Chapter 9: Brooding and Hot Chocolate... And Cheese Cake.

Severus Snape was not the kind of young man to easily confuse. Nor was he easily unbalanced. Sirius Black managed to do both. In the days following Sirius' reveal of his secret, Severus had pushed his reactions aside. This was because he was a Slytherin through and through. No Slytherin would show his weakness to another. That was stupid and reckless and simply not done. So, Severus had shoved all his 'weak' responses, which were actually just normal human reactions, to Sirius' tell-all-expose into a trunk and locked it. Until he found the Come-and-Go room. He was beginning to go crazy when he passed by the same stretch of wall three times wishing for a place to breakdown where no-one would find him when a door appeared to pop out of the wall. Sparing but a moment to make sure no-one was watching, Severus ducked in and shut the door. He found himself in a smaller, more intimate version of his House common room. Sitting on one of the couches, Severus broke down and cried. Then he screamed and threw the many breakable items the room provided until his throat was raw. "Why would I do that! Why did they hate me? What did I do?! What was I thinking?! I'll kill that snake faced hypocrite! How dare he! Lair! Cheat! Who am I even mad at anymore?!" he yelled as he smashed a particularly familiar looking liquor cabinet. He stopped for a moment, panting, and thought. He was sad. Sad for what exactly? His friends. Who? Sirius, who lived free and bold and did his best to do what was right even when it was hard and was repaid with hate and a prison cell guarded by the darkest creatures in the know wizarding world. Remus, whose pacifism, devotion to the Marauders, and his condition had earned him hate and fear and forced him to deny himself happiness until only a few months before he and his wife were killed in a final battle within the walls of the one place he had felt normal. Peter, who had been weak and easily exploited, turned on his friends and forced to spend most of his adult life as a rat. Lily, sweet beautiful Lily, who fought against so much and was eventually overwhelmed. Lily, who trusted a friend of her husband and was murdered. Lily, who hadn't lived to see her son grow into a wonderful wizard. James... a wizard he had badly misunderstood in his first life. James who he had hated. James who had saved him from Sirius, whom he had goaded. James, who had never been able to fully appreciate what he had gained before it was taken from him. He was angry. At whom? Voldemort, Tom Riddle Jr., the so-called Dark Lord and Heir of Slytherin who 'followed in the renowned Founder's footsteps.' Himself, for following the madman. James, for loving Lily and getting her to fall for him. Sirius, for being an idiot. Regulus, for not listening to his brother in the first place. He was grateful. To whom? Sirius, for being a hero. James, for accepting him as a friend. Remus, for being the mostly sane one in the whole crazy bag of wet cats suspended over turkey soaked in gravy. Himself, for listening to Sirius the second time. He sighed and threw a few more things, grateful for the release. Then, he left the mostly destroyed room and went down to the kitchens where he found Regulus. Regulus who was holding out a mug full of steaming hot chocolate with a smirk.

"They say that hot tea with honey is best for a sore throat, but hot chocolate is best after an emotional meltdown. Why? Because it's chocolate. And hot," the younger Black said, pressing it into Severus' hand. "Want someone to listen?" Severus snorted, but sipped the coco.

"No. I believe the castle has done enough of that tonight," he said. Regulus nodded.

"The elves finished making a small shortcake. If I ask, I should be able to get us a slice, some strawberries, and possibly some cream. What do you say?"

"Dose your brother know about your obsession with strawberries and cream?" Regulus laughed loudly, his head falling back and his eyes closing.

"Sev, Siri started me on my obsession! I'd say he knows," he said, eyes now open and twinkling merrily at Severus. The young potions master-in-training idly noticed that when a Black's eyes twinkle at you, it was decidedly less creepy than when Dumbledore did the eye twinkle. That was when Sirius came around the corner.

"Hello Severus. Found the room did you? Wonderful. Listen, Flint's on his rounds. We need to get to the Common Room before he notices we're not there," he said. Then he noticed the mugs. "Coco? Without me? Regulus, you scoundrel! Oi! Tuffy! Can I get a shot of what he has?!" A rather excitable elf popped up with a small ceramic cup of coco and was turning back to the ovens when Sirius called out, "Thanks Tuffy! I own you a Sugar Quill!" Tuffy was turning back in surprise when Sirius spun on his heel and marched back to the Slytherin Common Room. Severus turned to Regulus, his mouth open, when his words were cut off before they could begin.

