Chapter Twenty Six: Good in Everything

Auror Harry had snapped into action. Greyback, despite his incapacitated state, was bound to the bed and Harry was arranging a passage back to the Ministry so that he could inform the relevant ministry officials. Harry had suspected that Greyback would be sent back to Azkaban; posing as a stranger, using an unforgivable imperius curse on Mr Filch, and attacking a child were all grounds for his return. They would keep him sedated until the correct officials arrived. Sirius wasn't sure what curse he had actually cast, but luckily- for Sirius, at least- it had not been strong enough to kill Fenrir Greyback.

McGonagall and Harry were talking very seriously together at the far end of the room. Sirius tried not to eavesdrop but he heard his own name mentioned several times, which made it difficult to ignore them. Teddy was sitting up quietly on one of the beds, and Sirius suspected he felt more shaken up by Greyback's motives than the attack itself. He looked up at Sirius, looking as if he had a question formed and ready to ask, but he seemed to think better of it, and instead he sipped quietly on the glass of water that had been left beside his bed.

Sirius's groaning stomach had led him to escape the hospital wing in search of lunch. It was almost two o'clock in the afternoon, and he had been so preoccupied that he hadn't eaten all day. Lunch in the Great Hall would be finished, but the house-elves in the kitchen would be more than willing to provide a spread especially for him.

He returned with four elves running diligently behind. He made his way to Teddy and leaned on the metal footboard at the bottom of his bed. "Your lunch, Master Lupin." He smiled, leaning down to one of the elves and taking a plate and a set of cutlery from them. "Thank you, ladies." He passed them to Teddy, and waved his wand across Teddy's lap. A small tray table appeared, and Teddy set the plate on top. Sirius took the second plate from the next house-elf and settled himself in the wooden chair he had occupied all night beside Teddy's bed. He motioned for the other two elves to deliver their meals to Harry and McGonagall, and they scurried off together.

"Not many people are lucky enough to get lunch in bed, you know."

"I don't really feel lucky." Teddy leant forward and rested his elbows on the small lap table.

"Oi," Sirius nodded at his arms. "No joints with dishes."

Teddy rolled his eyes, but obligingly took his elbows off the table. "No elbows on the table, I know. You sound like my Gran."

Sirius let out a barking laugh. "The Blacks may be the most twisted family in existence, but they slapped good manners into us before we could even pick up a knife and fork. It's something that never leaves you."

"Is this seat taken?" Harry carried his own plate over to them, grinning, and sat on the second chair beside the bed.

They heard McGonagall sigh exasperatedly. "Black, Potter and Lupin." She smiled. "What did I do to deserve this?" She politely excused herself, checking Greyback was still sedated, and knowing that Teddy would be more than safe with a personal Auror guard. She left the hospital wing for her office with a house-elf carrying a plate of food, with the promise that she would return again when the Ministry arrived to sort out Greyback.

"So, do the two of you regularly have your meals brought to you by an army of house-elves?" Teased Harry.

Sirius gasped with mock indignation. "This is Hogwarts silver service!"

"Are you used to being waited on hand and foot?"

"Remus used to say that I was born with a silver spoon up my arse." Sirius frowned at Teddy quickly. "Don't repeat that, Teddy."

Teddy laughed, and his hand flew to the bottom of his back. He groaned. "Don't make me laugh, it hurts."

"So," Sirius announced grandly, with an air that suggested he was about to get answers to a lot of things he wanted to know. "What have I missed? I mean, I can see that Remus was rather busy while I was away," he nodded towards Teddy, and shook his head. "Old Remus and Tonks! I never knew Remus had it in him." He said, sounding somewhat in awe. "But what else did I miss?"

Harry blew out a sigh. "Where do I start? You know all about the war, though?"

Sirius waved his hand airily. "I've heard about it."

"Well, what did you hear?"

"There was a battle at Hogwarts. I assume we won," He shrugged. "That's about it, actually. McGonagall said if I wanted to know more about it, I should look in a book. But I didn't fancy that. I mean, what was the point. I'd missed it all. And, to tell you the truth, I was sort of under the impression I'd be going back."

Harry smiled sadly at his Godfather. "Well, we did win. We destroyed Voldemort. He's never coming back."

"Excellent." Said Sirius. "Just a quick unforgivable curse to finish him off, or was it a bit more complicated?"

Harry's eyes flickered to Teddy momentarily, but it wasn't discreet enough for Sirius to miss it. "That's a story for another time." He replied quietly, and Sirius nodded in understanding. It was a story clearly not fit for sensitive ears, but Sirius was sure that Harry would stay true to his word.

He speared a boiled potato on his plate as a distraction. "So come on, you must have a question." He said. "Either of you. How long have you spent thinking, I wish I could ask someone about my parents! Well, here I am."

