Hey old man –

Sometimes I really really really reeeeeeaaaaaaaally hate you.

Your little IBH – slan

Hullo darling child mine,

I'm sorry for not writing as soon as you arrived home for summer; I've been occupied again. Argh. Anyways, Jack has told me all about your adventures over the past school year. I must say, for a Ravenclaw, you've turned into quite the demon child.

This letter, unfortunately, has a more sinister and dastardly purpose than just a letter from a mother to her son. I've decided in light of recent discoveries to answer that question you have been nagging me about since you turned 4.

Do you remember the story you always wanted to hear over and over again as a child? The one that Jack always told about your father and his magic map? Speak the words to activate the map and tap your letter.

I solemnly swear I am up to no good.

Your father is alive. He is safe with me and the Pack. I know you must either by upset or furious or both at me and I don't blame you. But there is something you have got to understand. Until 3 weeks ago, I was under the impression that your father was a Death Eater of the worst sort. I have seen proof otherwise as well have been assured by Jack that it was a setup, and he is currently in hiding, for you see, the Ministry, those pig-headed twats, still think he is evil.

Yes, love, your father is Sirius Black.

But you MUST believe me when I say that he is innocent of all crimes. I can't explain everything now, I haven't the time, but I will eventually.

He will probably write to you relatively soon. He too has only just learned of your existence yesterday, and he was shocked, to say the least. But I can tell you now, from the second your father saw your picture, he loved you.

I can't tell you more now, I'm sorry.

Deactivate this now, please, love.

Mischief Managed.

We leave again for the Western hemisphere tomorrow evening. Baby, I am so mad I didn't get to see you. Therefore, tell your Aunt Emma that I will meet you at the Leaky Cauldron at 10 in the morning promptly.

Oh, and do you know Harry Potter? Jack has told me about the current situation. Can you believe that poor boy has an escaped convict for a godfather? He must be lonely right now. Why don't you do the extra nice, brotherly thing in dropping him a line or two? I'm sure he wouldn't mind.

Until then,

All love and Adoration,

Mum

The fireplace in the Leaky Cauldron exploded in green flames at 10 o'clock on the dot, not surprising any of the usual crowd, and a young boy emerged. He wasn't very tall, obviously having not hit his teenage growth spurt, and his limbs were lanky and awkward. His face, however, bespoke a future handsomeness to make women swoon at his feet, with his roguish black hair and penetrating grey eyes.

'Anthony,' a quiet voice said from in front of him. The boy looked up and came face-to-face with a black cowl charmed as to hide the wearer's idenity.

Anthony smiled widely. 'Dia duit, Mam,' he murmured, brushing off the soot from his collared shirt.

'Come with me,' was the only reply he received. The routine was familiar. For some reason, his mother never wanted to be seen by any others, so they never stayed in the tavern for long. Usually, they browsed through stores, never staying in one place for long, making the occasional purchase. But to-day was different. Anthony followed the black cloak up the stairs to a private room. Once inside, his mother closed the door behind him and cast some obscure locking and silencing charms on it.

'Padfoot?' she said quietly, pulling down her cowl. There was a creak behind him and Anthony jumped. A large black dog that looked severely malnourished had crept up behind him, staring at him with hungry grey eyes. In front of his amazed eyes, the dog shifted into Sirius Black.

He looked significantly better than in his wanted posters. He had filled out a bit, including stubble along his jaw, and his hair had been cut to his shoulders, significantly cleaner than it had been. He wore sagging robes that he recognised as having belonged to his godfather Moony.

Sirius couldn't move in his shock. This boy standing in front of him was his son. His son. The child he thought he would never have was standing in front of him, staring back at him.

Ciara looked back and forth between her son and her lover, curious as to their reactions. They just…stared. Sirius was in shock, she could tell by his almost suspicious gaze. Anthony looked almost angry, which confused her. He had no reason to be angry with his father…

Anthony fought with the desire to tremble in fear of the man before him. Fortunately for him, his mother had taught him quickly that indifference was the best way to fight your fear. 'You can't argue with indifference,' she had often told him as a child.

Sirius fought with the desire to reach out and touch Anthony, to ensure that he was indeed flesh and blood, not some cooked up fantasy of his. After a moment, he reached up and put a hand on his son's – his son! – shoulder. Anthony shuddered, flooding Sirius with guilt. His touch was repulsive to his child.

Ciara's brows furrowed as Anthony flinched at the contact. 'You don't have to be afraid of him, baby,' she said.

