Black as Knight || Sirius Black

CHAPTER SEVEN

"Trusting is hard. Knowing who to trust is even harder."

A few days had passed since Sirius' arrival at Francesca's bakery, and he was making some progress. Slowly but surely, Chessie had begun to warm up to him. He refrained from calling her that nickname—to her face, at least. Sirius wasn't about to destroy any progress he had already made with her. He hated keeping himself away from Francesca like this, but he told himself that it was necessary if he wanted her to remember him again.

Although he was making progress, Chessie hadn't quite let him into her life like he hoped she would. Sirius barely saw Everly, who he was fond of during the latter half of his Hogwarts years. On the weekends, the two would sneak off to Chessie's house, which Sirius thought of as his third home ("second home" was a title reserved solely for the Potters, who he ended up living with after his fifth year). When her parents would go out on date nights, they would stay behind to babysit Everly, who had already shown signs of accidental magic before she turned three.

Now, the only time he had been able to speak to her was when she called him a "homeless man" after his crash, and he could only muster a laugh in response. Francesca was always so protective over her, and Sirius figured that had only strengthened with time.

So he kept his feelings to himself, helping out as much as possible around the bakery with hopes that, somehow, Chessie would gain her memories back. He didn't expect her to forgive him for what he did, but he wanted to get a chance to explain himself and give her the apology that she deserved.

Sirius sighed, clicking the pen in his hand as he stood at the counter, waiting for new customers to show. It wasn't a very busy day and Sirius found himself becoming increasingly bored as time went on. Sarah suggested he take a break, but Sirius declined. If he was going to prove himself to Chessie, he had to show that he was dedicated to his job, even if he would rather be doing anything else at the moment. Chessie was currently off running errands with Everly, while Sarah and Sirius watched over the bakery.

A hunched figure stepped through the door and towards the counter, arms hanging awkwardly at his sides. A brown hood masked his features, hiding the man behind the coat. Sirius couldn't help but notice the way he fidgeted with something in the coat's pockets as he approached the front desk.

"Can I... help you?" Sirius asked, raising an eyebrow. It was still odd for him to see muggles out and about. Although he owned a motorcycle and was often interested in muggle culture during his teenage years (and by culture, he meant placing posters of muggle women all over his room to irritate his mother), he often kept to the Wizarding World. It wasn't that he felt muggles were lesser than him—he never believed in anything his family preached—but more that there was a large gap in lifestyle between wizards and muggles. Wearing a large coat that covered virtually every part of your upper half was not a part of wizard fashion, especially not during London's warmer August.

"Sirius," The person spoke, stepping closer towards the counter.

He could recognize that voice anywhere. It was none other than, "Peter?"

Peter took off his large coat, showing his face. He looked extremely pale, sickly even. The area around his eyes was sunken and sallow, the drooping appearance of his cheeks adding years to his appearance.

"Peter, what are you doing here?"

Peter took his hands out of his pockets, twiddling his thumbs. "Remus has been looking for you. He's really beaten up, you know. Says he wants to get back at the person who did it."

Sirius winced at the mention of Remus. He recalled how he strode up on his motorcycle, only to find Remus lurking, already waiting for his opportunity to strike. Sirius knew Remus was doomed to lose from the start, yet he pushed himself to the limit, nearly getting both of them killed in the process. Images flashed through his head: the glass shattering and raining down on him, how the incident progressed from a magical duel to a fistfight.

He swiped a hand through his dark hair. "Listen, Peter, I don't know if you've noticed, but Remus and I aren't on the closest of terms right now. I'd rather him not find me, after what happened."

Peter took a step back. "You... you mean—?"

Sirius glanced off towards the other direction, before turning back towards Peter. "I'm not proud of it, but I did what I had to do. Somebody had to show that filthy traitor that there's no escaping what he's done. If Remus wants to think that he can spy for Voldemort and that all of the years we spent as friends mean nothing to him, so be it. He can follow whoever he pleases, but he can't put James in danger. I wasn't about to let him get away with it."

Peter's eyes widened, but Sirius didn't think anything of it. He figured he was probably just startled, knowing that Sirius was the one who had gotten into that nasty fight with Remus.

"Why are you here, then?"

Sirius thought for a moment. He normally would have kept Chessie's whereabouts to himself, but after entrusting the job of Secret Keeper to Peter, he was sure he had nothing to lose. Sirius had already lost Remus, somebody who he previously considered to be his best friend, and the Potters were locked up in their home in Godric's Hollow, a home which he was not allowed to visit.

"Chessie's here."

Peter blinked, a look of shock spreading across his face. He furrowed his eyebrows. "Francesca? But I thought she disappeared!"

"I did, too," Sirius said. "After my fight with Remus—I don't really know, everything's still kind of hazy—but I came down the road on my bike and crashed into that lamppost, over there." Sirius pointed out the window and over at the lamppost, which was still severely bent from his unfortunate collision with it.

"So, she lives here?" Peter asked, pointing at the floor.

Sirius smirked. "Yeah, actually. She started this all herself."

During their Hogwarts years, Chessie wasn't as loud, nor as reckless as the other Gryffindors, but she had the qualities of a leader, and that was one of the many things Sirius admired about her. Even after everything that had happened, Francesca picked herself back up, taking the reins on her life, and making a living for her small, but close family of two. She was a fighter, and that was what Sirius loved most about her.

"Really?" Peter spoke, looking over towards the stairs. "What's up there?"

"That's their flat. She's living with her little sister, too. I haven't really had the chance to see her, but I'm assuming she takes up one of the rooms upstairs."

"Alright," Peter said, having asked all of his questions, all except for one. "Do you sell pumpkin pasties here?"

"Yes, in fact, we do." Sirius winked.

He gathered Peter's order and gingerly wrapped it up in a delivery bag, handing it to his friend. Peter began to walk away when Sirius stopped him.

"In a rush?" Sirius raised an eyebrow.

Peter nodded. "Sorry, I'm on a mission. Dumbledore's orders."

"Ah, well, good luck catching those Death Eaters."

Peter gave him a timid wave, before reaching the door handle.

"Peter?"

Peter turned around to face him.

"How did you find me?" Sirius asked.

Peter shrugged. "I was just hungry."

And with that, he left the bakery, off to complete his mission.