4 Nov 2001

Frank and Sirius were about half way through a game of chess when the door opened and Alice, Ted, Dora, and the boys came tumbling in.

"Cousin Siri! You're awake! I've been so patient waiting for you to get better. Mummy said I couldn't wake you up if you were sleeping but you slept FOREVER! Will you play with me?"

"Calm down Dora," admonished Ted. "Sirius is just feeling better, you need to be gentle with him."

"But I am being gentle," retorted Dora, "I haven't even jumped on him."

Sirius laughed lightly at that. "Come here Dora, and give me a giant hug. I know you have been waiting."

Eagerly, Dora climbed onto the bed, wrapping her arms around Sirius, her hair turning bright red in excitement.

While Dora was busy telling Sirius all about her day at school and the marvelous toy store, Andy entered the room. "Why don't you take the boys to your room and they can show you the toys you bought. Us adults need to have a grownup talk."

"Aw," complained Dora, "But I want to hang out with Sirius."

"I'll be here at dinner. Now go on," Sirius replied as he nudged her off the couch. As soon as she had left the room with Neville and Harry, the rest of the adults conjured chairs and sat down.

"I guess I'll start," said Andy, "today I spoke with a couple of people to try to figure out what to do. I know Alice and Ted have been reading the paper, but I'll explain what is happening anyway." Pulling out the last three days of The Daily Prophet, Andy continued. "As you can see, the Aurors responded to the presence of a Dark Mark over the Longbottom Manner on November 1st. When they arrived, they found Bellatrix, Radabastan, and Rodulphus Lestrange, along with Barty Crouch Jr in full Death Eater regalia lying dead on the floor of the living room. There was evidence of a prolonged fight, and the blood of at least two other wizards, but no indication as to who those two were. Since there has been no sign of the Longbottoms since, they are currently presumed either dead or captured. Supposedly Sirius was present at the scene, as a death eater."

Sirius and Frank looked pale. This was news to them. The worst part was that Sirius' magical signature would be all over the room as he had been casting the majority of their offensive spells. And he had used some darker ones. Not illegal, mind, but certainly not light.

"Now, today I talked to Amelia Bones to see what her opinion was"

Sirius gulped, nervously. Amelia Bones was quite high up in the DMLE.

"Relax Sirius, I gave nothing away. She seemed concerned by a few of the known facts. Such as the fact that, knowing both you and James, she didn't believe you could ever do such a thing. Add that to the fact that while your magical signature was all over the Longbottom Manor, your bike and a set of clothes, recently worn were also there. Indicating that you had been there longer than just the attack. Let's just say she is willing hear another side of the story. Unfortunately, Crouch is still in charge of the department and he wants to look competent. An order has been given for you to be brought straight to Azkaban upon your capture."

Both Frank and Sirius visibly shook at that. Both of them had been to Azkaban to escort prisoners and neither of them had any desire to go there again.

Andy continued, "However, I have a plan for that."

"And that plan is?" Sirius asked, anxious to see how Andy planned on solving this problem.

"I'm getting there. But first there are two other people I met with today. Remus and Aletha." Sirius paled again. "Both are anxious to meet with us. After I told them about the unbreakable vow you made and your true role in the Longbottom attack, they were more than ready to put aside any doubts. And Aletha has news for you, Sirius."

Sirius wasn't sure how he felt about that. Moony was the only other true marauder left, but he had mistakenly though Moony was the spy. How would he apologize for that? And Aletha, had Andy told her what had happened to him? Would she still want him? And what was her news?

"As for the plan. Frank, Alice, and Neville will reappear as alive through Amelia Bones. I will invite her here alone, she is an old friend from Hogwarts, and she will meet you here. You will tell her the truth. You survived the attack on Longbottom Manner, but Frank was seriously injured. Not trusting St. Mungos, you came here, as I am friend and a certified healer. This will happen once Sirius is no longer in the house. Sorry Sirius, but we can't take the risk. Once Frank and Alice have reappeared, Frank will join the task force set to hunt Sirius down. He will, of course not actually help, but misdirect and alert Sirius to any danger. Hopefully Barty Crouch Jr being ousted as a Death Eater will force Crouch Sr to step down as head of the DMLE. Amelia would be next in charge, and she would at least be willing to give Sirius a trial."

Taking in everything Andy had said, Sirius thought for a moment, then asked, "You said once I was gone, where will I be? And Harry?"

Andy nodded. "The muggle world. Nobody will think of that, especially since you are the Heir of the Ancient and Most Noble House of Black. Luckily, thanks to Lily and Aletha, you shouldn't have too hard of a time fitting in. Besides, you need to at least go to a muggle doctor. You certainly can't go to St. Mungos and you need more than I can provide."

Sirius nodded solemnly. He, Ted, and Andy had spoken earlier about muggles and spinal injuries. She believed that since his symptoms roughly matched that of a muggle spinal chord injury attending a muggle rehab center would be beneficial.

"When are Remus and Aletha coming over?" question Frank.

"They are arriving in a few minutes and staying for dinner. We can talk with them and see what they think. Alice, would you like to help me with dinner? I am sure Ted can handle the kids."

Ted laughed, getting up from his chair, " I see what you are doing, setting me up to deal with three hyper-active children with a pile of brand new toys. Very well. Sirius, Frank, wish me well." And with that both Ted and Alice left the living room leaving Sirius and Frank alone with the chess set again.

About half an hour later the floo came to life again and Remus stepped through. He looked tired and haggard, and Sirius remembered that the full moon was only a few days ago. It would have been the first full moon since fifth year that none of them had been at his side when he transformed.

Immediately upon seeing Sirius lying on the bed, unnaturally still, as he was also moving about Remus practically ran across the living room. "I'm so sorry Padfoot," he cried.

