A/N: I have a confession to make; this chapter is a filler chapter, but that doesn't make it any less important for the characterisation and making the story a little more full! Please enjoy and give me nice feedback afterwards; if I didn't enjoy writing this story so much, I'd be put off by how little people feedback to me.
Enjoy, have a nice day/night. Cheers!
xoxo
8. A Memory
Sirius awoke with a splitting headache. He groaned, pressing the heels of his palms into his face and moaning out loud. He couldn't open his eyes, he didn't even want to. Even behind closed lids, he could see the blinding sunlight streaming through the window as the vintage curtains of his enormous bedroom were ripped open.
'Kreacher!' Sirius barked, grabbing the closest pillow and burying his face into it, groaning in pain and anger. After the terrible dream he'd had, he was not in the mood to put up with the most annoying maid ever.
'Stop calling me that!' she snapped back. Her hair was a little bushier, and she seemed very flustered. Karen Reacher was not the sort of woman to look a mess; maybe it was the fact that she worked for the Blacks and wasn't allowed to look like a common tramp. Albeit her current status with the Blacks, at heart she was generally a neat and tidy woman. There wouldn't even be a hair on her watermelon shaped head out of place or a crease on the cotton skirt she always wore.
But right now, she looked as though someone had dragged her by her long and pink ear through a hedge.
Then Sirius remembered why she would look so flustered. Today was the day of Alphard's funeral.
He frowned, gnawing down on his lip and straightening up in his bed. Despite the ridiculous hangover, Sirius's conjured a memory of a time when his Uncle Alphard had made him feel like he belonged somewhere. When his Uncle Alphard made him feel loved.
x
'Now, now Jamie!' Alphard called from where he was sitting under the giant sunshade umbrella. He had sunglasses on, and was holding hands with his current girlfriend. Alphard was twenty six and had just come back from Spain with Amelia. He hadn't seen his two nephews in almost three months. And so he decided it was time to take them out for a nice trip to the beach.
Sirius was six and was playing in the shallow end of the water with James, creating sandcastles and sand-people. Alphard sighed. He loved his nephews.
Alphard did a lot of travelling, part of the job his father had assigned him. It meant that he rarely ever got time to spend with the ones he truly loved. It also meant that he never really had time to attach himself to people. He was twenty six and unmarried. And he was bloody gorgeous to! Walburga wasn't the only good looking one. Alphard's bright green eyes and black silky hair were just a few of the features that enticed all the women.
Maybe when Alphard settled more into his job ... Amelia wouldn't mind marrying him.
'Sirius!' called Amelia, pressing a hasty kiss to Alphard's hand and then jumping up and hurrying towards the children. She was dressed in a bikini, revealing most of her pert arse to Alphard. He licked his lips and laughed. She swung her hips seductively, turning around and sending a wink to him.
Then she crouched down and held out her hands to pick up Sirius, who shook his head and pointed at the water. She whispered something to him and he grinned, laughing a young and sweet laugh. James stayed where he was sitting, revelling in the fact that they had the whole beach to themselves. It was an extension of one of Alphard's homes. And though he only owned a small portion of the beach, it seemed to them like the whole world and more.
Amelia's sweaty body glistened in the heat, and she tossed her dark hair behind her, turning to face Alphard with glowing dark golden skin. She was so tanned and Alphard had to admit, it turned him on a little. Sirius was playing with her breasts, laughing with her and poking each of them. Then he stuffed his hand down her bikini and Amelia squealed with joy.
'—gonna be a little player, aren't you?' she joked.
'Maybe,' Sirius mumbled, shaking his damp hair and flecking Amelia with droplets of water. She brushed his hair back with her other hand, and then sat down in the white pull out chair underneath the large sunshade.
Sirius looked up to see James talking to himself, playing a game. He didn't know whether to laugh or to feel a bit bad for leaving his friend all alone. When he turned, he saw Alphard smiling at him and looking down. 'How's my favourite little man?'
'I'm not little!' Sirius shrieked. 'I'm big an' brave!'
