Disclaimer: Everything is mine except for the stuff you recognize!

Okay guys so I changed my username, i'm still the same person I swear, so just be aware that it's different than before! I decided it was time for a new one is all.

So, this is how to story is going to run usually, part of a song then Dany's, Lily's, Sirius', and then James' POV and there will be a line break between them (unless I forget).

Anyways, enjoy!

Essie

I'll bleed out for you
So I bare my skin
And I count my sins
And I close my eyes
And I take it in
I'm bleeding out
I'm bleeding out for you, for you.

~Bleeding Out, Imagine Dragons

Dany was impressed with her performance. She hated them. She hated them so much that she was tempted to reach up and snap Walburga Black's neck instead of shake her hand. It was such a simple motion: one snap. It would all be over. They couldn't hurt anyone from the grave. When she finally got to her brother after pushing through the crowd of people on the platform, he looked unhappy with her cavorting with the Blacks. That quickly turned to worry when she came closer.

"Dan…your hands are shaking. Are you okay?" He took her hands and she noticed that they were indeed shaking.

"I'm fine…just pissed. Let's go. Before I go back and break their necks." She snarled. Rae nodded and they started to leave. A woman grabbed Dany on their way out and when Rhaegar started to pull out his wand Dany said, "Stop!" to him quickly. The woman was young and she had a child behind her. A young mother who was apparently magical. They both looked incredibly impoverished and rather hungry.

"Miss Masters. Please, help my baby. Help my baby boy. No one will help me." She begged. Dany looked at her brother who dug through his pockets. Dany reached in her purse and handed them the money she had in there. Six galleons and a couple sickles. Rae contributed a few more galleons and she handed it to the woman.

"Come on, why don't we get you two a square meal? I'm sorry but this is all I have right now." Dany said gently, handing her the money. The woman threw her arms around the young girl, who was quite taken by surprise.

"You sweet girl. I can't ask that of you." Dany smiled and carefully extracted herself from the woman's grasp.

"You shouldn't have to. Really, it's no worry. Right Rae?" She said gently. Rhaegar looked like he might protest and Dany pinned him down with a stare that said 'what would Mom say?' He knew what Mom would say; charity was a pillar of their family and she would berate him for hours for not being charitable enough.

"It's really no trouble…I'm sorry, I didn't get your name." He said kindly.

"Natalie. My name is Natalie. This is Carson." She said softly, gesturing to her son. Dany smiled at the boy.

"Hi Carson. I'm Dany and this is my brother, Rae. You hungry?" The little boy nodded and Dany felt her insides twist a little. He was just a little kid; he shouldn't be starving in the streets, "Alright, well we're going to go have a nice big dinner right now, okay?" Carson nodded and grabbed his mom's hand. They all left King's Cross and Rae said,

"There's a good place about twenty minutes from here. I can apparate us there." Dany nodded.

"Kid friendly? Not formal?" He nodded to both of her quiet questions. She smiled, "Sounds great…alright, if everyone would kindly take an arm of my delightful brother…" they all grabbed an arm or hand.

"Ready? 1…2…3!" Rhaegar Apparated, dragging his sister, the Ministry driver, Natalie, and Carson with him. They all appeared on the side of a street, next to a small restaurant, "This is it." They all walked in and the waitress waved them into a seat,

"Anywhere you like, y'all." They all nodded and picked a seat by the window. The waitress came over and said, "What can I get you lot to drink?"

"Coffee for me is great." Dany said.

"Cream?"

"Please."

"Water, please." Rhaegar said. The Ministry worker declined any offer of food or drink. Dany suspected that it was in his job description to do and say as little as humanly possible.

"I'll take water as well, thank you." Natalie said timidly.

"Can I get milk?" Carson asked Dany quietly and quickly, like he was expecting a complete letdown.

"Of course. Chocolate?" She responded. He nodded quickly and Dany smiled at the waitress, "He'll take a chocolate milk." The server nodded and left, promising to be back in a flash. They all flipped through their menus and Dany silently gave her brother props for picking this place; it was just average food, nothing extraordinary, and nothing that would upset stomachs that had essentially been on a prison diet.

"What are you feeling like getting Dan?" Her brother asked. She shrugged.

"Not sure. Do you know if Mom and Dad are holding up dinner for us?" She asked him.

