Three Years is a Long Time

[Ayden Matthew Warren]

He left with no warning to anyone where he was going. The worst thing in his life had just happened and it was his fault. How…why did he turn Cassandra down all those times to move in with him? If he had said yes to that she would still be here, in his arms where she belonged. For three long years, he kept changing his appearance never looking like the same way twice. He didn’t want to be found. He didn’t want anyone to remind him of that pain ever again though it never left really. He made his way around Europe drinking in pubs doing odd jobs, even went to America a bit. Nothing ever felt right though.

Three years later he finally returned to London, England. He heard all the rumors going around of a new dark group but he didn’t care anymore. He had gotten him a job at the Leaky Cauldron and a room. He had only been back a few months but was thinking of trying to get his auror job back. He needed to go talk to Harry Potter though. Tonight, was not one of the nights he was working. He got dressed, grabbed a history book, went downstairs, ordered whiskey and some food, then found him a nice booth to settle into.

He stayed there reading for a good while, and drinked quite a bit. It took a large amount for him to get drunk anymore. He was looking like his old self just three years older. No disguises this time. He was back for good. He often wondered what they had done with the engagement ring he had given Cassandra. No, he couldn’t think about that or he would start crying with people around. He took another sip of his whiskey as he continued reading his book.


Words: 305
Tagged: James Sirius Potter
Notes: Yes I know it sucks sorry.

[James Sirius Potter]

Only a little over a week had passed since Sirius had been in St. Mungo’s again, after rescuing his daughter Juliette from the very same man who had taken his wife and eldest two daughters from his life for good. At least this time, he could say he managed to save his daughter – who was still recovering and on bed rest under the close watch of healers due to her being pregnant with twins. He had only just been released from the hospital two days ago – the wounds across his chest and side were still healing, still tender and sore, smaller cuts and scrapes were nearly gone, leaving hardly a trace, a single bruise was still fading under his right eye and his knee was bothering him worse than it had in quite a while – but at least he was out of that damn hospital.

After Claire had left for work that morning, he had gone right back to sleep – and then continued to sleep most of the day away. By the time he woke up again it was the middle of the afternoon and he found himself laying in bed still feeling exhausted. It seemed to be that the older he got, the more being injured seemed to just suck the energy right out of him and it was probably going to drive him crazy, while allowing Claire the satisfaction of him getting the rest he needed for once in his life. Sirius laid in bed for a bit longer before getting up and making his way to the shower, where he leaned against the wall and let the steaming hot water fall on him until it ran out.

Once he finished up in the shower, he got dressed in an older pair of jeans and a black dress shirt, buttoned almost all the way – and sat on the end of the bed after grabbing his knee brace off the dresser. Sirius leaned forward to wrap the brace snugly around his right knee. Then got up and limped downstairs from his and Claire’s bedroom to the kitchen where he fixed himself a drink, which he took outside along with a cigarette (a habit he was almost successful in quitting up until recently). Sitting on the back porch he drank the glass of whiskey in the same amount of time it took him to smoke the cigarette – when he finished them both he waved his wand at the glass, sending it inside to be washed, then using a spell to lock the house up before apparating to St. Mungo’s to check in with Juliette.

Sirius wasn’t there long, after apparating directly to the room she was still checked in to – staying only long enough to make sure she was still doing okay and let her know they still didn’t have any leads on where Blackwell had taken her… boyfriend? Blaine, who had not made it to the hospital with the two of them after their last encounter with the leader of the Nex. Once he was finished there, he thought about stopping in the office to see Claire and then maybe stopping by his brothers office, it had been quite a while since he and Albus had gotten a chance to talk.

In the end he knew Claire would send him home when he tried to involve himself at the ministry at all and he instead ended up sitting at the bar at the Leaky Cauldron. He ordered himself some food and sat there and drank glass after glass of whiskey, rarely looking up from the paper he was reading as he sat in silence. Then suddenly, out of the corner of his eye, just as he looked up from his paper to ask the barkeep for more food, it was like he saw a ghost – a familiar face he hadn’t seen in three years, casually walking down the stairs from the inn upstairs. Instead of ordering more food, his order quickly changed to a new drink as he downed what whiskey was left in his glass and did a double take – making sure his eyes weren’t playing tricks on him.

