Seventeen

In the days that followed after the night he kissed Erin, Sirius couldn't stop staring at the sofa without thinking about it, regardless of whether there was anyone in the room or it was just Ron and Hermione arguing again. She would not let anyone come near the Polyjuice potion, not even Harry, though she occasionally asked Erin to watch it for her. Time passed slowly in those remaining three weeks, as if the summer refused to come to an end. Sirius would have wished so too. Since that night everything was glances between him and Erin, their hands touching when passing by, a quick kiss when they were both alone. Otherwise, nothing had changed too much because they were spending the same time together as before, nor were they attracting so much attention that the others realised that something had happened between them.

Boredom was beginning to take its toll on everyone. At first, they had settled for the newspapers Kreacher brought them, although these became pure propaganda and ceased to be a reliable source of information. Remus wrote every few days , but he never stopped by Grimmauld Place. Sirius understood him, he had nothing to reproach him. Ron's excuse to stay with Harry was working with Molly, at least for the moment. They would need something better later and Arthur had already offered to cover them, even though he knew what could be his wife's reaction. Still, Sirius feared Erin was the one who was most concerned about leaving everything behind. Even Hermione, whose parents may not even realise what was going on in the wizarding world, was completely certain.

Just three days before going to the Ministry, there was little to do to get distracted. Sirius was entertained with a crossword puzzle of an old number of the Prophet on the kitchen table, while Erin read by his side and occasionally took a look at what he wrote.

"With nine letters." Sirius read aloud. "Small creature made of smoke that draws travellers into the swamps."

Erin frowned at him.

" A Hinkypunk?"

Sirius checked the missing gaps and wrote it down.

"It does fit."

Erin pulled her chair closer to him to continue reading. As she did so, Sirius stared at the girl's concentrated face, unable to contain a smile.

"Where is Harry?" He asked her.

"I don't know. I think he's upstairs." Erin replied, still looking at the newspaper.

Sirius put an arm behind Erin's chair and she turned to him.

"Why are you looking at me?"

"You have a distinctive face." He said, half jokingly, half seriously. "Attractive."

He put his hand on her cheek and stroked it with his thumb. Erin looked at him with a small smile on her face, then looked down again. It had only been a second, but Sirius believed he had caught a different light in his eyes.

"My god." She said laughing. "Has that worked for you with women before?"

"It seems to me it does. Apparently, I am very charismatic." Erin dropped the book she was reading on her lap and her gaze returned to Sirius.

"Yeah, surely that's why." She murmured before kissing him slowly.

Three weeks had passed, three since the first kiss, and Sirius never thought it was enough. Suddenly, a high-pitched piano note was heard from the living room and Erin parted from him, startled. Sirius almost growled.

"Who's been playing the piano?"

The piano in the living room was half forgotten in a corner, dusty and out of tune. He had never had a great interest in it, nor knew no one else had. Erin rocked in the chair, looking into the living room, and Sirius did the same. The scene could be seen from afar.

"Ron and Hermione." She replied.

From there more chords continued to be heard, some more successful than others. It seemed the girl was teaching him to play the piano.

"So now they get along well." Sirius commented.

They both seemed to be very immersed in that lesson. At one point, Ron stared at Hermione more than usual, not smiling, but with an intensity that Sirius could almost feel from there.

"They like each other." Erin said. "But they don't know it yet."

"You're right." He said looking at her again. "It's a bit like you and me."

"We are much faster." Erin added. "Thank goodness."

Sirius laughed and picked his crossword puzzle. Erin leaned on his shoulder and he gave her a kiss on the forehead, feeling a gratifying feeling in the stomach. He did like her, yes, and for once, he didn't want to spoil it.

"The number two, horizontally, is Miranda Goshawk." Erin said pointing to the number.

"Sure."

"Have you ever thought about what it would say if they put your name on one of these?" Erin asked.

"I would say something like "man with incredible magical gifts, the only magician in the world who has escaped from Azkaban ". Sirius replied. "It would be such an honor."

"Oh" Erin pulled away from his shoulder as if she had suddenly noticed something and stared at him. "I've never asked you how you did it."

"Escape from Azkaban?" Erin nodded. "It's funny because almost no one has ever asked me. It is a secret, of course."

Erin put her book down on the table and took the pen out of Sirius's hands, posing it as well.

