Chapter 3 In the Fury of the Moment

A/N: Thanks for the follows, favorites and especially the reviews and special thanks to my wonderful beta, Shygui. My reading recommendation is Novocaine by StardustWarrior2991 and although it has a familiar premise (Harry inherits a lot due to defeating Voldemort) I like how the author has Harry react to the situation. If that isn't your cup of tea then you can't go wrong with any story by Dorothea Greengrass or Shygui. Now, it is time to settle that mini-cliffhanger that I left you with….

She was fury, she was wrath, she was vengeance. - Sarah J. Maas

Roxanne's voice rang out across the room, startling Harry but he kept his eyes on his godfather as if mesmerized.

"Sirius! Look at me!"

Sirius slowly turned towards Roxanne and both the rage and the glowing of his eyes subsided a little. When she had his attention she spoke again.

"There were a few details in that which were new to me but I knew the gist of this for months. You know me, Sirius, would I let that lie? Would I ignore something like that happening to someone I cared about? Would I allow Lily's son to be treated like that and do nothing about it?"

Although the rage and glow in his eyes died, his look was still a little scary. That smile on his face was very intimidating and accentuated by how skeletal he looked and his eerily eager voice didn't help either. "Do you need any help?"

"Thanks for the offer, but I have things in hand. Harry and Daphne, this will not be discussed beyond the ones in this room, am I clear?"

He looked at her and there was only one possible answer so he nodded his head yes and he knew that Daphne must be doing the same.

"I was very careful, nothing can be traced back to us. I was able to investigate them through someone who occasionally works for Cyrus and I was very thorough looking for my options. I would have loved to get them caught out for child abuse but that was risky, the Muggles are getting very good at evaluating evidence and there was no way I was going to let him return there. Then I discovered something else, a man like that wouldn't be content with just bullying a child, I knew there must be something that I could have him caught at."

"He has been embezzling money from his employer and he was doing that with the man who should catch such malfeasance, the Chief Financial Officer of the company. This other man was taking more though and it took a bit of work but I finally found a way for our dear Mr. Dursley to find that out. They aren't on such good terms anymore; the final step took place when I arranged for the other man to be caught. The Muggle authorities are gathering evidence against him as we speak."

"I understand that Muggle law enforcement is willing to make deals with the ones they catch to have them give evidence against others. I checked this other man's mind and he will gladly do that. Vernon Dursley doesn't know it but his days as a free man are numbered. There is nobody else to turn in so he won't get a deal. He will lose his job, end up in jail and he will lose his house and undoubtedly his family. I also made certain that he won't enjoy his ill-gotten gains nor have a lot of money for defending himself. He has had a lot of bad luck with his investments." Her grin during the last part was as intimidating as Sirius' had been.

"Once all that has happened, I will wait and have that same man watch for my opportunity to take Petunia Dursley down. She's no saint and once she is desperate enough, she will make a mistake and I will see to it that she is caught. If the Muggle courts don't punish them enough, I will take further action. The boy I won't bother with, he was raised to be as he is and he's a spoiled brat who won't be able to deal with what will happen to his family. I figure that is revenge enough."

She then gave Sirius a very solemn look. "Will that satisfy you, Sirius Black?"

After hearing that, Harry had a new respect for how formidable Daphne's mother was. He'd seen her maternal side and seen her as a caring woman but this was a very different side to her. Harry's eyes went back to his godfather and Sirius looked disgruntled but eventually he nodded that he would be satisfied.

Roxanne asked, "What do you think, Harry?"

His head whipped around to Roxanne so quickly he almost hurt his neck. Him? She was asking him? On one hand, it was nice that there was someone interested in his opinion but on the other hand this was all so unexpected that he didn't have anything ready to say yet. He glanced at Daphne and she merely watched him seriously, apparently she was waiting for his answer too. He wasn't sure what to feel but he had to say something.

He pondered all they had put him through and he had been content to just be shut of them, safe here with the Greengrasses. However, it appeared that the adults were not inclined to let this go. What they were doing certainly didn't bother him. His uncle was guilty of what they would get him for and his aunt would be guilty of whatever she did and that was justice at work, wasn't it? As he thought about it, he couldn't see anything wrong in it. "I'm fine with it."

That seemed to earn him a quick hug from Daphne and a nod from Sirius.

Roxanne spoke again, "Is there anything else to bring up before we discuss future plans?"

She was looking around and Harry remembered that he had bad news. After what he'd already had to tell, this would be simpler.

