There is some brief Molly/Ginny bashing at the start but this chapter will be rather Harry and Sirius focused, especially on subjects like the Ministry attack at the end of the fifth book.
BellaK26 – I'm so glad you enjoyed it! I did worry slightly it was a bit out there you know?
Harmony09 – that would've been a really cool idea (though I'm afraid not). Speaking of Krum, he may be getting a guest appearance later on in the story ;)
HermioneSnapeLestrange – I will definitely be continuing this story as I love writing it!
Happylady – I'm sure you'll be happy to know that there is no cliff-hanger this chapter then! :)
James Birdsong – I'm so glad you think so!
Articdranzer – damn, the guessing skills are on point can I just say!
Chapter 17
"Mum? Dad?"
"Hermione darling!" Emma cried, wrapping her daughter in a hug the instant she saw her. Daniel stood slightly awkwardly behind them but smiled when he saw Harry. "I was so worried about you! And of course we can't come to Hogwarts but then Sirius contacted me," she nodded at the man, "and invited us here to see you. Are you sure you're feeling better? Do you need to come home for a night or two? Do –"
"Mum! I'm fine, honestly," Harry grins at Ron as he gaped at the three of them, Daniel joining the conversation to calm his wife a little.
"And I thought Hermione talked a lot," Ron muttered, still staring.
Harry snorted, rolling his eyes. "It's called genetics Ron."
"Sirius!"
Harry and Ron spun around at the voice, seeing Arthur Weasley head towards them, the majority of Ron's siblings in tow.
"I'm so sorry for all the trouble and hurt Molly and Ginny have caused," he said sorrowfully. "I'm going to talk to the Granger's about reparations for Hermione but she wasn't the only one affected by their actions, Harry was as well so –"
"So nothing. The only people who should pay for their part is Molly and Ginny, not you. Arthur, you tried your best to prevent anything but sometimes that just isn't enough. You have nothing to make up to neither Harry or myself."
Harry nodded in agreement with his godfather when Mr Weasley looked at him and the harried man seemed to relax slightly at his show of support. He didn't want Mr Weasley to worry about any of that since he had nothing to do with it.
"Speaking of Molly, due to all this I'll be divorcing her," Mr Weasley said with a sigh. Harry's eyebrows shot to his hair line. Damn, Mrs Weasley had lost everything Harry thought. Mr Weasley seemed to be following his train of thought, continuing with a grimace "Pretty ironic that all she wanted was money and prestige and she's tried so hard to get it and now has nothing."
He then looks to the Grangers who were moving over to them when Harry felt a tap on his shoulder. Turning around he looked into the serious face of Bill Weasley. "We just want a quick chat with you, if you can be spared?"
Harry nodded, not bothering to check with Sirius considering he seemed to be mediating a conversation between Mr Weasley and the Grangers, Hermione attempting to prevent her father ripping into him. Ron raised an eyebrow at him and immediately headed over, following him to wherever Bill was dragging him to.
"Where the fuck is this?" Ron muttered to Harry, a frown on his face.
Harry glanced around at the dingy room placed in the back alley's of the ministry, Charlie perched on a box in the corner. "Storage room," he offered simply, "no one will come down here. Honestly, I doubt anyone will even know this part of the ministry exists."
"True that," Ron said with a snort, moving to lean against a wall before pulling back in disgust, a drop of murky slime now on his robes. Bill swiftly vanished it before his brother could make a fuss and then turned to Harry.
"Obviously, since we left home a lot has changed, not just in the outside world but some of our own family," Bill marched onward at Charlie's snort of "Really," at his mention of family, "so we were wondering if you could tell us what's been going on at home, and then school as well. Dumbledore told mum nothing and dad only just came clean about your second year." At that he nodded at Ron, looking faintly ill, Charlie not fairing much better, muttering "Bloody bastard," under his breath. "Voldemort, not dad," he swiftly added, causing a small ripple of laughter at his clarification.
Harry and Ron exchanged nervous glances before facing the older Weasley's. "So, where shall we start?"
Sirius stepped back for a minute, finally relaxing now that Daniel had got all his anger out. Honestly, he couldn't blame the man. If he hadn't met up with Arthur in Diagon Alley he couldn't have guaranteed he wouldn't have held some resentment and anger at him for the trouble his godson had received.
On the topic of his godson he glanced back to where Harry was, or more accurately now, wasn't. Attempting to quell the rising anxiety in his heart he whipped his head around, scanning the surrounding area for any sign of the messy black hair. Nothing.
It's okay, he's fine, he thought panickily to himself, he was here somewhere. Nothing would've happened to him, right? Speaking of which, Ron wasn't here either. Maybe they just wandered off somewhere?
"Sirius?" A soft voice to his right distracted him and he glanced at Hermione, still scanning behind her for any sight of his godson or his best friend. "Are you okay? You seem to be looking – where's Harry and Ron?"
At this the adults seem to notice something was amiss at the concern in Hermione's voice. "What's going on?" Emma broke in, eyebrows drawn.
