Work Text:
Summer of 1994
Harry Pov:
I looked at my godparents, Sirius and Natalia Black, sitting at the dining room table across from each other. An unmistakable icy chill between them made this dinner incredibly awkward. This also wasn't a one-time thing; I have been at Grimmauld Place for a week, Lia all but threatened my aunt, uncle, and the whole ministry into letting me stay with her during the last month of summer break, and the tension has been here the entire time. It was clear that Sirius and Lia didn't like each other very much. They respected each other as co-parents and as husband and wife, but it's obvious that if they weren't married and had kids, and if Sirius wasn't on 'house arrest,' then the last place they would want to be was in each other's presence.
This didn't make any sense, though, because the first time I saw them together was when they reunited at the shrieking shack, and they didn't seem to hate each other there.
*Flashback*
As Sirius and I walked along the uneven path, Remus and Peter following behind, and Hermione supporting Ron with his injured leg, a sense of optimism filled the air. We were on a mission to prove my godfather's innocence, and the reward was a life free from the Dursleys, endless chores, and the constant belittlement of my parents. I was on the verge of having a real home and family, a prospect that filled me with hope.
Imagining the future, I could see Leo and I soaring through the sky on our brooms; after all, he has been playing quite for much longer than I have. I could also picture myself helping Libra with her homework, a task I had once struggled with during my first year. The thought of Sirius and his wife, my godmother, filled me with a sense of joy. They could share stories about my parents and their childhood, connecting me to a past I had only heard about in fragments.
I was lost in thought when a shadowy figure came running toward us. We were quick to all draw out our wands; after all, everyone still thinks that Sirius was a mad murderer. As the figure gets closer, we get a better look at who it is. A tall woman with long brown hair and sharp black black and dark blue robes: It's Natalia Black, my godmother. I still don't know what to think; I don't know if she knows that her husband is innocent, and from the short conversations I have had with her, she seems to have greatly loved my mother and was angered about the betrayal. As she gets closer, I feel Sirius tense up, and I am ready to stun her, but before I know it, she is tackling him in a hug. Her arms wrapped around his neck, wrapping her fingers in his hair, and buried her face in the crook of his neck, mumbling things like, "You're okay." and "Thank Merlin, you're safe."
Sirius seemed slightly surprised at the affection but melted into it, wrapping his arms around his wife's waist and holding her close. It seemed to ground him. "It's good to see you, Natalia," Sirius mumbled into her hair.
Pulling back, she looked at him before swatting his arm a little. "You idiot!" she cried. "I told you not to go after Peter, that we needed you. But no, you had to go find him, and look what it did." She continued to swat at him, on the verge of tears and manic laughter, and he seemed to take it, understanding that she had been holding this in for 12 years. So, it looks like she knew he was innocent, which is good to know. After the confrontation, she quickly hugged him again, "I'm glad you're safe," She said, barely above a whisper, then she turned to me, her eyes sparkling and a smile on her face.
"Hi, Harry," she says softly, and it reminds me of when I first met her at the beginning of the school year.
"Hi Lia," I respond, not really knowing what to do. She looks as if she is fighting back the urge to hug me, but before we can say anything else, I hear a strangled sound from behind us. Peter tried to make a run for it, but Remus only grabbed him tighter. Lia's eyes darkened, and I felt a chill run down my spine. Natalia Black looked like she was ready to give Peter Pettigrew a slow and painful death, marching up to him. She pulled out her wand, pointing it to his throat.
"Give me one good reason. One! Why shouldn't I kill you right now? After everything you put us all through." She cried out in pain. It was unnerving to see someone who is usually so calm and composed become so wild and emotional. It was as if some switch was flipped in her brain. Hermione and Ron tensed up and walked, or, in Ron's case, limped up to my side. The three of us huddled together, watching the scene on edge. Sirius walks up to her and pulls her away, gently holding her by the waist and her wand hand. He whispers something in her ear, something clearly not meant for anyone else to hear. She takes a deep breath and seems to have backed down before punching the Rat in the face; a loud crack could be heard.
"Danm," I heard Ron whisper and nodded in agreement.
Shaking her hand, Lia turned to Remus and gave him a sharp nod. "Remus,"
"Natalia."
