Harry Potter and the Ties that Bind

Chapter 32

Sirius had been sulking since Celestina came over. The man walked as if in a slump, he spoke in half-hearted grunts, his entire disposition reminded Harry of a child who'd been scolded by his parents. His godfather only acted like himself when the three of them–him, Professor Lupin, and Sirius–were working on the motocycle.

It was during one of those motorcycle sessions, while he and Professor Lupin stood off to the side as Sirius replaced old parts with new ones, that Harry asked about something that had been bothering him.

"You want to know about the relationship between Sirius and Celestina?" Professor Lupin asked.

"Yes."

Professor Lupin looked up, his eyes gaining a thoughtful glance. "Their relationship is... complicated. I'm sure you already know that arranged marriages aren't unheard of in wizarding society. This is especially true for the Ancient and Noble Houses or the Founding Five Houses like Black, Bones, and Potter. Even today, there are still arranged marriages happening in our world."

"I'm guessing Celestina and Sirius were placed into an arranged marriage with each other?" Harry said.

"You're only half right," Professor Lupin said. "You see, Celestina and Sirius were, I guess you could say they were romantically entangled. Sirius, as you seem to be aware, is something of a playboy. Back at Hogwarts, he would take many women to bed with him. Well, Celestina was the same way when it came to men. There was actually a betting pool between the Marauders to see who among those two would sleep with the most people."

"Uh... that sounds really interesting." Harry thought he might have been turning green. The knowledge of his godfather's promiscuousness was rather disturbing.

"Anyway, he and Celestina, when they weren't sleeping with other people, would sleep with each other. I'm not really sure about the true nature of their relationship, but they seemed close enough to James and I."

"What does that have to do with them being put into an arranged marriage?"

"Ah, well... their parents eventually decided to arrange a marriage for them when they were still attending Hogwarts. Sirius didn't take it too well and ran away from home. That was actually what led to him being kicked out of the family."

Harry wasn't sure what he should say to that. He hadn't known this part of his godfather's past, and he wasn't sure what to think. Even so, hearing all this did make him curious about the history between Sirius and Celestina. Was there something there? Was Celestina upset that Sirius had run away from the arranged marriage, or was she relieved? He wanted to ask more questions, but he didn't think it would be appropriate.

Everyone has a few skeletons they want to hide.

"Are you two going to keep standing there all day, or are you going to help me?" asked Sirius, snapping Harry and Professor Lupin out of their conversation.

"I guess we should lend him a hand," Professor Lupin said. "Who knows what Sirius might blow up if we're not watching him."

"Right." Harry agreed.

As he and Professor Lupin joined Sirius by the motorcycle, Harry pondered the past surrounding his father's friends.

The life of a Marauder was surely a complicated story.

XoX

Sleepover. It was a new term for Daphne, who'd never heard of it until Susan Bones suggested they have one. According to her, it was originally a muggle term used to describe when a group of friends got together at someone's house and spent the night.