A Second Chance

by Breanie

Part 2 Kismet Trilogy: What if Sirius didn't spend twelve years in prison but was given a trial after 4 years? Follow the story of Sirius Black as he learns what it means to be a father/brother/guardian & the story of Harry Potter, a young boy with a loving home who learns about the Marauders from the two men who should have raised him. Slow-burn Hinny. M for sex & violence.

300. The One With the Overprotective Mama

Author's Note:

When I started this little drabble that I had in mind of Harry being rescued by Sirius, I had no idea that it would expand to this level. I knew that I wanted Sirius to end up with Zee and contemplated starting a second story to explain how he met her, but then I thought of what I wanted to include up until then and thought that's okay, I'll just go up to first year, introduce Zee and stop… and by the time I got to chapter 50, I thought this story is going to cover up until the end. It's happening. Did I ever imagine it would get to 300 chapters? Absolutely not. It's mind-blowing to me. Did I ever imagine I would write over 2 million words. Definitely not. Did I ever imagine I would be up to over 11,000 reviews? No fucking way! Every other Harry Potter fanfiction story I've ever written has barely been read or reviewed in comparison. Yes, 95% of them were written before Deathly Hallows was published (me age 14-17), but still, coming back to fanfiction almost fifteen years later and getting this incredible response has been absolutely humbling, amazing, and extraordinary.

I cannot thank you enough for those of you who have been reading my work since my first fanfic. You're amazing. And I cannot thank you enough for those of you who have been reading since I first published the first twelve chapters of this in one go way back in May of 2018. Thank you. For those who take the time to leave me a review (no matter how big or small), I love you 11,000. You're amazing! Thank you from the bottom of my heart!

Review and Comments: To Sam: Astoria is getting to know her future hubby, of course, neither of them know that lol. Harry is long overdue for some loving. Vance is definitely not afraid to speak her mind. Stephen isn't good with taking hints LOL. Even a broken clock is right twice a day hahahaha, poor Harry, what a great comparison! Baskets are definitely Harry and Theo's thing. Auror Arsehole might be more than nice, that's true ;) To BadWolfKris: Thank you! To CorbanD17: It's on my pinned post if you scroll down. Ellieoryan7447 was kind enough to put it on a hot bod of Harry for me. To Fanfis01: Thank you! I love writing Hinny and I really love writing Theo in any capacity, especially his friendship with Harry. To TatiRena: Ginny definitely takes charge, she is at her best! To AQuickRead91: Theo and K getting together should be a whole chapter? Haha. I'll keep that in mind… (checks the 47 pages of Theo and Sebastian smut that's written… hmm…)

To marauders_mowopapr: Thank you. Harry with the newspapers must be so stressful! He just can't catch a break. To AnaGPotter: Sorry, no Drastoria any time soon lol. They will be meeting, but that's about it. Happy to keep you entertained with my arse conversation and Theo teaching Ginny what to do with her thumb lol. To Shivamrai2001: Thank you! Sorry you feel the story isn't moving forward. Sometimes I like to get distracted by the rest and implementing other storylines. I find it more enjoyable. You will have to be patient. Zee is happy on her own with the twins. To PurpleLotus: Thank you. To abhinav_india_15: Thank you. To HinnyForLife: Thank you! I love that Hinny is back! I'm glad you enjoyed Harry's gift! Bad stuff is coming, but not right away… To edwards_zoe_32: Happy you found time to read! I like writing K and Tonks. I didn't plan on their friendship, but it fell into place and now I love it. Theo will find it, just not as quickly as he hopes. Harry's tattoo is posted on my tumblr in the pinned post. To Mizfitz22: Thank you! Theo should break up with Stephen, but he's not quite there yet. They are onto Himmler and Norton, but they also know they have to tread cautiously. Theo has joined the Order. I agree, Harry and Ginny have to move at their own speed. I'm glad you thought the comment about finding Voldemort was good, sometimes I think I'm not articulating that. We will see more of Daphne, Astoria, and Pansy soon.

To ANewRanger: Thank you! They deserve a little pampering night. To alix33: I wish someone would "basically me a fruit basket" for my birthday as well. I could really use a massage LOL. Thank you for liking Ginny's reaction to Harry's tattoo. Luna's date with Channing White worries you? Why? To the Mandalorian terminator: Thank you! Harry is still feeling a bit unsure as the leader so having people there to support him helps build his confidence. Moody was exactly right and gave the advice on the papers that Harry needed to hear. To Slaidback: Thank you! I agree, I want a Theo. To Guest: Thank you! As to Ginny following the curfew, I've never really thought about it haha. I think I just have a personally regimented sense of going where I'm supposed to go and in my head I think, curfew time to leave. Ginny likes to tease him about it, but I think she likes to see if he'll coax her to stay. To Guest: Thank you! Yes, Voldemort is so full of himself and when he does learn about the Horcruxes, he will not be pleased.

To Nightwing2013: I guess Harry was kind of quoting Jean Granger a bit. In my defence, it's sound advice lol. Thank you! I like writing their friendship. Happy you liked the birthday gift. To gemini614: Thank you very much for the compliment then. Theo is conflicted and needs some time. He doesn't want to admit he's attracted to Kane, plus he doesn't think Kane likes him. To shivani: Thank you! We needed some Hinny smut again. Sexy Somerset Stubble is totally a thing. Moody is very cool, I agree. And I love writing people embarrassing Harry! Thank you! To Nuno Neves: Thank you! Harry and Theo are definitely really becoming friends. To ellyann13: First of all, I am really enjoying you going back and reviewing as you re-read! Thank you so much! As to this review, Astoria would definitely feel better if Daphne was going with her. People are definitely not patient and they think the Chosen One should be able to fix everything with a quick wave of his wand, even though no one else can do it. The blood registry is dangerous and they are slowly coming to realize that. Pansy, Greg, and Grayson get to safety, too? Well, they would have to admit they need help first.

To notthatchhavi: Daphne is being very selfless. She wants to keep her sister safe. There should be male lingerie. Don't worry, Pansy listens. Harry is definitely having some naughty dreams. Yeah, if Stephen hurts Theo, Harry and Ginny will both be quite upset with him. Harry is definitely a tits man and yes, he's finally said the words out loud. As to Harry's fantasy… patience. To Yusraa Ifthikar: Thank you! Hinny is back and yes, Theo is always adorable. We'll see Voldemort again soon and yes, Harry's instincts are good here, too, but he doesn't see into Voldemort's mind. To Layla: Thank you! Harry is still trying to coordinate what being in the lead means, but he's doing it. Harry definitely deserves some good orgasms! To Guest: Thank you! Glad you found this chapter hilarious!

To Ellieoryan7447: Theo is trying to find something with Stephen that isn't there and it will take him some time to admit that there isn't a spark there. Harry rather ahem, enjoys his long showers. It is a lot of pressure for Harry to be leading the Order and he knows it. Knowing he can speak his mind and have people give him advice, makes him feel better. Theo does manage to make everything dirty, doesn't he? I'm glad you liked the talk between Hinny about sex and Harry being like, um, yes, I want to have sex. Thank you for saying everything between them feels so much deeper and intimate. I think they've grown together and yes, Ginny giving him zero time to protest is the way to be! Harry cannot escape the teasing. Ha, I'm so glad you loved that line — I don't know how I ended up here, but I don't know how to get out safely — poor Harry. Everyone does love to tease him. Luna is an icon, no questions. Thank you!

To ITHersey: Thank you so much! I love hearing that something I write can inspire you to cry in laughter. Harry is trying to deal with being the Chosen One, leading the Order, and learning to accept help. He is unsure of himself and he has to build to that confidence level that he does have. Never apologize for the word vomit — that's how I got to chapter 300, LOL. Thank you! To Dianne: Thank you! Tonks is so good at being the annoying big sister. Theo does deserve happiness and he is restless. Ginny will get there, but they are just getting to know each other again and that takes time. Harry does love going down on her and she knows that, but she has to be ready for that step again herself. To scrappy8: Thank you! Theo and Harry's growing friendship is fun to write and we all love Hinny. To yunkol76: I do love Theo and ha, Theo needs his own stand alone! He is pretty awesome. Thank you so much for saying you look forward to Sunday morning tea and ASC. That's so lovely! To pix25: Thank you!

To WinkingSkeever: In my usual fashion. To Guest: Harry does still interact with Remus, but he is seventeen now and as we grow, we don't lean on our parents the way we once did. We want to be more independent and Remus respects that. Harry goes to him when he needs to because he knows Remus will be there. It's a fact of growing up. To ValGrey02: Not quite, but Draco and Astoria will be meeting. To Steel: Harry definitely wants the quiet life, I don't think the public will let him have it LOL. Theo does deserve to be happy. To Laura: Thank you! I love Hinny as well and I'm excited that so many people seem to be on board for Theo and Sebastian. We will see more about the fae as the story goes on. As to your three questions: 1) Yes, we will see more embarrassing moments from Molly and Ginny; 2) Yes, there will be more Weasley moments; and 3) Draco and Astoria will meet soon. Thank you!

