Twenty years later
Harry shrugged the heavy bag off his shoulder after he had apparated to the Weasley's yard. He started towards the Burrow, squinting at the bright sun as it glinted from the windows. He saw George, Ron, Ginny and a dark-haired teenager he didn't know swooping high on their brooms in the distance in what appeared to be a fierce Quidditch game. Ginny spotted him and came diving down, landing so quickly she had to run a few steps on the ground before she could stop the momentum.
"Harry!" she beamed as she reached him and kissed him. Harry smiled as always at her beautiful expressive face. "Someone is here to see you."
"Who is it?" Harry wasn't expecting anyone. The sun-kissed days of summer stretched long and inviting in front of him and he had strict orders to take it easy and enjoy these months doing as little as possible before beginning Auror training in the fall.
"I don't know," Ginny responded. "I didn't meet her, mum just told me to let you know as soon as you got back. She said she knew Sirius."
Harry grabbed Ginny's hand and quickened his step. Any friend of Sirius was a welcome visitor. He and Ginny hurried to the door, leaving Ginnny's broom propped up against the house. Harry quickly dropped his bag in the kitchen and they went into the living room where Mrs. Weasley and a woman with dark, curly hair sat. The woman was beautiful, probably somewhere in her early-thirties, a little shorter than average height, with a compact athletic build. She looked familiar to Harry though he could not place her. As he came near her, he saw her eyes widen with shock as she jumped to her feet and stared at him.
"Harry," Molly Weasley also stood up quickly. "This is Beth Peterson. She knew Sirius and your parents. She was an exchange student at Hogwarts during the second half of their seventh year."
Harry stepped closer to Beth, Ginny close behind him, and reached out his hand. "Nice to meet you, Ms. Peterson," he said politely. She looked young for her age, he decided, realizing she must be the same age as his parents and Sirius would have been.
"Please call me Beth," her voice was shaky. She had an American accent. She took a deep breath, placing her hand on her chest. "I'm sorry I'm staring." Her eyes remained riveted on his. "It's so strange seeing how much you look like your dad with bits of your mom mixed in."
Harry smiled. He pulled Ginny up next to him. "This is my girlfriend, Ginny Weasley." Beth smiled with eager friendliness at Ginny as she took her hand.
Molly spoke up as they sat down. "Beth said she has something important she wants to talk to you about, Harry." She turned to Beth politely. "Would you like privacy with Harry?"
Beth shook her head. "You're welcome to stay if you'd like." Her eyes became anxious as she looked at Harry. She stared at him without speaking, seeming to not know what to say.
Harry tried to ease her concern. "You knew my mum and dad?" He couldn't hide the excitement from his voice. "And Sirius?"
"Yes, very well. We were good friends at Hogwarts." She took a sip of water from a cup on the coffee table. "Harry, I don't know if you'll believe what I have to tell you. I don't have any evidence, just my gut feelings."
Harry frowned, perplexed. "Go on."
Beth looked pleading. She started speaking very fast, her words almost slurred in their rush to get out. "Sirius did not betray your parents. He could never have done that. He loved James and Lily, they were closer than family. He would have died for them rather than give them away. He was the most loyal, stubborn wi—"
"I know," Harry stopped her. He wanted to hear what else she had to say, but he could tell she was distraught and he wanted to stop her suffering.
Beth almost reared back in shock. "You know?"
Harry nodded. "I didn't know at first. When I was in my third year at Hogwarts, I overheard that it was Sirius who had betrayed my parents and was imprisoned in Azkaban. He escaped earlier that year when he found out Peter Pettigrew, the real traitor, was living as my mate's pet rat at Hogwarts. Peter had framed Sirius. Sirius was trying to kill Peter, watching out for me. Eventually, we met and the whole story came out."
"Peter betrayed James and Lily?" Beth paled and put her fist to her mouth in shock. "He was living as a rat? How could he have-" she stopped, her eyes flashing. She swallowed and put her head down. Harry, Ginny and Molly were quiet, knowing she needed some time.
