Harmony rolled out of bed around nine, and was surprised for a moment to find herself in a different bedroom
Then she remembered how she'd come home for a weekend, to visit her family with Sirius.
And that made her get out of bed with a smile on her face before noon on a Saturday.
"You're awake?" The combined voices of Harmony's mother and Sirius asked in disbelief from the breakfast table.
"I am." Harmony smiled, then spotted the tea and coffee tray just begging to be consumed. Well, not the tray. The contents on the tray. "That doesn't mean I'll skip the coffee."
Harmony's mother rolled her eyes. "Still haven't kicked your slight addiction to coffee, then, have you?"
Sirius answered, taking a bite of his toast. "Nope. How many cups was your record in one day? Thirteen?"
Harmony waved him off as her mother looked horrified. "You're going to die!"
"Mum. It was one day and night combined. Calm it down." Harmony plopped down on the chair and turned to smile at Charlotte. Her sister smiled back. "Where's dad?"
"He had to go help out a friend." Mrs Sea replied.
Harmony raised her eyebrows. "He's allowed to just leave?"
"Well," Mrs Sea started, pouring herself tea. "we have to send message to the uh, what's it called? Ministry. Ministry of Magic, that's it. We have to tell them so one of their lot can take us."
"What about Charlotte going to school, Mrs Sea?" Sirius asked politely.
"Oh, well apparently a couple of the teachers are actually wizards who work for the Ministry. They only told us recently."
Harmony smiled. "Well that's good, then. Do you know which ones?"
"The principal and Char's teacher, Mrs Scott, definitely are. There are a couple more that I can't name off the top of my head." Mrs Sea sat down. "Eat your breakfast, please, Charlotte."
Charlotte looked at the food without hunger. "Mum, I'm not hungry. Can I go watch a movie, now, please? You promised I could watch one this morning."
Harmony ruffled Charlotte's curls. "Which film?"
"I don't know yet! Sirius, will you watch it with me?" Charlotte asked, her blue eyes going to Sirius demanding an answer that was preferably positive.
"Sure." He smiled. "Is it that box that has the moving pictures in it?"
"Yes, Sirius." Harmony laughed while her mother looked baffled. "There are no television sets in the wizarding world, Mum."
"Really?" Mrs Sea asked in disbelief. "I didn't know that. Sirius, are your parents non-magical, too?"
"Uh, not exactly. I live with my best friend, James Potter, now."
Harmony's mum only let her surprise register for a second before she masked it. "Is that where you went for new year's, Harmony? The Potters'?"
"Yeah." Harmony said, then started stabbing her toast with her fork.
"Harmony, don't do that. It's unladylike."
"Oops." Harmony grinned without remorse. "Now, how about that movie?"
Sirius stood and cleared his plate. "Don't worry about that stuff, dear. Harmony will help me." Mrs Sea told him as he started clearing the table.
"Thank you, Mrs Sea." He smiled, and Charlotte ran up to grab his hand and drag him into the living room.
Just as he turned the corner, he shot Harmony a look that said, Get in this room now.
"I'm just going to set up the movie for them. I'll be back in a minute." Harmony told her Mum.
She turned the corner into the living room and was met with Sirius trying to suppress laughter. "What?" She asked, looking herself down. Did she have a booger or something? Her underwear tucked out of her pyjama shorts?
"I think you should go upstairs and look in the mirror, specifically at your neck." He whispered, his eyes alight with humour.
Her eyes widened frantically. "Sirius fucking Black, did you give me a hickey?"
"I'm sorry! It's not my fault you started biting your lip at me-"
Harmony tore up the stairs and rummaged through her bag for some makeup. She looked in the bathroom mirror and groaned out loud. "Why the weekend that I'm home with my parents?"
She globed the cover up on and moved her hair to put the guilty spot in the shadow before walking back down the stairs calmly and right by Sirius' frame that was shaking with laughter on the couch.
"What happened? You went storming up the stairs!" Her mother questioned when Harmony returned to the kitchen.
"Oh, pee break." Harmony muttered.
They cleared the rest of the table in a comfortable silence.
"So." Mrs Sea started, sitting back down and yanking Harmony down with her after the tabletop was clear of any signs of breakfast. "Sirius."
"Oh Mum, please, don't have this conversation with me." Harmony groaned, hiding her face and waiting for the 200 questions to begin.
"How old?"
