"Little darling, it's been a long cold, lonely winter
Little darling, it feels like years since it's been here
Here comes the sun
Here comes the sun, and I say
It's all right
(…)
Little darling, I feel that ice is slowly melting
Little darling, it seems like years since it's been clear
Here comes the sun
Here comes the sun, and I say
It's all right"
The Beatles- Here Comes the Sun
1 November 1981
Dumbledore's office had not changed a bit during this time from the Marauders graduation. He suspected that this room had not really changed for many, many years.
Fawkes was dozing softly on his rod. Sirius could have sworn that the quiet snorting of the phoenix is in sync with that coming out of the bundle in Hagrid's arms where his godson was napping.
Harry fell asleep as they passed over Bristol.
Sirius thanked the gods for the fact that his motorcycle had been standing in the shed near the Potter's house for several weeks. He thanked them even more when the motorcycle turned on with a roar and without even the slightest cough.
After he had to escape from the Death Eaters and the Muggle police in the middle of London at the end of the June, he decided it would be safer to hide it for a while both from muggle and wizard authorities.
The silence was almost deafening for him. Hagrid seemed to drift off lulled by the serene atmosphere of the room but Sirius felt the storm raging inside of him. He wanted to throw, break, smash. He wanted to scream, kick and punch.
But in the same time he felt so tired, so incredibly tired and fed up.
It was well after midnight when they reached Hogwarts. Argus Filch almost fainted seeing them at the doorstep of the castle. Sirius sent his Patronus from Dumbledore's office when they finally sat there and could take a breath.
He and Hagrid have been waiting for 40 minutes, when the door burst open behind him, he did not even look back. It was only when Harry woke up screaming that he got up and took the weeping and writhing bundle from the scared Hagrid.
"Sirius?"
He did not raise his eyes. He rocked Harry humming the first melody that came to his mind. The boy looked at him with his big green eyes that were so painfully reminiscent of his mother's eyes. But Sirius was looking at the strange scar on his godson's forehead; it was inflamed, crawling from under his black mane to the forehead, eyelids and back of his nose. It looked like lightning cutting across the sky during a summer storm, branching out over the entire horizon with hundreds of larger and smaller veins.
"You weren't their Secret Keeper?"
At that Sirius looked up. Albus Dumbledore and Minerva McGonagall stood beside the entrance and looked and him cautiously.
"No. It was Peter." he croaked and smiled sadly. The anger evaporated and was replaced by sadness and exhaustion.
His mood-swings really should bother him more.
"Peter?" Remus suddenly emerged from behind McGonagall and Dumbledore. He was ghastly pale; his face was scratched and bruised and his clothes were in a pitiful condition. He looked definitely better than the last time he came back from the pack but still he looked sick and tired despite the full moon being weeks away.
"Sirius, what happened? I...I came back because Fenrir said that You-Know-Who is gone...the pack retreated to the mountains..." Remus took a few steps towards him. "Where's Lily and James?"
Sirius shook his head feeling his throat contract.
"NO! No, no, no!" Remus turned towards Dumbledore with a yellow flash in his eyes. "They were supposed to be safe! You were supposed to keep them safe!"
Dumbledore shook his head with a pained expression.
"This should not happen. I thought you were supposed to be their Secret Keeper, Sirius."
"It was James's idea." Black mumbled. "Who would suspect Peter of being their Keeper?" he continued to rock Harry as he watched the child drift off into sweet slumber. "Who would suspect Peter of being a traitor?"
There was a moment of silence, until McGonagall spoke for the first time:
"Thank Merlin the boy survived. And that you found him first Sirius."
"I was supposed to visit them today...yesterday...it was Halloween..."
"Sirius, I believe the boy's in danger. We must hide him." Dumbledore interrupted him in the middle of sentence. He sounded determined.
Sirius stilled and raised his eyes slowly to his former headmaster.
"You do not decide about it, Albus. You are not his guardian. And you will not be his guardian. No matter how hard you tried to convince Lily and James. They asked me. And I will keep my promise." He spoke calmly, but there was something dangerous in his tone and in his eyes.
"We don't know what happened for sure Sirius!" Remus looked panicked.
"We know exactly what happened Remus. Some of us where here." Sirius snapped. "James and Lily are dead. Harry is alive and Voldemort disappeared. Dumbledore wants to send Harry to live with Lily's muggle sister and her family, who's a bigoted bunch of assholes as far as I met them."
"I think it's better to just take Harry away from public's eye." Dumbledore's voice was quiet. He looked straight at Sirius.
"As I said; it's not your decision."
"Sirius...maybe you should..."
"Should what exactly Moony? Should break my promise? Should throw away my friend's sacrifice?"
"You are 21 for fuck sake." Remus hissed clearly annoyed.
"As where Lily and James!"
"He's not your son!"
"Not by blood, no. But by any other means he is." Sirius straightened his back flicking his hair over his shoulder. He could go pure-blood mannerisms when he needed to. Right now, it was this moment.
"I've made my decision. Dumbledore, Remus." he nodded towards them. "Minerva, is there a room in the castle where we can rest? I don't want to drive back home before I sleep in a little bit."
McGonagall nodded. Hagrid shuffled in his seat.
"I will get goin' Professors'. It's late and..." he broke off and shrugged.
Sirius and Hagrid fallowed McGonagall. Sirius felt Remus eyes on him when they left.
When they found themselves on the corridor they stopped and all three of them looked at each other; all three had the same expressions of sadness and despair. Hagrid patted Sirius on the shoulder with a solemn expression, he leaned over the bundle in his hands and put on Harry's head something that must have been a very hairy and scratchy kiss.
When he straightened himself there were big tears rolling from on his cheeks into his bushy beard. Hagrid took out from his pocket a handkerchief a size of a tablecloth and noisily blew his nose.
