Chapter Text
"The tutor is going to be here tomorrow noon."
Sirius raises his gaze from the commercial papers to look at Elektra. She is standing in the doorway, all dressed up and ready to leave - Sirius can't quite remember where. Wasn't the Malfoy's charity night already the week before? Did she have a dinner with his mother planned? Or maybe it was the Burke girl's wedding gown fitting…
From the awaiting expression on his wife's face Sirius realises that he should react somehow.
"Alright", he says. "Do you need the office for that?"
Elektra looks at him like he has lost it. "You are going to do interviewing."
Sirius tries to think back if they actually agreed on this or if this is one of the times where she simply had decided something and assumed him to comply. Her stubbornness is one of the qualities Sirius appreciates the most, but there are certainly situations where she could maybe discuss with him instead of making the decision alone.
"Why me? You have been talking with her."
"Him", Elektra corrects. "I am sure that he expects to meet the man of the house. You are paying his salary, after all."
The salary. Sirius has totally forgotten to make the paperwork ready for that. He needs to look into the current laws about wages, draft a contract, make sure that their insurances are up to date. Truth to be told he had not expected that Elektra would find someone she accepted so quickly, usually she was much more picky with the people she let in her home.
"Do we really need a tutor in the first place?" Sirius asks. Elektra is visibly frustrated about his resistance, glancing at the clock to figure out if they even have time for this discussion.
"They are nine and seven, Sirius. We really should have done this a while ago. I can teach them only the rudiments, they need a professional to make sure that they are properly educated."
Sirius wants to argue this by pointing out that his mother taught him until he was thirteen and only then hired tutors to take care of the more advanced subjects. He can't quite say why the idea of a stranger coming to their house and teaching his children makes him so uncomfortable.
"I could take over teaching them", he suggests. The spontaneous idea sparks something inside him. Elektra shakes her head and gives out a laugh, like she can't quite tell if he is joking or not.
"When have you opened up the herbology book the last time? Sirius, be realistic - you have already enough work, you can't take this upon yourself."
She pulls a stack of papers from under her cloak, and walks up to Sirius's desk. "Here is his curriculum vitae, please look through it. I have to go - I will be back home late."
Elektra gives him a quick kiss before she hurries out of the door. Sirius merely glances at the name Remus Lupin on top of the papers before moving them to the stack of things he really doesn't want to read.
He waits for a moment before leaving the office. The bright voices of the children echo all the way to upstairs, and Sirius follows the sound down in the living room where he finds Melia amusing Helios by making their toy hippogriffs float. Sirius stops in the doorway, just quietly observing the siblings who are too deeply immersed in their play to notice him.
From the second he had taken Melia into his arms for the first time, Sirius knew that he wanted to become something else than his own father. In his childhood memories Orion is a hazy, distant figure that never really seemed to even notice that he had too little boys in the house. Sirius can still remember the frustration of never managing to catch his attention. The biggest approval he has ever gotten from Orion was on the day when he finally agreed to come work for him, ensuing that one day he would continue the Black legacy as the head of the company.
"If you focus on keeping your wrist firm, you will be able to float it much longer", Sirius comments when the hippogriff drops on the carpet. Helios runs up to him and Sirius picks the boy up, listening to him tell about a nonsense story he came up earlier that day. Melia stays on the floor, aiming her wand at the hippogriff again with furrowed brows and stern eyes, like she is trying to make the toy stay in the air with the sheer power of her will.
"Look", Sirius says, and corrects the position of her arm. "Do you feel that? Imagine that you are letting the magic flow unobstructed into the wand." He steadies her wrist and together they float the toy a foot above the floor, and Sirius shows Melia how she can lower the hippogriff back to the ground.
"Do it again! They love flying!" Helios demands but Melia announces that she is done with this game and wants to do something else. Elektra has braided her long black hair, but it is slowly coming undone. Sirius lowers Helios down from his lap, and suggest that they could do couple rounds of hide and seek before dinner.
