Chapter Text
Remus had said that Alphard was planning to check in on him after the full moon, so when all of July had passed without a whisper of him, Sirius started to get nervous. He wouldn’t have put it past his family to have tried a bloody “mercy killing” on the supposedly ailing Alphard. So it was with no small measure of relief that he heard the telltale crack of apparition a few days before Lughnasadh. When he went out to meet him, he saw that same relief reflected in his uncle’s eyes.
“Sirius!” Alphard said, hurrying forward to pull him into a crushing hug, “Thank Merlin. I was hoping you were here. Are you and Remus alright?”
“Yeah,” Sirius said, as Alphard held him at arms length to look him over. “We’re both okay. Remus said the full moon went fine.”
“I felt terrible not being able to check on him,” Alphard said, shaking his head. “It was impossible to get away, though. There was someone visiting me everyday- I think they suspected that I might have been hiding you at my house. I couldn’t risk drawing their attention more.”
“Sorry,” Sirius said, feeling a sudden rush of guilt wash over him. He hadn’t even considered that his disappearance would affect his uncle- but it made sense. Sirius had always been Alphard’s favorite- of course his parents would assume he had gone there if not to the Potters.
“You have nothing to apologize for,” Alphard said sternly. “It was only an inconvenience to me, and as Remus is alright there’s no harm done. I’m more concerned about you. They didn’t tell me much while they were blatantly surveilling my flat, but they told me enough. Are you really alright?”
Sirius glanced down.
“Yeah,” he said quietly, “I am now. Remus took care of me after– when I got here.”
He was still having nightmares, but Alphard didn’t need to know that. They were better, now. And Remus helped. He was fine. He could feel the weight of his uncle’s eyes, looking over him carefully. Sirius finally looked up when Alphard cleared his throat and nodded.
“Speaking of Remus, where is your lad?” Alphard asked, looking around.
“He’s not my lad,” Sirius mumbled. “And he’s picking flowers for Lughnasadh.”
Alphard raised his eyebrow, but didn’t comment.
“Let’s go join him then,” he said, “I’d like to hear about the moon from him, and check in about how your preparations are going.”
Sirius knew, of course, that Remus and Uncle Alphard got along well– would have known it just from knowing both of them as well as he did– but it was something else to see them interacting together. His favorite uncle and his favorite…person. He thought he probably looked a bit stupid, sitting there watching them, Remus answering back Uncle Alphard’s good-natured jokes with his own quick wit.
“Those are some lovely bouquets you’ve picked,” Alphard said, indicating the two large bunches of flowers. “One for you and one for Sirius?”
“If I’d known you were coming I’d have picked you one too,” Remus shot back. “Only I reckoned you’d forgotten about us at this point.”
Alphard threw back his head and laughed. “I can certainly pick my own flowers, lad,” he said, "especially when you and my nephew have already taken care of preparing all the firewood.” He bent to examine one of the bouquets closer. “Though I’m sure I couldn’t make anything so magnificent. Sunflowers, red orchids, sea aster, sheep’s bit…there’s quite a lot of sheep’s bit here. Are you familiar with flower symbolism, Remus?”
“No,” Remus said quickly, “just thought they were pretty, that’s all.” His ears, though, had gone a bit red, Sirius noticed. And he could have sworn that Remus had actually had a book on flower symbolism sometime back in fourth year. He let it go. It wasn’t like he had read it, and by the looks of it neither Remus nor his uncle were going to enlighten him.
“What do you say we all go back to the hut for a cup of tea?” Alphard asked. “I’ve brought along a lovely cake that I stole from Abraxas Malfoy with the help of his odd little elf.”
Walking with Alphard was a bit slower than Sirius was accustomed to, but really it was astonishing how quickly his uncle moved. He barely used the walking stick at all, and Sirius realized just how much his uncle had been faking over the past few years.
“Is your illness entirely made up?” Sirius asked, curiously.
“Good heavens, no,” Alphard said. “It’s very real, I’ve had it for years but I manage it. Today is a good day. There are good and bad, of course. On the bad days, it’s hard to get out of bed until I’ve had my potions. And this stick is more than just a prop. But what my illness is not is deadly. Bothersome, tiring, painful yes. But not deadly.”
“I’m glad you’re not dying,” Sirius told him. “And you’ll let me know if you do need help with anything?”
