Author's Note: oh hey look at that, I finally got around to updating this thing. It's only been six months! (so sorry, ohmygosh)

Thank you all so much for reviews and favoriting/following. You have no idea what it all means to me. I will be taking all of your comments to heart as I continue this story, so keep them coming! I'm not really sure where it's going yet, but I'm looking forward to writing.

(also) Written for the Harry Potter Re-raising Project.

This story is being beta'd by the awesome Emmeebee! :D

chapter two

Unspoken Fears

The five minutes it took Petunia to drive to the post office seemed to be the longest of her life. She cursed out every red light along the way, and then prayed and pleaded to every deity she could think of that her letter would reach Dumbledore in time.

The plaza was deserted when she finally arrived, still early by normal standards. Petunia parked right outside the post office, ignoring the parking laws, and drummed her fingers against the steering wheel until finally a boy her age arrived to start work.

She wrapped her jacket tight around her body self-consciously as she walked into the air conditioned store, regretting having left the house in her pajamas when the boy openly eyed her.

"I need to send this," she said, placing the hastily-written letter on the counter.

"You know, there are letterboxes you can use. You didn't have to wait for me to get here," he said, lazily flipping a page in a comic book he'd been reading.

"Please, it's an emergency. It's for Professor Dumbledore." Petunia looked around the storefront nervously, even though they were the only ones there.

The boy closed his comic but didn't seem to be in any rush to help her. He narrowed his eyes at her. "I'm not sure what you think you're doing, Miss, but-"

"I need to speak with Professor Dumbledore, please! My sister is – was a witch. I know how this works." Despite her assurance, Petunia was beginning to think she'd made a horrible mistake.

This was how she had done it as a girl, though. While Lily was packing for her first year of school, Petunia had written a desperate letter to the headmaster and sent it through the letterbox as she would any other. No one had ever made a move to correct her in the years since.

Finally, the boy heaved a sigh and got up from his stool, picking up the letter. "Just a moment," he said and disappeared into the back. Petunia wondered if he had a fleet of owls hidden somewhere. He returned seconds later, sans letter. "It's done. Have a nice day."

Petunia felt a weight lift from her shoulders as she drove to the twenty-four-hour Tesco around the corner. She had to remind herself that the battle was only partially won. The letter would reach Dumbledore now, but would it be in time? He was searching for Sirius – her Sirius. They'd lock him up if they could. She wondered how much time she had before they came knocking on her door…

:-:

Sirius woke to a knocking sound.

He didn't remember dozing off. Sleep had been the farthest thing from his mind after hearing that his best friend had been murdered. Harry had woken after Petunia left, and thankfully the surprise of seeing his godfather had outweighed his need to know where his parents were. If only the questions could be so easily dodged forever.

He figured he must've fallen asleep during his attempt to get Harry to do the same. A look at the clock told him it was still far too early to be up, baby or no.

Another knock sounded at the door, reminding Sirius why he'd woken in the first place.

He readjusted Harry in his arms, holding the baby to his bare chest with one arm so he could unlock and open the door with the other. He expected Petunia to be on the other side. He was usually the forgetful one in the relationship, but he would forgive her a slip-up under the circumstances.

Yet, instead of his girlfriend, Sirius found a werewolf.

"Did you do it?" Remus asked. His voice was dangerously low, almost a growl.

Sirius was momentarily offended by the question. James had been more of a brother to him than Regulus; how could anyone think he'd betray them? His anger ebbed away quickly with the reminder that they had, in fact, been betrayed. By a close friend, no less. Until a few hours before, Sirius would have sworn Remus was the mole in the Order, so who was he to judge Remus' suspicions?

"I didn't," he said quietly, looking down at Harry. "I couldn't."

Remus nodded, visibly relaxing as he walked into the house.

"You're not going to question me further?" Sirius wondered, following his friend into the den.

"I very much doubt you would've returned to your muggle girlfriend's house after … what happened," Remus reasoned, giving him a half-smile.

"Well, you were always the clever one." Sirius returned to the armchair by the fireplace, careful not to jostle the baby. "Dumbledore wrote. He says they're going after Wormtail." He spat out the name.

"Good. Best to just let them handle this." Sirius noticed the way Remus' hands clenched, knuckles white, and wondered if he had the same desire to blast the rat past the point of recognition.

"How did you find me, anyway?" he asked suddenly, mostly to change the subject. "I've kept quiet about Petunia."

Remus smiled – a big, genuine smile that was so rare and friendly that it had Sirius smiling too. "You're not as subtle as you think you are. Also, James told me the last time I saw them. Neither of them seemed happy about the whole thing, actually."

Sirius scoffed. "Lily thought I was corrupting her, as if that's even possible with Pet."

"You're a bad influence."

"I am not!"

Harry stirred in his sleep and both men instantly went silent, watching as the boy fell into a deep sleep again. They shared a look.

"Petunia's got custody of him," Sirius explained.

"That's good. Probably better he's raised away from all the rumors. And Petunia will be able to answer his questions about Lily."

"Right, and I can fill him in on James, I guess, and the magical stuff." Sirius cleared his throat. "It would be nice, maybe, if he could have another uncle around to soften the transition. I mean, what family is complete without a furry little problem, eh?"

Remus rolled his eyes, smirking, but didn't answer. Despite the jokes, there was still an uneasiness to the room; unspoken fears and doubts that had loomed over them all for far too long.

"I'm sorry, Remus."

"Me too."

A/N:

I've been writing too much wolfstar lately, that ending came out vaguely slashy.

Anyway, like I said, I'm taking your comments seriously so feel free to give me suggestions for stuff you'd like to see happen in this. I have some plans, but definitely not enough to get me through.

Review? :)