Harry Potter and TGTL: Fourth Year

by KappaIota

Sequel to Harry Potter and the Godfather that Lived. AU Fourth Year with Harry facing the Tri-Wizard Tournament, his first crush, Voldemort's return and an overprotective guardian. As with the original, will include teen discipline themes/adult language

47. Chapter 47

A/N:

Hello dear readers! I know it's been a while since my last update and I'm sorry to keep you waiting. As some of you who reached out to me via PM know, I was badly injured a few months ago. My former neighbors' very large and very aggressive dog got loose and attacked my much smaller and much meeker pup. I managed to get to them in time and separate them before my dog could be mauled to death, but in the process both of my hands were badly bitten. So, for some time they were all swollen and bandaged up and I had some painful (although thankfully temporary) nerve damage. It meant that even just little day to day things were hard to do and forget about typing! It was far too difficult to write one of my super long chapters with one finger. Hence the long delay in my updates.

Happily, I may be scarred but I'm more or less returned to full function and the neighbors in question and their dog have moved away. I don't blame the dog, just the people who don't know how to properly train one. And now that I've caught up on all of my actual real life work that got shoved to the side while I was recuperating, I managed to finish the most recent chapter I was working on prior to the incident. Hopefully it won't be so long before I update again.

In answer to the question some of my legitimate readers had:

No, my absence was not due to negative reviews.

After all this time, I honestly couldn't care less what the haters think. They want me to care. They even feel somewhat entitled to try and make me care. But I simply don't care. And that just pisses them off, which is actually kind of amusing. Again, if they are still reading my story after all this time and think I will change how I write it just because they whine like a child throwing a tantrum, then they are in for a big disappointment.

And with that said, I'm glad to be back. It's a long, long chapter today (as usual lol) but there's a lot happening. So buckle in and get comfortable! I hope that the readers who genuinely like my story and my characters as written enjoy today's chapter!

*************HP***************

Boy was sitting quietly on the low bench on the far side of the play park. His left arm, bound in a small plaster cast, hurt too much for him to even think about doing something to amuse himself while Dudley played with his friends on the merry-go-round and Aunt Petunia gossiped with the other Mums.

The pain wasn't as bad as it had been before the doctor put the cast on.

At least now there was some protection from accidentally banging it on the counter or stove when he did his kitchen chores, which was a big improvement since it hurt something awful right after Dudley pushed him down the stairs on his way to the breakfast table more than a week ago.

Dudley said he deserved it, but it wasn't Boy's fault that he got sent back up to the washroom to brush his hair again because Aunt Petunia hadn't been satisfied with the first attempt. And it wasn't as if Boy tried to get in Dudley's way on the trip back down to the kitchen either. History had long ago taught him well to stay far away from his cousin, especially first thing in the morning when Dudley was hungry and irritable.

Dudley had shoved, hard, as he thundered down the stairs and sent Boy flying, first against the wall and then tumbling down the stairs. Landing in an ungainly heap at the bottom, Boy heard a snap as a fire raced through the arm he'd thrown out to catch himself. Sadly, the fall was also hard enough to knock his new glasses off and they wound up crushed underneath him.

He'd heard that snap too...

Boy knew right away that he was in big, big trouble.

Things had already been bad enough as it was at Dudley's house since both boys had started school at St. Grogory's Primary. Unlike his regular wardrobe of cast off rags, there'd been no old school uniform of Dudley's for Boy to wear because it was the first year for both of them, so Aunt Petunia had been forced to buy a new one for Boy and she was not pleased about that.

"We have no money to spend on little freaks," she hissed at him in the store with a painful pinch to his upper right arm. The lady helping them was a short distance away pulling jumpers off of a rack for Aunt Petunia's approval and Boy was fairly sure that she'd heard his aunt's unkind words, but pretended not to.

It made him angry and sad at the same time.

But since the uniform was required, Aunt Petunia had to buy one for Boy, but she also made it very clear that this was the one and only new uniform he was going to get.

Ever.

Despite the saleswoman's obvious disapproval, Aunt Petunia insisted on buying one a few sizes larger that Boy could grow into. Large enough that it made Boy look even sillier than he ever had in Dudley's old things. The sleeves and trousers needed to be rolled up and the jumper hung on him like a dress. It was no wonder that the other kids in his classroom all laughed the very first day he walked in or that they hadn't stopped teasing him since.

Unfortunately, things only got worse from there.

After a few days of keeping his head down and his mouth shut, Boy's teacher Mrs. Weston caught him squinting at the blackboard and quickly realized that he couldn't see a thing she'd been writing on it. Thoroughly annoyed, she'd walked Boy down the long corridor to the health office, where Nurse Milligan gave Boy a few quick tests before telephoning Aunt Petunia and telling her very loudly

"Harry needs glasses, Mrs. Dursley. Haven't you noticed that he can barely see?"

That's what they call Boy at school.

Harry.

Harry James Potter.

Definitely a nicer name than Boy, although it sounded strange to him and was a bit hard to get used to when he was still Boy at Dudley's house.

It was all very confusing, really.

Especially since he generally tried hard to not speak much at all because talking usually got him into a lot of trouble. Even so, Boy couldn't help asking Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon why they didn't call him Harry James Potter.

Uncle Vernon's face went purple, like it did that time he was yelling at Boy for burning the bacon and all the lights in the house suddenly went out, but Aunt Petunia looked like she'd just swallowed a large gulp of spoiled milk before telling him

"It was your no-good drunk father's name. We won't have that name spoken aloud in this house!"

Wisely, Boy didn't ask again.

After Nurse Milligan's phone call, Aunt Petunia showed up at school and dragged Boy by the ear to the nice doctor who looked at Boy's eyes through these really weird gadgets and then gave him a cherry lolly for being so good.

Of course Aunt Petunia took the lolly from Boy straight away, stashing it in her purse as she told the doctor that "He has to wait until after dinner to eat it".

Boy wasn't surprised when he saw Dudley sucking away on it later that afternoon.

He'd known even before they left the doctor's office that he wasn't getting it back.

He did get a pair of glasses though. The very cheapest pair they had with round, black rims, and it was incredible to finally see everything so clearly. Like a whole new world had opened up just for him, and he couldn't help smiling all the way back to Dudley's house, despite having his sweet taken, because everything he saw was just so beautiful.

But then a few days later Dudley pushed him down the stairs, breaking Boy's new glasses.

And his arm.

Truthfully, Boy was more upset about the glasses, which is why he let himself cry, even though he knew he wasn't supposed to.

Disturbed by the noise in the middle of reading his morning paper, Uncle Vernon came stomping into the room and saw Boy crumpled on the floor in tears and holding his arm while Dudley laughed. But he didn't yell at Dudley for pushing, because Dudley was allowed to hurt Boy if he wanted to. That's just the way it had always been.

Instead he yelled at Boy

"Buck up over there, Boy. It's only a little ding. No need to be a big girl's blouse about it!"

And Boy had sucked back his tears, because he knew that he was already in enough trouble as it was for breaking his new glasses.

Which is what Aunt Petunia immediately started yelling about.

"Do you have any idea how much those cost! We could have bought Diddikins another new game for what I paid for those, you ungrateful brat! Well, you won't be getting another pair, that's for sure, so I suggest you figure out how to fix them!"

So Boy had bucked up, biting back the pain from his arm as he went in search of some tape in the kitchen drawer that Aunt Petunia kept that sort of thing in. Normally Boy wasn't allowed to rummage through the drawers in the house, but his Aunt seemed to know what he was doing so she intentionally turned her back, pretending not to notice him.

One handed, Boy did the best job he could wrapping the two split halves together.

Now the kids at school all tease him about that as well.

Boy's arm had been aching something fierce ever since the fall and he couldn't help the occasional wince when it got jarred too quickly, or the loud yelp he cried out when Annie Powell, his assigned safety buddy, took his hand to queue for the walk to the lunchroom.

Another phone call to Aunt Petunia from Nurse Milligan had her stomping into the school to collect Boy to go to another doctor. This time, by the furious look on his Aunt's face, Boy understood that it would be better to make up a story about how he hurt his arm, which he did. Telling the doctor that he 'fell off the slide in the play park'.

Which Boy had done more than once.

With Dudley's help, of course.

And so now Boy had a cast.

Bored and in pain, there was nothing to do while sitting on the bench other than look around the park and the motorway behind it and watch the cars whiz by.

It was a fairly long walk back to Dudley's house, and Boy knew he wouldn't be allowed to go back on his own anyway since Aunt Petunia didn't like him in the house when they were not there unless he was locked in his cupboard, which he definitely didn't want.

Boy was always left behind while Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia took Dudley out for trips and treats except for the few occasions he was sent over to the smelly house on Wisteria Walk to sit with Mrs. Figg. At least here in the park the air didn't smell like cats and boiled cabbage, so he should probably be grateful for that.

Grateful was a word that Aunt Petunia used a lot around him.

Boy should be grateful for the roof over his head.

He should be grateful that he wasn't in an orphanage.

Grateful for the food and clothing he was given, no matter how little or how big.

Sometimes, alone in his cupboard in the dark, his belly rumbling and his arm hurting, Boy found it very hard to feel grateful.

Across the park, Boy saw Dudley push another little boy into the sandbox and then laugh with his friends. If Aunt Petunia had not been at the park too, Boy might have gone over to see if the other little boy was okay, but she was right there smiling and telling Dudley what a big strong boy I have!

Defying Aunt Petunia by taking the side of the other little boy would have meant another night with no dinner and he was already hungry enough to feel all hollow inside as it was.

So Boy didn't say anything as he cradled his sore arm and looked in the other direction.

"Hello. What happened there?"

Startled, Boy spun his head around and saw a tall man backlit by the bright sun standing next to him. He didn't know this man, couldn't even see his face really, and Mrs. Weston at school had already told their class about stranger danger, so Boy almost cried out for help.

But there was something about that voice that he recognized deep down inside, so he kept his mouth clamped firmly shut.

"Does that hurt?"

The man nodded towards Boy's carefully cradled arm and Boy found himself nodding in return, unable to stay quiet as he whispered

"A lot."

Clucking his tongue in sympathy, the man came around the bench and took a seat next to Boy as he looked closer at the cast.

"I can help with that, if you like? But no one must know. It would have to be our little secret."

This was dangerous talk.

Boy wasn't allowed to have secrets. He'd been told that many times by his Aunt and Uncle.

At least, he wasn't allowed to have secrets from them.

Aunt and Uncle kept a lot of secrets from others, mostly their neighbors, but that was different.

Gingerly holding his sore arm, he looked over to where Aunt Petunia was laughing with the other Mums and sadly shook his head.

"Better not."

Boy was upset and nervous and he couldn't help the way his eyes skipped around before he shamefully hung his head. He knew it wasn't right, the way his Aunt, Uncle and cousin treated him, but it wasn't as if he had a choice in the matter.

"No one will notice us. I promise. You wouldn't be able to tell your Aunt that it doesn't hurt anymore, but I can make the pain go away for you."

It was a tempting offer that had Boy looking back up. Through the haze he could somehow see that the stranger's eyes looked sincere, and there was a kind smile playing around his lips that made Boy feel a bit easier about the proposed deception.

"How?"

Taking a quick glance around, the man drew a long stick from the inner pocket of his coat and showed it to Boy.

"With this."

Boy sucked in a gasp. Now he remembered why the man seemed so familiar.

"You're the shadow man!" he said, barely able to contain his excitement.

The stranger seemed bemused.

"The...shadow man?"

"Yeah," Boy said, nodding his head enthusiastically. "I remember you. You have a stick that does tricks. I used to look for them all the time. But I never did find one."

"Oh, I see," the man said with a chuckle. "Well, I think you will find one, one day. But for now, let me help you. Alright?"

Boy twisted his mouth into a frown as he threw one more nervous glance over at his Aunt. Nothing good would happen if she saw him talking to a strange man, but she seemed fully distracted by the other Mums. Boy hesitantly nodded his head and then let the Shadow Man carefully take his wounded arm and wave his stick over it.

"Brackium Emendo!"

There was a quick flash of fire that raced through his arm that made him wince, not unlike the one he'd felt when he broke it, but after the initial smart, a cool and pleasant sensation took over, soothing the hurt. Another few seconds after that, all the pain was gone completely and Boy smiled widely, feeling better than he had in days.

"Thanks," he said, this time his gratitude genuine as he moved his arm around a bit.

"You're very welcome. Just remember. It's our secret, alright?"

Boy nodded. He wasn't an idiot. Aunt Petunia would be furious. Not only because Boy talked to a stranger in the park, but because he'd have to explain that his arm was cured by the magic stick that she said wasn't real.

Boy wasn't allowed to say the word magic in Dudley's house.

Ever.

He'd also learned that the hard way.

Feeling profoundly grateful, he turned to look back up at the Shadow Man to properly thank him again, only to find that he was, just like before, gone without another word.

"Come back!" the boy whimpered as the faint tendrils of hope of escaping the Dursleys drifted away once again. "Please. Don't leave me here."

***********HP****************.

With a start, the tousled haired teenager sat up in bed in his darkened room and took in a gulping breath. The nauseous feeling in his stomach let him know right away that he'd had another one of those disconcerting dreams and for just a split second he felt a flash of fear that they seemed to be coming more often now.

What that meant, he didn't know, but what he did know was that it couldn't be anything good with his luck.

Maybe it had something to do with why he couldn't grasp any memory of them once he was awake again.

He groaned irritably, his hands balling into fists as he punched the mattress in frustration.

Unfortunately, he also knew that he now had to do something he really didn't want to. But, still feeling guilty for the terrible way he'd behaved yesterday, he resignedly threw his blankets off and sat up on the side of his bed.

It wasn't cold in his bedroom, but that didn't stop goosebumps from prickling his arms as he listened to a slight breeze whistling through the trees outside his windows. The light of the moon shining through the swaying leaves cast malevolent looking shadows that crept along on his walls in a rather eerie fashion that further unsettled him and he swore to himself, rather colorfully, before admitting defeat as he stood up.

Harry shook his head as he stumbled out of his bedroom and walked the few steps across the hall to his father's door.

"You're pathetic, you know that right?" he said to himself in a fiercely whispered admonishment as he raised his hand to knock. "You've fought a troll, killed a basilisk and a possessed teacher, and faced down a million dementors, but a little dream has you trembling like a tiny girl. Some hero you are."

Pathetic he may be, but waking up in another cold sweat, this time even more disconcerting than the one the night before, he knew that he needed to do as Sirius asked and tell his father about it right away. Steeling himself, he rapped twice on the heavy oak door and waited quietly, hearing sounds from inside the room of Sirius moving about almost instantly.

A very tired looking Sirius opened the door, his eyes bright and alert but his face rumpled and his normally neat hair wildly disheveled, and Harry felt a pang of guilt knowing that his father had to have been sleeping only a moment before.

"What's the matter, little one," Sirius asked softly, his eyebrows drawn in concern as he reached out to cup the side of Harry's face in his hand. "Did you have another bad dream?"

Too embarrassed to speak, Harry just nodded, his eyes cast down to the floor as his face flushed deep red. He felt incredibly stupid needing to wake his father up in the middle of the night just because of a little upset, but he'd promised. And, quite frankly, if he was being completely honest, he really wanted the comfort.

"Okay," Sirius said sympathetically as he pulled Harry into a full hug and held him close. "It's okay. I'm here."

Unable to help himself, Harry buried his head against his father's chest and listened to the comforting sound of his beating heart. Sirius' strong arms around him made him feel a sense of security that he didn't realize just how badly he'd needed it until then. Surprisingly, it really did help, more than the boy thought possible, and he exhaled a soft sigh of relief as he could feel some of the disorientation and sadness melting away before it was able to really take a hold of him and muddle his thoughts all up.

"Do you remember anything?" Sirius asked gently, careful to not pressure his upset son.

Harry shook his head and shivered, still shaking off the aftereffects. He wished he could remember some of the details. Desperately so.

"You want to try lying down again, if I come in and stay with you?" Sirius asked in a hushed voice as he stroked Harry's hair.

No, actually. Harry really didn't.

In fact, the last thing he wanted to do was go back into his dark room with the menacing shadows on the walls and risk falling asleep and having it happen all over again.

He didn't answer his father, instead simply burrowing closer in his embrace. Fortunately, Sirius understood right away, as he usually did.

"You know," Sirius said quietly as he hugged Harry a little tighter, "sometimes when I can't sleep I turn on the wireless in my room and listen to one of the late night shows. They're not half bad really, and they usually put me right out after a bit. Do you think maybe you'd like to try that?"

Harry thought about it for a few seconds and then nodded, thinking it couldn't possibly hurt.

"Okay."

Relieved that it wasn't going to be a fight, Sirius pulled back a little and wrapped an arm around Harry's shoulders and then gently ushered him inside his sitting room and on towards the bedroom.

The room itself was dominated by the simply enormous four poster bed. Like most of the furniture in their house, Sirius' bed was clearly a pricey antique, adorned with ornate, heavy curtains that shimmered of silk brocade in shades of gold and burgundy that Harry suspected had originally been silver and green. The thick tree trunk sized posts were made of a rich, dark mahogany that was intricately carved and the bed itself was so large that Harry was sure it was just as wide as his old room on Privet Drive.

It was definitely custom made for the wealthy master of a stately home.

Harry had only been in Sirius' inner bedroom once before, and on that occasion he'd been upset and hadn't really paid attention to his surroundings. Now in the lamplight he could see that the carvings on the massive bed were actually an assortment of protective runes, and they gave him a further sense of safety and security as he climbed under the covers his father pulled back for him.

Sirius tucked Harry in and then padded softly over to where the wireless was perched on a table in the corner. He fussed with the dials for a few seconds until he found a light comedy program that he thought would be okay before moving back over to his son and sitting on the edge of the bed.

"We can listen to this for a bit," he said as he pushed Harry's hair back from his forehead, "but I want you to close your eyes and try to get some sleep, alright? Nothing can hurt you while I'm here. I promise."

Harry smiled weakly at his father and nodded, already feeling loads better. He obediently shut his eyes and snuggled in the warm blankets that smelled faintly of Sirius' citrus and cedar scent, safe in the knowledge that he wasn't going to be alone if the nightmare came again.

Sirius leaned over and kissed his son on the forehead, his face deeply troubled as he stood up and walked around the bed to the side that he slept on. He knew that he wouldn't be getting any rest himself until he was sure that his son was well and truly out, and even then he'd be sleeping lightly just in case there was a repeat of Harry's nocturnal upset.

Perturbed and more than a bit worried, he couldn't help wondering why these dreams that Harry was having lately had started in the first place and, even more importantly, could disconcert his son so badly but didn't set off the charms that alerted Sirius of Harry's distress.

The lamplight in the room was low enough to not interfere with Harry's sleep, making it too low for Sirius to read by. So he made sure that his son's eyes were indeed shut and then used his wand to cast a minimal Lumos as he opened the book he'd started a few days ago. As he read, from time to time he caught the punchline of some joke that the comedians on the wireless program delivered, but in his troubled state he was in no mood to be amused by them.

Mercifully, it didn't take long for Harry to fall back asleep and the boy was softly snoring before Sirius even finished the chapter he was on. When he felt relatively sure that Harry was deeply under, Sirius fell into his own fitful rest.

The rest of the night passed without interruption, Harry barely even stirring, which let Sirius know just how tired his kid really was. He himself only dozed off and on, half awake the entire time to make sure that he would be alert if his son needed him. By the time the sun was up and Sirius had to start getting ready for the Wizengamot session, Harry was still peacefully slumbering.

**************HP**************

Cornelius Fudge sat at his desk at the Ministry cupping a large goblet with a swirling potion steaming out of it. Next to the goblet was an ever-growing pile of letters from his concerned constituents regarding the contents of Rita's maelstrom of an article. The building acid in his stomach made him belch loudly enough to startle his postal owl awake and she clearly didn't appreciate the interruption to her rest after so many trips in the past twenty-four hours.

"Sorry, Bubo," he said contritely as he took a large gulp from the goblet.

The horned owl gave him one more judgmental glare before fluttering her wings and attempting to go back to sleep. The potion for his indigestion began to soothe the churning in Cornelius' stomach just a bit but he still felt like death warmed over. He hadn't really slept at all last night.

Politically speaking, the Prophet article didn't necessarily have to be bad for him as long as he nudged it the right way, and Cornelius was nothing if not a consummate spin doctor. It was really Dumbledore who would be in the hot seat today. Something that Cornelius had wanted to see happen for quite a while.

Since his first day in office, he'd had a constant worry in the back of his mind that the much beloved Headmaster had his eye on Cornelius' job.

Why he should think that, no one really knew, since Dumbledore had in fact turned it down several times in the past. But Albus was an odd duck, secretive and thus highly unpredictable, and one just never knew what the mysterious wizard could be planning behind the scenes.

What if Albus decided to make public all the desperate fire calls Cornelius had made to him in the early days of his administration, practically begging for advice and assistance?

It would be a nightmare of epic proportions!

But right now he had an even bigger problem to deal with.

This whole thing with the article had only grown legs because it was purported to be information coming from Sirius Black himself and a large part of the wizarding community currently had a bit of a love affair going on with him.

And how could they not?

Black came from one of the oldest Pure-blood families in their world. He was rich, powerful and once again very good looking. He'd also been an innocent and distinguished Auror unjustly imprisoned for more than a decade by a previous administration who hadn't even taken the time to give the man a trial.

Something that Cornelius had been very quick to emphasize when announcing Black's exoneration at last year's press conference.

As well as being the first and only prisoner to escape from Azkaban. All at enormous personal peril just to protect his even more infamous godson from the real traitorous and mass murdering follower of You-Know-Who.

Of course people saw him as a real life action hero.

By all accounts Black had also been one of the most popular professors that Hogwarts had ever had, even with his short tenure.

