The Little One with Green Eyes

32: And the Minister is...

Sirius didn't know what the snake was saying, but Little One did. Sirius struggled to maintain his air of indifference as his godson began to speak to the snake. It was so strange to see James' son speaking parseltongue, there was something so fundamentally wrong with that picture. It put him on edge. Sirius stood there watching the conversation unfold, unsure of how he was supposed to respond to it.

Finally the snake stopped hissing and turned to face him. Sirius stiffened when the snake grew closer, only to breathe out a sigh of relief when the snake gestured for him to continue walking. With the added chaperone, Sirius and Little One---who was still hissing at the snake---set off once more to find Remus.

They found him sitting in the first floor library sitting in a plush armchair reading a book. Sirius grinned at the sight of his lover and he silently crept up to where the werewolf sat. Just as he was about to scare him, however, Remus turned to level him with a deadpan stare.

"Hello Sirius." Remus said. Sirius pouted at the man and let out a soft huff.

"You always ruin my fun, Moony." Sirius whined. Remus only chuckled softly. "We're currently on babysitting duty, though. So get off your furry butt and come with me."

"Babysitting duty?" Remus asked, tilting his head to the side in confusion, only for his gaze to travel past him and land on Little One. Remus let out a stilted gasp and shot up from his position on the chair. "He's letting us...?"

"Well, we have a chaperone," Sirius muttered, subtly gesturing to the giant snake that was currently wrapping his godson up in her coils. Remus' only gave a slight twitch at the sight. "But other than that, yeah, he is."

"Finally." Remus said softly. He placed the book he was reading on the sand next to him and got up. "Hello Little One! It's so good to see you again!"

Little One looked up briefly at the sound of his name, but other than that, he did not respond. Remus looked slightly put out at the dismissal, but Sirius slipped his hand into Remus' and squeezed it comfortingly.

"It's going to take time, Remi," Sirius said softly. "But we can do this."

Remus nodded. "Shall we, then?"

"Little One, do you want to head to the gardens?" Sirius asked, remembering how much the toddler loved plants. Little One perked up slightly at the mention of gardens so Sirius took it as a yes. "Alright then! Let's go!"

The trio (plus a snake), walked through the castle until they reached the gardens. Sirius blinked rapidly when he stepped outside to adjust to the brightness, and when his eyes adjusted, he whistled at the beautiful sight before him.

The Dark Lord's gardens were massive and gorgeous. Flower plots decorated the area as far as the eye could see, and each one was bursting full of vibrant colors and designs, making each plot a masterful piece of artwork.

While Sirius had been distracted, Little One had plopped down on the ground by one of the flower plots and began to absently play with Nagini's scales. Remus was sitting next to the toddler, but every time he attempted to get closer, Nagini would hiss at him.

Sirius sighed. "Little One!" he called, gaining the attention of said toddler. "Do you want to play a game?"

Little One tilted his head and Sirius continued.

"If you go and pick a bunch of flowers, then we can have a contest to see who can make the prettiest flower crown. What do you think? Do you want to play?" Sirius asked. He wasn't sure if this would work, but Sirius was at a loss of what to do. He wanted to connect with his godson, he just wasn't sure how to do it.