"Me too," replied Sirius. "For thinking you could have been the spy."

Remus nodded, "I thought it might have been you. I never guessed it would be Peter."

"Me neither. I forgive you."

"I forgive you."

And with that, Remus leaned over and embraced his friend of over a decade in a tight hug, while tears rolled down both of their faces. After a minute or so, Remus and Sirius detached, and Remus noticed for the first time that Frank was also in the room.

"Erm, hello Frank," greeted Remus awkwardly.

"Hello Remus," chuckled Frank, "I understand I come second to Sirius here. He does steal the limelight, doesn't he?"

"He does indeed," agreed Remus.

Hearing Remus had arrived, Andy returned to the living room. "Shall we head to the table? Aletha should be here in a few minutes and I dare say the kids are hungry." She looked pointedly at Sirius for the last remark.

"Yes, Sirius here is definitely a child," agreed Frank, lightening the mood of the room as he slowly rose from his chair, gathering his crutches beneath his arms.

"Um," started Sirius…

Ignoring Sirius, Andy turned to Remus. "Okay strong boy. Siri here, being the lazy arse he is hasn't left this bed for the last three and a half days. Would you like to help me evict his lazy butt?"

Understanding what Andy was trying to do, Remus quickly agreed, summoning a chair with armrests. "Okay mutt," he said turning to Sirius, "arm around my shoulder."

Sirius complied, and Remus wrapped one arm around Sirius' back and the other under his knees. Lifting with only a slight effort, he carefully arranged his friend onto the chair. Removing his arms slowly, he asked, "is your balance alright?"

Hesitantly, Sirius removed his hands from the armrests, only to start listing to the side.

"Right. Sticking charm it is. You haven't moved for days and I dare say you are feeling quite weak. Therefore, as a healer I am sticking you to your chair until you have some food in you and have regained you strength," Andy announced, quickly casting the charm before Sirius had a chance to protest. "To the dining room, then" Andy said as she ushered the two men out of the living room.

Everyone had just settled themselves down at the table when the doorbell rang. Rising jovially, Ted said, "That should be Aletha. I'll grab the door." Returning only a moment later, Ted led a tall, black woman dressed in healer's robes.

"Sirius!" Aletha cried as she launched herself at her boyfriend, "Oh, Sirius, Andy told me everything, I'm so sorry."

Sirius hugged her back as she squeezed tighter. "Uhh," moaned Sirius as Aletha's aggressive hugging pushed all the air out of his longs. Realizing she was squishing him, Aletha sat down and everyone tucked in.

Once all the kids were done eating, Ted led them to Dora's room, where the boys' playpen was set up while the rest of the party discussed the plan.

"So," began Remus, "What do we do about Dumbledore?"

"What do you mean, do with Dumbledore?" questioned Alice.

"He told the prophet Sirius was the secret keeper and sealed the Potter's will, stating reasons of safety. Since he both casted the fidelius charm and witnessed the will, he knows that I was not the secret keeper and that the will is perfectly safe to read," replied Sirius.

"He told me that he needed to find Harry and place him with Petunia because he could create blood wards based off of Lily's sacrifice," added Remus.

"WHAT!" shouted Sirius, "James and Lily both agreed Harry was NOT to live with that bitch!"

"Language, Siri," retorted Andy. "And as for Dumbledore, I propose we leave him in the dark. He seems to want to control Harry. Any ideas why?"

"The prophecy" stated Frank. "It could have applied to either Harry or Neville. Its why we went into hiding."

"Prophecy?" questioned Remus and Andy at the same time.

"Yah" agreed Sirius, "although I don't know what exactly it stated. Frank?"

"Right. It was 'the one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches... Born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies... and the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not... and either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives... The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies...'"

"Damn," muttered Sirius.

"Yah," agreed Aletha. "So we keep Harry and Sirius away from Dumbledore, hidden in the muggle world. Britain? Or abroad?"

"Britain. I think they should remain close by. Nobody will look for them in the muggle world, so they will be perfectly safe. That way, if the status changes they can easily come back or remain hidden easily."

"Agreed. I like it here. So what now?"

"First things first, I would like to do a thorough medical examination of Harry. I will also go to Gringotts to obtain the necessary paperwork for you to fit into the muggle world. We should also probably change Harry's last name to Black so that someone doesn't find a Harry Potter. Black is a common enough muggle surname that it shouldn't be a problem," Andy explained.

"I know a few squib doctors I can contact to get Sirius the appropriate medical care he needs," added Aletha.

"Sounds like we have a plan," said Remus.

The adults started preparing for bed when Aletha finally gathered the courage to tell Sirius her news. He was lying in his bed in the living room, having taken another pain potion. As Remus flooed home and the rest wandered off, she sat on the corner of the bed, her arm resting on Sirius' side.

"Hey babe, I have some new for you."

"Good news?" asked Sirius, "I'm not sure I can handle any more bad news today."

"I think it is good. Should I tell you?"

"Mhhm."

"Okay, I'm pregnant Sirius. You're going to be a father."

"What?"

"You're gonna be a father. Around June."

"Eep!"

"Sirius, are you okay? Sirius?" Sirius just lay there staring at Aletha. "SIRIUS are you okay?"

Andy came running into the room after hearing Aletha's distress. "What's wrong?"

"I told him I was pregnant and he just kinda… stared."

Andy started laughing. "It's just a little shock, Aletha. I think Ted did the same think when I first told him. Doesn't help that you told him while he was all dosed up on potions. Give him a moment."

A minute later Sirius looked up at Aletha, "A father? Really?"

"Really. Are you…"

"Happy? Excited? Amazed? Oh Merlin! I'm going to be a dad!" And with that, Aletha knew everything was going to be all right.