Chapter Eight

"Merlin, it's nice to be home." Harry whispered to himself, walking inside of his bedroom. His godfather, trailing in after him, brought in his trunk. He hadn't realized how much he actually missed the cottage, it was strange. He wasn't very used to missing anything. He thought of his friends and decided he did miss them, too. He knew he'd be delighted when he saw them again, at the end of the holidays. As delighted he was to sleep in a room all to himself, in a bathroom he didn't have to share, to take a shower without someone else taking one, too, not very far away in a separate stall.

"Hated my mum, but it was always nice to be back in my room." Sirius said. "Actually sad to leave it behind when I left."

Harry glanced at him. "You left home early, didn't you?" He asked. Sirius nodded.

"I did. My mum and I didn't see eye to eye." He said.

"Draco told me you named me your heir." Harry sat down on his bed, the mattress sinking slightly to his weight.

Sirius set the trunk down at the edge of his bed. "How does he know?" He asked, then shook his head. "He's a Malfoy, of course he'll find a way to know everything." He muttered.

"It's true, then." Harry said.

"Yeah." Sirius nodded. "My mum didn't even want me to be heir, wanted it to be my brother. My dad, though…" He hesitated. "He and I had our differences, awful lot of them actually, but he wanted me to be his heir. In his own, weird, distant pureblood father way, he loved me. Didn't let my mum disown me and made sure I inherited everything when he died."

"How did he die?" Harry asked.

"Orion Black died a young age for a wizard, like most Black's. Bad luck, actually. Never seems to be from natural causes, always from some nasty accident." Sirius said, folding his arms. "Them and whoever they're married to, I swear. My dad died for my brother, though. It's a story."

Harry kicked his legs forward before dropping them back down, banging against the side of his bed. "Can I hear it?"

Sirius seemed to hesitate for a second, before nodding. He sat down next to Harry, his weight forcing the mattress down where he sat and up where Harry was.

"My brother was a Death Eater. Technically, he still is." Sirius began. "He tried to betray You-Know-Who years ago, but he got caught. His punishment should've been a very painful death. You-Know-Who, though, knew our dad. Pals at Hogwarts, the way I understand it, just dad never joined him. He decided to be merciful and went to our dad, telling him a bit what happened. Dad offered to take my brother's place, but You-Know-Who said he'd still have to take something away from my brother. He'd live, though. He killed our dad. My brother lived."

"Where's your brother now?" Harry asked. "What did the Dark Lord take away?"

"Regulus Black is handicapped and living at 12 Grimmauld Place, taken care of by the Black family House Elf, Kreacher." Sirius said. "I visit him, time to time. Mostly, he just mopes around and blames himself for our dad's death. Dad didn't have to die though, it was his own choice. I doubt he'd ever change what he did, too."

"The love of a parent." Harry said. He wondered if his parents would do the same for him.

"I've seen mother's sign themselves over for their children, father's slit their own throats and do simply unspeakable things so their child would live." Sirius said. "My dad died rather painlessly and my brother lost his ability to walk, the payment for joining You-know-Who and betraying him. No one else has ever lived after being revealed a traitor, not to the Dark Lord."

Harry rubbed his tongue over his teeth. "Voldemort." He said.

"Don't say his name." Sirius scolded. "It's a bringer of bad luck, alright?"

Harry nodded. "Yes, Sirius."

Harry peaked at the Daily Prophet over his dad's shoulder.

MAJOR BREAKTHROUGH IN HOGWARTS MURDER CASE

"What does it say?" He asked.

"The Hufflepuff girl that killed a bit ago was," James began, but then stopped. He shook his head. "Nothing for a child to know." He said.

Harry frowned, but nodded. He went to his seat and sat down. He decided then he missed Draco talking gossip, Crabbe and Goyle silently battling over food or over who's stronger. He decided to occupy his thoughts with the girl, wondering what had happened to her that his dad hadn't wanted to tell him.

