Chapter Text
The smell of frying eggs and toasting bread drifted through the bright, renovated kitchen of Grimmauld Place, a scent so homey that Harrie smiled every time she noticed it. She moved easily around the space, bare feet whispering against the new wooden floors, the soft morning light settling over her shoulders and turning her bed-head flyaways into a golden halo glow around her head.
Sirius stood at the stove in nothing but low-slung pajama bottoms and a gingham apron, his hair still damp from the shower and tied back in a loose bun that had already started falling apart.
The sight still delighted her, no matter how many times she had seen it before. The posh pure-blooded rebel in a frilly apron, cooking up a full English, was truly a comical- and strangely arousing- sight.
He was humming to himself while flipping eggs with exaggerated wrist flourishes. The old Black family kitchen had once been cold and cluttered; now it was warm and sunny, with yellow tiles, mismatched mugs and little toddler handprints smeared across the bottom cupboards.
Teddy sat on the floor, clacking pots and pans together with the kind of intense concentration known only to one and a half year olds. His turquoise hair bounced in odd little spikes every time he hit a pot.
“You’re teaching him terrible habits,” Harrie said, leaning her hip against the counter, grabbing the tea he had prepared for her in a mug that read ‘World’s Okayest Godfather’ and sneaking a strawberry from the cutting board in the same motion.
Sirius flicked her a grin over his shoulder. That grin, the wolfish, handsome and utterly besotted little quirk of lips, always managed to fill her stomach with butterflies. She was fairly certain it was that grin alone that managed to convince her to fall in love with him in the first place.
“He’s building character,” he said, his voice bright with laughter. “And rhythm. Every child needs rhythm, darling.”
“He’s making a racket.”
“He’s adding ambiance. Hit it Teddy!”
One especially resonant clang echoed throughout the large room, causing Teddy to squeal with pride.
“See? A natural.”
“Like father, like son.” Harrie poked him lightly in the ribs as she walked around him. “You cause chaos, he causes chaos.”
“Excuse you, Madam Black, I am extremely orderly.”
Behind him, a pan of beans began bubbling over onto the cooktop.
Harrie lifted a brow.
Sirius huffed dramatically and flicked his wand, cleaning the mess and settling the beans back where they belonged. “That was the pan’s fault.”
She laughed, brushing a quick kiss across his jaw as she reached behind him for plates. He caught her waist, tugged her back into him and bent low to place a heated kiss on her surprised lips.
Sirius’s morning kisses were the work of a master; slow and warm and tasting faintly of tea- they were the kind of kisses that made her toes curl and her heart thump softly against her ribs.
“Mmm,” he murmured against her lips. “Breakfast of champions.”
“Your other breakfast is burning.”
“And whose fault is th-?”
POP
A glowing silver swan streaked into the kitchen, hovering over the ancient wooden table in the center of the room causing Sirius to straighten instantly, his standard grin replaced with a look of grim concern.
“Sirius,” came Fleur’s crisp voice. “I need you at Parkinson Manor. The curse is- emm- exploding. Come now.”
Sirius gripped her waist tighter, groaned, then rested his forehead against Harrie’s. “Of course. Of course something catastrophic has to happen before breakfast.”
Harrie smoothed a hand over his cheek. “Go. We’ll be fine.”
Releasing her, he bent and pressed a kiss to Teddy’s head who immediately tried to stick his finger in Sirius’s nose in retaliation, before rushing up the stairs to get dressed. Harrie sighed and looked back at Teddy who had abandoned his pots and was now grabbing dust bunnies from under the cupboards and studying them like priceless artifacts. Laughing softly, she vanished the mess from his hands and deposited the squirming tot into his booster seat at the table, setting a few strawberries in front of him to keep him busy while she plated breakfast.
Sirius bounded back into the kitchen just as Harrie had finished wrapping a bacon sandwich up for him in a cloth. Swiping the bundle from her hands, he grinned and stole one last kiss, bending her into an exaggerated dip and slipping his tongue into her mouth in a long decadent sweep. Groaning, he reluctantly let her back up, releasing her from his tight grasp while she blushed and tugged her t-shirt back into place from where it had slipped off her shoulder.
