With the Love of Parents

Chapter 11: Losing Him

Sirius and the kids kissed and waved Jenna and Maria goodbye before they Apparated away to work. The quintet waited a few minutes before scrambling into their shoes and jackets and racing out into the chilly fall air and clambering into the mini-van.

Almost an hour later, the van pulled into the parking lot of a large mall. Chattering excitedly, they tumbled out of the van together to search for a birthday gift for Jenna.

It was hours later when the Blacks, laden down with dozens of shopping bags filled with gifts, ran into their worst nightmare.

They were in a Hallmark-esque store when it happened. Draco was closest to the door, inspecting the shelves of glass figurines, with Harry a few feet away looking at birthday cards. A couple of rows to the left, Hermione and Ryan were looking over the music-playing teddy bears while Sirius read the many engraved and painted plaques further down the aisle.

None were disguised because they were in the Muggle world, and, even in the wizarding world in Canada there was little chance that Sirius or Harry would be recognized (Canada knew the story of Voldemort and the Boy-Who-Lived, but, thanks to Harry, it had not affected Canadians as it had the English and their citizens did not recognize Harry and Sirius on sight like they would in England). It was then that he walked in.

He was a regular looking man-tall, with brown hair and green eyes, a few freckles and dressed in regular clothes. He wasn't regular, however, which he proved moments after entering the store.

"Harry," the man gasped as he stared wide-eyed at the 10-year old, loudly exclaiming, "Harry Potter!"

Harry tensed, cursing himself inwardly, but forced his eyes to open wide as he stared at the man, "Who, me? I'm sorry sir, but you've made a mistake. I don't know who you're talking about."

"No, no it's you," the man insisted excitedly, "You even have the scar!"

Sirius, hastily glamoured, rounded the aisle swiftly, repeating Harry, "Sir, you must be mistaken. This is my son Shawn Black."

Hermione and Ryan dashed after him, adding to Harry's act by staring up at the unknown man with wide, frightened eyes as they clung to their father's legs. Draco crossed quickly to his brother's side staring up at the man with the same frown of suspicion that Sirius' face held.

"No, this is Harry Potter! It must be! He's too much like the Boy-Who-Lived for this to be a coincidence."

"I assure you, sir, that this is my son Shawn. We've never even heard of this Harry Potter," Sirius said, with a touch of impatience in his voice as he pulled Harry closer a bit, trying not to panic and blow his cover of dad-protecting-kid-from-creepy-stranger and just hexing the man.

With an edge of impatience in his own voice, the man demanded, "Then how would you explain the scar?"

"Shawn and I were attacked by a stray dog when we were d. If you'll notice, I have the same scar, just in a different place," Draco pointed out the matching scar on his own cheek before smoothly adding, "It was caused by an abnormality in the dog's teeth."

The man still looked doubtful but, before he could say anymore, Sirius, with a tight smile, insister, "We're sorry about the mix-up, but we've really got to be going."

Quickly, the quintet rushed from the mall, jumping into the van and slamming the doors behind them. Sirius raced the car home, cutting their previous time in half. They squealed into the driveway, leaving their bags behind as they slammed into the house, fairly boarding themselves inside with their fright.

They didn't, despite their hurried watchfulness, catch the tracking charm that had been placed on their van.
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Jenna yawned tiredly as she opened the car door, laughing slightly as she saw her husband stumble out the other side. It had been several days since the incident at the mall and they'd all finally relaxed slightly. Laughing and yelling exhuberantly, unfazed by the long day spent with their grandmother, uncles, aunt and cousins, her four children tumbled out of the van, racing each other up to the door. They had to stop there, of course, because the door was locked and Jenna had the key. Maria was working the night shift so wasn't home.

Jenna had already inserted the key in the lock when Harry grabbed her wrist. In surprise, Jenna and Sirius looked down at their eldest.

"Something's wrong," he told them softly, "There's someone in the house."

Jenna and Sirius shared a look and, without a second thought, pulled their wands. Over the years, Harry's sense for danger and things out of place had never been wrong. Gently pushing her kids away from the doorway, Jena unlocked the door and ever so lightly pushed it open.