"He's my age, Mum. He's in the same flipping Hogwarts house as me."
"How did you meet?"
"Hogwarts."
"When?"
"When I went to Hogwarts."
"How long have you been dating?"
"I don't like that word!" Harmony said, squirming in discomfort.
"Well what do you call it then?" Mrs Sea asked.
"A constellation."
"What?"
"We've been dating almost four months, Mum." Harmony sighed.
"Why him?
"Because he's pretty great and he's helped me through all this shi-dung with Voldemort." Harmony looked out the window and wished she could be anywhere but there, under her mother's gaze.
"That's it?"
"No! There's so much more but I don't really want to get into it."
"Why not?" Mrs Sea asked curiously.
"Because it's embarrassing and private and he's sitting in the next room."
"So what about his family?"
It was an innocent question, and Harmony tried to keep the answer simple. "Uhm. Well, Sirius got disowned from his family because they're all dark wizards and he's the only one who's good."
Her mother was quiet for a moment, her hazel eyes regarding Harmony. "How do you know he's not a dark wizard?"
Harmony's jaw dropped. "Mum. He was put into Gryffindor, he fought off Death Eaters, he's supporting me right now, lives with his best friend because he ran away from home. They were beating him and teaching him to love Voldemort, so he left and has been rebelling against them ever since."
"Oh." Mrs Sea cleared her throat. "Well I'm sorry to hear that." And she sounded genuinely sorry, too.
"I just...I really care for him, okay? A whole lot. So please make an effort to like him?"
"Oh, Harmony I do like him."
"Really?" Harmony asked, smiling.
"Yeah. I see the way he looks at you. I'll owe him forever simply because of that. It feels good to see my daughter loved like that."
Harmony choked on her coffee at the word 'love'. Suddenly, her mother leaned in to Harmony, her brown curls tumbling down her shoulders. "Are you using protection?"
This time, coffee spewed out of Harmony's nose and she started coughing. "Shit, Mum! We haven't-we didn't-"
"Don't use that language, Harms. And don't lie." Harmony's mum moved back over to her side of the table. "When I was your age-"
Harmony covered her ears and started singing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star at the top of her lungs until her mother grabbed her hands and put them back down onto the table.
"Harmony, now you listen here." She said. "If you come home pregnant, I will not be happy-"
"Mum, seriously-"
"-and could you just imagine the look on your father's face?"
"Mum."
"I don't think he'd ever let you within a three mile radius of anyone of the male gender ever again-"
"MUM I AM A VIRGIN SO PLEASE STOP TALKING." Harmony yelled, then leapt up out of the chair as if it burned her.
Mrs Sea burst out laughing and was still in hysterics when Harmony stormed out of the room and plopped down on the couch next to Sirius, who sent her a questioning look. "'Mum I am a virgin so please stop talking?'" He quoted.
Harmony was still in a horrified daze. "She tried to have The Talk with me, Sirius."
He grinned and pinched her cheek. "Ickle-Harmony kinz is growing up too fast." He said in a childlike voice. "I got The Talk three years ago from James' parents. We got it at the same time.
"Let talk about something else. Or better yet, let's watch this movie!" Harmony flung herself at the television and put the movie in, after Charlotte handed it to her.
"Will you two mind going out and getting some things from the grocery store?" Harmony's mother called from the kitchen just after lunch. "I'll give you some money. Just go to that grocery store a couple blocks from here."
Harmony looked at Sirius who was lounging on the couch in a jumper and jeans. He shrugged. "Let's go."
"Sure, Mum!" Harmony called, and she got up. "I've just got to get my jacket."
Harmony ran up the stairs and grabbed her denim jacket hanging on her bed post, then slipped on her trainers.
Sirius was already down at the front door waiting for her. "I've got the list and the muggle money." He informed her. "Why did they make it paper? Surely it'll rip?" Harmony just rolled her eyes at Sirius' lack of knowledge regarding the muggle world and hand in hand they left to go to the grocery store.
"It's nice to have some alone time." Harmony took a deep breath of fresh end-of-April air. The seasons were changing, the the weather was warming up again, regardless of how rainy it was
"I reckon we had quite a bit of that last night." Sirius grinned while reaching down to brush the red spot on Harmony's neck.
"You're so lucky my mother didn't notice it, Sirius, you have no idea."
