A/N: As a thank you to all of my reviewers: another (extra long) chapter!

Chapter 8

When Arthur came home from work that evening, he was rather more excited than usual.

"Hello, dear, how was work?" Molly asked, as usual, while she made the pots scrub themselves in the sink.

"Well, I had a rather interesting conversation today."

"Oh, really? About what?" she asked, only mildly interested. Knowing her husband, it was probably about some new muggle thing he'd found out about. She turned back to her knitting: she had quite a few sweaters to make for Christmas next year.

"It wasn't so much the subject as it was the person, Molly dear. I – quite literally – ran into none other than Emma Potter, Harry's aunt."

Molly stopped dead. Harry's aunt? She remembered Ron writing home about it, but hadn't heard anything else about it since, so it had slipped her mind. "Really?" she finally managed to say. "What did you think of her?"

Arthur shrugged, sitting down next to her. "She was very nice, and even invited me to come watch the Quidditch game at Hogwarts with her, but unfortunately, I was in a hurry. I told her we'd love to have her over for tea sometime."

Later that night, Molly wrote a letter to her youngest son, asking him what he thought of Harry's new aunt.

/*/

Hello mum,

Yeah, Emma's nice, and Harry seems to like her a lot.

She calmed us all down when Sirius Black last broke into the tower.

Why do you ask?

Love

Ron

/*/

It was a week before I received another letter from Harry, and it troubled me a little.

Dear Emma,

What do you know about Grims?

Harry

Why would Harry ask me about this? Why not go to Remus, or just look it up? Every child raised by wizards knew about Grims, so even his friend Ron would've known.

'Unless he hasn't told anybody else,' a voice that sounded suspiciously like James sounded in her head.

But why? I decided to direct that question at my nephew instead.

Dear Harry,

No 'how are you? I'm fine, the weather's great'?

A Grim is an omen of death, usually in the shape of a large dog-like creature, but I've never heard of anyone seeing one before.

Why do you ask?

Love,

Emma

I got the answer that same night.

Emma

I'm sorry, how are you? Is the manor ready yet?

I think I saw one, earlier this year. Several times, actually. Last two times I was it was right before the dementor came onto the Quidditch pitch back in November, and the night before the Slytherin match.

Does that mean anything?

Harry

'Does this mean anything indeed'. I sat in the library in the manor, reading the little note over and over again. I had a sinking feeling that what Harry had seen hadn't been an animal at all, but an animagus; specifically an animagus by the name of Sirius Black.

I had known about my brother and his friends' 'little secret' since I was sixteen, and the reason for it since I was seventeen.

I had found Peter in my room one day, going through my drawers, probably on a dare. He hadn't seen me yet, and before I could enter my room properly and shout at him, he'd changed into a rat. I'd caught him and returned him to my brother, forcing him to teach me too. Luckily no one, not even Sirius, knew that I knew, and Peter didn't know what I'd blackmailed my brother into, they only knew I knew about Moony's 'furry little problem'.

I shook my head. 'What should I tell Harry, though?'

Dear Harry

Are you sure it was a Grim and not just a big dog living in the forest? It wouldn't be the first time. Besides, every book I've ever read says very clearly that you only see it once, and usually fairly close to your death.

I wouldn't worry too much about it, Harry, it's probably nothing.

I hope you're studying, and getting prepared for the exams.

Good luck!

Emma

P.S.: yes, the manor is completely finished, I can't wait to show it to you!

I felt horrible for lying, but what was I supposed to say?

I tied the letter to Hedwig's leg and sent it off, hoping I wouldn't be endangering his life with my lie.

/*/

I found a temporary job at a local bookshop for a few days, just until Harry would come back from Hogwarts. It gave her something to do, and she liked being around books. She even bought a copy of Tolkien's Lord of the Rings trilogy to give to Harry.

Because of this, it wasn't until 6 June, coincidentally also the last day of Harry's exams, that I finally found the time to go to Little Winging and rang the doorbell on number 4, Privet Drive. I had just finished my shift at the bookstore, which ended at 3:30, and, after changing, apparated straight to Surrey.

The woman who opened the door was a tall blonde, with a long neck and an angular face. She smiled politely at me. "Can I help you?" but I could tell she wasn't being sincere; I was disturbing her peaceful afternoon.

"Yes, as a matter of fact, I believe you can. My name's Emma. You are Petunia Dursley?" I asked, matching her polite tone right to the insincere note in her voice.

"I am."

"Can I come in, then? I have some paperwork for you to sign, and I'd rather not do it in your front yard."

The other woman smiled thinly. "Certainly," she replied, and moved out of the way. We sat down in the living room, and I put my briefcase on the salon table and looked around. The house was spotless.

"Usually Vernon, my husband, does any paperwork," Petunia said, not offering me anything to drink.