To tim2604: Sometimes we need sex-centred chapters lol. One day Harry just may respond to Theo's flirting, we'll see. Theo definitely deserved that basket and Harry definitely enjoyed that blow job lol. We'll see more of why Ginny isn't ready for Harry to go down on her yet, soon. To Erinly: Theo is so freaking lovable and adorable! He's not ready to dump Stephen just yet. I'm glad you're looking forward to the protective mama. To Bluerain22: I did have a great Thanksgiving, thank you! I'm glad you liked the title lol. Okay so yes, Tonks is always randy for Remus that is true, but with pregnancy it's doubled lol. Hermione is always busy with Head duties, but we'll see more of her soon. To joss518: I did enjoy my holiday and definitely ate a lot of food lol. Thank you! Theo just needs to meet the right person and right now he's in that mindset that it will never happen because he was too lucky with Finn. Harry does love Theo and yes, he doesn't want to admit it, but he's grown on him. Yes, thank you. I think the potion was needed to help them open up more.

My posting schedule: Weekly.

Thanks to Dusk for her amazing editing skills.

As always, thank you very much for reading and please, please review!

Your reviews give me life! They give me inspiration! And they make me want to keep writing for more than just myself! Thank you for all of your continued support!

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CHAPTER THREE-HUNDRED:

The One With the Overprotective Mama

With Theo's eighteenth birthday having come and gone, it meant that the first big Quidditch match of the season had arrived and Harry was anxious. Not only was he hoping to lead his team to victory, but they were playing Hufflepuff and he felt like it was going to be a game that would help boost their morale for the upcoming season.

With Quidditch to help take his mind off of things, he felt better. Order members were doing what they could to keep an eye on the families of Muggleborn students and the last few weeks had made Harry believe at least the families they were watching were being kept safe.

With Ginny by his side again, things just seemed brighter and more clear. Their snogging had intensified, heating up again as they met between classes and in the evenings. They spent hours snogging until their lips were swollen and Harry spent a great deal of his time with his hands and mouth on her breasts, but Ginny hadn't let him go any further and he didn't push her. His girlfriend certainly had no problem making sure he was happy though, using her hands and mouth with renewed fervour that kept him extremely satisfied.

Just the other day, she'd waited for him after Quidditch practice and given him one of the best hand jobs of his young life in the Quidditch stands. He'd kissed her deeply when he finished, his hands in her hair as he murmured how much he loved her. Life was definitely pretty good.

Halloween came and went. Then the Sunday before Sirius' birthday, Harry and Ginny accompanied Zee, Remus, Tonks, Mina, and Leo to Godric's Hollow. It felt good to go. It felt different this time to be there with Mina and Leo as they all toasted the headstone and the man they missed. They went back to Black Cottage for lunch and Harry and Ginny played with Mina and Leo, smiling at the twins' antics as they crawled everywhere and began to get into everything.

And not just crawled, Mina had started walking.

Zee had mirror-called him to tell him the news, tears in her eyes as she turned the mirror to show Mina taking small bumbling steps towards her a few days before Halloween. It was amazing to see. Leo had yet to start walking, still moseying around on his hands and knees, but Zee was positive that he was close.

Harry smiled at Ginny as she passed the wooden block to Leo who took it from her and banged it on the table in glee where he was standing. Mina wobbled across the room to Harry and he used his wand to make the blocks float above her. She giggled, trying to reach them with her hand.

Zee came out of the kitchen and Leo immediately turned towards her.

"Ma-ma-ma-ma!"

Then to Harry's surprise he took a shaky step away from the table towards Zee.

Zee's eyes widened. "Yes, baby, come to Mama! Come on, Leo."

Leo took three quick wobbles right into her arms and she snuggled him close, kissing his cheeks.

"Oh, good job, Leo! Good job! Mama's so proud of you."

Harry was grinning like a fool as Mina moved out of his arms and wobbled towards Zee. "Wow. I can't believe they're walking."

"Me neither," Zee said, lifting both babies up into her arms and kissing their cheeks before placing them in Harry's lap. "Mama needs to make lunch, darlings. You sit with Harry now, okay?"

"Ah-e!" Leo declared, slapping his hand against Harry's stubble beard. "Ah-e!"

"Yes, Leo, that's Harry."

"Is that supposed to be my name?" he asked in amusement.

"Yes," Zee said as Mina crawled after her. "Ginny, can you take Mina? Thank you."

Tonks was rubbing a hand over her own stomach from where she was sprawled across the sofa, her head resting in Remus' lap. At four months, she had a visible baby bump now, though still small.

"How are they growing up so fast? Is our little baby going to grow that fast?"

"He already is," Remus said, kissing her fingers.

"He?" Harry asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Oh, we don't know," Tonks told him. "But as you know we've been calling him a he for now. Better than an it, I suppose. We find out on Tuesday. I'll be eighteen weeks by then, and we could have found out sooner, but we had no other reason to go to the healer, so we decided to wait. We can be patient."

"Some of us more than others," Remus said in amusement, his fingers gently stroking his wife's hair.

"I am patient!"

"You keep telling yourself that, Nymphadora," Remus said.

It was another five minutes before Zee had lunch served, magically expanding the small kitchen table to seat them all just as McGonagall arrived.

"Sorry, I'm late."

"Not at all," Zee assured her, ushering her inside. "We were just about to eat."

McGonagall said hello to everyone before covering Mina and Leo's faces in kisses and making them laugh. Only then did she take her seat at the table.

"We're going to have to make it bigger in here," Zee murmured. "This family has become a lot bigger than the trio it started out as. This kitchen was not made to have large family feasts."

"You could always put a table in the sunroom," Ginny suggested. "Get one of those long dining room tables."

Zee looked thoughtful. "That could work. I always loved eating in the kitchen though, it's just so much more intimate."

"The kitchen's great, Zee," Harry said. "But it would be great to have a larger table for when you have company."

Once everyone was settled around the table, Mina and Leo in their highchairs with their own lunches, did everyone dig in. Zee had truly outdid herself today. They had spicy lemon chicken kabobs with onions, peppers, and tomatoes served with roasted garlic and lemon asparagus, fresh cornbread, and jacket potatoes.

Harry bit into the cornbread happily. "I've missed your cooking."

"I've missed yours," Zee told him. "I adore Kreacher, but I love cooking and I miss having help in the kitchen. With these two troublemakers, it takes a little longer to get things done."

"Can't imagine why," Harry teased.

"Are you ready for the match on Saturday?" Zee asked.

"Yes," Harry said. "We have a great team. I think that it will be a good game, plus we definitely have a better team than Hufflepuff. Gryffindor is absolutely getting the cup again this year."

McGonagall smiled. "As Headmistress I can no longer show favouritism during matches, but between you and me, I want to see Gryffindor's name on it again."

Harry grinned. "I'll do my best, Professor."

Talk turned to current events, news of more disappearances, and the worry over this blood registry.

"I've seen the badges," Tonks said. "They're handing them out to all Muggleborns right now and forcing them to wear them in the Ministry. I think it's disgusting."

Zee frowned as she sipped her wine. "It is disgusting. It makes you wonder how much longer before they increase that to include anyone else not just half-blood or pureblood."

"There have been rumours about anyone with special abilities being signalled out as well. King mentioned that he thinks I'll be one of them. I'm one of the only Metamorphmagus working in the Ministry. There's only five in all of Britain and I was the first one to appear in over forty years," Tonks explained.

Remus squeezed her hand in his. "You won't be wearing some fucking identifier."

At Zee's look, he apologized.

"Sorry, forgot there's young children around."

"Wouldn't matter anyway," Harry said, helping himself to more jacket potatoes. "You always did swear like mad. You were the reason it had to be added to the rules."

"No, that wasn't just me," Remus said. "That was Sirius, too."

"Mostly you," Harry teased. "I learned all of my bad words from you."

Remus chuckled. "I rather doubt that."

"No, he's right," Tonks said. "You definitely were the one with the naughty mouth, way more than Sirius."

"Well, we will all watch our language from now on," Zee insisted. "Babies pick up on things very quickly."

"We will watch our language," Remus agreed.

Harry and Remus offered to clean up after lunch, Remus urging Tonks to go sit down. Tonks grinned and winked at Ginny, telling her that this pampering she was getting was definitely worth it. Zee, Ginny, and McGonagall played with the twins on the living room floor until they started yawning.

"They missed their morning nap today because we went to Godric's Hollow," Zee said, snuggling Mina to her breast when the girl reached for her. "Are you two ready for a nap?"

"Can I help?" Ginny asked.

Zee smiled. "I'd like that. Say goodnight to Granny."

McGonagall hugged and kissed them both before allowing Ginny and Zee to get them upstairs.

Harry watched his girlfriend help Zee get the twins upstairs before he turned to Remus and Tonks. "I still can't believe that you guys are going to have one of those."

"A tiny human?" Tonks exclaimed. "Me neither. You're going to be a great godfather!"

"I hope so," Harry admitted. "I've learned from the best after all. Uncle Sirius taught me how to be cool and Uncle Remus taught me how to swear."

"Brat," Remus muttered, tossing a throw pillow at him.

