Aftermath

A/N: Hello there! Thank you for those last reviews! Keep them coming! Again, I wanted to wait a little bit more to post this chapter, but I couldn't help myself, and here it is. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: Nope, don't own anything. Only the plot.

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The dust particles hanging about in the air seemed to stay still for a seconds, after he had spoken. Harry was there, as still as a statue, with his eyes wide open. Lupin was behind him-

Sirius didn't see it coming; he just felt the explosion of sharp pain in his lip and felt his head snap back. He stumbled and fell to the floor in a heap, still wondering what had just happened; he could taste the metallic taste of blood on his mouth... He touched his mouth with his fingers and almost hissed at the sight of blood on them; it took only that to register what had happened: Harry had just decked him. Harry Potter, his godson, had just punched him.

Sirius looked up at Harry, feeling between enraged and sorry...

... And he found himself completely speechless. Harry was breathing heavily, gritting his teeth, his hands turned into fists. He seemed to be taller inside that small bedroom, towering over him; a tidal wave of unspoken magical power nearly made Sirius back away from him. Harry's features had hardened; his lips in a straight line; pale as a ghost, glaring down at him... It now deemed how obvious it was that Harry was no longer that mistreated, underfed kid he had been at fifteen; it made one remember that he had seen horrors nobody should have even hear of, it made one remember that Harry had survived two killing curses and had defeated Voldemort...

That was Sirius realized that he was genuinely scared.

He didn't dare to move; Harry kept him immobilized with just that piercing stare. Another wave of that primal force swept over Sirius, making goose bumps erupt all over his skin, and sent his heart into what seemed to be a bypass. Sirius opened his mouth and, behind them, the window panels shattered into millions of tiny brilliant shards... Sirius was terrified.

"Harry!" Someone screamed from millions miles away, or so it seemed; Harry blinked and the tidal wave stopped just as quickly as it had started. Lupin had moved forwards, shielding Sirius. "What are you going to do, kill him?" He exclaimed. Behind Lupin, Sirius stood up on wobbly legs. He was just glad that his godson had decided to blow the window panes up, and not him. Harry pushed Lupin out of the way and advanced towards Sirius, fire blazing in his green eyes.

"You- You-" His breathing was constricted, cornering Sirius against the wall.

"Harry, please-" Sirius croaked, trying to stand his ground; Harry needed to know how it had happened- the reasons why-

"YOU SICK- YOU TWISTED FUCK!" Harry bellowed, grabbing him by the collar of his shirt. "SHE WAS FIFTEEN!"

"Harry, let him speak!" Lupin urged, trying to pry Harry's hand off Sirius, but he didn't bulge.

"Don't you try to cover up for him, Lupin!" Harry stated, turning his head to glare at him.

"He's right, Remus," Sirius managed to say, grabbing Harry's hands to push him away. Lupin raised his eyebrows at his, shocked. "This is something I must handle." He explained, turning to gaze at his godson again, wiping the blood off his lip with his sleeve. He had seen Harry like this before, in the Shrieking Shack- He knew how to handle this.

"Did you take advantage of her?" Harry spluttered, this time turning red.

"What?" Sirius asked in disbelief, and all of his plans on how to handle Harry ebbed away.

"DID YOU FUCK HER?!" Harry hollered. Now it was Sirius's time to turn to a nice and not-so-healthy shade of red.

"OF COURSE NOT! WOULD YOU STOP SCREAMING AND LISTEN TO ME?!" Sirius shouted, stepping nearer to Harry, who did not move. Lupin stared back and forth at them, afraid that one of them would take their wands out to do something they'd regret afterwards; wondering when was the right moment to intervene and, in the worst case scenario, Stupefy one of them.

"I DON'T WANT TO HEAR ANYTHING YOU HAVE TO SAY!" Harry howled. "GET OUT OF HERE- GET THE HELL OUT OF HERE!" He added, pointing to his bedroom door. Sirius frowned.

"Fine then. Suit yourself," he spat, striding over to the door and opening it. He turned towards Lupin, who had his wand out. "Let's go," he barked.

"But-" They couldn't just leave things like this- What about Hermione? What about the potion?

"If he doesn't want to know, I'm not going to tell him. He can wallow in his fucking self pity," Sirius fiercely retorted, stepping outside the room. Lupin glanced at Harry, who was glaring at the spot where Sirius had stood, and slowly made his way to the door. When he was about to leave the room, he turned to look at Harry.

"I understand why you're angry- I'd be furious if it was me, Harry," Lupin started. "But there are more important things to deal with now. Think about Hermione."

That said, and with a sigh, Lupin closed the door behind him.

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Everyone was, by now, hysterical. Ron, Harry and Tonks had mobilized the entire (now disbanded) Order of the Phoenix; Molly and Lupin checked St. Mungos everyday; the Daily Prophet and Witch Weekly had had a field day with the headline "Sirius Black... Missing?" Yes, apparently the famous godfather of the even more famous Harry Potter had ran away from the home he shared with his godson, and no one had been able to find him so far. They had checked every single shop/hotel/bar in Diagon Alley and Hogsmeade, and still there wasn't a sign of Sirius anywhere.

