3

Doctor Leonard McCoy sat nearly anonymously as he watched the results of the trial unfold. Already Lucius had, under great protest, admitted that he'd not seen Sirius as any meeting of the Death Eaters, though the defending attorney was unable to ask if Lucius willingly took the Dark Mark, since the prosecuting attorney had objected to the line of questioning, saying that Lucius had already been acquitted of the charges. McCoy knew, though, that Lucius would get his just reward. After draining his soul, he'd also provide a wealth of information on the corruption in the Bagnold administration, including anything relating to the current head of the DMLE, Bary Crouch Sr. (McCoy was frustrated that the Junior Crouch had already escaped Azkaban, though there was the beginnings of a plan to take care of both Crouches should the need arise).

Just then a gasp spread through the courtroom, and McCoy focused back on the trial, as Sirius had just accepted the use of veritiserum. Luckily Sirius only knew of McCoy as the Emperor, and knew neither their name as the lich nobodez (though was able to describe them), nor his name and description as Doctors McCoy or Watson. It wasn't a perfect plan, but it would have to do, and would provide Sirius with a hopefully airtight defense.

"Would you state your name for the court records?" asked Sirius' layer.

"Sirius Orion Black," replied Sirius in the flat monotonous tone of those under the influence of veritiserum.

"When were you born, Mr. Black?"

"Four October, Nineteen Hundred Sixty-nine, a Sunday, in the morning," replied Sirius, giving much more detail then he needed.

"Have you ever been a member, voluntary or involuntary, of the organization commonly known as the 'Death Eaters'?" asked his lawyer, eliciting a gasp from the courtroom.

"No," replied Sirius, with another gasp from those assembled.

"Did you, willingly or unwillingly, provide the location of Mr. James Charlus Potter, Mrs. Lillian Elizabeth Potter née Evans, and/or Mr. Harry James Potter to the wizard commonly known as 'Lord Voldemort'," another, much louder gasp, " 'He-who-must-not-be-named', or 'You-know-who'?"

"No," replied Sirius, though the answer was nearly lost in the furor over the layer's bravado.

"Did you kill, or attempt to kill, Peter Simon Pettigrew on the night of Two November, Nineteen Hundred Eighty-One?"

"No."

"Did you kill, or attempt to kill, one of the dozen muggles that were killed the same night?"

"No."

The lawyer turned and faced the Tribunal, "No further questions."

Albus Dumbledore, the Chief Warlock and head of the Tribunal, gestured to the prosecutor, "You may ask you questions."

The prosecutor asked a series of questions similar to, but broader than those of Sirius's defender, though Sirius, rather than answering with one-word answers, even when the prosecutor insisted, elaborated. Once the guilt or innocence of the original crimes was no longer in doubt, the prosecutor went further.

"Sirius Black, did you willingly escape from Azkaban prison on the night of Seven May, Nineteen Hundred Eighty-Three?"

"I released myself of my own recognizance on the date in question," replied Sirius, though still with the tell-tale monotone of veritiserum.

"Sirius Black, did you receive any assistance during your so-called 'release under your own recognizance'?"

"Yes," the first one-word answer to the prosecutor.

"Could you name the person or persons who assisted you?"

"Yes," came another cheeky answer, the loyalty potions attempting to keep the Emperor's secret.

"What is the name of the person, or the names of the persons, who assisted you?"

"The Emperor," replied Sirius.

"Who is the Emperor?" asked the prosecutor, for the first time surprised at his own question.

"The Emperor is the one who offered me freedom from Azkaban, and then orchestrated, with my grandfather Arcturus Black, this trial."

"Is the Emperor a Dark Wizard?" asked the prosecutor.

"Not in my opinion," replied Sirius, the first such answer.

"Is the Emperor a Light Wizard?" asked the prosecutor.

"No."

"So, if not a Light Wizard, and 'not in your opinion' a Dark Wizard, how then, would you describe the Emperor?"

