Englishman in the Encanto

“Here.”

Sirius winced as Julieta put the finished touches on his bandaged arm.

The rest of the Madrigals watched the scene in complete silence, Agustín, Isabela, Luisa and Mirabel close enough but still a little huddled away.

A few people from the village had come up to see if the Madrigals were alright but they’d been sent away with reassurances that everyone was fine and a plea for a few supplies and solution on where to sleep now that the Madrigals were homeless.

“Perdon,” Julieta said, “I don’t have my gift anymore, I can’t do any better than that.”

Sirius grimaced, his broken arm and related dislocated shoulder hurt too much to fake being fine for the sake of her feelings, “It’s alright,” he told her, “It’s not like anyone forced me to do that,” he tried to move his left arm and even though he could move it, the movement made him hiss from pain when the rest of his body registered it. He groaned, “Great. Splinching – so embarrassing. It’s alright, Julieta,” he said, seeing how worried she was, “This is common. I got Splinched,” Sirius explained.

“Sp – Spl – que?”

“It’s a magically induced injury – it happens with loss of concentration during Apparition… it can happen. I hadn’t Apparated in years, and I had to Apparate so quickly so many times, it went quite well, all things considered.”

“But your arm is broken! And some ribs too, I think!”

“It could’ve been worse; I could’ve left it there,” Sirius nodded his head towards the depressing giant mount of debris that were once the Madrigals’ Casita, and the movement hurt like hell, “I still have all my limbs, right?”

“Que!? S-sí! I mean – that can happen?”

Sirius grinned, “You get a license to do that. My friend James had to take the test three times before he could get his license, he got distracted by the presence of his girlfriend, so he kept leaving his eyebrows around. It was not a good look on him.”

Now that Julieta had put the finishing touches to the bandages on his arm, Sirius’s eyes wandered to the rest of the Madrigals. Julieta had been trying to drag it out for a while now but there was no way to drag it even further and avoid explaining things to the rest of the family gathered behind her, shell-shocked by the fall of Casita.

Pepa kept a tight grip on Antonio in her arms, Félix had a hand on her back and another on Camilo’s shoulder. Dolores stood next to them, hugging herself, staring wide around her.

Isabela and Luisa stood not far from them, flanking Mirabel and hanging around their father, who hovered protectively. The Madam was still sitting on the debris Dolores had helped her to earlier.

He locked eyes with the Madam and was waiting to see her put on the shields of dignity and security he’d grown accustomed to seeing her in but this time she didn’t.

There was a lot of emotions there, emotions he knew well: confusion, sadness, anxiety, guilt and even anger. It was an odd mixture, a mixture he’d witnessed Harry feel just a few weeks ago. His godson had even explained a little better in his later letters that he’d felt confused about the whole situation in the Shrieking Shack, sadness at learning what had really happened to his parents and Sirius himself for trusting the wrong person, anxiety, anger and guilt for having let Wormtail go.

Sirius had to admit, he was lucky he had to correspond with Harry in that instance. His feelings on the whole thing were so jumbled altogether that it had taken him a while to find the words to explain how he felt to Harry: of course, he didn’t blame the boy at all, Harry had been nothing short of amazing and so caring of a godfather he couldn’t remember. However, his situation had gone from trying to commit the crime he’d been imprisoned for, to telling Harry the truth, to trying to help the children not be mauled by Remus’s werewolf form, to being surrounded by Dementors again and locked up in Flitwick’s office with the only help he could count on was his godson jumping in out of nowhere with his friend and a Hippogriff and then being on the run again…

To say that he’d been left reeling would have been an understatement: anyone would have been left reeling and he’d lost his grasp on his own feelings and emotions many years ago in Azkaban, not that he’d had much grasp on his emotions to begin with, considering his childhood with that delightful woman he was forced to call mother.

As usual when his mother came to mind, Sirius pushed the memory of her face out of his head with a sneer, spitting on the ground.

“Er – who are you exactly?”

Sirius glanced at Félix. The man had been trying to comfort his wife and kids for a while and Sirius respected how he’d tried till now to be positive with the same insistence Julieta had silenced him every time he’d tried asking something.

Even now she quickly tried to change the subject, but this time Agustín caught Sirius’s eyes and they both came to a silent agreement.

“I –”

It seemed so out of character for the Madam to look so lost when the whole family stared at her. It took her a few moments to gather her bearings.

“I would like to know,” she said in what was probably a firm voice to her, but still sounded unsure to them all, “Who are you?”

“Mamá –”

“Amor,” Agustín put his hands on her shoulders, “They have a right to ask.”

Julieta glanced at him, flustered, “I know, but –”

“It’s alright, Julieta,” Sirius said when she still hung around him, determined to defend him, “I was going to say it either way. I’m Sirius Black,” he told the rest of the Madrigals, “The wizard.”

They gaped at him, “Que?”

“Did you say ‘wizard’?” Camilo asked.

“Wizard, yes.”

“And with ‘wizard’ you mean –”

“I mean ‘wizard’.”

“Sí!” Antonio piped in, “Like in stories!”

“And what do you know, Toñito?”

“Oops!”

Sirius grinned at Antonio’s cheeky response to his mother and turned his attention back to the Madam, who still bore the same expression of confused shock she’d born when the emerald slab of Bruno’s vision of Mirabel had slid all over the table right in front of her.

“How dare you hide something like that!?”

Sirius cocked an eyebrow at her outburst.

Considering her borderline explosive personality, he was surprised Pepa was still rather calm when her mother couldn’t keep up with her own dignified demeanour. But the red-haired woman actually jumped at the Madam’s reaction to his revelation and shielded Antonio right away when the child retreated to her arms at his grandmother’s shout. With two long strides, Julieta reached for her sister automatically, but then turned to frown at her mother.

