A/N: I know this took forever to come out. but i have been majorly busy and have also been suffering from a bad case of writers block. don't hate me plz. ONWITHTHEFIC!

Chapter 8

Carl had barley made it to the end of the hall with black when he was stopped by the sound of shoes clacking on the polished tiles behind him. Looking over his shoulder he saw Nicholas Flemel running to catch up to them, once he did he bent over trying to catch his breath.

"You...move very...fast...for someone...carrying an injured...man...(phew!)" he panted out trying to right himself.

"Is there something I can assist you with Lord Flamel?"

"Please call me Nicholas!, Lord Flamel makes me feel old."

"But...you are old..." came the weak reply from Sirius, who was mostly leaning on Carl to stay standing. Nicholas chuckled at this.

"Very true Lord Black. Onto why I wanted to catch you though. I was hoping to discuss a matter of relative importance with you my Liège."

"Nicholas," Carl replied with a smile while he readjusted his weight. "from past experience the term 'relative importance' often means that you're in a tight spot and need help to get out of it."

Nicholas gave a small smile that didn't quite reach his eye's. "You are no doubt aware of a certain treasure of mine, no?"

"I am,"

"I received word from a source that some one plans to steal it." Carl blanched at this but quickly recovered and raised a hand to silence Nicholas.

He still didn't trust in the security measures of the British Ministry. Chances were someone was listening in, not something he wanted to have spread around freely.

"These are not matters I feel comfortable discussing here. Perhaps arrangements can be made for you to visit my home tonight for dinner. We can discuss this then." Carl suggested earning a nod and a knowing grin as though that was what Nicholas was hoping for.

Carl didn't doubt it. You don't live to be over 600 years old just by using a potion. You have to have some form of cunning to get by, especially in politics.

I will make the arrangements for an international port-key through Gringgots as soon as Lord Black is settled."

The agreement was made, and they parted way's. Serious was more then a little curious as to why everyone was calling this gut 'my Liege' or ' your Eminence'...what was he, royalty? (please note, Serious didn't come in until after the introductions to the Wizengamot.) his confusion only grew when they approached the greeting station and he was treated like any other visitor to the Ministry.

"Carl shill, representative of the United States Council of Mystical Management. I should have a Poty-key on standby." Carl said repositioning Serious on his shoulder.

"One moment,-" said the woman at the desk as she flicked her wand at a stack of paper and several sheets came flying out. Most of these folded themselves into paper air planes and flew off but one came to the woman's hand and she looked it over. "Ah yes, Mr. Shill. If you could please sig-" she cut herself off when she looked up and saw Carl holding Sirius Black on his shoulder. It was a very strange sight, even for wizards.

Carl rolled his eyes and snatched the paper from the woman's hand and signed with a quill that was resting off to the side.

"Is-is that-"

"Madame, I have appointments to keep, Lord Black was found innocent just a short while ago, you can read about it in the Prophet tomorrow, but I need my Port-key." he said with just the right amount of annoyance seeping into his tone. That seemed to snap the Woman out of her stupor as she turned and began shifting through a box to her left.

"Here you are , strange there was no record of where it leads..." she trailed off as she handed it off. It was an old plastic hair comb. There were a few teeth missing and it was slightly bent. Carl shook his head at the object.

'Cutbacks or not, making Port-key's from trash is just pathetic.' Carl thought as he took it in hand and held it up to Serious who took the other end. Then with a quick 'Portus' they were gone.

Katelyn considered her self rather well put together when it came to surprises. Lord knew Carl had given her enough over the years. The biggest of which was when he brought home Harry. She had honestly thought that he had gone off the deep end at that point. Then a week later when he quit his job as a social worker to stay home with Harry, asked her to open a bookstore with him. Asked her out, oh yes. Carl was full of surprises. Just the same. Despite her ability to handle surprises well. She wasn't prepared to come home and have Harry flaunting a picture of her dressed as Princess Leeya from the Star wars Premiere she and Carl had gone too a few years ago. She had honestly thought she had destroyed all copies of the retched picture. Then again, this was Carl.

"Alright Midget," she said with a dangerous glint in her eye that made Harry stop hi taunting. "Hand over the photo and no one gets hurt."

Harry adopted an innocent look as he placed the photo in his back pocket. "What photo?"

"Harry. James. Potter. Shill. You give me that photo, or so help me!"

"I found Dads old yearbook too you know." Harry said, when in doubt divert attention. "I didn't know dad was into Drama stuff."