“Perhaps,” Alphard said, “but as I said, today is a good day. It often is, around the holidays. I think the magic must recognize I need my health to complete its rituals.”
His uncle often talked about magic as if it was sentient, willful, almost a being of its own. He hoped to ask him more about the old magics soon, to finish the education they had started when he had been younger, but for now he lapsed into silence as Alphard chatted with Remus about the full moon.
Back in the hut, Remus and Sirius moved automatically around each other to prepare the tea, settled by now in their routine. Sirius went to the hearth to start a fire while Remus filled the kettle from the rain bucket and added a few scoops of tea leaves. Remus knew, by now, at what point Sirius would want the kettle and had it ready, and Sirius knew, instinctively, where he and the kettle would be when he reached for it.
With the kettle slowly heating over the young fire, Remus went to grab the low table from the corner while Sirius pulled out three cushions and arranged them around it. It was while he was setting out the cups (and Remus the plates) that Sirius noticed Alphard watching them with a small smile. Sirius raised an eyebrow at him, but Alphard shook his head and said nothing. It wasn’t until they were sitting around the table with their tea and the very fancy looking pilfered cake that Alphard spoke.
“You two look very settled in here,” he said. Sirius noticed something in his tone, but couldn’t figure out what.
“Yeah,” Remus said, cradling his teacup in his hands with a small smile. He didn’t seem to think anything strange of what Alphard had said. “It’s much nicer to be here together.”
“Well, I’m certainly glad you have each other,” Alphard said. “I was worried about you, lad, after I’d left. And Sirius, after I heard what happened. It’s a weight off my back knowing you’re here together and will look after each other. You will, won’t you?"
“‘Course,” Sirius said, leaning over to knock his shoulder against Remus’s, “I always look after my Moony, don’t I?”
He winked, and Remus rolled his eyes but his cheeks went a bit pink. Sirius felt quite pleased with himself, until he looked up and remembered that his uncle was watching. And would surely, sometime in the next two days, want to talk about the ritual he’d done when he brought Remus here. Sirius cleared his throat quickly.
“So,” he said, “what else do we need to do for Lughnasadh? We’ve got the flowers and we were planning to make the corn dollies tomorrow, but what about bread? We haven't any flour.”
“I’ve brought some flour along,” Alphard assured him. “But really the bread ought to be made from our own harvest so I thought we might make potato farls. The early potatoes ought to be ready for harvest, and we can easily cook them over the fire.”
“Potato farls?” Remus asked, curiously.
“They’re a kind of frybread, made from potatoes as well as wheat,” Alphard told him. “And they’re both tasty and rather foolproof even for those of us who did not grow up cooking our own meals.”
“Excellent,” Sirius said. “If we haven’t got any more preparations to do, I might go for a swim. Wouldn’t want to get out of shape without quidditch training.”
“Yes, wouldn’t that be a tragedy,” Remus deadpanned. Sirius gave him an affectionate swat on the arm.
“You’ll come too, won’t you?”
“‘Course,” Remus said, “Someone needs to make sure you don’t drown yourself in your enthusiasm.”
Sirius grinned at him and then turned to his uncle. “Do you want to join?” He asked. “Or you’re welcome to stay here and rest. I know you always liked your afternoon naps in the summer.”
Alphard glanced around and frowned slightly.
“It’ll be a bit of a tight fit with three of us here. If I’d known for sure you were here I would have brought another mattress along,” Alphard said ruefully. His knees cracked as he rose to his feet. “And maybe a tent. No matter, I can go collect some grass and leave it out to dry this afternoon. Should be ready for this evening.”
“It’s fine, honestly,” Sirius said, gesturing toward the mattress by the door. “We haven’t been…using…that one…”
He trailed off as he realized what he’d said. Remus was staring at him, wide-eyed and blushing and Alphard’s left eyebrow appeared to be attempting to disappear into his hairline.
“Is that so?” he asked, eyes dancing.
Sirius lifted his chin. “We’re used to sharing’s all. No point in making more work.”
“Well, if you’re sure,” Alphard said, voice still colored with amusement. He winked at Remus, who promptly lost all progress he’d made at returning to his normal color.
