The Animagus known as Sirius Black lay curled up in a dark corner of the cell that had been his home for the past nine years, his canine form protecting him from the harshest of the Dementors' effects. Azkaban was dark, dirty, and dank. After all, the Dementors had no need of light, so why should the prisoners? What little light that did filter in came through the barred window set in the outside wall of Sirius' cell. Food was delivered twice daily, and only counted as such because it had just enough nutrients, vitamins, and health potions in it to allow the prisoners to survive the harsh conditions.

Sirius let out a low sigh, his dried and cracked nose wrinkling in distaste at the putrid smell around him. Baths weren't much of a thing in Azkaban either, much to his disgust. Every month or so, the prisoners were spelled clean if the guards felt like it, but that was it. Sirius was about to go back to sleep when his ears caught the sounds of footsteps. The ever-present bone-deep chill of the Dementors was starting to fade as well, which meant only one thing: someone was coming. Sirius quickly shifted back to human form, scrambling to his feet when he heard the guards draw near.

"Black! Step forward and put your hands on your head!" one of the guards called out, the silvery light of his ermine Patronus illuminating the hallway. Sirius did as ordered, curious to see what was going on.

"Hey, Jack," Sirius said, flashing him a yellowed grin. "What's going on? It's not my birthday, is it?"

"Quiet, you," Jack retorted. "You've got a visitor." He nodded at the other guard, who unlocked the door to Sirius' cell. "You're goin' to Visiting Room A. You know the rules. No touching, no passing secret messages, and so on."

Sirius nodded, his curiosity getting the better of him, so much so that he let the guard bind his hands in cuffs behind his back without a hint of struggle. A visitor? Who would be coming to see him? He hadn't had a visitor in ages, and certainly not one that used a visiting room. Usually it was just the Minister when he did his yearly inspection of the prison, and even then that didn't really count.

Sirius shuffled along obediently between the guards, some of the chronic weight dropping away from his shoulders when they reached the part of the prison that was sheltered from the Dementors' presence. The visiting rooms were there, as were the guards' quarters. To say that he was surprised to see Amelia Bones sitting at the table in the visiting room would be a mistake. No, Sirius was astonished. He hadn't seen her since before Lily and James...

No. He couldn't think of that, not right now. Sirius sauntered forward the best he could with his arms bound behind his back, settling into the chair with an affected nonchalance. "Amelia," he rasped. "What brings you to my little corner of hell on Earth?"

Amelia smiled tersely. "Due to some... unforeseen circumstances, it's been discovered that you've been dealt a great injustice." She opened a folder that was on the table in front of her and began to read. " 'We, the undersigned members of the Wizengamot, do hereby proclaim Sirius Orion Black to have been wrongly imprisoned due to lack of proper trial and evidence. He is innocent of all charges and is freed from the prison of Azkaban. However, due to his long-term exposure to the Black creatures known as Dementors, he is mandated by this august body to enter rehabilitation at the Healing facility that has been chosen for him by the current caretaker and proxy for the House of Black before he is able to take his proper place in our society as the Lord Black.

"'The true culprit behind the betrayal of Lord James Potter and his wife, the Lady Lily Potter, as well as thirteen Muggles, the Death Eater Peter Pettigrew, has been caught, questioned under both Veritaserum and Legilimency, and subjected to the Dementor's Kiss. Sirius Black is to be issued monetary restitution for his time spent in Azkaban and our deepest apologies.'"

Amelia turned the page around. "It's signed by everyone, including Dumbledore."

Sirius stared at her blankly, unable to comprehend the magnitude of what he'd just heard. Amelia frowned at him. "Sirius? You do understand what I just said, right?" She gestured at the guards to release him from his bindings. "You're free to go. You'll get your wand back once we reach the mainland."

"Y-yeah," Sirius managed, scrubbing his hands over his face once they were free. "That's..." He slumped back in his chair, dazed. "I've dreamed of this day for so long. How did you find him?"

"He was hiding in his Animagus form with a Wizarding family so he could keep an ear out for any news of his master's return," Amelia explained. "When they noticed he'd far outlived what a regular garden rat should've, they brought him in to be tested." An easy enough lie, and one the public believed. Of course, just who he'd been staying with had never been revealed; as far as the Weasleys knew, Scabbers was still with them, though doing rather poorly recently.

"Huh." Sirius shook his head. "I can't say I'm sad that he's been Kissed." He took in a deep breath and then looked up at Amelia. "What about Harry?"

Amelia just smiled. "Don't worry about him. He's doing well. You'll see him soon enough," she said. She got to her feet. "Coming?"

