A/N: This is a one-shot that I felt like writing in the middle of my story. You can skip it if you want. It provides a bit of insight into having Sirius as a guardian (without Remus's moderating influence). There's a bit of light m/m flirting.


Interlude

1988

Kieran Kinnaird was nineteen years old, and a graduate from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. He had been a Ravenclaw, and had graduated in the top five of his class. Aside from that, Kieran had always considered himself fairly ordinary. He had medium brown hair, hazel eyes, and was of medium height. No one ever really gave him a second glance, but he really didn't mind. He was more fascinated by learning than he was with people.

Kieran checked the piece of parchment that he had kept in the pocket of his robes. Twelve Grimmauld Place, Islington, London. 9 o'clock a.m. on the dot. It was a lovely spring day, and this would be his first introduction to the two Potter heirs that he would be the tutor for. He briefly found himself wondering what he should expect. This was only his second tutoring job of his life (excluding all those times he tutored his classmates while in Hogwarts). Furthermore, one of his pupils was the famous Boy Who Lived.

It wasn't in Kieran's nature to make assumptions. He had heard all the rumours about young Harry Potter of course, but rumours were just that: rumours. There was a sister too, one year younger than Harry Potter. What was her name? He checked the slip of parchment. Ah, Primrose Potter. This particular job also paid higher than average wages. When he had accepted the job at the agency, the witch at the desk had given him an unreadable look, but Kieran didn't give it too much thought. His experiences with tutoring thus far had been largely positive, and it was with this optimistic outlook that Kieran lifted his hand and rapped on the door.

After a short wait, the door cracked open, and a suspicious looking house elf, with a bulbous nose, and wrinkly skin peered up at him through narrowed eyes.

"Who knocks at the door of the noble house of Black?" the house elf asked suspiciously, when suddenly, from behind him, Kieran could hear a pair of young voices calling out: "Kreacher? Who's at the door? Let us look!" The house elf seemed to protest, but the children disregarded him and pulled open the door. A pair of black-haired siblings with pale young faces peered up at Kieran. The young girl was wearing an expression of unconcealed curiosity, while the boy hung back, and regarded him with caution.

"Who're you?" the young girl piped. She was holding on to the edge of the door, and the house elf was giving her a rather disgruntled look, as though offended that he had been prevented from doing his duties. The girl peered at the house elf, and her ears suddenly pinkened.

"I mean - how may I help you, sir?" the young girl corrected, displaying rather pretty manners for a six year old.

"Erm - I'm Mr. Kinnaird. The new tutor. Is your guardian in?"

"Padfoot?" The young girl looked back at the young boy before turning back to Kieran. "Padfoot - I mean Sirius is still sleeping." She giggled childishly. "Everyone knows he never gets up before noon."

"Rosie - he's new the tutor," said the young boy softly. "Maybe you should invite him in." The girl nodded at her brother.

"Please come in, Mr. Kinnaird. Wouldja like some tea, sir?" the young girl moved aside, allowing Kieran entrance. Kieran looked around the gloomy front entrance lit by dim gas lamps, unsure of what he should be doing in such a situation. In all the scenarios he had imagined, he didn't think that the guardian to his new charges would be asleep. It was shockingly irresponsible. After all, what if he had evil intentions? What if he had meant the young children harm?

"Some tea would be lovely," Kieran said, after gathering his thoughts. The pair of children were already ambling towards a room on the side, which turned out to be the dining room. Kieran followed them.

The young girl and boy sat at one end of the long table, across from one another. Kieran chose a chair, a short distance away, not wanting to intimidate them, but also not too far so as to appear cold and aloof.

