DISCLAIMER: HARRY AND HIS FRIENDS AND ENEMIES DO NOT BELONG TO ME! THEY BELONG TO THE AMAZING J.K ROWLING! ONLY THE PLOT IS MINE!

A/N: This takes place at the start of the Christmas holidays, OotP. Does not follow HBP or DH timelines.

Chapter 10— Alliance

Sirius walked with a new spring in his steps, whistling to himself. That early morning he had received mail from the Minister himself, but he had not opened it yet, wanting to share the good news with everyone else.

He entered the dining room and grinned at everyone present. To his surprise, Snape was there, and even Dumbledore's eyes twinkled at him. If he was displeased about how Sirius handled the situation, he did not show any hint of it.

Harry waved his copy of the Daily Prophet at him with a broad smile. His emerald green eyes were alight with happiness.

"How did you do it, Sirius?" He immediately asked. Sirius gave him a hurt look.

"What made you assume it was me who did it?" He asked innocently, although he couldn't quite pull it off.

"Please, Sirius, as if anyone else would have enough motivation and guile to do something like that." Andromeda piped, also smiling, happy for her cousin. Sirius had made his move, and the plan was in motion.

"Alright, alright. It was I, although I'm not going to divulge all my secrets." Sirius said mischievously. Andromeda rolled her eyes good-naturedly.

Snape sneered. "Could it possibly have something to do with the fact that Lucius Malfoy visited my home and brought Pettigrew away with him?"

Sirius scowled. "Mind your own business, Snape." He said coolly. There was no point getting into an argument with the Potions Master in front of Dumbledore.

"This is brilliant." Harry continued, eyes still sparkling. He set down the Daily Prophet, which Sirius still had not read. He glanced at the title and laughed.

Ministry Wrongly Imprisons Heir to the Black Family

By Johanna Earhart

Yesterday, the Ministry received a shocking present wrapped up with a bow and completed with the message 'Check his left arm'. Ministry official Madam Amelia Bones, Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, discovered the stunned body of Peter Pettigrew floating above the Statue of Magical Brethren. After levitating him down, she discovered, much to everyone's horror, the Dark Mark writhing, very much black and alive on Pettigrew's left forearm.

Pettigrew was then bound and taken to the courtroom immediately for an emergency trial. Questioning under the influence of Veritaserum revealed that Pettigrew betrayed the Potters more than fourteen years ago on that fateful night He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named was vanquished by young Harry Potter. Further investigation revealed that Sirius Black was completely innocent of all charges.

For more information on the Dark Mark, see page 2.

For more information on Peter Pettigrew, see page 3.

For more information on Sirius Black, see page 4.

For more information about the trial, see page 5.

Sirius felt his lips curl with satisfaction, not bothering to read more of the article. He sat down next to Harry and opened his letter with a smug look on his face. He cleared his throat, and Harry leaned over.

"Dear Mister Black," he read, "Due to a new development in the Ministry, you are required to attend a mandatory trial that was denied to you at the time of your incarceration." He snorted darkly at this, but did not comment. "Please arrive at the Ministry at five o'clock this afternoon precisely. This will be a trial for the sake of having an official record, as the truth has already been exposed. You will simply be required to answer a few questions, and if your responses match those of Pettigrew's, there will be no problem, and you will receive back all your rights and freedom, and a large compensation for the misunderstanding."

"Misunderstanding!" Andromeda gaped. "How in the world does he condense something so vile into such a simplistic, misleading word?"

Sirius shrugged, folding the letter back up and putting it in the envelope. "He's Fudge."

"Sirius, what does this entail for you exactly?" Harry asked. "When Fudge said you will receive back all your rights?"

Sirius risked a look at Dumbledore, and indeed, the old man was looking at him with an air of interest around him. Sirius sighed internally.

"We'll just have to see, won't we?" He answered elusively. Harry looked mutinous for a moment, but decided to leave it until later and force it out of Sirius. As for the Black, he recognised the look on Harry's face. It was the face Lily would make right before she tortured them for information on their pranks. He grimaced lightly.

I'll tell you later, pup.

Harry jumped so violently he banged his knee on the underside of the table.

"Harry! Are you alright?" Hermione asked immediately. Mrs. Weasley bustled over and checked the disoriented young man over.

"What happened there, dear?" Molly asked. Harry looked around, bewildered, and Sirius maintained his poker face, even though he wanted to grin like a Cheshire cat.

You used telepathy on him, didn't you? Andromeda's disembodied voice floated in his mind, echoing with accusation but also a hint of amusement.

