AN: Not much happens in this chapter, but I hope you enjoy it anyway.
Disclaimer: I don't own Marvel or HP.
Chapter 71: Diagon Ally
Sirius could feel Loki's amusement as he watched him sitting in the middle of their bed meditating; Sirius could even sense where he was standing (by the bathroom door). He was likely leaning against the doorframe with his arms crossed; the amusement Sirius felt was due to their furniture and other belongings in the room floating in the air. It's been nearly three weeks since Sirius ate Idunn's golden apple; he was now the most powerful wizard on Midgard in his magic and psionic abilities. The night Sirius ate the apple, he was awoken by Thor, who had to use Mjolnir to fly into their room and wake him because the apple had kicked in overnight. In his sleep, Sirius lost control of his telekinesis due to not being used to controlling that much power. Everything and everyone in Grimmauld Place found themselves floating in the air. Once Sirius realized it was because of him, he pulled back on his magic, and everything crashed to the floor. Loki and Sirius rushed across the hall to Harry's room to ensure he wasn't hurt while Thor checked on everyone else.
Telekinesis wasn't the only thing Sirius had to get used to; he also had to re-learn to shut off his telepathy again; for three days, Sirius couldn't walk into a room without being overwhelmed by the thoughts and emotions of others. For some reason, as of late, Snape has become even nastier towards not just Sirius but Loki as well, and during the most recent Order meeting, Sirius and Snape had gotten into a heated argument that ended with Sirius accidentally attacking Snape mentally and nearly put him under mind control. It was then that Loki decided, and with permission from Sirius, Loki partially possessed Sirius' mind, to put a block on his psionic abilities, a block he would remove every night, so he could help Sirius get his abilities under control, after a week and a half, Sirius was able to control them for the most part. Sirius still had his little slip-ups, but nothing too dangerous. His magic had also been affected; for a few days, any spell or charm Sirius would do was overpowered, and he needed to learn to cut back on how much magic he put into it, but he learned how pretty quickly.
Sirius felt himself rise off the bed and float a few inches above it. Sirius didn't only get a power boost or longevity, but he gained something that Sirius, for some reason, hadn't thought of getting: Asgardian super-strength. Sirius learned that when he went to take a shower, he accidentally tore the bathroom door off its hinges. Even now, Sirius has trouble controlling his strength; he's already had to reattach six cabinet doors in the kitchen, his bedroom door, Harry's bedroom door, and various others because he opened them too hard. Sirius also broke things by holding them too tight, like the tools out in his workshop when he tried to use them, and he's lost track of how many glasses or mugs Sirius had to repair magically or how much silverware he's accidentally bent trying to eat with it; one-day last week he broke the handle off his favorite frying pan and got so angry with himself he wouldn't cook for three days.
Sirius also gained the durability of an Asgardian. Just yesterday, he had gone out to get a new tattoo and got kicked out of the tattoo shop because his new tough skin kept breaking all the tattoo needles; when Harry had told Loki about it that evening when he got home from the Ministry, he couldn't stop laughing, finding Sirius' predicament highly amusing, which caused Sirius to vow, he would make a tattoo needle strong enough to break through Asgardian skin. Though now that Sirius had Asgardian durability, it would be harder to hurt him, and unless Sinthea Schmidt or Voldemort cursed him, Midgardain magic would bounce off him; they already tested it by having each witch or wizard in their family to curse Sirius, and nothing any of them did affected him.
Sirius also had Asgardian stamina, meaning he didn't get tired much anymore since he was not used to that kind of energy. Sirius grew restless if he didn't have anything to do, so, for the last couple of weeks, he found things to do around the house, like cleaning it top to bottom, cleaning out the attic, the storage room down the hall off from the entryway, he even painted the stairway, and hung a bunch of family photos where the house-elf heads used to be. Sirius also did a lot of cooking and baking and spent time in his workshop. But none of that made Sirius tired or sleepy, and it was almost impossible for him to fall asleep at night, but Sirius wasn't about to complain when he or Loki couldn't sleep; they always did more pleasurable things when in bed, and Sirius enjoyed those activities much more than sleeping.
