𖡼.𖤣𖥧𖡼.𖤣𖥧
GAIA KNEW SHE WAS ABOUT to lose her shit. She didn't yet know if that was going to mean fainting, screaming, running, hexing, or crying, but it was not about to be pretty for anyone in this cave.
"Gaia!" Hermione was the first to react, jumping off of the wall she was leaning against and rushing toward her shellshocked friend. "What are you doing here?"
"HIPPOGRIFF FEED?" Gaia exploded, smacking Hermione's arm away when the girl tried to touch her shoulder. "You're having a meeting with an escaped mass murderer and you told me you were going to get HIPPOGRIFF FEED?"
The silence following her outburst was interupted by soft sounds of... chewing?
"Technically, that wasn't actually a lie," Ron said sheepishly. He avoided eye contact by looking into the dark corner where, when she looked carefully, Gaia could barely make out the shape of a hippogriff sitting on the ground and digging in to a bag of feed. "That's Buckbeak."
Gaia chose to ignore the creature and finally managed to find some competant part of herself to pull her wand from her pocket and aim it straight at the filthy man crouched on the ground, a pile of chicken bones surrounding his feet.
"Gaia, no!" Harry exclaimed, stepping towards her gently. "I know it sounds crazy, but he's not dangerous."
"You may believe that, Harry Potter, but I don't," she bit without taking her eyes off of Black. "So you better have a damn good explanation for me to stand down before I blow this mountain to flying chunks."
"Ha!" the mangy man cried out, laughing as if Gaia had told the most amusing joke he'd ever heard. "Yeah, I see the Bella in you."
"The fuck did you just say to me?" Gaia spat, stepping closer to him and holding her wand out more furiously than before.
"Gaia, please, hear me out!" Harry cried, closing in as if he was going to hold her back from attacking Black but was too afraid to actually touch her.
"You don't even know me, and in two seconds you think you have me all figured out?" Gaia pressed, ignoring Harry entirely. "I'm nothing like Bellatrix."
"Oh, don't get me wrong, I hate my cousin, too," Black clarified with an honest-looking smile. "But she's nothing if not fiery. And you seem to have inherited that from her. Although I appreciated that your fire is more self-defensive, rather than killing me without a second thought."
"My second thought is still telling me to kill you. My third and fourth, too. You're lucky I want a confession from these three so badly, or we might not still be talking." She turned to look at Harry for the first time since coming into the cave, but her wand remained faithfully on Black. "You have sixty seconds."
"I'm gonna need more time than that," he said with a wince, as if he knew it would cause her to turn the wand on him, instead.
"Five minutes," she settled. "Start now."
"Sirius never murdered anyone," Harry dove in. "It all started way before that night in Godric's Hollow. He was best mates with my dad, and Professor Lupin, and Peter Pettigrew. And they all became Animagi to help Lupin during his werewolf tranformations on full moons when they were here at Hogwarts. But Peter became a spy for Voldemort. And Sirius convinced my mom and dad to make Peter the secret-keeper when they went into hiding. So when Peter sold them out, everyone who was in on the plan thought that Sirius betrayed them, because they didn't know about the switch. Sirius confronted Peter that night, and that's where everyone thought that Sirius killed all of those muggles — because all they could find of Peter was a finger. But Peter staged the whole thing, he cut off his finger and then turned into his animagus — a rat — and ran away to make Sirius look like the murderer. Sirius never got a trial or anything, and he spent all those years in Azkaban. He thought he'd never get out, until he saw a picture of Ron's family on holiday."
"What the hell does Ron's family holiday have to do with any of this?" Gaia exclaimed, growing less patient.
"My time is ticking, I'm getting there," Harry answered briskly. "Ron had a pet rat, Scabbers, with one missing toe. Seeing the connection? Pettigrew went into hiding as Ron's pet! When Sirius saw that, he broke out of Azkaban and tracked down Ron to find Pettigrew. The three of us learned all of this last year when Sirius and Lupin turned Scabbers into Pettigrew. We thought we could turn Pettigrew in to the Ministry and clear Sirius' name, but then Lupin transformed under the full moon and Pettigrew transformed back into Scabbers and got away, and Sirius and I were almost killed by dementors—"
"Merlin's beard, Harry," Gaia breathed.
"Time's still ticking! Then we had to use time travel to go back and fix it all and stop Sirius from being executed, so he rode away on Buckbeak and has been hiding out ever since. It's only us, Lupin, and Dumbledore who know, though. And I wanted to tell you so badly, we all did! But, as you can imagine there's not a very easy way to explain all that... I'm so sorry, Gaia."
Gaia looked around to Ron and Hermione. "This is all true?"
