a/n: HAPPY "100-DAYS-TILL-HALF-BLOOD-PRINCE-DAY"! lol...just think...in only 100 hundred days the long awaited book shall be in our hands...ooo! I can't wait! lol. anyway, i know this is late...but its not too late is it? but y'all should be happy, because I almost didn't get this written, but then yesterday i decided that i should just sit down and write it...it took me forever though. I swear I was up until 2:45 in the morning typing it up. Its a good thing I'm on spring break...

to my oh so wonderful reviewers:
emuerz: I'm glad you like the grimmuald place part... I wasn't sure how well that was going to go over
bluerain627:i'm not too sure as of right now if i'll have any sirius/ athena going on all the much in this fic. in all honesty, if sirius does make it back, i'm not sure if i'll continue the fic much longer after that. And posting part of my other fic as a final author's note is a good idea, but i'm not quite ready to do it yet...i'll probs do it for the last chap...or make a final chap for this fic the first chap of my other one...I don't know yet. And yes, I'm planning on having the whole werewolf prank in that fic. And don't worry about asking questions...i like it when ppl do...lol
rockpaperscissor: yeah, i noticed the discerpency between the length of time in azkaban shortly after i posted. But keep in mind that sirius was accused of murdering 12 people and James was only arrested for breaking and entering...i doubt they would have the smae sentence. Although...in book 5, sturgis podmore was arrested for trying to force his way into the DoM, and he was in azkaban for 6 mos...but I just don't think I can have James in azkaban for that long, it would hold up the story a little too much. And your comment about Sirius has been noted and taken into consideration...you're right, he is no longer a hyper little kid.
Autumn92685039: tahnks for the review...i'm glad you enjoied the killer rubber ducky and pork day
Brittney/pimpcake: pimpcake? oh my, that has got to be an interesting story. thanks for the review
Dante Lewis: you know what? i love your reviews, they always make me feel more intelligent than i actually am. lol.
LupinLover88: thank you for your reviews (all of them...lol) I'm sorry that you think my chapters are a bit short, but if i make them any longer, I would probably only be able to update once a month. your concerns about James have been taken into consideration and slightly amended, or at least i hope so, in this chapter. also, about athena and the whole picture thing, i must disagree with you about her over-reacting. The poor woman is greiving over the man she has loved since she was a teenager and has now lost...again. She was trying to forget about the relationship she had with him and was trying to move on, but that picture was a blaring reminder in neon-lights of what she was trying to forget. She wasn't expecting it and didn't know quite how to cope with it at the moment. But thank you for voicing your conerns.

Disclaimer: I'm still not Jo...not for a lack of trying, but those lawyers keep getting in my way. I do however, now own three different characters: Athena, Actaeon, and Jared. they're mine, and you can't have them!

WARNING: alright somewhere in the middle of this chap, there is a rather intesne scene with James and Actaeon. It gets a bit violent, and Actaeon starts swearing like a trucker. Now, I myself, do not swear or cuss (or I try not to at least), but i thought it might be fitting if Actaeon did. If it offends any of you,. I'm sorry, but thats how life is.

enough of my rambling...if you even paid attention to it: enjoi

Sirius stormed out of the kitchen and into James's study at the back of the house. Furiously, he slammed the door behind him and locked it. Locking the door, he knew, was a pointless action; Lily surely had enough sense not to approach Sirius after his display of temper in the kitchen only moments before. It was only one of the many arguments that erupted in the Potter's home since James's arrest three weeks ago.

Despite his best efforts to prevent it, Sirius had succumbed to the moody and irritable state that he had assumed during his stay at Grimmuald Place. He knew that he had no right to, but he often found himself snapping at Lily who was finding that her own patience was wearing thin. Lily had adopted the habit of snapping back, which led them to small arguments that would end with one or both of them retreating to some corner of the house to be alone with their thoughts and tempers, just as Sirius was doing now.

