Chapter 37 – A Sirius Interlude AKA Sirius Hijack's the Chapter

Godric's Hollow

"I should have come sooner," the tall, lean man sighed. "It shouldn't have been this hard to drum up the courage to come talk to you, but I just didn't know what I was going to say. Words cannot express how sorry I am. I am ashamed of myself and embarrassed by my actions." He sat on the ground one leg stretched out, the other bent with his arm wrapped lightly around it.

Sirius Black looked tired. He was dressed differently then had become his normal. Where he usually wore robes of the finest quality, now he wore jeans. Those jeans looked a bit too new to be comfortable, mostly because they were, this was the first time he had worn them. He wore a scared black leather jacket over a black Queen t-shirt, both of which were more than a decade old.

"I can't believe I was so stupid. How could I have let him trick me like that? I knew Peter could be sneaky but I really didn't see that coming. You know what I mean?" he paused as though waiting for an answer. None would come because the dead don't speak. "Merlin. How were we so blinded, James?"

He fought back a sob. This was harder than he had anticipated. It would have been easier if the dead could speak. He would have much preferred the screaming lecture he was sure he deserved from both James and Lily to the silence of the cemetery.

"I can't believe I let you down. I let Harry down." Sirius shook his head, tears running down his face. "What kind of godfather am I? How could you trust me? Remus would have been a much better choice of godfathers; I bet he would have followed Harry instead of the stupid rat. Remus would have known that Harry was more important than my anger. Better yet, I bet Remus wouldn't have let Hagrid take him."

Sirius took his head in his hands, gripping his hair tightly as he closed his eyes trying not to see his dead friends lying on the floor of their small cottage home. Their open, lifeless eyes had haunted him since the night of their death. "It should have been me. If I could only turn back time, I would make sure it was me.

"I would make sure you weren't home that night; instead, I would stay with Harry so that when the wards fell, Voldy would have to face me. Then you would get to live and Harry would have his parents. He wouldn't be forced to spend a decade with Lily's sister, the horrible hag, and he would grow up knowing Neville and the Weasleys. He would get to fly with his awesome dad every day while his mom screamed at them to be careful because they kept trying crazy stunts. Maybe he would have had a little brother or sister; better yet both. Then he would have gone to Hogwarts knowing there were adults at his back. James would have seen him fly at his first game. Lily would have gotten to lecture him on proper homework practices. Harry could have introduced you to his girlfriend."

Sirius reached out and placed a hand on the tombstone. "I think you would really like her, Lils. She is really smart and protective of Harry. Hermione keeps him grounded. She reminds me of you from time to time; crazy smart and fiercely protective. She doesn't really see house stereotypes and refuses to allow his fame to get in the way. Yeah, sometimes she can be hyper focused and forget to have fun and insecure because of just how smart she is but she is really good for him.

"All he wants out of life is to be Harry. Just Harry. He hates his fame and yet is still considering being a pro seeker, though I don't think that is what he will finally decide to do. By the gods, James, he is so much better than you on a broom. He would have kicked your arse when he was eleven! I've seen a memory of that first game and he is bloody good. Lily would probably have grounded him for a year for some of the stunts he pulled but you would have acted like such an idiot when he pulled off a spectacular catch." Sirius sighed once again, "I wish I could have seen you be an idiot dad. You probably would have been worse than Amos Diggory, and that man brags about his son constantly. Lily, I hope you know, you would have been the rule parent, but I also know you would have helped your son prank his dad."

He stopped, taking a deep breath.

When he had gotten up that morning, this had not been the plan. It had been a rare day off for him, curtesy of little miss Aria. The small redhead had demanded that Narcissa would have a day without politics to shop for baby stuff. Sirius was all for it. Narcissa was a far better Lord Black than he was. Sirius may have held the actual position, but Narcissa was the one planning and making the decisions. His family had been blind. It was ridiculous that they were so set on tradition that the only one who could hold the position of Lord Black was a male heir. Had his grandfather chosen Narcissa, things would probably been better for the Ancient and Most Noble House of Black. Narcissa would have known what to do and how to do it. She would have made their family respectable years ago and wouldn't have been stuck with that dead weight ex-husband of hers. If he could, he would abdicate his title and let her take it but the family magic wouldn't like it.

