His Boy
Chapter Thirty-Three: Waiting
"So as you can see we have been very busy tying up the odds and ends in the house that could pose any possible danger to young children." Remus stated, gesturing to the plastic white thing surrounding the knob on the front door. "Muggle contraptions with anti-underage tampering spells placed upon them, I think, should be sufficient."
"It all does seem to be in order." Ms. Giness stated, going over her clipboarded sheets of parchment. "However, there is still the most concerning matter at hand."
"And which one would that be?" Sirius asked, though they all knew what the answer would be.
It had taken four days of sending letters, knocking on office doors, and shouting to finally get the house re-inspected. Apparently, the Department for the Protection of Magical Children was always very busy. Situations where children needed to be removed from homes were much more important than placing children back into the homes they had come from.
"The werewolf situation of course. Now, Mister Lupin, it is perfectly legal and within your rights for you to reside in a home where there is a child present. But that child's safety must always be the first and foremost thing in everyone's minds."
"Well, of course we feel the same way about that." Remus replied, running a hand through his hand in a sign of stress. "We've decided I'll be doing my changing in the Shrieking Shack, in Hogsmeade, like I used to in my school days. Dumbledore has already reinforced it and it's even safer now than it used to be. I'll be there from an hour before sunset every full moon, until I change back."
"That sounds reasonable enough. Mr. Troit will be monitoring that, just for the first couple of months, making sue that you are indeed, using the Shrieking Shack."
"By all means." Sirius nodded.
"However, there is also the question of whether you two, as a pair of men, can properly raise a little boy to the best of your abilities. Because the child in question is currently in the custody of the Department for the Protection of Magical Children, your rights as a parent were automatically stripped, meaning that, legally, you are going to have to re-establish custody. We do this so that children who have been badly abused are not automatically returned to their families without further inquiry after the initial follow-up home visit after the child has been removed. There used to be cases where the home got fixed up and things looked good to go, and then two weeks later we've been called again to remove the child."
"So, we just have to fill out some more paperwork and have regular follow-up visits like we did with Tricia Lovegood, right?"
"Well, normally that would be the case but, word has gotten around about Harry Potter…" Ms. Giness heaved a sigh. "And another family has come forward with an interest in him."
"Who?" Sirius demanded, feeling anger rise in his soul. What sort of people would have the balls to take his little boy away from him?
"Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy."
"What!?" Remus burst out, looking completely appalled. "You've got to be kidding me!"
"They supported Voldemort and now they want Harry Potter?! I smell something fishy." Sirius glared. "No way in hell. I adopted Harry months ago and…"
"And your rights were stripped, as I've already explained. Now, I'm going to be honest with you here, Mr. Black. The Malfoys have money."
"I have money!"
"Yes, but the Malfoys also have a stable family unit. Mother, father, they even have a son the same age as Harry. It would be a lovely home for him. And there has never been any solid proof that the Malfoys ever supported You-Know-Who, that is a very serious accusation, Mr. Black."
"We have a stable family unit here! Just because we're a little off-kilter of normal, we suddenly lose the best bet for getting Harry back?" Sirius asked, so very angry he could feel his hand shaking as he balled them up into fists, knowing that he had to do his best to refrain from punching things or it would just be used against his case. "I've known Harry since the day he was born, and just because I was unable to take care of him for three years, means nothing. He has been in our lives for the past six, nearly seven, months! He needs us. We are his family. And we're better than the Malfoys! We know Harry! And he knows us. I'm that kid's dad now. Remus is like a second father to him and Lexie is as close to his mother as he's ever going to get. And he's going to be a big brother and two of his best friends live right across the hill there. You're willing to rip a little boy away from what he's known to be a happy place, the first family he's really going to be able to remember? All because some asshole wants to take possession of him for his own selfish purposes!?"
"Yelling at me isn't going to help you, Mr. Black. In the end, the Department for the Protection of Magical Children will decide upon what is best for the child in question. And that is final. You will be hearing from me shortly." Ms. Giness stated firmly. She tipped her hat and left, apparating once she got to the front stoop.
"Fucking Ministry! Those bastards!" Sirius shouted at the top of his lungs, his hands tearing at his hair in pure frustration. "How can they even consider putting Harry with the Malfoys? I bet that damn Lucius Malfoy gave someone a hefty bribe for this one." He strode into the hallway and grabbed his cloak off of the rack.
"Where are you going?"
