Squee! Was not expecting the amount of interest in this story! Well, as your reward, I give you a very long update! For the future, updates may not come out nearly as fast, but I couldn't help myself :-) (the fact that for the next couple updates, I just have to edit certainly helps in quicker updates) I just don't want to post everything that I have, and then need a long time before the next one. So I'll start spacing them out, this is just a thank you!

Warnings: child abuse, angry Sirius, possible cliched scenes (both Dursley scene, and diagon alley scene) Oh! and this has my first OFC, but she has a very small role throughout the story.


Two weeks after returning to Privet Drive, Harry was starting to lose hope that Sirius wanted him. Dumbledore said that the trial would be over in a week, and term had ended two weeks ago. Did Dumbledore convince Sirius to leave on that mission without him? Did he say that Harry was safer with the Muggles?

"BOY!" Vernon yelled through the front door where Harry was weeding the garden. He had finished most of his chores, but there were a lot more weeds than he had expected. "You have half an hour to finish out there, then I want you inside working on dinner!"

"Yes, Uncle Vernon," Harry said, trying to hurry. He was still aching from his uncle's…displeasure a few days ago. He hadn't finished dinner fast enough, and Vernon had knocked him around quite a bit until he'd been too tired to finish. This summer had been worse than previous ones, because Harry had woken them up many nights from his nightmares. The nightmares were always about the graveyard and Voldemort's return. Recently, Sirius appeared in the nightmares, saying that he had changed his mind about wanting Harry.

After twenty minutes, Harry realized that keeping his mind off the yard work made it go by much faster. He was moving around , trying to get at the stubborn weeds that weren't wanting to come up, when he heard a wonderfully familiar voice behind him. "Having fun?"

Harry spun around, standing. He looked at the smiling face of his godfather, which was the best sight he'd probably ever see. Gone was the gaunt figure from the Wanted posters. He had trimmed his hair to where it was just brushing his shoulders, he was wearing the promised new robes, which looked as though they fitted him much better, having gained some of his weight back. An errant thought ran through his mind that Mrs. Weasley must have gotten her hands on him and fed him up as she always threatened to do to himself.

"Sirius?" Harry asked in a whisper, hoping that he wasn't hallucinating.

"What, not happy to see me?" he demanded, but laughed.

Harry didn't bother to grace that with a response, and jumped up to hug his godfather. "Where have you been?" he asked quickly, then his hands flew to his mouth. He really needed to keep his mouth shut once in a while. Vernon would have belted him for acting like that.

But Sirius didn't get upset with him. "I'm sorry, I know I was supposed to be here sooner, but Dumbledore insisted you stay here for an extra week for your protection. He's going to be here in a few days to erect some wards to keep them safe."

Harry was upset at his headmaster's meddling, but he was too happy to see Sirius that he wasn't going to complain. But before he could say anything, Vernon yelled through the door again. "BOY!" he screamed, and Sirius looked at him in concern. "You'd better be finished out there, or I swear to you…" he trailed off as he came outside and saw Sirius. "And who the hell are you?" his uncle demanded. "Distracting the boy from his chores are you? Well, I won't have it. Boy, get in the house and start dinner!" he commanded, grabbing Harry by the nape of his neck, digging his fingers into the soft flesh, and started dragging him to the door.

Sirius was suddenly furious. He grabbed the large man by the wrist that was harming his godson and stopped them. "You will let go of him right now, Dursley," he said. His voice was quiet, but there was no mistaking the venom in his voice.

Vernon could tell that he was outmatched, and let go of his nephew as though he was burned.

Sirius let go of the arm, and looked at Harry in concern. "You okay, pup?" he asked softly.

Harry just rubbed his neck slightly. "I'm fine," he reassured. In truth, he was. Thanks to his uncle, he had a rather high pain tolerance.

Sirius just stared at him though, as if seeing him for the first time. He gave his godson a look that clearly said 'we'll be talking soon', and the two walked into the house right behind Vernon.

"Where are you things?" he asked quietly. He wanted to get the two of them out of the house as quickly as he could.

Harry pointed to the locked cupboard under the stairs. "My trunk is in there, and I have a few things upstairs in my room," he told him.

Sirius walked over to the cupboard. He could see that it was locked, and a simple charm would have worked, but he was still rather upset; he simply kicked it hard, smiling at Harry's quiet chuckle.

