Unveiling The Future

by Lord Lugos

Pre everything, sort of. Sirius Black awakes from a premonition to find that it may not be to late to save Harry from the pain he would surely have. But can he handle being a father? Only time will tell.

2. Back In Black

Wow, I have chapters half written for my other stories, but this one wont let me go. Thanks for the reviews. I hope you like it.

"Unveiling The Future"

Chapter 2, "Back In Black"

Sirius woke from a restful, dreamless sleep, and slowly opened his eyes. James was just staring at him and smiling. "How long you been awake?" he asked.

"I don't know. A while I guess." James just kept smiling.

"What?" Sirius asked.

"I'm glad you came and rescued me from them," James replied.

Sirius kissed his forehead and said, "Well, I gotta pee and we have to do some stuff today."

Sirius went to his bathroom while James went to his. Sirius looked around, as he really didn't pay close attention last night. The bathroom really was huge. The ceiling was easily 15 feet high. A large sink and vanity against stood against the left wall, which acted like a divider. Around the corner from that was another room. To the left directly behind the sink was the toilet. Over from that was a large shower, and a spacious tub. Back across from the sink, under green house style windows, was a very large jacuzzi. The windows were facing the back yard with a multitude of plants either setting on the large sill, or hanging from the skylights.

The storm from the previous night had burned itself out and streaming sunshine filled the bathroom. Sirius finished his morning hygiene and walked out on the terrace overlooking the back yard. Breathing in the clean fresh air, watch as the many trees and foliage swayed in the breeze. He soon felt an arm around his waist. He put his arm around James' shoulders and hugged him close as they just stared out at the yard and the brightening blue sky.

"Well, James, I imagine that you probably have a lot of questions. Many of them, though, you're probably to young to hear. I don't really know. What I do know, is that I don't want to you to get hurt by any of the answers I might give." Sirius looked down at James, who smiled back in trust. "But first, I think we should get some breakfast. What do ya think?"

James nodded and let Sirius pick him up and carry him downstairs.

"Hey, you're hair grows pretty fast," Sirius noticed as James' hair was now shoulder length.

"Yeah, the same thing happened last week. Vernon made me get a hair cut, but my hair was still messy so he practically sheered it of. The next day though, it was back to what it was before. It was really weird."

"It looks good, I think," Sirius said, but was amazed because human transfiguration was one of the hardest branches of magic to learn.

They made their way downstairs, through the nearly complete dining room and into the kitchen. Sirius set James down on the counter and couldn't help but look around. The room was about twenty feet wide, and at least forty feet long. At the far end of the kitchen, against the wall facing the back yard, was a rather large breakfast nook. More of a small dining room really, halfway extending into the back yard with another greenhouse style window. The table could easily sit eight people. Four against the window, which had a bench seat under it, and four chairs on the kitchen side of the table.

The kitchen itself was done all in stainless steal. It had all of the latest muggle appliances arranged in a very functional way.

Sirius broke the silence first. "So what shall we have for breakfast then?" he said, opening the large restaurant sized refrigerator, to find it fully stocked with nearly everything anyone could want.

"Aunt Petunia would only let me have cold cereal. So that's fine, really," James said, looking down at his feet.

Damn them, Sirius thought. "How about hotcakes? Have you ever had them?"

James looked up in hope. "No, but..." he started to say but trailed off.

"What is it, Pronglet?"

"She made me help make them, but I wasn't allowed to have any. I did sneak some though, I liked it."

"Hotcakes it is then," Sirius said, hiding his anger.

Although Sirius knew a lot about muggles, he was a bit useless in the kitchen. With James helping though, they had a grand time, and made a large mess. Flour everywhere, including the two budding chefs. In the end, though, their breakfast of hotcakes and sausage turned out very good.

They were laughing and talking when there was a knock at the door, and Sirius got a little suspicious. "Who is it?" he said when he and James had made their way to the door.

"Its Rachel," came the reply. Sirius relaxed and opened the door.

Rachel started chuckling at the sight of them, covered in flour, and assorted other ingredients. "I was gonna invite you two for breakfast, but it appears you have eaten, that is if any of it made it inside your mouth."

Sirius and James looked at each other at started laughing too. Sirius picked James up and said, "Rachel, this is my son James Black, James, this is our neighbor, Rachel Stewart."

"Pleased to meet you ma'am," James said and held out his hand.

"You are so polite. The pleasure is mine, young man," she replied, shaking his hand.

Sirius set James back on his feet and they both led Rachel to the kitchen.

"My goodness," she chuckled again at the sight of the kitchen. "You two are dangerous with a spatula, I think."

Sirius and James blushed as they all sat down at the nook, which was the only place not covered in flour.

"So you're Dean's aunt," James asked with a touch of fear.

Rachel picked up on that. "Not all aunts are mean, James," she replied soothingly. "So, I take it you were in Dean's class then?"

"Yes, he used to, er, nothing." James quickly filled his mouth with another sausage.

"He picked on you, did he?" She said softly but sternly.

James swallowed quickly and said, "Don't say anything to him, please. It was my cousin's fault, really. He even said he was sorry when we left yesterday."

"Alright, James, I won't say anything. He's coming to visit this weekend, perhaps you can play together."

James grinned and said, "Cool."

They chatted for a bit more and then she left, commenting on how they could possibly dirty a kitchen this large was beyond her. Sirius' response was that they tried really hard.

"Alright, let's get cleaned up, and then we can go get your new glasses, okay?" Sirius as they went up stairs to change clothes.

"Dad," James said, "can I get contacts?"

"If you want, sure."