While Narcissa relaxed and shopped with her friends, he had planned on sleeping in and doing nothing. It seemed his subconscious had other ideas. He had woken up earlier than he did for 'work' days. When it became apparent that falling back asleep was an impossibility, he had gotten dressed in clothes that Narcissa would have hated and gone for a walk. The cold morning air had felt great and he had found himself in Godric's Hollow before he realized he intended to go there.

It was the first time he had ever visited.

Seeing the house was hard. He couldn't bring himself to open the gate.

The statue of the Potter family nearly brought him to his knees. Seeing his friends immortalized like that, holding their son was both beautiful and heartbreaking; he would have to bring Harry at some point.

It was their grave that was his undoing. He read their names and just collapsed. Lily, the most amazing girl in their year; a far better person than he was and more than James deserved, something his friend had said many, many times. James, his brother in all but blood. If anyone deserved to grow old, it had been them.

The inscription below their names had him cursing Dumbledore. That was not what Lily would have chosen upon their death. Both parents would have wanted a message to their son, not about death being an adventure.

"I just don't know what to do half the time, James." Sirius rolled to his feet and placed his hands on the top of the headstone. "I know I can never do as good a job as you two could and I can't be the godfather I always thought I would be. I can't be all about fun and pranks; I have to be at least somewhat parental and I don't think I'm ready for that." He glanced at Lily's name, "Yeah, I know, Lily; no one is really ever ready to be a parent, but can you really see me as a parent period?" As if he heard James speak, he laughed softly, "Okay, you've got a point there, Prongs. If you can be an awesome dad, then I can be a halfway decent dad. And hey, I got to skip all the diapers; told you I would never need to know how. I wish I had needed to do diapers. I guess Cissy will insist on my helping out, though I don't know if Dobby will let me near any of the babies; the little elf won't allow me to be alone with Roderick, I am more than a little insulted.

"Jokes aside, I wouldn't mind being a dad, a real one to a little kid who actually needed me because I think I need Harry more than he needs me." He sniffed running a hand under his nose. "Missed my chance though. I wish I could do it over again. My dumb arse destroyed any chance to have kids of my own. There are people out there who would say that is for the best, but I think I would have done as good as anyone else. The healers say I have zero chance of fathering a child of my own. Muggle doctors said it was possible but the odds were low without medical assistance, whatever that means. Basically, getting thrown in Azkaban damaged my health; potions are helping with the most important things, heart, lungs, kidneys, core, but reproductively I'm all but done. I guess I could claim Pettigrew or the ministry committed line theft but that wouldn't do anything for me now. I've got Harry though.

"Your kid is amazing." He changed subjects quickly, going back to something safer for his mental health. "He has more power than either of you, and he is better on broom than all three of us put together; being a seeker, that makes perfect sense; of course I've already said that, haven't I? Defense is his best class, which Remus LOVES. He took the smart route; runes, arithmancy, and care. From what he has said, he actually likes arithmancy, again Remus loves it. Who would have thought, James? Your kid is smart! Oh, I guess that isn't a surprise to you is it, Lily? I wish you were here. I will be wishing that every day for the rest of my life.

"I love you both. I will do everything in my power to protect your son. He is my reason for living. If I have to, I will do what you have already done; I would give my life for his in a heartbeat." The tears he thought had dried up were flowing again. "Only you, James, and your enchanting son, could make me a blubbering idiot."

He turned and started to walk away, "I won't be a stranger this time. I'll come back, and I'll bring Harry with me." With his hand on the kissing gate, his eyes on the sky, he breathed deep. "I can't promise to do everything you would have done, but I will do all I can to make you proud of him, and of me."

