After sending his patronus to Dumbledore to alert him of Teddy's predicament, Sirius led the boy into the kitchen, waiting for his old headmaster's arrival. Teddy scrambled up onto one of the wooden chairs and placed his backpack on the table, looking at Sirius expectantly. The fireplace spluttered, and then with a flash of green flames, Dumbledore appeared.

"Sirius." Dumbledore greeted, offering him a small smile. "And this must be the boy that you mentioned…?" he asked, his head tilting to the side slightly as his gaze settled on the small form perched on the chair.

Teddy reciprocated his smile, albeit nervously. The stranger looked very, very old. His long wispy white beard and crimson robes instantly made him think of Father Christmas, although Teddy was almost certain that it wasn't him, especially because he wasn't anywhere near as fat as the stories had described.

"Yes. This is Teddy, and Teddy, this is Dumbledore." Sirius introduced. "Maybe we should discuss this next door." He contemplated, eyeing the boy warily.

"Of course." Dumbledore said with a twinkle in his sharp blue eyes, before turning to face the boy, "We won't be a moment."

The two men made their way into the living room, making sure to shut the door firmly behind them.

/

"I'm not sure what to believe or whether we can trust him. I know he's only a kid, but what doesn't make sense is how he got here, or how he seems to know all about me and my past." Sirius deliberated. "And to top it all off, he had this." He added, placing the time-turner in his palm so Dumbledore could take a look at it.

"Curious. Very curious." Dumbledore murmured, peering over his half-moon spectacles at the golden object. "A shattered time-turner…and you say he believes 12 Grimmauld Place to be his home, but that it has been altered?"

Sirius nodded curtly. "He said it belonged to Harry and Ginny." He explained with a frown.

"I see." Dumbledore replied simply. "Well, I suppose the most probable explanation is that Teddy here has managed to send himself back in time. If this is true, this could have disastrous consequences for the future. He will have to stay confined here with you Sirius until I can determine a way to resolve this issue. After all this is sorted, it may be wise to obliviate everyone he interacts with so that we do not unwittingly change the future. That includes ourselves."

Sirius raised his eyebrows slightly in surprise. "You don't really think he's from the future, do you? I mean that's…that's insane. Time-turners aren't supposed to send you back days, let alone years!"

"I highly doubt the young boy has any dark motives, Sirius. However, if you wish to quell your doubts, perhaps you could ask him a few questions, but yes, I do think that this boy is telling the truth. And I feel that it would be highly improper to use methods such as legilimency or veritaserum on a mere boy. In any case, I'll see what I can do for the boy's predicament, but yes, in the meantime, you'll have to take care of him Sirius."

Sirius nodded begrudgingly. He was supposed to be fighting You-Know-Who, not taking up a job as a bloody babysitter! On the other hand, maybe this was a blessing in disguise. He had been incredibly bored cooped up in here as a fugitive, maybe the kid could enlighten him with his knowledge of the future. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad after all.

/

Teddy chewed on his lower lip nervously. The strangers had been talking for quite a while, and he was getting restless. What if they were going to send him away? He wanted to go back home, but he was also scared about facing Harry and Ginny after running away and breaking the necklace. The more he thought about it though, and the more he looked around this creepy version of his home, the more he wanted to go back. He'd rather get yelled at and sent to his room, than face the prospect of staying here.

Just then, the old man stepped back into the room, a wan smile lingering on his lips. "Sirius has explained to me your predicament. I will do my best to try and find a way for you to return home, Teddy, but for now, Sirius is going to take care of you, do you understand?" Dumbledore elucidated, but noticing the boys uneasiness, he added, "Don't be afraid of Sirius. He will look after you, and you will return home soon, I am certain of it." With that, Dumbledore returned to the fireplace and subsequently disappeared in a flash of vivid green light.

"What's a pre-dic-a-ment?" Teddy asked Sirius when he entered the kitchen, cocking his head slightly as he carefully pronounced each syllable.

A small smile tugged at the corner of Sirius' lips. "Your situation…how you got here. Dumbledore's going to try and find a way to send you back home." He replied simply, hoping he would understand. Sirius dumped himself down on the chair next to Teddy and placed a photo of Harry on the table.

"Is this your Harry?" Sirius asked curiously, his finger tapping the corner of the photo.

Teddy shuffled forward in his seat and glanced down at the picture. His eyebrows knitted together as he tried to recognise who it was. "I think so, but he looks different. This Harry doesn't look old, and he's skinnier here." He replied, hoping he'd given Sirius the answer he was looking for.