"Now see here, you can't just come into my home and start breaking things!" Vernon roared, his eyes going to Harry with a rage that made the young wizard shrink back slightly.

"Sure I can," Sirius said lightly, pulling out the trunk. Then he noticed the pillow and blanket, as well as a few broken toys. "Harry, come here please," he said as lightly as he could.

Harry walked over, wondering if his trunk was a bit heavy. Then he realized what Sirius was seeing, and grew nervous. "Do you want me to get my things from my room?" he asked timidly.

Sirius turned, and realized how nervous he was. "What I would like, is for you to tell me why it looks as though someone lived in this cupboard once."

Harry was saved from answering by Vernon doing it for him. "You think we would have given him a room if we didn't have to? Boy should be grateful we gave him our Dudley's second bedroom so he's no longer in there. But he's just an ungrateful freak, just like his father!"

Sirius's mind was spinning. He clenched his hands, trying to restrain himself from cursing the mound of flesh in front of him. Taking a few deep breaths, he turned to Harry. "Let's get the rest of your things," he said stiffly, and Harry was only too happy to leave the room.

But Sirius's temper came up again when Harry opened a door that had a catflap on it, as well as a round dozen locks and bolts on it. Harry was already kneeling on the floor when he realized what his godfather was looking at.

"Don't worry, they don't lock them much anymore," he said, trying to be reassuring as he pried up the floorboard.

Sirius took that as little comfort. This was not what he'd imagined when Albus had mentioned 'a good and loving home', where Harry had been placed. But he had an ironclad hold on his temper. If they could get out of the house quickly enough, they may avoid the eventual explosion.

Harry hurried to pull out his wand, invisibility cloak, Marauder's Map, and the photo album, placing them in a knapsack he kept in his room. "Alright," he said.

Sirius was looking around the room. There was nothing in here that said 'Harry'. All this time, he'd comforted himself with the idea that his godson was having a good life, even if he and Remus weren't there, and that theory was being shot to hell.

Just then, Harry dropped the Map, which he had been trying to get into the knapsack, and he bent over to retrieve it. His shirt rode up slightly, just enough for Sirius to see the bruises and cuts that were there.

"Harry, take off your shirt," Sirius told him, getting more and more furious by the minute.

Harry stared at him as though he had a second head. "What?" he demanded.

"Take off your shirt and show me your back," Sirius repeated.

Panicking slightly, Harry tried to prevent the eventual discussion a bit longer by walking around his godfather to the door. "We should get out of here before Vernon decides to burn my stuff," he said with false levity.

Sirius was now convinced, having sported the same attitude for years until James cornered him one day after Quidditch practice. He reached over and grabbed Harry's upper arm, and frowned further in concern when Harry winced and pulled away from him. "If that doesn't tell me that something is wrong, then try and convince me otherwise," he told him.

Harry sighed. Four full years of keeping this a secret from the Wizarding world, and he didn't last ten minutes with his godfather. He must be slipping. He dropped the knapsack and slowly closed the door. Looking his godfather in the eyes, he winced slightly as he pulled the oversized T shirt off himself, and slowly turned around.

Sirius sucked in a breath. There was hardly an inch of skin that wasn't bruised, cut, or marred in some way. He forced himself to look at the protruding ribs, evidence that he probably hadn't eaten a decent meal since leaving school. "Anything else?" he gritted out.

Harry hurried to put the shirt back on. "My knee's a little messed up, but nothing I can't handle," he said, not wanting Sirius to think he was a wimp. When Sirius glared at him a while longer, he continued. "My head's been hurting lately, too. I guess I may have another concussion."

Sirius worked on counting to ten in English, French, Spanish, Gobbledygook, and Mermish. When he was sure he could talk without every other word being a curse word, he spoke. "That's all?"

Harry nodded. "That's it. Uncle Vernon just gets upset sometimes, and Aunt Petunia was unhappy with me a few nights ago. Not a big deal."

Sirius continued staring at his godson. How many years did it take for the young man in front of him to accept this as his way of life? There was nothing for it, he would talk more later, as soon as they were far away from this place. He nodded slightly. "I need to talk to your Uncle about Albus' visit later, then we'll be off. I've got a Muggle car outside."

"You can drive?" Harry asked with a grin, glad that the depressing topic was behind them.

"Hey!" Sirius laughed softly. "You've seen my old motorbike, right? James, Remus, and I really enjoyed learning about Muggle transportation. I was the only one who wanted to make it fly, but this car will do just fine."