Yet there he was, Ayden Warren. It was hard to believe – after the attack that had cost his family their lives and put him in the hospital for several months he hadn’t seen hide nor hair of the boy who was practically a son to him. He had been left to hope that he was okay, sending aurors after him but knowing it would be to no avail because of the boys power as a metamorphagus. It gave him the perfect disguise, the perfect way to disappear and Sirius had forced himself to believe that the boy was alive – because the fear that something had happened to him as well had been all too real, but he could never let himself think it possible.

Sirius watched the boy from a distance at first, looking over his paper and out of the corner of his eye as he finished what was left of his food, which he washed down with another full glass of whiskey. Curious, Sirius asked the barkeep if he knew the boy sitting in the booth by himself – he was surprised to find out that Ayden had been working and staying there for a few months. For a while, he sat there thinking about how he wanted to handle this situation – there was no way in hell he was going to leave here without talking to the boy, not after three years of worrying about him and wondering where he was.

Seeing him brought back so many memories - emotions he had had more or less under control after the three years that passed were almost too much to handle suddenly. The image of his daughter Cassie, telling him and his wife that Ayden had proposed - the two of them and his younger daughter Jessica playing Quidditch in his yard and so many vivid memories playing through his mind as though it were just yesterday as he watched Ayden from a distance. This had been the last thing he expected to happen when he sat down at the bar that evening - but it filled him with a mixture of sadness and relief and other emotions he wasn't even sure he could identify.

Eventually, Sirius handed the barkeep several galleons, telling him to use it towards the boys payment for the room and for the food and drinks he had ordered that evening – then he scooped up his pack of cigarettes and lighter, taking one out and lighting it, and ordered another drink and got up from the bar. Drink in hand, Sirius limped over to the booth where Ayden sat buried in his book, stopping maybe a foot from the table, leaning his weight on his left leg as he stood over the man who was now a stranger, who had once been the boy who was supposed to marry his daughter.

“So did you plan on eventually letting me know you were alive, or did you want me worrying about you for the rest of my life?” he asked, then taking a drag off his cigarette, exhaling the smoke towards the high ceiling of the old pub and looking down at the familiar face with a raised eyebrow.

[Ayden Matthew Warren]

Ayden had been following the little that had been shown in the paper that had been going on. He knew though that if much information wasn’t being giving through the paper that meant that something bigger was going on. He knew certain people would be at the center of it all keeping everything together so for a while he wasn’t too worried about it. Now though he wanted his auror job back so he could help with the bad guys. He knew no one could make a difference but it would feel good to be back out into the field once again. That would be amazing.

He paid no attention to the people around him while he was eating supper. He would soon be going back to his room for a good night’s sleep. He had the next day off and he wanted to go talk to Harry Potter bright and early. He never expected to run into anyone he had once known in a previous life especially the one that came and started talking to him. He continued staring at the book as he listened to the words that went rattling off to him. His hands were shaking though. He hadn’t seen this man since the day before Cassie died.

The man had said something about worrying about him…. worrying about Ayden. Why would he even care about Ayden anymore. He had no idea what to say to this man. He had let his daughter die and he didn’t save her. It was his fault. He had no words for him that could bring her back. He had loved Cassandra to but nothing like Sirius, nothing like a father’s love. They had just started planning their lives together and were even thinking about kids soon. They knew Sirius would have loved grandkids. His fist clenched tightly as he thought about everything that they both lost that night. How can you even look at me right now? Why are you worrying about me sir he asked keeping his voice calm never looking up at the man.


Words: 346
Tagged: James Sirius Potter
Notes: Yes I know it sucks sorry.

[James Sirius Potter]

After lighting his cigarette and heading over to the booth where Ayden sat, Sirius contemplated on exactly what he was going to say. Of course, it didn’t actually formulate until seconds before the words left his mouth – but that didn’t really matter to him, that was more or less how things always went for him. When he asked Ayden if he had planned on letting him know he was alive or if he had expected him to worry forever, the boy answered him without ever looking up from his book. “How can you even look at me right now? Why are you worrying about me sir?”

