Hello dear readers. I am quite surprised how popular this story is getting. But enough with my talking, most of you ignore this part anyway, so I will just dive into the real works.

*I own nothing, only my ideas, but I can't copyright those either.*

Chapter 7: Family First

Moving in with Sirius Black was one of the greatest adventures Alex had in a while, even more so that breaking out of Azkaban.

Instead of moving into one of the Black Mansions, Sirius decided to move into 12 Grimmauld Place. Apparently the man hated giant stuffy mansions more than he hated his childhood home, but Alexander, being skilled in many forms of magic, was quick to help the man clear out the house and turn it into a home.

The first was removing Walburga's Portrait from the wall with a few well placed spells then throwing her in the attic with a silencing ward wrapped around her, followed by several other more annoying members of the Pureblood family portraits. No amount of screaming was going to get through 100+ years of magical experience.

Another was clearing all the old furniture and replacing it with much better, more homey items. Uptight formal loveseats and chairs replaced with couches and recliners, the fancy embroidery and strict decorum traded out with natural and more warm pieces of decorations and curtains. The ratty and ruin carpets were replaced with new ones, where they weren't hardwood floors took their place and tied the home together. The dining room was changed from one of a rich aristocratic family to one you might see in a family thanksgiving setting. Sirius even decided to get a cornucopia with a stasis charm on it as the centerpiece, much to Alexander's amusement.

The house was cleaned spotless by the skills of not only magic, but a bit of elbow grease as well. Sirius couldn't have been more thankful to the other man for all his help, but Alex waved it off, simply telling Sirius that he was happy to help, as Sirius was giving him a place to live.

The once dark and rotten home, filled with evil and maleficent items was no more, most of the more valuable items, rather than being burned as Sirius suggested, were put into one of the Black family vaults. The books that contained dark magic, which included a majority of the library, were stored in an old trunk with shrinking charms, alongside several well placed runes and wards around it for protection, all before sending it to Gringotts as well.

Speaking of wards and runes, though he had Alexander, Sirius felt the man was already doing so much for him, so he used his fortune to hired a team of goblins to ward the house, as well as prevent certain people access of any sort, such as Albus Dumbledore and Minister Fudge.

The home was slowly built up in the period of a few days. However, none of this could have been down without Kreacher's passing.

The house elf tried to return the house to its old style during the transformation, constantly grumbling about 'filthy halfbloods' coming in and ruining the Black family home. Sirius wanted to just shut the little elf up and get rid of him, but instead, Alex took Kreacher into another room. Sirius didn't know what happened in that silenced room. All he knew was that after about ten minutes, Kreacher came out with a smile on his face, the first Sirius had ever seen, before the little house elf fell over at his feet and died right there, the last of the Black family magic leaving his exhausted bitter old body. Sirius questioned what had happened, but Alexander simply said that he finished what the poor creature wanted to be finished. Sirius left it at that. Had he been a bit more sane, he may have questioned what was going on, but he trusted Alex.

Sirius didn't see Alexander leave for work that day with a broken locket in his pocket.

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Remus Lupin was frozen. He simply stared forward into the wall on the far side of the room, completely ignorant of the steaming cup of tea currently being poured for him by a black haired gentlemen.

After finishing a set of odd jobs around Ayrshire, Remus Lupin felt that he had enough money to cover a night's stay in the Leaky Cauldron, as well as be able to walk around Diagon Alley afterwards and buy a couple of items before he had to make his way back into the muggle world for new jobs that didn't require him to stay for more than a month.

However, as soon as he had entered the dingy looking building, his heightened senses immediately picked up on a conversation regarding a name he had not heard for years, but thought of quite often.

Sirius Black

What baffled him more were the strange sets of words that followed. Words like 'trial', 'innocent', and 'Pettigrew'. Before he could eavesdrop anymore, he immediately did his own investigation. The results almost gave him a heart attack.

Sirius Black, the apparent betrayer of the Potter family, who revealed to You-Know-Who where the family of the Boy-Who-Lived was hiding, who murdered a group of muggles and his best friend, who betrayed the Light for his blood...was innocent.

The trial apparently happened twelve days ago, with the man finally receiving his trial based on a review by Amelia Bones of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. To many people's surprise, the man agreed immediately to the use of Veritaserum, and told everyone that it was in fact Peter who gave up the Potters to You-Know-Who. That definitely caused a shockwave, as the man was apparently being searched for now, as both a human and possibly a rat, based on Black's confirmation of him being an animagus.

After learning of such news, Remus Lupin made his way to Gringotts bank, hoping to use their owl department to contact Sirius. For many reasons.

To tell the man how much of a fool he was. To apologize over and over. To ask to see him in person. To hug him for the first time in over eight years. There were a million things he wanted to do.

