Chapter Forty-Five

Hospital Wing, Hogwarts, Scotland, 10 January, 1991

"…my name is Sirius Black," the man said, "and I know both of you." He silently threw up a silencing charm so that Madam Pomfrey wouldn't intrude.

"Who are you, a reporter?" Henry asked sharply, his voice going arrogant and cold.

"No," the man said slowly, as though he were speaking to a very small, very stupid child. "I am an old acquaintance of both your families."

"Yeah, well so is every other witch and wizard I've come across," Henry said dismissively. "And I'm smart enough to know no to talk to strangers who silence their conversations with hospitalized children. After all, you could be a dark wizard."

"Or witch," Adrian threw in helpfully, trying to ignore the fact that a few seconds before this strange Sirius had appeared, he'd been sobbing. Seeing Henry's annoyed glare, he said, "These are strange times, Henry! You just never know, you know."

Sirius, Adrian noticed, had a strange expression on his face, somewhere between amusement, nostalgia, and immense pain.

"Honestly, Adrian! He's obviously not a witch!" Henry said loudly.

Adrian shrugged and smiled, though he immediately ran through every possible disguise or enchantment he could think of. He kept coming back to the Polyjuice Potion his brother had finished over holidays.

Draco had been very excited when he finished it, but it vanished shortly after it was completed. His brother had been in some kind of shock afterwards, and had stayed up in his room until they returned to school.

Which was odd behavior, even for a Malfoy.

Adrian shook his head and examined this Sirius more closely. He was tall: very tall, as a matter of fact, probably standing close to six and a half feet, and lean muscle covered his lanky frame. He wore dark Muggle jeans, a white undershirt, and a black dragonhide jacket and boots, where he probably had his wand hidden and ready. His long dark hair was tied back at the nape of his neck, though a few strands hung around his sharply-angled face and in his blue-gray eyes.

His very familiar eyes…

"Are you related to my mum?" Adrian asked suddenly.

Sirius looked a bit startled. "Ye-yes, we're cousins. Why?"

"You… you look like her, a little," Adrian said, eyes darting to his blankets. He held out his hand suddenly, and Sirius shook it firmly. Henry followed suit, and the friends began to warm up to the strange… Sirius.

"Yes, we were close when we were children," Sirius said. "She and Andromeda were my favorite cousins. How are they"

Adrian shrugged. "Well, Mum? She's great, but, I don't really know much about Andromeda. Even though she's my godmother, I've never met her."

"Andy's your godmother, not Bellatrix?" Sirius asked, relief and surprise on his face.

"Are you mad?" Adrian snorted. Even Henry, who had heard numerous stories of Adrian and Draco's crazy aunt, had to shake his head. "You think my parents are idiots?! She'd kill me rather than risk actually caring for something alive! She drowned her own daughter right after she was born, because- and I quote Mum's quote- "the little demon had made her weak".

"I didn't know that," Sirius said quietly. "I knew she was in Azkaban, but I didn't know that." He looked slightly ill.

"Yeah, she's insane, alright," Adrian nodded. He didn't much like talking about the Lestrange's. Just the name made his blood boil, though he had no idea why.

Other than the fact that she was truly evil in nearly every way.

"So, Sirius, what are you doing in the hospital wing at Hogwarts?" Henry asked pleasantly. "You're obviously not an injured student."

Sirius laughed a deep booming bark that made him sound very much like an amused large dog. "Oh no, I'm not. I am going to be assisting Professors Lupin, Quirrell, and McGonagall for the rest of term."

"Why? They seem able to handle it," Henry said.

"Yes, they are very capable," Sirius said quickly. "I'm here to lend a hand is all."

"Ah," Adrian mused. "You're their lackey, eh?"

"I'm no one's lackey!" Sirius said indignantly, and Adrian and Henry merely quirked their brows in response. "I'm not!"

"You certainly sound like a lackey," Henry observed.

"The more you deny it, the more we know it to be true, Sirius," Adrian added, nodding at his friend in agreement.

Sirius stared at them, slightly bewildered. They were so like James, and they had no idea.

Well, obviously Henry did, but Adrian was just the same; smart-mouthed, laid back, and able to carry on and joke with his wand hidden and ready to hex someone at a moment's notice.

While he was thinking, his silence did not go unnoticed.

"Aw, Ade, I think we've taken the mickey out of him!" Henry said gleefully.

Adrian smirked. "Poor, poor Sirius."

"You two have not taken the mickey out of me!" Sirius said indignantly.

"Come now, Sirius, let's not be bitter," Adrian drawled, still smirking. "Just because two eleven-year olds-"

"I changed both of your diapers!" Sirius cried, smiling in triumph.

Adrian turned red and Henry squawked.

"Oh, yes, boys," Sirius gloated. "I have done the unthinkable and embarrassed you!"

"You did not!" Henry argued. "And you didn't change my diapers! You aren't related to me!"

"No, but I was your dad's best mate all through Hogwarts and the war," Sirius replied. He seemed to be enjoying himself now, and even stuck his tongue out at Henry impudently.

Adrian chuckled, but Henry looked genuinely confused. "Dad's never mentioned you."

"He wouldn't," Sirius said, shaking his head sadly. "We had a, ah, falling out about ten years ago, and I haven't spoken to him or your mum since."

"What was it about?" Henry asked curiously.

"Your parents did something that I strongly disagreed with," Sirius replied. "Something that I still disagree with, and it hurt me deeply, then and now."

"Well, I'm sure you could work it out," Adrian offered helpfully. "He seems really nice to me, and he's probably sorry."

Sirius smiled weakly at the boy. "There are some things, Adrian," he said delicately, resisting the urge to call the boy Harry, "that cannot be undone or forgiven, and there are words that can never be taken back."

Adrian nodded thoughtfully, brow furrowed.

"He gets that face when he's thinking too much in class," Henry whispered loudly to Sirius.

Adrian mock-scowled and threw a pillow at his friend, smiling slightly.

Sirius stood up to leave, having heard several voices coming in this direction, even through the silencing charm.

"So, we'll be seeing you around, right?" Henry asked.

Adrian remained silent, but the question shone in his eyes.

Sirius beamed at them. "Absolutely."

With that, he lifted the silencing charm and pulled the curtains open….

coming face-to-face with none other Lily and James Potter and Severus Snape.

'Damn and it was such a good day, too.'