Sirius Black
Sirius Black regarded the portkey given to him by his former headmaster, it was a simple silver spoon. He guessed that the old wizard thought himself funny for sending him the object with a note saying ‘soup’, but Sirius could not manage to shake off the traitorous feeling of longing that struck him the moment the phoenix dropped the portkey and note in front of him.
Burning green eyes were etched into the forefront of his mind as the moonlight reflected on the silver.
Lily Evans had been a proud witch who had detested everything surrounding James Potter most of their Hogwarts years. His best friend had managed to say the wrong thing about Snivellus first year and thus the following years had been filled with scorn from the muggleborn witch.
Sirius had always respected her for that.
She possessed a real mean streak that bird.
The black-haired man scrunched his nose as he remembered her stinging hexes, they had been even worse than his mother’s.
Grey eyes clouded as their owner held the silver spoon more tightly and opened his mouth to sound the written word, ready to go to wherever the headmaster had deemed safe. He had not much of choice as he was still a fugitive.
‘Please stop, you are hurting him!’
Sirius closed his mouth, frowning at the spoon.
A very specific memory haunting him.
‘You are nothing but bullies with silver spoons up your arses!'
He had not known what the witch had meant when she had said that muggle saying, none of them had. They had only laughed while James had stood there and looked enamoured by her crackling red hair. His friend had always been a bit touched when it came to Evans.
‘How does it feel to be such disappointments?’
Those words they had understood, and Sirius had resented Evans for a long time after hearing them. They were too reminiscent of his parent’s words. The fact that a muggleborn witch who had never even met his bigoted parents, thought to describe him the same way, had wounded his pride.
Disappointments with silver spoons up their arses.
It had been after Prong’s wedding that Sirius had learned what she had meant all those years ago.
Silver spoons indeed.
James Potter and Sirius Black, pureblood wizards who had the world in their hands. Not because they deserved it but because they had been born with the right tools – silver spoons.
One could say that Sirius being banished from his family counted as something but then again, hadn’t he been welcomed into the Potter-home without further ado?
Sirius had to admit that he hadn’t truly been banished as much as he had run away but the sight of seeing his mother burn him off the family tapestry in anger after one of their many arguments had set something off in his younger self.
Even in one of his most vulnerable of states he had acted in spite, knowing full well how bad his father and grandfather would the take the fact that the heir of the family abandoned them.
Oh, the shame the Black’s had suffered as another child spurned them.
A dark part of him felt giddy at the thought of Arcturus Black punishing his mother.
Sirius may have been sent to Azkaban innocent of the crimes they accused him of, but he knew that he was no true innocent.
Not like Harry.
The animagus smiled as he remembered the teen he had just met. Their son had turned into an honourable young man and Sirius had been able to see that Harry was a better wizard than James and him, not surprising as the boy’s mother had possessed a kindness rare among magical folk.
Harry had brightened so, when Sirius had asked him if he would like to live with him.
Happiness had surged within the fugitive’s body when he had seen that.
The spoon stared back at him accusingly, willing him to use it.
But a fugitive cannot care for a child. Harry would be safer staying with his family.
Yet the thought of his godson’s family chilled him, he had seen enough this year to know that Lily’s sister did not treat her nephew as she should.
Dorcas Meadows died just months after Harry’s birth which left Sirius as the lone godparent to the boy. Lily had been too destroyed to appoint someone else. Both her best friends had perished in the war, and she hadn’t had the strength to give Harry another godmother.
Prong’s trusting eyes stared back at him in another memory.
‘It’s all on you now Padfoot, if we die then it is you who have to keep Harry safe.’
James had not trusted anyone else he had said.
And see where that had gotten him.
A son who lived with relatives who did not deserve him after his supposedly most trusted decided to chase after a traitor instead of doing his duty.
Harry James Potter had been born with a silver spoon too, but the utensil had been harshly pulled away and Sirius wanted nothing more than to give it back.
To care for his godson as he should have.
Sirius could go and get him now, take Harry and leave Britain behind. They could build themselves a new life somewhere else, together. But Harry was only thirteen and needed school. Albus Dumbledore was also an obstacle, the headmaster would never allow it and Sirius could not hope to properly stand against the ancient wizard.
At least not alone.
Sirius looked at the silver spoon yet again before making up his mind. He threw it into the nearest bush and transformed into his grim.
He needed to get to Ireland.
“Show yourself!” a heavy Irish accented voice shouted, wand drawn and ready to be used.
Donal Macmillan snarled at the intruder and Sirius gulped before stepping out in the light with his arms raised.