"Yer doin' the right thing, Sirius. Little 'Arry shouldn' live with muggles who don't know him."
"Thanks Hagrid." Sirius smiled to the half-giant; he appreciated his words even more given how Hagrid admired Dumbledore.
"Let's go Sirius." said McGonagall. Hagrid waved them when they walked down the corridor towards one of the towers where Sirius knew were teachers' chambers.
They walked in silence and he could tell that his old transfiguration teacher battelled with her thoughts. He was fine with this; he was so tired he couldn't be sure he would manage to talk and walk in the same time without tripping over his own feet.
He glanced once again at the bolt scar on Harry's head; he should take the kid over to Saint Mungo to check on this. He had no clue what kind of curse could leave this kind of scars, or what implications it would have for his godson.
Next thing to do was to put papers for an official adoption. So, nobody would question his decision again. Just to be sure...
They stopped before a portrait with a nobleman with a giant belly, dressed in a coat almost dripping with gold and precious gems. He had a comically big moustache with twirled up ends, and Sirius's thoughts immediately went to Gideon Prewett. Maybe that's where he got the inspiration.
"Good evening Minerva. Password?" the nobleman asked.
"Good evening Bolton. The password is Detention."
"Very well." Bolton nodded curtly and the portrait jumped forward revealing a hole in the wall.
The teachers tower had a common room like every house dormitory Sirius had been in. It was cosy, not as the Gryffindor common room, but it looked pleasingly. McGonagall turned to stairs leading up the tower and she turned into the first corridor on the second floor.
She stopped in front of a pair of shiny wooden door with a giant golden knob.
"This one should be fine. Stay as long as you need. Both of you." Sirius nodded.
McGonagall suddenly closed the distance between them and embraced him delicately, careful not to disturb slumbering Harry.
Sirius stiffened but after second he relaxed and returned the hug with one arm. It was nice, almost motherly. He thought about Euphemia Potter and her warm mom-hugs. He never expected that kind of hug from his old teacher.
"Merlin...you poor, brave children. You shouldn't be in this situation. Any of you." she sniffled faintly.
"Yeah..." he felt his eyes sting.
"If you ever need anything, remember you are always welcome here."
"I know Minnie. Hogwarts's home."
She huffed hearing the nickname she always nagged them about and freed him from her embrace.
"Goodnight Mr. Black."
He smiled hearing the official goodbye and said:
"Goodnight professor."
•••
The room was quite small but it had a bed. And that was the most important thing.
Sirius transfigured a chair standing in the corner of the room into a crib and place Harry carefully inside.
Then he collapsed onto the bed without bothering with clothes and shoes; he just wanted to sleep.
Just when he was about to drift off there was a quiet knock on the door. For a second he wanted to ignore the intrusion but the knock was there again, this time more persistent and determined.
He stood up, groggy and weak from exhaustion and opened the door. He didn't say a word when Remus slipped silently inside.
"We must talk."
"Well, this does not bode well, given our history." Sirius muttered bitterly and collapsed with a grunt on a chair standing beside a small table near the window. Remus sat on the opposite side, folding his arms on his chest. Sirius waved his wand to light a single candle standing in a ceramic pot on the table.
"Do you even realise what you're getting into?"
"Yes. I'm going to take care of the boy." Sirius shrugged and yawned.
"That means the end of partying."
"Yes."
"And occasional flings.'
"I've been in a relationship with you for five years, I've already got used to it." he shrugged again.
"And you will have to change your job or even stay at home."
"I will catch up with my reading arrears."
"That means the end of your childhood, Sirius."
"What are you getting at, mate?" the Animagus snapped.
"I just want to be sure that you understa..."
"I'm not an idiot Moony, despite the popular opinion." Sirius growled.
"I know this. I wouldn't have fall for an idiot." Remus said quietly.
"Stop it." Sirius hissed. "Just don't. Don't play with me."
"But it's true."
"I don't care." their eyes meet. "This is no longer your concern."
Remus sighed impatiently as if talking to the child.
"I'm your friend. I'm concerned about you."
"Are you concerned about Harry?"
"Of course! He's my friend's son!"
"So you think that Petunia Dursley would take better care for him than me?"
"Do not put words in my mouth! I did not say anything like that!"
Harry whimpered quietly from his bed. Both men looked at him anxiously and when it was certain that the boy was still asleep, Sirius said:
"But you think that Dumbledore's right? You think I should leave it all to him? Despite Lily's wish?" he leaned over the table and looked over at his friend with a fierce expression. "Are you absolutely sure that Albus Dumbledore will put Harry's well-being on first place? Are you sure he won't sacrifice his happiness for the 'greater good' he likes to talk about so much?"
Remus looked confused by this question.
"He knows what's best for us. And for Harry. Sirius if we don't trust Dumbledore then who we should trust?"
"Each other. I want you to trust me just as Lily and James did. Why cannot you do this?"
"I trust you I just..."
"You're a coward."
He wasn't mad. His word wasn't harsh or accusing. Sirius stated a fact in his own mind and it and that made Remus pause for a long moment.
"I've never been as brave as you and James." he finally stated in a quiet voice.
"I've always thought that you are the best of us." Sirius shook his head. "But right now...I'm not so sure."
They fell silent for a moment. Finally Remus stood up and without a word he went to the door. With his hand on the doorknob he said to the back of his friend's head:
"If you ever need help with anything..."
"Three weeks ago I'd be ecstatic to have you beside me Remus. To help. To share all of this. But right now...just go. Get out of my face. Leave me alone. Okay?"
After he heard the soft creaking of the door closing, he sat there in silence until first beams of the November sunrise were visible on the peaks of nearby mountains. Only then he dragged himself to the bed to pass out into first entirely dreamless slumber in weeks.
