Sirius Pov
He woke up keeping his eyes close he didn't want to open them just yet. He had dreamed of freedom, no dead friends no crying babies. The Dementors must have forgotten to feed on him. He started taking deep breathes; he would have to get up and prepare for their arrival. He slowly opened his eyes and jumped out of his skin when he saw the light grey walls instead of the black moss covered walls of Azkaban.
He hadn't dreamed it. He was free. He turned around and saw Remus sleeping in a chair snoring. –"MOONY!"
Remus woke with a scare, wand in hand. He looked around for the threat and growled.—"Sirius why are you yelling?"
"Sorry"— he said smiling so wide his cheek hurt.—"I'm free Moony!"
Moony chuckled. –"Yeah, it's finally coming to you eh"
He nodded.—"Can we go? I need clothes and I need to see Harry I know you said he was with Muggles but …"
"You need to calm down. We need green light from the healers and then we are going home. There is a few things you need to know before you do anything."
"What could be more important than Harry, Remus?"
"Nothing, but you can't just show up like that. I will get a healer and then home"
Remus left to find the Healer and he decided to go take care of his morning routine. He was getting back into bed when Remus and the healer walked in.
"Good Morning Lord Black. How are you feeling?"
He frowned there it was again, Lord Black why …
"I'm feeling great can I leave."—He saw Remus roll his eyes at him.
—"We checked your exams and you can leave with the condition that you follow our instructions."
"Yeah, yeah great"— He said trying to get up but Remus pushed him back down.
—"Is there a problem?"—
"He is severely malnourished, his bones are a little weak he needs calcium and he's lacking a few essential vitamins. His muscles are atrophied so you need to do exercise. Start on a low burn and increase it with time. He needs a few Blood-Replenishing potions; he will be weak for a few weeks.
Sirius good humor was slowly evaporating. Prison had really screwed him over. –"So what do I do?"
"You take your potions, eat healthy and work out. It will be in adjustment but you will be back to normal in three to six months. You will also suffer quite a few strong vivid nightmares because of the Dementors but for that I can only recommend chocolate and unless your suffering from insomnia a few sleeping potions."
The healer waved his wand and a box appeared in front of him, he opened it and a dozen potion bottles appeared. –"You will have to take this before every meal. He pointed at three different shades of green bottles. Try eating three times a day even if your body isn't use to it anymore. These other four are one each day and they will help your skin, teeth, hair and nails"— He pointed at the purplish blobs. The others are vitamins and need to be taken once a day. Each bottle has five servings once they finish you can order more from the apothecary. I will give you a prescription. If you follow these instructions you can go and I will see you in a month."
"We will, thank you healer Taylor" –Remus spoke for him, he was still looking at the potions with disgust.
"If he feels dizzy or you see he's sleeping more than usual, vomiting, headaches bring him immediately." –And with that the healer was gone.
"Ready to go?"—Remus smiled and he nodded. Moony threw him a rucksack and he quickly went to change. Once they were done Remus pulled him down the hall towards the back door.—"Where are we going?"
"Through the back door, healer Taylor said the main entrance is full with reporters and we can't use the Floo."— The back door opened to a little Alley that he remembered was used by Aurors when they were taking guard or had been wounded. Remus extended his arm.—"Ready?"
He took it and soon the sensation of being lift into space and twisting came. Seconds later his feet touched a gravel path. His stomach was in knots.—"Merlin I forgot how it felt."
Remus extended a little piece of paper. His eyes widen, his friend was living under the read the paper.
Minerva McGonagall invites you to Rose cottage.
Suddenly a cozy looking cottage appeared it had a rose garden and French windows.—"Let's go inside"
The house was cozy even inside. The stairs were right in front of the door, with a living room to the left. It was a long open room in L shape. The living room connected to a dinner table for four with a big glass sliding door and to the right was the kitchen. There was a vegetable garden in the back yard and a little forest surrounding the house. The living room walls were covered by two big French windows and a book shelf. Right between the living room and the dinner table was a decent size fire place.
"It's not much but its home. There are two bedrooms and one bathroom. I hope you don't mind sharing."— Remus said getting food out of the fridge.
"It's enough Moony, I like it."— He smiled at his friend.—"What happened to your parent's cottage?"
"It's still there but I don't use it anymore. The healer said no heavy food. How about I make some chicken broth with vegetables and you go settle down. Once you come down I will tell you everything you have missed. Your room is the one on the left."
He nodded and walked upstairs. There were three doors he walked into the one on the left and smiled, there was a decent size bed with a bedside table with oil lamps. He was surprise when he saw the closet full of clothes, he started going over them and realized it was his clothes; Remus went for his things, he felt overwhelmed so he decided to go take a shower. He put the water into the right temperature and turned around for soap when he saw right there in the corner his favorite shampoo and soap he couldn't stop himself, there in the steamy room and in the smell of his old self he cried. It took him a while to get out of the shower and even more to go downstairs, he even ran into Remus mid stairs. –"I thought you had fallen asleep"
"No, I just needed a moment" –Remus nodded and he pushed him into the dinner table. –"Thank you for my stuff, and I can't believe you remember what I like."
