A.N.: Wow. All I can say is...I am a very slow updater. But honestly, between work, personal life stuff in a COVID-19 world, and all the other adulting responsibilities, it's been a little hard to find the motivation to do anything remotely creative. I offer my most sincere apologies in how long it's been taking me to get these original eleven chapters edited and formatted for enjoyable reading and hope to finally have this finished at some point. Unfortunately for me, the original author left some very big shoes to fill! I only hope I'm able to do it justice. This chapter was edited for clarity and sense; only minor changes were made to improve sentence flow and description. All substantive language has remained the same as the original. As always, nothing (literally, these aren't even my original chapters yet) belongs to me. The first eleven chapters of this story belong to the original author I took it over from, and everything else belongs to J.K. Rowling.
Narcissa Malfoy never thought to see her sister again. Either of them, actually, though avoiding Bella was more a matter of choice and social appearance than anything else. But with Andy... With Andy, she was making her parents' mistakes. Andromeda had dared to fall in love, which wouldn't have been an issue if the object of her affection had been a Pureblood. But no, Narcissa's sister had the nerve to hold a Muggleborn in equal esteem to her own heritage, and since there was no way the Blacks would elevate someone of inconsequential birth to their own status, they chose to lower their daughter to his. And in their world, that meant Andy ceased to exist. She was never spoken of. She was burned and blotted from tapestries and registries.
Everything short of actually killing her was done to remove Andromeda Black from existence, and the only place she really lived in Pureblood society anymore was in her sisters' memories. Even Bella, for all her faults and insanity, still loved her sister dearly. She'd kill her on sight as a blood traitor, but in her own warped way, she'd love her as she fell lifeless to the ground and mourn her passing. Now it was on this ostracized and ridiculed sister Narcissa hung her hopes. The sister she remembered had been a good person; she was sure that woman Andromeda became was good, too, but the only thing she really knew of her anymore was based on Severus Snape's impressions of her (apparently accident prone) daughter.
Narcissa and Lucius waited in the room they'd been assigned by the Aurors when they arrived. They were to meet with Andromeda first, and then Madame Bones who promised to have an update on where the Black sisters stood in relation to Sirius' claim on Harry. It took all of two minutes for Narcissa's breeding to go out the window as she started pacing.
"I know we're in the Ministry, Cissy, but no one's on trial here," Lucius said, trying to calm her nerves.
"So you say," she snapped back. She had no idea if Andromeda would even speak to her; it was just as likely she'd walk in the door, slap her across the face and turn straight around to leave. "Even if Andy agrees to be guardian to Harry... she can keep us from him. She can take him back to whatever hole she lives in with her husband and we'll never see him again."
In truth, she didn't know if Andy lived in a hole, a house, or a Manor; she'd never given it that much thought. Narcissa wiped hot tears from her eyes, refusing to let them fall. She would not let her sister know she was at her mercy.
"Even if that were her intent, it wouldn't last," Lucius reasoned. "Harry will still be at school for ten months out of the year."
"If she lets him go..."
"Her own daughter graduated Hogwarts; she won't deny Harry the same education. Then there are holidays. Surely she wouldn't separate Harry and Draco for Christmas."
"Why not? We separated him from Nymphadora. He doesn't even know he has a cousin, Lucius. We cut them out... what if she does the same?"
"First let us see if she's amenable to taking Harry, and if it will be allowed, then we can deal with living arrangements."
"Andy doted on Sirius and vice versa; she was his favorite. He talked of her daughter as though she were the sister he never had. She'll take Harry for his sake and I'll never see him again!" The dam broke with that last declaration, and she ended up sobbing into Lucius' chest. There was no time to school her features or to deal with her reddened face before the door opened and the sister she'd been told to forget entered the room.
They stared at each other silently for a moment, with the room and years of wasted time between them, then Andromeda's face shifted. Her eyes clouded with concern, and before Narcissa knew what was happening, her sister had crossed the room and wrenched her out of Lucius' arms so that she was now crying on her shoulder instead.
"Cissy? What's wrong?" Andromeda asked. "Did they deny the claim? Have they said we can't have him? Surely we can appeal or file again... if Ted..."
"What?" Narcissa asked, stunned.
"If they denied the claim because of-" she trailed off, looking at Lucius. It was no secret what many of the Aurors thought about Lucius Malfoy, and less of a secret how they felt about him having any connection to the Boy Who Lived.
"If they turned you down, Mum and Dad can file their own claim on Harry. They've got no reason, justifiable or otherwise, to say no to them." The Malfoys looked past Andromeda for the first time and realized that there was someone else in the room. A young woman stood at the door, glancing at intervals between her feet and their faces, not sure where to put her eyes. She looked to be in her late teens, with violently purple hair that she tugged on in a nervous habit. "Ol' Moody likes me. I can get him to speak on Mum's behalf," she said quietly, then fixed her eyes back on the floor.
