Author's Note: Sorry about the long wait, but I've had writer's block concerning this story (as well as the other big one I'm working on). Plus school and the fact that I couldn't find my copy of Philosopher's Stone and couldn't remember what Harry was supposed to be doing at this point...so, sorry for the wait.

"So, Lils, got some mirrors for us?" Sirius Black asked, coming into her bedroom.

Lily Potter looked up briefly from the pile of clothes on her bed and flicked her fingers at three hand mirrors lying on her dresser. Sirius picked one up as she went back to poking through her clothes.

"Are they done?"

"As done as they're going to get before we leave." Lily answered. She looked up again, "How did I let you talk me into going with you again?"

"Because Dumbledore suggested it," Sirius replied, flipping the mirror around to inspect his reflection.

Lily waved her wand at the clothes and they began neatly piling themselves into her trunk. "Right, Dumbledore. I guess I'm still just not used to travelling. There was always Harry to look after and I still don't want to be that far from him."

"He'll be fine at Hogwarts with Dumbledore," Sirius reassured her. "What do you mean by as finished as they're going to get?" he added suspiciously.

"I can't make the transfiguration spell last more than an hour and it's more limited than the one on the big mirror."

"Limited?"

Lily nodded, tucking a stray strand of red hair behind her ear and closing her trunk with the other hand.. "Each mirror can only store two faces and the changes are strictly facial, none of the overall changes we can make with the larger one, no matter how you hold it or where you aim it."

"Well, that should be enough for what we intend," Sirius answered absently. "Blond hair," he added to the mirror as Lily went to pack her things in the washroom. His reflection's hair turned white blond and Sirius wrinkled his nose; he looked like a Malfoy. "Darker," he corrected and the image obediently changed. Sirius considered the effect for a moment before continuing. "Blue." His skin turned the colour of a Cornish Pixie. "Hey!"

Lily poked her head out of the bathroom. "Oh," she laughed. "Sorry, I forgot to mention that I didn't get the assumption mechanism working right. You have to be specific with these ones." She continued giggling. "You look like a smurf!"

Sirius scowled at her. "Oh very funny," he muttered. "Restore skin," he ordered the mirror. "And what's a smurf?" he asked, looking back up at Lily and trying to recall if he'd ever heard them mentioned in Care of Magical Creatures.

"Oh come on, Harry used to watch them on TV," Lily chided. Sirius looked at her blankly and Lily shook her head. "They were little blue people, there was only one girl, wore little white hats, big noses?" Sirius continued to look blank and Lily rolled her eyes. "It's was one of his favourite videos as a child!"

Sirius shrugged. "If you say so." He put the mirror down carefully and sat down on the edge of Lily's bed. He sat quietly for a moment, watching her get ready.

When she turned around she gave him a quizzical look. "Something wrong Sirius?" she asked.

"No, not really," he said after a moment. He stayed where he was for a moment then shook his head and stood up. "Guess I'm just getting pensive in my old age."

"That'll be the day!" Lily laughed. Sirius tugged her pony tail affectionately and would have replied but was interrupted by the doorbell.

"Who is that?" he asked, moving to the window and peering down at the front porch. "Is that Petunia?"

Lily peered down around his shoulder. "It is, I wonder what she wants." She closed her trunk with a flick of her wand as she hurried downstairs with Sirius behind her.

Lily threw open the door and greeted her sister with a smile. "Tunia, what brings you here?" she asked brightly.

Petunia frowned at her. "Peter was talking to some...thing, last night. I thought you should know."

"Thing?" Sirius repeated, leaning against the wall.

Petunia's frown deepened and Lily thought sadly that Petunia seemed to hate Sirius even more than she had hated James. "It was a tall, pale man with pointed teeth."

"Peter's been talking to vampires?" Lily asked alarmed.

"So it seems," Petunia answered shortly. Her message delivered, she turned on her heel and walked back to the safety of her muggle house, giving Lily's ramshackle front garden a disparaging look as she went.

Lily shut the door slowly and turned to look at Sirius. "Vampires," she repeated quietly.

"So we bring lots of stakes and garlic with us. At least we've got warning this time." He grimaced, remembering the last time he'd run into a vampire. It had been just after graduation and he'd been visiting some friends. All three of them had nearly died that night when three vampires unexpectedly showed up.

"I'm not so much worried about facing them, although there is that, but more concerned with what Peter is doing with them."

"Well, we'll just have to ask him that when we see him. Along with a few other questions." Sirius' gray eyes were hard as he spoke. Lily touched his arm gently and he looked at her, his gaze softening slightly.

"You don't still blame yourself for his betrayal, do you?" Lily asked.

Sirius sighed and moved into the living room. "Not really," he said as he sat down. "It's just...I wish we'd just..."

"Don't!" Lily interrupted. "Don't play the 'if only' game. What's done is done and it wasn't your fault." She took his hand and squeezed it. "It's been ten years Sirius," she added softly.

Sirius leaned forward and kissed her on the cheek. "You're right, I know." He stood up and pulled her to her feet. "Remus will be here soon, we should finish getting ready to leave."

Lily nodded in agreement and headed for the stairs. "Did you send an owl to Harry telling him we'd be travelling for a bit?" she asked.

"I did," Sirius assured her just before disappearing into his room. Lily watched him moving about for a moment before entering her own room where she carefully wrapped the enchanted mirrors in some old robes. She tucked them into her pocket and floated her trunk down the stairs. Sirius appeared a moment later.

"I'm going to make some sandwiches," Lily said. "We should eat before we leave."

Sirius nodded agreeably. "Ok, I'm just going to grab a book on vampires. I'll be back in a minute." Sirius went into his office and began scanning through his books. Knowing that Voldemort wasn't dead, he had made sure to acquire as many good books of defense against the dark arts as he could. He knew there were at least three about vampires on his shelves somewhere. Now if he could just find them. He had a moment to muse that he might want to let Lily organize his office for him so he could find things, when he spotted the one he was looking for: "Surviving Vampire Encounters" by Anna Sanguine.

There was a sound from the living room which Sirius quickly identified as someone apparating. He looked out into the living room and saw Remus just dropping onto the couch. He looked exhausted and Sirius realized that the full moon had just ended the night before. He could also see Lily looking out of the kitchen.

"I suppose you haven't eaten either," she scolded. She marched into the living room and held out a sandwich to Remus who eyed it suspiciously. "Eat it, Remus Lupin, or I'll start adding things to all your food when you come. I know a really nice potion for green hair. Tastes like pickles, you'd never notice it."

Remus meekly took the sandwich, but when Lily went back into the kitchen, Sirius distinctly saw him checking for pickles.

"Motherly, isn't she?" Sirius commented as he came into the room himself.

"Very much so," Remus agreed. He bit into his sandwich then nearly spit it out again.

"What, she didn't put her pickle potion in it, did she?" Sirius asked.

"Why have you got a book on vampires out?" he demanded, eying the book Sirius was still carrying.

"Petunia says Peter's been talking to one," Sirius explained.

"Just perfect," Remus grumbled. Lily reappeared with more sandwiches and the three friends finished them while they worked out the last minute details of their trip. Finally they were finished and they gathered with their trunks to apparate to Germany.

They appeared in a clearing which was damp with recent rain. The moon was well up and gave them plenty of light to see the three vampires they'd surprised.