A man appeared just outside within a dark alleyway in Hogsmead. He was dressed in a large dark robe that completely hid him, the dark fabric hiding his body and the hood his face. The arrival though blew up a small gust of wind, which disturbed the dust as well as the robe. Beneath a person would just be able to see a hint of blue and white. He lowered the hood to reveal a head of short shaggy black hair. His face bore no scars but his nose was a bit crocked, which, made the glasses he wore also crooked.
He looked from side to side, making sure nobody saw his arrival. When he saw that nobody saw him, and nobody continued to see him, his left eye twitched ever so slightly, and with a small 'pop' of displaced air, his robe disappeared to reveal muggle cloths.
He wore a dark pair of blue jeans, with a pair of brown leather shoes. He also wore a simple dark red sweater with just a hint of a golden dragon embroidered on the one arm. The sweater went down to his wrists and just to the base of his neck, not revealing much of his pale skin. He didn't look like a wizard at all, since his cloths actually looked like something a muggle would wear.
With one last look he fingered his hair a bit and walked out of the ally into the much brighter street. Squinting slightly from the adjustment, he walked over to the Hog's Head Inn, and ordered a Fire Whiskey as he took a seat halfway in the back, against the side wall
Ginny pushed open the door, walking into the Hogs Head, simply because she always stopped in each pub before she went home. Her red hair was down, occasionally blowing in front of her face, and she wore a large black hoodie and jeans, those being the most common attire for her.
She was alone, and had been gone far longer than she had planned to be.
Not that it mattered much, Xaver would take good care of their son while she was gone. But she had been gone a while, which meant Xaver might drop Cody off at her parents and come looking for her. Or he would bring Cody with him. Either way, she knew he'd end up showing up eventually.
She walked to the bar, leaning against it and smiling at the bartender, speaking lowly to him for a moment and handing him a small basket of something before she looked around the pub.
Sirius sat in the corner of the pub, peering as people slow entered. he was dressed in muggle clothes having just come back from an important meeting with the prime minister. He wore black dress pants and a black long sleeve shirt with a red tie. His hair looked better then usual seeing as how he had combed it for once but it was still its messy self.
He smiled as he saw Ginny walked in and lightly waved to her, his eyes turning a light shade of orange from excitement. He brushed his hair out of his forehead and took another sip of tea, being very cautious so as to not spill it on himself.
The man glanced up when a person entered. He wouldn't normally but the mind felt strangely familiar. When he looked up his blue eyes widened when he saw who it was and his mind raced. He knew that person.
Why had it to be her?! he thought madly to himself.
She was one of the few that could actually see who he truly was. He quickly tried to calm his racing mind, since he knew he had to be projecting. And that didn't help his situation. With a calming breath that seemed to kick up a large amount of dust he focused and strengthened the barriers around his mind. They have grown lax from years of in-use.
He wanted to meet people, but not just yet. He wanted to prepare, since he had been gone so long. With her sudden appearance he was totally thrown off balance, both physically and mentally. He almost fell out of his chair and choked on his drink when he first saw her.
Sirius saw a man cough beside him and glanced over, irritated. "You allright there?" He asked with little interest.Sirius had been very worn out lately from his job and his children running wild and growing up fast, whenever he got a break from it all to just relax he didn't like to be interrupted.
Ginny smiled at waved at Sirius, but her eyes continued roaming the bar. She caught sight of a dark haired man, wearing glasses and was hit with a case of deja'-vu'.
He looked surprising familar, like someone she had known years ago. She struggled with herself to recognize him, cursing her memory. She had a good memory when it came to some things, but people and their faces weren't one of them. Plus, this man had mental barriers up, somewhat strong ones, and that made it harder for her to recognize him.
"Thank you, I am fine." he said, hitting his chest lightly as he coughed a few more times. He then cursed himself for speaking. Since right when he spoke he noticed that he didn't change his voice. He just hoped that the women didn't hear him. The bad thing was, the bar wasn't as crowded as the Three Broomsticks so she probably did.
