"Unveiling The Future"
Chapter 4, "To Thine Own Self Be True"
Sirius slipped his wand out of his sleeve and looked at it more closely. Indeed it was the one that James had gotten in the dream. "But what does that mean?" he asked.
"It means simply that things are changing." Olivander replied and continued measuring James for a wand as he grabbed boxes off shelves. In typical Olivander fashion, he got more excited as they went through the boxes...for a while. After a while, he was sure that the boy would need a custom wand. "Young Mr. Black is going to need a custom wand, I'm afraid. I would like to try something, first though." he said as he took Sirius' wand and handed it to James.
An icy cold wind blew through the shop as James held the wand, blowing his hair up and away from his scar.
"Interesting," Olivander said. "He should be able to use your wand until I complete the new wand, Mr. Black, and I expect the results to be, shall we say, extraordinary."
"But it's usually a warm breeze when you find your wand, isn't it?" Sirius asked.
"Indeed it is, Mr. Black," Olivander replied. "But, it seems, the boy is the other half of your magical self. It is clear, that you are devoted to him, and that your fates are intertwined. Now," he changed the subject swiftly, "what can you tell me about James from your prophetic dream? Unique skills that might tell me what to use to make his wand."
Ronan watched on with a tinge of jealousy, wishing so much for this kind of family. He struggled to hold back the silent tears of his pain. He hoped he could stay with the Blacks, even if it wasn't his real family, it was better than he ever had with his own flesh and blood.
"Well," thought Sirius, wondering just how much he should divulge, "Voldemort, passed some of his powers to James when the curse failed."
"Really?" Olivander queried, eyebrows raised.
"Yes. Don't get me wrong, he is definitely his father's son, just a little intensified, thats all," Sirius said, to which Olivander just nodded, as if to say 'get on with it'. "Well, er, his most prominent power I think is that he's a parselmouth."
"Indeed," Olivander said as he glanced at a blushing James before he started pacing quickly. "Yes, perfect, absolutely," he continued after several minutes. "It will be made of multiple components, yes indeed. Five components in all, representing the five elements. Yes, two types of wood, braided together," he said rapidly, still pacing. "Willow, like your mother's, shall represent water, and Mahogany, like your father's, representing earth. Representing spirit will be James himself. The core will be from Voldemort's addition, representing fire. Eye of Basilisk. It may take some time for me to acquire that, though."
A goofy smile spread on Sirius face. "I know where there is a large basilisk. Would that be worth something to you?" Sirius said as he thought that this would change the entire second year of the dream.
"Indeed," Olivander replied curiously, "I think we could work something out. I'll owl you and we'll set up the details to retrieve it."
Sirius nodded in agreement just as James cried out and grabbed his head.
"James, what's wrong? Is your scar hurting?" Sirius asked as he knelt down beside James, glancing out of the window for anyone who might be possessed by Voldemort.
"No, it's not my scar," he said pointing to just above his left eye, the scar was over his right. "It just hurt really bad suddenly."
Sirius pulled James' hand away to examine his forehead. There was no mark, but it did seem a little red, but that could be from him pressing on it.
Sirius kissed James forehead and asked, "Is it getting better now?"
"Yeah, it was just so weird. It was like I hit my head on something, and then it started going away."
"I'm glad its not hurting anymore," Sirius said before turning back to Olivander. "Alright, I'll owl you the details once I come up with a plan to get to its cave and kill it. All you have to do is figure out how to get it out of the cave. Oh, what is the fifth ingredient?"
"Ah, you, Sirius," he replied, getting a puzzled look from him. "Your love and guidance is the air that feeds the fire of James' magic."
Sirius smiled, and shook Olivander's hand and then he, James, and Ronan headed out. They enjoyed the rest of the day in the Alley. They got a few beginner books for James to start studying. It was a pretty good day, except James had more pain hit him above his left eye just as they decided to leave.
Not taking any chances, Sirius took James to St. Mungo's. He was going to send Ronan home, but decided against it. Once there, he explained to the healer's what had happened, and they decided to perform some spells to test for various injuries. They couldn't find anything, and attributed it to residual effects of the curse scar, which may have intensified now that James was more exposed to magic after so long without that exposure.
After tucking James in bed, Sirius went to Ronan's room to talk. "Ronan, I saw that something was wrong back at Olivander's. You want to tell me about it?"
Ronan looked at his feet. "It's nothing. I just never had family who treated me the way you treat James, is all."
Sirius wasn't really sure what to say to that. He was still new to this parenting thing. "You were feeling jealous, weren't you?" he finally said, thinking how he felt those first few days at his best friends house. "I know how you feel, I felt the same way when I ran away from home, to my best friends house."
"But I was gonna hurt you, turn you in to my old family, and then you take me in. It's a little confusing."
Sirius made a decision then. "Well, let me tell you something. I want you to stay with us. We'll get you registered for school, and I'll get the minister to okay guardianship for you. We all make mistakes, and you were just trying to find a way to survive. Don't get me wrong though, hurting James would have made me kick your ass from here to next year. But I can clearly see, that's not really your nature. James Sr's parents took me in and gave me a home. It's the right thing to do, Ronan. So don't worry about it, okay?"
