Days in Avalon
Chapter Thirty-Eight: Stand By Your Side
The next day, it seemed that everyone in the castle was talking about the sudden change in the Marauder's mood. Whispers of how James kept avoiding Sirius or how he would send him loathing stares spread through the halls, while others talked about how Sirius seemed so withdrawn and silent.
Lily and Andy noticed that Remus had yet to return from his nightly run and figured he was recuperating in the hospital wing. Neither knew how to act around both James and Sirius. It seemed as if the only way to deal with the uncertainty of Sirius's future at Hogwarts was to just simply not talk about it. It wasn't until the end of their Transfiguration class that both girls were finally forced out of their silent world.
"Miss Evans. Miss Starmenter. Would you two please come here?" requested Professor McGonagall.
"Yes Professor?" asked Lily once the two of them had reached her desk.
"Professor Dumbledore wishes to see both of you sometime today. Here are your scheduled times," stated Professor McGonagall as she handed each girl envelops addressed to them.
"He wants to see us separately?" asked Andy with a raised eyebrow.
"Yes, Miss Starmenter. Please be on time," replied McGonagall as she said the last part more to Andy than Lily. "You are both dismissed."
The two girls silently left the classroom as calmly as possible. But once they had reached the outside corridor, they both frantically tore open their notes.
"What time do you have to meet him at?" asked Lily as she read her note quickly.
"After Potions. What about you?" replied Andy.
"Right after lunch," answered Lily.
"Lucky. Damn, for a second there I thought I could get out of Slughorn's hour of torture," sighed Andy as she stuffed Dumbledore's note into her bag.
"He's not that bad. Besides, you're doing very well in that class," stated Lily as the two of them began to walk down the corridor.
"Just because I'm doing well doesn't mean I have to like the class," chimed Andy darkly.
"I wonder why he wants to see us separately," said Lily absentmindedly.
"I don't know. Maybe to make sure that our stories are the same?" said Andy.
"Perhaps," replied Lily a little worried.
"But then again who knows why. It's Dumbledore we're talking about here. Everyone always says the man has a few screws loose up there," said Andy as she pointed to her head.
"I guess," chuckled Lily. She glanced down at her watch to notice that she only had about an hour before she had her meeting with the headmaster.
The two of them entered the great hall and met up with the rest of their friends. The lot of them really didn't say much to one another. Felicia and Kelly were busy going over their potions essays that were due next period, while Andy and Lily sat silently picking at their lunch.
"Well, I guess I should be heading off," stated Lily after about a half hour of sitting in silence. She happened to catch a glimpse of James and Peter walking out of the Great Hall, while Sirius was no where to be seen.
"Good luck," croaked Andy, as she poured herself another glass of pumpkin juice.
"Thanks," nodded Lily as she swung her bag over her shoulder and headed off to the headmaster's office.
"Where is she off to," asked Felicia as she rolled up her now finished essay.
"She has a meeting with the headmaster," said Andy as she downed her glass.
"Why does she have a meeting with Dumbledore," inquired Kelly.
"Uh…I'll tell you later," said Andy second guessing her decision to tell her friends what had actually happened the previous night. "Come on gals, we'll be late for Potions."
Andy tried her best to concentrate on her potions assignment, but to no avail. She kept getting lost her own thoughts; even when Kelly would slap her shoulder to bring Andy out of her trance when she was suppose to be stirring their concoction. By the end of the class period, everyone handed in their potions and began the journey back from the dungeons.
"Where were you today Andy?" asked Kelly as she placed their sample upon Professor Slughorn's desk. "You were a million miles away!"
"I'm sorry Kelly. I've just got a lot of things on my mind," she replied as the two girls left the classroom.
"Obviously. Are you sure you're okay?" inquired Kelly.
"Yes, I'm fine. I'm sorry I wasn't a good partner today," replied Andy.
"It's alright. I'm sure we got at least an 'E'," said Kelly with a grin.
"You mean you got an 'E'," retorted Andy. "Listen I have to get going. I have a meeting to get to. I'll talk to you later, okay?"
"Sure. Have fun at the meeting," chimed Kelly with a smile.
