Potter in Forks

Chapter 20

Jan 18

Remus and Sirius took a deep breath and touched the portkey letting it sweep them from England to the mysterious home of their goddaughter to meet with her and the Dark Lord.

They appeared in an empty living room staring out a wall of windows at a peaceful forest scene. Deep snow lay over the ground.

They turned around in a circle taking in the cozy room – a large fireplace where a fire burned merrily; a large screen television with a game system sprouting multiple controllers attached. The furniture was comfy looking.

The room flowed into a kitchen with a counter to eat at. Colorful, quirky knickknacks were spread throughout the rooms.

A small blonde and white dog jumped up from the dog bed by the fireplace and barked at them fiercely. Tiny claws making scrabbling sounds on the tiled floor.

They both blinked at the fierce little animal. Tiny, fierce, protective just like their goddaughter.

This was definitely Hari's home.

Where was she though?

"Pup!" Sirius called out loudly as he and Remus moved to the doorway and peered down the hall in each direction.

"One moment," a male voice called down the stairs in front of them.

They tensed. Before worry could overwhelm them there was the sound of footsteps on the stairs and then Hari appeared looking pale and anxious. The wizard they had seen at Gringotts behind her looking protective and concerned about her. His dark eyes trained on her as she made her way slowly down the stairs.

Sirius gaze swept over him. Voldemort. A wizard whose name was the stuff of nightmares. He shivered. Voldemort had been in Gringotts with none the wiser. How many times had he been out in Diagon or Hogsmeade even and no one had known the danger that was in their midst? He shook off his wayward thoughts and stepped toward his goddaughter. ""Hari, You okay?"

"Yeah. Nerves." She murmured.

She reached the bottom and hesitated. Sirius forced himself to ignore the Dark Lord standing on the stairs and tugged Hari into his embrace. "I will always love you, Pup. No matter what."

Hari collapsed against him with a sob. Her arms tightened around his waist holding on to him tightly and shaking as if she was coming apart at the seams.

Sirius held her and stroked her hair. He looked up at the silent wizard in confusion. This reaction was a bit extreme even for this situation. Hari was usually very confident and sure of herself.

Tom just looked even more concerned. After a minute when it became obvious that Hari wasn't going to stop the hysterical sobbing he closed the distance and with a look at Sirius pulled Hari from his embrace and turned her into his. "You need to calm down, love." He murmured. "This much upset isn't good for..." He cut the sentence off. "Do you need a calming potion?"

Hari drew in a shuddering breath and tried to stop the heart wrenching tears. She wasn't even really sure why she was crying. Her emotions had been all over the spectrum lately. She drew in another breath and the sobs slowed. She trembled against Tom's chest while he held her and let his love flow over her. She drew in a breath and raised a hand to swipe at her cheeks. "I'm okay," she muttered. "Sorry."

Tom petted her hair and rubbed her back. "No need. You've been extremely stressed lately."

Sirius and Remus watched the interaction intently. The very real care and concern the Dark Lord was showing was a surprise. Nothing they had ever heard about the man would have led them to believe he was capable of this gentleness.