Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or anything what you can recognize from the books. I do however own the plot of this story but I don't have profits because of it unless you count improving my English as a profit.
I'm truly sorry for taking so long but I found myself on crossroads with this story and for a long time I couldn't decide which way I should take. Thankfully Moromu and omega13a were kind to point me the way and I hope that next chapter won't take three or so months to update (hopefully a fortnight or a month at worse). Now that I tried your patience don't let me hold you from reading next chapter of A Year to Remember (I think I will slightly alter the title of the story to something shorter like A Year to Remember - Philosopher's Stone). Oh, and I made some minnor changes to structure of the point views because disability to put MSWord lines finally finished me off when I was working on other stories so now you know whose point of view you are reading. Regards, Sniffy.
So read, enjoy and review (because I love to read your criticism and as long as you are logged in or I have your email I'm answering to your questions).
Chapter ten: Let the Dead Bury the Dead.
S. S.
There was nothing they could have done away from hospital. Andromeda used few spells but nothing was working.
'She cannot die. Not yet,' was the only thought which was beating in his brain.
It was enough. He slipped his left arm under her knees and his right around her shoulders. He hoisted himself into standing position and Disapparated.
He Apparated to reception area.
"I need help!" he bellowed. "Cardiac arrest of unknown origin!"
Someone had rushed to his side and pried her from his arms. He watched as several healers carried her away on a stretcher. Suddenly he was pushed aside by another stretcher and the healers surrounding it. He spared only a single glance at it but he recognised the patient, he was bound to recognise the man working with his brother for last nine years: Black.
Words swam around him. He recognised the words like 'cardiac arrest', 'severe allergy', 'Veritsaserum'.
Someone gripped his shoulder and whispered, "We can save her!"
"How?" he whispered brokenly. "It's unknown origin," he whimpered as he looked at Mr Black.
"Veritaserum," Mr Black grinned. "She has very high tolerance to it but Sirius doesn't. The bond is still fresh and condition of one of them affects the other. If we save Sirius we will be able to save her too."
Mr Black dragged him to the emergency rooms, transparent unlike the other rooms in St Mungo's. From their place they were able to see both Mirzam and Black and the healers who were bending over them.
"She cannot die," he heard small whisper by his side. "She just can't."
"She is strong," he whispered and he pulled Harry into his arms.
Suddenly the commotion around Black had stepped away and Black's breathing became a regular rise and fall of the man's chest and as if they were linked in the same moment when Black came back into the world of the living Mirzam started breathing on her own.
"It was the bond," Mr Black said just as two healers stepped out from two emergency rooms.
"Bond?" two healers whispered.
"Bond," Mr Black nodded. "His allergy to Veritaserum caused the cardiac arrest and because their bond is still fresh, when he his heart crashed so did hers."
"But I doubt that they are related," said one of the healers.
"I believe that you need to write admission papers," said Mr Black simply. "For Sirius Orion Black. Born 23rd November 1959. As for the girl: her name is Mirzam Mira Black. Born 13th February 1960. Married couple. Fuck this up and you will regret that you were born."
Mirzam's healer seemed to be first to recover, "Any family which should be informed?"
"Is here," Mr Black said firmly. "Write Arcturus Sirius Black as medical proxy for both of them."
"Any children and temporary guardians for them if their parents don't recover?" the healer continued.
"Only one: Harry James Potter-Black. Born 31st July 1980. His temporary guardian is Severus Snape seeing that he is the head of the house at Hogwarts where the boy goes," Mr Black answered swiftly. "Now I believe that both of them should be transported to private ward seeing that they aren't in any immediate danger."
Severus watched the healers as they transported both Mirzam and Black into a private ward. Harry went with Mr Black but when Severus was about to follow them he felt a heavy hand on his left shoulder.
"We need to talk, Severus," Dumbledore whispered. "Urgently."
He let Dumbledore drag him away from St Mungo's into a Muggle coffee shop across the street even if every fibre of his being wanted nothing more than to be at his sister's side.
A big cup of black coffee had landed in front of him at the table and it was then he dared to look at his mentor.
"I'm deeply disappointed in you, Severus," Dumbledore said tiredly. "You should have told me what you were planning."
"Risking exposure?" Severus snorted. "You wouldn't listen to our reasons. For a reason I cannot fathom you sent Harry to Lily's sister and made him endure ten fucking years of abuse and neglect. When I heard Minerva or even Hagrid say how 'nice' Tuney and her oaf of a husband were acting I wrote it off … But I couldn't write off the obvious signs once I saw them with my own eyes, Albus," Severus added sourly. "Shut up and let me talk. You knew that from the moment Reg revealed who was the Potters' Secret Keeper that it would come to that. But I know you, you would allow Black to have the boy for no longer than six weeks during the summer and first thing you would do after the school year would end would be sending the boy to the Dursleys."
"Severus…" Dumbledore started.
"Don't. Lie. To. Me!" Severus sneered. "It was your plan all along. Give the boy a lesson that his shame and pain will be rewarded with happiness. He is eleven! He was abused and neglected! He needs a stable family with people who will put his happiness, well-being and safety first. I hate Black, I have enough reasons to hate him but I also know that Black would step in front of a Killing Curse to protect Harry and for the record so would Mirzam. That was enough of a reason to transfer Lily's protection to Mirzam. On blood level she is Harry's mother, the blood which used to belonged to Lily, still fresh, with Lily's sacrifice still strong right now is running in her veins. When you were in the Ministry, an adoption rite was performed. You cannot undo it, Albus … not without killing all three of them. And if you do…" Severus hung his voice and glared at Dumbledore. "I promised that I will give you anything to protect Lily and her family and I repeated that promise to Harry after she died."
"Severus …" Dumbledore tried to interrupt him again.
"My promise no longer stands," Severus growled. "The conditions had changed. I will do everything to protect Harry but I won't do anything which would mean that I would have to forfeit lives of the boy and my sister!"
Dumbledore only smiled, it wasn't a smile which signalised coming migraines for Severus. It was genuinely happy smile.
"I'm happy that you had found more reasons to live than repaying the sins of your youth, my boy," Dumbledore said calmly. "Your latest actions proved beyond the words that you can love more than one person. Take my advice and let them love you back."
Severus chucked his still full cup at Dumbledore's head and stormed out from the coffee shop.
He went to the private ward which Mr Black ordered for Mirzam and Black. They occupied one room, their beds were only two feet apart. Harry was curled by the footboard of Mirzam's bed and his eyes were travelling from Mirzam to Black and back again. Their breathing was regular but they were still unconscious.
"Healing coma," sighed Mr Black. "For safety measures. They were given the potion which will fix any brain damage the attacks had caused them. Not the best company for the rest of the day. They should wake up when the all damage is fixed. I have been told that considering the circumstances it will happen tomorrow."
"Tell your other grandson that he was left in charge of Slytherin House and make sure that the rest of the kids are safely returned to Hogwarts…" Severus whispered automatically.
