The Everlasting Day

Epilogue

So many of our dreams at first seem impossible, then they seem improbable, and then, when we summon the will, they soon become inevitable. - Christopher Reeve

'You almost ready then, sweetheart?' Sirius called to Ariadne as he looked in the bathroom mirror, buttoning his shirt collar and adjusting his Muggle tie, feeling as though he was being strangled by the bloody thing. He couldn't understand why they were so popular. He much preferred his wizard's robes, but he somehow doubted that they would go down very well in the middle of Surrey.

'Yeah...nearly,' Ariadne replied, her voice muffled by the closed bedroom door. She'd spent the last hour experimenting with various dresses, trying to find one that didn't make her hips look too big, didn't have huge orange and brown flowers all over it, didn't reek of mothballs and wasn't striped like a deckchair.

Women were far too picky, Sirius thought; she would look wonderful to him if she wore sackcloth and ashes. He had told her to try to find something as Muggle-ish as possible, but smart, that was all - more for the Muggles' benefit than for his. He didn't think it was really that big a task, but obviously he had underestimated the number of dresses that Ariadne had managed to accumulate.

Anyway, he felt justified in just a little complaining at Ariadne's fussiness after she had told him that he needed to do something about his hair. He didn't understand what she was talking about - he had always worn his long, sleek hair tousled around his face and falling loosely over his shoulders and he didn't see what was so extraordinary about it. He'd seen lots of Muggles wearing their hair like that.

'I know, sweetheart,' she had said, looking at him with a pitying sort of fondness that made him pout like a five year old, 'but not in the type of area we're going to. You look...well...a little rough.'

'Rough?' he had exclaimed. 'You think I look rough? When have you ever thought I looked rough?'

'I love that look, Sirius,' she had grinned, ruffling his fringe as he had playfully hit her away, 'I'm just not so sure that they will. Trust me, sweetheart. Tie it back.'

Reluctantly, he had agreed, but more to please her than the Muggles - he still didn't understand what was so awful about long hair in suburbia. As he looked at himself in the mirror one last time, he sighed and frowned, thinking he looked far too much like a darker Lucius Malfoy for his liking. When he eventually heard the door opening, he stepped out into the hall to see what she had finally decided upon, ready to tease her relentlessly if she looked even half as daft as he felt he did.

'I don't even know if Muggles think it's appropriate to wear dresses this tight, Sirius...I feel so...exposed...but it's the only thing I could find that didn't look as though it belonged on a nineteen-fifties kitchen window.'

Sirius just stood there, framed in the bathroom doorway, stunned. He had never seen her in anything Muggle other than her jeans, but this... His eyes travelled slowly upwards from the delicate black strappy sandals that graced her feet, over her legs to the dress that hung loosely mid-way down her calves before hugging her form so perfectly from the waist up, highlighting her soft curves before ending at her décolletage. Thin straps held the dress in place over her shoulders and a small, delicate silver cauldron hung around her neck.

'Oh, come on...it's not that bad, is it?' Her face crumpled with disappointment as she ran her hands self-consciously over the softly shimmering lilac fabric. 'I can't go to Little Whinging in my robes or jeans now, can I? I don't have anything "smart"...I haven't had anywhere to go in twelve years. I have a shawl to go around my shoulders to dress it down a bit.'

He stepped towards her, silencing her with a finger against her lips. Only then did she notice his eyes were shimmering as his finger moved from her lips down the line of her neck to the silver cauldron.

'You still have this?' he asked, his voice no more than mere breath. 'After all these years?'

She nodded. 'Of course I do,' she said with a soft smile, 'you gave it to me, Sirius.'

He smiled, blinking away the tears of nostalgia and intense, overwhelming affection for her that had welled up within his chest. He remembered the day he had given it to her. Just before she had left for Durmstrang's. A joint 'good luck' and 'farewell' gift for her to remember him by.

'You're breathtaking, Ari,' he managed to say as his hands gently caressed her face before drifting through her hair as he moved closer and kissed her.

'Mmm...I could stay here all day like this,' she sighed as his lips broke from hers, leaning her head back to expose her neck as his attentions moved over her chin to the hollow of her throat and along her collarbone, his hands pressing into the small of her back, 'but we have to go, Sirius.'

