"What if he's not back yet?" Harry asked, tying his latest letter to an owl's leg. This owl belonged to Sirius and looked like a common barn owl, but was very intelligent. Sirius had named it Pollux. He had said that he had a friend with an owl named Castor from the same flock, but the tone in his voice made Harry not ask any questions about that friend. The owl had found him when he got out of prison.

"Well, in that case, we will just wait," Sirius said, stroking Pollux gently. "Pollux will find him no matter where he is. I am doing other work to clear my name, Harry. This is the most important thing though. I need to have Peter to prove that I did not kill him and that he was the Secret Keeper."

"What if you can't find him?" Harry did not like to worry about Peter being with Ron. Just thinking about it made him sick to his stomach.

"Peter?" Sirius asked.

Harry nodded.

"This is not the only plan," Sirius said. "He's a wily one though. He had us all completely bamboozled into thinking he was our friend, and the whole time he was a traitor. To be honest, none of us thought he was very smart so we underestimated him."

"You guys were really good friends?" Harry asked.

He could not imagine Hermione or Ron betraying him, or even his other friends like Neville. It was too terrible to even think of. He felt like the three of them were as close as friends could be.

"We were thick as thieves, the four of us, pretty much all of our school days," Sirius said, his voice both sad and far away. "It was usually James that thought up the adventures, and sometimes me-especially if it was a prank. The others …" He paused, almost choking on the words or the memory. "The others sometimes just went along with whatever we did. But it's hard to think about school without remembering what good friends we all were. We were as close as can be."

Harry wasn't sure what to say, so he didn't say anything. He just let his godfather continue talking. Sirius looked wistful and sad.

"We called ourselves the Marauders," Sirius continued. "It seemed terribly important at the time. We got up to a lot of trouble but we had a great deal of fun, too. We invented or found the best magic. We even made this map…"

Sirius stopped talking, as if the memory was too much for him.

"A map?" Harry asked, intrigued. "What kind of map? Magic?"

"Yeah," Sirius said with a chuckle. "We called it the Marauders' Map. We could see where everyone was in the castle. I am not sure what happened to it. Filch confiscated it from us."

"Filch?" Harry laughed. That map sounded great. Too bad it was lost. "He has been around that long? I knew he was ancient."

"Oh come on now," Sirius laughed a hearty laugh. "I'm not that old! But yeah, Filch is still there?"

Harry nodded, "Filch and his stupid cat always go around blaming me for things I didn't do. Last year he accused me of killing her!"

"Killing her?"

"Yeah, it wasn't me though. And she wasn't dead. She got petrified by the basilisk."

"The what?" Sirius asked, looking flabbergasted.

"Oh yeah, it was huge. I think it's still there in the chamber. I killed it though," Harry said with a small shiver. He did not want to think about it.

"You killed a basilisk," Sirius stated, rather than asked.

"Well, no one else was going to I guess," Harry tried to joke. It felt a little hollow with the look on Siirus's face. No one had made much of the whole thing. It still had him waking up in the middle of the night in a cold sweat. "Honestly, the tasks and fighting Voldemort possessing Quirrell in first year was much worse. And Dobby almost killing me trying to save my life."

"We are really going to have to talk about this sometime," Sirius said gravely. "I have a feeling I will need a stiff drink. I have heard Dumbledore is the headmaster there still."

Harry could hear the bitterness and even anger in his voice. He just nodded. He had felt that Dumbledore was a great wizard who cared about him and what happened to him when he first started Hogwarts. He had not had an easy time of it there though, he had to admit. Dumbledore did not seem to value school safety. But Harry had never had a parental figure who cared. The look on Sirius's face was enough. If the Dursleys had been informed about all of the injuries and disasters he'd had in his two years at Hogwarts, they certainly never said anything. He doubted they were upset, and they always seemed more concerned that he returned to their home.

"Yeah," Harry answered, putting his line of thought aside. "He's still there."