•••
Daily Prophet, issue #29,889, November 1st 1981.
YOU-KNOW-WHO GONE! THE WAR IS OVER!
THE BOY WHO LIVED SAVED THE WIZARDING BRITAIN!
On the night of All-Hallows-Eve we might have all witnessed most incredible happening in the history of modern magic. You-Know-Who (aka The Dark Lord), most powerful dark wizard since the reign of Gellert Grindelwald, disappeared unexpectedly.
Our exclusive sources in the Ministry of Magic confirm that yesterday over at Godric's Hollow, at Potter Cottage the Ministry officials noted an incredibly powerful magic blast- the officials found two bodies of Lily Potter (21) and James Potter (21). Despite the throughout searching the did not found any trace of their son Harry Potter (1). The ministry couldn't officially confirm what was the source of magic blast...
(…)
Our exclusive sources at Hogwarts School of Magic and Wizardry however revealed to Daily Prophet redaction that Harry Potter was seen with Rubeus Hagrid (53) and the notorious Sirius Black (21), old friend of the Potter family and the boys godfather. Black known for his hot temper and family drama revolving around him...
(…)
The Minister of Magic Millicent Bagnold confirmed in a press conference that You-Know-Who is dead. The Department of Control of Magical Creatures confirmed that from all over Great Britain there are news about retreating packs of werewolf's and groups of giants- known supporters of You-Know-Who cause.
"Auror's are currently busy searching the last remaining Death Eaters and trying to figure out who was under the Imperius curse during the war." our sources claim. Head of the Auror Department Alastor Moody (46) refused to comment by saying: "Get out of my way bloody leaches." while hurrying through the corridors of Ministry...
(…)
The redaction od the Daily Prophet expresses its deepest regret about death of the Potter's and our sincerest hope for a bright future for their son and our hero, Harry Potter- The Boy Who Lived.
6 November 1981
It was a sunny, cold morning and Sirius thought bitterly that even the weather couldn't behave properly.
The whole wizarding world was celebrating; Sirius could understand this. The war was over. They were safe. The darkness was once more defeated.
But he couldn't stop to think about the price when he looked over at the graves of two of his best friends.
Harry blabbered in the baby carrier Sirius had on front, under his coat.
Sometimes he truly thought about these strange muggle inventions as blessings. He couldn't shop with Harry in the Diagon Alley thanks to the Daily Prophet publishing one bullshit article after another so he went to the muggle London. The girl in the muggle baby shop was charmed with him and Harry and helped him everything.
The hoarfrost sparkled in the crisp cold air and his and Harry's breath came out as white puffs. They came for a moment, to say goodbye. The funeral was not enough; Sirius felt that their two deserved a more intimate farewell for upcoming years. Not among the desperate friends and acquaintances and ministerial officials, Remus throwing reproachful glances at him, and Dumbledore peering at him above the halves of his glasses.
So, they went to the cemetery together at dawn, hoping that no one would be there. In the end, waking up at this time was not difficult considering that Harry seemed to sleep four hours a day and for the remaining twenty still be extremely active.
They stood there in silence, the sun slowly swam through the sky when a dreamy voice came from Sirius' back making him jump:
"It's such a shame. Lily was so kind. And James always made me laugh."
In the alley next to her stood a small woman in a cornflower robe and a matching hat that looked definitely too thin for that weather. She had long, fair hair, practically gleaming golden in the cold morning light. She was extremely pale, making her huge, silvery eyes look even larger, almost surprised. She held an armful of plants that Sirius recognized as a wormwood.
"Pandora? You scared me. I didn't hear you coming."
"Oh, I'm not surprised. You were so deep in thought. I guess it's normal given the circumstances." she glanced at the bulging front of his coat where a small head protruded wrapped in a scarf and hat. "There's a big challenge ahead of you, Sirius Black, but oh, how fulfilling." she smiled.
"I've heard that you've got a baby girl with Xenophilius. Congrats'." he returned the smile; he always liked Pandora. They've met one day in Hogsmeade. She was three years above them but he liked talking with her. She was insightful and sensitive and had a special kind of calmness in her that Sirius enjoyed.
"Yes, my Luna is eight months old already. They grow so fast. I'm afraid that I will miss something if I blink." she laughed sweetly but the second later her silver eyes became glassy and unfocused and the wormwood bouquet fell of her hands.
Sirius felt his throat go dry.
"Pandora? Are you alright?"
"On the thorny path, the one born under the Dog Star will grow to be the Keeper...The One Who Walks In-between will return when the thirteenth year will pass and The Dark Lord will rise again and the blood will flood the world once more. But The Dark Lord is destined to fall when the Stars align with the Amber Moon."
And just like that she blinked and looked with surprise at the wormwood scattered at the tombstone at her feet .
"Oh Circe! What did I say? I'm so sorry Sirius, it didn't happen for so long now. What did I say?" she looked worried as she scanned his face.
"You...you said...that You-Know-Who will return...and you talked about the...the Dog Star...and The One Who Walks In-between...Do you know what this is all about?"
"No! Do you?" She asked earnestly; her eyes looked even larger.
"No! I didn't even know that you are a Seer!"
She shrugged and leaned over to pick up the scattered herbs.
"I've always been like this. Although the last prophecy happened to me shortly after graduating from Hogwarts. I've predicted Luna's birth and..." she stuttered and her bottom lips quivered almost unnoticeably before she continued: "...other things that didn't happen yet."
"So these prophecies are final? There's nothing we can do?" he asked weakly throwing a fearful look at the tombstone behind him. Pandora rose with the wormwood back in her arms and looked at him with a gentle smile.
"Nothing is predetermined, Sirius. Even if you think so now. The future depends on our actions. And even if the unfavourable predictions come true because they were beyond our decisions, it depends on us how we can handle the consequences. How can we deal with the loss." she looked at James's and Lily's grave and smile sadly. "The things we lose always have a way of coming back to us in the end."