He pulled back, reluctantly, pressing his lips just once more against her forehead. 'All right then,' he grinned, 'I suppose this is what we've been working so hard for, isn't it? Then you go and come out here, looking...mmm...looking like that and distract me.'

'Yeah,' she chuckled, gently tapping his backside, 'you old flatterer, you. Just as long as I look presentable. You look pretty good yourself, you know.'

'Well...thank you.'

Sirius was wearing his own, tailor-made Muggle suit that he had bought a couple of days ago at Knightsbridge in London. He'd had to Apparate up there to register his animagus form with the Ministry (at long last) and to collect Buckbeak's and his official pardon papers from the Office of Magical Law Enforcement and the Department for the Disposal of Dangerous Creatures.

Despite Malfoy's interference, Pettigrew had nonetheless been arrested for the murders of the twelve Muggles that Sirius himself had been incarcerated for and was currently awaiting a date to be set for the trial in Azkaban prison - as were Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle. The other Death Eaters who had been present that night had managed to slip through the Ministry's fingers and there was little anyone could do about it because of the lack of evidence. The three who had been caught had refused to speak to anyone about the events at the church, even under Veritaserum, so it came down to Erytheia, Snape and Lupin to testify against them. Unfortunately, Sirius was not considered a particularly reliable witness because he had been bleeding so badly at the time everything had happened, it was felt by the D.M.L.E. that his judgement and perceptions might have been impaired, not to mention that there was still some wariness of him among some members of the Ministry. Sirius hadn't minded particularly although he, like Snape and Lupin, had voiced grave concerns over Erytheia being forced to give evidence at the Wizengamot. Yes, she was probably tougher than most kids her age, but it was nonetheless a daunting experience for adults, let alone children. Still, there was time for that. Hopefully, they could manage to work something out with the Ministry so she wouldn't be forced to face such an ordeal.

His thoughts had turned to Peter over the past few days too, but not quite in the same way. Sirius pitied him and even empathised with him to an extent - no one knew what Azkaban could be like as he did and he really didn't know if someone like Peter would cope particularly well with it. Even after everything Sirius had been put through because of him, he still couldn't bring himself to wish a fate like the Dementor's Kiss on his old friend. He wouldn't wish it on anyone, even though he was sure that Pettigrew would have been more than prepared to see him condemned to it. But, Sirius supposed, that's what had always made Peter that bit different to the other Marauders - he had always been more concerned with himself than anyone else and now, he was paying for it. Perhaps, Sirius considered, when the time felt right, he would go and see him. Not so much for his own sake, but for James'. James would have wanted it. James would have forgiven him even if Sirius would never quite bring himself to go that far. That's what mattered.

Merlin, he didn't know what was coming over him. He was getting far more tolerant in his old age - something he had never dreamed he would ever be, not when he'd been sitting in that dark cell, replaying his life, cursing Pettigrew with every single breath.

Perhaps it was just happiness, his first real taste of it in more than thirteen years. Somehow, all the pain that had existed before just didn't seem to matter now. It was as though it had happened in another lifetime...to someone else...

'But you're right,' he continued, slipping from his reverie, 'we should be going. You ready?'

'As ready as I'll ever be.'

Sirius took her hand, closed his eyes and felt the familiar disorientation and momentary nausea as he usually did when Apparating.

* * *

They had chosen a spot just off Magnolia Crescent not too far from where Sirius had first glimpsed Harry more than a year ago. It was midday when they arrived and the sun was unforgiving as it beat down on the deserted tarmac pavements and well manicured gardens around them.

'It's eerily quiet around here, isn't it? Even for Muggles,' Ariadne said as she reached for Sirius' hand. 'Where is everyone?'

'I think this is one of those middle class places that Muggles live in. Most of them are at work all day which means that about this time is great if you don't want to attract any attention. Harry should still be home though. From what he's told me, the Muggles don't let him venture far.'

'Oh, let's hurry up and get him out of here. This place is like a ghost town...no character, no colour, all the houses and gardens exactly the same...it's just...eerie.'

