Disclaimer: I own neither Harry Potter nor Twilight!

Once Sirius had finally finished teasing Remus, the werewolf was finally able to steer the conversation into more serious areas.

"So... we have to meet the shifters this morning?"

Sirius sighed and tapped the counter top with his wand, "Yup, Carlisle and I have already had a chat about their history and the treaty they made when the last pack ran in the 1930s. The main gist of it was that they can't enter the Quileute's' territory nor bite any humans, this includes turning or feeding."

Remus frowned, "What about the wolves themselves? If they are anything like me then we need to handle them carefully."

"It is odd, from what Carlisle has told me as well as what we were taught, it is clear there are large discrepancies between their origin stories and their behavior. Their tribal legends refer to them as 'spirit warriors' and it seems as though they could change into wolves even before vampires arrived on the continent. However, vampires, or 'Cold Ones' as they call them, seem to be especially reviled by the tribe due to past deaths."

"The books said they were magic or, at least, had some sort of magic attached to them. Didn't that scholar McHardy, suggest that shifters were descendants of squibs and their animal form was essentially a lesser animagus?" Remus mused, "Whatever the case, they have been here far longer than we have, I suppose the tribe is small now."

Sirius nodded, "Apparently, there are no more than 750 in the tribe now. The wolves are supposedly... temperamental and ruled by their emotions, particularly in the first few years after they have 'phased' for the first time."

"I take it 'phased' is what they call their change?" When Sirius had nodded, Remus continued, "Of course, they are ruled by their emotions, if it is anything like becoming a werewolf, then one is having to balance a human mind and a wolf's instincts. It was hard enough when it happened to me as a child but for teenage boys who are having to deal with natural hormonal imbalance and other pressures, it is sure to be even more difficult. Can girls phase too then?"

Sirius frowned, "No idea actually. I don't see why not, it happens on a gene change level that is passed down the Quileute tribal line so I can't see why not. Oh... I almost forgot, remember how the books said that the shifters were immortal?"

Remus thought back to his defense lessons, "I do remember some talk of it, why?"

"It is true, but the shifters actually have a choice."

"What?"

"I know, if they continue to phase then they do not age, the accelerate healing meaning they cannot physically age. If they choose to stop phasing, then they can continue on as normal really."

Remus stood and walked over to the oven and pulled out a dish of bacon that he had smelt, forking it onto his plate he frowned, "Must be a hard choice. They cannot really settle down and have a family as their partner is aging while they are not. And don't nick my bacon, Padfoot, get some of your own if you want but don't eat mine!"

The Lord Black withdrew his fork from his friend's plate with a pout, "Fine. Anyway, I should probably go and find Hattie, she had breakfast a few hours ago and, I believe, was making up for her abandoned math work from yesterday with Carlisle!"

Remus looked up, "That's a point, I missed the discussion on Hattie's meeting with the shifters yesterday, what happened?"

"Not a lot, she, of course, was completely fine with them and their ability to turn into horse sized wolves. They, on the other hand, didn't seem so calm about her ability to turn into a cute little cub and her talk about uncles' who were werewolves and could turn into dogs!"

Remus rubbed his forehead with a smile, "Why shouldn't I be surprised?"

"Oh!" Sirius exclaimed, as he turned back from his position near the kitchen door, "Emmett said we should watch the shifters' behavior around Hattie, apparently something wasn't quite natural. It might actually be her empathetic abilities or just another aspect of her future inheritance."

"Will do." The werewolf said with a wave of his fork as he went in search of more bacon... and perhaps some tomato ketchup and a roll too.

An hour later, a party of ten left the Cullen's house, leaving behind the Denali coven, although Tanya was loath to be separated from her newly found mate. Sirius, Remus and Hattie had all been bundled into Emmett's 4x4 and driven as far as the car could make it towards the clearing while all the vampire, aside from Emmett who was acting chauffeur, all ran alongside. Once the car could go no further, the vampires picked up their guests and ran with them.

They reached the last few layers of trees that hid the clearing, five minutes before the appointed time, and were not surprised to see that the three shifters and three other tribal members were already there. Deciding it would be a little humiliating for Remus and Sirius to arrive in the clearing carried by vampires, the two were deposited back on their feet while Hattie was left being held by Jasper, although she didn't see it as being nearly as embarrassing.

Edward looked between to his patriarch, "They know we are here, two of them are in their wolf form. The alpha is one in the human form."

Lowering his voice so that not even the wolves with their superior hearing could make out the words, Carlisle asked, "And the mood?"

The bronze haired vampire cocked his head as he pulled Alice close to him and answered in kind, "The Elders are wary but prepared to listen. Sam is the same, Paul is a hothead so be careful, Jared wants to see Hattie again. Don't know why."

Carlisle frowned as he looked as Jasper, who had heard his brother's words and so clutched at his mate even tighter and buried his face into the nape of her neck, trying to spread his scent over the body and calm himself with the scent of her blood and sound of her little heart.

"Right." The doctor said, "We should go; please, for gods' sake, be civil!"

It was perhaps a good thing, he mused, that they had Sirius and Remus as the pair made some noise as they entered the clearing, it was probably a lot less threatening that the silent entrance of the vampires. Once they were in view, he could see the group tense and the hackles on the two lupine figures rise as their hair seemed to stand on end, making them appear larger and even more imposing. The three Elders, Carlisle believed he could identify, the one in the wheelchair was Billy Black, the grandson of the man he had made the treaty with, the one to the right was Old Quil, whose white hair separated him from the others that surrounded him. While Billy Black may be the chief of the tribe, it was Old Quil who had almost more power in terms of the pack, for he had been alive during the time of the last pack, his father being one of the shifters who he had treated with. On the far side of Old Quil was Harry Clearwater, who, while not a close relation to the original pack, had a longstanding relationship with them and the tribe.

