Fic: Emancipation
Title: Emancipation
Word Count: 3500
Characters: Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, Edie Johnson, and Squeaky, a house elf
Summary: Sirius' past comes back to haunt him in late 1980.
For sambethe A story from the Alignments universe.
With an illustration by the amazing la_onza.
“So what are your parents up to these days?” Sirius asked Edie. He and Remus and Edie were having dinner at Sirius’ flat on a cold Saturday in late November. After an hour’s discussion about how the world was falling apart, he was aching for some normal conversation.
Edie laughed. “I haven’t told you yet, have I?” She took a helping of the pudding. “It’s a special project, very secret. You won’t tell Dumbledore or McGonagall?”
“Don’t tell Sirius if it’s a conflict of interest,” Remus said with a note of warning in his voice.
Sirius waved his hand. “Don’t listen to him. I’m dependable.”
“Doesn’t matter anyway, I suppose,” Edie said. “Mum and McGonagall already had a falling out over it. They’re still not speaking.”
“Sounds interesting,” Sirius said, grinning wickedly. “I love an angry McGonagall. What was it this time?”
“Handing out clothes to house elves.” Edie said.
“Sorry?” Remus said, choking on his food a bit.
“Just like that?” Sirius asked, then frowned. “I didn’t know you could do that.”
“Well, not indiscriminately,” Edie said. “We’re targeting the ones who are ready to leave. Just a few, actually. But my parents want to start work on elf emancipation. Regardless of what happens in the next year or two, whether the Order is ready or not.”
“I take it the Order isn’t ready,” Sirius said dryly. “They’re never ready for the next step.”
Edie shook her head. “Dumbledore and McGonagall think it will close down Hogwarts. They’re not ready.”
Remus frowned. “How will this work? Don’t the owners have to give the elves clothing? And what are they going to do once they’re free?”
Edie sighed and pushed her food away.
“Mum and Dad have been arguing about this for weeks, but I think it’s finally sorted. The clothing’s not actually that difficult. They have a free house elf working for them now, and he’s the one who arranges for it to happen. He goes to households with children or elderly witches or wizards who won’t fully understand what it means to give clothes, finds the elves who are ready to leave, and helps break the spell binding them to the family. The hard part is what to do afterward.
“What happens afterward?” Remus asked. “I suspect it’s hard to find a job when the wizarding world doesn’t want to give you one. And they can hardly work for the Muggles.”
Sirius shot him a glance. “Anything’s better than what they have now.”
Remus shrugged. “Possibly.”
Edie sighed. “My dad’s working on this part. He’s trying to form a self-sufficient community for them. They can do some simple charm work, and he’s found someone willing to pay for it.”
Remus started gathering the empty dishes from the table. “Sounds workable. Have you started?”
Edie stood to help. “Not yet. We think there’s one house elf ready to leave in Essex. Maybe one or two others elsewhere. We think once we have half a dozen settled, others might be willing to follow.”
Remus smiled sadly. “It’s hard to convince them, is it?”
Edie nodded. “There are a lot of reasons to stay with a family,” she said. “Especially when the future seems so uncertain. Only a few house elves will leave.”
They did the washing up quietly, passing the plates and cups from hand to hand until they reached the cupboards where they belonged.
“Look, if we need help, can we call on you?” Edie asked as she pulled on her coat and scarf and said goodbye.
“Sure,” Sirius said quickly, looking to Remus. Remus nodded. Edie flashed them a smile and left.
*
Two weeks later on a chilly Saturday morning there was an urgent message from Edie that arrived with the Johnson’s familiar reddish owl: the fourth house elf had just been given clothes, and there wasn’t yet a place for all of them to stay. Could Remus and Sirius house one of the elves for a day or two?
Remus was the one who found the owl waiting on their windowsill and scrawled a quick response: R. at work today, S. home. He’ll be able to take care of it. He fastened the message on the owl’s leg, sent it off into the brisk blue sky, and closed the front door quietly behind him as he left for work.
Squeaky arrived about an hour later.
*
The first thing Sirius did when he saw Squeaky was swear loudly. The second thing he did was Floo Edie.
“Why the hell did you send me this one?” he demanded kneeling awkwardly into the fireplace.
“What are you talking about, Sirius?” Edie asked.
“The house elf. She’s from my parents’ house.”
There was the sound of a child’s wail in the background, and Edie stood up, disappearing from Sirius’ range of vision for a moment. When she came back she was cross.
“How was I supposed to know that? You said you and Remus were fine with this.”
“We were,” Sirius said. “We are. But not with house elves from Grimmauld Place.”
Edie sighed.
“Sirius?”
“Um?”
“Deal with it. It’s just a day or two. I have other things to do.”
Sirius blanched. “But-“
“Really, Sirius. Angelina is throwing a fit. I’ve got to go, love.”
Edie stood up and turned away. Sirius huffed in frustration and stood up.
“So,” Sirius said awkwardly, turning back to the elf perched on the sofa, wearing a child’s fluffy Sunday dress and fancy shoes and a disapproving expression on her face. “Fancy seeing you again.”