Ronan gave Sirius a hug. "Thanks, Sirius. I really appreciate it."
Sirius stepped into James' room before he went to bed. As he watched James, the peaceful look on his sleeping face turned to one of fear as he dreamed. Suddenly he cried out and grabbed at his back.
"James," Sirius cried as he ran over to the bed. "What's the matter? Are you okay?"
"They hurt Jim, dad." James said as the pain subsided and he opened his eyes.
"Jim?" Sirius asked.
"The boy in my dream." James looked up at Sirius.
"But you grabbed your back as if it was you," Sirius said as he hugged James and rubbed his back.
"He looks like me. It was like it was me, in the dream. I don't know, it was kinda weird."
"Did you recognize who it was? It could have been prophetic like mine."
"I don't know who it was, I never saw them before."
Sirius kept rubbing James' back as he thought about the dream. He finally decided it was probably some lingering fear from the kidnapping. Soon James drifted off to sleep again, with no further dreams like that.
The next day, Sirius got a call from the dealership about his car. He took it in to have it checked over, luckily everything was fine.
"What made you think something was wrong?" Sirius asked the man who sold him the car.
"Sad story really. There were only two of the model you bought, if you remember. A couple came in wanting it in the forest green that you bought. They settled on the arctic blue that was left. They had a son about the age of yours I guess, and he liked the blue better anyway. But there was a defect and it caused an accident. The couple died and the boy survived with only a cut to the forehead. Turns out he was adopted so he ended up at some institute for boys. The police investigation was just completed, citing a failed part. I just wanted to be sure though, I would hate to see another child become an orphan or worse."
Sirius was both shocked and saddened at the story. It could have been him and James. He also noticed it matched the lie the Dursley's made up about James and Lily. Weird, he thought.
"You take care, Mr. Black," the man said returning the keys to him.
"Thanks for checking," Sirius said before leaving.
As he was driving back a thought popped into his head to adopt the boy. If he hadn't bought the car, the kid wouldn't have ended up an orphan, again. "I hate to see a kid hurt like that, but life is getting too busy right now," he told his conscience. Logic ruling over the heart, this time.
He spent the next week working out and doing heavy meditation. He was getting pretty good at controlling his glimpses into a future that might have been after he fell into the veil. The fates wanted him to stop Voldemort it seemed. If he could then James might have a normal life, and a lot of lives could be saved, especially his own. He shivered at the thought of the veil.
Ronan enrolled in the local secondary school, and was doing well. He spent all of his time studying, so he could perhaps go to university soon. As a squib, it seems the magic he didn't get was made up for in intellectual ability. He was absorbing muggle subjects like a sponge, with particular skills in math and science. After a few weeks, he saw the comparisons between potions and chemistry, so he added potions to his studies.
Dumbledore walked into his office to find Sirius sitting at his desk, feet propped up, again. "How do you keep getting in here?" he said, a tinge of fear in his voice.
"Marauder's secret, Albus, and don't worry, I'm not going to hit you again," Sirius said with a chuckle. "I need you to make sure that all of the students are gone for the Christmas holiday. Jimmy and I have to take care of something. A danger, really, that this school needs to be rid of before Jimmy's second year."
Dumbledore pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. "You've had another vision?" he said, allowing his gaze to meet Sirius' eyes.
"Well, yes, but not about that," Sirius said, locking his eyes on the headmaster's, pushing him back out of his mind. "That, is something I already knew about, and now I have a plan to rid the school of the monster that dwells within the Chamber of Secrets."
"Surely you jest, Black," came the cold voice of Snape as he entered.
"Not when it comes to the life of Jimmy," Sirius continued, seriously. "We absolutely must keep this a secret. I also have a plan to at least slow what is left of Voldemort down, if not stop him permanently, but I'll need your help to do it."
Snape and Dumbledore stared incredulously at the Marauder.
"What of what you showed me in the pensieve? You would trust me now?" Snape said, coolly.
Sirius got up and strode around the desk. "I can control the visions better now," he said. "You were under an unbreakable vow, and were forced to kill our beloved headmaster," he added with sarcasm to 'beloved'.
Sirius faced away from them and let the shock sink in with a smirk. "It seems young Malfoy got himself in a spot of trouble with a risen dark lord, and my cousin begged you to help. Albus insisted you keep the vow, as well, although I can't imagine why you wanted to die old man." He turned back to face them. "Enough of that now. We have time to prevent all of that. But first, the Chamber," he said with an evil smile reminiscent of his prankster days, and then told them what he would need without divulging any details of his plan.
The time had come for Sirius and Jimmy to head to Hogwart's to kill the basilisk that had been asleep for the last fifty years. As they were about to climb on the bike and head to Hogwart's, Sirius noticed that Jimmy seemed a little scared.
"What's the matter, Jimmy? It'll be okay, I won't let anything happen to you." Sirius said in concern.
"It's not that, dad," Jimmy said sadly. "It's...it's Jim."
Sirius picked up the boy and held him close. "We talked about this, son."
"I know, dad. But you should have heard how he felt when I told him that I couldn't talk to him anymore," Jimmy said as tears started rolling down his cheeks. "I really don't think it's Voldemort playing with me, and I didn't make Jim up, he's real. He said I was the only thing that made it so he could deal the institute where he lives."
