Hello all! Here is the next chapter... A lot shorter than I thought it would be but I've really struggled with this chapter. I had a bit of inspiration a few weeks ago for this chapter but then we had family troubles which prevented me from writing. The last few days I've managed to sit down and write this chapter. It is short but it ends on a cliff-hanger. Hopefully the direction this chapter goes in, is something you guys were not expecting... Also, please read the author's note at the end of this chapter as it pertains to future updates!

Enjoy!

Twisting Time

Chapter 36

Tuesday 21st April 1992

Leanne stared at him.

Sirius fidgeted. He could trust her. He had to.

Finally…

"You have to be joking!" she stated. Her chocolate brown hair swung about her head as she shook it. "You can't be serious!" She pointed a finger at him. "And don't make that joke!"

For once Sirius wasn't going to. "Never crossed my mind. I wouldn't joke about something as serious as this, Leanne." And he meant it. Not when it came to who he really was. "I know it seems unbelievable and impossible but Dumbledore has known for over ten years now. And Lily, James and Remus have known since the end of the 1985. Voldemort is aware of it too…" He hadn't told her of the Dark Lord's return just yet. "When I defeated him he realised it… but it's become more pertinent now to let people close to me know."

"Why?" Leanne asked wearily. She sounded calm and Sirius was unsure how she was really taking it.

"Voldemort is back… He has a body now. A few weeks ago I encountered him… He used my blood to help in a potion that would restore a body to him. I was lucky to escape."

"When was this? Why didn't you tell me?" Leanne nearly shrieked.

"A few weeks ago… It's why I've been with the Potters over most of the holiday. I needed to be and it pains me we didn't get the chance to spend the Easter holidays together like we planned…" Sirius bowed his head. "But I needed to recuperate and Harry needed my help… He knows the truth as well. And when Voldemort makes his return known, for I know he will, he may reveal my secret… I do not wish for you to find out that way." He looked at her, wondering if she was going to leave him over this. "I wanted to be the one to tell you… But it isn't something one brings up in usual conversation… Hi, My name is Sirius Black and I've come from the future to change the past! Not exactly an opening one would use on a date."

A small smile crossed Leanne's face. "No, it wouldn't be." She watched him carefully. "Why didn't you tell me before?"

"Because…. I wanted to protect you. No one knows who you are. They know you exist but not your identity. The more people who know who I really am could also expose you. I do not want Voldemort being drawn to you… The only way I can think of protecting you is to break up with you but I don't want to. And even if I did that…" He shook his head.

"There's no guarantee I would be protected…" finished Leanne. She reached for his hand. "Sirius… Can I ask you for more information?"

He nodded. It would be callous of him to deny the knowledge from her. He loved her and he trusted her. "Yes… You deserve to know." He leaned back, watching her with his eyes. "What do you want to know?"

"Why did you come back?"

"I didn't have a choice…" he admitted. "I died. And then I woke up back in 1981. It sounds crazy, I know, but I was in the bowels of the Ministry of Magic… in the room of Death I think. They have this Veil which if you fall through it, you die. I did fall through it. I'm not sure if I was conscious after that or not but my body was dead. The next thing I was aware of is waking back up in my flat. It was quite a shock to suddenly have de-aged fifteen years but still have memories of my past life."

"You didn't dream this?" Leanne queried cautiously.

Sirius shook his head, threads of hair falling about his face. "No. I have fifteen extra years' worth of memories in my head. Things have changed so they didn't happen but they still did for me because without them driving me I wouldn't be here now." He shifted in his seat. "It's difficult to explain this because I do not know what to say to you."

Leanne reached up and brushed her hand down his cheek, through the stubble of his beard. "I want to know everything. If you love me… and trust me… I think I deserve to know."

He smiled at her, leaned in and kissed her lips softly. "You do…"

So he let go and told her everything.

There was one thing Sirius had kept to himself. He didn't want Leanne to know of the Horcruxes. It would be too much for her and he didn't want her to experience the full horrors of what he had gone through. When this was all over he would tell her then, but now he still wanted to protect her, despite opening up his heart to her.