The house elf nodded grudgingly. “Squeaky hasn’t seen Master Sirius in several years. She didn't know he was living like this, shamefully, with the Muggles.” Sirius sighed. Her voice was as bad as he remembered, just a little more bearable than a door whose hinges needed oiling.
Sirius inspected her carefully. Apart from the stiff dress, Squeaky looked just as she did when Sirius was sixteen. She returned his gaze warily.
“Do you need some tea? Something to eat?” he asked. Never let it be said that Sirius Black had bad manners; Squeaky had seen to that.
“Squeaky might like some tea, yes, she would,” the elf replied, her head bobbing up and down.
Sirius walked to the kitchen, wondering if Squeaky's arrival constituted the kind of crisis Remus would be willing to leave work for. He prepared the tea slowly, biding his time. When he returned with the tea Squeaky was twisting her index finger so hard he could hear her joints pop. He set the tea on the table in front of her.
Squeaky took a deep breath. “Squeaky isn’t thirsty any more,” she said.
“But you just-“ Sirius looked at her curiously. “That’s fine.” He sat down on the couch across from her.
“But she would like a bit to eat,” Squeaky added.
Right. Sirius returned to the kitchen. He had the kitchen cupboard open before he suddenly realized he had no idea what house elves ate. He’d always assumed that they just ate what witches and wizards ate, but he wasn’t quite sure where he had gotten that idea. He paused for a moment, thinking, then put some cheese and a slice of bread on a plate before returning to the sitting room.
Squeaky was now twisting her fingers even harder. Sirius winced to watch.
“Squeaky isn’t hungry any more,” she said defiantly.
Sirius frowned. Squeaky stared at him, eyes unblinking, expression hostile.
“Fine,” he said. “I’m going to take both, then. You let me know when you really do want something.” He moved the tea cup closer to him and took a bite of bread. Somehow it wasn’t satisfying to eat it in front of her.
They sat there, face to face, in silence.
*
“Master Sirius broke his parents’ hearts when he left,” Squeaky said suddenly. They were still sitting silently in the sitting room.
Sirius frowned, recognizing that reproachful tone of voice from many years ago. “That’s not your problem any more,” he said.
“No,” she replied. She was rocking back and forth on the couch, first twisting her fingers, then pulling at her fingernails savagely. “My mistress never was the same after he left.”
Sirius shrugged.
“The Blacks were not good masters,” Squeaky said, tearing at a fingernail. “Not at all. Especially toward the end. After Master Sirius left.”
“They weren’t very good parents, either,” Sirius replied immediately, but Squeaky was already shaking her head.
“Master Black wasn’t ever going to put Master Sirius’ head up on the wall,” Squeaky said sharply, giving her fingernail another yank. This time it tore a little, and one drop of blood swelled and fell onto her dress, then another.
“Stop that,” Sirius said. He pulled out his wand, leaned toward her, and tried to remember the charm for cuts and scrapes. Squeaky pulled away angrily. “Master Sirius doesn’t need to bother,” she said, and banished the drops with a wave of her hand.
*
Entertaining Squeaky on a cold Saturday afternoon proved to be less of a problem than Sirius imagined. He had offered Squeaky a book or newspaper to read, but Squeaky refused, and Sirius suddenly realized she probably did not read. Or could she? He couldn’t remember. Instead she offered to clear out the far corner of the sitting room, where several weeks’ worth of newspapers had accumulated.
“Master Sirius never used to be this messy,” Squeaky said in a disapproving tone, taking a clean tea towel from the kitchen and tying it around her waist to protect her new dress. “Master Sirius used to be unnaturally tidy. Squeaky never needed to straighten his room.”
Sirius began to protest that the corner was entirely Remus’ fault, then caught himself. It didn’t matter, anyway, did it? Good that there was something for her to do. He curled up on the couch with a blanket and his own book, glancing at her every few minutes. She continued to bustle around the sitting room, paying no attention to him.
“Where are you going?” Sirius asked after an hour or two, curiously piqued and anger receding. “After you leave here? What are you going to do?”
Squeaky’s eyes bulged and she smiled widely. Then she froze. “Squeaky can’t tell, no, she can’t tell Master Sirius,” Squeaky said hesitantly. “The Johnsons told her, Squeaky can’t tell anyone about the plans. But if other house elves leave there’s going to be a whole town just for house elves like Squeaky.”
“How did the Johnsons find you?” Sirius asked. “How did they know you wanted to leave?”
Squeaky frowned at him and began pulling at her fingernails again. “Everyone knows Squeaky was unhappy at Grimmauld Place.”
“I haven’t been there for a long time,” Sirius said.
Squeaky frowned. “Master Sirius was there for a while, Squeaky remembers. Long enough to know.”
Sirius sat quietly for a moment.
“Did my mother give you clothes? Willingly? I can’t imagine she would ever do that.”
Squeaky untied the tea towel from around her waist and folded it neatly over her arm.
“Squeaky could only leave the service of the Black family if she received clothes from her master or mistress.” Squeaky spoke in a rhythmic tone, as if she had rehearsed this line many times.
“She didn't know what she was doing,” Sirius guessed. “She’s mad now, isn’t she? I always thought she would be eventually. Does anyone come to check on her, now that Father’s dead?”
