Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or its characters. I want to give a shout out to my beta DragonGirl323! You are amazing my wonderful BETA! OH a word of celebration for me and Beta; we both are eagerly awaiting (sorry wrote this wrong in the pervious chapter) children in the spring, so we are certainly going to be busy with two kids each! Now this chapter begins, part two of the the story with Sirius' POV. Please read and review!

(DOT)

Chapter 13: Serenity Black

Once Serenity's hand had left my head, I brought my leg up to itch my neck, which made her laugh. We walked downstairs and, just before entering the kitchen, I changed back.

"Let's keep this between us, yes?" I requested.

"Sure, Dad!" She said with a smile before hugging me. I hugged her back and noticed that she was like her mother in many ways, something I was proud of.

Dad. It sounded odd, but it was something I had been waiting to hear for ten years.

Over dinner Harry and Ron conversed about Quidditch, Hermione and Ginny were discussing something about hair potions, and the twins were harassing my daughter about her treatment at Malfoy Manor.

"Mr. Malfoy is foul! I never call him Father or even by his first time. I only address Mum and Draco like that," she said, picking at the food on her plate.

"Hang on, you call Narcissa Mum?" I asked her, sliding my plate away from me, finally aware of whom she had been referring to.

"Yes, she has raised me after all. Draco is just like his father, but not as bad at times. I swear one day he's going to go down the same path, but hush! I never said that!" She urged, suddenly becoming paranoid, like Lucius or Draco were able to hear her.

"Oh, come on! Draco doesn't dare mess with us!" said Fred.

"Yeah, you're one of us now! We'll keep him under control!" said George.

"Thanks, but I can handle myself. I've been doing it all my life. I just keep my head down and never look Mr. Malfoy in the eye. He hates me because I'm in Gryffindor, not Slytherin. But Draco, he burned all my clothes last year because . . . I argued that he was being a . . . jerk to me because I'm in Gryffindor. I had to wear the same clothes for . . . a week before I was able . . . to convince Mum to get me . . . some new clothes!" Serenity sobbed, dabbing her eyes with a napkin.

Her words about her treatment while in Lucius and Narcissa's care made my blood boil in my veins. How she had ended up with them I hadn't a clue. She pulled her skirt up then, showing us a bruise on her upper thigh that had been caused by Draco's broom a week earlier.

"It hurt a lot, but I never complain since Draco is always abusing me for something," she said, her cheeks painted red as she lowered her skirt. A smug smile crawled across my face then as I realized that my family's manners had been stitched into her upbringing even though she had been raised in the Malfoy household.

After that, she quickly silenced herself since she wasn't used to talking so much during meal time. Throughout the rest of dinner, she kept to herself and avoided the rest of the twins questions.

I discovered later that her full name was Serenity Emily Black. Dumbledore told me that he and Narcissa had named her after Emily died. My next question was obvious.

"How were the Healers able to save Serenity? How did she live through that?" I asked, my voice almost breaking.

The Headmaster simply smiled at me and looked at Harry. "Love," he said, a slight twinkle in his eyes.

I frowned, confused by his cryptic answer, and glanced towards Harry, hoping he knew what the hell old man was talking about. He explained how Lily's sacrifice had saved him from the Killing Curse, rebounding back on Voldemort instead. I then concluded, as had everyone else, that Emily had lived long enough to carry our daughter before the events of my arrest had taken their toll on her.

"So she gave up?" I asked, my hands shaking. I could barely hold the tea cup and I knew my tears were threatening to shed.

"She stopped trusting people, Sirius," Remus told me. "I looked after her like you told me, but there was nothing I could do to prevent her from dying. Emily honestly believed that you were guilty and I did too."

"Why would you tell her something like that though?" I yelled, slamming my fist down on the thick wooden table, making our cups and saucers dance across the surface. "Emily gave up on living because of what she thought happened!"

"And for good reason. You have to understand that we thought we were being told the truth. Everywhere we went people constantly asked her if she was going to keep a murderer's baby! She used to cry every night because nobody would leave her alone. There was nothing I could do to shield her from that. We all thought you had turned on us, Sirius," Remus explained, sounding sincere. I nodded grimly at him, looking down into my tea cup.

After lunch, Molly was working a knot out of my shoulder while Arthur told me all about raising children.

"Since she's a girl, she's going to have that monthly thing. Molly dear, what is that about again?" he asked his wife.

Molly shot him a disapproving look. "It's called a menstrual cycle, Arthur. Ginny's had to deal with that for the past few years. I'm so glad I don't have to worry about that anymore. I'll tell Ginny to help her while they're at school with all of that. I know it's going to be hard at first, Sirius, but being a father will come to you."

My mouth had dropped open in shock halfway through the conversation at the things a teenager was capable of. Arthur and Molly continued to tell me a number of horror stories about their oldest sons and the pranks they pulled. I was lucky to just have one instead of their grand total of seven children.

I spent the remainder of the summer bonding with Serenity. She went more in depth about her treatment at Malfoy Manor and also about the number of tricks pulled on Draco. She had seven fingers up and looked all too happy. I knew her stories would be very enjoyable.

"You'll love this, Dad," she told me one morning while we were eating breakfast. "I can't believe I got away with this one! During the summer after my first year Draco was being his normal piggish self and I decided to get him back. I used a charm on his food to make him sick. I found it in an old Charms textbook in Professor Flitwick's class. He was sick for a week!"

"Really?" I asked, shocked my little girl would do something like that.

Once I thought about it I knew I would have done the same exact thing. In fact, I had tortured the boy's mother quite often when we were young. A smirk crawled its way across my face when I remember one specific day. Bellatrix almost succeeded in hexing me so I knew I couldn't let her get away with that. Later that afternoon I was laughing hysterically as Bellatrix tried to put the fire on the hem of her new dress out while Narcissa tried to keep from puking her lunch down the hall.

