A/N: Hello all! Thank you to everyone who is reading this - I would love some feedback on how you are liking it so far. I'm planning on taking this through the end of Deathly Hallows, so it's going to be a long ride. Will be canon compliant through the end of GoF

This chapter contains Sirius's POV at the end. Enjoy!


December 21st, 1976

I stepped out onto the hardwood floor in our living room. I looked around at the comfy couches, coffee table littered with kitting needles, magically knitting what looked like a pair of socks, and old newspapers, and the bookshelves overflowing with pictures of the family – not books. It was a room that showed how lived in and cozy our house is; we've spent countless nights on those couches playing games of wizard chess, arguing over Quidditch, and enjoying cups of tea as a family. I pulled my trunk out of the fireplace and walked it to the bottom of the steps. I walked back through the living room to the kitchen, where Mom and Dad were both standing around the center island. Mom was waving her wand to get vegetables cut for dinner, and Dad was pulling out bottles of butterbeer for us from the cooling cabinet.

"Well he seems like a nice boy. Are you sure that's the same Sirius Black that's been driving you bonkers since you were eleven? Lewis is going to lose it when we tell him tonight," Mom joked, putting a bowl down in front of me. She plopped a ladle full of ginger and carrot soup into it, and pushed it towards me, motioning that I should begin to eat. That was Mom – always pushing food on us when we came home, worried we hadn't been eating enough. Mom is the head chef at The Red Newt, the five wand restaurant in Diagon Alley, and she always tried out recipes on us before adding them to the menu at the restaurant.

"He did seem like a right riot," Dad joined in, opening and passing me a butterbeer before cracking his own open. He took a big gulp and belched right after, which earned him another smack from Mom. He winked at me when she turned around to check the pot on the stove. "Wasn't sure you had it in you to date a guy with a personality."

"Well, I'm glad you liked him! He certainly had to grow on me, but everything has been going really well," I admitted. I took a huge bite of soup, and sighed at the perfect flavor pairing that my mom had created. "This is ace, Mum."

"You do seem much happier than when you were dating Jase. And much happier than you were last summer," Mom agreed, nodding her thanks and stealing a bite. She nodded to herself – it would be on the menu by next week. I choked slightly at his name, and Dad clapped me on the back. Mom shot me a suspicious look, so I decided I needed to change the topic. I was determined to tell them tonight, but wanted to wait for Lewis so that I didn't have to do it twice.

"Well, Sirius is definitely a part of it, but I've also been playing a ton of Quidditch!" We spent the rest of the evening discussing the team, and our odds of winning the Quidditch Cup. Before long, we were all laughing and sharing stories of things that had happened over the last three months, since we had last been together. Dad, who was a Healer at St. Mungo's in the spell damage ward, told us about a man who was admitted after his fiancée had hit him with a spell during an argument. He had been caught in bed with her best friend, and every time he tried to say her name while explaining his story it came out as "fucking slag." Dad told us he had to excuse himself for a moment to control himself before coming back in and feeding him a calming potion. He had Mom and I holding our sides with stitches from laughing so hard, when we heard the familiar pop of apparition from outside in the field behind our house.

"Lewis promised us he'd pop home for a bit to say hello. He's been staying at his flat in London; we haven't seen him in weeks," Mom said, putting the kettle on to make tea. Dad summoned four mugs of tea for her, and she smiled at him affectionately. The back door slammed open, and Lewis came in with a stack of files under his chin and his leather rucksack thrown over one shoulder.

" 'Ello all!" He said, slamming his papers down on the counter next to the door; his curly chestnut hair was coiffed perfectly, and his hazel eyes, though tired, were bright and excited. I jumped out of my seat and rushed over, pulling him into a tight hug. Through his robes, I could feel his back muscles and his strong shoulders.

"How are you possibly in the best shape of your life, with all of the hours you're putting in at work?" I teased, taking a good look at him. He definitely had filled out and gotten more defined since I last saw him.