Sirius strode over to James's desk and picked up a paper weight that was sitting on it. He tossed it between is hands for a moment before hurling it at the wall before him, creating a visible dent that he would probably fix later. With a low guttural noise (something between a growl and snarl) he sank down in the chair in front of the desk. He leaned forward and rested his head on his hands. Already he was feeling remorse for yelling at Lily. The poor woman had enough on her hands without him being a jerk on top of it all.

With James gone, Lily was constantly fretting over her husband's absence and Sirius was, once again, being overwhelmed by feelings of helplessness, much like he had at Grimmuald Place. In truth, Sirius was more angry at himself than anything else. Frustrated that he could be of no use or help. His best friend, the one person who had always been there for him, was locked in Azkaban, and Sirius could do nothing about it. James was having to go through the an unparalleled Hell, and there was nothing Sirius could do but wait. He hated waiting. He had been doing the same thing at Grimmuald Place. He had been waiting for his name to be cleared so he could get on with his life. He had been waiting for his life to regain purpose.

He was convinced that the only reason he hadn't just given up was because of Harry. Harry had been his purpose. As his godfather, it was his job to take care of Harry in his parents' absence, and it was a job he hadn't done very well. He had always been imprisoned or in hiding, helpless to help his godson. And now, he was even more helpless in regards to Harry. How was he supposed to fulfill his duty as godfather when he and his godson weren't even on the same plane of existence?

You've failed them, a small voice in the back of his head, that sounded remarkably like his father, remarked. You've failed both the Potters; James and Harry. Can't you do anything right? Sirius shook his head, trying to rid his mind of the maddening voice. It wouldn't leave, though. It kept pressing the point of his helplessness. Sirius stood up and picked up an empty mug that once held butterbeer in it. In a moment of sheer self-oriented frustration, he hurled it at the wall, hitting the dent he had created earlier. The impact shattered the mug and left a hole in the wall and Sirius was left with a complete and total silence. Sirius stood in the middle of the room for several moments, allowing himself to gather what was left of his composure. He took a deep breath and let it out slowly.

Looking from the shattered mug on the floor to the hole in the wall and then back to the mug, he took out his wand and muttered, "Reparo." He watched as the mug repaired itself and silently wished that he could do the same for his life, since it had long ago shattered into a million small pieces. He sighed and once more repaired the hole in the wall. He walked over to the door, unlocked it and pulled it open. He was planning on heading upstairs and retiring for the night, letting himself and Lily to have some time alone before he would apologize in the morning. He planned on doing that, but his plans changed when he heard soft voices resonating from the kitchen.

Forgetting for the moment that he probably shouldn't be seen by any guest in the house, Sirius quietly made his way towards the kitchen to see who Lily was talking to. As he stood in the doorway, his heart skipped a beat as he looked upon two very familiar faces. For a brief moment Sirius thought that the tall, skinny man with unnaturally untidy jet black hair that was now standing in the kitchen was James. He quickly dismissed the thought when the man looked up at him. This man's eyes were a crystal blue, opposed to James's hazel, and he stood several inches taller than James did and held a bit more body mass then James did, though not much more. He also lacked the pale, haunted look that those who spent time in Azkaban often wore. No, Sirius was not looking upon James, but rather his older brother.

"Jared?" Sirius asked, obviously surprised to see him standing in James's house.

Jared stared at him for a moment as he tried to identify the man who stood before him. He studied the face carefully before realization slowly dawned on him. "Sirius?" he asked. "When did you die?"

"I haven't," he answered, stepping into the kitchen.

Jared raised his eyebrows in puzzlement. "Then how're you–" he began.

"It's a long story," Lily interjected. "I'll explain it to you later."

Jared shrugged and leaned back against the counter as both Lily and Sirius took a seat at the table.

"So, what brings you this way, Jared?" Sirius asked.