"Yeah, right," said Andy half-heartedly as she walked away from her friend and made her way to Professor Dumbledore's office.
Before she knew it she was standing before the great oak door to the headmaster's office gathering her courage to face the professor.
"Well…here goes nothing," said Andy aloud to herself. She raised her hand to knock on the door but never got the chance too.
"Come in Ms. Starmenter," said the professor's voice from the other side of the door.
Andy stared at the door for a moment before she grabbed the handle to enter. 'How does he do that?'
Once she was inside she was greeted with the now all too familiar silver instruments on the table and the sounds of past Hogwarts headmasters and headmistresses snoring away in their paintings. As she walked a little farther into the room, she found Professor Dumbledore, dressed in his dark blue robe with silver stars and moons, heading toward his seat behind his desk. His pet phoenix, sat on his perch looking rather bright and magnificent.
"Hello Professor. You wanted to see me?" said Andy as she stood before the professor's desk.
"Ah Miranda, so good to see you! Please have a seat," said Professor Dumbledore cheerfully as she motioned for her to take a seat in the chair next to her.
As she took her seat, Professor Dumbledore picked up the small candy dish that was on his desk and offered it to Andy. "Lemon drop?"
"Uh…sure. Thank you," said Andy as she timidly took one of the small yellow pieces of candy from the dish.
"How is everything? Classes going well I presume?" he inquired as he popped a lemon drop in his mouth.
"Uh…well yes sir. As well as they can be," she replied.
"I take it Professor McGonagall's class is still not going well for you?"
"Like I said before sir, as well as can be," said Andy as she looked to her lap. A few moments later she heard her professor chuckle at her response.
"Ha ha…you are too much like your grandmother, Miranda," laughed Dumbledore.
"Right," replied Andy under her breath. "So…uh professor, might I ask you a question?"
Dumbledore looked at the young girl before him and sat back in his chair while folding his hands on top of his robes. "You are wondering why I called you here and why I asked you and Ms. Evans to come at different times."
"Yes, sir," nodded Andy as her face turned a slight shade of pink.
"Well, Miranda. I thought it best to talk to you more in private since I suspect there are some truths you would like to keep hidden as well as Ms. Evans," stated Dumbledore as he looked over his half-moon spectacles at Andy.
"Umm…okay," said Andy a little confused as to what he was getting at.
"Might I ask for your account then of what happened last night?" he asked with a hint of tiredness in his voice.
"Of course sir," she said softly. Andy went into detail about what had occurred the previous night, while Dumbledore sat quietly listening to her words. He did nod occasionally encouraging her to finish her thoughts as they formed in her head. Before Andy knew it she had finished her story.
"Is that all?" asked Dumbledore after a few moments of silence.
"Yes sir," she nodded.
"Very well then," replied the headmaster as he got up from his chair and walked over toward his fireplace.
Andy watched him closely, utterly confused by his words. "Is there something wrong Professor? Did Lily say something else?"
"On the contrary, your story and Ms. Evans are the same," Dumbledore said with a smile. Andy let out a breath that she hadn't realized she was holding in.
"Oh! So is that it?" she asked awkwardly.
"Yes. I believe that is all I need to hear," said the headmaster as he picked up a near by poker and prodded the wood in the fireplace.
With that said, Andy got up from her chair and headed toward the door, but stopped half way there. "Professor," she said as she turned back toward the headmaster. "Might I ask you a question?"
"I believe you just did," said Dumbledore.
Andy stood there a moment before she let out a small giggle causing Dumbledore to laugh as well. From where she was standing she could see his blue eyes sparkle brightly with mirth.
"Yes, Miranda, you can ask me anything."
"I was just wondering," she said calmly, "what is to become of James and Sirius?"
Dumbledore stood there for a moment looking at the young girl before him and saw something that was almost indescribable to many people, but not to him.
"Well as for James, I assumed that you already know what has happened to him," said Dumbledore a little quizzical.
Andy nodded in agreement to his statement. "And Sirius?"
Dumbledore let out a small sigh before he answered. "That I'm afraid I can not tell you."
"I understand," said Andy as she made to leave once more. "Professor…I know I'm probably just wasting my breath but…"
"Yes, Andy?" asked Professor Dumbledore.
