the_debt_of_time

Fred fell back into his chair with his hands over his face. George and Ginny got up,
walked swiftly over to their mother, and hugged her. Ron gave a very shaky laugh and
downed the rest of his butterbeer in one gulp.
Sirius awkwardly watched as anxiety and relief mixed in each of the Weasleys faces.
He could tell that Molly had poorly tried to glamour away the red from her eyes, leaving
them looking still-swollen and a bit pink.
Not knowing what else to do, he channelled his inner Lily and clapped his hands
loudly as an idea came to mind. "Breakfast!" he shouted joyfully. "Where's that bloody
house-elf? Kreacher! KREACHER!" But Kreacher did not answer the summons. "Oh,
forget it, then. Bacon and eggs, I think, and some tea, and toast."
Hurrying into the kitchen, he began fumbling with items to make breakfast, a part
of him wondering if he even remembered how to turn the cooker on; it had been years
since he needed to cook for himself. Even living with Mia and Remus after Hogwarts, they
survived mostly on takeaway and Mia's feeble efforts at cooking.
Harry was suddenly at his side, looking eager to help.
Sirius grinned down at his godson. "You know how to cook?"
Harry nodded. "The Dursleys made—er... taught me."
Sirius's nose twitched at the information that he filed away in the back of his head—
in a box labelled: Dursleys, Vengeance—and patted Harry on the back. "That's good. Because
I have no idea what I'm doing."
"You've never cooked before?" Harry asked.
"Not well," Sirius admitted. "Always had house-elves. Here at Grimmauld Place, at
Hogwarts, and even at your grandparents' home. The only time I even had the need to
cook was when I shared a flat with Remus after Hogwarts. We mostly lived off of food
from the Leaky Cauldron and snacks from the sweet shop."
He watched curiously as Harry began breakfast, impressed by the way the boy
naturally took to cooking. Knowing that Harry was most likely trying to help to hide away
whatever guilt he was feeling over Arthur's attack made Sirius feel inadequate as a parent
since he had no idea how to address the problem other than to reassure Harry that none
of this was his fault. From what he knew of him, Harry would be too stubborn to take the
words to heart.