Saturday April 24
"Pst, pup! Pup! HARRY!"
Harry spun around and sighed when he saw Sirius grinning at him.
"I can't talk right now, we're a bit busy." Harry gestured to where the other Slytherin quidditch players were seated in alongside each other on the bench in the locker room. Trent smiled when he saw Sirius and lifted his hand in a wave.
"I know," Sirius said, waving back at Trent. "Can you spare your favorite godfather two minutes? Please?"
"Yeah, two minutes Sirius," Harry said firmly. "The match starts soon."
Sirius chuckled and led Harry outside the locker room for a moment of privacy. It wasn't that Sirius didn't understand how important this match was to Harry, it was just that they still had half an hour until it started.
"I wanted to tell you good luck today and give you something," Sirius told him once Harry closed the door behind them. "Here."
Sirius took it as a good sign that Harry didn't question his intentions when he handed him the little pouch he'd dug up for him. It might not seem like much, but Sirius knew it meant Harry was really starting to trust him. It was trust bloody hard won, but he'd done it.
Sirius was actually pretty sure convincing Moony to marry him was easier than getting Harry to accept a gift from him.
Harry squinted at Sirius for just a split second before he opened the pouch and pulled the necklace out.
"Er... what's this?" Harry asked. He held the chain up and tilted his head curiously as he studied the fuzzy white charm on the chain.
"It's a rabbits foot," Sirius told him. "It's supposed to be lucky. It was supposedly dipped in Felix Felicis and blessed by a warlock. Your- your dad gave it to me so now I'm giving it to you."
Sirius struggled to pull up some memories, courtesy of the dementors and apparently a lifetime of mental illness according to Rem, but he could remember that day clearly.
He was thirteen, standing in the middle of the quidditch pitch, getting ready to tryout for the team. James, who took the only open position the year before, was cracking jokes, trying to make Sirius smile. Because James had always been the only one at the time who saw past Sirius' cocky smirk and his 'I couldn't care less' attitude. He knew how bad Sirius wanted on the Gryffindor team. Finally though, after his tenth joke fell flat, James sighed and pulled the chain off his neck.
"Take this," he said, thrusting it in Sirius' hand. "This is why I got the spot last year, I wasn't better than you, just lucky."
"You were better," Sirius grumbled. He looked at the necklace and laughed though, a bit of his nerves leaving him. "A rabbits foot James? Don't tell me you believe in these?"
"I'll have you know my mum gave that to me," James said with a pompous tone and a teasing smile. "I wore it the day we met and the day I made the team and the day Evans told me 'good job'."
"Merlin, will you give it up?" Sirius laughed again. "She was grinding her teeth the whole time she said it. She was just being polite in front of Minnie."
"Still lucky," James said. "So, you keep it now. Then you'll make the team for sure and you can quit pouting every time I go to practice."
"I do not pout!" Sirius protested.
"You do, drama king," James laughed. "Go on, put it on. But I'll need it back when Evans and I have a bunch of kids, maybe then they'll get lucky and not have my hair, eh?"
Sirius had laughed as he put the necklace on. He'd hidden it in his school trunk after Hogwarts, and then forgot about it until this last summer when he was going through his old stuff.
And now, even though poor Harry did have James' hair, he finally got the chance to give it to the son that James was so confident he'd have one day.
He had to swallow back the lump in his throat as Harry put on the necklace that James wanted to give to him.
He's got it now buddy, he thought wistfully while Harry beamed at him.
"Thanks Sirius," he said. "No way we can lose now, huh?"
"No way at all," Sirius agreed tightly. He reached out and ruffled Harry's hair, smiling at the way Harry begrudgingly accepted it. "Don't get hurt, but try and be extra dramatic, alright? Recruiters love stuff like that."
"I'll do my best," Harry smirked cheekily and gave Sirius a sarcastic salute before he went back to his team.
Merlin, James would be so proud of this kid. Not as proud as Sirius was, obviously, but probably pretty close. Sirius planned on living to at least 100, but when he went to the afterlife, the first thing he was going to do was tell James all about his son.
And then they'd probably grab a pint and watch Harry wreck havoc as Minister of Magic.
"What are you smiling about?" Remus asked him as Sirius bound up the stairs to the teachers box, his hands in his pockets and a grin on his face.
"Nothing," he said. He sat next to Remus and pulled an extra Slytherin flag out of his pockets for him to hold. "Just a good day, isn't it?"