A red light flashed down the hallway at them, missing them only thanks to the shield Sirius had put up in preparation. Mere moments later, another curse followed, accompanied by a voice demanding that they lay down their wands.

Sirius looked to his wife, his face indecisive. Finally, he said, "Take them and go. I have to face them sometime and it might as well be now, on my turf."

"Not by yourself. I said I'd always stand by you, Siri, and we knew this day would come." Jenna ducked back behind the door, kneeling on one knee in front of the kids as she urgently said, "Kits, hurry and run to Gamma's. Tell Gamma what happened and stay there. Go, now!"

"We're not leaving you and Padfoot behind, Mama Red," Harry protested fiercely.

"Now, Harry. If for no other reason than keeping your siblings safe, you must go. Padfoot and I will be fine."

Throwing back fearful glances, the four children reluctantly sped off into the dark, down the few blocks to their grandmother's house. Without hesitation, Jenna swung back in beside Sirius.

"The kits are safely on their way," she told him, sending a stunner down the hallway as she asked, "Do you know who it is?"

"Dumbledore. Remus is here too, Kingsley Shacklebolt, an Auror I used to work with, and his cousin-"

"Drop your wands, Black!" a voice roared as multiple stunners were shot in quick succession down the hallway.

"What do you want with us?" Jenna yelled back as the duo looked for a way forward.

"Don't play games!" another voice yelled angrily, "You know what we want!"

"That's Remus," Sirius muttered to her before, simultaneously, they both sent balls of fire (courtesy of Hermione's discovery) down the hall, using the chaos to race into the living room and take cover.

Jenna nodded her acknowledgement to him, both smirking at the yells echoing in the hallway before moving silently and swiftly to the moveable partition they'd put in the wall for just this kind of situation. Quietly, they pulled the well-oiled partition open, slipping silently into the kitchen. A blonde woman and a brunette man stood side-by-side in the doorway, peering cautiously out into the hallway. With two soft stunners, and quick catches, the duo were knocked out and pulled farther into the room with no one else aware.

Jenna moved to the doorway, staying out of sight as she yelled out into the hallway, "I told you once before, Dumbledore, that you would never take away my child, and you won't take away my husband either!"

"How can you do this? Sentence innocent children to live with murdering scum?" Remus' harsh voice angrily demanded.

Jenna's eyes narrowed dangerously and she hissed, "My husband is not a murderer!"

Behind her, she could hear Sirius lifting the trap door installed in the bottom of the cupboard under the sink. It led to the basement. Jenna, ignoring the various insults being yelled at them still, she moved quickly back into the room.

Pressing a hard kiss to Sirius' lips she commanded, "Be careful."

She turned to go but Sirius grabbed her arm, pulling her back against him as he said softly, "Jenna, you don't have to do this. Go home, leave this to me."

"Sirius," Jenna frowned softly at her husband, but their was love in her eyes, "We've always known this day would come and so did the kits. I will not be a coward and leave my husband to these morons all alone."

"I love you Jenny," he said firmly, kissing her hard once more.

"I love you too, baby, never forget that." Tears in her eyes, Jenna turned and returned to her spot at the door.

With one last look at her husband's descending head, she swiftly vanished the door across the hall. Taking a deep breath and backing up a few paces for a running start, Jenna leapt across the hall and into the linen closet. Moving quickly, she used the shelves as steps to climb up to reach the ceiling, quietly uncovering the vent. Silently, she lifted herself up and into the ventilation system.

Moving carefully and silently forward, Jenna crawled through the metal vent system to the vent grate over the pantry. Standing at the doorway and taking turns to peer out of it were two rather large male Aurors, who, Jenna assumed from Sirius' many stories, were Kingsley Shacklebolt and his look-alike cousin. With two stunners in quick succession through the slats in the vent grate, she downed them both with, unfortunately, loud thumps/

Pulling the grate out with minimal noise, Jenna dropped down from the ceiling on silent feet. Quickly, she rounded the shelves of food that crowded the rather large pantry, sneaking forward to the doorway.

