Hello readers! I'm too lazy to write too much, so I'll just get into the chapter. Less talking, more actual plot to plan.

*I own nothing, only my ideas, but I can't copyright those either.*

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Last Time:

"By my authority as the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, I hereby decree that Sirius Black be released of all convictions, as well as compensated for his years spent in Azkaban. Those in favor?" The room lit up in a flash of white tipped wands, some more apprehensive than others but nonetheless raised.

She cast a glance at the Chief Warlock one last time, who had his wand raised, but the tip of his wand barely lit. She would have to keep an eye on him.

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Chapter 6: Meeting a (Very) Old Friend

Amelia sighed as she looked over her next document, taking a sip of tea as she read over the contents of the latest reports from her Aurors. Sometimes she wondered if those men knew how to write with a quill, as their calligraphy was worse than a healer's.

"Ms Bones, Lord Black is here to see you." Surprised that she not only didn't notice her assistant pop in, but that Sirius was here, she could only nod as she continued her work, making it look as though she had been aware all along. Her door closed and not much later reopened, but this time to a man with dark black hair and grey eyes.

"Amelia, it's good to see you again." The man barked out, going up to hug the woman, who didn't have much of a choice.

"Sirius, how are you doing since you were removed from your overdue stay." She stated bitterly, which sounded less like disappointment in the Ministry and more like a joke to the tall wizard. "Oh, I'm doing just fine, thanks to you. I thought that I would never get out of there." He stated happily.

The woman looked him over. "You are looking much better since your release." She stated with a bit of surprise. While it had only been three days, the man had already changed quite a bit. Gone was the dirt and muck that once covered his body, now replaced with cleanliness that he probably hadn't experienced since his imprisonment. His once long and unmanageable slimy hair had been trimmed up, now hitting his shoulder blades and being much more soft and controlled. He had removed all his facial hair, as he had to deal with it for the past seven years, no longer. The rags he had once worn were now replaced with proper wizard robes, making the once pitiful man look completely different from before. Well, not completely.

"Despite how much they have done for you, you are still thin as a rail." The Head of Magical Enforcement stated with a deadpanned expression, to which the man barked out a laugh once more. "Well, you can't expect the mediwizards to fix everything in three days. No matter how many nutrition potions they shove down my throat, my body needs to take its time." Amelia nodded at his statement.

"I'm actually quite surprised at how... fluent you are. Most who exit Azkaban, especially where you were, come out screaming and raving madly." The man simply smiled at her.

"Well, that's the thing, I have a few things to discuss with you, and that question actually falls in line with what I had to talk to you about." Sirius took up the seat across from Amelia's desk, plopping down and looking at the no nonsense woman. "To begin, I must thank you for getting me out of there. I had given up hope years ago, so being thrown in that ice cold chair was one of the best days of my life." He said with a bit of sadness, which Ms Bones caught onto.

"I would like to apologize on behalf of the Ministry once more. That should have never happened to you, and I intend to find out who allowed that to happen." She looked across into the man's haunted grey eyes. "While the Ministry paid you a handsome sum for the trouble we placed you in, I still believe it is not enough." The man shook his head.

"Don't go off and make yourself feel bad about it. It was the whole Ministry, or someone else in the Ministry. You were the one to get me out, so you shouldn't feel bad. You're the one that actually did something for me." Amelia smiled at the slightly crazed man.

"Actually, I can't take that credit, I only found out about the miscarriage of justice after someone came to me about it. He looked into your trial, or should I say a lack of one, and came to me to discuss it. In fact, he is apparently one of your distant cousins from the States, and was trying to get into contact with Blacks in Wizarding Britain."

Sirius looked at Amelia with shock. "A cousin? Who is he, what's his name?" The eager and excited man asked.

"His name is Alexander Hawthorn, and he is currently staying at the Leaky Cauldron while working at Gringotts, at least that is what he told me from his last letter. If you would like, I can contact him for you, maybe help you two meet." The man nodded, excited at the idea of meeting the man who indirectly saved his life.

"Before you go and run off to find him, please tell me what you needed to talk about." Pulled from his thoughts on what the man may look like and what he was like, Sirius refocused on Amelia with a bit of embarrassment.

"Right, sorry. First off, I think it would be best to get myself registered as an animagus." Amelia gave the man a pointed look. "You see, when me, James, Remus, and...Wormtail, were in school we all learned how to be animagus. James was a Stag, Remus was a... well a variant of a wolf, and I was a black grimm. We didn't use it often, other than for a certain event that happened sometimes at school, but we didn't want to just release that information, especially with the bustle of the war." Amelia nodded to the man's confession.

"There is usually a fee for registering and a fine or prison time for withholding such information, but I will waive those in light of your situation, both old and new. I can get you the forms, but it is up to you to fill it out. Once it's done, that information will become public." Sirius nodded, already knowing that part.

"Alright, next on the list, I want to get custody of my godson."

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When Alexander received letter from Amelia Bones regarding Sirius Black wanting to meet him, he couldn't help but be a little bit lighter that day. He quickly replied to the woman's message, sending a message back about times when he would love to meet the man, or in his case, re-meet the man.