He then also took a second look at the man out of the corner of his eye. He looked just like his god father...but that was impossible. Sirius was much older then himself, but that person looked like his God Father did in older pictures of him, when he was around with his 'father.'
Harry 'tried' to focus on his fire whisky, sipping it again slowly, hoping to all the gods he could think of that Ginny wouldn't notice him.
Ginny hadn't only heard him, she had seen him speak. She pushed off the bar, walking slowly towards Sirius and the man she couldn't quite recognize. Really, it was just beyond her memories edge.
She took a seat, across from them and smiled, though she also tilted her head curiously.
"Hi Sirius. Who's your friend? Have I met him before?"
She spoke quietly, pushing a strand of her brillient red hair behind her ears. Her eyes looked to Sirius for a split second before they zoomed back to the ingonito Harry.
Sirius nodded as the man responded and took another sip of his tea. A second went by before he quickly looked at him again. focussing on him. It couldn't be...could it? Sirius thought to himself. His eyes widened as he thought for a moment, trying to remember the man's voice and his eyes widened, it was him. He himself, who had just swallowed tea, coughed hard as well as he realized it was him. He quickly turned around hoping Harry hadn't recognized him.
He stared at Ginny, his eyes purple from fright. He wasn't sure if it was the smartest idea to tell the man who he was, so he sat staring at his tea uncomfortably.
A mental spike occurred again when Ginny called the man next to him Sirius, thankfully though it was blocked this time by the reinforced barrier.
Sirius?! Could it really be him...he looks so young...how could it be?
But when he risked another glance he could see that he looked identical to the guy standing next to James in all of his old pictures...it 'had' to be him. Taking a slow strained sip of Fire Whiskey he began to sweat under his sweater from the stress of being this close.
He really should stop being a baby about this but he had to see this through to the end now. He figured that Ginny would either be mad, or thrilled to see him...he hoped it was the later, but figured since he hid so long it would be the former.
Beneath the cool, complex shades of night the streets of Hogsmead offered, a second figure appeared, unknowing and unbeknownst of his predecessor. Materializing outside the doors of the Hogs Head, where a moment ago there had been nothing, there was no sound, or even slight stirr of magic to forewarn his coming. He lifted his head, all handsome, drawing planes and angles, dark oceans of unreadable blue eyes flickering over the wooden door, in both curiosity, and concern. The hazy outside light of the pub draped itself over him like a liquid mold, the dark, lush obsidian locks of his thick hair seemingly absorbing the light, rather than reflecting it. The glow cast heavy shadows over him, alighting certain characteristics, and leaving others to curiosity.
He was clad in dark shoes, and dark jeans that fit comfortably over the strong length of his legs, the deep blue of his sweater emphasizing the dark colors of his eyes, and the broad width of his shoulders. Strong enough to carry the world that rested so heavily upon him. Beautiful was too feminine a word. Handsome too civilized. He was simply, utterly male.
His enormous wings hidden from view, he planted a hand upon the cool wooden door, and pushed, stepping into the slightly warmer atomosphere of the pub.
Was it not for the calm texture of his aura, and the moody, lively emotion in his dark eyes, he would easily have passed for a frightening figure.
Xaver, though, looked up, allowing the door to close behind him, as he heard the feint murmurs of familiar voices, and tones.
The harsh, collected shadow that had formed over Xaver's features dissapated, replaced by an honest warmth as his gaze fell over Ginny, watching as she slid into a seat.
He padded toward her, soundless, and more or less unnoticed by those about him..
Ginny frowned when Sirius started coughing, "You ok?" She asked, lightly. She raised an eyebrow in worried interest.
She was a bit annoyed by the two men acting so strange, "Ok, what's the big secret, boys?" She asked, shaking her head slightly. She felt Xaver's familar presence behind her, but didn't turn.
