Who: Draco, Sirius, and Remus What: A VERY tear-filled reunion When: Saturday afternoon Where: Number 12 Grimmauld Place
On the surface, Draco's return had been easy. However, Remus knew Severus had used every last connection he had to seek out the boy. The Death Eater had been true to his word and returned Draco to Severus' home. Remus had not been seen and the man had not unmasked himself before apparating to Godric knew where. Yet, as angry as Remus was, revenge was not first most in his mind. No, gathering Draco in his arms and making sure the child was safe had been Remus' first instinct.
Now, after the warm reunion with Severus and Remus, the werewolf held Draco close and apparated inside their home. The charms had been tripled if not quadrupled which made apparition harder than usual and required even more concentration on Remus' part, but they made it. Draco was still pretty quiet, but he held onto Remus in what could only be described as a death grip. Remus rubbed the boy's back and whispered he was going to call for Sirius. The last thing he wanted to do was startle the boy any further.
"Sirius? Mate?"
Sirius had practically been climbing the walls in his anxiety. There was a worn path in the carpeting from his pacing, but he'd replace it later. How could he help himself? It was hard enough knowing his little boy was in danger; knowing Remus was putting himself on the line and Sirius was nowhere nearby to help was driving him mad. He'd tried reading, he'd tried the telly, and he'd even tried pulling out the old motorbike, but he couldn't make himself go more than a few feet from the house, in case something went wrong or they returned home sooner than expected.
Hearing Remus' voice, however, Sirius couldn't contain himself any longer. He hurtled himself into the front room, following the sound of his friend.
He skidded to a stop as soon as he saw Draco. Alive, yes, paler than usual, but alive. "Oh, sweet Godric..." he whispered, surprised at his own reaction. He'd expected to throw himself at the boy, but he knew he had to be more careful than that. He had no idea what the child had been through. "Draco," he murmured, automatically holding out his arms and praying there was still a person willing to fill them.
Draco had not been tortured. He had been yelled at, yes. Lied to, yes. However, he had not been physically hurt. Still, he had not cried when he saw Severus or Remus. He had hugged them fiercely, but said little. It had been a long and scary week; processing all that happened was difficult for the nine-year-old. Yet, seeing Sirius, Draco could not help the sobs that erupted. He squirmed, causing Remus to release him immediately so that he could run toward his foster father.
For as long as he could remember, Sirius wasn't sure he'd ever actually cried. Not when Bellatrix had broken his favourite toys or when Narcissa had called him names. Not when he'd had screaming matches with his parents, including the one that had ended in him storming out of the house for good and being officially disowned by his family. Nothing had inspired such a reaction in him. But a week of worry and fear and agony combined caused him to tear up readily, gathering the small child in his arms and holding him close. "Hi there, little one," he whispered against that soft hair. Though he didn't look any worse for his time away, Sirius couldn't keep him close enough.
"Daddyyyy." Draco buried his face into Sirius' shoulder, wetting it with his tears. "I'm sorry!" He practically climbed into the man's chest, his little fingers clutching at Sirius' shirt.
"Baby boy, what are you sorry for?" Sirius asked quietly, stroking the back of Draco's head. "You didn't do anything wrong, no, don't think that." If anything, they'd failed him. "I'm the one who's sorry, kiddo."
Draco shook his head, refusing to look up. "They said you didn't want me anymore, but I knew they lied." He sniffled loudly, but didn't want to let go to wipe at his nose.
Remus, though elated at the boy's return, slipped wordlessly from the room after seeing Draco took quite easily to Sirius again. They deserved some time alone.
Sirius almost stopped him, but let him go. They'd have 'family' time, later, when they'd all had time to adjust to getting back to normal. Instead, he took the sleeve of his robe and gently wiped first at Draco's tearful eyes and then at his nose. A good cleaning charm would take care of that, though he could practically hear Lily in his head saying something parental. "They were wrong," he replied firmly, having known that's what they'd be filling the child's head with. "They were so, so wrong, my dragon. I missed you so much, you know that?"