To this Sirius almost couldn’t believe what he was hearing – the boy couldn’t possibly blame himself for what happened? And to think he expected him not to be worried about him – the boy had spent almost every waking moment in his home from the day he was born and he had thought he would stop caring about him, just like that? He took another drag off his cigarette and shook his head. On top of it all, an old habit of Ayden’s that Sirius had always tried to change clearly hadn’t he noticed when he called him ‘sir’.

In hopes of helping Ayden realize that there was no chance he was mad at him about anything, he responded in a very typical Sirius fashion as he leaned over the table to the ashtray, ashing his cigarette. “How many times have I had to ask you not to call me ‘Sir’? My name is Sirius Potter, and I’ll respond to either over ‘Sir’. Hell, put a ‘Mr.’ in front of Potter if you feel a need to be formal, but it’s really unnecessary.” Then he gestured to the empty other half of the booth, more or less indicating that he was going to sit down – not so much asking if it was alright with him if he did.

Had he ran into him weeks ago, he wouldn’t have been so rude about it, but his sore body couldn’t continue to stand there and it was a relief the second he took weight off his leg and leaned back against the booth. Sirius took a sip of his drink and before Ayden could open his mouth to say anything, he was speaking again. “As for reasons I may be worried about you… Oh, I don’t know.” he said, setting his glass down on the table and taking another long drag off his cigarette – blowing the smoke cleanly away from the table and away from Ayden. “I could probably give you a couple dozen reasons, excellent ones at that – but I think the only one I need is there’s a psycho after everyone I’ve ever given a damn about and that certainly includes you.”

Sirius never took his eyes off the boy as he spoke, waiting for him to finally look up from the book he was holding. It never happened and he took to looking the boy over instead – he seemed to be taking care of himself, at least for the most part. Just the sight of him was still overwhelming – he hadn’t seen him in well over three years now, last seeing him only the night before his family was attacked. When he found out the aurors had gone to tell him what happened he wished they would have told him first – he could have sent Claire, she could have told Ayden that Sirius wanted to see him – but by the time he had asked Claire to go find him he was long gone.

Holding the cigarette between his fingers Sirius reached for the ashtray, bringing it closer and looked down at it as he flicked ashes off the end, leaving the bright orange cherry burning. He brought the cigarette to his lips once again, a cloud of smoke now hovering to the side of the table. Finally, he brought his gaze back to Ayden’s face, and he felt an odd mixture of relief at knowing he was alive and well, pain at knowing what he should have had – what they both should have had, anger and frustration because the boy hadn’t even considered that he may be worried about him, and sadness, that Ayden seemed to appear to think it was somehow his fault, when it had been him who hadn’t been able to protect his family.

“I had aurors looking for you for a while,” he told him, pointing at him with the cigarette, “but I knew if you didn’t want to be found, they didn’t stand a chance… but I did try. I needed to know you were okay and you vanished on me… I mean, I can’t say that I don’t get it… I didn’t want to be around here myself; but you could have at least sent a letter at some point – ‘Hey Sirius, just so you know I’m alive, Ayden.’ That would’ve been good enough for me, hell anything would’ve!”

By the time he was done speaking his voice had raised slightly, he spoke faster and more firm – the kind of tone he had once had when Ayden and his daughter Cassie had stayed out all night without telling him or his wife where they would be when they were teenagers, but with even more frustration and just a slight hint of anger and hurt that he was trying to downplay. Sighing, he picked up his drink and swirled the amber liquid around in the glass for a moment before taking a long sip that nearly finished the glass off then and there. He set the glass down and gave Ayden a somewhat sad looking, crooked half smile, “I really am glad to see ya, kid.”

[Ayden Matthew Warren]

Ayden had no idea why Sirius was even here in front of him. He wished the man would just leave him be. He didn’t know how Sirius could even be looking at him right now. He just wished he could hid again. His hair started turning from the normal red it always was to a blond color. Other of his features started changing to as he got ready to make his escape again. He thought he could handle this, he thought he could come back. He was wrong. He looked up at him as Sirius said his name wasn’t sir. A small smile came across Ayden’s face. He had always gotten onto him for that.

Memories of the past came to Ayden’s mind. He constantly was around Cassandra and her family. Sirius was always like a father to him since his father was killed before he was born. Therefore, he felt like he let Sirius down with Cassie dying. He took the burden of this and he took it alone. Sirius said why he might be worried about Ayden. He shrugged and said I might have read something about that in the paper. He had hoped the guy would find him. He could fight him and either he would kill him for Cassie or Ayden would soon be with Cassandra. He took a sip of his drink. I wouldn’t care if he did find me really he said.

