Title: What they call home pt. 3|7 - Fresh start

Pairing: Post Azkaban!Sirius Black x Female!Lestrange!Reader

Word count: 1.9k

Published: 11 November, 2020

Author: Heloise Daphne Brightmore

Notes: This was written for ​@wand3ringr0s3's writing challenge on tumblr and also for a request I have received here on Wattpad by celina_yaxley . It was supposed to be a one shot, but it turned into a series somehow. I have been getting carried away these days.

Disclaimer: I have dug myself very deep into the Black and Lestrange family just to make sure that there were no incest in the story. I went back 300 years, until 1700 and I can confirm Blacks have not been related to the Lestranges, except Bellatrix Lestrange (nee Black) marrying Rodolphus Lestrange around 1968-70, pre-Wizarding War I. 

It was a week before Harry was about to leave and continued his studies in Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. But that was still a whole week away, which meant the boy was ready to watch your every step until then.

You walked into the drawing room with a hot cup of tea and a newspaper tugged under your armpit and took a seat on one of the sofas, right beside the fireplace which was unused for the last couple of months.

You started reading your newspaper, flipping through the pages as you were sipping your tea. Harry's presence didn't even hit you until he cleared his throat and watched you with a suspicious look. You turned to the boy and smiled at him, but he just squinted at your unusually friendly behaviour and stared at you even more vigorously.

"Anything to say, love?" You folded the paper and focused your attention on the boy as he kept his eyes on you. You didn't understand what to make of it, not like you could have attacked him with the newspaper or a cup of tea.

"Don't call me love." He groaned.

"Oh okay, sweetheart." You smirked, causing the boy's cheeks to heat up in frustration.

"Don't call me sweetheart." He replied as he folded his arms in front of his chest. Although Sirius and Harry have only known each other for a couple of months, he sure as hell learned his body language from his godfather.

"Not a problem, darling." You giggled.

"I asked you to stop." He flailed with his hands, your pet-names irritating him.

"Look, Harry. Can we please start again?" You stood up and walked towards the boy, reaching your hand out to him.

"You are a Lestrange. Your brother is married to Bellatrix, one of the most horrible death eaters." He concluded and whipped your hand away with the back of his hand.

"And your godfather is Bellatrix Lestrange's cousin, does that make him a bad person? I don't think so. And if we are at it already, let's not forget that your godfather would have loads of stories to share with you about his mischievous school years, my dear and not all of them are something he should be proud of." You tilted your head in an innocent manner, trying to make the boy understand that you weren't all that bad.

"Don't try to confuse him." Sirius stepped into the drawing room and leaned against the doorframe, his arms folded in front of him.

"I'm not confusing him. I wanted to start again, because he has been staring me down since I stepped foot in this place." You replied, your eyes however never leaving Harry's. You smiled as you watched the emerald green irises, reminding you of Lily. "You know, you are a carbon copy of your father, but your eyes-" before you could have continued, Harry cut in.

"They are my mother's." He said and you nodded.

"She was a very bright witch and an adorable person." You spoke as you heaved a deep sigh. "I'm sorry about your parents, Harry." You placed a hand on his shoulder, and he thanked you with a nod. "Come with me." You said as the boy studied you with a suspicious look. "Come on, boy. I'm not trying to kill you. Your godfather would have my head within seconds." You chuckled as you looked up at Sirius who shook his head disapprovingly.

As Harry stood up and followed you towards the stairs, you felt him watch every move of yours with curious eyes. He couldn't understand why you were trying to befriend him, but throughout the years he has learned that many have been craving his friendship only because of his fame.

As you walked into your room, you pulled your suitcase from under the bed and opened it to reveal a bunch of enchanted photos and keepsakes. Harry stood in the doorway with Sirius behind him, watching you as you messed up the luggage's content, looking for something.

"Here!" You squealed enthusiastically. You held up a crumpled-up envelope and gave it to Harry. He frowned as he took it from you. He removed a letter from the envelope as another paper dropped on the floor. He crouched down to pick it up, his eyes widening in surprise.

"This is me." He whispered as he held the photo. Little Harry was sleeping in your arms as Lily watched him with a wide and proud motherly smile across her face. "How?" He asked with a deep frown as he finally lifted his head and looked up at you, his green eyes full of questions and curiosity.

"Do you think your mother would have trusted me with you if I was a bad person?" You asked, but Harry didn't answer. His head fell forward, his eyes fixed on the photo in his hands as a single teardrop rolled down his cheek. "I heard about Peter. I guess that wasn't the right question." You scratched the back of your neck awkwardly.

"How?" He asked again, his voice even weaker than before.