Carlisle saw Edward nod in his peripheral vision at his identification of the three Elders and also saw him flick his fingers slightly to gesture him on.

The two groups were only separated by fifteen meters now when the vampires stopped with Sirius and Remus. Carlisle, however, took one step more and briefly inclined his head at the Elders in a show of respect.

"Chief Black, Elders and members of the Quileute tribe, we are grateful you agreed to meet with us."

It was obvious they were slightly taken aback by the action and words and the two Elders turned to their Chief.

Chief Black frowned slightly, "Dr. Cullen, we too, are glad that you have come to speak to us and explain the situation."

Carlisle nodded at the admonishment in the response, "If I may, I shall introduce my family and out guests. When we were here in the 1930s we were only five; myself, my wife Esme, my son Emmett and his wife, Rosalie and my other son, Edward. Since then two more have joined us: Alice, who is Edward's mate and Jasper. They were animal drinkers before they came to us in the 1950s. I am sure that you are more interested in our other guests, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin and Harriet Potter-Volturi."

The Elders nodded at the introductions, casting wary eyes over Jasper who still held Hattie, and then fixing their eyes onto Sirius who had stepped forward.

"It is an honor to meet you." Sirius said, stepping forward, "I suppose you are aware of MACUSA?"

Billy Black immediately nodded along with the Elders, immediately understanding, although the younger three looked confused, "Is it to that that you are affiliated?" The Chief asked.

"Partially. Although, from across the pond."

The Elders nodded and Billy answered, "While the Elders are aware, due to past encounters with MACUSA representatives, the younger generation are not."

Sirius smirked, "Is that permission for a demonstration?"

The Chief mirrored his expression, "I should think so." He turned to the pack, "What you are about to see it real and is something that we were going to tell you about when we had someone there to prove it."

The animagus pulled his wand from his sleeve and flicked it once then looked around. Spying a leaf on the ground he flicked his wand at it, raising it into the ground with a silent spell. The wolves stepped back with a growl in fright, particularly when Sirius changed it into a pocket whistle, then the pocket whistle into a pen, the pen into a shoe, the shoe into goblet and then the goblet into a live rabbit, all without touching it.

He then looked over at Hattie who sat happily in her mate's arms. With an exhale of breath, he concentrated deeply for a moment, remembering Remus' teachings about the patronus and summoning the memories he needed. Before Azkaban he had never been able to perform a patronus but, with the help of Remus, and some wonderful memories with Hattie and Heidi, he had been able to create one.

"Expecto Patronum." He whispered and almost immediately a wolf materialized from his wand. The patronus, when a corporal one, tended to have the form of something that protected you, after all, it was, in essence, a form of protection. For Sirius, the wolf of Remus Lupin represented the times he had enjoyed with James and the werewolf at Hogwarts and the protection and happiness he had enjoyed as one of the Marauders.

There were gasps from both groups as the wolf gamboled around, carefully checking the two shifters to see whether they were a danger. However, it's silver form soon dissolved into the air.

"Thank you, Mr. Black." The Chief said, looking to the pack who now stood frozen in shock, "I first became aware of the magical world when I became Chief. MACUSA visit every five years to ensure the tribe is well and whether there are any indication of youngsters shifting."

Sirius looked up, interested; while MACUSA obviously kept an eye on the tribe, he was interested to see the extent of their relationship and controls. "When was the last time they visited then?"

"Just over three years ago now."

"What is going on?" Sam croaked, "That man just turned a leaf into a bloody rabbit and no-one cares?"

"Sam Uley is it?" Sirius asked, at the affirmation he continued, "Remus, Hattie and I are part of a community that has been hidden within everyday life for centuries. We have governments, hospitals, a police force... everything one would expect, except that we have magic. I suppose we are rare, particularly in this area, as the majority of wizarding settlements in America are to the east. MACUSA is the magical government of America, and they attempt to monitor the known supernatural species, that is why your Elders are aware of them. While MACUSA are in contact with your tribe, they have no wish to interfere and so leave you to yourselves."

"Why don't they monitor the vampires then?"

Sirius sighed, "That is a rather long story. Basically, there are two types of vampires. Magical vampires and, what you are familiar with, no-maj or muggle vampires. I shall make sure you get some books on the subject, but MACUSA believed that your myths involved magical vampires. Or at least, that is what we suppose. Very few of the wizarding folk know about vampires like the Cullens'."

Sam rubbed his face, to know there was a magical world was complicated enough, and it was quickly becoming clear that this was not something one could learn about in a short meeting. He was slightly concerned about the magical government involvement with his people but realized that he would have to talk to the Elders to form a proper response. He was distracted from his thoughts by a slight whine by Jared who flicked his nose in the direction of the raven-haired girl still held by the unknown male vampire.

"This is why the girl can turn into a leopard?" The alpha postulated, trying to work out how she fitted into the whole situation.

Sirius considered the question, "I suppose so... you probably know of three types of beings: humans, shifters and vampires. In reality, there are hundreds. Nekos, veelas, nymphs, elves... I know that this is likely very difficult to understand but there is something called the creature inheritance that happens to around half of the traditional magical community and they 'transform' into their true species. Hattie's ability is just part of this, it is as natural to her as your transformations are...although she doesn't have much control of it yet."

"And Mr. Lupin, he is clearly not human?" The shifters were distressed by the unassuming man, he appeared harmless but their instincts were telling them to be wary of him, to not anger him and keep away. He smelt of the true wild and power, hidden behind a thin veneer.

"Ah. Carlisle once told me that you referred to yourselves as werewolves... that isn't true, you are shifters. Remus, however, is a werewolf."

The three young men quickly looked over at the man in horror, although he appeared to be almost blushing at their interest.

