Author's Note: I had a lot of fun writing the last chapter, and it seems that you guys had just as much fun reading it! I got more reviews on the last chapter than on any other, and they made me so very happy. It's so gratifying to know that this isn't one of those stories you read just to get to the good parts (those will come, be patient), and that you're truly enjoying it.

rlassie: Glad you liked Max. I know I said to picture the Cirque du Soliel guys, but it's possible that he's related to a Hemsworth. Lol

Danneyland: I would never insult you, my dear :) Thanks for reading, and don't worry, Max will play 'big brother' at some point.

Tamaa: Thanks for the lovely review! You're right, it's pretty obvious that Jeannie and Sirius will get together, but like they say, 'it's not about the destination, it's about the journey'. I like Jeannie, too, and I have a lot of fun writing her.

James: A pleasure, as always.

Thanks, Worthfull1

P.S. I own nothing, anything recognizable belongs to the lovely Ms. Rowling.

Chapter 11: Headed Back To Hogwarts

Sirius had been all for letting Molly throw a party, as he was sad about Harry going back to school. While he knew, better than anyone, how good it felt to go back to Hogwarts, there was a part of him that was almost disappointed that Harry hadn't been expelled, because then the teenager could have stayed at Grimmauld with him. It was selfish, he knew, but he'd had precious little to be selfish about over the last 15 years or so, and he was tempted to allow himself this one weakness. Well, perhaps two weaknesses, he thought, as he watched Jeannie walk in.

The young woman was quickly getting under his skin, and this evening she arrived looking like something straight out of one of his fantasies. Wearing the tight black jeans she'd worn the first time he'd seen her, this time with high heeled black boots, a white button-down shirt and a black leather jacket, she could easily have just climbed off the back of his old motorbike. She hadn't put her hair up either, letting it fall down her back like a waterfall instead. Her dark eyes peeked out from under her fringe and looked around the room.

"You know," Sirius said, getting her attention. "I had this dream." He gestured to her attire and smirked suggestively.

"Good dream, I hope," she said, playing along.

"Very, very good." He watched as she came to sit by him. "Where's Max?"

"Coming later. Is Molly okay?" she asked. "She seemed a little flustered."

Sirius' face darkened. "Ran into a boggart earlier. Remus had to take care of it for her because she couldn't stay in the room."

Jeannie nodded grimly. "I imagine it turned into the kids?"

"And Arthur and you and me and basically everyone in this house - with the possible exception of Mundungus."

Jeannie made a face. She didn't much like 'Dung and made a point of ignoring him as much as possible. Why the Order insisted on using him, she would never know - if they had needed an ear to the ground, who better to go to than circus folk? She could've given them half a dozen spies who, unlike 'Dung, could be trusted to not run off with the silverware. Deciding to change the subject, Jeannie looked around the room to make sure that everyone was occupied and paying no attention to her and Sirius.

"Shall I tell you what business you'll be funding?" she asked quietly.

Sirius leaned forward so they wouldn't be overheard. "I'm all ears," he said.

"Weasley's Wizard Wheezes. Ever heard of it?"

"No," Sirius shook his head.

"The twins are inventors. It's not just about pranking anymore, they've actually invented stuff. Molly wants them to follow in Arthur's footsteps when they leave school, but they've decided they want to open a joke shop. The reason you've never heard of it is because Molly found out about their plan last summer, threw out all their stuff and banned them from even talking about it," she explained.

"So that's what you were really doing upstairs with them last week?" Sirius asked. "And the reason for the occasional explosions from their room?"

Jeannie nodded. "I didn't know about it, I just noticed that they were acting funny during supper, so I went upstairs to ask if they were all right and they let me in on it. With the promise that I wouldn't go to their mother, of course. Showed me some things, too. Said they'd been trying to put together a business proposal for you but hadn't been able to get around Molly yet."

"A business proposal for me?"

"Yeah, they said you and Remus and James Potter were big-time pranksters in school and since you've got lots of money, they thought they could find a way to partner with you. Harry gave them his winnings from last year, but that will only take them so far. They need a real backer. What do you say?"

