The Ministry of Magic
“Why so glum, Moony?”
“Because I have an insane roommate.”
“Insane? Don’t you mean a charming, intelligent, handsome, and loveable roommate?”
“No… I believe I said insane, mental, bonkers, and out of his bloody mind for waking me up at three in the morning!”
“Oh, come on, it wasn’t three in the morning.”
“You’re right, it was earlier. It was three when I finally took my alarm clock and threw it at your head to get you to shut up. What, in Merlin’s name, possessed to come into my room and start asking me about how Muggles can hear each other over the telephone?” Remus downed the dregs of the large cup of coffee he had poured for himself and rounded on Sirius, who was sitting on the kitchen counter, cheerfully swinging his legs, so the heels of his shoes bumped into the wooden drawers and ignoring the questions sent at him. “Why must you deprive me of the little sleep I get?”
“Remus… you’ve lived with me for eight years now, don’t you know you should expect this?”
Remus opened his mouth to retort, but shut it quickly, drawing his lips into a thin frown and narrowing his eyes. He hated admitting it, he really hated admitting it, but Sirius was completely right. Sirius had been like that ever since he was eleven years old, obnoxiously cheerful at all hours including of the days, including the ones where most normal human beings would be sleeping. Remus should know better than to believe that just because they were grown up and out of school meant Sirius would mature. “You know I have a job interview today, Padfoot. I’d like to be awake for it.”
“Hey, I have an interview today too and I’m wide awake!”
“That’s because you went back to sleep and when you woke up you drank three cups of coffee.”
“Well, why didn’t you do the same?”
“It took me two hours to get back to sleep and by the time I got up, there was only enough left for this!” Remus got up from his place at the kitchen table and crossed to the sink, turning the faucet on and rinsing out his mug. “We’re out of coffee by the way.”
Sirius’s eyebrows rose at an alarming rate. “How is that possible?”
“You drank three large cups of coffee in one morning. Forget about it, I’ll get some after my interview. Shouldn’t take long, anyway.”
Sirius noticed the grimace that slid across Remus’s lips. He knew his friend was more nervous about his interview than he was of his own. “Where are you looking again?”
Remus answered as he dried his mug. “Flourish and Blotts, they’re looking for someone to help sell their books.”
“And Mr. Nose in Book would be the perfect selection.”
Remus shot Sirius a warning look. “Yeah, he’d be the perfect solution if he didn’t disappear once a month for no apparent reason.”
Sirius paused for a moment, knowing that Remus was absolutely right. “But you’re given sick days, aren’t you?”
“Probably, but I assume they won’t add up to more than a week, two at the most.”
Sirius frowned and bit his bottom lip. This was going to be hard. If his interview went well, he would gladly try to help his friend get a job at the Ministry. He knew Remus would appreciate even the smallest position. But he wasn’t fooling himself into believe it would work, and he knew Remus wouldn’t let him fool himself into believing it either. If he wanted to be employed by a witch or wizard, he was legally obligated to tell them that he was a werewolf. He was better off being employed by Muggles.
Now, that was an idea.
“Why don’t you just forget about Flourish and Blotts?”
Remus blinked, startled by that suggestion. “What?”
“Forget about them and get a job in a Muggle store! You won’t be obligated to tell them that you’re a werewolf. They wouldn’t believe you, anyway.”
“Yeah, but what will they say when I don’t show up because I’m still sick from the full moon?”
Sirius shrugged. “Muggles don’t ask too many questions about things like that. I doubt they’d ask you why you get sick so much.”
Remus laughed hollowly. “So instead they just get really mad at me and fire me on the spot.”
“Your secret would still be safe, though, wouldn’t it?” Sirius checked the clock on the wall and jumped off the countertop, realising he had to be at the Ministry soon. Grabbing his coat, which was lying unceremoniously on the tiled floor, he hastily pulled it on. “I’ve got to go. Good luck with your interview, see you later!”
Remus wished Sirius the same and watched as his friend ran out the front door. The Ministry was a fifteen minute walk from their flat, a ten minute jog. Remus didn’t even know why Sirius was bothering with an interview, he had gotten all O’s on his NEWTs. The Department of Magical Law Enforcement would be mental to deny his application. He would be accepted into the Auror Academy before he knew it. Remus would be lucky if any place even considered hiring him before laughing in his face and throwing him out when they found out what he was. Maybe he would take Sirius’s advice and find a Muggle shop to work in.
