"Brumous"

"Chapter Sixteen: The Reunion"

Remus couldn't help but glance over at Nymphadora, a smile tugging on his lips at the fact that they were together with their hands intertwined between them. It was the most natural thing in the world, just walking hand in hand like they had been together for years instead of mere weeks. Remus had never felt that way before, like he had known someone forever. It was almost as though his body was in sync with hers, their strides matching automatically and effortlessly. He brushed his thumb along the side of her hand and she gave his palm a small squeeze in return.

They turned off the main road of Hogsmeade onto a small residential side street. It was the closest residential street to Hogwarts where the castle was visible. Remus had no doubt in his mind that his obsessive and worrywart of a best mate would sit by a window and just watch the castle for any sign that something was amiss. Maybe this wasn't actually the ideal street for Sirius to live on. It would just feed into his obsessive tendencies.

They stopped outside of a terrace home that was less than half the size smaller than Grimmauld Place but it looked far more cheerful with its non-grimy brick and little flowerboxes outside the windows. Flowers that would, no doubt, be dead in a month because Sirius had a thumb as dark as his last name when it came to plants. Remus was fairly certain that Sirius would have failed Herbology if it wasn't for James allowing him to copy off all his assignments.

"So, let me get this straight," Nymphadora said, leaning into Remus' side as she wrapped her hand around his elbow. "Sirius is paying you a hundred and sixty Galleons a week to go house hunting for him?"

Remus sucked in a breath, trying to decide if Sirius would even like the cheerful little terrace house. Tearing his eyes away, he glanced around for the realtor but didn't see her yet.

"Something like that," Remus replied. "Sirius has far too much money. He spends it on the stupidest things."

Nymphadora snorted. "Trust me, I know. Mum said Sirius inherited most of her Uncle Alphard's inheritance, but he left a bit to Mum and Dad and then put some away for me in a trust account. He even asked Mum to put some aside for Regulus but he only got it if he broke away from the family. Let me assure you, Remus, I have more money in that little trust account than I would have made as an Auror for thirty years. So I can only imagine what Sirius inherited from him plus whatever else he inherited from the main Black accounts."

Remus glanced down at her. "Look at you, swimming in the blood money of the Black family."

Nymphadora let out a loud snort, her nose crinkling and her eyes sparkling. "I told you I didn't need you to work. I have family money we can live off."

Remus grinned, his head shaking at how damn adorable she was. He would love to see just how much the Black family was worth. Sirius threw around money without even batting an eyelid. Remus had checked the price tag of a Firebolt when Harry received one for Christmas. It was worth more than his bloody cottage.

"Are you Mr Lupin?" a female asked, pulling him out of his thoughts. "I'm Claire."

Remus turned, offering his hand. "Yes, pleased to meet you."

"Likewise," Claire said before turning to Nymphadora. "Pleasure to meet you too, Mrs Lupin."

Nymphadora laughed, a look of pure amusement crossing her features. "Oh, yes, yes, that's my name! Mrs Lupin!"

Remus pressed his lips together, ignoring the shiver that went up his spine at her enthusiastic response. They followed Claire into the house, listening as she explained it was a very sought after three-bedroom home. Most homes in Hogsmeade were only two bedrooms, which was something Remus never really thought much about. Sirius had stated he wanted at least a two-bedroom but a three was preferred. Remus didn't really know why his best mate wanted the extra bedroom, but it was his money to spend.

"Do you mind if we look around a bit on our own?" Remus asked.

Claire smiled. "Of course, I'll wait for the two of you in the kitchen. How does that sound?"

Nymphadora smiled. "Fantastic! My husband and I really appreciate it."

Remus shot Nymphadora an exasperated look, his head shaking. Claire didn't notice as she made her way towards the back of the house. Nymphadora only grinned up at him, pressing into him.

"I can't tell if you're amused or going to be sick," Nymphadora commented, a grin flitting across her face.

"You know, most blokes would run for the hills if their girlfriend of two weeks was already playing the role of their wife," Remus reasoned.

Nymphadora raised her eyebrows. "Oh, are you one of those blokes?"

Remus grinned. "You know, I thought I would have been, but I find your commitment very endearing in a way I think would have made twenty-year-old Remus vomit on the spot."

"Oh, I think thirty-six-year-old Remus about three months ago would have vomited on the spot as well," Nymphadora teased.
"You're not wrong," Remus agreed, leaning down to peck her on the lips.

They joked and laughed as they explored the house. Nymphadora even assigned bedrooms to Sirius, Harry, and Remus. He shot her a look when she declared the smallest of the three bedrooms as Remus' with its view of the astronomy tower from the window.

"I'm not living here," Remus reasoned.

Nymphadora rolled her eyes. "We all know you'll be here more often than not. Just like at Grimmauld. Why do you think Sirius wanted a three bedroom?"

Remus looked over at Nymphadora, knowing she wasn't wrong. He had just been too naïve at first not think of it. Of course, Sirius was going to have a bedroom for Remus for whenever he wanted it. But honestly, Sirius didn't have to do that. Remus had been fine on his own for over a decade. Now, he even had Nymphadora. Sirius needed to stop meddling.

"We should just spend the night here and have very loud sex to drive him mad," Remus said, peering out the window to get a better look at the castle.

"Are you serious right now?" Nymphadora asked.

Remus turned around. "Yes, he keeps making comments about how I'm shagging his little cousin–"

"You are," Nymphadora interrupted, her lips twitching.

"How I should call him Uncle Sirius because you used to call him that when you were a child," Remus continued.

"Oh, yeah, I think I did a few times," Nymphadora agreed.

"He's just bloody unbearable!" Remus finished.

Nymphadora nodded. "He does have a bit of an annoying streak to him when he's not drunk or all broody."

"He might just shut his mouth," Remus reasoned.

Nymphadora squinted at him and said in a slow voice, "He might shut his mouth because you are having very loud sex in his house with his little cousin that he will overhear?"

Remus winced. "Well, when you put it like that, it sounds…"

"A little mental?" Nymphadora replied, her tone deadpan. "Yeah, just a bit, Remus. Let's not have loud, boisterous sex around our family, yeah?"

Remus let out a small chuckle. Sirius could drive him downright batty at even the best of times, but he had been more unbearable lately than normal. Remus thought it had a direct correlation with being proven innocent and gaining custody of Harry, so Remus tried not to be too annoyed by it all. Small specks of the old Sirius had been shining through which was a good thing. Sirius had been far too depressed since he escaped Azkaban, where Remus had a hard time recognizing him.

"What do you think?" Remus asked, changing the subject, as they made their way back downstairs. "Of the house? Would Sirius like it?"

Nymphadora shrugged. "I don't think he's too picky. He just wants a house in Hogsmeade to be close to Harry. I think the other house he wants, the more permanent residence, he'd be pickier with."

"I don't even know where to begin for that one," Remus admitted. "I was thinking maybe Devon, close to the Burrow. He's so close with Molly."

"Yes, and we need to make sure he has plenty of land," Nymphadora added. "Because, well, first off, he's antisocial. Second of all, he'd want to build us a house next door when we're married," she continued and Remus glanced at her out of the corner of his eye. "And third of all, he'd want to build Harry and Ginny a house on the other side of him. Sirius seems like he'd love a family compound."

"Sirius would never leave the property then if he had us both next door," Remus mused as they entered the bright kitchen.

It was big enough for the amount of cooking Sirius would do. There was no dining room in the house, but there was a small built-in seating unit in the corner. Letting go of Nymphadora's hand, he looked out the back window to see a small little patio and a small strip of grass before the terrain started to steeply rise up.

"What do you two think?" Claire asked.

"We'll take it," Remus announced, turning around to look at the realtor.

She raised her eyebrows. "Well, you can put in an offer–"

"The full asking price. In all coin," Remus replied. "We'll waive an inspection and all that."