I had already informed him he was going to be trained in this area. Not my fault if he has the memory of a goldfish. Sirius retorted. Andromeda did not respond, but he could see her shaking her head discretely.

Harry, meanwhile, was giving Sirius a wary glare. Sirius returned it with an innocent smile, cementing Harry's suspicion that it had been him. A quick skim of the surface of Harry's mind told Sirius Harry was going to corner him straight after breakfast. He grabbed some toast and orange juice, and speared a sausage. Everything tasted better with the promise of freedom, and he found himself eating as much as Ron during lunch. Snape, of course, looked at him with thinly veiled disgust, while Molly beamed at him.

"Well, that was an eventful morning!" Sirius burped loudly. Hermione wrinkled her nose, but couldn't find it within herself to scold the man for his manners. If she were in his position she wouldn't have a care in the world either.

"Phee-ew." Harry coughed, pretending to make a scene. Sirius cuffed him on the head playfully. Harry returned the gesture with a spoonful of mashed potatoes to the face, and the rest of the breakfast quickly degraded to a mini food fight. Dumbledore and Snape quickly excused themselves and returned to Hogwarts. Mr. Weasley claimed he had to go to work, to which Mrs. Weasley replied 'this early?' with an accusing pair of eyes that meant 'how dare you leave me with these children'. Arthur merely kissed her on the cheek before flooing off as well. Molly scowled good-naturedly and stomped to the kitchen instead.

With all of the responsible adults gone (Remus didn't count, and poor Andromeda thought it couldn't be that bad), the mini food fight escalated at an alarming speed. Sirius joined the fight soon after, a large grin on his face.

"I'm too old to deal with this shit." Andromeda muttered, walking out after a particularly soggy piece of bread smacked her full in the face.

"You and I both." Remus said. Andromeda gave him a cool look, not having forgotten about the new relationship between him and her daughter. Remus fidgeted under her patented glare.

"If you'll excuse me." She said brusquely, walking out and leaving a nervous werewolf behind. It wasn't that she disliked Remus in any way; it was just her position as a mother that made her naturally protective of her daughter. Until she saw them together she would refrain from making any further judgement.

Remus half-considered following her, and ducked absently when a piece of sausage flew over him. In the end he decided not to go, instead deciding that leaving the room was a good idea. He exited the opposite way to find Molly. Perhaps the Weasley matriarch needed some help with something.

Slowly but surely, the food fight died down, leaving a messy kitchen, splattered teenagers, and a maniacal-looking Sirius who was drenched from head to toe with orange juice.

"Alright." He huffed at Harry's vindictive face. He waved his wand with a grimace, and all the mess disappeared, leaving perfectly clean tables and chairs. With another flourish of his wand, he dried himself and turned to the expectant teenagers. Opening his mouth, he paused for a few moments. Then he promptly shut his mouth and sauntered out with a devious smirk on his face, cleaning his wand and tucking it away.

"Hey!" Fred called after him.

"That's not fair!" George said.

"Sirius!" Hermione yelled, outraged.

In the end, everyone had to ask Molly to clean him or her, and the woman could be heard from all the way downstairs, screeching threats at a cackling Sirius. Strangely enough the portrait of Walburga Black stayed silent, curtains closed.

When Harry finally made his way to Sirius's room, he saw Sirius sitting on the floor, looking at him expectantly.

He joined him.

"Spill." Was the only word he uttered.

"Telepathy." Sirius responded. He could play the game as well as the next person. He was leery of Harry's explosive anger, a trait he had inherited from both of his parents, but he needed to see how much it took to rile his godson up. Letting emotions cloud his mind while battling will not do.

"How?"

"Magic."

Harry scowled. "Seriously."

"Siriusly."

"Sirius!"

"Harry!" Sirius mocked.

"Whatever!" Harry snarled, becoming frustrated.

"Out!" Sirius commanded. Harry stood up, his teeth gnashing. When he reached the door, though, something stopped him.

Don't you want the ability to communicate with me without having to speak?

His hand was hovering above the door handle as he hesitated.

C'mon, Harry.

He felt his anger dissipating, and he turned around with a sigh.

"I'm sorry I taunted you like that." Sirius said, waiting for a response that could go either way.

"No problem." Harry mumbled, sitting back down. "It was my fault for losing my temper as well."

Sirius smiled proudly. "That's a step forward, at least." He said. Harry looked confused.

"What?"

