Warning: chapter is high on exposition and information. Read at own risk.

Chapter 2: Family Matters

Several long, confusing, happy hours later, Helen lay in front of the fire, her eyes half-closed. What a great birthday...

The birthday presents had been given in age order of the givers. Grandma Minnie had gone first – predictably, her present to both girls had been matching sets of first-year schoolbooks. They had tried not to look disappointed, but it hadn't worked very well – until she showed them the special features of these books.

They had margin notes in them. Margin notes in familiar handwriting.

Helen had spiky writing with tall capitals, and Ruby's were compact and flowing.

"How in the world did you find our old books to copy those?" Mum asked in astonishment. "I know my mother sold mine to a secondhand dealer years ago."

"It's amazing what one can do with a few connections," Grandma Minnie said with a mysterious smile.

Helen's favorite places were the ones where Dad and Uncle Ron had had written conversations, probably during class so they wouldn't get in trouble. Ruby opened the cover of her Charms book, looked inside, and closed it quickly.

"There's a poem in there," she said. "A really weird poem."

Mum paled. "Oh no. I did come up with that in Charms, now that I think about it."

"Come up with – Ginny, not the singing Valentine?" Dad said.

Mum turned very red and nodded as the entire family cracked up.

The things you learn about your parents, Helen ruminated. Especially when they don't want you to.

Grandpap Hagrid's present was for the two of them to share, and had made Dad smile – it was an owl, the same thing he had got the eleven-year-old Harry Potter, all those years ago. Granddad Weasley had got them each a Muggle-style CD player with headphones, rigged to run on magic the way wizarding cameras did. Grandmum Weasley, of course, had baked their birthday cake, her famous "death by chocolate" recipe.

Grandpa Remus had given them two gifts – his own, matching albums for Chocolate Frog cards, and his wife's, their potion ingredients for the year.

And that just about sums up the difference between Grandpa Remus and his wife. But Cate says they love each other, and she would know if anyone would...

Kind of funny that we call him Grandpa, but we don't call his wife Gran or anything like it, and they have a child not too much older than us...

Helen smiled, stroking the small vibrating thing lying on top of her. It's just as well, really, since she's going to be teaching us. I'll have a hard enough time remembering to call Mum and Dad and everyone else "Professor" as it is!

Uncle Bill and Aunt Fleur had given them make-up kits and a promise from Aunt Fleur to teach them how to apply it correctly. Mum had not looked happy.

Probably means that Aunt Fleur's definition of "correctly" isn't the same as Mum's. No surprise.

Uncle Charlie had been the first to give them different presents – Ruby had a huge book about dragons of the world, and Helen had models of the actual dragons, the kind that flew around and bit things if you didn't tell them not to.

Now all I have to do is figure out a way to get them into the Slytherin common room...

Uncle Percy and Aunt Penelope had given them quill and ink sets, including a bottle each of one of Uncles Fred and George's products – Friend/Foe Ink, which was very tricky to make and therefore expensive. It detected the nature of the person using it, and the nature of the people reading it – the writer's friends or foes – and became visible or invisible depending on that nature.

Excellent for passing notes in class.

And then it had been time for the present, as Uncle Fred said, "from the twins to the twins". There were several sets of twins in the Weasley family, including a pair of "semi-twins" – Justin and Remus, although not brothers, had been born on the same day and did everything together as much as they could – but Helen and Ruby had a special place in the hearts of their identical uncles.

"This is another one for you girls to share," Uncle George said, placing the shaking box on the table. Ruby looked apprehensive. Helen bit her lip.

"Don't worry, it's not dangerous," Aunt Alicia said from behind him. "Just... difficult at times."

Aunt Angelina pulled off the cloth covering the box, and Uncle Fred opened it with a wave of his wand. Out streaked a blur of black, orange, and white, which circled the room twice before coming to rest on the table and being revealed as –

"A kitten!" Helen cried happily.

"She's beautiful," Ruby said. "Or is it a he?"

"It's a he," Uncle Fred said. "And he's a bit wild sometimes. Which makes him perfect for you girls. You're a bit wild sometimes yourselves."

Ruby extended her hand to the kitten, who sniffed it delicately. Helen did the same and was rewarded with a slight nudge on her fingertips.

"This is what it took all four of you to handle?" Grandmum said in amazement. "You're getting old, boys."

"It's all Fred's fault," Uncle George said. "He got the thing riled up."

Uncle Fred shrugged. "How was I supposed to know it wouldn't like the party favors?"

"No cat likes things that explode and play loud, off-key songs," Aunt Angelina said tartly. "Which is why we had to spend an hour catching him and putting the shop back together."

"What's his name?" Helen asked.

"He doesn't have one yet. That's the birthday girls' job," said Aunt Alicia. "After they get done opening their other presents."

Uncle Ron and Aunt Mynie had obviously been talking to Grandpa Remus, because their gifts were large boxes of Chocolate Frogs. "Original and Crunchy both," Aunt Mynie said. "You girls can swap as you like."

