After they finally had breakfast under disguise, as even though Sirius had been cleared of all charges they still felt it would be wise to keep travelling incognito on this holiday, Remus produced a large list of houses across Britain.

It seemed the two of them had already narrowed down a list of possible houses to what could apply to them so Harry didn't have to go through everything, only to learn over half of them were not anticipating their needs and desires, which in turn made him curious to some of their standards while narrowing it down.

"So why are we going for a free standing house? Not that I disagree with it, but I am curious."

"We want a safe place for Moony to transform away from curious eyes and a patch of secure land where he and Buckbeak will both be able to run around. I also assume you would want to be able to play Quidditch so we'd need the land for that as well and on top of that, I think we would all rather appreciate our peace and privacy, right?"

"Right," staring down at his copy of the list he had placed on the breakfast table in the small hotel they were staying at, he wet his lips.

"What wishes do you have for a house?" Sirius asked.

"Erm...a Quidditch pitch would be nice and perhaps two bathrooms?"

"Smart one, even though we could manage between the three of us, once you'll be bringing friends over it would be wise to have a second one."

"I can bring friends over?" Surprised Harry looked at his godfather as the man had just said they'd appreciate their privacy. Having possible friends over would undermine that enormously.

"Why wouldn't you?"

"I thought you wanted the privacy of a free standing house?"

"I do, but what does that have to do with you having friends over?" Looking up from his list, Sirius shot him a curious look.

"Wouldn't that kind of ruin the peace and privacy as I'm sure we'd be making noise and bothering you and Remus?"

"There is a difference between having unwanted people nosing in on us and having people we invited ourselves over. I am not going to keep you from your friends, pup. Friends are one of the most important things that you will ever have in your life and I would never deny you that happiness," Sirius leaned forward to ruffle his hair. "I might ban some of the parents if they open their big yaps, but your friends will always be welcome as long as they treat you well."

Chuckling at the clear reference to Mrs Weasley, Harry stuck out his tongue before focusing on his list to see a few choices being crossed off automatically as Sirius crossed off some of the choices and from Remus' agreeing hum, he suspected the same thing was happening to his own list.

"I thought we wouldn't use magic?" He asked quietly so no one would overhear them, making Sirius glance at him with a smile.

"This is special paper, it might look completely Muggle, but it acts as a message spreader between the people who hold a copy of it. What one of us writes on one piece, appears on the other copies as well. I'm not actively using magic on this."

"So...if I were to draw on this..."

"We'd see it," Remus answered.

"Handy."

"Thanks," from the pleased look on Sirius' features, Harry realised he had invented this and asked as much.

"James and I did. After we finished the mirrors, we decided we should come up with a similar method of sharing ideas without being seen talking and pass it to the other two as neither wanted a mirror."

"Mirrors?"

"Something I will explain to you once we're back in London, help remind me, will you?"

"Sure," he knew his godfather's memory was not always as reliable on some things yet and while he was getting much better and remembered more and more things at high speed, some things didn't settle into his mind as easily. Especially every day things like remembering to get groceries or to take out the garbage were things his godfather had trouble with as he simply wasn't used to everyday actions like Harry and Remus were.

In Azkaban he hadn't been able to do anything all day except remember his worse memories and pray not to catch the attention of bored guards and while on the run, the only thing he had to be focused on was not getting caught. Even at Grimmauld Place, he'd been too occupied to fight of his demons while dealing with being locked up to think about things like groceries and trash days.

Well, they were wizards so Harry wasn't entirely certain trash days were a problem in the first place, but it was just an example in his own mind so he could get away with it without being teased.

The point was that Sirius needed to be reminded of simple things sometimes and Harry was more than happy to help him, taking pride in being included in helping train his godfather's mind.

"What about the one in Somerset?" Remus broke through his thoughts, tapping a house on the list of the other two to see which he was talking about.

"Much too close to Devon," Sirius immediately shot it down without even looking at the list.

Both Remus and Harry stared at him for a long moment as they tried to figure out what was in Devon before Remus snorted and Harry chuckled at Sirius' grimace.

"Sorry."

"Don't be. I like the Weasleys, but I would prefer not to live quite so close to Mrs. Weasley, either.

They all quietly chuckled before debating between the rest of the list until they eventually had a list of ten potential properties they wanted to actually check out and went on their way to the first one after checking out of the hotel.

The first three on the list were quickly crossed off as one of them was a Manor in Little Hangleton which had Harry hyperventilating and turned out to be the former hideout of Voldemort and his lackeys. They quickly Apparated away from there and spend a good amount of time at an ice cream parlour eating chocolate ice cream while taking about happy things before continuing on the rest and deeming the other two too large for their tastes.

It was the sixth on the list that showed the first true potential as it was a large cottage a couple of miles from the beach and they Apparated to the location to get a better look.

Harry bit back a burp as his stomach unrolled from the Side-Along Apparition with Sirius but didn't get the chance to turn around to look at their surroundings as he was roughly shoved aside, seconds before a red beam flashed past him and he heard screaming like he'd only heard in his nightmares.

He slammed into the ground while a second voice screamed "Accio" and was pushed backwards as a big rock folded itself around him from all sides, clearly meant to protect him as it didn't try to crush him and he blinked, not quite understanding what had happened until he realised just who was screaming.

"Sirius!" He tried to break through the rocks surrounding them, hitting them frantically to try and get to his godfather and get him away from what was making him scream unlike he'd ever heard.

Not even when awakening from nightmares did he sound that pained and bile rose in his mouth as various red beams flashed again and again past the slight split between the rocks and he realised just what was happening to his godfather.

How had they run into wizards….presumably Death Eaters while checking potential housing? Had they been followed despite Sirius' tendency to Apparate to different locations before making his stop where he had to be to shake any possible followers from his trail?

It was something that initially annoyed Harry since he disliked Apparition, but he understood the man's reasoning and never complained as when not caught in a fit of desperation, Sirius took many precautions in what he did.

"Remus, let me out!" He knew Sirius couldn't possibly have locked him in there between pushing him aside of the Cruciatus Curse and being hit by it, but there was no answer outside unrecognisable voices screaming curses and shots brightening the sky.

Cursing loudly, Harry slammed his hands against the rocks as he was helplessly forced to listen to his godfather's screaming, which didn't seem to lessen at all as the Cruciatus being cast at him didn't let up at all. Whoever was torturing him clearly had no intention of giving him the chance to get up and retaliate.

All he could hope for was that Remus would be able to reach his godfather, if the man was still alive to do so and immediately he berated himself for even considering the thought.

If Sirius was being tortured and Remus dead, then who was still fighting? Harry didn't think they had landed in a fight as his godfather had told him Voldemort was keeping a low profile to keep his return hidden.

So why would they act now all of sudden...unless...the paper!

His return had been made official that morning, so he had no reason to stay hidden any more and could attack as much as he wanted. Had they accidentally landed in a fight without meaning to?

With their luck, it was very possible, but if so, then who were the ones fighting and why now?

Cursing again, he tried to glance through the split in the rocks to try and see what was going on and caught glimpses of several Death Eaters laying motionless on the ground and a tall man with vicious face came into view, making Harry pull back in shock.

Was that….a quick glance conformed he'd been right.

Greyback.

The man was only familiar to him because Remus had told him about him and it was Greyback who had bitten Remus, having crawled into his bedroom when he had been five years old after having been offended by Remus' father.

Remus had been bitten in revenge and the only reason he was still alive had been because Remus' father had managed to curse him out of the house.

Upon hearing the story, Harry had been angry, but when Sirius had pulled up a Pensieve memory of the man that had caused Remus so much pain and suffering, he couldn't have denied the fear that had washed over him at the sight.

Greyback looked every bit like the monster most people always claimed werewolves to be. The thought that they had accidentally run into his pack crossed his mind before immediately dismissing it as there were only a few werewolves who possessed magic on the level Remus did and it were definitely spells being thrown around.

So he must have been among Death Eaters as Sirius had told him the monster was an ally of Voldemort and if he ever, for whatever reason saw him, he should get out of there by any means necessary as Greyback didn't need the full moon to try and rip someone apart.

