Disclaimer: I own nothing

This chapter continues from where Ch. 5 left off.

Chapter 6

So Mote it Be

July 1990

Sirius could not recall the last time Lily had tested his patience so callously as she had right then. He was about to leave on a mission for Merlin knows how long and Lily just had to get emotional and crush Daphne's spirits with some false warning.

"What have you done, Lils?" James stopped and stared at her from the second-floor landing, aghast.

"What do you mean? He's leaving! Someone had to explain to Daphne why her own betrothed -"

"Do not use that word; you don't know the extent of what it means." Sirius couldn't find the will to look at her, let alone bother to hide his rising temper.

He had done his part and signed the contract. The next proper step in courtship was the meeting of the families, which was customary to be organized by someone other than the couple. Sirius genuinely thought it would be a straightforward correspondence, but Lily's lack of understanding added to Narcissa's stubborn reluctance had cut two years from the time in which he could've met Daphne. He was not only embarrassed for them but himself, especially for himself.

As many so often cared to repeat, he was Head Auror - he had obligations, and usually, Sirius would be proud of this statement - except for today. Today, his responsibilities had screamed for his attention like annoying, petulant children. Three level one emergencies had popped up simultaneously in Bristol, requiring his immediate command of action the one time in his career he had taken leave. It was absurdly ironic given the fact that he was due to depart for an undercover mission - tomorrow.

Sirius needed to regain his dignity in Daphne's eyes before then.

His tone no longer sharp, but edged with rare disappointment, "I was going to tell Miss Greengrass of the mission, Lily. You had absolutely no reason to warn her."

oOo

It was early the next morning, and Malfoy Manor was as quiet as ever. Narcissa was basking in the first rays of the sun and browsing through L'étiquette de la Mode with her porcelain coffee cup nearby. This was her favorite time of day: when her boys were too sleepy to make any ruckus and stayed dutifully put in their rooms. Daphne's presence was the only one she could tolerate before breakfast and Narcissa savored the peaceful moments when her goddaughter would come to join her.

"Cissa." It was a terse greeting.

Her brow rose a fraction, and she did not care to give any further indication that she had heard her cousin. At present, she couldn't have loathed him more.

"I've come to apologize."

The determination in his voice made her snort loudly, "To me, Sirius?"

"Do not play coy, Narcissa." Sirius drawled tiredly; it was too early for him to bicker with her. "To Miss Greengrass. Is she up?" He sat down uninvited on the emerald sofa a few good feet away from her prised albino snakeskin chair.

Narcissa opened one eye and hissed, "You're choosing to do this now? What's brought on this decision?"

Sirius adjusted the large bouquet of yellow roses in his grasp and slipped the jewelry box back into the pocket of his muted silver wizard robes. "I would rather explain myself with Miss Greengrass present."

Narcissa grumbled out a retort about never considering him to be a traditionalist before calling for her elf, "Is Daphne awake?"

The house elf bowed deeply to her Lady, "Yes, Mistress." Fay took immediate notice of the Black Head of House. He looked so very much like her former Master, Cynus, but this Black she knew was one of the good ones, probably the only good one if Fay was honest.

"Good. Then get her ready and bring her down. Oh, and Fay, do tell Daphne of our guest. - I don't want her to have a shock." Narcissa smiled obnoxiously at Sirius, resentment in her grey eyes and Sirius returned her look.

"Right away, Mistress." The elderly elf popped away unheard.

"No, please and thank you, Cissa? Andy assumed she was finally getting through to your cold heart." Sirius smirked when her expression soured.

"The day has just dawned, I'm a different person come tea time, cousin."

"Oh, I'm sure you are. Why are you even up at this ungodly hour? I have no choice, criminals don't sleep, but what's your excuse?" Sirius asked frowning when Narcissa hid a yawn.

"Daphne still gets nightmares some mornings, and I don't like for her to wake up alone." Narcissa sighed and scratched at the snakeskin cushion with a sharp nail. "Merlin knows it's always about that night."

Sirius's frown intensified, "I wasn't aware her dreams had continued. Tell me you've given her Dreamless Sleep potion."