McGonagall chuckled. "It certainly makes me feel old to think of so many of my former students having children. I hope Baby Lupin doesn't get into too much trouble when they arrive at Hogwarts."

"No way," Harry said. "With Uncle Rem's pranking skills and Tonks' mischief, you're in trouble."

"I think I might be," she agreed. "Maybe I'll be retired by then."

Remus smiled. "Now that's absolutely not true."

McGonagall shook her head. "I don't plan on staying at Hogwarts until I'm well over a hundred like Albus did. But another decade or two wouldn't hurt."

Harry agreed with her sentiments, but Hogwarts was already strange enough without Dumbledore there and he couldn't imagine the school without McGonagall there as well. It would be so strange like it was devoid of the magic in some way. It seemed too weird to imagine Hogwarts not having McGonagall there.

He tapped his fingers on the arm of the sofa, turning to look over at Remus. "Can we watch some more memories this afternoon?"

Remus smiled. "I was hoping that you were going to say that. It's been a while since you've gone through the chest."

"It's been a while since I felt ready to," Harry admitted.

Remus' expression told him that he understood that feeling entirely. Harry went into the sunroom and returned with the chest of memories, perusing through the vials. He picked out four at random and poured them into the basin, sitting it on the coffee table, and wondered what memories he was going to be treated to when Ginny and Zee returned from upstairs.

~ ASC ~

While Harry was perusing the memory chest for choices, Ginny watched in amusement as Zee placed Mina on the floor at the bottom of the stairs.

"I let them crawl up themselves," Zee said. "It's amazing how they know exactly where to go."

Ginny did the same with Leo, watching in amazement as they slowly crawled up the stairs and towards their nursery with Zee and Ginny moving behind them to make sure they didn't fall. Ginny helped situate them both in their cots, watching as Zee put a light show with soft instrumental music playing. Both were almost asleep before they even closed the door.

"They go down so well."

"Almost always," Zee said. "I'm very lucky."

Ginny made a sound of agreement before she looked over at her. "Zee, can we talk for a moment?"

Zee raised an eyebrow before she nodded and gestured for Ginny to follow her into the master bedroom. "Is everything all right?"

"I don't know," Ginny admitted. "I always thought that we got along well and lately I feel like… no, I know that you're upset with me."

"I'm not upset with you, Ginny," Zee said.

Ginny kept her gaze on Zee for a moment before she bit her lip. "Are you sure? Because I think that you're still holding a grudge against me for hurting Harry."

Zee opened her mouth to protest before she closed it again. She took a seat on her bed. "Maybe I am. You broke his heart and watching my baby sob over you broke mine."

"I know," Ginny whispered, guilt swimming through her. "I didn't mean to hurt him. You know that. It just was too much and I needed time to myself to deal with everything."

"I understand," Zee told her. "I do. You went through a lot in a short amount of time and Harry told me that it reminded you of what you'd already went through in the Chamber of Secrets. I understood that you needed time and that you needed space. That's a lot for anyone to deal with. I know Harry understands that as well."

"But you still won't forgive me."

Zee stared at her for a long moment. "I like you, Ginny. You're smart and witty. You're fun and loving and you make my boy down there more happier than he's ever been. The two of you just complete each other. I've always been a strong believer in soulmates and I think that the two of you are just that: Two halves of the same soul. You're stronger together, happier together, and everyone knows that you belong together. The two of you know that. Harry is a very strong man. He tries to pretend like things don't bother him. He bottles them up a little too much sometimes, but this summer he was like a wound top. Everything he did was about finding out how to cure you."

Ginny sat on the bed across from Zee. "I know."

"No, you don't," Zee replied. "Remus had to drag him from Clevedon Court on more than one occasion because the portraits of Fleamont and Euphemia were empty and he wouldn't come home to sleep, but only sat there staring at them. He lost control and threw a tantrum in Brighton, destroying a room full of art and sculptures. He was so angry and so ashamed of himself when it was over, he refused to let anyone else help him clean up the mess. I would wake in the night and find him holding Mina and Leo, talking to them in the night because he knew that they would listen to him without judgment. He was hanging on by a thread for every scrap of news about you, about the potion… I was worried that he was going to explode. He spoke to Ron, Fred, or George every day asking about you. To give you an example of how wound he was, when Ron told him that you were displaying more dark veins and bruises and Monty and Borage explained how it was a sign of the potion trying to consume you, he shattered all of the glass in Clevedon Court. Accidental magical outbursts like that don't happen to seventeen-year-old-wizards unless they are losing control of their emotions in a catastrophic way."

Ginny swallowed. "I know that it was hard on him, we talked about it."

"I know you did," Zee said, kindly. "He told me that the two of you talked about everything, rehashed almost everything you'd missed and filled each other in on what you were feeling. The fact that you two share that connection, that there are no secrets between you, is part of what I meant about soulmates. I know that you two belong together and I want you in his life, Ginny. In our life."

She nodded, biting her bottom lip. "But?"

"But," Zee continued. "The overprotective mama in me is still a bit peeved that you broke my boy's heart. His heart is so full of love and I hated seeing him fall apart like that. He was like a zombie, Ginny. Completely lifeless as he sat around his room listening to music, barely eating or sleeping. I wanted to punish you for hurting him and at the same time, I wanted to hold you close and promise you that everything would be all right because I knew how damaging that potion was to your own well being. I knew how hard it must be for you to deal with it."

"You're the best thing that ever happened to Sirius and Harry, Zee," Ginny said. "Harry loves you so much and it still surprises him sometimes to know that you want to be a mother to him, that you want to protect him and keep him safe."

"I love him," Zee said. "And I will protect him and keep him safe as much as he'll let me."

"And I'll do the same," Ginny promised.

Zee smiled and pulled Ginny close for a hug. "I'm sorry if I've been cold with you. I didn't intend to be."

Ginny hugged her close. "I'm sorry too, for hurting Harry. I love him. I want to spend the rest of my life with him."

Zee kissed her cheek, pulling back to smile. "I want that for you both as well. Come on, let's go back downstairs before someone comes looking for us."

Ginny nodded, feeling better as she followed Zee down the stairs. She sat next to Harry on the sofa and he draped an arm over her shoulders.

"Mina and Leo not want to go down?" he asked.

Ginny shook her head and kissed his cheek. "No. They went down like little angels, I just wanted to talk to Zee for a moment."

Zee came out of the kitchen with a plate of homemade chocolate chip biscuits, a pot of tea, and a bottle of red wine. Once everyone was served, she took a seat in the big armchair and Harry pointed his wand at the Pensieve, projecting the memory into the room so that they could watch it.

The sight of Sirius shirtless in the hot sun in his worn blue jeans, holes in the knees, made Harry smile. He was washing the Bonneville on the side of the house, 'The Immigrant Song' blaring from the wireless. Sirius looked up with a grin as Marauder came running around the corner barking, madly.

"Hi, boy," he said, frowning when the dog continued to jump up and down, barking wildly. "Calm down, Marauder, what is it?"

Marauder continued to bark, turning his body and barking towards the back.

Sirius put his rag down, eyes on the dog. "Marauder, what is it?"

Marauder gestured towards the back again and Sirius' blood heated.

"Where's Harry?"

Marauder bolted back around the house and Sirius ran after the retriever. He saw Harry immediately, lying on the ground below the treehouse. He slid across the lawn on his knees, grabbing his godson, the sight of the blood running down his head making him pale.

"HARRY!" he yelled, turning the boy over. His head was bleeding badly and his right arm was bent sideways.

"Marauder, go get Moony. Go!"

Marauder raced off towards the house, barking wildly, and Sirius prayed that Remus hadn't left yet. He cradled the child in his arms and stood up, his knees shaking. He was going to be all right, he said to himself, he's going to be all right.

Sirius was practically running towards the house by the time Remus came outside to see why Marauder was dive bombing at the backdoor.

"Sirius, what the hell is wrong with Marauder he keeps — HARRY! " He paled, rushing forward, wand outstretched. "Put him on the chair, Sirius!"

Sirius carefully lied him on the lounge chair, his hands shaking. "Moony, his head… I… I think he fell. We have to get him to St Mungo's! Braxton should see him! We have to get him to see a healer, I'll call Poppy and Braxton! What if they need to operate? I don't have a good first aid kit! I don't have any more pain potions! All I have is the stuff for when he's sick! Moony, he can't die!"

Remus slapped Sirius across the face so hard, his head snapped back. "Calm the fuck down! He's going to be just fine!" He pushed Sirius out of the way and hovered over Harry, his wand on his head. "Get inside and get some warm water and a towel and get your goddamn wand!"

Sirius nodded, so pale that Remus' handprint was visible on his face as he ran into the house.

Remus carefully turned Harry's head, his heart pounding like a jackhammer in his chest. He was pleased to see the small superficial cut on the back of his head. Head wounds always bled profusely, he thought, calming slightly. Harry groaned when Remus' hand touched his neck. "Shh, it's all right, little Prongs, don't move, okay?"

Sirius came rushing back out of the house with a clean towel and a bowl of warm water and his wand, which he had left in the kitchen. "Here, Moony!"

"Dab at his head, Sirius, it's just a small cut," Remus instructed carefully.