He gives his children a minute of time to hide somewhere in the house before he starts going through all the nooks and crannies he can think of. The game is much easier now, when they haven't started practising disillusionment charm.
*
Remus Lupin apparates at their door five to twelve. Sirius invites him inside and offers a hanger for his cloak. Mr. Lupin eyes the grand hall curiously, and Sirius wonders what kind of families he has taught before - he knows that their townhouse in London is on the fancier side.
"My office is in the upstairs", Sirius says and they climb up the stairs together. He has made some tea and Mr. Lupin accepts a cup once he sits down on the chair in front of the mahogany desk.
"Would you tell me a little about yourself?" Sirius asks. He has taken a cursory look at his papers, but he frankly doesn't remember much of it.
Mr. Lupin nods. "My name is Remus Lupin. I am 37 years old, and I have been working as a teacher for ten years now. Mostly in private tutoring, but also in a magical primary school in Wales for a couple years. I graduated from Hogwarts and got my teacher's degree in University of Edinburgh for Wizards and Witches. In my free time I like to do birdwatching." He takes a little pause before continuing: "I am a half-blood, my mum's a muggle."
Sirius frowns. "Are you aware that you don't have to state your blood status in job applications anymore? It is illegal to ask about it. Of course if someone really wants to know they can just look you up from the database, but you don't need to offer that information."
Mr. Lupin looks taken aback. "So that is not a problem for you?"
Sirius does his best to not let his annoyance show. He understands where Mr. Lupin is coming from; the culture changes much slower than the legislation, he probably doesn't want to waste either of their time in case that would be a problem. But Sirius always struggles when people make assumptions like that.
"Me and my wife both believe that the segregation is a thing from the past", he says shortly. Then he looks at the notes he made in preparation for the interview and asks: "Have you taught age group 7 to 9 before? Do you know how to make the lessons interesting and sufficiently challenging for both of them at the same time?"
"That might be my favourite age group", Mr. Lupin says, smiling slightly. "Most of the families I have taught in have had multiple children with different ages, so I am used to personalized learning. I also prefer practical methods and have a huge backlog of educational games and activities that have been working well throughout the years. Of course I also take into consideration each child's needs and wishes from the parents."
He sounds genuinely excited while telling all this. Sirius thinks of how different his approach sounds compared to how he and Regulus were taught - sitting quietly by the desk, writing and reciting and getting yelled at if they made mistakes or misbehaved. Clearly it worked since he got top marks from NEWTs, but that is not the way he wants his own children to learn.
"Do you have any questions for me, then?" Sirius asks. He feels like he has gotten everything he needs, but once again Mr. Lupin looks surprised.
"What is your sickness policy?" he asks. Sirius has not thought about it. Wizards in general are immune to most illnesses, but maybe Mr. Lupin's muggle heritage that makes him more vulnerable.
"If you are unable to come to work, you will let me know and we will deal with it. You get compensated, of course."
The interview has only lasted ten minutes and Sirius suspects that Mr. Lupin has been waiting something more. He looks at the clock. "I think that my wife is just going to have the mid-day break from teaching. Do you want to meet the children?"
"That would be a pleasure."
Sirius leads Mr. Lupin across the hall and back downstairs where the living room is. He wonders if he should be telling something about the house and its history - how lucky they were to find one in central London that was already equipped with magic, and they didn't have to do all the spell work from the beginning. The few magical houses left in the city are usually inherited from the parents, much like Grimmauld Place will once be passed down to Sirius, if his mother ever decides to die.
The door into the living room is ajar and Sirius pushes it gently open. Just like he thought, Elektra is finishing up the lesson and she stops talking to look at Sirius. He takes a second to marvel how regal his wife looks in her new fine everyday gown and her hair tied up.
"This is Remus Lupin. I thought he would like to see his new students, if he decides to take up the position that is."