"Pads, you can't wear that," Remus laughed as Sirius stubbornly stuck a Slytherin hat on. "You're a professor now, you've got to show impartiality."
"No I don't," Sirius scoffed. "I told Minnie I had to support Harry at all quidditch matches, it was a 'condition of my contract'."
"He's not wrong," Minnie said from her seat behind them. "I docked his pay for it."
Snape scoffed beside Minnie, but Sirius knew he would have taken a pay cut to be able to openly support Harry too. Plus, as much as it drove Remus crazy, Sirius wasn't really at Hogwarts for the money. He had plenty of that just collecting interest in a vault. What he didn't have plenty of, was time with his godson.
And since it was that same godson who recommended him to the bloody Minister of Magic for the spot, Sirius had been thrilled to accept.
And honestly, as much as Moony said Harry was a menace in class, Sirius loved teaching Harry's class. His fifth year Slytherin and Hufflepuffs were brilliant. They were (mostly) all smart and eager to learn new spells.
They were also chatty and frequently got discussions off track, but Sirius didn't mind too much.
Sirius didn't care about the supposed curse on the defense position, as he's had more than one of his Gryffindors warn him about, as far as he cared he'd be teaching at Hogwarts until Harry graduated.
Maybe even longer.
Maybe until Trent graduated anyway.
"Damn," Sirius swore, suddenly realizing a pretty big mistake he made. "I said hi to Trent and forgot to wish him luck."
Remus snorted and scooted closer to him until they were pressed side to side. "I'm sure he's too excited for the game to even notice."
"Or, perhaps, you have already broken the fragile trust between the two of you and the boy will never forgive you."
Sirius turned and rolled his eyes at Snape. "That's not funny."
Snape raised his brows, "Did I say it was meant to be?"
Snape might be way more tolerable than he used to be, but he could still be a right git sometimes. It was fine though, because two could play that game.
"Whatever you say, mate," Sirius smiled at him and stifled a laugh as Snape's nostrils flared in annoyance.
If Snape hated it when Sirius referred to them as friends, then Sirius would be calling him 'mate' with his last breath.
It really was funny. He should have tried it years ago. It would have saved him loads of detentions to just go around being as friendly to Snape as possible.
Sirius turned back to the field, anxiously waiting for the match to start.
"Trent will be fine," Remus murmured reassuringly. He put his hands on Sirius' bouncing knee and leaned over until their heads touched for a moment.
And he was probably right. Trent was an optimistic kid; bright, bubbly, vicarious, and naive in a way that Sirius himself never was. It was surprising how cheerful the kid was, considering his mum sounded like a nightmare and he told Sirius about being tortured only a couple months ago by a professor.
It was good though, that Trent was so optimistic, Merlin knows the world doesn't need any more jaded kids like Sirius used to be and Harry still was.
And Snape could crack jokes all he wanted, but Sirius didn't want to do anything to take away Trent's optimism and excitement for life. In fact, Sirius just wanted to make him even more excited for life.
He was already making big plans for this summer. Since Remus agreed that there was too much going on right now at home, they'd already agreed to skip a honeymoon. And who needed a honeymoon when every day was an adventure when you were marrying your best friend anyway?
So after the wedding, Sirius was going to take Trent (and Harry if he'd come, which Sirius desperately hoped he would) to go do all the things that kids should do in the summers. Go to the beach, go to a carnival, hell Sirius would even take him flying on his motorbike if he wanted to.
"This is going to be the greatest summer ever," he whispered to Remus. "Think we can get the kids at Wolf Lodge to go to the beach with us?"
"Probably," Remus laughed quietly. "We'll have a great summer, but let's plan that later Pads. Look, here they come."
Sirius jumped to his feet and cheered along with the students packing the stands as the two teams entered the field.
Harry always looked two feet taller and ten stones lighter when he came on the field.
He was born to fly, Sirius thought happily. He would have loved Harry no matter what, but the fact that Harry turned out to be such a quidditch nut like Sirius had always been made it easier to find common ground when they were just starting to get to know each other the summer after he'd been freed.
Well... Sirius got to know the Harry that Harry desperately wanted him to know. He already knew the Harry that Harry kept hidden. But flying and playing quidditch together had given Harry a chance to get to know Sirius too.
