1 Prologue

May 20, 1985. Tonks Home.

"Little Mistress Lyra! Please stop running, you could fall!" A bubbly little elf followed around a beaming five-year-old girl who was chasing around fairies in the garden.

"I won't!" Little Lyra mischievously stuck out her tongue at the elf, her small legs didn't stop as she continued following around the fairies, "This is so fun Minny, hehe~"

Minny, the elf, shook her head in helplessness and stopped following Lyra. She just stood there intending to interfere only if Lyra were to fall or if she was in danger.

Before long Lyra's curious grey eyes caught sight of bowtruckles that were hiding among the lush green trees. She lightened her footsteps and approached them stealthily.

She stretched out her chubby little hands towards a bowtruckle, intending to take it in her hands.

"Lyra dear! Where are you?" Lyra stopped in her tracks hearing her Aunt Andy calling for her. Turning around she saw Andromeda Tonks, who was looking for her and shouted, "Auntie~ I'm here~"

She waved her chubby hands, making Andromeda take notice of her.

"Come here to auntie," Andromeda stretched out her hands making Little Lyra come running towards her. She took Lyra in her arms and did a little spin before putting her down again.

"Did you enjoy your time?" Andy smiled and patted Lyra's head making Lyra nod like a little bunny.

Rubbing her eyes and yawning, Lyra's eyes felt heavier than usual. She wanted to sleep, but she missed her mama too. She hadn't seen her mama in the past two days.

"Auntie, where's mama? I want to see mama!" Lyra pulled at Andy's clothes.

"You take a little nap after having your lunch. Mama will be back when you wake up"

"Really?" Lyra tilted her head.

Andy felt as if an arrow shot through her heart at her adorableness. She picked up Lyra in her arms and nodded, "Really"

....

British Ministry Of Magic Headquarters.

The British Ministry of Magic was one of the busiest places in wizarding London, and that day, it was as busy as any other day filled with the Ministry workers and others who weren't bothered by it one bit, as it was a rather common sight.

On the top floor of the Ministry building, located was the Minister's Office.

The current Minister Of Magic, Millicent Bagnold was on her seat looking through some of the papers that were submitted to her for review. Just then, her assistant came in and whispered something to her.

"Let them in, then", She had been expecting their arrival, and at the thought of the most possible reason for their arrival, she sighed. The most regretful thing was, being the Minister of Magic and yet unable to help someone in need. A person who was clearly innocent from what she had known, yet he had been arrested and she couldn't help.

Her assistant went outside to bring in two people: a man with his face filled with several scars, and a young woman in her twenties.

"Well, to what do I owe the pleasure in meeting the youngest Head of DMLE ever?", Bagnold teased the woman with a smile trying to ease the tension.

"It is all credits to your incredible vision, ma'am.", the woman said.

"Oh, stop it, Amelia. Don't tease this old woman"

"Well, it was you who started it"

Just then, the man who was thoroughly ignored by the two women cleared his throat, reminding Amelia to go straight to the business.

"It's just the usual, Milli. Lupin wants to visit him, for his yearly visits and I too am accompanying Lupin, like the previous years."

"If I hadn't known the truth, I'd be convinced that you are here to accompany Lupin, just to make sure that they aren't attempting something illegal."

Shrugging in reply, Amelia tried to seem normal, tried to be casual, only to be betrayed by the sadness that filled her eyes.

"I can feel that it is hard for you, Amelia. But you know, even if we do hold a trial for him now, we need to have evidence. If not, there's no way that the others are going to agree to release him. Veritasium would have done the trick, if not for the fact that the Dementors would have made him have an unstable mind. There's another way, but you have to convince him to agree to the trial, though," Bagnold sighed as she removed her glasses and took out a set of papers and a box. Then she added, "This would have been easier if only the trial had been held before he was sent there to Azkaban."

"I know, Milli. I would try to convince him, which I highly doubt is possible. But, I would definitely find some evidence," said Amelia as she got the things from Bagnold. The set of papers were permission slips and the box was a single-use two-way portkey.

"Thanks for your cooperation, Minister", Remus Lupin, who hadn't uttered a word ever since he came, finally said.

