Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or any of the characters you recognise. Thanks to SenaKD for being the Beta for this story.

Chapter Two

It was late when the two new parents arrived at twelve Grimmauld Place, they planned to begin renovations first thing in the morning. It had been years since, Sirius Black had returned to his childhood home but he remember to disarm the magical security hexes and he even remembered to flick a locking charm on the huge black curtains that covered a large very outspoken portrait of his mother as they passed it in the hall way. The place was old and dark, but still in relatively good up-keep as it had only been a month or so since the old hag had passed away, Sirius supposed that, the old house elf must still live here.

'What was his name? Knukal?' he thought to himself as he led Remus Lupin up the old staircase.

"Ah…Padfoot?" Remus asked in a concerned voice as they reached the next level. He turned to look at the other man. He was staring at the hideous wall hangings, stuffed house elf heads mounted on plaques.

"Yeah those have to go" He stated plainly and Remus nodded.

Two doors down the landing Sirius paused and took out his wand again, he pointed it at the lock and whispered a spell, then took hold of the handle and pushed the door open. His room was just as he left it some six years before, thanks to his stasis spell. The heavy brown curtains were still drawn and the candles in his chandelier were still burning. His bed covers were rumpled but relatively clean for a teenage boy, his desk was littered with old parchment and quills. Remus peered into a glass of pumpkin juice which was as still as fresh as the day he left it.

"This is the only room I trust, bunk with me?" he watched as his friend, kicked off his boots in agreement. Sirius did the same and even managed to rustle up from clean pyjamas bottoms for them to wear. He handed a pair, they were grey cotton with Black family crest printed on the left buttock, his were a matching set. Remus gave him an eyebrow.

"They were a gift from an Aunt for Christmas" Sirius assured him. Remus smirked and turned to focus on changing out of his robes and into the pants.

Sirius flicked his blankets back and did a hasty cleaning spell on his sheets and dropped his wand into a glass on his bedside table and jumped under the covers. Remus used his wand to put the candles out and then snugged into the queen size bed with his best friend, there was no-one else he would rather be with on a night like this. The two were silent for a few moments, than Remus spoke into the darkness.

"I can't believe they are gone…" His voice was strained.

"We have a job to do now, we have to raise that boy right" Sirius sniffed.

"Of course." Remus agreed.

Sirius woke with a start he had forgotten where he was for a moment, he was awake first. He rolled over and looked at his sleeping friend. The other man was sleeping peacefully, his chest was exposed, Sirius watched it rise and fall as he breathed deeply and on every second breath he would snuffle his nose. He smiled and reached out to gently trace a pale scar on his chest that stretched from his left nipple to his belly button, one of his many scars from accidents during his 'time of the month'. Remus stirred and sleepily pushed his hand away. Sirius sighed and sat up, swinging his legs over the side of the bed. He stretched his arms over his head and pivoted his torso to get all the kinks of sleep out then stood up. He took hold of the curtains and flung them back with a flourish. Remus groaned and pulled the blanket over his head. Sirius chuckled and looked out the window just in time to see an owl flying towards the window. He opened it to let the owl in and took the copy of The Daily Prophet that was attached to the owl's leg.

"Great service" he muttered as he unrolled the newspaper and glanced at the headline. It read: Family Betrayed by Secret Keeper! Dark Lord Missing? Under the shocking headline, there was a 'Wanted' picture of a recent photo of the man they thought was their friend, Peter Pettigrew, from his time at Hogwart's School for Witchcraft and Wizardry.

"Dumbledore must have told the Auror's already" He spoke quietly to himself.

"Hmmm?" The lump in the bed made a noise.

"The papers here" He said in answer.

"Oh…" Remus sat straight up in the bed and reached for the paper, he looked at the headline and huffed. "He will be caught, don't worry" he said setting the paper on the bed next to him and climbed out of bed. He also stretched his whole body, Sirius watched as his back muscles flexed.

"We have work to do, let's get dressed" he said matter-of-factly and reached for his t-shirt.

The first thing the men tackled was to remove and destroy the portrait of Sirius' mother. Then they would move on to all the dark artefacts' and the mounted house-elf heads. Over the next few hours they worked steadily at the massive task. When they came across one of the worse doxy infestations they had ever seen in the drawing room curtains, they knew it was going to take several hours to sort out, it was time for a breakfast break before the got stuck into that one. In the grimy kitchen they discovered there wasn't a speck of food to be found, so thought they better go to the muggle corner shop down the road. Sirius kept a jar of muggle coins on his desk so he reached in for a handful and deposited it into the pocket of his jeans where they jingled nicely. Content that their cleaning clothes (jeans and t-shirts) were 'muggle enough' the left the stuffy confines of the Black Manor.

"What are we gonna do about the ugly furniture?" Remus asked. Sirius thought of the dreary colours and the outdated furnishings' as they strolled down the footpath, side by side.