"We're just eating breakfs't," the young girl informed him. "Kreacher, can you please get Mr. Kinnaird some tea, please?" The young boy seemed to whisper something in the house elf's ear before the house elf vanished, and the siblings shared a speaking look, and tried to suppress giggles. However, Kieran's attention was engrossed by what the children called their 'breakfast.' What kind of guardian allowed children to eat such things as part of a meal? Their plates consisted of chocolate frogs, cauldron cakes, and sugar quills. There also appeared to be fruit rocks, jelly slugs, and liquorice wands. The table was littered with empty wrappers, although the chocolate frog collectible cards were placed on the side. Unlike everything else, they were arranged in neat piles.

"Want some, sir?" the young girl asked.

"Erm - no thanks, Miss Potter?"

The young girl giggled. "Call me Rosie. And this's Harry."

"Nice to meet you, Rosie and Harry," Kieran replied. "You may call me Kieran, if you'd like." Kieran knew it wasn't exactly professional to allow the children to address him by his given name, but he hoped that it would put the children at ease - particularly young Harry, who remained guarded and quiet. At that moment, the house elf appeared beside him, and set a cup of tea in front of him before vanishing. Both pair of eyes of his young charges seemed to be watching him intently, as though waiting for something to happen. The candy on their plates was forgotten.

Kieran looked down at his tea, immediately suspicious. He had grown up with two older brothers and a sister, and he was no stranger to mischief and pranks. At the same time, he didn't want to let his suspicions show, and ruin the children's fun. They were both so young - they wouldn't do something like poison him, would they?

"Is something wrong with the tea, Mr. Kieran?" Rosie asked, her eyes sparkling. Harry seemed to be trying to hold in a snort of laughter. Kieran tried to keep himself from grimacing.

"The tea smells lovely," Kieran replied relatively smoothly. Both children were looking at him expectantly. He really didn't want to spoil their fun. And so, bracing himself, he carefully brought the teacup towards his mouth. When the edge of the teacup touched his lips, he found that he was no longer touching fine china, but instead, the brim of the cup at turned into a pair of garish red lips that were giving him a noisy, wet kiss. Blergh! Kieran thrust the teacup away from his face in disgust, while the lips on the teacup smacked and pouted. The two children were in heaps of laughter, unable to help giggling in amusement. Kieran couldn't help but smile ruefully - it really wasn't that bad as far as pranks went, and his two young charges were surprisingly cute.

"Didja see his face?" Rosie was saying, between fits of giggles.

"I think he liked it!" Harry chortled, giving Kieran a mischievous look. His earlier reticence seemed to be fading.

"Eww!" Rosie exclaimed. "Didja really like it Mr. Kieran?" The young girl was looking at him with undisguised repugnance.

"I don't know, Rosie. Why don't you try it yourself?" He leaned forward, moving the smacking lips of the teacup towards the young girl. She shrieked in horror and mingled with playful delight, jumping out of her seat and backing away.

"What's wrong Rosie?" Kieran asked innocently. "I thought you gave me this special cup because you liked me!"

"It was Harry's idea!" Rosie exclaimed, pointing at her older brother.

"Oh? Well, then maybe you'd like some kisses?" Kieran moved the cup towards the young boy. He knew he was taking a risk - the girl acted bolder and more playful, but Harry was guarded and cautious. Harry's face was scrunched up in dismay as he looked at the cup, but he did not run off the way his sister did.

"It's got your germs all over it," Harry said woefully, giving Kieran a puppy dog look that Kieran immediately guessed that both children practiced often, to great effect. Harry's emerald green eyes were luminous, and his lower lip trembled ever so slightly. These two children were good at what they did - Kieran was starting to understand why this tutoring job paid so well. He could imagine tutors being putty in the children's hands. And an easily manipulated tutor wasn't a useful tutor.

He supposed he could let the children win this round. "Ah, I suppose you're right Harry. You know what they say about germs from strange wizards." Kieran set the teacup down on the table, and the garish lips vanished, so that the teacup once again looked completely ordinary.

"What do they say about germs from strange wizards?" Rosie asked, unable to fight her curiosity.

Kieran widened his eyes. "What? You don't know? Well, it's part of my job as tutor to teach you all of these things. Though -" Kieran looked down at his teacup, faking a troubled expression.