12 November 1981
"Knock, knock!" Marlene and Dorcas peeped into kitchen of Sirius London flat only to find the young man hunched over a stack of scrolls chewing the tip of the quill. Harry sat opposite in a high chair and with great concentration squeezed the gruel from his bowl through his small fists.
"How is my favourite boy?!" Dorcas cooed and the toddler squealed throwing the gruel into the air. Sirius waved his wand without looking and the flying gruel disappeared before it hit any surface in the kitchen.
"Well thank you, Dorky, I'm quite good. Thank you for asking."
"I wasn't talking to you, Black." The girl grumbled, sat beside Harry and started feeding him pretending the spoon is a flying broomstick.
"What ya doing?" Marlene peeked above his arm curiously.
"Paperwork. I've offered to Moody that I will at least try to help that way. They have too much work and too few hands right now."
Moody was surprisingly forgiving and grumbled less than Sirius expected. But this did not prevent him from burying the young Auror with papers when he offered to help with cataloguing reports and testimonies.
"You know we can take care of Harry if you need to go to work, right?" Dorcas asked seriously.
"You know that I actually don't have to work with the money Alphard left me?" Sirius asked looking at the girls with a quirked eyebrow. "War's over, and I became an Auror only because that was necessary. Besides the baby books say that I should give Bambi some stability right now. Without many people juggling him around..."
"Wow, Dadfoot. You were right when you yelled at Remus, Marlene." Dorcas said while trying to give squirming Harry another spoonful.
"Dadfoot..."Sirius mouthed quietly with big eyes.
"Yeah, that werewolf has some serious attitude issues." Marlene growled. "How could he even doubt you?"
Sirius chuckled grimly throwing the quill on the table.
"You don't doubt? I even doubt myself right now. Harry's crying for Lily and James every night. He has nightmares." he combed his hair with fingers in a tired gesture. "I'm having nightmares too. I'm worried I'm to broken to be a good role model. I don't even know how such a role model looks; didn't exactly have one growing up."
"Well, you're Sirius Black, right?" Marlene looked at him fiercely. "You always have a plan."
He chuckled again this time sincerely.
"That I have, McKinnon. I'm selling this flat and I'm taking Harry far, far away from Great Britain."
"Where?" girls asked simultaneously.
"Australia."
"You're kidding?!" Dorcas almost fell of her chair.
"No. I want us to fall off the radar for a while. There is a lot of people who mean us harm, and a hell a lot of those who say they want our good but in reality, they want to use the boy."
"Why not States? You don't have an aunt there?"
"I like them but I don't trust them. Merlin knows how many plans Dorea would have for us. Australia is far away and it's easy to disappear there. The community is small and there's no problem with blood purist." he counted on his fingers.
"That sounds...very thoughtful actually."
"You sound so surprised Dorcas, really."
"I guess I have to get used to Dadfoot." she shrugged with a sly smile dancing on her lips.
"You will come back?" Marlene asked suddenly.
Sirius thought about it. On the one hand he wanted to come back one day, he wanted to show Harry his parents' home and he wanted him to go to Hogwarts one day. On the other, he still thought about Pandora's prophecy he witnessed at the cemetery. It only meant trouble for both of them and they really should keep low and stay away.
But did he really could stay away if the remains of his patchwork family were in danger?
"I don't know yet, Marlene."
19 November 1981
Daily Prophet, issue #29,907, November 19th 1981.
PETTIGREW CAUGHT!
YOU-KNOW-WHO'S MOST FAITHFUL SERVANT IN AZKABAN!
BLACK TAKES HIS REVANGE!
Daily Prophet's exclusive sources in the Auror Department confirmed that the individual Peter Pettigrew (21) was arrested at the night form 18th to 19th of November, by an Auror strike division led by Head of the Department, Alastor Moody (46).
(…)
According to our exclusive sources from the place of the whole ordeal the Auror that broke Pettigrew's wand after the arrest was no one else but Sirius Black (21). Black who was an old friend of James (21) and Lily Potter (21) and also Pettigrew, who's actions lead to Potter's death, was on the forefront of the hunt for Pettigrew from the day of You-Know-Who's death.
Our exclusive sources also claim that after breaking Pettigrew's wand Black also broke his ex-friends nose forcing other members of the squad- allegedly Fabian (24) and Gideon Prewett (24)- to part him from the arrested Death Eater.
(…)
Alastor Moody confirmed that Peter Pettigrew is currently held in Azkaban and awaits his trial. And at this he confirmed that the Auror Department closed its list of the most wanted Death Eaters.
(…)
The redaction of the Daily Prophet will be keeping tabs on the Ministry for a righteous trial for Peter Pettigrew.
5 May 1983
The kitchen looked almost serene in the soft light of the quiet early Tuesday morning.
Pots with herbs stood along the windowsill under colourful curtains, the sink was clean without even one dish inside and a bowl of fresh-looking fruit stood neatly on the countertop.
One wall beside the entrance to the kitchen was plastered with child's drawings. Among them there was one with a big, black dog on a green grass, and one with a pink house with two stick figures in front with black lines on their heads, and another with a yellow beach with shells and a blue sea with orange fish.
One would think that it was a perfect morning in a perfectly calm and happy household.
And on any other day, it was true.
Beside a simple wooden table sat a man with long raven-black hair and a neatly trimmed beard. He was hunched over a newspaper as he read; beside laid a roll of preachment written with a narrow and messy handwriting. The tension was visible in his shoulders as he scanned the front page. One of his bare feet tapped nervously on the colourful tiles on the kitchen floor.