Sirius exhaled the breath he'd been holding on to. So, Teddy really was telling the truth. He had almost been hoping that he wasn't. He wasn't sure if he wanted to know the future. Although, if Harry was still around, surely the future couldn't be that bad? And if Harry was still around, did that mean they had won the war against Voldemort?

"And you said that you thought this was Harry and Ginny's house?" Sirius prompted, as he tucked the photo back into his pocket.

Teddy nodded.

"Are Harry and Ginny your parents?" Sirius asked, a hint of amusement in his voice. Harry and Ginny being his parents would be the most logical explanation for him living with them, but somehow, he felt that he wasn't going to get a simple answer. For one, the boy didn't even look like Harry or Ginny, except perhaps he had Ginny's eye colour. Although, he couldn't see the boys hair under that Chudley Cannons cap he was wearing, so maybe he did have more of their features than he realised.

Teddy paused, contemplating his answer, then nodded again.

Sirius grinned from ear to ear. He couldn't believe it! Harry…a dad! And he'd married Ginny! What was it with the Potters and redheads? The thought of Harry becoming a father amused him, although he had a slight nagging feeling that something was not quite right. If Harry and Ginny were his parents, then why hadn't Teddy recognised him? Why didn't he know that he was Sirius Black? Surely he didn't look that much older in the future, and he must have visited Harry at least every once in a while. I mean, Merlin, he was his bloody godfather!

"So, what have you got hidden away in that bag of yours then, kiddo?" Sirius inquired as he lifted his feet up and rested them on the table, hoping that the change in topic would distract himself from his own unsettling thoughts.

Teddy hugged his blue backpack close to his chest. "My supplies."

Sirius' eyes twinkled with amusement. "Supplies…?"

Teddy nodded sheepishly.

"What's a kid need supplies for?"

"I…I don't want to say. It's a secret."

"Aww, come on. I thought we were friends by now. You can tell me."

Teddy chewed his lip, unsure whether to agree or not.

"How about, you tell me your secret and then I'll tell you one of mine." Sirius offered with a shrug.

Teddy's eyes widened slightly. Sirius would tell him a secret! He contemplated whether he should tell him or not, before finally deciding to give in, his curiosity for the secret overwhelming him. "Okay, but promise not to get mad?"

"I promise." Sirius said whilst he dramatically crossed his heart.

"Pinky promise?"

Sirius rolled his eyes slightly. "Pinky promise." He huffed as he waggled his little finger.

"I…I was going to run away." Teddy admitted, deliberately avoiding Sirius' gaze.

"Run away?! Why would you want to run away?" Sirius asked, looking at the boy in disbelief.

Teddy shrugged and pulled his knees up close to his chest.

"I'm sure Harry and Ginny love you. They'd be devastated if you ran away. Is that why you ended up here? Did you think the necklace would help you run away?"

"I know." Teddy replied meekly, his lower lip trembling slightly. "No! I didn't know the necklace would take me away! I don't really want to run away. I swear! I want to go back! I want to go home." He confessed, beginning to tear up.

Sirius gave Teddy a sympathetic look, and dragged his chair closer. "Come here." He said softly, beckoning him over.

Teddy looked at him uncertainly, before giving into his emotions and crawling onto Sirius' lap. "I'm really really really sorry. Please don't tell Harry and Ginny. I didn't mean to run away, and I really do want to go back." He sobbed.

Sirius hugged the boy close, feeling the tears staining his shirt. "I believe you. I won't tell them." He murmured. "You'll be back soon. Dumbledore's the best wizard there is, you'll be back home before you can say 'Quidditch'." He added, smiling down at the boy.

Teddy sniffed loudly and looked up at Sirius hopefully. "Promise?"

"Pinky promise." Sirius said, laughing lightly.

Teddy nodded sagely, as if that was all the confirmation in the world he needed. "Now, it's your turn. What's your secret?" he asked, almost bristling with excitement.

"Well, when I was maybe 13, I bought a special sweet from a joke shop that could change people's hair into all sorts of colours. I was supposed to give it to my little brother Regulus, so his hair would turn striped red and gold, the Gryffindor colours, because he had just been sorted into Slytherin, and I was still slightly mad about it. Unfortunately, my Dad had eaten it instead and he was so angry about it. Honestly, I was scared out of my mind and he was completely over-reacting. I ended up blaming it on Regulus in the end. I was pretty ashamed of it afterwards, it wasn't exactly the brave Gryffindor thing to do. Anyway, they ended up punishing Regulus instead of me." Sirius told him reminiscently. "You're the first person I've admitted that to, you know." He added with a small smile.

"You were so naughty!" Teddy exclaimed.

"Naughty is my middle name." he grinned back.