This stopped Katelyn in her tracks as she looked at Harry closely. "Drama club pictures?"

"Yeah,"

An almost feral grin stole onto her face at the mere thought. "Show me"

and so he turned to get the book. Not before Katelyn was able to grab him from around his middle and remove the picture though.

"That was rather pointless." said a bored voice from above.

Katelyn looked up to see Tom floating around the ceiling fan.

"Oh, and why is that?"

"Because I showed Harry how to make copies using magic as soon as I saw the picture." he answered with his own mischievous smirk.

Realization hit her like a ton of bricks and she slumped. The brat had probably made a bunch by now and hidden them all over the house.

It was as she was thinking this that light flitted into the room and reshaped it's self into the form of an owl, Carl's Patronus.

"Katelyn," it spoke." this isn't an open channel, but I wanted to let you know we might have a guest for dinner tonight. Possibly two. If you don't mind making a late dinner it's kind of important. See you when I get home, love ya." and with that it vanished.

'One of these day's Carl, I swear I'm gonna just smack you. I know it!'

When Carl and Sirius arrived at Saint Gertrude's magical Hospital just outside Boston. They arrived directly into the private room that Carl had arranged just in case Black was innocent. Considering he was 98 percent sure he was at the time it wasn't much of a gamble. In the room waiting for them were three nurses and the doctor, who was also he and Harry's personal physician. His name was Paul Lued and he was trained in both Muggle and Magical Healing. Carl wasn't taking any chances on this. As soon as they had become steady, two of the nurses came over and relieved him of Sirius, who they led to a small bathroom on the far side. The third nurse busied herself with preparing an I.V. and setting up the hospital bed. Paul walked right over to Carl with a smile and his hand out stretched.

"Carl! It's good to see you again." he said as Carl took his offered hand.

"And you Paul. I am sorry about the short notice,"

"Not at all! The magical side of the Hospital has been dead for a while now, so we had plenty of rooms available. Harry still has his appointment next week for his vaccinations right?" Paul said reassuring Carl who answered with a Nod. One of the first things he had done when he got back from England all those years ago was get Harry checked out by Paul. Paul had been just as disgusted as Carl if not more so when he found out why Carl had Adopted him. What had really sent him over the edge though was that Harry had not received any of his Vaccinations for Muggle 'or' Magical Health. When they had contacted Gringgots to get his medical records. They were astounded to discover that, although he had, had an appointment to receive his first shots at sixteen months, he was unable to go as his parents had died and his Aunt and Uncle had seen unfit to reschedule. This led to a major problem for the boy as his immune system was now half what it should have been at three. So, Weaker Vaccinations were required on a bi-annual basis. This would be the last year that this would hold true. But he would still need to come to get then annually. Carl shuddered at the thought of what Paul would have done to the Dursleys, if he got his hands on them. Harry was always down for at least a week after his shots. Not something anyone was looking forward to.

The two nurses who had taken Sirius before returned with him now freshly washed and shaved and in a clean hospital gown. Sirius himself looked a bit like the cat who caught the canary. Paul went over and asked a few questions for his medical records before he departed with the nurses who had Hooked Sirius up to the IV. He nodded to Carl on his way out, smile still in place as he did so.

Once they were gone Carl summoned a chair from the other side of the room and sat in front of Sirius.

"Now then, I'm sure you have some questions." Carl began.

"You said Harry was safe. Is he really? Did Remus manage to get custody?"

Carl paused for a moment before answering. "I'm afraid I have never had the pleasure of meeting this 'Remus', I adopted Harry from an abusive situation when he was three years old. And I have been raising him ever since." Carl said with a kindly smile that made the ex-convict blink.

"That's good then...so long as he's happy. He is...right?"

"Quite," Carl assured not offended in the least. He actually would have been more worried if Sirius didn't ask him that.

"Why did you help me?" Sirius moved on, relaxing a bit.

"Well, you were innocent. I wasn't about to let you rot in Azkaban." Carl answered. "I was pretty sure you were, I have my suspicions surrounding Harry and why things in his life have happened as they have. You were the just one more piece in a much larger puzzle. Of course, it doesn't hurt you're case any that you care for Harry." Sirius looked rather confused but gestured for Carl to continue.