Sirius continued, "He is far more like the myths than you. Turns at the moon, blah bah blah. Although, Remmie, is a little special and, I suppose, is rather like the Cullens' in his preference to live a decent life."

"...Right." Sam said carefully as he turned back to Sirius, "Hattie said that you could turn into a dog?"

Sirius laughed slightly and turned to his god-daughter who grinned unrepentant from her mate's arms, "Telling tales about me already, pup!" With that he turned into his canine form.

By this point, the shifters could not even bring themselves to be surprised, after all, they had seen a leaf transform into a living and breathing rabbit and learned of the existence of werewolves.

"Well, that's just fine." Sam muttered as he rubbed his eyes, by the time he looked over at the dark-haired wizard he had returned to his regular form, "Anything else we should know?"

Sirius thought for a moment, "Nope. I think we have just about covered it. We will send you over some books but I am sure your Elders will explain their history with MACUSA. Trust me when I say, we don't want to harm or expose you. We, like you, live in secret, trying to defend and live normal lives."

"Why are you here then?" Paul asked in a tone that, while still wary, was not totally aggressive.

"Shifters, like nearly all other creatures, have mates I take it?" Receiving a nod, Sirius continued, "Well, Hattie found her mate in Jasper."

While the Elders seemed only surprised by this, the three shifters looked revolted, even the one in wolf form. Their looks rather confused Hattie who pulled slightly on her mate's sleeve in silent query. Jasper of course, got rather defensive when he realized why Hattie was unsettled and turned to the wolves, growling.

Sirius sighed, it had all been going so well, "Jasper, enough! Hattie and Jasper are mates, they are perfect matches. While this may seem a little unusual to you now, I can promise that when you meet yours nothing will ever matter so much. Nothing will come close."

"But the age..." Paul started, concerned for the young girl.

"You will be whatever your mate needs or wants. I shall not say anymore at this moment." Sirius stated, keen to get away from this topic while Hattie was still listening. "I believe it may be a good idea if you all have a discussion and we have another meeting in a few days when you have had time to process everything."

"That is a sound idea." Billy said, understanding what Sirius was trying to do, "We shall give you a call when we have spoken."

"We should be on our way then." Carlisle stated, "Hattie is supposed to be in lessons..."

The raven-haired girl pouted, "Really?"

"You missed them yesterday." Remus pointed out.

"There was a leaf..." Seeing no sympathy in her family's faces, she conceded, "Fine. But can I say goodbye to Sam and Paul and Jared first?"

Sirius was quick to nod, keen to see how the wolves behaved in close quarters to his goddaughter and prevent Jasper acting like a moron and spoil all their hard work.

When she had managed to escape Jasper's clutches, Hattie happily skipped over to Jared and hugged his lowered head.

"It's nice to see you again!" She said stroking the fur around his eyes, "We can see each other again, yes? Why don't you all come over for dinner? Esme makes the yummiest food and cakes. She made Uncle Siri, Uncle Remmie and I raspberry and chocolate cake yesterday."

Food was certainly something that appealed to shifters and Jared huffed in amusement at the little girl who squeezed her arms around him once more. She released him soon enough and almost tripped on her way to Sam who crouched down to her level.

"Hello, little leopard," He proclaimed.

"Hello!" Hattie replied, hugging him, "You'll come too?"

"We'll see." He decided to be diplomatic, "You have to check with everyone else first."

Hattie stopped for a second and turned to Esme, "Aunt Esme? Paul and Sam and Jared can come for supper, can't they?"

Esme smiled, "Of course, we shall check the fridge when we get home. Why don't we organize a picnic?"

Sam nodded appreciatively at the more neutral idea. "Sounds wonderful."

Paul did not crouch down to Hattie's level but that did not in any way deter the girl. Instead the girl just wrapped her arms around his legs and looked up to his face.

"Thank you for coming today. What's your favorite food?"

Paul grunted something before sighing and replying, "Burgers."

"We can have a barbecue!" Hattie announced, unaware of the humorous glances the shifters shot the vampires at the idea of a bunch of vampires attending anything with fire, "What's your favorite pudding?"

"Banoffee pie." The shifter answered, slightly unsure why he was even answering the girl.

"Okay. I'll remember that." Finally letting go of the tall boy's legs, Hattie turned to the three older men.

"I'm sorry I never introduced myself." Said Hattie, abashed at her lapse in manners.

"It is no problem." Billy replied, returning the handshake.

"I'm Harriet. You can come to the picnic too you know?"

Old Quil chuckled, "That's very kind of you."

Hattie smiled sunnily up, "Maybe we could play paintball together!"

"Paintball?" Harry asked, looking deeply amused.

"Yes. Daddy and everyone at home plays paintball once a week. We introduced it to the Cullens and now they play it too! It's really fun to watch."

Sirius chuckled, "Come on Hattie! Otherwise you are going to be very behind with your lessons. Don't pout pup. You'll see everyone at this barbecue soon enough!"

As soon as the Cullens' and their guests had returned home, the household broke up rather quickly as Remus was kidnapped by Tanya and taken in the direction of their bedroom while Hattie was taken by Carmen and Esme for her daily lessons.

Sirius himself apparated to Olympia. Unlike Britain, which was so small that it was not to exhausting to apparate from one end of the country to the other, America had a much larger land mass. Therefore, there were small pockets of wizarding spaces in each state capital of the country. From Olympia, Sirius was able to take one of the very large floos over to the east coast and New York.

Half an hour later, Sirius left the Gringotts tunnels between the New York and London branches. Looking down the corridor towards the main hall, it was clear it was the end of the day rush of shop owners and business people. He frowned, the time differences were confusing, particularly when one was dealing with them almost immediately.

A goblin stood nearby and immediately looked up when Sirius moved forward.

