Chapter 47: Politics

Wizengamot Chambers, Ministry of Magic, London, England

February 25, 1987

When he was younger the talk of politics bored him. It was the talk of stuffy old men as far as he was concerned. He had better ideas on how to spend his time. Pranking his cousins Bellatrix, Andromeda, and Narcissa was, back then, a far worthier form of entertainment. It was a bit galling for him to realize now that he should have paid better attention to those stuffy old men. Sirius watched the proceedings of the Wizengamot from his seat in the upper balcony of the chambers. The balcony was reserved for the family of the Wizengamot members, Apprentices, who would one day be taking over positions as representatives of their families in that august body.

He had been properly introduced to the Wizengamot days before as the Apprentice of Pollux Black the Black Representative in the Wizengamot. It had been the agreement of Lord Black, Pollux, and Sirius that they would not alert the Wizengamot to the fact that Sirius intended to soon take over the Regency of House Potter. Sirius was not yet aware of the political atmosphere in Britain and he needed the time to learn all that he could. Let the Wizengamot members believe that Sirius was being trained to one day become the Representative of House Black in the Wizengamot. He would, at least for now, be shielded by his Grandfather, Pollux Black.

Sirius's lips curved into a small smile as he remembered what Pollux had told him the very day he had been released from prison. His maternal grandfather had promised to stand guard over him while he was vulnerable. He was still vulnerable, especially in this sphere, so Sirius knew that Pollux would continue to guard him.

It was odd this feeling that he could maybe trust his family. They were not all monsters like his mother had been. His father had been weak against her. That still angered Sirius. It still made him angry that his father had been unable to protect Sirius and Regulus from Walburga Black, but he was beginning to forgive his father. Orion was a victim of Walburga too. None of them had done right by each other. Sirius didn't trust his family completely, but he knew that his judgments against them when he was a youth had been overly harsh. They were the brash actions of a hurt youth. He was a man now, and he wanted to be a good one. He needed to be a strong example to Leonis, Harry, and Orion. Those three boys would be scrutinizing his behavior, possibly emulating him. He didn't want them to emulate behavior that he was ashamed of. He had to show them good things, show them his strengths.

He needed to be strong if he was to take over the Potter Regency. He frowned in thought then. He had learned that originally Albus Dumbledore had been named the Potter Regent and the Potter Will and Testament had been sealed without being read due to the belief that Sirius was a traitor to the Potter's. When Petunia married Marius Black, she had used her power as the Guardian of Harry Potter the Boy Who Lived to get the Will and Testament read. Sirius had been named Harry's Magical Guardian and the Potter Regent. It was expected for Dumbledore to keep his position as the Potter Regent since Sirius was a criminal confined to Azkaban. Petunia had decided otherwise and had acted promptly to strip Dumbledore of the Potter Regency. She managed to have Pollux Black named the Potter Regent because of his being the maternal Grandfather of Sirius. If Pollux and Arcturus could be believed, then Dumbledore had made attempts to convince Petunia to have himself reinstated as the Potter Regent ever since his removal.

Sirius could well believe that Dumbledore had been displeased to see Pollux Black as the Potter Regent. It must have been a great coup to have the right to vote on behalf of House Potter. Though not as politically powerful as the Black and Malfoy families, the Potter family had been a powerful and influential family while Charlus Potter still lived. James had allowed Dumbledore to vote as his Proxy after Charlus's death because he had not wanted to take on his responsibilities as Lord Potter in the political arena yet. Sirius was ashamed to realize that he had been part of James's decision at the time to let Dumbledore handle that aspect of his responsibilities as Lord Potter. As Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot, Dumbledore could only vote if it was needed to break a tie. His having held the Potter Vote on behalf of Lord Potter had given him a vote in the Wizengamot. Petunia had taken that from the man. She had, in a fashion, also stripped any illusion of Albus Dumbledore being close to "The Boy Who Lived". Knowing Petunia as he did now, he thought it was ensuring that Dumbledore could not claim a close association with Harry that she had truly wanted to achieve. She was wary of Dumbledore, though he was not sure as to why. Perhaps he should treat Petunia to lunch sometime soon and discuss Dumbledore with her.