They just did some of those activities in the shower early this morning after they got out; Sirius left the bathroom and decided to meditate because keeping his head clear helped him control his new power boost, while Loki stayed behind to get dressed and fix his hair, and at that moment, Sirius could feel Loki's attraction towards him as he sensed Loki's eyes on him; after eating the golden apple, Sirius looked a little different, his already good looks were more enhanced and, Sirius who already didn't look his age, now looked a little younger, the wrinkles that had started to form around his eyes from lack of sleep and worry, were now gone.
"Sirius, darling," Loki called out to him. "You're doing it again."
Sirius opened his eyes and looked around the room to see various objects floating near him. He grinned as he carefully lowered everything, including the bed, to the floor, then shut off his power and allowed himself to drop. He landed on the mattress and laughed when he sat up on his elbows and saw Loki leaning against the bathroom doorframe with his arms crossed.
"I guess that's one way to stop Voldemort; I can just cause him and all his Death Eaters to float away."
Loki gave Sirius a genuine smile as he dropped his arms and walked further into the room. Sirius tilted his head as his eyes traveled up and down Loki's body; he was wearing black leather trousers, a dark green dress shirt tucked in, and a green snakeskin belt, and Sirius was happy to see he was using the belt buckle Sirius made him, which was gold and in the shape of Loki's helmet. Loki's hair fell past his shoulders and curled out at the end. Loki looked gorgeous, in Sirius's opinion.
"Are you done with meditation?" Loki asked. "It's after Nine-thirty. If you want to beat the crowds, we must leave once you are dressed."
It was Saturday, and Loki had taken his first day off from work since becoming Minister (unless you count last Saturday when Loki left early for Harry's birthday party) to accompany Sirius, Harry, and whoever else wanted to come along to Diagon Ally to buy Harry's school supplies.
"I'm done," Sirius said, climbing out of the bed. "Won't take me long to dress."
"Good," Loki said, and as Sirius walked around him toward the wardrobe, Loki bent over to make their bed. Sirius smacked his bottom, and Loki stood up and glared at Sirius.
"Did I not tell you to stop doing that?"Loki demanded; Sirius gave him his infamous cocky grin.
"Nope," Sirius replied. "You said it was highly inappropriate."
"It was implied," Loki said, and when he turned back to the bed, Sirius wrapped his arms around Loki from behind and lifted him off the ground, causing Loki to yell, and Sirius laughed as he sat Loki down. That was Sirius' favorite thing about his new super-strength. He was now strong enough to pick Loki up and did so at every opportunity.
"Sirius, you fool, I know I did tell you to stop doing that," Loki said. Sirius continued to laugh as he went over to the wardrobe.
"Since when do I do what I'm told?" Sirius asked.
"You will if you want to continue the activities we were doing this morning tonight," Loki replied.
"You are evil, Reigny, pure evil," Sirius said, and Loki laughed as he turned to make their bed. Sirius grabbed a random pair of jeans and a T-shirt from the wardrobe and began getting dressed. After he put his socks and shoes on, Sirius grabbed his leather jacket and slipped it on; the moment Loki opened their bedroom door to walk out, Hugin flew down from someone and landed on his shoulder, making Loki groan; the stupid raven took Odin's orders of watching Loki, a bit too seriously, he followed Loki everywhere he went except the bathroom, and only didn't enter his and Sirius' bedroom, because Loki had put up a magical barrier keeping him out. The stupid thing even went to the Ministry with him; the day he was sworn in as Minister and posed for a photo for the Daily Prophet, Hugin was sitting on Loki's shoulder, causing the Wizarding World to think he was Loki's pet.
