A/N: I cant believe that I haven't posted anything in a year. Between college and work I stay pretty busy. Anyway, this lovely fic was a request by LilChaser, who wanted Harry to get into a bit of trouble with Sirius for playing a prank on Ron.
Now, I'm going to let you guys in on a bit of a secret. It's not edited all that well... Shhh, don't tell anyone! I may go back and do some editing at some point, but this has to go up now. Tomorrow I'm moving, and unfortunately, the place I'm moving to has no internet (at all, no dial up, no wi-fi, not even a decent cell signal). Eventually, I'll be bringing the 21st century with me, but I might not have internet again until August. So, rather than make Chaser wait that long, I'm going to go ahead and post this, and edit later.
On the bright side, I'll probably have a ton to post once the internet is connected to the new place.
All reviews are appreciated, and I will be reading them whenever I can get a decent connection on my phone.
Usually Harry loved Hogwarts, it was so indescribably perfect. This year was turning out to be quite different. Harry had long grown used to the whispers and glares that followed him down the hallways into the common room and out of the Great Hall. As much as he would like the support of his fellow students, Harry wouldn't let their opinions of him ruin the magic of Hogwarts. The tournament, while certainly not pleasant wasn't entirely at fault either. In his short life Harry had been through many unpleasant and often dangerous situations that only seemed to grow in frequency and danger level as Harry himself grew older. What weighed on him most heavily was his collapsing relationship with Ron. Whatever else in his life was exploding into a thousand tiny pieces, and there was always something, he had always been confident in the knowledge that his friends would be standing firmly by his side, even when it was the three of them against the world. Ron's reaction to this whole situation had completely destroyed that confidence. Combined with Hermione's eagerness to spend time with Victor, the beginning of this school year had left Harry feeling more lonely than ever. The one bright spot in it all was his time with Sirius.
Over the previous Summer Harry had begged Dumbledore to allow him to live with Sirius, and failing that, at least let Harry visit him. Dumbledore had responded to Harry's pleading letters with categorical, but gentle refusal. The headmaster explained that the Ministry monitored Harry's residence. Any change of residence would have to be reported to them, and due to a potion that was added to the parchment, the person filing the notice would be unable to provide false information. Similarly, frequent trips to see Sirius would lead to questions from the Ministry, and subsequently an arrest of Sirius. Harry wasn't entirely sure that Dumbledore couldn't find some way around it, after all, the Ministry had never been filled with the most competent of people. Besides that, Harry hadn't seen a single Ministry guard during the great escape before third year, although that didn't necessarily mean that one wasn't there. At any rate Dumbledore didn't seem to be willing to help Harry reconnect with his godfather. As such, Harry contented himself with exchanging letters with Sirius.
Harry had kept his letters light, doing his best to ensure he didn't trouble Sirius any more than the man already was, keeping complaints about his home life, and tales of his dangerous exploits out of the letters. Instead he wrote about mundane things in the news, such as the release of the newest Nimbus model, and his picks for the Quidditch World Cup, as well as sharing select personal details, such as his favorite foods and colors.
Sirius also kept it light for his part. He often wrote little antidotes about the Marauders at school and stories of James trying his best to woo Lily. Sirius shared his own personal preferences, likes and dislikes. Occasionally he would fuss over Harry, asking what he ate over the summer, or how he studied without access to additional reference texts. Just as Harry always had, he wrote a few non comital answers and redirected the subject of the letters. The letters were, without a doubt, the best part of his summer, even better than accompanying the Weasleys to the World Cup.
The letters provided a connection with his past, and surprisingly, perhaps even more importantly, they allowed him to begin forming a relationship with Sirius. The man was obviously an adult that cared about Harry, something that had long been missing from his life. It was equally obvious though that neither Harry nor Sirius quite knew how they should slot themselves into one another's lives. Even so, the letters remained a bright spot in Harry's life. Not even the letters though could replace his failing friendships. As fourth year continued on, Ron was still not on speaking terms with Harry, and even worse, actively took part in the gossip mill with many of the other Gryffindor boys. Hermione was spending more and more time with Viktor, and Harry was left to his own devices. In an effort to escape the whispers that seemed to follow him everywhere, Harry often sought refuge in the muggle math and science section of the library. It was a small, essentially unused section of the library with two simple chairs, a small table, and four sparsely filled rows of bookshelves. Looking back, Harry should have known better than to hide in the library. It was here Hermione found him one Saturday, curled up in one of the chairs, looking out of one of the towering windows, almost in tears. She had sat and talked with him awhile, before getting a certain look on her face, and marching off. The next morning Harry had gotten a letter from Dumbledore, requesting his presence.
