Chapter 2
━━━━━━━━ ✥ ━━━━━━━━

SIRIUS BLACK WAS NEVER ONE TO FOLLOW RULES. He opened an ear to the adults who told him what to do, carefully listening to every single word. And then proceeded to do the exact opposite. With parents and a brother who didn't stand by his side, it felt as though the only way he could be true to himself was if he did the opposite of what they told him.

He carried this habit throughout his adolescence, going as far as to disobey even the teachers he actually respected. Not because he wanted to be different from them, as he did with his family. But because it was what made him Sirius Black, and if he could stay true to at least one of his names, 'Defiance' was better than 'Black'.

But that insouciant lifestyle of his didn't last. How could it? Thrust into a war the second he stepped foot out of the safety of Hogwarts Castle, Sirius had no choice but to join a faction and follow orders.

And wasn't that one of his biggest mistakes?

A mistake that cost him a brother and just maybe his own sanity.

━━━━

To say Remus was worried was an understatement. He lost count on the number of letters he wrote to Adhara ever since the end of term. Remus had gone to Kingscross that day to bring her and Harry to see Sirius, but it was as though the girl had simply vanished.

So, Remus had begun to write to her, and he knew that Harry was writing to her too. They sent her letters in both the muggle way and the witch's way, and yet received no response back.

Until today.

One letter. With one single sentence.

I don't want to live with you.

It didn't make any sense.

Remus had seen her hands, he saw her boggart. It didn't make sense that Adhara would want to stay at Aleyne. Her letter had made Remus' stomach drop.

Sirius wasn't happy about the letter either, but the man refused to show it. But Remus knew.

The man had gone quiet when the letter arrived, his jaw going tight for a single millisecond, but Remus had noticed. Sirius uttered a simple "It's settled then," then turned into Padfoot and disappeared for a few hours.

But Remus didn't want to accept it. It took all of his willpower not to march down wherever she lived just to make sure she was okay.

But that would be inappropriate. Strange, if not anything else. Because who was he to Adhara but simply a teacher from school? She was merely a student to him.

She and Harry both. Nothing but two old students of his.

Yet, a common thread of worry ran through his thought, binding his concerns for Adhara and Harry tightly together.

━━━━

Sirius pushed back his clean hair, ruffling it and adjusting it over and over again in front of the mirror. He did it too many times already, and now every direction looked wrong to him, and he knew it because of the way Remus was staring him down, all judgemental.

There was a silent question that hovered in the air between them. A question Sirius grasped between longing looks and wondering eyes, yet the question still remained unsaid.

But there was another question that was on Remus' mind, Sirius could tell. He saw it in the way Remus hesitated to speak every time Harry or Adhara were mentioned, especially when the subject of custody was brought up.

"You're going to get Harry?"

"That's the plan." He owled him just yesterday. Sirius would have gone right after the trial, but his limbs felt heavy and he could barely move.

And then they received Adhara's letter and it reminded him too much of Regulus' refusal for Sirius to want to feel anything so he decided not to and roamed around as Padfoot all evening.

I don't want to go with you, Sirius.

There was a mild throbbing at the back of his skull, sending muffled waves all the way to his ears. Numb and painless it was, but it wouldn't go away, and Sirius had accepted long ago that it never will. It was a sensation that he had carried with him for the past twelve years, and it might just stubbornly hold onto him for the rest of his life.

Some days the throbbing overcame him until he couldn't hear a thing, and other days, it was so mild that Sirius forgot that it was even there. He wished he knew how to keep it that way, but the thing seemed to have a mind of its own, controlling him like a puppet instead of the other way around.

On those days, when the guilt and pain overcame his other senses, all he could think about was James and Lily. About how he killed his brother and ruined his godson's life.

"And Adhara?"

"She made herself quite clear on the matter, I think."

"And you're fine with that?"

Well, no. But—

The summer he escaped, Sirius remembered the first time he caught sight of Harry's smile. It made him look more like Lily than James at that moment. It brought a smile just as wide to Sirius' face.

But then he looked to Harry's side and saw the girl standing next to him. And the smile fell right away.

