Chapter 15
When Sirius didn’t come out of his room the following morning, Harry took it upon himself to softly knock on the door before entering with a tray with some toast and juice, nothing too overwhelming but enough to invite a sense of comfort.
He was still laid down among a mass of blankets and pillows but his face was grave as he stared unseeingly at the ceiling.
“Sirius?” Harry asked lightly, closing the door behind him.
He slowly turned his head to him, the action sluggish as if he was moving through treacle, “Harry.”
Harry tried to puzzle him out- was he angry? Sad? Confused? His tone was scarily neutral which was especially off putting considering how emotional Sirius was about everything.
“How are you feeling?” Harry asked a bit stiltedly, trying to fill the space, his arms still outstretched with the tray.
“Confused. I hope you’re here to explain some things?” he questioned with a lilt at the end.
Harry nodded gravely, braving himself to give another long retelling of history. He really ought to write a history book with the amount of times he’s done this, or perhaps record himself so he wouldn’t have to waste his breath.
Sirius scooted over to allow Harry a spot to sit next to him so he sat at the foot of the bed with his legs crossed. He placed the tray between them but neither of them made a move towards it.
“So. At the battle at the Department of Mysteries, you were supposed to die from Bellatrix’s spell, she hit you with enough force that you fell backwards through the veil. Clearly that didn’t happen.”
“How?”
Harry inhaled and exhaled deeply, sighing, “We are in the year 2000 right now. I used a time turner to go back in time and save you. I hid during the fight and came out right before Bellatrix hit you and took you to the future.”
His eyebrows immediately came together and climbed high on his forehead. None of his usual mischievousness was present and Harry hadn’t realised how characteristically Sirius was until it was gone. He supposed this is who Sirius was without using humour as his armour.
“But Moony? And we were in the future? Time turners only go back?”
“Yes well, the future bit was through another device, gifted by none other than Dumbledore himself. It requires a powerful spell to activate it but it would seem that Bellatrix’s wasn’t strong enough to take us to the present day. It took us to the date of the final battle, where I defeated Voldemort. That’s why Remus was there and why he had to shoot us with a spell again.”
He didn’t ask anything, just nodded. Harry darted his eyes to the tray and poured some juice out in a glass and butter a piece of toast.
“So that brings us to today. When you died, Grimmauld passed on to me and I’ve lived here ever since.”
“Wait? So the battle…you won? The snake bastard is really gone?” he asked a bit hopefully, perking up slightly.
Harry nodded happily, “He’s gone and he’ll stay gone, forever.”
“Wow,” he marvelled, savouring the moment.
Harry pushed the toast and juice to him and he indulged himself slightly, already looking better than last night.
“Do you remember what happened yesterday, after we left Remus?”
He looked thoughtful, “I’m not sure, I know we showed up here then it sort of goes blank. When I woke up, I was still trying to figure it out.”
Harry nodded then, slightly relieved that he was gifted a blank slate with Sirius and his introduction. He didn’t hold any notion that he wouldn’t have a similar reaction today but at least he had a chance to try to make it better.
“Good, good. I take it you slept well then?”
He nodded, finishing up his toast and juice.
“There’s some people downstairs who I’m sure would be quite happy to see you, seeing as you’re alive and all,” Harry smiled as if trying to entice a child into eating vegetables, coaxing them towards it.
Sirius laughed a bit then, nodding and as he stood up, he finally caught sight of himself. He was still in his dusty and bloodied clothes from yesterday and they both cringed.
“I’ll go bring some fresh clothes” Harry nodded and Sirius thanked him, needing to sort himself out.
_____
A moment later, Kreacher popped in.
They both groaned.
“Not you again,” Sirius complained, rolling his eyes at the haggard elf.
“Master Sirius is back,” Kreacher said with as much vitriol as possible, leaving Sirius with the distinct impression that he was not wanted. That was exactly what he had expected from Grimmauld and all its inhabitants.
The old elf was holding a pile of fluffy towels that he just dropped at Sirius’ feet.
“What happened to serving your masters graciously,” Sirius sniffed.
“Kreacher serves the Most Ancient and Noble House of Black. Kreacher does not serve traitors,” he garbled.
Sirius raised his foot but the elf popped away before he could make contact, leaving Sirius to swing his foot in the air pointlessly at the air.
He snatched up the towel, washed and patched himself up as best as he could, then stepped out to the fresh clothes Harry brought him folded neatly on the bed. He made the water as hot as he could, adding additional heating charms and his skin was slightly pink when he stepped out but it worked to refresh him greatly.