"Well, this doesn't concern your husband. Twelve years ago, you got custody over Harry Potter, is that correct?"

Her face blanched. "Who are you?" she breathed, pushing herself deeper into the armchair.

"My name's Emma Potter, and I'd like to take Harry off your hands," I said casually, flicking open the briefcase.

Petunia stared at me, her eyes wide. "I don't understand."

"I'm Harry's dad's little sister, and by magical law, I have a better claim over Harry's guardianship that you do. I know you don't want him, and I know how you treated him, and I won't allow it anymore. Either you sign these papers and give me full custody of my nephew, or I'll steal him from you. Whatever you choose, the outcome will be the same," I reasoned.

"But… but the protection…?" she stammered.

"Will be broken, but Voldemort isn't after you, he's after Harry. And I can assure you that my house is about as safe as any magical place in Britain can be, aside from Hogwarts and Gringotts, perhaps."

Petunia still didn't look convinced. I didn't understand. She didn't love Harry, and hated the fact that he was magic, so why didn't she want to sign.

"Can you assure me that no harm will befall my family?" she asked, but picked up the pen and held it over the document.

"No, but it's highly unlikely. In fact, I believe it's more dangerous to keep Harry than to send him away. You're less of a target that way."

"That man, the headmaster, he said that we'd be safe if we took him in. He never mentioned another family member."

"Yes, that's true, but Dumbledore didn't know I was alive. Sign the papers, Petunia. You'd never have to worry about the neighbours seeing anything, never have to deal with a child that was never yours…"

"He was Lily's…" she whispered. If I hadn't had enhanced hearing because of my animagus form, I wouldn't have heard it, so I chose to ignore it. Petunia signed.

I smiled at her, genuine for the first time. "Thank you. For what it's worth, I'll try to do my best to keep him happy," I said, putting my things back in the briefcase, and preparing to leave.

"Hold on," she said and ran upstairs, leaving me alone in the living room. She returned quickly enough, and shoved an envelope into my hands. "It was Lily's. Now out, I don't want the neighbours to see you," she said, but I suspected it was with less venom than she normally would've used.

I smiled, and allowed her to lead me out the front door, but before I left I turned around. "The thing Lily regretted the most in her life was that she never made things right with you, did you know that?" I asked rhetorically, and stepped out the door, not waiting for a reaction.

Once I turned the corner, I apparated to Hogsmeade and started off toward the castle, conjuring a patronus as I went.

Ironically, it still took the shape of a large dog. Sighing, I set off towards the castle, the shiny dog loping beside.

he sun was already set low over the horizon when I reached the entrance hall. I made my way up to the seventh floor, and got a stray second year to let me in, but when I asked around – I even checked his dorm room – no one had seen him or Ron since the end of the last exam.

Feeling a little worried, I went down and checked the library, the hospital wing and the Great Hall, eventually even venturing outside to the Quidditch pitch, even though all students were supposed to be inside.

When I couldn't find him there, I went back to the castle, hoping Remus might now where my wayward nephew was.

Just as I got there, he was running out of it, seemingly in quite a hurry. He saw me coming, but didn't stop, he just grabbed my arm and dragged me along. "Remus, what-?"

"No time, Harry's in danger!" he just shouted, and then he didn't have to drag me anymore.

/*/

We ran straight out of the castle and onto the school grounds, I had no idea where we were going, so I just followed Remus.

"Why are we here?" I asked, only a little out of breath as we stopped a few feet from the Whomping Willow.

Remus didn't reply, but raised his wand. He levitated a fallen branch to press the willow's sensitive spot, so it would freeze.

Just as I was about to ask again, Remus already replied. "I saw Pettigrew on the map, he was with Ron, Hermione and Harry, and then Sirius showed up. They went down the tunnel."

I nodded and slid down the opening, crawling out of Moony's way so he could enter as well.

"Well, then, let's hurry," I said briskly, and started forward, bent forward so I didn't hit the protruding roots. As we jogged on in silence, I had a chance to think about the consequences of what Remus had just told me. If Peter was still alive, that meant that Sirius hadn't killed him. And if he was innocent of that crime, was there any possibility that he hadn't committed the others either? Peter being alive changed everything, and yet nothing at all. If Peter had faked his own death, why hadn't he come out of hiding once Sirius was in jail? Spending twelve years was a terribly long time to spend as an animal.

I so desperately wanted to believe that he was innocent, that Peter had been the traitor, and not him. I frowned, remembering telling James that I didn't like or trust Peter, once. I had put the thoughts aside because James had protested vehemently, but now they were back in full force.

What would I do if Sirius was innocent? I honestly didn't know, but I'd find out soon enough. We were at the end of the tunnel.