Sirius shot to his feet. "Definitely. Think I can get a shower and proper clothes at some point?"

"Of course, but that'll have to wait until we get to the mainland," Amelia said. "You definitely need both."

"Trust me, I know." Sirius followed her out of the visiting room and then out of the prison proper, heading down to the rickety dock where the lone boat that traveled between the mainland and the prison. The boatman waved them aboard, keeping a wary eye on Sirius. Sirius didn't blame him; after all, it wasn't every day that a prisoner was released from Azkaban, even if said prisoner was innocent. Sirius ignored him, focusing his attention on the unseen coast ahead.

As they reached the coast, an errant late evening breeze washed over them, bringing with it the faint scent of flowers. Sirius closed his eyes, a sharp pang running through him at the scent. The boatman tied up at an equally weather-beaten dock as the one at Azkaban, lashing the tow rope securely to the post. Amelia got out of the boat, Sirius trailing after her. She led him over to a sturdy little cabin nearby, leaving the boatman to see to his craft.

Sirius let out a soft sigh as they entered the pleasantly warm cabin, far too used to the constant chill of Azkaban. This was glorious. Amelia went over to a cupboard and retrieved a long, thin box from it. Sirius watched her avidly, fingers twitching eagerly. Amelia smiled at him before stopping in front of him and holding it out.

"Your wand."

Sirius took the box with trembling hands, taking the lid off and extracting the wand that lay within. He took in a deep breath when he rebonded with his wand, fingers tightening around the still-polished wood. He hadn't even realized he'd closed his eyes until he heard the gentle sound of Amelia clearing her throat.

"Sirius?"

Sirius opened his eyes, giving Amelia a lopsided smile. "Sorry."

Amelia waved off his apology. "Don't worry about it." She waved at a nearby door. "There's a shower in that bathroom. Don't worry about running out of hot water; it's enchanted to never fail on that front."

Sirius let out a rough, bark-like laugh. "I might be in there for a while in that case."

"That's fine. There's clean clothes in there for you as well. They'll automatically size themselves to you," Amelia told him. "I'll be out here if you need anything."

"Thank you, Amelia," Sirius said sincerely. "This means... Merlin, so much to me."

Amelia smiled at him. "You're more than welcome. Go."

Sirius didn't wait much longer after that. He headed into the bathroom, locking the door behind him. He luxuriated in being able to stand under the shower spray for as long as he could, letting the caked in dirt wash away down the drain. He emerged from the bathroom feeling far better than he had in years. He'd used his wand to cut his hair, trimming it until it just brushed his shoulders. A conjured ribbon held it back from his face; he'd also freed himself of the scraggly bush of facial hair that he'd grown over the years. The simple robes that had been left for him felt as luxurious as if they were made of the most rare fabrics.

"Amelia, I-" Sirius cocked his head when he heard the sound of laughter coming from the small living room. Curious, he went to see who was there, figuring that Amelia wouldn't have let anyone in here that she didn't trust. Sirius was surprised to see Amelia talking with Narcissa Malfoy and Augusta Longbottom. Three young boys sat on the couch across from the women, talking eagerly with one another. The one in the middle made Sirius come to an abrupt halt.

Merlin. The boy looked so much like James, but his eyes... They were a vibrant emerald green Sirius had only seen in one other place: Lily's face. The boy glanced over at him briefly before doing a double take. A bright grin blossomed on the boy's face as he got up from his seat.

"Sirius!" He ran over to Sirius and threw his arms around him in a tight embrace. Sirius' breath caught in his chest as he knelt down to return the hug. The moment his hand came to rest against the bare skin of Harry's neck, the familial bond flared back into life between them, its presence having lain dormant since that fateful almost ten years ago. Sirius gasped and then pressed his face against Harry's hair, tears pricking at the corners of his eyes

"Harry," he breathed. He'd never thought he'd be able to hold his son again. Harry held tightly onto Sirius, unashamed of the tears leaking down his cheeks and soaking into the fabric of Sirius' robes. They eventually parted ways, Harry wiping the tears from his cheeks.

"It's good to see you again," Sirius said, rising to his full height. Harry nodded, his smile still as warm as it had been when he'd first spotted Sirius. He returned to his seat between Draco and Neville, feeling as if all was right in the world once more. He had his mates on either side of him, the two women he'd come to look upon as mother-figures nearby, and his dad newly returned to him. Of course, now they had to explain everything to Sirius, but that was a small worry compared to all the good things going on at the moment.