"I'm going to go knock in the teeth of my cousin's husband."
"And who will that help?" Remus sighed, reaching out a hand and placing it on Sirius's arm. "You do that and they'll get Harry for sure. It'll be the violence versus the pity card."
"Well I can't just stand here and do nothing, Moony!" Sirius groaned, falling to his knees and burying his face in his hands. He looked up at Remus, his eyes watering. "What're we going to do? I can't… I can't lose him again, Moony. I just can't."
"We'll get him back, Sirius." Remus said, reaching down and taking Sirius's cloak away from him. "You're a good parent and Harry loves you. And we've got Dumbledore on our side. And McGonagall. And Lexie. If anyone can solve this…"
"Dumbledore will." Sirius nodded, heaving a huge sigh and looking around just as the mail slid in through the slot in the door. They didn't get much Muggle post… typically if they did it was from Hermione or Harry's school. This time it was nothing more than a single large white envelope.
Sirius reached out for it. He slit it open with a finger nail and then pulled out a large 8x10 photo… It was Harry's school pictures. Sirius had ordered a bunch of them when they'd gotten the pamphlet in the mail weeks ago. Picture day had only been four days ago, and somehow, they'd already finished processing them. Those clever Muggles.
Sirius stared down at the smiling little boy staring back up at him, unmoving. Harry's eyes seemed to twinkle in his nice picture, and then, even more so in his funny faced picture.
Remus crouched down, looking at the pictures as well. Sirius looked at him. "We're going to get him back. If I have to murder someone I will, but I am not losing my godson again."
…...
Harry was quite frustrated and very, very, annoyed. It had been ages since he had seen his Paddy and his Moony and even his Lexie. Moony had said he wouldn't be here for long, so why had he already spent six nights with Professor McGonagall?
He had gotten a letter of course, from Paddy saying that they missed him and it would be soon. That had been a couple of days ago and had come with little copies of his school pictures for Professor McGonagall. She had placed the 2x6's in a frame and placed it on the mantle near a couple of other pictures. One Harry had found out was of her family, when she was a younger girl. It was in black and white and didn't move. Then there was one that did move of a man that Harry had asked about, but the Professor had changed the subject quite quickly.
"I get to be on the mantle?" Harry had asked when he'd watched her do this. She had smiled at him.
"Potter, I don't have many photographs. This way, when you go home, I'll still be able to see your charming face when I'm too busy to visit." She'd grown quite used to having him around, underfoot in the evening after classes and letting out tiny snores throughout the night. Jammy fingers in the morning, silly stories about his dreams. It was quite nice.
Over the past six days, Harry had learned quite a bit about Hogwarts. He enjoyed eating in the Great Hall, always sitting with Bill and Charlie who made him feel even more at home because they were his neighbors.
During the day, when Professor McGonagall was teaching classes, Harry usually spent time trailing through the snow after Hagrid and helping him tend some of the tamer creatures, like flobberworms and fire salamanders. Harry also really enjoyed playing with Fang, Hagrid's great big boarhound, though he had found out quickly to request being taken up to the Great Hall for lunch. The food Hagrid made was typically too hard to eat, or Harry found weird things, like talons, in it. Except for that, Harry really enjoyed spending time with Hagrid. It was a lot of fun.
But he really missed his Paddy and Moony and Lexie. He even missed going to school every day and seeing his friends, like Marny. It was very rough. Hedwig had shown up the third day he'd been here and stuck around, so that was reassuring, but she still wasn't his Paddy.
"Hagrid?" Harry asked as he handed up a small log to the great giant man to use in his fireplace. "When d'I getta go home?"
"Dunno Harry. Bu' soon I 'spect." Hagrid said, taking the log from him and watching as Harry bent down to grab up another. He pushed open the hut door and Harry entered, stomping the snow off of his boots and placing the log he was carrying next to the fireplace.
"How long is soon?" Harry asked, taking off his snowy mittens and hat and setting them down on the hearth where Hagrid had shown him it was best to dry them.
"Depends on wha' yer waitin' for I 'spose."
"Well, I've been waiting forever." Harry groaned and climbed up into Hagrid's large armchair.
…...
"How could they even… I don't understand how…"Lexie raged, both men sitting on the couch as they watched her pace back and forth across the living room floor, still in her Healer robes, hair an absolute mess. "It has to be for some evil reason!" She shouted, flopping backwards into the armchair, throwing her arms up over her head.
