AN: A combination of holiday nonsense and my inability to keep myself from adding plot elements (like Tina's magic) has made me push back posting the next chapters. I will try to do sort of what I did for Christmas Break, where I start posting a story arc once I've finished it. I enjoyed writing those chapters more than most of the previous ones and I think it's because of the altered format. I still think I can finish the book (year I) by the end of January. I'm currently expecting a total of 2 more "story arcs" in Book I.

Welcome Home

Harry fought to keep his nerves under control as he and Aunt Petunia prepared to floo to St. Mungos. Dudley had introduced Ron and Neville to Mario the night before, Justin had only been able to stay for a couple nights before his parents took him home to go overseas on a short trip, and therefore none of them were here at Potter Isle. Surprisingly it was Neville who had proved to be the best at it, though he played it off as panic instincts since he insisted he had no idea what he was doing.

"Don't worry Harry. I'm sure everything will be fine. Mrs. Tonks said that he was recovering fairly well." Temperance Smith offered support to the conflicted boy with a slight amount of hesitation.

It had been pressed on her during the last two weeks in particular that Harry and the others were just normal people that didn't need fawning or special treatment. It was likely that she would never really be able to separate Andromeda Tonks from her memory of her role model, but her ability to treat Harry Potter as a normal boy and not the Boy-Who-Lived also took constant hits through the Christmas season as she watched him repeatedly outperform her expectations for a boy his age. Wandless magic, incredible flying, a great memory for potions, and a parselmouth on top of all that? The child was destined to be larger-than-life, regardless of what he wanted.

"Thank you, you're right." Harry replied, "That's not the only thing though…"

Harry had been leery of this for a while, he had never been able to fully conquer his strange, innate fear of flashing green lights. He sometimes had nightmares with flashing green and a creepy laugh, and had been having them more often since going to Hogwarts, maybe it was finally time to ask a magical adult about it? His aunt had always assumed that it was a natural, if unfortunate, side effect of whatever happened the night his parents died.

"Harry?" Petunia looked at him worriedly, and he remembered that he hadn't told her how the green fire of the floo creeped him out before. He had never been in a position to use the one at the Leaky Cauldron, and whenever they ate there they made sure to be far away from the hearth to keep from being disturbed. This had made it easy to hide his discomfort from his family.

"Sorry." Harry said before he briefly explained his problem to his aunt. She was none too pleased to learn that he hadn't mentioned his nightmares' increased frequency, but was heartbroken to hear about his panicked reaction to the floo when he was surprised by one at the beginning of term. Petunia had an inkling of why Harry's nightmares included such a specific stimulus, thankfully her nephew hadn't thought to ask either Remus or one of his teachers more about Voldemort and the war. She had, though, she knew that the lethal spell which Voldemort prefered was a very distinctive green. It shattered her heart to know that Harry had nightmares of that, even when she had thought it was still rather infrequent.

"Maybe Remus has another way to get there?" She offered her nephew a lifeline, "I could go through first and ask him?"

"No, no." Harry shook his head resolutely, "I need to do this, it's normal for wizards, right? Let me watch you, and I'll be right behind you."

"If you're sure," Petunia frowned, then repeated Remus' instruction to her about floo safety from when they'd first had the ones on Potter Isle installed, "I'll go through, wait at least five seconds for the fire to reset before throwing in your own powder. Don't take too long or I'll get worried and probably try to come back to check on you. Criss-crossing in the floo can be rough apparently."

Harry hesitated with the powder in his hand after his aunt stepped through the hearth, "Keep walking when you go through." Mrs. Smith said, giving him a wink and a nod toward the fire.

"Keep walking" wasn't nearly enough advice, or maybe he just had bad luck and the hearth malfunctioned on him. Harry rocketed out of the other side of the floo with much more momentum than he had had upon entering. His first step sent him tumbling forwards, knocking over a wizard in green robes as he tried to keep from hitting the floor face-first.