“I’ll be back before lunch,” Sirius promised as he backed towards the entry hall, never taking his eyes off his wife.
“I’ll hold you to that.”
He winked and then disapparated with a crack.
The moment he vanished, Harrie took a deep cleansing breath. She trusted him. She trusted Fleur. But curse breaking was unpredictable and Sirius had never been good at playing things safe. That’s exactly why he had chosen the profession in the first place, she thought as she picked at her breakfast half heartedly and watched Teddy gleefully fling beans onto the floor.
After his long, brutal imprisonment in Azkaban, Sirius had sought out adventure and excitement in every avenue of his life. Curse breaking wasn't a profession he had taken for the galleons, but rather for the thrill. And he specialized in some of the nastiest curses he could find; the ones only found in old pure-blood estates that probably required the blood of virgins or newborn babies to keep running properly.
He would be alright. This was just another day on the job for him. If he could handle watching her run into danger as often as she used to, she could handle it too. She couldn't help it if she glanced at the clock a time or three throughout the morning though… anxiously waiting for his arrival back home.
—----
The Parkinson manor was heaving with unstable magic when Sirius arrived, the air thrumming with a sharp, metallic hum. Fleur stood near an ornate hallway, her normally immaculate hair frizzled, her expression tense as she watched the vortex in the center of the space fluctuate wildly, sending sparks of electricity into the air at random intervals.
“It’s reacting to me,” she shouted as Sirius stepped up next to her, her voice tight with anxiety. “Veela magic seems to agitate it. I cannot go near.”
Sirius placed a hand on her shoulder, indicating that she should stay put and approached the pulsating maelstrom slowly. With a quick flick of his wand, he cast a detection charm on the mass as the heat radiating from its center licked at his skin. Dark runes instantly flared in dark smoky fire; neither curse breaker had ever encountered anything like it. Whatever curse the Parkinsons had inherited- it was old, tangled and vicious.
Behind him, Fleur sucked in a startled breath. “Mon Dieu… what is that?”
Sirius didn't answer. He probably should have waited for backup. The responsible thing, the sensible thing, would be to retreat and call in a full team to deal with whatever this was.
But with the way the swirling mass of energy was pulsating, its rhythm spasming and destabilizing by the second, he didn't think they could afford the time it would take to call anyone else in.
“Step back,” Sirius said, his tone brooking no argument.
Fleur obeyed instantly.
He lifted his wand, murmuring counter-curses under his breath. The magic snarled and expanded, resisting his attempts to smother it. Sirius pushed harder, his teeth gritted, beads of sweat forming on his brow. The runes brightened, then shifted, as though recognizing him.
“Oh, that’s not good.”
The magic surged- up his wand, his arm, across his chest- then wrapped around his torso like a lasso.
“Sirius!” Fleur cried, the panic in her voice slicing through the din.
He had only a heartbeat to realize the curse wasn’t exploding outward… it was pulling him in.
The hallway warped, slanting sideways. Time buckled like a snapped wire. Light sheared across his vision, every color bleeding into the next. His body lurched and his stomach dropped as the floor vanished beneath him.
The hallway dissolved.
Magic swallowed him whole.
And Sirius felt himself falling.
—-----------
Harrie and Teddy were playing with blocks in the sitting room when they heard the chime of the floo announcing an incoming visitor. Not expecting anyone, Harrie frowned and scooped up Teddy from the floor and started on her way towards the floo parlor. Teddy, indignant from being removed from his fun, began squirming and yanking on her hair in a bid to be released. Harrie hissed at a particularly brutal tug but then froze in shock at the sight before her.
Fleur had her hand clasped tightly on the shoulder of a visibly struggling and disoriented boy of about seventeen who was shouting various threats and profanity all while ogling the beautiful blonde holding him in place. His hair was shaggy, he was obviously still dressed in his night clothes, and his grey eyes flashed with a familiar spark of intensity.