"Your mother was a very dear friend of mine through Snape. As much as he and I had our issues back in school, I will always be grateful for him for introducing me to Lily." You smiled as the memories resurfaced. "We were friends back in school and kept in touch even after she married James and you were born. But your father hated me, I never had a good relationship with him and his friends, hence the reason I don't get along with your godfather." You chuckled lightly, which earned an eye roll from Sirius as he tried to force away the smile tugging at the corner of his lips. "This was the first and the last time I saw her after you were born and before she... before she was gone." You smiled painfully as you remembered back the day you laughed endlessly with the ginger woman, her eyes shining proudly as she watched her son.

"I am not asking you to welcome me in your life, I'm a stranger after all. But if there is even one logical reason for me not to ever dare lay a hand on you or wave my wand towards you, then it would be the friendship with your mother that I've always dearly treasured." You stood up from beside the bed and walked to Harry to take the photo from him. You reached your hand out, but the boy didn't move. You smiled as you realised why he hasn't given it back to you. "Would you like to keep it?" You asked as his head shot up, his eyes wide in surprise.

"Can I?" He asked and you nodded in agreement.

"Just take care of it." You said as you took the envelope from him but let him keep the photo. You walked back to your suitcase and closed it, before pushing it back under the bed.

"Thank you." Harry whispered and looked up at Sirius, before he quickly left. He ran to his room and loudly closed his door behind him.

"I never knew." Sirius spoke as he shook his head. "None of us knew." He added.

"James was especially against me, so we kept it away from you." You confessed and took a seat on the edge of your bed.

"Why did we hate each other back then?" Sirius asked as he walked into your room and sat down beside you. It felt like he was opening a door for you and you were ready to accept it.

"Why do you hate me now?" You asked with a cheeky grin.

"I don't hate you, but when you appeared, all the old memories resurfaced and in times like this, you don't really know who to trust. I trusted someone I thought to be my best friend and I ended up being incarcerated in Azkaban for 12 years." His eyes held so much pain, you couldn't even comprehend. You wanted to reassure him that you were not Peter, that you wouldn't betray him, but you were a nobody, you didn't have the right to say anything. You placed a hand on his shoulder and gently squeezed it.

"If it makes you feel any better, I never hated you, but your attitude made me want to rip my hair out. I guess you just annoyed me. Especially when all four of you walked around the castle like you owned it." You scoffed as you remembered your teenage years, the marauders giving a hard time to each and every teacher and student.

"We were just lively." Sirius smirked, earning a gentle punch on his shoulder from you. "Ouch, woman." He whined, as he rubbed the painful spot, but you just shook your head with a cheerful grin.

"That's what people say when they can't accept that they were a pain in the ass." You shrugged nonchalantly.

"If I was such a pain in the ass, I wouldn't have been so popular." He tried to reason with you, but you were having none of it.

"You were only popular, because you were good looking, Black." You said with a sceptical look, his eyes growing wider along with a cheeky grin. He slipped closer to you on the bed, making you slightly uncomfortable.

"So, you thought I was good looking." He wiggled his brows playfully, but you just rolled your eyes as you felt your cheeks slightly heat up. You didn't want to admit it, but he still was as charming as ever and still just as witty. You weren't even sure how that comment slipped out, but you were good at improvising, so you tried to save the situation before you embarrassed yourself completely.

"I've never denied that. But your insufferable attitude made up for it." You shrugged, trying to play it off with a composed and cool attitude.

"Am I still good looking?" Sirius attempted to get you flustered and he was seemingly successful.

"You are still insufferable." You giggled, before you abruptly covered your mouth at the sound of the school-girlish, love-sick giggle that left your lungs.

"That's not what I asked." He leaned closer, enjoying your blushing cheeks. He hasn't been around people much and your flustered behaviour entertained him.

"But that's what I answered." You replied as you cleared your throat and composed yourself again.

"You just don't dare to say it." He rolled his eyes as he allowed you to have your personal space back again.

"You have a big enough ego, we don't need it to grow further." You chuckled as you stood up and walked to the door. "Now if you don't mind, I would like to dress up, the Order members are coming soon." The door opened and you waited for Sirius to leave, but you couldn't miss the little twinkle in his stormy grey eyes. "Leave, Black." You chuckled and he finally stood up, heading out the door with a lopsided smile.

"If you need help dressing, just let me know." He smirked, which earned an eye roll from you.

"Shut up, Black." You scoffed as you closed your door, trying to hide your darkening blush. You walked back to the bed, flopping down on it, Sirius' face stuck in your memory.

He was always an interesting person in your eyes, even when you wanted to hex him out of school. There was just something mysterious in him and of course you could never deny his good looks and funny comments. You didn't necessarily find it annoying, maybe it was just the fact that he always said it to other girls, but you. Either way, now that you lived together, you couldn't wait to see how things would turn out. 

Notes: If you enjoyed it, don't forget to like and comment on the fic. Thank you :) I do not give permission to anyone to repost my fics!