"I don't think so. Dad probably isn't even home, honestly. We'll probably still beat them both back home." Rae responded.

"Well, in that case, I'd really like… eggs and bacon." She decided.

"It's six in the evening." Her brother pointed out.

"What can I say? I'm an odd one." She dryly said. She looked up at Natalie and Carson, "What are you two going to get?"

"I don't know…I don't want us to be a burden." Natalie said meekly. Dany waved a hand.

"Please, don't worry about it. Anything goes, I promise." She nodded but still didn't look convinced. The waitress came back and Dany and Rhaegar both easily ordered. Natalie hesitated and then ordered a grilled cheese, plain. Carson ordered the same thing. The siblings exchanged a look.

"Actually, can you also grab a couple of cheeseburgers?" Rhaegar said suddenly. The server nodded.

"Sure thing, honey. Be right back."

"Having a sudden craving for red meat, Big Brother?" Dany joked. Rae just winked at her and they all talked a little before the food came out. When it did, Rhaegar got two cheeseburgers, and the sandwich he had originally ordered. As soon as the server walked away, he pushed the burgers towards the mother and child.

"Go ahead, eat. You two look like you could use a healthy dose of protein." They both dug into the food and Dany and Rae idly watched them eat. All of the food was gone in record time and soon the check was delivered. Rae took it and paid immediately, not letting anyone else at the table see the number, despite it probably being rather low, at least by their standards, Dany guessed. They left the diner and Rhaegar asked Natalie if there was anywhere they could take them. She said taking them back to King's Cross would be more than enough. They all Apparated again and with one more hug for each, Natalie and her son wished them all the fortune and good will in the world and soon vanished into the masses of people walking past the station. Dany smiled.

"That was a wonderful thing you did, Dan." Her brother said softly. She looked up at him.

"It was what was right. Now come on, let's go home." Their driver walked them to their car and they climbed into the backseat, settling in for the long ride up into Scotland.

The siblings woke up hours later, no more than ten minutes from their home. Dany rubbed her eyes and saw her brother doing the same. It was good to be home she thought to herself. The wrought iron gate that stood sentinel in front of the Masters Estate loomed in the distance; when they approached it she felt the wards around their home shudder, recognizing the Masters blood in the car. The gate opened and they were home, making the drive up the long wooded driveway. Suddenly, the trees stopped and their house was visible, yellow with white columns. There were lights on inside and once the car stopped, Dany and Rae jumped out of the car to get their things. They pulled their trunks out of the car and dragged them up the stairs onto the porch, thanking the Ministry driver for being so patient. They opened the door and shoved the trunks in before walking in themselves. They exchanged a look of relief at finally being home.

"Mom? Dad?" Rae called out. There was almost immediately an answer from the second floor.

"Rhaegar? Is that you?" Their mother called back, moments later appearing between each of the curved staircases, leaning over the iron handrail at the top. She smiled, "My kids. Safe and sound. Daniel! They're here!" She rushed down the stairs and hugged both of them tightly. Over her mother's shoulder, Dany caught sight of her father. As much as she loved her mother, she knew she always would be a Daddy's girl. Their mom dropped her arms and moved over to fret over Rhaegar and how he wasn't eating enough; truth was that he ate enough for three but still looked like he never ate and constantly exercised. Dany smiled at her dad. He grinned back.

"Dany, come here." He said. She launched herself into his arms and he gripped her tightly, making her feel like a little kid again. While Dany shared a deeper understanding and bond with her father, Rae was more connected to their mother. Dany always assumed that it was because Dany and her father were so much alike, just as her brother and mother were like each other, "My baby girl. My brave, brave girl." He said softly.

"I missed you, Daddy." She whispered into his chest.

"I missed you too, Sweetheart." He whispered back. She hugged him tighter for a second and then let go. She quickly rubbed her eyes. God, she missed her parents when she was at school; it was like being hungry and not noticing just how hungry you are until someone put a plate of food in front of you. She didn't feel too bad about choking up when she caught her dad trying to pull the 'I have something in my eye' card. Rhea, their mother, finally interrupted the tearful reunions.

"Have you two eaten? And I mean a real meal, not the garbage I know they feed you on that train." She said. She was very no-nonsense where her children's health and care were concerned. They both nodded.

