Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or Kuroko no Basket!
...
...
1st year – Too Academy
...
"Have you seen the two men who stand outside of the school every day?" Namamura asked curiously looking out over the gym after another practice.
"Yeah," Inoue nodded with a small frown. "I wonder why they stand there every day, especially now that it's the holidays and the school is almost empty."
"Why are we even at school…" Abe whine as he flapped down on the floor and threw an arm over his face in a dramatic action.
"Because Mac is trying to kill us through practice," Yamaguchi said with a groan as he rubbed his arm and frowned before he glanced over at Mac who just arched a brow at him.
"Oi! I asked something!" Namamura interrupted their complaining making everyone look at him. "Have you noticed the two men outside?"
"Yes, we have," Abe said. "So?"
"So? What are they doing there?" Namamura asked.
Looks were exchanged and some shrugged carelessly.
"Who cares?" Yamaguchi yawned and glanced at Namamura. "If they want to stand there and just stare at the school then that's their choice."
"They could be creeps," Inoue said.
"Stalkers," Namamura nodded.
They shivered and looked around the team who looked more amused than anything else though Mac had a blank look on her face as she tried to ignore the topic of conversation.
"Poor little kiddies are you scared?" Imayoshi teased.
"No!" Namamura and Inoue denied with a glare at their captain. "But you have to admit that it is strange…"
"Mm," Imayoshi hummed and looked at Mac. "Perhaps."
Mac sighed.
"Go and change," she said deciding to ignore the knowing (and annoying) look from Imayoshi. "Practice is over for today."
...
"You're scaring my teammates," Mac deadpanned as she stopped just past where Sirius and Remus were standing without looking at them. Her hands were fisted at her side as she tried to keep herself calm.
She was confused as to why they still were there. She had expected them to leave by now, but they kept showing up even if she never looked their way or talked to them. Why?
Why? Why? Why?
"We don't mean to do that," Remus said.
Mac swallowed unsure about what to do or say. Should she say something else or should she just walk away?
"Please stop," Mac whispered and took a step to start walking away despite the heavy feeling that was settled over her.
"I was in prison for 12 years," Sirius suddenly exclaimed. "That's why I haven't been in your life!"
Mac stilled in shock as she tried to make sense of what she had heard.
"Sirius…" she heard Remus groan.
Mac turned around slowly to look at the two and she saw the weary and nervous look on their faces as they stared back at her clearly waiting for her reaction.
Her reaction… how was she supposed to react?
Prison? He had been to prison?
"I was framed," Sirius explained when Mac stayed in her spot staring at him with wide eyes.
"Mackenzie," Remus started but she held up a hand to stop him.
"Stop," she said not looking away from Sirius. Sirius, who she suddenly recognised… how stupid she had been. "You're Sirius Black."
Sirius nodded nervously.
"I can't believe I didn't recognise the name," Mac frowned for a second before she realised that she was in front of an escaped prisoner and that was probably not the safest place to be… "I…"
"Please, Mackenzie," Remus pleaded and her eyes shifted over to him. "We do not mean you any harm, ok? Everything we have told you has been the truth. We were friends with your parents and have been looking for you for a long time."
She sighed and eyed them warily for a moment.
"Fine," she sighed. "But let's go to a park to talk."
She turned and started to walk away knowing that they would follow her.
...
She was not sure if she was doing the right thing. Actually, she was sure that Seijuro and Daiki would be yelling at her that she was being stupid and that she should not be alone with them. And…she was not so sure that they wouldn't be right.
Honestly Mac was tired. She was tired of being scared. She was tired of worrying over what they would do. She was tired of being curious. She was just… so, so tired.
She would face them and then make up her mind. Like Teppei had said. She was stronger than she thought. She could do it. She just knew that she couldn't continue like this anymore.
They followed her until they reached the park she near her home and she was pleased to see that it was empty. It had not been a given this time of day.
She turned to face the two men before she opened her bag and let Nao out of his resting place and cradled him in her arms. So, okay, maybe she was a little apprehensive about being alone with them…
"Okay. Talk."