"Lord Black. I shall show you to Ragnok."

Without waiting for a reply, the goblin led him through the tunnels to the office of the Chief of the Goblin tribe. After receiving permission for entry, the goblin pushed open the door and gestured the human inside before closing the door behind.

"Lord Black, please sit." Ragnok proclaimed from the other side of his desk where he sat, quill in one hand and a thick ledger open on his desk.

"I am sorry I had to reorganize." Sirius stated as he lent back on the chair, "We had an encounter with those American shifter tribes?"

Ragnok looked interested, "What type?"

"Wolves. Bloody enormous things."

"I have only encountered them once before I believe." The old goblin said, "A couple centuries ago perhaps. Although they were mountain lions. I well remember the size they grew to. Anyway, it is not matter. Are you prepared to head to Grimmauld Place?"

"Certainly, thank you for the help you are providing."

Ragnok smirked a terrifying smile, "It was no inconvenience, we are hoping to use this as a training event."

"Oh, gods above." Sirius groaned, "I am not going to pretend I have any clue what surprises my darling family left and I will not rule out curses against muggleborns or anything similar. Please say these trainees have some experience?"

"Some... but we do need to teach them somehow. They are hopefully leaving for foreign parts if they pass this section of training."

"Huh. Good luck to them." Sirius muttered as Ragnok stood to show him out.

"They are, as always, bound by a contract so won't spread your family's little secrets to all and sundry. I wish I could come for the fun but I am afraid we have an international meeting this evening with the branch managers from Europe. Gripspur will accompany you."

"I hope it is profitable. And my thanks again."

Two minutes, Sirius was shown into one of the meeting rooms of Gringotts' where ten goblins, including Gripspur, sat looking over some plans of the house and arguing in gobbledegook. Behind them sat five wizards and one witch, all of whom looked rather wet behind the ears.

Sirius' eyes were immediately drawn to a red-haired figure who lounged in a chair, rolling his wand between his fingers as he listened to the goblins. The Lord Black was certain that, if he was not a Weasley, then he was a relation. The eldest child of Molly and Arthur had been born ten years before Hattie, and so would have just left Hogwarts, Sirius supposed this may well be him.

It was at this point that the goblins turned their attention to him and bowed, showing their respect to his wealth and title while not making themselves subservient. Sirius mimicked the action back before looking over to Gripspur.

"Good evening, Gripspur."

"Lord Black. We are prepared. We have a few questions before we leave."

Sirius immediately nodded and sat in the chair he had been gestured to, "Of course. I may not be able to answer all questions but I can try."

Gripspur nodded appreciatively, "We have studied the plans but they are not up to date, is there anything you would add?"

"I wouldn't think so...although the house has been deserted for six years so I would not rule out magical creature infestations. It is really the objects I would be worried about though. My mother had rather a large collection of curios that were dangerous to those who weren't aware that they tended to be cursed."

One of the goblins looked over, "And the wards?"

"I have no clue what state they will be in. The warding stone is beyond the library, which can only be entered by a member of House Black. Unlike Black Manor, Grimmauld Place does not have an ancient warding system. Instead, it was put in place by my parents, therefore, they are not as strong as you may have planned for. As my Mother died while I was in prison, I do not believe that the house will have been touched since then. However, most of the family houses have a fail-safe which activates when it has not been inhabited for a while. As far as I can remember, it just needs to be disabled by a family member. The warding stone is beyond the library, so I am afraid I am the only person who can find it. The only other unknown I can think of is whether a rather ancient house elf called Kreacher is still there. He was my Mother's rather than my Father's and attached to Grimmauld Place rather than Black Manor like the others. He was rather temperamental."

The goblins shrugged unconcerned, one of the spoke up, "One house elf and wards that aren't even fifty years old are nothing to be worried out. It is the objects that we are more interested in."

This did not seem to reassure the trainees who looked to each other rather worried, they had recognized the nobleman who had entered and were well aware of the reputation of his House. It seemed unlikely that any curses or wards would be mere tickling charms.

Gripspur rolled up the plans, "We shall be off then. We have permission to put up muggle repelling wards for three hours. The plan is to have removed the wards and cleansed the warding stone in that time."

The entire group stood and clutched a piece of rope that acted as a portkey.

Pushing open the door, Sirius carefully stepped in, looking down the dark corridor that was inch thick in dust. Taking a second step and then a third, the man was slightly surprised that nothing had attacked him yet. The library was the second door on the right, he reached it easily, pushing open the door and stepped into the room.

Eyes watering from the dust and the smell that accompanied it, he strode through the shelves, right to the back of the room where the door should be.

"Ahah!" The man proclaimed as he found the door, hidden in the paneling. The ward room was perhaps the only clean place in the house, charms prevented dust from contaminating the space. The room was small, particularly when compared to that at Black Manor; bare stone walls surrounding the small pedestal in the center. It was to this pedestal that Sirius walked to. The size of the house meant it did not need the elaborate runic constructions or stones that sustained the wards at Hogwarts, instead the pedestal had a circumference of maybe fifteen inches. Carved into the top face of the stone were the runes, while in the center rested a black opal around the size of a fingernail.

Sirius considered what he was going to do. Shrugging his shoulders slightly, he pulled out a knife and cut his finger and dropped it onto the central stone to prove he was a member of the family. Once this blood had vanished into the opal, he carefully lifted it out of its position in the plinth, effectively removing every ward on the place. The muggle repelling wards that the goblins had placed outside would ensure the house was kept hidden from the population outside while they performed their work.

Tossing the opal in his hand several times, Sirius turned and left the ward room and headed back through the library to let the goblins and their students in.

It rather amused him how the goblins all but strode through the door as if they owned the place while their human trainees edged in, as if expecting a dragon hiding around the corner.

