Disclaimer: If I were JKR, I would have diamonds on the soles of my shoes. But I don't…and nobody knows what I'm talking about…That is set to lovely Paul Simon music in my head.

Previously: Kate's eyes were darting from Meghan, to Remus, to Harry. This could mean so much. Who had they switched to? Hadn't James and Lily and Sirius trusted them enough to tell them?

Chapter Five: Pieces of the Puzzle, in which stories are unfolded, a new character is introduced, and someone special "reenters" the story.

"They switched to a man named Peter Pettigrew a short while later." Meghan dropped her bomb rather apprehensively. Kate nearly fell off the bench. Remus emitted a strangled gasp. Harry and Hermione looked confused and uncomfortable.

"And Peter was forced to tell Voldemort?" Remus choked out. To the group's surprise, Meghan shook her head. "WHAT!" he demanded.

"I talked to Sirius for a moment before he went after Peter," she said. "Tried to convince him not to go. He said there was no sign of a struggle at his hiding place. Peter went over willingly." She drew a deep, shuddering breath. "He betrayed James, Lily, and Harry to Voldemort.

"Sirius made me promise not to tell anyone when he told me about the Secret-Keeper. I took him perhaps a bit too seriously. In light of his recent escape and the not-so-recent deaths of my brother and sister-in-law, I thought it would be prudent to tell you."

"Should have known," Kate said, her voice creaking like a rusty gate hinge. She cleared her throat. "You never let on that he was missing, possibly out on Death Eater activities. You could get anything out of that man. I should have known."

"Sucks, don't it?" Meghan joked weakly. "If it helps, at least we all five know he's innocent now." Harry and Hermione looked at each other. "Well, you two didn't know he was supposed to be guilty in the first place. But we all know he'd innocent. All that's left is to find him." She looked at the sky, her eyes losing their happy twinkle. "Which, in itself, is no small task. He'll be Padfoot. Black dogs are every bleeding where. Pardon my French, as it's pretty awful."

"Posters," Harry suggested. Meghan and Remus, both of whom had grown up with wizarding families, looked at him oddly. Kate nodded and snapped her fingers. "That's it!"

BREAK

Over the next two days, Hermione, Harry, Kate, Meghan (Ashley still with her grandparents), and Remus made posters with a still picture of Sirius Orion Black in his Animagus form of Padfoot, a huge, friendly black dog. Hermione was still tight-lipped and sparing with her words, but on the third day, Harry opened up. He was soon talking to the three adults like he had grown up knowing them personally. Hermione just watched from the sidelines, feeling a little fifth-wheel (quite literally) and hanging back from the rest of the group.

After lunch on the third day, Remus and Meghan told newly-arrived Harry stories about their childhood with James, Sirius, and other friends. Kate excused herself and shut the door of the Grangers' guestroom as she left, leaving them to their stories. She went to check on her charge.

Hermione was reading a book in her upstairs bedroom when Kate appeared in her doorway. She jumped when she noticed the wraithlike woman had come up to the door. She tried to shrink back into the headboard.

"Have some lemonade with me?" Kate asked. "It's lonely by myself," she added with a quiet smile. Hermione nodded shyly and put down her book. She slid her feet off the bed and onto the floor and followed Kate to the kitchen. When they arrived, Kate poured the lemonade and they sat at the table across from each other.

"Hermione, I've noticed you don't really have that many friends," Kate said delicately, handing the startled girl a biscuit as she broached the subject that had baffled her. "Is there a particular reason you don't know many kids your age?"

"I don't get out much," she murmured. She sat there for a minute, dangling her legs as she debated possible answers. "Harry's my first real friend," she confided. "My father doesn't let me see any of the kids from school. And they don't notice me usually. Which is good," she added in an undertone.

"Why is it good?" ever-eagle-ears Kate asked. Hermione looked like she didn't want to dig her hole any deeper than it already was. "Come on, it's six one way and half a dozen the other. Just spit it out, Hermione."

"If I attract attention to myself, my father thinks I'm being forward. He doesn't like it when I talk to his and Mum's guests, either. There isn't much he likes about me," she whispered.

Kate felt cold all of a sudden. Did this mean something more, something worse? Hermione's soft-eyed, innocent face confronted her when she looked up. No. There wasn't any of that going on. Hermione was quite obviously safe here. The Grangers weren't the Blacks.

"Do you like school?" she changed the subject tactfully. She was duly rewarded for her quick thinking when Hermione's eyes lit up and she nodded.