"A Grey Wizard," replied Sirius, then added, "The Grey Lord."

An uproar swept the courtroom, and McCoy in his cover participated, though began to make his way towards the exit of the courtroom in anticipation of his next endeavor.

The prosecutor didn't know what else to ask, and so he turned back to the Tribunal, "No further questions."

"Do you have any more questions for your client?" asked Albus of Sirius's defender.

"No, Chief Warlock, I do not," replied the defender.

After that it was a matter of formality. Since Sirius was neither guilty of the charges, nor had been actually convicted, and since no bond had been set, nor denied, his 'release on his own recognizance' had been nominally legal. Although the true murder, if indeed there had been a murder, or Peter Petigrew, as well as that of the twelve muggles, was as of yet unsolved. Sirius was acquitted, and all charges formally dismissed.

Doctor McCoy was the first to exit the courtroom, though he was followed shortly thereafter by one Lucius Malfoy.

After quickly ducking into an alcove and changing the illusion, the Emperor began to follow Lucius, and with careful channeling of both the lich's aura of fear and a lessoned version of the Dementor's aura, only the two of them shared the lift up to the Atrium.

"Do I know you?" asked Lucius of the rather muggle looking man with messy brown hair and wearing a brown robe with blue pinstripes.

"I believe that you've recently heard of me," replied the Emperor.

"The Emperor?" asked Lucius hesitantly.

"That I am," he said, and with a snap of his fingers, and the assistance of some pre-placed runes, the lift slammed to a halt.

"What do you want with me?" asked Lucius, a slight tremor of fear in his voice.

"Your soul,"said the Emperor lightly.

"My … my … soul?" asked Lucius.

"You have been a very bad man, Lucy, and I intend to make you pay for your crimes," explained the Emperor.

"What crimes?" sneered Lucius, in a sudden burst of defiance. "I was acquitted just as much as Black was down there."

"True, but unlike Sirius, you were guilty of those crimes," said the Emperor, increasing the fear aura. "And for that, you will pay."

"I have money, power, whatever you desire," pled Lucius.

The Emperor replied flatly, "I too have money, and power, and as for what I desire, right here, right now …". The illusion dropped, and the lich stared at Lucius, the red pinpricks of light from their eye sockets adding a touch more malevolence, "All I desire is your soul."

"Merlin," gasped Lucius.

"No, but perhaps eventually," quipped nobodez. They brought up their skeletal hand, the black energy somehow shining from between the bones of their hand.

"What are you?" asked Lucius as he backed into the corner of the lift.

"I am you death, Lucius Malfoy, yours and your Lord's," said Nobodez.

Thirty seconds later the lift arrived at the Atrium, and the Emperor stepped out of the otherwise empty lift, disappearing into the throng of witches and wizards who had taken the later lifts and arrived before him. He whistled a lilting melody from a movie he'd seen long ago, and years from now, about a young boy and his adventures at a school of magic.

nobodez set the Daily Prophet down on the table, having read the headlines. The sensational news of Sirius Black's trial, and acquittal of all charges, dominated the top half of the magic paper, with a massive picture of Sirius and Arcturus Black emerging victorious from the courtroom occupying most of what space was left from the massive headline of "Sirius Black Acquitted".

nobodez, though, was more interested in the two secondary articles, below the fold, and one was about them, or rather their persona as "The Emperor", also known as "The Grey Lord", while the other was about the disappearance and presumed murder of the defense's primary witness, and cousin-in-law to Sirius, Lucius Black. nobodez had expected the first as soon as Sirius talked about who released him, but had not expected the second, at least, not for a few days. It seems that when Lucius died, so did a few wards his magic was powering (even though some of it remained, though it was now part of nobodez's magic instead), revealing to his new widow his untimely demise.