He just shrugged at Sirius next words. I didn’t think you needed to hear from me he said and put his book down but his head was still down as he stared at the table. His fist was closed tightly and he was shaking a bit. His anger could get the best of him sometimes. I didn’t deserve any help he finally said. He sighed when Sirius said he was glad to see him. He just couldn’t understand why he was. His appearance started changing again so he could make another escape away from this pain he felt.



Words: 344
Tagged: James Sirius Potter
Notes: Yes I know it sucks sorry.

[James Sirius Potter]

Sirius took note of the small smile tugging at the young mans lips when as he invited himself to the seat across the table from him after reminding the kid not to call him ‘sir’ – it was a small moment that brought him back to the past momentarily, imagining the man before him as a teenage boy again for just a second before reality came crashing back around him. The weight coming off his leg as he sat down was more of a relief than he would ever care to admit, the joint was still throbbing dully as he stretched his leg out in front of him and took a sip of his drink and settled back against the back of the booth.

Reaching for the ashtray he felt the wounds on his chest tug – his movements were still very stiff and forced – reminding him that even though the alcohol was loosening him up some he still couldn’t push it. Technically he probably should’ve stayed home to rest, but after a week in the hospital and a long conversation clearing the air with Claire the night before, he was just to restless to have sat around the house again. Now that he was sitting here across from Ayden though, he knew he was in the right place this afternoon, as he tried to explain that he had been worried about him for the past three years of not having a clue what had happened to him.

The kid mentioned that he might have read something about all this in the papers – but Sirius knew that anything in the papers was only a fraction of the truth, everything was being smoothed over and made to look far less serious than it really was. Then he said, “I wouldn’t care if he did find me really,” and Sirius was ready to lose it on the boy – but he held back, he knew what the kid was going through still, and unlike Sirius, who had been lucky enough to have his brother and Claire looking out for him all these years, Ayden had disappeared; forcing himself to try and make sense of the world again all on his own.

“You might not give a damn, but I do.” Sirius said with a slightly annoyed tone. “I’m not losing any more family to this son of a bitch.” Just thinking about it was bringing the pent up anger and frustration of both the events of the past and the most recent encounter with the Nex all again – they had been so close, so damn close to taking Blackwell out this time. Or so it had seemed right up until the curse that had left him in his current condition – and in Claire’s rush to save him and then the others Blackwell had managed to get away. He took a harsh drag off his cigarette almost unconsciously and a small cough escaped him when he exhaled – he really needed to slow down on the cigarettes until the wounds on his chest healed.

A long sigh escaped him at this, and he took another long sip of his drink, almost draining the glass and then taking another long drag off his cigarette before pointing it at him and gong on a tangent about how he should’ve said something to let him know he was alive and well. The reaction he got was certainly not what he expected. “I didn’t think you needed to hear from me,” he said, then added, “I didn’t deserve any help.” Shaking his head, Sirius drained the last of the whiskey from his glass and flagged over to the bartender who promptly poured another and had a waitress drop it off at the table.

He started off with telling him that he really was glad to see him, but after another drag off his cigarette he added, “That’s where you went wrong, by the way. You didn’t think.” Sirius watched as the kids hair started changing color and his features started to shift – he was getting ready to run and Sirius knew it. As he finally put out the cigarette in the ashtray the waitress dropped off his new drink and took the old glass and Sirius thanked her politely, handing over money for the drink and a tip for her as well – but when he dug the money out of his pocket he had also pulled out his wand. Sirius took a sip of his drink, the picked up his wand and spun it in his fingers for a second, looking up at the kid who was rapidly shifting his appearance in preparation to escape.

“Please don’t try to run, Ayden… I’ve waited three years to talk to you, wondering if you’re still alive, and I’m in no condition to go chasing after you right now so I won’t. You won’t make it past that door if you try, but I’d really hate to have to be so extreme...” Sirius had never been one with patience, and he wasn’t above using a spell to stop the kid in his tracks the moment he went to move – presently he swished his wand with several quick and short movements, performing a charm that would prevent anyone in the establishment from apparating in or out temporarily, eliminating at least one of Ayden’s means of escape without him even knowing because he did it all non-verbally.