…

Once again, he wasn't quite sure how he found himself where he was. He hadn't been in the heart of muggle London since before he lost James. Yes, he had been to the water park and a few restaurants stops but he had stuck with wizarding establishments for the most part and hadn't been in the most muggle of muggle places.

Trafalgar Square had changed and yet it hadn't. The buildings were the same; the same architecture, the same fountain. There were still statues and people everywhere. Even though it was spring, he could smell the Christmas tree from the last time he had been there with Lily, James and baby Harry.

Life was a strange thing.

"I am at my wits end, Christopher," a woman said in obvious exasperation. "Why did you do that? I thought things were going better, that you were adjusting."

"I don't know what happened, mom. I didn't do anything."

Sirius turned to see a woman about his age, perhaps a year or two younger, the boy with her was probably eight, though he wasn't the best judge. He could see the resemblance, so they must be mother and son. Why they drew his attention over any other family was anyone's guess. It wasn't that she looked like anyone in particular; her hair wasn't a special shade, just brown. She wasn't particularly tall; average he would say and didn't dress expensively or flashily. The woman was pretty but not billboard amazing. Normal, with a light dusting of freckles.

The boy was just the same. A normal little boy with his mother's hair and decent clothes. Sirius was sure he would usually have the same mischievous smile that all little boys had, were it not for the little fight he and his mother appeared to be in at that point in time. There was a grass stain on one knee, a small hole in the other. The head of House Black wished he could have worn those clothes as a child; his everyday robes probably cost more than the kid's entire wardrobe.

"I don't know what to tell you, kiddo. Your teacher said it was you and a lot of kids seemed to think it could be you too. Didn't you have a bit of an argument with her?"

The boy shrugged, "Well, yeah. She wasn't being fair. Since Mother's Day just happened and we will be on summer vacation for Father's Day she said we had to do a project about our dads now. We're supposed to talk to our dad and ask him these questions and then write a paper on it; but I don't have a dad."

"She knows that," the woman melted, "you can't be the only one in class."

"I'm not," he shook his head, "she said if you don't have a dad you can pick a grandfather or uncle or something like that. She said an important male figure in your life. But Mom, I don't have one of those. All I've got is you and grandma. Ms. Baily just wouldn't listen and said I had to have someone I could talk to but the only adult men in my life are the landlord and teachers at school."

"Oh, Chris," she hugged her son. "I'll talk to her tomorrow. She couldn't tell me why you were saying you couldn't do your assignment. She insisted you were being unreasonable and that is why you got in trouble. Because you were the only student to get in trouble with her today, she insisted it was you who put mud in her desk." She gave the boy a sideways grin, "I kind of think she deserved the mud."

He giggled lightly, "I did wish her desk was full of mud but I didn't put it there."

Sirius snorted, unable to hold his mirth. Mother and son both turned to find him sitting on the edge of the fountain right behind them.

Realizing he was caught eavesdropping he held up his hands in surrender, "Sorry, I've been woolgathering and couldn't help but overhear. I have to say kid, your teacher seems rather cold hearted; I would have struggled to find a good male role model at your age. My dad may have been around but the man had little to do with my brother and I. Heck, I didn't have a real father figure until I met my best friend's parents and I was thirteen when that happened. But you have something I definitely didn't, a mom who cares enough to fight for you. Sometimes I hear my mother yelling at me just by looking at her pictures," he grinned at his own joke. That portrait was long gone but did serve a point in this little conversation.

"My mom is the best," the kid grinned. "Sorry about getting in trouble, mom."

She sighed, eyeing Sirius, "It's alright, kiddo. I'll sort it out with your teacher."

"I'm sorry for eavesdropping. I've been a bit out of sorts today; too much free time leaves me too much time to think of what could have been. I'm Sirius, let me buy you and your son some ice cream or something."

"Oh, you don't…"

"Your name is Sirius? What kind of name is that?" the kid asked over his mother's polite refusal.