"He would want to visit Sirius, Severus," Mr Black whispered. "He is his brother."
"I know that he is his brother, old man," Severus snorted. "But your grandson had lived with this knowledge his entire life. I've know that I have a sister for a little more than a week. As far as fucked up family life goes I win. He can come during the night, it won't kill him."
Something had happened even if it was supposed to happen, he realised. The Secret, of course. Mirzam was the Secret Keeper but in case a Secret Keeper dies then all the people who knew the secrete would become Secret Keepers. So Mirzam had died, not really but she her brain was dead long enough for the charm to be broken.
"Would you like to stay, Harry?" Mr Black asked calmly, as if he didn't hear what Severus said, even if Severus knew that the man heard it very well.
"If it won't be a problem I would like to stay," Harry whispered.
So they were sitting, Harry on Mirzam's bed and Severus on Black's bed even if his eyes hardly left Mirzam's still form. Andromeda came and went few times, Nymphadora appeared too. Both were telling him something but he didn't hear what they were saying.
Behind the big window between the two beds day had changed into twilight, which became night. Harry curled in the foot of Mirzam's bed around her feet, with his small right hand gently touching Mirzam's left hand. The boy was snoring softly and Severus felt sleepiness overwhelming him when he received a swift kick to his right buttock.
He glared at Black for no real reason, probably the move was caused by a twitch of a muscle but he was surprised to find a pair of grey eyes staring at him.
"You are alive I see," Black whispered in very raspy voice. "I thought that you were petrified; blank stare and no reaction to my calls."
"Black," Severus muttered.
"Snape," Black coughed. "Would it kill you to tell me what happened? I have quite a big hole in my memory starting from the moment I collapsed in the courtroom until about five minutes ago."
S. B.
Weird things were always happening to him ever since he was a little boy. The weirder and more fucked up they were, the more probable it was that they will happen to him. Same applied to people he liked and cared for.
He always liked his uncles, Alphard and Marius, who were despised by the family. First was a rebel of his own kind, suddenly at the age of thirty five he dropped his well paid Ministry position and spent the rest of his short life as an author of Muggle fairytales. The other was a squib, which alone made him the family scapegoat but, despite his condition, he became a very successful lawyer known in both the wizarding and Muggle worlds.
Then there was the granddaughter of the most repulsive pair of Muggles he happened to meet, Mirzam Verascez. She was nothing like him but kept away from his cousins, who for the most of the year were at Hogwarts and with little Regulus who really wasn't the best companion for playing with, he grew attached to her because Mirzam was the only magical kid in the neighbourhood and he did his best to hide his friendship with the Muggle-born from his family. But one day she was gone and only a thought that maybe one day he would meet her again at Hogwarts had kept him from wallowing in depression.
Then was that THING. An event he wanted to forget but he couldn't and he knew that it had changed him more than friendship with Mirzam did. When he boarded Hogwarts Express he was already changed boy.
He wasn't surprised when he landed himself in Gryffindor. It was nice and James was there and James was nice boy. It wasn't until he heard the hat saying 'Ravenclaw' when he realised that Mirzam, his sweet, little Mirzam whom he loved with all his heart was sorted into a different house and that he had to chose between James and her.
But in the end it wasn't that bad. Mirzam was still his friend and James became his best friend but he still yearned sharing secrets with Mirzam but it wasn't something which he could do any more. His friends secrets were their secrets and he knew that he couldn't share them with the others.
Friendship with Mirzam was a rocky road too. There were times when they were giving the other silent treatment, there were times where Lily's fierceness paled in comparison to Mirzam's, and Lily was a scary woman, pretty, but for years he couldn't get why in Merlin's name James fell for her.
It wasn't until he almost lost her that he realised how much Mirzam meant to him. No woman could hold a candle to the beauty of her smile or the warmth in her eyes. It took him years to win her troubled heart and when he thought that he caught the world in his embrace then everything was snatched away from him.
Her grave was empty as was the hole which her death left in his heart. Nothing could fill the void inside it. The place where she had her home and from where she vanished. He couldn't bear it. He was mad with grief but he spent the most painful Christmas in his life at his friends' place with the fakest smile he ever pulled plastered on his face. He didn't wanted them to know his pain.
When Harry was born, he felt envy and regret consuming him but it took Harry's one smile to win his bruised heart. Since then Harry was his top priority, his everything. He still cared for his friends and was freaked out by the thought that something may happen to them but if Harry was snatched away from him … that was the thought which he couldn't stand. Harry was his baby, his lost son whom he didn't had a chance to bring up and he poured the love which he had for his unborn son into Harry.
He was so devoted to Harry that James laughed for him that if there was a competition for the best godfather in the world he would be the winner of said competition. He didn't mind it, not even a single bit.
Then the world has swept from under his feet again when Peter betrayed them and sold Lily and James to Voldemort. It was then when he had done something he couldn't believe for a long time that he done: he let Harry go with Hagrid.
He chased after Peter and that landed him where he was, in Azkaban. Fucking Azkaban, he hated going there as an Auror and being a prisoner absolutely sucked. The pair of Dementors at the door of his cell were mood killers, that was their nature, he knew it but it wasn't helping him.
He would lost his mind if it wasn't for the last ray of hope, the thought of his innocence. Peter HAD to make a mistake one day and that day he would be a free man again and he would see his little Harry.
Years had passed and he only knew that he was there for a long, long time. Occasionally he got a newspaper during the visits of the Minister of Magic, it happened once a year but it was still something.
For an instance he knew that the year was 1991 and the lack of sun coming through the bars indicated that the autumn already started. It was freezing cold and he felt another lingering cold coming.
But weird things were happening to him even in Azkaban. For an instance a week ago he felt something materialising on his left ring finger and he spent hours gapping at the Black family wedding ring.
So he was married, he felt something akin to pity for the woman who became his wife. She was probably spineless pure-blood girl whose family sold to his family, disgracing her name by gaining the Black family money.
But that event left him angry too. Mirzam was the one whom he wanted to marry and he swore to himself after she died that there won't be another Mrs Black, at least not for him. His silent wish was crushed by his family, not that they knew it or cared about what he felt.
Finally he chose to not care about his wife and settled his thoughts on Harry. Harry was supposed to be eleven, therefore going to Hogwarts and since the freezing cold indicated autumn and the coming winter he knew that Harry was already at Hogwarts.
He wondered where Harry was sorted. Was he in Gryffindor like his parents and him? Or was he a studious Ravenclaw, like Mirzam? He spared a single thought to Harry landing in Hufflepuff but it was a ridiculous thought. He didn't think about Harry landing in Slytherin, it just wouldn't happen.
He wished that the prisoners were able to send letters because he wanted to send one to Harry. But it was a fool's wish and even if he had the right to send letters his letter wouldn't reach Harry. The world would take care of that.
"Sirius Orion Black?" asked a deep voice from the doorway.
