Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters of Harry Potter. J.K. Rowling does, the amazing author that she is.

A/N- just as a small side note, this fan fiction is set after HBP.

This chapter is dedicated to trish. she knows who she is. love ya girl! thank you to orderly as well!

Somewhere in London

For the past several hours, Draco had been formulating his plan, as well as putting it into action. He had been given a mission and nothing was going to stop him from completing it. He already had his whole plan laid out. He had to get Granger to trust him, but he had to make absolutely sure that no one, especially Granger, found out about what he was planning. If anybody found out, he knew that he would be screwed, and not in a way that he wanted to be. Anytime that he so much as thought about her, he constantly kept catching himself, trying to train himself to not call her 'Mudblood'. If he was to pull off this plan, he had to do it perfectly and concisely. He couldn't afford any mistakes at all.

Number Twelve, Grimmauld Place

The first thing out of Sirius's mouth was "How did I get here?"

"What, no 'Hi, how have you been?'" joked Ron.

"Ron!" scolded Ginny.

Hermione answered his question. "Sirius, I found you while I was doing my shopping in Diagon Alley and I brought you here. I thought that it would be the safest place for you to be at the present time." Hermione paused, unsure as to how to ask her next question. "Sirius, how did you get to Diagon Alley? The last time any of us checked, you were, well, you know."

Sirius knew full well what she meant. He had been dead and gone for a long period of time unknown to him. He sat silently, trying to regain his bearings. "Hermione, I don't know how I got to Diagon Alley. One second, I remember being behind the veil in the Department of Mysteries, and when I woke up, I was here. I must have blacked out."

"Ginny, go get Mum and tell her Sirius is awake," said Ron. She nodded and quickly exited the room.

"Are you all right, mate? You've been kind of quiet," said Ron.

Harry shook his head to clear it of his thoughts. "Yeah, thanks, I'm good." He looked at Sirius, still unsure as to what to say. For months, Harry had wished that Sirius was still alive. He had mourned his death, and now, Sirius was in front of him, in flesh and blood. Finally, Harry seemed to have found his voice. "I just can't believe that you're alive."

"You're just as shocked as I am, Harry. We all are. I don't know how I got here, but I've been given a second chance, and I'm going to use it. But never mind that. Can someone help me sit up?" asked Sirius.

Harry and Ron each helped Sirius sit up. Just after they finished getting comfortable again, Mrs. Weasley and Ginny came into the room. The look on Mrs. Weasley's face was one of utter shock. She found herself speechless. "H-how.."

"I'm not sure, Molly. But I'm not too worried about it. I see this as a second chance for myself and Harry."

Mrs. Weasley, who had been crying, wiped her eyes quickly. "Well, as much as I'd love to stay and chat, I'm in the middle of cooking dinner right now, Do you feel up to eating Sirius?"

Sirius nodded whole heartedly. "Yes, very much so. Thank you, Molly."

She nodded. "Before I go, Hermione, may I use your owl? I need to send a letter to Minerva."

Hermione gave Mrs. Weasley her consent. Mrs. Weasley went back downstairs to finish dinner. After she left, there was a very awkward silence. Ginny was the one to suggest that they should leave Harry and Sirius alone to talk. Ron and Hermione both agreed, saying that they would be nearby if either Harry or Sirius needed them.

Once Ron, Ginny, and Hermione left, there was once again an awkward silence. Neither male knew what to say to the other. Finally, Harry spoke.

"I'm sorry for what happened."

"Why should you be sorry? It wasn't your fault, you didn't kill me," explained Sirius.

"I know that, but I still could have done something to stop your death. If I hadn't been so involved with what I was doing, I could have helped you."

Sirius leaned forward, and placed both of his hands on Harry's shoulders. "Listen to me. It's not your fault. You couldn't have done anything to stop Bellatrix from killing me, no one could have. Everybody was involved with their own battles, there was no way that you could have stopped her. So, please for my sake, stop beating yourself up about it. Okay?"

Harry nodded. "That's just what Ron, Hermione, and Ginny were trying to get me to understand about Dumbledore."

"What happened to Dumbledore?" asked Sirius confusedly.

Harry sighed. He had forgotten that Sirius didn't know. He didn't want to have to tell him about something so big so early, but he was going to find out sooner or later. "Sirius, this is going to be a bit of shock, and I'm sorry to have to tell you this, but at the end of last term, Dumbledore was…he was killed."

Whatever Sirius had been expecting, that most certainly had not been it. Harry could tell by looking at Sirius that he was very upset, and Harry could understand why. Dumbledore had been instrumental in making his escape from Hogwarts possible. Sirius owed Dumbledore his life, and now Dumbledore was dead. After a moment of silence in reverence for the great wizard, Sirius asked "Who killed him?"

Harry quickly answered "Snape." Sirius reacted instantly. He looked as though he wouldn't mind being put back in Azkaban again for killing someone. At least this time, he would actually be guilty for the crime. Harry knew that he had to calm his godfather down, otherwise there was going to be some bloodshed.

"Sirius, listen. We can't do anything right now. We don't even know where Snape is right now, okay? So let's not get worked up, all right?" Harry looked at Sirius for confirmation until Sirius gave Harry a slight nod.

"So, what's happened since I left?" asked Sirius.

"Quite a bit," answered Harry simply. He proceeded to tell his godfather about everything that had happened since he had died: from his most recent year at Hogwarts to his private lessons with Dumbledore to his search for the Horcruxes. Just as he finished telling Sirius everything that had transpired, Mrs. Weasley, Ron, Ginny and Hermione came in with food.

"Here you are, dear." Mrs. Weasley placed a tray in front of Sirius that held a bowl soup and some crackers, along with a glass of water.

