DISCLAIMER: That part of this world and those characters you've seen before belong to their Creator: JKR. The rest is mine - although I cannot quit my day job as I make no $$$ from this…

A/N: Re-did things a bit, but even though they are not going home in this chapter, I am still on pace as a lot of things that would have been told later are being told now…

Thanks for the reviews.

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN: UPDATES AND PROGRESS

THURSDAY, JULY 7 1988 - ST. MUNGO'S HOSPITAL FOR MAGICAL MALADIES AND INJURIES, LONDON, U.K.

Sirius sat at the table with the stacks of letter he received from Kyoto. Since July 2nd, he had been receiving thrity-five letters a day from Kyoto, seven each from Minerva, Rose, Harry, Hermione and Clarice. The nice thing about the kids letters were they were usually short, although not always. Each kid had celebrated their first fake birthdays and fake Christmas together with Rose, Minnie and the other kids on their floor. Harry's letters were long about that as he had never had a birthday of Christmas before and even though he knew these were not real, it was still very special to him. It was letters like that which made Sirius wish the Dursleys were still alive, if only so he could kill them.

The door opened and Sophie walked in.

"More letters?" she asked.

"Still going through yesterday's mail, can you believe it?" Sirius replied. "Haven't even gotten today's yet."

"Why do you look sad about it, Siri?"

"They might have received three letters from me, Soph. Maybe four. That's it. They celebrated their birthdays and what I'm reading now is about Harry's first real Christmas, even though it really isn't. I mean I am out of that place and a free man and I feel I am still a lousy godfather."

"Siri, when they get back you have ages to make it up to them."

"I just feel…"

"I'm sure they understand, Love. Do they sound like they don't think you care?"

"That's just it. No. Even Hermione writes me very nice letters. I almost feel as if I am there with them learning things and going to all those interesting places they've been seeing on their Real Days. I got enough pictures of them and what they've seen to fill an album. I just wish I could be there with them."

"There's always next year, Love. Surely the school could use a magical minder."

"But then I'd have to leave you…"

Sophie giggle. "My we are sure of ourselves! You're not even out of hospital yet and you're already planning my life?"

"Um - I see your point." Sirius sad somewhat dejectedly. The truth was he kind of did hope that a year from now his decisions would be their decisions. Odd that, he thought. I haven't even told her what I think I feel about her.

He was not paying attention to Sophie as he now thought he might have pressed too hard, even if only by accident. He came back to reality when he felt a warm weight settling into his lap and a pair of arms encircling his neck. He looked up into her captivating blue eyes, mere inches from his and watched helplessly as they closed and as she moved closer for a long, tender kiss.

"What was that for?" Sirius asked.

"Didn't you like it?" Sophie pouted.

Sirius nodded. "A lot. Want more. But why?"

She kissed him again, just to let the point sink in.

"The first one was for thinking we will be together a year from now, and the second one was for being so damned cute."

"I am not cute! Blokes are not …" he was not allowed to finish as she was kissing him yet again, this time with more passion.

This time when she finished she pulled Sirius into a hug. "I want to be together a year from now," she whispered, "and every year after that."

"That would be nice," Sirius said. "But why?"

She leaned back and looked into his eyes. "You really that thick?" she quipped. "I've fallen in love with you, silly."

Sirius knew in the past he would have been out the door and running for his life. Not now. Not with her. He kissed her this time. "Sophie," he said softly, "I've never … I want to … I want to say it, but this is not the right place."

"Why not?" Sophie asked. "It's where we met. It's where I fell for you and where…unless you don't?"

"I love you too, Sophie," Sirius said earning another searing kiss.

Their blissful moment was broken up by someone else clearing their throat. The two looked up and saw Remus, Robert and Minerva had entered the room.

"I would say you two should get a room," Remus chuckled, "but it seems Sirius has one already. Sorry for the intrusion."

"Minerva!" Sirius said. "Welcome back? How was Japan? How are Harry and Clarice and Hermione and Rose?"

