The Love Of A Wizard

CHAPTER 15
Grimmauld Place

Cars packed and house locked up, the gang of muggles readyed to leave for London. Claudia had paid a young man from the nearby town to come and check on the dogs for her. Emma was smooshed between Bones and Rod in the truck and Claudia stood on the porch waiting for their wizard guide. For they had no idea where in London they were going.
A loud \"Crack!\" sounded to her left and she saw Bill Weasley walking toward them.
\"Hollo Claudia! Ready for a trip?\" He smiled and Claudia nodded. Her and Bill piled into the car with Nick, Zulu and Chester. The latter couldn\'t stop asking questions the entire ride. Finally, after a fit of laughter about \'Flobberworms\', Bill announced that he knew how muggles must feel when they met his dad. That brought roars of laughter from them all. It was a merry trip, all the while keeping in contact with the truck by cell phone while they made their way to London.
The country landscape yielded to the hustle and bustle of Merry Ol\' London. As they snaked their way through the streets, Bill was giving directions to Nick. They came to their hotel and checked in. Almost everyone had their own room, except Claudia who, of course had Emma, and Bones and Rod who indeed never did anything without the other. Never were there two people who were closer than these two.
After they were all unpacked and sitting together in Claudia\'s room, they waited. Bill had left to alert Dumbledore they had arrived. Within minutes of him leaving, Dumbledore knocked on the door, followed closely by Arthur and Molly. Greetings all around and then they were all talking with each other. Arthur was getting the grand tour by Chester. Molly was already playing with Emma, and Dumbledore was smiling and laughing at a story Bones and Rod were telling him. There was an aura of nervousness in the room. Soon the talking and laughter faded and everyone went quiet.
\"Well, shall we? I believe everyone is waiting for us.\" Dumbledore lead the entourage from the room and they all walked about five blocks when he stopped walking and turned to face them.
\"The address we are looking for is Number 12 Grimmauld Place. Please repeat that in your head for the next few seconds. Everyone was deep in thought and didn\'t notice a building materialize in between two others. They walked up a set of stone steps and faced a door with pealed paint and a knocker in the shape of a snake. Dumbledore pulled out his wand and tapped the door. After the locks sprung to life, it opened with creaks and squeaks. Before they moved to go inside, Dumbledore turned once more to them and spoke quietly.
\"I must ask you to keep your voices down if you must speak. Follow me please.\" With that, he swept across the doorway and was closely followed by everyone else. The hallway was dark and the whole house was quiet. He led them straight through into the kitchen. There, in varying degrees of sitting and standing were most of the members of the Order Of The Phoenix. Mundungus, Bill, Lupin, Sirius, Shakelbot, Tonks, Diggle and Severus. Most were surprised to see them there. Claudia\'s friends stayed huddled close together and Arthur and Molly went to join their ranks. Dumbledore closed the door and locked it magically.
\"Welcome guests. I will save the introductions for you to do. Ms. Moore?\" He gestured for Claudia to speak and she felt her throat dry up. What would she say? She turned towards Nick and he spoke to her in Russian.
\"Will you be needing help? I see panic across your face. I know you don\'t like speaking in front of people, but it seams we have no choice.\" His voice was low and all eyes were on him filling with bewilderment.
\"Yeah well...just jump in anytime you like. I hate this.\" Chuckles from the muggles and more confusion from the wizards. Oh yeah...they had been speaking in Russian and no one here knew it. That was good to know. Switching back to English, Claudia began.
\"Hi. I really don\'t know where to start. My friends and I...we have been working together for the past nine years. Most of us went through boot camp together and on into Special Forces. If you don\'t know what I am talking about, this is muggle military. We are mostly from the United States, but a couple of us joined later. We are what is called...\" Bones cut her off in Russian.
\"Thugs.\" All of them laughed. The wizards just sat and stared.
\"No...Mercenaries. We are highly trained military personnel who are hired to do...well...dirty work, so to speak. We have been everywhere and done just about everything. I guess, the best thing to do is to introduce everyone and let them tell you about what they specifically do within the group.\" Claudia\'s voice was shaking. It wasn\'t sharing the information with them, it was their reactions to it she worried about. Claudia motioned toward Nick.
\"My name is Nickolai Ivanovich, I am from Russia and my specialty is hand to hand combat.\" He stood board straight and stared at the wall ahead of him. Claudia suppressed a snicker. He was laying it on thick, he was. Still, he is one large, impressive Russian. Rod stepped forward.
\"Hey. Name\'s Rodrigiez. Ricky Rodrigeiz. Everyone calls me Rod. I\'m from the great U. S of A. My specialty is weapons. Preferably the ones you shoot.\" Nervous laughter from their audience.
\"My name\'s Bones. Yous folks can call me Bones.\" More laughter. \"I specialize in war fare and co-op tactics.\" He held the peace sign up and Claudia rolled her eyes.