*Sirius swallowed and looked at Ginny, he leaned in and said quietly so no one around could hear but her.* That boy...well that man now. I believe is...is Harry Potter. *He swallowed thinking.* I'm not sure if...if it's allowed by my rules to come back to earth in this life...for me to talk to someone from my...past.
-Who cares about rules?- Ginny asked Sirius telepathiclly with a slight wink. Then she turned, looking at Harry, but not addressing him. A smile tugged at her lips, but she fought it.
Now that she had placed a name to him, she recognized him fully. Harry, an old friend and classmate.
Harry sighed to himself. As he let the air out he also let the illusion go. His hair changed from black to medium brown. His scar reappeared on his forehead, as well as his nose going back into its normal shape, pushing his glasses back where they should be. Last, his bright blue eyes fell back into a deep green.
"You are right. And if you weren't allowed, you would have created an infinite paradox destroying the whole world." he said, letting himself go back into that classic Harry...ness.
He tried to flash a friendly grin at Ginny but it came out half afraid of being thrown into a wall with her temper. He didn't know the person behind her but he figured they were close.
He also gave a quick glance at the barkeeper as he waved his hand over his bottle of fire whisky, cloning it a few times for his friends.
"Might as well take a seat, since I got a feeling we might be here a while." he said with defeat.
*Sirius breathed, closing his eyes, remembering Harry when he was young. He slowly opened them, looking at his godson.* Hello Harry. *He said, saying the name Harry felt weird after so long. He smiled slightly uncomfortable. He looked up at Xaver, noticing him behind Ginny.* Hello. *Sirius said not to be nice exactly, but to acknowledge that Xaver was there.*
Xaver was nearly to the group when the man across from Ginny slowly morphed into a more familiar face. Xaver slowed, in his strides, and eventually stopped, leaning against the back of the booth beside Ginny, his arms folded loosely, blinking. He was at ease, in the dimly lit pub, the heavy girth of shadows clinging to his figure, and the dark tones of his attire.
His gaze moved to Sirius, at his greeting, and Xaver bowed his head in greeting. A formal, and sincere hello, but giving little more.
Harry Potter?
That was paradox enough, wasn't it?
His timing had always been impeccable.
"Welcome back," he said quietly, his low tones a mellow murmur of sound, reflecting the slightly bemused interest that burned in his dark, impenetrable eyes.
Xaver wasn't stupid - he had not known Harry personally, if he remembered correctly - but Ginny had known him very well. And that counted for something, now didn't it?
Ginny smiled, "He speaks." She said, pretending to be awed. She laughed, though, not at all angry. She had changed greatly from when he had last seen her. Her temper was less than it had been, she had great patience at times now.
But most knew not to anger her. That was when they were fearful.
Harry chuckled lightly at Ginny's comment. Wow, he wasn't through the wall, that was surprising. It seemed like Ginny calmed down a lot with age. He took a slow swig of his bottle as he let his mind wander back to his past. As he did that he stretched out his other hand and cracked the knuckles with small popping sounds.
"What did you expect me to do? Moo?" he asked, his voice amused, his eyes actually sparkling for once. "Though I bet you could make me do that if you really wanted."
Sirius smiled at what Ginny said and swallowed, looking at Harry, his eyes dancing wildly just looking over his features. He couldn't stop smiling and he felt like something that was missing in his life had finally been filled. He felt happy seeing Harry whom he hadn't seen in so long.
"What did you expect me to do? Moo?"
Xaver felt a grin tugging at the corners of the swell of his mouth.
He looked between the three, his gaze resting over Sirius with an uncertain curiousness. He knew nothing of the situation, or relationship between Sirius, and Harry Potter. It was amusing, nonetheless.
Only Sirius could pull off acting as if he had just swallowed a jawbreaker, and was happy about it.
Who knew?
"More than likely," he said, chuckling softly. "I think all of us know one end or the other of Ginny's temper. She roars. And does command utmost obedience."
He winked at her, playfully. Teasing.
"Hush, you." Ginny said, scowling playfully at Xaver. She shook her head, and looked back to Harry, "Moo, doggy!" She said, laughing softly.