"Nymphadora?" Narcissa asked hesitantly. The girl's face shot straight up with an annoyed scrunch to her features, and her hair flamed bright red.
"Yes," Andromeda said. "That's my daughter, and she hates her name."
"Like the rest of us," Narcissa sighed. "It's the curse of all Black women. Our mothers lose their sanity directly after giving birth and settle on the strangest names imaginable. Do you prefer Dora?"
"Actually, I've gotten used to Tonks," she said, shyly, as her hair settled into a bubblegum pink. "Auror training, and all."
"It's lovely to finally meet you, Tonks," Narcissa said. She shrugged out of Andromeda's embrace and offered her hand to her niece.
"You, too, Aunt Narcissa."
"Cissy," she corrected. "You're a Metamorphagus, I presume."
"Yeah," she blushed.
"A skill that must come in handy in your chosen profession." Lucius got tired of waiting for an introduction, and joined the others.
Tonks wouldn't look him in the eye - she'd thought the only way she'd ever meet Lucius Malfoy was by arrest warrant. She shrugged, but shook his offered hand with a generic "Nice to meet you, too, Uncle Lucius." It sounded so weird.
"A pleasure Miss Tonks," he said, and she fought the urge to wipe her hand off when he gave it back. Most of her perceptions of the Malfoys were through Alastor Moody's admittedly paranoid experiences.
"Tell me who I need to speak to, and I'll put a claim for Ted and myself," Andromeda said, breaking the awkward silence.
"No need, yet," Lucius said. "We've yet to hear from Madame Bones or the Ministry concerning their findings with Sirius."
"Then why were you crying, Cissy?"
"I was afraid... I thought..."
"You thought I'd say no?" Narcissa nodded. "We're family, Cissy," Andromeda said. "Whatever happened to us happened, but it has nothing to do with that little boy, and right now, he needs a home he knows he can go to. Sirius, for all his faults, loved Harry like his own, and I won't abandon him."
"Thank you," Narcissa said.
"And I won't keep him from you out of spite, either," Andromeda assured her. For the second time in a very few minutes, Narcissa hugged her sister. "You really thought I would, didn't you?" Andromeda asked, with clear hurt in her words.
"I didn't know... I mean, we don't really know each other anymore, and... I know how we're perceived..."
"Concerning "Henry Black" you were always perceived as an avenging angel who saved a wayward child from a fate worse than death," Andromeda said. "The fact that you're fighting for him, that you allowed him to reclaim his own name and didn't hide his parentage from him - the fact that you didn't cast him aside for being a Gryffindor, and the fact that you were willing to come to me, tells me more than enough."
"Thank you," Narcissa said again.
"We're family; it's what family does. Now... when are we supposed to meet Madame Bones?"
Ten minutes later, Lucius Malfoy held the door to Madame Bones' office open while his wife and her sister entered arm and arm. Behind them, Tonks tripped her way (cursing in a way both colorful and amusing... she'd make quite the impression on the boys, he was sure) behind them. Narcissa and Andromeda took the offered seats in front of the Head Auror's desk while Tonks opted to lean against the door. Madame Bones was her boss's boss's boss, and she wasn't keen to get too close or too comfortable. Lucius hovered behind his wife with a hand on her shoulder.
"Have you reached a decision as to Harry's placement?" Andromeda asked, as Narcissa had apparently lost the ability to speak.
"There has actually been a complication of sorts."
"Complication? What sort of complication?"
"It concerns your cousin and his status as the boy's godfather."
"Wasn't he appointed?"
"He was," Madame Bones nodded. "And that's where things get sticky."
"How so? If he was Harry's guardian, then..."
"Is."
"Excuse me?" This time it was Lucius who questioned her answers. How could Sirius still be Harry's guardian while in Azkaban?
"At your request, we opened the records from Sirius Black's trial. That is to say, we attempted to open them..."
"Attempted?"
"We couldn't open the records, because there were none."
"Someone took them?" Narcissa asked.
"No."
"There was no trial, was there?" Lucius said. He'd heard as much, not with Sirius specifically, but others after the war. Those who were "known" to be Death Eaters were sent to Azkaban without bothering to process them through the system.
"There was not," Madame Bones agreed. "It was common knowledge after Peter Pettigrew's death that Black had been the Potter's Secret Keeper while they were under the Fidelius, and with so many witnesses to Pettigrew's death as well..."
"I don't understand how this complicates things, Madame," Narcissa said. "He is still guilty."
