Sirius, who had a lot of practice from years spent avoiding the law, apparated very neatly and accurately. He'd never made a mistake. He had no idea how he could have made one now when he had been trying to get to his own home. Instead he found himself standing in the middle of a busy police station, where due to his strange dress and sudden appearance (although the muggles didn't suspect anything magical) he was immediately surrounded by angry police with guns and herded into a prison cell until they could contact the local hospital. In fact, his mentioning Dumbledore led the police to believe he was a highly unstable schizophrenic.

Sirius sighed. Wizards thought he was a demented serial killer and muggles thought he was a demented schizophrenic. Did he really look that crazy? He was lucky Annikaya hadn't taken one look at him and decided to scream or beat him over the head with his own wand!

The other occupant of the cell looked up at his heavy sigh. The police had called this other one Cubby as they threw Sirius in. Grubby would have been more accurate. He didn't look too friendly either.

Well, Sirius still had his wand and he knew where Annikaya was-a warm glow far off to the north. Sirius turned to Cubby, who had a speculative gleam in his eye.

"Neighbor, you might want to stop ending up in jail. It's bad for your health." He disapparated.

Cubby, convinced he'd seen a messenger of the Lord, called for the cops and started confessing his sins. The cops weren't nearly as happy about the missing prisoner as Cubby was. When Sirius reapparated, he aimed to be beside the young English teacher but by the time he'd finished she was ten yards ahead of him and still running.

"Anni-" he started to say but she interrupted him yet again.

"Run!"

Normally he would have been irritated with her but her voice was breathless and panicked. With his longer legs he caught up with her as they crashed through the underbrush.

"What is it?"

"Wolves or something." she gasped out.

Sirius immediately shifted to his animagi form, thinking to communicate with his evolutionary cousins. As a dog, thousands of sensory input flooded his systems. He could smell Annikaya's sharp startlement at his shape and gave a doggy smile. He turned his black and white vision to their rear to catch the scent of their pursuit.

This time it was his turn to be surprised. The scent that came back was familiar. Of course, it should be since it was similar to a scent he'd spent a lot of full moons with. Werewolves. But it wasn't a full moon. It wasn't even noon. What was going on?

Sirius returned to his normal shape, briefly regretting the lack of rich smells that had assailed him.

"Stop." he told Annikaya, drawing his wand. She did gratefully, her face flushed. Sirius worked a little spell to erase their scent. When he turned, Annikaya was picking up pebbles from the forest floor, brushing the crumbs of clinging dirt off.

"Wingardium Leviosa! Wingardium Leviosa!" he levitated the two of them high into the large oak behind her.

"I wish you'd give me some warning!" she said, annoyed.

He hushed her, listening as one of the werewolves gave off a howl. They were near. Sirius supposed they must have found his scent rejoin Annikaya's- the range of his scent deletion spell was only about a fifty meters.

There came a couple of short yips and barks and then four adult werewolves raced into sight. They were lean but in very good shape with muscles that rippled under their fur. It was yet another indicator that something was wrong for usually werewolves were too hunted and the changing too painful for them to put on much weight.

Sirius watched the wolves sniff around, hoping they would give up without a trail but suddenly one lifted its head, apparently having caught their scent on the breeze. It began to growl low in its throat, hackles up. The other two saw and began snarling and leaping at the tree, slavering jaws closing just half a meter or so below their branch.

Annikaya began pelting them with the pebbles she'd picked up and Sirius was impressed with her forethought. "Petrificus Totalus!" Sirius shouted as a particularly aggressive pair of jaws snapped shut nearer than Sirius was comfortable with. Of course, probably out of pure perversity, it didn't work. Sirius wished he'd learned to create a patronus like Harry. That could have been helpful.

Annikaya threw a pebble particularly hard, drawing a yelp from one werewolf, who fell back to all fours.

Determinedly the wolf shook its mottled grey and brown fur, which began to blur into human skin.

"What's it doing?" Annikaya asked shrilly.

"They're werewolves. It's...turning human on purpose?!" Maybe these weren't werewolves. The wolf, now a human woman, growled to the other two, who retreated ten paces from the tree, whining anxiously. The woman turned back to her treed prey.

"You might as well come down. Otherwise we'll just have to come up and get you."

Her eyes were still wolfish and her long hair that covered her naked form was the same tawny brown as her fur had been. She didn't seem to mind her nakedness, tangled mane, or the dirt that streaked her. For all of that she had a strange cold dignity that translated to a kind of imperial beauty.

"What do you want with us?" Sirius called down. He was trying to think of a defensive spell in case the woman did decide to scale the tree.