"Watch out bo- by Merlin, you're Harry Potter." The man had begun his statement with ire in his voice, but thankfully had lowered his volume rather than raise it when he recognized who had knocked him down.

"I'm terribly sorry, sir." Harry responded quickly, "It was my first time using the floo."

"Harry? Are you alright?" Harry heard his aunt call to him and turned to face her, though he couldn't see anything except an auburn-topped blur since his glasses had been knocked off his face.

"Yes, I think I came through too fast or something. Do you see my glasses?"

"Oh dear," the man in green said as he stood up, "I appear to have landed on them. Let me fix these for you, Oculus Repairo."

Harry thanked the man after receiving his fixed spectacles, and his aunt made to take him to the reception desk when the wizard Harry had collided with offered to help them find where they were going.

"Healer Fawley, at your service Mister Potter, Ma'am." The wizard in green introduced himself. Now that Harry had a chance to get a good look at the man he could see a crest on the shoulders and breast of his robe that resembled a more 'mystical' version of a Caduceus, except it had vines of ivy circling the staff instead of snakes.

Healer Fawley left the pair at a corner near the reception desk and returned momentarily with the correct ward and room number for "Pads Foote," which, unknown to him, was the alias that Sirius had been checked in under; though he was curious as to why Harry Potter would know a patient that warranted an auror guard. Armed with directions to the lifts, Harry and Petunia made their way to the secure ward where the two marauders were waiting for them.

Finding the specific room once they were on the ward wasn't hard at all. There was a pair of aurors standing outside the room keeping watch. The two red robed men tensed as Harry and Petunia approached, but when one of them recognized Harry they relaxed a little.

"Mister Potter, ma'am," The closer man said, bowing his head slightly to Harry as he did, "I am Auror Bragden, this is my partner Auror Kleck, we were told you would be coming today. Mister Lupin is already inside with the healers. Please let us check you for glamours and we'll let you through."

Harry hesitated once more at the door to the room. Worried once more that he was going to make things worse for his uncle. He didn't know too much about psychology or brain medicine, but he did know that little triggers could cause people to go all the way off the deep end sometimes. Steeling himself with the knowledge that the auror had said "healers," meaning more than one, Harry opened the door and preceded his aunt into the room.

o0-0oo0-0oo0-0oo0-0o

"Draco! Where are you!" Lucius Malfoy shouted as soon as he stepped out of the floo at Malfoy Manor.

The Lord Malfoy had suffered a disastrous morning, having just left a mandatory session of the wizengamot that had been called with only one day of notice. Lucius had assumed that Cornelius had caved to public pressure and was calling the werewolf to task for usurping such a prestigious position as Steward of a House, but he was completely wrong. The platinum blonde wizard had only just realized that the session was called for a criminal trial when the defendant was pulled out and his heart stopped in his chest.

Peter Pettigrew was alive! Not only that, he was a Death Eater! Amelia had elected to present Pettigrew to the court sans his left sleeve, so no one in the audience could deny it.

Lucius Malfoy wasn't the only one to begin to protest the man's presence in the chamber, many Dark family heads had escaped conviction on Imperius charges that Pettigrew could possibly refute under veritaserum if he was allowed to be questioned in an open forum of the Wizengamot! However, their poorly disguised panic was alleviated when Minister Fudge stated that there was to be absolutely no questioning of the suspect beyond the details of his specific charges. Every other "Imperius victim" among the dark families was placated as Amelia Bones began to read those charges and present evidence, except Malfoy. Knowing that he wasn't at risk of prison himself, Lucius tuned out the proceedings and began to strategize.

If it was true that Peter Pettigrew was the one who betrayed the Potters, and was also the one who blew up that street and killed those muggles then how long would it take for Sirius Black to be released from Azkaban? Lucius had been told that the man was disinherited, but now he couldn't afford to assume that he wasn't being lied to. Walburga never really liked him, she had still considered the Malfoys to be "foreigners," so she certainly had it in her to lie to him out of spite. As long as he died in Azkaban, without being able to claim the lordship, Draco would have inherited regardless of whether Sirius had fathered some bastard heir before his imprisonment. Now he needed to know, was Draco the heir Black?