“Squeaky was there,” Squeaky said indignantly. “Kreacher was there. The house elves took care of her.”
Sirius thought about this for a moment. “Kreacher’s not leaving, is he?”
Squeaky shook her head, mute and sullen again.
After a moment Squeaky walked into the kitchen, and Sirius could hear her standing on a chair to return the tea towel to the shelf.
"There’s no need to clean, really," he called, waiting to hear what she was doing. "Isn't there anything else you'd rather do?"
"Master Sirius always liked to bother the house elves by asking questions," Squeaky called back, and Sirius could hear her turn on the water and pull the dustpan out from under the sink. "Squeaky isn't surprised that he hasn't grown up much. Master Sirius always was something of a disappointment."
*
When Remus arrived home late that evening, Sirius had already put sheets on the two sofas in the sitting room. Squeaky was fast asleep on one.
Remus looked at Sirius and raised an eyebrow. Sirius pulled him inside the bedroom.
“It’s Squeaky,” Sirius said, as if that explained everything.
“What?”
“She was the one of the house elves at Grimmauld Place when I was growing up,” Sirius said.
“And so I have to sleep on the couch?” Remus asked.
“I told Squeaky I had a roommate,” Sirius said awkwardly. “I thought that was best.”
Remus sighed, partly amused, partly exasperated. “You would. You knew I had a long day. Why didn’t you take the couch? You could be staying in my flat.”
“Blacks don’t-“
“Don’t say it, Sirius,” Remus warned. “Whatever it was you were going to say.”
Sirius closed his mouth. “Sorry.”
“Next time you take the couch,” Remus said crossly. “No matter what Blacks usually do.”
Remus grabbed his pillow and his pajamas from the bed.
“Good night?” Sirius asked quietly.
Remus turned around, grinned, and kissed him on the cheek. “Good night, Master Sirius,” he said, running his hand through Sirius' hair.
Sirius grimaced. Remus closed the door behind him.
*
It was odd, Sirius thought, lying alone in bed, watching the shadows move across the ceiling and listening to the sounds of the street below. Regulus was gone, and his father was gone, and his mother was…well, whatever his mother was. He had left. He had his own flat and his own life. He had thought he was free. It seemed he was wrong.
*
Sirius should have anticipated this, but Squeaky did not like Remus.
“How does she know?” he asked in an outraged whisper the next morning, after he had pulled Remus into the bedroom. “What is it about you that says half-blood?”
Remus snorted. “I’m sure the fact that she had never heard your parents mention my name was one indication.”
“Hm,” Sirius whispered. “It could just be you’re messy. She doesn't like that. And you are very messy.”
“It’s my flat, too,” Remus frowned. “Why do we care what she thinks, anyway? She won’t be here long.”
Sirius thought about this. “You’re just sore from sleeping on the couch.”
“Give it a rest, Sirius,” Remus replied.
Squeaky produced a full breakfast for them both, then pronounced the kitchen a disgrace and banished them both to the sitting room for the day. They took turns with the crossword, passing it back and forth, listing to Squeaky criticize from the kitchen where she was working.
“Oh, Squeaky’s mistress would have been so unhappy to see what had happened to Master Sirius, living amongst Muggles like this, in squalor,” Squeaky’s voice came drifting into the room as she warmed to her topic. "What has he come to?"
“Was she always like this?” Remus asked idly after several hours had passed in this vein.
“About me?” Sirius said. “She never liked me very much. But she used to be quieter about it. No one spoke very much at Grimmauld Place.”
Remus sighed. “The things I do for you. When did Edie say she was going to leave?”
"I'll send an owl," Sirius said.
*
“Squeaky’s a bit cruel as a name,” Remus commented that evening as he and Sirius walked along the street, escaping the flat to go to the pub around the corner. “She truly has an awful voice. I don’t know how much longer I can stand it.”
“Regulus gave it to her,” Sirius said. “Her name, that is, not the voice.”
“Regulus?” Remus asked, puzzled.
“My parents asked us to name the new house elves when we were young,” Sirius said. “I think we got Squeaky when he was five or six.”
Remus’ eyes were now twinkling. “And did you name one? Surely you did, as the eldest child.”
Sirius looked away. “I did. Sparkle. It was the name I had picked out for a pet kneazle.”
Remus began to laugh despite himself. He covered his mouth with his hands. “I shouldn’t. It’s not funny.”
Sirius shook his head. “No, not really. He’s probably dead now. He was ill towards the end. I imagine either my mother or my father killed him.”
Remus’s last giggle faded away. “Really?”
Sirius nodded. “I told you how it was.”
Remus sighed and draped his arm around Sirius’ shoulders.
“Squeaky escaped,” he said as they neared the pub.
“She did,” Sirius said slowly. “She did.”
*
Edie was waiting for them inside the smoky pub, picking listlessly at a plate of chips.
“This is unbearable, Edie,” Sirius said, sliding into the seat next to her. “Take her away. Please.”
“Sorry,” she said. “Still nowhere for them to go. We’re working on it.”
Remus sighed and rested his head in his hands. “How much longer? We’re going crazy.”