They went to their respective rooms and changed. Sirius grabbed his leather jacket and headed to James' room to find him combing his hair and trying to tie it up in a ponytail.

"Dad, can you help?" James pleaded, and Sirius smiled and showed him how to do it.

"Alright, grab a jacket and we'll go," Sirius said as he slid on pair of sunglasses.

James went over to his wardrobe and looked a bit, then smiled and pulled out a jacket just like Sirius' jacket and slipped it on. He found a pair of sunglasses in the pocket and quickly slipped them on as well. He turned to Sirius and said, "Okay, lets go." And led Sirius down the stairs.

"Go through that door, to the garage, James, I'll be there in a minute," Sirius said pointing to a door at the bottom of the staircase.

When James had gone through the door, Sirius called Dobby, who immediately appeared.

"Dobby, you're doing a great job on the house. Could you get a message to Arthur Weasley? See if he could visit maybe tomorrow and maybe even bring his son Ron, because I'm still not too sure how to tell James about magic and what happened to his parents."

"Dobby is glad to help, Sirius, sir," Dobby said happily nodding his head fiercely, and disappeared.

Sirius went to the garage to find James just staring at the bike, a mixture of excitement and fear on his face.

"Don't worry, James, I won't go too fast unless you want me too. It's really safe," he said as he picked James up and sat him down on the rear seat, and bent down to adjust the rear foot pegs. When James wasn't looking, he cast a quick charm to keep him from falling off, just in case.

"There, see?" Sirius said as he climbed in front and started it up.

James wiggled a bit and relaxed some, but was still a little nervous.

"See those straps on the back of my jacket? Hold onto those, okay? I won't let you fall off, James, I promise."

James held on really tight as they pulled out into the driveway. They saw a large purple moving van across the street the words 'Knight Movers' on the side.

"Isn't that the guy that drove the limo?" James asked and pointed to a man with a hat hiding most of his face, who was standing back, watching the movers unload the truck.

Sirius looked over and said, "Sure is, James," and they both waived at him.

He waived back as they slowly pulled into the street and left. They hadn't gone a mile before James' fear was completely gone and he was begging to go faster.

"We're already at the speed limit, James. We can't go any faster," Sirius said with a chuckle Just wait till I enchant this thing to fly, he thought.

It wasn't long before the found the optometrist's office, and the ride came to an end. They parked the bike and went in, James swinging on Sirius' arm, chattering about how much fun it was.

"Aren't you two adorable," the receptionist said, noticing their identical clothes when they went in.

"Thank you," Sirius said. "We don't have an appointment, but my son James needs a new pair of glasses," he said pulling out the broken pair. "He wants to switch to contacts, though."

"He would still need an eye exam, but the doctor's morning is clear, so I'll just pencil you in and let the doctor know, alright?" she smiled at James, who immediately blushed, and tried to hide behind Sirius.

"Thank you," Sirius smiled and led James over to some seats.

It wasn't long before the receptionist came back out. "The doctor will see you now," she said and gave James and Sirius a wink before showing them to the examination room.

After the exam, the doctor said it was a very mild prescription and that the contacts would be ready in an hour.

Sirius and James went across the street to a diner and had lunch while they waited for the contacts to be ready. Once they had the contacts, and the doctor showed James how to put them in and take care them, they were off. It was still early, just a little after noon, so Sirius decided to take James to an amusement park. They had a brilliant time, Sirius enjoying the freedom as much as James. By the time they got back home, it was nearly 10pm and James was half asleep on the back of the bike. Sirius had to keep waking him up to hold on all the way home. Time to get a car, he thought.

He carried James up to his room and dressed him in his pyjamas, James not even noticing as he was pretty much out of it by then. He put him in his bed and kissed him goodnight before heading to his own bed.

Sirius fell asleep almost pretty quickly himself. A seven year old boy filled with cotton candy can be a handful. A pleasant handful though, Sirius thought and smiled as he let sleep take him.

Sirius woke to find James snuggled up next to him, still out like a light. He kissed him on the head and got up to take care of business. It was still kind of early, so Sirius let him sleep, and went down to have get breakfast ready and check out Dobby's progress on the house.

When he got downstairs, he just stopped and stared. Everything was done. The entrance hall was beautiful. Light and inviting. The sitting room was very comfortable, and the dining room could seat 20 people easily.

He found that Dobby had also cleaned the kitchen so that it was spotless again. He went down the stairs that were off the left side of the breakfast nook and found a rec room with a pool table, another big screen TV and a fully stocked wet bar.

"Excellent," Sirius said before turning to go back up to the kitchen. "Dobby?"

"Yes sir, Sirius, sir? Did Dobby do alright?"

"You did brilliantly, Dobby," Sirius said. "Did Arthur say he would come?"

"Yes sir, he says he would love to come and bring Ron. Dobby told him to comes for breakfast, is that okay, sir?" he said nervously.

"Thats fine, Dobby. You did very well," Sirius said with a grin and Dobby grinned widely, before bowing and starting breakfast for everyone.

Shortly, there was a knock on the door. Sirius pulled out his wand just in case and went to answer the door. "Who is it?" he called.

"Arthur Weasley," came the response.

Sirius relaxed and opened the door.

Arthur noticed the wand and said with a smile, "Expecting a deatheater, Sirius?"

"Constant vigilance, Arthur, come on in. You use the Ford Anglia to get here?" he said leading them into the sitting room.

"You're sounding like Moody now. Yes indeed, great car. This is my youngest son, Ron," Arthur said.

"Hello Ron, please to meet you. James is still asleep, though. I took him to an amusement park last night. Wore him out a bit, I think." Ron nodded but remained silent as he looked around at how big this house was.