“How dare you hide something like that!?” the Madam shrieked, her emotions coming out in an explosive way Sirius was well used to, though not from her, “After everything we’ve done for you! I knew we shouldn’t have trusted an outsider!”

“Mamá, that’s not fair!” Julieta intervened.

“You destroyed our magic and now we’re not safe anymore!”

Sirius frowned, “Don’t even try it with me!” he snapped jumping to his feet, “I’ve been here for a few days, I fell here, got injured for it and suddenly it’s my fault the magic is gone?”

“We never had any problems before you appeared!”

“Is that right!?” Sirius shouted back at the old woman, “What you never had was someone telling you to your face that you do, in fact, have a lot of problems!”

“Excuse me!?”

“What do you call never giving a moment’s rest to that poor girl!?” Luisa flinched, making herself small when Sirius pointed at her, “Or forcing your granddaughter into marriage?! And, since we’re on the subject, the way you spoke to Mirabel is disgusting! The girl’s fifteen and has only been trying to please you and what do you do? Blame her for everything!”

“And how is it any of your business whatever happens in our family!? You’re just a guest! A rude one at that, who hid something of important like this after all we’ve done for you! We’ve healed you from your injuries!”

“Julieta was the one to heal my injuries, certainly not you! I haven’t seen you do anything for me except being suspicious of me even when I was straightforward about who I was from the start!”

“Yes, very straightforward, not telling us about your gift!”

“Believe it or not, I answer to higher authorities than you, Madam, and I broke the law by telling you anything!”

“You are an arrogant, disrespectful –”

“Mamá!”

“Julieta!”

The Madam protested and Sirius blinked in surprise at seeing Pepa and Julieta both standing in front of their mother, their arms linked together. Having left Antonio with Dolores, Pepa stared with a determination that could come only from the reassurance of her sister’s presence.

Sirius hadn’t spoken much to Pepa during the past few days, since she’d most been in the fields or busy with Antonio’s ceremony, and it was the first time he saw her dynamic with Julieta. The way they held onto each other was as natural as the way Julieta had held onto Bruno when he’d revealed himself to her.

“You cannot speak to Sirius like that!” Julieta said sternly, “It’s not fair!”

“He hid something this important from us!”

“He wanted to tell you!” Julieta retorted sharply, “I was there! He asked to talk, and you told him you were busy with Isabela’s engagement! And he told me about it!”

“Who cares anyway?” Pepa added, “He’s just hurt himself pulling all of us out of the house!”

“Right!”

“I just want to understand!” the Madam cried, tightening her grip on her shawl, “How could an outsider arrive here like this!? We were supposed to be protected from danger but Bruno’s gone and the magic failed and then he arrives out of nowhere and – and –”

Sirius’s anger simmered down when the old woman lost it and cried, hiding her face in her hands.

“Mamá,” Julieta sighed, and she and Pepa approached her, kneeling next to her form huddled on the ground.

Sirius glanced at Isabela and Luisa, still standing aloofly to the side, then turned his eyes to Dolores, who held tightly on Camilo and Antonio, and finally caught the eyes of Félix and Agustín.

Félix held up his hands, “I think it’s been said much more than was necessary right now.”

Agustín, on the other hand, adjusted his cracked glasses with a grimace, “I think it would be best to say it all since we’re here,” he gave Sirius a meaningful look, “Don’t you?”
Sirius sighed himself, and passed a hand on his face, pulling his hair away from his eyes.

Félix blinked at the interaction between his brother-in-law and their guest and gaped even more when Sirius nodded, pinching the bridge of his nose to nurse a growing headache, “I suppose.”

Julieta and Pepa looked up and even the Madam looked at him, her eyes wet with tears, holding onto her daughters with one hand and onto her handkerchief with the other.

“About how I was able to get here – I thought it was, but it’s not exactly a coincidence I came here,” Sirius said, deciding to start with information Julieta, Dolores and Agustín didn’t have, “I didn’t remember the place at all, but I think on some level I was trying to come here? My mind was too – anyway, it’s because I got injured in that storm. I was bleeding, right?”

Everyone’s eyes, even Sirius’s, turned to Julieta, who flinched at the sudden attention but nodded quickly, “Sí,” she said, “You were bleeding a lot, and you didn’t stop till I got you to eat something.”

“Well, there you go. This place has – had, I suppose – quite strong wards against outsiders, and they tried to push me away, but they recognised me when I bled.”

“What are you saying?” asked Pepa, completely at a loss as to what was happening.

“The wards know me from the last time I was here.”

“Que!?”

“Señor Sirius was here before!”

Dolores stepped forward when she was sure Antonio was secured on Camilo’s shoulders. She looked at her cousins, who blinked back at her with wide eyes.

“Luisa was too little but Isa, maybe you remember him? You remember when we were little? When Mirabel and Camilo were just born, the men in the mountains?”

“What are you saying, Dolores!?” Pepa cried, “What men in the mountains!?”

“Well, to make a long story short,” Sirius said, “Fifteen years ago, my friend James and I needed to get to Spain, but we got stranded here by accident. It took a while to get the wards to understand we meant no harm. They locked our magic for a while –”

“So – er – we –?” Isabela shared a look with Luisa, “We met you before?”

“I had short hair at the time,” Sirius said, then smiled at Luisa’s confusion, “You were probably around what? Four? I’m not surprised that you don’t remember me.”

Isabela’s eyes grew as wide as saucers, “Wait – the men in the mountain!” she looked back at Dolores, who nodded eagerly, then gaped at Sirius, “That was you!?”

Sirius grinned at her, “Yes, that was my reaction too when I realised you were the little flower girl from that time. So, you remember?”

“Of course, I remember! The men in the mountain!” Isabela let out a startled laugh, “With the colourful sparks and the weird candies –”

“Candies?” Luisa piped in, “Weird candies?”