Looking around, confusion all over her face, she looked back at the professor, slightly worried, "Where is Sev? He told me that he was coming to the shrieking shack to protect Harry from my dumbass husband." "OUI." "So where is he known?"
"Yeah, Harry knocked him out inside with an Expelliaumes," Remus told her, nodding his head to the tree where our unconscious positions professor lay. I blushed in embarrassment, looking away from all the eyes that turned to stare at me.
"He won't be happy about that," she chuckled. "Alright, I'm sure you lot are more than capable of getting all this information to Dumbledore; I'm going to get Severus up to speed. I'll see you all later."
And with that, my godmother crawled beneath the Whomping Willow into the shrinking shark, and the six of us made our way to Hogwarts.
"I still can't believe she's still friends with him," Sirius mumbled, and I silently agreed; it was an odd friendship that confused me. But I didn't have much time to think about it because Remus transformed into a werewolf, Peter got away, and all hell broke loose.
*back to present*
That heartfelt reunion, which was warm and loving, was quite contradicting to this cold and standoffish dinner. They sat across from each other, each at the head of the table, not even looking at each other. Their children, Leo and Libra, sat next to their mother, not really knowing how to interact with the stranger who sat at the head of their table, and I was sitting right next to my godfather. It was a painfully awkward dinner.
Seeming to give in, Lia took a deep breath; putting her fork down, she turned to her son, "Leo, why don't you show your father the new broom you got for Christmas? I'm sure the two of you can swap some Quidditch stories."
Sirius perked up, clearly wanting to bond with his kids. Leo seemed almost fidgety, pushing his food around with his fork. It was weird seeing him like this; for as long as I could remember, the Black heir had always stood tall and confident, always ready to stand his ground, but now it looked like he wanted the grand chair he was sitting in to swallow him whole.
"You play Chasser for the Slytherin team, right? How are you liking that?" He asked his son, and that led to a conversation about the sport, what we like about playing in Hogwarts, and how the differences between our school years. Libra even charmed in about how she was enjoying her first year of Hogwarts, despite all the dementors,
"It just made everything more exciting, like one big adventure," Libra added excitedly. The four of us kept talking the whole dinner, and I caught Lia just smiling at us, content with the sight in front of her. Once dinner was finished, we started cleaning up. Plates and glasses clattered together in a weird rhythm; Sirius was still not completely used to magic after 12 years of being sealed off from it, so we opted to clean everything by hand.
"All right, you three, why don't you get ready for bed. Leo Libra, remember to say goodnight to your grandmother's portrait." Lia told us, giving her children a kiss on the forehead before ushering them off. She turned to me and seemed to want to repeat the action before stopping herself, unsure of how to continue. That's the thing with Lia; she always seems to walk on eggshells around me, clearly wanting to be more affectionate but afraid she'll scare me off. At first, I thought she didn't like me very much, considering she is very close with her cousin-in-law, the Malfoys, and she might have shared their beliefs, betraying my parents with her husband. But Leo and Libra reassured me that that was not the case; on my first night here, Leo and I stayed up all night talking, telling me how excited his mother was to build a relationship with the son of her dearest friend. He told me about some memories he had when I was a baby, and they had playdates together, and how happy he was to reunite with me on my first day of Hogwarts, only slightly disappointed about not being placed in the same house.
"Are you sure you don't want some help cleaning up Lia? I do it all the time back at the Dursleys." I tell her, not quite ready to leave her or Sirius; just being near them helps me feel like I'm part of a family, and my dreams are still filled with Dementores and the memories they bring.
"Ah, there's no need for that; I got this. You three have a big day tomorrow." She ruffles my hair; it's true. Tomorrow, we are going on a hike with Sirius in his animagus form so that he won't be recognized. "Oh, and Harry," She hesitates for a minute before continuing, "I left some dreamless sleep potion on your nightstand if you need it." I cringe; I wasn't as sneaky as I thought when hiding my nightmares as I thought I was.
"All right, goodnight, Lia." After saying goodnight to the rest of the family, I headed up to my room, an old, unused guest room, and got ready for bed. As promised, the dreamless sleep potion sat on the nightstand by my bed. I took the small purple vile in my hand, staring at it. With a deep breath, I gulp it down before throwing my body onto the bed and plunging off to sleep.
