章節 28: Chapter - 28 : Family Bonds part - 3

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Harry's eyes stung slightly. He'd always known the Sirius in his world had cared for him almost as a son, hell the man had died for him, but he hadn't been sure that the Sirius in front of him would ever feel the same way. "Sirius I... I have no idea what to say, except thank you."

"You're welcome," Sirius said with a smile.

Harry smiled back. "I'd do the same, you know," he said. "For you, I mean."

"I know," Sirius said softly, before sighing. "I know our situation is about as far from normal as you can get -"

Harry snorted. "That's an understatement."

"You were an adult where you came from, you're capable of taking care of yourself. Hell, you killed Voldemort!" Sirius shook his head in amazement at the idea. "You're way older than you look. As for me… well let's be honest, I'm pretty messed up. I lost nine years of my life to the Dementors. The healers did what they could but I don't think I'll ever fully recover from what Azkaban did to me." He shivered, wearing the haunted expression Harry hated seeing. Sirius soon shook it off though and turned his attention back to Harry. "I owe you so much, Harry."

Harry moved to disagree, but Sirius interrupted him before he could speak.

"I do," he insisted. "Not just for getting me out of Azkaban, but for being here. James and Lily and… little H-Harry are dead," he said, his voice hoarse with grief when saying their names. "With them gone I don't think I could keep going if it weren't for you and everything you've told me."

"For what it's worth, I've no idea what I'd do if you weren't around either," Harry admitted quietly. "You're the only one I dare trust with the truth. My friends from before are just children now and I'd never feel comfortable relying on any of the adults I know from my world. I'm… really glad we're family now."

"So am I, Harry," Sirius said with a smile that lit up his gaunt face.

"Call me Orion," Harry offered impulsively.

"Really?" Sirius asked, clearly surprised by the request. "Are you sure?"

"Yes," Harry said firmly. "I'm not the Harry Potter who belongs here to this world, but I am the only Orion Black. Anyway, I'll need to get used to hearing it, so it'll be good practice."

"I suppose that makes sense." Sirius nodded decisively. "Orion it is then."

Harry smiled at the name. It felt natural to be called that, which might have something to do with the ritual magic. He could feel it running through him even more clearly than before, causing changes Harry knew instinctively were more than just skin-deep. He shifted uncomfortably in his seat at the sensation.

"Is the pain getting worse?" Sirius asked, watching him in concern.

Harry sighed. "Yeah, though it's not too bad yet. It's kind of like the feeling you get after a dose of Skelegrow potion."

"Ugh." Sirius grimaced. "I hate that stuff."

"Yeah, it tastes awful, doesn't it? Though mind you, I only ever had it while at Hogwarts and I always suspected Snape of purposefully making all his potions taste disgusting."

"Snape?" Sirius repeated, clearly confused even as he scowled reflexively at the name. "Why would he be brewing potions for the hospital wing at Hogwarts?"

"Well, he's the Potions Professor," Harry explained, then corrected himself. "Or at least the Snape I knew was. I actually have no idea what the one in this world is up to."

"Snape was a teacher? That greasy git? I can't believe someone that obsessed with the Dark Arts was allowed to teach children. He was suspected of being a Death Eater, for Merlin's sake!"

"Oh, he was definitely a Death Eater," Harry confirmed.

Sirius stared at him. "Why do you seem to be all right with that?"

"He was a spy," Harry told him. "And yeah, he and I both hated each other, but… he was also one of the most loyal and dedicated wizards I've ever met."

Sirius looked utterly horrified at this announcement. "I think I'm just going to put that down to one of those differences between your world and mine," he said at last. "There's no way that description fits the Snivellous I know."

Harry simply shrugged. "It's true that he could be completely different here. Events might not have played out the same way," he said, thinking over everything that had lead up to Severus betraying Voldemort. "I really should look into that, actually. It could be important."

"If you say so," Sirius said doubtfully, then seemed to dismiss the whole thing. "So the adoption ritual's not causing you any real pain yet?" he checked, returning to their previous subject.

"No, but it's steadily getting worse."

"Maybe you should go to bed early, try and get some rest," Sirius suggested.

"Are you setting a bedtime for me, Sirius?" Harry asked with a grin. "How very parental of you."

Sirius rolled his eyes. "I'm just saying the pain will soon get a whole lot worse and you might want to take it easy."

"You may have a point," Harry admitted. He pushed his half-full plate away and stood up, swaying slightly on his feet. "Ugh, I feel dizzy," he said, clutching the back of his chair. "Lying down sounds like a sensible idea."

"Told you so," Sirius said. "You know your way around the place, right?"

Harry nodded. "Yeah. Well, goodnight then."

"Night," Sirius responded, lifting his hand in a small wave.

As Harry made his way upstairs to his bedroom he considered that, as awkward as things sometimes were between them, he was glad that he and Sirius were now family.

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