...
Sirius was not sure why he had blurted out what he had and had panicked internally trying to figure out how to take it back and save the little chance they had to get to know her because she had actually stopped to talk to them!
Well, it was to tell them that they scared her friends, but he would take what he could get.
But then, of course, he had to go and opened his big mouth and ruin it!
Only…she wasn't running away in panic as he would expect. She had stared at him and then he saw the moment she connected his name to him and she knew who he was and she still hadn't run away.
A part of him wanted actually to scold her for that because if it hadn't been him then who knows what kind of crazy person it could be and how she could get hurt! But another part was just too relieved that she wasn't running from him.
So they followed her and sat down underneath the tree Sirius had spent time with her as Padfoot earlier.
"Okay. Talk."
...
"You know my name," Sirius said meeting her eyes and was met with a calculating look.
"I read it once," Mac shrugged. "My professor never told me what you had done, though."
Sirius arched a brow and looked at Remus who was looking thoughtfully at Mac as well. It seemed like they would be able to tell their story without having her prejudiced against them (any more than she already was – that was).
Remus started to tell her about the background of the war and how her parents had known that Voldemort was after them. He told her some more about how afraid everyone was of the Dark Lord and how they knew that there was a spy among them causing mistrust and fear, and Mac, never having heard much about this, listened.
Sirius took over and painfully, but calmly told her about his plan for keeping them safe by changing the Secret Keeper at the last minute and how it backfired and turned into something terrible. His voice wavered slightly as he told her about finding her parents' dead and getting her out of the house.
Mac watched them even though it looked like she was focusing on Nao in her arms (who was doing his best to keep her calm) as they told her about how she was taken from Sirius by someone called Hagrid (apparently he was a half-giant and Mac was curious about him) and taken to the Dursley's on Dumbledore's orders.
Sirius continued to tell her how he cornered the real traitor, Pettigrew, in a street but was framed for killing 13 muggles when Pettigrew blew up the street and faked his own death before slipping away before the Ministry arrived.
Sirius had been arrested and Remus guiltily explained how he was denied a proper trial and thrown into Azkaban for 12 years before he escaped.
...
When they finished Mac was silent. Her eyes stared at Nao who cuddled into her chest but didn't seem to growl and she was sure that Nao was convinced that they were telling her the truth. But… what did it mean?
There were so many questions running around in her mind and she felt conflicted about the two men in front of her. Her eyes flickered over to them and found them watching her nervously but they kept silent and she was grateful that they allowed her time to gather her thoughts.
So, Sirius had a reason for not being there.
A part of her, okay a big part, understood now. Well, understood the reason for his absence in a practical way. Even she understood that being locked up meant that he couldn't be with her, but…
But…
But!
Why had he given her to Hagrid in the first place?! Why had he let her go then if he said he didn't want to? If he was her godfather wouldn't that mean that he had a right to her? That he would have been her guardian?
Her hands clenched tightly around Nao's fur making the fox make soothing noises and his snout pressed against her neck. She swallowed thickly.
And Remus… he hadn't been in prison…
Mac looked over at Remus and frowned.
"What about you?" she asked quietly. "Where were you?"
Remus looked suddenly much older and was that fear in his eyes? Why did he feel fear? Mac frowned.
"Tell her, Remus," Sirius said after a moment. "She deserves to know and you know it."
Remus sighed and nodded and gave Mac a tired smile.
"I know," he said. "I'm sorry, Mackenzie. I wanted to take you in, I promise you that. I talked to Professor Dumbledore about it, but he reassured me that you were taken care off by your aunt. Your mum's sister who had a biological claim to you and…"
Mac gritted her teeth at another mention of her so-called family and Dumbledore again.
"I also have a…condition that made me taking care of you unlikely to be approved of by the Ministry," Remus said a smile that was full of self-contempt making Mac startle slightly because it was a look so foreign on the man's face. He seemed to realise and shook his head a little as he looked over at her. "I'm a werewolf."