"Don't give me that, Sirius Black."

"I'm not going to tell you." He replied.

"Come on, I'm very good at keeping secrets." She said. She sat sideways in her chair and took his hand. "I know you're an Animagus and I haven't told anyone."

"Yet. Have you seen anyone lately to tell it to?"

Erin was about to snort because of him, though she knew just as he did that he only did it to provoke her.

"Did you get out of the wrong side of the bed today or do you just enjoy bothering me?"

"The latter." He replied with a smirk.

"I thought so." The girl pulled her hand away and crossed her arms. "So? What's the secret?"

Sirius did not mind telling her, although hardly anyone knew. After all, he had been innocent and on top of that, Erin already knew how it had happened without understanding it.

"The secret is a lot of patience and a great ability to sneak through the bars." He explained. "While being a dog, of course."

"And that's it?" She said, sounding disappointed.

"Does it sound easy to you? You offend me, Erin."

"I was expecting something more epic, actually."

Well, there had also been a great swim in between, but that was another story.

"If you want something epic, go back to that book." He advised her. Then he removed the pen again. "And this is mine."

"I'm not reading."

Sirius leaned over to see what he was doing and saw the map of the Alley they had designed on top of the pages of the book.

"Anything odd?" He asked.

"Nothing, as usual."

"Better for us, then." Erin carried it everywhere with her ever since Remus had given it to them.

They both went on, until Harry finally went down to the living room and the sounds coming from the piano stopped. The three of them were going to go see the Weasleys even when Sirius refused, at least to try to make Molly believe that everything was going as usual. Neither could object and the house was left empty except for the two of them, since Sirius didn't even know where Kreacher had gotten into.

After eating, Erin went to the library to find something to entertain herself with while Sirius cleared the table. Entering the kitchen with the dishes and going to the counter, he realised she had forgotten the map on the wooden table. Unfolded, Sirius could see even from a distance gigantic letters wrapped in black squares. He watched it closely as his heart pounded and she started calling out for Erin. There were so many black squares on the map, moving back and forth through all the streets, that the names were barely noticeable. Still, he knew very well that boxed names meant one thing: they were on Erin's Death Eaters list.

"What's wrong?" She asked, feeling concerned, as soon as she appeared in the kitchen.

"It is the map." He answered, passing it to her.

"I don't know why I expected this to happen at some point." She commented discouraged.

Sirius sighed and put the map back on the table.

"Do you have any way of alerting Kingsley?"

If they could at least contact him, perhaps he would be able to help as well. However, Sirius had not the slightest intention of alerting Remus. He wasn't going to let him put himself at risk in any way.

"I think so, but I don't know if it'll work." She replied. "But you and I should go as soon as possible."

In the middle of the afternoon and seeing the map full of names, Diagon Alley must have been filled with innocent people who would surely suffer the worst consequences of that attack. It was obvious they couldn't postpone it for a single second, even though they were just two more people, they had to try to do something.

Erin ran up the stairs, barefoot, and Sirius did the same, taking the map with him. In less than five minutes, the two of them were at the foot of the stairs ready to leave. They held hands to Apparate at once and Sirius heard Erin take a deep breath.

"Don't leave my side, please."

He nodded and closed his eyes to focus. This time, they better be together. They appeared much closer to Knockturn than either of them would have liked, in the middle of the avenue opposite to Gringotts. Around him, Sirius could only see dust, the shop windows busting on the sidewalk and people running aimlessly. Erin released his hold, but stood beside him with her wand raised, trying to see something just like him. There was no sign of Kingsley or anyone they recognised as they tried to pushtheir way north, using a thousand times impedimenta and protego to defend or attack when necessary. There were a lot of people defending themselves, but most seemed more like people who had been caught by the attack rather than trained ones.

It was more than clear that two people were not enough to stop anyone and near Flourish & Blott's , with his stomach churning at the sight of some body lying on the ground, Sirius entered a narrow dead end street with Erin in his heels for shelter. He was grateful that he could stop to breathe for a second, but when he noticed Erin, he realised that she was much more uneasy than him, although superficially she didn't seem to be hurt. Before he could say anything, she began to speak.

"I've seen a couple at the gate of Fortescue." She said with her voice broken. "I think they were dead and I remembered…"

Erin remained quiet looking at the ground for a moment, unable to continue and placed her hand on Sirius's shoulder.