Sirius laughed at the question and the woman's horrified look. "One of the best names in a family of crazy names. My mother's name was Walburga. Father's name wasn't bad, Orion, and is part of a tradition to name kids in my family after stars. My name is Sirius, after the dog star."

"Walburga?"

Sirius nodded to the boy, "It's really no wonder she was so crabby, having such a terrible name." Boy and man grinned at each other as though sharing some inside joke.

"Being named after the dog star is kind of cool. I'm Chris, well, Christopher but I prefer Chris and mom mostly only uses my full name when I am in trouble. She named me after my grandfather, but he died before I was born."

"Well, it is nice to meet you, young Chris." He turned his attention to the boy's mother, "Please, allow me to buy the kid an ice cream; it sounds like he had a rough day."

She hesitated, "I really wouldn't want to impose."

"Please, impose. My horrible parents left me with more money than I need, despite how well me and my cousin can spend it, and I could use a bit of normal today."

He could see the moment his smile convinced her, like many before her, she rolled her eyes and shook her head, "Very well, I'm Elizabeth Walker, and this is my son Christopher. We would love some ice cream."

"Woo hoo," Sirius jumped and then high fived Chris. A second later he gave Elizabeth a sheepish smile, "I ruined it, didn't I?"

"Not sure yet. I'll have to see how you do with ice cream. I will say I have never seen a grown man so excited about ice cream before."

"If you think that is excited, you should see me at Christmas."

"I think I am horrified on behalf of whomever you share the holiday with."

"Come on now, you don't even know me yet, you can't start off siding with those sticks-in-the-mud. I am just more in touch with my inner child than they are."

"Are any of the children?"

"Teenagers."

"I suppose teenagers can get to the point where they want to pretend they are too grown up to truly enjoy Christmas." She conceded, "How early did you wake everyone up?"

"I woke mom up at 6:30," Chris said bouncing at his mother's side, "She said if I went into her room a second before then she would return my best present to the store. I believed her, moms are scary like that, so I didn't chance it."

"I don't think I should answer that." He looked down at the kid, "your mom would have returned all my presents had I gotten her up on Christmas morning."

"Five then?" she wondered. When he didn't respond she stopped. The man had his hands in his jacket pockets and was whistling 'innocently.' "You woke your family before five in the morning? I pity them."

"Actually, this year it was five but the year before it was four-thirty. In my defense, I had really terrible holidays growing up and I get a little over enthusiastic when I'm trying to give my godson the best experiences." He gave her a look she couldn't understand, "where are we going anyway? Isn't there an ice cream shop in the square?"

"Only if you want long lines and overpriced cones."

"The best one in the area is down this way," the boy agreed.

"Our favorite is a bit farther away but is well worth the walk. If you want, you can think of it as punishment for waking people at the ungodly hour of four on Christmas. Oh, and for eavesdropping."

"It was four-thirty," he grumbled under his breath. "Why is this one ice cream shop so great?"

"You get twice the ice cream for the same price as the place in the square," the kid jumped excitedly.

"Plus, it is just down the street from a second hand bookstore so I get a book and he gets ice cream as a reward for being patient."

"Of course, you're a book worm, it appears everyone in my life loves books," he conveniently forgot that it was only the females and Remus who really loved books.

"We prefer the term bibliophile, thank you very much," she tried to sound snooty.

"I'm cursed, kid," he looked down at Chris, "your mom sounds like my buddy Remus, and now that I think about it, Severus probably uses the term bibliophile too."

"Your friends have weird names."

"Chris."

"It's alright, they do kind of have strange names. I don't think about it anymore. Our families have been sending their kids to this exclusive private school for generations, some families still stick to the old stuffy names and the new kids who get accepted into the school often comment on how strange names tend to be in the legacy families. Even my cousin Andromeda, who burned a great many bridges when she left the family and left the traditions behind, named her daughter Nymphadora, but if you ever meet Dora, do not let her know I told you what her name is because she would kill me; kids a police officer and way tougher than I am."