Elektra nods and then looks at their children, who are both sitting on the sofa surrounded by their quills and parchments and spell books. They jump up obediently, both neat and well-dressed. Helios brings his sleeve up to his mouth, tempted to chew on the lace ornaments like he often does when he is nervous, but Melia notices it and slaps his hand back down.
Sirius leads Mr. Lupin to the children and lets him introduce himself. He crouches down so that he is on the same level, and offers his hand to the Melia, who says in a brisk and clear voice: "Melia Adhafera Black. But you can call me Melia."
"Pleasure to meet you, Melia", Mr. Lupin says and moves to Helios, who copies his sister.
"Helios Alnair Black."
"But you can call him Helios", Melia adds helpfully and Sirius can see that Mr. Lupin is trying very hard not to laugh.
"Pleasure to meet you, Helios. What have you been learning today?"
Helios starts to explain the different ways to use Mandrake and Sirius feels his chest swelling with pride. Watching at his children being so intelligent and polite makes him think that he has done something right in his life.
Elektra walks up to him and quirks her eyebrows to ask how the interview has been going. Sirius smiles to her and gives a little nod. Melia demands that she gets to show Remus how high she can float her quill, and that probably seals the deal for Elektra.
"We can't take too much Mr. Lupin's time", Elektra interrupts her daughter. "Nice to meet you, I am Elektra Black and I have been taking care of their education up to this point but I am afraid that my skills won't be enough to guide them through the last crucial steps before Hogwarts."
"You have clearly done a good job", Mr. Lupin offers. "Many children start the school with much less magical skills."
"Ah, it is only the basics. I am sure that you will be able to take them on a whole new level."
Sirius follows the conversation quietly and tries to decipher what Mr. Lupin thinks about his wife. Elektra is beautiful in the way that turns heads everywhere she goes, and Sirius doubts that Mr. Lupin would be immune to her charm. Outwards he doesn't show it; his eyes are not darting across Elektra's face the same way Sirius has seen many men do.
After a quick talk Elektra says that she needs to prepare the tea for the children, and Sirius takes the hint that it is their time to leave. His wife is very particular about timetables. Mr. Lupin says goodbyes to Helios and Melia, who have started to play with gobstones on the floor, and follows Sirius back to the lobby and up the stairs.
The downside of having such a big house is that the distances are too great. They fall back into a troublesome silence that Sirius finds impossible to fill. Halfway up the stairs Mr. Lupin breaks it by saying: "They have very nice names. Your children."
"Oh yeah?" Sirius perks up with the topic. "It was a long process. We agreed that both of us could choose one but they should also sound good together. Elektra decided on Melia and Helios. We thought that they would work better as first names since mythology names have been fairly popular in recent years and we wanted something that won't be too difficult at the school… Were your parents fond of mythology too?"
"Ah, no", Remus says. "My dad just has a weird sense of humour and he thought that it would work well with my last name. You know, the wolf of it all…"
Sirius nods and continues his explanation. "With the second names I could go a little wilder, so I went with star names with Arabic origins. To celebrate their roots."
"Is your family from that area?"
"My dad is from Algeria."
They have reached the door of Sirius's office again, and he lets Remus go in first. He sits down on the chair next and asks: "Do you travel there often with your children?"
Sirius can feel his cheeks burning. "No, I have never even been there myself. My parents didn't think it was necessary. I don't even speak Arabic."
"Oh", is all Remus says. Sirius tries to figure out if he is judging him for this, so he hurries to explain: "We thought about getting Helios and Melia an Arabic teacher. But there was always something else going on, and then it just didn't end up happening… Unless you are qualified in that, too?"
Luckily Remus laughs at his joke. "Sadly no, not part of my credentials."
"Well your other qualifications are good and the children really seem to like you, so the job is yours if you want it."
Sirius slides two contract papers across the table, and Remus starts to read it. A good sign, Sirius thinks. He wouldn't want someone who doesn't take the time to scrutinize a deal teaching his children.
"If there is something you want to ask or clear up, just let me know."
Sirius leans back in the chair and waits for Remus to be done with reading. He seems to be happy with everything, since he grabs the quill and signs both.