I wake up feeling groggy; it takes a few minutes for my senses to catch up to my brain. My surroundings are blurry, and I reach my hand out to the nightstand where my glasses are. The room is dark, the only light coming from the moonlight outside my window. Casting a quick Lumos, I check my surroundings; the black sheets on my bad are neater than usual, the potion keeping me from thrashing around, the door slightly creaked open, someone clearly checking on me, and the old small wooden clock on the wall read 3 am. Lifting my glasses, I try to rub the drowsiness out of my eyes, hoping to get some water before I try going back to sleep. As I am getting out of bed, that's when I hear it: a muffled shout. It's silent again before another voice is heard, which is also muffled, but the mysterious person is clearly raising their voice. Then, glass shattering. Jumping up, I grabbed my invisibility cloak and tip-toed the origin of the sound; as I got closer, I could identify who the voices belonged to: Sirius and Natalia. They were screaming at each other in the kitchen, but their shouts were muffled; they evidently had some silencing charm around the room. Holding my breath and daring not to make a sound, I step into the kitchen to hear what they are saying.
"Don't you dare make me the bad guy Sirius Orion Black! I had to make tough choices when you got yourself sent to Azkaban! I had to singlehandedly take care of our children and Keep the Black family image afloat. You never did anything but ruin it."
"I don't care about the Family name or image, I care about-"
"Yes, you care about doing the right thing- But guess what? Our children carry the Black family name; what do you think it was like for them, the whispers they heard, the things people said about them? You know Leo was so excited to see Harry again after ten years but was talked out of it because of what EVERYONE thinks you did. Do you know how much this hurts them because of your stupidity?"
"I love my children, and I will never do anything to hurt them," Sirius shouts, pointing a finger in his wife's face; she stares at him, never even flinching. "I am nothing like my parents," his voice cracks.
Slowly grabs his hand, holding it between her own two, and moves it out of her face, "I know that, Sirius," Her voice is soft, shaking slightly, "I know how much you love those kids, all three of them," Harry catches his breath, he didn't expect to be included in this conversation, "What happened with Peter and the Potters wasn't fair to any of us, most of all you. But this isn't right; you can't just keep rushing into things head first and hoping for the best. Your decisions affect us all, and I refuse to be the one to pick up the pieces of your mess again; you can't put me in that position again." Tears were now falling.
Sirius eyes soften; looking at their hands, he takes his hand away and holds it to his chest, "Dumbledore will protect-"
"Like he did 12 years ago," Lia barks out before taking a deep breath to compose herself, "Listen, I don't trust that man, not when it comes to protecting my family."
Sirius looks like he wants to say something but stops himself; this looks like an argument they have had before. "I'm going to bed, goodnight Natalia," he storms off and walks right past me. I hold my breath, praying he didn't notice me.
Sigh, "Goodnight Sirius...Kreacher! Can you please pick up this glass?" With a pop of old house-elf appeared in the kitchen, bowing to his mistress and completing the task he was given; Lia just paced around the room, stressed.
That was intense. I knew things were weird between Sirius and Lia, but I had never seen them fight full-on. Their screams were so loud, no wonder they put up a silencing charm so none of us would wake up. Deciding that I wasn't going to get any water while Lia was pacing in the kitchen, I opted to go back to my room and try to go back to sleep. Just as I turn around, though, I stumble on my feet, cringing at the loud noise echoing loudly in the silent house.
"Who's there?" Lia's voice was suspicious and tired as if the whole day's events were wearing down on her. She stared at the empty hallway, and I dared not move or breathe, hoping she would brush it off. There was a moment of silence, then, "Harry, is that you?"
I stay frozen, hoping that she will move on if I don't do anything to confirm my presence. Instead, she takes a deep breath and leans against the counter, "Harry, I know you brought your invisibility cloak; please come out now." Knowing that I was caught, I slipped the cloak off, looking at my feet to avoid eye contact. "Having trouble sleeping? How about some warm milk." She asks, walking to where the milk is stored, and pours two glasses, one for me and, I'm assuming, the other for herself.
