Disclaimer: I don't own the Harry Potter Franchise, JK Rowling does. I am merely playing in her universe.

Summary: No one knows what really happened on Halloween night in 1981 besides Voldemort, whom the Ministry has declared dead. Responsible for his defeat is Rose Lily Potter, the only daughter of James and Lily Potter. In the wake of that night, the one whose life is changed most drastically is Harry James Potter, the forgotten older twin of the "Girl Who Lived". Growing up, Harry struggles with the realization that he will never be as important or wanted as his sister, and that his parents will never have the time for him. But along the way, he finds people that love him for who he is, not who his sister is, and he learns one of the most important lessons of all: Family isn't always Blood.

Chapter 2: Every Action has an Equal but Opposite Reaction

August 30, 1987

Later on, Sirius realized that as he had stalked from the Potters' yard to James' study, his fury, as well as his magic, had been radiating off of him in waves. As it was happening, however, Sirius was totally oblivious to the aura he was giving off; instead, he was preoccupied by the desire to finally be able confront James and get justice for his godson. The only reason he hadn't before now was because of his promise, and what happened to Remus. After talking to Harry, however, Sirius was no longer concerned about any of that. He was a Gryffindor, and it was bloody well time he started to act like one.

As Sirius reached the door to the study, his magic forced the door open. He chose to ignore that, instead focusing on the shocked face of James Potter, sitting at the desk. Upon noticing Sirius, James began to stand, but after a glare from Sirius, remained sitting. The two of them just looked at each other, with James looking at Sirius with a bewildered, yet concerned gaze which Sirius returned with an angrily calculating one.

It was James that finally broke the strained silence. "Sirius, what's going on?"

Sirius supposed it could have been worse. James could have called him Padfoot, or could have dismissed him. He could have made a joke, or even smiled, and it would have been worse. Rationally, Sirius knew that. But just the sight of James, somewhat relaxed and composed, was enough for Sirius to lose it.

"Let me tell you a little story, James." Sirius said, in a cold, venomous voice. He saw James' eyes widen slightly at the fact that it was an icy tone and not a fiery one, and while a small part of him felt sorry for James, the majority of him could not wait to give the slightly younger man what he deserved. "You see, once upon a time, there was a horrible war. In the midst of this war, there lived a Light family who, despite all the horrors around them, were very happy. Then, everything changed when the Dark Lord attacked."

Sirius saw James' eyes narrow slightly at the realization that his family was the one that Sirius was talking about. Sirius smirked lightly before continuing in the same icy tone. "You see, that night, one of the Light family's twin children defeated the Dark Lord. It was decided by the Light Lord, a wise, powerful, and all-knowing man, that the younger twin, the daughter, was responsible for the disappearance of the Dark Lord."

"Sirius." James said in a warning tone, but Sirius ignored him.

"The daughter was hailed by the world as a Savior, who brought the end to the Dark Days. Everyone absolutely adored her. However, in light of this, her brother, the older twin, was neglected by everyone, even his parents." Sirius nearly hissed the last six words.

"He is not neglected." James said, trying to keep his voice as icy as Sirius'. He did not succeed, the vindictive part of Sirius was happy to note, as more than a hint of anger bled into his voice.

"Oh?" Sirius asked. "Then enlighten me. When was the last time you took him to Diagon Alley? Or flying? Or to the park? Or read him a book? When was the last time you showed Harry even the slightest bit of attention when it was not for your own benefit?"

James stood up, so that the two of them were almost eye to eye. "The answers to those questions are none of your business, Padfoot."

Sirius barely restrained a growl, instead piercing James with a fierce glare. "That's where you're wrong, Prongs. You see, those questions became my business when my godson came to me asking why his parents don't love him."

"He's at that age, Sirius. Harry will do anything for attention, just like we did." James said, trying a different tactic that Sirius was not going to buy at all.

"No. I took an oath when Harry was born to protect and take care of him, and its one that I've neglected for far too long."

"You wouldn't dare." James said, getting angrier.

Sirius smirked coolly. "Just try me."

"I'll ban you from the house, just like Remus. I'll kick Sev out too. None of you will ever see him until he's at least Hogwarts age...and by that time, he'll be convinced that you all stopped caring." James said resolutely. Sirius' eyes hardened and his voice sharpened.