"I'm not entirely sure how to break this, as it is inconceivable... considering the amount of time your cousin has been in Azkaban..."
"We are accustomed to people speaking bluntly, Madame Auror," Lucius said. "Say what you must."
"Without conviction, Sirius Black was still the guardian on record for young Harry. An emergency meeting of the Wizengamot was scheduled to question him under Veritaserum so that we could proceed on the child's behalf once Black was back in his cell."
"He was able to testify? He retained his sanity."
"Yes. And that is only one of many unexpected facets of this story, Madame Malfoy."
"Did he tell you what you needed to hear?" Andromeda asked.
"He did."
"Then he's back in Azkaban where he can't hurt Harry." It was clear that realization was a relief.
"Sirius Black is currently in St. Mungo's hospital undergoing treatment for long-term exposure to Dementors as well as the physical effects of incarceration pending his release."
"Release?" Both Malfoys gasped, horrified. "It appears that your cousin was wrongly accused and imprisoned. Under the influence of Veritaserum, he confessed that he, as well as James Potter and Peter Pettigrew, were unregistered Animagi - Pettigrew's animal form being a rat. It's a darkly ironic expression, as Pettigrew was the Potters' Secret Keeper, and not Black. Black was a decoy. When the Potters were killed and he realized there was only one person who could have given them away..."
"He acted like the consummate Gryffindor and confronted Pettigrew himself." Lucius sat heavily in the nearest chair.
"He did. Pettigrew killed those twelve Muggles and faked his own death, leaving the perfect scapegoat behind to pay his penance."
"He didn't do it?" Tonks straightened by the door. Sirius was one of her favorite people as a child, and believing him a mass murderer hit her hard. She'd refused to believe his guilt for years, but was told it was nothing but a child's foolish dreaming. But he was really innocent!
"We will of course be endeavoring to locate and arrest Peter Pettigrew if he is still living. To that end, Sirius Black has been released, and his record expunged. As he has served far greater than the penalty for being unregistered as an Animagus, there is no debt to pay for that infraction, save being added to the registry. And as he was never legally stripped of his rights as Harry Potter's godfather..."
"Sirius has custody," Narcissa finished.
"Should he choose to maintain his rights, yes. Though it will be some time before he is in any condition to care for himself, much less a minor. For now, I suggest you help get the Black estates, properties, vaults, et cetera in order for him and repair any bridges that may have been burned over the last few years. For Harry's sake, it would be better if you and your cousin were friends rather than enemies."
"We'll manage something," Lucius assured her.
"Good," Madame Bones nodded. "Under the circumstances, we're going to assign a guard detail to watch over Mr. Black at the hospital, and then for the first weeks he's home... just to make sure he's stable and not a threat to anyone. As the Ministry is responsible for his incarceration, they are taking responsibility for the safety of those around him now that he's been released. I hope you don't mind-" she leveled her gaze at Tonks, "-but I informed them that you'd be happy to take the job."
"I will!" Tonks cheered, then promptly fell on her face trying to cross the room to shake her boss's boss's boss's hand.
Harry was blissfully unaware of the goings on concerning his family situation, as all concerned thought it best not to worry him (or Draco) over things that might not come to fruition for many months. It would take weeks for Sirius to recover his health to a sufficient level that would satisfy the doctors at St. Mungo's, and then they'd have to take time and care to see if he was even of suitable mind to care for a child (they still hadn't figured out how he managed not to be stark raving mad as it was). No one was even sure if he'd want to take over care of the boy. Surely having to see the son of the people he was wrongfully accused of killing was going to be an unpleasant reminder of what had happened to him...
The Malfoys and Tonkses, on strength of their tentative truce, came to the only decision that made any sense. As it appeared that everything would come to a head near Christmas, there was going to be a Black family reunion for the holiday at Malfoy Manor - like it or not. Once Sirius was released from St. Mungo's he'd be discharged into the care of Narcissa and Andromeda. Andy would stay at the Manor to make the transition easier for him (as he was far less antagonistic toward her and her daughter) and between her and Tonks, hopefully they could keep Sirius from killing his hosts. Come Christmas, Sirius would get to meet Harry for the first time in years, and at the same time, Harry could get to know Andromeda and Tonks while being in familiar territory and without being torn out of the only family he knew in his conscious memory.
Snape even agreed to come. Yes, even if it meant tolerating the werewolf Dumbledore had insisted on informing of Sirius' release and innocence. Remus Lupin didn't look like he was keen to be anywhere else other than his friend's side for the foreseeable future.