Sirius chuckled. 'Yeah, I have to say I agree, although I'm probably not in a place to do so. Everywhere looks good to me after staring at four grey walls for twelve years.'

'Oh...so much for my "cosy little cottage" then!' she teased, playfully elbowing him in the ribs. 'That was just your attempt to butter me up or something, was it?'

'Ah, come on now. You know I love your home, Ari,' he replied, squeezing her hand as he leaned in to kiss her cheek, 'mostly because you're in it.'

'Mmm...okay...nice save. I'll forgive you,' she relented with a smile, yielding to his kiss, 'this time. So, which house is it anyway?'

They were on Privet Drive now, although there was very little difference between this and Magnolia Crescent to note it. It was just as well that the Muggles labelled their streets or a person could very well wander in and never find their way out again. This place was worse than the Minotaur's Labyrinth.

'Here it is,' said Sirius, pointing at the faux-gold lettering on the door, 'number four.'

'He doesn't know we're coming, does he?'

'Well, not exactly. But I'm sure he reads The Prophet, and I did promise him that when I was cleared, I would come for him. You should have seen his face the last time I saw him, Ari. He was so thrilled at the prospect of leaving this place. When everything went wrong...well, it nearly killed me to have to leave him and see how that look changed to one of such disappointment and loss...it was cruel really to promise him so much and be unable to live up to his expectations. But I can now. I'm really looking forward to seeing him again, I've really missed him. You won't believe how much he looks like Lily and James,' he added, the anticipation and excitement leaking into his voice as he pressed the doorbell.

They didn't have to wait long until the door opened.

'Yes, can I help you?' said the woman, her lips curling in an attempt at a smile. Even Snape could have managed to make it look more convincing than that. Still, Sirius' idea about dressing in smart Muggle-ish clothes seemed to be saving them a lot of aggravation and earache. Or maybe it was Ari's advice about his hair, but he would never admit that to her. At least Petunia wasn't screeching at them to leave or fainting in horror at the sight of them. If she gave him chance to explain, they were in with a better chance of getting this done smoothly.

'Mrs Petunia Dursley?' Sirius checked, even though he was in very little doubt that the thin, bony, unfortunately-featured woman in front of him was Harry's aunt.

'Yes, that's right.' Her smile slipped a little, becoming more strained and cautious as she began to glare at them through narrowed eyes. 'If you're selling something, then I'm not interested.'

Sirius smiled his best, most sincere, most polite smile. 'No, I'm not selling anything. My name is Sirius Black, Mrs Dursley. I'm sure Harry's mentioned me. I'm his godfather.'

Petunia's hand flew to her mouth, the colour drained from her cheeks, her eyes widened in terror and she gave a short, sharp exhalation as she stumbled backwards, her other hand grasping for purchase on dado rail running along the wall beside her.

'Oh! N-no! D-don't hurt my Dudley! Harry's fine, he's j-j-just had his lunch! A good lunch! It was...er...ham and...'

'Mrs Dursley... Mrs Dursley, calm down,' Sirius grinned, rather enjoying himself as he stepped inside while Petunia kept backing away from him as though he were a bomb about to explode all over her hallway. 'The reports of my psychopathic tendencies are, what was it the man said, '"greatly exaggerated."'

'Take the TV! Take the stereo! I have m-m-money in my purse, you c-can take that too! Just don't hurt me!'

'Mrs Dursley, I have absolutely no intention of hurting you, your husband or your son. Contrary to popular belief, I am not a maniac, although,' he added with a wicked wink and a conspiratorial whisper, 'I am liable to lose my temper once in a while and start throwing things. Mostly curses though...rather than the furniture...you know.' He straightened up and laughed heartily. 'But then I'm sure that happens to the best of us from time to time, now doesn't it?'

Petunia didn't seem to be reassured. Her horse-like face was still contorted in abject fear. She looked as though she were face-to-face with Lucifer himself. 'W-what do you w-want?' she managed to stammer.

'Nothing,' Sirius said, raising his eyebrows innocently. 'Actually, I'm here to do you a favour. First of all, how rude of me, I didn't introduce my beautiful companion here, Ariadne Snape.'

