Hey all! This is the series of One-Shots for my Choices-verse.
This definitely hadn't been the one I was going to post first but with a question asked in a review, I decided to answer it (and possibly cause more questions?). Hope I explained it well enough to you.
These will be out of order, with various ratings (though I will try to stick to T and under) and posted randomly (either when I feel they should be posted to answer questions that won't give away parts of the story or to give hints about the story)
They will be about anything and everything, mostly the past between Harry and Sirius (and the Pack?), and things that could have been added to the story -coughDiagonAlleycough- but I didn't because I saw no point in adding it when it would be brought up later or it served no purpose whatsoever...
(I won't lie though you might get some one-shots that won't be mentioned at all in the story that will clarify somethings...)
Don't be surprised if a random school day/class pops up (or just something completely out-there) those will probably be for me to get over a bout of writers block or stress without making the actual story derail and me having to rewrite it... multiple times... again...
Nine-year-old Harry Potter glared at the small bubbling cauldron in front of him.
"Sirius?" Harry called out, trying to get his guardian's attention.
"Hmm?" was the distracted reply.
Harry glanced through the open doorway, looking at the couch where Harry knew Sirius was resting after his last job, before turning back to the potion in front of him.
"I was wondering… When do I go to school?" Harry questioned, his voice betraying the worry he felt, as he stirred the Blood-Replenishing potion he was trying to brew.
A grunt and heavy footsteps made Harry jerk his head up to watch the doorway. A very battered, bruised, and pale Sirius hobbled into the small dining room they had converted into a potions lab.
Harry frowned at his godfather as the man slumped on the stool in front of the other cauldron containing the completed Invigoration Draught.
Sirius placed his arms on the table, laid his head on them, and turned so he could watch the boy.
"You shouldn't be moving, you know." Harry muttered, irritated that Sirius wasn't taking his current state serious. A grunt was Sirius's answer.
"This Blood-Replenishing one is almost done then you can take both." The statement was devoid of as much emotion as a nine-year-old could manage. Sirius sighed.
"…You didn't answer my question…" Harry commented softly.
"I know…" Sirius's gruff, pain-filled, voice whispered back.
Harry ladled some of the finished potion in to a vial and handed it to Sirius before reaching over to do the same with the Invigoration Draught.
With a resigned sigh, his godfather took both potions, one after the other, as fast as he could, hoping to avoid the horrid aftertaste. Sirius had no such luck if the face he pulled afterwards was any indication.
Color returned to his ghost-like pale skin and the slight haze that had resided in his grey eyes disappeared as the potions went into effect.
Sirius sat up straight with only a mild twinge of pain, but that was to be expected. "Thank you, Harry. Those potions were done perfectly." Sirius praised, grinning at his godson fondly as he ruffled his already unruly hair. Harry grinned at the praise while trying to dislodge Sirius's hand.
"As for you question… It depends. Do you wish to go to Hogwarts?" Sirius asked, and for the first time in Harry's life that he could remember, there was no hint of playfulness or teasing in Sirius's voice or eyes.
Harry looked down as he thought about the question while Sirius sat there on his stool, waiting for an answer.
Did he really want to go to Hogwarts? His mum and dad had gone there, Sirius had gone there, and their werewolf friend, Remus, had gone there. Would it be wrong not to? Was he expected to go to Hogwarts? Harry looked at Sirius in confusion.
"It is ultimately your decision, Harry. I will support whatever you choose." Sirius told him.
Harry looked back at the ground. 'Mum and dad went there… It would be nice to be someplace they had been…' Harry thought. His eyes widened as another more pressing concern crossed his mind. 'What about the Pack? Would I be able to visit? I barely see them at it is… '
Harry's head whipped up as his question tumbled out of his mouth in a rush. "Sirius! Would I be able to see the Pack?" Fear clouded his golden eyes as he gazed at his godfather.
Sirius gave a small smile. "I would have to talk to Dark about it, but I don't see why not. Hmm, maybe we can schedule something for you to spend half of your summer holidays here, training with the Pack and the other half either with me or in Britain."
'Spend half of my summer here? That would be brilliant! That's much longer than I get to see everyone now! And I only have to wait two years!' Excitement shimmered brightly in Harry's eyes as he grinned at the thought.
