Chapter Twelve

A/N Here's another chapter. I'm trying to make them longer, but this one gave up on me. Wouldn't go any further. Thanks again to all my lovely reviewers, you make writing this worthwhile. Warnings for slight slash, (nothing more than a kiss and some hugging, I promise) Enjoy the chapter!

The days leading up to the Wizengamot were filled with a mixture of preparation and family time. When Harry was awake, they spent time playing with him, either with his copied Muggle toys, or a few magical ones that Sirius had owl-ordered for him. They also spent time teaching him more about the magical world and telling him stories of his parents.

When Harry went to sleep, they planned.

"Why?" asked Remus the first time they had discussed this schedule, "shouldn't Harry know what we're doing?"

"Of course," said Sirius with a shrug, "but I want to wait until after the Wizengamot, once we've dealt with Dumbledore. Besides, I don't want to overwhelm him. We haven't even talked about his parents yet."

"True," answered Remus, "speaking of, we need to do that soon. We still don't know what drivel the Dursleys told him."

Sirius scratched his head, "yeah, that's my fault. It's hard, talking about their deaths. But I hadn't thought of what those Dursleys told him."

"You Ok, Padfoot?" Remus asked, reaching to give him a hug.

Sirius excepted gladly, "Yeah. Like I said, it's hard, but between you and Harry, and with my Occlumency almost back to what it was, I'm good."

Remus gave him a knowing look, "ok Padfoot, but if you ever need to talk…"

Sirius gently kissed his forehead, "my Moony, ever the worrywart. I know, and I will."

"Good," said Remus, "now, for the Wizengamot, why don't we…."

Sirius grinned, this was going to be fun!

….

Albus sighed as he read Black's letter again. He'd received it a few days ago, and still wondered what Black was up to. He glanced at the parchment again and read;

Albus,

Thank you for your consideration, I would be happy to speak to you about Harry. Perhaps a good time would be after the Wizengamot meeting next Friday? I would also warn you that I will be taking over the Potter vote as well as the Black. I"ll see you at the meeting.

Lord Sirius Orion Black

The tracking charm had been ineffective, it showed the letter was at Remus' cottage, and he knew they hadn't been there all this time. If they had, his other letters would have gotten through. He wondered where they had been that had strong enough wards to keep a phoenix out. The answer eluded him, and Sirius' reply had given no clues.

Well, thought Albus, that was expected. What I didn't expect was for Black to wait to talk about guardianship. This is worrisome. He adjusted his half-moon spectacles and replaced the letter on his desk. He reached for a lemon drop, what could they be planning? He asked himself. At least now I know that Lupin is with him, he thought as he popped the treat into his mouth. The letter was in Lupin's writing, but Black signed it. He ought to recognize Remus' writing, as he'd written Albus numerous times about Harry. Wanting to raise him, but then the Wizengamot had passed laws forbidding werewolves from having any type of guardianship over children. One of my better plans, he smiled to himself as he sucked on his candy, and I covered my tracks. No one will know that it was me behind those new laws. At least they'd stopped Lupin for a while, but he was determined. He'd began writing to Albus for at least visiting the boy. The mention of the blood wards had stopped that, but just a few weeks before the Black trial, he'd asked for the address so he could at least write Harry, even if it was through Muggle post. Albus had just sent a request for a meeting, hoping to put him off, at least until Harry started Hogwarts, but then Black had gotten free, and they'd both dropped off the face of the earth, so it seemed. Now this letter, and Black wanted the Potter vote. That would seriously hamper his influence with the Wizengamot, but there was nothing to be done now. He would just have to wait. And plan. He smiled, even with these new developments, he would prevail. He always had.

….

Sirius and Remus sat down with Harry the next day, as soon as breakfast was done. They went into the living room and sat with him on the couch.

"Now pup," said Sirius, taking Harry's hand, "what exactly did the Dursleys tell you about your parents?"

"Well," said Harry nervously, "they told Aunt Marge my dad didn't work, but I know they lied 'cause you said you and him were policemen, right? Magic policemen."

Sirius nodded, "Aurors, Harry. The magical policemen are called Aurors."

Harry nodded, "oh."

"Did they tell you anything about how they died?" asked Remus.

Harry nodded again, "Aunt Petunia said it was a car crash. That my dad drove drunk and they crashed. She said that's how I got my scar."

Sirius was too angry to speak, so Remus said, "they lied about that, too cub. Your parents never owned a car, and even if they did, your dad would never drive drunk."

Harry frowned, "then how did they die?"

Sirius hugged Harry close, "that's what we wanted to talk to you about, pup. Did you read anything in your parents' journals about a wizard named Voldemort?"

Harry nodded, "yes. It said he was a bad wizard. That he wanted to get people to follow him. Mum's said a good friend of hers joined,"

Remus nodded his head, "yes. Well, we all fought against him. Your mum and dad, and Sirius and me."

"We had another friend who fought with us," said Sirius with a frown, "at least, we thought he did."

Harry looked confused, so Remus continued, "while we were fighting, we heard that Voldemort was after your parents, so they hid under a special charm."

"It was called the Fidelius Charm," said Sirius, "with it, they could hide a secret with a person, called a Secret Keeper. As long as the person didn't tell Voldemort or his followers, you all would be safe." here Sirius grimaced, and Remus put his arm around him.

"They asked this other friend to keep the secret," said Remus gently, "but we didn't know he was a Death Eater. That's what Voldemort's followers called themselves."

"The little rat went right to Voldemort," said Sirius sadly.

Harry went pale, "th-that's how they died? Voldemort killed them?"

Remus put his other arm around Harry comfortingly, "yes cub."

Sirius smiled weakly from the side, "they wanted to protect you, pup. To make a better world for you."

Harry went, if possible, even paler, "th-they died because of me?" he asked in a small, weak voice.

"No!" said both Remus and Sirius fiercely, "Never think that, pup," said Sirius.

Remus gave him a look that clearly said his next words were as much for him as for Harry, "they died because of Peter and Voldemort. Not because of you." Both nodded their understanding.

"Good," said Remus, "now how about a game? We have Chinese Checkers, there's a deck of cards, and I have an Exploding Snap pack here somewhere….."