Dread. Fear. Guilt. Whatever the feeling was, it rooted itself in Sirius' gut, blooming all the way to his throat and tied itself into a knot, preventing him from uttering a single word.

That girl looked too similar to Regulus.

"She's fine. She's safe," Sirius reminded Remus.

Unlike Harry. Because the way the kid's eyes lit up at the prospect of living with a stranger wasn't normal. Because his eagerness to leave his relatives wasn't normal. Because the fact that Harry's collarbones poked out, like his own, was not normal.

And Adhara. Well, Adhara was safe. Narcissa Malfoy might be a bigoted bitch, but she wasn't one to kids. And as long as Adhara was a Slytherin, even Lucius Malfoy might tolerate her presence.

So, yes. Adhara was safe with the Malfoys. But Sirius had a gut feeling that Harry wasn't with the Dursleys.

"Sirius," started Remus, his eyes desperate, "I don't think Adhara's safe."

That couldn't be possible. Sirius let down one brother, already. He let James die, he let Lily die, and he ruined Harry's life.

Regulus, on the other hand, chose his own path. He was the one who decided to become a Death Eater, he's the one who left a child with their cousin and disappeared, without even telling him. He had to find out through the fucking paper.

Sirius ran away, he chose his path, and Regulus chose his—

Pain and guilt that buried itself underneath more pain and guilt unearthed in mere seconds. Bringing a bitter taste to his tongue to the otherwise sweetness that he got from the word brother.

Adhara didn't have Regulus' eyes but one look at her smile and Sirius' mind was flooded with images of his little brother, and he couldn't breathe anymore.

His head started throbbing again, his ears were ringing, muffling out every other sound, and he didn't know what to do.

Sirius didn't know what to do.

━━━━

But maybe, just maybe, this is where he could start.

One look at Harry and Sirius realised that his doubts didn't matter. Actually, he realised he couldn't afford to doubt himself.

Because he was an adult, in charge of two kids. And whether he liked it or not, it was time he took responsibility for that.

Harry stood there with his clothes all drenched, and a look in his eye that told him that the kid was surprised to see him.

And well, that wasn't right.

"Harry."

"Sirius. What – what are you doing here?"

The kid's curls were sticking to his forehead, doing nothing to hide the obvious remnant of a black eye.

Sirius' expression soured. He wasted no time to approach his godson, taking Harry's face between his hands. He swiped a thumb underneath the bruise, frowning at the mere existence of it.

With a voice so soft that even Sirius was surprised he could manage, he spoke, "What happened?"

Harry still looked shocked. "I was – I was cleaning out the shed."

Sirius looked outside, eyeing the wooden heap of junk in the backyard.

"You couldn't wait until the rain stopped?"

"I–"

"Could you hurry it up!" came the croaking voice of who Sirius assumed was Vernon Dursley, "The boy's making a mess in the kitchen!"

He was behind Sirius, somewhere. Out of sight but definitely still in the kitchen with Harry and him. Petunia Dursley was somewhere near too, although she hadn't said anything to them other than to confirm that she indeed did recognize Sirius when she saw him.

Sirius couldn't see either of them right now, though. And maybe that was a good thing.

Harry looked down when he heard his uncle speak, but Sirius brought the boy's attention back on him. He continued to speak softly.

"You seem surprised to see me. Though, I'm certain I sent an owl yesterday to tell you I was coming to get you."

Harry's eyes went wide for a millisecond before going back to normal. He looked over Sirius' shoulder to peek at his uncle.

"Oh. Umm. They chase the owls away when they show up."

Sirius blinked. He took a deep breath before caressing Harry's cheek one last time and letting him go. He held onto his godson by his shoulders and addressed the gruff man.

"You chased away my owl?"

Vernon Dursley sniffed. "Of course, I did. Those lousy things keep making a mess on the roof and attract too much unfavourable attention."

"And how was I to contact my godson if you cut our only means of communication?"

"Doesn't sound like my problem! Do you people not know about the telephone?" he scoffed. "Figures. Being all backwards that you lot are."