"We ate. Actually, we had quite the experience, Mom. You'll be really proud of Dan when you hear this one." Rae said. She smiled at her brother.

"Dany? What happened?" Their mother said, like she was expecting to be the opposite of proud; she wasn't to be blamed. Stories that started out with "You'll be really proud of Dany" usually ended in her being grounded. She didn't know how to start this particular story so her brother answered.

"We were leaving the platform, right? And this woman that looks like she hasn't seen a good meal in a long time just grabs Dany's arm," Their parents looked less than thrilled at someone grabbing their daughter during wartime, "And I go to pull out my wand but Dany tells me to put it away. The woman, Natalie, is no more than 25 and she's got a kid with her. She holds onto Dany and begs her to help her son. So we gave them everything we had on hand and then Dany talks to the kid, Carson, and asks him if he's hungry. Of course the kid's starved, I mean these two look like they've been pulled right out of the gutter. So your daughter offered to take them to dinner somewhere. So we ate at a diner with them. We're going to need more money when we go back to Hogwarts, though; we gave most everything we had to them." Their parents exchanged a look that could only be described as incredibly proud.

"That was a wonderful thing you did, both of you. You're right, I'm very proud that you thought to do that." Their mother said to both of them.

"I originally just wanted to go home but Dan made me stay to help them, truth be told." Rhaegar admitted. Dany raised her eyebrows; he never admitted his shortcomings to their parents, especially Mom, so she had no idea why he was now.

"Rhaegar, it really wouldn't kill you to take a leaf out of your sister's book on this," Their mother reprimanded him sternly, "Charity is a pillar of this family and I will not let my children be the ones to send that crashing to the ground." Rae caught her eye and she tilted her head questioningly. He winked at her with a small smile. He was giving her full-credit for what had happened, something that he never thought to do. Her dad said quietly,

"Come on, let's leave these two to it. I have a feeling they'll be here a while." Dany nodded and followed her dad, to her surprise, to his study. She was seldom allowed in here, seldom was anyone allowed in here. He sat in one of the armchairs and she sat in the other, "Dan, I want to hear exactly why it is I invited the Blacks to a party full of perfectly nice people. No lies, no bullshit, I want the truth." He said questioningly, yet still stern.

"I told you, I'm afraid for him. I really am. James worries just as much as I do, I can tell; we all do. I met them today, you know, the Blacks." Daniel Masters looked like he would rather tear the Ministry down brick-by-brick than let his daughter talk to Walburga or Orion Black, "I was with Sirius and James on the platform and they came over to get Sirius. They're horrible people; they scared me. Of course I was perfectly polite, but I really wanted to kill them. If they were dead, this whole problem would be over…Does that make me a bad person?" She asked quietly. It was a question that she had been turning over in her mind ever since the urge to murder Walburga Black had seriously crossed her mind.

"No, Danilynn, it doesn't make you a bad person. Your thoughts can't turn you into a bad person, only your actions. Even then, Walburga and Orion Black wouldn't be a great loss to Wizarding society. We all have good sides and bad sides, black and white, light and dark. Who you are is the side you feed. You wanted to, but you didn't; wouldn't you say that that makes you better than if you had?" Dany nodded a little, "See? What you did today fed the light in you, not the dark. You're not a bad person, you're probably a better person for it, actually." He said to her honestly. She smiled and felt a weight lift off her shoulders, "Now, I really do want to hear this 'Sirius Black is better than his parents' song and dance."

"Daddy, he was sorted into Gryffindor, wasn't he? I think that says a lot about who he is. James loves him like a brother and even Lily likes him, well as much as Lily can like anyone associated with James. He's kind, not very even-tempered but who am I to talk? He's really loyal and smart and funny and doesn't deserve those evil people as his parents. I just want to make sure that he's okay; besides, I don't think James could make it through break without seeing him." Daniel watched his daughter closely as she spoke, "Every time he comes back to school, he's jumpy. He won't let anyone near him and James says that he'll change in the bathroom, but only for the first week or so back; he thinks its because he has bruises that he doesn't want anyone to see. That's the truth; no lies or bullshit." She finished, looking back at her dad with her identical eyes. It was like looking in a mirror. Her father leaned back in his chair.

"Alastor is going to positively lose it when I tell him that the Blacks are going to be there. On the bright side, if they're right under our noses, they can't be wreaking havoc somewhere else." He commented dryly. Dany laughed once.