He looked in that direction and saw a tall, bald black Auror with a single gold hooped earning. His face was strangely familiar and Sirius could bet his dinner that he knew the man at some point of time.
"Shack?" he risked an answer.
"Lately known as King," the Auror nodded. "Shack suited when I was still a junior, Black Menace," he chuckled.
"So what brought you here of all places?" Sirius chuckled, it was good to see a familiar face.
"You are supposed to testify as a witness on a trial. I'm taking you out," Shacklebolt answered. "You could use a shower. You stink like a dungbomb but for your case it would be better if you remained this way for a while longer..."
"Azkaban could use a little improvement," Sirius snorted and pointed at the bucket in the corner, his personal toilet. "Mirzam always groaned that in Muggle prisons prisoners at least have a proper toilet and a sink."
"She would do wonders if she had gone into politics," Kingsley nodded. "Do you miss her?"
"Everyday," Sirius whispered. "You know that idiotic theories, that in the world there is one person who completes you, your other half?" he sighed. "She was mine and now I'm here, married to a woman I don't even know and she …"
"You are married?" Kingsley asked surprised.
"Surprised me as hell, you know," Sirius snorted. "About a week ago I'm chewing that dreadful Saturday snack of what I think was vegetables and suddenly I feel the ring materialising on my ring finger. What is worse, is that it is the Black family wedding ring which means that they were in on it," he said and he raised his left hand.
"I will look into that," Kingsley said pensively. "Do you remember the procedure?"
"By heart," Sirius nodded as he slowly stood up and put his hands in front of him so Kingsley could shackle him.
"Off you go," Kingsley nodded as Sirius approached him.
"What?" Sirius asked in surprise. "No hands behind your back?"
"Don't complain," Kingsley snorted.
"I'm just curious. I remember the procedure," Sirius shrugged as they started walking side by side up the corridor.
"If you remember the procedure then tell me what shackles in front mean?" Kingsley asked..
Synapses in his brain connected and he almost forgot to breath. The procedure said that a prisoner was supposed to be transported shackled with his hands behind his back in normal cases, however if the prisoner wasn't coming back to Azkaban …
"Kingsley," Sirius whispered. "Was he found? Pettigrew? Was he found?"
Kingsley nodded and said, "Last night. I questioned him myself. He was mauled by the Wizengamont this morning too. You are a witness for court. They need only your testimony to put him in Azkaban, for the record only. You are walking from there as a free man."
Breath caught in his throat.
"Though very interesting people had pushed for your trial," Kingsley nodded. "Lucius Malfoy himself insisted that your testimony should be important to the case. He also insisted that you have the best healers in St Mungo's watching over you during the quarantine. Seems to me that someone had scared him shitless on your behalf."
"Narcissa got an epiphany," Sirius snickered.
"I rather doubt so," Kingsley shook his head. "Your grandfather was testifying at the trial too. Pulled out a lot of dirty laundry concerning Pettigrew. He used Mirzam's card but he played it well. That's why you are only testifying, you were cleared from all charges, only by Pettigrew's testimony. In absentia, but you will be able to charge the Ministry for the wrongful imprisonment on later date."
"Good to know," Sirius sighed.
"Up," Kingsley motioned at the corridor.
"I remember the way upstairs," Sirius sighed. "I walked there enough times to know that there is a hole in the stairs, fourth step up the stairs, on our level unless someone finally broke a leg on it and it wasn't a prisoner."
"Funny you said that," Kingsley snickered. "This summer where there was the control in Azkaban, one of Fudge's minions, that Umbridge woman, fell down these stairs, flat on her face. That was the sight worth seeing. The worst part was that we were supposed to keep a straight face. Boy it was hard as hell."
"What's funny about a woman falling down the stairs?" Sirius snorted.
"If she looks like Umbridge …" Kingsley snickered. "She looks like a toad, dresses in pink and the whole office hates her with a passion of a woman scorned. She persuaded Fudge to drop the draw of Aurors next year and cut the money for Auror Office but DRCMC got a rise. She has a lot of avid fans if you know what I mean."
"What about Crouch? Still Head of DMLE?" Sirius asked.
"Amelia Bones is," Kingsley answered. "Crouch resigned after his son was sentenced for life in Azkaban for attacking the Longbottoms, along with several other Death Eaters."
"I caught the glimpse of the kid once," Sirius nodded.
"His wife had died shortly after and the kid hardly lasted a year. It destroyed Crouch as the man. He was pushed aside and made head of DIMC after two years," Kingsley explained.
"My father is rolling in his grave, he never liked Crouch and now … his beloved department in Crouch's hands," Sirius muttered.
"That's a huge blow to him, Crouch I mean. Everybody who worked in DIMC by your father's time until now keeps telling behind his back that he isn't Orion Black and never will be," Kingsley snorted.
"Was he at Pettigrew's hearing?" Sirius asked curiously.
"He was," Kingsley nodded. "But you won't see him. During the break he went out and got a heart attack outside the courtroom."
"Serves him right," Sirius muttered.
"You were never that cruel," Kingsley pointed out.
"Hello!? That man sent me to Azkaban for ten years without a proper trial," Sirius growled. "I will sooner befriend Severus Snape than say something nice about Crouch. Speaking about the greasy git, I had my suspicions…"
"Death Eater," Kingsley nodded. "Dumbledore claimed him as his spy and keeps him by his side. Made Head of Slytherin House and worked the title of the most talented Potion Master in United Kingdom, probably even all of Europe, seven years straight. Didn't changed a single bit since he was a student himself, except getting taller. I pity the Slytherins, especially the first years. You know how small they are and if I was one and had Snape hovering over me I would never make past the OWLs level in Potions. Not to mention other students. Though I would give him one, if someone gets an Outstanding on NEWTs from Potions they can as well sit through Potion Mastery exam, that's another reason why the number of Aurors decreased after the war. Not many people get Outstanding on their Potion OWLs and Snape doesn't accepts anyone who didn't get the O into his advanced classes. Scrimegour keeps muttering that he should get laid because we don't need Potion Masters but people who can tell the difference between a potion and a poison," he snorted.
"You sound like you saw him recently," Sirius snorted.
"My niece is in Slytherin, fourth year and she is very clumsy. During the summer I was out with my sister when she spotted him and decided to tell him what she thinks about his teaching methods. To make a long story short, the whole family was insulted backwards to the seventh generation then he swept away like a great bat, and he looks like one, and that's the last I saw of him," Kingsley chuckled. "He really needs to get laid."
"If he still looks like he looked back when we were at school he is still a virgin, even prostitutes would run away from him," Sirius snickered.
"You should hear tipsy Trelawney. Every now and then she appears in Hog's Head and sometimes when my work takes me there I have a chance to talk with her. In her stories Hogwarts looks like a big brothel. Snape is having an affair with Sinistra, you remember her, Slytherin, same year, hexed James pink in your sixth year. She teaches Astronomy. McGonagall has an affair with Kettleburn. Pince, you remember that hag, she has an affair with Filch, they are very in SM. Flitwick is a secret cross-dresser and Dumbledore is gay. Ancient Runes teacher is an Inferius and Muggle Studies Professor is a lesbian. Vector …"
"Arithmancy," Sirius nodded.