Harry hadn't needed to remember spotting those specific outstanding scars on Sirius' back and leg to know that Sirius had run into Greyback but had managed to get away without being infected.

It was then that he realised he couldn't hear his godfather's screaming any more and his heart clenched at the implication.

No…. "Sirius...Sirius!" He screamed, renewing his efforts to get out of this stony prison, uncaring about the vicious werewolf walking around outside.

"Well, well, what do we have here?" A new voice made a chill run down Harry's spine as soulless blue eyes came into view, framed in a vicious face as pointy yellow teeth smirked at him and almost immediately he realised he should have cared as he had no way of escape.

In his attempt to protect him, Remus had effectively locked Harry in a cage, one a werewolf would be easily capable of opening with their bare hands due to their superior strength and he shifted as far back as he could; leaning back on his heels the way Sirius had taught him to ready himself for a fight and suddenly remembered the existence of his wand.

Cursing himself for having forgotten, he quickly tossed it out of his wrist holster and raised it in defence, determined to go down in a fight and take a few chunks out of Greyback.

Greyback smirked as he looked at the rock in front of him and easily tossed it aside before turning back to Harry, rasping. "Harry Potter."

Eyes widening, Harry swallowed thickly as he realised the werewolf could see him, meaning the disguises they had used had failed and the only way they could do so was if Sirius was unconscious or had taken them off deliberately; something his godfather wouldn't have done willingly in the presence of Death Eaters.

So this could only mean that Sirius was out of the fight somehow and his heart hammered in his throat. "Sirius..."

"Your annoying friend won't help you any more, Potter," Greyback growled, moving closer to block Harry's only exit and Harry shifted even further backwards as he could as long yellowish nails reached out to him.

But as they came within touching range, the werewolf was slammed backwards as a shield appeared around Harry and he released a breath he hadn't realised he'd been holding at clear evidence his godfather was all right.

He had originally objected to the charm when Sirius had first drawn the protective rune on him, claiming he wasn't helpless, but Sirius had pressed and now Harry was more than relieved for the precaution as not only did it protect him, it also told him his godfather was still alive or it couldn't have activated.

"You!" Greyback growled, bleeding from various wounds but charging towards him again and Harry braced himself even as a shadow appeared behind the werewolf.

"Avada Kedavra."

He could only stare in mute shock as Greyback's wild eyes widened in shock as he realised he was trapped, going down with the expression frozen to his face and automatically Harry raised his wand to the person standing behind the falling werewolf.

"Good reaction," a hoarse familiar voice commented and Harry immediately exclaimed in relief as he saw Sirius standing there regardless of the man's torn clothing and bleeding wounds.

"Sirius..."

"Stay behind me," grey eyes flashed over him briefly as if to check he was all right before turning away from him and realising they weren't safe yet, Harry immediately did as he was told as although he might not like being treated like a child; he was smart enough to realise these guys were far out of his league.

"Where is Remus?"

"Taking out the last of the werewolves so they can't harm us."

"There were more than just Greyback?" Glancing around, Harry spotted various bodies littering the ground around them, most of them clearly dead.

"A dozen or so. He couldn't fight Greyback himself, but could do all he could to protect us from the others."

"Why..."

"Later, we've taken out most of the Death Eaters, but the Anti- Apparition shields are still active so there are still more in hiding."

"What happened?"

"We Apparated in the middle of a Death Eater gathering, it's lucky he's got such good reflexes or we'd be dead now," Remus answered him as he joined them, looking relatively unharmed and from Sirius' lack of reaction Harry understood the man had already sensed his approach.

"You were hit by a Cruciatus, I heard your screams," Harry felt his temper rise as he knew he'd been caught unaware. If he had paid more attention to their surroundings, Sirius wouldn't have had to push him out of the way and would have gained the upper hand without being harmed, though, as he glanced around, he realised the two Marauders seemed to have that anyway.

"You shall hear more of those in due time, Harry Potter."

Heart dropping at the familiar voice, Harry half turned to see several Death Eaters appear around them and none other than Voldemort himself stepping out in front of them and he realised they hadn't run into a gathering at all, they had Apparated directly into their lair.

A single movement from Sirius had Harry shielded between him and Remus, both Marauders ready for any attack and Harry raised his own wand, knowing they might be able to get away if he could just distract Voldemort long enough.

"Do not even bother to think about Apparating, you shall not succeed."

"We have no desire to run from snake psychopaths, Tommie," Sirius sneered with such venom that Harry was almost compelled to check if he was spitting out poison, but he managed to resist.

"Such bravery, yet so foolish. Tell me, shall you hand the boy over to me now, or shall I have to step over your corpse first?"

"How about you try and get past me in the first place?" Sirius shot back, pushing Harry further back towards Remus, who took a hold of his arm. "I believe you challenged Harry to a duel last year, wanting to do things ….properly. Shall we….extend the same courtesy now, too, Tom?"

"Very well. You are but a torn in my side and I shall be delighted to remove you once and for all," Voldemort broke loose from his circle of Death Eaters and Harry was caught by a strong sense of déjà vu as Sirius stepped away from them as well and the Death Eaters encircling them.

He wanted to move forward to aid his godfather, but Remus' strong grip kept him in place as a familiar blueish white barrier appeared around the two of them.

"You do not need to try and uselessly protect the boy during our short duel. He shall not be touched before he has seen you been ripped apart."

"Forgive me if I don't trust your little circle of bugs from trying to distract me when they feel their little queen is going to lose."

During the uproar that Sirius' words caused among the watching Death Eaters, Remus pulled Harry against him to whisper in his ears.

"Don't touch the barrier, it won't hurt you but Sirius doesn't need to distraction."

Swallowing thickly, Harry nodded, aware that the shield was the only thing capable of stopping a killing curse as they would first need to use enough power to break through the barrier before they could use any direct spells and had trained with Sirius enough to know it was near unbreakable as long as Sirius poured magic into it.

"Will he be all right?" He asked without taking his eyes off the calm form of his godfather, marvelling at the man's posture while faced with a circle of Voldemort's presumable strongest Death Eaters, and the snake bastard himself who were all out for his blood.

"If we don't distract him, he might be," this time it was Remus who swallowed. "During the war, your father and he were two of the most brilliant and most powerful duellists of our time. They defied Voldemort and his followers several times, even when all the odds were against them."

Nodding, Harry watched Voldemort taking on a duelling stance. "Shall you bow before me, before I kill you?"

"I do not bow willingly before anyone unworthy of any respect and the leech that you are has certainly not earned mine."

"You should always respect your betters, Black."

"Then you should be kissing the ground that I walk on, Riddle," Sirius shot back, standing tall and proud while Voldemort hissed in outrage.

"How dare you!"

"What? You mean to say you haven't told your little troop of parasites that their esteemed leader is nothing more than a fraud? That your hatred for all those Muggles and Half-Bloods stems from being born to a Muggle father who was unwillingly enslaved and raped by your Witch mother and wanted nothing to do with the product of his enslavement once released?" A dark glint appeared in Sirius' eyes.

"Or that your own mother did not care enough about you to try and stay alive for the sake of her child once the object of her desire had broken free and left you with his spawn, meaning you share the same blood as those so-called filthy Muggles you hate so much," Sirius scoffed. "Which in your own twisted beliefs means that you are not even worthy to kiss the hem of my Pure-Blooded robes."

Voldemort looked outraged by Sirius' words, unable to speak beyond hissing and even Harry looked at his godfather in awe and surprise, wondering how the man knew all of this as it had never occurred to Harry to tell him about what he had learned about Voldemort during their face-offs.

"You dare..."

"You'd be surprised by what I dare, Riddle. I might never have liked the Blacks and their obsession with bloodlines, but at least they made sure I knew every little aspect of the Wizarding world's families. I know that Riddle is not a Wizarding surname and it only took a surprisingly little amount of digging to discover the truth about the Gaunt's last daughter. I must say, even with their famed instability, you took their insanity to whole new levels."

"Don't bait him, Siri," Remus muttered, though Harry wasn't sure he was truly baiting him as his godfather usually didn't act without a plan and he watched with bated breath as Voldemort's face contorted into hatred and anger.