"You should know that already Sev. Yes, he's always like that," the Ravenclaw said before striding off down the hall, presumable on his way to Ravenclaw Tower. Severus shook his head and drank his coco, striding down the hall as well.

"It's official. I will never understand Black. Any Black," he muttered. The paintings all chuckled. That was the fifth one that week!

/*/

It had been a beautiful prank against Regulus and a friend of his in Ravenclaw, thought Peter a few days later. Sirius was counting on his little brother to explain to the slightly older Ravenclaw that it was just Sirius' way of saying he loved his little brother. Dropping a five gallon bucket of sour cream on a person and then charming dozens of feathers to stick to them while changing colors was all too easy to take the wrong way after all and Sirius knew, better than most, what an angry Ravenclaw could do. Peter collapsed in a giggling heap just inside the secret passageway. "Get a hold of yourself!" Sirius hissed at the giddy Hufflepuff.

"Oh come off it, Siri! That was brilliant and you know it! Besides, I know how to laugh quietly, and am doing so," Peter snapped, slightly hurt that Sirius didn't seem to trust him. Sirius shook his head.

"Why am I friends with you again?" he asked, mostly sarcastically. Peter went silent for a moment, then his giggles turned to rather disconcerting chuckles. Evil chuckles. "Oh no, what have I done?" Sirius moaned, knowing what the Marauders had agreed would happen should one of them ask The Question. Then he realized that Peter had vanished. Another groan and Sirius ghosted down the secret passageway, hoping to find Peter at the end. He wasn't there. Cursing under his breath, Sirius stole down the hallway, ducking into passageways and tickling paintings on his way back to the Slytherin common room. Along the way, Sirius muttered, "I'm an idiot! Why did I ask that question? Now he's going to be popping up with reasons for months! Wait... are there that many reasons? Heh, knowing Pete, he'll make them last for months. Might even bring in James and Remus. Possibly Marlene, Severus, Lily, and Frank as well. (Sirius Swear) And why did I have to help him hone his stealth skills? Now I don't know where he is! Hum, I should talk to Remus and James about making The Map. I didn't mention it in my tell-all-expose. And where is that badger?! (Sirius Swearing) I sure hope he isn't setting up a prank at the common room door. That would be embarrassing. Or is he going to write a list? Write it all out, pencil in my response, and use it as blackmail later. Or fluff. Why do people write that junk? Oh yeah, because it makes them feel good. Silly, silly, useless literary garbage. Oh no! Now I sound like my mother! The horror!" Here Sirius was forced to stop and hold his head while silently writhing in mental agony. He was silent the rest of the way to his common room. Peter didn't leap out and start regaling him with reasons to be his friend, but Sirius was still wary. There was more than one way to prank a Snake, as the Marauder saying went. Actually, there were many in that vein, one for each House, one for the school, and one for sentient beings in general. Minus centaurs. Never the centaurs.

/*/

James and Remus both quirked an eyebrow when Peter came bounding into the library. "Sirius asked The Question!" he said all too happily. James grinned a remarkably Sirius grin and Remus looked a bit pleased as well, though no-where near the level of Peter and James.

"Well then," the well mannered werewolf said, gently and elegantly closing his book with a smirk, "we shall give him Our Answer." Peter was nearly cackling as he pulled out a quill. James' eyes were crackling as he pulled out parchment.

"Reason One..." began Remus.

"You can't pull off every prank by yourself," supplied Peter.

"Reason Two..." James said.

"You'd be lonely without us," Remus said with a smirk.

"Nice one! Reason Three..." James replied.

"You need someone to bounce ideas off of," Peter said. "Reason Four..."

"Our musical abilities," James piped up. "Reason Five!"

"Real life practice with handling werewolves," Remus said drily. The others rolled their eyes.

"Reason Six!" James and Peter chorused.

"Help with homework."

"Reason Seven."

"Research helpers."

"Reason Eight."