"She joins Snape and Sinistra in a threesome once in a while and Hagrid is supposed to have a dirty affair with Sprout, you remember her too, aren't you?" Kingsley chuckled.
"If you put things these way I have half a mind to pull Harry out from Hogwarts as soon as they let me out and keep him home schooled," Sirius snickered. "Have you seen him?"
"No, but I saw that Ancient Runes teacher. Decent chap, looks nothing like an Inferius therefore I'm not buying Trelawney's crap, I never did anyway. You know that you can learn a lot from a drunk person but when said person teaches Divination you shouldn't be buying anything from them," Kingsley chuckled.
"How long I'm supposed to be at St Mungo's?" Sirius asked curiously.
"From two weeks to six, at the most of course. You were there for ten years, Sirius, and it was a top security cell. Malfoy ensured that Harry can visit you as soon as the healers deem you stable enough to leave the kid in the same room with you. Dumbledore isn't eager for the kid to leave his relatives. Cassiopeia Black was appointed to check the environment in which the kid lives, Lucius Malfoy doing from what I'm told. On the other hand she has a clean record and that's what counts before your relation to her."
They talked as they made their way upstairs and then into the boat. It was nice to talk with someone after ten years. Plus he learned some things. Kingsley was a good chap and had the heart in the right place.
When they reached the shore Kingsley side-along Apparated him to the Ministry and let him to the courtroom. In Wizengamont seats he spotted a few familiar faces, old acquaintances of his father, several people he didn't know, several he did and Lucius Malfoy.
Malfoy looked weird. Usually it was easy to pull an emotion from him but now Malfoy looked blank; no emotion, no sign of anything.
He was so focused on staring at Malfoy that he paid no attention to what they were saying until he heard the question about Veritaserum. He nodded absent mindedly even if some part of him screamed at him that he shouldn't be doing it but he couldn't recall the reason.
They gave it to him and waited.
It happened in a moment. Suddenly his chest started hurting like he had a Hippogriff sitting on it and he couldn't catch a breath. He heard a commotion but he couldn't do anything. The last thought that he had before he was enveloped by the blackness was that he was dying.
He didn't know how much time had passed before he regained consciousness. It could be few hours or it could be days. The room was bathed in moonlight. He suspected that he was already in St Mungo's, the walls were pale enough to be white in the daylight. At first glance the room appeared to be one of these posh private rooms but then he spotted another bed on his right, occupied bed judging by a small kid curled in the foot of it.
Further examination of the surroundings proved that he for sure wasn't alone. Even in weak light of the moon he could recognise a silhouette of the last person who would visit him. Hooked nose, lanky hair which looked like their owner could really use a bath: Snape.
For a longer moment he didn't dare to move. Snape appeared to pay no attention to him at all, his eyes were focused on the occupant of the other bed and for a moment at the kid whom Snape suddenly covered with his own cloak.
Snape was Snape but Snape was better than no one and maybe the snivelling git would tell him something.
"Snape," he whispered. No reaction came to that. "Snape," he repeated. Still no reaction. If Sirius didn't see him move few minutes before he would hazard a guess that Snape was petrified. "Snape!" this time he hissed quite loudly to get the other man's attention. No reaction again, he felt like he was talking to his bedside table. Finally he lost his patience and kicked the other man in the butt.
That finally got a reaction and he received a murderous glare.
"You are alive I see," Sirius whispered, his voice was raspy. "I thought that you were petrified; blank stare and no reaction to my calls."
"Black," Snape muttered.
"Snape," Sirius coughed. "Would it kill you to tell me what happened? I have a quite big hole in my memory starting from the moment I collapsed in the courtroom until about five minutes ago."
Snape's glare only intensified but suddenly he looked at the other bed and Snape's bad mood seemed to flatter from angry to coldly civil as he spoke, "You had very severe allergic reaction to Veritaserum."
"I knew that there was a reason why I shouldn't take it," Sirius mumbled to himself before he added, this time to Snape. "But I doubt that watching me die would lure you from your quarters, so there has to be something else."
"There is the bond," Snape snorted. "Marriage bond," he muttered. "Same time you collapsed in the courtroom your wife had collapsed at your grandfather's place. Same symptoms, cardiac arrest, but in her case of unknown origin. I was called to her side and when nothing we tried had helped I took her to St Mungo's. Your grandfather quickly put two and two together and we realised that as long as you are fine so is she. The bond between you two is still undeveloped and caused such a drastic reaction."
"You know her?" Sirius asked curiously.
"I should," Snape shrugged. "She is my sister."
Blast. From all people he had to end married to Snape's sister.
"Half-sister actually," Snape sighed. "My father kept his broomstick in other broom closets."
"Great," Sirius snorted. "Very close family resemblance?" he groaned.
"Not really," Snape chuckled, he actually chuckled. "There is no family resemblance farther than similar height, litheness, and hair colour. Aside of it she is everything I'm not, starting from the fact that she is a woman," Snape said cheekily.
"Ha, ha, very funny," Sirius snorted. "Older or younger than us."
"Younger, in my case for five weeks exactly, in yours about twelve weeks," Snape shrugged.
"I don't recall any other Snapes than you in our year," Sirius muttered.
"Because there weren't," Snape shrugged. "She went to Hogwarts under her step-father's name. More so she kept that name until she married you, last week."
"I bet you loved it," Sirius snorted. "Thrusting your sister into my arms."
"Contrary to what you believe I didn't thrust her into your arms, more so, I was against this marriage. But my sister is a grown woman. She makes her choices and I have to accept them even if I don't like them. Besides you don't have another choice than to accept your marriage, that's as long as you want to keep the guardian rights of Harry Potter," Snape snorted.
"Harry," Sirius breathed out. "How is he?"
"I guess that he is tired and a bit scared," Snape answered sourly. "That was actually expected. He didn't had a very easy life with Petunia and her husband. He was really excited when he learned that you and the good lady could adopt him. That's exactly what my sister did. Last week she married you, today she performed blood adoption. As for the kid, he seems happy to me whenever she is around. If he could, he would follow her like a little puppy," Snape looked at the other bed.
"That's him?" Sirius whispered.
"Yes," Snape nodded. "Let him sleep. Today was supposed to be the day of fun and relaxation and instead of that he watched her die in front of his eyes. Your grandfather tried to persuade him to come back to Hogwarts but he stubbornly refused to leave."
"How is he, as a whole?" Sirius asked and he turned his eyes to Snape.
"Physically fine, despite the fact that he was neglected and abused for the most of his life. Tuney and her hubby were too scared to do anything once the letter from Hogwarts arrived. But mentally and emotionally …" Snape sighed. "You two are going to have your hands full. He is starved for human contact, needs to be reassured and praised. Academically he is doing fine. Transfiguration isn't his strongest subject, but in Charms he is doing quite well and he is very decent potion maker. Made the Quidditch team on the Seeker's position, the captain quarrelled with his head of the house over that but he had no chance against the captain and his own deputy."