Ruby loved Crunchy Frogs, which had crisped rice in them in the shape of the frog's skeleton. This grossed out Helen, who far preferred the Original Frog. She made a mental note to trade for Ruby's Originals as soon as possible.

The girls' parents had bought them a collection of CDs for the players Granddad Weasley had got them. These were also their presents from their siblings, since each brother or sister had picked out one for each twin. Helen was looking forward to hearing a song called "Sunflower Eyes", which Mum said was the song she and Dad had been dancing to when they had their first kiss.

And then there were the cousins...

The gifts from the cousins had been small, but numerous and as varied as the cousins themselves. Helen's favorite, though, had come from Max and Mollie, Uncle Bill and Aunt Fleur's fifteen-year-old twins. It was a Weasley-Potter family tree, showing all the different branches of the family, and the people who weren't exactly related, but were still considered family, like Grandpa Remus and Grandpap Hagrid.

She rolled over and looked at it again.

Uncle Bill and Aunt Fleur. Max and Mollie, of course, and little Gabe. He was such a surprise – I still remember what Aunt Mynie said at the party where Aunt Fleur announced it. "Fleur – you're not pregnant again?!"

Max was a prefect for Hufflepuff now, Helen recalled, and Mollie for Gryffindor. She remembered everyone's shock when a Weasley wasn't Sorted into Gryffindor – but everyone eventually had to admit that big, sweet Max wasn't really the Gryffindor type.

It's a good thing they got used to it. Uncle Percy and Aunt Penelope's kids were an even bigger surprise.

Percy and Penelope also had twins, but girl twins, Selene and Dorcas. They would be third years this fall, while their brother Victor was a second year. None of them were Gryffindors – Victor was a Hufflepuff, Dorcas a Ravenclaw, and Selene, scandalizing the family, had been Sorted into Slytherin.

Helen shrugged. They got over it eventually. And Selene does come up with the best pranks. Maybe she'd let me into their common room, if I asked really nice...

Fred and Angelina were next on the chart. They had Craig, a Gryffindor fifth-year like Mollie, but not a prefect – oh, most definitely not. Not him.

Craig Sirius Weasley was the terror of half the teachers in the school. He wore his red hair in dreads, had one ear pierced, and was the Keeper of the Gryffindor Quidditch team. Most of the girls in his year were in love with him. His brother Colin charmed all the second-year ladies with his dark good looks and Ravenclaw wit, and Justin waited impatiently until he could start school, which wouldn't be until next year.

Justin's "semi-twin" Remus, also ten, was George and Alicia's son. His little brother Rex was seven and friends with Helen's brother Evan, who was six, and his older sister Vanna was fourteen and a Ravenclaw fourth year. She had been born only a few months before the end of the Second War.

And then comes Uncle Ron and Aunt Mynie... Helen giggled, looking at the enormous list after their names. Everyone was surprised when they had so many kids. Even them.

Brian, of course, was their eldest, followed by Minnie. Their next youngest was Arthur, studious like his mother and close with Helen's brother Jamie, who was going on nine to Art's eight. Gideon and Fabian were five, and Aunt Mynie claimed they were the reason she was starting to go gray (which she wasn't, at least not that Helen could see). Alice was three, Frank was 20 months old, and little Marlene was not even a month old.

And last of all, Mum and Dad. Sirius, and Ruby and me... Helen sighed in contentment at finally being able to couple her name with her twin's. Jamie and Evan, and Ceddie... Cedric Potter was five, and Mary Jane, the baby of the Potter family, had just turned four.

And then, off to the side, all our friends. She ran her finger across the name "Remus Lupin" and the one next to it, and down the line to "Caitlin Dora Lupin" and a date of birth thirteen years previous. I love Cate. Even if she is a little show-offy sometimes...

"Lee Jordan" and "Katie Bell-Jordan" were linked, with their line leading down to "Benjamin John", a Gryffindor like Cate but a fourth year to her third, and "Lily Sela", who would be one of Helen's yearmates. "Rubeus Hagrid" and "Olympe Maxime-Hagrid" presided over "Neville", age twelve and a Hufflepuff, and "Antoinette", age nine. And next to that...

Helen frowned. Was there something next to that? The chart was enchanted, of course, to record new births in the family, but this wasn't on the family part... it was over in the friends section... she leaned closer to try and see by the flickering firelight...

"Helen!" someone hissed from the door. Helen craned her neck to see Sirius waving frantically at her. "Wake Ruby, come on! Something's up!"

Helen picked up the kitten and cradled him in the crook of her arm. "Ruby? Ruby, wake up. Sirius wants us."

"Mmm, five more minutes, Mum, please?"

"Ruby!"

"What?"

"Come on. Sirius wants us."

"Fine." Ruby rubbed her eyes and got up. "What's happening?"