"That's exactly what I thought!" Sirius announced, glad someone agreed with him properly. Remus would neither agree nor disagree with his theory of the Malfoys wanting Harry for bad reasons. But then, that was Remus for you, always wanting to give people the benefit of doubt.
"We don't know that for sure, Sirius. They could just want another wizarding boy around their own son's age so the two can be brothers."
"No way." Lexie shook her head, rising to her feet again and looking as though she were pondering things over in her head quite rapidly. "The Malfoys know Lily was a Muggleborn. They'd never adopt a known half-blood to be a second son. This is a plot of some sort. They're sinister, the Malfoys."
"Exactly what I was thinking!" Sirius nodded his approval at this idea and rose to his feet as well.
"Well, all we can do about it is wait and see what happens. I contacted Tricia and she said that normally these procedures involve a question and answer with each of the parties involved, so that'd be you, Sirius, and Harry, and then the Malfoys." Remus said looking at Sirius. "Of course, they might also choose to interview myself and Lexie as we'll be living here as well, even if we aren't the ones who're going to be his legal guardians."
"It's really stupid, that whole cutting off the legal custody as soon as the child is removed from the home. I mean, I get it on some levels, but they could come up with a better system for it." Lexie sat down on the coffee table, pursing her lips and letting out a huff of indignation. "I bet Muggles have a better system than we do."
"Probably." Remus grimaced and took up his coffee cup. He drank from it and then looked up at the pictures of Harry Sirius had framed and placed upon the mantle. "But then, everything seems greener on the other side when your grass is covered in snow."
…...
"I wanna go hoooome." Harry screamed, kicking the chair leg and stomping his feet. His fists were clenched, tears streaming down his cheeks in pure aggravation. He had been at Hogwarts for a whole week without a single visit from his Paddy and frankly, at four years old, he had done a pretty good job at being resilient and adjustable. This morning though, he had had enough. "Pleeeease take me home! I need to go home!" Harry bawled, falling to the floor and kicking up his heals in what could be described as an overdue temper tantrum.
"Potter, you have to stay here until we're told you can go home, I can't take you home before…" McGonagall reached out a consoling hand, trying to calm him. He had woken up this morning, as and usual, asked if he were going home today. When she had said no, he had completely lost it. How could such a sweet little boy turn into such a crazed monster within two seconds? But then, she didn't blame him. The Ministry was taking it's own sweet time with this situation.
"I WANNA GO HOME!" Harry pushed her away, screeching on a tone that was reminiscent of being close to one only dogs might be able to hear. He cried harder, pushing up from the floor and dashing over to the fireplace. He jumped up and down, desperately trying to reach the jar of floo powder that sat there, out of reach for a reason. "I can do it! JUST GIVE ME THE FLOO POWDER! I'LL GO HOME BY MYSELF! I CAN! I CAN! I KNOW H-H-HOOOOOW!"
Harry fell to his bottom then, right on the heart rug, crying hard and looking so forlorn McGonagall felt her heart wrench. He was so young, and while he understood many thing already, this was one he didn't. He just didn't get why he wasn't allowed to go back to the only place on the planet he should always have a right to go. His own home.
"I know, I know." McGonagall sat down beside him, and this time he didn't push away as she pulled him into her lap. She held him tightly, rocking him back and forth as he cried, unable to stem the flow of tears that kept pouring forth. He was just so upset.
They sat there until he'd cried himself out and fallen asleep, spent from his tantrum.
McGonagall lifted Harry and placed him down onto the couch. She tucked him in, tightly snuggling him into the soft red blanket Sirius had sent over in the box of things Harry might want to have to make him feel safer. Not wanting to wake him, but needing to get down to class, she sent a quick note to Hagrid to let him know Harry was sleeping but to meet them for lunch in the Great Hall so he could still take him for the afternoon. Then she summoned a house elf from the kitchens to watch him for the morning and left, heading down to class.
Harry's post tantrum nap didn't last too long, only about forty minutes. When he woke, he rubbed the tear crust from his eyes and looked around. He was still at Hogwarts in McGooglegul's living room.
"Morning young sir. Would sir likes some breakfast?" Harry jumped slightly, turning his head to find a creature he'd never seen before. He slid off the couch and found that it was smaller than him, though not by much. He tipped the scale at 101 centimeters (40 inches) tall currently, and the house elf was only about 91 centimeters (36 inches).
