"I don't fucking understand it! How could he possibly have thought I would kill my brother!" Sirius was crying, which was extremely awkward since he was an adult and Alabasandria did not think it would be appropriate to offer him some ice cream.
Nodding and humming were working wonders but it would not last forever. He threw himself on the couch and looked over towards her with his very sad eyes. "Do I seem like the type of guy to kill my brother?"
"No, you are unhealthily loyal to your friends and Harry to the point of codependency. It makes no sense to me that people genuinely thought you would have betrayed the Potters."
He laughed. Of course, none of the people who had known him for years had sided with him, but the emotionless necromancer had. A lot of people had sent him letters since the news had broken, mostly heartfelt words about how happy they were to have been proven wrong. It was all empty words. He sniffled and reached for the bottle of alcohol, but Alabasandria kicked it away. He had already consumed more than enough.
"Do you have any family?" He asked her suddenly.
"No."
"Oh come on, you've heard more than your fair share of my problems. I barely know anything about you. Why don't you have any family? Are they dead? How old are you anyway?"
"All my fellow Adamses are long dead. I was born and raised in Egypt, where my mother was from. My father was from the British branch of Adams and left to go help in what was becoming an all-out war against the Dark Arts and he died shortly thereafter. My mother also died a few years after that. This was all a good few hundred years ago, give or take some hundreds."
"Is it necromancy-religion taboo to ask how old you are?" He asked lightheartedly.
"It's rude to ask any lady that in general."
"Fine! Well, you're aging gracefully," he said with a laugh. "Glacially, even. Since I have to assume you were born in the time of Merlin."
"Oh Hades, no, I'm not that old!"
"I would hate to live forever," he sighed, thinking it over. "What's the point if you don't have people to spend eternity with? It sounds more like a curse than a blessing."
"Necromancers are usually weaned off any need for companionship quite early. As long as you keep busy, eternity isn't too bad."
"So all necromancers act like you?"
"The ones that managed to stay alive for more than a few years, yes."
"What about Harry? He really loves you, ya know."
She wrinkled her nose at the thought.
"What do you expect me to say? I know he does. If he was smart, he wouldn't. Every single problem he's caused is because of his affection for others, it clouds his judgment."
Sirius rolled his eyes at her dramatics. How was it that this woman had ended up being his only remaining friend when she wouldn't even admit that she loved her kid? She complained so loudly about feelings and communicating, yet she engaged in those things with minimal fuss. She had pulled him out of his depressive, drunken ramblings several times now, and was genuinely nice to talk to. She had emotions, but the poor woman was in denial.
He would have to continue doing his damndest to impress the meaning of love and family into his unwilling one-sided best friend. If everyone else had abandoned him, then fine, he would make a new family. Sirius and the necromancers.
"Oh boy, look at the time," she said with no subtlety at all, bringing her hand out to look at a watch that was not there.
"Yeah, yeah. Let's head back to Hogwarts," he agreed. But they were interrupted by the sudden arrival of Harry. The boy shook off his shadows and gave them both a hesitant smile. Clad in his pajamas underneath a jumper and trainers, he looked anxious as he faced them.
"What's wrong?" Alabasandria demanded immediately. Sirius held back a laugh, her actions furthering his point about her love.
"I'm fine!" Harry said. "I just wanted to talk, I was looking for you two."
"What is it?"
"Um, I was hoping to talk to Sirius, actually." The boy looked bashful and he stared at the floor. Alabasandria shrugged, perfectly fine with being excused from further feelings. She had homework to grade anyhow. "Do you mind? Are you busy?" Harry asked him as she gathered her things and flooed away.
"Course not, kiddo. What did you want to talk about?" Sirius sat up and patted the empty seat next to him. Harry settled in and twiddled his thumbs for a moment.
"Well I know you've been busy with the Ministry and all that, but um. I was wondering if I could get some advice."
"I've always got time for you, Harry," he assured. Especially for a conversation Harry had deliberately excluded Alabasandria from. His curiosity was peaked. That shifted into concern and shock as Harry explained his problem - what he'd done to those girls. His casual admittance of madness. It was suddenly not as funny that Alabsandria had fled this conversation. What the fuck was he supposed to do? Soberness returned to his brain as he listened to the shocking situation.
"- So, yeah. I wanted to ask your opinion. Now everyone's mad at me, and I don't know how to fix it." He said sadly.
Sirius took a moment to digest all of that. Every single problem he's caused is because of his affection for others, it clouds his judgment. Right, he wasn't dealing with a regular child here, he reminded himself. Alabasandria no doubt loved the boy, but that didn't mean she raised him the best. Harry hadn't been able to dissolve himself completely from his need for companionship which left the boy with a very unique twist on morality.
Sirius took a deep breath and tried to think about the situation rationally. Sure, the Unforgivables were unforgivable for a reason! But it would not help Harry to get mad. Harry needed to understand why what he did was wrong. He could panic about the implications of his bloodthirsty godson in private. He'd already committed to this family completely, and that was not about to change at the first sign of trouble. But man, Sirius really, really wanted another drink at the moment.
"Right, I can see why you asked for my help," he sighed. "Do you understand why Luna is mad, Harry?"
"Because I went too far?" Harry guessed, kicking his feet. "I know Luna doesn't like violence, and she asked me not to hurt them, but I was just trying to protect her, why would she be so angry?"
"Not everyone has the same beliefs and morals as you do. You were trying to help, but you responded how you wanted to, and ignored what Luna asked. It was her problem, and you should have helped her in the way that she wanted you too, nothing more. Focusing on what you wanted was selfish. You were putting your desires above hers. It's about a lack of trust."
Harry hummed and kicked his feet as he considered his words.
"I do trust her though, I trust all of my friends?"
....
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