Leanne was very understanding, asked the right questions and pried no further when Sirius finally stopped talking. She understood him well enough that he would only speak what he wanted to say. Questioning him further would yield no further results.

They shared dinner before Sirius departed to return to Hogwarts, with him promising to visit her at the weekend. He fully intended to see it through, though little did he know that his whole world was about to turn upside down.

After Sirius had left, Leanne burst into tears. She wasn't crying because of what had happened to Sirius in his old life.

She was crying because she could finally complete her mission and save her family.

For the last few years she had been living a lie. A lie that she had been forced to act to save her family.

Her mission had been simple: befriend Sirius Black.

Back when Sirius had still been living in with Oxford, before the attack on Harry had forced him to move location to keep his anonymity, Leanne had been approached by a hooded man on her way home from work. She had never known his identity but based on what Sirius had said to her tonight, she figured it was likely Lucius Malfoy or someone close to the wizard who had orchestrated the attack on a young Harry Potter. The figure had threatened her family – her Muggle family – and even revealed their knowledge of their address and warned her if she advised them to move they would know about it and follow them. All they wanted was information on Sirius Black.

Leanne had been scared. She hadn't wanted anything to happen to her parents and had acquiesced to their demands. When the threat had been made, she and Sirius had just been friends, meeting every-so-often for a catch up. When he had moved away Leanne had assumed the threat was no longer valid and had been pleasantly surprised when he had contacted her and asked her out on a date a few years later.

It had only been a month ago that she had returned home to find the same hooded man, only this time, sitting on her settee in her living room. The man had disarmed her instantly. He had reiterated his threat against her parents, unless she provided all the information she knew about Sirius Black. She maintained she had no idea what he was after.

Unfortunately for Leanne, the hooded man had decided to use Legilimency on her, something which she had no training to defend against. They had learned that she knew nothing about Sirius but warned her they would continue to check in on her and if she did not provide information on Sirius Black, her parents would be killed.

Now she had what they needed. But what was worse, she had a sneaking suspicion this man was either working for or indirectly involved in with Voldemort. She didn't want to be the cause of Sirius' death. She loved him. She didn't want to betray him. What choice did she have?

Tears fell down her cheeks and she brushed them away.

She loved her parents…

She loved Sirius…

She blinked. She hadn't been a Gryffindor at Hogwarts, unlike Sirius, but she was smart ad loyal. She could have been a Ravenclaw but the Sorting Hat had placed her in Hufflepuff. "I know what I have to do."

She knew she would be placing her family at risk but she realised they could be saved if she acted quickly. She had to be brave.

Brave like Sirius.

Saturday 25th April 1992

Sirius was worried. He hadn't heard from Leanne about meeting at the weekend. Usually they communicated every few days. He had tried to contact her but had received no response. He had shrugged it off at first but his worry had increased when she hadn't answered when he had Apparated to her home early Saturday morning.

He didn't know what to think and he had a bad feeling in his stomach that something was really wrong. He had two options: the first was to go straight to Leanne's parent's house or Apparate to the Ministry, get James from work and ask him for aid. Sirius chewed his bottom lip. If something was wrong and he was leaping into a trap – how had they found out about her? – then going alone should be the last thing he should be doing. But what if he was overreacting? Taking James would be overkill.

But Sirius had learnt that one could never be too careful. He had to be on the safe side.

The last time Sirius had gone to the Ministry had been years ago. He wasn't someone who even visited the place. Unfortunately his appearance did cause quite a stir, especially when witches and wizards started to recognise him. He ignored the stares and continued his way through the gathering crowd, apologising that he had to see someone important otherwise he would stop.

He knew James was working today as his friend was rotated on some Saturdays to work. He knew James' schedule off by heart, unless he was told otherwise. The Ministry wasn't as busy as it would have been if Sirius was visiting on a weekday, however he was able to move through the crowds and into the lifts with ease, and select the floor he needed to reach James.