"Alright then, it was a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Lupin. See you on Monday."
Rest of the day passes by in a blur. Sirius gets urgent messages from a client, and he has to throw himself into the work and skip having lunch with his family. He is still in middle of everything when clock strikes five, and Elektra knocks on the door to remind him about the playdate with the Mulcibers. Sirius leans back in his chair and sighs.
"I am sorry, I can't come. I really need to take care of this before tomorrow."
A shadow flashes across Elektra's face. "This was agreed upon two weeks ago."
"I know. There is just an unexpected issues and they really can't wait."
He stays alone in the big house and sends owl after owl, trying to figure out where the error has occurred. Somewhere in the back of his mind lies guilt of letting down his wife. He doesn't really even care about what he is doing - if he stops to think about it for too long, he is faced with the fact that his job is to help old pureblood families stay rich and powerful. Sirius doesn't allow himself to dwell on the thought too much.
It is only after children's bedtime when Sirius finally has a moment alone with Elektra. He tries to ask about the play date, but she is curt with him. Her displeasure is cold like ice between them, and she withdraws when Sirius tries to lay his hand on her waist as an act of intimacy.
After spending almost half of their lives together Sirius is well versed in Elektra's quirks and whims and knows when it is better to just let her seethe in her anger for a while. In the beginning both of their tendency to be so hard-headed made their fights explosive, but with time and some age-given wisdom they have learned to navigate each other much better.
Their marriage wasn't forged out of love but out of necessity and responsibility to their families. Still, Sirius thinks that he got lucky: out of all the women he could have ended up with, Elektra might be the most suitable one. They are both much more liberal than most of their pureblood peers, and neither of them were keen on the idea of having children young. The first eight years of their marriage they managed to dodge the questions and spend time in a way they wanted - mostly travelling around the world, going to parties and exploring the muggle world that was highly forbidden from both of them growing up. Those were good years. Sirius had naively thought that maybe they would continue like that forever, but eventually the realities of life caught up to them and Melia was born.
Now, Sirius doesn't like to dwell in the past too much. He absolutely adores both of his children, and he feels deep companionship with Elektra. There is not a day when he wishes that he had another family. He has never met a woman that he had yearned to have instead of his wife. But if things had gone differently…
There is no use in asking those questions when Sirius's future was already settled on the day he was born. At least it is a secure one. Times are not easy, and more and more wizards are choosing to integrate in muggle society because there are more options. For people like Mr. Lupin, Sirius's way of life must look awfully enviable.
Sirius uses the quiet evening hours to read a novel that has been waiting on his nightstand for weeks now. Finally, when they are already in the bed, Elektra's mood relents and she says: "Melia and Helios really liked Mr. Lupin. I think that he will be a good fit."
Sirius puts the book away to face his wife.
"Good, I am glad. He has lots of experience of homeschooling. You made a good choice with him."
Elektra scoots closer and wraps her leg around Sirius's, giving him a sly smile. Her nightgown falls off, revealing her soft thigh and Sirius slides his hand under the welcoming silk.
*
Mr. Lupin shows up in a good time to set up his first lesson. Sirius can hear Elektra opening the door and greeting him while he himself is downing the third cup of tea and hoping that it helps him to stay awake. Both of the children had troubles falling asleep the night before, and Melia had woken up crying in the crack of dawn because in her dreams the new teacher brought a boggart for the first lesson. It took a long time for Sirius to assure her that boggarts wouldn't enter the curriculum before she was thirteen years old.
It is difficult to tell who is more nervous about the change. As much as Sirius keeps telling himself that this is the right decision, he can't get rid of the feeling that inviting Mr. Lupin in his life will shake its foundations irreversibly.
He is probably being a little too paranoid about this. Mr. Lupin certainly didn't come across as a person who would cause a ruckus.
