( chapter xxvi. MATTER OF
TIME )

— 🌙 —

         The arrival of Harry to 12 Grimmauld Place was not a joyous occurance even though that was how the masses had imagined it. Hermione and Ron, it was known, had dreamed of this since they had been told by Dumbledore himself that they couldn't contact their friend under any circumstance over summer in fear that something would happen, that the Death Eaters would be able to pinpoint them to their current location and attack, even though with the cloaking spell no one could see the true house where the Blacks once glowed.

         Early in the day, before the news that Harry Potter had been attacked by Dementors and had casted magic, surely expelling him from Hogwarts, there was Calypso Hope Black sitting in her dead (but not really) uncle's room with headphones in trying to just drown out all the sound. Trying, being the key word. Morning light poured in and she turned up the volume because breakfast was happening just downstairs and she was still away in this room trying to forget where she was.

         No one liked being there; no one liked staying in the house because of its eerie qualities. To the Weasleys and Order members who just dropped in for meetings every now and again, it was just unsettling. It held old relics of the Blacks' dark history and the screeching portrait of the fresh dead Walburga Black, fresh meaning she had only been dead for a little over a decade. For the Blacks, it held a darker side. Memories rushed through the three siblings head who had endured the tyranny of Orion and Walburga Black and for their children, the pain of knowing how cruel it was for them to stay here again.

         Maia had succumbed to staying in her bed, no one knew when she left or when she ate and Leo, who had been there weeks longer than any of the other children, had gotten a feel of what it was like to be alone in such a place. It was clear he hated that feeling, finding himself always with another person whether it be with his sister, silence deafening them, or with his cousin who humored him with conversation and a very cuddly cat. He spent time with his mum, too, but there were short periods of time when he would be alone and Calypso didn't know why when it crumbled him so much.

         For her, she liked being alone, much like Maia. While there was always the feeling of being watched accompanied by the eeriness, the house was already so loud for her and just trying to shut everything up with music helped. A little, maybe. The music also helped her forget the memories of her only other time with the house, trying to replace them with ones she had created with her best friend one night earlier that summer.

         It had been no different that morning, still there waiting until school returned with a calendar pinned up on the wall to mark off the days. At least there she could lose herself to the terrible, terrible memories even if it meant enduring Charms and Transfiguration. She knew it was the same for the others, anything to be away from the fallen household.

         Through the walls, she could hear the almost silent wailing of her uncle. Usually, she let him be, he didn't need his niece coming to check up on him, pestering him as the painful memories of whippings muddled his mind. Even more than that, his imprisonment in Azkaban and now his imprisonment here. Unlike her, he didn't have a day of escape to look forward to. He didn't have the longing for school, a way to leave in the night and return back safely without anyone knowing, he was trapped away inside the walls. Unlike her, he couldn't leave.

         But something was different that morning, maybe something in the air telling her that she needed to make a change – make an effort to help him because Calypso found herself standing up from her uncle's old bed with her headphones out as she walked to the door. Everything was immediately louder and she could practically hear Ron shuffling the deck for a card game he was playing with Hermione even though it was early and usually no one was awake. Not at that moment, maybe in half an hour or so.

         Sliding through the hallway and the room at the end of the hall, adjacent to the study that haunted her dreams, she knocked lightly on the door. Standing there, so close to what her scared her when she was only five, sent shivers down her spine but she still stayed until the door opened to reveal her uncle looking at her with a puzzled expression. "Calypso?" he whispered to not disturb those in the house.

         "Hi," she weakly attempted a smile, "I haven't seen you in a while, can I come in?"

         He nodded and stepped out her way, allowing the teenager to go into his room. While she had seen her mother's room and her other uncle's, she had not seen Sirius'. And while Remelda's had been barren with no wall décor or photos on her nightstand, Sirius' was full of posters ranging from Quidditch teams to muggle rock bands. Regulus' had been a medium.