[Ayden Matthew Warren]

Adyen could care less if he died right now. There were moments in the past three years that he thought about dying, and ending everything. He never could figure out why he never carried it through. He figured it was because ending it would end his suffering and he needed to suffer for what happened, for what he let happen. There wasn’t a day that went by that he didn’t reflect on it, the guilt eating away at him, he was a shell of the man he once was. He drinked more than he should and he hardly ate. He was surprised that he had ate something.

He watched Sirius for a bit as he drinked his whiskey and smoked his cigarette. The man looked like he had been through Hell and back. He knew Sirius had other problems so the fact that he had been worrying about Ayden pissed him off a little. He shouldn’t even remotely care about him. Sirius kind of yelled at him that Sirius still gave a damn about him even if Ayden didn’t care and that he wasn’t losing anymore family to this guy. That is just it though, I am not family he said. He had once considered Sirius his second father especially while dating Cassandra. With Sirius around he felt what it was like to have a father around and he loved it, which is why losing Cassandra and not being able to help was why he was so mad at himself and wished Sirius was to. He had let Sirius little girl die in front of their own eyes. He didn’t make it over there in time. He was supposed to be there for dinner and he made it too late.

Ayden was already changing his appearance, not on his own but because of the situation. He was nervous and panicking. He didn’t expect to see Sirius here. His hands started trembling some as he stared at the table. He heard Sirius say for him not to run and that he wouldn’t make it past the door. Ayden was fast and he knew Sirius was slowed down because of the injuries he seemed to be hurting from. He looked up at Sirius and said I am sorry for letting you and Cassandra down. He then changed his appearance completely and started running for the door. Once he was outside he would change it to someone Sirius hadn’t seen before. He just had to get away.




Tagged: James Sirius Potter
Notes: Yes I know it sucks sorry.

[James Sirius Potter]

It was harder than he expected, to see Ayden sitting there in front of him after all this time. Not because of any grudge, or anger towards the young man, but because the last time he saw him, they were both in the middle of a real-life nightmare, with no potential of waking up to find everything returned to normal. As he explained to Ayden that he refused to lose any more family to that son-of-a-bitch Cato Blackwell, he could see the depression written all over the kids face.

“That is just it though, I am not family” Ayden told him flatly. Sirius wasn’t quite sure how to feel about what the boy said. To him, the kid would always be family. He had been around for most of the girls’ time at school, he often spent more time at their house than he did his own, it killed him to hear the same boy tell him he doesn’t feel like family. “Family isn’t always blood, kiddo…” Sirius said gruffly, taking another sip of his whiskey.

Memories of that night flooded back to him as he told Ayden that he went wrong by not thinking – it was something he had told both of his girls and Ayden more than once when they were teenagers getting into things and raising hell (although, Sirius had to admit, compared to himself, he had raised some respectful and generally well-behaved children).

Just like always, it was as vivid as though he were right there in his living room again, the looks on his wife and daughters faces when the home was invaded. The terrified screams he heard as he let out a scream of pain himself – he took a harsh drag off the cigarette before putting it out, and attempting push those images from his mind. The waitress brought a new drink, and he immediately took a long sip while bringing his focus back to Ayden, who he noticed was preparing for a failed attempt at escaping this conversation.

Sirius hadn’t barely finished asking him not to run, telling the boy he wasn’t about to try and chase after him, but that running was pointless, all the while putting a charm on the building to prevent him from apparating. He wasn’t going to get very far. Sirius had tried to warn him. But did the kid listen? No, of course not.

Finally, Ayden looked him in the eye, for only a second as he said, “I am sorry I let you and Cassandra down.” His appearance shifted even more, clearly more in his control than before, and then he ran for the front door.

“I asked nicely…” Sirius muttered, more or less to himself as he let Ayden get about halfway across the room. “I said please and everything…” he said, followed by a heavily exaggerated sigh as he raised his wand, pointed it at Ayden, and used a charm that would plant his feet firmly to the ground, stopping him dead in his tracks, and likely causing him to fall to the floor by the sound of it.