"Of course, but it's useless to her now - she's built up a tolerance." The woman bristled just thinking of the failed potion and Severus's blunt refusal to give the ten-year-old anything stronger.

"Have you tried getting Miss Greengrass to speak of it or even her family? St. Mungo's used therapeutic storytelling to help the War orphans with their grief." With the amount of time the Auror newbies spent in St. Mungo's, Sirius had learned a thing or two of the hospital's additional programs while visiting the fools.

Narcissa sighed and clasped her hands, "She refuses to speak of her parents, so Lucius and I avoid reminiscing, but she does bring Astoria up from time to time." She took a sweeping look of the parlor room and found it essential to whisper her next words, "Regarding that night though - Daphne told me that she remembers everything except for how she got out of the house. She's quite bothered by it and - so am I."

Sirius looked pensive and leaned back crossing his arms, "You know, I always did wonder how she managed to escape from the house."

It was Narcissa's turn to frown, "She wasn't inside the Manor?"

"No," Sirius shook his head and leaned forward, "I thought you knew. We found Miss Greengrass outside near the forest."

"She could have gone out the front door; it was in the same general area. But - no, that doesn't make sense." Narcissa tsked, "Quinton blocked all entryways overnight, no one could get in or out."

A look of understanding passed over Sirius, "I lowered the wards to get in without triggering the alarms. She must have used the front door."

"Why doesn't she remember then?" Narcissa questioned curiously.

Sirius shrugged, his thumb tracing along his lower lip, "With everything Miss Greengrass saw that night, it's more than likely she simply forgot."

"Perhaps." Narcissa wasn't pleased with his answer, Daphne's mind was sharp, and she was continually bringing up obscure things from the past.

"Mistress -" Fay appeared and pointed towards the marble staircase where a nervous looking Daphne was carefully descending.

Narcissa stood, immediately masking her previous anxiety with a smile. Her eyes skimmed fondly over her pretty goddaughter, admiring the white and silver checkered dress she wore.

Turning, impatient to see her cousin's reaction, Narcissa gasped in surprise upon not finding him where she expected. She twisted around, and her gaze settled on Sirius holding out a hand for Daphne to grasp as she neared the bottom steps.

"Miss Greengrass," Sirius gently took the girl's hand and raised it to his lips, "I'm pleased to see you again."

"Are you?" Daphne's hazel eyes widened in shock when the rude question tumbled out of her mouth before she could stop herself. Her already pink cheeks tinged red when Sirius began to howl with laughter.

She bit her lip and quickly said what would've been the proper form of greeting, "It's charming to see you as well, Mr. Black. Forgive me, but I did not expect to see you so soon."

Sirius smiled, he couldn't blame her for doubting him and took on a sincere expression, "I've come to apologize to you for my unplanned absence yesterday. You see, I got pulled away for a sudden emergency in Bristol."

He paused, "I would also like to address the conversation you had with Lily. She often gets dramatic when she's worried, and I'm afraid she upset you." Sirius's brows furrowed as he remembered the argument that had erupted upon Daphne's departure. His thumb brushed over the back of her hand with surprising tenderness as he searched for the perfect words that would hopefully put her mind at ease, "Know that I would never intentionally ignore you, Miss Greengrass."

Daphne held his gaze. Her eyes were extraordinarily expressive now that he thought of it; strikingly beautiful in their doll-like wonder, with the hints of gold and forest green.

Sirius guessed she must have found whatever she was looking for because she bestowed him a dazzling smile, "Thank you, Mr. Black."

Her attention dropped promptly to the roses in his arms, and Sirius grinned at her proper way of changing the subject.

"These, of course, are for you, sweetheart." He carefully placed the considerably sized bouquet into her arms before helping her down the last few stair steps for he was aware that she could no longer see her feet.

Daphne held the yellow roses out in front of her, charmed by his additional gesture of regret, "How stunning! And oh look, you remembered to indicate that they're from you." She pointed out the elegant ivory name tag tied with a silver bow around the covered stems.

"Did I forget the first time?" Sirius questioned, amusement in his tone as he guided her to the sitting area. He was glad to note that Daphne was still just as well-spoken and confident as she had been; nevertheless, he much preferred this version of her which was not holding back any tears.

