Disclaimer: Harry Potter? Not mine. Cover art? Not mine.
Pairing: Sirius/fem!Harry
Warnings: Still don't have a beta reader. :3
So far:
Isobel "Bella" Potter takes up Death up on His offer to live the rest of her life in an alternate universe, when she loses everything she holds dear in the Battle of Hogwarts. In the new thread, she learns that she hasn't simply popped into existence there – she seems to have a mysterious, logic-shattering history – one which her godmother seems to know all about.
Bella finds herself looking after her baby brother – something she'd have done even if they weren't Imprinted – and despite having an initially rocky start with her co-guardian, Sirius, she actually enjoys the parenting experience. In the midst of learning new rules and learning to survive without her best friends around, she finds herself conducting funerals and dealing with a cryptic godmother, who seems to have other things on her agenda. However, Bella has an agenda of her own, and hopefully, her blossoming friendship with Remus will help her check things off her list.
She's supposedly a necromancer, and now that she's moved in with her godmother-slash-mentor, she can only hope that she'll have a better grasp on the things going on around her. (Also, why does Walburga Black hate her?)
§
THREADS OF TIME
Chapter 11
"A fraudulent intent, however carefully concealed at the outset, will generally, in the end, betray itself."
~ Titus Livius (Livy) ~
OoOoO
Bella pads down the staircase barefoot, trying to be as quiet as a dormouse. There's no point in waking Helen's house-elf, Twigsy. Helen has two other house-elves. One looks after the extensive Flamel library, and the other helps Twigsy with the cleaning. –
She suppresses a shudder as she walks past the cupboard under the staircase – that's where Twigsy sleeps. When Bella had asked the wizened house-elf if she wanted to change her living quarters, the house-elf had given Bella an affronted look.
Bella adores Twigsy, she really does, but sometimes, the elf can be a little too overbearing.
As she crosses the grandfather clock in the passageway to the kitchen, she shines her wand on the face to see the time. It's almost one in the morning.
She shakes her head and blames her upcoming OWLs. Her circadian rhythm has gone for a toss, what with all the sitting up she's been doing, studying. She's had to relearn History of Magic and Defence. She's lucky that she has Helen and Remus as her teachers.
She flicks her wand at the lamp holder as she enters the dark kitchen, before proceeding to open the refrigerator to look at what's there to eat. There's some smoked salmon, but she doesn't want that.
Bella finally pulls out a bottle of milk, placing it on the picnic table in the kitchen, before opening a cupboard and taking out some cereal. The cupboard door squeaks a bit eerily.
She's halfway through her midnight meal, when a figure staggers into the kitchen. It's Sirius, and it's apparent that he has just Flooed in, going by the ash and soot on his clothes.
"Mind if I join you?" he asks, his voice as deep as ever.
She shrugs in response.
It's been a while since she actually spoke to Sirius. As in really spoke. For the past couple of weeks, they seem to have been ships that pass in the night. They've shared the occasional smile, a lingering touch, or a quick goodbye peck – the latter two always making her blush.
He's been working overtime, probably trying to forget everything by immersing himself into the cases. Bella, on the other hand, has completely taken to having no fixed schedule to bind her.
She watches as he pulls out a bowl, before sliding into a seat opposite her.
"So how are your studies going?" he asks, as he pours out a generous amount of cereal into his bowl.
"Fine, I guess. History is sort of different here, though," she replies, after munching on the last mouthful of her meal.
"Huh."
She swallows a bit loudly, before checking to see if Sirius is watching her. When it's apparent that he's more focussed on pouring milk into his bowl, she lifts hers up, so that she can drink the remaining milk directly from it.
She notices the smirk on his face only when she keeps the bowl back on the table.
"And I'm the dog Animagus," he says, obviously amused.
Bella rolls her eyes at him, before asking him, "How's work going?"
"Decently. We've been rounding up all the Death Eaters, based on new information that we've learnt from the recent set of trials. But those with gold manage to wriggle out even when we try our best," he says, scowling.
"Malfoy?"
"Obviously. I don't even know what Cissa saw in that bastard when she decided to marry him," he mutters, glaring at the polished grain of the table darkly.