After a few minutes Beth took a deep breath. When she looked back up, her face was fierce but he saw there was also relief evident in her face that he knew the truth about Sirius. "So you learned the truth from Sirius? Did Sirius kill Peter?" Her voice had a hard edge for the last question.
"I wouldn't let Sirius and Remus kill him," Harry explained. "Peter got away."
Beth's eyes widened. "Remus was there?"
"He was my Defense of the Dark Arts professor that year," Harry explained.
"But he believed Sirius betrayed your parents," Beth cried.
Harry nodded. "That's right. But he saw Peter on the Marauder's Map and when Sirius and Remus flushed out Peter, he told the truth when they interrogated him." He looked at Beth sharply. "How did you know Remus believed Sirius was the traitor?"
"Maybe I should start at the beginning," Beth said. "Do you have some time?"
"Of course," Harry's eyes met Ginny's and she smiled at the eager light in his eyes.
"When I was a senior in high school, I came to Hogwarts for my second semester as an exchange student. Hogwarts had never allowed a Muggle as an ex—"
"You're a Muggle?" Harry interrupted in confusion.
"Yes," she smiled wryly. "I was only allowed because my uncle was the President of the Magic Department. It's the U. S. equivalent of the Ministry of Magic. Dumbledore was close to my uncle. He was returning a favor to my uncle by allowing me to come."
She bit her lip. "My uncle is a very powerful wizard, but he's muggle born. The last wizard we know of in our family is from five generations back."
"Why did you want to come to Hogwarts?" Ginny spoke up.
"I had lost my best friend several months before. I won't get into the whole story now, but she had committed suicide and I felt guilty that I hadn't done enough for her and I missed her. I needed to go somewhere away, somewhere totally different. I had graduated from high school early and I'd always been thrilled with the idea of being a witch. I don't know if you can imagine what it's like to be a muggle, knowing others can perform magic. I wanted to live with witches and wizards, to really learn what their lives were like. The wizarding schools in the U.S. aren't boarding schools. Hogwarts was the perfect place for me at that time. It felt like entering a fairy tale." Beth smiled and then a shadow passed over her face. "I never thought I'd fall in love with a wizard."
There was a deep silence in the room. Molly put her hand on Beth's arm. "Sirius." It was a statement, not a question. Harry's heart jumped in his throat.
"Yes," Beth looked at Harry again and smiled softly. "I'll tell you more about that later—how we fell in love despite knowing we were from two different worlds and did not think we could have a future together."
"So you and Sirius were together at Hogwarts," Harry asked quietly. "And you left at the end of the school year?"
"No," Beth said. "I stayed with Sirius for the summer after he finished at Hogwarts. It was a wonderful summer. The four of us lived together; James, Lily, Sirius and I. I didn't tell Sirius at first but I was hoping to stay with him forever. At the end of the summer, he made me go home. The war was becoming more dangerous and he was worried I would be hurt. I argued and pleaded with him. He finally persuaded me when he pointed out that because I was a muggle and couldn't protect myself, I made it more dangerous for him." She sighed. "He promised he would let me return when the war was over."
"Was that the last time you saw him?" Ginny was leaning towards Beth, riveted. Harry could see Ginny's eyes were wet although her expression was fierce.
"No," Beth said again. She smiled wistfully. "Sirius visited me back in the States as often as he could. He would apparate to my dorm room at my university when he was able for several hours, sometimes even for the weekend. It wasn't as wonderful as being together every day, but we made our time together count."
"But you lived thousands of miles away," Ginny looked puzzled. "We can't apparate that far."
Beth nodded. "Sirius was very clever. He figured out a way he could come to visit me when I went home before I left here at the end of the summer. It was really difficult. I looked up all of the flight routes of the airplanes crossing the Atlantic. We bought a special radio receiver that could pick up plane's transponder signals. I programmed the flight plans of all U.K. flights that went to North America into a computer."
"Weren't computers kind of large back then?" Harry broke in.
"Yes, very." Beth smiled reminiscently. "We used a combination of muggle technology and magic. Sirius shrunk the computer using a charms spell to make it small enough to carry. It could be a prototype for future muggle computers."