"Though what?" Harry asked.

"Well - I find myself wondering whether the two of you even want to have a tutor. Call it a feeling, but I almost think you two prefer to be on your own," Kieran told them.

Harry and Rosie shared a long look. "Well, sir, I think that maybe it might not be so bad to have a new tutor," Harry said, cautiously.

"Harry!" Rosie hissed softly. "Tutors do things like give us tests, and spank us for playing tricks!"

Though Rosie was trying to be secretive, Kieran could clearly hear what she was saying, and it troubled him deeply. Never, had it occurred to him to spank a child. As troublesome as he and his siblings had been, Kieran's parents were firm believers in reasoning and talking to their children.

"Maybe he's different," Harry whispered back. Kieran tried to hide his smile. It was heartwarming that the shy child was willing to give him a chance. Harry and Rosie both turned to look at Kieran, with assessing gazes. Kieran maintained his innocent expression.

"How about a tour of the house?" He asked, trying to distract them from their little disagreement. The two children looked at one another before looking at him, and they nodded. Grabbing a handful of candy, they led him out of the dining room. When they stood up, Kieran could not help but take note of their robes. The fabric seemed to be of the finest quality, and yet, it was obvious that both children were wearing sizes that were too small. He could see their ankles and forearms poking out of the edges of the robe. What kind of guardian did these two children even have? Candy for breakfast, and poorly fitted clothing? And on top of that, he wasn't even awake to greet the new tutor?

In the hallway, the children paused before a life-size portrait of a older woman, framed by velvet curtains. Her robes looked to be slightly old-fashioned, but not so old as to suggest a different century. The boy hung back, but the girl curtseyed in front of the haughty looking lady.

"Hello, Madam Walburga," said the young girl, curtseying low. "We have a new tutor. May I introduce you to him?"

The old woman's eyes narrowed. "And what manner of company might a child of filth bring into this great and noble household?"

Kieran was rather taken aback by the woman's words. She all but spat out the words 'child of filth.' Why hadn't their guardian gotten rid of such an offensive portrait? Kieran and his family weren't very political, but he knew enough to know that the Black family was known to lean towards Dark rather than Light. Aside from the most recent heir, the Blacks had strong beliefs in regards to blood purity. As for Kieran himself, his family was pureblood, but not a particularly old or well-known pureblood family. Stepping forward, Kieran bowed before the commanding old witch.

"I am Kieran Kinnaird. Pleased to meet your acquaintance, Madam." In truth, he wasn't particularly pleased, but this wasn't his household, and he knew better than to be impolite to portraits. Some of them could be downright frightening, if offended. The old woman narrowed her eyes.

"Kinnaird? Hrrmph. Young upstart. The name only goes back to the 1800s. Better than some of the filth and blood-traitors that cross this hall." Madam Walburga seemed to lose interest in Kieran and had turned her imperious nose away, in an obvious dismissal.

The trio walked past the portrait, and Rosie whispered: "I think she likes you." There was a childish grin on her face. It took almost all of Kieran's efforts not to grimace. They walked towards the stairs at the end of the gloomy hallway, and the children paused in front of a series of what looked like shrivelled house elf heads mounted on the walls.

"This's Kreachy, Kritter, Beasty, Pestie and Impy," Rosie informed Kieran, pointing out the heads one by one.

"Erm - very nice," Kieran replied uneasily. The children beamed. He followed them up the stairs, and into what looked like a parlour, with toys sitting on the chairs and all over the floors. Though the toys were brightly coloured, the panelling and wallpaper in the room was as gloomy as the hallways.

"This is our playroom," said Harry softly. Kieran couldn't help but smile at the boy for trying to make an effort to be a part of the tour.

"D'you wanna see our toys?" Rosie asked. The children had an inordinate amount of toys.

"There's even more in our bedrooms!" Harry added, getting excited about the topic of toys.