"Is she just going to sit there?" Minerva said looking at Sophie who blushed.

"Sophie has learned that my lap is far more comfortable than any chair in this room and I am not about to argue with her on that point. Besides, I like her chosen seat."

Minerva shrugged.

"Well?" Sirius asked.

"Japan is wonderful," Minerva began. "Rose and I were with the kids in and around Kyoto during their real days. It's a beautiful city and the kids love seeing the shrines, temples, palaces, museums, gardens and such. They've also taken to shopping."

"Shopping?"

"A place called Nishiki near the food marked off Shigo Street. It's Kyoto's version of Diagon Alley. They went there the first real day they had to buy presents."

"Presents?"

"You know they celebrate their school birthdays and Christmas and such?"

Sirius nodded.

"Well, they go twice a year or once a term to buy presents for each other and for their friends and … oh, they bought me such lovely gifts for Christmas and my School Birthday." Minerva blew her nose. "They really do have good taste in such things. Hard to believe when you consider that until they met, not one of them ever had a friend. Now, they have loads of them."

"Clarice has a Birthday coming up," Robert noted, "a real one, yes?"

Minerva nodded. "Their floor is going to climb Mt. Fujiyama for her Birthday. She learned that you get a walking stick at the bottom and as you hike up you pass several shrines. At each shrine, the stick is branded with Kanji - that's a Chinese character the Japanese adopted long ago. Everyone gets that, but as magicals, their sticks have a magical core and the brands are similar to runes and…"

"Staves?" Remus asked.

"Very similar," Minerva said. "They'll be able to cast spells with their walking sticks, if they make it to the top. The stave is not activated unless they have all the brands and they did not use any magic to reach the summit. But yes, that is their goal. It will act as a conductor. It will draw natural magic to it allowing the magical to cast spells without tiring, although they'll only be able to use one hand. Still…"

"Bloody hell," Sirius said. "Kids with staves?"

"This is a problem?" Robert asked.

"Wands and staves are all purpose tools," Remus said. "The main difference it a wand is powered by the users own magic. A stave is powered by the ambient magic all around us. A stave is an order of magnitude more powerful. If a wand is like a rifle, a stave is like artillery. While not useful in a close fight 'cause it limits the user's mobility, it is magic's only long range weapon and if its owner can learn to control it, it can be quite powerful. A stave can break any spell cast by a wand and no wand can break a spell cast by a stave, not easily. A stave user can erect powerful and nearly impenetrable wards and break curses no wand user could hope to break. And this is without regard to the power of the wizard with the stave. That's why they're illegal here. Oh, you can own one. You just cannot buy one or sell one."

"It'll be a long time before they can use those sticks, Robert," Minerva said. "They have a lot of magic to master before those sticks become usable."

"And the Japanese pass these out to kids?" Robert asked.

"The Japanese magicals lack most all the prejudices our countrymen have. If most people have or can get a stave, it's not that big a deal. One thing I have learned is we British magicals are a pathetic lot compared to much of the world. We don't teach half of what the kids will be learning over there because the inbred purebloods who run this country cannot or will not learn it. To allow others to learn would undermine their grip on society."

"For example?"

"We don't teach wandless magic," Minerva replied. "You can't pass out of first year there there unless you can do wandless magic to an acceptable level. We don't teach mind magic, yet it is a required part of their studies. Maybe half of the magic they are learning we would consider Dark. It's not. It's just a part of the Pureblood plot to keep the rest of us weak. We teach our students to the minimum ICW standards. They expect much more from their students and Harry, Clarice and Hermione are getting a far better education there than they could ever hope to achieve here. I come back ashamed of this country, Robert. I come back confident that you and Rose did the right thing sending them there to learn."

"How are they doing?" Robert asked.

"Excuse me?" Minerva said.

"In their classes?"

"They finished First Year one, two and three in their class. Not across the board, but overall. Hermione, Harry and Clarice. And there was not a lot of separation between them at all."