Where she came face-to-face with Dumbledore and, indubitably, Remus Lupin.

"Drop your wand," Remus demanded harshly, the knuckles of the hand gripping his wand white with tension.

"Not on your life," Jenna snarled back, showing her resemblance to Severus.

"Expelliarmus!" Dumbledore yelled suddenly, hoping to catch her off guard.

Jenna dropped quickly to avoid the dangerous light of the disarmer and at the same time swung a leg out and knocked Remus down, his wand flying from his hand. Immediately, Jenna did a quick back flip, landing on her toes and diving behind a shelf as a stunner hit the spot where she'd just been standing.
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Sirius climbed rapidly down the ladder, landing with a soft 'thunk' on the concrete floor. With his wand in hand and a curse ready on his lips, Sirius crept forward through the small storage room where the trap door led.

Gently, he turned the knob on the door, thankful he'd oiled the hinges earlier that day due to Hermione's complaints of squeaks. He slipped out of the room and into the playroom-cum-training room.

The floor was covered in plush black carpet that muffled Sirius' footsteps perfectly. The white walls of the room were splashed with dozens of different colours, the work of the pups when they were 8. Furniture of various colours, shapes, styles and sizes were placed randomly about the room, toys and textbooks scattered among them.

Quietly, Sirius slipped around the furniture and to the bottom of the basement stairs. At the top, standing in a silent defensive position in the middle of the open doorway was Minerva McGonagall.

"Sorry Professor," he murmured softly before he threw a paralyzer at her back.

As the elder woman teetered precariously on the top step, Sirius caught her with a levitation spell. Gently bringing her down the stairs, Sirius placed her upon one of the couches. The instant she caught sight of him, her eyes filled with disgust and hate.

Sirius shook his head slightly at the look, before kneeling beside the couch, gently picking up her stiff hand as he said softly, "It wasn't me, Professor McGee. You know how much I loved Lily and James- they were my family. You know that-you saw how much I loved them. Harry is my child Professor. I will never replace James, but Harry is like my very own and I would never hurt him-or my other children." Sirius sighed, squeezing her hand gently before he stood, saying, "I know you can't believe me, at least not yet, but it's true. Goodbye Professor McGee."

Quickly, Sirius jogged back to the stairs and ducked under them. Kneeling down, he pulled up a piece of carpet and spun the dial on the safe installed in the floor to hide all their weapons. Lifting up the safe door, Sirius pulled Jenna's service gun and her back up free of the safe.

Slipping the back up (which he'd been taught how to use) carefully into his belt, Sirius crept quiet as a mouse up the stairs. Reaching the top, he peered cautiously forward out the doorway and into the pantry across the hall, where he knew his wife awaited him.

He cursed inwardly when he saw who else was there.
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"Impressive," Dumbledore commented, helping Remus to his feet, "But you're outnumbered, girl. You should just give up now before we have to take you by force."

"I'm an Auror- I don't give up without a fight, Dumbledore," Jenna snarled back in answer, silently hoisting herself up onto the broad top of one of the pantry shelves.

"Canada must have lower standards for their Aurors," Remus sneered, edging forward, his face reflecting his anger.

Jenna, however, didn't respond as she'd just seen Sirius peek cautiously around the basement door across the hall. Holding out one hand, he showed Jenna her service gun and then dashed across the hall on silent feet, flattening himself against the wall beside the door.

The 2 wizards, hands gripping their wands tightly, popped around the shelf they'd seen Jenna disappear 'round…only to find nothing. Dumbledore looked up for her, but Jenna had flattened herself on her stomach, hanging half off the shelf, using one hand and one leg as grips as she accepted the gun from her husband. Remus and Dumbledore checked the four other shelves and then came back to the entrance sharing a bewildered look.

"I'll admit that you're good at evading authorities," Dumbledore remarked dryly.

It was then that Jenna came around the pantry shelf they'd only just checked, her wand trained and her gun cocked at the duo, answering Dumbledore's comment with, "It's what I do."

"That was foolish," Remus snarled, his wolf howling for release as he advanced dangerously on Jenna, "You're outnumbered."

