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“This is a secret,” Sirius said, blocking the shed door, and gazing down sternly at his two tag-alongs.
“We can’t tell Mama?” Leo asked, frowning.
Where he looked concerned, his twin’s eyes lit up. She clapped her hands together, looking far more like the little girl Sirius was used to and not the too-cool for Dad, independent teenager she was trying to be.
“Mama knows,” Sirius conceded. It took the air of commiseration out of Lyra’s sails, but Leo relaxed a little. “But Grandmother and Grandfather--definitely a secret from them.” He winked at Lyra, who grinned back.
The moon was shining, waxing gibbous, above them--it was just a half-hour shy of midnight, of the twins’ 13th birthday, and whatever lay behind the doors of the shed was their father’s big surprise for them. He’d shaken them awake long after the sun had gone down, building anticipation as he held a finger to his lips and beckoned them each to follow him. They crept in the halls of their house, following its Master, Lyra trying to stifle her giggles so as not to wake her siblings, Leo, picking up each slippered foot exactingly because Great-Grandfather had told him last week he shuffled his feet too much.
The brisk winter air had greeted them outside, and Leo shivered. Lyra had thought to throw a cloak on, but Leo had been rushed and was only in his thin, silk pajamas. Sirius shrugged off his jacket, his old, worn leather one that made Grandmother angry at him so he didn’t wear it around her often, and draped it around Leo’s shoulders.
His kids were still small enough that the jacket had swallowed up Leo, and it was cold enough his proper wizard son didn’t protest the Muggle clothes. Instead, he snuggled into it, and Sirius had to resist the urge to grab his kids’ hands, one on each side, like he used to when they were little.
It wasn’t a far walk from the home to where they now stood, Lyra skipping every few steps, Leo trying to keep stride with his father’s long steps, trying to maintain dignity while drowning in a jacket, and they’d arrived to a small, gated yard with a shed that Sirius was now standing in front of, swearing them to secrecy.
“Come on, Dad,” Lyra whined. “Hurry up! Leo’s gonna die from your theatrics.”
Leo huffed out a laugh at Lyra, of all people, calling out theatrics, and his breath puffed out in front of them, as if to prove her point.
“Hold your hippogriffs!” Sirius scolded. “This is a big deal, you have to savor the experience.”
Lyra rolled her eyes impatiently. “I’ve been holding my hippogriffs since I was ten! Come on, show us!”
Sirius paused, shooting a puzzled glance at Leo, who shrugged back. After a moment, Sirius brushed it off and said, “Fine, fine,” and pushed the doors open. He walked backwards, talking, as the twins followed.
“Here she is, mes chéries , in all her glory, my first child--”
“Hey!” Leo protested, and was ignored.
“--the reason your mother fell in love with me--” a wink-- “Elvira.”
He concluded, leaning against the motorcycle with a grin. Lyra rushed forward, running her hands over the handlebars, the seat, and Leo followed after a moment, his touch more hesitant.
“So,” their dad said, clapping his hands together, business-like. He rocked on the balls of his feet looking, Leo thought privately, entirely too young in his excitement. “Want to go for a spin?”
“Yes!” Lyra answered for both of them. She slung her leg over the seat and looked up expectantly. “How do I start it?”
Sirius laughed. “Slow down, love, we’re going together.”
She almost pouted, but caught herself when she saw the small smile tugging at Leo’s lips. He had started to take himself too seriously, she thought, since starting school, and a wild adventure with their dad might get him to loosen up.
Sirius slid in behind her, arms wrapping around to the handlebars. It was a comforting feeling of Safe, one she was exceedingly familiar with. He waved a wand and a helmet plopped gently on her head. Leo was putting his on by hand, and Sirius beckoned him to the sidecar.
“You can switch on our way back,” he said, as Leo clambored in.
Sirius checked to make sure they were both safe, pushed them out of the shed, revved the engine, and then they were off.
Lyra was laughing and even Leo let out a shout. “You can see everything up here!” her dad yelled over the engine and rush of wind.
They really could--the stars and clouds, the buildings of London lit up below, lights of Muggle cars passing in their own life.
“Can they see us?” Lyra shouted back, but her question was lost to the wind.
Their dad flew around a little before making a landing on a rooftop. “Come see,” he said cutting the engine. “Best view of London.”
His kids slid away from the bike, ever graceful Blacks, and tugged off their helmets. Lyra stood, taking in the lights of the city below, the river, and twirled. The cool air had her feeling giddy, wild. The view even earned a soft, barely breathed, c’est magnifique from Leo.
“Kenwood House,” Sirius explained. “A special place. In this very spot, your mother fell in love with me.” He waggled his eyebrows.
“Mama tells it differently,” Leo said primly, but he was sidled close to Lyra, his father on his other side, and feeling warm enough to only say it absently.
“I snuck you some cake,” he added, and they sat down. Sirius lit a fire with his wand to warm up around, and then lit the candles on their slices and they blew them out as the clock struck midnight.
“Happy birthday,” he told them, and then indulged himself with a kiss to each of their cheeks. Lyra grimaced, making a show of wiping it away, while Leo whined, “ Dad,” but neither seemed particularly upset.
They switched places on the way home, Leo stiff in front of his dad, Lyra hanging dangerously out of the sidecar.
“For a better view!” she shouted, when Sirius took a hand of the bars to yank her further down.
They walked home in companionable silence, Lyra leading the way, always too fast for everyone else. Sirius hung back, an arm slung around Leo’s shoulders. He didn’t seem a bit cold, even though Leo was still wearing his jacket, and his eyes shone in a way Leo wasn’t sure how to describe.
After a bit, when Lyra was safely ahead, Sirius dropped his voice and asked, “Did she
really
find Elvira at ten?”
Leo nodded.
“Did she ride her?” Sirius pressed.
Leo shrugged, shoulders rising beneath his father’s arm. “She says she did, and I know she was sneaking out to try, but--,”
He trailed off until Sirius gave him a little squeeze. “But?” he prompted.
Leo grinned up at him. “I don’t think she ever figured it out.”
Sirius laughed as Leo added, “ You saw her tonight. Definitely the first time.”
Lyra turned to them, hands on her hips, walking backwards. “Are you laughing at me?” she demanded.
“Not at all,” Sirius said back. “Wait for us.”
She let them catch up and let Sirius settle his other arm around her shoulders. A twin on each side, 13 years today. The air was cold, but their family was warm, and if Sirius let the kids sleep late the next day, well, it was their birthday, and no one else had to know.