Chapter 5
Remus Lupin quietly let himself in the back door, and walked into the kitchen. He felt fortunate that Snape, and now Isabelle, could make the wolfbane potion, but he was still very, very tired. He turned on the light, and saw a blonde mop sprawled across the bar.
"Ergh. Turn off the light," the mop mumbled. "And walk quietly, or I will hurt you just as soon as the elephants stop jumping on my head."
Remus chuckled to himself, and started making breakfast, trying to be as quiet as possible. A minute later, Sirius stumbled downstairs, and joined Isabelle at the bar, holding his head.
"Awww, did we party a little too hard last night?" Remus teased them.
"As soon as I can think clearly, I'll get you for that one," Sirius replied. "You're the potions expert, Isabelle. Can't you make something to make us feel human?"
"Why do you think I came down here? I managed to crawl to the bar, but that's as far as I got. That was an hour ago. If Remus would be so kind as to mix the ingredients, I know a good, quick potion. I created it when I was in college." She dictated ingredients, and instructions to Remus. He poured the result, a mint green goo, into two glasses and placed them on the bar with a loud thump.
"Ouch!" Sirius and Isabelle screamed together.
"Sorry, couldn't help myself."
"Belle, this looks absolutely disgusting." He plugged his nose, and downed the glass. "Tastes disgusting, too."
"Better than walking around wearing sunglasses all day," she replied, drinking her own glass. Ten minutes later, Isabelle and Sirius looked much more human.
"How was your night, Remus?" Isabelle asked him.
"Much better than your night, apparently," he replied. "I take it that things did not go well?"
"No, everything's great. We just got a little too carried away celebrating," Isabelle explained.
"How's your girl?" Remus inquired.
"She took the news quite well, actually. I was sort of surprised, really."
"And your nephew?"
"Great," Isabelle and Sirius replied together.
Remus rolled his eyes. "You people have the most oddball family tree. What's on the agenda for today?"
"Coming back from the dead," Isabelle said matter-of-factly.
"Have you decided the best way to do that?"
"Well, since some people," Sirius glared at Isabelle, "insist on going shopping, we need to go to Gringotts' bank."
"Counting on the goblins to spread the word?" Goblins are notorious for spreading gossip quickly.
"Exactly," she replied. "Oh, is Sergei going to have a fit."
"Is that a good or bad thing?" Remus asked.
"I haven't decided yet." They heard a pair of feet walking down the stairs. Hermione appeared in the doorway, and sat down at the bar in the empty stool next to Isabelle.
"Good morning, Professor Lupin," she yawned.
Remus smiled. "You don't have to call me that outside of school, you know."
"I know. I'm just happy that you're going to be teaching again." She smiled at him, and looked over at her father and Isabelle. "Um, no offense, but you two look a little rough in the morning."
"None taken," Isabelle replied. "Are Harry and Ron awake yet?"
"I don't think so. Let me go check." She ran back upstairs.
"It's frightening how much she looks like Gina," Remus said.
"Tell me about it," Sirius said. "It's a little hard to get used to. She even sounds like her sometimes."
Hermione thundered back down the stairs, with Harry and Ron in tow. "Morning," they mumbled.
"Morning," Remus said. "Ok, breakfast is ready." Everyone filled their plates with food, grabbed utensils from the drawer, and headed to the dining room. Sirius and Isabelle sat down beside each other, and immediately jumped up again.
"What's wrong?" Harry asked.
"Oh, I'm left-handed, but Sirius is right-handed, so we have to make sure to sit so that we don't bump elbows."
"Yeah, she's backwards, but not everyone's perfect." She made a face at him. Harry smiled. He couldn't help but think of how different this family breakfast was from the Dursleys. In fact, he thought, Aunt Isabelle is nothing at all like Aunt Petunia. He watched her as she and Hermione planned their shopping trip, chatting away, with Sirius rolling his eyes at the mention of Gringotts' bank.
"Well," Isabelle was saying, "tomorrow's Harry's birthday, and I need to finish lesson plans this weekend, so I'm thinking we can get some things today, and the rest next week."
"What are we doing today?" Hermione asked.