"Er… what are you?" Harry asked curiously, unable to really think of anything but how this creature wasn't human. It had big brown eyes and huge bat-like ears and wore a tea towel as a dress. And he didn't yet contain the tact to ask 'who are you' instead of 'what are you'.
"Nuzzy is a house-elf, sir." The elf explained happily. "We is cooking and cleaning for wizards, sir."
"Ooooh." Harry giggled, getting it now. Paddy had mentioned working like a house elf to Remus once or twice, and the two had laughed, though he had never understood why. He liked this new creature.
"Would sirs like Nuzzy to makes him some breakfasts?" Nuzzy asked again, smiling a toothy grin at Harry which the little boy returned, tantrum forgotten for the time being.
"D'you know how to make scrambled eggs?" Harry asked, not really thinking anything of someone else making him breakfast since that was how it normally was anyway. Someone older than him always had to make his breakfast or lunch or dinner, usually. He did know how to help though, and how to make peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.
"Nuzzy can make all types of eggs, sir."
"Okay! But my name is Harry, not sir." Harry laughed, hopping over into the kitchen and up into a chair.
"Nuzzy must respect young sir, and call him sir, sir." Nuzzy explained, moving into the kitchen and finding some eggs to cook. Harry watched her as she scrambled them up on top of the old fashioned stove in McGonagall's apartment. "Would sirs like anything else with his eggs?"
"Um… cheese? And toast?" Harry asked, wondering if he could have those as well. He liked to put cheesy eggs on top of his buttered toast. "But I can make toast!" He announced excitedly, remembering what McGonagall had showed him the other day.
"Nuzzy can prepare foods for young sir."
"I can do it, I know how." Harry beamed and slid out of his chair. He grabbed a slice of bread out of the box on the counter and skipped over to the fireplace. He stuck the bread on a long thin metal stick that sat next to it and held it out near the flame, but not very close so it wouldn't burn.
Nuzzy put the eggs on a plate and dashed over to make sure Harry didn't burn himself. She had had three young elves of her own and knew that young ones, especially elves and humans, needed close watching or they could hurt themselves. That was part of why McGonagall had requested her specifically. She knew Harry would be in excellent hands with Nuzzy,.
Nuzzy helped Harry not burn his toast and remove it from his stick before they made another piece of toast and put them both on his plate. Harry beamed at the house elf, excited that he had a new friend.
They spent the morning playing with Harry's toys, upon the little boy's insistence that it would be a lot more fun if they played together instead of Nuzzy going about cleaning things.
"RAWR! I'm a dragon!" Harry laughed, stomping about as Nuzzy followed after him.
"Rawr! Nuzzy is dragon too! Rawr!" They laughed together, destroying the block tower they had built and falling down to roll about the floor, giggling.
The door opened and McGonagall entered to the chaos of toys everywhere and a pair of giggling bodies. She heaved a sigh at the mess, but smiled, glad that Harry was feeling better now. She'd had a rough morning with her sixth year class and was ready for the hour lunch break before afternoon classes began. And even now she had essays and tests to grade.
"Hi Professor." Harry smiled, pushing up from the floor. "I'mma dragon! RAWR!" He grinned up at her toothily and she smiled back.
"I see. Do dragons eat lunch, Potter?"
"Yes!" Harry jumped up and down, very ready to go down and have lunch in the Great Hall with Bill and Charlie as he had been doing. He really liked Ronnie's older brothers. They were funny and always included him with their friends, but then, they were used to having younger kids around, with all those brothers and a sister.
…...
"Well, it's now or never." Remus sighed, pointing to the door. It was ten o'clock, and Sirius finally had an appointment to speak with Ms. Giness about why it was in Harry's best interest to be reappointed his guardian. He gulped, straightening his tie and rising from the bench.
He knocked on the wooden door and waited. It opened after a couple of moments, Lucius Malfoy and his wife, Narcissa, stepping out.
"Ah, Black. Fancy seeing you here. Last I checked this was the Department for the Protection of Magical Children, I think you've got the wrong floor. The criminal hearings are down a couple of levels." Lucius stated coldly, eyeing Sirius as though he were some sort of infected vomity cockroach.
"Very funny, Malfoy. Though, I do wonder what you're doing here. It's for the protection of children, however, I can see how you might get that confused with extortion. They do both end with the same sound." Sirius spat back, glaring at Lucius with contempt. He turned his eyes to his cousin. She had been so cute when they were younger, but she'd manipulated that. She glared back at him as he pressed past them, into the office.
