Vote and comment, please, lift up my mood. And yo witches and wizards, let's welcome Sirius back to the story!

Back in Dumbledore's office, Sirius was fuming, sharp rage radiating from him. The thick silence was only broken by the impatient drumming of his fingers on the round table.

Feeling heavy, Sirius wanted to crush everything of any value to Dumbledore, as minimal payback for his now squashed heart.

"Harry must not see you mad at me like this," said Albus, risking a peek at the Black heir, but that only amplified fuel to the flames of fury.

Sirius stared brazenly into his calm blue eyes that held the depth of magical mysteries, trying to silence the volcanic anger storming inside him by mentally counting to ten.

Dumbledore had asked Sirius to not reveal the end result of their discussion to Harry, at least for now, to which Sirius already felt a tormenting fit of regret for accepting in the first place.

"Fine," replied Sirius curtly, clenching his teeth that a muscle along the edge of his jaw twitched.

He tore his glare from Dumbledore when a door knock reached his eardrums, and in came Harry.

Concern outweighing his pain, Sirius instantly felt a smile coming over his face at the mere sight of his godson. Seeing Harry tense up, Sirius sighed bitterly at himself.

"Harry, if you don't mind, I ask you to tell us everything that happened yesterday before you went off to the ministry," said Dumbledore, jerking his chin at the prophecy in Harry's hand. "Lemon drop?" He asked, clearing his throat, to which Harry shook his head.

Harry began his tale, without any interruption, taking wild turns from the vision of Sirius being tortured to floo-calling him before flying on the Thestrals, all the way to his fearful and helpless encounter with the deatheaters.

"That voice, it was you?" Sirius had broken in breathlessly, mentally hitting himself for not checking the floo for flying heads.

If only... if only Sirius knew what that entailed, lives could have been spared. Sirius failed in saving himself and others tons of pain, unknowingly giving grief the upper hand.

Harry nodded, recalling how desperate he had been. "You heard me, then why didn't you answer back?"

Harry already blamed himself for not talking to his godfather in months, long tormenting months. Not even a single letter was sent, though he knew how much they both needed it.

In his defense though, Harry had been acting on the worry of losing his godfather to the incompetent authority of such a blind ministry.

The loss of ties had been initiated by Harry sharply shutting Sirius away, back when he'd offered to break-out from his prison-like house to visit them for the last Hogsmeade weekend... just like any normal guardian would have the right to, but for Sirius, it wasn't even an option.

Ever since then, Harry didn't hear from Sirius at all.

Regardless of everything, Harry had still held the belief that Sirius would always be there for him, even if the ties of reaching out to each other were weak and faintly caught by a thin line.

But here he was, having Sirius flatly admit of intentionally ignoring the yearning voice calling out for him.

"Just so you know, I wasn't mad at you... as a matter of fact, I've never been," replied Sirius, feeling his chest tighten against his voice.

Harry remained silent, his eyes still reflecting immense hurt.

"Harry, at that time, I was calling you through the two-sided mirror," said Sirius, shaking his head with a frown of pain.

Dumbledore mused how magical it was that at the precise moment of feeling inexplicable danger back then, they were both craving to hear from each other, yet from opposite ends.

"The-- what mirror?" Harry asked, genuine confusion ringing in his voice.

"You-- you didn't open the wrapper I gave you, when you left after Christmas... why?" Sirius asked, his eyebrows knitting together seriously, trying not to show how let-down he was.

"Oh, sorry," replied Harry, realizing what an idiot he really was. "I just didn't want to give you anymore reason to come all the way to hex Snape."

"Professor Snape, Harry... titles given shouldn't be taken away, no matter the case." Dumbledore spoke for the first time, after doing a lot of listening.

"Sorry to disappoint you, but titles ought to be earned," said Sirius, rounding on Dumbledore.

Harry stifled a chuckle, badly covered up by a cough.

"What was it this time?" Sirius asked his godson, rolling his eyes. "Snivellus has enough on his record anyway."

Sirius could almost feel Dumbledore's eyes burning a hole into the back of his head, but he couldn't care less.

"Just forget it," replied Harry, shrugging, a smirking shadow of amusement hinting its way across his face.

Taking Harry's words at heart, Sirius had a new thought of more importance taking over his mind.

***
"Why did you run off to the ministry like this?" Sirius asked, drawing in a sharp breath.

"It may have escaped your notice, Sirius, but you're the only family I have left," said Harry, feeling a warm glow spread into his heart, to which Sirius shook his head.