However, none of those were occurring. Instead, as soon as he entered Gringotts, he was escorted to a private meeting room by a man with piercing emerald eyes and obsidian black hair.

"Mr Lupin, from what I heard you say to the teller, you wish to send a letter to Sirius Black, am I correct?" The shaggy haired man pulled himself from his thoughts and stared across at the other man who was now sitting a chair opposite to him.

"Huh?"

"You wish to speak with Sirius Black, am I correct?" The werewolf nodded, catching the slight American Accent of the other person's voice. The green eyed man smiled, his eyes shining a a way reminiscent to a woman Remus knew quite well. "Well, it is quite fortunate that I was walking out when I heard you. I must ask, who are you to Sirius Black?" The man stirred his own tea before taking a sip. Remus looked down at his cup before bringing it into his own hands.

"I am...I was his friend. Him, James, myself and... and Pettigrew were all part of a group called-"

"The Marauders." The other man finished, continuing to drink his tea. Remus gave the man a look of shock, only to receive a gentle smile. The green eyed gentleman set his cup of tea down on his glass tray. "I am currently living with Sirius Black, and he often talks about his friends, though he now leaves out one of them in his stories regarding Hogwarts. By process of elimination, you must be Moony, correct?"

Remus stared wide eyed at the other man, not knowing what to say, only able to slowly nod his head. The green eyed man smiled. "Instead of sending him a letter, would you like to see him in person?"

Remus still couldn't speak, he nodded.

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The re-connection of old friends was something that Alexander watched with fondness, happy that despite the time and distance, both of them still cared very much for one another.

As soon as he had escorted Remus to the fully refurbished Grimmauld Place, the man stiffened up and refused to move. He simply stared at the home as Sirius stepped out the front door and looked at the rugged looking werewolf.

Before running up and giving the man an enormous hug.

Remus still remained unmoving, his lips flapping to ask questions as to how Sirius could forgive him after abandoning him. How the man could so easily run up and hug him, despite the fact that Remus had done nothing to try to prove his innocence.

Sirius simply hugged him harder and said that it was in the past, that everyone thought it was him. He didn't, couldn't hold it against his friend, especially when he had to keep it a secret that he was in fact a decoy for James and Lily. A secret that only a very small group of people know. A secret that a certain bearded wizard was in fact privy to.

But that wasn't important at the moment, what was was the fact that Remus and Sirius, through years of separation and lies, were still friends, companions...Marauders.

Remus, under pressure from Sirius and Alexander, was asked to move in to Grimmauld after he told them he wasn't staying anywhere at the moment. He tried to refuse the offer of kindness, but Sirius, with help from his 'cousin', were able to whittle the stubborn werewolf down. He took up one of the now vacated and cleaned out rooms of the home, becoming a new member of their small family.

However, their family wasn't finished yet.

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It was a perfectly normal day. Yes perfectly normal, just as Petunia Dursley liked it.

The house was immaculate, with the windows washed and shining, the garden free of any pests and weeds, the walkway to the front door swept, and the the interior matching how perfect the outside looked. Her kitchen was currently the only room in the house not perfectly normal at the moment, but that was not her fault.

"Boy! Finish dinner quickly! Vernon will be home soon!" She screamed down the hall.

"Yes Aunt Petunia." A quiet response sent back, the noises in the kitchen being somewhat more labored than before. Petunia sniffed dismissively, catching a whiff of roast and mashed potatoes coming from the other room. It smelled wonderful. Even if he was a freak, he had his uses, and she would use every one of them.

*Knock Knock*

Taking her eyes of the fashion magazine she had been reading for most of the day, Petunia Dursley sighed irritably as she stood up, practiced a few quick smiles, then preceded towards the door. As long as it wasn't a solicitor, her day could remain as it was: Normal.

Opening the door, she found herself staring at two handsome, well dressed men. Both, while a bit thin in her taste, were very handsome. One had black hair that touch around his shoulders while the other had blond hair that graced his head in similarity to a bowl. Both were well kept, each had their own sets of dazzling eyes. One of dazzling emeralds, and one of silver grey. A bit unusual, but still within the bounds of normal.

She gave both of them a smile. "Good evening gentlemen, how do you do this fine day?" She said with a bit of forced cheer. The one to the left with silver eyes gave her a smile.

"Petunia, you don't recognize me?" He asked, to which she lost a bit of her smile, now a bit confused. He chuckled a little bit. "I'll give you a hint, I had cake dance around your husband at Prong's and Lily's wedding."

Petunia took a step back in shock before trying to slam the door shut. However a dress shoe wedge its way into the door. "That may not be wise." A voice with a slight Yanky accent came out. Her door, despite her best efforts and shoving, was forced open by the emerald eyed man. He gave her a very cheerful smile.

"You shouldn't turn away guest so quickly, after all we have a few things to discuss."