HEATHER BLACK AGREED TO DO THE THING THAT NOBODY ELSE COULD TO DO.
Use her animagus form, and protect Harry Potter for fifteen years.
As an owl.
As Hedwig.
***
Travis McKinnon wanted nothing more than to do something useful.
So he used his animagus...
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SIRIUS BLACK DIDN'T BELIEVE IT.
He'd come to believe things because he knew that the world was magical. There were unexplained things that happened in the wizarding world. He thought that he had gotten used to it; the countless seemingly impossible things that occurred on an almost daily basis.
But clearly he hadn't—because his dead cousin was standing before him and he didn't believe she was really here.
The others had gone upstairs, so the silence was deafening as the two of them stared at each other, neither of them breathing.
"H-heather," Sirius whispered, his eyes widening as he stumbled forward towards the girl, "W-what—,"
"I will explain," Heather said softly, making no movement towards him—seeming hesitant and afraid, as if Sirius might dissolve if she got too close.
Sirius' eyes were dampening with tears, and his heart was pounding so hard that he could barely hear Heather's words.
"You're here," He murmured, reaching out a hand, Heather doing the same.
Their fingers met.
Neither of them dissolved; and they pulled each other into an embrace for the first time in fifteen years.
***
TRAVIS WASN'T TOLD THAT HEATHER HAD LEFT.
So for the entire evening, and the trip on the train, he didn't see her—and he had started to worry.
It was only when he couldn't stand it anymore that he told Evan that he was going to ask Cho and Marietta about where Heather had gone.
So as he strode down the aisle of the train, passing by compartments filled with students, he thought of all the possibilities.
What if the Ministry had taken her?
As he reached Cho and Marietta's compartment, where they were also sitting with a couple of other girls that Travis didn't recognise, he knocked on the door and as the girls turned to look who it was, he gave them the friendliest smile he could muster, and they opened the door.
"Cho, Marietta," He asked, "Have you two seen Heather?"
"Actually, no," Marietta answered, shaking her head, "We didn't see her since Breakfast, since we don't have any classes with her."
"Oh." He said, his expression dropping in disappointment, "Alright. Thanks anyway."
"Sorry, Travis," Cho said, sounding very apologetic, "We assumed she'd be with you, since you two seem to be good friends."
"Right," He said, "Well, thank you." He left the compartment, sliding the door shut, and let out a sigh.
Maybe he should go and see Harry, Ron and Hermione? Perhaps she was in owl form, with them.
But then he remembered that the three of them had already left, as well.
In the end, he returned to his own compartment and struck up a conversation with Evan while eating Chocolate Frogs that they had purchased from the Trolley Witch earlier, trying very hard not to worry about Heather too much.
***
IT WAS OVER SOME TEA AND COOKIES in an empty room where nobody else would hear them, that Heather explained to Sirius the situation and hers and Travis' circumstances.
Sirius listened intently, and after she had finished, he was frozen, processing the information.
Heather could almost see the gears turning in his mind as she said, "Trav will be coming to visit for a bit later on, but he does have to stay with Neville for most of the break."
"So—what, you've been Hedwig for fifteen years?" Sirius furrowed his eyebrows, "What happened to the real Hedwig, then?"
"I am the real Hedwig, Sirius," Heather shook his head, "The one that Hagrid bought for him. There's only one Hedwig; just as there's only one Trevor, and we've been keeping an eye out for the two boys since they were babies."
"But you two are children—were children!" Sirius said, frowning, "how could you and Travis agree to a mission like that—a fifteen yearlong mission, no less..."
"You were barely an adult, too, when you left your home—when you joined the Order, and when you were taken to Azkaban; we all have to contribute to win this war, and at the time, the two of us were the two who were most suited for the mission. We were young, were animagi, and didn't have duties like you and your friends did. So we took on the mission," She said, "because we were Order members, and that was our duty."
She picked up her cup and sipped some tea before setting it back down, waiting for her cousin's response.
"We were all so worried about both of you," Sirius shook his head, finally speaking, "Andy cried the most when Dumbledore informed her that you had been killed by Death Eaters, and I was...I didn't believe it—but you never came back, and I just thought..."
"I'm sorry," Heather said quietly, "We..."
"I understand," He responded, "But it's just that I really thought I wouldn't ever see you again, and now you've come back I just really don't know what to say to you."
Heather didn't know what to say, either.
"I guess—I'm just going to tell you that I love you, Heather, I always have," He said, taking her hands, meeting her eyes, "I didn't tell you enough, and you being gone for so long just made me realise that I should have let you know."
"I love you, too, Sirius." She smiled, the words making her feel so utterly happy—a reminder that Sirius was here. He was really here.
"Sirius?" A voice called, knocking on the door, "Are you in there?"
"I'll be right out, Molly!" Sirius replied.
"Well, be quick, because we've got dinner prepared," Molly said through the door, before she left.
"Right, well, we better get out of here," Heather told him with a little laugh, "I need you to promise me, though, that you won't tell anybody about mine and Travis' circumstances, because we need to keep our duties and this mission secret so word doesn't get out with the Ministry, or Harry and Neville."
"I know—I won't tell anybody," Sirius said sincerely, "I know."
"Thank you so much," Heather smiled, "Come on—the others are waiting; we better go have dinner with them, right?"
Author's Note:
Sirius and Heather reunion!
Thanks for reading, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. Sorry for the wait, but please vote and comment if you liked it to let me know you did--I'd really appreciate it!