"Do you regret it?" Sirius asked, looking ahead down the sidewalk still damp with a recent rainfall
"You sneaking into my bedroom last night? No." Harmony blushed.
"I just had to though," Sirius said, referring to Harmony's hickey. "you bit your lip."
"I bit your lip too."
"You did." Sirius grinned. "I liked that."
"Okay, if we don't stop right now then I'm going to have to coverup my entire neck in makeup. So let's focus on the task at hand: groceries for dinner. Because my grandparents have decided to come over."
"Well that's good." Sirius replied, still grinning slightly.
"In some ways."
They arrived at the grocery store, which had its logo printed in bright green letters all over the place, just in case you needed a reminder twice every second of where you were shopping at.
"What's first?" Sirius asked, handing the list to Harmony then peering over her shoulder.
"Well the produce is right here..."
And they were off, grabbing things off shelves, shouting questions to each other through aisles, and tossing jars and bags of many kinds of food into the creaky old cart.
Sirius went over to the next aisle to retrieve the juice and Harmony stayed deciding which type of tree nuts her dad wanted in his protein bars.
"Well, look who it is." Harmony spun around, recognizing the voice immediately. Images of her getting made fun of, called ugly, brace-face, bookworm, etcetera, surfaced in her mind.
There stood her two childhood bullies/ex-best friends, Taylor and Linda. They both still looked the same: hair dyed with colour so much that it looked dead, bone thin bodies after hours of starvation, too much makeup, and cheap clothing made to look brand name. Harmony honestly felt sorry for those girls.
She hadn't seen them in years, so Harmony was fully prepared for the 'up-down' I'm-judging-you-look. Thankfully, she reckoned she looked a bit better than they last saw her just before Hogwarts. Harmony's hair was longer, darker, her teeth were straight (thanks to years of muggle dental care), her womanly curves (as her mother put it) had come in, her face matured - her baby fat had went away and all her features looked a little more proportionate.
"Wow. Long time no see." Harmony commented, fidgeting in her jeans, jacket and jumper.
"I see you've got your braces off then." Taylor sneered, flipping that week's hair colour of black over her shoulder. "Doesn't mean you're pretty." She added on, more to herself.
"Yeah. It's been a while. I've changed from when I was eleven." Harmony grit her teeth.
"I see." Taylor said again. Then Linda spoke.
"So how's your boarding school? I hear they're harsher there. I bet you wish you were living back here, eh?" Linda laughed unkindly.
"Not at all." Harmony said immediately and without any trace of sarcasm. Hogwarts was a trillion times better than her school on the outskirts of London, where she grew up.
"And why is that?" Taylor's face displayed that she wanted to know exactly how and why a place where her presence wasn't there was better than where she was.
"Because I learn. And I have friends." Harmony felt so tired all of the sudden. She didn't want to talk to them, and she especially didn't want to explain her life choices to them.
Linda snorted loudly. "Yeah okay. Friends. Funny."
"Why should we believe you?" Taylor laughed.
"Why should I justify myself to you?" Harmony retaliated, then sighed. "Look, I'm not going to pretend that I enjoyed this chat. So, bye."
Harmony grabbed a random box of bars for her dad and was prepared to make a run for it. She would've, if Taylor hadn't grabbed her arm in a vice-like grip
Harmony spun around at amazing speed and tried to whip her hand away. "Let go of me!"
"No. We're not done here. You can't just show up one weekend and look down upon us like we're the trash here."
"Seriously, Taylor, let go of me now." Harmony said, hating how small the two girls in front of her made her feel. Even after all these years they still sucked the courage out of her.
"I want to know some things. People have been talking." Linda hissed. "Why did your parents move?"
"That's none of your business. Now I've really got to go-"
Taylor twisted her arm. "I don't think so."
"Where's your brother?" Linda asked, her chunky makeup was smudged, Harmony noticed.
Well didn't that question feel like a slap in the face?
"You don't need to know! Get off of me!" Harmony struggled, the pain in her arm increasing.
"Now I'm going to teach you something, your worthless little-"
"Harmony?" Sirius' shocked voice came from behind her.
Taylor looked up and her jaw hit the floor. It was a typical reaction for females who looked at Sirius for the first time. Harmony wrenched her hand away, blinking back tears of pure fury. What the fuck-
"What the hell did you do?" Sirius was gorgeous, but the way he was looking at Taylor made even her want to curl up and die. "And you?" He looked at Linda.