         "Nice room," she told him, looking at the large bed and the desk against another wall that had been collecting dust for so long. Everything was so untouched, so preserved. Nothing had been ruined in any room which was unexpected because Calypso would've thought Walburga had burned every room reminding her of her bastard children. Those blood-traitors...

         (She excluded Regulus from this because he had been thought to have died when he was only sixteen, what a tragedy.)

         "Thanks," he said back and there was a nice silence between them for a moment, "What are you doing here?"

         "Couldn't sleep. Everything's so loud," Calypso supplied. Her own home could be unusually quiet for long periods of time before being filled with Nala eating or jumping around or Remelda humming to herself whenever she thought Calypso couldn't hear her. But this house was just so loud, even the wood seemed to creak on its own. And there were always people around to create more noise and confusion and she could never concentrate on one concrete noise – they all just muddled together until she wanted to bash her head in.

         "Well the walls are thin..." Sirius commented, "Sorry that you have to be here."

         Calypso frowned, "Don't be. I'm more sorry for you, school starts back soon and everything so I'll be gone but you'll...sorry, I probably shouldn't be bringing that up."

         "It's fine, Cal," he shook his head, "I'm used to being stuck places. It's been my life for the past decade and a half basically."

         "Doesn't make it right."

         "Well, the world's not right, is it? Not just even if that's what the Ministry preaches...those assholes," he rolled his eyes.

         She couldn't help herself, letting out a little laugh. But she couldn't help but wonder about some things. "God, who even remembered about this place? I haven't thought about it since Walburga died..." she lied. Sirius didn't blink when she called Walburga by her name and not grandma, as she was probably supposed to do. That hag didn't deserve the title.

         But she had lied. She had thought of this place many times and none of those thoughts had been good. Nothing about the house was good.

         "Remelda brought it up," Sirius answered, sitting down on his bed as he began to explain further, "We were meeting up – the Order and everyone – after the last task where...you know," she did, "And decided we needed a Headquarters. Obviously, Arthur and Molly offered the Burrow but it's always so crowded and not all too large so they didn't win that. Na-Nadia said she couldn't house and neither could anyone else. Remelda stepped forward and offered this place, because your house is in a muggle neighborhood. Be suspicious with people popping in and out and everything magically."

         Calypso nodded.

         "It's in my name, really, but it went to her because I was in Azkaban when mother died," he spat out the title but Calypso was just surprised he hadn't resorted to calling her by her name, "but you probably already know that."

         "I do," Calypso agreed, sitting down next to him, "And you...agreed to come and stay here?"

         He shrugged, "I didn't really have a choice, did I? My choices were agree and have a safe place to stay where I can be fed, or be a malnourished dog that could be potentially found and killed by anyone in the wizarding world. This, it sounded better."

         "I would've chosen the possibility of being killed," Calypso looked at him.

         "Thought about it. Really, I did, but there's still so many people left to live for. It's not my time yet," he smiled at her and she nodded at his words.

         "I'm sorry you have to stay here."

         "I'm sorry that you have to experience this house," Sirius said before turning, for lack of a better word, serious, "I always promised myself that my children would never know anything about this place or their grandparents."

         "You're different from mum. I mean, I was five when Walburga died. She took me here when we came to see the house...we never came back," she thought it best to leave out the whole reason for that, leaving it with just the known fact of who used to inhabit the house, "She always wanted me to know. Mum rarely keeps secrets from me."

         "So did you know about Leo and Maia?" Sirius ventured.

         Calypso shook her head, "No, actually. That was one of the things she kept to herself. For the best, probably, but there's no way to hide it now."

         "Right," he nodded, "But now Remelda won't tell anyone. She didn't even tell Nadia when she adopted them. Just pleaded."

         "That's mum, for you," Calypso smiled, "Always keeping things, trying to help people."