Ariadne was trying very hard not to giggle at the effect that Sirius' presence seemed to be having on this ridiculous woman. As if anyone could honestly believe that Sirius was some axe-wielding psychopath.

'Hello, Mrs Dursley,' Ariadne said politely, extending her hand, 'I'm very pleased to meet you.'

Petunia looked at Ariadne's hand as though it were a poisonous viper about to strike her dead. 'Are you...one of...them?'

'One of what?'

'A witch, sweetheart,' Sirius informed her, 'Mrs Dursley suffers quite an aversion to witches and wizards, I'm afraid.'

Petunia let out another exclamation of horror at the use of those words under her own roof - and three times in one sentence!

Ariadne was still struggling very hard not to laugh. Petunia was reacting to her the way that most people in the wizarding world reacted whenever Voldemort's name was mentioned. She would almost have felt sorry for Petunia Dursley, if Sirius hadn't told her already what a loathsome, cruel creature she had always been towards Harry.

'Now then, if we could get down to business, Mrs Dursley, now that we've established I'm not about to turn you into a smoking pile of ashes,' Sirius chuckled to himself as he closed the front door behind them. 'I'm here, as I said, to do you a favour. You'll be pleased to hear, I'm sure, that my 'Wanted' status has been lifted and I am now in a position to offer Harry an alternative home, should he desire it. In short, I am here to take custody of my godson.'

Petunia lowered her very white, shaking hand from her mouth and stared at Sirius. 'You're...you're here to take Harry?'

'I am indeed. If he wants to come, of course!' he added jovially, as though there would be any other choice. 'I know that you're probably aware of Dumbledore's stipulation that he should remain here with you until he comes of age, but I assure you that there is nothing for you to worry about. Dumbledore is quite happy for Harry to come with us now.' As though she really would be worried about him anyway. 'Where is he?'

'He's...he's upstairs, in his bedroom. Because we made sure he had a room, Mr Black, you see...a very nice room. He has a view and a nice, clean bed and plenty of room to do his s-s-school work...'

'He's inside on a beautiful day like this?' Sirius glowered at her. 'Why isn't he outside?'

'Oh, he doesn't want to be...he likes the quiet of his room...neighbours...very noisy, you see...' Petunia sputtered, tripping over her words in her desperation to spit them out as quickly as possible.

'Right,' Sirius said slowly, winking at Ariadne when Petunia looked nervously up the staircase. Ariadne had to cover her mouth to stifle a giggle. 'You don't mind if I give him a shout then?'

'No! No, Mr..er...Mr Black...that's perfectly fine! He's in the front bedroom, top of the stairs, far left.'

'Good. Marvellous. Well, Ariadne and I will go up to speak to him and we should be out of your way in just a few moments, Mrs Dursley.'

'Oh yes, of course, Mr Black...no trouble...no trouble at all...'

She watched Sirius and Ariadne carefully as they climbed the stairs and as soon as they had disappeared onto the landing, she slumped down onto the telephone chair in the hallway, a slow smile creeping across her face as she gasped for breath with her hand clutched to her chest. Just like someone who had been told that she had just won the lottery.

* * *

The door was closed when Sirius arrived upstairs. He tapped on it three times.

'Harry?'

The dark, wooden door clicked, as though a lock was being released, and then it opened just a crack.

A tall, teenage boy with dark, unkempt hair and bright green eyes shining from behind round-rimmed glasses appeared in the gap, glancing cautiously into the hallway. As soon as he saw Sirius' face smiling back at him, he threw the door open wide and launched himself at his godfather.

'Sirius!' Harry exclaimed happily, his thin arms wrapping themselves around Sirius' neck. 'When I heard the doorbell, I thought Uncle Vernon was back from work early! Oh, Sirius, it's brilliant to see you! I was so pleased when Hedwig brought me The Prophet yesterday that said you'd gotten your release papers! You have no idea how desperate I've been to talk to you!'

Sirius hugged him back tightly, closing his eyes as relief, supreme joy and immeasurable grief for James collided within his soul and he felt tears slipping over his cheeks as he held his best friend's son as though he were his own. It occurred to him that this might be one of the first proper hugs the poor kid had ever had and he held him doubly hard to make up for it. No one knew, as Sirius did, how awful it was to be starved of affection and he was going to make sure that Harry never again had to experience the things that he had when he had been a child. Not to mention the twelve years of loneliness when he would have given almost anything to have Ariadne hold him just for a moment.