She rolled her eyes, "Seriously, how have you been?" Her tone changed to one of kindness and nostalgia.
"As good as can be expected. Bummed around Europe a bit after good old dad finally left. Went into Asia a bit where I could walk around without being crowded by a giant horde of people. Pretty much what most kids do after Secondary School." he said shrugging.
"How has your life been Gin? Still working with all the dangerous woodland creatures in the Forest?"
Harry didn't really react with Sirius being alive. After all the stuff he had been through in life, in his childhood, nothing really surprised him anymore. When you are broken down then rebuilt, then broken down again, that will happen to you.
Ginny shook her head, "No. I quit that job, as well as my teaching position and all my positions in the Ministry." She smiled, somewhat strained.
The ministry was a very touchy subject with her. She didn't like them even more now than she had in the past. They had, after all, called her son half a person.
Sirius felt slightly hurt by the fact that Harry barely acknoleged the fact that he was back. He returned to sipping his tea slowly, just staring as the others spoke. The happy baloon that had been floating in his body just felt like it had been popped by Harry. he swallowed and looked at his hands, breathing slowly.
(( I have now read this and I am facing a problem here. What should I do? I am Albus Severus Potter and so on but.... Yes... I am thinking of this site's storyline. I am wondering what I should now now....
And welcome back to you Harry!))
((Thanks. Though I am not really 'back.' I will stop on every once in a while, but I will not be posting much. And o the wo of intertwining plot lines))
Harry sighed mentally at the emotions around him. He felt Sirius' depression and that depressed him a bit, since it wasn't that he wasn't 'happy' to see his godfather, it was just that he wasn't 'as' happy as Sirius was. He wasn't jumping for joy, since deep down, he knew that anything could still happen to take it all away again.
And Ginny...he could feel all types of jumbled emotions in there, most hard to read on the surface without diving deep which he wouldn't do. Ginny loved the school, and he wondered what caused her to leave.
"You leaving the Ministry doesn't surprise me much, I could never really see you being under a lot of people. But the school? Why did you leave the forest, you spent nearly all your time there when we were kids and after even." as he said this, he grabbed Sirius' other hand not holding the tea cup and gave it an acknowledging squeeze.
Sirius swallowed and looked up at Harry with a greatful look.
At least he still cares. Sirius thought grimly to himself. He took another sip of tea, looking at the others and trying to avoid looking at Ginny to much just in case Xaver was watching. He cleared his throat wanting to say something but then smiled, he liked being able to just sit and listen as old friends caught up.
Ginny squirmed slightly, flushing, "I had to. Couldn't take care of it all when I found out I was pregnant..."
She shrugged, smiling slightly. Harry wouldn't know about Cody, but she doubted he'd be surprised. Harry had been through more than her, and wasn't surprised by much these days.
Harry's smile widened when he heard Ginny got pregnant. It brought back so many memories of when they were young, how Mrs. Weasly always made him feel at home, like he actually had a family, before he actually got to know the good side of his family, of Kiara and their mother.
Looking back, he realized how much he could talk about his past, the ups the downs, and how, after it all, he wasn't sure if he could choose, to give up both the good and the bad, that he would, the good were so great, they almost made up for all the bad.
I should really write a book about that someday he thought to himself, stashing that idea away for later use.
"I am so happy for you Ginny!" he said, with real mirth in his voice for once in a long while. "If you are anything like your mother I know you will spoil the child rotten and love'em dearly. So, is it a boy girl? Name? Who's the father?" he asked in quick secession, wanting to know all about the new addition.
"His name is Cody Xian." Ginny said, softly with a smile, "He just turned four a few weeks ago."
She fiddled with the edge of her sleeve, thinking about her son, before turning and looking at Xaver, "Where is he, anyway?"
She raised an eyebrow at Xaver, questioning.