         "Yeah, I guess so," he agreed. He looked around his room for another moment, "Merlin, I feel bad for those kids but I don't know what's worse; finding out you're adopted or that you aren't and your dad was in Azkaban for being an alleged mass murderer. Personally, I'd go with adaptation."

         "Me too. But Leo's taking it fine, he said he's known for a while that he's adopted and for Maia...it's terrible. She doesn't deserve any of this," Calypso said. Sirius brought her close and placed a small kiss on the top of her head as her dad used to do when she was a child. She smiled at the memory.

         There was another knock at the door before it opened so that Remelda could step inside. "Oh, Calypso, you're here," she blinked, surprised, before shaking herself out of it, "Breakfast is ready if you want to join everyone."

         Sirius sucked in a breath. "I don't think so, sorry," he apologized, "I'll go down once everyone's eaten."

         Sirius, although he was a recluse, didn't skip out on meals for the fun of it. Everyone knew that Molly was still tense about it, along with some of the other Order members. Even though he had told them the truth and his family would back him up without fault, they still didn't like him. And then there was the whole thing with Nadia where she was still assessing the whole situation (you know, finding out that her murderous ex-boyfriend wasn't actually murderous and just stayed in Azkaban because he never had a trial and was wrongfully convicted?) and Sirius didn't feel comfortable around her or her children.

         But it was fine, in the end. Everything was fine.

         Remelda's face softened, "I'll bring you something up."

         "Thank you, Mel," he said earnestly, "Go on, Cal, you can come back later."

         She nodded at her uncle and stood up to join her mother. "See you later, Uncle Pads."

         And the door closed behind her, leaving Sirius along again.

― 🌙 ―

         EVERYTHING FELL APART at night. News of Harry Potter using magic outside of school (which was illegal because he was underage) spread to the Order causing a frenzy. Of course, Mundungus who was supposed to be watching over the boy was out selling something on the black market and not being the guardian angel of Harry which led to a Dementor attack (what?) causing him to use magic to defend himself and his cousin.

         No one was happy and now Calypso had to hear about it, which was probably the worst part. Yeah, her somewhat sort-of cousin was almost killed, but now everyone's yelling and that included the hated Sirius vs. Molly match which gave her a headache. She could hear the nervous chatter from Ron and Hermione, wondering if it finally meant they'd get to see their friend, and how it was confirmed. Not that the others upstairs knew that, only her. But it was always just her. Remus was gone with some of the others, like Nymphadora, going to get him. It was only a matter of time.

         Her headphones weren't in and she could hear Leo telling Maia all about what was happening in a quiet voice as he usually did. She never said anything back, but he seemed okay with that. Nala meowed quietly and she couldn't help but smile, giving the small cat a few more pats and kissing her soft head.

         Eventually, she heard the door creak open. Every part of the house was loud, but it was practically as ancient as the Black family – or so it felt. And then, of course, can the obligatory yelling of her grandmother from the portrait.

         "Filth! Scum! Half-breeds, mutants, freaks, begone from this place! How dare you befoul the house of my fathers?" she shrieked.

         Calypso would never claim she was a nice person. It was clear that she wasn't in the slightest. But, unlike usual where they just let her be or tried to close the curtain on her, she heard the voice of her uncle. "Shut up, you miserable old hag! Quiet!"

         Walburga couldn't take her son talking back to her so she retorted with, "Blood traitor, abominations, shame of my flesh!" That was a bit harsh, Calypso thought, but Walburga never seemed to be kind with her words. That seemed to be a trait only the two newest generations held.

         "Yes, yes, do shut up!" Sirius yelled back at her, throwing the sheet over the picture again.

         "Was that your –?" Harry began to ask and, Merlin, it was nice to hear his voice after all the talk about it.

         "Mother, yes," Sirius confirmed with an undertone of bitterness that the woman deserved, "Dear old mum."

         "But...why here?" Harry asked again. Calypso felt mildly bad about eavesdropping on their conversation even though she had been doing this all summer, but they were so loud. Not really, they talked quietly right down there near the staircase and she couldn't help but hear and be entranced to listen.

