Chapter 9
"And that's all he said?" Sirius asked, as they stepped out of the fireplace back into their sitting room.
"That's all he said" Remus confirmed, brushing the stray ashes off his jacket.
Hearing voices from the kitchen, Sirius glanced down at his watch.
11am.
They had only been gone for 2 hours or so.
And he smelt food.
Walking through the hall and down the stairs to the source of the delicious aroma, he found Alex bent over a frying pan on the hob, poking and prodding at something that smelt divine, and his godson sitting at the kitchen table, staring at him with hunger in his eyes.
It also appeared that he had walked straight into the middle of an argument.
"-better scrambled! How could you even say that?!" Harry exclaimed.
"Simple. I just open my mouth, and the words come out" Alex shot back.
Sirius was aware of Remus silently walking up next to him.
Harry glared at the teen, "No. You're wrong. Scrambled are just disgusting! Fried eggs are so much better!"
And without turning around, Alex threw a towel at him, hitting him square in the face, "If you don't shut up, I'll fry you!"
Remus sighed, "Well… I guess I should be glad that you're bickering like an old married couple, and not burning down the house down when left unsupervised".
Harry jumped a mile in the air, and spun around to face us, his wand half drawn before he realised who it was.
Alex, on the other hand, didn't even blink, instead just simply said, "And that's why you're more likely to die than I am".
He turned back around to face him, and glared at the blonde, "Oh, don't you dare start this up again, or I'll-"
"Remus, Sirius, please, have a seat" Alex smoothly interrupted, "I made breakfast… Or, in your case, lunch".
Grinning, Sirius happily ran over to the table and sat down, ecstatic to get free food, while Remus gave a disapproving frown, "Alex, you know you didn't have to cook. Or at the very least, Harry should have helped".
"Hey, don't look at me like that!" Potter protested, "The second I suggested fried eggs, he Locomotor Mortised me in this chair!"
Alex sighed, and turned around, snapping his fingers, "There, it's gone, happy?"
He gingerly stretched his sore legs, "Very… About those eggs, though…"
A half hour later, and they all sat at the kitchen, happily patting their full stomachs.
"Man, I don't know about you guys, but that breakfast might even surpass Remus's cooking" Harry said contently, and Sirius nodded, "There's definitely some competition there, alright. We'll just have to see who makes the best desert to cast the final decision".
Both men raised an eyebrow at them.
Sirius coughed uncomfortably, trying and failing to avoid the glare his husband was sending him, "Yea. So. Ah… Do you two see the paper today?"
Remus kicked him underneath the table.
Harry swallowed, "Ah, yea… Yea, we saw it this morning".
"Right… Any ideas how that bitch got your photos?"
"SIRIUS!" Remus scolded loudly, but the elder paid him no attention, "I mean, you already told us what actually happened at the Leaky Cauldron, but Skeeter's turn of events makes it sound like a Light versus Dark showdown. I almost expected her to throw in a few unicorns from the Forbidden Forest at the end".
Alex frowned, "Wait, unicorns actually exist?"
Harry shuddered, "Yea, don't remind me".
The blonde gave him a weird look and he sighed.
"... I saw Voldemort drinking from one in my 1st year at Hogwarts".
"... Like a vampire?"
Harry nodded, "Yea. Like a vampire... Only a hell of a lot creepier".
"On a brighter note" Sirius announced, "You two are going to be hounded by reporters and paparazzi for the next few days".
"That's the brighter note?" Harry asked incredulously, and he sighed, "Well, it's brighter than dead unicorns anyway".
"I was talking to Headmaster Dumbledore" Remus interrupted, not wanting the two to start bickering again.
"And?" Harry asked.
The wolf watched the blonde carefully for his reaction, "And he said that Alex has had his fair share of fame thrown at him".
The youngest wizard immediately tensed.
"Oh yea?" Sirius teased, "So what's the deal? Are you a famous celebrity in America or Australia or somewhere?"
"... No" He replied tightly, "I'm not that type of famous".
Black stared at him sombrely, "... Alex, I'm about to ask you a very serious question and I want you to answer truthfully, okay?"
He frowned, uncomfortably shifting in his seat, "Okay..."
Sirius took a deep breath, "... Are you a mob boss?"
Harry burst out laughing, and Remus couldn't hold back a small, albeit nervous, smile.
The blonde shook his head, smirking, "No, Sirius, I'm not a mob boss".
"But you are famous for the wrong reasons, yea?"
Alex didn't answer.
"I'll take that as a yes, then" He said, "Okay. So. You're infamous. But why?"
The younger wizard tensed up even further, and Remus frowned.
It was obvious that Alex didn't want to be questioned, even more so than he didn't want to answer the questions. And if they pushed him too far... they might not get him back.
Remus turned to face his husband, and kicked him lightly under the table, shooting the man a dark look when he glanced over at him questioningly.
Thankfully, for all the fun and games that Sirius played, he knew when it was time to sober up.
Harry, however, occasionally had rather... dim... moments.
"Well?" He pressed, "What did you do?"
"I..." Alex trailed off, clearly not wanting to answer but not wanting to leave Harry hanging either.
"I... I'm..." He stopped, swallowing thickly, and his eyes dropped to his plate of scrambled eggs.
Remus sighed, "... It's nothing to be ashamed of, Alex".
He snapped his gaze back up to his warm brown eyes.
"... You don't know everything I've done".
"I know enough" He replied honestly, and he slowly nodded, "You also know how different people treat you after finding out your darkest secret".
"I do. But whereas mine is something to be ashamed of, yours should be congratulated... Yet you still don't want people to know?" He asked confused.
"As I said. They treat you differently... Take Potter, for example. He's done as much for England as I have. He's famous amongst you wizards... Yet what is the single thing he wanted the most during his school years?"
Harry smirked ironically, "Not to be famous".
"Exactly. Are his achievements something to be ashamed of?"
Remus frowned, "Of course not. What Harry did was... Remarkable".
"And yet he still wished to be invisible once people heard of the good he did..." Alex continued, "My situation is much the same".
"And yet if you were not so young, every household in the world would know your name, both muggles and wizards alike".
"Maybe..." He agreed, "But I am young. And there's not a family in the world who does know my name... And that's precisely the way I want it to stay" And then, as an afterthought, "Not the young part though. That can change. Being underaged causes many alcohol... legality issues, as such".
Sirius smirked, "Young, good looking, sharp tongued, and loves to drink... You know what, Harry? I think I'm going to like your new friend very much".