"I heard from Fabian Prewett that my little brother has somehow managed to get himself chucked in Azkaban...again," he said. "I came around to see if I heard right and if there was anything I could do to help out."

"You heard right," Sirius said simply.

Jared nodded. "How?" he wondered aloud. "How does that kid manage to get himself in these sort of situations?"

"The same way he always does," Lily muttered.

"Actaeon?"

"Yup."

"Oh glory," Jared muttered under his breath. James had told him about his encounters with Actaeon before, and none of what he had heard had ever been praises. "I sincerely hope that he doesn't do anything to aggravate that man any further." Little did Jared know, however, that was exactly what his younger brother was doing.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

James heard a door lock behind him. He blinked several timed, letting his eyes adjust o the light so he could see properly. The light wasn't all that bright, actually, but after three weeks in almost complete darkness, it was enough to disorient him for a moment. As his vision cleared, he almost groaned at the sight of who stood before him: Victor Actaeon himself. James had had a shrewd suspicion when the dementors unlocked his cell door and escorted him down that hall that they were taking him to see Actaeon, but he had tried to hold on to hope that he could be wrong.

However, much to James's displeasure, he was not wrong and Actaeon was sitting before him on a high-backed leather chair, looking very smug with himself.

"Have a seat, Mr. Potter," he said coldly, indicating to a chair set across from himself that look as though it might break if anyone tried to sit upon it.

James noticed with a cold dissatisfaction that it had been an order, not a request, and he rather resented being ordered around by a man as foul as Actaeon. However, he, not yet having the energy to argue or make a snide comment, took a seat in the chair. Surprisingly, it did not break. He could feel Actaeon look over him with his eyes, no doubt taking pleasure in noting the physical effects that Azkaban seemed to be having on James. Already James had lost more weight than he could probably afford; he had grown pale and had a rather disheveled look about him. James, however took no notice of Actaeon's nonverbal inspection and instead looked toward the ceiling and pretended to study it with great interest.

Finally, Actaeon spoke. "How has your stay here been, Potter?"

James lowered his gaze and looked Actaeon in the eyes, keeping no malice that he felt for the man from his expression. "Oh, it's been quite lovely, Victor. Thank you for inquiring," he said, his voice dripping with uncontrolled sarcasm. James inwardly grinned. With no dementors in the room, he had begun to feel better than he had in ages and he was very pleased to see Actaeon looking slightly perturbed by his use of sarcasm.

"Are you ready to give me the information I desire, Potter, or do you need an extended stay with the dementors?" Actaeon snapped, annoyed that, though he showed the physical signs of staying in Azkaban, James's mind seemed not posses any of the mental effects.

James let out an impatient sigh. So this is what its all about, he thought. I should have known. "I've told you several times now, Victor, I cannot tell you simply because I do not know. And even if I did, I would most likely lie to you and say that Sirius is currently sunbathing on the southern coast of Australia," James said haughtily, sound as though he had much better things to be spending his time with at moment.

Actaeon's eyes narrowed with malevolence. He stood up gingerly and drew his wand out of his pocket. He fingered it for a moment before looking back at James, who remained seated. 'You know, Potter, I am really getting sick of your impertinence. Do I need to remind you that with this wand I saw you weep ay my feet in an undignified display of weakness?" he said coldly, looking for all the world as though he would very much like to curse James several more times.

Oh for crying at loud, do you ever shut up? the reckless voice in the back of James's mind yelled before the more sensible (though not much more) part of James responded aloud: "Weakness? Weakness is threatening a man who has no wand to defend himself with. Weakness is preying upon those who have no choice about the situation they're in. As far as I'm concerned, Actaeon, I showed no weakness. And besides," he added as an after thought. "Crying isn't showing weakness, it is displaying sensitivity." James grinned as Actaeon's expression rapidly changed before his eyes. It went quickly from anger and annoyance to an odd perplexed look, as though he knew naught what James meant by sensitivity. James leaned forward, as though he were about to divulge a great secret. "You see, Victor, about 20 years ago, I discovered that women have a certain attraction to men who are sensitive, who aren't afraid to let go of their emotions and have a good cry. Surely you know what I speak of." He paused and glanced over Actaeon. "On second thought, though, perhaps you don't."