And, most important of all, his handsome and earnest face sold a lot of newspapers.

Couple that with Harry's own legendary notoriety, and Cornelius was savvy enough to know that anything having to do with Black and Potter was public opinion suicide if he spoke out against them.

There was a reason, after all, why Harry's little bout of accidental magic last year, when he'd blown up that caterwauling Muggle woman, had been quickly and quietly swept under the rug.

Besides which, Cornelius also had personal reasons to vocally support Black and Potter.

Sirius had summarily booted Lucius Malfoy from the Black family seat on the Wizengamot, effectively neutering Lucius' political influence. Rumor had it that the Malfoy fortune wasn't what it used to be and Lucius had been betting on getting his hands on the Black family vault in due course to make up for any financial shortfalls in the future.

A dearth that would have meant real trouble for Cornelius' campaign coffers since he'd relied so heavily on wealthy families like the Malfoys to...show their support...through generous donations. And Cornelius returned the favor by lending his support as Minister to the causes that these families held dear.

Now, with Sirius fully back in the picture, Lucius' star was on the wane, which was bad news for Cornelius' bottom line.

A shift in alliance from Malfoy to Black could ensure that Cornelius still had a powerful supporter in his back pocket during his next bid for re-election. An endorsement from Sirius Black and Harry Potter would see him easily retain his office, even with some of the more powerful Pure-blood families turning on him, and if he played his cards right and championed their causes, perhaps some of the vast Black and Potter fortunes would find its way into the Fudge family vault.

The problem was Rita's article all but implied that Black was claiming that He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, or at least some form of him, had been present at Hogwarts recently more than once.

That Cornelius couldn't have.

There had been nothing but peace during Cornelius' term as Minister and he rather enjoyed dealing only with the regular day-to-day matters of state, instead of trying to juggle a bloody war on top of everything else. A luxury that a few of his predecessors had never been given.

Besides, the idea was simply ludicrous.

With the exception of a few diehard lunatics showing off at the World Cup last summer, the wizarding world had been more or less blissfully quiet for the past thirteen years or so. Nothing like the chaos that had ensued during the war, or even close to it.

So the absolute last thing Cornelius wanted was to infer that the peace everyone was enjoying was about to come to an end.

Thanks to Rita, he suddenly found himself fending off panicked letters from people who thought they slept safely in their homes at night, but now were wondering if, in fact, You-Know-Who was making a resurgence and starting it off at Hogwarts where their children lived most of the year.

As Minister, he couldn't deny that he had confirmation that much of what was contained in the article was true. Those in the innermost chambers of the Ministry had worked feverishly to ensure that the general public was not privy to the truly troubling details of the events that had taken place at Hogwarts in the past few years.

A deception that Albus himself had been keen to participate in.

It had been Dumbledore's proposal to act as hosts for the Tri-Wizard Tournament as a way to take the spotlight off of some of the earlier unpleasantness at the castle. After seeing how much Magical Britain had come together during the World Cup, it wasn't a hard stretch of the imagination to think that they wouldn't do the same in favor of backing Hogwarts in a competition against international rival schools.

People were just so easy to manipulate if you put a newer, shinier toy in front of their eyes.

And when Harry Potter was chosen as a champion, even with the initial anger some people had over possible foul play on his part, it had eventually made the Tournament more exciting than Cornelius could ever have hoped for.

But then Black had gone absolutely spare after the Second Task, nearly beating that oaf Bagman to death in front of every reporter in existence. Only to then yank the Boy-Who-Lived out of Hogwarts and stashing him away only Merlin knows where.

Hogwarts now had something of a pall cast over it, and the excitement over the Tournament had taken a bit of beating. It was time to do some damage control.

Today's session would get to the bottom, one way or another, as to whether or not Black was actually the source of Skeeter's article. If he wasn't, then the whole matter of anything related to You-Know-Who could be dismissed as fantasy and Cornelius could focus on Dumbledore's ineptitude as headmaster instead.

After all, Sirius Black had been worried enough to yank his adopted son out of the very school he taught in. Enough to actually create a rival school of his own. So what did that say about Hogwarts' vaunted safety?

Cornelius would not be the Minister at a time when it wasn't considered safe for the magical community to send their children to school.

No. He needed to do something about this, and do it immediately.

Truthfully, it had been Dolores' idea that this whole catastrophe could work in their favor by using it all as an excuse to neutralize Dumbledore. A blot on his copybook as it were, for who would blame Cornelius for taking strong action against a Headmaster who allowed such goings on?

Not that Cornelius was pleased about taking any suggestions from his Senior Undersecretary. A simpering fool of a woman who flirted and flattered him as if he'd ever find her even remotely desirable.

The simple truth was that Dolores only enjoyed her elevated position because she had him over the proverbial barrel.

Once upon a time, at the start of Cornelius forging his path towards the top job, he'd done some incredibly stupid things.

Or, to be perfectly honest, he'd done some incredibly illegal things, and Dolores, in her capacity as Head of the Improper Use of Magic department had caught him red-handed.

Cornelius had been the Junior Minister of the Department of Magical Accidents and Catastrophes when he began making his bid for Minister for Magic. Always a smooth talker, he'd allowed his general popularity in his department convince him that he had what it took to go all the way to the top.

Unfortunately, what he didn't have was the money to do it.

Campaigning was expensive, and the Fudge family had never been a particularly wealthy one.

So, Cornelius needed a plan.

In the years immediately following the war, the Ministry was keeping a tight grip on the creation of portkeys in an effort to stop people under investigation for their activities during the war from fleeing to distant countries where they would never be found. Only department heads and their deputies had the ability to authorize official Ministry portkeys which were required to be registered and monitored.

Cornelius was a clever man, and he soon found a way around that little problem and took advantage of the lucrative underground market for undetectable international portkeys. Working in the shadows of the Ministry, he created the highly sought after items and sold them for large amounts of galleons, using his formidable skills as an Obliviator for the MAC Department to erase the memories of anyone he suspected would turn him in.

But after a while he got careless, and when Dolores had caught wind of his little enterprise, she'd set up a sting.

One night, after making a rather large sale, Cornelius was caught right in the act.

Dolores had a queer look in her eyes when she appeared out of nowhere, her abnormally short wand trained on him, like a hungry cat licking its lips over a tasty bit of fish. To his extreme shock, she didn't turn him in to the Aurors that night, but she did make it very clear that from that point on he owed her.

And he'd been paying for it ever since, right up to her appointment as his Senior Undersecretary.

Cornelius was frankly tired of the short leash he was kept on by his underling, and maybe, just maybe, if he could somehow get the support of Sirius Black and Harry Potter behind him, he could find a politically expedient way to be shot of her once and for all and still keep his career intact.

Besides, Sirius Black owed him.

After all, it had been Cornelius that had provided him with the newspaper with the photo on the cover alerting Black that his former friend Pettigrew was alive in the first place. And it had been that revelation that had driven Black to escape in order to protect Harry and bring the real traitor of the Potters to justice.

If not for Cornelius, Black would still be languishing behind bars at Azkaban, his mind slowly decaying into madness.

Surely he would be grateful enough to help Cornelius out with a little problem or two?

It was a heady dream for the future.

But first, he was going to take out Albus sodding Dumbledore.

Gulping down the last of his potion, Cornelius picked up parchment and a quill and began laying out his battle plan.

**************HP**********

Bright rays of sunlight shining through the large windows warmed Harry's face until he began to stir awake.

At first, the boy was somewhat disoriented, not recognizing the blurs of his own room, but after putting his glasses on he realized that he'd fallen asleep in his father's bed and he couldn't help feeling more than a bit childish. Not only had he woken Sirius up in the middle of the night to comfort him, he'd crawled into his father's bed like a scared little boy.

His face flushed bright pink but, despite the embarrassment, he had to grudgingly admit that he was well rested and in a surprisingly good mood for a change.

Obviously, it had worked.

Listening for any sounds of his father and not finding any, Harry realized that he was alone in the suite and he cast a quick look at the clock on the wall across from the bed that let him know that it was much later than he thought. Throwing the covers off, he hopped out of the enormous bed and sprinted out of Sirius' room, into the corridor and then down the stairs, hoping that he'd catch his father before Sirius left for the Ministry.

Harry's bare feet slapped violently against the cold marble floor as he hurried towards the dining room first, his face breaking out into a huge grin when he saw Sirius at his usual seat finishing up the last bites of his breakfast.

"Oh good!" he said in relief. "I was worried that you'd already gone."

Sirius smiled up at him, happy to see his son looking so chipper.

"I'd never leave without telling you good-bye," he reassured his boy as Harry quickly made his way over. "Besides, there's plenty of time before I have to go."

To Sirius' surprise, instead of taking his seat his son moved to stand behind him, leaning over the back of the chair to wrap his arms around Sirius' neck and resting his chin on his father's right shoulder as he held tight.

"And good morning to you," Sirius said with a chuckle, inordinately pleased by his son's uncharacteristic show of affection when Harry was normally a huge grump at breakfast time.

"I love you," Harry said simply as he snuggled close.

"I love you too," Sirius answered back in surprise, his voice tinged with a hint of concern. But he also couldn't help the broad grin on his face as he reached up to clasp his hands over Harry's. "This is a very nice way to start the morning, I must say. To what do I owe such a pleasant greeting? Not that I'm complaining, mind you."

Because I slept well for the first time in ages last night

Because I'm an ungrateful brat that gave you an awful time yesterday

Because you're the best father in the whole wide world

Choked with emotion, Harry couldn't voice any of those thoughts.

And even though he didn't, Sirius still heard them perfectly clearly and he wasn't surprised when his son simply hugged him tighter.

"Just because."

It was certainly better than yesterday's start had been, Sirius couldn't help thinking as he affectionately brushed Harry's hands with the pads of his thumbs.

"Well," he said in a warm voice, "feel free to greet me like this any morning you like. It's made my whole day already."

Harry beamed and kept hugging Sirius for another few seconds before finally pulling away. Sliding into his own chair, he reached over and plucked a strip of bacon from his father's plate with a cheeky smirk and stuffed it in his mouth before immediately stealing another one.

A bit shocked at the unaccustomed brazenness, Sirius let out a bark like laugh as his adorable kid chewed his pilfered breakfast and he indulgently pushed his plate a little closer to the boy, inviting him to take more if he wanted.

Both of them knew that Harry wouldn't need to wait too long before their efficient house elves made his own breakfast appear before him, and indeed a plate of sausages and fried potatoes was at his place setting within seconds. It was just the idea that Harry felt comfortable enough with Sirius to joke around like that at all, considering how touchy the subject of food had been when they first started living together, that pleased the older wizard so much.

Harry grabbed his fork and dug in to his plate hungrily as Sirius pulled his mostly empty plate back in front of himself. He was incredibly happy to see his son smiling and with a good appetite this morning. It made him feel better about having to leave Harry on his own at the chateau all day while he went to the Ministry.

"I'm glad to see you in such a good mood, kiddo," he said, watching fondly as Harry absolutely demolished his food. "I take it you slept well?"

"Yeah," Harry nodded, taking a sip of his mango juice. "Really well, but I am sorry for waking you up in the middle of the night like that. I know you have a fairly awful day ahead of you."

Sirius shook his head. "Don't be. While I would prefer that you didn't have trouble sleeping at all, I would always rather that you wake me up if you need to. I promise."

Harry looked up at his father and saw the truth written on his face.

Sirius really meant what he said and it made the boy feel much easier about his late night trek across the hall. Although it was still strange at times, it was getting easier to accept that he really did have a parent to turn to when he was troubled. Ten months of loving care went a long way to help heal the hurt inflicted over a lifetime, but with as many emotional scars as Harry had, it wasn't quite a complete cure.

"Thanks," the boy said quietly as he took his vitamins. "I really mean that."

Sirius wanted to get up and hug his kid, but something inside of him sensed that Harry had already exchanged all the affection he was comfortable with at the moment, so to keep his hands busy he took two pieces of toast from the silver holder and slathered them with butter and strawberry jam before setting them on Harry's plate.

Harry continued to snorkel his way through his meal, a genuinely relaxed air about him as he made casual conversation with Sirius about some upcoming trades between the Tutshill Tornadoes and the Falmouth Falcons. The boy had several strong opinions on what it would mean for the league in general, and Sirius watched his son with a smile that belied his sadness over the fact that Harry couldn't always just be a regular boy whose greatest annoyance in life was debating Quidditch statistics.

There was a blob of strawberry jam on the corner of the boy's mouth that Sirius couldn't resist wiping away with a clean napkin, making his kid smile sheepishly at him.

It was so easy to get Harry to smile.

A bit of love and attention was enough to make the boy truly happy, and Sirius was more than willing to give both as often as Harry wanted.

Unfortunately for him, his son was also unusually perceptive, and after a few minutes of rambling on about sports, Harry put his fork down and gave his father a knowing look.

"What's wrong, Papa?"

For a brief second, Sirius considered lying and discarding the idea he'd had yesterday afternoon altogether, but the politically intuitive part of him knew that he needed more allies on his side going into the Wizengamot session today. It was all but certain that he himself, as well as Harry, Remus and their little school, would be targets of a fair few attending.

A bevy of former Death Eaters would be furious over Malfoy losing the Black family seat as it meant one less crucial vote in getting their Pure-blood supremacy agendas pushed through. Another group made up of Dumbledore loyalists would refuse to accept Sirius' and Harry's versions of events happening at Hogwarts since it would mean that they'd also have to accept that the great wizard they put on a pedestal was inherently flawed.

Their mutual goal therefore would be to shift the focus of the session towards making Sirius the villain of the piece, and indirectly Harry as well. And while Sirius could fight his own corner, he wasn't about to sit back and allow his son to be called a liar on the Wizengamot floor.

"I have a meeting with the head of the DMLE this morning before the session starts," he admitted finally. "I want her to hear about some of the things written in Skeeter's article from me directly instead of getting it second hand from The Prophet."

Harry swallowed hard as his forehead crinkled in worry. He still didn't like his father having anything to do with the Department that had sent him to prison without a trial. Although he was pretty sure that Sirius couldn't just be taken away from him, there was always that remote chance of another miscarriage of justice that lingered in the back of his mind.

"Madam Bones is the sister of an old friend," Sirius rushed to reassure his rattled son. "She's also well known to be fair and level headed. Not at all like her predecessor," he said with an uncontrollable flash of hostility across his handsome features. "I trust her."

"So what are you going to say?" Harry asked after a moment's pause, his forehead furrowed in thought.

Here is where it got tricky.

Sirius was perfectly happy to share the facts of his own personal experiences, but the problem was that the genuinely troubling ones were his son's. And while he was fiercely protective of Harry's privacy in general, it would be a lot easier to convince Amelia that a true problem existed at the castle if she believed Harry's version of events as well.

He mentally chided himself for considering crossing Albus' regularly trod threshold of doing things in the name of the Greater Good, but at least he would give Harry the option of saying yes or no for himself.

"I'm going to share some of my memories with her," he answered, reaching into the pocket of his robe and pulling out three vials swirling with silver mist. He patted a small box on the other side of his plate that Harry hadn't noticed before. "I went into your room this morning and shrunk the pensieve to bring with me today. The only one at the Ministry is in Fudge's office, and I'm not inclined to invite him into my head just yet."

"Will that work?"

Sirius shrugged, reaching forward to gently rub some of the worry wrinkles off of his son's forehead.

"I don't know," he admitted honestly. "As a rule, pensieve memories are not accepted for formal testimony since they can be altered if the witch or wizard is clever enough. But I think that Amelia will be open to giving these solid consideration when it comes to improving security at the castle."

Harry sighed deeply as he leaned into Sirius' touch when his father began to card his fingers through Harry's messy hair. They both sat quietly for a moment before Harry sat back, his lower lip caught in his teeth.

"Do you think some of mine would help?"

A part of Sirius was grateful that Harry was offering on his own, without Sirius needing to ask him. But a larger part of him was swimming in guilt, because he would have done if necessary before he left for session and it felt distinctly like a betrayal.

So much of Harry's life was already in the public domain that asking his son to give even more made Sirius' stomach flip.

"I think they might do," he admitted sadly. "You're powerful but still young, and it's less likely that Amelia would believe that you already have the skill to manipulate your thoughts. As the head of the DMLE she's certainly capable of detecting irregularities in memories since it's a part of advanced Auror training, but if she were to see them for herself it could give her probable cause to initiate a formal investigation. So if there is still someone at Hogwarts who means to harm you, it's more likely that they would be caught out before the Third Task."

Sirius could see Harry carefully considering that before the boy squared his shoulders and sat up straight, his eyes clear and determined.

"Then let's do it," he decided. "Which ones do you think?"

The deep breath of relief that escaped from Sirius' lungs didn't soothe the guilty ache in his stomach, but he'd make sure that Harry's privacy was as protected as possible. Amelia was a good sort of person and very professional. She could be counted on for discretion.

"I'd say," he began thoughtfully, "the two encounters with Voldemort's wraith in your first year."

Harry nodded, expecting as much. If Voldemort really was try to make a comeback, it was probably important for the DMLE to see the signs of it happening.

"And the Chamber?"

"Yes," Sirius admitted. "I think it's very important for her to see just how big of a threat you needed to face in order to rescue Ginny and protect the rest of the school."

Harry shifted uncomfortably in his chair as he thought it over. He agreed with his father that the memory made for a powerful image to those who questioned what had really gone on at Hogwarts that year, but there were still aspects of the encounter that made him uneasy.

"That memory will prove that I'm a Parselmouth," Harry said eventually, his eyes averted as if just the admission made him ashamed.

Sirius reached out to gently grasp Harry's chin and force the boy to look at him.

"And what of it?" he said firmly. " You have a unique gift, that's all. Anyone who thinks differently is an idiot."

While Harry appreciated his father being so blasé about it, Sirius hadn't been at the school during that time. The confusion and doubt Harry had harbored over his own guilt or innocence making it even harder for him to ignore the derisive looks and hushed whispers all around the school. Never mind the very vocal jeers that openly accused him of being a Dark Wizard in training.

Harry would share the memory if Sirius thought that it was important, but he wasn't particularly happy about it.

Although, quite frankly, there were more that would much harder to give.

"What about the Dementors?" he asked quietly as his fingers absently worried the edges of his cloth napkin.

Sirius immediately shook his head and figuratively put his foot down.

Allowing others to view Harry's memories of his encounters with the Dementors at Hogwarts was a bridge too far. Hearing the voices of his frightened parents, his brave but desperate mother begging for her infant son's life, was inherently personal. Even Sirius himself, who dearly loved all involved, would never ask to view them.

It was also unnecessary, given that the wizarding community at large was very familiar with how vile those wretched creatures were. Most of them had already been up in arms over the demons having been stationed at the school in the first place.

"Absolutely not," he stated firmly, much to his son's visible relief.

Grateful for his father's consideration on the subject, Harry took a few seconds to let his rapidly beating heart slow down again before he returned to the task at hand.

"So how do we do this?"

Sirius reached over to give Harry's hand a quick squeeze of reassurance before drawing his wand.

"I'm going to ask you to think of the memory in question, and then I'll extract it. You must try very hard to concentrate on it, so that it comes out as clearly as possible."

"Will it hurt?"

It was almost child-like, the way Harry asked the question, but he didn't looked scared, just a bit wary, and Sirius couldn't really blame him.

"Not a bit," he assured his son as he waved his hand and conjured three move vials. "You'll feel a slight tug, that's all."

Nodding, Harry closed his eyes.

"Okay, I'm ready, he said before taking a deep breath and holding it.

Sirius quickly raised his wand and motioned it over the space just above Harry's left ear as he murmured the incantation. A second later he slowly pulled his wand away, a trail of sliver strands clinging to it that he expertly deposited in one of the waiting vials.

"Was that it?" Harry asked, opening his eyes and looking perplexed. He'd felt a slight tingle, but that was about all.

"Yep." Sirius smiled at him. "Quicker and easier than falling asleep."

He nodded at the boy and they repeated the motions two more times before Sirius declared that it was all done.

"How do you feel?" he asked as he slid his wand back in its holster.

"Okay," Harry said as he gingerly scratched his head where the memories had been removed. "Good, even. I can't really explain it."

Sirius placed the vials inside his inner robe pocket and nodded knowingly.

"The memories we removed are not particularly happy ones for you," he explained. "It's not surprising that you would feel a bit lighter in your mind by not having them weighing down on your subconscious."

Harry pursed his lips as he pondered this little piece of information. It was true that he did feel something like lightness, but when he tried to recall the events that were always so prominent in his head and failed, it disconcerted him more than he liked.

"But you'll put them back when you come home later," he asked worriedly. "Right? I mean, they're still a part of my life."

"Absolutely," Sirius assured him, patting his shoulder. "You're quite right that they help make up the person that you are. I'd never try to take any of that away from you, even if you do feel better without them."

The thought consoled Harry, because it was like missing a finger to be without the memories of such pivotal moments in his life. He didn't particularly care for the sensation.

"I'm going to need to get going in a few minutes," Sirius said with a sigh and changing the subject. "Is there anything you would like me to bring back from London for you?"

Feeling a burst of inspiration, Harry's eyes widened mischievously. "I don't suppose you'd let me go with you?" he asked with a squint as he dared a glance at his father.

Sirius cocked an eyebrow at his son in mild disapproval. Regardless of the fact that they'd made up yesterday, Harry was still firmly on restriction for his behavior.

"Not a chance," he said with a chuckle, dispelling all hope his son harbored over any kind of escape from the manor. "Even if you weren't grounded, which you very much are, the visitor's gallery at the Ministry is going to be full to bursting today. I have a feeling that things are going to get a bit heated during session and I have absolutely no confidence in your safety with all of those people milling about."

Harry let out an audible sigh and pouted a bit. He'd known that the chances were slim, but he'd needed to try anyway. After a few more seconds of thought, another idea occurred to him and he grinned.

