Disclaimer: Harry Potter belongs to JK Rowling and Warner Bros. Certainly not to me.

Rating: PG13 Sirius may occasionally curse…it would be just like him.

Pairing: Amara Vector/Sirius Black

Summary: Remus is originally thought to be the Potters' Secret-Keeper, leaving Sirius a free man and Harry's guardian after Wormtail's betrayal. He adopts Harry as his own and hopes to go on living peacefully forever. But when the Philosopher's Stone is stolen before Harry enters Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Dumbledore sends three of his most trusted members of the Order of the Phoenix: Sirius Black, Professor Amara Vector and Severus Snape to retrieve and destroy all of the Horcruxes before Voldemort can use them to return.

Chapter 4- Peace Breaking

The handsome dark wizard slept fitfully. He tossed and turned in his sleep, never sinking into a deep restful slumber. He knew that in those deep sleeps waited dreams, dreams he did not want to confront. He was well enough in tune with his body, even when asleep, to prevent falling prey to the nightmares that always hovered in the back of his mind. He had seen much in eleven years as an Auror. But it was only in his second year as an Auror that he realized he would never be able to sleep again. In twenty-four hours he had lost everything that was dear to him. Sirius Black was a hard, cold man- calculating and precise. He was a formidable enemy and a very welcome friend. Only one person ever saw beyond the hard façade he wore like a glove. And it was that person's screams that startled Sirius awake this particular night.

"No!" The tormented cries of a young boy echoed through the large silent country home. "No, not again! Go away! Leave her alone!"

Sirius' eyes popped open and he sat up, immediately aware of his surroundings. He leapt off the bed, pausing only to snatch up the wand resting on his bed stand. He dashed through the halls of his home, barefoot and wearing loose flannel night pants. He ran to a closed door at the end of the hall and threw it open, jumping into the room with a spell on the tip of his tongue and his wand at the ready. His eyes quickly took in the room. The only light was that of the moon, but it was more than enough for the Auror. There was nothing suspicious about the room. It looked like an average eleven-year-old wizard's room. Posters of Quidditch Players, comic books, Wizarding cards and small moving action figures- everything was there. Sirius had been an indulgent father; giving Harry everything he could possibly want.

But even everything he could possibly want was not enough to stave off frequent nightmares. Sirius turned his attention to Harry now. He was sitting up in bed, staring around wildly, tears streaking unnoticed down his pale face. "Dad, they got her," he sobbed, voice shaking. "They got Mum again and there was nothing I could do to help her."

Sirius sat down beside Harry and gathered him up into his arms, making quiet soothing noises in his ears. "Shh, its all right, Harry," he whispered. "You're safe, it's all right." Eventually Harry stopped shaking and leaned heavily against his father's lean body, crying without shame. Sirius looked down at him worriedly. Harry could hardly know it, but he was a dead ringer for his real father right down to the bony frame, glasses, tousled black hair and thin lips that usually twitched with a smile. Only his eyes were Lily's- green pools that were right now filled with tears.

Harry was a constant reminder of James and Lily. Sirius couldn't decide whether or not to hate or love him for it. Yet, despite this, or perhaps because of it, Sirius loved Harry with every fibre of his being. Sirius knew Harry felt the same way about him. Harry believed that Sirius was his real father and they had an idealistic relationship. Sirius could admit that he had been very selfish with Harry. He had many friends, but Sirius was always careful to make sure Harry never spent too much time with any of them. He never wanted anyone to be first in Harry's affection beside himself.

Abruptly, Sirius became aware that Harry's sobs had subsided and he was beginning to squirm against his father's grasp. Sirius reluctantly let him go, and gently brushed away the few tears still lingering on his cheeks. "Better?" he asked warmly.

"Yeah," Harry said slowly, still fighting for composure. He paused, drinking in the comforting sight of his father. He knew his father was a handsome man. He had been gifted with a fine face, captivating grey eyes and a grin that seemed to make women melt. The chest Harry frequently took refuge against was hard and muscled- testimony to Sirius' physical work. But Harry could not remember a time when there had not been dark bags under his father's eyes or a slight leanness that suggested he did not look after himself as well as he should. "I'm sorry I woke you up. It wasn't important."