"Is it really?" Teddy asked, looking at him doubtfully.

"No, it was only a joke." Sirius laughed. "My middle name's Orion, but you must never ever tell anyone that."

Teddy nodded, a small smile playing on his lips.

Sirius then adjusted him on his lap and brought his little backpack up on to the table. "Now, how about you show me your supplies?" he said with a smile, hoping to cheer Teddy up a little.

Teddy smiled back at him and nodded eagerly. He unzipped the bag and emptied the contents on to the table in a haphazard manner. "This is my favourite toy in the whole, entire WORLD!" He emphasised with a big grin, as he held up a small scruffy looking wolf toy. "His name's Moony, and I never go anywhere without him." He explained as he gave it a hug.

Sirius raised his eyebrows slightly, and glanced down at the toy in amusement. "Moony, huh? Good name."

"Yeah, he's named after my favourite marauder." He clarified as he stroked the wolf.

"What!? I thought Sirius was your favourite?" Sirius said, feigning a look of horror.

"No! No, no, no. Moony's my favourite. Padfoot is my second favourite, silly." Teddy replied as if Sirius had said something completely crazy.

"Right." Sirius smirked. "Well, at least he's your second favourite. I'm not sure what third favourite would have done to his ego."

Teddy placed the toy down on the table, and held up one of the muggle chocolate bars. "This is my emergency food. In case I get hungry." He explained, looking very serious.

"Of course. Food is very important, especially chocolate. Who needs vegetables when you've got sugar, right?"

Teddy grinned. "Well, Ginny says you need veggie-tab-les if you want to grow up big and strong, but I don't like them."

"Don't blame you, kid. Nasty green stuff…the lot of it!" He said, causing Teddy to laugh a little.

Teddy then held up his crayons. "I need these in case I want to draw. I love drawing. Ginny says I'm really good. And…." he said, spreading out his parents' photo and his chocolate frog card on the table. "I have these too."

Sirius leaned over him to take a closer look at what he was showing him. First, he picked up the photo and smiled at what he saw. It was a slightly nervous looking Remus embracing a happy looking Tonks who was cuddling a new-born baby with bright blue hair. It was strange seeing a photo that had not yet been taken. What was even more bizarre was imagining that Remus had settled down and had a family. He'd suspected that something was happening between Remus and Tonks, but Remus had always denied it, saying that he couldn't do that to Tonks due to his infliction. Sirius shook his head and placed the photo back onto the table, then picked up the collectible card. Much to his surprise, inside the card, a holographic image of Remus and Tonks was displayed. "You've got some cool stuff there, kid." He said, flicking the card back onto the table. It was true, he did enjoy seeing the photo and the card, but what bothered him was why Teddy had them. Wouldn't it make more sense to have photos of your own parents, rather than someone else's? Maybe they were really close.

"How come you've got lots of stuff to do with Remus? Is he your godfather? Are you close?" he asked, raising his eyebrow inquisitively.

Teddy turned around to face him and frowned. "No. Harry's my godfather." he said, giving him an incredulous look. "He's my Daddy." He said, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Sirius stared at the boy in confusion. Daddy? That didn't make any sense. "But I thought you said Harry and Ginny were your parents?"

"They are! I have two Mummy's and two Daddy's." he sighed, giving him a look that seemed to say 'Come on Sirius, keep up!'.

Sirius was baffled. Why did the kid have two sets of parents? Unless…No, he couldn't think like that. Remus and Tonks couldn't be dead. The thought made his heart constrict painfully in his chest. "Do you live with your other mother and father too?" he asked, hoping he wasn't crossing a line.

A flash of anguish flickered in Teddy's eyes. "No, just with Harry and Ginny. Harry said my other Mummy and Daddy had to go away but…but that they live in here now, even if I can't see them." He said quietly, placing his little hand on his heart. He swallowed the lump in his throat, and looked down at his supplies dejectedly.

Sirius' jaw clenched tightly. He hadn't wanted to ask. He had been afraid of the answer, but at the time he felt like he needed to know. Now he wasn't so sure if knowing had been a good idea. He blinked back his unshed tears and plastered on a forced smile. He tilted Teddy's chin up and looked into his sad brown eyes. "Of course they are. The ones who loves us never really leave us, Teddy. You're very brave, you know that?" he said, his voice wavering slightly.

Teddy nodded meekly and buried his face in his shirt again. He had decided he liked hugging Sirius. Sirius was warm and smelled a bit like a wet dog. It was a nice, comforting smell. Teddy felt like he could have stayed their all night, but their embrace was suddenly interrupted by someone rapping on the front door…