No, he was not, according to a smirking Gringotts employee who gleefully explained to Lucius that his son was third in line to inherit; after Sirius Black and his godson and named heir Harry Potter. He had gone straight there after the trial had finished with the painfully obvious conclusion of Peter Pettigrew being sentenced to life in Azkaban, with the added flourish of specifically ordering he be placed in Sirius Black's former cell. Former, because the minister had taken it upon himself to remove Black from the prison a week ago without informing him!

"Father?" Draco pulled Lucius out of his musing as he entered the parlor, "Is something wrong?"

"Boy, why did you not know that the Slytherin Weasley was to be staying with Harry Potter over the break?" Lucius needed someone meaningful to blame and punish for this, and Potter and Black were out of reach.

"But," Draco paused, flabbergasted, "father, you are the one who said that the Weasleys had booked an international portkey. Why would Potter be out of the country?"

"He wasn't you idiot child!" Lucius shouted over his son, "The youngest Weasley boy didn't go with the others! And now, because of that, we stand to potentially lose EVERYTHING!"

Draco couldn't imagine how an alliance between Potter and Weasley could threaten the power of the Malfoy family, especially not when they had the backing of his mother's much more powerful Black family name as well; and he said as much, "You are the Lord Malfoy, and I am the Heir of Houses Malfoy and Black, father, how could a Weasley possibly touch us?"

Lucius glared at his son, "Sirius Black has been released from Azkaban and exonerated of all charges. I imagine it was only the constant flow of Malfoy money into the Ministry's coffers that kept the Imperius claims from ten years ago from being called into question. If Black decides to, he could quite literally destroy us now. The marriage contract between your mother and I stipulates that Malfoy money be kept separate from Black money until you inherit both; and there are rules concerning how I can use what your mother brought into the union until then. He could take everything and leave us with only what I had prior to the marriage if he so chose. If he did so, my power in the Wizengamot would be crippled."

Lucius waited a moment to make sure the gravity of their situation was impressed upon Draco, "Listen, now more than ever it is imperative that you forge a relationship with the Slytherin Weasley; and through him, Potter. If you can get on Potter's good side, we might be safe from Black's reprisals."

"Yes father." Draco answered immediately. He wouldn't let his father down again, though he still didn't see how the Weasley incident could have been averted by him. The first thing he would do is ask his mother about her cousin Sirius, surely she could tell him something that could be used to get in with Potter and Weasley.

o0-0oo0-0oo0-0oo0-0o

Harry stopped just inside the door, Uncle Moony was standing at the foot of the bed and two green robed men stood to either side of its head with a green robed witch also observing from a corner. Harry took passive note of all those things as his eyes moved to the man lying in the bed. His first impression was that Sirius Black looked like pictures of shell-shocked soldiers he'd seen in history books, the man looked like he was half here and half in another time or place.

"James?" The bedridden man asked in a shaky voice as he examined the face in front of him, particularly the eyes, "No… H-Harry?"

"It's me Uncle Padfoot." Harry answered quietly as he edged towards the bed.

Sirius breathing was short and choppy as Harry made his way to him. When the boy had first walked into the room he thought he was looking at his friend, but the eyes were wrong. Or were they right? Harry looked like a little James, but Lily's spirit shone from his emerald green eyes.

"You have your mother's eyes." Sirius said absently as Harry made it to his side.

"I get that a lot." Harry answered with a soft chuckle as he began to tear up.

The three healers in the room watched closely as Harry bent down and embraced Sirius Black in a hug. Sirius, for his part, began to silently cry as he returned the embrace. But he wasn't hyperventilating, nor was he babbling about Pettigrew or the deceased Potters this time. A good sign.

