[A/N: It's awful quiet in here without Gwendolena. I think I actually miss her and the incredibly thirsty internet searches she used to run on my computer. I hope she's having fun wherever sheo;oseuiz;okjdsf—Sorry, one of my computer speakers just fell over and startled me. I must have put it on top of some papers crookedly or something.]

When Sirius returned to Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour after side-along apparating Neville to the woods just outside of his wards, the kids all seemed fine. Harry, Hermione, and Luna were happily munching on bowls of ice cream so large that even Sirius felt a brief pang of sympathy for the parents to whom he was shortly going to return them. Hestia, though, was merely sipping on a butterbeer and looking at him like he was a patch of mud on her shoes.

Unlike James, who'd usually been too happy Lily was looking at him at all to be concerned about a look like this, Sirius recognized he was in a great deal of trouble for something. He had no idea what, but had no doubt Hestia would enlighten him at some length when they were alone. He wasn't looking forward to that, but another part of him just wanted to get it over with. He hated having that sort of feeling hanging over his head.

Buying himself a bowl of ice cream helped him ignore that feeling, but not as much as he'd have liked. He occasionally caught a pitying glance from Luna while he ate…that child was too perceptive for anyone's good.

After they finished their ice cream, Sirius summoned Dobby. The two of them apparated Harry and Hermione home while Hestia took Luna back to The Rook. Afterward, Sirius apparated back to his flat and leaned on the fireplace next to the floo control. He didn't have to wait long.

"Sirius?" Hestia's familiar voice said as the fire flared green. "May I—"

He tapped the floo control runes.

"Thank you." She stepped smoothly through and turned to glare at him. "I'm going to ask you one question, Sirius, and you're going to answer me truthfully or I'm going to floo directly to Longbottom Manor. Did Regent Longbottom know you were taking her grandson to Diagon Alley today?"

Sirius sighed. Hestia reminded him just enough of Lily that he didn't even consider the possibility she was bluffing. "No, she didn't."

"Damn it, you can't just lure children away from their homes!" Hestia shouted at him. "You as good as kidnapped that child!"

"Kidnapped?" Sirius frowned. "He came willingly and I didn't even meet up with him until we were on the Knight Bus."

"Oh, sure, because ten-year-olds are able to consent to that sort of thing," Hestia said. What are you trying to teach him? That it's alright to sneak out of the house if an adult promises you treats?"

"Of course not!" Sirius shouted back. "He needed a wand and this was our plan to get him one."

"Our plan?" She put a hand over her eyes. "Merlin, the children were in on this, too, weren't they?"

"It was a team effort." Sirius hadn't meant to get Harry and Hermione in trouble.

"You're supposed to be the adult in the room." Hestia removed her hand from her eyes so she could point at him. "What in Merlin's name were you thinking?"

"That he needed a wand!" Sirius shot back. "It's not like we're going to have a lot of opportunities to sneak him to Diagon Alley to get him fitted for it."

"That's his guardian's responsibility, not yours." Hestia gestured wildly as she spoke. "You need to convince Regent Longbottom to get him one herself, not steal her child out from under her nose."

"I can't convince her because she's fucking insane!" Sirius shot back. "There's no way she's going to let him get another wand because she's too hung up on Frank. I think she'd rather he didn't have magic at all than admit he wasn't a replacement for her son."

"There are lots of insane parents out there." Hestia shook her head. "Believe me, I know. You can't just steal all of their children whenever they do something stupid."

"I couldn't just let her deny him a wand!"

"Why not?" Hestia snapped. "Why in Merlin's name is it your business whether he—"

"Because James is fucking dead!" Sirius roared, and Hestia paled and took a step back. "His godfather is dead and Frank and Alice are lost and Augusta is insane and the McKinnons were massacred and Remus fucked off and Peter betrayed us and I'm the only one left and I don't know what to do!"

He spun around and ran his fingers through his hair. "You think I want this kind of responsibility? I was a fucked-up teenager who was a barely functional soldier in the last war, was trapped in prison for years while Dementors gnawed on my soul, and now children need me and I don't know what to do! If Frank or James had seen that boy without a wand, they would have talked some sense into Augusta and made everything work out perfectly, but I'm not them. They were lords, born and bred, and knew how to bring people like Augusta around. I never figured out how to behave like that and Neville didn't deserve to suffer because I'm useless."

A bitter laugh caused Sirius to turn back around. Hestia stood where he'd left her, eyes glistening with unshed tears. "Merlin fuck, Sirius," she said, "this was easier when I thought you were just fucking around, but it's so much worse than I thought. Everything is so much worse than I thought: Harry, Neville, the war, Morganna only knows what else. I'm trying to be a responsible adult because that's the only thing I've ever been good at, but that's not enough, is it? What does 'responsible' even mean when everyone around you is so fucking traumatised they can barely function?"