"My parents" She added, and then she couldn't stop talking nervously. "I don't know where my parents are, if they were at home or in the shop. I haven't talked to them and I don't know if they kept opening or not."

Sirius looked at the entrance, looking off into the suspiciously empty street.

"We're leaving right now."

"This isn't the time to go." Erin murmured. "Are we going to let them get away with everything?"

"Half of them have already fled. You and I are just two people, Erin. Think for a moment about what you want."

Sirius knew it would be difficult for her to accept it, but there was nothing they could do.

"I want to go after my parents." She admitted.

"Well, that's what we'll do." He took the girl by the hand again. "We're not going to risk turning around now."

They couldn't make it, much less go through Knockturn. Sirius didn't know where her parents' store was, but Erin did and the fastest would be Apparating again. The two appeared a few meters from the store without meeting anyone else around, without major problem. Sirius saw a large green door in the distance, with broken glass, as all the stores they had been found that afternoon, and looked at Erin, who had gone pale. The girl ran with her wand in hand without giving him time to react, although she suddenly stopped dead when a voice was heard shouting her name.

Erin turned around and Sirius hurried to her, feeling great relief to see that she recognised the person.

"Dad?" She asked as she headed for the corner that was right in front of where they had arrived.

There was a man sitting against the wall, with a leg bent and the pain written on his face. His eyes jumped from Erin to Sirius without stopping but did not speak. It could be either the shock because of the attack, or just the confusion of having found his daughter with Sirius Black. He betted it as a combination of the two.

"Where's mum?" Erin asked.

"She was in the shop too. She didn't want to leave until it was safe."

"It will not be safe at any time." She bent down to try to hug him and must have noticed the blood on her leg because then she shuddered. "You are wounded, Dad. I have to get you out of here now."

Erin ran her hand through her hair. They were safe in that corner and crossing the street could mean taking a very big risk if they encountered a Death Eater. Sirius, a few steps back, could not see anything of the street from his angle, which meant they were not seen by anyone either.

"I go get your mother and come back here." Sirius spoke, for the moment, he had scarcely dared to approach them.

It was safest, seeing as Erin's father's leg was bleeding. He didn't want to say it out loud so as not to scare either of them, but he didn't look good.

"He doesn't know you, she'll surely get scared. I'll go." Erin replied. "If I don't come back in ten minutes, you take my father."

"Erin." He said.

Sirius thought he could be a complaining. He understood he did not want to stay with him, he was a stranger who had just met. Until that very moment, he had not known that he knew anything about his daughter either. He could not be offended. However, after saying her name he tried to get up to grab her arm and try to hold her back. He was more scared for her than anything else.

"Sirius is my partner, nothing will happen to you." She assured. "Or me either."

Erin got up hurriedly and before leaving it was Sirius who took her hand and not her father.

"I'm not going to go anywhere without you, so hurry up." It had sounded more like an order than he had intended. Then, he stroked her hand a little when Erin was almost freeing herself.

"Aren't you going to listen to me this time either?" Erin asked.

The only truth was things ended up going well if the two stayed together. Sirius would not leave without her, although he would do everything in his power for his father.

"No heroic stupidities." He reminded her. "Be careful."

Erin turned to them one last time and nodded. She smiled at her father, as if she wanted to tell him again that everything was going to be all right, and then she pulled away from the wall looking both ways. Erin had disappeared running, but there had been no other noise apart from her footsteps.

Sirius approached Paul and sat down on the floor. He had his wand in hand and although Sirius wanted to focus on the street, in case anyone happened, his gaze drifted to Paul's leg.

"It's looks horrible, doesn't it?"

"No." Sirius answered without giving it much thought.

Paul leaned closer against the wall and looked at Sirius.

"Did you meet many Death Eaters up to here?"

"We did in the Alley. There was no one on this street."

Sirius knew what was going through his mind.

"Erin is a smart girl. He knows how to defend herself and will attack if necessary."

He didn't know if he had said it to calm him or himself. Paul nodded, still looking at him. Then Sirius noticed Erin had her father's eyes, the same shade of green. The only good thing was that Erin's father was conscious and didn't seem weak enough to pass out. It would be better if he didn't stop talking to her.

"It's Paul, right? I'm Sirius."

"I know."

"What happened to you? Where's your wand?"

