Just tidying up some chapters everyone, thank you to Alix33 for pointing out my errors! Peace out ~ Kiad

In the Light of The Dark

How to Raise Wolves

Chapter Five – Rebirth

This was going badly, he thought with a grimace. They'd arrived back at the doghouse, only for Sirius to stalk into the bedroom, change into a pair of jeans and his leather jacket, and head straight back out of the door. Remus knew that his mate was going to need time to process what had happened that morning, and the beginnings of guilt started to knot in his stomach. He had always known that Sirius was emotionally stunted; they had his crazy parents to thank for that, but; he had been painfully reminded that morning as to just how oblivious Sirius was when it came to something as complicated as love.

It had been over an hour since they'd got back to Oxford, and there was still no sign of his mate returning to their flat. He knew that he could find him if he so wished, and knowing how Sirius tended to brood over these things it was tempting. However, he also knew what a bad idea it would be for him to be the one to go looking for him.

The Longbottoms had taken Harry and Neville to the Arboretum in the hopes of packing some of their things up, ready for their imminent move into one of the Black properties. Augusta was adamant that there was no way in Hel or Avalon that they weren't going to be accepted back into the family, and so packing up the manor and locking it down seemed like the most logical choice; going forwards.

How he wished they were here right now. Alice would know exactly what to do. She was much like Lily in that respect, always having the right words for the right situation. Merlin, how he missed both her and James. Even after they'd left school, there hadn't been a week he'd not had a visit from at least one of them; Lily always popping round with her latest arithmancy work, Harry attached to her hip and take out from their favourite café in the Hollow. Or James dropping in with a bottle of Firewhiskey and insisting on watching a film; something he had mistakenly introduced all of the marauders to one summer.

He got up from the settee; where he'd been attempting to focus on a book to counteract the silence in the flat, and put on his own jacket, resolving to go and find his mate.

O_o_O_o_O

The wind was bitter up here he noted, pulling his jacket tighter around his shoulders and silently and wandlessly casting a warming charm to keep the worst of the cold at bay. He could see why Remus liked the view so much though. Even with the haze of rain and the disturbed water from the wind, it was peaceful. Thinking of Remus was making his head spin. He couldn't believe that not only had he failed to recognise what was between them, Remus had felt that he couldn't talk to him about it, instead; dropping it out bluntly in front of his grandfather.

His anger at his friend was what had driven him out of their flat earlier. He knew that if they started an argument, he would likely say something he wouldn't be able to take back. Betrayal was one of the worst things someone could do to their friends, and two out of three of the marauders had now betrayed him in some way.

Peter had betrayed them all. Looking back, he could admit that it was their own fault. Peter and Remus had often been pushed to the edge, orbiting him and James and their brotherhood that had run so much deeper than friendship. Peter had always understood though. Peter had understood everything except perhaps, how much they all loved him. That his actions had led to the death of James and Lily had made his act of betrayal all the more painful.

Remus on the other hand. He'd betrayed the trust Sirius had always had in their friendship. The trust that had been there right from the beginning. He'd played games with Sirius's emotions, even though he'd known how badly he'd always struggled with them. He was oblivious and that was why he'd always relied on Moony to keep his head straight. To help him understand what he was feeling, and Remus had used that trust to trample all over him. He felt sick.

"Sirius." His wolf's voice was quiet. Apologetic. It was the last thing he wanted to hear right now.

"I don't want you here." He whispered; rubbing his forehead against the headache that had started to flare at his temples. "I'll come back to the flat in a bit."

"I'm sorry." Remus replied, and he heard his friend take another step towards him. He kept his eyes locked onto the view from the bridge, deliberately not meeting the werewolf's eyes. "What I did was wrong Sirius. I was hurting, and I took it out on you."

"You used me." The words sounded harsher out loud than in his head. He didn't care. He still felt sick. "You have always known that I struggle with these things. You were supposed to be the one to help me understand Remus. But instead you've played your little game and now we're both hurting because of it. Please go back to the flat, I'll be back when I can look at you without wanting to hex your balls off." He heard Remus turn to go and waited for the retreating footsteps, thus startling slightly when Remus's warm hands draped an extra jacket over his shoulders. A jacket that smelled of dusty books, coffee, chocolate and leather. A jacket that smelt of his best friend. The wolf finally headed back towards the flat and he let out a breath he hadn't even noticed he was holding. He waited until he knew Remus was out of sight before wrapping the jacket around him, finally feeling his eyes sting.

