You think you know someone

 Harry felt like he was battling a war he could never win. A war that had been raging in his head the entire night as he lay on bed next to a snoring Ginny. He knew that the man they had left in the mercy of the Unspeakables was not his godfather. He knew that very well.

 “No spell can reawaken the dead, Harry. I trust you know that.”

 Dumbledore had said that to him when he had been fourteen. Right after he had witnessed his parents aiding him during his time of need—saving his life even from the grave like they did until their last breaths in the mortal world. And in the year before the Triwizard Tournament when he was only thirteen, he knew then that deliberately approaching the dementors just so he could yearnfully hear his parents (even though it was their misery he was listening to) had been wrong. Because listening to them didn’t make them real. Didn’t make them come back. Just like how looking at them through the Mirror of Erised in his first year didn’t make them real.

 So Sirius, who had been Harry’s only official parental figure, one Harry never thought losing was even a possibility before it had actually happened. . . he could never be truly back. So, whoever was at the Department of Mysteries couldn’t be real, right?

 But he was real. He was Sirius and he was alive and so very real.

 But he’s not my Sirius.

 The man they abandoned today belonged to another world. To another life, where he survives when his counterpart in this world couldn’t.

 Despite that particular difference, his life was similar to this world’s Sirius. His struggles were the exact same. Harry might not owe the outsider anything, but he knew to his core that he deserved better. Just like how Sirius had deserved better. 

 “Are we going to do something about it?”

 Harry turned his head to the side to see his dozy-looking wife staring at him through hooded eyes.

 “I’m sorry, did I wake you?”

 “You radiate all this anxious energy it’s bound to get contagious.” She rubbed her eyes, yawning as she did so.

 “I’m sor—” But she waved him off as she supported herself into a sitting position.

 “We should talk about it.” She had opened the lamb next to her side of the bed. “Now that the kids are asleep.”

 Harry automatically drew his wand from his side table and summoned a muffliato.

 Ginny raised an eyebrow at the act, “I said they’re asleep.”

 “You can never be too sure. Have you met our kids?”

 Ginny grinned fondly. “That’s true.”

 After several seconds passed in utter silence, Harry said the one thing that could easily sum up his mixture of rattled thoughts. “It’s all too strange!”

 Ginny nodded somberly. “No one said it isn’t, love.”

 “It’s like trading our son’s life to—I mean—he’s not him and all that, which makes it so—I don’t even know how to—oh, if that doesn’t make things weird enough, we’re even the same age, Ginny! I-I don’t know w-what to. . .” He knew he wasn’t making any sense, not even in his own mind. He barely had his thoughts in order, causing him to blabber nonsense that Ginny was somehow able to follow up.

 “Actually, you and I are a couple of years older than him.” Ginny attempted to ease things up. She then smirked, and there was no need to add the next part because Harry knew what it would be from that look alone, “Well, you’re older.”

 Harry buried his head in his hands. “It’s just. . . I feel I ought to do something, anything, to help. Or at least, make things easier for. . . for. . .”

 He wasn’t sure if he was talking about Albus or ‘Sirius’. Maybe it was both.

 “I know.” He felt the soothing pressure of Ginny’s hand on his back. “I think I might know how.”

 Harry’s head shot up from his hands, looking at Ginny expectantly.

 “Maybe we can start by convincing the Unspeakables to move him here?”

 Harry looked at her as if she had just declared that there’s a missing horcrux they never knew about.

 “That’s not possible.” It wasn’t, because there was simply no way the Unspeakables would ever agree to such an absurd suggestion.

 “Fine, then let’s break him out! And guard our house with the Fidelius charm, so no one can get to him.” She declared with a Gryffindorean determination.

 “Break him out?” Harry snorted despite himself.

 Ginny frowned offendedly, clearly not appreciating Harry taking her suggestion facetiously.

 “I’m serious, Harry.”