Andy took a deep breath before she began her small speech. "Sirius may have a slight violent personality, but…he didn't mean for it to go that far. He may not like Snape, but he would never want anyone hurt like that. Especially at a friend's expense."
"You speak very highly of Sirius," said Dumbledore in a matter of fact tone.
"Yes," croaked Andy.
"Forgive me, Andy, I didn't know that you were now well acquainted with Sirius. One may find this a bit odd considering your past history with him, not to mention the feud that has been between your two families," stated Dumbledore.
"I know," said Andy as she felt something inside of her break slightly. "Blackie and I haven't had the greatest of relationships. But…I don't know…something has changed. It's almost as if we've become...no…we have become friends, or something along those lines. At least I thought it was. I'm sorry. I'm babbling," chuckled Andy as she scratched the back of her head.
"There is nothing to be forgiven," said Dumbledore as he raised his hand to sooth her. "I actually find that talking out loud helps one sort out things better. Especially one's feelings."
"Perhaps," said Andy as she nodded in agreement before noticing the time. "I should get going."
"Ah yes, I wouldn't want for you to be late for your Defense Against the Dark Arts class," said the headmaster as he walked her to the door.
"Right. It was nice talking with you Professor," said Andy brightly.
"A pleasure as always Ms. Starmenter," he replied as he opened the door for her.
"Oh Miranda!" he said, just before Andy jumped on the rotating staircase. "Try not to worry so much about your friends problems. Sometimes it maybe best just to be there for them. Also trying for what is lost in the last place to look. Good-bye!"
Andy watched as the door closed by itself and stared at the dark oak door in confusion. "I'm starting to think that Gran was right. The man has lost too many marbles over the years."
At the end of Defense Against the Dark Arts class, Andy had noticed that neither James nor Sirius had shown up to class. In fact none of the Marauders had shown up. Finding it slightly odd but not really interested in discovering the answer to this mystery, Andy opted not to head back to the common room with her friends, but instead head off to the library to look up some books for her newly acquired assignment.
After about a half hour or so, she arrived back to the Gryffindorcommon room to find Lily, Peter, and Kelly sitting on the couch looking troubled, James marching back and forth in front of the fireplace muttering something, and a newly recovered Remus sitting in a chair rubbing the back of his neck.
"Okay," said Andy as she dropped her bag and folded her arms in front of her. "What's wrong? You lot look as if your pet has just died or ran away."
Peter was the first to speak. "Sirius is missing."
"What? What are you talking about missing?" said Andy slightly a confused and worried.
"He didn't show up to any of his classes," said Lily.
"And his bed hasn't been slept in at all," added Remus.
"Do you think he left?" inquired Andy.
"Don't know. Probably. He took the map," said Remus worried as well.
"And he's suppose to meet Dumbledore tonight," muttered James as he continued to pace back and forth trying to think of where his best friend could have gone off too.
"Oh great," sighed Andy as she tried to get a grip of the situation and think of where Sirius could have gone.
"I can't take this anymore," said James after a few moments of silence. He grabbed his cloak off the unused chair and pulled out his wand.
"James where are you going?" said Lily as she shot up from her seat.
"Where do you think?" he spat, as he put is wand into his back pocket and walked out of the common room into the seventh floor hallway.
"Potter!" called Lily as she started to head after him.
"Lily, don't" said Andy as she grabbed a hold of Lily arm to stop her best friend.
"I'm not letting him look for Sirius while he's like this," said Lily as she looked into Andy's eyes. With that Lily pulled out of her friend's grip and went after James.
Andy let out a long sigh and rubbed her head until she noticed a piece of parchment on the old beat up coffee table.
"What's that?" she inquired walking over to the parchment.
"It's a letter Sirius sent to James," said Kelly.
"Wormtail and I got one as well," said Remus.
Andy picked up the letter and quickly read over it. "Maybe James is right. Maybe we should be looking for him," she said after a few moments.
"I'll go check the Quidditch field," said Peter. "He likes to go flying when he's had a tough day."
"I'll check some of his normal hide outs," stated Remus as he winced while getting up from the chair.
"Are you sure your up to it?" asked Andy.