"Has Karkaroff's trial been held yet?" she asks, remembering the Pensieve memory she saw a long time back.
"No, why? Anything to look out for?"
"Yeah. If the hearing goes the way it did in my thread, the whole Wizengamot will come to know that Crouch is a Death Eater."
"Crouch?" asks Sirius loudly, almost squawking. If it had not been about something this serious, Bella might have laughed.
"Barty Crouch. Junior, that is. But the story doesn't end there."
She proceeds to tell him all about her Fourth Year (not everything, of course), watching as his eyes blaze in anger when she mentions Pettigrew's part in the whole thing.
"You could have died," he says a little hoarsely.
"But I didn't," she reminds him, taking a hold of his right hand in her left, rubbing circles with her thumb. The anger she sees in his eyes worries her, because it reminds her of how temperamental and insane the Blacks can be.
His breathing comes back to normal, but there's a wild look in his eyes, and Bella worries that she might have made a mistake in telling him about her past.
OoOoO
It's a couple of days later that she finds out that Pettigrew's trial has been scheduled for the 17th of December.
"Why is it no one tells me anything?" she asks Remus, as he leans back in his chair.
They're taking a break from revising Charms.
"I just told you, Bella," he says pointedly.
"No, you're telling me this now, after knowing about it for two days. I always get information second-hand. It's not fair!" she protests, as Remus' eyebrow arches.
"I thought you were more mature that Sirius," he says, his eyes glinting.
Bella sticks her tongue out at him.
He shakes his head and a serious expression replaces his earlier one of amusement.
"Has Sirius told you anything about it?"
"The trial? He didn't. I mean, we spoke a little about Karkaroff's impending trial and Pettigrew, and he never even told me that the date had been announced. He knows that I don't read the newspaper, and yet he didn't tell me."
"I'm worried about him," says Remus softly.
"Why?" she asks him, feeling a pit of dread forming in her stomach.
"I saw him studying the building plans of the court room where the trial is to be held yesterday, when I was at the Ministry. It was right there on his table, when I popped into his cubicle to say hi to him.
"And I spoke to the Auror in charge of the case. She called me down to brief me on what to say as a witness. I found out that Sirius requested Amelia Bones to put him in the Auror guard for that courtroom for the 17th."
Bella sucks in a breath through her mouth, trying to keep calm.
"I may have told him some of the worse things that Pettigrew did in my thread," she admits quietly, looking down at the table.
When she looks up again, she sees how grim the wizard looks.
"He's going to do something foolish, isn't he?" she asks, finding it hard to breathe.
He nods, his jaws clenched tightly.
The pit in her stomach grows bigger and deeper.
OoOoO
"Sirius!" she greets him later that evening, when they bump into each other when coming down the stairs. He's carrying a squirming Harry.
"Isobel," he greets calmly.
"I think he wants to be left down," she comments, even as he scowls briefly, before placing the toddler down on the next step.
Harry holds his hand upwards, towards Bella, the other gripping the railing. He looks at her expectantly, and she finds it hard to not coo and hug him and kiss him all over his adorable little face. So she places a finger in his hand, watching how those tiny fingers curl around her one long finger.
And then he jumps to the next step.
Bella and Sirius are forced to follow Harry, one step at a time.
"This is why I was carrying him down," says Sirius, even as she shakes her head.
"Stop being such a grumpy git, you have all the time in the world. It's the weekend, you can learn to wait."
When they finally reach the last step, Harry quickly lets go of her finger and runs into the dining room.
Sometimes, it feels like Harry knows exactly how much Twigsy favours him, and uses it to his own advantage. Bella decides that it must be her sleep deprivation that's making her attribute decidedly Slytherin traits to her baby brother.
When they're seated at the table and Twigsy has served them their food, Bella looks at Sirius and asks, "Why didn't you tell me about Pettigrew's trial?"
"You found out about that, did you?" he says, sneering slightly.
"Of course I did. Why didn't you tell me?" she asks flatly.
"You've found out, why won't you let it go?"
"Because I thought we told each other things!"
"Do you tell me everything?" he questions, tilting his chin a little upward, glaring at her.