 “No, love,” He said, automatically reverting to a ‘dad joke’ he had heard Ron use on multiple occasions. “you’re Ginny.”

 “I’m. . .” She shook her head exasperatedly, but Harry could see the amused smile playing on her face, even if she was trying very hard to hide it. He grinned stupidly, like he always did when he saw he made Ginny smile. “Harry, I swear—this is not the time!”

 He huffed a quiet laugh upon seeing her flushed face. Then just like that, the senseless gleefulness was gone. Replaced by a heavier mood more suitable for the conversation they were sure to have.

 “Even if we do what you say,” Harry said. “get him to stay here instead of that horrid cell disguised as a studio, he will just be trapped in here like he is there.”

 “First of, you can’t compare our house to that tiny thing he’s currently staying in, Harry. And second, I’m pretty certain I said we can start by getting him to stay with us.”

 “But would he even want to come here?”

 Ginny raised an incredulous eyebrow at the question.

 “Because to him, it might just feel like another cell for him to stay in.” Harry was aware how lame his excuse sounded, but to put it simply, he had guarded his heart so heavily to just give up protecting his peace. If he were to allow himself to form a personal connection with ‘Sirius’, he might risk getting hurt when he would inevitably lose him. Again.

 “I would hardly call our house a cell.” She huffed indignantly. “We have a backyard.”

 “So do muggle prisons.”

 “Well, you are just awfully cheerful, aren’t you.”

 “Sorry, sorry. I know I’m being pessimistic about the whole thing, and it’s not helping anyone, but can you blame me?”

 “A little.” She answered him truthfully, which made him hang his head in defeat.

 Perhaps it was unfair of him to care more about protecting his peace than the wellbeing of another person. Selfish. As his aunt would say.

 Well, Harry will prove her wrong. Just like he did many times before when using that same logic. But of course, Aunt Petunia never knew about that before, just like she wouldn’t know about now, and never will.

 “I think it’ll be good for you.” Ginny continued. “You know, to get some closure.”

 “I already had my closure when I was seventeen.” Harry defended stubbornly.

 “Real closure, Harry.” Ginny said as she gripped his shoulder almost urgently. “You always regret not telling him stuff, not asking him enough—”

 “But he and Sirius are not—”

 “Who cares?!”

 Harry fell silent. Shocked by her sudden outburst.

 Ginny sighed in a very Hermione-like manner. “Sorry, I snapped—it’s just, you can be quite dense sometimes, Harry.” She rubbed her temple, and Harry had the overwhelming need to comfort her, but she resisted his attempt by blocking him with her hand. Harry’s hands fell to his sides, fidgeting uncomfortably. “You clearly need this. And even if you deny it—or even if you truly think you don’t—at least do it for the poor man? He might not be the ‘real’ Sirius and all that, but even the blind can see he deserves better than to be locked in that place.”

 Harry looked down at his fidgeting hands in shame. Ginny was right. Someone needed help. And as an Auror, it was his job to ensure no unjust treatment occurred as long as he’s got power to end it. And there was a man being treated unfairly and needed Harry’s help.

 Without saying a word, Harry got up from bed. He took out a parchment from a drawer and started scribbling on it.

 “What’re you—”

 “I’ll owl Hermione right away.” Said Harry without looking up. Once he was satisfied with his letter, he quickly summoned James’ owl from outside to deliver the letter to Ron and Hermione’s house. When Harry returned to bed, he offered a quick peck to Ginny’s cheek. “Thank you for making sense of my nonsense.”

 Ginny eyed him in bewilderment for a moment before the corners of her lips rose lightly. “I wouldn’t have it any other way. You’re an idiot, Potter.” She said. “But you’re my bloody idiot.”

The next day, Harry and Ginny arrived at the painting in the Department of Mysteries where Ron and Hermione said they’d be waiting for them. Only they were nowhere in sight. Harry and Ginny had to wait for several minutes, which Harry didn’t like. He didn’t want to spend more time in this department than he needed to.