Chris giggled at him and skipped ahead a few paces. "Do you want to get a book first, Mom?" he asked, seeing the bookstore coming up.

She shook her head, "I wouldn't want to scare our new friend with my book habits. Perhaps after ice cream."

"If you want to stop for a book first, it's fine with me. One of my best friends can spend hours in a bookstore if there is no one to pull him out. His fiancé is just as bad but both fail in comparison to my godson's girlfriend; that girl could live in a bookstore. If I remember correctly, her dad said he couldn't pick up her trunk on the first day of school because she had crammed so many books in there."

"A girl after my own heart; but no, it's fine. I am actually a bit behind on my reading. I should really finish at least two books before I get another. I'm already behind six books and if I went in there, I would buy two and confuse myself even more."

"Fair enough, I applaud your self-restraint."

Chris just shrugged and skipped along slightly ahead of them. After a minute he stopped though, staring at a familiar pub.

Elizabeth sighed, seeing where her son was standing, "Not this again." She said it so quietly Sirius barely heard her.

"Mom, maybe Sirius will believe me."

"Sweet heart…"

"Sirius," he looked at the man, interrupting his mother, "I swear there is a sign right there that says Leaky Cauldron, but mom doesn't believe me." The boy pointed right at the sign, directly over the doors of the dingy pub Sirius knew all too well.

He should have been surprised but for some reason he wasn't. Perhaps it was the mud in the teacher's desk thing or just a feeling but the kid had magic and his mum had no idea. "Chris, have you ever tried to show your mom while holding her hand?"

"I'm not a baby, I'm nine after all. I don't need to hold her hand as long as I stay close."

"Nine now, are you?" she wondered, a bit of sarcasm lacing her tone.

"Well, almost nine," he conceded.

"I didn't say you needed to hold her hand," Sirius knew boys got to the stage where they had to be strong and apparently Chris was there. Holding mommy's hand was definitely not strong. "I just asked if you had ever tried it. Maybe she could see it if you were touching her."

Elizabeth looked at him like he was crazy but the boy was considering it. Finally, deciding it couldn't hurt, the boy took the three steps that were separating him and his mother, grabbed her hand and then pointed with the other, "Look. It's right there, Mom."

Sirius could see the shocked recognition in her eyes. For the first time, she was seeing what her son had been trying to show her. A dingy looking building tucked between quaint businesses on an old street in the middle of London. It was the sort of place you wouldn't forget seeing, not because it was more impressive than the building around it; no, you would remember it simply because it was that unimpressive. A business that looked that old had stood the test of time and to still be open, because you could see movement in the windows, meant that there was something about it that kept people coming back.

"How…I…" she shook her head. "What am I seeing right now?" She turned and looked at Sirius, "You knew it was there when Chris mentioned it. You knew and could see it and yet I couldn't." Elizabeth started pacing, "You didn't touch me, I'm assuming it would have worked had you touched me just the same, but you didn't so I would know that you didn't do anything to me. Because my son touched me and I haven't touched you since I shook your hand and I chose where we were going you didn't do anything to me to alter my perception of my surroundings. That means this place is real and for some reason I wasn't allowed to see it but you were. Whatever you have, my son has." She stopped, "you better start explaining Sirius or I am going to make a very large scene and I expect that if that building isn't supposed to be seen, that making a scene would not work out well for you."

He looked around; this would not be a good place to cause a scene. "How about we get that ice cream, like I promised. There are too many interested ears in there for me to suggest the Cauldron." He gestured past the cauldron, and hit someone in the shoulder.

"Sorry about that, oh, hello, Bill."

"Sirius." Bill Weasley looked from the head of House Black to his companions. Sirius did not like the look that came into his eyes. He was in for a world of teasing from the Weasley boys, if that look told him anything at all. "Taking a day off?"

"Narcissa is shopping for baby things so that means I'm not stuck in meetings all day. My cousin is a slave driver."

