When Sirius finally awoke the next morning, he found himself in a bed.
He remembered talking to Narcissa and hearing about her plan, then he must have fainted.
He came to for just long enough to be given some potion by her, which he drank down only to fall asleep again.
Getting up, he made his way back into the kitchen to find her busily making breakfast.
"Good you're up." She commented as she put down a plate full of crepes.
"I didn't know you could cook." He commented as he looked down at the plate full of food. He hadn't seen such a wonderful meal since before he was locked up.
"I guess I'm just full of surprises then." She said smiling.
Sitting down at the table, he hungrily began to eat.
"I figured you could use a little help getting your strength back." She told him.
After swallowing a mouthful of crepe he said, "Aren't you worried about Lucius noticing you being gone?"
"I'm supposedly vacationing in France." She admitted, "I try to be gone as much as I can on principle anyway so it shouldn't raise any of his suspicions."
"Thank you, Narcissa." He said gratefully. It had been a long time since anyone had done anything nice for him.
"Like I said, you're important to me, in more ways than one." She said, which he chose to ignore thinking about just ways she was implying.
She allowed him to finish eating, while she ate herself until finally she asked, "Do you remember what we were talking about last night?"
It was still a little bit hazy but he still remembered just why he had fainted in the first place.
"You said that you wanted to adopt Harry," He replied, "which admittedly causes me to question your sanity."
"It's actually a pretty good plan for all those involved." She said, "The thing is Lucius keeps trying to kill Harry because Dumbledore has been manipulating Harry in various ways to have control of the Wizengamot. He really has nothing against Harry himself other than the fact that he shamed his son in a duel, and to be perfectly honest, that only increases his worth if we were to adopt him."
"Excuse me, but I do believe you said we?" Sirius pointed out.
Narcissa was one thing, but certainly she wasn't actually suggesting that Lucius...
"That would be correct, Harry would also be adopted by Lucius." She answered.
"Why on earth would I ever allow Harry to be adopted by your worthless, scum sucking husband?" He asked, totally uncaring if she found this insulting, which she evidently didn't.
"It's very simple," She explained, "while I may not have proof that would get you freed, Lucius does."
"I already have proof," he said, "I found where that rat Pettigrew has been hiding, the one who framed me for all those murders."
"You're a convicted criminal, even if you did catch Pettigrew without getting caught there would be a very good chance someone uses a Dementor on you before you can explain the truth to them. Also there would still be legal problems sorting it all out. You would need someone who not only has the connections needed to catch Pettigrew, but also provide other indisputable evidence of your innocence. Lucius happens to have those connections and that evidence."
"Why would Lucius help me?" Sirius demanded.
"In return once you are reinstated as Harry's magical guardian you will pass that status over to me." She explained.
"Why can't I take care of Harry on my own?" He defended.
"It's unlikely you could ever get custody on your own." She pointed out, "You don't have the connections in the Wizengamot to take it away from Dumbledore without Lucius' help, and you've been in Azkaban for 12 years, that would raise major concerns as to whether or not you were physically or mentally stable enough to raise a child."
He did have to concede that she did have a point. Many prisoners that actually got out couldn't even take care of themselves, much less anyone else.
She continued with, "Obviously if Lucius could he would have gained guardianship over Harry a long time ago, but Dumbledore is too strong in that department. However if you were to be reinstated as his godfather you would then have the power to bequeath that honor to another competent magical adult such as myself. The fact that you are family would only make things easier."
"That would be great except for the obvious fact that Lucius would get a huge amount of seats in the Wizengamot from Harry," Sirius pointed out.
"Actually they would go to me, and by the time that all the legal problems were sorted out including the objections from Dumbledore, we should have enough evidence gathered against Lucius to get him put in prison."
"I see, so that's your game Narcissa." Sirius said, finally starting to get it, "You're gambling on the fact that Lucius will hold back on trying to kill Harry if there is a chance of getting his seats in the Wizengamot and thus taking a majority of it, but before the adoption can go through we get enough evidence against him to get Lucius convicted and thrown in prison immediately afterwards."
"Correct," she answered, "then I would become Harry's sole magical guardian."
"Which would mean you would have all the power." He pointed out.
"Well yes, I suppose I would." she said in a tone as if she didn't already know that, which of course failed to fool him. She knew exactly what that meant.