"Every bit of it," Hermione confirmed with a nod. "Sirius is innocent, but we just can't tell anyone that."
"So we sneak him and Buckbeak food every time we come to Hogsmeade," Ron finished. "Hence the whole blowing-you-off thing. Sorry about that."
Gaia finally looked back at the man in front of her, finding a hint of a smile playing his lips. She finally lowered her wand. "Sorry for threatening to kill you," she said somewhat quietly.
"Don't worry about it," Sirius replied with a wave of his hand. "It wouldn't be the first time a family member threatened to kill me."
"So, you two are like..." Harry started before going quiet as he thought out the relation.
"First cousins once removed," Gaia and Sirius answered at the same time. The man laughed. "I see the Blacks still mandate genealogy lessons."
"How could they not, when they're so damn proud of that family tree?" Gaia replied.
"Not all of it," Sirius said with mirth. "Is my face still burned off of the tapestry in Malfoy Manor, or did they get a fresh one?"
Gaia let out a breathy chuckle. "It's still there. I'm pretty sure they leave it up as a warning to me."
"A rebel," Sirius commented with an aknowledging nod. "I had a suspicion I'd like you."
Gaia smiled, and had to bite her cheeks to keep from smiling too much. That was probably the nicest thing she could remember hearing from anyone in her family.
"Not to mention the stories these three have told about you," Sirius went on. "They never shut up. Especially Harry. He's a little obsessed sometimes."
Gaia avoided looking at Harry's face, which she was sure was even more flushed than hers was. "Well, I guess I can get around to forgiving them for abandoning me if they were coming to see you."
"Really?" Hermione gushed, taking a step forward.
"I said I'd get around to it," Gaia repeated. "You've still got one foot in the doghouse."
Hermione stepped back again, raising her hands. "I deserve that."
"So, you two are like... fine, then?" Ron asked, looking between Gaia and Sirius as if he wasn't convinced her wand wouldn't come back out again.
"We're good," Gaia confirmed with a smile towards the man. "So... what did I interrupt?"
They all got back to talking about the Tournament. Harry relayed the second task to Sirius, they all shared suspicions of Crouch's strange behaviors, and the conversation led to Sirius telling them about the wizarding war. Apparently, Crouch's son had been found to be a Death Eater and was turned over to the dementors. Sirius said he died in Azkaban, and shortly after Crouch's wife followed due to the grief. Then they turned to talking about Snape and Karkaroff and all of the other suspects of who might have gotten Harry entangled in this stupid tournament.
Somewhere along the way, Harry fell quiet in thought, and Hermione and Ron struck up a conversation between themselves, so Gaia took the opportunity to scoot closer to Sirius.
"I'm really glad to have met you," she broke the ice. "Even if I didn't show it at first."
Sirius chuckled. "All's forgiven, dear. I'd probably have done the same if I was in your shoes."
Gaia tried to pretend she didn't feel her heart glowing at the word 'dear'. When had any adult ever called her that? "Can I ask you something... drastic?"
"I can't think of a better person to answer something drastic."
"How did you manage to do it? How did you just... leave? I feel like if I did that they'd send the Ministry after me to drag me back and tie me up in my bedroom until September first."
"I thought the same thing, actually," Sirius confessed. "The only reason I was able to walk out of that house was Harry's dad. James and his parents offered me a place to live with them. If I didn't have that, it never would have happened. But even then, I was terrified. I was sure my mother would march to the Potter house and pull me by the ear all the way home. But when I left, I learned the truth. They don't care about us. And I'm sure you've realized that already, but the truth is, as scary as it may seem to leave, they aren't going to waste their time bringing you back. If you've decided to run away, that's treasonous enough to marr their reputations. It's safer for them to burn you off the family tree and say they never liked you anyway than to try to get you back, and then to still have to marry you off now that you've been marked a traitor."
Gaia sat with that for a moment, pulling her knees up to her chest and wrapping her arms around them. "I don't have anywhere to go, though. You said if you didn't have James you never would have run away."
"I don't know if you've realized, but you've got yourself a James right over there," Sirius said, pointing his hand to where Harry sat in thoughtful silence, drawing scribbles in the dirt. "I wasn't kidding earlier. Kid's obsessed with you. Every letter he writes me is all, 'I can't wait for you to finally meet Gaia, you'll love her!' And sure, it's not exactly ideal for you to be spending the summer with the Dursley's. Hell, Harry himself needs to run away. But all three of these kids cares about you, Gaia. You're lucky to have them. Have you met Mrs. Weasley? That woman never says no to another kid under her roof."
"I haven't met her yet, no," Gaia answered with a smile. "You really think she might let me stay? She hasn't even met me."
"After you meet her, you'll think back to that question and laugh. Doesn't matter if Molly Weasley has known you twenty seconds or twenty years, you're welcome in her house."