"Shopping?" he replied dubiously.

"Diagon Alley then?" Remus half asked. His friend just nodded as they reached the corner store and entered.

Remus jumped with fright as the step inside for a loud buzzing noise announced their arrival to the shop. Sirius laughed at his friend, he had forgotten about that little muggle quirk. Remus punched him in the arm and shook his head.

"Egg" he slurred at his friend.

...

Having eaten the pair decided to tackle the doxies then head to Diagon Ally for supplies. This room took hours to rid of those little monsters. They bite the little buggers. Afterwards it was time for a late lunch and some shopping. They travelled there by floo and headed to a café in the east end of the shopping district. Remus ordered a ham sandwich and an apple tart and Sirius got a meat pie and chilled pumpkin juice. Next they visited a furnishings store with everything from couches to the kitchen sink. They decided stainless steel finish for the kitchen, the new ice box, gas oven and a fancy double sink. For the living room, a new fiery red couch with two matching chairs and a polished oak coffee table and lastly the bedrooms, new queen size beds for the two of them and an overpriced smooth wooden crib for Harry and a matching set of draws for his bedroom. They wanted only the best for their Godson and Sirius was drawing on his Black family inheritance. The shop owner was kind enough to shrink the items to the size of doll house toys and place them in a bag for them, they thanked her and left. The last stop was to an infant clothing and toy store, the shop owner eyed them as they came in. A couple of twenty one year old guys looking for baby wares?

"Can I help you?" said a plump, kind looking women, with her greying hair in a tight bun and frills on her white apron.

"Ah…yes. Please" Sirius turned to his friend and asked "How old is Harry now?" The women looked at them with an air of scepticism.

"Our son is sixteen months old." Remus said matter-of-faulty responding to her preconception with an upturned nose.

"Oh…I'm sorry. You adopted?" She asked slightly bashful.

"The war has left many orphans" Sirius commented looking at an odd contraption, the label said was for bouncing? Now the women looked down right ashamed.

"Of course. What do you need for little, Harry was it?" She stretched her arm out around her store in a welcoming fashion.

"Yeah, Harry. He comes home tonight and we need just about everything. His home was destroyed he doesn't really have anything." Remus nodded grimly.

"Oh…dear." The women held her had to her mouth before she shook her professional face, back on and got to thinking what he would need. After stocking them up with bright toys, a mobile, a highchair, cloth nappies, change table and washcloths, they paid and left the store, flush with supplies.

When they returned to Grimmauld House it was nearly four in the afternoon, so they got stuck in. They started with the redecorating with the basement kitchen and bathroom. Remus used his wand to paint, the kitchen cupboards and pantry door, white silver the walls were painted light blue. Sirius worked on the dining area, attached to the kitchen which was also painted light blue and the simple dining table and chairs were given a good scrub and polish. This is also where they set up the high chair they got for Harry. The bathroom and toilet rooms were decorated with the same silver and light blue theme and well cleaned and updated. Once the basement was done they moved onto the ground floor. The entrance hall and study both got the same silver and blue treatment, de-cluttered, the old desk in Sirius room was cleaned and transferred to the study and the cracked skirting boards repaired. The bookcases were cleaned and the old books dusted, they got rid of any dangerous or unwanted books to make space for their belongings, which they would transfer from their apartment later in the week. A formal dining room was converted into at playroom for Harry, where they placed his new toys and wall got a lick of bright red paint with pale gold carpet. Gryffindor, pride! The living room was the next to tackle, and got similar treatment to Harry's playroom, but with light red carpet and pale gold walls that sparkle by the light of the newly cleaned fireplace. With the ground floor was painted and furnished it was time to move onto the top floor. The three upstairs bedrooms were roughly the same size. Sirius decided to keep his old room the way it was because he liked that way but his brother Regulus' old room was being redecorated because Remus had claimed it, he chose a mild green colour for the walls and gave the floor boards a clean and a polish along with the wardrobe and dresser set. It was decided that the cot they purchased for Harry would be placed in Sirius' room for now and one of the other bedrooms would be used for him when he was a little older. Sirius liked the idea of having his son close by, should anything happen to him during the night. At long last the house was habitable for adults and babies alike.

...

The redecorating finished Harry could be brought to his new home. Dumbledore was the one to bring Harry to Grimmauld Place and as soon as Harry saw Sirius and Remus he stretched his arms out excitedly. The two friends smiled and Sirius took Harry into his arms. Dumbledore praised them on the excellent job they done on the house. He stayed for some tea before he announced that he needed to get back to the school. He gave them what was left of Harry's belongings and said goodbye.

"Now what?" Sirius asked. Remus shrugged. The new parents took Harry to the play room and the three played with some of Harry's new toys. As Remus and Sirius watched Harry playing they couldn't help but think that Lily and James should be here watching their son play.