I'm not a kitten... Okay, I'm Kitten

Chapter 15 - Pt.2

"Uncle Siri," Koty began shyly, twisting his fingers as he entered the library.

"Yes, my little fur-less feline?" Sirius joked, putting down one of the tomes he'd borrowed from Narcissa.

Rolling his eyes at his goofy funcle, he approached the settee and hesitated. "I've wanted to talk to you about something for a few days, but..." he didn't really know how to finish the sentence.

Sirius held out his arms, and when Koty was close enough, he tugged the boy onto his lap.

"Whatever it is, you don't have to be so serious. That's my job."

Koty tugged on the hem of his robe and sighed.

"Uncle Siri... I want to tell you who my birth parents are. I know you'll probably hate me, just like Remus, but I have to. It's not fair to keep lying to you, especially since you're so nice to me all the time. I-"

"Hey, hey," Sirius said softly. "You're getting all worked up. It's okay."

"But it isn't! They're-"

"The Potter's?"

Koty gasped, looking up at the man. He was shocked to see sad understanding in Uncle Siri's eyes, rather than disgust. "How... who told you?"

Wrapping Koty up in a firm hug, he sighed. "I read the paper. Koty, I promise you, I don't care. Like I already told you, you're a Malfoy now. Who cares what your name used to be? It's just a name."

"Then how come Remus still hasn't come back?" Koty asked, relieved that he no longer had to lie to one of his favourite people.

"Well, that's one of the problems with us old people. When we decide something, that's it. There's very little chance to change our minds." Sirius uncrossed his ankles to make them both more comfortable. "You see, Remmy and I... Well, we were actually James Potter's best friends for a really long time. Remmy was the best one of us, because as I'm sure you remember, James and I were bullies. Remmy was the opposite. He was kind to everyone, had smarts for days, even made prefect. That year, we played a - no, it wasn't a prank. We were being really cruel to someone, and after a lot of shouting and fighting, Lily Evans joined our little group. From there, we all became practically inseparable. Where you found one, you were sure to find the others. Eventually, our bullying ways calmed down somewhat, and we went out into the real world. It didn't take long before James and I went into the auror program together."

"Go on," Koty said, nodding encouragingly. "What happened?"

Sirius let out a slow breath. "While in training, we were taught by one of the best aurors around, Alastor Moody. It was under his tutelage that I started acting my age. Sort of. Honestly, I was only on my best behaviour during business hours. I was still kind of annoying the rest of the time. Anyway, James and I were on duty one day, looking for a very bad man. While we hadn't captured him, we had rounded up several of his pack members. It was a surprise to find out we knew a couple of them. Good people, who had left town after graduation. Or so we thought. One of them was a mutual friend of ours, Thomas Greene. A sweeter boy you'd be hard-pressed to find. He was a lot like you, actually. Selfless, generous and absolutely precious. Tommy couldn't go anywhere without making a new friend."

While he liked spending time with his Uncle Siri, Koty couldn't help but wonder if the rambling story had a point.

"The people we'd arrested... they were all werewolves. None of them were criminals, except their alpha. The alpha was the one we were looking for." Sirius bowed his head in shame. "I tried to get them off. Told everyone that they hadn't done anything wrong, but no one listened. At the same time, James was running around, trying to get them all Kissed. From sweet little Tommy Greene to Annette MacCullough, who was an adorable six year old with the brightest violet eyes you've ever seen. Anyway, when I found out what James was doing, I ripped into him. I mean, how could someone vilify an entire race of beings, when one of your best friends belonged to that race? James-"