She continued at Harry's nod. "For each trip, Sirius looked the flight plans over, checked for flight changes before he left London and he went plane hopping, as he called it. He used the radio receiver to find out the geographic coordinates of the plane he needed to apparate to next. He usually apparated to flights going the northern route close to Iceland then kept moving ahead to flights successively closer to northern Canada. Once in Canada, he'd make his way across the continent until he reached the Pacific Northwest of the U.S. He eventually worked out the best route but it took a good amount of time to make it here. That is, for a wizard. It was much faster than muggles could travel."
Harry grinned. Apparating to a moving target was extremely complicated. It sounded like vintage Sirius to come up with a way to do that. "So he visited you here and you were safe," Harry said. "That seems like a reasonable compromise considering the times."
Beth squirmed a bit, looking guilty. "Yes, it was. But I wanted to be able to be with him more. In early January of 1981, I came back here. I told my family I was studying abroad. I was actually taking courses via correspondence. That was when your parents were moving from place to place keeping a low profile with you, Harry. I didn't tell Sirius, I just showed up. He was furious. He tried to make me go home but I told him I would just stay in England and I'd be safer if he kept me with him." She grimaced. "It was incredibly selfish on my part, but I was desperate. I don't regret it. I wanted to be with him so much. He let himself be persuaded against his better judgment. I promised him I would leave if it became more dangerous. " She stopped and looked down.
"What happened?" Harry couldn't resist asking as he met Ginny's wide eyes. Molly cleared her throat and reached for a tissue to dab at her eyes. They all knew things were heading south soon at this point in the story.
"We were together over nine months. I think I helped Sirius get through that tense time. He needed someone to comfort him. The war was heartbreaking…it was so awful. We were scared to death about James and Lily and you, Harry. Sirius was doing all he could with the Order of the Phoenix. He was suspicious of many of his old friends. He no longer trusted Remus. He wouldn't tell me why."
Beth bit her lip and then continued. "I stayed hidden at his place. No one knew I was here except Lily and James. Lily didn't even address me when she sent Sirius letters, to be safe. Sirius was worried that his family would find out about me and they would hurt me to get to him. He especially feared Bellatrix. He said she was crazy." Harry exchanged a tense look with Ginny and Molly. He wondered if Beth knew Bellatrix was the one who killed Sirius.
"Sirius wouldn't tell me any details of what was happening. He didn't even tell me what was going on with James and Lily and you. He said it would be better if I didn't know. He also admitted to me that it helped him to keep me and our relationship separate from his part in the wizarding war. He compartmentalized us so that he could get away from the stresses of battles and the debilitating anguish when friends died when he was with me. He told me it helped him stay stronger. It was strange how in the midst of all the angst and tension we lived in a bubble, treasuring every moment we had together." Beth's eyes filled with tears. This time Harry reached out and took her hand. She smiled at him gratefully.
There was a long pause as Beth collected herself. "There was a terrible battle towards the end of September where several members of the Order of the Phoenix were killed. Sirius insisted I leave. I had promised, and I knew my staying was making him more worried at this point. Worry over keeping me safe was distracting him and that could have hurt him. So I left. He assured again that he would let me know as soon as it was safe.
"When Sirius didn't come or contact me after late October, I knew something was terribly wrong. I had to go to my uncle and tell him that I had been with Sirius since the beginning of the year. He was as angry as Sirius had been. But at least he could tell me what was going on."
Beth threw a worried look at Harry and he squeezed her hand to reassure her. He knew she didn't want to bring up what happened next. "My uncle told me what happened to your parents, Harry. He also told me Sirius had betrayed them and had been sent to Azkaban. I was beside myself, grief-stricken over Lily and James as well as Sirius, locked away for a crime he didn't commit. I knew Sirius was innocent. I wrote to Remus, Dumbledore, McGonagall, everyone I knew to argue for Sirius. Only Remus and Dumbledore wrote me back. They both told me the evidence was overwhelming against Sirius and that it was not safe for me to come back. Remus thought Sirius gave in to Voldemort because of his pureblood family pressuring him. He didn't understand—James, Lily and you were Sirius' family. I didn't have any proof—only that I knew Sirius inside and out and he could never have done that. The pathetic irony is that the only two people who also would have believed in Sirius despite the evidence were James and Lily."