"Umm…maybe not," said Remus as he quickly grabbed his head and fell back into his chair. "Still a little woozy."
"That's okay. I'll go check the kitchens and…broom closets," said Andy as she rolled her eyes at the last statement.
"I'll stay here with Remus," offered Kelly. With that Andy and Peter left the common room in search of Sirius.
"Potter would you slow down," called Lily. She was currently running after James as he trotted down the sun drenched hallway.
"Quit following me Evans," sneered James as he returned to his search for Sirius.
Lily some how managed to catch up to James and jumped in front of him. "And then what are you going to do? Huh, James? What are you going to do when you find Sirius?"
"I'm going to…"started James in anger, but couldn't finish he thought. He reality, he wasn't sure what he was going to do.
"Well?" asked Lily, knowing full well what his answer would be.
"Why are you following me anyway?" inquired James as he gave the girl before him a puzzling look.
"To make sure you don't get into any more trouble. You're lucky Dumbledore over looked your foolishness about going after…you know," mumbled Lily finding it best to refrain from such words as 'werewolf' or 'Remus'. Who knows who could be walking the halls this time of day.
"Nobody asked you to be my keeper, Evans. I'm a big boy. I can take care of myself," said James with a slight hint of venom in his voice.
"Right, and end up in a fight with your best mate for…how many years now?" replied Lily in a matter of fact tone. James didn't respond to her question. Instead he simply walked over toward a nearby window and gazed out at the grounds and setting sun.
"James…I know your angry. Anybody can see that. But is this really worth ruining your friendship with Sirius? Like it or not there is a huge possibility that he won't be a student here much longer," stated Lily trying to get her point through.
"I know! Okay? I know that he's probably not going to be here much longer. That I'm going to have to go through my final year at Hogwarts without my best friend, and…it…it scares me," said James tiredly.
"I know. But how do you think he's feeling now? One would think that he too would need his best friend now more than ever," Lily said with a crooked smile.
James hung is head for a moment, but nodded in agreement before giving her a small smile.
Andy went to the kitchens but found nothing but house elves, none of which had seen Sirius at all. She looked in all the normal Sirius-like places and found nothing at all.
'Merlin, where the devil could he be?' thought Andy as she wandered aimlessly around the castle for an hour. In a last act of desperation, she headed up toward the Astronomy tower, but found it empty.
"Why would I think he would be up here?" she said aloud to herself.
At that moment, one of the school owls came soaring out of the sky toward her before making a graceful landing against the now setting sun.
"What have you got there, buddy?" she asked the owl as it held out it's talon for her to untie the letter attached. She saw that it was addressed to her and tore it open when the owl took off again in search for its supper.
Dear Miranda,
Chances are by now you've probably already heard that I'm gone. Please don't try to find me, nor encourage the rest of the Marauders. It would be best if I disappeared and sentenced myself to my own dungeon, rather than have someone assign one to me.
I know we have had our differences in the past, but after this past year, I'm glad that we have gotten to know one another. You are one of the few girls I can actually call a friend. You are by far the most outgoing, charismatic, charming, and sweetest girl I've ever met. The only regret that I have between us is not being able to make up for all the pain I caused you for so many years. I hope that you can find it in your heart to forgive me for that.
You are meant for greatness, Andy. Don't let anyone tell you differently. I hope your life is filled with the same happiness and joy you've shown me. Take care of yourself Sparky.
Your friend,
Sirius
Andy read the letter over again before leaning against the edge of the tower. 'He's really gone!' she thought to herself.
"Sirius," she said aloud with a sigh. "No…he can't have left yet. Think! Where could he have gone?" she said as she rubbed her forehead, concentrating on where her friend could have gone. She looked at the letter again before the idea hit her like a ton of bricks. Andy quickly ran down the stairs to the Astronomy classroom with Sirius's words running through her head.
"It would be best if I disappeared and sentenced myself to my own dungeon, rather than have someone assign one to me."
Andy quickly bolted from the tower, down the numerous hallways until she finally arrived at the staircase that lead to the dungeons. She ran down the passageway that led to her potions class, before she took a sharp turn to the left that lead to a number of unused classrooms. Finally she reached the end of the hallway and came upon the old classroom that she had served a detention in once with Sirius.