Edie nodded. “We’re going crazy, too. There are three staying with us, and there's not enough space, and they’re fighting over child-minding duties all the time. Everyone wants to be in charge of Angelina.”
“Things are worse at ours,” Sirius said bitterly. “It’s like my mother is back again. I’m not used to the diapproval.”
Edie smiled crookedly. “Sorry about that, Sirius.”
Remus snorted.
“We’re looking at some empty cottages in Scotland,” Edie said in a low voice, leaning towards them. “Muggle, of course. They’ll be hard to find. But they’re close to Hogwarts in case we can convince Dumbledore to emancipate some of the elves, or in case Hogwarts is forced to close. I’m hoping we’ll make a decision tomorrow or the day afterward.”
“It can’t happen soon enough,” Sirius said.
Edie nodded. “We’re working on it.” She held up her glass “To emancipation?”
Sirius laughed. “Emancipation,” he echoed.
*
“Squeaky may be a house elf, and Squeaky may be small, but Squeaky isn’t a child,” Squeaky announced darkly when Sirius arrived home the next evening. “Squeaky knows all about Master Sirius.”
“What do you mean?” Sirius asked, kicking off his shoes, then shamefacedly lining them up by the door, then collapsing on the couch with a sigh. “You haven’t seen me in years. You can’t learn all about me in a day or two.”
“Squeaky knows that Master Sirius sleeps with a spy,” Squeaky said pointedly.
Sirius sat up, suddenly wary. “You don’t understand,” Sirius said. “He’s not a -“
Squeaky cocked her head and gazed at him with interest.
Sirius shut his mouth quickly. “How did you know this?” he asked cautiously.
“Squeaky was outside the door and heard Master Sirius talking with him, the half-blood, thinking Squeaky couldn’t hear,” Squeaky said simply. “No one ever thinks Squeaky can hear. And, besides, the half-blood isn’t a very good spy. He leaves his parchments unlocked. Squeaky was looking at them earlier today. He should be more careful. Master Sirius should be more careful.”
Sirius closed his eyes and breathed deeply, counting to ten. He got up and locked the cabinet where Remus kept his papers.
“Squeaky’s mistress would have been very disappointed in Master Sirius,” Squeaky said thoughtfully, shaking her head. “This is not how she wanted him to end up, betraying his family and associating with half-bloods of questionable loyalty.”
Sirius’s hands clenched. “Whose side are you on, anyways?” he snapped angrily. “She never did anything for you.”
Squeaky paused, blinking, as if she were thinking about this. “The Johnsons told Squeaky that Squeaky didn’t have to be on anyone’s side any more. That’s what it meant, getting clothes.”
There was a long pause as they both looked at each other. Squeaky began twisting her fingers again. Sirius grabbed both her hands and held them firmly.
“Don’t,” he spat. “Just stop it. You don’t need to do that.”
Squeaky nodded. Sirius backed away carefully. Squeaky’s hands twitched several times, then fell quietly back to her sides.
Sirius returned to his book fuming, and Squeaky returned to the kitchen. When Remus arrived home a few minutes later neither would talk to him.
*
Later that night, when Remus was in the shower and Sirius lay on sofa, reading the Prophet with his stocking feet propped up, Squeaky came into the sitting room and cleared her throat. Sirius put his paper down and glared at her.
“Squeaky is loyal even when Master Sirius isn’t,” she said. “But if Squeaky were going to take a side, Squeaky would take Master Sirius’ side,” Squeaky added. “If she had to choose.”
Sirius nodded curtly, but after Squeaky returned to the kitchen he was surprised how pleased that made him.
*
Squeaky stayed one more day, and then, without any warning, was gone the next morning when Remus awoke.
“Sirius,” he asked, knocking on the bedroom door. “Sirius? Where’s Squeaky?”
Sirius appeared after a moment, hair tousled, eyes half closed.
“What do you mean, she’s gone?” he asked.
A moment later they were standing in the sitting room, looking at the couch were Squeaky had slept. The sheets were folded neatly, and Sirius eventually discovered a short note from Edie’s father, thanking them and explaining that he had left with Squeaky and the other house elves.
“Thank goodness,” Remus said with a laugh.
Sirius let out a sigh and pulled Remus down onto the couch next to him. “Alone again in our own flat,” he murmured into Remus cheek.
Remus pushed him away gently. “So I’m welcome in your flat again? Maybe even in your bedroom? Lowly half-blood that I am?”
Sirius had the good grace to look abashed. “Sorry,” he said. “You know I try.”
Remus smiled. “I know you do." Then: "Do you think it will work? The Johnsons’ experiment?”
Sirius thought about this for a moment. “I don’t know. It would take some terrible events to get most house elves to leave.”
“Squeaky left,” Remus said, leaning back against Sirius. “You didn’t expect that.”
“Well, my family was unusually cruel,” Sirius said.
“Or Squeaky was unusually brave,” Remus replied.
“Hm,” Sirius said, unwilling to concede this point.
Remus laughed. “Well, for whatever reason, she left. I hope she does well.”
Sirius nodded and raised an imaginary glass. “To emancipation,” he said, echoing Edie.
“To emancipation,” Remus agreed.
*
K: this started off as the outtake you requested, then blossomed into something else. Hope you enjoy.