"Merlin," Gaia breathed, hanging her head between her knees. "I can't believe I'm actually talking about this. With you! Just yesterday it was barely even an idea, and you were just a cautionary tale."
"Can I let you in on a little secret?" Sirius asked, leaning over to get closer to her as if he really was going to whisper it in her ear. "You can do whatever you want. Nothing in life is ever as monumental as it seems. There's life-and-death choices, and then there's everything else. We have a tendancy to forget that the life-and-death portion isn't even a drop in the bucket of the choices that you have to make. People try to convince you that you need to know everything right this second or else it's all going to fall apart. And sure, there are big choices with big consequences. But you're what, fifteen? If you make a wrong choice, you make a wrong choice. I guarentee you that there is a way to fix it. Let life throw problems at you before you go making up your own."
The girl sat with his words for a long pause. It felt like a weight being taken off of her shoulders, like someone out there believed she could be good, not just perfect.
"I wish I had met you sooner," she confessed.
"I do too," Sirius agreed with a smile, bumping her shoulder with his own. "But something tells me we'll be friends for a while."
"We'd better start walking back," Hermione declared dejectedly as she stood from the ground and tugged on her jumper. "We're due back at school in an hour."
"Wouldn't want to make you late," Sirius said as he rose, frowning like it was the last thing he wanted to see them all leave. It must be lonely, tucked away in this cave with just a hippogriff for company. Gaia rose alongside him. Harry stepped forward and embraced Sirius like an old friend, each slapping each other fondly on the back. "Take care of yourself. And listen. I don't want you, or any of you lot, sneaking out of school to come see me, alright? Write me letters about anything that happens with this tournament, I don't care how small, but don't go leaving Hogwarts without permission. It would be an ideal opportunity for someone to attack you."
"No one's tried attacking me so far," Harry replied. "Unless you count the dragon and the grindylows." Gaia winced thinking about the Black Lake.
"I don't care, I'll breath freely again when this tournament's over. And that's not til June."
"Of course I'll keep you updated, Sirius," Harry reassured the man with a smile as he stepped back with Gaia, Hermione and Ron towards the mouth of the cave. "And you stay out of trouble, too. Don't be too risky going into town."
"And if you're ever low on food, owl us," Hermione added sincerely.
"What would I do without you lot?" Sirius asked with a smile that shone brightly despite the grime on his face. "And thank you for finally bringing Gaia along, intentional or not. You were right, Harry. She is extraordinary."
Gaia intentionally averted her gaze from The Boy Who Lived, quite sure that his cheeks would have gone scarlett. She nodded in Sirius' direction. "I'll keep in touch, too. Didn't take long for you to become my favorite relative."
"You either, dear," he said with an assured nod. "Now all of you, get back safely."
They made their leave from the cave and began the long walk back down the mountain, through the town, and up to the castle. It only took a moment for Gaia to realize that Harry was dragging back behind the group, hands in his pockets and eyes on the ground. She dropped her pace and let Ron and Hermione take the lead, the pair bickering over how much of his Potions homework Ron had gotten done.
"You alright?" Gaia nudged Harry as she fell back to his pace and took up a spot by his side.
"I really did want to tell you, Gaia," Harry confessed immediately, breaking his gaze with the ground and looking her directly in the eyes. "I promise, I did. And as soon as we became friends it was killing me to not be able to tell you. But Dumbledore has been clear since last June that no one can know where Sirius has been since escaping, or we would all be in too much trouble and we'd be putting him at risk because the Ministry won't listen to anything about him being innocent. And I wanted to spend time in Hogsmeade with you, too, and I thought about blowing off Sirius this time, but he's just got no one to—"
"Harry," Gaia stopped him. "I get it. I wasn't happy at first when I found out you guys were blowing me off again, and I could tell something was off about it, but we get to spend every day together at school. I can understand why you'd want to spend one day every two months with your godfather, especially if he's in hiding and he needs you."
"You're sure?" Harry asked. "Because I can understand if you're still mad."
"We are perfectly fine," Gaia reassured. "I promise, you can let it go. I'm happy you have him, and I'm happy I have him now, too."
"You mean it?"
"Merlin's Beard, what do you need, a peace offering?" Gaia laughed boisterously. "Fine, I'll give you one. I got into a fight with Malfoy yesterday. That's why I was upset."
Harry weighed her words carefully before speaking, as if he thought saying the wrong thing would close her up again. "Are you alright?"
"I'm fine, yes," she answered, stuffing her hands in her pockets. They had made it out of the mountains and into Hogsmeade, which she supposed meant she should be more careful with her volume to avoid namedropping around any of Draco's goonies. Luckily, it appeared most students had already headed back to school. "It takes more than him to rattle me. But, still, it wasn't a very fun conversation."