"You haven't told Alastor? What, is it going to be a surprise? I'm sure he'll love it." She joked. Her father laughed too, "Daddy? Why is the world so mean to people that don't deserve it?" She asked quietly. Her father's laughter quickly faded.

"Sweetheart…come here." He opened his arms and she crawled into his lap. Even at fourteen, she had never grown out of her childhood habits where her father was concerned, "The world isn't all mean, and you know that. Am I mean?"

"No…"

"What about your brother or mom? And what about these friends you like so much? I don't think they're particularly mean either." Dany shook her head.

"No, they're not mean…" She said, not quite sure where her dad was going with this.

"Dany, if we lose hope now, there is nothing to fight for. There is always hope, and there is always light. As long as our family lives, as long as the Masters line endures, there will always be hope. And know that no matter how dark and cruel the world may seem sometimes, if you look hard enough, I promise that you'll always find something good in it." He said softly. Dany nodded again. She trusted her father, granted the entire world trusted her father but they didn't actually know him. She did.

"Moody is going to be so pissed when you tell him about the Blacks." She said with a little bit of a giggle. Her father groaned.

"God, I can hear it now. 'Daniel, I've told you a thousand ruddy times to maintain constant vigilance! I might as well drink myself to an early grave with all the grief your family gives me' It's going to be fantastic." He said, mimicking the phrase that Alastor Moody couldn't stop himself from saying. Dany laughed at her father and thought about just how much the world was missing out on by not knowing this part of Daniel Masters.

Lily woke up the morning after she returned home to a shrill scream from downstairs. She put a pillow over her face to try to block the sound out but it appeared that Petunia's voice had reached an entirely new level of shrillness. Lily was rather worried that her father's glasses would break, at this rate. She checked the time and begrudgingly admitted that she couldn't really blame Petunia for waking her up; it was quarter past noon, after all. But the time didn't keep her from still being obnoxious. The redhead pulled herself out of bed and shuffled downstairs to see her mother, father, sister, and an unknown man in the kitchen.

Unknown people set her nerves on edge. Stranger danger was being elevated to a new level of importance in the Wizarding World. If you didn't know them they could be a Death Eater; hell, even if you did know them they could be a Death Eater. She slowly pulled her wand out of a pocket in her pajama pants.

"Mom…Dad…who is this?" She asked warily. Everyone turned around to look at her and her mother's eyes darted to her wand. She shook her head slightly, meaning to put it away. Lily moved her wand out of the man's line of sight but didn't put it away.

"Lily. This is Petunia's boyfriend Vernon." Lily finally put her wand away and shook Vernon's hand. Petunia was about six years older than Lily, making her almost 19. If Petunia looked like a string bean than this man looked very much like an overweight gerbil. Lily forced herself to smile.

"It's nice to meet you, Vernon. I'm Lily…Petunia, I didn't know you had a new boyfriend." Lily said to her sister. 'More like you've ever had a boyfriend' Lily thought to herself, despite fibbing for her sister and pretending that she was catching men left, right, and center. Petunia glared at her.

"I didn't feel the need for my little sister to approve my relationships. Besides, you know now, don't you?" The elder sister sniffed. Lily raised an eyebrow and shook her head.

"Whatever, I'm too tired to deal with this…" She went to the stove and helped herself to some of the eggs there, "Mom? Dany and her mom want to have a girls' day to get dresses for the New Years thing. Petunia, are you coming?" Lily asked stiffly. Petunia looked mortified.

"As if I'd go to something like that. No, I'll be somewhere else with Vernon." Lily glanced at Vernon again and still wasn't very impressed. Lily was 100% sure that she'd rather spend the rest of her life alone than with the pudgy man standing next to her sister.

"Oh, well in that case it would be just you, me, Dany, and her mom. Does that sound like something you'd be interested in? I mean they definitely know all the best places for dresses and we'd be sure that we'd be appropriately dressed." Lily told her mom. Mrs. Evans thought about it.

"I think it sounds lovely. Does Dany's mother know about this?" Mrs. Evans told her daughter, but still seemed skeptical of this plan actually happening. Lily shook her head.

"Not yet, I don't think. I was going to run it by you first and then write Dan. Besides, Dany and Rhaegar probably got home late because of where they live and all. I'd be shocked if Dan or her brother are even out of bed yet." Lily replied to her mother.