Remus and I made our way up, and suddenly heard a girl shouting: "WE'RE UP HERE? WE'RE UP HERE – SIRIUS BLACK – QUICK!" We ran up the stairs as fast as we could, and Moony got there a second before I did. I took one quick look around the room, saw that Harry was okay, and promptly hugged him, while Remus kept his wand trained on Sirius.

"Thank God, you're alright," I breathed. I took a step back to register the confused look on my nephew's face. I simply shrugged and took a closer look at his friends. Hermione was cowering near the door, her lip bleeding, while Ron was lying on the bed, panting and pale-faced. He clutched his leg and seemed to be in some pain.

Sirius, on the other hand, was lying at Harry's feet, a big bruise starting to form on his left temple and an orange cat draped across his chest, right over his heart. Harry still had his wand trained on the man, and, now that his eyes were no longer on me, they had regained a murderous rage as he stared at Sirius.

"Expelliarmus!" Remus shouted. Harry's wand, along with two others, flew across the room until the professor deftly caught them.

"Where is he Sirius?" Remus asked in a very intense voice. I glanced away from Harry to look at the men. Sirius remained expressionless, but eventually raised his hand and pointed in Ron's direction. Then Remus worked out what I knew the moment we stepped into that room. Sirius was never James and Lily's secret keeper, for some reason, Peter was.

Remus pulled Sirius off the floor and embraced him like a brother. I couldn't help but smile.

"You look like shit," I commented, and stepped forward as Moony released him.

Then, to everyone's shock, I put my hands on either side of Sirius' head and kissed him, full on the lips. I released him and, while he was still in shock, slapped him right across the face.

"Oi! What was that for?" he exclaimed in a rather high-pitched voice.

"The slap was for hitting me in the jaw. The kiss was for being innocent."

Sirius grinned, even if it was just a ghost of his usual mischievous smile.

"I CAN'T BELIEVE IT!" Hermione screamed. I turned around to face her, prepared to defend myself. "You!" she said, pointing at me. "And you!" Her finger was now directed at Remus.

"Hermione, calm down!" Remus tried, but the girl was almost hysterical.

"I didn't tell anyone! I've been covering up for you!" she shouted, looking at Remus.

"Hermione, listen to me, please! Remus shouted. "I can explain!"

Harry looked at me, betrayal written all over his face. "I trusted you," he whispered, but he might as well have screamed for all the effect it had on me. It broke my heart.

"No, Harry, please listen to me!" I said, stepping closer, and feeling the hurt as he stepped back.

"Don't trust them, Harry, they've been helping Black into the castle, they want you dead too! Lupin's a werewolf!" she shouted. "And Emma just showing up like that when no one's ever told you about her? She's probably a death eater too, just in disguise!"

Silence reigned in the ramshackle room. I glanced at Remus; he usually didn't take people knowing about him very well. I remembered when he found out I knew, he tiptoed around me for weeks!

"Not at all up to your usual standard, Hermione," he said calmly. "Only one out of four, I'm afraid. Neither Emma not I have been helping Sirius get into the castle, we certainly don't want Harry dead, and Emma showing up like that was all her own doing, she is as much a death eater as Albus Dumbledore is… But I won't deny that I am a werewolf."

I knew Remus well enough to see the apprehension in his face, the fear of rejection, especially from Harry.

Ron tried to get up, but fell back onto the bed with a grunt of pain. Remus stepped forward, wanting to help, but Ron yelled: "Get away from me, werewolf!"

My jaw actually dropped. 'Did he really just say that?' Remus was about to say something, but I held up a hand to stall him.

"Ron, we're just trying to help. Will you allow me to take a look at your leg?" I held up my hands to show that I didn't want to hurt him, my wand pointed at the floor.

The redhead watched me warily, but nodded slowly. I offered him a small smile and knelt by the bed, while Remus asked Hermione how long she'd known.

I tuned out their conversation in favour of concentrating on Ron's leg and arm. Sirius had apparently bitten him in the arm, but the wounds weren't too deep, so a simple spell would stop his bleeding and another conjured bandages. His leg was a little more complicated. It was obviously broken, but I only had a little experience resetting toes and noses. I decided to just numb it a little – Ron sighed in content – and put a splint on it. The boy mumbled a 'thanks', but wouldn't meet my eyes. "You're welcome," I whispered back, and took my place next to Moony again.

"Some of the staff thought so," Remus was saying. "He had to work very hard to convince certain teachers that I'm trustworthy-"

"And he was wrong!" Harry yelled. "You've been helping him all the time!" He was pointing at Sirius. I felt anger bubble up in me as I saw the effect the youth's words had on the two men. Sirius made his way over to the bed and sank down onto it, his face hidden in one shaking hand, while Remus just blanched some more. The werewolf had always had more facial control than his friend.