O_o_O_o_O

Peter had thought that they would have come after him (well Sirius at least). That he was a dead man, the instant Lily and James were killed. The fact that he was not only still alive, but eating table scraps; secreted to him by a young red-headed boy, was a huge bonus. He'd barely escaped the Hollow before Black got to the scene, and he'd secreted himself within Hagrid's pocket, un-noticed by both the half-giant and Sirius, who; after a clever compulsion from him, handed over the bairn to Hagrid. After that it was a matter of hitching a ride to Hogwarts, prostrating himself before Dumbledore and agreeing to the Headmaster's plan of him hiding within the Weasley family until they could sort out the charges Sirius was most likely to bring against him.

He may have been the slowest of the marauders, but he was still clever enough to know when to listen to good advice. And Dumbledore did always give good advice. It was clear that the headmaster had a plan. What that plan was, Peter had no idea, but if it was one thing he had learnt, it was to always trust your instincts, and his instincts were currently all in favour of survival.

O_o_O_o_O

"Am I to take it things did not go well earlier?" Alice asked; dropping down on to the settee next to Remus and passing him one of the mugs she was carrying. He took a gulp of the tea before sighing and dropping his head into his free hand. He felt her start to rub his back in an attempt to soothe him and he honestly felt like crying. He was exhausted. They all were. Though the war had officially ended, it had been long and hard, and they seemed to have more difficult battles ahead of them. It felt endless, and he knew that they would have to find their way to go forwards together, or risk losing everything to Dumbledore. "What happened?"

"The meeting was going fine until I dropped the bomb of our relationship onto both him and Sirius."

"He didn't take it well?" She asked, raising an eyebrow. They'd had concerns over the stigma attached to werewolves but she had hoped that Arcturus would have been a little more understanding when he found out that not only were they mates, but that Sirius was the Alpha.

"Old man Black took it fine." Remus replied. "Sirius on the other hand." The penny dropped for Alice and the guilt she knew Remus was feeling right now started to worm its way into her stomach. How could either of them been so stupid? Sirius had never hidden the fact that he was completely oblivious. She didn't even think he knew how oblivious he was. He must be feeling like shit right now, thinking that Remus had betrayed his trust. In a way he had, but she had been the one to plant the seed in his brain at a time when he was emotionally vulnerable, and now she was responsible for what had happened between the pair.

"I'm sorry Remus." She whispered. He shook his head and sighed.

"This isn't your fault. I have always known how bad he is with emotions, and I took advantage of that in one of the worst situations possible. This is my fault Alice. And I have no idea how to fix it."

"You were hurting Remus. We all were, but I planted that seed in your brain. I am the one who has courted discord between you both." Remus shook his head, gently placing his hand over her mouth.

"Please stop." He whispered, his voice cracking. Her eyes softened and she took his mug from his hand, placing both of them on the floor before wrapping him in a hug. She smiled when his arms snaked around her and it wasn't until a throat was cleared behind them that they drew apart. Remus shot to his feet when he saw Sirius and Alice rose slowly; taking hold of his hand in silent support.

"I'm sorry." Sirius said, shifting his weight from one foot to the other, uncomfortably. "I shouldn't have pushed you away earlier." Remus shook his head again and Alice felt him grip her hand and she worked to keep the wince from her face. Merlin he was strong.

"I'm so sorry Pads. I wasn't thinking. You were right to be angry with me. You still have a right to be angry with me. I betrayed your trust in the worst possible way." Sirius glanced at their joined hands and seemed to cave in on himself. He had never looked so alone and Remus felt like a right prick. If he was Sirius, he'd be hexing his balls off right about now. He looked to Alice and gave her an almost unperceivable nod. She smiled and slipped her hand out of his, reaching out instead for Sirius, and ushering him into the kitchen, no doubt to feed him coffee and help him talk through what had happened.

Remus dropped back onto the sofa with a sigh and rubbed his eyes from where they'd started to sting. This exhaustion wasn't healthy, and he could feel Moony battering against his mental shields. The moon that month had come and gone, and all he remembered was howling out for the members of his pack who were no longer there. That is what no one understood about him. Moony had seen all of them as pack, and to have gone from five members down to just the two of them, it was hurting the werewolf more than the exhaustion, more than the grief and more than his relationship problems with Sirius. He'd lost over half his pack in the space of 24 hours and the pain that had come with that loss, had been crippling him ever since. Or more accurately, Moony had been crippling him. Was it any wonder he couldn't think straight?