"Your temper." Sirius explained. "You managed to tone it down. It is extremely vital that you keep your temper in check during perilous situations. It won't help for you to go do something rashly, on an impulse, without thinking of the consequences." His face darkened for an instant, thinking of his own actions fourteen years ago that led to his capture. Harry took note of this and decided not to comment. He knew Sirius knew better than anyone, having suffered dearly for what he had done. "Occlumency helps," he continued, "Once you sort out your errant thoughts and put them behind barriers, your immediate mind will be clear and focused on whatever task you have on hand. The more you train, the more you grow accustomed to always having the shields up. It'll become a second nature to you as time goes on." He said.

"Now, telepathy is very closely related to the Mind Arts, except…well, it's not a known ability at all." Sirius smirked.

"Why not?" Harry decided to take the bait.

"Because it is part of the family magic." Sirius said. "Anyone outside of the immediate Black family will never have access to this kind of information, and even if they did they wouldn't be able to practice it. When the magic was invented, my ancestor created it in such a way that it would recognise who was truly part of its family. That's all I know about the theory. I guess the rest of it is up to the intricacies of family magic and blood magic."

"That's bloody wicked." Harry imitated Ron's favourite phrase.

"Isn't it? The best part is, even though it's closely related to Occlumency and Legilimency, it's completely untraceable, even by masters of the aforementioned arts." He grinned.

"How would that work, then? Wouldn't a Legilimens be able to sense your thoughts?"

Sirius shook his head. "A Legilimens would only be able to see your memories and the thoughts you have for yourself. The beauty of telepathy is that because you're communicating with somebody else, you're projecting the thought into their mind. Do you see? It's sort of like…what the Muggles call telephones." He said. Harry, for one, was surprised Sirius got the name right.

"Yes, telephones." He said. "How are telephones related to telepathy in any way aside from the fact they both start with 'tele'?"

"Don't get all smart on me, Harry." Sirius gasped in mock offense. "You're too young for that."

Which was quite a redundant thing to say because he was teaching Harry war skills. He had hoped Harry wouldn't call him out on that, but the deadpan stare Harry currently gave him told him otherwise.

"Alright, alright. See, telephones allow people to talk to each other over a long distance. It's similar to the floo, as I'm sure there are people behind the telephones who manage the network." When Harry nodded, he continued, "Now imagine the people weren't there and there was no way to track the information exchanged because it's gone as soon as it's spoken. Of course, the speaker would retain the thought, and the receiver would also come to learn whatever information was exchanged, but then the information itself is automatically stored behind the person's Occlumency shields. Therefore if a Legilimens can't get back your barriers they cannot access whatever was exchanged. Of course, if you can't block them out then everything goes into pieces, and there would be really no point in communicating with telepathy in the first place."

"That's ruddy brilliant." Harry said after he processed the onslaught of information, amazed. Hermione would kill to know this, and Harry felt a bit sorry for her because she would never be allowed, going by what Sirius had just said.

"Innit?" Sirius smiled warmly. "Now, I think that's enough for today. Go ahead and do your homework or something."

At Harry's horrified look, Sirius laughed. "Just kidding, kid, go do whatever you want, just be aware that we're on a tight schedule. It would be a good idea for you to at least have some sort of Occlumency defence up by the time we raid Azkaban, and I plan to do that in a week or so." He warned. Harry snapped to attention, jaw dropping.

"How am I supposed to do that in a few days? What makes you think I'll be more successful in my endeavours now when I failed over half a year with Snape?" He scowled, thinking about Dumbledore's orders. As soon as he returned to school for his fifth year, he was dragged off by the Headmaster and persuaded into having these lessons with the teacher who hated him the most.

"Merlin help me I'll make you learn it." Sirius grunted. "Occlumency is a much more practical scheme of work than, say, History of Magic, of course. I can contact Narcissa and Andromeda and see if they're willing to help you."

"Narcissa as in Narcissa Malfoy?" Harry asked.

"Yes, I believe there's only one Narcissa we all know of." Sirius replied dryly.

"But…doesn't she hate me?" Harry asked cautiously.

"I wouldn't think so." Sirius said slowly. "She would have no reason to hate you, aside from the fact that Lucius is a Death Eater and Draco is your rival at school."

"He's not a rival he's just a bloody git who refuses to leave us alone." Harry said, disgruntled. "So you're really going to throw me to the wolves." He said flatly.

"If you think you can manage on your own, by all means go ahead." Sirius said sardonically. Harry scowled. Looks like he was stuck.

"Fine. Fine." He muttered.

"Perfect!" Sirius clapped his hands together, looking cheerful all of a sudden. Maybe Sirius wasn't necessarily insane after Azkaban, but was he ever sane in the first place? Harry thought the man was probably bipolar to some extent.