"I'm fine, Sirius, really." Harmony said.
"And who's this?" Taylor spun on Harmony. "Did you pay him to act like he cares?"
Sirius was furious, and his stormy grey eyes flashed. "What the fuck is wrong with you? And who are you?"
Linda turned on her flirty voice, taking advantage of the fact that Taylor now had no chance with him, as he was yelling at her. "Oh, we're good friends. Met when we were young."
"Good friends? That's a load of bullshit. Last time I checked good friends, or any friends, didn't torment each other every single day for four years you bloody chicken." Harmony spat.
Sirius slipped his arm around Harmony's waist and picked up her arm to inspect her injury. There were several nail marks and the surrounding area was red where Taylor's grip had been. Harmony knew it wouldn't bruise though.
"Why-what the heck?" Sirius was baffled. A minute ago he was blissfully picking out juice and now-
"We were-we were just-" Taylor tried.
"Wait, are you together?" Linda's eyes were on the arm around Harmony's waist, and the hand in her hand.
"Yes, and I'd appreciate it if you didn't assault Harmony because she didn't want to tell you her personal information, you fucking ninny." Sirius regarded Linda with mild disgust.
"Like a couple?" The insults just went through Linda. All she wanted to know was how someone as hot as Sirius was with Harmony Sea.
"No like a hippogriff!" Harmony said sarcastically. "Yes, we're together! Can we go, please?" Harmony asked Sirius quietly.
"What's a hippogriff?" Taylor asked, puzzled.
Harmony hesitated because how could she not know what a hippogriff was? Right, she's a muggle.
"It uhm-" she didn't know how to reply.
Sirius contained his laughter and said, "It's beyond your knowledge."
Taylor looked horrified. Linda wasn't paying attention. "So you like, snog and stuff?"
"Oh my fuck. Stop it." Harmony said exasperated. "We've got to go. Company's coming over.
"He's staying at your house?"
Harmony pulled Sirius away, along with the cart full of food.
"What happened there?" Sirius whispered, when they were out of earshot.
"I knew them when I was younger." Harmony told him. She didn't want him to know about how she was a little weakling child.
"And? There's got to be more to it."
"They just-we used to be friends."
"Harmony."
"Sirius."
Harmony started unloading the cart onto the moving-thingy. Too many years in the wizarding world. She didn't even know what it was called anymore.
Linda's voice cut over from nearby aisle. "She got pretty, Tay."
"No she fucking didn't. Her cheekbones looked so fake. She must've had them done. No one just develops cheekbones like that. Fucking faker." Taylor protested.
Harmony's cheeks grew hot and she tried to block it out. She hoped with all her heart that Sirius didn't hear. Of course, she could feel his piercing eyes on her as she stubbornly whipped out the muggle money to pay the cashier.
"But did you see that guy she was with? Like I don't even know if I could be with-" Linda said, but was cut off.
"Just shut up." Taylor snapped. "She's not any prettier than she was the last day we saw her. She'll always be that ugly little shit we pushed in the creek and locked in the boys' locker room."
Harmony's cheeks blushed even more, hating those memories. She snatched the receipt from the young and now-confused cashier without a second glance, and loaded a many bags as she could onto her wrists.
"Slow down." Sirius said, jogging to catch up with her. "What the heck just happened?"
"Nothing. I'm just really pissed off right now. I mean, why the heck are they in this part of town? On the same day as me?" Harmony ranted.
"So they bullied you?" Sirius asked.
"Bullied. I hate that word. Everyone has a bully that they stick up to in the end and save the school population or whatever. They were just bitches when I was a kid." Harmony bit her lip and just kept walking.
"That's what's bugging you then?" Sirius asked, stopping at a park bench and setting down all the bags on the ground.
Harmony glanced back over her shoulder than retreated and did the same with her bags, finally plopping down on the bench. "It bugs me how they carried over the past and had no reason to degrade me except to get sick enjoyment out of it, only made worse by the fact that they dragged you into it-" Harmony said angrily.
"Let's just forget about them because your life is so much different and hopefully so much better now, okay?" Sirius cut her off.
She sighed, scooting over on the bench so their arms and legs touched. "Okay."
"You know what's going to be awkward?" Harmony suddenly said.
"Tell me." Sirius replied, smiling down at her.