Fury was immediately evident on Actaeon's face. Dropping his wand, he covered the small amount of ground between him and James in a few long strides. In one angry movement, he drew back his fist and let it sail forward, making solid contact with the side of James's face. James's head snapped to the side from the force of the blow. He had been completely unprepared for the sudden and reckless attack. James slowly turned to face Actaeon. He stood up slowly, not rushing his movements, ignoring the stars that danced across his vision.

"That was rather uncalled for, don't you think, Victor?" James hissed, staring at Actaeon with unparalleled loathing.

"Where is Sirius Black, Potter?" Actaeon spat with equal vehemence.

James grinned sardonically. "Sunbathing on the southern coast of Australia," he said. Actaeon let another punch fly, but this time James was expecting it. As soon as James saw the other man's right hand begin to soar, he moved to his right and sent his own fist towards Actaeon's unprotected face. Actaeon hissed in pain and glowered at James with all the fury and hatred he could muster.

"Why can you not just back down, Potter? Why can't you give in and stop this suffering for yourself? You tell me where Black is, and you go free. Tell me where Black is, and you won't have to spend another endless night with the dementors," Actaeon spat.

"Why?" James asked with his eyebrows raised. "I believe in something called friendship, Actaeon, although I have the feeling that you don't have much experience in that area. I would never betray my friends to a twisted man like you, just as I know they would never betray me to someone like you." Ah, but one of them already did, that same annoying small voice whispered in the back of James's mind. Peter betrayed to a man even worse than Actaeon. He betrayed you to your death. James quickly shook off the thoughts; now was probably not the time to ponder the matter of betrayal.

"Ah, but I do have friends, Potter," Actaeon spat, taking a step closer. "I have friends in very high places who can keep you locked away for years and years, if that's the case. And if you're here, who is with you lovely wife?"

"Leave Lily out of this," James snapped, very annoyed with Actaeon for stooping so low again. "She has nothing to do with this. With us."

"But she has everything to do with this, with us," Actaeon said. "Didn't I tell you? I had a nice chat with you fascinating wife the other night, over dinner, as I recall. She was quite distressed at the news of you being arrested again. Although, I must admit, she was considerably more distressed after I fucked the bitch over and over and over again." Had Actaeon known what James's immediate reaction would be, he probably wouldn't have come up with that particular lie. He had merely wanted to put James on the edge; he never thought that the younger man would react like he did.

James was immediately ignited with a pure, unfathomable fury. His eyes were wide and filled with hate as he lunged at Actaeon, knocking the man to the floor. James wrapped his right hand around the mans throat ad his left viciously pummeled the man's face. His mind was a haze of blind hatred as he continued the attack. He could feel Actaeon struggle beneath, but his only reaction was to punch harder. Actaeon's hand was groping for his fallen wand a short way awya. Relief overwhelmed Actaeon, as his wand wrapped around his wand. He pointed it at James as best je could, given his current position. "Impedimenta!" he croaked with difficulty, seeing as how James still had his hand wrapped around his neck. Almost instantly, James was knocked backwards off of Actaeon. Actaeon leaped to his feet, trying desperately to ignore the pain from his face, and he moved so that he was standing over James. He planted one foot firmly on his chest to keep him pinned to the floor.

"I think," he said, wincing from the pain the movement of his face caused, "that you just bought yourself another month in Azkaban, Potter. Enjoy your stay."

He removed his foot from on top of James. He looked at the younger man with distaste for a brief moment, then gave him a swift kick to the ribs, causing James to instantly double over. He then proceeded to leave the room.