         "This house has been my family's for centuries. It's mine now," Sirius paused, "There's only a handful of us left now. Remelda, my sister, offered it up as headquarters for, well, and Dumbledore accepted. It's about the most useful thing my mother has done for a very long time."

         Shuffling was heard and then the light voice of Molly filled her ears. "Hello, Harry dear," she greeted him as cheerful as ever.

         "Mrs. Weasley!" Harry exclaimed, delighted to see her.

         Calypso didn't know if she smiled back at him or just moved on to look at her uncle because the next thing she heard was, "Sirius, the meeting is about to start!"

         Oh, great. Another one of this. Then Molly was directing Harry upstairs and it didn't take long for her to hear Hermione yelling his name in excitement. She decided to slip out of Regulus' old room and into the room she was supposed to be staying in then, joining her cousins.

         "Hey, Leo," she greeted him quietly and he smiled at her, then, "Hey, Maia."

         There was no response but Calypso didn't take it to heart as she took a seat by Leo. "If you couldn't hear, Harry just arrived," she told both of them, although directed it more to Leo since he would actually respond to her.

         Leo nodded, "That's cool. I'll finally be able to meet the guy that everyone's been talking about all summer."

         "Try all my life," Calypso snorted, "Jesus, the world's obsessed with the guy and everything. But I guess it's fine, he's pretty nice when it comes down to everything. A bit hot-headed and impulsive, but he means well."

         "Great," he then paused and leaned closer to her, "Do you think he'll like me?"

         Calypso smiled at her cousin and his antics, "He'll love you, Leo. Everyone does."

         "Just what I like to hear," Leo smiled back at her and then looked to Maia, "Do you think you'll join us for dinner tonight? Since the guest of honor has finally arrived?"

         There wasn't an answer and Leo tried to hid his disappointment, not that she would be able to see it. "I'll bring you something up, how's that sound?" he asked instead only to receive silence, "Sounds like a plan."

         Calypso placed a hand on his shoulder. She then sighed, "Harry's really angry. Ron and Hermione were just trying to explain to him how they weren't allowed to right or anything."

         "Which is such a stupid rule, he should be mad!" Leo agreed with the boy, "What did the two say back?"

         She shrugged, "Don't know. They just stayed silent, probably think they're in the right or something. I mean, the whole thing was wrong – Dumbledore was wrong."

         "What? You don't like Dumbledore?"

         "Not much, really," she shook her head, "He's...done some questionable things in the past and he keeps doing them. I don't know, I just don't trust him like the others."

         Leo nodded, "I don't trust him either. He looks too much like Gandalf – or, well, what I imagine him to look like."

         "Who's Gandalf?"

         "Oh, he's this character from a series called Lord of the Rings. Old wizard who kinda helps the main characters and everything," Leo explained, "It's pretty good. I'd recommend it."

         "Nice," Calypso said before wincing, "God, sometimes I forget just how harsh Aunt Nadia is."

         "What's she saying?" Leo asked.

         "Oh, you know, 'well if we didn't keep him there then none of this would happen so is it really his or the Ministry's fault? No, no it's not, it's Dumbledore's'," Calypso quoted.

         "Damn, seems like mum doesn't really like him either," Leo commented.

         "Seems like it," she agreed. "Oh! It's settling down now. Hopefully they're almost done, I'm starving."

         "Me too. Hope Molly made something good tonight. She should, since the prodigal son has returned," Leo said.

         And, eventually, they heard Molly come upstairs to get them so the cousins left Maia. First Calypso, who waited outside the door to hear Leo say goodbye and Maia to turn around and say, for the first time since the beginning of summer, "Why do you still call her mum?"

         She knew Leo had stilled – Calypso had done it herself. And for a moment there was silence in the room before Leo replied, "Because she is. Even if it's not biologically, she's our mum."