He was back in England now, the time for unpleasant conversations was upon him. He would need to meet with Dumbledore soon. The man could not be put off now that he was living back in England. He had responded to the letters that Dumbledore had sent him while he was convalescing in Italy, but he knew that the letters were a stalling tactic. He'd have to settle things with Dumbledore in person. He didn't know how he felt about that. He didn't feel anger at Dumbledore for believing his ruse. He did feel anger that as the Chief of the Wizengamot he had not insisted upon a trial. So, Dumbledore had thought him guilty. Didn't the man want him prosecuted so that James and Lily's souls would remain at peace? Didn't he want to know if anyone else had helped him to hurt James and Lily? It was strange that Dumbledore had not insisted on the trial. What had he to fear if he had thought Sirius was guilty? This question had bothered him often while he had grown stronger at Belvedere.

He let his gaze settle on Dumbledore as the man sat in his chair with Elphias Dodge to one side of him and Lord Abbott on his other side. Sirius felt anger burn in him as he stared at Warring Abbott. Ever since he had the pleasure of meeting Alicia Abbott and her little girl, Hannah, Sirius had felt hatred toward Lord Abbott. Sirius could not understand a man who would defy the memory of his son and cast aside his daughter-in-law and granddaughter the way that Warring Abbott had done. Johnathon Abbott had loved Alicia. Sirius had done enough asking around to learn that much. Also, the majority of Wizarding Britain seemed to believe that Alicia had been a faithful spouse. Lord Abbott was slandering her good name and denying his grandchild her proper right as the Heir Abbott. Sirius thought the man was disgusting for that and he had already determined that he would do what he could to elevate Alicia's status back to what it should be.

He watched as Dumbledore murmured something in the ear of Lord Abbott, some disagreement with some part of the presentation being delivered by the aged Lord Selwyn. Sirius watched as a few moments after Lord Selwyn finished and was once more seated, Lord Abbott arose and began to argue against Lord Selwyn.

Sirius nodded to himself and it would appear as though he agreed with Lord Abbott's arguments when in fact he was nodding due to his own thoughts. Dumbledore used some of the Lords around him. He influenced them. 'Just like he influenced me back at Hogwarts' he thought and grimaced at the thought. He could still remember Dumbledore carefully asking him about his family, Sirius revealing his dislike of his parents. He had said they were dark wizards and he didn't want to be like them. Dumbledore had told him it was his choices that mattered and that if he did not want to be a Dark Wizard he should keep himself apart from them. Dumbledore had been careful with his wording, but Sirius had understood him to mean that Sirius should remain apart from his family, separate himself from the House of Black. Sirius had done so in the end, and it had left him floundering ever since.

He could no longer deny that his grandfather's forcing him to return to the family fold had probably been the best thing for him. He felt whole now in ways that he had not felt since before he went away to Hogwarts. He was a Black, a Dark Wizard, but not an evil Wizard. The two were not synonymous. His children were not evil and he would make sure that they never became evil.

His mother had always rambled against Albus Dumbledore. She said he had an agenda. Always some sort of agenda. She had hated him for removing classes from Hogwarts. She had hated him for being a Muggle lover. Sirius had ignored her. He had idolized Dumbledore. Now, he no longer idolized the man but he still respected him. Dumbledore did what he believed to be best. Sirius could admire that, had always admired that. The trouble now, was that Sirius was aligned with those that Dumbledore viewed as enemies. Sirius would have to change Dumbledore's mind about that and if he could not, then he would have to change his own mind about Dumbledore. He didn't know which outcome to hope for.

He glanced down at the floor once more when he heard the smooth voice of Severus Snape, the Lord Prince. Severus was arguing against Lord Abbott and Sirius took the time to admire what he was seeing and what he was hearing. Awkward, large nosed, greasy haired Snivellous Snape had grown up into a striking man. He would never be what someone could call handsome, but he was striking. There was a presence to the man as he stood against Lord Abbott and with ease began to unravel the man's objections to Selwyn's proposal. That Snape was present at all meant that he personally cared about what Selwyn was presenting that day. Pollux had warned Sirius that a few of the Lords only showed up for the opening and closing sessions of the Wizengamot for the seasons and for the few times when the proposed bills or changes to bills was something they cared to lend their voice to. Snape had been on the small list of those Lords who rarely attended the Wizengamot. His Proxy Vote was held by Lucius Malfoy, a good choice since Lucius was his Ardenvraar.

Sirius glanced at the golden ring that rested on the middle finger of his right hand. It had a pretty ivy filigree design etched into the edges of the band. It was his gift from James when they had shared their blood and vowed to be Ardenvraar. Before 1981, no one in their society would believe that an Ardenvraar could turn on their other half, but Orran Nott had turned on his Arden, Abraxas Malfoy, and then Peter had framed him so prettily making everyone think he had betrayed his own Arden, James. He let his finger trail over the ring and he wondered if James had been buried with his own ring or if the ring had ended up in the Potter Vaults. He hoped the ring remained with James. There was something comforting about the idea that he wore the ring even in death.

He looked back down at Severus Snape standing tall and proud on the chamber floor and he felt a twisting in his gut. In that moment, he hoped that Snape would never know the feeling of deep loss and despair that came with the loss of ones Arden. Whatever ill feelings he had once felt for Snape, they were changed as he listened to the man argue with Lord Abbott.

Lord Selwyn was proposing that they abolish permitting Wizarding Children to go to Muggle homes or orphanages. He was also demanding that children in the Muggle Orphanages that have done magic to be removed from those places to live in a Wizarding Household.

Lord Abbott had argued against the changes to the current law. Daniel Abbott stated that it was harming none of the children to remain where they were and that it would cost too much money for the Ministry to set up a Department that would oversee the removal of these children and the placement of them into Wizarding homes.

Snape was decimating Lord Abbott's claims that these children were remaining unhurt, stating that Lord Abbott could not possibly know the state of the children since he had never bothered to look in on them. He had then proceeded to express his own belief that the children born into Wizarding homes who had been left orphaned and were placed with Muggle relatives or worse in Muggle Orphanages were being harmed because they were taken from an environment where they consistently felt the magic around them to one where they were suddenly stifled. He pointed out that not all muggles were accepting of a child who was gifted with Magic, and that in some cases the child was abused by those who should have loved and taken care of them.

Sirius felt something twist tight inside of him as he listened to Snape talk of children being abused for being magical. It was as if Snape spoke from personal experience. That couldn't be true. Surely it couldn't be true. Sirius watched him, using all the skills he learned as an Auror and he felt his right-hand curling into a fist as he analyzed what he saw. The way that Snape held himself as he spoke of children being abused by magic hating muggles. The way he curled into himself slightly as though expecting a blow. Abused. Snape had been abused. The way Snape's voice lilted slightly as he spoke of Muggles hurting magical children told Sirius that it had been a Muggle that had hurt Snape. The way that Snape's dark eyes blazed with determination told Sirius that it had not been a one-time happenstance. Snape had lived with repeated abuse by a Muggle. Sirius clenched both of his fists as he realized that Snape had been an abused child and then had suffered abuse from Sirius and his friends at school. Dear Merlin! What had he done?! He had made a child who needed care and protection, who needed someone like Sirius to protect him, and instead, he had tormented him. Severus Snape had every reason to hate Sirius Black. What reason did Sirius have for hating Severus? He couldn't think of a single reason and that made him all the angrier with himself.

"Perhaps families like the Selwyn's should fund the building of an Orphanage," sneered Lord Abbott. Sirius immediately disliked the man. Why was Lord Abbott fighting the idea of protecting magical children so hard? Dumbledore supported the opposition to Selwyn's bill, that was clear. Why did Dumbledore support it? He had only a moment to find his answer. Because Dumbledore liked Muggles and Muggleborn's. Dumbledore had been the champion of the rites of Muggleborn's for many years and several of the Great families such as the Abbott's, had proposed bills over the years that Sirius now suspected Dumbledore was the mastermind of. It was also a well-known fact that most of the Hogwarts Board of Governors bowed to the whims of Albus Dumbledore.

So, it was another case of Dumbledore doing what he thought was for the best. Sirius would have agreed with Dumbledore once, trusting that the older man knew best. He couldn't afford to blindly follow anyone now. Not Dumbledore. Not his Grandfathers, though he would take full advantage of their accumulated wisdom. Not Remus. He couldn't ask James what he thought Sirius should do. He had to rely on his own judgments. He had to own them, even if they became mistakes.

Did he agree with Dumbledore today about the children or did he agree with Selwyn? He frowned in thought and then watched as Severus Snape slowly sat down beside Lucius Malfoy, who was serving that day as the Representative of House Malfoy for Lord Malfoy. Sirius kept his eyes for a moment on Snape and noticed the small movement of Lucius Malfoy, the placement of his hand gently on Snape's wrist. He watched as Snape seemed to thaw slightly, allowing the slightly older man to soothe him.

'I agree with Snape,' he realized as he watched the pair. He turned his gaze then to Pollux Black. His grandfather was unreadable but Sirius didn't have to ask which side Pollux would choose. He would not side with Lord Abbott. Pollux would remove all magical children from Muggle household's if the law would permit him to do so. He then let his eyes fall to the other side of the room, to Albus Dumbledore. He was momentarily surprised to see that Dumbledore was watching him. He felt strange for a moment, a fuzzy feeling in his mind and then he realized what was happening.

Albus Dumbledore was using Legilimency on him!

His blue eyes narrowed as he fought against his former idol. He pulled up his occlumency barriers, still far weaker than he wished them to be. He was painfully aware in that moment that Dumbledore was strong enough to tear down these barriers. He felt Dumbledore's surprise that Sirius had pulled the barriers up at all and he felt the older man's withdrawal. Sirius was left shaken from the ordeal, wondering what Albus Dumbledore had seen in his mind. Just what had the man been searching for? He didn't know, but he was now convinced more than ever before that he needed to work on improving his Occlumency.


Longview Manor, Winchester, Hampshire, South East, England

"Sirius, it's lovely to see you," Petunia Black greeted him with a genuinely warm smile and a kiss on his cheek. She squeezed his hand as he took it and raised it to his lips for a kiss.

"Petunia Black, you are a sight for sore eyes," he said in praise to the woman who was Lily's sister, his Great-Aunt by her marriage to his Great-Uncle Marius, and the Aunt of his beloved Godson.

"I've taken the liberty of ordering tea and those sandwiches that you are so fond of," she informed him as she settled herself upon the settee.

He settled across from her, lounging upon a comfortable cushioned chair. "Thank you for the thought. I didn't manage lunch," he confessed.

She nodded her understanding. "Wizengamot," she said with a grimace.

Sirius didn't hide his surprise. "You've sat in on sessions?"

She nodded. "A few, not near as many as you have had to now," she admitted. "It was early days of my marriage then and I needed to be present to push the Wizengamot to unseal Lily and Jame's Will and then I needed to push for the removal of Dumbledore as the Potter Regent."

Sirius held his thoughts as the tea tray with sandwiches was brought into the room. Once Petunia had poured his tea the way he preferred it and he had taken up a small plate and placed two sandwiches upon it, he spoke again. "May I ask why you wished Dumbledore removed as the Potter Regent?"

She smiled and then took a sip of her tea. "That is easy enough to answer. I don't trust the man," she proclaimed.

He took a bite out of the first sandwich as Petunia began to explain her relationship with Dumbledore.

"To start with, do you know how he left Harry with me?" she asked of him.