"Not quite, old friend," Sirius said softly as he stepped into the doorway, his wand in one hand and Jenna's back up in the other.

"I am not your friend, Black," Remus snapped, having whipped around to face Sirius. With a snarl on his lips, he yelled, "You killed them! They loved you and treated you like family and you just betrayed them! You handed them over to Voldemort!"

"Moony, I didn't!" Sirius gazed earnestly into the old, familiar face, now filled with hate, "I could never have hurt Lily and James, you know that!"

"Don't call me that, traitor!" Remus growled, eyes flashing with anger as he advanced on his ex-friend, "Only Marauders are allowed to use those names and you gave up that right, murderer!"

"Remus, it wasn't me. It wasn't!" His eyes, his soul, begged Remus, begged Moony, to believe him, to be Marauders again. Yet, despite this, neither his gun nor his wand wavered- his pups and Jenna would never be in danger because he failed to protect them.

"You were their Secret Keeper!"

"How do you know that for sure?" Jenna asked, her quiet voice cutting into the argument like a gunshot in a library, "Were you ever actually told that Sirius was their Secret Keeper? Or did you just assume that it was Sirius?"

"James trusted Sirius above anyone and everyone. The world knew that," Remus easily dismissed her.

"Exactly!" Sirius exclaimed, shooting his wife a grateful look for her moral back-up, "Think about that, Remus! I was the most obvious choice for a Secret Keeper so everyone would come after me-don't you remember all the fights I got in when Lily and James were in hiding? Those fights weren't just for the hell of it, Moony-those fights were with Voldemort's men, who wanted my family- my brother, my sister, my nephew. Even I can't hold under the pressure of Veritaserum, Moony! So we chose someone else- someone who wouldn't be attacked and forced to reveal the Secret because no one would think he would ever be trusted with it."

"The one no one would expect," Remus sneered, "That's a nice story, Black, but the one no one would expect would have been Peter-but you killed me along with 13 innocent Muggles!"

"I did not, though I really wish I had! He tricked me Remus, like he tricked me and Lily and James. I have never killed anyone who isn't first hurt me and mine, or someone else." Sirius said softly but firmly, meeting Remus' eyes squarely as he continued, "James was my brother, Remus, as you were- and still are, no matter what you say. The Marauders had many secrets, Moony, and one of us used the biggest one against me. You were always the smart one, Moony, so use your head!"

Suddenly, Jenna's eyes went wide and she opened her mouth to cry out a warning to her husband-but she wasn't fast enough. The pointy tip of a wand pressed into the back of Sirius' neck.

"Drop your weapons Black," hissed a menacing female voice commandingly, "Or take your last breath."

Sirius hesitated-he'd never been one to roll over and give up- but Jenna, fear on her face, pleaded, "Do it, Siri, please!"

Seeing the terrified fear in his wife's eyes, and knowing this same fear could and would paralyze Jenna and distract her, Sirius obediently, if reluctantly, gently dropped his gun and wand to the floor. Immediately, the woman's foot came around Sirius' legs to hook them under her foot and drag the weapons around him. Wand never wavering, she kicked them out of reach down the hall towards the living room.

"Drop yours too, Miss, or he's done," the blonde threatened, he stony face revealing no drop of weakness or uncertainty as they all face off, Remus and Dumbledore lowering their wands slightly, confident in this woman's ability to capture them both.

"Don't you dare, Jenna!" Sirius commanded through anger clenched teeth, "Get out of her! Now!" Go to our pups-keep them safe!"

"But-I can't leave you!" Jenna protested, her eyes watery as her hands shook with fear and indecision and her eyes flicked rapidly from face to face.

"You need to take care of our pups, Jenny," Sirius insisted, his own heart breaking at her tears as his eyes welled. The pressure of the wand on his neck and the heavy breathing of the unknown woman were a constant, deadly reminder that he couldn't do anything for his wife.

"I can't! I can't live without you, Siri! I need you!" Jenna cried, her arms beginning to lower in resignation.