For all the exploits Harry had over the years, he hadn't really visited the Headmaster's office all that much (at least not compared to the Marauders). Harry was quite sure that he hadn't recently done anything warranting a trip there. Once he reached the office the Dumbledore informed Harry that the man had a special assignment for Harry. At least once a week, but perhaps twice a week Harry would make his way up to the Headmaster's office, where he would floo to see his 'coach' for the tournament.
Harry was quite content to think about the tournament as little as possible, and tried to refuse, but the older man was insistent that the boy at least meet his coach. So with much trepidation Harry made his way through the floo calling out "Grimmauld Place."
Harry fell out of a fireplace into a cool, dimly lit room that while having no visible dirt or dust still felt unclean. All of that was forgotten with the "Hello Pup" that fell out of his godfather's mouth.
As the weeks continued on, Harry would visit his godfather once or twice a week. Their visits went much in the same way their letters had gone, making small talk and sharing past stories. Occasionally they would talk of the tournament, and Harry wasn't sure he would have ever figured out the second task if his godfather had not mentioned that the egg was the same strange off gold color that merpeople treasure often was.
It was on one of these visits that Harry let his mask crack a bit. The previous morning Harry had seen Ron with a Potter stinks badge, and by the time Harry had made it to Grimmauld Place he was in quite the mood. He grouched in Sirius dreadfully from the moment he stepped out of the floo. He grunted and snorted replies to any sort of question he bothered to answer at all, and rather rudely shrugged off the hug he was always happy to receive from the older man. After an incredibly sarcastic response to Sirius' attempt to make conversation. The man gave a sharp although rather gentle scolding. By the time Sirius was done a few tears had escaped Harry's eyes. Sirius indignation over Harry's poor behavior melted away, replaced by something akin to panic. Sirius hadn't meant to make Harry cry. He and the other Marauders had often received a stout scolding, and none had ever made him cry, at least not on its own. With that Sirius realized that his godson was clearly reacting to something more than just the lecture that Sirius had given.
The man made his way out of his own chair and took a seat next to Harry on the sofa. He pulled the crying boy into his chest, just as Mr. Potter had always done for him. For a moment Harry resisted, before completely collapsing into his chest, sobbing. This most certainly hadn't been from the scolding Sirius gave the lad. He knew that Harry didn't share everything with him, with the blatant change of topic when Sirius asked certain questions it was nearly impossible not to realize that the child was hiding certain things. Had Sirius been in Harry's life growing up, he might have insisted the boy share more of his problems rather than trying to sugar coat his life and steer Sirius around particular subjects. However, as things stood Sirius didn't feel he really had the right to demand anything from Harry. Since Harry clearly wasn't comfortable sharing with Sirius, the man hoped that Harry shared with somebody, be it his friends, his relatives, or his professors. This sort of emotional breakdown led Sirius to believe that that wasn't necessarily true.
Sirius just let Harry sob for a bit, until the flow of tears slowed, and Harrys gasping breaths returned to deep slow nearly silent sounds. Then he pulled Harry back a bit.
"What's wrong Puppy?"
"Nothing, I'm just-"
"Harry." Sirius chided as gently as he could. When the child made no move to speak Sirius continued on
"In the past I haven't pushed you to share things because I thought that you were sharing them with someone else. But clearly I was wrong. You have to share with someone Harry, and I would be honored if I were to be that person."
"Sirius, my life is such a mess. I don't want to make you upset, or cause you any worry."
"It's my job to worry, help you tidy up any mess, and most importantly help you feel better. It's my responsibility to protect you Pup, not the other way around. I want nothing more than to help you Love, but I can't do that if you don't tell me what the matter is."
"I'm just having a bit of a row with Ron, nothing all that important."
"Clearly it's important to you."
"He thinks I put my name in the running for the tournament, and now he's not speaking with me." Sirius sat quietly for a moment. The few rows James and Sirius had growing up had been loud affairs, each of them flinging insults, until eventually someone said something so utterly ridiculous that both boys froze before breaking hysterics, often laughing so much that they could scarcely breath. Then as if by magic, whatever issue they were fighting over seemed to be half as important as it had been just a few moments previous. Sirius only recalled two arguments that ended differently. The first, after the incident with Snape in 5th year, had ended in a vicious fist fight, leaving both bloodied and bruised. The second had ended quite differently.
"When James and I were just out of Hogwarts, we had a horrendous row. We were out to lunch and James ordered a salad with no dressing. Now, had that been the type of thing that James liked to eat I wouldn't have commented, but James had always loved hearty dishes, he was a stake and potato type of guy. I asked him about it and he told me that Lily had decided that they should keep an eye on their figures, and had begun to insist that they eat salad and veg, and other light foods rather than their usual. Being a git at the time, I made a comment about him being whipped, and he didn't take kindly to it. He wouldn't talk to me for days."
"And you did the proper thing and apologized and everything was fine after that." Harry said quite sure of himself.
