With a loud crack, Zoe arrived back at the farmhouse where Charlie had offered to look after Luisa while the trial was ongoing. Zoe closed her eyes, hand flat on her stomach, and breathed deeply before she entered the house. It had been a long few days but Sirius was back in his cell, awaiting a verdict that was surely going to mean his freedom.

But Zoe wasn't sure. The evidence was there. They had Sirius' wand that showed that he didn't kill anybody; they had Snape's hostile witness testimony, proving that Peter Pettigrew was still alive; they had Sirius' testimony about James and Lily choosing Pettigrew as their secret keeper and Zoe had even testified to back it up. And everything that Sirius testified to was done under veritaserum, which had been quite an experimental potion before the fall of Voldemort.

The issue was that the evidence wasn't always enough. The verdict rested in the arms of Amelia Bones, the judge presiding over the trial, and on the jury. Zoe knew that it was far better to have Amelia Bones as a judge than Fudge, or another one of his cronies. It also gave them a good view of her in terms of inviting her to join the Council, but they didn't know her really, though Percy swore blind that she was a good person.

And, anyway, her vote was only half the battle. If the jury decided that Sirius was guilty and Amelia Bones decided that he was innocent, they would have to this all over again, with a new judge and a new jury and that could take months, years even, during which time Sirius would go back to Azkaban. It would be too much for Zoe to take.

She threw all that aside, reached for the door handle and plastered a smile onto her face for her daughter who came flying into the hallway. "Hey, Lu," she said, trying to keep the exhaustion from her voice.

"How's it going?" she demanded. "How- How's Sirius?"

Zoe knew that her daughter's feelings about Sirius were confused. Though she was certainly coming around to the idea, she was still not entirely convinced on the idea of not returning to Peru, where she had been born and where all her friends were. Zoe also knew that she missed speaking Spanish. It was a huge deal and, given that the reason they had returned - Harry - had yet to materialise, it was difficult for Luisa to fully understand why it was so important that they be in the country. And, for Luisa, Sirius was a huge part of the reason that they had to stay.

And Zoe and Sirius' relationship was hardly clear, for Zoe, never mind Luisa. They were living together.

Zoe stopped. She was living with the man. She was actually living with him. She had asked Luisa if it was okay and Lu had said yes. Did that mean she was okay with it? Zoe sighed. Maybe that wasn't the be all and end all. Maybe she just wanted the quidditch pitch. Maybe she hadn't realised that Zoe and Sirius would be sharing a room.

Would they be sharing a room? Sirius had not said it explicitly. Zoe had just assumed-

"Mum," Luisa said, shaking Zoe. Lu was standing, holding the door open, giving her that look that teenagers give you when they are embarrassed by what you are doing. Zoe shook her head.

"Sorry, Lu," Zoe said, stepping forward and embracing her daughter briefly. Charlie appeared in the hall, his face concerned.

"What are you doing?" Lu demanded before Zoe could speak to Charlie. "Where is Sirius? Why are you here alone?"

Charlie chuckled. "At least let the woman come in, Luisa," he said. Luisa nodded and stepped aside, her eyes remaining wide and worried. Zoe smiled at her concern.

"We're waiting for the verdict."

"But he's going to get off?" Luisa demanded.

Zoe sighed. "I can't say for certain, Lu. I'm just coming home to get some food for myself and for Remus and then I'm going to go back. He said he'd send me a patronus if they come back before I'm back, but I can't see it."

"But we'll find out today?"

With a helpless shrug, Zoe said, "I don't know, Lu. Sirius has a bad reputation and it might take more than a few hours for the jury to decide they don't want to continue with that."

Luisa nodded, her eyes on the ground. "Do you want a sandwich? Charlie made us sandwiches." Zoe nodded, reaching over to stroke her daughter's hair, laughing when she flinched away. "And we played quidditch," Luisa continued as she led her into the kitchen. "Charlie and I practised passing and scoring and he said that he's going to try and get a snitch so we can play a full game!"

Zoe grinned. "Who is playing? Do you have fourteen people?"

