Chapter 25

After the initial awkwardness was dealt with between Harry and Cyrus, they slowly came to enjoy their conversations together. Harry respected Cyrus' opinions and ideas about the magical world. He was a Pureblood but not a supremacist, from an old family but not one with a title. It was an interesting perspective on some of Harry's ideas for example his plans for the expansion of his new Quidditch team. Cyrus couldn't believe what a huge industry sports were in the Muggle world, far outstripping all the magical industries combined on its own.

It crept up on Cyrus but he came to respect Harry. He was a young man with supreme drive and intelligence. It pained him to admit it but he had been wrong, here was someone who would be perfect for his little girl. Sure he had faults, but they were balanced perfectly by Daphne and her faults in turn were balanced by him.

Daphne was progressing well, or so the healers said anyway. The majority of her bones had been vanished and replaced; it was only her neck and skull left. Her skull was the most difficult part of the whole treatment because it had to be done in sections, requiring supreme control on the part of the healer. Harry was still visiting every day, although for less time as Sirius was making it his mission to distract Harry from sitting and moping at her bed all day, every day. It was a difficult balance for Sirius to strike, he needed to let Harry visit her and get over his guilt but he also needed to prepare him ever so gently for the possibility that she may never wake up from the Draught of Living Death. Harry wasn't much like Sirius, so he couldn't go with his normal plan for distraction; alcohol and debauchery. Harry was far more driven and so with a few suggestions from Remus, Sirius set about distracting Harry with work and learning more magic.

The acquisition of the Elder Wand threw Harry's control over his magic right out of the window when he first started using it. Sirius had already been impressed by Harry's power but now, quite frankly, he was in awe of it. Harry was overpowering every single spell he was using and didn't seem to be able to stop. While this may be useful in a duel situation it was useless for day to day living. For example he levitated a feather through three floors with a simple Wingardium Leviosa. Sirius took him right back to the beginning of Hogwart's education and with much patience set to controlling the flow of magic. It was difficult but in the long run would be invaluable for Harry. Varying the power of spells was something not usually taught at Hogwarts. It only came up if you went on to a Mastery, so Harry was once again learning something far beyond his age range, albeit enforced this time as opposed to through curiosity.

Having a goal distracted Harry from drowning in thoughts of Daphne lying in her hospital bed. He was grateful to Sirius for taking the time out to help him and for not trying to force him to take a break and have fun too often. They still had fun together, watching a film or playing Xbox, but after an hour or so Harry began to get antsy and distracted. Sirius recognised this and would move them back to working on spells.

The one distraction that Sirius planned that didn't work out was taking Harry to visit Ripfang and the others sorting through the Room of Requirement stuff. Rather than be interested in all the fascinating items the trio had discovered, Harry couldn't help but think about how Daphne would react to everything, how excited she would be. He lasted less than half an hour before he ended up storming out of the warehouse. Sirius found him nearly an hour later leaning against some railings, watching the boats travelling up and down the Thames. Knowing it was pointless to do anything else he took Harry to see Daphne in St Mungo's straight after so he could work through his feelings. Privately Sirius worried what would happen if Daphne didn't wake up; visions of Harry tearing the country apart in a bid to escape his grief filled his thoughts. The worst thing was he had no idea what he could do to help avoid this, beyond hoping the situation never arose.

It was today, D-Day, the day they tried to wake Daphne up. Her treatment had been a success, all her cursed bones replaced with brand new ones, even her skull. To say Harry was nervous would be an understatement of epic proportions. Sirius had given up trying to calm him and let him work his nervous energy off by pacing up and down. They were waiting for 9am so they could go to St Mungo's and be first on the scene for her waking, or not as the case may be.

They apparated at 8.58 when Harry couldn't wait any more. He was so distracted he didn't even complain about the feeling of side along apparition as he normally did. Barely pausing, he weaved through the people in reception, following the well trodden path to Daphne's room. Cyrus and Ana were already waiting outside the room when Harry arrived. They greeted each other quickly but all were distracted, lost in their own thoughts. Some time later, a healer poked her head around the door, interrupting the silence, and Harry's heart flew into his mouth. This was it. The woman wasn't smiling, was this good or bad?