"James and I rarely did things the proper way." Sirius barked out a laugh. "No, instead I doused him with a bit of potion. Every time he went to eat something it would turn into fluffy pink spaghetti. Lily was livid with me, but James ended up in my flat laughing so hard that I was surprised he managed to get there at all. You should have seen it Harry, this pasta was neon pink, almost blindingly so, and it was fluffy. There were many rows we ended with laughter. The most important thing to remember though is that they always ended. It might not seem like it now, but I'm sure by year end it will be as if this never even happened."
That got Sirius a bit of a smile and a hug. Sirius glanced at the clock, noting that the boy wouldn't be able to stay that much longer, dinner in the Great Hall would be starting soon, and one of the conditions of Harry's visits was his return to the castle by dinner. Sirius however had one more thing he wanted to discus with the lad before sending him off.
"Harry, I know that I wasn't around while you were growing up, and I know even now that I'm not around as much as I should be. Even so I hope we can have a real relationship, one that's not built on small talk and niceties."
Harry hesitated a moment, unaccustomed to expressing his feelings "I want that too, but I don't want to be any sort of burden Sirius. "
"You Mr. Potter are in no way a burden"
"I don't think you really understand. My life consist of going from one bit of trouble to the next."
"Then you obviously need a semi reasonable adult in your life, and while I'm not sure I fit the first qualification, I'll do my best at the second. I love you Harry."
Harry looked up at Sirius with eyes that were entirely too shocked.
"Love you too Siri."
Sirius sent Harry back to Hogwarts with a hug, a kiss to the forehead and, unknowingly, a dangerous idea.
It took Harry a week and a half to figure out exactly how to do the spells required for the prank. It really didn't involve anything too complex, but he didn't have anyone teaching him, nor did he have all that much time to practice. In that time he had made three more visits to Grimmauld Palace. His relationship with Sirius had begun to rapidly shift, becoming more familiar. McGonagall as part of her head of house duties had begun to send reports of Harry's grades and behaviors to Sirius instead of the Dursleys. Harry hadn't heard the end of it since Sirius opened the blasted letter. Not that Sirius was mean about it in any way. Rather he insisted on having long talks about why Harry was getting this grade or that grade. He praised his marks in defense, and dare of magical creatures, and asked if he needed help in other subjects. Then came the nagging he got to study and get his work done on his way out Grimmauld without fail. It was both incredibly annoying and stRongly enough, incredibly comforting. No one had ever much cared if Harry lived or died much less that he got good grades.
While his relationship with Sirius was flourishing, and Hermione had begun to hang around a bit more, he and Ron were still not speaking. Harry had a plan to fix that little situation though.
It was Friday evening when Harry put his plan into action. Dinner had finished some time ago and many of Harry's year mates had run off to watch Krum fly around the Black Lake, chasing a snitch. Harry had the dorm to himself, and gleefully begun placing spells around Ron's trunk and bed. The boys had a late astronomy class, which would require Ron to run back to the dorm and pick up his school bag. Harry knew that Ron would be in a rush, causing him to completely ignore any of the tale tale signs that his belongs had been tampered with. This was going to be epic.
Harry laid on his bed just as he heard the pounding footsteps rushing up the stairs. The door slammed open and Ron barely sent a glance Harry's way before he was grabbing his bag and robes. At the precise moment his hand came into contact with his bag and the spiders started flying out Harry knew he had gotten the timing wrong.
Ron jerked his hand back, but it didn't matter, fairly large spiders began jumping out towards him, before exploding with a "BANG" that was entirely too loud. Just as the first spider exploded, the second round of spells was triggered, sending out a petrificus totalus. The force of the spell, along with Ron's own backwards momentum caused Ron to fall back, landing with a horrendous crack. Confetti from the exploding spiders fell lifelessly to the floor, and Harry stood frozen. Then in a great rush of movement, Harry raced forward, checking on his friend. Precisely at that moment, the dorm room flew open to reveal Hermione who stood frozen for a moment, before rushing forward towards the redhead, who was still totally still under the petrificus totalus.
She waved her wand, effectively canceling out the spell. Ron remained completely still, other than his eyes drifting closed.
"He's unconscious, That nasty bump on his head knocked him out cold I'd say. A broken arm too. There's a bit of a burn mark on his cheek." Hermione stated quickly.
"Yeah, he landed on his arm a bit funny."
"Well we should get him to the hospital wing. Madam Pomphrey will know what to do with him."
With that Hermione gave her wand another quick wave, and Ron lifted into the air in fRont of Hermione, Harry following them both.
Harry pushed the infirmary doors open none too gently, and they opened with a rather unexpectedly loud "BANG" that echoed into both the hallway and the room itself. By the time Hermione made her way into the room with Ron, Madam Pomfrey was already rushing out of her office.