"Don't be foolish, kid," Sirius berated him very fondly. "Its always important when it comes to you. Always."

"It was just a stupid dream," Harry protested. "And you need your sleep if you're going to be an Auror."

Sirius flicked the light on by Harry's bed, regarding his son amusedly. "Aren't I supposed to be the father in this relationship?" he asked, eyeing his son.

"Someone has to take care of you," Harry responded with a slight grin. "You certainly can't do it yourself."

Pretending to be offended, Sirius reached behind Harry and whipped away his pillow, using it to swat the boy over the head. Harry fought against the Auror futilely, but Sirius was far too quick. He relented on his own though. "Last one downstairs has to make hot chocolate!" Sirius grinned mischievously.

Laughing, Harry pushed Sirius out of the way and ran out into the hall. He fled madly through the dark, stubbing his toe only once. As he took the stairs two at a time, he could hardly believe his good fortune in keeping ahead of Sirius. His dreams were quickly dashed, however, when he skidded into the kitchen to find Sirius sitting at the kitchen table with a smirk, twirling his wand. "I win," taunted the wizard.

Harry's indignation was clear on his face. "That is not fair at all!" he protested. "You cheated!"

"Cheated?" Sirius pretended to be shocked. "I never cheat. I just bend the rules a bit. I never said magic wasn't allowed."

'But I'm not allowed to do magic," Harry pointed out.

"That's never stopped you before," Sirius pointed out dryly. "How many times have we had little 'accidents' that involved a visit from a representative from the Improper Use of Magic Office?"

Harry tried to stammer out his argument, but it was drowned out by Sirius' laughter. "Keep your knickers on," he smiled. "I'll make hot chocolate." He lazily pointed his wand at the cupboard and the kettle floated out. It had barely touched the counter before there was a loud pop! Their house elf, Tika, appeared in the kitchen. She was dressed in her nightgown- a pillowcase that was longer in length then her work clothes and had a pattern of sheep on it. Her nightcap- one of Sirius' old socks, was hanging off one ear.

"Master!" she protested, shaking her finger at Sirius. "Tika told you that if little Master was wanting hot chocolate, you should send for Tika and she would do it so you could catch your sleep."

"Tika, I wanted hot chocolate as well," Sirius explained. "I couldn't sleep, anyways."

"Oh, Master, you will put Tika out of a job, you will," she lamented. "You should be sleeping, Master. There are bags under your eyes."

"Would you like to make us some hot chocolate?" Sirius offered through gritted teeth.

Tika harrumphed and hurried over to the counter. She leapt up to the kettle and began bustling around, making the hot chocolate. Every few moments she would put in another harrumph for good measure. Sirius made a face at Harry. "Why is it that all my relationships are reversed?" My son wants to take care of me and my house elf reprimands me!"

"Its because you're so messed up, Dad," Harry said, sympathetically patting his hand.

"Thanks, Harry," Sirius said dryly. "You really know how to make a man feel loved."

"I do my best," Harry teased. Sirius accepted his hot chocolate from Tika, who joined them at the table after serving Harry. Sirius sat back a bit and watched the house elf and Harry joke around for a bit. Outside the first rays of sun were coming up over the horizon. He would have to go up and shower soon, then head to another long, tiring day at work, but for now he was content to sit here. It was a strange family they had- a son who was not strictly a son, but thought he was and a house elf who certainly didn't know what was expected of a house elf. Despite its oddities thought, Sirius was fully convinced it was the best family in the entire world.

----------------

Harry watched, somewhat amused, as his father and Tika began one of their infamous arguments that shouldn't strictly have been possible. Harry's friend, Ron Weasley, didn't understand why his dad didn't just put Tika under the obedient charm that all house elves lived under. Harry didn't think anyone on the outside would understand that Tika was as much a part of the family as Harry himself and Sirius would no sooner put an obedience charm on Tika then he would on his own son. "Look, I don't care if it's healthy!" Sirius protested, trying to shove the bowel of oatmeal back at Tika. "I hate oatmeal! I want what Harry has." Harry very smugly took a large spoonful of the sugar cereal at his plate.