"Oh, you and I are coming back from the dead. After that, I'm thinking lunch and finding you and Harry bedroom furniture." Everyone laughed at her matter-of-fact attitude. She elbowed Sirius. "Tell them," she hissed.
He shot her an evil stare. "Much as I love dealing with the bank," Sirius said sarcastically, "we need to adjust the family vaults. I'm not sure if anyone's ever told you this, but our family–the Blacks and the Potters, that is–have a great deal of money invested in Gringotts' bank." Harry, Ron and Hermione looked at the floor, feeling guilty for spying. "A long time ago, in the early Middle Ages, there were two main banking families is what is now the United Kingdom. The Potter family controlled England and Wales, and the Black family controlled Scotland and Ireland. Do you understand me so far?" They nodded. "Sometime, I'm not sure when, the Potters and the Blacks combined their assets into one centralized wizarding bank. That bank is now Gringotts' bank in London. Well, there are actually two Gringotts' banks in London. The original bank became too small about five hundred years ago, so it handles the Potter and Black vaults only. The Evans vaults, too. The main bank handles all other accounts."
"So, who owns the bank?" Ron asked.
"No one really owns the bank, in that sense of the word. The family that has the majority of the assets has the right to run the bank. When I was growing up, the Potters and the Blacks had an equal amount of money in the bank, but the Potter family was not interested in running the bank. So, my father managed the bank."
"But, our family has the majority now," Hermione said to herself. "The Blacks, that is."
"Yes, how did you know that?" Sirius' eyes narrowed. Before she could answer, he continued. "I have no interest in running the bank, or in the money, and I speak for the Black and Potter interests until Harry turns eighteen. So, the family with the third highest amount of money in the bank runs it. Who is that now?"
"The Malfoy family," Isabelle spat. "Perhaps you should reconsider your decision."
"No, I have better things to do than count Galleons. If the Malfoys want the job, so be it."
"They are corrupt! You know how they make their money. And you are just going to–to sit there and do nothing?" Isabelle stood up and put her hands on her hips. Sirius threw his fork down on his plate, stood up, and faced her.
"What can I do about it? Running the bank won't solve anything," he thundered. They began arguing with each other at the top of their lungs, talking over each other so that no one understood a word either of them said. Harry, Ron and Hermione looked at each other nervously. Harry looked over at Remus, who was laughing.
"Psst, Harry! So, who's your money on?" he whispered. Ron and Hermione leaned in so that they could hear Harry and Remus.
"I don't know. Aunt Isabelle seems to be talking more, but Sirius has a lot of rage," Harry replied.
"I didn't say that you had to run the bank. All I'm saying is that you should keep a closer eye on the family assets," Isabelle screamed.
"I told you once, and I'll tell you again. I don't want to keep a closer eye on the money. I couldn't care less if I ever see it again. You know what? Forget going to the bank today. Money is too much trouble," shouted Sirius. Isabelle turned red from anger. Her green eyes shot fire, as the fighting became more intense.
"I really don't think Papa is going to back down."
"Let me tell you a secret about your father, Hermione," Remus whispered back. "If he and Isabelle ever have a fight, she wins. It's always been that way. She's a very good ally for you to have, trust me. Sirius wanted to bring you here from Bulgaria the day after the trial, but Isabelle wouldn't let him."
Hermione looked horrified at the thought. "Wow. Remind me to thank her for that one."
Remus chuckled. "Just watch. She'll win eventually."
"Give me one good reason why we should go to the bank today," Sirius hollered, folding his arms across his chest.
"Because you're being a jerk and you know I'm right," came the reply.
"Ok, give me another good reason."
"Because we've spent our housing allowance and are flat broke. I don't know about you, but I enjoy eating."
"Fine," Sirius said.
"Fine," Isabelle replied. They sat back down at the table, and began eating. Remus was laughing so hard that he almost fell out of his chair. "What's so funny?" she said, scowling.
"Nothing, nothing," he laughed, giving Harry, Ron and Hermione a knowing look. They smiled back.