"So, I see we both made the front page of the Prophet," said Sirius, stepping out of the flat's floo. Although nobodez had a large amount of money, millions of galleons and tens of millions of pounds, they still 'lived', as it were, in Alex Smith's old flat, even though the lease-holder had been dead for nearly two years.

"I'm not happy about either of these articles, though I admit, I should have put my involvement under more protection," admitted the lich.

"It's not your fault, though I'd rather you not blame me either," said Sirius, sitting down opposite the lich at the cheap table. "Arcturus wants to meet you face to face, and I've already received requests from both Director Crouch of the MLE and Headmaster Dumbledore to talk about my involvement with you."

"Arcturus is important, as I need to get the diary from Narcissa," said the lich. "As for Crouch, if you'd like, I can pay him a visit. I know where the bodies are buried, and more importantly, which bodies are buried, and which aren't."

"Okay …" said Sirius hesitantly. "What about Dumbledore?"

"After what he did after Riddle's death, with Harry, do you trust him?" asked the lich. "I don't, but that's because I have a … distorted view of the man."

"I'd like to know the why's, such as why I was left to rot in Azkaban without a trial, but yes, he's a powerful man, and although he's made mistakes, he's still the greatest force for good this country has seen in centuries," the animagus explained.

"Tell him what you like, but remember, he's a skilled Legilimens, so don't look him in the eyes," cautioned nobodez.

"Of course," said Sirius with a scoff, "How'd you think the Marauders got away with so much?"

"Ah," said the lich.

"As for Arcturus, will he be meeting you or the Emperor?" asked Sirius.

The lich thought for a moment, and then the illusion of the Emperor sat opposite Sirius, though wearing a pastel blue bath robe rather than the blue suit or the brown robe.

"I hope you're not planning on wearing that," said Sirius with a smile.

"I'll have you know that I could fight of an alien invasion wearing this," said the Emperor, the affected accent gaining more and more Estuary atop the Received Pronunciation base and missing almost all of the American accent that nobodez normally spoke with (as well as all of the sub-harmonics).

"You know, you keep trying so hard, and yet, nobody will ever get your references," pointed out Sirius. "I recommend the brown robe, of course, or if you can transfigure something even nicer, perhaps go with that. He is the head of the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black."

"But of course, I may have been raised a middle-class American mundane, but even I know when I need to dress up," admitted the Emperor. He stood, and with a gesture of his hand his illusionary clothes changed, from the blue bath robe to a fine silk dress robe in black with red trim, over a dress shirt and bow tie, the former a light grey, while the latter was black.

"Red and Black, the colors of your soldiers," pointed out Sirius.

"The Wizards are Red, the Warriors are Black, and the Dementors, and yes, I now have Dementor minions, are Black with red bones," said the Emperor, as with a wave of his hand three illusory figures appeared to float above the newspaper.

The red robed wizard was looped in a devastating spell chain that Sirius had seen his cousin, Bellatrix, use in battle. The black armored warrior was looped as well, bringing the submachine gun, a term that Sirius had learned in the weeks since his escape, up to its shoulder to fire, and then lowering it again, before advancing a few steps and starting over. The black robed red skeletal Dementor gave Sirius the chills, even without any sort of aura of fear, though the red bones would differentiate the Emperor's Dementors from those used by the Ministry of Magic, as well as other governments around the world, to defend Azkaban and similar prisons.

With another wave, the illusions were gone once more, "Hopefully Arcturus will be cooperative, though I fear the fallout from my premature revelation might upset him."

"From what I could see he was still proceeding with the agreement, and even though Narcissa is likely to be distracted from the after effects of Lucius' death and disappearance, she'll provide him with the Diary," said Sirius with confidence.

"Let us hope so," said the Emperor.

Four hours later the Emperor was deposited via portkey into a dark, yet luxurious, entrance hall of a mansion or manor. He looked around and noticed that all of the paintings were empty of their subjects.

A door opened onto a balcony above, and the man was silhouetted by the light from a room beyond, "Welcome, 'Emperor', to the Ebon Hall."

