Author's Note:
I had fun writing this chapter — I hope you like it.
Thank you to Steel for giving me this lovely gift idea.
Reviews and Comments: To Shamelessnweird: Thank you! I was going for cute! To scrappy8: Thank you! To love reading20613: Thank you! It's so nice to see Harry so happy, right? To nesciamema: Thank you! To cha-chris: McGonagall is a smart woman, it's true. Thank you! To zorica: That was a typo on my part (meant to put 73 as he was born in 1921), thanks for noticing. Zee's family tree will be posted at the end of this chapter. To PolarWriter95: Thank you for saying that chapter 135 was super sweet! To epicwazoo: Thank you for saying it was beautifully written! To Lost: Sorry you don't enjoy anything related to Sirius as Lord Black — there's going to be a lot more. You think Sirius will adopt Draco? Why? LOL. To Wolf's scream: McGonagall is a bright lady. Ha, McGonagall doesn't necessarily want Sirius to be more proud of himself, LOL. She's just very proud of him. Thank you!
To speedsONEandONLY: It is part of McGonagall's charm, she does know everything. You'll find out what Misha and Sorcha will be called in this chapter. Remus is definitely great at talking about other people's love lives and not so much with is own. Thank you! To Steelcode: Still a while before the animals will be revealed. Zee's family is pretty great. Sirius handling Zee's family should be interesting. Thank you! To Pilar: Thank you! I'm glad that chapter has become one of your favourites. To Matt9917: Thank you! Yes, Zee is becoming like a mum for Harry and it's lovely to see. Hinny is still far off as always. Thank you. To Lauraf68: Thank you! To AntiCreator: Thank you! I love that you're a fan of Zee and don't usually like OCs so thank you. To alix33: Thank you! To ninaz08: Thank you! Yes, they do basically want to adopt Harry. To zxreen: Thank you. It was a typo and has been fixed.
Thank you to my Beta — SilverStarwolfe!
My posting schedule: Every Tuesday or Wednesday (usually the latter) and sometimes on the weekends.
As always, thank you very much for reading and please, please review!
Your reviews give me life! They give me inspiration! And they make me want to keep writing for more than just myself! Thank you for all of your continued support!
CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED AND THIRTY-SIX:
The One Where They Forget To Tell Sirius
On the ninth of April, Harry, Hermione, and Ginny had been shopping in Hogsmeade for almost an hour and Harry was starting to get worried. He had to be at Zee's birthday party in Edinburgh in one hour. Flo was coming to pick him up at The Three Broomsticks at five to twelve.
He had snuck Ginny into Hogsmeade under his Invisibility Cloak since she wasn't technically allowed into the village as a second year. But he refused to go without her. He needed her help and guidance on this birthday gift thing and surprisingly Hermione had agreed with him, despite the sneaking Ginny out of Hogwarts idea, which had made her purse her lips when he had first suggested it.
He looked at the item that Ginny that held up to him with no interest. "This is no use! I'm never going to find something for her in time!"
Hermione smiled sympathetically at him as they left the clothing store and then her eyes fell on the store at the end of the lane. "Harry! I think that I have the perfect gift idea!"
Harry's ears perked up at that as he followed her and Ginny into another store and saw that it contained jewellery.
"Isn't jewellery more of a boyfriend gift?" he asked, skeptically.
He was tired of shopping and starting to get a little desperate. He just wanted to find the perfect gift for her; something that would make her know that he cared about her and liked having her around in his life.
Ginny smiled brightly at him. "No, it isn't just a boyfriend gift, Harry. And I know the perfect piece of jewellery!" She moved over to the display counter, her eyes moving along the different necklaces until she found one that she liked and tapped on the glass. "Ah-ha!"
Hermione smiled brightly. "Oh, Ginny, it's perfect! Harry, come see!"
Harry grinned at them in amusement as he moved over to look through the glass at where Ginny and Hermione were pointing. It was a white gold circular locket on a white gold chain. The oval was framed in diamonds with an engraved tree of life in the centre overtop of a black diamond.
"A locket?" he asked, skeptically, his eyes on the necklace in interest. "What would I put inside of it?"
Hermione rolled her eyes at him. "A picture of you and Sirius, one on each side. It has so much meaning! It tells her that you care about her and by her wearing it, she's showing how much she cares about you and Sirius! You want to be a family, right?"
At Harry's slight embarrassed nod, she smiled.
"This is it, Harry. Trust us."
The man behind the counter smiled at them. "That locket is an excellent choice. The tree of life symbolizes a beginning, a middle, and an end, and represents life and family. That locket is outlined in diamonds from Africa, including the black diamond beneath the tree, and it is made from white gold mined in Bulgaria. It's 55 Galleons. If you have the photos, I can charm them inside for you at no extra charge."
He looked at his friends. "I have that picture of Sirius and I from the summer on my nightstand in my dorm, I suppose I could use that, but I've grown a lot since then. And I really don't have time to run all the way back to Hogwarts to get it!"
Ginny grinned at him. "Have Kreacher bring you the photo."
Harry frowned. "Sirius' house elf? He's not going to listen to me."
"Just try it. He's your house elf too, Harry. You told us how he said as much after the last meeting. Trust me."
"Kreacher," he said as he rolled his eyes. "See, I told you it wasn't — AHH!" he exclaimed as the elf suddenly appeared in front of him.