"Crucio!"

Gasping, Harry watched his godfather roll out of the way at the last possible second, something for which the reason apparently became clear when Voldemort's robes suddenly caught on fire.

But he had them extinguished within seconds and from then on, the two of them shot spells back and forth with such speed, Harry could only see blurs of movement of their wands; marvelling at the way his godfather almost seemed to be performing a dance as he fluently moved around Voldemort while avoiding everything Voldemort threw at him while never stopping with throwing silent spells back himself.

If he hadn't been so terrified for his godfather, he might even have been awed at the power displayed.

"I've never seen Sirius display so much power before," he muttered, as although his godfather had displayed an impressive amount of power at Hogwarts, it was nowhere near the level of what he was showing now.

"Sirius has always been powerful, training his skills longer than I can even remember and practising with your father from the moment they started Hogwarts. In the war, Sirius was one of the very few Voldemort wanted dead more than anything as although not an Auror, he took down more Death Eaters than all of them combined. Paired with James, they were a team unlike any other as they combined their natural power with their knowledge of pranks and Muggle fighting styles; becoming utterly unpredictable. If you separate most magical people from their wands, they are essentially powerless as you've seen at Hogwarts. But Sirius and James made sure to learn as many fighting styles as they could, so that even if they lost their wands, they would never be rendered powerless and I've seen him take down a Death Eater with a couple of well aimed kicks once."

"Voldemort feared them?"

"Yes, there were few who manage to stand before him and escape with their lives, especially those who weren't highly trained Aurors. For two young men in their teens to do that not once, but repeatedly, made them more dangerous than anyone else to him."

"So Sirius can win this?"

"I don't know, after he escaped I know he's been training endlessly again, starting from scratch to rebuild his power reserves and even expanding them. But twelve years in Azkaban is a long time and I'd not give him any chance now, if it wasn't you who was at stake."

"Me? Why me?"

"Because Sirius loves you more than anything and he'd sooner die than fail you again."

"He has you, too."

"That's not the same, Harry. He swore to himself that he would keep you safe, no matter what. You are the most precious thing in his life and not just because you are the son of the ones he loved so much. To him, you are his own child and nothing will stop him from protecting you. If my death means you will be kept safe, he won't even hesitate," Remus said. "And that's the way it should be."

Breaking his gaze from the blurs before him, Harry looked back at Remus to realise the older man was still holding him pressed against his chest defensively, wand raised as he was truly ready to defend him at the cost of his own life if needed and his stomach twisted at the thought.

"I don't want either of you to die," he whispered once he found his voice again.

"I know and neither does Sirius, but we both agreed on this. If either of our deaths mean you will be safe, then we will both gladly lay down our lives."

"If you are both so hell-bent on protecting me, then who would protect me if you're both dead?"

His angry exclamation made Remus choke back a laugh. "Sirius threw the same accusation at your father once when he got hurt while trying to protect him after he had been seriously hurt during an ambush by Slytherins at Hogwarts. Because he wants to keep protecting you, he is fighting with all he has to stay alive so he can keep doing so and he is counting on me to keep you out of harm's way while he does so."

Glancing down at him, Remus swallowed. "I failed Sirius once; I will not fail him ever again."

"Avada…!" Snapping his eyes back to the fight, Harry berated himself for losing his focus on the battle and it took him terrifyingly long to locate his godfather, spotting him just in time to see the man had jumped out of the way of the Killing Curse at the last moment, it hitting the Death Eater behind him instead.

"Start acting like a wizard and fight like the Pure-Blood blood-traitor that you are," Voldemort hissed between curses that Sirius easily ducked.

"Then why don't you act like the cockroach I know you are?" Sirius shot back annoyed and the moment he uttered those words, Harry was suddenly forcefully reminded of the story about his father turning into a bird and with a sudden clarity of what was about to happen, he called out to Sirius.

"Sirius! Step forward!"

It spoke for Sirius' unwavering trust in him that he didn't even hesitate or question his order, swiftly stepping forward even as Voldemort suddenly disappeared from where he had been standing.

A loud crushing sound was heard underneath his feet and time seemed to freeze for a long moment in which Sirius glanced down confused before seemingly realising what had happened.

Immediately a shock wave of magic washed over the clearing, hitting the few Death Eaters who hadn't been hit by wayward spells and were staring in bewilderment, shock and confusion, not even attempting to defend themselves as they were immobilized at the same time the barrier around them disappeared.

"What do you want to do with them before they unfreeze?" Sirius moved towards them. "I tried to take out as many as I could while fighting Riddle, but I couldn't get in the way of all of them."

"Should we deliver them to the Aurors in their Master's style?" Harry suggested as he refrained himself from either berating Sirius for endangering himself or hugging him senseless because he was so relieved to see him still alive.

This was not the moment to lose focus.

The two men glanced at one another before they simultaneously waved their wand over the Death Eaters, turning them into a variety of cockroaches which Remus banned into a large jar he quickly conjured.

Closing the lid after all the unconscious and killed Death Eaters transfigured into bugs had been collected, Harry looked up to the two men. "Now what?"

"We have a look at the bug queen?"

Pulling a disgusted look, Remus moved towards where Voldemort had disappeared. "I cannot believe you changed him into an actual cockroach."

"I didn't exactly do it on purpose, though I kind of wish I'd done so much earlier," Sirius turned to Harry. "How did you know what was going to happen?"

"Because you were getting truly annoyed and I remembered the story you told me about Dad becoming a bird and just knew what was going to happen."

"So you had me ruin my perfectly fine shoes by having me step onto that thing?" Sirius asked.

"Had to prevent him from realising what had happened and get away."

"You made me step on the ugliest bug I've ever seen," they all looked down at the crushed cockroach.

"I'll buy you new shoes," Harry offered, eyeing the crushed form even as Sirius concentrated for a moment and the dishevelled and broken form of Voldemort reappeared. His body was mangled and broken, his limbs lying in awkward positions around him as his red eyes staring forward unseeing from a broken and bloody face.

"Are you absolutely sure he is dead? Cockroaches are known to survive a lot of things," Remus asked uncertainly.

Looking down at the body before them, Sirius shot Remus a calculating look. "Why don't you do the honours of ensuring he's truly dead?"

"Me? All right, Avada Kedavra." A blinding flash of green light hit the unmoving body lying on the ground before them. 'I guess he is truly dead now."

"What do you think about delivering this trash to the Ministry before getting a long hot bath somewhere and then resuming our search for a house in a more….safe environment?"

Snorting, Harry nodded. "Sure, I didn't really like this option all that much anyway with all the bugs around. Are you all right, though? You look like hell."

Carefully touching one of the slashes in Sirius' side, he watched as Sirius cast a non-verbal spell on himself and most of the cuts disappeared.

"I could do with a nice bath, some clean clothes and perhaps a few hours of sleep," he admitted as another sweep from his wand fixed his clothing.

"But you were hit with the Cruciatus curse repeatedly and from the looks of it by several people, too."

"I admit that I'm pretty sore, but you forget that I've gotten fairly used to being put under that spell over the years," as Sirius pulled him into his side, Harry almost missed the darkening look on Remus' face, but pushed it aside in favour of hugging his godfather tightly. "It's nothing I can't handle and I promise I will take it easy for the next few days, all right?"

"You swear?"

"I solemnly swear, pup. And besides, most of the curses he threw at me ended up hitting his own followers."

"That was a smart move of you. You tried to take them out that if you should fail to stop him, we would have an easier time to get away, didn't you?" Remus more stated than asked before he frowned. "What I don't understand is why they didn't try to get out of the way once you jumped out of the way of the spells as they couldn't exactly be stupid or they'd never have managed to avoid capture for so long."

"Piss of the Queen to get him mad enough and the subjects will usually get absorbed into the ongoing fight without actually joining themselves, oblivious to their surroundings as they are so focused on their master's anger. By insulting Voldy with anything I could think of, he was completely focused on me and didn't pay attention or cared where his spells ended up as he desired to kill me so badly. And as long as I stayed clear of coming near the two of you while doing so, there was no chance of him noticing the rebounding spells of the shield."