"Deputy?" Sirius mumbled. That was something new. "Last time I checked the houses had only one head."
"So did I," Snape shrugged. "But the kid's," he motioned at Harry, "sorting didn't go according to Dumbledore's plan. More so, it had gone woefully wrong. So Dumbledore installed Deputy Heads to all houses to not raise suspicions. All Deputies teach elective subjects and in so far the other heads are happy that they can shuffle their work to someone else."
"You don't sound overly cheerful on this subject," Sirius chuckled.
"I liked my Deputy before he was made my Deputy. I'm handling everything just fine. Mr Nuisance now just comes and spoils it all. But he can be useful, when he isn't snogging the Deputy Head of Ravenclaw House," Snape snorted.
"Do I know him?" Sirius asked.
"You should, though his name will give you an impression that you don't," Snape sighed. "His name is Mufrid Alphard Lemeraude, Master of Ancient Runes. Former Slytherin because the old rule applies also to the Deputies."
"What about Harry?" Sirius asked curiously. "You mentioned that his sorting had gone wrong so I guess that he isn't in Gryffindor. As studious as he sounds from your description he could be Ravenclaw but Dumbledore likes Ravenclaws and trusts Flitwick so I guess that he isn't in Ravenclaw either. On the other hand I don't see what's wrong with Hufflepuff…"
"Your godson is in Slytherin," Snape said with a shrug.
Sirius gapped at Snape as the other man continued.
"Imagine how it surprised all of us," he snorted. "I missed first part of the sorting and I managed to get to the Great Hall just in time to hear the end of his sorting. Turned out that along with obvious Slytherins aside from your godson, Neville Longbottom and two Muggle-borns got sorted into Slytherin as well."
"Poor kids," Sirius sighed. "They will get eaten alive in Slytherin."
"I rather doubt so," Snape chuckled. "First year Slytherins are a very closed cliché; kick one and in return you will deal with the whole fourteen, Lemeraude learned that quickly. I presume that the other thirteen put quite a fight to be there with their friend. They are good kids and Lemeraude is quite a good influence for them. He knows where to hit them to get the desired reaction."
"I hope that hitting isn't literal," Sirius huffed.
"Verbal," Snape nodded. "During the train ride he deflected their heads a bit and I suspect that he gave them quite a talk later because the whole bunch immediately took a liking to him. Of course if I were him I would start fretting about possible come back because Slytherin never lets an insult to be passed without notice and he insulted most of them back to their first ancestors."
"Do you know the details about how Pettigrew was found?" Sirius asked curiously.
"Lemeraude captured him if it's that what you are asking about," Snape shrugged. "But the whole issue had started before the school year. The whole matter is to complicated to explain it at once. Besides a very vital fact is Lemeraude's true identity which I cannot reveal now. Actually no one aside from him cannot reveal his true identity. If I know him he will visit you sometime today."
"What for?" Sirius shrugged. "Of course," he grimaced. "I owe him a life debt."
"You owe him much more," Snape muttered. "We all do. Without him you would be still rotting in Azkaban and without him we would still wrack our minds as to why the Dark Lord isn't truly dead."
"But Harry destroyed him," Sirius shook his head.
"In some sense he did," Snape grimaced. "But he only lost his human form. At this moment he isn't very dangerous but if he finds a servant who would help him … I won't wait to watch it happen. But the peace had lasted too long, too long without his attempt to regain his previous power … Something is brewing in the air and I don't like it … What is worse I think that Dumbledore deliberately arranged matters to check how far the Dark Lord will be able to go and how far your godson will come to stop him."
"What he had done?" Sirius asked in concern.
"Have you heard about the Philosopher Stone?" Snape asked quietly.
"Bits and pieces. It's not something I would put in a castle full of students," Sirius shrugged.
"I wouldn't either, but that's what Dumbledore did," Snape snorted. "Of course there is the protection around the stone but Lemeraude thinks that it's too little and keeping the stone at Hogwarts is asking for a disaster and so do I."
"I hope that Dumbledore had warded it beyond a human comprehending capacity," Sirius muttered.
"He thinks that he did," Snape shrugged. "I disagree, I would brake past the protection with my eyes bound and one hand strapped behind my back in ten minutes, fifteen at the most. Someone working in alliance with the Dark Lord would do it even sooner."
"Did I hear a hint of admiration?" Sirius snorted half-heartedly.
"I thought that as a former Auror you are familiar with the oldest rule in duelling: never underestimate your opponent," Snape snorted. "I never did and that's what saved my life numerous times. The Dark Lord's worst flaw and best quality is his patience when it comes to his plans. Come back, yes, that's something he without doubt longs for but he would wait to make his come back spectacular, a lesson for everyone who would dare to oppose him. As long as he remains in his nonhuman form and away from us we are safe. The closer and more corporeal he is, the worse for us."
Something was beating against his brain like a trapped bird. A memory long forgotten, something very dark and very unethical. A rite which he remembered reading about when he was about ten … and the beating he received from his father for delving too deep into the Dark Arts. What was it's name?
"Bone of a father… unknowingly given," he whispered to himself to recall the most important parts of the ritual. "Blood of an enemy … forcibly taken …" he paused. "Servant … flesh of a servant … willingly given."
"What did you say?" Snape suddenly was barely an inch from Sirius's face, his eyes were boring through his head.
"What was the name of it?" he mumbled, more to himself than to Snape. "Horcrux … no … Body Restoration Rite."
Snape looked at him as if he saw a ghost.
"How … do … you …" he whispered weakly.
"You weren't the only student who in first year knew more about the Dark Arts than seventh years," Sirius snorted. "But unlike you I kept my mouth shut."
"But how…" Snape mumbled.
"The library in my ancestral home," Sirius shrugged. "Books which had accumulated over the centuries, some banned. The library was my father's pride and when I was kid I had to learn things … but I was never allowed to delve too far. I read this book out of spite for something I don't really remember … but I remember the beating I got for reading that book. My father destroyed it in my presence and forbade me from mentioning even a word about it to Regulus … I knew better than to cross him."
"Hypocrite," Snape snorted.
"Just cautious," Sirius snorted. "Besides knowing the Dark Arts doesn't equal using them, does it?" he glared at Snape. "My knowledge saved my life more times than I can count. What my friends didn't know, didn't hurt them. The aforementioned rite would work in one case and I don't even want to think about it."
"What case?" Snape pressed.
"One where a Horcrux is involved," Sirius muttered grimly. "If it is then we are fucked up for good."
Snape suddenly seemed a bit calmer and he whispered, "You really should talk with Lemeraude."
"Is he Dumbledore in training?" Sirius rolled his eyes.
"Quite the opposite," Snape snorted. "He has one purpose in life: ensuring that the Dark Lord will never come back."