"An amusement park, really?" Arthur said with wide eyes. "That's fascinating. I love the way muggles get along you know."

"I know indeed, Arthur. I know a lot really, the dream, you know," Sirius said a little down and Arthur just nodded. "What I don't know, is how to tell James about magic or what really happened to his parents."

"He don't know about magic?" Ron finally spoke.

"I'm afraid not, his muggle relatives never told him anything but lies. I was hoping that you and your dad could help me tell him about magic at least. As far as James, Lily, and you-knowwho, well I really have no idea how to tell him about that."

"Molly says he's too young to hear about you-know-who, Sirius, and I agree. Ron only knows because he grew up with the stories. But with magic, and his sudden change of homes, it would probably be too much."

"I was afraid of that. At least we can tell him about magic a good 4 years before he found out in my dream."

"That's so weird," Ron said. "How could anyone not know about magic?"

"The same way you don't really know about how muggles live, Ron," Sirius said.

"My dad loves muggles, I don't see what's so special."

"You will when James shows you his video game system and the TV," Sirius said, smiling.

"You have a TV?" Arthur said, eyes going wide again, "How?"

"Dobby," Sirius said plainly. "This may be a pureblood house, but we're in a muggle neighborhood, and I wanted James to grow up, familiar with both, so I asked Dobby to try, and he did. I don't really know how, probably his own special kind of magic has a lot to do with it, but, there you go."

James rolled over and stretched, opening his eyes. He bolted upright, feeling the empty bed. He scrambled out of bed and ran to the door. Hearing voices downstairs, he relaxed and went to his room to use the bathroom and get dressed. He looked in the mirror after putting in his contact lenses and combing his hair. Finding it satisfactory, he grabbed a pair of jeans and a t-shirt and put them on, along with his black converse trainers. He stared at himself in the full length mirror with approval. No more baggy hand-me-downs. Nice new clothes for a change. He looked...normal. He ran his finger along the lightning shaped scar on his forehead, and wondered if his parents really died in a car crash. Maybe it was one of those things he needed to be older to hear. That would be okay. He had a dad now, and he would make them okay. His real dad's best friend promised. He smiled at his reflection and headed down to meet whoever it was the was visiting.

As he made his way downstairs, he heard talking coming from the sitting room. It had been a mess the last time he saw it and he wondered how it could have been cleaned up so fast. He heard a stranger sound surprised that they had a TV, but even stranger was his dad's answer.

He walked in a startled a bit at how clean and nice the room was. A tall thin man with balding red hair was sitting across from his dad on a plush sofa. Next to him sat a tall skinny boy with bright red hair that appeared to be his own age. They were both dressed...a little odd, but reasonably normal he guessed as he looked at their trousers and shirts. He walked around and climbed onto an equally plush sofa, and snuggled in shyly next to his dad.

"Hey there sleepy head," Sirius said putting an arm around James. "Have a good sleep?" he asked to which James just nodded. "This is Arthur Weasley and his son, Ron. I asked them to drop by to help me tell you some things that you need to know."

James looked up with curious eyes. "Like how this room got done so fast?" he asked innocently.

"Yep," Sirius replied. "Well, here goes, I guess." Sirius looked over at Arthur who nodded reassuringly. "Remember when you asked about your clothes and I said magic?"

"Yeah, you mean it really was magic?" James said, his eyes widening.

Sirius smiled. "Yep, you see, you're a wizard, I'm a wizard, and Arthur and Ron are wizards too."

James just looked at them all for a moment as he thought about this. "You mean...I'm not normal? That Dudley was right?" he said finally, a tinge of fear creeping into his voice.

The smile faded from his face as Sirius realised this was about to go horribly wrong. "It's okay, James. There are lots of wizards around. You ARE normal. A normal wizard."

"But he's a famous wizard," Ron said without thinking, and then realised his mistake and looked at the floor. "Oops."

"But I don't wanna be a freak. Dudley called me a freak and he was right," James said as tears started to fall.

"You're not a freak," Sirius said and hugged James tighter. "Being a wizard is normal for all of us. You can do magic as a wizard."

"But I thought I was gonna be just a regular kid now," he sobbed out, the tears flowing freely now.

Ron looked a little shocked because magic was normal to him. "Mr. Black, show him what you can do. I saw in the paper that you were an animagus."

James looked over at this weird kid. "Animagus?" he sniffled.

"Yeah," Ron said. "Some wizards can turn into animals. He can turn into a dog. Show him, I think it's cool."

James turned quickly back to Sirius and pulled away in fear. "You can turn into a dog?" he said, his sobs filled with fear.

"It's okay, not all wizards choose to learn how," Sirius said, trying to reassure him, but it didn't work.

James got up and ran to his room, sobbing, "I don't wanna be a freak."

They heard the door slam upstairs and just looked at each other.

"That went well," Arthur said.

Sirius just put his head in his hands. "I don't know what to do. I'm failing him. Again."

"No you're not, Sirius. Trust me. I have seven children and these things happen. It'll work itself out. Won't it Ron?"

"Yeah," Ron said and got up and walked over to Sirius and sat down. He patted his shoulder and said, "Sometimes I feel that way too. When I do, I just stay alone for a while till I can work it out in my head. It'll be alright."

Sirius looked up at Ron and smiled thankfully. "How did you get so smart?"

Ron smiled and said, "My mum and dad, of course."

Arthur beamed proudly at his son. "Tell you what, Sirius. Molly and I talked about it before we left. If you like, we'll stay here for the rest of the weekend to be here for you and James. He will come around, and I'm sure he'll want another wizard his own age to talk to when he does."

