Finding Answers

Chapter One – The Search for Cassie

Disclaimer: I still don't, nor will I ever, own Harry Potter.

Hello my lovely readers! I hinted that this sequel (which those who just randomly clicked this fic, please click on my profile and read History in the Making before advancing any farther) would be in the works within a couple of days. The Writing Muses have looked down upon me and gave me the motivation to put this up a day earlier! Hopefully they're this generous as I continue to write out this story. I've been working on this as I simultaneously edited HitM, so I'm a couple of chapters ahead. So unfortunately at some point I'll catch up and my updates will be farther apart.

Enough talk…I present the first chapter of Finding Answers!

To the muggles roaming the streets near Grimmauld Place, they didn't paid attention to the large, black dog that sat in between buildings 11 and 13. With no collar, they figured he was a stray, and would make up a random excuse when children would beg and cry to take him poor dog looked ratted and like he hadn't had a bath in days, and there was no way they would ever allow such a filthy creature into their home.

Fortunately, none of them could see what the dog could see. They didn't see a building push its way from between the two odd numbered ones, a plaque at the door showing a golden '12,' nor did they see the gate shoot up from the ground in front.

The dog continued to sit until the street became less crowded, then made his way to the steps of Number 12. If a muggle had been looking out their window, they would have for a fraction of a second saw the dog turn into a man, and then simply disappear from sight.

Inside Number 12, Grimmauld Place, Sirius Black quickly and quietly shut the door, and close his eyes for a second. Four months before, his childhood home had been alive with action, from the Weasley twins making Molly Weasley's life miserable to Ron and Hermione's constant bickering. He was the happiest he had been in a long time. He had Harry around, and was able to relive the best years of his life.

Ever since Sirius and Remus had told Harry about their time at Hogwarts, about Cassie and Liz...along with James, Lily, Severus, and Rose, it had sparked Sirius to try and find his wife and daughter, Robyn. Despite Dumbledore's protests to stay within the safety of Grimmauld, Sirius would sneak out as Padfoot and roam the small areas around London. But so far, he had no such luck in finding his missing family. Now, halfway through the month of January, he was was more determined than ever before.

Sirius made his way down to the kitchen of the house, hearing several voices speaking as he got closer. He couldn't help but refrain from groaning when he heard Mad-Eye Moody. He knew as soon as he made his presence known the ex-Auror would tear into him for leaving. Bracing himself for the 'constant vigilance' speech again, he entered the kitchen.

"Black, where have you been?" Just as Sirius had predicted, Moody was the first to notice his return to the room. He looked around, spotting Remus, Kingsley, Tonks, and Bill Weasley sitting around the table.

"Just went out for air," Sirius muttered as he walked behind Moody, and took a seat across from his best friend. He avoided Remus's questioning look and looked up at the other members. "What's going on?"

"If you need air from now on, open a window," Moody said gruffly, ignoring Sirius's question. "You know Dumbledore's orders, Sirius. He said you were not to leave the house until-"

"Until they could manage to prove my innocence, I was there, Moody. It's been almost three bloody years, and I don't think it's happening any time soon."

He glanced up at Kingsley, who was in charge of finding him and bringing him back to Azkaban. The Auror looked away from his fellow Order member and down at the newest edition of the Daily Prophet.

"What's going on?" Sirius asked again.

"Voldemort's planning something big. We don't know what yet, but we think it has something to do with Azkaban," Tonks said.

"Two Death Eaters came into Gringotts today," Bill Weasley spoke up. "I overheard them saying something about 'the Dark Lord being reunited' and that's all I managed."

"So…you think he's going to break his old followers out?" Sirius asked, thinking about his cousin Bellatrix Lestrange. He could feel the hatred he felt toward her bubbling up just with the mention of her name.

"That's what we're thinking," Moody said. "A raid will go down later tonight, that is if we can get confirmation from our spy whose watching the place."

"Let me guess…"

"Sirius, you know Dumbledore's direct orders. You are not allowed to participate in raids."

"It's for your own safety," Tonks added.

Sirius didn't respond but instead glared down at the table as the rest of the Order members discussed the raid that had been planned. His let his mind wander until they left, leaving him and Remus at the table in silence.

"Where exactly have you been going?" Remus suddenly asked. Sirius looked up at him in confusion.

"What are you talking about?"

"You usually listen to Dumbledore's orders, and here lately…you've been sneaking out of the house more than usual. Ever since Christmas."

"Did Dumbledore suddenly appoint you my keeper?" Sirius snapped. He expected the mollycoddling from the rest of the Order. He thought Remus of all people would be on his side.

Remus glared at Sirius. "I'm just curious."

Sirius sighed, letting his shoulders slack in defeat. "I've…been looking for them."

Remus looked at him confused for a second before it dawned on him who Sirius was talking about. "Sirius, I've been looking for Cassie for almost 16 years," Remus finally said quietly. "If she wanted to be found, she would have let us know by now."

"I can't give up, Moony," Sirius muttered, looking down at the long kitchen table with a tired sigh. "After all these years, I can't lose them too."

Remus nodded and the two Marauders fell silent. Both knew what each other was thinking…it was hard to believe of all the people they had lost. When they all had left Hogwarts, their group had stayed together; James, Lily, Remus, Liz, Sirius, Cassie, and even Cassie and Liz's best friend Rose. Now…it was just the two remaining Marauders. To them, Pettigrew didn't exist, seeing as he was the reason a big portion of their extended family had been torn apart.

