Opening the door to Sirius' bedroom, Harry slipped through and stood looking around for a few minutes, gathering his thoughts. He had been back at Grimmauld place for about a week, slowly clearing through the mountains of junk that had accumulated over the years. This room was the last one that needed to be done; a job he had been alternatively dreading and looking forward to at the same time. It seemed strangely invasive to be going through his godfather's things.
There was a large desk in one corner, covered in parchment pieces, dust, quills and inkpots, with the occasional owl pellet just for variety. Aimlessly he picked up bits and pieces, staring at them before putting them back: shifting the contents around but not actually doing anything about clearing them up.
Underneath a box of owl treats was yet another stack of parchment, although this one seemed older and more worn than any of the others he had seen. He flipped through, not really reading, just looking at the handwriting that seemed so strangely familiar.
A word leaped out from the page and he looked more closely, actually reading this time. They appeared to be a collection of letters.
Flipping through a few more sheets he now realised where he had seen the handwriting before. They were arranged chronologically so he started with the first one.
3rd December
Dear Padfoot,
We have finally moved into the house at Godric's Hollow! With all of the boxes scattered around it looks even smaller than I thought it would from the outside, but still – it will be very cosy by the time we have finished with it! Harry was very good and didn't seem to mind being passed form person to person like a parcel – he didn't cry once.
Remus and Wormy were there but we all missed you, especially James. He wasn't allowed to prank anyone for a whole day and I think that he was sorely tempted. I know that Wormy gave him a wider and wider berth as the day wore on! I don't think that James has ever grown up; mind you he did manage to fix the plumbing which had burst. Around tea time we all entered the kitchen to find water leaking through the ceiling and the floor flooded! I don't know what he did but he dashed upstairs and when he came down again the deluge had stopped – thank goodness!
Bathilda Bagshot popped round earlier with a bag of home-made scones and we had a nice chat. Did you know that Aberforth once crashed a broomstick into her greenhouse? I never even knew that he had been near a broomstick! She absolutely adored Harry and held him for almost the entire visit, saying that it had been years since she had had a baby to cuddle. Harry was very sweet and just gurgled, cooed and waved his ands in the air.
Before he left Remus mentioned that he Dumbledore had given him a job to do and that he wouldn't be around for the next month or so. I do hope that he will be all right. How is your mission going? Can you tell us any more about what you're doing? If you can't don't worry, I'm sure you're having fun whatever it is – you always liked danger. Please don't do anything silly, though. We would all miss you very much!
Lots of love,
Lily
P.S. James has been reading over my shoulder and says I should call Remus Moony. I don't know, though. He's more a Remus than a Moony. What do you think? Oh, James also says to say hi Padfoot from him so:
"Hi Padfoot!" From James.
Harry finished the letter and sat for a moment, looking at the familiar yet also unfamiliar handwriting, before turning to the next one.