Well hello again! One of the things people complained about during SiS was that the chapters were too short so how are the chapters now? I am on Facebook as NightLark Fanfiction of you fancy being part of my sounding board (my thanks to Antheia Gwynn for her help choosing the name Seren). Anyway, thank you for all your reviews, follows and favourites and I hope you enjoy this chapter.

Chapter Two

Harry woke early the next morning. He snuggled down into the soft mattress and fluffy quilt, thinking that perhaps he had snuck into his twin's room because his had gotten too cold again. He moved his arm around and when he didn't feel Russell or any lingering warmth to say that he had been there he opened his eyes. Instead of the dark red walls with gold borders - Dad's idea, and whenever Russell had the House Elves change it Dad always changed it back - there were plain beige walls with the occasion terracotta swirl on the bottoms and tops of the walls. The bedding was in the same shade of terracotta as the decoration on the walls, and the sun was shining through beige curtains.

Slowly Harry remembered where he was. He remembered going to sleep in his bed at home, then waking up cold in a strange, dark alleyway. Then he remembered the girl, Raven, and walking through the wall, and meeting the four people last night (Elders, his mind supplied). Then he remembered the fact that the Elders had asked Raven to take him in as her little brother, and his name change from Harry James Potter to Corey Blake. He sat up and looked around again, then bit his lip as he wondered if Russell, Uncle Padfoot and Uncle Moony would be okay when they realised he had gone.

It's Christmas morning! was Russell Potter's first thought when he woke up. His second thought had him grinning, jumping out of bed and running down the corridors. His room was the Heir's Room, two doors down from his parent's room in Potter Manor. His brother's room, however, wasn't in the family wing, or even in the guest wing; it was in the servant's wing with the House Elves. The servants' wing was colder than most because the House Elves could use their magic to keep them warm, so the Manor Magics never involved themselves with the servants' wing. But because Harry was only young he couldn't warm himself up and Russell more often than not made Harry sleep with him, to keep his little brother warm but also because Russell liked being closer to his twin. Russell reached Harry's room and ran inside, only to pause.

"Harry?" He called in a trembling voice, when he saw that the room was totally empty. There was no small camp bed on the floor covered in a nest of blankets, no small pile of books from the Potter Library that were Harry's current weekly reads. There was also none of the books that Russell had been given as presents by various family and friends, and even strangers, that he had no interest and so gifted to Harry because he loved learning new things.

The room was completely bare.

Russell had a small thought; what if Mum and Dad finally moved Harry into the family wing? Russell ran back through Potter Manor to the family wing and then searched all of the rooms apart from his and his parents'. When they all turned up empty Russell disappointedly thought that they must have put him in the guest wing which, although comfier than the servants wing, sent the message that he didn't belong to the family. Russell sadly trudged to the guest wing and looked through all the rooms. There was no sign of Harry or Harry's things. That was when Russell started to panic. He ran to the Library and desperately tried to remember any titles of Harry's current reads, and after remembering that he was reading Dragon Species of Great Britain and Ireland and A Guide to Medieval Sorcery he ran around the library trying to find the books. Twenty minutes later his stomach sunk as he found both of them on the shelves. He ran back to his room and sure enough, there on his bookcase were all the books he'd given Harry.

Russell was definitely panicking now. There was no sign that his twin even existed now, and could feel himself crying. He was only seven; he couldn't do anything. But Uncle Padfoot could! Looking up at the clock he had in his room he read that it was before eight in the morning. Knowing that Uncle Padfoot would probably be up already he looked in on his parents, found them still sound asleep and ran to the Floo Room. A handful of Floo powder was thrown in one of the three fireplaces and Russell put his head in the green flames and yelled "Black Manor!" His vision changed from the back of the brick fireplace to an opulent room covered in black and gold tiles (the gold ones added after Uncle Padfoot took over the Lordship as a rebellion against his family). Expecting it to be empty he wasn't surprised when it was, he just called out "Kreacher" and the House Elf appeared.

"I need Uncle Padfoot, please Kreacher now!" He cried out as he tried to hold in the tears, and the old Elf must have known something was wrong because the stony gaze softened and he nodded and popped away. Less than a minute later Sirius Black appeared, still in outrageous red and gold striped pyjamas, looking disorientated as a smug Kreacher held his wrist. "Uncle Padfoot!" Russell cried, and Sirius lost the confused glaze in his eyes and ran to crouch down in front of the fireplace.