"Well, you're not getting any, Master!" Tika snapped, refusing to take the oatmeal. "Harry doesn't have a busy day ahead of him that could involve fighting Dark Wizards. Now go sit down and eat your oatmeal like a good boy."

Sirius paused, considering continuing the argument, than sank down into his chair, prodding the oatmeal with his spoon. "Its cold," he complained to Tika.

"Well, maybe it you'd eaten it right away rather than arguing, it would be warm," Tika pointed out, before disappearing. Harry tried to resist shooting amused glances at his father who was sulking exactly the same way Harry would have if forced to consume the lumpy gruel in his bowl. He was fighting down laugher, when Sirius suddenly snatched his own bowl away from him and shovelled it down.

"Oy!" Harry protested.

"I'll get you some more," Sirius snapped. "But there was no way I was eating that!" He gestured derisively at the oatmeal.

Harry waited patiently as his father refilled his bowl and poured milk on it. Sirius had just sat the cereal down in front of his son when their owl, Diomed, swooped in the open bay window. He dropped a letter and the Daily Prophet on the table. Sirius reached for the paper, but his hand halted when he saw the writing on the letter. "Merlin," he whispered. "Are you that old already?"

"What is it?" frowned Harry, who had not bothered to look at the mail. It was always for his father- usually fan letters from young witches or letters from important wizards who wanted to discuss boring things with the most respected Auror in Britain.

'It's for you," Sirius said softly, handing Harry a thick parchment envelope. Curious, Harry took it from his father. The envelope was thick and heavy, made of yellowing parchment. The address was written in emerald green ink. He turned the envelope over, a sudden feeling of anticipation entering him when he saw the purple seal. It was a coat of arms; a lion, a raven, a badger and a snake surrounding a large letter 'H'.

'Is…is this…?" Harry asked, looking up hopefully at his dad.

There was a dark expression on Sirius' face. "Go on," he said, almost harshly. "Open it."

HOGWARTS SCHOOL OF WITCHCRAFT AND WIZARDRY

Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore

(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock,

Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. Of Wizards)

Dear Mr. Black,

We are pleased to inform you that you have a place at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment.

Term begins on 1 September. We await your owl by no later than 31 July.

Yours sincerely,

Minerva McGonagall

Deputy Headmistress

Harry leapt out of his seat, letting out a large whoop. He threw his arms round Sirius' neck. "I'm going to Hogwarts!" he exclaimed. "I'm actually going to your school! Isn't that brilliant, Dad?"

"Yeah," Sirius said thickly. "Brilliant."

Harry drew back from his dad, noticing his less than excited tone. He shrewdly studied his face, trying to figure out what was wrong. It was always so difficult to read his father. "So, what now?" Harry asked slowly.

Sirius, acutely aware of his son's suspicions, visibly brightened. "Now we'd better write your owl," he said with a grin. "And this weekend, we'll head to Diagon Alley to get your supplies."

Harry decided that Sirius' temporary lack of joy was due to memories of his time he must have spent at Hogwarts with Harry's mum. He sat down and drew out a second piece of paper, full of what he would need at Hogwarts. As he read it over, Sirius turned, fighting for composure.

'Have the years gone by so fast?' Sirius marvelled silently. 'Have Lily, James and Peter been gone that long? My God. How am I going to survive without him?"

---------------

That Thursday was Harry's eleventh birthday. Sirius seemed to think this was particularly significant age and promised to out due himself. Harry, whose last party had included the Quidditch World Cup, found it difficult to think that could be managed. Harry noticed his dad was coming home later than normal and Apparated upstairs. Harry always smiled when he heard his father rummaging around. Sirius had never been discreet about buying presents.

When Harry got downstairs on the morning of his birthday, he was startled to find Sirius sitting at the kitchen table. It was well after ten o'clock on a weekday, his father should have been at the Ministry. Yet here he sat, behind a large birthday cake. "Happy Birthday, Harry," grinned Sirius. "Come and have some birthday breakfast."