He knew most things what could be done, that's considered bad. There was theft, but that wasn't very bad. Even little children knew what theft was, he had. Torture and murder, obviously, that had occurred to the unfortunate Hufflepuff. He'd partook in it against animals many times in his life, already, so it wasn't that.

"Was the girl raped?" Harry asked, stunned. He had to admit, he had never considered having sex with someone after killing them. He thought about it, for a second, but then sex itself didn't appeal to him yet. "Why would someone have sex with a dead body?" Wait, he was sure there was a term for that!

James coughed into his mug of coffee and Lily gaped.

"They didn't have sex with a dead body." James corrected. "She was, um, alive." He said.

"Oh." Harry blinked. "Oh! I remember the term. Necrophilia." He said. When his mum winced and his father sighed, he wished, again, that his friends were there. Crabbe and Goyle probably would've asked what it was, or if it was any fun, because they weren't paying enough attention to connect the term to the context. Draco maybe would be mock-disgusted, before asking a question or two.

"What made you think of having sex with a dead body?" Lily asked.

"It's just what I thought of." Harry said. "They killed her, didn't they? I had thought they'd kill her then have sex with her."

Lily sighed. "Sweetheart, most people don't like having sex with dead bodies." She said.

"Most people don't like killing people." Harry said.

"What do you think of sex?" James asked.

"Oh for Merlin's sake!" Lily yelped. "James!"

"I haven't hit puberty." Harry said, simply, feeling oddly embarrassed. He, for some reason, didn't like being asked what he thought of sex by his father. Strange, he'd have to consider why in the future. Right now, though, there was fruit and waffles to eat.

"So, sex isn't, or is…what, exactly, to you?" James tried again.

"Everything I read makes it seem clinical, like hand surgery." Harry said. "I'm assuming puberty will change that."

His parents did stare at him for a few moments in silence, until his mum changed the topic.

In the Wizarding World, religion was extremely diverse. Some families were still polytheistic, worshiping old gods long-forgotten by others. Others were Christian, or followed Judaism or Islam, like many muggles. There were also those who worshipped the Sun and Moon, or followed what was seen as ancient myth of an ancient civilization, or Magic itself. Commonly, however, for those who simply didn't have a strong religious preference or a holiday to celebrate in late December, they celebrated Christmas. It was a time of gift-giving and receiving, of family and friends and love, of bright decorations and pine trees.

Harry's own family celebrated Christmas due to his mother's Christianity herself. Fortunately for him, he didn't have to go to Midnight mass or deal with much things related to the Bible. It seemed she celebrated the holiday purely out of childhood nostalgia and the desire to have something to celebrate. His godfather's family had apparently been extremely diverse and he had experienced many holidays, as Black's had no qualms with converting into whatever religion they decided they liked. Remus' family had celebrated Saturnalia and his father's family celebrated whatever holiday they felt like that year.

"When you're older, I think I'll take you to Indonesia! You haven't lived until you experienced Mawlid." Sirius told him, a few days before Christmas.

"Might be a few years, I think he's still at Hogwarts during the day." James said.

Harry hadn't known was Mawlid was, but he just moved on without much care.

Christmas Eve arrived with as much flourish it did every year. Harry wrote letters to his friends wishing them well. Draco celebrated Saturnalia and Christmas, due to his parents' conflicting religions, and Crabbe and Goyle were both in the 'don't really care' sector and simply celebrated Christmas as a reason to celebrate something. His mother insisted on a large breakfast and his father didn't go to work, Sirius and Remus wasn't going to leave the cottage until Christmas ended, too, taking up the guest room's bunk bed.

"What do you say we go Christmas shopping?" Sirius suggested after breakfast.

"Sure." Harry agreed, helping his mum gather the dirty dishes.

"Early Christmas gift." Sirius said. "But limit at a thousand galleons, got it?"

"Please don't spend that much." Lily sighed. "He does have gifts coming tomorrow! If you go and buy everything he wants, good chance is he'll get what James and I have gotten him."

"I know what everyone's gotten him, don't worry." Sirius dismissed. "Come on, kid! Get dressed and we'll go to Diagon Alley."

