Jupiter | Harry James Potter

xx ; bad idea

A/N

redid the cover, how we feel?

-

"Sorry about the bite." Sirius said to Ron as we walked down the tunnel.

"A bit?" Ron scoffed from in front of us. "A bit? You almost tore my leg off!"

"I was going for the rat. Normally, I have a very sweet disposition as a dog. In fact, more than once, James suggested that I make the change permanent. The tail, I could live with, but the fleas..." Sirius said, as he looked to Harry and I. "They're murder."

Harry and I looked at each other, both of us holding back a small laugh as we ducked under a tree root. Who would've thought that Sirius Black had a few jokes?

Seeing Sirius in the papers, and in the ball, and even in the Shrieking Shack had sent a chill down my spine, but now as we walked through the tunnel together, I felt almost safe around him.

I could barely see him, but the sound of his voice was comforting and familiar to me. Somewhere, deep inside my brain, I could remember it.

"You know what this means?" Sirius asked as we made slow progress through the tunnel. "Turning Pettigrew in?"

"You're free." Harry answered.

"Yes..." Sirius sighed. "Jupiter, I'm not sure if you know..."

"I know." I said, nodding my head reassuringly even though he probably couldn't see it.

"I just wanted to say, I'm truly sorry. Not just for having to leave you, but also for who you were left with. Moony tried to take you after..." Sirius said, his voice trailing off. "But the Ministry didn't think a werewolf should've had you alone. And I heard that my old friend, Mary Macdonald tried to get you and Harry both, but she didn't have enough relation, I suppose."

"It's not your fault." I sighed, my eyes falling to the dirt below me. "I know that now."

"I beg to differ. I convinced Lily and James to make Peter their secret keeper. Thought Voldemort would never suspect it." Sirius muttered as he watched Pettigrew's constricted body lead us out of the tunnel.

"You were just trying to keep them safe." Harry reasoned.

"You are exactly like your father." Sirius smiled at Harry. "Always seeing the good in things." A small smile broke onto Harry's face as his chin lifted slightly in confidence.

"Pettigrew said I was like my mother." I said. "Can you tell me about her?"

Sirius' blue eyes suddenly became dreamy and his smile grew softer. "Isla Romano was one of the kindest people I've ever had the pleasure of knowing. I've heard similar things about you, Jupiter."

I felt my face get hot, and I couldn't hold back the grin that was pulling on my lips.

"Do I look like her?" I asked, looking down to the dirt again to hide my flattered smile. I'd always assumed I looked like Rodolphus Lestrange, although I'd only ever seen his portrait hanging on the wall. He had tanner skin like me, and brown hair. As I looked back on it now, it seemed like a perfect cover-up to send me with him. I figured it would be nice to have someone else to relate my features to.

"Quite." Sirius smiled at me. "Except, I reckon you've got my cheekbones. Believe me, they're a lot less startling when I've had something other than prison food and rats."

"Rats?" Harry asked.

"I've been a dog for some time now, but I doubt I'll ever get used to the taste." Sirius shuddered.