"Dad? I'm hungry." little boy with a black mop of messy hair, still in pyjamas, entered the kitchen rubbing his eyes with little fists. When he looked over at the man, he immediately became alarmed. "Daddy? You're crying?"
The man smiled and shook his head, despite his cheeks being wet from tears and his grey eyes looking glassy and sad.
"Don't worry Bambi. I...I was cutting some onion for the breakfast and became too attached."
The boy giggled at this and scrambled on the man's lap.
"What's this?" he pointed at the preachment.
"A letter from an old friend. Your uncle actually. Uncle Remus...remember how I've told you about him?"
"Yes!"
"So it's a letter from him."
"What's in it?"
"Well...a little bit on what's going on where uncle lives, a little bit about what's up with his life and a lot of questions about you."
"Me?!" the boy squealed, his green eyes big from excitement that someone form so far away is interested in what's happening with him.
"Yeah! He can't wait when he will see you again. Last time he saw you, you were so little." the man showed the size with his hands. "You were a size of a potato maybe."
"No! I was never a potato!" the child protested trying to pout and failing when the man tickled his sides.
"You want to go to the beach later? We can search for some nice shells to finish the porch with."
"Okay. But first breakfast."
The man burst with barking laugh and ruffled the boy's already messy hair.
"Go brush your teeth and I will make some food. We will make a picnic-breakfast!"
"Yaaay!" the boy roared and hopped from his place on the lap and ran from the kitchen.
The man sighed and stood up picking up the newspaper and before he threw it into the trash-bin, he took last look at the front page, the photo and the title, written in angry, big letters:
Daily Prophet, issue #30,434, April 30th 1983.
YOU-KNOW-WHO'S LAST PAWN GONE!
PETTIGREW EXECUTED BY DEMENTOR'S KISS!
9 February 1985
Daily Prophet, issue #31,085, February 9th 1985.
SIRIUS BLACK SPOTTED ON DIAGON ALLEY!
THE LAST BLACK IS OUT FOR HIS HERITAGE?!
THE BOY WHO LIVED GROWN UP!
EXCLUSIVE PHOTOS FROM RITA SKEETER!
Our exclusive sources at Daily Prophet claims that Sirius Black (25) was spotted yesterday with his adoptive son Harry Potter (5).
After the downfall of You-Know-Who regime, in which young Potter took a key role, both of them seemingly disappeared from the face of the earth. Rumours say that they took refuge in a far and exotic temples of Taiwanese monks. Looking at the deep tan we can see on Mr. Black in the pictures, the redaction of the Daily Prophet says that the rumours seems to be true!
(…)
One can only suspect that Black's sudden return is linked to his mother's, Walburga Black (60) illness that if we can believe the gossip tied her down to bed. We could be looking at a beautiful redemption arc for the reckless, handsome rebel!
(…)
The redaction of the Daily Prophet expresses its deepest hope for a happy ending for the Ancient and Noble House of Black!
•••
The residence of the Most Ancient and Noble House of Black at Grimmauld Place 12 looked exactly as gloomy as Sirius remembered form his last visit there, when he was sixteen.
He was wearing his best robes and he was clean shaven probably for the first time in 3 years but his hair was longer than ever and fanned over his shoulders and back. He knew his mother despised them and the earring in left ear he presented himself for his fifteen birthday. And he knew she would be mad at his tanned skin. After all a pureblood shouldn't look like he just stopped working in the field.
He wondered why his mother so politely asked for a meeting. He was paranoid when it came to his family.
But he left Harry with Marlene. And Dorcas promised to come later. So he was safe.
And his mother was alone. No husband. No other son. Only her and an old atrocious house elf.
Of course, he suspected why she wanted to see him.
He thought about it all the time since her owl came.
...See you around Sirius Black... or maybe as I will call you...Lord Black?...
She apparently knew. Was she a Seer? Like Pandora? He could only wonder.
"My lady awaits you in her study." Kreacher bowed low throwing him venomous glances. "Filthy blood traitor." he muttered under his breath.
"Thanks." Sirius said. "You disgusting piece of shit." he added quietly passing the elf on his way to his mother's study.
Walburga looked fragile and pale sitting in the enormous chair beside the fireplace. Her skin was ashen in shade and her once black and shiny hair looked mated and hanged limply around her face. And her face...Sirius wasn't ready to see her face like that; she looked ghastly. With hollowed cheeks and skin tightly fitting around her cheekbones and eyes she looked like a living corpse. Her hands looked like white spiders with their pale, long fingers.
Yes, Sirius despised her, most of the time he was revolted by the mere thought that she is his mother by blood and flesh, but she still unfortunately was his family.
Once terrifyingly beautiful and powerful Walburga Black now was a mere shadow of herself.
He nodded his head in greeting. She motioned with her hand for him to sit on the chair opposite to her.
"I've heard you're very sick."
"You sound almost hopeful." she quipped and her paper-white lips crooked in a smile. Sirius returned the smile tightly. "You look like a muggle peasant."
"Thank you. You look like you're supposed to be dead already. But I guess a bad thing never dies." he said politely.
"If this is any comfort for you there's not much time for me left. I'm dying." she said with an unexpected force in her voice. Sirius straighten himself and quirked his eyebrow.
"You invited me over to say this to me? You know how little I care about what happens with you. You took care of it."
"I don't care about what happens with you either. But I care about our heritage. I care about the properties and gold that lay in our vaults."
"Our? I thought you disowned me."
"I want you to claim the heritage and take the title of Lord Black. Otherwise the Gringotts will claim all the family property."
He felt a cold shiver run through his spine.
The last piece of the puzzle falls into the place. he thought suddenly.
"There's nobody else who could claim it? Cissy maybe? Dromeda?"