"This upcoming dinner here. This is the moment in all the books where the girl takes home her other half of the constellation and the super duper awkward dad-and-half-of-constellation moment comes in." Harmony told him, itching her cheek. "So, good luck my sweet." She looked up at him, laughter dancing in her eyes.
Sirius sighed, ran his fingers through his hair in a way that made Harmony want to jump him. "You'll hold my hand under the table?"
"Yeah, I'll hold your hand under the table." She reached up and pressed her lips to his cheek briefly before springing up as fast as a fat cat hearing food being poured into the food bowl. "Let's go just in case our lovely hunks of plastic come back to torment us. Well, mainly me."
"They tormented me, too, you know."
Sirius's told her as they continued walking on the dreary day.
"Yeah, calling you attractive a bunch of times. Torment."
"It's not pleasant coming from people like them!"
"Who's it pleasant coming from then?" Harmony asked, laughing.
"You." Sirius said honestly, adjusting the bags he carried. He normally would have just whipped out his wand, but they were smack in the middle of a muggle community.
Harmony blushed. "Well you're certainly...nice looking."
Sirius grinned, but stayed looking ahead. "Ditto." Then he added on, "I think I'll wear white tonight for dinner."
Now, Sirius turned to watch Harmony's reaction. Her cheeks darkened. "Uh - why is that?"
"No reason except that I'm told that I look good in white." Sirius continued to smile.
"Oh."
"Actually, you told me that. And followed it by a very slurred, 'sober thoughts, drunk words'." Sirius laughed as Harmony turned Gryffindor red.
"And when did I say this?"
"When you got drunk on your birthday."
"Oh Lordy." Harmony sighed. "Well."
Sirius laughed.
"Be warned, Sirius Black, I will jump the shit out of you if you wear white." Harmony said warningly, her voice going high.
"I can live with that." Sirius muttered. Before Harmony could retort, they arrived back at the house.
Harmony opened the door to her father standing about two inches away from it. He was evidently just staring out the little window, spying on them.
"Dad." Harmony acknowledged humorously, walking right by him with Sirius on her heels. They got in the kitchen and placed the plastic bags full of their meals for the next two days on the counter.
"Thank you!" Mrs Sea entered the kitchen. She was wearing jeans, a white shirt and a simple turquoise cardigan. "Was it busy?"
"Not overly so. I like your outfit, mum." Harmony complimented.
"Oh!" Her hazel eyes widened momentarily. "Well, thanks."
The way her mum seemed taken aback at the compliment made Harmony feel slightly guilty that she didn't say things like that more often.
Harmony's dad chucked, his laugh lines becoming more prominent. "You're making me look bad!" He went up behind his wife and gave her a hug.
It was like a perfect snapshot, a memory to look back on in twenty years; all the love and commitment and joy mixed into one flawless moment. Harmony just smiled, and glanced at Sirius. He, too, was smiling, although there was something in the curve of his lips and the widening of his eyes that made the smile more sad.
"We'll go up to get dressed, now." Harmony excused her and Sirius, and they exited the kitchen as Sirius reached out to lace their fingers together.
They walked up the stairs in comfortable silence, and finally Sirius said, "I miss what could have been, you know?"
"You miss the idea of having a happy family. You miss the hope that there could have been." Harmony nodded, opening the door to Ryan's room.
It wasn't really Ryan's room. It was more like a room meant for Ryan that held some of his personal belongings. But even those were packed away in boxes in the closet, never to be opened ever again in fear of a memory too strong and overpowering.
"Exactly." Sirius nodded, plopping down on the bed. "I have to just get over it already."
"Sirius!" Harmony said. "That's the most fucking ridiculous thing I've ever heard of. You can't just 'get over' something like that in a jiffy. It'll take years, so don't force yourself because I know that you will." Harmony tapped his nose and his face contorted momentarily.
"Get dressed." He sighed, smiling. "Wear something that shows off your collarbones. I'm slightly in love with them."
"Wear something white."
"I can't. I know what it does to you."
"Sirius."
"Harmony."
Harmony regarded him, eyes narrowed. "Well if I wear something that shows my collarbones then I'll punish you by not letting you anywhere near them."
"That's not fair!" Sirius laughed, standing up and stretching.
Harmony's eyes didn't waver from his hips. "Yeah, I'll just go."
She ran from the room, Sirius' laughter following her all the way out. Harmony entered her own room and rummaged through her bag for something to wear.