Mac arched a brow as her mind went back to the lesson she'd had about werewolves with Professor Sato and their discussion about them afterwards.
"And that means that you couldn't take me?" she asked.
Remus blinked slightly as he looked at her with a sharp look in his eyes and he looked surprised.
"What?" Mac scowled at him. "Why are you looking at me like that?"
"No, nothing," Remus said.
"He expected you to take off running," Sirius said easily but she saw the grateful look in his grey eyes.
Mac huffed but didn't say anything because she was not sure what to say or how to go from here. She was not sure she could open up to them even knowing, but… they had solid reasons for being absent in her life.
But was she really going to accept it? Was she going to accept them in her life? Just like that?
And there was still something that nagged at her.
...
"Mac?" Shintaro blinked as he looked at her showing a rare show of emotion on his face. "What are you doing here?"
Mac smiled slightly and shrugged as she pulled the strap of her bag further up her shoulder. She wasn't sure why she was there. She just found herself walking to this place without meaning to.
"I wasn't aware you even knew where I lived," Shintaro said interrupting her thoughts.
"Of course I know," Mac said. "It's in my data about you."
Shintaro just nodded accepting that like it was a very likely thing to collect about someone when you were trying to define their basketball talent.
"Come in," he invited and stepped back allowing Mac to step inside the house.
She took off her shoes and stepped further into the house. She had never been there before and in a way that was very strange, but she never really had spent time alone with Shintaro away from school. They always used to be in a group, or if she spent time alone with him it was at the library at the school.
Again she was hit with the fact that she missed her friends.
Shintaro shot her a searching look and she knew he must be wondering why she was there.
"I'm sorry for bothering you," Mac apologized a little awkwardly and rubbed the back of her head.
"You're not," Shintaro said stoically. "I was planning on inviting you home one day anyway, so this actually solved that."
Mac blinked at him and smiled.
"Really?" she asked and noticed the blush in his cheeks as he looked away from her and pushed his glasses back up his nose.
"It was my parents' idea and it's not like I really care or anything," Shintaro rambled.
Mac couldn't help it. She laughed and she was sure she saw him smile. Her smile grew and she felt herself relax slightly.
"Ah, Potter-san," a familiar voice said and Mac looked to see Shintaro's father standing behind his son. "I wondered who Shintaro was talking to."
"Hello, Dr Midorima," Mac bowed politely to the older man.
"How are you, Potter-san?" he asked giving her a searching look over his glasses.
"I'm fine," she said and looked at Shintaro. "I'm sorry for showing up uninvited. I just felt like visiting Midorima and decided to just go."
"It's no trouble," Midorima said. "Dinner is ready in a little while. Please join us."
"Oh," Mac said glancing at Shintaro, "if…I won't intrude?"
...
Shintaro was wondering if letting his mother meet Mac was a mistake. At least that was what he was thinking as he sat next to his friend at the dinner table eating and listening to his mother talk with Mac.
Or more like interrogate her about him.
His mother, Midorima Yumi, was…talkative. She could talk for hours and Shintaro never understood just how he was related to someone so bubbly, and tiresome. He had noticed Mac's surprise when she met his mum, but she had hidden it quickly and just smiled politely. He had no trouble seeing why Mac would feel surprised because he didn't really resemble his mother at all, his mother had blond hair that was cut just above her shoulders and had light green eyes.
He resembled his father in looks more than his mother. While his father was not as talkative as his mother he was more prone to talking than Shintaro was and had an easier smile. Sometimes Shintaro wondered how he even was their son.
"..and I'm sure he caused you a lot of trouble," he heard his mother say.
Shintaro glanced over at Mac who looked a little bemused but was smiling slightly as well.
"No, he never really did," Mac was saying. "He always has been very kind to me and helped me with my homework when I needed it and he even helped the others when they postponed it too long and we had to drag them to the library."
Shintaro hid his frown as he looked back at his dinner. It wasn't true that he hadn't caused her trouble. He had and he didn't like to admit that he had been a contributing factor in making her worry and hurt.