"Every knut outside Narcissa's dowry is claimed by the Ministry, since Lucius is in Azkaban. And their son is only two. Besides Narcissa severed all ties with family after her wimp of a husband decided to hand himself to the Ministry. As for Andromeda I contacted her and she replied with a Howler. As you can guess she declined to meet me." her grey eyes meet his and he thought how strange is that they are all the same as when she was beautiful and healthy. "You are the last one."
He was silent for a moment before he asked slowly straining every word.
"Are you fully aware what I will do with the Ancient and Noble House of Black?" Sirius asked sweetly, feeling a wave of vengeful glee seeing how his mother paled and tighten her lips into a thin line.
He leaned forward and continued in a similar tone but this time he let the venom show in his voice.
"I will tear this snake pit brick after brick, back to the foundations, and rebuilt it as everything you despised all your life in gold and red. Every muggle, every crossbreed, every creature will be welcomed as one of our own. I will claim my father's seat in the Wizengamot and I will vote to pass every bill you would shoot down. And you will roll in your grave when one day my place will take a little half-blood, the boy who defeated the Dark Lord. My heir." he smiled again. "But the first thing I will do when I will become Lord Black will be burning this hellhole down. Would you like that mother dearest? Would you like this place to be your burning stake?"
Walburga sat stiffly in silence for a moment until her lips stretched in an ugly smile.
"You are so much like your father, my son."
•••
He sat at a table in the far corner of the Leaky Cauldron and sipped his beer absentmindedly. He dropped the habit of drinking Firewhisky years ago, when he became responsible of another little life. He didn't miss it as much as he thought he would.
Meeting with Walburga left him a little shaken up. Her words couldn't leave his mind.
...You are so much like your father, my son...
He remembered his father, Orion Black, as a quiet, withdrawn man who never said anything when his wife tormented their sons. He mostly was gone doing business. But whenever someone who worked with him mentioned him to Sirius, they always said he was a vicious fanatic who made the most powerful wizards in the Ministry tremble before him.
Sirius wondered what his mother saw in that moment that reminded her of her late husband.
Guess the Black crazy is coming out.
"Sirius?"
He lifted his head and saw Remus.
He didn't know what to expect when his old friend offered a meeting. They had some contact over the years but overall it was a handful of laconic letters and packages with birthday presents for them and for Harry.
Remus looked...older. But not five years older, more like fifteen. His hair was longer and almost completely grey. His face was more wrinkled and paler than it was, and his eyes were more gold than green. They had a sad, miserable look about them. His robes were neat but visibly worn-out and they hung on him loosely.
But still; he looked like home. And until that moment Sirius wasn't aware how much he missed him. He stood up and embraced the other man tightly. Remus hugged him back burying his face in his shoulder. They stood like that for a while surrounded by the chatter of the people gathered in the bar to have some fun and relax on that Saturday evening.
"Merlin. How I've missed you." he heard a muffled mumble. "How I've terribly missed you."
"Me too. You have no idea."
"I'm sorry. You were right in so many things. Will you ever forgive me, Padfoot?"
"I forgave you years ago."
•••
"So the Order just fallen apart? Nobody contacted you for five years?"
Remus nodded sipping his beer.
"Only Marlene and Dorcas. Sometimes the Prewett's. That's it."
He insisted for Sirius to tell him how his last five years in Sidney was, how Harry's doing. When Sirius finished, he referred shortly how he jumped from one odd-job to another and how he sent his papers for Hogwarts DADA teacher every year with no luck, let alone a reply. He told him about his mother's death and monthly transformations in the basement of his old family home.
Sirius felt anger at Dumbledore for ignoring Remus, a man who was ready to risk his life on any mission he was given. A man who believed in him despite everything.
But right now, he could change things for better.
He leaned over the table and grabbed the werewolf's hand.
"Listen! I've talked with Walburga today. I've decided to take my title and heirloom after she dies."
Remus squeezed his hand back and looked at him with big eyes.
"But...you hate them. You hate all that's linked to them."
"Yes! But it's my opportunity to change things. Imagine Remus! Black's are the part of the Sacred Twenty-Eight! My family is one of the three most powerful of them. Malfoy's practically non-existent now and Potter's...well, the last British Potter will be also the heir of the Black family."
"What's your plan?" Remus asked in a hushed tone leaning over the table; his eyes were shining with excitement.
"I'm going to take the title. And I will do everything to change my family's name into something worthy. And I will need your help. But until then, I will have to bear Walburga a few more times. She must tell me everything that has changed since Orion trained me as his successor. So since I was 13 or so." he laughed. "It's going to such a pain in the ass."
"It is! But imagine how free you will be after that!" the werewolf laughed. "Oh, Merlin, I missed this. I missed us. It's been so lonely since...you left." he added with a sad smile.
"I'm back. And I will stay. I've never thought I will be grateful for something that the old hag did." At the thought of Walburga his smile suddenly dropped. "Remus, tell me please...and be honest with me...does the fact that I wait for her death and I think about it with pleasure...does that mean I'm a bad person?"
Remus bit his lip like he was wondering how to put what he wants to say. Finally, he smiled gently and said:
"I think that's perfectly normal given how that woman made your childhood hell on earth. Do I think that makes you a bad person?" he shook his head. "Do I think you are a bad person?" he shook it again. "Do I think you could be a bad person? Yes. Probably. Like all of us. And you are that more admirable, because your history gives you every right to be bitter, self-centered asshole...and yet you are the most selfless and gold-hearted man I've ever met." he smiled again. Sirius returned it charmingly and asked:
"Do you want to see Harry? I have to pick him up from Marlene, anyways"
Remus laughed quietly and if anyone looked at them at that moment there was a chance, they would see the deep crimson blush on the werewolf's cheeks as the future Lord Black lifted his hand to his lips placing a chaste kiss on it.
31 July 1987
"RONALD WEASLEY, WATCH OUT FOR YOUR SISTER!"
