The letter that was anything but a booty call
June 1986
Sirius was going about his day as usual. He had eaten breakfast with his ward Harry, prepared by his wretched house elf, Kreacher. Afterwards, he and Harry took his motorbike (which was technically illegal) to visit his cousin Narcissa and her family.
Harry and Draco had spent the entire morning playing with their toy brooms and trying to convince the adults, namely Narcissa, that they were old enough for real brooms. The morning ended with Narcissa banning them from flying for a week.
Sirius thought that was a bit strict, and if it was up to him, they would have had real brooms from the start. But he didn't dare contradict Narcissa. Or at least he tried to save that for the big things.
This may be obvious, but Sirius wasn't very paternal and had trouble with the adult responsibilities that came with being a guardian. That's why he relied on Narcissa and Lucius so much. Well, mostly Narcissa.
While Lucius was good at enforcing discipline, Sirius wouldn't necessarily describe him as fatherly. Whereas Sirius had the opposite problem.
They both had strained relationships with their fathers growing up, which fucked them up a bit. Nonetheless, they were determined to break the cycle and be better for their own children.
They tried their best. They really did. But they still had a long way to go. Sirius was self-aware enough to admit that. Where Sirius could learn to be a bit stricter, Lucius could learn to be a bit softer.
But they were working on it, and they both had good relationships with their kids. Granted, the boys were only 6, so they had plenty of time to mess it up.
In Sirius' defence, he never thought he would be a parent or even live past 25, so it changed him when he suddenly was responsible for a little boy at 23.
The deaths of his best friends and the betrayal of another were the worst things to ever happen to him. But if it hadn't been for that, he probably would have been dead himself. As horrible as it sounds, their death's saved him.
Having a little boy to care for and provide for both emotionally and physically gave him purpose, and he had spent every day trying to be the best he could be for Harry.
He could only hope Lily and James approved of the job he was doing with Harry. He was pretty proud of them both if he could say so himself. They were doing good. Okay, maybe the kid was a bit spoiled (and they should probably work on that), but Harry had lost his parents at the age of 3, so who could blame him, Sirius thought. Besides, Draco was even more spoiled. Harry was fine.
After dinner and some family games with the Malfoy's at the Manor, Sirius and Harry flew back home, and that's when his ordinary Saturday turned into anything but ordinary.
Usually, Remus would come over, and they would reminisce and drink whiskey. And they did just that. That's not what was weird. It was the random owl he didn't recognise, dropping off a letter. The letter didn't say much.
We need to talk. Meet me by The Meeting Place statue at St. Pancras station in muggle London at 9 am tomorrow.
- E. G. A
"E. G. A? Who's that?" Remus wondered out loud after Sirius had handed him the letter.
"Eliza Avery, I think. That's the only one I can think of anyway," Sirius responded. "I'll remember her B's and J's anywhere if you get my drift?"
Remus didn't answer, so Sirius decided to elaborate. "You know, from all the dirty notes? They often led to.."
"You're not exactly subtle, Sirius." Remus interrupted him.
Sirius beamed at that. "Sexual prowess is nothing to be ashamed of, moony!"
Remus rolled his eyes. "Avery? As in Gabor Avery's daughter? What could she want?"
"I really don't know. Haven't seen her since before the war ended. But my guess is another elaborate demonstration of those B's and J's."
The next day Sirius cursed Lily for not showing him more of muggle London and how things work there. He was actually fairly adept at all things muggle, compared to the regular pureblooded wizard, at least. He should be. He lived in the middle of muggle London, after all. But he realised now that all his trips into actual muggle London had been child's play compared to this.
He couldn't for the life of him figure out where he could park his motorbike, so he ended up placing a notice-me-not charm on himself and the bike and drove the bike into the station, where he placed another concealment charm and warded it off.
He was in front of the big statue of the couple kissing a quarter after nine and couldn't see April anywhere. As Sirius stood there, worried that she had already left because he was late, a small dog approached him and started nipping on his trouser leg.
He bent down to check if the dog had a tag or a leash, but the dog started to move away before he could do so. It stopped after a few steps and looked back as if to make sure Sirius was following.
When Sirius didn't move, the dog bit his leg again, trying to drag him with him.
"Okay. Okay. Godric's, I'm coming." he said as he followed the dog.
The dog led him all the way to the other side of the station. Sirius felt the muggle-repelling charm as he approached the toilets. He was instantly alert and drew his wand.
The dog wanted him to enter one of the toilets, but Sirius was sceptical. He followed the dog anyway. He was, after all, a marauder and a Gryffindor. Brave was his middle name.
The dog vanished into thin air as he stepped over the threshold, and a little curly-haired girl was standing by the sink wearing a backpack and holding a little white bunny. Sirius was really confused. This definitely did not feel like a booty call anymore.
"Hey. I'm sorry, I didn't know anyone was in here. Are you okay? Where are your parents?"
The girl looked at him and shrugged her shoulders. "My mum told me to wait here and that a man with black, curly black hair was coming and that I should give him this. I think that's you. It must be, you have black hair, and you are here." She handed him a letter and seemed proud of herself for deducing correctly.
Sirius.
I don't know how to say this, so I'm just going to say it. This is Hermione. If you have yet to guess by the curls, she is your daughter. She was born on September 19, 1982. She turns 4 at the end of the summer.
I need you to take her. I owe you more of an explanation, but I honestly don't have one. At least not for why I'm leaving her now, I'm just not cut out for motherhood, and she deserves better.
As for why I have kept her a secret, things were so scary back when You-Know-Who was around, and when I found out I was pregnant, I was terrified.
My father would have demanded we get married, and I may share some of my parent's views, but I still don't want the childhood we had for her. She deserves better.
I may not be the best mum, but I knew I needed to get her away from our parents. The war. Everything.
I went to my grandmother's in France. She doesn't get along with my mother anymore because of who my parents chose to support. (We both know that my father's claim of being under the imperious influence is total bullocks.) This goes without saying, but my parents mustn't know she is my daughter.
I was too scared to come back and tell you when the war was over. I also didn't want my parents to know about her, so my options were a few.
I know I'm not a great parent, and honestly, I didn't think you'd be a good parent either, which is why my grandmother has taken care of her.
But when I learned you took care of Harry, I thought that maybe you could do it. And you can. I mean, you have.
Her full name is Hermione Lyra Black. I remembered your family's tradition with constellations and wanted to honour that.
I understand this is a shock to you, and I apologise for not telling you sooner. I did what I thought was best.
Please take care of her. I promise she is the best thing that will ever happen to you. She is an incredibly bright and curious child. She loves to explore and learn new things. She always asks questions and is satisfied only once she knows exactly how something works or why things are the way they are.
She has the kindest heart and an unparalleled sense of justice. She is sweet and loving and deserves the best life. I know she will bring joy and happiness to your life.
The bunny's name is Mr Snuggle. Whatever you do, don't lose it.
Take care of her, and tell Hermione that I
x Eliza Granger Avery
'Holy Merlin's fucking saggy balls' was Sirius' only thought as he stood in a public bathroom somewhere in muggle London in the middle of a staring contest with a little curly-haired girl holding a white bunny.