"Oh little sister, it's easy to get in shape when you're carrying around hundreds of files everywhere you go," he joked, slapping the files in emphasis. He kissed Mom on the cheek and pulled Dad into a quick hug. Mom pushed a plate in front of him, loaded with steak and potatoes, before placing a cup of tea next to it. When he sat down, she kissed the top of his head motherly, and smoothed back his curls. He smacked her hands out of her hair, "Not the hair, Ma. Thanks for supper, I'm starving,"

"How's the case, Lew? Make any progress since we last spoke?" Dad asked, taking a sip of his own tea. When Mom turned her back to clean up, he tipped some liquor from a flask that he had pulled out of his robes. He took another sip and sighed in satisfaction; I laughed quietly, but Lewis pushed his own mug over silently, asking for a splash of whiskey into his own cup.

"I saw that, honey." Mom admonished, chuckling. She pushed her own cup over towards Dad, and he filled hers as well. They all looked at me, and Dad shrugged before finishing off the flask in my cup. Once we were all properly drinking, and Lewis had shoveled impressive amounts of food into his mouth, he spoke again.

"Nothing. Crouch is pushing us to put people away without trials. He doesn't care who is innocent and who is guilty, as long as we get the people he believes are Death Eaters behind bars. Every move I make towards a fair trial, he blocks. At this rate, the guy may go away without a trial at all," Lewis shook his head, looking dejected. I must have looked confused, because he explained more.

"I'm representing an old classmate of mine. Slytherin. Definitely was in to some shady business even back in Hogwarts – they're saying that he tortured and killed a family of muggles over in Yorkshire. I'm not saying he isn't guilty – he probably is – but he deserves a fair trial, either way. If we start bending the rules, and locking people away without their chance to defend themselves, we're one step away from a dictatorship. Crouch wants that power, and he's putting some laws into effect that will have catastrophic effects down the road."

"But, how can he put people away without a trial. Aren't there laws that protect us?" I asked, sure we had learned about this in History of Magic.

"There are, but you have to understand how bad things are at the Ministry right now. They're saying that people – high officials – are imperiused, so things that usually wouldn't happen are being ignored. Barty Crouch, I think, just sees this as an opportunity to pad his resume. He hates Death Eaters, and to him, anyone even under suspicion is guilty – full stop. The more people he puts away, the better he sees himself, the more success he thinks he's had." Lewis explained, sighing. He had finished his plate, and Mom had refilled it while he was talking. He looked down for a minute, contemplating if he wanted seconds, and decided he did.

"Barty Crouch has been an acquaintance of mine for many years. He's a good guy, a moral guy. I'm sure he just wants to put anyone involved with You-Know-Who away," Dad said, scratching his chin. "He may be going about it in a vigilante way, but I'm sure he'll cool down."

"I guess so. Things have been getting a little better since Minchum took over from Jenkins as Minister for Magic last year. More dementors at Azkaban, more attention to the war. They're saying Minister Jenkins was imperiused and that's why things have gotten so bad," Lewis nodded at my dad, agreeing with him. "We just all have to do our part now. We're seeing a hundred more cases a day of arrests being made. The Aurors are really working hard, and making some headway it seems."

"We need to make sure our young adults, getting ready to graduate Hogwarts, are ready to do some good. Addie's new boyfriend, Sirius Black, seems to have broken from his family. We need more people like him, good eggs from bad families, ready to step into the world and break from their family's prejudices. Show people that it's okay to be better than how you were raised," Mom interjected shrewdly. She took a dainty sip of her tea, and winked at me. I knew it wasn't going to be long before she brought it up in front of Lewis.

"Sirius Black is your new boyfriend?" Lewis sighed, summoning a glass and pouring whiskey straight into it. "Merlin, I'm going to have to kill a Black." My parents started laughing, knowing that he would react this way. Lewis was the most protective of me out of everyone in the family – he was the stereotypical older brother. It was a good thing for all of the boys at Hogwarts that we never overlapped.

"No, you don't, Lewis. But…you may need to kill someone else," The perfect moment had presented itself. My family was all here together, talking about boyfriends. I needed to do it while I had a little buzz going; I needed to do it impulsively so that I don't have the chance to talk myself out of it.

"What do you mean?" Dad asked, getting serious immediately. He knew that I wouldn't say that lightly, so I must be serious. His eyes narrowed, looking odd next to his laugh lines; his usually kind face was not used to having to be severe.

"The reason that Jase and I broke up…" I said, trailing off. Tears welled up in my eyes, but I knew that I had the strength to do this; I had done it before. I was strong – Sirius had given me the strength to tell James, but I had told the girls on my own. I could do it again. Plus – it suddenly dawned on me – Lewis can file charges, get him in front of a court for sentencing. That realization pushed me to say what I needed to say, regardless of how silly I felt for not thinking of it before. "He forced me to have sex with him."