"If you would like to come in, she's just waking up now. Try not to overwhelm her, she could still be a little dazed and confused."

A broad smile worked its way onto Harry's face and he slumped against the wall, steadily sinking down in it in pure relief. Cyrus and Ana entered the room to see their daughter but Harry hung back, wanting to give them some privacy. Cyrus looked to have been expecting this and frogmarched Harry into the room. Ana was crying tears of joy at seeing her daughter awake. She hugged Daphne gently as if frightened she would break. Ana eventually let go and Cyrus moved in wrapping Daphne in an enveloping embrace before he too stepped back. Harry was frozen; he didn't know how to cope with this. There were so many things he wanted to say, needed to say, but they had flown his mind as he gazed at the beautiful girl in front of him. Cyrus gave him a light push in the back and he stumbled towards her before catching himself and clutching her tightly.

"I'm so, so sorry" he whispered in her ear as he held her.

She pushed him back, fire in her eyes. "And what are you sorry for?"

"Well, it's my fault, you know…" He flinched as she pushed him back and punched him squarely in the chest.

"Now you listen here you bloody idiot, it is not your fault. And if you say it is again, so help me, I will curse you to within an inch of your life. I will talk to Godric and get him to teach me the most painful curses he knows. If you even dream of treating me any different, treating me like glass, I will hurt you so badly your worst nightmare will seem like a fond memory."

At this stage, old Harry would have nodded in agreement but not really meant it. He would have done exactly what she warned him against, treated her like glass. He would have tried to protect her and by doing so, by trying to cage her, he would have lost her. However this was new and improved Harry, one who had grown physically but most of all mentally and emotionally over the last year. New Harry now just about accepted that it really wasn't his fault, that sometimes bad things happen. And so rather than nodding without meaning it, he pulled his girlfriend into a searing kiss. He didn't care that her parents were in the room, he was practically drunk on the joy of her being awake and back in his life.

They were interrupted by a cough from Cyrus. He may approve of Harry but that didn't mean he wanted to see things like that. He wanted to be able to live in a fantasy land where she wouldn't do anything like that until she was at least 40. Anastasia, on the other hand, was positively beaming in delight. Before she could say anything though, the chief healer bustled into the room.

"Right that's enough, she needs rest. Go on, get out and let me treat my patient." He ushered the Greengrass parents and Harry towards the door. Clearly bedside manner was not a requirement of being the chief healer and identical expressions of anger adorned Cyrus and Harry's faces. Before they could release some of their anger, Ana grabbed them both and escorted them out.

"Don't you go looking at me with that face of thunder, either of you. He may be on odious little man but he is right, she has only just woken up and needs rest. We can come back later." Her tone brooked no argument whatsoever.

Harry's anger faded as quickly as it had risen. "Makes sense. I think I might wait until tomorrow to come visit again. Make sure she's rested up enough and to give you two some time alone with her." He held up a hand to stall their objections. "I know you don't think it's necessary but I'd feel better if it worked out that way. I feel so much better just seeing her up and shouting at me again that I don't think I'd be able to sit with her for any length of time anyway. I need to go and burn some energy off. Cyrus, Ana, always a pleasure." He gave a slight incline of the head, the merest hint of a bow, and walked off whistling a jaunty tune.

Cyrus looked at Ana, slightly bemused by the turn of events. She just stood there, a knowing smile playing across her lips.

"Come on husband, let's go and tell Astoria the good news. She will be dying to visit her sister now that she is awake."

The entire day Harry felt as though he was walking on the clouds. As if to rejoice along with him the sun was beaming down with unseasonably hot weather. He couldn't remember but he would swear that it was grey and dull this morning before he walked into St Mungo's. Now everything seemed brighter, colours were sharper and he could hear birds chirping over the sound of the hustle and bustle of the crowds. Sirius was standing just outside the exit of the hospital, leaning against a lamppost. He didn't need to ask how everything had gone, Harry's expression told him everything he needed to know.