"What we learn is so interesting! I don't much like the summer holidays. I prefer school." Kate smiled a little at this. Most kids couldn't wait for the summer hols to begin. She sounded like Kate in the fact that she couldn't wait for them to end.

BREAK

Meghan went home the next day, told Ashley she'd found her Aunt Kate and Uncle Remus, as well as her cousin Harry and a playmate and Apparated her back to Remus's house. Remus was waiting. He had sat through Meghan's tale of Ashley's survival (she had been in the Potters' bedroom), along with Kate, and they were eagerly anticipating her arrival.

The black-haired, gray-eyed seven-year-old was shy at first, having forgotten all she knew of Remus and Kate. As soon as her mother came in, giving her daughter a Look and an explanation, she opened up and was the vivacious girl her mother knew.

"I've been hearing stories about you forever," she said quickly. "I've always wanted to meet you and I finally get to. It took Mum forever, but I guess we got here."

It took Harry and Hermione longer to get used to Ashley. They'd had very little contact with the outside world, and Ashley was like being plunged into the deep end of the outside world. The little contact with the children at school didn't help.

Ashley bounced into the room where Harry and Hermione were sitting in silence, Hermione reading a book on loan from Kate, Harry drawing on a pad of paper Meghan had given him.

"Hi! I'm Ashley Black. Meghan's my mother. I'm your cousin, Harry, and umm, what's your name?" Hermione looked taken aback. Harry was staring.

"Hermione," she said quietly.

"Hi, Hermione. Mum said maybe we could be friends. It's nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you too," the girl said with a ghost of a smile. "Mrs. Black said you'd be here today." Harry tried to smile at his cousin. "Hello."

"Umm, yeah," Ashley said awkwardly, not knowing what to do.

"What are you reading?" she tried a few minutes later. Ashley wasn't one for silence. Never had been.

"Hans Christian Andersen's fairy tales," the brunette told her. "It's very good. I'm reading The Little Mermaid right now." She clammed up.

"Oh, that's nice," Ashley said lamely.

BREAK

The next two weeks Meghan spent hovering over Remus's telephone. Every time it rang, she'd pounce on it, thinking it to be someone who had spotted her beloved. It was nearly always Kate, wondering if they'd heard anything.

Ashley tried to figure out her cousin and his friend, learned some more about her adoptive aunt and uncle, and wondered about her father.

Harry obediently cooked and cleaned for his remaining maternal relatives, tried very hard not to aggravate the volatile family, and hoped that no one would noticed all the bruises he was accumulating anyway.

Hermione tiptoed around and thanked whoever above was listening for sending her to such wonderful people while her parents were gone. She felt she didn't deserve it.

Kate puzzled over the ongoing mystery of Hermione and Harry, worried about Sirius, and moped after Remus. In that exact order. She couldn't for the life of her figure out the quiet, timid children. She wished Remus would care for her the way she did for him. She talked to Meghan endlessly. She figured Remus would be doing the same once they found his once-again best friend.

Remus pondered Harry, Hermione, and Kate. He wondered if Kate liked him as well, feeling like a clumsy schoolboy again. He questioned Sirius's whereabouts.

By and large, the group of six: two silent, abused children, one vivacious, humorous girl, and three friendly but oblivious adults who knew each other back to front; waited for the return of a forgotten godfather, a very close friend, a beloved husband, a father, and an unknown quantity.

BREAK

Sirius, for his part, was just wandering into a small Surrey town as the long, anxious two weeks came to a crashing close. The black dog Animagus was wandering aimlessly, as he had been since his 9 June escape.

He was wandering through a small playground when he chanced to look up. When he did, he noticed there was someone very familiar atop the geometrical dome. A girl sitting next to the boy who had to be his eight-year-old godson Harry noticed him first and pointed to him, murmuring something in Harry's listening ear. Harry whipped his head around to look at the huge black dog that was looking back at him.

Cupping his hands around his mouth, the boy called, "Aunt Meghan! We found Padfoot!" Sirius/Padfoot's eyes were already darting in the direction of the boy's—Harry's—call. Meghan? Surely not…

A familiar—too familiar, too good to be true—woman with long black hair came into view. Sirius couldn't help himself. He was running, the dog's long stride taking him to his darling in seconds. He bowled her over, smothering her face with wet dog kisses. She was laughing even as tears streamed from her brilliantly sapphire-blue eyes. "Oh, Padfoot," she murmured as she hugged him close, burying her face in his neck. A girl with black hair was standing behind her.