"You shouldn't have risked your life, Harry... not even for me," said Sirius, feeling his lungs tighten over themselves. "I am not worth it."

Sirius felt a surge of bitter guilt in his gut, being reminded yet again that he was the real reason Harry was stuck in mortal danger... and not far behind, his godson was even caught from falling by none other than death itself, because of him.

Harry shook his head and looked ready to argue till his last breath.

"It's not your role, at all, to try and save everyone," said Sirius quietly, looking around distractedly.

"Oh, but it is," replied Harry at once, before a flicker of disappointment took over his eyes. "And I thought you, of all people, understood that, without even asking for an explanation."

Sirius couldn't deny that yes, he had always pushed Harry forward, but being slapped by how close he was to his godson's death, the only truth there's, rolled his pathway further away.

"Besides, what have you done, Sirius?" Harry counter-argued, his eyes narrowed into slits. "You took the exact same risk I've taken, to get me out of there."

Sirius chose to reply in his mind, along the lines of how willing he was to give the world, if he could, for his godson even if it's the last thing he'd ever do.

"You knew the Order would survive without you, yet you still chose to go... just to prove to yourself that you're not a coward." Harry carried on, his voice falling on the spectrum of accusation.

Deep down in the darkest corner of his mind, Harry reckoned that Sirius was only acting on Snape's past accusation of losing all the Gryffindorian bravery he once possessed, being confided in his old parents' house.

Just as soon as the words had departed his lips though, Harry hoped there was something more pushing Sirius to save him than just that.

Little did Harry know that Sirius wouldn't have survived with himself, knowing that his godson was in desperate need of him, if he was forced to do nothing in fighting the demonic warriors to shield Prongs' son.

Sirius was even slightly hurt now that someone close to him used an insecurity against him, throwing a bitter word in the middle: a coward. But something inside Sirius was surely positive that Harry didn't mean to make his godfather feel bad about himself.

At long last, Sirius replied in a heavy voice. "That's not entirely right, Harry. You were the reason I disregarded the threat of my situation."

There were many lines of boundaries he couldn't have ever crossed, until that moment Sirius took the bridge to the edge of death, blind-folded.

If Sirius was ever destined to feel alive once again, he knew at the moment he had to save his godson from a terrible fate, as a prerequisite, he'd have to overcome the worry of his own survival first.

Harry offered him a reassured smile, a spark of hope etched on his face.

***
"I know, but still, you could have been sent back to Azkaban, or worse..." Harry fell silent, unable to carry on, and just looked at Sirius in the eyes.

"Hey, are you saying I am reckless?" Sirius asked, his voice serious, drawing a threatening eyebrow on his poker-face.

"Well, you have all the ingredients of being one," replied Harry a bit hesitantly, shuffling his feet.

Sirius barked with laughter, shaking his head fondly at Harry. "More reckless than I dare or even care to admit, if you ask me."

Harry was filled with an inner peace that came after the tight knot in his stomach had slowly dissolved into nothingness.

"Says the person who is blaming me for trying to save him," said Harry, his voice burning with sarcasm.

Sirius frowned once again, and his eyes glazed over with a far away look, as though remembering something he dreaded. "You don't understand--"

"If I had to, I'd do the same thing all over again," said Harry, with a twinkle of determination bright in his eyes.

"NO-- stOP! Please, do you have any idea how I felt back then?" Breathing heavily, Sirius left himself to the speechless pain that had reached the highest point of explosion. "I thought I'd lost you, forever... you even died in front of me, fell into my arms."

The agony ringing in Sirius' words sent shivers down Harry's spine.

Sirius squeezed his eyes shut, shaking his head a fraction, fighting against the mental image drawn by the paint-brush of his thoughts. "I don't want to repeat this, ever again, and you're not helping me."

The air was thick with the unspoken, clouding over them with intense mental darkness, leaving the revealed words to shatter hearts.

Guilt bounced from the walls and flushed through all occupants of the room... Even Dumbledore, who both Sirius and Harry had forgotten about his presence with them, blamed himself for knowing that Harry's fate was marked with a second, not far away, death.

Even though Harry never meant to leave him in any pain, he kept tearing Sirius apart, pressing with an extra bit of salt.

Understanding dawned in Harry's eyes. "Sirius, I didn't think, just..." said Harry, feeling sad to the bones, crouching to Sirius' level.

Sirius only nodded, a soul-crushing sigh blocking his lungs.