"We don't think you're crazy.

"Reason Nine."

"Someone to laugh at your jokes. Reason Ten."

"Someone to routinely torture who won't hate you."

"Gee, you sure about that? It sounded a bit... harsh, Pete."

"I'm sure James. Reason Eleven."

"Erm..."

"We don't care about your family."

"Reason Twelve."

"We count you as family."

"Reason Thirteen."

"We need you as much as you need us." James held up the finished list with a triumphant grin, then blinked.

"Uh, guys? Why were we writing it out?" he asked. Peter shook his head.

"So we could figure out who should say which reason!" he said.

"Ah. So... who does get which reason?" James asked.

"The ones you put forward are the reasons you tell Sirius," Remus said, taking the list and marking who said which reason before copying it twice and handing the copies to Peter and James. "Now, Operation Tell Sirius why he Made the Marauders: Start!" Grinning, the other three Marauders dispersed to put their plan into action.

/*/

The next week, all the Marauders refused to help Sirius pull off a prank on the Great Hall that would send glitter and bubbles down from the ceiling over the House Tables and cause the goblets on the High Table to sing 'Can't We be Friends?' When it failed miserably, Peter strolled by and whispered in Sirius' ear, "Reason One, you can't pull off every prank yourself." Moaning, Sirius realized he had been played by all the Marauders, and that Peter had pulled them in on The Response. After that, none of the other three would hang out with him. It was okay, Sirius thought to himself even as he searched for Severus or Lily, he had other friends. However, Lily was studying, Severus was brewing and snappish, Regulus was stressing slightly over his astronomy charts, and everyone else wasn't as much fun. A week later, they all sat beside a distraught Sirius and began talking. Reaching for a chocolate eclair, Remus whispered,

"Reason two, you'd be lonely without us." Sirius would have groaned, but he recognized it as true. He had been unbelievably lonely that week. Then, when Sirius had several new ideas for morale boosting pranks and wanted some input from his friends, they acted like they couldn't hear him. This went on for about two weeks, until Sirius nearly burst out crying from the pent up frustration and mild hurt their silence caused him.

"Reason three," Peter said, placing a hand on the emotionally shaken youth's shoulder, "you need someone to bounce ideas off of."

"I hate you," Sirius sniffed. Peter shook his head and Remus handed Sirius a sheet of parchment.

"Here's what we thought of your ideas, Sirius. Please don't hate me," the still rather sensitive werewolf said. Sirius took a deep breath and took the parchment.

"Give me a day or two, Moony. I'll cool off. It's just the Black temper talking," he said, giving Remus a rather shaky smile. They decided to give Sirius a few days before they gave their next reason.

/*/

It was Charms class and they were meant to make their teacups sing 'Twinkle Twinkle little Star.' James saw it as the best time to present Reason Four. He made his teacup sing, 'Flying Purple People Eater.' Sirius snorted. As they were filing out James told Sirius, "Reason four, our musical talents," in a low voice. Sirius shook his head, but continued on his way. The next Reason wasn't given until the full moon had passed, Sirius revealing that he could transform still. They were in the hospital wing when Remus remarked,

"Reason five, real life experience." Sirius shook his head at his friend, a wry smile on his face.

"Yeah, and I give you experience in dog training." Remus laughed weakly at the poor joke and Peter poked his head in.

"Reason nine, someone to laugh at your jokes," he said before vanishing. Remus and Sirius were both startled into silence until,

"He broke the order," Remus muttered unhappily. Sirius laughed quietly at his friend's disappointed tone.

"It was a golden opportunity, Moony. Would you have passed it up?" he asked. Remus sighed.

"I guess not," he said before rolling over and falling asleep. Once they were released, Sirius found he had some trouble with his ancient runes and arithmancy homework. So he brought it to the Marauders' Meet that night and complained as he worked. James and Peter shared a look while Remus strode over and sat down.

"Reason six, homework help," James said, nodding. Sirius scowled at him, but wasn't about to push Remus away. The Ravenclaw was the best tutor he could possibly get. It was a few days later when Sirius was in the library and despairing of finding the book he needed. Remus smirked, pulling the book out and handing it to the near frantic time-dimesion-traveler.