"No, Jenny, please! Sirius begged her, ignoring his captor's angry mutterings, "You can't let them have our children-they'll ruin all we've taught them!"

"Ruin them from becoming Dark Wizards, you mean!" Remus sneered, cutting harshly into their exchange.

"Shut up! My husband isn't a Dark Wizard!" Jenna shrieked, her anger and fear making her raise her wand threateningly at Remus, he repeating the action, with her eyes glowing fiercely in anger, "And neither are my children!"

Remus growled wolfishly as he turned to her, taking a threatening step forward. Instantly, Sirius lunged forward, knocking Remus to the ground and kicking his feet back to knock the blonde off her feet at the same time. As Remus and Sirius fell, they brought Dumbledore with them in a domino effect.

"Go Jenna!" Sirius yelled, panting from the exertion of trying to keep 3 wizards/witch from their wands, his love for his wife and children lending him strength, "Take care of our pups!"

Sobbing loudly, her knuckles white with strain, she said, "I love you Siri."

"I love you too, Jenny," Sirius said, voice hoarse with emotion, even as Remus began to pull free, "Go!"

Crying uncontrollably, Jenna blew her husband a watery kiss before disappearing with a Pop.
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"Mama!" the four kids cried as their mother appeared in Arlene's living room. They stopped, however, noticing the tears on their mother's face and the lack of appearance by their father.

"Mama Red…where's Padfoot?" Harry demanded. Fear clenched his heart tightly as her only answer was a sob and, in a strangled choke, he asked, "Mama?"

"They took him!" Jenna wailed uncontrollably as she crumpled weakly to her knees, "They took him!"

"No," Harry denied softly, tears in his eyes as he chook his head fiercely, "No!"

"I want my Padfoot," Hermione whimpered pitifully, her arms wrapping tightly around Ryan as they realized that they'd never see Sirius again.

"Mama," Draco whispered, one hand on his sisters, "Can't we get him back? We trained-"

"No, babies, we can't." Jenna sobbed, "WE could never go against them. Not before they gave him…Your father wouldn't-he wouldn't want us to get hurt for him."

Bawling themselves now, knowing it was possible that they would never see their father again, that he could be given the Kiss, the quartet crawled into their mother's arms and cried with her.
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Severus Snape entered his office to find the grave face of his ex-Headmaster and now employer, Albus Dumbledore, in his office fireplace. Immediately, he became apprehensive, but Dumbledore spoke before Severus could.

"I need to see you in my office, Severus. Now." The elder man said curtly before disappearing instantly from sight.

Severus frowned, a sense of foreboding settling over him even as he began the trek to Albus' office. He attempted to shake it off but Dumbledore's expression was too much like it had been in the First War whenever one of the Order had died…Severus quickened his pace.

"Milk Duds," He said to the gargoyle, before racing hastily up the revolving staircase.

He stopped at the top of the stairs, breathing deeply and smoothing himself over before he walked calmly into Dumbledore's office. At a swift clip, he headed through to the back room where the Order meetings were always held. The Order had been restarted after it's brief retirement because of Harry's disappearance and, later, Sirius escape-and with it the Death Eater appearances by those Death Eaters and wannabes who thought Harry was dead. Also, Dumbledore, and Severus himself along with the Black clan, still held the belief that Voldemort wasn't truly dead.

There was already a small group of people at the table as Severus enter, his face a cold, blank mask. Albus sat as always at the head of the table, his blue eyed completely devoid of their normal twinkle. To his left sat Minerva, Kingsley Shacklebolt and his cousin Christopher and another, small, blonde-haired Auror named Sylvia Dunn. To Dumbledore's right sat a murderous looking Remus Lupin, an angry young metamorphagus named Nymphadora Tonks (who Severus was now vaguely related to by marriage), several angry looking Weasleys, Rebeus Hagrid, looking ready to stomp someone into the ground, another Auror named Phillip Adamson and finally…Sirius.