“Oh, yeah!” Isabela shared a nod with Dolores, “There were so many odd ones, the liquorice ones, and the jelly thing, and those frogs made of chocolate?”

Sirius snorted, “Yeah, I still don’t know why James insisted on bringing his whole stash when we were supposed to be on a mission.”

Luisa looked thoughtful, “I think I remember something like that – I thought it was a dream.”

Isabela and Dolores both quietened, “Yes, well, we had to tell you it was a dream,” Isabela said softly, “You kept talking about it and –”

Dolores took her hand and shook her head.

Sirius frowned and saw Julieta share a look with Agustín, both subdued, while Pepa frowned in confusion.

“Dolores, you took candy from a stranger?” she turned to Sirius, “No offence, now we know you’re not dangerous, but you could have been! Why did you go alone in the mountains?! And you never said anything? Julieta, que – you’re not going to say anything about it?”

Julieta hesitated. Sirius was even more confused at that.

“They weren’t alone, they were with me.”

*

When everyone turned sharply to the new voice, Bruno flinched, but then stood there, awkwardly, aloofly, hood half-way pulled up, holding his left arm with his right hand.

He could tell that Sirius could practically smell the great amount of anxiety emanating from him as he gulped, fighting to stare at his family and not avert his eyes. Sirius winked at him when their eyes met, and he could relax a bit.

Julieta ran to her brother, squeezing him in her arms. She cupped his face in her hands and leaned her forehead against his, sighing contentedly when she was satisfied that he was alright. She squeezed his hands one last time and moved aside to give him a chance to greet the others.

Still holding onto Julieta’s hand, Bruno didn’t move as Pepa took the sight of him for the first time in ten years. She went as still as a statue as she gaped at her brother.

He raised his free hand in an awkward wave, “Hey, Pepa…”

“You!” she shrieked, “You show your face after all this?!”

Bruno swallowed slowly. He knew Pepa would react like this, he’d heard enough from her and Félix through the walls to know what she thought of him.

“Pepa!” Julieta came to his rescue, “That’s what you say to our brother now that he’s home?”

But Pepa didn't hear her. In a blur of yellow dress and red hair Pepa suddenly jumped at Bruno, slamming into him with a hug. It took a lot of effort for Bruno not to lose his balance and just crumble on the ground, “Ay, Bruno!” she cried, “Qué pasó? Por qué te fuiste?”

Much like with Julieta earlier, Bruno was swept away by the power of Pepa’s hug and was rather speechless, making it difficult to answer the river of questions coming his way. He was grateful that his sister seemed happy to see him, but he did feel a little awkward knowing what she’d said about him all those years, not that she’d made it a mystery even before he left. It was nice to know that she still cared, though.

“I’m sorry about your wedding, Pepa,” he said when he managed to get a word in, “I wasn’t trying to upset you. That wasn’t a prophecy, I could see how nervous you were, and I just wanted to let you know that I was there for you.”

Pepa suddenly let go of him, looking stunned.

Félix didn’t take long to throw his arm around his wife and beam at her, “See, that’s what I always tell you, amor.”

Bruno couldn’t help the small sigh that came to him. He was happy that his sister had found a man who loved her so much, but he’d always thought (and never said, so maybe that was on him) that Félix was always kind of there and if he was having a moment with his sister, her husband always ended up butting in. He never complained because he truly loved how Pepa would smile when Félix was there, and he’d wondered if maybe he felt this way because he was the only one of the triplets who didn’t have a significant other.

However, he’d seen the polite way Agustín left the room when he saw his wife needing time with her brother or her sister and Félix’s boisterous personality rubbed him the wrong way sometimes, because if Agustín could give time to Julieta to spend with him and Pepa, why couldn’t Félix? Why did it always had to be Bruno who gave Pepa and Félix space? He liked Félix, though, a lot, and he was happy that Pepa was happy, and he knew he couldn’t blame Félix for his strained relationship with Pepa because she’d followed the townspeople and their mother’s view of him long before Félix had come into the picture.

Still, he never liked how Pepa had started badmouthing him and had gotten so angry at the situation with her wedding that she never let him get in a word about it and apologise even if they did live together in the same house for years after that. After all these years, she kept complaining about it whenever the subject came up and Félix, who was so good at calming her down, never said anything about it and even fed into the bitterness, though he did it for a joke. After all these years, Bruno still didn’t know how he should feel about this.

Probably because their personalities were similar, but he’d always been more in tune with Julieta. It could be that it was just because of Julieta’s own kindness that made her easier to be around. Still, he wasn’t surprised when Julieta came to his rescue again, “Everyone, there is a lot to say, I know,” she said and smiled at her brother when he glanced at her, “But we should all calm down and decide what to do. Sirius is still wounded. Perhaps we can all sit and talk later?”

Bruno turned sharply to Sirius, noticing the bandage on his arm, “Wounded?!” he cried, leaving Pepa to check on him, “How!?”

Sirius held up his hands immediately, “I’m fine, don’t worry.”

“Que – that’s a broken arm, isn’t it?”

“Bruno,” Sirius said firmly, calming him down before he could spiral, “It’s alright.”

Bruno stared in his eyes, unsure on what to do, but Sirius gave him a meaningful look and nodded towards the rest of the family.

It was odd how Bruno was both terrified and excited at being reunited with the rest of the family. Watching his nieces and nephews grow up from behind the walls couldn’t compare to finally being seen by them right now.

His heart pounded in his chest, it pounded so fast as his mind went through one billion ways to approach his family. Each possibility that crossed his mind corresponded with an angry reaction from the rest of the family, even if Pepa and Julieta, whose reaction he feared the most, had just hugged him.

Did he dare think that Isabela’s expression hid hope now that she saw him? It couldn’t be, could it?