Molly's Weasley shriek pierced through the garden and opened window in the kitchen making Sirius wince. He shooed her from the kitchen to prepare Harry's birthday cake.
It was a warm Friday afternoon and the temperature would be almost unbearable if it wasn't for the cold breeze from the sea.
The new nest of the Ancient and Noble House of Black was a bright and spacious house with a piece of nearby beach. Sirius looked for something near the sea and relatively near London so it fell on the Brighton area.
The kids ran around in a cacophony of screams and laughter. Sirius smiled under his beard hearing Neville Longbottom scream at the youngest Weasley boy that he's "a jerk".
He was quite relived when Harry caught contact with other kids his age; they've met Alice and Frank with Neville by accident one day when they went to Gringotts to finalize a few things after he claimed the title.
He have known Alice and Frank from school and despite never being very close at the time they've all been in the Order, this time they've clicked right away. So did boy's.
Then he meet Arthur Weasley while trying to legally register his motorcycle as a magically modified muggle object suitable for use. Arthur was a great guy with an obsession on muggles and their inventions. His wife Molly sometimes could be a pain in the ass but other than that she was a golden woman who really resembled at times her younger brothers Gideon and Fabian.
They had seven kids. Sirius thought Arthur is pulling his leg when he said that but apparently there really was nine of Weasley's scattered around the world with their oldest son being in Egypt. Their youngest son was exactly Harry's and Neville's age, so they started to hang around with each other.
Year and a half later they were so close that Sirius really hoped that they would end up together in on one House.
That was of course years away, but he couldn't help but wonder where his son would end up.
Harry was a Parselmouth.
First time he saw Harry speak with a snake was still in Australia, one day when they were on their way back from the beach. The boy crouched across from a small black snake and let out a long chilling hiss. The reptile stilled, lifted itself a little from the ground and crooked his head to the side like it was wondering if that little boy really was talking to him.
And then it hissed back.
Sirius stopped in his tracks when he saw this, wondering how he should react. Finally, he called Harry to him in a weak voice and when the boy came over, he took his hand and didn't let go until they were back at home.
He spent the fallowing weeks reading everything he could find about Parseltounge. It was hereditary. He remembered James hissing on random Slytherins on the corridor but that was all. On the other hand, it wasn't anything any wizard family would proudly announce around.
There was also that the scar on boy's head. They warned him at St. Mungo's about possible side-effects. For Sirius side-effects where something like his dog-quirks he gained after becoming an animagi. Like his disgust for cats. Or his urge to feel wind in his hair. Or the fact he liked belly and ear scratches. In both forms.
That was what he called side-effects. Not knowledge of a whole langue popularly linked with dark magic. Because beside this Harry was a normal, happy kid. And Sirius decided he didn't give a fuck about him talking with snakes.
He sometimes tried to pinpoint the exact moment when Harry stopped being his friends' kid, his godson and started being his son. He always loved him but what started as his duty to his brother and sister in everything but blood transformed into something, he never suspected he even wanted. A family. A son. An adult life focused on making everything right for this little person he adopted. It made him feel whole. And it made him feel lucky.
He waved his wand and the seven candles on the cake lit up. In that moment green flames erupted from the fireplace and a little girl with long, blond hair and giant blue eyes hopped into the kitchen. She had a necklace from butterbeer corks around her neck.
"Hello Mr. Black!" she smiled showing two front teeth missing.
"Hello Luna!" he smiled. "Harry, Ginny and the boys are in the garden. Watch out for Mrs. Weasley though. She seems to be in a foul mood today." Luna nodded and took off running to the garden.
A couple of seconds later the fireplace lit up again and Pandora left it elegantly.
"Hello dear." she smiled dreamily and glided to him to kiss his cheek.
Pandora was a real heaven-sent from the day they returned to Great Britain. She helped him keep his head a clean and bright place through last two years when one dark secret after another just crawled from the depths of his family history.
She and Remus kept tabs on him in moments of doubt and reminded him where he started and who he was. Through every Daily Prophet article, every cruel gossip, every bad eye he got from others after he took the Lord title. After two years most people finally saw that he wasn't just a younger copy of his father.
"DAD!" Harry run into the kitchen red-faced with his hair wilder than normally. Sirius quickly covered the birthday cake from the boys' site.
"Harry? What's up?" Pandora asked waving her wand to cover the cake with a tall, white cloche.
"Ron, Fred and George say I will have to marry my cousin!" he said breathlessly.
That little shits.
"No you won't have to marry your cousin, mate. They're just being jerks, don't listen to them."
"They say she has a strange name. Drago or something."
Motherfucking little...
"Okay, listen." Sirius crouched and put a hand on Harry's shoulder. "Your cousin's name is Draco. It's a he. His mom is my cousin and we don't have any contact whatsoever. You will marry who the fuck you want, whenever you want when you will be an adult. Until then you can tell Ron, Fred and George that they don't have a chance to marry anyone with such ugly mugs like theirs." and after a second of thought he added. "If they don't shut up you can put some itching powder on their chairs. I think Ginny and Luna would gladly help you with that"
Harry's face lit up with a big smile, he gave his father a quick hug and ran back to the garden.
"He's so much like James." Pandora said thoughtfully.
"Yes. And so much like Lily." he replied taking the cloche from the cake and lilting the candles again.
"And he has so much from you." she smiled a bright happy smile. He chuckled and waved his wand lifting the cake into the air.
"Come on, Pan, let's embarrass my boy a little singing him Happy Birthday very, very loudly."
1 September 1991
"Dad, what if I end up in Slytherin?"
Sirius looked at Harry thoughtfully. He looked almost identically to James when they've met for the first time at Hogwarts Express. Only their eyes didn't match, because Harry had Lily's eyes hidden behind his round glasses.
