Minerva's POV
McGonagall sighed as she watched the Headmaster and the Potions Master be led away. She had little hope that Severus would be back, and she wasn't sure how that made her feel. However, she was sure that Albus would not be gone long.
For now, she was in charge. She turned from the scene and remembered that there was someone in need of rescue. So, she went to find Madam Pomfrey. "We need to get Alastor. There is no telling how bad off the man is. I am very shocked that the Aurors seemed to have forgotten about him," she stated to Poppy as she entered the tent where the nurse had been set up.
"Yes, I was just getting my bag together," the nurse replied as she added a few more items to her bag, which also contained the eye and leg.
"Can you imagine being shoved in a trunk for months on end? Thank Merlin, Mr. Potter and his elf found the poor man. I do wonder how he was caught in the first place." She worried her collar at the thought of the torture it must have been for the proud man. To be attacked and then trapped, Alastor will never forgive himself for letting his guard down. Had she not been so concerned about Mr. Potter, perhaps she might have spotted the imposter sooner. But, she had so many duties that she let the inconsistencies slide. Now, she regretted not paying closer attention.
"Constant Vigilance, indeed," Poppy replied as she closed her bag and hurried to the castle, thankful that the bag was an extended one. Who knew what they would find when they got there. She knew he had to be alive, but that was all that was needed to make the Polyjuice. He could have undergone any torture.
They made their way to the DADA classroom and then to the living quarters. There in the middle of the room was the trunk. It took a few minutes to go through each compartment, but they eventually found the trapped man.
"It's about time someone got here," came the weak, but gruff voice of the ex-Auror. He looked pitiful. His most of hair was hacked off, and he was rail thin. He was dressing in long underwear and nothing else. He looked up at them with his one sunken eye and snarled, "Well, get me out of here."
"Hold on, Alastor, we will have you out in a jiffy. First, Poppy is going to come down and make sure we can move you," McGonagall called down. It hurt her to see her friend so indisposed. She knew the man's pride had taken a beating. She only hoped that he recovered from this. She, herself, was never going to forgive her lack of attention. Perhaps, it was time to step down from one of her duties.
Poppy made her way into the trunk and soon deemed him able to be moved. It took a bit of teamwork, but the two women got the injured man to the Hospital Wing, and soon he was dosed with a very strong sleeping potion. Other than some severe malnutrition and dehydration, he was in reasonably good health, which made both women thankful that he had not been tortured. Madam Pomfrey was just glad that she had retrieved his eye and leg from the impostor. While they would not be impossible to replace, they would be expensive and ex-Aurors didn't make a whole lot of money.
Sirius' POV
Meanwhile, Sirius was sneaking up on an old friend, who was standing on the outskirts of the stadium. He came up to the man and tapped him on the shoulder. "Moony," he whispered to the greying man, making the werewolf jump.
"Do I know you?" the werewolf asked, looking at the younger man in front of him, and wondering how he knew that nickname. The man looked like a younger Sirius only with light brown hair, brown eyes and rounder cheeks. He squinted his eyes to see if it was a glamor, but the image stayed strong. There was not telltale blurriness, just a solid face. He took a sniff and smiled.
"It's me. Sirius. Harry did some magic and now I look like this. I'm not even sure if he can change me back, but for now I'm taking advantage of it. It's great to be able to move around, not to mention pick up birds," Sirius said with a waggle of his eyebrows.
"What do you mean Harry did this? He is just a kid," Remus said in a questioning tone. Last time he saw the teen, he was just an average student. Sure, he did the Patronus, but other than that great feat of magic, his schoolwork was lacking. He remembered that the boy had had such a hard time getting the Patronus down, and that it was only with high emotions that the spell worked. Which was par for the course, since the spell needed a strong happy thought. He wasn't sure if he believed the rumor that Harry had driven off a hundred Dementors. He was good, but really.
"How can you say that? Didn't you just witness what happened in the arena?" Black asked, awestruck that the man would be so… belittling after what just happened.
"You know I'm not allowed in to Ministry events. I was at Hagrid's hut until the crowd started leaving," Remus answered, very put out that he missed something spectacular. Damn that Dolores Umbridge. "Are you saying that Harry pulled off something remarkable? But, how? I mean, he is just a kid."
"Look I can tell you, but you have to take a vow first," Black stated firmly.
"Why?"
"I am under a vow and can't release information until I have a similar vow," Sirius said urgently. He really wanted to tell Remus. He was sure the man would be impressed, and that the werewolf would help him along with his magic. His friend had always been better at theory than him. If they got their heads together, they could pull off just about anything, Sirius was sure of that.
"All right," the other man said, and took the vow his best friend told him to.
"There's so much to tell you," the disguised wizard gushed as he took his friends arm and led him away from the stands. "Harry changed after he lost his memory. He's wickedly powerful now. He doesn't do magic like we do.
It's all wandless and wordless, unless he needs to concentrate. He got me into some deep trouble with the goblins, let me tell you. He's trying to teach me, but I've only got a bit down. I can summon things, repaired things, and clean up my messes. He's teaching his friends, and they are all pretty scary." Sirius was very proud of his godson, so he had no problem raving about the boy's accomplishments.
"You're going to have to explain that better," the older man said, folding his arms across his chest and lifting an eyebrow.
"It started like this," Black stated and proceeded to tell his friend all about what he and Harry had been up to the last two weeks. He explained the intent magic and Merlin's book, which he assured the man he could read.
As they talked, they moved to the Whomping Willow. Sirius waved his hand and the tree's branches stopped swinging. However, now only he could find the entrance, making him pause in his retelling. "Shite, I forgot he put wards up, so no one could find me."
.....
Can't wait to read more exciting chapters then what are you waiting for Join my patreon right now.
Get 30+ Premium chapters.
2+ FREE ADVANCED CHAPTERS FOR ALL FREE MEMBERS.
Link: p*atreon.com/Earthly_Writer (Remove the *)