Disclaimer: This world of magic belongs to JK Rowling. I'm just playing with the action figures for a while.

Chapter 6 – A Black Mood

Life on an island, even a beautiful, tropical island, can get a little repetitious, and Sirius Black had never been the kind of person who bore up well under any kind of monotony.

All of their needs were taken care of. They lived in a majestic home, impressively furnished, with luxurious surroundings. They were waited on by an adoring staff of house elves that cooked, cleaned, babysat, and did the gardening. Whenever they wanted to stroll through the grounds of their home they were sure to be gratified by the lovely and diverse groves of trees, glades covered in blossoms, and the stream that flowed down from the highest points to end as a waterfall in the natural lagoon that boasted a sandy beach along the end farthest from the rapids. There was even an area set aside for more active sports such as wizard tennis, or Quidditch. Even the weather was accommodatingly balmy on most days.

Inside there was a library that rivaled Hogwart's massive stacks. There was a game room that included a pool table, pinball and foosball, (compliments of Sirius' exposure to Muggle entertainment), alongside the more normal wizarding pastimes of chess, gobstones and exploding snap. In the lower levels were rooms that were set up for fencing and swordplay, a potions laboratory, and for practicing defensive/offensive spellwork, (not to mention the old family dungeons). On the roof was the observatory, with charts and telescopes; and the owlery.

Their days were, for the most part, dictated by Harry's schedule. They had breakfast together when he woke up. They played outside with him in the mornings; chasing Padfoot or splashing in the shallows of the water, climbing and running, and building sandcastles. When the toddler had exhausted his keepers, they went in for lunch and a nap. Afternoons were usually spent indoors, since the sun was more intense at that time of the day and Harry's fair skin was prone to sunburn. The youngster's nursery was well equipped with books, toys, and educational puzzles and games. His favorite toy of course, was the child's broom that had been charmed to float a foot or so off the floor and couldn't go out of the nursery room unless one of the adults allowed it. Remus and Sirius took turns keeping him busy until it was time for dinner. The house elves were always available and willing to play with Harry too. After dinner they spent the evenings taking a walk or reading aloud from 'Beedle the Bard' (Harry's favorite), then giving the boy a bath before putting him to bed.

This routine was only interrupted for the Christmas holidays, and that was only in small ways. Having Dumbledore stop by frequently was a help because they felt more in touch with society in general when he was there. The only sad note was when the Headmaster brought them news of their friends, Frank and Alice Longbottom. They had been attacked by Deatheaters trying to extract information from them, and subjected to the cruciatus curse until they were driven insane from the pain. They now resided in the Long Term Care Ward at St. Mungo's hospital. The Longbottom's son Neville, who was the same age as Harry, was left, for all intents and purposes, as an orphan, and he now lived with his rather austere paternal grandmother.

"But why, Albus?" Remus inquired sadly. He leaned forward and set the teacup he had been holding on the low table in between the three men who had gathered in the library to talk. "You-Know-Wh- V-Voldemort, is gone. For all they know forever! What possible reason did they have to think that Frank and Alice knew something that was so important even after his death?" He ran a hand through his hair in a gesture of frustration, and as he glanced at the Headmaster he saw a flicker of guilt in the old man's eyes before they returned to showing the pain they were all feeling. "You know something!" He whispered in astonishment. "What is it?" The werewolf raised his voice accusingly. "If it has anything to do with Voldemort, then it has to do with Harry too, and we need to know what it is! Besides," he added, a little more reasonably, and with insight, "we've gone through enough together lately that you know you can trust us."

When Dumbledore still wasn't forthcoming, Remus continued quietly, "Sometimes a burden needs to be shared so it won't weigh too heavily on one person."

Sirius nodded emphatically and voiced his agreement, "If the Longbottom's were tortured into insanity for information, then we could all be in even more danger than we thought if anyone finds out that Harry is here." Not that was likely that anyone would find them, with all the precautions they had taken. What could it be that Dumbledore was keeping under his, (rather outrageous), azure and fuschia swirled hat?

The elderly wizard sighed inwardly as he sipped his tea, stalling, too obviously, for time. He set his cup down on the table too, and wished that he could keep what he knew from the young men seated beside him, who had already been through so much in the past few months. They deserved to know what had brought all the horror into their lives, and might bring more in the future if he had read things correctly. They needed to be prepared so that they, in turn, could fully prepare their young charge.

The atmosphere in the room had become tense in the few moments since Dumbledore had discharged his depressing news. Sirius and Remus waited now to hear what could have caused the usually cheerful Headmaster to turn pensive, and reluctant to answer them.

Albus sighed again out loud before he spoke. "Did James ever tell you exactly why I asked him and Lily to go into hiding?" Both of the younger wizards shook their heads negatively.

Sirius shook his head, "We just assumed it was because they opposed Voldemort so vocally. They had already been pressured and attacked by Deatheaters several times." Sirius shook his head sadly as he remembered his friends strength of will.

"Alas, it was more than that. Although that would have been quite enough reason to go into hiding." Dumbledore paused again before continuing. " There was a prophecy made. I was a witness to it...as was one of Voldmort's followers. Thankfully he didn't hear the full prophecy before he was discovered eavesdropping, only the first part. But that caused Voldemort to focus his attention on two families who could be the subject of the prophecy." Again Albus paused.

"What did it say?" Encouraged Remus quietly, not wanting to interrupt the Headmaster's thoughts, just keep him talking.

"I was interviewing a witch for the Divination post at Hogwarts, and was almost persuaded to remove the class from Hogwart's curriculum. I was mostly just going through the motions out of courtesy to her family, since I knew of and respected her great-great-grandmother's well-known seer gift. This young woman had never truly manifested any talent, though she was enamored of the subject, but when I turned to go she fell into a trance..." He proceeded to relate the prophecy in it's entirety.