"That's what friends do. They confide in each other."
"W-We're friends?" he asks, looking a little stricken.
"Only if you want us to be," she says, wondering if he'll tell her whatever it is he's planned to do.
He does nothing of that sort, but nods his head ever so slightly in acknowledgement.
"Do you want it? To be friends?"
She narrows her eyes at him as she answers, "I thought we already were."
With that, she turns to feed Harry a bowl of steamed and mashed carrots, even as he keeps spitting each spoonful, grinning cheekily at the mess that's his highchair.
So it's Plan B that they need to use. She'll have to write a letter tonight and ensure the procurement of certain items before she can start revising Transfiguration.
Why can't Sirius have just told her what it was that he was planning to do?
OoOoO
The 17th of December turns out to be a dull and grey day. Bella sits on the large sofa that's in the middle of the second floor, watching the snow fall gently.
What she's going to do is wrong. He's going to hate her. She doesn't want that.
She tries to distract herself by observing all the decorations that Twigsy and Binny have hung around the house for Yule. Yule is three days away, and... Fuck, she hasn't bought any gifts yet.
What should she get Sirius?
And with that, her thoughts are back on the dog Animagus.
She thinks about how nice Sirius had been the night before last, helping her prepare for the Astronomy practicals in the attic of the manor, which Helen uses as an observatory of sorts.
An observatory with an indoor garden; magical flowers blooming all around. Bella thinks the word for it is an 'arboretum'? She hates how her vocabulary is stunted because of Petunia's pettiness when it came to giving her books to read.
Bella can't help but wonder if a date with Sirius Black would be similar to that night. He'd been so charming, and she'd blushed so much that she'd been worried that she was paying more attention to the impish grin on his face than to the names of the stars in Ancient Greek.
But the Astronomy OWL is no longer a thing to worry about, and Bella thinks she's done well, both in the practical and theory exam.
At long last, she lets out a long breath and gets up from the sofa slowly, taking a moment to stretch her body.
It's time.
She walks towards Sirius' door, and is about to open it, when he comes out, and they collide. But before she can fall down, Sirius has wrapped an arm around her waist, stabilising her.
She can feel the warmth of his arm which hasn't moved, and she knows she's blushing. Her face feels hot.
Sirius smirks, as he bends his head a little to growl in her ear, "You all right, love?"
Bella gulps and nods her head vigorously, not knowing what to say. Her brain finally starts working and she tries to push them apart, only to find that they both can't move.
The both look up at the same time, and Bella holds back a groan.
"Enchanted mistletoe," murmurs Sirius, his hold on her waist tightening, as he looks back down to look into her eyes. She can see the flecks of silver in his blue-grey eyes, as he looks at her intently.
Her eyes look downward for a second, and that's when she notices that both her hands are pressed against his chest. They're so close, she can smell his aftershave. She tries not to sniff too visibly as she meets his gaze once again.
"Do we have to kill Twigsy?" she asks, trying to alleviate the tension, but it's too late, because his eyes keep flicking between her eyes and her lips, even as his other arm creeps steadily upwards, towards her neck. His hand comes to a stop at her nape, and she can feel his fingers, warm but light.
She licks her lips, feeling her mouth go dry.
And then, before she can think, they're both moving towards each other, their eyes locked. He lips crash onto hers and all she can do is kiss him back with equal fervour, his chapped lips a pleasant contrast against her own softer ones. He's gentle but firm, and it makes her lips tingle.
She should stop now, she really should. But it's that once in a lifetime event where reality is even better than fantasy. So instead she keeps her eyes open.
Unable to help herself, she leans further in and deepens it. He takes that as a sign of encouragement and pulls her head backward, by tugging on her hair, her mouth opening slightly when she gasps. His tongue ghosts over the inner side of her lips, flicking outward to trace their shape, before he grips her hips and pushes her sideways against the doorframe.
He takes her lower lip between his teeth and bites it sharply, growling a little as she tugs away. There's this tiny fraction of space between them, and as Bella rests her head on the wooden frame, all she can do is study his lips.
It doesn't escape her notice that he's studying hers as well.