"LADIES, GENTLEMEN, BOYS, GIRLS, AND GUESTS, WELCOME TO THE FINAL MATCH OF THE YEAR!" Lee Jordan, one of Sirius' seventh year Gryffindor's yelled through the stands above the noise of the continuing cheers of the students. "TODAY WE HAVE OUR CURRENT CUP HOLDERS, SLYTHERIN—,"
Even though the Slytherin stands went wild, and Sirius could see Harry's all waving banners high in the air, Sirius glared in the direction of his red and gold clad students that started booing loudly. He loved his lions, and he knew there was a rivalry between them and the Slytherin's going back to Salazar and Godric themselves, but he hated hearing people booing his godson.
"It is not nearly as amusing as when you were a student, is it?" Snape said in a silky tone behind him.
"Like you never booed us," Sirius scoffed.
Their friendly argument was interrupted by Lee though.
"AND THE CHALLENGERS FOR THE CUP, THE HUFFLEPUFFS!"
Sirius sat down quickly, causing Remus, who was clapping politely, to laugh.
"I hope you docked him quite a bit," Remus said to Minnie. "He's not even pretending to be impartial, is he?"
"He rarely does," Minnie said, sounding like an exhausted parent.
"Shh, it's starting," Sirius slapped at Remus' arm distractedly, his eyes trained on the field where Harry was shaking hands with the Ravenclaw captain. "Pst, Snape, did Harry mention if there were any recruiters coming today?" Sirius called over his shoulder, his eyes firmly locked on Harry in the field.
"He did not," Snape answered. "He turned away an offer from the Canons though."
"Why?" Minnie asked.
"They wanted 'the Boy-Who-Lived', not Harry," Snape said, as if it were the most obvious reasoning in the world. And, in Harry's eyes, Sirius was sure it was.
Sirius probably would have accepted the offer if it had been him. But Harry had a strong sense of personal ethics.
They weren't conventional ethics, by any means, but they worked for Harry so Sirius was happy with it.
"The Canons suck anyway," Sirius muttered. The teams mounted their broomsticks, everyone except Trent who ran off to his spot on the sidelines.
"Oi! You see that Moony?" Sirius pointed where one of the Hufflepuff players ran off and joined Trent while the others kicked off. "They stole Harry's idea of having an extra player!"
"How absolutely outrageous," Remus said flatly.
Sirius didn't need to look to know Remus was rolling his eyes. It was outrageous though, because it had been a brilliant idea. Sirius wished that he thought of it back when he'd played quidditch.
Some people just didn't understand the game.
"THEY'RE OFF!" Lee yelled to loud cheers. "HUFFLEPUFF BEATER, FOURTH YEAR JACK MCLEOD, IMMEDIATELY HITS A BLUDGER IN THE DIRECTION OF SLYTHERIN CHASER DAPHNE GREENGRASS, KEEPING HER FROM TAKING POSSESSION OF THE QUAFFLE!"
The Hufflepuff section cheered loudly for their beater, but it didn't matter, because Sirius could see his nephew zooming for the fumbled quaffle.
"CHASER DRACO MALFOY TAKES THE QUAFFLE!"
Sirius cheered and watched as Cissa's son ducked, dodged, and, when one of the Hufflepuff chasers blocked his path, passed the quaffle quickly to Ron.
"Those two are as good of a team as you and James," Remus whispered as he squeezed Sirius' leg.
"Moony," Sirius gave him a faux-surprised look, "how would you know? You kept your face hidden behind a book during every match we played."
Remus shook his head with a small smile. "I could have read much more effectively inside, couldn't I? Did you guys really think Lily and I came out to every single game for the fresh air?"
They had actually thought that.
"Mischievous Moony," Sirius grinned. He turned back to the game just as Ron scored the first goal for Slytherin.
As the match went on, and both teams got progressively more aggressive, Sirius kept his attention split between Harry and Harry's keeper.
Harry wasn't just being dramatic, he was putting on an entire one-man show up in the air. Sirius and Remus laughed as Harry seemed to give up on his search for the snitch to instead do flips across the field.
"What is wrong with that child?" Snape sighed as Harry pulled off a flawless feint that the Hufflepuff seeker fell for.
"It is difficult to wonder where he gets such dramatics from," Pomona snorted. "Definitely not from you Severus."
"Absolutely not," Snape agreed. "If it were up to me, he would simply grab the snitch and be done with it before he breaks his fool neck."
"He can't just float around like a lump," Sirius told him. "If there's any recruiters here then he needs to show off a bit, that's all he's doing now."
"That's all he ever does," Minnie said.
Sirius wasn't fooled by her dry tone, Minnie was a quidditch fanatic. She loved a good game, and Harry was putting on quite an entertaining show.
