T2

Albus studied the police reports from the medical examiner. An unknown pathogen had been found in the woman's mouth. He opened a file put together by a muggleborn potion master and looked at the numbers and chemical names. He found it under the Ps. The chemical breakdown said that she had traces of polyjuice in her mouth.

Was it truly not her then, he wondered. And why do my devices say harry is safe but untrackable?

He blinked then was on his knees in front of the fire, flooing the prison.

A massive crystal floated in the basement, the woman inside perpetually cursed into the sleep of the living dead. She spun slowly and each fifty-seventh rotation a drop of nutrient potion slipped between her lips.

Above her, through two trees worth of hundred year old teak a 29 month old baby boy clapped appreciatively at the fairies while sitting in the lap of his godfather. The diminutive fae continued their dance, entertaining the two in repayment for Sirius saving them from a particularly hungry flock of Shrike.

Finally, Sirius thanked the fae profusely and watched them fly off, harry fast asleep in his arms.

He turned and found Summer-a name he had chosen for the golem since she had a glow to her that reminded him of the last summer he spent with the Potters-writing on a long parchment.

The calligraphy was flawless and she took the sleeping child while he read, surprised at all Harry was expected to learn.

"He really needs to know all this before school?"

"No, those are interests we should allow him to cultivate. Potions, runes, and arithmancy are the only fields he should be at least fourth year in before school begins."

"What about pranking?"

"Imagine the chaos you could have caused having a newt level education in runes," Summer advised the Marauder.

He nodded. "We need a house elf."

"Harry had three over the years." The golem informed him about Dobby, Winky, and Kreacher. Sirius put his godson down for a nap and began plotting how to get the two back.

Albus studied the trinkets. Safe. Still untrackable.

He sighed, wishing he hadn't failed Sirius. He had been so angry. And with sirius's attempted murder of Severus before, he had let his rule of two win out. "I should have pushed for at least a tribunal." Even without a solicitor they would have dosed him and found out the truth.

He wished he had access to a hair of Sirius's. The polyjuice remnants made him wonder if the young man had escaped somehow. Had he a hair or skin flake he could possibly track him.

Fawkes flew to his shoulder and trilled a soft encouragement.

Lucius Malfoy slammed his cane down angrily as he left the bank. Somehow Sirius Black's will had been updated AND he had been invested as the head of House Black before dying.

Lucius's marriage-as well as his sister-in-law's Bellatrix-had been dissolved, the dowry, the two companies that had been gifts from Narcissa's parents, all bought back at knut on the galleon. He was in serious debt at the moment due to some purchases of dark artifacts as well. He still had his heir at least but the expected endowment of Regent of the Black estate had not happened, his son wouldn't inherit the titles and the money the Malfoys now greatly needed.

Kingsley stared in shock at the latest missive. He didn't know what to do with this one. This accused his boss of harboring a death eater under the Imperius. He sighed and took the letter to his direct boss, Head Auror Bones.

When he got to her desk, she had her robes untied and was shaking them, letting him get an eyeful of stretchy muggle clothes on a much fitter body than he expected from a deskbound auror. For a moment he wished there wasn't a mrs kingsley already.

He slipped the letter in front of her. "New suggestion from the sleuth. Says that Crouch used polyjuice to slip his son out and let his wife take the kid's place. The kid is held under imperius."

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Amelia didn't think it could be true but then remembered just how devoted crouch's wife was to their son and that visit he arranged.

"I think we have to. Anyone else, he'd make us investigate."

She nodded and gestured him to follow. They were off to see the minister. [the wonderful minister of oz]

Albus put the file down and sighed. Another corrupt official. He despised it when a former student allowed themselves to fall so.

He pushed it aside. It would be dealt with easily enough. They had the guilt confirmation. Both would be sentenced and kissed-an outcome he disliked because the offender couldn't repent but both were either unrepentant or too disgusting of a violator.

He looked at the next file. No need to do a trial on this one. He stamped innocent, reparations required, and refile on Sirius Black's folder, making a mental note to oversee an audit of all prisoners.

He wondered who the next head of House Black would be. He knew the bloodline devolved to three people: Draco Malfoy, Andromeda Tonks-though unlikely for her since Sirius had died (or disappeared!) before finding out he hadn't been removed from the succession and he wouldn't be able to re-add her to the line, and Harry Potter. He knew already that Draco wasn't it. That meant Harry was the most likely candidate. To two very old houses.

Sirius had made him executor of his will before the Potters died. He made another mental note to deal with that. So much to do, not enough ti-he stopped and looked out the window for a minute, admiring the beach of Greece it showed, a few minutes south of where he had met Fawkes.

He touched the rune on his desk. As the longest serving Mugwump, the headmaster of the premiere college of magic, and the latest chief warlock, he needed more time. "Please send a level 6 or higher unmentionable up," he requested the information desk at the Department of Mysteries.

He went back to reading files until there was a knock at his door. His secretary must have been off to lunch, he realized at looking at the time.

"Come."

A nondescript wizard came in then canceled the spell that made him indescribable. "Ah, Elphias, how are you? Your grandchilden will be off to Hogwarts soon, yes?"

"Yes, headmaster. They're quite excited to get their wands this summer."

"Good. To business though. I find myself to be in need of more time."

