from the occasional lightning flashes and the wand Sirius Black had illuminated in front of him. He was alone on this mission. Most of the members of the Order of the Phoenix were off an a raid trying to find incriminating evidence at the Malfoy's house. James was at home with Lily who would be going into labor any minute. Peter was probably undercover as a rat in some Death Eater's kitchen, but Sirius didn't know for sure. And Remus, Remus was back at their flat recovering from the full moon.

Sirius stood hidden under the invisibility cloak he had borrowed from James outside Headquarters. He paced back and forth making sure no one came by who wasn't supposed to. It was dull work and he was soaked through by the rain and starting to shiver, even though it was the end of July. He glanced at his watch, a gift from the Potters that he had received on his seventeenth birthday, and let out a sigh. He had an hour left on this shift before Frank Longbottom would come and take over. Sirius resumed his vigilant pacing, but the only thing that moved was some tree limbs, blowing in the wind.

When Sirius was sure he could not stand outside a minute longer, he checked the time again. To his surprise, it was twenty minutes past when Frank was supposed to show up. This sent a jolt of worry through Sirius who had known Frank for years. The only reason he would be late is if something serious had happened.

But Sirius was powerless to help. He could not abandon headquarters and leave it unattended in such dangerous times, but he didn't know if anyone knew Frank was gone. Under normal circumstances, Sirius could have counted on Remus to notice their bed had been too empty for too long, but it was the night after the full moon and Sirius knew Remus was fast asleep and trying to heal. He wouldn't notice anything.

And so Sirius waited almost the whole night, growing both more exhausted and more nervous with each passing minute. Just before dawn, Fabian Prewett came to take his shift.

"Sirius?" Fabian asked.

"It's me. Fabian? What type of fruit are you allergic to?" said Sirius, asking the security question to confirm Fabian's identity.

"Strawberries. How many puns were in your toast at James and Lily's wedding?"

"Thirty seven. Have you seen Frank?"

"No," said Fabian "Have you? I thought that was who I was going to replace here."

"He never showed up," Sirius said "I did his shift and mine."

Fabian's face fell. "That's not like Frank," he said "Something's wrong. You go home. I've been out here eight minutes and I'm soaked, I can't imagine what eight hours must have been like. You're shaking. Take care of yourself, I'll tell Dumbledore and Mad-Eye about Frank after I'm done here."

Sirius nodded "Okay. Good luck out here. I hope the storm lets up for you."

Then Sirius turned and Disapparated. But he didn't reappear outside his flat. He was almost four hours late already, taking twenty minutes to inform Dumbledore about Frank wouldn't make a difference for him, but four hours could make all the difference for Frank. Dumbledore needed to know immediately.

Dumbledore wasn't at headquarters, no one was. It was used for meetings and to hold important papers and plans only. Sirius hadn't even been guarding the entrance, only a decoy, but he was close enough to make sure the real entrance remained secure and hidden. Dumbledore was, of course, at Hogwarts, preparing for the school year so that is where Sirius went.

Sirius reappeared at the closest possible spot he could, without actually being on the Hogwarts grounds. Fortunately, it wasn't raining in this part of the country. He could see the sun begining to rise. Despite being exhausted, he sprinted through the gates and into the building, up several flights of stairs, whispering all sorts of passwords as he went to let him in, and stopped to catch his breath in front of Dumbledore's office door.

"Chocolate Frogs," he panted out and the staircase let him up.

He pounded on Dumbledore's door, still trying to stop shivering and catch his breath, but before he could, the door opened and Dumbledore, clearly sensing that something was wrong, ushered him in and conjured two steaming mugs of hot chocolate.

"What is-" Dumbledore began, but Sirius cut him off.

"Frank never showed for his shift. Something is wrong. Thought you should know."

Dumbledore was famous for never losing his calm and this time was no exception, although he did sit up straighter and more alertly. He grabbed his wand, waved it in a complicated pattern whispering incomprehensible words.

"I have alerted the order. They now know he is missing. Thank you for informing me. Here," and Dumbledore waved his wand over Sirius, warming and drying his clothes.

"Thank you, sir," Sirius said, no longer shivering.

"Go home now, Sirius," Dumbledore said "You've had a long night."

"Thanks, sir. Good night. I mean, good morning."

Sirius turned and made his way back out of Hogwarts. As soon as he had made it out of the front gates and off the property, he turned and Disapparated.

He reappeared with a crack in front of the flat he and Remus shared. He quietly unlocked the door and slid up the stairs. Remus was still asleep in their bed. Sirius quietly got undressed and slid under the covers, not wanting to wake Remus next to him. Almost as soon as he shut his eyes he was asleep.