All of that happened well out of view of Harry and Draco, who went on about their school days with the assumption that all was well and that Snape was their guardian of the moment. The biggest worry either boy had was how much longer they had to wait before it was time to enjoy the Halloween feast with their friends. Toward the end of class, when half of the students had given up on their assignment to levitate feathers in favor of watching the clock, it was all anyone had on their mind. Except Hermione Granger, of course. Not one to shirk off classwork, even for the most enjoyable of circumstances, she was scolding Ron Weasley about his poor pronunciation and trying to bully him into getting it right by using her voice to emit the most annoying high-pitched whine imaginable.
It didn't help one whit that she actually managed to prove herself right and float the feather high above their heads. Ron was embarrassed and annoyed, and he'd had quite enough of the bushy-haired know-it-all. Without even a thought to the danger he was putting his teeth in, he snapped at her and told her (for her own good of course - his mother would be livid if he shouted at a girl to be mean) that if she'd keep her brains from falling out in people's laps, she'd actually have a friend or two. That was the point that the dentists' daughter jumped up and fled the room in tears.
Ron, more interested in the impending feast, pretended it didn't bother him at all, and hurried Harry along so they would be in time to get first pick of the goodies on the table. (His father had assured him that dentists were not evil child-tormenting monsters, and he was reasonably sure that his dad knew more about Muggles than someone raised by a Malfoy.) The Great Hall was awe inspiring for its decorations, but the real treat was the food. The elves had outdone themselves with all manner of sweets and treats and things that normally they weren't allowed to serve the students, and it didn't take long before Hermione's tears were forgotten beneath heaping plates.
Harry glanced over at the Slytherin table and caught Draco trying to shove an entire candied apple in his mouth. From the looks of things, it seemed as though there was a wager involved, as both Crabbe and Goyle had already managed the feat, and Theo Nott was struggling to do the same. (His teeth were caught in the caramel, and from his frantic face, it was obvious he was trying to locate Hermione in the room so as to avoid any thoughts of dental damage she might pass along by owl... he wasn't so willing to take Arthur Weasley's word for what dentists did and didn't do in their creepy offices.)
From there, the game spread, and soon students at all four tables were stuffing oversized treats in their mouths (and trying to laugh around them). In a burst of brilliance, Fred and George Weasley each shrunk three apples, but left the sticks alone so it looked like they had three full sized candies in their mouths at once. After ten seconds of their smirking while standing on top of the table for all to see, Percy restored the apples to their rightful size, and left his brothers flailing about with overstuffed faces. It was the first time in recent memory Snape had awarded points to Gryffindor for a prank.
Just as Oliver Wood was calming his Beaters down enough to reshrink the apples so they could be removed, Professor Quirrell stumbled in, out of breath, and shrieked that there was a troll loose in the castle. The laughs (at the Weasley twins' expense) turned to screams as the teachers instructed the Prefects to take their tables back to their Common Rooms.
"Let's go, mate," Ron said. He loved his brothers, but wasn't going to risk running into a troll because they were still running around the Great Hall like idiots with Wood and Angelina Johnson in pursuit. The bustling clumps of students all merged for a moment in the Main Hall, while the Prefects tried to sort out lines, and Harry took the chance to check on Draco.
"You okay?" he asked.
"Yeah... but how'd a troll get in the school?"
"Dunno." Ron tugged on Harry's arm, anxious to get moving again, when- "Oh no!" Harry stopped short.
"What?" both Ron and Draco asked.
"Hermione!"
"What about her?"
"She doesn't know there's a troll!"
"She's a 'know-it-all'," Ron insisted. "She'll figure it out!"
"It's your fault she ran off crying, and I'm not going to leave her out here alone!"
"Oh, fine! But if we get squished, I hope he eats you first! Where are we supposed to look for her anyway?"
"Bathrooms," Draco said. "Girls always cry in the bathroom."
"They do?"
Draco shrugged. "That's where Pansy goes, and she cries a lot." The two Gryffindors, and one Slytherin, snuck in behind a group of Hufflepuffs passing by, and followed them until they could get a clear path to the side hallway. Everything seemed to be going okay until Ron smelled something odd.
"What is that?" he asked, sniffing the air. "Smells like cabbages and dirty socks..."
"TROLL!" both Harry and Draco shouted at the same time. No sooner was it out of their mouth, than they saw the foul-smelling creature lumber around the corner.
"RUN!" It would have better just to do it than for them all to shout it, because the troll heard them and lumbered after. The boys charged down the hall, skidding to a stop in front of the girl's bathroom.
"HERMIONE!" Harry yelled through the door.
"WHAT?" She jerked the door open to yell at him, then went pale.