Oh wait, he thought too soon! Sirius considered as he saw the visage of his dead mother appear from behind a set of moth-eaten curtains, permanently preserved in canvas and paint.

"YOU..." The painting screamed, looking down at them all in rage. "HOW DARE YOU BRING THOSE CREATURES INTO THIS HOUSE? HOW DARE YOU RETURN?"

Sirius tilted his head a little, "Quite easily actually. Hello Mother! I see you got that portrait you wanted. And don't be rude about the trainees, they really are trying very hard."

"YOU ARE A STAIN ON THIS FAMILY."

"Actually, I think you will find I'm actually the opposite." Sirius continued, he was certain that if it was his mother talking rather than her portrait, he would have been covered in her spittle by now. Magic above, what did he do to deserve this. He wondered whether a portrait could have a heart attack, by this point it seemed her face was so red that no blood could be anywhere but her head.

A croaky voice sounded from the shadows, causing the wizards and witches to turn from the portrait, their wands in the direction it came from.

"The family scum has returned to dishonor his poor family even more."

Sirius chuckled slightly, "I should have known you would have survived Kreacher. I am glad to see your insults haven't changed in the past decade."

The thin and dirty form of the elf appeared out of the shadows near the door down to the kitchen. "Kreacher's poor Mistress. Her heart would have broken to see what her House has become!"

"Oh, I don't know." Sirius turned to the portrait of his mother who was still spluttering like she had nearly drowned, "What do you think, mother dearest? I have joined the Wizengamot as a neutral member. I have restarted the neutral block with the Houses Potter and Longbottom. I am known throughout the world and have saved the reputation of my House. I could call the President of MACUSA or France and have both turn up wherever I asked almost immediately. I have a wonderful partner who I am sure you would love, she is Italian and from a very ancient family. So, mother, how do you think I am doing as Lord?"

There was beautiful silence at last but Sirius was never one to leave it there and he had to go a little bit further, "And just so you know. I expelled darling Bellatrix from the family and dissolved her marriage! She is Nameless now! Great, isn't it? No more stains on the family?"

With a smirk Sirius threw a freezing charm at the canvas, halting the torrent of abuse that was sure to come. He turned to the group of trainees and goblins who stood behind him.

"That was more fun than I thought it would be! I might just keep the portrait so I can continue to annoy her for a few more years. Heidi will just adore being introduced to her I know."

"I am sure." One of the goblins said, without looking from the image of his mother. "We must not waste any more time." He turned to the trainees, "Group one start in the dining room. Group two will start in the drawing room. You have twenty minutes to get through them. Understand? Then go."

The six wizards and witches split into two groups and vanished into their respective rooms.

Sirius turned to Kreacher, he knew he had to keep the old house elf out of trouble. However, he now knew that his treatment of the elf as a child was unacceptable, perhaps if he had treated him like Hattie treated her elves, his childhood might have been a little easier. The Lord Black rather hoped that if he were to introduce Kreacher to his goddaughter, the former may find someone to serve whom he liked as much as he liked Regulus.

"Kreacher. You are to stay out of the way and not hinder the work of either the goblins or the wizards."

With a resentful nod, Kreacher vanished with a crack, likely back down to the kitchens.

"Biting doorknob!" The trainee moaned, waving his hand in the air in an attempt to lessen the pain. Sirius grimaced, it looked as though he had just tried to open the door into the drawing room.

"Pathetic!" One of the others chuckled.

One of the goblins looked over, "Make sure you disinfect the injury," he snapped.

Sirius chuckled slightly as the poor trainee grimaced at his mistake as he waved his wand over his hand, "There are doxies in the curtains along there, I can hear them from here!" He was certain if he had been another trainee rather than a rather rich and powerful client he would have received a rather rude hand gesture.

Ten minutes later and Sirius sat in the dining room with a goblin on either side checking over the warding schemes.

"We have to keep it as a wizarding residence." Gripspur said, "You can't change a house like this back into a muggle one."

"Hmm." Sirius answered, "I suppose that for now we will keep it in the family. There isn't much point throwing money at it when we have other much nicer and more practical."

"What about the CRS?" The other goblin asked, "Where is the British branch for the committee based?"

"That's an idea actually. They're down in Kent in a rented property but this place could suffice. It could probably take a wizarding extension. It is a little too small at the moment, we need space for a few meeting rooms, probably forty work spaces and rather a lot of storage space."

"That is not inconceivable." Gripspur said as he pulled a plan from further down the table closer to him, "There are five floors and the basement kitchen. A cursory glance would suggest that we could add another level below the kitchen and double the width of the structure. Of course, this would be rather expensive."

Sirius nearly smiled, trust a goblin to talk about money so quickly, "I wouldn't expect anything else. I shall discuss it with my House and then check the planning permission with the Ministry. They might not like so many owls and visitors coming to such a public place but I am sure we can work something out."

Their conservation was interrupted by a polite coughing from behind them.

"Trainee Weasley!" Gripspur exclaimed, "What is it?"

"Manager Gripspur? I have found something but I really don't really know what it is." The redheaded man answered, "All detection spells show it to be very dark but I have never seen something like it. It doesn't open or do anything."

The goblin stuck a hand out, "Where was it?"

"A cabinet in the Drawing Room."

Sirius was able to see what the object in question was after Gripspur laid it on the table carefully. He carefully watched as both goblins studied the silver locket in front of him. He was rather surprised when the goblin turned to the trainee who he could not for certain tell was William.

"Thank you for bringing this to our attention. It is not something we can explain at this point in your training but we shall explain it later."

As soon as the boy had left earshot, Gripspur turned to him. "It's a horcrux."

Sirius gasped, "As in one of the ones we are actually looking for?"

