Chapter 15: Blackthorn & Lavender

Ivy Hall, Bracknell, Bracknell Forest, Berkshire, England

October 21, 1980

It had become his habit during his after duty hours for him to stake out the home of his Great-Aunt Cassiopeia Black. He had tested the wards several times and had discovered that so long as he was in his animagus form he could go about as he pleased on the grounds completely undetected. However, if he tried to enter the house the wards were alerted. Twice House-Elves had caught him trying to enter through the kitchens and once Cassiopeia had caught him. He had been convinced that Cassiopeia would see through him, she always was a shrewd Witch, but she did not. She thought him a dog and had seemed amused by him. She ordered the House-Elves to leave food outside for him.

With that he had tacit approval, of sorts, to be on the property but not in the house. Yet, he had not achieved his goal; he had not lain his eyes upon his son. It was frustrating. He had spent months masquerading around Ivy Hall as Padfoot in the hopes that he would eventually see his son. He was not a patient man but he forced himself to remain calm, to stay patient. He could not run the risk of making Cassiopeia suspicious.

Today he knew that he would have his chance. The House-Elves were setting up sofas and chaises upon the lawn. Soft thick comforters were also being lain down upon the grass and tables were being set up with food. Cassiopeia was holding some sort of social event and this meant she would be too busy to keep her eye on Leonis at every moment. He would get his chance if he could just be patient.

He laid down beneath the rose bushes and watched as several guests began to be led outside. He noted that one of the guests was his cousin Narcissa and she carried a bundle in her arms. It was not hard to guess that the bundle was her young son Draco. He slowly crept forward curious to see the Malfoy heir.

"Oh!" Narcissa exclaimed in surprise as she saw the large black dog. "I did not know you had a dog Auntie."

"He's a new acquisition. A stray that the Elves liked. He is a silly thing, well-tempered but I think in time I could train him to be loyal to Leonis," Cassiopeia explained.

"That is wise," Narcissa agreed as she smiled down at her little boy. "Leonis would benefit from such a protective yet playful companion."

Cassiopeia agreed even as a House-Elf came forward carrying a baby with raven curls. She sat the baby on one of the comforters and smiled as the baby began to babble. "Oll," said the raven haired baby to the House-Elf and the little creature smiled fondly at the baby.

"Yes young master, I will fetch your favorite doll," she promised, and then she went away.

Sirius watched the black haired child as he patted the soft down comforter and babbled about his doll. He slowly crept forward wanting to be closer to the child but not wanting to frighten him. The babes head turned and his gray eyes locked onto him. Sirius froze for a moment and he felt a tingle of awareness skate over his skin. He tingled with the knowledge, the sudden understanding that this was Leonis. This was his son.

"Oll!" Leonis proclaimed and then he scooted toward him.

Sirius watched him mesmerized. The child was perfection itself. He had such beautiful gray eyes, the same color of Regulus's eyes. He had raven curls that were the same as Sirius's hair when he was that age. He had a cute nose and adorable cheeks. He looked well cared for and Sirius felt tears sting his eyes as the child came closer to him. This was his son and he was trapped in this form at present, not daring to change so that he could wrap his arms around the boy. He wanted to hold his son. The need was so strong.

Patience Sirius! Patience. Let the women relax with the docile dog near the children, let them gossip with each other and become more at ease. Be patient.

He felt himself shiver as Leonis's fingers sank into his fur. A soft whine escaped his throat. Leonis stared at him for several long moments before he again began to play with his fur, patting it and feeling the soft texture. "Ot oll," Leonis proclaimed.

"No Leo, this is not your doll," Cassiopeia responded as she watched the proceedings. "This is a Dog."

Leo scrunched up his face as he thought. "Og," he said looking at Sirius. "Og!" he said again happily as he continued to pet his fur.

Sirius kept himself docile as Leonis touched him. It was easy enough to stay calm as he was being petted and it was a wonderful feeling. He took in the scent of the boy, wanting to commit it forever to memory, just as he had done with Harry.

Harry's scent had been Holly and Apple. Leonis' scent was different than he had expected. It was a Blackthorn, Lavender, and a hint of smoke. The scent of Leonis startled Sirius because he had catalogued that scent before, well a scent similar to it. Regulus. After becoming an Animagus, Sirius had discovered that those with magic, particularly Witches and Wizards, gave off certain scents. Regulus Black was one of the first ones he had ever catalogued. His little brother had smelled of Blackthorn and Lavender but there had not been the touch of smoke to his scent.

