Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.

Chapter Twenty-One

An Explanation

Poppy Pomphrey was tending to her patients when she heard her name being shouted from her office. She had barely turned around when she saw Kingsley Shacklebolt running down her wing looking like Bellatrix Lestrange on a killing spree. Harry jumped up seeing that look in Kingsley eyes unsettled him. It was almost like he was announcing that Voldemort had returned again. "Minsiter," Harry began softly. "There is a pregnant woman in this wing who has already fainted once today. She does not need any more stress. Please follow me and Poppy into the office." Without even looking at Kingsley he began moving in that direction.

Kingsley had stopped in his tracks upon Harry speaking. The longer Harry spoke the more his emerald green eyes flashed a darker Avada (sis please check that I don't have my books with me) green. That look scarred the ex-Auor; since it was the same look that Harry had in his eyes as he defeated Voldemort. Kingsley was scared of what Harry could do to him if he sas so inclined, so he filed back into the office he had just torn out of. Once Harry and Poppy came through though Kingsley spoke thinking back on what Harry had said, "Harry, how could you be so careless? I know for a fact that Sirius and Remus sat down with you before your fifth year and talked to you about sex. They told you how to protect yourself using both magical and muggle means. So, how did you still manage to get Arthur's youngest and only girl pregnant. Molly is going to kill you. You both haven't sat your NEWTS that isn't to mention what Arthur and her brothers will do to you."

While Kingsley was ranting Harry was trapped in a day dream of himself finding out that Ginny was pregnant with their first child. It wasn't until he mentioned the Weasley boys that he snapped out of it and said, "Kingsley, Ginny isn't the one pregnant. Aunt Tabitha is with Sirius's baby. Apparently Sirius's ran into her and didn't know it was her due to a disgues. He stayed with her for a week and when he came back through he stayed another week when they discovered she had fallen pregnant they used a Black family spell to freeze the pregnancy wanted either he reversed the spell, he died, or the time limit wore out."

Kingsley took a breath before saying, "I'm sorry for jumping to conclusions. Now out of curiosity, how long does the spell last?"

Poppy laughed saying, "Only the Blacks would have a time limit of forty-eight months or five years. Most would think seven years but no the spell wore off last month. Tabitha feinted because of her not eating enough. So why did you come barreling in here?"

Kingsley took a deep breath and looked at Harry before speaking, "Something extraordinary happened in the Department of Mystery today. I was called down because a man had come thru the Veil. The Unspeakables came to get me because the man who came through the Veil was asking for me because I was in charge of his capture." Harry jumped up at the end of Kingsley's speech and was half way down the wing before a voice and spell hit him. "Petrificus Totalus!" Harry froze and fell face forward. Ginny caught up to him just as his face connected to the stone floor and made a sickening crack as his nose made contact and broke. Ginny winced at the sound before she slowly turned him over and smiled sheepishly down at him. By this time Kingsley had caught up and with Poppy's help had Harry levitated and bound to a bed.

"Now I came here because I need Poppy to come back with me. I had not figured out how to tell him that the fiancée that he believed to be dead is actually alive. I had just decided to come out and say it when I heard a thud. I think I was thinking aloud and Sirius passed out. He went down pretty hard." Kingsley uttered sheepishly.

Poppy nodded and turned to the two bed ridden Potters and said, "You will stay here! Weasley you will make sure they stay put." With that she and Kingsley went back to her office to floo to the Ministry.

"Finite!" Ginny incanted after grabbing Harry's hand. "You really need to stay put until Poppy comes back to fix-"

"Ginny," Harry interrupted softly. "Please get me a mirror; so that I can fix my nose." Poppy had cleaned up the blood but had not reset his nose; hoping that with a broken nose he would stay put.

Ginny glared at him for a minute before speaking in a slow deliberate voice, "Harry you will wait for Poppy to return for her to fix it." Harry gave Ginny a couple of moments to believe that she had won before he turned to his aunt who cave with one look at the big sad puppy dog eyes and conjured small hand held mirror. Harry took the mirror with a quick word of thanks. After a quick, "Episky!" Harry hopped off of the bed and sprinted out of the wing.

Poppy came out of the floo first and headed straight for the unconscious ex-con on the highly polished wood floor. Poppy was already running a diagnostic spell when Kingsley stepped through. It took about ten minutes before Poppy stepped back from Sirius. "You were right he gave himself a pretty severe concussion. However I am not sure what made him faint. It could have been overhearing you talk to yourself about Tabitha or he could just be exhausted. We will not know for sure until he wakes up."

Kingsley looked at his pocket watch and in a panic asked, "He's been out for two hours already shouldn't we attempt to wake Sirius up? I mean just so we know that he isn't going to go into a coma?"

"I will but I would like him on the couch so that he is comfortable, Mr. Minister." Poppy said with a sideways glare at the tall black man. "If you would help me levitate Mr. Black onto the couch; on three. One. Two. Three Windgardum Levosa!" With a swish and flick and a nice long 'gar.' Poppy and Kingsley got Sirius on the couch. The sudden movement jolted Sirius awake.

"What do you mean, my fiancée is alive? Where has she been living? Where is she now?" Sirius took a breath before his last question came tumbling out, "Does Harry know about his Aunt?" He sat up abruptly and said, "OW!" Clutching his head. Poppy only clicked her tongue and gently pushed him back into the cushions.

Kingsley looked at Sirius for a minute before speaking, "In order your answers are: Tabitha, her parents, and Lily's parents all fled to France. Tabitha has been working as a Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor at Beuxbatons. She is now touching at Hogwarts and yes Harry knows and has meet his Aunt." Kinsley stopped before catching Sirius up on the years he had missed. "Now, I do not know what the trio went off to do during last year. You will have to ask them. Now once Poppy has cleared you for a press conference. You will be cleared in the eyes of the public as well as on government record as of June 1996. Fudge decleared you innocent before he was thrown from office but he didn't widespread the information to the general public. So, the press conference will quickly tell the public you are innocent and free. Poppy, when can we do this?

Poppy pursed her lips into a fine line before speaking, "If and only if it is a quick conference. By quick I mean thirty minutes or less, Minister. Then in an hour Sirius will be cleared for a half an hour. Then I want him at Hogwarts within fifteen minutes after the conference has ended." With that said she turned sharply on her heel and flooed back to the Hogwarts Hospital Wing.

Kingsley turned to the ex-con and asked, "What else do you need to know before we go out?"

"Well anything you missed, would be nice." Sirius said with only a slight edge of sarcasm.

Kingsley took a deep breath before informing the man before him of his cousin's last year of life. "Well, Tonks got married in the summer of 1997. In August she discovered that she was pregnant."

"Way to go Tonks. So who was the man who managed to tamed the wild child?" Sirius interrupted.

Kingsley just sighed; he did not want to be the one to tell him that it was his best friend. So before answering the newly revived animagus he slowly and discretely moved next to the door. Once he was right next to his office door he spoke just two words with his hand on the doorknob, "Remus Lupin." Kingsley was prepared for anger and was ready to bolt but now he wanted to bolt from the creepy maniacal laughter that he had burst into.

While still laughing Sirius managed to choke out, "Little Nymph managed to convince the old wolf that he deserved happiness?"

Seeing the mutt coming back to normal Kingsley moved to sit next to him but once he was away from the door there was knock and Percy Weasley came through. "Minister, the Press is here."

Kingsley spoke over his shoulder, "Thank you, Percy. Are you ready to be a free man Sirius?" Kingsley said with a slight smirk which betrayed his house.

AN: Thank you for reading. I would appreciate a review. Thanks to my beta iscarascaresyou.