"You…." understanding the brilliance of Sirius' actions, even if he didn't like the knowledge he had endangered himself so much on purpose, Harry leaned into his godfather side for a long moment before stepping aside to let Remus pull the man into a short hug before hitting him in the shoulder without force.

"What's that for?" Sirius pouted.

"For being an insufferable smart idiot...and..." trailing off; Remus pulled Sirius back into a hug, a bone crushing one this time. "And this is for killing Greyback...thank you."

"It was my pleasure," Sirius patted him on the back, making Remus choke back a laugh.

"Are you going to explain now why Remus couldn't fight Greyback?"

Letting go of each other again, Remus cleared his throat and wiped away the last traces of his tears. "Greyback was the one who bit me, you know that, right?"

"Yes."

"There is a curse werewolves fall under that they cannot escape no matter how much many would want to," sighing, Remus ran a hand through his hair. "A werewolf cannot go against his maker, which means that when they find out who has infected them, they cannot simply take revenge by killing or attacking them. No matter what ways they think up, they cannot go up against the one who bit them. Even magic won't work against them in that situation."

"So you were powerless against Greyback and when he attacked me..."

"I was powerless to stop him."

"But Sirius was bitten by him before, too…."

"The curse only works when the werewolf is transformed when biting someone and technically Greyback never bit me; he just scratched me. Remus is the only werewolf who has ever bitten me."

"So you would've been unable to hit Remus, if the curse always came into play?"

"Precisely," half turning, Sirius hit Remus' arm with enough force to make the other grimace. "And seeing as that I can clearly hurt him, I'm not affected by that curse."

"You killed Greyback with the Killing Curse and Remus used it against Voldemort, too. Will you two get into trouble for that?" He knew it was fairly unlikely, yet he couldn't help the fear from rising at the possibility that he'd lose his godfather just after he'd finally gotten cleared.

"Not likely, as it saved your life and took down two of the most dangerous monsters alive. Besides, they rather owe me something after locking me up without a trial."

Turning back to look at the mauled form of Voldemort, he bit his lip. "How are we going to transport him without raising a tremendous scene?"

"By use of a Portkey?" Remus suggested.

"Can we truly dump him at the Ministry without warning like that?"

"I might have an idea," Sirius offered after a few moments of silence, waving his wand over a small rock that he lifted to rest on Voldemort's corpse. "Portos. Dobby!"

A loud pop announced the arrival of their House-elf friend. "Sirius called?"

"Hello Dobby, would you please keep an eye on this here until the Portkey actives in about half an hour?"

Glancing down at what Sirius was gesturing to, Dobby's large eyes almost bulged out of their sockets before they settled again as he accepted what he saw without a comment.

Suppressing a chuckle at the elf's ability to adapt to unusual situations since meeting them, Harry smiled at the small elf as he hesitantly looked up to Sirius again.

"Dobby could bring him where yous want him to go, sir."

"Thank you, but there's no need for you to dirty your hand on such a vile thing."

Big tears appeared in Dobby's round eyes. "Sirius too kind. Dobby promises to keep two eyes on the vile thing."

"Thank you. After he has disappeared, would you please be so kind as to secretly check this lift to see if the location are safe to visit. You are not allowed to endanger yourself for any reason, though. If you see anything suspicious you are to get to safety immediately and leave a message on the paper so we'll know that you are safe."

"Dobby will, sir, and thank you. Would Remus Sir like for Dobby to treat his wounds to the best of Dobby's abilities and clean sir's clothes?"

Blinking, they all glanced at Remus and Sirius' expression tightened. "I'm sorry, I didn't even ask if you were all right."

"I'm fine, just a few cuts and bruises, but that would be appreciated, thank you Dobby."

Snapping his fingers, Remus' clothing immediately got fixed and his bruises disappeared.

"Thank you for the assist and as we will probably return to Grimmauld Place tomorrow night, you can return back to Hogwarts to help out there. If the plans change we will let you know in time," putting his hand around Remus' arm, Sirius gestured for Harry to do the same, which he did confused.

It was normally Sirius who Apparated them wherever they went, but one look at Sirius' pale face told him he was indeed very sore and more tired than he'd let on and from the way Remus didn't comment on it and simply tightened Sirius' hand securely between his arm and side, he had probably reached the same conclusion.

With a small wave at Dobby, the three of them Apparated away and appeared in the lobby of the Ministry where Sirius manoeuvred Harry to walk in between the two men.

The move was protective, but Harry didn't feel offended by the precaution considering what had happened barely half an hour ago and simply slipped his hand into his godfather's.

"Sorry," his godfather said, making him smile.

"It's all right, even though I am fifteen, it is deeply ingrained in your to protect me and you will always keep on doing so, even if I'll turn fifty or so."

Smiling, Sirius ruffled his hair with his free hand before leading them through the many hallways and an elevator to the Department of Magical Law Enforcement on the second level, walking purposely to one of the divisions without hesitation and stopping before the desk with a young woman sitting behind it.

"We would like to speak to Amelia Bones immediately."

"I am afraid that Madam Bones is unable to attend to visitors at the moment. Could I pass her a message?"

"Tell her that Sirius Black and company are here to deliver something," Remus interrupted before Sirius could answer.

"L...Lord Black?" The girl squeaked, making various others look up at the words in curiosity.

"And do make it quick, will you. We haven't got all day," Sirius added, sounding bored even though he winked at Harry.

"Right away, sir," the girl jumped up and almost tripped over her own feet as she ran out of the office.

"If I didn't know any better I would think you were a true Pure-Blood," Remus sighed.

"Are you calling me a fake?" The grin ruined his mock hurt expression as Sirius looked at his friend and Harry gave his godfather a once-over.

He was dressed in dark blue Muggle jeans with a black coat over a thicker darker blue sweater. His clothing and posture screamed Muggle, though his voice betrayed a well drilled-in etiquette right now that could only belong to a Pure-Blood or royalty as Harry doubted it could be faked that convincingly while sounding as uninterested as Sirius did right then.

"I wouldn't dare suggest you were anything but a Muggle if I weren't aware of the wand hidden in your sleeve and knew your surname," Remus chuckled.

"Which is why were were travelling under the cover of fake names, Rem."

"Incognito wouldn't have gotten that girl running, love," Remus shot back.

"Touché," bumping lightly into his friend, Sirius smiled and Harry chuckled at their antics; trust the two Marauders to play around after what had just happened.

And although he was a bit surprised at their unconcerned attitude towards what had happened, he understood both of them had lived through a war in which, with their personalities, they had both fought in actively and having to deal with Sirius' precaution and knowing how Moody usually acted as well, he knew that neither Marauder would ever be truly able to get out that war mentality.

For them, fighting like this would have been normal occurrences, things that didn't make them bat their eyes any more and it surprised Harry that he himself was much less effected by what had happened than he would have been less than half a year ago with the Graveyard events. Either he had already seen to much or Sirius was rubbing off on him more thoroughly than he had though already.

"Madam Bones is ready to see you now," they turned to see the girl approach.

"Good, lead the way," easily following the girl's quicker than necessary paces, like Remus had said, Sirius' name had truly sent her running, and entered the open door when indicated.

"Lord Black...Mr. Potter and...Mr. Lupin I presume?" The slightly familiar voice of Amelia Bones greeted them, surprising Harry momentarily in knowing who Remus was before he remembered that the article of that morning had mentioned Remus being with Sirius when he came to Hogwarts.

She looked exactly like Harry remembered her from the hearing that summer, though slightly more tired and between Voldemort's return and everything surrounding Sirius, she must have had a lot of work.

"Good afternoon, Madam Bones," Sirius formally greeted her, Harry repeating the words when Remus did and they all sat down when indicated, Madam Bones taking a moment to look at them before starting to open her mouth when Sirius interrupted.

"We came across some trash today and my godson suggested that we'd deliver it to the Aurors," at his indication, Remus placed the jar filled with cockroaches on her desk.

"Are those..." looking at the jar disgusted, Madam Bones' piercing eyes flickered back up to them.

"A couple dozen Death Eaters, some of whom escaped being punished and others who were never even tried. There is some other fry in there, too, such as Fenrir Greyback, but they are unmarked and not all of them are in living condition any more," Sirius paused to let the words sink in.