Claire blinked at him. "Uh…"

"We can do a transfer directly from Gringotts," Remus continued as he pulled out the authorization form that Sirius had already signed from his personal vault and a quill. "Now, what's the asking price again?"

Claire peered down at the document, no doubt seeing the name Sirius Black and the high-security vault number of seven hundred and eleven.

"For an extra twenty-five thousand Galleon, we would appreciate your discretion on who is buying the home and, uh, tweaking the ownership documents a tad," Remus added, his eyes staring at Claire. "I know it's… outdated to apply blood wards to a house, but I also know Diagon Alley has some strict ordinances that forbid certain enchantments around properties. We would need the current owners of the house to…" Remus smiled tightly, clearing his throat. "To, uh, cleanse ties with the house. In fact, we'd need all previously living owners of the house to cut ties. Magically and… blood-wise."

Magic left trances. They couldn't fully secure the house without eliminating all of the traces of magic within the home. If anyone had ever bled in the home, if there was even a speck of genetic material left over in the carpet or anywhere, then the blood wards on the house would be ineffectual. Sirius needed a clean slate if he was to properly secure a home in Hogsmeade.

"Uh… this is, uh, very unusual, Mr Lupin," Claire said, her eyes flickering to Nymphadora for a brief moment. "People frown upon the use of blood magic."

Remus nodded. "I understand that I'm asking for a lot, but we are willing to pay generously more for those extras."

Claire gaped at him, like a fish out of water.

"I could ask Mr Black to speak with you if that would make you feel better," Remus added.

"Oh, Merlin, please, no!" Claire said in a rush.

"It's just, well, you've seen the papers, I trust," Remus continued, standing up to his full height. "Mr Black has custody of Harry Potter. And, well, he takes security very seriously when it comes to his godson. The Fidelius Charm as well as any charms that hide homes are strictly forbidden in this village. Blood wards, however, though looked down upon since they're unsightly, are not forbidden. If you need more in the offer, I'm sure Mr Black will pay generously for your help."

"There's nothing technically illegal about blood wards," Nymphadora added as she pulled her Auror badge from her pocket. "They're mostly just outdated and looked down upon."

"I'll talk to my client," Claire said, shifting her weight. "If there's nothing else you need, well, I'll get back to you if they have accepted your offer."

Remus shot her a strained smile before he gestured with his head to Nymphadora that they should leave. They stepped outside into the muggy July weather. He casually slung an arm around Nymphadora's shoulders as they made their way to High Street.

"That went… better in my mind," Remus admitted, his voice low. "I mean, who wouldn't take twenty-five thousand Galleon plus over the asking price?"

Nymphadora shrugged, her arm looping around his waist as she leaned into his side. "Well, she may have been hesitant because of Sirius and the blood ward thing, but her clients may not be. I'm sure they'll ask for more money."

"Luckily, Sirius has it," Remus replied. "I think instead of buying a house somewhere, he should just build one. Less issues."

"Then, let's search for some land," Nymphadora agreed, her hand not wrapped around him reaching up to intertwine his fingers with hers.

"I should just transfer the money into my account and buy the bloody house," Remus mused, his thumb brushing along the side of her finger. "Then, I can just sell it to him for a Knut."

Nymphadora laughed. "Cut Sirius right out of the transaction. Honestly, Remus, it's not a bad idea."

Remus looked down at her, his lips twitching. "The things I do for your family."

Nymphadora squinted up at him. "Speaking of family, you never seem to talk about yours."

Remus stilled at the words, trying his hardest not to make a face. The only person he had left was his father, who he talked to a handful of times a year. It wasn't that Remus didn't love his father. He did. It was just, Lyall Lupin was a hard man to get along with. He had very staunch opinions and there was no changing his mind about said opinions. His father hated the Black family with every fiber of his being, didn't get along well with the Potters, and Remus always suspected he still harbored some of his ill feelings towards werewolves despite having a werewolf son.

"You're different, son," Lyall had told him once. "Not like the others."

Remus cleared his throat, trying to decide on how to approach the topic of his father with her. There was no need to sugarcoat it. It's not like his father would ever invite them for dinner and be pleasant to her, not once he found out that her mother was Andromeda Black. He certainly didn't want her to have any unrealistic expectations about the type of relationship they would have with his father. Remus certainly got along well with Sirius, Ted, and Andromeda. But Nymphadora would not get on well with his father. That was just the sad truth of it all.

"Honestly, my dad would hate you," Remus admitted.

Nymphadora seemed taken aback. He couldn't blame her. "Why?"

Remus cleared his throat. "You're a Black. He thinks they're all evil buggers who should be banished," he explained, his face pulling. "He positively hates Sirius."

"Oh," was all Nymphadora said.

"I'm sure he has a lot to say since Sirius has been in the paper a lot," Remus continued. "I haven't spoken with him in…" He let out a huff of air. "Well, since Christmas, I suppose."

That had been a fun conversation. His father asking him if he was aligning himself with Dumbledore's little vigilante group again. Remus had just smiled, sipping his tea, while his father had implied that Harry was a liar.

"I suppose like father like son," his father had said with a sigh. "James Potter always did like to be the center of attention."

Remus had excused himself shortly after that, not feeling like getting into a heated debate with his father.

"What about your mum?" Nymphadora asked, giving his fingers a squeeze.

"She's dead. Died a few years after the first war ended. She lost a battle to a terrible disease," Remus supplied, thinking of the breast cancer that had taken her life at a young age. "I guess, well, my dad and I just continued to drift apart even more after that. My dad is just very opinionated, and I think he hates the fact that I'm a… well, yeah."

"I know you're going to roll your eyes at this, but I'm being one hundred percent honest when I say your little problem was what intrigued me about you to begin with," Nymphadora said, her lips twitching.

Remus groaned, his head shaking. He never understood how that would cause a witch to find him even remotely attractive.

"There you were, this mild-mannered man in his little cardigan with patches on the elbows sitting next to my cool older cousin in his leather jacket," Nymphadora explained, her fingers tickling his side. "Then I find out about your little problem and how you went undercover in the first war. People whispered about how good of a dueler you are and then, then bloody Mad-Eye of all people is singing your praises about how you saved his life once during an Order mission."

Remus sucked in a breath. "There was a group of us. I just got to him first."

Nymphadora knocked her hip against his. "As soon as I met you and you opened your mouth, well, you were funny and you used sweary words and you didn't seem so mild-mannered after that. You have a filthy mouth in bed too."

"Shh," Remus said with wide eyes, a small chuckle escaping his lips. "We're in public, Dora."

"I'm just saying, even if your dad still holds biases, not everyone does," Nymphadora explained. "You're not different than anyone else because of your problem. There are good and bad people no matter if someone has a problem or not. To just assume a group of people are all evil because of a little problem is just, well, it's disgusting. There's a lot of people who would agree with me."

Remus' insides warmed. "A lot of people would disagree with you as well."

"They're a bunch of moronic cockwombles," Nymphadora insisted.

Remus laughed. "You're as bad as Sirius, you know that?"

Nymphadora's gray eyes sparkled. "Yeah, Uncle Sirius has a great sense of humor."

Remus groaned, his head throwing back to look at the sky. "Don't you start."

Nymphadora laughed as she turned her body towards him, untangling herself from his embrace. She cupped his face with her hands and tugged him down to kiss her. She smiled against his lips and Remus couldn't recall a time he had ever been happier. While he hated to admit it, he really had Sirius to thank for knocking some sense into him. Because now he was with the perfect witch, he was finally getting to know Harry better, and he had friends in the Weasleys all because he decided to listen to his best mate and stop keeping everyone around him at arm's length.

