Into The Fold

By

TooSirius

DISCLAIMER:

I do not own or make any money from any of the copyrighted material found in this story. The world and characters of Harry Potter belong to J.K. Rowling. It's her sandbox and I just consider myself lucky to play with her toys.

Chapter Two

Lupin Lodge

1 November 1981, 1:15 A.M.

Sirius along with baby Harry arrived with a pop in a dark wooded area. After walking for a minute or two they came upon a clearing. Standing in the center of the clearing was a run down, ramshackle old cabin. Sirius noted with some sadness the type of place his closest living friend was residing in and hoped he could change it for the better. Taking a deep breath Sirius knocked on the front door. The door opened slowly to reveal a haggard looking man who looked older than his twenty one years would suggest. Even now there was a hint of grey flecks in his light brown hair, his clothing looked worn and mended many times over. Tears began to well in Sirius' eyes.

"Remus…"

"Sirius! Come in, what is it?" Remus asked startled by the appearance of his best friend.

"I don't believe you have a pensieve, but I need to show you a memory." Sirius replied gently placing the sleeping child on a conjured cot

"No, I don't. What is this all about?" Remus asked suspiciously after finally noting the fact that Sirius had Harry with him

"Take out your wand Remus." Sirius ordered

"Just what am I supposed to do with it?" Remus asked impatiently

"I want you to use legimency on me." Sirius replied

"I don't know how to use legimency Sirius." Remus said softly

"It doesn't matter Moony, all you have to do is point your want and say the incantation. I'm going to force the memory to the front of my mind so to speak. Please, just do it. It's the only way I know how to explain things." Sirius pleaded

Remus slowly raised his wand to point right between Sirius' eyes and softly uttered 'legimens.' His eyes widened as the memory of Sirius' conversation with Peter and the Potters crashed into his consciousness. Sirius broke eye contact and looked down in shame.

"Not even me? What did you mean by that?" Remus spat

"I'm sorry Moony." Sirius said softly looking at Harry

"Don't give me that crap!" Remus hissed trying to avoid waking the baby

"Peter played us all for fools. We knew there was a traitor close to us and he made us believe it could be you. This is all my fault. I should never have trusted him. It was too damn important." Sirius cried

Remus went pale hearing these words. His eyes drifted towards Harry asleep on the cot. It was now that he noticed the gash on his forehead. He worried his wand between his fingertips as he slowly turned back towards Sirius. He then asked a question he was afraid to hear a response to.

"What happened Sirius? Asked Remus quietly

"L-Lily and James… They're dead. Betrayed." Sirius gasped

"What are we supposed to do now?" Remus asked the ceiling

"I need you to watch Harry for a bit. I have to make some arrangements before we can leave." Sirius stated

"Leave? Where are we going?" Remus said puzzled

"Can you watch him? I promise to explain when I return." Sirius asked

"Yes." Remus nodded

Sirius turned and walked to the boundary of the anti-apparition ward and turned on the spot disappearing with a soft pop, leaving Remus standing in the doorway of his cabin with a fifteen month old baby asleep on a cot. Remus closed the door and picked up a blanket he had draped over his armchair. After tucking the blanket gently around Harry he walked into his small kitchen and poured water into a chipped tea pot. Heating the water with a charm from his wand and adding tea leaves he carried the tray into his sitting room to watch over his charge.

…...

Diagon Alley, London

1 November 1981, 1:30 A.M.

Unlike in the muggle world, wizarding banks like Gringotts never close. It would be very inconvenient for their nocturnal customers and this fact suited Sirius Orion Black just fine. Having arrived at Diagon Alley's designated apparition zone he pulled his long black coat tighter against his body and started walking briskly towards the entrance of the bank. Flipping his collar up served two purposes, the first was to hide his identity from any late night onlookers and the second was to stave off the chill in the air.

