For a second, Harry stared at her in something akin to shock. "It … It was because of her?"

"Hang on!" Sirius said. "First of all, Jen, back up and explain that little 'friends' remark! Because I'm fairly sure Lily and Narcissa never even talked to one another!"
"Not in Hogwarts, no." Jen agreed. "Cissy was a year older than us," she told Harry, "and I don't think she ever really believed in what her parents said, but she never had a reason to argue."

"Slytherin." Sirius sighed. "What's in it for me?"

"Exactly." Jen said. "Plus, Cissy was all about family; she was the only one who kept talking to us after we were disowned … and she'd seen what happened to Andie when she bucked tradition."

"So she went along with it." Harry concluded.

Jen nodded, smiling sadly. "She went along with it." She traced Narcissa's name, fighting the urge to draw her wand and blast away the name on the other end of the double line. "And she honoured the betrothal. And she gave up her independence and her dreams to become the wife of a man who …" She broke off and took a deep breath, counting backwards from ten in her head. "Anyway, Lily bumped into her in Diagon Alley while she was pregnant with you, and Cissy was pregnant with Draco, and they got to talking, and ended up meeting to have tea quite regularly."

"Why?" Harry asked. "I mean, I guess Mum was just being a nice person, and liked her, but she was Muggle-born, so what was in it for Narcissa?"

"I think her friendship with Lily was one of the few things that was exactly what it seemed like." Jen admitted. "But there was also the fact that Cissy needed help. Pureblood women aren't expected to be too attached to their children; they give birth and then give their children to the house-elf or a nurse to raise them. At one time, they would have hired a wet nurse as well, but there are very few 'acceptable' options anymore." She shook her head. "I never understood it. Neither did Cissy, apparently. She wanted to be a mum, but she had no frame of reference. The Potters were influential enough that she could get away with it."

Harry nodded slowly. "Okay … I think I get it. But what does that have to do with … that night?"

"James and Lily knew they were in danger … that you were in danger." Jen said, her throat tightening. She, Remus and Sirius had watched Harry while his parents went to see Dumbledore, and she could still remember James's fury when they returned, and the way Lily had practically flown up the stairs to Harry's nursery and refused to let him go for hours. "The one thing they didn't know – or at least didn't tell us – was why. The only thing we could tell was that it might not be you at all. Frank and Alice were warned as well."

"Neville's parents?" Harry asked, frowning. "But why? Neville and I don't have that much in common – we're both in Gryffindor, I guess, and we both live with relatives … but that's it."

"I don't know, Harry." Jen sighed. "That was about a month after you were born. A few months later, however, Narcissa arrived on my doorstep. She told me that she couldn't stay long, but that I needed to do something. She didn't give me a reason, but she told me that Voldemort had definitely singled you out. Lily … Lily was one of her few true friends, and she had begged Lucius to see if Voldemort would at least spare her life. James had too much political power and, of course, you were the intended victim, but she could, at least, save Lily."

"It would have killed her." Sirius said flatly. "If Voldemort had killed James and Harry, but left Lily alive …"

"I know." Jen said heavily. "Cissy admitted as much to me."

Harry shook his head. "Lucius Malfoy actually went to Voldemort and asked him to spare the life of a Muggle-born? I thought you implied he didn't love her?"

Jen snorted. "He doesn't, Harry. But if he refused, Narcissa threatened to leave, and take Draco with her. The Black family has a little more standing than the Malfoys, and she would have managed it with very little scandal. If Draco left, so did his chances to continue the family name."

Sirius closed his eyes. "I'm guessing Voldemort agreed to spare Lily unless she got in the way, but … Lucius would have paid for it. He would have made her pay for it."

Jen reached for his hand, squeezing gently. "I'll write to her." She whispered. "She never told me … and I never asked, but …"

Harry's gaze moved back to the tapestry, apparently searching for a change of topic. Jen knew what it would be before he opened his mouth, knew his eyes had fallen on the name to Narcissa's right, but made no attempt to distract him.

"Lestrange …" Harry read softly. "I know that name."

"They're in Azkaban." Sirius said.