The old man squinted his eyes at him.
“Arcturus?”
Sirius felt his heart drop, was he too late? Had the old wizard already succumbed to dementia?
“No, it’s Sirius Orion.”
The old man guffawed.
“Have you come to kill me too, boy?”
Sirius shook his frantically.
“I need your help.”
The aged wizard raised his eyebrows.
“You know full well that I don’t care for your English brigades, boy.”
“I need asylum for me and another.”
Donal Macmillan finally lowered his wand and rolled his eyes. Sirius could see a grimace through the old wizards neatly trimmed grey beard.
“I may not care for your actions but that does not mean I approve of them, I rather liked old Fleamont and what you did was shameful.”
Sirius winced at the mention of James’s father while ignoring the irony that ‘old’ Fleamont Potter had been younger than Donal.
“I did not do it. I was set up.”
That seemed to interest the old man as he gestured for Sirius to follow him inside the cottage, he did not miss the calculating glint in the old man’s eyes.
He also ignored the fact that the old wizard didn’t see a supposed murdering convict as a threat worth paying any more attention to.
Explaining everything was hard and Sirius had to pause several times to gather himself and the old wizard stayed quiet the whole time. Ten minutes of silence passed before Sirius’s patience ran out.
“Well?”
Donal Macmillan tsked. “You’re just as erratic as Arcturus, it’s the Black blood you know. I never did understand why Melania wished for the match. Merlin knows how I tried to tell our parents that she would be better off with a Smith or a Weasley and that’s saying something.”
“Will you help?”
His great-uncle stared at him staunchly, eyes so dark they were almost black.
“You want me to go against the British ministry and Albus Dumbledore on a whim?”
Sirus shook his head.
“Not on a whim, I’m innocent and Harry should be with me.”
The old man cackled.
“It sounds as if the boy would do better away from you, you forsook your oath the moment you abandoned an orphan toddler with a half-giant.”
Sirius clenched his jaw, he knew that.
“He’s mistreated, possibly abused.”
The Irishman stilled at his words, this was not something he had mentioned in his explanations on what happened all those years ago and this year. He had not wanted to break Harry’s trust and air something the boy may not wish others to know. But he saw no other choice now. It seemed like his grandmother’s brother was more uncaring than he remembered. It will be awkward if he ended up being completely wrong about Lily’s sister but that was a problem for later.
“You’re certain of this?”
Sirius nodded, ignoring the small voice in his mind saying no.
His great-uncle said something that sounded as swearwords in what Sirius presumed to be Gaelic. Sirius was glad to see those dark eyes react at the notion of a magical child being ill-treated. The Irish had always been more passionate about nurturing the young, his grandmother had hexed his mother more than once for being too harsh on him and Regulus. It had been a pity that Walburga had learned to keep that kind of behaviour away from her good mother. She saved her special kind of love for when no others were around to shield them.
Donal Macmillan stood up.
“You made your bed and now you get to lie in it. But in honour of your grandmother and the fact that you’re at least a quarter Irish, I’ll contact the Faction and make sure that you will be offered sanctuary whilst residing on Irish soil.”
Sirius looked up at the old wizard.
“And Harry?”
“We will pay him a visit in the morning and if the child is maltreated then actions will be taken.”
Sirius followed his great-uncle as they walked on the pavement leading up to the residence where Harry currently lived, he had a hood on which obscured his face. The enchantments on it encased him and he felt safe as he walked in broad daylight.
“This is it,” Sirius murmured as they reached the correct house.
Donal Macmillan looked at the house in distaste.
Sirius knocked loudly and ignored his stuttering heart - he would finally get to see Harry again.
The door opened but it was not Harry who looked back at them.
“What do you want?” The boy questioned with a bored expression upon his face.
Sirius hesitated for a second before steeling himself. “We are looking for Harry Potter.”
The boy’s bored expression turned into disgust.
“And what would you want with the freak?”
Sirius felt anger swell in his chest, and he fought the urge to pummel the child.
“We have some questions,” Sirius said as he bit his tongue.
The boy visibly brightened at that.
“He’s in trouble?”
It was his great-uncle who answered then. “We need to ascertain that we have the right information in order to know how to proceed.”
The boy frowned in confusion but let them in a second later.
“Mum and dad are at the supermarket.” The boy explained as he showed them up the stairs.
Sirius looked at the bolted door in disbelief, the boy seemed to think he was impressed by the way he smirked at them.
“You will have to question him through the door as dad has the keys, you know the way out.”
The boy left and entered another room and closed the door after him, clearly disinterested in the strangers whom he had let into his house.
