Last time: They each picked up one baby and Apparated to the northern part of London.

They walked up to the door and into the house, and the surprise was evident on both of their faces, and they did all that was in their power to not drop the babies from surprise. Thankfully they succeeded.

Chapter Five: Past and Presents

It was impossible…

It was unheard of…

Sirius thought he had gone insane…

The house was bright….

There were no more dreary colours.

No more snakes motif.

And most importantly of all, no house elf heads on the walls.

The house was absolutely cheerful.

Sirius, who had grown up in this once dreadful house at first thought they had gone to the wrong door. He took a step back and looked at the black number 12 and knew they had not been mistaken. He whispered to Remus, "I'm almost afraid to call Kreacher, he must have really snapped if he did this on his own…"

"Kreacher? Wasn't that the house elf that would always mumble to itself, and huff and puff if we ever asked it for something? And didn't it always call you a blood traitor or some such? I remember when James and I heard that we laughed our arses off." Remus said, remembering the one previous time he had been to this house - the last time Sirius had been there as well.

Flashback

The Hogwarts Express had just come into Platform 9¾ and the three teenagers were excited. They had almost finished their fifth year at Hogwarts, and were spending their holiday at the Black's property in London, known as Grimmauld Place. Sirius James and Remus walked towards the barrier together.

This was going to be the best Easter break ever.

Sirius's mum and dad were out of town, in Majorca (one of the biggest wizarding vacation spots in the world) and didn't know that their son was coming home.

This Easter, the premier party of the year was going to be held by the three Gryffindors. It had taken weeks to plan it all and make sure that Sirius' parents were going to be away.

Peter, Sirius had said, chickened out; the line Peter used was that his mum had wanted him to come home, to spend the holiday with her and his family. So he went, and that left three to get the house ready for the party.

Sirius didn't want to have the party at his house, because he claimed the house was evil ("It has been in my family's possession for hundreds of years, some of the dark magic must have rubbed off onto the house.") but Remus and James didn't believe him, thinking it could not be that bad.

They walked out of the station and they got a muggle cab and took it to Grimmauld Place. They paid the cabby, and they got out.

They then walked to the door and stopped. James cleared his throat, and Sirius said, "I can't believe that I am coming here on my own accord…I must be losing it!"

James then said, "Padfoot, it's not going to be that bad, your mum's gone, and we are having a Gryffindor Party, so come on."

Sirius went in, the others followed, when they got in James and Remus were appalled at the house before them. It was depressing, and horrendously bleak. Sirius saw their expressions and smirked, "I told you it was that bad."

"Forgive us for not believing you, how the hell are we going to get this place to look….well, Gryffindor enough in two days?" James asked.

"It should be easy to get this dump up to par with a bit of help, Kreacher!" Sirius said.

A disgruntled looking house elf popped into the room. "What is filthy master doing here? Mistress said the blood traitor was not coming home, and he brought other blood traitors and half breeds. Mistress will not be pleased. Mistress said if filthy master comes home, Kreacher was to go and tell her." Remus and James were laughing at the audacity of the elf, until they heard the end of his speech.

"WAIT!! NO!!" Sirius screamed. But it was too late, the elf had already popped away. A moment later he was back and grinning smugly.

"Shit, it's too late, we have to get out now! My mother will kill us!" He headed for the front door, then stopped abruptly, causing James and Remus to bump in to him. "She'll be apparating to the front, let's go out the back!" They turned around and followed Sirius to the back.

They were outsmarted, for when they were exiting the back door, they ran into a stuck-up looking woman who began shrieking, "SIRIUS ORION BLACK! HOW DARE YOU!?! YOU BRING BLOOD TRAITORS AND HALF BREADS INTO MY HOME? I KNOW THE TYPE YOU ASSOCIATE WITH! WHY ARE YOU HERE? NEVER MIND, I DON'T CARE!! GET OUT OF MY SIGHT, I NEVER WANT TO SEE YOU AGAIN, YOU WILL SET FOOT IN THIS HOUSE AGAIN OVER MY DEAD BODY! GOOOOOOOO!!"

Sirius looked as if he really didn't care, he just gave his mother a rude hand gesture that he learned from a muggle-born, and stalked away. James and Remus followed, and then they decided to go to The Leaky Cauldron, where they spent the rest of their holiday.

That was the last time Sirius saw his mother. From then on he stayed with the Potters, who loved to have him, and thought of him as another son.

END FLAHSBACK

Remus looked at Sirius who had a slight grin on his face and asked, "Are you all right, Padfoot? I know it's been a while since you've been here, and it wasn't exactly a pleasant last trip."

"I'm fine, but I don't feel as good as this house looks! What the bloody hell happened to it? Not that I'm complaining… dare I call Kreacher?" Sirius asked worriedly, "Maybe he's finally gone completely over the deep end…"

"I dunno Padfoot, it couldn't hurt to ask…I hope…"

Sirius cleared his throat, and called out, "Kreacher" and with a pop a house elf appeared and snarled.