Sirius shrugged and took a couple of steps toward her. "Fuck if I know. Listen, I'm sorry for dragging you into this. You're right that this was a stupid idea. I just…once the kids learnt how Neville was being treated, they demanded we do something. I knew it was wrong, but I…I don't want to be the one who teaches them to see someone being mistreated and do nothing. Lots of people are going to teach them that lesson: the professors at Hogwarts, officials in our government…our whole society, really. I just couldn't face myself if it were me. They…they think I'm better than that, and it's been so long since anyone thought I was better that I can't bear to let them down."

"You are better," Hestia said. "I think you did the right thing."

"You were right, though." Sirius looked down at the floor just to avoid her tear-filled eyes. "I put Neville in some danger and kind of kidnapped him. That was stupid and reckless."

"But it was right." The witch took a hesitant step toward him. "It was reckless and childish, but at least you did something. How many other people in that child's life saw how he was being treated and looked the other way? You and the children saw it and did something about it. It's the same as what happened with Dobby. Was your solution the most responsible one? Possibly not, but you and the children are the only people I've ever heard of who were willing to solve that problem in the first place."

Sirius shot her a sad smile. "'Reckless, childish, and right?' I'll take it. Maybe at some point I'll get the hang of this whole 'adulting' thing, but right now that's the best I'm probably going to be able to do. You know, you shouldn't deprecate your ability to be a responsible adult like you were a minute ago. There's a lot to be said for that."

"Ideally, yes, but you have to know when to stop," Hestia replied. "I'd been trying to understand why I was never able to make really close friends in Hogwarts, and something Luna said today crystallised it for me. I was like Hermione in school and never appreciated all of the weird, irrational things around me, and I think that bled over into not really appreciating the people, either, and all of their individual quirks. I was always responsible and always tried to play by the rules and help other people play by the rules, but I never gave myself a break to have fun and enjoy my friends. Luna just turned ten and she has a better grasp on how to live life well than I do."

"In your defence," Sirius said, "Luna probably has a better grasp of the mysteries of life than the rest of us put together. She's terrifying."

Hestia smiled. "That's fair."

"Besides, you've got the hard part down, from what I can tell," Sirius said. "You've got the rest of your life to figure out how to enjoy yourself."

"I suppose so," Hestia said. "I don't think it's quite as easy as you make it out to be."

Sirius wanted to say, "I could show you," but she was his employee, so all he said was, "You'll get the hang of it." A phantasm of adolescent Sirius mentally jeered at him for his restraint, but he ignored him because adolescent Sirius was a little arsehole. Instead, he continued, "Listen, I'm sorry about today. Do you want tomorrow off? I'll pay you anyway."

"No, no, it's alright," Hestia said quickly. "I want…I mean, I don't need a day off. Today was lov…er…quite nice, leaving aside our argument. I'd be happy to come in tomorrow."

"If you're sure," Sirius said. Was she blushing?

"I am." She took a deep breath. "As we were arguing, there was a part of me screaming at me to shut up and that you might sack me, but I ignored it because I knew you wouldn't. You're a shite Lord Black, Sirius, but a damn good man."

He grinned. "That's one of the best compliments I've ever received."

Hestia returned his grin. "You deserve it. I should get home, though. Have a good evening."

"You, too," Sirius said. A moment later he was alone again with only his big, stupid grin for company.

It was enough.

The footsteps creeping down the stairs didn't surprise Hermione at all that night, nor did the fact that she was still awake to hear them at half one in the morning. She followed Harry downstairs, sat next to him on the chesterfield, and stared at the darkened yard with him for at least ten minutes before either of them spoke.

"I'm not sure I can do this." Harry kept staring out the window as he spoke. "I barely even know any magic."

Hermione took Harry's left hand in her right and he held on like she was a life preserver. "You don't have to do it yet," she told him. "You'll grow into it."

"What if I don't want to, though?" Harry finally turned to look at her, only a bit of stray moonlight and a distant streetlight sparkling in his emerald eyes.

"Then we'll get you out of it somehow," Hermione said. "I'm sure there's a way to destroy those things."

"Death might not like that," Harry said.

"I have a theory on that," Hermione replied.

Harry grinned. "Of course you do."

She flipped some hair over her shoulder in what she hoped was a dismissive manner. "Of course I do."

He laughed quietly and elbowed her. "Care to share it with the rest of the class?"

"Well, since you asked so nicely," she said, "let's assume Death is the most powerful entity out there. If that's the case, he/she/it should have no trouble making those items indestructible by mere humans, so there's nothing we could do to inconvenience it. Assume Death isn't that powerful, though. Then, instead of destroying the items, perhaps we could seek assistance from some sort of more powerful entity that can protect us."

