The next morning was probably the longest of his life. Sirius was practically vibrating in his seat, excited for their trip. Severus, meanwhile, was nursing his third cup of black coffee, trying to wake up as much as possible before they were to leave. It didn't help that the idiotic boy had woken him up at quarter to five that morning, claiming they had no time to waste and who needed sleep, really?
"I swear, child, if you do not stop hopping about and eat your breakfast, we will never leave!" Sirius immediately stopped moving, his eyes wide as he stared at Severus and then quickly picked up his fork and started shoveling food into his mouth. Screwing his face up in distaste, Severus muttered, "I hope you remember your manners during this trip. I would hate to have to punish you because you have misplaced them." He raised a pointed brow at the boy, and he had the grace to blush and slow down.
"I'm sorry, sir. I'm just really excited. And nervous, I guess." He quickly finished his food and then ran to the bathroom to wash up and grab his luggage, then romped back into the kitchen again, standing at attention before his guardian with a sweet smile on his face.
"Are we ready, then?" Sirius nodded and Severus smiled, before sinking down to his knees to look the boy in the eyes. "Now remember, Sirius. We are going to see Narcissa, but only she knows who you really are. While we're at the Manor, you will go by Cyril Prince, a cousin of mine that I am watching for the holidays. You must remember this, child. Lucius is not a good man most of the time, but I could not deny this request. Narcissa will be extremely happy to see you, and Draco will be civil. Now, let's go."
Standing, he reached down and lifted the boy to set him on his hip. "Most children do not do well going through the Floo, so I am taking precautions. Drink." A potion was shoved under his nose and Sirius grimmaced, knowing a stomach soother when he smelled it. He downed it without argument and then curled into Severus's shoulder with ease. Though Sirius was nervous about remembering who he was supposed to be, he was also excited to see his cousin again. Severus threw down his powder and they were in and out of the Floo within moments. Sirius started coughing up soot and Severus expertly cleaned them off before setting him down.
"Severus! Cyril! Welcome, you two." Sirius glanced up and saw the woman he assumed Cissy had grown into. Her hair was long, a mixture of blonde and black. The smile gracing her face was all Narcissa Black, though. Toothy and just a bit mad, but a welcoming sight all the same in its familiarity.
"Cissy!" Sirius said breathlessly, smiling wide as he stepped forward. Severus rested a hand on his shoulder and it seemed to ground him as he fumbled for words. "You're so pretty!"
Narcissa laughed lightly and kneeled down, tugging the boy into a tight hug. "Oh, I've missed you, little cousin," she whispered. She pressed a light kiss to his cheek and released him, smiling at his reddening face. "And Severus. It's been too long, really." She reached around and drew the older man into a tight hug, as well.
Narcissa reached down for Sirius's hand and then took Severus's hand for good measure, as well. She tugged them down a long hallway and into a comfortable sitting room, where the rest of the family sat waiting for their guests.
"Lucius, Draco. Our guests have arrived." Narcissa released Severus but brought Sirius before the two tall, blond men. Tucked up in Narcissa's skirts, Sirius looked them over as they turned identical polite faces toward him. They were obviously father and son, there was no mistaking the family resemblance. Draco had the Black build from his mother, though the rest of his features seemed to come from the Malfoy side of the family.
"Little Cyril, this is my husband, Lucius Malfoy. And this is our son, Draco. Draco is in his sixth year at Hogwarts, in Slytherin House." Sirius smiled at the men and risked a tiny wave in their direction, feeling extremely shy around the strangers.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Lord Malfoy, Heir Malfoy," Sirius said formally, smiling at the two men. He peeked behind Narcissa and saw Severus smile and nod in his direction, and that made him feel more confidant. The older blondes returned the greeting and then the family and guests settled in to conversation. Sirius stuck close to Severus and Cissy, though Draco was good at drawing him into talking, as well.
As the day waned on, Draco grew bored of the adults' conversations and decided to take the little Prince with him out onto the grounds. "Sir, would you mind if I took Cyril on a tour of the grounds?" he asked Severus hopefully.
Severus leveled a stern look at his godson, but finally relented. "Alright. But you must keep an eye on him, Draco. He is far too curious for his own good." Sirius pouted up at Severus, but Draco simply nodded in agreement.
"Come along, Cyril. I'll show you the peacocks and the stables. That should be interesting." Sirius visibly perked up at that promise, and with one final look to Severus, grinned wide and hopped out of the room after Draco, who had an indulgent look on his face for the little boy.
Once neither boy could be heard from their positions around the fireplace, Lucius turned a cold, calculating look towards his old friend. Severus internally bristled at that look, but knew better than to let Lucius know how he truly felt.
"So, a Prince cousin just suddenly appears out of the blue, eh? That's a bit odd, isn't it?" the blonde man practically purred, watching Severus for any hint that he had been lying about the boy's relation. Frankly, they looked nothing alike, except for the dark hair.
"Yes. They are a distant relation, but they reached out to me when my cousin's wife became ill. They asked if I might look after the boy while they had to deal with her treatments." Severus was a master at lying, and he didn't understand why Lucius always thought he could see right though any deceit sent his way.
"Hmm. What is the poor dear dying of, anyway?" Lucius grumbled, leaning back in his chair with his firewhiskey sloshing about in his glass.
