Well here I am again a lot sooner than I was last time, but I have week off. Thank you to all reviewers and everyone who expressed their well wishes for my family x I really appreciate it.

And thank you chapter 39 reviewers:

The French Dark Lord, Lady Mayu, Sabishii Kage Tenshi, GinnyWeasleyLover, Not Applicable (you never know what will happen), Wonderbee31, Dr Grimm, ellesra, FireAnEarth, foosel97, Lady shadowfire, blackrhino, Wolfric, LovePotter001, FaithlessGirl, EelvenGirl, Cathycalamitous, CelticHeiressFiona, Rodrigo black potter (thank you, hopefully this chapter will answer some of your questions) xRosePetalx, X59, Makieus, mudbloodpotter05, therecordwontstopskipping, I'm-Reading, Female Marauder and livin and breathin

Chapter Forty

The witch and the Death Eater were taken away by Moody and Kingsley to be questioned on kidnapping, enslavement, consorting with Death Eaters, and the rest.

Cassie was in the Hospital Wing being checked over by Madam Pomfrey, she was very quiet and seemed to be in awe of her surroundings.

From what Tonks had been able to discover in the short amount of time she'd had that Cassie was in fact Cassandra Quinn and the young four year old witch had been taken from a park during a trip out with her social worker, her social worker who was now lying hidden away in one of the dungeons.

Anton and Rhoan had realised that they had needed to admit to Dumbledore what had happened with the man, the headmaster had listened silently to their tale occasionally nodding at certain points, even though it was a fairly certain case of self defence they were deciding to wait until after the minister trial especially as both Rhoan and Anton were material witnesses and couldn't exactly afford to be compromised.

-=-=-=-=-

'I can't believe you lied to me,' Sirius said indignantly 'you said you had a date!'

They were standing at one end of the Hospital Wing while Dumbledore had a small talk with the little girl.

'It got cancelled,' Rhoan protested 'so I did something else instead.'

'You could have asked me to join in,' Sirius complained 'I never get to do anything.'

'You're doing Dumbledore a favour now,' Anton offered supportively.

Sirius had agreed to look after Cassie while they worked out what to do with her, and with his light hearted nature he had easily won the child over and after Dumbledore was finished she looked at Sirius curiously.

'Why can't I stay here?'

'Because you need to be somewhere a bit safer than here,' Sirius said gently 'and the nasty big children may trip over you.

'Won't!' she insisted fervently shaking her head from side to side and flickering her long dishevelled hair into her eyes.

Sirius gently tucked the hair behind her ears and stroked the side of her face, 'don't worry, you'll get to visit.'

'Really?' she asked hopefully.

'Of course pumpkin, whenever we can.'

She gave them a big smile then her milk teeth surprisingly white against the grubbiness of her skin.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

'The Wizengamot are summoned for the trial of Cornelius Fudge former Minister of Magic on charges of kidnap, torture, misuse of ministry power while in a position of authority, bribery…'

The list continued read out at the same steady pace and Anton leaned back slowly on his bench. The room was packed, it was cramped, hot, and tensions were running high. Fudge wasn't chained to the centre as other prisoners were, his status still gained him some leeway, he'd also been allowed to wash and make himself presentable however his stay in Azkaban had left him thinner, more gaunt and revealed the mans lack of a spine, one would assume thought Anton, that being elected as the Minister of Magic would mean that the person actually had a backbone and the capability to lead their side in war.

Looking at the man's trembling jaw and nervous gestures he looked every inch the criminal.

'How do you plead to the charges?'

'Not guilty.' Fudge squeaked rubbing a sweaty handkerchief over his brow.

'Madam Bones will lead the court.' The speaker continued 'First witness is called. Peter Deaver please rise.'

A tall reedy man with long pale bluey grey hair stood his long form straightening out as he stepped forwards.

'I am the record keeper for the former minister.' His voice was jagged.

Madam Bones looked down to him 'and what occurred during your time under Mr Fudge.'

'Routinely I would come across holes in the records, funds sanctioned for projects that did not exist or else required far less money that was being given, in addition the former ministers ministry account more than doubled in the last working year.'

'You did not report this though?'

'On the contrary, I went to the Minster on more than one occasion, on the last incidence I was told that it was my job to record and not to question. So I recorded everything, and I mean everything. It's all detailed with research into where the money actually ended up and what it was used for.'

'And the records now?'

'I handed them over to Kingsley Shaklebolt when they were requested and supplied him with my full co-operation'

The trial continued in much the same way, Fudge stayed mainly silent occasionally blustering through an attempted excuse before being silenced by his lawyer. Witness after witness was called each adding their own condemning evidence to the ever mounting pile, some spoke about things they'd seen and heard, others revealing threats that had been made towards them by either Fudge or by his most trusted officials, most of which were already either under investigation themselves or heading that way. It was the biggest case that the wizarding world had seen in years echoing the years involving the multiple trials of the Death Eaters.