"Oh dear." She sighed, and then in a sterner tone "What have you lot been up too?"
"I was in the common room, when I heard the commotion from the boy's dorm. Harry brought Ron out unconscious." Hermione spoke quickly, as she only did when answering a particularly tricky question, or providing a cover story that wasn't exactly true.
Madam Pomfrey shot a slightly skeptical look towards Harry, seemingly having decided that Ron wouldn't drop dead on the spot.
"It's true, Hermione just helped me get him here, she shouldn't have to stay here, I can tell you anything you need to know." Harry assured the woman. Harry didn't want Hermione to be in any trouble, be it from something as minor as coming into the boy's dorm or being suspected of having something to do with Ron's current state.
"I'm quite sure that I won't be needing any additional information on what exactly has landed Mr. Weasley in his current state. A student sustaining such injuries in their own dormitory is a matter for the headmaster to deal with."
"If it's alright with you, I'll stay and tell the headmaster everything he needs to know. Hermione shouldn't be stuck here too."
"No Mr. Potter, it is not alright with me. You both shall remain in this infirmary until such a time that the headmaster deems a different course of action appropriate." Madam Pomfrey sent Harry another look, ending her sentence with an exasperated huff as she turned down the sheets on a cot for Ron. Hermione levitated Ron over to the bed and released her hold on the levitation spell.
"Should I fetch the headmaster then?" Hermione offered.
Madam Pomfrey had made her way over to Ron, waving her wand about, and doing something Harry couldn't quite make out with a vial containing a potion that was a particularly ugly gray color. As she worked she responded to Hermione's question.
"No, I'm sure the elves have already alerted him." Harry wondered if this was how the headmaster seemed to know everything going on in Hogwarts. An army of house elves, constantly reporting to the headmaster would both see everything and never being seen themselves.
"I do hope not all of you are waiting on me, although the thought that I could command the presence of such a talented group is pleasant."
"Albus, the youngest Weasley has ended up harmed in his own dorm room."
"I see. Well, I'm quite certain that Miss Granger could have nothing to do with that matter then, after all, the incident did occur in the boy's dorm, which I know she would not have entered." The headmaster's eyes twinkled merrily as he spoke. "I'm sure you wouldn't want to miss your class Miss Granger."
Hermione sent a quick smile in Harry's direction before showing herself out.
"What do the injuries lead you to believe happened Poppy?"
"Well if it were any other two students I would suggest bullying. However, keeping in mind just who these students are, probably some sort of asinine stunt or prank."
"And Mr. Weasley will recover fully from his injuries?"
"He'll be fine. In cases involving bumps to the head it's best to let the patient sleep it off rather than trying to wake them. I'd wager that he'll sleep the night through, but he'll be just fine in the morning."
"Excellent, then Mr. Potter and I shall sort out what little of the mess that is left." He then turned to Harry.
"If you would be kind enough to escort an old man back to his office, I would be most grateful Mr. Potter."
Harry felt his legs move almost without his permission, following quietly behind the headmaster. It didn't take long at all for the two to end up in the man's office. Harry quickly took a seat in the front of the desk while the headmaster took his own seat behind the desk.
Rather than the customary offering of a lemon drop, the headmaster started right in with the business at hand.
"Mr. Potter, while I have no doubt that this was not the expected outcome, I do hope you will explain what exactly happened to lead up to this. What were you trying to accomplish?"
"Ron's been a bit of a pratt lately. I just wanted to prank him. He wasn't supposed to get hurt."
"Things do have a tendency to play out in the strangest and most unpredictable of ways." The headmaster pulled out a bit of parchment, and began writing in a quick loopy script.
"Although you did not intend to do any harm, harm was done through your actions. Therefore, I am sorry to say, I feel that I must contact an adult belonging to you."
"I didn't mean to hurt him, it was supposed to be a prank." Harry felt his voice raise in anger.
"I've acknowledged that Harry. However, often times when emotions cloud our vision, it is only those who care the most about us that can manage to allow one to see clearly again. Furthermore, parents have the right to know what their children get up to… within reason of course." The headmaster spoke as he sat his quill back into the inkwell, and touched his wand to the parchment. Harry watched as wax seemed to spill out of the wand, forming its self into the shape of the Hogwarts crest.
"The Dursleys are not my parents, I don't care for them, they don't care for me, and they certainly won't care what I'm up to."
Albus didn't reply, instead mutely handing Harry the letter he had just written. Harry, who was busy questioning what exactly the headmaster wanted him to do with the letter, missed what the headmaster spoke into the floo, before he felt himself be pushed through.
Sirius was lounging on the sofa in his sitting room. Floating above his head was a book on wand crafting. The date on the book, and the layer of dust sitting on it led Sirius to believe that it must have been sitting, undisturbed in the black library for the last hundred years. The Ministry had banned any books on wand crafting not long after this particular book had been crafted. After all, if everyone was out making their own wands the ministry wouldn't be able to keep track and trace all of the wands.