"No you won't." Sirius said, continuing before James could interrupt. "You see, Prongs, that may have worked on Remus, but our circumstances are very different. Remus, although a fantastic friend, is a werewolf. Hence, there was nothing he could do when you banned him from seeing Harry, at least on your property. I, on the other hand, am Lord Black. Do you really want to start a political war with me?"

James was silent, so Sirius continued. "That's what I thought. Now, this is what's going to happen. I am taking Harry home with me today, and he's never coming back. I'll be back later in the week, and you will sign over all of your parental rights to Harry, as will Lily."

"And if I refuse?"

"Ah, I was hoping you would ask that." Sirius said in a falsely cheerful voice, before coldly delivering his threat. "If you refuse, I'll go to the Prophet and the Ministry with the story that you've neglected your eldest. They might not be able to convict you but there would be an investigation, and all it would take for Harry to live with me would be the proof of my memories and his testimony."

"Fine." James sighed and nodded, looking at Sirius strangely. "I never truly thought you were capable of something like this."

"Yes, well you always were all too willing to forget that I was almost a Slytherin." Sirius said shortly, beginning to walk out of the study. He stopped when he heard James speak again.

"No not that...I always knew you were able to do it...I just never thought it would be directed towards me." James said sadly. "I thought we were friends."

Sirius turned around and studied James for a moment, searching for any hint of the boy that he had met a few years before entering Hogwarts. He shook his head sadly and simply said, "We were. The boy that I went to Hogwarts with will always be my brother, and I will care for him and miss him for the rest of my life. Losing the man he has become, however, is no great loss to me. My friend, my brother, is dead, James. You are merely the person that has taken his place."

And with that, Sirius left James Potter sitting at his desk, alone.

August 30, 1987

When Sirius had first told Harry the news, Harry's face had lit up and he hadn't been able to stop talking. However, the more Sirius helped Harry pack up the things that would be needed until the following week, when Sirius would be returning, the more he began to realize that Harry had been getting quieter and quieter with every minute that passed. He paused, forsaking his job of packing underwear in favor of watching his godson as he stood still, simply staring at his stuffed dog.

Sirius sighed inaudibly, wondering what he had missed. When nothing had come to mind after a few minutes, he slowly crossed the room to where his godson stood, and placed a hand on his shoulder from behind. "What's wrong, kiddo?"

Harry shrugged, refusing to look at Sirius. Sirius bit his lip in concern, before walking around to kneel in front of Harry. When the young boy still wouldn't look up, Sirius gently placed a finger under his chin and guided Harry's face up, so that he was finally looking him in the eye. Sirius was shocked to see the gleam of unshed tears in his godson's eyes, and rushed to console him. "Don't cry, Harry. You get to come live with us now, just like you wanted. And I promise you won't ever have to come back here if you don't want to."

"You fought with Dad." Harry said quietly. Sirius froze. He was positive Harry shouldn't have been able to hear them from outside, especially since there had been no yelling involved.

"Harry-"

"I heard you. I snuck inside after you walked in. I left before you left the study." Harry said, unknowingly answering Sirius' silent question. "I didn't want you to fight with him about it."

Sirius raised an eyebrow. "I thought you wanted to come live with Remus, Sev, and I?"

"I did-I do." Harry said quickly, as though afraid Sirius would think he didn't want to, before continuing in a quieter voice, "I didn't want you to lose your best friend because of me."

"Harry, this isn't your fault." Sirius said, after thinking for a moment. Seeing the doubt on Harry's face, he kept going. "I've wanted to talk to him about you for a really long time. Since Remus did, actually. But I didn't. Do you want to know why?"

There was a little bit of curiosity on Harry's face, and although he didn't speak, he nodded slowly. Sirius continued. "I promised you I wouldn't. And I wasn't about to break that promise, especially when I knew that it would probably end with Sev and I not being able to see you anymore. I didn't think you'd want to leave your family, and I didn't want to take you from them. I was so happy today when you finally said I could talk to your dad about it."

"But he's your friend." Harry said in confusion. "Doesn't that mean that you're supposed to back him up?"

"Sometimes, Harry, people change a lot. And when they do, they don't always agree with the people they were friends with before they changed so much." Seeing that Harry was still a little confused, Sirius quickly tried to think of an example Harry would understand. "Do you remember when we told you about Peter?"

Harry's forehead crinkled in thought for a moment. "He betrayed all of you and joined Voldemort, didn't he? He led Voldemort to us and then escaped? I think they caught him last year or something?"