\"My name is Antonio De Lorenzo. The ladies may call me whatever they wish.\" He winked at Tonks.\" I specialize, among other things, in Pyrotechnics. The flames of passion I say...\" He was cut off by Nick elbowing him in the ribs.
\"M...m...my name is Chester Blanks. I...uh....I am the techie. I handle all communications, GPS tracking and anything else they tell me to do. Mostly computer stuff.\" Chester looked like he would fall apart any minute.
\"My name, you can not say. It is in a language too foreign to you. They call me Zulu, the name of my ancestors. It is fine with me. I also specialize in weapons. But I like the long shiny ones.\" No one laughed at his joke. They all looked too frightened to laugh. It was quiet for a moment and Claudia realized all eyes were on her.
\"Claud. It is your turn, they are waiting.\" Hushed Russian in her ear told her to speak.
\"You all know my name. Claudia Moore. American. I specialize in hand to hand combat.\" Never had she heard such a silence before. Then almost everyone spoke at once.
\"Oh dear me.\" Molly said into her hands. Emma was beaming up at her mom from Molly\'s lap.
\"No way Claudia!\" Tonks was flabbergasted. Lupin sat back and was in deep thought. Sirius was sneering at everyone. Kingsly Shacklebot said, \"Interesting.\". Arthur was beaming at all of them and yelled \"Magnificent!.\" Claudia allowed her eyes to wonder to Severus and saw a slight twitch around his lips, which usually means he was fighting a smile, and a glimmer of pride in his eyes. Yes. My Severus would be proud wouldn\'t he? Dumbledore brought them all back.
\"Yes, yes. Very impressive. But I didn\'t call you all here to learn of muggle military. It seams, that beyond Lord Voldemort\'s normal pursuits, he has employed muggles, unlike our friends here, \"he smiled at Nick. \"but just as highly trained. From what we have gathered, to...how did you say it Nick? Put a hit out on someone? Yes, he is wanting someone dead, and is using muggles to do it. It so happens the muggles he hired are people Ms. Moore and her friends know already.\" Everyone\'s curiosity was raised at this statement.
\"The man that we know, his name is Hernandez. He is from Cuba, trained in the Cuban army. This man committed atrocities I will not repeat here. But he did them none the less and was kicked out of Cuba. Let me assure you, that is hard to do. Get kicked from a country as that. He was a hired assassin for awhile after that. We caught up with him over six years ago when someone, Hernandez, kidnapped a diplomat\'s daughter. Sparing you details, he killed her. He is only after money and power this man. He has recently been seen with another undesirable character by the name of Azi. He, we know little about. Only that he is mean and vicious. He likes to work for parties with large bank accounts as well. Usually he sticks to religious idealists, but he has branched off now. Another one, we don\'t know his name. We do know he was seen meeting with these two. They were meeting...what were their names Claud?\" Nick stopped speaking to the group and directed his question at Claudia.
\"I think it was Malfoy? Right? She looked at Severus. Everyone followed her eyes and looked at him.
\"Yes. Among others.\" Severus said. Dumbledore raised his hand for attention.
\"So we all have learned more tonight than we thought we would. I ask you all abide by the rules of muggle relations and know that these people come here as our friends. No magic shall be used against them. I also remind you most of us have been guests in Claudia\'s home at one time or another. Now...I must be off. Goodnight to all.\" Everyone got up at the same time and began talking as Dumbledore swept from the room.
The kitchen door was all of a sudden filled with four red headed children. Molly beckoned them over to Claudia.
\"Claudia dear, my babies.\" She was teary eyed and the boys rolled their eyes. Ginny smiled at Claudia and extended her hand.
\"Ginny Weasley. I\'ve heard loads about you.\" Claudia laughed. \"This is Ron.\" A tall red head nodded his head and Claudia smiled at the red flushed cheeks.
\"And we\'re Fred and George. At your service.\" They bowed low to the floor an Molly swatted them on their rear ends. The twins took off after Antonio who was standing alone. They quickly began laughing and talking. Claudia marveled at some people\'s ability to make friends so easily. She looked around and saw Arthur and Chester deep in conversation. Oh...what a perfect match those two are. I wonder if they ever answer any questions between the two of them. She saw, and groaned, Rod and Bones flirting shamelessly with Tonks at the table. They really could lay in on thick those two. Her eyes caught sight of Remus. He was staring at Bones and Rod with a not very friendly look in his eyes. Claudia had to turn around and laugh to herself. Oh...poor Remus. If he didn\'t make a move on Tonks soon, those two would be engaged to her by the end of the week.
Claudia noticed everyone was staying clear of Zulu and Nick. She made her way over to them and just as she was about to approach them, a set of black robes brushed against her.
\"Excuse me.\" He said and looked into her eyes. Oh Severus, read my thoughts right now. I love you and miss you.
\"No problem.\" Their eyes held for a split second more and he turned and left. She started towards Zulu and Nick when, agian, she was bumped from behind. This time, very forceful and no apologies. She saw the back of Sirius heading in the hallway. She shook her head. She finally reached her friends.