Word Count: 3500
Characters: Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, Edie Johnson, and Squeaky, a house elf
Summary: Sirius' past comes back to haunt him in late 1980.
For sambethe A story from the Alignments universe.
With an illustration by the amazing la_onza.
“So what are your parents up to these days?” Sirius asked Edie. He and Remus and Edie were having dinner at Sirius’ flat on a cold Saturday in late November. After an hour’s discussion about how the world was falling apart, he was aching for some normal conversation.
Edie laughed. “I haven’t told you yet, have I?” She took a helping of the pudding. “It’s a special project, very secret. You won’t tell Dumbledore or McGonagall?”
“Don’t tell Sirius if it’s a conflict of interest,” Remus said with a note of warning in his voice.
Sirius waved his hand. “Don’t listen to him. I’m dependable.”
“Doesn’t matter anyway, I suppose,” Edie said. “Mum and McGonagall already had a falling out over it. They’re still not speaking.”
“Sounds interesting,” Sirius said, grinning wickedly. “I love an angry McGonagall. What was it this time?”
“Handing out clothes to house elves.” Edie said.
“Sorry?” Remus said, choking on his food a bit.
“Just like that?” Sirius asked, then frowned. “I didn’t know you could do that.”
“Well, not indiscriminately,” Edie said. “We’re targeting the ones who are ready to leave. Just a few, actually. But my parents want to start work on elf emancipation. Regardless of what happens in the next year or two, whether the Order is ready or not.”
“I take it the Order isn’t ready,” Sirius said dryly. “They’re never ready for the next step.”
Edie shook her head. “Dumbledore and McGonagall think it will close down Hogwarts. They’re not ready.”
Remus frowned. “How will this work? Don’t the owners have to give the elves clothing? And what are they going to do once they’re free?”
Edie sighed and pushed her food away.
“Mum and Dad have been arguing about this for weeks, but I think it’s finally sorted. The clothing’s not actually that difficult. They have a free house elf working for them now, and he’s the one who arranges for it to happen. He goes to households with children or elderly witches or wizards who won’t fully understand what it means to give clothes, finds the elves who are ready to leave, and helps break the spell binding them to the family. The hard part is what to do afterward.
“What happens afterward?” Remus asked. “I suspect it’s hard to find a job when the wizarding world doesn’t want to give you one. And they can hardly work for the Muggles.”
Sirius shot him a glance. “Anything’s better than what they have now.”
Remus shrugged. “Possibly.”
Edie sighed. “My dad’s working on this part. He’s trying to form a self-sufficient community for them. They can do some simple charm work, and he’s found someone willing to pay for it.”
Remus started gathering the empty dishes from the table. “Sounds workable. Have you started?”
Edie stood to help. “Not yet. We think there’s one house elf ready to leave in Essex. Maybe one or two others elsewhere. We think once we have half a dozen settled, others might be willing to follow.”
Remus smiled sadly. “It’s hard to convince them, is it?”
Edie nodded. “There are a lot of reasons to stay with a family,” she said. “Especially when the future seems so uncertain. Only a few house elves will leave.”
They did the washing up quietly, passing the plates and cups from hand to hand until they reached the cupboards where they belonged.
“Look, if we need help, can we call on you?” Edie asked as she pulled on her coat and scarf and said goodbye.
“Sure,” Sirius said quickly, looking to Remus. Remus nodded. Edie flashed them a smile and left.
*
Two weeks later on a chilly Saturday morning there was an urgent message from Edie that arrived with the Johnson’s familiar reddish owl: the fourth house elf had just been given clothes, and there wasn’t yet a place for all of them to stay. Could Remus and Sirius house one of the elves for a day or two?
Remus was the one who found the owl waiting on their windowsill and scrawled a quick response: R. at work today, S. home. He’ll be able to take care of it. He fastened the message on the owl’s leg, sent it off into the brisk blue sky, and closed the front door quietly behind him as he left for work.
Squeaky arrived about an hour later.
*
The first thing Sirius did when he saw Squeaky was swear loudly. The second thing he did was Floo Edie.
“Why the hell did you send me this one?” he demanded kneeling awkwardly into the fireplace.
“What are you talking about, Sirius?” Edie asked.
“The house elf. She’s from my parents’ house.”
There was the sound of a child’s wail in the background, and Edie stood up, disappearing from Sirius’ range of vision for a moment. When she came back she was cross.
“How was I supposed to know that? You said you and Remus were fine with this.”
“We were,” Sirius said. “We are. But not with house elves from Grimmauld Place.”
Edie sighed.
“Sirius?”
“Um?”
“Deal with it. It’s just a day or two. I have other things to do.”
Sirius blanched. “But-“
“Really, Sirius. Angelina is throwing a fit. I’ve got to go, love.”
Edie stood up and turned away. Sirius huffed in frustration and stood up.
“So,” Sirius said awkwardly, turning back to the elf perched on the sofa, wearing a child’s fluffy Sunday dress and fancy shoes and a disapproving expression on her face. “Fancy seeing you again.”