"And they have friends?" Sirius quipped.

"They are not selfish, Sirius. They help anyone who asks for it. It was amazing to hear about from Rose. I was a monitor on another floor and though I visited them often, I was not there like Rose was. By the end of the first term, all the students studied in the main study hall for their floor 'cause Harry, Hermione or Clarice would be there to help. Those twenty-five kids are a tight knit group."

"And how are they getting along?" Robert asked. "I mean Rose says a lot in her letters, but…"

"They've had their spats," Minerva shrugged. "Not many and not for long. They're too close to let things get to them too much. Clarice had a time of it at first. She was still dealing with the loss of her family and although Rose and I were there for her, it was really Harry and Hermione that held her when she was crying and pulled her through. She's really grown to look up to them and they've grown to really care about her."

"And Harry and Hermione?"

"The other students call them the Boyfriend and Girlfriend. It's a bit of an exaggeration, but as compared with most the other students their age, it is apt."

"Apt?" several voices asked.

"They hold hands a lot and are not embarrassed by it," Minerva said. "They are almost always together. At first, the other kids did not know what to make of it, but now it's a part of the school landscape so if they were not together, that might raise eyebrows. But, they are not truly involved in the romantic way. They are still too young for that. Still. Unless something happens, Robert, some years from now I can see them…"

"As long as it really is some years from now," Robert said. "Do they … do they seem happy?"

Minerva nodded. "I think all three of them have finally found acceptance and their place in life. I knew Hermione before and she's never been like she is now. I've never seen her smile and laugh the way she does now. And her hair is looking wonderful - although Clarice said that was because someone upset her about it and Harry decided to try and fix the problem."

"How?"

"According to Clarice, he's taken to brushing her hair at night. Hermione never bothered apparently. Clarice says they both find that relaxing in a way and her hair is looking much better."

"Any other changes?" Robert asked.

"Harry's six inches taller than before."

"What?"

"The growth potions were effective. He's now noticeably taller than Hermione."

"Wow!" Sirius said. "And I thought putting on forty pounds of muscle was impressive!"

"You're still not back to your appropriate weight, Luv," Sophie chided.

"Yes Dear."

Remus could not help but chuckle and yet was pleased for his friend. Padfoot is so whipped, he thought. But this Sophie is such an angel. He deserved that after the hell he went through.

"And where are they going from here?" Robert asked.

"They are allowed to pick up another language in non-magical studies Second Year," Minerva said. "We discussed that, but I don't know what they selected. They were thinking about Spanish because that is spoken in a lot of countries, but we'll see what they took. We also discussed their magical electives that they pick up third year. I recommended Arithmancy, Ancient Runes and Ritual Magic."

"Dark Magic?" Sirius asked.

"Just 'cause it's banned here does not make it Dark," Minerva replied. "It will be a ritual that will release the evil possessing Harry and there are rituals that can aid in his destiny," she added cryptically as she was not sure what Sophie knew. "Dark is about intent and nothing more."

Sirius seemed to accept the explanation for now.

"And Sensei?" Remus asked.

"Ah, the mysterious bald old git from the future whom I've never met," Sirius added.

"He's with them," Minerva said. "Appears once a week their time. Though it's not like before."

"How so?" Robert asked.

"Well, he just tells stories and such. He's a great story teller and all, but… Well I asked him and he said their studies are now more important than anything he could teach them right now. His lessons will resume after they return."

"He really is an odd duck," Robert said. "Then again, were it not for him, so many things would never have happened. Hermione is happy?"

Minerva nodded.

"Remind me to thank Sensei next time I see him. Now, there's some other things I think we need to discuss…"

JULY 8, 1988 - SCHOOL DAY 447 - WATANABE SCHOOL OF MAGICAL STUDIES, KYOTO JAPAN

Rose had brought Harry, Hermione and Clarice to the University side of the Campus. While they had all been here before, they had never actually gone into a building that was not a museum - as all the museums were here. They were now seated in an office they had never been in before and were soon joined by a Japanese witch.

