CHAPTER 11
The following morning, Sirius was up early, using magic to finish setting up the Christmas decorations and tree before everyone else was awake.
When he was a child, Christmas had been an awful time, especially given his dark family tree and after he'd been sorted into Gryffindor, things had only gotten worse.
As a result, Sirius had ended up spending most of his Christmases either at Hogwarts or with James Potter's family who had welcomed him with open arms.
"Still an early riser, I see," Narcissa said, quietly, as she joined her cousin in the living room.
Sirius put the final decorations on the Christmas tree and turned to look at Narcissa who was studying the decorations admiringly. "Did you sleep well?" Sirius asked as the two headed into the kitchen.
"Yes, I did. Thank you for asking," Narcissa replied as she watched Sirius pulling out flour, sugar, cinnamon, and some sort of muggle device with a fitted metal bowl. "I had a nice conversation with Harry last night after everyone went to bed." When Sirius gave her a questioning look, she shrugged lightly. "The poor boy was having trouble sleeping. We had some hot chocolate and talked for a bit."
As Sirius began making the dough for sticky buns, he didn't have to ask what had been keeping Harry up. "Harry has been dealing with some sort of injury or disability for most of his life. First, it was the magical immunity disorder, then losing his leg and most of his hearing… Now he's paralyzed. It's a lot for anyone to deal with."
"He's a good boy, Sirius," Narcissa commented as Sirius put the dough ingredients into the bowl and flipping a switch to turn the machine on. "I'm sure much of that came from his uncle and aunt… but I know that came from you, too." When Sirius remained silent, Narcissa waited until he finally looked at her directly before she added, sincerely, "You are a good man, Sirius. I hope you know that."
Sirius didn't reply as he finished the dough and mixed up the filling and glaze for the sticky buns. He knew Narcissa was right, but his memories of his childhood and his family's ties to dark magic were a permanent stain on his soul—something that would never go away, no matter how much he wished otherwise.
An hour later, Sirius was rolling out the dough when Marge Dursley came into the kitchen. "I see we're all getting an early start today." she said, looking at Narcissa and Sirius.
"First night in the new house," Sirius replied, shrugging. "Figured sticky buns would be a nice start to the day."
"Then let me help you," Marge volunteered, rolling up the sleeves of her sweater and grabbing ingredients out of the fridge to prepare a breakfast casserole.
Feeling uncomfortable just watching the other two cook, Narcissa withdrew her wand and set about preparing fruit salad, one of three things she actually knew how to make.
Once everything was prepared, Narcissa set the dining room table while Marge juiced a mountain of oranges as Dudley came in still looking a bit sleepy. 'How is anyone supposed to sleep in when you lot are making the kitchen smell like a four-star restaurant?' he signed, pretending to look grumpy.
"Only 4 stars?" Sirius asked with a smile as he covered the sticky buns with plastic wrap to rise one more time before baking. "What are we missing?"
Dudley looked at the kitchen and thought for a moment before replying, 'Shouldn't a spread like this have some sort of fruit platter? Isn't that what they do in fancy hotels?'
"I've already taken care of that, Dudley," Narcissa said, signing as she spoke, giving the teenager a warm smile.
'Anything I can do to help?' Dudley wanted to know.
Sirius considered the offer, but shook his head. "Breakfast should be ready by about 9:30. But if you want to help clean up…?"
Dudley nodded and quickly set about doing the dishes while Marge dried and Sirius put things away.
When Petunia and Vernon came in a short while later, the kitchen was spotless and the casserole and sticky buns were in the oven along with extra strips of bacon and links of breakfast sausage.
"You didn't have to do all this," Petunia protested as she looked about at the others. She'd never liked the idea of others cooking for her. Even on Mother's Day or her birthday, Petunia was always dead set on making breakfast or dinner herself, much to the confusion of her family.
"You do too much for everyone, Petunia," Sirius protested, leading Harry's aunt to a spot at the dining room table. "Take a load off. Let me, Narcissa, Marge, and Dudley take care of everything this morning."
Begrudgingly, Petunia complied, taking the cup of freshly brewed tea Narcissa offered before sitting down opposite her. "Thank you," Petunia said, gratefully.
"How are you doing?" Narcissa asked, genuinely curious. "With Harry and everything?" When Petunia just shrugged in response, Narcissa gave a small smile and added, "Mother to mother."
Petunia set her teacup down, not sure of how to voice her thoughts. "I can't help wondering if there was something I could have done to keep Harry off his broom that day. I feel like…"
"Like you failed Harry in some way," Narcissa finished, nodding knowingly. "I felt the same way when Draco was born. I felt that it had to be my fault in some way." Thinking on her son's new cochlear implant, she shook her head in disbelief. "From the moment I found out that Draco was deaf, I never imagined that there was a way for him to be able to hear. I'd accepted my son's disability… learned to adapt and help him get though the hard times."
"But Draco was born deaf," Petunia protested. "He'd dealt with it his whole life. Harry's had 3 months to deal with being paralyzed."
Narcissa put a comforting hand on Petunia's forearm and gave the other woman a smile. "You have done a marvelous job raising Harry. He's a strong, brave, kind-hearted boy and you've helped him deal with everything that has happened to him. I believe Harry will be able to come through this ordeal even stronger than he was before. There will be obstacles. And he is going to have bad days. But he will make it through and you'll be there to celebrate his victories…no matter how small they may seem at first."