"Thanks, Arthur, you have no idea how much I appreciate it."

Arthur came over and put his arm around Ron and said, "Actually, I think I do."

During all of the goings on, no one noticed the two red headed nine year olds hiding in the shadows listening to it all. They looked at each other and nodded and slowly crept up the stairs to James' bedroom and went in.

James was lying face down on his bed crying. He heard someone come into his room and sobbed into the pillow, "Go away, I don't wanna be a freak."

"What's wrong with being a freak," the twins said in unison, cause James to quickly look up and stop crying.

"Who are you?" James said wiping his eyes.

"I'm Fred," said one twin.

"And I'm George," said the other.

"That's our dad and little brother down there."

"We hid in the boot of the car because..."

"We knew you'd need..."

"To talk to us," they said, finishing each others sentences.

James just looked back and forth between them. "You're wizards too?"

"Of course. Lots of fun..."

"That is. Being a freak can be..."

"Fun if you know how."

"Stop that," James said."

"Stop what?" they said together.

"Fine. So why would you want to be a freak?" James asked.

"Being normal is dull, even if you're a..."

"Wizard. I mean you can be what ever..."

"You want. No matter that you're parents were killed..."

"By the Dark Lord..."

"Voldemort," they said without flinching.

James just looked at them. "My real parents were killed by a..."

"Dark wizard..." they said.

"But when he tried to kill..."

"You, it backfired and killed him. And now you're..."

"Famous for taking him out."

James kept staring at them, taking this all in. "But I was hoping to be normal. I don't wanna be famous."

"Well, it's like we said..."

"Before. Choose to be normal. You can pretend to be a muggle kid..."

"That means non magic kid when you're at school, kind of like a spy..."

"And around wizards, you can choose to ignore being famous, even if you are..."

"Harry Potter, the boy who lived."

"But I'm not Harry Potter, I don't like that name because of my aunt and uncle. I'm James Black," James said defiantly.

"Now you're getting it, that's what..."

"We mean. Choose who you want to be, and like us..."

"Ignore those who say different."

At that, they pulled out a wand and started spreading red and gold bubbles all around the room. "This is our brother Bill's..."

"Old wand. We nicked it during the summer and he..."

"Got a new one. You won't tell, will you?" They looked at him as he watched with bright eyes at the bubble.

"Of course not," James finally said. "I guess this could really be fun." Then he looked down at his feet. "I bet that Sirius won't like me any more after what a said."

"Don't worry about that, kid. It's clear..."

"That he really loves you, just think about whats happened since he got you."

James thought for a moment and looked back up at them. "I guess you're right."

"And the best part, you already..."

"Have a pet dog any..."

"Time you like," they said and then looked at each other. "I wonder if he sniffs peoples butts?" they said and then looked at James who burst out laughing at the thought.

They pulled James off the bed and led him out and down the stairs still chuckling a bit. Half way down they stopped suddenly. Everyone was at the bottom of the stairs.

Arthur was looking annoyed while Sirius was looking hopeful. James the ran the rest of the way down the steps and leaped into Sirius' arms.

"I'm sorry, Dad," James said.

"Nothing to be sorry about, son," Sirius replied.

After a few minutes, Sirius set James down and asked, "you okay, now?"

James nodded. "Would you, er, show me?" he stuttered nervously.

Sirius nodded in understanding and transformed into a large black dog and stared at James for approval.

The twins and Ron said, "Cool." at the same time.

James reached up slowly and petted the top of Sirius head. Then he got a mischievous smile and said, "I wonder, do you sniff peoples butts?" and took off running up the stairs laughing.

Sirius the dog bound up after him and into his bedroom. He tackled him to the floor and started licking his face mercilessly, James squealing with laughter the whole time. Then he turned back into a human and began tickling him and wrestling about on the floor.

James begged him to stop betweens fits of laughter and giggles. Finally he started saying,"Stop, stop, I gotta pee."

Sirius relented and James ran quickly to the bathroom. When he came back out he was still chuckling a bit and breathing hard. Finally he said, "Wow, I have a dogfather." and started laughing again and tried to back away.

Sirius was too fast though, and grabbed him and threw him onto the bed, resuming the tickling and wrestling about with him. The eventually ending up in a hug when they were out of breath.

"Are you okay? I mean really okay?" Sirius asked him.

"Yeah, I'm okay. I love you dad," James said.

"I love you too, Pronglet," Sirius said. "Ready for some breakfast yet?"

James just then realised how hungry he was. "Yeah, really hungry lets go." He hopped up and they went down to the sitting room.

"I'm sorry for acting weird," James said to everybody.

"Na, I think you were acting normal," Ron said. "I'd act the same way."

"Shall we eat?" Sirius said, leading them to the breakfast nook.

"I told Molly we were gonna stay until tomorrow, while you were upstairs, Sirius," Arthur said as they all tucked in.

"Thanks Arthur," Sirius said then got confused. "You sent her an owl?"

"Er, no. I pushed through your reconnection to the floo network yesterday. I brought some floo power with me and so I firecalled her."

"Thanks again Arthur. I want you to know that you and your family will always be welcome here."

"Thank you, Sirius," Arthur said and then began explaining the floo network when he saw the curious look on James' face.

They discussed wizards and muggles during breakfast and then finally introduced Dobby to James, who wasn't surprised by much by this point. After breakfast, the boys went out to the enchanted back yard with four practise brooms that Dobby found in the attic. Sirius and Remus sat on the patio watching and talking.