"I lived with you for seven years. I can't remember how many times you threaten to hex us if we used your "special" hair shampoo"
Sirius chuckled –"But I never did."— He and James had always been too much into their looks.
They started eating in silence, the broth tasted like glory. He wanted to get Remus to slowly go into conversation, yet he had so many questions and he couldn't hold it anymore. –"I didn't see anything of Harry, doesn't he stay with you from time to time?"
Remus stopped eating—"I haven't seen Harry since a month before that Halloween night."
Sirius frowned. "What do you mean?"
"Look there is so much information"
"Just tell me"
"Well first thing. I'm sorry to inform you that your mother is dead" –Sirius blanked at him.—"Walburga Black is dead?" –Remus nodded and looked at him disapprovingly when he started laughing.—"The old crazy hag is finally gone."
"Yes she is, so you are now Lord Black, Duke of Grimmauld."
That stopped Sirius laugh—"No! My father…"— Then he remembered people calling him Lord Black.
"Gave you everything, apparently he changed his will after your brother's death. I haven't seen the will but Dumbledore said that it also had your grandfathers' signature. Your mother never knew"
Sirius couldn't stop himself he laughed out of anger, happiness, irony he couldn't tell. –"What I'm I suppose to do with that. The title means nothing anymore Grimmauld no longer exists, its call London and is now full of muggles."
"You know very well that it does mean something. It has money, social and political power. You can use it to get your life together."
"Is there really no one else?"— Remus screwed up his face in aversion.
"Narcissa and it would go to her son. Andromeda is not part of the family; Bellatrix is in Azkaban, you're the last male black"
"A Malfoy."—Sirius shook his head. His father had trained him to be Lord Black since the day he was born. But when he ran away he renounced to all of that. He wasn't going to deny that he once dreamed about being Lord Black, he wanted to be like his Grandfather. –"I guess I can take advantage of it, I'm sure people will give me trouble. I mean Voldemort is gone but I will need to fight the vultures."
"No. Dumbledore doesn't think he's gone and neither do I"
Sirius blanked at Remus tone—"But I saw his body he…"
"So did Hagrid but when the Aurors got there his body became dirt."
But that couldn't be. Voldemort couldn't cheat death could he? He being alive meant that no one was truly safe it mean that Harry was a target he shuddered just thinking about the implications.
"If you're right then he will come back, that puts Harry in danger"
"I know. That's why I haven't gone to see him"—Remus sighed passing a hand through his face. That's when Sirius realized his friend had also had a few rough years as he saw the new scars on his fingers and a new small one underneath his chin.
"I know he's with muggles but when he visits Alice and Frank he's safe, have they not allowed you to visit?"
"Harry isn't with them. Dumbledore took him to Petunia." –Remus stated angrily
Sirius stood up knocking down his glass of water.—"NO, she hates magic, she hated Lily, how could you allow it"
Remus leaned back into his chair and pushed his food away.—"Things got out of control after Voldemort disappeared; did you see Moody?"
"Yes what does he have to do with anything?"
"Bellatrix did that to him with her husband.
"I could hear her but I never saw her."—He remembered her screaming about his friends but never paid her much attention, after a few weeks she would only have a few moments of lucidity. –"Did she try to hurt Harry?"—he asked angrily. He hated her and if she had dare to touch his little boy…
"They committed a crime alongside Crouch Jr."
"Jr… as in…"—Sirius eyes widen.
"He was in undercover death eater, rumors say crouch has him in the low guarded floor but he isn't doing very well. We thought we were safe you see, so those in hidden decided to come out. Frank and Alice were attack in their home. They tried to kill Neville but the house elf was quick and took him to Augusta"
Sirius started shaking his head, The Longbottoms were strong.—"Are they dead?"
"Worse, they were under the Cruciatus to long, they lost their mind. The house elf returned for them but Bellatrix killed him with a poison knife, by the time Alastor got there it was too late. They now live in St. Mungos."
"Fuck Fuck! – The Longbottoms were ruthless, strong. To imagine them vulnerable just didn't felt right—"Who else is gone?"
"The Prewett they gave Dolohov a hell of a fight but.."—Remus shook his head sadly.
"Fuck!"— Sirius roared slamming both of his hands in the table. The Prewett were the best duelist they had, how could they be gone?
They were silent for a while. Sirius not wanting to believe his friends were gone.
"I didn't believe you were innocent"—Remus whispered breaking the silence.—"For a moment I believed you had done it."
