Haircare Related Antipathy
“I’ve got word from Dumbledore.”
“Out with it then.”
“The long and short of it is that he wants Harry in private Occlumency lessons. He thinks Voldemort is performing some sort of long rage Legilimency on him to find weaknesses. I don’t like the way he talks about Harry… Never have.”
Marlene’s emotions were plainly visible in her posture, even more so than in the expression on her face. She’d been that way as long as Sirius had known her. It was easy to tell that she was uneasy and reluctant to discuss the subject at hand. Dumbledore was never a straightforward topic of conversation in the Black household. At times, he was the most important ally that they had in the fight against Voldemort, but there were other times when it felt like he was an adversary in the fight to raise a child who they loved and wanted to protect. It was him who kept Harry from them for nearly 4 years. It was him who made him spend time at those horrible muggle relatives house every summer, despite their concrete proof that he was mistreated there. Dumbledore had too much power, the couple were at an agreement.
“Well I don’t like it either but he probably knows what he’s talking about regarding Voldemort. So it’s probably in Harry’s best interest to go ahead and cooperate with the Occlumency lessons. How terrible could it be? Spending some extra time in Dumbledore’s office won’t kill him. He’s there often enough as it is.”
Sirius gave a hint of a smile. Their boy was a lot like them. He’d never met a rule that he wouldn’t break if it suited him. It was easy to see how he was like his parents, both James and Lily and the godparents who raised him.
On the other hand it was more complicated with Harry. Everything was, from the moment Voldemort marked him as his equal and prophesied enemy. He wasn’t a typical boy, and as much as Sirius would have liked to give him a normal adolescence, the war was kicking into gear and it wouldn’t wait. It was worrisome that the boy would only listen if he wanted to.
“Try again. Severus Snape is meant to tutor him.”
“Good Godric! What the hell is the old man thinking? Snape?”
“Snape.”
“Fucking Snape. The arsehole is about as mature as Harry himself. He never progressed past about 15. It’s a wonder Dumbledore keeps him on as a teacher when he’s like that.”
“It’s one of those ‘Dumbledore will be Dumbledore’ things. But regardless of the particulars of why, we need to decide how we’re going to deal with this?”
“If we said no, would it change anything?”
“Probably not. You know Dumbledore is going to do what he sees fit.”
“So we’ll support the lessons, but we keep a close eye. Harry needs more information. Which is problematic if Voldemort has figured out how to read his damned mind…Morgana, we need more information. And we need Harry to keep confiding in us.”
Marlene leaned back into the sofa, folding her thin legs under her. From above she still looked like mostly hair.
Sirius budged towards her and put an arm around her. At 32, Marlene was a powerful witch and an authority in some circles, but Sirius never got over his impulse to protect her. He was fairly useless at it in practice but he was glad she kept him around anyway.
“What 15 year old boy wants to confide in his parents? He’s the fucking chosen one and all but he’s still 15 with all the qualities of a less chosen 15 year old. We’re lucky he still writes at all.”
“Well If I had us as parents I’d want to confide in us. We’re amazing.”
“Right. Of course” she rolled her eyes and leaned into her husband’s chest.
“I’ll owl Hermione. She has a little more sense than the other two.”
Marlene thought probably most 15 year old girls had a little more sense than their male peers, but not all. She thought back onto her own youth. She’d… well she hadn’t been much like Hermione Granger. Hermione was more like the Grace McKinnon of her generation. So Marlene would trust her. She would need to word it carefully because she didn’t want to sound like she was spying on Harry or didn’t trust him. It was all a matter of putting as many safety nets as possible around her Harry, who was in enough danger without taking into account his normal teenage tendencies to roll his eyes at adults.
“Do you have to do that tonight or can we head on to bed?”
“The night is young and our Harry is away at school! We can’t go to sleep at 9pm. It’s criminal.”
“I said nothing about sleep.” He gave her a suggestive smirk and wasted no time in scooping all not-quite-7-stone of Marlene into his arms and proceeding to their bedroom.
Sirius was just as infuriatingly handsome in his mid-thirties as he had been 15 years prior when the two fell in love. They’d been tested as hard as just about any couple could be only a year into their relationship, but somehow they came out of it solid.
Marlene hoped Sirius would be able to pick her up and bring her to bed for many years to come. She hoped he’d get old and grow a long grey beard of wisdom someday, but for the time being they were still relatively young and she really enjoyed this. The feeling of safety in his arms made life easier. The world was scarier by the minute, but she wasn’t in it alone.
She melted into his kiss and forgot about her worries, at least for the night.
To my dearest darling godson Harry,
I’ve gathered some information with regard to Professor Umbridge that I think you’ll find interesting. Is your mail being monitored? Are you SURE? Think closely. Go ask Hermione.
Because of my fears that the Ministry has taken control of Hogwarts, I shall not include any sensitive information in this letter. But we will speak in person at your next visit to Hogsmeade, I give you my word.
You missed the priceless face your Pads made when he got the news that you’ll have to do tutoring with Snape. Those two go way back, so I hear. It was all before my time. My opinions on the man are mostly hair-care related. You know how I get about hair-care. When one has as much hair as I do, you come to understand the importance of caring for it.
How do you find owl year transfiguration. I know it’s Kitty’s class and all but I mean the material. I remember the spell work getting both challenging and fun that year. I started considering careers in transfiguration that year. I know that you prefer defense and understand it’s an important practical skill when you’re you, but you are a talented wizard in more than one area. If you were any other boy you’d have every career door there is wide open to you. (Except maybe seer. But who wants to see anyway?) I am so sorry that you have to be The Chosen One and can't opt out.
You’ll meet us in the usual spot on your Hogsmeade visit?
Your loving and devoted godmother,
Duckie