"I have bad news. In the letter from Ron, he said that Scabbers had run away when they got to Egypt. Scabbers is what we thought was his pet rat. I didn't think much of it when I got the letter but if that is Peter Pettigrew, then it was deliberate. I remember we talked in front of the rat about you, Sirius, and about me seeing the will. If he knew what was in the will or even just suspected, he must have made a run for it."

Sirius looked devastated. "Egypt? He's in Egypt? How long has he been on the run?"

Harry felt awful at how affected Sirius was. "Almost two weeks."

Sirius became the picture of despair as he folded in on himself and put his face in his hands. Harry wanted to comfort him somehow but he had no idea what to do. If only he'd known what that rat really was, he could have done something but now the traitor was beyond their grasp.

Things had gotten so quiet that it was a bit startling when Cyrus spoke up. "I know a man who is good at finding people, I will set him on the trail of Pettigrew."

Sirius came out of his funk enough to say, "Thank you, Cyrus."

Cyrus then spoke to Sirius again. "I have news for you too. When Harry and I found out you were innocent, I paid a visit to Madam Bones, the current head of the DMLE. She says she knew you and had questions about your guilt but that she hadn't been able to do anything at the time. She agreed to pass along confidential orders within the Aurors to have you taken alive and brought to her for questioning. Unfortunately, that is all she can do as the orders to have you kissed immediately by dementors comes directly from Minister Fudge himself and she cannot countermand that order. She might be an ally in the future if we need her, I'm not positive though."

Sirius nodded before he replied, "She was our squad leader back then. We got along well but she supervised us so we weren't close."

Cyrus appeared more solemn as he continued. "I was hoping that the shock value of producing a supposedly dead man would discourage enough of the Wizengamot members from voting guilty. We are not in a position to move quickly. First, it would help if you recover your health and can present yourself as a pureblood lord. I know that the members of my faction would vote for you but we are a minority of the votes in the Wizengamot. Next, I must feel out Dumbledore as between his loose coalition and the independent votes he can influence, we'd be a little above half the votes. However, I don't want to count on that and it would be best to have some votes from the conservatives, they are a very powerful block despite everything that has happened,"

"We cannot depend on them voting based on the evidence, too many are looking out for what is in it for them and some are quite content to have the Blacks off the board. I also recently called in some markers to get Malfoy convicted so I have less political capital to use. Sirius, can you think of any of the conservatives that I could approach that may be inclined in your favour?"

Sirius was starting to look very tired to Harry but Sirius answered anyway. "Uhm, it's been a long time. How about Shafiq?"

"No, sorry. They're gone."

Sirius blinked rapidly in astonishment. "Really? OK, how about Fawley?"

"They aren't in the conservative faction, they are independents who could be influenced by Dumbledore."

Sirius seemed to age before his eyes and he rubbed at his eyes and sighed before declaring, "Well, probably Selwyn, you can try them. Other than that I'm sorry, I can't think of anyone else right now. Perhaps we can go over who is in the faction you're concerned about and I'll think of something."

"That's fine, it's getting late anyway and as I said, there is no need to rush. We should also discuss Dumbledore as his motives here are a little murky. I wonder if he knew what was in the will, do you know?"

Sirius shook his head no so Cyrus turned to Roxanne and asked, "Did you have anything to add?"

"No, I think we've had enough excitement tonight and these two have class in the morning." She nodded towards Harry and Daphne at the end. Then she looked at them and added, "Keep your walk tonight short as it's already late."

"Yes, Mother."

"Sirius, I will walk you back to where you're staying. I want to check that foot."

"Whatever you say, Roxy."

Cyrus Greengrass was shaking his head at all he had learned through Harry Potter in the last few months. If he hadn't been getting it from reliable sources, he'd have laughed it off as the plot of a children's book. He knew that the Wizengamot and Ministry were corrupt and ineffective but he hadn't realized the scope of the misery that was being caused. He'd been safe in his warded manor with his formidable reputation along with his successful business and his many contacts. He had allowed himself to become complacent and remain ignorant. Those days were over.

He was the chairman of the board of governors for Hogwarts now and he wasn't going to let Dumbledore have his own way anymore, even though it wouldn't be easy. He was not only protecting his two girls and his all-but-ward, he had an entire generation of upcoming wizards and witches to be concerned about. Things must change and he would see to it.

He wouldn't have to go it alone for too long, or at least he hoped not. Once they proved Sirius' innocence he'd have a formidable family supporting him and might help weaken the hold on votes that the conservatives currently held. There was a possibility of a new age in the politics of Magical England.