"I'm so glad you're okay." Sirius whispered as Harry pulled back to sit in a chair the healer beside him conjured. "It was the only thing that kept me going. Knowing you were safe, Dumbledore had you."

"I'm sorry for everything that happened to you Uncle Padfoot." Harry answered, "But I'm fine. Najash found Pettigrew and-"

"Wormtail?" Padfoot interrupted with a shout, his eyes widening in alarm, "It wasn't me! He was-"

"Mister Black, please calm down." One of the healers at his side cast a diagnostic charm as he directed a stern look at Harry while the other looked ready to render the bedridden wizard unconscious at a moment's notice.

"It's okay Uncle Padfoot, I'm okay!" Harry insisted, putting a hand on the older man's chest to keep him from trying to get up. Surprisingly, it worked, Sirius was skin and bones and had no strength to speak of.

"He can't hurt me Uncle Padfoot." Harry said, holding his godfather's manic eyes locked with his own, "I promise. It's okay. He was disguised as my friend's pet, but my familiar found him out."

Harry glanced worriedly at the healers, why didn't Sirius know any of this?

"Do you remember us talking about this a couple days ago Sirius?" Remus asked from the foot of the bed, drawing Harry's attention even as it explained the problem he hadn't understood, "Wormtail may have gotten away that night, but now he's going to trial because Harry and I caught him?"

"I… yeah, I do." Sirius looked dejected as he answered, clearly he didn't remember.

"It's alright Padfoot, you'll get better." Harry said, gripping his shoulder tightly in reassurance, "Want to hear about my first Quidditch game? I played seeker and we won."

"Quidditch?" Sirius asked, scrunching his face in confusion as his eyes ran up and down Harry, taking in how tall he was, "How… how long?"

"I'm a first year," Harry answered, smiling as if to try and wash away the pain in the other man's eyes when he realized how much he'd missed, "Professor Mcgonagal had to get special permission for me to play, the Slytherins were really mad about it."

For the first time since recovering him from Azkaban, Remus saw a spark of the real Sirius Black shine through with a childish grin at his godson's achievement.

o0-0oo0-0oo0-0oo0-0o

Amos Diggory had spent the morning after the trial of Peter Pettigrew wondering what he was supposed to do now while downing Calming Droughts nearly every half hour. With Sirius Black exonerated, and also Harry Potter's godfather, there was no way that his contesting of Andromeda Tonks' position would go through. Dumbledore had tried to warn him that he didn't have all the information, but he hadn't listened.

"Did the old man know about Black?" Amos mused aloud as he nursed a glass of firewhiskey, "Was he trying to warn me? Or scare me?"

No amount of House hatred could keep Amos from feeling sorry for Sirius Black, no innocent man should ever have to endure something so horrible. But none of that meant that Amos was going to back down when it came to the werewolf! It was clear from the talk surrounding the man, as well as the implication that he was always a friend of the Potters just like Remus Lupin, that Sirius Black wasn't going to take his family's traditional stance on Dark Creatures.

Most in the Wizengamot wouldn't have thought that mattered, but Amos had just so happened to be looking at Lord Malfoy during the reading of Pettigrew's confession. It was clear that something was wrong, and a simple check in the Ministry Hall of Records confirmed that Sirius Black was Head of House for the Black Family. What was odd though, is that the parchmentwork to make him Head had been sitting in Limbo until only a few days ago…

Had someone known and blocked his appointment to keep in in Azkaban? Amos mused, it couldn't have been Lord Malfoy, he wasn't positioned in the Ministry to affect the Census Records like that… It would have likely have to have been someone in the DMLE or the Minister's Office.

Regardless, if the Black vote couldn't be counted on to direct the dark families against such as Lupin then would he need to work with someone else to usurp that family's traditional role? Amos hated to admit it, but the one most likely to help him that was in a position to do something was Lucius Malfoy… The Diggory family wasn't especially rich, nor influential, their seat on the Wizengamot was one of the few permanent ones that was not an Ancient or Noble family; and that was enough to the Malfoys to look down on them as unimportant. That would need to change quickly.