Hell, he'd even gained some much needed weight after being on a regimen of good, proper food and potions designed to aid in restoring his health back to where it should be. His glasses had stayed, however, as the magical optometrist had explained that he couldn't do anything to fix Harry's eyesight until he was a little older, as often young wizards and witches outgrew the need for glasses after their third year or so of using magic constantly. Harry wasn't too sure about that, given that it hadn't happened in the previous timeline, but maybe since he would be healthier, it would.

"Narcissa," Sirius said as he sat down in a free chair. "Augusta. Amelia didn't tell me we were having guests."

"It was a surprise," Amelia said. "They're allies, don't worry. There's a lot you need to know before we leave for England, Sirius. A lot more than you're probably expecting."

"You got me out of Azkaban," Sirius pointed out. "I think I can handle whatever it is you've got to throw at me."

"Don't be so sure of that," Narcissa said. She directed Sirius' attention to the three boys. Harry sighed and then launched into the story he'd told at Gringotts, with Draco and Neville chiming in from time to time. Sirius listened to their story, eyes widening with every twist and turn that unfolded. After the story was done, he leaned back in his chair, scrubbing a hand over his face.

"This is a lot to take in," he said. "To be honest, it's hard to believe. However, I know that even Lucius would never attempt to teach a group of ten year olds about the tempus itineris ritual. Even the existence of that ritual is kept a closely guarded secret by the Department of Mysteries."

"We had a few contacts in the DoM," Neville explained. "What was left of it, anyways. At the end there, I think there were maybe three or four at the most. The Ministry of Magic was all but dissolved. After all, it wasn't exactly necessary to have it, what with there not being a cohesive Wizarding community any more." His gaze went distant. "The plague took far too many lives. If we can stop that from ever happening, having to relive the next ten years is a very small price to pay."

"Agreed." Draco took hold of Neville's hand, loosely interlocking their fingers. "Of course, if Voldemort never rises again, I doubt the magic plague would ever be developed. We're off to a good start. Two of the Horcruxes have been destroyed, and the goblins have agreed to let us use their Fiendfyre furnace to destroy the rest. As for Voldemort himself, with Pettigrew out of the picture, the ritual he used is unlikely to be completed."

Harry groaned and then swore softly in Parseltongue, surprising all but one adult. Sirius looked entirely unconcerned that Harry had just hissed vehemently; instead, he seemed more interested in the cup of hot tea and plate of food that a house elf had just delievered to him.

"Harry?" Augusta said cautiously. "Are you aware you just hissed?"

"What?" Harry blinked. "Oh, right. I can speak Parseltongue and use Parselmagic," he said. "I could've sworn we mentioned that to you."

"I'm afraid not," Narcissa said dryly. "You're going to turn a lot of heads if you do that in public."

"Ah, let 'im," Sirius said with a mouth half-full of food. "Wild magic pops up from time to time in the Black Family. Ol' Uncle Alphard was an Avimouth. He could speak to all sorts of flying things. Mostly birds, but sometimes bats as well. If anyone asks, we'll just tell them it's a side effect of the blood adoption. Probably is, come to think of it."

"I always thought I got it from Voldemort," Harry said. He frowned thoughtfully. "Then again, I didn't know about the blood adoption until after I graduated from Hogwarts. I wonder if there's a way to tell."

Sirius shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe. If you want to continue with the Parselmagic, we should see about getting you a snake for a familiar. An owl, too, for mail."

"I..." Harry sighed. "I'd love to get Hedwig again, but a snowy owl's so unique, and definitely not native to Britain. Having such a recognizable owl was definitely a problem last time."

"Then get Hedwig for home," Neville said, "and something else to take to school along with the snake, like a barn owl. Bonded familiars don't count towards the pet rule; it's why Lee Jordan could have his tarantula and his owl."

"That thing was his familiar?" Draco asked, aghast. "Seriously?"

Neville nodded. "He said her name was Sheila. Her choice, not his. He bonded with her when he was on holiday to Australia's magical district. If they allowed him to take that, then there shouldn't be any problem with a snake, assuming one bonds with Harry."

Draco shook his head. "A tarantula for a familiar," he muttered. "Madness."

"Speaking of madness..." Neville focused on Sirius. "Sirius, once you take up the mantle of Lord Black, would you be willing to disown Bellatrix from the House of Black? If you do that, she and the other Lestranges would lose that boost to their own magic, and since they've been in Azkaban so long, I doubt they'd survive more than a few months without it."

"I'll do it as soon as I can," Sirius promised. "Bellatrix has always been a wild card, and taking her out before Voldemort returns- assuming he does –would be for the best. She was always highly devoted to him."

"So was Barty Crouch, Jr.," Harry said, "which is why I swore in Parseltongue. He's still alive."