Harry grinned back and ran over to the table. He reached for a serving knife, but Sirius swatted his hand away. "No, you," he reprimanded. "First we sing!" So Harry was forced to sit and listen to Sirius and Tika sing a very off-key rendition of He's A Jolly Good Fellow. When they were gone, Sirius nudged him. "Dig in. Just don't tell Molly Weasley. I didn't let her in on the fact the cake was for breakfast. She's always going on about how the two of us need a woman to take care of us and I'd rather not prove her right."

"She's mad," Harry said around a large mouthful of chocolate cake. He truly liked Mrs. Weasley, and she was good whenever he needed any motherly things, which was a rare occurrence. She just never seemed to think he or Sirius could possibly survive without a mother or wife, though she had long given up on hope of Sirius getting married. Harry swallowed. "She's mad," he repeated. "You and I make out all right."

Sirius grinned widely and ruffled Harry's hair. "We certainly do. Ice cream?"

Sirius invited Tika to join them and they had a merry breakfast of chocolate cake and vanilla ice cream. Sirius had taken the day off and Harry was eagerly anticipating a day filled with Quidditch, wrestling and laughter. But it seemed Sirius had one more trick up his sleeve.

Tika and Harry were in the middle of seeing who could stuff the most cake in their mouths, much to Sirius' amusement when the post arrived. This morning, Diomed was accompanied by a beautiful snowy owl. Diomed, as always dropped a number of important looking letters in Sirius' breakfast, but today Sirius ignored them, turning instead to watch Harry. The owl had landed on the table before him. She was flourishing a letter at him, clearly proud of herself for having found the recipient.

Cautiously, Harry took the letter and opened it, surprised to see his father's hasty scrawl.

Dear Harry,

Now when you go off to Hogwarts, you have no excuse not to keep in contact.

Her name is Hedwig.

Happy Birthday

Love,

Your Old Dad

Harry looked from the letter to the owl to his dad in astonishment. "For me…?" he said, amazed. Hedwig flew up to land on his shoulder and began to nibble fondly at his ear.

"The first of many," Sirius grinned. "Accio presents"

Harry turned and gaped as several large packages came floating into the kitchen. Sirius had certainly out done himself. The gifts included, among others things, a Quidditch set that's trunk was emblazoned with Harry's name, a book on Harry's favourite Quidditch team, Puddlemere United, innumerable boxes of candy and a miniature lion that sat back on its haunches and roared, startling Tika into hysterics.

"Wicked!" Harry grinned, watching as lion stalked the ice cream.

"That's not just any lion," Sirius informed him. "It's a Gryffindor lion."

"A Gryffindor lion?" Harry repeated. "And if I don't get into Gryffindor?"

"You will," Sirius said confidently. "Its in your blood. Now, you've gone and forgotten a present." Sirius handed him a thin, rectangular package.

Harry unwrapped it carefully to reveal a picture of a pretty young woman with long red hair and sparkling green eyes…his own eyes. Harry's breath caught in his throat. "Is this…Mum?" he asked, his voice hushed.

"Yes," said Sirius, his voice sounding slightly nostalgic as he looked down at Lily. "I know I don't keep any photos of her, but it seemed to me you might like one."

"I did," Harry said softly, looking back at the photo. "She was really pretty."

Sirius nodded. "She was even more so in real life. Your mum was one of the most amazing witches I've ever met."

Harry continued staring hungrily at the picture. "Thank you so much, Dad," he whispered. "This is the best birthday ever."

"Psht!" Sirius said carelessly. "The best is yet to come."

--------------

Harry's birthday was the hottest day of the year so far. Harry and Sirius spent most of the afternoon lounging out by the pool, one of Sirius' Muggle indulgences or in the water playing Marco Polo or engaging in full-fledged water fights. Around three o'clock in the afternoon, Sirius pulled himself out of the water and shook himself dry. He slipped on some sandals and pulled a tee shirt over his damp chest.

"Where are you going?" Harry asked curiously, floating on his back.

"Just inside," Sirius said carelessly. "I think I'll invite Tika for a bit."

"She'll refuse," Harry said knowingly.