"Reason seven, research help," he said before pulling out several other books that Sirius would never have thought to look in. Grumbling about silly teenagers turning everything into a reason Sirius sat down to compile notes for his Runes paper. Remus chuckled and shook his head before taking the quill from Sirius' hand and helping him take helpful notes that could actually be read. Sirius rolled his eyes, exasperated at the werewolf for practically doing the work for him, but didn't complain. He still hadn't gotten the hang of taking notes.

/*/

"I just had the greatest idea!" Sirius suddenly said during the next Meet. The Marauders gave him curious looks. "We'll transfigure Dumbledor's robes into normal robes, like, say, emerald green, and then we'll turn Minnie's robes unique, like, say, sky blue with neon stars! Then they'll think the other stole their robes, or everyone else will think that Minnie left some of her robes in Dumbledor's room and Dumbledor left some in her room and they're wearing each other's robes!" he expounded. They shared a smirk.

"Reason eight, we don't think you're crazy," James said, ignoring the glare plus pout he got from Sirius for it.

"Well, at least Pete already gave reason nine. Would it be too much to ask for you to tell me the others now?" the rather put out Black Heir asked. The other three grinned.

"Yep!" they chorused.

"Figures," Sirius said, packing up his things and leaving the room. The remaining Marauders shared a look.

"Worth it," they said, again as one and with matching grins. It was the next morning when Sirius' 'revenge' was discovered. He had tested a new prank potion on Peter that made him become a replica of Hagrid. Chuckling with the half-giant's deep voice, Peter turned to the Slytherin table.

"Reason ten, someone to routinely torture who won't hate you," he said. Sirius shivered, hearing those words in Hagrid's voice. Perhaps he shouldn't pick on Peter so much. During lunch, Sirius heard about something his cousin Bellatrix had done to a group of three first year Hufflepuffs. His face was burning with fury and embarrassment and he was about ready to stand and start a fist fight with her when Remus came over.

"Reason eleven, we don't care about your family," he said, shoving a cream puff into Sirius' mouth before sitting down and chatting with Severus. James came over and sat on his other side, stealing his food.

"Reason twelve," Peter said from behind, still looking like Hagrid but without the voice, "we count you as family."

"Stop. You're gonna make me cry," Sirius said in an admiral deadpan. Hagrid!Peter smiled down at his friend.

"It's true though, Sirius. We all agreed."

"Why do I feel like this isn't the end?" James grinned, Remus blushed, and a dangerous gleam entered Peter's eyes. "I'm almost sorry I asked," Sirius moaned, wishing he could vanish. The others laughed at his discomfort and kept eating. Eventually, Sirius joined in and helped cause a scene as they began fighting over their favorite foods. They left the hall laughing, their arms around each others shoulders. It was good having his brothers by his side, Sirius decided. Even if they drove him batty, it was good to have them joking and laughing again.

/*/

A week later, Sirius glared at his grinning friends in a passable imitation of Severus' Death Glare. "I hate you all, you grinning fools," he muttered darkly. Peter just chuckled and looped an arm around his shoulders.

"You don't mean that and we all know it. Why don't you just accept the madness of your second life and be done with it?" he said all too cheerfully. Sirius' glare intensified.

"No. I really mean it," he said, still doing a passable impression of Severus Snape. James chuckled.

"Well," he said, swiping some whipped cream from his friend's shoulder, "now you know why we think you're our friend, so why don't you tell us what you agreed with?" Sirius sighed, then smirked.

"All of it, you crazy wizards," he said, tossing a laughing James into a smirking Remus and knocking both of them into a rather large pile of cream cheese and graham cracker crumbs. Peter sat back with a contented smile, before Sirius shoved him into a patch of lime juice. "And whose idea was it to turn the corridor into a cheese cake topped with whipped cream and limes?" he asked. Regulus sheepishly raised a hand. Sirius looked scandalized. "And you asked these clowns to help you?" Regulus nodded. "Without me?" Sirius asked, sounding hurt. The Marauders and Regulus grinned.