Sirius sat back in his chair, clearly mulling this over. He knew the twins were 'honorary Marauders' from what Remus had told him, and he'd even caught them with those Extendable Ears trying to overhear Order stuff, but he didn't realize it went any further than that.

"I want to see their stuff," he said, finally.

"I'm sure that can be arranged," Jeannie said, smiling.

And so it was. After Molly sent the kids to bed, Jeannie took Max home because magical transportation was so much quicker. Instead of going home, however, she'd apparated right back to Grimmauld. Directly into the twins bedroom, to be exact, as they had agreed to earlier in order to circumvent Molly. Within minutes of getting things set up for Sirius, a quiet scratching was heard at the door. Fred opened the door, and an enormous shaggy black mutt trotted in. Jeannie was momentarily puzzled; she'd forgotten that Sirius was an animagus, having never seen him in animal form, and something about this dog looked familiar.

Transforming, Sirius looked at Jeannie who'd forgotten completely about whatever Weasley product was in her hand at the moment and was staring at him strangely. "I didn't mean to startle you, Jeannie. It's just that sometimes I'm quieter as a dog."

Jeannie cocked her head to the side. "Transform again. Please," she added.

Sirius raised an eyebrow, but did as she asked and in seconds the dog returned.

"You look so familiar," she said, her frown deepening. "I just can't think of where I've seen you."

"Been sneaking out against Moody's orders, Sirius?" one of the twins joked as Jeannie shook her head and the dog became a man once more.

"I wish," Sirius said somewhat bitterly. "I didn't frighten you, did I?" he asked Jeannie.

"Nah, I just know I've seen you before somewhere, but I can't place it," she explained. "It's going to irritate me until I figure it out."

Then the boys got down to business, showing Sirius the products they'd shown Jeannie plus others she hadn't had time to see. Sirius was very impressed and told the boys to put some numbers together when they had a chance and they could talk more about it over Christmas. They all knew that the Ministry was beginning to intercept owls and some floo networks were being monitored, so the possibility of a face-to-face meeting before the holidays was very slim.

"Ideally, we'd like to open a Hogsmeade branch as well. For the students, you know," said George, putting things away while Fred made notes.

"Hogsmeade!" Jeannie exclaimed, the lights going off in her head. She pointed to Sirius. "That's where I saw you! Two years ago I was headed to Hogwarts to play a concert there. I'd had lunch with Tonks and on my way to the Front Gates some mangy black mutt starting following me. You looked so skinny and pitiful that I gave you my leftovers."

"Hmm, I don't remember that," Sirius said, thinking. "But I was in Hogsmeade two years ago and I was relying on scraps from sympathetic people, so it's entirely possible." He shook his head to clear it. "Alright, fellows, I think that's enough for tonight. We all have to be up early in the morning. Care for a night-cap?" he asked Jeannie.

"No, I'm tired. Rain-check?"

Sirius winked and nodded. "I'll be here."

The next morning Jeannie floo'd into Grimmauld's kitchen at the peak of the 'we're-going-to-be-late-for-the-train' insanity. Clothes were flying, cauldrons were knocked over and trunks crashed into each other as they were filled with everything that had been forgotten, despite everyone having sworn up and down the night before that they'd done their packing already. Molly was looking more frazzled than ever as she promised Sirius that she'd finish cleaning up from breakfast as soon as she got back.

"It's fine, Molly," Sirius said, looking over at Jeannie and rolling his eyes. "Don't worry about it."

"Oh, I know," she said distractedly. "I just hate leaving a mess."

"Tell you what, Mom," Jeannie interjected as she picked her way through the rubble to sit at the table next to Sirius. "You focus on getting the kids to the train and I'll take care of the dishes. Deal?"

"Oh, you are a dear. Thank you. We shouldn't be long and I'll help as soon as I get back. Fred! George!" Molly shouted as the boys' trunks came flying down the stairs.

"Are they letting you see Harry off?" Jeannie asked Sirius.

"No, but I'm going anyway," he said, looking at her defiantly as if daring her to tell him not to.

"Okay, just be extra careful, yeah?" she answered. Jeannie was pretty good at picking her fights and, even though she didn't know Sirius very well, she could tell today was weighing on him. She suspected that the distraction the kids provided was the only thing keeping him from going completely stir-crazy in his mother's house.