She closes the miniscule gap between them by tilting her head upward, inviting him to capture her lips with his own. She then invades his open mouth with her tongue. He tastes like the clementines he had for breakfast, and when he strokes her tongue with his, she can feel the heat stirring deep inside her.
The cool wood against her neck jars her back to reality, forcing her to break apart, this time for good. It's only when she opens her eyes that she realises that she'd closed them in the first place.
She notices that her hands are entwined around his neck, and that his hands are still on her hips, holding her against the doorframe firmly. It pleases her to see that Sirius' pupils are dilated, and that he's breathing raggedly.
She's pretty sure her face is flushed and she thinks her lower lip may be on the way to swelling up, but all she can do now is focus on her two arms which are around his neck.
She feels cheap, knowing that she's going to take advantage of him.
"I'm sorry," she whispers, and there's this change in his eyes which says he's not at all sorry about the kiss.
Truth be told, neither is she.
"Petrificus Totalis," she says quickly, having drawn her wand out of its holster. With her right hand resting on her upper left arm, despite them being around his neck, it had been ridiculously easy to hex him.
She catches his stiff body before it can fall, and rests him on the floor carefully. His eyes are moving wildly, and shock is the predominant emotion.
"I'm sorry, I really am," she says once again, before dragging him into his room. She hoists him onto his bed, before yanking out a few strands of his hair.
With the long black hair in her hand, she rushes to her room next door to get the vial of Polyjuice. There's enough to last the next ten hours, and the entire potion is in a bottomless hipflask.
She drops the strands in as she rushes back to Sirius' room. She can feel his eyes on her as she moves across the room towards his wardrobe. She yanks it open and pulls out his blue Auror robes, and only then looks down to the flask she's holding in her left hand.
The potion's turned a bright silver, much like the metal mercury.
She catches his furious gaze as she lifts the flask to her mouth and gulps down two mouthfuls. As soon as the transformation starts, she closes the flask and sets it on his desk, focussing on getting her clothes off.
She casts away her holster, the robes and the shirt and pyjamas she was wearing inside, standing in her knickers and bra, just as the potion's effects begin to kick in. The ground starts swaying as she shoots up into the air. It's painful, to say the least.
She hurries to his wardrobe and pulls out a pair of boxers, as the bra-strap starts cutting into her chest. She'd never realised what a broad chest Sirius had.
To spare him some dignity, she closes her eyes as she removes her own knickers, replacing them with his boxers. She tosses her bra away, and immediately pulls on his Auror uniform, buttoning the shirt on and fastening the trousers, before shrugging the blue robes on top.
She then rushes to his bed and pulls off his watch, tossing her shoulder length hair backward. His eyes scream at her, like they're threatening to Crucio her. She knows she deserves it.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," she keeps repeating, as she ties the watch onto her left wrist, placing a charm on it to remind her hourly to take the potion. She then Accios another invisible holster from his wardrobe, tying it around her arm, before pulling out his wand roughly from his holster.
The wood heats up under her touch, but she ignores the jolt of pain, securing it into the holster on her hand.
She puts her hands on him and runs it up and down, searching for the identity tag that marks him as an Auror. Remus had specifically sent her a reminder to take the tag via owl earlier this morning.
She finds it attached to the belt loop of his trousers and unclasps it, clasping it onto her waist instead. She pulls out her wand from the holster which is on the floor, and casts an Incarcerous on him.
She moves towards the upper part of his torso, and leans towards his face, looking into his eyes.
Anger.
Betrayal.
Hurt.
Anger.
Betrayal.
Hurt.
Anger.
Betrayal.
Hurt.
It's like his eyes are yelling out his emotions to her.
"I'm so sorry, love. It's all for you. I just want to protect you," she says, before placing a kiss on his forehead.
She hurries to the desk, grabs the flask, and leaves without looking back.
It's only when she's on her way downstairs to tell Twigsy to keep an eye on the real Sirius and not let him out and to look after Harry for the entire day that she realises how odd it must have been for Sirius. A person with his own face kissing his forehead!
Bella feels stupid. And guilty. And awful. But she also feels excited. And thrilled.