"Filthy master has returned, just like the evil elf said he would. Kreacher will kill evil elf then kill master's foul beast, then kill filthy master…" he kept mumbling.

Then Sirius said to Remus, "alright, well that answers the question about Kreacher's sanity…" Then he turned to Kreacher, "Who is this "evil elf?"

"Evil elf is who destroyed Mistresses' beautiful house, all of mistress's hard work gone, Kreacher will kill him."

"Thanks Kreacher, helpful as always," Sirius responded sarcastically. "You can go now." And with that Kreacher disappeared.

"What do you think he means? Do you think that there is another elf in here? Is it safe for Harry and Draco?" Lupin asked.

"It shouldn't be that dangerous, it is only an elf after all, what do you reckon will happen if we call out 'Hey new elf in my house come here!' Do you think that will work?" he was about to go on, but was interrupted by a pop. Remus and Sirius had their wands out before the elf was even fully popped.

"Who are you? Why are you here? Who hired you?" Sirius shouts in one quick breath.

"I is Dobby sir, Dobby is meaning no harm, Dobby is the Malfoy's house elf, and since they were killed by good wizards, Dobby is Master Draco's elf. So being as you is his keeper, Dobby is yours. Dobby was coming to you before when I ran into Mr. Dumbledore, he told Dobby that this was Master's house, and that it would please you if Dobby redecorated. Dobby was only doing as he was told, but since it wasn't you who told Dobby, Dobby will punish himself." And with that Dobby began banging his head on the wall, causing Harry and Draco to cry.

Sirius said to Dobby, "Stop it! You're making the children cry; just don't punish yourself anymore, alright? I think you did a bang-up job on the house, it looks at least 100 times better then it did, and we're grateful." This made Dobby stop, and he looks up to Sirius with tears in his eyes. "Now um, I have one question for you."

"What can Dobby do for you?"

"Can you change diapers?"

"Oh, yes sir, that is one of Dobby's favorite tasks."

"………Ok then, I'm not going to ask. Why don't you go change Harry and Draco's diaper while we look around, alright?"

"Dobby is pleased to serve, master!" the elf said as he took the children.

"One more thing, don't go anywhere near Kreacher, he is a bad elf, and we will deal with him ourselves. Alright?" Dobby nodded and walked away carrying the two boys who were now laughing..

"So what are we going to do with Kreacher?" Remus asked.

"There's only one thing we can do - clothes." Sirius replied, and Remus nodded. As Sirius took off his shoe, and then took a sock off. He then called for Kreacher.

"What does the blood traitor want?" he hissed.

"I have some bad news; your employment is no longer necessary, you're fired, here." As he shoved the sock into Kreacher's hand. A look of terror came over the elf's face, and he began to shout.

"Master can not give Kreacher clothes, he can't!!! Kreacher won't go, he is staying here, and the blood traitor and his filth must go!!" he tossed the sock back to Sirius, who began to laugh.

"The bond is broken, you are no longer welcome in the House of Black, so GO!"

Kreacher began to cry, "Please Kreacher would never hurt the filthy master, or his beast, or his spawn. Mistress would never have given me clothes! Please!!" He continued to wail louder and louder.

Sirius started to feel a little bad, and a thought popped into his head, "You know Kreacher, I heard that my cousin Bellatrix is looking for a loyal elf like yourself, go on, and don't take no for an answer, she deserves you!"

"Really?" he asked, his weeping stopped.

"Yes, I am serious, I thought that that would cheer you up, just remember to keep your former master's secrets!" And with that, a much happier house elf popped away. "Well, let's go readjust the wards, so he can't get back." Sirius said merrily, trying to hold back his laughter.

Remus shook his head, and said to Sirius, "That was cruel; I mean I know that Bellatrix is a Death Eater and all, but no one deserves that elf." The temptation was to strong, and he too began to laugh.

Next time, life begins to normalize, and then after that, time begins to fly!

Review Responses:

Kyra2: Sirius was serious (har har) when he said that Snape had to be civil to BOTH boys to see one. Thanks for your feedback!

LunaeDea88: you are absolutely right, and I am in the process of trying to find a beta reader. And when I do, I will ask him/her to review the chapters I've already posted, as well as new chapters. (by the way, tense agreement is my Achilles Heel, I must write half past and half present, and when I proof read I don't catch them all.) As for longer chapters, I am trying to do that, but if I do the longer between updates. But if more people want long chapters, then I can just write cumulatively. Thanks for reviewing!

Athenakitty: I wouldn't call them a terror, just think of them as Gred and Forge, or a Young Sirius and James. I hope you liked the chapter. Thanks!

Alligator355: I see Sirius as a laid back guy, but he just lost two (and a half (Peter kind of counts)) close friends. He is the guardian of Harry, and will do everything in his power to protect him. He's very much a mamma bear…err I mean dog. So like any good parent he is just looking out for his kids. And in case you are still wondering, Severus will be called many things in my story….(wink wink)

Thanks again to everyone who has reviewed and read my story.

New Note: Beta Read by Thomas-Michael

1/20/05