Currently, a very disconcerted Remus Lupin emerged from the Hog's Head, hastily blending with the crowd in hopes of avoiding the media that pestered them so thoroughly these days. Where could Sirius be, really? How could Padfoot be so inconsiderate to just run away from the house without any kind of warning? In all honestly, Sirius had done such thing many times before, but he always showed up two days, three the latest, after the escapade. It had been two weeks now since that fight with Harry.

As Lupin skilfully dodged The Three Broomsticks, his eyes went to the outskirts of Hogsmeade. Sirius had to be in a place where he knew they would not look in; some place really secret- The Shrieking Shack, though it did not fit to Lupin's assumption of 'somewhere real secret' had already been registered. So many places where he could be- The fact that he could transform into a dog did not help, either.

But wait-

Lupin stopped dead in his tracks as he remembered- The cave. The small cave in which Sirius used to hide back in Harry's fourth year! The cave that Dumbledore had discovered... Lupin nearly begun running towards that hill that overlooked the little town, amazed by his sudden discovery. He left the houses and the shops behind, in search for the blasted cave, and finally found it a little bit further away of what he had thought it was. He had to bend over to pass through the entrance and found himself plunging into a comfortable darkness. He started walking, after getting his eyes accustomed to it, and his acute werewolf nose sensed a whiff of alcohol in the air- He frowned at this, sniffing as he moved, and soon enough his search came to fruition.

"Padfoot?" He asked loudly, and his friend looked up at him slowly, with his gaze unfocused. There were bottles all around him, and some leftovers of food. Sirius was slouched against the wall of the cave, very clearly drunk. "Sirius, what in the name of-"

"Remus, my old 'riend!" Sirius slurred, smiling lazily. "Wha' brings you t'my humble abode?" He asked, giggling at his own question. Lupin screwed up his nose at this.

"What are you doing hiding here?" He questioned, peering down at him. "Why did you run away?"

" 'Cos my godson hates me," Sirius hiccupped. "No matter, Moony, no matter," he added, smiling again as he lifted a nearly empty firewhisky bottle. Lupin's frown intensified and grabbed the bottle, wrestling it out of Sirius's grip. "Hey, thaz mine! Give it back!"

"First of all, Harry doesn't hate you," Lupin said, throwing the bottle to a corner, where it smashed. "He's willing to talk to you, at least."

"He hates me now!" Sirius exclaimed, touching his lip as though trying to get his point across.

"No, he doesn't," Lupin repeated. "Come on, let's get you back-" He said. Sirius stared at him for a couple of seconds and then attempted to stand up straight, but ended up falling heavily against Lupin, who sighed and put an arm around Sirius's waist; Sirius put his arm around Lupin's shoulder, but didn't move.

"Y'know, Moony," Sirius started, as Lupin started to drag him forwards, "I zink I had a dream last night."

"Oh, did you?" Lupin said, struggling against Sirius's weight.

"It looked just like one, but I'm not sure..." Sirius trailed off, heaving dangerously. Lupin resisted the need to rub the bridge of his nose as they walked through the short tunnel leading to the entrance of the cave, slightly disgusted with the rancid alcohol smell coming from Sirius.

"What was it about?" Lupin asked, attempting to keep Sirius awake; he didn't fancy carrying him unconscious all the way to a safe apparition point.

"Hermo- Mio-" Hermione's name seemed to be a tad too complicated to be said when one was drunk, so Sirius settled with a "Well, y'know. Her." Lupin let out a small exclamation of triumph when they stepped out of the cave into the clean, wonderfully fresh air, while Sirius hissed and covered his eyes as if he was a vampire.

"We're nearly there, Padfoot. So it was about Hermione. And then?" Lupin asked, nearly panting under Sirius's almost dead weight.

"Well, ev'rything was dark, and I couldn't hear nothing," Sirius started, looking thoughtful. "Reminded me of ze Veil, y'see... I was just floatin' 'round... Minding me own business..." Sirius continued in a slur, cursing under his breath as he tripped with a small rock in the pathway, "Then she appeared! Her hair was all floaty-"

"Floaty?" Lupin interrupted, trying to keep both their balances as they walked downhill. To his immense relief, the town was near.

"Yeh... Like we were underwater or somethin'... Well, she smiled and started touchin' my face like she was goin' to cry 'cause she was so 'appy-" Sirius's eyes looked dreamy, delighted, as he remembered this part. "And I said, I said to her- 'What's wrong?' and she told me 'you're 'ere, you're 'ere-"

"You're here, you mean?" Lupin asked; it had always annoyed him trying to decipher what drunken people were saying. They finally reached a deserted little alley, near Madame Puddifoot's.

"Tha's right," Sirius said with a grin, ducking his head. "But then as I was 'bout to hug her, can you believe it, Moony, she was pulled backwards! Like somethin' had grabbed her feet and pulled her 'way from me-" He growled. "And she stretched her arms like she wanted to hold on to me, but I couldn' reach her... And when I looked at 'er face, 'efore she disappeared, she was dead..." Sirius finished, and his voice died down as he hiccupped again.