'Let's get out of here,' Rhoan muttered as the trial was called to a temporary halt for lunch.

'I couldn't agree more,' Anton replied getting to his feet 'it doesn't look like we'll be giving evidence for a while anyway.'

They ducked through the crowds avoiding the press who would have been more than happy to get a few shots of two of the key witnesses and made there way to the floo points.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

'Keep still,' Sirius was chiding.

Those were the first words that they heard on entering headquarters. Low giggles echoed out into the hallway, pushing the door open to the living room Anton was able to see the scene behind it.

Sirius was sitting on the floor rug with his legs crossed and Cassie perched on top dressed in a green t-shirt of Teddy's with the cuffs rolled up and a pair of the five year olds jeans with legs turned up as well. Sirius was gently towelling her long hair with one hand and held a brush in the other. On the floor lying on his stomach was Teddy who was watching with rapt attention to what was happening in front of him a small smile quirking the boy's lips.

Teddy looked up to Anton and Rhoan gave a huge smile before lunging across the room, Cassie turned her head and gave them both a shy smile.

'How's it going?' Sirius asked tugging out a few stray knots gently.

'As expected,' Rhoan answered 'there's a lot of animosity towards Fudge, a lot of grievances that have been allowed to fester over the years.'

'The prosecution is loving it,' Anton continued dropping down onto the floor next to Cassie and giving her a big smile.

'Lo,'

'Hiya Sweetie, are you having fun?'

'I got to have a bath,' she informed him seriously 'with lots of bubbles and Siri made the ducks swim round and round and he made the water purple.'

'Did he really,' Rhoan joined in attempting to disentangle himself unsuccessfully from a toy train that had wrapped itself around his ankles at the same time as trying to avoid dropping Teddy.

'Then I think this is the perfect time to give you our present,' Anton said cheerfully pulling out a small white box from his cloak pocket and unshrinking it. They had picked it early that morning on their way to the trial.

'Present!' the little girls big eyes lit up, her dark eye lashes blinked against her creamy white skin 'for me?'

'From Rhoan and I,' Anton supplied handing the box over which she eagerly accepted her small hands just about managing to hold it in her lap.

With nervous hands she slowly pulled off the lid and peered into it before hungrily reaching in and pulling out what was inside.

It was a chocolate brown bear, its thick silky fur was soft in her hands, it had little brown suede pads on the paws, its small raised snout had a sewn nose and mouth in gold thread, the bears eyes were big and black ringed with gold, tentatively as if she couldn't quite believe it was hers Cassie stroked her hand over the fur before turning joyfully to the two men.

'Thank you,' she said hers eyes glowing.

'What are you going to call him?' Teddy asked curiously leaning in to look at the toy.

'Jamie,' Cassie replied her eyes transfixed on the bear 'I'm going to call him Jamie, after Jamie.'

Jamie who happened to by lying dead in Hogwarts.

-=-=-==-=-=-=-=-

'So you are saying you did nothing to warrant your capture,' the lawyer recruited by Fudge demanded 'you caused no trouble that would make it acceptable for Mr Fudge to have ordered your arrest?'

'If you count sleeping as provocation, then yes I'm guilty,' Rhoan snarled 'but as that was my only crime I fail to see how it was legal practise for the Minister to attack me in a Hospital Wing before kidnapping me and keeping my brother and I captive in premises away from the Ministry.'

'So you said you've done nothing wrong?' the man asked sceptically 'then may I ask Mr Lukyen how it is possible for you to create a tornado in the grounds of a school and not be classed as dangerous.'

'Objection,' the female prosecutor jumped to her feet 'Mr Lukyen is not up for trial and nor did Headmaster Dumbledore report that his actions had put students in danger.'

'Sustained, Mr Jacobs please rephrase your line of questioning.'

'My apologies Madam Bones.' The man nodded 'I am just looking at the circumstances that would make it permissible for the Minister to have stepped in, such as his worry that the school was harbouring a dangerous man.'

'If his credentials had been checked, Mr Jones,' Madam Bones looked down at him 'then the Minister would have discovered that Mr Lukyen held the rank of a Ministry official while working for law enforcement in Bulgaria before resigning to move closer to his brother.'

Anton smiled internally, they'd had to choose a different Ministry for Rhoan to have worked at, and as Dumbledore was friends with the Bulgarian Minister it was a relatively easy task to supply Rhoan with the supposed work documents to grant him a job in this Ministry.'

'But he caused a tornado!' Jacobs insisted 'the minister was acting in what he believed were the best interests of everyone involved.'