"You're being too hard on both yourself and Sirius." Remus couldn't help but groan at the sound of Augusta's voice against his headache and the chuckle she responded with was the last thing he'd expected to hear. She took a place next to him on the settee and covered one of his clenched fists with her hand. "It will work itself out in the end. These things always do. Until then, try to give yourselves a little breathing space." He yawned. He couldn't help it, and certainly hadn't meant to, but it happened and Augusta gave him another chuckle. "You will both be having an early night tonight."

"Why have these last few weeks been so exhausting?" He mumbled, rubbing his eyes. He knew the answer to that, of course he did but, weren't things supposed to be getting better? He felt a hand on his shoulder and looked up to see Frank behind him, a grim expression.

"Go and get some sleep in the bedroom Remus. We'll take the settees tonight." He wanted to argue, but he didn't have the energy. Merlin's balls he was so tired. He nodded and allowed the man to pull him off the sofa and steer him towards the bedroom door. "We'll deal with everything here, just go and get some rest." He nodded again dumbly and closed the door behind him; falling onto the bed, fully dressed and on top of the sheets. He was asleep within seconds.

O_o_O_o_O

"Talk to me Sirius." Alice whispered, clutching at her friend's hand. They'd been sat in silence for over ten minutes now and apart from a nod to thank her for the mug of tea he was currently nursing, Sirius had yet to even acknowledge her presence.

"Did you put him up to it?" He asked quietly after another long silence, punctuated only by him taking a gulp of tea.

"I certainly didn't help matters." She replied diplomatically. "We all know how badly you struggle with these things, I'm just sorry we all forgot ourselves, and that between us we have hurt you this badly; it wasn't our intention, despite what you must be feeling right now."

"I asked him Alice." He whispered. "I asked him if what I'd said on the bridge hurt him. I asked again and again and he just didn't want to talk about it. To drop it out in front of Arc like that…"

"It hurts." She finished for him, when he seemed unable to. He nodded; resting his elbows on the table and dropping his head into his hands. "Oh sweetheart." She sighed, moving her chair to sit next to him and pulling him towards her. "We're all exhausted, angry, grieving, scared and stuck inside this flat together until your grandfather says otherwise. It's a dangerous mix Siri and we're going to bounce off of one another. The important thing is that we understand that we aren't alone. We have each other. We have the boys. We're safe for now and once Lily's sister has been dealt with, and we have moved into our new home, all of this will sort itself out." He sighed against her shoulder and she smiled, rubbing his back softly, knowing from Lily that it was the easiest way to calm him down.

"I love him." He said finally and she couldn't help but chuckle.

"Of course you do sweetheart." She replied. "You have loved him for years; you just haven't had the capacity to deal with your feelings until now."

"I'm not sure I'm dealing with them very well." he said with a grimace, his head still leant against her shoulder and his hands now wrapped around his stomach.

"That's because you haven't had enough practice at it. We're all here to help you sort through what you are feeling, you just have to try and trust us. I know that after today that's going to be hard to do, but we will try and earn that trust back. Believe me when I say that not one of us feels as bad about this as Remus does."

"Grief isn't good for a werewolf." Sirius mumbled tiredly, feeling the pressure of the morning start to manifest in exhaustion.

"Then go to him. Tell him how you feel. Let him apologise and then spend the rest of the day sleeping, because tomorrow things are going to start changing, and the next week is going to be crucial to our plan. Go to him Sirius. Help him start to fix what we've broke."

O_o_O_o_O

"Do you think they're going to be alright?" Frank asked worriedly, glancing at the bedroom door. It had been over six hours since he and his wife had ushered their respective marauders into the bedroom and it was time, they started getting ready for bed themselves. The boys were sleeping quietly, having been fed, bathed (or as well as they could be, when all they seemed to want to do was soak Alice and Frank in their bubbly bath water) and put down for the night, Augusta had retired to her own room an hour earlier and the young couple were taking the time to enjoy the peace and quiet of the flat.