The Emperor bowed his head to whom he presumed was Arcturus Black, "Lord Black, thank you for inviting my to your home."

"A house elf will be along shortly to collect your wands and any other weapons you might be carrying," said Arcturus. "Only then will be begin our meeting."

"Of course," said the Emperor.

After giving the two wands, neither of which was had been purchased by one Doctor Leonard McCoy from Ollivander, the PPK, the pair of poisoned hunting knives, and the 'stun' baton to the elf that had appeared (all replaceable), the Emperor smoothed his dress robe. As the elf popped away, a hidden door opened behind him, and lead into a well appointed study.

"Come in, Emperor," said Arcturus, this time standing fully illuminated. He appeared to be in his late fifties, which meant that as a wizard he was likely in his early eighties.

"Thank you, Lord Black."

"You can call me Arcturus, but only if I shan't have to call you by your rather pretentious title," said the wizard.

"You may call me Tiberius," replied the Emperor, before striding confidently into the study.

"You seemed to have been rather well armed for a visit to an ally's house, Tiberius," said Arturus, gesturing to the smaller of the two leather chairs, while taking a seat in the larger and more stately one.

"After the … revelation of our mutual involvement in getting your grandson his trial, I could not presume a hospitable welcome," explained 'Tiberius'.

"It was unlucky, and neither of us anticipated it, while both of us should," explained Arcturus. He placed his hand on a wooden box sitting on a table between the two chairs, "I took the pleasure of securing the object you desired from Narcissa this morning, after affirming that she was still protected by the House of her birth, as was her son." Lord Black then passed the box to 'Tiberius'.

"Thank you, Arcturus," said the Emperor, though did not examine it, as it was a gift from his host. "I was hoping that the revelation would not upset our alliance."

"I had actually hoped to expand our alliance, though by looking at you it might not be for a generation or more," said Arcturus.

"How so?"

"Tiberius, you know that my grandson has no children, and while he had many dalliances during his time at Hogwarts, none lasted beyond a third date. I am not as young as I once was, and while I am not an old man, I have lived longer than most of my family, having outlived my son and one of my grandsons. While my daughter, Lucretia, still lives, her husband died during the war with … Riddle was it?"

"Yes, Riddle, Tom Marvolo Riddle," explained the Emperor.

Arcturus gestured to the wooden box, "So that is his Diary?"

"Of a sort, while I suspect that once it was truly his diary, it is now an object that would allow him the ability to return from his destruction," explained 'Tiberius'.

"And you intend to destroy it?"

"As I have done with four others, such as the cup you retrieved from Bellatrix's vault for me."

"But that was not destroyed, I read that it was returned, anonymously, to the Smiths."

"The magic that Riddle put into it, though, was destroyed. As was that in Slytherin's Locket and Ravenclaw's Diadem, the former also returned to the Smiths and the latter soon to be returned to Hogwarts itself."

"You found Ravenclaw's Diadem?" asked Arcturus surprised.

"I knew where it was, and you grandson retrieved it. It was my hope that he'd be able to use it to curry favor with Headmaster Dumbledore."

"You seek Albus' favor?"

"I wish to be forgotten by the public, but that will not happen, and so I must instead stay true to my moniker."

" 'The Grey Lord'? Seems rather pretentious, though not quite as much as 'Emperor'."

"I am neither Dark like Grindlewald or Riddle, nor Light like Dumbledore, instead I seek a middle path, one where the evil are punished, but the good too are held to account. I seek an end to the Statute of Secrecy, and a rise of a Human Empire across the Earth, and eventually, across the Universe."

"Grand ideas, Tiberius, though I now understand your appellation."

The Emperor nodded, "It is, as I told your grandson, an aspirational one. I seek not the subjugation, nor the elimination of the non-magicals …"

"The muggles?" asked Arcturus.

