Rating: Is for some mild implied sexual situations (in later chapters), and some swearing.
Codes: Sirius/Remus, err, Harry, Ron, and Hermione generally being confused about who they want to be with. I don't care who other people want to ship the younger crowd with (het or slash), as I'm not terribly interested for the purposes of this story.
Disclaimer: JKR's, not mine. But at least I let Sirius live in this one. I make no profit from this.
Summary: Sirius did not fall behind the veil at the end of OotP, and now Harry has an ally in his sixth year. Unfortunately for them both, it's definitely not in a way they ever expected. SBRL, etc.
See A/N at end of the chapter (so as not to spoil this first chapter).
Remus sat up and rubbed his face, slowly waking up. He rolled on to his side and faced his bed mate, Sirius. He looks so peaceful when he sleeps, Remus thought. He caressed Sirius' shoulder, grinning. I'd better let him rest awhile longer, Remus thought. He's been frantic, staying up late every night, trying to get the house ready for when Harry comes home tomorrow for the spring holiday.
Remus gently kissed Sirius on the temple and then climbed out of bed. I only wish Sirius could understand that Harry doesn't need perfection, he just needs Sirius. He's loved Sirius practically since the moment they met, and the mere fact of having a family is enough for him. Ah well, perhaps in time Sirius won't feel so pressured to constantly make things up to Harry. Things Harry doesn't even blame him for.
Humming, Remus headed for the shower before going to work. Life was good, considering they were in the middle of a war. After the ministry had discovered Sirius fighting at the Department of Mysteries for their side, Sirius had been pardoned. In addition, amidst public outcry over gross injustice, he received his old job as an Auror back and some generous monetary compensation.
The darling martyr of the magical world, Sirius had some clout at the ministry, and got Remus a respectable job there. Of course, Dumbledore had wanted Remus to spend all his time on missions for the Order instead. However, after extremely dismal progress on that front, plus a spirited row, ah, discussion between Sirius and Dumbledore, Remus had quietly discontinued his more active work in that area.
Remus was very thankful, especially after the close calls that most of them had at the DoM. Yes, things were as wonderful as they could possibly be.
Harry rubbed his hands over his face, unknowingly mimicking Remus' earlier actions. What a day yesterday! Being Quidditch captain was a lot more work than he had bargained for. The politics involved alone! Today was the big game against Ravenclaw, too.
He froze, experiencing a sudden sick feeling in the pit of his stomach¹. My face…is scratchy? What the hell? Keeping his eyes firmly closed, hoping to delay looking at what he just knew was impossible; Harry scrubbed his hands across his cheeks once more. Yeah, it's definitely rough. But how…the last time I thought I was starting to grow facial hair, Hermione told me it was only a food stain, Harry thought.
Well, there was nothing for it but to open his eyes. The sight that greeted him caused him to stumble. If a pedestal sink hadn't been right in front of him, he would have fallen flat on his face.
"Ouch! Damn!" he yelled, rubbing his wrist. Harry had smacked it on the tap. "Wait, I'm in the bathroom? How did that happen?" He slowly lifted his head toward the mirror over the sink.
And my eyesight, I can see… "Sirius!" Harry's voice sounded choked. "S—No. No, it can't be," he insisted. Harry quickly placed his palms on the mirror's surface, hoping to discover it was all a trick of the glass. Wide gray eyes stared back at him.
"This isn't happening. I'm dreaming; that's what it is." He smacked his hands over his face, only to wince at the sharp pain. "People don't feel pain in dreams, do they? This is crazy." He paced back and forth, agitated.
I'm in Sirius' body, he thought. Harry quickly glanced down as he paced. And I'm only wearing a pair of briefs. His eyes widened at this but he refused to be distracted for the moment.
"Polyjuice! That's what it is! Someone has given me Polyjuice potion and turned me into Sirius!" The triumph of discovery was short lived. "But why would anyone want to turn me into Sirius?" He unconsciously smacked his lips, remembering that the potion would taste like essence of Sirius, before he realised what he was doing and shuddered.
He paused in thought, and finally took in his surroundings with his newly improved vision. "This isn't the bathroom in my dormitory. Where am I?" Harry spotted the partially opened door and ran for it, emerging in a slightly familiar place.
"Sirius and Lupin's bedroom? Oh shit. I don't think I'm in Kansas anymore, Toto."
Sirius rolled over in bed. His first thought was, didn't I just get up? Followed by, this bed seems smaller. He opened his eyes and was greeted with a sea of red. Curtains? He reached out and grabbed a fistful of the heavy hangings, pulling them apart.
Quickly sliding out of bed, he immediately discovered something even stranger. Sirius had no problem seeing the curtains surrounding his bed (but my bed doesn't have curtains), yet the farther reaches of the room he stood in were very blurry.
What the fuck's happened to my eyes? He thought in some alarm. Taking a step backward, Sirius collided with a small table beside the bed.
His hand made contact with something on the table that felt suspiciously like a pair of glasses. He put them on and blinked as everything came into focus. As he moved his hands away, he caught sight of words cut into the back of his hand.
Harry, he thought instantly. Well, this is interesting.
A/N: And so chapter one ends. This is, as is probably obvious by now, loosely influenced by Mary Rodgers' book, Freaky Friday. I meant to make this chapter longer, but I'm not sure if I should continue with this. Is it the lamest idea ever? I'm feeling terribly insecure, especially since I don't have a beta to tell me where I'm going wrong. Obviously my last story had problems (too much description, perhaps?), but I hope this one turns out better. And if anyone has read this far, thank you!
¹Harry's queasy stomach not affiliated with the Chest Monster™.