Sirius winced, Moony's words hurt him, they burned deep in him but he couldn't blame him. He hadn't trust him in the end either.—"I know and I understand. I didn't trust you either, by the time I realized what happened I had been in Azkaban a few days."
"I dreamed about them. Lily told me to remember who you were and to protect harry. It felt so real I could even smell her perfume"
"I dreamed about them to. They told me to stay strong and to protect harry. I think…I think they were saying goodbye" –Sirius said choking up, they sat there for a while holding each other while they cried. That was something people ignored, the Marauders were sentimental, the tears and nightmares became confidential. They would sit together and drink hot chocolate that with the years changed into butter beer and then fire whisky. All four supporting each other but now there was only two.
"I tried to get Harry but after my attack the Ministry denied my petition."
"What attack?"—Sirius said sitting up straight, cleaning his tears.—"Is that how they know about your condition?"
Remus sighed elbows on the table hands clasped in front of him , summoning a bottle of fire whisky and serving two glasses.—"Yes, Greyback sent a few wolves after everyone he sire. I was in Diagon when it happened. It got leaked that I was Sirius Black friend and Honorary Uncle of the boy who lived. They made a whole spectacle of it"
"They boy who lived?"
"That's what their calling Harry. He's the one who defeated Voldemort."
"But no one knows why?"
"They don't care. For them it's enough" –He didn't like the sound of that. Harry was a baby why put so much over his shoulders.
"What happened after the attack?"
"Well you know Bagnold she was prejudice and took it personal that I wasn't register. She wanted to send me to Azkaban since I didn't had any wizard as my patron but Dumbledore put a stop to it, unfortunately as punishment she took everything from me. She put my parent's cottage in a mortgage and froze the fifty thousand galleons Lily and James left me.
"That fucking women".—Sirius said drinking down his glass.
Remus shrug.—"I had savings in the muggle world, not much but enough. McGonagall let me have this cottage, it belonged to her mother and I'm allowed to use the shrieking shack on full moon."
"We will fix it Moony don't worry about It.—Remus smiled but shook his head
"I didn't visit Harry because I was scared. Petunia told Dumbledore she would take Harry if no one from "our world" bothered her and I was being watch that's why I moved, so was Augusta and the Weasleys. I didn't want to attract attention to Harry"
"You did the right thing. Are we still being watch?"
"No, it stopped when Karkaroff talked. That is how we found out about Jr it destroyed Bartys reputation"—Sirius smiled at that, old crouch deserved it.
"Fudge is Minister, how did that happened?"
"Bagnold was in Germany and was attack by a group of Vampires, a few weeks before she insulted them, called them Dark Filth. It was ugly"
"Her prejudice killed her, serves her right. We need to get Harry, I can't leave him with Petunia I don't believe she's taking care of him" –
No matter that his mind was going to the lordship and the responsibilities he now had, the dead friends and the cloudy memories of Dementors, his thought were focusing on Harry.
"Dumbledore has someone watching and nothing unusual has been said, but your right we need him, I miss him. But to do that you need to be well settled as Lord Black. You need to become his legal guardian in the Magical world as in the Muggle. Petunia needs to sign full paternal rights and Dumbledore is touchy with security so you need to find a house or a fortress. He will probably use your years in Azkaban as in excuse so you will need a healer's clearance.
"Why is he putting up a fight, he must know that Harry belongs with me, that Lily and James decided it"
"Yes but apparently Harry is protected my Blood wards, he hasn't said much but I'm sure he will fight you. I don't think he understand that Harry needs you. According to him Harry need to stay with them for his own protection." –Remus glared at the table.
"He needs us"—Sirius said patting his arm. Merlin knows he will need Remus and he will make sure everyone who did his friend wrong pays.
"I will help you. I just thought you wanted to bond with him"
"Harry will need both of us and let's be honest we need him."—Sirius stated.
Getting into a routine was exhausting and even more complicated to achieve. His body finally catch up to him and it suddenly stopped working. He had started with the potions and the slow exercise and three days into the routine he just stopped functioning and collapsed. Remus had to drag him to St Mungo's where he had stayed two days. Apparently it hadn't been his body but his magic.
Now every day he worked on his body and magic. He ran and went over the basic spells. From first year to his N.E.W.T, he drank his potions with reverence and ate as much as he could stomach. The improvements started showing on his second week when he gain six pounds and he stopped looking deathly pale. His nightmare had gotten worse and he slept most of the day but Moony had put him to do hand labor around the cottage and he was so exhausted he barely dreamed.
By the beginning of June he was once more back in St Mungo's where the doctor deemed him fit. His hair, nails and teeth were healthy he still had weight to gain but he was slowly approaching his target and his nightmares had reduced enough he no longer woke up screaming.
He was closer to getting Harry.
I hope you like it, please review.