"Hey Prongslet, what happened?" He asked gently, and Russell knew that his Uncle could see the tear tracks on his face.

"Harry's gone!" Russell cried, and Sirius paled. "His room is empty, his bed is gone and all the books and stuff in his room has all been put away!" This was too much for Russell and he started crying again. "Where is he Uncle Padfoot, I can't find him!" Sirius nodded determinedly and stood up.

"Russell, step away from the fireplace and wait for me in the Floo Room. I'm going to contact Moony and we'll be there as soon as we can, okay kiddo?" Russell nodded his understanding and pulled his head out of the fireplace. He started pacing around the room as he waited for his Uncles, and sure enough as Uncle Padfoot promised they arrived just a few minutes after he spoke to Uncle Padfoot. As soon as they stepped out of the fireplace Russell ran up to them and hugged them, burying his face in their robes.

"I can't find him he's gone I thought they'd finally moved him to a family room and out of the servant's room but the books are in the library and in my bookcase and he's gone!" He felt two comforting pairs of arms envelope him and he broke down.

Ten minutes later a House Elf appeared in front of them.

"Master and Mistress be awaking now," she said softly, sadly. Russell felt someone let him go and crouch in front of the House Elf, whose name was Pop.

"Pop," Russell realised that it was Uncle Moony who left. He lifted his head up and looked at Uncle Moony and Pop. "Do you know what happened to Little Master Harry?" He asked the House Elf quietly. Pop just looked up at him with wide watery blue eyes as she fiddled with her pillowcase dress.

"Master and Mistress be awake now," she repeated, and it seemed that the sentence confirmed something for Remus because he nodded.

"Thank you Pop," he told the House Elf, and she smiled before popping away.

"Russell honey!" came a call down the stairs. Russell tensed at his mother's voice. "Merry Christmas! Have you had any breakfast yet?" Russell left the Floo Room, Sirius having stopped hugging him but refused to let go of his godson's hand. Russell wasn't as clever as Harry but he wasn't stupid, when he saw Uncle Moony and Uncle Padfoot look at each other after Pop left he realised what they figured out.

"I was just going to wake up Harry," he told his mother when he came into her view. She was in a silk dressing gown and standing at the top of the stairs, smiling at Russell. At his words there was a look of something in her eyes, so like his twin's, but it quickly disappeared and she smiled softly.

"If he's not up yet then let's let him sleep, okay honey?" She then realised that Russell wasn't alone and smiled widely. "Sirius, Remus, Merry Christmas! I wasn't expecting you so soon!" Russell glared at her and then looked at his Uncles.

"We wanted to say Merry Christmas to our godsons," the Black Lord told her. "So we were just about to go find Harry."

"No, don't!" She said frantically as she leant over the banister at them. Her eyes were wide with fright, and then with horror at the glares the werewolf and the Animagus were giving her.

"A funny thing happened this morning," Sirius said icily. "Russell woke up a while ago and went to wake his twin up. Harry's room was empty though, and so were all of the spare rooms in the family wing and all the guest suites." Lily Potter paled, and was getting paler by the second. "And Harry's belongings were all either back in the library or in Russell's room-"

"They were Russell's books!" Lily interrupted, incensed with the fact that Harry had the books. "That little thief took them from him!"

"I gave them to him!" Russell told her. "They were my gifts to him because you never gave him any!"

"We gave the ungrateful brat plenty!" She shrieked. "He was part of the Potter family and brother of the Boy-Who-Lived and yet he had the audacity to complain that he never got enough!" There was movement behind her and James Potter, the elder copy of Russell with black hair and brown eyes, emerged onto the first floor landing.

"Padfoot, Moony!" He said with a grin. "Merry Christmas!" Sirius and Remus weren't in a good mood though.

"Where is Harry, Prongs?" Remus growled, and amber was leaking into his eyes as a sign that Moony the Wolf was coming close to the surface. James Potter merely frowned.

"He's not here anymore," he told them frankly. "Lils and I decided that Harry was better off elsewhere." Neither Sirius nor Remus could bear to look at Russell's face; the utter desolation and devastation on his face was heartbreaking. The elder Potters didn't seem to think so though; they continued on as if nothing was wrong.

