Chapter 6
Sirius loved Muggle London.
The music, the smoking, the motorcycles - okay, he hadn't actually seen any motorcycles that day, but it was the middle of October, and Muggles didn't have the help of magic to keep them safe and dry in England's dreary fall weather.
He knocked on the door of the house that Remus had told him to visit, hoping the Grangers wouldn't think he was insane for everything he was about to tell them.
The door opened slowly, revealing a haggard woman with red-rimmed eyes. Sirius' gaze was momentarily drawn to the scene behind her. He wasn't surprised to see the team of Aurors inspecting the house and cleaning up the damage that Remus and Greyback had caused the night before.
"H-hello," the woman (Mrs Granger, he reminded himself) said, seeming unsure of herself. Sirius was glad he had worn his Auror robes. She would be that much more likely to trust him now that she had already spoken with a few.
"Hello, ma'am. I'm here to help with the investigation and...help answer any questions you may have. About the future." Damn, Sirius thought. That was the stupidest and vaguest way I possibly could have said that. He gave a tight smile, hoping that his good intentions would get him through this uncomfortable situation. For Remus' - and his daughter's - sake.
Understanding lit Mrs Granger's eyes as she glanced down at Sirius' robes. She stepped back from the doorway and gestured for him to come in.
Sirius nodded his thanks, waving a silent greeting to his friends from the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. There were a few other faces he thought he recognised from the Department for the Control and Regulation of Magical Creatures.
Frank Longbottom, a fellow Auror, came over to speak in low tones. "We're about done here. Why did Moody send you over?"
"Work was slow, and with everyone else out on assignment, I think he just wanted me out of his hair," Sirius admitted, hoping the invented excuse wouldn't come back to bite him in the arse.
Luckily, Frank just nodded with a quiet snort. "You and Moody stuck in the bullpen alone together is usually a bad idea."
Sirius nodded. "He also sent me with a few more forms he wanted me to go over with the parents. You guys can go when you're done. I'll head back when we've gone over everything."
His friend nodded and turned to round up the other Aurors. With a few words of apology for the inconvenience and a quick farewell, they were off, the DCRMC crew just a few steps behind them.
Finally, Sirius stood, the lone wizard in the eerily quiet room, unsure where to begin.
The tension in the air was broken by the sound of a little voice saying, "Funny hair, Daddy."
Sirius turned towards the speaker with a raised eyebrow, sweeping said hair over one shoulder. His eyes met the warm brown gaze of a little girl, probably not much older than his godson, Harry. She wore a simple blue dress and had bandages wrapped around one arm and leg, but she seemed better off than Sirius had expected, based on Remus' description of Greyback's attack.
Still, she must be one tough little person. Just like her dad.
"Mini-Moony." The name came out as the barest whisper, unbidden, from his tongue. The name struck a painful chord in his chest, but he had never had much self-restraint when it came to nicknames.
He made his way over to the toddler, crouching down to be at eye-level with her where she sat perched on her father's lap. "Hi, there. You have rather funny hair, yourself."
Hermione giggled, forcing a smile to quirk one side of the Marauder's mouth. "Just like Mum. Daddy says cwazy and pwetty." She held out a hand, and Sirius gingerly took it, wary of further hurting the bandage-wrapped extremity. "Nice meet you," she declared.
"It's lovely to meet you, as well," Sirius replied. He was surprised by her manners and found her childish, but obviously intelligent, way of speaking rather adorable. "I'm here to talk to you a bit about what happened last night," he explained.
She nodded silently, her smile dimming. Sirius felt bad for dampening the mood, but he knew this conversation was one they needed to have.
He decided to start out with a question. "Do you remember what happened?"
"Scary doggies," Hermione whispered. She held out her injured arm. "Big one bite me." Tilting her head to the side, she considered her next statement. "'Nother one keep me safe."
Sirius blew out a breath, gladder than words could say that Remus had been able to stop Greyback from hurting the girl any more than he had. He glanced up to meet Mr Granger's gaze before continuing, "Those scary doggies are called werewolves."
Richard nodded and said, "Those other blokes said as much."
Sirius thought they might have. "Did they explain what will be happening on full moons from now on?" he asked. After a single nod from the girl's father, he continued, turning to look at the toddler once again, "When werewolves bite, the person they bite also becomes a werewolf."
Hermione's big brown eyes were glued to his face, but she said nothing. He pushed on, changing his direction a bit. "My best mate is a werewolf." Both parents gasped a bit at this, but their daughter just cocked her head, as if urging him to continue. "He was bitten when he wasn't much older than you, actually. Now, when the moon is extra big and full, he turns into a werewolf, like the ones you saw."
The parents looked more alarmed than ever, and Sirius felt the need to explain, "He stays far away from people when he turns into the wolf, so they stay safe." Usually, he added to himself. "When he was little, like you, he stayed in the cellar for the night. We need to figure out a place for you to stay so you and your folks can stay safe, all right?"
Crazy curls bounced up and down as she nodded emphatically. "I need keep Mum and Daddy safe." Her lips turned down into the saddest frown Sirius had ever seen. "Don't want be scary doggy...werewoof."
Sirius saw the tears starting to pool in her eyes and tried to cheer her up. "It can be a fun thing, too! You will be able to hear and see better than you used to." He leant close as if to impart some great secret. "You might even hear your mum and dad when they try to talk about secrets, like birthday presents or where they hide to biscuit jar."