Harry entered the room again right when Sirius was done and he had the distinct feeling that Harry had waited outside, listening in, not wanting him to leave on his own.
He turned to the mirror and worked on fixing his hair- not dying was a special occasion and he didn’t want to look like a right mess.
“So Harry of 2000, care to tell me who wishes to see me rise from the dead?”
He peeked back at Harry who was sporting a particularly confused expression, “What is it?”
He looked around, as if trying to pick out an answer from the air around them, “It’s just- you seem pretty accepting of all this.”
“What is there to worry about? I’m alive, the war is over, we’re safe, it all sounds good to me.”
He turned back and refocused his efforts, using a styling spell to revive his damp curls.
His eyes caught on the single thick strand of grey hair that threaded among the rest of the coils. He had spotted it on every single one of his family members’- Regulus, Bellatrix, his parents, et cetera. It got a bit weird because he didn’t have very many “other sides” of the family due to the infamous inbreeding the Blacks loved to partake in.
“Right,” Harry responded.
“Should I be worried?”
“Let’s go downstairs,” he said, suspiciously evading the question and Sirius just raised an eyebrow at himself in the mirror in question before following after him.
He felt a bit odd wearing Harry’s pyjamas, much like an overgrown toddler but he knew the boy didn’t live in anything beyond joggers and a hoodie, and that was on a good day.
Sirius carefully went down the stairs and skillfully avoided the nasty step near the base. He didn’t know what its’ problem was, acting like it had a vendetta against all of them, but he smiled when he saw Harry jump over it as well. He must’ve learned about it the hard way.
Harry’s eyes darted from side to side as he walked on light feet like he was trying to catch a startled animal and Sirius decided, all caution be damned, to just stomp up to wherever the guests were.
Based on how cagey his godson was acting, he guessed it must be Dumbledore or some other disciplinary figure ready to lecture him about something as they always did, despite the fact that he was a full grown adult. What if it was Molly?
Sirius slowed a bit at the thought.
He stepped towards the kitchen as he heard the sound of water bubbling lightly and the minute he lifted his eyes from the threshold, he stopped- hand on the wall, left foot slightly raised so as to take his next step, head slightly tilted. It was as if he was petrified to the spot.
James was standing by the sink, peering out of the window whereas Lily was messing around with a pot on the stove. Neither of them had turned around yet and Sirius felt like he had been dunked under a Pensieve, watching a long lost memory of his friends from the outskirts.
The domestic scene playing in front of him was almost comical in his simplicity yet it was everything Sirius had ever wanted. They were so young, skin untouched by age, hair still as vibrantly coloured as ever, and it was so at odds with how Sirius looked now that he felt like a younger version of himself ought to enter the scene now.
James was whistling a little tune and Lily hummed along.
Sirius felt his eyes water with hot tears as his vision blurred and a small smile pulled at his lips.
“Sirius!” Lily cheered with a dazzling smile, Sirius hadn’t even seen her move.
No. That wasn’t supposed to happen with a Pensieve.
James abruptly ceased his whistling and followed Lily’s gaze to him. His mouth dropped open in shock but the ends were pulled as if by pins, like he couldn’t help but smile amongst the shock. That’s was James did best- smile.
He didn’t dare move for fear that once he did, he would be brought of whatever dream this was.
In Azkaban, he often let the Dementors suck at his soul bit by bit whenever he dreamt of moments with all his friends. It felt worth the risk to feel a bit of joy in the cold darkness of his small cell where he was caught in the endless cycle of listening to other prisoners’ screams drowned out only by the sound of waves crashing against the stone walls.
“Sirius,” Harry whispered behind him.
He placed a hand on Sirius’ arm and it was enough to jolt him out of his stupor. His foot dropped, hand shook and fell, and he inhaled a shaky breath feeling like his head was full of cotton and his ears began to ring. His vision tunneled and shook and he didn’t know what to do.
He had never made peace with their deaths and never would but this was cruel, the way they spoke to him, looked at him with such care. This was no memory, it had never happened before, but there was no way to explain the scene in front of him.
“Pads?” James spoke and Sirius had to clutch a hand to his heart to confirm that he hadn’t actually died and that this was real. His heart was thumping wildly against his ribcage but it still didn’t feel like enough.