Agustín beamed at him and suddenly Bruno remembered that Sirius told him Agustín knew. Félix was always the optimist, so he wasn’t surprised that he was smiling too. Sure, he knew Dolores was relieved and sincere with her broad smile but why did Camilo look so curious about him? He looked rather unimpressed, didn’t he?

Bruno braced himself to look at the last person he wanted to see, and the one he wanted to see the most at the same time. It was so weird, wasn’t it?

“Mamá,” he breathed, finally, when he managed to stare his mother in the eyes. He suddenly found a steely determination in himself. He didn’t know where it came from, but it would do, “You were so wrong in yelling at Mirabel, and at Sirius. It wasn’t either of them. It was me. The cracks have been there for so long, and Sirius only arrived here a few days ago and Mirabel only wanted to help, so I gave her a vision. I don’t care what you think of me, but if you’re too stubborn to – to –” his voice faltered as she suddenly hugged him tight and he glanced down at his mother, usually so stern and strict, now suddenly displaying such affection for a son she’d refused to even name for years.

“Brunito,” she called softly, affectionately, contentedly, clinging to her son, after laying eyes on him for the first time in ten years.

His mind went blank for a moment, as all that he’d hoped for his reunion with his mother suddenly happened in real life, the affection he’d craved from her for years suddenly enveloped him in a warm hug and a kiss on the cheek.

Like Julieta and Pepa before her, his mother took his face in her hands and kissed his forehead too before staring at him with an expression devoid of anger, anguish or reprimand of any kind – just happiness to see him.

“Oh, mijo,” she sighed in relief, “You’re back, you’re alright.”

She hugged him again and he couldn’t help but look to his sisters and to Sirius in complete bewilderment at her reaction to seeing him again. Pepa looked as bewildered as him, but Julieta smiled at him and Sirius sported an obnoxious ‘I told you so’ look on his face that if Bruno didn’t love him so much would have gained him a smack.

“Yep, I mean, yes, I’m alright.”

He gave her a quick squeeze of his own. He didn’t know if it was because he couldn’t quite believe his mother was hugging him or because it was so rare for him that he felt too exposed in front of the others, but he let go of her.

Before he could say anything, Julieta hugged him again, “We’re all alright,” she sighed in relief, “That’s what’s really important.”

“Except Señor Sirius’s arm.”

“Camilo!”

“What! Am I wrong? The man’s arm’s broken!”

“It’s fine,” Sirius said, more for Bruno’s benefit, since the man was looking anxiously at him, “It’s a minor bruise.”

Once Julieta let him go, Bruno stepped closer to him, “Sirius, a broken arm is not a minor bruise.”

“Ho-oh! Believe me, with Splinching it can get much, much worse than this!”

“Hey, it’s no laughing matter!” Bruno snapped at him.

“You two –” Pepa pointed from her brother to Sirius and vice versa, “You two know each other?”

“Yes! We’re –” Bruno said forcefully, already mollified by Sirius’s cheeky grin. The man was frustratingly able to cheer him up with just a smile. Of course, the fact that everyone in his family had easily survived to the fall of Casita (in no small part thanks to Sirius himself) helped a lot too, “Like I said, the girls were with me when they met Sirius and his friend.”

Bruno wanted to frown at Sirius’s triumphant smile, but he couldn’t help smiling back in relief.

“Oh,” said Pepa, “Right,” she took a deep breath, and stared down the mount of debris, “What a mess.”

Camilo piped in, “What are we going to do? We don’t have a house. Hey, I’m just saying it how it is! We don’t have a house! This –” he motioned at the debris and fixed his father with a defiant expression, “This is not a house! We cannot sleep here!”

Still holding onto the jaguar plushie Mirabel had made for his birthday, Antonio approached Sirius, who leaned against what remained of the hall’s wall, “Can you fix Casita?”

Bruno saw that Sirius looked on the verge of saying something snarky before he processed that it was Antonio asking. The wizard sighed with a small smile, patting the child’s hair, “Sorry, poppet, nothing I can do with my wand arm broken.”

“Wand?”

Sirius instinctively went to raise his wand arm to show his wand to Pepa but cursed when pain shot through his arm at the mere movement, so he passed his wand to his other hand to show Pepa the wooden stick, “Without a wand, my abilities are limited,” he explained, “Not much I can do till my arm heals.”

Antonio’s lip trembled and Bruno’s hand went to his hair when his youngest nephew was suddenly leaning against him.

Julieta had focused on Luisa, who was sniffling to the side, overwhelmed by the latest events, but she looked up at that, “I’m so sorry, Sirius, if I still had my gift…”

“It’s fine,” Sirius said for what seemed the hundredth time.

“No, it’s not.”

Abuela had finally gathered her bearing completely. She was somehow the same as always but completely different at the same time: Bruno saw the usual elegance and grace with which she’d always carried herself, something he’d never been able to imitate, but there was a softness there, a nostalgic sadness coupled with a warmth he and his sisters had long forgotten seeing from her. It suited her.

The old woman was standing tall and proud but not too proud to stand in front of Sirius and holding out her hand to him, “My daughters are right,” she said, “Nothing matters as much as the fact that everyone in the family is alright,” she grabbed Bruno’s wrist, as if the gesture gave her more certainty of her own words (it probably did), “And that is thanks to you. So, for that, I thank you. You saved us all in our time of need.”

With a quick look to Bruno, Sirius took her hand, shaking away their differences, at least for the moment, with the demeanour of a dog obeying its master, “It really is less dramatic than you’re making it out to be,” he said a little sharply.

Abuela glanced at her son, then smiled tentatively at Sirius.

Suddenly free of Antonio, who was now in Félix’s arms, Bruno hopped on the rubble closest to him, “There’s really nothing you can do?” he asked, “At least about your arm?”
Sirius shrugged, “Without another wizard healing my arm, I’m stuck waiting for it to heal naturally.”

