✓ | RECKLESS AND BRAVE | Draco Malfoy

32 | FANTOD

FANTOD
(n.) state of extreme anxiety ; distress
'feeling so attacked right now'

TESSA HAD QUESTIONS — SO MANY QUESTIONS THAT FILLED HER TO THE BRIM. And yet, walking down the stairs with the strangest group of Remus Lupin, Peter Pettigrew, Sirius Black, Snape, Ron, Harry, Hermione, and Crookshanks leading the way made her think carefully. Perhaps this wasn't the best time to ask about her past, it didn't seem all too important in this situation right now.

She waited for fourteen years — what can a few more days or weeks do?

They finally began walking along the tunnel with Tessa following close enough behind Sirius and Harry that she could overhear their conversation.

"You know what this means?" Sirius asked Harry. "Turning Pettigrew in?"

"You're free," Harry said.

"Yes . . . But I'm also — I don't know if anyone ever told you — I'm your godfather." Sirius threw a glance at Tessa with a warm smile. "I'm both of your godfather."

Tessa faltered in her walking — genuinely caught by surprise at that. No one has actually told her about this, she only thought that Sirius was solely Harry's godfather.

"Yeah, I knew that," Harry said with a slight shrug.

"Well . . . your parents appointed me your guardian. If anything happened to them . . . " Sirius cleared his throat before continuing, "I'll understand, of course, if you want to stay with your aunt and uncle. But . . . well . . . think about it. Once my name's cleared . . . if you wanted a . . . a different home . . . "

"What — live with you?" Harry's eyes widened and Tessa felt herself smile upon seeing the hope shine in them. "Leave the Dursleys?"

"Of course, I thought you wouldn't want to. I understand, I just thought I'd —"

"Are you insane? Of course I want to leave the Dursleys! Have you got a house? When can I move in?"

Sirius spun around to look at Harry; Snape's head was scraping the ceiling but Sirius didn't seem to care. "You want to? You mean it?"

"Yeah, I mean it!"

Tessa watched as a large smile spread across Sirius's face, and suddenly — she felt . . . heartbreak. The familiarity of his face abruptly hit her, and she could see glimpses of her childhood flash by. A hazy memory of a baby intently watching a curly haired man play with her and tell her stories. She felt an overwhelming sadness fill her at the thought of barely remembering him — someone who was best friends with her mother.

They slipped out of the tree after Crookshanks pressed his paw against the knot. The grounds were dark, and their only source of light was from the castle. Silently, they set off walking again as Lupin said threateningly, "One wrong move, Peter."

As they trekked across the grass, Tessa saw that Harry had went over next to Hermione, letting Sirius walk without company. She hurried to walk side by side with him as she coughed awkwardly. "Er — excuse me, Mr. Black — Sirius — Mr. Godfather?"

Sirius let out a chuckle, eyes crinkling at the sides and making him look years younger. "You can call me Sirius, Tessa." He sent her a mischievous glance. "Or did you prefer Paddy?"

Tessa snorted and rolled her eyes. "That was my bad — I had wanted to give you a name instead of constantly calling you over as 'Here, boy!'"

"Your mother used to call me that," he said after a moment's pause, a melancholic smile playing on his lips. "It was either Siri or Paddy. Sirius if she was being serious."