"Wish that keeper would try and show off a bit more," Remus muttered as the keeper missed another shot and let Hufflepuff raise their score. "That's King, isn't it?"
"Yeah," Sirius scowled. "Harry said they had a row at their last practice—,"
"Why?" Remus asked.
"Apparently King thinks that Harry should make him vice captain next year, and Harry told him to piss off the spot was Ron's."
"So is King playing terribly on purpose or is it a badly timed coincidence?"
"That's the question of the day, isn't it?" Sirius told him.
Sirius groaned as the Hufflepuff score kept climbing. No matter how hard Ron, Draco, and Daphne played, they couldn't do everything when their keeper was shit.
"Harry's going to kill him," Sirius said darkly when the score was 100-40 and Harry called for a time out.
"IT LOOKS LIKE SLYTHERIN CAPTAIN HARRY POTTER IS YELLING AT HIS KEEPER," Lee announced cheerfully. "HE'S POINTING TO THEIR RESERVE PLAYER AND I THINK THE IMPLICATION HERE IS CLEAR- IF KING DOESN'T START SAVING GOALS THEN HE'S GOING TO BE REPLACED WITH SECOND YEAR TRENT BAILEY."
"Harry should replace him now anyway," Snape muttered.
"Imagine how dramatic the win will be if Harry catches the snitch last minute though," Sirius pointed out, trying to put himself in Harry's shoes to see why he didn't just do that. "Winning by a margin of less than fifty shows a lot of skill."
"Why isn't it more impressive to win by a higher margin?" Remus asked, adorably showing his lack of knowledge on the sport.
"When you want to show your skill as a seeker? Sure," Sirius agreed. He watched as the players resumed the game while he explained. "But Harry's the captain too, and if he can show that his players are the best? Then he wins? It just looks really bloody good."
"Aah." Remus nodded, but Sirius was pretty sure he still didn't understand. Which was fine, not everyone understood the complicated nuances of quidditch. Remus was brilliant in other ways.
This match was probably the best one Sirius had seen yet. The Slytherin beaters were ruthless in their hits. The Slytherin chasers, when they could get the quaffle, were almost unbeatable, but damn if the Hufflepuff chasers gave them many chances to touch the quaffle.
By the time the sun was directly overhead, beating down on the energetic crowd, Hufflepuff was killing Harry's team.
"MALFOY SCORES!" Lee yelled. "BRINGING THE SCORE UP TO 210-70!"
"He has to catch the snitch now," Sirius said absently. "Harry, catch it now. C'mon pup. Last minute catch, you can do it."
There'd been a couple false starts towards the snitch on Hufflepuff's part, but Harry hadn't seemed too fussed with finding it, further cementing Sirius' belief he was just upping the overall drama of the match.
Sirius was proud that he knew Harry well enough to guess at his strategy. Because when Harry immediately tore off in the air, apparently going straight to the snitch, it meant Sirius had guessed right.
"IT LOOKS LIKE POTTER HAS SPOTTED THE SNITCH!" Lee yelled. "YES, LOOK, SUMMERBY IS HEADED IN THE SAME DIRECTION NOW!"
"Oh shit. COME ON HARRY! GO!" Sirius was on his feet yelling as Harry streaked higher and higher to go for the snitch. "COME ON! COME ON!"
"COME ON HARRY!!" Remus was yelling too, caught up in the game. "GO GO GO!!"
Sirius was so focused on Harry, so focused on watching as Harry stretched his arm out, he didn't even know what was going on until Lee yelled out:
"CADWALLDER SCORES! 220 to 70!"
"NO!"
It was too late. Harry grabbed the snitch even as he spun around and his jaw dropped in the direction of the Slytherin goal posts.
"Harry is going to kill King," Snape sighed.
"AND POTTER CATCHES THE SNITCH!" Lee yelled. "MERLIN! LADIES AND GENTLEMEN WE NEED TO KNOW IF POTTER CAUGHT THE SNITCH BEFOFE CADWALLDER SCORED, IF SO, SLYTHERIN WINS AT 220-210, IF NOT THEN WE GO TO THE FIRST DEATH POINT AT HOGWARTS IN OVER EIGHTY YEARS!!"
Sirius appreciated Lee making sure it was a good call, but he knew Cadwallder scored before Harry caught the snitch. And from the way Harry was flying straight to the Slytherin goal posts with a furious glower on his face, Harry knew it too.