Sirius nodded, his hands still shaking. Harry groaned again when the warm cloth touched his head and Sirius cried out. "Oh, Prongslet, it's okay, baby, it's all right, Uncle Moony and I are here."

Sirius carefully mopped up the blood and Remus put his wand to the cut, gently sealing it closed. Harry's eyes fluttered opened and he groaned again as he attempted to move his right arm.

"Ow," he murmured, eyes looking up at the two panic-filled faces of the men in front of him.

"Harry!" Sirius exclaimed, a huge grin crossing his face. "Hey, Prongslet, hi, my baby, you okay, Harry?"

"Sirius, give him a second," Remus said carefully, taking Harry's right arm in his hand. "Harry, I'm going to heal your arm. It's going to hurt a lot, but only for a few minutes, okay?"

Harry nodded, his left hand gripping Sirius' tightly. "Okay."

Remus carefully bent Harry's arm back and Harry cried out, biting his lip. "I know, little Prongs, I know, I'm sorry," he murmured, his wand pressing to the bone as he muttered 'brackium emendo.'

Harry bit his lip so hard it bled as he felt his bones re-knitting together like sharp needles stabbing him all over his arm. It only lasted a few minutes and then it was gone and Remus breathed a sigh of relief.

Tears rolled down Harry's cheeks now as he sat up and Sirius threw himself on top of him, arms crushing him against his chest so tightly that he found it hard to breathe.

"Uncle Padfoot!" he hissed, but Sirius only lessened his grip, he didn't let go.

"Harry, my heart stopped!" Sirius exclaimed, pulling back to look into Harry's eyes.

Remus reached over to grip Harry's face in his hands. "What happened? What were you doing, young man?"

Harry flushed. "I just missed the rope ladder is all."

Sirius' eyebrow rose in question. "Explain."

Harry quickly outlined his race plan and told them how he had been running across the obstacle course every day to see how fast he could go and when he explained how he jumped off the tire swing up towards the rope ladder, but had missed and fell, crashing into the treehouse as he went down.

Sirius immediately crushed him to his chest again.

"HARRY JAMES POTTER, YOU ARE NEVER TO DO THAT AGAIN, DO YOU HEAR ME?" Sirius yelled, his grey eyes flashing in anger. "If Marauder hadn't…" He swallowed carefully before he continued. "When I saw you lying there… blood…" He buried his face in Harry's neck as he hugged him. "What were you thinking?"

Tears rolled down Harry's cheeks as he clung to his godfather. "I'm sorry, Uncle Sirius. I was just playing and I slipped. I've done it before, dozens of times!"

Remus tugged Harry away from Sirius, crushing him up to his own chest. "Harry, Sirius and I were so scared when we saw you like that. We're not mad at you. We know that it was an accident." He breathed into Harry's hair, sighing. His heart was still pounding so fast that he knew Harry must be able to feel it against his cheek. "Are you okay? Do you hurt anywhere else?"

Harry shook his head, clinging to Remus. "No."

Sirius' hands shook as he reached for Harry again, cradling the child into his lap. "Merlin, Harry, you scared me half to death!"

Harry buried his face in Sirius' bare chest. "I'm sorry."

Sirius held him close for a moment and then he pushed him back to cover his face in kisses. "My heart stopped, Prongslet. It just stopped and I completely panicked. If Uncle Moony hadn't been here… and my wand was in the house because I'm a fucking idiot… Uncle Moony had to slap me."

"What?" Harry asked in bewilderment.

Sirius nodded, smiling gratefully at Remus. "I wasn't thinking and Uncle Moony had to slap my face to get me to stop panicking. I thought that you were dead," he said, covering Harry's face in kisses again.

Harry buried his face in Sirius' chest. "I'm sorry. I was just playing and I fell."

Marauder butted his head in now, licking the back of Harry's neck and he giggled.

Sirius scratched Marauder behind the ears, grinning widely. "Marauder, you are a godsend and you are going to get nothing but the best fucking prime dog food money can buy. I'll even chop up a nice big juicy steak for you," he said, rubbing the dog's belly when he rolled over. "Yes, I will, because you are a good boy, such a good boy." He kept his arms around Harry, his eyes meeting Remus'. "Thank Godric you were here, Moony and thank you for slapping me. I needed it."

Remus smiled, gently rubbing a hand up and down Harry's back. "Of course. Even if I hadn't been here, Sirius, you would have been all right. You would have taken care of Harry."

Sirius nodded, kissing the top of Harry's head. "Well, I don't know about anyone else, but I need a giant fucking ice cream sundae."

Harry perked up, tear-stained face smiling. "Really?"

Sirius nodded, smiling. "Really. And while we eat this giant fucking ice cream sundae, you and me are going to talk about what you should and should not be doing on that jungle gym treehouse, okay?"

Harry nodded, a small smile on his lips. "Okay."

Remus slid Harry's glasses back onto his face. "Come on. Fortescue makes the best ice cream sundaes."

Harry took Remus' hand in his own and smiled as Sirius stood up, dusting his jeans off.

"I just need to find a shirt," Sirius muttered as he hurried into the house ahead of them.

When he stepped into his bedroom, he took a minute to catch his breath, staring at his still shaking hands. If that hadn't been the scariest moment of his entire life, he didn't know what was. He looked into the mirror and saw blood smears on his chest. He was pretty sure that Harry had just aged him five years. He quickly cleaned himself off, put on a clean shirt and made his way downstairs to his friend and godson.

"How old was I there?" Harry asked as the memory faded out.

"Seven, I believe," Remus said. "Scared the shit out of both of us."

"And I noticed you both swore quite a bit," Zee added, giving Remus a pointed look.

He blushed. "We were in a panic."

"I noticed that as well," Zee said. "But you both handled yourselves."

Harry swirled the Pensieve with his wand as the next memory had opened up.

McGonagall let out a soft sigh. "I sometimes forget how truly young they were."

Harry's eyes fell on his mother's deep red hair. She was sitting on the floor of what looked like the Heads common room, books opened around her. She had one hand in her hair in frustration, her mouth slightly open as the portrait hole opened and Sirius strolled in wearing his shirt untucked and rolled at the elbows with his Gryffindor tie loose around his neck. He had a cup of tea in his hands as he moved into the sitting room. He took one look at Lily and arched an eyebrow.

"Rough day?"

"Yes. Why is planning a wedding so incredibly stressful?" She took the tea from him and drank.

"That tea was actually for —" he trailed off at the look he got. "You, totally for you. Um, anything I can do to help?"

Lily sighed and placed the tea on the table in front of her. She bit her bottom lip as if she was contemplating something before she nodded. "There is… I did want to talk to you about something."

Sirius nodded and took a seat next to her. "All ears."

She smiled at him. "You know that I love you, right?"

"I am pretty lovable," Sirius agreed.

Lily's eyes softened. "You kind of are. I love you very much and you know that you're one of the most important people in my life. If it hadn't been for you, I probably never would have realized how much I love James."

"I know, I'm awesome. What else is new?"

She chuckled. "Don't be so modest, really." At his look, she cleared her throat. "Sirius, with the death of my parents… I don't really have any family coming to my wedding. I don't even know if Petunia is going to be there. She still won't answer my letters."

Sirius nodded, his expression sobering. "I know. I know it's been a tough year for you, Lily. But you have us and the Marauders will be your family."

"Thank you. You already are," she said. "And I know that you're James' best man, but would you be interested in having a second job at the ceremony?"

His eyebrow rose slightly. "What do you need me to do?"

"I don't really need… I just want… this is going to sound stupid, but I trust you with all of my heart and you've done so much for me. I like to think that we've become more than friends and more like family."

"I agree with that," Sirius said. "You're basically the annoying sister I never wanted."

"Haha," she said.

His lips curved. "I love you, too, Evans. How can I help?"

Lily's green eyes stared into his as she let out a slow breath. "Would you give me away?"

Sirius' mouth opened in surprise. "Like walk you down the aisle and present you to James?"

She nodded. "Yes."

He grinned widely. "Lily, I would be honoured. That's just… the coolest thing. You really want me to give you away?"

"Well, with my dad gone, other than James, you're the most important man in my life. To me, that means you should get the honour of walking me down the aisle. It would mean so much to me."

"Yes. Definitely, yes. I would be totally honoured to walk you down the aisle."

He leaned in and kissed her cheek as James stepped into the portrait hole.

"Trying to snog my girl, again?"

Sirius grinned, stretching his arm out to wrap around Lily. "I'm sorry, Prongs, we're mad about each other. We're eloping."

James grinned and plopped himself down next to Lily, his fingers automatically stroking her hair. "You asked him?"

She nodded. "He said yes."

"Good man." He leaned in and kissed her softly on the lips. "There's no one else that I would want to walk you down the aisle to me."

Sirius grinned. "Again, pretty awesome over here." He stretched his legs out, plopping his feet on the coffee table in front of him. "Anything else you guys need, wedding-related?"

James shook his head. "I don't think so. Everything else is all just stuff we need to do ourselves."

Lily nodded. "Very true. But it might be time to put the wedding planning on hold and start studying."