"What happens if we don't get enough dirt on him in time though? I'm not letting Lucius take over like that or get his claws into Harry," he said.
"I have a back up plan." She announced.
"You care to share it with me?" He asked.
"It doesn't matter now." She tried to say hastily, "What does matter is if you want to take advantage of this opportunity, it will offer both of us everything we've ever wanted, your freedom, Harry's safety, Dumbledore greatly weakened, Lucius in prison, it's perfect."
Sirius had to admit that the way she had just put it did sound tempting, and after all it wasn't like Narcissa was really a bad person, he supposed he could live with her having control of a large portion of the government for a few years at least until Harry came of age.
"I suppose I could agree to that." He said hesitantly.
She grinned as she said, "I thought you would see things my way."
Then unexpectedly and uncharacteristically of her, she went and gave him a hug.
DUELDUELDUEL
The dueling tournament had gone rather well so far with Harry and Su both having made it all the way to the semi-finals only for Su to lose her duel with Lao, leaving him to face Lao in the finals the next day.
By now he was feeling very pressured, as everyone had kept trying to push him into ever more last minute training, leaving him feeling overwhelmed and nervous as expectations for him mounted, expectations he just wasn't sure he could meet.
He'd finally had to ask everyone to leave the practice room they had been using except Su, who asked if he wanted to brush her hair again, as this usually helped calm him down, as well as herself, who was still angry about having lost to Lao again.
Now as he ran the brush through her hair she seemed a lot more calmed down, though still upset.
"I still can't believe I lost to that jerk." She claimed for the hundredth time.
"You'll get him next year." Harry claimed reassuringly.
"More like you'll beat him this year." She said supportively.
"I hope so..." He said.
"You'd better win," Su told him firmly, "whatever it takes."
"Lao is a really good competitor." He argued.
"So are you, whether you realize it or not." Su answered as she turned to look back at him, "You're even better than I am."
"I'm only lucky." He protested.
"Let's hope luck is on your side again tomorrow then." She told him.
"We'll see..." He said, still somewhat nervously, all this talk about the upcoming duel tomorrow was once again making him feel pressured.
"Your hair is getting long." He claimed, trying to change the subject.
"It's always been long." She replied, recognizing his lame attempt to change the subject, "But yes, it has grown a bit, even though you can't really tell as well since I've grown too."
"You seem to have inspired the other girls though," He pointed out, "Pansy in particular, she keeps measuring it to see if it's grown any."
"I'd suggest you definitely get that girl a hair growth potion for her birthday," Su said, "then maybe she would stop being so upset about how hers is shorter than everyone else."
"I already pre-ordered it." He said smugly, pleased with himself that he was so on top of things so in advance.
"She'll love that." Su answered before trying to take advantage, "So if you're so on the ball, what did you get me for my birthday?"
"Your birthday isn't until December." He reminded her.
She blushed and said, "Can't blame a girl for trying."
As this gave him an excuse not to focus on the upcoming duel, he asked, "So what would you like for your birthday, or Christmas anyway? I highly doubt you would need another hair potion."
Since Su's hair was now calf length, he supposed that this would be true, although one never knew with Su, she tended to sometimes have rather interesting fashion ideas, including the length of her hair.
"No, I think I'll just let it grow naturally and see how long it gets." she told him, "Actually I was hoping for a tight black dragon hide pants and shirt."
Imagining Su in such an outfit caused him to instantly go red, and caused him to immediately make a mental note to get it. He loved it when the girls wanted gifts that would be beneficial to him as well.
"I'll see what I can do." He answered, doing his best not to give anything away.
"You don't have to if you don't want to." She said, "I still feel pretty bad about the gift I got you for your birthday."
"It's okay," He said, "I loved getting a couple of new daggers from you."
This was actually true as throwing them into the basilisk had rendered both of his daggers no longer usable.
"You deserve better." She claimed.
He really couldn't understand why she felt so strongly about it, as her gift was certainly a welcome one. Yet he was certainly taken aback by her next statement.
"I love you, Harry." She said.
This was definitely not what he was expecting her to say, and caused him to immediately flash to his recent conversation with Fleur between loving someone and being in love with someone. While he loved Su, he wasn't sure he was in love with her. So which did Su mean?