The house elf nodded grudgingly. “Squeaky hasn’t seen Master Sirius in several years. She didn't know he was living like this, shamefully, with the Muggles.” Sirius sighed. Her voice was as bad as he remembered, just a little more bearable than a door whose hinges needed oiling.
Sirius inspected her carefully. Apart from the stiff dress, Squeaky looked just as she did when Sirius was sixteen. She returned his gaze warily.
“Do you need some tea? Something to eat?” he asked. Never let it be said that Sirius Black had bad manners; Squeaky had seen to that.
“Squeaky might like some tea, yes, she would,” the elf replied, her head bobbing up and down.
Sirius walked to the kitchen, wondering if Squeaky's arrival constituted the kind of crisis Remus would be willing to leave work for. He prepared the tea slowly, biding his time. When he returned with the tea Squeaky was twisting her index finger so hard he could hear her joints pop. He set the tea on the table in front of her.
Squeaky took a deep breath. “Squeaky isn’t thirsty any more,” she said.
“But you just-“ Sirius looked at her curiously. “That’s fine.” He sat down on the couch across from her.
“But she would like a bit to eat,” Squeaky added.
Right. Sirius returned to the kitchen. He had the kitchen cupboard open before he suddenly realized he had no idea what house elves ate. He’d always assumed that they just ate what witches and wizards ate, but he wasn’t quite sure where he had gotten that idea. He paused for a moment, thinking, then put some cheese and a slice of bread on a plate before returning to the sitting room.
Squeaky was now twisting her fingers even harder. Sirius winced to watch.
“Squeaky isn’t hungry any more,” she said defiantly.
Sirius frowned. Squeaky stared at him, eyes unblinking, expression hostile.
“Fine,” he said. “I’m going to take both, then. You let me know when you really do want something.” He moved the tea cup closer to him and took a bite of bread. Somehow it wasn’t satisfying to eat it in front of her.
They sat there, face to face, in silence.
*
“Master Sirius broke his parents’ hearts when he left,” Squeaky said suddenly. They were still sitting silently in the sitting room.
Sirius frowned, recognizing that reproachful tone of voice from many years ago. “That’s not your problem any more,” he said.
“No,” she replied. She was rocking back and forth on the couch, first twisting her fingers, then pulling at her fingernails savagely. “My mistress never was the same after he left.”
Sirius shrugged.
“The Blacks were not good masters,” Squeaky said, tearing at a fingernail. “Not at all. Especially toward the end. After Master Sirius left.”
“They weren’t very good parents, either,” Sirius replied immediately, but Squeaky was already shaking her head.
“Master Black wasn’t ever going to put Master Sirius’ head up on the wall,” Squeaky said sharply, giving her fingernail another yank. This time it tore a little, and one drop of blood swelled and fell onto her dress, then another.
“Stop that,” Sirius said. He pulled out his wand, leaned toward her, and tried to remember the charm for cuts and scrapes. Squeaky pulled away angrily. “Master Sirius doesn’t need to bother,” she said, and banished the drops with a wave of her hand.
*
Entertaining Squeaky on a cold Saturday afternoon proved to be less of a problem than Sirius imagined. He had offered Squeaky a book or newspaper to read, but Squeaky refused, and Sirius suddenly realized she probably did not read. Or could she? He couldn’t remember. Instead she offered to clear out the far corner of the sitting room, where several weeks’ worth of newspapers had accumulated.
“Master Sirius never used to be this messy,” Squeaky said in a disapproving tone, taking a clean tea towel from the kitchen and tying it around her waist to protect her new dress. “Master Sirius used to be unnaturally tidy. Squeaky never needed to straighten his room.”
Sirius began to protest that the corner was entirely Remus’ fault, then caught himself. It didn’t matter, anyway, did it? Good that there was something for her to do. He curled up on the couch with a blanket and his own book, glancing at her every few minutes. She continued to bustle around the sitting room, paying no attention to him.
“Where are you going?” Sirius asked after an hour or two, curiously piqued and anger receding. “After you leave here? What are you going to do?”
Squeaky’s eyes bulged and she smiled widely. Then she froze. “Squeaky can’t tell, no, she can’t tell Master Sirius,” Squeaky said hesitantly. “The Johnsons told her, Squeaky can’t tell anyone about the plans. But if other house elves leave there’s going to be a whole town just for house elves like Squeaky.”
“How did the Johnsons find you?” Sirius asked. “How did they know you wanted to leave?”
Squeaky frowned at him and began pulling at her fingernails again. “Everyone knows Squeaky was unhappy at Grimmauld Place.”
“I haven’t been there for a long time,” Sirius said.
Squeaky frowned. “Master Sirius was there for a while, Squeaky remembers. Long enough to know.”
Sirius sat quietly for a moment.
“Did my mother give you clothes? Willingly? I can’t imagine she would ever do that.”
Squeaky untied the tea towel from around her waist and folded it neatly over her arm.
“Squeaky could only leave the service of the Black family if she received clothes from her master or mistress.” Squeaky spoke in a rhythmic tone, as if she had rehearsed this line many times.
“She didn't know what she was doing,” Sirius guessed. “She’s mad now, isn’t she? I always thought she would be eventually. Does anyone come to check on her, now that Father’s dead?”