"He's with your mother. He went, no contest, in the face of dinner at her place. Cody has been there about a few hours, though I did stop by before I went after you," he said, the foreign lilt of his home-realm back in his low, mellow tones.
How he had found Ginny so easily, he did not say. It was just another one of those unspoken things, that filled the essence of the mysterious man he was.
He tilted his head down, his gaze warm through the deep oceans of blue eyes that flickered over her face, the swell of his lips slowly tilting upwards into an almost teasing smile as he leaned more comfortably against the side of the booth, beside her. It faded after a moment, though, his features drawing into his normal, quiet composure as his thoughts took a more serious route.
"An urgent message from my home realm interrupted our game of cat and mouse."
In other words, Tag, but Xaver didn't know what that was any more than he knew what Nachos were.
Ginny nodded once and turned back to Harry, "Seems he's at the Burrow, then. Perhaps another time? My mum doesn't like to share him."
She laughed, pretending not to notice Xaver's more serious comment, until she asked him silenltly, -What message?-
From what Harry heard and saw around him he could guess that Xaver was the boys father. And that he loved him dearly. During the conversation he felt a thought move between Ginny and Xaver. He let it go though, not wanting to get into their personal lives or try to but heads with Ginny's mental barriers. He felt an oddness in the air also, like a cloud of something strange hovering, but he decided to throw it off lately.
"Cody is it? Sweet name for the little boy, and another time then, since I really should see Molly sometime again...though if I know her she will stuff me fool of food till I am unable to move." he said chuckling, remembering all the good times back then. He never did figure out how they always had so much food, they relatively poor, but could afford to feed all of the children, and Harry, Herminie, or anyone else that was around.
Ginny smiled, "His real name is Xerxes, and yes, Mum would fill you to the brim!"
She smiled, shaking her head in amusment. She glanced back at Xaver, worry flashing over her face for a split second then vanishing as though it were never there.
Sirius watched Ginny's every movement and shifted in his seat as he spotted the change in her face. He wondered what it was that had caused her to suddently change like that, even if it had been just for an instant. He didn't ask though but merely swallowed and listened intently as the others caught up. There wasn't much for him to say at the moment but Sirius enjoyed to be with Harry and...having Ginny there wasn't all bad either.
Xaver of course was a different story that Sirius had not yet found the ending to.
Xaver winced, internally, at Ginny's question, his answer sour at the back of his mouth. He offered a small, reassuring smile, though.
-I'll tell you when we get home, Love. Let me not ruin this. Please.-
He wasn't going to ruin this run-in with Harry Potter, for Ginny.
No way.
The said Harry Potter's words sent a sudden rare burst of random affection through him, and Xaver smiled again - then, turning slightly and nicking a chair from a near, empty table, he set it at the end of their booth, backwards. Almost lazily, he draped one leg over it, and dropped onto it, his elbows propped onto the wooden back.
Harry knew Mrs. Weasley then?
That was neat.
And a point, for Potter - for Xaver deeply respected Mrs. Weasley. And loved her cooking.
Harry tried to suppress his empathy when he began to feel more worry coming from Ginny and an odd mix from Xaver. He didn't want to invade their privacy and ruin this happy time. He did that enough in his past to do it even more now.
Even though he tried to repress it, a small cringe of worry appeared on his face during the conversation at peaks of emotion, though he tried to hide them again as soon as he could.
"I will probably be hanging around here a bit, checking in on Hogwarts to see how the students are, and to see how this generation will be. So when you get the time send me a thought and I will join you all in the Barrow." (...I think that is the right spelling)
Ginny glanced at Xaver, but didn't press the issue. He looked upset, and that in turn upset her.
She grinned at Harry though, "This generation doesn't have many good prospects." She shook her head, "One or two, maybe."
((Burrow))
*Sirius swallowed and still listened intently watching the others' mouths as they spoke. He tended to do this when he was bored but Sirius wasn't at the moment. He merely was content with sitting and listening, not his normal nature but he didn't have much to say and he was still overjoyed with seeing Harry alive and well.*