“Well –”

Isabela cleared her throat, still dirty with coloured pollen and dust from the debris of Casita, a stark contrast with the girl without a hair out of place she was that morning. She paused for a moment when she found herself faced with all her family staring at her, but then gulped and stepped forward, “Well, can’t you call someone?” she asked, “Another wizard to come heal you?”

Sirius clearly hadn’t thought about that, and he looked pensive at the idea.

“Oh, that’s a great idea!” Julieta clapped her hands together while Bruno beamed at his oldest niece first and then turned to smile at Sirius, “Isabela’s right! Why don’t you call someone to come here and heal you? Can you do that without your wand?”

“Maybe before, when Antonio could talk to animals? I have sent letters to my godson with owl post, before I came here. I don’t think there are many birds here willing to fly all the way to England. And even if there were, they’ll have flown away and won’t be back for a while.”

“Wait, but isn’t he on the run or something?” asked Camilo suddenly, “I thought people were looking for you?”

This time everyone’s attention turned to him and the boy didn’t look as sheepish as his cousin when faced with the suspicion in his parents’ eyes at his words. Félix’s eyes were narrowed, and lips pursed, “And how do you know? I thought Abuela told you kids to leave the room while we adults talked when he told us his story.”

“Hm!”

Dolores’s eyes grew even wider than usual. Camilo gave a flashy bow.

Sirius snorted and Bruno masked a laugh with a cough, looking away.

“So, there’s no way for you to contact anyone?” Julieta said, not easily distracted by the change in subject, “There’s no one you can call? What about your godson? Harry?”

Bruno was glad of the easy smile Sirius gave his sister at the mere mention of his godson. The thought of the boy distracted him from his wounded arm and Bruno actually wanted to learn more about Harry, so he could also learn more about Sirius. It was like a thirst he couldn’t quench.

However, he could see the rest of his family out of the corner of his eyes, his mother especially, and he didn’t want them to know, those that didn’t, not now.

“Oh, no,” Sirius said, “I wrote to Harry before I came here, so I have to wait for him to reply, but even so, Harry is in school, he can’t use magic outside of school, or he’d be expelled. There is someone – and I would have a way to contact him…”

“Is it your friend Remus?”

Sirius gaped at Bruno, “How –”

Bruno shrugged, “It’s probably why he was in my vision, isn’t it?”

“Right.”

“So? We can meet another wizard!?”

“Hold your horses, Camilo,” Félix told the boy, “Abuela hasn’t agreed yet. We have to decide if we’re going to have someone we don’t know, an outsider, just get here out of nowhere.”

Camilo shrugged, “Isn’t that how Señor Sirius got here?” he asked, “And I want to meet another wizard! Señor Sirius’s arm is injured, isn’t having someone come here the only way he can get healed now that Tía doesn’t have her gift anymore?”

No one could argue with that logic, though Félix looked exhausted with the interaction.

“Is it possible to make your friend come here?” Julieta asked Sirius, looking hopeful.

Sirius grimaced, “I mean, yeah, there is a way, but it is a long shot. And something I don’t want to do, but yeah, it is the only way to call Remus here,” he paused, looking straight at Bruno, “But Félix’s right, I do need permission to get him here.”

Bruno and the rest of the family all turned to Abuela, as usual relying on the matriarch to take the reigns of the situation. The old woman just stood there for a moment, for once not jumping immediately in leader of the Encanto mode. When it finally registered that her whole family, including her now returned son, was waiting for her to speak, she tightened her shawl about her.

“Vale,” she said, a little hesitantly, “Camilo’s right, we can’t leave you with your arm injured if there is a chance to heal it quickly, not after you’ve saved us.”

“Yeah,” Sirius said, “That’s all very well, but I don’t actually need your permission,” he told Abuela, and turned to Bruno, “I need yours,” Bruno blinked, “I need to get two people here.”

“Two people?” Abuela asked, “Wait just a minute –”

“I know it’s scary to think about outsiders coming here,” Sirius interrupted her, “Believe it or not, contacting anyone makes me uneasy too since you never know what could happen, and I am a convicted murderer on the run according to the Ministry of Magic, but it’s not like I have any choice. My servant is the one who can literally bring Remus here from England.”

“Your – your what now?”

“Who cares?” Camilo piped in, “Abuela’ll give you permission, right!?”

“I still need your permission,” Sirius told Bruno.

Bruno stared at him blankly.

“Hm!”

Dolores appeared out of nowhere and shoved herself close to her uncle, to get his arm in a tight grip, “I think he means he needs your permission specifically, Tío Bruno!” she said, “Something magical, I assume?”

Sirius nodded, “Yes, little princess,” he told her with a grin, “Though I’d rather explain once my arm no longer hurts like hell.”

“Oh!” Bruno flinched at Sirius’s look, “W-well, then –” he glanced at his mother, who seemed at a loss not being the leader, then at Julieta, who gave him a determined nod, “Well, then of course you have permission.”

Sirius smiled genially at him, “Thank you, love,” he said, “Kreacher! Kreacher, come here!”

It was rather anticlimactic when nothing happened.

“That’s it?” Camilo asked, rather disappointed.

Sirius frowned at him, “England is on the other side of the globe, give him a moment!”

And sure enough, a couple of minutes after they’d all given up on waiting standing and decided to just lounge around –

CRACK!

They all jumped in fright and Sirius stood.

Bruno stood with him and Sirius squeezed his hand.

“Who called for Kreacher?”

Sirius didn’t look pleased.

“Hello, Kreacher,” he said, “Long time no see.”

It was a small creature. The Madrigals gaped as they took in the sight of the being tall about Antonio’s height, with a bulbous, snout-like nose, bloodshot eyes, many folds of skin, and white hair growing out of its bat-like ears. It regarded them for a moment, then it gave Sirius a suspicious look.