Teddy laughed nervously; he had never had the chance to ask anyone about his parents, especially his father. He just didn't know where to start.

He decided on a simple one. "There are hardly any photos. What did he look like?"

"Have you got a mirror? He's sitting in this bed."

"How did they meet?" Teddy asked eagerly. "No one knows."

"Nymphadora Tonks was delivered to my doorstep by Mad-Eye Moody. He'd forgotten to inform her that I was there. She found me in the kitchen, cast a bodybind curse on me as soon as she saw me, and then when I kept shouting she cast a silencing charm on me too. So I had no choice but to lie there, silent, until she saw sense." He smiled, and watched as Teddy grinned inanely at the story. "Your father came down the stairs into the kitchen, found me completely mute, and instead of helping, turned to your mother and said, 'you know, I've wanted to cast a silencing charm on him since we were twelve, but he'd never sit still for long enough'. I didn't find it funny at all."

Teddy had certainly had plenty of questions. Sirius had eventually snuck away under the veiled guise of returning their plates to the kitchen, despite the fact they all knew that the house-elves would no doubt collect them from the hospital wing had they left them there, but he had other plans. He took the back staircase from the basement and made his way to the library, trying his best to avoid as many people as possible. He didn't fancy too many questions. He searched the desks and between the rows, and finally found a stout boy with hair the colour of toffee hovering near the restricted section.

"It's Norman, isn't it?"

The boy jumped around, startled, and Sirius noted the terribly worried look on his face.

"Professor Boardman," he started. "Please tell me you've seen Teddy! I'm worried, Sir! I haven't seen him all night! I know it was full moon yesterday, and I know what Diablo told him, and I know about his Dad-" Norman clasped a hand to his mouth as he realised just how much he was admitting to his Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher.

"Norman," Sirius tried to soothe. "Look, I won't lie to you. He's in the hospital wing."

"What?!" Norman's eyes grew to the size of saucers in panic, obviously fearing the worst. He started to flap, and threw a hand to his forehead. "I told him not to go! I should have stopped him! Oh, this is all my fault!"

"No, it isn't. Listen, listen," He grabbed hold of Norman's wrists. "He's awake, he's not a werewolf, he's just a bit worse for wear. He got attacked last night. But he wasn't bitten."

"Oh, but werewolf cuts never heal! They're cursed! Why would he be so stupid?!"

"Come with me and you can ask him yourself."

Sirius took him up to the hospital wing, and Norman cursed Teddy the whole way there. It was rather endearing listening to Norman call Teddy out on his recklessness; he knew that Remus had done the same to him and James.

When they reached the hospital wing, Sirius held the door open to let Norman pass. Norman was trying his hardest not to sound worried, but the heightened pitch of his voice gave him away. "Teddy! Are you alright?"

"Fine. I'm fine."

"You can't be fine! You're in the hospital wing!"

"Moony, are you feeling alright?"

"Fine. I'm fine."

"You are not fine, you're in a hospital bed."

Teddy tried his hardest to shrug nonchalantly, but his face contorted into a wince of pain. "Well, I've been better."

"Well," Remus shrugged, wincing at the movement. "I think I've been better."

Sirius left them to it; Teddy could tell Norman what he liked, and Sirius would find him later and tell him the rest, because if Teddy was anything like Remus- and Sirius already knew that he was- Teddy would gloss over the worst and make it sound like nothing more than a quiet moonlight stroll through the wood. But Sirius knew the value of friendship, and Norman deserved to know the truth. Because really, what friends don't tell each other the truth?

Someone wrapped a hand around Sirius's arm, and he jumped with a start. "Sorry," Harry apologised bashfully. "Look, its, erm," He rubbed the back of his neck. "It's nearly the Christmas holidays. What are you doing?"

Sirius sighed. "I'm not really a big fan of Christmas, but I probably won't get far. I'll be at Hogwarts." He grimaced. "Like always." Harry smiled sympathetically. "Don't worry about me, Harry. There's usually a feast. I'll probably go to that. You know me, I'm easy to please. Wake up just before lunch, swan down to the feast, then drown in Firewhisky for the rest of the evening."

"Don't be silly. Stay with us. There's load of room, my Godfather left me a huge house." He grinned. "The more the merrier!"

The last thing Sirius wanted was to be a burden; Harry had a family of his own, he didn't need any hangers-on.

"I don't make excellent company, and I hate small talk, and you probably shouldn't want me around your young, impressionable children."

"You're Sirius Black. You don't even have to say a word to my son, he already thinks you're the coolest person to have ever walked the Earth. And you're supposed to be dead. If you stroll through my kitchen with a pulse and a beating heart, James will explode with excitement."

"I've got a lot to live up to, then."

"Will you come and spend Christmas with us?"

"Harry-"

"You're family."

Sirius laughed cynically. A Family Christmas at Grimmauld Place? Somehow, he just couldn't imagine it.