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Chapter Fourteen

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Sirius sighed softly as Damel opened the door to Arcturus' study, letting him in. He sat down across from his grandfather, and the one-legged elf set down a tray of brownies on the desk before popping away.

"How's your Occlumency going?" Arcturus asked, in the middle of stirring his tea.

Sirius sighed, leaning back in the chair and blowing his hair out of his face. "You know I've never been any good at Occlumency. Bellatrix was your little prodigy. Bellatrix and Regulus. Narcissa and I suck at it."

Arcturus raised his eyebrow at Sirius, passing him a cup of tea.

"Don't sulk. The moment you started sulking because your little brother outshined you in something was the moment you gave up."

Sirius huffed as his hands closed around the cup, holding it tightly. "I'm not sulking."

Arcturus smiled, lifting his own cup. "You are. Now, tell me what's wrong."

Sirius watched Arcturus for a moment, suddenly feeling like he was five again and hiding from his mother with his grandfather so he could tell her to calm down.

"What if Harry doesn't like me?"

Arcturus set his cup down, leaning back in his own chair, thinking as he pulled his grey hair back into a long ponytail.

"Don't try and be a father to him. It's not what he needs from you. He has Lucius and Narcissa as his parents, and he loves them for it. Draco and Alex - I don't know if you've met Alex, you might have, considering your..." Arcturus looked Sirius up and down before shaking his head. "Anyway, Draco and Alex function as his siblings and he has friends. So just be his godfather, like you were meant to, Uncle, what was it, Padfoot or whatever."

Sirius stiffened as Arcturus said 'Padfoot'. No one had said that in ten years. If he remembered correctly, it had been James, telling him he'd see Sirius the next day and thanking him for helping he and Lily take Harry out for Halloween.

"I'm sure Harry will adore you."

Sirius shakily nodded, downing the entire cup of tea, slightly regretting it as it burned his throat on the way down. Arcturus frowned, shaking his head.

"You really need a new coping mechanism that doesn't involve you immediately drinking the closest potable liquid. The amount of times I've had to pay a ridiculously large bar tab because of you..."

Sirius smiled slightly, setting the cup down. Arcturus sat up, holding out his arm as an owl flew through the open window. The owl gracefully landed on his arm, sticking out its leg so he could take the letter. He gave the owl a treat, and it flew to its perch in the corner of the room. Arcturus looked at Sirius, smiling.

"Speaking of Harry, it seems I've gotten a letter back from him."

Sirius' eyes lit up, and he leaned forward in interest. "You talk to him?"

Arcturus nodded as he opened the letter, his eyes scanning it.

"Yes, he's a lovely boy. He has a fascination with Quidditch...and dragons, like most eleven year old wizards. He thinks they're like flying snakes, and he wants to talk to one. And I don't disagree, dragons are great. Although, a flying snake is more like a wyvern than a dragon."

Sirius smiled slightly, thinking about the tiny boy he so often babysitted. "What did he say this time?"

"He says he's glad I didn't have to bribe the Wizengamot to get you an innocent verdict, and that he read the transcript of the trial in the Prophet. He thought you made some funny comments, and he's glad you're out of Azkaban because he would like to meet you sometime soon. He hopes you are recovering and well, and that you will write to him soon so you can get to know each other. And then he asked me how Damel lost her ear and leg, but I'll just have her tell him those stories when they meet."

"I don't even know how she lost her ear," Sirius realised, and Arcturus looked at him, quiet.

"Then you can hear the story with your godson. When Narcissa isn't around, and you are in your right mind."

Sirius frowned before Arcturus handed him a piece of parchment.

"What is this for?"

Arcturus just handed him a quill before pulling the tray of brownies to himself.

"Harry wanted you to write to him, so you best do that, because we have business to attend to, you and I." He promptly began helping himself to the brownies, and Sirius stared down at the parchment, unsure of what to write before he gave up and just began spilling his thoughts out onto the page.

Harry-

I can't believe I've lost out on so much time with you, and I really, sincerely apologise for that. But the past is the past, and if you're willing to move on from that, then so am I. I might as well tell you a bit about myself, so you actually know something about me and don't have to rely on everyone else's stories for every bit of information.

I grew up in London, in a house that I despise to this day with my little brother, Regulus. Up until he started Hogwarts, we were best friends, and I did my best to protect him from anyone who might hurt him. When I started Hogwarts, I was Sorted into Gryffindor with your dad and our two other friends, Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew. We'd all met on the train, and for the next eleven years, we were all best friends (of course, clearly that went wrong, but none of us could have even expected that to happen in the September of 1970, when we'd all just met).