Sirius was impressed at how much Harry had remembered from when the story had been explained to him and Violet. "That's right, Harry. Well, Peter was our friend once, but then he changed what he believed in, and helped hurt people we cared about. The same thing kind of happened with your dad, but on a smaller scale. Sev, Remus and I don't really agree with all of the things he does. Just like Peter, he doesn't have the same opinions and beliefs that he had in school."

"So it's not my fault?"

"No, Harry. It's not your fault. We probably would've had an argument over something eventually." Sirius said, smiling softly. Almost immediately, Sirius saw Harry perk up, and his smile turned into a full-fledged grin. He got up from the ground, and began to walk back over to where he had been packing. "Hurry up, kiddo. Pick what toys you want and put them in the trunk. I'll get the rest when I come back next week."

Before going back to packing, Sirius stood and watched as Harry placed his stuffed dog, wolf, and panther in the trunk. Even years later, Sirius never mentioned that Harry hadn't packed the stag, and Harry never brought it up either.

September 6, 1987

Sirius had decided that his brother was a git.

Apparently, after the argument with James, James had told Lily what happened with Sirius and Harry, and Lily called Alice. Alice had then called Minerva, who mentioned it in passing to Regulus, who had to see it with his own eyes. After the visit, it was Regulus' opinion that Sirius wasn't dealing with his own issues well enough, so he had informed Minerva.

Prat.

Minerva had, of course, owled him telling him that she'd be over Sunday at noon. When he had mentioned it to Sev and Remus, they had told him that they had made plans to take Harry out with Reg for the day and had just forgotten to mention it to him. It was an 'honest mistake'.

It was a bloody conspiracy, that's what it was.

Before Sirius could get any further with his brooding, the fireplace flashed green and Minerva McGonagall gracefully stepped out. Sirius felt a pang in his chest and looked away at the memory of James falling out of the floo. He dwelled on the memory for a moment before shaking it off. He had a feeling that he hadn't done it fast enough, as he could feel Minerva's calculating stare on the side of his face.

Sirius turned back to look at her, but before he could say anything, she spoke up. "James falls out of the floo in the most hilarious ways, doesn't he?"

Sirius winced, both at the memory and the confirmation that she had noticed him dwelling on it, and Minerva just continued to look at him with a neutral gaze. He blinked a few times before responding. "Harry seems to have inherited that."

"So I've seen." Minerva said with a small, fond smile as she looked around the room. Suddenly, her gaze locked on something. "What's this?"

Sirius followed her line of vision to see that it was a canvas. "Oh that. It's something Sev is painting for Harry. He doesn't have any comissioned work, so he figured he'd start it now. This way even though he'll get hit with a rush right before the holidays, he'll still have it done."

"I still can't believe that he became a painter instead of a potions master." Minerva said. "Just as I can't believe that you never became an auror."

Sirius merely shrugged, knowing he made the right decision. He knew Sev felt the same way. "I did more good as an Order member than I would have as an auror. Besides, I never did have any regard for authority."

She nodded while she looked over the painting before looking at him wryly. "Ah, a dog, a panther, and a wolf. No stag, I see?"

Sirius froze. Sirius, along with Sev and James, had stayed unregistered after the war. He had never gotten around to telling her about that...so how did she know? He supposed his shock must have shown on his face, because she started to laugh.

"You thought I didn't know?" Minerva finally got out when she calmed down. "Sirius, who do you think made sure you found the right books?"

"I never...really?" Sirius asked, intrigued.

"Of course I did. You never wondered why my lessons were always review the day after a full moon?"

Sirius looked at her in a new light. "You knew this whole time? And you never tried to convince us to register?"

"An unregistered animagus ability can be a great benefit. If it wasn't for the fact that I became a teacher, I probably wouldn't have registered."

"Is that why we never got caught? Were you usually on patrol that night?" Sirius asked curiously.

"Well that was part of it. I think that wonderful map you had was probably more of a reason." She said, winking at Sirius as he gaped in shock.

"Okay, seriously...how do you know about that?" Sirius asked, as he gestured her to follow him into the sitting room.

"Well, do you remember when it was confiscated from you in...oh, I suppose it was your seventh year?" She asked as she made herself comfortable. Sirius nodded as he did the same. "Argus brought it to me to see if I could figure out what it did."

"I'm assuming you did." Sirius asked jokingly as she smirked. "So you have the map now?"

"Of course. How else would you expect two Heads of Houses to be allowed out of the castle on the same day?" Sirius just shook his head.