"Psh, who studies?" Sirius said, crossing his legs in front of him.

"You study."

"Since when?" he asked, grinning. "I've got a date tonight."

Lily rolled her eyes. "Would it kill you to open a book, Sirius?"

"It's possible," he admitted. "And I'm not willing to risk it."

James chuckled, reaching for the Charms textbook. "Well, Lily and I are going to take a break from wedding planning to study for our NEWTs."

"Ugh," Sirius said. "When did you get so boring, Prongs?"

"Where's Moony?" James asked.

"Studying like a good student," Sirius supplied. "Can I help with the wedding planning instead?"

"No," Lily said, stretching her arms up over her head. "There's nothing else we can really do here for the moment. Fee is handling the decorations and the food and she has been a blessing."

James leaned in and kissed her softly. "I know the feeling."

Lily moved to sit up next to James and he slipped his arm around her. She leaned in to rest her head on his shoulder. "It's just overwhelming sometimes to think that I'm planning our wedding as I try to study for NEWT exams."

"I can take on a bigger role in the planning stage, you know?" James offered.

"No, I think Fee and I have it under control."

James kissed her forehead, turning to Sirius. "Are you going to study with us or what?"

"No," Sirius said. "Like I said, I have a date. You and Evans actually going to study?"

"That's the plan," James said before the soft snore made him look down at her, a soft smile on his face. "Or it's the plan for me."

Sirius grinned as he stood up, stretching his arms up over his head. "Let her sleep, Prongs. She obviously needs the rest if she can pass out that quickly."

"Yeah, she does," James said, carefully tugging the afghan around her as she snuggled into his side.

Sirius stood up. "We'll talk tomorrow and by the way, it's seriously cool that I'm going to walk her down the aisle."

"There's no one I trust more, brother."

His smile lit up his entire face as the memory faded out.

"Uncle Siri walked my mum down the aisle?" Harry asked.

"He did," Remus told him. "He and Lily were close friends and he looked so proud when he walked her to James and passed him her hand. He had tears in his eyes. It was a beautiful moment. Then he moved to stand between me and James and took his place as best man number one."

"That's beautiful," Zee said. "He looked so humbled and amazed when she asked him."

"He was," Remus admitted. "Sometimes Sirius was still surprised when people wanted him to be part of their life."

"Seems like something you both suffered from," Tonks said. "Was it contagious? Idiotitis?"

Remus rolled his eyes and pinched her hip. "Funny."

"Your mum was so beautiful, Harry," Ginny said. "All of that gorgeous red hair. I wish mine was more auburn like that. Hers was like celebrity red instead of a fiery ginger."

Harry kissed her temple. "I happen to like fiery ginger."

Her cheeks flushed and he pecked her lips as another memory began to project.

Sirius was in the kitchen of Black Cottage, singing loudly to Queen as he danced around the kitchen, shaking his hips and booty as he peeled potatoes and crushed garlic. He jolted in surprise when a flash of a camera had him turning to see Harry and Remus standing in the doorway. Harry noticed that he was only about five or six here.

"Did you just take a photo of me?" Sirius demanded.

Remus grinned widely, turning down the record player so that he could speak. "Padfoot Domesticated — what do you think?"

"Piss off, Moony! There's no bloody way that we're keeping that photo!"

"No bad words!" Harry exclaimed, his hands on his hips as he looked sternly up at Sirius. "Uncle Moony said so."

Sirius' eyes widened in surprise. "He did, did he?"

Remus put the camera down and rubbed the back of his neck. "Sirius, we have to be more careful around him. The last thing we need is for Harry to grow up swearing like a sailor."

Sirius grinned. "The first week of school you told James and I that we were full of bleeding shite and to stop fucking taking the piss out of Peter. Are you saying that was bad?"

"Yes!" Remus exclaimed, flushing at the memory. "I was eleven and that was very bad!"

Sirius laughed. "All right, Harry, Uncle Remus and I will try not to say so many bad words, yeah?"

Harry grinned. "Okay. I'm going outside with Marauder."

"Sure, Prongslet," Sirius said, smiling as he watched Harry head into the garden with the dog before he turned to Remus. "This pork roast smells amazing, Moony, have I mentioned how much of a Godsend you are in terms of cooking?"

Remus smiled, moving to take a seat at the kitchen table. "I find it cathartic to cook sometimes. What are you making?"

"Figured garlic and cheesy mashed with a salad?"

Remus nodded in approval so Sirius continued what he was doing.

"Harry told me about last night," Remus said casually.

Sirius nodded, slicing potatoes carefully. "I spoke to Minerva and Dumbledore today. I just don't know if we're doing it right, Moony. I mean, he seems fine, but then at night… something scares him… or someone? How long is he going to be…"

"I think you know the answer to that, Sirius," Remus said quietly, tapping his fingers on the table.

"I didn't have a problem trusting people," Sirius told him. "It was only… it was different."

Remus didn't say anything.

"It was different," he insisted.

"You have to have noticed how similar you and Harry are by now, Sirius," Remus said carefully. "You were both abused by those who were supposed to take care of you."

Sirius shook his head. "It's different, Rem. I was older when it started for me, Harry was still a baby."

Remus merely tilted his head, eyes flashing in annoyance. "It's not different."

"It is! I remember the first time that my parents punished me for something. I was six years old and I'd run outside into the street to play after my father came home and I made friends with one of the neighbouring boys, a Muggle. I was never really… I was eight when they used the Imperius on me because I wouldn't follow the rules," he said. "Mum was pissed when I could throw it completely off by the time I was twelve, but I think that she was secretly pleased too, you know? Only the strongest of wizards can throw off the Imperius Curse."

Remus' mouth opened and then he closed it again.

"What?" Sirius asked in annoyance. He knew that look and Remus was trying to bite his tongue. "Just spit it out, Moony."

"Just because the physical abuse didn't start until later doesn't mean that there wasn't emotional abuse early on. I won't say anything else on it, Sirius. I was only saying that you understand Harry in a way that I never will because of what you both went through. He trusts you and he trusts me explicitly and that's great, but he's wary around other adults."

"I know," Sirius said, moving to sit at the table. "He just needs to spend more time with them. Like the Weasleys for instance, they were great and they have such a big family, six sons and a daughter — they're friendly and full of life and I think that's a great influence on him to see that."

"I agree," he said. "We should try to get him to talk more about it or I don't know, try to implement more rules or something. He's… he's an angel and so sweet all of the time. Not that it's not wonderful, because it is, but boys his age should want to be a little devilish sometimes. He should want to get into trouble — to cause pranks and mischief. He just… goes along with whatever we ask of him."

Sirius nodded, eyes on the window watching his godson run around with his puppy. "He helped Ginny prank her twin brothers yesterday. When he told me about it, his eyes were just full of laughter and joy. He'll get there, Moony. We just have to give him the opportunity. Speaking of the Weasleys, I noticed that they had this chore chart on the wall of the kitchen and I kind of liked the concept. I was thinking that we should start one up for the three of us."

Remus rolled his eyes. "I don't live here, Padfoot; I'm not letting you con me into doing your bloody chores."

Sirius laughed, brushing his hair out of his eyes. "Damn, I thought I had you." At his friend's grin, he continued. "Harry makes his bed every morning and he helps me with dishes, sets the table, and helps with the cooking. But I thought maybe we could give him a checklist of things to do over the week and as he completes them, he gets a prize or an allowance or something. I noticed Molly had gold stars and a list of things like five gold stars earns extra flying time or something. I don't know, it was something I was tossing around in my head earlier."

"I think it's a great idea, Sirius. You can also implement a meal plan; you two can decide together food choices for the week, I can help with that and it will also help ensure Harry gets the vegetables, protein, calcium, and fruit that he needs on a daily basis. Plus it will stop you from having to figure out what to make each and every day, which is a chore in itself." Remus suggested, smiling at his friend. "And Marauder is his puppy, he should take more responsibility for him."

"Agreed."

"As for pranks," Remus began, smiling at his friend. "I was thinking we could start playing little pranks on him."

"What?" Sirius asked in surprise. "Play pranks on the child? Moony, are you joking? That can't be good parenting!"

Remus laughed, folding his arms in front of him on the table. "Now, now, hear me out," he said, chuckling. "I mean fun things to make him laugh and to help him realize that it's okay to have fun. Like filling a glass full of jelly with a straw so it hardens and giving it to him as juice. Or making up our own daily fortunes as a lunch time surprise. Something funny like 'your brain is zombie food.' Freeze a bowl of cereal and give it to him in the morning. Or hide bubble wrap around the house under the rugs and watch his surprise when he steps on it. You know, stuff like that? My mum used to help me do those kinds of things all the time as a kid. I loved them."

"This explains a lot, Moony," Sirius told him with a grin. "Jamie and I always wondered how you were so annoyingly good at coming up with pranks."

"Mum once put a balloon in a cake pan and covered it with icing and sprinkles for my birthday. When I went to cut the cake it exploded everywhere. I laughed myself silly," Remus told him with a grin.

Sirius slapped his hands together, grinning wickedly. "I'm in. Operation Prank The Piss Out Of Harry Potter has commenced."

