Author's Note: I know, it's only been a day, but I thought I would give you a treat and let you see how Sirius is handling it. Keep in mind this is 2000 and there is no war. MNF
Chapter 21:
Bond
"What are you doing here at this unholy hour on a Saturday," Ginny Potter asked when she entered her kitchen. Sirius Black was pacing back and forth across the room, holding his coffee cup between his hands.
"Today is Auntie Junie's birthday," Harry said from his seat at the table. He stood to kiss his wife good morning, and while she sat, he got her a mug from the full pot. "We're on our second pot of the morning, so it's more decaf that regular."
"Bollocks," Ginny replied quietly before taking a sip. "When did you get here, Sirius?"
"Six," he said. "I send the card and the bracelet at seven, telling my owl to circle until he sensed she was awake. Brutus hasn't come back yet."
"You know it's a Saturday, and it's her birthday; maybe she wanted a lay-in," Ginny said. "I know I did, and maybe a good morning shag," she whispered.
"I heard that," Sirius said, making Ginny remember how well dogs could hear. Annoying effect of his Animagus.
"Wait, what bracelet? You were just going to invite her to lunch?" Ginny asked. Sirius had been at their house on and off for months talking about this, finally getting a Heart-Bond at his age. She and Harry were the only couple he knew who had recently found out about each other, and he needed advice.
"I thought I should include a gift," the man replied after draining his coffee cup. "I purchased a diamond bracelet for her." He filled his cup again and walked to the other end of the room.
"You bought Junie Meadows, Harry's Auntie Junie, Rosie's godmother who rarely wears robes and is usually in jeans and trainers a diamond bracelet? What exactly were you thinking?" Ginny was awake now, which was something on a day she didn't have training. It wasn't uncommon for her to sleep until noon.
"It's her fortieth birthday," Sirius said. "I thought I'd be nice."
"Sirius, when was the last time you were nice to Auntie Junie?" Harry asked. The older man stopped walking and stood thinking. And thinking. And thinking. "Never mind if it takes you that long; there is no point in answering. Why are you here and not bothering Dad or Uncle Remus about this?"
"Your dad laughs at me," Sirius answered. "He said there isn't a less likely soul mate for me."
"Well, he's not wrong," Harry said quietly. "Look, Junie is more comfortable in the Muggle world, and you're Lord Black, politician, and statesman of the Wizengamot. She drives a Citroen automobile, and you have a flying motorbike. She lives in a sensible house, and you have a mansion. Should I keep going because we haven't even hit the fact that she doesn't fly, date, or like rock music, and you sort of live on those things."
"Don't forget the crisps, Firewhisky and Chocolate," Ginny added.
"True, Auntie Junie occasionally will have a glass of wine and eats like a rabbit," Harry added.
"Enough!" Sirius said. "I've waited an exceedingly long time for this. I didn't think I wanted it until her name showed up two months ago. Now, well, I nearly told her at Christmas and last week at the New Year's At-Home your parents had."
"Sorry, Sirius, we don't mean to tease you, but it's funny. I don't think I could have come up with two people with less in common," Harry confessed. He stared at his godfather's face, surprised at what he saw there. "You want this to work? You want to be married and have children?"
"I do, which scared the shite out of me when I realized it," Sirius confessed, finally sitting down. "I looked for a while, it was obvious I wasn't going to get a name by the time I was twenty, but no one was anything more than a good time."
"Oh, I remember," Harry said. "Mum used to make me swear I wouldn't be like you."
"Unlike what your dear mother might say or think, I was not a man-whore. I did go on quite a few dates, sometimes more than once with the same woman, but rarely did I do any more than kiss them. I want a real connection with the woman I spend the rest of my life with," Sirius explained.
"Sirius, for a while, you had a new girlfriend every week or so," Harry reminded him.
"It did feel that way, at least in my twenties," he admitted. "I won't claim I was celibate either, but most of those women were…bland."
"What about when you dated that member of the Royal Family?" Ginny asked. It had been the most public of any of Sirius' girlfriends. It was written about in both the Muggle and Magical newspapers.
"I met Lady Sarah at a fundraiser for a cancer research project I decided to help fund," Sirius explained. "We don't even have cancer in the magical world, and it kills so many Muggles and someone I knew had just been diagnosed," he said softly with his head bowed, but neither Ginny nor Harry knew who. Before one of them could ask, Sirius lifted his head and was speaking again. "It wasn't a terribly romantic relationship, more of a convenience for her. I enjoyed her company, and we went to some wonderful places and events together. I still correspond with her."
"Who did you know who had cancer? What were you even doing in the Muggle world, Sirius?" Harry asked. Sirius hesitated, not feeling the need to discuss much, but Harry had been helping him and felt if he would treat his godson like the man he was, and not the child he'd been, he should be truthful.
"Junie's mum," Sirius said. "I don't know if you remembered when Mrs. Meadows died, you were only like ten, but it was hard on Junie. She'd been close with her mother, and Pauline's refusal to even consider using a healer or magical cures was devastating to Junie."
"You did that for Auntie Junie?" Harry asked, and Sirius sort of nodded and shrugged at the same time. "Does she know?"
"I doubt it. Your mum wanted me to tell her, then she wanted to tell, but I refused. I didn't want it to become a 'thing' between us. She didn't really trust me after something that happened in our sixth year."
