Padfoot and his Pup

29. | Fisticuffs- Part III

Snape was the first to leave, citing that he had far more important things to attend to.

"Draco, a word," Lucius forced the words out through gritted teeth and jerked his head towards the door.

With barely disguised trepidation, Draco followed his parents out, leaving Harry and Sirius with Mcgonagall.

The woman looked at Sirius and he got the impression that there was a lot she wanted to say at the moment. To him, about him... he wasn't sure.

Ultimately she decided against it. "I'm afraid I must get going. Please feel free to use the floo, Mr. Black. It's been an... interesting morning to say the least. The next time we meet, I wish it is under better circumstances."

"Likewise."

With a pointed glance at Sirius that indicated they had much to discuss, she rose elegantly and swept out of her office. He very nearly missed the flash of guilt on her face before she was gone.

Sirius wasn't sure if he wanted to have that particular conversation. Too much left unsaid.

When Sirius had been sentenced to Azkaban, hundreds of people had believed him to be guilty.

Within twelve hours he'd gone from war hero to mass murderer.

The Dark Lord's right hand

It was in his blood anyway

Always knew he had it in him

One person had pointed the finger and the rest had blindly believed him.

Sirius just hadn't expected Minerva Mcgonagall to be one of them.

"Am I in trouble?"

Snapping out of it, Sirius glanced at his godson. "You heard her, didn't you? Detention for two weeks."

Harry shrugged. "I know. But... you're not going to yell at me?"

Sirius didn't yell. Maybe at others if they really got on his nerves. Never at Harry.

"Do you promise you'll go around beating up your fellow students in the foreseeable future?"

"I pr—" Harry frowned when he actually heard the words. "What? No! I'm not going to do that. No more fighting. Promise."

Sirius smirked at the boy, briefly ruffling his hair. "Then I don't see why I need to yell. Now, I'm not suggesting that breaking the boy's nose was the right thing to do... but you were defending yourself and your friends."

He would never hold that against Harry.

"Violence is not the right approach, it hardly ever is, but I understand why you did it. So I won't draw the matter out any further. Besides, I think you're going to be plenty miserable in detention anyway."

Harry looked at Sirius for a beat before the last of the tension left him and he knocked his godfather gently with his shoulder. "Most people would be super mad. You're cool."

"Obviously."

A little trouble here and there was okay. Sirius himself had done much worse.

Whilst Remus had hardly ever fought and James had been more than happy to settle scores with a silly little hex, Sirius' personal brand of revenge had always been more... vicious.

It was something he'd tried to shake off as a child, but as he'd gotten older— especially during the war, he had understood that the best way to control one's own darkness was to embrace it. Wield it like a weapon that everyone feared.