“Fuck off - you mean to tell me Muggle government gets involved?” Hell - he could just imagine the Ministry trying to impose any sort of law on relations - there were some, but most were tied to arrangements and the production of heirs - most legal matters surrounding interpersonal relations were fairly strict in regard to what could and could not be sanctioned.
For the most part it all tied in to finances, the consequences of infidelity or divorce ( the latter of which hadn’t been considered a viable option until long after Muggles had accepted it, and then only because of some political affairs where the choice was between divorce or a civil war if he remembered rightly ) and the positioning of assets as according to the amount of and gender of heirs. Families that signed into such contracts generally knew what they were doing and had clauses available for paramours provided there was a certain amount of discretion involved, but everything was always agreed upon by the patriarchs ( or in some cases, matriarchs ) of the clans in question, so it was only ever a Ministry matter if someone tried to cheat the marriage agreements. When it came to general relations, and to marriages that didn’t have contracts - well it wasn’t the Ministry’s business beyond registration and combination of assets - and even that could be managed through Gringotts if one wished to keep a union private for whatever reason.
Shaking his head, he found himself feeling bad for Peter - that was a level of control nobody should have to deal with, and one he couldn’t imagine a wizard ever accepting. There were many things the Ministry had right to dictate, but how one operated their personal life wasn’t among them unless said individual was a criminal offender - and even in that case, who they involved with personally was only monitored in the event of further law breaking, rather than through some arbitrary system of right and wrong in regard to sexuality.
His attention drawn back to the conversation at hand, Sirius didn’t hesitate to point out, “You know if anything goes wrong with your current place, you can bunk with me. It’s not like we can’t transfigure the couch.” There might not be a lot of room at Sirius’ apartment, but that hardly meant Peter would have to rough it on the streets or anything. They’d figure something out, and they were wizards - it wasn’t like they couldn’t make things livable in the meanwhile.
The line of questioning that followed took him by surprise, and at first he wasn’t sure if this was one of those situations where he would say the wrong thing just by stating what he understood to be fact, but at the end of it he supposed it didn’t matter. In this, he and Peter clearly had a fundamental clash in understanding, so - there was no point in hiding it.
“It’s not illegal among wizards - the Ministry’d be hard pressed to try anything like that - and while its not something that’s typically talked about in most circles, depending on who you talk to its not reviled either. You can’t even be removed from the family tree for it, and you know what my family is like,” He pointed out frankly, as if that explained everything somehow - and in a way it did. If it wasn’t an act abhorrent to the pureblood nature, then there was nothing wrong with it - at least not by Sirius’ understanding and upbringing on right and wrong. “We’re taught a bit of history on it - like the Sacred Band of Thebes and the benefits of pederasty which is still practiced by some families - so it’s understood to be a thing that happens, and provided one does their duty to the family and provides at least one heir, they are welcome to include a clause in their marriage agreement regarding paramours. So - “ Sirius shrugged, “I guess I just don’t see what the big deal is.”
❛ used to be life in prison, that only changed a few years ago. now it’s up to five years if you’re not 21. ❜ he may not be a lawyer but he’s studied those bylaws so carefully that he could recite them on command if he felt so inclined, even if he’d been dragged to the protests against them at the tender age of 7. as if he hasn’t been indoctrinated so carefully to hate all that he’s grown to become by an institution more intimidating than hogwarts could ever manage to be in his eyes.
there is a loss in being raised so wholly in one world, that always left him floundering and uncomfortable amongst those most like him. a fish that has been raised in a bowl does not understand how to survive in the sea. especially not so with the sudden changes back and forth. there is something surreal about spending months on end in hogwarts only to find himself in church for christmas mass. feeling at home and yet at a loss in both places for the harsh separation of the two worlds he’d only just begun to blend in his adult years. only the finest of ligaments connect two parts of an identity that may not be able to be reconciled. not any longer. not when the one who has been his most solid anchor has set him adrift without a heading.
it’s difficult not to be envious of how easily it seems to come to sirius to accept and not revile. to believe it to be so simple when peter has struggled with this truth for as long as he can recall. the seriousness of the conversation is not lost on him, nor how uncharacteristic it is for them to speak on the matters of their cultural disparities or truly on most matters that can’t be brushed off with a joke or odd comment. is this what true acceptance is ? he’s heard of the concept, something that is meant to be without limit and yet that he has never felt. not in the eyes of his mother or god himself. but he was always hiding then wasn’t he ? secrets cannot be accepted so long as they are kept beneath the surface, and it is only as they are turned out that he finds that it is not so unconditional as he once thought. but maybe it can be. at least it’s a start.
trying not to go slack jawed in the wake of such casual acceptance however is no small feat. his arms drop to his sides as he goes silent, trying to process the reaction when it’s so unlike any that he’s ever seen. he has to pause, clear his throat for a moment and he can’t shake deep set feelings so easily as a few words, but it is the start of something. ❛ …guess it’s not---------- at least not for you... might not mean anything to you but it’s... sort of a big deal to me... first person not to say i’m sick in the head or something. ❜