Harry fiddled with an assortment of scalpels laid out across the top of his dresser before he changed out of his pajamas. He still remembered Mrs. Norris, but his worry over the incident had faded quickly. His parents didn't seem to suspect him, either, so he didn't bother to try to force himself to be anxious. He carved an 'H' onto the side of his dresser right after he'd slipped on his favorite pair of robes, ones he'd missed dearly. Pure black and two sizes too large, the sleeves went over his hands past the tips of his fingers, and it was very warm.

He and Sirius took the Floo into the Leaky Cauldron.

"'ello." Tom the Bartender greeted, looking tired. He was filing the glass of a half-asleep man, slumped over the counter.

Sirius waved merrily and took them straight into Diagon Alley.

Harry did enjoy shopping with Sirius immensely. His godfather never hesitated to splurge and always bought him whatever he wanted, regardless of what it was. Their first stop had been Flourish and Blotts Bookseller, where Harry selected the few books he didn't have on the Healing Arts, a book titled Beginner's Guide to Art on pure whim, and an assortment of others on his favorite topics. It wasn't like a muggle bookstore with a proper selection on the sciences and maths, but it did have a few books. It wasn't like Harry would get through them very quickly, anyways.

In another shop, Harry got packets of seeds to new plants. He had decided, after attending Herbology for some time, he was perfectly prepared to start handling magical plants. Sirius didn't hesitate to purchase what he needed to grow snargaluffs. He thought he'd give growing them a try, though according to his readings they could be quite vicious, it could be fun. He couldn't help but imagining successfully growing a large number and tossing them at unsuspecting people, who'd undoubtedly be shrieking and come out heavily injured.

He also bought some shiny little things that were sharp, useless junk that he liked when he saw them, and a few hats. Sirius chose him dragonskin gloves that had polar bear fur on the inside, which were extremely cozy and immediately Harry's favorite pair of gloves he owned. Sirius had to take the ones he was wearing previously, stuffing them in a random bag.

Then, something happened Harry didn't quite expect.

Sirius directed Harry into Knockturn Alley.

"Why are we here?" Harry asked.

His godfather looked down at him. "I know what you did to Mrs. Norris." He said. He seemed about to say something else, but pulled back. "Harry, don't think I'm upset with you, but I think you need to learn how to be careful and not leave behind any evidence."

"Do you think I killed the girl?" Harry asked, worry beginning to boil like water left too long on the stove. He knew it was easy to guess he'd killed Mrs. Norris, because it was true and he had a record of happily dissecting animals, but could someone truly assume he'd kill a human, too?

"I did." Sirius admitted. "Until they said the girl was raped. You're too young for that. I think. Right?"

"Dad asked me about sex my first morning back." Harry said. "I don't care about it."

"Yet." Sirius said. "Promise me that when you want to have it, you'll get your partner's consent."

"Okay." Harry agreed. Rape seemed very troublesome and boring. He'd prefer cutting into a girl through her vagina, or inserting a knife- or perhaps a blunt object with a tip that'd transform into spikes- through the opening. He wondered if puberty would change the way he thought about the matter so much, that he'd change his mind. Still, he supposed he wouldn't rape someone for Sirius' sake, regardless of how he might change.

"Anyways," Sirius said. "Kid, I want you to know I don't care what you choose to do. You could start killing people every other night, you're still my grandson. I don't want you sentenced to Azkaban or expelled from Hogwarts. And Knockturn Alley is the perfect place to get the things you need to learn how not to get caught."

He ushered Harry inside of a short, square building. The interior wasn't as bland as the exterior, but certainly as dark. Rows of shelves and dim oil lamps left little light to move through the air. When he breathed in, he felt like he was inhaling dust. He saw a good number of things sitting on the shelves, though mostly books and dirty jars.

"Hello! I'm Black, here for what I wrote for!" Sirius yelled.

A short, dirt-caked man appeared from behind a shelf. "Hello." The man returned, voice low and rough. "I apologize for my appearance. I'm cleaning out the basement." He said, walking closer to them.

"So, what I wanted?" Sirius asked.

