As/N: Chapter 50... wow, this is so cool!
Chapter 50: A New Addition
Skylar POV
My family was one of those old wizard families you never really heard about, while they did in fact exist.
I had several distant relatives and cousins, many of which I hadn't met, but among the cousins that I'd seen more than a few times, my favourite was my cousin Hunter.
He was a few years older than me, and married. I hadn't heard from him recently, though. Well, I hadn't heard from anyone in my family other than my uncle.
When we were small, we'd play together. This was before my parents died. He'd come over to our house very often. Other than James, he was the only other child I remembered playing with in my childhood.
About a month after we'd seen Regulus, my uncle came to see us again. Going downstairs to meet him, I noticed that he looked grim, even more than usual.
I offered him a cup of coffee, but he shook his head, taking a long drink from his personal flask.
"Seriously, do you think that I would poison your drink?" I asked him, amused.
"No. But someone else might have."
I rolled my eyes. "There's no one else here right now."
He dismissed that.
After a few minutes of silence, he said, "I have some bad news."
Oh, no. It had to be something really bad, or he wouldn't have come in person like this, looking so serious.
"You remember your cousin Hunter? The one you used to play with?"
"Yes," I said, my throat going dry. "I even saw him at Hogwarts for two years before he left."
He nodded. "Well, it appears that he was murdered. They found his body, along with that of his wife, a few miles away from St. Mungo's hospital."
I stared at him, stunned. No, that couldn't be true, this can't be happening...
"Why were they near St. Mungo's?" I asked, attempting to keep my voice steady.
"Well, it appears that they had a son."
"No! Their son was killed too? They killed a baby?"
He shook his head. "No, their son was, and still is, in St. Mungo's. Dragon Pox. So he still lives."
I fought back tears, feeling a rush of extreme hatred for Voldemort and his damn followers.
At that moment, Sirius entered my flat. Noticing my expression, he rushed to me. "What happened?" he asked urgently.
I just shook my head. He turned to Uncle Moody for an explanation.
After finding out what had happened, he hugged me tightly. I hugged him back.
"What about the baby? What's going to happen to him?" I asked.
Uncle Moody sighed. "I thought you might be able to help there..."
I raised an eyebrow.
"Let's go to St. Mungo's and visit him, shall we?" he asked.
I looked at Sirius. "Will you come with us?"
"Of course I will," he said quietly.
"Okay then," I said, turning back to face Uncle Moody, "Let's go."
Half an hour later, we were standing in front of Purge and Dowse Ltd, the cover building for St. Mungo's. Once inside, we went up to the second floor, and into a special wards for infants.
He was lying on the fifth bed from the door. As we got closer, I saw that he was covered with ugly pustules. Despite this, he was one of the most adorable babies I'd ever seen. He had straight black hair, and large round eyes, though they were closed now. His tiny hands were curled into fists.
Gently, I brought my hand near his, trying to see his thoughts. Since he was just a baby, they weren't fully formed thoughts, but I could make out colours, shapes and emotions. I saw faces too, the faces of Hunter and his wife, the baby's parents.
"What's his name?" I asked my uncle breathlessly.
"Nicholas."
Suddenly, his eyes opened and he started crying. Tears splashed from his brown eyes and I felt a sudden urge to comfort him, to make him stop crying.
An assistant healer appeared and lifted him up, patting his back. Slowly, he stopped crying and fell back asleep, a tiny smile on his tiny lips.
I looked up at Sirius, who was similarly entranced. "He's so tiny," he murmured.
The assistant turned towards us. "Are you his relatives?" she asked quietly.
I nodded. "He's my cousin's child."
She looked at us. "After he's healed, he will be sent to an orphanage."
"No!" I blurted out. "Can I adopt him?" I don't know exactly what made me say that. I just knew that I loved that baby and I couldn't let him be sent off to an orphanage.
I looked at Sirius, then my uncle, wondering if they would approve.
My uncle just nodded grimly. Sirius looked back at me, then the baby, a smile on his lips.
It looked like they agreed with my decision.
The healer hesitated. "I think you can, but you'll have to check with our Adoption Official. He's in charge of these matters."
"Oh, yes. Where can we find him?"
"Ground Floor. Ask the Welcome Witch for further directions." she said.
Thanking her, we left the ward.
"Go down the corridor, first door on the right." the Welcome Witch said.
"Thanks."
I knocked on the door, which had a big brass plaque that said, 'Lionel Cook, Adoptions'
"Enter," a pleasant voice said.
"I'm Lionel Cook. How may I help you?" a middle- aged man with glasses and a receding hairline said.
I shook his hand. As usual, when I touched him, I could hear his thoughts.
She's the first one today. Why did I ever take this job? It's so boring. I hardly have anything to do. There are not many people who'd adopt a child from a hospital, anyway.
I tuned out the rest of his thoughts, releasing his hand.
"I'm Skylar Moody. I'm interested in adopting one of the patients here, Nicholas Adams."
He motioned for us to sit down.
"Are you quite sure about that? You look rather young."
"Yes, I'm sure. He's my late cousin's son, for one, and he's just too adorable. I'm sure of my decision."
"Okay then," he said, sighing. "How old are you?"
"I'll be eighteen next month."
"Are you married?" he asked, looking shrewdly at Sirius.
I felt him stiffen next to me. "Not yet." he said.
I raised an eyebrow at him. He shrugged.
"How many people are there in your household?"
"It's just me," I said, "but Sirius lives across the hallway."
He frowned slightly, but didn't say anything.
"Do you have enough income to take care of an infant?"
I nodded. "My parents passed away when I was eight. They left me a small fortune. Also, Nicholas' parents left both of us quite a bit of money, so we should be alright."
He nodded curtly. "That seems to be all right. Just one more thing. You're only seventeen now, so is there anyone who can vouch for you?"
My uncle growled. "I can vouch for her. I'm her uncle, Alastor Moody."
The official squeaked. "Of course sir, Mr. Mad- MOODY, sir, my deepest apologies."
I stifled a laugh. Sometimes, it was fun to have an uncle who could intimidate anyone.
"It's settled then. You can adopt Nicholas. He'll stay here until he's healed, and then I'll have you sign the documents." Mr. Cook said.
Smiling widely, I thanked him and we left.
Sirius POV
As soon as I saw that little baby, I was lost. So I didn't have any objection when Sky decided she wanted to adopt him.
Of course, this provided another reason for us to get married soon. She'd need help with a baby, and it would be better if I could help her as her husband and the child's father.
Also, Skylar and Nicholas Black sounded good.
As we walked out of St. Mungo's, I kept running through possibilities in my mind. I guess that her uncle must have gotten a gist of my thoughts, because he looked at me, frowning, before giving the smallest of nods. So, that was taken care of.
Now, I'd just have to think of a good way to propose to her.