"I want to tell you something, Arthur, from the dream, but I'm afraid you might be insulted a bit." Sirius finally said while they watched the Weasley boys show James how to fly, though he appeared to be a natural, and took to it quickly.

"Sirius, I trust you. If it concerns my boys, I want to know. Everything you've done so far shows that that what you saw was pretty accurate."

"Well, okay. The dream is almost like a series of books in its detail. It concerns your fascination with muggles, or more importantly, the fact that you don't really work towards advancement at the Ministry."

"Go on," Arthur said, looking thoughful.

"Ron hates being poor. He may not show it now, but it will be a large source of pain in the future. I may have only been a father for a few days, and I may have more money than I really need, but I can see that sometimes you have to be able to provide a few wants, not just needs."

Arthur studied Sirius for a few minutes then sighed. "You're right. I didn't think it would really come to that, sometimes a parent can be blind. Merlin knows that Molly can be overprotective at times. I was hoping that I wouldn't fall it a similar parenting trap."

"I want James to stay grounded, but I also want to spoil him a bit. He's had so little in his short life. I know it'll be hard, but I was hoping that between you and Molly, and even my neighbor, that we could do it. I really want him to have a balance of muggle and wizard, wealth and humbleness."

"I'll be glad to help any way I can. And thanks for telling me about Ron." Arthur smiled warmly and they returned their gaze to the boys.

Everyone was watching as James was coaxing more speed and maneuverability out of the practise broom than should be possible. One of the twins threw as small walnut they had found away from James, who quickly turned on his broom and zoomed after it. He caught it about a foot off the ground and zipped back up and then landed perfectly.

Everyone started clapping, but none so hard as a proud Sirius. James just blushed and shrugged his shoulders. They soon went back to flying about, tossing James' football(soccer ball) around like a quaffle, having a grand time, and acting like normal boys.

Sirius took Arthur in and gave him a tour of the place, showing him the muggle things, and explaining as much as he could remember from what he learned from Lily and the dream. When he saw a spider on the window sill he remembered something else.

"You might want to help Ron get over his fear of spiders," he said, picking up the spider and letting it crawl over his hand. "It was just a joke, I know, and I don't really want to get the twins in trouble, but in the dream, Ron faced a boggart and it became a spider." He set the spider back down and looked up at Arthur.

"I remember that, it was about four years ago. Fred and George had got hold of my wand and thought it would be funny, and it would have, if Ron had been a little older. I thought he was over it. Thanks, Sirius. They're good boys, well sort of," Arthur said and smiled.

"You don't have to tell me, from what I saw in the dream, they're gonna give me, James and Remus a run for our money when they get to school," Sirius quipped.

"Oh, now that I don't think I'm ready to know just yet. I've heard Dumbledore say some things about your time there. And the Daily Prophet article said that you and James Sr. actually managed the animagus transformation by your fifth year. That really is amazing," Arthur complimented.

"The need to have fun knows no bounds, Arthur," Sirius said, chuckling.

Sirius and Arthur then went to the third floor to check the conditions of what would be the guest rooms. Dobby had already taken care of everything, though. There were eight good sized bedrooms, each with there own bath, on the third floor. Four on either side of a large hallway that had a bay window at either end, one looking out to the back yard and one looking to the front yard. They saw Moody clipping bushes in front of his new house, getting a little disgusted at doing things the muggle way it seemed.

Then Sirius, looked back and then ducked into one of the bedrooms and saw a window facing the backyard on the far wall. He smiled. "Magical windows, Arthur," he said at Arthur's confusion.

"Oh, interesting. Your house elf seems to blend muggle and wizard very well. I think I'm jealous," Arthur said and smiled warmly.

"Dobby?" Sirius called.

"Yes sir, Sirius sir?" Dobby popped in.

"You did a wonderful job. Thank you. I want you to do something totally frivolous for yourself. Anything you want, really."

Dobby blushed. "Really? Sirius, sir?"

"Really."

Dobby thought for a moment, then looked up and snapped his fingers. The pillow case he had been wearing disappeared and was replaced by a pair of children's football shorts and two mismatched socks.

"Thank you sir, now Dobby has work to do. Dinner will be ready shortly," he said cheerfully and disappeared with another pop.

Sirius just shook his head and Arthur grinned. They went downstairs to check on the boys and tell them to wash up for dinner.

After dinner, James took the Weasley's up to his room and showed them how to play video games. They were hooked immediately, and played for the rest of the evening.

Sirius took Arthur out to his motorcycle and explained to him how to really get a muggle machine to fly. Arthur blushed a little when he told him that enchantments wouldn't work really well, and showed him his trick that he used on his last motorcycle. A dragon heartstring wrapped around a Rowan twig and placed in the fuel tank worked perfectly. It made the bike behave much like a broom. Plus, since it wasn't permanent, made it completely legal. Arthur smiled like a kid on christmas morning at that news.

The next day, after breakfast, the boys went back out to play and Sirius showed Arthur his new telephone. He explained how to use it and demonstrated by calling Rachel.

"Rachel? This is Sirius. I'm just calling to let you know that my phone is working and to give you my number. Ready? It's 555-1239."

"Got it. Hey, I'm glad you called. My sister just got here about an hour ago with her son, Dean. I was hoping maybe you could bring James over to meet them and my son."

"I would, but a friend of mine is visiting with three of his sons."

"Bring them too, the more the merrier."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, come on over."

"Alright, we'll be there in a bit, as soon as we can round up the boys."

"Alright, see you, bye."

"Bye."

"And that's how you do it, Arthur. My neighbor wants to meet you and the boys. Her sister is visiting with her son, who went to school with James," Sirius said, as Arthur was still reeling from the fascination of a telephone call.

