A/N: Harry Potter still belongs to JK Rowling.

I want to appreciate all the wonderful reviews. The follow and favorite buttons fuel my keep writing button. And every review is so much appreciated. It makes me happy that so many people seem to be enjoying the story. I'm currently working on another HP fanfic called The Book Worm. Tell me what you think!

Chapter 10 Of Trunks and Brooms

"It's been 14 years, and still not a day goes by that I don't miss your dad."

~Sirius Black~

In the end, Arcturus smoothed things over with his grandmother. He told her he had interrogated the boy and had surmised the boy didn't mean to lie. He was distraught and having nightmares. What his mother had done was worse than the cruciatus on the psyche of a child. Sirius had been whipped and tossed in a dark dungeon cell for hours, sometimes days. He was abused and imaginative. Sirius wasn't happy with the assessment but figured it was for the best.

He vowed to study the timelines but before that could happen he needed a wand. He broached the subject at breakfast the next day. "I need to shop for a few school supplies today." He and James had pinpointed on the timeline the day James was going to Diagon Alley for his school supplies, and today was that day. He was hopeful that he would run into him and make his acquaintance.

Dora started to protest that she didn't have time but Arcturus shook his head, "You're right. I too need to go to Diagon Alley for some things. We can go together perhaps?" Dora looked inordinately pleased and winked conspiratorially with Regulus who tried to hide his grin behind his orange juice. Sirius noticed and said, "What are you two going to be doing?"

Regulus shook his head, "It's a secret." He smiled at his grandmother, and Sirius smirked. "Oh, I hate that. Secrets!" He looked at grandfather "Do you know what they're on about?" Arcturus shook his head and Sirius sighed, resigning himself to being kept in the dark. But curiosity was killing him. It was excruciating in fact not to beg for a hint. Regulus and Dora watched him with interested eyes. Suddenly he was the center of attention and he blinked, "What?"

Regulus scowled. "You aren't going to whine and beg for details?" He asked in disbelief.

Sirius shook his head, "Why would I do that?" Although he had wanted to do that, quite badly. Dora laughed, "Regulus you owe me a galleon."

Huffing Regulus nodded and said, "Yes ma'am." But looked at Sirius and said, "You owe me a galleon."

Sirius laughed, "Why do I owe you a galleon?"

Regulus growled, "Because you ALWAYS act like a prat if someone has a secret! You're predictable!" Sirius paled.

"Really?" He asked looking from one member of his family to the next and they all nodded. He shook his head, "Guess I'm growing up." He explained quite dignifiedly and everyone laughed. Laughed! He frowned, "I'm serious!"

Everyone laughed harder. "We know," Dora said as she broke down into fits of giggles.

Sirius threw up his hands but smiled good-naturedly at the sound of his family's mirth. His family. He had never owned any of them before. Suddenly he realized how much he had missed the first time around. He felt a warm glow and wanted to keep that feeling alive forever. He remembered Lilly's admonishment to love more, to laugh more, to live more. And he joined in the laughter and the meal passed all too soon.

Arcturus and Sirius arrived at the leaky cauldron through the floo network. Well, Arcturus arrived, Sirius was vomited upon the hearth like a sack of potatoes being tossed from a delivery truck. Being smaller had some embarrassing consequences. Sirius looked around curiously as Arcturus helped pick him off the floor and brushed him off, and marveled that it looked exactly the same. Nothing...absolutely nothing had changed. He thought this was incredibly emblematic of the Wizarding World.

Stuck. Entropy. Atrophied. Those were words that came to mind. Compared to the Muggle world, which seemed to move forward at a breakneck pace or just embraced change for the sake of change, the Wizarding world seemed determined to preserve a way of life reminiscent of the dark ages. Heaven wasn't much different he surmised... People flocked to the familiar. There were outliers of course. He smiled a bit and looked at Arcturus with a grin, "It hasn't changed much...but I can't wait till..." He shook his head and clamped on what he was going to say, "Well... till a certain shop opens up and brings a little bit of color to the place." Weasley Wizarding Wheezes would turn the Wizarding World on its head. He laughed at the disgruntled look on Arcturus's face. "Sorry. Just exercising that caution you warned me about."

Arcturus sighed at his eternally un-Sirius grandson and rolled his eyes a bit then looked around, "So do you need me to accompany you on this adventure in shopping, or do you wish to wade in without an old man hovering at your shoulder?" Sirius laughed. "Well, I need you to accompany me to at least one shop, sir."