Sirius clapped his hands together, his eyes looking between the three teenagers in front of him. While the rules hadn't changed vastly from the last time they were at Godric's Manor, the house was fully secure from everything dangerous after they had cleaned up the potions room. He couldn't think of anything else that would harm the kids in the house. Fleamont and Euphemia were vehemently against the Dark Arts, a distaste they had passed down to James and then had trickled down, unknowingly, to Harry.

"All right, the potions room is safe," Sirius explained, his gaze mostly focused on Ginny and Ron. "Just stay inside, all right?"

"There's a pool," Ron said, his hand rubbing his neck. "I mean, maybe one week we could, you know, use the pool during a meeting."

Sirius' face scrunched. "Yeah, your mum isn't going to go for that."

Out of the corner of his eye, Sirius saw Gawain Robards. Instead of walking right by them, he walked towards them. Sirius looked back at the trio in front of him.

"The wards are on the pool though, right?" Ron pressed. "I mean, I don't think I've ever seen a house with a pool so we should probably try it out. Make sure it's still good and… working?"

"Sirius," Robards greeted in a curt tone, his eyes flickering over to Harry for a brief moment.

"Gawain," Sirius greeted with a nod. "Uh, this is Ron and Ginny Weasley. And Harry Potter," he introduced them, gesturing to each of them as he said their names before he pointed at Robards. "This is Gawain Robards, he's the new Head of the Auror Department."

Robards nodded in their direction, paying none of them that much attention. Harry looked slightly relieved when Robards turned back towards Sirius quickly.

"Bones wants you and Potter to stop by the Ministry tomorrow for a chat," Robards said, his eyes staring unblinkingly at Sirius. "So maybe force a smile on your face and put your best foot forward for once, yeah?"

Sirius' face pulled, his eye catching a swish of brown hair passing by the parlor's door. His heart clenched immediately when Marlene's gaze caught his. It didn't linger, however, as she didn't even stop walking.

"Why do I have to go?" Harry blurted out.

Robards glanced over at Harry. "Per Sirius' agreement to gain custody of you, he's agreed to sing the Ministry's praises. She assumes that extends to you as well, the one she really wants to sing her praises.

Sirius sucked in a breath. "Yeah, I'm so glad she just assumes Harry was a part of that deal."

"There is no deal without Potter," Robards explained, his attention turning back to Sirius. "She doesn't need you. I mean, have you read the papers? You're still fucking hated, even more so now that you have custody of the beloved Boy Who Lived."

Harry scowled at the last four words, his arms crossing over his chest. Sirius shot Harry a wink.

"Harry will be on his best behavior," Sirius commented, clapping a hand on Harry's shoulder. "But I can't guarantee I'll be on mine."

"Maybe it's a good thing you never became an Auror," Robards said, his head shaking. "I probably would have fired you on my first day as Head Auror."

"Nah, I would have been too good on the job," Sirius replied, a shit-eating grin crossing his features.

"GINNY!"

Sirius snapped his attention to the voice to see Tegan Robins standing in the doorway with a brunette teenager that he could only assume was Demelza. She was taller than Ginny and looked exactly like Tegan.

"Demelza?" Ginny gasped.

The two girls ran towards each other. Ginny jumped into Demelza's arms, her legs wrapping around Demelza's waist. The girls laughed loudly as Demelza spun Ginny around in a circle. Sirius cocked his head to the side, being distinctly reminded of Marlene and Lily.

Ron pulled a face. "Merlin, what is wrong with them? We don't greet each other like that."

Harry shook his head. "It's been a while since they've seen each other. Maybe if we were apart for longer."

Ron snorted. "Yeah, I'd like to see you jump in my arms like that."

Harry snapped his head to look at Ron. "Why would I be doing the jumping? You could do the jumping."

"You're shorter!" Ron protested. "The shorter one does the jumping."

"Just barely!" Harry protested as he rose on his tiptoes. "Look, I don't even need to go all the way up to be your height."

"Merlin," Robards sighed under his breath. "Tomorrow at ten in the morning, don't be late, Sirius," he instructed before he walked away from the group, making his way out of the parlor.

Sirius only rolled his eyes, not looking forward to not only going to the Ministry for the little chat but he downright hated the idea of taking Harry out into the wizarding world. If Voldemort caught whiff, he would definitely try to position himself close enough to attempt another possession.

"Harry, I have long legs," Ron said, kicking his leg out and showing it off. "How am I supposed to wrap myself around your skinny arse?"

"I have the same exact problem," Harry protested. "Did you see how much I grew? I caught up to you last year!"

Sirius shook his head, stepping in front of the boys. "Look, I got to go to the meeting. No pool. No outdoors. But the potions room is now safe, so have fun, all right?"

Stepping away from the two, his gaze caught Tegan's. She smiled at him before she turned towards the girls.

"Stay with Harry and the Weasleys, all right?" Tegan told her daughter as Sirius stopped short of them.

He reached into his magically expanded pocket and pulled out two identical handheld mirrors. With a wink at Ginny, he held out the mirrors to both of the girls. Ginny grinned up at Sirius.

"Hi, I'm Sirius," he introduced himself to Demelza as he handed her a mirror. "I've heard a lot about you, and I know Ginny misses being able to just talk to you. Now that you're clued in on the Order of the Phoenix, I thought you two could use a pair of communication mirrors. Ginny can show you how they work."

Demelza gave a half-grin as she looked up at Sirius. "Yeah, I've seen Ginny use them at school before. You know, with her boyfriend that wasn't her boyfriend yet, even though they were painfully shooting lovesick puppy dog eyes at each other every single bloody minute of the day."

Sirius laughed, a grin spreading across his face. "My godson, yes, he was a bit slow on asking her out. He got there eventually though."

Demelza squinted up at him, clearly not at all afraid of him, which Sirius was grateful for. She reminded Sirius a lot of Tegan, feisty and so confident.

"I know," Demelza replied. "I saw in the paper you adopted him."

Sirius didn't read any of the articles about himself. He'd seen the pictures of him looking like a fucking lunatic on the front page, pictures of Harry looking young and innocent. He'd seen the ghastly headlines, but he refused to read any of the actual articles. He just flipped to the crossword before tossing the paper in the bin.

Sirius looked at Ginny. "Tell Demelza the general ground rules, all right? Can the four of you stick together? We'll be in the dining room again."

"Got it," Ginny replied, shooting him a little salute.

Sirius shook his head, his hand gliding to the small of Tegan's back as he led her out of the parlor. He leaned down, his lips close to her ear.

"Password protected parchment?" Sirius asked, his voice teasing. "You knew James and I had mirrors. Much better means of communication. Safer too."

Tegan snorted, her head turning towards him. "For the longest time, I thought the two of you were just vain enough to want to look at yourselves all the bloody time."

"We were, but not that much," Sirius insisted. "The mirror was a bit of a thank you, really. I thought since you lied and put your career on the line for me, the least I could do was give your kid a mirror so she could talk to her best friend."

Tegan smiled up at him. "Thank you. She's been going stir crazy, honestly. The parchment helped, but there were definitely times she only wanted to talk to Ginny about things," she explained. "And I also have to thank you for letting Demelza come to headquarters."

Sirius nodded. "Ginny's a good kid and she trusts her. I think we all need that one friend we trust with our lives, especially now. Demelza is certainly it for Ginny."

They entered the dining room. Almost everyone was already seated at the table. Sirius caught sight of Marlene sitting next to Andromeda. Marlene's wide eyes flickered between Sirius and Tegan.

"Oh, I know about the meeting tomorrow with Bones," Tegan said. "Gawain told me. I was talking to King and we thought the two of us would pick you up at the Burrow to escort you, if you wanted. Just a little extra safety precaution."

Sirius nodded, more than grateful for the offer. "Yeah, that actually sounds wonderful. I was a tad nervous to take him to the Ministry myself given, well, everything," Sirius explained, a hand carding through his hair. "Do you know how many people know about the meeting? Could it get back to Voldemort?" he asked, turning to face her and shoving his hands into his pockets. He hunched his shoulders, trying to lower himself to her height a bit more so they could have a more private conversation.