"Doesn't hurt to ask," Sirius shrugged, disappearing inside.

Harry performed a few laps of breaststrokes, but soon felt the beginnings to boredom. Realizing his dad had been gone for over ten minutes he left the pool. Drying off, he headed inside. "Dad!" he called, though his voice was muffled by the towel over his head.

"Yeah?" Sirius' voice sounded off somewhere to his left.

Harry pulled the towel off of his head and turned to his dad. The room seemed to explode. "SURPRISE!"

Harry's jaw dropped. There were at least thirty people gathered in the kitchen. He recognized most of them as his dad's coworkers whose children had become playmates of Harry's- the Browns, the Patils, the Shacklebolts, Mrs. Finnegan and her son Seamus, Neville Longbottom and his grandmother. Ameila Bones and her niece Susan, as well as Sirius' old bosses, Albus Dumbledore and Alastor 'Mad-Eye' Moody, and his new boss, Rufus Scrimgeour. Then there was, of course, the entire Weasley clan. Also in the kitchen were the only relatives Sirius would associate with his favourite cousin, Andromeda Tonks and her husband, and their daughter, Nymphadora.

"Surprised?" Sirius grinned.

"Floored," Harry admitted. He didn't have a chance to say much more as the crowd swept him away.

"Harry Birthday, Harry," Ron grinned. "Mum, Sirius and Andromeda have been planning this for ages!"

"Rare of my mum to have a good idea," Nymphadora grumbled, shooting daggers at her mother beneath her long, ice blue bangs. "Probably Uncle Sirius' idea. Your Dad's the greatest, Harry."

"Hey, Nymphadora," greeted Harry. Nymphadora was a good mate, despite being a girl and seven years older.

"How many times to I have to tell you? Call me Tonks!" Nymphadora said hotly.

Harry and Ron exchanged a look and then nodded. Before Tonks could say anything more, Sirius called her away to demonstrate her rare Metamorphmagus talents to Scrimgeour. Molly Weasley took her place. "Your father's determined she be an Auror," clucked Molly. "If she goes off and gets herself killed, I certainly hope he feels responsible!"

Harry smiled up at Mrs. Weasley. She and Sirius never saw eye-to-eye, but they usually were civil to each other for Harry's sake. All of the time spent together planning the party must have caused the slip up. "Are you feeling all right, Harry?" Molly inquired. "You look very thin. Are you eating enough?"

"I get enough," Harry assured her. "The cake for breakfast was really good. Thanks very much."

"For breakfast?" Molly repeated. "He let you eat cake for breakfast? Bless me. What is he thinking?"

Charlie Weasley popping up and asking his mum if he could train to be an Auror with Tonks only worsened Sirius' hazardous situation. Mrs. Weasley swelled drastically and went barging off after Sirius. "Sirius Black! You are free to ruin your relatives' lives, but you stay away from my children!"

"Yes, Molly," Sirius' slightly amused voice sounded over the crowd.

"C'mon," Ron plucked at his sleeve. "The rest of the group is out by the pool."

Harry followed Ron outside where they found Lavender Brown, Seamus Finnegan, Parvati and Padmil Patil, Neville Longbottom and Susan Bones chattering eagerly about Hogwarts and eating Botts' Every Flavour Beans. The conversation momentarily paused so that everyone could wish Harry a happy birthday and then Ron and Harry were pulled into the conversation.

"Apparently there's a poltergeist named Peeves," Lavender was saying, eyes wide. "He's a complete idiot who goes around terrorizing the students."

"George and Fred said to look out for the caretaker's cat," Ron offered helpfully.

"Dad's going to draw me a map with all the passages out of the school…secret ones, I mean," Harry bragged.

"Your Dad is amazing," Parvati marvelled. "And he's quite good-looking."

Harry rolled his eyes. "Don't let him hear you say that!"

"Have you heard about Snape?" inquired Fred Weasley, strolling out on to the patio with his twin, George.

"Snape?" gulped Neville. "Who's that?"

"The Potions Master," answered Fred.

"Vindictive old bat," George sneered.

"Hates his job," Fred explained.