Another pause from Harry before he asked, "What did he say? If you don't mind me asking."
"Well apparently he's rather obsessed with you," she said with an avoiding laugh. "And me, I guess. He thinks that I'm getting too close to you, and that my aunt and uncle are going to... I don't really know what they'd do. Punish me somehow? At the very least demand that I stop talking to you, not to mention Ron and Hermione. Essentially, they much preferred me when I didn't speak to anyone for three years."
Harry approached his next question with extreme caution. "And what did you say?"
"I told him that it's my life, and he should stop meddling in it," she answered, looking pointedly forward rather than at the boy who was looking pointedly at her. "I told him that I deserved more than the life that Lucius and Narcissa want for me, and that I don't care for their money, or power, or status."
Despite feeling emboldened by her conversation with Sirius at the prospect of running away, she didn't think she was ready to tell Harry yet. That would open a realm of questions she was not prepared to answer, like who she would stay with or how she'd avoid the Malfoys.
"I know I can't make any decisions for you," Harry started, finally taking his eyes off of her. He could never look at her when he was being vulnerable. "But I don't know what I'd do without you. You've become probably the most important person in my life, and I don't say that to pressure you into choosing one side over the other, but I do need to say it. You deserve to hear it. You're... you're really, really important to me, Gaia."
The girl forced down the welling in her throat. "You're important to me, too, Harry. By far more important than any of the Malfoys. I wish so badly that I could just tell them to sod off and get out of my life... Maybe one day."
Silence fell between the pair for a stretch as they made it out of the village and were now a short walk from the school. Ron and Hermione were chatting away in front of them, and Gaia thought for a moment of suggesting that she and Harry catch up to the pair before Harry spoke first.
"The third task is a maze."
Gaia stopped dead in her tracks, and so did he. "A maze? What kind of maze?"
"A massive one," Harry said with a shrug, looking deeply into her eyes. "On the Quidditch pitch. Hagrid is working on growing it right now. And it's not just a maze to get to the finish line, but there will be creatures and spells to fight along the way. We found out this morning and I haven't been able to tell Ron and Hermione yet, but... Gaia, I'm scared."
Understandably so, Gaia thought. She herself was surpressing the fear that cropped up at the imagery of such a maze. A seventeen-year-old managing such a challenge was one thing, but Harry?
"Well, we've got plenty of time until June," Gaia started, feeling the only thing she could do was state facts. "Between now and then we can work on your spells. Especially healing, in case you get into any trouble in there. And we can ask Hagrid for more help with the creatures, he'll be more than willing to give you some extra lessons. We... We can work something out."
"But it isn't just the idea of winning," he pressed on. "You know I've never cared about that. It's just that... I have this pit in my stomach that's telling me something is going to go wrong."
"Nothing is going to go wrong, Harry," Gaia said with such assuredness that Harry had a hard time doubting her. She grabbed him by the shoulders in case he dared to let himself think that again. "Nothing. The worst that happens is you lose, right? And you don't even care about that, anyway, so really, nothing bad can happen. Alright?"
"Right," Harry agreed, taking in a hefty breath as if he needed to breath to believe it. "I just don't think that I could..."
"What?"
"Nothing. You're right. Everything is going to be fine."
Gaia thought back to the familar feeling of their meeting before the first task, the tug she had of needing to see him before the challenge. And the stupid thing that came out of her mouth when she couldn't think quickly enough of anything else to say suddenly seemed to be fitting in this moment, too. "Slay the dragon?"
Harry chuckled as he was brought back to that Champions' tent waving a frantic goodbye to her as she was ushered out by Dumbledore. "Slay the dragon," he decidedly agreed. The pair laughed, then hurried to catch up to their friends who had made it quite far ahead of them.
As they all four made it back to the castle as the sun was beginning to dip in the sky, Gaia found herself reflecting on Harry's preminitions. Sure, it was likely his anxiety speaking, but she had to work to convince herself that her words were true. Nothing could go wrong, surely...
Surely.
𖡼.𖤣𖥧𖡼.𖤣𖥧
a/n woot woot! gaia met sirius! i have been soooo anticipating this relationship and i'm so glad it's finally here! let me know your thoughts on the two of them! :) also it was weirdly fun writing angry gaia...
i know i said this chap would be out a few days after the last one, and it's a little longer than that, but one week turn-around is like a miracle for me so i'm calling it a win.
i am VERY excited to get into the third task really soon here. i have a lot of good (more like scary?) stuff planned. stayed tuned til then, remember to vote, comment, share, add to library, dm, and do all of the things! i love you all endlessly! SMOOCHES!