"Everyone ready?" Sirius asked when he got to the bottom of the stairs and saw everyone already gathered around the front door, everyone being Harry, Regulus, Thor, Frigga, and Kelda, along with Odin's giant wolf, who, like Hugin, had taken Odin's orders of guardian Frigga to heart, and barely left her side, even when she accompanied Loki to the Ministry one day, to see how the wizarding government worked.
"We've been ready for over thirty minutes." Harry said, "You were the ones to tell us we would be leaving by nine."
"You have your invisibility, Cloak?" Sirius asked. Harry patted the pocket of his hoodie. "Good. It's doubtful, but if Diagon Ally is attacked, you throw that over yourself and get out of there."
"Go to the Leaky Cauldron; Tom will allow you to use his Floo," Loki said, opening the front door. "Go straight to the Ministry and alert them if an attack. Then, go straight to Andromeda's office. She'll keep you safe until your father and I get there."
"I know we went over this last night," Harry replied; one of the first things Loki did after he officially became the Minister was given Andromeda the position of Senior Undersecretary to the Minister of Magic, even though that was a position Fudge had made up just for Dolores Umbridge, and Loki decided to keep it because it allowed Andromeda to do most the stuffy office type work, leaving Loki free to do other things.
"Good," Loki replied, then stepped out of the door. Everyone followed, and then Sirius and Harry grabbed one of Loki's hands while everyone else grabbed onto each other. Loki teleported all of them to a back alley not far from the Leaky Cauldron. They walked to the pub from there, and Thor opened the door and held it open until the last of them entered.
"Morning, Sirius," Tom greeted as Thor closed the door.
"Morning, Tom," Sirius said. Tom turned to Loki and nodded his head respectfully.
"Morning, Minister, " Tom said.
"Morning, Tom," Loki replied, and at the sound of his voice, the whole pub went silent, and all heads turned their way. Harry quickly ducked behind Thor, trying to use his large frame to hide behind something Thor seemed to find amusing. Then, when some of the witches and wizards stood and headed their way, Regulus pulled Harry's hood over his head, and he and Thor hurried him to the back while Loki greeted the people. Harry didn't want to be seen because what he did while possessed by the Aether had been all over the muggle and wizard news. Thankfully, the muggle news never learned Harry's name. Still, the Daily Prophet was having a field day on articles suggesting Harry was turning evil or even ones claiming he was being controlled by Voldemort or even Loki since the paper also had said a few bad things about the god until Loki found out. He put a stop to it; the truth of what happened had been printed in the Aesir Sun, and a few days after Loki yelled at the editor of the Daily Prophet, the same article appeared in the wizarding paper; the editor copied word for word from the Aesir Sun.
Ferki must not be used to so many unknown individuals getting close to Frigga because he started growling at them, so she and Kelda decided to wait in the back with Thor. Sirius leaned against the bar to wait on Loki as he greeted everyone. The Leaky Cauldron wasn't packed like it usually was around this time of day. Still, it wasn't empty either, not like it had gotten during Sirius's last two years of Hogwarts, a perfect example of how people weren't as afraid during this war as before, and Sirius was sure Loki and Thor had something to do with that.
"Loki has only been Minister for a bit over two weeks and is already on track to be the best Minister of Magic we have ever had, at least in my time," Tom said.
"He is." Sirius agreed as Hugin landed on his shoulder.
"You tell him not to let all those complaints in the Daily Prophet get to him; keep doing what he's doing; I can already see a big change in this war from the last one," Tom said.
"I'll be sure to tell him," Sirius said; there had been a few anonymous complaints in the Daily Prophet since Loki became Minister. It was mainly due to a few laws Loki passed after just a few days in office, one bill specifically, that gave rights to werewolves, magical creatures, and those labeled half-breeds by the ministry. And some complained about how hard it was to get into the Ministry now. Loki had many entrances cut off, including all muggle entrances, and then he posted a guard at each entrance and made employee IDs for every employee. Ministry employees didn't only need to show them to continue into the Ministry, but they also had to drink an antidote for Polyjuce Potion (which is harmless to drink). Once they get through security, a witch or wizard is waiting to run their wand over them and ensure they aren't bewitched; after that, they can go to work.