"You're in our territory. Isn't that enough?"

Sirius was about to reply but Annikaya cut him off again. "No. It's not."

"What are you doing?" Sirius hissed.

"She's lying!" she whispered back, her eyes not leaving the were-woman's. "Dogs and wolves don't lie well. Can't you see it in her posture?"

Sirius wanted to slap himself, for he should have seen that. He knew how hard it was.

One of the other wolves whined but the woman ignored it. "The Givers of our land asked for you. We will give you to them."

"Who are these 'givers'?" Sirius asked.

The woman shrugged. "They are the givers. No more questions. Come or I will set the pack up the tree."

Sirius reached for Annikaya's arm, ready to try more spells that wouldn't work but his hand encountered only air. "Annik-" His voice cut off on him in shock. Annikaya had slid off the tree branch and now stood gazing eye to eye with the wolf woman. The world seemed to narrow until it included only the two of them, a strange short green-eyed jean clad woman to a strange tall wolf-eyed naked woman. It was silent for long moments as they searched each other's eyes for something both of them knew but no one else did.

"Very well." The woman shook herself, fur growing as her form shifted to all fours. Sirius was frozen in the tree, his wand pointed at her. In wolf form again, the woman gave a short bark and the three wolves padded out of sight.

Sirius slid out of the tree and took Annikaya by the shoulders. "What were you thinking? She could have killed you! Ripped you limb from limb!"

Annikaya didn't like being yelled at and she tore herself from his grasp. "Stop yelling at me! She never wanted to kill us! She wanted to take us to the those givers!" she yelled back.

"You were still in unnecessary danger. Don't do that again." he ordered her.

That didn't seem to help the matter any. "I'm an adult! I can make my own decisions! You're just mad because I didn't consult you first and I saved your butt!" Annikaya retorted.

Sirius didn't even bother to reply. It was just too ridiculous. He stomped over to where the wolves had disappeared and tried to catch a glimpse of them to make sure they weren't coming back. "Did you contact your group thing?" Annikaya asked after what she felt was a sufficient amount of time.

Sirius still didn't look at her. "No. I don't know what happened. It's not there."

"Is there anywhere else you can go? Anywhere else you might meet them?"

"Yes. I think there are."

"Do you need to bespell me again?"

Sirius shook his head. "No. I didn't have time to remove the original spell. However, I think you'll be safer up in the tree. We don't want a repeat of earlier."

Annikaya nodded. "Fire away!"

Sirius spent all afternoon apparating and disapparating. Everywhere he went things were wrong. Trying to apparate to Remus' house he landed in a wetlands with a startled blue heron looking him straight in the eye. The attempt for Tonks' house yielded a lingerie store. In desperation he even tried the Weasleys', only to end up in the middle of a zoo exhibit. As a last resort he tried the Dursleys. This ended up being a trip to an empty field. Sirius just didn't understand it. He was tired, had been mauled by women in the lingerie store, was wet from the heron's panicked splashing, had been mauled by a lion at the zoo, and on top of that it was getting dark. With a sigh he apparated back to Annikaya.

"What happened to you?" she asked, tugging one tattered sleeve.

"That was the lion." he explained dolefully. In the gathering gloom he could see her eyes widen.

"The what?"

Gathering some sticks together he lit a blaze with his wand and told her about his adventuresome afternoon. "Are your clothes dry yet?" she asked him, concerned, when his tale was through. "We don't want you to get sick on us."

"Just a bit more." he assured her and stared pensively at the fire. "I just don't understand it." he told her. "All of them gone? It's not likely."

Annikaya frowned. "Has it occurred to you that maybe we're still stuck? I mean, we're still not hungry and we should be. Maybe we need to go through that grey thing in the top of that room. I mean, we came from there, didn't we?"

"Bugger. You're probably right. How'd we do that?"

Annikaya looked up at the stars visible through the trees. "Tomorrow."

"Hmpf."

Annikaya begin humming softly, words breaking out now and again. She was leaning contentedly back against a tree, still eyeing the sky.

She looks happy when she sings, Sirius thought, surprised that the nonsense wasn't bothering him. In fact, it was kind of relaxing.

"You'll never know, dear, how much I love you. Please don't take my sunshine away."

A movement out of the corner of his eye made Sirius turn carefully for danger but it was only a tree sprite lured out by the music. "Don't stop singing." Sirius said softly.

Annikaya's eyes grew wide, for she hadn't seen the tiny sprite yet, but she kept singing. "The other night, dear, as I lay sleeping..."