"In a few minutes their vile leader will be arriving into your holding cells by means of a slightly illegal Portkey. My sincere apologies for that, but we agreed that it would cause an uproar if we were to bring him in with us. He is a bit….ruffled, though, as he was accidentally stepped upon," Sirius calmly continued as if he was talking about the weather and Harry had to suppress a chuckle at Madam Bones' confused and shocked expression.

Sirius sure knew how to get her attention.

"There are transfigured Death Eaters in that jar?" she asked rather dumbfounded.

"And presumably some unmarked followers."

"And by their vile leader you mean..."

"Yes."

"Into our holding cells?"

"That would be right."

"Ruffled?"

"Ruffled and pretty much dead actually."

"Dead?!"

"Affirmative."

"How…"

"He didn't take into account an annoyed godfather, a cleverer than him godson and a very angry family friend," Sirius cheekily answered and Harry bit his lip hard enough to draw blood to keep in his laughter at the way their conversation was going and Madam Bones' utterly unguarded expression.

"You-Know-Who...is dead, stepped on by..." Madam Bones' expression had gone from shock to horror, back to shock and absolutely perplexed in a matter of moments.

"That depends, what is in it for the one who did him in?" Sirius leaned slightly forward, making Harry frown as it was rather obvious Sirius had killed him and wouldn't they be able to verify that easily enough with Veritaserum?

"A big reward, an Order of Merlin first class among other things," Madam Bones answered seemingly automatically.

"He'd be a hero, right? All sorts of privileges and stuff like that, eternal glory and being publically recognised for his services to the Wizarding World?"

"Basically, yes."

"Well then, Remus Lupin finished him off."

"What?! I didn't, Sirius, you're the one who stepped on him," Remus immediately objected as his head almost snapped with his how quickly he had whipped it around to glare at Sirius.

"Ah, but we didn't know if he was truly dead then. You made sure of that, so the honour goes to you," Sirius' smile was just a little bit too devilish to be considered innocent.

"Y-you made sure that I was the one who used that curse so that if they'd want proof, they would know my wand was the one that cast it," eyes widening in realisation, Remus' expression tightened. "You set this up...you….I won't take the credit for something I didn't do, Sirius. You got rid of the darkest wizard to have ever lived, not me."

Looking between the two of them, Harry noticed a glint appearing in Madam Bones' eyes as she seemed to understand what was going on and took delight in what she was seeing.

"Oh shush, you saved our lives. You really should learn to take credit for what you've done," Sirius didn't look at Remus. "I assume this will rather change everything, won't it?"

"It would," Madam Bones admitted. "Prejudiced as the Wizarding World is, even they cannot get around the fact that it was a werewolf who ultimately took down the most feared Dark Lord ever known and several of his servants. When the news comes out, it will change everything for their kind."

"How so?" He didn't quite think he understood what they were playing at, though it seemed Madam Bones was willingly going along with Sirius' game despite Remus' protest.

"Werewolves are being shunned and treated horribly by the Wizarding society. It is unlikely that anything will ever truly change for them despite our best efforts," Sirius answered. "But if they were to learn that the person who took out Voldemort, the man most fear so greatly they don't even dare to say his name, were to be taken down by a werewolf...and that the live of their precious Boy-Who-Lived was saved by the same werewolf….."

"Not to mention Lord Black's life," Madam Bones interrupted and Sirius nodded.

"That too. Then they cannot possibly keep shunning said werewolves as they do now. And if one werewolf is recognised for what he's done, the other werewolves will come to realise that they, too, can make a life for themselves and wizards will start to become more open to werewolves once they realise that the hero of the Wizarding world, whom they will probably all want to see, even if it is just to glance at the presumable monster….is Remus," he smiled.

"Children will recognise their favourite ever teacher for Defence and parents will remember the stories told to them about this fantastic teacher while others will remember the boy they went to Hogwarts with. And they will start thinking about how it is unfair that such a hero and likeable guy is a werewolf and how it is not at all they always thought werewolves to be."

"Most will likely change their views over werewolves in general as time passes when they learn that most of the werewolves are in fact not at all the monsters society believes them to be. After all...Remus Lupin cannot be the only exception among the scary creatures, right? And he is absolutely, undeniably human so, what are the others like if one of them is so normal?"

Staring at his godfather in thought, he understood what he meant. By letting Remus take the credit of killing Voldemort he might actually get a chance at a normal life. A life without having to hide and be ashamed of who and what he was. It was a direct and very efficient solution for making Remus' life happier and in the long run it would change the lives of many other werewolves who were, like Remus, only wishing for a peaceful existence.

"That's brilliant," he couldn't help but exclaim even as Remus growled.

"That may be, but I cannot let you do this, I didn't fight him. I didn't risk my life stopping that monster or took out all those Death Eaters. I won't take the credit for your accomplishments."

Turning to him, Sirius sighed. "I know you don't like it, but this could change everything for all of you. By using the Killing Curse on him, you have now been given the chance to make a difference, not just for you, but for every other good-willed werewolf out there. You can make a change for all those desperate and hopeless souls out there now who dream of a better future one day. Will you truly let this chance, this thing you've dreamed off since you were bitten, slide over the stupid credit of who killed him?"

Biting his lip, Remus stared into Sirius' grey eyes for several long moments before taking a deep breath, nodding in consent as although clearly still not happy with it, he obviously knew Sirius was right.

"Good, so, where were we?" Turning back to Madam Bones with a bright smile, who as Harry noted, was sitting patiently and staring at her nails while the two had their argument.

"You had just revealed to me that it was Remus Lupin who took down You-Know-Who," she answered and Harry's respect for the woman rose tremendously as she ignored the fact that Remus had ever spoken up against Sirius' words. The fact that she knew the truth and was going along with their story not only spoke about her character, but also spoke volumes about how she thought about werewolves and other creatures.

"Shall we go down to the holding cells to await his arrival so I can verify your story, presuming that you do not wish to let me use Veritaserum or a Pensieve."

"Veritaserum doesn't work properly on werewolves, unfortunately. I could show you the memory but that would defeat my purposes if it ever got misplaced nor do we have the time before the body will arrive. So far now you will have to believe us on our world and the evidence we presented before you, Madam Bones," and despite his clear reservations, even Remus snorted at the clever set-up Sirius had used.

"An easy feat, Lord Black, though I would like to see the memory personally some day. For now, shall we go verify your story? And please, do call me Amelia."

"Only of you call me Sirius," he answered as he held out the jar to her. "It might be wiser to let them out inside the charmed holding cells, too. Their wands have been separated from them but I don't know if any of them possesses wandless magical skills."

"A smart move, do you have their wands?" Amelia swallowed as Sirius placed a large bundle of wands on her desk and Harry noted there must have been over thirty wands in there, feeling a surge of respect for the power the two men beside him possessed for not only having taken out Voldemort himself, but also at least a couple dozen of his followers with just the two of them.

"How did you run into this….bunch, if I may ask?"

"A very unfortunately timed Apparition," Remus answered and this time Harry didn't try to stop his chuckle as that was certainly one way to put it.

"Where did you run into them?"

"A small town in Norfolk where we wanted to check out a house. We can give you the exact location later as I gave our address list to our House-elf to have him check the rest of the locations for safety reasons. We wouldn't want a repeat of today after all," Sirius said as they entered the elevator and Harry restrained from glancing at his godfather, knowing both he and Remus still held a copy of that list.

But he understood why his godfather would want to keep that specific list a secret with the paper's special abilities. He suspected that they would rewrite the list for her on normal parchment before sending it over.

"Although I understand your sentiments, I must say that if your story checks out I am rather thankful that you did have that untimely Apparition. It saved my Department a lot of trouble. I would like to have the exact location to be send to me as soon as possible though, to verify the location and the spells used there," she fully turned to Sirius. "Seeing your unconcerned presence here I assume you are already aware of your reinstatement and declared freedom?"

"I was, thank you for catching that traitor."

"You are more than welcome. Were you also aware that the Ministry asked you to stop by to speak about your reinstatement?"