"What happened?" Ginny asked. Sirius was moving his finger around the edge of his now empty coffee mug in a slow, deliberate circle.
"I don't really want to explain, but leave it at I played a game, and Junie got hurt, and it was worse than when we accidentally covered her in ground-up rose hips."
"Sirius, ground-up rose hips make itching powder," Harry said. Potions were his second-best subject, behind Transfiguration, both thanks to his parents. "Why would you do that?"
"She wasn't the target, and we didn't realize she was behind Snape in the hallway, and … it wasn't one of our best moments. The detention for that prank was served with Professor McGonagall, who made us go around restoring her pin cushions. Each one had to have the same number of pins on it and the exact dimension. It took us hours to repair them all correctly.
"Serves you right," Ginny muttered. "So, lunch might be a chilly affair?"
"Well, if Christmas dinner was any indication, yeah. She wouldn't even ask me for the gravy. She asked Marlene, who was sitting next to me. I had to pick it up, hand it to Marlene, who passed it across the table to Peter, who then gave it to Junie."
"Perhaps you can start with an apology for all your past indiscretions?" Ginny suggested.
"Already had planned it. Look, I know the two of you were born with those matching marks over your hearts, and you were dating even before you had your marks on Ginny's birthday, but what did your bond feel like when you first got it?" Sirius sounded so desperate, it made Ginny's heart hurt a bit.
"I felt like I was soaring the day I woke up with it," Harry confessed. "It was so much more than just being in love with Ginny, which I already was. I suddenly could feel her emotions, and she was elated. I could always find her without the map; I just knew where she was."
"Did you feel warm inside?" Sirius quietly asked.
"I did, and I still do. Part of Ginny lives in me now, and part of me lives in her. We had an easy time with our bond. Ron and Hermione are still struggling with theirs."
"Another couple who are nothing alike," Ginny added.
"They're under a lot of stress," Harry said. "Hermione is in law training, and Ron didn't do well at Quidditch try outs again." Ron had only been offered a spot as a medical replacement on one team. Medical replacements didn't train with the team like reserves did, and he chose not to take it. He had a stable job in the Department of Magical Games and Sports. He decided not to leave. It didn't help that Harry had been hired right out of Hogwarts to be the Seeker for the Wimbourne Wasps, and then Ginny was recruited for the Holyhead Harpies even before she left Hogwarts.
"It's not just stress, Harry," Ginny said. "They're both stubborn. I keep telling Hermione if she'd open herself to the bond a bit more, things would be easier." Sirius groaned and laid his head on the table.
"This is going to be a disaster."
"It doesn't have to be," Harry said. "Let's change the subject. Did you see the most recent poll? The people are behind you being the next Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot."
"I think I'm too young," Sirius said, again; Harry and Ginny had heard it before. "Plus, the people don't get a vote, and you know it. This is entirely left up to the members of the Wizengamot."
"Sirius, you've been acting as Chief Warlock for over a year, ever since Dumbledore was selected as a High Mage. Why wouldn't they want you to continue?"
"Ginny, you're sweet, but I know I have political enemies. Many do not like the reforms the Progressive Party has shepherded through. Most of the pureblood families still think I'm a blood-traitor for being friends with the Potters and a werewolf."
"Yet, Remus now works in the Ministry, and your Werewolf Rights Act has made life better for hundreds of people," Harry said indignantly. "Not to mention the Muggle and Muggleborn Families Care Act. They have both been well received."
"It wasn't my legislation, but the Progressive Party's. Your dad and Remus were the ones who actually wrote both of the bills. Even with all the successes the Progressive Party has advanced, some want true Purebloods to rule. I think they will win by placing someone a bit more centrist, like Kingsley Shacklebolt or Jenivive Selwyn, up against me. Neither is controversial at all."
"Madame Selwyn is what, one-hundred ten and hard of hearing," Harry said. "I think we need someone born in the twentieth century. As for Kingsley, he's younger than you are."
"Harry, I don't want to get ahead of myself," Sirius said. "Becoming Chief Warlock will be an incredible amount of work. Perhaps I won't want it because Junie is willing to spend the next year getting to know me?"
"Wait, you'd give up what is probably a once-in-a-lifetime political opportunity for the chance that Auntie Junie will spend the next year letting you court her?" Harry was shocked at his godfather. Sirius was a political genius, born with a pureblood knowledge but with the heart of someone tempered by being friends with a blood-traitor, a Muggleborn, and a werewolf. He excelled at working the Wizengamot around in a better way. He had convinced even some of the purest families – like his own – to see a more inclusive future. Heck, he even had talked rings around Lucius Malfoy, which made Harry joyful.
"I would," Sirius confessed, "because this might be my only chance at finding a soulmate and having a family."
"Oh, Sirius," Ginny said, getting up and hugging him from behind while she rested her chin on his shoulder. "She might break your heart in the meantime?"
"It would serve me right for not being nicer when we were younger. You know Dumbledore isn't sure why The Source decided to mark me now; none of the High Mages are."
"I think it's because you're ready, Sirius," Ginny said softly in his ear. "Fate sometimes takes its own sweet time." Harry reached over and put his hand over Sirius' forearm.
"Good luck today," Harry said earnestly. "Remember, be contrite and kind."
"Right, contrite and kind."