"Indeed. Perhaps your family, as followers of Voldemort, were entrusted with a part of his soul. It is larger than the part found in your goddaughter but it is nowhere near a majority piece."

"Magic above!" Sirius moaned, "I can't say I am not happy to have found one but I would really rather not have found it in my house."

"If it makes you feel any better it does give us a clue as to where the others may be... Voldemort may have entrusted them to his followers."

Sirius thought for a second, "That's true. What are we going to do with it?"

The goblin sighed, "Test it. We need to find a way to transfer the soul shard from one object into another. Thus, with Harriet Potter, we can do the same. Then we will destroy them."

Sirius sighed, "Right. I am going to have a wander through the rest of the house for a few minutes...let you get on."

At their nods, Sirius stood and walked out of the room and up the stairs, going higher and higher. It was only when he reached the fourth floor landing that he stopped, looking at a pair of doors as familiar as the doors to his dorm at Hogwarts. The doors stood beside each other along the same wall, on the right was his own while just next door was that of his brother.

With a sigh, he pushed the latter open and stood for a moment on the threshold looking in at the room illuminated by the setting sun through the window. The room looked just as it must have done when the teenage Regulus left for the last time, a little time-capsule, preserving the life of the younger son of House Black.

"Kreacher heard Master talking to nasty goblins."

"Oh?" Sirius replied without any emotion, not keen to get into an argument with his mother's house elf as he studied his brother's room from the door.

"Yes. Good Master Regulus asked Kreacher to destroy nasty locket."

"...What?" Sirius asked, spinning to face the old elf who stood by the stairs. "When?"

"Master Regulus took Kreacher to help Dark Lord, said it was an honor. Dark Lord took poor Kreacher in a boat over a lake with bodies and into a cave. The Dark Lord made poor Kreacher drink from a bowl and then put locket in and filled it back up. Such pain Kreacher was in, but Kreacher is a good elf and remembered Master Regulus telling him to return to him.

When Kreacher returned, Master Regulus so sorry, so sorry, he helped Kreacher get better but made Kreacher go back. Back over the lake of bodies in a boat. Back to the poison, but good Master Regulus didn't make Kreacher drink it. He ordered Kreacher to take the locket and destroy it. He drank it himself and Kreacher tried to make him drink water, tried to stop the pain. Kreacher tried and tried to save good Master Regulus but he could not and hands from the lake dragged him down and down. But Kreacher was not a good elf and couldn't destroy the locket like Master Regulus commanded, he tried all his magic and fire and knives and hammers but he couldn't make a mark on it."

By the point he had finished, Kreacher was sobbing and Sirius had almost followed. What must it have been like for Regulus? To walk into that cave knowing that he would be sacrificing himself, to get a locket. He must have known what the locket was. They had said he had tried to leave and been killed for his troubles; that wasn't right; he had tried to leave but had been killed trying to bring Voldemort down. He had been killed by inferi with only a house elf for company and remembered as a Death Eater by one side of the population and a traitor by the other. Magic above. How could he have done that aged only eighteen?

Sirius stumbled towards the elf, "It's alright Kreacher. We are going to destroy it and the rest of them. Regulus' sacrifice won't be in vain." He patted the old being on the head before putting his arm around his thin shoulders which stiffened at the contact before, ever so slowly, relaxing.

"Master Sirius promises?"

"Yes." Sirius said, his voice fervent, if it was the last thing he did he would make sure that his brother's last actions were finished and remembered. He looked down at the elf, feeling bad for the sorry creature who had likely spent the past years, with only the portrait of his mother for company, trying to destroy an indestructible locket. "Kreacher? Would you like to come with me to speak to the goblins

about destroying the locket?"

There was silence for a moment apart from a couple of sniffles, "Yes, Kreacher would like that."

"Good."

Sirius parted ways with the goblins at Gringotts' that evening. They had found so many cursed objects that he was glad to hand over to the goblins. Everything goblin made was kept by the goblins as payment, while all the other cursed things were thrown into a furnace and destroyed. All except a silver locket that was handed over to Ragnok for him to inspect, Sirius was certain he would be hearing from the goblins in the near future.

The wards of 12 Grimmauld Place had been replaced and cleansed, removing all of the harmful family wards. Sirius was still recovering from the tale Kreacher had told him. He would forever regret the way things had ended with his brother but now he knew the truth he was determined to do right by him. Kreacher had been sent to Black Manor to live with the other house elves but Sirius felt that, in honor of his brother, he would keep the old elf close. According to Gripspur, Kreacher had likely suffered from his solitary existence and his proximity to the horcrux. The goblins had been very interested in the story and were keen to find the cave, while it did not have the real horcrux in it anymore, the area needed to be cleansed of the ill magic and inferi.

Stepping out onto the pavement of Diagon Alley, Sirius pulled his cloak closer. He would be back in America where it would only be midday, all this travelling through time zones was messing with his head. At least he wasn't muggle though, he would never have managed otherwise.

After Hattie had been put to bed that night, the Cullen coven gathered with their guests, vampires and wizarding alike, in the sitting room.

Emmett was keenly explaining the rules of paintball to a slightly bemused trio of sisters while Sirius and Remus recounted tales of the interactions between the Volturi and their little ward to Carmen and Eleazar.

"It is hilarious." Carlisle said as he handed two glasses of gin and tonic over to Sirius and Remus, "She has them, unknowingly, wrapped around her fingers and has done since they first met her!"

"Oh, I don't know." Remus laughed, "Caius wasn't too happy at the start...but now he lets Hattie sit and paint with him in his studio and teaches her Latin and Greek."

Eleazar was slightly shocked, "I didn't think anyone was allowed in his studio, even Athenodora."

"Well, she is allowed!" Sirius said, remembering the time he had wandered past the studio and saw the pair watching an old episode of Bob Ross and having a little competition.