One thing the Diggory family was well known for, though, was their respect for traditions, at least those of a more Light persuasion. If he remembered correctly the current Lady Malfoy was a Black by birth, which meant that an accommodating Wizengamot could rule that Sirius Black's time in Azkaban has rendered him unfit to hold his lordship and have it passed to her. Lucius would jump at such a chance, and all it would take was getting ahead of the problem.

Amos already had it figured out, all it would take was selling Lord Malfoy on the plan. He and Lucius could present a motion to determine the current Lord Black's mental stability; there was precedent for this, though it was usually related to a family head who had stayed in power too long until age had weakened their mind. According to tradition, if the motion carried then Lord Black would have only six months to undergo an evaluation by a mind healer and present himself before the Wizengamot with that healer's findings or his seat would be ordered to be reassigned to a different eligible family member; and during that time, until his mental health is confirmed, his seat's vote would be frozen.

He couldn't even really consider his scheme to be wrong in any real way. Sirius Black would never be able to stand in the chamber only six months after being freed from a decade long stay in Azkaban. Hell, it would be a miracle if the man would ever be truly mentally sound again after what he'd been through. This could almost be seen as a public service; keeping dangerous, crazy ideas born of dementor exposure off the floor.

Amos began composing his letter to Lucius Malfoy as soon as he finished planning out what he would say, however his earlier repeated drinking of potions had left him needing relief. With the missive mostly finished, the man couldn't wait any longer and rushed from the room. While he was gone, his son Cedric entered the study looking for ink, stumbled upon the letter, and began reading it when he saw the name it was addressed to.

"What have I told you about snooping around my personal things, Cedric? That could have been enchanted." Amos said as he reentered the study and caught his son reading his correspondence. Cedric was avid to learn Family business and had often snuck peeks over his father's shoulder while he was working when the boy was younger. While Amos was generally happy to entertain his son's want for learning in the political arena, he preferred to be there to make sure Cedric understood the correct point of view.

"I'm sorry father," Cedric responded automatically, "I was just surprised. When did you begin working with Lord Malfoy?"

"It's about some shake ups in the wizengamot. Unfortunately, the families that I would normally work with are a bit too blinded by the fame of the Boy-Who-Lived to realize that real work needs to be done."

"I know you are having personal issues with some of the people that work for Harry, Mister Potter rather, but I would have thought that our families would still be allies." Cedric was worried about his father. He had started the break in a good mood that died on Christmas Day when the Prophet released an interview from the Potter family that refuted most of the accusations of wrongdoing.

"It isn't about that Cedric," his father chided, "you must understand. It does not matter who he is friends with, a werewolf is a werewolf, and Remus Lupin should not be in a position where he could weaken the Wizengamot's position with werewolves and other dark beasts."

"I met Mister Lupin, he seemed like a fine person." Cedric answered, "You couldn't even tell that he was a werewolf."

"Cedric my son, you just don't understand." Amos said as he shook his head sadly, "The fact that you couldn't tell only makes his presence more subversive. Imagine if that was how the average wizard saw werewolves, instead of as the ravenous beasts that they truly are? They would overrun our society and those like Harry Potter would have us let them, all in the name of pretending that their friend is still fully human."

Cedric sighed, of course he didn't want to have to worry about roving packs of werewolves like there had been during the last war, but… "But father, this letter is mostly about Sirius Black and how he shouldn't be allowed to take his seat. What is that about?"

Amos grimaced as he began to answer, "Unsavory business, that, but it needs to be done as well. Sirius Black has spent too long in Azkaban to actually take up the mantle of head, but the family laws for the Blacks will likely place him there by default unless he steps down or the Wizengamot does something. I feel for the man, no one should have to suffer the dementors if they aren't truly guilty; but having been forced to undergo such a trial, there is no doubt that his mind will be too compromised to be allowed to influence law. That being said, I'm not suggesting to Lord Malfoy that he simply be removed, rather that his mental wellness be verified by an unbiased party."