"How about you show me some toys, and then we can discuss your education," Kieran suggested. The children's face fell.

"See, he's just like the other ones," Rosie hissed to Harry.

"Well, he seemed nice!" Harry replied defensively. Both children were looking at Kieran with mutinous expressions.

"We can already read," Rosie declared. "An' even do some spells. We don't need a tutor."

As Kieran looked upon the children's rebellious faces, he couldn't help but wonder what their past experiences had been like. For Kieran, learning had always been a pleasure. As much as his siblings had been trouble makers, all of them loved to learn, and it was a bit of a family tradition to be sorted into Ravenclaw. He found himself feeling determined to make learning as fun as possible for the two children before him.

"So you already know everything there is to know?" Kieran asked, keeping his tone of voice light.

Rosie nodded, her expression set, but Harry tilted his head curiously.

"Then I suppose I don't need to tell you about Ulric the Oddball, who wore a jellyfish as a hat, since you know all about it," Kieran said.

The children shared a glance. "Are you - jus' making things up?" Rosie asked suspiciously.

"Oh, I'm quite serious," Kieran replied. "But, well, since you two already know everything, I guess I ought to go -"

"Wait!" Both children cried out. They looked at one another once again.

"We want to hear about Ulric the Oddball," said Harry. It took all of Kieran's efforts to keep from grinning.

Kieran saw the Potter children four times a week. The pair of them pranked him every time he visited, and interestingly, they managed to never repeat the same pranks twice. Once, they had somehow changed his books so that all the words were swear words. Another time, it was a biting doorknob. Some of the pranks were incredibly childish. Others seemed rather sophisticated, considering the children's age. Yet none of the pranks were ever malicious or harmful. At times, he couldn't help but be excited to see what they would come up with next.

Kieran didn't actually end up meeting the Potters' guardian until early in the second week. He had been sitting with them at the dining table in the late afternoon, showing them various ways to hold a wand, depending on the types of spells one wanted to cast (though the children practiced with sticks). Primrose was muttering something about 'stealing Padfoot's wand.' Apparently, the stick had failed to meet her childish standards. With amusement, Kieran transfigured both of the sticks to look like wands, and the children beamed. They were interrupted by the sound of footsteps descending the stairs. Both children perked up and eyes glowed with anticipation.

"Padfoot!" They had cried out. Kieran had heard the children refer to 'Padfoot' numerous times and thought it was a very strange name indeed. But the children always spoke of Padfoot with evident affection, and Kieran tried not to give it too much thought. He felt it best to tackle one thing at a time. First, he wanted to instill a love of learning in the children, though admittedly, they both had curious and intelligent minds. And second, he wanted them to eat real breakfasts. Unfortunately, the breakfast they ate on the day that he had met them had not been some strange, one time occurrence. However, when he had suggested a healthy breakfast on their second meeting, the children had looked at him aghast, and hoovered over their plates of treats protectively, as though expecting him to steal their candy from them.

'Padfoot' had tromped down the stairs, his wavy hair in disarray, still wearing a sleeping robe. Kieran had remembered from the contract detailing the job that the guardian's name was Sirius Black.

"Not so loud!" Sirius was saying, wincing and rubbing his temple. To Kieran, the man looked hungover, and the young tutor narrowed his eyes, unable to help feeling a sense of disapproval.

"Is this quiet enough?" Rosie was whispering. Sirius nodded.

"How about this?" said Harry, a bit louder. And on and on it went until the children were making Sirius cringe with the loudness of every word. Kieran kept expecting the man to snap, but all he did rest his face in his hands, before demanding a hangover potion from the house elf.

"Do you think he noticed yet?" Rosie was asking Harry, peeking a glance at Kieran.

Harry tried to muffle a laugh. "No - Padfoot never notices anything."

"Notice what?" Sirius asked with a groan, as he waited for the hangover potion to work.

Rosie giggled. "Don't you notice anything different today?"

"Erm - your hair is very pretty pup. Did you braid it?" Sirius asked.