It's been six days since the release of Sirius Black and finally the public gossip was dying down, much to Alex's relief. The Leaky Cauldron was a continuous stream of people going on about Sirius being guilty or how the man was tricking everyone.

Walking down Diagon Alley, the young man made his way down the walkway, the sun shining high and the day feeling bright. Walking past Gringotts, Alex went down the walkway to a different district of the Alley. He listened in on the excited mutterings of children about the latest broom, or the Quidditch teams who were winning this season. Shaking his head at the youth, he continued to his location, the scenery changing as he walked further down the path.

Eventually stopping at his desired spot, Alexander walked into a quint little place called "The Enchanted Cherry." Looking around at the softly lit room, the top opened up to allow a more natural light into the restaurant.

"Hello sir, do you have a reservation?" A young witch asked, looking him up and down. Alex ignored it for now and simply nodded. "Yes, a table for two, under the name Hawthorn." Being led by the waitress the the side of the room, where light hit around the table, yet left it private, Alex sat down slowly, looking around in the room. He turned down the offer to order drinks, wanting to wait for his guest to arrive.

It wasn't long until a certain individual walk into the building that Alex lost himself in the memories of old. It didn't help when said man was pointed in his direction and made his was over to Alex. Said man had black hair, but instead of the shaggy appearance it held before, it was now drawn back with straightened out into soft layers. His once deary and hopeless eyes were filled with a new light, one that Alex had never seen in them before. His face was still sunken in from his years at Azkaban, but there was a glow to him. His facial hair was all done away with, showing off a tired, but no less young face to the world. Despite his dead looking skin, he was alive. Where his once dear godfather wore his old clothing, or hand-me-downs of others from his family, this man wore brand new dress robes, ones that not only hid the damage of Azkaban, but made him look like a Lord.

Despite all those differences, he was still a cheery Sirius Black.

Standing up to meet the man, Alex reached a hand out, only to get a pair of hands hugging him around the waist and squeezing him as tightly as the weak arms could muster. Though is was an embarrassing first impression, he was no less happy to see the man. Hugging the man back, taking a moment to glance around at any onlookers, Alex pulled himself from the hug and smiled at the newly released Black.

"I suppose greetings are to be issued, but then again, your way seems a bit more affectionate." Alex said with a soft smiled back, a small chuckle escaping his lips. "You probably already know my name, but as common courtesy, my name is Alexander Hawthorn, but you are free to call me Alex." Alex stuck his hand out once again, which was taken up this time by the other man. "Sirius Black, recently out of Azkaban and ready to face the world." Alex chucked at the statement. Sirius wasn't the only one in that boat.

Gesturing for the man to sit, Alex was quick to start a small conversation with Sirius, and just like he had hoped, the other man was quick to start talking. Sirius Black began to tell Alex of his family, mostly what he thought of them, before he broke off into his Hogwarts days in an attempt to wow the Yanky. Just watching the other man speak was quite exhausting, as he moved his arms back and forth, speaking sometimes slowly and other times quickly. That didn't affect the green eyed man though. Alex had many years of patience, dealing with screaming wives and entitled children. Being able to spend time with an animated Sirius beat any of that by a landslide.

"And that was how me and Prongs taught Bambi how to set off a paint bomb!" The grey eyed man finished, laughing to himself, with Alex nodding and smiling along. However, the cheery laughter of the animated man quickly diminished, much to Alex's wonder. "Sirius, are you alright?"

"Yeah...It's just...Bambi, James' son. Merlin I miss the little boy! I want to see him, to take him and bring him home, wherever he might be. I already asked Amelia about him, but she says that she can't do anything until she finds out where he was placed and who took over guardianship of him." Alex placed a hand over Sirius'.

"I'm sure that you'll find him. He can't have just fallen off the edge of the map. It most likely that wherever he was placed he is still there." Alex smiled at the other man. "And judging by the stories you've told me, you care quite a bit about this child." Sirius nodded.

"Even though he was just a babe, to find out that I would be his godfather was the biggest joy in my life. I had a family again, and Bambi was what made me a part of it. Now he's been Merlin knows where for seven years and I've been spending time in Azkaban. I have to find him, and who has him." The man said, almost frantically. Alex reached over and placed a calming hand on the man's tense shoulder.

"If you want, I work at Gringotts. I know that the goblins have records of magical guardians and what is happening in the family affairs. I can ask about what it going on." The man looked up at Alex with wide eyes. "However, you will need to come as well, as I'm not the child's...anything. Because you are connected to him as his godfather, then you should be able to find out where he i-" Alex felt a pair of hands reach across the table, which was laden with bits of remaining food, to grab him and pull him into a hug.

The mutterings of thank yous from the grown man made it feel as though he was spending time with a child, but he smiled nonetheless. After all, he had over one hundred years on Sirius Black.

Using a quick wandless cleaning charm, Alex clean both of their clothes of any rubbish that fell upon them during Sirius' episode. Luckily the building had few in it, so not too many people were disturbed, let alone cared about the clattering of the table.

"I can't thank you enough for this Alex, if there is any way I can thank you, for this and for getting me out, please tell me." Alex smiled at Sirius Black.

"Well...I do have a bit of a housing problem."