"So it doesn't have anything to do with the fact that if the Blacks voted against you on the werewolf thing you'd lose for sure?" Cedric shot back.

"I assure you my son, that even if that were not a factor I would still be doing this." Amos pinched his nose in frustration, as well as to keep himself from snapping at Cedric for questioning his motives like that, "The only difference is that I believe I would not need the help of a family like the Malfoys if this wasn't forcing me to go against the Potters. Obviously, they will consider any statement against Black to be an attack against them as well since the man is Harry Potter's godfather."

"I suppose you're right, but… Harry and Dudley are-"

"I don't want you to mention any of this to them." His father interrupted him, "The Black family is greater than the Malfoys, if they get wind of this ahead of us going before the Wizengamot with our proposal then they might quash the lesser family before they can speak. That would be a travesty against the legislative process!"

"I-I suppose you are right father, please excuse me." Cedric said, nodding as he backed out of the study. He understood that his father was just doing what was right for the wizarding world, but was it supposed to feel so bad?

o0-0oo0-0oo0-0oo0-0o

"You rolled off your own broom to win the game?" Sirius asked incredulously. His face was falling due to fatigue, but his eyes betrayed the mirth he felt at knowing that his godson got up to hijinks the way he and his father had when they were in school.

"Yeah, it was pretty scary." Harry answered with a laugh, "But 'catch the snitch or die trying,' right?"

Petunia wasn't too impressed by that little tagline. Nor was she convinced that Harry's version of that game, which omitted his broom getting cursed, was entirely a fabrication. His description of intentionally falling off his broom to catch that golden ball was a little too believable for someone who was there and saw it happen.

She wasn't about to say anything right now though. Sirius Black looked like death warmed over; but with every minute he spent listening to Harry talk it seemed like the tremendous weight on his soul was lessened, even if only a little. Sirius was clearly getting tired despite it not being noon yet, but he definitely looked more alive than when they had entered.

While she was lost in her personal thoughts, the two had moved on to another topic. Tuning back into their conversation, she realized with some trepidation that Harry was telling Sirius about his familiar. She didn't know whether the man had any prejudices against snakes, or especially against parselmouths; but she did know that if he reacted poorly, even if it was simply due to his emotionally sensitive state, then it would seriously hurt Harry's feelings.

"A snake?" Sirius asked his godson. His voice and face were too weak to properly betray emotion, but it was clear from the way Harry tensed up that he was worried that his new Uncle wouldn't approve.

"He's a kingsnake." Harry answered tentatively, "He's got red and gold and black bands on him. The Slytherins hate him because they say he's the wrong colours. He isn't venomous either."

"You didn't let him eat the rat did you?" Sirius asked with sudden seriousness, earning a horrified look from Harry before he grinned and finished, "Wouldn't want him to get sick!"

Harry laughed and released a breath he'd been holding on instinct. He had interpreted Padfoot's question in entirely the wrong way, thirty minutes with the man had caused him to forget that he was dealing with a Marauder. Unfortunately, they only got to spend a few more minutes together before Harry and Petunia had to leave. Sirius was simply too easily fatigued to spend a lot of time active and conversing, and he was out cold before the aunt and nephew pair had left the room without learning about the most unusual aspects of his godson's familiar.

o0-0oo0-0oo0-0oo0-0o

"What play did we end up getting tickets to?" Petunia asked Emma while the children were busy comparing their formal wear with each other. The magically raised among them were the most interested, while her own two were clearly uncomfortable. Though she noticed that both her boys were at least able to appreciate how pretty their female friends were when they dressed up.

"A Christmas Carol," Emma answered, "the tickets were a little cheaper because it's after Christmas now. I asked the twins if they had heard of Dickens and neither of them had, so I assumed it would be new for everyone not raised in our world."