"That's terrible," Lupin said, leaning against the nearest brick wall, regaining his breath. "How did you know she was...?"

"'Er eyes were wide open, and 'er mouth too," Sirius whispered, closing his eyes and leaning unto Lupin again.

"Okay, we'll apparate now. Hold my arm tightly," Lupin said, knowing that his friend was about to pass out.

"'S alright, Moony..." Sirius replied, gripping Lupin's arm. "I better get paid for this," was the only thought that ran through Lupin's mind as he closed his eyes and focused on getting them both to Grimmauld Place's living room.

The following day, his head felt like someone had ran over it repeatedly. Everything was blurry, his throat was dry, and he felt slightly nauseous. In fact, he remembered how many firewhisky he had drank and his stomach turned over most unpleasantly. He vaguely recalled Lupin taking him out of that cave and into Hogsmeade... Then Sirius had passed out, for he couldn't remember anything more. As he sat up in his bed and his head throbbed, he also remembered why he had escaped into that cave.

Harry had called him a twisted fuck... He knew about the affair... What would Sirius tell him? Would Harry call Hermione a pervert too, if he knew that she had been the one who started it?

At these questions his head seemed to protest, so he stood up and waltzed towards his bedroom door, wondering what time it was. The hallways were quiet... Sirius reached the stairs and tightly grabbed the rail, not completely trusting his legs, and slowly he descended the steps. When he reached the ground floor, his head was about to split in two, and not to mention his stomach. He was never going to drink again. When he finally entered the kitchen, it was empty. Without even daring to think of anything food related, Sirius went over the table and heavily sat on one of the chairs, crossing his arms on the wooden surface to rest his head there.

"About time," a familiar voice said, making Sirius snap his head upwards. He had to slightly narrow his eyes to focus the person in front of him, and almost threw up when he distinguished Harry standing in front of him. He wasn't ready to deal with this yet; couldn't he work out the hangover he was suffering of first?

"What time is it?" Sirius asked groggily. Harry shook his head as he sat down opposite to him.

"Nearly two in the afternoon."

"Oh."

An awkward silence fell over them, and none of them spoke for a while. How to start? Where to finish?

"Harry," Sirius finally gave in, "Look... I'm sorry. I should've told you earlier about it," he said.

"In fact, I found myself very tempted to Obliviate myself," Harry retorted, and then he sighed. "I'm sorry I hit you. I was already upset, so I guess I overreacted."

"Can't say I blame you," Sirius honestly told him. "You know, Harry... I never... I never intended things to get so out of hand."

"So you used her, then?" Harry asked, frowning. Sirius quickly shook his head at this, fearing another row.

"No, no of course not- That's not what I meant-"

"Did you fancy her?"

Sirius breathed in deeply at this, and nodded slowly.

"I did. Very much..." He would have liked to say 'I fell in love with her' but it felt like it was too much, and too soon, to admit something like that. Maybe someday, he could tell his godson what his true feelings were.

"Was she happy?" Harry questioned.

"Yes," Sirius responded barely above a whisper. Harry looked away and nodded at his answer, his face impassive. Another long silence enveloped them.

"Lupin finished the book," Harry broke the silence, still avoiding Sirius's eyes.

"Oh?"

"We found out why you look younger," Harry commented. "But you were busy hiding and getting pissed in that cave, so we couldn't tell you," he added. Sirius swallowed at the jibe.

"I deserved that," he muttered, looking down.

"Four of your birthdays went by while you were inside the Veil," Harry said, ignoring Sirius's last comment. "When you fell you were thirty six, but now you are thirty two. Apparently, the longer you are inside, the younger you become, until you eventually disappear," he explained. Sirius raised his eyebrows at this new information. He was thirty two again?

"So if we bring... Hermione back, she'll be nineteen?" Sirius wanted to know.

"Yeah."

"But- But we will bring her back, won't we?" Sirius hesitantly asked. He remembered what Draco had said all those days ago, and wondered if anyone had told his godson about it.

"I can't see why not," Harry finally said, visibly tense. "Despite all the things she did," he continued, his voice quivering for a second, "We can't just sit by idly if we have a chance of bringing her back." Sirius agreed with his head.

"I'm sorry," Sirius suddenly said. Harry shrugged.

"Hermione chose you over me- There's little I can do about that." Harry replied bitterly, but not angrily. Sirius sighed.

"Will you forgive her? Could you ever forgive... Us?" He asked, bracing himself for a particularly nasty hex. Harry gazed at him and bored his eyes into Sirius's, his brow lightly furrowed.

"I still think you're a sick bastard," Harry started calmly. "But if she was happy, and you could make her happy –apparently, I couldn't- then I may forgive you two someday."

Sirius grinned at this response, finally able to breathe normally. Sure, he would've preferred Harry to tell him that he had already forgiven him (and her); but given the situation at hand, he honestly could not have hoped for a better answer coming from his godson.

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A/N: Well, there it is- Hoped you liked it! I certainly did, especially the two Harry- Sirius moments... If you feel like reviewing, that would be lovely! –more than lovely, actually- Feedback is most appreciated.