Rough Waters |Sirius Black

Chapter Sixty Three

"I've never seen so much vomit come from one child. Actually, from one person if I'm being honest." Sirius said as he and Nixie sat across the way from a pale faced Harry, that looked quite close to hurling again.

"Way to go, Mum." Nixie said glancing over in Meri's direction, as the mermaid was standing in the doorway of the kitchen. "You nearly managed to kill the Boy-Who-Lived with your cooking."

"Well, I didn't force him to eat it!" Meri argued. "I didn't lift the spoon to his mouth, and he didn't say he didn't like it! I'm a mermaid not a seer."

"Or a chef for that matter." Sirius muttered.

"Mum, Harry is very polite, he's not going to say no, but you should know better. We can't cook, we might as well face the music."

"Ugh, fine." Meri said with an eye roll before looking to Harry. 'Sorry about giving you a stomach ache."

"It's okay." Harry answered with a grimace as his stomach turned. "I did appreciate you taking the time-"

"Don't be so damn polite." Meri told him. "You should be more honest, might save you in the long run."

The mermaid left the living room to venture to her room without another word.

"My mother, ladies and gentlemen, there's no one like her." Nixie said with a laugh. "Come on, Harry, I'll get you something for your something. Mermaids are terrible cooks, but healing...that's something they can pride themselves in."

Harry followed the woman into the kitchen and was instructed to sit while Nixie rummaged through a bag that rested in the corner, she pulled out a few vials and shook her head at a couple of them.

"Were you good at Potions?" Harry asked. "Like my mother was?"

"Oooh well..."Nixie turned to face him with a smile. "Maybe at one point when I was first getting started but it all became so complicated later on, really didn't care for it by the end. Shame too, my wand is said to be made perfectly for potions and Herbology Both subjects I...well...I was good at Herbology. Tutored your dear godfather in that for a short while."

"Truth be told, I didn't need any tutoring." Sirius grinned from the doorway, bringing Harry to look over at him.

 The man winked as Nixie rolled her eyes.

"He did too. Professor Sprout even said so at the time."

"Because that's what I wanted her to think. That's what I wanted everyone to think...including you. But the only tutoring that was needed was you in Astronomy."

"I thought we agreed not to talk about that." She growled at him.

"Astronomy?" Harry repeated.

"Oh yes, she was terrible in the class, Harry." Sirius laughed. "Luckily she had a great tutor."

"Sometimes, you are so full of yourself, there's hardly any room for anyone else," Nixie told him before handing a small cup to Harry. "Drink up."

She went to leave the room, but Sirius linked his arm with hers in passing, praying that she wasn't truly upset with her teasing.

"I love you." He said with a grin.

"I know." Nixie said patting the side of his face mimicking his grin back at him and walking out.

"An I love you too would have been a better response!"

"Oh, are you saying I got the answer wrong?" Nixie called back from the living room. "Maybe I need a tutor."

Harry chuckled as he held the stomach remedy in hand while Sirius shook his head and turned to him.

"Her name means little water sprite, but I think they should change it to feisty water sprite. Seems much more fitting."

Given the remedy, Harry was feeling much better and definitely glad to have both of his godparents under the same roof, giving him their undivided attention once more. For a little while, the boy felt guilty, but Sirius and Nixie seemed to enjoy their time around him just as much that he didn't feel so bad about it. Nixie and Sirius were learning what parenthood was like slowly,but they were enjoying every moment of it.

They wanted Harry as happy as possible before he was to return to school. The added stress of the world around them was ignored when they were in the home, unless the Order was over. But even then, Nixie made sure to monitor how much information Harry was getting.  Their family would have taken a devastating hit had Sirius  been lost during the battle of Department of Mysteries and it seemed that they were doing their best to create happy memories every single chance they had.

It was one afternoon, while Remus and a couple other members of the Order had gathered at the Grimmauld place that Nixie, Sirius and Harry were gathered in the living room. 

It was the day of the memorial service for Eleanor's mother and while Sirius and Nixie did their best to console Remus, he asked to be left alone for the time being.

Left to themselves in the living room, Nixie came up with an idea. She challenged Sirius and Harry to race each other up and down the stairs while she timed who was the fastest. While it seemed like a silly suggestion, it certainly seemed to brighten the mood of the room.

Harry agreed first while Nixie called out the time, and when he finished, Sirius was up next. Harry sat beside his godmother, catching his breath when Sirius ran up the stairs in his animagus form.

"That's cheating!" Harry called out while Nixie laughed. 

"It is not!" Sirius argued from the top of the stairs.

"It is too! You have four legs when you're a dog. I don't." Harry said.

"That sounds like a personal problem, Harry."

"The timer is still going." Nixie announced.

"Aw, Harry, you distracted me. I call a rematch!"

"Sirius, we're not going to have a rematch." Harry said.

"Why? Afraid you'll lose?" Sirius said raising a brow with a challenging tone.

Harry narrowed his eyes at the man.

"Fine." Harry said. "A rematch it is."

Nixie shook her head, resting her head in the palm of her hand. Noting that it was like watching Sirius and James bicker back and forth when they were school years ago.

Happy Birthday, Padfoot!