Sirius laughed lightly. "Slow down there Prongling. Hogwarts is a bit different when it comes to entrance age, unlike other Wizarding schools."
"What do you mean?" Harry asked, afraid of the answer.
"Well, first off, if Hogwarts is truly where you want to go, you'll be thirteen or so when you get your letter."
Harry's jaw dropped. "What? That's not fair! Everyone else gets theirs when they turn eleven!" Sirius snorted at Harry's muttered indignation.
"I know it's not fair," Sirius replied, trying to calm his godson, "but when James, Lily, Remus, and I were about to graduate the British Ministry changed the rules on entrance to Hogwarts. The schools' Board of Governors agreed to the change and thus it went into effect, against the protest of the Headmaster and professors." Sirius explained.
"What change?" Harry queried.
"Well, see, according to the Minister many were concerned that learning magic at eleven wasn't right; that teaching children that young wasn't actually teaching but instead brainwashing them to follow blindly in what the teacher was saying-"
Harry interrupted, "Well that's just mental!"
Sirius chuckled and raised an eyebrow. Harry blushed in embarrassment before grinning sheepishly and nodding.
"Many people believed it, though, Harry. Voldemort was on the rise and many Neutral Families were trying to be recruited by the light and dark. No one was sure who was on what side… It was a very dark time… So the Minister passed the law changing the entry age to thirteen, hoping it would appease the concerns by giving families more time with their children."
Harry grumbled something that Sirius didn't quite catch.
"Still, Harry, as I said that's what the Minister had said. The truth of the matter was that Pure-bloods wanted more time to train their children, to give them an advantage. To make them better than the Half-bloods and Muggle-borns they would attend school with."
"But under-age magic is monitored… Isn't it? That's what you told me…" Harry's confusion was evident.
"Yes and no. When you become of age and receive your first wand you become registered as an under-age wizard and a charm is place on you by the Ministry, tracking your magic. However, a young wizard using someone else's wand who is not considered under-age, before receiving their own wand, isn't tracked so the magic isn't registered, thus no under-age magic use. So young Pure-blood wizards could be taught basic spells and charms they would learn in class."
"That's wrong…" Harry murmured.
"Indeed it is Harry. The next Minister, Minister Bagnold, tried to repeal the change but too many voted against it. And with the current Minister… I don't expect it either." Sirius finished, sighing.
"How come you know so much about it, Padfoot?" Harry implored, adding in Sirius's nickname to hopefully get an answer.
Sirius just shook his head and smiled. 'He sure knows how to get what he wants… Very Slytherin of him...'
"I know, Prongling, because my family was one of the ones who originally voted for the law." Sirius answered.
Harry's brow furrowed in thought. "Oh right…" he responded, thinking of Sirius's lessons on his family.
Sirius stretched and yawned. Harry grinned. "You're sleepy!"
"Yes I am… because some little boy won't stop asking me questions!" Sirius chuckled. "Now I believe you have a sensing lesson with Rongeur, correct?"
"Aw… Those are so boring, Sirius! I hate standing still. What is sniffing a tree supposed to teach me anyways?" Harry complained his arms crossed over his chest.
"To use your nose, Prongling… I know this particular lesson is boring, however, if you master it and Rongeur confirms it, I might have a new potions book for you…" Sirius bribed.
Harry's liquid gold eyes glowed with anticipation as he raced out of the room and up the stairs to change into his usual lesson clothes.
Sirius looked at the ceiling with a shake of his head. "That boy has a potions appetite rivaling yours, Lily… And yet he can't stand still, just like you James…" A small, sad, smile crossed Sirius's features as he thought of his deceased friends.
Another yawn racked his body as Sirius stood up, his body protesting slightly. 'I think next time I plan to do something as daft as taking on a fully grown Sphinx I'll bring some help… And maybe next time I won't be there for a month trying to figure out a stupid riddle…'
FIN
Wooo! First one done, and I don't know how many more to go...
So the name Rongeur is French, it means gnawer, and is a big hint about this Pack of his. If you have an idea let me know and I'll give you a yes, no or very close.
Thanks for reading and (if you do) reviewing!