Sirius had looked away just after casting the spell, glancing down at his pack of cigarettes he had dug out of his pocket, and pulling another one out with his mouth. He stuffed the pack back in his pocket, dug out an old zippo lighter and light the cigarette, taking a long drag, exhaling the smoke as he pushed himself back up out of the booth, carefully and rather slowly. He had certainly caught people’s attention with this stunt, he realized as he turned to face the room and see where he had trapped Ayden on the ground.

“Nothing to worry about, auror business.” he told the room at large, before limping across the room to where Ayden was on the ground. Shifting his weight to his left leg, he took another drag off the cigarette and looked down at the kid he had been hoping to hear from for years. “So, now that you know I can still stop you from running away, even when I can’t out run you, are you ready to just sit down and talk to me? That really is all I want.”

[Ayden Matthew Warren]

Ayden had to get out of there. He could not bear to look at Sirius any longer. His appearance had shifted during their talk. He knew Sirius would try to stop him but he was for sure that he could get away. He never expected the spell Sirius would use to stop him in his place. Ayden fell to the ground hitting his shoulder that had always gave him problems on the ground, and then his appearance shifted back to his normal self. He laid there on the ground as Sirius walked over to him. He heard the man tell everyone that this was just auror business and it was nothing they should concern themselves with. That night played through his mind has he waited for Sirius to get over there. He had made it after what happened. He knew he should not have ran away as he did, he should have stayed and made sure Sirius was okay. He got scared and he had just lost Cassandra. He did not know how to take that. He had lost so many people already in his life.

Finally, Sirius made it to him. “So, now that you know I can still stop you from running away, even when I can’t out run you, are you ready to just sit down and talk to me? That really is all I want.” He sighed as he laid there on the floor. He was not going to win this one. He knew it. He had one more option. He tried apperating out of the establishment to only be slammed back into the floor. Yeah I guess we can he said. His eyes never met Sirius. Ayden still could not get up and now his shoulder was bothering him. Mind letting me off the floor first he asked the older man.




Tagged: James Sirius Potter
Notes: Yes I know it sucks sorry.

[James Sirius Potter]

As he limped across the room Sirius ignored the confused and somewhat concerned looks of those in the little pub as he informed them it was auror business and to just go on about their business. Eventually, they all at least went back to the appearance of minding their own business – although he knew there was bound to be a few people who still had their attention focused on the commotion he had created. After asking Ayden if he was ready to sit down and talk with him, Sirius shook his head as he watched the young man attempt to apparate – only to be slammed back into the floor. He really should have known better, he thought to himself.

The kid had shifted his appearance back to normal as Sirius crossed the room to where he laid on the floor. It had been a good idea, Sirius would admit, to use that power to keep himself hidden for so long. In all honesty, Sirius was almost sure that had played a big part in Ayden staying alive – the Nex couldn’t kill him if they didn’t know what he really looked like. It was always a hope in the back of his head, that perhaps that would be enough to keep him safe from the hell things were becoming as the years went on. He knew this situation, seeing and speaking with one another again after the last three years, wasn’t easy for either one of them – but Sirius had to talk to him while he could, before Ayden had the chance to leave for good again.

”Yeah, I guess we can,” Ayden muttered, but he never looked up at him, keeping his eyes focused on the floor. ”Mind letting me off the floor first?” he continued and Sirius simply shrugged his shoulders. ”I suppose… If you’re ready to talk like adults and stop this running away from me nonsense…” he said as he waved his wand to undo the charm that kept Ayden in place. Sirius was leaning all his weight into his left leg, only using his injured right leg to keep his balance as he leaned forward and reached his arm out and held out a hand to offer Ayden help up off the floor.

“Sorry I had to do that, but you didn’t give me much of a choice, kid.” he said, taking another drag off his cigarette, blowing the smoke to the side of them and holding the cigarette to the side in his free hand.

[Ayden Matthew Warren]

Ayden wanted to be anywhere but there. He should have known that if he came back, he would have to deal with Sirius Potter. Looking at the man brought back feelings he didn’t want to deal with, feelings that he had ran away from. He didn’t want to deal with Sirius right now, he wasn’t ready to face the man. He had let Cassandra get killed. He wasn’t there at the house to protect her, he was running late to meeting her at her parents' house and had missed the attack. If he had been there, if he hadn’t been running behind, if...all Ayden had were ifs. Different scenarios were playing through the young man's mind of what he could have done if he had been there.

