Date: 13th May Location: Grimmauld Place Time: Late morning Characters: Sirius Black and Dora Tonks Rating: PG
In all families there were black sheep, relatives who everyone would prefer to simply leave off their family tree. But in Sirius' family it was the good ones that shone through, their names forever distinguished by the burned marks on his mother's tapestry. Andromeda, Dora and now Teddy were the last remaining members of his family - Sirius had gone to look at the family tree, seen the newly magically stitched baby face of Teddy. His cousin Narcissa was still alive, but since no burn marks surrounded her name he was given to assume that her loyalties lie as they had in 1981.
Sirius didn't want to argue with Dora, but after his conversation with Remus and looking at the tapestry he knew that he had to do something. Sirius would have been the first person to point out the folly of his families unfailing belief in their own importance, but this was different. It wasn't about loyalty, he wasn't choosing Remus over her.
Just because neither Remus nor Dora could remember Teddy's birth, it didn't mean they could leave him to Andromeda. Sirius knew that in the course of time Remus would embrace Teddy, but until then he needed his mother. Andromeda had been caring for the boy all this time, but that didn't mean she should have to keep doing it.
Sirius had considered saying that Teddy should come here; their combined experience of parenting was hardly great, but they'd manage. It was only for Remus' sake that he didn't. Either way, something had to be done.
He pulled on trousers beneath the t-shirt he'd been loping around in, and went to see if she was in the house.