Bill chuckled, "That she is, but where would we be without her? Well, as much as I would love to grill you on whatever this is, I am going to be late for a meeting if I don't hurry and you know what my bosses think about tardiness."

"You aren't going to tell the twins, are you?"

"Are you going to continue with the jokes and innuendos concerning a certain French girl with a crush?"

"Fair enough." He waved the younger man away, "Go, before your boss fines you for being late."

The trio watched the redhead go, shoulders shacking from laughing. "Would his boss really fine him for being late?" Elizabeth wondered.

Sirius shrugged, "Probably. He works at a bank. The same bank my account manager works at and he fines me for wasting his time so I could definitely see them fining employees for tardiness."

"I get the feeling that he might just fine you because you make a habit of wasting a lot of peoples' time."

The Animagus chuckled, "You're not wrong. He probably did invent that policy just for me. To be fair, I try really hard not to waste his time; I don't have a death wish."

"Well, can I fine you with a bigger ice cream cone for wasting my time?" Chris wondered.

"Your kid is an opportunist."

"That he is, but maybe we should go before he starts demanding triple scoops."

"Lord Black," a high-pitched voice called, causing the man to shudder. "I require a moment of your time."

Elizabeth heard him either grown or growl, she wasn't certain which, before his expression turned to one of indifference and he turned to face the interrupting woman fully. She did not want to be on the receiving end of that look.

"What does the department of transportation want with me, miss," he paused, pretending to search for her name, "Umbridge, wasn't it?"

"Hem, hem," she breathed in irritation, "that is correct. I wanted to discuss your proposed legislature change in regards to my bill on were…"

"Are you aware of where you are standing right now, Umbridge?" he bit out before she could finish her sentence. "If you are not, allow me to enlighten you. You are standing on the sidewalk on Charing Cross road. This is not the time or place to discuss such things and you should know by now that I do not agree with anything you have put forth for a vote. I have made my opinion known and I do not stand for bigotry, which you have proven is your default."

"This is important, Lord Black," she nearly seethed.

"Unless the life of my godson, my cousin, my best friend or one of the other people connect to that group are in danger at this moment, it isn't that important." He offered his arm to Elizabeth, completely in Lord mode, "Good day, Umbridge."

"But Lord…"

"I will be bringing this conversation up with Amelia," he said, still walking away. "I am sure she will be quite interested in your lack of discretion."

"I think she wants to kill you," Elizabeth looked back briefly and witnessed a look so consumed by rage she thought the woman might explode.

"It wouldn't surprise me. My cousin is the reason she got fired; well, it was Umbridge's lying but my cousin pushed the right buttons that saw it being noticed."

"Lord Black?"

He gave her a rueful smile, "Sirius Black, at your service. Technically my family has a title, though it's old and not really recognized in most circles. It is recognized where your son will be offered a spot at my old school."

"Chris is going to get an invitation to a school I have probably never heard of and would never have applied to for him to attend?"

Sirius nodded, "It has to do with the fact that he could see the pub and, probably, the mud in his teacher's desk."

"And the other strange stuff that sometimes happens that we both just ignore at this point?"

"That too."

"Am I a magician?"

Sirius smiled, "Sort of, wrong term but not all together wrong." They stepped into the ice cream shop, "Let's get our ice cream and then we can find a nice spot to sit outside and talk, shall we?"

A few minutes later the trio sat on a bench at a small park just down the road. Sirius had gone just a little crazy in the shop and had bought the biggest ice cream sundae on the menu. Chris got his triple scoot while Elizabeth settled for a single scoop.

"Magic is real," Sirius said simply. "Christopher and myself are wizards, my cousin is a witch. When Chris turns eleven, he will be able to get a wand so he can learn to control his magic. Some people are born with it, some aren't. It does tend to run in families but not always. I have a cousin, or maybe he is an uncle," Sirius shrugged, "that had magical parents but he can't use it himself."

"The opposite of Christopher."