"Oh? You got Shintaro to help others with their homework?" his father was now saying and Shintaro would have rolled his eyes if that wasn't so below him.
"I didn't make him do anything," Mac shrugged glancing between them, "Midorima did it on his own and are very kind-hearted."
Shintaro knew he was blushing and he did his best to push it back as he felt his parents' eyes on him.
"It's not like I care," he muttered.
"Of course not," Mac said with that teasing tilt in her voice that he wasn't sure his parents caught but that he caught right away.
He grumbled slightly and refused to look up from his food. Perhaps if he focused on that long enough they would stop looking at him.
"I'm glad," his mother finally said.
"Eh?" Mac sounded confused.
"I'm glad Shintaro has a friend like you," Yumi said.
"I agree," Midorima said.
"I'm the one who's lucky to have him as a friend," Mac said embarrassed.
Shintaro looked over at her and saw her looking down and he could detect the blush in her cheeks. She was never really good at taking compliments.
...
"Your parents are very nice," Mac said when they sat down in his room. She was seated at his office chair while he sat down at the bed and looked at her.
"I guess," he said. "They like to talk too much."
Mac smiled but didn't say anything more about it. She got a faraway look in her eyes and he frowned a little worried as he took in the expression.
"What's wrong, Mac?" he asked and for once didn't pretend that he didn't care.
Mac looked over at him and smiled slightly no doubt catching the fact that he didn't grumble about not caring. He fought the urge to scowl.
"I don't know what to do," she admitted.
He arched a brow.
"About what?" he asked. "And why are you here? I thought you would have gone to Aomine or Akashi."
Mac sighed and pulled a hand over her face.
"They would just scowl at me and tell me that I'm making a mistake," she said sounding tired. "You're calmer than them and more likely to keep a rational head about things while they tend to…be a little unreasonable when it comes to me."
Shintaro nodded knowing that it was true. Both Daiki and Seijuro were unreasonable when it came to Mac. Though, to be honest, it could be said about them all when Mac was concerned.
åMac was watching him and he could tell she was considering her options.
"Why would they think you make a mistake?" Shintaro asked.
"I talked to Sirius and Remus," Mac admitted.
Shintaro stilled as his eyes sharpened taking in the tension in Mac and the nervous way her eyes flickered to him and then back at her lap to where her hands were clenched into fists.
"What?" Shintaro couldn't help but ask. "Why?"
Mac looked back at him and frowned slightly.
"I…I don't know," she said, "I just… I wanted to make them stop showing up outside of the school every day. They were starting to freak out my team and I didn't want them to cause any problems, but…they said something and…"
Shintaro sighed and leaned back slightly as he watched her.
"So," he said with a forced calm because he didn't like the idea of her talking to the two men any more than the others did but he also knew that keeping Mac from them and not letting her confront it would not be the best solution either. "What did you learn?"
Mac hesitated for a moment before she started to tell him what she had learned about the two men and Shintaro frowned slightly as he listened.
Mac fell silent when she was done and her brows furrowed as she thought. Shintaro didn't say anything for a while as he processed what she had told him.
"You believe them?" Shintaro finally asked.
"I think so," Mac nodded. "But, I don't know."
"Is there a way for you to check up on if Sirius is telling the truth about having a trail or not?" Shintaro asked.
Mac frowned slightly.
"I would have to ask Professor Sato, I think," Mac said, "but if I do that he will wonder why I'm asking and…"
"And you would reveal that Sirius is here;" Shintaro nodded in understanding. "I see."
They sat in silence for a moment as they thought about it all.
"I don't know what to think," Mac sighed. "Everything is a mess."
Shintaro nodded. She was right.
"What else is troubling you, Mac?" Shintaro asked pushing up his glasses.
"I don't like how they let Dumbledore just decide everything," Mac frowned as she looked back at Shintaro. "I don't understand how he could make all those decisions and get away with it. I mean, he's a headmaster at a school. He shouldn't have anything to do with where an orphaned kid was placed."
Shintaro nodded in understanding, he too had wondered about that.