Suddenly, the wards shifted, symbolizing the arrival of someone through the floo. Sirius wondered for a second what he should do. He wasn't expecting anyone, and although the house was well protected, one could never be all that sure. Then he heard someone rather clumsily crash onto the floor, and something not quite recognizable muttered darkly in a voice that Sirius knew well.
He sat the book down, making sure to mark the page, before quickly making his way down the stairs to great his favorite person in the world.
"Harry!" Sirius seized his godson in a hu. "I wasn't expecting you until tomorrow. Did you manage to convince Dumbledore to allow you early release, or am I aiding and abetting an escape attempt."
Harry smiled a bit, hugging the older man back.
"I'm the one adding and abetting."
"Nonsense, you're merely ensuring that I don't die of boredom. I wouldn't call that adding or abetting."
Sirius again saw the flash of a smile as he released the boy.
"Here, I'm supposed to give this to you." The boy shoved a folded piece of parchment into Sirius hands. Sirius opened the parchment, absently wondering what Dumbledore wanted. The man had recently been talking of reviving the Order of the Phoenix, and seemed quite eager to make Grimmauld Palace the headquarters. Sirius was going to have a word with the man if he had Harry carrying something of the sort.
Still standing in the foyer, Sirius broke the Hogwarts seal and began to read, heart sinking further and further as he did so.
Sirius,
Harry, in an attempt to prank Mr. Weasley has managed to land the boy in the hospital wing. I'm quite certain that he didn't mean to harm his young friend. I am just as certain that a few years back I had two boys in my office for a similar offence, claiming a similar defense.
At any rate, as headmaster my response to this situation would be limited, and in my humble opinion, not fix the matter at all. While I cannot claim much knowledge of the Dursleys, Harry feels that they will not care much one way or the other. So, instead I hope you can get through to the lad. Keep him the weekend and do as you feel you must. Harry will be welcomed back Monday.
-Albus
Sirius could feel his face falling as he read the letter. This had not been the outcome he was expecting from the story he had told Harry a few weeks earlier. Now the consequences were his to deal with. Sirius had always envisioned himself as the eternal bachelor. James had chased Lily from the first time he saw her on the Hogwarts express first year. In fifth year Remus started talking about adopting an abandoned werewolf cub or two and raising them. That same year Peter got his first girlfriend, and both him and Lizbeth seemed completely head over heels. Sirius himself had always had a line of girlfriends, a new girl every month since third year. Some of them had been older, others younger, but none of them had been long term, that was the way he liked things. He had always envisioned his life continuing on in such a manner. Going to a party before stopping over at his friends' houses to play with the children, and tempt them into mischief before running off to the next party. He had never pictured himself as the father, as the person responsible for the welfare of another being.
Despite growing close to Harry over the last few months, he had never really expected to end up in this position. Harry had guardians, granted ones that weren't a part of the wizarding world. Still though, he had thought the Dursleys relatively caring guardians, although Dumbledore's letter had suggested something different, he had never expected this.
Sirius snapped to awareness, realizing that Harry was still standing in front of him in the foyer. The child's head had dropped slightly, and his hands seemed to be fiddling with some small bit of parchment he must have found in his pockets. Even so, his eyes sparkled with defiance, daring Sirius to say something he didn't approve of.
Sirius mind spun, trying to come up with what one was supposed to do in this situation.
"Come with me." Sirius ordered firmly. He made his way up the grand staircase, walking just one door past his own rooms before stopping. He opened the heavy wooden door in front of him, and allowed his godson to look in. The room was bright and clean, decorated in blues and greens. It didn't seem to radiate the uneasy feeling that the rest of the black house did. Inside was a sitting area, with a small coffee table, a few overstuffed chairs and a sofa, separated from the rest of the room with a small divider. The portion clearly meant to be a bedroom was basic, just some quality wooden furniture, plush through rugs, and a few small odds and ends. This was by far the best room in Grimmauld Palace, and it was clear that a lot of work had been put into it to clean out the residue of dark magic, as well as completely redecorate it.
"It was my bedroom when I was a child. I know that you don't live here, but when you are here I want you to have somewhere comfortable to stay if you ever need it. It's taken me a while to clean it out. I used to use permanent sticking charms to stick pictures of muggle cars, motorbikes, and girls onto the walls. Drove my mother mad it did. Anyway, feel free to decorate it as you like, it's yours now."
Harry took a moment to look around the room. Touching the covers on the bed, the night stand, and a chair in the sitting area before turning to look at Sirius with something like confusion on his face. Sirius knew what he was going to ask before even Harry himself did.