 He and Ginny looked up in unison when they heard the familiar strides of one Minister Granger.

 “Took you long enough.” Ginny greeted Hermione with a quick hug.

 “Where’s Ron?” Harry asked after he hugged her too.

 “At Mungo’s with Hugo.” Hermione offered no further explanation.

 “Are they alright?” Harry asked worriedly.

 “Relax, Harry—hey! You are not using this as an excuse to bail out on Sirius!” Ginny grabbed his arm to stop him from marching into the hospital. “I’m sure they are both fine. Hugo probably had another accident and got himself jinxed, like he does every single summer.”

 “That is not why I asked.” Harry said defensively, “And we don’t know what really happened—”

 “No, no.” Hermione interrupted him. “Ginny’s right. That is exactly what happened. As Ron says ‘it’s basically tradition at this point’.”

 “Told you they’d be fine.” Ginny muttered as she let go of his arm. She turned her attention toward the large canvas behind them, eyes glinting with mischief. “So, how do we get in?”

 Hermione rolled her eyes. “We wait for Unspeakable Jones to let us in, of course.” When she saw the uncertain the looks passed between the Potters, she sighed exasperatedly, “You know, like civilized people do, and then maybe have a normal conversation?”

 “Oh.” Apparently, Harry and Ginny weren’t being so subtle about the whole breaking-in-and-out thing. Hermione rolled her eyes again in bafflement. “You didn’t actually think we’d be doing something illegal, did you?”

 “But I woke up ready for a fight!” Ginny fake whined, too load to be discreet.

 “Hey, if Fawley’s here, you may end up getting one.” Harry said in mock reassurance.

 “You two.” Hermione shook her head in disapproval. But before she could start rebuking them for acting childish, another figure walked in from where Hermine came from.

 “Madam Minister? You requested to meet with me here.” The dark-haired woman announced. She seemed a bit taken back by Harry and Ginny’s presence. “I see you’ve brought company. . .” Her courtly face melted into a frown. “wait, does this have something to do with Mr. Black?”

 “No.”

 “Yes.”

 Hermione looked at Ginny in mild annoyance before Ginny corrected. “Yes.”

 Unspeakable Jones looked like she didn’t want to be here, and when Hermione started talking, she appeared even more uncomfortable. At some point during their discussion, Unspeakable Granger was called to come here by Jones. But if that had been an attempt to aid her side of the argument, then it was futile, because Granger was very eager to help the minister in any way he could.

 “Let’s take this inside, shall we?” Hermione suggested when it was clear that this argument was going to take a while longer before things were to be settled. The two Unspeakables allowed the three of them access through the painting. 

Once they got through, they were in the library from yesterday. Fortunately, it was empty unlike yesterday, so they all sat on the couches that were there. Ginny and Harry talked about their plan to take charge of the man’s living arrangements. Neither Unspeakables seemed thrilled at the suggestion, but one look at Hermione’s determined face had them both considering the offer. Not that they had a choice. 

 “Eve’s gonna hate that.” Unspeakable Granger spoke gravely to his colleague. “And not just her, but everyone else in our department, too.”

 “We’ll just have to tell them after we remove Black from our custody then” Jones said resolutely, which made Ginny grin at Harry to celebrate their silent victory. 

 “Do we have to work in secrecy? Can’t we just tell them we literally have permission from higher authority?” Granger gestured boldly toward where Hermione was sitting. “They’ll understand we cannot disobey a direct order from the Minister of Magic of all people!”

 This time, it was Hermione who replied.

 “I’ve supervised enough Unspeakables in my time at the ministry to know how their line of work is like. So, I know for a fact that even with a direct order from the highest authority, they will at least put up a fight before eventually caving in.” Hermione said. “I wish to avoid making any unnecessary fuss, and I believe you to be the best way to achieve that.”

 “Well,” Unspeakable Granger declared with a flair for the dramatics. “The boss has spoken.”

