Chapter 6

"So," Ron started.

"Yeah," Harry replied. "Ron, Scabbers, I…"

"Don't mention that name," Ron said holding his hands up. "I always thought he was pretty boring pet, but now… shit the bastard was going to sell you and your family to you-know-who! He sold Sirius out!"

"I know. I can't believe Voldemort wanted my family dead! I can't believe Sirius was our secret keeper! He is my dad's brother."

Ron frowned. "I thought he was your dad's best friend."

"He is, but well, my grandparents adopted him when he was sixteen."

"After his parents tried selling him to you-know-who?"

"I guess so."

"Do you remember him?"

"Not really," Harry replied. "I remember the black dog but not a lot else. He disappeared when I was one. I know they used to be aurors together."

"Your dad and Sirius used to be aurors? That's so cool!" Ron exclaimed. "I can't believe they wrote the map as well."

"I know, I always thought dad was a bit boring, but now… we've got to tell Hermione!" Harry finished with a grin.


"Padfoot," James said, gently shaking his friend's shoulders.

"What?" Sirius yawned, blinking his eyes. "Oh, sorry I must have dozed off."

"Come on, let's get you back to my place," James said extending his arm and hauling the other man to his feet.

"There's foot and booze at yours?"

"Oh yes"

"Excellent, I believe you owe me some vintage firewhisky," Sirius said with a grin.

"Potter Manor," they both said throwing Floo Powder into the fire.

The next thing Sirius was aware of was a mass of red hair throwing themselves at him and pulling into a bone crushing hug.

"Don't you ever dare to that to me again Sirius Black!" Lily demanded.

"Lily!"

"Don't you go missing for thirteen years and then turn up on my door step half dead! Promise me you will never do that again!" Lily repeated with tears streaming down her face.

"I promise," Sirius replied meekly.

"Good because we missed you. The world needs a Sirius Black," Lily said as she lightly pecked him on the cheek. "Now, I have some potions for you to drink."

"Lily"

"No, don't you dare argue with me. I'm not going to lose you again just because you were too stubborn to take care of yourself," Lily said, her eyes flashing. "You can drink with James afterwards."

"I'll grab the whisky mate," James said with a wicked grin.

After forcing down three goblets of various potions, Sirius found himself standing in the living room. He felt the same welcoming atmosphere as it had when he was twelve years old. The first place apart Hogwarts had felt like home. The first place he'd felt parental affection. He looked around the room, the décor may have changed, but it was, well the only home he had ever really had.

James stood, leant against the door frame as he observed his friend. He wondered the last time Sirius had received any kind words, human affection even. At times his friend seemed damaged beyond repair, but at times he also saw the old Sirius shining through. He knew he had to be there for his friend, like he had been all of these years. "Mate," he finally said, thrusting a glass into hand.

Sirius stared blankly at his friend for a moment before responding. "Sorry James."

"The old place bringing back memories?" James offered.

"Yeah," Sirius replied, finding a small smile.

"Padfoot, my place is your place. Stay here as long as you need to."

"Thanks," Sirius whispered.

James raised his glass to meet his friend's. "To brothers."

They clinked the glasses together and drained them. Sirius sunk down into the armchair, feeling the warmth of the fire wash over him. The smell of home cooked food and the sound of soft voices. He closed his eyes for moment. After the thirteen long years, he was finally home.

James found a small smile as he watched his friend begin to relax into his surroundings. He couldn't begin to imagine the tell Sirius has been through over the last thirteen years. He knew he had physically escaped it, but he doubted he would ever mentally escape it. "Padfoot, another?" he finally asked.

Sirius nodded and held his glass out, as he swallowed several times. "So, what's happened, since, well, since I've been gone."

James swallowed some of the amber liquid. "Well, umm. Mate, where do you want to start?" he asked.

"Just the highlights, I'm, well, you know."

James lent forward and patted his friend's shoulder. "Mate, you are home." He watched the other man relax slightly and take a sip before he continued. "A couple of months after you disappeared I quit the aurors. It felt odd, it felt wrong without you. So, I joined the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures."

"For Remus?"

James nodded. "I figured this way I still could help my friends."

"And…"

"I've managed to make Wolfsbane more available and affordable. I've tried to do away with the registration but haven't had any luck so far. I'm trying to persuade people that werewolves can be really good, decent, kind people who just…"

"… happen to have a bit of a furry problem each month," Sirius finished.

"Yeah," James said with a smile. "What else? Lily's now heading her department at St. Mungo's."

"Well, there's a surprise."

"I know," James said with a laugh. "Harry's seeker on the Quidditch team."

"Again, no surprises there."

"He made the team in first year."

"Ha! So, beat you by two years. How many games has he won for Gryffindor, I am assuming he is in Gryffindor."

"Of course! He's won every game," James said proudly. "You should see him play, he's bloody amazing! They aren't playing Quidditch this year because of the tournament, but next year, you're going to have to come to a game. That's how he got past the dragon in the first game, he flew. He told me afterwards he thought of it as a game Quidditch."

"Clearly your sane influence has rubbed off on him," Sirius replied grinning. "I hope he's keeping up your tradition and getting loads of detentions."

"Oh yes, I know as a father I should be disappointed but part of me is proud he's carrying on our traditions," James said grinning. "Mum and dad really well. Dad still runs the local duelling club."

"They still remember me?"

James frowned. "Sirius do they remember you? Mate, they are not about to forget the kid they adopted. Crouch tried to get a restraining order against mum."