“Squeaky was there,” Squeaky said indignantly. “Kreacher was there. The house elves took care of her.”
Sirius thought about this for a moment. “Kreacher’s not leaving, is he?”
Squeaky shook her head, mute and sullen again.
After a moment Squeaky walked into the kitchen, and Sirius could hear her standing on a chair to return the tea towel to the shelf.
"There’s no need to clean, really," he called, waiting to hear what she was doing. "Isn't there anything else you'd rather do?"
"Master Sirius always liked to bother the house elves by asking questions," Squeaky called back, and Sirius could hear her turn on the water and pull the dustpan out from under the sink. "Squeaky isn't surprised that he hasn't grown up much. Master Sirius always was something of a disappointment."
*
When Remus arrived home late that evening, Sirius had already put sheets on the two sofas in the sitting room. Squeaky was fast asleep on one.
Remus looked at Sirius and raised an eyebrow. Sirius pulled him inside the bedroom.
“It’s Squeaky,” Sirius said, as if that explained everything.
“What?”
“She was the one of the house elves at Grimmauld Place when I was growing up,” Sirius said.
“And so I have to sleep on the couch?” Remus asked.
“I told Squeaky I had a roommate,” Sirius said awkwardly. “I thought that was best.”
Remus sighed, partly amused, partly exasperated. “You would. You knew I had a long day. Why didn’t you take the couch? You could be staying in my flat.”
“Blacks don’t-“
“Don’t say it, Sirius,” Remus warned. “Whatever it was you were going to say.”
Sirius closed his mouth. “Sorry.”
“Next time you take the couch,” Remus said crossly. “No matter what Blacks usually do.”
Remus grabbed his pillow and his pajamas from the bed.
“Good night?” Sirius asked quietly.
Remus turned around, grinned, and kissed him on the cheek. “Good night, Master Sirius,” he said, running his hand through Sirius' hair.
Sirius grimaced. Remus closed the door behind him.
*
It was odd, Sirius thought, lying alone in bed, watching the shadows move across the ceiling and listening to the sounds of the street below. Regulus was gone, and his father was gone, and his mother was…well, whatever his mother was. He had left. He had his own flat and his own life. He had thought he was free. It seemed he was wrong.
*
Sirius should have anticipated this, but Squeaky did not like Remus.
“How does she know?” he asked in an outraged whisper the next morning, after he had pulled Remus into the bedroom. “What is it about you that says half-blood?”
Remus snorted. “I’m sure the fact that she had never heard your parents mention my name was one indication.”
“Hm,” Sirius whispered. “It could just be you’re messy. She doesn't like that. And you are very messy.”
“It’s my flat, too,” Remus frowned. “Why do we care what she thinks, anyway? She won’t be here long.”
Sirius thought about this. “You’re just sore from sleeping on the couch.”
“Give it a rest, Sirius,” Remus replied.
Squeaky produced a full breakfast for them both, then pronounced the kitchen a disgrace and banished them both to the sitting room for the day. They took turns with the crossword, passing it back and forth, listing to Squeaky criticize from the kitchen where she was working.
“Oh, Squeaky’s mistress would have been so unhappy to see what had happened to Master Sirius, living amongst Muggles like this, in squalor,” Squeaky’s voice came drifting into the room as she warmed to her topic. "What has he come to?"
“Was she always like this?” Remus asked idly after several hours had passed in this vein.
“About me?” Sirius said. “She never liked me very much. But she used to be quieter about it. No one spoke very much at Grimmauld Place.”
Remus sighed. “The things I do for you. When did Edie say she was going to leave?”
"I'll send an owl," Sirius said.
*
“Squeaky’s a bit cruel as a name,” Remus commented that evening as he and Sirius walked along the street, escaping the flat to go to the pub around the corner. “She truly has an awful voice. I don’t know how much longer I can stand it.”
“Regulus gave it to her,” Sirius said. “Her name, that is, not the voice.”
“Regulus?” Remus asked, puzzled.
“My parents asked us to name the new house elves when we were young,” Sirius said. “I think we got Squeaky when he was five or six.”
Remus’ eyes were now twinkling. “And did you name one? Surely you did, as the eldest child.”
Sirius looked away. “I did. Sparkle. It was the name I had picked out for a pet kneazle.”
Remus began to laugh despite himself. He covered his mouth with his hands. “I shouldn’t. It’s not funny.”
Sirius shook his head. “No, not really. He’s probably dead now. He was ill towards the end. I imagine either my mother or my father killed him.”
Remus’s last giggle faded away. “Really?”
Sirius nodded. “I told you how it was.”
Remus sighed and draped his arm around Sirius’ shoulders.
“Squeaky escaped,” he said as they neared the pub.
“She did,” Sirius said slowly. “She did.”
*
Edie was waiting for them inside the smoky pub, picking listlessly at a plate of chips.
“This is unbearable, Edie,” Sirius said, sliding into the seat next to her. “Take her away. Please.”
“Sorry,” she said. “Still nowhere for them to go. We’re working on it.”
Remus sighed and rested his head in his hands. “How much longer? We’re going crazy.”
Edie nodded. “We’re going crazy, too. There are three staying with us, and there's not enough space, and they’re fighting over child-minding duties all the time. Everyone wants to be in charge of Angelina.”