"I am glad she is being looked after then." Carmen said, she, like Esme, had a mothering nature, "And she gets lessons from them?"

"She's having the oddest education a child could ever have. Being realistic, she isn't a genius; she is just lucky to have some amazingly inspirational teachers and a desire to learn that drives her to work. Her history knowledge is a bit odd though... she tends to be taught what the Volturi are aware of. As most of the time they did not leave the castle and interact with the humans, it means she has some blank spots. For instance, she knows all about Roman and Greek history and can tell you exactly what happened during the Battle of Thermopylae but ask her about the Victorian age in Britain and, I am pretty sure, she would have no clue what you were talking about!"

Remus' words received a round of chuckles from the room in general and Kate turned from the lively debate on paintball guns versus the grenades, "What about her magic? Is she taught that too?"

"Not really. She doesn't have a wand so we can't really teach her actual magic. Apart from anything else, Hattie, I am sure, would cause trouble at school if she got bored. Most wizarding children only really focus on history and languages before they start at school. Mainly, we teach Hattie magical history and meditating, although she is learning languages and other subjects as she goes."

"What does meditating have to do with magic?" Carlisle asked, highly interested in the idea.

"Meditating is the basis for quite a few things. The main of which is occlumency. It is possible for a wizard to read minds, occlumency is a way of protecting the mind from these attacks, and also makes it harder to be possessed. While it is not publicly known, Dumbledore is capable of reading minds, as is Voldemort; it is partly for her own protection. As it basically closes off the mind, for Hattie, who like Jasper can feel peoples' emotions, it is a way of helping her."

Edward looked up, interested by the possibility of this, after all, he could hear neither wizard's thoughts, "Is it something that only can be learned by wizards?"

Remus looked over sadly at the boy, knowing why he was asking, "It does require a magical core; however, the theory is still applicable to other situations I believe, it might be something for you to try; you may be able to lower the level of the thoughts you can read or block some of them out. Sirius only knows occlumency because meditations are required to become an animagus, therefore, it was easy for him to transfer one to the other."

Emmett turned to the pair of wizards, "Enough of these boring topics. I want more stories about your shenanigans at school."

Remus smothered a laugh, "Does it have to be limited to school? Has Sirius not bragged what his party trick used to be?"

At the curious shakes of the heads of the surrounding vampires, (and the frantic gesturing of Sirius trying to stop the werewolf continuing), Remus smirked widely, "He would stand on the bar and apparate from one end to the other. What was special was that he would leave various bits of clothes behind as he did so...his favorite was to leave his trousers at one end of the bar and appear in his underwear at the other, although one memorable time he was dressed as a true Scot and did not, therefore, have his dignity preserved in front of a pub of our friends by a pair of boxers."

"Nooo!" Emmett exclaimed, "That is awesome, I wish I could do that. Can we see?"

Sirius violently shook his head, "Gods above, no! It took a lot of practice... otherwise I might have left my legs behind with the trousers. I haven't done it for a while."

Remus added, "Plus...he tended to be so completely pissed when he did it that he wasn't really able to contemplate the consequences if it went wrong."

Emmett was just about ready to run over to the bar to find some alcohol to see whether he could recreate the effect and consequently,

Sirius felt the need to get the pressure off of himself. "Yes, but James at one point got so drunk that he transformed into a stag at his parent's house and tried to attack the hunting trophy decorations in the long gallery. He was wearing three of them in the morning when his parents arrived back to find him passed out at the top of the stairs because he couldn't walk back down them!"

Remus chuckled, "I forgot that story, it was the day after our NEWT results...wasn't one of the antler sets a moose? Dorea was a good sport about the whole thing... she hated them but wasn't allowed to get rid of them before as they were 'antique'."

Jasper sat, reclining in his seat, completely at peace and practically drowning in positivity and good emotions, "Do any of your stories not include you getting drunk?"

Remus grimaced while Sirius frowned slightly, "We didn't drink at school, except after quidditch matches."

"And Hogsmeade weekends..." Remus added.

"And after exams..."

"And house parties, although we shouldn't really talk about those. Sirius once added the fire whiskey to the wrong punch bowl and so instead of drunk sixth and seventh years, there were first and second years meandering around the room after half a glass."

"Good times!" Sirius proclaimed, ignoring the aggrieved glances from Esme and Carlisle.

"That still involves alcohol." Edward pointed out, "Although, I suppose you weren't actually drinking it, just hoping to drink it."

"What can we say? Hogwarts was a rather...liberal school when it came to it!" Sirius said in a joking tone.

"Actually, you lot have been to school so many times, you may have some sort of clue." Remus perked up, setting down his gin and tonic, "Hogwarts has a school board that is basically responsible for the grand scheme plans while the headmaster runs day to day. Sirius has a seat on the board and we were trying to work out how best to alter the school so it runs better. What, do you think, makes a good school?"

Alice tilted her head to the side, "Muggle day school is very different from a magical boarding school."

"We know...but we were at school almost a decade ago and, as you have likely worked out, didn't really behave appropriately."

Edward looked over to his siblings, "What about a suggestion box?"

"Those work but you have to deal with a lot of stupid complaints because students don't like a particular teacher or they don't like a certain rule." Rosalie complained.

"What is a suggestion box?" Sirius asked, still nursing his drink.

"Exactly what it sounds like." Jasper said, "A box that students can, anonymously, suggest changes to the school, or say what they don't like."

"That's a good idea." Remus mused, "If the students felt they were involved in the decision making, then it is just easier to implement changes."

"From a parents' point of view." Esme said, "We often get surveys asking us what we like about the school, what we don't like, what they could improve. We pay the fees and they are our children; I suppose it is the same thing though, making people feel like they have a voice."

"You know, unless a parent attended Hogwarts, then they never see it." Sirius told the room in general.

