Harriet's fifteenth Birthday:

Tom's greatest regret in life (for he was now the well-rounded, well-adjusted, emotionally aware sort of man than could acknowledge his regrets), was not using the Philosopher's Stone, or some other contrivance, to freeze Harriet Potter in time. Now, he knew most people would call him 'evil' for wanting such a thing, and that there would no doubt be some inconsequential moral objections about not allowing a child to grow up. But really! She was just so much easier to deal with when she was younger: simpler, and honestly he thought she was a happier eleven year old than she was a teenager.

More than anything though, he didn't like how their relationship changed as she grew. Their friendship had always been some uncontrollable, shifting thing, but until the last few years it had shifted in one direction: they got closer – As she aged her ability to understand him evolved, and he in turn learned to accept Harriet's agency over her own life, and as unconventional as their friendship was, they were close.

Then, he allowed her to grow up (unfortunately), and things got harder. He used to think she existed to annoy him, but now he believed she existed to mortify him, and that drove a wedge between them. And just when he'd got his head around having a friend!

His first clue that things would get harder came during Easter break of her first year at Hogwarts, and it was such a trifling little thing at first:

Four years earlier:

Anichka wrapped her legs around Sirius, pulling him in closer, deeper. One hand raked down his back, while the other gripped his hair, pulling his skilled tongue away from her breasts in order to kiss him between shuddering breaths. One of his strong arms reached around her back to pull them both into a sitting position, and she moaned loudly at the added friction,

"Oh, Sirius, oh fuck," She got louder, throwing back her head as that nirvana inducing tension began to spread, and the rest of the world began to fall away: The Dark Lord's mansion, the bright orange of the sunset spilling through the large windows of Sirius' room, the silk sheets beneath them, the swish of the door and the excited tones of Harriet Potter –! She screamed in shock.

"Hey Sirius, did you –" Harriet froze in horror, momentarily unable to move an inch, even as Sirius and Anichka disentangled themselves with impressive speed, "Oh…" Harriet whispered as her mind, to her mortification, caught up with what was going on, "Nooo" she said under her breath while slowly backing out of the room and pulling the door closed, "No, no, no ,no ,no, no, no."

Once the traumatising view had been replaced with the heavy but delicately carved wood of the door, Harriet spun and sped away at full speed. Oh god… oh, EW…

"Shit!" Sirius exclaimed as he dressed rapidly, fumbling to keep his buttons straight.

Anichka wrapped a sheet around herself and then grabbed his wrists, trying to calm him, "Hey, slow down. It's okay –"

He yanked himself free and snapped at her, "It's NOT okay," Before forcing himself to take a deep breath, he shook his head and turned back to her, "Sorry. I'm sorry, but I have to go stop her."

"Hey, it's okay," She repeated softly," I know my dad can be protective, but he was going to find out about us sooner or later."

Now dressed (as dressed as time would allow) he pulled the door open, before pausing again to look at Anichka Dolohov. Merlin, she was so beautiful, he thought. Her deep brown hair was always full and luscious, falling to frame her delicate face, even when in all rights it should have been matted with sweat. She was ten years his junior, but in many ways wiser than he.

And she was the only woman he'd had feelings for since getting out of Azkaban, but she was right about her father – Dolohov was a dangerous man, so he was insistent on keeping their affair secret until he was sure.

He turned, cupping her face in his hands. He was sure now – he was willing to face Dolohov for her sake… but that wasn't his imminent worry, because Harry wasn't running away to Anichka's father! The Dark Lord was going to have his balls!

Tom was listening to opposing territory claims when Harry burst through the doors of his office with her eyes closed, exclaiming loudly, "You have to obliviate me!" He might have chastised her for interrupting, but settling these land disputes was the absolute most boring part of setting up the new socioeconomic order.

Tom eyed her, before commanding, "Avery, obliviate Harriet. Take everything."

Her eyes snapped open to take in the three other men present. Avery was rigid as his mind whirled to decide how to proceed: He wouldn't dream of disobeying such a direct order, but the Dark Lord never allowed anyone to harm Harriet, and so he was 75-80% sure not to proceed. He glanced across to Lucius and Minister Bagshot, and barely concealed his sigh of relief when Lucius gave him a miniscule head shake. He stayed seated.

Harriet rolled her eyes at Avery's behaviour and walked up to Tom's desk.

"Tom, Sirius is upstairs! Having sex! With Anichka Dolohov! And it's very, very gross!" She was going to die of Ew.