"Kreacher said you weren't even coming back, at all... that's what blocked my mind," said Harry, biting his lower lip, forcing his thoughts aside.

Dumbledore opened his mouth to say something but soon enough thought against it. Sirius glanced up at his godson, a frown of confusion taking over his expression.

"I couldn't just wait and watch his words come true, so I had to do something, anything," said Harry, feeling the same desperate loss he had fallen into, back when panic became all he knew.

"How did you convince the others to go along with you?" Dumbledore interrupted, a bit disappointed. "To be honest, I expected more from Ms. Granger to stop you."

"I didn't want anyone to come with me! I was afraid for them too, as much as I was desperate to get there," replied Harry hotly, getting to his feet, unable to bear the undertone of accusation for being selfish. "I just had to save Sirius, even if alone."

Dumbledore got the answer he dreaded: Harry, much like Sirius himself, couldn't have helped but leave his emotions cloud his judgment.

"You're right though, it's my fault... risking lives and causing pain to everyone." Harry continued, his jaw trembling when his eyes fell on Sirius.

Sirius never wanted Harry to blame himself, just hoped he wouldn't rush to trouble without a moment of thought... truth be told, Sirius didn't want his godson to fall into the reckless trap he himself had been dumped in.

"Now seriously, Potter, what part of 'not everything is your fault' isn't getting through?" Sirius asked, slightly amused, to which Harry cracked a smile.

For the flash of a nostalgic and an equally agonizing moment, Sirius felt like speaking to his old friend again for the first time in years.

***
"Speaking of which, Kreacher owes you both an apology, as much sincere as he could make it," said Dumbledore, his face grave.

"Does he now, had he grown soft in your presence?" Sirius asked and couldn't help but snort. "Never since I was a child, had he possessed the ability to talk in a civil manner, let alone apologize... not to me anyway."

"Why should he apologize, though?" Harry asked, before Sirius could resume.

"Ah, thanks for asking, m'boy," said Dumbledore, smiling at Harry before heaving a sigh.

Albus weighed his words carefully in revealing that Kreacher intended to get Sirius out of the way, by injuring Buckbeak... so that when Harry would call for his godfather, Sirius would be nowhere to be seen or heard from.

"But why would Kreacher do that?" Harry asked, shell-shocked, not noticing how wild Sirius' eyes were now.

Surely, Kreacher wasn't as selfless and caring as Dobby, Harry reckoned, but he couldn't be that bad to hand them over so easily.

"Carrying on the wishes of dear Bellatrix, the last of Blacks he still held some respect to," replied Dumbledore, glancing at Sirius who was breathing heavily. "He opened up, to which she found value in... alas, nothing against the Order, but all against both of you."

"Against us?" Harry echoed, with an alertness in his eyes behind the glasses that sat crookedly on his nose.

Soon enough, Harry's chest bubbled with fear at how firm Sirius' jaw was set. Harry even took a step backward when Sirius stormed off from his seat.

"Dumbledore, you better ensure I don't see him from that moment on. If that slime ball of an elf ever crosses my path again--" Sirius roared from the running flow of rage, before the next words came out in a steady yet deadly low voice. "I won't even think twice before transforming him into a dead corpse, just so you know."

Of all the despised hatred Sirius had held for the demented elf, ever since his childhood, forcing Harry to walk along with death counted as the last straw that broke the camel's back.

"Aha, that's exactly why Kreacher betrayed you!" Dumbledore began angrily, before calming his nerves. "You failed to recognize that an elf has feelings too, just like any of us. He yearned for nothing but respect, especially after his true master he'd rather die for left him alone."

Sirius looked away, and there was something in his eyes that Harry could only point out as regret for mistreating the elf after it's too late... but what Sirius truly felt held much more self-torture, for the brother he lost.

Harry's worry aggravated even further with the forced fading of sadness from his godfather's eyes, knowing that for whatever reason, it was now unleashing sharp kicks on his ribs in silence.

***
"Now, the respect you never gave Kreacher was found with someone else, who admittedly deserves a degree of excellence in manipulation," continued Dumbledore flatly.

"Against us?" Harry repeated, his intense unease magnifying.

"I am afraid so." The headmaster sighed in response, a frown prominent on his face. "Bellatrix received information on the nature of your relationship, knowing that what Sirius cares most about in the world is you, Harry."

"But any fool would know that," interjected Sirius, huffing in irritation.

