The room was quiet as Sirius Black read the Daily Prophet while waiting for his breakfast; it had been a week since his trial ended and his freedom was returned to him, a week since his treatment began to repair the damage he had received, both mental and physical, from his long years as a prisoner of Azkaban. His hair was no longer matted and covered in filth now; it was clean and hung in ringlets to his shoulders with a healthy glow; likewise, his beard was gone and replaced with a handsome mustache and goatee; even his skin looked healthier now that he was free from the nightmare of the Dementors.
A slight cough caught Sirius' attention, and he slowly lowered the paper, his face grimacing as he saw Albus Dumbledore standing at the door to his room and looking at him with a pained expression.
"Good morning, Sirius," Dumbledore said softly, "How are you feeling today? I'm told that your rehabilitation is coming along quite well,"
"I have my good days as well as my bad ones," Sirius replied hoarsely as he folded the paper and laid it down beside him, "What are you doing here, Albus?"
Dumbledore looked tired as he made a chair appear with his wand and placed it beside Sirius' bed before slowly lowering himself into it,
"I came to apologize to you, my boy," Dumbledore replied softly, "I owe you a great debt that can never be repaid; I wronged you."
Sirius' eyes narrowed as he listened to the words,
"You abandoned me, Albus," Sirius replied in a tight voice, "I fought for you, spilled blood for YOU; how could you think I was the traitor? You abandoned me to six years in hell!"
Dumbledore paled under Sirius' wrath and for a moment was left speechless before he managed to find his voice and reply,
"James and Lily never told anyone that they changed the secret-keeper, Sirius! Do you not understand how it looked to me and the rest of the world when they were betrayed? I thought…."
"Oh, I know exactly what you thought!" Sirius spat angrily, "Sirius Black finally showed his true colors! The rest of house Black is full of psychopaths and murderers, so it's only natural that I am one as well, right?!"
Dumbledore said nothing, simple stared at Sirius with sorrowful eyes while Sirius continued his rant,
"You moved heaven and earth to save your pet Death Eater Snivellus, but me? The one who fought by your side from the start? You left me to rot!"
"Severus turned against Voldemort prior to his fall," Dumbledore said softly, "He risked much to bring us vital information that saved many lives throughout the war,"
"And that gives him a free pass for everything he did as a Death Eater?" Sirius retorted,
"No, it does not," Dumbledore said firmly, "Severus will have to live with what he's done for the rest of his life."
Sirius glared hard at Dumbledore for a moment before he finally said in a hoarse voice,
"The first few days, I screamed for you; I thought for sure you would come, come and hear my side of the story, but as the days turned into weeks, I finally realized that you were never coming, that you left me in Azkaban to rot."
"I am so sorry, Sirius; truly, I wish I could go back and change things," Dumbledore replied sorrowfully as he rested his hand on Sirius' arm,
"I don't want your apology!" Sirius growled as she shook the old man off, "I want my life back! I want what you stole from me! I want my godson!"
"Harry?" Dumbledore asked in surprise, "Surely, you've been told about his circumstances?"
"Oh, yes, Dumbledore," Sirius whispered angrily, "There's quite a lot that I've been catching up on that I've missed; tell me, is there anyone's life that you haven't destroyed with your damned manipulations?!"
Dumbledore paled under the question and seemed to sink into himself,
"I never meant for Harry to be harmed; I thought he would be safe with his aunt and uncle,"
"Safe?!" Sirius demanded, "You knew how much Petunia hated Lily and our world! How could you possibly think Harry would be safe there?!"
"There was no one else to take him, Sirius," Dumbledore replied softly, "You were gone; Alice and Frank were tortured into insanity; the only ones left who could have looked after Harry was his aunt and uncle."
"Then you should have found someone else!" Sirius barked, "Anyone would have been better than Petunia!"
"He's with the Weasley's now," Dumbledore countered, "They adopted him, and he is well cared for now."
Sirius stared at the old man for a moment before turning his head and staring down at his lap,
"Is he happy?" Sirius asked softly,
"Yes," Dumbledore replied with a small smile, "He is very happy with his new family; he's also a metamorphmagus,"
Sirius raised his head to look at Dumbledore, and a small grin appeared on his face,
"Is he really? I saw him at my trial; he looked just like James, though his hair color was slightly different."
Dumbledore chuckled at that and slowly rose to his feet,
"When the time is right, I'm sure he would love to meet you,"
"I've already written to Molly and Arthur," Sirius replied in a tight voice, "I've asked them to bring the boy here so that I can meet him; they've agreed to bring him later this week."