"Harry James Potter!" I said, careful not to shout, but making sure my voice held authority. "If I or Remus would have wanted to kill you, we could've done it any number of times we were alone with you, and you should really learn to listen. Sirius Black is innocent, Remus Lupin never helped him, he thought he was guilty, remember? You're just like James in some ways, and like Lily for that matter! When they got something in their heads, they were more stubborn than a pair of mules!" I ranted. Harry seemed a little taken aback. "I swear, if James thought he was right about something, it would take some serious reasoning, and usually a slap from Lily or me for him to see he was wrong."

Sirius looked up and cracked a smile, and it made a world of difference in his face. Instead of the gaunt, skeleton-like look he was sporting, he regained some of his handsome elegance for a second. Remus seemed mildly amused, and Harry simply looked confused, and happy to be compared with his parents.

Ron edged away from the bed and went to stand next to his friend. Remus sighed lightly and made another attempt to explain.

"I have not been helping Sirius," he said. "If you'll give me a chance, I'll explain. Look-" He threw Harry, Ron and Hermione's wand back to their respective owners – all of them looked stunned.

"There," Remus said, sticking his own wand back into his belt. "You are armed, we're not. Now will you listen?"

They still looked sceptical, but Remus went ahead and starting to explain everything, starting with why he'd come, while Sirius explained how he'd known Wormtail was at Hogwarts. Apparently, there had been some kind of picture of all the Weasleys in the Profet that he'd seen. Mooney went on with his story, only to be interrupted by Harry as he found out the professor knew how to work the map because he'd written it, along with the other marauders, and that they all knew about the cloak.

Personally, I thought he didn't explain very well, as he kept alluding that he'd seen the trio along with someone else on the map, but they kept insisting no one else was with them.

"An animagus," Sirius eventually said, "by the name of Peter Pettigrew."

Of course they didn't want to believe any of it, Peter was supposed to be dead. I rolled my eyes at Remus and Sirius' attempt to clarify: they weren't doing such a good job. Even I got confused, and I already knew most of the back story! But I held my tongue, leaving it to the men to shed some light on the matter.

I only said something when Hermione – seriously smart girl, that one, no pun intended – said something about registration for animagi. "I'm an unregistered animagus," I said offhanded.

Five pairs of eyes were on me, and they were all staring.

"You're an animagus? Since when?" Sirius asked, clearly as surprised as everyone else in the room. I had thought James might've broken his promise to me and told his best friends, but it seemed he had been truthful when he said he wouldn't tell a soul.

"Since I was sixteen, I caught Peter in my room and made James teach me."

Remus guffawed. "And he never told us? You never told us?"

I grinned. "To be perfectly honest, I thought James would break his promise and tell you. And I thought it was just really fun to know something you didn't. James and I went out by ourselves sometimes: I kept the bigger predators away from him."

"What do you turn into? And my father?" Harry quickly asked, but Hermione cut him off.

"That's still really dangerous! Learning from a self-taught student? And running around in the dark with a werewolf! What if you'd given the others the slip, and bitten somebody?"

Remus told them that thought still made him uneasy, and that he felt guilty for having betrayed Dumbledore's trust.

"Be fair, Moony," I said. "There's not a lot that goes on under Dumbledore's nose that he doesn't know about, or at least not for long. I'm sure he knew." Aside from trying to be reassuring, I actually thought that Dumbledore might've at least suspected it.

"Never realized who the traitor under his nose was, did he?" Remus sounded bitter, and who could blame him? James and Lily, however reluctantly, had suspected he could've been the traitor.

"I knew," I said, putting a hand on the man's shoulder.

He frowned at me. "How could you possibly have known? None of us did!"

"I didn't mean that I knew, but I suspected. I'd always felt uncomfortable around Peter, but I thought it was just because he was a rat, and I'm a cat."

"You're a cat?" Sirius asked.

"A lynx, more specifically, but that's not important. I told James of my suspicions, but he laughed them off. And who wouldn't have? Peter wasn't strong or brave or even very good with a wand, nobody suspected him. So I wrote it off as just a weird feeling, and I left it that way until Remus told me he'd seen him on the map. I knew Sirius and Peter must've swapped and that he must be innocent," I explained.

Sirius offered me the tiniest to smiles, and I took it, before he returned his gaze to the rat in Ron's hands.

"So why did you never tell Dumbledore about Black, then, if you thought he was guilty?" Hermione questioned.

Remus told her it was because he was afraid of admitting that he'd betrayed the headmaster's trust. He also told them the full extent of the prank, though I'd explained most of it to Harry in Snape's office. And that's how Sirius found out said git was teaching at Hogwarts.

"So that's why Snape doesn't like you," Harry said slowly, "because he thought you were in on the joke?"

"That's right," sneered a cold voice from the wall behind Remus. Severus Snape was pulling off the invisibility cloak, his wand pointing directly at his colleague.

A/N: Review!

Quick disclaimer: A lot of this was directly copied from the book, and I don't own any of it, I only own Emma and the extra subplot I added.