"…and the staff…"

"…the castle…"

"…the grounds…"

"…and the students…"

"…Gryffindors, Hufflepuffs, Ravenclaws…"

"Hates life in general, actually," Fred smirked.

"Surely not!" Padma said, disbelieving. "You're exaggerating."

"See for yourself," shrugged George.

Harry, who had heard quite enough about Snape from Sirius, jumped in eagerly to abuse him to his fellow students. Meanwhile, from a window on the second floor, Sirius watched his son with a fond smile on his face, as always, happy by the fact that Harry was happy. For a moment, he forgot he was in his study with Albus Dumbledore and Andromeda Tonks. It was only the sound of Dumbledore clearing his throat that brought Sirius back to reality. Dumbledore was seated behind Sirius' desk and Andromeda was lounging in a leather chair Harry usually occupied on the nights Sirius was hard at work. Andromeda had the ridiculously good looks of all Black women, but she was as different from Narcissa and Bellatrix as they were from each other. She had a glossy mane of chestnut brown hair and flashing green eyes that could fire in a temper to match Sirius'. She had been in Slytherin, but in Sirius' opinion, was a Gryffindor at heart.

Sirius' grinned brightly at them. "He's enjoying himself, isn't he?" he bragged. "I told you I'd give him the best childhood money and love can buy, Dumbledore."

Andromeda smiled sympathetically at Sirius. He caught her look and felt a sudden looming doom. Dumbledore fixed his most piercing stare on Sirius', who could almost feel his hackles rising. "He has had a very good childhood," Dumbledore agreed. "But that time ends now. Its time he knows, Sirius."

"Knows?" questioned Sirius. "You don't mean…about the prophecy?"

"Oh, no," Dumbledore said hastily. "He is far too young for that. I meant, his true parentage. If he is going to Hogwarts, he must know about James."

"No!" exploded Sirius. "Never! Fine way to celebrate your eleventh birthday! Sorry, kid, I've lied to you your entire life. I'm actually not your father!"

"Then don't tell him today," Dumbledore said simply. "Tell him tomorrow, or next week. But he must know and soon."

"I'm not telling him," Sirius disagreed. "What would that help?"

"He has a right to know," Dumbledore pointed out.

"Listen to me very carefully, Albus Dumbledore," Sirius said heatedly. "You've had your way in the wizarding world for as long as I can remember, but never with me. Just because you're his Headmaster does not mean you have charge of my son!"

"He's not your son," Andromeda interrupted, speaking for the first time. "He is Lily and James Potter's son!

"His last name is Black," Sirius snapped. "He is my son! My son! Harry Black."

"He will never be a Black," Andromeda argued, eyes flashing dangerously. "He is not of the blood. The tapestry will never recognize him!"

"Sod the tapestry!" roared Sirius. "Do you think an old ratty tapestry can tell the difference between a Black and a Malfoy, so long as they're pureblood?"

"Maybe not," Dumbledore allowed. "But it can certainly recognize a Potter from a Black. Maybe the problem here is not that Harry is a Potter. Maybe it is because you are a Black."

"You don't have a clue what I am," growled Sirius.

"Keeping James' son in your charge won't change your heritage," Dumbledore barged on. "Taking care of James' son won't bring James back, no matter how much Harry looks like…"

"Shut up," Sirius said harshly.

"Do you think you can hide Harry here forever? He has to kill Voldemort or die trying!"

"If you say one more word, Dumbledore," Sirius threatened.

"No matter how stoically you ignore it, the fact remains," Dumbledore said insistently. "He is not, never was and never will be your-"

"I LOVE HIM LIKE A SON!" roared Sirius. "That's all that should matter."

Dumbledore and Andromeda stared, transfixed at Sirius. It was Andromeda who first spoke. "Its all that should matter," she agreed. "But you've seen enough of the world to know that's not how the world works. Tell him, Sirius. Please."

"I-" A knock on the door interrupted Sirius. He went over to the door and opened it to reveal Harry.

"What are you doing in here?" Harry asked curiously.

"Oh, not much," shrugged Sirius. "Boring Ministry business that can certainly wait until after your birthday. Have you had some cake?"