"Scrimgeour and Gawain were asked to sit in," Tegan explained. "So, I think just the three of them."

Sirius' eyes flickered over to Dumbledore who spoke with Snape at the head of the table. "No Dumbledore this time?"

Tegan's lips twisted. "No, but he knows about it. Tried to get an invite. I'm sure you'll be accosted afterward for a debriefing."

Sirius nodded, his jaw jutting out. "Of course, he would."

Tegan took a step closer to him, her chin tilting back a tad more to keep eye contact. Sirius bent down a little more.

"Look, I know you and Dumbledore have a sordid history–"

Sirius chuckled humorlessly. "That's putting it mildly. He has a hand in every single Niffler pocket, but he let me rot in Azkaban without asking even a single question. The only reason I'm still here, the only reason I still entertain him at all, is because I know I can't protect Harry alone. I need him, whether I like it or not."

Tegan touched his arm. "You're a good person, Sirius. I'm not going to lie, when I heard about what happened all those years ago, I had my doubts. I knew there was no way you would have betrayed James. I don't know how anyone could who had seen the two of you together. But you were at the wrong place at the wrong time. The Ministry was vicious back then. You weren't the only one convicted without a trial, the only one who went without proper due process. We were powerless to stop it, people like Gawain and me. We were at the very bottom of the broomstick back then, nothing to our names with nobody to listen to us. We were both appalled by some of the things that went on directly after the war. And you were just… you were fodder. Like so many other people."

Sirius nodded, not knowing what to say. He had felt like he had been thrown to the wolves. No hearing, no trial, no opportunity to even speak his side of the story. The Ministry had been frantically trying to clean up the mess that Voldemort had left behind with no concern for anyone or anything but the Ministry's own reputation. Sirius had been a casualty in the Ministry of Magic's thirst to look strong and capable in the eyes of the masses. But Sirius supposed he couldn't just blame the Ministry for his troubles. No one had fought for him. Not Dumbledore, not Remus, no one. Apparently, Andromeda had tried, but she had no clout and nothing to her name. Even she gave up fairly quickly, not pushing the matter. He had been alone with Fleamont, Euphemia, James, and Lily all dead. They were the only people who would have fought for him.

Sirius cleared his throat. "Yeah, well, uh, anyway, thanks for everything. I hope Demelza enjoys Ginny's company."

"Oh, I'm sure she will," Tegan replied. "She talks nonstop about Ginny."

With that, Tegan took her normal spot with the other Aurors in the Order. Once upon a time, Sirius would have sat with that group once James had gone into hiding. Now, well, now all of those people were dead and replaced with new Aurors. He rounded the table to where Remus sat and took his normal spot next to him.

Remus leaned over. "That house in Hogsmeade, they'll accept your offer for fifty thousand Galleon over the asking price. Dora and I can oversee that the previous owners cleanse from the house this weekend and then we can start our own wards."

Sirius nodded. "Yeah, yeah, that sounds great. Whatever. Why don't you just take out an extra thousand Galleons. Give yourself a nice bonus for making it happen so quick."

"Sirius…" Remus trailed off.

"I have money to burn, Remus," Sirius replied, watching as Snape took his seat next to Dumbledore like a fucking ponce.

"You keep burning money and you'll have none left to live off anymore," Remus reasoned as Dumbledore called for the meeting to begin.

"I'm not worried about that," Sirius reasoned. "You have no idea how much money I inherited. My Uncle Alphard was really good at investing and I have a lot of properties I could liquidate if I really need to."

The meeting began with a general debrief from Dumbledore and then went to Snape. It dragged on like it normally did. Sirius never had anything to offer, which he was fine with, because he wouldn't talk about Harry even if Dumbledore insisted upon it. Sirius rested his head against the back of his chair and stared up at the ceiling, barely paying attention as everyone recounted their various reconnaissance missions or what various high-ranking members of the Ministry were saying about Voldemort's return. Even Remus gave a short debrief about how Morrighan contacted him in regards to his wolf pack.

When the meeting was declared concluded, Sirius was one of the first people to stand, keen to get back to the kids in the other room. Then, Dumbledore called him to stay back, as well as Remus, Dora, and Tegan. Sirius squinted as Remus rose from his seat, gathering a few pieces of parchment together and tucking them away neatly in a folder.

Sirius bent down, his face pressing close to Remus'. "What's going on?"

Remus shrugged. "Haven't the foggiest. I'm intrigued because Tegan was called as well, so it can't have anything to do with Harry."

Everyone slowly filed out of the room. Molly shot Sirius an inquisitive look but Sirius threw up a hand to indicate that he didn't know. Tegan made her way around the table to stand with the others, a small smile crossing her face in greeting.

"Do you have the inside scoop?" Dora asked, leaning in close to Tegan. "The boys are clueless, like always."

Sirius rolled his eyes up to look at the ceiling while Tegan chuckled.

"Nah, no idea," Tegan replied. "Oi, I heard you were dumped that Cooper case. Gawain has a contact in the Met that may be useful. He was going to get you his contact information, but he's shit at remembering so make sure you get it off him."

Dora sighed. "Merlin, thanks, yeah, Axel and I had no idea where to start. Of course, fucking Dawlish was a bloody wanker when he dropped it in our laps."

Tegan snorted. "What else is new? I swear, Dawlish lives to make everyone's life miserable."

Sirius arched an eyebrow at the two. He didn't know much about Dawlish, but he had never heard anyone say anything even remotely nice about him. He glanced up to see Marlene looking back at him as she exited the room with Andromeda and Ted. He raised his right hand to give her a small wave and he received a smile in return. That was a start, he supposed. Once everyone was gone and the door closed, Dumbledore smiled at the group.

"I won't keep you long," Dumbledore announced as he walked over to join the group. "I had a mission for the four of you, if you'd be so inclined to accept."

Sirius perked up at the words. He hadn't been on a proper Order mission in, Merlin, probably since he had watched Edgar Bones die right in front of him. Remus' gaze bore into him but Sirius ignored it. He wasn't going to let Remus ruin the moment for him. Whatever it was, he was game to do it. He knew it must be an important one if he was assigning four of them to one mission – two of which were Aurors. Honestly, there wasn't a group he'd rather go on his first mission back with. He trusted Remus with his life. Dora was his family – the good kind. Tegan had proved where her loyalties lied when she risked her career to help prove his innocence.

"It has come to my attention that a group of wealthy Death Eaters have been buying tickets to the St. Mungo's fundraising ball and auction next weekend," Dumbledore explained. "You may know that this function takes place yearly with Narcissa Malfoy always being one of the main organizers as she holds a spot on the board. What is surprising is within the past week, purebloods who normally do not attend are buying tickets for the event such as the Crabbes, Goyles, Macnairs, as well as a few others. Table prices run a bit steep and there's four allowed to a table. Sirius, I was hoping that you would be willing to pay for the four of you to attend."

Although Sirius suspected that he was only being offered to go so he would finance the operation, he didn't fucking care. He was more than happy to get out of the house and back into the field. If some silly charity ball was the only way to do that, he was more than happy to buy some nice dress robes and clean up a bit. He'd do a bloody fantastic job at it too so he'd be assigned more and more missions.

"Yeah, I'll fund it," Sirius agreed without hesitation.

Dumbledore clapped his hands together. "Excellent! I think Andromeda would be a fantastic resource in helping you look the part. There's dinner and dancing, so I trust that you can break off into couples and cover ground during the event. I have considered if something is up for auction that Lord Voldemort wants or if there's someone in attendance that he wishes to connect with. The possibilities are endless. Severus was not selected to be privy to what was happening."