"It'll be alright, son," Sirius said and held him close.
He'd taken Jimmy to St. Mungo's, but they were unable to help. The killing curse scar was unheard of. The idea that Jim was made up didn't go over well. He then suggested that it was Voldemort, somehow trying to mess with his head, and Jimmy reluctantly accepted that. He told Jimmy it would be best if he were to stop talking to this Jim, and especially not tell him any plans they had. Now he didn't know what to do.
Sirius sighed as he held Jimmy. "Alright, you can talk to him, just don't tell him anything we're trying to do."
Jimmy calmed down and tried to talk to Jim. "He doesn't answer, dad. I think he's mad at me."
"It'll be okay. I don't think he could stay mad at you, not if he needed you as much as you say," Sirius said, rubbing Jimmy's back.
"You think so?" Jimmy asked.
"Yeah, just keep trying to contact him, but later. Right now, I need you to be focused on what we have to do right now, okay?"
"Yeah," Jimmy said with a smile, obviously starting to feel better. "Let's go get the snake so I can get my own wand."
Sirius smiled and set Jimmy on the back of his Harley and jumped on the front. He kicked the engine to life and flicked the switches Dobby installed to control the warming charm, as well as the invisibility created by the thestral hair. He smiled back at Jimmy as he clicked on the radio and 'Ride The Lightning' by Metallica started playing. Smoothly they rose into the air and turned north toward Hogwart's. Sirius gunned the engine and they sped across the sky with no fear.
They met the others for the plan in the entrance hall. Everyone else had already arrived. Sirius handed refractory goggles to everyone as he led them through the hall.
"Got the Mandrake potion ready, Severus?" Sirius said as they walked.
"Yes," Snape smirked. "Just where is the bloody Chamber?"
"You'll see," Sirius replied. "Hagrid, you got the packages?"
"Got 'em right here, Sirius," the large man replied.
"How many?" Sirius asked.
"Three of 'em, just in case. Boxes are smell proof too, just like you said," Hagrid said, smiling the whole time.
"Good. You can do the sonorous charm?"
"Yep, been practisin' all week. Got it down perfect."
"Excellent. I don't see anything that could go wrong," Sirius just kept walking, Jimmy right by his side. "Olivander, you and Snape got it worked out how you'll split up the basilisk?"
"We are agreed," the wandmaker and potionsmaster replied at once.
"Good," Sirius said as they reached the girls bathroom on the second floor.
"You're kidding," Snape said in disbelief.
"Nope," Sirius replied and entered, followed quickly by the others. "Myrtle, we're here to avenge your death and rid the school of a monster," he said when Moaning Myrtle floated out of her stall.
She giggled and floated down to Jimmy. "You're cute. I hope you come and visit me when you start school."
Jimmy's shock at seeing a ghost quickly turned to a blush and he tried to hide behind Sirius.
After shooing Myrtle away and locating the tap with the snake carved into the handle, Sirius knelt down in front of Jimmy and said, "Okay, are you ready? Just like we practised."
Jimmy nodded and then stared at the tap. Thinking of snakes he hissed out in parseltongue, "Open up."
Everyone was a little startled hearing parseltongue, but kept their minds on the task ahead and watched as the tap glowed with a brilliant white light and began to spin. Then, a second later, the sink moved, and sank completely out of sight, revealing a pipe large enough for a man to slide through.
Sirius thought it wouldn't have made sense that Slytherin would have made a dirty slide and motioned Jimmy forward. "Okay, try it, Jimmy."
"Reveal stairs," Jimmy hissed out and steps formed on the bottom of the pipe as it expanded large enough for a man to walk down.
"I knew it," Sirius said with a smile and led everyone down.
The stairs zigged and zagged as they headed deep under the castle. Eventually they reached the bottom, and continued through the curves of the underground tunnel until they came to the end. Carved on the wall were two entwined snakes, their eyes set with great, glinting emeralds.
"I wish we had that bloody good luck potion," Sirius mumbled. "Alright, goggles on. Jimmy, go ahead."
Slipping the goggles in front of his eyes, Jimmy looked at the eerie looking carvings and hissed out, "Open."
The snakes parted as the wall cracked open and the two halves slid smoothly out of sight bringing the Chamber Of Secrets to life once again. Torches sprang to life, dimly lighting the long chamber before them as they stepped in. There were stone pillars with more carved snakes towering out of sight as they touched the dark ceiling, casting great shadows through the odd, greenish gloom that filled the place.
They walked slowly along, led by Sirius and Jimmy, towards the far end where a statue as high as the ceiling sat. It was ancient and monkey like, with a long, thin beard that hung to almost the bottom of the wizard's sweeping, stone robes.
Sirius felt Jimmy start to tremble as they looked up at the face of the old wizard. He knelt down and pulled off the refractive goggles. "Jimmy, all you have to do is speak firmly. You control it. It will do what you tell it."
"I...I can't remember what to say," Jimmy said nervously.
"Speak to me, Slytherin, greatest of the Hogwart's four," Sirius said reassuringly. "Just remember to not look at its eyes and you'll be fine. Just take a deep breath and relax, I'm right here, okay?"