She thinks she might be bipolar.
OoOoO
Bella adjusts her collar, trying to look as casual as Sirius usually does. She fails miserably. She raises a muscular arm and scratches her neck.
"Stop fidgeting," hisses Remus, as the two of them walk towards the Auror department, having stepped out of the lift.
"What if someone figures out I'm not Sirius?" she mutters as two men in the pinkish purplish robes walk by, serious expressions on their face. One of them nods at her, and she nods back, despite not knowing who it is.
"You even smell like Sirius. Polyjuice doesn't mask a person's scent," says Remus, looking at her shrewdly.
She feels her face flaming as she mutters under her breath, "Maybe Snape is just an expert potioneer."
"I thought you said you asked him to get it from his not-so-legal contacts."
"For all we know, this may have been a pre-made batch," she replies, her face not back to feeling normal.
They've reached the end of the corridor, and as they turn to the right, Bella sees the golden plaque that proclaims it to be the entrance to the Auror Department.
"I feel awful," she complains, but Remus shakes his head and whispers in a low voice.
"It was either this or letting him go to Azkaban for his entire lifetime. This was for the best," he says, patting her shoulder gently. And then, a smile graces his face, as he says, "You walk like such a girl, Sirius."
As much as she doesn't want to, her lips quirk slightly upwards.
Twenty minutes later, she finds herself with the other Aurors who are also part of the guard. They are being addressed to by Moody. It's so wonderful to see him in his one-eyed, one-legged glory, barking orders at all the other Aurors.
She finds it funny, the way a pink-haired Auror jumps when Moody screams 'constant vigilance' right into her ear. The girl reminds her of Tonks, with how pink her hair is.
They all move to the room quietly, as a single group. She thinks she can feel Moody's magical eye staring at her, but she tries to act nonchalant. Apparently if she gets caught, she'll be sent to Azkaban for impersonating the heir of an ancient and noble house.
Bella's pretty sure Walburga will have fun sending her to prison.
OoOoO
Bella supposes that she's doing Sirius' job decently. Sure, she hasn't been paying much attention to the ongoing trial or listening to the various witness accounts, but that's because it's more interesting to observe the faces of the Wizengamot.
"Mr. Black," says Barty Crouch, Sr., and Bella turns her head to see if Orion Black is present. She remembers the man vaguely from a portrait at Grimmauld.
"Sirius," hisses the pink haired Auror next to her, grasping her arm and pulling her sleeve in a manner which can only be described as familiar. Bella narrows her eyes. Who is this bint to act so familiarly with Sirius?
"Mr. Black, please step up to the dais and answer the allegations the defendant has made against you," says Crouch in a clipped tone, as Bella meets Remus' eyes in a state of panic.
Dumbledore speaks up, "Claims that Sirius Black is an unregistered Animagus are irrelevant to the case."
"The last time a defendant made certain claims a few days ago, they turned out to be true. It's the duty of this court to serve justice to all those who deserve it," says Crouch, his eyes looking more vicious than ever.
Bella walks up to the stand, remembering to keep her shoulders squared. She shouldn't look guilty. She should look like the heir of a rich Pureblood household. And it'll be all right, she hasn't done anything wrong.
At least she needn't worry about the Polyjuice. She'd drunk some only five minutes back. So she's good on that front.
But damn, why are her palms sweating?
When she passes Pettigrew, who's been bound to his seat, he hisses at her. She shoots him a poisonous glare. Morgana, she detests him.
The second she steps onto the dais, she can feel magical suppressors kicking in. It's very different from the hearing she attended in the summer of 1995.
"For the purpose of official records, please clarify the following," says a bored looking witch who has a mole on her nose. Bella tries not to stare at it.
"Your name?"
"Sirius Orion Black," she says, her throat a little raspy on account of it being so dry. That's good, though. Because now she sounds all masculine.
"Date of birth?"
"November 3rd, 1959."
"Patron figure?"
"Morgan le Fey."
"Name of parents?"
"Walburga Black and Orion Black III"
"Occupation?"
"Auror for the British Ministry of Magic."