After stopping for a moment to catch her breath, she saw that the door was slightly ajar. Andy slowly pushed the door open further. Upon looking in on the dark room, she noticed a figure sitting on one of the table desks near the small dingy window allowing very little light into the back of the classroom.
She slowly walked toward him and noticed the map unfolded next to him. She also noticed that it was folded to reveal the location of a room which now had two small figures in it. He didn't say a word to her as he stared off into space. Andy stood there for a moment before she hopped next to him onto the table.
The silence between them was nerve racking. Sirius would make slight grunting noises to try and scare her off. But Andy didn't leave, and was not going to be the first to talk.
"Leave," croaked Sirius.
Andy turned to look at him square in the face and uttered only one word. "No."
Sirius let out a small sigh as he hung is head in frustration. "Please leave."
"Nope," replied Andy as she folded her arms in front of herself and stared at the back wall.
"Gods, why can't you just leave me be!" said a frustrated Sirius as he jumped off the table.
"I don't know. Why do you always have to be a stubborn arse?" spat Andy as she watched him with a raised eyebrow.
Sirius opened his mouth to say something, but could think of nothing. Instead all he could do was chuckle at her response. Andy soon began to laugh along with him for a moment until they both calmed down.
"Why are you down here, Blackie?" she asked as he retook his spot next to her on the table.
"I won't be for long," was the only response she got.
She gave him a quizzical look before she opened her mouth again. "So you are going to see Dumbledore?"
"Nope. I'm heading off at night fall," he said looking straight into her blue eyes.
"Why?" she asked slightly desperate to know.
Sirius gave her a shrug before answering. "Save Dumbledore his breath in telling me to pack my things and leave," he said while pointing at his trunk on the floor next to the table.
"You don't know that," said Andy helplessly.
"Oh come on Sparky! It's not like he's going to congratulate me on almost killing another student," said Sirius sarcastically.
"Sirius…"
"I almost exposed my best friend to the world!" laughed Sirius. "What kind of a person does that?" he asked while kicking the table next to them. With that he got up from his place and began to let his anger out on furniture. Andy watched as he tantrum caused several tables and chairs to be thrown and flipped from there original spots. It was only a few moments later that Sirius finally broke down. Andy quickly ran over to him as he began to fall and embraced him. He tried to fight her off for only a second until all the pain he was feeling finally consumed him.
"I almost killed my best friend," sobbed Sirius repeatedly.
Andy tried her best to calm him down as she rubbed him back and head. "He's alright. Nobody knows," she said as she got down low enough to see his face. "Nobody knows. Well…except for Snivellus, but he won't be telling anyone. Not unless he wants to deal with Dumbledore," she said with a laugh.
Sirius tried his best to laugh as well, but failed. "I don't want to leave here, Andy," he croaked. "This is my home."
Andy nodded in understanding. "I know. I know," she said as she wrapped her arms around him again. She felt him almost cling to her. Seeing him like this was almost heartbreaking. She knew he had a rough time growing up, and figured he had never really known compassion or care from another person like this before.
"It'll be alright. We'll work it out. All of us," said Andy as she continued to sooth him. "You…Jay…Rem…Pete…Lil…me, we're all in this together."
Sirius lifted his head from her shoulder to look into her eyes which were now on the brink of tears. He lifted up a hand to her cheek to quickly wipe away a fallen tear. "You?"
"What, you think I'm going to let you leave because of this?" sniffed Andy as she looked into pools of grey. "No way! Besides if you did go, then who would help me try to get our two friends together and also get into row with?"
Both of them couldn't help but laugh at her words and the situation they were now in. After a few moments, both of them collected themselves. Sirius was the first to stand and helped Andy off the floor. "Guess I should head up there?" said Sirius noticing that it was now almost completely dark outside.
He began to walk away while Andy finished fixing her skirt and dust off the dirt. He got about a foot away before he turned back toward her. "Andy."
When she looked up she saw that he was holding out his hand for her. Andy couldn't help but grin as she took hold of his hand and walked out of the classroom with him.