Remus grinned at his friend. "Let's start tonight. I have the perfect idea in mind for dessert."

Harry grinned widely, turning to look at his father. "Prank the Piss Out of Harry Potter? You lot really did have an operation for everything!"

Remus chuckled. "We did. We enjoyed it and pranking you was fun. You got really into it as well. Do you remember when you tried to get a good prank on Sirius and hit Dumbledore instead?"

"No," Harry said, his eyes widening. "I pranked Dumbledore?"

Remus nodded, moving to add a memory to the basin. It was only a moment before it began to play for them.

"I had come over watch you as Sirius had plans with Thea," Remus explained.

"I remember this," Tonks said. "I helped him get the concoction into the fireplace."

A minute later the Floo lit up and a tall man with a crooked nose, a long silver beard, and half-moon glasses stepped out of the fireplace, covered from head to toe in flour, confetti, and sprinkles — and Harry giggled. The giggles turned into fits of laughter as Sirius and Remus stared open-mouthed at Albus Dumbledore.

"Albus, what exactly were you up to before stopping by?" Sirius asked, laughing.

Dumbledore carefully wiped his eyes which were twinkling in laughter. "Sirius, you may have a slight problem in your fireplace. The Floo seems to be malfunctioning."

Harry roared, clutching his stomach, and Remus' eyes widened.

"Little Prongs, did you do this?"

Harry nodded in between his laughter. "It — was — supposed — to — be — Uncle — Padfoot!" he gasped in between his laughs and Remus busted into laughter.

"We've created a monster, Sirius," he said with a grin.

Sirius smirked, bending down and picking up Harry by the legs, holding him upside down, as the child cackled. "You thought I'd look funny like that, did you?"

"Yes!" Harry squealed, laughing as Sirius swing him upside down back and forth in front of his feet like the pendulum of a grandfather clock.

Dumbledore smiled, using a quick cleansing charm on himself. "I see you three are getting along quite famously."

Sirius lifted Harry up into his arms, settling him on his hip and grinning when Harry merely monkey crawled onto his shoulders. He reached up to hold his waist and to keep him steady as Harry's hands played with his hair.

"Been having a bit of a Prank War, Albus, sorry that you got caught in the crossfire."

Dumbledore waved his hand in front of him as he grinned. "Not to worry, no harm done."

Sirius smiled. "Harry, do you remember Professor Dumbledore? He's the Headmaster of Hogwarts. You met him once a few months ago?"

Harry nodded, smiling kindly at the man. "Hello. I'm sorry for the prank."

Dumbledore chuckled. "It was a very good prank, Harry. I'm only sorry that I didn't get to see you cover Sirius in it." When Harry beamed at him, he smiled. "Sirius, may I have a private word?"

Sirius nodded, lifting Harry down from his shoulders. "Of course. Down you go, Prongslet."

Harry immediately made a beeline for Remus' arms who hoisted him up.

"Uncle Moony, I wanted it to be Uncle Siri."

"Me too," Remus admitted. "Let's come up with a good one for him while he's gone, okay?"

Harry's eyes lit up. "Like what?"

Remus looked thoughtful. "We can put itching powder in his jeans."

Harry giggled. "In his socks?"

"Sure," Remus said. "Or even better, let's put itching powder in his hair gel."

Harry's eyes widened. "Uncle Padfoot loves his hair!"

Remus' grin widened. "I know."

The memory faded away and Harry grinned.

"Pranks on Uncle Siri's hair were always great. Remember when we turned it grey?"

Remus laughed. "Oh, Merlin! I thought that he was going to kill us."

"When was this?" McGonagall asked.

"A few years ago," Harry admitted. "Let's watch the memory."

He stood up to add his own memory to the Pensieve, watching as Remus helped distract everyone so that Harry could add the colour-changing potion Remus had brought him to his father's drink.

"I'm adding a colour-changing potion. We decided to do it because Zee said Uncle Sirius completely freaked out over finding his first grey hair."

"That's an understatement," Zee said. "He was incredibly dramatic. I'll show that memory next."

They watched in amazement as Sirius' hair changed slowly, the long tresses still just so perfectly casual-like near his face turned silver along with his stubbled beard and Harry snorted into his drink.

Sirius merely raised one silver eyebrow. "What's up with you?"

Harry shrugged. "Nothing."

Sorcha stepped out of the kitchen, drying her hands on a dish towel, and gasped when she saw him. "Goodness, Sirius!"

"What?" he asked as Harry and Remus grinned at each other.

"Your hair!" Sorcha exclaimed in surprise.

Sirius paled. "What about my hair?" He touched the top of his head and seemed relieved to feel the hair there before he jumped to his feet and hurried to the mirror on the wall by the stairs. "BLOODY BUGGERING HELL!"

Harry busted into laughter and Sirius turned around, his eyes wide.

"YOU DID THIS?"

Harry laughed harder, clutching his sides as he did so and tears leaking from the corners of his eyes. He gasped when Sirius tugged him to his feet.

"You put it back right now, Harry James! I am too bloody young to have hair this colour!"

Harry only gasped for breath amidst his laughter. "C-c-can't," he stuttered. "Lasts t-t-twelve hours."

Sirius' eyes widened. "You little jerk. One rule, Harry, one rule to follow. You NEVER mess with this perfection! Never the hair!"

Remus and Tonks were laughing loudly as Zee smirked at them.

"Look at this! I've aged twenty years!"

Zee laughed and stood up, wrapping her arms around her boyfriend's waist. "I don't know, I think you look kind of sexy with white hair. It suits you; very dashing."

Sirius glared at her, grabbing his sunglasses from the table and putting them on. "Don't patronize me, witch."

She bit her lip. "No, really."

Sorcha nodded. "She's not wrong. It really does look quite nice on you. At least you know he's still going to be good looking when he goes grey, dear."

Misha snorted. "It's just hair!"

"Not to Uncle Siri," Harry said with a grin, finally managing to catch his breath. "To him it's basically a life style. His hair is apparently part of what makes him a star."

"I am a star," Sirius said, earning a collective groan from Harry and Remus.

Misha chuckled. "Ah, he is melodramatic."

Sirius frowned as Harry laughed harder. "No! My hair is a godsend! You are all just jealous because my hair is perfect."

"You're a big drama queen," Remus muttered under his breath.

Sirius shot him two fingers and Remus snorted.

"You saw the photo, Papa," Harry said with a grin. "He was in the bubble bath, Zee's rainbow blue bath bubbles actually, and he had cucumber slices over his eyes!"

"So, he is melodramatic!" Misha repeated, making Zee snort in laughter.

"He still owes me a damn rainbow blue bath bomb," Zee muttered.

Sirius scowled at them. "I hate all of you."

"Well," Sorcha said, grinning around at everyone. "Before we were distracted there, I was about to say that dinner is ready."

They all headed into the kitchen to eat, Sirius still touching his hair in worry.

Harry rolled his eyes. "Tomorrow it will be back to normal. I know better than to do something permanent to your hair, Uncle Siri."

Sirius merely glowered at him. "Just remember that payback's a bitch, Prongslet."

McGonagall chuckled. "Sirius always could be overly dramatic."

Tonks nodded. "Always."

"It makes me sad to think that he never truly got to experience turning grey," McGonagall said, her tea in her hands.

"Me too, but at the same time, I can hear him telling me that at least he died good looking with perfect hair," Remus added.

Harry snorted. "Yeah, that sounds about right."

Zee added her memory into the Pensieve a moment later and the master bedroom of Black Cottage came into view. Zee was pulling a jumper over her head as Sirius bellowed from the bathroom in a high pitched yell.

"ZAHIRA!"

Zee ran into the bathroom, still tugging her jumper over her head. "What? What is it? Are you okay?"

Sirius closed his eyes and let out a slow breath. He was standing in front of the vanity in nothing but a towel. "Tell me, this is not what I think it is."

"Tell you what?" she asked, frowning. "Sirius, you're scaring me? Did Harry call? Did something happen?"

Sirius shook his head, his lips tightening as he slowly pointed to his head.

Zee stared at him in confusion and then she caught it in the light and she snorted, earning a scowl from him. "Is that a white hair?"

"I am too young to have white hair!"

Zee had busted into laughter now, holding the doorframe of the bathroom for support. "You can get white hair at any age, Sirius."

Sirius had picked up the single hair now, leaning closer to the mirror to inspect it. "This is Harry's fault! If his name hadn't come out of the Goblet of Fire, if he keeps finding himself in these situations that almost … he's lucky I haven't had a bloody heart attack yet with everything that's happened to him! Look at my hair! It's ruined!"

Zee was still giggling as she moved over to him and wrapped her arms around his waist from behind, kissing his shoulder blade where the tattoo of the Marauder crest sat. "It's not ruined, you big drama queen."

She tugged his head down, plucked the hair between her fingers and yanked.

"BLOODY BUGGERING HELL! WAS THAT NECESSARY, WOMAN?"

Zee simply grinned. "Apparently it was. Look, you're white-hair free now. Calm yourself."

She made to go and he tugged her back against him. "You are a sadist."