"Well, could I at least stay at the flat while you were at the Ministry," he cajoled, thinking that a few hours of Muggle telly and video games that the flat offered would be a little more fun than aimlessly roaming around the corridors of Celestial Court all day alone.

Easily seeing a very familiar look in Harry's eyes, one that decidedly looked like James when he was about to do something incredibly naughty, Sirius wasn't about to be fooled. He could already guess his son's ulterior motives, having been a scheming fourteen-year-old himself once.

"Wouldn't it be boring for you there?" he asked innocently as he finished up his cup of coffee. "What with your Muggle electronics being off limits and all?"

Harry looked so immediately affronted that Sirius had to stifle a laugh as he rose from his seat.

"What part of grounded didn't you understand, young man?"

"But you've never said I'd lose my electronics at the flat if I'm grounded," Harry protested with a whine. "Just that I'm confined inside the house with an early bedtime."

Well, that was technically true, Sirius had to admit, although he was also pretty sure that Harry was bright enough to understand the meaning of intent when it came to a restriction imposed on him by his father.

"And you did say that I should think of the flat as one of our homes," Harry went on, emboldened by his father's silence. "Since the telly and my video games are inside our home, then really I ought to be allowed to use them if I'm there."

Sirius had to bite his cheek to stifle a laugh at his son's masterful attempt to take advantage of a loophole. To Hell with the Auror program. The kid should consider a career as a barrister with that kind of creative logic.

Not that Sirius was about to be swayed.

"It was a solid effort," he praised as he rose to his feet and bent down to drop a kiss on Harry's head. "But you know perfectly well that the whole point of confining you to the house here is to deprive you of your favorite activity, which is flying. So it only stands to reason that if we were at the London flat, the same would hold true for your favorite activity there. Don't you think?"

Harry scowled, but didn't argue. He'd suspected that there was a greater than average chance that his father would say as much, but it never hurt to try just in case.

"Besides," Sirius continued, seeing that his son wasn't going to fight him over it, "with everything going on at the Ministry today, I don't want you anywhere near London full stop. You'll stay here, safe and sound, with the elves keeping watch over you and preventing any more mischief."

Knowing he was defeated, Harry pouted for a few more seconds before worriedly glancing up at his smiling father.

"But you will be careful though, won't you?"

His son's concern was genuine and it touched Sirius as much as it made him sad. Reaching out he affectionately smoothed down some of the more stubborn spikes of Harry's hair as he nodded.

"I promise," he said gently, knowing how much Harry could fret over Sirius' safety. "Everything will be fine and I'll be back before you know it. It will just mostly be members of the Wizengamot posturing for the public. They have to make a big deal out of what that article contained so the parents will think that the Ministry is at least doing doing something. It's all just a show."

Still a bit disbelieving but slightly mollified, Harry settled for nodding. He trusted Sirius to take care of himself, and if his father didn't think there was anything to really worry about then there probably wasn't. But he still didn't like not being there himself to help just in case.

"If you need me," Sirius continued as he donned his cloak, "use the mirror or send one of the elves to fetch me and I'll come back immediately. You understand?"

"Yes, sir," Harry said obediently, rising from his chair to hug his father goodbye.

Sirius wrapped his arms around his son and held him tight, not altogether surprised by the extra show of affection Harry seemed insistent on giving him this morning. As a rule, Harry had a habit of being a bit clingy in the aftermath of one of their rows anyway, but with the addition of another disturbing dream during the night the boy was probably feeling a bit more raw than usual.

Not that Sirius minded the excess affection in the least.

But he did need to get moving if he wasn't going to be late for his appointment with Amelia, regardless of how much he would have preferred to stay right where he was. Leaning back a little, he caught his son's eye and smiled broadly.

"As soon as I get back this afternoon we'll go outside and see about those wings, alright?"

That got a genuine smile out of his kid as Harry enthusiastically nodded and pulled away.

"Yeah," he said before his forehead crinkled in annoyance. "I don't know why I couldn't get them to work yesterday."

"Think of them like new muscles," Sirius nodded in understanding. "You've never used them before, so they're weak and need training. I had the same problem with my tail at the beginning."

Harry's face wrinkled up like he'd just taken a sip of sour milk at the prospect of training his new form.

"Well, how long did it take before you could control it?"

Sirius hummed as he thought back to his early days as Padfoot. He didn't want Harry to have any unrealistic expectations, but the boy was decidedly gifted in so many unexpected ways that he thought it might just be possible that Harry would pick up the skill a bit quicker than most.

"The tail wasn't too hard to learn to control after a fashion," he confessed after a few seconds of contemplation. "But it wasn't as if I was running about and wagging it on purpose either. Your wings, however, will be altogether more complicated to master since you'll be using them to fly. Which is why I will be there with you each time you transform until I'm comfortable that you're safe."

The scolding was mild but firm and Harry hadn't expected anything less, especially after yesterday's events, but it still stung a bit.

"It won't be that bad," Sirius assured him as he wrapped an arm around his son's shoulders. "You'll see."

With that the two of them made their way out of the dining room and towards the main entrance hall where Sirius raised his wand and made a series of complicated motions. Immediately the loud sound of crashing metal reverberated throughout the chateau.

"What did you just do?" Harry asked in a panic as he looked around expecting to see the walls falling down around them.

"I've put the armored guards on full lock-down," Sirius said with a smile at his fretful kid. "Although I know that the elves are perfectly capable of protecting you, I'll feel better knowing that, while I'm gone, absolutely no one but Remus or I will be able to get in unless they're coming through the floo from the Burrow or Tonks Manor."

Having grown used to his grand surroundings, Harry had almost forgotten that the normally lifeless suits of armor stationed at all the doors to the manor were literal guards.

"No one will be able to get out either," Sirius said meaningfully as he gave Harry's behind a playful warning tap.

Harry blushed a deep pink as he nodded to assure his father that he understood. He really had no interest in a repeat of yesterday's less than fun father-son activities.

"Yes, Papa."

"Harry," Sirius began tentatively as he cupped his son's face in his hand, "are you sure that you're alright with your memories being seen? You can say no, little one. It's entirely your choice."

The boy set his jaw firmly as he looked into his father's eyes, sheer determination shining in them.

"It's okay. People need to know the truth."

Sirius nodded even though he couldn't help feeling that a bit more of Harry's childhood had just slipped away.

"I really wouldn't do this unless I was absolutely sure that it was necessary," he said sorrowfully.

Harry shrugged. He'd already made his peace with the whole thing and, quite frankly, he been through much worse. At least this person in the DMLE would know that he wasn't lying about what he went through, which was more than some people currently thought of him.

"It's fine, Papa. Really."

Feeling proud of his child but still somewhat weary, Sirius sighed as he looked at his watch one final time. He'd stalled long enough.

"Tell me again why I thought joining the Wizengamot was a good idea?"

Harry snickered at the look of dread on his father's face and shrugged. "Because you're an absolute nutter?"

"Probably," Sirius agreed with a shrug as he tweaked his son's nose. "Behave yourself Harry James and I might just bring home some of your favorite curry for dinner."

"Deal!" Harry answered enthusiastically just before Sirius winked and dispparated from view.

Harry looked at the spot where his father had been standing and frowned. Although Sirius had assured him that everything was fine, Harry couldn't help the little niggle in the back of his mind that would have him counting the minutes until his father's safe return.

**********HP***********

Despite being a tough, seasoned Auror, Amelia Bones was white as a ghost when she and Sirius emerged from the pensieve after watching the last of Harry's memories.

"Merlin's Beard! I don't suppose you could have brought these to me in the evening," she growled as she threw Sirius a sharp look. "Instead of first thing in the morning when I don't dare knock back half a bottle of Ogden's Best before a full Wizengamot session?"

Sirius couldn't really blame her ire since he'd had the exact same reaction himself.

Just the sight of Voldemort's relatively powerless wraith within inches of his son had nearly sent Sirius round the twist, but after seeing Harry's memory of killing the basilisk for the first time, he'd run like the Devil himself was chasing him for the bottle of Firewhisky in his study and downed four quick shots of it before grabbing a very worried Harry up in his arms and holding the boy so tightly that eventually Harry had to plead for air.

It had been a rough night in their home that had seen Sirius curl up as Padfoot on Harry's bed, refusing to let his child out of his sight for even a minute.

The second viewing just now hadn't been much easier on him.

Instead of liquor, Amelia had to settle for pouring a cup of strong tea from the pot on her desk and dumping far too much sugar into it to offset the shock before offering one similar to Sirius. He gladly accepted and the two of them took a seat together while Amelia gathered her thoughts.

"So, You-Know-Who's real name is Tom Riddle?"

"Yes," Sirius nodded as he took a sip of the tea and winced from the sweetness. "Son of a Muggle and a witch named Merope Gaunt."

Amelia reeled back in surprise over this little tidbit of information. "Gaunt? Now there's a name I haven't heard of in quite some time. A rather strange lot, if I remember correctly."

"Thoroughly inbred and nuttier than a sack full of fruitcakes according to my grandfather Arcturus," Sirius answered with a grimace. "Which is really saying something coming from a member of the Black family who never met a cousin they didn't want to marry and procreate with."

"Did you know this back in the days of the War?" Amelia asked, her forehead furrowed. "And what about his followers? Did they know that they were taking orders from a low born Half-blood?"

Sirius shook his head as he took another sickly sip.

"I didn't find out until after Harry told me the story of the Chamber," he admitted shaking his head. "Considering the unhealthy attraction Riddle has for my son I made it my business to find out as much as I could about him. As for his followers, I can only guess that the few in his innermost circle, like my deranged cousin and her husband, knew his heritage but didn't care since he was so powerful and had the same bloodthirsty ideas that they did. The rest of them probably had no clue."

Needing a moment to take that in, Amelia removed her monocle and began to polish it with her robe while Sirius sat calmly in his seat and watched the calculations going on behind her eyes. He didn't want to force her hand, since he knew that a woman of Amelia's skill and stature wouldn't take kindly to anyone trying to unduly influence her decisions.

"Of course we knew about the Basilisk," she said at last as she donned the monocle once more. "With children being petrified, there was no way for even the mighty Albus Dumbledore to hide that kind of information from us. Although I expect that he knew what the creature was before it was slain," she admitted with a scowl as she stirred her tea.

Sirius didn't react to that, as he felt the exact same way himself. Albus' incredibly irritating habit of keeping crucial information to himself was the cornerstone of why Sirius was doing what he was.

"But it's one thing to hear the story about how it met its demise," Amelia continued, her eyes wide with disbelief, "and quite another to actually see this tiny little slip of a boy do it himself. Harry really is something else, isn't he?"

Sirius smiled proudly as he nodded in agreement. "He certainly is that. But I can imagine that you now understand why I was determined to remove him from the castle once things started to go pear shaped again with the Tournament. You've only see a few of the dangers he's had to face since becoming a student there, but there have been more and I'm not keen to continue that trend."

"Certainly," she said, shaking her head. "I'd like to strangle Albus with his own beard right about now to be honest.

Amelia was clearly unsettled by the memories, if the way she removed the monocle and unnecessarily polished it again was any indication. Sirius didn't really know her well personally, but she had a reputation of being no-nonsense and unflappable which made her current reaction all that more worrying.

They were a fair few years apart at school, but he'd been roommates with her youngest brother Edgar at Hogwarts and worked with him and their middle brother Gerald in the Auror Department. The whole Bones family had been Aurors going back several generations, with Amelia quickly rising through the ranks to the top post as head of the DMLE just a year after Sirius' imprisonment.

A part of Sirius might have resented Amelia a bit for not investigating his conviction once she was the department Head, but he reminded himself that the entire wizarding world was plunged into chaos after the war and there were many fires that needed to be put out. He was just another casualty in the grand scheme.

"I don't know how I'm going to officially confirm the report that You-Know-Who had a wraith roaming about the castle possessing a teacher," she admitted shakily, addressing the elephant in the room. "Families are just starting to recover from the War after all these years. How do I ask them to endure it all again?"

Sirius felt for her.

The Bones family had been all but destroyed by Voldemort and his ilk. They'd lost their parents almost right away in retaliation for all of the Death Eaters that their father had put in prison. Edgar, his wife and their two little boys were murdered in their home just a couple of weeks before James and Lily died, and Gerald and his wife were both cut down in the middle of Diagon Alley in broad daylight right before Christmas that same year, even though Voldemort himself had been thought dead for almost two months.

"Well, the possession was two years ago now, " Sirius said thoughtfully. "We have no way of knowing exactly what happened to...it...after Harry..."

His pause had the two of them looking at each other uncomfortably until Amelia waved a hand for him to continue.

"But," he continued irritably, shifting a bit in his seat, "I have it on good authority that the Dark Marks on his supporters are deepening in color. So, something is definitely afoot and, considering the timing of Harry's forced entry into the Tournament, I suspect that the Third Task is going to be Ground Zero when it does happen."

Amelia was silent for a moment. There was no part of her that didn't understand that Sirius would lay waste to anything in his path to protect his son during that Task, regardless of the consequences to himself.

"Did you know that I'm raising Gerald's daughter?" she asked, her face averted so Sirius couldn't see the tear that was slipping down her cheek.

'Yes," he answered softly. He was all too familiar with loss and could feel her pain. "Susan is a lovely girl. Always a pleasure to have in my class."

"Parents will do anything for their children," she said, her voice calm as if she were commenting on the weather.

Sirius nodded. "Yes they will."

She turned then, and gave him a look of hardened steel.

"I won't lose her too," Amelia swore. "She's all I have left.

"I know exactly how you feel," Sirius assured her vehemently. "If that monster is trying come back somehow, and I'm already very certain that he is, I'll burn the world down before I let him get to Harry."

Amelia took in several deep breaths in an effort to push down the poisonous combination of terror and rage that was bubbling up in her chest. Being overly emotional was never the answer in a crisis, and she had always refused to openly show how she was feeling, especially on the job.

"And I'll help you do it," she promised she said as she stood, unconsciously holding her wand like a saber and looking every bit as fierce a warrior as her brothers ever had. "But first I need to ask you a favor. Any more room at that school of yours?"

**********HP**************

When he first arrived at the Ministry that morning, Sirius hadn't been entirely surprised to find the place already abuzz with activity from the moment he stepped out of one of the many floos in the main atrium, despite the very early hour. A veritable flood of wizards and witches were milling about and he'd automatically flexed his arm to position his wand for rapid removal from the holster if necessary.

As a member of the Wizengamot, he could have apparated to their designated area outside the main chamber, but out of curiosity he'd wanted to arrive like a spectator to see just how much drama that thrice damned article had drummed up. So he'd apparated to The Leaky Cauldron and then took the floo from there.

The lack of patrons in The Leaky, which was usually quite lively at any hour on the weekend, had been his first clue that the session would be jam packed with observers.

An emergency Wizengamot session was rare, and just by having it, it was bound to create a stir, especially when the reason was in regard to Hogwarts. People rightly tended to be a bit more bothered by things when they involved the safety and welfare of children, and Sirius suspected that Skeeter's little exposé was the first time many of them had heard about the more dangerous events that had been taking place at the castle over the last few years.

He knew from personal experience that sometimes the students themselves downplayed the dangers around the castle. Mostly because children generally felt safe in the presence of their professors and their ability to protect them from real harm. But the events of the last couple of years were far from normal, and now people were finally getting a clue on what they might have really missed.

There was only just so much seating available in the visitor's gallery, so it didn't come as a shock to him that concerned citizens would be vying early for a place where they could watch the proceedings.

After leaving Amelia's office, the workings of a plan formed between them, he was forced back into the throng that seemed to have quadrupled just in the last forty minutes or so. From a distance, he could see the flashes of light from several cameras and he groaned, knowing that he'd get dragged in front of them one way or another.

He ducked his head, attempting to keep a low profile, but it was clear right from the jump that his face was just too well known to be disregarded and he wound up steadfastly ignoring the calls beckoning him over to the salivating press corps.

Threading his way through the crowd, he acknowledged several greetings from a variety of people. Some he knew, and some he didn't. Despite his annoyance at the situation, his proper upbringing automatically had him being courteous to them in return, even though he didn't honestly feel like interacting with people at the moment.

He swore under his breath at his own reticence to mingle under the circumstances, because his grandfather had always stressed the importance of being the person who set the narrative in a situation. The whole point of taking his family seat in the first place was to use his notoriety to command the attention of the general membership and sway them into supporting the actions that Sirius felt were long over due. He sighed deeply, knowing that he'd need to start glad-handing if he wanted to coax people to see his way.

Unfortunately, with that article coming out, his carefully curated plan had been blown to bits and things weren't getting off to a great start.

He was about halfway to the inner chamber when Hestia exited her office and waved before falling into step with him.

"Are you going to this circus too?" Sirius asked, rolling his eyes.

Hestia smirked and nodded. "Yep. With Rita's drivel labeling the Tournament as a danger to the entire student body, I was specifically summoned to appear as Head of the Department."

Sirius stopped in his tracks, a look of genuine apology on his face.

"I'm terribly sorry, Hestia. I don't know who Skeeter's source is, but I promise you that I will find out the person responsible for this nonsense, no matter what it takes."

"Don't trouble yourself over it, Sirius," she replied, placing a comforting hand on his arm. "I know you wouldn't have handled things so shabbily if you were the source, and I'm a big girl. I can fight my own battles."

"Of that, I am sure," he said with a laugh. "Merlin help whoever tries to get on your bad side today."

Together they walked the rest of the way to the chamber where more of the press mob were clamoring for comments from the members trying to wedge themselves through the door. Sirius swore colorfully under his breath and blinked as flashbulbs began to go off like fireworks once as they all swarmed in his direction.

"Mr. Black! Any comment on yesterdays article?"

"Is Hogwarts really unsafe for the children who go there?"

"Sirius! Is this an attempt to remove Dumbledore as headmaster and take over yourself?"

"Where is Harry Potter now? Will he finish the Tournament?"

Sirius ignored them all as he put a protective hand against Hestia's back and pushed their way through the crowd and into the inner chamber. To the dismay of the reporters, the press pool were firmly kept at bay by the Ministry security guards stationed on each side of the entry, their cacophony of shouted questions becoming muffled by the heavy wooden doors banging shut once again.

"Well, that was fun," Hestia said with a wry grin as Sirius gallantly escorted her over to the section where department heads had their seats.

"It was to be expected, I'm afraid," he sighed wearily, running a hand down his face as he contemplated on what a mess everything had become practically overnight.

"How's Harry handling all this," she asked, making a little wave around them. "Is there anything I can do for him?"

Hestia gave Sirius a genuinely concerned look, and it served as a much needed reminder him that his son had several people who cared for him dearly. The thought cheered Sirius a bit and he managed a weak smile.

"He's fine," he said. "Not happy that I made him stay at home today, but fine just the same."

Nodding, Hestia reached into the pocket of her robe and pulled out a small stack of tickets and held them out for Sirius to take.

"Maybe this will cheer him up. My ex sent these," she explained as she pointed out the details on the top ticket. "The Finches are coming over from the States next week for an exhibition match with the Kestrels. I told Max all about Harry being a fellow seeker and how generally Quidditch mad he is and he thought Harry might like to go. I haven't told Harry about it yet, because it's a school night and I didn't want him to get excited before you gave permission."

It was a thoughtful gesture, and Sirius was pleased that Hestia had been considerate enough to not place him in a position where he might have to be the bad guy with his son. It soothed a little of the unwarranted jealousy he still harbored over how quickly Harry had grown fond of her.

"This is very kind of you," he said sincerely. "Both of you. If things weren't quite so up in the air right now, I'd say yes immediately. Unfortunately, I can't really say for certain what our lives are going to be like a week from now."

He truly was regretful, especially since he knew how heartbroken his son would be over missing out on such a special opportunity. But it was all but certain that Fulminare would be expanding their student body in the next day or two, and things were going to be a bit hectic for a while around the chateau.

Not to mention that his son would still be on restriction for yesterday's antics.

"Don't worry about it," Hestia assured him, pushing the tickets into his hand anyway. "There's no pressure. If you can make it, then great. If not, then my lips are sealed. Harry need never know about what he missed out on."

"Thank you," Sirius said with a relieved sigh. "Really. Thanks."

Up on the main dais, a petite woman with very tall hair rapped the gavel of the Chief Warlock on the podium twice, the noise echoing like a boom around the chamber and signaling the ten minute warning before the start of session.

"You better get going," Hestia said with a smirk. "Don't want to be caught over here slumming it with the staff when you're very rich and important."

Sirius rolled his eyes over the teasing, but he nodded. He definitely had a few bones to pick with two certain someones before the melee began. He bid Hestia farewell and turned to make his way back across the chamber to the family seat section.

On his way by, Sirius cast a quick glance up at the visitors gallery which showed that Remus had already arrived.

While Sirius was grateful for the support from his friend, he suspected that this session might quickly go downhill if some of the more bigoted members of the Wizengamot decided to emphasize the dangers at Hogwarts that had been allowed to go unchecked by taking a couple of stabs at Dumbledore's questionable staff hires. Listing Binns and Trelawney as unfit professors was a fair claim, but the same argument could be made about Remus due to his lycanthropy.

It would be a two birds, one stone kind of way for covert Death Eaters to strike a blow against people they disliked. By targeting Remus, they could call out Dumbledore's fitness as Hogwarts' Headmaster for hiring a dark creature and then, in the same breath, cast a shadow on Sirius' new enterprise for doing it as well.

Personally, Sirius couldn't give a hippogriff's feathery arse what anyone had to say about Fulminare, but he did take exception to Remus being dragged into the mix for a condition that he had no control over. His furry little problem most likely would be put on high blast in order to drum up vitriol among the more vocal spectators and the last thing Sirius wanted was for his sensitive and gentle friend to have unfair shots taken at him when he already suffered so much.