"I missed you too, Daddy." Draco's cries were subsiding some though his eyes were still watery and his breathing was quick. "They tolded me Mummy and Daddy would think I'm real bad, but I don't care!" He tugged at Sirius' robes, a flash of anger in his grey eyes. "You're nice and Mummy musta liked you and other Daddy's MEAN and…" He stopped as his gasping got out of control again.
Carefully, Sirius held Draco close as he made his way to the couch in the sitting room, settling them both down. He needed to breathe, himself, and Draco still looked shaken. "Your mummy would never think you were bad," he soothed, trying to keep his calm though his own underlying anger matched Draco's. "She wanted you to have a good home where you'd be loved. You don't think she'd have let you come live with me if I didn't want you always with me, do you?"
Draco snuggled into Sirius and shrugged. "I dunno."
"Nope," he answered, trying to sound confident. "She knew that I'm a great big sappy goofball when it comes to people I love a bunch. And know what? I love you a whole bunch. Don't ever let anyone tell you otherwise, Draco, because I promise you, it won't be true."
Draco finally moved away enough to look up at his foster father. "I tried to come back, honest, I did! I didn't think they tolded me the right stuff cause I kept thinking about how nice you are to me."
Sirius smiled softly, quenching the anger that coursed through him. He'd have his say. But now he was just pleased his boy was back in his arms. "I know, little one, I know. We were all looking so hard, you know that? Uncle James and Aunt Lily...oh, she'll be happy to see you, won't she? She was very scared when you weren't there." He didn't even have it in him to be upset with her any longer. "And Mr. Frank and Miss Alice were out looking, too. You were a very important person, alright, doesn't sound like someone we didn't want anymore to me." Leaning in, he gave a playful nuzzle of Draco's neck, but didn't hesitate to pause and breathe in the purely little boy scent that he'd grown to take for granted.
Starting to feel better, Draco giggled and kissed Sirius' cheek. "He just came and grabbed me and I didn't have time to yell or nothing." He sighed. "Why didn't nobody come out?"
Guilt flooded him. "We tried. I promise, we tried. Lily was helping ViVi and by the time she was able to come back out, you were...you were gone." Sirius choked over the words, ashamed in himself for not having the ability to admit his own shortcomings more confidently. "You're okay? You're not hurt at all?" They were lucky, then. So incredibly lucky.
"I was real scared, Daddy." Draco went back to cuddling into Sirius, holding on tightly. "I couldn't sleep without Thorn and Cypress and no one hugged me night."
"Thorn and Cypress missed you, too," Sirius said, resting his cheek against the top of Draco's head. "Thorn was so sad he didn't even bite me when I fed him." He'd had to use the small animals as his reason to get up and do something productive. When Draco came back, and he'd been determined he would come back, he needed two happy, healthy puffeskins.
Grinning, Draco bounced up excitedly. "You fed them?"
"Course I did!" Sirius exclaimed, pretending to look appalled. "They can't go get it themselves, they live in a cage! Don't tell me you forgot?"
"No, but I know how mean Thorn can be to you and…" He hugged Sirius hard. "I love you VERY big, Daddy."
"Oh, Merlin, I love you very big, my boy. So very big. I'm so sorry, Draco." Sirius returned Draco's hug, holding him close. "I promise, I'll be here to give you good-night hugs right up until you start Hogwarts. Or unless you're spending the night with a friend, but even then, you get hugs before you go, got it?" Had he remembered to tell him he loved him before he'd gone to James and Lily's that morning? Sirius couldn't remember, and it burned thinking that he might not have.
"Why are you sorry, Daddy? You said it looked real hard." Draco smiled warmly, trying to make his daddy feel better. He touched Sirius' face lovingly. "It was a real big accident, right?"
Sirius nodded, wiping his own eyes with the shoulder of his robes. "A very big one. I...said I wouldn't let anyone hurt you again. I didn't.... Oi, I'm just really sorry, my boy. I love you, kiddo."
"You all got me again. It's okay, Daddy. Don't be sad. I still love you so big!" To prove his point, Draco squeezed Sirius, kissing the man's nose.
At that, Sirius couldn't help but chuckle. "Oh, kiddo, I missed those nose tickles. They're one of my favoritest things ever, did you know?"