Visitors had an even harder time getting into the Ministry; Loki had taken a room that had three fireplaces that were usually used for the higher-ups and magically blocked the room from the rest of the Ministry and made it for visitors only; there was a guard by each fireplace and a welcome witch at a desk in the room, anyone with a court date or appointment is given a special pass the day their appointments are made, they can only get through Loki's magical block with the pass, and before they are allowed to enter, they must drink a Polyjuice Potion antidote and be checked for spells, anyone who shows up without an appointment is a force to make one, given a pass, then told to come back at a later date, unless its an emergency, in that case, a minister employee is alerted to handle it. Many people have complained about how long their wait can be, but Loki didn't care; it was all to protect the Ministry and the witches and wizards within it.
Loki greeted each witch or wizard individually and answered their questions or concerns. However, he also was careful with his answers to specific topics and didn't go into detail, especially if the question was about Harry. A witch with two children, one a baby, probably not even a year yet, and an older child, a girl who looked around four or five, pushed through the crowd to the front. Loki turned to her, and the baby reached out for him, and his face split into the biggest grin Sirius had ever seen on Loki's features as he took the baby, held him on his hip, and started talking to him. Sirius laughed when the baby's older sister pulled on Loki's shirt, wanting attention. Loki carefully knelt to her level and listened closely as she rambled about a toddler's life. Someone, likely a reporter, pulled out a camera and took a picture, and then the mother insisted on a photo of her, Loki, and her children.
Finally, after ten minutes, the crowd thinned out. Loki gave the witch back her baby and laughed when the little girl hugged him, and then her mother took her hand. The three left the pub, and Loki made his way over to Sirius with a giant smile, which caused Sirius to smile as he slipped his hand into Loki's. The two headed to the back of the pub, where everyone was waiting.
"It's about time you got here," Regulus said when they approached. "We'll be lucky if the shops aren't closed by now."
"Don't exaggerate," Sirius told him as Harry pushed open the door and stepped out into the back ally. The others followed, and Sirius was the last to exist. He immediately spotted two Asgardian guards standing on either side, where the bricks opened. Loki tightened security at the Ministry throughout the Wizarding World, places Death Eaters may attempt to attack. Because of Thor's willingness to do whatever Loki tells him to do, the guards patrolling and standing guard at these places were the Einherjar; Loki had Thor go to Asgard and ask Odin if he could send a little help so the Aurors would be free to catch dark wizards, and Hydra agents. Odin surprisingly granted Loki his wish and sent fifty of his greatest warriors, and Loki now had them scattered around the British wizarding community.
Regulus pulled out his wand, stepped forward, and tapped the bricks. They opened to reveal Diagon Ally. Kelda was the first to enter, with Regulus following. The guards bowed and greeted Thor, Frigga, and Loki as they passed. When Sirius motioned for Harry to go before him, the guards bowed to him as well, and Harry's face turned red as he mumbled something and hurried through the open wall; he and Sirius had only recently discovered the guards and the rest of Asgard for that matter accepted Harry as part of the royal family when Sirius and Harry decided to surprise Loki with a visit to the Ministry, the guards there had bowed to him. Harry hated it; he already got more stares and whispers than before due to the Aether situation, and being just Harry Potter, he didn't want more. Loki's dealing with Malekith was one of the things that got him voted Minister; the members of the Wizengamot saw that as Loki being willing to protect their world no matter who he was against. Plus, they knew with Loki came protection from Thor, and Loki being Harry Potter's mother also helped a bit.
"Consort, " one guard said, nodding respectfully at Sirius. The first Asgardian to call Sirius consort was Kelda, and surprised and a bit confused, Sirius turned to Thor for an explanation. Thor explained that since Sirius was in a committed relationship with Loki, he was Loki's royal consort. Asgardians knew they were to show him respect, which explained why the guards had listened to Sirius on Asgard, but he didn't care much for the title.
"Just call me Sirius," Sirius said. It had taken him days to get Kelda to stop calling him consort, and he wasn't about to let the guards do it.
"And I'm just Harry." Harry agreed from the other side of the wall. The guard smiled a little as he gave Sirius a nod, and he walked on through. The seven of them, plus the two animals, headed down the street. Sirius saw a few differences from the last time he was in Diagon Ally, like the added Asgardian guards walking around; there were also fewer people than usual, and the shop window displays were blocked by large Ministry of Magic posters that had been posted, moving black-and-white photographs of wanted Death Eaters and Hydra agents. Sirius spotted Bellatrix Lestrange among the posters, Sinthea Schmidt, Brock Rumlow, Alexander Pierce, and even Wanda and Pietro Maximoff, which shouldn't have been a surprise since Loki had vowed to punish whoever put Harry's name in the Goblet of Fire two years ago.
"I see a few people in a hurry, but it's not as bad as it got in the last war," Regulus replied as he stuck his hands in the pockets of the green and silver robes he wore.
"Yeah, people don't seem as sacred as they were in the last one, which is good." Sirius replied, then turned to Loki, "Reigny, you have Harry's list. Where do we go first?" Loki pulled Harry's school list out of his pocket and unfolded it.
"Since Harry dropped potions, there isn't much he needs besides books," Loki said, "Oh, he could use some new school robes; he's outgrown his, and I need to put something in my vault at Gringots."
Knowing it was the Aether Loki was going to put in his vault, Sirius reached over and took Harry's list from Loki and began to look at it.
"I have an idea," Sirius said. "Why don't you, Thor, Kelda, and Frigga go to Gringots? Show them how the bank works while Regulus and I take Harry to get his robes, which isn't very interesting."
"Alright," Loki said quickly, realizing what Sirius was doing. "We can meet at the bookshop in half an hour."
"We'll be there," Sirius said, throwing his arm around Harry, and they headed toward Madam Malkin's. So far, the only new abilities Harry has shown was super-speed. Loki wasn't sure if it meant that was the only ability Harry gained, if he was hiding something, or if it'd take something like a life-threatening situation or for Harry to get angry before anything else would show. However, his magic was still trying to reach out to the Aether, which is why Sirius didn't want Harry near it; he also didn't want to chance Regulus being anywhere near the thing, either.
As they neared, Madam Malkin's Sirius spotted a shady-looking wizard rattling armfuls of silver symbols on chains at passersby, claiming the amulets protected them from dark magic and dark creatures. The wizard looked towards them and recognized Sirius and Harry immediately.
"Sirius Black, Harry Potter, " the wizard called out; it caused those nearby to stop and look their way. "How about a protective amulet, Black? Your son could use one to protect his pretty little neck from You-Know-Who?"
"His mother and I are perfectly capable of protecting him ourselves," Sirius said, pulling Harry to his other side, further away from the wizard, as people started pointing and whispering. "Besides, I know those things don't work; they don't even have any charms on them."
"How do you know there aren't any charms on them?" Harry asked as Sirius started leading him away from the crowd when they started yelling things at them, from demanding to know when they would take out Voldemort to asking for their autograph. Sirius and Harry ignored each question.
"I would be able to fill the magic if they were charmed, and I feel nothing coming from them," Sirius answered.
"You guys go on in; I'll be there in a second," Regulus said. "While I show that guy why you shouldn't shout out certain people's names."
"He isn't going to hurt him, is he?" Harry asked as Regulus walked over to the wizard, grabbed his arm, and pulled him into an alley between two shops, leaving a trail of amulets in their wake.
"Nah," Sirius said, "Not much, at least."
That didn't make Harry feel any better as he entered Madam Malkin's, Sirius right behind him; they could hear Madam Malkin talking with a customer, so Sirius led Harry over to a rack of school robes, just as Draco Malfoy appeared wearing a set of green robes and strode to the mirror to examine himself, Malfoy looked as if he hadn't gotten much sleep lately, and his usually slicked back hair, was uncombed and a mess all over his head. He must have sensed someone else was in the shop because he turned towards Sirius and Harry, and his eyes grew wide in surprise. Then, he turned to the mirror, and an angry look appeared.
"Your father will pay for what he did, Potter." Malfoy snarled. Harry opened his mouth to say something, but Sirius touched Harry's arm.
"And what exactly did I do?" Sirius asked. Before Malfoy could answer, Narcissa Malfoy came hurrying from behind the racks and stood there staring at Sirius, opening and closing her mouth as if she wanted to say something but couldn't.
"Sirius," Narcissa said, quickly closing her mouth and saying nothing else. She looked awful like she was starving and hadn't slept in years. In other words, Narcissa Malfoy looked like she had just spent twelve years in Azkaban.
"Are you alright, Mrs. Malfoy?" Harry asked, concern in his voice.
"Of course, she isn't okay, Potter." Malfoy snapped. "You wouldn't be."
Narcissa rushed over and covered Malfoy's mouth, then turned him to face the mirror and called for Madam Malkin to assist them. Sirius turned to Harry, and after a moment, he shrugged and went back to looking through the school robes. Every few minutes, Narcissa would look his way wishfully.
"Ouch, stop sticking me with those pins, woman." Malfoy snapped. At that moment, the door opened, and both Narcissa and Malfoy turned towards it. They grew paler at the sight of Regulus entering the shop, but Regulus didn't notice them. His eyes went right where Harry and Sirius were, and he headed towards them.
"I doubt you'll see that crock selling any more of his junk in Diagon Ally again," Regulus said.
"What did you do to that guy?" Sirius asked.
"Just a few stinging hexes," Regulus said, "And a few threats. You should have seen how pale his face got when I reminded him the new Minister and I share the same last name; he was terrified of Loki; you would have thought I said Voldemort was my brother-in-law."
"I have better taste than that," Sirius said, and Regulus snorted.
"Regulus," Narcissa said, and Regulus turned to look at her.
"Cissy," Regulus said; he looked surprised, and Sirius didn't know if that was from seeing Narcissa here or how bad she looked.
"You're….umm here," Narcissa said, and Sirius noticed Malfoy was now staring at Regulus in the mirror.
"Yeah," Regulus replied, sounding confused. Narcissa stared at Regulus with a guilty look, though Sirius had no idea what she would feel guilty about. Then Narcissa glanced at Sirius as if itching to say something to him, but then she turned back to Malfoy, hurried him over to the counter to pay for his new robes, and left without another glance or word to them.
"That was weird," Regulus commented. Sirius nodded his agreement as Harry went over to have his robes fitted.
After they left Madam Malkin's, they went to Flourish and Blotts; Loki and the others were already there, looking around, so Harry and Sirius went around gathering the books Harry needed and met Loki and Frigga at the counter, where Loki was buying Frigga some books she thought sounded interesting, a few minutes later Regulus came to the counter with a couple of books he purchased himself; after they left the bookshop, they showed Frigga and Kelda around Diagon Ally, entering almost every shop they saw, even a few Harry had never been in. Kelda was amazed by the little wizarding village and even remarked on how it reminded her of the village on Asgard, except for everyone walking around in their bathrobes. Frigga, too, seemed to be enjoying herself. However, Ferki wasn't too happy about having to sit outside most shops they went into, either because he was too big to go into the small shops or because they didn't allow animals; Hugin was able to fly into each shop, mostly unnoticed.
As they passed Quality Quidditch Supplies, Regulus asked to go in because he needed a new broom. While there, Harry bought a few refills for his broom care kit, and he spotted some Quidditch gloves that had Cho's favorite team on them, so he bought them to save and give to her for Christmas. He just hoped she hadn't gotten a pair already, but considering the price and what he learned from Cho about her parents, he couldn't see them willing to pay that much.
Before leaving the alley, they stopped at three more shops; the first was Fred and George's new shop, Weasley's Wizard Wheezes; the twins happily showed them around the store and introduced themselves to Frigga and Kelda. They gave Harry all kinds of joke products because he gave them his Triwizard winnings to start their shop. Before leaving, Thor, who had traded some Asgardian gold to Loki for wizard coins while in his vault at Gringots, bought Kelda this small creature Fred and George called a Pygmy Puff; Kelda thought the thing was adorable. Sirius thought it looked like a ball of purple fur with a tail.
After leaving Fred and George's shop, the magic users and gods headed to the Magical Menagerie to buy some owl treats. While there, Harry bought Ferki a large chew bone. Loki bought Kelda's new pet a small cage to keep it in at times and some toys; he bought a few things for Thori, who has been upset with Loki ever since Hugin came to stay with them. The owl hated Odin's raven and tried fighting him whenever they were in the same room together.
While Sirius stood in line next to Loki as he paid for the items, he felt something tug on his jeans and looked down to see a white fluffy puppy.
"Who do we have here?" Sirius asked, bending down and picking up the puppy. The puppy immediately started licking all over his face.
"Sirius, that is disgusting," Loki said.
"Aww, but Reigny, look how adored the little puppy is," Sirius said, holding it in his arms while the tiny creature wiggled, trying to reach Sirius' face to lick him again as it wagged its tail excitedly.
"We call her Puppy," the saleswitch said, "We don't get many dogs in the shop; they aren't common pets in our world. But we were happy when all her siblings were sold, but no one wanted her. My boss thinks it's because she's a runt."
"Aww, the poor baby," Sirius said; he looked at the saleswitch and grinned. "I'll take her."
Ten minutes later, Sirius left the Magical Menagerie, carrying an excited puppy in his arms; the items from the pet shop and all the other bags from the different shops were stored in Loki's pocket dimension until they got home. The seven of them chatted among each other as they headed toward the last place they wanted to go, Florean Fortescue's, for ice cream.
"I can't believe you bought that creature," Loki said. "Keep on, and we'll have more animals than people in our house."
"Be nice to Puppy." Sirius said, "She's a runt, like you,"
"Do not call me that," Loki demanded.
"She's a baby, " Sirius said. "I saw how you smiled when that witch let you hold her baby; well, now Puppy can be our baby,"
Loki gave Sirius a look that said he couldn't believe the words coming out of his mouth, but before he got to reply, Sirius tried to put the puppy in his arms.
"I do not want to hold that thing." Loki said, "I'll get fur all over me."
"Don't call Puppy a thing," Sirius said, holding the puppy closer as Harry pulled on his arm to get his attention.
"Look at Malfoy," Harry said. "What's he doing?"
Sirius looked to where Harry was pointing and saw Draco Malfoy, by himself, walking up the street, looking around as if looking for someone; he would glance in shop windows, open shop doors, and peek inside, all the while gripping his wand tightly in his hand.
"I have no idea," Sirius replied as he watched Malfoy disappear down Knockturn Ally. "But I don't like it."
AN Narcissa stopped Malfoy from talking because she was afraid he'd let slip the job Voldemort gave him to do; I forgot to mention in that last chapter, Narcissa knows Sirius was involved with having Lucius under mind control, but she was desperate enough to protect Draco she was willing to look over it, but ended up seeking Snape's help instead, and now part of her is regretting it. Still, she thinks it's too late to ask Sirius for help now, which is why she acted the way she was.
I'm sorry. Not much happened in the chapter, and it may not have been very interesting, but at least I was able to get something up. As I said in the last chapter, I'm not sure when I'll get to update again. This month will be busy, but the next chapter will have a bit of action when I do get to upload it.
Thank you, to everyone still reading and enjoying my story, I appreciate it.