"Vernon, I hear you're in the drill business?" Mr. Evans said, interrupting the talk of dresses. Lily suspected that he wanted to change the subject before magic of any kind was accidentally mentioned in front of the oblivious Muggle in their midst. Vernon nodded.

"I am, I just started with Grunnings Drills in London. I'm looking at a promotion into the sales department in less than two years though." He said to the girls' father. Lily smiled into her hand at the look on her father's face that said he rather regretted asked this question. The redhead got the distinct impression that Vernon was trying very desperately to impress her father with this; she also got the impression that her father wasn't particularly impressed. Thomas Evans loathed most boring things and nothing was more boring than drill sales.

"Oh, that sounds like a very…lucrative business to be in." Her father said generously, trying to come up with something to say that wasn't a complete lie. Vernon nodded, oblivious to her father's feelings on the topic.

"It is. It pays very well. Not to mention that it introduced me to your daughter. She was in a typing course and I happened to walk through and the rest is history, you could say." Vernon said. Petunia blushed and looked flattered. Lily had stifle her giggles in her hand and quickly excused herself from the room before she started laughing out loud or hurt herself from trying not to laugh. She went back to her room and pulled out some parchment.

Dan,

My mom is totally down with going dress shopping but she wants to make sure that your mom is aware that this is actually happening so don't forget to run it by her! Anyways, I know we've only been home for a day but I have so much to tell you. Petunia brought home her first boyfriend and to say he's chubby is like saying that my hair is only kind of red. He's built like a Rubik's Cube! I swear he's just as wide as he is tall. Petunia is head over heels for him but honestly I think I'd rather be single for the rest of my life than go anywhere near him. I don't know what she sees in him except the fact that he's so boring that he makes vanilla seem interesting. I'm sure by the time I see you for dress shopping I'll have so much more to tell you!

By the way, let me know if you hear anything from Sirius. As much as I don't like Potter (and anyone who associates with him) I worry about his best friend. It would make me feel a lot better to know that he's okay.

Lots of love,

Lily

Lily reread her letter and attached it to her owl's leg with the instructions to go to Dany and to not bother to wait for a reply. The bird looked at her with a level of understanding and took off out her window. Lily watched the owl fly off until it was just a dot in the sky that eventually vanished. Realizing that she had very little to do compounded with just how sleep deprived she was from this past term, Lily crawled back into bed, hoping that Petunia wouldn't wake her up with her squeals of excitement this time.

Sirius was miserable; there was no other way to put it. All he wanted was to be able to leave his room for an hour and maybe write a letter to James. His parents had been infuriated by their encounter with Dany on the platform. For his part, Sirius had wanted to kiss her for how she had walked all over his parents and they hadn't been able to stop her. Regulus was quite indifferent on the matter. But the fact still remained that his parents were pissed. Really pissed. So, Sirius was confined to his room as punishment for having such disrespectful friends. It was the closest they could get to their usual flavor of punishment until after New Years. If he didn't look healthy, taken care of, and happy at the time of the party, Dany would be upset, which meant her dad would be getting involved, which reeked of trouble for the Blacks. The last thing his parents wanted was the Minister making a point to sniff around their family.

However, Sirius was becoming quite stir crazy. He hadn't left his room in over three days and even meals were brought up to him by the house elf. He wanted to bang his head into a brick wall he was so bored. He briefly considered what he had overheard Dany say in the common room the day the party invitations were released. She had said something about being able to Floo letters. Maybe he could give it a try? If only he had Floo powder or a fireplace connected to the network.

As days passed, he became more and more bored. So bored that he was reduced to actually doing his homework for the holidays. Sometimes he'd bounce a quaffle off one of the walls in his bedroom. Mostly, he tried to sleep as much as possible. He wrote letters that he fully intended to never let anyone read. He tried to teach himself how to do a handstand. It took four days but he was successful. He flipped through a year-old copy of the Daily Prophet at least twenty times. He had briefly wondered why he had kept that until he had noticed Dany's face on one of the pages. He had probably kept it because of the article. He reread the article at least forty times. Dany and her friends had been seen in Diagon Alley without parental supervision; is this what parenting has come to in the Wizarding World? Lily's hair was recognizable even in black-and-white.