He had just eased himself into his chair in his den when he heard the pop of Mipsy appearing in the room. He hoped there wasn't some new urgent matter but was only partly reassured by the fact that the house elf remained silent. She was wringing her hands and looking uncertain so something was amiss.

"Is something wrong, Mipsy?"

"Mipsy didn't want to bother master but Mipsy doesn't want to be a bad elf."

Well, that had been remarkably uninformative, apparently he had asked the wrong question. "Is there something I can help you with?"

Mipsy gasped and looked even more distraught. "It is not for Master to be helping Mipsy, it is for Mipsy to be helping Master!"

He was clearly in a situation that he was ill prepared for so he pondered for a moment before trying again. "I need you to calm down and tell me what is bothering you."

"Yes, Master, Mipsy will try very hard." She took a deep breath and slowly let it out. Then she timidly met his eyes and asked, "Is it OK for Mipsy to be spending time with house elf Dobby?"

Is that all it was? He gave her an indulgent smile and said, "Yes, we want you to be happy so we are fine with that."

That earned him a gobsmacked stare and an excited response.

"Master is such a good master! Can Mipsy also make little elfs?"

Now he was absolutely convinced he wasn't ready for this conversation. However, if he could face the fact that in the future he'd have grandchildren, he could certainly find a way to face this. "Would we have to get another elf to handle the household?"

"Oh, no! Dobby can help. House elf babies grow fast. We can handle all our duties."

"In that case, that is fine with us as well."

"Master is so great! Thank you, master!"

In the next moment, she was hugging his leg and then before he could react, she popped away. Cyrus decided that was it, he'd had enough for one day, he was going to bed.

Sirius was confused, tired and depressed but was coherent enough to know that was a bad combination. He felt the approach of wards but knew they'd do nothing with him leaving rather than entering and with only a slight course correction, he was headed for the servants' quarters. Roxanne had been lagging slightly behind so he slowed his pace and she soon appeared by his side, looking at him.

He spoke first. "She went into the chamber with him, didn't she?"

"They didn't fool you either then. We're quite certain she did but we decided not to pursue the matter. Daphne isn't the reckless sort unless a friend – or boyfriend – is at risk and she feels she has no choice. She's been trying to get Harry to think ahead more, to be more aware of his options. He was quite clever with how he fought and defeated Riddle in the chamber. He's modest but I hoped you caught that fact also."

"Oh, I did. I'm quite proud of my pup although I may have to get out of the habit of calling him that. I think he has outgrown it."

"Don't be too quick to assume that. Harry was deprived of a real childhood and I think he was honest in not minding a nickname, even if it might seem a bit… juvenile." She gave him a small smile, "You should probably keep it for private use though."

He couldn't resist a little teasing, especially since she had set herself up for it. "I never pictured Roxanne Lannister as a fount of maternal wisdom. This is a real surprise to me, Roxy."

She chuckled before responding. "Some of us had to grow up but then I'm still trying to figure out the new Sirius Black. The last few years have not been kind to you, obviously. By the way, I never found it plausible that you were the traitor but we had no proof and Cyrus was not in the Wizengamot back then, we had no idea that you never had a trial. Someone should have done something about this long before now."

Time to be honest and open for once, he couldn't allow her to censure herself for something not under her control. "Don't blame yourself, Roxy, because I don't. I'd love to have a pointed discussion with Dumbledore though." He had to pause as he opened the door to the building and then to his apartment. He went to the easy chair and removed his shoe and sock to look at his foot himself first. He thought it was better but he knew little of healing and had no wand either.

Roxanne came to the same conclusion rather quickly. "How is your stomach?"

"It's fine and I haven't eaten that much since before Azkaban. Will I have to keep taking the potion?"

"The recommended course of treatment is two days, we'll try without after that and see how it goes. I see your dreamless sleep potion is ready for you." She pointed at his desk and he glanced that way but quickly looked back at Roxanne as that was something that required private consideration.

He decided to reassure her. "Don't worry. I'll be a good patient or at least I'll try to be."

She smirked at him before replying. "I have no complaints in that regard. However, I really want a fully trained healer to give you a full examination as there could be things that I am missing. I'll start looking tomorrow but I don't know how long it will take. Do you need anything else tonight?"

"No, I'm good and I'm also grateful. You and Cyrus have been very welcoming and generous. I will remember this or more importantly, the Lord Black will remember this. Thank you."

"I'm only doing what I feel I should do, Sirius. I don't feel like I'm doing more that is required by circumstances."

He gave her a serious but friendly look. "I always knew you were a good woman, Roxy."

