A/N: Thank you for the reviews! Also if anyone would like to follow me on Twitter or like me on Facebook, the links to both are on my profile page. It would be much appreciated :D

Chapter Twenty One

By the time he got back to the house, Helena had locked herself in her bedroom and alohomora wasn't working. "Open the door, Helena."

"I have nothing to say to you at the moment, Padfoot. I'll talk to you in the morning," she said primly through the wood separating them. "Once I've calmed down."

"What do you have to calm down about?" he snapped. "It doesn't affect you at all. I'm sorry I lied to you, but at the time there didn't seem to be any other option and we were…" he trailed off, realising he'd been about to say 'just friends then' and also realising that they weren't any less friends now, or any more. "…less close than we are now," he finished. "I trusted you but it wasn't my secret to tell, and it just hasn't come up since. For God's sake, the only reason you actually found out in February was because I was trying to pull you out of a fucking lake!"

There was a silence, and then the door opened. "Why was I in a lake?"

He breathed a sigh of relief. She was talking to him. Once that happened normally he could scale her anger down. "I have no idea. Presumably the same reason you tried to kill yourself a few days later. Again. You actually thought I was the Grim. And you were…happy to see me, right up until the point I turned back to human."

She frowned slightly. "I wish I knew why."

"Yeah, well, you and me both."

She put her hand on his shoulder. "I'm sorry for shouting at you. I just…I feel like you don't take things seriously enough sometimes. It was fine when we were at Hogwarts, we were safe there. We're not safe anymore, Sirius. Not just me, none of us are safe. I don't want you to take any risks you don't have to, I don't want to lose you, I… I worry for you, too," she finished quietly.

He offered a smile, which she returned warmly. "Any more questions? Or do you still want to wait until morning?"

"I do want to ask more," she admitted, "but it's one in the morning. It'll probably have to wait until daylight anyway."

"Fair enough. Goodnight, Hellfire."

"Night."

The questions did come the next day, but not before a startling announcement over dinner. After wiping her mouth with her napkin, she said, "Teach me. I want to become an animagus."

"Why?"

"Good skill to have. Useful. And I don't like you being one-up on me," she grinned.

"Alright. I'll teach you," he said, "as long as you know a few things. One: it's not easy, and it's dangerous. Two: it's going to take a long time. It took us more than a year to perfect it."

"But you were doing it independently and you were doing it blind. I've read up on it as much as I can and I'll have a good teacher," she countered. "It'll take me less, I can guarantee it."

He raised an eyebrow. "Oh can you? Careful, Hellfire, or I'll think I'm rubbing off on you."

"Too bloody right," she grinned. "So? Will you teach me?"

"I might. What's it worth?"

"I'll do that…thing that you like. In bed."

He brightened. "Really?"

"Really," she sighed, looking not at all excited by the prospect.

"Okay, I'll teach you. But I want another favour too."

"Which is…?"

"Your hair. Or your fingernail clippings, but I'd really prefer your hair."

"For what?" she asked, wrinkling her nose.

"Polyjuice potion."

"And why do you want to be me?"

"Why would I want to be a hot bird for an hour…hmm, let me think about that one for a minute…"

She sighed, then nodded. "Alright, you can have some hair. Now can we start on animagus transformations?"

"Sure. Tranfiguration's your best subject, so this should be easier for you than it was for me. First you need to cast your Patronus. It'll probably be very similar to what you're going to transform into, so getting to grips with it intimately will be helpful. Can you cast them?"

"Yes, but I've only ever done it in…antiseptic conditions."

"Well, there're no Dementors around, so same deal here. Think of a happy memory and off you go."

Helena nodded and pulled her wand out. Pointing it at the ceiling, she locked eyes with him and smiled, "Expecto patronum."

A silver-white shape erupted from the end of her wand, forming quickly into a bird which circled the kitchen swiftly. Sirius couldn't quite focus on the beauty of the sight though; her happiest memory was one of him? Ignoring the warm feeling that thought brought, he told her to call the patronus down. She did so, and once it had settled its infinitesimal weight on her arm, he looked carefully at it. Interesting. Getting to grips with four legs had been tricky enough, wings was something else entirely. Especially since she couldn't fly on a broom to save her life. The patronus was a bird of prey, sleek winged and dangerously beaked, regarding him imperiously. Very definitely Helena.

They both turned their gazes on him. "Now what?"