Feeling an even more heightened state of agitation, with all the numerous stares following his every step as he went to take his place, Sirius barely contained himself enough to keep a scowl off of his face. His grandfather had also taught him that losing your composure was a sign of weakness and, despite how much Sirius detested Arcturus, he also knew that this wasn't the time to look bothered, so he took several deep breaths and schooled his features into a placid mask of disinterest.

Inside, however, his heart was racing and his blood was boiling, and as he began to climb the steps up to the family tier he saw the objects of his ire sitting somewhat fidgety in their own places. Gray was looking at Sirius rather warily, as if he couldn't quite understand why there was suddenly a glare being sent his way, and Archie was blinking rapidly, the fingers of his right hand tapping nervously on the arm of his chair.

Sirius took the last bit of the stairs two at a time, his lithe body moving quickly and fluidly despite the ridiculous, billowing volume of the hideous robe. He was in front of them in half a heartbeat, a flick of his wrist dislodging his wand into his hand, not quite pointed at the two other men, but definitely making a statement.

"Alright," Sirius growled, actually baring teeth like his animagus form would when riled as he stared them down. "Which one of you massively loose-lipped tossers is responsible for this colossal cock up?"

**********HP****************

"I'm not speaking to you."

"C'mon, Ron," Harry said pleadingly into the two-way mirror. "I said I was sorry. Besides, you didn't have to follow me."

He could see Ron prop himself up against the pillow on his bed at the Burrow as his friend scowled at him.

"Of course I had to follow you," the redhead protested angrily. "What if the transformation went wrong and you needed my help? Have I ever let you go do something dangerous alone?"

Harry smiled fondly at his best friend. He wasn't lying.

"No. Never."

Ron nodded in the mirror, satisfied with Harry's answer, and then leaned over and grabbed a chocolate frog from his cluttered nightstand. In an attempt to make up for leaving him behind yesterday while they went to Diagon Alley, his brothers had brought back an enormous bag of sweets for him. Unwrapping the frog, he barely managed to pop it in his mouth before it could hop away, and then checked the card as he chewed.

"Alberic Grunnion," he said with a frown, pushing it off to the side. "I have loads of him. Just more rotten luck."

"Who's Alberic Grunnion?" Harry asked as he hung off the edge of his own bed and idly traced the pattern of his carpet with his finger.

"The inventor of Dungbombs. He's practically Fred and George's hero."

Harry hummed in thought, remembering with a smirk the time he'd lobbed a bunch of them into Sirius' classroom at Hogwarts.

Ron sat up on his bed and groaned. "My arse is still killing me," he griped irritably as he glared into the mirror. "and it's all your fault."

"Sorry," Harry said with a wince. "If it makes you feel any better, I think Papa permanently branded the shape of his paddle on mine."

"It doesn't," Ron grumbled, his face firmly set in a scowl. "I think Mum charmed her spoon to hurt like ten times more than normal or something. She went positively mental."

Harry felt really badly for his friend. Just Mrs. Weasley's scoldings alone were awful.

'How long are you stuck in your room?" he asked guiltily.

"Just today," Ron said, flopping back against his pillow with a sigh. "At first Mum said it was for the whole weekend, but luckily Dad told her that it wouldn't be fair to make me miss out on the rest of Charlie's visit since he's not really here all that much and he's leaving to go back to Romania tomorrow night."

"Well, I'll stay in my room today too, then," Harry offered with a shrug. "I already can't leave the house anyway, so it's not like I'll miss out on anything fun."

"Nah," Ron said with a smile, touched by the sentiment. He knew just how much his best friend hated to be confined in one room. "That's alright. You don't have to. I'll probably just spend most of the time sleeping. We'll be back to the crazy class schedule soon and I want to rest as much as possible."

"Yeah, that's true enough," Harry nodded. "I wonder what it's going to be like with more people here."

Ron rolled over onto his belly, his eyebrows drawn in curiosity. "Did Sirius say how many more were coming? Do you know who they are?"

"No," Harry replied, shaking his head. "He doesn't even know yet. He says it all depends on what happens during session today, and then he has to talk with the all families that have sent letters. There's, like, a load of things that everyone has to agree to before he accepts any of them."

"Like what?"

Harry shrugged, thinking back to the conversation he'd had with his father the night before when Sirius brought up the idea.

"Well, he wants to make sure that none of them will try to kill me, for one," he said humorlessly.

Now it was Ron's turn to wince, feeling bad for Harry that something that dire even needed to be a consideration.

"Yeah, that's probably a good idea."

"And there are other things," Harry assured his worried friend. "Like, the students themselves have to actually want to come here, and not just because their parents say so, and they also have to understand that it's going to be really hard work and not a vacation. Papa says that we don't have time for any drama or nonsense because it's already so late in the term."

The boys looked at each other in the mirrors and shared a smirk. That little fact had been made perfectly clear to both of them, as well as Hermione and Neville, since Day One at Fulminare.

"And, ultimately," Harry finished with a slight blush, "it's going to be up to me. Papa told me that I have the final say on anyone he chooses. If I don't like them, then they won't be asked."

"Well that leaves Malfoy out then," Ron laughed. "Wasn't looking forward to seeing that blond git's face any time soon. It's one of the best things about our school."

Harry snorted as he shook his head. "As if he'd even want to come here. What with the blood traitors, Mud-bloods, Muggles and werewolves running around."

"Don't let Hermione hear you use that word," Ron warned him, his eyes wide in shock. "She'll hex you something fierce."

"Forget Hermione," Harry scoffed. "If my father heard me I'd be eating soap for a week. Besides, I'd never really say it say it. It's a horrible word that upset my Mum too."

The boys were quiet for a moment, each mired in their own thoughts, before Ron awkwardly broke the silence.

"Do you think about her a lot? Your Mum, I mean."

Harry nodded, his eyes downcast. "Every day. My Dad too."

Ron frowned. He didn't know what it felt like to not have parents, but the idea of losing even one of his gave him a sharp pain in his belly. His Dad was kind and brilliant, and no matter how strict his Mum was, or how much it had hurt to get smacked with her spoon of doom, just the thought of Molly dying simply gutted him.

"But you have Sirius now," he said in a forced upbeat voice, sorry to have brought the subject up at all. He also remembered his friend's not so kind words about his adoptive father the day before.

"Yeah," Harry nodded with a small smile. "And he's great. Better than, really. And he understands how much I miss my parents, because he misses them too."

"Well," Ron said as he stretched and yawned, "I'm not gonna complain if there's a few more girls hanging about, so you better make sure that you pick some. I haven't had a good snog in ages, and since me an' Hermione don't seem to..."

Harry frowned sympathetically for the slightly morose redhead. It was pretty clear that Hermione wasn't interested in resuming her relationship with Ron, even if she'd taken pains to show that she still considered him a dear friend.

"Maybe it's for the best," he said with a shrug. "You can't say that you two didn't try, but it doesn't always work out. Sometimes it's just better to be friends."

"Yeah," Ron agreed with a nod. "I know that I mucked it up with her. But, to be honest, I asked Charlie about it, and he says that maybe I wouldn't have if she really was the one."

Harry nodded in agreement. He really didn't want to see his two closest friends at odds with each other. They'd always been a trio, and he couldn't help feeling that it was a friendship that could have been badly damaged if Ron and Hermione weren't capable of putting their troubles behind them.

"You know who would be great to have around..." Ron began with an interested smile.

"Ronald Bilius Weasley! Who are you talking to? If I catch anyone in that room with you.."

Ron's face went pale as his mother's voice thundered in the background.

"It wasn't me, Mum!" he protested vehemently. "Maybe you heard the attic ghoul again!"

He quickly sat up and lifted his pillow to stow the mirror as he glared at Harry.

"Gotta go!" he hissed quietly. "You're still a big git! Finite!"

Harry's mirror changed to reflect his own face and he shook his head sympathetically at his best friend's plight as he put it off to the side.

He was incredibly grateful to his father for following through on his offer and teaching Harry how to charm a full set of mirrors for him and his friends, just like the Marauders had done so many years earlier. Harry had given one to each of them just the other night when they were all together for their transformations and it was a nice feeling to know that he could always contact them if he wanted to.

Of course Hermione had wanted to learn how to do it herself right away and Harry promised that it would be the first thing they did together once they were all back at Celestial Court.

Briefly he thought about calling Hermione or Neville, just to say hi, because he was incredibly bored on his own at the chateau, but they both had plans with their families so he discarded the idea as quickly as it had come. He had no desire to impose on the limited time they had at home with their loved ones.

With nothing better to do, he reluctantly trudged his way over to his desk and plopped down in the chair and reached for his Potions book. Maybe a bit of time pouring over complicated formulas would get his mind off what was going on at the Ministry.

*************HP************

"Sirius," Gray began, a little stunned by the wand in his face, "what are you talking about? We didn't have anything to do with this."

Archie nodded quickly to agree with his friend. "We thought you were the one who talked to Skeeter. We couldn't figure out why you would have told her everything when we agreed that we'd keep it quiet while you got the Ministry to start an official investigation."

"Bugger," Sirius swore, closing his eyes in frustration as he lowered his wand.

He could tell from the demeanor of both of the other men that they were telling the truth, and that little fact just made the whole situation even more complicated. Moving between them he dropped uneasily in his seat.

"It wasn't me," he said, his eyes scanning the crowd in front of them for any potential new suspects. "But we obviously have ears listening here that need to be discovered. Skeeter's article was far too precise for it to have all been guesswork on her part."

Gray shifted a little uncomfortably next to him and cleared his throat.

"Um, I do need to confess that my wife might have been a little bit unnerved by our conversation," he said guiltily. "She fire called a few of her friends and suggested that maybe they think about keeping their kids home from Hogwarts when the break ends Monday. After what's been going on the past few years, you can imagine that other parents are just as upset about the current situation as we are."

Sirius turned to the visibly guilty man and scowled.

"I don't suppose any of them had the grand idea of applying to me for admission to my little school as the alternative?"

His words might have been phrased like a question, but it was clear that he already knew the answer. Gray's lack of response, as well as Archie's apologetic wince, signifying that he too had similar words with his own wife, were all that Sirius needed to know about how the flood of letters yesterday had come about.

"Well, I am considering it," Sirius admitted. "More than just considering, I suppose. Although I'm honestly not sure why so many want to come. The parents have absolutely no idea what we're doing there and I was a wanted murderer on the run just a year ago, after all."

Gray snorted in amusement. "Please. After you were exonerated, the Ministry practically tripped over itself to get favorable articles published about you. Story after story about how you were top of your class at Hogwarts. All of your awards and commendations as an Auror. How you went against your own family to honorably fight against You-Know-Who."

"Breaking out of Azkaban to save Harry from the real traitor," Archie said with a raised eyebrow. "All the mothers loved that one."

Sirius sighed.

"And the students really loved having you teach them," Gray stated plainly. "Hannah must have written five letters home just going on and on about how brilliant her Astronomy class was with Professor Black. She did the same last year about Professor Lupin."

"I think it's because of all the flattering photos of Sirius on the cover of Witch Weekly," Archie teased, making Sirius roll his eyes. "That's what my wife and Lavender go on about."

The three men shared a small chuckle before Gray got serious again.

"Let's be honest," he said with a frown. "Skeeter can actually write a good story when she wants to, and that article scared a lot of people. It's one thing to have an idea of troubling things happening at the school over the past few years, but it's another to have it all laid out bare in print like that. It makes it more real somehow."

"And," Archie said with a shrug, "I know you don't like it, Sirius, but Harry is the Boy-Who-Lived. For some, just that alone is enough to make them feel better about their kids being where he is."

Sirius eyes narrowed angrily. "I won't have Harry burdened with that ridiculous nickname. He was a baby. A baby that had just lost the parents who dearly loved him."

"Maybe," Gray pointed out gently. He could understand Sirius' upset over having lost his best friend as well. "But the fact remains that he's still doing incredible things. The article made that very clear as well. Even if you completely disregard what Skeeter said happened to Quirrell which, believe me, not many are. Casting a corporeal Patronus to hold off dozens of dementors? I couldn't do that. I mean, slaying a basilisk?

"No one can do that," Archie added with a grimace.

Gray nodded. "The kids have also seen him on the Quidditch pitch as a star player when he was only a Firstie and, despite being just fourteen, he's been absolutely dominating the Tournament against older competitors. They admire him."

"You mean the ones who wore cruel badges that flashed Potter Stinks after he was chosen as a Champion?" Sirius asked with harsh glare that made Gray wince. "Or the ones who were convinced that he was the Heir of Slytherin? Those kids?"

"Even good kids are still just kids," Archie said reasonably. "How many idiot things did we do at that age?"

It was a fair point, Sirius had to admit. He and the other Marauders had been regular prats on several occasions.

"And kids get scared," Gray said. "Especially when their parents are scared. We've always thought that Hogwarts was the safest place to be, and now that's been cast into doubt. So naturally, there are a lot of people who are looking for another place that might be safer."

"But I'm not all that sure that Hogwarts isn't safe at the moment," Sirius insisted, "as far as children who are not my son, that is. Which is why I wanted a quiet investigation."

Archie shook his head. "It's too late for that. The cat is out the bag now."

Releasing an annoyed sigh, Sirius pinched the bridge of his nose and colorfully cursed Rita Skeeter.

Around them a low buzz spread through the crowd as Albus glided into the chamber and headed for the podium of the Chief Warlock and the members still standing around talking all quickly took their seats.

"We'll talk more after," Sirius promised as Dumbledore banged the gavel.

"This emergency session is now open," Dumbledore's voice boomed across the room, settling the last bit of murmuring among the members.

Attention was immediately directed to the Minister for Magic who shot to his feet much more rapidly than most in attendance thought him capable of.

"Point of Order, Chief Warlock," he began, his tone the officious one he'd perfected during his years in high office. "I believe that I should preside over today's session, considering the subject matter and your own position as Headmaster of Hogwarts. Wouldn't you agree?"

Dumbledore gave Fudge a small smile that didn't quite reach his twinkling eyes as he acknowledged the statement with a small nod. Sirius thought that his old headmaster looked rather tired at the moment and he pushed down the small tingle of guilt that he'd been partly responsible for that.

"As you wish, Minister," Dumbledore said cordially, stepping aside and taking a seat in the long vacant chair designated for the Hogwarts Headmaster.

Fudge looked rather full of himself as he made quite a show of taking up the position at the center podium. He surveilled the crowd, pausing for dramatic effect before starting his opening statement.

"Ladies and Gentlemen of the Wizengamot," he drawled slowly, "you have been called here today to discuss troubling events that have been taking place at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Miss Rita Skeeter, the Daily Prophet's most intrepid reporter," he said, stopping again to raise his hand in her direction, "has brought to our attention a shocking lack of oversight pertaining to the safety and well-being of the students attending our beloved school."

As one of only four reporters invited into the chamber, Rita preened in her center seat. Her smile so wide that her three gold teeth shined like beacons, the rhinestone jewels studding her glasses sparkling brightly in the torchlight. Sirius glared at her hotly, growing ever more determined that she'd get her comeuppance sooner rather than later.

"A concern," Fudge continued, "made only more grave by the presence of students and staff from two other magical schools as well. It is imperative that we investigate these matters thoroughly if we wish to avoid risking an international incident which would grievously harm our reputations as a whole."

While a murmur of general agreement rumbled through the tiers, Sirius glowered in his seat. Only a selfish fool like Fudge would worry about reputation over the safety of children. It made him dislike the man intensely, even though he knew that he'd have to play nicely for the time being. Once Sirius had his own agenda well on the way, then he could focus on removing Fudge and putting someone more competent into office.

"I now open the floor for questions," Cornelius said as a ripple of wands went up in the air. He carefully scoured the membership before finding a friendly face. "The Chair recognizes The Honourable Nasir Shafiq."

Sirius recognized the last name but not the tall man that stood. Shafiq was another old family listed in the loathsome Pure-Blood Directory, but they had stayed neutral during the War. There were rumors that the head of the family had been threatened for not joining the Death Eaters and ultimately had taken his young children abroad for a few years for their protection.

"I'd like to know who was the source of the information in the article," Shafiq said bluntly, voicing the question everyone had on their minds. "Was it you, Mr. Black?" he continued, turning his head in Sirius' direction. "Because these are serious allegations indeed, and you are on record offering Miss Skeeter a tell-all interview after the Second Task of the Tournament."

Having expected this, Sirius easily got to his feet and shook his head.

"It was not me," he asserted firmly. "Miss Skeeter and I did have one small collaboration regarding my unwilling inclusion as my son's hostage for the Second Task, but I quickly came to the conclusion that she and I did not see eye-to-eye on journalistic ethics and haven't spoken to her since."

Rita quickly shot him a dirty glare, but Sirius' dangerously raised eyebrow, daring her to contradict him, kept her mouth shut.

While Sirius had been angry enough after the Second task to grudgingly supply Rita with the details regarding his abduction from his Hogwarts quarters, her completely fabricated hit-piece on the very non-existent Harry/Hermione/Krum love triangle put paid to any notion that they repeat the effort. With a nod to the Minister, Sirius re-took his seat.

"Then who was?" Shafiq asked again, this time looking at Rita herself. "Miss Skeeter? If you wouldn't mind sharing?"

Rita stood, her bottle green silk pencil skirt so tight that it practically made movement impossible. "I'm afraid I can't divulge my sources," she purred. "They are strictly confidential. But I assure you that they are also impeccable."

Up at the podium, Cornelius had let out a sigh of relief. With Black denying that he'd been the source of a report that You-Know-Who could be at large again, it was going to be much easier to dismiss the claim altogether, as well as keep Black as a potential ally and supporter going forward.

"I'm afraid we will have to respect the journalistic code of anonymity regarding sources, Mr. Shafiq," Cornelius said firmly. "Of course," he hedged, "without someone coming forward to substantiate the claims, we also cannot move to officially act on them."

Shafiq looked displeased as he grudgingly sat down, effectively accepting that the Minister had a fair but annoying point. With him ceding the floor, another flurry of wands went up.

"The Chair recognizes The Honourable Thracius Davis," Fudge said, pointing to a wizened man with long gray hair and watery brown eyes.

With an effort, the old man rose from his seat and also turned towards Sirius.

You could tell that he'd probably once been someone who was distinguished and formidable, but time had ravaged him and it was plain to see that he was now well past his prime to serve as an active member. He nervously licked his cracked lips several times before clearing his throat, and Sirius got the distinct impression that he was afraid of something.

"What about the claimed sightings of You-Know-Who?" he asked. "Mr. Black, are the accounts of Mr. Potter facing him again accurate?"

Sirius had no wish to spar with the older man, or to frighten him even more than he already looked. He glanced quickly towards Amelia and she gave him an almost imperceptible nod of encouragement, wordlessly confirming their earlier agreement, before he stood back up.

"I'm afraid I can't answer that with any firsthand knowledge," Sirius said gently. "I was nowhere near Hogwarts during the time period in question. I'm sorry."

He sat back down, feeling a bit guilty that he wasn't giving his son credit for the incredible things he'd done as just an eleven-year-old boy. He also couldn't say anything that might reassure the old man either since he didn't want to lie.

He and Amelia had agreed that the investigation she would quietly open today would run a lot smoother if it wasn't hampered by a wave of panic that might put the other side on notice that they were being watched. And since they both felt that Harry was the true target of whatever was happening at the school at the moment, the rest of the children weren't likely in any immediate danger now that he'd been removed.

"Surely you've asked your son if it's true, haven't you?"

A plump, blonde witch with a bun tied up so tightly that Sirius' own head ached in sympathy had jumped to her feet and was glaring at him. He was just about to snap back at her when the Minister rapped the gavel on the podium.

"You're out of order, Madam Brocklehurst," Cornelius said sharply. "Not only have I not recognized you, but what you are asking Mr. Black to provide would be hearsay, and you know that isn't admissible in this chamber. He's already stated that he wasn't there himself and we cannot ask anything further of him in this regard."

Sirius saw Fudge gift him with an obsequious smile that nauseated him more than a little. While he expected to be fawned over by the career politician, he hadn't expected the Minister to come out so firmly behind him when his words had just caused more than a few of the Pure-blood members to frown.

"The Chair recognizes the Honourable Marshall Fawley," Fudge said quickly, pointing to a broad, dark skinned man sitting a few chairs down from Sirius.

"Headmaster," Mr. Fawley began, looking at Dumbledore with concern etched on his face. "Could you shed some light on the contents of the article? Specifically the mention of the...the wraith. My son is turning eleven next month and..."

And he's scared of sending the boy to Hogwarts Sirius thought as he sighed sympathetically. Not for the first time today, Sirius wanted to hex Rita and her damned source.

Albus gave the man a sad smile.

"I'm sorry, Marshall, but I was not present for the whole duration of either event mentioned in the article either. I can tell you that our Gamekeeper at the time informed me that there was something unnatural feeding on the unicorns in the Forbidden Forest. As for the other, I arrived just in time to pull Professor Quirrell off of Harry. I can confirm with first hand knowledge that Quirrell was indeed possessed at the time, and also that his possession was of such a brutal sort that he didn't survive it."

An uneasy silence fell over the crowd and Sirius understood why. For the people worrying about the safety of their families, the people who'd lost loved ones during the war, the specter of Voldemort on the rise again was obviously terrifying.

But for this followers, the ones who'd been relieved to be shot of a Dark Lord that had virtually enslaved them, they knew that their potential fate was even worse if he indeed was making a comeback.

The mood in the chamber had dropped drastically, and up on the dais at the podium Cornelius was beginning to panic. He needed to regain control of the room before widespread chaos ensued.

"This is preposterous!" he claimed incredulously. "Are you trying to tell us, Headmaster, that You-Know-Who was possessing one of your teachers for an entire school year and you had no idea? What kind of a show are you running up there? Do you even have any proof that it really was he that had taken over Professor Quirrell?"