Jimmy nodded as he and Sirius put the goggles back on. Everyone stepped into the shadows and waited. Hagrid stood ready with the boxes and his new wand. Sirius glanced at everyone and then gave the go ahead to Jimmy.
With a deep breath, Jimmy began firmly and confidently. "Speak to me, Slytherin, greatest of the Hogwart's four," he hissed and the statues jaw began opening, revealing a gaping hole. "Awake, great beast of Slytherin, it is time to rise again," Jimmy called out and there was a deep rumbling from the mouth of the statue.
"At last, my master has called me. The hunger is great," came a hiss from the basilisk as it appeared.
"You will not kill yet," Jimmy said firmly. "I have others here that are useful to me, you will not harm them."
"But their blood is sweet, master, and the hunger is great, it has been so long," the basilisk hissed as its body continued to fall from the mouth of Slytherin.
Sirius had kept his eyes focused only on Jimmy, and saw him start to tremble again. "What's wrong?" he whispered.
"I think it knows somethings up," Jimmy whispered back. "Do it now, please," he pleaded, keeping his eyes on the body of the great serpent.
Sirius shifted his gaze along the ground over to where Hagrid was and gave him a nod. Hagrid quickly opened the boxes and cast a sonorous on the creatures inside, but accidentally glanced up at the serpent and was petrified, falling over on the first box, crushing it.
"Shit," Sirius muttered quietly, trying to think what to do. "What would Hermione do?" he thought to himself. "Duh, the shadows. They're too calm, maybe even asleep, they need light."
"What are you doing, young master? I smell deception," the basilisk said and reared up, hissing.
"Daddy," Jimmy cried, "hurry!"
Sirius drew his wand and conjured a floating fireball, and sent it over the two remaining boxes that Hagrid had brought with them. Immediately sounds erupted from the boxes, amplified by the sonorous charm that Hagrid had cast. The call of roosters could be heard resounding off the walls of the chamber. Sirius grabbed Jimmy and dove for cover as the giant basilisk fell to the ground, it's weight cracking the stone when it struck. The great monster of the Chamber of Secrets was dead.
"I still can't believe the Headmaster agreed to let you bring the child down here," Snape said coldly as he and the wandmaker emerged from the shadows.
"Because I could keep him safe," Sirius replied just as coldly. "Do you have the potion?"
"I didn't bring it with me, sorry," Snape smirked. "I guess that oaf will just have to wait."
"I thought you were over this shite. I need to trust you, so go get it, now," Sirius said staring Snape in the face, his anger increasing.
"I will when I'm ready," Snape smiled evilly. "And you're not fast enough with a wand to do anything about it. Dumbledore may have gotten a little too slow, but I haven't."
"Um, Snivellus, it wasn't my spell casting ability that made Dumbledore do the right thing," Sirius said then flared up his magic and punched Snape with an uppercut to the chin. "It was that," he said as Snape landed twenty feet away, out cold.
"Dad?" Jimmy said behind him.
"Sorry, Jimmy, but Hagrid's a good friend and Snape isn't. I've tried to get along with Snape, but he's a bully, and I kinda like hurting bullies." Sirius said, reveling in how good that felt.
Jimmy smiled. "Er, okay," he said, and left with Sirius while the others took care of splitting up the beast as various ingredients.
A quick ennervate and a scowl, Snape headed for the hospital wing, as his jaw was broken. He gave Pomfrey the potion for Hagrid, and she performed a quick bone healing spell, and then went to revive the half giant. Once Hagrid was awake, he used his strength to help the others with the great serpent.
Sirius and Jimmy had a blast decorating the house for Christmas. It was Sirius' first time as a parent, and Jimmy's first time in a real family. A large tree in the front room, decorated the muggle way, of course. Blinking, multicoloured lights, strung around it and the house, along with various ornaments and tinsel, made the house a home for both of them. The Weasley's, along with Moody, Remus, Rachel and Ali, were invited over for Christmas dinner, and Dobby was going to expand the dinning room for the day.
With everything decorated, and the invites made and accepted, that left Christmas shopping. Rachel and Ali went with Sirius and Jimmy to the local mall, to take care of that. One parent would watch the kids while the other did the actually buying.
Sirius did say his would take a little longer, because he had to pop over to Diagon Alley. Rachel didn't mind a bit, knowing that apparating meant it shouldn't take all that much extra time. She promised to keep it secret from Jimmy as well.
With a pop, Sirius found himself outside a portrait studio in Diagon Alley. He pulled two vials out of his pocket, each filled with a golden liquid. He sighed and whispered to the vials.
"It's been a while, and I love my son, your son. I'm ready to share him now, I think."
He sighed again and went into the shop and set the vials down on the counter. He looked around the shop, taking in the various frames available. A gentleman with white hair and round glasses then came out from the back. He walked up to the counter and gave Sirius a sympathetic smile seeing the look on his face.
"It's hard sometimes," the gentleman said. "But those that have passed have not truly left us."
"It's not that," Sirius said and sighed heavily again. "They were my best friends, but what worries me, is how my godson will take it. He never knew them."