Harry blinked rapidly and cleared his throat. It made him feel better that someone had been fighting for Sirius, as futile as it had been.
"I would have come back then," Beth continued, her voice broken. "I would have tried to find evidence, do anything I could. Uncle John didn't tell me then that when Lily sacrificed herself for you, Harry, it almost finished off Voldemort. I didn't know that Voldemort lost his power and many of his Death-Eaters were sent to Azkaban. It was less dangerous at that time than I knew. It probably would have been useless anyway. I'm a muggle and powerless in the wizard world. My closest friends here—Lily, James and Marlene—had all been murdered and Remus was adamant in his belief that Sirius was guilty. But then I discovered I had someone else to protect. I found I was pregnant."
Harry gasped. Molly and Ginny did not look surprised, but Harry didn't spare the time to follow up on that. "You had a baby? Sirius' baby?" he choked out.
Beth's sudden smile was filled with loving warmth. "Yes, I had Sirius' son the following May. He's close to two years younger than you, Harry."
Harry grappled for a few minutes with the wishful thinking of how happy Sirius would have been if he had known. Harry remembered how depressed and careless Sirius had been the last year of his life. Would he have behaved differently if he'd known Beth was waiting for him and he had a son?
"I kept writing several times each year to Remus and Dumbledore. I continually defended Sirius, and I wanted to make sure he was still alive. I also asked about you each time, Harry. After several years, Remus and I lost touch. He must have moved a few times. Dumbledore continued to write me back but he would only say that Sirius was alive and that you were well." She looked at Harry sadly. "I knew Sirius would want me to keep our son safe, so I stayed away. My uncle had also promised to let me know as soon as it was over. Dumbledore told my uncle that Voldemort was not defeated yet and he was sure he would return. So I waited."
She looked at them with a dejected expression. "Uncle John told me when Sirius died two years ago. He didn't give me any details how it happened. But I already knew. He just confirmed it." She answered the question on Harry's face. "Sirius used a spell to attach strings to the last note he wrote to me before I left." She ducked her head and a painful grimace twisted her lips. She looked down at her right wrist. Harry saw she had a bracelet made of strings woven around her wrist. "The strings were an inside joke between us. I always kept the note in my top bedside table drawer. One day when I pulled it out to look at it, the note was alone. There were no strings attached. They had fallen off." She stared at Harry unseeingly. "I just knew that meant he had passed.
"I was devastated. I could barely function. If not for my son-" She stopped and wiped her eyes with her hands until Molly Weasley summoned up another box of tissues and passed it to Beth. They waited several minutes in compassionate silence until Beth was able to look back up at them composed again, with mostly dry eyes.
"So that was it?" Ginny asked almost in disbelief. "Didn't Sirius ever try to contact you after he escaped?"
"Not me, but my uncle." Beth nodded at Ginny. "After Sirius escaped from Azkaban, he contacted Uncle John. He wanted to know if I was alright. Uncle John told him that I was settled with a family. He didn't tell him my family was Sirius' son." She paused, looking shaky. "I know my uncle was just trying to protect me, but I'm still struggling to forgive him for purposefully misleading Sirius and not telling me that Sirius was free. Uncle John was afraid I'd go to Sirius if I knew he was out of Azkaban. He made Sirius promise not to contact me until Voldemort and his Death Eaters were completely gone and it was safe. It's pretty obvious Sirius would not have wanted me to come yet either. I just wish he could have found out he had a son."
She wiped her eyes once again with the tissue and doggedly continued. "After Voldemort was killed last month, Uncle John confessed to me that Sirius had been in contact with him every month until he died. That's how Uncle John first realized something must have happened to Sirius. He hadn't heard from him at his regular interval. My uncle contacted Dumbledore and found out that Sirius was gone."
Beth's voice was bitter. "I've been ignorant of so much of what was going on. My uncle didn't tell me when Sirius escaped from Azkaban, all of the times Sirius contacted him or anything about how he died. Remus refused to tell me anything in his letters except that there was too much evidence against Sirius to believe in his innocence. Dumbledore would only say Sirius was alive and that you, Harry, were safe. And Sirius hid almost everything about the wizard war when we were together. Everyone trying to protect me has made it so frustrating." Her hands methodically ripped a tissue into small pieces.