Dumbledore nodded quickly as he turned to leave,
"I hope one day you can forgive me, Sirius," Dumbledore said, pausing as he reached the door;
for a moment, Sirius said nothing, simply glared at Dumbledore angrily; finally, Sirius growled in a tight voice,
"I may one day forgive you, Albus, but I will never again trust you; you lost that in me when you left me to rot."
Dumbledore looked sadly at his former student as though he wanted to say more before nodding his head slowly in understanding and making his egress, softly shutting the door behind him; for several moments, Sirius stared at the closed door before letting out an angry breath and picking back up the paper and continuing where he had left off before Dumbledore's arrival.
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Harry tried not to fidget as he sat beside Molly and tried to concentrate on the day's lesson; Molly had told Harry that she and Harry would be going to St. Mungo's to see Harry's godfather, Sirius Black, tomorrow. Harry was understandably nervous, though he tried not to let it show.
"Harry?" Molly's voice broke through Harry's daydreaming, and he looked at her quickly
"Yes, mummy?" Harry asked quickly,
"Are you alright? I've been calling your name for a while now,"
"Yes, mummy, I'm alright," Harry replied, his hair turning bright red with embarrassment,
"You know it's okay to be nervous," Molly said softly as she put an arm around Harry's shoulder.
"What if…." Harry asked nervously, "What if he tries to take me away?"
Molly smiled sadly at her son and leaned down to place a gentle kiss on Harry's head,
"Arthur and I will speak to Sirius about that, don't worry," Molly replied warmly, "I'm sure Sirius will understand why it's better that you stay with us."
Harry looked up at Molly with worry in his eyes,
"Do you think he'll let me stay? I don't want to go…."
"I know you don't, sweetie," Molly said sadly, "And Arthur and I will do everything in our power to make sure you stay with us, I promise."
Harry smiled at her, and Molly quickly returned it before pointing at the book on the table in front of them,
"Now, let's finish this chapter, and then you can go play with the others; I'm sure Luna is missing you,"
Harry nodded quickly and returned to the book as Molly smiled sadly beside him; it would all be decided tomorrow.
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Sirius laughed as his cousin Nymphadora Tonks turned her nose into a pig's snout in front of him; she had emphatically told him NOT to call her Nymphadora when they first met, and Sirius had readily agreed to call her Dora instead.
"Glad to see that some of my mischief has been passed down through the Black line," Sirius said with a smile,
"Heaven forbid she takes after you," Andromeda replied in a mock serious voice, "I doubt our family can survive two of you, cousin."
Sirius grinned at Andromeda, though it was laced with sadness at the years that had been stolen from the pair, through no fault of their own,
"I've missed you, Andromeda," Sirius said sadly, making his cousin's face pale slightly,
"As I have missed you, Sirius," Andromeda replied softly, "I never thought to see you again,"
"Nor I, you," Sirius replied, "I thought I would die in there, hated by my family and friends for a crime I did not commit."
"But you didn't," Ted replied quickly, "You're a free man, now,"
"And you have a lot of missed birthdays and Christmases to make up for," Dora added quickly, making Sirius guffaw and Andromeda shake her head in mock annoyance.
"How about one big present, and we call it even?" Sirius asked with a grin that made Dora bounce happily and nod her head quickly,
"Deal!" Dora said happily,
"Don't encourage her, Sirius!" Andromeda said quickly, though she fought to keep a slight grin from her face.
"I heard that you're meeting with the Weasley's today," Andromeda said quickly, making Sirius nod his head, "Have you given any thought as to what you want to do about Harry?"
"What do you mean?" Sirius asked,
"I mean, will you be pursuing your rights as Harry's godfather?" Andromeda asked earnestly, "Will you be taking Harry from Molly and Arthur?"
Sirius was quiet for a moment as he stared at his lap,
"You should know that Harry is happy where he is; the Weasleys have been very good to the boy, Harry views them as his family, and Dora has adopted the boy as her little brother."
Dora nodded happily, her hair turning to a happy bubblegum pink,
"He's like me! And it's only right I look after a fellow metamorphmagus!"
"I'm sure they have," Sirius replied softly, smiling at Dora, "But James and Lily wanted Harry to be raised by me in case something happened to them; he should have come to me,"
"You can still have a life with Harry," Ted offered, "Without taking him from the place he now thinks of as home."
Andromeda nodded quickly as Sirius stared at her husband in thought,
"I'm sure that Molly and Arthur would not be opposed to you visiting whenever you so choose; Harry should get to know you after all,"
Sirius was silent for a moment before laying back on his bed,
"I will think about it, they should be here soon, and I'm looking forward to seeing Prongslet again."
Sirius smiled at the memory of playing with Harry as a baby; the smile turned sad when he thought of his lost best friend and all the years that had been stolen from him,
"Whatever I decide," Sirius said in a tense voice, "I will not lose any more time with my godson; I have lost far too much as it is."
