Dumbledore pulled Sirius to the side, out of earshot of his friends. "May I have quick word with you?" With that, Sirius followed him into a small sitting room. He sat down in an overstuffed armchair facing his old Headmaster, giving him his full attention, unsure what the other would say.
"I am glad I have your full attention, because of the nature of the matter at hand. Sirius, I have a special assignment for you, one that is of infinite importance. There is a manuscript that holds secrets of how to conquer the Wizarding world, how to effectively rule our race as one sees fit. Voldemort has already started his search for the document, I am sure of it, and it is only a matter of time before it is located by one of his followers. I need you to find it first and bring it back to me."
Sirius' steely grey eyes lit up. This had been the type of adventure he had been hoping for when he joined the Order, and now Dumbledore was throwing it in his lap. He wasn't sure why he had been chosen for this particular assignment but he wasn't going to question the judgement of Dumbledore. He was ready, ready to prove himself to not only Dumbledore but to the rest of the Order as well.
"What kind of manuscript? Do you have any suggestions as to where I should start?"
Dumbledore's wizened face folded into a smile, pleased that Sirius had accepted the assignment so readily. He wondered if the younger man knew the dangers that awaited him, the difficulty of the task that he had been burdened with. With all those worries on his mind, the white haired wizard chuckled. He knew they were probably all the more reason Sirius would anxiously take on the adventure.
"The manuscript is one that is known to Muggles and they hold what they believe to be the complete original at a renowned educational institution, much like Hogwarts. The institution is Trinity College and is located in Dublin. Are you familiar with this city?"
"Wizarding areas of it. I'm sure I can locate the college and blend in, probably much better than a Death Eater can anyways." Sirius grinned roguishly.
"Good, good. Now, the manuscript itself is written in Gaeilge, which is the old Irish language. I mentioned before that the Muggle historians think they have the complete original manuscript, however, they do not. There is a certain text that is not the original, but a copy that was made by Salazar Slytherin. The original's whereabouts are not officially known, but the copy that Slytherin made is rumored to have clues within it. That is why Voldemort is trying to retrieve it as well."
Sirius' thoughts were running rampant. An old Irish language? This was not something that he had studied while at Hogwarts and his family certainly hadn't taught him anything regarding it. How was he going to be able to find the clues if he wasn't able to read the text? It was something that he would have to figure out later because he certainly wasn't going to be turning down this assignment because of a technicality.
"Right. So, what's the name of the manuscript and what text is it that I'm looking for?"
"Lebor Laignech, also known as The Book of Leinster. It holds a text known as Lebor Gabála Érenn, or The Book of Invasions. You'll need to pay special attention to passages that mention the Tuatha Dé Danann; the passages involving this group of people, who were actually Wizards and Witches, are where the clues will be found."
Sirius nodded as Dumbledore continued with his instruction. "You will need to be sure to leave something that is transfigured to look like the copy or to figure out how to copy the text from the pages onto something else so that you can peruse it when needed. You may need to get help from some of your friends to complete this task, and that is fine; they are all trusted members of this organization. I leave this in your capable hands, Sirius."
With that, the Headmaster patted Sirius on the shoulder and rejoined the rest of the Order members, leaving him to his thoughts. Finding his way around Dublin would not be a problem, in fact, the only problem that Sirius could foresee was not having the knowledge of how to read the text. He would definitely need some help with that.
"Sirius, mate, what did Dumbledore need?" inquired James as he entered the room, shaking Sirius out of his deep reverie. Lily, Remus, and Peter closely followed behind James, each taking a seat on the sofa while James placed himself in the armchair Dumbledore had occupied.
Sirius launched into the mission that Dumbledore had set him and the concerns that he had about it. "Do any of you know how to translate Gaeilge?"
At this question, Lily perked up and Sirius turned to her. "You know it? Ah, Lily you are a life sa-"
"No, Sirius. I don't know it, but I know someone who does and so do you!"
"I don't know anyone that knows that language. Believe me, I would have them in here with us if they did!"
Lily giggled. "Yes you do, Sirius. Marlene McKinnon! You know, the girl that you rescued from that trio of Death Eaters in the Three Broomsticks a couple months ago."
"Yeah, but she's not part of the Order so I don't think I could ask for her help."
Lily stared at him incredulously. "She's been a part of the Order for over a month now! Do you ever pay attention to anything?"
Sirius flushed at her statement. "Of course I pay attention! It's not my fault if I don't notice someone. She's the quiet one isn't she, the one that sits in the back of the meetings; that's why I haven't seen her."
"Yeah, I guess so. She's still here if you'd like to ask her for her help."
"I don't know. I would prefer it if one of you would be able to help me. Are you sure that none of you know the language?"
Remus looked at Peter who shrugged and turned to James. After an affirming look to Lily, James answered, "Apparently not, Padfoot. Marlene's your only hope."
Sirius didn't like the idea of having to work with a complete stranger. Sure, she was part of the Order but Sirius had hardly spoken to the girl and wasn't altogether sure how she would react to him. However, James had a point; she was his only hope at being able to translate the text.
Pulling himself out of the plush armchair, he headed back into the dining room of the small cottage that had served for the meeting place this time around. He saw her standing by the door talking to Dorcas Meadows and a few other members that he recognised but did not know the names of. He watched as she excitedly conversed with the group, a blush reddening her cheeks when she glanced in his direction.
Maybe it wouldn't be so hard to convince her to help him, Sirius thought as he walked over to the group and joined in on the conversation. He only had to wait a few more minutes before Dorcas and the others said their goodbyes and walked out the door, each of them Disapparating before they reached the gate.
"Listen, Mary... err... Marlene. Dumbledore has set me a job that I need some help on and I've been told that you would be the one to come to for that help. What do you know of Gaeilge?"
"Quite a bit. I'm Irish and my parents always stressed the fact that we needed to know our ancestry." Marlene blushed again. "Erm... yeah. I know it."
Sirius explained for the second time, the task that he had been set and was surprised to see that Marlene knew of the manuscript he was to retrieve the information from.
"We can't take the manuscript and leave a copy," she was saying. "It just wouldn't be right. I know a spell that can copy the texts from the parchment there and onto a new parchment, keeping any enchantments that might be hidden as well."
Marlene began talking animatedly about the mission and ideas she had for how to accomplish it. Sirius found that her change in composure would be much easier to get along with than the mouse he had seen so far. It was going to be an interesting adventure.