"Oh, thank Merlin!" Jen breathed. "How … When?"

"About a week after Voldemort fell." Sirius answered.

Jen stared at him. The timing couldn't just be a coincidence. "She was the one who put Frank and Alice in St Mungo's, wasn't she?"

"She was." Sirius sighed. "Her, Rodolphus, Rabastan, and Barty Crouch Jr."

Harry shuddered, and Jen reached out to grasp his shoulder. She had known, of course, the story behind Junior's escape from Azkaban – Harry had told Jess at the beginning of the summer – but now making the connection …

"Didn't Alice know Junior at Hogwarts?" She asked in a hushed voice.

"I think so." Sirius scowled. "She used to tutor him occasionally. Hell of a way to repay her. Bella, of course, was dragged into Azkaban screaming her allegiance."

"Of course she was." Jen muttered.

Harry was still staring at the family tree. "You never said she was your …"

"Does it matter?" Sirius cut him off. "As far as I'm concerned, they're not my family. She is definitely not my family."

"Sirius!" Jen chided. "Harry's just surprised. Don't bite his head off."

Sirius heaved a sigh, clapping Harry on the shoulder. "Sorry, pup." He said absently. "I just … I never thought I'd be back here."

Jen smiled sadly. "Me neither."

"Hey, you don't have to stay here." Sirius reminded her.

"Yes, I do." Jen disagreed.

"No, you don't." Sirius said. "And don't say you've got nowhere else to go, because the cottage is still standing, so you can just …"

"No, I can't." Jen said fiercely. "You're stuck here, Padfoot. And as long as you're here, I'm not going anywhere. What kind of sister would I be otherwise?"

"A sane one." Sirius tried to scowl at her, but failed miserably. "Fine. But at least spend the full moons there. Moony's too paranoid to transform here, even with your help, but someone needs to be there."
Jen rolled her eyes. "No, Padfoot, I thought I'd just leave him to it."

"You're an Animagus too?" Harry guessed. "Mum told Hermione about the others; she never mentioned you."

"Probably too difficult." Jen sighed. "Yes, I am, Harry; I take the form of the wolf, that's why the girls called me Selena."

"Roman goddess of the moon, right?" Harry asked.

Jen nodded with a smile. "Someone knows his mythology."

"Hermione knows her mythology." Harry corrected with a grin.

"I still say you need a different Marauder name, Mrs Moony." Sirius remarked absently.

"Remus and I share a soul-bond." Jen explained to Harry. "Because we can share magic, I can help him keep control on the full moon."

"That's cool." Harry commented, as his stomach growled loudly.

Jen chuckled. "You are your father's son. Go on, sweetheart; get something to eat. You as well," she added to her brother.

Sirius lingered for a moment. "Are you alright?"

Jen nodded, turning resolutely away from the tapestry. "I'll be fine."

By the morning of Harry's hearing, not even a week later, Jen was a nervous wreck for reasons she couldn't quite identify.

It was a simple hearing, and Harry had a perfectly sound defence.

But something was niggling at the back of her mind, and she couldn't shake the feeling that something wasn't right.

Arthur was taking Jen and Harry to work with him, but neither of them would be allowed to accompany Harry into the hearing. At fifteen, he would be expected to be able to speak for himself.

Jen was sitting down in the kitchen, with Arthur, Sirius and Remus – who had got up to see Harry off, Dora – who had turned up for breakfast after her 'guard duty', and Molly – who was still in her dressing gown.

"Breakfast!" Molly announced suddenly, jumping to her feet, and Jen realised that Harry had just walked in, dressed in jeans and a button-down shirt.

"Morning Harry." Dora yawned. "Sleep well?"

"Yeah." Harry shrugged; Jen knew he was lying, but didn't call him on it.

"I've been up all night." Dora said, with another huge yawn, pulling a chair out and knocking the one next to it over. "Come and sit down."

"What do you want, Harry?" Molly called from the oven. "Porridge? Muffins? Kippers? Bacon and eggs? Toast?"

"Just toast, thanks." Harry answered quietly.

Remus squeezed Harry's shoulder, and turned back to Dora. "What were you saying about Scrimgeour?"