"I had a piece about ten minutes ago," Harry answered.

Sirius put his arms around Harry's shoulder and steered him back to the part. "Well, then its high time for another, don't you think?" The door swung shut on Harry describing one of the Weasley twins' joke.

Andromeda looked over at Dumbledore, frowning. "He's not going to tell him." It was not a question.

"Not a chance," agreed Dumbledore heavily. "I've always said talking sense to Sirius Black is like talking Divination to Minerva McGonagall. You can stand there and talk at them for nigh on an hour, but absolutely nothing will penetrate."

"Does he think it will be any easier the longer he waits?" Andromeda asked helplessly. "Anyone can see it will only get harder."

"Oh, he knows well enough," Dumbledore said assuredly. "He just doesn't care. Sirius has never been known for listening to logic over what his heart tells him."

"True enough," nodded Andromeda.

"I only hope he doesn't wait too long," Dumbledore frowned. "It would be a disaster if Harry found out from someone other than Sirius."

"It's a disaster anyways," Andromeda sighed. "Poor Sirius."

"Poor Sirius?" repeated Dumbledore, raising a sceptical eyebrow. "Poor Harry."

-------------

The sun was setting on Diagon Alley by the time Sirius and Harry had completed their school shopping. As they exited Ollivanders, Harry shot a furtive look at his godfather who was striding purposefully, not towards The Leaky Cauldron, but to the wizard bank, Gringotts. They had not visited the bank that morning, Sirius putting everything on charge to his account. Mr. Ollivander's ominous words as he handed Harry the wand holding the same core as Voldemort's, were still ringing in Harry's head.

Sirius had been absolutely furious with Ollivander, leading Harry to make the shrewd guess that there was something his father was concealing from him. He quickened his pace to catch up. "Dad…what did Ollivander mean by that?" he asked, trying to keep his voice low.

"By what?" Sirius asked, feigning ignorance.

"Hmm…let me think…" Harry said, voice dripping with sarcasm.

Sirius sighed as they began to mount the broad steps up to the snowy white building that over-towered all of Diagon Alley. "I'm not sure, kid," he admitted. "Its entirely possible he was just trying to get more excitement out of his day than memorizing his history of sales."

"You don't believe that," Harry contradicted softly.

Sirius halted and turned to look down on his son. "Maybe not," he agreed. "But all I can tell you, is that nothing can happen to you while I'm here."

Harry shot his dad a grin that was stronger than he felt. "Well, I knew that. I was just curious."

Sirius fixed him with one last, long look before shrugging and made his way towards the bank. Harry had only been in Gringotts once or twice, and as always, he found himself completely overwhelmed by the sheer monstrosity of the bank and the appearance of the ferocious goblins. Sirius, of course, was completely unfazed, walking with his usually confident stride. Harry noticed, however, that it was slowly to prevent Harry from falling back. Sirius deftly made his way through the swarming masses, pulling Harry along in his wake. It was not long before they were in front of a pair of silver doors with the rather infamous and threatening message engraved in them.

A pair of goblins, dressed in red and gold bowed low to them. "Good day, Mr. Black," said one respectively. Harry knew goblins could be quite harsh with some customers, but they were quite respectful to their best customers. And after inheriting the entire Black fortune, Sirius was quite the customer, even without the hefty pay check for being one of the most sought after and accomplished Aurors.

Sirius nodded to the goblins and the silver doors swung open. Harry would have liked to walk slowly through the bank and gape at the hundreds of goblins working behind their tall desks, or perhaps sneak through one of the many doors to look around. He was not given the chance, however. Sirius plucked at his sleeve and led him down to a goblin behind his desk at the very head of the hall. He seemed very busy, writing hastily in his ledger. He immediately ceased work and closed the book when Sirius stopped in front of the desk.

"Yes?" he snapped, not looking up.

"Hello, Dragonclaw," Sirius said amusedly.

The goblin jumped and looked up, mouth wide. "Oh, good day, Mr. Black," he said oily. "Forgive my rudeness, I thought you were one of the goblins come to irritate me."

"You mean, someone who does not have millions of Galleons in his safe?" Sirius smirked. "I'd make an awfully tall goblin."