"I love you no matter what Pup, and you will always have a place here. I would appreciate it if you would stay in here a bit though, I need to think." Sirius let out a bit of a sigh. "James would have known what to do. He would have been- Was a bloody brilliant father. He always seemed to know how to react with you. Growing up, Lily had never been around babies much, and sometimes she would get so frustrated with you. She loved you of course, and would never hurt you, or let anyone else for that matter. She didn't always know how to react though, and sometimes she would get frustrated and just go pop you in James lap. He would cuddle you in his lap and say 'Harry my boy' and proceed to give you a lecture. Much to everyone's surprise it worked. Other times, James would be the only one to be able to stop you from crying. He was a great father Harry, and would know exactly what to do in this situation. To be perfectly honest though, I'm no James. I need a bit of time to think. If you'll excuse me."
Sirius felt rather bad about shutting the door on his godson. He walked over to his own door, entering his quarters and beginning to pace. He hadn't been lying when he said that James would know what to do in this situation. In fact Sirius could probably predict what James would have done in this situation. Yet Sirius didn't necessarily feel it was his place to do so. Perhaps if James had lived, and Sirius had been in Harry's life all along, but in that case, James would be the one having this conversation with Harry. That hadn't been the case though. Sirius had only had contact with his godson for the last few months. And Sirius didn't have the same confidence James had once possessed when it came to parenting. James childhood had been as close to perfect as anyone could ever have, and much of his confidence came from his own experiences growing up. Sirius own childhood had been filled with alternating periods of being totally ignored by his parents, and horrendously abused by them until he decided to leave at the age of 15.
"You know what James would have done." Sirius jumped a bit in shock. He had been so wrapped up in his memories that he hadn't even felt the change in the wards. Still, he refrained from turning to look at Mooney, who had just shut the door to his room.
"I'm not James."
"No, but you're the closest thing he has."
"That's not saying a whole lot is it."
"Sirius" Remus scolded gently.
"I barley know him Mooney, it's not my place. Can you imagine someone who you barely know, an escaped convict, who was imprisoned for murder, just deciding they have a right to turn you over their knee? I would have been fit to be tied if I were in Harry's situation."
"No you wouldn't have. If you remember you were in a very similar situation towards mid-term fourth year. Later that summer if memory does not fail, you ran off to live with that very same person."
"That was different."
"How exactly? You and James pulled a rather cruel prank on Severus. Your parents were going through a period of ignoring you, and refused to allow you to come home for the weekend, so Dumbledore sent you to the Potters. Mr. Potter promptly turned both of you over his knee, regardless of the fact that you only had met the man once before. Then he spent the rest of the weekend spoiling you both horribly. No one had ever seen you return from a school break so happy."
Sirius smiled a bit despite himself. He had fallen in love with the Potters over the three days he had spent at their home. And as much as he hated to admit it, Remus was right. He hadn't been upset with Mr. Potter at all. If anything he had been relieved to be treated as one of their own. That didn't mean he was going to admit defeat though. He didn't want to spank Harry.
"That was years ago Remus, and we had a previous track record of dangerous and mean pranks behind us."
"Mr. Potter would have turned you over his knee regardless of what your previous track record was, and you know it."
"Surely there is something else that can be done. What about grounding him?"
"How long is Harry going to be here?"
"Until Monday morning."
"It would mean both of you sacrificing any fun to be had this weekend. Besides that really it should be a bit longer than a single weekend."
"Well he can write lines or an essay."
"That's very impersonal."
"Bloody Hell Remus! What do you want me to do?"
"You know very well what I want you to do Sirius. Harry doesn't have the best home life a-"
"What exactly does that mean?" Sirius said darkly. Dumbledore had given a similar hint, but God help the Dursleys if they had mistreated his godson.
"I'm not sure exactly. Harry's very careful not to talk about his home, and Lily never spoke much of her sister either. I've picked up on a few hints though. Whatever the case may be, Harry doesn't care for them, and I doubt he gets much support from them. Once you have been cleared it shouldn't be much trouble to get custody of Harry. He's not going to be an easy child though from what I've seen. He's reckless, constantly putting himself in danger, often acts without thinking things through. He has Lily's temper and James impatience. Even worse, he doesn't rely on the adults around him. He's going to need a parent Sirius, not a friend."
"I hate you." Sirius told his friend.
"Of course you do." Remus simply agreed.
"Thanks Moony."
"Not a problem."
"Mooney?"
"Mmm?"
"I still hate you."
Remus let out a bit of a laugh before heading into the kitchen.
"Well, regardless of how much you hate me, and despite the fact that I'm no Molly Weasley, I'm sure you won't refuse my offer to make lunch."
"You know me so well."
"I'll be here when you and Harry finish."
Sirius sent a glare at the retreating form of Remus. The man took no notice at all, continuing on his way to the kitchen.
Sirius let out his own sigh before heading into Harry's room.