"Harry, Hermione, Ashley, let's go over to my house," his best friend Remus Lupin called to the boy and two girls, coming into view. Ashley? "Meghan, bring the mutt with you. Hope he doesn't have rabies." That's rich, coming from you, wolf-boy, Sirius thought furiously. The lycanthrope winked at him and whispered, "Nice to have you back, Padfoot. Meghan's been hovering over the phone ever since we put up those posters." Kate Bassett followed him into view. "Hey Kate, Meghan found her mutt," he winked.

Sirius growled at Remus, letting Kate scratch his head. "Missed you, old boy," she muttered. "I've only had your nutty wife and rascally daughter for company recently." She raised her voice. "Hermione, we're heading for Remus's, dear. Follow him."

The brunette girl nodded, following Harry and Remus. Meghan was on her feet, leaning Sirius by the hand still buried in his neck fur. "Love you," she murmured under her breath. Sirius snuffled and buried his nose in the leg of her jeans. She laughed.

They made it to Remus's house without any mishaps. Sirius was itching to change back, kiss Meghan, and hug Ashley and Harry. What was taking so long? All Remus had to do was unlock the bloody door—

Sirius bounded into the house and transformed.

Meghan collapsed in the gaunt man's strong arms, crying again. He held the woman close, kissing her soft hair. "Don't suppose you missed me, then?" he joked, his voice raspy with disuse. She laughed through her tears and kissed him.

"Are you two just going to stand there all day?" Kate demanded tartly. "Ashley here might like a hug from her father. This century. I'm sure you'd love to oblige. Right, Sirius?" she said dangerously.

Sirius let Meghan go and his eyes found Ashley's gray of their own accord. "My girl," he whispered. A hint of recognition flitted through her eyes at the nickname. "Dad?" she replied, before Sirius caught her up in a tight hug. Ashley hugged her father back enthusiastically. "I'll never let you down again, little one," he whispered in the girl's ear, tears gathering in his eyes. Hermione looked a little odd at this, Kate noticed, although she pretended not to. She was slowly backing away, a longing look on her face.

Sirius released Ashley, wiping his eyes on the back of his hand. He looked around. Seeing Harry, he bounded over and hugged him as well. The boy stiffened, and Sirius let him go, a worried look in his eyes. Harry tried to smile. The escaped convicted criminal then looked at Remus, a question in his tired, haunted gray eyes. The hazel-eyed lycanthrope nodded, pointed to Meghan, and made a series of complicated gestures with his hands. Sirius grinned, lighting up the pale, thin face, and gave Remus a hug as well. When they stepped back, Sirius smiling still, he looked at Kate. She nodded to him. He extended a hand. She shook it. She winked at him and gave him a full-blown hug, relieving the tension of the moment. "Hey, Hermione," she said to the brunette girl standing behind her, "this is that mutt Meghan's been crying over for two weeks. Come say hello. He doesn't bite." Remus looked at her, skeptical. "Often," she amended.

"Oh, thanks," Sirius muttered. "Hello, Hermione," he said with a smile. "My name's Sirius Black…or Padfoot, if you prefer." She nodded timidly. When she spoke, her musical voice was quiet, her eyes fixed on her shoes.

"I'm Hermione Granger, Mr. Black, sir. It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance." Sirius looked, nonplussed, at Meghan, Kate, and Remus, who all looked a little astonished at her word choice. What's with this girl? he mouthed over her head. Shy, Remus and Kate mouthed back together.

"No one calls me Mr. Black," he said kindly. "Call me Sirius, Hermione. I take it you know Harry here from somewhere?" he asked, genuinely curious.

"We go to school together," Hermione said very softly. Sirius had to strain to hear her. "Now we meet at the park," Harry added in a louder tone.

"Well, how did this motley group all come together?" Kate, Remus, and Meghan traded looks, trying to fend the telling of the tale off on each other. When no one said anything, a straightforward Ashley looked at Sirius.

"From what I've heard, Uncle Remus saw Hermione in the park every day for nearly the whole school year. Then, he saw Harry when he came earlier than usual to the park on the last day of school. Mum wrote to him the next day, when you got out of Azkaban. She promised to visit two weeks later. Hermione's parents left for, umm, Spain a few days before Mum came, and they called Aunt Kate to look after Hermione. They all ended up meeting in the one park. Mum told them about you and they all put up posters advertising a lost dog—you, Dad."

