Chapter 74: 2-2

We were running through the darkness. Deep inside the forest. Along the way, we encountered Beauxbatons students, goblins, Veela and their admirers, and even Winky—the brave house-elf of the Crouch family who had warned us, "There are bad wizards here!" We shook them all off and kept running.

"Let's stop around here."

Once the sounds of the riot had faded away, I stopped the three of them and we came to a halt. The hideous sights we had just witnessed were burned into everyone's minds.

Tents set ablaze. Screams and shrieks. A masked mob that had mocked and toyed with a Muggle family, tormenting and laughing at the defenseless weak. A swirling chain of malice. —Please, let Lucius Malfoy not be among them. Having no choice but to flee, all I could do was pray.

"Everyone, get your wands out. Let's wait for Uncle Arthur here. Just in case—"

"What should I do, Maria?"

Illuminated by Hermione's Lumos, Harry's face was deathly pale.

"I don't have my wand. My wand..."

"What? Did you drop it?"

"Did you leave it in the tent?"

"I don't know. But I think it's been gone for a while."

"All three of you, calm down. Be quiet."

I reprimanded the three of them, whose voices were growing louder in their panic.

...Which meant Harry's wand was already in his hands. I didn't know exactly when it had been taken, but I still hated the idea of that wand being used for evil. After all, it was a deeply cherished partner to me, too.

"Harry, take my wand."

"But—"

"Just take it. Your safety comes first."

"Then Maria should take my wand," Hermione interjected.

"Eh, what? What do you mean?"

I forced my cypress wand into Harry's hand, and when Hermione tried to hand me hers in turn, I stopped her. Left out of the loop, Ron blinked in confusion—and then Harry pointed his wand tip right behind him.

"Who's there?"

The eyes of the other three of us snapped simultaneously toward the empty air.

"Is someone there?"

They were invisible to the eye. Beyond the wand's tip were only eerie tree shadows. But I knew. And Harry realized it, too.

The "invisible man" we needed to be most wary of right now was standing right there.

"If someone's there—"

"Morsmordre!"

A man's voice and a flash of green light slashed vertically through the darkness. The three of them jerked their heads up to follow the light, as if pulled by strings. In that instant, the invisible man Disapparated, leaving behind only Harry's discarded wand and a forcibly summoned Winky. A dazed Winky picked up the wand. —I was the only one who saw it all.

Explosive screams erupted from the direction of the campsites. A skull projected into the sky. It incited terror in everyone who remembered the Dark times of the past; it was beyond comparison to the cruelty inflicted upon the Muggles earlier.

Harry and Ron stared at it blankly, but Hermione, instantly understanding its meaning, grabbed them both by the arms. She gave me a look of pure trust.

"Harry, we need to leave. Right now."

"Hermione?"

"We have to get away from here. No, that's... that's—"

"What's the big deal about that skull?"

"Don't you get it!? That's the—"

Hermione's judgment was correct, but too late. Ministry of Magic officials Apparated one after another, quickly surrounding the four children. And then...

"Stupefy!"

"—Protego!"

The flashes of light, hurtling toward three kids who couldn't even raise their wands and one who was completely unarmed, were deflected by a sharply cast invisible shield. Standing behind the twenty-odd Ministry officials was a man who was usually quite restless for his age; yet now, all of his normally ever-changing expressions had completely vanished. Because of his handsome features, his sheer lack of expression was terrifying enough to make one doubt if he was even human.

"Sirius..."

"—Who pointed their wands at my children?"

Sirius, whose mere presence was enough to make the officials step back, stood before us with a voice as cold as ice. It was a voice that instinctively knew how to command obedience. Sirius repeated himself.

"Who fired offensive spells at Harry Potter and Maria Potter—my godchildren?"

"Sirius Black—you—"

"—Wait, stop!"

Uncle Arthur pushed his way through the circle of officials and rushed over to stand next to Sirius. Despite his shock, Uncle Arthur breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that we children were completely unharmed.

"What is the meaning of this, Crouch?"

"Caught red-handed. —Isn't that right, Arthur?"