"Alright, since we're broke, apparently, we'll go to the bank before we do anything else today, and adjust the vaults. There's already a vault for you Hermione, but there's not a lot of money in it. Just enough to keep the vault space reserved. I'm going to transfer the money from my petty cash vault into yours. Harry, your vaults are still in your parents' names, so we need to transfer the vault titles to you. After that, I'm giving the vault keys and information to Isabelle, who will manage the family finances. So, if you ever need money, go to her, ok?" Harry and Hermione nodded. "When we go to the bank, be sure not to say or do anything that you don't want put in the Daily Prophet. We can count on the goblins to spread around the wizarding world everything that they hear. As soon as we leave the bank, it will be only a matter of hours before the entire wizarding community knows about you and Isabelle. It's the easiest way for you and Isabelle to come back from the dead, as she puts it."
"Are you coming for the festivities?" Isabelle asked Remus.
He laughed. "Count me out on this one. I'm tired enough already without having to deal with the Black financial empire. A half hour in the bank is better than any sleeping potion."
Isabelle looked at the clock. "Ok, we really want to get this over with before lunch, so we're going to leave in a half hour. And, please be sure that the three of you wear something that would look decent in the newspapers?" Ron, Harry, and Hermione groaned, and walked upstairs to get ready, followed by Sirius and Isabelle.
A half hour later, everyone was showered, dressed, and ready to walk out the door. They walked through the faculty grounds into Hogsmeade, and took the Floo system to the Leaky Cauldron. Harry was the first person out of the tavern, so he opened the pathway to Diagon Alley. People stared at them, whispering, as they crossed the street.
"Papa, why do people stare at us so much?"
"For some reason, people have a fascination with either rich or famous people. Unfortunately, our family is both." They walked quietly until they reached Gringotts' bank. They walked inside the building, into a small, tastefully decorated lobby. A sign above the teller's desk read: "Gringotts' Wizarding Bank, Black and Potter Family Branch. All other customers please visit our main bank."
Sirius walked up to the goblin, and began detailing the transactions. The goblin nodded, copying down each transaction onto a large piece of parchment. Suddenly, the goblin stopped, and looked at Sirius with a curious expression.
"Forgive me, Mr. Black, but I was under the impression that your daughter is dead." He looked over to where Hermione stood, and narrowed his eyes. "Ah, but I see that I was wrong. She looks like a young version of your wife, does she not?" Sirius made no comment, so the goblin returned to writing on the parchment.
After a minute, Isabelle walked up to the teller's desk. "Countess Remizov, while you are a loyal patron of this bank, I am afraid that this branch is limited to members of the Black, Evans and Potter families only. I cannot help you here," the goblin told her.
Isabelle removed one of her vault keys, and handed it to the goblin. "I wish to transfer funds from my other vaults into this vault, which I know is kept here. And, I need all vault titles to reflect my divorce, and be registered in my former name, which is Isabelle Evans."
The goblin dropped his quill onto the floor, but picked it up quickly without comment. He wrote down the instructions, and turned to walk down the hallway. A few minutes later, the goblin returned, carrying several bags of money. Sirius picked up the bags, and quickly ushered Isabelle, Harry, Hermione, and Ron out of the bank before the rumors began spreading.
"I am so glad that is over," Harry said. For some reason, the bank gave him an uneasy feeling.
"Me, too," Isabelle and Sirius said together. They burst out laughing.
"Now, time for shopping," Isabelle said, grabbing one of the bags. She and Hermione headed off to the clothing boutiques, while Sirius, Harry, and Ron went to Quality Quiddich Supplies. They met up an hour later at the ice cream parlor, where Harry, Ron, and Hermione made up a contest to see who could count the most people who gave them funny stares. Hermione won, with seventy-three people, and one hag. They spent the rest of the afternoon looking for bedroom furniture. After eating an early dinner at the Leaky Cauldron, they took the Floo system back to Hogsmeade, and walked home.
Remus was waiting for them in the living room. "Did you leave anything in Diagon Alley?" he said, pointing to all the bags neatly stacked in the corner.
"You know how a girls' day out goes, Remus. Anyway, did the furniture arrive here, too?" Isabelle asked.
"Yep, about an hour ago."
"Good, because I have a feeling that we are not going to want to go out for a while. I can hardly wait to see tomorrow's Daily Prophet."
"Me, either," Sirius said. "I wonder how much press we're going to have this time. I say, a front page article and five pictures."