"Now learn her. You can imprint your voice onto a Patronus, and send it to do what you want, well, when you do that, try and connect your mind to it as well. For instance, send it to the bottom of the garden and back again." Frowning, she looked at the patronus, and it did so, taking off out of the open kitchen window and heading down the shadowed garden. "Now close your eyes and reach out to it."

She did as she was told and closed her eyes, frowning slightly in concentration. He knew what she was feeling, not quite seeing. There was a tiny thread of light behind your eyes, a tint of brightness that could have been an afterimage. Only the familiar tingle of magic told you it wasn't. Once you followed it, it widened into a crazy black-and-silver world, where the world around you was only illuminated as you crashed into it. On the ground it had been disorientating, in the air he had no idea how tense it would be. Tense, though, didn't seem to have how Helena felt; within moments her frown had all but disappeared, and she even started leaning slightly, left and right, in her chair. He wondered if she was steering her patronus. He hoped so. Controlling the phatom animal was the key to learning how to control the animal itself. Without even the faintest idea of how to move, it was far too easy to lose all sense of self once the actual transformation took place. But even if you were still sat inside not moving at all, it was still difficult to- The patronus was coming back now, a white gleam in the darkness that he saw coming. About five feet from the window though, it faded into nothingness.

Helena opened her eyes with a grimace of frustration. "I lost it. I saw the window coming and panicked as to how I was going to fly through it."

"That's natural, Hellfire," he assured, "I'm surprised you managed to hold control as long as you did. A Patronus Charm is difficult at the best of times."

"Still. I should have done better."

"No, you shouldn't. If you did you'd be a magical genius—just keep practicing the flight control. It's important that you do before you try bodily transformations. It can't help with the shift in weight, but it's better than nothing."

"Is that how you started?"

"No. Prongs did. I just…"

"Jumped straight in the deep end without considering the possible consequences?" she asked, amused.

"Something like that."

"Why am I not surprised?" she grinned. She leaned forward, enthusiasm lighting her face. "So when can we start the real stuff?"

"When you can send your patronus to circle Big Ben and back again without losing concentration, and then make it tell me what the Evening Prophet's leading story is, word for word."

She raised her eyebrows. "You're a demanding teacher."

"The best ones are."

She burst out laughing, clutching at the tabletop while glee racked her ferociously. Finally she spluttered out a coherent sentence. "I need to tell McGonagall you said that, of all people!"

"You do, and the Death Eaters will have to get in the queue to kill you," he warned, only half-joking.

She grinned at him but finally managed to sober. "Alright, alright. I'll practice. Do I have a deadline?"

"No. I'll be surprised if you can get as far as controlling your patronus fully before Christmas."

She blinked. "Really? I was aiming for Lily and James' wedding…"

It was his turn to laugh. "That'll be impossible, I guarantee it."

She gave it everything she had, he had to give her that much. It seemed like every second she wasn't at the hospital she was sitting somewhere with her eyes closed, sending her patronus on swooping tours of the house, or exploring the rooftops of London. She also improved noticeably almost every evening as well, making him rethink how long it would take her. Certainly less than a year, at this rate. He made a mental note to tell her to slow down at some point, because otherwise she'd burn out. He estimated she was probably doing about the same amount of work now as she had been in those final weeks at Hogwarts. But he had a horrible feeling that if he suggested she cut back on something, she might pick sex. And he really enjoyed that.

A few days after they'd struck their deal, he needed to take her up on her end. It was Monday, and his exam was imminent. He had the Polyjuice Potion ready, bubbling and waiting for the final, crucial ingredient. He planned to take it before leaving the house and turn up at work as someone else completely. Maybe hit on someone just to wind Helena up. But Monday happened to be one of her days off, and she wasn't up yet. Nerves had woken him very early, and they were demanding that he wake her now. Not that he was going to give her that explanation if asked. He hadn't dressed yet, clad only in his boxers.

He knocked quietly on her bedroom door, which got no response. "Helena?"

Nothing. Pushing open the door, he found her still fast asleep, curled up on her side away from him. She was naked; the bare expanse of her back looking achingly smooth to his gaze. He moved inside the room and touched her shoulder. "Hellfire. Wake up."

She stirred, but only enough to push back the duvet in a clear invitation. He chuckled softly but didn't deny her, slipping into bed behind her. She immediately wiggled backward, closer to him, but then fidgeted for a few minutes as though something was wrong, but she didn't know what. Finally her fingers hooked into the rim of his boxers and pulled at it. Rolling his eyes, Sirius obliged her and removed his underwear. Helena settled against him without much more fidgeting. Sirius sighed. And then again, more loudly and directly in her ear, when it had no effect.