Sirius knocked on the door twice, and waited for a response. In fact he waited so long that he had begun to wonder if he was going to get permission to enter at all. Just as he had begun to consider whether or not he should enter into Harry's room without permission or not. Before he made his decision, he heard a quite but distinct voice call out from behind the door.
"Come in." Harry was laying on his bed horizontally, with his head and feet hanging over the sides. His head was facing away from Sirius, and he apparently had no desire to turn around. Sirius sat next to him, laying a gentle hand onto the small of the boys back.
"Will you tell me about it?" Sirius asked. He wasn't quite sure what he would do if the boy refused.
"I already told you everything."
"No, I still have no idea what actually happened." Harry shifted into a more comfortable position, although Sirius noted that the child was careful not to knock the hand off of his back.
"It was just meant to be a simple prank." Sirius was totally certain that the child hadn't intended to hurt Ron. Harry was a lot of things, reckless, self-sacrificing, loyal to a fault, but he wasn't cruel or malicious.
"Yeah? What was supposed to happen?"
"He was supposed to be petrified first. Then some spiders were supposed to fly out and explode."
"I thought you said Ron was afraid of spiders." Harry's only response to the question was a barely visible shoulder shrug. When it was clear that no other answer would be fourth coming Sirius continued on.
"Sometimes when you are planning a prank it seems like a great idea. You think it'll be the joke of the year; that everyone will be talking about it for years to come. Then when its actually happening you realize how wrong you were. I can't tell you how many pranks James and I pulled that seemed like a great ideal when we were planning them, but then watching the prank be carried out, or looking back just seem mean."
"The timing was off. The spiders started flying out before the petrificus totalus was in effect, and the explosion was too big."
"In pranks where there is a lot of spell work involved, timing is one of the most difficult things. Different spells travel at different rates, so many times you have to alter the rate a spell travels at, or you have to tie each spell into a specific trigger. Explosions can be just as tricky, and even more dangerous."
Harry didn't react to his godfathers words at all.
"I'm all for a funny prank Puppy, and I know you didn't mean to hurt Ron-"
"I didn't! Didn't you ever have a prank that went wrong? I didn't mean to hurt Ron, and it's stupid that I have to explain myself beyond that."
"Of course I've had pranks that have gone wrong. When they went wrong in a way that landed someone in the infirmary, your grandfather wasn't afraid to discipline James and me for it. Look at it this way Harry. I'm forever nagging you about your grades. Now, by skipping a class here, or not paying attention to another, you don't intend to negatively impact your future, never the less that's exactly what happens. One missed class may mean not understanding an entire section of a particular class. It snowballs from there, having a bigger and bigger impact, until your future choices are limited."
"Don't tell me you never skipped a class."
"I wasn't a goody two shoes in school. You know I was a prankster, and it landed me in detention more than once. In fact, keeping in mind that you're not allowed to do this, James and I had a competition to see who could land more detentions. I was constantly going to one party or another, or sneaking out to snogg some bird. I can honestly tell you though that I can count on one hand the number of classes that I skipped during all of my years at Hogwarts. There was a reason that the Marauders were in the top 3 percent of all of our classes. That's not the point though, the point is intent is important, but it's not everything. Sometimes your actions have untended consequences. Never the less, they are still consequences of your actions, and you have to own up to them. Do you understand that pup?"
"I guess. Like when you went after Pettigrew, you didn't intend for everything to happen, but it still did, and you had to deal with that."
"Exactly."
"So what's next?" For the first time since Sirius entered the room, Harry looked at him, eyes curious if a bit reluctant.
"Now I wallop you."
"You what?" Harry sat up on the bed rather quickly. His tone clearly implied his shock at what Sirius had just told him.
"There has to be a consequence Harry. Even if you didn't mean to, through your actions another student was harmed. On top of that, to be perfectly honest, and I think you know this, but the prank was a bit mean."
"Ron was being a pratt, he deserved to get pranked."
"Maybe, but he didn't deserve to end up in the hospital wing."
"Well, there has to be something else you can do." Rather than the sharp angry tone Harry had been using just moments before, now his tone had settled into a quiet pleading tone.
Sirius wondered for a moment. In wizarding families spankings were quite common. It would be considerably harder to find a child Harry's age that had never received a spanking then it would be to find a child that had. Harry hadn't grown up in a wizarding family though, and Harry's tone had given Sirius a creeping suspicion…
"Harry you have been spanked before, right?"
"Why can't you just ground me or something?"
"Dumbledore has agreed to allow you to spend the weekend with me, if I ground you, I forfeit any fun we could possibly have in that time frame. I can't have you write an essay, or lines with how swamped you already are with school and the tournament. A smacking will be over with and forgotten quickly enough, and allow us to enjoy the rest of the time we have together. Now answer the question please."