"So you want us just to keep an eye on the movement at the fundraiser?" Remus asked.

Dumbledore nodded. "Perhaps, if you notice Lucius Malfoy bidding on anything aggressively, I hope that you could intercept whatever it is that he's buying."

Sirius snorted. "Trust me, Malfoy could only dream of having as much money as the Blacks. That won't be a fucking problem."

Dumbledore raised his eyebrows at Sirius. "I must advise you, Sirius, that you stay as far away from Walden Macnair as you possible can. Do not find yourself alone with him."

Dora shot Sirius a confused look, but Sirius only nodded. Walden Macnair's only daughter Charlotte had married Regulus in an arranged marriage at only sixteen years old. As far as Sirius could gather, she disappeared shortly after Regulus did in early December of '79. Neither of their bodies had ever been recovered. Rumors ran rampant that they had both been murdered when they tried to run away from Voldemort's clutches. Sirius had never found out the truth, but Walburga held a small family-only funeral for Regulus and placed an empty urn in the Black family crypt only a month later. Charlotte had not been afforded the same treatment, and he wasn't sure Walden Macnair held any sort of funeral for his daughter.

Macnair had never liked him, but he detested him after Charlotte's disappearance because he blamed Regulus for whatever happened to his daughter. Sirius had found himself in the hospital after running into Macnair a few months after their disappearance, Macnair ranting and raving about how much he hated the Black family for dragging down his beautiful daughter. Sirius couldn't even blame him. She wasn't the first nor the last person the Black family would destroy. Macnair was stupid enough to involve his family with the Blacks though, so Sirius supposed he shouldn't be too sympathetic.

"Trust me, I learned my lesson last time," Sirius replied with a tight smile.

Dumbledore gestured towards the table. "Let's sit down and go over a few details, shall we?"

Sirius sat between Remus and Tegan, listening to Dumbledore go over the latest guest list he was able to obtain as well as how Sirius could purchase the table to the event. Sirius listened intently, watching as Dora jotted down notes for the group. A grin crossed Sirius' face the more he listened, becoming increasingly excited for the mission.

Ginny was more than ecstatic to see Demelza again. The fact that Sirius had obtained mirrors for them as well? She was downright giddy. Ginny grasped Demelza's hand in hers, tugging her over to where Ron and Harry stood.

"You remember Demelza, don't you?" Ginny said, not able to keep the wide grin off her face.

Harry nodded, waving slightly. Ron offered her a lopsided smile. Harry knew her better than Ron, as he had sat with them quite a few times at the end of the previous school year during breakfast. Ron had joined in a few times, but not as often as Harry.

"You two are so chatty," Demelza commented, her attention turning towards Ginny. "Where are we? I mean, I know this is where the Order meetings take place and Mum explained what it was, but who's house is this?"

"Harry's grandparents," Ginny supplied as she gestured towards the picture above the fireplace. "That's Harry as a baby."

"Aww, look at you Harry," Demelza cooed, a grin spreading across her face. "You were so adorable. What happened?"

Ron snorted. Harry sucked in a breath. Ginny just grinned.

"Want to play some Exploding Snap?" Ginny suggested.

There were a bunch of games in a cabinet in the parlor that they had discovered. Chess, Exploding Snap, Go Flying, as well as some board games and puzzles. There was even a stack of crossword puzzle books that Ginny suggested Harry give to Sirius.

The four of them sat around the coffee table. Ron shuffled the cards before he passed them out. Since they didn't have their wands to play, they had to play the little kid variant which wasn't nearly as much fun. Demelza didn't question the lack of wands, so Ginny only assumed that her mum hadn't allowed her to bring hers for the day. It made things less awkward since they didn't have to explain anything going on with Harry and the possessions. Demelza hadn't mentioned Harry's newest scar across his neck, so either she hadn't noticed it or was tactful enough not to ask about it.

"So, you three have been together all summer?" Demelza asked as she tossed a card into the middle of the table, Harry and Ron battling to gain control of it.

Ginny nodded. "Yeah, it's been fun," she supplied as she peered down at her hand, trying to decide which card to discard. "Sirius is a lot of fun. Guess who else is staying with us?"

Demelza furrowed her brow. "Who?"

Ginny's lips twitched as she tossed her card in the middle. "Professor Lupin."

"Oh, fuck," Demelza practically moaned. "He was always so bloody sexy."

Ron pulled a face. "What the fuck?"

"Demelza digs scars," Ginny supplied as she attempted to snag Harry's discarded card but the pile exploded. She swore under her breath.

"He was the sexist professor we ever had," Demelza supplied. "So many girls swooned over him. He was so ruddy nice too."

Harry shook his head. "That's just… wrong."

Demelza waved him off before she tossed a card into the middle of the pile, smirking as all three of them tried to claim the card but only caused an explosion. Ron swore as he dusted the ash off his fingertips.

"He has a girlfriend now," Ginny supplied. "An Auror."

Ron groaned. "Do we really have to gossip about this? It's so bloody awkward."

"Who?" Demelza demanded, blatantly ignoring Ron and the game.

"Nymphadora Tonks," Ginny supplied, a smile twitching on her lips as Harry screwed his eyes shut as though trying to drown out the gossip session. "She's a Metamorphmagus and so wicked."

Demelza pursed her lips to the side. "I don't think Mum has mentioned her before."

"She's younger," Ginny supplied. "She knew Charlie at school."

Demelza's jaw dropped. "Merlin, he would score some young sexy Auror who's like half his age."

"Enough," Ron grumped as he tossed his card onto the pile in disgust. "He's basically Harry's family. It's very uncomfortable for us."

Ginny turned her attention to Ron, her face pulling. "Us?"

Ron sneered. "Yes, us. Harry's family is my family."

"I bloody well hope not because that's sort of awkward for Harry and I," Ginny replied.

Harry groaned. "Can we not?"

"Okay, well, I bloody well disown you then so it's not ruddy awkward," Ron challenged. "I mean, I am sacrificing a lot for you two to have a relationship."

Ginny rolled her eyes, tossing a card into the middle of the pile which Demelza snagged with no issue. "Oh, yeah, tell me what you're sacrificing. I'm all ears."

"Well, well, Harry and I can't talk about relationship things that blokes normally talk about because it's awkward you're my sister!" Ron protested. "Like we can't give each other advice in… certain departments because then I would know things about you that I don't want to know."

Harry looked like he wanted to jump off a bridge. "Nothing has happened between Ginny and I!"

"I would bloody well hope not!" Ron roared. "It's been what? A month at best? I mean, I think the general consensus is that you wait at least five years into a relationship."

"I'm not talking about this!" Harry protested, tossing all of his cards into the middle and causing an explosion large enough that it scorched the table underneath.

"Look what you did!" Ron hissed as he too tossed his cards into the middle of the table to cause another large explosion. "I hope you two are very happy with yourselves."

"I'm rather chuffed right now myself," Demelza said with a shit-eating grin.

Ron turned towards Harry, his eyes widening. "Do you want to go somewhere else? Alone?"

"Aww, you two are so adorable," Demelza cooed. "I'm surprised Ginny even stood a chance with how in love the two of you are."

Ron shot Demelza a look as he grabbed Harry by the arm and dragged him out of the parlor. Harry didn't even fight it, his voice low as he whispered something in Ron's ear that Ginny couldn't hear. She didn't even care. In fact, Ginny giggled, collapsing into Demelza's side.

"Finally, they left," Demelza commented with a grin. "Now, I need all the details that you wouldn't say in the communication parchment."

Ginny launched into the story about her and Harry's first kiss, how she snuck into his room in the middle of the night a couple of times, and how bloody easy things were between them. Demelza hung on every word, laughing at some of the awkward interactions between Harry and Ginny, to swooning over the way he always tangled his hand in her hair when he hugged her.