Startled by her question he searched his mind and realized that he didn't actually know how Dumbledore had presented Harry to her. "No," he admitted.

"I found Harry wrapped in a blanket on my front porch in the morning when I went to put out the old milk bottles for retrieval," Petunia proclaimed.

"What?!" Sirius shouted, feeling anger rush through him.

"Yes, that was my reaction as well. Distress, anger," she said. "Disgust too. I asked myself what kind of person just leaves a child out in the cold at night. I wondered how long he had been there. I found out later he had been out there for hours. He could have fallen sick, someone could have seen him and taken him away, a stray animal could have harmed him. If Dumbledore put any protections around him, I have never heard of it."

Sirius stared at his trembling fist. "It's my fault," he said through gritted teeth. "I let Hagrid take Harry. I was torn in two. I wanted to do right by Harry but I wanted to avenge my Arden," he tried to explain. "Hagrid came and said that Dumbledore sent him to get Harry. Harry was bleeding from the curse scar, and Hagrid told me that if I let him take Harry to Hogwarts then Madame Pomfrey would see him. I let him take Harry and then I went after Peter. I thought that I would catch Peter, turn him into law enforcement and then go to Hogwarts, back to Harry, but," he trailed off when Petunia came around the table and perched on the arm of his chair. He was surprised when she pulled him close to her and cuddled him against her. Tears sprang to his eyes. It was such a Lily thing to do. The sisters were not often alike, but sometimes he saw Petunia do small things that reminded him so much of Lily that he felt his heart hammer painfully in his chest.

"It's not your fault Sirius," she soothed him. "You did what you thought was best that night. As you said, you wanted to do right by Harry. Giving him to someone you trusted to take him to a doctor or um healer," she corrected herself. "was a good thing to do. And this Hagrid did take Harry to where he promised but it was Dumbledore who changed everything after that. You going after Peter, that was a good thing too. I wish that you hadn't since it put you in Azkaban, but you were trying to protect Harry from the threat that man still posed."

Sirius nodded and let himself bask for a few moments in the comfort and warmth that Petunia was giving him. "Marius is a lucky man," he told her.

She smiled at that. "So, I keep reminding him," she said cheekily even as she released him and returned to her seat on the settee. "Eat more sandwiches," she ordered. "Miss Kane made them just for you."

He smirked. "Well, I wouldn't want to upset Miss Kane," Sirius said and then resumed eating his sandwiches. "Was it only the way that Dumbledore left Harry to you that upset you?"

Her look said that it was certainly reason enough but she shook her head in the negative. "No, he did more," she said as she poured herself more tea. "When he found out that I had divorced Vernon, Dumbledore sought me out. How he found me while I was out shopping, I have no idea, but he did. I was on my way to meet Narcissa and a few ladies for a fitting for my Wedding dress when Dumbledore waylaid me for a little chat. That chat consisted of him professing to be worried about me due to my failed marriage to Vernon. Then he asked if there was any chance of reconciliation between us. I assured him that there wasn't of course," she explained. "Then he offered for me to live in one of his residences with Harry. He didn't even bother to mention Dudley, I think he assumed that Vernon had him. Of course, I refused him. I told him that Harry, Dudley, and I were doing just fine without his assistance. He tried to bully me into in a fatherly sort of way. He kept going on about how worried he was, how concerned he was and surely how it would be best for me to agree to move into one of his residences with Harry."

"How did you get him to back off?" Sirius asked her even as he mulled over her description of Dumbledore's fatherly bullying. He had seen Dumbledore employ that method on more than one occasion. 'I always fell for it,' he thought in disgust.

"Mr. Dalton, Marius's driver, saved me," she admitted. "He's a Wizard and he thought I was taking too long in the store and he was worried about my ability to make my fitting appointment if I remained longer so he came inside to find me. He collected me, reminding me of my appointment and telling Mr. Dumbledore that he would just have to make an appointment if he wished to speak to me in the future," Petunia revealed with her lips twitching into a smirk and her blue eyes dancing with mirth. "The look on Dumbledore's face was quite comical."