She lifted an eyebrow before responding, "You didn't act like it for the first few years at Hogwarts."

"Meh, I was young, foolish, immature and too busy with other things. The fault in that was mine."

She looked at him in mock shock. "Now that's not the Sirius Black I knew."

She was smirking at him so he pretended to glare back but as much as he enjoyed bantering with her, they had some very weighty things to cover as well and it was time for one of them. "I just want to warn you to be very careful about waking me from a nightmare. I don't react well if it's a bad one. I found myself trying to strangle your bedclothes after a nap this afternoon."

She looked devastated as she responded. "Oh, Sirius. I really need to find you a healer."

He didn't want her worrying and he certainly didn't want her pity. He gave her a friendly smile before making a shooing motion with his hand. "Go on back to your family, I'll be fine here."

She looked momentarily reluctant but then nodded in agreement. "Good night, Sirius. We'll see you tomorrow."

In that moment, Sirius decided that Cyrus was a very lucky man and Roxy was an incredible woman. "Good night, Roxy."

The moment she shut the door his pleasant thoughts disappeared and he felt the isolation creeping up around him. In Azkaban, he'd taken it as a matter of course, as the natural order of things but here, he hoped for more. He knew it wasn't practical now, not until he had his head back on straight. He didn't want anyone near him when he woke from a nightmare, the danger was quite real. A feeling of worthlessness tried to take over and he had to force it back. He really needed to start trying Occlumency again, he'd given up on it while in Azkaban but it might help him regain his control now.

Sirius glared balefully at the potion on his desk. A part of him wished it was firewhiskey but he mentally shook that thought away, he'd tried that after Marlene and knew it solved nothing. Still, the potion was a reminder of his current weakness but he'd have to instead think of it as a means to regain himself, to become who he needed to be for Harry and for the Greengrasses. He refused to be a burden in any case but he had to become the godfather that Harry needed and Lily and James had expected. They'd put him second only to Alice and Frank and he had a lot to live up to.

He forced himself up and got into his pyjamas and brushed his teeth then walked over to the potion and downed it immediately, before he could think about it. He went over to the bed and by the time he had settled in, he was already feeling the effects. He had the most peaceful night that he'd had in years.

Harry awoke to find himself rubbing at his scar, which was tingling a little more than usual. He decided it was time to get up so he went over to look at his scar in the mirror to find it was about the same. He had been told that whatever was in the scar was losing to his mother's protection so he shrugged and continued to get ready. Before he was even out of his bedroom, he was wondering when he'd get to see Sirius again.

Then he saw the letter he'd written last night and remembered he had to go to the banishing box on his way to breakfast. He wondered how what he'd written would be received by the stranger who was another friend of his father's. There was a little bit of excitement added by the fact that he was a werewolf and he'd never met one before. He wasn't concerned as Sirius had called him a gentle soul, who could be afraid of someone described like that?

He entered the dining room to find Roxanne and her daughters already quietly eating. It was the quiet part of that which puzzled him. With both Astoria and Daphne there, quiet is not something you generally experienced yet here they were, eating silently. He checked on both of the girls and while Daphne didn't react to his scrutiny, Astoria blushed. He guessed that Astoria was still uneasy about Sirius so he decided to stay quiet himself as he really didn't know what to say to make it better.

He'd gotten so accustomed to the quiet that he was almost startled when Roxanne spoke up. "Astoria, you will continue your lesson on charms while I get Daphne and Harry started on Arithmancy. It will have to be mostly self-study as I have to check on Lord Black and then start trying to find a healer that we can trust. I'll be by to check on you from time to time but try to work independently as much as you can."

If it would get Sirius help, Harry would do that and more as he understood priorities now and his godfather was his top priority until he was better.

Roxanne wanted to give Sirius maximum privacy so she knocked on the outside door again. She didn't hear anything until he got to the door and then recalled the silencing ward that he'd requested so that made sense. She was interested in how his foot was doing so she noticed his slippers first.

"Nice slippers." She raised her head to smirk at him and was surprised to see that his hair looked much better as well.

"They're better than they were. When the daft elf first got them, they were pink."

She couldn't help it, she chuckled before she could stop herself. Sirius gave her a wounded look before smiling back and saying, "At least I convinced him to change them to black. It turned out that he also can do haircuts so hopefully, I'll no longer scare your youngest."

He turned to lead the way to his apartment but she wanted to ease any concern he might have about Astoria's reaction to him. "It wasn't just your appearance, Sirius. She was also intimidated by meeting a lord, we haven't taken her to as many official functions as we've taken Daphne. Now that she's older, we'll start doing that and she'll be more comfortable with such things."