Sometimes Sirius worries that he has inherited his mother's distrust towards other people, although he has spend his whole adult life trying to fight against it. He likes to think that he is rather open-minded and curious, although in recent years he has been losing the interest to meet anyone outside his family. Still, that is in no way similar to Walburga, who flat out refuses to set her foot outside and keeps owling Sirius, that he needs to come to fix their muggle repellent charms because she is sure that someone has broken in and is now living inside their walls.
Sirius shakes his head, trying to banish the thoughts of his mother. He doesn't have time to ponder on this now. If he tried to invite mind healers to check on her, they would leave Grimmauld Place hexed in twelve different ways and Sirius doesn't want to subject anyone to that.
Getting any actual work done is difficult, and he keeps glancing at the clock. Hours have never passed so slowly as they do now before the afternoon break. When the pointers finally hit quarter past twelve, Sirius almost sprints down to the day room.
He finds Mr. Lupin sitting down by the desk, listening intently to Helios who has lost all initial his shyness and is talking fast. When Mr. Lupin notices him, his face lights up in a big smile.
"Oh hello. Helios was just telling me about his favourite magical creatures -"
"Mr. Lupin has a kappa in his house!" Helios interrupts.
"My dad used to have one in the house when I was a child", Mr. Lupin corrects. "Which is of course under the current regulations not allowed anymore…"
"Why not?" Melia asks, raising her head from the picture of kneazle she was colouring.
"Because they are highly intelligent beings and need lots of roaming space", Sirius answers. "It is like keeping you in a cage for your whole life. You wouldn't enjoy that, would you?"
"No", Melia admits. She looks at Mr. Lupin, and ask him: "Why did your dad keep one in the cage?"
"Well, we just didn't understand all these things thirty years ago", Mr. Lupin says. "My dad is a researcher in magical creatures, and he was just doing what everyone was doing at the time."
"So we can't have one here?" Helios asks, sounding gravely dissapointed.
"Absolutely not", Sirius says. "But you can have some tea. I will go check if your mum needs any help with that…"
He walks into the kitchen, where he finds Elektra setting the china on a tray.
"How is it going?" Sirius asks. They had agreed that Elektra would be following the lessons for first few days, just to make sure that everything was running smoothly.
"So far very well. He knows what he is doing, and the children seem to really like him."
Sirius nods and exhales deeply. Stop worrying so much, he tells himself. This is going to be good for us all.
If Sirius has learned something throughout his life, it is that he is quick to adapt in new situations. It doesn't take long to settle in the new rhythm where Mr. Lupin arrives just before nine every morning from Monday to Friday and stays until afternoon. Hearing unfamiliar footsteps from the downstairs doesn't make him stop and listen anymore, and instead they become part of the soundscape of his everyday life.
Elektra is more than happy that she doesn't have to worry about teaching anymore. Seeing how much more relaxed his wife is now makes Sirius feel guilty that he didn't hired a tutor earlier. Truth to be told he never realised that Elektra disliked spending her days in the classroom since she never complained about it - but talking about what books they should use for spell classes never made her sound very excited either. Sirius notes that she has picked up painting again, something she used to be passionate about. And since she is free to meet up with her friends and acquittances during the daytime, she is much more often at home in the evenings, when Sirius is done with the work.
Sometimes, when Sirius is struggling to focus on writing, he abandons his desk and wanders around the house like a restless ghost. It is something he has experienced since he was a child; this overwhelming urge to walk aimlessly until his head clears up. His mother never managed to smack that tendency out of him.
On many occasions Sirius finds himself in downstairs, walking past the classroom on his way to kitchen for tea. The door is ajar, and Sirius can hear Mr. Lupin's pleasant voice echoing from inside. Usually he only catches some disjointed sentences, but sometimes he stands in place for a moment, trying to figure out what lesson is currently going on.
And then one day, without thinking too much about it, Sirius pushes the door open and walks inside.
Mr. Lupin looks utterly surprised, and maybe a little worried. His eyes dart from Sirius to the door, searching for an explanation for the disturbance. "Is something wrong?" he asks.
