Loving Lily: A Snily Story

Chapter 54 - Yearnings

Thank you for reading! I don't own any of Harry Potter! Please let me know if you enjoy! Updates every Saturday!
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Sirius Black disappeared.

Severus breathed a sigh of relief that his old enemy had apparently decided to leave his family alone.

Regardless of his supposed innocence concerning James's murder, Severus had no desire to be in the company of any of the Maurauders and he certainly wanted them nowhere near Lily, Ellery, or Harriet.

........Especially Harriet.

Severus and Lily had both agreed to keep the truth about Harriet's paternity a secret from her even as she aged.

The less she knew, the less chance there would be for her to accidentally give Voldemort access to dangerous knowledge.

One bright summer morning, after the conclusion of their third year at Hogwarts, Harriet, Ron, and Hermione strolled through Diagon Alley.

Hermione and Harriet had left their pets behind, but to their disdain, Ron had brought Scabbers along for their day of shopping.

"Do you really have to have that disgusting rodent with you?" Hermione asked Ron as she furrowed her brow at the ugly rat in his arms.

"Scabbers hasn't been feeling well lately." Ron retorted, "Mum and Dad went out today and no one else was around to sit with him. What was I supposed to do, Hermione? Leave him by himself?"

"Stop it, you two!" Harriet interrupted their quarrel with a laugh, "Let's just enjoy the day....Can we, please?"

Hermione and Ron ended their spat as the trio went from shop to shop.

They enjoyed their browsing until they came to Celia's Confectionery Corner, the biggest rival of Honeydukes in Britain's wizarding world.

Harriet had no trouble choosing the items she wanted to purchase, but Ron and Hermione had a bit more decision-making ahead of themselves.

After Harriet completed her transaction, she stepped out of the crowded shop to wait in the street for her friends while she rummaged through her bag of sweets.

An unfamiliar voice stopped her unexpectedly as someone called out, "Oh.......it's you!......It really is you!"

Harriet blinked as she glanced up.

Behind her glasses, her eyes widened as she stared at the scraggly, dirty, austere man in front of her.

His Azkaban uniform was filthy and tattered.

His dark hair looked wild and matted, but the true horror was the inexplicably gleeful expression on his face.

His wide grin revealed his decaying teeth.

Harriet recognized him instantly from the unsettling pictures she had seen in The Daily Prophet during the last few months.

"You're.......You're Sirius Black!" She gasped as fear flooded her heart.

"I am!" Sirirus cried hoarsely. He reached towards Harriet and took a staggering step in her direction as he called again, "I am and you're-"

The bell on the shop's door chimed as Ron and Hermione stepped out.

Their eyes widened as they saw their friend being accosted by the man the press had proclaimed to be an evil killer.

"Harriet!" Hermione cried as she pushed past Ron and raced down the shop's steps.

While Sirius turned his attention away, Harriet shakily pulled out her wand and bravely pointed it towards him.

Ron was beside himself with terror but he loyally followed Hermione as she came to stand in front of Harriet with her own wand brandished at Sirius.