Luisa hummed as she opened the fridge to find her mother a sandwich. "Well, there's me and Charlie and, if we wait until Hogwarts is out, five of the Weasley brothers will play. So then you as well makes one team." Zoe's eyes widened. "Then for the other team, there's Remus and Tonks and Fleur and Sirius and-"

"Okay, Lu," Zoe said, expelling an exasperated breath. "I'm sure we'll find three more people for the other team - and one person to replace me."

Luisa scoffed. "When Sirius is out of prison, I bet he'll be able to convince you to play quidditch." Charlie snorted, earning himself a glare from Zoe.

"Okay, thank you, Luisa," Zoe said with a suppressed smile at her daughter's use of her relationship with Sirius for her own gain. Luisa shrugged. "Did you get any of that reading done today?"

Luisa groaned. "Mum, Hogwarts aren't going to care if I've already read the syllabus for next year."

"Well, it's always good to be prepared. Your Aunt Lily and I used to quiz each other on the first day back on the material we'd read. It was fun!" Zoe said, aware of Charlie's muffled laughter behind her.

"I did do some actual reading, just not about charms or you know-" Luisa flicked her finger "- transfiguration." The meat on Zoe's sandwich disappeared and Zoe scowled. She glanced at Charlie and found him with his eyes wide.

Tutting, Zoe reached over and tapped Lu's hand lightly. "I've told you, Luisa Lily, that you are not allowed to practise magic in Britain until you're seventeen."

Luisa shrugged. "Who cares as long as I'm not using a wand, right?"

Charlie was glancing between them rapidly, opening his mouth and then closing it. Luisa and Zoe turned to him, eyebrows raised. "She can do wandless magic?" he spluttered.

Zoe sighed. "In Peru, they teach all children with wandless magic. She's never known anything else. It's very hard to master if you've already used a wand, though. I can hardly do it."

Luisa grinned. "I'm special." With a laugh, Zoe agreed. "Shouldn't you be getting back to Sirius?"

Zoe smiled, swallowing the rest of her bread - no longer a sandwich. "You're right," she said, straightening up. "Hopefully the next time I see you, Sirius will be with me." Lu beamed and Charlie nodded with a grunt. Sending them both a smile, and thanking Charlie again for looking after Lu, Zoe headed out of the kitching, enjoying the sound of Charlie teasing Luisa about her quidditch skills. When Sirius was free, their family would be complète.

XXX

Ginny was a good driver, far better than his Uncle Vernon and far smoother with the brakes than his Aunt Petunia. Harry had explained to Ginny about the sexist jokes that suggested that women were worse than men after having joked about it and received an extremely dirty look. She still hadn't been impressed after he had explained and had told him she thought it was worse that everyone made the same jokes. Harry had apologised and then cooked her dinner.

And here they were and she was proving all of the men who made jokes about women drivers wrong. That was Ginny all over. Smiling, Harry reached over for her hand, which was on the gearstick, and lifted it up to his hand for a kiss. She was amazing.

Ginny's lips turned up at his action, though she kept her eyes on the road. "You're quiet," she commented as she changed lanes, looking in her blind spot.

"Thinking about Sirius," Harry told her. Ginny smiled sadly. The newspaper that Harry had picked up the day that Voldemort invaded his brain in the streets of Edinburgh had given Harry and Ginny the last day of Sirius' trial, something that Harry had not been able to get off his mind since. The date was the same date that they had decided to drive down to London, annoyed by the complacency that had taken them back to Edinburgh, where Bellatrix Lestrange was searching for them.

They had realised that they were underestimating Voldemort. Despite their experiences with his evil, they had never participated in a war against him before, they didn't know his habits or his plans, they didn't know his followers. They had made a wrong decision that they regretted and they wouldn't be so thoughtless again.

And so they were going to London, where they could hide in the house that they had bought weeks ago, but had not visited yet. There were so many places in London. It was the biggest city in the UK. Surely Bellatrix would not be able to find them here. They would lie low, as low as possible, and they would return to Edinburgh when their passports arrived, so that they could get out of the country without issues.