"That sounds lovely, I've never seen it performed as a live play either." Petunia answered excitedly.

"The Patils asked to join us as well." Emma stated, "I wonder how our shows will compare with magical plays? They don't have television or radio dramas, so I would imagine their theater is of rather high quality to compensate for it being their only performing art."

The group only needed to wait a few more minutes for the elder Patils to join them, entering the back of the Leaky Cauldron from the apparition point. The appearance of the two people stole Emma and Petunia's breath, Sanjay and Lavanya Patil were dressed in traditional formal Indian garb. Lavanya's dress consisted of several long, colourful lengths of fabric draped together that was strikingly beautiful on her darker skin; and Sanjay's outfit made him look like a sultan or something, minus a turban or other headwear. Both of the other mothers were instantly jealous of the pair. Neither could hope to compare to the casual grace and beauty that the Indian woman, and both of their husbands suddenly looked less spiffy in their suits and ties next to Sanjay's expensive looking clothes.

"Hello," Sanjay Patil called out as they approached, "thank you for inviting us to join you for this evening. Lavanya and I have missed our daughters terribly this week, I hope they haven't been to much to handle?"

"Oh it was no trouble at all, and the girls have been lovely." Emma Granger embraced Lavanya affectionately as her husband shook Sanjay's hand. In a lower voice to keep the children from hearing her she continued, "Parvati went on a bit of a shopping spree and bought a lot of clothes. I made sure there was nothing inappropriate, but our culture's standards could be different. You might want to check the things she got over just to be sure you approve."

"Thank you for letting us know, Emma." The other woman responded, her accent mostly camouflaged by time, as she glanced at the dresses her daughters were wearing. They stopped a little above the ankle, were held up by thin shoulder straps, and appeared to be silk. They were matching except that Parvati's was brilliant red and Padma's was a deep blue.

"I will go through them tonight when we get home, though I doubt it will be a problem. If it is muggle clothes then we," she nodded to her husband, "shall try to be lenient. When in casual company we try to be more relaxed, we left India to get away from overly stuffy traditions. Not that Magical Britain is much better."

Emma nodded understanding as she also remembered that the twins were going home tonight so they could have one night with their parents before returning to Hogwarts. She had forgotten to make sure they packed everything since she was so busy making sure that they had sufficient transportation to the theatre and restaurant afterwards… No, there were trunks in their car, so Daniel or Hermione must have reminded them.

She really needed a break after this week. Juggling work and entertaining with her husband was proving exhausting right on the heels of the Christmas season.

"This is way bigger than your normal car." Padma commented when Hermione's parents led the group to an extra long black automobile that looked like it would have enough rows of seats for all of them.

"It's a limousine," Daniel Granger explained, "the seats are arranged around the perimeter in the back so that we can all face and chat with each other; and we are paying a driver to take us to the theatre and pick us up after."

Harry and Dudley were fidgety throughout the play, it didn't help that they both knew the story already, but the magically raised children (plus Hermione) were quiet and attentive to the production. Petunia couldn't help but notice that her own husband was almost as uncomfortable as the boys, which just made her chuckle softly, and all too soon the event was over and they were heading to a nice restaurant that Emma had gotten them reservations for.

I really need to find a way to thank Emma for arranging all of this, Petunia thought as they were seated, this place is five-star. I saw it on the telly a few months ago.

It had not been more apparent than tonight, when the Patils and Grangers didn't bat an eye at the prices (or lack thereof in some cases) on the menu, that the people she was beginning to regularly interact with were from a completely different world than her own. She was glad that Ronald was still terrible with non magical money, the boy had a strange sore spot when it came to his perception of his own family's lack of overt wealth (they could only be so bad off if they could support seven children, or so Petunia thought); yet he didn't seem to grasp that non magical things had worth, at least not in a truly meaningful way. But, she supposed, that probably was a result of magic replacing and trivializing many of the things that non magicals had to pay or work for. The dinner that she and Andromeda enjoyed at the Weasley's home had been delightful; and certainly not indicative of her concept of poverty, considering that they hadn't been given time to prepare something special. It had actually appeared that they ate that way regularly, an idea that was reinforced by Ronald's appetite and eating habits which… generally left something to be desired. Petunia absently wondered if perhaps his parents were letting him stay with them even through the last night before the train back to Hogwarts so they wouldn't have to feed the boy.