'If he had checked with Headmaster Dumbledore,' Mrs Robson the female prosecutor interrupted 'then he would have been supplied with the information that this 'tornado' you speak of was merely a change in air currents caused by the arrival of a port key within the school bounds, a port key I might add that was authorized by the Headmaster himself.'

'Dumbledore is a liability!' Fudge burst out before quickly being silenced by his lawyer.

'If I my continue,' Mrs Robson said coldly 'even if Mr Lukyen was a danger and the headmaster is a liability as the former minister has just stated, then why may I ask did Madam Umbridge acting under your orders attack the Nurse tending to Mr Lukyen, why did the minister enter Hogwarts without the knowledge of the Headmaster and then proceed to storm the Hospital Wing where students may have been staying. Why indeed was Anton Lukyen attacked and taken prisoner?'

'He's a danger as well!'

'Really Mr Fudge.' Mrs Robson coolly held a lid on any emotion she may have felt towards the man playing right where she wanted him 'from what I can tell Anton Lukyen was visiting his brother, he is also a teacher at the very school you attacked. What can I ask is his crime? Why is he to be classed as a danger as well?'

'He killed a man outside of the Ministry in broad daylight.' Fudge seethed.

'I have the report,' she opened the file 'Mr Anton Lukyen killed a Death Eater responsible for what is now believed to be over twenty murders, Mr Lukyen was cleared of any wrongdoing by you yourself over six months ago.'

'That's because I couldn't pin anything on him!' Fudge yelled oblivious to Jacobs's attempts to shut him up.

'So you confess to attempting to frame a law abiding civilian?'

'He's not law abiding he's a bloody menace, the same as his damn brother! And I sure as hell wasn't going to let the pair of them mess everything up!'

The entire court room was completely silent by the end of this pronouncement, Fudge seemed to realise to late that he had just ruined any chance of getting away from any blame, a realisation that was confirmed when his lawyer, one of the top people in the country closed his eyes and dropped his head onto his hand.

'Thank you Mr Lukyen,' Madam Bones broke the silence 'I think it's time we all took a break.'

-=-=-=-=-=-=

'Absolutely brilliant,' Rhoan sighed happily 'that was better than my dreams.'

'I think what makes it better is that Jacobs may have been able to get some of the charges dismissed if he's kept his mouth closed, he's supposed to have an excellent record.'

'Bet you he's regretting taking this case,' Rhoan rolled his shoulders to loosen them out.

'Maybe he should think a little harder about who he represents in the future then.'

-=-=-=-=-=-=-

By the time they flooed back to Headquarters it was past eight and both kids were asleep in bed and had been for over half an hour. Anton slouched back on a settee while Rhoan went to get changed for the night shift he was starting at nine. Sirius kicked off his shoes and propped his feet up on a coffee table.

'How's it going with Teddy and Cassie?'

Sirius yawned before answering,

'Really well, Cassie's nearly five so the age gap is only about a year and a couple of months, Tonks has decided she's in charge of shopping so she's dragging Moony around a few shops to pick up what Cassie will need, I think they were going to go anyway to get some things for when the baby comes.'

'How about clothes?'

'I took the pair of them this afternoon,' Sirius gave a rueful smile 'I went to that kids clothing store we took Teddy, thing is though I found out that Cass just loves purple, and I mean really loves it just like Teddy loves green, Teddy needed some new clothes as well so by the end I had a pile of green clothes and a pile of purple and a few variations I managed to sneak in.'

'So…?' Anton asked curiously.

'This shop girl looks at me, the kids and the clothes I was holding and then proceeded to inform me that though while it might make it easier for me to restrict them to one colour that it was not in fact good for good for their development as they needed to be able to express themselves in their own way.'

Anton couldn't help but laugh at the look of disgruntlement on the man's face, 'what did you say?'

'I told her that it was hard for me to remember which one was which so I put them in colours to identify them.'

'She believed you?'

'She was outraged,' Sirius said gleefully 'she looked like she was about to burst, but she couldn't be rude, so instead she asked me if I had difficulty telling the difference between a boy and a girl.'

'And?'

'Molly ruined it, she saw me through the window came in and asked Teddy if he'd chosen anything that wasn't green, she then told the shop girl how I had difficulty making him wear anything not green.'

'Poor Sirius,' Anton grinned.

'I know,' Sirius ran his hand through his hair 'the girl was getting really riled up as well.'

Sirius looked over to Anton 'are you doing anything tomorrow?'

'Not that I can think of. I'm not needed at the trial.'

'Fancy doing some painting?'

'I'm guessing it's not really optional.'

Sirius grinned.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

'Purple?' Anton questioned.

'She likes it,' Sirius shrugged 'and seeing as she'll be here for at least a couple of weeks… well we might as well make her room nice.'

Anton eyed the stark grey walls and plain single bed and admitted Sirius was being logical but…purple?

'Scared we'll repaint your room?'