"Some of these facts I'm sure you are aware of. Such as that yourself and Alice Longbottom were Harry's God-Parents. What struck me as odd was that the Attack on Alice happened the same week that an arrest warrant was issued for you. To make matters even more suspicious, Alice was attacked 'after' inquiring after Harry's location, and you were carted off to Azkaban for nearly a Decade with no trial. Even the LeStange's got trials, and they Confessed for Merlin's sake." Carl explained leaning back in his chair. "So what's the common factor here? At the time it was thought that you were a dark wizard, so it couldn't have been a simple revenge ploy. Alice had been in hiding the same time as the Potters, so I doubt they had much to do with Voldermort's downfall. That leaves only one thing. Harry."

"So, I was just a way for you to confirm you're suspicions?"Sirius asked evenly.

"That was a part of it. But also," Carl continued with a sigh and a sad expression, as though this was tough for him to discuss. "I love Harry. And I know he Loves me. But I also know that any child who is adopted wants to know about their birth parents. Questions like, 'do I look like them?' or 'do I act like them?, do you think they would be happy with me as I am?' I can't answer those questions for him, and it kills me." Carl explained having to take a moment to collect himself.

He didn't talk about this at length with anyone other than Katelyn. It was hard for him, he wanted to give Harry everything, but even as the Arch Mage, there were somethings he just couldn't do. If he was completely honest with himself on this, he would also have questioned his ability to answer those questions even if he 'did' have the answers. Although he loathed to admit it, a big part of him was jealous of the Potters. Even though they weren't in Harry's life, they would always have a place in his heart that was entirely theirs. Carl couldn't help but wonder sometimes, even if it was absurd, if he was entitled to the same privilege. When he had brought this up to Katelyn she had promptly smacked him in the face and told him to wake the hell up, but he still wondered.

Sirius leaned forward again in eager anticipation. "So you want me to be in Harry's life?" he asked with happiness in his eyes.

Carl took a long look at Black, looking him up and down. "I do. However, I think it would behoove you to get better first. I don't think you want harry to think his Godfather is a half dead twig now do you?" for the first time Sirius took in his appearance and blushed sheepishly. Carl smiled, He hadn't told Harry about Sirius yet but he knew he would be excited. After bidding Sirius Farewell, with the promise of another visit within a week, he was off to Gringgots.

Unlike the British Gringgots branch that was a huge structure made of white polished marble. The American Branch was made up of several smaller buildings all over the country that were connected by their underground mine system. The American Goblins had been huge fans of Carl 'before' he adopted Harry. But when he did and he also brought enough money to put Donald Trump and Oprah to shame with him...sufficed to say he was like their patron deity now. So it was no surprise that as soon as he walked through the door three goblins were already there offering him every luxury that they were able to.

"Your Eminence, what a pleasant surprise. Is there anything we can offer you?"

"My Liege, how may I be of assistance?"

"You're Lordship, what a pleasant surprise."

Carl had to make a conscious effort not to roll his eyes at the Goblins. "lo, I was hoping to make arrangements for a Port-key from the British Gringgots to my home. Preferably my back yard."

this had become a rather standard request for him since befriending Lucius. They had connected their homes by the floo network now, but back then it wasn't so. Long distance floo networks couldn't work on a wide variety for more then communicating, but connecting one specifically to another for the purpose of travel was possible. But it limited the fireplace to that one location.

"Ah, surely there isn't a problem with your Floo? Is Lord Malfoy unable to travel by those means for some reason?" asked the first Goblin as the others scurried off, most likely to do what was asked.

"No, our Floo connection is fine. I have another guest arriving this evening by the name of Flemell." Carl explained in a pleasant enough manner. He was kinda worried how Katelyn would handle it, she didn't like last minute surprises.

"Ah, I have heard rumors that Lord Flemell is a ruthless business man. I do hope your meeting is fruitful."

After that it didn't take long for the arrangements to be made. The cost would come directly from his vault. Then, with a quick wave of his wand and a turn on the spot, he aparated home. 'course, he was hoping for some quiet before Flemell Arrived. That proved to be a wasted hope.

"CARL MARTIN! What is wrong with you!?" came the voice of Carl's second greatest fear, an Irate Katelyn, from the back door.

"First you say your gonna be late coming home, then you say your bringing a guest! I. Am. Not. Your. Ser-" she was cut off by the sound of a crash and and a call from Harry.

"OWWWW!"

"You O.K Harry?" She called back her mood immediately changing.

"I'm fine, my glass slipped is all, but I did cut my hand open..."he said walking out with a hand towel on his hand.

"Let me have a look at it," she said walking over to him.