"Want to help finish it?" they asked as one. With a grin, Sirius whipped out his wand, gave it a theatrical flourish, and assembled the splattered ingredients. "Show off," muttered Regulus, stuffing his hands in his pockets and heading to the kitchens for come lime topped cheese cake that hadn't had Marauders tossed into it. Chuckling faintly to himself, Sirius followed, along with the others. In the morning, James got chewed out by Lily at the breakfast table, and then she went around the rest of those involved in the Cheese Cake Corridor prank. By the time she was done, the Heads didn't need to do much but give them a look and they cowered. Lily Evans was a Queen when it came to reaming out troublemakers.

"She'll make an excellent mum," Sirius muttered during the detention. James jerked a little, then continued to work. Peter chuckled.

"Not to mention wife," he said with a vaguely wicked grin.

"Stop. Please," James moaned. Remus laughed softly.

"She's already got him halfway trained," the werewolf said, all too cheerful.

"Oh come on! Would you stop that?" The other four looked at each other with matching grins.

"Nope!" they chorused.

"Really James, did you think we wouldn't tease you at least a little?" Regulus asked.

"I thought you, at least, wouldn't be much of a problem," James muttered darkly, scrubbing a bit more vigorously. They others all laughed while Regulus shook his head.

"Nah. I live in a home where the woman has the man whipped. Father might be an Auror, but when he comes home, he's an elf," he said, a bit sadly. Sirius shook his head.

"He wasn't always, Regulus. I remember over hearing that I had the same sense of humor as father, right after I came home from St. Mungos. I think it was... once I started being... not what they wanted. Reliably anyway. Once it was clear that I didn't follow their mold and never would. Only my being in Slytherin is keeping my home life bearable," he said. The rest of the detention passed silently. As far as large scale pranks went, the cheese cake corridor was rather tame and no-one was too upset, so the Marauders, and Regulus, only had the one day of scrubbing the bathrooms by hand. Most of the students actually laughed when they saw the giant cake then asked the house elves if they could have a piece. Knowing the Marauders, and having orders from Sirius and Regulus, the house elves cut a piece from the corridor and used their unique brand of magic to cleanse it of any harmful germs. The cake was gone by the end of the day and spirits were high. However, it wasn't to last. The next morning, droves of black letters arrived and Sirius' eyes grew dark as he surveyed the devastated student population.

"Something must be done," Sirius growled. Severus, who was sitting beside him, gave the Black Heir a curious look.

"What do you propose?" he asked. Sirius then settled down into his thinking pose, and stayed that way for most of the day. His friends and Regulus were between confused and concerned. Whenever Sirius had been that deep in thought before, it hadn't always meant good things.

/*/

"A fund for those left behind," Sirius suddenly said during that night's Meet. The Marauders, and Lily, Severus, Marlene, and Regulus, gave him confused looks. "I want to set up a fund for those left behind. Perhaps a refugee camp. Something. James, gather the rich kids in Gryffindor, Peter from Hufflepuff, Remus from Ravenclaw. It's time we banded together to help someone other than ourselves with our old money. Who knows, it might bring in new money some day," he expounded. Lily, who was beginning to become less and less surprised to find herself at these gatherings, was a bit surprised by the hard look in James' eyes.

"You're absolutely right Sirius. Something must be done and until we can fight back ourselves, we need to do what we can for our classmates. There was a time when I only thought of myself, but I now see I can no longer live that way. I have access to a rather large trust fund, and I'm more than willing to use it to help others. Merlin knows they need it more than I do," he said and again, Lily was vaguely amazed by the messy haired youth. She had always thought he was a troublesome little boy who abused his money and rubbed it in other people's faces and here he was willingly spreading it out to help those less fortunate, orphans and the like. Maybe he could be a good man. Sirius beamed at him.

"Not exactly what I had in mind, but I like it! I also have a fair sized vault at my disposal, the majority of which I will also donate to the fund," he said proudly. Peter nodded.

"My trust vault isn't as vast as either Sirius' or James', but what I can, I'll give. I don't want to be... Wormtail," he said, spitting out the name like it was poison. Sirius nodded, pride rolling off of him.

"I'm sorry, I have no money to pledge," Remus said, looking upset. Sirius shook his head.

"Next Meet, bring the children of rich or influential families. That will be enough for me, Moony."

