Redemption For A Monster (Marauder fanfic) Book Three

32- Armed At Last

Sirius' talk with Harry later that day, didn't go very well, as he had felt someone interfering with the fireplace, and had been forced to retreat quickly, to avoid being caught.
Since then he had been afraid of using the fireplace to communicate with his godson. And without letters from Harry, which were too risky to send, the only way that Sara and Sirius knew what he was up to, was their weekly meetings with Dumbledore. But the headmaster hadn't been spending much time around Harry lately, so he didn't know what Harry got up to, and he had absolutely no idea how the boy was feeling, on a day to day basis.
Sara and Sirius felt quite cut off from the rest of the world, stuck in Grimmauld Place.
The weeks dragged by very slowly, and some days it would just be them and Kreacher, alone in the house.

They had fallen into a dull routine, doing the same thing each day, constantly wishing that they could go outside.
Sara had begun to forget what wind felt like against her face, and what rain drops on her skin felt like, since they were forbidden from even opening the windows, or stepping out the front door.
But there was one day, at the beginning of November, that was different from all the rest.
On the 3rd of November, Sara had woken up bright and early, to decorate the house, as it was Sirius' birthday. She had even baked him a surprise birthday cake, to make the day more exciting.
"Sara! Sara where are you?" Asked Sirius, when he woke up, and found the bed beside him empty.
Sara smiled and jumped out from behind the door, using her wand to make confetti explode in the air.
"Surprise!" She announced.
"What- I don't understand" replied Sirius.
"Happy 36th birthday Sirius. You didn't think I'd forget did your birthday did you?" Questioned Sara.
"No, but I didn't expect us to do anything for it. You haven't mentioned it, so I assumed that you had forgotten".

"If I told you about this beforehand, then it wouldn't be a surprise. And how many birthday's have we celebrated together? Loads. So I wasn't going to forget your birthday, even if everyone else has" admitted Sara.
"Well, thank you. I certainly didn't expect this" grinned Sirius.
Sara flicked her wand, and a tray floated into the room, with a large plate of breakfast on it.
"Breakfast in bed, for the birthday boy" she announced.
Sirius looked down at the tray of food in front of him, his eyes watering.
"You did all this?" He quizzed.
"Well who else do you think did it? Kreacher?" Asked Sara.
"Definately not"
"Exactly. I knew no one else would do anything, so I decided to step up, and take charge of everything. Now, eat up, so that I can show you the rest"
"There's more?"
"Of course. A nice breakfast is just the first surprise of the day".

"Thank you for doing all this. You didn't have to" sighed Sirius.
"I know. But I wanted to. I wanted to make you feel special" blushed Sara.
"Well you've certainly done that".
Sirius gestured for Sara to join him on the bed, so she sat down by his side, and allowed him to hug her.
"Do you like it?" She asked.
"Yes. And you are going to have to eat it with me" replied Sirius.
"I can't, it's your birthday breakfast, not mine"
"And I can't eat all this food on my own, I am going to need your help"
"Well, when you put it that way".
Sirius grinned, and placed a piece of toast in Sara's mouth, so that she could take a bite, before shoving the rest of it, into his own mouth.

Once all the food had been eaten, and Sirius had gotten dressed, Sara removed his present from her wardrobe.
"This is for you" she revealed, handing the gift to him carefully.
"How did you manage to get me a present, when we can't leave the house?" Questioned Sirius, suspiciously.
"Don't worry, I didn't go out and get it myself. I asked someone else to get it for me" Sara answered.
"Good, because I don't want you going out there and getting caught, on my behalf"
"Just open your present already, you are making me nervous".
Sirius obliged, and pulled off the wrapping paper, revealing a long rectangular box underneath.
"Sara-" started Sirius.
"Open it" she encouraged.
Sirius took a deep breath, and removed the lid of the box, revealing a beautiful black wand inside.

"I don't believe it" muttered Sirius.
"Well, I thought it was about time you had a wand again, since your old wand was most likely destroyed, when you were sent to Azkaban. And Dumbledore agreed with me. You can't help the Order, without a wand" admitted Sara.
"Dumbledore helped you get this?"
"Yes. It was my idea, I asked him to go into Ollivander's, and buy you a new wand. It won't work as well as your old one, since it didn't choose you, but a wizard can make any wand work, even if they don't choose each other. But I thought it would-".
Sara was cut off, by Sirius wrapping his arms around her, gripping her in a tight hug.
"Can't breathe" she squeaked.
"Sorry" mumbled Sirius, as he let her go.
"It's just- I haven't had a wand of my own, for so long" he continued.

"I hope you haven't forgotten how to do magic" teased Sara.
Sirius grinned, and removed the wand from the box, spinning it round in his hand.
"I don't think I could ever forget how to cast spells" he smiled.
"It might take you a bit of time to get used to doing magic again, so don't expect yourself to be as good as you were 14 years ago" Sara warned.
"Well, we've got all the time in the world, to help get me used to this new wand, since it's not like we do anything else all day"
"That's true... So, what is going to be your first spell, with this wand?"
"I'm not sure...".
"Accio" commanded Sirius, summoning his hairbrush towards him, which ended up hitting him on the forehead.
"Ouch. I think I'll need to practice that one a few times" he winced, before bending down to pick the hairbrush up off the floor.

Sara smiled, and kissed the mark on Sirius' head, where the hairbrush had hit him.
"You haven't brushed your hair in ages" she said softly, looking up at his long messy hair, which was almost at greasy as Snape's.
"Well today feels like a special occassion" admitted Sirius.
"I'm glad you think so"
"Are there any more surprises I should be aware of, happening today?"
"You'll just have to wait and see... But if you go down to the kitchen, you might find one more surprise, covered in candles"
"You baked me a cake?"
"Why don't we go and find out?".
Sirius grinned, and kissed Sara on the cheek, before taking hold of her hand. He then practically skipped out the room, pulling her along, with his new wand in his other hand, as they made their way down to the kitchen, for some birthday cake.