Finally he said tremulously, "I, um love you too."
As soon as he said it, he felt bad. Not only was he unsure just what kind of love he was supposed to be professing, he had answered her back in a far too hesitant tone, as if he wasn't sure, which no doubt would mess with her mind even more than it did his.
He tried to rectify his mistake, but she didn't allow him to finish.
"Well I think I'd better go get some sleep." She claimed quickly as she got up and left, even leaving her brush behind.
Stupidly, he let her go as he still couldn't think of what to say.
After she had left, he sat there for a few more minutes, still wishing he had known what to do.
DUELDUELDUEL
The next morning Su was still worrying about the end of her conversation with Harry.
She felt like she might have ruined things between them, especially when he had said I love you back so hesitantly. He had said it, but it sounded like he was being pressured to do it.
How she had acted, walking out on him like that had probably only made things worse and made him feel even worse, and that was definitely not what she wanted to happen, especially since he really should be worrying about the duel he was going to be fighting in very soon.
She'd tried to get him alone, but everyone else was around him all morning, and she still wasn't sure just what to say.
Why did she have to tell him that she loved him?
"Because you do love him." A voice inside her head said.
All right, so she loved him, admitting it to herself for the first time.
She didn't just love him, she love-loved him, as in in love with him, to the point where she could no longer imagine a future without him, couldn't help but continually want to spend ever more time with him, see his beautiful green eyes, hear his voice...
Grrr... now she was getting all sentimental and mushy, which was definitely not what kind of girl she was. She'd always hated all the sappy, romantic stuff that some of the other girls were spouting, and yet here she was, fawning over a guy, even if he was the best, most incredible guy on earth...
That was enough! She couldn't do this, she couldn't think this, not yet, she was too young, and too focused on dueling for her to fall in love, and besides Harry needed her in a different way as he needed to be totally focused on the finals.
She would just have to pull him aside before the duel, and tell him that she hadn't meant what she had said, that she only loved him as a friend or something else made up. As wonderful a thing as realizing that she truly loved him, if he didn't feel the same way then she didn't see how she could live with herself with him knowing like that.
However before anything else could happen, Amelia noticed her quietly sitting on the bed, having just come back into the hotel room for her purse.
"What's wrong Su? I thought you'd be keyed up with the duel and already in the arena with the other girls?" She asked.
"Sorry I'm just worried about something." She answered.
"About Harry losing?" Amelia asked.
She was tempted to answer yes and make things easier, but instead she decided to admit the truth, as perhaps Amelia might have an idea on what to do.
"I told Harry that I loved him." She confessed.
This caused Amelia to be slightly taken aback, but fortunately she was quick to respond without any long awkward pauses. "I see," She said slowly, "and what did he say?"
"He said it back, but I could tell he wasn't very confident in saying it." Su confided.
"Why don't you tell me the whole story?" Amelia suggested.
She did so, even relating her worries about the whole thing.
After she had finished, Amelia finally said, "Well I can't say I know what you're going through, but I can say that I've been on the receiving end of it. A boy I knew back when I was at school told me he loved me, but I couldn't return the feeling. The problem was I was already betrothed to someone else and so was he."
"What did you do?" Su asked.
"I did what I felt I had to, I finally had to tell him that we would never work as a couple. He then tried to insist that we could run away together, free from our families' influences, but I held firm even though I was admittedly tempted. He was incredibly romantic in his attempts to woo me, I'll admit."
"What happened to him?" Su queried.
"When he saw that he wouldn't be able to convince me he ended up running away from his betrothed anyway and we never spoke again, to which I am grateful, he turned out to not be the man I thought he was." She answered, "As for me, the man I was betrothed to ended up getting killed by Death Eaters a couple years later just after we wed. I ended up inheriting his money and a great deal of influence, but I never kept his name. We never loved each other either, but he was still a good man in his own right."
"I'm sorry." Su said with the only thing she could think to say.
"It's all right, it was a long time ago and I almost never think of such things anymore." Amelia admitted before she seemed to realize that she needed to give her more advice, "However we need to get back to you. What I would recommend is that you talk it over with him. If I am right, I would say that Harry was just a little surprised by your announcement and didn't know how to react, and probably meant it when he said he loved you, just that he didn't feel ready to say that he was actually in love with you. Try to be understanding and accept that while he might not share your feelings, that doesn't mean that he won't in the future."