I have thousands of stories that I would be more than happy to tell you about your parents, not all of which I am proud of now, but you live and you learn, and if you can learn from my mistakes, then I'm doing my job.

I'm not exactly sure what you would want to hear from me, I could give you advice on classes or exams, I could keep you updated on things that don't go in the Prophet, I could recommend you music, I could just tell you stories, anything you want really, kiddo. As long as it's not advice on girls, I can't do girls, I'm sorry. Not that you should need that anyway, you're only eleven.

I'm staying with my granddad (Arcturus) at the moment, so if you write me, send his and my letters with the same owl, just to make it easier. I'm not sure if he lets owls that aren't his in yet.

That's all I can really think to say right now, but I hope I can meet you soon. Maybe at Christmas, if Narcissa has Granddad and I over.

-Sirius

(P.S.: If you ever need it, I have blackmail on Narcissa, she's my cousin, so I know some stuff about her that she might be a bit embarrassed about. Just so you have that knowledge in the back of your mind.)

Sirius read the letter over before folding it and putting it in an envelope and handing it to Arcturus, who set it down next to his own letter. He stood, handing Sirius the last brownie.

"You still remember how family rituals work, yes?"

Sirius nodded, standing as well, eating the brownie as Arcturus pushed aside the bookcase directly behind his desk. Sirius followed him down the corridor that lit up as soon as Arcturus stepped foot into it, the two of them entering a large room.

He had only seen this room once in his life, and it was just as empty as he had remembered it. The Black family crest was on a banner hanging behind the altar on the other side of the room, and Sirius felt the urge to tear it down, only holding himself back by pure will. He followed his grandfather to the altar, passing the rows of chairs and kneeling next to him.

They methodically lit the candles, and Arcturus nodded, setting the knife down next to the bowl on the altar in front of them.

"Sirius Orion Black, will you accept the Black family magic and come back into the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black to be my Heir, and in doing so, do everything you can to uphold the honour of the Black family and what it stands for?"

Sirius looked up at the banner, toujours pur ringing in his head. He always chose to interpret it as toujours pur du coeur, rather than toujours pur du sang. He took in a deep breath despite the air being so thick in the room now that Arcturus' words had dripped with magic.

"I will."

His eyes seemed to fog over as the world in front of him tinted grey, the scent of metal surrounding him.

"Then I accept you and welcome you back into my family, thereby granting you the protection of the Black family magic and reclaimed status as Heir to the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black."

Sirius closed his eyes, a vicious wind ripping through the wind. He opened his eyes, and Arcturus already had the knife in his hand. He sliced his palm, calmly speaking.

"With my blood, I grant my Heir the protection of the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black."

Sirius nodded, taking the knife and slicing his own palm, watching the blood drip into the bowl for a second. "With my blood, I accept the protection of the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black."

He set the knife down, their blood mixing and fading gold before draining from the bowl. Sirius looked at his palm, the golden line there shining brightly. He immediately put a glamour over it, standing up. Arcturus clapped him on the shoulder, grinning.

"Why don't we go out for dinner? There's this one place that opened in Muggle London about five years ago, tiny little place, but fantastic food. A Squib and her husband own it."

Sirius smiled, and Arcturus picked up his cane that was leaning against the altar, the two of them leaving the room.

"You know, Granddad, all you really need is a top hat and a fuzzy pimp jacket to complete your cane and ponytail ensemble."

Arcturus just laughed as they Apparated into London, guiding Sirius in the direction of the restaurant. "Believe me, I've considered it."

Sirius grinned, turning his head as he saw a vaguely familiar face. Arcturus just led him into the restaurant, talking up a storm about his favourite menu items. They were brought to a seat to eat, and despite the fact that it really was excellent food, Sirius couldn't get the face he saw out of his mind.

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Three chapters in one day, how's that to celebrate Harry's birthday? (And already, I feel the urge to write the next chapter, I just want to write so much with this fic right now.) Now, there's just two guest comments I want to respond to, so if you don't care about that, then just ignore this.

Autumngold - I'm glad you liked the chapters, but seeing as how Dumbledore is the Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot, he was present for the trial, so he does indeed know. He just wasn't really that important to the chapter. As for Narcissa 'getting Harry away from Hermione's influence', she won't. Her son is building a healthy acquaintanceship/friendship with someone, and she doesn't really need to interfere. Besides, Hermione hasn't even really been shown in this fic. And I have plans for her in the future anyway.

Guest - No, Sirius won't fight for Harry's custody. He got his trial because he gave the Malfoys custody, and Harry is happy and healthy while in their care. Harry does not want Sirius to take him away from them, so Sirius won't. Instead, he'll just support him as much as he can.