"As lovely as this is, Hellfire, it's not quite what I was after…"

She huffed sleepily and shifted her hips backward, rocking her pelvis gently against his. It wasn't that he wanted to, exactly, but at the same time his body's reaction wasn't exactly something he had much control over either. She was naked, and that fact had pretty much negated any resistance he might have. Before he could send his brain into a decidedly different direction, his other brain took over, and began raising its head. Helena raised her arm to the stroke the back of his neck, running her fingers through his hair as he lowered his mouth to her neck. She moaned gently and took his hand, moving it without any ado to exactly where he wanted it. Apparently men weren't the only sex to deal with 'the morning'—she was already wet to his touch, her clit slippery when he rubbed his fingertips over it. She dropped one hand behind her to curl it around his cock and pump softly up and down until he was fully hard. He moved her thighs apart and pushed into her, causing them both of them to groan loudly. Helena's grip shifted down to follow his thrusts into her, hand on his arse. He took her other hand, using her own fingers to stroke her clit, guided by his. Her back left his chest as she arched it. He kept the movements of his hips slow and deep, pleasure igniting in a slow burn. Helena turned her head slightly, enough for him to see the fire in her eyes. She whimpered as he hit her g-spot, and then again, louder, when his hand left hers to slide up her body, reaching a nipple. He took it before finger and thumb, pulled it away from her body slightly, squeezing hard as he dared. The pleasure/pain contrast caused the woman in his arms to shudder. His name left her mouth in a ragged gasp. Her voice was heavy, loud, passion-filled. The resulting rush of emotion caught him by surprise; he pulled her as close as she could physically be as they both finally came hard. Blinded by pleasure, they held each other while they both returned to earth.

He pressed a kiss to her hair. "You're beautiful."

She smiled and turned so she could snuggle into his chest. "Not so bad yourself. And I could definitely go for being woken up like that more mornings."

He rolled his eyes. "Believe it or not, that wasn't what I came in for."

"Oh. That's disappointing. What did you come in for?"

"Some of your hair. It's Polyjuice time." He got out of bed and held up the small glass he'd brought with him into the bedroom. The unfinished potion had the consistency and appearance of mud. Helena nodded and didn't complain when he was less gentle than he meant to be when yanking a couple of hairs out. Carefully he put them in the potion, and it hissed and turned the colour of pearls.

"Looks just yummy," she commented.

Sirius grimaced and then raised the glass. "Cheers."

He downed it in three gulps, but didn't look nearly as disgusted as she thought he might. "You're not bad. Tastes like you do anyway."

"Which is how?"

"Like-"

He cut off as his hands started bubbling, the skin rising and falling in odd globules. They spread to his chest, stomach… Seeing her favourite part of him literally shrink up and shrivel away was momentarily panic-inducing, until she reminded herself that it was only temporary. His legs shortened, hair disappearing from them as his hips rounded. The hair on his head lightened slightly in colour and streamed about his shoulders. In less than a minute, Sirius was…her.

He grinned. "Now this gives me some ideas…" Helena slapped his hand away when it went up to cup her own breast. The only response was for herself to put hands on her hips and draw her closer. "What's the matter, Hellfire? Not one for narcissism?"

"You're disgusting. And I'm not a lesbian, Sirius, grow up."

He shrugged, managing a smile that was definitely his even if it was on her face. "Ah well. Worth a try."

He leaned forward and kissed her before she could stop him, causing her to freeze in surprise and mild shock. He swept her tongue around her mouth quickly, letting her know what he'd meant about the way she tasted, she assumed—except to her, it tasted of nothing at all. At least nothing different than what her own spit tasted like.

Pulling away, he walked over to her wardrobe and pulled out one of her favourite tops and a pair of flared jeans. "Where're your shoes?"

"You are not wearing my clothes."

"Might spoil the illusion if I go in mine, Hellfire."

"I don't care. What happens when you change back, they'll rip! Besides, the idea of you wearing my underwear is-" Well, it was hilarious actually, but that wasn't the word she was searching for at the moment, "-disgusting. I won't let you."

"You've never heard of reparo?" he asked scornfully. It was downright annoying; he even had her mannerisms down pat, the set of her mouth and the hands-on-the-hips stance. "It doesn't matter if they're in complete shreds, all it'll take is one spell and you'll never know the difference."