"Oh, it's nothing, Lupin. I'm just following the rules. There's a rule stating that the family members or friends of the prisoner could visit him/ her once a year. But most people don't visit them, that's all."

"Still, if the Minister doesn't approve of it, there's no way we can visit him, is there? That's why we have to thank you Milli", Amelia said and left with Lupin.

....

Coming out of the Ministry Of Magic Building, Amelia and Remus Apparated to the Bones manor, where Andromeda and Ted Tonks who were holding a 5-year-old Lyra, along with two elves, Az and Minny were waiting for their return.

"Ted, please wait for us at the safe house, and Andy, please look after Lyra while we are gone, will you?"

Both Ted and Andromeda nodded in reply.

"Amelia, are you sure about this? What we are about to do this time is illegal, you know? You can back out if you want to. I'll take care of it, somehow. Even if they arrest me, I don't care anymore. But you have two children to take care of, Amelia. Think twice.", Remus warned her in caution.

"What else should I do, then? Leave him in there to die? He had done nothing to deserve that. I can't let you do this alone, too. He's my husband. And, I don't have a choice, Remus. We can't fail."

All of them fell into silence at her outburst. Every one of them knew that Amelia had the worst of it when he was arrested.

"Az, are you sure that leaving Miss Malfoy's side wouldn't pose any threat to her life for the next two days? I don't want any mishap.", Amelia asked Az, the personal elf of Carina Malfoy.

"Well, I do have several elves as friends who can take care of her in my stead. Her condition is stable for now, so I don't think there's any harm in me leaving her. Also... She's at St. Mungos after all, what could possibly go wrong? They need me only in case of emergencies, and for the other things, the healers there are fully capable of handling it."

"I'm truly sorry for putting you in this predicament, Az," Amelia didn't want to involve Az because it was no place for anyone. Azkaban was such a horrible place to visit, much less to stay. But they had no choice; Az was the only one who could stay there without the Dementors noticing anything out of order.

"Don't be, Amelia. I am doing it out of my own free will."

"Okay, now that everything's in order, shall we depart then?", Remus confirmed.

Nodding in affirmation the others apparated with the help of the portkey while Ted apparated to the safe house leaving only Andromeda and the sleeping little girl Lyra at home.

....

With a pop sound, they arrived at the eerie island in the north sea; the island where Azkaban was located. They could see the dementors hovering all around the building. It was so cold that it seemed to freeze their bones, they shivered. And the rotten stench was so unbearable that one would puke their guts out, but they could only endure it as they had a mission.

"I'm nervous, Remus," said Amelia.

Amelia was nervous, more nervous than she had ever been in her life. She was going to do something that she had never imagined doing in a million years and it was so illegal that it would grant her a life sentence at Azkaban.

All for the sake of rescuing one person, the love of her life, Sirius.

Yes, the Same Sirius Black who was arrested four years ago for the sake of killing 13 muggles and Peter Pettigrew and for the suspicion of him being a Death Eater.

"You feel an odd sense of excitement at the thought of doing mischief, right? That's what we longed for, the Marauders" Remus said as he thought back to their teen days.

"Remus, I'm serious."

"No, you've got it wrong... you're Amelia. The one we are going to rescue is Sirius."

"Remus!"

"Alright, alright. But will you stop being so tensed? If you continue in that state, I'm sure you'll mess up," Remus raised both of his hands in surrender.

"Az, Minny. Are you two there?" although she was somewhat relaxed after that, Amelia decided to ignore Remus and confirmed the two elves' presence in a whisper, as the two were invisible.

The two elves tapped on her shoulders to indicate their presence. They had to hide their aura's too since the dementors might notice them.

Showing the letter of approval to one of the guards who stood far away from the prison building, Amelia and Remus walked towards it.

After entering, the group walked for a while and climbed up a stone staircase. It began getting colder and colder for each step they took. Gritting their teeth, and popping a few bits of chocolate, they again walked for a while and finally reached a floor where they stopped and looked at each other.

"Ready, guys?" Amelia asked as Remus nodded, and she couldn't see the two elves nodding as they were invisible.