"You may proceed," she says to Crouch, still in that monotone of hers.
"Mr. Black, do you deny that you are an unregistered Animagus?"
"Yes, sir," Bella says trying to sound convincing.
"He's lying!" screeches Pettigrew, and the Auror standing behind him shoots a stinging spell at his neck, which makes him whimper.
Pathetic.
"Are you willing to take Veritaserum to attest to that?"
Oh shite, does Veritaserum nullify the effects of Polyjuice? Bella can't remember what happened in her Fourth Year. Did Crouch Jr. transform before he had had the Veritaserum or after?
It's too late now, and her memory is faulty. She decides to bluff.
"Yes, sir."
"Ahem, if I may, sir? People who are excellent Occlumens can block the effects of Veritaserum. And the Blacks are known for their proficiency with mind magicks."
Bella looks to her right and finds her least favourite DADA professor sitting there in robes of light pink, in the midst of the other genuine Wizengamot members who are dressed in magenta.
There's a phantom tingling that passes through Bella's right hand.
Bella meets Crouch's eyes to see it narrow and regard her suspiciously.
"If I may be allowed to interrupt, Judge Crouch, there is a spell which can determine a person's Animagus form, and whether they have tapped into it. I believe Amos Diggory must be familiar with the spell," says Dumbledore, and Bella can't help but feel grateful to the old man.
His eyes twinkle behind his half-moon glasses, and Bella has a feeling he knows that she isn't Sirius.
Bella decides that she probably has a very low attention span, because some time between catching Dumbledore's eye and looking over at Remus, who's sitting on a bench on the prosecutor's side, Amos Digorry has been brought up to the front and has been introduced to the court.
For a moment, he looks so much like Cedric that Bella feels her throat closing.
"The spell won't hurt, Black," he says, before waving his wand and casting a non-verbal spell.
Bella watches in awe as a shimmering panther (or is it a jaguar?) of the deepest black fur and shining green eyes stretches itself and walks around, within a bright silvery blue circle.
If the murmurs around are anything to go by, the Wizengamot members are equally intrigued by the illusion.
"Silence!" calls out Crouch.
"The animal inside is the potential Animagus form.. The circle around it, as you can all see, is unbroken. Which means the form has not been tapped into. If the circle were a bright red, it would mean the person has made unsuccessful attempts to tap into it. And if there is no such boundary, it means the person is an Animagus," explains Diggory.
"Sirius' Animagus is a dog, not a cheetah!" yells Pettigrew, as both the Aurors standing behind him cast spells on him simultaneously.
Bella isn't sure how Pettigrew managed to become an Animagus when he can't even tell the difference between a cheetah and a panther (or a jaguar), because really, how dumb can he be?
"And what was this spell you used? Why didn't you tell it out loud?" asks Umbridge in her nasal voice.
"Madam Umbridge, you have no authority to question the court directly. Please remain silent, lest you be charged with interference of court proceedings."
Bella tries and fails to hide a smirk. She finds the court stenographer who's typing on a magically suspended typewriter smirking as well.
"- Cannot be cast verbally, impossible to. Because the focal points during incantation are mental, not auditory -"
Diggory's explanation goes over her head. She tries to catch Dumbledore's eye, and when she does, she tilts her head towards Pettigrew. He catches her drift, because he nods his head.
Moments later, once she's been allowed to rejoin the guard standing by the entrance, Diggory casts the same spell on Pettigrew, and it's with satisfaction that she sees Umbridge sneer with disgust.
The hearing ends surprisingly soon after that, with the Wizengamot declaring Pettigrew to be guilty of killing twelve Muggles and one Auror.
Bella celebrates the victory by taking another swig of her hipflask.
OoOoO
It's some two hours later, and Bella decides that she should call it a day and just go back home, because sitting in Sirius' cubicle is boring. She has no idea what to do with the case files in front of her.
She's on her way back from Moody's desk, having got his permission to leave home early, when someone pulls her into their cubicle.
It's the pink haired witch.
"Your Animagus looked so powerful, Sirius," the woman purrs, and her breath feels hot against Bella's face.
"Thanks," she says, trying to be polite, despite the fact that there's something about the witch that puts her off.