"I will know the difference! It's not happening."

"No?" He pulled the jeans on and did them up. "Oh look—happening."

While Helena was apoplectic with rage, Sirius finished getting dressed. When he finally saw the look on her face, he sighed. "Look, I'll buy you new clothes, okay? Sorry, Hellfire, but if I'm going to pass then I really need to look the part. So please?"

Not so very long ago, she had been utterly and completely immune to that charming grin and those mariner's eyes. She remembered seeing right through them for what they were: shameless tricks to get her to capitulate to whatever he wanted. And now she was really struggling to say no. He just looked so… Realising there was no possibility of her refusing him, she decided at the very least she could be incredibly unreasonable. "You'll buy me clothes worth twice what those are."

He beamed. "Thank you."

"Yes, yes. Get out of my sight, before I change my mind. And good luck!" she yelled after him as he charged down the stairs.

The temptation to go back to bed was powerful after Sirius had left for work, but one look at the clock told her it would probably be a bad idea. She had plans to meet Lily for breakfast at the Leaky Cauldron at nine, after which they would be going out once again into muggle London to find bridesmaid dresses. She wasn't relishing it, but since Lily didn't like many of the fashions in the wizarding world this season, her options was limited. And Helena wasn't about to argue with a bride about what her wedding day should be. She wanted to live, after all.

After a shower and dressing, Helena got on her bike and headed out, arriving a few minutes ahead of schedule and ordering a coffee gratefully from Tom.

"Helena! Helena, over here!"

Cup in hand, she looked around for the source of the voice and found an unlikely source, someone she hadn't seen in months. Alice Fellowes sat at the back of the pub by the cold fireplace, waving. Smiling widely, Helena made her way over and greeted the other pureblood witch warmly.

"Long time no see!" Alice grinned.

"It has been far too long. How are you?"

Alice sat down again and ran a hand through her short hair. "Busy. Work's, well, murder, as you can imagine," she said with a self-conscious smile. "And-" she held up her left hand, the wedding ring on it glinting in the sunlight coming through the window, "-Frank and I got married last week!"

"Merlin's beard!" Helena took her hand and looked closely at the ring. It was a plain gold band except for a tiny gem in the centre. At least she thought it was a gem—no, she realised suddenly. It was identical to the stone that was around her ankle right now. A phoenix tear. She looked sharply up at Alice, who only winked knowingly and gave the merest shadow of a nod. So she was in the Order too. "Is Frank-?"

"Mmhm. So, how are you? I hear you're shacked up with Sirius Black, of all people."

"Well, yes. But strictly because he had nowhere else to live except the Potters' back lawn. Once he has his first wage packet…"

She left the sentence unfinished, only because she didn't know how she was going to end it. She knew, logically, that Sirius must have his first salary by now, so by the terms she'd placed on their deal, he should have moved out already. He hadn't because neither of them actually wanted him to. He'd probably refuse anyway. Say I need the extra protection. Alice now had that annoying look on her face, the look that Lily had every time Sirius' name came up. The look that said she was fooling no one except herself. Helena changed the subject.

"So how come you're not on honeymoon somewhere?"

"Death Eaters. Bastards are raiding places left right and centre, and we normally get there a few seconds late, but occasionally we get lucky and get stuck into a real fight. Couple of days ago we sent a whole load of them to Azkaban. Mad-Eye's on a vengeance kick. You know, since he lost his eye. Not going to bring it back of course, but I don't think it's going to stop him trying."

Helena smiled. "Glad to see it hasn't stopped him. So how come you're in the pub if you're so busy at work?"

"Same reason you are," Alice smiled, "I'm waiting for Lily."

"You're a bridesmaid too?"

"Yep. Speaking of, any idea when our bride-to-be is getting here?"

"She said nine."

On cue, Lily entered the pub looking slightly weary. Upon catching sight of Helena, she stopped, an expression of surprise and confusion on her face. She glanced back out the doorway, looked even more surprised, and then hurried over. Helena found a wand in her face a second after she arrived at the table.

"Lily, what in Merlin's name-"

"What did you tell me if I asked if it was as bad you thought, after you'd apologised to Mary MacDonald?" Lily demanded.

"What?"

"I just met you walking down Diagon Alley, your exact double. So answer the question!"

Helena blinked and cast her memory back. "I told you it was a million times worse. And that you could pay me back later."

Lily relaxed, and her wand was lowered. "Okay, you're you. But, Helena, I just saw you! You're out there, just going toward the Ministry now."