"Harriet, Sirius can sleep with whomever he wishes." He replied dismissively. But then he looked and saw how pale she was, and suddenly, just like that, for the first time in a very, very long time, he wasn't comfortable dealing with her. He didn't want to deal with her. Tom had never really been age appropriate with Harry - he'd exposed her to pain and death for years, but for some reason discussing Black's sex life with her made him uncomfortable. There was nothing really inappropriate about this conversation, nothing graphic, he just didn't want to have it. He hardened his face, and spoke pointedly, "Sirius is waiting outside. Lucius, Harry, you are dismissed." He'd let Lucius deal with it! The blond stood to leave, confused about what was going on and what he was walking into, while Harry opened her mouth to object, "Now!"

And so Lucius hurried Harry from the room.

It didn't take long for Harriet to get over Sirius and Anichka – certainly less time than it took Anichka's father! In the end, the Dark Lord, Sirius, Anichka, and her father decided that the only way forward was for Sirius and Anichka to marry. She was delighted, of course, and though Dolohov was loathe to give away his youngest child, there were few Houses more prestigious than Black!

The only problem left was that Sirius refused to get married without his only true friend present.

Remus rose lazily from the bed at the sound of multiple footsteps. He didn't know exactly how long he'd been in this cell, though he had been through three transformations and therefore knew it had been at least three months. In that time he'd spoken to no one. Not one single soul. Many people had come and gone past his bars, most he recognised as known Death Eaters, but none had so much as looked his way, never mind responded to his questions. Therefore he wasn't hopeful that these latest visitors had anything to do with him, but getting up to see who it was was the closest thing he had to entertainment.

He was going bloody crazy, he knew that. He was starting to appreciate the little comforts he had: the room was large enough to pace around, the bed was comfortable, and he was fed three times a day. One of the walls had even opened during the full moons to reveal a small parkland – without Wolfsbane Moony would have hurt himself trying to break free had he been trapped. None of it made any sense. And of course the mania-inducing isolation meant that for the last few weeks he'd been looking forward to facing Voldemort – something he should have dreaded – because at least Voldemort would speak, and he could interact, and at this point he would take pain over this! He had hurt himself a few times, just for the distraction. Just to feel. He was losing emotional control – yesterday he'd burst into tears three times for absolutely no reason – but if he knew that, surely he wasn't completely mad, right? Mad people don't know they're mad. Or, maybe, him making the assumption that he wasn't mad, did mean he was mad…

" – doesn't matter. I just don't like it down here." Remus jerked out of his sluggish, confused state when he heard Harry's voice.

"This was your idea, kid." And Sirius too. Remus was less surprised by Sirius' presence, but it was only his desperate solitude that made him even consider speaking to him. "It'll be worth it."

His first reaction to hearing Harry in this dreadful place was despair, but when they came into view Remus wondered if he really had gone mad after all. Harry and Sirius looked the same as ever, but walking beside them were two small tigers.

"What-?" The sound of his voice had the entire party looking his way. Harry smiled warmly, but before she could respond the tigers began to whine and growl and make the most adorably pathetic roars whilst trying to hide themselves behind Harry's legs.

"Hey, it's ok, it's ok." She tried to calm them, but it didn't take long before they were trying to climb up her. And they were heavy, and sharp. "Ow, don't worry, it's ok. Ah, no no, Coco. Down you go-" She just managed to unhook her waist from between Coco's paws, when Aniseed raised his head from her shoulder and began to hiss down menacingly. She gave up, quickly handing the snake over to Sirius, before heading out with a quick, "Be right back."

Remus watched, bewildered, as the tigers ran after her. Unable to do anything else, he laughed lightly. Was it possible to lose your mind within just a few minutes?

"I think they sussed you, Moony." Sirius tried to joke.

With a quick shake of his head, Remus looked to his treacherous friend and furrowed his brows. He wanted to cry and shout and hug the other man. "Are you here to get me out?" He already knew the answer, so the question came out more like a challenge. Now that the monotony had been broken he didn't think he could bear one more day alone in this place. It felt worse somehow.

"I can't." Sirius sounded genuinely pained to say it, but Remus didn't have any pity to spare. That answer alone broke something within him as that faintest of hope was snatched away.

"Can't or won't?" He accused, causing Sirius to sigh sadly.

Cowardly though it may be, Sirius had been relieved Harry would be here for this confrontation, but now… what was taking her so long?! "Can't!" He demonstrated by shaking the barred door. There wasn't even a physical lock to break, and he was sure this whole area would be warded somehow.

"Then why are you here?"

"To see you, to visit, to apologise. I don't know!" He really didn't. It seemed that today was the day the Dark Lord finally saw fit to inform Harry about Remus. Sirius had a feeling He had only done so to get Harry back in the same room as Sirius without turning bright red. It seemed to be working.

