Sirius walks into the dining room of 12 Grimmauld Place to see another meeting in full-swing - Dumbledore's there, along with Severus and Minerva, and Arthur and Molly Weasley as well as Remus. McGonagall's pacing back and forth, ranting to Dumbledore about how she'd said the Dursleys were the worst possible choice for Bloom to be sent to live with, why didn't he listen to her, when Dumbledore holds up his hand and says "Minerva, the Blood Wards-"

Remus interrupts "Are absolutely useless. Seeing as she was sent to a public school three miles away from Privet Drive, and had to walk there every day after the first according to her, she could've been snatched up at any time. The Wards didn't even extend to the yard, where they had her weeding and maintaining the lawn and plants. And they also didn't protect her from the other occupants of the house. She didn't say they ever hurt her, but her Boggart is damned Vernon Dursley. Arthur confirmed his identity for me when I showed him the memory. As safe as you think you had her, she obviously felt taking the chance of being outside the Blood Wards and getting attacked was worth it."

McGonagall goes still, then screams "YOU HAD BLOOM LIVING WITH A MAN SHE CAME TO FEAR ABOVE EVERYTHING ELSE?!"

Everyone quietly moves out of the way, as McGonagall has been known to go full-out lioness to protect her 'cubs' from danger. Just about the one thing she and Snape share in common, the desire to protect their House and the students in their care - he'll quietly get rid of any threat to his snakes, she'll attack a threat to her lions head-on and claws out.

Sirius grins at Remus and mouths 'mother-lion time!'

Remus grins back, giving him a thumbs-up and a conspiring look.

Snape sees the look between them, as McGonagall's tearing a few strips out of Dumbledore's hide, and asks "Something you two know? Or is this an inside joke?"

Remus murmurs "Gryffindor joke. McGonagall's practically the mother of the whole house of Lions. I pity Dumbledore, at the moment."

Sirius smirks for a moment, then says "I don't. Not even a little. We all know that when he has his mind set to something, not even a slap to the face by the blatant truth will change his mind." He walks over to Arthur and Molly, and quietly says "If it's not a problem, I could take the kids to Diagon Alley to get their school things. Dumbledore did provide the lists when you moved here, after all."

Molly nods her head gratefully, and says "Thank you, Sirius. For everything. I so hope we find Bloom, she must've known she'd be welcome with us…"

Sirius feels a ball of warmth explode in his chest at that, seeing as it's nearly exactly like what the Potters did when he left this house so many years ago, and he says "Thank you, Molly, Arthur. For taking care of Bloom when I couldn't. For…well, for a lot."

Molly nods, and says "You'd best go tell the kids to be ready to go. Your taking Hermione, to? Poor girl's been distraught, what with Bloom still being missing, and all. Ginny, to - they're like sisters, after what happened in Ginny's first year. And that's not even mentioning poor Hedwig..."

Sirius nods, and says "I imagine Hedwig's getting bored, being cooped up in here all the time."

"Poor girl, misses her Witch no doubt."

Sirius nods, and quietly says "If Dumbledore does something surprising, such as admitting he was wrong, for instance, or that it's his fault my Goddaughter is missing, do let me know."

Sirius makes for the stairs, and Dumbledore clears his throat and says "Oh, Sirius, something rather odd happened earlier today…I believe someone accessed the Potters' vault. Bloom, perhaps?"

I knew it. So did Griphook. Sirius shakes his head, and says "No, Dumbledore, that was me, actually. As Bloom's Guardian, I have limited access to the Potters' Vault. I was hoping Griphook might have an idea of where Bloom might've gone into hiding, and he suggested I look in the Potters' Will."

It doesn't escape Sirius that Dumbledore's gone nearly as white as his hair at this point, even as he asks "And? Any clues?"

"About where she's gone? No. About where she should've gone? Yes. For one…it was mentioned that I wasn't their Secret-Keeper."

There's a dead silence in the room, broken by Snape's icy-cold "What?"

