Moon Dust | Mattheo Riddle

Chapter 31: Moving Dorms

"Novy, it's okay," Sirius cooed, running his fingers through the girl's matted hair as she whimpered softly into his chest. He wrapped his arms around her, laying back on their old tattered brown sofa as Remus paced back and forth on the phone in the other room.

Harry sat on the accompanying armchair, chewing on his hoodie strings while Nova let out another sob, muffling it into Sirius' chest. He rubbed the back of her head. "Your dad's talking to Dumbledore Petal, we're going to fix this before it even has a chance to spread, don't worry," he whispered, looking up as Harry chewed faster on the maroon material in his mouth.

Noting the nervous tint on his godson's features, Sirius relaxed his expression in a comforting smile. "I'll go there myself and make them all forget if it comes to it," he mumbled, an air of mischief brewing in his tone.

Nova peered up then, at the sound of the little snort that left Harry's mouth in response. She rubbed at her cheek, looking up into Padfoot's brazen face. "But... you can't... you can't go to Hogwarts."

Sirius grinned, tucking her further into his chest. "Just try to stop me."

Nova let out a feather light chuckle, holding back another sob as she clung onto Pads, breathing in his scent with a tiny sniffle. He found it funny how she'd do that, without even realising it, just like Remus would, all those years ago. He used to say Sirius had a warm, rich scent, overpowered by the leather studded jacket he was never without. He did it less now or at least more subtly, instead of outright sticking his nose into Sirius's neck like he would before, Remus would simply act as thought he was grabbing something from a top shelf, and he'd lean over, only to lay his chin on Sirius's head, thinking he was being subtle at breathing him in.

Black wondered if his scent had changed now, after everything, being in Azkaban and all. He guessed it wouldn't be as rich as it once was, though Moony never really made a comments on it. Nova had said once though that he smelt a little earthy from his mornings spent in the garden, which had made Sirius wriggle his nose at first, until she'd said that only made her feel more at ease. His heart had warmed then, and he'd wanted to go out and practically lie down, star fish style in the mud, but Remus had stopped him, not wanting anyone bringing tracks of mud around the cottage.

Hanging up the phone, Remus stepped into the room, frowning upon seeing his daughter's weeping face. He stepped over, still limping a bit from the last moon and crouched down, placing a hand on the girl's arm. "Dumbledore is looking into it. Your friend Cedric—"

"Boyfriend," Harry coughed playfully under his breath, hiding it beneath his palm as Nova's eyes scattered to him, widening purposely. Remus raised an eyebrow and then sighed, clicking his tongue as he sent Sirius a quick warning look, clearly trying to dissolve the look of distress that had taken over his features.

Moony cleared his throat, glancing away as Sirius pouted, sneakily pulling Nova closer to his chest. "Boyfriend then—we'll come back to that, thanks Haz," Remus mused, scathing over the words.

Nova frowned in her cousin's direction and he shrugged apologetically, continuing his assault on his hoodie as he turned to Remus expectantly.

"Cedric gave Dumbledore a list of names of who was involved and who overheard. He'll be talking to all of them," the man said, standing up, however still letting his gaze linger on his daughter. "Trust me, sweetheart, everything will be fine when you go back."

In response, she turned and buried her head back into Sirius' chest, hiding her face as another breathy whimper slipped through her lips.

Remus sighed, looking up at Sirius with a gentle look. Then he stood up, placing a hand on Harry's shoulder as he stepped past. "Why don't you come help me with dinner?"