Sirius fiddles with his tea cup and tries to come up with a good reason to be there. When he fails to figure out one, he settles on the truth: "I just wanted to see how the lesson is going. Would it be alright if I stayed for a while?"
Mr. Lupin nods. "Of course. Err, sit down… We were just going over who Merlin was."
Sirius conjures himself a chair, and leans back to it. Mr. Lupin seems a little disoriented by his presence, perhaps he is worried that Sirius has decided to arrange a surprise evaluation. He manages to gather himself rather quickly, and goes back to his notes.
"So, it is widely believed that Merlin was an animagus, although we don't have written sources to prove this. The idea is not farfetched, considering that even muggle sources mention that he might have had shape shifting abilities, and animagi were much more common back in the first millennia…"
Sirius finds himself quickly immersed in the story. He has read it many times before, but the history of magic never stops delighting him. If he could have freely chosen what to study in the university, he would have probably gone in a field like ancient magic or alchemy rather than magical politics and law.
Mr. Lupin hands Melia and Helios a short text about Merlin, and asks them to read it and make a short summary of Merlin's advances in magical theory. He glances quickly at Sirius, who decides that it is time to set the poor man free from his worries.
"You are a good storyteller", he offers a compliment. "You really know how to keep their attention."
"Trial and error - and it surely helps that you have a pair of such well behaving children."
Sirius bets quietly that Mr. Lupin would probably change his mind if he was present on the nights when Helios needs to take a bath or when they are trying to forbid Melia from practising her climbing skills in the tall bookshelves.
While watching his children working on the assignment together, Sirius thinks about all the great British wizards he learned about, and how his mother made it always sound like Great Britain is the heart of the magical world. Only later he found out that the British wizarding society was actually relatively small.
"Are you going to teach them about history of magic in other parts of the world?" Sirius asks.
Mr. Lupin startles slightly, and answers: "Err, yes there will be international magic in period three, where we go over the advances in medieval Europe…"
Sirius shakes his head. "I don't mean just Europe. They need to learn of other places - I mean…" He drops the sentence, trying to search for right words. Acknowledging his own heritage is difficult since he has grown up so separated from it. "I want them to learn how the magic was in Maghreb. I have been reading a really interesting book about it. You know that they were trailblazers in astronomy and potioneering? And yet those names rarely come up in any of the materials we have been using…"
His excitement subsides when he notices Mr. Lupin polite but slightly anxious expression. Sirius curses himself for getting carried away; he probably has already planned the classes out, and him demanding something completely new means extra work.
"I can make the lesson plans for that", Sirius suggests impulsively. Mr. Lupin shakes his head.
"No, no, I am sure I will find the materials. And you are right, it is a really important subject, I am sure that I can -"
"No, really, let me help you out with it. Like I said, I have some really good books about it, I can make some notes. You will get to revise them, of course. Make sure they are suitable."
"That is really not your job", Mr. Lupin says reluctantly. Sirius thinks about the stack of the contracts that he needs to go over and send to Orion, and it fills him with antipathy. No, it is not his job. It is something much more meaningful.
"Well I would like to do it for fun then", he says, using his authority voice to shut down objections. "And you will get to decide wether you want to use them or not. You are the teacher, after all."
Mr. Lupin looks like he wants to protest, but at that moment Melia announces that they are done with the task, and he has to point his attention back to them. Sirius knows that he needs to return to his office, and he grudgingly vanishes the chair and heads back upstairs.
* Sirius throws himself into the work of planning a class for his children. He goes back to the books and skims through the things he considers to be most important, marks the pages and makes an outline of the topics. Very quickly he realises that it is not a simple task to summarise something so broad and complicated down to few hours worth of teachings to children. Sirius might be slightly out of his depth there, but he keeps reminding himself that Mr. Lupin will help him to finalize the whole thing.
Despite the troubles, Sirius is elated. This is what he has been missing: a project, something that he can focus his full attention on and shut out everything around him. The mundanity becomes easier to bear when he is working on something worthwhile.
