Harry Potter The Final Straw

Sirius' smile was almost predatory as he spoke, "We have one based upon intent that will prevent someone from entering if they mean to harm the inhabitants, and there are also the standard Anti-Portkey and Anti-Apparition ones too. We also have made the houses Unplottable. As for the nastier protections, let's just say that anyone bearing a dark mark will have a very bad time if they manage to find this place."

Andromeda knew what he meant; they weren't called the Black Family for nothing. There were some truly horrendous defensive wards around Grimmauld Place and she correctly assumed that Sirius had added those same wards to the Grangers home too.

John was thinking about something that Remus had mentioned about Harry having some type of Monitoring Charm on him that one of his professors had removed earlier in the year. Curiously, he asked, "What about something that disables Monitoring Charms like the one that had been used on Harry?"

All five magical people looked at each other in shock. None of them had thought of that before because houses that were Unplottable would prevent someone from finding their location. The issue was negating the tracking portion of the Monitoring Charm. Having a hidden house didn't prevent them from being tracked to a location that was outside the protections.

Remus grimaced when he realized that they had overlooked something so simple that could compromise everyone's safety. Remorsefully, he said, "We hadn't thought of that. If we were Apparating directly into the confines of the protections, the Tracking Spell wouldn't report any data. However, if you traveled here any other way, it would."

"Can you set up some type of ward that can disable Monitoring and Tracking Spells upon a person's arrival?" Annabelle asked in concern.

Rubbing his chin in thought, Remus replied, "I think so, it will be difficult but it should be doable. In the interim, we are going to have to check everyone each and every time they arrive and if we have the time, before they come here."

Turning to Sirius, Remus added, "We will also have to teach Harry and Hermione how to cast detection spells."

"We better let the elves know about this too." Annabelle added.

Changing the subject, Sirius turned to Annabelle and asked, "Could you perhaps help me with a disguise this morning? I need to get to Gringotts to empty out the majority of my vault."

Annabelle had been giving the disguises some thought and she knew what she wanted to do to make him appear different. Smiling over at Sirius, she said, "I would be happy to. I'll be back in just a moment with some of the necessary things to get started."

John watched his wife leave the kitchen and he snickered at Sirius' expense, "You're in for it now. She went to get her full kit."

Sirius blanched at John's remarks. He knew that he was in for a long session but it was worth it if it allowed him freedom of movement in the Wizarding World.

Annabelle returned with her makeup kit and a couple of towels. Setting the kit on the table in front of Sirius, she wrapped one of the towels around his neck and pulled out a pair of clippers.

When Sirius saw the sheers, he began to panic. His voice cracked as he spoke hastily, "Uh, Annabelle? I don't think that I need a haircut."

John, Ted, and Remus were sitting across the table from Sirius, smirking at his discomfort, as they watched him fidget in his chair. Remus jokingly said, "Perhaps with a haircut you won't be such a shaggy dog."

The glare that Sirius sent their way sent the men into fits of laughter. Their laughter only increased when Sirius' eyes went wide when a lock of his hair fell onto his nose.

Thirty minutes later, a very different looking Sirius Black was scowling at the rest of the people seated at the table. His hair had been cut in a style that would not be out of place in a corporate boardroom. The sides were now short and they tapered up to meet the longer hair that was now swept to the side in an elegant part.

Annabelle held a mirror in front of Sirius' face for him to see the results of her work.

Sirius was shocked; he looked so different with short hair that he didn't think anyone would recognize him from his wanted posters. Slowly a smile spread across his face. He turned to Annabelle and said, "Thanks. It looks great."

Wringing her hands with a sheepish look on her face, Annabelle said, "Thank you. I think that we should dye your hair a different color and perhaps get you some colored contacts in addition to the makeup."

Sirius mulled her suggestion over for a second before he answered, "If you think it will help, let's do it."

One hour later a very different looking Sirius Black was sitting at the breakfast table in the Granger's kitchen. His hair had been dyed from a light black to a sandy shade of brown. Overall, he was completely unrecognizable from the wanted posters.

Remus was looking over at Sirius in awe. Smiling, he said, "If I hadn't seen it for my own eyes, I wouldn't know who you are. You'll be able to walk down Diagon Alley in the middle of the day and no one would recognize you. Especially if we get you some colored contacts."

Nodding in agreement, John said enthusiastically, "You look completely different, Sirius. Annabelle did a great job."

"Of course she did, look at what she had to work with!" Sirius boasted with a huge smirk on his face. Turning to face Annabelle, he said, "Thank you. You did a wonderful job."

Standing up from the table, Remus said, "Why don't we head over to Gringotts and get that out of the way?"

Andromeda and Ted stood up as well. Looking around at everyone, Andromeda said, "We should go too. I want to get this paperwork filed this morning. The quicker we take care of this, the better. We'll return this evening so we can all make sure that Harry understands and is comfortable with our guardianship of him."

Stepping over to Sirius, Andromeda's voice held a pleading note to it when she spoke, "Be careful, Sirius."

"I will." he answered her honestly.

Dora stood up from her seat as well and said, "I have to get to work too. My shift starts soon. I'll start setting up that criminal file on Tom Riddle and adding some notes to Voldemort's original one. I may have to work a bit late, but I'll come by as soon as I'm finished."

Eagerly, Annabelle said, "Why don't we head over to Trafalgar Square and the shops there so we can get a few more things for Sirius' disguise?" Receiving nods of agreement from Sirius, John, and Remus, she continued, "Great! I'll get my keys!"

Visibly cringing, John jokingly said to Sirius and Remus, "You two do realize that we just agreed to go shopping with Annabelle, right?"

Confused, Remus looked over at John and asked, "What's so bad about that, its just shopping."

Sirius nodded in agreement with Remus and said, "What he said. How bad can it be? We just need a few little things and then we are off."

Sirius and Remus started worrying when Ted and John started laughing so hard that they were too broken up to clarify why shopping with a women was never a quick ordeal.

Turning to face Sirius, Remus said, "Is there something that we are missing here?"

His statement set John and Ted laughing all over again while Dora and her mother just smirked at them.

.....

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