Chapter 4

Sirius Black was on his knees in front of Charlie, tears silently leaking out of his eyes for the first time over something lost more than a decade ago.

"And before I knew it, I was in Azkaban."

"Did you love him?" Hastily, Charlie muttered his apologies, unsure as to where his outburst came from. He guided Sirius to his bed and sat down next to him.

"It doesn't matter now."

"Wait," Charlie said, realising something, "You're not crying about James and Lily, are you? You crying about Peter... you're crying over someone who betrayed you... and killed your friends?"

"So stupid, so fucking stupid..."

The words started spilling out of Charlie's mouth at his discovery. "You trusted him didn't you? You let him hang around with you, get to know you, and you told him fairy stories-"

"Please stop." Sirius choked out, face buried in his hands.

"And Harry, James' own son, was proven innocent before you," Charlie said. "You've had to suffer twelve years in Azkaban for nothing, and Harry got away with it. You're the innocent one, not him!"

"That's enough!" Sirius yelled. "What makes you think I'm not capable of murder?" Charlie hesitated, but remained silent.

Sirius was outraged. "Remus- I haven't even told him about that night! You come in here with your bloody drink and take advantage!" Sirius was breathing heavily, tear tracks having wound themselves down his concave cheeks. How unfair, he thought, here I am crying over one betrayal when another one appears right in front of me.

"Betrayal after betrayal," spat Sirius, turning his back on the Weasley boy who was lying frozen on his bed. He had just placed his hand on the doorknob when he heard him say something.

"I just wanted to get to know you better," Charlie whispered.

"Why? See something you like?" mocked Sirius, gesturing at himself with a hand that was far from smooth. He knew none of his former handsomeness could be seen; his grey eyes were dull, his poor face lined and hard, and he was scrawny compared to his glory days, where he was toned and groomed to perfection. Sirius knew Charlie was taking all this in, and seeing a man who was little more than a ghost.

"Yes," said Charlie quietly. The sincerity in his voice caused all of Sirius' anger to dissipate within a moment. "And I can show you something, it might not make up for it but..."

Charlie lifted up his shirt and reached below it to undo his belt buckle. He shucked his jeans and Sirius' mouth went dry, but he couldn't avert his eyes. Charlie pushed up the right side of his boxers, revealing the strong muscles of his upper thigh. He stood in front of Sirius and gestured for him to look. There were two dragons, curled around each other on the inside of his thigh.

"It's for my uncles," Charlie whispered. "They were-"

"Fabian and Gideon. I remember them, don't you worry." Sirius was captivated by the couple, one hiding from his gaze and the other using its body to protect it. "They're beautiful," murmured Sirius, laying a hand on Charlie's leg. The shiver he caused went unnoticed.

"They're a bit shy, no one except me has seen them," Charlie said softly.

This caught Sirius' attention. He drew his eyes away from the dragon tattoo and tilted his head in confusion at Charlie. "But surely you can't hide them when you're with someone..."

"I haven't, not since I got it. I was seventeen."

Sirius' eyes widened. "How old are you now?"

"I'm 23, which is the same age as you when you think about it, your Azkaban years shouldn't count. So, no one but me has seen these two in six years, and no one has been with me in six years." Charlie held Sirius' gaze for a significant time, and then added "But you've seen them."

"Yes," Sirius said, realising suddenly that his hand was still on Charlie's thigh. "So no one but you has seen them..." Sirius trailed off, in what he hoped was a suggestive way. "I suppose that means you did them yourself," he finished pathetically.

Charlie sighed quietly in disappointment. "I did."

"I haven't done this in a long time." Sirius said eventually, meeting Charlie's eyes, pleading with him to take control.

Charlie leaned in to kiss Sirius. Sirius remembered the feel of warm lips against his own. He remembered the unique feel of a young man as he feel Charlie's muscles ripple under his hand as Charlie moved closer.

He realised the difference between kisses he had known previously and Charlie's kiss when it became more insistent. Sirius pulled away.

"What's wrong?" Charlie asked, concerned and slightly breathless.

Sirius ignored him, and leaned in again determinedly. The kiss started out the same as the one preceding it, but then lips parted and tongues touched and neither of them knew which one had started it, but they both took pleasure from this change. Charlie pulled away from Sirius after a few minutes, allowing the both of them a few private moments of getting their breathing back to normal.

"Not bad," Charlie commented.

Sirius grey eyes lit up and he laughed. "You just wait until I show you what else I can do."

Sirius had Charlie's head in his lap and was stroking his red hair on Sirius' bed. He decided even though they had shared only a few more kisses since the first night, he would vaguely miss the dragon handler when Dumbledore confirmed the situation in Romania had cleared up and he could go home.

They had been talking about the children going back to Hogwarts that morning, and Sirius' unwise choice to see off Harry. Sirius had appreciated Charlie's personality that meant he didn't scream at Sirius for his lack of judgement like his mother, but teased Sirius gently about the pigeon feathers that were in his mouth when he transformed back to human, and only mentioned the dangers Sirius could have faced as a means to let him know he was cared about. They had then settled into a companionable silence.

"Sirius?"

"Hmm?"

"Would you go out with me?"

Sirius chuckled and smoothed down Charlie's hair. Charlie was affronted and sat up, batting Sirius' hands away. "I was serious Sirius!"

This only made Sirius' laughs grow, and he said, "Because of a couple of kisses? I've done more with people whose names I never knew."

"Just because you were a slut back when," Charlie said, with a hint of bitterness, "It doesn't mean you can't be in a relationship with someone who wants you now."

Sirius began to realise Charlie wasn't lying about his intentions, and he struggled to think of a reason to explain that he was too old, damaged, wretched for a relationship. "I can't leave Harry."

"Harry's not a child, Sirius. He can look after himself." Charlie glared at Sirius.

Both men winced as they heard a commotion from downstairs, along with shouts of "Mudbloods! Blood-traitors! Muggle-lovers!"

"I'm guessing it's Dumbledore," said Sirius brightly. "I'm the only other Muggle-lover here, your lot are all blood-traitors."

Charlie had an idea and suddenly slid off the bed. "I'll be back- I just want to ask Dumbledore something!"

Many thanks to SpiritedDreaming for beta-ing this. Please be awesome and leave some feedback :)