He would be fired eventually, but at least they would never find out what he was.
The moment Sirius stepped out of the visitor’s entrance he was immediately engulfed by the crowd of witches and wizards bustling back and forth across the Atrium of the Ministry of Magic. Sirius wove his way around a witch and wizard having a heated discussion about the security of their society and a man who was carrying a chicken that was hiccupping flames at arm’s length. The man with the flame throwing chicken was joined by a harried old man with a white bushy moustache. He shook his head at the animal and the two set off to the lifts that Sirius just spotted.
He also spotted a giant fountain with a witch and wizard surrounded by an adoring centaur, goblin and House Elf. Taking a closer look at it, he saw it was called the Fountain of Magical Brethren and all the proceeds from the fountain would go to St. Mungo’s. Merlin, if he got the job he would put whatever money he had with him in there. But he had to actually do the interview first.
Sirius straightened out his coat, pants and shirt. He needed to look presentable, give a good impression. Despite the many things he detested about his father and the advice he gave, the one bit that Sirius actually listened to was that when interviewing for a job, it was nest to look as neat and professional as possible. His father may be mental, but Sirius couldn’t deny that was a good piece of information. So when he woke up that morning, after drinking those three cups of coffee that weren’t nearly as large as Remus was claiming they were, and picked out his best robes from his closet and his nicest shoes. For a moment the thought he should have cut his hair, but laughed it off. His hair was probably the one thing his parents didn’t detest about him.
Now that he was here, he found himself wanting to look around instead of heading straight for the lifts to go to his interview, but he was cutting it close. He would take a good look around this place when he was through with the interview. So, instead of roaming about the Atrium to see what he could find other than the beautiful, yet slightly unrealistic, fountain, he set off in the same direction as the two men who had the hiccupping chicken and found the lifts just opening to let people out. Sirius slid in just as a beefy man with too much beard stepped in beside him, as well as a number of owls.
Curiously, Sirius watched as the owls circled above him, hoping they had taken care of their business before they came in. He didn’t fancy walking into his interview with owl droppings dripping down his hair. He also noticed that they had parchment envelopes tied to them.
The beefy man saw Sirius eyeing the owls curiously and said, “They deliver interdepartmental messages.”
Sirius’s eyes darted to the man and he nodded. He supposed it made sense to use owls, as they delivered Wizard post on a regular basis, but he imagined it would get quite dirty doing it in an enclosed space like the Ministry. Perhaps the employees here would discover a better method of communicating with the other departments one day. He listened as the cool female voice sounded from above, announcing each level as they descended. When they reached level five “ the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures “ all of the owls left the lift. At level four, the large, beefy man nodded to Sirius and stepped off.
Now Sirius was alone in the lift, left with nothing to distract him from his furious nerves. He shouldn’t be nervous; he knew he had no reason to be. He had done well in school. Professor McGonagall and Professor Hayes, before he left Hogwarts, had written him brilliant, glowing letters of recommendation, which he had tucked away in the folder under his arm. Unless he choked during the interview, he couldn’t see anything that could stop him from becoming an Auror, or at least making it into the Auror Academy. Once he got in was a different story. Professor McGonagall had told him what he could expect, but he expected a firsthand account with it would make it all easier to understand.
Sirius glanced up when he heard the cool female voice from above announce, “Level two, Department for Magical Law Enforcement, including the Improper Use of Magic Office, Auror Headquarters, and Wizengamot Administration Services.” The gates to the lift opened and Sirius got out just as three more owls entered, followed by a sallow faced man who snarled at Sirius as they crossed paths. Not having time to wonder why he had elicited such a response from that man, Sirius stood uncertainly outside the lifts, glancing around, wondering where he had to go now. Everyone seemed so busy that he supposed they wouldn’t want to be bothered by a random eighteen year old asking for directions.
Luckily a light-haired man with black glasses approached Sirius, obviously seeing that he was lost. “Can I help you?”
Immensely grateful, Sirius nodded. “Could you tell me where I could find Alastor Moody?”