"It does seem strange," he agreed. "Did you ask them?"
"No," Mac shook her head. "I had to think and told them I would talk to them later. I think they understood that I was overwhelmed."
Shintaro nodded again.
"I see," he said again.
...
Shintaro observed Mac who was frowning as she slowly spun back and forth in the office chair. She was biting down at her lower lip as she thought and he smiled slightly even as the worry churned in his stomach.
She had such a large heart. He could see it. She was going to talk more with Sirius and Remus. She had already taken the steps to do so even if she was denying it to him and to herself. She wasn't just trying to stop them from freaking out (her words) her teammates. It was her own curiosity and big heart that had her take that step to initiate a conversation with them.
He sighed.
He had always found her forgiving heart both fascinating and frustrating. He had seen her forgive them all more times than he could count and every time he was questioning how she did it. How could she go from being angry to suddenly just letting it go and forgive?
He was not lost on how lucky they were that she had that ability and he would never admit it but he was so grateful that she had forgiven them for all they had done back at Teiko to hurt her, to push her so far and threatening the bonds she had with them.
At the same time it was frustrating to sit at the sidelines and see her forgive Daiki and Seijuro for so much and pushing her own needs and feelings to the side so often. He wanted to say something but his words would never come. He worried that she would one day be pushed too far and they would hurt her too much.
And now it looked like they would be forced to see her forgive others, someone who wasn't one of them and therefore in most of their minds not worthy of being forgiven by her. It was hypocritical but true. None of them liked to admit it, but they never liked to share Mac with anyone else.
She had such a big heart. He came back to it again. But it was true. It was because of her that he and the others even could talk and still considered each other friends (even if he was reluctant to use that term). Her smiles and her looks of happiness when they were together was something they all craved. Even him.
So would it be that surprising that she would end up listening to Sirius and Remus? No, it wasn't. He had been aware that it might (okay – probably) happen when she calmed down enough and worked through her fears.
Looks like it would happen faster than he expected, though.
...
"Maybe you should involve your professor," Shintaro said breaking the silence causing Mac to look at him.
"Eh?" Mac asked.
"Look, Mac," Shintaro sighed and pushed at his glasses, "this is all too much for us to handle. I know Akashi would say he has it handled, and in a way he has. But, he doesn't have any connections in the magical world and you need someone who has."
Mac frowned slightly.
"But…" she trailed off. "I don't want to be the reason Sirius is arrested again and put back in that place. Especially if he's innocent."
"But what about the law?" Shintaro asked. "If he didn't get a trail couldn't it be filed as misconduct or something?"
Again Mac frowned pensively as she looked at Shintaro.
"I guess," she said, "but again, I don't know how it works in the magical world."
Shintaro nodded.
"Then again, you need to talk to your professor," Shintaro said.
"I'll think about it," Mac said and Shintaro nodded.
...
Later Mac was back home and seated on the couch in the living room flipping through the channels on the television without finding anything to watch. Her mind wasn't really into it either so she turned the television off as her mind drifted back to her day.
She had known to go to Shintaro was the best choice. He was the calmest of them (well, besides Tetsuya) and he was smart. He had the ability to see a problem from another side than her and she needed someone to help her see.
She just…wished he hadn't brought up, even more, to consider even if he was right. Mac bit her lip as she wondered what to do. Should she ask Professor Sato? What if he called the Aurors and had them arrest Sirius?
Why does she care?
She almost flinched as the question was whispered in her mind.
Why does she care if Sirius is arrested again? Did she already care? She could see his pained face as he talked about the past in her mind and the way his eyes seemed so…haunted and lost. It wouldn't leave her mind and she knew that she couldn't be the reason he was put back in prison.
But at the same time…she knew she needed help.
Shintaro was right. Seijuro had the muggle side handled, she trusted him with that. But he didn't have a connection in the magical world. He wasn't even supposed to know about that so she couldn't expect him to help her with that.
It wasn't fair of her to depend on him for everything either. He had more than enough to deal with on his own with his father and the company and his own basketball team. She couldn't expect him to take on even more.