"And vice versa," Dumbledore carried on, not acknowledging the interruption. "What made you, Harry, run to danger with open arms was the threat put on your godfather... even if this time, it wasn't real."

Sirius was close to catch on the message, Harry not far behind.

"What holds them back from trying again then, after their last attempt failed?" Sirius asked in a barely audible voice, fear falling upon him like ice bricks from head to toe.

"A word of caution is in order, that's all," said Dumbledore, hoping to reassure them, while silently musing on the protective precautions to be taken.

"Oh, I don't know what I could've done without you. Just a word of caution you say, what a great input!" Sirius blurted out, his lips spilling with hostile sarcasm.

"Sirius--" hissed Harry trying to stop his godfather, holding his arm, to which Sirius' tense muscles relaxed and his eyes no longer deathly.

"Harry, just-- give him the prophecy," demanded Sirius, wanting to get this over with, while working on his temper to roll its way down from the edge.

Harry obliged, walking closer to Dumbledore who sat on the chair behind his authentic desk. "I am sorry, Professor," he mumbled, handing the glowing circle to his mentor.

Dumbledore nodded with a grateful smile, marvelling at the respect Harry held for him. "Thank you, and stay safe, please."

Harry glanced at Sirius who inclined his head toward the door, after tearing a glare away from Dumbledore though unnoticed by Harry.

Once Harry departed the room, Dumbledore spoke in a pain-filled voice, without looking away from the prophecy that shone the aging lines on his face.

"Keeping secrets from those we care about the most comes out, in the end, for their own good... for the greater good."

Sirius wasn't positive if he had heard something he was not supposed to. Forcing his limbs to give the old man the privacy he deserved, Sirius could almost hear him sigh behind the door he'd just walked out from.

***
Sliding down the steps before the stone garagoyle, Sirius placed a hand on Harry's shoulder out of instinct, but Harry flinched with apprehension of his thoughts that had been eating him up.

"A wise man once told me, fear makes people do terrible things," stammered Harry, already engaging in self-blame for what he's about to utter.

"Sirius, you just don't want me to fight back, because you're merely afraid of losing me." Harry carried on, averting his gaze to the ground.

Sirius stopped dead in his tracks, his left eye twitching. He faced his godson, not knowing from where to start.

"I am not afraid as before... I am afraid even more," said Sirius, fighting against the lump in his throat.

"I know you said fear is not a crime, but--"

"But even being terrified to death would still never make me hide behind the defensive walls or shield you with fake branches of safety," said Sirius, placing both hands on his shoulder.

"Sirius, I--" Harry was cut off once again.

"Besides, I despise the dark side way more than you do. It physically took my life away, killed me with a cold blade over the years. And, trust me, if it were in my hands, I'd choose to die in the battlefield, not laying on a deathbed." Sirius spoke with great passion that even a senseless person could feel.

The damped loss and inflamed suffering Sirius encountered throughout his life were more than enough to push him forward with the needed fuel to eradicate the darkness he was born into against his will.

"Fighting, not hiding, Harry," said Sirius, not as powerful as he intended, knowing that he had been forced to spend most of his life in hiding.

Harry sniffed, feeling the silver of truth seeping from his voice.

"Please, don't think of me as a hypocrite or a coward," continued Sirius, blinking to adjust his vision that was clouded by tears. "I am not, Harry."

"I never said you were--" began Harry, shaking his head.

"Listen, you do what you do best, do what you must. Save the world, you chosen one," said Sirius, weakly offering him a half-hearted grin. "But in return, allow me to save you, that's all I am asking, because there's no world without you, Harry."

... There's no life without you, Harry. His heart coming out as heavy, Sirius recalled uttering these very same words in front of Harry's lifeless body... yesterday, back when he thought he had just lost everything worth living for, with unbearable pain consuming his very existence.

At the prospect of him --Harry Potter, the saviour of the world-- finally finding someone that much desperate to not even question sacrificing his life for him, Harry wrapped his arms around his godfather's waist, forever thankful for feeling loved.

"Thank you," whispered Harry, his voice melting into the embrace.

Hope you enjoyed it, lovelies :D

I am not sure how soon the next chapter will come to the light. blame the Nargles or what's commonly known as writers block. My mind is truly far from peaceful and I am going through a hard time, so please just be patient.

Repeat and make it beat, vote and comment please.

Also, what do you think is Sirius Black's greatest flaw?

Happy Valentine's day, an early one at that. Whether you've recently been told or not, you are loved... so loved, just the way you are.