As he was walking he took in his surroundings and noticed that nobody was paying any attention to him. Everybody was celebrating the downfall of the Dark Lord Voldemort. Dark Lord indeed he thought, if only they knew what he did, imagine what they would think. All they would have to do to find out is knock back a few drinks with Hagrid who went to school with the pompous megalomaniac. His pureblood followers would be disgusted with themselves he laughed to himself.

The humor of the situation left him when he thought about what it had cost for these people to feel safe and secure enough to celebrate openly in the streets like this. Sirius' eyes hardened and he put on an impassive mask, he would have time to give into his emotions later. For now he had a task to accomplish in order to provide his godson with as much comfort as he could bring to bear. He was interrupted from his musings as he realized that he had reached his destination. Nodding with respect to the two goblin guards outside the doors he pushed his way into Gringotts Wizarding Bank and made his way to the most secluded counter he could find.

"Name." The goblin teller asked in an almost bored tone of voice

"Sirius Orion Black."

"Business." The goblin asked in the same monotone

"I wish to speak with the account manager for the Black family fortune."

"I will need a sample of your blood to verify your identity Mr. Black." The goblin replied

"Lord Black." Sirius stated holding out his hand

The goblins eyes flashed with recognition. He took a piece of parchment and placed it in front of Sirius. Removing a dagger from a drawer he unsheathed the blade and made a small incision in Sirius' left pointer finger. After just one drop of blood fell on the parchment the wound sealed itself and the parchment glowed blue for a moment. Replacing the dagger into its sheath then into the drawer the goblin looked up at Sirius and showed what could only be a goblin version of a smile, pointy teeth and all.

"This way, Lord Black." The goblin said as he walked through a door Sirius hadn't noticed before, and if he had to guess would say it actually wasn't there a moment ago.

Sirius found himself being led down a torch lit stone hallway and was glad that the ceiling was suited to visitors rather than goblins, that being said he still found it a bit cramped and claustrophobic. Halfway down the long hallway the goblin teller placed his palm on a door to his left. After several audible clicks the door swung open into a surprisingly luxurious sitting room complete with an ornate wooden desk and three soft armchairs. A tray of hot tea was already waiting next to the chair by the fireplace which had a roaring fire in it. Sirius removed his heavy coat and placed it on a hook by the door as the goblin left the room closing the door behind him. Sirius was relieved that the locks didn't click back into place as he left. He sat down by the fire and sipped on his tea while he waited. It was about fifteen minutes later when a second door behind the desk opened to reveal one of the most well dressed goblins Sirius had ever seen.

"Lord Black, I am Ragnok. I understand you wish to speak with me."

"That is correct Ragnok, May your enemies be crushed and your gold always flowing."

"I am unused to such respect from wizards Lord Black." Ragnok said with a look of surprise

"We have a lot to talk about and not much time to do it." Sirius smiled

"Then let us begin." Ragnok replied taking his seat behind the desk

"Before we go any further, you should know that I have no intention of leaving Gringotts for a different wizarding bank. I say this because I don't want you to worry after you hear what I have to say."

"Go on."

"First and foremost, I need you to ensure that nobody tampers with the inheritance of my godson, Harry Potter. Next, I need my assets to be available to me from anywhere in the world, and I mean wizarding or muggle banking institutions. After that is done, I need you to assist me in legally bringing my cousin Andromeda back into the Black family if she so wishes. Then I wish for you to go over the marriage contract my uncle signed with the Malfoy family pertaining to my cousin Narcissa, and if possible I want that contract voided and Lucious Malfoy blocked from any access to Black family funds. Should that happen I want a trust account to be set up to provide for Andromeda and Narcissa as well as their children." Sirius finished

"Is that all?" Ragnok asked arching one eyebrow in amusment

"Oh, and I will need a way to communicate within the wizarding world that is undetectable, so normal owl post won't do, I was hoping you could help with that as well." Sirius said sheepishly

"It appears we have a long night ahead of us. We should get started right away. I have a few ideas you might like to hear." Ragnok grinned

….

A/N – I hope you all enjoy this chapter as much as the last. I was truly overwhelmed by the support I received and I thank everyone for reading and everyone who reviewed.

~TooSirius