Harry took a deep breath and leaned back. Beth's words swirled through his head but he didn't have time to think it all through. "Where's your son?" he asked.
Beth turned to look at him, a light dawning in her eyes at the mention of her son. "Why, he's right outside playing Quidditch."
Harry jerked further upright. The dark-haired boy on the broom was Sirius' son? "He's a wizard?"
"Yes," Beth smiled at him. "A very clever wizard just like his dad."
Molly Weasley stood up. "I'll just go call him to come in and meet Harry."
Beth nodded. "He's very anxious to meet you, Harry. I've been telling him stories about his dad, James and Lily for years."
In less than a minute, there were sounds of running footsteps and then George, Ron and the dark-haired boy came bursting into the living room. The boy hurried across the room to his mother, his face eager with anticipation. He didn't look as uncannily like Sirius as Harry did to James, but the resemblance was strong and he had Sirius' eyes. "Harry," Beth smiled at Harry and then turned back to her son, pride obvious in her face. "This is my son, Sirius."
Sirius looked thrilled as he shook Harry's hand. "I'm really happy to meet you, Harry." Sirius said. His voice was so familiar that Harry started in shock.
"You sound just like your dad," Harry said, "with an American accent."
Sirius grinned. He had his dad's charming smile that lit up his face. "So my mom says."
"Would you mind telling us how you defeated Voldemort, Harry?" Beth asked her voice slightly shaky. "I've read a bit since we arrived here and my uncle explained parts, but the accounts are a little sketchy. We'd love to hear the entire story from you."
Sirius looked at Harry eagerly and Harry nodded. For the next few hours, Harry told them the entire story, aided by Ron, Ginny and George who eagerly jumped in when Harry didn't provide enough details. Beth and Sirius listened avidly, especially the parts when Sirius came into the story. Harry faltered and looked at Beth and her son guiltily when he reached his part in initiating the battle that led to Sirius' death. Beth gave him a sad smile. "You were doing the best you could with the information you had, Harry." Harry felt relief at her understanding and he was able to continue. Beth grabbed her son's hand when Harry described the end of the battle that resulted in Sirius' demise. "His own cousin killed him," she said darkly. "And then she taunted you about it. He wasn't at all exaggerating when he told me how sadistic and demented Bellatrix was."
"She was a sodding lunatic," Ron looked as bitter as Ron was capable of. Harry knew Ron still had nightmares about Bellatrix torturing Hermione while they were helplessly locked downstairs hearing her scream.
Harry resolutely continued, reaching the final hours at Hogwarts in his long narrative. Beth nodded at the part where Harry learned that Snape loved his mother. "James suspected that," she said softly. "Maybe that's why they hated each other so much."
She shot a fierce, appreciative look at Molly Weasley when Ginny told them about her mother finishing off Bellatrix. If their future friendship hadn't already been sealed, Harry knew it was at that point when Molly gave Beth a grim smile in return.
Beth teared up again when he told her about Remus and his wife, Tonks, dying together. "Oh, and they had a son," she said sadly, wiping her eyes.
"Tonks was related to Sirius. So their son Teddy is related to you," he looked at Sirius. Beth and Sirius looked a bit bemused. Harry guessed they hadn't thought about Sirius having any relatives they wanted to claim. Sirius' immediate family members were all deceased and Beth would not want to have anything to do with the Malfoys.
When he finished the account with Voldemort's death, there was a short silence. Harry's mouth was dry from talking so much. "Oh Harry," Beth's smile was bright though her eyes were still full of tears. "You went through so much. Your parents would be proud." She reached out and took his hand. "You got the best parts of Lily and James."
Beth sighed and leaned back, her face relaxing for the first time since Harry had met her. Sirius had a huge grin on his face and he looked at Harry with an awed respect. Molly broke the silence by asking if anyone would like tea.
Ron and Ginny got up to help their mother after Beth's help was firmly turned down by Molly Weasley. "We'd really like you both to stay for dinner and the night also," Molly told Beth. "We have plenty of room here and we'd love to get to know you both better."