"I would rather not use that term, as it is my intent to integrate them, or rather, to integrate the magical with the mundane," explained 'Tiberius'.

"Integration, a grand plan, but to do so would either take a large effort to destroy the Statute quickly, or much more time than you have."

"I have a plan, and even if it takes hundreds of years, it shall succeed," proclaimed the Emperor.

"While I do not share your beliefs, I admit that your plan is likely to succeed with or without the help of myself or my House, and so, I'd like to bind my House with yours. I had hoped, were you older, than you had a suitable daughter to marry my grandson, but I find instead that you're perhaps a decade older than he, and even if you did have a daughter, she'd not be old enough for Sirius."

The Emperor thought for a moment, contemplating his options. Two were visible and obvious to him. The first would be to claim some woman as sister, and use her to cement the alliance, but that would require magic upon the woman, of a style the Lockhart would approve, which made it the less savory, but less hazardous option, The second would be to take the more difficult path, one that would either require sacrificing magic for a period of time, or else killing many more Death Eaters before introducing a sister to Sirius. While he needed not make the decision now, the answer was obvious.

"I do have a sister, she's a bit older than Sirius, and she is, as the saying goes, unattached."

"You never told me you had a sister," said Sirius a few days later after returning from Privet Drive.

"You never asked, and I didn't think it was relevant," replied the Emperor, who was spending more and more time in the full-flesh illusion rather than as a lich. He was currently wrapping a femur in thin yellow fabric.

"So, is she, you know, like you?" asked Sirius.

"Is she a lich?" asked the Emperor. He shook his head, "No, she's alive, and yes, she is a witch, though obviously she's a first-generation witch, so she might not pass your mother's approval."

"Walburga's not going to live long enough to matter, even if we don't become more than acquaintances," said Sirius.

The Emperor put down the femur, both because the epoxy needed to set and because he wanted to pay attention to Sirius. "You've not even met her, and yet you're putting her ahead of your family."

"My mother hasn't been 'family' since she kicked me out nearly a decade ago and I moved it with Great Aunt Dorea," said Sirius. "Yes, she's still my mother, but she's not family. Much like the Dursleys are Harry's aunt and uncle, but they're not family. Family is more than just being related by blood, family is about loyalty and about caring for one another. James may have just been a cousin, but he was more family than my own parents."

"And me?" asked the Emperor. He wondered how the loyalty potions had affected Sirius' definition of family.

"You're the man, or rather the lich, who broke me out of prison and got me my freedom. You allowed me to be a godfather to Harry when otherwise I'd be thought of as a traitor to his parents. You've re-united me with Moony, my brother in all but name. You've given me my family back. If Arcturus says that I need to marry your sister to solidify the alliance between your House and mine, well, then as long as we get along, I'm up for it."

"Well, I've already written her, and she's willing to come out for a week or two next month," said the Emperor.

"If she's soon enough, she could make Harry's birthday," said Sirius with a smile.

"He's turning three this year, isn't he?" asked the Emperor.

"Yes, and since I'm his magical guardian, even though Petunia is his legal, if I'm to have a relationship with your sister, even as friends, I'd like her to meet him," said Sirius. "You are going to be there as well, are you not?"

The Emperor thought for a moment, then shook his head, "I'm afraid not."

Sirius looked shocked, "And why not?"

"Well, I'm still unsure of the protections that Albus placed upon the Dursley residence, and so I do not wish to tip my hand in revealing myself to him," said the Emperor. What he didn't say was that he planned on being there in disguise.

"I don't understand why we still need the protections anyway," said Sirius.

"Riddle is still out there, and right now his only horcrux is in Harry's forehead. Until I can figure out how to remove it without killing him, I'd rather keep the protections in place. They should protect him until he's seventeen, I'd rather no jeopardize that protection," explained the Emperor.

"And since Albus refuses to tell me what those protections entail …" said Sirius with a sigh. "I see, well, at least your sister will be there. What's her name anyway?"