She casts a quick-warming charm, offering me the cup when the drink is ready. Shuffling towards her, careful not to trip over Kreacher, I take the warm drink from her hand and sip it, leaning against the oak counter. The two of us sat in silence, not really knowing what to say. I finish my drink and walk to the sink to wash it before remembering that the house doesn't have a sink or a plumbing system. Seeing the confusion on my face, Lia gave me a small smile and reached for the cup, allowing me to hand it to her. "We'll just leave it on the counter for Kreacher. He'll clean them up."
"Right," I tell her, not really knowing what else to say.
"Did the potion not work?" she asked, her eyes filled with worry,
"What?" I ask, caught off guard.
"The dreamless sleep potion? Did it not work? Is that why you're down here and not asleep in your bed?"
"oh no, it worked. I just...woke up." I told her, hoping my tone was reassuring.
"Ah, well, okay." she looked away, picking at the skin between her nails. She looked nervous, like whatever she wanted to say was on the tip of her tongue, but she couldn't dare say it. "So you came downstairs for...?"
I remained silent, understanding the question she was tip-toeing around, "I was thirsty, then I heard muffled shouts."
Lia just nodded, embarrassed, "I'm sorry you saw that. Sirius and I, we." she stopped, trying to think of what to say, "We try to keep our spats from you children. It's not something you need to know about." That makes sense; I'm sure no child wants to see their parents at each other's throats. Especially when they don't have much of a relationship with their father. No matter what they feel about each other, it's clear that Lia doesn't want to harm Sirius's relationship with their children. It's obvious that their relationship is complicated.
"So you two... don't get along?" I ask her hesitantly, and I regret it as soon as I see that look on her face. I fear she will yell at me like Aunt Petunia does when I get too nosey. Lia grips her glass, and I fear she might shatter it before taking a big breath.
"Sirius and I...we have a- A complicated history, but we came to an agreement for it to never affect our family. That's all I'm going to tell you for now."
I think back to how Sirius yelled at Lia and how she didn't even flinch. I look at where Kreacher was a few minutes ago, picking up the glass, and while I don't know who threw it, I can't imagine that calm and composed Lia did it. The anger radiates from Sirus stomping off and his body language back at the shrieking shack, and I feel a shudder go down my spine.
"And Sirius, he doesn't- He never...?" I feel embarrassed asking, but I don't know the state of their relationship. Lia looks at me, confused before realization settles in.
"OH no, no, no. NOOOOO," She tells me quickly, her hands on my shoulders, forcing me to look at her. "Listen, Harry, if Sirius was a danger to me or anyone in this house, he wouldn't be allowed anywhere near here. I promise you this." I nod, feeling relief; I have gotten quite attached to this new family.
She takes her hands off, leaning against the counter again. "Harry, I'll be honest, things have been... difficult. Azkaban wasn't easy on Sirius; he was trying to put on a brave face, but still, he's hurting. But he's happy to be part of you, Leo, and Libra's lives." Her eyes brightened, full of love and warmth, "He has loved you three from the moment you were born and has been waiting 12 years for this."
It's quiet again, and we just sit with our thoughts. I can't imagine how hard things must be for Sirius and Lia. The two of them picking up right where they left off three years ago, now with two, no three, teenagers to take care of. It must be hard. Slowly, I realized how tired I was getting and decided I should get back to sleep; I had a lot to think about.
"I should get going to bed to have enough energy for tomorrow," I tell her, grabbing my cloak, "Good night, Lia."
"Wait before you go, Harry," She says some wandless spell before a small vile appears in her hand, "Some more dreamless sleep, in case you need it,"
"Thank you." I head up the stairs and make my way to my room. I shut the door and throw my cloak on my bed. I look at the door, trying to imagine where Sirius is and if he also needs the potion for a good night's sleep. I look down at the vile, noticing that it doesn't have a logo, so it isn't store-bought, and briefly wonder who is making it. Lia said offhand that she is terrible at potions. Sirius doesn't have the patience for it, and I can't imagine them asking Leo to make it for them. Those are the last thoughts in my head before drinking the potion and going straight to sleep.
the end