"Oh. Oh, I see. I also see that you love him, and he loves you. Be there for each other, and that will be enough."
"Thank you," Sirius replied, and filled out the parchment, and paid the man.
"It will arrive on Christmas morning."
"Thanks again."
"Good luck, young man."
The sentimental stuff out of the way, Sirius got down to some serious spoiling. Jimmy had never had toys or a Christmas, and this first one was going to be special, Sirius vowed. He bought trains, balls, slot cars, video games, he just kept going and going like a pink rabbit. He shrunk everything, but his pockets were still near overflowing by the time he returned to Rachel and the kids.
"What the hell?" Rachel asked, staring at Sirius' bulging pockets.
"Magical shrinkage," he said with a blush.
"Now that's handy. I'm jealous," she replied before heading off for her turn while Sirius looked after the boys.
She took as long as he had, but didn't buy nearly as much. Soon, they were back home, and wrapping the gifts. Dobby could have handled it all, but they wanted to do it themselves.
Sirius was giddy on the night before Christmas, as he set up the stuff he left unwrapped, like the trains and slot cars, and a brand new bicycle, which was kind of tame compared to a broom, but he could ride it in front of muggles.
Sirius knew he would have to teach him to ride, but looked forward to that part of parenting. Plus he wanted to but Jimmy his own motorbike when he was older too.
It was still early in the morning when Sirius made it to bed. He checked on Jimmy, who was still sound a sleep, before hitting the sack. Jimmy had been having nightmares about the Dursleys and Voldemort sometimes, and he was worried they would never end.
Sirius woke to find himself wrapped in Jimmy's arms again. He didn't mind too much, as it wasn't often Jimmy needed to sleep with him, and would probably miss it when Jimmy got too old.
Sirius sat up slowly and stretched a bit. "C'mon, time to get up," he said.
"Breakfast will be ready in a minute, Uncle Vernon," Jimmy mumbled out sadly and then woke up.
He looked around with tears in his eyes and jumped on Sirius, knocking him back onto the bed in a fierce hug. "I thought it was all a dream," he cried.
It had been a while since something like this happened, and it made Sirius sad and angry at the same time. He sat up, holding Jimmy for several minutes, just rubbing his back.
"Okay now?" Sirius asked finally.
"Yeah, I dreamed about Jim again. He's as unhappy at the institute as I was at the Dursley's."
"Well, I think I know what might make you happy," Sirius said as he stood up with Jimmy in his arms, and carried him down to the front room.
Jimmy's eyes went wide at all of the toys. And the bike. Once Sirius sat him on his feet, he slowly went over and looked at everything. The coloured, sparkling light reflected off the tinsel from the small bulbs lining the tree was almost surreal. He saw the beauty of the tree and the presents and the toys and for the first time, knew what Christmas actually felt like.
He ran back to Sirius and hugged him. "Thanks dad, this is the best," he sobbed out.
"You want to open the rest of your presents?" Sirius asked as Jimmy just stared at it all.
"Not yet," he whispered, almost afraid it would disappear if he talked too loud.
Dobby brought breakfast into the room and conjured a low table for them to eat at.
"Good idea," Sirius smiled and plopped himself on the floor, surrounded by all of the presents.
Jimmy joined him on the other side of the little table and they tucked in. Syrupy, cinnamony, French Toast was breakfast, and to them, tasted as Christmasy as their surroundings. Especially with hot chocolate and little marshmallows, along with fresh orange juice. It was Christmas breakfast in a Christmas wonderland, with the toy train chugging along around them on its track. Neither of them would ever forget this first Christmas together, even if Dobby hadn't discreetly took a million photos of this moment.
Jimmy was giddy with every present that he opened. He wouldn't let himself get like his cousin though, demanding more and better presents. He truly was happy just having a dad now, all of this was just extra.
Sirius was appreciating parent more than ever before with his presents. A handmade card, with glitter and pretty good pictures drawn for a kid Jimmy's age. It thanked him for rescuing him, and said that he loved him with all his heart. The gift was a ceramic cup, vase, or jewelry holder, typical for muggle art class, but more beautiful than anything Sirius had ever seen, and not just because Jimmy made it either. Sirius almost wondered if Jimmy had used magic to help make it. Sirius was brought to tears with it all. Happy tears, he told Jimmy with a hug.
Finally they were down to the last present. A large, thin, square shaped box with both of their names on it stared at them from the corner of the room. It was nicely wrapped in paper with little pictures of Father Christmas all over it. Although Sirius knew what it was, he was as anxious as Jimmy to open it, scared too.
"Jimmy," Sirius started, "this is a special gift, and to be honest, I'm worried about how much you'll like it."
"What is it?" Jimmy started getting worried at Sirius' tone.
Sirius picked up the package and stared at it. "You know how pictures can move?" he asked and Jimmy nodded. "Well, some pictures can be made with an imprint, or memory of the person, giving it the personality of that person. Understand?"
Jimmy thought for a minute, "Yeah. Who is it a picture of?" he figured out, and was afraid of who it might be.
"I think you know, son," Sirius said, seeing the look on Jimmy's face. "Are you okay? We don't have to open it now," he said after Jimmy remained silent for several minutes.