"You did, but I found out eventually." Daphne sighed while she smoothed down her dress and accepted Sirius's polite hand of assistance for her to sit in the opposite chair from her godmother.

As he sat in his previous spot, Sirius despairingly attempted to keep a straight face, "It will never happen again."

"I do hope so." Daphne's eyes danced with mirth, "Though, now you can rest assured that any unsigned flowers I receive, I'll think are from you and not some secret admirer."

Sirius bit his tongue. Daphne would be sorted into Slytherin no matter what come next September, but he grew up with snakes and knew how to play their games well. "Clever girl, that's been my intention all along."

Daphne raised her brow and stared at him for a moment, her lips pulling up, "I don't believe you." Her head tilted, and a girlish snicker left her throat, "For I was only teasing, Mr. Black."

Narcissa burst out laughing before they could, and their disbelieving gazes fell onto the blonde haired witch who was currently gasping for breath.

Daphne looked on worriedly, "Fay, quickly bring godmother some water, please." The elf popped back not even a second later, and Narcissa wrapped her fingers around the glass hurriedly.

"Oh, you can also take these up to my room." She handed the kind elf the large bouquet of roses and frowned upon seeing that the stems reached the floor, "Thank you, Fay."

A muffled voice, "My pleasure, little Green."

Sirius leaned forward with his hands clasped and a hesitant expression on his face as he waited patiently for the witches to settle down. He had not seen his cousin laugh so freely since they were children, and it pleased him to know that her reaction was brought on by Daphne's witty words. It was a comforting thought that Narcissa had found the daughter she so longed for within Daphne and that the latter would be forever safe in his cousin's care.

Sirius cleared his throat and winced with regret at the news he was about to deliver. "The other reason I'm here is to inform you both that I shall be leaving on a mission this evening."

The joy in Narcissa's eyes died and was replaced by hatred before she screeched in rage, "Another one, Sirius?! You do realize you have D-"

"Let me finish, Narcissa!" He snapped fiercely and immediately regretted it. "Forgive me."

He threatened a glance in Daphne's direction and did not know whether to breathe a sigh of relief at her unaffected state or to denounce her parent's graves.

Sirius continued slowly, "It's an undercover mission in Europe. As a precaution, I can not reveal the exact location or case." James, Lily, Remus and Frank Longbottom were the only ones who knew of any additional details as it was safer for all parties concerned. Upon his departure tonight, James and Frank would stand in as Head Auror and wait for his cryptic messages once his cover became well-established.

His ears picked up a faint whimper leave Daphne's throat. It was a noise he never wanted to hear from her again, as he physically jolted and took a sharp inhale. Blame tensed his muscles when he detected her fear.

"Is it - dangerous?" The reflective surface of the glass table held the girl's focus, and her hands gripped the tufts of veil fashioned in her dress.

"Quite." He willed her to look at him, but he was unsuccessful in his silent effort. "There's no need to be afraid for me, Miss Greengrass. I've dealt with monsters before." Sirius watched her lower lip tremble and realized that he had said the worst thing imaginable. Although long ago now, Daphne had referred to the Death Eaters who murdered her family as monsters.

"I know that." Her voice was only a whisper, and Sirius doubted Narcissa could hear, though maybe it was best that she remained in the dark. "But all monsters are different."

Daphne's innocent eyes pinned him to the spot. He knew then that no matter what happened before his return, he could never lie to those eyes. "How long will you be gone for, Mr. Black?"

"Years, months - I'm not sure I can give you an accurate answer, darling." Undercover missions were tricky to estimate a time frame for because their outcomes depended on numerous unknown and unpredictable variables. Since Sirius had informed them, James, Lily, and Remus had spent months trying to turn theories into calculations, and all that they had put forth were laughably far apart numbers. Remus, for Circe's sake, had him gone for a whopping seven years.

A tear ran down Daphne's cheek, "Why you?" Her voice cracked on the simple worded phrase, and she squeezed her eyes shut while she took a deep breath.

Even though Sirius had seen it in action once before, it was still impressive to witness how much control Daphne held over her emotions. When she opened her eyes, they were visibly more clear, "Isn't there anyone else you can send?"