"She's up and about then?" he asked conversationally. Harry's smile only grew, so much so that it looked as if his face may split in two. "Needs her rest I suppose. How about we take the bikes for a spin around the countryside somewhere and get some decent lunch in a pub somewhere? Relax a little, enjoy the sunshine?"

"Sounds good Padfoot, maybe go to the coast? It seems like a day to see the sea."

"Now you're talking" Sirius whooped and clapped Harry on the back. "Come on let's get going, today is a day of celebration."

It certainly was a day of celebration. They did indeed take their bikes to the South coast and spent an enjoyable morning whipping through the lanes and along the coastal roads all the way down to Cornwall. Caught up in the thrill of life, they pushed their bikes close to the limit through the sunshine. It was only thanks to the numerous safety charms that the bikes actually managed to make some of the corners at the speeds they were travelling. Around 1pm they came to a country pub and a quick application of glamour to Harry made him look 18 so that the two of them could share a meal and a pint. The steaks were cooked to perfection and the local cider had a kick to it that had even Sirius wide eyed at its potency. One pint quickly became two and by the time they had finished their meal, they were in no condition to ride anywhere so Sirius simply apparated them back to Grimauld Place. They then sent Dobby out for supplies and started a marathon Xbox session all the while continuing to polish off more of their store of alcohol. Sirius refused to start a bottle of firewhiskey, claiming that was only for when you wanted to get absolutely hammered. In his, self proclaimed, expert opinion muggle alcohol was far better for a night out as it wasn't as powerful. Harry agreed, it was certainly a lot more pleasant to take the occasional drink from a bottle of beer than to down a shot of throat-burning spirit.

It was soon evident to Harry that drinking alcohol adversely affected a person's coordination (who knew?) as both his and Sirius' ability to play Xbox suffered. Giving up they started watching films while Dobby served them a surprisingly junk food laden meal. Chicken wings, ribs and a giant pizza as well as sides and a continuing flow of alcohol. Unbeknownst to either though, Dobby had started to sneak in the occasional alcohol free beer for the pair. As the night wore on the ratio of alcoholic beer to non alcoholic altered so that by 10pm, they were only getting alcohol free. Dobby watched them both fondly from the doorway, as they both cheered at Rambo taking on a whole army by himself, spilling copious amounts of beer in the process. It was good to see Harry acting like a child, well perhaps child wasn't the right word. It was good to see Harry having fun. It was after midnight when the inebriated pair dragged themselves off to bed.

Harry's first ever hangover was nowhere near as much fun as his first drinking session. Stumbling down the stairs towards the kitchen, he silently vowed never to touch a drop of alcohol ever again, no matter how special the occasion was. Sirius was already at the kitchen table, bleary eyes fixed on his greasy fry up. Harry plonked himself down opposite and grunted in response to Sirius' muttered 'morning'.

His stomach rebelled at the mere thought of food but he knew he really ought to eat something. He was interrupted from his thoughts by the arrival of Dobby, carrying a pale blue vial.

"Morning Harry, feeling a little fragile are we? Here you go this ought to clear you up straight away." Dobby had the ghost of a smile playing across his face.

"Make…better?" Harry croaked out and at Dobby's nod, he grabbed the vial and drank it. Amazingly it quelled his stomach, the thumping in his head faded to nothing and his dry mouth disappeared. "Wow that's amazing Dobby, what was it?"

"Hangover cure Harry."

"Where's mine then?" Sirius looked indignantly at the elf.

"You however, are old enough to know better. So no cure for you until at least midday. What was that Sirius? I didn't quite catch that. Nothing? Excellent because I could always allow you to recover naturally."

"You know I think I prefer normal House Elves, they are more eager to please and less of an annoyance" Sirius grouched.

Harry laughed at his Godfather's discomfort and got started on his newly arrived fry up with a will.

He was halfway through when Sirius suddenly looked up from his breakfast, face adorned with what Harry called 'the Marauder look'. As quickly as it appeared, it faded to a look of such over the top innocence, that anyone would be suspicious.

