Guilty Marigolds Part I
-September 26 1991-
Sirius sat at the table, his gaze unfocused. Remus had taken Harry off somewhere while the Order continued to argue. After Snivellus’s abrupt departure, it was clear no one knew how to proceed. Dumbledore was still silent, his eyes shining with guilt, and Moody had taken it upon himself to start barking orders.
“We kill him!” Moody said, slamming his hand on the table. “It’s obvious! We get rid of the Dark Lord’s weakness then we defeat him!”
“Alastor he’d just a boy---” Molly argued.
“He’s dead---”
“No, he’s not.” Sirius said, blinking away the emotions rising up inside of him, forcing himself to pay attention to the conversation. They were discussing Harry after all, and it was Sirius’s job to protect him. And he wouldn’t fail this time.
Moody narrowed his eyes. “Don’t get soft on this, Black!” he barked. “I know that he’s James’s boy but---”
“Harry is still alive!” Sirius snapped. “So what! He’s an Inferius! So what? Did you see him? Look at you! You’ve got a bloody flower in your hand! You think he’s dangerous?!”
Moody blanched and subtly set the Lilac onto the table before he coughed. When he looked back at Sirius he actually looked apologetic, a rare sight for the burly retired auror. “Constant vigilance.” he said softly.
“He’s four years old!!!” Sirius cried out. “What harm can he do?!”
“He’s an inferius, Black. You know as well as I how deadly those things could be.” Moody replied gruffly. Sirius hissed.
“Watch yourself!” he snapped. “That’s my godson you’re talking about.”
Moody sighed. “We need to be careful. Now more than ever.”
“Harry wouldn’t hurt anyone,” Sirius insisted. “He’s just a baby. And as long as he is in this house, he will not be harmed. Do you understand?”
Moody grit his teeth before he opened his mouth, probably to spew more hateful words, when Dumbledore finally found his voice. He looked up at the group and spoke calmly. “Sirius is correct.” he said. Moody sputtered but Dumbledore held his hand up to silence him. “We will not harm the child while he is here. We brought him here in the hopes that we would weaken Tom, but instead we have rescued one of our own.”
Sirius nodded. “I have not forgiven you for what you’ve done,” he said, staring at Dumbledore. “But I thank you for agreeing with me.”
Albus nodded his head sadly. “I can only hope to atone for my mistakes, dear boy.”
Sirius shifted uncomfortably before he nodded. He then turned his attention back to the rest of the group. “Okay,” he said. “Order meetings over. Go away. I have a godson to get to know.”
-September 28 1991-
It had been two days, and no progress had been made. Sirius sighed and shifted ever so slightly, shaking Harry from his sleep. The Inferius looked up at Sirius, his green eyes wide with unspoken questions. The child hadn’t spoken since the first day, and all attempts on Sirius’s part had been unsuccessful.
The rest of the Order had come and gone randomly, each coming to check in on Sirius and Remus. Molly had taken an automatic liking to Harry, but that wasn’t very surprising as Molly’s maternal side was legendary. She spent hours talking to the child, not caring that he didn’t respond, and when she left she told Sirius that he was just the cutest child she’d ever seen.
After the first day, though, Sirius noticed that Harry was pulling back. At first he’d been very open with the Order members, handing them flowers and smiling at them when they were near, but after almost two days, he was acting completely different.
He avoided everyone who wasn’t Remus or Sirius, and seemed to be getting completely confused. He looked around, almost as if he were searching for something, and when he didn’t find it, he would just shrink in on himself. It was very strange and worrying.
Sirius was brought out of his thought when a hand hesitantly tugged on his black locks. He looked down to see Harry fascinated with his hair, and Sirius couldn’t help but chuckle. Even though Harry is eleven years old, his mind and body is still that of a toddler. While Sirius was sad that he would never get to see Harry grow up, being able to see Harry happy and alive (sort of) was more than enough for him.
Sirius lifted his head when the floo flared to life, and several Order members stepped through. Sirius felt Harry stiffen in his lap, and he quickly looked down in concern. This was the first time that Harry had responded to them like that, and it set him on edge.
“Has he said anything?” Moody barked, causing Harry to shrink back further. Sirius glared.
“No he hasn’t,” he said. “And you’re scaring him, so kindly bugger off.”
“Sirius!” Molly cried, aghast. “There is a child present!”
Sirius chuckled mischievously. “He won’t repeat it.” Molly scoffed and rolled her eyes at his antics.
“Honestly.” she muttered to herself, causing Sirius to let out a full-bellied laugh that shook Harry.
Dumbledore stepped through the floo at last, and Sirius couldn’t help but snicker at the sight he made. Harry had barged into a meeting the last night he’d been there without a care, not noticing the way everyone had stopped talking, and crawled into Dumbledore’s lap. Dumbledore had been so shocked he stopped his instructions for how to keep Harry out of the Dark Lord’s clutches while Harry stuck dozens of marigolds into his beard.
They were still tangled in his beard, and that, added onto his ridiculous robes, made the old man look laughable. Dumbledore smiled fondly at Harry, probably expecting the child to smile back and give him a hug---as he’d done before---and frowned when he saw the way Harry looked away from them.
“Is something wrong, Sirius?” Dumbledore asked, looking at him in concern. “Harry is acting rather odd.”