Sirius looked down at his worn hands, "No." The rest of the Aurors had families or partners. Narcissa might argue that he had Daphne now, but she was so young - if something happened, she would not break. "I've gone undercover before. I have experience compared to the others." He heard Daphne whimper again and found himself unable to face her way.

Her reaction was a little more than unexpected to him. Harry and the other kids had replied an excited "cool!" after his elaboration over how dangerous the mission would be. He thought Daphne would act similarly or be completely indifferent, but she was in pain.

Sirius, gutted with overwhelming guilt, ran a hand through his hair. It was then he noticed Narcissa's pointed gaze pleading for him to say something to break the strained silence that had descended within the room.

"I'll be saving many, many people once the mission's over, Miss Greengrass." Sirius gave the girl a reassuring grin.

It was not enough though. In the next moment, Daphne's composure crumbled, and she began to sob heavily.

"Shit." He leaped to his feet and rushed to her side just in time to hear her utter an empty hearted, "Nothing is fair."

He knelt, hands positioned on the left arm of her chair, allowing respectable distance, yet edging to comfort as well. "Daphne?"

Her face was turned away from him, so he did not witness her shocked reaction to the use of her first name. However, he did hear her crying cease and figured he'd finally done something right. "Daphne, please look at me."

Cheeks, tear-stained and flushed, Daphne tucked her hair behind her ear as she gazed at him through her wet lashes.

The suffering in her expression extracted an immediate apology from the tip of his tongue. "I'm sorry its taken this long for us to meet again, sweetheart. I'm the one to blame for not taking action."

Her hands slowly reached up in an 'it is what it is' motion and the left edge of her reddened lip pulled up.

"Come now darling, wipe those tears. I have a surprise for you, and I think you're going to like it." Reaching into his inner pocket, he spotted Narcissa holding back tears of pride, and he gave her a wink.

Daphne knelt on the chair to face him, a glimmer of anticipation obscuring the previous sadness in her reddened eyes.

Sirius made a show of presenting the elegant jewelry box, earning a girlish giggle from her just as he had hoped. She was only ten, the exchange between them did not warrant a grandeur romance.

He opened the velvet box with refined delicacy and carefully watched as her eyes lit up and her pillowy lips parted in wonder.

"It's a ring." She glimpsed at him then back down to the sparkling jewel. The centered diamond was flanked, top and bottom, by three grouped moonstone stars and was quite the eye-catcher.

Sirius removed the precious heirloom from its nestled place between the folds of silk. "It's an engagement ring with a few charms to keep you safe. I'm giving it to you now seeing as I don't know when I'll be back."

Sirius had enchanted the ring because he needed to know Daphne was under protection at all times while he was away. He believed it to be a requirement seeing that the entire Wizarding World knew who Daphne was to him and as Head Auror, Sirius was a man with countless enemies. If Daphne were in danger, his Head of House ring would burn, and a location link would allow him to apparate to her side immediately.

Daphne held out her left hand without hesitance, "It's the most beautiful thing I've ever seen."

Pleased with her delight, Sirius took a gentle hold of her hand and cleared his throat, "Do you, Miss Daphne, heiress of Greengrass House, allow me, Lord of House Black, to gift you with this betrothal ring as a symbol of our unity?"

"I do," Daphne said in a silvery voice, and Sirius slowly began to slip the ring onto her finger.

Before properly on, however, Daphne seized his left hand and tugged at his Head of House ring, pulling him into the magical pact as well.

"Do you, Lord Black, promise me, Daphne Greengrass, to be careful on your mission and to return safely?" The planned phrase was said with no room for escape.

Sirius, having sustained quite the shock from her unexpected deviance, registered Daphne's sincere wish and became profoundly touched by her concern, "I do."

Merlin help him, Daphne had long ago won him over, but now she had also stolen his heart.

Little Note: These might be (spoilers) so look away if you're opposed to them.

I'm writing a 'grown-up' Sirius, not the overly reckless/foolish man he's sometimes depicted as being. He has a successful career, and he's not just going to throw it away for Daphne.

It was never my aim for Sirius and Daphne to interact more than they have when she's only a child. She's 10; he's 31. (Hint: time jump)

Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed. Please let me know what you think.