At the very bottom, what are the odds, she found a simple, loose, black and white long sleeved shirt with a rather swooping neckline, going from shoulder joint to shoulder joint. She paired it with a some jeans, and added some stud earrings.
Harmony padded back to the other room in her socks and was greeted with a lovely sight of Sirius in a button-down plaid shirt.
Button-downs. Button-downs.
Sirius thought her reaction to white was bad. Wait until he realized what button-downs did to her.
She just stood there, biting her knuckles, while Sirius, oblivious to her staring, was buttoning up his shirt.
Harmony ran back to her room and grabbed the camera she always kept close to her for moments like these. She then sprinted back, to see Sirius fitting the last two buttons in place. She aimed the camera, the flash went off, and the moment where Sirius looked up with that flawless half-smile she loved, the sun streaming through the window behind him, and his hair perfectly messy was now with her forever.
"What was that for?" He laughed, rolling up his sleeves in loose cuffs.
Harmony just kept silent and took in the sight of him.
"What are you staring at? Do I have a booger?" Sirius finished with his shirt and he crossed his arms, checking Harmony out.
"I really like that shirt." Harmony squeezed out.
"Ditto."
Harmony stood there for a moment longer, the electricity shocking between them like they personally made God angry. Harmony walked over to the door and shut it gently, then grabbed Sirius by the neck not so gently.
"Button downs are even worse than whites, pup." She informed him, her eyes closed, lips brushing his with every word.
She felt him grin widely. "I know."
"You know?"
"I didn't think it was a coincidence that every time I wore a button-down you pressed me up against a wall and mauled me." Sirius' eyes dropped down and followed every inch of her neckline.
"I did not. Not everytime."
"Yeah, you did."
"You kept track?"
"Between me and James."
"James knows too? Oh Lordy." Harmony chuckled, embarassed. "He'll never let it go."
"Don't you worry, I have him sufficiently blackmailed."
"With what?" Harmony asked eagerly, her hands smoothing down Sirius' shirt.
"A lovely picture I took of him whilst he was very drunk."
"I've taught you well."
"I've taught you well."
"Shh." Harmony muttered, pressing her lips to his.
They kissed slowly for a moment, before Harmony pulled away and buried her face in his neck, and with every breath she took, his scent curled around her. "You look so fucking good in this shirt."
Sirius took the smallest of steps away from her, one hand cupping her cheek and the other's fingertips running along her other cheek, down her jaw, sliding down her neck, and gently along her collarbones.
"I don't want to be around any people. Just you." Harmony pouted, then laughed to keep herself from falling down because his lips had suddenly replaced his fingertips.
Sirius smiled and rested his head on her shoulder. "You need some more makeup on that little spot on your neck."
Harmony blushed furiously and tucked a stray piece of hair behind her ear gently. Then she reluctantly let go of him, except for his hand, and pulled them both into her room.
Sirius watched with an odd look on his face as she dabbed the nude-coloured cover-up on her neck. "Why don't you use a healing spell?"
Harmony shrugged while she inspected her job. "The second I use magic to make it disappear, I'd feel like it never happened. I feel so human with it, kind of like I'm living a bit more than I'm used to, you know?" She looked up at Sirius. "It's stupid, you're right."
"No, it's not. This is why I'm with you - for little things like that."
Harmony just laughed. "I reckon we should go back down, before Mum comes and finds us."
"Sure," Sirius said happily. He followed Harmony down the stairs and smiled a little when she took his warm hand in hers, before they went into the busy kitchen.
Harmony's grandparents soon arrived. They came in the living room and Harmony jumped up with a cry of, "Nonna! Nonno!"
Harmony's Nonna was the perfect image of a grandmother; a little extra meat on her bones, flowery cartigans, curly, short white hair, kind eyes, laugh lines, and a soft voice. "How are you, love? Oh, I've missed you."
"I'm great!" Harmony beamed, turning to her grandfather. He was tall, thin, with a long nose but gentle eyes and a little twinkle in them. He was very quiet, but his wife made up for it. "How're you doing, Nonno?"
"Good, good, bella." He said quietly.
"This is Sirius." Harmony slipped her fingers through his, to show exactly what Sirius was to her.
Harmony's Nonna didn't pause for one second. She dove right in for a warm hug, and Sirius noticed she smelled like cinnamon snap cookies. Sirius turned and shook Harmony's grandfather's hand with a smile on his face.