Sirius nods, and says "The one thing that had everyone convinced I was guilty was the idea that I was their Secret-Keeper - in the beginning of the Will, it says Peter Pettigrew's the Secret-Keeper. It also says Bloom was to under no circumstances - Lily capitalized and underlined the 'no' there, she really meant it - was she to go to the Dursleys, as Lily didn't want Bloom being raised…well, being raised exactly like she was raised. Now, if you'll understand…I'm bleeding furious at you, Dumbledore. You sealed the one piece of paper that would've freed me in an instant and started a hunt for that traitorous rat, sent the sweetest kid I'd ever met into living hell with the people she was specifically not supposed to go to, and turned her into an untrusting combination of an adult mind and paranoia inside a teenager's body. And, to top it off, you kept me from taking custody of her by keeping me stuck in St. Mungo's for an entire year on Calming Draughts and Dreamless Sleep when they weren't sticking me with Mind Healers who'd drone on and on about my recovery and how I shouldn't try to take on any responsibilities until it was complete, then tried to have her sent back to those pathetic excuses of people who clearly don't care about her one bit because I didn't have anything sorted like I would have if I could've accessed anything outside of St. Mungo's…and succeeded in metaphorically scaring Bloom off, resulting in the current situation we're in, where neither you nor the Ministry has any idea where Bloom is. Unless you've found my Goddaughter somehow, and are willing to make an Unbreakable Vow that you will end these manipulations and allow her to salvage what remains available to her of an actual childhood after everything she's been through, then do kindly leave me alone until I cool down enough to not want to punch you in the face and snap your wand."

Remus says "Pads, I know your upset - I am to. But that might be going a little far."

Sirius barks out a laugh, and says "I'm far past upset, Moony. I'm so furious I can't see at all. I rotted away for twelve years in Azkaban, hanging onto my sanity by wondering how Bloom was doing and the knowledge that I was innocent all that time, all because nobody heard our best friends' Will. Bloom was turned from the sweet girl we knew her as when she was adopted into an untrusting girl that would've burned me to ashes and very nearly did the same to the rat. Lily went on and on for three hours after Dumbledore told them they'd have to go into hiding about how Bloom couldn't end up with Petunia no matter what - how Petunia hated magic with every fiber of her being, and how she'd take it all out on an innocent child without a second thought or any hesitation or guilt. What I want is to turn Dumbledore into a one-year-old, have him be raised by the Dursleys exactly as Bloom was raised, then throw him into Azkaban when he's old enough for twelve years. Maybe then he'll understand why I'm so furious."

Dumbledore holds up a hand calmly, and says "Sirius, everything I did was for the Greater Good. Bloom's destiny-"

Sirius loses any semblance of composure right then and there, and snarls "The war was OVER! Bloom killed that homicidal psychopath! You don't seriously expect me to believe that, do you? Exactly how much damage do you think the Dementors did to my brain, seeing as I got O's on every N.E.W.T. I took?! Bloom was just about all I had left to live for, yet you think…what? That I'd have been an incapable parent or something? You think I wouldn't have trained her? Kept her safe? Dammit, Dumbledore!" Sirius practically stomps up the stairs, though his anger is more than justified given everything.

Everyone else is glaring at Dumbledore, and McGonagall actually slaps him hard across the face hard enough to leave a red mark. "It's my duty to protect my students, Headmaster. And that's exactly what I'm going to do. The only reason I didn't snatch her up off that doorstep fourteen years ago is because I know you, I know that nothing anybody says or does will change your mind - and not through sheer stubborn will, like Bloom has. Your so caught up in this chess board of yours, you've forgotten the pieces you so like to move around are people." Then McGonagall storms out of the room before she Transfigures Dumbledore into something.

Molly gives Dumbledore a hard glare, and says "When Ron, Fred, and George came back with Bloom, saying the Dursleys had barred her window, I'd assumed they made it up to get out of de-gnoming the garden. I'm both ashamed and disgusted that I was utterly wrong there."