"There's no use worrying," Ginny said, moving her hand from the gearstick to his knee and squeezing. "We'll know as soon as we see a paper tomorrow."

"And you're sure you know where we can get a prophet?" Harry asked a bit nervously. Ginny gave him an irritated look. This was not the first time he had asked this question and he did trust Ginny but he was just worried. He wasn't sure that Sirius would survive Azkaban a second time, especially with the added protections that they would add to make sure he didn't escape.

Ginny sighed. "Harry, I promise you that there is a shop we can go to and buy the prophet. It's somewhere in Covent Garden. We'll find it and we'll get the Prophet and we'll know whether Sirius is free."

Harry nodded, closing his eyes briefly. Whether Sirius was free. If Sirius was free. The thought of him going back to Azkaban was too much for Harry to bear. Sharing one final look with Ginny, he pulled his book from his bag and started to read. Hermione had been right for all those years: reading did take you somewhere else, let you be someone else.

XXX

Sirius' shoulders fell, his mouth dropped open and he had to grab the wooden fence that had made him feel so trapped as he watched the witnesses testify for and against him, watched his lawyer and the opposing lawyer fight it out. He was free.

That was what Amelia Bones had said. She'd said that he was free. "You will be given compensation," she was continuing but Sirius didn't care.

He looked over to the witness stand. Remus was grinning at him, his arm wrapped around Zoe. Sirius' smile was weak as he met eyes with Zoe. He could see the tears on her cheeks. Had he truly gone so many years without her in his life? His heart beat wildly. He was free. It was down to Zoe, down to Percy Weasley, down to Amelia Bones, down to himself. He was free and he could walk out of here, with whatever compensation Amelia Bones had offered and with his head held high. The world knew that he wasn't a murderer, that he hadn't betrayed James and Lily in the way they thought he had.

The world knew that he was a good man.

And Zoe knew it too.

Two aurors escorted him through the crowd of press to the nearest floo, where Zoe and Remus were also waiting, ignoring the clammering reporters. Sirius ignored every question, every hand on his arm and call of his name. There was only one thing that he needed.

When he finally reached them, Remus spoke but Sirius didn't hear anything as he wrapped his arms around Zoe and buried his head in her hair, closing his eyes against his tears and whispering, "I love you."

He heard her choked sob against his neck and felt the way her mouth formed the reply that she loved him too. Sirius breathed a sigh of relief. He was free and Zoe loved him. All he needed now was Harry.

XXX

They had a party that night, at the farmhouse. Though the house had been empty except for Charlie and Luisa when they returned, the guests had trickled in one by one, back from work or from their own homes. Molly had brought an entire roast dinner, for which Sirius gave her a smacking kiss on the cheek. It was the perfect meal after days of gruel and tough meat.

Sirius had yet to let go of Zoe. He had his arm wrapped around her or his hand on her knee or, while they all ate together, his thigh pressed up against hers. And she kept smiling at him, her dark eyes sparkling. He never wanted her to be apart from him. When she went to the bathroom, he had moped until she returned, earning him an amused look from Bill and Charlie and an 'I-told-you-so' look from Remus.

But Zoe was back and, when she leaned into his ear, he was so focussed on the feeling of her breath against his ear and her hair brushing against his own that he didn't hear what she said until she tapped his arm and he curled his hand around her waist and pulled her closer. She only laughed. Merlin, she was so beautiful.

"Sirius," she laughed, reaching up to tug his earlobe. "Have you seen Lu?"

Sirius finally understood what she said and he furrowed his brow, looking around the room. Zoe was right, Luisa was nowhere to be seen. "No, not for a while. Do you want me to go and find her?"

Zoe smiled and nodded, moving her hand to cup his cheek. For a moment, Sirius thought she would kiss him but she only pulled away and said, "Thank you."

Nodding and ignoring his disappointment for a moment, Sirius stood and went to look for Zoe's daughter. It didn't take him long to find her. She was sitting at the top of the stairs, Bill's room directly behind her, a half-full bottle of butterbeer in her hands. Staring at her lap, she looked for all the world as though she had the weight of a thousand men on her shoulders.