         Then he left the room and didn't talk to Calypso about it as they went downstairs. Everyone sat down and Harry looked around confused at all the people he had never seen before. It was understandable but he didn't ask any questions, therefore no one answered any.

         "Hi, dad," Calypso smiled at Remus as she took her seat next to Leo and Remelda.

         He smiled back at his daughter, "Hey, there, Star." She beamed at the nickname.

         And then everyone began to eat. Sirius looked at Harry and the boy looked back and he outright stated, "Well, the Ministry is furious with you."

         Harry looked taken aback by it and it wasn't just because the statement came out of nowhere. "Why?" he asked his godfather.

         "You did magic in front of your muggle cousin," Sirius answered as if it were obvious, "You'll have to go to a disciplinary meeting tomorrow."

         "Okay," Harry answered easily before standing up, "I'm not really hungry. I think I'll go to bed."

         Everyone looked at him in shock. Sirius chuckled quietly, "You surprise me, Harry. I figured the first thing you'd do is start asking about Voldemort."

         The boy paused and turned back around to face everyone. "I wanted to," he admitted, "but I didn't think anyone would tell anything."

         And ouch, how true that was. "And that was quite right, Harry! You're much too young –!" Molly began.

         "He has a right to know, Molly," Sirius cut her off.

         "It's not your decision!" Molly fired back at the man.

         "Well, it's yours either, Molly," Remelda but in, "So don't go trying to act like it is."

         "We know what Dumbledore said, but he needs to know something," Sirius added.

         Harry grinned at that, "Yeah."

         "He's not a child, Molly," Sirius went on, looking at the woman who was red in the face.

         "He's not an adult either," she then paused before adding something that hit everyone right where it hurt, "He's not James."

         Sirius stiffened in his seat along with others who knew the man, along with Calypso who grew stoic as she balled a fist. "I'm fully aware of who he is, Molly," he told her coolly.

         "I only have Harry's best interests at heart," Molly told him, eyes flickering to the boy in question.

         Remelda snorted at that, "Really? His best interests? Molly, Harry's best interest is not being killed, and part of that could potentially be by not having the information he needs. Do you want to be responsible for his death?"

         "You know about that, don't you?" Molly inquired and Remelda stood up.

         "I don't know what you're inferring here, Molly, but whatever it is, you have it all wrong," Remelda replied stiffly.

         "Oh? Do I? Excuse me for not trusting someone who let their brother be killed and another imprisoned in Azkaban when they knew fully well he wasn't guilty," Molly stared at her.

         "You don't have to trust me, but I didn't let anyone die. Regulus' dreams killed him and he died happily. With exactly what he wanted. And no one would have believed me if I said anything about Sirius and his murderous ways," Remelda told her. "Plus, I had been in the papers enough as a teenager."

         "Really?" Nymphadora spoke up, "I didn't know that."

         "That's because you were a toddler, Nymphie," Remelda told her cousin softly, "I think you were around five, actually."

         Molly, knowing she had lost the argument, then huffed to herself and stormed out of the room and Calypso couldn't help but let out a small grin.

         Which, of course, caused a slew of questions just after Sirius smiled at Harry and asked, "What do you want to know, Harry?"

         "Where's Voldemort? What's he doing?"

         "He's hiding for the moment, because the Ministry is ignoring his return and he doesn't want that to change," Sirius answered simply and Calypso rolled her eyes. Voldemort was always such a coward...

         Wait, she shouldn't think that, he's literally a serial killer. Leo leaned in to her, "Should we leave?"

         She shook her head, whispering back, "You can. I'm staying here and finishing my meal."

         "Yeah, but, seems kinda private, don't you think?" Leo urged, looking at Harry asked more questions and received more answers.

         "I'll be able to hear it anyway, so what does it matter?" Calypso asked in response, looking at her cousin as she stuffed her mouth with more mashed potatoes.