"What?" Carlisle and Esme exclaimed.

"I would never consider sending a child to a school unless I had seen it." Esme added, "As a parent, it makes me feel safe to know they are going somewhere suitable. Do you not have parents' meetings then?"

"No, what are they?" Sirius asked

Remus answered, more familiar with the muggle world than his friend, "A meeting when the parents' meet with the teachers of the school to discuss how their child is getting on."

Sirius snorted a laugh, "Probably a good thing we don't have those! Imagine my parents appearing at Hogwarts in all their finery only to be told I was a disruptive twerp for most of the time."

"You would not have survived your first year then!" Remus muttered, "Let alone seven years. Any other suggestions?"

The younger generation of the Cullens' frowned before Rosalie spoke up, "We have always had masses of chances to interact with other schools. Didn't you say a few months ago that the school was pretty isolated?" At Sirius' nod of agreement, the blonde continued, "Well, most of the schools we have attended in the past forty years have had sports matches once a week against other schools, trips, socials, exchanges..."

Remus frowned, "I don't think when I was at Hogwarts we had a single visitor from another school. Really, the only ones who do any networking outside of school, are those like Sirius whose families did the seasons abroad. It meant they were ahead really for everything."

"I swear the magical world is a prejudiced as the time I grew up in!" Carlisle mused.

"Sounds about right!" Sirius proclaimed as he raised his glass in mock cheer, "We do still use the same writing implements!"

While Hattie, Sirius and Remus were away traversing far parts of the globe, the Volturi vampires stayed home. They all quickly decided that life without Hattie was dull. They couldn't even play paintball as Sirius wasn't around to clear up the mess when they had finished.

The blonde king sighed as he looked over at his brother who still had his head buried in his book. "What has you so engrossed? Still the wand core and wood research?"

Aro nodded, "Indeed. I am trying to work out how to find the wood that I would need. Apparently, you can't just go and pick any branch. The tree has to have special qualities, either because of where it was grown or a special history to it."

"What does that mean?" Marcus questioned.

"Trees that are planted along lay lines are the best as they grow on a source of magic. The history thing means that if a tree was the centre of druidic or ritual practices then it is special again. There are some trees that take both, Glastonbury Tor is an example of this.

Although most of the trees have gone from there."

Caius raised an eyebrow, "Didn't Sirius say he would introduce you to the wandmaker in London?"

Aro smiled happily, "Yup. His grandfather wrote this book." He said, lifting the book from where it lay open in his lap. "There is a note here that says that sometimes trees that were grown within a family's ancient wards make very strong wands."

"Does that just mean that if there was a suitable tree in the Peverell Castle that would be the best wood to use as it is basically infused with family magic?"

"Yes. It doesn't really happen now as the tradition of making one's own wand fell out of favor."

Heidi walked into the throne room with an eager spring to her step, "My kings?" She asked.

Marcus and Caius looked up while Aro remained engrossed with his book, "Yes?" Marcus asked rising from his throne.

"It is my mate's birthday tomorrow, I was hoping for permission to leave to join him in America."

"The 3rd November?" Caius inquired.

"Yes."

"Have a lovely time. Give our regards to Sirius and Remus and a huge hug for Hattie." Marcus added as Heidi made her way to the door.

CRS Award Ceremony Location Announced! - By Rita Skeeter

The Committee of Research and Study have announced where the first award ceremony will be held on the 28th February. The location chosen is at Caerleon, South Wales. The area has long been believed to be the location of the famed Camelot and, therefore, makes the location the perfect setting to what is sure to be one of the greatest universal exchanges of knowledge in the recent wizarding history.

In a statement released by the Committee, the Lord Black said: "I am afraid we were rather taken aback by surprise at the interest that this conference and ceremony has generated and have thought long and hard about where we can host this ceremony. We have tried to pick a neutral place where politics and power are not central. The location of Camelot, which remains a beacon for culture and magic in our history, seemed perfect to us all. We have gained permission from the Ministry of Magic to set up a week-long conference for the national and international community.

Throughout the first five days, each of the twenty-five judges shall present a piece of their research to the public, it is our hope that we shall be able to inspire others and foster a new community of learning and research through this.

The sixth day we are dedicating to the younger generation. Throughout the day shall be mini-lectures, displays and activities. We have invited all wizarding schools to come but those who have not yet started school are as welcome to join us.

The seventh day is, of course, about the competition. The week-long celebration of learning shall conclude with a dinner and the winners of each of the three categories shall present their work.

Tickets are needed for this event to ensure the security and safety of all but we are planning to have a ballot for the first five days of the conference. If you wish to join us, please send in a note with which days you wish to join us before the end of December and we shall put your names into a ballot to arrange which lectures you will attend. Please note, all witches and wizards with Masteries or who are in an educational role will have first priority and should include proof of their status in their letter so we can arrange this for you.

Students attending the 'children's' day' do not need tickets as this is being arranged by the school in question. Younger children will need tickets so please send in an owl with the details to the CRS ticket office. The final day of the conference is by invitation only.

I can only thank you all for getting behind this idea and helping to celebrate the work of our community."

So, there you have it, dearest readers! A chance to hear some of the greatest minds speak, a day for the children and a day for the competition winners, all at the place where Merlin once lived! The CRS seems to grow day by day and I am sure, will inspire many for years to come. Remember to get your ballots in quickly as I know there will be a huge number of people around the world trying to get any tickets they can! Remember, Nicholas Flamel will be lecturing! I, for one, will certainly be trying to find tickets!

Sorry for such a long delay, I hadn't realised quite how long it was! I hope you enjoy this chapter. Huge thanks to my new Beta, TwistedImage, who has done been an amazing help to me.

As ever, any suggestions, queries or requests, message me! Fx