 “So that’s it? You’ll help us?” Harry said.

 “We will.” Unspeakable Jones nodded with much less enthusiasm. “However, best to steer clear of other Unspeakables while we’re in the act of transferring Black’s location.”

 “So. . . one can say that we are breaking him out?” Ginny was looking at Hermione throughout the whole sentence.

 “More or less.” Unspeakable Granger shrugged, not aware of Hermione huffing in irritation.

 “Now, about the vow we’ve made.” Hermione said imploringly.

 “Do not worry yourself about it, Minister.” Granger waved her off. “Unspeakable Jones here has the authority to modify the details on that vow. All that is required of you to do is sign it again in agreement of the adjustments made. Though you may want to call your husband, since he participated in the first vow.”

 “Is it possible to bring the forms for him to sign?” Hermione had to asked. “He’s currently preoccupied.”

 “As long as all people whose signatures are originally on the forms sign them again, that will have to do.” Jones nodded.

 “What will we be adjusting in them?” Harry inquired.

 “Well, in the form you’ve signed, you have vowed that you were not to inform any soul of what you’ve learned yesterday. But if we are to arrange for Black to stay in your household until we figure out how to activate the veil accurately, then we would need signatures in addition to the ones already signed.” Jones explained. “I suppose your two children will have to sign it, unless they are staying elsewhere for the entire summer before returning to school?” She sounded hopeful.

 “Nah, the kids will find out eventually even if they didn’t stay home for the holiday.” Ginny told the Unspeakable.

 “That makes two, correct?” Jones returned to her formal self.

 “Make it three.”

 Jones tried to disguise a groan. “Who else?”

 “One of our nephews tends to visit our house regularly.” Harry aided, seeming to have just remembered how inseparable Fred and James were. “He is, like our eldest, of age; they both graduated last term. Lily will be starting her fourth year at Hogwarts this September—which reminds me—”

 Ginny’s eyes widened, catching up on what Harry was implying. “If she violates the vow somehow, the consequence for her better be different from ours, given that she is still a minor!”

 Both Unspeakables shared a long look, then Granger turned to address Ginny and Harry. “Since your daughter is not of age, the only repercussion she’d have to receive is being obliviated. Is that fine with you?”

 Now it was the Potters who shared a long look. Harry had his own bad history with mind magic. With what sharing the thoughts and feeling with the wizard that ruined his life. And there was also Snape’s occlumency lessons. Harry shuddered at the horror of the exposed feeling that memory brought. He knew that Ginny wasn’t a fan of anything to do with mind magic either, given her experience of literally being possessed by Voldemort. Ginny had no memory of the majority of her first year in Hogwarts, so if Lily broke the vow by the end of the holiday, would she have no memory of the majority of the summer?

 “Lily is a smart kid. She knows better than to say something without thinking twice about it. If anything, it’s the other two you should be worried about.” Hermione told him and Ginny in an attempt to defuse their clear unease. Harry figured that their anxiousness must have been too obvious. Or, perhaps, Hermione was just that good of an observer.

 “Okay,” Granger said. “so we’ll include three more people—”

 “Can we also add the rest of my siblings?” Ginny interrupted.

 “I’d rather we don’t Mrs. Potter.” Jones replied restlessly. “The fact that we are even admitting Black out of our custody is bad enough, and making more people knowledgeable on events happening in the Department of Mysteries is already very risky. Doing so more than necessary is highly against our policy.”

 “Yeah, she’s right. It’ll be unethical.” Granger backed her up.

 Ginny looked disappointed but didn’t press further.