When eventually he let Harry let go, he lowered his face to quickly wipe away the tears before Harry saw them. There had been enough tears shed to last them both a lifetime.

'How did you manage it? I heard you'd been injured and I really wanted to come and see you, but I had a letter from Dumbledore telling me I had to stay here until you were better...I nagged him, but he wouldn't listen and I've just been going mad here wondering what's been going on. So did you catch Wormtail yourself? How on earth did you get past Aunt Petunia? And are you taking me to the Quidditch World Cup? Because I really want you to, Sirius...I've been really looking forward to it since Ron and Hermione mentioned it again in their last letters.'

'Whoa, there now, Harry! That's a lot of questions there! There's so much we have to talk about and there will be time for that,' Sirius said affectionately, ruffling his hair, 'but I'm sure you want to get out of here first, don't you?'

'Are you serious? Of course I do! Is this really it this time, Sirius? I can live with you now? I really don't ever have to come back here?'

'Nope. Never. Not if you don't want to,' Sirius grinned, his heart swelling to see the unadulterated joy on Harry's face. He could almost feel James smiling too, somewhere, watching them. 'Dumbledore has said it's okay. You'll be quite safe at Ari's house, he's already set all the necessary protective wards for you.'

'Ari? Who's...oh,' Harry stuttered, finally noticing the woman Sirius had brought with him. He smiled. 'Hello.'

'Hello, Harry,' she beamed back at him, shaking his hand as he offered it to her. 'My, my...you really are hauntingly like your parents. I expect everyone tells you the same thing, don't they?' She chuckled as he coloured. 'Well, I'm so pleased to meet you at last. Sirius has been telling me so much about you. I'm sure he would have gotten around to introducing us eventually,' she added with a wink.

'Hey now, give me a break. You'd forget the niceties if you'd spent so long with no one to talk to but yourself too,' he said, giving her a mock-serious glare before turning back to Harry. 'I'm sorry...Harry, this is the friend I was telling you about in my letters...she and I were...well...close...before I got sent to Azkaban - Ariadne Snape.'

Harry relaxed smile suddenly became tense and a little forced. Somehow, it stopped touching his eyes. 'Oh...Ariadne Snape?'

She chuckled as she let his hand go. 'Mmm...I can tell by the look on your face that you've heard the name. I think you've met my brother. He takes your potions classes.'

The smile suddenly dropped completely, his eyes narrowing in a mixture of curiosity and suspicion. 'You're Professor Snape's sister? I didn't think he had any family.'

'There's no need to look so surprised or worried, Harry,' she said, letting go of his hand and raising her fingers to brush gently over his hair. 'I'm not quite as...well...I'm not like him really, even though he's my twin. He doesn't do much to endear himself to people sometimes, I know, but believe me, I wouldn't be as fond of him as I am if his heart wasn't in the right place. He's been a bit tough with you, I hear.'

Harry laughed awkwardly, his thin fingers reaching up to rub the back of his neck as his gaze drifted down to his feet. 'Well...er...it's just that...well, I'm not very good at Potions and he...er...'

'It's all right, Harry,' she smiled warmly, 'I'm not going to tell him anything, I know how he can be sometimes. But you can come and tell me if you have any problems with him in the future and I'll have a word with him, put him back in his place,' she winked at him again, squeezing his shoulder reassuringly. 'Although I think you might find him much more agreeable this year, now that Sirius and I are around to keep an eye on him. His daughter has just been accepted into Hogwarts too.'

'Professor Snape has a daughter? Oh, wow...' said Harry, running his hand through his dark hair in overwhelming disbelief. 'And you and Sirius, you're going out?'

'Well,' he said sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck and avoiding her eyes that he knew were boring a hole into him, 'a little more than that, yeah.'

'Wow,' Harry muttered, trying hard to stifle the grin that was pulling stubbornly at the corners of his mouth, 'I bet Professor Snape is happy about that. His sister and the man he's hated since he was at school.'