"No." Suddenly Sirius felt his eyebrows lift. While Sirius would tolerate quite a bit from his godson, he wouldn't tolerate blatant disrespect, especially not from James son. James had been a bit of a wild child, and found a kindred spirit in Sirius, but whatever criticism those around him had, adults had always sung him praise over the issue of respect. Sirius had later come to find that respect was a big rule in the Potter household. Sirius could only remember once time when James had behaved disrespectfully towards his father, and it had been the only time Sirius remembered Mr. Potter using a belt. James had always shown respect to the adults around him, and had equally expected to be shown respect by the children he often babysat and the first years constantly knocking on the dorm's door. He would have been utterly horrified at Harry's tone.
"Excuse me?"
"No, I haven't" Harry's tone was slightly more respectful, but still not where he wanted it.
"And why don't we try that once more."
"No, I haven't…Sir?" The tone was much better on the last try, although it was quite clear that Harry didn't quite know what he was looking for.
"I was referring to your tone Harry, you don't have to call me sir. If you're going to use a honorific, use uncle."
Harry seemed to store the information away for future use, but couldn't seem to find a response.
"Alright. Let's get this over with."
"Wait! I don't- How do I-"
"I could explain this until I turn blue in the face, but it still wouldn't be enough. A spanking isn't something that you can explain, it's something that has to be experienced. Let's get this over with now."
"I guess."
"Alright then. Stand up for me." Sirius waited for Harry to comply. The boy was clearly dragging his feet, but was also complying. Once Harry was on his feet, Sirius wasted no time flipping the boy over his lap. Harry's head and upper body was laying, comfortably on the bed, his lower half dangling, not quite tall enough to reach the floor.
A sticking spell ensured that there would be limited movement on the part of Harry, and another well placed spell removed the boy's trousers and pants. Then Sirius started.
He spanked quickly, swatting in a pattern. He struck twice turning one area red before moving onto the next. By the time Sirius was starting the third circuit Harry was squirming as much as the sticking spells would allow. Sirius knew the bottom under his hand must have been burning, and so he began to lecture.
"Why are we here today Harry?" Harry did his best to answer as coherently as possible between the sniffs, sobs and yelps.
"Because of –Owww- Because of the prank."
"Pranks are all well and good, but be a bit more specific than that Harry. What exactly about it landed you here?"
"Oww Oww Owwww. Ron got hurt!"
"Exactly. Just because you didn't intend it to hurt anyone, does that excuse you from preforming a dangerous prank that ended up hutting someone?"
"Nooooo."
"Exactly. So, I want you to be a good lad and tell me how we're going to avoid ending up here again."
"No more pranks."
"Pranks are fine, I just don't want to hear about what kind of pranks?"
"Dang-Owww, Uncle Siri-Dangrous ones."
"One's where people get…"
"Hurt!"
"Right. Stay away from the mean ones also, although I don't expect that you would do something like that anyway." With one last swat, Sirius finished off the spanking.
He transfigured Harry's pants into soft black sweats, and removed the sticking charm, before leaning back against the headboard of the bed. His puppy was entirely too light, he was going to have to check the Dursleys out, and for their sake, they had better hope they were treating Harry decently.
Harry sobbed into Sirius chest, and Sirius allowed him to, carding his fingers through the boy's hair, and offering the occasional gentle humming or shushing noise. It didn't take too long for the shaking shoulders and the gasping breaths to calm. Almost completely still Harry laid against him. Eventually Harry spoke.
"Love you uncle Siri."
"Love you more Pup." Sirius meant it with all of his heart.
"I wish I could stay here with you forever. That I didn't have to go back to Hogwarts, to the Triwizard Tornament, or to the Dursleys."
"Mmm. No you don't. You would get terribly board here. Not to mention that I'm sure I'd be an utter tyrant as a teacher. You wouldn't be able to get away with skivvying off. You know I used to tutor some first and second years in my 7th year. I was always on them to study this and take better notes for that."
"Everything makes sense right now. The second I step foot back on Hogwarts it's all going to go crazy again."
Sirius pulled Harry closer, into a massive hug.
"Everything is going to be just fine."
"Look Ron-"
"Wait Harry. Charlie came up to visit me yesterday, and he wasn't happy. He knocked me round the head a few times, and convinced me of what a pratt I've been, and well, I just want to say I'm sorry."
"t's alright. I wanted to apologize too. Padfoot wasn't happy with me either. I didn't mean for you to get hurt. I'm sorry."
"It's all good. Want to go for a bit of a fly?"
"I can't, Charm's test is coming up tomorrow and Padfoot won't leave me alone about my bloody grades."
"You too? You should have heard Mum going on and on about being responsible, and studying. You would have thought Dumbledore called her up for me failing a class rather than landing myself in the hospital wing. It's bloody ridiculous."
The End.
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