Prophecy Child

Harry was missing again.

Tom didn’t hesitate to call an elf this time. Forget Harry’s discomfort with elves – Tom was utterly panicked.

Tom was standing in the hallway outside Harry’s room, preparing to raise the alarm, as Miggy arrived. ‘Take me to Harry immediately.’ He ordered, fear making his voice waver.

Miggy gave him an odd look that Tom nearly snarled at, but then she grabbed his hand and popped him… into Harry’s bathroom.

Oh.

Maybe Tom should have looked a little further than Harry’s bed before panicking.

‘Thank you, Miggy.’ He mumbled, embarrassed.

Miggy gave him a knowing look, before popping away again.

Harry startled at Tom and Miggy’s sudden appearance, standing frozen by the washbasin, eyes wide.

‘Sorry sorry no bad Harry no bad sorry sorry!’ he signed a touch frantically.

‘It’s alright, Harry. My apologies. You were not in your bed when I came in, and I – I might have panicked a bit.’

Harry tilted his head in question.

‘When – when they took you, I came into your room, and you were gone. So, when I came in this morning and you weren’t in your bed, I… got a little worried.’ Tom explained, trying to maintain his composure.

Harry hesitated, then shuffled over and wrapped his arms around Tom’s legs. He leaned back again after a moment. ‘Good something Tom.’

Tom’s cheeks felt warm. ‘Er, Is that the sign for dad?’ he asked.

Harry nodded. ‘Good dad Tom.’

Tom was saved from saying anything further when Sirius Black ambled into the room, casual as could be.

‘Morning, pup. Morning, Tom. Lovely day outside. Perhaps we could watch some outside walls today, Harry, what do you think?’

Tom gave Sirius a flat look. He was preparing to say, ‘Harry doesn’t want to stare at a wall,’ when he felt Harry move beside him.

‘Yes yes please something something yes good something.’

Tom really needed to learn sign language.

‘I really need to learn sign language, hey pup? Maybe old Uncle Marius might know it.’ Sirius said, thinking hard. ‘He’s a bit fuzzy in my head. Might have to ask Mother about him. A squib cousin… or uncle… could be both, in the Black family.’ He muttered, then looked up at Tom. ‘You have a Floo here?’

‘You know someone who speaks sign language?’ Tom asked urgently.

Sirius shrugged. ‘Maybe. Marius is a muggle doctor, I’m pretty sure. He might know it. Forget the Floo, Mother won’t know where he is. A computationer, that’s what we need. Search for his name. Are there any muggle villages nearby?’ Sirius said confidently.

Tom blinked.  ‘I have no idea what you’re saying.’ Sirius Black might be mad, he thought absently.

‘Muggle. Village. A village full of muggles.’ Sirius over-enunciated, making Tom glower at him.

‘There’s one a few miles away. Reasonable size.’

Sirius gave a nod. ‘Might have to put a bit of a hold on the outdoor wall this morning, pup. See if we can find old Uncle Marius, and then see if we can learn some sign language!’ Sirius ruffled Harry’s hair gently, and Harry’s eyes lit up.

‘Yes yes yes good boy good!’ Harry signed enthusiastically.

Sirius frowned. ‘I don’t know much sign language, but I’m pretty sure people have name signs. Like, rather than spelling your name, you have a special sign. Be easier than pointing, especially if the person you’re talking about isn’t there to point at.’

Harry tilted his head, then nodded. He pointed to Tom and shook his head, signing ‘dad’.

‘Old Tom-cat has a sign already, eh?’ Sirius smiled. ‘What does it represent?’

Harry and Tom both stared blankly at him.

‘Right, should have explained. Name signs are often something about the person, as well as the first letter of their name. Not always, but that’s sort of a general pattern. Like… Lucius might be the letter L, and brushing your hand through your hair- because he has such pretty, luscious locks.’ Sirius smirked, and Harry smiled shyly.

He shook his head though and made the sign again, pointing to Tom.

Tom’s cheeks burned. ‘It means ‘dad’.’ He mumbled.

Sirius grinned. ‘Of course it does. Tom is your dad, hey Harry?’

Harry nodded, looking up at Tom. Tom didn’t have the heart to deny the child. He held his tongue – this would require a serious conversation with Lucius. Maybe Walters too– he seemed like a good father, Tom thought.

‘Any interest in checking out a muggle village, Harry?’

‘No!’ said Tom quickly. ‘Er, no. Not today. Maybe another day.’

Harry didn’t look put out – in fact he seemed relieved.

‘Fair. Bit too much excitement, probably. I’ll head in and go find a computationer, see if I can find Marius.’

Sirius turned and went to leave.