Sirius slowly took one step, then another, keeping his hand outstretched. His palm hovered over James’ shoulder for a moment and James just stared at him silently with understanding, not moving or speaking, allowing Sirius the time he needed.
Sirius studied his face, looking for signs of glamour or error. He had James’ face memorised as well as his own now, the freckle on his temple, the way the right side of his mouth was slightly raised, the prominent cupid's bow, it was all correct. His hazel eyes gleamed under the light, the specks of green shining proudly through the brown encasement of his iris.
He had expected his hand to simply fall through but when his hand landed firmly on James’ shoulder, he pulled back as if burned.
“It’s really me Padfoot,” James spoke softly, then raised his hand to land on Sirius’ shoulder. He squeezed once and Sirius felt the heat of his palm burn through his body, coursing through him like a drug.
“I-,” was all that could come out.
“I know,” James responded before pulling him into his arms, cradling his head onto his shoulder as if trying to calm a baby.
Sirius leant into it for a moment, allowing himself to be guided by James’ soft touch before slowly raising his arms to hug him back. He leant back for a moment, “Is it really you James?’
“Yeah buddy,” he smiled, his face just a few centimetres away.
Sirius’ face crumpled and he pulled James back in, squeezing onto him tightly, as if he would vanish should Sirius lighten up. He began to sob and soon enough, it didn’t matter if this was real, if they disappeared once he opened his eyes again because he had a chance. A chance to embrace his brother again, to see him and feel him again after so long apart.
Sirius nuzzled his head right in the crook of James’ neck and the familiar tickle of James’ hair brushed Sirius’ forehead and he couldn’t help but smile into it.
“I missed you,” James whispered.
Sirius only sobbed harder. The idea of James missing him was unfathomable and Sirius couldn’t even say he missed James.
He yearned for him, ached for him. Every day without him was a physical reminder of all the mistakes he’d make and never be able to make up. His friends had died and his godson grew up alone, because of him. No, he didn’t just miss James, he felt like some part of him had simply died in his absence.
When one loses a limb, they can get a prosthetic or adapt, perhaps get a walker or crutch, and power on. Losing James was losing his heart or soul, it couldn’t be replaced nor helped.
He was just a lost cause without him.
He cried until James’ shoulder was wet with tears and his limbs began to relax but James never let go nor loosened his touch, he remained steadfast until Sirius was ready enough to pull back.
When he opened his eyes, he was still there.
James’ face was equally wet but where Sirius felt like he was drowning, James was floating on a cloud of ecstasy.
A sniffle beside him alerted him to Lily and he turned to her and had to close his eyes, feeling like he was being blinded just by the sight of her.
Lily was a thing of beauty from the inside out. Yes, she had striking features that only matured and added to her beauty as she grew up but her kind heart, intelligence, and wit was enough to make anyone gravitate towards her or want to be her friend. Sometimes, Sirius felt like he had to impress Lily to convince her just to be his friend.
She never made anyone feel less than but she made him want to be a better person, someone worthy of her attention.
She was the first person he confided in about Regulus and his complicated mix of feelings about him because she was going through the same thing with Petunia, though she was much more mature about it than he was.
He opened his eyes again and drank in the sight of her. He felt like the few colours that existed in the dark kitchen were sucked dry and pooled into her, causing her to shine amongst the grey fixtures.
He didn’t move from James but raised a palm to her cheek and when he felt her warm skin under it, he immediately scooped her up into a hug, lifting her feet off the ground as she shrieked with joy, laughing into his ear and it sounded like magic.
He lifted her off the ground easily and she slapped at his shoulder to let her go but he couldn’t imagine ever doing so.
“Oh Lollie I missed you,” he whispered.
She relaxed slightly, “How I missed you Jack” she cooed.
The nickname was ridiculous really. ‘Sirius’ had turned into ‘Joke,’ just because it was the opposite of serious, ‘Joke’ turned into ‘Jack’ because he was a ‘Jack of all Trades.’ Lily claimed it was a muggle name and that it was a good thing and though he never understood it, he had never been more grateful to hear it.
It was a sort of confirmation that they were both real to hear them say that.
When he let her down, he couldn’t bear to take his eyes away from them but forced himself to look at Harry.
“How’d you do this?”
Harry smiled and shrugged.
_____
Seeing Sirius reunited with his parents was enough to make it all worth it. Every scrape, bruise, and fight he had gotten throughout the entire venture was worth it and he’d do it a hundred times over if it meant seeing this.