"Can we talk about something less depressing?" Sirius snorted. "How about your sister? Her name, character, how she looks?"
"I won't tell you," Snape snorted. "I will show you," he added and with a flick of his wand the bedside tables which were between beds vanished and Sirius saw…
Short, curly, jet-black hair. Pale cheeks with a little high-cheekbones on a heart-shaped face. Thin but gently smiling lips. He saw this woman before. He slept by her side for days and he loved to watch her sleeping. And when she died she haunted his dreams and waking hours with her face. She was always so close and yet so far away, her death erected a wall between one he was afraid to pass in such dire times where his friendship was needed.
"Mirzam," he whispered. "But it's impossible. She is dead."
"Once she wakes up she will prove you otherwise," Snape snickered. "It's her, on this you can believe me."
"How?" Sirius whispered and he glanced at Snape.
"He saved me," whispered soft female voice.
Sirius turned to look at the occupant of the bed. His eyes immediately found the most beautiful pair of violet eyes he ever saw, actually the only pair of violet eyes he ever seen. They were sparkling with happiness and unshed tears.
It was Mirzam. Polyjuice would never produce that look she had on her face when they were alone. As if he was the only person on the planet. The look which repeatedly made him fall in love with her even more.
And she was his wife. His wife.
Something inside him broke down. The wall which he erected around his heart had collapsed and once empty space where she made her home was filled again with unbearable relief and a love so consuming that …
Suddenly she was by his side, her eyes were a bit blurred, happy and sad at the same time. She pressed their foreheads together so they were looking into each others eyes. Her gentle, warm hands were holding his head. He touched her arms, warm and so very real under his own cold hands.
She was smiling the same way she always did. She still looked as young as she was last time he saw her but he saw small creases around her eyes which weren't there last time. That Polyjuice couldn't fake.
"You are real," he whispered and he hugged her as tightly as his body allowed him.
"So are you," she gave him small smile.
Her lips on his own chapped ones were soft and gentle.
"Call me a spoilsport," someone muttered and Sirius immediately remembered that they weren't alone, "but the kid and I cannot make it back to the castle for the night. Considering what he went through I advise not traumatising him like that on your first meeting."
"You are a spoilsport, Professor Snape," said a childish voice, it was full of an emotion he couldn't name.
"I care for your sanity, kid," Snape muttered. "Someone has to because your adoptive parents are having a temporary lapse in their own sanity."
"Now you are a spoilsport, Severus," Mirzam giggled. "Come here, both of you."
Harry quickly bounced through the distance between the beds and wriggled himself between Sirius and Mirzam. Sirius tore his eyes from Mirzam and looked down at Harry.
The kid was grinning so much that one could start worrying that his face would split in two. His hair were jet-black (the Potter and the Black family heirloom), a bit of unruly hair was sticking out in various directions but Sirius was able to recognise gentle curling in places where the hair was longer (definitely a sign of Blood Adoption because it was Mirzam's feature). His eyes were bright green and shaped like almonds, same as Lily's eyes were. His nose was screaming Regulus all over. Harry's ears looked like James's. His face in overall looked like James' too but once again he recognised a sign of Blood Adoption in the way James's features were smoothened by Mirzam's involvement. But the most capturing were Harry's hands, exact replica of Sirius's own hands at Harry's age and that smile, a gentle mix of Mirzam and Lily.
"Hello, Harry," Sirius whispered. "It's good to meet you, finally," he added and he gave the boy small smile.
"Hello, Sirius," Harry smiled even wider. "Same to you."
Suddenly there was a knocking on the door and a hissy voice followed it, "I know that you are here, you great bat! Open the door!"
"They are open," Snape snorted.
Sirius turned around just a bit to look at the stranger who opened the door. He was tall and if Sirius would stand up he was sure that the man would be at least an inch and half taller than him. The man's body was lithe but emanated with physical power. His face looked young and a bit familiar despite longish grey hair which surrounded his face. Suddenly the man had grinned widely.
"It's good to see you awake," the man said.
"Do I know you?" Sirius asked sceptically.
"You should," the man smiled as he entered the room and closed the door. "You used to put spiders in my bed when I was a kid. Usually it turned against you because then I ended in your bed and I always hogged the sheets."
It sounded familiar, but it couldn't be possible.
"Just tell him who you are, git," Snape snorted. "He handles shocks just fine."
"Do you have to stay here?" the man asked Snape.
"He does," Mirzam said quickly. "It's family reunion and I would appreciate my brother's company."
The man's jaw dropped slightly, before he mumbled, "You are his sister?"
"Half-sister," Snape corrected. "Same father, different mothers."
"And I thought that my life was weird," the man muttered. "You knew that?" he turned to Sirius.
"I was recently informed about it," Sirius shrugged. "I guess that it didn't really had a chance to sink in."
"But wait a minute…" the man mumbled. "You told us that your brother doesn't want to be involved."
"If I told you the truth instead of working, you would spend two weeks at moaning and groaning how much it sucked. You don't pick your family … But I like my brother," Mirzam answered simply. "So do you … like your brother, I mean, though you like the company of my brother too."
"Black, check her forehead for a sign of higher temperature," Snape sighed. "She is delirious."
"She is happy and she would appreciate if you stopped talking about her in third person," Mirzam giggled.
The man slowly approached the bed in which Mirzam was lying a moment ago and sat down on it gingerly.
He had such familiar eyes, dark-brown in a shade which only one person whom Sirius knew had. Regulus. But Regulus was dead.
"Sirius," the man whispered. "You have no idea how happy I'm to see you."
"Took you ten years to admit it," Snape snorted.
"Severus!" Mirzam huffed.
"Rear?" Sirius whispered timidly.
"Sior," the man grinned.
"Regulus?" Sirius mumbled. "But how?"
"It's a very long story," Regulus grinned at him.
"What happened to you? Your hair?" Sirius whispered.
"The second question is what most of us would like to know," Snape snorted.
"Hair dye," Regulus chuckled. "Purely Muggle, causes no problems in places warded against glamour charms and potions. I like to keep myself in one piece and if suddenly the glamour dropped … well you get the idea."
"But why?" Sirius asked.
"Because I prefer our dear old Dark Lord to be unaware of the fact I survived. As long as he is sure that I'm dead he wouldn't start to question how I kept myself alive, and once he does, our plan to get rid of him is put in jeopardy. Not something I would like to happen, trust me."
"What plan?" Sirius asked.
"We were both raised in surroundings where you could trip on the books about Dark Artefacts. I'm sure that you would be able to recall one thing about which we were warned before we entered Hogwarts. Something which tampers with human nature …" Regulus said gravely.
"Horcrux?" Sirius asked pensively.
"Indeed," Regulus nodded.
"He has one?" Sirius asked quickly.