Sirius sighed before responding, "It's good to ease her into that nonsense."

She was glad that he was busy seating himself into his chair at that moment so he didn't see her momentary frown. "Why do you think it is nonsense? It's part of our culture."

He looked at her and then away as he said, "Every time I do that stuff, I remember the lessons I got from my mother. I can't think about that sort of thing without remembering my mother's hexes. My rebellion against my parents kind of carried over to rejecting everything they taught me. I know that there are useful things too like how I learned to detect wards. Cyrus already asked me to share that with Harry and I intend to do that."

She nodded in agreement although he might not have seen it but she also wanted to show that she knew the old ways were not perfect. "I know very well that our culture isn't perfect. Women are still not treated equally and I'll be careful to point out to Daphne that we have a history of child abuse ourselves, it isn't just Harry's Muggle relatives. I just feel that there are some things worth preserving."

Sirius gave her a determined look as he responded. "If you're worried about me undermining what you're teaching Harry, don't. I asked Cyrus to continue teaching Harry about his responsibilities and I'm going to have to whip myself into a pureblood lord in the near future as well. I just don't want him caught up in any pureblood prejudices."

"You don't have to worry about that, as we don't subscribe to them either. I've taught Daphne and Astoria to respect other people, other beliefs and other customs. Besides, Harry has a Muggleborn friend, he's obviously not biased."

"Really? That's good to hear. What about other friends?"

"The Muggleborn is Hermione Granger but he's also close to Ronald Weasley and Neville Longbottom. They are also friends with Hermione and he also spends time with Daphne's half-blood friend from a minor house. They're quite a mix in regard to status in the wizarding culture."

"That's good to hear. I hope I didn't sound like I was questioning your beliefs; I know how close you were to Lily. I'd never consider you biased or bigoted."

She gave him a small smile as she responded, "No offense taken. So, how's the foot?"

"Better." He lifted his foot and removed the slipper and she could see the difference. His magic was strengthening and accelerating the healing so she would no longer had to worry about his foot. She switched mental gears as he put his slipper back on.

"I have the children working on their summer studies while I'll start searching for a healer we can trust. I was wondering, do you happen to know someone that you could suggest, someone who wouldn't immediately run for the Aurors?"

Sirius got a distant look in his eyes as he thought. "I can't think of anyone I knew who became a healer." He paused and then seemed like he had remembered something. "There was a healer trainee I met while I was with the Aurors. She was nice and helpful and she might remember me. Everyone called her Sami."

"Sami? Is that a Muggle name?"

"Maybe but I think it was a nickname."

He still had a faraway look so she decided to try to lighten things up. "I'm surprised you didn't chat her up and learn more about her." She felt disappointed with herself when his face fell and his words just made her feel even worse.

"That was after Marlene. I wasn't in a good place, I didn't do that sort of thing anymore."

She couldn't believe that she'd led the conversation to Marlene again! She was trying to help him and she kept putting her foot in her mouth.

"I'm sorry. I was trying to lighten the mood and bollixed it up. Before I go, do you have any more information that might help me find her?"

He concentrated for few moments but with a disappointed shake of his head, he spoke again. "Sorry, no. If I remember anything, I'll let you know."

"Thanks, Sirius." She paused and decided to try to empathize to ease any pain he felt as she didn't feel comfortable ending on such a sombre note. "You know I miss Marlene too."

She seemed to pique his own empathy. "I know, Roxy, I know. We've all lost people we cared about. I won't sit around pouting. I could use something to read though."

"I'll send Mipsy and tell her to bring whatever you want to read. We have a Daily Prophet."

"That's a good start. Thanks, Roxy."

That was very encouraging, now to add something for him to look forward to. "My pleasure, Sirius. I'll see you later and probably take Harry here for a visit in the afternoon if I can."

"I'd love that."

At least her last suggestion got him smiling and she resolved to do better as she left the building. She called Mipsy and gave her the new instructions and then started on her way to the Apparition point.

Harry was on the second to last problem when he was startled to hear Daphne throw her quill down and complain.

"I hate fractions! Why do we have to do this?!"

Harry blinked in astonishment at her before he managed to form a reply. "They aren't that hard. Do you want some help?"

She gave him a surprised look and then stood up to peer over at his papers before exclaiming, "You're almost done! I'm still on the first page!"