"What? No, he isn't," Sirius countered. "He died in '82. The Dementors buried him in the graveyard at Azkaban."

Harry shook his head. "They buried a Crouch, but it wasn't Barty. His mother was dying. His father managed to get a private visit arranged so she could see her son before she passed away. While they were there, they took polyjuice and switched places. Barty's mother died in his place. Crouch Sr. took his son back home. He's been controlling him under the Imperius Curse since then." He turned to Amelia. "Crouch keeps his son at their family home. There's a house elf there, Winky, who takes care of him. I'd suggest quietly taking Crouch into custody and then doing a subtle raid on his home. Make sure Crouch Junior gets the Kiss; he was instrumental in helping Voldemort return again as well."

"And what would you suggest we do with Crouch Senior?" Amelia asked as she jotted everything down on a notepad with a pen. She caught Harry's amused look and shrugged. "Muggles have useful ideas sometimes."

"I'd suggest having him retire quietly," Neville said. "Don't make a big fuss out of it. That, or move him to a department where you can keep a close eye on him. Junior, however, needs to go. Coming from me, I know it sounds like I just want vengeance on the man who helped to torture my parents, but he aided in Voldemort's return. He purposefully entered Harry into the Triwizard Tournament in order to further Voldemort's plans. Someone like that doesn't need to be kept around."

"Agreed." Amelia put her pen and pad in an inner pocket of her robes. "We'll deal with the Crouches soon." She checked her watch. "Right now, however, you lot should be getting back home. I'm sure you'll want to get to Diagon early tomorrow so you can get your supplies without being mobbed."

Harry smiled wryly. "That'd be nice," he agreed. "It'd be a welcome change from how my eleventh birthday went the last time around."

Sirius blinked. "Your birthday's tomorrow? I didn't even realize what day it was."

"It's okay. I doubt the Dementors had much use for calendars in Azkaban," Harry said. "We'll celebrate it together once we get back from Diagon."

"Then that means..." Sirius turned to Neville. "Happy birthday, Neville."

"Thanks." Neville shot him a smile. "I'm glad to see you're safe and sound. Well, as sound as being in Azkaban for nine years, anyways."

Sirius smiled wryly. "I'll be working on that."

"We've already got a suite lined up for you at a private clinic in Switzerland," Harry told him. "You'll be heading there on the first of August. They have limited methods of communication. The Floo network is highly restricted, and there's a mail ward around the whole valley the clinic is in. It's also been made Unplottable." He gestured at Neville. "We sent Neville's parents there earlier this month. They seem to be doing a lot better than they had been at St. Mungo's."

"Yes, well, Dumbledore can't interfere with them any more, now can he?" Draco drawled. "That was a huge help in the first place."

Sirius arched an eyebrow at that. "Dumbledore was interfering with them?" Augusta nodded, her mouth pursed in a tight moue of distaste.

"Yes, he was," she said. "He was the one who suggested they go to St. Mungo's in the first place, rather than a specialized clinic. The Healers there are talented, but not talented enough. Frank and Alice have languished in that Ward for far too long. It's more than past the time they were treated as the Lord and Lady they are. If Dumbledore doesn't like that, then so be it."

"Good for you," Narcissa said approvingly.

"Agreed. Now, as for tomorrow, Neville and I are going to need wands," Harry said. "However, I'm not so sure I want to go to Ollivander's. I've always thought it suspiciously convenient that I ended up with the brother wand to Voldemort's. I don't know if that'll happen again this time around, especially with the Horcrux out of the way, but I'd rather not risk it. I've tried all the legacy wands in the Potter Family Vault, including..." He paused, biting his lip. "Including my parents'. None of them were a good match. There were a few that I could probably use, but not very well."

"Neville can use his father's wand," Augusta began, but Neville shook his head.

"No, Gran, I can't," he said firmly. "It won't work for me, not as well as my own wand would. It hindered me for five years the first time around; I'm not going through that again. Besides, I've already tried it. Not even a spark. I'm going to need a new wand of my own."

"There's a custom wandmaker in Historic Alley," Narcissa said. "Moorehaven's. It's where Draco received his wand. I suspect you'd find the best match there. More importantly, Moorehaven doesn't tell Albus Dumbledore what every person who comes through the shop matches with. He also uses a wider variety of wand cores and woods."

"Sounds like a plan," Harry said. "We'll go there. I don't think I've ever been down Historic Alley."

"It's mostly traveled by those with Gray or Dark affinities," Narcissa explained. Her upper lip curled in an elegant sneer. "I highly doubt the Weasleys or Hagrid would've even thought to explain such things to you the first time around."