Jimmy took a deep breath. "I'm okay, now. I want to see them."
Together they tore the paper off and stared at the painting of James and Lily Potter.
"A spell activates the imprint. I think we should do it together, whenever you're ready," Sirius said as Jimmy climbed into his lap and continued to stare at the painting.
"Okay, I'm ready. What's the spell?" he said.
"Resurrectio teneo, remember to speak clearly, okay?" Sirius said and Jimmy nodded.
Sirius then pulled out his wand, and they both took hold of it. With a deep breath, they pointed the wand at the painting and spoke the words clearly. The painting glowed faintly for a moment, and then...
"Shit," James said and Lily scowled at him. "Sorry, I was just hoping we would have lived to see Harry grow up."
"Don't call me that," Jimmy said, and his painted parents gave him a look of confusion.
"Jimmy goes by his middle name, guys," Sirius said. "Wormtail sold us out, and I was framed for it. Dumbledore stuck him with your sister, Lily. They put him through hell until I was able to get to him."
"Harry Potter's dead," Jimmy said with an angry frown. Aunt Petunia, Uncle Vernon, and cousin Dudley saw to that."
James and Lily Potter looked at their son in sad understanding.
"Where is Albus?" Lily said so angrily and sternly Sirius thought she might climb out of the painting and go after the old man.
Sirius smiled. Never mess with a mother's child. He and Jimmy then proceeded to tell them of everything that had happened. Sirius' prophetic dream and burgeoning psychic ability, Jimmy's life with the Dursleys and the rescue, the kidnapping when Rita Skeeter sold an article to the muggle newspapers, and the adventure in the Chamber of Secrets.
James and Lily were horrified most of the way through the story, but extremely glad that Sirius was working to make sure the dreams didn't come true, and didn't mind at all of Harry going by the name Jimmy Black. It seemed to fit the young boy before them. James had to laugh out loud when Sirius told him about decking Dumbledore, and the subsequent wiring of his jaw shut. Even Lily smiled at that, though she would still give Albus a piece of her mind if he ever showed up. James really loved it when he heard of the similar instance with Snape.
"I see that you're trying your best to spoil him," Lily said, looking around the room at all of the toys. "Unless these are yours," she added, getting a giggle from James and Jimmy.
"It's our first Christmas together, so I wanted it to be special," Sirius said in his defense.
"So where are you going to hang us?" James asked.
"Well," Sirius blushed. "I was thinking in here if you guys can remain still when muggles are around, and..." he trailed off.
"What did you do?" Lily scolded.
"Er, I ordered two dozen extra copies so we can protect Jimmy as much as possible," Sirius offered.
"I'm sure," Lily stated and shook her head. "While I don't doubt you truly love Jimmy, and want to protect him as much as possible, you mainly wanted the extra portraits to help pull some pranks."
Both Sirius and James blushed in embarrassment and Jimmy giggled.
The doorbell rang at that moment, and Jimmy turned to Sirius and said, "I'll get it dad," and hopped down and ran to the door.
James frowned a little, and then turned a bit sad.
"Sirius is his father now, James," Lily said and gave James a hug.
"I know. It's just that I only got to hold him for a year and that's it."
"Well, now you can play the spoiling uncle, then," she said and he perked up a bit.
"Hey, that's my job," Remus said as he came in and gave Sirius a hug.
Rachel and Ali followed him in, and Sirius not only gave her a hug, but a kiss too.
"Trying to make me jealous?" Remus said jokingly before saying a sad hello to James and Lily when he noticed the portrait.
Remus and Sirius hung the portrait over the fireplace before sitting down to chat. Ali was fascinated by the portrait, especially when James kept making faces at the boy, eliciting giggles from both him and Jimmy. Soon, Moody arrived, followed by the Weasleys, who came the muggle way rather than get all dirty using floo. Introductions were made of the older redheaded children as well as the youngest, and they all settled back to enjoy each other's company. Dobby was happy as a clam to be serving so many nice people, so much work to do, his Christmas wish was answered.
About fifteen minutes before dinner, there was an ominous knock on the door. Sirius quickly drew his wand as nobody else was expected, Ronan was staying at school with his new friends. Sirius gasped at what he saw. Ollivander was there, dressed expertly as a muggle. He entered the living room and everyone else gasped as well, never in their life seeing him dressed like that.
Sirius was about to close the door when Ronan ran in and hugged Sirius.
"What's the matter kiddo?" Sirius asked concerned as everyone looked on.
"I thought they were my friends, but they just set me up because I always do better than them," he struggled out.
"It's okay," Sirius said soothingly and made the introductions to those who didn't know him once he had calmed down.
"Well, er, what are you doing here, Ollivander?" Sirius asked when things had settled down.
"I finished Jimmy's wand. My best work, I think," he said and James and Lily leaned forward with interest, well, as much as they could, being a portrait that is..
Jimmy took the smartly wrapped box and tore the paper off quickly. The box was made of oak, with intricate runes carved on it. "Wow," Jimmy said, almost afraid to open it.
"C'mon," Fred and George said. "Let's see it."
Jimmy looked to Ron, who seemed a little upset. Both Arthur and Molly saw this, and vowed to take Sirius' advice more to heart.
