Storm Princess

Chapter 23 The Aftermath

After Sirius had been so elegantly thrown out of the Tower, Remus was shown to a guest room. Remus noticed that Mr. Stark had taken him a floor below they were at; Remus understood that they didn't trust him to be near Evie, and he didn't mind. He knew he would have to earn their trust, but he felt terrible for his best friend, even though Sirius's actions towards Evie were uncalled for. Evie may not have been James's daughter, but James must have known if he cast the glamour on Evie and loved the little girl as his own anyway.

When Tony and Remus arrived at the floor where Remus would be staying, Tony explained that the entire floor was his; Remus looked at the man, in shock, “Mr. Stark, I don't need all of this, all I need is a room, and that's all.”

“Everyone gets their floor, Mr. Lupin, so they have privacy. Some choose to share, like Thor and Loki. This way you can do as you please, but I'm going to ask you not to have your friend here. Security has been alerted not to let Sirius Black in the building, and he can get in magically, but if you let him in, I'm sure Loki won't hesitate in killing both of you.”

Remus's eyes widened, and he stepped back, “Do you think he would?”

“After what your friend said and did to Evie, yes, and Loki isn't the only one.”

“I understand, Mr. Stark.”

“Good, and please call me Tony.”

“Thank you, Tony, please, call me Remus.”

Tony nodded, then explained how everything worked in the apartment and who JARVIS was. It took a moment for Remus to understand what JARVIS was and did, but JARVIS took over the explanation when Tony started to make it too complex. Soon enough, Remus understood and began to have a friendly conversation with JARVIS. After a while, Remus informed JARVIS that he needed to return to his hotel to pick up his belongings.

Would you like Mr. Hogan to give you a ride to your hotel, Mr. Lupin? JARVIS asked.

“No, thank you, JARVIS, I can apparate there and back. It is a form of wizarding transportation. Sort of like teleporting.”

JARVIS noted that in his system, he would ask Loki later if there was a way to prevent unauthorized apparition into the tower. JARVIS immediately realized that that was a security breach that needed to be dealt with. He would also ask Mr. Lupin if there were other ways that wizards could enter the building unauthorized to find a way to counter them.

JARVIS told Remus that he would inform the others that he was leaving, and Remus thanked him. With that, Remus apparated to his hotel room to pack his belongings. He arrived with a crack in the hotel suite's living room and found Sirius sitting on the couch staring at a blank screen with a bottle of whiskey in his hand. Remus frowned and walked towards Sirius; he placed a hand on his friend's shoulder.

“Are you alright, Padfoot?”

“Of course, I'm not alright, Moony. I ruined my relationship with Evie because I didn't think before speaking. My bond with her as her godfather is broken, and now that wanker Tony Stark has taken my place.”

“Tony isn't a bad person, Pads, and from what I can tell, Evie adores him.”

Sirius glanced up at Remus with sad eyes, “That should be me, Moony, but I fucked up.”

“Yes, you did, but maybe you can redeem yourself.”

Sirius perks up at Remus's words, “Do you think so?”

“It's possible, Evie doesn't strike me as a person to hold a grudge. She may eventually forgive you. The problem is her father and uncle, not to mention the other people in her life.”

Sirius sagged slightly, “What should I do, Moony?”

“About Evie, nothing for now. You need to check into the hospital and get treated for your time in Azkaban. We were in such a hurry to find Evie that we neglected your health, and I think that maybe that's one of the reasons you lashed out so harshly at Evie; because you're not well mentally after so much time exposed to the Dementors.”

Sirius thought, then nodded slowly, “That makes sense. Should I go back to England and check into St. Mungo's?”

“No, if you do that, Dumbledore will find out. You should get treated here at the magical hospital in New York.”

Sirius agreed, and he and Remus packed their belongings and checked out of the hotel. Sirius wasn't going to waste any time. He needed to get well and prove to Evie and her new family that he could be trusted around her and wouldn't hurt Evie again. Sirius knew it would be an uphill battle, but he loved that little girl and was prepared to do anything to be in her life. Once they checked out, Sirius and Remus walked to the nearest Apparitions point and apparated to the Wizarding District in New York. They asked a witch where the hospital was then Sirius and Remus made their way to the hospital, where Sirius checked into the mental ward for treatment.

“I'll visit you as often as I can, Padfoot,” Remus told his friend.

“Thank you, Moony. Take care of Evie for me.”

“I will,” With that, Remus left Sirius to begin his treatment with the mind healers.

Author's note: I know this is a short chapter, but I wanted you all to see what happened to Sirius after he left the Tower. I'm sorry it was so short; I'll try to make the next one longer, until next time.