Arcturus was intrigued, "Which shops and why?" Sirius grinned, "Well we need to buy a secret base of operations. That is going to require a bit of a drain on your vault balance I'm afraid. And then I need a broom. I'll need a chaser's broom. I'll be on the Gryffindor Quidditch team my second year." He admitted. "And I'm a bit rusty on a broom. Are you okay?" His grandfather had started to hyperventilate, turning an amazing color of puce.

Sirius started pounding him on the back. Arcturus turned on him a baleful glare, "Gryffindor?" He whispered as if afraid of someone listening.

Sirius smirked. "Home of the brave."

His grandfather gave a resigned sigh, "Now I know why my stepdaughter crucio'ed you at least." Was his wry reply. "I imagine her reaction was, will be, irrational."

Sirius nodded, "Yeah..." But didn't elaborate. He'd avoided that future at least. He nodded to the shop called "LeVique's" Enchanted Luggage.

He remembered a conversation he had with the Pruitts during an order meeting. They had shared some of the lesser-known secrets to their success with the young Auror. Between them, they owned a matching set of luggage that provided passage to each other, the space in between was extraordinary. Not unlike a wizard's tent, they had access to a private library, dueling chamber, living quarters, and kitchen. If that wasn't marvelous enough, there was a time bubble charm placed upon it. Every hour spent inside, only 10 minutes would pass outside. Some of the charms like the expansion charms, and the wards the brothers had designed themselves. The luggage worked much like a vanishing cabinet but in-between were spacious living quarters that existed outside of time. Sirius whispered his requirements to his grandfather as they entered the shop, causing his grandfather to get a thoughtful expression on his face. A way for Sirius to get off Hogwarts grounds would be necessary if he needed to disrupt an event on the timeline. Arcturus realized then how much thought Sirius had put into this. He realized the boy was on a mission and Arcturus was duty-bound to follow wherever he led. He shook his head realizing suddenly that the Wizarding World was in for quite a surprise when his grandson was ready to make his mark.

"Lord Arcturus! Oh my!" A relatively young wizard approached and Sirius was quite intrigued by him. He smiled at Sirius as well. He wore pure white robes with a red rose in his lapel. His nails were painted black and he wore black eyeliner. Sirius guessed he had charmed his eyelashes long and tipped in silver. "And who is this handsome young wizard?" He held his hand out much like his mother when she expected him to kiss it.

Sirius lifted a brow and smiled, taking the man's hand and shaking it vigorously. "Nice to meet you, sir!" The sales wizard laughed and pulled his arm away a bit forcefully and flexed his crushed fingers. The sales wizard's smile was a little forced but he managed to collect himself quickly and said, "May I help you find something, sir?" Wisely ignoring Sirius to focus on the money maker of the pair.

Arcturus took the reigns then and said, "I will be doing a fair bit of traveling soon and my wife hates to travel but also hates when I am gone. She has asked that I commission something that I am not even sure is actually possible. We have heard of vanishing cabinets, and were wondering if..."

The sales Wizard interrupted excitedly, "If the charm can be used with luggage?" The man nodded, "Absolutely. You would be amazed at the selection of enchantments available. I warn you, they are costly. And the more elaborate the set, well the more costly it can be."

Arcturus was a very wealthy wizard. He owned ruling shares in dozens of lucrative wizarding businesses. He would look into investing in this company if their promises lived up to the reality. He smiled, "Money is not an option, but I am quite an accomplished wizard. With the proper materials, I can create the strongest wards in the world. Much stronger than anything that I can see in here." He smiled craftily, reminding Sirius that his Grandfather was a Slytherin in every sense of the word and suspected that he would end up with the upper hand in this negotiation. "Prepare the trunks, but I will want to have an active role in their construction."

Vic as in LeVique agreed to their terms and they sat down in his office for a full hour discussing the requirements of the trunks. Sirius had a lot of input and tried to give his suggestions subtly. "There should be a library." He'd say... "With an indexing system, like in the Black Library, where you tell it what you want and the book just throws itself at you!" Sirius joked deadpan. The library did no such thing. But Arcturus was forced to play along as Vic suggested just using levitation and summoning spells to accomplish the same thing. But an automated organization spell could be placed on the shelves.

"Duelling room grandpa! That would be wicked!" He gave Arcturus a huge grin!