Severus let out a huff, rolling his eyes. "I didn't ask. The fact that she's stuck in hospital for at least a few months was proof enough for me, to be honest. And the boy is no nusiance. He's actually quite entertaining and well behaved."
Narcissa had always been wonderful at pushing conversations where she wanted them, usually away from touchy subjects. She mentioned something about he minister, and Lucius was off, complaining and gloating about the man's incompetance. Narcissa and Severus traded looks when the other man wasn't paying attention, and Severus grinned ever so slightly at how easy Lucius was to distract.
Sirius was having the time of his life! Draco was so much fun. He had never had any cousins that were older than him by more than a year or two, but Draco was so much older than him and was still happy to play with him.
They took one step outside and saw a group of peacocks standing only feet away. Sirius reached up and grasped Draco's hand, watching the large birds warily. Draco just smiled and unsheathed his wand, pointing it lazily at the birds as they drew closer.
"They won't hurt us, right?" Sirius asked carefully.
Draco shook his head. "When I was little, they liked to chase me around and peck at me, but I have a wand now. They won't hurt us, and if they get too close I can cast a containment charm around them. You're perfectly safe."
Bolstered by that reassurance, Sirius loosened his grip on the boy's hand and took a step closer, studying the large white birds in awe. "They're really pretty," he whispered, pointing at the birds' tail feathers as they preened.
"Yeah, they're pretty, but mean, too." Draco let the boy skirt around the large birds for a few more minutes, before grabbing him and dragging him towards the stables instead.
"We have a few horses, as well. Have you ever ridden before?" the older boy asked. Sirius shook his head, trying to peek in to see the horses through the spaces in the stall walls.
"Well, how about I help you with your first ride?" Draco didn't wait for an answer, and instead reached out to open up a door that Sirius had been trying to look behind. He gently tugged a small brown mare out of the stall and started saddling her. The house elves often did all the manual labor for them when they wanted to go riding, but Draco knew how to do it himself and thought it might just be faster doing it himself.
"This here is Sally," Draco said, patting the petite horse on the head. Sirius came to stand beside Draco and eyed the horse thoughtfully. She was much shorter than the other horses he could see poking their heads out of their stalls. He came to stand in front of her and giggled as the horse leaned forward to nibble at his shirt, searching for a treat.
"Can you help me ride her?" Sirius asked cautiously. Draco nodded and lead him to one side of the horse, before effortlessly lifting him up to sit on the horse's back.
"Now stick your feet in here," Draco guided him, and then took the horse's lead and started walking about the yard. He turned back and saw the look of wonder on Sirius's face as he stared down at the horse from her perch atop her back.
"This is great, Draco!" the boy enthused. Draco smiled and led the boy around the yard for a good while longer, until his mother called them back inside for dinner. Draco put the horse back in the stable and helped Sirius wash up before heading back inside.
"Hello, dears! Did you like riding Sally, Cyril?" Narcissa asked once they were inside. Sirius latched onto her dress and babbled on to her for a few minutes about how brilliant his afternoon had been. Once he was finished, Narcissa patted his head affectionately and lead the boys toward the dining room. "That's very good, Cyril. I'm glad you had fun, but it's time for dinner now. Here, you can sit next to Severus." She led him to a seat and helped him up as Draco took his own seat.
Severus turned in his seat to take a look at the little boy, making sure he wasn't too dirty or messy. He looked fine, so Draco must have cleaned him off before bringing him in. He gave Sirius a small smile and asked about his afternoon, which he greatly regretted twenty minutes later as he was still talking about the peacocks, and had not even gotten to his horseback ride.
Sirius chattered on for the rest of dinner, but as it came to a close, his eyes began fluttering closed and his speech grew much slower. Everyone else at the table found it very adorable. As the dishes began disappearing, Severus reached down and lifted Sirius up into his own arms.
"I think it is time for bed, child. Can you say goodnight to our hosts?" Sirius opened his eyes just long enough to wave goodbye to the others in the room and mumble an unintelligible goodnight before Severus smirked and left the room. Sirius was curled around his shoulder and nearly refused to leave once Severus had found his room.
"Mmmm," the boy groaned as Severus tried to pry him off of his shoulder. "No," he whined.
Severus rolled his eyes and shook the boy awake. "It's time to get ready for bed, you silly boy. Now come on," he cajoled, setting the boy on the floor as he shifted to rifled through his trunk for pajamas. Finding a pair, he looked up to see the boy had disappeared into the bathroom. Once Sirius reappeared, Severus helped him into his nightwear and then tucked him into his bed. Severus took a seat on the edge of the bed and smoothed out the blankets idly, and Sirius looked up at him with heavy lids.
"We only have to stay tomorrow and the next day, and then we can get back home. Alright? I'm sure Draco will have even more things for you to do tomorrow. And it will be Christmas Eve, so I'm sure the elves will have cookies and candies baking all day. Now, though, it is time to sleep. I will come and get you in the morning. If you need me in the night, my room is right through that door," he said, pointing at a door left ajar on the far side of the room. "Goodnight, Sirius," he whispered, swiping some hair out of the boy's face.
"Goodnight, Severus!" Sirius responded happily, closing his eyes and snuggling down in the covers before promptly falling asleep. Severus laughed quietly to himself at the boy's antics, and slowly left the room, feeling oddly reluctant to do so.
Just two more days, he thought to himself. And then they could just go home.