"I think they'll be better when we're not all cooped up in here together." Alice replied. "I just hope that whichever property old man Black gives us is bigger than a two-bed flat." Frank snorted in amusement at that. He knew that the Prewetts, despite being an old family, weren't particularly wealthy so his wife would have little experience as to what true wealth looked like. The Arboretum, although a half decent size, was considered small for a pureblood manor, and was one of only five properties in the Longbottom portfolio. It was rumoured that the Blacks had over twenty residences, including Sirius's childhood home in London; Grimmauld Place, Black Manor in the heart of Derbyshire, The Chateau Noir in France (home to Cassiopeia Black) plus several other manors and country estates dotted not just in England but around Europe. It was an impressive spread and one which he was positive held a manor of sufficient size to house them all.

"I am positive that we will be made comfortable. Arcturus will want to keep us sweet."

"How are you feeling on the whole situation now that Sirius has had his meeting?" She asked. They hadn't talked to either of the marauders about the meeting directly, focussing instead on their burgeoning relationship and attempting to stop it from falling apart, but they had assumed that seeing it was the only thing on either of their minds, that the rest of the meeting had gone well.

"Better than I was. I'm still not entirely happy with the situation but you were right, it is the best way to keep us all safe, and I trust Sirius. Am I still hesitant? Yes. Is that hesitation warranted? Certainly. However, Sirius laid it all out for us the other day, and I am feeling better about the fact that we have a plan, not just a knee-jerk move into deatheater territory."

"I understand your reluctance." Alice said quietly, getting up to start laying blankets out on the settees. "But Sirius is doing this not just to keep us safe, but to keep Harry safe. And I trust him with the welfare of Lily's son. I trust him with the life of Lily's son, and if I trust him with that, then how can I do anything but trust him with our own lives?"

O_o_O_o_O

"We should get up." Remus whispered, turning over to face his mate.

They had talked well into the night, apologising and whispering words of love. Things had developed (obviously) but, this story isn't about Sirius Black's sex life with his werewolf (we'll leave that to your imaginations), instead let us refocus back to our original scripture.

So, glossing over the other issue; the meeting with Arcturus had gone ostensibly well. Sirius was expecting a visit from Hugin (One of his grandfather's ravens, because the Blacks never were conventional), and he supposed a trip to Privet Drive was in order.

"We need to go into town." He responded, rather than actually moving. "The Dursleys are going to need somewhere to live and Harry needs blood adopting as soon as possible."

"How are we going to play this?"

"Harry will need blood adopting at almost the exact time of a fire/explosion. If we time it right no one should be any the wiser and we can wait to submit adoption papers until the craziness has died down. I'll get in touch with Marius Black and see if we can adopt his 'grandson who has started to show signs of magic'."

"He was the squib wasn't he?"

"Old Pollux's brother." Sirius confirmed with a nod of his head. "Was sequestered away to France and given a rather large pay-out. Should be easy to falsify documents stating he has a grandson who has started to show signs of magic. Of course, the new heir to the house of Black would be honoured to adopt the boy and help raise him into the family. Marius could even be offered a place back here to continue the ruse."

"Will Arcturus go for that?"

"I'm not sure he will have much of a choice. He will want to hide the fact that we have Harry just as much as I do. I can't see him objecting."

O_o_O_o_O

Sirius, as it turns out was bang on the money (one of Lily Potter's favourite sayings, and one which had been fully adopted by Sirius the first time he'd heard it), Lord Arcturus Black was in a quandary over how to hide the fact that he would soon be harbouring The-Boy-Who-Lived, the destroyer of the Dark Lord. It was fortunate then, that he had not hesitated in sending Hugin off to Oxford, a letter firmly in his clutches. When the reply had come, he couldn't help but feel proud of the fact that his grandson seemed to have a solid plan in place for dealing with Harry's adoption. Harry James Potter would officially become Harrison Cadmus Black, son to Sirius Black through adoption from the line of Marius Black. Neville would, in time become Neville Arcturus Black and Dumbledore would be none the wiser on what they'd actually managed to pull off. Number 4 Privet Drive would burn that night, The Dursleys would be secreted away to a house, not far from Sirius's Oxford flat and Harry James Potter would have, for all intents and purposes, burned to death in a cupboard under the stairs.

It was all so very Slytherin.

It was all so very Black.

"I take it the boy's reply is good news?" Melania asked, from where she was jotting notes down in her small, black journal.

"The best my dear." He replied. "Plans are in motion and I intend to house the lot of them in Caddington within the week."