Sirius pulled out his to try to stop the bleeding.

"Tergeo."

He wasn't very good at healing spells, nor did he think he could close the wound, but at least it could take away the pain and keep him from bleeding to death.

"We hid in the shop until the Death Eaters left, I went out first to see if it was safe." He explained. "Someone appeared out of nowhere, attacked me from behind and disarmed me."

"Where did he go?"

"I don't know. I think someone else caught him. I've been hiding here ever since, I thought Katherine would follow me."

Sirius pulled his wand away, watching the blood not flowing anymore.

"I guess that's all I can do. Are you dizzy, do you feel unwell?"

Paul shook his head.

"No, thank you."

The two of them fell silent. This was not remotely the way he would have imagined he would meet Erin's parents.

"You knew my name." Paul commented.

Sirius smiled at him.

"Erin talks a lot about you." He explained.

"I didn't know you knew each other."

Sirius asked himself if it would show or if they had hinted something when they had both found it before. Erin would kill him if he said anything and, besides, he did not know what they were then.

"Yes, because of work." A short and concise answer. It was best to direct his attention to something else. "I thought I didn't know your shop, but actually I had been before. Quite a while ago."

Many years ago, he remembered having to buy something specific for the Herbology class in the first or second year.

"It was Katherine's parents, but we've been in charge since we got married."

Sirius continued the conversation, realising that Paul hadn't even looked at his leg again, being so focused on him.

"Erin told me once you were surprised to learn she didn't want to do the same."

"Yeah, that's true." He admitted, giving him a small smile. "In the last years she began to say she wanted to be Auror and there was nothing that could take it from her head."

It sounded a lot like Erin. In the distance, almost as if she had been summoned, footsteps began to be heard. Sirius slowly got up to check it was her, saw his blond hair in the distance, but there was no sign of her mother.

"Erin." He pronounced. Behind him Paul breathed a sigh of relief and Sirius helped him up, making him lean on him.

Erin had returned totally serious, her wand gripped tightly. When Paul saw Katherine was gone, the smile disappeared from his face.

"Where's your mother?" He asked Erin.

"She's at the door, hidden behind the counter." She explained. "She started beckoning to me from there, I think there's someone else inside. Everything is destroyed."

"I'm going with you." Sirius said.

"I'm not going to stay here." Erin's father protested.

"Dad, you're hurt."

"I can get up, Sirius has cured my bleeding, see?" He said, letting go of his grip.

Paul was limping, but he seemed determined to do something. Sirius understood why he did not want to leave his wife behind. Erin sighed resignedly.

"Be careful and stay behind us". She murmured.

Sirius nodded and they crept up to the store, trying to make as little noise as possible. Erin was in the lead and pointed to her mother to the right, who stood up just seeing them. She put a finger to his mouth to warn them to be quiet and pointed to a hallway in the middle of the shop. Erin went all the way to the bottom and Sirius to the other side, while Paul stayed behind with Katherine. Between one shelf and another, he could see Erin moving forward, as everything was lying on the floor. When they had almost reached the end, a dark figure was suddenly seen running away and a flurry of sparks brushed past Erin. The two of them ran after him too, with Erin's parents at the entrance they could stop him, but it was better for one of them to do so in case they didn't react in time. Katherine sent him a petrificus totalus the man dodged by crouching and when he turned, he pointed at Erin's head to stop them from chasing him. However, she was faster.

" Relashio!" She yelled.

Red sparks shot out of her wand at the Death Eater and a snap was heard as the spell shoved him against the corner of a bookshelf. The man crashed into it, received a sharp blow against the edge and suddenly, fell to the ground, which turned red.

Erin froze. Only the sound of her wand bouncing off the ground and her mother gasping for air were heard. Paul turned to look at his daughter and Sirius advanced towards her, feeling his chest sink. He picked up the girl's wand and almost without thinking, pointed it at the blood on the floor to clean it. Then, he put a hand on her shoulder, unable to assimilate it. Erin didn't react or turn to look at him, but he could still hear her murmuring in a voice that signalled crying would follow.

"What have I done?"

I'm back you all! The world is getting crazier and crazier these days and so is this story. Anyway, I hope every is safe and healthy, I am so far, and also hoping to find the strength to go on writing. We all need a little distraction, so hope you enjoy it and please let me know if you like it!