Sirius raised an eyebrow. "Aren't you going?" he asked.

"Nope. I've been deemed 'too recognizable' and Dumbledore doesn't want me seen in the company of the Order. He seems to think if Harry Potter and I show up in the same place at the same time, it may cause trouble for us."

"Alright, everyone," Molly called. "Say your good-byes. We're off."

Jeannie stood up and hugged all the kids, ignoring how Ron and Harry blushed. "Have a good term. See you soon," she said, sharing a meaningful look with the twins.

"Sirius, Dumbledore said no!" shouted Molly as Sirius, in dog form, clawed at the door and whined, clearly desperate for some fresh air.

"Be careful," Jeannie said quietly as Tonks passed her. The pink-haired witch smiled and they gave each other a kiss on the cheek before Tonks headed out the door, tripping over her own feet as she did so. "Dumb-ass!" Jeannie called, to which Tonks responded with her middle finger, not even bothering to turn around. Chuckling, Jeannie eyed the dishes from breakfast. Flicking her wand several times, she set the dishes to work cleaning themselves, then helped herself to some of the leftover bacon and a glass of orange juice.

As expected, Molly was furious when she, Remus and Sirius made it back to the house. The rest of the Order had dispersed after the train left, heading in different directions for work and errands leaving only the three of them going back to headquarters. From what Jeannie could gather from their yelling match, Sirius had stayed in dog form the whole time, but one of the boys in Harry's year seemed to recognize him. Possibly the son of a Death Eater, she thought, watching Remus sink tiredly into the chair next to hers and run a hand over his face. It was clear that the last place he wanted to be at the moment was in between Sirius and Molly.

"It didn't go well, then?" she asked him.

Remus shrugged wearily. "I wish I knew of somewhere safe to take Sirius," he said. "Every once in a while - when it gets too much. Just a place that's not here."

"Well," Jeannie said. "I've been thinking about that. See, when I finished this last tour, I came straight back to England. I had been renting a flat, but I decided that I really needed somewhere that was mine, to do with as I pleased. I found this building that had been a small auto-repair shop in Muggle London with living quarters above the shop. I bought it and put up a bunch of Muggle-repelling wards around it, like St. Mungo's has. To anyone walking down the street, it just looks like a shop that's closed down. The thing is, I haven't really had time to make the changes I want to make and unpack all my stuff because I only moved in a couple of months ago. So I was thinking, if we put up enough protections on the place, maybe Sirius could come over and help me with it. Do you think he'd go for that?"

Remus sat back and pursed his lips, thinking it over. "I think Sirius would go for anything right about now," he said, as they heard the yelling stop and a door slam from somewhere upstairs.

"Why don't you come over and check the place out? Help me with the wards? I doubt you'll be missed for a while," Jeannie said. Remus nodded and they left a note for Molly, then floo'd over to Jeannie's place.

Stepping out of the fireplace, Remus took a look around. Boxes and furniture and strange-looking equipment filled the area that had been the repair shop. Some of the furniture was still wrapped in plastic, telling him that Jeannie had bought it recently, but hadn't had a chance to set it all up yet.

"What is all this?" he asked, gesturing to a piece of equipment.

"That's all my gym stuff," she said. "For training, you know?"

Judging by the look on Remus' face, he didn't know.

"It's work-out equipment to help a person stay in shape. I was an acrobat, remember? When you're an athlete of any kind, you have to work out to maintain a certain physicality. All that equipment over there is designed for that."

"Oh," said Remus blankly. Having never been to a 'gym' or had any desire to 'work-out', he was going to have to take her word on that.

"Come on, I'll show you the upstairs," she said, walking over to a spiral staircase.

She and Remus spent the next hour going over what wards needed to be on the building and setting them up. Remus figured that this was about as good as it was going to get in terms of a secondary safe house for Sirius seeing as nobody knew that Jeannie was in the Order and only Max and Tonks knew where this building was. As long as Sirius wasn't seen coming in or out, it should be fine. Once he was satisfied with the protections, Remus suggested that now would be a good time to bring Sirius over. The man had not had a good morning, and Remus didn't want him spending too much time brooding like he'd done before the kids had arrived for the summer.