"No," Harry replied, "Definitely a front page article, six pictures, and two other articles."
Everyone chimed in with their predictions, joking and laughing about what the newspapers were going to say. After everyone finally determined that the Daily Prophet would devote an entire special edition to their family, Harry ran upstairs and got his Exploding Snap cards. Isabelle made a quick tray of drinks and snacks, and everyone went out on the patio and played cards until midnight. Although they went to bed early, no one slept well.
-----
"Do you have the cans?""Are you sure this isn't mean?"
"Belle, have you lost your nerve?"
"Of course not. It just that..."
"That what? Are you chicken?" Sirius started making clucking sounds.
Isabelle frowned. "Fine. Let's do this. But, I want to go on record that this wasn't my idea." She carefully picked the lock on Harry's door, which wasn't easy, considering that it was barely daylight. Sirius and Isabelle snuck up to Harry's bed, where he was sleeping.
"Happy birthday!" they screamed together, covering him in silly string, and all kinds of liquid goo. Harry jumped up, wand in hand, but it was too late. He could barely move because of all the gelatinous mess. Ron fell to the floor, holding his stomach. Hermione came to the doorway, wondering where the noise was coming from, and began laughing too hard to speak.
"What is going on here?" Remus said sleepily, appearing through the bathroom door. He took one look at Harry and shook his head. "Oh, no, you didn't."
"Oh, yes, we did," Sirius replied. "Harry, your father started this little tradition when we were at Hogwarts. It started out with silly string that Lily would bring from home, but got worse and worse each year. I think you got off pretty lucky, myself." Harry shot daggers from his eyes at Sirius and Isabelle, but began laughing because Remus was sneaking up on them, cans raised. He attacked them from behind, coating them in red and blue silly string.
"That's not fair!" Isabelle screamed. "Traitor!"
"All's fair in love and war, my dear," Remus said, with a wicked grin, tossing cans to Ron, Harry, and Hermione. In ten minutes, everyone was covered with goo, and the room was a complete disaster.
"Boy, Fred and George are going to be mad they missed this," Ron said, looking around the room.
Harry shot Ron an evil smile. "Why? Don't you have a birthday soon?"
"Don't even think about it, Potter."
"I think it's only fair to repay favors, don't you think?"
"We've corrupted another generation," Remus said to Sirius, laughing. Harry had never had so much fun on his birthday before, and it wasn't even seven o'clock in the morning. He suddenly frowned.
"What's wrong?" Hermione asked him.
"Doesn't the Daily Prophet come soon?" Everyone groaned.
"Yes, it comes at eight o'clock," Hermione replied.
"Great," Sirius muttered to himself. "Well, there's nothing we can do about that, except deal with whatever anyone says about us," he said confidently, giving Isabelle a concerned look. It wasn't fair to drag the children into this mess, he thought. They're going through enough already without having to read about their lives in the newspaper.
"Anyway, who's up for breakfast? I think it's my turn," Isabelle said, giving the room a careless flick of her brand-new wand. The goo and string disappeared, leaving the room neat and clean. "Wands are so medieval," she said crossly to herself. Dumbledore insisted that she use a wand in front of students, so she bought one two weeks ago, trying to get back into the habit of using one before the school year started.
"I'll help," Hermione said. They walked downstairs together, talking. Fifteen minutes later, they yelled upstairs that breakfast was ready, so everyone headed downstairs. Unlike yesterday, everyone sat quietly, looking at the clock. At exactly eight o'clock, Hedwig flew in with a copy of the Daily Prophet in her beak, and dropped it in Sirius' lap.
He unfolded the newspaper as casually as possible. "Oh, no," he moaned.
"What?" everyone screamed. He turned the paper around, so that the headline was visible. "Special Edition," the headline read in two-inch tall letters. "Missing Girls Found Alive." Sirius flipped through the pages. Every single article and picture was devoted to at least one family member.
"I guess we were right," Harry said in a small voice.
Remus shook his head in disbelief. "Isn't there anything else to talk about?"
"I guess not," Isabelle said, flipping to the second page. "For pity's sake! They even have our family tree in here. Is nothing sacred?"