Walking briskly through the main offices of the Aurors, Sirius turned a corner and arrived at the office where James worked. Sirius knew originally the office held by Arthur Weasley had been quite small and the Department hadn't been considered that important to the Ministry, however since James had joined it, the Department had expanded. Mainly down to James' erstwhile promotion and enthusiasm for Muggles.

The office was larger now, having been expanded a few years back and more people worked within it, allowing the office to remain open seven days a week. At the weekend there was always two people staffing the office, with one allocated to going out on raids if needed to.

Sirius leaned against the door. "Prongs."

James jumped from his desk, having not expected his friend to turn up. "What are you doing here?"

"I have a problem." Sirius walked forward. "It's about Leanne."

James groaned. "This isn't the time to talk to me about your girlfriend issues. I am at work." He glanced around the office. His colleague, Emma, was trying not to listen in. "The name of his girlfriend does not get out!"

Emma blushed.

Sirius appreciated the effort James put into protecting Leanne. "I think Leanne's in danger."

James sat up straighter. "What do you mean?"

"We were supposed to meet today. She hasn't contacted me for a few days and we stay in touch when I'm at Hogwarts but she wasn't at home this morning… I have this feeling something is wrong…" Sirius looked worried.

James swallowed. "You don't think…?" He trailed off. Sirius knew what he meant.

"Possible. I need you to come with me to her parent's house. Just in case. I wouldn't ask otherwise. And I know you are at work but if I had to have anyone by my side I would choose you," explained Sirius.

James rose from his desk. He turned to Emma. "I need to leave. I will try to be back here later but if anything comes up, call Arthur in. Tell him I will make up the time I missed."

Emma nodded. "Ok, James."

James tapped his nose. "Just remember… No word of this to anyone."

They Apparated to an alleyway near to where Leanne's parents lived. With their hands in their pockets, clutching their wands, Sirius and James hastily made their way down the road, turning left into a small close. There were six houses and Sirius head straight for the second on the right with a decorated flowery door with the number 5 emblazoned on it.

"Do you sense that?" he asked James.

James nodded. "I do. It feels like magical energy is crackling the air."

"He's here…" whispered Sirius, his face going pale.

"You sure?" James asked.

"I am."

"We should call for back-up."

"I know."

"But we aren't, are we?"

"Nope." Sirius clarified. He removed his wand from his pocket. They were standing on the lawn outside the house. There were no other Muggles around, probably save for the ones inside the house.

"This is going to get messy," winced James.

"I know." Sirius pursed his lips.

"Lily is going to kill me," groaned James.

Sirius laughed humourlessly. "If we survive this."

"We better," responded James darkly.

"On three?"

James nodded.

Sirius counted up. "One. Two. Three."

They ran forward, Sirius reaching the door first and pushed it open, stepping into the hallway. It was a mess; books and photos were strewn over the floor and there were signs there had been a struggle as a few spatters of blood decorated the wall and had stained the carpet.

Sirius stepped into the living room.

What he saw made his heart stop.

To be continued...

Please let me know what you think!

I wanted to bring Leanne more into the story and this plot hit me... As to how and why Leanne was approached before she even knew Sirius, it will be explained, most likely in the next chapter but potentially in the one after that.

It is rather short, this chapter, but as I explained above I've had a difficult time and I just wanted to get something out here.

Future Updates

I know I've done this before and I'm doing this again. I am not abandoning this story. It will be finished. But I have started work on several different stories in other fandoms so please do not be surprised, if you have me as author alert, that you see story updates for a range of different fanfics. I really need to spread my wings and get writing in other fandoms rather than stay focused on one story and one fandom. I hope this will not affect updates on this story this much but my imagination is craving to be let loose elsewhere and I think because I have been refusing it, it has stilted me from writing this story as effectively as I could be. So I am likely to begin posting other stories in Star Wars, potentially Marvel Avengers, and other Harry Potter stories too. Please do not worry, I will keep updating this story! I hope in the first half of 2017 to have this story finished! :)

Thank you all for the comments and support for this story so far!

Until next time,

the-writer1988