Molly was in the kitchen having a cup of tea when Jeannie and Remus stepped out of the floo. "Thank you so much, dear, for doing the washing up this morning," she said, upon seeing Jeannie.

"Oh, no problem Molly," Jeannie answered. "Where's Sirius?"

The older woman rolled her eyes. "Still upstairs, I think. I haven't seen him since our argument. I suppose I was a bit harsh with him, but I just want him to be safe."

"I know, Molly," Remus said, "but since when have you known Sirius to do what's best for himself?"

"Reckless man," she said exasperatedly.

"Which room is his?" Jeannie asked Remus.

"The one directly across from the twins'. Do you want me to get him? He may be in a mood," Remus warned.

"Nah, I got this," she said, giving him a grin and heading upstairs. Finding the twins' room, she turned and knocked on the door on the other side of the hall.

"What?" came a clearly still pissed-off voice.

"Can I come in?" she called through the door. After a moment, she heard the latch click and saw the doorknob turn. Pushing the door open, she stepped inside. The room looked like the other bedrooms in the house with the notable exception of red and gold hangings around the bed instead of green and silver. A large four-poster bed sat opposite a fireplace and the walls were covered in pictures of Muggle girls on motorbikes in various states of undress. The sole occupant of the room lay sprawled on the bed with his hands tucked behind his head and a sour look on his face.

"Nice," she commented with a grin, looking at the half-naked girls.

"Not that I don't enjoy having you around," he said, ignoring her observation, "but I'm in a bit of a mood right now and I really don't want to take it out on you."

"Ah, yes - well, on that point - how would you like to get out for a bit?" she asked, watching his face darken.

"I'm not allowed to 'get out for a bit', in case you weren't listening earlier. It's not safe," he said through gritted teeth.

"Right," Jeannie said absently. "Are those rat bones?" she asked, spotting small carcases on the floor near the window.

"Probably. I used to have a hippogriff here."

"You had a what? In here?" she asked incredulously.

"A hippogriff. Long story, but he went to live with Hagrid when the kids came."

"Um - okay." Jeannie shook herself and turned her attention back to Sirius. "Now - about getting out," she said, and his eyes narrowed. "Technically, it wouldn't be 'out' because you'd still be 'in', but you wouldn't be in here. Does that make sense?"

"No," he said shortly.

Jeannie moved towards him, leaned against the post at the end of the bed and smiled gently at him. "Remus and I went over to my place today and put up a bunch of protective wards so you could come over. I just moved in and have a lot of stuff I need to get done and I was thinking that, if you wanted to, you could come to my place for a while and help me out. Or just come over and talk to me while I work. Max and Tonks are the only other people who know where I live and nobody knows that I have connections to you, so there would be no reason anyone would be looking for you. Would you like to come over?"

Sirius blinked a few times, then rolled himself into a sitting position. "Let me see if I've got this right. You're offering to let me come over to your place so I can get out of here for a while?"

"Yes."

"And Remus knows about this?"

"Yes."

"And Remus is okay with this?"

"Yes."

"Does Dumbledore know?"

"No," she said. "Well, he knows where I live, but he doesn't know about you going over there. I'll tell him, of course, but since Remus couldn't find a problem with it, I don't see the need to wait around for Dumbledore. Do you?"

"No. Lead the way," he said, already on his feet and headed for the door. Jeannie grinned. This was going to be good for him.

Author's Note: Just a word about spacing issues in the first several chapters - it turns out that my computer was doing this automatically and it took a while for me to fix it. I have gone back and updated those chapters affected and have fixed the problem for future posts (as far as I can tell). I tried very hard to catch all the mistakes, but if I missed some, too bad because it was a massive pain in the ass to do and I'm not going over them again :) Thanks to the people who let me know about it and I apologize for the annoyance. Hopefully, it didn't turn too many of you off. Also, I have another chapter in the works, but with it being the holidays and all, I may not be able to post for a few days. Happy Thanksgiving!

Thanks, Worthfull1