It took all of Severus' will power not to let his mask fall at the sight of his brother-in-law. Sirius was covered in dozens of scrapes and bruises, and, Severus belatedly noticed, so were the others. Sirius' clothes were ripped in several places, his lip was split and his face wore a very pissed off expression. Sirius was restrained in the chair by some magical ropes that looked, to Severus' eyes, like the Headmaster's own work. On the table was the wallet that Severus himself had bought the other man one Christmas, flipped open to reveal the dozens of pictures of the kids and Jenna that Sirius always carried with him. They'd always known that this day would come and Severus knew what he had to do.

"Black," Sirius sneered, his heart filled with a pain he refused to let show, "I see you've finally come out of the hole you came from."

"Bite me, Snivellus," Sirius snarled in return, even as he shot remorse and love through a weak connection between their minds.

Severus' lips lifted into an answering snarl before Dumbledore interrupted. Adamson silenced Sirius with a wave of his wand as Severus sat, listening silently as Dumbledore explained the tale of what had happened to Severus' sister and her family to Severus and the other Order members who hadn't been part of the raid.

Finally, 15 minutes later, the story done, the old man said, "Severus, I'll need a vial of your Veritaserum-we need to find the location of those children before that woman does them more damage."

Severus nodded, mumbling a quick "I'll return shortly" over Sirius angry mutterings about the comments of his wife, before disappearing from the room, traveling the corridors quickly. Once he reached his storeroom, he took a few quick moments to discretely modify a small vial of truth serum before returning to the Headmaster's office, handing the vial over to said man without a word.

Sirius' ropes were tightened with a flick of the wand as Dumbledore approached him, the vial open. Sirius mouth clamped shut and anger filled his eyes even though he knew, despite his fears, that Severus, too, would do anything to protect their little family. It took several people to force Sirius' mouth open to deposit the three drops.

"Where is Harry Potter?" Dumbledore demanded instantly.

There was a small pause, with everyone on the edge of their seats, then…"Bite me, old man!"

Dumbledore continued to try and force the answers from Sirius. But nothing happened-it wouldn't work.

While the Order yelled and groaned about the Dark Arts, Sirius shot Severus a flash of thanks through their ever weakening bond, but didn't look at him for fear of revealing them both. Even later, when he was hidden away deep in Hogwarts (so they could continue to try and force information from him before they handed him over to the Ministry to give him the Kiss) with his location known only to Minerva and Dumbledore, Sirius would know his family was safe.
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Harry sat quietly on the grass in his grandmother's backyard, idly stroking the ears of one of Arlene's many dogs, his snake curled comfortably around his neck with her head on his collarbone. His sisters and brother were curled together on their Uncle Bart's old bed, tangled up with each other, Stu and Cooper. His aunt Maria had been fire called so she wouldn't go home and be ambushed, and his Uncle Severus had arrived hours ago with the news that Sirius was hidden away at Hogwarts, safe from the Dementor's Kiss. Now, Severus, Maria, Arlene and Jenna were quietly sleeping in the living room, another rough tangle of limbs, his mother's tears still fresh on her face.

But Harry, though as exhausted as the others, couldn't sleep. This was the second time he'd lost Sirius and it felt much too hard to bear. So instead, he'd snuck outside, settling down with one of his Gamma's many dogs and stared up at Sirius, the dog star.

"Why's they have to take you away again, Padfoot?" Harry whispered in a soft, hoarse voice, "Why couldn't they just leave us alone? We were fine as we were."

Brushing away a lone tear, Harry murmured, "Why'd you have to go, Paddy? We need you so much."

His sisters and brother appeared suddenly at his side. Both Hermione and Ryan pressed themselves against his sides for comfort as he wrapped his arms around them. Draco sat on Ryan's other side, one hand on his younger sister's leg, the other clasping his brother's hand unselfconsciously.

"We'll get him back," Harry said with determination, Draco tapping out the words to Ryan on her leg, "We'll continue to train and then we'll go there to that damned place and we'll get our father back!"

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A/N Duck and cover! I'm sorry, I just had to do it! You'll understand why in the next few chapters-promise! And look, it didn't even take me that long to update this time- I'm really trying to get it all up here. Well, let me know what you think! Thanks for the thoughts and praise!

Love ya,

Red