"Someone's in Dad's office," Sirius said. "Come on, we're going to miss it."

The three moved with the quiet efficiency of experienced pranksters, down the hall and to the door of their father's office. Sirius pulled out his wand and silently cast a spell on the keyhole, magnifying the sound coming out of it just enough that they could hear. Helen and Ruby leaned in behind him to listen.

"... growing like weeds," said their father's voice. "And how have you been..."

A strange man's voice laughed shortly. "Reggie will do."

"All right, how have you been, Reggie?"

"On the run from the Ministry, as usual," said the other. "I'm surprised they've never put the astounding Ashcoat and Redwing on my tail..."

"We have enough pull that we can choose our assignments to some degree," Dad said dryly. "And we've consistently refused yours for the last fourteen years."

"Kind of you."

"Kind has nothing to do with it. We're both unsure of our abilities to pull our punches when it comes to you."

"Oh, I find that hard to believe. You've been the soul of civility so far tonight."

"Only because I'm curious. What would bring you, a wanted man, to me, false modesty aside, the best Auror in Britain? And not only that, but a friend of someone who died because of you?"

Helen bit her lip hard to avoid making any noise. Ruby was clutching Sirius' hand.

"I wanted to tell you the truth."

"The truth," their father said flatly. "Are you going to claim it wasn't you?"

"Yes, I'm going to claim that. Because it's true. I wasn't even in the castle that day."

"And of course, you don't have any proof of this."

"None but my word. I had one witness, but she's dead now."

"Who was she?"

"My girlfriend at the time. My wife later."

"My condolences."

"Thank you. That brings me to the reason I'm here, Potter. We had – I have – a daughter. She's the reason I've never left the country. Call me a sentimental fool, but I wanted her to grow up here. I wanted her to go to Hogwarts. So fine. She's been accepted to Hogwarts. Now I can get the hell out of here and save my skin – the Aurors they do have on my case are getting closer. But I have a problem."

"You need somewhere for her to go if something goes wrong."

"You've gotten perceptive in your old age."

"Why come to me?"

"As I mentioned, you have history with people like me. People convicted without a trial. People whom everyone knows are guilty... but aren't. I don't want my daughter having to accept a medal for me posthumously, the way you did. Doesn't do the survivors much good, that."

"You bastard." Their father's voice was tight with anger. "I ought to take you in right now."

"But you won't, Potter, will you? Because you can see the truth in my face. As much as you hate it, you know I'm telling the truth. So you won't take me in. You'll let me walk out that door and disappear. And you'll take good care of my little S – "

The man stopped abruptly. The door that Sirius, Helen, and Ruby were leaning on flew open, and they fell into their father's office, landing in a heap at his feet. He had his wand in his hand and looked angrier than Helen had ever seen him.

"How long have you listening?" he asked coldly.

Sirius winced. "Probably too long?" he ventured.

"Probably."

"We're in trouble," Helen said timidly.

"Yes. You are most definitely in trouble."

"They all yours?" the other man asked. Helen could just see him, a slender outline topped with silver, standing in the shadow of a bookcase. "Your oldest boy, and the twins you were telling me about?"

Their father nodded. "And they won't tell anyone what they heard here tonight. Will you?" he asked the three pointedly.

They shook their heads hard.

"Good. Up to bed. I'll be up later to talk to you."

Ruby's eyes flicked to Helen's. The message was unspoken but understood.

That doesn't sound good.

"That was really weird," Sirius said fervently on the stairs. "I wonder who he really is?"

"Shut up," Ruby ordered. "We're not ever going to talk about this. Ever."

Helen nodded in agreement. What a lousy way for a birthday to end...

But we really shouldn't have been eavesdropping.

The kitten stirred against her chest. All at once, she knew what she would call him.

Secret.

To remind me that there are some things that shouldn't be told.

(A/N: Sorry about the wait, everyone... afraid it may be about standard... but I will not abandon this story. You may have to wait a while for the update, but it WILL come.

Also be aware that the two sections at the beginning of Chapter 1 are from the POV's of two different people. Both are canon characters, and both were at least mentioned in Home at Last...

Quillian: No tellie what I tell you!

jbfritz: Thanks!

Dahlias: See top.

MAndrews: Babbling is fine!

Insanity-of-the-owl: Here you are!

emikae: No, she's not. ::sly smile::

marathonerobsessed: You and Ollie...

mello80: Trust me, I wish I could.

Tanydwr: Yeah, a little tragedy there...

harryp123: How's this for mystery?

SilverWarrior: Yep, you got it!

blueJosh: I shall try not to disappoint, good sir.

ktwesterna: Hey, most people take a lot longer than this to update!

gallandro-83: Well, if there was something keeping someone from seeking proper medical care... ::closes mouth before giving entire plot away::

I will try to update again soon, but I have two other open stories here plus my ever-wonderful real life, so don't be too surprised if it's a while... hugs to all, and please keep reviewing, you are my incentive!)