Sorry,

I am came up with a new Lily/James fic and I got wrapped up

The good news is that I am not posting it till this one is finished

So by the time I post it, it will be complete :)

I did post a one shot on Mother's Day for Molly if anyone wants to read it.

Ok, here we go.

Chapter Twenty-One

From Bad to Worse

As the mid July heat washed over the houses in the little town in the shadows of the old French castle, Harry and Sammi sat out on the grass in the side garden of Jessalyn and Remus' cottage. They were laughing and playing with exploding snap cards, oblivious to the heat that had chased Jessalyn and Remus back into the house to retrieve popsicles and lemonade.

When the front gate banged open and shut with a crack both kids looked up curiously, their faces breaking into huge smiles when they saw Mel jogging towards them, her hair bouncing behind her. Before either child could yell out a greeting she had scooped Harry into her arms and grabbed Sammi's hand and began to rush them into the house.

"Aunt Mel what are you doin? We were playin." Sammi protested.

Harry, who was always happy to be held just laid his head on her shoulder and watched as she threw the double glass doors open and then closed them tightly behind her.

"Mel, what are you doing here?" Remus asked, bewildered.

"I need you to go get Sirius, I don't care what he is doing at work, he needs to get here. Now." He didn't take the time to ask any questions, seeing the panic on her face was enough. "Jess, come in here and help Mel with the kids, I'll be right back with Siri." He called urgently into the kitchen before rushing out the door and to the apparition point.

"Mel, what is going on?" Jessalyn asked nervously.

"Just, we need to get the kids busy, but they have to be inside. With us, they don't need to be outside right now." She said, glancing over at the little boy she held in her arms, the same little boy that she had watched shake in fear in a play pen in a cupboard under the stairs all those years ago.

Jessalyn nodded and over the next few minutes they settled Harry and Sammi at the coffee table in the sitting room, prepared with glasses of lemonade, parchment, fingerpaints and glitter. They had just placed impervious charms on the floor and furniture when a confused looking Sirius and Remus came through the door. Remus glanced at the kids and gestured towards the office where they wouldn't be overheard but could still keep them in their sight. Mel started to follow but was first pulled into Sirius' arms, he kissed her temple.

"You are trembling." He said nervously.

She nodded as he walked them into the office room. Once inside she stood and looked directly at Sirius.

"There's been a breakout. A big one."

His face looked like stone for a second, it was Remus who spoke. "What do you mean?"

"At Azkaban. They haven't released it to the public yet, I only heard about it because Dumbledore came into our offices in a panic, which is saying something for him."

"Who?" Sirius managed to say in a hitched voice.

She hated telling them this. She hated saying it at all. She was terrified for the children in the other room. "The Lestranges."

"My cousin?" he questioned.

"Yes, her and her husband, and brother in law." She confirmed.

"They were responsible for Frank and Alice." Remus stated, she nodded, and heard a sob from Jessalyn. "Who else?"

"Dolohov, Mulciber, Scabior." She looked at Jessalyn and could barely contain the tremor in her voice "Travers."

"He-he-he's the one. He…Michael…He-" Jessalyn muttered, feeling weak in the knees.

"He killed the McKinnons." Sirius finished for her.

Remus folded her safely into his arms. "He won't get to her, he doesn't even know about her, she is safe, I will die before I let something happen to that little girl." He whispered.

"He is out too. Isn't he?" Came Sirius' voice, it sounded hollow. She just stared at him, tears welling in her eyes. "Melanie, Pettigrew got out, didn't he? He is out."

She nodded and couldn't stop the flow of tears. "They don't know how it happened, today when the aurors for shift change showed up all of the aurors that were there from the night shift were dead and shoved into a maximum security cell, some of them had been kissed. Dumbledore says we need to return Harry to the Dursley's that it is the only way he will be safe." She said, her voice shaking.

"Like hell I will. He will go no where near them."

"Sirius, calm down, we know he isn't going back there." Remus said firmly.

"Calm down? Calm down? That bloody traitor, that rat, he- he- he killed them, it is his fault, he will come after Harry." He shouted, his hair falling into his face.