If he could have gotten off that floor, he would have been out of there in a heartbeat, but he knew if he tried to run again the same thing would happen. Sirius was a very stubborn man who had little patience. He didn’t make eye contact when Sirius said that he would let him up off the floor if he was ready to talk like an adult. Sighing he nodded knowing he really had no choice now and he couldn’t avoid Sirius after this.

He had seen the limp from the man and knew better than to take his hand to get up. He didn’t want to hurt him and as he said before he was in no condition to be chasing after him. No that’s fine. I got it he said getting up without the man’s help. He rubbed his shoulder as he had hit it hard on the floor. You could have just let me go he said with a sad tone. He walked slowly and sat back down in the chair he had previously occupied staring down at the plate of food he had started to eat before all of this. There was no way out of this now. He was going to have to talk to the man whether he wanted to or not.


Words: 346

Tagged: James Sirius Potter

Notes: Aydennnnnn

[James Sirius Potter]

Since the moment he had noticed Ayden sitting across the room it had been a whirlwind of emotions welling up inside him – all which broke down to his deciding he wasn’t leaving there without talking to Ayden, at least for a little bit. He needed to know how the boy was doing, how he had been handling things over the last few years by himself – Sirius just wanted to know that he was okay; or at least as okay as he could be in the situation, they found themselves in. The boy was like a son – he had almost been his son-in-law – and Sirius had played a big role in raising the kid from the time he was young and it had been one of the many things keeping him up at night wondering how Ayden was doing and if he was even still alive.

It didn’t take long for him to realize that Ayden wasn’t ready to talk to him as his appearance started to shift before he attempted to take off. The few words they did exchange however, made him feel like it was a different time, a different year, what seemed like a different lifetime all together – it was so familiar, so easy, the words flowed naturally in a way that felt so right. One thing that apparently never left you, no matter how long it had been, was the ability to think, care, and have the mindset of a parent. That night, he had lost that – not only when he lost his two daughters but also with Ayden’s disappearance.

Though he had wanted to be left there to die that night, it wasn’t what Claire let happen – so when he had finally come to a point where he could think past the pain he had realized Ayden was supposed to come over that night. Neither Claire, or any of the other aurors had seen him come by after they found Sirius amongst the destruction – and when he asked Claire to get aurors looking for him he knew it was too late. If the boy knew what happened then he was long gone – Ayden was a tough kid, but he tended to run from his problems rather than facing them.

However, until he came face to face with the man that once been that teenage boy, he had never once thought that he could possibly blame himself for what had happened. What could he have possibly done? If he had been there that night, the chances were better that he would be dead or as close to it as Sirius was when the Nex had left – in his opinion, it was better that Ayden hadn’t been there that night. It was some lucky twist of fate that he had been running late that evening – and though he often wondered and worried about the boy, he had always hoped he was alive and well somewhere. It was at least somewhat comforting to know after all this time that was the truth.

After crossing the room to where he had planted Ayden on the floor, he ignored the eyes still watching them from a distance as they exchanged a few words before Sirius let him up off the ground. Sirius had held out a hand to help the boy up – but without looking up at him Ayden told him it was fine, he had it, and got up on his own. Sighing, Sirius took another drag of his cigarette as he watched Ayden rub his shoulder some before saying, “You could have just let me go,” with a sad tone as he headed back to the table and sat down in the chair he was in before.

Moving slower than Ayden, and slower than himself usually in the first place, Sirius followed behind him and limped his way back to the table – where he nearly collapsed into his seat, stretching his sore leg out in front of him as he took another long and harsh drag off his cigarette. Reaching over and pulling the ashtray closer to where he sat he put out the cigarette and instead picked up his drink, downing half of it and swirling the rest around in his glass as he thought. There were so many things he wanted to say to this kid – he had worried about him for so long – but in the end what he settled for was simple.

“After all these years, I wasn’t about to let you leave that quickly, kid,” he said gruffly, looking up from his glass of whiskey with a worn and tired look. “Though, I am curious… what has you back home all the sudden?” he asked thoughtfully, downing the rest of his drink to compensate for the pain and soreness he was feeling because even just walking back and forth across the bar was more than he had done since before the recent fights with the Nex.