“Things are worse at ours,” Sirius said bitterly. “It’s like my mother is back again. I’m not used to the diapproval.”
Edie smiled crookedly. “Sorry about that, Sirius.”
Remus snorted.
“We’re looking at some empty cottages in Scotland,” Edie said in a low voice, leaning towards them. “Muggle, of course. They’ll be hard to find. But they’re close to Hogwarts in case we can convince Dumbledore to emancipate some of the elves, or in case Hogwarts is forced to close. I’m hoping we’ll make a decision tomorrow or the day afterward.”
“It can’t happen soon enough,” Sirius said.
Edie nodded. “We’re working on it.” She held up her glass “To emancipation?”
Sirius laughed. “Emancipation,” he echoed.
*
“Squeaky may be a house elf, and Squeaky may be small, but Squeaky isn’t a child,” Squeaky announced darkly when Sirius arrived home the next evening. “Squeaky knows all about Master Sirius.”
“What do you mean?” Sirius asked, kicking off his shoes, then shamefacedly lining them up by the door, then collapsing on the couch with a sigh. “You haven’t seen me in years. You can’t learn all about me in a day or two.”
“Squeaky knows that Master Sirius sleeps with a spy,” Squeaky said pointedly.
Sirius sat up, suddenly wary. “You don’t understand,” Sirius said. “He’s not a -“
Squeaky cocked her head and gazed at him with interest.
Sirius shut his mouth quickly. “How did you know this?” he asked cautiously.
“Squeaky was outside the door and heard Master Sirius talking with him, the half-blood, thinking Squeaky couldn’t hear,” Squeaky said simply. “No one ever thinks Squeaky can hear. And, besides, the half-blood isn’t a very good spy. He leaves his parchments unlocked. Squeaky was looking at them earlier today. He should be more careful. Master Sirius should be more careful.”
Sirius closed his eyes and breathed deeply, counting to ten. He got up and locked the cabinet where Remus kept his papers.
“Squeaky’s mistress would have been very disappointed in Master Sirius,” Squeaky said thoughtfully, shaking her head. “This is not how she wanted him to end up, betraying his family and associating with half-bloods of questionable loyalty.”
Sirius’s hands clenched. “Whose side are you on, anyways?” he snapped angrily. “She never did anything for you.”
Squeaky paused, blinking, as if she were thinking about this. “The Johnsons told Squeaky that Squeaky didn’t have to be on anyone’s side any more. That’s what it meant, getting clothes.”
There was a long pause as they both looked at each other. Squeaky began twisting her fingers again. Sirius grabbed both her hands and held them firmly.
“Don’t,” he spat. “Just stop it. You don’t need to do that.”
Squeaky nodded. Sirius backed away carefully. Squeaky’s hands twitched several times, then fell quietly back to her sides.
Sirius returned to his book fuming, and Squeaky returned to the kitchen. When Remus arrived home a few minutes later neither would talk to him.
*
Later that night, when Remus was in the shower and Sirius lay on sofa, reading the Prophet with his stocking feet propped up, Squeaky came into the sitting room and cleared her throat. Sirius put his paper down and glared at her.
“Squeaky is loyal even when Master Sirius isn’t,” she said. “But if Squeaky were going to take a side, Squeaky would take Master Sirius’ side,” Squeaky added. “If she had to choose.”
Sirius nodded curtly, but after Squeaky returned to the kitchen he was surprised how pleased that made him.
*
Squeaky stayed one more day, and then, without any warning, was gone the next morning when Remus awoke.
“Sirius,” he asked, knocking on the bedroom door. “Sirius? Where’s Squeaky?”
Sirius appeared after a moment, hair tousled, eyes half closed.
“What do you mean, she’s gone?” he asked.
A moment later they were standing in the sitting room, looking at the couch were Squeaky had slept. The sheets were folded neatly, and Sirius eventually discovered a short note from Edie’s father, thanking them and explaining that he had left with Squeaky and the other house elves.
“Thank goodness,” Remus said with a laugh.
Sirius let out a sigh and pulled Remus down onto the couch next to him. “Alone again in our own flat,” he murmured into Remus cheek.
Remus pushed him away gently. “So I’m welcome in your flat again? Maybe even in your bedroom? Lowly half-blood that I am?”
Sirius had the good grace to look abashed. “Sorry,” he said. “You know I try.”
Remus smiled. “I know you do." Then: "Do you think it will work? The Johnsons’ experiment?”
Sirius thought about this for a moment. “I don’t know. It would take some terrible events to get most house elves to leave.”
“Squeaky left,” Remus said, leaning back against Sirius. “You didn’t expect that.”
“Well, my family was unusually cruel,” Sirius said.
“Or Squeaky was unusually brave,” Remus replied.
“Hm,” Sirius said, unwilling to concede this point.
Remus laughed. “Well, for whatever reason, she left. I hope she does well.”
Sirius nodded and raised an imaginary glass. “To emancipation,” he said, echoing Edie.
“To emancipation,” Remus agreed.
*
K: this started off as the outtake you requested, then blossomed into something else. Hope you enjoy.