Everlasting (H.P x fem.reader) YEARS 1-4

Year Three: Chapter Twenty

3rd person POV:

Harry had never been part of a stranger group. Crookshanks led the way down the stairs; Lupin, Pettigrew, and Ron went next, looking like entrants in a six-legged race. Next came Professor Snape, drifting creepily along, his toes hitting each stair as they descended, held up by his own wand, which was being pointed at him by Sirius. Harry, Y/n, and Hermione brought up the rear.

Getting back into the tunnel was difficult. Lupin, Pettigrew, and Ron had to turn sideways to manage it; Lupin still had Pettigrew covered with his wand. Harry could see them edging awkwardly along the tunnel in single file. Crookshanks was still in the lead. Harry went right after Black, who was still making Snape drift along ahead of them; he kept bumping his lolling head on the low ceiling. Harry had the impression Black was making no effort to prevent this.  Y/n was trailing behind them all, lost in deep thought.

"You know what this means?" Black said abruptly to Harry as they made their slow progress along the tunnel. "Turning Pettigrew in?"

"You're free," said Harry.

"Yes..." said Black. "But I'm also -- I don't know if anyone ever told you -- I'm your godfather."

"Yeah, I knew that," said Harry.

"Well... your parents appointed me your guardian," said Black stiffly. "If anything happened to them..."

Harry waited. Did Black mean what he thought he meant?

"I'll understand, of course, if you want to stay with your aunt and uncle," said Black. "But... well... think about it. Once my name's cleared... if you wanted a... a different home..."

Some sort of explosion took place in the pit of Harry's stomach.

"What -- live with you?" he said, accidentally cracking his head on a bit of rock protruding from the ceiling. "Leave the Dursleys?"

"Of course, I thought you wouldn't want to," said Black quickly. "I understand, I just thought I'd --"

"Are you insane?" said Harry, his voice easily as croaky as Black's. "Of course I want to leave the Dursleys! Have you got a house? When can I move in?"

Black turned right around to look at him; Snape's head was scraping the ceiling but Black didn't seem to care.

"You want to?" he said. "You mean it?"

"Yeah, I mean it!" said Harry.

Black's gaunt face broke into the first true smile Harry had seen upon it. The difference it made was startling, as though a person ten years younger were shining through the starved mask; for a moment, he was recognizable as the man who had laughed at Harry's parents' wedding.

Harry looked back at Y/n, she seemed to fascinated in the moon and in ignoring Hermione, who was right beside her talking to her very quickly.

"Since Y/n's mum and Professor Lupin were friends with you and my parents are you her godfather, too?" Harry asked hesitantly.

Black sighed, and looked back at Y/n as well.

"Well, no. M/n didn't think it would be fair for me to be the godfather of both you and Y/n. Besides, she was set on having Lily as her godmother, and so James was her godfather."

Harry smiled slightly, "everyone makes Y/n's mum seem like an angel. She isn't quite like that anymore — I think it makes Y/n upset that she never got to see her like everyone describes her."

"M/n is fiercely protective of her friends," Black started. "She was already in America before James and Lily were murdered, and even before she left I noticed a change in her personality. I think she was scared for Y/n, scared for whatever Voldemort had planned for her, and scared that she might be affected by Remus being a werewolf. Now, Remus might tell Y/n differently to make her feel better, but Remus truly loved M/n but I don't think M/n reciprocated those feelings quite as much. And then M/n's mum was furious at her for being pregnant out of marriage. I suppose James's and Lily's death is what broke her, though — survivor's guilt."