         He nodded, accepting that as he ate his own.

         "And what's his plan?" Harry continued.

         "He's building up his army again, just like before," Sirius replied, taking a sip of his drink.

         "And you're stopping him from gaining followers?"

         "We're doing our best, but it's proving to be...difficult," her dad answered that one.

         "You see, when the Ministry insists that Voldemort isn't back," Sirius continued.

         "But...why?"

         "Fudge likes being Minister of Magic. If it turns out that Voldemort came back under his watch, he'll be slacked," Sirius explained to the boy.

         "But you're telling people, right?"

         Sirius laughed at that, though it was humorless when he then said, "Well, they think I'm a mass-murderer, Lupin is a werewolf, Tonks and Arthur would lose their jobs at the Ministry..."

         "But Dumbledore is doing all he can," Remus finished and it took everything in Calypso to not snort at that. She didn't need to show how much she distrusted him, it wouldn't be matched.

         "If he keeps it up, he might end up in Azkaban. And that would give You-Know-Who a clear to filed to –" Arthur stopped and Harry looked at him expectantly.

         "What?" Harry asked, trying to urge the man on.

         The adults in the room shared a look before Sirius turned back to Harry, "You-Know-Who wants something. Something he didn't have last time. A weapon."

         "What kind of weapon?" Harry asked.

         Calypso, with the same knowledge as the Order members even though she wasn't one, knew exactly what they were talking about. And her dad and uncle shared a look again.

         "I'm sorry, Harry, we can't say anything more," Remus apologized and that was the end of the conversation.

― 🌙 ―

         HARRY GOES OFF to his hearing a few days later. People say goodbye to him and Calypso stays upstairs in Regulus' old room. He turns back into his human form that morning to tell her about when he was a child and he used to go stargazing with his siblings. It's a wonderful story, really, and she liked it a lot.

         He told her how Sirius used to point out the star Regulus before they used to urge him to show his own star. Sirius; the brightest star in the sky. It used to be so symbolic of him. Sirius Black used to shine brighter the rest as he strutted through the corridors of Hogwarts with James Potter by his side. They demanded attention and received it. But the star's shine had stopped being so bright in recent years, not that anyone blamed the star.

         Still, it was a nice story to hear.

― 🌙 ―

         WHEN HARRY CAME home from his hearing, Sirius showed him a picture of the old Order members; the founding ones.

         "There's Mad-Eye and Dumbledore, right next to Dedalus Diggle...Then there's Frank and Alice Longbottom, tortured into insanity by Death Eaters; Lupin, of course...Ah, Edgar Bones, they only ever found bits of him; Caradoc Dearborn, he vanished six months later...; Hagrid, of course; Gideon and Fabian Prewett, it took five Death Eaters to finish those two off; me, of course, next to Nadia and Remelda; and there they are!"

         "My parents," Harry smiled at the picture, "I miss them, Sirius..."

― 🌙 ―

         SHE HAD BEEN alone when Molly entered the study and began to cry, seeing the dead bodies of her children. Harry had found her and used the spell taught by Calypso's dad to get rid of Dementors. Calypso was struck with fear at the mention of it, at the thought of that damn room.

         She cried herself to sleep that afternoon.

― 🌙 ―

         RON AND HERMIONE were named Head Boy and Girl for Gryffindor, Maia taking the title for Ravenclaw. They cheered, excitement filling the house, and it was such a nice change from the usual cold silence. Even Maia participated in the celebrations, momentarily forgetting about how she was supposed to hate Nadia in favor of smiling about her achievement.

― 🌙 ―

         THERE WAS CHEERING again when the news of Harry winning his hearing was announced. "He got off! He got off!" the twins and Ginny cheered. Calypso found herself joining in on the fun, it was just so easy to love.

         There was another feast in celebration of the great news. Even Remelda graced everyone with a smile.

         But now it was September first, time to return back to school and leave the terrible house. Good riddance.