"You don't have one already?" Elphias asked, surprised. It was standard issue to the Headmaster of Hogwarts and a common issue to their ambassador to the Internationals.

"I had one ten years ago but it was destroyed in a duel. Never got around to requisitioning a new one."

"I'll have a requisition form, a time turner, and a protective case for it sent up. The case is new. They allow one to manipulate the device while protecting it from most spells and fall damage. I'll need feedback on it."

"Happily," albus replied then they shook hands and the man started his spell back up.

The door opened a handful of minutes later and his secretary brought in a tray with lunch and a stack of new files, collected the old ones, then noticed the Black file. "Who's the new Head of the family?" He was from a minor line and had no claim but his curiosity was understandable.

"I have a likely idea but for now, unknown. Thank you Stephan. Oh, yes, would you please pick up some more lemon sherbets? I seem to have run out."

"Did you check the bottom right drawer? I picked up a pound last week."

Albus looked and smiled. "Delightful. Care for one?"

"Allergic to citrus."

Albus ate the meal as he read a new file. Another witch with an unnatural relationship with goats. He set it aside and idly mused about the appeal of goats.

Shrugging it off since he had no desire to ask his brother and get punched again, he opened the next file.

Summer listened to Harry's baby talk as she absorbed another book on child rearing. While the golem wouldn't be raising him on her own, the noises the child made amongst the handful of baby patois had her wondering about building a magical translator.

She finished her research and set it aside to deliver to Hermione upon her graduation.

Sirius carried the boy across the room and asked, "Would it be safe to take him into muggle London for a playdate?"

Sirius set him down, foolishly, next to the boy's toy broom. Before the wizard realized it his godson was off, flying through the house, chasing the recent addition to the house, a silver and blue kneazle.

Albus finished writing the apology and placed it on the brazier, watching it char and turn to ash and fly up to the heavens. If sirius was dead, the note would get to him. If he were alive as Albus had reason to believe, there was no harm in it.

Tired, he turned and thanked Hagrid for the use of his ceremonial brazier. Though the half-giant didn't follow the customs of his matriarchal line he still kept some of the pieces around, including the brazier, a gorgeous frieze that showed the history of his mother's tribe, and a club he mostly used to thresh with.

Walking back up to the castle, his mind flitted back to where to search for Sirius Black. He wanted to contact someone to look for the wizard but the only one he could think of was Remus Lupin and putting that kind of strain on the young man was too much, he had decided.

He tried to remember where the Black family had lived and all he could remember was that it was within walking distance of the train. That such pureblood supremacists had lived in the area surprised him but even checking the records showed the home had been erased from it as well.

He wished for a moment he believed in a higher power so he could pray that somehow Sirius Black was doing his duty, protecting his godson.

Sirius picked up his great-uncle's wand and carefully played it over the cut on his struggling godson's knee then kissed it. "There, all better."

Harry stopped crying and looked at his knee. The blood was gone as well as the pain. "Paddy!"

Sirius hugged the boy and smiled. He was remembering him. Just the day before he asked where uncle Mooey was.

"Time for dinner," he told the lad, glad the golem knew how to cook. He really didn't want his godson living on his own idea of food; takeout, chips and fish, and chocolate frogs and strawberry butterbeer.

"We need a house-elf," he told Summer. "Perhaps that house-elf of the Malfoys you mentioned?"

"Dobby. Yes, i wasn't sure how to effect a transfer."

"Have a goblin acting as a representative approach them. It won't be suspicious since they'll know that the Malfoys are now in financial difficulties. And house-elves are often used as securities." Sirius wondered if he'd be this quick after a decade in Azkaban. He remembered his father using one of their elves to secure a loan then purposely defaulting to rid himself of an elf he hated.

He fed the boy, chuckling when Harry got more of the sauce from his pasta on his face than in his mouth. He was never a fussy eater but he always seemed to wear more of it than got into him.

Sirius got him cleaned up and settled him down to watch a pantomime show projected by the wireless as it transmitted a radio play.

While the child was entertained, sirius went over various auror mental drills and tried to strengthen his flagging occlumency skills. For the first few months he had been able to shield himself by hiding his good memories but he had slowly started to fail. It was only a few months before his breakout that he realized padfoot might be better off that Sirius.

Finally he put Harry to bed and turned to see Summer had approached him so quietly. "Hermione programmed in a variable that i am incapable of resolving."

"And you think i can solve it?"

"Yes. Humans have intuitive leaps that are indefinable. Should Harry be introduced to Hermione and several other muggleborns he was acquaintances with before his first day of school?"

Sirius raised an eyebrow. "Who did he marry in the future."

"A disturbingly oedipal substitute named Ginevra Weasley."

"Oh god, don't tell me it's Molly Prewett's kid." While he didn't know the woman he knew her twin brothers and Arthur Weasley and as great as they were, the twins' estimation of their younger sister as a harridan in training scared him.

"Yes, the youngest child of Arthur and Molly Weasley."

"Is this Harmony girl at a preschool or something we can take Harry to?"

She nodded and told him about Hermione's parents taking her to a Gymboree but preferring to read.

"Perhaps you take him to the gymboree as well and if they hit if off, suggest a weekly playdate at a safehouse near their home?"

He walked to his father's old office and settled in to write down some ideas.