Harry decided that he would wait until they were in the car before asking about the mission. "How did the trial go?" he asked instead. He really wished that he could have been there, since Sirius had been there when he needed him.

"As well as could be expected. Pettigrew is at Azkaban until the day he dies, and they know about his Animagus form, so he won't be able to escape like I did. Fudge tried to have me sent back for being an illegal Animagus."

Harry gasped. "Are you kidding me? You spent twelve years there for no reason, and he wants to send you back?"

Sirius smiled at the indignation on his behalf. "I know, Madame Bones said the same. Instead, they just fined me, but considering the compensation I got for the undeserved years in Azkaban, I still came away with a tidy sum."

Harry's grin almost split his face. "I'm so happy for you," he said, and he was. Maybe now his godfather could get a house in the country, someplace with a lot of space. He finally had a chance to live his life.

Sirius stopped him just as they were about to reenter the living room. "I wouldn't have anything if it weren't for you, kiddo," he said, eyes serious. "I mean it. You were having the worst possible night imaginable, and you still had the consideration to bring back not only Cedric, but Peter as well. I'm really proud of you."

Harry blinked back tears. No adult had ever said that to him before. He just nodded slightly and led the way to the living room where Dudley was watching the telly and his aunt and uncle were sitting on the couch looking furious.

Sirius just glared at them for a moment before starting. "Well, I don't believe I ever introduced myself. I'm Sirius Black, Harry's godfather."

Petunia's hands flew to her mouth to muffle the scream, and Vernon stood, vein pounding heavily. "Take the boy and go. I've had enough of him to last a lifetime," he bellowed at Sirius before turning to Harry. "And don't expect to come back. When he's done with you, you're on your own! I don't want you burdening us further!"

Harry shrugged. He had figured as much, so hearing it didn't make a difference. He looked up at Sirius, and was surprised at the look of hate on his face.

"A burden?" he asked, still quiet. "All you can say about Harry is that he's a burden on you?"

Aunt Petunia just sniffed disdainfully, and Uncle Vernon turned away unconcernedly.

Sirius now went through the formal greetings in Mermish and Gobbledygook, which took a little while. Once he had another reign on his temper, he spoke. "Well, the headmaster of Harry's school is going to be here in a day or two to help with some protection around the home."

"What?" Petunia said, speaking up for the first time. "Another freak? I won't stand for it, I tell you."

Sirius just sneered at her, and Harry was vaguely reminded of Snape, not that he would ever tell his godfather that. "Well, alright. If you want to be tortured and murdered by the same monster that killed your sister and has attempted on several occasions to kill your nephew, I guess the Headmaster doesn't have to make the time to protect you…"

"I thought he was killed?" Vernon said, with mild curiosity.

Sirius knew that his tenuous hold on his temper was fraying fast. He didn't bother to ask Harry why he hadn't confided in them, it was far too obvious. "He's back, he came back in June. Since you are Harry's only living relatives, he will try to come here and find out where he has disappeared. If you want to try and face one of the most powerful wizards in existence, be my guest!"

Petunia and Vernon looked at each other. Dudley remained entranced by the show that was on, and continued to ignore them all. "Fine, he can come."

Sirius snorted at the idea that they were doing Albus a great favor by allowing him in their home. "Alright. Harry, you ready to go?"

Harry just nodded, and the two grabbed his things and loaded them into the boot of the car that was parked outside. Just then Sirius noticed something. "Hey Harry, where's Hedwig?" he asked.

"She's at Ron's for the summer. Uncle Vernon has this nasty habit of trying to lock her into her cage, and I couldn't put her through that again, so Ron offered to watch her and feed her for the summer," Harry said, climbing into the passenger seat.

Sirius nodded. "That's probably for the best."

Harry looked up. "So, Dumbledore wouldn't tell me much about this mission he's sending us on. Care to fill me in?" he asked lightly.

Sirius laughed. "Sure thing, kiddo. But first, we're going to stop by Diagon Alley."

"What for?" Harry asked.

"A few things. First is some new clothes for you, since apparently those disgraceful excuses for relatives of yours never bought you clothes." Harry looked down sheepishly. "Second, we're stopping by Gringotts. There's a few things we need to get straight there. Flourish and Blotts is also on the list, want to get you some new books since we'll be pretty busy this summer. A healer wouldn't be a bad idea as well, come to think of it."