"He was just getting in the way and distracting you, honey," Lily said with a comforting smile. "So you don't need to worry yourself about him anymore and just worry about yourself; you are the Boy-Who-Lived, after all." Sirius clenched his hands as if trying not to hit something.

"Where is he?" Russell finally asked, after unlocking his jaw from gritting his teeth in anger at his so-called parents.

"You don't need to worry anymore son," James said with a roguish grin. "Tell you what, why don't you open a few presents before breakfast." Lily opened her mouth to protest but James just grinned at her. "C'mon Lils, at least one."

"I want to know where my twin is!" Russell screamed, and Remus had to cover his ears at the volume, what with his wolf close his senses had increased exponentially. James and Lily had the most amusing shocked looks on their faces; unfortunately no-one was in the mood for laughing. And Lily and James were shaking their heads; they weren't going to tell, they'd wanted Harry out of their lives too much for too long to want him back.

"Tell us," Sirius said with a growl. He'd withdrawn his wand and was pointing it at his once-partner-in-crime and his wife. Remus had drawn his own wand in case of a confrontation but kept his arm by his side. James glared at the two canine Marauders before scoffing and turning away.

"We left the little bastard in Knockturn," he growled. "Russell, come." But Russell Charlus Potter glared then ran past the adults to get to his room, where he asked the House Elves to place as many privacy charms and locking spells as they could.

Corey spent a few minutes exploring his new room. Apart from the single bed with the squishy mattress there was also a big oak wardrobe with a matching bookcase, desk and chair. Once he heard voices outside the room he decided to venture outside. He left the bedroom and saw two pale blue fabric sofas and a matching armchair. The walls of the large room were royal blue with a soft bronze line running along the middle of the wall. There were three windows in the living area, but they were all framed either side by thick curtains that looked handmade - they were a darker blue than the walls with bronze eagles sewn on. There was tinsel all around the walls in shades of white, green, red, silver and gold. There was a big fireplace with a roaring fire in it, and there was a brightly-decorated tree to the right of the fireplace. To the left there was a large bookcase that encompassed the corner and both walls either side of it, at least six-foot long on each side and hitting the ceiling, that was entirely full of books. Corey walked over to it and saw books about Charms and Runes, and even some on Healing. The bookcase itself was made of a dark wood, and looking up Corey wasn't entirely sure that Raven could reach the top shelf. Then he reminded himself about the joys of Summoning Charms. Corey then heard voices and walked to the left side of the room, where he found a dining table with six chairs. He passed a door which had a sign proclaiming 'No Entry - Potions Genius at Work' and a little moving picture of a stereotypical Muggle Witch stirring a boiling green potion in a large black cauldron. A few more steps and the wall to his left disappeared, and he looked into a kitchen.

The kitchen was a mix of light-grey counters, pale blue cupboards and a black oven, and it was the source of the voices. Raven was there, her hair pulled into an untidy ponytail on the top of her head and she had her hands in a bowl, kneading a mixture of some sort. There was also a brown-haired man there, taller than the other two in the kitchen, who was chopping up potatoes and carrots as he talked to the last person in the room. Then Corey turned to look at the last man who was leaning against the counters and playing with a radio, and he froze.

"You look like Uncle Padfoot," he blurted, then quickly put his hands over his mouth as his face morphed into a mortified expression. The three in the kitchen turned to look at him, and the Padfoot-clone laughed.

"Very close," he said with a grin once he'd finished. "Regulus Arcturus Black at your service," he said with a dramatic bow. "Sirius is my older brother."

"Uncle Padfoot told me he had a brother," Corey began slowly, a confused frown on his face. "But he told me that you died when you were eighteen?"

"I faked my death," Reg said with a shrug. "I met Seth, and I realised that I was his life partner, his SoulMate, but most of the Witches and Wizards would have tried to kill us if they found out." He looked over at the brown-haired man, and Corey noticed his eyes were almost like a cat's; oval shaped pupils, and there was an odd reflective sheen when they hit the light. The man noticed him staring and inspected him for a while. Raven and Reg were watching them, Raven curiously and Reg impassively. Finally the man nodded, then opened his mouth in a slow smile. As he smiled, Corey noticed two of his top teeth, his canines, extending and getting longer. "Seth's a Vampire," Reg told the young boy, and Corey turned his head to look at the half-Demon and the maybe-human. Then he nodded, and walked more into the kitchen and leant against the counters too.