They moved forward towards Sirius' cell as they did during their past years' visits. Sirius looked pale and haggard, but he was in a much better state than the other prisoners. Although Sirius was drained throughout, since they had given him lots of chocolate (during their previous visits and many were sneaked in with the help of elves and Bagnold), he was able to sustain the past years.

Az knocked Sirius out and Minny turned him invisible and masked Sirius' aura. Az turned himself to look like Sirius and imitated Sirius' magical aura so as to fool the Dementors.

It was for this reason that Amelia had to bring Az along. Az was the only elf who could do this because of his special lineage.

After that everyone went to one of Sirius and Amelia's safehouses except for Az, who had to pose as Sirius until he returned and Minny, who had volunteered to accompany Az.

Ted was already waiting for them to arrive, and as soon as they came, he woke Sirius up and used several Healing spells on him and went back, wanting to give the three of them some alone time.

Sirius opened his eyes expecting to see the familiar cold and dirty prison walls that had been trapping him for years. But to his surprise, he woke up to see a warm room in a soft bed, which seemed oddly familiar to him. Then it hit him, it was one of his safehouses.

He saw his friend and his wife standing near the bed, eagerly waiting for him to look at them.

"Whoa, you guys have kidnapped me from Azkaban!", Sirius grinned as soon as he saw them.

Amelia smacked him right on his head, "I dare you to say that! We painstakingly planned to rescue you for a few days, and all we get is this!"

"Ouch! I'm hurt, Lia... I thought you'd welcome me with a kiss and hug, but what do I get instead? A smack on my head!", Sirius pretended to be hurt.

Deciding to go easy on the idiot considering he had just been out of Azkaban and was still weak, she generously gave him a hug. "Welcome back, idiot"

Sirius grinned as he hugged her, and turned to look at Remus, "Hey, Moony! Long time no see!"

"Long time no see, my ***. You dared to go after him recklessly and got yourself caught up in this mess, and now you say, 'Long time no see'?"

"Whoa... What happened to the Moony I know? He'd never swear, Merlin... Something has happened to Moony", Sirius dramatically kept his hand over his chest.

"Stop it, Sirius. Let's get to business. You're going to heal yourself for some time here, and I'm arranging for an emergency trial after that. If we file a trial and ask for some time so that you can recover from the after-effects of Azkaban, they can't say anything about your ' mind not being stable'. What do you say?"

"No, Lia," Sirius sighed, " If we do that, then we'd never be able to find him. He'd run away from wherever he's hiding now. Only if we let it remain like this, he'd let his guard down, and we can find him somehow."

"Sirius, do you even understand what you are saying? Catching Pettigrew is not the only thing that needs to be done... "

"Lia, listen —"

"It's not worth it, Sirius. Tormented by those Dementors all day along, you were barely kept alive by those monsters. If not for that food and chocolates we sneaked in every month, you'd have died, or worse, you could have become insane! Do these all worth it, just to get a traitor?"

"Lia, you don't —"

"Did you think about Lyra? What about Harry? I don't even know where he is, you know? Dumbledore said, I already have two children to raise alone, and he's saying something about blood wards and whatnot, saying that 'Harry is at the safest place he ever could be'. And Lyra, she has started to ask me about you..."

"Calm down Lia, I think the children would understand."

"Understand, my ***,"

"Heh, even Lia is swearing. Merlin, what has happened to this world?", Sirius said.

"If not, what do you think I should do? Kiss you, and say, 'Well done, Darling '?", Amelia, who was seething with anger, said sarcastically.

"It's not a bad idea."

"Padfoot, I think you're asking for it," Remus hadn't even finished saying that as Amelia smacked him on the head again (not too hard, considering he's still weak).

....

Sirius ate all the food he could, took a long bath and then had a good rest until the next morning, before coming out for a talk with his wife and his friend.

"So, how did you guys get me out of there anyway?"

Remus explained how they had planned everything out and how they had left Az as a replacement to fool the Dementors.