"Caught red-handed doing what?"

Barty Crouch Sr. stepped forward from among the officials, his wand now aimed not at us, but at Sirius. —Is this guy actually suspecting Sirius?!

"Sirius Black was at the exact location where the Dark Mark was conjured. And the Dark Mark is hardly a spell a child could cast. Therefore... I shouldn't need to spell it out."

"Barty, calm down. That's taking it too far—"

"That's right, Crouch. Wasn't Mr. Black's 'incident' already proven to be a false accusation?"

Even as the others tried to stop him, realizing this was entirely too much of a stretch, Crouch glared with murderous intent in his eyes, as if he utterly despised Sirius. ...Well, it probably wasn't Sirius specifically; he likely just despised Dark Magic and its forces with a passion.

Sirius took the brunt of that fierce glare—one that looked ready to unleash an attacking spell at any second—and firmly refused to step aside. His incredibly dependable back made me feel frustratingly helpless.

"Crouch, this isn't like you. Doubting Sirius can wait until after we've heard what the children have to say. Now, Maria, Hermione, tell us what happened."

Prompted by Uncle Arthur's gentle urging, Hermione, trembling but resolute, spoke about the man's voice. I chimed in occasionally to add details—like the fact that Harry's wand had gone missing—and the questioning proceeded. Immediately afterward, Winky the house-elf, paralyzed by the sudden appearance of her master, was discovered.

"What... what is the meaning of this? Could an elf have—? And—Mr. Crouch, she's yours..."

Barty Crouch Sr. was dumbfounded. Winky simply pleaded her innocence to her master in a pitiful, heartbreaking manner.

"An elf cannot use a wand. Someone must have given the elf a wand and taught her the spell to conjure the Dark Mark... Now, who could do such a thing?"

"Amos, stop it."

"And the wand belongs to Harry Potter. Which means—"

"—Which means, someone stole or picked up Harry's wand, cast the Dark Mark, and quickly Disapparated to escape. Right after that, Winky, who was unluckily taking shelter from the riot, stumbled upon the scene and picked up the wand. ...Isn't that what happened?"

Every eye in the vicinity focused on me. I simply couldn't bear to watch Harry turn any paler under suspicion, Winky shed any more tears, or Sirius stay so violently tense as he continuously shielded us. ...Give me a break already.

"Right, Maria's hypothesis is the most realistic. Now, let the adults take over from here. May I take the children back? Sirius, you should come too."

"Arthur!"

"Amos, this isn't the Ministry of Magic. Detaining someone on their private time without a summons—that's tyrannical, no matter how you look at it. We should reschedule this for another day."

Handing Winky over to Crouch, Uncle Arthur escorted us away, brooking no arguments. One of my hands was gripped tightly by Harry, and on my other side, Sirius walked alongside us with a stiff expression. During the walk back through the forest, we children barely spoke.

"...Sirius."

"I know. If it keeps Harry from being suspected, I don't care if they tighten my surveillance or force me back under house arrest. They can summon me as much as they like."

"I'm sorry, really... The Ministry is on edge with one scandal after another. Not that it excuses their behavior, of course."

"It's nothing new."

Upon reaching the tent, Uncle Arthur ushered Ron and Hermione inside first, then smiled knowingly at us and Sirius. I was grateful for his consideration in giving us a little time alone with him. Readily accepting his kindness, Harry, Sirius, and I faced each other once more.

"Sirius..."

"I'm sorry. Because of my rash actions, the promise of us living together might have slipped a little further away again."

"That's not true!"

"But I will absolutely—I will come for you. This time, I will fulfill my duty. I am your godfather, after all. ...Will you trust me and wait for me?"

"Of course we will!"

We nodded in unison and leaped at him at the exact same time. Catching us effortlessly, Sirius pulled both Harry and me into a tight, fierce embrace.

"Thank you. I've made you wait so long. I've made you feel so lonely. —But no more. I love you both. Harry, Maria."

""We love you too, Uncle Sirius.""

Even if he wasn't our real father.

—Even if he was projecting someone else onto Harry and me, in this moment, we were truly a family.