Tenebrous ❆ Sirius Black [2]

Chapter Sixty Four

"Stop hogging him and let me have some time." Sirius grumbled as he sent Nadia a joking glare and took baby Harry out of her arms and into his own. With a small laugh as she handed the boy over, while little Harry only stared at his godparents with wide open eyes. He didn't mind being passed around between them, as long as he was in someone's arms, all was well. But if they tried to set him down in his crib… Well, that's when the floodgates opened up.

"You two are impossible." Lily laughed at the pair once Nadia came over and sat down on the bed next to her, starting to help with folding and packing away the clothes Lily had set out atop the covers.

"We just want to get as much time as we can before you all have to leave." Nadia explained, her voice taking on a sad tone as she thought about what was only days away now. With Harry born and the mother and son out of the hospital, it was more important than ever before for the Potter family to remain hidden and safe while Voldemort set his mind on hunting them down; especially young Harry.

And luckily, they had found a way. Going into hiding was what everyone had deemed as the best idea. So with the help of Dumbledore, James had managed to find a place for his family to go to. It's location and details were known by none, and within days, the Potters would be leaving behind the manor and disappearing for their own safety. But before that could happen, certain matters needed to be discussed.

"We actually called you two here because we need to talk to you about that." James stated as he walked into the room, wand in hand and a row of boxes following behind him in as they floated through the air. "Dumbledore has suggested placing a Fidelius Charm on the home as an extra safety measure. The Longbottoms have already done it on theirs."

"And we think it's a good idea too." Lily added on to her husband's words confidently as she set aside the clothes she had been packing away so she could focus her attention on the conversation at hand.

"It's a good choice, after all your safety is what matters most." Nadia said. She knew she would miss all three of them terribly, but it was what was best. She knew that much.

"All we need now is a Secret Keeper." James announced, his eyes shifting between the two as he awaited their reactions. Sirius, quite unusually, patiently listened as both of them spoke while Nadia's brows furrowed as she thought of James' words before she voiced the question that was on her mind.

"But why? Why not be your own Secret Keeper?" She questioned, quickly continuing as she realized how her words sounded. "Not that I'm saying whoever you choose would betray you, but there are loopholes even within the Fidelius Charm."

"We've thought of it, but we came to the conclusion that someone from the Order needs to be able to reach us in case of an emergency." Lily explained patiently. If a situation rose where they needed to get out of their hiding place quickly, sending an owl wasn't the best, or speediest, method to get the message to them in time.

"Who did you have in mind?" Sirius asked curiously. He knew he wanted to help his friends as much as he could with this, but there were a few people he knew James and Lily could choose to trust with this besides himself.

"One of you two." Lily was the one to reply and as a result Nadia's eyes widened while Sirius himself had to hold back a frown that threatened to stretch over his face as he heard that.

"But I'm not really a part of the Order anymore?" Nadia pointed out, slightly confused by the possibility of being the Secret Keeper in spite of that.

"But you still know what's going on, you know Order business. If you think about it, not being in the thick of it at times might even make it easier for you to get to us quickly if need be." Lily continued on with the explanation and Nadia had to admit, she could see her point. She is away from the fight, from any setbacks which could hinder her and keep her from getting to them.

"It's alright if you don't want to do it." James added on as Nadia remained silent, but she shook her head as soon as the words were spoken.

"No, of course I want to do it. You know I'd do anything for you two and Harry." Nadia quickly dismissed James' statement, not even a bit of hesitation present in her mind as she thought of it. And of course, they all knew how true her words were. She had already proven that before. "And you're right Lily. Me being the Secret Keeper could be-" Nadia was ready to accept the role, but suddenly her words were interrupted.

"No." Sirius' voice was quiet as he looked down at Harry who was by now cluelessly sleeping away in his arms. As they heard him, all three turned their eyes towards the Black.

"Sirius-" Nadia barely uttered his name before he interrupted her again.

"I said no. I'll do it." He stated with a firm voice, completely confident in his decision… For multiple reasons.

"Shouldn't we at least discuss this?" Nadia rose her eyebrow, looking in his direction. All Lily and James could do was watch the couple, hoping that a fight didn't erupt between them. Sirius and Nadia were a couple who rarely fought, but when they did it was always big.

"No, it's not. Doing this, taking this position, it's dangerous. Let me take the risk this time." Sirius didn't sound as heated as Nadia, his voice actually gentle as he tried to convince her to give up on this idea.

"What do you mean 'this time'? I haven't been taking any risks and you know that." Nadia questioned him. Even back when she was still in the Order, she hadn't been taking any more risks than any other member.

"And you still got hurt." Sirius stated, his words making Nadia's features soften as she watched him hand Harry over to his father so he could sit on the bed in front of her and take both of her hands within his own. "You pulled out for a reason, and you're as safe as you can be right now. Please, let me be the one facing the danger that might come with this. I couldn't bear it if something happened to you again."

"And you think I could if something happened to you?" Nadia's face was overcome with a frown just as she thought of such a thing ever happening. With everything else, she doubted she'd survive losing him too.

"I promise, I'll be careful. You won't lose me because of this." Sirius' hands gave hers a tight squeeze of reassurance. It took Nadia a bit of time, but after a while she finally nodded her head in acceptance.

"So… Uh… It's Sirius then?" James asked in an awkward voice, not wanting to break up their moment, but also wanting to make sure he understood everything correctly. The tone made both Sirius and Nadia laugh in amusement, even Lily soon joined in.

"Yes, it's Sirius. For now… But if it gets too dangerous-" Nadia confirmed before fixing her husband with a pointed look as she spoke before James continued for her.

"We'll put him in the dog house!" The Potter exclaimed, proud of the pun he'd made as it brought his family around him to laugh once more.

"Oh I'm going to miss you guys so much!" Nadia exclaimed, throwing her arms around Lily and pulling the redhead to her side in a tight squeeze.

"Oh! I have a great idea!" Lily exclaimed, quickly pulling away from Nadia so she could look at her as she eagerly shared her thoughts. "We can get landlines and telephones so we can talk every day. That ought to make it all at least a little bit easier."

"Oh that would be great! I'm sure it can be done too. Don't you two agree?" Nadia instantly shared in Lily's excitement and both women looked towards their husbands as they awaited for their response. James and Sirius exchanged confused glances before looking back to them as they spoke in unison.

"What's a telephone?"

Published: 14th March, 2020