A small grin passed over the man’s face, as though he found this funny. Sirius had a feeling he had no idea what he was in for. The man pointed towards the door behind the long row of cubicles just outside the lift. “Back there, knock first. Make sure you knock first.”
Thanking the man, Sirius headed towards the indicated door. Alastor Moody was the Head Auror, but a man named Bartemius Crouch was in charge of the whole department. Sirius wondered if he’d have to get past that man once he was done with Moody. He hoped not. One interview was enough to last him the rest of his life. As he passed the cubicles, he peered inside them. Some were decorated with pictures of the families of the employees’ families. Others were covered with photographs of wanted witches and wizards, glaring down at the workers. There were also maps with red pins stuck in certain countries. Sirius assumed these were for searches for dangerous witches and wizards abroad.
When he reached the door, which had the words Alastor Moody: Head Auror emblazoned in silver, he hesitated. This man’s nickname was Mad Eye, who knew what that meant? But the man was Head Auror, he couldn’t be entirely insane. Or maybe he could be… Either way, Sirius wouldn’t find out if he stood outside the door all day. He was about to turn the knob when the words of the man he had met earlier rung in his ears. He had to make sure he knocked. Sweet Merlin, would he get attacked if he didn’t?
“Who is it?” a loud voice barked from inside.
Sirius paused. Maybe this man was mental. He momentarily had a mental image of a crazed old hag standing there with his wand pointed directly at the door. “Err… Sirius Black!”
“Black?” The voice sounded angered. Bloody hell. Of course, an Auror hears the last name Black and automatically thinks “ crazed, pureblood who wants to chop off House Elf heads and mount them on the walls of his home. Why on earth would a Black want to be an Auror? “Right, get in!”
He was not sure whether to be relieved or terrified. He supposed he should be grateful the man was letting him in instead of sending him away. Though he supposed this was the easy part of it “ getting in the door. Now he actually had to meet the man who could possibly be his employer for the rest of his working career. Pushing the door open, Sirius was sure he had stepped right into a shop that stocked only Dark wizard detectors. There was a Foe Glass behind the desk in the centre of the room, blocking out the sunlight that would otherwise be coming in through the large, circular window.
There were Sneakoscopes covering every inch of the place, as well as other Dark Detectors. Sirius almost smirked when none of them went off upon his entrance. That must give Moody some idea that he was a trustworthy person. If he wasn’t, there should have be a cacophony the moment he stepped inside. Speaking of Moody… Sirius glanced towards the desk, expecting to see the man sitting there, but the chair was empty. That was odd. Sirius had distinctly heard the voice coming from in this room. It was then that he felt breathing coming from behind him, yet out of the corner of his eye he could see no one.
“Invisibility Cloak?” Sirius asked shrewdly, turning around and staring at the seemingly thin air.
The Invisibility Cloak was grasped by a hand that suddenly appeared out of nowhere and was yanked away, revealing a large, intimidating man with scraggly light brown hair reaching down to his shoulders and narrowed blue eyes that looked as if they’d seen quite a bit in the man’s lifetime. “Very good, Black. What tipped you off?”
“I could feel your breath and hear it,” Sirius replied, a little more confident now that Moody seemed to be somewhat pleased with him.
“And that is the first step to becoming a successful and skilled Auror “ vigilance! Constant vigilance!” Moody draped the Invisibility Cloak on the crooked hat stand to the left of the closed doorway. Sirius noticed that as the cloak swayed, the stand disappeared. “The downfall of many potential Aurors is that they don’t pay attention to every little detail of their surroundings. You must be, at all times, aware of what is going on around you. Otherwise,” In a second, Moody had his wand out, pointing directly at Sirius’s throat. “They can get you.”
Sirius, who had quite visibly flinched, stood his ground, though his eyes were focused on the lethal wood pointed at him. He was beginning to see why people had labeled this man Mad Eye. He was bloody insane. A part of Sirius had been hoping the nickname came from some sort of deformity. It would only be too fitting if that happened to the man. It was cruel, yes, but only understandable from the man’s behaviour. The man was downright terrifying.