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A few hours later, Harry was sitting in a chair next to Dora, desperately trying not to show how nervous he was, though his hair betrayed him as it changed color at an alarming rate of speed, much to Dora's amusement. The rest of the children had been left at the burrow under the watchful eye of Charlie, while Molly and Arthur brought Harry to St. Mungos to visit his godfather; Harry wished that at least one of his brothers could have come to ease his nervousness, especially as that thought that he might never see them again kept racing through his mind.
When they arrived, Molly went inside with Arthur to speak with Sirius alone, leaving Harry to sit outside Sirius' room alone, until Dora came to join him and began morphing her face to try and make him laugh and forget his nervousness.
"Everything will be okay, Harry," Dora assured Harry for the hundredth time, "Sirius isn't as bad a guy as everyone tried to make him out to be,"
"But what if…." Harry began before Dora cut him off,
"STOP worrying about what if's, whatever will be will be, just focus on right now and breathe like I taught you, just breath."
Harry nodded slowly and began to slow his breathing the way Dora had first taught him when he started to learn how to shift from her; gradually, his hair stopped changing into a different color every few seconds to finally shifting into a warm apple red, as Dora nodded.
"That's it, Harry," Dora said with a grin, "You're getting very good at this,"
"Well, I had a good teacher," Harry replied with a smile that made Dora turn pink,
"Flattery will get you nowhere, mister," Dora said with a wink as she copied Harry's hair, "It's been a while since we practiced. Want to give it a go while we wait for our moms?"
Harry nodded quickly, happy for the distraction as Dora began calling out different hair and eye colors and various facial features. Harry tried to morph into each one.
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"Sirius, no one is trying to keep Harry away from you!" Molly said in exasperation for the fifth time since the meeting began, "Arthur and I would be more than happy to let you visit Harry whenever you want! We're simply trying to explain that taking Harry from the only safe home he's ever known might prove detrimental to the progress that he's made this last year!"
Sirius glowered at the Weasley matron as the wisdom of her words seemed to break through his stubbornness,
"I'm his godfather," Sirius countered in a huff, "He should have gone to me, to begin with,"
"And he would have!" Andromeda said quickly, "Had you not gone off and gotten yourself locked up for the past six years!"
"I was trying to avenge the murder of my friends!" Sirius retorted angrily,
"Yes, a very Gryffindor decision," Andromeda sniffed, "Running after a murderer when what you should have done is taken your godson and gone to ground,"
"Hagrid wouldn't give him to me!" Sirius sputtered back,
"Then you should have gone to Dumbledore and explained what had happened instead of running off half-cocked. This whole situation could have been avoided if you had just used your head for once."
Sirius glared daggers at his cousin, even as the veracity of her words hit him like blows and the tension of the room seemed to become unbearable, until at last, Arthur cleared his throat nervously and said in a soft voice,
"Sirius, when Harry came to us, he was a wreck; he was covered in scars and bruises, he was severely underweight, and he was terrified that we were going to hurt him for every little thing he did."
Sirius looked at Arthur with a sorrowful expression on his face at the words as Arthur continued,
"Molly and I are the ones who helped repair the damage done to the boy; we taught him what it was to be loved, we sat up with him when his nightmares would wake him up in the middle of the night; we taught him to read and write, and we love him like our own, he is our son in every way that matters, that's the point we're trying to get across to you."
Sirius was quiet for a moment as he thought over Arthur's words;. At the same time, Molly looked at Sirius with pleading eyes, and Andromeda looked at Sirius with annoyance as though the answer was obvious.
"Sirius, it's going to be several weeks, perhaps months, before you are fit enough to leave St. Mungo's," Andromeda said quickly, "There's plenty of time for you and the Weasley's to come to some sort of arrangement in regards to Harry's future; but if you want my honest opinion, I would let Harry remain where he is, taking him from the only family he has ever known would only make the boy hate you, and I know you don't want that."
Sirius looked pained at that and took a shaky breath before replying,
"Can I see him?"
"Of course," Molly replied with a warm smile, "He's outside with Dora; I'll go fetch him."
Sirius suddenly felt strangely nervous at seeing his godson. Sirius quickly tried to sit up straighter in his bed, making Andromeda chuckle slightly and blush uncontrollably, which only made his cousin grin at him in evident delight at his state.
A moment later, Sirius' breath caught in his throat as Molly returned with a small boy who looked like a clone of the best friend that Sirius had lost so long ago; tears threatened to fall as Sirius stared at Harry, taking in every detail; the boy's hair was currently bright purple, but under Sirius' scrutiny it began to slowly change back to its standard black, much to Sirius' delight.