"TROLL!" all four of them shouted together (including Hermione). The boys rushed inside and shoved the door shut, with all of them leaning against it, hoping that the troll would get bored or be too big to fit through the doorway, but all hope of that happening died when it made the door as big as it needed to be by knocking in the wall. Hermione, Harry, Draco and Ron scattered, trying to avoid flying chunks of rubble, and the troll started swinging its club at anything that moved. Sinks burst off the wall in a geyser, mirrors shattered, and there was lots and lots of screaming.
"Do something!"
They all turned to Hermione who was supposed to know how to do everything.
"You came to rescue me, YOU do something!" she shouted back. "You don't rescue someone and then expect that someone to do the planning!"
Ron picked up burst pieces of the sinks and threw them. It wasn't really a good idea, but it was better than nothing, so they all did the same... and succeeded... in making the troll angry.
"Now what?" Hermione screeched and shook Draco by the shoulders.
"Um..." He looked around at the mess for an idea, and thought instantly how furious Button would be if someone messed up the Manor like that... which gave him an idea. "ELF!" he screamed. "ELF! ELF! ELF!"
Harry caught on and screamed for an elf, too, while Hermione, who didn't really know what an elf was beyond her reading and that one encounter at breakfast, and Ron, who'd never had an elf, thought they were going to die with "Elf" being their last thought. Then two small, bat-eared creatures wearing Hogwarts kitchen uniforms popped in.
"Yes sirs? How are Misty and Ladle being helping?" one asked, then leaned forward to whisper. "Do sirs know they are being in the girls' loo?"
"GET US OUT OF HERE!" Harry and Draco shouted together. The elves turned, and squeaked at the sight of the charging troll. Misty grabbed Draco and Harry's hands, Ladle took hold of Ron and Hermione, and just as they were bracing for a direct hit from the troll's club, they opened their eyes to find themselves safely in the kitchens, surrounded by dozens of the creatures who circled round and promptly fetched mugs of hot chocolate for the dazed children. Hermione thawed out first - sort of - she grabbed Ladle about the neck and sobbed a tearful "Thank you!". The elf didn't know what to do to get the clingy Muggleborn off of him. He flapped his arms out to the side and twisted his ears in confusion; he'd never had a human act this way.
"Is sirs' friend needing the hospital?" Misty asked, confused herself. She led the others to sit down, while the flock of fawning elves brought out marshmallows for the hot chocolate.
"She's fine," Harry said.
"The troll was going to clobber her, so her brain's a little off."
"Should Misty smack Miss with a spoon?"
Ron opened his mouth, as though this were an idea with merit, but thought better of it.
"Could you just tell Professor Snape we're here?" Harry asked.
"Misty is finding Master Potions Master, sir," the elf squeaked, then popped out. Hermione (once successfully pried from Ladle's neck) took a seat with the others and sipped her hot chocolate with shaking hands. (Ladle had gone positively green from lack of oxygen, and two other elves were fanning him with tea towels to bring him around.) She filled the silence by asking as many questions as she could think of (quite a few...), and the elves responded to this by adding more and more marshmallows to her cocoa in hopes of filling her mouth up.
Five minutes later, a harried Severus Snape entered the kitchen with Professors McGonagall and Quirrell behind him.
"What on Earth did you think you were doing sneaking off like that?" McGonagall raged. "You could have been killed!"
"Hermione was in the bathroom," Ron offered. "She didn't know about the troll."
"So we went to tell her because we didn't want her to get clobbered," Harry added.
"We didn't think it would take so long, but the troll cut us off," Draco said.
"They saved my life... and of course, so did these nice elves," Hermione finished.
"Y-y-yes," Quirrell stammered. "How d-d-did th-th-the elves g-g-get inv-v-volved?"
"The troll cornered us in the bathroom, and Draco screamed for an elf. Then Harry screamed for an elf, so two came. They got us out of there just in time... I could actually feel the air from the troll's club as we left!" Hermione took a long drink of her hot chocolate.
"I didn't even know elves could do that," Ron exclaimed. "But I'm sure glad they did!"
"As are we, Mr. Weasley," Professor McGonagall said, a bit calmer now that she was certain they were all okay. "And I think we'll call it ten points to Gryffindor for not abandoning a Housemate, as well as ten to Slytherin for Mr. Malfoy's keeping a cool head in a crisis."
"Yes," Snape said. "While it would have been preferable for you to alert a teacher as to Miss Granger's whereabouts, I'm proud of you, Draco, for not trying to take on a fully-grown mountain troll. Your father will be as well, I'm sure."
Draco beamed.
"Is the troll dead?" Ron asked.
"It's b-b-been d-d-dealt w-w-with," Quirrell said. "N-n-now we j-j-just have to f-f-figure out h-h-how it g-g-got into the c-c-castle."