Sirius wouldn’t take his eyes off of either of them, tracking each and every move they made.
‘School friends’ would be a criminal understatement of what they all were and it was rare for one person to even find one person they related to on such a level, much less an entire group.
He remembered that if he had really been gone that long, Draco was probably going crazy and decided to slip away and head there, just to reassure him that he was alive and well.
Stepping away, he went upstairs, put on shoes that weren’t the trainers Draco hated so much and dressed in nice clothes, figuring he should for the occasion and hoping it might win him some points with Draco.
He threw the floo powder in and went straight to Draco’s cottage. He had moved there right after the war, unable to handle living in the Manor and Harry loved it, thinking it was incredibly charming and homey, with its lightly coloured walls and large garden. It was Draco in a home.
He landed in the sitting room and Draco was asleep on the sofa, curled up on his side, head resting on a pillow as he cradled a quilt that Harry had gotten for him when Draco complained about always having cold feet thereby using Harry as his personal heater.
He had dark circles under his eyes and his hair hung limp over his sad features. He was still the most beautiful man Harry had ever seen.
Approaching slowly, he kneeled down next to the pale blue sofa and brushed a finger along Draco’s high cheekbone.
All was still, before Draco’s arm shot out and punched Harry directly in the throat
He choked and fell backwards, gasping and wheezing.
“Oh my gods” Draco said, once he’d opened his eyes.
“What was that for?” Harry managed to get out, holding his own hand up to his throat.
“You scared me!” Draco shrieked.
He promptly burst into tears and suddenly Harry realised just how scary that must’ve been for Draco, for him to just disappear without rhyme or reason.
“I’m sorry,” Harry said, for everything.
He moved up to the sofa and cradled Draco gently, bringing him into his lap, putting Draco’s head on his shoulder and resting his own atop his. He held Draco who clung onto him with enough force to hurt but Harry didn’t mind at all, he missed him just as much.
He savoured the feel of Draco, remembering the way he saw him in the time jumps, the terrified look in his eye when he became a death eater or the way he looked as he bled out on the floor from Harry’s wand. It was horrifying but it paid off and thank gods it did because it led him to this moment.
“I missed you so much,” Harry whispered, kissing the top of his head softly.
Once his cries had subsided, Draco pulled back to look at Harry fully, “You are such a dumb arse Harry, I mean honestly. Also, the worst boyfriend ever, you make Weasley look like a prize for all the shite you’ve pulled.”
Harry just looked at Draco fondly as if he’d told him a sonnet or professed his love for him. Draco’s words didn’t sting a bit because he was right, as he always was. The curl of his lip and disapproving expression just made Harry want to kiss him again, and so he did.
Again and again until the sun set and the moon rose.
_____
He stumbled back home many hours later and found James, Sirius, and Lily all settled silently in the sitting room.
His dopey smile from before was wiped clean away when he saw them all and knew something had gone wrong because really, when did it not.
Sirius cast stormy grey eyes on him and he felt rooted to the spot.
“You made me leave him,” was all he said.
Harry knew what he meant but he thought Sirius understood? Had received the message loud and clear yesterday.
“I had to,” Harry whispered back in fear.
Sirius rose from the sofa, “No you didn’t. You could have saved him! We left him there to die!”
Harry looked to his parents for help but they looked at him in sympathy, likely having tried to calm Sirius down on their own and failed.
“Sirius, if I could have I would but we were running out of time and even coming to find you was a risk in the first place.”
“Why am I worth it? Moony deserved to live more than me! He deserved more!” Sirius cried out, gesticulating wildly.
Harry knew this was more than just leaving Remus based on his choice of words.
“Yes he did…So did you, and mum and dad. Marlene, Dorcas, Frank and Alice, Regulus-” Harry listed off the names he had memorised by heart.
“Wait, Regulus?” he questioned indignantly, as if including Regulus’ name was disrespecting the others.
“What do you mean?”
James pointedly looked away.
“I mean, why are you including my death eater brother with the rest of them?” he said back, very slowly, venom dripping from each word and pooling on the floor around them.
Harry thought through this very slowly, “He wasn’t a death eater or not really I mean.”
Sirius looked at him like he’d grown a second head, “What are you talking about?”
The topic change was abrupt but he could see Sirius eagerly following this line of questioning, needing to find the end of it.
“He defected. Betrayed Voldemort and helped us take him down,” Harry answered simply and honestly.