"The Orrery?" She asked, her eyebrows raising. The Orrery was so named for its unusually domed attic roof in it's one and only tower. From the outside of course; it appeared just as any square, hipped roof would; inside however, it was subject to a charm similar of that in the great hall of Hogwarts. It showed all of the positions of the stars, constellations and planets, and could be manipulated to show the night sky at different points in history. It was a true masterpiece in charmwork from Elladora Black; and upon her death had been home to Sirius Black, Elladora's favourite nephew and Arcturus's father.

"The boys will enjoy the Planetarium I think." He responded with a soft smile, obviously reminiscing from his own childhood.

"You just want to have an excuse to visit the place." She muttered fondly, and he didn't deny it. He'd loved his childhood home; the sprawling grounds (which included a sizable forest, a lake, several green houses and, due to his youngest brother's passion; a quidditch pitch), the sizable library, the Planetarium (obviously), and the attic, which he and his two brothers had made their own space for the times when they wanted to escape whichever visitors their parents were hosting.

"They should be more than comfortable there, and the elf team are sizable and friendly. It is one of the better properties in our British portfolio."

"Far enough away from London and Scotland to be well hidden, even from wizarding eyes." Melania muttered, summoning a large ledger from study bookshelf and opening it to show the details of the property.

"They'll be well hidden under wards anyway; however, I wanted the extra precaution of having them away from the magical masses."

"I still say you're just moving them in so you have an excuse." She replied teasingly. Warmth washed over him at his wife's affectionate playfulness and he knew that the next years were going to be just fine, as long as he had her.

O_o_O_o_O

"What are you doing here?" The horse-faced woman sneered from the doorway of Privet Drive. "I thought I had warned your lot not to bother us again…"

"You made your feelings quite clear at the wedding Mrs Dursley." Remus cut in coldly, before Sirius could answer. "However, we have come to inform you of a serious matter which has not yet been brought to your attention. May we come in?" They didn't want to have to enter the house by force, and unfortunately it seemed for a moment that they would have to do just that, but Petunia's resolve finally wavered and she stepped aside to admit them into her home.

The two men fought to keep their expressions neutral as they took in the décor and they each took a seat on the settee Lily's sister directed them to.

"Why are you here if it is such an important matter?" She sneered before either man could start and Remus winced as one of Sirius' eyebrows curved upwards.

"Mrs Dursley." He said, fighting hard to sound kinder than he had done at the door. "Three weeks ago, Lily and James were killed in an attack on their home. Your nephew survived and is now residing with us; however, we believe your family is in immediate danger."

"Lily's dead?" To her credit, Petunia looked horrified, but Remus knew that it would not last when they handed over the deeds to the newest edition in their property portfolio.

"I'm so very sorry Mrs Dursley." Sirius managed to get out, his voice steady, even though his tensed jaw displayed his irritation at the odious woman in front of them.

"And where was her good for nothing husband in all of this?" Petunia hissed, her eyes narrowing. "Where were you? You were meant to be such good friends with them so why weren't you there?" Remus winced, guilt twisting in his stomach, and a glance at his mate confirmed that Sirius was past pissed and heading swiftly for an explosion. This was going to be a fucking train wreck he thought, before his mind berated his use of language. Sirius's icy magic snapped him out of his internal commentary and the room's temperature dropped by at least five degrees.

"May I remind you that you abandoned Lily when she needed you the most." He hissed. "We are here as a courtesy, nothing more. We have a desire to keep you alive as Harry's last remaining blood relative. That may soon change if you continue with the hatred bile that spews out of your gaping hole." Petunia looked as though she had been slapped and Remus mentally applauded and berated his mate at the same time. "As such; we are offering you a house in Oxford, free of charge, all moving costs included and a scholarship for your son when he comes of school age. I suggest that you say nothing more and sign the paperwork my friend is going to give to you." Remus's hands shook in a mixture of rage and anticipation as he handed over the paperwork and a pen, knowing that a quill would be instantly snubbed.

"Before you sign, I need to tell you that it is a requirement that you move out of Privet Drive tomorrow. We have organised a top of the range, executive moving service and a hotel suite in London for your use for the rest of the week. All you will need is clothes and toiletries to last you until next Saturday."

"You cannot just expect us drop our lives in order to move to the other side of London!" Petunia almost screeched. "Vernon has work…"

"I'm sure something can be arranged for him in Oxford Mrs Dursley." Sirius said smoothly, his rage having been pushed back behind his occlumency shields. "May I remind you that we are offering this house as a courtesy, as I have officially bought the land this house sits on, and could quite rightly evict you out of here today with nowhere to go. The property I am offering you is a three story, four bed, three-bathroom townhouse in the heart of Oxford with a sizable back garden and is in walking distance to three good schools. I'd think very carefully about my offer before you throw it back in my face."

