Rough Waters |Sirius Black

Chapter Sixty Nine

Sirius watched Harry splash about in the water with Meri as the mermaid brought him to laugh multiple times. It was always nice to hear the boy laugh because that accompanied with Harry's appearance, it was just like looking back at James when they were younger. He could remember the time where the whole group of them with the exception of Peter, had gathered at the Dover household to spend some time. While the teens were down by the water, the adults were nearby having a good laugh. At that point in his life, he would have never predicted the future to turn out the way it did. 

Out of all the people that were there that day, from the Potters to the McKinnons, only he, Nixie, Meri, Remus and Lyall remained. Lily and James were gone, the McKinnon family had been massacred, Fleamont and Euphemia had long passed along with Remus' mother, Hope. The man felt his throat tighten just thinking about all the people they had lost in such a short span of time. 

As much as he loved his godson and wanted to only bring the boy happiness, Sirius wished it wasn't Nixie and him raising Harry. He wished Lily and James had the opportunity to watch their son grow up and become the person he was shaping out to be. For everything that was thrown in Harry's direction, he did his best to handle it. He was so strong and Sirius knew he got his strength from James and Lily.  But as Nixie pointed out, while Harry was strong, he still needed all the support, love, and caring that he could get. Sirius wanted Harry to get most of it from his parents, but it sadly would never be the case. He was just going to have to settle for his godparents.

Harry didn't seem opposed to the idea. In fact, he seemed all too happy whenever in their company. He asked a million questions and they did their best to answer them, even if they didn't have the greatest of answers. 

Nixie took over the motherly role readily and well. She had the protective instinct to watch over Harry and make sure he was happy. Harry had certainly informed Sirius about the threats that she had made to the Dursleys before they collected his belongings upon Dumbledore's orders. And he couldn't forget her threat of sending a very sharp seashell in the mail for Harry to use against the Dursleys.

He definitely liked Nixie in her threatening mode, especially when he wasn't on the receiving end of the threat.

Looking over at his wife, he saw the bright smile on her face as she watched Meri watch Harry's best swimming attempt before the mermaid shook her head in disapproval.

 One of the many reasons, Sirius believed that she had taken him to the Dover household for the day. It was a place where 99% of the time, she had found herself happy. Her childhood had been a beautiful one with loving parents who supported her and did what they could to make her happy, in return, it seemed Nixie was trying to pass that along to Harry.

As she had mentioned before when Meri splashed at Harry upon their arrival, it was a family tradition, reiterating the fact that were indeed a family. Not in the most traditional sense, but they were going to be the best damn family they could possibly be, with the given circumstances.

Eventually, Nixie caught on to his staring and looked over at him, the smile still on her face.

"What?" She said when he didn't say anything but continued looking at her.

"Nothing," he said with a smile of his own. "Did I tell you that you look beautiful today?"

"Well, if you did, I certainly didn't hear it," she replied in a teasing tone. He chuckled before pulling her into his side and holding onto her tightly.

"You look beautiful today."

"Thank you," Nixie grinned. "You look quite handsome yourself."

He felt her fingers rake through his hair gently before he pulled her into a hug and just held onto her for a few moments. As Harry and Meri laughed loudly in the distance, he only held Nixie even tighter. He didn't want the moment to end because he knew what they would be going back to. Less smiles and laughter with the stress of the Order weighing heavily upon all of them. 

Seeing Nixie smile and hearing Harry's laughter was enough to remind Sirius of what he was fighting for still and he wasn't going to quit until he could see Nixie smile every day and hear Harry laugh every day.

"Are you alright?" Nixie's voice dragged him out of his thoughts. He looked down at her to see that her eyes were full of concern. Her hand rested over his as he cupped the sides of her face gently.

"I love you," he said softly resting his forehead against hers. "I love you so much and I just want you happy."

"I am happy, Sirius, and I love you too," she said in a reassuring tone.  "Are you sure you're al-"

Before she could say anything else or question if he truly was alright, Sirius cut her off with a strong kiss. She nearly fell back by the sheer force, but he held her in place, not allowing her to go anywhere.

"If you call this happy," he said after pulling away for a moment. "Then I want you happier."

"Sirius, I don't think I can get much happier than when I'm with you, there's just no topping that," she said.

"But with everything happening-"

Nixie didn't want to discuss the Order or any of the problems. For now, the Dover place was their acting sanctuary and she just wanted things to remain positive. Rather than letting the man finish, she pushed him back and returned the kiss from earlier. 

Harry emerged from underwater after Meri tried to teach him some swimming techniques, but he definitely needed some work and some air. He turned to call Nixie and Sirius telling them to go into the water but before he could, Meri's hand made it's way over his eyes.

"Uh...what are you doing?" He asked.

"I'm saving your innocence, boy," Meri said. "You'll thank me later. HEY, YOU TWO!"

Harry lifted his brow, still left in the darkness of the situation.

"GET A ROOM!" Meri yelled causing Harry's eyes to widened. "For Kelpie's sake, still actin' like a bunch of teenagers."