In his seat, Sirius noted that more than a few who had been furiously whispering stopped to look up at Albus, waiting for confirmation. The old headmaster caught his gaze across the room, a resigned sadness in his eyes.

"I cannot prove it, no," Albus admitted. "I can only say that Quirrell was indeed possessed when he attacked Harry.

You could almost feel the collective sigh of relief in the room, although Sirius was feeling far from comforted since he knew the truth.

"I'm afraid that I'm not infallible, Minister," Albus admitted with a small shrug. "I did suspect that something was amiss, which was why I borrowed a precious item from an old friend that would have been impossible to resist in order to test my theory. Alas, I was correct. But I was also still foolish enough to be lured away from the school on the night in question. Although I was able to make it back in time to see Professor Quirrell succumb to the strength of the wraith possessing him, Mr. Potter needed to be taken to the infirmary immediately and that was my first concern."

A collective gasp went up in the chamber and Sirius felt his own pulse racing as Harry's memory flashed through his mind. He felt a strong desire to take a swing at Albus right there in the chamber. Off to his left a wand was raised high in the air and a gobsmacked Fudge blinked rapidly before acknowledging the witch.

"The Chair recognizes The Honourable Elizabeth Hilliard," Fudge stammered out.

"Headmaster," she began, her voice a little shaky, "is it your testimony today that you intentionally set a trap, believing that it was for You-Know-Who, at the school where our children live and study?"

Albus hesitated for the briefest of seconds before nodding.

"Yes."

An outraged storm erupted all around Sirius as each member seemed to be trying to outshout the others. At the podium, Fudge was furiously banging the gavel.

"Order!" he bellowed, raising his wand to his throat to cast a Sonorous. "Order in this chamber!"

The booming voice echoing around the chamber made the walls shake, and it was enough to quiet the uproar to a more manageable level. Cornelius quickly sought out another familiar face that was also no friend of Dumbledore's.

"The Chair recognizes The Honourable Corban Yaxley."

Sirius seethed in his seat, identifying the man immediately. Even without having been drilled by his mother for years on the lineages of the Pure-blood families, it didn't take a genealogist to know that Yaxley was a cousin of Lucius Malfoy. The pale face, long blond hair, cruel eyes and permanent sneer were all a dead giveaway.

"Ladies and Gentlemen," the pompous blond began as he stood to his full height, "in light of Headmaster Dumbledore's continued reckless endangerment of the children under his care, I move for a vote of no confidence in order to remove him from his current position. Effective immediately."

Once again the room exploded, which was no surprise given the statement. In the midst of the shouting and the gavel banging that was threatening to deafen the entire assembly, a very small, exceptionally ancient looking witch stood from her chair. She raised her wand and stared at Fudge with a look that clearly conveyed her intention to stab him with it if he didn't recognize her.

Sirius liked her immediately.

"The Chair recognizes The Honourable Griselda Marchbanks!" Fudge bellowed over the chaos.

Quite a few people in the chamber were well acquainted with Madam Marchbanks if the way the noise level dropped immediately was any indication. Sirius knew her name from his preliminary research on the Hogwarts Board of Governors.

Anyone who was old enough to have given Dumbledore exams as a student was not someone that you mucked about with.

"Thank you Minister," Madam Marchbanks said loudly as she turned to give Yaxley a pointed look. "I would remind the members of the Wizengamot that appointment or dismissal of the Hogwarts Headmaster rests solely with its Board of Governors. Of which, Mr. Yaxley, you are not one."

Good point, Sirius thought. Even though he was fairly sure that Dumbledore's removal was the actual goal of the session today.

"But I am," said a burly man with a sharply receding hairline as he got to his feet and sent Griselda a challenging glare. "Corban is right."

"The Chair recognizes The Honourable Digby Goyle," Fudge said belatedly as he pulled cloth from his pocket and mopped the beading sweat from his brow.

Goyle turned to the seating section where the majority of the Board of Governors were gathered narrowed his eyes at them.

"Headmaster Dumbledore has made several questionable decisions in the past few years," he said officiously. "In my opinion it was a mistake to have reversed his suspension two years ago, as the school seems to only have become more and more unsafe. I second Corban's motion."

A wand went up in the second row of the Governors section.

"The Chair recognizes Governess Augusta Longbottom," Fudge reluctantly acknowledged, shrinking under the formidable witch's glare.

Blinking in surprise, Sirius nodded a greeting at Neville's grandmother when she caught his eye.

Distracted with other things since his arrival, he hadn't realized that Augusta was in the chamber today, although he should have considering that he had been expecting the Board of Governors to attend the session given the subject matter. For some reason, he had thought she might have given up her seat on the board once Neville had transferred schools.

"I seem to recall that the suspension was reversed because most of the Board members had been threatened into agreeing to it in the first place," Augusta said harshly. "But Lucius Malfoy isn't here to do your heavy lifting anymore, Digby."

Goyle seethed, and if the room hadn't been filled with wizards and witches much more talented than he was, he very well might have tried to hex the older woman for her insult.

"No," he spat out angrily. "Lucius isn't here anymore, because he's been ousted from the positions that he gave years of faithful service to by someone wholly unqualified to take his place."

Sirius lifted an eyebrow and was tempted to respond to the insult leveled against him before he stopped himself. Lucius had been a seat warmer and nothing more until the rightful Head of the Black family took their place, and everyone in the chamber knew that.

An elderly man in the front row cleared his throat and raised his wand. When he stood there was an obvious dignity about him and Sirius smiled. Tiberius Ogden had been Charlus Potter's closest friend and he was often at dinner at Potter Manor when James and Sirius were home from school. Tiberius glanced up into the family section and stared directly at Sirius as he spoke.

"I would like to remind my fellow Board members that Governor Cresswell is currently home with Black Cat Flu so there are only ten active members here today," he said.

"Which means that we are currently one member short of a quorum," Augusta agreed with a frown. "Unless, of course, Mr. Black would like to be sworn in to take his seat?"

"That is not the proper procedure, Madam Longbottom," a young woman with mousy brown hair and a rather large mole on her cheek objected hotly. "Voting by the Board of Governors has always been done in a closed session to avoid any retribution against members who have children attending the school.

"Agreed," Goyle piped up. "And why should you or Black have any say in what happens at Hogwarts now anyway?" he barked loudly. "Neither of you have a child going there anymore. I don't want people who no longer care about the school deciding on policy that would affect my son."

Sirius was about to rage at the condescending way the oaf was speaking to Augusta, but he needn't have worried. She was every bit capable of taking care of herself.

"Pipe down, Digby!" she snapped, "For years you and your morally bankrupt friends on the board have stonewalled every single suggestion that was proposed to improve the quality of education and safety at Hogwarts! When the Muggle-borns were being petrified, it was your cronies who voted against sending in teams of Aurors to track down the threat. Leaving those poor children helpless for months."

Hearing this, Sirius seethed with indignation. He had no doubt that there were several people in the chamber today who wouldn't necessarily have been heartbroken if a few Muggle-borns met with an unfortunate fate.

"And it was also your group that voted against importing the Mandrake Restorative Draught," Griselda argued harshly. "Which kept the children in comas for far longer than it was necessary. I agree with Augusta. It's people like you that have allowed Hogwarts to be in this mess in the first place. It's time for some new blood."

Fudge grabbed the gavel and pounded the podium several times to drown out the shouts that had erupted in the chamber.

"Order!" he shouted before lifting his wand to his throat and casting a Sonorous. "WE WILL HAVE ORDER IN THIS CHAMBER!"

There was a clear division between the Board members, and now Sirius could understand how so many things had just been let go at the school. With a board that couldn't agree on anything, nothing of any real substance could ever get done.

"Mr. Black cannot be sworn in before the next scheduled meeting of the Governors," the witch with the mole said haughtily. "He will need to wait until next month to join us."

"That is not a requirement according to our charter," Tiberius reminded her sternly. "Mr. Black's seat is his by law and he can be sworn in to take his place at any time. Furthermore, our votes do not need to be cast in secrecy. I admit that it has been done by courtesy in the past, but I also believe that circumstances being what they are, it is more important to take some definitive action instead of standing on ceremony."

"Well said," Augusta agreed as she beckoned for Sirius to stand. "Sirius, if you wouldn't mind raising your wand?"

As much as he hadn't planned on this happening so soon, Sirius didn't dare refuse the indomitable Madam Longbottom when she had her mind set on something. He nodded his head as he lifted his wand for the vow.

"Do you, Sirius Orion Black," Tiberius intoned deeply, "vow to serve as a Board Member for the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, with honor, respect and dignity. For the good of the school, its students and the entire magical community?"

"I will," Sirius answered firmly, the tip of his wand glowing.

The other members of the Board, some of them very reluctantly, then raised their wands which began to glow as the vow became bound in magic. Sirius felt a shimmer brush across his skin, similar but much less intrusive than the binding of the vow he'd taken at the adoption ceremony a few weeks earlier.

"Governor Black," Tiberius called, "please join the rest of us on the floor for the vote."

Reluctantly, Sirius racked his shoulders back and strode determinedly down the steps and over to the other members, taking the empty slot between them as they arranged themselves in a circle.

"A motion has been made to remove Headmaster Albus Dumbledore from his position at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry," Tiberius said loudly. "We, the Governors of Hogwarts, will now vote on that motion. Green sparks for yes and red sparks for no."

All the Governors raised their wands and a shower of red and green sparks rained down on the chamber floor as the Wizengamot looked on in rapt attention. Only Sirius' wand had remained dark.

"That's five votes for yes, and five votes for no," Tiberius said with a frown. "Governor Black?"

"I'm sorry, Governor Ogden," Sirius said sincerely. "I feel that in this case I must abstain."

The look of fury on Digby Goyle's face made it clear that he'd thought Sirius would ultimately vote in their favor, considering his recent history with Hogwarts and Dumbledore. He was another one that Sirius was going to have to keep an eye on.

"You cannot abstain when there is a tie," Augusta explained gently. "I'm afraid that you will have to cast, Sirius."

Sighing deeply, Sirius sent a quick glance towards Albus. The older wizard smiled sadly and gave him a nod of understanding.

Turning back to the circle, Sirius frowned and then sent a torrent of red sparks up from his wand. He could see the looks of shock and confusion on the faces of the other Governors who had all been sure that he would vote for removal.

"Albus and I may have our differences," he said firmly as he looked each one of them in the eye in their turn, "and he may have made some very questionable choices in the past. But I'm not prepared to stand here today and say that Hogwarts is safer without him at the helm than it is with him there."

There were several people in the assembly grumbling at his response, which only made Sirius more resolved to push for changes in the Wizengamot political structure. Too many of Voldemort's followers still held considerable sway in how the wizarding government worked.

Up at the podium, Cornelius was baffled.

"But you removed Mr. Potter from school because of the danger he was in, you said," he stuttered, looking helplessly at Sirius to clear up the confusion. "We could all see how furious you were after the Second Task of the Tournament. Do you deny that now?"

"I do not deny that," Sirius said, shaking his head. "Harry was entered into the Tournament by someone with ill intentions towards him, and they did this by confunding the Goblet of Fire with the creation of a fourth school as a competitor. As Harry was already honor-bound to compete, I decided to make the fourth school a reality. Both for Harry's protection and as a way to ensure that he has the resources he needs to complete the Tournament as safely and successfully as possible."

"How do we know that you and Rita Skeeter didn't just make up what was in the article," said a witch who stood up from her seat in the back row. "As a way to frighten parents into sending their children to your school?"

Cornelius banged his gavel. "You were not recognized, Madam Mockridge!"

"She makes a good point," said a wizard off to Sirius' left. "What better way to drum up business for your own school than by slandering Headmaster Dumbledore. You had to know what kind of effect it would have if the Boy-Who-Lived left Hogwarts for somewhere else."

Sirius fumed as he stared down the wizard so intently that the man quickly sat back down without another word.

"First of all," he began tersely, "do not call Harry by that ridiculous name. He doesn't like it and neither do I. Would you want your children to have to go around carrying a title that reminded them of your death every time someone used it?"

Several of the members had the grace to look ashamed by that rebuke and Sirius gave them all a moment to think about what it meant for Harry.

"Let me make one thing perfectly clear," he said after a fashion. "I did not solicit any applications for new students for our little school. We've been doing perfectly fine as we are and neither myself nor any of the other professors felt a need to change how we were operating. Any speculation otherwise is simply rubbish. As Harry's once guardian and now legal father, how and where he is schooled is my prerogative, the same as it is with other parents. I am not under any obligation to provide this body with justification or confidential information regarding my son and how I raise him."

A general rumbling echoed around the large room as several of the attendees voiced their opinions about that statement. A few of the troublemakers were obviously annoyed by Sirius' pointing out his perfectly reasonable and wholly legal argument, but a few more at least looked abashed at their own presumptions.

Attempting to remain civil, he tried very hard to remember that Magical Britain tended to feel quite a bit territorial over Harry, forgetting that he was a person with rights and still only a child. The public was also quick to forget that, instead of being raised in an air of mystery away from their world, Harry now had a magical guardian making the decisions regarding his day-to day care.

"That being said," he continued, once the noise had died down somewhat, "although I did not participate with Ms. Skeeter's article in any way, the information contained within it is true to my own knowledge. Some of it I have experienced first hand during my tenure as a professor at Hogwarts, which I could swear to, but the rest you'll just have to decide for yourselves."

The clamor picked back up again and more than one heated look was sent Dumbledore's way, clearly blaming him for not keeping order at the school where he was entrusted with the safety of the next generation of wizards and witches.

In an attempt to restore order, several members of the Wizengamot had patiently raised their wands to be recognized and Fudge looked around a bit flustered as he mentally calculated which person of influence to call on first.

"The chair recognizes The Honourable Perseus Parkinson," he stuttered out before hurriedly turning away to feign taking notes.

A rather short and squat little man with a face that looked decidedly like a pug rose to his feet and sneered at Sirius.

"As a Hogwarts professor, Mr. Black," he said, his voice dripping in disdain, "wasn't it your job to inform the parents of any dangers to the students under your care?"

From the clear family resemblance, Sirius guessed that the unpleasant little man was most likely the father of that rather awful girl Pansy that constantly draped herself around Narcissa's son.

"As Hogwarts professor, my job was to alert the Headmaster or the Deputy Headmistress to anything unusual or troubling at the school," Sirius clarified sharply, "which I did. On more than one occasion. It is not the purview of the professors to go over the heads of the administration."

The odious little man looked quite irritated by Sirius' reasonable answer, but he sat back down just the same.

"The Chair recognizes The Honourable Elspeth Cornfoot," Fudge decided quickly, ignoring the glares of some others who clearly wanted to be heard.

A tall, reedy woman with her mahogany hair pinned up in corkscrew curls stood and also directly addressed Sirius.

"Mr. Black," she snapped, "It's well known that your school's official representative for the Tournament is a registered werewolf. What sort of guarantees do parents have that their children would be safe in your care instead of at Hogwarts, which is well known to be one of the safest places in all of Magical Britain?"

Sirius' eyes narrowed dangerously as more than a few people in the gallery shot dirty looks at Remus. They could take all the swings they wanted to at Sirius, but he'd be damned if he'd let Remus be their target just because of their prejudices. He leveled the haughty witch with a glare so intense that she actually shrank back a bit.

"Once again I would remind you, Ms. Cornfoot, that I came here just as member of the Wizengamot like yourself," he said as calmly as he could muster. "Not to defend my school or the choices I make as a concerned parent for my own child. The highly trained and talented wizard that you are referring to spends one day a month being medicated for a condition beyond his control and the rest of the time he's an exceptionally skilled teacher and role model."

It was plain to see that the blood purist faction was disgusted by his accurate description of Remus, but Sirius intentionally let his wand slip down his arm just enough to be seen as he stared them all down in turn, daring them to say something.

"He also spent a year as a well liked professor at Hogwarts without incident," he reminded the room succinctly, "and I am proud to have him serve as my Deputy Headmaster. He's my dear friend, as well as my son's godfather, and I won't have his good name besmirched any further here today."

The furious grumblings in the room grew louder, which was not surprising since werewolves were still highly vilified in general wizarding circles. To even think that such a person would serve as godfather to Harry Potter was shocking. Sirius looked back up at Remus apologetically, but his concern was waved off by a slight shake of his friend's head.

By now Remus was used to the negative attention, but Sirius could still see the pinch of discomfort behind the indifferent mask his best friend war. It made him even angrier than he was.

"Hem hem.."

At the podium, Fudge visibly sighed as he turned around to nod at a little toad of a woman sitting behind him.

"The chair recognizes Senior Undersecretary Dolores Umbridge."

Sirius caught a flash of rage on Remus' face before his friend suppressed it again. It suddenly dawned on him that this had to be the same Umbridge behind the draconian anti-werewolf legislation that was enacted last year. Laws specifically designed to severely curtail the ability for wizards and witches like Remus to obtain decent employment.

"So silly of me, Mr. Black," she simpered, her unnaturally high voice so sugary sweet that it made Sirius a bit nauseous, "but it sounds as if you knowingly and, indeed, proudly subject these innocent children to a dangerous half breed. Perhaps it's not Hogwarts that should be our concern, but actually time for the Ministry to take a closer look at a school where the pupils really are put in peril?"

A collective gasp was heard in the chamber as Sirius' face went eerily calm even though the air around him snapped and sizzled, moving just enough to slightly lift his hair from where it swept his shoulders. With the threat of a magical explosion about to happen, several of the members were tensely fingering their wands just in case the former Auror decided to start throwing hexes.

"Let me save all the rest of you some trouble," Sirius stated in a voice that meant business. He intentionally ignored the toad-looking woman for the moment as he stared down the other blood purist members impatiently waiting for their turn to have a go at him. "Fulminare is a private school, accredited by the ICW and currently in good standing as an institution of magical learning. We are, in no way, under the auspices of the British Ministry of Magic, so any issue a member of this body has with our school is simply too bad."

The last was said directly to the fuming Undersecretary, and Umbridge recoiled like she'd been slapped. The mask of gentility she had been sporting slipped just long enough for Sirius to catch the pure, unadulterated evil behind it and he knew that he'd be keeping on eye on her going forward.

"If," he continued loudly, making his position perfectly clear, "and it's a big if and getting bigger by the second, we choose to accept any more students it will be at the request of the parents who, like myself, have the right to school our children how and where we please. I can assure you that I will take extreme exception to anyone who tries to infringe on our privacy in any way."

From the gobsmacked look on the faces of most of the people in the chamber, it was clear that they understood that Sirius wasn't threatening a legal battle. The ones with their wands raised lowered them quickly, not wanting to be seen as a potential threat.

"I'm sorry to say," Umbridge trilled girlishly, her eyes fluttering in a way that made Sirius a little repulsed, "that I find it very hard to believe that any reputable members of our community would willingly remove their children from a school such as Hogwarts, with its long, illustrious history, for some dodgy little affair with a Dark Creature at the blackboard.

"I will," Gray said loudly as he got to his feet. "If Sirius will have us."

Archie also stood, his face thunderous as he glared at the Undersecretary. "So will I."

Around the chamber, more than a third of the members stood and Sirius suppressed a chuckle over the look of sheer outrage that spread across Umbridge's face.

Standing at the podium, Cornelius was working hard to keep his glee under control as he watched Dolores dig a deeper hole for herself. If she kept up her current line of thinking, he was sure that Black would be more than happy to help get rid of her.

Freedom was in sight as far as the Minister was concerned.

"It appears that I have some applications to look over," Sirius said with a vicious smirk as he watched the toad glower. "And since there doesn't seem to be any more current business to address here today, I better go home and get started."

With that, Sirius quickly returned to his seat to grab his cloak and then strode back down the steps and towards the door. Behind him, he could hear Fudge loudly banging the gavel and announcing that the session was now closed.

"Sirius wait!"

The sound of Hestia's voice calling him halted his determined escape outside the chamber and he turned and moved towards where she was weaving her way through the crowd that was beginning to pile out. She looked uncharacteristically rattled as she pulled him off the side a little so they wouldn't be overheard.

"It's all true, isn't it," she asked worriedly. "Harry's really had to face him again more than once? At school?"

"Yes," Sirius admitted quietly.

Hestia was stunned into silence for a moment. Her pretty face a bit more pale than was healthy. Sirius couldn't blame her. She'd lost her father to Voldemort's violence.

"I can't believe Dumbledore," she began, shaking her head. "The nerve of that man trying to hide all of this. I'll be honest. When you told me that you suspected that Voldemort and his followers were behind Harry's involvement in the Tournament, a part of me just thought you were overreacting. Of course, I was happy to implement extra layers of security for the final Task, but I had really thought that it was just an abundance of caution given Harry's age. I didn't want there to be a chance of him actually getting hurt."

"And we appreciate it," Sirius assured her. "Knowing that we have a friendly face behind the Tournament looking out for his interests has been the only thing stopping me from grabbing Harry and disappearing forever."

He took a hold of Hestia's hand and gave it a comforting squeeze.

"Are you really taking more students?" she asked, pursing her lips in thought. "I know that you've been enjoying just having a handful of them."

"Most likely," he admitted. "You've seen the house and know our security measures. We have plenty of room and I'd been thinking about Harry's lack of social interactions before all of this anyway. Why? Do you have someone?"

Hestia nodded. "Gwenog's baby sister Megan is in Harry's year. My Uncle Peter was joking about asking you if you would consider her as a student next year if you were still holding classes then. It was just an offhand remark, mind you, but I think now..."

"Harry's making the final decisions," Sirius said, nodding his head in understanding, "but if there is no animosity between them, I'm sure he'd be happy to have your cousin with us."

Smiling weakly, Hestia clasped his arm in thanks. "That's very kind of you. I'll fire call their house and have him get in touch with you, if that's alright."