"Harry and Ron are gone." The horror in Hermione's voice grew as she looked at Sirius worriedly. He knew they were both thinking the same thing and at that the anxiety in him rose full force, vague memories of the night Dumbledore came through the fire to say Harry was missing from Hogwarts and had gone to see Voldemort at the ministry. He remembered the panic and the helplessness he had felt, how he had failed his godson yet again. Why hadn't Harry come to him? He must know he wasn't alone anymore right? That Sirius loved him, would do anything for him. Why had he gone to confront Voldemort alone?
Shoving back the memories and seeing neither teen in sight, he jumped slightly when a hand touched his shoulder. He turned to see Daniel's face, "We'll find them, don't worry. Knowing them they'll be up to no good, I'm sure nothing will have happened."
As they began the search Sirius tried, really tried, to believe Daniel's words but the longer the teens were missing for the more his anxiety began to fight back. His godson was gone! Or had he left? Maybe he faked liking Sirius? Maybe he actually hated him? Or maybe he was in Death Eaters basement somewhere and Sirius wasn't quick enough to save him? His panicked thoughts tumbled round, thoughts flicking from Harry to Prongs, how he had failed not only his godson but Prongs too.
They were in the bowls of the ministry when he heard footsteps behind him. Whirling around, he, the Grangers and Arthur came face to face with the missing teens, along with Bill and Charlie. The two parties stared blankly at each other for a second before Harry stepped forwards, confusion lacing his brow which seemed to break the spell freezing them still. Sirius yanked Harry into a tight hug, burying his face in his godson's mop of messy hair, relief flooding through him. His godson was safe.
When he finally pulled back, the remaining anxiety and adrenaline in him now fading to anger he saw Daniel and Arthur tactfully move everyone out, giving him and Harry some alone time. He tried to quell the rising anger, not wanting to scare Harry but was less successful, the fear his godson had accidently induced in him when he was gone to real to ignore.
"Just where did you think you were going?" he asked, trying to temper his tone as he spoke. Harry blinked, looking a little shocked before hesitantly saying "Bill wanted to speak to me. He wanted to know what's been going on since he left home cause, you know, the whole 'evil mother' situation."
The fact it had been such a non-urgent reason just flared the anger in him more. "And just why did you not think to inform me you were leaving?" he asked, teeth gritted.
"Um, cause I didn't want to bother you?"
The clueless look on his godson's face reflected the fact he really didn't understand the problem which softened Sirius's heart slightly. He kept having to try to remind himself Harry had never had a parent before and all this was new to him. "You'll never be a bother to me, never. Whatever's going on, you can always come talk to me about it. You're my priority, get that in your head." He tapped Harry's head at that, pleased to make him laugh. This was the first time they'd ever had any sort of conversation about things he should or shouldn't do and what the consequences would be to breaking them.
"However, you can't just wonder off like that without letting anyone know where you're going. While many people adore you due to you getting rid of Voldemort, a lot hate you for that very reason and would happily… take you out," he stumbled over the last bit, still unable to say the possibility of Harry dying.
"You thought I was dead?" The horrified look on Harry's face told Sirius he was starting to get the seriousness of the situation.
"It was a possibility," Sirius admitted, shrugging to try and look like he wasn't as anxious as he felt about it "along with you being kidnapped by Death Eaters or powerful Lords who believe in the 'dark side' and want you either dead or as a hostage for money."
"I didn't think," Harry replied quietly, eyes downcast. "I've – I've never had anyone that particularly cares about me, you know, adult wise so I've never thought of the consequences of wandering around cause no one's cared enough before."
The statement was heart-breaking and Sirius immediately pulled his godson into a hug, letting him hide his face from the world. Eventually Sirius pulled back slightly, wiping the tears from Harry's cheeks. "I know this is new to you and its wrong, so wrong that no one has cared about you before. Your parents did, Moony adores you and so do I. You've got Arthur and Hermione's parents and even Bill and Charlie seemed to have joined the crew, along with the twins who have been long standing members," he finished, pleased to elicit a laugh from Harry.
"But I want you to know this whole 'wondering around into danger' thing you've got going on won't stand with me. I know I've gotten into some scrapes when I was a kid," he followed on quickly, holding up a hand to stop Harry interrupting, "but what we did was just pranks –"
"Or playing with a werewolf," Harry muttered sulkily.
Sirius's lips twitched. He was the spitting image of his father when he was told he couldn't do something, though he did have a point about the werewolves. "And that was dangerous and we were lucky things didn't end up far worse than they did. You however need to learn it is okay to go to adults about things. I will always be here for a talk and so will Moony and in the infinitesimal chance that you can't reach us, go to Professor McGonagall. She will always hear you out I promise, I've talked with her about discounting what you say like she did in first year and she won't do it again. If she does, contact me okay?" Once he got Harry's nod of agreement, he continued. "I love you very much, and I don't want to lose you again. That means not doing dangerous shit anymore and you staying out of danger is non-negotiable. I already lost you once when I trusted Dumbledore, I won't make that mistake again."
With the way Harry frowned he clearly noticed the slight wobble in Sirius's voice. Shit. "I worry about you too."