What could it mean that his son's scent resembled Regulus's? What sort of game were the fates playing with his dearest loved ones? First Regulus is murdered refusing to take the Dark Mark, refusing to be a monster. Then James is threatened due to a Prophecy that proclaims that Harry might be some golden child destined to destroy evil. Then Olivia nearly died giving birth to her second child. And now this, his son's scent so similar to Regulus's. Did this mean the fates wanted to harm his son like they had harmed Reggie? He would not stand for it! He would rail against fate, fight for his son and for Harry in a way that he had never fought for Regulus. He had been too young and too stupid to fight for Regulus.

He buried his nose into the child's hair letting himself bask for a moment in the scent of his son. 'I promise Leo.' He thought. 'I promise that I will do all that I can to protect you. I will protect you as I should have done Regulus.'

Over a few more minutes Cassiopeia and Narcissa seemed to relax and they began to talk again before they were joined by more and more guests. He recognized the Lady Evelyn Greengrass and instantly he knew that the little bundle in her arms was one of her twin children. A House-Elf stood beside her holding yet another baby and he quickly surmised that it was the other baby. He was surprised to see Callidora Longbottom nee Black along with her sister Cedrella Weasley nee Black. Both women were warmly greeted by Cassiopeia and it took him a few moments to remember that his Aunt Cassie had always been close with Callidora and Cedrella.

"Is the dog safe?" Callidora asked of Cassiopeia.

"Oh yes. He's rather a docile thing for now. I think someone abandoned him. The House-Elves took a liking to him when he came begging for scraps," Cassiopeia explained.

"Poor dear," Callidora said in sympathy. "Shall you be keeping him?"

Cassiopeia nodded. "For the time being at least. I want to see how he interacts with the little ones first. If he cannot behave near the babies, then he cannot stay."

"Quite sensible," Cedrella acknowledged.

Sirius felt the slight weight against his side and he noticed that Leonis was leaning against him. The boy still ran his fingers through his fur and kept babbling about the things he saw around him. Sirius was entranced by the child. It was taking all of his will power not to transform back into his true form and grab up the child and rush away with him.

"Ma!" Leonis suddenly cried out and he practically vibrated with excitement. "Ma!"

Sirius looked up toward the woman who now held his little boy's attention and he felt dread seize him. Olivia. It was Olivia that his little boy was calling "Ma" and she was even now handing the baby bundled in a blanket over to another one of the guests and moving toward them. He watched as Olivia sank onto the comforter and then scooped Leonis up into her arms.

"There's my little Lion!" Olivia proclaimed and gave each cheek a kiss. "You are being good for auntie Cassiopeia yes?"

"Ma, Og!" Leonis said as he wriggled out of her grasp and crawled back to Sirius. He once more sunk his fingers into the thick fur.

Olivia stared at Sirius for a moment and then she paled slightly, her green eyes widened. Then her companion came forward and inquired if she was feeling alright. Sirius watched closely as she reassured the other woman that she was fine. The woman nodded then handed the Macmillan heir wrapped in soft blankets to Olivia.

Olivia glanced down at her child and smiled and then looked up at Sirius. She narrowed her eyes at him but she did not say anything about his present masquerade. He was honestly surprised that she did not give him away. Other than his fellow Marauders, Olivia was the only one he had ever shared the secret of his ability to turn into an Animagus with.

"Leonis, this is your half-brother, Ernest," Olivia said gently to Leo who was now looking at the baby in wonder.

"Brot," Leonis said as he stared at Ernest. "Brot."

"Brother," Olivia said slowly. "He is your little brother."

"Broter," Leonis said with a cheery smile and then he crawled toward the baby to better get a look at him. He watched as Ernest slowly opened his eyes to look at him. He made cooing noises when he saw Ernest's blue eyes. "Petty," Leonis said and he raised his hand to gently touch Ernest.

Sirius and Olivia watched carefully as Leonis gently ran his hand down Ernest's cheek. Olivia giggled when little Ernie made a sound of delight. "See, you are getting along already." She expressed her relief to see that they were going to be able to get along.

Sirius forced himself to remain still as Narcissa came forward still holding her son and sank onto the comforter beside Olivia. She smiled down at Leonis and Ernest and then looked to Olivia. "You do produce beautiful sons Olivia," she said in a tone that assured that her compliment was more than politeness.

"Thank you," Olivia said and then smiled at Narcissa. "And this must be little Draco!" she said with delight. "I have not seen him since shortly after he was born. Look at how he has grown!"

Sirius took that moment to truly examine the Malfoy Heir. The baby had the pale white blond locks that were typical of the Malfoy family. He was a pale child, but then both Lucius and Narcissa were pale. The child seemed to take more after Narcissa with what he was sure would be delicate beautiful features and a perfect porcelain complexion.

