The New Marauder

Twenty Five

The Three Broomsticks is one of the most beloved staples of the small, charming village of Hogsmeade. Everyone who has ever gone to Hogwarts has visited the loud, boisterous pub at least once during their seven years at school, including those who are inside, drinking, and laughing. Usually, the witches and wizards who live in Hogsmeade tend to drink until Rosmerta tosses them out in the wee morning hours. The reason for this particular weekend's rowdiness is the of-age students that attend the school will start their weekend trips to the village next weekend. So, as a last hoorah, Rosmerta has been very lenient on the drinks.
Yet, there was one who stood in the silent darkness of the village questioning himself at why he was even there. He was sure that the situation with his son was dealt with; however, there was a gut-wrenching feeling that called out to him, one that wouldn't go away until he saw with his own cool gray eyes that everything was okay, that his son was safe. However, when his feet touched the chilled cobblestone of the streets he used to roam with his three best friends, he froze. Staring at the Three Broomsticks, Sirius Black feels the cold sense of nostalgia fill his heart. The many times him and his friends had taken advantage of the Hogsmeade trips by spending many hours within the pub, joking and plotting different pranks on a certain Slytherin.
Letting out a huff, he decides to keep moving. He had told his wife that there was an issue at the Ministry that needed his attention, and he promised that he wouldn't be too long. The sooner he gets this over, the sooner he can return to her without raising any suspicion about where his true whereabouts were. He knew he was harsh not only to his best friend but also his wife. He didn't mean to, but the moment that letter touched his hand, he felt his entire world start to crumble.
In the beginning, it was challenging for him to thrust aside Orion in favor of having his wife back; however, he managed to do it even though it nearly tore him in two. Then the twins came, and he feared that she would suddenly remember having Orion, despite what the healers had said about her memory. The first few months, every time one of them cried, his heart would beat harshly in fear of those happy memories of him and Joanna fighting to tend to their son in the middle of the night resurfacing. And as time went on, he had hoped that his brother and friends would enroll him at Ilvermorny due to the distance. Yet here he is, walking the familiar beaten path to the Shrieking Shack in order to check on his son, then have a talk with his old Professor.
It took no time at all in his animagus form to traverse the dark winding tunnel that leads out to the famous Whomping Willow. However, the entire time Sirius tried not to think of how many times he, James, and their lost friend Peter took this same tunnel to soothe the one that betrayed them all. How Remus could do it he doesn't know, all he knows is that it was Fenrir Greyback who was one of the Death Eaters who helped his cousin take his wife from a place to which only a few knew about, Remus included. When questioned during the many trials, he talked about Remus and their misdeeds to the innocent. His testimony alone helped drive home Remus's betrayal that earned him a lifelong stint in Azkaban. However, he and James thought he was innocent up until he was found behind the killings of Peter and twelve innocent muggles. The ex-best friend of the two was tossed into Azkaban not moments after James had gotten dispatched to the chaotic streets of London to help secure the werewolf.
"Mr. Black, you shouldn't be here," Professor McGonagall says, rushing to walk beside him as he reaches the Hospital Wing.
Jumping a bit at the sternness of his old professor's tone, he couldn't help but roll his eyes. "I wouldn't be here if I had not gotten the letter," Sirius replies dryly, pushing the two wooden doors open.
"Madam Pomfrey sent that out before I could stop her," she breathes out as they take in the small form sound asleep on one of the many white hospital beds. "As you can see, Orion is fine. Her Uncle has agreed that she will be kept here until tomorrow afternoon for—"
"Her? She?" Sirius balks. "Orion is a—"
"Girl," McGonagall cuts him off firmly giving him a look that dare him to challenge her.
"That's not possible," he shakes his head trying to hide the shiver of fear that races down his spine, stepping closer to the occupied bed.
"It is when family members have children with family members," Madam Pomfrey says, stepping out of her office to see what the commotion is about. "She isn't the first one nor will she be the last one with this condition."
"Joanna and I are not family," Sirius  spits out, feeling disgusted with the accusation.
"No, but your ancestors were when they married," Madam Pomfrey snarks back. "I have gone through her medical records from her visits from the muggle healers extensively before she came here, and I find that their results are valid, Mr. Black."
Instead of answering, Sirius steps next to the child, his heart going wild as he takes in the one who looks like an exact copy of his wife. "She's beautiful," he whispers brokenly to himself, allowing the guilt of leaving her with her Uncle to swallow him into their endless depths for the briefest of moments.
"She is. Inside and out," he hears McGonagall agree as his eyes drift to a familiar-looking parchment that was lost long ago, tucked under a stack of folded-up clothing.
To others, this parchment would mean nothing; to him, it was proof him and his friends knew Hogwarts better than anyone ever could. Feeling a proud smile form on his lips, he conjures a small bit of parchment along with a quill. Taking it in his trembling hands, he doesn't hesitate to write vague instructions on how to access the hidden map. He knows it is not much, but maybe he can use this to be in his daughter's life in some shape or form.
Every day since his first argument with his best friends, Sirius has worn a mask of indifference when it came to Orion. There was a moment of weakness three months after he found his wife; it was a few nights after they had finished with healers at St. Mungos that his will crumbled, and he visited Forks, Washington, healers be damned. It took not even an hour of watching his child with those who cared for him to realize that he couldn't tear Orion away from the family they had built. The love that shone through his brother's warm eyes whenever they looked at Orion. He knew that the life they had originally planned for in Britain was lost the moment Bellatrix took Joanna.
Letting out a choked breath, he tucks the small bit of parchment into the center fold before slipping the mask back on. "Unless you need me to save her life, please make sure to contact her registered guardians," Sirius states firmly, stealing one last glance at his firstborn, then storms from the Wing, trying to keep the shattered remains of his heart together.