Sirius’ brows drew together and he shook his head, as if trying to clear it of debris, “I don’t understand?”
“Voldemort gave Kreacher a horcrux, basically a piece of his soul, to hide in a cave full of Inferi. It was a death wish and Regulus ordered Kreacher to stay and went himself. He put a fake locket in the cave with a note declaring what he’d done and hidden the real Horcrux. We were able to find it through his note before Voldemort did,” Harry recounted swiftly.
“No, he- he followed Voldemort just like our parents did. He would never defy him. He was a Black for Merlin’s sake,” Sirius declared, aghast.
“You’re a Black,” Harry retorted, not to be cruel but because it was true that just as Sirius had defied his family, so had his brother. He, along with Andromeda and so many others, were proof that being a Black did not immediately mean a life of servitude to their line and Regulus deserved recognition just as much as they did.
“It’s true, Harry and Kreacher told us what happened, how he died,” James included, joining them.
“No, the papers said he died in an accident, got too caught up with the death eaters and that,” he tried to reason with them, as if they had a reason to lie.
Harry summoned the note from his room upstairs and it flew into his waiting hand, “This was in the locket when I found it with Dumbledore.”
Sirius read the note once, twice and came up short with any sort of response.
“I found out a year after you died and wished I could have told you” Harry vocalised somberly.
Sirius collapsed on the couch, shaking his head lightly, “I feel like I should be more surprised than I am…Reg was always a quiet kid, was always more scared of Walburga than I was but he had a good heart. By the time I left, I thought he was too far gone but no…he was still there. When James said he had gotten with Reg, I thought he must’ve been talking about anyone other than him because I didn’t believe he had anything redeemable within him, anything worth loving.”
The room was silent and no one made a move to shatter this moment.
“It’s my fault, I shouldn’t have left him,” Sirius said and everyone jumped at the chance to stop him there.
It was an impossible situation. Harry knew from James how Sirius had left to flee Walburga but Regulus didn’t join him. Had he stayed, Sirius could have died, but if Regulus left, Walburga would’ve taken them both back to be her heirs.
“Joh hogya, hogya, aab hum baas aghay jasakt hai,” James said knowingly.
Sirius nodded sincerely, understanding him and Harry marvelled at how he had genuinely learned the language.
“N'oublie pas le passé mais ne t'attarde pas non plus,” Sirius replied robotically as if reciting a line he had said many times before.
Harry looked at Lily who only smiled, winking at him to show she didn’t quite know what they said either but allowed them their moment.
“Well we’ve all had a busy day, time for dessert,” James called, marching straight to the kitchen, the tense atmosphere from before dissipating.
Harry knew that this topic was far from over and would take time and energy to unpack but it would have to do for tonight.
“Looks like Harry was getting particularly busy tonight,” Lily sniped slyly.
Sirius turned to Harry, shocked, “Oh what was her name, Jelly? Jenna? Gina?” he guessed, snapping his fingers trying to recall her name.
“Ginny,” Harry mumbled, turning red.
“Oh no no, not a she but a he” Lily quipped and Harry wanted to melt into the floor.
“No, really?” Sirius barked a laugh, rocking back with the force, “That’s amazing Harry, who’s the lucky boy.”
“Dmpho” Harry answered, muffling his voice with the pillow he buried his face in.
“Didn’t quite catch that, what was it?”
Harry lifted his head a fraction, “Drmp”
“Oh just spit it out” Lily said, laying a firm hand on his back as if he was a baby choking on a grape.
“Draco'' he said exasperatedly.
“The blonde twat? Son of the blonde arsehole and my fake-blond cousin?” Sirius rushed out.
“He’s not a twat anymore, or at least not as much,” Harry couldn’t help but laugh at Sirius’ antics.
“Wow,” he drawled, stretching the ‘o’ for as long as he could. “You really are like James aren’t you?”
“I’m done,” Harry said, standing to join James in the kitchen, leaving his mum and Sirius to laugh in his wake.
James was rolling up some dough into tiny balls happily, whistling to the tune that played on the Wizarding Wireless.
“What are you making now?” Harry asked curiously, leaning across the counter.
“Gulab jamun, fried dough balls dipped in sweet rose syrup, it was my mum’s absolute favourite,” James smiled. He already had flour all over his front and even a small thumbprint on his left eyeglass lens.
“What was she like?”