The sprite crept into the light cast by the fire; its tiny emerald green eyes alight with curiosity that was suddenly mirrored in Annikaya's eyes. The little creature was humanoid in form, covered in a mottled green and brown fur that Sirius knew helped to keep them hidden in the trees.

"You are my sunshine, my only sunshine..."

Then the fire gave a loud pop and the creature gave a high pitched tinny squeak. Fanning emerald-veined wings the little thing fluttered off.

"Sirius, what was it?" Annikaya was delighted.

Sirius found himself grinning at her child-like expression. "A tree sprite. They're very shy but they love music. A lot of magical creatures do because music can be a form of magic."

From the look on her face Sirius belated realized he'd just provided her with fuel for a million questions. He should have known. After all, she was a teacher. With a smile that he didn't even want to examine, he leaned back and allowed the barrage to begin. When Annikaya awoke the next morning Sirius was already up, watching the sunrise color the sky as if paint had no cost.

"I wish you'd woken me," she commented, watching a particularly bright red swirl of color.

There wasn't any need for Sirius to speak, for the morning was still and perfect. "I always watch the sunrise if I can." he said after awhile.

"I didn't really have you pegged as a morning person."

"I didn't used to be. James was but I'd sleep till noon if I could. But I missed too many sunrises in Azkaban."

There wasn't much one could say to that so instead they just watched the sunrise slip away.

"Well," Annikaya stood, brushing off her pants. "What's the plan for today? Sneak back inside and wingardium leviosa ourselves through the window thing?"

"We're both just daft." Sirius muttered under his breath. He hurried to catch up to the much-too-cheerful blonde who was marching purposefully away.

It wasn't nearly as easy to sneak back into the building as it had been to sneak out. People in khaki uniforms were everywhere. Sirius was able to change their own clothes to look like the uniforms but they still had to be cautious not to be stopped, for their accents would give them away if nothing else did first. However, they weren't stopped.

Annikaya, after entering the building, had immediately assumed a brisk, purposeful, leave-me-alone type stride and Sirius had his ready scowl. He had to admit to a bit of inner curiosity about Annikaya's natural and flawless act, for she always seemed so eager and happy but this was the stride of a focused loner. He pushed that away as they entered the computer lab.

There were a few differences here too. The computer Annikaya had used the previous day had been surrounded with yellow caution tape and a large plastic box had been placed over the computer. Also, the broken door had been repaired. However, it stood open so they didn't have to break it again.

Sirius turned to his partner in crime. "I'm going to place a barrier of hardened air off this floor so we don't fall all that way again and then we'll fly up, ok?" he whispered.

"Why are you whispering?" she whispered back, amused.

Sirius scowled at her before speaking the words that turned the air hard. Annikaya, as full of curiosity as the rest of the time, immediately ran out onto the hardened air and began examining it.

Using the now familiar flotation spell Sirius rose into the air to see if they did indeed have a way home. Well, that wouldn't get them home. Another one of those annoying anti-magic barriers was in the way. Sirius eyed the grey overhead structure balefully.

"You're sure this barrier is too low for us to throw a rope up again?" Annikaya pressed.

"Very sure." Sirius sat down with his chin resting glumly on his knee.

Annikaya bit her lip. "Now what?"

"Now...now we rest upon our laurels, pleased with our powers of intelligence." he smiled humorlessly.

Annikaya put a hand comfortingly on his shoulder, then craned her neck up to look. "We could change the computer chairs into something, couldn't we?"

"I thought of that but I'd like to save that as a last resort. The first time one of those guys walks in here he'll notice the chairs are missing. I'd rather not be caught if it's all the same to you."

Annikaya lifted her hand to swat him lightly for his last comment. Sirius had anticipated this and ducked, grinning broadly. "Any other ideas?" In the end they had to try the chair idea because all their other ideas involved sneaking out and back in again with large amounts of firewood. Annikaya rolled another chair up to the stack accumulating on top of the hardened air.

"That's enough to start with I suppose." Sirius mused.

Annikaya sat back and watched the chairs morph into the first part of a spiral staircase. She shook her head. "You're going to have to teach that to me."

Sirius grinned. Having been a show-off in his youth, he didn't mind an appreciative audience now.

Annikaya smiled back at him sunnily and turned to get some more chairs. In the doorway was a stony-faced man in a khaki uniform, some form of projectile weapon in his hand and a communication device flashing on his belt. And he most definitely wasn't happy to see her.

"Erm, hello?" Annikaya's voice was awkward.

"You're coming with me." The man said menacingly, his harsh accent still completely understandable.

"Yes sir!" Where are we going?"