"Did we manage to keep anything a secret from you?" He asked with a groan.

"Not much." She admitted, her voice softening. "I always was looking out for the five of you. As a matter a fact, I still am."

"I know." Sirius said quietly, unsurprised at where the conversation had gone. "And I'm okay. I'm dealing with it."

"Regulus doesn't seem to think so." Minerva countered. "He says he hasn't seen you this upset since the thing with Peter and before that, the Whomping Willow Incident."

"I'm-"

"Sirius." She interrupted. "You promised you'd never lie to me, remember? Not about something like this."

Sirius almost seemed to deflate, slumping back into the chair even though his pureblood upbringing protested at the mere thought of it. He never had been able to lie to Minerva, even back when she was just stern Professor McGonagall, checking on one of her newest first years after he had gotten a Howler over the results of his sorting. "I'm scared."

"I know you are Sirius."

"I want...I want Harry to have a good life. A happy life. I don't want to be like my parents, or Sev's parents. But how can I be anything else when that's all I've ever known?" Sirius said, looking down at his hands and avoiding eye contact with her. "He deserves better than that."

"And he'll get it, Sirius. I've seen you with him. You know him better than anyone else." She said gently. "Even just by taking him out of that house, you're already a better parent than yours ever were."

"I couldn't just leave him there." Sirius said, looking up at Minerva. "He begged me to take him, he said he didn't want to stay there...it was so horrible, Minerva."

"That empathy separates you from your parents. I think they actually enjoyed watching people in pain." She said in disdain.

"They did." Sirius said resolutely. "If it wasn't for you, Reg, and the others...I don't know what would have happened."

"That was mostly Reg's doing. The way he played your parents into not treating you too badly until you could get out was pure genius." Minerva said proudly, before her voice saddened. "I just wish that I could have done more."

"You and the others kept me sane." Sirius said with a small smile, before becoming solemn. "I just wish that Regulus hadn't needed to become a Death Eater to save my life."

"His life for yours," She said with a sad, understanding smile. "He would have made a great Gryffindor."

Sirius couldn't help it. He started to laugh. "Wouldn't that have just given my parents a heart attack...both of their kids in Gryffindor."

"It just might have." Minerva agreed with a small smile. She waited a moment for him to calm down before speaking again. "Can we agree that you are not going to turn out the way your parents did? Especially with so many people to help you?"

"Yeah...I think we can." Sirius said, contemplating whether or not to share his idea with her. He finally decided he might as well. "I think I'm going to ask Harry if he would like me to adopt him...not right away of course, but..."

Minerva looked at him approvingly. "I think that's a wonderful idea."

The two of them sat in comfortable silence for a few moments, and Sirius couldn't help but wonder who was going to be the one to bring up the real problem he was having. It seemed that neither of them particularly wanted to, and it became a silent battle of wills. Neither wanted to be the one to break it.

Sirius eventually broke it. "It's...weird. Not being friends with James anymore, I mean. For so long, it was the two of us, always together. I mean, there was Sev, Remus, and Peter too, but James and I were so alike but so similar. I told him that the boy who I went to Hogwarts with was dead...and its true. It has been for a long time. But it's so final now..."

Minerva looked at him sadly. "Sirius I think that-"

"Aunt Minnie!" Harry yelled as he came running into the room. Sirius immediately sat up straighter, as did Minerva. The young boy rushed over to Minerva and gave her a hug, before turning to Sirius. "Why didn't you tell me Aunt Minnie was coming today? I haven't seen her in ages."

"I just stopped in to talk to Sirius about some grownup stuff for a bit, and of course to say a quick hello to you." Minerva said, saving Sirius from having to answer. He sent the older woman a look of thanks as Harry looked at them thoughtfully.

"I hope that talking to you made Sirius feel better, Aunt Minnie. He's been kind of sad the last few days." Harry said, looking a little upset. Minerva shot Sirius a knowing look and he knew he was going to have to talk to Harry tonight. Minerva looked back at Harry.

"I guess you'll just have to give Sirius lots and lots of extra hugs then, hmm?" Minerva suggested with a wink. Harry seemed to perk up a bit and immediately walked over to Sirius and gave him a hug. Sirius held the boy tight for a moment before letting go when he heard someone else walk in the room.

"Sorry Minerva, Sirius. As soon as we walked in, Harry heard your voices and went running." Sirius noted with a bit of glee that his brother was slightly out of breath.