The crowd was buzzing wildly as Hooch spoke quietly with Lee. Harry hovered anxiously by the goal posts after clearly yelling at King. His face was now blank, but his grip on the snitch and his broom was white knuckled.
"ALRIGHT FOLKS, MADAM HOOCH SAID THAT THE SCORE WAS BEFORE POTTER CAUGHT THE SNITCH- THE TWO TEAMS ARE TIED AT 220 EACH!"
The stands went absolutely wild.
And it was exciting.
But Sirius knew exactly what Harry was thinking as he flew to the center of the field where Hooch was coming out for the death point.
"He's going to ask if he can replace King," Sirius sighed. He rubbed his face, already basically feeling Harry's disappointment at what Hooch's answer would be.
"She won't let him," Minnie said sadly. "Death points are whatever players were in the positions when the snitch was caught."
"Then Mister King better pray that Draco, Greengrass, or Weasley score," Snape said. "If not, even I cannot keep Potter from cursing that boy if he lets in the match goal."
Sirius kind of thought that Snape could see Harry curse a kid, then whistle as he walked away. He was good to Harry, but he didn't seem to care much about Harry's behavior in some regards.
Not that Sirius was judging him, because he was just as likely to curse King himself if he lost the game for his godson.
"ALL PLAYERS, EXCEPT FOR SEEKERS AND BEATERS, TO YOUR POSITIONS!" Madam Hooch yelled, her voice magically amplified as she rose to the center of the pitch. "CHASERS BY YOUR GOALPOSTS, KEEPERS IN PLACE!"
"I can't look," Sirius moaned. He reached out for Moony, grabbing both his hands tightly, as the teams took their spots.
Harry's face was stony as he landed and stood beside Trent. Harry leaned close to Trent and murmured something that Trent nodded solemnly at. Sirius knew Harry had to be dying right now. Most matches came down to the seeker, but when your keeper was crap and the other chasers were bloody good... well, 150 points didn't always secure the win.
"THE FIRST TEAM TO TAKE POSSESSION OF THE QUAFFLE AND SCORE, WILL WIN!" Hooch yelled. "IF ONE TEAM FOULS, THE OTHER TEAM TAKES POSSESSION AND GETS A FOUL SHOT! ON MY WHISTLE!"
It seemed like Sirius wasn't the only one holding his breath. The level of excitement in the stands was practically palpable. Sirius had never actually seen a game ending this way, it would be much more fun if his heart wasn't hammering out of his chest anxiously.
Sirius was probably squeezing the circulation right out of Remus' hands, but as Hooch's whistle went off, he couldn't bring himself to care just yet.
The Slytherin chasers took off, their lighter builds giving them an edge as they leaned forward and bulleted to where Hooch threw the quaffle in the air. Daphne got to the quaffle only moments before the girl on the Hufflepuff team, and she flew to the Hufflepuff goalposts, her eyes trained and locked on the right hand post.
"C'mon, c'mon..." Sirius was on the edge of his seat. "Go Daphne, go girl, go..."
It seemed like even Lee Jordan was caught up in the excitement, as he was silent along with the anxious students.
"Go, go, go... GOD DAMN IT!"
"Sirius! You are a professor!" Minnie snapped. "Watch your language!"
Sirius nodded, but Daphne rolling to avoid a (completely in regulations) block by the Hufflepuff chasers and dropping the quaffle, was worthy of one little swear in his opinion.
The Hufflepuff chasers sped towards the quaffle, Cadwallder recovered it quickly, and they flew to the Slytherin post in a tight formation. Smith and Macavoy were hovering around Cadwallder tightly, keeping a constant rotation around him to protect him from any blocks by Ron and Draco who were circling them and trying to find a way to get the quaffle.
"It's going to come down to King," Remus groaned. "Oh god."
Sirius couldn't stand it.
He went ahead and looked down at Harry and grimaced along with his godson as Cadwallder threw the quaffle-
And won the bloody game.
"He is going to be insufferable," Snape grouched as they went to go find Harry after shaking hands politely and congratulating Pomona.
"Yeah, probably," Sirius agreed. "Can't blame him though, he had a lot riding on this game. And nobody wants to lose the cup, especially the first year of their captaincy."
Snape didn't say anything else, but Sirius figured he probably was disappointed on Harry's behalf as well.
It's not like it was Harry's fault, the kid caught the snitch. It would have been a perfect, last minute, beautifully dramatic win if his keeper had blocked that last shot from Hufflepuff.