The soldier, for that is what he appeared to be, only tightened his grip on his weapon.

Annikaya's face grew even more strained and pale. "Sorry, I'll be fine, I'll be good. Then someone will get to go home early." she said purposefully, hoping Sirius would catch her meaning. After all, so far Sirius was still hidden around the edge of the staircase.

Suddenly Sirius shouted something and the room filled up with a thick blue smoke. Annikaya dropped instantly as the startled soldier let loose his weapon with a strange roaring sound. She didn't see what it looked like as she scuttled toward the door in through the thickly colored air.

In the computer lab she ducked as she raced down one aisle and heard running feet behind her. She realized it was Sirius only when she heard him shout the counter spell to the air hardening and heard the soldier shout as he fell. "Hey!" Another soldier stood in the door. This time the effects of the pointed weapon were immediately visible as little red streaks shot through the spot where Sirius' head had just been. The streaks hit the computer behind him, which immediately danced with sparkling electricity.

Sirius jumped back up and shot off a spell. "Accio!" The weapon went flying through the air to also strike the computer behind Sirius, setting it on fire. Its momentum had been too much for him to catch it. Now Sirius made the air blue again and Annikaya and he both stumbled toward the soldier and the doorway he stood in.

A hand reached out to grab Sirius' arm and pin it behind his back. Suddenly Annikaya was there, slamming hard onto the soldier's head with a keyboard. Most of the keys decided that would be a good time to leave and find the floor. The soldier didn't join them but did release his hold on Sirius to go after his assailant. Sirius, free, hauled off and slugged the man square on the chin. The soldier suddenly had an urge to give into gravity and slid to the floor.

Sirius shook out his throbbing hand while Annikaya crowed in delight. "That was so cool! You looked just like Indiana Jones!"

"Who? Never mind. Let's just get out of here. There's more coming."

Since they knew where they were going, namely out, Sirius once again spoke the words that flooded the area ahead of them with smoke. Startled curses from the end of the hallway alerted them to company.

Annikaya, who'd had her hand on Sirius' sleeve so she didn't lose him, tugged it to get his attention. "Can we fly above them? Then we wouldn't run into them and they wouldn't see us."

Sirius nodded and used his wand again. At the end of the hallway and the smoke both he lowered them back to the ground.

"We don't want to waste time and running is faster." Sirius explained before Annikaya could even open her mouth. Annikaya nodded and they took off down the hall. Suddenly Sirius threw himself on Annikaya and hit the ground as one of the red beams passed over their heads from down the hall. More followed, missing by mere millimeters as the two scrambled to their feet.

Sirius jerked open a door and pulled them both in, slamming it shut and locking it. Annikaya looked around. There was no way out, only a one-way mirror that let them view box like rooms on the other side, each with a humanoid male of varying age in each of the cubicles. She didn't examine them closely although something seemed different about them. They didn't look very happy though.

"Can you free them? Maybe they'll help us."

Sirius tried blasting the mirror but it didn't work. Behind them the doorknob suddenly sprouted little blue sparks as it was shot at.

"It looks like we're out of time and options." Sirius said heavily. "Sorry A-"

Annikaya had been looking up, maybe praying, and she interrupted him excitedly. "The ceiling tiles! Move the ceiling tiles and fly us up there!"

"Huh?" Sirius' world didn't have ceiling tiles but only stout stone and solid wood.

"The ceiling! It's not connected!" She struggled to make sense before the door burst in and soldiers poured forth.

Sirius understood her and did as she commanded, mere seconds before angry weapon-toting soldiers burst into the now empty room.

Sirius had to maintain the floating spell once they were in the ceiling because the tiles wouldn't support their weight so they hovered uncomfortably, brushing the tiles and trying not to bump their heads in the confining space as they tried to figure out how to proceed.

"This way." Sirius whispered, leading the way. Of course, since he was in charge of the spell, Annikaya didn't have any choice but to follow.

Through the thin tiles they could hear shouted commands and slamming doors as people continued to look for them. After what seemed an eternity of cramped spaces, spiders, and darkness they encountered a wall. Sirius carefully slid over a ceiling tile and peered down into the lobby. Seeing two soldiers guarding the door he turned to the woman beside him.

"Suggestions?" he asked softly.

"Your area, not mine."

He nodded, accepting her words, and mulled over the possibilities. It was then that he remembered a particularly devious spell James, Remus, Peter, and he had come up with when they were boys...

Minutes later the doors were unguarded as two anxious guards began chasing their clothes down the hallway. Sirius could hear a smothered giggle beside him as they floated to the floor. Sirius smiled proudly. Some spells were classics.