"A healer?" Harry asked, slightly panicky. "Sirius, I'm fine. I was only there for a few weeks, and nothing major happened."

"And this is how you look after only two weeks. I shudder to think of how you'd look if I didn't stop by until your birthday, which is what Dumbledore had wanted. So a healer is on the list, no arguments."

Harry sighed, but was rather pleased. The Dursleys had never let him see the doctor for his injuries, so it was nice that he had someone who cared enough. Then a thought struck him, and he looked down at his lap.

Sirius noticed the change in demeanor. "What's going on in that head of yours?" he asked.

"Am I going to have to go back there next summer?" he asked. "I mean, I know that I come of age the next summer after that, but I wasn't sure…"

Sirius's hands tightened on the wheel. "You are never going back there. I don't give a rat's ass what Albus thinks or wants. I'm your guardian in the Muggle and Magical worlds, so if he tries to send you back, he'll have me to deal with."

Harry brightened up slightly at that, but was still a little worried. He wasn't going to voice it, but what would happen when Sirius didn't want him to stay with him anymore? He would deal with that bridge when he came to it, he decided. He was good at that.

The rest of the trip to London was mostly in silence. Sirius could tell that there were still some things bothering his godson, but decided to give him some space.

They finally got to The Leaky Cauldron, and he parked the car. "Impressive," Harry complimented when they got out.

Sirius laughed, and Harry enjoyed the sound. He rarely heard his godfather in good spirits. "Thanks. You have your mother to thank, though. When she realized that us crazy guys were going to be spending a lot of time driving, she made us all get licenses."

Harry smiled. He loved hearing stories about his family. The two went through the pub into Diagon Alley, and made their way to the bank.

Sirius went to the main teller, and greeted him formally in Gobbledygook. The teller smiled at him slightly.

"Lord Black, it is good to see you a free man and are able to do business with us once again. Are you wanting to see your personal vault or your family vault?"

"Actually, I am leaving the country for a while, and was in need of a bottomless money bag for my personal vault. Also," he started, waving Harry forward, "we need to go into the Potter family vault for a few things."

The goblin nodded. "I'll have Sharptooth take you down there," he said, and waved the goblin forward.

Harry looked strangely at Sirius. "I have plenty of money on me, am I going to need more?" he asked, his curiosity peaked by the mention of being out of the country.

It was Sirius's turn to look oddly at Harry. "Not your personal vault, Harry. Your family vault." When Harry continued to look at him confused, he sighed. "I take it no one ever mentioned a Potter family vault to you?"

Harry shook his head silently.

Sirius gritted his teeth. He had more than a few things he needed to speak with Albus about, but that would have to wait for a later time. "Your personal vault is one that your parents set up right before they went into hiding. The family vault has been in the family for generations. There are a few things that we should grab before we leave."

Harry just nodded silently again. His mind was spinning, and the day wasn't over yet. The main teller caught up with them long enough to hand Sirius what appeared to be an empty bag, and Sirius thanked him in Gobbledygook.

"Where did you learn that?" Harry asked curiously as they climbed into the cart. "And no one mentioned that you are a Lord, my good sir," he said cheekily.

Sirius laughed again. "Well, Black is an Ancient and Noble House, and I'm the last of the line, so that automatically makes me a Lord now that I'm free. As for the Gobbledygook, I've always enjoyed languages, so that was one of them that I learned."

"How many do you know?"

"Spoken languages? I speak four, unless you count English and Ancient Runes."

"What four?" Harry asked, amazed. He never would have guessed that his Marauder godfather was a closet Hermione.

"Two human, and two non human; French and Spanish, as well as Mermish and Gobbledygook. My Mermish isn't nearly as good as Dumbledore's since I started learning it close to my arrest."

Harry could tell that a slight change in topic was in order, hearing the bitter edge to Sirius's words. "Could you teach me? I've always wanted to learn another language," he said wistfully. "But Runes always looked way too hard."

Sirius shot him a look. "From what Remus told me, you are one of the top students in your class."

Harry laughed. "In Defense, yeah, but I've always had some problems in my other classes. Especially Potions."

"I'm surprised, your mother could have been a Potions teacher easily. She was the top student in our year, even beat out Snape on every exam."

Harry looked up, amazed. "Really?" he asked, eyes bright.