Arcturus shrugged and said "Perhaps. Though that is something I could always add on later." He grinned. "But we should at least create a room big enough to spar in."

He noted to Vic who kept getting more and more enthusiastic as the project became more and more lucrative. "Anything else?"

"Living quarters... My wife loves to cook. And she also likes potions, so... The kitchen should be dual purposed for that. Magical ventilation. Air Filtration. It wouldn't do to suffocate in our sleep or anything." Arcturus shuddered a bit. "Other than a nice sized living space that can serve as living, dining, and bedroom all in one, and a bathroom, and a second room that serves an office and library, and can also be used as a spare bedroom." Arcturus nodded, "Yes, I think that would serve nicely as an anniversary gift. I hope to have it ready by our 40th anniversary."

Vic was taking copious notes and his writing was becoming sloppy as his hand began to shake. The numbers were racking up. "That it?" He finally asked?

Arcturus nodded, "Yes. I think so. Although I'd likely want to fine-tune the blue-prints" Vic nodded, smiled, and then spent another five minutes rewriting his notes. Handed Arcturus the paper. Sirius looked over his shoulder reading it.

1. Twin Magical Trunks (Material and Labor) Specially prepared for magical enhancement 10,000 Galleon 2. Two-way passageway (35000) 3. Living Quarters Standard - 10,000 Per room 4. Environmental Spells 3000 5. Security Spells 5,000-20,000

Sirius whistled. "Grandma sure is expensive," Sirius noted with a bit of a smirk making Vic frown at him.

Arcturus nodded, "Yes she certainly is. But she's worth it. I think." He muttered. "Well that's quite a bit but I won't need any of the security spells, I probably can do the environmental spells as well. The two-way passageway...that's a bit trickier. I could probably do it, but... He brushed it off, "Now, lets talk time bubbles."

Vic toppled off his chair into a faint. Arcturus sighed. "This is taking longer than I thought. You go ahead Sirius...I'll finish up with our new friend here. Feel free to charge your school supplies to my account." Giving his grandson a stern look, "Within reason. " He smiled as he helped a still stunned-looking wizard to his seat. "We have an appointment with our Gringotts account manager at 3." He reminded him.

Sirius nodded, "If he can't do it," Referring to the temporal magic, "you shouldn't get too worried. Sleep is overrated." Which made no sense to the almost giddy-looking wizard as he started calculating the cost of erecting a time bubble. Very few wizards could accomplish the task. Those that could didn't come cheap. One chap, who lived in France was adept at quantum magics but was commissioned out at least a year. He heard the luggage creator explain in detail as he made his escape. He trusted that Arcturus could strike a deal without his help.

An amused Sirius stepped out into the welcome sunshine and let his gaze wander the crowds. It was getting close to time he thought. His eyes going to the clock tower. James couldn't remember the exact time, but he said they spent hours, though they got a late start. Something about his father being called away to the Ministry for some emergency or other, but it was handled fairly quickly for such things and they left shortly after lunch. It was almost noon.

He walked toward Ollivanders first, sure that he could obtain his old wand before going to the Quidditch shop. James would make a beeline for it. He smiled as he thought about the other Quidditch shop, The Broom Cupboard. He agreed with Lilly about the name, not liking the reminder of how he failed his godson, but that didn't take away the fact that it was amazing.

Luckily, Sirius was the only customer at Ollivanders, and the creepy old wandmaker introduced him to a new wand. It worried him that he wasn't paired with his old one, but this one seemed more powerful in some ways. "The wand chooses the wizard, Mr. Black." The old man smiled as he gave Sirius the wooden box that contained a 12" ebony wood wand that encased a phoenix feather." He pondered what this meant if anything as he left the shop and stowed his new wand into the sleeve of his robe as he crossed the street to the popular Quidditch supply shop and stood before a display of the newest broom.

He started when he heard a familiar voice at his elbow, and for a moment he was frozen in place. "It's the most beautiful thing I have ever seen." James' voice threw him back in his memories, and he felt a moment of disorientation. He kept his eyes transfixed on the broom in the window. He couldn't tell you what it was. His vision blurred with unshed tears and had to blink rapidly to keep from crying. Talk about a bad first impression!

Getting a grip on his emotions he turned to look at the boy that had suddenly appeared at his elbow staring rapturously at the broom in the window. He quickly glanced away after noting that he was exactly as he remembered him, a bespectacled handsome young boy with raven black messy hair. He riveted his eyes to the display but watched James' reflection in the window with clandestine glances. "It's fantastic." Sirius finally said into the rapturous silence of James who looked like he died and went to heaven. Sirius almost laughed at this thought. The situation couldn't be more surreal.