Sirius looked horrified and might have said something to chastise him if Ariadne hadn't started laughing. 'Yes, you could say that. But things are better now, Harry. You don't have to worry. They only curse each other twice a day now, so that's a definite improvement.'

Harry chuckled, glancing at the half-scowl on Sirius' face and the mischievous glint in Ariadne's. 'Well...that's good, isn't it? I suppose we do have a lot to talk about, don't we?'

'Yes, we certainly do, so we'd better get you packed,' said Sirius, moving past Harry into his bedroom.

Hedwig hooted loudly and nibbled at the padlock on her cage as she saw Sirius pulling out his wand, ready to try to make some semblance of order out of the chaos that was Harry's room.

'Did those bloody Muggles lock that poor owl in her cage?'

'Er...yeah...they don't like me letting her out in the daytime in case someone sees her,' Harry replied. 'She's been desperate to get out, but I can't use magic to open the lock.'

'Right,' said Sirius authoritatively, taking off his stuffy Muggle jacket, loosening his collar and tie and rolling up his shirt sleeves. 'Well maybe you can't do magic, but I certainly can. Alohamora!'

The padlock on Hedwig's cage snapped open and Harry quickly pulled it out of the hasp and opened the door for her. She hooted gratefully, landed on his shoulder and affectionately nipped at his earlobe before she took off towards the window and out into the bright August sunshine.

'Where exactly are we going, Sirius?' asked Harry as he enthusiastically pulled up the loose floorboard beneath his bed and grabbed the pillowcase stuffed with all his school books, his wand, parchment, ink and quills.

'Ariadne's cottage, up north,' said Sirius, flicking his wand over Harry's chest of drawers so that all the clothes within them started leaping out, folding themselves neatly and landing in little piles on the bed. 'You'll love it up there. Although Ari and I have been talking about the idea of moving somewhere a bit closer to Hogwarts, somewhere that's not quite so isolated. We're going to be needing more space anyway now with you and the baby both needing your own rooms.'

'Baby? What baby?'

'Oh, didn't I mention that?' He grinned proudly as he glanced over at Ariadne who had just Summoned Harry's trunk from the cupboard under the stairs and was now transferring the folded clothes into it. Ariadne met his eyes and smiled. 'Ari and I are expecting...in April.'

'Really? Oh, that's great! Congratulations!' said Harry sincerely, throwing the pillowcase into his trunk. 'I'm really pleased for you both.'

'Yeah...we're pretty pleased about it too, aren't we, Ari? Although it did come as a bit of a surprise, to be honest.'

'Mmm,' she agreed with a smile, 'you could say that. But yes, we're over the moon about it, Harry. And thank you.'

'Do you know if it's a boy or a girl yet?'

'Oh no, not yet. We didn't really want to know anyway, we'd rather it be a surprise.'

'Ari would rather it be a surprise,' said Sirius. 'Personally, I'd like to know if I was going to have a son or a daughter.'

'Don't start,' Ariadne warned, but her eyes were twinkling as she finished putting the last few bits and pieces in Harry's trunk.

'This too,' said Harry, handing Ariadne a small, leather bound book, 'it's my album,' he explained as she raised a questioning eyebrow.

'Really? Do you mind if I take a look?'

'No, not at all,' said Harry, his cheeks glowing as he smiled. 'Did you know my Mum and Dad well?'

'Yes, I did,' Ariadne sighed sadly, her fingers running over the creases in the leather contemplatively before she opened the book. She smiled as she flicked through the pages and occasionally giggled at the photos of a younger, longer-haired Sirius. 'My, my...look at Remus here! Doesn't he look young? And you, Sirius! Ooh, I'd forgotten about that motorbike! Whatever happened to that?'

'Hell knows. I gave it to Hagrid before I...well...I don't know what he must have done with it. Probably sold it for scrap when I got locked up, I expect.'

'He wouldn't have done that, Sirius,' said Harry. 'Hagrid never gets rid of anything. I'm sure, if you asked him, he'd tell you that he's stowed it away somewhere.'