"Yes, but seeing as I waited fourteen years for the Ministry to listen to me, I figured they could wait a few more days while my godson had his school vacation so that we could spend some quality time as a family."

"That is indeed only reasonable." Amelia glanced at Harry and Remus. "I was going to send an owl out after the Christmas holidays had ended. My niece Susan assured me that if I send hers that it would be able to find you, unlike the owls the Ministry sent out in an attempt to track you."

"Susan was right. We ensured that Susan's owl would be able to pass through our wards while...visiting Hogwarts," Remus answered.

Exiting the elevator, they walked to the holding cells, Harry noticing a small shift in Sirius' movements that most probably wouldn't have noticed and with a glance to the holding cells looming up before them he understood the tiny faltering in his godfather's step upon seeing them.

Holding on his own step on purpose so that Sirius almost walked into him and was forced to place a hand onto his shoulder to keep himself from doing so and took the opportunity to take a hold of Sirius' hand, manoeuvring himself to walk beside him.

To anyone around them, it would look like Harry was nervous about entering the holding cells and although it was a slight blow to his ego, he would happily make that small sacrifice if it meant giving Sirius a slight comfort.

Sirius' other hand squeezed his shoulder and Harry smiled up to Sirius as he knew the man had understood the real reason behind his action and appreciated it.

"When would he be arriving?" Right as she asked the question, several screams rang out and the sound of running feet.

"I think he just did," Remus commented dryly as Sirius wrapped a full arm around Harry and pulled him off to the side mere moments before several Aurors came running down the hall past them.

"He….he...here...Madam," one of them wheezed before realising who was with Amelia and he quickly backed off before promptly running off with the others.

"When did the Aurors become such a bunch of cowards?" Raising an eyebrow, Sirius watched them run.

"Not everyone can be like Moody and the Longbottoms were, Siri."

"Sirius! You-Know-Who is here, dead!" They all turned to see Tonks quickly coming their way and although she was pale, she wasn't running away like the others.

"What are you telling me that for?"

"Because I just know you were the one responsible for this," Tonk glared, making Harry chuckle. "Wotcher Harry."

"Hi Tonks, why do you think Sirius is the one who did this?"

"Should you really greet each other like that in public? Especially right now?" Remus berated them.

"Why not, Remus?" Tonks asked confused.

"Because you aren't supposed to know Harry or me well enough to be on first name terms with us and you shouldn't be so comfortable around Sirius, who you especially couldn't possibly be close to since he only got freed today and you are an Auror."

Tonks, Sirius and Harry all blinked before glancing at each other in alarm and then turning to Amelia.

"Whoops?" Tonks and Sirius said at the same time, making Remus groan again and Harry snicker.

"Madam Bones...I..." Tonks looked at her nervously.

"I'm sorry Auror Tonks; I didn't quite catch what it was what you said. Could you repeat what you said about You-Know-Who?" Amelia asked calmly and Harry marvelled at the ease with which she basically held a hand over her Auror's actions, which should be against the laws that she stood for.

But yet, even though he had gotten the impression of a stern and law-abiding woman, she surprised him by not only letting Sirius tell her a half-truth and accepting it despite knowing the truth, but she was now also giving Tonks a way out, denying she had heard one of her Aurors greet a man, who only a day earlier had been one of the most wanted criminals in the country, like a good friend.

Which would indicate they were in close contact and thus Tonks could have been arrested for not reporting Sirius' whereabouts and their communication to her boss. And yet she let it all slide for some reason. Harry couldn't understand why she did so, but Sirius didn't seem overly concerned about her motives so Harry decided he'd just see where it would go.

"I...ah...I said that You-Know-Who appeared in the holding cell down the hall, he appears to be dead. There...was a note attached to him." Tonks stammered for a moment before seemingly getting a hold of herself and straightening in the presence of her boss.

"What did it say?"

"Delivery to Amelia Bones, have fun with the vile thing. Kind regards, The Marauders," she passed the note to Amelia, who took it and glanced at it.

"Are you positive it is him?" she asked and Tonks nodded.

"As reliable as identification spells are. The results came back as Tom Marvolo Riddle, also known as You-Know-Who." Tonks handed over another slip of paper, presumably with the results of the spells she had mentioned and Amelia looked at it.

"And he is dead?"

"Absolutely. It looks like a giant walked over him and then a troll smashed up his remains," Tonks said and Amelia shot a quick glance at Sirius, who listened to his cousin's words interested and radiated the picture of innocence.

"All right, let's see for ourselves," Amelia uttered before she walked to the holding cell where Kingsley was standing guard and Harry swallowed a greeting before he'd get Kingsley into trouble. He didn't know how much Amelia would let slide after all.

"Madam Bones," Kingsley greeted before he glanced at the rest.

"Lord Black, Mr. Potter, Remus," He greeted formally in his deep voice.

"Good afternoon," they chorused. Amelia gave them a quick glance and Harry had the impression she was aware of their true familiarity but she didn't speak up as she stepped into the holding cell.

"Amazing." Amelia breathed out as her gaze fell upon the corpse lying before her.

She handed the jar she was still holding to Kingsley, who took it with confusion, before casting her own diagnostic spells upon the body and nodded when the results confirmed what Tonks had said.

"Madam Bones, what am I holding?" Kingsley asked as he had seen what was in the jar. "A jar filled with transfigured Death Eaters and other sympathizers of the Dark Lord that these gentlemen beside me brought in with them."

"That...such as?" Kingsley's voice was just a pitch higher than normal as he stared at the jar in shock.

"Erm...Jugson and Greyback. I have to admit my memory is a bit rusty on the identities of those around. I was more focused on other things. Oh, I did recognize Lucius Malfoy and I am sure I recognised at least two dozen more from seeing them around my relatives...social gatherings, though I cannot remember their names right now...did either of your recognise anyone else," Sirius asked as he turned to Harry and Remus.

"I'm positive that I recognized Nott, indeed Malfoy, The Carrow siblings, Rowle, Yaxley, Crabbe and Goyle but that should be easily confirmed once you take the spell off the jar and return them to their original forms," Remus answered while Harry shook his head. He hadn't exactly seen anyone before Sirius had taken care of Greyback and after that he'd been too occupied with trying to follow Sirius' movements to pay attention to his surroundings.

"Seems like the git had a day off though, I would have loved to have seen him as a cockroach," Sirius commented.

"Maybe he finally took a moment to wash his hair?" Harry commented, making Sirius, Remus and Tonks laugh while Amelia looked at them interested and Kingsley suppressed a smile but mostly failed in doing so. Besides Amelia they all knew immediately who they were talking about.

"What git?" Amelia asked.

"You would have to ask Dumbledore for information about his pet Death Eater. He is the one who claims he's a good guy after all," Sirius said.

"You caught all those Death Eaters and You-Know-Who, with just the three of you?" Tonks asked surprised as she looked at them in shock, clearly not having expected that of them.

"Never piss of a Marauder," Harry said.

"Noted," Tonks said with an amazed but bemused smile.

"Remus did the hard work; we just dealt with the small fry."

"I hardly call Greyback small fry, Siri," Remus muttered.

"All right, big ugly fry then."

Sirius turned to Amelia. "Now that we have delivered our trash and given our statement, could we leave the rest to your Aurors? We really have more to do today than to hang around here."

"There is a reward on the heads of most of the ones you just mentioned being in that jar."

"Deposit it all into the vaults of Remus here."

"Siri..."

"Shush Rem. You will just have to treat us for dinner some time."

"I will make sure it happens. Thank you, Mister Lupin, for the great service you have performed for us today. I shall send you an owl to go over the details of your reward soon." Then she turned to Sirius. "Lord Black, the Ministry owes you an enormous apology for the crimes committed against you and I promise you I will make sure all those involved will be facing charges, including the Minister for failing to take action. A compensation for the time you've been unrighteously accused and held prisoner will be deposited into your vaults. This included the time you've been on the run because even though you were technically not in our hands any more, the ministry still hunted you down even if Kingsley never managed to ...catch you," Amelia said with a glance at Kingsley who shrugged slightly.

"He kept eluding us with fake trails, Madam."

