TBAY: Another Flying Hedgehog -- Sirius Is Ever So Evil!

[cindysphynx]

No: HPFGUIDX 39553

A few hours of hedgehog volleyball can be a nice diversion, but this 
has gone on far too long.  With the fierce afternoon sun beating 
down and the Kool-Aid jug empty, Cindy is nearing the point of total 
exhaustion.  For one thing, she finds herself no longer able to tell 
the difference between Pippin and Pip.  And for another, Elkins 
keeps spiking the hedgehogs *way* too hard and directly at Cindy's 
head.  Although Cindy had once encouraged Elkins' first tremulous 
steps toward assertiveness, it was getting rather hard not to take 
*this* personally.   

Dicentra lies inert on the sand, oblivious to the battle that rages 
around her.  Her arms curl protectively around a black hedgehog as 
she mumbles something about Sirius.  Pippin kicks Dicentra squarely 
in the head, causing her to stir.  Dicentra clambers to her feet, 
sand embedded into the left side of her face, her eyes narrowed with 
determination.

**************

Sirius Black Is Ever So Evil, huh?

Well, why didn't you *say* so?

Dicentra is off to quite a nice start here.  But maybe we can tweak 
this hedgehog just a bit and launch him into the air.  I can't get 
on board with the idea that Sirius has been Ever So Evil all along.  
No, I think he really *was* a true friend to James.  He was not in 
on the plot to betray the Potters, and he wished nothing but the 
best for them.  When Harry was born, Sirius was right there, 
bringing a six-pack of butterbeer for the little tyke.  When 
Voldemort came after the Potters, Sirius made Peter the secretkeeper 
as a bluff, just like Sirius says.  Sirius was *devastated* by the 
deaths of Lily and James, just like we've always thought.  Sirius 
really was in a murderous rage when he cornered Peter in the street.

And you know everything that Sirius tells us in the Shrieking 
Shack?  The stuff about being innocent of betraying the Potters, his 
escape from Azkaban, his desire to protect Harry?  All that stuff?  
Completely true.

"Uh, right," interrupts Pip.  "The Prank, though.  Get to the part 
about Prank!"

"Prank has nothing to do with it!" Cindy snaps.  "Just get *over* 
Prank already!  Hedgehogs are *afraid* of Prank.  It can *never* 
work, all right?!?" 

Pippin, however, takes an uncertain step toward Cindy and says, in a 
breathless voice, "But if Sirius is telling the truth in the 
Shrieking Shack, how can he be Ever So Evil?"

Elkins nods vigorously. "That's right, you know.  Sirius was willing 
to *kill* Peter in the Shack.  Why would Sirius want to kill fellow 
DE Peter if Sirius were Ever So Evil?"

"Oh, that's easy.  What do we learn from Sirius in GoF that 
establishes his association with Voldemort?"  Cindy asks.  "Elkins, 
you should know this after all of your research and study of 
Florence theories."

"Um . . . " Elkins began.

"No," Cindy replied.  "Not `Um.'  Florence is Mrs. Lestrange, 
remember?"  Cindy pauses, waiting for gasps of understanding.  No 
one gasps.

Cindy shakes her head in disbelief, her patience nearly exhausted 
already.  "Look what Sirius says in `Padfoot Returns'.  `The 
Lestranges – they're a married couple – they're in Azkaban.'"

"So?" asks Dicentra, her brow furrowed.

"So?" Cindy repeats, flinging her arms outward in 
exasperation.  "This is the only bit of canon that links Sirius, a 
probable Gryffindor, to Mrs. Lestrange, a Slytherin.  Sirius knew 
Mrs. Lestrange vaguely from their Hogwarts days, but he somehow 
*knew* she was in Azkaban, didn't he?  And the reason he knew she 
was in Azkaban was because he saw her there with his very own eyes.

"Now what do prisoners *do* while they're in Azkaban?" Cindy asks.

"Wail, like the Egg?" offers Elkins.

"Sob hopelessly, racked with guilt and wondering how they could have 
been so cruel and foolish as to play a Prank like that and unsure 
how they will ever make it up to Snape?" suggests Pip.

"Talk to each other, bucking each other up, sharing tidbits of 
background?" asks Dicentra.

"I know! I know!" cries Pippin, bouncing on the balls of her 
feet.  "If they are Ever So Evil like Mrs. Lestrange, if they are 
fiercely loyal to Voldemort, they *try to recruit others at every 
opportunity*!"

"Exactly!" Cindy says.  "Sirius and Mrs. Lestrange, both having 
received life sentences in Azkaban, had to find some way to pass all 
that time.  So they talked.  And talked and talked and talked.  Mrs. 
Lestrange told Sirius again and again about her trial before Crouch 
Sr. – the sort of trial Sirius could only dream of.  He grew to 
admire her for speaking her mind as they dragged her away, for 
having the courage to sit in that chained chair like it was a 
throne.  Sirius started to *respect* Mrs. Lestrange, and they formed 
a bond.  

