Location: The Tonks Residence
Date: 1st of August 1991
----
Kock knock
'Hey, Adam are you ready to talk, you've been catatonic since the bank'.
'Mmmm' she heared groaned through the door.
Opening the door she, saw him sat on the bed knees tucked into his chest eyes vacantly staring at the wall.
Drawing up a chair from the nearby dark oak Victorian fashion desk, she sat down next to him.
'Hey, I've trawled through some newspaper clippings from the time' said Andromeda.
'I didn't know your parent too well, I was in seventh year when they came to Hogwarts, but I always thought your mother was lovely from what little I saw her. The next time I saw them was with your godfather Sirius, they were part of a group who resisted ... he who must not be named and his death eaters in.. in the last war .. and he came for them in the end. Only their bodies were found, and the Potter house was left in ruins with no sign of you or the Dark Lord, bar the ashes on the ground, you were thought dead and as time past, with no more signs of attack so was he who must not be named'.
"If you're alive he could be too" said Calcifer.
'Why do you refer to him as, you know who' said Adam, voice cold and distant, the shadows moving strangely around him as if the light was warping.
'To be honest I think it was just because we were scared, but it was rumoured, his name was cursed, that if you said it outloud he'd know where you were, it was never quite confirmed but no one was willing to volunteer and you can't ask questions of the dead'.
'What was his name' said Adam.
'I think it best if you didn't...' responded Andromeda.
'I need to know' said Adam.
Andromeda looked at Adam for a moment before getting out a paper and pen.
'I won't say it, but I'll write it out for you'.
- Voldemort -
Adam read as Andromeda pushed it across the desk towards the bedside.
"Well you have your target, if revenge is what you want" said Calcifer.
"I do not want revenge ... Kaldor made clear the risks of holding hate in ones heart, this man, that thing that's styles himself a .. Lord. I shall show him there are things worse than death, he took from me what could have been, a family, a home, a childhood outside the accursed wastes of the warp. If it is alive I will destroy it not because I hate this Voldemort, but because I will not suffer it's existence in the materium. I wonder if Kaldor would be proud of me, if he's physically capable of it" said Adam to Calcifer as much as himself.
"That was quite the speech ... but you better respond to her, or else she'll think you have a few two many screws loose".
Adam stepped out of his head.
'Um sorry ... I mean where do I go from here' said Adam.
'Oh finally, a question I can answer. Considering your letters arrived, come September you'll be starting school, but before that you'll need to buy all your kit for Hogwarts' replied Andromeda.
'Can all of it be bought in Diagon Alley' asked Adam.
'Yes, even the underwear, that's not really on the list don't worry, but you'll need a few more, personally I'd recommend a muggle boutique though' said Andromeda smiling trying to lighten the atmosphere with a smile.
'Now let's go down stairs and have some tea there's a man who's coming for dinner later that I think you'll want to meet'.
----
Downstairs Adam watched in fascination as Andromeda constructed a beef wellington in the kitchen. Roasting the beef, the smells teased out the oven. Chopping chestnuts and mushrooms, sauteing them with white wine, adding creamy butter and olive oil anointed with a sprig of fresh thyme. Laying out layers of gleaming prosciutto only to glaze with the mushroom mixture. Then in a step that Adam was certain was wizardry using some form of clear film to wrap the prosciutto around the beef into a perfect sausage shake. Before wrapping it again in a perfect layer of pastry washed with egg yolk, the into the aga, where Adam could only watch as the pastry puffed up with a perfect golden film.
----
'Which genius, nay which madman concocted this dish' asked Adam enthralled by the browning creation within the aga.
'I'm afraid mi'lord that, that question may have no true answer, but I agree they may have just been a genius' replied Andromeda happy that the kid had been distracted.
----
Sometime later as the Wellington was resting, steaming atop the kitchen island, there was a knock at the door.
KnockKnockKnock
'Ah he must be here, stand yourself up Adam' said Andromeda gracefully moving to open the front door, just off the kitchen area of the cottage.
Adam heard muffled sounds at the front door as the man conversed quietly with Andromeda.
'Adam, meet my cousin, Sirius' said Andromeda.
The man was tall with long black hair and grey eyes, carelessly handsome, yet aged by the signs of stress apparent in the corners of his eyes.
The man stopped, staring at Adam for a moment, he blinked rapidly in one eye fighting a forming tear away, before coming up to Adam and wrapping him in a hug.
'Its a pleasure to see you again Adam'.
Panic filled Adams face as he was hugged unexpectedly, receiving the first hug he would ever remember getting'.
'You too ... did you know my parents'.
'I knew them well, I was there closest friend and in James I found a brother' he said, pain and happiness cracking his face in two, as his muscles subtly spasmed in their fight for dominance.
'Come on you two, let's eat before it gets cold' interceded Andromeda before the man could get too teary eyed.
----
Tucking into the beef wellington and steamed veg Adam was in heaven, but hurrying to finish so that he could learn more about his parents.
'What were they like' he asked.
'Well James, James was the kind of friend you could only hope for, he was an expectional chaser, a skilled wizard and he had my back when even my family turned there's' said Sirius sharing a knowing glance with Andromeda.
'I actually spent most of my summers bunking at your grandparents manor ... and then there's Lily you have her eyes you know. Your mother was not only a very talented witch but also an uncommonly kind woman. She saw the beauty in others even and ... especially if they could not see it in themselves' Sirius trailed off his mind seeming to flash with scenes long thought forgotten.
'Sirius here is your godfather and legally has custody. You need not go today, but he has offered to look after you, of course if your guardian turns back up you're welcome to return to his care ... but I get the sense from what you've told me, that, that's unlikely' said Andromeda taking over.
'Oh'.
Sirius came out of his stupor turning back to Adam.
'I know you don't remember me, but I promised your father that should anything happen I would be there for you, I wasn't there when he died and I couldn't even avenge him, I was too weak to do anything but sit on the ground and mourn ... but somehow you're here, against the odds. When Andromeda contacted me I thought I was hallucinating It seemed so impossible but I'd just ask that you give me a chance, whadya say'.
'I'll give it a go' said Adam slowly, only to be met by Sirius's beaming white smile, '
...So long as..'
Sirius's face faltered '... I still get to eat Andromeda's cooking', Andromeda burst out laughing.
'He got you there Siri, it's your childhood coming back to haunt you'.
Sirius's smile returned, 'A marauder in the making'.