"He sure is clever enough to elude my best Aurors like that," Amelia answered with a small smile that made Harry bit his lip as he realised she indeed knew the truth but didn't call them upon it. She turned to Sirius again.

"We have already begun to undo the damage that your reputation has gone through by our faults even though it will probably take some time." She took a deep breath. "If there is anything we can do for you then I will do everything within my power to make it happen."

Sirius looked at her. "There is one thing..." He trailed off.

"Name it."

"I want official custody of my godson. The one that means no one can ever try to interfere and take him from me again."

"If you walk with me we can fill those out immediately."

"I'd rather have you send them over to me; there is a certain eager woman who'd skin me alive if I signed anything without giving her the privilege of being witness."

"Consider it done. I shall have the papers send to you before the day is over," Amelia said with a pleased nod. "Anything else?"

"Yes...please make sure the story we told you comes out the way it should."

"I already plan to and I shall add to it that Lord Black informed me that after his wrongful imprisonment the only things he desired from us were the custody of his godson and the promise of the ...truth being revealed concerning the death of You-Know-Who and the credit given to the one who deserves it."

"Thank you," Sirius said with a smile as he turned to Harry and Remus. "You two have any wishes?"

"A hot bath."

"Something to eat and sit down on," Remus and Harry answered at the same time.

"Let's go find our rest stop for tonight then, shall we?" Sirius said cheerfully and the other two nodded to him.

"Will you two join Mister Lupin when he is summoned to continue this conversation?"

"Of course." Sirius and Harry nodded.

"Then I shall see you soon."

They easily said goodbye and left the three Ministry workers to deal with the mess they left behind as they walked back to the entrance calmly, ignoring the many stares and whispers that followed them.

"Where did you want to go?" Harry asked once they found a secluded area away from prying eyes. "Why don't you pick a location? I picked one yesterday and Remus the day before that."

"We shouldn't go too far if an owl is to be send out to us today. So how about we crash in my old house for the night and let you decide a location tomorrow?" Remus suggested.

"Fine by me," Harry agreed before letting Remus Apparate them to their new location.

"A cottage?" he asked as they arrived and his eyes fell upon the small building a few meters away.

"It is not much and the landlady isn't very happy with me being here but I've always loved it," Remus said with a small smile.

"I love it, too." Harry smiled back. "It is nice and quiet and looks homey to me. Who cares that it isn't a Manor as long as it's home."

Sirius glanced at the two of them before looking at the cottage and then around him.

"Say...this is pretty far from prying eyes, isn't it?"

"Yes," Remus answered. "The closest neighbour is three hours away."

"And we are pretty handy with our magic...aren't we?" Sirius asked.

"Yes..." Remus trailed off questioningly.

"Then why don't we buy this cottage you are renting along with a few miles for a Quidditch pitch and just extent this cottage to what we'd want if all three of us love this place?"

Both stared at him for a long moment before Remus blinked and looked around.

"That is actually not a bad idea. What do you think, Harry?"

Harry looked from the cottage and the surrounding land to Sirius and Remus. "Where are we anyway?"

"South Yorkshire," Remus answered.

"South Yorkshire?" Sirius asked confused as he turned to Remus again.

"Yes...you didn't know?" Remus asked with amusement and a hint of surprise.

"No, I thought you lived in Durham."

"My parents lived there. After Hogwarts I lived with you and after your imprisonment I moved here as I didn't want to stay in the apartment. How on earth did you find me last year if you didn't know where I lived? Didn't Dumbledore tell you?" Remus asked incredulously.

"Dumbledore never mentioned where you live, he just told me to lay low at your place so once I left I followed your magical signature and eventually your scent until I had found you."

"You followed his magical signature and scent?" Harry asked confused.

"Yes, as Padfoot I can sense people's magical signature and if familiar enough with it I can follow it across the entire world if truly needed. James and I often experimented with it. He'd leave me in some town and then travel elsewhere by Apparition and I had to locate him. It sometimes took a while but I always found him by simply following his magical signature and once close enough to pick up his scent I followed that."

"That's amazing!" Harry exclaimed and Sirius frowned.

"How else did you think I found you at the Dursleys before meeting you properly?" he asked.

"I don't know, having asked directions?"

"As a fugitive?"

"Forgot about that. But how did you know my magical signature or my scent after twelve years?"

Sirius snorted. "Like I'd ever forget either of your scents or the feel of your magical signatures no matter how much time passes. I admit that it took me a few days to get a good feel for your signature since it was hidden behind crappy wards half of the time, but I managed and set off to catch a glimpse of you. I didn't know where you lived as it was a secret and though I heard talks of wizards about the Boy Who Lived, your residence was never mentioned and I had to rely on Padfoot's skill to find you."

"That's just amazing. To be able to pick up our magical signature after so much time and finding us like that. Are all Animagi able to do that?" Harry asked, feeling awed at his godfather's ability to locate him and Remus like that, despite having lived in hell for so long. And it cemented for him once more just how much Sirius cared for the two of them.

"As far as our research discovered it is mostly cats and dogs that have that instinct. Some birds can find their way like that too, but we never found out how that worked. Neither Prongs or Wormtail ever had the ability to find Sirius like that," Remus answered.

Harry nodded. "If you managed to find me and Remus through our magical signature, then why couldn't you find Pettigrew like that?"

"I'm not sure. I tried after escaping but I couldn't pick up his magical signature at all, I managed to confirm he had stayed at your dorm while the Gryffindors had their Halloween meal and tried to reach him then but failed, and Ron woke up before I could stab him some time later. But after he faked his own death I couldn't locate him any more besides the fact that he was still near Hogwarts. Of course I didn't count on the fact that he'd be smart enough to hide at Hagrid's Hut."

"Why smart enough?"

"Because there are so many different smells in and around that house that I couldn't distinguish one from the other and wouldn't have ever found him there," Sirius said with disgust in his voice.

Harry nodded, realizing that even canines had a limit of how much they could distinguish smells, even if Padfoot was a magical one. He looked at his surroundings again, knowing he needed to change the subject if he didn't want Sirius to become truly upset.

"So...South Yorkshire...That is pretty far from London and Devon, right?"

"On the other side of the country actually," Remus answered with a small amused smile at the clear change of subject, and even Sirius chuckled.

"Then I am all for your plan," Harry said happily while trying to suppress a small blush, to the amusement of the other two.

"Presuming that we will be able to actually buy the cottage from the old hag that owns it," Remus said, going along with the change of subject.

"Is she a Muggle or a witch?" Sirius asked.

"A witch. Why?"

"No specific reason, I'll go have a chat with her tomorrow or would you prefer to close this deal before the news comes out about Riddle and she'll become difficult?"

"I would prefer now, but don't you dare put it in my name, Sirius," Remus threatened, but Sirius only smiled.

"I have an idea for that, why don't you pass me her address then the two of you head inside, take a shower or bath and start on something to eat and I'll deal with the landlady and be back in a hour or so."

"Do you want me to go with you?" Harry asked as Remus wrote down the landlady's address for Sirius, not completely comfortable with Sirius going off on his own so soon after having been attacked by Death Eaters.

Sirius hesitated visibly for a moment before he nodded. "If you want to you can come along. It will be pretty boring though."

"I don't care, you will be fine here, right Remus?"

"Of course. I'll key Harry into the wards so that you can Apparate directly to the front step upon returning."

"That would be nice thanks. See you in a bit." With that Sirius Apparated him and Harry away.

"You know... I don't think I will ever truly get used to Apparition," Harry complained as he and Sirius appeared in a small town.

"Don't worry, once you've learned how to do it on your own it will be much better."

"And when will that be?"

"When you turn seventeen you can take the exam."

"That is two more years. I really have to Side-Along Apparate with you guys like that for two more years?"

"I said you can take the exam in two years, I didn't say you wouldn't learn it before then." Sirius said with a wink.

Harry chuckled. "Say...you said that you wanted to teach me how to fight...but are you still going to do that now that Voldemort is gone?"

"Of course. Just because the snake is gone doesn't mean there aren't going to be other threats. I sincerely doubt that the Aurors will catch all the small fry soon. And even if they did, I still want you to learn how to defend yourself in case of an emergency."