"Mr. Black, right on time, have a seat." Ms. Giness gestured towards the chair on the other side of her desk and he sat, right on the edge of the chair, locking his eyes on hers as she looked up from a file. She closed the file and set it on her desk, digging another one out of a drawer. "So… you've filled out the application already, so I'm just going to dig a little deeper by asking you questions."
"Alright." Sirius nodded, ready for this. He didn't know what questions she would ask, but he would answer them to the best of his ability. He watched as she pulled out a quill and tapped it with her wand, setting it down upon a scroll of parchment that seemed to unroll itself. Sirius recognized them as a Direct-Quotes writing set. He'd purchased one once in his third year and tried to use it to take down notes in all of his classes so he could essentially sleep through them. He'd gotten five minutes into a Transfiguration lesson before they'd been confiscated.
"You have applied to be the legal adoptive parent of Harry James Potter, age four years, five months, and twenty-two days?"
"Yes."
"And do you understand the demanding and sometimes overwhelming task of taking care of a child full time?"
"Of course." Sirius tried not to laugh. He'd been taking care of Harry for nearly six months now. Sure, he had help from Remus and Lexie, but he still did a lot of the parenting.
"What makes you feel you would be a good parent?"
"I have been taking care of Harry since August." Sirius stated, knowing he couldn't mention July because he wasn't technically supposed to have rescued Harry from the Dursleys. All of his paperwork indicated he'd become Harry's full time caregiver in August. "I have the resources to do so, though, you don't need a lot of money to be a good parent. Kids require the basic needs of survival. Shelter and food. But they also require love, and compassion, and imagination. I have a house, where Harry has a bedroom and a playroom. He gets three meals a day, and a morning and afternoon snack. He goes to school and does well, always gets his homework done. Always gets a bath in the morning and a story at bedtime. And we play with him, myself and Remus Lupin and Alexandria Owens and he is never left home alone."
"Okay… and what about Harry in particular is it that makes you want to be his parent? Why do you want him?" Ms. Giness asked, tilting her glasses slightly.
"I've known Harry since before he was born. His parents were two of my closest friends and I was there, helping Lily when she was too pregnant to roll herself off of the couch and James was at work. I watched him come into the world, was the second person to really hold him after his mother because James had fainted and they were still reviving him. I was there, when things got bad and they had to go into hiding. I visited when I could. I helped feed him when he switched to solids, rocked him to sleep, and I was there the day he took his first steps and said his first word. While I may have not been able to take care of him for about three years because I was framed for something I didn't do, I have never stopped thinking about him. He is the first thing in my mind when I wake up, and the last thing I think about when I go to bed. I know his favorite things. He likes red and lions and trains, he loves trains. His favorite book right now is Sam's Salamander and he loves treacle pie more than anyone I've ever met. I know that he likes to have the tub filled with ¾ 's bubbles and ¼ water at bath time. And when he's not wearing a winter cap, he's always got his conductor's hat on. He loves to hide in his fort with books, and color pictures of people he loves. He has lots of friends he plays with, and can make you laugh without really trying. He's not scared of the dark, but prefers a night light and when he has bad dreams he comes to sleep with me because he feels safe with me. Which is a big thing for him, because he's still working on getting over his trust issues which stem from the abuse he suffered at the hands of his relatives. I know Harry, inside and out. I am his godfather, his parents chose me if anything happened to them, he needs me, and I will not, in any circumstance, let them, or him, down." Sirius stated this all very firmly, his heart swelling as he thought about his precious boy, knowing that he had to wear his heart on his sleeve in this situation. He had to prove that, though he was just one guy, he would go to the ends of the earth for that one little boy.
"Is it true you are in a relationship with Miss Owens?"
"Yes." Sirius faltered, uncertain if that would hurt his chances.
"How long have you been together?"
"Well, about four months, but I've known her since we were young. She was one of Lily Potter's closest friends.
"And she is already currently expecting your child?"
"Yes, actually."
"Am I right in guessing that wasn't planned?"
"Well, no, not exactly. But sometimes these things happen no matter how careful you are. We see the baby as a gift and are very excited, as is Harry. I know that doesn't look good. But Lexie is part of our family, that isn't going to change. We may not be the normal, every day family, but that doesn't make us any less of one."