"Yes, strange thing, that," Snape snarled. His black eyes bored into the side of Quirrell's head.
"Probably Peeves," Ron shrugged as he finished his cocoa. "He probably thought it would be a funny Halloween prank. No one gets mad at him for pranking on Halloween."
"If he was responsible for setting a troll loose in the castle, "mad" will be the least of his worries - poltergeist or not," McGonagall said sternly. "And if you're all finished with your hot chocolate, and feeling up to the walk, I think there's been enough excitement. You all need to get back to your Common Rooms so the Prefects can stop worrying. Another five minutes, and I expect the Weasley twins to stage an escape to find Ronald themselves, and I'm not sure Percy's nerves can take it." She gestured to the door for them to lead the way out of the kitchens so she could keep an eye on them. Ron got up first, then Harry. He rubbed his forehead as they passed the teachers and he came close to Quirrell.
"All right, Harry?" Snape asked.
"I'm fine. Just tired."
"I'd imagine so," Professor McGonagall said. "Come along, Miss Granger." Hermione hopped off her stool, and started after the professor, then ran back to where Draco was standing beside Snape.
"Thank you," she chirped, then wrapped Draco in a bear hug. The Slytherin turned positively pink under his blond hair. Snape would have found it ironic if he weren't so concerned with Harry's reaction to Quirrell.
Sirius had the strangest feeling, like someone was sitting on his chest. Which made sense, actually, as there was, in fact, someone sitting on his chest. He cracked his eyes open until the light was unbearable, and a fuzzy image of what appeared to be a young woman with pink hair appeared. Her knees were planted firmly on his torso, with her weight pinning him down, and she was staring at him with a dopey grin he could almost swear belonged to...
"Nymphadora?"
"Don't call me that!"
The stinging punch against his shoulder confirmed it, but what was his little cousin doing sitting on him? And when had she gotten so big? And... where was he? He tried to lift his head to look around, but saw mainly blurred images of furniture and curtains. Definitely not his cell, unless his mind had finally cracked. But if he'd succumbed to the Dementors, why wasn't he stuck in a horrible memory? This felt strangely comfortable. (Aside from the person who still hadn't got off his chest.)
"You gonna stay put this time, or do I have to Incarcerous you to the bed?" Tonks asked in a voice older than the one he remembered.
"Incarcerous?" Sirius asked.
"Since when do they teach that at Hogwarts?" He struggled to sit up, which pushed his cousin off of him, and she took a seat, cross-legged, at the foot of his bed.
"They don't," she beamed, "but it's standard Auror training."
"Auror?" He blinked to get his eyes to cooperate, and got his first good look at the girl who'd been a child the last time he saw her. "Nymp-" Her face darked along with her hair, settling into an angry fuchsia color. "Well what am I supposed to call you then?"
"Tonks, apparently," said a familiar voice from somewhere close to the bed.
"Moo.. Moony?" he asked, hesitantly. He hadn't seen his friend since he was first arrested, when Remus made it clear he had no intention of ever visiting him again.
"It's me, Paddy. I'm here." He stepped closer, so Sirius could see him clearly, and Sirius was shocked at the changes he saw. Remus looked so haggard, and years older, just like Tonks. He had the distinct stress on his face that said it was likely no more than two days past the full moon. "The Healers at St. Mungo's say your eyes should even out in a few days with the potions, now that you're awake and aware."
"Last thing I remember was the cell... Peter... Moony, it was Peter, not me. It wasn't me! I swear!"
"We know, Siri," Tonks said. "That's why you're here."
"You mean you caught him?"
"Not yet, but when they questioned you with Veritaserum, the truth came out. You were down a long time, though, and you've been thrashing around since we brought you home... sorry I sat on you, but I didn't want to risk magic interfering with your potions, and it was all I could think of to keep you still."
"How long?"
"Almost eleven years," she said, quietly.
"It took them eleven years to get me a trial?!"
"Siri, calm down," Tonks warned. "You need to rest. You've been out of the hospital for a week, but you're not ready to go charging off anywhere yet."
He crashed back into the bed when his body overrode the protest on his lips. "Where are we, Moony?" he asked. "If this is home, I mean, it's not my folks' place, and you never had a house like this, so did Ted move up in the world, or what?"
Tonks and Remus shared a nervous glance, not sure how he'd react to the truth at this point. "Why don't you get some sleep?" Remus suggested.
"Evasion means it's worse than I think." Sirius propped himself up on his elbows. "So you might as well tell me the truth, or I'll be forced to assume we're at Malfoy Manor or something."