"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..."

"If the Potters were one of the possible families," Sirius said thoughtfully, " the other family must have been...the Longbottoms. That's why they were attacked, even after Voldemort was gone?"

"I believe so," answered Dumbledore. "There are still a few of his followers that don't understand that he is gone. They continue to follow his instructions, and wreak havoc and destruction, simply because they cannot give up their cause. The aurors are using most of their resources trying to find those who are continuing to persecute anyone who is not "pureblood", according to their standards."

"So, Voledmort only heard the first part of the prophecy, the part that helped him to find out who it could be that would be able to vanquish him, right?" Sirius closed his eyes and rubbed his forehead with his fingertips as he put voice to his questions. "It could have been either boy, born at the end of July? Voldemort didn't even know that he fulfilled the prophecy when he went after Harry and marked him. How ironic!" He made a sound that could have been a bitter laugh, but was cut short so that it ended up more like a sob.

"What about Frank's son, Neville? Is he safe now? Can his grandmother protect him?" Remus queried doubtfully. Their own recent grief caused him to worry about their friend's child. "If we have had to take such stringent precautions, then won't he need the same level of protection? Especially if the remaining Deatheaters are willing to try to kill Neville in order to make sure there is no one who could fulfill the prophecy."

The Headmaster frowned thoughtfully as he answered Remus' questions. "I'm relatively certain that the security measures surrounding the Longbottoms are enough, since Voldemort is gone for the time being. He is the only one strong enough to break through the wards that we have put up around the manor, although a concerted effort by a large group could also get past the defenses. We don't have much in the way of alternatives though..." Dumbledore let the sentence trail off as if still thinking, gazing vaguely at Sirius, but he was hoping that his meaning would be caught by the two bright minds that were listening. He would rather it be their own suggestion; something freely offered.

Remus' head swiveled from watching the elderly wizard, towards his more contemporary friend. Sirius' head came up as he became aware of both sets of eyes being focused on him. "Well...", he drew out the thought, "we have more than enough room here for an extra child - and his grandmother - if she wants to come too." He finished with less enthusiasm and a lift of one eyebrow humorously.

"That is very generous of you." Albus' lips quirked as he tried to keep the laughter out of his voice. "I will contact Augusta Longbottom immediately and lay out your proposal. It would be best for them to come as soon as they can, to avoid any more incidents of the same nature." He sobered as he reminded the two young men that Mrs. Longbottom might have a hard time adjusting to living someplace other than her ancestral home, especially following the loss of her family.

"Augusta is not used to dealing full time with a young child. Frank and Alice didn't live at the manor with her, so she only saw Neville once a week when they visited, or if she dropped by their home." He also mentioned the stilted relationship between Augusta and Alice because of the matriarchal witch's jealousy of her son's shy, young wife. Frank's mother had never felt that anyone was good enough for her only child. "Having him taken away from her in such a manner only seems to have confirmed to her that she was right, instead of making her regret her grudge. I'm afraid that she will take out her resentfulness on the child. Having both of you around will hopefully curb some of her tendency to speak ill of Alice, and keep her from expecting Neville to be another incarnation of her son, Frank."

xxxxxxx

Augusta Longbottom was conflicted. That didn't happen to her very often. She grew up with a strong sense of self-worth, which had been strengthened when she had married into the well-respected Longbottom family. Her husband was much older than she was, although she had not married until she was almost thirty, and he preferred gardening to any kind of social life, so she represented the family at ministry functions and was a strong community leader. Her only regret was that she waited so long to start her own family, and her only shame (in her eyes) was that, due to complications, she could have no more than one child, on whom she had doted. When her husband died before their son was married she hadn't missed a beat as she picked up the reins of the family and took her place as Matriarch. Now in her seventies, she was still active in social events and she enjoyed the prestige and respect that her reputation brought her.

Her conflict was in her feelings towards her only grandchild. The death of her son had affected her deeply. He had been her whole life until he had gotten married to that girl. How could anyone as shy as that be the kind of wife that Frank needed to help him carry on the Longbottom legacy? For that matter, how could anyone that shy become an Auror?

Frank had met her at Hogwarts while they were both still in school, and after they were married they had entered the Auror Academy together, both graduating at the top of their class. Alice took a sabbatical after they found that she was pregnant. She had gone right back to work after Neville was born though, hiring a young witch to help with the baby, and Augusta couldn't understand that either. Why would a young mother want to work when she had a baby to raise? Her duty was to her family.

Therein lay the conflict. Augusta knew her duty was to her family, above all. She had always known it and had always done her duty. But now her heart was broken and she could feel nothing but resentment toward this child that was left in her care. She couldn't see Frank in him at all. He looked like his mother and he was just as shy. Not like her happy boy at all. She couldn't see past her own heartache to comfort this child who had just lost his parents.

When Albus Dumbledore had come to her with a plan to send her and Neville into hiding with the Potter's child, she was relieved. Augusta told him to take the boy, but she would stay in her home. They could let it be known that she didn't know where her grandson was and the rumor would keep them both safe. She trusted the Headmaster to make sure Neville was raised in a good environment.

Dumbledore tried to reason her into going with the boy. "You know then that I can't tell you who will be raising your grandson, or where he will be living? You understand that you will not be able to see Neville except under what circumstances I can arrange?" He paused, waiting for a reaction, but none was given. "It will not be often, as that will give those who are watching a chance to learn Neville's whereabouts." Dumbledore's sad face watched his old friend carefully. He understood what she was feeling and why she didn't want to join her grandchild in exile. That didn't make it any easier for him to see her pushing the boy away. His heart ached for both of them.