Sirius nodded and Hestia gave him one more wan smile before taking her leave.

Taking in a deep breath, Sirius began to make a mental list of everything he would need to do once he got back home.

Fulminare was already growing.

************HP**************

"Black!"

The angry shout had Sirius instantly on alert and his wand once again dropping into his hand as he spun around to see the source of it. Standing just a few feet away was the imposing form of Hawthorn Greengrass, his unnaturally bright eyes narrowed in an icy glare.

"I want a word with you, blood traitor!"

"I don't give a damn what you want, Greengrass," Sirius barked as he trained his wand on the other man. "And you'd do well to steer clear of me if you know what's good for you."

"Big words from Azkaban's most notorious inmate," Hawthorn sneered cruelly as he edged his way closer to where Sirius was standing.

His voice was loud enough to attract the attention of a couple of the other Wizengamot members who saw the heated argument brewing between the two men and wisely made the choice to quickly move out of the line of spell fire just in case things got really ugly.

"Don't think I have forgotten about the dishonor to my sister, Black," Hawthorn spat out, fury in his eyes. "You had some nerve treating her like you did."

Undeterred and, at this point, almost itching for a fight, Sirius stood his ground as Hawthorn got right into his face. He only allowed the close proximity because, for some reason, the other wizard had yet to draw his wand, which gave Sirius the clear advantage in a duel. The two of them glared at each other, years of mutual hatred so intense that the air was thick with it and keeping everyone else in the corridor at a distance.

"I did nothing to your sister," Sirius growled. "That arrangement was made by our lunatic mothers and neither of us wanted it. Now, I suggest you step aside before I remind you why it was so easy to believe that I'd murdered a dozen people."

After a moment of posturing, Greengrass began to move away, but not before he quietly hissed

"Hog's Head. Ten minutes. It's about Regulus."

Which was the absolute last thing that Sirius expected his childhood nemesis to say and it left him more that a bit dazed as he watched Hawthorn storm away.

From his time as an Auror, Sirius knew Hawthorn to be a marked Death Eater that took part in several attacks on innocent Muggles. Just another one of the privileged Sacred Twenty-Eight house members that had managed to skate from justice with an Imperius defense after the war.

On a personal level, Sirius had also been considered betrothed to Hawthorn's sister by the mutual manipulations of their pure-blood fanatic parents, and the two eldest sons of the old families had been unwillingly thrown together by their mothers on several occasions in an attempt to force an alliance between them.

It hadn't worked obviously, as Sirius despised his family and anyone even remotely like them from his earliest years to his departure for Hogwarts, but it didn't change the fact that he and Hawthorn had spent a fair amount of time together.

So Sirius had known Hawthorn well enough personally to easily recognize him on a raid one night during the war, even though Greengrass was wearing a mask. The Auror team had caught three Death Eaters right in the middle of torturing little Xander Leach, an eleven-year-old boy who had been abducted from Diagon Alley while out shopping for his school supplies with his parents and little sister.

Restless after a long robe fitting at Madam Malkin's and curious to see some of the more interesting shops, Xander had slipped away from his distracted parents and wandered down the wrong street, where very wrong people had found him.

It was a grievous error to make when your grandfather was none other than Nobby Leach, the first Muggle-born Minister for Magic. Although Nobby was popular enough to be elected in the first place, it was fair to say that his elevation to high office hadn't sat well with any of the older pure-blood families, and this occasion wasn't the first, or last, time that his family had been targeted for reprisal.

Nobby himself had already been dead for a few years when his grandson was taken, but grudges could run very deep in the wizarding world.

The small boy was writhing on the floor from a recently cast Cruciatus when the Aurors had burst through the door of an old hunting cabin owned by Balthazar Burke, another one of Sirius' many cousins. An anonymous tip sent to the Auror Office after the abduction had named Balthazar's son Roland as one of the likely culprits. Sirius had a unique knowledge of the locations of various properties owned by members of the extended Black family that he suspected were being used as secret meeting places for Voldemort's ilk.

With a child's life at stake, he'd ruthlessly led his team on an exhaustive search through several of them until they found the right one.

Severely outnumbered, the Death Eaters had quickly apparated away to safety, thankfully leaving the traumatized boy behind, but not before Sirius caught a glimpse of Hawthorn's telltale violent purple eyes behind one of the masks.

Xander was scooped up into Sirius' arms and then taken to St. Mungo's for treatment, and afterwards Sirius attempted to convince his boss to allow him to arrest Hawthorn but Crouch blatantly refused. Without another Auror who could back up Sirius' identification, the head of the DMLE wasn't going to out on a limb and take a young man from a prominent family into custody when the political fallout could be disastrous to Crouch's own ambitions to become Minister.

A courtesy that was not extended to Sirius himself less than a year later.

And while Sirius had already suspected that Crouch distrusted his word just by virtue of his Black name, he also suspected that the uptight Pure-blood department head disliked Muggle-borns just as much as any Death Eater, as well as disliking former Minister Nobby Leach in particular.

Roland Burke had a small army of like minded individuals who vouched for his whereabouts during the raid and, despite considerable pressure from Xander's parents to get justice for their child, no one else was even questioned by the DMLE.

Which meant that, when Sirius was left to rot in Azkaban, Hawthorn Greengrass walked around as a free man.

It didn't exactly endear Hawthorn to him.

This whispered invitation to meet was most likely a trap.

Although he had to give Greengrass credit.

If anything was going to get him to go blindly into a potentially lethal encounter it was the prospect of information regarding his deceased little brother. No one really knew what had happened to Regulus, at least as far as Sirius had deduced once he was out of prison, so it was fair to say that he was eager for any news he might be given.

Family conflict aside, he'd once loved Regulus very much and it bothered him that there wasn't even a grave to visit.

Mind made up, he made his way towards the visitor gallery entrance where Remus was waiting impatiently for him.

"I was beginning to worry."

"I had an unexpected visitor," Sirius answered cryptically, his mind still reeling as he quickly told Remus what had just happened.

Remus hummed as he absently ran a hand down the front of his jacket. It was a casual motion that would be dismissed by anyone that didn't know him, but Sirius knew it was his friend's instinctual way of checking for his wand in case of trouble.

"I assume you've already decided to go," Remus said, his words more statement than question.

Sirius nodded, already moving towards the public apparation point.

"On the off chance he actually has something of interest to say, I can't put aside the opportunity to maybe learn more about Regulus' death."

Not that Remus could blame him.

He was an only child himself but, having had friends who were every bit as close to him as brothers, he understood Sirius' need for any scrap of information. And having let Sirius down so badly in the past, he wasn't about to sit back and watch his last remaining friend walk blithely into danger alone. He kept step with Sirius until they reached an empty spot where Sirius pressed a gentle hand on Remus' chest.

"You're not coming with me," Sirius stated firmly. "Greengrass might deign to speak with another Pure-blood, but he and whoever else he may have waiting there to ambush me might take enthusiastic exception to the presence of a werewolf."

"Well too bad," Remus answered casually as he held his ground. "Because you're not going without me. If it really is just a little chat then I'll take a seat elsewhere and have a drink, but if there is something else afoot I'm going to be there fighting next to you. Harry needs you to come home."

Which was exactly the right thing to say.

Harry had already lost enough, and Sirius had already made foolish choices that had harmed his son irreparably. He couldn't do it again.

Reluctantly nodding his acceptance, Sirius gave Remus an affectionate squeeze of his shoulder.

"Fine. But be careful Moony."

And, turning on the spot, he was gone.

**************HP******************

The Hog's Head Inn in Hogsmeade was a dirty little place that most regular pub patrons avoided like the plague. Besides its generally unkempt state, it had a rather dodgy reputation, not the least of which was the proprietor's unorthodox attraction to his pet goats.

But perhaps the most off-putting aspect of the Hog's Head was that it was owned and operated by Aberforth Dumbledore, Albus' brother.

It wasn't a secret that the two brothers didn't get along, and they really couldn't have been any more different in temperament and personality if they tried. But Sirius and the rest of the Marauders knew more than most about Aberforth as they'd spent a great deal of their time at Hogwarts hiding out from their eagle-eyed professors in the dingy little pub.

Despite his outward gruffness, Aberforth was a good man. Blunt to the point of rudeness, but fair to a fault and a talented wizard in his own right, even if his skill would never match his brother's in a duel.

They'd all been a part of the Order of the Phoenix during the war and, although the brothers rarely shared a civil word with each other, they'd fought side by side during those dark days.

So Sirius trusted Aberforth implicitly, knowing that he'd never willingly give Sirius up to the enemy, even all of these years later.

With a soft crack! Sirius appeared in front of the pub's entrance. He cast a quick look up at the sign above the door, the unsettling image of a bleeding head of a hog turning his stomach a bit as he hoped that it wasn't a harbinger for his future. Another crack! to his side let him know that Remus had arrived as well.

The two men looked at each other, Remus' eyebrows lifted as he shrugged and Sirius squared his shoulders and pushed open the door.

Immediately, they were assaulted by the smell of goats and stale ale, enough to make Sirius' eyes water. He'd forgotten just how filthy the place really was and he made a mental note to offer his house elves to Aberforth for a day of deep cleaning.

Aberforth himself was behind the bar wiping a mug with a filthy cloth, reminding Sirius and Remus to order their drinks by the bottle. He didn't seem surprised to see them either when he slightly tilted his head in the direction of the single back room where the Marauders had spent many an hour keeping out of sight.

The two friends gave each other a careful look, steeling themselves for what might be waiting beyond, before nodding at Aberforth and heading into the back.

Hawthorn was sitting at the solitary table alone, an untouched glass of some sort of brownish liquid in front of him. He looked up when they entered, a flash of disgust sweeping across his face when he saw Remus, but he quickly pushed it back down and stood.

"Thank you for coming, Sirius."

Sirius, and not Black.

Which meant that Hawthorn was most likely trying to have a civilized conversation.

It was also a relief to see him sitting alone and not with a pack of Death Eaters, as anyone that knew Aberforth also knew that the tawdry little inn was warded to the hilt, with absolutely no way to apparate in or out.

The front door was the only access point, so there would be no surprises popping in unannounced that didn't have to get through Aberforth first.

Hawthorn seemed to be waiting for Sirius to make the next move, so Remus placed a light hand on his friend's shoulder.

"I'll wait out at the bar," he said firmly, letting Hawthorn know that help would not be far off if he got a little wand twitchy.

Sirius nodded once without taking his eyes from Hawthorn, who'd sat back down at the grimy table after Remus had taken his leave.

"Why am I here?" he asked bluntly as he took the seat across. "Do you really have information about Reg, or was that just a ruse to get me here?"

Hawthorn's fingers twiddled with his full glass as he avoided making eye contact.

"No, I do," he said, nodding his head a touch, "but I have something personal to discuss with you first."

From his body language, Sirius could tell that the other man was incredibly nervous. Which was very unlike Hawthorn Greengrass who was usually confident to the point of being obnoxious.

It was clear to see that something had rattled him badly.

From the frown on his face, he looked to be pondering something heavily before he let out a gush of air and yanked up the left sleeve of his robe, exposing the telltale tattoo of a snake and skull.

"It's getting darker," Hawthorn said simply. "Just a little more every day."

Sirius already knew this, since Snape had confirmed the same for his own as well as Karkaroff's. It was no surprise that other members of Voldemort's inner circle had noticed it as well.

"What's that got to do with me?" he asked, his eyes narrowed in disgust. "Aren't you excited that your Master is trying to make a comeback?"

Hawthorn suddenly slammed his left fist down on the table hard. Hard enough to make his drink splatter out of the glass and form a small puddle on the dusty wood of the table.

"I don't want this!" he shouted before startling and quickly looking around to make sure that he hadn't been heard by anyone else. "You don't understand how it was for us," he said more quietly. "You don't know the torment!"

Sirius shook his head in disbelief.

"Are you expecting some sort of sympathy from me?" he snorted incredulously. The man had to be mad. "You and your hooded goons killed a lot of my friends. People I loved."

"We did a lot of killing each other," Hawthorn pointed out succinctly, looking Sirius in the eyes for the first time. "Don't get all high and mighty and pretend that it was one-sided."

Rubbing his face, Sirius took a deep breath already fearing that this conversation would only go in circles.

"I don't have the time or the energy to debate the past with you, Hawthorn," he said sharply. "We all made our choices and now we have to live with them. Deal with it. And what does any of this have to do with Regulus anyway? My brother has been dead for a long time."

Hawthorn angrily swiped at the marked skin on his arm, as if he could make it disappear if he just rubbed hard enough.

"He wanted out, Sirius," he said at last, making Sirius' eyebrows shoot practically up to his hairline. "We both did."

"You're a damn liar," Sirius growled hatefully. "Regulus was proud to be Voldemort's lackey. I should know! Do you have any idea how many times I tried to talk him out of it? How many times he and I traded hexes just because I wanted him to get free of that servitude?"

Hawthorn nodded, seeming unperturbed by Sirius' reaction.

"He was, at first," he agreed. "Just like everyone else who followed him. When the Dark Lord rose, he was every bit as powerful as Dumbledore, only he promised everything that our families had always raised us to want. I can't describe the feelings we had when we were told what his plans were. It was intoxicating to finally think that we were going to shape our world the way it was always meant to be."

Hawthorn stopped, his chest heaving from the exertion of forcing those words out. Like getting them off his chest was an actual physical relief.

"Our parents, yours included, were proud of us all when we took the Mark and swore loyalty to him," he continued with a humorless laugh, "and we were too stupid to know any better."

Sirius chuckled humorlessly. "You're out of your mind if you think I'll be swayed by anything that would have made my nightmare of a mother proud."

"I know that," Hawthorn admitted, not even trying to pretend that Walburga had been anything but insane. "I'm just telling you why Regulus was so happy to join. After you moved in with the Potters, the pressure on him to uphold our traditional beliefs was enormous. He gladly offered his arm because he knew the pleasure it would bring to the family."

"I won't feel guilty because my brother was a mindless fool," Sirius said firmly. "He could have done the right thing and told them to sod off, just like I did. But he wanted to play the good son, which is laughable considering how much evil flunkies like you two did in the name of blood purity."

Hawthorn tapped his hands on the grimy table and stared past Sirius towards the door.

"Look. I'm not here to debate the past either," he said wearily. "It was, what it was. I'm not proud of it, but I can't change anything. I just wanted to tell you what happened towards the end of the War. You should know."

"So tell me," Sirius said with feigned indifference. "Not that it will matter one jot."

Hawthorn placed his wand on the table and then raised one hand harmlessly in plain sight before moving the other towards the interior left pocket of his robe, wordlessly asking Sirius' consent to reach in and extract something.

Sirius nodded, but he watched very carefully, just to make sure that the other man didn't have another wand that he could use to quickly cast.

"Once you were out of the picture, the families started scheming to arrange Regulus and Cereus together."

Hawthorn slowly pulled out a wrinkled piece of old parchment and placed it down on the table between then for Sirius to take. Still on his guard, Sirius carefully reached to pick it up and read the slightly smudged writing under the embossed Greengrass family crest.

Creighton and Luella Greengrass

cordially invite you to the wedding of their daughter

Cereus Aurora

to

Regulus Arcturus Black

son of

Orion and Walburga Black

Saturday, the third of November

Nineteen hundred and seventy-nine

at four o'clock in the afternoon

Greengrass Manor

A sharp pain hit Sirius in the stomach as he read the invitation.

At the age of eighteen, his little brother Regulus was to be married to the girl who had been originally chosen for Sirius.

At a wedding that Sirius had not been invited to.

To be held on the day of Sirius' twentieth birthday.

Even from the grave, Walburga Black could still hurt her eldest son.

It was just another petty way for his mother to slight him but, although Sirius hadn't been invited to the wedding, he could easily remember his twentieth birthday just the same.

Two Death Eaters had been on a Muggle killing spree in the West Midlands region and not being particularly subtle about it for almost three weeks. Crouch was besides himself, desperately concerned that the Statue of Secrecy was in imminent danger of being breached, but so far the Aurors had been having no luck in pinning down the perpetrators who were very careful to not leave any identifying evidence.

Then Dumbledore had secretly examined the scene of one of the attacks and he'd had a hunch after seeing some unusual spell damage. He'd called the Order together and then sent out a team made up of Sirius, Marlene and Benjy Fenwick after giving them the names of the men most likely responsible. With his Auror credentials, Sirius took point during the mission, since he had the authority to make an arrest if the situation remained peaceful.

Which, of course, it didn't.

Late on the night of November the third, the Order team caught Barnaby and Calder Wilkes attempting to burn a Muggle family alive in their home. The Wilkes brothers had no interest in being taken into custody alive, a rather intense fight ensued, and it ended with Benjy anonymously delivering their bodies to the front door of the DMLE headquarters.

Sirius and Marlene wound up back at his London flat where she gave him a very memorable birthday shag.

"Charming," Sirius said as he masterfully swallowed the enormous lump in his throat and pushed the parchment back to Hawthorn rather forcefully. "They couldn't get the first Black son to the alter, so they just settled for the second one. As interchangeable as a set of tea towels.

"Sirius please," Hawthorn said as he sat back in his chair. "You don't know what happened to my sister after you rejected her, and Regulus actually did care for her. It wasn't a bad match."

"I'm not getting into this with you again," Sirius said shaking his head. "Let's be honest. She didn't like me any more than I liked her. Regulus was an idiot. He would have married her just because our mother told him to."

Hawthorn snorted and rolled his eyes. "She didn't like you because my mother was so intent on a match between your family and ours that when Ceri was born she was actually named after you. Mother thought it was cute that you would eventually be Sirius and Cereus Black, and Ceri hated that, especially when you were so cold to her. Can you blame her?"

Sirius could understand that. The name thing had always made him feel uncomfortable too. Which was probably one of the reasons that he'd pushed Cereus away when they were children and she tried to be friends with him.

"Well, your mother was a deranged shrew who always smelled like she'd just bathed in a vat of Ogden's Best," he retorted instead.

"Will you just listen for a minute?" Hawthorn snapped, his patience gone. "My sister died, Sirius. She's been gone more than eight years now."

That tidbit of information quickly stopped another insult against the Greengrass matron from coming out of Sirius' mouth. He might not have liked Cereus very much, but he knew how close the siblings had been.

"I'm sorry," he said sincerely. "I hadn't heard. My condolences for your loss."

Hawthorn nodded and it was still very easy to see his grief written all over his face as he thought about the sister he'd loved very much. There were many times when Sirius had the same look on his when he remembered better days with Regulus.

"That's why I wanted to talk to you," Hawthorn continued. "Cereus died from a blood malediction. You're a trained Auror. You know how they work."

And Sirius did, much to his horror.

Not necessarily just from his Auror training...but really because the Black family had been known to cast a horrible curse or two at an enemy that would be felt for generations to come.

Sirius really, really hated his family

"My...my younger daughter...Astoria," Hawthorn said in a pained voice, "she has it. The same curse as my sister. She's just twelve years old."

"Merlin's beard," Sirius sighed, his heart sinking. If there was anything that truly got to him, it was a suffering child. "Can't anything be done for her?"

Shaking his head sadly, Hawthorn ran a hand down his face. "No, nothing. Believe me, we tried. I'd give my entire fortune for a cure for my little girl, but every healer I've taken her to tells me the same thing."

"Well, I'm sorry to hear that," Sirius said sincerely, "but what do you want from me? I'm no healer. I could possibly look in the Black family library for information, but I doubt I'd find anything of use. My ancestors didn't exactly focus on cures for the curses they cast."

Hawthorn shook his head. He wished that access to books was his only concern.

"It's not that," he clarified as he nervously clasped his hands together. "If the Dark Lord really is coming back then I have to do whatever I need to protect my daughter. You know what he's like, Sirius. He'll have no sympathy for a sick child."

Sirius sat back in his chair, his heart sinking.

Hawthorn wasn't wrong.

Blood purity among the Death Eaters wasn't always just about who married who. It was also about the overall fitness of the children and grandchildren they produced. Maladies in a witch or wizard might affect their magic, and that wasn't something that horrible people like Sirius' parents would tolerate.

"If he finds out about Astoria," Hawthorn continued, his eyes frightened, "he'll murder her on the spot, seeing her as a weakness. A blight on a family name like mine. Or, worse, he'll want to study her and try to figure out how the curse works. But if I can convince him that we're still loyal to him...so much so that I've put a spy in your camp...in your school...he'll leave us alone and hopefully not look too closely at my children."

"You want me to take Astoria," Sirius asked incredulously.

"No," Hawthorn replied, immediately shaking his head. "I'm hoping that you'll take my elder daughter Daphne. She's in Fourth year, like Harry. She's a good girl, Sirius. Smart. Well behaved. She'll give you no trouble."

Sirius frowned. "I know Daphne," he said, "and I've never had any trouble with her in my class, that's true. I just can't fathom how you'd believe that I would allow this in the first place when you're admitting that you'd be sending her to spy on us."

"Because that's not why I want her to go to you," Hawthorn denied hotly. "I know you could protect her if something happened. That's why. Let's face it. We all knew to steer clear of your wand during the war. You and Potter both. Why do you think the Dark Lord tried so hard to get the two of you to come to our side?"

That was something that Sirius had always known. Blood traitors they may be, but he and James had been approached many times about shifting their alliances. It had only made them more determined to fight.

"Why in Merlin's name would I trust you?" he asked skeptically. Hawthorn had to know how risky this move would be for him. "What makes you think that I could believe your daughter really wouldn't pass on helpful information that could endanger my own child if it benefited your family? You must be more mental than I remember."

Across the table, he could see the other man visibly deflate.