Harry nodded, happy to know he wasn't going to be kept in the dark now that everything was presumably in peace again.

"I guess you were right by the way."

"About what, pup?"

"About Divination being worthless. According to the Prophecy I was supposed to be the one who defeated Voldemort. But I didn't do anything. You finished him off...sorry, Remus did." He corrected himself as Sirius came to a hold and stared at him with a thoughtful expression.

"Well, you were the one who told me to step forward, so in a way you are the one responsible for his demise since I didn't know what I'd done until I stepped on him."

"But then what was the power that he knows not?"

"The power of a shoe and a quick mind?" Sirius suggested with a chuckle as he resumed walking. Harry shook his head fondly as he laughed and quickened his pace to catch up with Sirius again.

"Truthfully, I don't know, Harry. I've never believed in Divination in the first place, so I truly am the wrong person to ask why the prophecy involving you didn't come to pass but honestly, I can't say that I truly care. I said before that I'd be damned if I let you do the fighting and don't be offended but you are fifteen years old and you have already had too little of a childhood as it is. What I want from you most of all is to be a child and have fun. You shouldn't have had to worry about all this stuff and I cannot change the fact that you had to, but I can make sure you don't have to from now on."

"You do realise I am going to worry anyway, right?"

"I know, but a godfather can hope, can't he?" Sirius said with a smile before he came to a stop before a large house and rang the bell before Harry could answer.

"Yes?" An older woman with grey hair and cold blue eyes opened. Sirius looked at her shocked for a moment before his expression settled in a pleasant, but to Harry's idea, fake smile.

"We were informed that you are the landlady of several properties, including a small run down cottage in Yorkshire in the middle of nowhere. Is this information correct?"

"Yes, why do you wish to know?"

"I'm looking around for some real estate to buy and was interested to see what the costs for the cottage would be."

"More than you can afford, lad." The woman said sneeringly with a glance at Sirius' and Harry's Muggle outfits.

"I merely asked for a price, Miss Montgomery. There is no need to become hostile or point your wand at my kid from behind your door. I don't take kindly to threats to him and I can assure you I will retaliate at the slightest attempt."

Upon his words the woman, Montgomery blinked and looked at Sirius more clearly before bringing her wand into sight and changing its aim from Harry to Sirius.

"Who are you?"

"How about I tell you that once you tell me a price for the cottage?"

"I give you that you are relentless. But the cottage is not cheap for sale. There is a patch of land belonging to it that is not at all cheap and you will have to kick the current renter out yourself."

"You wish to sell me the land where the cottage is placed upon?" Sirius asked and his voice changed from forced pleasant to stone cold in mere seconds. Harry glanced at Sirius confused but refused to let his emotions be seen on his face like Sirius had taught him. Why was Sirius becoming mad about that, they wanted the land, didn't they?

"Yes. It will be seven thousand galleons for the land and the cottage," Montgomery said with a decided look.

"So you are really sure you want to sell me the land on which the cottage is placed?" Sirius repeated without a single emotion in his voice.

"Yes."

"Absolutely sure?"

"Yes, I do not sell it separately."

"Then so it will be. I shall be taking the documents for the cottage from your hands as you have forsaken your rights to it," Sirius said as he stood up straight and stared Montgomery down.

"What?"

"My name is Lord Black; I am the rightful owner of that patch of land. My family extended to you the rights to build upon the land and let you use it for a small rental price. The terms of your contract clearly stated that under no terms you were allowed to sell the land you rented from the Black family and that if you did all your rights to the land and any properties you had build upon them would be claimed by the Black family. I asked you three times if you wanted to sell me the land, you said yes, thus breaking the contract. I shall be taking those papers now, Miss Montgomery." Sirius said with an expression on his face that Harry could only describe as aristocratic.

Montgomery stared at him flabbergasted for a few moments before she sneered. "Fine, but you get to kick off the filthy half-breed that I was forced to rent out to because your own contract stated that I wasn't allowed to refuse any appliers who had no criminal record."

"And with that you broke the second half of the contract." Sirius said with a smirk.

"What second part?"

"The part where you were forbidden from being prejudiced or unfair against the tenants. You see, I wrote that contract myself and I specifically stated that the landlords were not allowed to be prejudiced or unfair against any of their tenants. I am sure the papers will show that you have unrighteously raised the rent repeatedly after your current tenant came to live there while other residents paid a much lower rent. That makes it an unfair action and means that you have to pay back all the rent he has ever paid you for the Black family would not stand for dishonourable behaviour like that."

"You can't do that!"

"You signed the contract and now you have broken it. I shall inform your tenants of the change of landlord once I have found a proper and reliable one."

Sirius held out his hand and a bundle of documents appeared in his hands. He skimmed through them for a moment before taking out a contract.

"It is all in the fine print. So thank you for your co-operation and I hope I shall never see you again." Sirius said as he put his hand on Harry's back to turn him around and led him off the steps while the woman still stared at them in shock.

"Oh, before I forget... Obliviate." Sirius turned on the spot and raised his wand at the woman. "You won't remember the contract you signed with my family nor will you remember any of your tenants as is also stated in the contract. Good day."

Harry let Sirius push him on until they were out of sight of the house and then turned to Sirius. "You already owned the land? Why didn't you just tell Remus that?"

"Because I didn't know. It wasn't until I saw the old hag that I suddenly remembered signing a contract with her. My uncle Alphard had left me with quite a bit of money and several patches of land upon his death. I rented several of them out to various people, both to make money out of them and to give people like Remus a chance to start a life for themselves. Remus never complains but he did mention now and then that his rent kept rising, not that he could do much about it without losing his living space. That's when I knew I could break her out of the contract and just claim the cottage."

"What are we going to tell Remus?"

"The truth. I don't want secrets, especially not between friends and family."

Harry nodded, knowing just how much Sirius had lost due to secrecy.

"So...how are you going to keep your promise to not put the cottage on Remus' name?" Harry asked in a teasing voice and Sirius snorted before he stopped walking.

"Hold this, will you?" Giving the bundle of documents to Harry and taking out two pieces of paper that he quickly and magically filled out before tapping one of the two with his wand twice before it disappeared.

"What did you just do?"

"Signed a contract in Remus' name to buy the house we are going to live in."

'But you promised you wouldn't."

"I used Moony's name."

"You..." Harry snorted. "You know he is not going to be happy with you, right?"

"He will get over it." Sirius winked. "He loves that cottage so it should be his even if we will live in it with the three of us for who knows how long it will take you to get tired of us and get your own place and for him to kick me out."

"That will never happen."

"Then we can become three very old men living together while herding sheep."

"Why sheep?" Harry asked curiously.

"Because we already have a wolf and a dog to herd them with."

They stared at each other for a moment before they both burst out in laughter.

"That's lame even for you, Siri."

"I know, now let's go home and tell Remus the good news so that we can start planning on remodelling our house, shall we?"

Harry grinned and held out his hand for his godfather to Apparate them back to the cottage, but instead of taking it Sirius let out a muttered curse that made Harry frown. But before he could ask him what was wrong his godfather spoke up.

"Hey pup, remind me to pick up something nice for Dobby will you?"

"Why?"

"Because I asked him to check the rest of our list for safety precautions. Knowing him he probably put a lot of time and effort into checking them and now we aren't even going to look at them any more."

"So you want to give him something nice as an apology?" Harry asked, happy that his godfather was so fond of the little House Elf. And agreed to his reasoning, having completely forgotten Sirius had asked that of their friend.

"And as a thank you. He's already got tons of socks, so maybe some material to make himself a coat? He refused to let me buy one for him so maybe he'll accept the material to make one himself?"

"If he doesn't then you are probably sneaky enough to trick him into accepting it anyway."

"I wouldn't force it upon him. I could simply give it to him as an extra belated Christmas present. Buy you and Remus something small too to cover the real intent up. Oh, I could make it new year's presents or maybe welcome to our new home present."

"I'm sure you'll think of something, Siri. Can we go home now, I'm starting to get hungry," Harry said with a chuckle at Sirius' ideas. Sirius smiled as he ruffled his hair and held out his hand once more, which Harry gladly took. "Let's go home."