Harry and Rosie burst out laughing, and peeked over at Kieran again. Sirius followed their gaze, and finally noticed the new tutor sitting at the table.

"Oh. Hullo. You're - Erm - You're Mr.-"

"The new tutor," said Kieran. "Kieran Kinnaird. Pleasure to meet you sir." Kieran couldn't help but feel a little stiff as he greeted the children's guardian. However, Sirius disregarded Kieran's chilly address.

"Oh, did you hear that pups? He called me sir!" said Sirius.

Harry and Rosie giggled. "That's 'cause he doesn't know you yet. You're not a sir. You're a - a -" Rosie seemed to struggle to find the right descriptor.

"You're a big puppy!" Harry exclaimed.

"Ha!" Sirius burst out. "Well, that makes sense, since you two are little puppies." Sirius's expression towards the two children was so warm and affectionate, that Kieran felt some of his initial frostiness start to melt. The man might not have been a very responsible guardian, but there was no question that he loved the children.

For the most part, Kieran rarely ever encounter Sirius Black when he was teaching the children. After a month of seeing them regularly, the children had warmed to him, and always seemed eager and happy to see him. He had gradually convinced them to add healthier foods to their breakfasts - not by taking away their candy, but by making sure they ate some eggs, bacon and toast first, so that by the time they got around to their treats, they were already full. He had also taken them out to get new robes - ones that actually fit - after requesting permission from Sirius first, of course. Not that the children were grateful, if their whinging and complaining was anything to go by. Kieran could see how a man like Sirius would have little tolerance for taking the children out shopping if the pair of them moaned and groused the whole way.

Sirius appeared content to simply ignore Kieran. The only mishap he ever seemed to have with the older man was one incident when the children had given him a raisin scone at tea time that had changed his appearance. He imagined the scone must have been infused with some sort of glamour, because when Sirius had come down the stairs that day, his eyes had immediately flown towards Kieran and widened. The man didn't even glance towards his godchildren. Kieran had stood up, and was about to lead the children back to the parlour, but Sirius was blocking the path. The children were once again muffling their laughs, and Kieran was thinking 'What now? I should know better than to eat or drink anything those two give me.' Alarmingly, an intense look came over Sirius's face, and with it, a slow creeping smile.

"Hello there. I don't believe we've met," said Sirius smoothly. The man had somehow bridged the gap between them, and was standing a little too close to Kieran. Kieran flicked a glance at the children, and their eyes were sparkling. They both had their hands clamped over their mouths, as though trying to forcibly restrain their laughter. What in the world had those two little rascals done now?

"We've met, sir," said Kieran stiffly, his attention back on the man who was examining his face with a bewildering intensity.

"Sir?" Sirius echoed, looking down at Kieran's lips, before returning his grey gaze to Kiernan's eyes. Sirius's eyes seemed to smoulder with a burning heat. "Please. Call me Sirius."

For some reason, Kieran felt himself blushing. Why had the children's guardian just looked at his lips like they were delectable chocolates?

"I - erm - I really need to get back to the children's education," Kieran said nervously, trying to back away, but he was pinned against the wall.

"The children?" Sirius flicked a glance at his two godchildren, who were trying to look innocent, but they were both shaking with mirth. As soon as Sirius broke his gaze, Kieran felt as though he could breath again, and he couldn't help but give the two Potter children a glare, which seemed to send them over the edge. They were pealing with laughter, wiping away tears of merriment. Sirius had backed a step away from Kieran and was examining his face. But this time, it was without the same heated intensity. Suddenly, Sirius gave him a rueful smile.

"You ate the scone, didn't you?" Sirius asked, grinning.

Kieran nodded. "How did you know? What did it do to me?"

Sirius suddenly stepped close to Kieran once again, and Kieran's heart skipped a beat. The warm heat had returned to Sirius's eyes. Sirius traced the edge of Kieran's jaw with an elegant hand, and his grey eyes dropped back down to Kieran's lips. Kieran swallowed.