He saw her sit back down looking embarrassed and she refused to meet his eyes. Once again, he found himself in a situation he felt ill prepared for, what was he supposed to do? He wasn't sure how she'd react to him trying to console her so he decided to go with offering advice. "It's a matter of reducing and simplifying fractions. You just need a little practice, I can show you."

She finally looked at him but she still looked a little upset. "How do you know this already?"

"I learned it in Muggle primary school."

She gasped and gave him a disbelieving look, "Muggles know about Arithmancy?!"

"No. I studied Maths in Muggle school and they showed me how to work with fractions. You have to know Maths as it is closely involved with Muggle science and everyday life. They don't know about magic so that never comes up."

She calmed down quickly and pondered before responding. "So Muggles work with numbers too. I guess I shouldn't be surprised as they have money too. I suppose I should have realized this before." She looked down at her papers before looking at him again. "I would appreciate some help then, Harry."

There was a hint of shyness in her look that puzzled him but he ignored it and he showed her how to approach the problem she was stuck on. Her intelligence shown through as she quickly picked up what he was showing her and soon they were having a good time finishing up.

When they were done, she turned to him with a grin and said, "Thanks for your help, Pup."

He narrowed his eyes at her but he could tell he wasn't fooling her a bit, it was probably the smile that he couldn't make go away that ruined his response. "My pleasure, Daph."

He saw a hint of a blush on her face but her smile was undiminished so he knew his riposte hadn't hit the mark. He decided to try again with, "Or maybe I should call you Daffy."

That hit the mark but then, maybe it hit the mark too hard. She straightened up and her glare looked quite real as she answered. "Only if you want to get hexed!"

OK, maybe that wasn't his best idea ever. "I suppose I could settle for Daph then."

Her face softened and there was a hint of a blush again as she answered, "Tracey calls me that sometimes. I don't mind it. Keep it amongst friends though. Um, I sometimes call her Trace."

He wasn't sure how to respond so he went back to his nickname. "Pup is more like what Sirius would call me. I don't mind it though but…"

"I get it. I guess I'll have to come up with my own nickname for you."

He wasn't sure he liked that mischievous smile she was giving him. He wasn't certain that he'd like what she came up with either. On the other hand, it was all in good fun and he knew she wouldn't set out to hurt him. She wasn't a Dursley, far from it in fact.

He hated her, he really did. He'd only known her for a little more than a week but he hated her more than his former friends or that whelp who was the symbol of his downfall. For now, he needed her so he did his best to tolerate her and help her as she demanded in return for her help.

Escaping while they were in Egypt had seemed like such a good idea but he'd not known that there were cats all over the place here. One of them had nearly ended him within a day after he'd made his escape. For a while he'd been very afraid of losing his leg but Rana had stopped the infection and now had him on his way to a slow recovery. He still limped but he could walk and the fevers were gone, thanks to her, he'd live.

However, having to stay with her was driving him mad. Rana was a witch but she'd never had formal training. She seemed to know a few spells but she also seemed to have a natural gift for potions. It quickly became rather obvious that she lacked formal training though. She didn't keep her tools clean as she should and the way she measured things seemed haphazard to him. He was no expert but he'd have expected a Dreadful at best from Slughorn if he'd behaved like Rana.

On the other hand, her potions worked more often than not. He also recognized some of the ingredients he collected and prepared for her. However, some others were new to him but he never questioned her, first because she didn't like that and second because he was no expert either.

"Hurry Peter! My customers not be liking to wait all day!"

He also hated that he'd given her his real first name, he'd not make that mistake again. At least he had thought to give the last name of Black. She may be untrained and an unpleasant person but she was one of the few he'd found who spoke English. He was pants at translation spells so he was stuck with her. However, some day he would have his revenge and put this barely trained harridan in her place. For now though, he would help her and get well. He also had to practice his magic as his long magical layoff had caused his abilities to deteriorate. He couldn't even take her on until he could rely on his spells working consistently. His time would come, though, someday she would pay.

She'd spent most of the day with him so she really shouldn't begrudge him this time with his godfather. She understood his curiosity and wanting to get to know this man who'd been in his life as a baby. She also knew about sharing but they'd only just started as boyfriend/girlfriend and it seemed unfair somehow. The teasing voice of her sister interrupted her musings. "Miss your boyfriend, Daphne?"

Ugh. Now she had to deal with her sister again. "You wouldn't understand."

"Then explain it to me."

She gave her a scathing look, as if she'd give her more information to tease her about.

"I'm serious. I promise I won't tease you, I really want to understand."

She looked serious but she couldn't afford to believe her, this could easily be a conversation that could backfire. "I'm not falling for you tricks, Astoria."