Sirius blinked at that statement, unsure what to say. It wasn't what he expected certainly. He opened his mouth to reassure Harry but all that came out was "You do?"
"Of course I do!" The hurt on Harry's face immediately made all Sirius's instincts scream to comfort him, hating how he had inflicted that hurt on him, albeit accidently. "I always worry about losing you and being sent back to the Dursleys. Sometimes I wake up and think this is all just a dream, whether I dreamt you up and am still actually in third year or I dreamt up you getting free! And after the whole veil thing…" Harry scrubbed at his face fiercely, causing Sirius to swiftly move his hands away from his face before he rubbed the skin raw.
"Talk to me," Sirius begged, hating the hiccups in Harry's breath as he tried not to cry. They had never gone over the Ministry of Magic fight, not why Harry went there or how Bellatrix had been so close to hitting Sirius with the killing curse. This was obviously an overdue conversation and Sirius berated himself for not seeing how badly the event was affecting his godson and leaving it so long.
"Its – its just – she almost killed you! I had – had just got you back and then – and then I almost lost you again." Harry cried his way through, long ago having lost the battle of the tears. Sirius kept him cocooned in his arms, trying desperately to think of a way to help him. Dammit, this was far more Moony's expertise, emotions and shit. Sirius was just a bundle of repressed feelings, not exactly the best guy to talk to about serious issues.
He considered trying to make a joke to lighten the mood but decided against that, judging correctly I wouldn't actually help. Instead he decided just to be as honest as possible and from what Harry had gone through an honest adult seemed rare, so hopefully it would be appreciated. "I can't promise something won't happen to me but the war should be behind us now and most of the Death Eaters are now behind bars, Bellatrix being one of them, awaiting the Dementors kiss since clearly Azkaban is doing very little to them apart from increasing their insane devotion so I'm safe from them. I was formerly an Auror as well so I'm pretty damn good at defending myself, if I do say so myself."
He was relieved the see Harry give a small chuckle at that, his sobs having slowed to an irregular hiccup. "Do you think you'll return to be an Auror?" Harry asked softly, finally having got his breath under control.
Sirius tilted his head to the side, thinking. "I have considered it as I know Amelia is eager to take me back, as is Moody and Kingsley, Moody being the least subtle," he said, smirking. "However, I'm waiting a little just so I can get both of our positions in the Wizengamot under control as well as Hermione's and redo our estates. Once all our affairs our in order I may go back to it, I've never been much of a fan of sitting at home."
Harry nodded, but the worry was still pronounced on his face. "I just – I can't lose you too. It's like I'm cursed," he whispered, and Sirius's heart shattered further at the proclamation.
"Cursed? You're not cursed Harry. Unlucky maybe, but not cursed."
"Everyone around me dies though!" The sentence exploded out of him, surprising Sirius in its intensity. "Or at least something horrible! My parents died, you were sent to Azkaban, I mean you've seen the state Remus is in, both Ron and Hermione have been injured because of me, Neville –"
"Stop it. Whatever you're going to say. It's not true, okay? That's a fact you can take some comfort in," Sirius crouched a little so he was at eye level with Harry. "I don't know who has been putting that idea in your head, but it's stupid. After all, you wouldn't tell Moony he's been cursed –"
"Of course not! But why would I even think that?"
Sirius smiled slightly at the disgust on Harry's face at the thought. "He was bitten by a werewolf, he lost me to Azkaban and Lily and James to the war. Both his parents died prematurely and Dumbledore has been manipulating him. My point is," he added hastily as he saw Harry open his mouth to argue, "that sometimes we're just dealt a rotten hand in life and it's up to us to make the best of it. And even if I do go back to being an Auror, I'll make sure I set boundaries with Moody about what I will do and what I won't do under any circumstances because now I have you to think about." He flicked him on the nose and Harry jerked away, scowling at the childish move.
They fell in silence for a little as they left the bowls of the ministry to try and find the rest of the motley crew when Harry asked "I assume you saw the prophet about Hermione?" He then paused, waiting for Sirius's conformation before carrying on. "I was wondering if you had any advice. Katie Bell said possibly another interview like I did with the Quibbler but I wasn't sure."
Sirius hummed, pleased Harry trusted him enough to ask. "An interview couldn't hurt but you forget together we own the majority share of the paper. I can just fire the journalists for slandering her."
Harry frowned, "You can't just fire them for slating someone, whoever it is!"
"But I can when they are showing how prejudiced and bigoted they are," Sirius said with a wink, gaining a laugh out of Harry. They had finally reached the outside of the courtroom where everyone else was and Hermione flung her arms around him.
"I was so worried!"
"It's okay, I'm fine. We're fine," Harry murmured, feeling guilty for making her worry. Catching Daniel's eye over her shoulder he winced at the stern look. Clearly Sirius wasn't the only one who had opinions on him just wondering off.
Thankfully whatever Daniel was going to say was interrupted by Emma who smiled warmly at the pair, saying "I think we can delay the arrival back to Hogwarts for a few more hours, don't you think?"