In turn, Demelza told her about her summer. From the constant visits from Gawain Robards, Kingsley Shacklebolt, and all the other Aurors who were also in the Order of the Phoenix. She recounted one awkward night when her mum had to go on a mission for the Order so she had stayed with Robards and his wife at their house for the evening because it wasn't safe for her to be home alone.

"Well, now you can just stay at the Burrow!" Ginny exclaimed. "My mum and dad won't care. They're constantly taking in strays."

Demelza smiled. "That would definitely be less awkward. I mean, the Robards were fine. They've been to our house plenty of times for dinner since Mum and Gawain go way back. It was just weird to spend the night at their house."

"Last summer, we spent our time in Sirius Black's childhood home," Ginny said, leaning back on her hands and crossing her legs at the ankles. "Dem, it was a dark and evil fucking haunted house. The Blacks were an extremely messed up family. I don't know how Sirius turned out to be so nice."

"He seemed nice," Demelza agreed. "He's handsome too. Merlin, does Harry just know a bunch of handsome older blokes?"

Ginny laughed. "Remus and Sirius are both Harry's dad's friends."

Demelza gestured towards the picture above the fireplace. "Gins, if Harry has his family's genes, your boy will be the sexiest wizard alive when he's however old his grandfather is in that picture. I mean, look at them! The Potters are all sexy men! And they look like someone just did a copying charm on them all and then added some gray hair and wrinkles!"

Ginny grinned. "Harry's just… Merlin, he could look like a bloody ogre and I'd still swoon over him. He's just so nice and funny and he just makes you feel like you're heard."

Demelza snorted. "Well, I'd like my man not to look like an ogre, but I suppose personality is more important."

Ginny gently kicked her in the thigh with the ball of her foot. "Want to go find the boys?"

"Sure, but I don't think your brother likes me very much," Demelza said as she stood up, pulling down the hem of her shorts that had risen up while she sat.

"Who cares what he thinks?" Ginny replied as she reached out a hand for Demelza to help her.

They found Harry and Ron in Fleamont's study. They were lounging on the leather sofa and chatting. They glanced over when they saw the girls enter. Ron rolled his eyes and Ginny wanted to smack him across the head.

"You know, Sirius said we should stick together," Ginny pointed out.

Ron cocked his head to the right. "Yeah, well, Sirius doesn't have to put up with you two, now does he? He never had a little sister and her friends to annoy him."

Ginny shrugged, her finger spinning the globe. "He had three older girl cousins and an entire evil family that he had to put up with. You have it easy."

"Not bloody likely," Ron mumbled under his breath.

Demelza and Ginny lounged on the floor, Ginny placing her head in Demelza's lap as the four of them started to chat about Quidditch. That seemed like a safe enough topic of conversation. Demelza ran her fingers through Ginny's hair to comb it out before plaiting it.

"If you want to bash the Canons, you might as well leave now and never come back," Ron threatened when Ginny dared make a quip about them.

Harry groaned, his head hitting the back of the sofa. "Do we have to start with the Canons talk again?"

Demelza paused in her plaiting, looking up at Ron. "I like the Canons."

Ron narrowed his eyes at her. "Nobody likes the bloody Canons. You're having a go with me."

Demelza snorted. "I could find better ways to have a go at you then pretending to like a Quidditch team," she replied, her attention turning back to the plait. "My dad loved the Canons. Since I don't remember him at all, I don't know, it just felt like a connection I had with him. I have some of his old Canons memorabilia from back when they actually won games."

"How did your dad die?" Harry asked, his attention on her.

"He was an Auror," Demelza supplied, her voice soft. "Died bringing in some Death Eaters less than a month after You-Know-Who disappeared."

A heaviness hung between them. Ginny glanced up to look at Demelza's stoic face. If she was bothered by the topic of conversation, she didn't show it in the slightest. Her gaze focused on Ginny's hair, her fingers moving fast between the strands.

Ron cleared his throat, steering the conversation back to Quidditch and the game between the Wasps and the Magpies the following evening. Harry seemed far more interested in the game than normal. Sure, he watched them and chatted about them, but he had never asked about stats or players before. He specifically wanted to know about the Magpies, which only had Ginny wrinkling her nose but she didn't say anything.

Eventually, Ginny's parents wandered into the study with tired smiles on their faces. Ginny looked beyond them but didn't see Sirius, Remus, or Mrs Robins. That was odd, especially for Sirius who normally was the first out of the meetings to greet them.

"Sirius and Remus were held back for a chat, so we'll have to wait a bit to leave," Mum told them before turning towards Demelza. "Your mum is with them, dear."

Demelza nodded, a smile crossing her face. "Thanks, Mrs Weasley."

"What are they doing?" Harry asked, sounding anything but casual.

Mum just shrugged. "Professor Dumbledore wanted to speak with them about something. I'm not sure what. Sirius looked just as confused as the rest of us."

It was a while before Sirius and Mrs Robins appeared in the study. Sirius looked nearly giddy, a wide grin on his face when he greeted everyone. Harry rose from the sofa and made his way over to his godfather, an unasked question clear as day on his face.

"We got a mission for next Saturday," Sirius explained as Harry's face fell. "We're going to a charity fundraising and tailing some Death Eaters in attendance."

"Why?" Mum asked, her eyes focused on Sirius.

Sirius pressed a hand on Harry's shoulder. "A lot of Death Eaters bought tickets for the event. Dumbledore wants to know why," he explained as he turned towards Ginny's mum. "Tegan is going with us. I told her you'd watch Demelza for her."

"Oh, yes, of course, we will," she replied, as though that had been a given and not needed to be asked.

Ginny hugged Demelza goodbye, holding her extra tight, before she walked over towards her father. Her gaze locked with Harry's. Though he was quiet, Ginny could tell he was upset about the mission development. Harry had never had to worry about Sirius out in the field before. Now, it seemed as though Harry didn't know how to handle the swarm of emotions inside of him. She offered a reassuring smile but he only let out a breath of air.

Harry woke up with a familiar weight on his chest, an occurrence that wasn't unpleasant. Opening his eyes, he looked down at his chest to catch a glimpse of Ginny's red hair. She felt warm against his body, little huffs of breath hitting his bare skin. He swallowed as his fingers toyed with a strand of hair.

It was a dangerous game they were playing. By some miracle, they had never been caught. He knew their luck would eventually run out, but he wasn't ready to tell her to stop coming to his room at night. Not only did sleep come easier to him when she was sprawled across him, but he had fewer nightmares and he was just, well, happier. He knew that this arrangement couldn't last forever, especially once they went back to Hogwarts in September, but he couldn't help but scheme. Perhaps she could keep a hold of his Invisibility Cloak so she could sneak up to his dorm and they'd have to cast so many charms on his bed and make sure to stick the curtains together…

Merlin, that was mental. He was mental.

"Gin," Harry whispered, his hand rubbing her shoulder. "Gin, it's morning."

Ginny groaned, pressing her face against his chest. He turned his attention to his bedside table, reaching to grab his glasses. He plopped them on his face so he could see it was already seven in the morning. They had slept in. Mrs Weasley was bound to already be up and making breakfast. Sirius and Remus were early risers as well.

"Gin, you got to get back to your room," Harry insisted, pushing her away from him.

"Harry…" she moaned and Harry screwed his eyes shut at the way she said his name, painfully aware of his morning erection.

"Gin, I'm not messing around," Harry snapped harder than he intended to, but he was really trying to not get her to moan his name again. "We're going to get caught."

"Five more minutes," Ginny mumbled as she rolled back against him, pressing herself tightly against him.

Harry suppressed the groan in the back of his throat. He pushed her away from him again before he rolled out of bed, ungracefully as he didn't stick the landing and fell flat on his face. He grumbled as Ginny asked him if he was all right. Rolling over onto his back, he saw Ginny now wide awake as she peered down over the edge of the bed.

