Mind Over Matter » Sirius Black

XIII. NOTHING LEFT TO LOSE

"Harry James, if you don't come down and get your things packed, I'll have to owl Sirius and tell him there's been a change of plans,"Savannah yelled up into the sky, her eyes set upon the distant figure that was her god-son as he flew around their property on his new broom. "We won't be moving in with him, after all!"

"Please, Vannah, just a few more minutes!" He called down pleadingly.

She shook her head, though amusement reflected within her eyes. "You've been up there all morning. Come now, I'll make some lunch and then I want you to pack up your room. I'm almost done with the rest of the house."

"Bribing the lad with food, are we?" Savannah turned as Sirius exited her back room, a smirk on his face as he held up the bags in his hands. "Good thing I come prepared."

With a roll of her eyes, she smacked his arm lightly. "Did you use the Floo? I wasn't expecting you over."

"What, did you think I'd let you pack on your own?" He seemed genuinely surprised at this, and Savannah merely shrugged. "So much faith you have in me. I'm truly wounded."

"I have the utmost faith in you, Sirius Black." Her voice was soft and genuine as she looked at him with gentle eyes. "You know that."

"Sirius!" Harry beamed, finally landing on the ground with his hair blown every which way due to the wind. He got off his broom, still clutching it tightly in his hand. "Are you going to help me pack my room?"

"I rather figured I would help your god-mother pack up the rest of the house, as she's got much more to do, eh?" Sirius told him as the three of them made their way into the house, toward the table in the dining room. Harry nodded, seeing that he had a point, though bummed that he still had to pack his room. He wished that Savannah would just cast a spell for the house to pack itself, but like Mrs. Weasley, she preferred chores be done hands on and wands off.

That was mostly due to the fact that Savannah was muggle-born, and she grew up that way. Regardless, for some reason cleaning manually always seemed to calm her, and give her some time just to think. It was strange, but that's what she did whenever she was stressed: clean. Plus, she didn't want to just get rid of her muggle life entirely, even though most of it hadn't been entirely pleasant. Lily had been the same way - that's why she'd had Harry at a muggle hospital, of course.

"The place hasn't changed much," Sirius commented, after they had ate and Harry went up to pack his room. His eyes scanned Savannah's home,noting that most of the new additions were simply pictures that included Harry. Savannah had never been a materialistic woman,something he admired about her. "Although, I am surprised you didn't move after everything that happened. Weren't you afraid that you would be targeted after the war?"

She cleared her throat and glanced at him out of the corner of her eye as she began packing some of the picture frames. "Would you like an honest answer?"

"Always."

"Well, for one, the war had already taken everything else I loved from me - I wasn't about to let it run me out of my home, as well," she answered him. "And... No, I suppose I wasn't afraid I'd be targeted."

Sirius frowned. "You weren't?"

Savannah bit her lip as she turned away. "You must understand, Sirius, that the first few years after the war I was... I was in a dark place," she said quietly. "I tried every way I could think of to get the Ministry to clear your name, but they weren't having it. Not only did I lose James and Lily, but I also lost you and Harry, too - so I spiraled. I quit my job as an Auror, stopped talking to anyone for awhile, holed myself up here. I didn't care if there were any Death Eaters left that decided to target me. I figured that I had nothing left to lose."