Laura huffed as she led the two men and her new friend into the antechamber where the will was being read. Shocked gasps and raised eyebrows met the sight of the three males. She looked over at Amelia and said,
"His mother has been abusing him and has recently murdered his father. I've had the Goblins handle her for now, but you'll have to arrest her later. I also want him checked out by a Healer before we leave."
Amelia nodded and wrote it down, saying,
"The Goblins gave me another letter from your parents explaining that Peter Pettigrew was their Secret Keeper and that Albus Dumbledore cast the charm."
Laura inclined her head before turning to her father and uncle,
"Explain. Now."
The two exchanged a look, then shrugged and grinned,
"It's quite simple really,…" began Fabian.
"… your father and James got married,…" Gideon continued.
"… and had you in our seventh year at Hogwarts.…" Fabian.
"Then they had Harry,…" Gideon.
"Four years later." Fabian.
"Then we found out,…" Gideon. The grins disappeared.
"… that Dumbledork was planning to send us into a trap,…" Fabian.
"… and get us killed. So we decided that it would be a good idea,…" Gideon.
"… to fake our own deaths." they finished together. Laura frowned,
"That doesn't explain Da and Lily." she pointed out. Fabian and Gideon inclined their heads.
"No it doesn't. Gid, you get explain your wife's 'brilliant' plan." Fabian told his twin. Gideon rolled his eyes,
"The day before we 'died' Lily got the four of us together and said that since she and James were soon to be widows, or in James' case a widower, they should get married and that she should blood adopt Laura and Harry. Her reasoning was that Dumbledore would force them to do it anyway and if they did it of their own free will he would think they were finally falling in with his plans. We reluctantly agreed and performed the blood adoption in James' office. Three days after our 'funeral' - they were married. A week later the four of you went into hiding. A month later it was Halloween of 1981. The rest you know." he ended darkly. Laura, seeing the broken look in the man's eyes, flung her arms around him and hugged her uncle tightly. Gideon smiled faintly and hugged her back. Fabian cleared his throat and pouted when they looked at him,
"You hug your uncle but you won't even look at your dad?"
Gideon and Laura both rolled their eyes, but the girl released her uncle to embrace her father, who grinned widely.
Amelia watched the scene with a soft smile. You could feel the relief and happiness coming off the family before her. Unfortunately, she had to ruin the moment. She had a job to do. She cleared her throat loudly, watching in amusement as they jumped and glared at her as one.
"Sorry to interrupt, but I was called here for a reason."
Laura blushed,
"Sorry, Madame Bones. Umm… does Padfoot really need to go back to Azkaban or can he go home with us?"
Amelia smiled,
"Of course, but what about the boy?"
Laura looked puzzled,
"Michael?" she asked, gesturing to the boy she had brought in. At Amelia's nod, she waved her hand dismissively, "He's coming with us, of course." she answered in a 'duh' tone, as if this should have been obvious. The men in the room raised their eyebrows at her, but she stared them down.
"He. Is. Coming. Home. With. Us." she annunciated slowly. All four nodded their heads like whipped dogs, making Laura beam happily at them. "Great! Now, Madame Bones and Michael need to go talk about the woman and we need to call a Healer to check on him and the little ones. And Siri." she tacked on as an after thought. With that, she bound out of the room, leaving four stunned men, three confused children, a fearful teenager, and a laughing Amelia in her wake.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Time Jump ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
After Sirius had been freed, Michael, Sirius, and the children heeled from their injuries, and the four men had reacquainted themselves, the family of nine moved to Potter Manor and quickly settled into a routine. For an hour every day Laura, Michael, Sirius, Selene, Kathryn, and Harry spoke to a therapist while Fabian got used to being a parent again and Sirius got know his children and godchildren and spend time with them. Laura had taken to studying nonstop over the summer in between family time and therapy until three weeks before September first, she walked into the study and demanded to take the end of year exam for first and second years. She passed the exams with flying colors and now sat at the desk in her room, penning a letter to Minerva McGonagall, asking to be Sorted before term started so that she could start her third year sitting with her House. When she finished, she rolled it up and tied it to Mercury's, their owl, leg and sent him off before rushing off to play with her baby brother.
The next morning she got a response giving an affirmative, saying that McGonagall would met her, if permitted, at Potter Manor at twelve noon with the Hat. Laura ran to her father's study, brandishing the letter, saying loudly,
"Daddy! She said I could be Sorted here if you'll let her through the wards! Please, Daddy? Please, please, please, please, please, please, please?"
Fabian laughed at his daughter's exuberance and nodded,
"Alright baby, I'll let her through - oof!" he stumbled backwards when he suddenly found his arms filled with his overly-excited daughter.
"Thank you!" she exclaimed, hugging him ecstatically. He laughed again when she kissed his cheek and ran off to go find the others.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 12 o'clock ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Minerva stepped gracefully out of the Floo and into the elegant sitting room of Potter Manor. The sight that met her made her head spin with confusion and warmed her heart at the same time. A young girl who was clearly Laura Potter-Prewett, as she'd been informed by the girl's letter, playing with a small boy she assumed to be her brother Harry. She cleared her throat to get there attention.
Both children froze and Laura looked up, grinning when she saw her.
"Hello, Professor. Do you mind if I go get my family? They want to be there when I'm Sorted."
Minerva smiled,
"Of course, Miss Potter. I'll just wait here while you go get them."
Laura smiled happily before bounding off, Harry hot on her heels. Five minutes later, seven people were shoved into the room shortly followed by the too Potter children. Minerva hid a smirk at the sight of the Prewett brothers' bewildered expressions. Laura was bouncing excitedly,
"Can I be Sorted now?"
Minerva chuckled,
"Of course. Take a seat and I will place the Hat on your head."
The teen nodded eagerly and perched herself on the edge of the nearest chair. Minerva placed the hat on the girl's head and waited.
Laura jumped in surprise when she heard a voice speak in her mind,
"Well, well, aren't you difficult? You're cunning and ambitious, you would do well in Slytherin."
"No" Laura objected firmly, "I want to be underestimated. So no Ravenclaw or Gryffindor either. Place me in Hufflepuff."
The Hat chuckled,
"Very well, if you're sure. Better be…"
"HUFFLEPUFF!" the Hat shouted the last word, making the others in the room jump in surprise. Michael was disappointed for a moment, then he caught her eye and new that the Sorting changed nothing. He smiled happily and called out,
"Congratulations, Lorey!"
She smiled,
"Thanks, Mikey."
"Mr. Angelus, what are you doing here?" McGonagall asked, clearly startled. Laura smiled tightly.
"We've taken him, seeing as his father is dead and his stepmother in Azkaban for his murder."
At the woman's unsettled look, Laura's smile softened and she quietly reassured the woman,
"Mikey's fine now. We're taking good care of him and making sure he gets the help he needs."
Michael nodded in agreement,
"They've all been great, Professor. Much better than my stepmother."
The Professor nodded, still clearly shaken,
"Very well. I shall see you both at Hogwarts." with that she left. Laura turned to her family, wide eyed, and asked,
"Well? Are you going to say something?"
That broke the men out of their trance and they came surging forward, trapping the poor girl in one hug after another and congratulating her. She smiled happily and rushed off to the kitchen to make lunch.