"I know what you mean," Remus admitted quietly.

Sirius knew he was referring to accepting Liz's fate. For months after her disappearance, he kept hope that one day she would come home. Even though many believed that she was gone (and many of them had believed Dumbledore when he said his spies at the time had seen Liz meet her demise), Remus never fully accepted that. Sirius was sure that even 16 years later Remus still believed in the back of his mind that Liz was still alive.

"I just don't understand," Sirius said. "Where had she gone?"

"She could have moved from the country completely," Remus said. "If that's the case, we'll never find her."

"There has to be a way. Maybe there is some kind of trace they can put on wands, you know, like the one we had on us before we were 17? I mean, if Ollivander can remember ever wand he's ever sold and they can track down her wand..." He looked at his best friend, his brother-in-law with a hopeful look.

"We can ask Kingsley about it tomorrow," Remus promised.

About that time, the fireplace lit up in green flames and Bill Weasley stumbled out. "Alastor says the raid is a go," he said. "He's requesting your help, Remus."

Remus shot his best friend an apologetic look as Sirius crossed his arms and let out an audible sigh. "We'll talk about this more tomorrow, okay? There may be a way to find out if her wand as been used. If not I'm sure it would be a nice project for somebody to work on."

Sirius nodded and watched as Remus following Bill through the fire grate, leaving the former Gryffindor to let his mind wander back to the last time he had saw his wife and daughter…

October 31, 1981

Sirius apparated outside of his and Cassie's house, his hair and robes drenched from the rain that began to pour. He was completely numb, but not from the weather. There was no way…it had to be a nightmare. What he just witnessed…it wasn't real.

He opened the door and entered the living room. Cassie and Robyn were in the middle of the floor, Cassie helping their daughter build a toy replica of Hogwarts. Robyn was still wearing the white unicorn onesie she had worn out for her Halloween costume earlier that evening. Cassie looked up at him, the smile on her face at the little toddler in front of her fading. She stood up, making sure Robyn was occupied in her blocks and made her way to Sirius.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

Sirius looked at her, a lump forming in his throat. He couldn't say it out loud. Why did he have to be the one who had to tell what had happen? Why did he have to say it when he didn't even think it was real?

Cassie looked at him in concern, taking a step closer to him. "Sirius…what happened?" she asked, this time there was a small amount of fear in her voice.

"It's James and Lily, Cassie," he whispered. "Voldemort found them."

He didn't need to say anything else. Cassie put the missing pieces together, and covered her mouth, tears forming in her eyes. "Oh, my God…" she whispered.

"Harry's still alive. I don't know how, but he survived," Sirius continued. He was so in shock, he couldn't bring himself to mourn the death of his best friend. "Hagrid took him to Dumbledore…"

"But, you're his godfather," Cassie protested. "He supposed come to you, to us."

"Dumbledore gave Hagrid direct orders to take Harry to where he was waiting. I…I lent him my bike. I won't need it."

It was if he had made up his mind right there. His mind automatically began to seek out revenge. He knew that Peter was responsible. Peter, who was supposed to be their friend…who Sirius had thought Voldemort would never suspect. He'd been playing them this entire time. The betrayal was starting to bubble inside like lava.

Cassie looked at him with a confused look. "What do you mean?"

"I need you to promise me something," he looked down at Cassie, and took her hands into his. "Whatever you hear…whatever happens, I want you to take Robyn and hide. Get out of this house, out of the country if that's what it takes. Tell her…" the lump in his throat began to tighten. "Tell her that I love her, okay?"

"Sirius, you're scaring me," she whispered. "What are you going to do?"

"I have to make this right. This was all my fault. James and Lily…they're dead because of me. I have to fix this. I'm going after Peter."

"No." Cassie shook her head and wrapped her arms around him, forgetting the fact he was damp from the rain. "No, Sirius, don't do this. I can't lose you, too. Please."

Hearing her pleading voice almost broke his resolve. He ran a hand across her cheek, making her look up at him before kissing her deeply, trying to put all of his love and affection he had ever felt for his wife into it, knowing that it would be the last one for a long time, if not forever. He broke away from her, feeling his eyes beginning to sting from the tears that threaten to fill them.

"I love you, Cassie…never forget that. I will always love you."

"I love you, too, Sirius, but please, think about this." Tears of her own filled her eyes as she looked at him pleadingly, silently begging him to stay.

"I have," he answered. He looked over at Robyn, who was still occupied with her blocks. She never noticed he had returned home for the last time. He couldn't bring himself to say goodbye to her. He felt the tears that were already threatening to fall would if he had to tell his daughter goodbye.

He looked at Cassie one last time, leaning up and kissing her on the forehead before pulling away and walking out the door.

Well, that was an emotional start to a new fic. Ah drama. I know it's fairly short compared to some of the chapters I had in the first novel. My chapters usually range between 7 and 12 pages in Microsoft Office using a 12 pt font. I know that's short compared to some, but I have a tendency to ramble if there any longer. This one was only 4. The next one will be longer.

I figured that Sirius probably told Cassie at some point that he switched secret keepers with Peter. She would have probably figured it out after he stopped going to see Lily and James as much once the switch was made anyway.

As always, reviews are appreciated and make this writer happy!