"You don't like them calling either, though," mumbled Harry.

Sirius turned back to his godson, swiping a curl away from his face.

"You – you said you were coming to get me?" started Harry. "Were you telling the truth? You're going to take me away from here?"

"Yeah? Of course. Didn't I say that back at the Hospital?"

Harry sighed in relief. "Yes, you did. But I just. I thought – never mind. What matters is that you're here, right now. I've been waiting all summer for this!"

Sirius smiled, he couldn't help it. "Alrighty then. Let's go get all your stuff, where's your bedroom?"

Harry paused, eyes shifting back to his feet. "Umm – well. Hedwig is upstairs...and some clothes. But my trunk is in the cupboard under the stairs."

"What?" Sirius frowned. "Why is it there?"

From behind him, he heard Petunia scoff out loud. She spoke firmly for the first time that afternoon. "Of course we keep those things locked up! The boy already wanders around our home as is it, we don't need any other freakish things polluting the house!"

Harry curled in on himself at the words. Sirius completely froze, letting the implications of that statement sink in.

Defiance may be what made him Sirius, but the glare he threw at the woman at that moment was what made him a Black.

━━━━

When he stepped foot out of Number Four Privet Drive for what he hoped was the last time, Harry couldn't help but throw one last glance at his aunt. He didn't know why he did it. Harry stopped expecting anything from them a long time ago, he knew what he would get and hoping for more only resulted in heartache.

Still, Harry couldn't help but look at Aunt Petunia, one last time. Maybe it was because there was once a time, when Harry was still quite innocent and didn't understand much, he believed her to be his mother. Because what else was he supposed to think about the only female figure in his life?

Harry looked his aunt in the eye, and the woman held his gaze. Harry didn't expect anything. He didn't expect anything at all. Thus, he wasn't surprised to not find anything in his aunt's eyes. No remorse, no guilt, nothing.

Harry broke away first, leaving Privet Drive for good.

━━━━

There was a kid in the Furnace Room. Matron dragged the girl down there last night, and it seemed as though the woman had no intention of letting her out any time soon.

Her mistake? Adhara didn't know. She wasn't there when Matron sentenced her.

Adhara was hiding. Sometimes in her room, sometimes in the attic. Most of the time, she just camped in Yaritza's bedroom.

She wasn't there when the kid was sentenced. She didn't know what exactly could have happened. But Adhara could guess.

The orphanage was uncomfortably hot these days. Kids went and left the Furnace Room one after the other, not letting the fire rest for even a second.

Matron's bad mood was starting to reflect on the children. Normally, it was every kid for themselves. But even then, no one ever bothered to put someone else in trouble.

You don't snitch on others, for they can always get back at you.

But apparently, that law was now lost.

Matron made sure there was always someone keeping the furnace. And with Matron growing angrier, desperation amongst the children grew. The laws shifted, and a new one was established.

As long as it isn't me, it's fine.

This new law appeared even before the Hogwarts kids arrived, which, unfortunately, left them all at a disadvantage.

The ones who stay behind when the rest of them go off to school, as in the younger muggleborns and the squibs, had already formed groups. Most of them had already had their fair share of nights down in the Furnace Room. And they decided that it was now time for them to take a break.

More specifically, Jakob Gamp, a squib who would've been in third year in September, was pulling strings here and there to stay out of the Room.

And so far, his victims have all been muggleborns.

Adhara only had to make sure she stayed hidden.

━━━━

The days after they brought Harry home, Sirius started to panic.

Remus held him together, as tightly as he could because after twelve years away from humans, Sirius has become touch-sensitive. And although the medi-witches and wizards' left him flinching, Remus was safe and he was keeping him from unravelling altogether.

"I'll become just like her."

"No, you won't," softly reminded Moony.

"I'll crack. Just like she did."

"You are not your mother, Pads."

"Bella did. After years at Azkaban, she cracked. I'm next."

"No, you aren't."

━━━━━━━━ ✥ ━━━━━━━━

A/N I honestly have no excuses for posting this so late. Sirius is more difficult to write than anticipated.