"No, it's not. I pledge my wand to your cause, Sirius. If you need help in a fight, I'll be there," Remus said, a fire lighting in his own eyes. The others also drew their wands, pledging them to the fight. Sirius was nearly crying.

"The Dark Hypocrite won't know what hit him," he said thickly, though he worried slightly over Marlene. Her family had been one of the first to go, due to her connection to the Order. He hoped it wouldn't happen with whatever he chose to call his growing group of fighters.

"Yeah, but until I can fulfill that pledge, I give what I can from my own trust vault," Regulus said, laying a hand on his brother's shoulder. Sirius smiled at his brother, to overcome with emotion to say a thing. All but the four male Marauders left. Sirius gave his first friends a slightly watery smile before turning to leave.

"Reason thirteen," James said, stopping Sirius in his tracks.

"We need you as much as you need us," Peter finished with a faint smile. Sirius laugh mirthlessly, a wry smile on his lips.

"Thanks guys, I mean it," he said, before leaving. Remus, James, and Peter gave each other a three way high-five.

"Mission accomplished," Remus said, officially ending ' Operation Tell Sirius why he Made the Marauders.' They separated soon after that, all of them mulling over what they had done, and who they would ask to the next Meet. When the time came, Zabini, Greengrass, Bones, Jones(Hestia), Longbottom, Abbot, Macmillan, and Shacklebolt were represented, as well as all four Houses. Sirius repeated his pitch, and all present pledged money and a few their wands. Frank Longbottom, Kingsley Shacklebolt, and Edgar Bones pledged to follow Sirius that night as well. The next morning, before anyone else in his dorm woke, Sirius wrote to Gringotts asking if a private meeting could be arranged. He received a far too neutral note in reply. Growling faintly in aggravation, Sirius nonetheless acquiesced to waiting for summer break before going to Gringotts and setting up the fund. He didn't foresee there being any problems with his plan. Goblins were brilliant allies, and devastating enemies. Having watched Harry's life and felt an echo of his feelings, Sirius knew how to make a friend in the Nation and knew that the Nation could make things work in their favor when it came to money. Now all he needed was to make it through the rest of the year. It was easier than he thought it would be. Things went well, pranks being pulled every couple of days by one or more of the group, which surprisingly found itself to have grown to include Lily Evans and Severus Snape on a near constant basis as well as Regulus. Now that Regulus was helping his brother, Peeves consented to help him find his way, encouraging the boy to follow his brother's lead all the while. Third year for Sirius Black ended alright, but there were far too many causalities for anyone's peace of mind. Finally, after more letters, more frustration, more pranks, and mountains of homework, the students went home for the summer. That was when Sirius really began to put his plan into action.

/*/

"Sirius Orion Black here to speak with Sharpsword about an urgent matter that will effect both the Nation and the Wizarding World," Sirius said to the Goblin tiller the second day of summer break.

"Your parents?" the Goblin asked. Sirius sighed.

"Believe me, Master Brightshard, you'd rather deal with me than my banshee of a mother. She could make a dragon look docile," he said glumly. The Goblin sat up a bit at this. Not many wizards would talk like that to a Goblin.

"Is that so?" he found himself asking. Sirius chuckled mirthlessly.

"Yes. I've only stayed in that house as long as I have because I hold out hope for my father. That and my dearest little brother still loves my parents. I can't leave him, not Regulus. But I didn't come to gossip about my family, amusing as it would be. I have quite a bit of money I want to spread around for a just cause and I know the Nation will be able to help me," he said, trying to get back on topic. Brightshard found himself wanting the young wizard in front of him to succeed. He knew the youth was likely a Slytherin, the ambition burning in his eyes was evidence enough, but he had the heart of a lion and a hard edge that the Goblin could respect.

"I will inquire if Sharpsword is ready for you," he said. Sirius grinned a rather Goblin like grin and bowed his head slightly.

"My gratitude," he said lightly. As it happened, Sharpsword agreed to see him rather quickly. Sirius entered the office, then gave a warrior's salute to the Goblin behind the desk. "Good day to you, Master Sharpsword. Thank you for agreeing to see me. I have a proposition that would greatly benefit not only my little corner of the world, but the Nation as well."

