Missing Moments: Harry Potter Edition

Pr. | Completing the Picture

Prologue - Completing the Picture

Sirius Black was not having a good summer.

He felt trapped, stuck in his old family home with a bunch of loud, obnoxious teenagers that reminded him way too much of himself. His godson was miles away and he still remained an escaped convict.

He sat at the long table in the basement kitchen, pouring over a bottle of firewhiskey. Mrs. Weasley didn't approve of his habits of drinking around the children⁠-a few glasses of wine at dinner, a bottle of firewhiskey throughout the day.

Remus, surprisingly, often accompanied him when it came to midnight escapades throughout Grimmauld Place. Back in their Marauder days, Remus tended to sit out on more of their exploits than Peter did.

Sirius went to take another sip only to find his cup empty.

Sighing, he left the room, making sure to dispose of the empty bottle lest Molly find it in the morning. He didn't think he could handle her wrath right now.

Order meetings had, so far, become pretty uneventful. After the Triwizard Tournament, they'd had quite a few leads and disputes to settle out, which they'd done very quickly and quietly. Now, Number Twelve, Grimmauld Place's only job seemed to be acting as the sitting ground for all of the left over Order members to come and go as they pleased, and nobody preferred to sit in the drawing room because of this fact.

The only good news Sirius had gotten since mid-June was hearing that Harry's arrival was scheduled for August 6th, the first time he'd really get to spend any quality time with him.

Throughout the past two years, Sirius had begun gathering as much information on him as he could, interested in just the idea of him. Remus and him liked to reminisce about Lily and James before switching to Harry and all of his known endeavors.

Apparently, Remus heard quite a bit during his time as a Hogwarts professor. Quidditch star as a first year, going after the Sorcerer's Stone, rescuing Ginny Weasley from the Chamber of Secrets, reputation for getting into trouble (intentional or otherwise), falling on the receiving end of some pretty brutal injuries, and many more.

Sirius and Remus were almost completely sure that half of the stories handed to them were fake and that there was so much more they didn't yet know.

Harry's arrival was a very anticipated event by all residing in the Order's headquarters.

August 6th couldn't come quick enough. Every day drawing closer was an adventure in itself. Attitudes changed, mannerisms were somewhat altered and the room Ron was set to share with him was magically cleansed.

Sirius knew that Molly and Arthur were still somewhat hesitant around him. After all, one couldn't just scrape away a long, famous reputation for mass murder and hostility. Molly found it imperative to lecture Sirius on his behavior, something that wasn't appreciated by any of the house's many inhabitants.

"I fully understand that Harry is your Godson, Sirius," Mrs. Weasley began, "but he's just been through a terrible ordeal and doesn't need your dark attitude lingering around him for the rest of the summer."

He nodded and rolled his eyes. He'd already fought with this woman too many times to count. The last thing he would possibly wish for is to make things even harder on Harry.

Feeling sure that Harry's friends felt the exact same way as he did, he said, "I never planned on doing anything out of the usual, Molly. We were all teenagers once, I'm sure you can remember."

The Floo flared up in drawing room, and Albus Dumbledore stalked through to the kitchen. "Arthur, word from the Ministry has been received," Albus said mournfully. "The Department of Mysteries wishes to have an inquiry processed. Your name was mentioned, as was your son's, Percy. The Unspeakables mentioned a heavy volume involving many Order members and Hogwarts students."