He talks about his plans to Elektra, who agrees that it is a good idea. Sirius shows her the notes and rambles about different options he is considering and the grin on his wife face gets wider and wider until she gives out a snicker. It makes Sirius halt.
"Why are you laughing?" he asks with a defensive edge in his voice.
"No, it is just - I love seeing you like. So enthusiastic about something, wishing to change things for the better. It is one of those things I really admire in you."
*
Over the weeks Sirius starts to think Mr. Lupin more as a friend than just a tutor. He tries to make time to talk with him every day and soon he really starts looking forward to those moments. Often they chat about Helios and Melia - Sirius is sincerely eager to hear what they have been up to the whole day - but gradually the conversations shift to other topics too; progression of autumn and current affairs in Daily Prophet.
Throughout his life Sirius has prided himself for being socially skilled. He is good at talking and making connections, and he has been praised for that ability by his parents and tutors alike. Now he wonders if he is only does well at it when there are certain rules to play by, and the underlying assumption is that everyone is after something; money, contacts, useful acquittances. Talking with Mr. Lupin doesn't feel like a game that Sirius can win at, and at times that leaves him uncertain on how to act.
Mr. Lupin is fairly tight-lipped about his personal life, and Sirius doesn't want to pry. He wolfs down the crumbles that the other man accidentally drops. From those it is pretty clear that he and Mr. Lupin have lived fairly different lives: he is at home in the muggle world, which still remains something faraway to Sirius, and he talks about his mother with a warmth that Sirius can't apply to his own experiences. He seems to have a small but close-knit circle of friends, because there are couple names that keep coming up in his anecdotes. He never mentions anything about a wife or children of his own, which is odd to Sirius who is used to family life being the centre of discussion in every social gathering.
It has been a while since he craved someone's company the way he has started to crave Mr. Lupin's. Every day Sirius waits eagerly for the lessons are over and he gets to have his ten minutes of time with him.
But today, when Sirius strides into the classroom where Mr. Lupin is organising papers, he has another idea.
"Would you like to stay for a tea?"
He realises immediately that his suggestion is probably rather foolish - Mr. Lupin must have places to be - so he tries to make it better by an explanation. "Elektra brought home some leftover cake from a party. There is simply too much of it, so if you would fancy a piece before you go…"
Mr. Lupin offers him a careful smile, and stacks the papers in a neat pile. "I guess I must offer you help in such a difficult situation", he says. "Wouldn't want Helios and Melia get sick from having too much sweet, right?"
"Right", Sirius answers. He is taken aback by the casual joking, but probably that is a good sign. "Okay, yes. Lets go to the kitchen, shall we?"
Sirius taps the kettle with his wand and takes out the box with cherry cake. It is rich and moist and sugary, decorated with pink cream and red fruits. Despite Mr. Lupin's objections, Sirius cuts a piece for both of them, brings out the tea cups and just then sits down at the table.
"How was the party, then?" Mr. Lupin asks. When Sirius furrows his brows in confusion, he specifies: "The one where you got the cake."
"Oh, I don't know. I didn't attend", Sirius says.
"Were you busy with something else?"
"No, not really. Unless you count losing a board game to a nine year old…"
Mr. Lupin laughs and that makes Sirius feel unusually pleased. He likes to see the careful politeness slips. The moments have been sparse, but every time it happens, Sirius finds himself intrigued by what lies underneath it.
"Truth to be told I don't care about the parties that much", he confesses to Mr. Lupin. "They were fun when I was still young and could drink firewishkey without feeling terrible the next morning. But nowadays I am… a little bored, really. Would rather just stay home. Elektra likes to go, though, and I have nothing against that."
Sirius is well aware that there are people who find it unconventional, and some even straight up improper that Elektra attends parties without her husband. Mr. Lupin doesn't seem to find it too troubling.
"I am not much of a party-goer myself", he offers. "Big crowds of people have never been my thing. Maybe if they would offer cake that is this good, I would consider it."