“Sit,” Moody ordered, jerking his head to one of the chairs at the desk. Sirius hastily took the indicated seat while Moody settled into his own. Moody observed Sirius through narrowed eyes. “So… what made you decide to become an Auror? Difficult career, risky, I wouldn’t expect many students fresh out of Hogwarts to jump on it. Unless you have a danger complex and like being put in life-threatening situations. You know, situations where you can play the hero.” Moody sat up straight and leaned forward on his desk, glaring into Sirius’s eyes. “I want to make this clear, Black. This is not a job for those seeking glory. If you want to seek glory, you better reconsider your career path.”
“I’m not seeking glory,” Sirius insisted firmly, choosing to hide that he was offended by that statement. He had never in his life done something just to play the hero or seek glory. That was the last thing he wanted Moody to think “ that he only wanted to be an Auror because he wanted fame. That was far from the reason. He just wanted to help. It was important that Moody knew this.
“Then why are you here?” Moody’s voice was dangerously quiet.
“I want to help.”
“Spur of the moment, eh? Seen things getting bad and decided it was time to finally do something.”
“It wasn’t spur of the moment at all. I’ve wanted to help ever since I was fourteen!” He could clearly remember the summer before his fourth year when they had all stayed at Remus’s. It wasn’t long after his own father had announced that people like them would be tracked down and killed by Voldemort. He and Remus had been talking and Sirius had declared that he would do whatever it took to help make things better. This wasn’t some last minute choice he’d made just because he was panicking about leaving school without an idea of what he wanted to be. He had been planning this for years. He wanted to do this.
“Fourteen? That’s a young age to make such a decision. Some might say you don’t have enough experience to make the decision wisely.”
Sirius gritted his teeth. It felt like Moody was goading him, and thoroughly enjoying it. “If you know anything about my family, you’d know that I know enough about Dark wizards to want to do something to stop them.” He hadn’t meant to use his family as an example, but he couldn’t help himself. The Blacks were the very kinds of witches and wizards he despised the most; those who didn’t give a damn about anyone else but themselves. Some weren’t in the same league as Voldemort and his Death Eaters, but some were. It was then that Sirius felt a small tug in his stomach. If he became an Auror he would be tracking down his brother. He wasn’t sure if he could bring himself to do that.
“And that’s what I find unusual, Black.” Finally, they were getting to the point. Moody didn’t believe for a second that a Black could want a career like this. Who would ever believe a member of the Black Family would want to combat Dark wizards? Anyone who had been inside Number Twelve Grimmauld Place would think that a Black would up and join the Dark wizards the first chance they got. Sirius honestly couldn’t blame anyone for reaching that conclusion. Moody leaned forward, his blue eyes boring into Sirius’s. “Why would a Black want to help fight Death Eaters? From what I understand, your family is sympathetic with them.”
“I don’t call them my family. I can’t even remember the last time I did and meant it.” Sirius didn’t care if he sounded like a petulant child by saying that, it was the truth. He hadn’t called them his family since before he went to Hogwarts.
“You don’t, do you? Family ties strained? Must make life difficult at home.”
“I don’t live with them anymore; I haven’t since I was sixteen.”
“And where would a sixteen year old boy go without his parents?”
“To the Potters, my best friend lives there. They took me in for a year. Now I have my own flat with a friend.”
Moody sat back in his chair and continued studying Sirius, except this time it was without the disdain that Sirius swore he saw before. “Impressive.”
Sirius’s eyebrows rose automatically. That was the last way he expected Moody to describe his running away from home. Most would have deemed it childish. “You think that’s impressive? All I did was yell at my dad and leave. I don’t see what’s so impressive about that.”
Moody’s lips curved into what Sirius supposed was supposed to be a smile. “You don’t think so?” Sirius shook his head. “Well, I do. You were unhappy with your situation. You tried doing something about it?”
Sirius shrugged. “I tried. It didn’t do me any good, but I tried. My family is still as mental as they were before I left.” He was having trouble understanding this. He was running away from his problems. He ran from the Blacks and went to the Potters. He just wanted to be happy and he wasn’t when he was living with his parents. “So you’re saying running away from my problems is a good thing?” he asked incredulously.
“No, I’m not saying that,” Moody insisted. “What I am saying is that you were in a position to become just like them, just like your family. You could have believed all of their nonsense about purity of blood and would be going along with those Death Eaters, but you’re not. Instead, you’re here in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement asking me to let you become an Auror. Doesn’t that say something to you, Black?”