Harrie gasped and clutched Teddy tighter to her chest, staring into the face of the man who was now twenty something years younger than the one that had kissed her goodbye three hours ago.
He was all angles and sharp cheekbones, still carrying the last softness of childhood. The tattoos that she had spent hours tracing with fingers, lips and tongue were gone, and the love and devotion that usually dominated his features when he looked at her were noticeably absent from his flushed face.
Harriet’s knees nearly gave out.
“Sirius?” she whispered. Glancing to Fleur and then back again she said louder “what the fuck happened?”
“The curse at the manor” Fleur said hesitantly. “It ended up exploding when Sirius tried to control it. It reacted to ‘is magic and pulled ‘im through or something. I- I found ‘im” she said gesturing to the boy in front of her, “in the wreckage of the hall where the curse was centered. We do not know what happened yet. Kingsley thought it best to bring this one ‘ere to lay low until we can figure out more. We don't want the Unspeakables getting their ‘ands on him.”
Harrie’s mouth dropped open but she couldn't think of anything to say. What…? Is this Sirius? Or… “did they switch? Is- is he just de-aged or something?”
“I cannot say. We will keep searching. I promise this.”
Teenage Sirius yanked himself free from Fleur’s hold and backed away towards the door. “What is going on? Did my Mother send you to kidnap me? What curse are you talking about? Start explaining before I hex someone.”
He took a wary look around the bright and remodeled parlor and flinched in shock. “What the hell happened to this mausoleum?”
Harrie handed Teddy off to Fleur and slowly stepped towards the boy, careful not to spook him. “It’s a long story.”
“And who are you?” he snapped, the suspicion thick in his voice as he gave her a bold once over. “Some Black cousin they’re trying to marry me off to? I mean you're fit and all but, no thanks-”
Harrie almost laughed at that ironic statement, probably would have if she wasn't so damn close to crying. Stupid hormones. “No. Nothing like that. Though I think your Great Aunt may have been my Great Grandma… so that would make us- what? Second cousins once removed?”
He stared at her, annoyed, confused, and too aggressive for her liking.
She tried again. “You… know me. Or maybe- you will. I don’t know.”
Fleur stepped forward, projecting an aura of calm assertiveness that Harrie envied in that moment. “There ’as been a temporal incident. This is Grimmauld Place, but not the one you know. The year is 2000.” Setting teddy down on the floor she conjured a tissue box to keep the toddler busy and turned to Harrie. “I am certain I don't need to warn you about what could happen if this Sirius ‘as been swapped with our Sirius. When we manage to find a way to swap them back- and we will find a way,” she said, grabbing Harrie's hand in a tight, comforting grip, “this Sirius can’t take too much knowledge back with him. There are too many risks to make Obliviation worth it.”
Harrie nodded numbly. She hadn’t even considered such a thing. Merlin, how was she even going to begin navigating that minefield? Her mind raced with the implications. Tears started to form in the corner of her eyes and Fleur quickly pulled her over to the settee on the other side of the room, gesturing for Sirius to stay put and stay out of trouble before putting up a hasty muffliato for privacy.
Harrie let her nails sink into the stuff fabric of the ancient settee and closed her eyes, trying valiantly to keep the panic from clawing up her throat and spilling out of her mouth. Fleur perched delicately next to her taking Harrie’s hand in hers. “You are shaking,” she said gently, squeezing her trembling hand in an effort to soothe and lend strength to the stricken girl beside her.
Harrie gave a breathless laugh. “I’m trying not to fall apart. I think I’m doing a terrible job.”
“It is understandable.” Fleur glanced toward Sirius who had just sat down next to Teddy and was watching the tot shred pieces of tissue into confetti; her expression tightening. “Seeing him like this… It would unsettle anyone.”
Harrie swallowed hard. “He thought I was a Black. Some pureblood bint. I don’t think I’ve ever seen him look so horrified. Just wait until he finds out I'm actually his best mate’s daughter. He’ll probably perish straight away.”
A tiny, sympathetic smile flickered across Fleur’s face. “He is very young. And very dramatic.”