"If you think that's bad, look at this," Sirius told her, turning the page. It was a timeline detailing every event in recent family history.
"How did they find all of this information? They even know my assumed name, when I graduated from high school and college, and joined the ballet. Look at this–they have my wedding date, date of separation, and date of divorce."
"I didn't know you left Sergei the day I escaped from Azkaban."
"Coincidence, huh? It looks kind of bad, the way they put it, though." Isabelle read the next line, and turned white. "Please excuse me for a minute," she said, walking upstairs to her room.
Sirius scanned the date, and read the next line. "Katrina Victoria Remizov, the only child born to the Remizov marriage, dies eight days after being born prematurely." Isabelle was a mother? The idea shocked him. He quietly passed Hermione the newspaper, and walked upstairs. He knocked on her door, which was cracked slightly.
She was in a crumpled heap on the bed, crying softly. He walked over to the bed, and sat down on the edge. "She was really beautiful, Sirius. So incredibly tiny, with dark hair, but my green eyes. After she was born, the doctors told us that she wouldn't make it. She was just born too soon, and the doctors could do nothing for her. So, I just held her in my arms, and sang to her until the very end. It soothed her to hear my voice, but it was so hard to keep singing while your whole world is ending." Her voice broke off.
"I know," he told her, remembering another deathbed, many years ago. Isabelle looked in his eyes, and realized that he did know how she felt. "When Regina was dying, she became delusional and hysterical towards the end. James couldn't take it, so he left first. A few minutes after that, Grace started fussing in the other room, so Lily left to check on you and her. Regina had a few lucid moments, and in one of them, she asked me to sing. I don't know how I did it, but I kept singing until she was gone." He shook his head, trying to force the memories back. "I wish I could have been there for you, Belle."
They sat on the bed, quietly. Isabelle sat up, reached for a tissue, and blew her nose. "Enough of the past," she said firmly. "You know what I want to do with that newspaper?"
"The same thing I do. Burn it." They walked downstairs together, where everyone was in the living room, watching the fireplace.
"I hope you don't mind, but we couldn't stand the thought of this trash being in our home. So, we burned it," Hermione said gleefully.
Sirius laughed. "We came down here with the exact same idea. Now, what would you like to do today?"
"We were just talking about that. Since Aunt Isabelle hasn't been to Hogwarts in about a million years," Isabelle rolled her eyes, "we want to give her a tour. After that, we want to play Quiddich. Well, Ron and I do," Harry said.
They set off for the main castle, Harry, Ron, and Hermione leading the way. They pulled Isabelle around in all directions, fighting over where to take her next. She saw Gryffindor Tower, which hadn't changed much when she was a student, the Great Hall, and several classrooms. As they walked down a hallway, Isabelle suddenly stopped.
"Is that still the prefects' bathroom?" she said, pointing.
"It was when I was a student, why?" Sirius answered.
"No reason," she said with a wicked grin. Remus gave her a questioning look. "I'll tell you later," she whispered.
"Tell him what? I know you weren't a prefect. In fact, with your disciplinary record, you're lucky you weren't expelled. So, how would you have known about the prefects' bathroom?" Sirius glared at her.
"Don't get all paternal on me. I just had a little fun there once or twice, that's all," she said archly.
"Does that have anything to do with that month's worth of detention?"
"Nope. That was another time," she said, walking down the hallway.
"What time was that?" Sirius hollered after her.
"Wouldn't you like to know?" came the reply. "Besides, how did you know about the prefects' bathroom, yourself? You certainly weren't a prefect." Sirius turned five shades of red, and stormed down the hallway. Harry looked at Hermione, and busted out laughing. Life was definitely more interesting with Isabelle around, he thought.
They walked back onto the grounds, and onto the Quiddich pitch. Harry got some spare brooms, and the balls from the equipment shed. Even Hermione played along, as they tossed the quaffle back and forth, dodging bludgers that Remus kept batting towards them. They played until it was too dark to see, and walked home, nursing sore muscles. Isabelle was limping slightly.
"What, can't handle playing a real sport, ballerina?" Remus teased, barely dodging a jelly-legs jinx she shot back at him.