Donal Macmillan drew his wand and cast a soundless alohomora at the door.
Sirius held his breath as they pushed the door open.
Harry was sitting by an old and worn desk with his fingers pressed into a cage with a white owl in it. He turned around in surprise as the door opened.
“Who are you?!” The much too skinny boy questioned with a snarl, Sirius’s heart broke at the way his green eyes seemed to erratically search for something to use as a weapon.
“I am Donal Macmillan the Fifth and I think you’re already acquainted with my great-nephew.”
Harry looked at the old man suspiciously before his eyes went to Sirius who still had his hood up, he lowered it slowly.
“Sirius?”
“I missed you pup-”
The boy threw himself at the man he had barely spoken to before, the fact that he was already so attached made it all so much worse.
“Gather your things, we’re leaving.” his great-uncle said with a curled lip as he surveyed the bare room. His eyes squinting at the barred window.
“Where are your things?” Sirus questioned softly.
Harry frowned and looked down. Sirius put his hands on the boy’s shoulder, squeezing them reassuringly. “Harry?”
“I can get them,” Harry murmured before turning to exit the room, both Sirius and Donal followed. Harry stopped in his steps and gave them a hesitant smile. “You stay here.”
“That’s alright boy, we shall leave as soon as you’ve fetched your things.” his great-uncle declared.
Harry flushed. “What about Hedwig?”
“Hedwig?” Donal questioned.
Harry gestured to the owl.
His great-uncle nodded. “I’ll set her free, she will find you on her own.”
Harry hesitated before nodding and leaving the room, Sirius followed.
Seeing his godson open a cupboard with a small mattress in it made him sick, seeing the small scratches on the door made his heart break even further. It didn’t take a genius to understand why Harry had wanted them to wait in his room.
“They locked you in there?” Sirius questioned as Donal Macmillan reached the bottom of the stairs only to freeze at the sight of Harry pulling out his trunk from the cupboard.
The young boy ignored the question and closed the door.
“Please Harry.”
Green eyes looked miserable, and he nodded.
Sirius gritted his teeth and turned to Donal.
“We better leave before I burn the house down.”
Sirius looked at the tall trees surrounding the cottage and absently wondered if his great-uncle planted them himself, he wouldn’t be surprised if he had. The wizard was older than time itself, he had always joked with Regulus that their uncle was Merlin in disguise.
“What the bloody buggering fuck -”
An old man stood with his wand drawn in the sitting room, glaring at Sirius. Clearly newly flooed into the cabin.
“Donnie, has he killed you?” The man shouted. “Donal Macmillan!”
“Quiet down old bastard lest you wake my grandmother from her grave.”
The stranger huffed and lowered his wand as Donal walked into the kitchen.
“You have a wanted man in your home, what was I supposed to think?”
“To think that you believe an Englishman would be able to one-up me, it’s insulting Walsh.”
Sirius looked between them in exasperation.
“What’s going on?”
Harry entered the kitchen looking confused, his sleep-filled eyes looking between the wizards.
“Is that the Potter boy?” The stranger named Walsh questioned with a frown. “What in Merlin’s tits have you been up to!”
Donal Macmillan cleared his throat.
“Let’s pop open a bottle whilst my great-nephew feeds his godson.”
The man was apparently a very high-up official in the Faction and an old ally to his great-uncle whom he had contacted the evening before to clear Sirius’s presence in Ireland and the overtaking of one Harry James Potter. Only he had not mentioned neither Sirius or Harry in his owl, only that Walsh was to come over for a drink or two. How old Walsh didn’t curse Sirius at first sight and instead shouted for his friend was a bit insulting to honest. Why did these old geese not fear Sirius the Mass-murderer enough to quickly incapacitate him? He was supposedly dangerous in the eyes of the public!
Crazy old bastards the lot of them.
Donal Macmillan decided to claim custody of them both through blood-bonds although the last Macmillan Harry was even remotely related to could not be seen on any of the family trees they looked at.
The Potters are more Welsh and English than anything else.
Yet his great-uncle used his bond to Sirius and Sirius bond to Harry to establish the custody. It was flighty but did work as Sirius was a sworn godfather by magic. It gave him more leeway than he realised. For the British ministry to claim the blood-bonds false would be to challenge the Irish Faction.
The accord was old and powerful, strengthened by magic and blood by the wizards and witches that had written it many years back and then upheld it. Ireland was sovereign and Fudge nor Dumbledore had any authority here.
Sirius smiled at the victory, silently thanking Dumbledore and his silver spoon.