"Yes, Draco was so angry! Unfortunately they beat the house elf for it. Since then I try to keep to my room while I'm home during the summer. I sleep in the east wing, not far from Draco's room. Staying near him is much more enjoyable than hearing Lucius and Narcissa try to make another heir."

My appetite disappeared after that so I pushed the rest of my breakfast away from me. I couldn't help but feel sorry for what she had endured. I was confident that if Emily would have known how Serenity was going to be treated she would have found her a different home.

Maybe I can convince Dumbledore to let me keep her with me? I thought, casually sipping on my coffee as I watched my daughter finish her food. Before that happens though I'll need to have him clear my name.

Later on, Serenity told me more about what she had been doing at Hogwarts. She had signed up for Divination, Care of Magical Creatures, and Muggle Studies the previous year and had liked them a lot. Oddly, those were the same classes I had taken as well. She was excited to go back and I wouldn't have been able to be any happier if I tried.

I quickly discovered that Serenity and Harry were good friends. I was still unsure if they realized they were cousins since they were always talking about who they liked around me. I saw Serenity give Harry a strange look a few days later and I distinctly remembered Emily looking at me like that. Harry, in turn, looked a lot like James had when he was chasing Lily. I knew then that whatever was going on between them had to end so I casually mentioned it over coffee the very next morning.

And, just as I thought, they were stunned.

"What? Serenity and I are related? But Professor Dumbledore told me none of my family were alive! You're my godfather, aren't you?" Harry asked me as I watched his horrorstruck face change by the sudden fact that I had managed to wiggle myself in as not only his godfather, but his uncle too.

Serenity just looked at me like I was kidding before glancing over at Harry then make a silent but visible gagging face.

"You didn't have any living adult relatives to care for both of you. Your mother's sister would have gone mental if she would have had to deal with her sister's son and niece. It would be a lot to ask, even for my brother, whom I would never ask such a thing of. Besides, I was alive just not able to care for you. It would have been hard to care for children properly in Azkaban," I explained watching the cousins share expressions of concern, then ease as they came to understand.

I couldn't quite believe how badly I had shaken them up. I smiled as they walked out of the kitchen, leaving me to my thoughts. I took in just how alike the two were. Apart from their physical characteristics, they also shared a sense of pride and trust toward their friends. It amazed me that they had such similar upbringings and yet were able to love as much as Ron or Hermione. Even though Serenity was physically smaller than Harry that was something I had expected since Emily had been much shorter than her brother. In fact, James and I had joked about that exact thing during our school years until I noticed how much she had grown when she put James in his place for disrespecting her in our sixth year. That happened a lot during our schools years, but it had been hilarious for Remus and I to watch.

Suddenly I was reminded of a certain event during the end of sixth year when I found the two Potters shouting at one another in the courtyard near the bell tower. I never found out what exactly they were arguing about, but I did remember the laughter when everyone threw tomatoes that magically appeared in their hands at James. I'll take the credit for that one, thank you! One was in my hand naturally, but I was the only one to aiming right at James' face. That was a lucky shot really. Remus had thrown his own down in a fit of anger that James and Emily were publicly fighting; he hated it when they squabbled. I was never found out and I walked free from punishment while James was covered in disgusting tomatoes. He was angry about that for the rest of the year.

*dot*

The next day, Serenity and Harry went to Diagon Alley to get their school supplies with the Weasley's. I asked Molly to get Serenity some newer robes since they looked much too short for her. Also, I told her to surprise them with ice cream at the end of the day as my treat. Molly said she would take care of everything and they were gone by ten-thirty.

They returned sometime around two in the afternoon and I was in the middle of my nap when Serenity knocked on my door then burst inside. I sat up, rubbing the sleep out of my eyes, as she ran towards me. She jumped on my bed with a soft thud and then pulled something out of her bag.

"Look, Dad! I got you this!" She announced with a large smile on her face.

I accepted the package she handed me and smiled when I realized it was a large, dark red cloak. I had been meaning to buy a new one for a while and I felt a warmth spread through my chest at her act of kindness. I hoped that it would actually fit because it looked a little too big for my frame. After I swung it around my shoulders I watched in amazement as it began to match my body shape. So, it was one of those cloaks! I didn't even know they made them anymore!

I turned to give Serenity a hug, but stopped short when I saw she had fallen asleep on my bed. Her long hair lay across my pillow in a tangled mess, covering it completely, and her hands were folded under her head. One of her legs, hung over the end of the bed with the other one tucked under the other, exactly like mine do. I smiled as I pulled my blanket up over her, planting a light kiss on the top of her head. I carefully tip-toed out of the room and smiled back at my girl once more then closing the door softly behind me. She looked so peaceful.

During the time that the Weasley's, Harry, Hermione and my daughter were at my home, they helped clean a good majority of the house. None of them would ever realize how thankful I was for all of their help. I would have never been able to get it done by myself.

Although, I was surprised that Molly was unable to handle the Boggart, but I didn't blame her either. I didn't think I'd be able to rid of it myself. Maybe I can get Remus to help me with that one… Once all the children left for Hogwarts my house once again felt much too empty so Molly and Arthur continued to come over on the weekends for dinner.

And, Great Merlin's Beard, did Molly know how to cook! I now knew how her boys were so well off. She said that she had noticed how skinny Serenity looked and offered to send her cakes and sweets along with Harry's. I was fine with it, but felt bad because I hadn't gotten Serenity beginning of the school year gift. Molly said she would help me with that too.