‘Breakfast first, perhaps?’ called Tom. ‘And a chaperone. I don’t entirely trust you yet – either with my location, or amongst… normal people.’

Sirius grinned sheepishly. ‘Right, scrambled eggs. I mean, my brain is a bit scrambled. Like eggs. What’s for breakfast?’

Harry’s odd breathing made Tom look down sharply, only to relax when he saw Harry grinning and huffing with silent giggles.

***

Carrick kept a wary eye on Sirius Black as they walked into town. His Lord had asked him to chaperone Black to the nearby muggle village so he could find a ‘computationer’. Carrick had to work hard not to laugh as he politely corrected them both.

He directed Black towards a small library and led the way inside, over to a row of clunky old computers.

‘You have to control yourself around these things,’ Carrick warned quietly. ‘They’re sensitive to magic. No big emotions, no spells, not even Occlumency. Well, nothing active. Passive shields are fine. If you don’t think you can control yourself, go look at some books.’

Sirius nodded, but his eyes were roaming around the library.

‘Black!’ Carrick hissed quietly.

‘I heard you.’ Sirius said absently. ‘The walls in here look weird.’

‘How about you go check them out while I look on the computer.’ Carrick said encouragingly. ‘I’ll let you know if I need help.’

‘Don’t patronise me, I’m your elder.’ grumbled Sirius, but he wandered over anyway.

Carrick set to work, searching for Marius Black. Fortunately, he didn’t take long to find.

Unfortunately, a librarian was approaching Sirius with a stern expression.

‘What are you doing over here?’ the woman asked briskly. ‘There will be no shenanigans in my library! If you aren’t going to read a book or use a computer, you can leave!’

Sirius was giving her his empty-eyed stare, making the woman shuffle nervously, looking about ready to march off and call the muggle police.

‘There you are, Uncle S-Simon.’ Carrick stuttered. ‘Remember, I said we have to stay together while we’re out. Sorry, was he being a bother?’ Carrick asked nervously. ‘Have you picked up something you shouldn’t, Simon?’

‘No.’ Sirius snapped petulantly. ‘I haven’t got anything.’

‘Okay, that’s alright then. Let’s take a nice slow breath.’ Carrick said with exaggerated calmness, before turned to the librarian, still watching suspiciously. ‘I’m terribly sorry. He doesn’t mean any harm, he’s just a bit… a bit er…’ Carrick hesitated.

‘Scrambled eggs!’ Sirius put in.

Carrick dropped his head to his chest, sighing. ‘Scrambled eggs, Simon. That’s right.’

The librarian’s face looked pinched, but Carrick thought she might be holding back a smile.

‘Mum’s at work today, and his usual carer called in sick, so Simon and I are doing a few jobs together, right Simon?’ Carrick said brightly.

‘I want ice-cream. You said ice-cream.’ Sirius whined.

‘Ice-cream when our jobs are finished.’ Carrick said sternly. ‘And not before. You know what happened last time we got ice-cream before we finished the jobs.’

Sirius grinned a wide, wicked grin, making the librarian look a little anxious.

‘I still can’t get the stains out. Axle grease is so stubborn! The shirt is a write-off. The socks too.’ Carrick shook his head, then jolted a bit. ‘Sorry, we’re wasting your time!’ he apologised to the now very bemused librarian. ‘I just need to print something quickly, and we can be out of your hair!’

‘Perhaps I can help?’ the librarian asked.

‘Oh, that would be great! It’s that computer over there, with the doctor’s information on the screen.’

The librarian nodded, marching about briskly as she clunked away at the thing, then went and collected a piece of paper. Carrick had Sirius standing by the front door, shuffling from foot to foot.

‘Nearly done, Simon. Only one more stop, then ice-cream! Say thank you to the nice librarian, she’s helped us finish up here a bit quicker than I planned!’

‘Thanks.’ Sirius mumbled, toes scuffing at the carpet.

‘That’s quite alright. Have a lovely day – and enjoy your ice-cream, Simon.’

Carrick gave her a grateful smile, and took Sirius by the elbow, leading him away down the footpath. Once they were a good distance away, Carrick let loose a snort.

‘Merlin’s balls, well done, Black! Top tier acting!’ he laughed.

Sirius grinned, then frowned. ‘Why are we heading back?’

Carrick looked at him oddly. ‘Because we got the information we came for?’

‘But I want ice-cream!’

***

‘I really thought he was joking, my Lord, but I tried to keep walking and he nearly threw a tantrum. Like, a full-on, toddler tantrum. We had to go back into town to get him some. I honestly think he’s a little bit insane.’

‘He is currently sitting in the east garden staring at a wall because- and I quote, ‘mornings are for watching walls’. He is most certainly insane.’