The two of them walked silently through the darken halls of Hogwarts up to the Gargoyle guarding the headmaster's office. Sirius looked at the massive statue as if it were really alive and about to swallow him whole. Andy sensed his nervousness and slightly tugged at his arm to force him to look at her.
"Everything will be okay. You'll see," said Andy softly. Sirius lowered his head to nod in agreement and regain his confidence. Before he knew it, he suddenly felt the pressure of Andy's lips on his cheek in a quick peck. Sirius stared at her in confusion and bewilderment, as if he wasn't sure if it had really happened.
Andy let out a small giggle at the look on his face before answering the question she knew that was forming in his mind. "For luck," she said with a slightly shy smile. Sirius continued to stare at her with his stunned expression which soon melted into a warm smile. A smile she hadn't seen in quite sometime.
"Padfoot!" yelled a voice that sounded a lot like James coming from behind Andy. The two of them turned to see James, Lily, Remus, and Peter running toward them.
"What's the matter, Prongs?" asked Sirius, a little surprised that he was talking to him.
"We thought you had gone," huffed Peter as he tried to catch his breath.
"Well…I was about to…but…Sparky here stopped me," said Sirius a little timidly as he glanced over at Andy.
"Oh," said James a little confused as he looked at his best mate, to Andy, and back again. Picking up, that James might be thinking that something odd was going on, Andy decided to speak up.
"Yup, that's me," said Andy with hint of annoyance in her voice, "the resident bounty hunter." Remus, Lily, and Peter couldn't help but chuckle at her remark, before returning to a more serious demeanor.
"Sirius…" started Remus, but was stopped when Sirius raised a hand in protest.
"Mates, it's okay. I'm ready to take whatever consequence I'm given," said Sirius trying to sound like his normal self. "Remus, I'm sorry I used you like that."
Remus shook his head at his friend's words. "Padfoot it doesn't matter anymore. Personally I wish I could remember the look on Snivellus's face when he realized what really going on," laughed Remus lightly.
Sirius too laughed a little before speaking again. "No hard feelings then?"
"Of course not," said Remus as he offered his hand to Sirius, which soon turned into an embrace. Once they had broken apart, Sirius turned to James.
"Sirius, I'm…" stared James but was stopped just like Remus.
"Prongs…don't," said Sirius simply as he looked at his best friend with remorse.
James knew what Sirius was talking about and soon both knew that they had silently forgiven each other.
"Best mates?" asked Sirius.
"Best mates," confirmed James as he embraced his best friend who had practically become his brother.
"Well…I guess I should be off. Take care mates. Evans, I know it would have never worked out between us, but could you do me the smallest of favors if I am booted out?"
"Umm…sure?" said Lily slightly afraid of his request.
"Quit torturing my best mate here," he said with a sly grin. James gave him a quick elbow in the ribs for his comment.
"We'll see," chuckled Lily.
"I'll take what I can get," shrugged Sirius. With that he began to head toward the gargoyle. "Princess," he said to Andy while mockingly bowing to her.
"Wanker," she quick spat before giving him a small smile before saying the password and heading up to the headmaster's office.
Dumbledore sat at his desk finishing up his letter, when he happened to look at the now slightly starry sky. Quickly scribbled his name and began to stuff it into the already addressed envelope.
"Enter," he said out loud suddenly while taking the school owl that was on the same perch as Fawkes and attached his letter to it.
The door slowly opened and in walked Sirius Black, looking a bit amazed, but mostly nervous about meeting with the Dumbledore.
"Hello Sirius!" said Dumbledore brightly.
"Hello sir. You wanted to see me?" said Sirius a little timidly.
"Yes I did," nodded Dumbledore as he closed the window that the owl had now just flown out of. "You had quite the evening last night."
"Yes sir," stated Sirius bracing himself for Dumbledore's words.
"Not many students are able to scare a person like you did, I must say," chuckled Dumbledore as he retook his seat behind his desk.
Sirius couldn't take the wait any longer and decided he needed to speak up quickly before Dumbledore gave him the boot. "Professor Dumbledore, may I say something before we begin?"
"Of course," said Dumbledore, as if he were expecting this.