He has already finished his piece, and Sirius offers him another one. There is still lots of tea in both of their cups, and Mr. Lupin doesn't seem to be in a hurry. Sirius realises that he has been starving for a moment like this, talking with another adult besides Elektra. Even if their conversation is tentative, it still makes Sirius feel more alive than he usually does.
Merlin, he really needs to start getting out of the house more.
"I have been wondering", Mr. Lupin starts. "We must be around the same age. How come I don't remember seeing you in Hogwarts?"
Sirius has anticipated that the question might come up at some point. Actually he assumed that Mr. Lupin would ask it much earlier. He takes a sip of the tea before answering.
"Because I never went to Hogwarts."
Mr. Lupin doesn't look very surprised by it. "Did you attend another school or..?"
"Homeschooled", Sirius answers shortly. It is not particularly uncommon in pureblood families. His mother is a vocal supporter of parents' rights to decide what kind of education their children receive as she likes to call it, and discussions of the pros and cons of formal school setting is one of the hot topics with his acquittances who have small children.
"How was it?" Mr. Lupin asks.
Isolating. That is what Sirius would answer, if he could be totally honest. It is difficult to put in the words how confined his childhood world was; mostly limited to the four walls of Grimmauld Place and sparse trips to his cousin's estate outside of London. Even though their house was one in the row of many similar ones, Sirius was never allowed to play outside with other children he could see from his bedroom windows. His mother never explained why, she only told that they weren't suitable company.
Only after Sirius became much older he realised that the children he saw - the ones who could have been his friends - were muggles.
"Well I can't really compare, can I? But I would imagine that Hogwarts is a little louder. Much more children in one place. That can be good or bad."
"Did you have many friends growing up?" Mr. Lupin asks. Maybe he has noted the melancholy behind Sirius's words.
"I can't say many… Mostly other children from my family circles. And my little brother, of course."
Mentioning the name makes his chest hurt. Another topic that Sirius tends to avoid as an act of self preservation, but it is difficult. His name keeps popping up in surprising places, and the way Helios follows Melia around like her shadow reminds Sirius of the way Regulus used to cling to him when they were young.
Sirius doesn't know why he even brought Regulus up in the first place. He doesn't want to talk about his little brother to Mr. Lupin - they barely know each other. This man doesn't need to know ins and outs about his past.
Mr. Lupin takes a sip of his tea. "But was I correct about your age?"
"I will turn thirty-eight in November", Sirius confirms, thankful for the change of the subject.
"Ah, I will try to remember that. I am right behind you, my birthday is in March."
They both seem to think about the same thing, because Mr. Lupin continues: "We would have been in the same class."
"That is true", Sirius admits. The mere idea is so distant that he doesn't really entertain it, but he is tempted to ask a million questions. Which house was he sorted in? What was it like, sharing the room with other children? Did he ever miss his parents?
"Melia is already waiting for her letter", Sirius says. "We decided a long time ago that our children will go to Hogwarts. I think that it will be good for them. I mean, we are very happy with the education they are getting from you but - I think it is important that they get to spend time with other children their age."
He says it in an almost apologetic, realising that it means that Mr. Lupin will lose his job. At least Helios will stay at home four more years - it feels like a plenty of them. It is funny how Sirius originally wasn't keen on the idea of tutor, but now he struggles to imagine his daily life without knowing that Mr. Lupin is downstairs.
Mr. Lupin looks at the clock, and his eyes widen slightly. "How is it so late already", he mutters, mostly to himself. "I am sorry Mr. Black - I really need to start heading back home."
"Ah, that is no problem." It is a little disappointing to end their conversation to abruptly, but he understands. "Thank you for helping me with the cake. And please, call me Sirius. Mr. Black makes me feel so old."
Mr. Lupin looks up to him, something flashing behind his eyes. "Sirius", he tries out. "Only if you call me Remus."
"That I can do", Sirius assures and stands up. "Get home safely, Remus. The October darkness falls always so early."