"Come," said Sirius seductive laziness. "See for yourself." Suddenly, Sirius pulled away, and led Kieran towards a mirror. When Kieran saw his reflection, he was shocked - he was beautiful! It was almost painful to tear his gaze away from his own face. However, when he finally did, he noticed the two children looking up at him with amused smiles. As for Sirius, his expression was almost regretful. Kieran shook his head.

"You two will be the death of me," Kieran sighed as he looked at his two charges. That only elicited more giggles.

After about three months, the household had fallen into a routine. The children were bright and enthusiastic about what he had to teach them. Their robes were the right size, and they were eating (mostly) healthy breakfasts, though he often caught them eating chocolate frogs when they thought he wasn't looking. They still pranked him, but it had decreased to once a week, rather than every day. He supposed it must take a lot of energy to plan a new prank each day. All should have been well, but as the weeks passed, the children seemed to grow more and more morose, and oddly paranoid.

Kieran had tried to ask the children what was wrong, but they were unwilling to tell him. Furthermore, they had become very clingy which was disconcerting. Whenever he wanted to move from one place to another in the house, the children would insist on going first, cautiously checking around corners and doorways. They had taken to examining his robes rather closely, and on top of that, they were determined to monitor what he ate. Their protectiveness was rather adorable, but at the same time, it was also maddening.

"What is this about?" Kieran asked the children, once again. "Is it your guardian? Has he done something to frighten you, or threaten you or even me?"

"Padfoot?" The children shared a glance, that Kieran couldn't read. They seemed unwilling to answer, which only made Kieran uneasy.

"You two do know that if your guardian has done anything to make you uneasy, I'll be there to help, don't you?" Kieran asked gently.

"You? Help?" Rosie asked, incredulously.

"What can you even do?" Harry questioned. It took an effort for Kieran not to frown. Did the children have so little faith in him?

"Well, that depends on what the problem is. Can you tell me what it is?" Kieran asked gently. The children looked at each other, and then down to the ground. Whatever it was, they seemed determined to keep it between them.

A part of Kieran hoped the problem would go away on it's own, but the children continued their odd behaviour, without ever explaining themselves. It was frustrating that the children did not seem to trust him. However, he could see how their loyalties would first be to Sirius. If the situation was related to choosing between Sirius and himself (and Kieran was fairly sure that it was), then the children would feel divided. So, Kieran decided that the best thing he could do was some research on Sirius Black, just so he knew what he was up against.

It was easy to find information about the Black family itself. It was a very old, and very well-established family, with many connection. Much of what he learned about the Black family reinforced the rumours he had heard and made him a bit uneasy. The Black family had produced a long line of Dark witches and wizards, and their name was connected with many other pureblood families. Many of the Blacks seemed to have a remarkable talent for the Dark Arts. Aristocratic beauty was another known Black attribute, which Kieran could easily see, from his encounters with Sirius. No matter how disheveled the man was, he had a way of always looking elegant and captivating. However, insanity also ran in the family as well. Could Sirius Black be insane? That could be one reason for the children's apprehensiveness. That particular hypothesis did not give him any comfort. But the children didn't seem to be uneasy for their own sake - only for Kieran's. Did Sirius have a form of insanity that only manifested around strangers?

Kieran had asked the employment agency if they had any information about Mr. Black, but they had a policy of keeping such details confidential. However, he did manage to discover that the longest time a tutor had lasted in the Black household was four months. That piece of information was hardly reassuring.

It took a while before Kieran discovered that Sirius made his living by creating joke and prank products. Well, 'making a living' would be a bit of a stretch - Sirius could easily live the rest of his days in comfort off the Black fortune. It would be more apt to say that the products he created were more of a hobby. Kieran suddenly understood how the children were capable of such sophisticated pranks. They likely made use of their godfather's products. But how did all this information tie together?