\"What was that about?\" Nick asked, as always when they spoke, in Russian. Claudia rolled her eyes and shook her head.
\"Nothing.\"
\"That, didn\'t look like nothing from here.\" He said. Zulu nodded in agreement.
\"What are you talking about?\" She asked.
\"The tall man in black. Severus is it? When are you planning to fill us in about him?\"
\"I don\'t know what you\'re talking about. But if I did, I would tell you to keep out of it.\" They laughed and clapped her on the back. \"Ok Claud. Whenever you are ready, we are willing to listen. You have been alone long enough. We welcome the idea that you have moved on. We would never be angry at you for filling Joseph’s shoes.\" Claudia stared at them. People were talking all around them, but she didn\'t hear them. Joe had been Claudia\'s husband for three years and Nick\'s partner for over seven. Her eyes brimmed with tears and she nodded her head. Oh, it was so good to have friends.
\"I have something I have to do. I\'ll be back in a second.\" And she went in search of Sirius.
After going up the stairway, lined with small heads of ugly creatures, Claudia found doors. But she didn\'t know which one would lead her to Sirius.
\"Looking for something?\" It was the Weasley child Ron.
\"Um...yeah. Looking for Sirius. Know where I can find him?\" He stepped forward and shyly pointed to a door at the end of the hall. Claudia said her thanks and walked to the door.
Do I knock? She thought. No, better to just walk in and not give him an excuse to run. She reached for the doorknob and turned. The door opened into a large bedroom where she came face to face with none other than Buckbeack. She smiled and bowed to him. He bowed back and made a loud bird-like noise. She looked past Buckbeak and saw Sirius standing, looking out the window.
\"Hey Sirius.\" No answer. She walked in and closed the door and slowly walked behind Sirius. \"Sirius, I thought you and I were better friends than this. We have gone through so much, and you are going to throw that away because...because why?\" She didn\'t mean to, but she was yelling already. There was no response from Sirius still, he did however make a grunt or snorting noise.
Claudia put her hand on Sirius\'s shoulder and she felt him tense.
\"Sirius please talk to me.\" She worked hard to keep her voice low and calm. When he didn\'t answer agian, she thought, well hell, might as well. She slammed him up against the window and turned him around. The look on his face was fury mixed with shock.
\"There Sirius! Got your attention now I bet. Let me tell you something you-\" He cut her off.
\"Oh shut up Claudia!\"
\"What?\"
\"I said shut up. Ever since James died everything has fallen apart for me. Peter was a traitor. I was sent to Azkaban. Now that I\'m out, I still can\'t walk free. I thought for one moment that I had found a small bit of happiness with you.\" He was yelling and Claudia was watching the veins in his forehead pound.
\"You did Sirius! We are such wonderful friends that...\"
\"No! I wanted you as more than my friend Claudia. Didn\'t you know that? We shared more together in my time there than I had with anyone. I love you Claudia. I\'m IN love with you\" He was breathing hard and looking her in the eyes. She saw his pain and confusion there. Had it really gotten this bad? Has he done anything but sit here and brood over everything?
\"Sirius, you think you\'re in love with me. But I am just the first person, well first woman you have had contact with for years! How could you possibly know?\" He moved so fast, she didn\'t know how to react. He grabbed her with one arm around her waist and the other wrapped in her hair and kissed her. It wasn\'t the passionate hard kisses she received nightly from Severus, but an angry kiss. She kicked and moved, but he wouldn\'t let go. Finally she got her hands on his face and pushed back. They were both panting and she slapped him, hard, across the face. He was stunned for a moment and looked down at the ground.
\"Sorry. I just needed to know...I just thought that maybe...\" His voice died.
\"I need you to be my friend Sirius.\" Her voice was shaking. He looked up at her, the anger relit in his eyes.
\"Still shagging him, huh? Snivellus? How is he? Looks greasy, it\'s no wonder you\'re not-\" She cut him off with her own forced laughter. Now she was angry.
\"Oh Severus, is that what this is all about? You don\'t really love me do you Sirius? You just can\'t stand the fact that it is Severus I want. Tell me, had it been Remus, would you be taking it like this? No...I don\'t think so. Pathetic Sirius. And since you asked...he is wonderful. Blows my mind.\" Claudia could have cried at the look in Sirius\'s eyes as she walked from the room. Her anger kept her from feeling anything at the moment. She walked down the stairs and motioned for Nick.
\"Come on. We\'re leaving.\" She spat. His eyebrows raised in question but he didn\'t. He knew her well enough to know when not to talk. He whistled and a few minutes later, they were all following Claudia out the door. She knew they were trying to figure out what was going on behind her back , but she gave them no information. She just walked to the cars and headed back to the hotel where she would spend a sleepless night


**************************
A/N: Did you see that coming? I wonder what they will do? Poor Sirius...