Putting a hand on top of Narcissa's, Petunia returned the smile and there were tears of gratitude in her eyes as she replied, "You're right."
"What smells so good?" Harry said as he finally came into the dining room and wheeled up to the table. Looking from his Aunt Petunia to Narcissa Malfoy, he raised an eyebrow curiously. "Am I interrupting something?"
The two mothers shared a secret, knowing smile and Petunia wiped the tears away before she stood and went over to Harry, giving him a hug. "How did you sleep?"
"Great," Harry replied, shifting a bit in his wheelchair. When his stomach gave a low grumble, he asked, "I'm famished. What's for breakfast?"
xxx
After breakfast, Sirius led Harry on a proper tour of the house including the work-out room for Harry to do his physical therapy exercises, an indoor pool and Jacuzzi hot tub, and a media room which resembled a mini movie theater.
Across the driveway and above the garage, Sirius finished the tour in the apartment flat he'd moved into.
"So what do you think?" Sirius asked, handing Harry a bottle of soda from the fridge in the kitchen. As the two sat at the table, Sirius studied in godson intently.
Harry looked about, and he had to admit that it was all a bit overwhelming. "It's a far cry from Privet Drive, that's for sure," Harry replied, shifting a bit in his wheelchair. "You've done an incredible job making sure I can get around alright."
Glancing at Harry's middle for a moment, he voiced the question he'd be pondering for a while. "So the band they gave you in the hospital? Is that still working alright?"
"Yeah, it works great," Harry replied, nodding. "The healers said that as long as the vanishing and sensory charms are enforced every 6 months, it'll keep going forever. Plus I can wear it when bathing and there are additional charms to keep it from causing skin irritations."
Not wanting to beat around the bush with his other query, Sirius said, simply, "We should talk about what happened at the party last night."
Looking away from his godfather, Harry's fingers itched to reach up and pull out his hearing aids before leaving—his old standby response when someone was going to talk to him about something he didn't want to hear. He was sure that he was going to get called out on his behavior, despite his apology afterwards. Feeling Sirius's gaze focusing on him—and knowing Sirius would instantly switch to sign language if he did pull the hearing aids out—Harry turned back to his godfather, giving him his full attention.
Sirius hated being stern and serious—no pun intended—with Harry, but he knew that this was an instance where he had to. "Harry, none of this has been easy for anyone. And I know you've spoken to Oliver Wood and Vernon about playing quidditch again, but…" He took a deep breath, not wanting to hurt Harry, but knowing that it was the right thing to do. "But I have spoken with Dumbledore and McGonagall… and they agree that you should quit the team."
Harry was dumbfounded by the news and he felt a fresh wave of tears welling up in his eyes and he couldn't tell if he was saddened by the news or angry. Still, he knew that Sirius had a good point.
Seeing Harry's reaction, Sirius sighed, knowing he had to finish what he had to say. "I said that we think you should quit. We think it would be a lot riskier for you to continue playing now that you're paralyzed. However… Dumbledore said that we shouldn't force you. It should be your decision and… whatever you decide, I'll support your choice."
xxxxxxxx
In the sitting room, Petunia was showing Narcissa some of the family photo albums, including many of the wizarding photos Sirius had taken through the years.
When she saw a picture of Dudley and Harry together, showing their individual name-signs, Narcissa looked up at Petunia and asked, "Why didn't you ever consider a cochlear implant for Dudley? I mean, that's what you did for Harry, yes?"
Petunia shook her head, still looking at the pictures of her boys. "Harry's hearing aids are just standard issue. They're just magically enhanced to give him his normal hearing back." Looking up, she went on. "We had Dudley tested to see if he was a candidate, even though the process was expensive. But the doctors told us he wasn't a good fit for the procedure." Turning her attention back to the pictures, she added, "I'd give anything for Dudley to hear my voice one more time. I wonder if he even remembers listening to me reading stories to him and Harry before they went to bed."
Narcissa leaned back on the sofa and smiled blissfully. "The moment Draco heard my voice for the first time in his life… I can't remember seeing such happiness in his eyes before. And his laughter?" Straightening up, she sighed. "Lucius hated hearing Draco talk out loud. The way his son sounded reminded him of Draco's disability. I don't think my son remembers a single moment with his father that was pleasant. When Lucius paid for the Slytherin quidditch team's new brooms last year, Lucius just told Draco not to disappoint him again."
Petunia couldn't imagine Vernon being resentful of Harry and Dudley. When the boys had left the hospital, Vernon Dursley had done everything possible to help the boys deal with their new situations. Still, it was different for her boys as opposed to Draco Malfoy's situation. Draco had been born deaf. He'd never known a life with sounds and noise until now.
And then there was Harry.
If both boys had just become deaf, it would have been easier, to a degree. But first, the infection had caused severe damage to Harry's right leg and when the antibiotics didn't help enough, the doctors had rushed the boy into the operating room, amputating the limb about 3 inches below the knee. Harry had started getting better, loss of hearing aside, and seemed eager to go home.
But another infection had started in his right knee and he'd again been rushed into surgery where the surgeon removed almost 8 more inches of Harry's leg.
"It must have been so hard for you to deal with your children's illnesses," Narcissa observed.
Petunia nodded, silently, lost in her own thoughts. It had been hard back then. And as much as she'd tried to be strong for Harry and Dudley back then, she knew that it would be even harder to help Harry now.
xxxxxxx