"Master Harry has called for Kreacher."
Harry stared at him in surprise. "Er, yes. Hi, Kreacher. Um, there's a picture on my nightstand, in my dorm at Hogwarts, of Sirius and I. I was wondering if you can, er, please get it and bring it to me?"
"Of course, Master Harry."
The elf disappeared with a resounding crack and disappeared as Ginny smirked knowingly at him. "Told you."
Kreacher appeared a moment later with the picture in his hands. "Here is the framed photo of you and Master Sirius."
"Thank you, Kreacher. You may return to whatever it was you were doing."
Kreacher nodded and disappeared again.
Harry brought the picture up to the store owner. "This picture I guess."
"Wait!" Hermione exclaimed. "Do you have a camera that we can use to take a picture of our friend for the locket?"
The man nodded, smiling and disappeared into the back room.
"What's wrong with that picture, Hermione?"
"Nothing's wrong with it, but you said it yourself, you've changed a lot since last summer. So, we'll use this picture of Sirius and take a new one of you." She beamed at the store owner when he handed her the camera. "Now smile!"
Twenty minutes later, Harry had the locket gift wrapped in a blue box and tied with a gold ribbon in his hands as they headed towards The Three Broomsticks.
"Thanks for your help. I think this is great."
"She's going to love it, Harry!" Ginny said with a smile.
Hermione nodded. They stepped into The Three Broomsticks and Harry grinned when he spotted Flo Jackson over by the bar chatting to Rosmerta. He made his way over to her a little nervously.
"Hi, Mrs-Grandma."
She smiled at him, a big wide grin that made him grin back. "Don't you look smart." She tugged him towards her, kissing his cheeks noisily in a way that embarrassed him, but pleased him at the same time. "And who are these beautiful young women?"
Harry smiled at her. "These are my friends, Ginny Weasley and Hermione Granger, meet Flo Jackson."
"His grandmother," she said with a bright smile. "It's lovely to meet you both. Harry told me a bit about you the other day. Ginny, the one who always has a smile and smart-mouth and Hermione, the brightest witch of her age."
Ginny blushed and Hermione beamed at her.
"Harry, did you really say that I was the brightest witch?"
Harry shrugged, laughing when Hermione kissed his cheek.
Ginny took his hand. "A smart-mouth? We're going to talk about that later."
He shrugged again and Ginny laughed, kissing his cheek as well.
"Well, it's lovely to meet you, dears, but Harry and I must be off."
Harry nodded and hugged his friends goodbye, whispering to Ginny to give the cloak to Ron when they got back to the castle. They headed out into the street and Flo Apparated the two of them outside of a large three story Gothic Victorian in a nice neighbourhood in Edinburgh. They made their way up the steps and the door was pulled open by a tall woman with bright red hair streaked with white.
"Harry, love! Zee was just saying that you would be arriving soon!" She tugged him into the house, hugging and kissing him in greeting. "My name is Fiona and I'd be Zee's Gran and yours as well, I reckon. Come in, come in! Flo, nice to see you!" She hugged Flo and then led Harry down the hall into the living room to a room full of people.
Harry recognized Colt immediately and grinned at him. "Hi, Grandpa."
Colt beamed at him, nodding his head in his direction. "Harry! Welcome to the party! Have some of that punch over there, it's quite good."
"No, Grandpa," Zee said, sternly, from behind him. "There's rum in it!"
Colt shrugged and winked at Harry who found himself grinning back. "We'll get you a cup of it later," he whispered, making Harry laugh.
"Happy Birthday, Zee!" Harry told her, passing her his gift.
She looked down at in surprise. "Oh, Harry! That's so thoughtful, you didn't have to get me anything!"
Flo put a hand on her arm. "Why don't you take Harry out into the garden and let him give you your gift? I'll make him a nice mug of hot chocolate before Colt gets the boy drunk on Fiona's rum punch."
"Thanks," Harry told her with a warm smile.
Zee led him outside into the yard and smiled at him. "They are all rather loud and crazy, but I love them. When we go back in, I'll introduce you to everyone properly."
He nodded and watched her fiddle with the ribbon.
"I didn't know what to get you. Ginny and Hermione helped me find something, but I hope you like it."
She smiled at him, untying the ribbon and opening the box. Her eyes fell on the locket and she gasped. "Harry, this is beautiful! You didn't have to do this!"
He shrugged and grinned. "Like you said, the big three-oh, I had to get you something. Open it."
Zee carefully opened the locket and her eyes filled up with tears. On the left was Sirius grinning smartly up at her, running a hand through his hair and smirking. On the right was Harry, smiling brightly, adjusting his glasses and grinning.
"Harry," she breathed. "I love it!" She unclasped the locket and put it around her neck, fingering it gently as it nestled just above her breasts. She hugged him tightly and kissed his cheek. "I love it and I love you!"
He smiled at her words. "I kinda love you too, Zee."
Zee made a choking sound and wiped the tears from her eyes. "Merlin, look at me, I'm a mess!" She kissed his cheek. "Thank you! This means so much to me! It's the best birthday gift I ever could have received — and not just the locket," she said, her hand on the necklace as she hugged him tightly again.
He smiled back at her as she let him go, beaming at him and he moved his hands into the back pockets of his blue jeans. "You're welcome."