More digging revealed mostly information about Sirius's past: He had been a Gryffindor (much to the shock and dismay of his own family), he had been best friends with the Potter children's father, as well as two other Gryffindor boys. And every so often, Sirius's name would show up in the scandal papers, due to some sort of shocking, torrid love affair with some celebrity witch or wizard. All in all, Sirius was a rather interesting person.

At this point, Kieran had been the Potters' tutor for over five months - almost six - and both Harry and Rosie had been tight-lipped for the past two or three months. They acted surprisingly vigilant, and every so often, there was a hint of triumph in their eyes, as though they had vanquished something, but when he asked them about it, they would say nothing. Unable to endure the mystery any longer, Kieran decided it was time to talk to Sirius himself. The question was, how should he go about it? Should he book an appointment with the man? Somehow, he couldn't imagine Sirius Black taking appointments. Perhaps the best course of actions would be to stay in the Black household until late afternoon, and then take Sirius aside for a private talk. After Sirius had his coffee of course.

His mind set, Kieran decided he would speak to Sirius on Monday. That would give him the weekend to plot out what he might want to say, though considering how little he actually knew about Sirius, such a plan would likely be of little value. When Monday rolled around, neither Harry nor Rosie seemed to question why Kieran was staying at the house later than normal. Of course, the children did make him rather jumpy with their comments such as "Wait! Don't sit in the chair yet!" or "Stop! We need to check what's around the corner!" As for Sirius, once he finally descended from his room, he was his usual bleary-eyed self. It occurred to Kieran that he had never actually seen Sirius wearing anything other than his sleeping robes. Yet, he knew that Sirius had a rather sharp, though casual sense of style, based on the pictures he had seen from the scandal papers. Once Sirius had made it halfway through his cup of coffee, Kieran cleared his throat.

"May I speak to you in private, sir?" Kieran asked the older man. Sirius's gaze flicked towards him, and it almost looked like Sirius was trying to remember who he was. Harry and Rosie were looking at Kieran with wide, worried eyes. Rosie almost looked like she was shaking her head, but perhaps Kieran was imagining things.

"Sure. Right. How about in the parlour," Sirius said. He didn't sound particularly enthusiastic, but Sirius was not a morning person. Or in this case, an afternoon person. Kieran nodded. He followed Sirius upstairs and into the parlour, which was more of a playroom. It presented a rather amusing image, to see the debonair Sirius surrounded by toys. Sirius shut the parlour door and gestured Kieran towards one of the chairs. Sirius then sat across from him, in a sofa. His posture was relaxed, with his arms stretched across the back of the sofa, and his legs casually crossed. Even with all the toys around him, Sirius managed to convey an urbane sort of worldliness, and he looked like he owned the entire room.

"What did you want to speak about Mr. -" Sirius trailed off. After all these months, the man still didn't know the name of his godchildren's tutor. What did Sirius fill his head with all day?

"Kieran Kinnaird, sir."

"Right. Kinnaird." Despite the casual posture, Sirius was examining Kieran rather attentively. Sirius might have looked like an indolent aristocrat at first glance, but he also looked like someone that shouldn't be taken lightly. Sirius seemed to be waiting for Kieran to speak.

"Well - sir -"

"Sirius."

"Excuse me?" Kieran asked.

"Call me Sirius."

"Oh. Well, Sirius, I'm not sure if you've noticed, but your godchildren have been acting rather strange lately."

"Strange? How so?" Sirius asked. As soon as Kieran had mentioned the children, Sirius's posture had changed. He was no longer leaning back against the sofa, but had shifted his weight forward, like a predatory wolf, ready to protect his pack. Though it was a bit threatening, Kieran found the gesture reassuring on the children's behalf.

"Well, si - Sirius, they've been acting really nervous and jumpy. They've been like that for the past two months, at least."

"Two months?" Sirius narrowed his eyes. "How long have you been here, Kinnaird?"

"Erm - I believe close to - six months now," Kieran replied.