"If you're not planning on getting a trial, then you've got to get back there in a week at most, they'd be running a check once a week, and if you're reported missing, they'll find out. We can't keep Az in there for such a long time. Even if we do, Az can fool the Dementors, but the guards won't be fooled," Amelia said in a serious tone.

"Then, let me return there in a few days then," said Sirius as Amelia huffed and said, "Well, rot in there for all I care!"

She left the room angrily, leaving Sirius and Remus alone.

"Sirius, you know, she's got a point there. It's not worth it, you're basically risking your life, chaining yourself up in there. You wouldn't even be provided with proper food and water. And Lyra is pitiful you know. It broke my heart when I saw her staring at your picture longingly"

"Don't say anymore, Moony."

"But —"

"Do you think I want to say there? Tormenting myself? Do you know how much I want to look for my little girl right now and take her into my arms? Hell, I want to hug my little girl forever, take her out to show the world and all that. Do you know how much I had dreamed up to do with her when she was born? But I haven't asked even a word about her, until now. Do you know why?", Sirius paused to catch his breath, " Because, I know Remus, if I saw her even just once, I'll never have the heart to leave my little girl ever again. I wouldn't bear to. It is just that there's no other way to let that rat come out. It's my duty to ensure that the rat is caught because it was because of me that James and Lily are dead now. If only I hadn't asked for the switch in secret keeper..."

"Don't blame yourself, Siri. You couldn't have known"

....

At the same time, Amelia who left the safe house, went to the Tonks' home to see her daughter. She was angry at Sirius, but she couldn't do anything other than searching for Pettigrew's whereabouts. At least, she could calm down if she saw her daughter.

Only Lyra and Andy were supposed to be at home since Ted has gone to St. Mungos and Nymphadora was at Hogwarts. Andy had taken leave from St Mungos to take care of Lyra.

When Amelia entered the house, she saw a few toys on the table in the living room, just as she had been wondering where Lyra was, she saw that Andromeda was in the kitchen, cooking something.

"Where's Lyra, Andy?"

"Oh, hey Amelia! Lyra was playing in the Living room a few minutes ago. Didn't you see her when you entered?"

Amelia felt her stomach drop on hearing that and immediately started searching for Lyra. She had never been this scared in her entire life. Not when her whole family was murdered, not when Sirius was arrested, not even when she was on the verge of losing her own life.

Her daughter was missing. The one person who meant more than her and Sirius's life was missing. She rushed towards the living room with only one thought occupying her mind, to somehow find her daughter.

When she came running to the living room where she saw the toys, she noticed that there was a lettercard.

It was written in messy handwriting, "Kreacher has taken Miss Black"

She could only think of one person who could order Kreacher to do that.

Walburga Black, her mother-in-law.

But, what would she want with Lyra after all these years?

Although she was confused, she decided to rush back to Sirius after informing Andromeda of the situation.

....

"Sirius! Lyra's missing, and there's this letter. I don't know whether to believe it or not. What should we do?" Amelia asked as soon as she entered the safe house, handing Sirius the letter.

She had already asked Andy to search in her neighbourhood, in case Lyra had just wandered off somewhere. But still, something in her was telling her that it was not the case, and Lyra had indeed been taken to wherever Walburga was.

"Bloody hell, Kreacher. That goddamn Kidnapper! How dare he?" Sirius banged his clenched fists on the table. All those years ago, they were trying to force him their 'Pure blood' ideals and now they were even thinking of taking his only daughter away from him, his precious little star.

Sirius never wanted to return to that place ever again, but he had to, for the sake of his daughter. He steeled his heart and said, "There's only one way to confirm, prepare yourself, Amelia. We are going to apparate to my 'oh so old home' to meet my 'oh so sweet mother' and give her a blast of my temper, in case she has forgotten"

=======

A/N: There's gonna be a time skip here but worry not, Lyra returns to Amelia. But I am not planning on revealing what happened in the middle (for now. And it's nothing much really.) Sadly Sirius returns to Azkaban after a few days, and Lyra still grows up without seeing him...

Lyra is Susan Bones' paternal cousin. Susan is at her maternal aunts' home (i.e., at the Abbots. Hannah Abbot's mother and Susan's mother were sisters) for a few days.