"Do you want me to take an oath?"

She really wanted to call her bluff but as she studied her little sister, she seemed to be totally serious. If she did take an oath and it any way backfired, she knew who'd be blamed. As much as she found her little sister annoying, she did love her and didn't want her hurt. She knew that was true for her little sister too, Astoria would never attempt any real harm to her, she knew that.

"You swear that you are serious about this?"

"I promise. I won't tease you about what you tell me."

It was risky but she decided to tentatively accept the risk. "What do you want to know?"

"Does it really make you happy just being with him?"

She knew that she probably had a dreamy smile on her face just from thinking about it so she told the truth. "Yes. Even just walking with him and not talking is good but talking to him is even better."

"And kissing?"

She studied her sister again, this was getting into more dangerous territory but she saw nothing but earnest curiosity from Astoria. "Kissing is the best part."

Now she saw the dreamy look on her sister's face and realized she was being serious and she finally relaxed. She stiffened when she heard Astoria's next question. "Just like the books?"

Daphne sighed and pondered her answer before responding, she even caught herself chewing on her lip. "Not exactly. The first one started out a little awkward, my heart was beating so fast and I was so afraid of his reaction. But then he started kissing back and it was so…." She paused on consternation as she couldn't find the right word.

"Amazing?"

"Yes but more than that… I guess… sort of like a dream come true." She carefully tried to keep her face stoic and watched her sister's reaction, if she started teasing, there'd be trouble.

Astoria was practically bouncing with excitement. "Oh! I can't wait to have a boyfriend of my own!"

Uh-oh, this was trouble of a different sort. "It's not that simple, Astoria. First of all, boys your age and even a lot of them my age are not ready to be boyfriends. That's why I had to wait on Harry, for him to be ready. It won't work if the boy isn't ready and if he doesn't like you back, it will be even worse. There are a lot of boys who would jump at the chance to take advantage of a girl."

She was relieved to see Astoria take her seriously and a frown formed on Astoria's face. "Mum has been telling me that too. But how do you know if a boy really likes you? If the boy is ready?"

For a second she was tempted to push this conversation off to their mother but then she decided that her sister would probably be more inclined to listen to her about this. It would be a more awkward conversation with a parent, even their mother who was willing to be open about things like these.

"Figuring out if the boy is ready is the easier part. Watch how he reacts to girls in general. One of Harry's best friends is a girl and they get along pretty well so I knew he had no problem being friends with a girl. However, I got the chance to ask the question indirectly. There's this girl a year below us who fancies Harry, even though he seemed oblivious – which is a bad sign by the way. I asked him how he felt about her and how she acted with him and he came right out and told me that he wasn't ready. That made it easy for me to know."

"So how did you know he liked you?"

Her best evidence was how he acted when he revived her in the chamber but she wasn't going to tell her sister THAT. "That's the hard part. My best advice is to be patient, watch him over time. Does he notice things about you? Does he care if you do well at something? If all he does is give you weird compliments, don't believe him."

She then acted out someone giving insincere compliments. "Oh, you're so pretty! I love your hair! Your eyes are divine! You make me just want to kiss you!" Then she made a ridiculous kissing face that had her little sister laughing hysterically.

She waited a little for her sister to calm down before she continued. "The prats seem to generally be impatient. If you don't react how they want you to for a while, they'll drift away. A boy who's really interested will stick around."

She was satisfied to see Astoria taking her seriously after she had calmed down. Then her little sister threw her a question she wasn't expecting.

"What do you think about Neville Longbottom? Is he boyfriend material?"

That was a whole different can of worms and this was not something she could push off to her mother. "On the plus side, he is the heir to a Noble and Most Ancient House so he's a good catch in our society. As a person, he's honest, loyal and friendly. However, there's somebody who is already interested in him."

Astoria seemed a little outraged, "Who?!"

She gave her sister a frown that made her calm down and ask more calmly, "Who is it?"

"Tracey."

"Oh." She knew that Astoria liked Tracey although they weren't really friends directly. "So how does he feel about her?"

"I'm not sure. They are friends but I'm not sure Neville is ready for dating. He has some confidence issues, I'm sure you've heard about his grandmother."

Astoria made a face that made it obvious she'd heard little that was good about the Dowager Longbottom. "But if they aren't dating, isn't he fair game?"

For a moment, she was torn between supporting her friend and educating her sister, she decided to go with the latter. "If he isn't ready, does it really matter?"

Astoria's sigh and resigned expression seemed to settle that issue.