About a week into his solitude, someone actually opened the door. Sirius was lying in bed, wondering if his head could hit the ceiling if he jumped high enough. He started at the unexpected intrusion and looked up to see his father. This was less unsettling than if his mother had been there. Anytime Walburga Black was involved, nothing ever turned out well for anyone (except maybe her).

"Sirius, come with me." His father said tersely. Sirius wasn't surprised; Orion did everything in as few words as possible. Still, Sirius followed his father out of his room for the first time in a long time. They walked downstairs and there was a man there with a measuring tape. Regulus was also there and he looked quite bored. As always. Sirius looked at his brother's clothes and realized that this was the fitting for the clothes for Dany's party. He had to fight the urge to snigger at the fact that his holier-than-thou parents would be "reduced" to having to wear Muggle clothes. The man was older, maybe around sixty, and rather short and bald. Still, he smiled at Sirius kindly and Sirius wanted to cry it was so nice to have someone look at him without disdain.

"Ah, you must be Sirius. I'm Lorenzo. Good to meet you." The man said. Sirius shook his hand with a hesitant smile. Sirius saw his parents exchange outraged looks; they clearly hadn't told this man who he was, but someone else had. Who was this guy who already knew him? There was no way anyone who was this nice, and specialized in Muggle clothes, would ever be connected to his parents in any way, "Ah, yes I see I forgot to say how exactly I ended up here. I'm a friend of the Masters'; I daresay that I've been making young Daniel's dress robes and suits ever since he was toddling around after his own father." The man remarked. Dany and her family were officially angels for sending this man, Sirius thought to himself.

"Really? Do you know the rest of the family then?" Sirius casually asked Lorenzo as he began to measure his various extremities. What he meant was 'did Dany send you?'

"I do. Of course, I only met the Rhea when she was engaged to Daniel. But yes, I've known Rhaegar and Danilynn since birth. Lovely family, absolutely lovely people. I'm assuming that someone here is close to them, as I was specifically asked to come here." He responded as he continued his work. Walburga and Orion glared at Sirius who was rather enjoying this line of conversation, despite knowing that there was more than likely going to be hell for it later.

"Yeah, that would be me actually…" Sirius said softly, before trailing off. Lorenzo looked at him, eyes twinkling as he correctly guessed his relation to the Masters clan.

"Ah, sweet Danilynn. Of course she was much sweeter as a young girl, before all this war nonsense. But she still has an incredible capacity for compassion. From what she says, so do you. It makes you quiet the odd duckling, doesn't it? Yes…she really does care about you, you know, truly. She cares for all her friends of course, but I've never seen her so worried. And I've definitely never seen her and Daniel fight the way they did over this." He said absently. Sirius vaguely wondered if Lorenzo knew he was standing in a room full of Dark wizards (plus Sirius). Probably. He probably just didn't care. He also processed the statement about her and her father fighting. Dany had sent the man and her father had tried to stop it, probably as precaution.

"Is she particularly close to her dad? I would have thought not, considering how much time he must spend at work these days." Sirius remarked, still enjoying the conversation and was quite hoping it wouldn't ever end.

"To call them close would be a spectacular understatement. Even as a young child, she adored her father and he certainly adores her. When she was born, I've never seen a man cry so much. I remember every time I would go over to see Daniel and he'd try to leave the room for something much as we're doing now, she'd cry and grab onto her father's leg, so of course she'd end up coming with us. You can say many things about her, but the girl loves her father, and between you and me, I've always thought that Daniel favors her between his two children. He told me once that Rhaegar may be his firstborn, but she would always be his little girl. It's really only fair considering that Rhea favors Rhaegar…well, it appears that we're done here." He said, releasing Sirius from having the magical measuring tape flitting around his body, "I'll send someone in a day or so with everything completed for you three." He said, indicating Sirius, Regulus, and Orion. Apparently, Lorenzo didn't specialize in women's clothing and so Walburga would have to find her own dress for the occasion. The man kindly said goodbye to everyone, who were all rather terse back, except for Sirius, who the man hugged.

"She said to tell you that they all miss you and Happy late Christmas." Lorenzo whispered in his ear. Sirius smiled but then tried to conceal it quickly, in hopes that his parents hadn't caught it. He glanced at them and it appeared that they had been doing their best not to look at the odd man and so hadn't caught the smile or the whispered sentence. Lorenzo finally left with a nod and Kreacher, the house elf, walked him to the door. Walburga looked less than pleased with her oldest son.