"Winona Erin Skrobanek," replied the Emperor.

"So you're Tiberius Skrobanek?" asked Sirius.

"I told Arcturus he could call me Tiberius," replied the Emperor. "And while Skrobanek is my sister's last name, it is not mine."

"Half sister?" asked Sirius.

"Born after the divorce," replied the Emperor. He was actually using his maternal grandmother's maiden name for the realization of the fiction of having a sister.

"So, what's she like?" asked Sirius. "She's your sister, but I know so little about who you are, behind the faces your wear, to make any guesses."

"We're from Iowa, though a few years after the divorce mom moved us to Colorado, though luckily we lived in the suburbs rather than on a farm like in Iowa," replied the Emperor, letting out bits of the fictional biography he'd begun to compose for himself.

"Well, that's where you're from, what's she life? Is she funny, and more importantly can she take a joke?"

The Emperor chuckled, "She's a bit more towards the pun and joke side of the spectrum, rather than your prank side," explained the Emperor. "She's also into computers."

"What?" asked a confused Sirius.

"You know that we Americans are a bit more integrated than here in Europe, right? While we still follow the Statue of Secrecy, we're more integrated into society. Comes from having most of our early witches and wizards being first generation, muggleborn as you'd call it here. So, while she's a witch, and is just as capable at using her wand as you are, though a bit more reliant upon it than myself, a side effect of my transformation, she's also not limited to magic. She's a computer programer, mostly Apple II's, so you'd have to forgive her if she won't fully absorb herself into the magical world if you two hit it off."

"It's good that she's muggle, or rather mundane, raised. Harry's stuck in the mundane world due to living with his aunt and uncle, and while I'm able to give him a bit of magic, it'd be better if I'd be able to fit in, so as to not antagonize Petunia and Vernon too much."

"Wait, you're trying to be friendly with the Dursleys?"

"If I show them that magic isn't all bad, that some of us wizards are decent folk, then they won't put that opinion into their son and Harry. While we know that Harry's a wizard, and that Dudley isn't, if they have another kid it's just as likely that it'll be magical as not, and I don't want any wizard or witch growing up in an unloving household. I had that as a child, and I don't want any other child to have to live with that."

"You've got depths, Sirius, depths that I'd never had guessed."

"I'll take that as a compliment," said Sirius with a smile.

Sirius Black was nervous.

He wasn't just nervous because he was in a muggle, or rather a mundane, suit holding a white placard with the name "Skrobanek" written on it, though he still felt vaguely out of place. No, it was because he was going to be meeting a woman. He'd never felt this nervous before meeting a woman in his life, but for some reason, and he wasn't sure, he just wanted this meeting to go well. After a year and a half in Azkaban he'd let his family down, and he felt that, if this went well, and he and the Emperor's sister hit it off, he'd be able to make it up to his Grandfather Arcturus. He also felt that he owed it to the Emperor to do right by the lich's sister, since if it wasn't for the Emperor, Sirius would still be in Azkaban, and likely would have died there.

So, Sirius Black was nervous, but for reasons that he couldn't quite put into words.

He'd been waiting just inside the doors to Heathrow's Terminal 1, where the Emperor has said that Winona would arrive on her flight from Chicago. While Sirius knew that airplanes could fly, that was obvious just by watching them, he, like most British, or even European, wizards, didn't know how they flew. He likewise had never flown in an airplane, and he'd not known many that had (James and Lily had taken an airplane during their honeymoon, since Lily and portkeys didn't agree with each other).