“Master Sirius called for Kreacher? Kreacher didn’t see that coming.”

“Yes,” Sirius said, and Bruno noticed that he was squeezing his hand with much more force than before, “It was a surprise to me too.”

Kreacher looked around judgingly and they saw him taking in the situation and evaluating it, “Master Sirius has grown up from the boy who ran away from my Mistress’ house, breaking her heart,” he said pensively.

“Don’t try that, Kreacher, you know very well that Mother didn't have a heart.”

Kreacher was stalling, even the Madrigals could see it, who were still processing the fact that this creature had just appeared out of nowhere, and Bruno could see that Sirius had little patience for it, but he had to be careful –

“Kreacher’s Mistress died thinking Master Sirius had learnt proper pride in the end, but it looks to Kreacher as if it isn’t the case. Master Sirius still consorts with filth even now.”
“Kreacher –” Sirius growled.

“Kreacher could see that Master Sirius consorted with Mudbloods still. No pride, nothing like Master Regulus.”

“Don’t you dare, you nasty little –”

“And where did it take Master Sirius? Master Sirius didn’t listen, and those pests betrayed him, didn’t they?”

Sirius’s face went blank, “What?”

“That’s what Kreacher gathered through the grapevine,” Kreacher insisted, “Now Kreacher doesn’t think it was that Potter, blood traitor that he was, he was still a pure-blood. But one of those pests betrayed Master Sirius, didn’t they?”

“Yes,” Sirius said, and he sounded so broken and tired to Bruno, “Yes, one of them betrayed me. Kreacher, one of them betrayed me but that doesn’t mean the others weren’t the best people I know…”

Bruno couldn’t help but squeeze his hand, silently supporting him. Sirius took a shaky breath, finally giving into despair for the friends he lost. Kreacher paused in his tirade, looking at him with something different than the judgement and disgust he’d been giving him till now.

“Please!”

Suddenly Julieta couldn’t take it anymore and approached the little creature, taking his hands in hers, “Please! He’s hurt, can you help?” she asked frantically, “He said you can help! Please, can you help?”

Kreacher drew his hands away from her quickly, regarding her like one regard something dirty, “Kreacher doesn’t speak to filth, Mudblood,” he said wiping his hands on his clothes – was that a pillowcase?

Julieta blinked, taken aback, and shared a bemused look with Bruno. The little creature had called her filth, called her a – what?

“Kreacher!” Sirius fought the pain to lean away from Bruno, his despair forgotten, and his Spanish too, “I forbid you to insult any people of any kind!”

Kreacher’s disgust was once again directed at him, “So Master Sirius hasn’t learnt his lesson! Master still consorts with traitors, filth, pests –”

The Madrigals were shocked to see him slapping himself straight in the face but Sirius was unfazed.

“I’ll make sure you learn your lesson if I hear another word like that! Don’t test me or it’ll be clothes, I swear!”

Kreacher stiffened and curled on himself at the threat, though the Madrigals were still looking between him and Sirius. They had no idea of what was happening at all. Kreacher snarled at Sirius and tried saying something, but no voice came out of him. Sirius was so angry and tense that he went instinctively to cross his arm but then let out a cry of pain and Kreacher stilled.

“Kreacher didn’t see that Master Sirius was hurt,” he said slowly.

“Oh, you saw, you little – you saw it, don’t lie.”

Kreacher rolled his eyes, “Master Sirius was always making trouble, even when he was a child,” he said, and heaved a long-suffering sigh when Sirius glared at him, “What can Kreacher do for Master Sirius?”

Sirius slumped against Bruno, who automatically held him up, “Would you please go get my friend Remus Lupin, Kreacher?” Kreacher gaped at him, and it occurred to Bruno that there was so much to unpack about that dynamic, “I got Splinched, and my wand arm is broken. House Elves can’t do anything about it, right?”

Kreacher assessed the situation, “Kreacher can’t fix Splinching,” he sighed as if the mere idea of helping Sirius was tiring to him, “Master Sirius will have to wait. Kreacher assumes Master Sirius’s friend is in England?”

“I know, Kreacher. And I know it’ll take a little time for you to go get him, but I don’t have much of a choice, do I? Don’t tell anyone but Remus Lupin about this place or that you have seen me. Just get Remus Lupin and get him here,” he sighed, “Please, Kreacher?”

“Kreacher understands,” Kreacher said, bowing so low that his nose touched the ground, “Kreacher lives to serve the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black!”

Sirius scrunched his nose in disgust.

CRACK!

The Madrigals blinked, and the little creature had vanished as quickly as it had appeared. They all turned to Sirius, who was still panting hard from the effort of the game of tug of war with Kreacher.

“Sorry,” he said, “He’s kind of a dick.”

Bruno was the first to recover, maybe because he’d grown accustomed to being baffled and confused by Sirius’s ways by now, Julieta and Dolores not far behind.

It was a lot.

“Perdon,” said Isabela finally, “What was that?”

“That was Kreacher,” Sirius said quietly, the adrenaline he’d mustered to fight with Kreacher leaving him, “He’s a House Elf. He’s been working for my family for ages.”

“Oh,” Isabela said, as if that explained everything, even if it really didn’t.

“I have a lot of questions,” said Camilo.

“I assumed as much,” Sirius said tiredly, “Can we move it to when I am sure Kreacher comes back with Remus and not with the British authorities?”

Julieta gasped, putting her hands on her mouth, Bruno’s hand immediately looked for Sirius’s thigh next to him, “Can he – would he do that!?” he asked quickly.

Sirius shrugged, “Well – no, I don’t think he would. I am the last of my name, so he is bound to me, even if he hates my guts as much as I hate his. But he is a dick, so – eh?”