James, still double over and clutching his offended ribs, heard the door shut behind him once Actaeon left, and allowed himself to moan in despair. He knew that when he heard the door open again , it would be the dementors coming to take him back to his cell for another month.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

Jared sank down on the couch in his little brother's living room. He had spoken all night with Lily and Sirius about James's current situation. It was his natural instinct to try and help James, but he knew it would be futile. There was no possible way that he'd be able to break his brother out of Azkaban. All he could do was pray that James wouldn't go an make things worse for himself, which he often did, whether he meant to or not. Jared couldn't help but smile, however, as he thought about his younger brother's somewhat natural knack for attracting trouble. It had always seemed to flock towards the younger Potter ever since he learned to walk. Their parents has always wondered how their eldest managed to easily avoid trouble while their youngest seemed to constantly stumble into it.

Jared stretched out on the couch. Lily had insisted that he stay the rest of the night at her place, given the current time, and since Sirius was currently occupying the guest bedroom, Jared had been left with the couch. Not that he really minded. He stared out the window at the fading twilight and let sleep envelope him.

Jared woke around ten in the morning, not surprised to hear Lily and Sirius already awake and conversing in the kitchen. He sat up and stretched , working the remnants of sleep from his system. As he stood up, he heard a knock at the front door.

"I'll get it, Lily," he called into the kitchen, already moving toward the front door. "No need to worry about it."

He strode over to the front door and pulled it open. He was rather shocked to see a man, several inches shorter than him with an assortment of ill-colored bruises marring his face and a hand-shaped bruise around his neck, standing in front of him.

"Who're you?" he asked, although he had the distinct impression that it was not someone who should be let into the house.

The man's eyes flickered with a vague recognition. He must know James, Jared thought. Probably beat up by him too.

"Is Lily Potter at home?" the man asked, ignoring Jared's question.

"I'm not sure, it all depends on who you are," Jared said.

"Who I am is none of your business," the man said, trying to look past Jared and into the house. "My business is with Mrs. Potter, and her alone."

"I'm afraid that who you are is most certainly my business," Jared said coldly, not liking the other man's tone. "You see, I'm Lily's brother-in-law, and seeing as how her husband and my kid brother is currently being unjustly held on false charges, her business is very much mine as well."

"I need to speak with Mrs. Potter," the man insisted again.

"You need to introduce yourself before you even think about getting past me," Jared said, his eyes narrowing as he looked at the man.

"You don't understand, I have word about her husband, and your brother, consequently," the man hissed, ignoring the glare he was getting from James's brother.

"Oh? And I'm just supposed to let a random man covered in bruises into my sister-in-law's house, simply because you say you have word about James?" Jared asked. "I don't think so."

"Jared?" he heard from Lily who was still in the kitchen. "What's going on?"

"Oh, nothing," he said, not taking his eyes off the man before him. "Just some random man insisting that he speak with you. I've got it covered though."

Lily was rather suspicious of what Jared meant by "I've got it covered". She had gathered from his tone while speaking that he was rather annoyed, and Lily was sure that if whoever was at the door continued to press his nerves, then someone would get hurt. And it would not be Jared. Lily stood up from the table and headed over to the door, attempting to quell any fight that might be arising, leaving Sirius in the kitchen, alone. Again. He was getting rather sick of being left behind, and wherefore decided to take matters into his own hands. He stood up and silently shifted into his familiar dog form and followed Lily to the door, looking like the loveable stay that Lily might have taken in.

"Mr. Actaeon," Lily said when she arrived at the door. "What an unpleasant surprise. I thought I told you never to come to my house again."

Jared was slightly startled to hear the cold, unfeeling tone if his sister-in-law's voice; he hadn't thought that Lily was capable of being so cold. Apparently he was wrong, however. He quickly got over it, however, as he stared down at the man who had been the source of many problems for his brother over the past several years.