She laughed. "Oh, I am, am I? You're lucky the white hair was only on your head. Just wait until I find one a little lower," she said, her hand slipping down his happy trail. "I'll tug it out too."

Sirius dipped his head to kiss her. "I love you, but if anyone is taking care of those white hairs, it's going to be me."

Zee chuckled against his mouth. "Finish getting dressed. We'll have a quick bite to eat before you go meet Harry for his first training session. You can tell him that he's ruining your hair."

Sirius only scowled at her in response.

Remus chuckled as the memory faded out. "Merlin, he really was a drama queen, wasn't he?"

"The biggest," Harry agreed.

Ginny smiled. "It was part of his charm."

"Definitely," Harry said, stirring the Pensieve with his wand. "There's still two more memories in here. Should we check them out?"

McGonagall nodded. "I'd certainly like to see them."

"Me too," Zee said.

Harry stirred them again and a moment later a new scene unfolded before them.

It was the Great Hall at Hogwarts and Harry immediately recognized his mother, Sirius, and Remus sitting at the Gryffindor table.

"Oh, I remember this," Remus said. "It was the Easter holiday of seventh year and James went to France with Monty to deal with some great uncle of his who had passed. He'd been gone for three days and Lily was really missing him. With her losing her own parents a few months earlier, she took his absence hard."

Harry nodded, watching as James' beautiful owl Poseidon came flying into the Great Hall and Lily's face had lit up when he flew towards her. Her expression changed from glee to confusion at the sight of the bright red envelope in his beak.

"A Howler?" she asked, her eyes wide in horror.

Sirius grinned, taking the letter from Poseidon. "You better open it, Evans. You know what happens when you don't. My mum used to send me enough of them. Trust me, I'm practically an expert."

Lily hesitated before she carefully accepted the letter from Sirius' hand suspiciously. "Why would he send me a Howler? I… I haven't done anything wrong. Absolutely nothing to warrant a screaming letter!"

"Lil, it's going to blow. Open it!" Sirius ordered as it started to emit sparks.

Remus, tired of watching them arguing, had simply plucked the letter from Lily's grasp and popped it open, dropping it in front of her as Peter stuffed his fingers in his ears in anticipation of the screams.

The envelope shrivelled up into a paper cut out of James' face.

But it didn't scream.

Instead, the letter began to sing. James' soft melodic voice filling the Great Hall.

"As I write this letter, send my love to you. Remember that I'll always, be in love with you. Treasure these few words till we're together. Keep all my love, forever. P.S. I love you; you, you, you. I'll be coming home again to you, love. And till the day I do, love. P.S. I love you; you, you, you! P.S. I love you; you, you, you! You, you, you! I love you."

When the letter finished singing, it merely lay down in front of her and folded in half and Lily knew that if she just opened it again, James' voice would once more fill the Great Hall. Tears welled up in Lily's eyes as some of the girls nearby made squeals of 'aww' around her.

Sirius draped his arm around her shoulders. "Looks like Jamie found a new way to use a Howler, love."

Lily punched him lightly on the shoulder. "I'm completely mortified!"

Remus gave her a knowing look. "And even more in love with him than you already were."

"Maybe," she admitted before she kissed Remus' cheek and then Sirius'. "But this tells me that he's coming home very soon!"

Sirius exchanged a look with Remus as they watched Lily take the letter and hurry off. "That girl's got it bad."

Remus laughed. "So does the boy who sang the love letter."

And the two of them just grinned at each other.

"Aww," Ginny said as the memory faded. "That's so romantic!"

"Jamie had his moments," Remus said. "Oh, this next one was our first day at Hogwarts. Merlin, we were so little."

Harry had to agree as he watched Sirius, James, Remus, Peter, and Kingsley Shacklebolt come down the stairs to stand in the Gryffindor common room. He recognized his mum in the corner with some other girls.

"That's Dorcas Meadows next to your mum, then Deanna Kane, Marlene McKinnon, and Mary MacDonald. Wow, they're all so young," Remus said, sounding like he was far away.

Harry watched as the girl Remus claimed was Dorcas Meadows adjusted his mum's tie.

"Of course, my Dad is terrible at it and I've been fixing his tie for him for the last six years. He's going to be completely helpless while I'm at school," Dorcas said.

A prefect was leaning against the wall waiting for them as they settled into the common room. "Good morning, first years!" he said, giving them a bright smile. His blond hair was a little long and tied back with a leather thong and his grey eyes twinkled at them. "As I said last night, I'm Aidan Cross and I'll show you to the Great Hall and Professor McGonagall will give all of you maps as well as your schedules."

Sirius followed the other Gryffindor first years out of the portrait hole and through the castle into the Great Hall as Lily gasped in surprise when owls began to fly down around them and she jumped back in alarm, bumping into James.

He laughed and grabbed her arm to steady her. "Wow there, Evans, just the post!"

"The post?"

"Yeah." He plopped himself down onto the bench and helped himself to some breakfast as Lily took a seat next to him.

"Owls?"

James nodded, munching on some bacon. "Don't your mum and dad use owls?"

Lily shook her head as Sirius sat down on the other side of James. "No, my parents aren't magical at all. They use the postman. I knew owls delivered messages, but to see so many at once is quite the spectacle."

"You're Muggleborn?" Sirius asked in surprise, reaching for a glass of orange juice.

James' face lit up. "Brilliant! This berk had never even heard of The Beatles! Evans, you've got to tell him how brilliant they are! And Elvis! Not to mention The Rolling Stones and The Animals! This git thinks that I'm making it all up!"

Sirius rolled his eyes. "I didn't say that you were making it up, I just have never heard Muggle music before yesterday when you played it on the train."

"His family is hardcore purebloods, which means his knowledge of Muggles is let's just say sadly lacking," James told her. "Seriously though, how wicked are The Beatles?"

Lily laughed at his excitement. "The Beatles are brill. I have a poster of Paul in my bedroom at home."

"See, Sirius? I told you! Really, though, what's your favourite album? Ouch!" he exclaimed as the white owl in front of him nipped his fingers. "Sorry, Plato! I didn't see you!" He reached for a bit of his toast and tugged a piece off to give the owl as he unrolled the parchment, his ears burning red. "I told her I'd write at the end of the week."

Sirius looked over at the letter. "Aw, does your mummy miss you already, Potter?"

James ignored him as he read the letter aloud.

Dear Jamie,

Dad and I hope you have a wonderful first day of classes. We sent Plato just to say hi and to make you think of us at home. Write by the weekend and send Poseidon with a letter, we want to know everything.

We love you!

Love,

Mum and Dad

"She's mental," James muttered, folding up the parchment, his ears still burning.

"I think it's nice," Lily told him as she added a generous dollop of cream to her porridge and berries. "And for the record, I love Abbey Road but also Revolver, Rubber Soul, and Help and most definitely Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, but honestly, I love all of them."

James' smile widened. "Lily Evans, I think we just became best friends."

"Lily?" A voice said from behind them and they both turned to where Snape stood there, his hands in his pockets awkwardly.

"Snivellus, right?" Sirius said with a smirk. "I see the green and silver work for you."

Lily glared at him. "His name is Severus."

James put his hands up in mock surrender. "Ooh how terribly rude of us. I'd apologize, Snivellus, but I can already tell that you're a git."

Lily smacked him in the arm, her green eyes blazing. "I think I know who the prat is, James Potter!" She turned around fully and smiled at her friend. "How's Slytherin, Sev? Is it everything you hoped for?"

He nodded, glaring at the boys who were talking amongst themselves now. "Can we talk?"

Lily nodded, grabbing an apple. "What's going on?"

Severus shrugged, his hands still in his pockets as he glared at James and Sirius who were clearly eavesdropping. "We're still friends, right?"

Lily looked at him in bewilderment. "Of course we're still friends! Why would you think otherwise?"

Snape looked back at the Slytherin table and then around the Great Hall where all of the students were eating breakfast merrily. "We've been separated by our houses, Lily. Everything is going to change."

Lily laughed at his pained expression. "You're being ridiculous! Just because we're in different parts of the castle doesn't mean that we still can't be friends and that we won't still see each other. We're still going to have classes together and we can study together and see each other outside of class."

"Gryffindor and Slytherin are supposed to be enemies."

"Frenemies then, at least in our case," she said. "Why are they enemies?"

"Not enemies per-say," Snape said carefully. "But we have to be careful. Some people might not like it if I hang out with you."

Lily's eyebrow rose at that. "Who are these people and why do you care what they think?"

"Lily," Snape said in exasperation. "The magical world is different. Petunia thinks we're freaks because we have magical powers, but in this world, it's you who's different."

"Me?" she asked in surprise, crossing her arms in front of her. "How am I different?"

Snape looked uncomfortable and he shuffled his feet as he spoke. "Because you're Muggleborn and well, some people, purebloods namely, find that… repulsive. I just wanted to give you a warning in case someone says something to you that is, you know, rude."

"You're not a pureblood, are you?" she asked him, not liking the way the word rolled off of her tongue.

Snape shook his head. "No, I'm not, I'm a half-blood, but that's still a lot better than someone who comes from a non magical background."