"Good Evening," the witch said in Japanese. By now, the four of them could understand. "I am Professor Takai. I teach Ritual Magics. I assume you know why you are here?"

Harry nodded. "It's because of the evil spirit beneath my scar." He responded in Japanese.

Professor Takai nodded. "I need not tell you, Harry, but it must be removed and we have decided tonight is the night. There will be a Ritual performed outside our shrine which should remove the spirit from you. But there are risks."

"I understand, Professor," Harry said.

"Do you really?"

"There is a risk my spirit will be removed as well."

"We'd hate to lose you, Harry," Professor Takai said. "Have you been told what this Ritual entails?"

"No Professor."

And Professor Takai explained the ritual, much to the discomfort of Harry and his Girls, as he know thought of his sister and best friend.

_____________________________________________________________

Harry had yet to understand some of the magics of Time Compression. Real Time it was around or maybe even after dawn, and yet here he stood outside the Pagoda like Shrine before a wooden table and it was as dark as a night could be. The stars and the moon were all the light there was. He was wearing a set of robes and nothing else. He knew Hermione and Clarice were similarly attired.

"To ease your discomfiture," a voice said in Japanese, "you and your anchors will be blindfolded."

Harry nodded. He really did not want to see his sister naked and was certain he did not want Hermione to see him naked - again - yet. Almost as soon as the blindfold was in place, Harry felt his robe fall away. A pair of gentle hands now rested on his shoulders and he felt oddly calm, if chilled by the night air. He felt something wet touch him. He knew this was the ink brush as he was told that the witches or wizards who would perform the purification ritual would begin by painting runes on his body and the bodies of his sister and best friend. There would runes in two different colors, he had been told. A black rune would be placed on his forehead, chest, back and each arm and leg. A red rune would be placed on each cheek, stomach, thighs and shoulders.

As soon as this was done, he was levitated onto the table. He was shivering with the chill and for a terrible moment felt very alone. Then he was not. He felt two warm bodies with him, one on either side. They seemed to snuggle in close and tight and he began to feel warm and safe and not alone.

"We're here, Harry," he heard Hermione say to his left.

"We won't let you go," Clarice added.

The chanting began as at least seven different voices began a mantra. Harry listened and soon his world seemed to shrink. All that was left was him and his two girls. He was beginning to enjoy this when he felt a new presence within him stir.

"Stay with us," Clarice said to him.

The presence seemed to materialize in his mind, not unlike Sensei. But while Sensei had always seemed kind and comforting, this presence seemed evil and threatening.

"I have been awakened!" it exclaimed.

"Leave! Go away!" Harry shouted out in his mind.

"And why should I? You are but a boy and weak and I was and will be the most powerful Wizard in the world."

"You don't scare me Voldemort. Leave!" Harry said.

"I think not!" The form of the evil man approached Harry.

"Stay with us Harry," Clarice whispered.

"We've here, Harry," Hermione added. "We will always be here for you, just as you have to be here for us."

The evil being touched Harry and screamed in pain.

Harry screamed in pain. The two girls tightened their hold on him. "Stay with us, Harry. We can't lose you."

"You can't take me," Harry said. "You must leave."

"If I cannot have your body," the evil man said, "neither can you!"

Harry screamed and moaned and tried to thrash about, but the two girls held him down and continued to talk to his as calmly as they could. Their voices betrayed the pain and fear they felt for their brother and friend as he underwent whatever torment that was happening. Suddenly, in his mindscape Harry was no longer alone. Clarice was standing next to him to his right and took hold of his hand while Hermione did the same to his left.

"Three children?" Voldemort asked. "You expect to force me out with children?"

"You cannot have him," Hermione said.

"He's ours!" Clarice added.

Voldemort tried to attack them and was thrown back.

"You might have beaten one soul," Harry said now understanding what was going on. "You cannot beat three. Leave here or be destroyed."

"I will not leave!"