"You do tease us so, Mr. Black," Dragonclaw laughed forcibly.

"Just trying to brighten your tasking day," Sirius said dryly. "I'll be brief so you can get back to your ledgers."

"I always have time for one of our favourite customers," Dragonclaw smiled. Harry wondered if it was as painful as it looked.

"Oh, cut the niceties, Dragonclaw," Sirius advised, looking rather amused. "I know you can't stand me. Save the arse kissing for Lucius Malfoy. He'll undoubtedly enjoy it. I'm just here to do my business."

The smile on the goblin's face immediately vanished and he opened up his ledgers and recommenced writing. "What do you want, Black?" he snarled, his tone much less greasy. "Do be quick about it. Some of us actually have work to do. We don't make millions by getting in the occasional bar brawl!"

Sirius smiled widely. "I haven't been in a bar brawl for ten years and I didn't get paid for those!"

"As entertaining as stories of your youth are, perhaps you did not understand why I told you to make it quick," Dragonclaw sneered.

Sirius laughed out loud. He lounged casually against the desk. "You know, you are probably my favourite goblin in the entire world," Sirius laughed.

"And you are undoubtedly my least favourite person in the entire world," Dragonclaw retorted. "Now, what do you want?"

Sirius stifled a grin. "I've come to collect a parcel for Albus Dumbledore from vault seven hundred and thirteen." He slipped a hand in his jacket pocket and pulled out a sealed envelope, then handed it to Dragonclaw.

The goblin broke the seal and read it over several times, glaring at Sirius suspiciously between sentences. When he could find nothing wrong with it, he snapped his fingers, summoning a goblin that looked underpaid, overworked and underfed. "Go and retrieve the contents from vault seven hundred and thirteen and bring it back here immediately."

"Shouldn't I go with him?" Sirius asked.

"No, I don't think that's necessary," Dragonclaw snarled. "You and your filthy brood might try and nick something shiny on the way back."

Sirius roared with laughter, which only infuriated Dragonclaw further. "C'mon, kid," Sirius grinned, laying a hand on Harry's shoulder. "Let's wait over here."

They took their seats in a roped off waiting area. Sirius was clearly restless, drumming his hands on his knees. Harry finally grew weary of the constant distraction and grabbed his father's hands. Immediately he started tapping his feet. "What is with you?" Harry demanded. "What are we picking up?"

"Can't tell you," Sirius answered apologetically. "Just understand that it's quite important."

Harry didn't bother to press the subject. With a father whose ranking was high in the Ministry, he had come to accept that there were things Sirius was never going to be able to tell him. And pushing the subject only seemed to irritate his father. Even as these thoughts ran through his head, an almost bashful looking Dragonclaw approached them. Harry's eyes, sharp from long games of Quidditch in the minor leagues playing Seeker, noticed immediately he wasn't carrying anything.

"Where is it?" Sirius demanded, obviously having made the same observation.

Dragonclaw muttered something completely incomprehensible. "Excuse me?" Sirius asked. Harry glanced over at his father. He was practically radiating a dangerous anger. Dragonclaw clearly sensed it as well, shaking on the spot.

"It…it's gone…" he stuttered.

"Gone?" Sirius repeated, his voice razor sharp. "What do you mean gone? Well…for how long?"

"I don't know!" wailed Dragonclaw. "The Stone has been in the vault for five years."

"And you never thought to check on it?" Sirius demanded.

"We open the vaults once every ten years," Dragonclaw explained feebly.

"Well, a hell of a lot of good that's going to do me!" Sirius roared. Before Harry could make any move to stop him, he lashed out and swung a rather strong punch at Dragonclaw. The goblin went soaring and landed in a heap in the middle of the bank.

Sirius paid him no more attention. "C'mon, Harry," he said, his face darker than Harry could ever remember. "I have to get home and Floo Dumbledore."

"Dad…Dad what does this mean?" Harry asked, feeling afraid as he tried to keep up with his father's long strides.

"Nothing good, Harry," Sirius answered vaguely. "And probably more trouble than we're capable of dealing with."