They headed back into the house and Zee showed Flo the locket happily. Harry took the big mug of hot chocolate and eagerly took a sip before heading back into the living room and sitting on the floor next to Colt. Lady Godiva stretched out, resting her head on Harry's knee and he stroked her behind the ears, absently. Ever since he had started spending time at Zee's house, the panther seemed to have taken a liking to him.
Zee came back into the room, beaming, and began to introduce everyone. Fiona's husband Callum was Granddad, Sorcha's brother was Uncle Brian and his wife Auntie Jocasta, their son was Dougal (his wife Ellen, and their kids Jenny, twenty-one, and Ian, nineteen), Zee's parents, Misha and Sorcha were Grandmama and Papa, and Misha's parents, Ivan and Anya were Baba and Deda. Then there was Tetya Olga and Dyadya Dimtri and their kids Mikhail (his wife Ana and their son Yuri, eight) and Mila (her husband Nicholas and their two daughters, Nastasia, six, and Dinara, four). Then there was Tetya Sasha and Dyadya Yerik and their twins Tanya (her husband Alek) and Tatiana. They all hugged and kissed him and pushed food at him. He was grinning like a fool as his plate was filled up for the third time with an assortment of random things and he ate happily.
Grandpa and Papa were both talking about their jobs in law enforcement and Harry eagerly listened to them discuss the differences between being an Auror in the Russian Ministry in comparison to a Muggle Police Chief in America. Grandma and Gran were talking about cooking, arguing about which herbs and spices were the best to use on chicken as opposed to beef. Baba and Deda told him stories about growing up in Russia during the Revolution. Deda told him all about how he served in the Second World War, a great war in the Muggle world, as his youngest great-granddaughter, Dinara, sat on his knee. Yuri and Nastasia kept running around the living room, giggling, as grandparents and parents ordered them to behave. As for Grandmama, she kept adding more food to his plate and eagerly asked him to tell her all about his classes, his friends, and Quidditch.
He was explaining about how difficult it was to talk and eat with the Mandrake leaf in his mouth and that led to an interesting discussion on becoming an Animagus. And Grandpa told him that when he came to Georgia in the summer, he would show him his dogs and his horses, promising to teach him how to ride a horse.
Grandmama and Papa told him about their flat in Moscow and how much they would love it if he would come and visit them there. Papa told him that he had some interesting spells he wanted to teach him that he used often as an Auror. Harry nodded eagerly, telling him about what he was currently working on in Defence Club when the doorbell chimed and Zee jumped to her feet.
"That should be Sirius."
Harry glanced up at the clock and grinned. It was just after two in the afternoon, she had intentionally given Harry time to meet her family and spend time with them before Sirius had even arrived. The thought made him smile. He chewed his Mandrake leaf thoughtfully, grinning at Grandpa when he started to tell him a story about something that his Saint Bernard, Bruno, had done as he dealt the two of them a hand of gin rummy mixed in with some Exploding Snap cards.
~ ASC ~
Sirius stood on the front porch of the three story Victorian and scratched his chin. He had dressed up a little in his black jeans and red suede dress shirt. He wore a white vest underneath and left the shirt partly open and he wore his charcoal leather jacket and black combat boots.
He had just spent the last hour making copies of Harry's medical file from both Madam Pomfrey and from St Mungo's. He had two different diagnostic scans, one from Harry's first check-up by Althea and the most recent one from Harry's stay in the hospital wing, after falling off of his broom due to the Dementors. Sirius had been putting off collecting them, but now that the copies had been mailed away to Xander, he was afraid to find out the answer; especially since Xander had warned him that it could take months for him to even form an opinion.
He rang the doorbell to the Victorian home and sighed. At the moment, he had other things to worry about. It was Zee's birthday and he had been invited to spend the afternoon with her parents and grandparents. The butterflies in his stomach made him close his eyes. He had already met Misha and Sorcha, he thought, there was no reason to be nervous. But the thought of meeting Sorcha's parents on top of it did make him nervous. He had never known anyone outside of the Weasleys to have such a large family.
Harry would probably like the idea of a big family, he thought. He wished that Fleamont and Euphemia had been around for Harry. Maybe if today went all right, maybe he could convince Zee to introduce Harry to her family. He'd like that, he said to himself.
The door opened, distracting him from his thoughts and he smiled brightly at Zee. She looked stunning in a sapphire blue sundress; her feet naked and her toes painted a deep plum. She wore a circular locket at her neck, outlined in diamonds that seemed to glimmer at him and she wore large white gold hoops in her ears. Her dark brown and gold curls fell over her caramel shoulders and down her back making her look like some sort of bohemian gypsy. She was wearing the charm bracelet that he had made for her that summer. He tugged her out onto the front stoop and kissed her deeply.
"Happy Birthday."
She smiled against his mouth. "Thanks."
Sirius kissed her again. "You look gorgeous. I like the necklace. Is it new?"
She smiled again and kissed him a third time. "It is. It's one of my favourite birthday presents. Come on inside, Mama and Papa are anxious to see you again, plus I want you to meet everyone else."
"When you say everyone else, you mean just your grandparents, right?"
Zee grinned mischievously at him. "Oh, did I forget to mention that my entire family was going to be here today?" At his wide-eyed look of panic, she smirked and kissed him again. "Come inside, you big coward."