Harrie huffed. “You don’t say.”
Silence settled between them. Fleur struggled to think of something she could say. She wasn’t sure what words of comfort she could offer that would sound at all reassuring or confident. She certainly couldn't offer truthful promises that they would be able to set things to rights. All she could do was be there for her friend and promise to try her best to bring the love of her life back home.
Harrie lifted a hand to her eyes, pressing the heels of her palms into them until she saw stars. “I just… I want to tell him everything. I want to sit him down and warn him. Tell him not to go after Peter. Tell him to save my parents. Tell him to find the horcruxes. To trust Dumbledore. To-”
“Harrie.” Fleur’s voice cut through the rush, gentle but immovable. “You cannot.”
Harrie’s breath shuddered out of her. “But I could save him. I could save them all.”
“Maybe,” Fleur allowed. “Or maybe you would lose him- them forever. Your Sirius- the one who loves you, the one who is helping to raise Teddy, the man who wakes up before you just so he can make those terrible breakfasts you always tease him for and sweeps you off your feet- that Sirius exists because of everything that happened. Even the terrible things.”
Harrie’s throat tightened viciously and tears pooled in her eyes. “I know. I know that, Fleur, but how am I supposed to look at him- this younger him- and pretend I don’t know what’s coming? He still thinks Peter is his friend. He still thinks he’s invincible. I could save him from so much pain. How selfish would I be if I say nothing just because I don't want to lose him.”
Fleur squeezed her hand again, more firmly this time. “It wouldn't be selfish ‘arrie, telling him could do untold damage to our timeline. You have no idea what would happen if you try to meddle in the past. Voldemort could win. Your parents could still die in any number of ways. If it helps, you can think of your child. The one you carry now.” Her gaze flicked down to Harrie’s stomach, softening. “If you change the past- even with the best intentions- you change that life too.”
Harrie’s hand immediately, protectively, covered her belly. “How did you know? I haven't even told him yet,” she whispered.
“I have seen you cry exactly once in all the time I have known you, and that was the day you defeated Voldemort. Last week I saw you cry when you dropped your ice cream on the ground outside of Fortescue’s.” Fleur leaned forward “I was once hormonal too, if you remember, it was only a few months ago…”
Harrie snorted, “yes, I think I remember Molly mentioning something about ‘the most beautiful baby she had ever seen being birthed by such a challenging young lady’ once or twice. Fine, but don't tell Sirius, I want to surprise him for his birthday.” Harrie’s face crumpled again “if I ever see him again. This one would probably head for the hills if he found out,” she said, tilting her head towards the teen still brooding on the floor.
Fleur leaned in and wrapped her arm around the now sobbing witch, “We will get him back, in one piece and we will do it by preserving the time that gave him to us. To you and your family.”
Harrie covered her face with her hands, but a few tears still managed to escape to roll down her chin. Taking a few deep breaths, she nodded and dropped her hands back into her lap. Even though every part of her ached she knew what needed be done. “Okay,” she whispered. “Okay. I won’t tell him.”
Teddy, oblivious to what was going on with the grown-ups, lifted a gaptoothed grin and offered Sirius his wad of tissues like a prize. Sirius stared at the toddler who was currently sporting long shaggy black hair and green eyes. He figured the kid must be the woman’s son, since they had similar coloring- hard to miss those luminous green eyes- but there was something in the boy’s face that looked so familiar. He just couldn't put his finger on what it was.
While the women were busy talking in silent whispers in the corner, his mind turned over what he had learned so far. He had gone to sleep in Gryffindor tower surrounded by his best friends. When he woke up he was being yanked through some kind of magical tunnel of trippy lights and sounds before landing in some unfamiliar posh manor in a pile of rubble. The hot blonde- Fleur? Said something about it being the year 2000 and the even hotter brunette said that he didn’t know her yet, but he would…
“Fantastic,” he muttered as he reached a dead end. “Time travel. I’m in the bloody future, surrounded by stone foxes and I still end up in this shit hole.”