A/N: Hello people and welcome to a short, scene-based Bellatrix-POV, future Haphne work. I hope you enjoy; I have more 2 written that I'll post when I can (6 & 7, more will eventually come later)
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Bellatrix looked down at the sleeping form of her cousin, Sirius. His hair was unkempt and unhealthy, he had a scraggly beard, and his skin looked downright sickly. That wasn't to mention the state of his teeth or his face as a whole.
He'd seen better days, far better days; it made her wish she'd gone and gotten him earlier, but that would've been reckless. Harry would've been left here, alone sans the presence of Kreacher. Even now, she shouldn't have taken the risk — she wouldn't have if she were the right sort of guardian that Harry deserved, sweet boy that he is.
But she was the best he had, and soon, Sirius would be in his life as well. A male figure in his life was important, and whilst she knew she was a wondrous mother, there was stuff that Sirius would have to aid him with.
She'd just have to keep her cousin away from making mention of witches. Her Harry was much too young to think about witches. Yes, he could wait until after Hogwarts, and then she could present him with a list of girls that met the criteria she'd require.
Bella sighed.
He'd already grown so much. She feared the day he'd leave, finding his own home and future.
Thank Morgana those years were still far away.
She needed to prepare him further for all the trials of life.
That required all of his Hogwarts years, and then some.
When Sirius finally woke, Bellatrix was fortunate enough to be by his side. She'd tied his wrists, and his feet, and kept the wand she had for him stowed. It wasn't, perhaps, the greatest thing she could do for him, but it was necessary. Sirius would think her his enemy, as most had.
And for good reason.
Bellatrix had done much when her mind had been enslaved, and Sirius would know most, if not all of what she'd done. He would hate her, but she would show him otherwise — prove otherwise — and make him come to learn that Harry, her Harry, was who each had to protect now.
The rest of the Potters might be dead, but Sirius would know just as she would, that there were no better guardians than them… that were still able to take care of Harry.
"Sirius?" Bellatrix did the best that she could to keep her voice soft and soothing. She'd also done all that she could to change her looks, flattening her typically curly hair, and using lighter shades of cosmetics; it was the best attempt she could give to make herself look non-threatening.
Like a rabid animal, as soon as he heard her voice and turned to see her, he began shaking all about. His head whipped back and forth, and all that he said was unintelligible — just the ramblings of a man possessed with rage.
Bella sighed. This would be more challenging than she thought.
The following day saw little improvement, but the day after, Sirius finally got out words that were understandable, and sane; and beyond threats as well.
He demanded of her the truth of everything that's happened in his absence, and leading up to it. Why she'd broken him out, why she had Harry — and why she cared about him in the first place — and most important of all, why he shouldn't harm her.
And unlike the 'her' that he knew during much of the conflict, she answered each and every question without pause or deceit. There wasn't even a sour expression on her face despite his tone and the doubt he openly wore.
After some few hours of conversation, one in which Sirius was fed by Kreacher during a pause, he was convinced, finally, that she wasn't deceiving him.
It helped that she wore vehemently, and offered up many a picture that featured Harry at various stages of his life; more oft than not, he was sitting on her lap or held aloft in her arms in said pictures. Perhaps the fact that they were taken via Muggle-enchanted machinery helped her just as much as the photos themselves did.
She would assume as much, given how much he had approved of James' relationship with Lily.
In retrospect, it was the sort of love story she would've loved to read in her youth.
How she'd truly handled it, well, it was a poor reflection of what reality should've been.
But together, Sirius and her would get back at those who'd done wrong by them. The Lestranges, Little Peter, the Malfoys, all would get theirs in the end… but carefully, not violently; the latter would cause too big an issue for her and Sirius both, especially if they were to, eventually, have their names cleared.
She shook her head. There was time to hope later, but now, she had to write to her Harry, and see how he was fairing at Hogwarts. It wouldn't do if he was having a poor time there. Not at all.
And perhaps she'd fill him in as well, in regards to Sirius. She'd not name him, but she would tell him there was a wizard with her, one that she trusted, and one that would teach him just as she'd done.
Harry would turn into a strong, fearsome warrior, but not one that was cold and calloused. He would be loved, and he would love, and her Harry would see all those who wished to harm him, dealt with.
Nobody would make a victim out of him.
Bellatrix narrowed her eyes at Sirius as he leaned against the archway of the dining room door.
It was Yule, Harry's first with the man, and he was dressed entirely too… Sirius. The man wore Muggle leathery garments, had his hair left wild from when first he'd woken up, and even had a glass of mead in his grasp.
Kreacher had, no doubt, procured it for him.
She sighed. He was owed his amenities.
The Floo went up then, and her head snapped thereto.
Before Harry was so much as taking his first step out, her arms wrapped around him, and she pulled him in close.
He was back, and safe.
She'd never realised just how much he meant to her until he'd been gone for the past few months.
Bellatrix dropped her arms, and gestured, after a moment, to Sirius.
It was time for the two to meet.