Harry shook his head. "Nope. I honestly though there was only Light and Dark, and that Dark meant evil," he said. "Then again, the curriculum at Hogwarts is very biased. If we didn't have very good reasons to go back there, we wouldn't. However, it's the best place for us to start changing the British Wizarding World, while you adults-" and here Harry wrinkled his nose in annoyance at not being included in that group "-work on the Wizengamot and the laws that're holding us back. For example, the whole unregistered Animagus thing. It seems a little harsh to throw someone to the Dementors for that. I'd just fine them and then force the registry. Which reminds me..."

He tossed a small wallet at Sirius, who caught and then opened it. Inside was a magically laminated ID card with Sirius' name, picture, and general description of his Animagus form printed neatly on it. "There. We figured the nine years in Azkaban made up for that. You're registered privately with the ICW, which still counts as being registered in Britain. Your form is that of a black canine with gray eyes as your identifying feature. Congratulations, you're legitimate. Now no one can hold that over your head if they wanted to."

Sirius shook his head, a lopsided smile pulling at his lips. "You continue to amaze me, Harry," he said. "Thank you."

"Thank Amelia," Harry replied. "She was the one who registered you with the ICW. Speaking of registering..." He looked over at Amelia. "What ever happened to Rita after that day at the bank?"

Amelia smiled in self-satisfaction. "Miss Skeeter, in addition to having to pay a hefty fine for being an unregistered Animagus, has had to take a magically binding oath that keeps her from writing her usual mix of misinformation and outright lies for one whole year. She can only report on the facts. If she tries to skew events in any way beyond the true, she'll find herself unable to write anything but gibberish."

"Useful. That'll give us time to work," Draco said. He got up from the couch, hiding a yawn behind a hand. "We'd best go. Mother and I will join you for lunch tomorrow, say around one? There's a fantastic restaurant in Historic Alley that I've wanted to take you to for years." He gave Neville and Harry each a hug before going over to Narcissa and taking her hand. "Sleep well, all of you."

"You too, Draco," Neville said, with Harry chiming in shortly afterwards. Narcissa gave the others a short nod before Disapparating the two of them with a soft pop of displaced air. Neville, Harry, and Augusta took the Floo home a few minutes later, but not without Harry getting one last hug from Sirius. Once they were gone, Sirius turned to Amelia.

"So," he began, "what now?"

"Now, I take you to a safehouse where you can sleep and recuperate before you leave for Switzerland on the first," Amelia told him. She held out an elbow for him to take. "There's a Floo, but this place doesn't have access, and for very good reason."

Sirius nodded, taking her arm and tucking himself in close. A few wildly disorienting seconds later and they'd landed in the middle of a rather sparsely decorated one bedroom flat. Sirius hardly minded; in comparison to his cell in Azkaban, this was like a five-star hotel.

"If you're hungry, just call for the house elf," Amelia told him. "Her name is Callie. She knows to listen to you, but only up to a certain point. She's not going to help you get into trouble."

"Callie. Got it," Sirius said. "To be honest, I'm too drained to get into much trouble right now. I feel like sleeping for a week."

Amelia laughed. "I know how you feel," she said. She gave Sirius one more look over, nodded, and then Disapparated after saying goodbye. Sirius sighed before calling out for the house elf. Callie was a petite elf with a neatly pressed uniform of a tiny black skirt and a white blouse, the coat of arms for the House of Bones embroidered over the left breast.

"Master Black, sir! How can Callie help you?" she squeaked, ears flapping slightly.

"Could you get me some food?" Sirius asked. "Nothing too heavy right now."

"Callie can be doing that." She snapped her fingers, making a small plate of sandwiches appear on a nearby table, as well as a large glass of water. "Anything else, sir?"

"Not right now," Sirius said. Callie nodded and then popped away, presumably going back to the Ossuary, which was the main Bones Family manor. Sirius sat down at the table, lifting the top of a sandwich to see what it was. Roast beef, apparently, with two slices of lettuce and tomato on wheat bread. Not too bad.

Sirius ate two whole sandwiches and drank most of the water before he felt almost overly full. He set a preservation charm on the rest of the sandwiches with a flick of his wand before heading into the bedroom. A set of clean pajama pants and a plain t-shirt lay waiting on the bed for him, making Sirius think that Callie had set them out for him at some point. He didn't mind one bit. If this was what life was going to be like outside of Azkaban, he was all for it. Sirius changed into the pajamas and then slid into bed, a groan leaving him at the way the mattress supported all of his body. It was heavenly.

He fell asleep not long after, his sleep untroubled for the first time in nine years.