“You noticed too, eh?” Sirius asked. “I’m not sure. This could be normal behavior for him… I mean, he’s only been here for a few days…”
“And Severus has not yet returned from the Dark Lord,” Albus said softly. “I fear we will just have to leave it until he comes back. We have no way of knowing how Harry usually acts.”
Sirius grit his teeth at the thought. He didn’t need Snivellus to tell him how to care for his godson. He was still pissed that the old bat hadn’t told them about Harry immediately. All this time when they were fumbling around for the Dark Lord’s weakness, they could’ve been with Harry.
“Have you any news?” Sirius asked, forcing himself to change thoughts, lest his wreck something.
“I’m afraid not, my boy,” Albus said sadly. “Voldemort had made no moves.”
Everyone reflexively flinched at the name, but Harry let out a gasp. Automatically, Sirius’s grip on him tightened, his eyes darting around for danger. But there was none. Yet, Harry squirmed in his lap, more active than he’d been in a while, and looked up at Dumbledore pleadingly.
“I see Papa now?” he asked, his voice soft and quiet, but there was no mistaking his words.
Sirius sucked in a sharp breath and looked at Harry in shock. The rest of the Order stared at him dumbly, while Harry only looked at Dumbledore. Dumbledore visibly steeled himself before he responded to the hopeful inferius.
“Not today, my boy.” he said. Harry slumped against Sirius, and sniffled. Sirius’s chest clenched at the sad whimpers escaping his godson.
“Miss Papa.” he whined.
“I’m sorry, child.” Dumbledore said remorsefully. Sirius knew that he was serious in his apology, but he also knew that he wasn’t apologizing because Harry couldn’t see the Dark Lord. Harry squirmed even more in Sirius’s lap.
“See Papa soon?” he asked. Sirius wished that he could be happy. This was the most that Harry had spoken to anyone, and yet all Sirius felt was rage. And an underlying ocean of sadness and grief.
“I’m sure you will.” Dumbledore said, his blue eyes missing their usual twinkle.
But he could see in everyone’s eyes, that unspoken terror that passed through them. Harry was a lot closer to the Dark Lord than everyone realized. They had assumed they were saving an innocent child from an evil dark lord, when in fact… they’d (loathe as Sirius was to admit it) kidnapped a child from their father.
Even if Sirius were to reveal Harry’s true parentage, Harry was just a child. A toddler. He wouldn’t be able to grasp the gravity of the situation. All he’d see was a bunch of kidnappers trying to change how he saw his father.
Sirius felt sick.
And as Harry continued to amuse himself with Sirius’s hair, albeit sadly now, Sirius resigned himself to the knowledge that no matter how hard he tried, no matter how close he got, Voldemort got him first.
And there was nothing he could do to change that.
Hogwarts Castle
Seven hours earlier
Draco looked up from the letter in shock, his proud Malfoy Mask slipping entirely in front of his friends, house-mates and teachers in the middle of the Great Hall. Luckily for him, no one was really paying attention. Save for, of course, his best friends.
Pansy, Theo and Blaise looked at him in concern, and Pansy eyed the letter with confusion. “Draco?” she asked, narrowing her eyes. “What’s the matter?”
Draco leaned in, his hands trembling as he folded the letter. “He’s gone.”
“What’s that?” Blaise asked. “Who’s gone?”
“Little One.”
It was silent amongst the four---Draco sitting in sullen shock while the trio looked at him with disbelief. Finally Theo snorted. “You’re joking, right?” he asked. Draco swallowed dryly and shook his head.
“You can’t be serious!” Blaise cried, making sure to mind his volume.
“Yeah! I mean, come on! Who in their right mind would take him?” Pansy asked. “Do they have a death wish?”
Draco shrugged. “I don’t know…” he said. “All I know is the Dark Lord is on a rampage. Mother says that he’s acting like he did before.”
His friends shifted uncomfortably at that. It was no secret that Little One had changed their Lord for the better. Made him more human. Before Little One, any kind of mistake would lead to hours of torture---if you’re lucky---or death---if you’re unlucky. If Little One was truly gone… Draco shuddered at the thought of the mere destruction the Dark Lord would cause.
“Do you think he’s scared?” Pansy asked softly, and instantly Draco knew they weren’t talking about the Dark Lord anymore.
Draco’s jaw clenched at the thought of Little One being afraid. They weren’t stupid. They’d heard the rumors circulating through the lower ranks about how Little One died (was killed, Draco thought with a twist of his stomach) and the thought of the innocent child going through any more fear filled Draco with such righteous anger.
“They’re going to pay.” Draco said firmly. And he knew he was right. After all, there was a reason why everyone feared the Dark Lord. Perhaps a decade of peace had caused people to grow confident, to doubt him.
They wouldn’t be doubting the Dark Lord much longer.
They continued to eat their breakfast in depressed silence, all thoughts being occupied by Little One and the horrid situation they found themselves in. Suddenly, Pansy let out a choked cry. Draco snapped his head up, intent on asking her what the problem was, when he let out a sharp gasp.
Dumbledore had arrived.
And he had Marigolds in his beard.
“It appears we’re going to have a new Headmaster soon,” Draco said, his eyebrows pinched together. “It appears I am looking at a dead man standing.”
Those flowers came from Little One.