"If you want you can start today. I can call Andromeda over again."

Harry was tempted to say no, but time is of the essence here. "If she doesn't mind." He answered mildly.

"She won't." Sirius's answer mystified him, but he supposed his godfather had already talked to Andromeda.

"C'mon, let's get you downstairs and set up. I need to start preparing for my trial." Sirius said.

"This early in the morning?" Harry raised an eyebrow.

"Oh, you know," Sirius waved his hand. "Stuff to take care of." He said vaguely.

As soon as a rather irritated Andromeda landed on the carpet of Grimmauld Place, Sirius stuck the two of them in a secluded room upstairs and snuck out of the house. Dumbledore, of course, did not know of these excursions outside of his appointed 'prison', as Sirius likes to call it. He changed into a dog behind a bush and padded away towards Wiltshire.

Just as he thought, Narcissa was tending to the rose bushes again. He walked around the iron fences and yipped, hoping to catch her attention. Narcissa looked up curiously at the large black dog outside of the wards.

Sirius snuffled and sniffed, tongue lolling out. He pawed the ground before the wards, knowing that if he touched them they would recognise his magic as foreign and harm him.

Narcissa went to the gate, eyes softening. Sirius gave her the biggest puppy-dog eyes he could manage. She opened the gates and Sirius bounded in. He circled the roses casually, sniffing them.

Are your husband and son home?

Narcissa started violently. Sirius pawed the dirt, slowly raising his head to meet his cousin's crystal blue eyes.

Are they? He repeated. Narcissa muttered something about 'how come I'm not surprised'.

"Draco is." She responded. "But he's in his room studying."

Sirius decided not to risk transforming anyways. There was no telling how deep Draco Malfoy's loyalty to his father ran.

I need Lucius to make the Ministry seem like fools this afternoon at my trial. I need him to make the situation as unfair as possible for me, to help pull people to my side.

"And why would he do that? You know very well that the Dark Lord is back and he will question Lucius for his actions. I will not help you in any way if it harms my family." She said calmly.

You mean more than what Lucius already did to himself?

Narcissa glared.

You said you wanted to protect Draco. Well, an alliance with the Houses of Black and House of Potter would be extremely beneficial to the Malfoy family.

"The Dark Lord will kill him, and he'll kill Draco too." There was just the slightest tremble in her voice as she said this, but it didn't go unnoticed by Sirius.

I can offer extra protection, Cissy, and you know this. I doubt Lucius is ignorant of Malfoy Manor's wards. You can only enter if you are given permission to, and anyone else will suffer the consequences. If you intend to ward your home in such a way that he cannot enter, nor anyone under his orders to cause harm or potential harm to your family, then he simply cannot enter.

"What do you have to gain out of this?"

Ah, a very Slytherin thought. I commend you. You are right, though. Why wouldn't it be beneficial for me to have an alliance with the Malfoy family? Perhaps aside from our own family's reputation, they are the most influential line in Britain at the moment. Perhaps the better question here would be what would I have to lose?

Narcissa knew she was backed into a corner now, and cursed her cousin for leaving her in a position like this.

I'm sure you can sweet-talk Lucius into this. A man as cunning as he is would realise the benefits of making an alliance with me, now that everyone knows I'm innocent. After my trial I hope it will convince people who still do not believe of my innocence, that I did not commit those crimes. As long as they hold me in a better light, I can get away with many things by holding the guilt factor over them. He only needs to say yes to helping me at the trial, and I will return it in due time.

Narcissa ground her teeth. "Deal."

Sirius looked smug, or as smug as one could look while as a dog.

I suppose I will see him at five, then. Open the gates for me, if you will.

Narcissa did as instructed, a shrewd expression on her face. She sensed a huge shift in political power soon—perhaps as soon as Sirius emerges from the trial. She just hoped she made the right choice in believing Sirius.

The dog slipped out.

Good day, cousin. You will be gracing me with your presence soon enough.

That look longer than I expected. I thought I would include the trial in this chapter, but I guess I'll begin the next with the trial. I hope the whole telepathy business made some sort of sense, at least. Also, addressing the issue of the Malfoys: in my story, Narcissa is the central being of the family, if you will. Lucius is devoted to his wife, and would do anything to keep her safe, and the same goes for Draco. Through these relationships (Narcissa's need to protect her son, and Lucius's need to protect both of them), Lucius will be forced to take up Sirius's offer if he wanted to keep Narcissa safe (as she will be under the jurisdiction of Sirius soon) and also keep Draco from receiving the Dark Mark.

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