They rounded up the boys and headed over, reminding them of no wizard talk while they're there. Once inside they made the introductions.

"I'm Sirius Black, this is my son James, and this is Arthur Weasley and his sons, Fred, George, and Ron," said Sirius.

"I'm Rachel Stewart, this is my son Alister, and this is my sister, Joanne Proffitt, and her son Dean."

It was another warm day, so the adults sat outside and watched as the boys kicked around Ali's football. The Fred, George, and Ron were really beginning to enjoy the muggle pastime. When Dean had asked James about his new name, he told him he didn't want to remember anything about living with the Dursley's. That almost threw cold water on their fun, but the twins made a joke about cursing them if they could, and it was forgotten. The muggles didn't even think that maybe they could really curse them.

Soon, Arthur said that he had to get back, and they left. The twins and Ron deciding to skip floo travel, choosing instead to ride with their father back home. Arther left Sirius and James a small amount of floo powder though, so they could easily get to Diagon Alley for some more and show James around.

James was a little sad to see them go, but perked up when Sirius reminded him that they were just a floo call away. He also told him they were going to buy a new car the next day, and explore Diagon Alley as well.

The next day was Monday, and they went to a BMW dealership. Sirius let James choose the color. He couldn't make up his mind between the forest green, or the arctic blue. He ended up choosing the green. It was fully loaded and would be delivered the next day.

Back home, Sirius showed James how to use the floo network and they spent the rest of the day in Diagon Alley. James easily chose to ignore the stares they kept getting, remembering what the Weasley twins had told him. He tended to shy away from strangers and stayed close to Sirius. By the end of the day, he paid no attention to the stares at all, and just focused on spending time with his dad.

They had a good time at Gringott's, even though the goblin's made James a little nervous. The cart ride was even better than the rollercoaster they had ridden Friday. They visited James' vault that his parents had set up, as well as the Potter family vault. James was in awe as they looked around. As legal guardian, Sirius was in charge of the vault. He found two vials near the back and pocketed them.

After that, they went to the Black family vault. Sirius confirmed that all of the Dark Arts objects had been safely stored there. Near the back he found a similar vial of his own. When James wasn't looking he put his wand to his temple and muttered spiritus plasius, and pulled away a golden filament, and added it to the vial. He then returned the vial to it's hiding place.

After they bought a nice black and white owl, it was getting pretty late, and James was getting tired, and hungry. They both were, really. The ice cream sundaes they had earlier at Fortescue's ice cream parlor were long since digested. They flooed back home and had a wonderful dinner, thanks to Dobby, and hit the sack.

After breakfast the next day, Sirius was thumbing through the phone book when James said that he was bored.

"Why don't you firecall Ron, while I make a phone call. We'll get you register for school this week, okay?"

"Alright," James said cheerfully and went to make his firecall. Ron was out with his mother, so he talked to the twins for a bit, then went back to Sirius to find something else to do.

"Alright, great. We'll see you at 10 then. Bye," Sirius said and hung up the phone as James walked in.

"Where're we going, dad?" James asked.

"The dentist," Sirius said and James went pale. "Now James, I know those Dursley's would have never took you to a dentist, I'm surprised they even got you glasses."

"Well, they never did, but I heard other kids talk about it. They said its the worst."

"Well you don't have to worry, I found a very good dentist, and since I've never been, I'm going to. Don't worry, it won't be bad, I wouldn't let it. Go brush your teeth, comb your hair and get dressed. You know I won't let anything bad happen to you, right?"

"Yeah," James said then pointed a finger at him and said, "You better not." Then he grinned and ran upstairs before Sirius could grab him.

They dressed identically again in black jeans, black t-shirt, and the black leather blazer, except James didn't put his hair in a ponytail this time. Riding along in their new BMW, they turned on the radio. 'Blackened' by Metallica was playing, so they turned it up as they hit the freeway.

The receptionist thought they looked cute dressing alike, and Sirius ended up with another phone number. She showed them to the first examination room where they waited.

Soon, a women entered and said, "Hello, I'm Dr. Granger, how are we doing today?"

"I don't know about you, but I was doing fine till my dad said we were going to the dentist," James said with a bashful smile.

"James is a little nervous, so I told him I would go first," Sirius said, getting into the chair.

"That's quite alright, just lean back and relax. Having any problems or pain with your teeth?"

"No, I just wanted to get a good checkup. My son has been living with his aunt and uncle, but they weren't taking care of him right. He's never been to a dentist before, and I heard you and Your husband were the best, so here we are."

"Well, I don't know about the best, but we take good care of our patients," she said as she began.

James watched as Sirius had a thorough checkup, and a good cleaning. Soon, he was done.

"See? That wasn't bad at all," Sirius said, getting out of the chair. "Now it's your turn. Don't be nervous, it feels a little weird, but it doesn't really hurt."

Soon, James was done as well, and got out of the chair, grinning. "You were right, dad. It was easy."

"I must say, his teeth were very clean, Mr. Black. He may never have been to a dentist before, but it seems that his aunt and uncle at least made him take good care of his teeth."

"No they didn't," James said with a hint of anger in his voice. "I did it on my own," he said and walked out.

"I'm sorry, Dr. Granger. His aunt and uncle were really mean to him, and he's still not over it."

"That's quite alright, Mr. Black. I'm glad he has someone who cares about him now then. I have a little girl his age and I couldn't imagine anyone being mean to her."

"Thanks doc, see you in six months, right?" Sirius said with a smile.

"Yes, the receptionist will set you up with another appointment. Take care," she said and left to see the next patient.