"Then you will be destroyed," Hermione said. Clarice nodded in agreement. "No one and nothing will ever take my brother away from me," she added. "Not you! Not even God himself! Go away!"

"You killed our parents and our families," Harry added. "We think it is time to return the favor."

"Fools! You cannot hope to defeat me!" Voldemort shouted.

"Hope is not part of the equation," Hermione said. "Shall we?"

"Let's," Clarice agreed.

"Go for it," Harry added.

A bright white light filled Harry's mindscape and Voldemort screamed in agony. "A - a soul bond?" he asked when the intense pain subsided.

"For now," Harry said.

"Once you are gone, we will return to ourselves," Hermione said.

"Yeah," Clarice added. "Soul bonding with your brother is just gross."

"Then why are you here?"

"We are here because we love Harry," Hermione said. "Because we love him, we will do what is necessary to save him."

"That means whatever it takes to get rid of mean old men in his head," Clarice said. "LEAVE MY BROTHER ALONE!"

Another bright light burst forth from the two of them followed moments later by a much brighter light from Harry. Had there been an outside witness to this battle, they would have sworn that the two girls were feeding energy into Harry who then released the combined energies at his would be possessor. The pulse hit Voldemort and he screamed in agony and was gone.

Rose watched in awe and terror at the scene. Harry was writhing on the table and the two girls were holding him down and talking to him. Suddenly, they all went still and began to glow. The glow brightened over the next several minutes as the chanting continued around them. Suddently Harry's body screamed but it was not his voice. As the scream died, a whisp of black looking smoke rose from Harry's forehead. Professor Takai noted this and banished it into oblivion. Rose looked at the three children. They looked like they were asleep. They all had blissful smiles on their faces.

Harry was alone in his head again. As soon as Voldemort vanished, the girls said their goodbyes to him and left his mind. But he could still feel them next to him and he pulled them in to a tighter hug to thank them for all they did for him. They were willing to do that, to take that risk. Harry remembered being told about the risks. Voldemort had to be awakened in order to be driven out. If Harry could not do it alone, his best friend and sister would soul bond with him to drive the demon out. So many things could have gone wrong. Voldemort could have possessed any or all of them. Even if he was driven out, the bond with Hermione or Clarice might have become permanent, meaning he would have to marry them. The thought of Hermione did not bother him, except for the fact they were far too young. He loved his sister Clarice, but not like that. Fortunately, he knew that the ritual had worked. Voldemort was gone and everyone was back where they were supposed to be. They could be kids again.

_____________________________________________________________

Second Term of Second Year began and the Students found that they had an extra hour of physical education scheduled. This term, they would learn about magical transport. On the theory side, they were taught about Floos, Portkeys, Apparition and Portals. They would learn the practical side of those next summer.

This summer's practical instruction was on a technique used outside of Europe called Shifting. It was similar to Apparition in that you did not need to enchant an object to make it work. You focused on your desired destination and it you did it right you would be there in seconds. It differed from apparition in many ways. First of all, it required a calm and relaxed mind to work at all. Apparition could be done under the stress of combat with practice. Shifting could not. Another difference was the risk. Shifting either worked or it did not. Apparition had a painful and life threatening middle ground called splinching where part of the person transported and part of them did not. Apparition had a range limit that was determined by the power of the wizard. Shifting, being nature based magic, had unlimted range. A student from Britain could shift from his home to the Watanabe School with ease. To use apparition would require several jumps over several days with rest in between. It was actually faster to fly by Muggle means than to apparate such a vast distance. Also, Apparition did not work over large bodies of water at all. For most witches and wizards, If the land was too far away to see, it was just too far away to apparate. Shifting had no such limitations. Finally, warding against shifting was all but impossible.

Shifting proved surprisingly easy to master, the kids learned. By the end of Second Year, all students used this method to move between classes on the huge campus, which beat the heck out of running. It seemed most of their first two years had been at a run. They learned that was intentional as they were now in excellent shape physically.