Sirius's face was unreadable. "He was not much of a headmaster when I was in school," he finally said. "Looking back, he let us get away with a lot. Especially becoming animagi. That was incredibly dangerous and I find it hard to believe that he didn't know what was going on."

"He seems to know everything," Harry agreed. "He told me something once about no one being able to keep secrets at Hogwarts."

"That's true," Sirius said with a barking laugh. "The portraits and ghosts are all blabbermouths. The ghosts seemed to like us though. Especially Peeves!"

"You got on Peeves's good side?" Harry laughed. "He is always a menace to me."

"Oh yes," Sirius said. "We used him in our pranks from time to time. He warned us when Filch or a teacher was coming. Peeves loves mayhem. He would turn on us just as easily though. Peeves only cares about himself. Poltergeists do not understand loyalty."

"Yeah," Harry said with a laugh. "I am surprised you got him to cooperate at all."

"Oh, he would turn our pranks on us, sometimes," Sirius said. "We usually pranked the Slytherins, but Peeves seemed to believe that pranks should be on everyone, including the pranksters. I remember one time when we got him to toss water balloons with a potion to turn hair pink and Snvi…" Suddenly, he stopped. "Well anyway, people from all four houses ended up with bubble gum colored hair. It helped in the end though because McGonagall didn't suspect us since our hair was pink too. Moony looked so funny!"

"Moony?" Harry asked.

"We all four had nicknames," Sirius said wistfully. "I was Padfoot. Your father was Prongs. He was a magnificent stag." His voice changed dark. "Peter was Wormtail. Very appropriate in hindsight."

Harry laughed. He wanted to ask who the mysterious Mooney was, but decided against it. Sirius didn't seem to want to talk about him, so he assumed the man had died in the war like his parents. His godfather had lost so many people that he didn't want to remind him of them. He decided to change the subject.

"Gyiffindor fought with Ravenclaw even back then?"

"Oh yes," Sirius said. "I think the rivalry goes back centuries. Of course, during the war, it was more than that. Slytherin followed You Know Who, you know. I guess maybe our pranks were our first battles. Once we got out of school, we were fighting for real."

"I know what you mean," Harry said. "I don't prank people that often, but we get into fights. Ron tried to use a spell on … another kid, and ended up vomiting slugs!"

They both laughed. "That sounds terrible," Sirius said. "I can tell you so many stories of pranks that backfired, especially in the planning stages. We had colorful hair or skin and parts of our body transfigured into animal parts in class on more than one occasion."

"That reminds me of Fred and George," Harry said. "Although Hermione did end up stuck as a cat for a while last year. It wasn't really a prank. We were trying to find out some information so we …"

"You what?" Sirius asked. "Did you become an animal too?"

While they had been talking, Harry had not been thinking of Sirius as an authority figure. His reaction to the basilisk and the end of his first year made Harry hesitate to tell him about all he had been up to. He didn't want to anger his new parent.

"Um," Harry said. "No, we're not animagi. That sounds like it would be amazing though. Hermione … Well, she put cat hairs into a potion instead of human hairs. It … went wrong."

"Polyjuice!" Sirius all but shouted. "You were messing around with Polyjuice. In your second year."

Harry just nodded.

"Who did you steal it from?" Sirius sounded like he was trying to control his reaction, which was making Harry even more nervous.

"Well, we did not steal it. We stole the ingredients though."

"Wow, okay," Sirius let out a slow breath. "You know that's really dangerous, right? I don't think even we messed around with trying to brew it ourselves. I should not tell you this, but we stole some once from Slughorn. He was a Potions teacher though so we knew that it would be right."

"Actually the potion turned out fine," Harry said. "Hermione just added cat hair instead of people hair. I was … someone else for about an hour."

"Someone else?" Sirius said. "Who?"

"Um, a Slytherin," Harry admitted. "But it wasn't a prank. We were trying to find out something important and we thought they knew." He paused. "They didn't though. They didn't know anything helpful really, and the whole thing was scary. I wouldn't do it again, honest."