Sirius went out to the waiting room and James jumped into his arms. "It's alright James, the doctor understood. She has a daughter your age, and couldn't stand it if someone was mean to her."

"Dr. Granger?" James said as the doctor came in to talk to the receptionist. "I'm sorry."

"That's quite alright young man. You just take care of your dad okay? And we'll see you in six months for your checkup."

"Okay," James said and smiled.

It was only noon so they had lunch and then went to James' old school to return his books and get his transcripts. When they got there, they found the office and talked to the secretary. After looking over the custody papers, she sent them to his former teacher to finalize the transcripts and return the books to her.

They knocked on the door, and the teacher opened it and said, "May I help you?" and then noticed James. "Harry? Is that you? You look so different."

"Hi Mrs. Gadburry. Call me James, it's my middle name. I don't like the name Harry anymore," James said with a slight smile.

"Hello, Mrs. Gadburry, I'm Sirius Black, James' new guardian. We're just here to return his books and get his transcripts."

"Well, come in, then. Do you have your homework, Harry? I mean James?" she said with a smile of her own.

"Yes, it's here," James said as they walked in. He spotted Dean and waved.

Dudley saw them and screamed and ran to the corner. A dark spot appearing on the front of his trousers. The whole class giggled at the sight.

Mrs. Gadburry, grinned. "Dudley, go to the bathroom and clean yourself up," she said sternly and turned back to James. "Ha..James, why don't you go talk to Dean for a moment while I correct your homework and talk to your guardian."

"Okay, but he's my dad," James said happily as he ran over to talk to Dean.

"I've seen you've made quite an impression with him, mister?" Mrs. Gadburry said.

"Black. Sirius Black. Yeah, well, he is really special to me," Sirius replied.

"I almost didn't recognise him, wearing something other than his cousins old clothes, and without his glasses. You got him contact's then?"

"Yeah, his cousin broke the last pair, and he asked for them instead of new glasses."

"Figure's. Dudley has broken them more than once. But the contact's are good. He really has beautiful eyes. He shouldn't hide them."

"Lily, his mother, had the same eyes."

"I didn't know he had a middle name. But I think it suits him"

"It was his father's name, my best friend. I'm his godfather. His parent's died when he was only one. I've been away, otherwise, I would have intervened long ago. I made a mistake in leaving. There were things I could have done, but I didn't." Sirius said sadly.

"Well, you're here now. He seems really happy. Dean keeps talking about the rockstar that came and got him last Thursday. And then he said you live next to his aunt, and they had fun all day Sunday. Nobody plays with Dudley anymore," she said the last with a slight chuckle.

"Don't take this the wrong way, but that Dudley is a little brat, and his parents are no better."

I'm really glad someone got him away from the Dursley's. I tried to step in, but, I was told to stay out of it."

"Really? Who told you to stay out of it?"

"The headmaster got word from some governmental department." Sirius just looked at her, pondering this new information. "I knew he would be okay on Thursday, though."

"Really? How so?" Sirius asked, curiosity peaked.

"Oh, it was a picture he drew for art. He said he dreamed that an uncle was coming to rescue him, and showed me the picture. It was clearly a picture of you. In fact, seeing you is how I recognised Harry, I mean James. The change in him is tremendous, and I don't just mean his appearance. In fact I've only seen him smile twice. Once when he showed me that picture, and today, when you knocked on my door."

"I guess I'm doing alright then. I'm knew to this being a dad thing. But I think James is worth it."

Just then James and Dean came walking over. "Er, dad, could Dean maybe sleepover some time?"

"Sure, we'll work it out with his mom. I just want to wait until you get settled at your new school, okay?"

"Yes!" they said in unison.

"I'm glad to see you're doing better, Ha..er, James. Have fun with your new dad, alright?" she said hand the final grades to Sirius.

"We will." James replied with a grin.

"Just take those to the office and they'll update the transcripts for you," Mrs. Gadburry replied and then went to find Dudley who still hadn't returned to class.

"See you later Dean, come on James, let's go," Sirius said.

"Bye Dean, I'll call you," James said and they left.

Once they had the transcripts, they said goodbye to James' old life forever.

The next morning, Sirius, James, Rachel, and Ali all walked to school together. Rachel was going to help Sirius register James for school.

As they approached the school, James said, "Dad, isn't that Mr. Weasley's car?" and pointed to a light blue Ford Anglia.

"I believe you're right, James. I wonder what they're doing here," Sirius said as they walked in and headed for the office while Ali headed to his classroom.

Inside they saw three familiar redheads sitting and sulking while a forth was talking animatedly to the receptionist and someone who appeared to be the headmaster.

"Thanks a lot, Mr. Black," Ron said in a huff when he saw them. "Mum thinks going to this m...this school would be good for us."

"Sorry guys, it'll be okay, though. James will be here to," Sirius replied a little unsure of what was going on.

"Hello Arthur," Sirius said. "Having trouble?"

"Er yes, they seemed to be reluctant to take in students who have been, er, home schooled and plus they have a problem because I don't have a fellytone."

Sirius looked at him warily, then said, "If I may, headmaster, I'll vouch for him and you may use my telephone number."

"And you are?" said the headmaster.

"Black, Sirius Black. I'm here to register my son James. I have his transcripts from his last school. We just moved to the neighborhood, and this is my neighbor, Rachel Stewart. Her son is already enrolled here."

"Ah, yes, Mrs. Stewart, you will vouch for these Gentlemen?"

"Absolutely," she said sternly with a face that would make Snape cower.