He grimaced, but let her tug him inside and the nerves erupted in his stomach again. He didn't know why the thought of meeting her family scared him so much, but it did. He left his boots at the door, his eyes widening again at the multitudes of shoes there, and his hand squeezed hers lightly as she led him into the living room.
Sorcha immediately hurried towards him, standing on her toes to kiss his cheek. "Sirius! How lovely to see you again!"
He nodded, kissing her cheek in turn. "You, too. You look even more beautiful than the last time that we met."
She smirked at him. "Flatterer!"
Colt stood up, blocking Harry from Sirius' view and extending his hand. "So, you're the man who answers my granddaughter's telephone?"
"Guilty," Sirius said with a mischievous smirk as he accepted the hand. "Sirius Black."
"Colt Jackson. This here is my wife, Flo," he said gesturing for Flo to come over to him.
Flo greeted Sirius with a kiss and a bright smile. "It's lovely to finally meet you!"
Sirius smiled back as Zee took his hand in hers. "Everyone, this is Sirius. Sirius, these are my Mama's parents, Callum and Fiona, Mama's brother, my Uncle Brian and his wife, my Auntie Jocasta and their son Dougal, his wife Ellen, and their kids: Jenny and Ian. My Papa's parents, Ivan and Anya, my Papa's big sister my Tetya Olga and her husband, my Dyadya Dimtri. This is my cousin Mikhail and his wife Ana and that little devil running around is their son Yuri. My cousin Mila, her husband Nicholas and their daughters Nastasia and that's Dinara sitting on Deda. My Papa's little sister my Tetya Sasha and her husband, my Dyadya Yerik. My cousin Tanya and her husband Alek and my cousin Tanya's twin sister, Tatiana. These are my mother's parents Colt and Flo and of course you already know Harry and Lady G," she added with a smirk.
Sirius nodded at everyone as he met them, his gaze doing a double take as he looked at the living room floor to see his son eating a plate of food amidst the large influx of Zee's family with Lady Godiva's head resting on his lap and playing a mix between gin rummy and exploding snap with a tall white-haired man in a flannel shirt.
"Hi, Uncle Siri," Harry said with a big grin. "Grandpa says that when we go to Georgia this summer he's going to show me how to ride a horse! And Grandma says that she's going to show me how to make her infamous Mud Pie and cornbread!"
Sirius' mouth simply dropped open and then he closed again.
Sorcha chuckled at him. "Zahira, did you not tell Sirius that we would all be coming for your birthday?"
Zee smiled at her stepmother. "It must have slipped my mind, Mama."
Sorcha chuckled and kissed her daughter's cheek. "Evil girl. Sirius, get some food and sit down! Tell us all about this big bill I heard you helped get thrown out a few weeks ago."
Sirius did as he was told and was soon sitting on the ground next to his son, a plate full of good food, four-year-old-Dinara in his lap playing with his earrings and chatting to him in a mixture of Russian and English, and listening to the large family talk around him, to him, and to Harry.
And he found that they weren't scary at all, but actually kind of wonderful.
It was almost half past seven by the time that Misha and Sorcha were heading back to Moscow. Their portkey was set for seven thirty to take them home as well as Ivan and Anya and all of the aunts, uncles, and cousins. Zee headed out herself with Flo and Colt, who were heading back to Georgia the next morning by portkey. They said goodbye to Callum and Fiona before they left.
Sirius tugged Zee over to him, kissing her softly. "I have a present for you, but I wanted it to just be us when I give it to you. Can you come over for a bit tonight?"
She smiled at him. "When my grandparents go to bed, I will."
He nodded and she turned to hug and kiss Harry. "Thank you so much for coming, Harry! And I love my gift! It's perfect!"
Flo hugged Harry tightly against her, kissing both of his cheeks as Colt pat him on the back. "Can't wait to see you this summer, Harry! You write to us and let me know how your school year is going!"
"Yes, Grandma," he said with a grin.
"And don't forget to tell me about those girls you're flirting with," Colt added with a wink.
Harry blushed and Flo kissed him again before they headed out and left Sirius and Harry alone in the street.
Sirius shoved his hands into his pockets and gestured for Harry to walk with him. "Guess you know them pretty well, eh?"
Harry grinned up at him. "Zee invited me to dinner on Monday and I met them. They insisted that I call them Grandma and Grandpa straight off, and they're wonderful, Uncle Siri! Can we please go to Georgia this summer and stay with them?"
"Well, I mean, if they invited us — I can't see why not."
"Grandpa says that he'll teach me how to ride a horse and show me the police station where he's the chief! And Grandma owns a little restaurant and she wants to show me how to cook and take me on a sailboat ride! Grandmama and Papa are going to come too, and Papa says that he can teach me some good Russian spells that he uses as an Auror!" Harry told him, his eyes lighting up in excitement.
Sirius stared at him in awe for a moment and then he wrapped an arm around his shoulders as they walked. "You know, I always worked so hard to keep whoever I was shagging out of your life. I didn't want you to get attached to anyone that I wasn't looking to have a relationship with. Now, here you are being adopted into Zee's family without my knowledge."
"Are you angry?" Harry asked, looking at him in confusion
Sirius shook his head. "No, no, I'm not upset."
