Death is but the Next Great Adventure

Can Someone Please Get Remus Lupin a Tissue?

In the last chapter: Harry finds Sirius after the trial and they sign the last bit of paperwork that officiates Sirius becoming his guardian. Sirius and Harry go to Grimmauld Place where Harry meets the Black house elf Kreacher, who does not seem to like him very much. Sirius promises to see a mind-healer and Harry asks him to teach him the Animagus transformation.

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A full week after Sirius and Harry moved into Grimmauld Place saw to an unexpected visitor ringing their doorbell at one in the afternoon.

Harry hadn't done much of anything since he and Sirius had gone and picked up a few Mandrake Leaves from a potions shop. Unfortunately, Sirius had been completely honest about the Mandrake Leaves.

The leaf Harry chose was the size of a galleon and sat on his tongue for several hours before he gave in to his worry about accidentally piercing the leaf with his teeth and instead rolled the leaf up carefully and placed it under his tongue. It was far safer for the leaf, but it also made speaking nearly impossible, though eating and drinking were easier.

The leaf didn't taste like much of anything, just a slight earthy tang that lightly coated his mouth after some time. The Mandrake Leaf wouldn't wilt or rot, as the magical properties of the plant prevented any sort of decay after the leaf was severed from the rest of the plant. Luckily, Harry wouldn't have to worry about that! Otherwise he probably wouldn't have the will to go through with it.

The lack of speech meant that Harry kept both of his eager friends from visiting them, knowing that the ridiculous pair would have a field day with the situation. Harry doubted he could avoid them for a full month, but one can only hope.

However, the lack of speech didn't mean that Harry would go completely uncommunicative during the long month ahead of him. So, after only two days of silence, Harry broke and sought a spell that would allow him to communicate. Thankfully, it only took an afternoon of searching to find a fitting spell in an old book from the Black library—which Harry had already started combing through.

Flagrate, a spell the ignited trails of fiery red/orange marks in the air left by the tip of a wand. With a bit of experimentation—and help from his friend—Harry was able to perform the spell wandlessly, the words appearing in the air quickly and efficiently. Harry used the spell rather sparingly, his first time using it in actual application was to tell Sirius to 'shut it' after the older wizard had been using the last two hours taking advantage of Harry's guaranteed silence to blather on about either Quidditch or how 'adorable' Harry was when he pouted. Harry had made quite a few disbelieving and indignant noises before flashing the bright words before Sirius' face.

Harry soon came too loath the words 'adorable,' 'cute,' and 'precious.'

As promised, Sirius attended his first session with the mind-healer two days after they moved in. Harry had seen him off at the floo, since Harry couldn't go with him, ushering out the nervous and fidgety man with reassuring and encouraging words. By the time Sirius returned, though, he looked haggard and a little pale. The smile didn't quite reach his eyes and his shoulders were drooping as he moved through the house. The second session went much the same.

Harry barely saw Kreacher during that time. He assumed that Sirius had already demanded the unbreakable vow from the elf, since Sirius seemed completely at ease in the house after the first few days. When Harry did see the elf, it was all venomous glares and curled lips.

Before the resounding thrum of the metal knocker rang through the house, Harry had a few moments warning as the wards were tripped. Harry had been lounging in the library when it happened. It was a strange sensation, a deep vibration in his bones and a low pulse in his ears for just a moment. The only other person to approach their home had been Sirius, and since he was the lord of the house and line, the wards parted like nothing for him, resulting in no sensations at all!