"Six months!" Sirius exclaimed. Suddenly Sirius seemed to relax, and was once again assessing Kieran. But this time, there was an amused glint in his eyes. Kieran couldn't help but feel annoyed. Obviously, Sirius knew something, and wasn't telling him.

"What of it?" Kieran asked.

Sirius smirked. "I don't think there has been a tutor who has stayed here above three months."

"Four, actually." Kieran replied. Sirius looked at him quizzically. "Oh - I asked the employment agency. The longest that a tutor has been employed here is four months."

"Indeed," Sirius drawled. "And in this time - have any - erm - mishaps befallen you?"

"Mishaps? Well, aside from the children's pranks, not really. But I grew up with three siblings si - Sirius. I'm no stranger to pranks," Kieran replied.

"Oh? Only the children's pranks?" Suddenly Sirius turned his head towards the parlour door, and Kieran noticed it was open a crack. He had been certain that Sirius had shut that door - it seemed the children were no strangers to eavesdropping.

"I think I'm starting to see the picture," Sirius murmured, with humour in his voice. Kieran had no idea what Sirius was talking about. Frankly, he had no idea what was going on at all.

"Come in pups!" Sirius called at the door. "Don't pretend you're not there - even if I can't see you, I can hear you."

Guiltily, Harry and Rosie entered the room, staring woefully at Sirius.

"We didn't mean to spy," said Rosie.

Sirius barked a laugh. "Yes you did pup. Now come here, scamps!" The children walked up to Sirius, peeking glances towards Kieran.

"Have you two been disabling my prototypes?" Sirius asked the children. They looked at one another before looking mutinously towards Sirius.

"We didn't want you to scare Kieran away," Harry said stubbornly.

"You were scaring away the other ones - even that one nice one," Rosie added. "We didn't want you scaring away this one."

"We like him," said Harry.

"He's not one of your tes' subjects," said Rosie. Sirius threw back his head and laughed.

"Pups! If you liked him so much, you should have said he was off limits. You didn't have to go around disabling all my prototypes." Sirius tousled Harry and Rosie's hair. "Off you go. I think your Mr. Kieran needs an explanation."

"You won't hurt him?" Rosie asked, worriedly.

Sirius rolled his eyes. "I'm wicked, but not that wicked." Rosie grinned, before following Harry out of the room, shooting a fleeting glance at Kieran before she shut the door behind her.

"Test subject?" Kieran asked, once the children were gone.

Sirius grinned sheepishly. "I may or may not have tested a number of my new projects on the children's tutors."

"I can see why most of them haven't even lasted half a year," Kieran said wryly.

Sirius laughed. "Well, I needed to test those projects on someone."

"And who better than a completely unwitting target?"

"Exactly!" Sirius exclaimed. Kieran rolled his eyes.

"Well, unfortunately, you're off limits now. It seems like the pups have been looking out for you."

Kieran shook his head and smiled. "I suppose it all makes sense now. Though it does feel a bit emasculating, knowing that seven and eight year olds are protecting me."

"Ha!" Sirius barked in amusement. "Try living with them permanently."

Kieran looked towards the door and then back at Sirius. "They are really good children. I feel fortunate to have met them."

Sirius smiled. "They are good pups aren't they? Well, I suppose that matter has been settled. I'd best get used to the sight of you. Though you know - if you did decide to eat another raisin scone - I could take you out to dinner sometime." Sirius raised his eyebrow suggestively. When Kieran blushed, Sirius could only laugh. Life had just gotten a little more interesting.


A/N: I think this is my favourite part of the whole story, and it doesn't even have anything to do with the actual story.

Also, I know the house-elf (head) names are awful, but I figured that if one house elf was named Kreacher, the rest would have names that were just as bad.

I'm definitely frustrated with the rest of the story right now. I don't entirely know what to do with it. I've planned out how the rest of it goes, but I feel like it has some major, deep-rooted flaws that I don't know how to fix (without doing a complete overhaul)