Azkaban

Distrust

Amarea walks up the stairs, trying to keep a certain distance away from Harry; she always hated it when people she didn't know walked directly behind her. She ended up catching up to him anyway, as he was paused at the top of a stairs landing. Kreacher stood beside a painting with curtains drawn over it, muttering to himself.

"Oh, the shame."

"Freaks. Scum of the Earth."

"There, there, mistress," Kreature replies to the painting. Harry stops on the stairs again as Amarea came into view.

She clears her throat and Kreacher looks at her with wide eyes, dropping to his knees and bowing. "That'll be quite enough, Walburga," Amarea says evenly, nodding to Kreature. "Go on, Harry. I expect they'll be waiting for you.

Amarea walks down the hallway, leaving Harry staring at her back. He looked just like James. Furrowing her brow, she walks over to her desk, quickly writing a response back to Dumbledore. As fast as she can, Amarea seals the letter and hurries back into the hallway.

"I SUPPOSE YOU'VE BEEN HAVING A REAL LAUGH, HAVEN'T YOU, ALL HOLED UP HERE TOGETHER-"

Her eyes widen slightly as she listens to the conversation. She was only able to catch snippets of the whole thing. "If it was me...what is this place...the Phoenix...quite a few people...we've met about twenty of them....Amarea....weird...no, wicked...chains and bruises and everything..." Amarea stopped listening, not wanting to hear what they had to say about her.

She starts to walk again but is stopped by two large cracks; it had to be Fred and George, Molly's twins. She had only seen them briefly while she was here and hadn't the slightest idea about how to tell them apart. What she did know is that they had recently learned to apparate, and loved to show it off. Fast footsteps come down the stairs and she hides behind the wall, waiting for them to pass.

After a few moments, Amarea walks down the stairs slowly, letter in hand. She was missing part of the meeting, but that didn't matter to her.

"What are you doing?"

The group of teenagers turns to her, an extendable ear hung in one of the twins hands. "Um....nothing. Just a bit of...cleaning, yep."

Amarea raises her eyebrows at Ron. "You're a terrible liar," she says. He looks down shamefully and she clears her throat, "That won't work. Imperturbable Charm."

"Told you," hissed Ginny. Amarea nods at her, making Ginny look at the ground quickly.

"What's that," Harry asks?

Amarea looks up, finally meeting the gaze that she was trying to avoid. "Um..." she clears her throat. "A letter."

"For who?" Hermione jabs him in the side, reprimanding him under her breath.

"It's fine, Hermione." The girl looks at Amarea in surprise. "Don't look so surprised. Just because I haven't been here long doesn't mean I'm a complete idiot, Sirius talks a lot." Hermione smiles at her, but Amarea just looks away. "Anyway, if you'll excuse me, I'm missing the meeting."

"You're a me-"

"No more questions," Amarea interrupts Harry. "This is the best I can do." She waves her wand around in the air for a brief moment and then looks at Fred and George, "Try the ear again." She walks away, the murmurs of the Order's conversation getting louder. Opening the door she closes it behind her quickly, not wanting anyone to see the extendable ear.

"If anyone has a right to know, it's Harry," Sirius insists. "If it wasn't for Harry, we wouldn't even know Voldemort was back. He's not a child, Molly."

"But he's not an adult either," Molly replies. "He's not James, Sirius."

"Well he's not your son."

"He's as good as. Who else has he got?"

"He's got me."

Severus starts to speak, "How touchingly paternal, Black. Perhaps Potter will grow up to be a felon, just like his godfather." Amarea shifts her shoulders and rolls her eyes. Even after all these years, they still fought like teenagers.

"Now you stay out of this, Snivellus."

"Siruis," Amarea warns. "Look, I understand where you are all coming from..."

Molly's face flushes slightly, "How could you? You've been gone for years, you said so yourself!"

"If I was able to be here, I would of been. We've been over everything important regarding me as of this moment and I do not wish to bring it up again!"

"Yes, well where were you then? While you were gone?"

Amarea tightens her grip on her chair, gritting her teeth together. "That's none of your business and you have no right to know." She narrows her eyes at Molly, "Now, if I may speak. I understand where you are all coming from. However, Sirius is Harry's godfather, therefore he should be the one to make the decision in the end."

Sirius opens his mouth to talk but she holds her hand up. "But...there needs to be limits. Knowledge is essential, but only in moderation." Her voice drops at the last part, earning a few sad glances from around the table.

After a few minutes the meeting ends and Amarea stands, leaving the kitchen and walking over to Snape, catching him before he leaves. "This is for Dumbledore. I would send it by owl, but I don't exactly have one anymore."

"You don't trust your raven," he asks, taking the letter and placing it in his robes.

She shakes her head, "Not with me still being weak. I'll see you soon." They exchange a quick hug, and he leaves. Jealousy burns hot in her stomach as she watches him leave, wishing she could do the same. It's a brief, interrupted feeling.

A cold chill sweeps over her body and she stops moving completely, mouth hanging open halfway. Then, a whisper sounds to her left and her head snaps to the sound quickly. And there it was, a dementor. It flew towards her quickly, forcing her to her knees and sucking the life force out of her body. She screamed and closed her eyes, all the memories rushing back. They seeped out of the back of her mind, where she had locked them away, like blood from a fresh cut.

Warmth on her face made her eyes shoot open, and Sirius' face came into view. "It's okay. They're not there. They're not there...it's not real." Tears fall down her cheeks and he hugs her, stroking her hair as they both sat on the floor. Everyone had come out into the room, staring at them with wide eyes. Hermione had covered her mouth and Ginny had hid her face in George's chest.

Harry stepped forward but Sirius looked up at him, shaking his head slowly. "Everyone in the kitchen for dinner. Come on now."

Tonks was standing behind Sirius, both of her hands on her face, "I'm so sorry. I didn't know that...I'm so, so, so sorry."

"It's fine," Amarea says, her voice flat. Standing up, she wipes her tears away, and walks into the dining room, taking a seat and ignoring the stares she was receiving. If there was one thing she could do, it was ignore staring, and she planned to make the most out of her skill set during this war.