Anthony swallowed nervously. 'It's kind of hard not to be terrified of your childhood boggart,' he replied.

Sirius looked stricken and ill at Anthony's admission. He remembered the fear he felt of his father and how that fear turned to hate. He wanted to be a good father, not a copy of his father.

Anthony cocked an eyebrow, his resemblance to Ciara striking in that moment. 'Merlin, Dad, take a joke,' he said, his face lighting up with an impish grin.

There was an explosion in Sirius's chest and he finally understood the dopey grin James had worn in the months following Harry's birth.

'Padfoot?' Ciara's voice broke into his reverie. 'Y'ok? You're beginning to look as insane as all your wanted posters.'

Sirius looked at her, and he realised he was grinning like an idiot, the first real true smile in years. 'Belt it, Bryant,' he said, the joy in his voice taking the sting out of his words. 'My boy just called me Dad.'

Ciara smiled gently in understanding.

'Hey, Dad?' Anthony said. The warmth filled Sirius's heart again. 'I've wanted to know for years – did you and Prongs really humiliate Snape after you had all sat your OWLs?'

Sirius burst out in laughter and Ciara rolled her eyes in amusement.

Two hours passed by like seconds as Sirius told Anthony stories of his school-age escapades and Anthony reciprocated with stories of his own mischief.

A tale of disturbing Potions class last year was interrupted in turn by a knock on the door. All three froze in horror, staring at the door like it was the Dark Lord himself.

'Time to go,' Aina's voice said through the door. Ciara sighed and sat up from her sprawled out position on the floor and reached over to grab her discarded cloak as Sirius stood and helped Anthony to his feet. Ciara pulled back a sleeve of her jumper and looked at her watch angrily.

'12 noon,' she growled. She always hated leaving her son as well as the circumstances that kept them apart. Damn her family…

Anthony smiled half-heartedly at his father. It was hard to believe they had only seen each other for two hours. 'I'm guessing I can't know where you're hiding,' he asked dryly.

'Nope,' Sirius replied, 'but do expect a barrage of letters.'

Anthony smiled. 'That'd be cool.'

'Oh, Tony?' Ciara interrupted. 'Be sure and write to Harry. That kid has to be lonely, living with Petunia and that…Vernon character.'

Anthony's brows furrowed.

Ciara rolled her eyes. 'His aunt and uncle. Petunia's not that bad once you speak reason with her, but that Vernon's a brute.' She turned to pick up her wand, then looked over her shoulder. 'And yes, you can tell him I said that.'

Sirius placed a hand on Anthony's shoulder and looked him dead in the eyes. 'Be careful, son. The world's not as safe as it used to be. A lot of people will want to get their hands on you if they find out who you are.'

Anthony nodded gravely. 'I'll be fine, Dad. Uncle Aaron and Aunt Candace are probably more over-protective than you and Mum are.'

Ciara chuckled. 'Hence why I chose them to keep you,' she said. 'Now, love, I'll be here in a few weeks on business. If it's safe enough, we'll get your school shopping done. Deal?'

Anthony smiled. 'Deal.' He turned to Sirius. 'You coming too, Dad?'

Sirius swallowed hard and shook his head. 'I can't,' he said. 'It's too dangerous to come back.'

'Two words I never thought I'd hear out of your mouth, Black,' Ciara said with a smirk. '"Too dangerous".'

Sirius shook his head, his face grim. 'I can't risk it. For now,' he added with a wink at Anthony.

There was another knock, the all-clear signal from Joey, their Pack bodyguard. Ciara gave Anthony a brief, tight hug and a kiss on the forehead. 'Tá grá agam duit,' she murmured before proceeding to remove the silencing and locking charms.

Sirius hesitantly embraced his son, not really sure about how the boy felt about him. The tight grip on him allayed his fears. 'Be careful, Dad,' Anthony said into his shoulder. Sirius held him fast, then pulled back, reaching up to ruffle Anthony's hair. 'You too, son,' he said before turning into Padfoot and trotting up to the door. Ciara opened it, let Padfoot through, then said to Anthony, 'Tell your Aunt and Uncle hello from us.'

Anthony nodded and stood still as his parents swept from the room to the safety of their safehouse.

EPILOGUE – 2 weeks later

'Hey man! Pass that over!' Matt said from his lounge chair on the deck of their beach house. Dumbledore had arranged for a secluded, warded house on the beach on the small island of Saint Barthelemy. It was large enough to accommodate the entire Pack, who had all jumped at the chance of a Caribbean vacation. Now, Matt, Remus, and Sirius were having 'male-bonding time', as they had told Jean and Mel, out on the deck with a few bottles of beer and genuine Cuban cigars, letting the warm July sun soak their skins chase the cold of the full moon only 2 days earlier.