"Funny you should say that," a voice drawled from the door. Sirius' face went blank with shock, then anger roared in behind it. He shot up in bed, and Remus and Tonks were only barely able to restrain him. He was trying to speak, but all that came out of his mouth were garbled curses and unintelligible noises. "I see all that time in Azkaban has done nothing for your manners," Lucius smirked. "I shudder to think what it's done to Bella. Heaven forbid we're ever required to extend hospitality in her direction."
"That's cruel, Uncle Lucius," Tonks snapped as Sirius strained against her and the werewolf.
"Uncle?" Sirius snapped. "What are you doing calling that...Death Eater...uncle, Nymphadora?" This time, she let the name slide.
"That is the usual title acquired when one is married to someone's aunt, Black. And whatever you think you know of my past, it is firmly in my past. I am not the boy you knew in school."
"Leopards don't change their spots," Sirius snarled.
"Maybe not, but snakes shed their skin."
Sirius started to make a few remarks about his feelings for Slytherin snakes, when Lucius entered the room fully and cut him off. "I would think that you of all people would know how little House affiliations mean in the greater scheme of things, or was I mistaken in believing it your voice that so recently named one of your fellow lions as your betrayer?"
Sirius deflated, but neither Tonks nor Remus let go.
"Lucius, please..." Remus started. "This isn't the time."
"Perhaps not. But, perhaps this wasn't the best idea, either. He's in no condition to care for a child."
"What child?" Sirius asked. His brain was still a bit foggy, but he didn't remember having any children (though he'd had enough temporary girlfriends, that it was a distinct possibility.)
"My son," Lucius spat, then turned and left Sirius to his friends.
Tonks and Remus settled Sirius back into the bed once he was gone. "His son? What do I have to do with his son? I've never even met ... whatever his name is."
"He's not talking about Draco, Siri," Tonks said. "He means Harry."
"Harry?" But the only Harry he knew was...
"James' and Lily's son, Sirius," Remus said wearily. "Lucius and Narcissa have raised him for the last ten years." The werewolf barely had time to brace for the coming explosion.
"WHAT? MALFOY HAD MY GODSON FOR TEN YEARS? MALFOY?!"
"Siri, calm down," Tonks pleaded, "I don't want to use magic on you, but I will."
"But... how..."
"Didn't you wonder what happened to Harry without his parents? You knew you were his godfather, and with you in prison-"
"But, I assumed he'd be with you, Moony. That's what James and Lily would have wanted."
"I know, and I tried, but the Ministry wouldn't allow it."
"But how did he end up with Malfoy?"
"Narcissa claimed him as family through you."
"If that's true, then he should have gone to Andy!"
"No one knew the Malfoys had him," Remus explained. "Dumbledore sent Harry to live with his mother's relatives."
"NOT PETUNIA!" he gasped. Lily's horror stories of her sister were too much to think about.
"Yes, Petunia," Remus sighed heavily. "And when Narcissa found him, the Muggles handed him over without a fight. They didn't want him."
"Aunt Cissy said they kept him in the boot cupboard. He was all filthy and covered with bruises and bug bites, and-"
Sirius was seething again. "And no one did anything?"
"Aunt Cissy brought him back to our world, told everyone that he was your son, and raised him with Draco. They kept it up for ten years, until the boys went to Hogwarts and the Sorting made it necessary to use his real name... they saved him, Siri. The Ministry had the Muggles give up their rights to Harry after that, and Aunt Cissy and Mum were both going to petition for custody, but since you were never tried..."
"He's still mine?" Sirius perked up.
"Legally, yes," Remus said. "But he thinks of Lucius and Narcissa as his mother and father. He loves them, and whether you believe it or not, they love him, too. Severus says-"
"Snivellus? What's he got to do with this?"
"He was Harry's tutor for years, and now he's his professor at Hogwarts, and until the whole custody mess is sorted, he's..."
"He's what?" Sirius demanded.
"He's Harry's in loco parentis."
"WHAT?! Moony! That's worse than Malfoy!"
"A lot's changed in ten years, Sirius."
"Where's Harry?" he demanded.
"At school, where he belongs," Remus said.
"Which House?"
"Does it really matter?"
"They turned him into a snake, didn't they?" Sirius shot up again, but this time bounced off a ward placed on the door. "Let me out, Moony!"
"It's not my doing."
"It's mine," Tonks scowled. "Now sit down and shut up long enough to get the whole story!"
Sirius refused to go back to bed, so he marched to a chair and plopped down in it.
"Harry, who happens to be a Gryffindor, thank you very much, lived in this house for ten years. You may not like Aunt Cissy and Uncle Lucius, but they took good care of him; they protected him when no one else seemed willing to do it."
"THAT'S NOT TRUE!" Sirius roared, puce in the face.