Hermione couldn't help the watery smile that spread across her face. "I do magic, too," she informed him.
As if to prove her point, a biscuit suddenly floated in from the kitchen and landed on the nearby coffee table.
Sirius barked a laugh, surprised by the girl's display of early, wandless magic. "Maybe you will have to use your new powers for something else then, eh? You'll be strong and fast, too. And when you are resting after the full moon your folks will give you all the chocolate you want."
The Grangers both made choking noises, alarmed by the thought of their daughter consuming more than the barest minimum amount of candy. Werewolf lifestyle was starting to sound like one big, cavity-infested black hole. A dentist's nightmare!
The Auror lowered his brows in confusion at their reaction, explaining, "The chocolate helps with the effects of the transformation. She'll probably need it leading up to the transformation and afterwards." He continued speaking to the parents, not sure how much the other Ministry employees had told them. "Her emotions will be closer to the surface in the days before the full moon, and she'll become more aggressive. She'll learn to control it, but you need to be prepared for that. Her eating habits will probably change, since she'll need more meat in her diet, and chocolate will help with her symptoms."
Mrs Granger cleared her throat. "Is...is it contagious?"
Sirius shook his head. "Lycanthropy can only be spread when in werewolf form. You'll be just fine as long as she has somewhere safe to stay...by herself...during the full moon."
Nodding, Helen said, "We were thinking of taking her to our cabin. It's on a good sized piece of land, and the previous owners had horses, so there is a barn not far from the house." She twisted her hands anxiously, clearly uncomfortable with the subject but pushing forward anyway. "Do you think that would work?"
Sirius nodded, relieved that they had already worked up a solution. "That should be just fine for the near future. As she gets bigger, you will eventually need to find a place that has stone or metal walls." He paused and offered, "If you'd like, I can add some extra protective spells to the property to make sure she stays put and you all stay safe. I can also come help with her first transformation, just to make sure things go smoothly."
Richard's brows furrowed in confusion. "I thought you said no one could be with her during the full moon."
Realising his mistake too late, he decided to let the Muggles in on his furry little secret. "Well, that's only for humans. You know how I said I have a friend who's a werewolf?" At their nods he continued, "When we were in school, my friends and I decided to learn how to turn into animals so we could help him with his transformations. Having a pack around helps keep the wolf calm."
Helen and Richard both sported the same shocked look. After an awkward silence, Helen asked, "You can turn into an animal?"
Sirius nodded and decided to just show them. With a lopsided grin and a twist of magic, he grinned up at the tiny Muggle-born as an enormous black dog.
Hermione laughed and looked to her parents for permission before scratching the dog's head. He rumbled his approval of the attention before taking a step back and returning to his human form.
"Nice doggy! Keep me safe?" the toddler asked.
"I would like that very much. Let's make sure your parents are okay with it first, yeah?"
The parents looked wary of accepting help from a stranger, but they felt desperate enough to welcome any help they could get for their daughter in this situation, so they gave the Animagus instructions for how to find the property. He assured them that he would have the wards ready to go before the next full moon and told them to expect him that evening to accompany Hermione into the barn for the transformation.
When Sirius felt they'd made sufficient preparations, he lost his friendly smile and told them a bit about the ongoing war and the possibility that he might not be able to show up for the full moon, but he would be there if he could. They looked even more afraid of the magical world after that, and he felt bad for adding another dose of worry to their already difficult day.
Hoping to end the visit on a more positive note, Sirius said, "Don't think less of her because of her...condition. My best mate is bloody brilliant, but he has always felt like there's something wrong with him. Don't let her beat herself up or anything. Lycanthropy is an unfortunate illness, but it shouldn't keep her from going after what she wants in life. Falling in love. Being who she wants to be."
Hoping that his sorry excuse for a speech had gotten through to them, he smiled and made his goodbyes. As he walked away from the Granger home and toward a nearby park to apparate back to work, he thought about the tiny girl with the 'cwazy and pwetty' hair, hoping the future would be kinder to her than it had been to Remus and so many others who shared his condition.
He missed full moons with Remus and the other Marauders now that Remus was off doing spy work for Dumbledore with a real pack. It would be fun to have an excuse to run around as Padfoot again.
Little did he know that the full moon he'd be spending with Mini-Moony would be his last one as a free man for the next twelve years.
A/N: Guys! You put this story over 100 reviews with the last chapter! (142 as of the moment I'm about to post this update.) I'm just blown away by all the love and encouragement you've given me about this story. I am so excited about where it's headed, and I am glad you all are, too. I know there was a bit of a wait for this chapter, but I'm in the midst of moving and a whole bunch of other "real life" nonsense, so thank you for your patience. :) I hope the fact that this was a slightly longer chapter (for me) makes up for the wait. For the guest reviewers who have asked about an update schedule, I can promise that I have zero intention of quitting this story, and I post updates as soon as they've been beta-ed. (Shout out once again to my Synoir and Mahawna for helping me polish this up for you guys. They rock, and you should go read their stories. And while I'm rambling about stories, you should go read Bewitch, Ensnare by Kittenshift17 and Twice Claimed by Worthfull1 while you wait for updates over here. They have been updating daily, and they are both SO good!) Anyway, thanks for reading and reviewing! It means the world to me. :) -M