Roxanne had decided to break off her seemingly-doomed search in the mid-afternoon so she could at least give both Harry and Sirius a treat and accomplish something that day. Her attempt to ask about a 'Sami' in the Auror department was brushed off and her luck at St. Mungo's was not much better. She did have a lead on a healer but it didn't seem particularly promising and it would have required going to yet another remote location. As much as she wanted to find help for Sirius, she had other responsibilities too. She wasn't giving up, she'd continue the next day.

She came alert again when she saw Sirius gesturing while explaining something to Harry. They were near the second ward while she sat on a conjured chair some distance away to give them some privacy. She smiled as Harry looked so attentive and happy, she'd been right to give them a chance to visit. Suddenly she had the feeling she wasn't alone and glanced over her shoulder and saw Daphne looking past her at the same duo she'd been contemplating.

She conjured another chair beside her and saw that Daphne was now looking at her so she gestured for her to come over and sit with her. She hid her smile as Daphne was distracted watching the others as she approached the chair. Her focus was obviously more on Harry than anything else, it was almost like she could relive her courtship with Cyrus through this developing relationship unfolding before them.

Once Daphne sat down, she followed her daughter's eyes to the other two and then it struck her that they looked like more than godfather and godson from this vantage point. She couldn't really see their faces and their hair almost matched. She decided to share her new observation with her eldest.

"They could almost be father and son from this angle. They both have dark hair and they are so enthralled with their discussion."

Daphne gave her a startled look and then looked back at the pair with more scrutiny than before. Her tone was unenthusiastic as she replied. "I guess you're right, I never thought of it that way."

She decided her daughter needed some advice. "You shouldn't begrudge Harry his time with others. You both will need time with your own friends, time to concentrate on your studies, and so on. You can't spend all of your time together."

The momentary sour look on her daughter's face proved she had needed the advice. Roxanne was startled by her daughter's change of subject.

"Astoria talked to me about boys and dating."

"Oh? How did that go?"

"OK."

She frowned at her daughter, if she didn't want to talk about it, why did she bring up the subject? Although Daphne still watched the other pair, she seemed to recognize her mother's discontent with what little she'd said.

"She took what I said seriously and she asked some good questions. I nearly referred her to you but then I decided to give it a try myself. Neville caught her eye but I told her that Tracey is already interested."

That piqued Roxanne's interest in a different way. "And what about Neville?"

"I'm not sure he's ready, he has confidence issues." She turned to her mother with a significant look so Roxanne understood exactly why she thought the issue had come to exist. Unfortunately, she had to agree.

She decided to continue that subject, to see what Daphne knew. "I think Harry's going to try to do something about the disagreement between our families. That may end up giving Neville more of a voice in what is going on for his family, he is the heir."

"Yes, he told me about that, I wished him luck."

She couldn't resist a hopeful smile as she looked back towards the young man they were discussing. "I wouldn't count Harry out, he's becoming an amazing young man."

Daphne nodded thoughtfully and then looked at Harry and his godfather again just in time to see Sirius gesture and some strange, faint pattern appear in the air. Her tone was urgent as she leaned towards her mother and asked quietly, "What was that?"

"Sirius is showing him Black family magic about wards."

"Wow."

She glanced at Daphne and saw her staring, entranced. She knew she was obviously as curious as she was but custom dictated that they not stick their noses into what Sirius was teaching his godson. Family magic was, of course, a very private thing.

Eventually, Daphne went back to the previous subject. "If Harry is trying to change Dowager Longbottom's mind, he's going to need a lot of patience, it will take time."

"When has Harry ever backed down from a challenge?"

Daphne turned to her mother and gave her a rueful look. She shared her daughter's disquiet on that subject, Harry still had an impulsive side which was endearing and troubling all at the same time. However, Roxanne was beginning to think that Harry could accomplish more than you'd expect from a child his age and that maybe even the Dowager Longbottom would find him to be an imposing opponent.

It was late at night and he really should be home but once he started, it was hard to stop. It had been a fascinating investigation and he'd learned some new things. He looked at the ward stone he had collected and thought it just might be the single finest example of magic that he'd ever encountered. However, in the situation it had been used, it had been a wrongheaded decision that made things worse instead of better. There was no question of who was responsible for it as Albus Dumbledore's magical signature was all over it.

He understood a lot more about what was going on with the Harry Potter boy now. He would have to tell his friend Cyrus about his findings but he wasn't looking forward to it. His friend would be justifiably furious about what had happened. It was in no way his fault but sometimes the bearer of bad tidings was the target of ire as well. No, he was not looking forward to this at all.