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Wanted


It was at breakfast the next day when James started to breach the subject of Sirius possibly talking to Regulus. “I mean, you’ve got to be at least a little curious what it is he wants, don’t you?” James questioned, kicking Sirius beneath the table. “I mean, why’s he being so persistent if it isn’t really, truly important? And offering up Snape as collateral?”

Sirius shook his head, “Bloody hell. He’s a Slytherin, Potter. Reg’s just trying to bluff his way into getting some attention. He probably doesn’t know a thing about Severus Snape. He just knew that would get you to talk me into talking to him. Using you -- that’s what he’s doing.”

“But he knew what Snape did,” James hissed. “He knew he’d read my mind. If he didn’t have anything on Snape, then how’d he know that?”

Sirius had a bit of peanut butter from his toast on his upperlip. “Well. I dunno. Perhaps he - perhaps he just guessed.”

“Guessed! Sirius. Please. Strangely specific - and unlikely - thing to guess, isn’t it?”

Sirius was stubborn, though, and he insisted, “James. There’s no way Regulus is up to any good with the offer. No way he wants to talk to me for any good reason. He’s got some sort of blackmail or something.”

“If he had, wouldn’t he have done whatever it is by now anyway?” James pressed.

“Enough, Potter. Enough, alright? I’m not talking to him!” Sirius’s face was one of agitation, “I’ve struggled for years putting my family behind me, don’t you understand? Talking to Regulus opens all those wounds back up and it hurts alright? I don’t want to feel like shit all over again. Please just let it go.”

James frowned, but he turned back to his breakfast without pressing the matter any further, trying to decide how else to go about worming the information he wanted out of Regulus Black without Sirius’s help. There had to be something he could do that would convince Regulus to talk.

Under the table, Remus put his hand on Sirius’s thigh comfortingly. He could see the stress in Sirius’s jaw, the way he flexed it and stared down at his food, scooping oatmeal and blueberries into his mouth, trying not to look at James or anyone else for that matter. Remus alone knew the struggle that Sirius had been going through with his worry over the dementors and becoming his family and the darkness that Sirius had been feeling. Remus knew that Sirius’s reluctance to speak with Regulus probably was stemming from that darkness looming around him, and he couldn’t say that he entirely disagreed with Sirius’s decision to keep Regulus Black out of his life. After all, when you’ve been cut down enough times by a person, you don’t go back. But James was right, too, on the other hand. Regulus was being far more persistent than Remus might’ve expected if it was simply a bit of jest that he wanted. He glanced at James and wondered whether there was some way for the boys to find out what Regulus wanted without getting Sirius involved until they knew for certain that it wasn’t something that would hurt their mate - whose heart was a lot more delicate than he liked to boast of it.

Suddenly the air was filled with owls swarming the ceiling and swooping down toward the house tables with their envelopes and packages. An owl arrived with James’s copy of the Daily Prophet and dropped it directly onto Sirius’s plate of toast on the table. While James was paying him, Sirius reached to push the paper off his plate of toast.

“Stinking stripey socks on a squid!” Sirius exclaimed, his free hand waving with the exclamation, sending a spoonful of his oatmeal directly into Remus’s face. The gob of it rolled down Remus’s forehead and over his nose and he reached for a napkin to wipe it out of his eyes, even as Sirius grabbed up the newspaper and started unfolding it, “MADNESS!” he shouted.

“What is it?” James asked. He’d just finished putting the knuts into the owl’s coin purse.

Remus snuffed into the napkin, having gotten oatmeal up his nose, too.

“World famous magizoologist, Newt Scamander, wanted for the kidnapping of more than thirty-five children!” cried Sirius, flapping the paper at them.

“WHAT?” Remus threw the napkin down, not even concerned with the oatmeal that had spattered his oxford and Gryffindor vest by then.