"Okay, here goes," Jimmy said, and opened the box.
The wand was exquisite. The two woods intertwined beautifully, and the magical core seemed to hum throughout the room. Everyone felt it. Jimmy set the box down, and picked up the wand. Immediately the warmth spread through out the room, and a dim white aura seemed to engulf Jimmy and Sirius for a moment. They looked at each other and smiled.
Jimmy gave the wand a wave, and sparks every colour of the rainbow poured out, reflecting off the tinsel brighter than the Christmas lights.
"Wow!" Jimmy exclaimed as he felt his magic merge with the wand. "This is cool."
"Let me try," Ali almost whined.
"But you're not a wizard," Ron said as Jimmy handed his wand to the younger boy.
Ali smiled and stuck his tongue out at the redhead, and spun around in a circle with glee. Halfway through the circle, though, yellow sparks started coming out the end of the wand. Ali got frightened and dropped the wand, running to his mother.
"It got warm," he almost cried.
"He's a muggleborn," Lily interjected, causing them all to look at her. "I felt the same way, remember Mr. Ollivander?"
Just then Ronan ran upstairs to his room and slammed the door. Sirius looked at a loss about what to do. Arthur and Molly shrugged their shoulders when he looked at them.
"We got this," Bill, the oldest Weasley child at 17, said confidently as he, Fred, and George got up and headed for Ronan's room.
"This parenting stuff is hard," Sirius said, pacing back and forth a few minutes later.
"It will be alright," Arthur said. "Remember how they helped Jimmy? Bill's got a good head on his shoulders, it'll work out, you'll see."
"I'm sorry cause I got magic and Ronan doesn't," Ali whimpered suddenly.
"It's not your fault, buddy," Sirius said, kneeling down to him. "You should be glad for something special. Everyone has their own special, even Ronan does. It's just different than other people's."
With a hug, Ali nodded and wiped his eyes. Sirius stood up and everyone was looking at him. Lily and James were smiling widely as was Rachel.
"What?" he said.
"Who would have thought?" James said, still grinning.
"Oh shut up," Sirius told the portrait with a chuckle and the door to Ronan's room opened.
Ronan came down followed by the Weasley children. "I'm sorry for earlier," he said and Sirius gave him a one armed hug.
"S'okay, we all have our moments," Sirius said.
"Dinner is ready," Dobby announced and they all headed for the dinning room.
"Hey, Ollivander, stay for dinner," Sirius said as the wandmaker started to leave.
"No, its...why not?" he smiled and followed the dark haired wizard back into the house.
After dinner, they went to the patio out back. The adults talked while the kids played in the snow, although, Sirius, Remus, and Arthur joined in some of the time. Well, most of the time. Even Rachel joined in at the end.
Soon everyone who had played in the snow cleaned up, and the guests left. Sirius gave Rachel a kiss before she left, and Ali, Jimmy, and Ronan, made the typical 'Ooh' sound.
A few days later, and Sirius was done setting up the extra portraits all over the place, many of which he put in Hogwart's. He also put one in the basement, and in his and Jimmy's bedrooms. With a curtain for privacy of course.
As winter gave way to spring, Sirius became more worried about Jimmy. Things had happened so fast, and this Jim that Jimmy wouldn't let go of. He had heard of imaginary friends, but Jimmy seemed so sure. The nightmares were real enough, and Jimmy had started sleeping with him half the time or more.
He seemed fine during the day, as long as Sirius spent time with him after school. It was the nights that were getting tough. It was suggested that 'Jim' was a creation of his subconscious, and was a visualization of the trauma caused by the Dursleys. Sirius would have sued the Dursleys, but didn't want Jimmy to have to deal with them again, so he let it go.
Meditation was the only treatment available, because Sirius wasn't about to drug Jimmy, and potions weren't a much better choice. The meditation techniques Sirius used seemed to help, as Jimmy was able to block out the dreams of Jim some nights.
Snape had even agreed to help with the meditation. He also spent some time helping work on Sirius' theory for taking care of Voldemort. It pained him to admit that it just might work, but he did, and the two former schoolmates began working past their problems.
"Touchdown!" Jimmy yelled as he came through the door after the last day of school.
"Oh shut up already," Ron said exasperated. "It was cool and all, but jeez."
"What's that?" Sirius said, chuckling a bit at Jimmy's enthusiasm.
"Mr. Lewis showed us a film on the moon landing today. It was brilliant!" Jimmy said ecstatically.
"Brilliant, eh?" Sirius said and gave Jimmy a welcome home hug.
"Yeah, we should visit the space museum in America," Jimmy added enthusiastically.
"Maybe we will," Sirius said, thinking a vacation might be good for Jimmy.
"Wicked!" Jimmy shouted as Ron just rolled his eyes.
The first day of the summer holiday found Fred, George, and Jimmy approaching Sirius looking thoughtful. His marauder instincts said this was no prank.
"What's up, guys?" Sirius asked.
"We have a theory...about the mysterious 'Jim'," the twins said, peaking Sirius' interest.
"Go on," he said hopefully.
"Twins, like us," they said. "We've been talking with Jimmy,...and Jim is his twin."