...
Sato's house
...
Mac was reading up on her Charms work while Professor Sato was working at his desk looking focused but she was aware that he was looking over at her from time to time and no doubt picking up on her nerves and unfocused mind. She had seen him frown a couple of times but so far he hadn't said anything.
She had made up her mind during a sleepless night figuring out that Shintaro was right and that she couldn't handle this alone. She should have told someone before now anyway, and she felt a little guilty for not telling Professor Sato earlier.
He had done a lot for her and she knew that she could trust him. He had proven that to her ever since she had met him. He was fair and would listen to her. He had helped her with the Hermione-situation and had made sure that she hadn't told anyone, so she was sure that he wanted what was best for her.
But at the same time, she was not sure how he would react to the fact that an escaped prisoner was here and that she had been in contact with him. Several times. And without telling him. So, okay, she hadn't known until now that Sirius was an escaped prisoner but she should have told him that someone from Britain had found her.
She knew that he and Sasaki were working to keep her safe here.
"Okay, Potter-san," Professor Sato finally said and she looked up. "What's on your mind?"
Mac swallowed. This was it. She would have to tell him, but what if he got angry at her? What should she do if he refused to listen?
No, he would listen. She knew he would.
"I'm sorry, professor," Mac said quietly.
"Just what's distracting you today, Potter-san?" Sato asked.
"I need to tell you something and I don't really know how to do it," Mac admitted and glanced at him taking in the arched brow as he watched her.
"Oh?"
"I was found by two British wizards a little while ago," Mac said deciding to be blunt.
Sato frowned as he leaned forward slightly in his seat.
"A while ago?" he repeated. "How long is a while ago?"
"A couple of weeks?" Mac admitted even if it sounded like a question.
Sato sighed and closed his eyes for a moment.
"And why didn't you tell anyone?" he asked.
"I don't really know," Mac looked down, "I was…confused and scared. I wanted to pretend that they hadn't found me, but…"
"Just who was it?" Sato asked when she trailed off.
"They said they were friends of my parents," Mac said avoiding mentioning any names. "And that they had looked for me for a long time."
Sato furrowed his brows as he observed her for a moment and a hand went up to stroke his goatee.
"How did they find you?" he asked seriously, "and have they told anyone else?"
Mac looked at him.
"They said they found me through the Dursley's," she said and he arched a brow, "they got aunt Petunia to admit that they lost me here, well they said I ran away from home, but…"
Mac frowned at that and Sato sighed as he closed his eyes for a moment.
"Okay," he said, "so we need to deal with them. But they haven't told anyone?"
Mac slowly shook her head. "I don't think so."
He nodded as he thought.
"Have you seen much of them?" he asked.
Mac shrugged.
"I met them to hear what they wanted," she admitted, "but when I told them that I didn't want anything to do with them they kept coming to my school and wait there until I finished practice. They didn't try to talk to me and allowed me to pretend that they weren't there. But I talked to them again yesterday."
Sato was silent for a moment longer as he watched her and she wished he would say what he was thinking because she had no idea what was going through his mind right now.
"And why did you talk to them again yesterday?" he asked.
"My friends started to notice them and I wanted to tell them to stop showing up like that," Mac said, "and they…they said something that made me think and I listened to their explanations about things."
She winced at how vague she sounded and saw the arched brow from her professor that told her he was not going to let her keep it so vague. She sighed knowing that she had no choice in continuing with this. She had made her choice, so she had to see it through.
"Any reason for you not telling me their names, Potter-san?" he asked proving that he was a sharp one.
"I didn't realise until yesterday what it meant," she said looking at him pleadingly. "I didn't recognise him, sir. I promise."
"Who is it?" Sato frowned but he started to feel a real sense of worry now.
"Remus Lupin and Sirius Black," she said.
His eyes widened as he stared at her. Sirius Black had found her? He was here?
…and how was she still alive? Didn't he want to kill her?
...
...
AN: What do you think? XD
Hope you liked it!
Thank you for reading and for your patience in waiting for the update! XD