Determination

LXIII: Climax

August 1995

"SHE'S NOT GOING BACK!" Sirius fumed.

It had been a few weeks since they'd returned home to their London flat with a fully conscious Blueberry. In that time, the trio of men had been a little....

Protective.

Overbearing.

They'd been taking turns to make every meal for her, so she wouldn't have to cook, and they could monitor her meals. (She got sick if the food was too rich or if she ate too much.) Sirius never let her go anywhere alone; he had to know where she was at all times. He might've toed the line on that when he'd threatened to remove all the doors in the flat because she'd gone to the bathroom without allowing him to sweep it first. That was neither here nor there! The boys had collectively made sure to do all the cleaning themselves as well. He and Remus were honestly surprised Harry had so easily agreed to helping with that, seeing as most teenagers loathe cleaning up. The two men had noticed, however, that since their return from St. Mungo's, Harry had become increasingly keen on anything that would garner praise from Blueberry.

Sirius supposed he couldn't blame the boy. After years of having no parents, the boy was completely enamoured with the prospect of having one. He'd even adapted to being able to identify her needs before she did.

Harry had quickly made his way back to the living area with a cup of steaming tea and a blanket in his arms, happily heading straight for Blueberry, who was reading peacefully on the couch.

Case in point.

Blueberry turned with surprised, pleased eyes to the boy as she noticed his hesitant approach.

"Are those for me?" She asked as the boy held them out, nodding in response. "Oh my goodness! Thank you, Harry! I was just thinking I was getting a bit cold, you're so observant! You must have seen me shivering. Thank you so much!!" She beamed at him as she placed her book aside to take the procurements.

The boy stood in his place and flushed with pleased pride, while he greedily took in the praise.

"Harry? I heard you're fair at wizard's chess. I haven't played in ages. Fancy a game with me?" She asked him.

Sirius was sitting at the table across the room, poring over weeks of missed work he desperately needed to catch up on. His eyes flickered up just in time to see the boy light up in delight at the prospect.

"Yeah, absolutely!"

The memory of a few days ago quickly flashed through his mind as he made his argument.

"Sirius, you're not being reasonable," Remus tried.

"Reasonable?! It wasn't  reasonable when she was taken from the school and tortured for an entire year and sent into a coma for months, either!" He argued back, "She's not going back, Harry's not going back, we're all going to disappear quietly into the mountains of America, far from all of this."

Harry and Remus shared a look before rolling their eyes at Sirius.

"Don't sass me like that! I know how it sounds, but it's the only way to keep everyone safe!"

"Harry is safest with Dumbledore." Remus reasoned.

".... Fine, Harry goes, and Blueberry stays here where she's far away from that two-faced, manipulative bastard Snape."

"Wouldn't Meae be safest with Dumbledore as well?" Harry asked.

The men cringed at the question.

"Not really..." Remus hesitated answering.

"Look, Harry, you don't understand everything about Blueberry yet, and honestly, it's a burden I don't think us or Blueberry are ready to land on your shoulders with all you carry already. What you must understand, though, is that Blueberry is different from most wizards; her magic doesn't... work... the same as the rest of us. Because of that, it makes her dangerous, but it also makes her powerful. When she was too young to understand it, and the rest of the world was too naive, they tried to get rid of it. Most of that only caused her more trouble in the long run, but that kind of power entices even the strongest of men. Even men like Dumbledore wish to use her for their gain, it makes it hard to trust her in their care." Sirius gently explained.

"That's not to say we think Dumbledore would hurt her in any way, but when you're trying to win a war, it's harder not to look at everyone like chess pieces." Remus cut in.

Harry was silent for a moment as he thought over what they had said.

"In the first war," He started, "was it like that then? Is that part of it?"

"Look, Harry, the problem with Blueberry is she'll always sacrifice herself for others first, not unlike you in that respect. Yes, it was like that in the first war. Blueberry was always part of the front lines. She's powerful, she handled it well, until she couldn't." Sirius responded.

"Dumbledore, and we in a way as well, took too advantage of this fact in this first war, and we lost her. Looking back, I think your father and Lily were the only ones to see how much the first war destroyed her. They were always trying to convince her to take a break at home with them for some time. The rest of the Order thought we'd lose too much without her, and in the end, we lost a lot more than just her." Remus continued.

"I just, I know you're both afraid to lose her again, but if she doesn't go then I don't-" Harry cut off.

Both men deflated as they stared at the distraught and defeated face of their nephew. Remus hung his head as he sighed.

"If she doesn't go, you don't get to be with her, you mean?" He asked.

Harry shrank in his seat slightly from the shame of his own thoughts. He knew it was selfish to want her back at Hogwarts with him; he knew that he should want her as far away from this war as possible, want her safe, but he couldn't shake the ever-growing need inside himself to have her close.

"I know it's selfish, and she can't remember-"

"No, Harry," Sirius interrupted as he placed a hand on the boy's shoulder. "It was I who was being selfish. I so badly wanted to keep her safe, I didn't think about how keeping her from you would make you feel." He apologised, "Of course you'd want to be close to your mother. She might not remember, but she's always treated you with so much love and care, and in these troubling times, it's only natural to want to make the most of it you can."

"You will keep in touch with us about everything, though. Anything at all, no matter how small, share it even if you think it's nothing." Remus said firmly.

The three men went silent as they heard the front door rattle.

"I wish you had let me go inside Hagrid, Borgin and Burke's isn't that scary. I would have been fine! " Blueberry continued to whine as she opened the front door.

"Just why were you trying to go into that dodgy place?" Sirius asked grumpily.

Blueberry rolled her eyes at Sirius's overprotective attitude.

"If you must know, I read a book recently about the vanishing Cabinets and wanted to see one in person. Hagrid informed me he'd heard some talk of that store having a Cabinet that fits the description. Hagrid wouldn't allow me to go inside, though, if that makes you feel any better." She sassed back.

"Excuse you, young Lady, watch who you're talking to with that attitude." Sirius sassed back.

"All 'Alright, seems like everything's in order here..." Hagrid said awkwardly as he slowly backed away.

"Will you two please stop arguing? Harry and I really don't feel like listening to you two bickering all night." Remus complained.

Sirius cast a small glance to his nephew only to see him beaming at the three of them. He couldn't take this away from him; he knew they'd be sending Blueberry on that train back to Hogwarts, give Harry that little bit of extra peace and Happiness. There was just that niggling piece of something in the back of his head that said this would change the course of everything. Only time would tell if that meant something good.