Harry stared at him for a moment. "You've been running away from the idea of meeting her family. Uncle Remus says so and so did Zee, but I wanted to meet them and they're kind of amazing. It was my idea to not tell you that they were all going to be there today."
"Oh, it was, was it?" he asked with a grin. "Well, that was a surprise. And no, I'm not running away," Sirius said carefully. "I just... I'm not used to such a family nor all of them wanting to know me, and you know what, it is kind of wonderful, isn't it?"
Harry nodded, grinning widely. "They all like me and they want to get to know me, no one even mentioned once that I was the Boy Who Lived, I'm just Harry to them. I like them, Uncle Siri, and I want to get to know them better. Can we please, please go to Georgia this summer?"
Sirius grinned at him. "Yes, we absolutely can. The Cup is coming to Britain this year as well."
Harry's eyes lit up at the word 'Cup'. He had mentioned it in passing over Christmas but his father hadn't given him a definite answer. "Can we go?"
Sirius shrugged. "Possibly. I'm going to look into tickets and we'll see. It's not until August so maybe that's something we can do after we go to Georgia," he said as he shoved his hands into his pockets. "I'm glad that you like Zee's family and that you like Zee so much."
"I kinda love her," Harry said, blushing a bit. "She writes to me all the time and I just... I gave her a locket for her birthday and she cried when she saw that I put a picture of me and you on either side."
He looked over at his son in surprise. "You bought her that?" When Harry nodded, he grinned. "Well, aren't you a surprise. I love her, too, Harry. More than I ever thought I would ever love anyone. I thought that you were it for me, kid. She kind of hit me like a Bludger and after the shock of it wore off, I realized how important that hit was."
"Is she going to move in with us?" Harry asked, sucking on the Mandrake leaf as he spoke.
Sirius rolled his shoulders. "We haven't talked about it."
"I know that she never sleeps over when I'm home and it's okay if she does. It's… nice when she's there."
He grinned at him. "Oh, now you want me and Zee to have sleepovers, do you?"
Harry grinned up at him. "It's not like I don't know that you have sex and it's not like I'm a little kid anymore who's going to burst into your room whenever I feel like it. If she was there, I know it would be different."
Sirius nodded at him. "That's true. I just... I never wanted to push someone into our lives without your full approval, Harry. Black Cottage is our home so my rule was that when you were home, she never stayed the night."
"But you wanted her to?"
Sirius grinned. "More than you know."
"Well, I'll just pretend that you're not shagging her and you can put a silencing charm on your bedroom and it will be good and then when I have girls in my bedroom, you won't bother me either. Seems like a fair deal."
"Oh, you cheeky bastard!" he said with a grin. "You think I'm just gonna let you bring your next girlfriend home and have sex in your bedroom?"
Harry shrugged. "A bloke can dream."
Sirius smacked him lightly across the head. "When you lose your virginity, you tell me, and we'll talk about it."
"So, I can have girls in my room when I'm ready to. Brilliant!"
Sirius smirked at him. "I don't believe I agreed to that. You're growing up on me, Harry, and when I was your age, I was fooling around with girls and I know that you've only been with Cho so far so, let's not give me a heart attack or any grey hairs just yet okay?"
Harry grinned at him and leaned into his father. "Do you think that she'd want to live with us?"
Sirius kissed the top of his son's head. "I don't know. I like to think that maybe she would. Both of us have been on the same page in the slow moving of this relationship and it is part of the reason why I respect her so much, but I imagine the thought of moving in with two men might be a bit daunting as well."
He chewed thoughtfully on his Mandrake leaf, wrapping it around his tongue as he nodded. "Let her sleep over more first."
Sirius grinned and squeezed his son to his side. "Prongslet, you are a wise man. Now tell me, any prospective girls on the horizon since you broke up with Cho? I thought you must have someone in mind if you're already contemplating taking girls up to your bedroom at home?"
He blushed and shrugged. "Not really, no. There are a few girls I think are pretty, but no one I really like enough to ask out."
"No one, eh?" At Harry's shrug, Sirius smiled. "All right. And hey, when it comes to that virginity thing, I'm including oral in that. You tell me and we'll talk all right?"
Harry flushed red. "No way am I telling you that!"
Sirius smirked and elbowed him lightly. "I'll tell you about all of the sex I'm having in return, what do you say?"
Harry made a disgusted face and he laughed.
"Don't worry, I won't traumatize you — much." At his son's look of horror, he laughed. "Come on; I'll side Apparate you to Hogsmeade and you can tell me how the Mandrake leaves are coming along. Only two weeks left with them. Are you guys ready with the potion?"
Harry held tightly to his father's arm as they Apparated into the village of Hogsmeade and nodded. "I think so. Hagrid told me where to collect the dew and Hermione and I plan to finish up the potion this week. A little less than two weeks until the moon cycle is over, so we have to spit it out under the moonlight and put it into our potion."
"That's right and then wait for a lightning storm and keep the potion in a dark place where it can't be disturbed. How's Defence Club? Are you learning lots?"
Harry nodded. "I think so. I've mastered all of the spells that Uncle Remus has taught us so far, plus like I told you, he has us dodging spells and working on our stamina while duelling. That's always fun."
"Good. And how's Arithmancy?"
"It's great! Professor Vector is brilliant! Sometimes she gets really excited when she talks about the ancient Greeks and the Chaldean Method and she bounces on her feet. It's rather amusing."