Second Year the three had tried out for sports. All three were on the swim team, although Harry had only just learned how. Harry was a freestyler. Clarice excelled at breast stroke, while Hermione was the best all around swimmer and her results in the pool were the pride of their flat. They also made sports teams. Harry became a striker on a football team. Hermione played Field Hockey, while Clarice was the point guard on her basketball team.

The year ended with the three again at the top of their class. During their end of Term break, they had to decide what electives to take in magical studies. (Non-magical electives began eight year, as in next summer). They followed Minerva's advice and selected Arithmancy, Runes and Ritual Magic. Their experience with ridding Harry of Voldemort's soul fragment would have been enough, but when they learned there were rituals that could do the same thing with an object, well that sealed the deal. They could, in theory, destroy a horcrux in place! Of course, that ritual was Master's Level Defense, still…

Third year began and they found themselves busier than ever with their courses, sports, music and study. Their free time had dropped to at best two hours a day during the week. But as this workload had gradually built up over their time at the school, it did not seem to affect them.

They were so grateful that Rose was here with them. True, she had twenty-two other children to attend to, and she made sure that none of them felt ignored, but having a family member around was wonderful. And of course, Rose spent time with them on their days off and Real days.

Fifty days into their Third Year, the Real Day was also Clarice's real birthday. The entire floor would celebrate as they were all good friends by now. As soon as the Time Compression Ward dropped, twenty-five students and their two floor minders vanished from the school and reappeared at the foot of Mt. Fujiyama, or at least at the start of the trail. They had backpacks with warm clothes and water bottles. They all had their cameras and they stopped at the start and lined up to get their "Fuji Sticks" - the hiking sticks that would become their staves.

It was not an easy climb to the summit, but the entire group had a wonderful time along the way and all of them made it to the top and received their final brands. They spent perhaps an hour enjoying the view before heading down. They were not worried about the time as each of them carried a portkey that would activate to bring them back to the school before the wards went up.

They were back in their floor recreation room when the real party began. They all realized that they were going to need more room in their rooms back home for all the presents they had given each other and would give each other over the summer. Still, Clarice appreciated every present she received from her friends, and from Rose and Mrs. Donovan.

_____________________________________________________________

The day after the hike of Mt. Fujiyama was a free day for all students. Harry was just cleaning up after breakfast, as he had taken to cooking meals in their flat on free days since the beginning of Third Year. He heard a knock at the door and figured it was probably Rose, although it could really be just about anyone as the students on this floor were so close.

"Somebody get that," Harry said washing a frying pan.

He heard voices at the door and then heard Clarice call out: "Harry! Hermione! They've got news!"

Harry dried off his hands and went into the living area. Hermione was coming from the girls bedroom where she had been writing a letter. In their flat were their four best friends: Steve and Erin McGonagall and Stacey and Lyle Donovan. Steve and Stacey were both eight years old and in their non-magical year. Erin was nine and Lyle ten and were in the non-magical year ahead of them, but they were all in the same magical year. Lyle and Stacey were the son and daughter of the other Floor Minder, Mrs. Donovan.

"Well?" Hermione said.

"Seems you may be right, Cuz," Erin replied with a smile. "Just heard back from Dad in today's post."

"And?"

"Great-Granddad Ben and his entire family - children and grandchildren - left Scotland in 1972," Erin said. Great-Granddad and his oldest son John and John's family moved to Canada. His daughter, our Grand Aunt Emily and her family moved to Australia and our Granddad Richard and his family moved to New Zealand. Personally, I think we got the better dead, but that's just me.

"Anyway, Granddad Richard has confirmed that they left because of the War and because someone was trying to wipe out the entire family. Our branch split up and never contacted the others again, just in case. And yes, Great- Granddad had an older sister named Minerva. Is she still alive?"

"You met her, Erin," Hermione said. "Though we call her Aunt Minnie."

"Th-that was her?"

Hermione nodded.

"And you're her grandniece or something?"

