Chapter 055

That evening, as soon as she arrived home, Andromeda Tonks found Sirius sitting in the kitchen nook chatting with their only house elf, who was busy trying to cook dinner.

As soon as he saw her, Sirius rose from his seat with a smile on his face and was immediately knocked back into it when she practically tackled him a massive hug.

"Gods, Sirius!" she exclaimed, holding him tight. "It's good to see you alive!"

"Hello Andi," he smiled back.

She stepped back and gave him a good once-over with her eyes before she seemed to switch into Healer mode. "Let's see. After I give you a full physical... and you won't be fighting me on that... I can already see you're in desperate need of nutrition and muscle building potions, a teeth repair potion and probably Skele-grow to go with it. However, all that is going to have to wait until after the physical."

"Andi―" he tried.

"Hush!" she demanded. "Don't argue with your Healer."

"And who decided you're my Healer?" he asked.

"I did, of course," she replied. "Don't argue."

Dragging him with her off hand into the lounge she quickly conjured an examination table complete with padding and ordered, "Hop up and lay down."

With a sigh, Sirius complied. But she noticed it took a fair bit of effort on his part to comply.

Once he was lying down she pulled her Healer's wizard-spaced bag before her she'd brought home with her and started pulling things out.

First came a long sheet of parchment with an Auto-quill and wand. Setting that up she used the wand to begin carefully scanning him. The quill was zipping along writing things down.

Once she was finished with her scan she had to wait quite a while for the Auto-quill to finish. And stood watching it finish with a frown on her face.

Sirius used the opportunity to sit back up again, swinging his legs off the side of the table.

"Well?" he asked.

"In a moment," she almost distractedly replied.

She began muttering, "Nutrition, muscle-rebuilder, teeth-rebuilder, Skele-grow, vitamin enhancer, diet enhancer, dementor exposure restorer... no, a mild wit sharpener... I'll have to wait on the dementor exposure restorer until after your trial... and a memory restorative draught."

Looking at him directly she said, "For someone who's spent eleven years in that hell-hole, plus another fifteen plus months on the run, you're looking pretty good."

"I've been self-medicating for some of that time on the run," he replied. "It wasn't much, but I did what I could with what I could find."

With an almost thunderous expression she snapped, "With the amount of damage your body's taken that was bloody dangerous!"

"I had no choice!" he snapped back. "What else could I have done?"

"You could have come and seen me!" she growled.

"Not when your daughter's an auror, I couldn't," he sighed.

She stared at him for a long few moments before she changed the subject. "When's your trial?"

"No idea," he replied. "Bonesy's going to have to fit it in around the trials she already has going on. I think she's going to slip it in between two of the high profile ones."

"Yours will be a high profile one," she put.

"Yes, but she doesn't want wind of it getting out right up until I'm brought into the courtroom."

"Did she give you any idea of about when that is likely to happen?" she asked.

"Tomorrow, I think," he replied. "She's going to try and slot it in immediately after Fudge and Umbridge."

With a nod she said, "Then there's little I can do in the time before then. However, I can at least get you halfway presentable for your trial."

"That... would be for the best, I think," he sighed.

She wrote a few things down on another sheet of parchment and called her house elf. "Benny!"

With a pop the elf appeared at her side. "Yes, Mistress?"

Handing the elf the parchment she ordered, "Take this to Mister Tattings of Twillfit and Tattings and tell him it's somewhat of a rush order. I want to be picking it up no later than ten a.m. tomorrow morning."

"Yes, Mistress," the little elf replied taking the piece of parchment, giving a little bob of respect and popping away.

"Twillfit's, Andi?" asked Sirius.

"Since Uncle Arcturus passed, you are the Head of the House of Black," she firmly replied. "When you walk into that courtroom you will be dressed the part, even if I won't have time to get your health up to scratch."

"I was disowned," he frustratingly returned. "There's no way―"

"Unlike me, you were never disowned, Sirius," she replied, cutting him off. "Aunt Wally, blasting your name off the family tapestry, had nothing to do with it. No matter how much that old harridan demanded it, I know for a fact Uncle Arcturus refused to do it."

"How do you know that?" he asked, quite curious.

"Just because Uncle Arcturus was forced into the position of having to disown me, did not mean he no longer talked with me," she replied. "He and I kept up both a correspondence conversation with the occasional secret meeting, where we could talk directly.

"According to him it was his opinion I was one of the few family members he had left that he felt he could both respect and trust. You were also on that very small list."

"I... didn't know that," said a very surprised Sirius.

She smiled back and said, "I dare say there's a lot you don't know. However, now that you are Lord Apparent, we need to get you cleaned up, made healthy again and brought up to date with the business of the family."

Casting a critical eye on his cousin, he asked, "Did Arcturus manage to bring you back into the family, before he passed?"

"No; he couldn't," she replied. Not looking Sirius in the eye she said, "He told me he hoped you would when your innocence was finally proven and you took up the Lordship."

Giving a firm nod back he said, "Then it will be the first thing I do as soon as I don the ring."

Looking at him more directly, she softly said, "Thank you"

After a moment, she appeared to straighten herself up, mentally refortify herself and said, "Now. Though we cannot do much about your health between now and your trial, it does not mean we cannot make a start on that.

"The first thing you're going to do is take a bath. No offence, cousin Sirius; but, you stink."

He just gave a snort of amusement.

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