"And you're being challenged enough?"
Harry shrugged. "I think so, why?"
"Well, I was thinking," Sirius said with a grin. "We could make a little wager here."
Harry looked at his father in interest. "A wager? What kind of wager?"
"More like bribery, if I'm honest," he said with a grin. "But I was thinking for every O you pull of this year, I'll pay you five Galleons."
"Wow! You're going to pay me to get good grades? That's fantastic!"
Sirius smirked at him. "It is yes, but for every A or lower, you will owe me five Galleons."
Harry frowned at that. "But listening to Binns is like watching paint dry! Boring and pointless!"
"You always liked history."
Harry rolled his eyes. "I did before it was taught by a ghost! Uncle Moony always made it interesting!"
They stopped in front of the gate to the school and Sirius smiled at him. "It's the only class that you're really struggling in and I want to see you do better at it. Do whatever you have to do, suck on sugar quills or snack, but get your notes in order and study and learn the material. That last test wasn't something you should brag about."
He grimaced but nodded. "I promise to try harder to pay attention."
"And that's what the textbook is for, background reading, and to help you better grasp everything more clearly. You can even ask Uncle Remus for some help or form a study group or make your own notes from the textbook; whatever you need to do to learn the material."
Harry nodded. "All right. I promise, I won't get an A this year, it will at least be an E."
Sirius grinned at him. "Good man. I'd also like to see your Potions mark rise a bit as we both know that you are very talented in that class."
Harry nodded. "I'll try, it's just that Snape hates me."
"Snape is only partially to blame, Harry," Sirius said sternly. "You can do better and you know it."
He sighed. "I'll try harder, I promise."
"That's all that I ask is for you to do you best," he said with a smile. "Now beat it."
Harry grinned back at him. "Goodnight, Uncle Sirius."
"Goodnight, Harry."
Sirius watched him walk across the bridge and head into Hogwarts and he shoved his hands into his pockets and let out a long sigh.
Life sometimes had a way of surprising him.
~ ASC ~
It was after eleven that night before Zee made her way into Black Cottage. She left Lady Godiva at home with her grandparents who had turned in for the night and she greeted Marauder who nudged her enthusiastically when she came in through the front door.
"Hi, boy," she said, scratching him behind the ears and rubbing his chin and neck.
Sirius was sitting on the sofa and he tilted his head back to smile at her, grinning when she bent and kissed him. She came around to sit on his lap and kissed him again. "I turned thirty today."
He smiled, running his hand along the blue dress she was wearing. "Welcome to the club. Right depressing, isn't it?"
She smiled against his mouth and snuggled herself into his arms. "A little, yeah."
Sirius kissed the top of her head. "Want your present?"
"Yes," she said with a grin.
He touched the locket around her neck, flicking it open with his thumb and smiling. "My boy did good."
"He made me cry," she admitted.
"Then he did extra good," he said with a smile, kissing the corners of her mouth.
He shifted her onto the sofa and stood up. He came back a moment later with a large square box tied with a big gold ribbon and placed it in her lap before sitting next to her.
Zee grinned at him like a child at Christmas and untied the ribbon. Inside was a beautiful sapphire blue and black silk shawl that was wrapped around another box. She wrapped the shawl around herself, grinning at the softness of it before she opened the second box and gasped. Nestled on black velvet was a diamond tear drop nestling a square-cut black diamond necklace.
"Sirius…" she breathed, her eyes wide.
He moved to take it from the box and carefully clasped it into place. It nestled around her neck and the locket hung a bit lower, both looking gorgeous together. He adjusted the shawl and took her chin his hand.
"I knew that would be perfect on you. Ironic that Harry and I both chose to dress you in a mix of white and black diamonds but, it suits you."
"It's too much," she protested.
He smirked and kissed her softly. "No, it's not. It suits you." He trailed his fingertips down the length of her neck. "This gorgeous skin was made to wear diamonds."
Her breath hitched as his fingertips moved down her chest, over her hip, across her thigh, and beneath her dress. He slid to the floor in front of her, a soft smile on his face as he lifted her dress and his head disappeared beneath it. She gasped when her knickers were tugged away and his tongue slid over her, into her, and she arched her hips towards him.
"Sirius," she breathed, gasping as he worked her over and when he finally drove her over the edge, she was panting his name as he kissed her thighs and settled her dress back over her legs.
He licked his lips, his grey eyes dark as he looked at her. "You're the most beautiful and incredible woman," he told her, kissing her neck. "And today, seeing you with Harry and with your family, being there with you, I realized that I am the luckiest man alive to have you in my life. I adore you. I worship you. I love you."
His lips met hers and she could taste herself on them. He kissed her deeply, his hands moving into her hair, his lips on hers. He sucked her bottom lip, slowly sliding it from his mouth as he pulled away. Her eyes were partly closed, her lips swollen from his mouth and her face heated from the glow of her orgasm.
She looked breathtaking.
"Happy Birthday, Zahira."
Zee's eyes opened slowly and she smiled at him. "I can't stay," she whispered. "My grandparents are there and I…"
He placed a finger over her lips to silence her and those same fingers slid beneath her dress and between her legs. Her breath hitched when they slid into her, stroking and pumping, one moving up to circle her already sensitive clit as she panted his name. She came a second time, eyes wide.