"I believe you," Sirius said. "I understand that you didn't have anyone to look to for help, so you looked to yourself. I understand that because for a long time that was me too. My parents were … well, my family was not the best role model and when I was sorted into Gryffindor they basically disowned me."

"Why?" Harry asked. He knew that houses were important to some people. He remembered what Malfoy had said when they first met in the summer before first year. "They didn't want you to be a Gryffindor?"

"To say the least," Sirius let out another barking laugh. "Ravenclaw I might have gotten away with, but Gryffindor? No, I was toast. My parents made their displeasure known in the morning mail the next day. I sure didn't tell them. Some of the older Slytherins did."

"They wanted you to be in Slytherin?"

"Oh yes. The Blacks were Slytherin for generations. My brother Reg got sorted into the correct house. I never had much contact with him after that. And then … well, that's a story for another time." Sirius looked even sadder than before.

"I'm sorry, Sirius," Harry said quietly. "I know what it's like to have a non-supportive family."

Sirius patted Harry's arm gently. "It worked out in the end. Your dad's family became my family. That and the Marauders. They were good enough to not judge my family and took me in."

"That's like my friends and I," Harry said. "Ron and Hermione have been my family." He paused. "And now, I have you."

"You do indeed," Sirius seemed cheered by the idea. "You and I will make a new family. I'm sorry you never got to meet your grandparents, Harry. Or remember your parents, for that matter. If I had not been so foolhardy and reckless, you would have grown up with me, in a sage and happy home. Well," he slapped Harry cordially on the back. "We will just have to make up for lost time, right?"

"Sirius?" Harry asked. "Do you have any other family? Are your parents alive?"

He didn't want to ask the question, but he felt he had to. Sirius's family sounded horrible. He wasn't sure he wanted anything to do with them. There was the brother Sirius had changed the subject about, too. Harry knew the past was painful.

"Oh, there are cousins here and there," Sirius said. "And most of the Pureblood families are related. I am even related to you, distantly. Your father was a cousin of mine. So there are Blacks or people related to Blacks all over the place. I am sure you go to school with some of them, or their children. My parents are gone though. Good riddance."

"Right," Harry said. "I am glad they can't be awful to you any more."

"Ha! Right," Sirius said. "I inherited everything, because I am mostly the last of the Blacks. I have a sneaky uncle who made sure I was declared Lord Black before he died. Otherwise, that title would have gone to my cousin's child when he came of age. She married a … well, let's just say I am glad it didn't. At first, I wanted nothing to do with my family, but the title is turning out to be useful. I need it to clear my name."

"The goblins are helping you?" Harry asked. He knew nothing of wizard titles.

"In a way," Sirius said. "I would not call goblins helpful. What they are, is knowledgeable. They can get things done. All wizard paperwork gets housed in Gringotts. They can know anything, for a price. And they have a great deal of influence despite the prejudice against them. With money and a title, they will be very helpful to a wizard."

"You pay them."

"Oh, yes," Sirius said. I have arranged for a few artifacts from the Black vault to get back into goblin hands. Goblin made artifacts," Sirius clarified, seeing Harry's confused expression.

"Oh," Harry said. "So they wanted them back and you were able to get into your vaults, even though you were a convicted felon?"

"Actually, Harry," Sirius said. "I'm not. Convicted, that is. I was not given a trial, so I am not, nor have ever been a felon. All I am guilty of is escaping Azkaban. That in itself is a serious crime, of course. I need to get my name cleared and then I will deal with that."

"Would they put you back in?" Harry asked, suddenly very concerned.

"No," Sirius said. "I don't think so. Not if I go about this the right way."

Harry nodded. He wanted to know more, because his fate was so entwined with his godfather's. A childhood of growing up with Durselys telling him to not ask questions stopped him from prying though. Adults did not like to tell children things, he knew. That had not changed in the wizarding world. Sirius seemed nice, but he didn't want to press his luck.