Was she? And what's Rufus Scrimgeour got to do with anything?

You were miles away. And he's the Head Auror now.

Great. I never liked him.

"Hmm?" Dora shook herself out of her fatigue-induced daze. "Oh, right. We need to be a bit more careful; he's been asking me and Kingsley funny questions …"

Molly placed a plate of toast and marmalade in front of Harry and he thanked her quietly, beginning to eat automatically. Jen tuned out the rest of Dora's words, tucking the label of Harry's shirt in and smoothing down some of the creases. "How are we getting to the Ministry?"

"I figured we'd go the Muggle way, rather than apparating or flooing." Arthur told her. "Makes a better impression, given what he's doing there."

Jen nodded understandingly. In that case, she'd wait until they were at the Ministry before transfiguring Harry's clothes. It might make a better impression to arrive at the Ministry Muggle-style, but it would also make a better impression if Harry was dressed in something other than jeans.

Admittedly, it was Amelia who was in charge of the hearing, and she wouldn't pay any attention, but they had no idea who would be in there with him, and there were certain members of the Ministry who would use Muggle clothes as an excuse.

"Amelia's lovely, Harry." Jen assured him. "You'll be fine. She's fair; she'll hear you out."

"Don't lose your temper." Sirius advised. "Just be polite, and stick to the facts."

Jen laughed shakily. "Talk about the pot calling the kettle black, Padfoot."

"Doesn't it ever lie flat?!" Molly demanded, now attacking Harry's hair with a comb.

"Sorry, Molly." Jen said, downing the rest of her coffee and faintly wishing it was something stronger. "Potter hair never cooperates."

"We'd better go now." Arthur said, checking his watch. "We're early, but you're better off hanging around the Ministry than here."

Dora patted Harry's arm with a tired smile. "You'll be alright."

"Good luck." Remus said with a smile. "I'm sure it will be fine."
"And if it's not," Sirius added grimly, "I'll have a word with Amelia for you."

"Sirius Orion Black, you will do no such thing!" Jen snapped.

Sirius held his hands up. "I was only trying to lighten the mood, Jen."

Hugs and well-wishes followed them out into the grey dawn, and they travelled mostly in silence, until, eventually, they reached the telephone box that served as the visitors' entrance to the Ministry of Magic.

"That's it?" Harry asked incredulously.

"That's it." Jen confirmed, opening the door.

"But there's three of us." Harry protested.

"Don't worry." Jen said, smiling wryly. "It's bigger on the inside."

Harry laughed, a genuine smile lighting up his face, and followed her inside. Arthur stepped in after him and closed the door, looking like he didn't quite get the joke, but didn't question it.

"Jen, you're closer."
"I know." Jen shifted slightly, and managed to dial the right numbers. 62442 … Huh, never realised that spelt out magic. Wonder why Lily never mentioned it.

"Welcome to the Ministry of Magic. Please state your name and business."

Seeing Arthur look a bit puzzled – he'd told her earlier that he'd never come via the visitors' entrance before – Jen spoke for all of them. "Arthur Weasley, Misuse of Muggle Artefacts Office, and Jennifer Black here to escort Harry Potter for a disciplinary hearing."

"Thank you. Visitors, please take the badges and attach them to the front of your robes."

Jen caught the badges that slid out of the chute, handing one to Harry.

"Visitors to the Ministry, you are required to …"

"…submit to a search and present your wand for registration at the security desk, which is located at the far end of the Atrium." Jen finished in unison, rolling her eyes. "Never changes."

The wand-check went smoothly, although Jen did have to pointedly clear her throat to make sure that Harry got his wand back and didn't spend ten minutes being gawped at instead, and Arthur led them to one of the lifts, where they waited patiently in the crowd, beside a man carrying a smoking box.

"What you got there, Bob?" Arthur asked curiously, trying to peer inside.

"We're not sure." The wizard admitted. "We thought it was a bog-standard chicken, until it started breathing fire."

The lift arrived, the golden grill slid back, and the three stepped inside with everyone else, Jen pulling Harry closer when people began glancing curiously at him.

