Hey guys! I was on vacation since the sixteenth, which is my excuse for not updating. :P

I'm not impressed with this fic at all. Actually, I hate it. I'm going to add a few major twists into it to make it a tad more interesting for you to read and for me to write. In fact, one is in this chapter. Fun fun!

DISCLAIMER: I don't own this story, so please don't sue me. 'Twould be no fun...

Note: I will be referring to the younger Sirius as 'Sirius' and the older Sirius as 'Black' when they meet. The same thing applies to the Remuses.

Chapter 10: Secrets, Meetings, and Memories

It was all Harry could do to stop himself from skipping down to the Great Hall- doubtless Malfoy would make something out of that. He managed to contain his extreme happiness that Sirius had come back. Feelings of guilt were rushing out of his heart like a waterfall, and he felt a huge weight lift off of his shoulders.

Slipping into the Great Hall, he briskly walked back to the Gryffindor table. Hermione and Ron were in a heated arguement over something, Sirius and James were muttering suspiciously, and Remus was looking at the other four with an exasperated look on his face, until he noticed Harry approaching the table.

"Hullo, Harry," he greeted the raven haired boy, cutting through Hermione and Ron's bickering and James and Sirius' plotting.

The other four greeted him too. "What'd Dumbledore want?" asked Ron bluntly. Harry had a mysterious twinkle in his eye.

"Well, he'd like to have a word with all of us," he said slowly, wondering how he would break the news that his godfather was alive. "He said we were excused from our afternoon classes."

James, Sirius, and Ron donned huge smiles, Remus looked politely happy, and Hermione looked horrorstruck. "Miss classes?" she exclaimed. "But we have double Potions today!"

Ron looked at her like she was insane. "Exactly, Hermione," he said, looking as though he feared for her sanity.

Minutes later found them at the entrance of the Headmaster's office, with an unhappy Hermione in tow. Harry turned to face the other five, a small smile on his face.

"There is somebody in here Professor Dumbledore wanted us to get... reintroduced with," he said, choosing his words carefully. "All I have to say is that... erm, don't overwhelme Professor Dumbledore's visitor."

The other five looked all but confused, staring at Harry. Harry looked at each one of them, his eyes lingering on Sirius. "Trust me, okay? Something very interesting is about to happen," he said quietly. With that, he knocked on the oak door that lead to the Headmaster's office.

o0o0o0o

WHILE HARRY WAS GETTING THE OTHERS...

Sirius was pacing around Dumbledore's spacious office, a rather odd look on his face- a look of joy crossed with a look of fear.

"Sirius, if you do not stop your pacing, I fear you may wear a hole in my carpet," the Headmaster said, sounding amused nonetheless.

Sirius flopped into one of Dumbledore's chintz armchairs. "I'm gonna see James again," he said in a whisper that was filled with mixed emotions.

Dumbledore nodded. "Yes, you will. Remus should be here any minute now."

Sirius closed his eyes and leaned his head against the back of his armchair, taking a deep breath, until he was disturbed by somebody falling out of the fireplace next to where he sat.

Lupin brushed off his shabby, soot-covered robes. "You wanted to see me Headmaster?" he asked.

Dumbledore nodded. "There are two things you should know, Remus. One of them happens to be sitting right next to you."

Lupin looked to his right, seeing nothing, and then to his left. What- or who- he saw sitting in the armchair made him gasp in surprise.

"Sirius?" he exclaimed, gaping at the escaped convict. Sirius replied with a toothy grin, standing up so he was at eye-level with Lupin.

Lupin seemed to accept Sirius' return faster than Harry had. Within seconds, Lupin was grinning his head off and embracing Sirius brotherly. "I didn't think I'd ever see you again!" he exclaimed, giddy.

Dumbledore sighed. "Now is not the time for a reunion, boys," he said, the mysterious twinkle in his eyes again. "As we speak, young Harry and his friends are on their way up. Three of them you are going to be introduced to, although I daresay you know them already. You see, Remus, we have visitors from-"

Dumbledore was cut off by a knock on his door. "That would be Harry now," he said, stroking his long, silver beard. "Sirius, if you would be so kind as to answer the door... now then, Remus, we have visitors from the year 1976-"

At this moment, a female scream cut them off.

o0o0o0o

"SIRIUS!" Hermione shrieked, and Harry, who was standing next to her, covered his ears instantly. Black smiled at Harry, Ron, and Hermione, but a look of slight shock came over his face when he saw James, Sirius, and Remus. He may have been told that they were here, but that doesn't mean he had been prepared for it.

Sirius was gaping at his older self, and Remus had peered around Black to see his own older self. James was gaping at both of them, and Dumbledore ushered them all in.

"Now don't just stand in the doorway!" he said, smiling and waving his wand. Extra armchairs appeared. "Have a seat."

Harry, Ron, and Hermione immediately slipped in and took a seat. James, Sirius and Remus were a little slower to follow. Black and Lupin were the last to sit down.

Dumbledore sat at the leather chair at his desk. All was silent for a few minutes, until...

"Wow Moony, Padfoot, you're old!" James suddenly exclaimed. Both Black and Lupin looked highly offended.