"Hey, kid," he said, after a few seconds when she didn't notice him.

She was startled by his voice, her eyes wide as she looked up to find him standing there. With half a smile, she said, "Sorry," but no more.

Sighing, Sirius sank down beside her. She scooched up to make room. "What's on your mind, Luisa?"

She smiled. "I prefer it when you call me Lu."

Sirius chuckled. "What's on your mind, Lu?"

Shrugging, she was silent for a moment, but Sirius gave her time. He'd not had much experience with Harry, but the little he did have made him wait for her to speak. She eventually did. "Do you want me around?"

Sirius blinked but replied immediately, "Of course we do!"

She smiled a little. "I mean, you, Sirius. Am I not in your way?"

"In my way of what?" Sirius asked in confusion.

Luisa shrugged again, fiddling with the end of her braid. "Whatever you want with my mum. You've not been together for nearly fifteen years. I guess a kid is in the way."

Sirius shook his head. "Luisa, I don't see you as something I have to put up with to have Zoe. You're an extra who I get to love, who makes us a family."

Luisa looked up at him, her eyes cautious but hopeful. Sirius smiled. "A family?"

Sirius nodded. "You, me, your mum and Harry."

Luisa worried her bottom lip. "What if Harry doesn't want me?"

Sirius chuckled. "You don't get to say that you don't want Harry and Harry doesn't get to say he doesn't want you. You're both a part of our family."

"But what if he thinks I'm a nuisance?"

"You're his sister now. You're supposed to be a nuisance."

Luisa grinned a little. "His sister?"

Sirius shared her grin. "What else? Lu, I was part of a normal family, with a mum and a dad and a brother and I was miserable. I chose my own family, with Harry's parents and Remus and your mum, and now I'm choosing you and the Weasleys and Harry. The best family is the one you choose."

"So, you want me to choose you?" Luisa said, her eyes on her lap. Sirius gaped for a moment. He'd thought about Luisa not wanting him but he'd put it out of his mind, especially after discussing it with Zoe. Only when Luisa smirked a little did Sirius see that she was teasing him.

He gave her a hard look. "Very funny, Lu." She was giggling and Sirius had to smile at the sight of her joy. "You'll make a man self-conscious, you know?"

Luisa rolled her eyes. "Come on, old man. Let's go back to the party."

She stood and was halfway down the stairs before Sirius replied incredulously, "Who are you calling old, young lady?"

XXX

The townhouse in London felt like a safety net. In bed, lying beside each other, only their feet touching, it felt like they had come into a place of rest and relaxation, after a tense drive down from Edinburgh. Ginny rolled over to look at Harry. His eyes were closed but his muscles were too hard-set for him to be sleeping.

Perhaps it was only her that felt safe. Or, more likely, Harry was thinking about Sirius. Ginny understood his fears. If Sirius went back to Azkaban, there was little chance he would escape for a second time. Ginny's stomach rumbled with anxiety that, were that the case, Harry would attempt to free him so that they would all be on the run together. There was no chance that any of them would survive that and Ginny could certainly not cope without Harry, not now.

She couldn't believe how much she had grown since she had left Hogwarts. Yes, some parts had been awful. Her injury had been a particularly awful period but that was over now. She felt stronger than ever, most mentally and physically. She'd learned how to do the laundry, how to clean like a muggle, how to use public transport. She could drive! Every small thing felt like a huge accomplishment.

And she had Harry. Dear Merlin, she never thought the time would come when she could kiss Harry whenever she wanted to, when she could say that she was truthfully going to spend the rest of her life with Harry. And, despite her dreams of the powerful Harry, of a Harry who was rich and famous and who would look after her, this Harry, who was vulnerable and moody and sarcastic, was so much more than she had ever dreamed. Yes, there were times when he irritated her, or when he snapped at her, or when she had no idea what to do while Voldemort was invading his brain, but most of the time, she just loved him. She just wanted to be with him and never leave. And she never had to.