"Even more than chocolate ice cream?"
"Even more than rocky road double fudge with extra marshmallows ice cream," Sirius confirmed, putting on his most intense expression and nodding.
"Hmmm. Sounds yummy." Draco cocked his head, a hopeful expression in his eyes.
It did sound good. But not good enough for him to risk taking the boy out so soon. Sirius didn't know the Death Eater who'd brought him back, and didn't know how it had all occured. But his eldest cousin never did like things being taken from her, and she was bound to be displeased. "Maybe tomorrow," he said with a tiny smile. "Dobby made all of your favourites for dinner because he was just so glad you were coming home. I think he missed you, too."
"Aw, Daddy, pleasssse?"
Sirius felt panic settle into his stomach and he reluctantly shook his head. "Sorry, little one. It's a little bit late for ice cream anyway. Promise, we'll go tomorrow." When there were hours of daylight and he could be with Draco consistently.
Draco groaned. "But why, Daddy? I'll be real good!"
"I know you will," Sirius admitted. It wasn't Draco he was worried about. "Well..." He might regret it. But if he held Draco's hand the whole time and if they dragged Remus along with them and maybe had Lily and James meet them with the kids so they'd have a crowd to hide in... "I guess you do deserve a special treat. And I deserve one for having my special boy back, huh?"
"Eeee, yes!" Draco screeched. Like most children, he so adored getting his own way. "Tell Uncle Remus! He's gotta come!"
"Of course he does," Sirius replied, willing to never take an eye off the little boy if it would make him that happy. That and, well, Sirius did have plans to spoil Draco ruthlessly from then on. "Remus!" he bellowed through the house, not even needing an amplifying charm. It was Sirius - he was plenty loud enough without it.
"Of course he does," Sirius replied, willing to never take an eye off the little boy if it would make him that happy. That and, well, Sirius did have plans to spoil Draco ruthlessly from then on. "Remus!" he bellowed through the house, not even needing an amplifying charm. It was Sirius - he was plenty loud enough without it.
Alarmed, Remus hurried out. "What---" Seeing the happy expressions, Remus realized everything was alright and softened his tone. "You bellowed?" He shook his head before joining the pair on the couch. He tickled Draco's side while looking at Sirius to speak.
"We," he began, pleading with Remus with his eyes to agree, "are making an ice cream run. Rocky road double fudge and extra marshmallow. Coming with?"
Remus was astonished Sirius had agreed to such a thing, but knowing how persistent Draco could be, Remus quickly got over his initial surprise. "Oh, are you now?" He winked at Draco who took the chance to climb over to Remus. "Please, Uncle Remus? Pretty pleassssse?"
Laughing, Remus squeezed the little boy close. "Oy, alright! Ice cream for everyone then!"
"See?" Sirius insisted, though Remus had never actually spoken his surprise. Rather, he knew his best mate, and knew he had every right to be suprised. "How can you say no to that? He's just so cute!" On the word 'cute', Sirius leaned in to tickle the child in Remus' lap.
"Not cute!" Draco giggled at the tickles, but puffed out his chest. "See? I'm a bloke! Girls are supposed to be cute!"
"Well, then he's our dashing grownup young man, clearly," Sirius answered, giving a smirk.
Remus snickered before covering Draco's cheek with kisses. "Who wants ice cream!"
Sirius stood up, raising both fists in the air. If he kept up a good attitude, maybe he'd get through this with no problem. "I do, I do!"
"Me too!" Draco scrambled up and off Remus' lap. "Let's go, let's go!"
Sirius scooped the boy up and plopped him on his shoulders. He'd lost weight. He just knew it. They'd have to work to get him back on track. "Come on, then, or maybe Remus is just too slow for ice cream, hmm?"
"Hey, no leaving the slow pokes behind!" Chortling happily, Remus stood, taking a moment to briefly squeeze Sirius' arm.
"Thanks," Sirius said softly, only loud enough for Remus to hear. He shot his friend a grateful look and led the way to the door, ducking so as not to brush Draco's head on the top.
Quite happy from his perch on Sirius' shoulders, Draco exclaimed, "Best family ever!"