Then, Charlotte came bounding in the living room and practically knocked over her Nonna then Nonno.
They all dawdled in the living room for quite a few minutes before the ladies went off into the kitchen, no matter how sexist that sounded, and the men settled down to watch the television.
"Have fun," Harmony grinned, gesturing to the males.
Sirius quickly kissed her on the cheek and smiled a little.
Harmony went off in the kitchen to find Charlotte picking the cucumbers out of the salad when her mum turned her back. Harmony snuck over and pinched Charlotte's little bubble bum, making Char scream and her mum turn around.
Caught red handed with one hand deep in the salad bowl, Charlotte did what she always did: started to giggle uncontrollably.
"Char, why don't you go sit out there with Dad?" Her mum said tiredly, half-laughing.
Charlotte ran out of the room still laughing, her long bouncy curls floating behind her.
"Nonna," Harmony laughed. "why don't you ever use magic to cut those?" After all, her Nonna was were Harmony and her siblings' magical abilities came from. Then her Nonna married her grandfather, a muggle, and had all muggle children.
"I like cooking like a muggle." Her Nonna scooped up all the peppers she had cut and sprinkled them in the salad. "When you're as old as I am, my dear, some things become more enjoyable without magic. I only really use it for simple tasks that I can't do anymore, like cleaning the chandelier."
Harmony couldn't fathom life without magic. Or only a limited amount. The first thing she had done that morning, in fact, was use her wand to put pants on because she was that lazy in the morning. "Well, I'll use magic then."
With the help of Harmony's wand, dinner was ready soon after, and everyone had gathered around the table, the food steaming temptingly in the middle.
Heaps of delicious homemade cooking was put on all plates, and the conversation started. "Sirius, what do you plan on doing after graduating?"
Sirius finished chewing. "I want to be an auror."
"What's that again?" Mrs Sea's muggle knowledge didn't know the term.
"A dark wizard catcher, pretty much. I'd work for the Ministry."
"Isn't that what you mentioned you wanted to do, Harmony?" Mrs Sea asked, cutting her chicken.
"I'm thinking about it, yeah." Harmony had wanted to be an auror quite badly, but the realization that she'd be hunting her own brother shot a neat hole in the side of that dream.
"You do know how dangerous that is, don't you?" Her Nonna asked, putting down her fork and looking slightly terrified.
"Don't fret, Nonna. They only let you in if you have good marks and will be talented enough to stay safe, which incidentally, I think we both qualify for." Harmony told her, taking a bite of pasta.
"How's school, Harmony?" Her Nonna asked, trying to get her mind off such disturbing news. "How're your marks really?"
"Good enough." Harmony laughed politely. Somehow, with the help of some divine force, she'd managed to uphold her goal for marks between all the shit that had happened and spending ninety-five percent of her time with Sirius. The unconscious hours included in that percentage.
"Well that's good."
Small talk continued all throughout dinner, as did Harmony's hand resting in Sirius'. Even if he ate left-handed the entire meal.
Finally, the dishes started to clear. Sirius allowed himself a little breathing room. That wasn't so bad. Slightly terrifying, but not that bad.
Harmony was having a hard time containing herself because he looked too flawless in his shirt. "Sirius, would you grab that last plate for me?" She asked, slipping out between the chairs of the table, all too aware of how her hips slid on his arm.
He almost fell out of the chair at the opportunity. "Sure!"
The adults were to immersed in their own debate about one thing or another to really notice. Harmony plopped the plates on the counter and turned to face Sirius. She grabbed the front of his shirt and kissed him for a long moment, before her mother was heard coming into the kitchen.
Sirius pulled back hurriedly and placed the closest object in the sink. Harmony smirked; it was a jar of pickles (Charlotte needed every meal to include pickles).
"Washing a pickle jar?" She whispered, her heart still pounding from kissing him. It was funny because they had been together for around four months yet she still couldn't control the shaking, blushing, heart-pounding, stumbling or even stomach lurching/butterflies whenever they kissed. Was that normal?
Sirius hastily pulled the jar out of the sink and pretended to busy himself in arranging the plates waiting to be freed of her Nonna's cooking.
"What're you two doing this evening?" Mrs Sea asked, putting away things on the counter into to the refrigerator.
Harmony leaned back against the counter and lazily waved her wand around, cleaning up the kitchen efficiently. "I haven't the foggiest. Sirius?"