"Merry Christmas," Raven told him with a smile, and Corey smiled back. "Once the food can be put into the oven to cook we're going to start opening presents." Corey looked surprised at that, then he back away and peered around the wall to look at the tree in the living room. There were two huge boxes and many little presents.

"The big ones are for you," Reg whispered in his ear, and Corey nearly jumped. He turned to glare at his Uncle's younger brother. The man just laughed and went back to fiddling with the radio.

"Reg is looking for Muggle Christmas songs," Raven told him when she saw the Black with the radio. Corey nodded his understanding and looked around again. "Feel free to sit down on the sofas," she told him, and he stood around for a little longer before drifting into the living room and sitting on the smaller two seater sofa, leaving the armchair and the three-seater sofa empty. A minute later, songs started blaring from the radio and Reg collapsed on the three seater sofa opposite him.

"The boxes?" Corey asked as he looked over at the tree.

"The boxes," Reg confirmed, and Corey merely stared at them some more before looking back at Reg. "So squirt, how'd you like this place so far?" Corey looked around the room and smiled, but it fell flat somewhat. "Miss your twin, huh?" Corey nodded. "And how did you like your bedroom?" At Corey's anxious look Reg laughed. "Raven's going to decorate it for you this afternoon as part of her Christmas present to you, don't worry," Reg assured him. "So you tell her what colours you want and she'll do it. I'd do it but Raven told me no," he said with a pout, and there were two snorts from next to the sofas as Raven and Seth approached, obviously finished preparing the food.

"Look at this room," she told Reg with a glare. "Just because I'm the first Ravenclaw in my mother's family of Slytherins doesn't mean I want my living room to be blue and bronze everywhere!" Corey giggled as the reason behind the rather repetitive colour scheme became clear. Raven whispered in his ear. "After I changed it the third time he even put charms on it so that I couldn't change it again! Mind you, it was a friend of mine called Amy who made me the curtains so I'd keep them anyway." Corey's giggles erupted into full laughs, and he heard Seth tell something to Reg. It must have been what Raven told him because Reg first looked smug then he pouted a bit at the fact that Raven liked the curtains more than his decorating.

"Anyway, presents!" Reg said excited, and at Seth's indulgent smile Reg ran to the tree and picked up four of the presents. "Seth and I took the liberty of bringing our presents over before you two woke up," Reg explained to Raven and Corey. "So this is for you," he handed a soft present to Corey, and he gave Raven a familiar book-shaped present. Raven opened it to find a book on nearly-extinct Runes that were used to enchant cauldrons for more potent potions, whereas Corey opened his to find a dark green toy stuffed dragon and a note saying "Something every Magical child should have growing up". Reg's was a book on obscure Dark Arts from Raven and Seth got a large bag of Blood Pops as a joke, again from Raven.

Next Reg levitated one of the boxes over, and Corey gasped over his new clothes and vowed to thank the Elders. Reg handed over the second box as the other three opened their presents. From the Elders to Raven came small vials of blood from each of the creatures in the Alley, including vampires, incubi, succubae and all different kinds of shifters, all of which were neatly labelled with what they shifted into, their genders and their ages. The three adults laughed when some of the things that came out of the box were a potions book for children as well as a junior prank-potions kit. From Reg and Seth Raven got a few rare and decidedly dark potions ingredients whilst Corey was handed two packages, which he opened up to find a toy stuffed Grim and a toy stuffed Wolf, which made him smile at the reminders of his Uncles.

"Right," Raven said once all of the presents were opened. "I'm going to just go and put the new Potions stuff in my lab, but I'll be back in a minute, I still have one more present to give." The other three nodded and Raven levitated the large amount of potions ingredients and walked over to the door with the sign on. She touched her wand to the door and it opened, and she disappeared inside.

"I got her that little sign," Reg murmured to Corey, waving towards the little brewing Witch on the door. "She stared at it and then hid it in a drawer, so I found it again and stuck it on the door with a Permanent Sticking Charm. She didn't talk to me for a month but I think she's warming up to it." Seth had an indulgent smile on his face even as he rolled his eyes in exasperation at his Mate. Raven emerged a few minutes later and gestured at Corey to follow her.

"I didn't give you the tour last night so I'll go through it now," she said with a smile. She placed her hand on the door to the Potions Lab. "This, as you've no doubt guessed, is my Lab. I work from home making Potions to order so I'll probably spend a long time in here. I also have wards over the door so don't try to open it, and you're only allowed in here with me or Seth." She saw Reg's pout. "Reg isn't allowed in here unsupervised either, he'd probably destroy everything in here on his own." Reg just stuck his tongue out in a childish gesture at the insult, and Raven smirked mischievously. She walked to the next door, then went passed. "That's your bedroom, we'll do that in a minute. This is the bathroom, we'll bring your things in later." In the box of non-clothes the Elders gave Corey there were also toothbrushes and toothpaste and all other bathroom essentials. Corey had a look in the bathroom; there were pale blue tiles with a white toilet, sink, bath and a separate shower. "And lastly is my room." Corey stepped inside and saw the dark purple walls, a built in wardrobe with ebony doors, a dressing table, a bedside table, and the matching ebony bed with amethyst sheets. There wasn't a window, to Corey's confusion.

"This room's smaller than mine," Corey said once he'd looked around his sister's room. "And it's dark."

"I don't have much," Raven shrugged. "So I took the smaller room and left the larger room for guests. And since I'm half Shadow Demon the darkness is comforting, healing for me." Corey nodded in understanding. Once the tour was done Raven took Corey back to his room. "You have a double bed at the moment because it was the guest room, but would you prefer a single or stay with the double?" Corey thought for a second as he looked at the bed.

"Can I still have the double bed?" He asked, remembering the softness and the lovely feeling he had when he woke up. Raven nodded.

"Okay then. Any ideas for colours?" She asked him, and he looked around the room again.

"Green carpet?" Raven shot a green bolt out of her wand and the carpet turned from soft brown to almost jewel-like emerald. Reg laughed and Raven smirked. A quick look over his shoulder showed Seth just shaking his head in despair at his Mate and their adopted little sister (as Reg told Corey he thought of Raven). "A bit darker?" It changed to a deep forest green, and Raven even made it a bit thicker and plusher, and to Corey it felt like he was stepping onto soft moss. He smiled and nodded frantically as he enjoyed the feeling of the carpet on his feet. "Can it be like outside?" He asked after a while, and Raven nodded before waving her wand. Waves of colour appeared on the walls, all shades of brown and green, until all four walls were covered in foliage and the room looked like it was in the middle of a forest.

"Mind if I make a few adjustments?" Reg asked, and Raven looked at Corey and shrugged.

"It's your choice," she told him, and Corey nodded tentatively to Reg. Then Reg grinned and whispered to Seth, and Reg pulled out his wand and Seth held his Mate's hand. Reg then whispered a lengthy spell, and Corey gaped as the spell took effect. The window opposite the door, the only window in the room, slowing disappeared and in its place were more trees. Corey wondered what would happen to the light source without the window, before Reg gripped Seth's hand tighter and they seemed to glow. Then the room lit up as if it was outside, and Corey looked at the ceiling.

"I got the idea from Hogwarts," Reg told the two younger people in the room. "During the day the ceiling will light up like your own little sun, and it can be brightened or dimmed with something I'll give you later, and during the night it'll show you all the stars, and again they can be dimmed." Corey gapped, and Reg shrugged with a little embarrassment. "I'm a Black, we're obsessed with astronomy and the stars."

"What was the glow earlier?" Corey asked as they left his room to sit down in front of the fire. Reg looked at Seth and smiled lovingly.

"It happens because we're SoulMates," Reg told Corey. "You see, since Seth's a vampire he has a magical core but he can't access it, he can only use his vampiric magic. This means that because I'm a wizard, I'm able to use our bond to touch his magic and use it myself, but only with skin to skin contact which is why our hands glowed since that was our contact point and where the magic filtered from him to me." Reg finished, and Corey nodded in understanding at the slightly complex explanation. Just then an Alarm Charm sounded and so Raven and Seth went to go dish up the Christmas Dinner.