Alphard held his arms open, beckoning Sirius closer. The small boy took refuge inside the warm alcove of his uncle's arms. He looked up and grinned when Alphard dropped a kiss to his nose. 'Love you Alf,' he murmured, yawning a little and then patting his flat stomach. His little swimming trunks were bright blue, a shade that brought out the hints of sapphire in his eyes.
'I love you too, little man.' Alphard whispered, kissing Sirius's hair and then making a show of gagging. 'Your hair tastes like salt.'
Sirius grinned. 'I went into the water!' he cried, giggling when his uncle started tickling him.
'Didn't you do a modelling shoot on the beach the other day?' Alphard asked curiously. He personally didn't like the fact that Sirius had to do modelling at such a tender age, but the boy seemed to enjoy all the attention he received from "fans", family friends and his mother. If there was one thing Walburga complimented her son for, it was his modelling.
'Yes!' Sirius screeched. 'Mummy gave me big kiss when I was done.' He told his uncle. 'It was for per-foom. I think Hogo Boss—'
Alphard chuckled. 'You mean Hugo Boss, Sirius. Well, isn't that exciting? Why don't you tell us about it?' He said, winking at Amelia, who already had a cigarette in her hand and a lighter in the other. She lit the cigarette.
Sirius explained rather enthusiastically what he had done, about a boy who looked like him but was older, and then a man around Alphard's age who was pretending to be him. The older man grew very confused during his nephew's explanations, and simply laughed with his girlfriend, shaking his head and nodding along whenever Sirius paused. He took a few drags of the fag despite himself, having promised a few months ago to quit. In the end he threw caution to the wind and ended up smoking three cigarettes.
'Alf,' Sirius murmured, kissing the top of his uncle's chin and frowning. 'Why is you nice, but mum and dad aren't?' he asked.
Alphard froze, fag between his lips and smoke stirring deep inside him. He ignored the non-standard English his nephew spoke in, knowing that Sirius would soon grow out of it, and instead tried hard to think of how best to answer his nephew's question. Amelia was listening intently, playing with the small boy's feet and marvelling at how a small boy, not yet developed fully, could have such pretty little toes. He really was a model through and through.
'Hmm?' Sirius asked, looking up and pressing one of his hands to Alphard's bare muscular chest, directly where his heart was.
Alphard ducked his head, nuzzling the damp boy's neck and sighing. He thought of how best to respond without confusing or upsetting his favourite nephew, his only nephew really. 'It's ... it's because I'm the fun relative, Sirius. You know how every family has a boring relative, a moody one and a fun one. But because your mummy and daddy are parents, they're going to have to be strict and boring.'
The small handsome boy frowned. 'When I'm a daddy, I'm not going to be boring or stict—'
'Strict,' Alphard corrected, wrapping his muscular bare arms around his nephew tightly. He kissed the top of Sirius's head. 'I think you'll be a great daddy.' He said warmly.
Alphard's eyes fluttered closed, letting his nephew continue talking. With Amelia's hand in one of his own, and a boy he loved more than any other seated in his lap, Alphard was content, more than content; he could die right now and wouldn't mind a bit. The air was enticingly warm and the smell of salty air filled his nostrils. The sun was due to set soon; giving the skies a warm ember colour.
'Alf,' Sirius said, turning to face his uncle and smiling softly after a long pause, filled only with the noise of the waves crashing and James's laughter. 'I wish you was my daddy.'
The older man didn't know what to say. So instead, he satisfied himself with answering; 'It's "I wish you were", Sirius.'
o
Sirius was past the point of being annoyed when people dressed him. If there was one thing he was finding hard to adjust to in Azkaban, it was the fact that there weren't clothes waiting on a dresser for him, ironed washed and fragranced. He let Karen Reacher dress him, straightening his suit, spraying him with Gucci perfume and combing his hair back to reveal his alluring jaw.
His skin was unnaturally pale, almost snow-white. His lips stood out, scarlet like blood almost. And his eyes, watery and bruised from the fight he'd had with his father, spoke of the pain he was feeling. Sirius's face was powdered with foundation and concealer; he almost laughed. His mother shouldn't have let his father beat the fuck out of him if she was just going to cover his injuries with makeup.