"Mrs. Potter," Actaeon said, his eyes running over Lily in a very rude manner. "Do you mind if I come in?"

Lily's face easily displayed the answer and Jared commented lightly, "Judging by the look on her face, I think she does mind. Quite a lot, actually."

"Well, then," Actaeon said. "I have come to bring you some news about your dear husband," he spat. Sirius growled at him and Actaeon noticed the bear-like dog that had accompanied Lily to the door for the first time. He eyed it warily before continuing. "It appears that you husband's arrest has not had the, er, desired effects that we at the Ministry thought hoped it might. It seems to have made Mr. Potter an even more violent person. He actually resorted to low, disgraceful forms of muggle fighting the last time I spoke with him."

Sirius growled at the man again, knowing very well that James would not have attacked him unprovoked as the man made it sound. "Get to the point, Actaeon," Lily said sharply.

"Ah, well, yes," he said, taking his eyes off of Sirius once more. "To the point. Seeing as how your husband, Mrs. Potter, was arrested for attacking a Ministry member, we thought it best that he remain detained for another four weeks."

"What?" Lily and Jared cried at the same time.

"You have no right to do that," Jared snapped.

"I'm afraid I do," Actaeon said, a very twisted sneer creeping over his face. "You see, you brother has adopted the habit of foolishly attacking people. I honestly think that he is quite unbalanced–"

"And Azkaban is supposed to balance him out?" Lily asked incredulously.

Actaeon ignored her and continued. "We can't have someone as unstable as him out on the streets attacking–" Who James would be attacking, they never got to find out for Actaeon had been interrupted again. This time, however, he was interrupted by the bear-like dog who had been growling at him for the past few minutes. Sirius had lunged at Actaeon, appalled that the man had the audacity to speak of James in such a way. Before anyone could stop him, he tackled Actaeon to the ground.

"PADFOOT!" Lily cried, more out of shock that Sirius would do something so reckless than actually caring whether or not Actaeon was hurt. Jared moved to pull Sirius off of the man before any serious harm could be done. He did, however, wait a few moments for Sirius to land some blows with his claws before actually pulling the dog back. He hulled Sirius back into the house, with quite a bit of difficulty, seeing as how Sirius was quite bent on causing the man as much pain as he possibly could. Finally he managed and they left Lily to deal with Actaeon.

Lily stared down at Actaeon with disgust. "I'm sorry," she said, though her tone suggested that she didn't mean it at all. "Padfoot is James's dog, and he only really listens to James. I think it's best that you be on you way now." Without another word, she shut the door, leaving Actaeon to leave them be.

Lily headed back to the kitchen where Sirius and Jared were sitting. Sirius was grinning ear to ear, looking very pleased with himself and Jared looked as though the whole display had amused him quite a bit.

"Sirius," Lily said, sitting down at the table. "That was really stupid."

"I know," he said. "But that look of terror on his face was worth it," he said, still grinning.

Jared laughed, "You have to admit, Lily, that it was rather funny."

Lily nodded. "Yeah, it was."

"You see, Lils," Sirius said, "he's terrified of me now, and probably terrified of coming back to this house. I hardly need to say that it will probably a rather long time before he ever pays you a home visit again."

Lily smiled at Sirius as the truth of his statement sunk in. She took a deep breath and had the distinct feeling that while Actaeon probably wasn't going to leave James alone, he probably wouldn't be coming around the house anymore. "Thank you, Sirius," she said, smiling at him kindly. "Your duties as guard dog have been very much appreciated."

final note: yeah, i know, that probably wasn't the best way to end it, but I needed to get this posted. Once again, i apologize if you were offended by Actaeon's display of foul language. I also apologize for any typos (becasue I'm sure theres some in there); but please remember...I typed most of this at like 2 in the morning.
Thanks to those who voiced their concerns about this fic in attempts to make it better, and thanks to those of you who faithfully review...you guys make my day

anyway, please review, and I'll try to update soon