"And then, Hermione saw me," Sirius clarified. Hermione nodded. "So, Miss Hermione, how else do you fit into this picture?" he asked. Hermione ducked her head uncertainly.

"She's Muggleborn, but she's magical," Remus explained for her. "She produced a strong shield about six or so weeks back." He turned to Hermione. "Do your parents know yet?"

"No, sir. Mr. Lupin. I haven't told them, sir," she said, ashamed. Meghan looked oddly at Remus, then at Hermione, her eyebrows knit in concentration. Remus shook his head slightly.

"Call me Remus. Is there any particular reason why? You haven't told your parents, I mean. Is there a reason you're keeping it quiet?"

"No, sir," she said carefully after a moment of hesitation. "No reason, sir."

"Remus," he corrected. "No one has called me 'sir' in my entire life." Sirius laughed a little. Hermione's small smile betrayed her.

Harry opened up easily to Sirius, if only because he'd known him as a small child and somehow remembered him. Hermione, for her part, hung back, determined to get the measure of this unknown quantity before she said anything to him. She tried not to call attention to herself. Ashley could hardly stop talking.

Kate and Remus, the cooks of the group, prepared a light supper for the six of them. Harry tried to help, but was shooed away by the monarchs of the kitchen. Hermione looked at Remus's books. Sirius sat down, Meghan inevitably on his dirty-gray-covered lap and Ashley next to him. Kate would come into the other room every few minutes to check on Hermione. She'd watch her charge, smiling, for a few moments, nod to Sirius and Meghan, and go back into the kitchen. Hermione, meanwhile, was very careful not to touch anything.

"Dinner's ready," Kate called a while later. "Come on in!" The group filed into the kitchen. Remus had conjured a few extra chairs and they all squeezed in at the table. They dug into the meal with gusto. Or at least, the guys and Ashley did. Hermione, naturally, picked at it. Meghan ate slowly, savoring the moments she was spending with these people, who were almost like her second family. Kate ate at the same pace as Meghan, also enjoying the full table and the formerly rare company of her friends. No one commented on the restrained pace of the three girls, sensing that the youngest among then, the petite brunette, preferred not to be noticed.

Remus and Sirius gave everyone a good fit of laughter with their stories about the Hogwarts Marauders' many escapades. Even Harry and Hermione laughed, to everyone's delight. The two quiet children invited a feeling of care without even knowing it. Even just having met her recently, the adults were all strangely protective of Hermione. Harry and Hermione seemed to think of each other as good friends, even if they were reluctant to reach out to others. Hermione recognized Harry as her only friend, and vice versa. Both were careful around each other, though friendly, fearing to lose the one person that understood their plight.

Much later, after tales of more Marauder escapades, Meghan, Kate, and Lily's covert pranking, and growing up, Harry checked the clock. When he saw the time, he leapt to his feet.

"I'm dead," he muttered, hurrying to the door. "I'm sorry, but I really have to leave." They watched him go, the adults confused. Hermione nodded, thinking about the strange conversation they'd had more than four weeks ago, one of the highlights of her quiet, simple summer.

"What's with him, Hermione?" Kate asked.

"He lives with his aunt and uncle, and his cousin. He usually has to cook for them. They'll probably be mad that he wasn't home in time," she said. The adults looked aghast.

"He cooks for them? At eight years old?" they all demanded at once. Hermione nodded, her movement slow and timid, her eyes worried. "Why on earth?" Sirius continued, frustrated, the mood of the evening destroyed. "Can't they cook for themselves?"

"They probably can. They just won't," Kate said bitterly. "You know, we'd better be going, too. I'll need to clean up the house, since your parents get back tomorrow." Hermione paled.

"I'll help, Miss Kate," she recovered. "Goodbye, Mr. Lupin, Mr. Black, Mrs. Black, Ashley," she said respectfully. The three remaining adults watched Kate and Hermione go out the door.

"Didn't I tell her to call me Remus?" Remus muttered. "Six weeks ago?"

BREAK

A/N: Another one of these pesky respites...ah well, I am addicted. What do you think? I think maybe the Call me Remus is getting old, but he's trying to get through to her, and she's not being open...ah well, that's Mia for you.

M: Ah ah ah, no killing the story!

LP: Sorry, sorry...anyway, by all means tell me how corny and awful this is getting.

M: You're moving through that document way fast..you should email EJ this link...

LP: I will, shut up.

M: Shutting up.

LP: Bye now!

Luv,

LysPotter and Meghan