They stood on the crowdy Platform 9 ¾ surrounded by the noisy crowd of parents, students, cats, owls, suitcases, carts and magic.
"Well then you will be in Slytherin. What's wrong with that?"
"I don't know..." the boy said quietly. "It's just...the twins are in Gryffindor and Ron will be there too, and they say only bad people are in Slytherin."
"That's bull. There's no such rule. It doesn't matter where you will end up. Do you think that aunt Dromeda is a bad person?" Harry shook his head. "She was a Slytherin."
"But I want to be a Gryffindor! Like you, uncle Remus and... them." the last thing he added quietly, uncertainly.
They had the talk. Sirius decided a year earlier that it was time to talk about things with Harry. The boy listened to his long story about Lily and James Potter. About how brave and smart they were. How good friends and family they were to him most of his life. And how they loved him – Harry – so much that they gave their life's away just to keep him safe. How all of this doesn't change the fact that he's still his son and he loves him, and it doesn't matter how they became a family. What mattered it was that they stayed one.
Harry knew about Voldemort's attack. He knew he was adopted. He knew a lot of these things but it was the first time they talked about it. And it was a cleansing experience for both of them.
He crouched to boy's level and looked him in the eye.
"If you want to be in Gryffindor all you have to do is ask the Sorting Hat to put you there." Sirius smiled and added. "It worked for me."
Harry's eyes became wide with wonder.
"Really?!"
"Yeah. I wanted to be a Gryffindor so bad that I just asked for it. But I can tell you now that the house you are in doesn't matter so much when you are a grown up. We all have something from each of them. It's your decision how you act later."
The boy nodded with a solemn face and in that moment the Hogwarts Express let out a piercing whistle announcing it's oncoming departure.
"Come on, I will help you put your suitcase inside the compartment. Ron and Neville should already have one."
•••
He stood on the platform waving after the leaving Express and fought with himself not to just turn into a dog and run, run, run after his son. He never thought that parting with him will be so difficult.
"They grow so fast. Don't they?" he heard a female voice from behind. He turned just to see Narcissa Malfoy all in black standing there with an uncertain face.
She didn't change a lot through the years; she still was the prettiest of the Black sisters with her platinum blond hair and grey eyes. But she looked a little beaten up by life and tired.
"Yeah...my friend used to say that if you just blink you can miss something changing in them."
"I'm...I'm so proud of Draco."
"He will do good, Cissa. He can handle it."
She smiled finally.
"I raised a mommy's boy, cousin. It's going to be hard."
"Merlin, let's hope he's more like his mother than his father then. Lucius was a real wimp in school."
6 June 1994
"A Triwizard Tournament? Are you serious Ludo?" Sirius asked with a sceptical glance at the head of the Department of Magical Games and Sports, Ludo Bagman.
"That's funny I thought you are Sirius." Bagman grinned in a stupid smile that dimmed very quickly when he saw Lord Black's gaze.
"I've been making this joke for almost thirty-five years now. It's only funny when I make it. Believe me."
They were in Sirius' office in his London home. There he accepted the suppliants and lived during the school year and when Harry was not around. Right now, the boy was at the Burrow for a week.
Bagman stood in front of his desk, nervously crumpling the edge of his robe.
"But it's a great opportunity to open up again to other Wizarding Schools in Europe!"
"I don't know. You can't just organise a chess tournament or something that doesn't have a body count in it's history?"
"It will be totally safe! We already took every measure to ensure about it."
"How can you ensure something like that? That's ridiculous! Are you even serious there in the Ministry?! Don't." he raised a warning finger as he saw Bagman opening his mouth. "And you have everything ready and now you are asking the Board of Governors if you can do it on the Hogwarts grounds?"
Ludo started to fidget even more, and Sirius, who already knew what Bagman wanted to tell him, simply decided that he had pulled out the shortest straw. That's why he, not Barty Crouch, talked to him. He decided to press Bagman a little more.
"I'm not convinced Ludo. I think I would have to put a no-go on this one." he said in a final tone. "And I will advise the rest of the Board to vote against."
"But the rest of the Board already agreed!"
Bagman blurted in panic and his eyes widened in fear as Sirius slowly lifted up behind his desk.
"Soooo...you are saying that you asked the Board before you asked the Board's chairman? Is that what are you saying Ludo?"
"N-n-n-no! Absolutely not! We...we just consulted them! Nothing... nothing binding"
"That's good. Because my word is enough for your Triwizard Tournament project to fly through that window like just like your Quidditch carrier." Sirius crooked his head to the side and smirked. "Let's hope your current carrier won't share the same faith, right Ludo?" Bagman flinched and he quickly wiped his sweat from his forehead with the hem of his robe.
After few silent and fidgety moments, he finally broke:
"Okay, okay! We talked with the rest of the board first. Barty hoped it would help convince you to the idea if you knew the rest already agreed. I'm sorry Sirius, really, I told him it's a bad idea!"
Sirius smiled; it was quite a sincere smile. The one he rarely used in business. But Bagman really made him laugh with his nervous submissiveness.
"I know about everything Ludo. Dorcas Gellert wrote to me the moment you contacted her. So did the rest of the board." he laughed. "They've asked if they should accept the project."
He circled the desk and stood against Bagman, who was almost a foot shorter than him, so he had to bend his head to look into his face. He wasn't smiling anymore.
"If you have tried to check how far my authority goes, I congratulate you. You showed how far your idiocy goes. Next time, I hope Barty will remember that there is no thing that happens without my knowledge both in the ministry and at Hogwarts. If I did not wish your Triwizard Tournament there, it would not be there." he said in a calm tone. "Do I make myself clear?"
Bagman nodded vigorously and Sirius smiled once more returning behind his desk.
"Good. Great talk as always Ludo. You should come here more often, really."