"We are not!" Black cried. "We're only thirty-six!"

James fell silent, but Harry distinctly heard him mutter, "Well, you look old..."

Sirius and Remus hadn't said a word the entire time. Both Black and Lupin were looking uncomfortable, looking at James in particular. Finally, Black stood up, leaving the group and trailing to the window. Lupin, feeling awkward as the oldest person in the group, soon trailed off as well, putting his hand in his pocket and fingering something inside.

Sirius watched his older self like a hawk under Black was out of earshot.

"Damn," he muttered. "Why the bloody hell do I look like somebody just died?"

Harry ruffled his hair. "Ah, well, it's the whole 'Azkaban' thing. And, I suppose, seeing James again," he said, looking directly at James, who inclined his head slightly.

Hermione wasn't paying attention to the conversation. She was looking at Lupin, or, more specifically, his pocket.

o0o0o0o

Black peered out the window, lost in thought. He was seeing James again, and the first thing he said to him was that he was only thirty-six? He chuckled bitterly to himself, watching the giant squid float lazily on the lake.

And his younger self hadn't spoken a word at all to him, and that was perfectly understandable. He'd do the same thing.

Black struggled to remember what James was like in school. Azkaban had drained him of such memories, and all Black could remember was that James was an obnoxious, disrepectful wart with a heart of gold- most of the time, anyways.

Running his fingers through his hair absently, Black mused that he would need a trim soon, as his hair was now down to his shoulder blades. He couldn't remember a time when his hair wasn't long. It'd been short the night that James and Lily died, that was for sure.

The night James and Lily died. That Sirius remembered like it had happened yesterday.

The roar of a motorcycle could be heard coming closer and closer to Godric's Hollow, or what was left of it. The cottage was smoking, littered with debris. The roof had been blown off but the first and second floors were still intact.

The motorcycle landed, hard, on the pavement outside of the home. A man with short, black hair, grey eyes, and a frightened expression on his face was riding it. Upon seeing the ruined house, the man cried out.

"James! Lily! Harry!" he pratically screamed, and the lights in the neighbor's homes that weren't already on from the event that had happened at Godric's Hollow flickered to life.

Sirius Black rushed into his best friend's home, sidestepping debris as he entered the kitchen, listening for any signs of life. There were none. He entered the living rooms, which held the stairs that led upstairs to the second floor, and nearly collapsed at what he saw.

James Potter's dead body lay among the debris of the fireplace. He had a surprised expression on his face, and his eyes were wide and staring. Sirius made his way over to his friend's body and closed the dead man's eyes, a few tears escaping his eyes, which soon led to the man sobbing.

When Sirius had pulled himself together enough to continue, he started up the stairs that led to the second floor. A sound erupted from another room, breaking the deafening silence. The nursery.

It was the sound of an infant crying, and Sirius was shocked at the sight he saw when he entered the room.

Lily was laying, dead, next to the door, and tears threatened his eyes again when he shut her emerald eyes. What surprised him was that the infant crying noises had been made by the Potters' child. What other infant could it be who was making those noises?

Harry was lying in what was left of his crib, sobbing. A lightning bold shaped cut was etched in his forehead, and Sirius lifted the young child up.

Almost abruptley, the child ceased his crying, and a tiny smile was on his face at the sight of Sirius. "Pafoo!" he cried. It was one of the only words he knew.

Sirius rocked the infant, carefully making his way back down the weakened stairs. "I'm going to take you to my place, Harry," he said. He had legal custody of the child, after all. James and Lily had appointed him Godfather.

Exiting the house, Sirius was more than shocked when he ran into the giant form of Hagrid.

"Sirius!" he exclaimed, looking sorrowfully at Padfoot. "I see you've seen the damage then, eh?"

Sirius knew he meant the bodies, and nodded numbly.

Hagrid spoke again. "Profess'er Dumbledore sent me to pick up young 'Arry," he said. Sirius began to protest.

"James and Lily appointed me Godfather, Hagrid! He's in my legal custody!" Sirius cried.

Hagrid shook his head. "I'm sorry, Sirius. Profess'er Dumbledore's orders."

Sirius unwillingly gave the child up. "Take my motorcycle, then," he sighed. "Have a safe trip."

Hagrid nodded, tucking the child in his arms and boarding the motorcycle. The taillights of it soon faded in the darkness as Hagrid flew away.

Sirius breathed in an angry gasp of air. "I'll kill you, Peter Pettigrew," he hissed.

o0o0o0o

Lupin let go of the small glass ball in his pocket finally. If Harry had seen the object, he would know what it was. A recording of a prophecy from the Department of Mysteries, that Lupin had snatched for Dumbledore.

Lupin didn't know what the prophecy said, but Dumbledore seemed very grave about it. The Headmaster had assured him that the information would be shared with the Order of the Phoenix at the next meeting, but it was crucial for Lupin to retrieve it.

The warmth that the glass ball had radiated had comforted Lupin somewhat. He knew the prophecy said something horribly vital- and that Voldemort would want it too.

Okay, so maybe that wasn't a major twist. But it does create some mystery, doesn't it? Heh heh...