James took the paper roughly out of Sirius’s hand, his eyes wide and he continued reading:

Newton Fido Scamander, renowned author of the wizarding classic ‘Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them’ is wanted by the Ministry for Magic. The Minister, Harold Minchum, has issued a warrant calling for the arrest of the magizoologist following accusations from Lucille Minchum that she was among 38 children kidnapped and stolen by Newt Scamander and his wife, Porpentina Scamander (nee., Goldstein) earlier this year. The couple have recently been spotted with many of these children still in their possession.
Many prominent wizards have stepped forward to argue that Newt Scamander would never commit such a crime, but the Minister has insisted that his grand daughter’s eye-witness account of the kidnapping is enough to send Mr. Scamander to a cell in Azkaban until trial arrangements can be made.
Reluctance from the Department of Magical Law Enforcement has resulted in the sacking of at least two Aurors - including Fabian Prewett, who has been taken into custody for aiding and abetting the Scamanders. Gideon Prewett has also been suspended until further investigations can be made.
Any witches or wizards spotting the Scamanders are urged to contact the Ministry for Magic immediately. Newt Scamander is a very powerful wizard, with violent attacks in his past and a great deal of vicious magical beasts at his disposal. Tina Scamander is an ex-Auror for MACUSA and is also considered dangerous.”


James looked up. “Bloody hell.”

Remus shook his head, “But they didn’t kidnap those kids, they rescued them! Rescued them from Fenrir Greyback!” He looked panicked, “They can’t send Newt Scamander to Azkaban.”

“Well Newt has the perfect hide away, doesn’t he?” whispered Sirius lowly.

“The suitcase?” asked Peter.

“Yeah the suitcase,” said James.

“But somebody’s got to transport it around, don’t they?” Remus pointed out, “And they only have so much food and stuff down there. And I imagine Tina’s still sore from the attack at holiday. And that little boy - they have that little boy. What’s become of him? Bradley, his name was.”

Sirius looked concerned, “I forgot about him.”

“What if they take him into custody and find out he’s a werewolf?” Remus asked, scared, then, “Or worse yet, what if they take him into custody and don’t find out he’s a werewolf? Full moon is just a couple days away.”

James looked ominously among the other three. “Bloody hell.”

“Can’t believe they arrested Fabian,” said Peter, shaking his head.

“You reckon Gideon’s still here? They haven’t cancelled Defense Against the Dark Arts or anything…” Sirius asked, looking between them.

James looked at the staff table. “He’s not at the table.”

“Neither is Dumbledore,” pointed out Peter.

Remus looked sick. “Guys. The Scamanders have done so much for me. The Minister can’t send them to Azkaban!”

James stared down at the newspaper again, “Was Lucy Minchum one of the kids Newt Scamander had?”

“No,” Remus replied, “He found the kids the night of the last full moon. Lucy Minchum was home before that. Long before that. It doesn’t make sense that she’d only just now come forward blaming Newt for her kidnapping.”

James rubbed his chin and studied the paper a moment. “Yeah, that’s weird.”

“If she was telling the truth, she would’ve told Minchum long before now that it was Newt that kidnapped her,” Peter agreed, nodding eagerly.

Sirius was staring blankly at the table top. “Why would she lie?”

James chewed his lower lip thoughtfully. “Dunno. But this is so unlike Minchum.” He sounded deeply disappointed. “After all that research we did… I really believed Minchum was the right choice for Minister. Maybe we were… were wrong. Maybe Minchum’s no better than Tutman.”

Sirius’s eyebrows folded.

Around the Great Hall, people were getting their newspapers and cries of surprise were going up all over at each of the house tables. Some people were starting to say already how it was always the quiet ones that turned out to be terrible people and how twitchy Newt Scamander was - surely that was a sign that this was true! And after all he had been there at Christmas with thirty-eight children!

At the Slytherin table, Regulus stared at the newspaper in shock. Lucy Minchum was not an eyewitness, she wasn’t - she was locked away at Number 12 Grimmauld Place, being cared for by his house elf, Kreacher, and there was no way that the real Lucy Minchum had put forth accusations against Newt Scamander.

But how was it being done? How was Lucy Minchum in two places at once? And why was one of the Lucy Minchums attacking Newt Scamander’s good name?

Regulus looked across the Great Hall at his brother’s back and he felt a squirm of nervousness go through him. It was more important than ever that he have an audience with Sirius Black because of everyone in the school, Sirius was the only person that Regulus dared to trust with the information he had.

After all, Regulus Black would be openly defying the Dark Lord if he told anyone… and those who defied the Dark Lord did not typically live to tell the tale.