 What happened after that conversation happened too quickly. First, Unspeakable Granger went and spoke privately to ‘Sirius’ to inform him of the change of his situation. At the same time, Ginny went home to speak with James and Lily while Jones had gone and created a diversion urgent enough to attract enough of the Unspeakables’ attention. It was something to do with the Love Chamber. Harry mentally scoffed at the contradictory name. He might not know what goes on in that chamber, but he knew for a fact that it had a fountain of Amortentia in it. That potion had nothing to do with love and more to do with creating an unhealthy obsession that cultivates into an illusion of love, which could be predictably troublesome. Even Jones had admitted that it would not be suspicious at all if someone—or even a group of people—were to end up being affected by the potion’s aura alone without needing to drink it, for the amount of Amortentia stored in the Love Chamber was quite alarming.

 As Jones succeeded in distracting the more qualified Unspeakables, it took only a simple dismission of the junior Unspeakables by Granger to make sure the path to escorting ‘Sirius’ out of the Department of Mysteries was clear. That’s where Harry and Hermione’s turn came. It took casting a few charms on ‘Sirius’, and just a little abuse of power on their part as Minister of Magic and Head Auror to securely transport the dimension traveler to the Potters’ home.

 It had been a surprisingly easy journey to make. Harry only had to focus on the process and ignore the rest, since their circumstances left no time to do much else. He didn’t need to talk to ‘Sirius’ and if he did, it was only to give mild instructions. Nothing worth paying his fullest attention to the wizard he was about to welcome to his house.

 The Potter house was located in Oxford, where there’s not many—or any—magical communes there. The decision to move to that city had been necessary upon having children to escape the blinding spotlight. Harry had originally wished to raise his family in Godrick Hollow, like his parents would have done had they had the chance. But his overwhelming fame had made it difficult to build a decent life in a well-known magical residential area. After all, the place had been named after a wizard—one of Hogwarts’ founding fathers no less—and had the Dumbledore family’s old house in it. If they were to compromise, they would’ve needed to have their house under constant guard there, so it would not have made an ideal place for his kids to grow up in, much to Harry’s dismay.

 Since moving to Oxford, the Potters hadn’t spotted a single magical person in sight. Living in a muggle city known for having a popular muggle collage in it had been convenient, due to the immense lack of wizards and witches, which Harry had been grateful for. It kept things simple and at peace at their home. A feeling he was going to miss now that there would be an unusual guest to cater to.

 Upon arriving there, ‘Sirius’ took to looking around their surroundings in wonderment. The house looked far from magical for any passersby, be it muggle or not. For even magical people wouldn’t be able to detect the magical aura the house radiated of unless they were to make their way through the fence. Harry stayed back near the fence as Hermione and ‘Sirius’ walked through it. Someone had to keep a lookout in case one of the unwelcomed Unspeakables were to find out what was truly going on and come here, and Harry was happy to do the job.

 He didn’t know if Ginny was done informing James and Lily of what was about to happen, but he figured she had to be if she was already ushering ‘Sirius’ and Hermione through the front door. A short moment passed before Harry heard the load crack of apparation as Unspeakables Jones stood before him with the magical forms in hand.

 Harry couldn’t recall the exact details of what happened after. He was so pumped on adrenaline by the recklessness of what they’d managed to accomplish with so little time. He usually recovered from such situations easily, after all, this kind of speed and stealth fell to his line of work. But that was because he knew to expect the worst in every auror mission. Everything about ‘the ‘Sirius’ situation’ was far too out of the norm from what he’d encounter on a daily basis.

 He didn’t remember when Ron had joined them in the house to sign the edited forms, nor did he remember what happened much after Unspeakable Jones left. He did remember, however, spending the rest of the day outside with Unspeakable Granger (when had he shown up?) warding the area by casting extra protective spells not only around the house but to the entire neighborhood.

 Harry didn’t comment on how paranoid the Unspeakables must be to go to such extent to keep things secretive, because he was glad to have an excuse to be outside the house anyway, so it worked to his favor.

 Only when there was nothing left to ward had Granger saluted Harry with a hasty ‘good luck!’ before disapparating. Leaving Harry to face whatever awaited him in his own home.

“So you’re a time traveler.” James, whose mother tried in vain convincing him to stay home instead of traveling to study abroad with Fred, was the first to break the silence.