"What do you have in mind?" asked the Goblin, intrigued despite himself. The warrior salute hadn't hurt either.

"I want to set up a fund for displaced non-purebloods. The rich students of Hogwarts have been interceding for their friends with their parents, but it's not enough. They need help, Master Sharpsword, help that can be accomplished with what I and several others have planned, but we need your help," Sirius answered, slight desperation seeping into his words. Sharpsword was well and truly intrigued now.

"First, I need to know how this will help the Nation," he said. Sirius' Goblin like grin reappeared.

"I have a very long memory, Master Sharpsword, as well as a large fortune I will inherit when I either come of age or become an orphan, plus I aim to be the one to lead the Wizarding world out of this war. Oh, I don't want the spotlight, but I will have influence by the time this war is over. Influence I will use to make things better for the Nation. Not to mention that I couldn't possibly manage my large fortune, and all the investments tied to that fortune, all by my lonesome. I'd need a banker, someone I trust unwaveringly, to manage it all for me. Help me make my world a better place with your talents, and I in turn will help you make your world a better place with my resources and what useful talents I have. Does that not sound appealing, Master Sharpsword?" he said sweetly, his grin never falling. Sharpsword matched it.

"You would make a good Goblin, Mister Black," he said. Sirius chuckled darkly, his eyes growing shadowed and pained. Suddenly, Sharpsword felt as if he were looking at a seasoned soldier, stained with blood and tears. A shiver went down his back as he saw the After-Image for a moment before Sirius came back to the present.

"Nah, I don't know the first thing about banking, just pranking and taking the other guy down. Hard. Now, would you like to hear how I intend to set up the Muggle-Born Protection Fund without my parents knowing about it?" Sharpsword nodded, feeling that Sirius Orion Black was a Wizard he could back. "The Heirs to the Potter, Pettigrew, Zabini, Greengrass, Bones, Jones, Longbottom, Abbot, Macmillan, and Shacklebolt families have pledged up to eighty percent of their personal trust vaults to the cause. I'd like to use that to make the Fund. But there are two more trust vaults that have been pledged, mine and my brother's. These I want used differently. I want you to use them to set up way stations for fleeing muggle-borns and a few good sized homes for those who have no-where to go. I'd like at least half of those to be outside Britain, as far from Voldy as we can get them but not have a language barrier. America, perhaps. And in the muggle world would be good too. Young children with a grandmother of something similar, a single guardian that is out of school, should be overseas but school aged refugees should have a home in the muggle world, with Hogwarts available for schooling. Can it be done?" he said. Sharpsword was amazed. Some of the families listed were not only rich, they were more than a little dark. Then he shook himself. He was certain now. Sirius Orion Black wasn't your average thirteen-year-old.

"How old are you really?" he asked suddenly, surprising even himself. Sirius' mouth quirked into a sardonic half-smile-half-grimace.

"Let's see now... I was... thirty something when I fell through the Veil... Harry was at least a hundred and seven by the time he died for good... I'm thirteen now... so that's... over a hundred and... fifty? Yeah, let's say a hundred and fifty. I watched and experienced his early life during the night," Sirius said. When he saw the look on the Goblin's face, he couldn't help laughing. "Yeah, it's a long story. Maybe, after this blasted war, I'll tell you some of it. Might make things a bit clearer. But for now," he stood and picked up his outer robe which he had taken off shortly after entering the office, "I need to be getting a broomstick before I return home. I told my parents I was going shopping. Good thing I ordered a broomstick a week ago and told them to hold it, I won't have time to browse. Have a pleasant day, Master Sharpsword, and may you turn a profit from your future dealings," he finished before breezing out of the office. Sharpsword found he didn't even care that the youth hadn't gotten the wording right nor waited to be excused. He had far too much to think about for that.

/?/

A/N: well? More reactions in the later chapter, since I couldn't find a way to fit them in here, and yet more plotting! I do love a good plot. Let me know what you thought in that nice gray box down below would you? Thanks.

Proverbs 5:1

"My son, pay attention to my wisdom, turn your ear to my words of insight,"