Sirius gave his mother an openly enthusiastic look and she accepted gratefully.
"How long are you going to be in England, Beth?" Ginny asked later as the group devoured Molly Weasley's excellent biscuits and tea.
"I'm not sure," Beth said with a small smile towards her son. "At least two years. Sirius wants to go to Hogwarts and learn more about where his dad came from. I've contacted Headmistress McGonagall and she said there was a space available for a sixth year."
"That's great!" Ginny leaned forward. "I have one more year at Hogwarts, and Hermione is coming back to finish her seventh year with me. I'm sure you'll be sorted into Gryffindor with us, Sirius."
"I'll be starting Auror training this fall, but I'll be visiting Ginny every weekend." Harry smiled at Sirius. He looked forward to getting to know Sirius' son. "McGonagall has given me special visitor privileges."
"One of the many benefits of defeating Voldemort," Ron drawled with a smirk at Harry. "If you ever need help with any of your classes, Sirius, ask my girlfriend Hermione. She's brilliant."
"Or you can ask me," George deadpanned. "I was well known at Hogwarts for my academic abilities."
"Or lack of," Ron coughed into his hand. George slapped upside the back of Ron's head.
"Amazing how good the one-eared git's hearing is," Ron groused, glaring at his brother. Harry noticed Sirius was grinning, amused at the rapid-fire conversation of the Weasley siblings.
"You can try out for the Quidditch team! I'm the captain," Ginny got that competitive fire in her eyes that Harry well knew. "You have excellent flying skills. Did you play on your school team?"
Sirius nodded and they were soon deep in discussion about Quidditch. Beth watched her son chatter, her lips curved up. Harry frowned, deep in thought. He jumped up suddenly, startling Beth who looked at him anxiously.
"Beth, I think I have something you may want to see," he told her urgently. He ran upstairs to the room he was sharing with Ron. Harry opened the closet and dug through the boxes carelessly stacked there. He finally found the small items that had previously puzzled him and grabbed them as he headed back downstairs.
"I found these with Sirius' stuff," Harry told Beth as he came back in the living room. "He couldn't have had them at Azkaban but he must have put them somewhere safe where he was able to get them when he came back." He handed Beth a white paper sleeve that encased two 45 records. Beth pulled them out and her eyes widened in shock when she saw the records were 'Beth' and 'Brown-eyed Girl'. A small, well-worn photo and piece of parchment were between the records. Beth picked up the photo and looked at it. It was a black and white photo of her. On the back was scrawled "1978". The parchment was a note which she read, tears filling up her eyes. "Sirius—I promise I'll never stop. Keep safe. Beth."
Sirius moved back to sit next to his mom and looked at the note. "You'll never stop, what, mom?"
"Loving him," Beth sniffed. "I told him I would never stop loving him." She broke down and buried her head in her son's arms.
Harry and the Weasleys exchanged looks and quietly left the living room. Harry put his arm around Ginny. "Sirius mostly had a shite life, but I'm glad he at least had some time with her."
Dinner was festive. Arthur Weasley had returned and caught up on Beth's story. He happily quizzed Beth about muggle technology and was agog at the new technologies in computers she described.
"What will you be doing when Sirius goes to Hogwarts?" Molly asked Beth.
"I'll be teaching computer science at Oxford," Beth replied. At the stunned looks around the table, Sirius smiled. "Mom's an expert in computer science. She can pretty much get a job teaching anywhere."
"Speaking of computers," Beth looked across the table at Harry, "I brought my laptop. I have some videos from Hogwarts if you'd like to see them."
"You took a video camera to Hogwarts?" Harry couldn't stop grinning.
"What does video mean?" Ron asked.
"Yes," Beth replied to Harry. "I used it to show muggle technology when I taught Muggle Studies."
"But there's no electricity at Hogwarts," Harry said.
"Yeah, that was the tough part." Beth nodded. "My uncle made me special batteries that could hold more than hundreds of times the charge of regular batteries at that time. He fixed it so that all of my equipment could plug into the batteries. Even with that, I had to be careful how much I used my equipment so I wouldn't run out of power."