He kissed her again and tugged her to her feet, tucking her knickers into his back pocket.
Zee swayed slightly on her feet. "Sirius."
He kissed her again, slowly. "Come on, I'll walk you home."
When he kissed her goodnight at her front door and watched her turn around and disappear into her house, he shoved his hands into his pockets with a smile.
He really was the luckiest man in the world, he thought.
~ ASC ~
On the night of the twenty-fifth of April, the six of them snuck out of their respective dormitories and made their way up to the Astronomy Tower. Harry kept the map with him as they did, six was too many people to attempt to sneak under an Invisibility cloak so, they had to move quietly. The stood out under the moonlight, spit their chewed Mandrake leaves into their individual clear phials and then snuck down into their hidden room to add their phials to their potions. Hermione had marked each individual potion with their initials so that they wouldn't mix them up.
Harry watched in fascination as the potion bubbled as he stirred in his chewed up Mandrake leaf and he grinned at them. "Now we just have to wait for a lightning storm."
"Wicked," Ron said.
"If we did everything right, when lightning strikes, our potions should turn blood-red. Then we can drink them. In the meantime, we have to start the incantation for our Animagus transformation every sunrise and sunset," Harry told them.
Luna smiled dreamily. "How exciting. What's the incantation again?"
"Amato Animo Animato Animagus," Hermione supplied.
They all repeated it to themselves grinning widely.
They snuck out in twos to make it back to their dormitories safely and without being caught. Harry and Ron were the last two and it was just their luck that as they were rounding the corner to head up the stairs that they were stopped by Snape.
He sneered victoriously at them. "Potter and Weasley, the dynamic duo, out of bed after curfew," he said, his words dripping with disdain.
When they didn't answer him, he sneered.
"Twenty points from Gryffindor, each, and detention tomorrow afternoon, my office. I'll see you at one. Back to your beds, both of you!"
Harry nodded and he and Ron hurried back to Gryffindor Tower and into their dormitory.
"What took you so long?" Neville asked, peeking his head around his bed curtains.
"Snape," Ron said in annoyance, "Harry and I got detention. You and Hermione get back all right?"
Neville nodded. "Yes, and Ginny returned a little after us, said Luna was back in Ravenclaw Tower as well."
Ron snorted. "Of course we're the ones to get caught by Snape!"
Harry shrugged. "I'm too happy to no longer have a Mandrake leaf in my mouth to even care. Hey, do we still have that candy stash under the window?"
Ron grinned and jumped to his feet to rifle through the stash and tossed Harry some liquorice wands before he tossed Neville a chocolate frog and helped himself to some toffee. "Mmm, I forgot how good food tastes."
Harry nodded appreciatively as he ate the candy. "Me too."
The three of them look at each other and grinned. They were going to become an Animagi and they couldn't wait.
~ ASC ~
Detention the next afternoon was extremely boring. Snape had decided to separate them, which annoyed Harry, as Ron had gotten lucky in his opinion, and was ordered by Filch to clean the trophy room. Harry was stuck alone with Snape in his office where he was being forced to organize detention slips.
The only bright side to the situation was that Snape had chosen the decade of the 1970s and he smirked when he recognized the names of the Marauders and the large amount of mischief that they had caused. He smiled to himself as he read the slips, organizing them by year and month and trying to remember the interesting ones to ask Sirius and Remus about their adventures:
12 October, 1974
Black, Sirius and Potter, James
Detention Assigned By: Slughorn, Horace
Indiscretion: Convincing first year students that potion ingredients could be eaten as candy.
Punishment: Cleaning all potion cabinets without magic and re-organizing ingredients into fresh jars.
4 May, 1972
Pettigrew, Peter and Potter, James
Detention Assigned By: McGonagall, Minerva
Indiscretion: Transfiguring Severus Snape's homework into a dung beetle.
Punishment: Extra homework assigned and writing lines 100 times — 'I will not use what I learn in Transfiguration to make Snape's homework disappear.'
18 November, 1977
Black, Sirius and McKinnon, Marlene
Detention Assigned By: Sprout, Pomona
Indiscretion: Snogging and public displays of affection in Herbology class.
Punishment: Spreading fresh dragon dung all over the Hogwarts gardens.
18 September, 1975
Black, Sirius and Potter, James
Detention Assigned By: Flitwick, Filius
Indiscretion: Claiming the 'swish and flick' method was for sex ed and not charms class.
Punishment: One month of tutoring first years, five nights a week in Charms.
22 January, 1976
Evans, Lily and Potter, James
Detention Assigned By: McGonagall, Minerva
Indiscretion: Inappropriate language and screaming in the halls while out of bed after curfew.
Punishment: Helping Hagrid in the Forbidden Forest.
18 May, 1978
Black, Sirius and Potter, James
Detention Assigned By: Radigan, Tiberius
Indiscretion: Starting a Karaoke Dance Party in the Staff Room at Midnight, 5 Galleon cover charge for all sixth and seventh year students only, girls allowed free entry if they snog Black at the door.
Punishment: Scrubbing all toilets without magic.