"Thank you very much, Molly." Sirius immediately began to eat his food hungrily. The others started eating as well. For quite a while, everybody continued to eat. No one said a word. Once they were all finished, Mrs. Weasley gathered the dishes and told everyone that they needed to leave soon so Sirius could get some rest. For the first time in a long time, Sirius wasn't haunted by demons in his sleep; for once, he slept soundly.

The next morning

When Sirius awoke the next morning, at first, he had no idea where he was. After a few moments, he realized that he was in his home. He laid in bed, thinking about everything that had happened to him in the last twenty-four hours. He was alive, he had been given a second chance, and there was no way that he was going to pass it up. He carefully raised himself to a sitting position, then swung his legs over the side of the bed. He slowly raised himself to a stand, as he didn't want to risk getting hurt. He took a few steps about the room very slowly. He continued to slowly walk around the room. Once he knew that his legs weren't going to give out on him, he headed downstairs.

Everyone was already in the kitchen eating breakfast when Sirius came down. They looked up when they heard footsteps to see Sirius standing there.

"Well, you're looking better," said Ginny.

"Thank you." Sirius sat down at the table and helped himself to some food. After the meal, Molly magically whisked away the dishes to be washed. The house needed a little bit of cleaning done, so Harry, Hermione, Ron, and Ginny went to take care of that, leaving Sirius alone with his thoughts. Everyone had been giving him space, so as to let him adjust at his on pace. He couldn't believe his luck. He knew that he was incredibly lucky to be alive now and intended to take that to his advantage. The first thing that he knew he had to do was get a job, although he didn't know how on earth he was going to do that. There was still the matter of his innocence to deal with. As he sat at the table, deep in his musings, he heard the front door open and shut, then heard his mother's portraits' racket.

"FOUL, FILTHY SCUM! FILTHING THE--"

As soon as she started she was shut up. Whoever it was that had come in had obviously had enough sense to shut her up and not Now Sirius had to see who was here. He went up the stairs cautiously. He had no idea who was there. He reached the top of the stairs to see one Minerva McGonagall in his home. He was altogether surprised to see her here. When she turned around and saw him, her hand flew to her mouth.

"Sirius? How d-did you…?"

Sirius knew what she was asking him: how was he alive and how did he get here? "I don't know how I'm alive, Minerva. As for being here in my house, Hermione found me in Diagon Alley while she was doing her school shopping." All the while as she spoke, he slowly walked towards her and led her to a couch in the living room.

"I'm sorry, it's just come as quite a shock."

"You're not the only one," replied Sirius.

"Does Potter know yet? Where is he?" she questioned.

"He knows, and yes, he's here. He's off cleaning with Ron, Ginny, and Hermione somewhere."

At that moment, Mrs. Weasley came into the living room. "Hello, Minerva, you're looking well. I see you must have gotten my owl."

"Yes, I did, although it came as quite a shock when I found out that a former student of mine was alive and well. Now that I am here though, I need to speak privately with Sirius," said McGonagall.

"It came as a shock to the rest of us as well. I'll be in the next room if you should need me," said Mrs. Weasley as she exited the room the way she came.

"I heard about Dumbledore's death. I guess that must make you Headmistress now," said Sirius quietly.

"Yes, I am." Sirius could hear the regret and sorrow that was laced in her voice; the regret for the fact that she was not able to save a great man from death, and sorrow for said man's death.

"It's not your fault, you know," said Sirius gently.

"I know."

"On a lighter subject, are you going to continue teaching as well along with your duties as Headmistress?" questioned Sirius.

"Yes. I should be able to handle it all." The two continued to talk for a short while about a range of topics. The topic came around to Sirius and what he was going to do now that he had been given a second chance.

"I want to get a job, but I don't see how I can, what with my still being a wanted man and all," said Sirius morosely.

"What are you talking about? Do you mean that no one has told you yet?"

Sirius looked confused. "What are you talking about, Minerva?"

"You're a free man now, Sirius."

"What? How is that possible?" asked Sirius, who was evidently shocked.

"Harry did it. He used his pull, if you will, with the Ministry. He agreed to be given Veritaserum in front of the Wizengamot. He told them everything that he knew concerning your innocence, and how you did not kill anyone all those years ago. You were presented with the Order of Merlin, first class, which he accepted on your behalf. You're a free man now, Sirius Black," said Minerva.

"I'm free. Free," he repeated. The word sounded so foreign to him, coming from his lips. He had long forgotten what it had been like to roam any street as a free man, no having to walk about as an Animagus, worrying that he might be apprehended and forced to go back to Azkaban.

"Yes, you're free. Now that you know, I have a proposition for you. Hogwarts is in need of a teacher for the upcoming year," said Minerva.

This quickly shook Sirius from his current train of thought. "Hold on, Hogwarts is going to be open? But I thought that with Voldemort being at large and with Dumbledore being gone and all.." he trailed off.

Minerva flinched at the Dark Lord's true name. "Yes, Hogwarts is going to be open. We will have many Aurors stationed all over the grounds. Security will be strengthened more so than it already has been. Now, for my proposition, are you interested at all?" asked McGonagall, fixing him with a stare.

Sirius sat quietly, trying to absorb everything. McGonagall was sitting in his house and she was offering him a job. A real job. And at Hogwarts of all places. He'd be able to see Harry whenever he wanted to see him.

"All right, I'm interested. What did you have in mind?" he asked.

"Well, I'm not sure if you will want to fill this certain position. The position that I need you to fill is…

A/N- I did it again! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Anyone care to take a guess at what position she's going to ask him to fill? First person to get it right in either a review or an e-mail will receive congratulations on the next chapter, maybe even a dedication to them. Hehehe :) Please, please please review! They're a girls' best friend! Until next time!