"You know, we should have that coffee date that we keep talking about," she says, her fingers lingering on Bella's muscular arm and Bella gulps painfully.
Sirius probably already hates her. There's nothing wrong in giving him one more reason to hate her.
"I know we've talked about coffee, but I've met someone now, and I think she could be the one. I think I'd like to settle down with her someday."
The Auror's mouth drops open in shock before she has the decency to apologise.
"I'm so sorry, Sirius. I didn't realise, umm, really, I didn't."
"Yeah, sorry about misleading you," says Bella not at all feeling sorry, before stepping out of the cubicle.
She grabs her robes from the chair and a few case files from the desk, before stepping out of the department.
She bumps into Dumbledore in the lift, and he invites her to Hogwarts to talk about certain 'issues'.
Bella gladly accepts the invitation, because deep down, she knows she's a coward who just wants to avoid a certain wizard.
OoOoO
It feels so good to be home.
Helen can hear Twigsy giggling and she goes to the dining room to see that her house-elf is feeding Harry, even as he flicks his spoon of baby food at the wall.
"Mistress is back from Germany! Does she need anything?" asks Twigsy, sensing her presence and turning around to talk to her.
Harry doesn't like that Twigsy is no longer paying attention to him, because he bangs a fist onto the wood.
"Looks like Harry wants his dinner," says Helen, amused at the baby's antics. Would Bella have been this way under more normal circumstances?
"I'll have a bath and come down for some tea. Make some sandwiches to accompany that."
Twigsy nods her head vigorously, before returning to her task of feeding the child.
When she climbs to the second floor landing, she hears someone screaming to let them out, though the sound is muffled.
She cautiously opens Sirius Black's bedroom door to find a bright red bra on the floor, as well as other articles of clothing.
Helen knows that they belong to Bella, because she'd been the one who had done some much needed lingerie and innerwear shopping for her goddaughter.
"Oh good, let me out!"
She looks to her left and finds Black lying on his bed, completely bound.
"I knew that you and my goddaughter wanted to rip each others' clothes off, but I never thought you two would be into kinky stuff as well."
Black makes a noise that sounds like a rabbit caught in a blender, and Helen can't help but chuckle at it.
OoOoO
§
AN:
Liked it? Hated it? What are your thoughts on the kiss (kisses)? I'd just like to point out that the kiss wasn't supposed to be romantic and sweet. I wanted only one emotion to be prevalent – lust. So I hope I did it justice.
And if the OWLs seem a bit hurried, that's intentional as well. There's a reason why Helen's making Bella write her OWLs as soon as possible. The OWL timetable is included in the next chapter, so the dates should make more sense when you see that. :) I hope Bella's logic behind 'Plan B' sounds flimsy, because that's how I wanted it to be. I don't see Bella as an Auror, making sensible plans. What do you think?
'Rabbit caught in a blender' was inspired by Phineas and Ferb. This is proof that I'm weird.
Here's an important clarification since many of you asked: There never was a Regulus in this thread. There was only an Auriga. Consider Auriga Black to be a gender-bent version of Regulus.
I haven't replied to your wonderful reviews yet, and I promise I'll do so in some time. Till then, thank you so much for your support. :)
Guest review replies:
Thank you all for reviewing. :) Sienna, no, Remus and Helen will not be a couple. I never thought of them that way, and I still can't think of them that way. :3 Katherine, you got it! :) Emily, you mean Auriga, don't you? I hope you stick around for some more time - you'll be interested in what eventually happens. ;) Guest1, here's your update! :) Guest2, you made my day and I'm so glad you popped in a quick review. :D
Isabella, Harri Musumeci is absolutely gorgeous! Forget the black turtleneck, I found a pic of him in a towel, and needless to say, I melted. Thanks for sharing that. :D :* Candice, I hope you got to see that picture of him in a towel. He's removed photos from his Instagram page now, siiiigh. Eye candy! :D ;) NatNicole, Guest3, Guest4 and Guest5, thank you so much!
Once again, thanks a lot for reviewing. :)
As always, reviews are love. :) The next update will be by 31st August, 2016.