"It will be okay, Harry," Sirius said, as if reading his thoughts. "I have a good lawyer, for one thing. I also have an advantage in surprise. They won't be able to get to me this time to just toss me in prison without a trial. I was also … distraught. When it happened. I was not thinking clearly and they just took advantage of that. My actions were or seemed crazy."

"How can you throw someone in prison and never even have a trial?" Harry was getting more and more upset the more he thought about it. "Didn't anyone complain?"

"It was a very tumultuous time," Sirius said finally, as if searching for the right words. "When your parents … when Voldemort vanished like that, no one knew what to think. I was there. At the house. It was crazy. It looked like there had been an explosion and they were there. The bodies anyway. But Voldemort was just smoke. People did not believe that he was gone at first. Some still don't."

"He's not," Harry said, trying not to think about the image of his mother and father lying dead. "I saw him in my first year. And I know Mr. Malfoy was working with him, or for him, last year."

"Lucius Malfoy?" Sirius asked as Harry nodded. "That does not surprise me. He was one of his top lieutenants. It does not surprise me that he would try to act like he's back or be working with him. You said Voldemort possessed your teacher, didn't you? I didn't really want to ask you about that yet, after seeing your face when you said it."

"He wanted the Philosopher's Stone," Harry explained in a stilting voice. He tried not to think about those events much. "He was possessing small animals and drinking unicorn blood. He did that even when he possessed Quirrell. He was the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher." Sirius snorted. "He was weird though. Like he was afraid all the time. I found out why, when I saw Voldemort's face sticking outside of the back of his head."

"Yes, that would make a person squirrely," Sirius said half-jokingly. "So how did you end up with him? Where was the staff?"

"Oh, well," Harry was not sure what to say. "We tried. We tried to find Dumbledore and tell McGonagall. We thought … someone else was after the Stone. Another teacher."

"Another teacher?" Sirius said. "How many dodgy teachers do you have?"

"The teacher we thought … he was always so mean. And skulking around. He hated me from the very first day of class. Even before. He was glaring at me at the Feast. I didn't know why he hated me until he began insulting my father all the time. But that first day, yeah. Snape asked me all these questions that I couldn't answer. I was raised by Muggles! I didn't get a chance to study before school started."

"Snape?" Sirius was practically shouting. "Severus Snape?"

"You know him?" Harry asked. It made sense. Snape was probably younger than he seemed, and he was definitely the youngest teacher at Hogwarts. He must have gone to school with them to hate Harry's father so much.

"Oh, I knew him alright," Sirius's voice was closer to a snarl now, low and angry. "He was seeped in Dark Arts from the time he was born, I'd wager. He certainly knew more dark spells in first year than most seventh years did. That and he was a Slytherin, and he was always hanging around with … Yes, I knew him."

Harry didn't ask who Snape was hanging around with. He was trying to picture his teacher as a first year. The image just didn't work. It was obvious that his godfather and teacher didn't get along even from the beginning. It kind of reminded him of Malfoy.

"Don't worry, Harry," Sirius said darkly. "He won't bully you anymore. I will do everything I can to get him sacked, once I get my name cleared. I am sure he was working for Voldemort."

"That's what I thought, sort of," Harry said. "Quirrell seemed to find it funny. He said Snape seemed the type. Or maybe that was Voldemort."

"Harry, I am so sorry," Sirius looked sad again, instead of angry. "You should not have to deal with any of this. First year! And whatever happened last year. And I read that Boy Who Lived nonsense. No one has given you a chance at a childhood, have they?"

Harry didn't know what to say to that, so he said nothing.

"Well, that will change now," Sirius said brightly. "We will find Peter, clear my name, and I will formally be your guardian. We will have to keep that quiet for now. Everything will be better from now on."

As much as Harry wanted to believe that, he could not help but think of the one large fly in the ointment. They still didn't have Peter. Everything depended on it.