"What other equipment did you bring to Hogwarts?" Arthur Weasley's eyes gleamed with interest.
"My 35mm camera, a tri-pod, a cassette tape recorder, a video player and T.V. to show my films." Beth grinned.
"You brought a telly there?" Arthur's mouth was open wide. "They were pretty bulky."
"It was a small T.V. with just a 12-inch screen," Beth shrugged. "They loved watching the videos I recorded in my Muggle Studies classes."
"What's a video?" Ron repeated.
"We never had a Muggle Studies class like that," George muttered enviously.
They moved back to the living room. Beth pulled out her laptop and opened it. "I shot these on video tape and converted them to digital recently." The Weasleys looked at her blankly. Harry quickly explained, "Muggles keep changing the way they record and store pictures and films." Ron sighed exasperated.
"The first video is a fast-motion recording of James, Sirius and I making Lily's birthday cake. I persuaded them to make it the muggle way, but being Sirius and James, they just had to incorporate some magic."
They piled around Beth who sat in the middle of the couch, several Weasleys standing behind the couch crouched to see the laptop screen. Sirius, James and Beth's bodies moved in jerky motions due to the timed shots. "Wow," Ginny breathed. "Look at your dad, Harry."
Harry nodded and grinned. He looked at Sirius who must have seen this film many times before, but still had the same hungry look in his eyes when he watched his father as Harry did.
"Were you and Sirius dating when this was filmed?" Ginny asked.
"No," Beth replied. "Lily's birthday was in January. This was just a few weeks after I came to Hogwarts."
"Not at all subtle," Harry whispered to Ginny the fifth time they saw Sirius run into Beth and grab her to steady her.
The group was soon laughing. After watching the cake batter poured over the heads of the three occupants and the ensuing battle, Harry told Beth, "You looked like the Three Stooges."
Beth gave him a strange look. "That's exactly what your mom said when she saw it."
"I won't even bother to ask what the three stooges are," Ron muttered querulously.
"Quit being such a whiner," George snorted.
Beth shot Ron a sympathetic smile. "Sorry Ron. I got sidetracked when you asked questions before. They're actors who did slapstick comedies in the '30's."
Ron nodded, mollified. The end of the video was of Lily and James, no longer in fast motion. Lily was eating a huge piece of her birthday cake and feeding James every other bite. James happily mugged for the camera and Lily reached over and messed up his hair in a perfect imitation of the way James had when Harry had first seen him at age fifteen in Snape's memory. Lily and James laughed together and then James kissed Lily, his hand smoothing back her hair tenderly. The camera panned to Sirius, who rolled his eyes at his best mate and then winked, his eyes lit up, at whoever was filming. By his expression, it was obvious that Beth was the photographer. Watching them, Harry couldn't help but smile.
"I have some really good videos of Lily also as well as more of James and Sirius," Beth told Harry. "I've made a DVD for you of all the videos I shot at Hogwarts."
Harry exchanged an excited look with Ginny. He could hardly wait to ask Beth to loan him her computer to watch the DVD while visiting the Weasleys.
Beth twisted and reached inside her handbag. "I also brought you a set of prints of all the photos I took with your parents and Sirius in them." She pulled out a fat envelope and handed it to Harry. Harry looked through the photos of his young happy parents and Sirius, his smile wide. There was one of Sirius swinging Beth around in his arms, both laughing. "These are brilliant, Beth," he was finally able to say when he finished. His eyes were wet when he met hers. "I can't tell you how much this means to me."
Something struck Harry and he took Beth aside a few minutes later. "Does your son have your last name?" Harry asked Beth. "He doesn't have Black as his surname, does he?"
"No," Beth said ruefully. "Many American wizards knew the story of Sirius' alleged betrayal. I didn't want my son to be subjected to anyone telling him lies about his dad when he went to wizarding school." She looked at Harry with sad eyes. "I also didn't want there to be any chance that Sirius might hear he had a son when he was in Azkaban. Remus told me how the dementors worked on prisoners. If Sirius had found out about his son when he was imprisoned, it would have caused him more agony there. Except for my uncle, I didn't let anyone in the wizarding world know, even Remus, that Sirius had a son."