If Sirius were Harry, he'd replace that keeper immediately. He hadn't done badly in the first game they had this season, but he missed the second one and was utter shit in this one.
It took them a few minutes to find Harry, as crowded as the field was with students celebrating in the sunshine, but Sirius finally found Susan's red curls and Harry's black hair beside her.
He did not recognize the grey haired witch they were talking with though.
"Good game pup," Sirius said with forced cheer. He reached past the witch to ruffle Harry's hair, giving him a commiserating smile. "Get rid of King first thing next year."
"As soon as he landed I told Trent he's the new keeper," Harry shrugged. Harry didn't seem upset by his loss, in fact he looked downright cheerful.
Which... was good, obviously. But not really like him.
Sirius turned to the witch Harry had been chatting with and offered her his hand, "Sirius Black," he said. He gestured to Snape, who briefly touched Harry's shoulder and exchanged nods with Harry. "And this is Severus Snape."
"Mister Black, Mister Snape," the witch offered her hand out for them both to shake. "Mary Carson, coach for the Appleby Arrows. I've just been chatting with this young man here, he's quite talented. You both must be proud."
"We are," Sirius said, puffing his chest out as he smiled at Harry. "Harry was born to fly."
"Yes he was," Mary agreed. "Preferably for us. Here," she handed Harry a parchment with a perfectly white smile, "I came prepared."
Harry and Susan exchanged quick grins, two peas in a pod those two, and Susan read the parchment over Harry's shoulder.
"You're joking," Susan breathed. "Quick, Professor Black, go get the Headmistress."
Sirius didn't wait to ask questions, he just transformed in to Grim and took off back to the stands to find Minnie. He found her quick enough, talking happily with Filius and Pomona. He barked at her and wagged his tail, imploring her to follow him.
"You are a professor now Sirius," she sighed. "You don't see me wandering the grounds as a cat."
Sirius stuck his tongue out and barked. He had actually seen her do that before, but since he'd been fifteen and hidden under James' cloak, definitely out of bounds well past curfew at the time, he figured it wouldn't do him any good to bring up.
Plus, it wouldn't even surprise him if she still gave him a detention for it. According to his lions, Minnie docked Gryffindor points earlier this year for Sirius sending Harry a prank howler.
It was fine though, she followed him as he darted around the students before finding Harry, Susan, Snape, and Mary again.
Snape had a small smile in the corner of his lips as Harry talked eagerly with Mary, Susan at his side with a blinding smile.
"Professor McGonagall!" Susan snatched the parchment from Harry and handed it quickly to Minnie. "Harry needs permission from the Headmistress to play for the Appleby Arrows next year."
"You're kidding!" Sirius transformed back and eagerly read the offer over Minnie's shoulder. The Arrows were his and Harry's favorite team. "Merlin's teeth, Harry! First string seeker next year and fifty percent proceeds from merchandise sales!"
"And a rather generous salary to start with," Mary said while Harry was absolutely preening in the most James-like manner Sirius ever saw from him.
"Headmistress, will you sign?" Harry asked Minnie, his eyes wide and pleading. "Snape signed already. I just need you to agree so I can go to trainings around classes next year."
Minnie studied Harry seriously, her lips were pursed but her eyes were sparkling.
"I expect you to receive top marks on your OWLS," she told him. "You will keep your grades at the level they are at or I will withdraw my permission next term. Is that understood?"
"Yes ma'am," Harry nodded quickly.
Sirius held his breath as Minnie smiled fondly down at Harry.
"Congratulations," she told him. "I knew that a team would come to see your value as a player."
Harry let out a crow of joy as Minnie signed her name to the contract and handed it back to Mary.
"That is that then!" Mary smiled again as she pocketed the parchment. She pulled out an Appleby hat and handed it to Harry. "Harry, mind if I get a photo? I'd like to run the announcement in the prophet."
"Sure." Harry held his broomstick against his shoulder as he moved backwards and gestured for the others to join. "C'mon," he said, "group photo."
Sirius didn't need told twice. He stood behind Harry and Susan, next to Snape, and put his hand proudly on Harry's shoulder, hardly noticing as Snape did the same thing. Minnie sighed at Harry's invitation, but she too joined the group.
"Proud of you pup," he murmured.
When the camera flashed, all of them were smiling.
And when the photo ran on the front page the next morning, announcing the new first string seeker for the Appleby Arrows, Sirius immediately owled the prophet for a copy of the original and framed it.
He didn't even care that it had Snape in it.