"Well, Mr. Black, I think that pretty much covers all of the questions I have for you. You have answered them well. Now then, if you could send in Mr. Lupin, I need to speak to him as well."
Sirius nodded and rose from the chair. "Thanks for your time." He smiled and left the room, nodding to Moony. Remus smiled and clapped him on the shoulder, heading into the office now.
Sirius watched the door close behind him and heaved a hopeful sigh. He had done his very best, now it was up to Remus to answer questions and then, most likely, Harry.
…...
"Good afternoon, young man." Mr. Troit smiled as he sat down at McGonagall's kitchen table, quill and parchment in hand.
"Hi." Harry eyed the man warily, not really trusting his presence right now. The last time he had seen him had also been the last time he'd seen Moony. Padfoot had been at work that afternoon… Harry still had nightmares about it.
"Well Harry, I'm here because you and I need to have a little chat, is that alright?"
"Yeah." Harry shrugged after looking at McGonagall for confirmation. He knew she was good and wouldn't let anything more bad happen to him. She had already explained that Mr. Troit was coming to talk to him today, but not to worry, because Harry would still be staying with her after he left.
"I want you to know, that whatever we talk about, you can answer me with the full truth and not get in trouble, okay? No matter what you say."
"Yep." Harry nodded, having been told this too. If McGonagall hadn't told him this earlier, he might have questioned it coming from Mr. Troit. You never could tell with adults that you didn't know very well at all.
"Well then, my first question for you is… what is your favorite color?"
"Red."
"And your favorite animal?"
"Lions, but I like dogs too."
"Okay good." Mr. Troit smiled. "So Harry, have you been enjoying your time with Professor McGonagall?"
"Yeah." Harry nodded. "I like Professor McGooglegul, but I wanna go home."
"What's at home?"
"My Padfoot and Moony." Harry frowned. "I wanna see my Paddy and my Moony."
"I see. Do you miss them?"
"Yeah. They're my favoritest."
"Harry, what if you never went back to Padfoot and Moony? What would you do then?" Mr. Troit asked curiously, eyeing the little boy, waiting.
Harry's eyes widened at the very idea, welling with tears suddenly, his lower lip quivering. "Th-that won't h-happen. I'm gonna… gonna… g-g-go home."
"You would be very upset if you couldn't go home, wouldn't you, Harry?"
"W-wouldn't you?" Harry asked back, staring at Mr. Troit. He was young, but smart. Would Mr. Troit feel sad if he couldn't go home like Harry was feeling at the very idea of it right now? He had been stuck here a week, but he'd never even thought he wouldn't be able to ever go home…
"Harry, how would you feel about having a brother?"
Harry sniffled a bit and smiled a little bit. "That'd be f-fun. I'm getting' a brother or sister in August." He stood a little prouder, happy to be able to announce this to Mr. Troit. "Lexie's gonna have a baby, nd she's gonna be a mommy and Paddy's gonna be the daddy."
"Oh, that is exciting! But what if you could have a brother who was four like you?"
"I already have Ronnie. He's as good as a brother and he's four." Harry beamed with pride, liking sharing Ronnie too. He loved his friend dearly.
"But he isn't really your brother, is he?"
"Paddy says families aren't always the people we're related to. He says we can choose who we want for family, even if we can't choose who we were given for family." Harry stated, word for word, what Padfoot had told him ages ago when he was doing his family picture project. Harry had wondered out loud, if friends counted, because they weren't related. Sirius had fixed that right quick, explaining that families could be made from the people around you, instead of just the people you were born having.
"That's very wise of Padfoot."
"So, Ronnie is my brother, because I say so." Harry crossed his arms, glad to have made that point clear.
After asking Harry a few more standard questions that he had asked of him previously, Mr. Troit bade the boy and professor goodbye and left the apartment with his report for the Ministry.
Hey guys! I really liked writing this one (mostly because of Sirius's interveiw) so I hope you like it too. Poor Harry. Stupid Malfoys. And yes, I know I typoed Lucius in the last chapter. My brain was all spell check but my fingers were all 'hahaha we're gonna pretend to be drunk writing this word!' and of course, I didn't catch it. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Please lemme know what you thought, I always appreciate your feedback, and even if you don't feel like giving feedback, I appreciate you reading!
Thanks, love always, the-never-brain-just-fingers-drunk,
S.Q.O.