 “In some sense, yes.” ‘Sirius’, the only one who didn’t find James’ bluntness kind of rude, indulged him. 

 Things were kind of tense in the Potter household and had been for weeks, however, having ‘Sirius’ in their house helped in defusing it by creating another sort of tension. Mixed blessings, Harry supposed. 

 Harry couldn’t bring himself to deny James almost anything these days, ever since his eldest was deprived of the enjoyment of graduation due to his brother’s disappearance. Though they’ve all suffered from that in their own way. 

 At least having ‘Sirius’ here distracted Harry’s other two children from the sorrow and worry over their missing middle sibling. Good. Let them stay happy, and let Harry handle the rest. 

 “I can’t believe I’m actually meeting you! I’ve heard so much about you!”

 ‘Sirius’ chuckled, “Only good things, I hope.”

 “Oh yeah, the best—but that’s probably kind of biased because it’s mostly from dad’s perspective.” Before ‘Sirius’ was able to say something about that, James quickly added, “I’m named after you, you know.”

 “What.” It was more a statement than a question. 

 “Yeah, only further showing how dad’s obsessed with naming his kids after people who made an impact on his life or whatever. Yours is my middle name.” James explained animatedly as though he was talking to his idol. Was he?

 “James Sirius Potter.” ‘Sirius’ whispered softly. He slowly moved his head toward Harry, who had been listening from where he was cooking dinner, but Harry averted his gaze before any eye contact was made. He didn’t think he could handle the intensity of the other Sirius’ gaze. It looked so much like his own Sirius, he couldn’t handle seeing those kind, grey eyes without maybe breaking down in front of his family, which was the last thing anyone needed.

 ‘Sirius’ had been dropping hints that he wanted to speak to Harry for the remainder day, and while it would have been impossible to avoid having an actual conversation with the man, having others interested in ‘Sirius’ made it easier for Harry to stay elusive. Ginny, Lily and James had kept things lighthearted and showered their unusual guest with hospitality after Hermione and Ron had left.

 Harry kept himself busy the minute he stepped into the house. Years of doing chores at the Dursleys throughout his childhood made Harry develop a nervous impulse to do things the muggle way. Normally, his family was used to seeing Harry use his hands to do labor, but he would occasionally wave his wand around when it was necessary to save time. Today was not the case. Harry had completely abandoned his wand as he cleaned the already tidy house. It kept him from making direct conversation with their guest. But ‘Sirius’ was persistent to be speak to Harry, and for some reason, Ginny was trying to force the two of them in a room together, which really annoyed Harry. She, of all people, should know how uncomfortable he was around ‘Sirius’, but she probably knew already and thought it wasn’t that big of a deal. Was she right, though? Was Harry overreacting?

 Harry chopped the vegetables on the counter more aggressively than needed when he felt other Sirius’ gaze remained fixed on him. If Harry made a load sound from cutting when he was still living with the Dursleys, his aunt would have smacked him across the face harshly and scream at him for disturbing the house with that noise. Though it was Aunt Petunia’s shrieks that surpassed any sound of chopping, no matter how load.

 For some reason, that memory made Harry bang the knife loader on the wooden cutter board, wondering to himself if that could maybe surpass his aunt’s screeching that was stuck inside is head. That was when James had spoken again, mercifully driving Sirius’ attention away from Harry. But it did not calm Harry’s rapid and violent chopping. It’s a wonder he hadn’t accidentally chopped off a finger yet. A part of him felt sad for losing another opportunity to speak to ‘Sirius’.

 Make up your mind! Do you want to talk to him or not?

 He hated how other Sirius’ concerned glances at him unnerved him more than he’d expected. He wanted him to stop trying to connect with him but also wanted him to do just that. Harry had to keep reminding himself that he had no relation to ‘Sirius’. The outsider was both a stranger to him and his godfather’s counterpart. It was all too confusing. Harry had to wonder why he thought brining ‘Sirius’ here would be a good idea in the first place.