Sirius Black was furious. Of course, since he was in his Animagus form he couldn't show it past growling but he was sure that Remus could tell. Also, Remus wasn't exactly happy and calm judging by his amber eyes. They were walking - well, more like striding - down Knockturn Alley trying to catch Harry's scent. It was only ten o'clock in the morning so hopefully the scents wouldn't have had time to disperse. Then Sirius found something, and he immediately barked and sped up. He could smell Harry, sort-of, and he followed the very weak trail (which was also mixed with James' scent, which made Sirius growl even deeper) into a dark and very smelly sidestreet. He barely managed to make out Harry's scent and the small amount he found was also saturated in tears and fear. Remus gestured for Sirius to change back and Sirius did so, gritting his teeth in anger.

"He was so scared Remus," Sirius said as he turned to his fellow Marauder. "And James' scent is all over this place!" Remus nodded and sighed tiredly.

"I can smell something else," Remus told him, and Sirius frowned. "Young, female," he closed his eyes and took a deep breath in through his nose, "and non-human." Remus turned and walked back out of the alleyway. He sniffed again. "Harry and the girl leave, but Harry's scent isn't fearful anymore. It's full of curiosity and a tiny bit of trust." Sirius turned back to Padfoot and they continued down Knockturn to try and find Harry. They followed the scents to another alleyway, but this one ended in a dead end, much to the two canine's anger and frustration. Sirius turned back to human and screamed, kicking the wall for good measure. Remus threw a spell at the wall and frowned when he registered lots of magic coming from the wall. The two waited in the alley before Remus spoke up with a suggestion.

"If we don't know where they are, maybe we can find where she's been. Sirius, change back in Padfoot. If we follow the scent of the girl back and see where she came from, we might get some clues." Sirius nodded, grateful for an idea to distract him from the helplessness of not finding his second godson. A second later Padfoot and an amber-eyed Remus were walking back down Knockturn Alley. They passed by the alleyway where the girl pick up Harry, and they reached an inconspicuous door.

"Her scent's all over the handle," Remus murmured. "She went in there." He walked away and smelled that she had approached the shop from the entrance to Diagon Alley. There were too many smells there to be able to pick out one, and so Remus guessed that this was their only chance to find the non-human girl that had either helped or kidnapped Harry. Remus walked back to the door, steeled himself for whatever might be behind it, and opened it.

"It's an apothecary," Sirius said, and Remus startled at his now-human friend. He then picked up light footsteps, and he looked at the back of the shop to see a woman. Her eyes were pure white, no iris or pupil.

"You're looking for a child," she told them, and from the distracted tone in her voice Sirius could tell she was a Seer. He whispered that to Remus, and the werewolf's eyes widened.

"Yes, his name's Harry and-"

"That's not his name anymore," the Seer said gently, and Sirius and Remus both held their breaths. "They changed his name to protect both himself and his now-adopted sister."

"Where are they now?" Sirius asked desperately, nearly leaping forward to stand in front of the Seer and frantically grabbing her hands in a loose grip. "Please, is he okay?" The Seer looked him in the eyes and smiled warmly.

"He will be loved, and happy, Sirius Black. You will be contacted in the future, by his adopted family. You nor his twin won't be separated from the child for long." The Seer sagged a little, and Sirius grabbed her to keep her from falling to the floor. She looked up at him with brown eyes. "Oh, sorry about that," she said with another smile. She manoeuvred herself to sit up on the counter, her legs dangling. Another set of footsteps sounded in Remus' ears, and he growled slightly when a vampire appeared. "My name's Olva, and this is my Mate Jas. He owns the store." Sirius nodded a hello, and once Remus stamped down Moony he greeted Jas as well. Jas smiled back, only a small twitch of the lips. "He is safe, I promise," Olva told them, and she smiled happily. "I gave him a Christmas present, a green dragon," she told them. "I hope he liked it, Morgana knows his sister was obsessed with them when she was younger. She still is actually, even when she requires ingredients from dragons she still goes to the actual reserve and picks it up herself. She will give him a childhood," she promised, and Sirius smiled tiredly. He would reserve judgement, but he still wouldn't trust them fully until he met with Harry and his new family to make sure his godson was okay. He was a Black, after all.