Chapter 3
Sirius awoke in the old Black study, his head pounding but the sound of a child's soft sweeping was soon his main focus of concern. Worry filled his empty void like heart, making the hangover ten times worse. “Sev, Buddy,” Sirius entered the old playroom, eyes accustomed to the dark, desperately looking for his ward. The small child size bed was empty but Sirius’s ears soon figured out where the little thing was; Hiding in the closet. Sirius sighed loudly. He slowly opened the door, peering in behind the clothing.
Severus was curled upon the floor of the wardrobe, whimpering and sucking desperately on his thumb as tears ran down his cheeks. He had the cloak wrapped around him, curled up into it. The smell of urine was strong.
Sirius had to pull back at the foul smell, his nose stinging at the scent. He paused and thought for a moment, watching the softly sobbing child. Sirius looked back at the bed and silently casted Lumos; the bed had a damp patch - Severus had wet himself.
Sirius used to have the issue himself up until he was around eight. The beatings for it were one of the worst nightmares he had, usually causing the bedwetting itself. Kreacher was his biggest ally during those struggles.
The pureblood wizard lowered himself down to the floor, ignoring the nasty scent. “Severus…” Sirius made sure his voice was soft but there was no denying that he saw the small thing practically flinch at being called.
“I.. I'm sorry, I'm sorry.” The trembling body whispered, the tears never stopping. He pulled his tiny hands over his head, hiccuping as he cried. What a sorry sight Severus was.
Sirius didn't hesitate to scoop Severus up, feeling how damp the now squirming boy was. “we are going to clean you up, okay? You aren't in trouble, I promise. I promise!’ Sirius kept his voice soft and as non threatening as he could, saying the words he desperately wished someone had told him as a child.
Severus stopped fighting and whispering words of apologies but the pathetic whines of fear and his soft trembles didn't stop. He wanted to cling to Sirius but felt too ashamed, expecting any moment to hit or verbally degraded.
“kreacher will wash your clothing and the bedding,” Sirius yawned widely, sleep tugging at his eyelids, “You get an excuse to have a lovely warm bath now, don't ya? Silly boy.” Siriu chuckled as they entered the old bathroom. He sat Severus down on the white tiles and plopped the plug down, starting to fill it with warm water. As he sat down, watching the still crying child and listening to the bath slowly fill, it occurred to Sirius how long it had been since he washed himself. He leaned down and sniffed his top; no wonder Remus hadn't wanted to cuddle for awhile…
Sirius looked around, his eyes quickly spotted the pink bottle of bubble bath Dora had gotten Remus for his birthday; not many knew the young girl was gay, currently sleeping with some chick from the ministry. Molly had conjured some stupid idea that Tonks had a thing for Charlie, Merlin the woman didn't even know her own son was asexual. Sirius ran a hand through his locks and sighed, letting a few plops of mango scented bubble liquid fall into the water. “Ever had a bubble bath, Sev?”
The boy stared at Sirius as if he was the thickest person in the world; “Well no… you need warm water for bubbles, mum said.” he was close to a sneer.
Sirius shuddered under those intense eyes, at least he was trying to start a conversation! With the flick of his wand the soaking onesie was off the toddler and slumped in the washing basket. “Kreacher!” Sirius called out as he picked up the bony child, eyes avoiding bruises and scars. He sat Severus down into the tub and heard a squeak from the boy.
“Its warm!” Again, he squeaked. Severus squirmed and wiggled in the bath as the bubbles began to form around him. “tickles!” he said with a soft giggle, the sound melted Sirius’s cold heart.
Kreacher entered the room with a pop! The old elfs face lit up at the sweet sounds being made by Severus in the tub, surrounded by white bubbles. “Master Sirius it's awfully late…” he said, trying to be harsh sounding but the old elfs eyes shifted from Sirius to Severus continuously.
“There's a situation in the playroom. Could you clean up the bedsheets and the cloak? I think it might be at the bottom of the closet.” Sirius murmured lowly, talking to the elf. He didn't want Severus to hear, the boy being distracted by the bubbles was good enough. “Oh!” He snapped his fingers at the elf, remembering something else, “Have we got any uh, what do those muggles call it, rubber ducks? Or bath toys generally.”
A twinkle came in Kreacher's eye at his master's request. “Kreacher does, master. Mr Arthur left a few behind!” The elf snapped his fingers back at Sirius, a bright yellow duck appearing in his old wrinkles hands. “master Sirius, is our guest staying for long? His presence lightens up Kreacher's day! Miss Weasley is the youngest Kreacher has seen in some years,” He said.
Sirius smiled, taking the duck and squeaking it. The moment Sirius squeaked it the splashing sound from behind him stopped. Well obviously I've caught someone's attention. Sirius thought. “He'll be staying for along time, I'm hoping. Look after him, Kreacher. He needs the extra protection.” Sirius gave his elf a pat on the head, turning around to hand the duck over to its admirer.
Severus’s eyes were wide, bright and cheerful. Sirius had never seen eyes so… wonderful! They were dark, like black, but turning a soft green around the outer iris. His eyes were mesmerizing!
Sirius wondered how he never noticed but then the thought hit him; when did he have time to notice? Between hexing and beating on him in second year, whispering rumours about him to Lily, spiking his food with foul sweets or hiding stink bombs in stuff. Sirius remembered, remembered when he saw those eyes so… large and wonderful; The Shrieking Shack. The moon light lit those eyes so amazingly, like stars on that pale face. For a moment, Severus was beautiful, until the shadow of the wolf blocked out the light and suddenly Sirius realised what a huge fucking mistake he made.
The sound of the duck speaking repeatedly bought Sirius out of his depressing thoughts. He looked down at the toddler and sighed, this was his chance to start over.
Sirius pulled Severus from the water once cleaned completely, his hair was soft and smelling like strawberries, detangled and curled at the tips, even when wet. They returned to the playroom, finding the sheets smelling as equally lovely as Severus. The kid was quickly put in the soft clean onesie, wrapped in the cloak and laid into the bed.
Sirius was about to leave, the light dimmed but not all the way, when he looked back on that sleeping peaceful face. He looked like Harry, the first time James had left Sirius put Pronglets to bed. Black let out a long sigh and shifted into his shaggy dog form. The dog climbed into the small bed and curled around the youngest resident of Grimmauld Place. He rested his black snout besides the small boys head, nuzzling the still damp hair and licking his soft forehead. Luckily Severus was already asleep.