Sirius took a deep breath before he began his speech. "Sir…I know I messed up. Even farther by my standards. I know there are consequences for my actions, and I am ready to accept them. But…if you could find it in your power…I would like to finish out my education here at Hogwarts. This is my home, sir. It's the only place that I've ever felt that I was truly free to be myself. Please don't take that away from me."
Sirius watched as Dumbledore peered over his half-moon spectacles and looked straight at him. It was almost as if he could feel him swimming around in his head, which was a slightly frightening experience.
"Sirius…in all your years here, have I ever expelled a student for breaking school rules?" asked Dumbledore.
"No sir," he replied after a moment of thought.
"Then what makes you think that I would start now?" inquired Dumbledore. Sirius shot a puzzling look at the headmaster as a sudden feeling of relief came over him. 'Is he for real?'
"Excuse me?" questioned Sirius.
"Unless you want me to expel you from Hogwarts, then…"started Dumbledore as he made to grab a piece of paper out of his desk.
"NO!!!" shouted Sirius as he lunged toward the headmaster's desk. "No…that won't be necessary."
"I thought not. No, Sirius I will not be expelling you from Hogwarts at any time. However that doesn't mean you are off the hook as some people put it," said the headmaster with a slight chuckle.
"Of course, sir," nodded Sirius as he took the empty seat in front of Dumbledore's desk.
"But we'll get to that in time. No, Sirius the reason why I had asked for you to come here tonight is to inform you of some rather sad news."
"Oh," said Sirius a bit confused.
"I'm sorry to inform you that your Uncle Alphard has passed away," said Dumbledore rather sadly.
"When?" said a slightly stunned Sirius.
"This morning I'm afraid. I've already informed the rest of the staff, and you are excused the rest of the week to attend the funeral," stated Dumbledore as he watched the boy before him.
"Thank you, but I don't think I'll be going. I don't really have a place to go," said Sirius dreading the thought of having to see his parents and the rest of the Black family.
"I've already sent word to the Potters and they are more than happy to take you in, and attend the service with you. It is in every family's nature to detest one another, but that doesn't mean you are the only one. Sometimes it is best to have a new family with your old," said Dumbledore as he leaned back into his chair and folded his hands over his long silver beard.
"Yes, sir," said Sirius happy now that he wouldn't have to face his family alone. 'At least Mr. and Mrs. Potter will be there and maybe Andromeda.'
"The house elves have already brought up your trunk from the dungeon and have sent it to the Potter's, who are waiting for your arrival by portkey," stated Dumbledore as he got up from his seat and ushered Sirius toward the fire place.
"Alright, but what about my friends?" said Sirius a bit worried that they would think he really did get the boot.
"I yes, will inform them as soon as possible. Oh that reminds me, this is for you," replied Dumbledore as he handed over a letter to Sirius.
Sirius took the letter and curiously inspected the note with his name written on it. "What is this?"
"You're punishment. Now take hold of this and have a safe journey. Again, my condolences to you and your family," said Dumbledore as he handed Sirius an old baseball hat with and Old English 'D' on it.
Sirius was about to say 'thank you' but was soon felt the familiar pull behind his navel and was whisked away into a blur of colors to the James's house.
A/N: Yay, I'm back!!!! I know, I know, "What took you so long to update?" Well to sum it up, school, work, and my backpack containing the notebook I write my story in getting stolen. GRRR…STUIPID BACKPACK STEALING JERK!!!! So…since I left school for the summer I have been trying to re-write the lost two and half chapter I had been working on while up at school. I hope to have more chapters up by the time I have to leave for school again. (I'm actually aiming to finish this story by the time the final book comes out, but we'll see.) Anyways I hope you all enjoy this nice long chapter and I want to thank everyone for being so patient and understanding. The next chapter will start up at the beginning of their seventh year where all the really interesting stuff will begin to happen. (Will James and Lily finally get together (well duh!) Will Sirius and Andy finally get over their stubbornness and realize their true feelings for one another? And what about the uprising of Lord Voldemort?)
As always flames, praises, or whatever are welcomed, so just click that little button at the bottom and send a review! (It would be nice to see them again in my mailbox.)
Until next time…
Disclaimer: How many times do I have to tell you! I don't own Harry Potter or the characters. I only own this story idea and the characters I made up. The rest belongs to J.K. Rowling.