"Please go," Harry pleaded. "Before someone realizes you're not in your room."

She dangled over the edge of the bed until Harry was certain she was going to fall on top of him. Somehow, she didn't. She pecked a kiss on his lips before she pulled herself back up onto the bed. Harry scrambled off the floor just in time to see her slinking out of his room like a cat.

Carding a hand through his hair, he grabbed a t-shirt before making his way downstairs for breakfast after a quick stop in the loo. Once in the kitchen, Sirius was already dressed in a suit. He looked miserable as he sipped his coffee.

"Eat and then go put on something nice that Andy bought you," Sirius instructed. "We have that meeting with Bones today."

Harry grumbled as he made his way to the stove. Mrs Weasley already had a plate ready for him that she handed to him. He plopped down next to Sirius and ate, his eyes glancing over at his godfather.

"Why are you all dressed up?" Harry asked.

"Because we're going to go in there looking nice and clean and upstanding," Sirius replied. "We're not going to give Bones or anyone else a chance to say I'm not a fit parent."

Harry scrunched up his face. "Clothes will accomplish that?"

Sirius took a sip of his coffee. "Less for the papers to scrutinize us for."

Harry nodded. "So, I have to wear a full suit too?"

Sirius shook his head. "Just a nice pair of trousers and a dress shirt, yeah? Try to comb your hair."

Harry glared at Sirius before he turned his attention back to his breakfast. It was useless to even attempt to comb his hair. It always looked like he had rolled out of bed no matter how much time he spent combing it.

After eating and getting ready for the day, Mrs Robins and Kingsley Shacklebolt appeared at the Burrow to escort Sirius and Harry to the Ministry. They had zero issues, luckily, but it didn't stop Sirius from digging his nails into Harry's arm and keeping him close. It was a tight fit in the phone booth, but somehow, they managed to make it work. Stepping into the Ministry of Magic, Sirius wrapped an arm tightly around Harry's shoulders as they walked towards security.

Whispers broke out around them. Cameras flashed. Harry ignored everything going on around them as they entered the atrium of the Ministry. He stared at his feet, wanting it to be over with already. Except Harry suspected it would be a long morning.

Sirius' hand left Harry's shoulder. Harry turned to see his godfather wander off towards the man selling copies of the Daily Prophet at his stand. Kingsley pressed himself close to Harry in Sirius' absence, a hand touching his shoulder and Harry found he didn't even care. He was too focused on the picture of his godfather holding up a sign with his prison number on it clad in Azkaban robes. He looked, well, exhausted and a tad bit sad. Harry could remember seeing that picture years ago and thinking he looked menacing. But now knowing the man, he couldn't help but see the subtle differences in his expressions because Sirius almost always had a resting scowl on his face.

"Oi, I'll take one," Sirius said, reaching into his pocket to pull out some coin. "I heard you were writing some really great stuff about me. Had to see for myself."

The man took the coins, his eyes staring wide at Sirius. His godfather snatched one of the papers before heading back over to Harry, Kingsley, and Auror Robins. He held the paper up to his face.

"Do I look the same?" Sirius asked, a half-smile crossing his face.

Auror Robins snorted. "Yeah, just a lot more wrinkles."

Sirius chuckled, looking down at the paper. "Societal Menace Sirius Black Gains Custody of Harry Potter," Sirius read. "Oh, so I went from murderer to societal menace? I think that's an upgrade."

Harry craned his neck to see the paper as Sirius flipped through it lazily as they walked towards the lift. He winced when he saw a picture of himself at fourteen in his Triwizard Tournament uniform looking uncomfortable in front of the camera. The headline read, "Is Harry Potter Safe with Supposedly Innocent Mass Murderer Sirius Black?"

Harry stopped looking at the paper after that, feeling slightly sick. How anyone could give their opinion about someone they didn't even know anything about was beyond Harry's comprehension. To imply that he wasn't safe with his own godfather? Harry squashed down the bitterness that built inside of him. Sirius didn't deserve the libel against him.

When they arrived at the Minister's office, they took a seat as they waited for Minister Bones to be ready for them. Sirius continued to flip through the paper, stopping to read some article that must have had something to do with Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy. The man's smug face appeared front and center among a group of other witches and wizards that Harry didn't recognize. Harry's eyes scanned the article to realize it was about the charity fundraiser that Sirius was going to attend the following week.

He hated the fact that Sirius was now cleared to go on Order missions. A part of him felt downright guilty to wish that Sirius was still on lockdown. He had never worried about someone so much before. When it was Ron and Hermione in danger, Harry had been right in the thick of it with them. He knew they were safe during their adventures. But Sirius? How was Harry supposed to sit at home and wait for him to return? He wouldn't know for hours if he was all right or hurt or worse.

Harry didn't have long to fret as Minister Bones called them into her office. Harry awkwardly followed Sirius inside. Sirius didn't look nervous or seem out of place, the complete opposite of how Harry felt. Sirius strolled into the room like he belonged there, like he had this sort of important meeting all the time. Harry watched as Sirius and the Minister shook hands.

"Pleasure to see you again, Mr Black," Minister Bones greeted.

Sirius snorted. "I'm sure," he said before he turned towards Harry, wrapping an arm around his shoulder. "This is my son Harry."

Harry felt his heart clench at the words. He snapped his attention over to Sirius, feeling a rush of affection towards his godfather wash over him.

"Good morning, Mr Potter," Minister Bones greeted him with a strained smile and a handshake. "We're just waiting on Gawain Robards and Rufus Scrimgeour. I hope it's all right that they're joining us today."

Sirius shrugged, taking a seat across from the Minister. "Do I really have a say in the matter?"

Harry didn't say anything as he took the seat next to Sirius. Minister Bones' lips pulled back as she blinked at Sirius.

"Mr Black, I thought we struck a deal," the Minister said, leaning back in her chair. "We can be beneficial to each other."

Sirius nodded, tossing the newspaper between them on the desk. "Yeah, it's going well for me. People are really buying that I'm innocent."

"You haven't spoken in public yet," Minister Bones said, her hands folding in her lap as she stared at Sirius. "That's what I wanted to talk to you about, actually. Holding a nice press conference with me on your right and Harry on your left. We can reassure the public that you are indeed innocent and an asset to the Ministry in the fight against He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named."

Sirius cleared his throat, his right ankle resting on his knee. "If you want to look strong in the public's eye than you're going to have to start using his actual name. Make people believe that Lord Voldemort is just a name and there's nothing to fear."

A knock sounded on the door. The Minister called for them to enter. Harry turned in his seat to see Gawain Robards and Rufus Scrimgeour enter. Harry didn't acknowledge either of them, supposing it was best to not acknowledge that he had in fact met Robards before. Sirius didn't pay them any attention, his gaze still focused on the Minister.

"Hmm, what a very Albus Dumbledore thing for you to say," the Minister mused. "In fact, because of your connection to Dumbledore, I pulled up your Ministry file and read it thoroughly. Even before Azkaban, you had a very… colorful few years after you left Hogwarts."

Harry flickered his gaze to Sirius. If his godfather was bothered by the statement, nothing on his face showed it. He remained stoic.

"Who hasn't been arrested a time or two, yeah?" Sirius asked.

"I think being arrested nine times by wizarding law enforcement and five times by Muggle law enforcement is a tad more than the average wizard," the Minister stated. "Out of those very interesting fourteen arrests, James Potter was with you for twelve of them."

Harry's brows furrowed beneath his glasses at the information. Sirius had never even mentioned that he had been arrested so many times before nor that his father ever had. Curiosity pulsed through his veins.

Sirius only smiled tightly. "Well, we were never actually charged with anything."

Minister Bones let out a small chuckle. "Yes, it seems like Fleamont Potter bailed you both out each and every single time you two wound up in a Ministry or Muggle holding cell. Surprisingly, none of the charges ever stuck against either of you. Must be nice to have friends in high places, Mr Black."