"That makes a lot of sense," Harry said. "It's certainly worth trying if we have to. I mean, I don't want to tick Death off, but I don't want to be its slave, either."

Hermione gave his hand a squeeze. "That's a very mature attitude." She bit her lower lip for a moment, thinking.

"What's on your mind?" Harry asked.

"Do you remember why Gwendolena said she left Hogwarts?"

Harry nodded. "Something about the Headmaster asking her questions that only I had a right to."

"Yes. She said she'd been in the shop for years, though, which means that she wasn't talking about the current Headmaster, but…"

"Headmaster Dumbledore," Harry said.

"Precisely. He may know of your title, Harry."

"Bloody Hell. Do you think that's why he sent me to live with the Dursleys'?"

Hermione ignored the language, since she thought it was a reasonable reaction on his part to the news that his abusive childhood may have been intentional. "I don't know. We still don't really know what your title means, but it sounds like it's powerful. What if he wanted you mentally weaker and more desperate for his—or anyone's—approval?"

"That could be." Harry stared thoughtfully out at the darkness. "We'll have to be careful of him until we know more about what he's after."

"Definitely." She shook her head. "You may be the single most popular ten-year-old in the world, do you know that? People are obsessed with you."

"No, they're obsessed with a title they've made up for me or a destiny they think they know," Harry said. "None of them give a toss about Harry Potter. If I could just give someone the Hallows, a lot of people would go back to ignoring me."

"That's depressingly true," Hermione said. "You probably shouldn't, though."

"I probably shouldn't," Harry agreed. "I get the feeling that nobody who actually wants to be Master of Death should be allowed to do it."

"I suspect you're right." Hermione thought for a moment. "Harry…I don't want to make you sad, but I'm surprised you're not more interested in the Resurrection Stone."

He shrugged. "I kind of am, but it sounds like that whole experience is uncomfortable for the ghosts and look at how that brother ended up. I don't want to hurt my parents or end up like that guy."

"That's also very mature." Hermione leaned over and gave him a peck on the cheek. "I know you don't want to be Master of Death, but I think you're going to do a great job at it."

"That's nice of you, but we don't even know what the job entails yet." Harry might have been blushing, but in the dim light it was impossible to tell.

"I don't have to," Hermione said. "You don't want power like Antioch or dwell on ghosts like Cadmus. You're a worthy descendent of Ignotus, Harry."

"Thank you. That means a lot to me." Harry laid his head on her shoulder and snuggled in a little.

She smiled. "Not ready to go to bed, I take it?"

"Not really. I like it here and my brain has been going a mile a minute since Gwendolena disappeared. Now that it's just us, I can finally…" he yawned, "...relax."

"We can stay, then," Hermione said. "I like it here, too."

"That works out nicely, then," Harry said.

They stared out into the darkness in companionable silence for just long enough for Hermione to think Harry had fallen asleep when he spoke up again. "Today was really fun…well, otherwise, I mean."

"I thought so, too," Hermione replied.

"Sirius and Hestia work well together and they seem to like each other," Harry said. "Do you think they might get married one day?"

"That wouldn't be appropriate at all," Hermione said. "She's his employee."

"I know, I know," Harry said. "I think he really likes her, though, and don't you think she likes him, too?"

"I think she might," Hermione allowed.

"She'll probably be done working for him soon. Maybe then they could start dating."

"That would probably be OK. Why are you trying to set Sirius up with someone, though?"

Harry shrugged, a gesture Hermione felt more than saw from how they were sitting. "It's nice to have more friends now that we know Neville and Luna, but that's just made it more obvious to me how Sirius doesn't really have anyone besides us. He's going to be really lonely when we go off to Hogwarts."

"I see what you mean." Hermione bit her lower lip and thought for a bit. "And Hestia does seem like she's a good fit for him."

"Should we try—"

"Definitely not," Hermione said firmly. "The two of them need to sort it out for themselves. We could mess it up if we got involved."

"Oh, fine," Harry said. "It would be fun, though."

Hermione allowed herself a smile in the darkness where she knew Harry couldn't see it. "Harry Potter, when did you become such a romantic?"

"Dunno. Maybe it was when I got engaged as an eight-year-old."

She giggled. "So I'm the bad influence?"

"Yes, so you have to buy me Pixie Stix now. It's in The Rules."

"We have the best rules," Hermione said contentedly.

"We really do," Harry replied as they settled in to watch the night pass around them.

Unfortunately, dawn comes late in London in March, so they were awoken a bit before it by the sound of one of their parents showering. They had to sneak upstairs as fast as possible before being discovered and, while Hermione was cross about the possibility of getting in trouble, she had to admit her heart melted a little when Harry thanked her for helping him clear his head and get a good night's sleep after the events of the previous day. For some reason, getting in trouble didn't seem quite so bad if it helped Harry.