Work Text:
Parental Guidance
Sirius knocked on the tall, mahogany door of Mr. Potter’s office, and opened it a minute later when a voice from inside told him to enter.
“Hey, Monty,” he greeted, walking further into the room as the older man beckoned him towards the chair opposite him. “Can I- Do you have a minute to talk?”
“Of course, Sirius. Always, sit down,” Fleamont said, putting down his quill and using his wand to dry the ink and roll the parchments he had been writing on. Putting his work aside, he leaned his elbows on the table and gave the boy his full attention.
To say Sirius was surprised would be an understatement. In his own house, if he dared to disrupt Orion when he was working there would be hell to pay. Not that we would ever go to his father for advice on girls; after all, he did marry his horrid mother. Thank Merlin his parents were desperate enough to get rid of him - after one too many pureblood meetings ended in disaster because of him, of course - that they let him leave to spend the summer at the Potters earlier than usual.
Regardless of Fleamont’s apparent eagerness to listen to whatever he had to say, Sirius hesitated. Did he even really want to do this? He was Sirius Black, for fuck’s sake, he didn’t need advice on... that! But he had been trying everything he could think of lately, and nothing. And it’s not like he could go ask James for help, he’d kill him, - not that James would be able to help anyway, what with his disastrous attempts to get Evans to go out with him.
Unlike Orion and James, though, Fleamont had it all: a beautiful and loving wife, a nice enough son (oh, who was he kidding, James was The Best™️), a nice big home with an even larger Estate, and even his House Elves were incredibly kind and friendly. So really, if Sirius Black had come to the point of asking for advice on how to woo girls, well, there was no one better to ask than Monty Potter.
“What’s on your mind, son?” the man asked, and Sirius realized he must have sat there in silence for too long. Completely pushing aside the swell of emotion that word brought, he cleared his throat and straightened in his seat.
“I was hoping you could help me…” he started, then trailed off. This was such a terrible idea. Monty would probably just tell him to stay away from her, maybe he would even kick him out; after all, she had been there forever, she was practically the daughter that Fleamont and Euphemia never had. Yep, he should definitely leave, and James was likely waiting for him so they could play Quidditch, so he should really, really…. go.
As Sirius looked up to tell Mr. Potter that, his eyes locked with the other man’s and he saw nothing there but a loving parent waiting to help his ch-... He deflated, throwing himself at the chair in a way that would have his mother pitching a fit - legs sprawled open, resting against the back of the seat in a slouch and with his head thrown back.
He groaned, loudly, before sitting straight and meeting at Monty’s patient gaze. He looked away before starting again.
“There’s this girl I fancy,” he mumbled, storm-grey eyes locked on the table. Monty made a humming sound, and Sirius glanced up quickly to see the knowing smirk on his face.
“Go on.”
“I’ve tried everything, and she just… She never takes me ser-” he rolled his eyes at himself; James could never learn about this. “She doesn’t take me seriously, she’ll always just… laugh it off,” he shrugged, not knowing exactly what to say next.
“Well, what have you tried?” Fleamont asked, and he sounded genuinely curious and interested, so Sirius relaxed on his seat, finally raising his eyes to Monty’s and keeping them there while he vented his frustrations.
“Well, I’ve flirted. A lot! She even flirts back!” Sirius didn’t even realize he had slipped to the edge of the chair, hands moving as he talked. “I’ve been nice to her, you know, chivalrous, a proper Gryffindor. And, and I help her with her essays when she needs it, which is not often because she’s absolutely brilliant. And…” he trailed off again, making an effort to calm his breathing, he hadn’t even realized how worked up he had gotten, but she always had that effect on him.
“And have you flirted with other girls?” Mr. Potter asked, lacing his fingers together over the table and straightening his spine.
Sirius thought it was a bit of a stupid question, but answered anyway, “Well, yeah,” he shrugged.
“Hmm. I see.”
“Do you?” he huffed, after all the man did was stare at him with a pointed look and an arched eyebrow. What did he expect? That Sirius ignored all the other pretty birds making eyes at him when she didn’t give him any mind? “Because at this point I think I’m bloody blind!”
“Well, have you told her how you feel?” Monty asked, brows furrowed in thought, and Sirius stared incredulously at him for a moment. He’s not a Hufflepuff, for Godric’s sake, to go around actually sharing his feelings. Maybe he should have gone to Mia, after all. She was a smart woman, James’ mum.
He thought the man could see the answer in his face, though, because Fleamont smiled at him, lines appearing at the corner of his eyes, the wrinkles of old age disappearing behind decades-long laugh lines.
“Magical we might be, Sirius, but you can’t just expect for… this girl to read your mind. How is she supposed to know that when you flirt with her is different than when you flirt with other girls?” he asked, and Sirius was stumped. Huh, maybe he made the right call, after all.
Because Monty was right, he couldn’t just expect her to know, but he didn’t exactly want to tell her either.
“Well, then what do I do?”
“Tell her you like her,” the answer came fast and swift, and Sirius scowled just as quickly. Mr. Potter laughed, “Or don’t. You could ask her out to Hogsmeade with you, pay for her chocolates, maybe buy her some flowers…”
Sirius was nodding along, ”Yeah, alright. I suppose I can do that!” He shot Monty a grin. “I guess now I know where James got his ideas about asking Evans out,” he laughed. “Thanks!” He jumped out of his seat and was almost at the door when the older man’s chuckles stopped as he settled to watching him for a minute before speaking.
“I don’t think you have anything to worry about, Sirius. You’re a good lad, and Marlene is a very special girl.”
Halfway through an agreement, hand already holding the door ajar, Sirius cut himself short, smile slipping from his face and wide eyes turning back to his friend’s father, who sat behind his desk now with an awfully smug look on his face.
“What? How do you- I didn’t even-...” Now, usually, Sirius wasn’t one for losing words, but how could he possibly have known?!
“I see the way you look at her,” Monty said, and Sirius swallowed audibly, he didn’t know he was being quite so obvious. “I won’t ask you to take care of her because I know Marlene can take care of herself, but I will ask you not to hurt her, and to not let her hurt you.”
Sirius nodded solemnly.
“Thanks, dad,” he said, and then froze again, eyes even wider as he looked back at Mr. Potter’s caring smile. Shit, shit, shit. Retreat, retreat. “I mean, Monty. Thanks, Monty,” Sirius said, before making a hasty exit.