The More Things Change (The More They Stay the Same)

Eleven years after Sirius Black falls through the Veil, he's back among the living and told he's a free man. What's a man to do other than go home?

Pairing: Hermione/Sirius pre-relationship, Daphne/Harry (mentioned)
Rating: general
Warnings: referenced character death
Tropes: pre-relationship, Sirius Black lives!, a form of time travel
Words: 2,170
Original Release Date: 21 Feb 2020

Someone somewhere got the bright idea to break the damn Arch in the Department of Mysteries. Whether they anticipated the flood of people to come out of it with that action was not something Sirius was privy to.

Surrounded by people in clothes more antiquated than his—there were quite a lot of women in gauzy shifts that spoke of witch trials—Sirius was expecting a reaction at his name, if not right out immediate arrest. Yet the bare-faced kid who must have recently got out of Hogwarts just wrote his name down and told him he was free to go.

"Free? Are you sure?" Sirius asked. "I'm not one of these sods who was sentenced and executed by Veil. I was a wanted criminal."

The kid looked at him incredulously. "You were exonerated years ago, right after the war was over. There's even a fair trials act named after you. So, yeah, free to go. It'll take the Ministry a couple of days to reinstate you. Everyone coming out of the Arch was recorded as deceased."

Sirius's eyebrows rose in shock but he wasn't going to tempt fate and inquire further. He followed the line of people being directed upstairs to the Ministry Atrium. He thought about Flooing to Grimmauld Place but the idea left him cold. Instead, he exited via the Visitor's Entrance and planned to walk.

He got a few looks from Muggles as he strolled along. He even heard a few camera shutters go off nearby but he never really saw a camera. He supposed he should buy some new duds. The ones he'd been forced to wear when he was on the run had been his father's from the 50s. He was looking forward to slipping into a nice comfy pair of jeans and a tee-shirt. He wondered if any of his old band shirts were still around in a box somewhere.

That thought made him wonder if any of his favourite bands were even still together. It'd been a long time since he'd even heard music, much less popular Muggle music as opposed to what he could pick up on the Wizarding Wireless.

The walk from the Ministry to Grimmauld Place wasn't far but he took his time, enjoying the warmth of the sun on his skin and letting the feeling of "free" sink into him, down to his bones. As he got closer to his parent's house, he wondered what Harry might have done with it—Harry'd been his beneficiary, after all. Maybe he'd even torn it down.

As he got closer to his former home, his pace slowed even further. He wasn't opposed to seeing Harry, of course, but he thought maybe he should better equip himself. For all he knew, "years ago" was just that—years, decades even. Harry might be married. Might have kids. Might have grandkids! Would he have married? Hermione? Ginny Weasley? That sweet little blonde girl?

On a whim, Sirius wandered towards the small park near Grimmauld Place. Maybe the greenery of the place would calm his mounting nerves. Or, maybe it wouldn't. Further ahead, near a swingset that used to be rusted was a woman with wild brown hair even though it was pulled into a ponytail. She had a bundled baby against her chest in some sort of pink and purple wrap, was pushing a small child in a child-safe swing and another beside that one. She was chatting with an older child who had light brown hair; he looked to be about Hogwarts age. "No Teddy, we can't stay out here all night. I've got to get started on dinner soon. And I think Lo needs a nappy change."

The older child wrinkled his nose and for a moment it looked as if his hair changed to a darker shade. It must have just been a change in the light; dusk was starting to settle around them. The woman slowed the swinging children. She picked the youngest up and settled that one on her hip while the oldest picked up the second youngest.

"Hey Ally," the boy said, greeting the tot.

Before the little family could turn around, Sirius shifted into Padfoot. He laid down a little ways off the path, hoping they wouldn't notice him, but as they passed the woman slowed and looked him curiously. He watched her as well. She was definitely older than he remembered but he was sure she was Hermione.

They walked past and Padfoot waited. Only once they were out of sight, he got up and followed their scent trail. Sure enough, it led down the pavement and across the street, and right to the front steps of his former home. He was actually surprised he could see it. Surely Harry and Hermione would have reset the wards by now, possibly assigned a different Secret Keeper other than Dumbledore. If the war were over, then the Order of the Phoenix didn't need a headquarters any longer.

Instead of shifting back, Padfoot walked on for a while and then turned back, returning to the park. Though his thoughts and emotions were muted as Padfoot, he still could feel the shock and unexpected jolt of jealousy that ran through him. He'd never thought about having kids before, but the idea of it now, seeing his godson's friend with children—four! children—created an odd longing for a family of his own. It was ridiculous, of course. He hadn't had any committed relationships before Azkaban and he sure didn't have any after. He was almost forty, hell, if Hermione had a kid that was old enough to go to Hogwarts, it was likely that he was closer to fifty years, though he didn't know if he should count however long he'd been trapped in the Other place behind the Veil.

Night had fallen when Sirius finally shifted back. He didn't know where to go and he didn't really have any money aside from the few galleons and sickles in his jacket pocket. He felt it would be wrong to intrude on Harry and Hermione's life. He walked towards the road and raised his wand. The Knight Bus sped into sight and came to an abrupt halt in front of him.