"Are you saying that you're embarrassed to be my friend now? You told me that it didn't matter if I was Muggleborn!"

"Oi!" James said, turning around in his seat. "Evans, is this git giving you grief?"

"Potter, go away," she said, glaring at him and turning back to Snape. "Well, are you?"

"No! No! I would never!" he mumbled, pushing his hair out of his eyes. "I just… I just wanted you to know."

Lily stared at him for a moment. "Okay, now I know. So what now?"

Snape gave her a small smile. "Now we stay friends, no matter what."

"I still don't really see why this changes anything, Sev, but if it makes you feel better that I know, then all right."

He nodded. "Hopefully we'll have our first class together."

Lily nodded and watched him head back to his own house table. She looked over at the two boys as James spoke next to her.

"Honestly, mate, you have to hear The White Album, I'll play it later for you."

Sirius turned his attention to Lily. "So, Lily, how do you know that greasy-haired git?" he asked, brushing his black hair out of his eyes.

"He's not a greasy-haired git and his name is Severus Snape!" she exclaimed, taking a spoonful of her porridge. "He lives near me."

"So you knew him before yesterday?" James asked as he cleaned his plate.

"We met at the park. He saw me do magic and he told me that I was a witch. I had no idea, being Muggleborn and all, and then he told me all about Hogwarts and how because I was eleven I would get a letter. I thought that he was making up stories, but then the letter really came."

"I always wondered how Muggleborns find out? I mean, do they think the letter's a prank?" Sirius asked, looking at James for confirmation. "I mean, really? How do they find out?"

"Professor Dumbledore came to my house," Lily told them as she finished her breakfast. "He spoke to me and my parents and told us all about the school."

"Brilliant," James said. "I've just been bugging my parents for years about why I couldn't come to Hogwarts yet."

Sirius laughed, snagging some more bacon and looking around to see if anyone noticed him taking seconds before he popped it into his mouth. "My parents just argued whether Hogwarts was the better choice for me over Durmstrang."

James looked offended. "How could they even consider! Durmstrang doesn't even compare!"

Sirius shrugged. "They have their reasons. But they decided Hogwarts was the better choice because our family has always been Slytherins." He grinned, "Bet I get a Howler when Mum finds out that I'm in Gryffindor."

"What's a Howler?" Lily asked, her eyes on Sirius. "And there are other magic schools?"

James nodded. "Oh yeah, there are schools all over the world. But Hogwarts is by far the best one. And a Howler is not something you want, trust me! It's a letter that's bright red and it screams at you."

Sirius sighed. "I better write home and break the news."

"You can use Poseidon if you want."

"Thanks mate, but I have an owl."

"Miss Evans?"

Lily turned at the sound of her name, eyes meeting those of Professor McGonagall. "Good morning, Professor."

"Good morning, here is your schedule and a map of the school. Your first class this morning is with me. I look forward to seeing you all." She passed out the rest of the timetables to the first years, reacquainting herself with names and faces.

Lily looked at the map of the school in interest. She ignored James and Sirius who were bickering now over whether or not Sirius should write home tonight or wait until the end of the week. She turned to Marlene and smiled warmly.

"Want to walk to Transfiguration with me?"

"Gladly," Marlene said. "We can try not to get lost together."

"I see the four of you were already not getting along with Snape," McGonagall said, clucking her tongue when the memory ended.

Remus shrugged. "He was fairly rude to all of us from the get-go, but yes, Sirius and James instigated him."

"Uh-huh," McGonagall said.

Tonks wrinkled her nose. "To be fair, he already was quite unpleasant. I still don't know where I stand with him."

"He is sending young Death Eaters to your parents for protection," Remus added.

"Doesn't mean he still isn't a git," Tonks said.

"Here, here," Harry said. "But he also gave us the antidote to save Ginny. As much as I dislike him, I can't thank him enough for that. Borage said it prevented him from taking an extra few weeks to get it right. Without his help… I don't want to think about what would have happened."

Ginny squeezed his hand. "He saved my life."

"Yeah," Tonks agreed, "but he's still a git."

Harry couldn't argue with that. He stirred the last memory. "There's one left."

The memory opened with Harry's bedroom. Sirius was sitting on the side of the bed, which was covered in stuffed plushies, and Harry watched as his father turned to look at a young Harry standing in the doorway.

"What are you doing, Harry? Come on; time for bed." He patted the bed next to him, "Dans le lit maintenant."

Harry smiled at the French, but shook his head. "I want to stay with you."

Sirius cocked his head at him. "You want to sleep in my bed tonight?"

Harry nodded, smiling when Sirius walked over to him and swooped him up into his arms, kissing his cheek. "Yes, please."

Sirius carried him into his own bedroom, flopping the warm, sleepy child onto the large bed. "Why, Prongslet?"

Harry snuggled under the covers. "You too," he insisted, patting the bed and only staying still once Sirius had lain next to him and Harry snuggled into his chest, his cheek over his heart.

Sirius held the boy close, kissing the top of his head. "Are you all right, Prongslet?"

"I had bad dreams," he whispered.

Sirius' arms tightened around him. "At the Weasleys?"

Harry nodded, turning to look up at his godfather. "I woke up and you weren't there to make them go away."

Sirius kissed the top of his head again. "I'm sorry I wasn't there. What did you dream?"

Harry shrugged. "Stuff."

Sirius held the child close. He was quiet for a moment, unsure about what he was going to say. "I had bad dreams too."

Harry sat up in surprise. "You did?"

Sirius nodded, urging Harry to cuddle with him again. Once he was, his head in the crook of his arm, he spoke again. "I have bad dreams too sometimes. But Marauder was here, he missed you, and he made me feel safe. Did you wake up Ron?"

Harry shook his head, rubbing his tired eyes. "Ron doesn't have bad dreams."

"Everyone has bad dreams, Prongslet. It's nothing to be ashamed of."

He merely burrowed closer. "Ginny had a bad dream too and she came running into Ron's room and wanted to sleep with him. He told her to go away, but she didn't listen. And he let her stay in his bed."

Sirius smiled. "Sounds like Ron is a pretty good big brother." When Harry only nodded in response, Sirius continued. "It sounds to me that if you had told Ron that you had a bad dream too, he wouldn't have minded."

Harry was quiet for a moment. "Uncle Vernon was in mine. I didn't… I don't want… Ron to know about…" He closed his eyes, his cheeks heating as if he was ashamed.

Sirius kissed the top of his head. "You don't have to tell Ron if you don't want to. But never be ashamed of having a nightmare or a bad dream. It is not your fault that those tossers treated you so badly. You didn't deserve it and it was a long time ago now, Harry. You have so many people in your life who love you."

"I don't want Ron to think I'm a baby."

"Is Ginny a baby?"

Harry shrugged. "She's younger, but no."

"Then why would he think that you were a baby?" When he only shrugged again, Sirius continued. "I had nightmares too last night, guess I must be a big baby, too."

"But you're a grownup and grownups don't get scared!"

Sirius smiled at the innocence of the simple statement. "Grownups get scared the most, Prongslet. My bad dreams were about when I was in prison in Azkaban," he told Harry. "I was scared and alone and it was dark and I was so sad over the death of James and Lily and losing you. When I woke up and you weren't here, I felt scared for a minute, thinking that something had happened to you, until I remembered that you were safe at The Burrow. And Marauder was here to make me feel better. I think I always sleep better when you're around too."

Harry smiled at that, his eyes closing slightly. "I love you, Uncle Padfoot."

"I love you too, Prongslet," he said. "Now you can stay with me tonight, but tomorrow its back into your own bed, deal?"

"Deal."

Sirius kissed the top of his head. "Go to sleep, Harry. I'll be right here."

And when Harry drifted off to sleep, the feeling of safety and the feel of being loved engulfed him in warmth and he slept peacefully and deeply, all thoughts of his nightmares gone.

"You were so adorable," Ginny said. "Look how sweet Sirius was with you!"

Zee nodded. "He was an amazing father."

"The best," Harry agreed, moving to put the last memory back into the vial. "He would have loved us watching memories today."

"He loved you, little Prongs," Remus said. "He loved you and Zee more than he loved anyone in his life. James and I used to be his world, then Lily, then Fee and Monty, Minerva, and when you were born, he just melted. He would have done anything for you and the same for Zee. I wish he could have been around for Mina and Leo. They would have had him wrapped around their fingers."

Zee smiled, hugging a pillow to her breast. "We loved him, too."

Harry thought his mother had never spoken truer words. It was the second birthday with Sirius being gone and sometimes it felt like only yesterday. He could still smell his soap, smell forest and leather, and swore that he was nearby, watching him, guiding him. Other times, he felt like Sirius had been gone so long now. The only thing he did know with absolute certainty was that Sirius Black had been the best damn godfather and father that he ever could have asked for.

Harry reached his hand out to grip Zee's and hoped that when it was his time to be godfather to his godchild, he would be even half as awesome as Sirius as had been.

---

End Author's Notes:

I tweaked the scene of Sirius and Lily from my Crazy Little Thing Called Love Jily fic. I love the idea of Sirius walking Lily down the aisle.

Thank you for reading and please review!