"Hello, Prongslet," Sirius said in a soft voice, "It's been a long time,"
"Prongslet?" Harry asked in a soft voice as he looked at Sirius,
"Prongs was your daddy's nickname when we were at school together," Sirius replied with a smile as he remembered his best friend, "When you were born, I gave you a nickname of your own to match his."
Harry slowly digested the information, and a slight grin began to spread across the boy's face, which was mirrored by Sirius as the two faced one another,
"Would you like to hear some stories about your mum and dad when we were at school together?" Sirius asked with a warm smile; Harry looked up at Molly, who smiled down at the boy in assurance,
"It's alright, Harry," Molly said softly,
"Yes, please," Harry replied in a shy voice as he turned back to Sirius, who was watching the boy, his smile never wavering.
"Why don't you come over here, and I'll tell you about the time your daddy pranked your mummy by making her unable to open any of her schoolbooks for two days," Sirius said with a wry grin; slowly, Harry approached the chair next to Sirius' bed and climbed into it as the adults watched the pair with smiles.
"We'll be just outside if you need anything," Molly said softly to the pair as the group began walking to the door; Harry looked nervous for a moment before Molly nodded at him that he would be okay, and Harry turned back to Sirius' story;
as the door shut behind her, Molly heard Harry suddenly laugh at something Sirius said, and she felt a happy smile pull at her mouth.
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Several months later, Harry played chess with Ron; not far away, Ginny and Luna played with their dolls as Molly made the finishing touches on the large dinner she had been working on since that morning.
It was Christmas Eve, and the Weasley's were expecting a lot of company; hence the reason for the interminable amount of food that Molly and Jaya had been working on all day; Remus had just arrived not too long ago, quickly followed by the Tonks family, each of whom quickly placed their presents under the nearby tree before asking Molly if she needed assistance; Dora was the exception as she had been forced onto the couch by her mother and told to finish studying the chapter in her potions book, she had received dismal marks before the holiday break, and Andromeda was quite peeved with the girl, to say the least.
Ron had just beaten Harry yet again when the fireplace roared to life with a green flame, and Sirius stepped out of it carrying a large red bag with an extended wrapped package sticking out of it; he was dressed in a fine black tailored muggle suit, absent a tie, that looked quite expensive and only helped to show how far he'd come from the man he used to be.
"Sirius!" Harry cried happily, jumping to his feet and tackling the smiling man in a fierce hug; the months had been good for the pair, much to Molly and Arthur's delight. Harry quickly warmed up to his godfather as Sirius endured his rehabilitation.
"Hello, Prongslet," Sirius said happily as he wrapped an arm around the smiling boy and placed the bag on the ground,
"I didn't think you would be able to come!" Harry cried happily as he pulled away from his godfather and smiled; since Sirius' release, the poor man had been beset by lawyers and Ministry officials to discuss his status as the newly appointed Lord of house Black, much to Sirius' continued annoyance.
"Well, you didn't think I would miss my first Christmas with my godson, did you?"
Harry smiled happily at the man, his hair turning a warm orange as Sirius smiled back at the boy,
"Speaking of which, would you like to open your present a little earlier than usual?" Sirius asked, smiling as the boy began to bounce with barely controlled glee.
"It's nothing dangerous, I hope?" Molly asked quickly as she entered the living room and dried her hands on the apron,
"Not at all," Sirius laughed, "The dangerous stuff comes later,"
Molly rolled her eyes as Sirius winked at her before pulling the long-wrapped package from the bag he was carrying and handing it to Harry. The latter instantly ripped the wrapping off like a child possessed before gasping in shock at what his eyes beheld.
"It's a Nimbus 1000," Ron breathed next to him in awe, "It's their fastest model yet!"
"Don't you think Harry is a bit young for a racing broom?" Molly asked anxiously as Harry held the broom as though it were the greatest thing in the world,
"Not at all!" Sirius replied with a smile, "James and I were far younger when our fathers bought us our first brooms, after all."
Molly chewed her lip nervously as she watched Ron and Harry go over every inch of the new broomstick before the pair ran over to her,
"Mum, can we go try it out? Please? Please?"
"Alright, but I want Sirius to go with you to ensure you don't injure yourselves!" Molly replied with a smile; a moment later, Harry and Ron had dashed out the door, quickly followed by Sirius, Ginny, and Luna, while Molly watched with a small smile.
Sirius had agreed to let Harry remain with the Weasley's on the condition that he be allowed regular visits and spoil the boy rotten (that part had been non-negotiable). Molly had cried with happiness at Sirius' decision.
"Missus Molly," Jaya suddenly called as Molly watched the group from the window, "The ham is ready!"
"Coming, Jaya!" Molly called back, casting one final look at the children before heading back to the kitchen to finish dinner.