Sirius didn’t know what to say. What did it say to Moody? Did he think that Sirius liked rejection and that was why he went against his family’s belief? Or did he think that Sirius’s actions were commendable “ that he didn’t like a situation and now he was trying to right it? He opened his mouth before quickly shutting it, shrugging. “I don’t know.”
“You want to know what it says to me? It says that you do want to do this. The fact that you abandoned your own family’s beliefs because you didn’t agree with them shows me that you truly want to do this. This isn’t just an adventure for glory. You want to be an Auror.”
Sirius couldn’t help but grin. Moody didn’t think he was a pretentious child, he understood that Sirius really wanted to help. “I do want to be an Auror.”
“I believe that, Black,” Moody assured him, nodding. After a few moments’ hesitation, Moody then said, “Just exactly how far are you willing to go to get rid of the Death Eaters?”
“When’s Sirius getting back?”
“Don’t know. Maybe he isn’t coming back and I’ll have this place to myself.”
“I’m sure he’ll appreciate your sentiments.”
“I was just kidding, Prongs.”
James chuckled and shifted in his seat on the couch. “Right, Moony, like you’re not plotting ways to make this place yours.”
Remus, who was sitting in the armchair across from the couch, rolled his eyes. “Of course, James. I spend my entire day plotting the different ways for Sirius’s demise. I have nothing better to do with my time. Though, according to Flourish and Blotts, I should be spending my spare time thinking of different ways to off myself.”
Remus had been planning on visiting Muggle shops and applying for jobs there, but he didn’t want to miss his interview with the Wizarding bookstore in case he had even the slightest chance of employment. The interview had been going well; the manager seemed truly impressed with Remus. Of course, the moment he realised they were speaking with a werewolf it all went to hell. The man told Remus he could take his business elsewhere and, while he was at it, the manager also told him several violent things he could do to himself. Understandably, he was in a very foul mood.
James got up from his seat and approached the armchair, standing in front of Remus and shaking his friend’s shoulders. “Oh, come on, Moony, cheer up; don’t beat yourself up about it. The guy was an idiot.”
“An idiot who decided whether or not I would be employed.” Remus ducked out from James’s grip on his shoulders and came out facing James’s back. “I’m hungry, you want anything?”
James turned around. “Sure.” He knew Remus was just trying to change the subject and he let him do so.
“I’d offer you coffee,” Remus began as he started towards the kitchen, “But we’re out.”
James blinked. “What happened to it all?”
“Sirius.” James nodded, there was no other explanation needed. He could easily see Sirius drinking an entire container of coffee, leaving his roommate with none. Remus opened one of the cabinets and saw a box of biscuits. Pulling it out and pouring some out on a plate, he set it down on the kitchen table and sat down, nodding for James to do the same. “How’s flat hunting going?” He knew James had spent the better part of the day looking for apartments in London before he arrived.
“Brilliantly, actually, I found a place just a block away from St. Mungo’s.”
Remus glanced up from the table. “You got the job, then?”
James grinned proudly. “I’m now a trainee Healer in the Creature-Induced Injuries Ward.”
“Congratulations.” While he knew James deserved the job, he couldn’t help but feel a bit jealous. James was going to be a Healer; Sirius was going to be an Auror. Peter was already looking at property to open his shop with. What was he going to be? Shaking his head, he tried ridding himself of his bitter thoughts and tried focusing on being happy for James. He was getting the chance to do what he wanted.
James clearly understood what Remus was thinking, because he then said, “Just keep looking. If worst comes to worst, apply for a job in a Muggle shop. They won’t know what’s going on with you and they’re much more careful about asking people about their conditions than we are.”
Remus nodded once. “Yeah… I’m going to check out some shops tomorrow. It’ll be fine.”
There was a crack signaling the return of Sirius. Without wasting a moment, he hurried into the kitchen, an urgent and excited look on his face.
“You got in, I assume?” James asked, grinning.
“Yeah, I did,” Sirius said, slightly breathlessly. “Moody was impressed.”
“Alastor Moody?” Remus said, visibly surprised.
“Of course, how many guys named Moody do you know? But that isn’t what I wanted to tell you. Have either of you ever heard of the Order of the Phoenix?”