"Oh Dobby. How about if I have something really important to talk to my Godson about? You wouldn't want me to get some of the details wrong because I have this easily cured, little teensy headache would you?"

"And this is something so important that it couldn't possibly wait until after midday?" Dobby asked with a straight face.

Sirius scowled briefly before remembering he was being innocent and the wide eyed look reappeared. "Oh it is vital, would I lie to you?"

Dobby tapped his chin in an exaggeratedly thoughtful manner. "Well if it is that important I suppose you should have the hangover cure as well. But just remember next time I won't be so easily swayed." He handed over a second pale blue vial which Sirius grabbed and drank greedily.

As soon as Dobby turned his back Sirius began doing a dance to celebrate his success. Harry rolled his eyes at how easy it was to fool his Godfather, despite him being a 'legendary prankster'.

"So, Harry. Don't really know how to start this but the sooner I let you know, the more time you have to think about it."

Harry looked up in surprise. "You mean you actually do have something important to talk to me about?"

"Of course I do, I've been putting it off for a while but now is as good a time as any really. You see Harry, I can't have children. The years in Azkaban combined with the fact my parents were first cousins has left me…sterile." He forced the last out with grimace.

Harry was confused "ok, while that is terrible, what does it have to do with me? Wait that sounds really harsh I didn't mean it like that."

"It's ok Harry that is the right question to ask. Given the choice I wouldn't have told you, far too bloody embarrassing. Anyway, you see the Blacks are an Ancient and Noble family like the Potters and as such they have a lordship. Because I am…well you know…I can't become Lord Black, even though I am the next in line. Therefore it will pass to you, my heir when you come of age. Now here's the interesting part. As your guardian I can get you emancipated on your 14th birthday. This means that you would be wholly in control of your own finances, you could choose where you live, be free to do magic whenever and so on. I could emancipate you for the Black title and this would automatically gain you the Potter title as well. Now before you start jumping around with excitement there are issues with this. Firstly you personally would be liable for any debts you would incur or either family has already incurred. Personally I doubt this will be a problem as I know the Blacks aren't in debt and the fact there was any money in the Potter vault suggests that neither are they. However by becoming emancipated you would become eligible for any marriage contracts that are currently dormant. Again I'm fairly certain that the Blacks don't have any contracts that haven't been fulfilled because otherwise I'd have had to marry, and I know your parents wouldn't have signed one. However that doesn't take into account the decade or so that Albus was your guardian for all intents and purposes. I wouldn't put it past him to have signed one for you, although Merlin knows what he would get out of it."

Harry was deep in thought, "can't we just ask the goblins if there are any debts or contracts? Surely they would know."

"That would be the easy route however they aren't allowed to reveal the status of debts or marriage contracts to anyone other than the Head of the family. So you can't find out until you become the Head and by then it's too late, they already apply."

"So if I agree to this Albus might have set up a contract with some random girl and I'd have to marry her straight after my 14th birthday?"

"That's not to mention the clauses and stuff that could be in the contract, hell it's possible that you would have to take her surname. However fear not your rather smart and incredibly attractive Godfather has a way out of it. It is possible to write a marriage contract that supersedes any others that may exist. It requires a rather unique set of circumstances though, for example that the person must the last remaining member of an Ancient and Noble House, so far so good. Also the person that signed the possible other contracts on your behalf must be either dead or incapacitated, again fine as Albus being thrown in the Loony Bin counts as incapacitated. Now all you need is to find a girl, and thanks to our Ministry's arcane laws she needs to be a pureblood. Now where oh where could you possibly find a girl like that?" Sirius smirked at his rapidly thinking Godson.

"Wow, so basically there might not be any contracts but if there is and I don't do this I will have to abide by them. If I do sign a contract with Daphne then I will have to marry her what, straight away?"

Sirius shook his head, "likely within a year of the signing so basically some time before your 15th birthday."

"I'll have to talk to Daphne about it before I even begin to think about it for myself." He got up from the table and went to shower muttering, "what a conversation that's going to be."

'What a conversation indeed' Sirius thought, 'don't think I'll stay for that one, who knows how violent it could get.'