"Her Great-Granddaughter, actually," Hermione said.

"So we really are cousins?"

Hermione nodded. "Second Cousins to be exact."

"What happened?"

"Voldemort wanted to wipe us out because Minnie and her daughters were magical heirs to a famous witch line. To succeed, the entire McGonagall line had to be killed off, which was why your family left in all probability. Had he succeeded, the heir would have shifted to your family - probably to your Grand-Aunt and her daughters or granddaughter."

"Did it shift?"

"No. Although it still can."

"Why?" Erin asked.

"Cause Hermione is now that magical heir," Clarice said. "She is the oldest surviving daughter of the oldest surviving daughter."

"That's horrible!" Stacey said. "And you two? Are you really related as well?"

"Clarice and I are brother and sister," Harry said. "Our parents were killed when we were babies and we were sent to live with different families. Can't say if we are related to Hermione at all."

"If we are," Clarice said, "It is distant."

"Hermione's real parents were also murdered during the War," Harry continued. "She was adopted by the Grangers before that happened to keep her safe. Bit of a long story how we came to be a family. Short version is Clarice was adopted, but her parents died and I was left with an Aunt and Uncle who died about the same time. Accidents mostly. No killings. Anyway, Social Services placed us with the Grangers and here we are."

"That's so sad," Erin said.

Harry and the others nodded in agreement.

"But there was a happy ending," Clarice said. "As sad as it is, my brother and I were reunited and he's the best and we live with our best friend Hermione and her wonderful parents and came here and met all you guys and stuff. I should be sad all the time, but I'm not. Not with Harry, Hermione and the rest of you as friends."

"Guess that makes you honorary cousins," Stacey said.

"What?" Hermione asked.

"Didn't we tell you?" Erin asked. "Mrs. Donovan is my Dad's little sister."

"NO WAY!"

SATURDAY, JULY 16 1988 - ST. MUNGO'S HOSPITAL FOR MAGICAL MALADIES AND INJURIES, LONDON, U.K.

The "Gang" was assembled in Sirius's room. They had been meeting a couple of times or more a week since Rose and the kids had left for Japan. Sirius and Sophie, while still not fully intimate - she was not about to risk his recovery for that - were clearly an item and the others agreed they made a cute couple. Remus could not help but tease them mercilessly, but the two gave as good as they got. Robert had grown to like all of these people and Minnie was the matriarch of this group.

"Well?" Sirius asked.

Remus had his interview with the head of Office W earlier in the week.

"They made me an offer," Remus said.

"Brilliant!"

"I start in September with a six-week course and then I'll actually head the Were desk. Bit more than I expected, really."

"You'll be bloody brilliant, Mate," Sirius said.

"And you?"

"Sophie and the others suggest that when I get out I take a few months before I think about work. Not that I need to, still. Think Office W could use another Auror? Really don't fancy working for the bastards who sent me away for all those years."

"They are always looking," Remus said.

"You would do the Service credit," Robert offered.

"Thanks. It's either that or spend all my time with my Godchildren - not that I would mind that at all. So many choices!"

"Do what your heart desires, Love," Sophie suggested.

"If I did that, we'd probably never get out of bed again," Sirius laughed.

"Not that we have done that," Sophie said more for the others than for her Siri, "but you'll here no objection from me."

"Robert?" Minerva said trying to get their meeting back on track, "you said you've heard from Rose about our recommendation?"

"Yep," Robert replied. "There's no way we can send the kids back to school really. They are starting Secondary School - maybe even today. Can't send them back to Infants or Juniors. It would be a waste of their time. So she's in full agreement with our recommendations. Remus?"

"Yes?"

"Think you can make things happen before they return?"

"Need Minnie's help. She is their legal guardian. Sirius should be able to help too as he told me earlier they are going to release him within the week. Merlin knows why. He was a nutter before he was sent there and I doubt there's a cure.""Oi! Watch who you're calling a nutter, furball!" Sirius shot back.