This time together was such a blessing, even though it had come out of something terrible.

Ginny scooched further over on the bed, pressing her body against Harry's side and stretching an arm across his stomach. His eyes flashed open and he craned his neck a little to look at her as she leaned her chin on his chest. "Hey," he murmured.

"Hey yourself," she replied. "You okay?" Harry hummed in response and Ginny leaned her temple and cheek against his chest.

"I was thinking," he started, his hand finding its way to her hair, "maybe we should go out tomorrow."

Ginny furrowed her brow, glancing up at him. "I thought we were going to stay in."

Harry hummed again. "I know but I think I'll go stir crazy. We could just go to the shop and get some food rather than phone-ordering it, or we could go for a run."

Ginny did like the sound of that. She bit her lip. "I also want to go to some tourist places."

Harry looked at her with amusement. "Where do you want to go?"

Ginny shrugged defensively. "I don't know, to the Tower of London, to Hampton Court," she trailed off. Harry nodded and leaned his neck to kiss her. Ginny kissed him back.

"Sounds great," he said a few seconds later. Ginny smiled and settled back into his chest.

XXX

The wedding store was terribly extravagant. Every so often Molly had to remind herself that she wasn't paying, that Fleur's parents were covering the entire cost of Bill and Fleur's day, provided it was held at the Burrow. Molly had wanted it at the Burrow anyway and Fleur had agreed, practically begging to get married beneath the apple trees in the orchard. She had ordered a special magical photographer and Molly had to admit that the trial photos did look rather spectacular. The supposedly small day was far more than Molly had ever had, more than she'd ever dreamed of. Molly wondered what would have been big for the Delacour family. Perhaps they would have rented out the Eiffel Tower.

Molly tittered at herself and then looked up at the sound of the curtain rings screeching against the pole that held them up. Fleur stepped out and her sister said, "Mon Dieu, soeur, tu es belle." Molly spoke no French but the reverent tone was enough to convince Molly that little Gabrielle was saying what Molly was thinking. Fleur was a masterpiece.

And she was smiling, which meant that this dress (dress number twenty-three) was likely the right one.

"Je le veux, je le veux," she cried to her sister, reaching across to take Gabrielle's hand. Molly cleared her throat and Fleur beamed at her. "I want this one, Molly," she translated. Molly smiled. It was a work of art, with beading and silk and a high neckline. It was more than Molly had ever hoped for one of her son's wives.

"You look beautiful," she said quietly. Fleur smiled and took her hand from her sister's, taking both of Molly's and squeezing them.

"Gabrielle, vite, vite, I want to see you try on some bridesmaid dresses," Fleur ordered as she stared at herself in the full-length mirror in the special trying-on room. Gabrielle smiled and took one, her clear favourite, a gold one, from the rack they had compiled when they had arrived. She disappeared into the changing room and Fleur took Gabrielle's seat, still wearing her dress.

Fleur reached across to take Molly's hand again, drawing her attention. Molly looked at her expectantly. "I am so sorry that Ginny will not be here," Fleur said, butchering Molly's daughter's name as genie. Molly smiled sadly nonetheless. She too was very sad that her daughter would miss the first of her siblings' weddings.

"She would be so happy for you," Molly said, not entirely sure if it was true. Ginny and Fleur were very different people. Fleur smiled.

"I can just picture 'er and Gabrielle walking in front of me down the aisle, in their matching dresses." Molly blinked away sudden tears at the thought and Fleur tentatively wrapped an arm around her shoulders. Molly looked at her in surprise, barely concealed in her parted lips and round eyes. Fleur only smiled.

Molly had not been good to Fleur, since the wedding had been announced, ignoring her at parties and making comments to Bill frequently about possible other matches. She realised now how wrong she had been. Fleur was a good woman, who was fighting in the Council, the new Order, despite not having any loyalty to the country she was defending other than her soon-to-be husband. She was kind and deserved more than Molly had given.

She was no replacement for Ginny, but Molly was glad to have a potential daughter again.