“She was…a force to be reckoned with to say the least. She was the kindest, most accepting woman in the world, always supported me growing up and did the same for Sirius when he showed up. She never asked him a single question about it when he came to live with us over the summer, just took him in and eventually adopted him, legally. She was also incredibly smart, it was almost scary how much she knew about you and she always waited for it out, never actually confronted you with it,” James smirked, as if remembering that happening to him.
“I wish I’d met her.”
“She would have loved you, probably more than me,” James huffed.
“Well I am pretty lovable,” Harry grinned cheekily.
James flicked a pinchful of powder right at Harry’s nose and Harry slowly pulled back, acting as if he had just been punched.
He then dragged his hand across the table in a smooth arc, grabbing a handful of the powder resting there and threw it directly at James before ducking behind the other side of the counter.
James didn’t even make a noise and Harry, growing confused, peeped above the counter to find that James had climbed up onto it, and dumped a handful of it right onto Harry’s head before he scrambled off laughing, and slipping in the process.
“You did not!” Harry guffawed, dipping his hand right into the bag.
“Oh but I did,” James chortled.
They went back and forth, laughing and throwing powder like it was quaffles, until the entire kitchen was coated in a layer of white flour.
“What is going on here,” Lily asked, baffled.
“Isn’t it clear, they’re having a flour fight, get with it Lils,” Sirius said, bumping her shoulder, “Oh what are we making here?” he asked, stepping past her.
He slowly made his way round, nodding along to James’ explanation, and Harry saw the way he grabbed a handful of flour from the overturned bag and hid it behind his back, completing the circle he had just made.
When he ended up back where he started he looked at Lily, “You have something on your face.”
She raised her hands quickly, smoothing them over her features, “Where?”
“Right,” he raised his hand and threw its contents at her, “There.”
She stood stunned before summoning the flour bag wandlessly and dunked her hand into it, throwing it at Sirius who didn’t even have enough time to move before he was thoroughly coated in it, like a powdered donut with hair.
Then, out of nowhere, she grabbed her wand from her pocket and water streamed out of the end, right onto him so all the powder began to coagulate and stick to him.
“Now that’s just cold,” James awed.
Sirius began to pick at his hair, pulling out sticky clumps of dough, “I’m not going to do anything because you just came back from the dead but once I’m over that, you’re in for it.”
She smiled like an angel and began to vanish the mess they had made in the kitchen, leaving Sirius to manually extract all the dough.
James continued his cooking and Harry snuck a look at the clock to see what time it was. It was 2:39AM but Harry wasn’t even remotely sleepy, he wanted to stay awake forever so as to not miss a single moment.
He sent a letter to Ron and Hermione, notifying them of his arrival but knowing they were probably sleeping by now.
He recounted everything that had happened as he time jumped while his parents told him all that happened with Ron and Hermione. Lily mentioned how she had made solid progress on Potter Manor.
She had snuck off there a couple times explaining how she needed something productive to do and because she had been so distant from James anyways, it was easy to do so. She’d gotten rid of the dirt and stale scent and had begun fixing up a lot of the decaying bits, leaving only finishing touches and new furnishings to be put in before it was ready for James to see it.
He grew even more excited at the prospect.
James made quick work of it, serving them the desert with ice cream and they gathered around the hearth to enjoy it.
Harry felt the words bubble up in him before he just blurted them out, unable to stop them even if he wanted to, “I’m really happy right now.”
The others looked at him fondly, “So are we Haris,” Lily smiled.
Sirius inhaled sharply before cooing, “Haris. It’s been so long since I’ve heard anyone call you that.”
“You never told me about it,” Harry said, shooting him a look as if had bunked out of his godfatherly duty.
“It didn’t feel right coming from me, especially so late in your life.”
Harry didn’t mind it much at all, much like he forgot many of the other things he'd missed out on in his early life because he had it now and he chose to live in the present.
“I love you all…a lot,” Harry said almost shyly.
They all responded to the sentiment sweetly and the atmosphere was all warm and fuzzy.
“You know, mum locked Vernon in a closet and dad broke his hand,” Harry said sneakily a while after, knowing how Sirius felt about them.
Sirius’ ringing laughter could be heard three houses down and combined with the melody of his parents’ laughter, Harry thought that maybe his life, all that he had gone through, had a purpose.
He always thought that his purpose was to defeat Voldemort and after doing so, he felt a bit out of touch, like he should have died and now that he didn’t, he was to be lost in an eternal purgatory. Seeing his family around him changed all that.
He had a home and what more did one really need?