"Harry can hear you! You are going to scare him, now calm down." Remus demanded, releasing Jessalyn and gripping his friend's shoulders firmly. "They will not touch either of those kids. They are more well protected than the sodding minister of magic."

"What are we going to do?" Jessalyn cried.

She and Sirius looked to be at the same level of hysteria, Remus seemed to be the only calm one. "We use magic to modify Sirius' house and put another bedroom downstairs. We move us and Sammi in there. We close off the floo completely, no access at all. Mel, you are going to have to apparate to work, if you continue to go. Sirius quits the firm and when school comes back in we don't send the kids, we homeschool them. Unless we want to move completely we are going to have to bunker down and stay even more invisible than we have been." He said.

"I can't quit, it would be too noticeable. At least if I am at the ministry I can get information." Mel said, trying to find her calm.

Remus nodded, "I was actually going to suggest that you keep working. Just be very careful when you talk about home. It isn't much of a secret anymore that you and Sirius are together. And everyone knows that Sirius has Harry. It's a matter of public record. Not to mention that we did take them into London a few months ago. We were seen with him."

"People recognized me." Jessalyn said quietly.

"But they don't know who Sammi's father is." Mel soothed.

"But some people DO know that I was dating Michael, it really wouldn't be hard to put two and two together after they saw her with me, the ages and everything." She was working herself into a panic.

To all of their surprise it was Sirius who spoke up. "Jess, I wouldn't let death eaters any closer to her than I would do Harry. She will never, never, be in danger, of that I can promise. She will be fine."

"If something were to happen, and I was gone." She stammered.

"We aren't talking like this, that isn't going to happen." Mel said, burying her face in her hands.

"We kept her hidden because of my condition, we were afraid how she would be accepted. She's mine, I will swear it until I die." Remus said firmly.

"And if something were to happen to you both I'll take her with me and Harry. Remmy is right, I knew about her all along. She's his." Sirius added. He turned to Mel and put his hands on her arms. "You have to understand, I know you haven't lived it like this, but it has always been this way, with this threat. You were angry, when he was sick, remember? You said I don't treat you like his mum. This is that moment Mel. I won't force you into this, it isn't safe so if you don't want to be a part of it I won't expect you to be."

She looked at him unfathomably. "Sirius, I am already a part of it. I already love you and him. Do you think that I could walk away from that?"

He pulled her back into an embrace and sighed, "No, I don't. But I had to give you the chance to get away from this if you wanted to. If something happens to me, you are going to be a single mum. You have to raise him like he's yours, like Lily would have without James. He is the one that matters, not me, you are to always fight for him. We have to fill out papers so they don't give him back to the Dursley's."

"Sirius, it won't come down to that." She argued.

"It could, and we have to know what to do if it happens." Remus said calmly. "They will put up a fight to place him with Lily's family, you are going to need air tight papers."

"If something were to happen to both of us, you will take him right." He asked Remus.

"They won't give him to me." He protested, "But I will fight for him."

"They will give him to Jess."

"I wouldn't let him go anywhere else." Jessalyn said honestly.

"We will get you moved in starting tomorrow, I will do the modifications tonight, you could stay tonight and the kids would just think they are having a sleepover." Sirius suggested.

"I would really like to stay one last night here, I mean, it is just one night and I have lived here since Sammi was born. I will miss it."

Sirius and Remus both nodded. "I will go into the office tomorrow and give my resignation, I will tell them that I have a family emergency and can no longer be away from the house."

"Mummy, can we have are popsicles yet?" came Sammi's voice, they all turned to see the two children standing hand in paint covered hand in the doorway.

"I weally wanna posicle." Harry confirmed nodding his purple and green face. Even his hair was standing up, though it usually was, with green paint.

"What are you doing covered in green? You know that is the forbidden color!" Sirius exclaimed, lifting him into his arms.

"The grass is green Dad, and trees and parts of the flowers. I have to use it." He replied with all the air of impatience.

Sirius sighed dramatically as everyone else laughed. "So is the injustice of the world."