Sirius shrugged. "You should decide this time."
Harmony thought for a moment. "Let's watch a film."
Sirius smiled. "Brilliant." He said mildly.
"Harmony, would you mind finishing up in here?" her mother asked, carrying a tray of chopped fruit out to the table.
"Not a problem." Harmony gestured for her mum to go ahead.
Just then Charlotte came bounding in the kitchen. "Harmony! May I please have some of that icecream?"
"Sirius'll get it." Harmony said quickly. This is what a big Italian meal did to her; now all she wanted to do was lay on the ground and sleep for a couple years.
Charlotte turned to Sirius with a big smile. "Please?"
He looked at her and caved. "Fine! But only if I get some."
Charlotte thought hard for a moment, her little eyebrows furrowing together. "Deal."
And that is why Harmony sprinted up the staircase to get her handy camera: because the sight of Sirius and little Charlotte sitting at the kitchen table with a massive bowl of icecream between them, two different spoons scooping the dessert into two different mouths, all the while giggling away, was almost too much cuteness for Harmony to bear.
Later, as Harmony lay half-awake on the carpeted floor with Sirius wrapped around her like a blanket, she'd felt so happy that nothing could take her down from the clouds. The movie was playing quietly in the background, but neither were paying attention. The only light coming from the room was the flickering screen, and so Sirius' face flashed in and out of view.
"Can't we just stay here because I don't even know if I can make it up the stairs?" Harmony whispered.
"We don't even have pyjamas on, Harmful."
"Fuck pyjamas." Harmony muttered, burying her face in Sirius' plaid shirt.
"I'll make you a deal." Sirius whispered through the silence of the sleeping house.
"Mm?" Harmony breathed in Sirius' scent.
"If you come up the stairs then you can sleep in my bed."
"Done deal." Harmony muttered, still not moving. "And we'll sleep in our clothes because 1, my parents won't think that we were shagging or doing indecent things which we actually weren't-slash-aren't, and 2, I don't have enough energy to change."
There was a pause. "So are we going to move or...?"
"Right now?" Harmony groaned.
"I reckon."
"But it's so comfy," Harmony whined.
"It'll be more comfy on a mattress." Sirius countered.
"Fine." Harmony pushed herself up and dizzily stood. She went over and shut the movie off. It got really dark.
"Sirius?" She asked, slightly more awake.
"Right here." He said, reaching for her.
She leaned against him as they went up the stairs quietly.
"Why am I this tired?" Harmony yawned, climbing into the bed.
"Probably because we stayed up half the night snogging yesterday." Sirius said, burrowing in under the covers next to her. He turned and faced Harmony.
"That's most likely a contributing factor." Harmony nodded, grinning with her eyes closed.
"Do I at least get a goodnight kiss?" Sirius whispered, slipping his arm under the covers to rest across her tummy.
"Not a firework show like yesterday."
"That's fine." Sirius replied and she could feel the smile on his face.
Harmony leaned up to him and pressed her lips against his soft ones. "Goodnight." But then, party because she felt bad for the cheap kiss and because he was pretty cute, she leaned up for the second time and moved her lips on his a little this time.
Sirius trailed a line of pecks from her lips, down her jaw, down her neck, and across her collarbones. "Goodnight," she could hear him grinning because he could probably hear and feel her heart pounding.
This kid, she thought as Harmony curled in a ball and nestled herself in Sirius' open and waiting arms.
Just before Harmony slipped out of consciousness, she felt Sirius' soft and familiar fingers intertwine themselves in hers.
A/N Hello again. You guys are flawless. I'm in love with a pair of Abercrombie and Finch jeans I got today. I need caffeine (Harmony and I think alike). I MADE A GIFBOOM PAGE FOR YOU AND SPENT THREE HOURS ON MAKING A TRAILER FOR THIS STORY. So here's the deal: I strongly strongly suggest you download the app 'Gifboom' if you don't already have it, and (you don't need to sign up to view a user's profile). My user is alwayscandlelit, so just search that under the user's category. LISTEN. TO. THE. MUSIC. WHILE. WATCHING. THE. TRAILER.
Feel free to ask me shiz about the story and such by gifboom, reviews, or messaging! Thanks, lovely people.
ALSO I'M SO SORRY IF THE SPACING IS WEIRD IN THIS CHAPTER THERE WAS GLITCHES AND TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES