"So what are we going to do tomorrow?" Harry asked as he laid beside her on her bed. They had just finished the last of their school work, both leaving Divination revision for last, and were now lounging on her bed, with the muggle radio playing softly around them.
"Oh...I forgot," she said lightly, and a tad awkwardly. "I, er, I'm hanging out with Neville tomorrow."
"Oh, when is he coming over?" Harry asked, ignoring the odd, unfamiliar, feeling that was fumbling in him. He couldn't quite place it, it wasn't quite annoyance or frustration, but it was close, it was a strange feeling and he didn't like it.
"Er... he isn't," she answered, twisting a fashion ring that was on her finger. "I'm going to hang out with him in Diagon Alley tomorrow."
"Oh..." Disappointment settled in Harry.
"It's his birthday tomorrow," Grace continued. Harry rolled his lips between his teeth as he stared at her ceiling. His birthday was the day after, why wasn't she asking him about his birthday instead? Why was she talking about Neville's birthday? Why was she going out for Neville's birthday? Why couldn't the two of them go out for his birthday? He'd love to spend his birthday in Diagon Alley, looking at the Quidditch supplies, going to Fortescue's Ice Cream shop. He'd love to do that with her, and with Sirius, and her mum,and Remus too. Why did she have to go out with Neville for his birthday? What about him? Then Harry paused. Was he jealous of Neville Longbottom? No, he couldn't be. "He asked me if I would like to hang out, and Remus convinced Mum to let me go. He's going to take me to the Leaky Cauldron in the morning."
"Oh," Harry said.
"You're more than welcome to still come over and hang out with Dad! I'm sure he'll love that!"
"Er... sure," he nodded, still staring up at the ceiling.
Grace turned her head to look at him, and she noticed that his jaw was clenched and she frowned. "Harry?" she whispered.
"Hm?"
"Look at me," she said. Harry took a deep breath in, and after he exhaled he turned his head to look at her. Grace gave him a small smile, and grabbed his hand.
"I'm coming back tomorrow afternoon. I've got to get stuff for your birthday ready too, so stop acting like I'll be at Neville's for the rest of summer," she told him with a small smile. "'Kay?"
Harry swallowed as he stared at her; his heart racing in his chest and he felt his stomach turn in somersaults. She was planning something for his birthday. Him. She was thinking of him, and that made Harry's heart feel light. He smiled at her, and squeezed her hand. Whatever she was planning, he hoped that she would make that treacle tart again. He never told her what the memories he thought of when he conjured his patronus. Not the stag, but when they were with Sirius at the lake, the last patronus before he passed out... He thought about her. He thought about that day last summer, how they were laughing and having fun making that treacle tart. It was one of his happiest memories.
"Where's Harry and Grace?" Remus asked as he stepped into the living room of Helena's house in Little Whinging.
"Upstairs," Sirius answered nonchalantly. Sirius was currently lounging on the couch with his feet up, and The Daily Prophet folded up on his lap. "What's a five-letter word for 'Charm to give all letters'?"
"Spell," Remus answered with a frown. "Why are they upstairs?"
"Of course!" Sirius scoffed, shaking his head at himself.
"Sirius."
"Hm?"
"Why are they upstairs?"
"Oh, they're doing school work," he answered with another shrug. Remus blinked at Sirius before rolling his eyes. He walked to the bottom of the stairs and peeked up, then frowned when he noticed the door closed. "Eight letter word for a Dark Wizard detector?"
"Will you put that down!"
"What's the matter?"
"What's the matter?" Remus blinked. "What's the matter?" he repeated and Sirius nodded, still not understanding what Remus was getting riled up for. "Where is your daughter?"
"Upstairs in her room."
"Where is Harry?"
"Upstairs in Grace's room," Sirius frowned, looking confused. "Moony, what are you on about? They're upstairs doing their summer coursework."
"The door is closed."
"And? They were revising Divination and wanted quiet," he answered as if it wasn't a big deal. Remus stared at him, and blinked twice before pinching his nose in frustration. He couldn't believe that Sirius, of all people, would be this thick.
"You've got two fourteen-year-olds upstairs. In a room. Alone. With the door closed," Remus told him slowly.
"...Remus, I'm not following. What's the problem with them-"
"Sirius, what were you doing with a girl, alone in a room, at fourteen?"
"I was snogging her sense-shit!" Sirius tossed the newspaper on the coffee table as he bolted from the sofa.
"There it is," Remus sighed.
Sirius raced up the stairs, and paused in front of Grace's door, then pressed his ear against it. He didn't hear anything but the muffled sound of muggle music, and his heart fell in his chest. Oh no. He wasn't ready for this. Sure he knew about Grace's crush, and yes, he might have had suspicions of Harry returning those feelings, but Sirius was not ready for the idea of his daughter dating, or kissing, or – he shuddered at the thought. He wondered for a moment if Helena had the talk with Grace already, or if maybe Remus did. If not, then that meant it was going to fall onto him, and it wasn't a conversation he was looking forward to, or ready for.
He turned the door handle quietly, and slowly opened the door, peeking his head through. He sighed in relief when he saw them laying on her bed, fully clothed and on top of her duvet. Sirius smiled as he leaned against the door frame, looking at them. Grace's head was resting on Harry's shoulder, and his head was turned toward her. He should wake them up, not because his paternal instincts were screaming at him to wake them up and separate them, keep them downstairs where he and Remus could keep an eye on them; but because he knew if Grace slept for any longer she would not be going to sleep until really late.
"Hey, Moony," Sirius whispered, looking out into the hallway to see Remus leaning against the banister. "Where's Grace's camera?"
"Why?"
"Take a look," he nodded his head, and moved out of the way for Remus. "Aren't they adorable?" Remus stood beside him in the doorway and looked at them with a small, sad, smile on his face. Sirius grinned at him, but then noticed the melancholic look in his friends eyes. Remus blinked a couple of times before stepping back into the hall, taking out his wand. "Moony?"
"Accio, camera," Remus whispered, flicking his wand, and in seconds the camera flew from downstairs and into his hands. "Here," He said, handing the camera to Sirius. He didn't wait for Sirius to say anything before he turned and walked back downstairs. Sirius frowned in concern.
He stepped into the room quietly, and walked to the foot of her bed, raising the camera up. Grace stirred, shifting onto her side and nuzzling her head into Harry's shoulder. This was when Sirius took the picture. He smiled at them again before leaving the room, this time making sure the door stayed open. Sirius made his way back downstairs into the lounge, and he noticed Remus sitting on the sofa, holding a picture frame in his hands.
"Moony?" he called softly, taking a seat next to him. He looked at the frame Remus was holding. It was a large frame, one that displayed four photographs. One of them was of Grace holding up her wand with a big smile on her face. The one next to it was a picture of her in front of the Hogwarts Express with her Hogwarts Robes over her muggle clothing. The one under it was of her drowning in a Gryffindor scarf, looking a little younger than the other two photos. The last one was of Remus and Grace, hugging, in front of the Hogwarts Express.
"She had just turned eleven," Remus started, pointing to the bottom right picture, the one of her in a Gryffindor scarf. "And she had read her Hogwarts letter so many times she could recite it in her sleep. She stole my scarf whenever she could, saying she was going to be in Gryffindor just like Helena and I," he chuckled. "This was when I took her to get her wand in Diagon Alley. She was so excited and asked to get books about wands so she could know everything about hers. When I went to take her Kings Cross, she wanted to wear her robes so badly but I told her she had to wait to change into them, but she put on just her cloak and asked for me to take a picture," he smiled sadly, his thumb grazing the last picture of him and Grace. "Someone asked if I wanted a picture of the two of us, and before I could answer Grace said yes, and asked if they could take it."
"I saw it at the cottage," Sirius whispered. "You two looked happy."
"She fancies Harry, doesn't she?" Remus asked, looking at him and Sirius could see the sadness in his eyes. Remus chuckled breathlessly as he shook his head and glanced up at the ceiling. "I remember when she thought boys were, in her own words: icky. Now she's fourteen and liking boys, and... she's turning into a young woman. I shouldn't be feeling like this...you're her father, not me."
Sirius rested a hand on Remus' shoulder, squeezing it gently. "You've watched her grow up. You've got a relationship with her-"
"That you should have," Remus cut him off. "You should be in all these pictures, Sirius, not me. You should have been the one to take her to get her wand, to drop her off at Kings Cross. You should have been the one to give her a Gryffindor scarf-"
"You're right, I should be," Sirius said brokenly. "I should have never left Helena and Grace that night, and I live with that regret, and I will continue to live with that regret for the rest of my life," he continued, squeezing Remus' shoulder again. "But you are her father too, Remus. You didn't have to promise me anything that day in Azkaban. Hell, I'm surprised you did. You could've left, disappeared, and been on your own but you didn't. You stepped up to be there for her, to raise her, to love her as if she was your daughter. There is nothing, nothing that I can say or do to ever express my gratitude to you, Remus.
"You have a relationship with Grace that is so deep, and special, and I admit that I am a little envious because I do want to have a relationship like that with her, and I'm building one, but it won't be the same." Sirius said, swallowing the lump that grew in his throat and blinked away the tears that were threatening to escape. "Nothing and no one, not even me, could come between you two. Your relationship with her is so special, that she won't show me the tree house," he confessed, and Remus turned to him, shocked. "I can tell she wants to, because she wants to show me everything and tell me everything... but, that tree house is you, Remus. She wants one place that she shares with only you. So, you're allowed to feel like this, she's your daughter too."
It was still hard for Sirius to look at all the photos that were around Blue Cottage. He loved seeing the stages of Grace's life, loved getting to know her through those photos; but it was a bitter reminder that he missed them. Remus was right, Sirius should be the one in those photos. He should be the one who danced while she was standing on his feet. He should have been there for birthdays and Christmases, he should have been the one to think of building her a tree house. It broke his heart that he wasn't, that he missed everything in his daughter's life. Sirius wanted to be a father, maybe not quite that young, but he wanted to have at least one child; and Helena didn't. They argued so much about having a family, she didn't want children and he did. He didn't get to be the father he wanted to be, while Helenahadto be a mother she didn't want to be; that irony was not lost on him.
"Am I an awful friend for a small part of me that... that wished she never wanted to know you?" Remus so quietly that Sirius almost missed it.
"No," he shook his head. "Because a small part of me wished she wasn't so close to you so being with her would be easier," he confessed.
"You're doing a great job with her," Remus told him. "I think she's just happy to get the chance to get to know you."
"It's hard to connect with her," Sirius confessed insecurely, which surprised Remus because there was one thing that Sirius wasn't, it was insecure. "I don't know if it's because she's a girl, or because of her age or because I've missed everything... I don't even know if I have anything in common with her."
Remus snorted at this. "She's so much like you, that sometimes it was hard to be around her because Lena and I would miss the old days. I used to see it when she sleeps, she curls up just like you did, and she sleeps with her mouth open just like you did, still do. If you noticed, she holds a quill just like you do. You both curl your 's's the same way, as well as write your 'B's and 'k's the same. She loves big gestures, and she's very affectionate. Sounds a lot like you," Remus told him with a small smile, and Sirius felt himself smile. "Give it some more time, you just have to find something that the two of you can talk about, or do together."
"That's where I keep hitting the block," Sirius confessed as he leaned back into the sofa. "Harry, it's been easy. He wants to know so much about Lily and James."
"And Grace wants to know so much about you," Remus told him. "Talk to her about those muggle bands you loved."
"She won't like them," Sirius shrugged.
"How do you know if you don't try? She loves music, and learning some of your favorite music would make her happy. She's only been shown my taste in music-"
"Which is criminal," Sirius teased lightly, and Remus rolled his eyes.
"So help her broaden her knowledge," Remus continued. "Have tea with her in the morning-"
"I do."
"No, make and have real tea with her. Let her read your tea leaves, she really likes tasseomancy."
"Is that what she does in the morning?" Sirius asked, frowning. He usually tries to be over every morning to have breakfast with her, but every morning when he does arrive, she's usually scribbling in a notebook with a textbook out in front of her. He always thought she was doing schoolwork while enjoying a cup a breakfast tea.
"Mhm," Remus nodded. "She's been reading her tea leaves since the second day of term last year. She really likes Divination."
"Why? It's a bit woolly isn't it?"
"Maybe you should ask her," Remus told him.
"I don't want her to get upset and think that I don't know anything about her-"
"She won't. She wants you to ask what she likes because she wants to share it with you, Sirius," Sirius looked down at his hands as he tugged on the hem of his shirt. "Remember when you asked her what her favorite thing to play on the piano was?" Sirius nodded, "and how happy and excited she was?" he nodded again, "and you asked her to play it for you?" another nod. "That's what she wants with you. She wants you to ask her questions about her, about her things, about her likes and dislikes. Everything else will come and fall into place naturally."
"...Tea leaves?" Sirius asked again, looking at Remus with a raised eyebrow and the man nodded slowly. "Of all the things...tea leaves? Divination?"
"I know. The least structured part of magic is probably one of her favorite classes."
"Well, I suppose that is a start."
A/N:
1. Harry's starting to feel jeeeeaaaalllooouuusy! This will not be the only time, this feeling will be reoccurring many many MANY times for the next 76 chapters :) It happens so often it may... or may not cause some problems... oop!
2. The two of them are so stinking cute!
3. :( I got really emotional writing the part with Sirius and Remus... but it was something that needed to be shown, how the two of them were dealing with the major changes. Remus is Grace's dad in everything but blood, and his conflicting emotions with if he should be feeling this way when Sirius is there and innocent and can finally step into the 'dad' role. But we also have Sirius' emotions of grief from losing all those years and seeing one of his best friends basically step up and take his place for those 12 years, and struggling with trying to connect with her because she is grown... It's kind of emotional, so y'all got both fluff and angst in one chapter :)
This is also not the only time that we see something like this with Sirius, it will happen again in GoF :( And something similar in OotP... :(
Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! And i'd love to know your thoughts from/on this chapter! :)
