Hey everyone,
So, I have a lot of content planned for the 25th, though at the same time all of it might only last until lunch time for the characters.
If so, I will just make a time-jump to the 26th and get started with reading The Philosopher's Stone. But trust me, the Potters are in for a long day with lots of stuff to do.
Let's move along,
Venquine1990
Chapter 21
The Next Morning
25th of June 1995
Potter Chambers, Hogwarts
James' POV
For many years Lily and I had indirectly suffered.
We had to watch as Sirius twisted and turned in his sleep while he was locked in Azkaban and haunted by nightmares, caused by those retched Dementors.
And even after he escaped, the nightmares continued to haunt him. It tore at my wife and me to see Sirius get scratched up by twisting and turning over either the thorn-strewn or rocky surface that he often laid down to rest on.
Rarely did the man allow himself to sleep on something soft. Not even when he broke into the house of someone who was out for the night or something.
Mum always told me that Blacks would just outright refuse comfort if they felt overwhelmed by a certain negative emotion and the last two years proved this.
Yet all of this no longer matters.
Sirius is lying in front of me and while he is curled up, his body is thankfully lying still and relaxed. There is some tension to his muscles, but thankfully he seems to subconsciously realize where he is as there is a small smile on his face.
I genuinely and desperately want to run my fingers through his curly black hair, but I don't want to wake him up at the same time.
And I know that Lily felt the same and that that's why she left the bedroom. And because I know her, I know that she's headed for our boy's room.
Then suddenly, in a split second, Sirius' eyes are open wide. Then, out of nowhere, his wand is suddenly in his hand and its tip is pressed into my neck.
My eyes widen for a split second, but then Sirius' own turn from a haunted dark grey to the greyish-blue that I know and love.
His wand disappears under the covers again and Sirius moves to turn the other way. But by now I've realized why my beloved pup woke up like he did and what is going on here.
I move and scuttle over, just as Sirius turns his back to me, and wrap my arm around his waist. I pull his back up against my own front, use my other hand to push his hair away and press my lips against the skin of his neck.
"James –."
Sirius starts, but I whisper: "We've been watching over you and Harry for years through the Viewing Orb that was placed in our home before we were granted to stay there.
We saw you struggle, Siri. We know how bad you've been sleeping these past years, even after your escape.
Neither Lily or I would ever expect you to be perfectly healthy or to be without inner demons. You weren't without them before it all happened. We know that it just made your inner demons worse, Siri.
We know and we accept that. The only reason I didn't expect your reaction was because I was too lost myself. Lost in the relief that you looked much calmer than you did the last time we watched you sleep, back in that cave of yours."
Sirius turned just enough that I could look into his precious orbs as I talked. And while I had refrained from softly petting his head while he slept, I lovingly run the fingers of my left hand across his cheek as I talk to him.
The man tries again, so I silence him with a kiss and then whisper against his lips
"We don't want perfection, Siri. We only want you."
I loosen my hold just a little and Sirius turns around in my hold before he cuddles his own front against mine.
My eyes are lidded as I look down at him and the grateful grin on his face makes the one on mine expand with love and affection.
At the same time
In Harry's Room
Lily's POV
The other night, Harry proved to me that Petunia and Dumbledore failed in destroying his inner child as much as I had thought that they did.
Even though some – if not most – fourteen year olds would consider themselves too old to be put to bed by their parents, Harry proved he wasn't like most of his peers.
He even smiled warmly at me as I read Bambi to him, something I had planned to do the night we were attacked and killed.
It truly felt as if everything came full circle as I retold the story by memory and watched my boy's eyes droop closed slowly but surely.
Now it's the next morning and I am greeted with a new sight that sets my heart alight with reassurance and delight.
The headboard of Harry's bed is set against the left wall of his room and my boy himself is lying on his right, facing the door.
He is softly holding his blanket with his right hand and while I had worried that the craziness of the other night would have affected him at night, the tranquil look on his face proves me wrong.
I've gone to sit at the side of his bed as I watch him sleep. And while I'm sure that this would be a bad idea with Sirius, I gently run my fingers through his hair.
And just like my voice lulled my boy to sleep, my petting seems to help him wake up as he slowly blinks his eyes open as he stares at me.
Yet a moment later the boy sighs and closes his green eyes again. The troubled look on his face worries me, but then I suddenly get a hunch on what might be wrong.
I move off of the bed and crouch down in front of my son's face as I whisper:
"It's the twenty-fifth."
Harry's eyes widen as he looks at me and I smile at him.
Then I slowly move back to sitting at the edge of my son's bed.
For a few minutes Harry just stares at me as I gently return to running my fingers through his hair. Harry sighs again and mutters that the other day was bloody hectic.
I agree with him, yet his word choice just, yet again, reminds me of the fact that Dumbledore and others kept my son from learning things that would have been part of his life, had we been allowed a chance to raise him.
And yet, because I know who raised him, I know that I can't just outright state this and that I need to take these lessons one at a time.
"I definitely agree with that, though I would like it if you tried to watch your choice of words when out in public, okay Harry?"
Harry cringes and a bit of a red hue covers his face for a moment. He mutters that he'll try and I thank him with a smile and a gentle pad.
I ask him if he's ready for our busy day ahead. Harry looks at me befuddled and I start to explain:
"We'll be writing down your Betrothal contract for one. And I know your father, so I know he'll probably start on one for us as well.
There are also things that I'm sure you want to talk to us about, you, Cedric and Lea deserve to spend time together.
Then there's the rest of Remus' story and your father and I feel that we need to visit Gringotts to check up on our Family fortune."
Harry looks down at his blanket as he asks if the contract is really necessary. I nod at him and say: "It really is for the best, Harry.
Let me explain.
Lea is a foreigner in every sense of the word, Cedric is now popular beyond words thanks to last night and you've been famous for years.
Each of these facts is potential ammo for people like Rita Skeeter. Not to mention that, if she writes another article like she did the other day, it might inspire people to treat you the way they treated Hermione after the Second Task.
You've been lucky so far, Harry, but the same can't be said for Cedric. And Lea is too new to this world to know that he needs to be cautious with mail from strangers.
Not to mention that some people, who descend from powerful families like your father's, might try something because they don't think a Nobody like Lea deserves to be bound to a line like the Diggory's or the Potter's.
I'm not saying it's their business, I'm just saying that there are more laws protecting couples who are bound by a contract than other couples.
And finally, sweetheart, by writing down the contract right now, we can beat the presses. It will take Skeeter time to discover and write about yesterday's events and we can – and should – use that to our advantage.
We already have the books, our new guests and Dumbledore to deal with. Best to lessen the chance that people will give us other reasons for concern."
Harry nods in agreement to this and then he asks if he'll have a say in any of this. And thanks to my own upraising, I can understand his uncertainty.
So I decide to reassure him the same way Charlus reassured me when I met with him to discuss my contract with James.
"It's your contract, sweetheart."
My reward is another smile.
Now that's just sweet.
And like I said, there is a lot of content that will be coming your way. I have a lot of stuff planned and have most of the 25th – up to the Gringotts visit – planned out in my head.
Ready to roll,
Venquine1990