After everyone showered and changed, the adults cooked dinner while the children talked outside on the patio. Harry couldn't believe the amount of food on the dinner table, and how quickly it disappeared. Sirius went into the kitchen, and returned with a massive birthday cake.
"Nicked it from the house elves," he whispered in Isabelle's ear, lighting the candles. Before she could respond, he quickly led the singing of "Happy Birthday" to distract her. He knew that she loved to sing, and hoped that it would diffuse her anger. He didn't see what a big deal it was to get food from the house elves, anyway.
"I didn't know all of you can sing," Hermione said.
"Just call us the singing von Trapp family," Isabelle laughed.
"Could my parents sing, too?" Harry asked.
"Only if you enjoy hearing fingernails going down a blackboard," Isabelle replied. "They were a good dancers, though. Lily and James used to throw parties, and I would watch them dance all night from my bedroom window. Tell you what, Harry. I'll tell you anything you want to know about our family. Ask away."
"What about me?" Hermione begged.
"It depends on the question," she said, cutting cake and passing the pieces around the table. She smiled sweetly at Sirius, who looked horrified. If he thought that he would get off that easy for nicking the cake, he was terribly mistaken.
"I'm thinking, Hermione. You go first," Harry said.
"What is Potter hair?" she asked.
"Potter hair has the unusual quality of never lying flat, or looking neat. Gina used to charm her hair flat. She started doing that after your father asked if she got caught in a lightening storm during their third year at Hogwarts. He was always teasing her like that."
"How did my mother know Papa fancied her, then?"
"She didn't. Can I tell the story, Sirius?" She flashed him an incredibly wicked grin. This was exactly the question she wanted to hear.
"You're going to tell her anyway, aren't you?" Of all of the stories to tell my daughter, he thought, she just has to tell this one.
"Well, yes. Anyway, James, Gina, and Sirius all grew up together. Sirius lived next door to the Potter twins, and was over there all of the time. Your father fell madly in love with your mother around the age of five, but he didn't want James to know that. So, he teased Gina constantly. When they first went to Hogwarts, James, Sirius, and a bunch of their friends were sitting at the lunch table when Lily and Gina walked by. Some friend of James' made a crude comment about what he'd like to do with Gina Potter, so James beat the living daylights out of him. After that, most guys were scared to talk to Gina because they were afraid of what James would do to them. So, whenever a dance would come up, James would ask Lily, and Remus would ask his flavor of the month, but Sirius would never ask anyone. He always waited for Gina to walk around, sad because she didn't have a date, and then he would play the knight in shining armor. Naturally, all the other guys were scared to even dance with her, so Sirius got to spend all night dancing with her, which is exactly how he wanted things to be in the first place. Time went on, and they graduated, and moved into the house at Dover with me."
"And?" Harry asked.
"And your father proposed to Lily that Christmas, which sent the house into a wedding frenzy. After they got married, and came back from their honeymoon, Gina became very depressed. She was the shy type, anyway, but she became very withdrawn. One day, at dinner, she burst into tears. James asked her what was wrong. She said something about being alone for the rest of her life, and ran upstairs. Lily ran up the stairs after her. So, there I was, with James, Sirius and Remus. James asked what did he say that was so horrible that it made his sister run away in tears. Sirius dropped his fork, and walked out of the kitchen. Not a good scene."
"You're not kidding," Remus said. "At least you had the good sense to leave. I was stuck with James in a rotten mood for the rest of the night."
"No offense, Hermione, but you get that bursting into tears thing from your mother," Ron told her. She scowled at him, but knew it was true.
"Anyway, I went to my fort, where I was pretty sure I could find Sirius. Sure enough, he was there, staring out into the water. I sat down beside him for a minute, and realized that he fancied Gina. So, I asked him why he hasn't told her the way he feels about her. He asked me why he should take romantic advice from an eleven year old, and I said because eleven year olds don't make things unnecessarily complicated. I guess he realized the wisdom of my advice, because he went looking for her. He found her in the garden, and believe me, Hermione, your father can be quite charming and romantic when he wants to be."
"Please don't tell me that noise in the tree was you." She grinned. "Why am I not surprised, you little spy?" Sirius said, blushing. This was getting more embarrassing by the second, he thought. He knew what was coming next, and wished that the floor would open and swallow him whole.