Sirius chuckled. He could imagine it was. He knew many people could only dream of getting the better of Albus Dumbledore, the man was always too congenial and self-composed for that.

"I have had a few letters from Dumbledore over the years. Each one was full of concern for the safety of Harry and me," Petunia added. "He made no outright accusations but it seemed clear enough to me that if he had approved of my marriage to Marius then he wouldn't have been expressing worry for us in his letters."

Sirius nodded his agreement. He knew that Albus would have been panicking when he realized that Petunia had married into the Black family. His family had never bowed to Dumbledore, even at the height of Dumbledore's popularity after his defeat of Grindelwald. He used to think it was because his family was evil, but now he was beginning to suspect it was because the House of Black would not bow to someone that they found unworthy of their service. That the person in power should be a Black, well that was just common sense in his family.

Dumbledore would never have them. Sirius realized that now. He would never have the full and unwavering support of the House of Black. Not for as long as his Grandfather's lived. In fact, the majority of the "Old Guard" would have to be dead before Dumbledore could hope to win over the House of Black. Even then, Sirius was not so sure that Dumbledore could do it. Leonis had already proven to be headstrong when he thought it mattered. He had defended his position as an Apprentice to Lord Prince. His boy was so much like Regulus. Leonis had been the perfect name for him. Sirius knew from personal experience that his boy had claws and he'd use them if he felt pushed into a corner. Cats always did one of two things when you cornered them, they found an opening and fled or they fought back. Leonis had fought back and he didn't doubt that he would do so again if cornered. Leonis had also already been taught to be wary of Dumbledore. He didn't doubt that Marius and Petunia were teaching Dudley and Harry to be wary of the Headmaster of Hogwarts as well. He was sure that Narcissa was teaching Draco and her Wards to be wary of Dumbledore.

"Have you heard from 'Cissa since the Raid?" he asked of Petunia. Thoughts of Draco and Narcissa had made him think of his cousin and how afraid she must have been when the Auror's had come to raid her home.

"Yes," Petunia told him as she sat her empty tea cup down upon the saucer. "She brought Draco, Theo, and Blaise over just yesterday evening for a light dinner and a few hours of playtime for the boys."

Sirius smiled at that. "I'm glad that Draco seems to be recovered," he said. "When 'Cissa told me about what the Auror had done to him she was near tears," he said.

Petunia nodded, her expression somber. "It was just a mild concussion, but it should never have happened," she said. "We expect accidents to happen when children play. A child hits their head on the side of a table or on a particularly hard rock outside, that sort of thing. Yet one never expects it to be an adult that hurts the child."

"It's all the worse since it was an Auror. They are supposed to protect young children from evil and dangerous witches and wizards," Sirius pronounced.

"Yes," Petunia agreed and it was a testament to how involved she was in the Wizarding World that she knew exactly what he was talking about without asking for clarification.

"Mum," Dudley's voice rang out from the entry hall. "We're home!"

"I'm in the lounge my darlings!" Petunia immediately called back and a happy smile curved her lips.

Dudley Black came rushing into the room. Sirius was struck by just how much the little boy resembled his Great-Uncle Marius. The boy had raven black hair that was cut short but was thick and showed signs that it would be wavy if he ever grew it out. He had the pale complexion of the Black family but with blue eyes that matched Petunia.

Harry Potter sauntered in after his cousin and Sirius smiled to see him. While Dudley hugged his mother, Sirius opened his arms wide to embrace the emerald eyed boy that came barreling into his arms.

"Sirius!" Harry exclaimed, happy to see him.

"Hello Harry, good day?" Sirius asked of him as he enjoyed hugging the boy. Alive and well and happy. This was what James and Lily would have wanted for their boy.

Harry smiled at him. "Yeah, it was pretty good. We got our Spelling Quizzes back. Dudley, Hermione, and I earned perfect scores."

"Well done, boys!" Sirius said encouragingly.

