dancing on bones (our souls of iolites and emeralds)

Chapter 6

 "There's nothing that makes you more insane than family. Or more happy, or more exasperated, or more secure."

– Jim Butcher

//

Sirius's youngest godson was born with hair red like blood and purple eyes the color of nightshade.

He was born under the summer sun and with his first breath, the air played the wind chimes. Whispers carry around the town about how his sneeze shattered glass and that the storm brewing in his eyes was an omen. Danger. Power.

Lily paints runes of protection onto his skin and James whispers incantations into his ears. Little Faerie watches their magic, how his parents channel it into paper and wood. Sirius knows with a harsh sort of certainty that he will surpass them all.

He will be dangerous, the trees hiss and the ground whispers, he will leave his mark.

Everyone watches him, they know he will be great.

//

It had been a long time since Sirius had prayed, but when he learned of Lily's pregnancy he finally had a reason to. He feels for Magick in his veins and hears Her voice guiding his steps.

He smiled when She tells him Felix is dangerous and he pays no mind. Everyone in James' family was dangerous. His wife most of all.

He grins when Felix looks at him with wide eyes, tracing the palm of his hand, sending jolts of his own magic through the little boy's tiny body. He is smarter than he looks, Sirius could tell.

And Sirius smiles, for he knows that Felix will be dangerous, and in this wicked world of theirs, that is a good thing to be.

//

Felix is smart. Far too smart for a baby.

Sirius can just feel it, in the tiny ways his eyes pinched when someone says something annoying, or his mouth tilts up when Lily says something dry.

Felix is more intelligent than most babies, and he understands what's happening around him in a way he really shouldn't.

(Felix is sad.

Really sad, in a way that Sirius hates it because he's felt that way. Sirius isn't quite sure how he knows, but he does, and the knowledge of it sits like a boulder in his stomach. His baby nephew in all but blood, Little Fae, stares into the void like he's watched the world disappear and wishes it had taken him with it.)

Sirius won't admit it, but it scares him; the fact that he can't understand Felix.

(he will be dangerous, Magick whispers, he will be more)

//

Sirius starts taking the twins outside.

It starts because Sirius feels trapped staying in one place for too long, the doors wrapping around him like a prison cell.

(if he stays here too long, Mother will find him, curse him, beat him, nails digging in his flesh, hurtinghurtinghuting)

He's been inside too long and he's burning with energy, and he figures there can't be much harm in taking them outside. It would give James and Lily a well-earned rest, and it wasn't as though the babies had plans.

(Kusuo did have plans actually, thank you very much. They mostly involved sleeping and listening to their neighbours' horrible family drama but still, it was rude for Black to assume. Was he being nosy, perhaps, But their family drama sucked so good. It was almost like watching a really messy Telenovela. And it wasn't like he was trying to listen to them, really, telepathy was annoying)

So, he scoops up the chubby babies and they go exploring. In a way, it's like being a kid again. When Andy would babysit him and Reggie, chasing them through the yard of one of the Black estates. Before politics and family had ruined everything,

Harry is loud and bright and wriggles out of his hold as soon as possible. Wobbly baby legs struggle to hold him up as he tries to chase after butterflies.

Sirius loves him because he's all James. With his muddy clothes and messy hair.

But Felix is quieter. More refined in a way.

(And Felix stares, but it's different, somehow.

There's intent, or maybe even just an appreciation for what he's seeing. He makes soft, huffing hums when he looks at the trees.

His eyes go soft when he sees birds or squirrels. The breeze hits his nose, and he leans against Sirius's chest with a heavy sigh.)

Sirius keeps taking them outside, and tells the other Mauraders (plus Lily) it's to get them some fresh air, but that's a lie. The real reason Sirius takes him outside, day after day, like clockwork, is something much more important than the baby's health.

(Felix stares at the outside world like he's looking for something. Sirius thinks it's a reason to live.)

//

It's on the day before their first birthday that Felix and Harry meet Remus for the first time. The werewolf is quiet, subdued in a way and Sirius sees mischief flash in Felix's eyes before pointing at Moony and murmuring, "Wolf."

Sirius cackles.

Remus goes violently pale, Lily looks as though she is about to cry, and James looks as though he doesn't know whether he wants to laugh or scream.

Harry had said his first word almost three months prior, it had been "Mama " and James seemed to have turned it into a competition of sorts, despite him being the only one who saw it that way, desperately trying to get Felix to say "Papa."

Harry, sweet summer child Harry, claps and giggles in delight and refuses to call Remus anything else for at least three hours.

And when Felix's violet eyes light up in realization as he watches their makeshift family, with a wide grin, Sirius knows that they've found it.