"More than one," Regulus snorted. "I know about one for sure, and since that one is a Horcrux, I suspect there is another. There is also another thing which is a Horcrux as far as I can tell. That's three I'm sure about. There might be another two which I suspect that since they possessed great value, that the Dark Lord might have turned into Horcruxes, but that's only my assumption."
"So we are really fucked up," Sirius sighed.
"There will be problems, but our situation isn't hopeless," Regulus nodded. "I know where one of them is hidden and where was the other one. With you alive we have an access to two, the one I mentioned and the other candidate for it. To get both you need to be a head of Black family, something I cannot do. We will discus it more thoroughly when Dumbledore is around. Speaking about Dumbledore, I have good news."
"What kind of news?" Sirius asked.
"Dumbledore had decided that it would be prudent to appoint two new Professors," Regulus said mischievously.
"What for?" Snape asked grimly.
"He decided that in these days an old, and ages ago a very appreciated, subject had vanished from the curriculum. The Board, with Lucius Malfoy as their head suddenly supported the idea. You recall what grandfather Arcturus used to say?" Regulus grinned.
"He regretted deeply that language options had vanished from the curriculum and that Ancient Runes and Muggle Studies wouldn't make up for the lack of it. As far as I remember Muggle Studies covered in sixth and seventh year various cultures with a lesson or two about how to not get slapped for saying something inappropriate. In Ancient Runes you cover dead languages as far as I remember," Sirius said pensively.
"So I'm honoured to offer in Dumbledore's name professorship of Language Studies to one Mirzam Mira Black. The money is not much but Dumbledore promised that he will teach you Mermish and Gobbledegook as a compensation for the small salary," Regulus said cheerfully.
"Really?" Mirzam whispered in excitement. "I always wanted to learn them. But aren't there more suited people to fill that post," she added nervously.
"French, Spanish, Catalan, Italian, German, Romansh, Finish, Swedish, Dutch, Serbian, Hebrew, bits of Russian…" Regulus started counting.
"Plus she can order sake and sushi in Japanese," Sirius chuckled.
"Mimi, you are the best for the job," Regulus said fiercely. "Besides you will be close to Harry."
"But I won't be allowed to teach him," Mirzam sighed.
"You would be," Regulus grinned. "His tests and exams will be handed to me as long as I'm capable of correcting it."
"That's not all, I suspect," Snape muttered.
"There is something else," Regulus nodded. "Dumbledore expressed his concern about Defence Against the Dark Arts. Sadly Quirrel will stay to teach that subject but he is a very shitty dueller so Dumbledore decided to appoint you," he pointed at Sirius, "as Hogwarts' Duelling Master. Both classes are optional for all seven years. You may start as soon as you are deemed clear."
"Meaning Monday," Snape muttered. "Tuesday at worse. That's what I heard anyway."
"But the tests?" Regulus grimaced.
"Your grandfather pulled a string at the Ministry and managed to get a deal with them. As long as your brother shows up at weekly check ups in St Mungo's he is allowed to leave the hospital, of course as long as he passes the psychological test today," Snape shrugged.
"That's good," Regulus nodded. "I will come back some time later today to check upon you. Severus?"
"Harry?" Snape asked.
"Can I stay with them if it won't be a problem?" Harry asked innocently.
"On your own head then, kid," Snape sighed. "I'm coming with you, Nuisance. We will visit you together."
H. P-B.
Being left alone under the care of Mirzam and Sirius sounded as fun. Of course he heard that the duo wasn't allowed to leave the room until the healers deemed them stable enough to move. That proved to be a problem because suddenly both adults got hungry.
Harry was hungry too, he hadn't touched anything since breakfast, but he had no problems with being hungry until morning, staying with the Dursleys taught him to deal with hunger very well.
Alas, Mirzam and Sirius didn't know how to do it, or at least if they knew how to withstand hunger they forgot how to do it. So ten minutes after Regulus and Professor Snape left the room, Harry and his godparents were creeping down from the private ward on the fourth floor down to the third floor where as Mirzam claimed was Maternity ward and the kitchen.
"How did you know that it was here?" Harry whispered curiously as Mirzam let them into the empty kitchen.
"A classmate of mine was giving a birth sometime in October after we graduated. Her husband was away on a mission of some sorts. I was still in London and we shared a dorm for seven years. I was moral support and delivery girl. She wanted waffles for breakfast … and she got waffles for breakfast," Mirzam smiled at him.
"Brocklehurst?" Sirius asked curiously.
"Hopkins," Mirzam shook her head. "That was her maiden name, she married Amos Diggory. Their son was named Cedric. Quite cute kid as far as I remember. Should be in his third year if my memory doesn't deceive me."
"So how many kids you helped to deliver?" Harry asked curiously as Mirzam started preparing tea for the three of them.
"I was moral support for three young mothers, all of them and their families, aside from Catherine Diggory had died in the war," Mirzam sighed. "There was one child which I had to deliver because we had no healers around … stillborn," she cringed. "I'm not a good omen for expecting mothers."
"But you make good expecting mother. From the day you found out that you were pregnant you were glowing with inner light," Sirius smiled.
Sirius was unaware of what Harry knew. Mirzam wasn't able to have children on her own and as Harry looked at her he saw pained expression on her face and he quickly walked to her and hugged her tightly.
"I'm not able to have children on my own, Sirius," Mirzam whispered. "The curse which caused the miscarriage of our baby nearly killed me …" she hugged Harry tighter. "The doctors removed my uterus to save my life … I won't be able to give you any children."
How Sirius reacted, Harry had no idea since he had his back turned to him. Suddenly he felt another pair of arms embracing him from behind his back.
"Hey, Mimi," Sirius said sympathetically. "I don't need heirs. Regulus can take care of that once the dust settles for good. We have Harry and there are always little children in both worlds who have no parents. I'm not saying that we should adopt immediately … just that there is a possibility that we might have more than one kid."
"I like it," Harry admitted. "I mean I had Dudley … and he wasn't the best company. But I would want to have a brother or sister someday."
"You really mean it?" Mirzam whispered above Harry's head.
"Sure," Sirius beamed. "Blood is thicker than water … but who needs thick water?"
"Oh, Sirius," Mirzam sighed.
They settled at the table with a big plate of sandwiches in front of them and discussed where they should spend vacations, considering that for the school year all three of them were supposed to stay at Hogwarts.
In a matter of fifteen minutes they managed to settle on the fact that the Black family house in London was out of questions. Mr Black's house in Esher seemed good enough for a weekend visit but not as something where they could stay for nearly three months. Sirius' idea to buy a house in Hogsmeade, a village near Hogwarts, was shot down by both Mirzam and Harry. Hogwarts was great but if you left it to take a break from it why you needed to take it with the castle looming over your house.
"Let's buy a house in the country," Harry suggested. "Far away from towns, close to small villages. A farm maybe."
"That's great idea," Sirius admitted cheerfully. "Plenty of space for playing Quidditch, big garden. The house itself shouldn't be too small or too big. Considering that we have families of our own as well as friends maybe something which has more than one guest room."