Finally, they reached Level Two and Arthur shepherded them out. "This is us. My office is on the other side of the floor."

"Jen?" Harry whispered, as they followed Arthur through a sunlit corridor. "Aren't we still underground?"

Jen smiled. "They're enchanted windows, Harry. Magical Maintenance decide what kind of weather they get every day."

"We had two months of hurricanes last time they were angling for a pay-rise." Arthur added.

Jen grimaced. "Lovely. I think we had thunderstorms when I worked here. Ah," she said, her grimace fading into a smile as they rounded the corner. "Auror headquarters. My home away from home."

"You were an auror too?" Harry asked.

"Graduated top of my class." Jen told him, just a little smugly. "Ahead of James and Sirius, which I enjoyed rubbing in their faces every chance I …"

"Morning, Weasley!" Kingsley greeted, cutting her off. They turned to see him leaning casually against his cubicle, and he caught her eye, his smirk giving her a split-second warning. "Well, I heard a rumour that your disappearance was due to a Memory Charm, but Jennifer Black, is that really you?"

As though her name had triggered some kind of Summoning Charm, they were suddenly surrounded by aurors, and Jen pushed Harry behind her automatically, but none of them looked remotely threatening. On the contrary, every face was smiling, most clamouring to be heard, and Jen stuck two fingers in her mouth and whistled sharply, effectively shutting them up.

"I'll take that as a 'welcome back'." She said dryly, earning a few chuckles. "From the top, yes, it was a Memory Charm. Yes, it's really me. Thank you; it's very nice to be back. No, I don't know if I'm coming back to the corps. Miss anything?"

There was a murmured negative, and she smiled brightly. "Then I suggest you all get back to work before your boss finds you all standing around."

As the aurors dispersed, Jen gave Kingsley a look that very clearly promised retribution, but he hardly seemed worried. Instead, his smile widened. "I've been wanting a word with you, Weasley. Have you got a moment?"

"Yes, if it really is a moment." Arthur said briskly. "I'm in a hurry."

Kingsley beckoned them into his cubicles, and Jen caught Harry's hand and squeezed it in a specific pattern. She did it automatically, not even thinking that Harry might not get the code, but in any case he didn't greet Kingsley and he kept his face neutral.

Jen stopped just inside the cubicle and stared at the walls, where Sirius scowled down at her from every available space, apart from that which was occupied by a world map covered in little glowing pins.

Kingsley followed her line of sight. "That's right; he's your brother, isn't he?"

"He is." Jen confirmed coolly.

"When was the last time you saw him?" Kingsley asked.

"Let me see …" Jen said slowly. "We had dinner. He came to my house – I told him to take a shower, because it looked like he hadn't showered in weeks."

"And when was that?" Kingsley asked.

"July 30th 1982." Jen answered flatly. "No, I tell a lie, I saw him the next day at the Potters' cottage for Harry's first birthday."

"And you haven't seen him since your return?"

Jen rolled her eyes. "I live in a cottage in the middle of a wood, Auror Shacklebolt. I hardly see anyone."

Kingsley nodded, tipping her a wink, and extracted a sheaf of parchment from a pile on his desk. As he and Arthur exchanged a few words about Muggle firearms and motorcycles, Jen smirked to herself, knowing that she'd managed to avoid actually lying.

That was the last time she'd seen him – before the attack. And, according to the Ministry, her address hadn't changed.

Kingsley and Arthur wrapped up their discussion, and the latter gestured for Jen and Harry to follow him. Nodding to Kingsley, Jen steered Harry out of Auror Headquarters and down a shabby corridor that consisted of a broom cupboard and the Misuse of Muggle Artefacts Office – which was slightly smaller than the broom cupboard.

Jen glanced around in distaste as they entered. "How does the Ministry expect any kind of decent Muggle-Magical relations when they do stuff like this?!"
It was barely big enough for the three of them to squeeze between the two desks. "Have a seat." Arthur said cheerfully, conjuring a third chair. "Doesn't look like Perkins is in yet. We haven't got a window, I'm afraid; we've asked, but they don't think we need one."