"And that bond caused Sirius to start to think that Mrs. Lestrange 
had a point.  Sirius had always been loyal to Dumbledore, and look 
where loyalty to Dumbledore got him.  That old coot Dumbledore had 
even gone out of his way to *give evidence* that Sirius had been the 
secretkeeper without troubling himself to come down from his 
Hogwarts ivory tower to ask Sirius what happened that night.

"Yup.  Now that Sirius has plenty of time to think about things, he 
starts to realize that *everyone* has betrayed him.  Fudge keeps 
stopping by to inspect Azkaban and spends more time clapping 
dementors on the back than checking to see if Sirius is even 
*alive*.  Crouch Sr. and his wife get special dispensation to visit 
their son, but Sirius hasn't had a single visitor in 12 years.  
Dumbledore seems to want nothing to do with Sirius.  And Sirius is 
especially hurt that even his last friend in the whole world, Lupin, 
hasn't shown the slightest bit of interest in over a decade."

"Sirius is a SYCOPHANT, just like Avery, isn't he?" Elkins whispers, 
her eyes suddenly overbright.

"Shhh,!" Dicentra says, watching Cindy very intently.

"But Mrs. Lestrange  . . . *she* pays attention to Sirius," Cindy 
continues.  "Oh, she strokes him good.  "You're Dead Sexy, 
Sirius."  "Do that Animagus transformation again, Sirius."  "Ragged 
grey robes bring out the color of your eyes, Sirius."  And he laps 
it right up, doesn't he?  Before you know it, Sirius is on the cusp 
of joining up with Voldemort."

"Go on!" prompts Pippin, her eyes wide.  "Don't make us wait!  Then 
what happens?"

"Well," Cindy goes on, "one day Mrs. Lestrange tells Sirius that he 
is so slender and trim that he could probably escape.  He transforms 
into a dog, slips through the bars to Mrs. Lestrange's cell while 
Mr. Lestrange is asleep, and gives her one long sensuous lick on her 
cheek."

"Oh, ewww!" cries Elkins.  "I think I'm gonna be sick!  I mean, that 
is so *Icky*!"

"No, it's not," says Cindy.  "He *loves* her now, and he's just a 
dog anyway.  Licking her face is his way of showing loyalty and all."

"Wait!" cries Pip.  "If Sirius is loyal to Mrs. Lestrange, why does 
he try to kill Peter in the Shack?"

"Oh, that's *easy*!" says Dicentra.  "Peter set Sirius up in the 
first place.  No way is Sirius going to put up with *that*.  Mrs. 
Lestrange doesn't care one way or the other whether Sirius kills 
Peter, `cause Peter screwed up and let Voldemort get reduced to 
spirit."

"Now you're getting it," says Cindy.  "Also, Sirius still hasn't 
decided that he will definitely come over to the dark side.  Sirius 
is *smart*.  He is going to play both sides as long as he can . . . 
until he is absolutely sure that Voldemort is back for good."

"He's going to straddle the fence, is he?" asks Elkins.  "Ooooh, I 
just love it when people straddle the fence!"

"When *does* Sirius finally decide to become Ever So Evil, then?" 
asks Dicentra.  "'Cause I can't *stand* the suspense another second!"

Cindy sighs heavily and opens GoF.  "Remember the scene in 
Dumbledore's office?  Sirius lets out a `vehement exclamation' when 
Harry tells of Wormtail piercing his arm with the dagger.  That's 
when Sirius realized that Voldemort was Back And Badder Than Ever.  
Oh, Sirius covers all of this up that night.  Sirius is *smart* like 
I said.  But he heard the conversation between Fudge and Dumbledore 
about how the dementors will remain in charge of Azkaban.  He knows 
Mrs. Lestrange will soon be a free woman.  So Sirius will play 
along, just waiting for the right time to strike."

"Oh, no," Dicentra mutters.  "It *can't* be true!  I know I said I 
wanted Sirius to be Ever So Evil, but I was just playing around 
there.  I wasn't *serious* or anything!"

Cindy makes a sudden motion with her arm as though to grip Dicey's 
shoulder, but thinks better of it.  There is a moment's 
silence.  "It's too late for that now, Dicey.  You know what you 
have to do.  Hand him over."

Dicey reaches down and scoops up the black hedgehog cowering near 
her ankles.  Tears well in her eyes, but her hands are steady as she 
gives him to Cindy.  She cradles him like a newborn and scratches 
him softly behind his ear. 

"Ah, don't worry, Dicey," Cindy says with a reassuring 
smile.  "We'll be gentle with him.  I won't let anyone spike him.  

"Not yet, anyway."

Cindy

   ///
<'<<<<  
  "  

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and Inish Alley at 
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