"Ok, this is the best part. Sirius comes in the kitchen with Gina, and kisses her. What he doesn't realize is that James heard the door close, and walked in the kitchen to apologize to Gina for whatever he said that made her cry. So, he saw the whole thing."
"What happened then?" Harry asked.
"James snapped at Gina, so Sirius yelled something back at James, and before you know it, they are fighting. And I mean fighting. Lily ran downstairs and tried to pull James off Sirius, but it didn't work. They just kept swinging at each other, saying things that aren't nice to repeat. Finally, they just looked at each other and started laughing at how bad the other one looked."
"James looked a lot worse than me."
"Yeah, right," Isabelle said. "Anyway, have you thought of anything, Harry?"
Harry looked over at Sirius, who was shaking his head no desperately. "Um," he laughed, "I think Sirius has had enough storytelling for one night."
"Papa, no fair," Hermione pleaded. "Please?"
Two days, and she's already figured out what a pushover I am, he thought. But, no amount of begging would be enough to let Isabelle embarrass him any more for one night. At this rate, his face would be red permanently. "Not tonight, ok? It's getting late, and it would be nice to let Harry open his presents on his birthday," Sirius said, hoping to distract his daughter.
It worked. Harry looked over at his presents, and couldn't believe that pile was for him. The pile looked like it belonged at one of Dudley's birthday parties, not his. Grinning, Harry tore into the packages.
"Glad to see that you didn't go overboard," Isabelle hissed to Sirius sarcastically.
"Likewise," he replied, as Harry unwrapped the last present–a book of different Quiddich strategies. The clock chimed midnight, so Sirius sent the children upstairs to bed. It was a bit early for summertime, but he didn't want to run the risk of Isabelle telling any more stories.
"I'll get you back," he told her.
"Bring it on," came the reply. "For you to get good blackmail on me, you have to ask Snape, and I know you'll never talk to him willingly." Sirius narrowed his eyes, and stomped upstairs, knowing she was right.
"So," asked Remus, "are you going to tell me about what you did with the Marauder's map, or not?"
"Let's go into the living room." They sat down on the sofa, feet propped on the ottoman. "Ok, there was this Ravenclaw prefect, Andrew Patil, who I had the biggest crush on. He asked me to the Yule Ball that year, and we kept seeing each other after that. Well, I'd sneak out of my dorm with the map, and meet him at his dorm. Then, we'd go somewhere a little more private."
"Like the prefects' bathroom?"
"Exactly, but that didn't work for long, because Moaning Myrtle would come around. So, we would meet in the astronomy tower after that. Well, one night we weren't paying attention and got caught, in a rather uncompromising position, by Filch and his stupid cat. He took the map, and marched Andrew to Flitwick's office, and me to McGonagall. Of course, she took a bunch of points of Gryffindor, and lectured me about my behavior. Then, she said she would have to write a letter to Lily."
"Ouch."
"Tell me about it. I begged her not to write Lily. I told her I would do anything, as long as she didn't write home. McGonagall was not impressed, and said that she was sure that Lily would take care of the matter in an appropriate way. I said that I wasn't afraid of how my sister would react. I was afraid of what James and Sirius would do or say if they found out I was caught in the middle of the night with a boy. I told her that I was as good as dead. She said that I should have thought of that before sneaking out of my dorm."
"Sounds like something McGonagall would say," Remus laughed.
"I know. She gets out a quill and a piece of parchment, and I start pleading with her again. I reminded her of how bad James' and Sirius' tempers were, and worse than their anger even, was that they would be disappointed in me. I must have looked pathetic, because McGonagall tore up the parchment, and ordered me to a month's worth of detention."
"I think you owe McGonagall your life," came a voice behind them. Isabelle jumped, and slowly turned around. I'm thirty years old, she thought. I'm a grown woman. Why does that tone of voice still strike fear in my heart? Sirius' eyes were grey steel. He stared her down for a minute, and started laughing. "Glad to know I still have it."
She threw a pillow at him. "That was so not funny."
"What? It's been a long time since I've raised a teenage girl. I just wanted to make sure that look was still effective. I told you that I'd get you back for your little story time at dinner."