"He forced you? Meaning…he raped you." Lewis clarified slowly, the color draining from his face. Mom grabbed Dad's arm, and sat down shakily. Dad's face flushed and he stood up.

"You're right. Lew, come on – we're going to kill him," Dad said calmly, grabbing his wand from the table and pulling on a robe. Lewis stood up immediately.

"Harold, sit down. Neither of you move," Mom ordered. Dad looked at her, but hesitated. When he didn't sit down, she snapped, "Now!"

"First of all, Addison – baby, thank you for telling us. That was very brave of you." Mom smiled warmly at me. "We all need to remember that we are all feeling emotions right now – anger, grief, confusion. Our feelings take a backseat to Addie's right now, and going and causing a scene at the Witmore's will only make her feel worse. So you both will sit down, and you will calm down." I have never seen this side of my mom before – calm, composed, and commanding in a crisis – for the first time, I could see why she had been sorted into Slytherin. She usually was so maternal and affectionate, but this side to her was incredibly comforting right now in its own way.

"I'm sorry, dear," Dad said, shame clear on his face.

"Sorry, Ma. Sorry, Addie," Lewis said as well, sitting down and throwing his arm over my shoulder. I realized that the touch didn't bother me. Telling them hadn't hurt me as much as I thought it would; Mom's calm reaction certainly helped calm the nerves I'd had before. But I knew that part of it was… I had healed, somewhat. The lingering pains were still there, but the overwhelming grief had dissipated slowly over the last three months.

"It's okay. Really. I was…broken for a long time. I told Sirius early in the term, and he has been there for me every step of the way. He, honestly, has been amazing and is the reason I'm strong enough to tell you today. He'd been pushing me to tell a professor so that we can press charges, but I knew they would owl you, and I wanted you to hear it from me," I played with the cup in front of me, which was empty. Dad, in an attempt to help, refilled it from the bottle of whiskey that Lewis had summoned. I smiled my thanks to him and took a long sip. The liquor burned on its way down my throat; the sting reminded me that it was over – that I had told them, and it hadn't been bad at all.

"I can help you press charges. After Christmas, I'll bring you in to work with me and we'll handle everything," Lewis offered, squeezing me tight.

"And I've been so silly, not even thinking that you work in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement – of course you would be able to help me," I admitted timidly. "Everything has been really messy in my head when I think about what happened."

"That's bound to happen, sweetheart. You went through a trauma. Your father and I are here too, for whatever you need," Mom patted my hand, and then stood up. "Now, I say we all go cuddle up in front of the fire with some hot cocoa. I have both of my babies home, and you're both hurting, so I'm going to love you both a little extra tonight." My heart filled with love for my mom, who knew somehow that I didn't want to linger on the conversation – that some quality family time was exactly what I needed. Mother's intuition, I guess. I cuddled up in between my brother and my dad, with my mom sitting in the armchair next to us, watching an old movie on the small television. The fire was warm, the cocoa was sweet, and my heart was full of love and joy.


December 26th, 1976

"Okay, Sirius. There's no need to be worried – you've already got my mom and dad on your side. They haven't stopped talking about how lovely you are, and honestly it's getting on my damn nerve so if you could be a little less wonderful, that'd be great." Sirius had just apparated to Chateau, and I had met him outside so I could brief him before going inside.

"So you want me to be bad boy Sirius?" Sirius asked seductively, pushing me into the side of the barn we were hiding behind, and kissing me deeply. "I can definitely do that, especially if you want me to take off some of these clothes. I'm sure eventually someone will come looking for us. They won't like me so much then."

"Hands off! Not that bad," I laughed, smacking his hands off my arse. Sirius pouted jokingly, but the nerves quickly came back and he bit his lip.

"Okay so, my brother, Lewis, is here. He's your biggest threat, but he's pretty distracted by work and Jase, so you might get off easy." I started. I had owled to tell Sirius all about telling my family, and he had sent back a congratulatory note – along with a box of Honeydukes finest. "My Uncle Leo will make a joke about your mother, but as long as you play along he'll love you. My Aunt Thea is a sweetheart, she'll undoubtedly send you home with more pies than you can carry. Then there are my cousins Lydia and Ralph. Ralph is already drunk, as usual, and Lydia will probably try to hit on you – but you should remember the both of them from Hogwarts." My cousins were only two years older than us; while my parents had gotten pregnant with Lewis right out of school, my aunt and uncle had waited a while before having the twins. Lydia had been sorted into Ravenclaw, while Ralph had been a Gryffidnor.

