Singed Flower

Singed flowers

Chapter 3

Sirius may be known as a pretty face, and he was (obviously, he did not protagonist the cover of Witch Weekly four times in a row in vain during his prime years!!), but he could be also fairly cunning when needed, and what he needed back then was retrieving all information possible about that shy blonde sitting there with Lily. Call it whatever you want, he only needed to cross a look with hers and he knew his soul was starting to react to her presence immediately, it felt like a flame dancing inside his chest.

Oh yes, his mother will be t h r i l l e d once she found out about Sirius getting married to a muggle, the thought made him smile for a moment. He had done so many things to disappoint his family, and this one could be easily put on top of all the shit his parents had not either forgiven or forgotten.

Here is what he has found so far: Her name is Petunia, she’s sixteen, younger than Lily for a year, also, she’s suffering from a heart condition that’s still unclear for him, and said health issue does not allow her to attend school since she turned 10 years old, and stays at home most of the time with her parents. Her favorite colors are pastels (any of them), likes to tie her hair with ribbons and her favorite foods are usually soups, of any kind, though she did not seem to be a picky eater (which was great because he definitely was, and whatever he did not finish, Petunia could take it gladly!)

And that’s good, that’s how it works, Sirius thought. Opposite are meant to be together, like two different pieces of a puzzle complementing each other. Lily is bossy, James listened to her (rarely of him if someone asks him); She’s the smart one, James liked to take dumb decisions. She’s well-behaved, strict, and a follower of rules, and James…, well, was James. By now Sirius cannot tell for sure how many rules Hogwarts had to implement because of them, but he can proudly say it was over fifty if not more.

Blondy right here did not look like the type of girl who will break rules or scold the other when doing it. To be fair, these two sister did not look much alike, or have a similar personality but who knows, he’s been here just a couple of hours with his soulmate. There is so much to learn.

He can see Petunia is also feeling the same call from her own soul whenever she accidentally makes eye contact with him. Her pale cheeks get blushed and her skin turns less sickly with the added warm color. He wondered what was she thinking of him. He did not plan on meeting his mate today! And not especially that said person would be end up being Lily’s little sister.

Oh, by the way, Lily did not happy about the interaction they were having. They get along well, they are not-friends-friends but they are definitely closer than a couple of classmates from the same house, James pushed them together, and he could say with certain confidence they could enjoy each other’s company. Now, she did not look precisely happy right now, and just to be safe, he had to move away a couple of inches from her, in case she wanted to stab his face with her fork.

He’ll stab her back, of course, but hey! The first meeting with his in-laws could not end like this! Not for him and not for poor James who was already a handful of nerves. ‘’You study with Lily?’’ Petunia asks him, Sirius almost jumps on his seat with excitement, her voice is frail and he has to make an effort to hear her over the chatting between Mr. and Mrs. Evans and James’ chatting, her voice gets lost in an echo they cannot hear. ‘’Are you a wizard too?’’ the question was asked between hesitation and awe, as it was a secret of some sort, when half the people in her home belonged to the magic world.

‘’I am'' Sirius says in a lower tone, Lily is not far from them and while she's busy supervising the chat between her fiance and parents, still keeps a sharp ear to whatever trick Sirius may pull out. 

At the confession, Petunia's smile brightens, for some reason. As if she hadn't seen enough magic with Lily here for the summer. Lily shouldn't feel the strange icy sensation that burns the bottom of her stomach, she shouldn't but even she is surprised about it.

Petunia's smiles are not common, just a few here and there, most of them fake and made to assure Lily's worries for all of the things she cannot control. Their relationship was sacred and intimate, in a way only sisters were able to have.

Sirius only have to talk and charm his way to his sister for only a few hours, and had the luck of seeing that smile that rarely appeared when Lily told him a particularly funny story, or a brought her favourite sweets; in what world would that be fair?

James, on the other side, seemed happy about the development of this unexpected situation and secretly show his support from his seat with a thumbs up sign. That was actually great!! They could be a family soon, beyond the ties of friendhood…

Though his hopes could not be too high when he saw his fiance's narrowed eyes, challenging him to encourage this union. He smiled, half sheepishly, of course, Lily was protective about her little sister, but Sirius was not a bad person. There shouldn't be nothing to worry about.