"Sirius, please," Hawthorn begged softly, all pride gone out of him "I don't know what else to do. The Black family wards are legendary, so don't insult me by trying to deny that your school is a veritable fortress. If I know that Daphne is safe with you, then I can concentrate on protecting Astoria. I'll even take the Unbreakable Vow to prove that I mean what I say if you require it."

And he would, Sirius surmised as he studied Hawthorn's face for any trace of deceit. This wasn't Sirius' old enemy the Death Eater in front of him. It was a desperate father trying to protect his children.

Sirius could understand that very well.

"You realize that if he suspects that you're being deceitful, he'll destroy your entire family without a second's hesitation," he asked, already half on the way to capitulation.

"I know," Hawthorn nodded. "That's why I refuse to be a slave to him anymore. He'll come after disloyal followers first, since we've done nothing to bring him back all of these years. After we're tortured, he'll want information. But I'm a master Occlumens, like my father. The Dark Lord could probably break me eventually, but even with his power it would take some time to do it and I can hold out long enough to protect my children. Couldn't you?"

Yes, Sirius agreed, remembering how he'd been more than willing to die as James' Secret Keeper to protect Harry. He could.

"I can't promise anything," he said cautiously He was almost convinced but not ready to commit. "I've told Harry that he has the deciding vote on who we accept. His happiness, safety and comfort are my only concerns."

"As well they should be. I only ask that you think about it."

Sirius sighed, his head pounding from taking everything in. All he wanted to do was get home and hug his son. It had been an extremely taxing morning.

"Look for my owl either way," he said as he stood and turned to fastened his cloak back on.

"Just so you know," Hawthorn continued, his face looking slightly less anxious than it had, "Regulus and I really did have a plan to get out. Two weeks before the wedding was supposed to take place, he somehow arranged for a portkey to the States for himself, Cereus and my family. We were packed up and ready to go right before he vanished."

Sirius stopped. "What happened?"

"I don't know," Hawthorn said with a shake of his head. "He fire called me the night before we were supposed to leave. He was furious about something but didn't tell me what. He just said that we were to go without him. He wouldn't answer any of my questions about why and I didn't know what to think."

Hawthorn got a faraway look in his eyes as he stared at the dying embers in the fireplace beside them.

"When we found out the next day that he'd gone missing, my wife was too scared to take the portkey," he said sadly. "She was petrified that the Dark Lord had found out that Regulus was planning on betraying him by leaving and didn't want to go in case we were followed. She begged me to change my mind and just stay where we were. But Cereus knew what would happen to her if the Dark Lord found out about her curse, so she took the portkey alone. About a year later she finally managed to contact us to say that she'd made a life for herself in California while she could. That's where she died."

"I appreciate you telling me this, Hawthorn," Sirius said sincerely. "I knew back then that Voldemort was somehow responsible for Regulus' death, but I'd like to believe that my brother had a change of heart before he was killed. I'm only sorry that he didn't confide in me. I would have helped him."

Hawthorn nodded. "I'm sure you would have."

There was nothing left to say, so Sirius gave the other man a nod in farewell and then turned and headed back into the main pub where Remus was anxiously waiting for him. A raised eyebrow was the only question Remus asked as Sirius laid a stack of galleons on the bar for Aberforth and gave him a quiet thank you.

With a heart so heavy he could barely breath, Sirius led Remus out of the Hog's Head and the two of them apparated home.

**********HP*****************

"Harry!" Sirius called loudly as he unfastened his cloak and hung it on a rack by the main entry door. "I'm back! Where are you?"

Upstairs a door slammed and Sirius could hear his son charging down the hall towards the staircase. Harry was smiling happily as he gave his father a little wave and then, in true teenage boy fashion, sat on the steeply curved banister and slid all the way down, nearly giving Sirius a heart attack before jumping off in front of him at the bottom.

"How did it go?" the boy asked eagerly.

Harry's face was radiating such visible relief that his father had safely come back so early in the afternoon that Sirius forgave him for the reckless sliding.

"About as I expected," he said with a shrug. "A couple of surprises that, yes, I will tell you all about," he assured his son, seeing Harry already start to ask, "but first I need to hug my kid and have a good meal. I'm starving"

He and Remus, by unspoken agreement, had apparated at the end of the long drive up to Celestial Court. Sirius had needed to clear his head and share the conversation he'd had with Hawthorn with his closest friend and he hadn't want to let the stress of the information he'd received weigh him down when he got back to his son.

Needing a little affection also, Harry willingly went into the arms that Sirius was holding out expectantly and let his father just hug him for a minute. He'd been on tenterhooks ever since Sirius had left home that morning and it was nice to have physical confirmation that his father hadn't run into trouble at Ministry.

"Have you eaten your lunch yet?" Sirius asked, drawing back and taking a good look at his son.

Harry shook his head. "No. I was still full from breakfast and, honestly, I didn't even think about it. But I guess I am a little hungry now."

"Then let's go into the dining room and see what the elves can scare up for us," Sirius said, hooking an arm around his son's shoulders. "I could really use the aroma of good food to get the smell of old goat out of my nose."

"Old goat?"

Harry was looking up at him quizzically, as if Sirius had gone a bit mental while he was out.

"I'll explain later," he promised, pushing his son ahead of him. "After lunch, what do you say we head out and see what those wings can do. Sound like a plan?"

"Definitely!"

Harry beamed with excitement over the prospect of going outdoors and Sirius gave his smiling son another quick hug before moving quickly to surprise him by hoisting him over his left shoulder. The boy yelped a halfhearted plea of Put me down! and then dissolved into peals of laughter that rang out through chateau as Sirius carted him hanging upside-down through the marbled corridor towards the dining room.

It was a silly thing to do, of course. Harry wasn't a little child anymore.

But he was still Sirius' child.

And really, that was the only thing that mattered.

**********HP***************

"Tell me again why we're not letting the house elves do this part?"

Sirius chuckled at the indignation in Remus' voice as they carefully floated the ungainly piece of furniture through the double glass doors.

Now that it was certain that Fulminare was going to be growing within days, there was work to be done around the chateau to make it ready. Dobby, Bicky and Lolly had already used their significantly more extensive elf magic to expand the guest wing to accommodate a couple more suites as well as creating an invisible barrier down the center of the hallway that would prevent boys and girls from going into each other's rooms.

Something that Sirius was keen to have in place, having been a randy teenage boy himself once upon a time.

That being said, Sirius specifically wanted an even number of boys and girls in attendance, as he already had started to develop plans for regular weekend socials that would give the children an opportunity to interact with each other outside of their busy class schedule.

Factoring in the four students Fulminare already had, he'd determined that the magic numbers for acceptance were going to be ten girls and eight boys.

It made for twenty-two altogether, which wasn't a large number considering how many applications he'd received, but he and Remus had decided it was as high as they comfortably could go without enormous disruption to their curriculum and the chateau itself.

The two of them were busily renovating the ornate ballroom into a smaller version of the Great Hall at Hogwarts. The chateau's formal dining room was large, but not quite large enough to seat the expanding household for meals without bumping elbows and Sirius also wanted a large enough space for all the students to congregate together in addition to the smattering of cozy sitting rooms that the children currently had access to.

Harry had been asked if he wanted to learn the charms to help but, although he'd been a model of good behavior since Sirius' return from the Ministry, it was obvious that he was more than a bit unhappy to have to come back inside the house right after wing practice on such a beautiful day.

Practice hadn't gone well and, feeling a bit defeated over his inability to get airborne with the wings, and not allowed to take to the sky with his Firebolt, he'd opted to head back up to his room. Sirius and Remus knew that the boy most likely needed some privacy to have a proper sulk about the injustice of it all.

"Because I need something to think about other than that blasted Wizengamot session," Sirius griped irritably. "It makes me feel better, knowing that what we're doing is making some rather unpleasant people go absolutely mental."

Remus smirked. Sirius had always dealt with annoyance by ensuring that the source of his annoyances were returned the favor in kind.

"Have you thought any more about what to do now that you and Harry won't have your Sundays alone anymore?" he asked, changing the subject.

Sirius sighed and lowered his wand. "Once we have everyone sorted around here, I'll tweak the schedule so that he and I have a few hours to go and do something fun outside the chateau. He wanted to spend some time at the London flat today, so maybe we need to have an overnight there occasionally instead."

Remus knew that his friend was perturbed over the decision they had made together that it would be safer in the long run to limit how often the other students would return home.

Right now it was easy, since Hermione stayed with her parents on the estate Saturday night and Sunday, and Ron and Neville floo'd back home to theirs.

But with several other children coming to live at Celestial Court, and Sirius insisting that they travel only by house elf and no other way to preserve the Fidelius, it was a risk to have them on a regular schedule to go home every weekend.

Even house elf apparition could be tracked if you were skilled enough, and Sirius wasn't willing to take the chance.

"It's not exactly fair to the new students if Harry and the others that have been here have privileges that they don't," Remus pointed out. "That could cause some resentment."

"Perhaps, but it's going to be part of the terms," Sirius said, shrugging. "Contrary to what some busybodies were saying today, I'm not forcing anyone to send their children here. I'm happy to have them, and I like the idea of Harry having a wider social circle, but I'm not willing to sacrifice spending time with my son just to avoid hurt feelings. Besides, the new students will have some catching up to do and, of course, we'll accommodate a trip home if it's really necessary."

Sirius clearly had his mind made up already, although Remus had his doubts. He could see the potential for trouble brewing in the future.

The two wizards raised their wands once more and started to ease the enormous oak table into position when a loud pop! startled Sirius enough to make his end of the table shimmy a bit before he got it righted again.

Dobby, his large ears wiggling nervously, held a heavy parcel in his wrinkled hands. Bound in a brown wrapper, it was emblazoned with the Hogwarts school crest at the top.

"Dobby has returned from Hogwarts, Papa Seriously," the little elf said as he offered the parcel to Sirius. "Dobby is to tell you this is all of the information you requested from Professor McGoonies. And also a few other words that Dobby doesn't think are very nice, so Dobby doesn't want to say them."

The admission made the little elf fidget nervously as he peered up at Sirius with his enormous green eyes.

Remus smirked as he steadily maneuvered his wand to set his end of the table down gently on the parquet floor just as Sirius did the same.

"Thank you, Dobby," Sirius said with a grimace, easily guessing what Minerva's sharp tongue had to say on the matter. "Don't trouble yourself with delivering the rest of the message. It's the students' information that's all I really care about. Why don't you go and have something to eat after your long trip. We're fine for now."

The little elf looked relieved as he vanished from sight, and Sirius and Remus shared an amused chuckle, knowing that there were still times that Dobby had trouble with the whole 'free elf' concept, especially under Minerva's disapproving glares.

"Well, at least she complied with the request," Sirius said with a sigh as he unwrapped the parcel and withdrew the stack of academic folders on the students who had applied for admission to Fulminare. "That's something, I guess."

"After the stir today's session caused, it's not likely she could have refused," Remus observed as he walked over to glance at a few of them himself. "The parents would have been in a right state hearing about all of the security breaches in the past few years."

Sirius harumphed, not willing to put anything past their former Head of House.

After a quick scan, Sirius put the parcel aside for the time being and the two men got back to their work. Soon the room had almost been completely transformed.

The very long table dominated the center as Sirius had decided to have only one place for the entire group to sit at instead of splitting them up at meal times. Right now the school was relatively small, and it would likely be made up of students from all four of Hogwarts' houses. Separating them into groups would continue to emphasize division, and the last thing he wanted to contend with was former house loyalty when it was more important that they all get on together.

He and the other professors would also eat at the same table with their pupils, just like they did now. Hopefully it would encourage a more approachable atmosphere for the students who would naturally be feeling a bit overwhelmed by all the changes on their arrival.

Individual padded chairs were placed around the table instead of the long benches that weren't always the most comfortable things to sit on, and two enormous buffets at either end of the room were set up so that everyone could help themselves to a large spread without crowding the table full of serving platters.

Sirius was deep in thought as he surveyed the layout when he heard Remus clearing his throat. He turned, his eyebrows raised when he saw his friend looking uncharacteristically uncomfortable.

"As Harry's fun godfather," Remus began with a sheepish smile, "might I appeal to you for leniency on his current sentence?"

The question shocked Sirius so much that at first he thought he'd misheard.

"Who are you," he began, his eyes narrowed, "and what have you done with Moony?"

Remus chuckled and held his hands up in surrender.

"You were right...to a point. I have been a bit harder on Harry recently than I needed to be, and I can't help feeling like that entire scene happened because of my interference."

"You weren't to blame," Sirius denied, shaking his head. "You had valid cause to bring the matter to my attention and Harry even admitted that you gave me an accurate accounting of the event. He's the one responsible for his own actions, and now he's paying for them accordingly."

"Just the same," Remus continued a bit guiltily, "things around here are going to be tricky enough over the next couple of days, and it would likely be much easier on Harry to adjust if he isn't already defensive and embarrassed because he has to explain to the others that he's on restriction. I was hoping that there could possibly be another way to reprimand him that reinforces the message without putting too much pressure on him at the start?"

Sirius couldn't help the amused smile dancing on his face at the moment. It was practically nothing short of a miracle that Remus Lupin of all people would advocate for reducing a punishment for bad behavior.

"Why Remus," he asked in faux shock, "have you become soft in your old age? Weren't you the one, just the other day, that told me that I wasn't firm enough with Harry?"

Remus sighed and rolled his eyes. Of course Sirius wasn't going to let him get off that easily. Not after the fuss he'd made about Harry's behavior.

"I decided to take your advice," he explained after clearing his throat uncomfortably, "and honestly evaluate whether or not I'd been overly zealous in my opinions regarding my godson's attitude."

"And?" Sirius prompted with a barely concealed grin, pleased with his friend's change of heart.

A deep sigh whooshed out of Remus before he reluctantly nodded.

"Perhaps I have been just a bit short tempered around Harry."

While Sirius knew that he could milk the situation far longer than necessary, he had no desire to genuinely take the mickey out of his friend. In the interest of familial harmony, it was more important that Remus and Harry get on with each other, and teasing Remus would only unnecessarily hamper any good will on his part.

"Besides, it's not as if he got off lightly," Remus pointed out defensively when Sirius failed to comment further. "You did say that you already gave him a good spanking. I'm sure that was enough of a wake up call to curb any repeat of that misbehavior on his part."

"I spanked him for transforming without permission, not his cheek," Sirius clarified, the sudden frown on his face proof that he wasn't quite over his annoyance with his son's unauthorized transformation just yet. "Harry knows very well by now what happens if he recklessly endangers himself."

Remus nodded. "Yes, but he probably wouldn't have done if he hadn't already been so out of sorts over your row. We both know that Harry's emotions often get the better of him. I feel certain that if you two hadn't been quarreling first thing in the morning he never would have disobeyed you like that. He genuinely doesn't like to disappoint you."

"True," Sirius agreed with a sigh. "But there is also the slight problem of me telling him that he'd get no more free passes on his punishments. It doesn't say much for any kind of commitment to consistency if I tell him that he's grounded for two weeks one day and then just lighten the sentence the next."

"So, you can still give him some sort of less drastic punishment for two weeks, couldn't you?" Remus asked with a shrug, trying to look nonchalant and failing utterly. "Surely there's something else you could do that would get the point across without having him locked down so hard?"

Sirius hummed thoughtfully as he gave his friend a raised eyebrow. Clearly this was important to Remus whose guilt was evident on his wan face, and as Sirius wanted him to have a good relationship with Harry, his mind began to whirl as he searched for a reason to say yes to the request.

"I suppose."

Not wanting to push the issue too hard, Remus went back to his work straightening the padded chairs neatly around the table.

"I'll make a bargain with you," Sirius said quietly after a few silent minutes. "Tell me why you've been so hard on Harry lately, and I'll cut down his sentence and give you full credit."

"I told you," Remus said after clearing his throat. "I've gone through some of my recent..."

"Rubbish."

The sharp rebuke had Remus looking up into the penetrating stare of his oldest friend and seeing the absolute unwillingness to yield on the subject in Sirius' swirling silver eyes. Suddenly he was regretting bringing the subject up in the first place.

"Sirius, please," he tried tiredly, even though he already knew that his friend would have none of it. "Can we just say that I was wrong and leave it here?"

"No, I don't think so." Sirius lowered his wand and walked over to Remus to gently grip his shoulder. "Something has been bothering you for a while, and you may think you've been hiding it from me, but you should know better than that by now. All I do is whinge to you day-in and day-out about anything and everything and you just listen to me go on. Why don't you let me return the favor?"

Remus' shoulders sagged and Sirius hoped that he'd finally gotten through to his old friend who had been such an enormous help this past year when Sirius had been floundering.

"I guess," Remus started quietly, "it's really because Harry reminds me so much of these two friends I used to have, and it makes me scared for him."

"Moony," Sirius said sadly, his heart thudding in his chest as he could sense where this was going.

Remus raised his head and gave Sirius a weak smile.

"You see, those two young men were everything that I wanted to be," he admitted. "Brave and confident, which meant that they were also often reckless. Full of cheek, even to their professors, and usually without an ounce of self preservation to speak of when they got a wild idea in their heads.

Sirius smirked. It was true.

"They didn't like answering to anyone but themselves ," Remus continued, shaking his head fondly, "but it didn't matter how much mischief they got into, because it was hard for anyone to stay mad at them. They were incredibly smart and naturally gifted with magic. I envied them."

"Now just a minute..." Sirius tried to interrupt, only to be silenced by Remus' raised hand.

"I'll admit that I was intelligent," Remus conceded, "but it wasn't the same. All of my skill came from intense study and practice. But my friends...my brothers, were these incredible wizards right from the start. And, once they grew up a bit and stopped being such enormous prats, they did so much good in the world. They were utterly fierce leaders who convinced many others to take a stand against the Dark when it would have been so easy not to. They were full of bravado, fearing absolutely nothing, and everyone thought they were unstoppable. Especially me."

Sirius felt his breath hitching from the sadness and devastation on Remus' face, so clearly spelling out the feelings that the quiet man usually kept bottled up tightly inside.

"Then," Remus continued sadly, "one day they were both just...gone. In the blink of an eye. And losing them left a hole inside of my chest so big, a pain so excruciating, that it practically drove me mad."

A tear slid down Sirius' left cheek as he swallowed hard. Those years after James' death had been absolute agony for him in his cold cell, but it was clear that Remus had also suffered dearly. Perhaps not the same way, but pain was still pain.

"I guess," Remus shrugged, his voice watery, "I see Harry, with his cheeky attitude and reckless disregard for rules, heading down the same path, and I remember that tiny baby boy who kept trying to steal James' glasses and loved to cuddle with his Mummy and I want so badly to protect him."

Sirius swallowed hard, the same memories assaulting him like a punch to the chest.

"I love Harry, Sirius," Remus admitted sadly. "I always have, even if it's hard for me to say and I haven't always been there for him like I should have. I just...I want him to think before he acts, so that maybe he survives what we fear is coming. Even if it means that I'm so hard on him that he hates me for it."

Remus' shoulders sagged and he just looked simply defeated. "Because I'm pretty sure it would break me to lose him, like we lost James," he finished quietly. "I just couldn't bear it again."

Moving quickly, Sirius enveloped Remus into a desperate hug that had the two men clinging to each other in their shared grief and fear.

"We're not losing this one, Moony," Sirius vowed vehemently. "I promise."

****************HP*************************

In his haste to get home after his unnerving encounter with Hawthorn Greengrass, Sirius had forgotten all about about his promise to bring a curry back for his son. So when it was time for dinner Remus, still feeling a bit emotional after their talk and needing some air, quickly offered to apparate to London and pick up some take-away.

Once he was gone, Sirius decided to do as Remus asked by modifying Harry's restriction, so he coaxed his son out of his self-imposed exile and down to his study for a game of chess where he then proceeded to cheer the boy up a bit with the good news.

It was fair to say that Harry had been thrilled.

He immediately tackled his father with an enthusiastic hug and promised to be on his best behavior forever, which Sirius appreciated but didn't believe for one second because his son was still a teenage boy. Sirius' capitulation was more than worth it when Harry made a point to shyly and sincerely thank Remus for his intervention when he arrived back at the chateau laden with several aromatic bags.

After dinner, it was time to sort the final list of school applications.

"Well, looks like this is going to come in handy more than I thought," Sirius said with a tired sigh as he pulled the Sprog Map out of his desk drawer and spread it out in front of him. "I remember when we used this kind of thing to make mischief, and now I'll be the one using it to catch mischief makers instead. Where, oh where, did I go wrong?"

Remus laughed and shook his head in amusement as he took a sip of his drink. "It's hard being an adult, isn't it? As soon as I started to teach at Hogwarts I felt guilty for every single prank we ever pulled that made the professors want to rip their hair out."

"You could just let us get away with things," said the slightly disgruntled voice that floated over to the two men from the other side of the room.

"Remus," Sirius remarked casually, never taking his eyes off the map. "Did you hear something?"

Biting back a smirk, Remus pretended to pick a piece of lint from his wool trousers.

"I'm not sure," he said hesitantly. "Did you?"

"It sounded like Harry's voice," Sirius remarked with feigned confusion as he winked at his friend, "but he's in the corner reflecting on what got him put there in the first place and being as silent as a church mouse."

In the corner, Harry huffed and rolled his eyes at the lack of subtlety on his father's part.

Almost thirty minutes of staring at nothing but the blank wall was more torturous to endure than he'd thought and now he was bored and a little irritable.

The two men looked at each other in amusement for a moment while they let the boy squirm before Sirius shook his head in amusement.

"No talking in the corner, Harry James," Sirius gently reminded his son as he waved his wand over the map to cast a few more spells on it. "Unless you would like to start your half hour over again?"

No, as a matter of fact, Harry didn't want to start his half hour over again.

The boy sighed quietly as he leaned his head back against the soft padding of the large chair he was sitting in, but he wasn't daft enough to complain.

He still couldn't believe that Remus, of all people, had talked Sirius into to modifying Harry's punishment.

