Growing Up

Part 76.

"Remus." A voice called from his desk up the stairs. Slowly, they walked up the stairs. Sirius had muttered something under his breath as his hand trailed the wooden rail, but Remus didn't catch it.

"This should be easy." Sirius called from behind him.

"Oh, lovely. Black's here too."

Albus smiled with a warm chuckle that bounced off the cluttered walls full of what Remus would classify as trinkets of glory. On the contrary, through years of observation, Sirius knew that laugh. He had grown up with it ringing in his ears, teasing him with a weight that mimicked malice.

"The invisibility cloak. It was James', now it's ours." Remus paused, correcting himself.

"Now, it's Harry's."

Albus lost his smile and stared quietly. His bottom lip moved with his teeth biting into his lip. Reaching down to the bottom drawer of his desk, he spoke in a low tone as if someone was nearby.

"I'm telling you this information because I trust the both of you, though you seem to think otherwise."

"On with it, Albus." Sirius hissed, eager to be anywhere but in that dusted office. With a kick to the shin, Sirius dropped his cold gaze and welcomed a more monotonous look.

"This wand is a deathly hallow, I assume you know what that means?"

Remus' eyes darted to Sirius who quickly turned pale, the blood draining from his face to his feet, making him wobble at the words. He nodded.

"I remember," He whispered. Remus could almost see the anxiously proud eleven-year-old boy in him, the boy who reeked of self-preservation and flooded with knowledge of the darkest fabrics of his being.

"Good. If Harry gets one of them, he could draw Voldemort to him. I only want the best for Harry, and this is not such."

Without a second thought, Sirius quietly thanked him and walked downstairs, slamming the door behind him. The ambiguous thanks made Remus' stomach flip in his gut. Turning his head, he gave one last look at Albus that he could only assume was a mixture between debate and confusion and followed out.

"He's lying." Sirius panted, pointing at the door. The furious crinkle in his brow mowed over any last remnant of panic.

"I know what the deathly hallows are. God, the audacity of him to lie-" He shook his head briskly.
"We used to have one back before Reggie kicked the bucket."

"Morbid." Remus moaned. He found himself once again tracing the thin whisps of the wooden sculpture that was hardly considered a door. The only thing that would've completed this puzzle of his past would be to mumble quietly, praying to whatever god was out there for a way out.

"If someone has even one of the three that would make him a-" Sirius paused until he couldn't help but smile.

"Oi, it's ridiculous," He spat, raising his head in a royal manner to mimic what looked like a teacher's attention.

"He becomes the 'Master of Death' as my mother used to call it." He clapped his hand to his mouth to conceal his boyish grin from his unexpected falsetto.

"Master of- what does that mean?"

"If Harry has one, it could lead Voldemort to us again," Sirius kicked the floor with the toe of his shoe, an anxious hand running through his slivered black hair.

"It could also give gramps in there the chance to gather the last one, and then-" Sirius made a pop sound and accompanied his hands with the poor-timed gesture.

"Morbid, Sirius!" Remus covered his face with his hands.

"What i'm saying is-" Sirius stumbled, his gaze finally catching full attention.

"It's a chance we should take."

***

Harry was busy with his own gift wrapping. Anne, the portrait; had given him the ideas and the money to go out and buy something for the people he loved. Harry was confused at the gesture, and certainly the galleons, but avoided questioning it any further. For Remus he had a leather note holder made in london and a new quill. Harry was supposed to sign the holder, per request from the Queen. For Padfoot, Phineas had the thought to get Moony to get him a motorcycle. Refusing this, he contemplated and revised the audible annotations the portraits made.

"I'll do something, i'll come up with it." He said softly.

Anne folded her arms and glanced at Phineas, the scarred pink line on her neck reflecting the dull light.

"I'm his family, I know what to get one of my grandsons, especially my rebel one!"

"Bambi, où es-tu?" Sirius' clear voice called from around a corridor. His footsteps drew closer with a reverberating thump of his shoe soles.

"I'm over here!" Harry shoved the gift into his pocket as best he could and stood up.

"Sirius! My favorite grandson." Phineas Black's arms spread as if he was going to hug him.

Without a single glance, Sirius chuckled evenly and shook his head. "We both know that's not true."

He adjusted the neck of his black button up, irritated by the fabric against his collarbone. 
"What have you been up to?"

"Nothing, just getting ready for Christmas."

"Really? Well, I'm excited then, because I've got quite the gift for you."

Harry's eyes lit up in a manner reminiscent of Sirius' own childlike spark, a mischievous grin spreading across his brightened face.
"Can I have it? Please, can I have it? Just tell me what it is, I'll act surprised!"

Harry bounced on his feet like a rabbit. His curiosity and energy alone reminded Sirius of Athena. The kitten was really growing on him and he enjoyed when she would lay near his head when she slept. She reminded him of Harry.

"Say it in french." He grinned, his smile lopsided as it usually remained. With his family and their history of eugenics, they still couldn't find a way to wipe clean his most perfect imperfection.

"Puis-je avoir mon...Christmas present?"

"Cadeau." Sirius laughed. "Present."

"Ah, okay." Harry nodded politely. "Can I have it now?"

"No. Let's go."

"Shit!"

Sirius giggled and turned around when he realized who he was with. His effort to conceal his chuckle failed, so he pointed his finger at Harry in an attempt to dish some discipline to the boy.

"Watch it, Bambi!"

Word count: 1712