…

They now this meeting is a total success when Mr. Evans hugged James and said he was very happy about the future marriage. ''You are taking my most precious and preciated gift! I hope you will be taking good care of my Lily!''

The declaration should had been normal, like every other father could have said about their daughters, however, Sirius notes Lily's posture stiffens, and her smile once genuine becomes tense, her father said a praise but Lily does not take it as such, her discomfort can be seen clear as water.

Petunia, in the other hand, looks torn. She pinches the flesh of her wrist, lowering her eyes to the floor and pretending she is not there. She looked… gloomy and hurt, Sirius could feel it. ''They look nice together, don't they?'' And tries to distract one way or another from the scene. Petunia is not hurt about her sister's marriage, she's heartbroken about her father's words, while Lily was adored in an altar, Petunia was seen as a temporary obligation that caused an inconvenience the he family.

''Yes, they are, hope my sister will be very happy too'' Petunia says, biting her inner cheek. ''She deserves it, and this James looks like a nice person. They should be very happy''.

''You know, if you marry me, I can make you very happy'' Sirius makes the mistake to sound playful, and so Petunia believes he is not truthful, and why would he be in the first place? ''Petunia?''

''Ah! Pardon me, I believe this lazy child should get back to sleep, she gets delicate whenever she gets out of bed'' He does not think that's correct, especially for the look Lily gives her mother, however, there isn't further argument, for good or bad.

Sirius can't do much for this occasion, while this was his soulmate, this was not his world, home or family, and on top of that, they were in a very especial occasion, which he wouldn't be ruining for their friends.

They both watch Petunia being dragged away by Mrs. Evans, and for the first time, they shared the same sentiment of powerless.  ‘’Look, I do appreciate your kindness, but please, please get away from my sister. She is way out of your league’’ Petunia is not particularly beautiful, smart, or gracious, Lily is aware of it. She’s sickly, fearful and a little dumb.  If Lily does not find a cure soon to her sick heart, Petunia is destinated to die young.

She wants her to have a peaceful life, living with them once Lily is married, she’ll have a much prettier and bigger room for herself, with a little terrace full of flowers, and won’t need to see their parents anymore if she doesn’t want to. Sirius cannot give that to her, maybe he’s only infatuated because Petunia is not the typical girl he picks up every weekend. Lily will not stand seeing her sister played with and suffering a heartbreak she may not survive.

‘’No’’ Sirius said, nonchalantly as he tried to figure out where to put the clean plates. ‘’unless she tells me to’’ 

‘’She does no need to tell you. I am. Do not play with her, just leave her alone, she is not… doing well already’’. And Sirius could see that, their parents were jerks, not exactly kind towards her. ‘’Do not bring more trouble than the ones we had’’ she says, severely, snatching the plates from him.

‘’I won’t, I promise’’ but his word meant nothing to her. Sirius is known for having a colorful romantic and sexual life, in none of those affairs were meant to hurt people, Sirius was pretty clear in his relationships, he was not looking for a long term relationship, love, or any of that sort, and his encounters were purely sexual and for fun, he clarified from the beginning before any advances, his partners were not only aware of this rule but also agreed to. If somehow they ended up catching feelings for Sirius, he was not the one to blame.

''Of course, because you had never break a woman's heart, let alone my little sister's naive heart'' Sirius smiled only few sharper, with  devilish eyes. Ah! So Petunia didn't have any previous experience, to be expected due to her age. And still, Sirius couldn't help but to feel satisfied. He's a dirty bastard, he's aware of it and has never brought him shame. ''Stop that!''

''Nope''

…

When finally, FINALLY, the stupid conference comes to an end, Sirius basically runs off stage and immediately appears in the private box, ready to hear his friends and children’s cheers, and obviously receive a few well-deserved kisses from his wife. Except there is a small inconvenience: The place is empty. ‘’If my wife, son and daughter aren’t here, I want to believe it is because they are in the restroom.’’ Sirius is known for having a very relaxed temper. While he still carried the Black name, he was nowhere near as harsh, strict and cruel as his parents. He wasn’t a violent person, neither degraded or use punishment in his people and employees. He’s a dream of a boss for many. 