That night, Remus and Sirius awkwardly circled around each other getting ready for bed. It had never felt awkward when it was just the two of them but the presence of another person seemed to draw into sharp relief the oddity of them sharing a bed. They both laid down on the narrow mattress, flat on their backs. It was not comfortable. Only about half of Sirius was actually on the mattress, and he reckoned Remus was the same. Alphard’s snores from the mattress by the door soon filled the air, but sleep evaded Sirius. He could feel Remus shifting next to him, clearly trying to get comfortable. Thirty minutes later, Sirius had had enough.
“Fuck it,” he whispered, rolling onto his side to face Remus. “C’mere.”
He threw an arm around Remus’s stomach and pulled him in until his back was to Sirius’s chest.
“Sirius!” Remus whispered, sounding scandalized, “We can’t–”
“Tell me right now if I’m making you uncomfortable,” Sirius whispered back. “But otherwise, I’d like to get some fucking sleep.”
Remus seemed like he was about to argue, but after a few seconds he relaxed back against Sirius.
“So would I,” he admitted. “G’night Pads.”
“Night, Moony.”
Sirius reckoned it was probably a bit fucking weird that he liked to sleep with his nose in his best friend’s hair and his arm wrapped around his best friend’s stomach. He also reckoned he didn’t fucking care.
Alphard said nothing when he found them the following morning but his expression said it all. Sirius was not the least bit surprised when, following a hearty breakfast courtesy of the food Alphard had brought, his uncle suggested he accompany him to check out the fields.
As soon as they got out of earshot of the house, and therefore Remus, Alphard turned to Sirius.
“Right then,” he said, raising his left eyebrow. “When are you going to tell that young lad in there that you married him?”
Sirius swore under his breath. He knew, just fucking knew, that his face had gone bright red. Alphard was smirking at him, but clearly waiting for an answer.
“I’m– it’s– it’s not like that,” he said haltingly.
“Isn’t it?” Alphard asked. “That is the ritual you did, isn’t it? The marriage ritual?”
“Yes,” Sirius admitted, “it is. But what else was I supposed to do? I needed to make sure he’d be protected by the magic here!”
“I don’t disagree with your choice,” Alphard said. “But I wouldn’t say most teenage boys would immediately jump to marrying their friend with ancient blood magic.”
Sirius shrugged. “I would have done pretty much anything to keep him safe.”
“Yes,” Alphard said thoughtfully, “yes I gathered that. Both from this and from what little I heard about your flight from Grimmauld Place–don’t think I’ve forgotten about that. But why haven’t you told him what you did?”
“It’s my fault he’s even here in the first place,” Sirius said. “He’s forgiven me for that, but he shouldn’t have to feel…bound to me. It’s not fair to him.”
“I understand that,” Alphard said, “but you need to tell him. Perhaps not right away, but soon. It’s powerful magic that you did. He’s a Black now, whether he knows it or not.”
“I will,” Sirius promised. “I will, just…give me time.”
Alphard nodded. “He may take it better than you think, you know.”
Sirius nodded absently.
“Well, come on lad,” Alphard said kindly, “the potatoes won’t pick themselves.”
Eight hours, a load of potato peelings, and three very ugly corn dollies–including one that Sirius swore looked like his cousin Bellatrix and Remus offered to stick a pin in– later, the three of them were seated around the fire. Alphard had instructed them carefully to keep a section of the fire pit clear except for hot coals, which they raked over periodically. It was on these coals that Alphard placed a great frying pan and began frying up their potato farls in butter that he’d brought with him. Remus threw the first one into the flames without being asked, earning an approving nod from Alphard.
The potato farls were surprisingly tasty for how simple they were, and the three of them easily polished off most of them. After they’d finished, Uncle Alphard instructed them to throw the corn dollies into the fire, and Sirius took great joy in watching corn-Bellatrix go up in flames. The flowers followed shortly after, and Sirius was a bit sad to watch them burn. Remus had really done a great job with them.
“You know,” Uncle Alphard murmured, keeping his voice low as they watched Remus throw the last of the flowers into the flames. “Of all the people you could have married you chose a pretty good one. He fits well. Here on Inis Dubh and with you.”
“Yeah,” Sirius said, and if it came out a bit choked up that was just the smoke from the burning flowers. “I know.”
“Good,” Alphard said, clapping his hands together as he stood up. “Now, dancing?”
Sirius met Remus’s eyes across the fire as they both grimaced and then broke into laughter.