"What?" Sirius exclaimed.

"After he refused to believe your innocents and refused to search for you, she confronted him. I am not sure exactly what happened but Crouch ended up with a broken nose and bats for ears. I know she sends him exploding dragon dung every Christmas," James explained.

"What else has happened?" James said rubbing his face. "Well you know Amelia Bones is heading the Magical Law Enforcement Department, she's still totally into you by the way."

"Shut up Prongs"

"What?!" James exclaimed innocently. "She is! What else? Fudge is Minister."

"You cannot be serious! Who in their right mind thought it a good idea to have that idiot as Minister."

"I think you've hit the nail on the head, mate with 'right mind'"

"I thought it would be Crouch."

"Crouch?" James said with a frown. "Of course, sorry mate I forgot you don't know. Crouch's son was a Death Eater."

"Wow!" Sirius exclaimed. "Was?"

"Yeah, he died a year into his lifetime sentence. Oh, Moody heads up the auror department."

"Good," Sirius replied. "I thought he may be kept out for political reasons. Moody was never one to play politics. So, what happened to Crouch in the end?"

He was pushed off into the Department of International Magical Cooperation. His wife died just after his son, so I guess people felt sorry for him. I know we never liked his methods, but after what he did to you, I struggled to feel sorry for him," James admitted. They carried on their conversation late into the night. At times it felt as if no time had passed, and the thirteen long years had never happened. But, when Sirius became quiet and distance, he wondered if his friend would ever be the same.


"Amelia?" Moody called out he observed the younger woman hand off a shorter, balding man to a couple of hit wizards. He couldn't remember the last time he had seen her working in the field.

"Alastair?"

"Who was that?"

"Peter Pettigrew," Amelia replied, struggling to keep the disgust from her voice.

"I thought?"

"So, did we all."

"What's he accused of?"

"Amongst other things, the murder of twelve muggles thirteen years ago," Amelia said bitterly.

Moody found himself sitting up a little straighter. "How did you find out?"

"Mr. Black"

"Sirius?"

"Yes, it turns out he was innocent all along."

"Of course, he bloody was," Moody snarled as he got up and limped across the room. He ripped the wanted poster off the wall, crunched it up into a ball and threw it across the room. "Do you know what happened to him?"

"He was imprisoned and tortured by you-know-who and his followers."

"Oh laddie, why didn't you come to me when you suspected Pettigrew?" Moody said quietly as he sadly shook his head. "Amelia, you need to help me sort out a memorial for him. We need to give him the send-off he deserves."

"No Alistair, you misunderstood me. He's alive. He spent a month in a coma at Hogwarts."

"What?! How is he?"

"He's as well as can be expected. Apparently, it's a miracle he's alive."

"No its not, he's Sirius Black. The lad has more lives than a bloody cat," Moody said with a grin.

"You knew him well?"

Moody waved his hand, dismissing her question. "Does Potter know?"

"James Potter? Yes, he was there," Amelia replied.

"Good. That's good," Moody said nodding.

"Alistair, did you know him well?" Amelia tried again.

"I recruited him, trained him and worked with him, so I'd like to think so."

"You recruited him? I thought the auror applications were massively oversubscribed but you haven't recruited anyone new for three years."

"That's true," Moody said thoughtfully. "But there was something different about Sirius. He was top of his class by a wide margin and despite the immature exterior; he was wise beyond his years. He has already fought and escaped Voldemort before he had even left school. I thought there was something special about him and my instincts were proven right. Six months into his training he was already better than aurors with five years' experience. He pulled me out of some hellish situations, he is pretty much the reason I am still alive. As I said, that lad has more lives than a bloody cat. Potter joined when Sirius had been with us for two years. He was defiantly as smart as Sirius, but very green. Still, they were the 'dream team'; I swear they were telepathic at times. They certainly livened up the office, the pranks they pulled…" Moody stopped as laughed fondly. "Scrimgeour didn't manage to get the pink out of his hair for at least three weeks. But as soon as they left the office on a mission, it was all business. It all began to fall apart when Potter had to go into hiding. Sirius had become paranoid, to be honest we all had. But the sources said someone close to the Potters was a spy. I think this terrified him beyond anything else, someone was threating to take away the only family he ever had."

"What about the Blacks?" Amelia asked.

"The Blacks? The same people who tried to sell their sixteen year old son to Voldemort!" Moody spat. "No, I don't think they were ever a family to Sirius, the Potters were."

"Mr. B-, Sirius said he'd gone to confront Peter. He said he wanted to help him, to try and convince him to come back to our side. That he would protect him."

Moony nodded. "That sounds like Sirius. It was his greatest asset as a person, but perhaps his greatest flaw as an auror, his loyalty to his friends. He would never hear one word said against Remus. The number of fights I had to pull him out of," he said shaking his head with a smile. "So, yes, I could see him wanted to help Peter. I can see him believing he could help that bloody rat."

"And we all thought he was guilty of those terrible murders."

"No, the people who knew him knew he was innocent. What's going to happen to Pettigrew?" Moody asked.

"He'll be held here at the Ministry until his trial."

"And Sirius?"

"He's free do as he pleases. All the charges against him have been dropped and his assets unfrozen."

Moony nodded. "Good. I'll pop over to Potter's house and talk to him in a week or so. It's been a good day Amelia, a good day indeed. Good night," he said walking out the door.