"That explains why Remus didn't tell Sirius about his son after they reconciled once Sirius was out of Azkaban," Harry said thoughtfully.
"I'm so glad they were friends again those last few years," Beth said. She knew it was a good thing Harry had dropped the Resurrection Stone. She would not have been able to resist the temptation to bring Sirius back, again and again.
"Now that Sirius' name is cleared," Harry spoke eagerly, "have you thought of changing his name?" Her eyes shot to his surprised at his urgent manner. "Not that your surname is not perfectly fine," he hastened to add. "But there are no other Black family survivors. Your son is the last of the Black family line."
"Actually, Sirius and I talked about that recently," Beth admitted. "He would like to have his dad's surname in addition to mine. We recently filed to change his name to Sirius Peterson Black."
"How long does that take to become legal?" Harry asked quickly.
"A couple of months," Beth said. She gave Harry a curious look, but Harry didn't want to explain just yet.
"Brilliant," Harry only said relieved. Dumbledore had explained to Harry that he was only able to inherit Sirius' belongings and wealth because there were no children with the Black name. Harry had always felt guilty about that. Once Sirius' son's surname was Black, it would all revert to him. Kreacher would be ecstatic to serve a Black, the nephew of Regulus. He decided not to tell Beth until the deed was done, knowing she might protest.
Eventually even Sirius started yawning as the group laughed and talked for hours. Beth came to Harry to say good-night after profusely thanking Molly Weasley again.
"I'm so glad," she smiled at Harry. "I'm so glad Sirius, Lily, James and Remus along with so many others, didn't die in vain." Harry hugged her wordlessly. She was another link to his parents and his godfather and he looked forward to hearing more about them.
Ginny and Harry walked slowly up to Ginny's room, hand in hand after Beth and Sirius had retired for the night. "I'm a bit surprised Sirius didn't go and see her, despite his promise to Beth's uncle," Ginny admitted as they reached her door and went in. "He never liked to play by the rules."
Harry carefully closed the door behind them. "I'm pretty sure he did see her." Ginny looked at him surprised. "You remember he was hiding out for a long time after he escaped from Azkaban. After he made sure I was safe from Peter and escaped on Buckbeak, he left the country."
Ginny went and sat on her bed and Harry followed her. "He mentioned to me, months later, that he'd gone to the States first. I was worried, there are wizards there who might have recognized him. He reassured me he was canine the entire time."
"Did he tell you what he did there?" Ginny asked. She was squeezing Harry's hand hard unconsciously and he grinned at her.
"Not exactly," Harry said. "He told me he had to see someone special to him, to make sure she was alright. He said he saw her and she was very well taken care of. I'm sure it was Beth. His voice sounded almost choked when he told me." Harry paused, thinking. "I skipped a lot of details when I told Beth and Sirius all that happened the last several years. I didn't mention Sirius could transform to a dog, did I?"
Ginny shook her head, frowning. "No, come to think of it, you didn't. You mentioned Peter being a rat, but I don't think you mentioned Sirius or your dad being animagi."
Harry was quiet, thinking. Beth would love to hear how Sirius escaped from Azkaban. He'd have to go into more depth tomorrow.
"Why didn't you tell Beth that Sirius checked on her?" Ginny's eyes searched Harry's. "She's had so many people lie to her to protect her."
"I don't know," Harry paused. "What if it just hurts her more? That he was right there and she didn't even know it? Will it just remind her that if her uncle had told Sirius Beth was not married and was waiting for him, Sirius would have contacted her?"
"Harry," Ginny argued. "Beth's uncle trying to protect her may have cost Sirius and Beth the chance to have more time together. You shouldn't hide things to protect her also. You need to respect her right to know the truth. She's strong. She can handle it."
Harry frowned, thinking. "Alright," he nodded. "I'll tell her tomorrow."
Ginny smiled and nestled in his arms. "They feel closer tonight to us, don't they?" Her eyes were understanding and bright as always when they talked about Harry's parents and godfather.
"Yeah," Harry tightened his hold on her. "They really do."