"You fly then?" Sirius asked with a smile.

James nodded, "I think I was on a broom before I learned to walk." James said with a laugh. He then tore his eyes away from the broom and looked at Sirius who was still looking at it as if it was the most interesting thing on the planet and said, "I'm James. James Potter."

Sirius took a steadying breath, turned, and smiled at his future friend, "Sirius. Sirius Black. Then not giving the boy a chance to ponder if he knew the name or reputation of his family he grinned mischievously, "Let's go in. I need to buy a broom and you look like someone who knows a thing or two about them."

James grinned and modestly said, "I know a bit." And just like that Sirius and James bonded. Inside the shop they talked about everything Quidditch, gradually the topic moved from brooms to Hogwarts. They discovered they would be in the same year as James helped Sirius pick out a broom that would further his goal of becoming the youngest ever chaser in Hogwarts history while James lamented that he wouldn't be allowed a new broom UNTIL he was on the team. Sirius and James made their first bargain then. They would both get on their respective house Quidditch teams by their second year. They even developed the Marauder's secret handshake that day.

As they were leaving the shop, Sirius with his new broom slung proudly over his shoulder, turned and told James. "I like you, James. I think we're going to be great mates." Then he held out his hand and as James went to shake it he shook it up. It was comical the way James started making the secret handshake more and more elaborate and Sirius laughed a lot.

"So where are you going now? James asked. "I gotta get fitted for robes."

He made a face and Sirius nodded, "I do too." He grinned, "Bravely we shall go forth and conquer our fear of fashion."

James followed him into Madame Malkins. The shop was bustling and both boys had to wait. They took seats next to each other in the waiting room talking about whatever came to mind. He was still a bit in shock that he was indeed making the reacquaintance with his best friend, but found it easy to talk to James. James was quick-witted for an eleven-year-old. He was also a bit of prat. In those days he too was pretty immature. But they were 11! Sirius had to keep reminding himself that he couldn't overreact or get judgy about anything. He had to play along...subtly changing things. As the muggle saying went, Rome wasn't built in a day. He had to remind himself that every change was volatile...like a miniature bomb that could obliterate the timeline.

No sooner had his thoughts turned to bombs, an eleven-year-old Severus Snape stumbled into the shop. Sirius had to pinch himself a few times to make sure he wasn't hallucinating or asleep. Of all the dumb luck. Or fate... A small still voice said inside his head. He sighed and pasted on a welcoming smile. He'd be damned if he had any part in re-igniting that old rivalry. He chose a different path long ago. His glance however moved worriedly to the young precocious, spoiled rotten James. He wondered if he could derail this train wreck before it ever happened. Sirius watched the boy as he spoke to the receptionist and she directed him to wait for his turn.

Snape walked quickly to his seat, his long black hair wasn't greasy in the least really but rather was so black it shined and hung unattractively down the sides of his narrow face, his robes were obviously second-hand. That didn't bother Sirius, nor the fact that the boy didn't acknowledge them. Nothing in the young Severus Snape screamed Death Eater in the making. From his perspective, he saw a shy, somewhat socially awkward kid, who seemed neglected and maybe even abused, if what Lily had told him was true. Something he'd never felt for his old nemesis woke in him then, pity? Empathy? He grinned over at the newcomer and said, "Getting ready for Hogwarts too?" Hoping that Snape would at least put out an effort.

The boy looked over, seeming surprised to be noticed or addressed. He gave a bit of nod and said, "Yes." Then looked away quickly.

Sirius grinned, "Excellent." He held out his hand to the boy, "My name is Sirius Black. And my friend here is James Potter." James gave a bit of a jaunty wave but was looking avidly through a quidditch catalog he'd picked up earlier.

Snape looked down at the offered hand and hesitantly took it as if expecting some kind of trick, but Sirius merely shook his hand and smiled as Snape introduced himself, "Severus Snape."

"Nice to meet you, Severus." Then Madam Malkin came and retrieved Sirius and James for their fittings and he didn't see the future potions master until they were leaving with their robe orders. "Hey, Severus!" Sirius said as he was leaving, "See you on the Hogwarts Express!" Severus smiled and Sirius couldn't believe the change it made to the boy's face.