"Oh! His eyes did change," Olivia said as she stared down at the baby who had only just opened his eyes.

His cousin's smile resembled one of his own smirks and he could feel how proud she was of her son. "Yes. He has gray eyes like a proper Black." She laughed then. "It has rather irritated Abraxas and Lucius that Draco did not receive the ice-blue eyes of House Malfoy."

"Perhaps your next child shall," Olivia said politely.

Narcissa nodded gracefully. "Yes, perhaps." Sirius heard a longing in his cousin's voice. She wanted another child. He supposed that it should not surprise him much. Narcissa was the youngest of three daughters. She had grown up with older sisters to play with and to guide her. It was only natural that she would want to give Draco siblings.

He let himself inch closer on the comforter the better to take in the scents of the babies. The scent of the Macmillan Heir reminded him of freshly cut cedar wood. He supposed he should have expected that since the Macmillan's had a history of working with their hands. They were architects and even a few had been Wand-Makers, though that was many generations ago.

It was the scent of the Malfoy Heir that surprised Sirius. He had no love for the Malfoy's, though he had to admit that he loved Narcissa at least a little bit. She was a different case though since she was not born into the Malfoy dynasty. Sirius had prepared himself for a foul odor to exude from Draco Malfoy. Instead he found the pleasant aroma of Sandalwood and Vanilla. It was a soothing mixture and a far cry from the spiced Cinnamon scent that clung to the boy's father.

Watching Olivia and Narcissa interact together caused a lump to form in his throat. Would it have been just like this if he had not separated himself from his family? Would he have wooed Olivia, wed Olivia, and then had happy moments like this together? Would he have been able to stand by Olivia's side instead of hiding as a dog, holding Leo and teasing Cissa about whether Draco will look more like her or more like Lucius as he ages?

He contemplated the ultimatum given to him by his grandfather. A return to the family, taking up the mantle as Heir Apparent to the House of Black. Forswear his vows to Dumbledore and to his friends and return to the family fold. Do those things and Leonis would be his, always his.

Could he live with himself if he were to forswear himself? While it was true that his faith in Dumbledore had suffered a blow, he did still trust that at the heart of the matter Dumbledore knew what was best. Dumbledore was good, a powerful Light Wizard, the defeater of Grindelwald. His family was Dark. He knew that they could not really be completely trusted.

What of his friends? They had stood by him through so much. They had stood by him as he disowned himself from the family Black. They did not deserve for him to turn his back upon them. Furthermore, he would be a traitor.

He wanted his son. It had been a burning need in him before to see Leonis, to somehow touch him, but now he knew this was not enough. He needed to find a way to remove Leonis from the care of House Black and have the boy put into his care. Yet how? His grandfather had not lied when he told Sirius that he had little to no rights to Leonis due to the way in which the boy was born and then handed over to the House Black.

The thought of how he became the Heir Apparent of House Black made him hold back a growl. Olivia! Treacherous and beautiful Olivia had not come to him to tell him she was pregnant. She had instead shouldered the burden alone until the birth and then had taken the baby, delivered him to his Aunt Cassiopeia with only a few conditions that the other Witch promised would be met.

Bitterness and anger swirled in his gut when he thought of her. He wondered if maybe that were better. Surely if he could find a way to hate her then it would make him stop wanting her, stop yearning for a future he had already sabotaged.

He spent the rest of the afternoon watching over the little children and drowning in a sea of "what ifs". When Cassiopeia came to collect Leonis from where he slept leaning against Sirius' side, it took all of his willpower not to growl at her or take a bite out of her. He didn't want anyone to take Leonis from him. He held himself back, but it was a close thing, too close. Cassiopeia took Leonis into her arms and she and the other ladies begin to trail off inside Ivy Hall, leaving the House-Elves to pick up the remains of their picnic. When Leonis was far gone from his sights, safely ensconced in Ivy Hall, only then did Sirius let out a howl of despair and longing before retreating into the night.


I do apologize for this chapter being a short one. The next two chapters are action packed chapters so I hope that makes up for it.

Also, I want to thank a few reviewers for pointing out to me that Astoria Greengrass was a few years younger than Harry and Company. I am aware of this, but I am playing around with a few of the character's ages in Renewal. Here are a few characters in which I have chosen for the sake of this story's plot to alter their ages – Ronald Weasley, Ginevra Weasley, Luna Lovegood, Draco Malfoy, and Astoria Greengrass.

I ask dear readers that you remember that this is an Alternate Universe and thus give this story the benefit of the doubt when some things to do match up to how they were written by the great JK Rowlings. Thank you.

~ Azenor Sage.