Sirius nodded, "Exactly, though I get the feeling you will take it better than Marius's parents did. He was disowned and cast out of the family. I invited him back in just to irritate the old bigots, even though they are almost all dead."

"That's horrible. How could you just discard your child like that?"

"Horrible yes, but not uncommon in my family. My mother tried to do the same to me because I of my dorm room at school."

"Your dorm assignment?"

"It is decided by a personality test, sort of, that's probably an oversimplification but is close enough. I was basically sorted into the worst possible dorm for a Black child." He smiled sadly, "Families are complicated sometimes. Most aren't as bad as my own."

"Okay," she nodded, taking a lick of her ice cream to consider what she wanted to ask. Chris just sat there in the grass in front of the bench absorbing everything Sirius was telling them. "So, the Lord thing has to do with magic?"

"Yeah, old family heads were called lord, more like medieval lords and ladies than parliament lords. Though I think my family might actually have a title in the house of Lords. I haven't really thought to look and wouldn't know what my responsibilities would be if I did have a seat."

"What about that lady in pink?"

Sirius sighed softly, "I'm not going to lie to you. She actually dresses like that every day," he tried to crack a smile but it didn't reach his eyes. "But seriously, like in any society, things aren't perfect and we are at the cusp of a bit of trouble. There are certain elements of society that think they are better than everyone else and think they should be in charge because of it."

"That is common enough in nearly every society."

"Except for the fact that wands can be used as weapons and certain spells don't actually require much skill to cast. I was the black sheep, or maybe I should say white sheep, of my family. Most of my family believe that your parents should determine what you get in life. Those with powerful, old magic families should have all the power, even if someone with no magical parents comes in with more skill, more talent, better ideas. These people don't care what you could do or what you could improve, if you four times great grandmother wasn't a witch you don't deserve much; if you have no magic in your ancestry then you are essentially a nonentity."

"Sounds very old school British."

"That is the wizarding world, old school." He shrugged and studied his ice cream, "We are working on changing things. I took the family title and, with the help of my cousin, we are making progress. I've got the conservatives on the ropes and am appeasing the liberal front by making small changes. I wish they could be sweeping changes but I will admit, Narcissa was right to insist upon this approach. The big problem is Tom Riddle."

"That is probably the most normal name you have said this whole time."

"I agree. Riddle isn't from a family like mine; in fact, he is barely a half blood. Technically, his mother was from an old family, though she was so inbred that it is unclear if she had any magic at all. His father was a regular muggle, no magic at all. Tom Jr. grew up in an orphanage and didn't know any of this. Somehow, he discovered that his mother was a descendent from one of the most famous names in our history, Salazar Slytherin. Riddle reinvented himself; gave himself a new name, with a false title. He got his school buddies together and they started recruiting. They told people they were fighting for purebloods, even though he wasn't one."

"What happened when he was opposed by purebloods?" When Sirius gave her a curious glance she shrugged, "there are always those who realize that sort of thing is wrong. I read a lot and it happens in history over and over again."

"Blood traitors. My best friend, pureblood for generations but with a muggleborn wife, was labeled a blood traitor. I was labeled a traitor too. The Weasleys, the Bone family, Longbottoms, Prewetts. Old powerful families, poor families. It didn't matter who you were, if you didn't do what he said, he came for you."

"Sounds a bit like Hitler."

Sirius nodded, "Lily told me about him. Riddle was supposed to be really charismatic. Severus said he said things that seemed impossible but you just had to believe him. Then you were stuck and leaving meant dying." He looked down at his hands, "He was defeated on October thirty-first 1981. No one is sure what happened but we have our theories. Riddle wanted my godson dead, a one-year-old child. That night we were betrayed by one of our closest friends. He took that madman to their hiding place and I lost James and Lily. Somehow, Lily did something and when he tried to kill Harry, the spell backfired and he died instead. A lot happened, most of it bad. I ended in prison, charged with someone else's crimes."