"Yes, See you, Sirius." Snape waved as he was collected for his fitting.

James looked at Sirius strangely for a moment as they were leaving the shop and Sirius could almost read his mind. "What?" Sirius asked.

James just shrugged and to Sirius's relief that instant and mutual hate that had sprung up the first time between James and Snape when they had encountered each other on the Express was absent. James may be a prat but he was an easy-going one. He wasn't naive enough to think a different introduction to each other would derail the enmity between the pair but it was a step in the right direction. At least he hoped.

James had to meet his mother at Flourish and Blotts and so they went there next. Lady Potter was found hip deep in books she planned to buy as a contribution to the Hogwarts library. James introduced him and he found himself strangely affected by his reintroduction. Thea and Charlus Potter had been his surrogate parents for most of his Hogwarts years. Fond memories assailed him and he found himself to be uncharacteristically tongue-tied. James and Sirius were enlisted to assist her in taking books to the checkout counter and Sirius picked up his Hogwarts books with James in tow shortly after.

Once the shopkeeper had promised to send the hundred or so volumes Lady Potter had chosen for the Hogwarts Library to Madam Pince, they had their textbooks shrunk, and with their pockets full they then proceeded to visit the potions shop for their cauldrons and first-year potion supplies. Sirius splurged and purchased ingredients for potions that weren't even listed in the first-year potions book, but he wasn't exactly planning on making first-year potions either.

For the rest of their shopping expedition, Sirius kept his conversation focused on James-centric subjects. Quidditch saved the day really and James talked non-stop about the upcoming Quidditch World cup. Sirius was unsure if he would attend this year, knowing in the past that he had been denied. His mother had spurned such past-times as barbaric and beneath the dignity of a Black. Sirius didn't think his grandfather would mind him going, but he was also wary of upending the timeline in some spectacularly stupid way. The more things he did differently the more likely he'd end up with unforeseen consequences, on the other hand, he kept hearing Lily's admonishment for him to get more out of life.

James and Thea invited the young Sirius to Fortescue's ice cream parlor, but Sirius begged off, explaining that his grandfather would be waiting for him at the Leaky Cauldron. Thea seemed relieved that Sirius hadn't been completely abandoned to his own devices at Diagon Alley. They offered to see him to his grandfather but Sirius declined and politely excused himself. He did get permission to owl James and they exchanged addresses. By the time they had made their goodbyes, James and Sirius were well on the way to becoming great friends.

All in all, Sirius felt more confident in his ability to act normally with James. He felt an incredible surge of accomplishment when he entered the Leaky Cauldron and saw his grandfather reading the Daily Prophet as he waited for him. "Grandfather," Sirius said as he slid into the chair across from him at the table. Arcturus looked up and smiled at his grandson.

"All done spending my galleons then?" Arcturus asked with a wink.

"Mischief Managed," Sirius said with a grin. "Well almost, I was hoping that you could assist with a small problem."

Lord Arcturus humphed a bit skeptically, but listened to Sirius's proposal and sighed, "We'll have our Gringotts account manager handle the details." The elder looked at his charge and said, "You're sure there isn't an easier way of handling this?"

"Positive. Remus Lupin is not someone who would ever willingly accept charity. But a scholarship... that would be something he would accept because he earned it."

Lord Arcturus nodded, "I think I like this young man already."

Sirius grinned. "I just wish I could see his face when he gets the letter." Lord Arcturus however looked a bit pensive. "You look concerned? Why?"

The older man shook his head, "I just... I want you to help your friend. I do. But I also know that hardships, even economic hardship, create strength of character. If your friend suddenly has this boon fall upon him will he be changed by that?"

Sirius considered the very real possibility and then shook his head, "The Remus Lupin I know would never be turned by a little bit of good fortune. Besides this is school supplies and robes were talking about, not a lifetime supply of chocolate. Of course, if he were to find out I was behind it, there would be a bit of an issue, so it has to be anonymous with absolutely no way it can be traced back to us."

Arcturus nodded and said, "There are ways. Trust me, I don't think I want anyone to know about my support of a half-breed werewolf, no matter how good his grades."

Sirius just shook his head and said, "That half-breed, as you call him, will go on to save my backside more times than I can count. He also has more honor than all the pure-blood fanatics put together. Even me. Even you." Sirius stubbornly insisted and then said before it could become an argument he would later regret, "Perhaps we should eat, and then Gringotts."