'Yeah, maybe,' he replied, but he didn't sound particularly convinced. 'Anyway...a bike's no good for carrying a family around.'

'I suppose not,' Ariadne chuckled. 'All the same, I did love you on that bike, Sirius. You were very handsome in those leathers.'

Sirius eyed her with a wicked grin, but bit his tongue - more for Harry's benefit than anyone else's. He wasn't sure the planned retort would have been suitable for his young ears.

'Your parents were both wonderful people, Harry,' Ariadne continued, closing the album and handing it back to Harry to place into the trunk, 'and I know that they loved you very much. I can't even begin to tell you how sorry I am for what happened.'

'Thanks,' Harry murmured, offering her an appreciative smile.

'Right then,' Sirius sighed, grabbing Hedwig's cage and fastening it to the top of Harry's trunk with thick leather straps, 'I think that's everything, isn't it?'

'Yeah, I think so. How are we getting up there? Did you bring Buckbeak?' Harry asked.

'No, we didn't want to give your aunt a heart attack,' said Ariadne with a chuckle. 'That's why we're dressed like a couple of Muggle salespeople.'

'And what would you know about Muggle salespeople?' asked Sirius with a grin.

Ariadne raised her eyebrows and smiled knowingly at him. 'You'd be surprised at what I know.'

'I bet I would,' he chuckled, rubbing the small of her back and pushing a tender kiss into her hair as she went to his side. 'No, Harry, we didn't think it would be a good idea to bring a hippogriff into the middle of suburban hell. I've just got my name cleared, the last thing I want is to be arrested again. We thought we'd fly.'

'On what?'

'These,' said Ariadne, pulling out two small brooches from her bag and putting them onto the floor. With a quick flick of her wand, she had transfigured them back into broomsticks and she couldn't help but smile to herself as she saw the look of surprise on Harry's face. Perhaps she wasn't so bad at charm work after all. 'You have your Firebolt?'

'Yeah! Of course I do!'

'Right,' said Sirius, 'do you want to go downstairs and say goodbye to your aunt?'

'Not particularly,' said Harry, 'she probably won't even notice that I'm gone.'

'Come on now, I know you don't like them, but it's courteous just to let her know you're leaving. We can come back in a few days to get anything you might have forgotten,' Sirius chided.

Harry sloped off reluctantly to tell his aunt and, what seemed like literally seconds later, Sirius heard him coming back up the stairs.

'As I expected...totally distraught,' Harry said with a grin as he came back into the room that used to be his.

'What did she say?' asked Ariadne.

'"Don't forget to take that bloody bird, and mind you don't take anything that belongs to us." That was basically the gist of it. I'm sure I heard her muttering something else under her breath, but I had gone by then.'

'Oh, Harry,' she sighed sympathetically, smoothing her hand over his hair. 'I'm so sorry.'

'It's fine, don't worry! I couldn't care less about her either. The sooner we get out of here, the better. We're ready?'

'We certainly are,' said Sirius, mounting his broom. Harry's trunk was tied between his and Ariadne's.

Hedwig's empty cage swung from beneath Harry's Firebolt, which was hovering in mid air beside his bed, waiting for him to mount.

'Alohamora!' said Ariadne, waving her wand over the other half of the window which shot wide open, letting in the heat and glorious sunshine of the bright day outside.

Three Disillusionment charms later, Sirius, Ariadne and Harry glided out through the open bedroom window of number four, Privet Drive into the stiflingly hot August sun. As they flew higher where the air was cool and refreshing on his face, Harry couldn't resist one last look down at the house beneath him that was rapidly becoming little more than a tiny, insignificant dot. He smiled to himself, his chest feeling as though it might explode with the sheer joy that was pumping through his heart in that moment.

This was it. It was over. He finally had a home...a family. It was too good to be true. Everything he had ever hoped for, everything he had ever dreamed of...his, at last.

Voldemort might still have been out there somewhere, but somehow, with Sirius and Ariadne beside him and the prospect of someone who would be as good as his own little brother or sister coming his way, the old wizard didn't seem to matter quite so much. The fear was disappearing to be replaced with something else he hadn't felt in a very long time...hope. The future was his and whatever it might bring, he would no longer fear it.

The End