He looked in the mirror, wincing when his tongue ran over his semi-healed lip. He sighed again. Guess that's hard to cover up, he thought bitterly. His eyes weren't as dark and bruised, but instead just a little more narrowed.
'Don't worry, you still look bloody gorgeous,' a voice said from Sirius's bedroom doorway. He smiled to himself, slapping Kreacher's hands off of him and nodding for her to leave. She gritted her teeth but left anyway, carrying Sirius's bloodied clothing with her; the clothes he had worn when his father decided to try and murder him. Stupid arsehole.
He slowly turned to appraise his friend, and watched when James winced a little. His friend was dressed in a crisp navy suit, hair barely managing to pass as "neat" and contacts instead of his usual glasses. James looked very handsome. He also looked very sad.
Rushing over and embracing his brother, Sirius, despite himself, started to cry. He never cried. But then again, he'd never lost someone so dear to him. His body trembled and his makeup smudged a little, but he didn't care. Alphard was gone. And he loved Alphard so much.
Who did he have now? Who could he turn to when his parents were too rough? When his father hit him too hard and his mother punished him too badly? Sirius was sure there was no one else like Alphard out there, and in the Black family, people like Alphard were a rare and precious thing. Like an eclipse. Something to be treasured.
Sirius wished he treasured Alphard more.
'H-h-he's g-gone,' he whispered into James's suit, 'I don't w-want h-him to b-be g-gone.'
'I know mate,' James replied, smoothing his friend's hair, 'I know.'
'What're we g-going to d-do?' he asked, moving away to look James in the eye. They stared at each other. 'We're ... we're going to break out, right? I don't want to go back there.'
'Of course. We can't stay there for nine months Sirius. It's only been two weeks and I already feel mad. We'll get out, I promise. I'm not letting them lock you up like this, you can't cope.'
'When we break out ... we're killing my father. We're taking millions of pounds and we're running away. Wherever you wanna go, Jamie.'
'I've always liked the thought of New Zealand.'
Sirius sniffed and smiled for a short moment, 'New Zealand it is then.'
'I promise, Sirius. At first, when we said it as a joke, I never really meant it. But being out here ... seeing how they're all getting on with their lives, missing Uncle Al's death ... I can't Pads, I just can't.'
'But how? James, Azkaban's only been around for two decades. It's new, it's strong and it's not going to be easy to escape from. There are cameras and sensors and guards everywhere Jamie! We're ... we're hoping and wishing but we're not thinking—'
'That's cheap, coming from Mr Impulsive Bastard. Look, we don't have to ... we don't have to do anything you don't want to do Sirius, but I can't let you rot away down there. You'll go mad, a lot quicker than I will. You can't deal with this stuff, you know you can't. I'm just trying to protect my best mate.'
Sirius turned to look in the mirror, checking the makeup and whether it had smudged. 'My father doesn't deserve this you know. Getting all my injuries covered up. He deserves to see it. To see what he did to me. And everyone else deserves to see what he's done. How much of a monster he is.'
James tossed him something and he caught it, reading the label: Face wipes.
'Ta,' he said over his shoulder, pulling out a few wipes and setting to work. He shouldn't be ashamed of his injuries, if anything, he should be proud of them. He wiped his face till not a trace of makeup was left.
'That should teach the bastard.' James said coolly, eyes hardening when he assessed the full extent of Sirius's injuries. He shook his head, frowning at his friend. 'One day he won't stop. You need to be careful Sirius. This isn't whacking you with a cane anymore. He could have really hurt you.'
'You think I'm joking? If I get the chance, I'll fucking kill 'em!'
There was a gentle knocking on the door, cutting Sirius off. He turned to see who it was and smiled when he saw his little brother, dressed in a suit almost identical to his own, with hair just like his. The smaller boy winced when he saw his elder brother's face.
Sirius crouched down so he was level with Regulus. He pressed his lips to his brother's tiny nose. 'How do I look?'
'Like a panda.'
He grinned at the young boy. 'Pandas are kind of cute.' He leaned into the caress offered to him and watched as Regulus bit his lip, frowning deeply. His tiny little fingers skimmed over Sirius's black eyes and split lip and swollen nose.
'Don't worry,' Regulus said. 'Don't worry.'
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