"I think we were just, uh, in the wrong place at the wrong time," Sirius replied with a shrug. "I mean, back then, Death Eaters were literally everywhere. It was hard not to get arrested in the mass arrests that would happen after an attack."

"Yet, you always seemed to just appear when Death Eaters were attacking, did you not?" Minister Bones pressed, her eyebrow arching up. "Far more than the average wizard. In fact, the civilians with the most arrests on record during the first war all seemed to be associates of Albus Dumbledore."

"Funny that," Sirius replied.

"Mr Black, the Ministry has known about Dumbledore's little vigilante group for a very long time now. So, please, don't insult my intelligence. The Order of the Phoenix, correct? I know you were and are currently a member. Just like I know James Potter had been a member during the first war. Just like I also know the entire McKinnon family had been members. I also know Merrick McKinnon abused his power as Deputy Head Auror to help make charges against members of the vigilante group, just like all of your charges, disappear."

"Merrick McKinnon was a great man," Sirius seethed, showing emotion for the first time since they had stepped foot in the Minister's office. "I refuse to sit here and listen to you slander his good name."

Harry held his breath, seeing the telltale signs of Sirius about ready to explode.

"Mr Black–"

"What is it that you want from me exactly?" Sirius snapped. "I said I'd stand with you and give whatever bullshit speech you wanted to make you look good if I received custody of Harry. I'll make good on that promise because I think it's beneficial for Harry not to have the media calling him a liar and mentally unstable and whatever fucking lies they want to tell about an innocent young kid. But I will not stand for you tarnishing the name of good wizards and witches who fought the good fight. Merrick McKinnon was murdered, along with his wife, son, daughter-in-law, and parents because he was seen as a threat to Voldemort. He put a lot of people behind bars, guilty people. He didn't just round up anyone and throw them in Azkaban without a trial or due process. He did things by the book and he took a lot of bad fuckers down."

"I don't want you associated with a vigilante group if we are to work together," Minister Bones explained, her face souring. "It undermines my Ministry and our effectiveness."

Sirius huffed, his head shaking. "You can't protect Harry. No matter what kind of security you offer him, you can't help him in the way he needs help. You can't help me in the way I need help. I'll be honest with you, Minister, I can't fucking stand Albus Dumbledore. But I appreciate his power and his influence. I appreciate that he knows what the fuck is going on more than you'll ever know. So, my advice? You should swallow your fucking pride and join him. Because you won't win this war without his knowledge. The enemy of my enemy is my friend. It would do you well to remember that. I sure as fuck wish I would have fourteen-odd years ago."

"You suggest that the Ministry of Magic join forces with a vigilante group?" the Minister repeated. "That's just ludicrous."

"Then you'll die," Sirius said in a flat tone. "Our world will die. Voldemort will take over and eradicate the Muggleborn population. He will imprison or murder anyone who dares to defy him. Life as we know it will be over. You may as well start digging the mass grave now."

Minister Bones leaned forward, her elbows propping up on the desk. "What do you know that we don't?"

Harry held his breath. His head spun from snapping his attention between Sirius and the Minister, his mind struggling to keep up with the stakes that seemed to be rising every few sentences. Sirius only shrugged, standing up from his seat. Harry couldn't move as his eyes bore into Sirius.

"I don't know anything," Sirius said in a plain tone. "Let me know when you want that little press conference. I'll make sure I'm extra cheerful that day," he said before turning his attention to Harry. "Come on. Let's go."

"Mr Black," the Minister seethed.

Harry stood up, standing as close to Sirius as he could. Automatically, Sirius wrapped an arm around his shoulders and pulled him close.

"I'm holding true to my side of the agreement," Sirius said. "I just hope you hold up to yours or else we'll have some problems."

Sirius and Harry turned towards the door. Honestly, Harry was glad to. He glanced up at his godfather to see him practically boiling.

"Do you know that as soon as you turned sixteen, the Ministry started a file on you," the Minister announced in a loud voice, causing Sirius to freeze. "It's the age that He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named starts to recruit students at Hogwarts. Given your last name, well, you were investigated and followed thoroughly."

Sirius turned around slowly, his eyes staring unblinkingly at the Minister. Harry looked between the two, feeling the tension hang heavily in the air between them.

"We know you lived at the Potters' house until the summer after you finished Hogwarts," Minister Bones continued. "Then, you and James Potter moved into a flat together in Knightsbridge. A year later, you and Marlene McKinnon moved into Alphard Black's cottage. You kept the company of some very important people from Fleamont Potter to Merrick McKinnon to Albus Dumbledore. We knew every single time you were arrested, who was with you, who bailed you out, who dropped the charges, and who you spoke to afterward. We know every single time you met with anyone else on our watchlist, which included your cousin Andromeda Tonks who you visited frequently. We know every single time you saw your brother, every single time you saw your uncle before he died, every single time you had a run in with any member of your family."

Sirius clenched his jaw. "Well, look at you being all thorough."

"We know you were with Edgar Bones when he died," the Minister's voice cracked at the name. "We also know that you murdered Bertram Nott, but no charges were ever filed because Merrick McKinnon said there wasn't enough evidence against you, though we had an eye-witness account."

Harry stared up at his godfather with wide eyes, his heart twisting. Sirius had murdered someone? The Ministry had known about it. Was that part of the reason they were so willing to believe that he had murdered those twelve Muggles and Pettigrew? They knew he was already capable of it?

"We know every single time you were present during a fight with Death Eaters but managed to escape arrest," the Minister continued. "We followed anyone you were close to. We had tails on Fleamont and Euphemia Potter, James and Lily Potter, and Marlene McKinnon. We also tailed Andromeda and Edward Tonks. In fact, Merrick McKinnon was being internally investigated for his role in Dumbledore's little vigilante group."

"How clever," Sirius seethed, the muscles in his neck showing.

"Even if you weren't at the wrong place at the wrong time all those years ago, you would have been arrested in the first wave of arrests after Halloween. Alastor Moody had you on the top of his suspected Death Eater list for years," Minister Bones explained. "He spoke very fervently against you even receiving a trial. He had determined you were guilty before anything ever happened, since you were sixteen years old. You didn't stand a chance. That's the type of people you associate with in the Order of the Phoenix. Those that had already turned on you, that investigated you, that hated you before you had ever done anything wrong. Moody thought you were trouble from the very beginning and had some very vocal shouting matches with Merrick McKinnon in the Auror Department. Sixteen years old and he had already started to build a case against you."

Sirius shook his head. "You act like you weren't standing right next to him doing the same damn thing to someone else. You were a part of that shitshow too!" Sirius roared, his finger pointing in the Minister's direction.

"I never assumed anyone was guilty without cause," the Minister replied. "Moody was out for all of the Black family. He had all the evidence from the Nott murder, the arrest records, your associations. Dumbledore just followed his lead. You should have heard the impassioned speeches that Moody and Dumbledore made on the floor of the Wizengamot when we voted not to give you a trial. They hated you and they run that little group you're defending so adamantly."

"Fuck you," Sirius hissed.

Without waiting even a second, Sirius pulled Harry to follow him out of the office. Harry knew better than to say anything in that moment. Anger fell off Sirius in droves, his entire body shaking in a very loosely contained manner. One poke, one wrong look, and Sirius would lose his mind. Harry only pressed himself closer to Sirius, just wanting to get back to the Burrow as curiosity flowed through him. When Sirius had calmed down, Harry would not hesitate to ask his godfather about all the arrests and about Bertham Nott.

I'm back! I hope you enjoyed the latest chapter! Don't forget to drop a review. They motivate me to keep writing and just plain make all this hard work worth it. So, share some love.

Special thanks to Bell for being an awesome beta.