"What's wrong, Reg?" Sirius asked with a slight smirk. "Can't keep up with a seven year old?"

"Oh hush, you old man." Regulus returned with a joking tone before turning to Harry. "Sev tells me you like potions. Do you want to go down to the potions lab and work on a potion before dinner?"

Harry looked at Sirius, and after a nod from Sirius saying it was okay, he quickly hugged Minerva goodbye before running out. The three adults shared a small laugh, before turning to Sirius. "You feeling any better?"

Sirius thought about it for a minute. The whole thing with James was still weighing on him quite a bit, but he was no longer as afraid as being like his parents as he had been before. He slowly nodded. "Yeah, Reg. I'm going to be okay."

Regulus smiled and opened his mouth to answer, but before he could, Harry's voice floated in from another room. "Uncle Reg, let's gooooooo."

Sirius grinned. "Uncle Reg?"

"It's a long story." The younger man grinned in return. "Well I've got to go occupy that little rascal for a bit. I'll see you back at Hogwarts, Minerva." With a nod of acknowledgement from Minerva, Regulus swept out of the room, robes billowing out behind him. Sirius snorted.

"Well, Sirius, I think it's time I got going. It's almost dinnertime back at Hogwarts, and I told the older students I'd be around to help them with an assignment before dinner." Minerva said regretfully.

"Thank you." He said simply. She nodded.

"You're going to see the Potters tomorrow, right?" He nodded, and she continued. "Talk to Harry about the adoption tonight so that you know what papers need to be signed for tomorrow."

"That's probably a good idea." He admitted sheepishly, not willing to admit that he hadn't thought of that.

"The full moon is Tuesday night, right?" Minerva asked suddenly.

"Yeah. Sev and I are going to go to the Potters tomorrow, and Harry is going to spend the day lazing around with Remus." Sirius sighed. "I still don't know what we're going to do on Tuesday with Harry..."

"Bring him to Hogwarts. He can spend the night with either your brother or I." Minerva said. Sirius nodded slowly.

"That could work."

"As a matter of fact...how about you and Harry both come over in the afternoon. Harry can spend some time with his Uncle Reg while you and I finish our conversation."

"That would be great." Sirius said. "Thank you so much...I didn't realize it was so bad that Harry noticed."

"He's more perceptive than most give him credit for." Minerva said with a small smile. "And how about as thanks, next time you come to me when you're upset, instead of letting me find out from your brother. Just because you've graduated already, it doesn't mean I don't have time for you."

"Okay. I'll try." He said honestly. They both stood up, and she wrapped him in a brief hug.

"That's all I ask." Minerva smiled. "I can show myself out...pull your thoughts together and go spend some time with your godson." With that, she walked out of the room, and Sirius was standing there alone.

Huh. Maybe his brother wasn't such a git after all.

A/N (Important): Wow. I am absolutely shocked by the amazing response this story is getting. I just wanted to thank everyone who has reviewed, favorited, and followed this story. Please continue to review. They make me feel guilty about not updating on time (I wrote 3/4 of this quarter today so that I could post it). As such, this chapter is unedited, but I will hopefully get around to that at some point this week. If I do get around to editing this chapter I'll post a note at the beginning of the next updated chapter. Now onto business.

1. This fic will most likely be updated on Fridays or Saturdays, hopefully either every week or every other week.

2. As pertaining to Sirius' characterization:

More about his past and why he reacts the way he does will hopefully be addressed either in this fic or a maybe in a (possible) companion fic (See number 4), but for the most part, it's just that he didn't have a pleasant home life as a child/teen.

3. As pertaining to the almost parental relationship between Minerva and Sirius: More about this relationship will hopefully come up later in this fic or maybe in a (Possible) companion fic (See number 4), but for the most part, it's just that she helped him out when he was having a hard time at home, and became almost a parental/guiding figure to him. He feels bad bothering her about his problems though, which he sees as insignificant to her.

4. Possible Companion Fic: I really only have one chapter of Harry adjusting to his new family before I skip to Hogwarts...would anyone be interested in reading some short one-shots that fit in that period of time that will be skipped?

5. Pairings/Friendships: I know it's kind of early for this, but I need some suggestions for possible pairings/friendships for the canon characters and Rose Potter. If anyone has any recommendations, let me know!

Next up: Adoptions and becoming a part of the family for real.
Please review, and let me know if you have any questions!