"With big, bright, sunny kitchen where we can eat. Comfy living-room where we can rest…" Mirzam said dreamily. "I remember a house like that. The river is nearby and it's surrounded by trees."
"St Mary in the Marsh?" Sirius asked curiously. "What's name it was?"
"Sparrows' Nest," Mirzam supplied. "A farm if I ever saw one. I wanted to have a house like that one ever since I saw it. Relatively close to London, about seventy miles, maybe even less."
"That would be great," Harry said happily.
Wonder if I would be able to persuade the owner to sell it," Sirius muttered.
Suddenly a loud weep was heard just outside the door. It sounded like a child was trying to test the capacity of its lungs. Shortly after a young man walked into the kitchen, he was followed by another man, who had crying infant in his arms.
"She woke up all babies in the ward," the man who was holding the infant groaned.
"Any living members of the family?" asked another man sympathetically.
"Not a single one. Both parents were orphans, Muggle-borns. Her father had died when the mother was in the sixth month of pregnancy. She bleed to death during childbirth. I guess that come Monday we will have to send her to orphanage … but until then there is no one who could handle her."
Mirzam snorted, "Aren't you supposed to be a Healer?"
"I only deliver them, madam. I don't have one of my own," the man who was holding the infant said defensively. "Merlin's socks! Mirzam Verascez! I thought that you were dead."
"You weren't the only one," Mirzam shrugged. "Give her to me, you are hopeless, Harry. And it's Black now, not Verascez."
"Me?" Harry piped up.
"Not you, my dear," Mirzam gave him small smile.
"Harry Goodfellow," Sirius smirked. "Ravenclaw. Our year."
The crying infant ended in Mirzam's arms. Harry watched curiously as Mirzam propped her gently against her chest and wrapped her left arm around her. With her right hand she tickled her chin.
"She is hungry," Mirzam said without tearing her eyes from the child. "I trust that you can prepare a formula for her."
Fifteen minutes later, with a bottle gently pressed to her mouth the girl sucked happily her on the formula until she drifted off in Mirzam's arms. And one glance around the room proved that Harry wasn't the only person who was amazed how well Mirzam handled little girl. Sirius and two other men was staring at her as if she was an angel.
"She really has no family?" Mirzam asked as she raised her head to look at the duo as she put the half-empty bottle on the table.
"If she had she would be with them by now," Goodfellow sighed. "She was born yesterday morning. Her mother had bleed to death. We did everything we could but we couldn't save her. It's a orphanage for her but they don't take children on Saturday and Sunday."
Harry didn't like it and from the look on her face, neither did Mirzam. The girl was not to blame for the fact that she had no family.
"Clause one hundred thirteenth still stands?" Mirzam asked with a shrug.
"Descents of Muggles or Muggle-borns?" Goodfellow shrugged. "With any other child one would need to get through the Ministry of Magic but with children like her … bonding can take place as long as there are two witnesses of it. Blood Adoption can be performed under the eyes of certificated Potions Master."
"It's inhuman," Sirius snorted.
"It still works," Goodfellow sighed. "Or it worked shortly after the war and during it. For some kids like her it was the only chance for a family."
"Why we won't take her?" Harry asked suddenly.
Sure he was adopted by Mirzam in the name of both her and Sirius roughly twelve hours ago and he didn't know Sirius very well. But he knew Mirzam and if Mirzam thought that Sirius was a good material for a father then Harry trusted her on that.
Being an orphan himself Harry knew what it mean to have no one to turn to. Knowing that when he had Mirzam and Sirius that this little girl was going to end alone was not something which made him feel good. She needed family; a mother and father, an older brother who would treat her like a princess and would scare off her boyfriends.
He looked from Mirzam to Sirius, both meet his gaze and hold it before they glanced at each other.
"She needs a name," Sirius said finally. "Something simple so she won't kill us when she grows up."
"Blue-eyed blonde," Mirzam whispered. "Something which would suit her."
"Daisy?" Harry asked and he paused. In primary school he had a classmate who was blue-eyed blonde. Her name had suited her very nicely. "Or Lucy," he added.
"I guess that Imogene is out of options," Mirzam giggled.
"I was thinking about Andromeda but in my mind Andromeda is more suited for dark-haired girls. Narcissa would be good for a blonde but I'm not sure if we should name her after Cissa," Sirius said pensively.
"Marigold?" Mirzam suggested. "Magnolia?"
"Asphodel?" Harry suggested.
"I would kill for that," Sirius chuckled. "Ruth?"
"Daisy Ruth," Mirzam whispered. "It's nice and simple."
"I like it," Harry admitted.
"Goes well with Black too," Sirius nodded.
"So Daisy Ruth Black it is," Mirzam smiled at them. "The witnesses?"
"Present, milady," said Goodfellow.
"I'm afraid that you would need to stand up, madam," said another man.
"No problem," Mirzam said and she stood up with small support on the table.
"Come here," Sirius motioned at Harry as he stood up.
They went to stand next to Mirzam. Harry looked up curiously.
"Put one of your hands so you touch her skin," said Goodfellow. "You too, kiddo."
They obeyed the man. Daisy's skin was so soft and nice in touch, Harry observed.
"Repeat after me," Goodfellow continued. "We will start from the lady."
"Simple," Sirius said.
"I, Mirzam Mira Black, welcome you in the family as my daughter, Daisy Ruth Black. I vow to protect you and bring you up so you will be proud that I'm your mother," said Goodfellow solemnly.
"I, Mirzam Mira Black, welcome you in the family as my daughter, Daisy Ruth Black. I vow to protect you and bring you up so you will be proud that I'm your mother," Mirzam repeated.
"I, Sirius Orion Black, welcome you in the family as my daughter, Daisy Ruth Black. I vow to protect you and bring you up so you will be proud that I'm your father," Goodfellow continued.
"I, Sirius Orion Black, welcome you in the family as my daughter, Daisy Ruth Black. I vow to protect you and bring you up so you will be proud that I'm your father," Sirius repeated.
"I…" Goodfellow started.
"I, Harry James Potter-Black, welcome you in the family as my sister, Daisy Ruth Black. I vow …" he looked expectantly at Goodfellow.
"… to protect and support you so you will be proud that I'm your brother," Goodfellow said.
"… to protect and support you so you will be proud that I'm your brother," Harry finished.
Goodfellow put the tip of her wand at Daisy's forehead and said, "I, Harry Alan Goodfellow, witnessed Legal Adoption of an orphan named Daisy Ruth into family of Mirzam Mira, Sirius Orion Black and Harry James Potter-Black. In the name of magic I declare the orphan Daisy Ruth as a daughter of Mirzam Mira and Sirius Orion Black and a sister of Harry James Potter-Black. Adoption was witnessed by Harry Alan Goodfellow and Horace Alfred Toothless."
Bright blue light which came from Goodfellow's wand enveloped little Daisy.
"That would be it," the other man nodded. "Good luck, Black family."
It sounded nice. They were a family.
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