‘’…Madam Black and the children were taken by the Minister of Magic to her residence’’ It wouldn’t be the first time. Lily does it whenever he’s not around, when Sirius gets distracted by work, it enrages him to no end. Lily has no right on doing so, Petunia is a married woman, no longer subjected to the rules of the once Evan’s household. 

‘’No, no. That’s the issue, that’s always the fucking issue. I’m not paying the Minister to take care of my family, I paid you and all your coworkers, my employees so I can know they are safe, you should be able to protect them, guard them, take them from one place to another, helped them if they need anything, especially to my wife, who’s a muggle and has a difficult time living in this world!’’ 

They all felt incredibly guilty seeing their boss this upset, because this is not the first time it has happened, and they doubt it would be the last one. You see, they had tried in the past to stop the Minister from taking Madam Black and her children with them, the Minister does not take it well or kindly and often argues back with them until Madam Black quietly lets them know that it is alright, thought in her face can see it isn’t.

Madam Black is a non-conflictive woman and will say whatever it takes to stop a confrontation from happening, she’s a very pleasing person when it comes to his sister. ‘’We apologize, sir, will not happen again’’ and Sirius sighs out of exhaustion, because they know it’s not true, it will continuing happening.

As long as Lily breathes, she will continue to overpower Sirius orders and authority, similar to when they were younger, fighting in war. She was territorial and demanding in the battlefield, always keeping everyone under her own rule, which Sirius admits it was crucial in order to win, however, when it comes about him, she's stricter and harsher.

Sirius does give a shit most of the time, until Lily started pulling Petunia away from her. ''Get everyone ready, we are leaving''

…

Petunia is left in a private wing shortly after her arrival. ''I'd prefer to return home, my husband must be wondering where are we'' Petunia says, unable to look at her sister and missing her discreet scowl whenever her younger sister mentions the word husband or Sirius's name. ''Could you please tell James to bring my son? It's getting late''. For a moment she refuses to sit down until she feels Lily's gentle hands pushing her down in the nearest couch. ''Lily…''

''None of that, feed my niece while food gets ready. That husband of yours has enough brains in his handsome head to figure out you are at your sister's house, which shouldn't be a crime'' she wraps around her a silk blanket, aware of how conservative Petunia could get whenever she breastfed. 

''Send him a message'' Petunia pleads as she feels a kiss on her cheek and a compassive pat on her back, as if Petunia here was being the unreasonable one and Lily a woman with an endless patience and understanding.

''Relax, let this sister of yours take care of everything''

However, Petunia couldn't. Once they get back home, she was sure hell await her. Sirius is a good man, and a great husband, but he would definitely be in a hideous mood because of his eternal quarrel with Lily, which could had been avoided if only Petunia had enough courage to tell her no.

Her daughter's sob squirmed in her arms, Petunia felt her stomach grumbling, and that was the only incentive kept her in her seat. Quickly she unzips her dress, and clumsily slips herself from the front. 

Arabella is able to smell that sweet scent of milk almost immediately and only calms down when she finds her mother's nipple and source of food. She hums to her a song her mother used to sing to Lily. 

She taps her foot against the floor nervously. This room awakes in her a feeling of uneasiness, it was originally supposed to be her main room, once Lily and James married; Lily had told her her plans of moving out once they were able to settle down, and promised to Petunia she wouldn't have to see their parents again if she didn't want to; eventually Petunia grew to love the idea of living with Lily, though she was not sure about the idea of getting into a house with a newlyweds couple.

Petunia won't lie, it is a pretty place to live in, wide and large, with a comfortable bed, luxurious furniture, private washrooms probably as wide as the room itself; a lovely view too from those giant windows. However, as beautiful Potter's Manor was, Petunia would never change it for her own home built with Sirius.

Securing her baby in a gentle hold, and ensure the silk is carefully wrapped around her shoulders, covering up her nudity, Petunia stands up and reaches for the door Lily left from a few minutes ago, only to find a wall instead of the corridor.