"I was rather impressed actually." Sanjay explained to the other adults over appetizers while the waiter was away, "Magical theatre obviously has more impressive… effects you would say? But the use of light and sound in that performance was much more engaging than I have seen from any of our kind of play. There was more nuance and meaning than magical stories tend to have as well, and the control your technology gives you over light enhances that."

"I suppose that makes sense." Petunia said as she nodded, "My, admittedly limited, experience has been that magical people tend to take most things at face value, which I've always found odd since with magic it is easier to make one thing seem like another." Seeing her conversation partners' pensive expressions she was quick to add, "Please don't take that the wrong way, I didn't mean anything by it."

"Oh, I think nothing of it ma'am." Mr. Patil replied, "I had to deal with the culture shock of moving here from India. When my daughters wrote me to ask if they could spend a week with you I resolved to consider the muggle world to be another country separate from Britain or India, complete with its own unique insights."

At the other end of the table the children were having a separate conversation that was currently centered around Harry's visit to St. Mungos.

"He got tired really easy, and it seemed like he's having problems with his memory." Harry explained to the others, "He didn't remember that Pettigrew showed up last week, and when I brought it up I accidentally shocked him. He thought I was safe because Hagrid had taken me to Dumbledore, so he freaked out when he learned that Pettigrew had come back."

"I hope he gets better soon." Neville offered, "But honestly I'm surprised that he was able to talk to you only a week after getting out of Azkaban. That place is horrid."

"What was St. Mungos like?" Hermione asked in a bid to change the subject from the darker turn it was taking.

"Uh, it was a little dated looking." Harry answered, "But it was nice, pretty easy to find your way around honestly."

"What do you mean 'dated'?" Neville asked.

"It was just dreary I guess." Harry answered, "Non magical hospitals have lots of white, and it's supposed to be so they can tell when things need cleaning but it also is just… brighter. The walls in St. Mungos were dark, and the light wasn't very strong except in the room with the hearths for the floo. I think light can be really good for healing. They even said that if Sirius keeps improving like he is that they'll look at moving him somewhere he can go outside in the next month. The only reason it might be that fast is that he was secretly an animagus and his animal form wasn't as affected by the dementors."

"Really?" Hermoine inquired, "That's wonderful Harry! When I read a little about the effects of dementors on people I was worried that he would spend a long time in the hospital and we would have to visit him there all the time."

"We? For real?" Harry asked, incredulous that his friend would actually have been willing to go with him more than once or twice.

"Yes we." She replied with a lighthearted glare.

Neither friend saw the contemplative look on Neville's face at their exchange.

o0-0oo0-0oo0-0oo0-0o

"Mister Potter," The nearer healer said, "it is about time to wrap up this meeting. Mister Black needs his rest. If everything goes well, though, he'll be out of here by the time you come home for Easter break."

Harry nodded to the healer and gave the tired man another hug, "I'll write you soon Uncle Padfoot."

"Harry," Sirius said, barely awake, "ask Moony… mirrors… should be… Marauder's vault."

He fell asleep without articulating his intent well enough for Harry to make heads or tails of it, but Remus was standing close enough to hear, "I understood that Harry. I'll take care of it this afternoon while you all are getting ready for the play tonight. If I'm right, then Sirius has a late Christmas present for you."

"Are you positive you don't want to come with us Remus?" Petunia stage-whispered, "I'm sure there is room."

"No, that's alright." He answered hastily, "Theatre isn't really my thing."

"See you soon Uncle Padfoot." Harry said to his sleeping godfather before standing up, "Welcome home."