Dysfunctional

31 - Guard Duties & Grieving Godfathers

Sunday, October 13

Sirius was making his way through the dark corridors of Number 12 Grimmauld Place, heading straight to the room where people were conversing in loud voices.

He entered the dining area to find all pairs of eyes turn to look at him and immediately turn back, continuing whatever discussion they were having. Sirius blinked. Not one sarcastic quip about his tardiness. He must have finally broken them.

He took off his coat and draped it behind the chair as he slid into his usual seat, absently noting two new faces. Sirius caught the tail end of the conversation, and looked up sharply.

"Who had a run-in with the Dementors?" he asked.

"I did," squeaked Dedalus Diggle. "I was heading home last night after my shift. There was a dementor just around the corner of the street. Luckily, I managed to banish it before the muggles could notice."

"There has been two dementor attacks in Kent so far," said Kingsley, "disregarding the unsuccessful one on Dedalus. The dementors are getting to be a problem now that the Death Eaters are setting them on unsuspecting people."

Molly looked horrified. "Were they wizards?"

"Muggles," said Hestia, scowling.

Bill leaned forward, his fang-earring dangling and catching the light from the candelabra. "I have some news. I think the Lestranges are up to something. I was watching them on Wednesday and they were definitely discussing something about a plan of attack."

"Did you hear anything that could help us? Where or who they plan to attack?" asked Arthur.

"I couldn't risk revealing myself, so I had to give up mid-way. I'm sorry."

"Don't be, Bill," said Sirius. "I, for one, have information that they plan to attack the Longbottoms."

Some of them gasped but Moody looked curiously at Sirius, who nodded. Not all of the Order, especially the new members, knew that Snivellus was spying for them. It was best to keep it under wraps as it would mean a higher chance of the information not reaching Voldemort's ears.

Hestia huffed in annoyance. "Great! Now, we need another set of volunteers to stand guard over them. We're running out of people who can actually show their faces to the Death Eaters. They already know Fred and George are part of the Order and we've had to place protections around their shop."

"We must disguise ourselves from now on," said Moody gruffly. "That way we can have more people on the field."

"Disguise ourselves, how?" asked Charlie. "Polyjuice Potion? That's difficult to brew and not to mention, expensive."

"Leave that to me," said Sirius. "Transfiguring our appearance is also an idea for those who are good at it."

"And I think we must look into securing all of the Order members' houses this week," said Kingsley. "It is better to be on the safer side."

Everyone agreed and Arthur added, "We should also secure Hermione's home and her parents. Being Harry's friend -"

Sirius nodded. "Of course."