Sirius grabbed my hand, nodding in determination. He pulled me towards the back door, his steps confident. Staring straight ahead, he asked, "Is now a bad time to tell you that I shagged your cousin?"

My mouth dropped open in shock. I thought I had known most of Sirius's past conquests, but never in my life did I even think to ask about Lydia. And I understood why Sirius would have gone for her – she's older, blonde, perky, with brilliant blue eyes and perfect tits. She looks part veela, whereas I look part troll. "Of course you did. I'll fucking kill the slut if she so much as looks at you," I ground out between my teeth. Sirius chuckled, and pulled me in for a quick kiss.

"I absolutely love jealousy on you. So hot," He said against my lips. The front door opened to Sirius and I in an embrace, and Lydia was standing in the doorway.

"Well, well. The rumors are true; Sirius Black – tamed by my baby cousin. Long time no see, Black," Lydia purred, leaning against the doorframe in a provocative manner. She was wearing the tightest, shortest, black dress I had ever seen, accentuating all of her curves perfectly. Obviously, my aunt had told her Sirius was coming. She looked him up and down, an approving look in her eyes. "The years have been good to you."

"Jones. Pleasure to see you too," Sirius said politely, pointedly looking only at her face. "Hear I'm meeting the whole clan."

"Well I figured you'd meet the family eventually, but I certainly didn't expect it to be on Addison's arm," she said snidely, looking me up and down. Lydia and I had always gotten along before – our family was so small that it would be silly if we didn't. But she was fiercely competitive, and wouldn't like that Sirius had chosen anyone – let alone her baby cousin.

"Give it a rest, Lyd. Don't make this a thing; let's just enjoy dinner, like we usually do," I begged. She narrowed her eyes, and made no effort to move so I made to push past her. As I did so, I grabbed her arm and whispered, "If you look at him like that again, I will gouge your eyeballs out right at the dinner table and feed them to you like meatballs. Don't test me. He is the line with us, and I will choose him. Don't cross it."

Sirius pushed his chest up against my back subtly as we walked through the door, and whispered into my ear, "Have I told you today how bloody sexy you are?" I laughed, as the whisper sent chills down my back. If only I'd taken him up on his offer by the barn, maybe I'd be less affected by him now. Aunt Thea jumped up and rushed over to pull Sirius into a hug.

"Well hello there! So nice to finally meet you, we've heard so much about you from Addiekins here," Aunt Thea said warmly, wrapping him in her chubby arms.

"Well, I assure you, I am definitely not as bad as…Addiekins has made me seem all of these years," Sirius joked, loving my embarrassing nickname, and embracing my aunt back – he seemed to melt into her motherly hold like a stick of butter. It struck me that before me, and possibly Mr. and Mrs. Potter, he had probably never been shown affection so casually. It broke my heart to think of Sirius as a child, yearning for his parent's love and being shown nothing but cruelty. When my aunt released him, I grabbed on to his hand, determined to make sure that he never went a day not knowing he is loved.

"Glad to meet you, son," Uncle Leo stuck out his giant hand, grasping Sirius's tightly and shaking. "I've had a couple of run-ins with your family – right nasty pieces of work they are. We've seized so many dark artifacts from them, they practically have funded my department."

"Right, you're the head of the Misuse of Muggle Artefacts Division. My mom has a particular hatred for muggles, and those that try to protect them. Doesn't surprise me that the bint makes trouble for you on purpose. I apologize on her behalf," Sirius and I walked further into the living room. Lewis and Ralph were sitting on the couch, both merry with drinks in their hands. Mom was in the kitchen, cooking dinner, while Dad was playing with the muggle radio that we kept in the house. "Then again, she likes to make trouble for everyone, so I wouldn't take it personally. Harold, can I help you with that? You need to jiggle the button."

Sirius wandered over to my father, and helped him get the radio working. Uncle Leo's eyebrows rose as he watched Sirius help Dad fix the radio – the damn thing always gave him trouble and he would spend at least an hour trying to get it work. Sirius went over and within seconds had it working, playing soft jazz music throughout the house. He was explaining to Dad what he did to fix it, and Dad was nodding enthusiastically.