The list went on and Harry found himself rather entertained by some of the things his parents and others had done over the years. Sirius had proposed to McGonagall at a Halloween ball. James had flown on his broomstick down to breakfast. Peter and Sirius had charmed Snape's socks to sing 'Hound Dog' whenever someone named Professor Davis said 'one time, when I was a student.' Peter had peed off of the Astronomy Tower during class (apparently it had been a bet from James and Sirius). Remus was caught out after curfew with a stag, a dog, and a rat and reprimanded for having more than one pet. James and Lily had gotten detention for PDA in the halls, and the lists went on.
He was working on his assigned task for over an hour when Snape spoke to him.
"Potter, you may take a ten minute break," Snape said, nodding in his direction.
Harry, surprised by this, nodded and ran off to use the facilities before returning. He had just sat back down again and started to re-organize his pile when Snape spoke, surprising him.
"You have your mother's eyes."
Harry looked up in surprise, his mouth open. "Er, yes, I've heard that before."
Snape continued to stare at him and when he spoke again he seemed to be looking through him. "She was my friend once, you know, when we were children. I made mistakes with her and she fell in love with your father, the arrogant arsehole that he was, but he was good to her, I'll admit that. He loved her, even I could see that. But he and I never saw eye to eye, and even if he were still alive, I doubt that would have changed. But my feud is with James Potter, not with you. He and Lily were both extraordinarily gifted at Potions and I can see that you have their talents, which is maybe part of the reason why I'm so hard on you — I know that you could do better if you focused more. I give you E's because I know that you can perform O's. They would be proud of you, you know." He seemed to catch himself and he shook his head. "Finish that pile and then go."
"Sir?"
Snape shook his head. "We won't speak of it again, Potter."
Harry watched him stand up and move to continue working on the potion near his desk and he nodded. "Yes, Sir."
He tried to concentrate on what he was doing, but he couldn't stop himself from thinking about how strange that conversation had just been. Why would Snape suddenly say such things to him about his mother? Then again, Snape had been acting quite decent since the pranks before Christmas. He had barely insulted anyone, only took points off for deserved reasons, and even complimented Harry twice (and Hermione once) on how their potions had turned out. Harry wasn't sure what Sirius and Remus had said to him, but whatever it was, it had made him an almost decent teacher, despite his constantly surly attitude, and he certainly wasn't going to complain about it.
He finished organizing the detention slips and then brought them over to Snape an hour later. "I'm finished, Professor."
"Good. Potter, you may go."
Harry bit his cheek before he spoke. "Professor, I promise to work harder at earning that Outstanding on my Potions exam. Uncle Siri told me that I have to focus more on my grades and I want to learn all that I can. I want my parents to be proud of me. All of them."
Snape's gaze met his for a moment before he nodded. "Very well and Potter?" When Harry's green eyes met his, Snape closed his own for a moment before speaking. "We're going to be working on the Babbling Beverage next class. Why don't you read the chapter before hand?"
Harry blinked in surprise. "Yes, Sir."
He turned to look back at Snape before he left, a small grin on his face. Sometimes people really surprised him and he wondered what it was that made Snape decide to play nice. He concluded that it was probably for the best that he never found out and he whistled as he headed back to Gryffindor Tower to read about the Babbling Beverage.
End Author's Note:
Just wanted to help break down the family in case it got a bit confusing.
Zee's parents: Magnolia Jackson Zacarias (deceased) and Misha Zacarias and Sorcha Brown Zacarias (stepmother)
The Jacksons:
Colten Raleigh (Muggle, 1921) m. Florence Jackson (pureblood witch, 1924) (1941)
1. Magnolia Jackson Zacarias (7 April 1941) m. Mikhail Ivanovich Zacarias (9 May, 1941)
(a) Zahira Zelena Zacarias (9 April 1964)
The Zacarias':
Ivan Zacarias m. Anya Zacarias (1939) (Muggles — Ivan was the soldier in WWII with the motorbike) — all of their children, grandchildren, and supporting family is magical.
1. Mikhail (Misha) m. Magnolia Jackson Zacarias (d) m. Sorcha Brown Zacarias (1972)
(a) Zahira Zelena Zacarias (9 April, 1964)
2. Olga Zacarias Petrov (1944) m. Dimtri Petrov (1960)
(a) Mikhail Petrov (1962) m. Ana Ivanov (1983)
(i) Yuri Petrov (8 June, 1985)
(b) Mila Petrov Sokolov (1965) m. Nicholas Sokolov (1985)
(i) Nastasia Sokolov (8 May, 1987)
(ii) Dinara Sokolov (3 February, 1989)
3. Sasha Zacarias Blok (1947) m. Yerik Blok (1964)
(a) Tanya Blok Fedorov (1967) m. Alek Fedorov (1993)
(b) Tatiana Blok (1967)
The Browns:
Callum Brown (1894) m. Fiona (1899) (1919)
Brian Brown (1921) m. Jocasta Fitzgibbons (1942)
(a) Dougal Brown (1944) m. Ellen Smith (1969)
(i) Jenny Brown (3 May, 1972)
(ii) Ian Brown (4 February, 1974)
Sorcha Brown (14 January 1937) m. Misha Zacarias (1972)
(a) Zahira Zelena Zacarias (9 April, 1964)
Also:
Ivan & Anya = Baba and Deda
Tetya = auntie
Dyadya = uncle
Misha & Sorcha = Papa and Grandmama
Colt & Flo = Grandpa and Grandma
Callum & Fiona = Gran and Grandda
Hope this helps!
Thank you for reading and please review!