 That doubt quickly faded when he heard a commotion happening someplace outside.

 “Stay here.” Harry called over his shoulder as he marched out of the house.

 Predictably, he was met with a group of aggravated Unspeakables. Harry didn’t know any of their names and didn’t care to learn them, however, there was one Unspeakable he was familiar with.

 “Unspeakable Fawley! To what do I owe the pleasure—”

 “Save it.” The woman with the titanium-colored hair spat venomously. She strode to where he stood, her hand clenching her wand tightly by her side, but she didn’t raise it. Not yet anyway. Harry mentally cursed himself for forgetting his wand inside. “We entrusted you to keep what you’ve been told quiet and instead you bring him to your house the very next day?!”

 Harry heard two load cracks as the two accomplices came to his aid. He automatically glanced around to make sure none of his neighbors was aware of what was going on. There were a couple of muggles walking by a distance but didn’t seem to notice or hear all the people standing in front of the Potter residence. The Unspeakables must’ve already cast the private shields to avoid exposure.

 “Fawley! I told you the order came from a higher authority—the highest even!” Unspeakable Granger stood between Harry and the fuming Unspeakable. “There’s nothing illegal about transporting Black to what is considered a better environment—”

 “Whatever is considered to be a better environment can be reasonably established within the walls of the Department of Mysteries!” Fawley seethed. “You two—” She pointed an accusatory finger at Granger and Jones. “—of all people, should know how unethical it is to expose subjects from our department like that. It could be dangerous!”

 Now Harry’s agitated mood turned into an intense fury that almost surpassed Fawley’s. “Subjects from your department. Is that what he is to you? A subject that could be dangerous?”

 “That is not what I meant.” Unspeakable Fawley crossed her arms.

 “But it is. If anything, you heavily implied it.” Harry pushed Granger out of the way, but then Jones held him back, forcing him to stay put.

 “Mr. Potter, that is not necessary.” Jones said firmly, then turned to Fawley. “What’s done is done. The order to transfer Black here came from the Madam Minister herself. Black would’ve ended up here eventually, so it wouldn’t have mattered what the department would have to say about it.”

 Fawley seemed to backdown from hearing Jones speak up against her. Harry figured that Fawley must hold Jones to a higher standard than the rest of her colleagues. She appeared to respect Jones the most from what Harry could see.

 While Jones spoke up in his defense, he still felt the need to release his bottled-up anger somewhere. And frankly, he was still reeling from what Fawley had to say about Sirius.

 “For the record,” He said calmly, gaining Fawley’s attention again along with the rest of the Unspeakables. “Just because this Sirius Black doesn’t belong in our world, that does not permit you—or anyone else—to treat him as if he was anything less than his dead counterpart. It doesn’t make him less human. It doesn’t dismiss all that he has suffered.” Harry swallowed, knowing that what he was about to say next was mostly directed at himself than anyone else. “It doesn’t make him any less real. He is Sirius Black.” Harry felt the need to repeat that statement quietly. “He is. And calling him an ‘other’ can’t cancel that out.”

 Harry felt a tug on his hand. He would’ve normally flinched from the unexpected contact had he not recognized it as his younger child's hand. He looked at his side to see his teenage daughter looking up at him with a small smile (sometimes, he forgets that she’s no longer a child but a young woman in the making). Harry was surprised to see her sneak up so stealthily that he hadn’t noticed her presence until now.

 Warm hazel brown eyes looked back at him from behind Lily’s glasses. Harry recalled seeing those eyes before Lily was born through pictures of his dad. He wondered what Sirius had thought of Lily’s eyes when first he saw them. Harry figured he’d have to ask him. It would be a good start.

 Harry returned Lily’s smile and held her hand back, letting her walk him toward their house, leaving the mess outside to sort itself out. He saw Sirius looking at him from the threshold, this time, he couldn't bear to look away.