"Oh! That's Sirius, don't worry."

"Sirius?"

"Polyjuice Potion. It's his Concealment and Disguise exam today. He took some hair and went as me."

"And you're alright with that?" Lily asked, looking shocked. She lowered her voice. "Helena, half the wizards in London are after you and you let Sirius take on your image? I kind've expect that kind of recklessness from him but I thought you'd be more pragmatic about it!"

"He'll be fine," Helena soothed. "By now he's in the Ministry, under Mad-Eye's watchful gaze, nothing's going to happen to him. Besides, he's capable of looking after himself."

Lily's expression suddenly did a complete u-turn, slipping into relaxed as she shrugged. "You're probably right."

Helena and Alice exchanged a startled glance. "Lily, maybe we should be checking you're who you say you are…"

"No, we should be getting into dress shops, because I'm getting married in three weeks and I don't have a gown yet, and neither do my bridesmaids!"

That was enough to convince them, and the three young women set off together into London. Helena had taken the precaution of going to Gringotts the day before to change some of her money into the strange currency muggles insisted on using. Strange bits of paper with some woman's head on them—Lily had informed her that was the Queen, whom she wouldn't have known from Adam otherwise. With no idea how much things cost, she'd changed about a hundred galleons, and tucked the resulting paper into her handbag. Lily had insisted to both of them that she would buy their dresses, but there was nothing wrong with doing some shopping for herself while they were out. Surprisingly, wandering through territory so foreign, Helena found herself able to relax easily. There was somehow no danger here, in this sunny strange street. And no one was looking at them strangely. No one was whispering or talking as they went past. Total anonymity.

In these calm conditions it didn't take them too long to stumble on a wedding dress shop that looked promising. It served complimentary champagne to all prospective customers, which the women were all-too-happy to indulge in while Lily made her selection from the gowns on offer. She didn't like sleeves, and she didn't want a short one, and they had no idea what the weather would be like in September anyway. Finally she settled on a lacy covered gypsy style gown, floor-length and beaded at the hem, neckline and shoulder straps in tiny pale gold patterns. The veil that went with it was very long, and could easily be wrapped around her bare arms if it was chilly on the day. When she came out from behind the curtain in it, both Alice and Helena were struck dumb. She looked beautiful—ethereal and radiant, her green eyes positively glowing in the light. James was going to be completely unable to say his vows. Completely unable to speak period.

"That's the one," Alice said decisively, smiling. "That is the one."

Lily agreed, and paid for the dress there and then. The shop owner packed it up carefully and put it into a pale pink box tied with black ribbon for them to carry it out of the shop. Lily waited until they were around the corner and out of sight of any muggles before she put the whole box into her handbag, which swallowed it without a problem, and apparently didn't make it weigh anymore than it usually did. Next task on the list: bridesmaid dresses.

They stopped at a department store not too far from Diagon Alley, called Selfridges. Helena had liked a shop they'd already passed called 'Harrods', but that had been vetoed for being too expensive, so now here they were. Since midnight blue was the colour of choice, they'd mainly been going after dresses in that shade—there were some in the window that Lily liked the look of that Helena was trying vainly not to throw up at. But still, it wasn't her choice. And she only had to wear it for one day. And there would only be a finite number of photographs to hunt down and burn, after all.

Just before the point before she couldn't suppress her urge to tell Lily what a monstrosity she'd picked out, Alice grabbed her elbow. She saw her do the same thing to Lily. "Don't look around. We're being followed. We have been since we left Belle Boutique. There're four of them."

"You recognise any of them?"

"Yeah. Jonah Hammond, Sophia Vines, Nathaniel Parkinson and Kurt Honey."

"All former Slytherins," Helena said lowly.

Lily's eyes flew across the reflection in the glass window. The street behind them was packed, but all of the muggles were moving quickly; there were eight eyes on them, four faces that were still blobs of colour in the crowd. "I see them. Why would they come into muggle London?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Helena muttered. "Okay, Mrs Auror, what's the plan?"

"We go inside. There are always multiple entrances to these places; we find one and get out that way, before they can corner us."

"Do we split up?"

"No. We're stronger together. We should also try and follow the crowd, they're less likely to attack in front of muggles."

Helena let her wand slip down her sleeve into her hand, but kept it mostly hidden in her palm. Lily asked, "What about the muggles? Someone might get hurt."

"We'll have to risk it. Come on."

A/N: Review please!