"Very well, since these children have no formal education they will be given placement tests to determine which class they should be in. As for Mr. Black, you paper work is in order, Your son will be attending Mr. Albert Lewis' class as soon as the secretary enters his information into our records," the headmaster said and strode back to his office.

Soon a tall woman approached them. She reminded Sirius and Arther of Minerva McGonagall, the way she carried herself and the way she spoke. "I am Miss Magdeline Smith and I am the assistant Headmistress at this school. If the three Weasley children will follow me, I will administer the placement tests." She quickly strode out the door and Ron, Fred, and George quickly followed.

"Don't mind her," said the secretary, "She's stern, but fair, and the Head, he's all bark but no bite. Anyway, here you go, James," she said handing him an admissions card. "Mr. Lewis' class is in room 42, I can show you the way if you like."

"That's alright, I'll take him," Sirius said, "Thank you very much. Arthur, I'll wait with you for the boys to get done with there tests. Rachel, thanks, I really appreciate it."

"Not at all, Sirius," she said, and left.

Sirius walked James down the hall and they found room 42 easily.

"Well, I guess I'll see you when you get home," Sirius said sadly.

"Don't worry, dad, be brave. I'll be home soon enough. Practise my video games so that I won't beat you as badly as I did."

"I know, but I just got you from the Dursley's, and I like having you around," Sirius said and hugged him fiercely.

James hugged him back for a moment, but that moment kept getting longer and longer. "Daaaaaad," he whined just there came a sound of a clearing throat behind them.

"Sorry," Sirius said standing up and turning around.

Mr. Lewis was a tall, older man of about 50, with a slight belly, and shoulder length grey hair tied back in a ponytail. When he smiled, it was like looking at the kindness of gentle grandpa. He took the card from James and said, "No problem Mr. Black. I'd rather see a parent who cares that much than one who just drops off and leaves or worse. He'll be fine. Come on, James, let's introduce you to the class."

James waived bye and Sirius suddenly felt alone. He slowly walked back to the office to find Arthur there waiting and looking around at all of the fascinating muggle things.

"Arthur," Sirius said a little coldly.

"Sirius. Aren't these photographs fascinating? With the way the just sit there?"

"We need to talk," Sirius said and led him out into the hall.

"What is it, Sirius?" he said with a look of genuine puzzlement.

"Just what the hell are you and Dumblefuck playing at?" he whispered angrily.

Arthur took a step back, eyes wide. "Sirius, I have no idea..." he trailed off and got a look of concentration, and then realisation on his face. "Sirius, I swear, I had no idea. I just kind of suggested it might be a good idea Sunday night when I got home. But Molly didn't even want to discuss it at all, she was all for it from the beginning. She was never all for any of my ideas that concern muggle anything. Do you think Albus spoke with her?"

"I don't doubt it. From what I know of Molly, it would be easy to play to her overprotective instincts," Sirius said, calming down.

"How can it hurt, though really? What could Albus hope to accomplish?"

"I don't know. Anything to turn James into a weapon against Voldemort." Arthur jumped at the name. "Arthur, I want James to make his own friends, be his own person, choose who he wants to be."

"Don't worry, Sirius. You can use that dream to make sure. And I won't let Molly bully me into anything like a spy for Albus. I love my children to much for that. I wouldn't want to see them get used that way. Molly won't either, once I explain it to her. Trust me Sirius, please?"

Wow, Sirius thought to himself, this was nothing like the Arthur in his dream. He was at first, but it's already changed dramatically. Maybe he could be successful at protecting James after all. "Okay," he said finally and sat down to wait for the boys tests to be over.

A little while later Ms. Smith and the boys returned. "They have good intelligence, Mr. Weasley, you've done well with their home schooling. Though they lack some basic History, and their mathematics and science good be improved, I think they will do fine in an age appropriate class. Ronald may go to Mr. Lewis' class, and the twin mischief makers would do well in Mr. Lawson's class."

She handed the test's to the secretary to put in their file, and returned with three admissions cards. "Mr. Lawson's class is in room 39, and you remember Mr. Lewis' class is in 42," she said and returned to her office.

After seeing the pouting boys to class, Arthur and Sirius left in the Ford and went to Sirius house around the corner for some tea.

"I'm really sorry, Sirius, really I am. I should have seen it coming when she suggested that we use Moody's new house as the muggle address. I was blinded be my fascination with muggles, again."

"It's okay, Arthur, what's done is done. The boys can floo here and then walk to school if you like. I imagine Molly said that I wouldn't have a problem with that. I know you couldn't drive them all that way everyday."

"Yes, she did. I'm sorry," Arthur said, hanging his head.

"It's okay, Arthur, really it is. Could you let yourself out? I think I'm going for a ride on my motorcycle, to clear my head. I'll see you later," Sirius said and left.

Moments later Arthur heard the roar of a Harley take off from the garage and fade away. He got into the little Ford and left immediately. On the drive, he kept thinking of different things he planned on saying to his wife about getting them mixed up in Albus' dangerous politicking.

Riding down the highway, not knowing where he was really going, Sirius simply let his mind wander. No traffic to speak of, he had the radio on the bike blaring. Suddenly he had another flash of the future beyond that of his dream and nearly crashed the bike. He pulled over to the side and stopped, waiting for his mind to make out what he saw. It was a picture of James as a teenager in Dumbledore's office. He heard a prophecy involving James and Voldemort, before the image of James began tearing up the office in a pain filled rage. Sirius finally knew what this was all about, and he wasn't going to let James hurt like that. Ever. He knew what he had to do. 'Back In Black' by AC/DC began playing as he whipped the bike around, dirt and gravel flying as he headed back home.