Petunia had gone very white, very quickly Remus mused. She looked as though she was about to refuse before flipping over the paperwork to find a picture of the house, they were offering her. It was easily worth three times the price of Privet Drive and came with a scholarship for her boy and a tentative offer of job security from Sirius. It was more than the bitch deserved, and it was more than either of them had wanted to give her, but they needed to keep her sweet. With a tentative pause she signed the paperwork which disappeared in a golden flash, causing her eyes to pop out of her head.

"I suggest you go and start to pack Mrs Dursley." Sirius said coldly. "The moving team will be here at noon tomorrow, past that, you will not be able to enter this property." Or remember where it is. Remus thought to himself. They were Fidellusing the whole lot until they blew the house and wards the next evening. Without a backwards glance they showed themselves out of the house, leaving Lily's sister to contemplate more than their generosity.

O_o_O_o_O

Sirius,

I am writing to formally invite you and your company to Black manor tomorrow night, in order to perform the blood-adoption ritual for young Harry. I am aware that you wish to blow the ward on Privet Drive at the same time so I now extend my invitation to stay the night in order to compete your goal.

Please let Nip know if any in your company have any special requirements for dinner, and please expect Hugin with a portkey for six o'clock tomorrow evening.

We look forward to your company and please pass on my regards to the Longbottoms ahead of our introductions.

Yours Sincerely

Lord Arcturus Cygnus Black

ToujoursPur

"Well if that isn't a thinly veiled order to be at the manor for dinner tomorrow then I don't know what is." Remus said brightly as he read over the letter. Hugin; the huge raven Arcturus used for family business, squawked accusingly as though offended on behalf of his master before taking off back out of the window. Sirius groaned and dropped his head on the kitchen table with a thump.

"This is a positive." Augusta said with a smirk. "I have no doubt that he will add some of his own blood to the ritual in order to make Harry's link to the family stronger. "I suggest you visit Gringotts this afternoon to put the Potter affairs in order. Dumbledore will know that the little one is not dead if the seat remains active."

"James appointed me as Steward and heir apparent." Sirius replied offhandedly, his head still on the table and so missing his varying looks of bewilderment at that statement. "He was adamant that one of my pups would claim the seat if the worst happened."

"Dear Merlin he was as blind as the pair of you." The Longbottom dowager said with a grimace.

"I think it's just men in general my lady." Alice replied with a quirk of her lips. "It is the only explanation."

"Perhaps you are correct my child."

"Are we just going to ignore the fact that James gave you heirship?" Frank said bewildered.

"It is practically unheard of outside of bloodlines."

"They were blood brothers." Remus replied quietly, knowing that the subject was too raw for Sirius to talk about.

"When did that happen?"

"The night I turned up on Charlus Potter's doorstep half dead." Sirius replied bluntly, his head lifting from the table and his eyes swimming with dark memories. "The night I ran away from home and vowed never to return to the Black family." The glare Frank received from Augusta was enough to end that line of discussion and instead turn the subject to the now impending dinner with the most powerful man in Wizarding Britain. At least things were moving in the right direction.

O_o_O_o_O

"I still think it was a mistake to leave him there." Frank hissed to his wife and Remus. They were crouched low in the shadows, dressed head to toe in black and with layers of charms crisscrossing their skin, hiding their presence.

"He has to be there for the ritual." Alice hissed for the fifth time in the space of thirty minutes. Harry's adoption was due to take place in less than ten minutes and they knew that the timing had to be perfect. In all honesty she reckoned that they had been given the easy job that evening. What was blowing a few wards and a house up compared to continuing with the absolute circus their after-dinner conversations had turned into?

All of them but Sirius had underestimated the deviousness of Arcturus Black it seemed. Either that; or Sirius was an amazing actor with the thickest set of mental shields she had ever seen. After portkeying into the public Floo room of Black manor, they had been introduced to Pollux Black, his wife Irma, their son; Cygnus and his wife and eventually; the Malfoys. Sirius seemed to have anticipated their company, as he dropped a kiss on each of the ladies' hands, shook the men's and introduced them as his company.

