A/N: The mails are back! Yay! So I'm consistently reading your reviews again. Thank you all!
Real life hit hard in the last couple of months, so there was no time for writing/posting fanfiction. The story is finished though and in the process of being beta-read. So eventually you will be able to read it all.

Interlude V

At the same time in the household of the Tonks family, the new houseguest and his cousin were quietly sitting at the breakfast table and enjoying each other's company.

There had been a teary welcome yesterday after Andy had all but pulled No. 3 out of her house to get him to be faster in getting Sirius to their house. Within less than an hour she had gotten her wish, and Sirius had been engulfed in the first hug in a dozen years. He might've cried.

Now, after a good night's sleep, he was slowly realising that he was effectively free. Sure, he was officially under house arrest, but Numthree had told them if they were careful and disguised Sirius, he saw no problem with Sirius visiting the Muggle world or even Gringotts once in a while.

He had even handed over Sirius's wand!

When he asked about it being evidence in the trial later, he was told that the results of the Priori Incantatem spell had been recorded, verified, and authenticated. So, he could just go ahead and cast magic again. And that trial wouldn't be long anyway after they made Pettigrew confess under Veritaserum. The Unspeakables were lobbying to be allowed to use the truth serum on all of the incoming Azkaban inmates to learn if they still stood by their deeds after the counter had been cast on them. They had decided to sneak Pettigrew's trial in between those as well.

Andy's and Sirius's peace was disturbed when the Daily Prophet arrived, and Andy just handed over the sports section to a chuckling Sirius. He had no idea about sports anymore, but he would look through it anyway.

But that plan was shot when Andy gasped and then started tearing up, her eyes flying over the first page at an amazingly rapid speed.

Sirius, who had first wanted to ask her about the first-page article, saw her face and kept quiet, and as soon as she had finished, she wordlessly handed it over anyway.

Soon he understood her shock as he was feeling the same and after he had finished reading, she wordlessly took the papers again and re-read the article.

Afterwards, they just sat there staring at one another.

"Did we have any Squibs in the family?" She whispered hoarsely.

"I don't know. Mother burned half of us off the tapestry. I wouldn't know which ones burned off were Squibs."

"Well, you and I weren't, and Uncle Alphard and Grandaunt Cedrella weren't either. I think there might've been a Great uncle, though."

"How would we know? Mother is dead. Maybe Grandaunt Cedrella?"

"I must confess I don't know if she's even still alive. We Blacks die much earlier now."

"Why do you think that is?"

"Not that accursed spell again!"

"It would be interesting to find out sometime."

"It would. And I just remembered, your mother commissioned a portrait, didn't she? But no. That wouldn't work either. It would be as crazy as her."

"And the house is locked down, right? Would we be able to enter?"

"Good question. Let me write to Gringotts and ask. They handle all Black estates and wills. And there's more than one portrait of our recent ancestors there."

"True."

They got busy but hadn't connected the dots of the information in the article of the students casting the counter-spell on portraits.