"Thanks Amelia." Su said giving her a hug.
"Falling in love with someone in an arranged marriage is a rare and exceptional thing, you should be pleased that you will be marrying someone as good as Harry and that you've fallen in love with him." Amelia replied.
"I am," Su said, feeling much better, "Harry is just so..."
"Don't worry, I know." Amelia said reassuringly.
"How?" Su asked.
"I've had this conversation before on Harry's merits with Susan, you aren't the only one who has deep feelings for him." Amelia revleaed.
Su got up to go find Harry, only to discover that he was already inside the dueling arena where she couldn't get to him.
Finally having to concede that she would just have to talk with him after wards, she sat down in the front row of the stands along with Susan, Pansy, and Fleur and Gabrielle who were both huddled together under Harry's invisibility cloak so as not to allow their slave collars to attract attention.
DUELDUELDUEL
Meanwhile Harry was getting ready for his duel, now entirely focused on the matter at hand, winning the duel. His nervousness about it was at least keeping any thoughts of Su out of his head.
As he studied his opponent across from him, he noted that Lao was looking entirely confident, even cocky enough to wear a smug grin on his face as he looked back at him.
This only served to make him slightly more angry as he had seen such a smug grin on numerous people's faces and he liked to wipe such grins off.
Lao however, if he was honest with himself, would be much much harder than the usual bullies he put up with, such as Malfoy and Ron, and would require a great deal more skill.
As the announcer began the duel, he listened while continuing to study his opponent.
Having seen all of Lao's duels, he had found him to be a fierce and unpredictable opponent, capable of landing solid and fast spells, but also good enough to use many different types of magic to win, most of which he had never seen before, all while mounting a seemingly impenetrable defense.
The truth was he really had no idea just what Lao would use against him this time, leaving him unsure just how best to counter him. This was also just why he would be so difficult to defeat.
During Lao's last duel with Su, he had actually managed to summon several water demons by creating a summoning circle, leaving her unable to deal with multiple opponents that she couldn't figure out how to defeat quickly enough.
After bowing to Lao, the duel began and he immediately began firing spells at his opponent.
Lao, instead of countering, quickly began dodging his spells, all while seeming to mutter something to himself.
He didn't appear to be pointing at the ground with his wand so he couldn't be trying to summon anything like he had with Su, but he still felt wary of what he was up to.
After trying to hit him repeatedly however, one of his hits went straight at Lao, only for it to instead of actually hit him, seemed to dissipate.
He knew that Lao hadn't used his wand to wave the spell away so it could only mean that he was using some shield of some sort.
Using a few different spells that he knew to work well in destroying shields, he tried hitting it, only for the same thing to happen.
Evidently the shield was altogether different from the types he was used to fighting against.
Yet as he tried barraging it, it felt like all he was doing was making himself more tired out. Indeed he felt much more exhausted than he was used to feeling this early in a duel.
Meanwhile Lao sat calmly continuing to mutter to himself while he pointed his wand at his shield.
As he continued to try and find a way to break through, he began to see a thin yellow outline of his shield as it was evidently getting stronger.
His shield in fact went all the way around him like a magic cage, unlike any other shield he had seen before.
By now he felt exhausted as the shield only got bigger and bigger with each attack, and that was when he finally realized just what was going on.
Evidently Lao was somehow using a shield that was not only able to repel but absorb his spells into the shield itself, only making it stronger by taking some of his opponent's energy.
It probably had the downside however of not being able to have anything leave the shield, which was why Lao wasn't retaliating.
He instantly stopped while he stood there trying to think of something he could use to break through it.
Lao however seemed to know that he had figured out his plan and started muttering something different and as he soon began to feel more like his energy was leaving him, all while the shield got stronger.
He supposed that the shield had already gotten so much of his magical energy that it was easy enough for him to use another spell to continue that transfer of energy.
Still trying to come up with a solution, he created a rock and levitated it directly into the shield.
The shield instantly absorbed the rock, only causing the shield to get slightly stronger and develop a slightly greyish tinge to it.
So the shield took on the consistency of whatever hit it, he surmised.