Arthur adds "If you try to send her back there, I'm filing a report with the Ministry. Madam Bones, to be specific. Head of the DMLE. I'm sure she'd have a field day with all of this."

Remus wordlessly heads up to try and calm Sirius down - like Bloom, he's got something of a habit of rash decisions.

All the Weasley kids, plus Hermione, are listening to the sounds of shouting coming from down below them - they can't hear most of the words, but 'you had Bloom living with a man she came to fear above everything else' was heard loud and clear - and nobody likes it at all.

Fred quietly - dangerously - asks "Your telling us that"

"the fat man we saw"

"at four Privet Drive"

"when we went to pick Bloom up for the Quidditch World Cup"

"is what her Boggart turns into?"

Ron nods his head, and says "She picked up the desk, swung it at the poor boggart. Then locked it back in the wardrobe and left the class. Nobody was laughing about hers."

George has a practically murderous look on his face, and says "Should've offered the fat whale one of the prototypes of the Puking Pastilles. The balance was all wrong then, it just made you puke and puke, much too hard to get the other half in without it coming right back out."

Sirius' voice says "I'm all for that one. I'm also taking you all shopping for your school supplies tomorrow."

Ron asks "Is Bloom-"

"Alright."

Fred, George, and Ginny all immediately start asking questions, and Sirius puts a finger to his lips and takes them into a nearby room - he then closes and Imperterbs the door.

"We can't give exact details, and you three have to act like you don't know any of this…but Bloom's not exactly missing. She's been found, and she's in good hands. Ones I trust, far more than I currently do Dumbledore, anyway."

Ginny lets out a breath of utter relief, and says "Thank Merlin…"

Fred and George actually hug Sirius, and say "We've been so worried"

"about Bloom, you see"

"she's like another sister to us"

"after she saved Ginny's life from a cursed Diary."

Sirius chuckles, and says "So I've heard. Bloom's asked after you, and sends her regards - and an apology about the scare, once she learned everyone knew she hadn't returned to Privet Drive and it was all over the Daily Prophet. You two also need to make a stop to Gringotts. There's a surprise waiting for you from her."

Fred and George hi-five, and Ginny says "I bet it's whatever she thought of for a birthday present. She always comes up with something."

Sirius grins, and says "No spoilers."

AN: Hey, everyone! Happy Winter Break! Got all my grades in - and they're all great! I'll update again before Christmas, promise!

As to the story, this chapter takes place maybe an hour after the last one - yeah, Sirius is as furious as Bloom was, he just can't burst into flames nearly as easily as Bloom can. Seeing as Sirius already hates 12 Grimmauld Place with a passion, he's likely just going to up and abandon it for James' old home where he lived for a bit in Canon - I've named it Potter Hall, btw. Can't find anything about what the place was actually called, but I did find the detail that Sirius ran away when he was sixteen and was welcome with the Potters.

At any rate, I need a bit of input - I've got an idea for how fifth year might go, but I want feedback. Should I have Dumbledore sacked as Headmaster? Or just keep Umbridge as the High Inquisitor who's failing miserably in her mission of trying to make a stubborn, willful Bloom Potter fall in line with Fudge's wishes? If Dumbledore's sacked, I know just how I'm going to do it. If not, then I'll save it for after fifth year.

Anyway, enjoy! More updates coming soon! Please review if you've got comments or feedback!

P.S. The overwhelming majority - aka, everyone who commented - wants Hedwig as a Phoenix. Which I'm happy about, as I kinda want her as a Phoenix to. I've got the details of that worked out - and, no, she won't be your average Phoenix due to how she's going to become one, so she won't look a bit like Fawkes. No spoilers, though - I do need to know when exactly Hedwig was attacked, though. I can't find a date or timeframe anywhere - and I don't particularly want to read through all of HP5 until I find it either. If someone could help, I'd be most appreciative.