SPLITAPARTS: lessons in love ✔️

Up, Up and Away

Sirius arrived home some five hours after having received the news of Regulus' death, cold and starving, only to find Cassie holding on to Harry, refusing to release him to Hagrid. He knelt down before the fireplace and closed his eyes, allowing the events of the past two days to replay in his mind. Only when he felt like the skin on his face would melt, did he finally turn around to face Cassie; she didn't need to be an empath to know that something else had happened. He tilted his head toward her. "Oi--"

"What happened," she asked. Where were you! I've been so worried--

He breathed in deeply and sighed. "I stopped by Mum's to talk to Reg--"

"Sirius, you promised to come straight here--" Kingsley said with disappointment.

He turned his head and looked at Kingsley with sad eyes. "Actually mate, I didn't. I asked you if you trusted me and you told me to come home. Well, I'm home."

"Semantics," Kingsley said crossing his arms over his broad chest; he looked like he wanted to spit fire.

Cassie stood with a sleeping Harry in her arms. "Ok, so you took a pit stop ," she said with aggravation. "Where did you go, what did you do? What did Reg say?"

"I didn't get to talk to Reg," he said.

"Well, that's unfortunate," Kingsley said. "Where is he, does your mother know? Or is his whereabouts a DE secret?"

Sirius' face lost all expression as his eyes stared into the air, focusing on nothing. "Turns out my brother is dead. Seems he couldn't stomach being a death eater after all."

Cassie moved from the sofa and knelt down before him. "I am so sorry," she said gently. "When?"

"Not too long ago," he said looking up into her eyes.

Realization played across her pretty features as she remembered Sirius' convulsive nightmare. "When--?"

Sirius nodded. "Uh huh."

"We're all linked," she whispered. She reached out and stroked his unshaven face with her hand. "Oh Furface--"

He pulled away slightly. "I've had a lot of time on my own to chew on it, Dee--I'm actually okay with it," he said.

She tilted her head, scrunched her nose and shook her head. "Nu uh," she said.

He raised his brow and half-sneered as he rolled his eyes then looked to Harry with a nod. "How's he doing?"

"Harry? He's great," she said. "Hagrid wants to take him away--"

Sirius nodded. "I know. He can't stay here Babe."

She stood up quickly, causing Harry to whine in his sleep. "Why not," she whispered through gritted teeth. "We promised--"

"I know we did Dee, but we can't keep him--he's not like a stray critter that we can simply take in."

"But Sirius--Grandpa wants him to go to Petunia and Vernon!"

Sirius grimaced. "Well--"

"Well? WELL! THERE IS NO WELL--"

Harry began to wail in her arms causing Sirius to stand as well and look hard at him. "What's wrong with him?"

"He's scared," she said quietly. "Probably because I yelled at you."

Sirius gazed hard into her eyes. "Then don't raise your voice to me," he said quietly through gritted teeth.

"But they'll hate him--at least here, he'll know that he's loved--"