"You're completely underappreciated, you know that?" Jen frowned. "This department does so much to keep the Statute of Secrecy in place, and you're treated like this – it's disgusting."

"You're one of the few people who thinks that way, unfortunately." Arthur said, rifling through the parchment Kingsley had given him, finally extracting a copy of The Quibbler. "Ah, yes. Yes, he's right; Sirius will find this very amusing."
Jen took the offered magazine and glanced at the cover. Sirius: Black as he's painted? "Well, well. Has someone finally caught on to the lack of a trial?" She flicked through to the article. Notorious mass-murderer or … "Innocent Singing Sensation?" She read aloud.

"Can he sing?" Harry asked.

"Well, yes." Jen admitted. "Quite well, actually, but he'd never admit it to anyone. Actually, he tended to pretend he couldn't sing."

"Why?" Harry asked, sounding confused.

"To annoy us." Jen answered, smiling ruefully. "Your mother had a beautiful voice though. She was always singing."

"Oh dear, what now?" Arthur sighed, as a paper aeroplane flew through the door and hovered in front of him.

"Finally got rid of the owls then?" Jen remarked.

Arthur nodded, reading the memo. "Droppings everywhere. Really … Third regurgitating toilet in Bethnal Green; please investigate immediately. This is getting ridiculous!"

"Regurgitating toilet?!" Harry repeated incredulously, beating Jen to it.

Before Arthur could elaborate, a stooped, timid-looking wizard rushed in, panting. "Arthur!" He gasped, grabbing hold of his desk to keep himself from collapsing. "Thank goodness! I sent an owl to your home, but you've obviously … an urgent message came ten minutes ago …"

"I know about the toilet, Perkins." Arthur interrupted soothingly, as Jen conjured a glass of water for the almost-hyperventilating wizard.

"It's not that!" Perkins yelped, taking a gulp of water. "Thank you, ma'am. It's the Potter boy's hearing! It's been moved to eight o'clock, down in Courtroom Ten!"

"Courtroom Ten?!" Jen repeated. "But …"

"Great Merlin!" Arthur cried, jumping to his feet. "We should have been there ten minutes ago!"

Perkins hastily flattened himself against the wall as the three of them sprinted from the room and towards the lifts.

"Why have they changed the time?" Harry asked.

"No idea." Arthur admitted, pummelling the 'down' button. "But thank goodness we got here early! It would have been catastrophic if we'd missed it!"

The grill lifted and they ducked into the lift. Jen hardly paid attention to the other occupants, or to Arthur frantically jabbing the '9' button every time the lift stopped. Her heart seemed to have disappeared somewhere into the region of her stomach, and, despite her earlier misgivings to Molly, she tried to flatten his hair.

"Jen?" Harry whispered, as they reached the Atrium. "If I do get expelled … you're not going to make me go back to the Dursleys, are you?"
Jen pulled him into a hug. "You are not going back to that house even if I have to kidnap you and take you to Australia. But you'll be alright, Harry."

Finally, they reached Level Nine, and hurried down the corridor, turned left, and down a flight of stairs.

"The lift … doesn't even … come down this far!" Arthur panted. "Why they're … doing it … down here …"
They emerged into another corridor, lined with heavy doors, doors that still sent shivers down Jen's spine. She had sat in on enough Death Eater trials to have seen enough of this place for a lifetime.

She could only assume that Fudge had managed to influence the hearing process and had moved it to try to intimidate Harry.

"Just tell the truth." She told him, as they skidded to a halt outside Courtroom Ten. "Hold still." She waved her wand and transfigured his clothes into smart robes. She debated adding the Potter crest, but decided against it – it was one thing to make a good impression, but he hardly needed anyone to think that he'd received the proper training, or else they'd be expecting too much of him.

"Good luck." Arthur said. "In you go."
Harry looked from Jen to Arthur. "Aren't you …?"

"We're not allowed, Harry." Jen said regretfully, kissing his forehead. "You'll be fine, sweetheart. In you go."

Harry pushed the door open and disappeared from sight.

"What now?" Arthur asked hopelessly.

Jen sighed, leaning against the wall. "We wait."