Dudley laughed then. "It was a foregone conclusion. Hermione will not let us do worse than a 95 on our school work. She aims for perfection but recognizes that we won't always meet her exacting standards."

Sirius laughed at that. "Surely, she's not that bad," he said of the girl that was best friends with Dudley and Harry. He wondered once more if she was perhaps Harry's soul-mate. The Potter's seemed to find their soulmates while young, at least if Charlus Potter and James were any indications.

"She's eased up a little bit now that she's friends with Eleanor and Estelle. She visits with Eleanor a few times a week after school and they see Estelle every Friday night and Saturday," Harry informed him.

"Estelle," Sirius questioned.

"Estelle Burke," Petunia answered him. "She's Meliora Burke's granddaughter. Estelle's father is the Heir Burke. He and his wife, Edwina, are the owners of a restaurant that they named after their little girl. It caters to both Wizarding and Muggle patrons."

"Ah yes, Estelle," Sirius said. He remembered Meliora Burke, his grandfather's mistress with ease, but he had not remembered the name of the woman's granddaughter. He had rarely spent any time with Meliora since having agreed to return to the family fold. His focus had been upon getting healthy so that he could spend more time with Leonis and Harry. "I treated Narcissa and the boys to lunch there," he informed Petunia. He made no mention of meeting Alicia Abbott that day. The last thing he wanted was Petunia making speculations about his sudden interest in the woman.

Petunia smiled. "When I am in London, I often meet 'Cissa there for luncheons. I have taken the boys plenty of times and they like it."

Sirius nodded. "Perhaps I should join you and the boys for lunch at Estelle's some time. I have moved into the townhouse Uncle Alphard left for me in Chelsea," Sirius explained. "It's an eight-bedroom house and I am still sorting it out a bit. It needed a few renovations but those are done now. I just need to get a decorator in there."

"You should let Mum decorate it," Dudley encouraged. "She's decorated most of the rooms here."

"Yeah, she's great," Harry encouraged.

"Oh no darlings," Petunia protested. "I had help if you might remember. Mr. Stanley helped me a great deal and I also asked Narcissa for assistance."

Harry looked confused. "I don't remember Cousin 'Cissa helping," he said.

"You were too busy plotting world dominion with Draco," she reminded him in a teasing tone of voice.

Dudley smiled then. "We were just using Draco to charm Cookie into giving us sweets," he admitted.

Sirius raised an eyebrow at that. "Do you often use Draco to charm people for you?" he asked of his Godson and his cousin.

Harry shook his head. "We don't do it often," he admitted.

"It would lessen the impact," Dudley added.

Sirius laughed then.

"You laugh, but I don't think that you would be able to say no to Draco Malfoy when he looks at you with those vulnerable gray eyes," Petunia said sourly.

Sirius laughed harder then. "He's charmed you plenty of times, hasn't he?" he asked of her.

Petunia pursed her lips and nodded.

Sirius continued to laugh and he was joined in his laughter by Harry and Dudley. The sound of their laughter was music to his ears and Petunia must have agreed for she began to giggle as well.

Sirius spent an enjoyable evening with his Godson, his Cousin, and his Great-Aunt. However, when he returned to his silent house in Chelsea he was struck by how lonely the house was. He found himself missing young Scorpius, who was currently staying with Narcissa. Sirius had not expected to become so fond of Bella's child. He missed Leonis and Orion. He wished that his sons lived with him. He knew that Leonis was being raised well by Cassiopeia and he knew that Orion was happy with Remus. He didn't want to hurt his children, but he wished that they could be there with him. His to love, his to take care of. His to treasure. He settled in for a long night of trying to suppress the deep longing within him to fill his home with the sounds of children's laughter.


Thank you wonderful readers for all of your reviews, follows, and favorites. Your encouragement means a lot to me. And special thanks to the reviewers who caught a flaw in my editing. Thanks to your pointing it out, I have fixed it!

Next Chapter: Oathbreaker, in which we learn the truth behind the death of Orion Black.