Yes, Alice thought, she would much rather be here, waiting to blow up a house rather than cosy up to the Malfoys. In all honesty she couldn't fault Narcissa for her flawless manners and her seeming desire to stay focused on safe topics (namely their sons). Cygnus had obviously taught his daughter well and Alice found herself more comfortable with the statuesque blonde than she liked.

"Your mother is with them." Remus chipped in brightly. "They'll be fine." Augusta had been a force to be reckoned with that night, breezing through the introductions with only so much as a raised eyebrow to show that she had been unprepared to see what amounted as a mass gathering of Blacks. "Ten minutes to nine." He muttered checking his watch, not daring to cast a tempus.

At Arcturus's instruction they had taken the bedding from privet drive to the manor with them, where he'd performed the transfigurations so that the piles of laundry resembled four figures. They had pricked Harry's thumb, allowing some of his blood to fall onto one of the smaller figures and then instructed Nip to move everything to the muggle house. They were hoping three things; first that Dumbledore would be fooled by the pile of ashes the rudimentary bodies were going to leave. Second; they hoped that they'd managed to infuse enough of Harry's magic into the fake Harry to register and thirdly, that the house elf magic wouldn't trip the wards around the house. They'd had to put a hold on Fidellusing the property, knowing that whatever Dumbledore was using to monitor the wards would trip, and though he wouldn't remember where the property was, he would be warned of a danger to Harry. Not a situation they wanted to create.

"I wonder how they are getting on." Alice asked nervously.

O_o_O_o_O

"It is ten to nine." Augusta said softly, resting her hand on Sirius's shoulder. The herd of Blacks had congregated in one of the informal lounges, and as soon as Narcissa had toed off her dainty high heels to tuck her legs beneath her Sirius knew that he could lounge against the arm of his settee, tucking Harry into his shoulder. The little boy had not made a murmur of discontent all night, even when they'd drawn blood earlier, and Sirius suspected that the family magic was at work. Instead, Harry had stared at him with huge green eyes and giggled at the bubbles Alice had made with her wand to keep him distracted. He'd been passed around the group, scowling at Pollux but otherwise playful and content with the rest of the family and Sirius knew they were doing the right thing.

"It is almost time." Arcturus stated, reaching into his robes and pulling out a vial. He passed it to Sirius, who had already handed off Harry to Augusta, along with the family ritual knife and Sirius had nodded his head in thanks. He cut his thumb and allowed nine drops of blood drip into the vial.

"I, Sirius Orion Black; Heir to the House of Black, Heir Apparent to the House of Potter; do offer my blood and magic to Harry James Potter Heir to the House of Potter and Heir Apparent to the House of Black. May my blood be your blood, may my magic be your magic, may your battles be my battles. As your father; by blood, by magic, by law. Your father; by blood, by spirit, by heart. Your father; by blood, by will and by oath so have I sworn; so, mote it be. Per magica per sanguinem per spiritus; Toujours Pur." He finished his oath with a flare of magic and passed the vial to his grandfather who swiftly cut his thumb to add his blood to the mix. Sirius's eyes widened as Arcturus allowed seven drops into the vial before starting his vow.

"I, Arcturus Phineas Black; Head of the House of Black; do accept and bless Harry James Potter; Heir to the House of Potter, Heir Apparent to the House of Black. May the blood and magic of the Black family be his, may his battles be our battles, may this adoption be blessed by the mother and the father. So, have sworn it; so, mote it be. Per magica per sanguinem per spiritus; Toujours Pur." He flared his magic and passed the vial back to Sirius with a masked expression. Sirius grimaced as he pricked Harry's thumb for the second time that evening and allowed seven drops of blood enter the vial. He sealed the wound quickly checking on his charge only to find Harry staring at him almost contentedly as if he knew what was happening.

As the clock above the mantel started to chime nine o'clock he spelled the contents of the vial into Harry's stomach and started the second half of the adoption vow.

"I Sirius Orion Black hereby call on magic to recognise the adoption of Harrison Cadmus Black, Heir apparent to the House of Black, Heir apparent to the House of Potter. May he be blessed by the mother and the father and may the magic of Black run unhindered through his veins." All of the blood family members flared their magic in concert and the lounge was suddenly filled with oppressive silver magic, concentrating at the babe who started to change in Augusta's arms. They watched as his green eyes bled silver and his hair settled and darkened, the new blood burning through his genetics like feindfyre through a cornfield. Before the clock had finished striking the twenty first hour of the day Harry James Potter was dead.

Harrison Cadmus Black was born.