Sirius sighed. "I was there when he was born, there was no twin."
"Maybe its a magical twin," Jimmy offered. "Someone else born when I was that looks like me. During social studies my teacher said that everyone in the world has a twin."
"That's pretty true for muggles," Sirius said, "but the magical community is a lot smaller, and the closeness to make that connection that most twins seem to have, well, I just don't think so. I will ask Poppy though."
Sirius pondered this for a moment after the boys went off to play again. Finally, he fire called Poppy for her opinion. She said that it may be possible, but not very likely. Even with magic, the twin connection would be next to impossible to duplicate between unrelated people. When he pulled his head out of the fire, he found Ronan standing there nervously.
"What did Poppy say?" Ronan asked. "Jimmy and the twins told me their theory and what you said."
"Well, she said is wasn't likely. Now, what's bothering you?" Sirius asked, knowing that wasn't why Ronan wanted.
"There's a new school for mixed studies, muggle and magical, but its, er..." he trailed off.
"Listen, Ronan. Whatever it is, we'll deal with it," Sirius said and gave him an understanding smile.
"It's far away, and it's expensive. I'll just stay here, you've been so nice to me, and I don't want to lose that," Ronan said and turned to leave, but Sirius stopped him.
"Ronan, both of our families wanted us to be something we're not. If you really want to go, I've no problem with that. I want you to be you, be happy, find out who you are. It's what families are supposed to do."
"You don't mind? Really?"
"If it will make you happy, I'm all for it."
"Thanks, thanks a lot, Sirius," Ronan said and held up a parchment. "It's a new joint venture between Canada and the US for squibs and muggles with magical ties. They said my test scores lately are pretty impressive."
"Sounds good, I'll check into it and get it going," Sirius smiled at the teen, or young man before him.
A check with the Black family solicitor on the schools background, and things were set in motion for Ronan to start immediately. Sirius and Jimmy would go with him to Canada where the school was located, and then go on a vacation for a couple of weeks.
After getting the passports and legal documents for traveling abroad from the Ministry, Sirius, Jimmy, and Ronan scheduled a portkey to the school. Moody and Rachel would both keep an eye on the house, as would Dobby, who could pop to where ever Sirius was if needed.
"Take care of your dad, okay?" Rachel said to Jimmy, and gave him a kiss on the cheek, before turning to Sirius. "You have a good time, and I'll see you in a couple of weeks," Rachel said to him with a kiss, though it was a different kind of kiss.
The baggage was shrunk and in the saddlebags of the Harley, and Sirius and Jimmy were sitting on the bike while Ronan stood by holding the portkey. A firm grip on the bike, and Sirius touched the portkey along with Jimmy, and they all felt the pull behind their navel that took them across the big pond to the school.
They landed quietly in front of a very modern looking building as big as Hogwart's, if not bigger. Sirius and Jimmy hopped off the bike, and helped Ronan get his stuff out of the saddlebags and return them to normal size. Then they all went into the school, and quickly got Ronan checked in. Once he was settled in the dorm, it was a bit hard to say goodbye, even if just for a while. The floo network had yet to be set up, but would be soon. The hugs were tearful and long, but Ronan had to check in with his teachers, and Sirius and Jimmy had to start their vacation.
"Well, it's just you and me, kid," Sirius said as they climbed onto the bike and kicked it to life.
"So where we going first?" Jimmy asked, anxious to get started.
"Well, we got two weeks. So, you when do you want to hit the space museum in Texas?" Sirius asked, anxious himself.
"I think we should save that for last, dad," Jimmy said. "Let's just go and see what happens. Isn't that what you and my other dad would do?"
"You've been talking to James' portrait again?" Sirius smiled.
"Maybe," Jimmy smiled. "He told me some of the stuff you seemed to have forgot."
"Oh no. It's all lies, all lies," Sirius pleaded with a smile. "You're right, though, we'll just play it by ear."
With a deep breath and a sigh from both of them, Sirius hit the gas, and left a nice, long trail of black behind them as the bike screamed forward. Their dark hair blowing in the wind as they hauled ass down the highway, Sirius glanced in the mirror and grinned at the Jimmy's reflection smiling back at him. Identical leather jackets, boots, and sunglasses, they caught a few eyes as they went down the rode. They also got a few winks from the blond haired girls in a convertible as they passed. Sirius slowed up a bit, and they ended up at the same gas station for a snack and a refuel. With the charm of a Black and a Potter, Jimmy proved he was his fathers' son. Sirius was of course proud, and ended up with the phone numbers of both girls. Another wink, and the red convertible Mustang pulled out, with Sirius and Jimmy waving them off.
Jimmy checked the maps they bought, and after finishing their snack and a trip to the restroom, they were on the road again, taking a turn at the next junction. It was a fun start to their vacation, and they hoped the rest of it would be as much, if not more. But, alas, that was not to be.
A/N: I think thats a good spot to stop for now, so I can plan out the next couple of events for the next chapter. I covered a lot of ground and time in this chapter, I hoped you liked it. I've already got the house in Hogwart's picked out, I'm gonna try and speed it up I think after the next chapter, but things could change, depending on my Muse's mood. Thanks for reading and thanks for the reviews, please send more.