He tried casting spells at it that would hopefully weaken it, such as shooting water at it, but it seemed to reject the water, seeming to only be willing to take spells into it that would make it stronger.
Even as he tried to think of what to do, he realized his remaining energy was leaving him, soon he wouldn't have any energy left at all.
His attempt at another spell failed to work, he just didn't have enough energy left for it.
He knew that he was finished even if he could think of a way to break the shield he wouldn't have enough energy to use it. As he tried to even remain standing, he now only had enough energy left for the simplest and weakest of spells, and that was when it hit him. The chances were low that it would succeed, but there might actually be a chance that it would work.
"Flipendo!" He yelled even as he collapsed to his knees.
His spell was weak, barely even a successfully cast spell, yet when it met with Lao's shield, the shield tried to absorb it. The shield, once again seeming to be almost sentient in its choosing what would make it stronger or weaker, accepted it as instead it flipped around and began absorbing all of Lao's energy instead as it only got stronger.
Evidently Lao wasn't expecting such a thing to occur because his eyes opened wide with shock.
He tried to end the spell but the shield collapsed in on itself instead hitting Lao in the process, no longer bound to protect what it perceived as what was making it stronger.
Instantly Lao collapsed, all of his energy drained out of him at once.
"WE HAVE A NEW CHAMPION!" Yelled the announcer.
Harry allowed himself to grin, them collapsed, his own energy now gone.
When he awoke, he found all of the girls standing over him inside his champion's tent.
"You did it! You won Harry!" Pansy said enthusiastically.
"How long have I been out?" He asked.
"A few hours." Su answered, "We were told by the medical staff that you would wake up soon though."
"We got you your trophy." Susan commented, holding up a huge golden trophy with a gold duelist on it.
The trophy was actually so big that both she and Gabrielle were having to carry it, with Gabrielle not caring that she was now visible as the tent was closed and nobody could actually see her.
"Has Lao woken up yet?" he asked.
"Just a few minutes ago." Su confirmed, "I heard him even from here, and his father was so mad, yelling at him in mandarin, swearing like a drunken chinese sailor, something about shaming the family and being a loser, that sort of thing. You gave him a beating he likely won't ever be able to live down."
Su seemed to be looking at him as if he was her hero.
Continuing to bask in his hard won victory, he continued talking animatedly with the girls, before who he recognized to be the Atlantean Mayor arrived with the head of the World Dueling Association, followed by several of the Atlantis city council.
"My congratulations to you Mr. Potter, it was certainly an interesting duel to watch." The head of the dueling association said, offering his hand, which Harry shook.
Harry recognized him to be Mr. Goldberg, while the Mayor was named Mayor Glumfish, and like all Atlanteans had a green tinge to his skin, although he was quite a bit fatter than the average Atlantean, more on par with his Uncle Vernon, and had a handlebar mustache. The combination looked just as horrifying as one would imagine it would.
"You weren't present for your acceptance speech for us to ask you, so we decided to allow you to choose what you would like transcribed on the plaque at the bottom of your trophy." Mayor Glumfish announced.
Harry grinned, he'd already put a lot of thought into it. "First of all I would like to have this trophy displayed for all time at Atlantis City Square."
"Harry are you sure?" Pansy asked incredulously, "Why give up such a beautiful trophy?"
"I'm sure one of us will win one of them next year." He claimed, at that moment feeling rather confident having just won.
"It would be an honor to have such a trophy." The Mayor agreed, "I'm glad that Atlantis so impressed you to willingly give us your trophy."
He grinned back and said, "I would like it to read 'This is for all the downtrodden slaves and servants in this city. Freedom shall come.'"
The Mayor predictably blanched at that, yet Poulti behind him now wore a huge grin.
"I don't believe that can be done Mr. Potter." Glumfish answered lamely.
"I do believe I have the final say in what can be transcribed on the trophy as you have no jurisdiction over that." Goldberg pointed out, "Since he won it fair and square he gets to decide what he wants on it. Whether or not you choose to leave it in the city square is up to you however."
"Since you are unwillingly to receive my magnanimous gift," Harry surmised, "I do believe I'll leave it with Mr. Poulti. Mr. Poulti could you manage to find a use for this trophy?"
"I certainly can, Mr. Potter." Poulti said as he struggled not to laugh.
Wherever Poulti planned to take it, he hoped it was a good one.