“Bruno?”

Bruno turned to his mother. He hadn’t really given her much time, worried as he was about Sirius’s arm. He was so happy to be reunited with his family, but he was also dreading a lot of conversations that were sure to come later. Finally living through a moment he’d only ever dreamt of for the past ten years was scare, if he had to be honest, and he felt more focused and down to earth if he stayed by Sirius’s side. Was this why Pepa was always glued to Félix?

He shook the thoughts out of his mind and took a deep breath, “Sí, Mamá?”

Noticing her brother’s look to Pepa before he addressed their mother, Julieta looked from him to their sister and back to Bruno and the quiet way he kept discreetly holding Sirius’s hand. He was nervous and not only because of Sirius’s broken arm.

“So, you and Señor Sirius – you’ve met when the girls met him years ago?”

“I’m glad you’re back to the ‘Señor’, Madam, but you can just call me Sirius.”

Abuela gave him an unsure nod, then turned once again to her son, “Sí,” Bruno said in answer to her question, though it came out a little tense, as if he was getting ready for the usual interrogation, “But, like Sirius said, perhaps we can talk about it later?”

“I’m just trying to understand, mijo.”

“Sirius and Bruno are –” Julieta hesitated just a moment, squeezing Bruno’s shoulder, “– friends. Let him be.”

“You have friends?” Félix asked Bruno incredulously.

Sirius sneered dangerously at Félix, “You want to rephrase that, mate?”

Julieta shot her brother-in-law a disapproving look, her hand still on Bruno’s shoulder.

“Is that so hard to believe?” Bruno asked, his face torn between hurt and irritation.

Félix held up his hands, “I meant no offence, bro! I’m just saying, I’ve never seen you hang out with anyone before.”

Félix meant well and they were all still reeling from the shock of losing their Casita, their home, but it was still very insensitive of him to address Bruno like that, especially when he’d just spoken a word to his brother-in-law.

Bruno covered Sirius’s hand with his own, trying to placate him before addressing his sister’s husband, “That wasn’t by choice, you know.”

There was a steely feeling to his words that everyone felt, even Pepa, who crossed her arms, “Félix wasn’t trying to be mean, Bruno,” she challenged, “You could’ve had friends, if you didn’t go around cursing people’s fates –”

Bruno’s cheeks burned and he tightened his grip on Sirius’s wrist.

“The man wouldn’t curse anyone if his life depended on it!” Sirius snapped, “I, on the other hand, don’t necessarily need my wand for that!”

“Everyone, please, calm down!”

The tension was palpable, and Julieta put herself between Pepa and Félix and Sirius and Bruno, while her brother pulled on Sirius’s sleeve to make him sit down.

CRACK!

Julieta literally sighed in relief.

The loud sound they were expecting made them all jump in surprise.

Kreacher the House Elf was back.

Still supporting Sirius, Bruno saw the little creature appear exactly in the middle of their group, along with a thin man a little shorter than Sirius and Agustín with sandy blond hair. He and Kreacher turned to face the Madrigals and Bruno saw exactly what he’d seen in his vision: a tired-looking man with shadows under his light blue-green eyes to rival Bruno’s and scars on his face that seemed to be the result of an animal attack of some kind. He glanced around, curiously, then took in the rubble of the fallen Casita, the damage to the village in the distance, the group of dishevelled people staring up at him in various degrees of shock.

The man’s kind face grew focused and concerned once he saw Sirius.

Julieta accosted him and she and Bruno frantically started to explain what had happened, but the man just stared at them with a perplexed look on his face, before he smiled kindly and held up a hand at their frantic worry.

He took out a wooden stick much like the one they had seen Sirius use. They stopped talking and he smiled again as he waved it.

“Linguam intelligo,” he said, and they felt as if something had changed but weren’t sure what until he cleared his throat, “Do you all understand me?” he asked, and they all nodded automatically, dumbfounded by the fact that it seemed that he was speaking another language which they all suddenly understood, “Good. Give me a moment.”
The man and Sirius faced each other for a long moment.

Bruno tensed at their unreadable expressions and worried if maybe Sirius hadn’t made the wrong move bringing him here. Was he actually Remus, the friend Sirius had spoken so fondly about? It suddenly occurred to him that he might not be.

But as suddenly as the man had appeared with Kreacher the House Elf the two men embraced with enough force that Sirius let out an infectious, bark-like laugh broken by a wince of pain when the man tightened his grip on his arm and chest.

The man released Sirius quickly and gave him a once over with raised eyebrows.

“Well, well, well, Sirius, congratulations,” he said, while he waved the stick over Sirius’s body, apparently looking for something, “This is the most pathetic I’ve ever seen you and I have seen you hungover. You set the bar pretty high. Perhaps the flesh truly reflects the madness within.”

“You’d know all about the madness within, wouldn’t you, Remus?”

The Madrigals watched the interaction, curious about this man who had just popped out of nowhere. Literally.

“Broken arm and ribs, and a rather astonishing number of bruises and wounds,” the man counted, “Your House Elf mentioned Splinching?” he asked, and Sirius nodded, “What did you do? Apparate in a meat-grinder? I’m surprised you didn’t leave limbs around.”

“Can that happen?” Bruno gasped.

The man smiled at him placatingly, “Luckily it didn’t.”

He waved the wooden stick again and they heard a loud snapping sound, which Sirius commented with a loud yelp of pain. Julieta and Bruno, the closest to him, jumped to attention, worried, but Sirius let out a relieved sigh and managed to move his arm easily.

“Well, excuse me,” Sirius replied sarcastically, “I’d like to see you concentrating when you’re Side-Alonging twelve people out of a crumbling house.”

The man paused his work, shared a long look with Sirius, who nodded his head toward the ruins of Casita, then looked over and back at Sirius, “What happened here? Earthquake?” the man turned toward the Madrigals, “I’m sorry, we haven’t been introduced.”