"Welcome to the Knight Bus, transport for the stranded witch or wizard. We can take you anywhere you want to go. My name is Stan Shunpike, and I'm your conductor this evening. Come aboard. Do you have a destination or do you want to let a bed?"

Sirius remembered seeing this fellow before when he was in his late teens and pimple-faced but now he looked like any average man. A bit more scruffy than most, maybe. "A bed, I think," Sirius answered. As they made the transaction, he asked, "Hey, Stan, do you know Hermione Granger?"

"Sure, everybody knows her; she's one of the Golden Trio, right? Stole something from Gringotts on the back of a dragon during the war, she did." Sirius tried not to show his astonishment; Stan didn't seem to notice it anyway. "But now she's high up in the Ministry. Not Minister or anything, though the Prophet says she's there more than he is."

"And her family life? Her kids?"

"Huh?" Stan said, looking at Sirius like he was stupid. "That would cause a right scandal, wouldn't it? Might even make the front page of the Prophet, I reckon."

"Why?"

"Wondering who the father would be, right?" Before their conversation could proceed any further, the Knight Bus was coming to another stop and Stan had to welcome the next customer.

Sirius settled down on his bunk and spent some time thinking about what Stan had said. Maybe the woman hadn't been Hermione, after all.

Early the following morning, Sirius found himself in front of the Leaky Cauldron with an achy back. He figured he might as well have breakfast at the pub before heading down the Alley. He would need to stop at Gringotts—if it was still there—and get some money. He had a few things he needed to purchase.

* . * . *

Hermione was just getting the kids down for their naps when someone knocked on the door. She thought that was odd, as only their friends knew where Hermione lived and most of them came by Floo.

When she opened the door, she thought for a moment she must have been hit with a Confounding Spell. There on her doorstep was what looked to be Sirius Black, wearing jeans, a tee, and a leather jacket.

"Hermione?"

"Sirius?"

"That's still my name as far as I'm aware."

She blinked and stepped back to allow him inside. "How are you?"

"Yesterday someone broke the Veil in the Department of Mysteries. Turns out, we weren't dead. Just trapped. I don't know how whoever broke it figured that out, but... the kid that checked me out said I was free. Exonerated." He was looking around the entrance and the hall as if he'd never seen it before. She could admit that Grimmauld Place looked a lot different than it did when Harry had offered it to her, but she'd made the changes so incrementally, she'd never thought about how it would look to someone who'd seen it like it was before. He walked further down the hall to the foyer where his mother's portrait had been. "You reversed the Sticking Charm, somehow?"

"Yeah. Come down to the kitchen, the kids are sleeping upstairs."

In the kitchen, Hermione went about making them some tea. Finally, the shock of seeing him in the flesh wore off, and now she couldn't get all of her thoughts out fast enough. "I can't believe you're... here, alive. Have you talked to Harry—well of course not, you would have expected him here. You know, I thought I saw Padfoot yesterday but—"

"You did."

"So that black dog in the park was you. I thought I was imagining things." She opened a tin of biscuits and put them on the table in front of him.

"No, that was me. The kids, they yours?" he asked as he decided on a biscuit.

"Oh, no. They're Harry's—well, Teddy, the oldest, is Remus and Tonks's son—"

Sirius's eyes lit up at the mention of his friend. "Moony had a kid? I bet he's just as good or better at pranking than his old man is. They probably have a list as long as my arm of pranks he'll do at Hogwarts."

Hermione licked her lips and turned away from him. She didn't think she could bear the devastation she was about to put him through. She stood back up to fiddle about the kitchen. "Remus and Tonks, well, there was a final battle at Hogwarts and..."

Sirius was quiet for a long moment, but Hermione couldn't bring herself to turn around. "Remus died?" His voice betrayed how upset the news had made him.

It had been eleven years but she could still see their bodies laid out in the Great Hall if she closed her eyes. She wiped at her eyes quickly before she turned around and nodded. She swallowed and tried to pick up where she'd left off. "The three youngest, Jaime, Alyssa, and Apollo are Harry and Daphne's. I'm just babysitting so they can have a couple's weekend."

Sirius nodded and though he seemed to appreciate the information, whatever smile he'd had at the mention of Remus was gone. He took a sip of the tea she'd made him before asking his next question. "They live here?"

"No. Daphne's parents bought them a cottage in the country as a wedding present. Harry gave Grimmauld to me. I hope that's okay?"

"What? Yeah, of course. It looks great, by the way. I don't think I could have ever imagined it to look quite so open or... bright."

She couldn't help the soft chuckle that escaped her. "Well, there's plenty of room if you... I mean, I know you hated this house and all, but if you need a place to crash."

He smiled at her. "I appreciate it. I suppose if Harry and his wife are having a holiday, I best not interrupt them, huh?" He winked at her.

She picked up her teacup to take a sip to hide the fact that she might have blushed. "I don't know, finding out you're alive would probably make Harry's year."

He shrugged a little. "He can wait a day or two. I'd like to get caught up. I feel like I've missed a lot."

Hermione set her cup down but wrapped both hands around it. "Eleven years or so."

He seemed a bit overwhelmed at that but after a deep breath and exhale he asked, "Where do I start?"

"I've got a few books in the library that tell the story relatively accurately." She thought she might have caught a grin on his lips before he nodded and stood up. He grabbed another biscuit and saluted her with it on his way out of the kitchen.