When Harry had come to say she knew where Remus was, Sirius assumed this meant he was now permitted to see his old friend – he'd been around Harry and the Dark Lord for long enough to know how these things worked, and Voldemort never gave Harry things just to take them away. "I'm sorry."

Remus scoffed, but he didn't know whether to fight or cry or just reach out to touch Sirius because traitor or not he was someone and he was talking to him…

"I would have been here sooner if I could."

"Your master had you leashed, did he?" Remus sneered – it wasn't his style, but he was afraid that if he shut up or shouted Sirius would leave.

"Yes." Sirius replied confidently. While of course his submission to the Dark Lord would always kindle shame, he would much rather Remus knew that he was restrained from seeing him, than believe he had chosen not to. "I'm sorry. I am. I'm sorry I didn't keep my mouth shut and I'm sorry you ended up in here. Will you let me explain?"

"If you think it will soothe your conscience." Remus said quietly. He wanted to shout 'yes!' He wanted Sirius to keep talking, and he wanted to understand.

Sirius didn't know where to start, but took a deep breath and tried anyway, "The Dark Lord had Harriet. And she, she adores him –"

"He killed her parents!" Remus cut it, unable to believe such a thing.

"Well, yeh, when you put it like that…" He'd spend the past two months rehearsing ways to explain all this, and now Sirius couldn't remember how any of that had gone. "But the way she tells it, he also saved her life. I don't know how or when, but –"

"And you let her believe that?! For heaven's sake Padfoot, she's a little girl – "

"You don't know!" Sirius ran a hand through his hair – maybe there was no way to explain this, "You haven't been here. You haven't seen Him." Remus would never believe the way Voldemort treated Harry, there were times even Sirius still struggled to accept it, "But besides all that, what should I have done?! Taken on the Dark Lord and all his followers and 'rescued' Harry? I'm good Remus, but I'm not that good! Or maybe I should have left her behind?!"

"You shouldn't have left a friend here alone!" Remus finally raised his voice – his anger appearing in an instant, though he was already trying to pull himself together.

"I'm sorry. If I'd come, it would have only made things worse."

"Worse? Merlin Sirius, how? Total isolation; wanting to shout or sing, just to hear; reciting entire conversations in your mind, reciting books, just for stimulus; staring at the same walls day in, day out; it does things to the mind."

"You think I don't know that?!" Sirius shot back, half in disbelief, half in anger. "You've had a few months. Try six and a half years of it, and then times your mental torment by a thousand because you're surrounded by Dementors! And you think the Dark Lord forgetting about you for a few months is bad?! You have absolutely no idea how creative he can be, how much I've –" He heard the door open and cut himself off, taking a quick step back and forcing himself to calm down.

"Sorry about that. I should have realised they'd sense your, erm, furry little problem." Harry joked, before noticing the atmosphere. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing." Remus spoke first, his voice back to his normal soft tone. "I'm just starting to understand how much I've underestimated what Padfoot has been through." It didn't excuse what was going on now, but it helped.

"But, you're ok?" Her worried eyes darted between the two men. They looked fine, but she knew that wasn't always a good indicator.

"Of course we are." Sirius said, though he could clearly see she didn't believe him. With a concerned frown, Harry turned and pulled open Remus' cell door.

Both men shared a look, before Remus wasted no further time and stepped out into the hallway.

"Harry, how did you… I mean why… you aren't afraid I'll escape?" He asked stupidly.

Harry laughed. "No. Come on, I don't like it down here."

Sirius took Remus' question more seriously, because as much as he would love to spring his friend, there was no longer anywhere in western Europe for him to hide, so while the Dark Lord was content to keep Remus alive, Sirius was happy to let this play out His way.

Harry was half way out before he spoke up. "Harry, I don't think this is a good idea." She turned back with a smile. The worry was easy to read on their faces and in a strange way, it made her feel happy – like she was surrounded by family, because all three of them were thinking of the best interests of each other.

Fortunately for them, Harry was very responsible for her age. "*Ani, threaten Sirius.*" She hissed.

Aniseed raised his head and fanned out his hood in front of Sirius' face, hissing threateningly, with venom dripping from his exposed fangs. Sirius took a slow step back, even though the snake was around his neck. The point was made: Aniseed was quick as lightning when he struck – nobody was getting away if Harry didn't want them to. And besides that, if Sirius still couldn't leave BWL without permission, it was likely the Dark Lord had made sure Remus couldn't either.

She gave them a cheeky grin and stepped up to take Aniseed back with soothing hisses. "Let's go." As far as it had to do with her, neither Remus or Sirius would ever come down here again! Tom knew this, so she was confident He planned for Remus' future outside of these horrid musty walls.

I'm so sorry for the delays. Please bear with me. xx