“This is the Madrigal family,” Sirius said, “Everyone, this is my friend Remus.”

“Remus Lupin, at your service,” the man said with a kind smile.

Agustín was the first to recover from the shock.

“Er – I’m Agustín Madrigal,” he said, then waved towards the rest of the family, “My wife Julieta, my mother-in-law, my daughters Isabela, Luisa and Mirabel, my niece Dolores and my nephews Camilo and Antonio, and my in-laws Félix, Pepa and Bruno.”

Remus Lupin, who had acknowledged them all with a polite nod, turned so sharply to Bruno that he flinched, “Oh!” he exclaimed with a glance at Sirius and then a huge, gleeful smile to Bruno that looked sort of wrong on his kind face, “That Bruno? I’ve heard about you!”

Bruno didn’t know what to do with the sudden attention. He didn’t know how Remus managed to look at him both incredibly kindly and almost predatorily, “Oh, you-you have?”

“Sure!” Remus said eagerly, grabbing his hand and shaking it with so much enthusiasm that Bruno felt his whole body shake with the movement, “It’s nice to put a face to the name!”

“Huh – for me too,” Bruno said hesitantly, “Sirius told me about you.”

The predatory tint to Remus’s smile was gone and he was only kind now, “He did? In my case it was more drunken whining.”

“Remy!”

“What!?” Remus replied, “It was!”

“Well, fuck you, Moony,” Sirius deadpanned.

“Oh, don’t get your knickers in a twist,” Remus grinned easily, “You know it was, and you had your House Elf drag me from my bed in England all the way here… where are we, exactly?”

“Colombia.”

Remus’s eyes grew as wide as saucers, “South America? Oh, well, it makes sense…”

“It does?” Camilo asked Dolores as they and the rest of the family stared at the scene.

Now that Sirius was all healed, Bruno gaped at the ease with which the wizard freed himself of Julieta’s carefully made bandage with a quick wave of his wand, then grinned at him, “See?” Sirius said brightly, “I told you I’d be fine,” Bruno responded by throwing his arms around Sirius, exhaling in relief. Sirius smiled and patted his back, “Were you very worried?” Bruno just nodded in his chest, still failing to find his voice. Sirius inconspicuously squeezed his hand, “Such a pessimist…” he snorted in Bruno’s hair.

Noticing that some members of the family sported rather surprised expressions and Remus’s face went from a fond smile to Sirius and Bruno to bemusement. Julieta caught his eyes, gave him a pointed look and shook her head. It was enough: Remus’s eyebrows shot up and he gave a quiet ‘oh’ of understanding.

“Is anyone else in need of medical attention?” he asked quickly, taking the attention off of Bruno and Sirius.

They all answered negatively, but Sirius did mention that he Apparated them rather brusquely, so Remus gave them all a few drops of what looked like pineapple juice.

It took Bruno a few long moments to get his bearings about him. Once he felt confident that Sirius was alright, he let him go and took a deep sigh of relief, before turning to the little creature that was still standing there, waiting for orders with an unamused expression.

Bruno hugged Kreacher with the ease of an uncle who’d hugged his sisters’ children many times. Kreacher spluttered in surprise and Bruno released him just to take his hands in his, “Gracias!” he said, “Thank you! Kreacher, is it? Gracias! Gracias for coming! It's all thanks to you if my – if Sirius is alright!”

Kreacher spluttered again, dumbfounded at being addressed so intensely by this stranger and he glared disdainfully, “Master Sirius asked for his friend and Kreacher brought Master Sirius's friend, disgusting as Kreacher’s orders were. Kreacher is a good House Elf,” he glared at Sirius as if to challenge him to deny it. Sirius had an unreadable expression on his face.

“Sí, Kreacher,” Bruno insisted, still grasping his hands, “I’m not exactly sure what a House Elf is but I can see you’re a good one! And when you brought Señor Lupin you made it so he could heal Sirius. So, thank you!”

Bruno hugged Kreacher again and though he made a show of being offended at the kind gesture from Bruno – though no one but Sirius and Remus understood his problem – they all noticed a badly hidden softness in his eyes when he pushed Bruno away.

“Master Sirius’s – friend…?”

Kreacher appraised Bruno with his eyes and sent a look to Sirius, who clearly didn't know how to voice his answer. It was enough for Kreacher.

“Oh, lo siento,” Bruno told Kreacher, extending a hand in greeting, “I'm Bruno Madrigal.”

Kreacher didn’t take it but took his time taking in the whole of Bruno’s appearance for a long moment, “Master Bruno, then,” he conceded, gaining himself raised eyebrows from Sirius, “Master Bruno doesn't have to thank Kreacher. A House Elf is Kreacher. And Kreacher lives to serve the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black.”

“No, Kreacher,” said Sirius suddenly, his expression unreadable, “Bruno’s right. You did a very good job and it's only fair to say it. Thank you,” Kreacher didn't answer, he just nodded but it seemed there was a lot of emotion going on between him and Sirius in that moment: they both looked shocked that Sirius had actually thanked Kreacher? “Would you – would you mind staying close at hand in case you’re needed? And – er – it's been a while, isn’t it? Perhaps we should talk later.”

Kreacher hesitated, and they all wondered what had happened between them that the little creature seemed so baffled by Sirius's behaviour, “As Master wishes.”

Julieta took her brother's place in throwing her arms around Sirius. She cupped his face with her hands, giving him another check and sighing in relief when she was satisfied with his health status.

Sirius gave her a moment, but then he pushed her back and asked after Mirabel.

They all turned to the spot the girl had been earlier, huddled behind her father and sisters, while the whole argument between Sirius and Abuela went down, and then Bruno appeared to the family after ten years.

Mirabel was gone.