As he was musing he saw a woman that didn't fit in. It wasn't that she was too pretty to too ugly for the crowd around her, though she was on the pretty side of the spectrum, instead, it was that she wore clothes that didn't quite match any of the styles he'd seen during his hour or so wait. Her brown hair was worn long and parted to the side, with her fringes swept to the side as well, revealing her intense blue eyes. Her face was fairly angular, and she wore conservative makeup, the only obvious addition he could spot was the slightly purple lipstick she wore. For her clothing he noticed that both brother and sister had a similar style, as the waistcoat and slacks she wore were both pinstriped, though hers were just black pinstripes on slate grey. She wore a pale yellow blouse under her waistcoat, which peeked out just a bit below the shorter overgarment. She also wore a black overcoat similar to the almost-robe that the Emperor favored, though hers was black with a purple satin lining. She pulled a trolley case behind her, it too slate grey with black pinstripes. While she was taller than average, Sirius assumed some of that was from her high-heeled shoes, all but the tips of which were hidden by her slacks.

"I assume you're Mr. Black?" she asked, her accent obviously American unlike the affected Estuary accent that the Emperor preferred.

"Ms. Skrobanek?" asked Sirius.

"Call me Winona," she replied with a smile.

"Then you must call me Sirius. Is that all your luggage? I've seen many people taking three or four bags with them."

"Come now Mr. Bla… Sirius, sorry, surely you didn't expect me to be totally mundane. Just because it looks like a roll along doesn't mean that it's not bigger on the inside."

"Of course, my mistake," he said with a smile.

"So, how are we going to do this?" she asked, gesturing vaguely to herself and her luggage, limited it might be.

Sirius looked puzzled, "Do what exactly?"

"Well, I assume you're here to pick me up, do you have a car, or rather a motorcycle, waiting? My brother said that you preferred to drive, or rather fly, your Triumph, though he did say you had a sidecar."

Sirius raised his eyebrow.

"I'd rather not ride, either behind or beside until we've known each other a bit longer," said Winona, breaking Sirius' hopes. "We're heading to your godson's for his birthday celebration, are we not?"

"Not exactly," said Sirius. "While I was able to convince the Dursleys to let Harry celebrate his third birthday, it will not be a Privet Drive, no matter if it's just a few miles south. Instead it will be at Ebon Hall, hosted by my Grandfather, and Harry's First Cousin, twice removed, Lord Arcturus Black. In attendance will be quite a few of the children born during the last year or two of Riddle's reign of terror, those that will be Harry's peers at Hogwarts, as well as their families of course, including my cousin Narcissa and her son Draco, who recently lost her husband and his father, respectively, a former Death Eater."

"That's what Riddle called his followers, right?" asked Winona.

"Yes, though now that your brother, the Emperor …"

"Call him Tiberius," interrupted Winona. "Or even better, call him James, he hates his first name, and I'm not sure exactly why he prefers his ridiculous middle name."

Sirius smiled, "Can I call him Jimmy?"

Winona laughed, "Oh, he'd love that. He refused to respond to that from the fifth grade on, even though, five years younger than him, I didn't know any better. I thought he hated me until mom explained that he didn't like being called Jimmy."

Sirius rubbed his hands together, "Excellent. Jimmy it is. So, speaking of your brother, what's up with the lich thing?"

"Should we be walking about that out here in public?" asked Winona in deflection, looking at the crowds of travelers that flowed around the two of them.

Sirius dismissed her concern with a wave of his hand, "Notice-me-Not combined with a subtle Muggle Repelling charm, as well as a specialized secrecy charm your brother cooked up based on something a boyhood foe of mine cooked up at Hogwarts."

"Hmm, interesting," said Winona, looking around. "And the cameras?"

"We're right in the blind spot, none of them can see us clearly," replied Sirius.

"In that case," said Winona, as she reached into one of the pockets of her overcoat, and withdrew a black fedora, narrow band flipped up in the back, with a purple hatband the same shade as the lining of her coat and only a few shades darker than her lipstick. She the twirled it around dramatically and then placed it on her head.

"Stylish," said Sirius.

"Thank you," she said. "Shall we?"

Sirius offered his arm to her, the arm opposite that which had pulled the trolley case, "We shall."

She took his arm, grasped her roll along, and then with a snap of displaced air, they disappeared.