Mood swings...she's having mood swings...Carl thought to himself as a chill ran down his spine. His timing could have been better, he supposed. Good thing it was Nicholas coming over and not Molly...that would have been hard to explain with her like this. Realizing that his mind had begun to wonder he walked over to Harry and checked him over. He used a quick healing charm and he was fine. Once they were back inside Carl and Harry went upstairs to change. Katelyn stayed downstairs, she had something she had to check.

About an hour later their guests arrived. Nicholas had brought his wife Perenelle. She and Katelyn hit it off straight away. Nicholas easily took on a Grandfatherly role to Harry. Who was all politeness, but did ask a few questions having read about him in his history books. Dinner was a pleasant enough affair, Tom knew the Drill and stayed out of sight. While Nicholas and Perenelle were there. Eventually, Harry excused himself to go to his room, where Tom was hiding out, and Katelyn decided to take Perenelle into the Living room for some after dinner tea. That left Carl to Show Nicholas his Workshop so they could better discus the situation. The workshop hadn't changed much over the years. He had replaced the cabinet he had destroyed all those years ago, so now his potions ingredients had a new home in a rather handsome re-purposed Wardrobe. Some of the areas where he kept his 'hobbies' were messier than before. Something that Katelyn was constantly nagging him about. Like most others who venture into his workshop, Nicholas was drawn to his section dedicated to wandlore.

"I see that curiosity of all forms of magic runs in the Family. Your Ancestor was just the same." Nicholas explained picking up one of his wood blanks of English Oak.

"I am curious how you managed to procure so much feasible wand wood. My friend Garrick once told me that Magical trees were hard to come by."

"Unless you have a secret source, then that would be correct." Carl explained with a small smile. He loved passing on his knowledge of different things to people. Harry was especially fascinated by the Art of Wand making.

"But we didn't come here to discuss my Hobbies," Carl said summoning two chairs for them to sit in.

"I do believe you were concerned about your little stone." Carl said making very clear that he did not approve of the items existence.

"I dare say, did I mention it was the stone?"

"No, but it wasn't hard to guess."

"Ah, yes. I take it you don't approve of it."

"Nicholas, I don't know what you were hoping to accomplish when you created that abomination, but no one should live forever. Regardless if it is circumstantial or not."

Nicholas only chuckled at that. "I agree with you, when I first created the Sorcerer's Stone, I was actually trying to create an item of some legend. Rather silly of me but I had wanted to speak with my my older brother, just to say Goodbye." he explained.

"You are speaking of the Resurrection stone of the Deathly Hollows." it was a statement of fact. Not a question.

"Yes,"

Carl shook his head. "I hope you realize now just how foolish that really was." Carl had the most information on the Hollows, but anyone willing to look long enough could easily find that the creation of a second set was impossible, if not highly dangerous to boot.

"Naturally. I continued to use the Elixir in order to research the subject. Eventually my research grew from just the resurrection stone, to all the Hollows, so of course I now see the futility in that venture. Now I am slowly trying to ween Perenelle and my self off of the Elixir. The problem I am faced with is the information I have come into possession of."

Carl nodded his understanding. Nicholas probably had informants all over the World. He was over six hundred after all.

"So some one wants to steal the stone. And you feel that it is a real enough threat that you want to take precautions. Am I right?"

"That's correct."

"That must be one hell of a reliable source to make you second guess the protections of Gringgots."

Nicholas sighed. "I suppose it was rather obvious that I would keep it in Gringgots wasn't it?"

"Yes, it was. But it would also have been exceedingly foolish of you to keep it in you're own home. Just who do you think is going to steal the Stone? The Goblins pride themselves on the protections of their Vaults. Not just anyone would be able to get in there and get something like that." Carl inquired. Nicholas wasn't an idiot. And he didn't seem the type to be overly paranoid. So who could have him wound so tight like this.

With a heavy sigh Nicholas answered. "My source has informed me that they believe Lord Voldermort will attempt the theft."

Carl was surprised at first, then a small chuckle escaped him. A plan was slowly forming in his mind. And if all went as he hoped. Harry might be gaining a sibling.

A/N: I am so sorry for all the problems that were in this chapter the first time round. my Spell check was on the fritz and just allot of badness going on there. so again i'm very sorry. on a another note though, i would like to remind everyone that all Harry Pairings will be coming down next Chapter. it's looking like Luna is going to win by a landslide. Daphne is in Second with Draco and Hermione tied for third. (I'm counting the votes in reviews.) anyway so i fixed this chapter and am now re-posting. hope it's better now. see you all in chapter 9!