Instead of being fully grounded for the next two weeks, all Harry would have to do was go to his father's study every night after dinner and spend thirty minutes sitting in the corner. Sirius was very firm when he told Harry that he was to use that time to think about his behavior and also that he was not allowed to either speak or sleep or the clock would be reset.

Sirius also made it very clear that any complaints about this compromise would result in the earlier restrictions being fully put back in place.

It wasn't fun, especially since tonight Remus was in the room with them while Harry was serving his sentence, but it definitely beat the alternative so he was more than happy to agree.

He hadn't exactly been looking forward to having the new students coming in while he was on restriction. It would have been downright embarrassing if he had to explain to everyone why he couldn't leave the chateau or why he disappeared into his room so early each night when the rest of them didn't have to be in theirs until ten o'clock.

By some miracle, Remus had persuaded Sirius that Harry's grounding mostly stemmed from his refusal to go in the corner in the first place, so it wouldn't necessarily be lenient of Sirius to alter the punishment into a requirement for Harry to spend some time there.

It sounded more than reasonable enough but, to be honest, Harry didn't know how to feel about that.

A little corner time each day was humiliating, but obviously loads better than being completely grounded.

He got to sit in a comfortable armchair instead of just standing there staring at the walls like a plonker, and afterwards he had the rest of the evening to do as he pleased. No going to bed at a ridiculously early hour like a naughty five-year-old.

But the best part of all was the fact that now he could go outside with the other students during breaks between classes, and even fly on his broom when the weather permitted which was brilliant.

Besides which, Harry had to admit that he was looking forward to showing the others around his home, with its extensive grounds and Quidditch pitch, after years of living like a guest in the Dursleys' house.

However...it also meant that Harry had to be grateful to Remus for his intervention, and that wasn't a feeling that sat well with him.

He tried to just concentrate on what a good friend Remus had been to Sirius since the two were reunited, and even how helpful he'd been to Harry himself by teaching him the Patronus charm during Third Year. As well as all the tutoring last summer and assisting with the Tournament training. Not to mention everything he did to help Sirius establish Fulminare.

Remus had done a lot for them, and Harry had also appreciated it all at the time.

But for some reason he just couldn't seem to let the resentment go over Remus' inaction during Sirius' imprisonment, no matter how hard he tried, and he simply didn't understand why.

Sirius was obviously happy having his old friend back, and his happiness was Harry's happiness. It was clear that Remus was trying very hard to make up for any of his previous failings where both Sirius and Harry were concerned, and it felt more than a bit petty to keep harboring a grudge against him.

It made no sense as to why Harry was having a hard getting over it all and it frustrated the boy to no end.

Sighing in defeat, Harry crossed his arms and listened to the clock nearby tick down the minutes until he was at liberty. He really didn't need the half hour in the corner to think about his behavior, since he already felt incredibly guilty about it and had vowed to himself that he would never be so disrespectful to his father ever again.

Instead, he watched with idle disinterest as a small spider made its way down a thread hanging from the ceiling and began to spin a web.

"Tell me that Minerva or Filius wouldn't have given their wand arms to have one of those maps handy when we were fourteen years old, and I'll have no shame in calling you a liar," Remus said with a chuckle as he opened a new folder.

Sirius couldn't disagree with that, so he chose to simply nod as he finished the new charm.

"I see that Colin Creevey's parents want him to come," Remus remarked as he flipped through Colin's file. "That's not surprising, considering they're Muggles. Moira Finch-Fletchley has been very busy spreading the word, it would seem."

"Actually," Sirius said with a sigh as he rubbed his temples, "I think you'll find that it's Tessa Abbott who has been very busy. Gray told me during lunch the other day that after the Chamber of Secrets incident, his wife became very keen to maintain an informal network of Muggle-born children and their families since she is Muggle-born herself and understands the complications. Of course, she doesn't have contact information for all of the students, given the school policy on privacy and lack of floo connections. Jean, for instance, said that Tessa hadn't reached out to her, but there still seems to be quite a few that do talk to each other."

Remus hummed, impressed by Mrs. Abbott's initiative.

It was hard for Muggle parents to grasp some of the complexities of the new world their children would be a part of. Remus' own Muggle mother had been put on a steep learning curve after marrying a wizard, but she'd at least had the benefit of her husband's personal knowledge to help her integrate.

"I don't think we'll be able to offer Colin a place," Sirius said, bringing Remus out of his thoughts. "He has a younger brother who is a Firstie and they're very close. I doubt Colin would leave him, and we can't accommodate Dennis here just yet."

In the corner Harry let out a sigh of relief but then immediately chastised himself for it.

Colin was a nice enough bloke. Maybe a little too enthusiastic around Harry, and his hero worship got a little exhausting sometimes. But the Creevey brothers were Muggle-borns, and given how much Harry's mother and Hermione meant to him, he was rather protective of the students who, like them, were suddenly thrust into this wonderful but decidedly strange environment where they were not always warmly welcomed.

Not entirely unlike himself, either.

His wandering thoughts were interrupted when the clock began to chime the half hour and Sirius looked up from his work.

"Alright, young man, you're free to go now."

"Finally!"

Harry breathed out a bit more dramatically than entirely necessary as he stretched and twisted the soreness out of his limbs from sitting so still before standing up and making his way over to his father's desk.

"Did you learn anything sitting there?" Sirius asked sternly, his left eyebrow raised.

Harry grinned. "The elves need to dust the corners better?"

Sirius narrowed his eyes, making his son squint at him adorably, before he let out a chuckle and ruffled Harry's hair.

"Cheeky brat."

"Can I go down to the kitchens and get another slice of treacle tart?" Harry asked. "I'm still hungry."

He'd already had two slices with dinner, and Sirius didn't often allow him to have extra sweets when healthier snacks were always available, but Harry figured it couldn't hurt to ask. Leaning over he scanned the Sprog Map and saw all the new details Sirius had worked into it. His father's magic really was impressive.

"Yes, you may," Sirius responded absently, concentrating on the map as he added a flourish to the rendering of the estate's greenhouse. "But bring it back here, alright? I think Remus is just about done going over the list of potential new students and I'd like you to look it over. There isn't a whole lot of time to dilly-dally with the term resuming on Monday. We need to decide tonight who is coming here and who is not."

Harry pursed his lips in thought as he watched his father's wand almost effortlessly dispense complicated spells.

"Are you really going to leave it all up to me?" the boy asked a bit doubtfully. "Shouldn't you two decide who you want to teach?"

Sirius stopped casting and looked up at his son's frowning face. Harry's last vestiges of insecurity could still make the occasional appearance, despite how hard Sirius was trying to quash them.

"You will never again live where you are not completely comfortable," he said fervently, staring directly in Harry's green eyes. "Remus and I will make the academic choice over who will be considered, but ultimately we are not going to invite anyone that you think you wouldn't get on with."

"Well, there can't be that many of them, can there?" Harry tried again, his cheeks going pink under his father's intense gaze.

"Forty-seven," Remus supplied helpfully as he closed the folder he was reviewing. "Of course that number includes a fair few in the younger classes even though Sirius was very clear that we were only considering third and fourth years."

"Blimey!" Harry exclaimed, his eyes going wide. "Do they really all want to leave Hogwarts and come here? Why?"

Sirius nodded and walked over to wrap an arm around Harry's shoulders in comfort.

"I'm sure some of them are just curious about us," he said with a shrug, "Or they have parents who are keen to send their children to whatever school Harry Potter goes to. But truthfully there are several who seem to genuinely want to transfer for purely academic reasons. Not to brag, but Remus and I were both fairly popular professors." Sirius winked, making his son roll his eyes. "You also can't blame some of the other kids for wanting to get away from a professor like, say, Binns for example, who doesn't actually teach them much."

Harry could easily understand that, having the same opinions himself, and he also had to admit that the vast majority of the other Hogwarts students had loving homes to go to between terms and might not have the same allegiance to the school that Harry used to possess himself.

"Some students would also prefer the learning environment of a small school," Remus added with a nod. "I think you've noticed yourself that you pick up concepts easier when there is more one-on-one attention in the classroom?"

That was true, Harry realized.

His school work had become easier to digest on the first pass since he knew that he could ask all the questions that he needed to and Sirius and Remus would answer them thoroughly until Harry understood.

"Why don't you go run along and get your tart and then we'll look over the files together," Sirius said as he gave his son a squeeze and a knowing look that told the boy he was being indulged with the treat. "Maybe see if the elves can sort out some chocolate biscuits and cocoa for me and Remus while you're at it since apparently we're throwing nutrition out the window tonight."

"Okay," Harry said with a blush. He should have known better than to think his father wasn't paying attention to him.

Not wanting to give Sirius time to change his mind, Harry quickly headed out to the kitchens leaving his father and godfather behind to exchange tentative looks.

"What about the Greengrass girl?" Remus asked gently, guessing from the frown on his friend's face that Sirius was already starting to worry about Harry's reaction to her application. "You've all but promised that we'd take her. What if Harry doesn't want to?"

"Then we don't take her," Sirius said with a sigh as he sat back down behind his desk. "I know what I told Hawthorn, but I'm keeping my word to my son. I don't know of any unpleasant interactions between Harry and Daphne, but I think there are probably a great many things that happened during his school years that he hasn't shared with me yet."

Remus nodded as he pulled her folder from the pile on his lap and took another look.

"She is an excellent student," he admitted, "and I never had any problems with her in my class. Did you?"

"None whatsoever," Sirius answered, shaking his head. "She's not exactly what you would call personable, but I have no overall objection to her. Any ill will I might harbor towards her family doesn't extend to a child, and if Hawthorn was being completely honest with me today, then I'd probably let go of it all full stop. I know the pressures of being raised in a Dark family."

"Don't compare yourself to him," Remus admonished sternly. "You made the hard choice, knowing what it would cost you. Greengrass could have done the same but he didn't. He was a coward."

Sirius frowned as he tapped his fingers on his desk. He'd spent the majority of the evening brooding over the possibility that Regulus had had a change of heart and it cost him his life.

"I thought the same thing about my brother," he said at last, his voice soft. "But what if I was wrong?"

It would haunt you forever, Remus thought to himself as he cursed Hawthorn Greengrass for planting even a seed of doubt in Sirius' mind.

As far as Remus was concerned, Regulus Black had been a proud, card carrying member of the future Death Eaters club in school, and Sirius, already burdened with the weight of the world on his shoulders, shouldn't have to live with the guilt of finding out that his brother had grown a conscience late in the game.

"Will you tell Harry that there's a chance she might be here as a spy?" he asked, changing the subject to a more volatile but altogether safer topic.

Sirius frowned even more as he nodded. "I won't lie to him. He deserves to have all the facts before he makes his decision."

They were saved for the moment by the boy's arrival back in the study. Harry was sipping at a glass of milk as a tray heavily laden with pastries and drinks floated behind him and didn't seem to notice the air of tension in the room.

"Goodness," Sirius exclaimed with a forced smile. "How hungry do you think we are?"

Harry laughed as he shrugged. "You know how the kitchen elves are. We'd all weigh fifty stone if they had their way."

Standing up, Sirius relinquished his seat to his son and quickly got Harry settled at his desk with his snack and the pile of student folders that were being seriously considered.

Minerva would probably throw a wobbly and say that it wasn't ethical to allow Harry to see the school records of his peers, but Sirius couldn't really care what she thought at the moment. He was still a bit miffed by their conversation last night at The Three Broomsticks.

Harry was quiet as he read and took occasional bites from his slice of tart while Sirius and Remus patiently sipped cocoa and softly chatted while they waited for the inevitable questions.

Fairly easygoing by nature, there were very few students that Harry genuinely disliked, so it didn't take too long for him to make a short pile of the ones he preferred. He was just about done with the last stack when he looked up in surprise.

"Daphne Greengrass?"

Although Sirius had shared most of the details of what had taken place during the Wizengamot session with his son, leaving out only the harsher insults leveled against Albus since he knew it would upset the boy, he hadn't relayed the encounter with Hawthorn.

Sirius had wanted to give Harry the opportunity to reject Daphne's application without guilt if he disliked her, but he should have known that the inquisitive boy wouldn't just dismiss something out of hand.

"Her father asked me to consider her after the session today," Sirius explained gently. "Do you have an objection to her being here? It's okay if you do."

Harry shook his head, but he couldn't help feeling that a Slytherin was as likely to want to attend Fulminare as they would go tap dancing with a mountain troll.

"But she's a Slytherin."

"She is," Sirius agreed with a nod. "But that alone doesn't disqualify her application. Not all members of Slytherin house are bad people, remember. Andromeda was a Slytherin and you've become rather fond of her, haven't you?"

Pursing his lips in a frown, Harry looked at the folder again, trying to make some sense out of it.

"But why would she want to come here? Don't the Pure-blood families hate all of us?"

Sighing deeply, Sirius walked over to his son and sat down on the edge of the desk. He hated to burden Harry with more worry but there was a large part of him that really did believe Hawthorn, so he took a deep breath and carefully explained the whole conversation that had taken place at The Hog's Head.

"Blimey," Harry said, his eyes wide as he sat back in the chair and took it all in. "Do you really think that some of Voldemort's old followers are actually afraid that he's returning instead of being happy about it?"

"Yes," Sirius said gravely, "I do. I think that some of them were pushed into following him and also that there were a lot of others that didn't bargain on Voldemort's willingness to more or less enslave them.

"Kind of like thinking that they could keep a great white shark on a leash and not get bitten themselves," Remus added from his seat. "When really, he could be just as violent towards them as he ever was with Muggles."

Sirius nodded in agreement with his friend.

"They knew he was powerful, and people with their sort of ideology tend to gravitate towards power," he said in disgust. "And some of them found out too late that their blood being pure didn't stop Voldemort from spilling it when they displeased him. They actively encouraged their sons and daughters to take the Mark, only to lose them to that maniac's temper tantrums."

Harry was quiet for a moment as he thought about that.

On one hand he couldn't help thinking that the Death Eaters who were tortured or killed by Voldemort got what they deserved for being such awful people. But, on the other hand, he also knew that people could make some really bad choices when they were scared and desperate.

Wormtail had sold out Harry's parents because of fear, and he'd been a Gryffindor. It proved that the house you were sorted in didn't always guarantee the kind of person you turned out to be.

It was something to think about.

After a moment of hesitation, Harry put Daphne's file on the pile of the ones that had his consent, and Sirius let out a deep exhale, hoping that he was making the right choice by not rejecting her outright.

***************HP************

By the time Sirius and Remus had finished sending out the official invitations to join Fulminare they were both mentally exhausted.

Because of Harry's general affability, it had been harder than Sirius thought to narrow the applications down to the agreed upon number, but eventually they managed.

Soon their relatively quiet school would be full and noisy.

Both of them yawning, Remus decided to call it a night and he and Sirius walked up the main staircase together, with Remus heading off down the left corridor to his own suite in the guest wing and Sirius turned right towards the family wing and Harry's room in particular.

With his grounding lifted, Harry had been sent up to bed at the regular time of ten o'clock. Since it wasn't a school night Sirius had agreed to let him read for a bit before he had to actually go to sleep. The boy was under the blankets and propped up against a mound of pillows, one of the books on American Quidditch teams that Hestia had given him open in his hands, when Sirius knocked on his door to say goodnight.

The sight of the book reminded Sirius that he had some tickets burning a hole in his pocket, and he also thought about the conversation that he and Remus had that afternoon on making sure that Harry still had time with Sirius alone once the new kids arrived.

Seeing his son, still young but visibly getting older by leaps and bounds, made Sirius come to the painful realization that soon the boy might not welcome these nighttime visits any longer. In a few months time, Harry would be fifteen. An age when, despite how much Sirius had loved the Potters, he would have found a similar nightly visit rather intrusive.

And yet, when Harry looked up to greet his father, there was a large and genuine smile on his face.

So maybe the day had not yet come when Sirius would have to content himself with just an absent and hurried 'Night Papa cast over Harry's shoulder as he bounded up to his room and firmly shut the door.

That thought cheered him.

"Find anything interesting in there?" he asked as he took a seat on the side of Harry's bed.

"The Americans have a really different style of defending the hoops," Harry answered with a hint of admiration in his voice. "Their Seekers also do a lot more misdirection to give the Chasers better cover. They really get involved."

Sirius hummed as he smoothed out the blanket covering his son. "I don't know. I'm pretty sure that when I watch you play my frazzled nerves tell me that you get involved plenty as it is."

Harry grinned, his cheeks flushing with a hint of pink, but he didn't deny it. His talent and love of speed did make him a little more aggressive on the pitch than some of his peers.

"Maybe."

The father and son shared a warm laugh together before Sirius reached for the book and set it on Harry's nightstand.

"It was a busy day today," he said with a careful glance at Harry's face. "How are you doing with all of this."

Harry thought for a moment and shrugged.

"I'm okay," he said, nodding to assure his father. "Excited really. I mean, I do like it just being the small group of us, but sometimes..."

"Sometimes you miss the energy of a bigger school," Sirius finished for him, understanding what Harry was trying to say.

Harry nodded again, not denying it. "Yeah. Not that I was ever really particularly social, or anything like that, but just being around a bunch of other kids just felt a bit more...normal."

And Sirius knew that normal was important for children like Harry, who wasn't technically a Muggle-born but had been raised as if he were.

Lily had once tried to explain to Sirius how different she felt all her young life before she went to Hogwarts. When her bouts of accidental magic scared her and her parents since they had no idea what was going on with her.

It had gotten better, she said, once she'd met Severus Snape. Something that Sirius and James had found hard to reconcile themselves with as they had taken an immediate dislike to the odious little boy on the train.

But Severus had recognized the signs of magic from his neighbor in the grubby little town they'd both grown up in, and he'd explained to Lily what she was. Lily had been grateful, because it had made things a lot easier for her once she knew why she'd always felt like she never quite belonged in Cokeworth.

So Sirius also understood why Hogwarts had been so important to his brave but still rather shy son.

"I was thinking," he said as he affectionately brushed Harry's fringe back from his forehead, "that with the new students coming in, maybe we would all do something special on Saturday evenings. Some kind of group social event, like music and dancing or team game nights. Afterwards, we'd need to have our usual Astronomy night outside, but we'd have the whole evening to have fun beforehand. What do you think about that?"

Harry's eyes lit up as he enthusiastically nodded. "Yeah, that would be great. I mean, not the dancing part obviously, but the rest would be fun."

Sirius barked out a laugh over his son's reticence for the dance floor. Truthfully, Harry hadn't done all that badly the night of the Yule Ball for a first time, and Sirius was sure that the boy would enjoy it more once he built up a bit more confidence in his skill.

"Then it's decided," he said. "You can help me plan what we'll do each week for the rest of the term."

Harry nodded as he hid a yawn behind his hand and Sirius had a brief flash of worry over whether or not tonight would see another bad dream for his child.

"That being said," he began as he slipped hand into his pocket, "I still want to have time just with my son."

Sirius pulled the tickets out of his pocket and handed them to Harry with a grin. The boy took one look and his eyes went wide with excitement.

"Really?"

"Yes, really," Sirius said with a laugh. "You'll need to thank Hestia for them. She gave them to me today at the Ministry. And although there are enough for a few others to join us, I'd really like it if it could just be a father-son outing. Is that alright?"

Harry put the tickets aside and leaned forward to hug Sirius.

"I'd like that too, Papa."

Sirius shut his eyes and held his son close.

Harry was so very precious to him, and it was frightening to think of the events that had been discussed in today's session. Of how many times Harry had come so close to no longer being here to be hugged and cherished by Sirius.

It made Sirius even more determined to protect his son at all costs.

*********HP****************

Bright and early Monday morning, while families were rushing about getting their children ready to board the Hogwarts Express, Sirius, Remus and Molly were dressed in pristine black wizarding robes with the Fulminare crest embossed on the front as they stood primly next to Hugh and Jean Granger wearing tailored Muggle business attire. All five professors were lined up on one side of the chateau's front doors with Harry, Ron, Hermione and Neville, as well as newcomer Ginny Weasley, in their school uniforms on the other.

Each of them were waiting eagerly for the distinctive pops! heralding the arrival of the team of house elves with their passengers.

Casting a glance towards his son, Sirius couldn't help noticing that Harry looked a bit nervous.

It was to be expected, he supposed. Although Harry had personally approved each and every name on the final list, the boy was still inherently shy around most people. Something Sirius hoped would slowly be improved with the new arrangements.

Harry caught his father staring and he gave Sirius a tentative half smile that Sirius returned in force.

Things were going to be just fine, Sirius silently assured his son with a quick nod that had the tension in Harry's shoulders visibly relax a bit.

An unexpected crack! startled a couple of them when Tonks suddenly appeared. She smiled at the kids before moving over to Remus and giving him a flirty wink.

"What are you doing here so early in the morning?" he asked, pleasantly surprised.

Sirius and Molly were grinning as Molly moved over a bit so the younger woman could move to stand between her and Remus.

"Remember when Molly wisely suggested that we consider finding someone to move in and act as House Mother for the girls?" Sirius asked innocently. "Well, my dear sweet cousin was kind enough to volunteer."

"Wha.." Remus was absolutely shocked, any sort of coherent response he could have made stuck in his throat as Tonk's smirked mischievously at him.

"Hello, neighbor."

Before the stunned werewolf could trip over his own tongue any further, the air around them began to tremble as the protective wards guarding Celestial Court flexed to allow entry.

Suddenly there was crescendo of pops! until, at last, all the Celestial Court house elves and a group of nine girls and eight boys dressed in their new uniforms were standing on the large stone portico. The kids looking dazed and a bit nauseous from the apparation as they took in their impressive surroundings.

Sirius cleared his throat to get their attention as he stepped forward, a broad smile on his handsome face.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to Fulminare."

**************HP*************