Every Girl Crazy 'Bout A Sharp Dressed (Wo)Man

The world span as reality hard shifted back into gear. And even though her thoughts felt like they'd just been ran through a blender, Harry was positive she'd be eating dirt right if they hadn't been interlinked at the arm. Even so, she nearly dragged Narcissa down with her anyways, the older woman caught off guard by how poorly her niece handled the apparation trip.

"Are you alright?" The piebald woman had to shift her feet to better keep the ravenette on hers. "I apologize, dear. I should have asked if you'd ever apparated before."

Harry made a noise that could be taken as acceptance, but was more likely her fighting to keep her double breakfast from escaping.

"If you can manage it, warn me before you vomit."

"Blegh."

It took a moment for Harry to be able to stand on her own and another handful before she'd completely recovered. It gave her time to take in the Alley.

They'd apparated in near the wall behind the Leaky Cauldron, giving the two a clear view all the way down to Gringotts. That, and the thin crowds that inhabited the normally bustling shopping center. What people that were there moved in groups, and what groups that were present were small. They all were darkly dressed and moved hurriedly from one store to the next, no one stopping to talk. Instead all were near silent or spoke in hushed tones, looking warily over their shoulders almost as often as they looked ahead.

The Alley itself reflected the people. Gone were the colorful storefronts, dazzling advertisements and eye-catching displays. Much had been covered up by stark black and white papers. Many were warnings of what to look out for, from how to know if dark wizards were nearby to telltale signs someone was a werewolf in disguise, along guides of what to do in case of an attack. The spaces not covered by Ministry papers had been plastered with wanted posters. The Carrows, Yaxley, Greyback. The pictures and names went on and on, far past Harry's ability to see without his glasses.

There was one that managed to catch his eye. There was a poster to Bellatrix, showing her in all her broken beauty, cackling away. But it wasn't the picture of her 'aunt' that had drawn her attention. No, it was the next one over that did.

A wanted poster for Sirius Black.

At first, Harry couldn't believe what she was seeing. The poster was an exact copy of the ones he'd seen back in third year, yet looked as it it had been printed only yesterday. It was only after she'd blinked a few times did the truth hit. The poster was new. Just as new as all the other posters were. And why wouldn't it be? As far as regular witches and wizards knew, Sirius Black was still the dark wizard on the run for the **** of Peter Pettigrew and twelve muggles.

This wasn't right. Sirius had been disowned by his family, lost the new one he'd found, rotted away for twelve years for a crime he didn't do, been **** to run and hide for another three, only to die protecting his godson from his own stupid mistake and this is what Sirius got? To be lumped in with Voldemort and his cronies?

Hot hatred, both for self and the world, knifed into the still bleeding wound that was Sirius's ****. Why hadn't this been fixed? Why was Sirius still wanted? Why hadn't D-

"-ios. Seirios!"

"What?!" She snapped, switching her glare from the wanted poster to the older witch. Narcissa's expression was fixed, but her eyes held a sadness in them that caught Harry off guard. The anger cooled, leaving behind a hollow guiltiness. "Sorry." Harry apologized, looking away and feeling a little ashamed for letting anger get the best of her.

"Look at me, Seirios." Narcissa gentle turned Harry's face back to hers. " Do not hate him."

"What?" Harry blinked, lost to what her aunt meant.

"Do not hate your father. Sirius made-"

"I don't hate him!" Harry said defensively, the words jumping out of her mouth without thought. But she ran with them, understanding how Narcissa had mistakenly come to the conclusion that she was angry at Sirius, rather then for him. "Really, I don't. I mean, how can I? I've... I've never met him."

A pained flinch crossed over Narcissa's face before her controlled expression returned. "I would change that, if I could. But all I can do now is to make sure you understand that your father was a man who always did what he believed to be right, regardless of what others thought. If he sent you away to America, then I believe without a doubt that he did it solely because he thought it was the best thing he could do for you."

"So please," She said, pulling Harry into a tight embrace. "Do not hate him."

Harry tried to reply, but found her throat had become very tight. Unsure what else to do, she awkwardly returned the hug. They stood there for a few moments until Narcissa led her away, leaving behind the wanted poster of Sirius.

The door bell chimed as they entered Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions. Despite the exterior of the shop being just as dour as the rest of the street, the interior was the same as it always had been. Packed to the gills with every flavor of colorful, entirely wizardly clothing. While not normally one for clothing stores, Harry found it immediately relaxing, as if the magical world she'd come to love was still its normal, wonderous self.

Madam Malkin hurried up from somewhere in the back to welcome them both into the store. While Harry wasn't surprised when she was led back to a stool to be measured, she was at Narcissa's instructions.

"Just a few full sets today, along with a rain cloak. Enough for her to get by on."

Harry almost gave the older witch a bewildered look. She'd braced herself to suffer through a Malfoy sized spending spree, the likes of which Petunia could have only wished for. But only two or three full sets of clothing? That was such a reasonable amount to buy that it was suspicious.

"Will you be alright, dear, if I step out for a moment?" Narcissa asked as Madam Malkin set a self-measuring tape measurer on Harry before leaving to fetch some clothing.

"Oh. Uh, sure." Harry replied, wondering what his aunt was up to.

But before she could think up a good way to ask, the older witch was out the door and gone, leaving Harry alone in the store.