He stood up and shook his head. "That isn't the point though. The point is, he didn't really die. He did something he shouldn't have been able to. He shouldn't have had the knowledge of how to do it but somehow, he did. Now, he is coming back, twice."

"Twice? You mean there are two of him?" Chris wondered.

"Yeah, don't ask me how. It's dark and unnatural. The important thing to know is that we are doing all we can. We have done more than he knows to ensure that when we take him down, this time it is for good."

Elizabeth stood, "Why did you tell me all of that? You could have just told me how amazing it all was. In fact, you focused on the bad."

"I don't know." Sirius ran a hand through his hair, "I love magic and most of it is great. My life has just been ruled by this conflict for so long I can't see past it. I went to James's grave today. It was the first time I'd been. At first, I couldn't because I was doing Peter's time, then I was just trying to make sure Harry was okay. Maybe I am trying to cation you. Give you an idea that you might want to leave. I guess I'm just a pessimist under all the joking."

"Tell me something amazing."

"I can transform into a dog."

Chris's eye went huge, "Can I see?"

"Unicorns are real. Certain brooms can be used to fly. We send mail by owl. Goblins run our bank."

"Let's go back to the dog, comment. I want proof." Her son nodded excitedly at her side. "Or are you lying about that particular talent?"

Sirius held up a finger and looked around. The park wasn't busy but there were people around. He nodded toward a group of trees and jogged toward them. When the mother and son pair caught up to him, he pulled his wand from the sleeve of his jacket, tucked in his holster. "This is my wand. I don't really need it for this but I am going to cast a spell so that people won't pay attention, just in case someone were to come too close. I'd rather not get in trouble for doing magic in front of a large crowd of people." He grinned, flicked his wand and then tucked it back into his holster.

Before their eyes, the man disappeared. One moment he was there, the next a rather large black dog stood in his place grinning at them with his tongue hanging out. The dog sat and tilted his head, waiting for a response.

"Well, that is brilliant," Elizabeth said breathily.

Chris ran forward but then stopped inches from the dog, his hand hovering. The large dog pushed his head up, into the boy's hand, causing the boy to grin and the woman to laugh.

"I may have just met you, but I can tell you milk that doggy face for all its worth."

Sirius bounded around the boy and ran to the mother. Before she could even blink, he was a man again. "I usually just wake people up like that."

"Dog breath, you evil, evil man," she laughed.

"Can I do that?"

Sirius turned to the young boy. "Maybe someday. It's very advanced but my godson just managed at fourteen so anything is possible." He looked down at the woman he had just met. "Look, Elizabeth…"

"Liz."

"Liz," he smiled. "I don't know why I was in Trafalgar Square today or what made me talk to you but I would be stupid not to take advantage. I've wasted a good portion of my life by doing the stupid thing and I want to take a chance at something smart." He glanced at the boy who was looking up at them both, grinning, "I'd like to get to know you both. If things go well, maybe I could take you out some time; if not, at least I can try to save you from the darkness that has plagued my world for years."

"I lost my husband five years ago. I can admit I didn't handle it well. America wasn't my place so I packed up my son and moved him in with my mother. I have been taking care of her and my son ever since." She shrugged, "I honestly didn't think I would ever get a chance at a friend let alone potentially more; what with my son and his penchant for strange occurrences and my mother's failing health. I could use a friend, for now at least."

Sirius opened his mouth to respond but was interrupted by his vibrating pocket. The fact that it was buzzing so hard meant it was a SOS, high alert call. "Sorry, I have to get this."

He pulled out the mirror to find Bill staring back with a guarded look.

"Is that a mirror?" Liz wondered quietly.

"Sirius," Bill started, "there was an attack at the Alley."

Okay, so Sirius hijacked the chapter and this is not the scene from my dream and was not the original next chapter. that is coming next and will be out soon. I just need to edit a bit more. I wasn't sure if I would keep this chapter but Sirius has been rather silent until now so it can stay.

Sorry for the cliff hanger. I promise the next is coming soon so you won't have to wait long.

Wolf