"Sirius. Orion. Black. What did you tell her? What does she know about us?" She hissed at him.

"I haven't told her anything. But honestly Mother, the girl has more than two brain cells to rub together; it's not that difficult to figure out." Sirius said coldly. The man's words were floating around inside of him. They all missed him. Even if his parents didn't give a shit, other people did. Dany was clearly worried, which meant so was James, and damn maybe even Evans was concerned if the youngest Masters was this over-the-top. His reply did not go well with his mother.

"More than two brain cells. Please, I'd be shocked if that entire family has two brain cells combined. They never know what's good for them. No sense of self-preservation and certainly no sense of what's good for the Wizarding community. Accepting Muggleborns as friends and companions. No self-respecting pureblood family would let their children do that, or partake themselves." She drawled, very unkindly. Sirius wanted to point out that the Wizarding community his mother was so concerned for had been built on the backs of the Masters family, who had led the Ministry since it was founded, but he said nothing, not seeing the point in it.

"Mother? Why is the Minister so concerned with Sirius?" Regulus asked. Everyone looked at him, having quite forgotten he was there.

"That's a wonderful question, Regulus. Why is the Minister so concerned with you, Sirius?" Walburga asked keenly. Sirius told her, for once, the truth.

"I'm friends with his daughter. He probably tries to keep an eye on all of her friends, especially in times of war, like right now. Dan's a nice girl, she worries too much, about all of us." Sirius responded with a shrug. His parents looked at him hard, trying to discern if he was lying or not. They apparently couldn't decide and Orion simply said,

"Go back to your room and stay there." Sirius wanted to bang his head on the kitchen table at that. But he had no choice as his father, who had apparently run out of patience, dragged him back to his room and roughly tossed him back in it.

James love his mother to death but sometimes he wanted to bloody kill her himself. Especially when she was dragging him all over London looking for the perfect suit for him to wear to New Years.

"Mom…I'm telling you, no one is going to notice or care if I wear the one from last year." He groaned as they left the third store of the day.

"I will know and I will care, James. Besides, you'll look much better in one that fits and you do want to impress this Lily girl, don't you?" His mother baited. James sighed but nodded, resigning himself to a long day of shopping with his mother. He did want to impress Lily, after all.

It took six stores and five fittings to satisfy Dorea Potter that her son's tuxedo fit correctly. If James thought that he was frustrated after the third, he was now ready to pitch himself off a bridge just to make the shopping stop. James honestly didn't know how long it took for her to find a dress and he had every intention of never finding out. When they walked back into their house, James' father looked up form where he was reading the newspaper and grinned at him.

"Long day?" He laughed to his son. James groaned and threw himself into the chair next to his father.

"How you survived the process of a wedding with her is beyond me. The woman is a bloody lunatic about shopping." James muttered. His dad laughed again.

"I did a lot of hiding, truth be told. But even I couldn't escape the wrath of your grandmother and mother when there was a problem with her dress. I didn't even have anything to do with it; it was too big or something. She still threw a plate at my head through all of her tears." Charlie said, recalling the fight that mainly consisted of his then-fiancée screaming and him running and ducking.

"Makes a lot of sense. Women are insane, bonkers I tell you." James said, already sick of the other sex at age thirteen.

"That they are…oh before I forget, Dany sent word over earlier today when you and Mom were out. She sent her family's friend, who also happens to make suits and dress robes, over to the Black's place a couple of days ago to see how everything was going." James immediately started paying more attention to what his father was saying.

"What? Is Sirius okay?" James demanded to know.

"Well, seeing that your mother and I aren't there right now raiding their house, I would say yes." His dad said dryly. "She said that Lorenzo told her that Sirius looked healthy, if not a little pale and starved for human contact. New Years is in two days; you'll be seeing him soon. Besides, you know Daniel; if Dany thinks there's something wrong over there, he'll find anything he can do to help. Everyone is doing everything they can for him right now." James nodded. Daniel Masters was not only a good man and leader but also an exceptionally devoted father and husband; if there was anything he could do to help, he would. James just had to trust in the fact that Masters' family didn't end with blood and that they protected their own with their lives, if need be.