Sirius complied with Matt's request and passed the box of cigars to him, letting him take one before putting it back.

'Aren't all of you going to that club tonight?' he asked.

'Hell yeah!' Matt said. 'A club with hot French chicks just begging for a piece of Matt-flesh? Oh yeah, I'm going and I'm gonna be ready.'

'Yes, Matt…' Sirius and Remus replied monotonously as the man rambled on about how women were just clamouring for his attentions.

'Am I going?' Sirius asked, hoping against hope, that he'd be allowed out.

Remus frowned. 'It's still too soon,' he said. 'Your wanted posters are still out and there's rumour of a British cruise coming through tonight. Maybe next week, mate.'

'I'm not going,' came Ciara's voice from behind. She was wearing the blue bikini that Sirius loved seeing her in. Behind her came Aina in her swimsuit as well. Both carried towels and pulled over a lounge chair near the men.

'What're you two doing here?' Matt exclaimed. 'This is male-bonding time, not male and female-bonding time.'

'Anytime's male and female-bonding time,' Ciara retorted, sitting on her chair and stretching out to tan. 'Anyways, I'm not going tonight. I got my fill of nightclubs last week with Sere.'

The triumvirate had gone on a business trip to Austin, Texas for a week so that Sere could meet up with various other vampiric leaders ('A vampire convention. Whee,' had been Ciara's opinion on the matter.). Vampires were notoriously secretive and had insisted on meeting in great congregations of Muggles, therefore, the entire week had been spent in loud nightclubs and smoky bars.

'You going, Aina?' Matt asked.

Aina sighed and nodded. 'I can't turn up a chance to drink and dance like mad,' she said. Remus rolled his eyes at his mate's love of the public forum.

'Which means you're going to, eh, Remmy?' Matt said.

A positive grunt was his response.

'Well, Sirius, my friend, I'd say you were the lucky one,' Matt said, leaning back in his chair. 'Just you, a hot babe, no one around, a beach-' He was silenced with a 'Shut up, Matt,' from Ciara.

The companions lazed in silence for awhile, enjoying the sunshine so different from the drizzle of Britain. Sirius sank into his thoughts in the silence, remembering the past few weeks. It was insane. He had gone from a deranged escapee of the most notorious wizarding prison in Europe with nothing to his name and no one to go home to, to being a beach bum, still on the run, but looking good doing it, with a Pack of werewolves, a lover that most men would kill for, and a son and a godson of whom anyone would burst with pride over.

'Oy! Padfoot!' Aina's voice jolted him out of his thoughts. He looked over at Ciara, who was stroking a snowy white owl perched on the deck railing.

'Hedwig!' Sirius exclaimed, jumping out of his chair to retrieve the letter from the owl. Ciara offered her arm as a perch to Hedwig, who hooted and settled on it quickly.

'It's from Harry and Tony!' Sirius exclaimed as two pieces of parchment fell from the envelope. He handed the letter addressed to 'Mother Dearest' to Ciara, and eagerly began to read his.

Hi Dad –

Summer's boring, what do you expect? That's probably a good thing. Look, I got a request for you. PLEASE try and come with Mum to visit. I know that both me and Harry would love it. PLUS the Quidditch World Cup's in Britain this year!! I know you'll have to at least get a glimpse. PLEASE?!?!

Until Then

Little Padfoot

P.S. Harry's going to add on to this first.

Dear Sirius,

I'm assuming from the colourful birds that you're in some kind of paradise. At least, I hope you are. Little Padfoot told me that the Black Heart will be home before 1 September. I know it's probably too dangerous, but maybe you could come. I'm hoping you can.

The Muggles are treating me OK; they're too terrified of you to do anything too terrible.

Harry

Sirius chuckled and looked up at everyone else. 'My fan club is clamouring for my return.'

Ciara smiled gently. 'We'll see, Paddy. We'll see.'

A/N: There is an illustration for this chapter at my dA account (the link is in my profile). It's not very good, but meh. Maybe I'll make a better one sometime. ;)

Thanks for reading. Leave a review if you enjoyed it!

Future Plans (cause I have too much fun with these characters to let them die): Ciara's back-story

I don't know when I'll have it finished, but it should be relatively soon.