'You dare.'

'There are over twenty bedrooms in this heap, maybe we should paint some more purple.'

'I like purple,' Anton defended 'just not on walls.'

'Well with one small four year old girl just be grateful it's not pink.'

The room the two men were decorating was the one opposite Teddy's it was slightly smaller but still a decent size. Sirius's bedroom was on the same floor and quite close by should either child need him in the night. Cassie and Teddy had gone with Lupin and Tonks to go shopping for Cassie's own toys, books etc a lot of things she could share with Teddy but she needed her own as well for her bedroom.

Sirius and Anton had slipped out for hour as well to collect the necessary things to create a bedroom. The walls were light purple, the bedspread was dark purple with assorted cushions, an old grand, but pretty cupboard had been changed to dark purple, a matching low chest of drawers stood against another wall and the wooden floor had a dark purple rug covering it, there was a small alcove by the window which was also filled with cushions.

Rhoan came back from work just as they were finishing up, he stuck his head in and nodded his approval.

'Nice, but it needs dolls and pictures and stuff.'

'All on their way,' Sirius laughed 'have you seen Teddy's lately?'

Anton smiled, the boy had been adopted by everyone in the order and his room was a jumble of toys, clothes and painted pictures stuck to the walls.

'How's the school going?' Anton asked referring to the small wizarding school Teddy attended for three hours every weekday morning, it was designed with a fairly muggle outlook, after all, all wizards and witches needed to be able to spell, read and do at least basic maths. Anton also knew that Sirius spent quite a lot of afternoons going through things with the boy as well making sure he understood everything as well as teaching him some new things. As it was Teddy's speech had rapidly improved and he'd caught up with most of the boys his age.

'It's going really well, it took him a while to come out of his shell but I think he's making friends with this lad called Lucas Finch-Fletchley, I think he's the cousin of that boy in Hogwarts.'

'Makes sense,' Anton nodded, he turned to Rhoan 'how about you, are you making any friends Rho Rho?'

Rhoan sleepily stuck his finger up to Anton before withdrawing for some much needed sleep.

Screams of delight echoed from downstairs and the two of them went downstairs to see what was going on.

Cassie was hanging upside down squealing with delight as Lupin swung her up high in the air, Jamie the bear swung along with her. Teddy was lying on the floor tears streaming out of his eyes and Tonks mercilessly tickled him her bump barely visible.

'Sounds like I missed out on a fun time,' Sirius greeted them.

'Siri!' Cassie shrieked as Lupin prepared to launch her back up 'this is fuuunnnnnn!'

'Save me!' Teddy gasped out 'Tonks is killin' me!'

Tonks looked up and gave them a wide smile 'I love kids.'

'Probably a good thing Nymphadora,' Sirius said wisely as he quickly side-stepped the curse sent his way 'what with you expecting a little marauder.'

'Don't call me that!' she yelled releasing Teddy who quickly jumped up and escaped laughing to his godfathers arms

'Hi,' Anton smiled as he lifted him up 'how are you both?'

'Great,' Tonks laughed 'I think I'm just glad Remus has eventually stopped worrying so much about being a daddy.'

'Getting cold feet mate?' Sirius asked diplomatically.

Another curse flew his way as Tonks decided hexing Sirius was more fun than tickling Teddy, also Sirius wouldn't retaliate.

Lupin set Cassie down straightened out her purple dungarees and laughed 'well I thought if you can manage it then it must be okay.'

'The cheek,' Sirius scoffed 'I'll have you know it's much harder than I make it look.'

'Are those for Cassie?' Anton interrupted as Lupin pulled a shrunken pile of parcels from his pocket.

'Should be,' Lupin replied 'we took all of ours home before coming here, mind you the odd bag may have got mixed up.'

Tonks and Lupin declined the invitation to lunch before flooeing to their house, they had hoped to move before the baby was born to a bigger house closer the wizarding community but as no house had come on the market they like they were waiting instead until after.

'Come on then you two lets get this stuff put away,' Sirius said taking charge and herding the kids up the stairs Anton followed with the packages.

He was just in time to hear her delighted shout and her stunned face as she took in the room.

'Is this for me?'

'Of course it is,' Sirius replied crouching down so he was eye level 'do you like it?'

'I've never had my own room before' she breathed stunned 'I love it.'

'And it's near mine,' Teddy said importantly 'so if you get scared you can come into me.'

Anton rubbed the top of the boys head and gave him a proud smile.

'Does this mean I get to stay?' Cassie asked quietly as if hardly daring to imagine what the answer might be.

Sirius didn't even take a second to think about it, the girl had no one, where would she go apart from an orphanage.

'Of course you're staying' he said drawing her into a hug 'now where do you want your toys to go?'

I know nothing about the law, so please don't blame me for mistakes x

Luv SpikyStar x x