The man grinned, revealing bright white, but extremely uneven, teeth. He reached over Harry's head and grabbed a thin, black book. "The Book of Blood." He said. "Two hundred galleons, Auror Black." He seemed delighted, grinning even wider when Sirius pulled out a large pouch and handed it over.

Shaking the pouch three times, the man nodded and held out the book.

"Go on, take it." Sirius told him.

Harry didn't hesitate, too curious.

The book had the same width as his pinkie, bound in black cloth. Harry assumed underneath the cloth was wood because after he knocked on the cover, out of curiosity, it felt like he was knocking on a thin wall.

"The Book of Blood was written centuries ago," The man said. "It's a short read, but very informative." He cackled.

"Thanks." Sirius said, now ushering Harry out of the shop quickly.

The moment they were outside again, the door shut behind them. Sirius took the book from Harry's hands and shoved it into one of the bags. "Don't let anyone see the book." Sirius said. "It was made illegal by the Ministry of Magic in the 18th century."

"Why?" Harry asked. "And if it's illegal, why did you get it for me?"

"It has a great number of painful spells, some supposedly invented for medical purposes, but are all Dark magic." Sirius said. "Removing skin or bones, the likes, and some spells to remove traces of magic and to keep people from hearing or seeing anything…Gruesome."

Harry blinked. "I thought I wasn't supposed to hurt people." He said.

Sirius sighed. "Harry, I love you, you're my godson, but don't expect me to believe you aren't going to one day. A cat is a cat, but it's still a form of murder." He said. "This book should help you not get caught, yeah? And, maybe, show you some things to do what you want, um, cleanly without getting yourself dirty." He looked a bit pale.

"It's okay." Harry said. He reached out and took his godfather's hand. He could tell this wasn't easy for his godfather to say, and perhaps even do, but he appreciated the gesture. He felt almost numb to the situation (as he seemed to for many things), though there was a strong strum of excitement at reading the book and happiness that his godfather would always be by him. He smiled. "Thank you, Sirius."

"No problem, kid." Sirius said. "Come on, let's take you home."

Harry had always hoped that he'd become normal, in some way. Dr. Bates encouraged the thought, telling him he could move past what he was (figuratively) cursed with. He'd never had a problem with being the way he simply was, but felt if he embraced it, he'd lose his family, the people he cared for. His mum, his dad, his godfather, Remus- frightened they'd abandon him if he never changed, if he continued with his thoughts or, worse yet, simply gave into them, bringing a blade to some unlucky soul's throat and digging it in a deep scratch, left to right.

It was freeing to realize Sirius wouldn't leave him. It gave him hope that maybe the rest of his family would stick to his side, too. If he never changed, if he gave in, either way. He couldn't guess how he'd change in the future, how could he? He'd been sure of things before, only for them not to work the way he had thought they would. The world wasn't predictable, nor was he, or any other person on the planet. The rest of his family could reject him, but he'd have Sirius.

The happiness that surged in him didn't dim for the rest of the day.

Okay, is it just me but the quality of my writing is going to the shit?

Lily is supposed to represent morals and ethics above love. Severus is her ally there, though he holds love above both he only loves her, so he chooses to follow what he must to support her. Sirius, without hesitance, is love above all else. He's aware of all what could happen, but he loves Harry, so he'll choose him. He also loves his friends. Who knows what he'd do if he had to choose between them? James is a father above all else, choosing Harry over Lily. Remus is aware, but he also chooses love above all else, though likely not to the same extent as Sirius.

Meanwhile, this chapter is 2.9k words. I feel like this is sorta like a Slow Burn story, but I also don't...Maybe just a normal-paced story? Not too quick, not very slow...? Idk anymore. I've got the feeling that this story is going to end up with like a hundred chapters.

The next 11 chapters are planned out. I can't see the plan for them changing much. Harry's first year will end with the tenth chapter, his summer holidays will stretch from the eleventh to nineteenth chapter. Also, SPOILER! The Dark Lord will be making an appearance in chapter 14. Something awfully bad is going to happen to a side character lmao.