"He really isn't like the rest of his family, huh?" Uncle Leo had walked over to me and addressed me quietly, so Sirius wouldn't hear.

"Not at all. He's one of a kind," I admitted, my gaze softening as I watched him interact with my dad. "He's a pretty incredible guy, I hope you lot all like him. He means…a lot to me."

"Well, I already like him better than the last one," Aunt Thea said, in a voice completely unlike her. Aunt Thea was the nicest of us all – never had a bad word to say about anyone, except perhaps her own children. And that was all motherly scolding.

"Cheers to that!" Uncle Leo said, raising his glass of Ogden's Best Firewhiskey in a toast. Lydia walked in behind us, finally. She grabbed the glass out of Uncle Leo's hands and downed it in one gulp. Uncle Leo rolled his eyes, used to Lydia's antics, and wandered off to find himself a new glass.

"Lydia! That was unladylike," Aunt Thea admonished. Lydia rolled her eyes at her mother, and walked past us. "Lydia!"

"Don't worry about it. Her and Sirius have a past, and I think she's upset with me," I told her quietly, knowing that she would understand.

"Well, she has a past with half of Britain, so she should get over herself," Aunt Thea said, surprising herself. "I'm sorry, that was quite rude of me." I laughed, happy to see even Aunt Thea knew what her daughter was like. After a moment, she joined me in laughter, hiccupping slightly. "I think maybe I've had slightly too much champagne."

"And I need a glass, so if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go grab one before that situation unfolds," I'd noticed Sirius and Lewis in the corner, talking quietly to each other, and started to make my way over to them. My whole body felt like it was hit with a bolt of electricity when Sirius and I locked eyes.


"Sirius, I'm Lewis. Addie's brother."

I stared at the hand that was extended towards me. Tanned, strong arms, and a stony expression met me when I looked to see who had approached me. Lewis – Addie's brother. Shit. I was about to get it. I realized I'd hesitated a minute too long, and stuck my hand out to shake his. Lewis shook for a moment, sizing me up. I did the same. I had not been expecting him to be as muscular and intimidating as he was; given his work, I had always pictured more of a Wormtail type than a Parker Davies type. His expression, however, softened and he said, "I want to thank you for taking care of Addie with everything going on. It means a lot to all of us that you were there for her when she needed someone."

Right, Addie had told the family the night we came home for break. Her brother seemed genuine, so I decided to do the same. "I'd do anything for her," I said sincerely, knowing in my heart that I would. My feelings for her had grown past anything that I'd expected. I'd thought, months ago, that I was in love with her, but I didn't know how much more that love could grow. I was speaking, before I realized it, "She is everything – she is the comfort of a well-worn leather jacket, the slow burn of good firewhiskey, the joy of flying on a brisk fall day, and warmth of a loving family – all wrapped up in one beautiful, complicated woman."

"You really love my sister, don't you?" Lewis asked in awe, snapping me out of my reverie. I nodded, decisively. I was embarrassed, realizing that I had just basically recited poetry about the guy's sister. But it seemed to prove something to him, as his face had broken out into a wide grin. I could see now how much he resembled his father – he had the beginnings of laugh lines around his own eyes, just like his father did. He had the face of a man who was loved, who had known joy, who knew passion and success, and love and grief, and everything in between. He had the face of a man who was…whole. He had the face of the kind of man Addison Jones made me want to be – the kind of man I knew she was going to help me become. I saw her walking towards us from the entryway, having just excused herself from a conversation with her aunt. Her brown eyes were sparkling with determination, her shiny brown hair flowing behind her. When our eyes met, her lips broke into a soft smile, her plush lips glossy and enticing. She was without a doubt, the most beautiful woman that had ever graced this earth. And not only was she beautiful, she was intelligent, with a strength of character that continued to amaze me; she was fiercely loyal, willing to protect the ones she loves at any cost. She had overcome a trauma, and come out the other side a stronger, more compassionate woman. She had a family that had accepted me with open arms; that radiated warmth and love and joy. I knew in this moment, that I was watching the woman I was going to marry walk towards me. And I would spend the rest of my life aspiring to be the man that she deserves, the man that she makes me want to be for the first time in my life.