"You and Remus don't count," she snapped. "You couldn't take care of him; they could, and they did. And right now, you're in no condition to take care of yourself, much less an eleven-year-old boy who's already had a rough time of it. Mum's been staying here since you got out of the hospital; she and Aunt Cissy made up. Remus has been here the whole time – Uncle Lucius lets him use the forest on the property for his transformation, and Professor Snape makes sure he has his Wolfsbane. Now does that sound anything like the people you knew in school?" Sirius rubbed the back of his neck with his hand, but didn't have an answer. Remus was staring at her, mouth open, in shock. "Mum and Aunt Cissy are in town shopping; you can talk to them yourself when they get back. Your magical core's trash at the moment from all the time with the Dementors, but in a week or so, the Healers say you'll be able to get a new wand and start rebuilding your strength. Harry and Draco will be home for the Christmas hols, and you can spend time with him then, but if you try and pull rank and jerk him out of the only family he knows, you need to realize he's going to hate you... and why are you looking at me like that?"
"You went and grew up on me!" Sirius cried. "What happened to my sweet little cousin with the turquoise pigtails?"
"She became an Auror, defended your sorry arse until she was hoarse, an arse I will stick to that chair if that's what it takes to make you listen to reason, and decided she looked better with pink hair," Tonks said, then promptly turned her hair back to turquoise. "Moody's your supervisor, isn't he?" Sirius said with a grin. "That's the only one who could give you this attitude."
"What's left of him," Remus mumbled.
"Okay. I'll listen, but beyond that, no promises. Now tell me about Harry. Is he anything like James? Does he play Quidditch?"
"He's the Gryffindor Seeker," Remus said with a grin.
"But... he's eleven! He made the team First Year!"
"Maybe later you can go down the hall to his room and see what he's like for yourself. I think you'll be surprised by what you see," Remus said.
"But now, you need to rest," Tonk said with a stern scowl she stole straight off Moody's face.
"Okay, okay, I give." He put his hands up in surrender and jumped back onto the bed. "See? Eyes closed and everything."
"Well make sure you stay that way or I'll set Harry's elf on you!" Remus shuddered at the thought. Dobby was the single most hyperactive elf he'd ever met.
He and Tonks left (then double warded the door, just in case). Once they were safely out of sight and earshot, Sirius sat up on the side of the bed. If they thought merely giving up custody of Harry was punishment enough for those Muggles, they were sorely mistaken. He wasn't about to sit there helpless. No, Sirius wanted to do something that made him feel like he'd helped Harry in some way, and Tonks' threats of elf torture gave him an idea.
"Kreacher," he hissed in a whisper. Seconds later a gangly, gnarled elf popped into his room, scowled at him and crossed his arms impatiently.
"What is Master Blood Traitor wanting from Kreacher after so many years?" He glanced around the room, and got a feel for where he was. "What is Master Blood Traitor doing is Good Missy Narcissa's house?"
"I have a job for you," Sirius said, ignoring the elf's complaints.
"You is giving Kreacher to Good Missy Narcissa?" the elf asked hopefully.
"Kreacher, you do this for me, and if you want to stay with the Malfoys, they're welcome to you."
"Kreacher is doing! Kreacher is doing! What is Master Blood Traitor needing?"
"I need you to torment some Muggles for me." Kreacher's face broke into an ear-to-ear grin. It was actually rather grotesque. "Oh Good Master Sirius! You is no longer being Wicked Master Blood Traitor! Kreacher's Mistress would so being happy to know her heir was being better!"
"Yes, I'm much better Kreacher, but we need to be quiet about this."
"Kreacher is being quiet! What is Good Master Sirius wanting Kreacher to do to nasty Muggles?"
"That's up to you." Kreacher's ears flapped happily. "You can't kill them, and they can't see you, but other than that, you can be creative."
"These are very wicked nasty Muggles?"
"Very," Sirius said. "They hurt Good Missy Narcissa's son very badly when he was very small."
Kreacher gnashed his teeth. "Can Kreacher be splinching them?"
"No. We don't want to alert the Muggle authorities. Just keep to the cupboard under the stairs, and stay invisible when you're out of it."
"Kreacher is very good at getting blood stains out. Splinching wouldn't be making a mess."
"Kreacher..."
"Fine. Kreacher won't be splinching the nasty Muggles," he pouted. "How long is Kreacher to be tormenting them?"
"Come back here Boxing Day."
"Then Kreacher can be staying with Good Missy Narcissa?"
"If you want, then yes." He flapped his ears again
"Have fun," Sirius said. "Go back to Grimmauld Place until I can find their address, and then have at them."
"Kreacher is going!" The elf left with another 'pop', and Sirius settled back and closed his eyes again. He had a feeling he was going to have very good dreams.