the_debt_of_time

that the two were separate individuals, the silhouette that Harry created against the light in
the room was a painful reminder of James.
Padfoot stretched out his front paws and then back, shaking out his fur, drawing
Harry's attention. He nodded toward the door, waiting for Harry to take his cue before he
looked down at the sleeping girl next to him. Leaning forward, he pulled the sleeve of her
fallen arm up with his teeth and set it back down on the cushions.
He glanced at Harry as he walked out of the room before making his way up the
staircase, shifting back to his human form mid-step, Harry following close behind.
"What an arsehole," Sirius growled after opening his bedroom door, looking inside
to see that his room had been completely torn apart. He could still smell Snape's presence
there, though the greasy git had clearly vacated months ago. Grimmauld Place must have
been the traitor's first stop after murdering Dumbledore.
"I take it you didn't do this?" Harry asked as he walked in behind Sirius.
"No. I'll admit to being messy, but I have respect for my own stuff," Sirius grumbled
as he made his way to a stack of papers and fallen photographs, most of which were of
himself, James, and Remus, with Peter's face scratched out of them.
He was glad to see that Snape had not snatched up the few photos he had left of
Lily. Sirius smiled at the living memories as they danced on paper in front of his eyes, and
handed them over to Harry. "Here you go. Saved them for you."
Harry hesitated before taking them. "You should keep some of these, Sirius."
"Got my own copies and then some." Sirius inclined his head toward a large locked
box near the bed. He picked up his wand and waved it over the rusty container, smiling
when it glowed gold for a brief moment. "Still intact. You'd need a bloody Curse-Breaker
to get into that thing."
"What've you got in it other than pictures?"
"Pictures are enough. Memories keep you grounded when the rest of the world goes
to shit," Sirius explained, leaving the details murky. He picked up an old copy of A History
of Magic from the floor and tossed it on top of the locked box.
"Oh, damn." He picked up a crumpled piece of parchment, feeling heavy-hearted.
"Here," he said and handed it to Harry. "It's a letter your mum wrote me."
Sirius smiled softly as he watched Harry get a little teary-eyed at Lily's words.
"We had a cat?" Harry asked with a laugh.