Goldberg raised his wand and etched into the plaque at the bottom of the trophy just what he wanted.
After everyone all left, he got a lot of scowls from Glumfish and most of the city council, but smiles from Goldberg and Poulti, the latter of which was last to leave.
Holding up the huge trophy as best he could he told them, "I'll give it to the Merpeople to put inside their slave quarters. They should keep it safe and away from the city council or anyone else while they look at it. I would guess that they will treasure it highly."
"Do you think it was a bad idea doing that?" Harry asked him.
"Not at all, even though you certainly made the city council unhappy." Poulti confessed, "I would suggest you not return to Atlantis in the near future."
"We won't." Harry promised easily, "Although once I'm old enough I'm going to see what I can do about applying pressure on the International Confederation of Wizards on slavery and Merpeople's rights here. It was actually Susan's idea though."
He looked over at the redheaded girl.
"Yet you were the one who thought up the trophy idea so you at least get credit for that." Susan answered.
"If I or Susan don't do something who will?" He asked, "And I simply can't just leave it up to Susan who will no doubt do it anyway."
"I certainly will!" Susan said smartly, "When it comes to injustice, first Britain, then the World!"
Understanding Susan's resolve, he chose not to judge Susan's rather bold proclamation.
"I hope one day that will prove to be true." Poulti said wistfully.
DUELDUELDUEL
They all chose to leave Atlantis rather than stay any longer than they had to and quickly left the city, leaving Gabrielle and Fleur in particular grateful for the end of their very unwelcoming stay and no longer having annoying collars around their necks.
After finally getting home, Harry was once again exhausted and he got into bed as soon as he got there, yet just as he was laying down to sleep, he heard a knock on his door and someone entered his room, closing the door behind them.
"Harry are you still awake?" asked Su's voice.
"Yes, but barely." He answered.
She didn't wait for him to turn on the light and instead sat down on his bed while still shrouded in blackness.
"You know this could be really difficult to explain if someone found us like this in the dark." He admitted, causing her to laugh.
"If they did I'd just snog you senseless." She said half-jokingly before her tone got more serious, "I really need to talk to you about what I told you before."
He immediately froze up, knowing exactly what she meant. "I'm so sorry Su, I..." He tried to say.
"It's okay Harry, I understand." She admitted, "You just don't feel as strongly about me, am I right?"
He nodded before realizing she couldn't actually see him. "I do love you Su, I'm just not sure I'm in love with you." He answered.
"I guessed that." She replied, "I just don't want things to be awkward between us afterwards."
"So can I ask whether you love me, or do you like really love me?" He asked.
"More like really love you." She confessed, "I didn't mean to feel this way so soon, but I just couldn't help it. I love you and I don't think that's ever going to change, in fact I think it will only grow stronger."
"That's perfectly okay." He said, now relieved that he knew all of this, "I was just worried about how you felt when you realized I didn't share the same exact feelings just yet."
"I was pretty worried myself, but fortunately Amelia helped me sort it all out." She responded.
"Well I'm glad we were able to work it out." He said.
"So am I," She replied, "I just couldn't stand it if you held it against me."
"I'd never do that Su," He told her, "I may not be in love with you, but I certainly hope to one day."
"I love you Harry." She confessed again, now seeming to mean it even more, "Can I have your permission to show how much I love you?"
"Sure..." He answered, although not entirely positive just what she meant.
Through the blackness, she found his lips with her own and began kissing him, and rather than the usual quick kisses he usually got from the girls, or even the somewhat longer kisses that Fleur sometimes gave him, this one was a lingering, long, and lasting kiss as she took the time to explore his lips, causing a newer, longer burst of enjoyment to come from him. Some of the boys in his year would have termed this making out, and the actual kissing actually lasted longer than this realization as he allowed himself to kiss back, having discovered just how much he liked this.
Still, whether it was just a minute or a few years, Su finally finished kissing him, leaving both of them breathless as they were forced to pause to take in air.
"That was um...really something." He admitted.
"Yeah." She replied, just a breathless.
She got up to leave then, but before opening the door she said, "I love you, my champion."
He didn't care much for nicknames, but after a kiss like that he wasn't complaining.
She opened up the door and left, leaving him to relive the memory yet again as he drifted off to sleep.