"Really. Your father and I were top in Transfiguration, James and Lily competed for Charms, I was Ancient Runes, Remus was DADA and Arithmancy."

Harry looked down. He wished that he could be better in school, make his parents proud of him.

Sirius noticed the dejected look, and sighed, putting a hand on his shoulder. "You know, it's alright to ask for help once in a while."

Harry looked up at him, shocked. He couldn't think of anything to say to that.

"I mean it," he continued, not understanding the incredulous look. "Your teachers aren't just there to give you a hard time and be horrible. Well, maybe Snape," he said, getting a grin from the boy, who was just imagining what Snape would say if he asked for help. "But we have the rest of the summer to spend together. What would you say to some extra tutoring?" he offered, even though it had already been on his list for the summer.

Harry was thrilled, though his emotions were a little conflicted. Did Sirius think he was stupid for needing help? Would he think he was stupid for how little he knew? But if he could start doing better, it would be worth it. "I'd love that. Thank you so much," he said meaningfully.

Sirius smiled. For a moment, he wasn't sure what he'd say. But he was spared having to say anything else, because the cart slowed, and the goblin told them they were at the Potter vault. They walked up to the handleless vault, and Harry looked at Sirius, who understood the confusion.

"Just put your hand on the door. It only opens for those with Potter blood, so it will recognize you when you touch it," he informed the teen.

Harry nodded, and placed his hand on the door. He felt a slight tingling sensation running through his hand, and then the door clicked open. The three walked in, and Harry paused, amazed.

While there was quite a bit of gold on one side of the room, the other side was filled with various objects. There were bookshelves that were stuffed, trunks, cabinets and more.

"Wow," was all he could say.

Sirius chuckled slightly. That had been his reaction seeing the Black vault for the first time. Although, he'd been a bit more afraid, since the Black vault held a lot of dangerous artifacts. "Follow me," he said, and walked over to one of the trunks first. He smiled when he looked inside. "Bless him," he said fondly, pulling out two mirrors. He handed one to Harry, who looked confused. "It's a two way mirror. James and I made them together in school for when we were in separate detentions and had time to think of our next great prank. But I think they can serve a greater purpose now. We keep these with us at all times just in case we are separated somehow and need to get in touch with each other."

Harry nodded, running his fingers over the mirror. Another piece of his father. He would treasure it, he knew.

Sirius gave him a moment, then handed him a ring. When Harry looked confused again, Sirius nearly growled, vowing to bodily harm Albus the next time they met. "It's the Potter ring. The Potters aren't an Ancient and Noble House like the Blacks, Longbottoms, Greengrass, and a few others, but they are a Noble House, so the heir wears a ring similar to the Lord. Since you aren't of age yet, you can't be the Lord, but you are the heir. However, there is a law that states that if the former Lord is deceased, the Heir can become Lord on his sixteenth birthday, so that's a little over a year from now. I take it, though, that this means you don't know who the regent is?" Harry shook his head."Alright, I'll have to ask Albus about that. We'll spend some time this summer talking about your place as Lord of the Noble House of Potter and what that entails."

Harry just nodded dumbly again. He had learned more in the last hour about his family than he had in four years in the Wizarding World.

Sirius handed him a necklace with a pendant on it. "This is an emergency portkey. We'll program it later with a password and location," he told him, and put his own on, watching as Harry did the same. Seeing something else inside, he hurried to grab it with a grin, but without tipping Harry off. He closed the trunk with a thud, and the two walked over to the shelves. Sirius pulled down the books on portkeys, since he wasn't sure if he remembered everything about programming them, their books on becoming an Animagus, James's old Auror handbook, some of Lily's potions journals, the Marauder's book of pranks, and then paused, looking at the intro books that Lily had gotten. "Hey Harry?" he asked, looking around. He saw Harry looking at the shelves with interest.

"Yeah?" he asked, turning around quickly as though he'd been caught doing something wrong. He filed it away to think about later.

"Don't take this the wrong way, alright?" he asked, and Harry nodded. "Since we're going to be doing a lot of learning this summer, do you still have your intro books?"

Harry looked confused, and took a look at the books his godfather was looking at. "Intro? You mean my first year books?"

"No," Sirius said, frowning yet again. "The books every Muggle born or Muggle raised student gets before they come to school. Introduction to Potions, to Charms, to Wizard Travel…." He trailed off, seeing that he'd lost Harry again. He growled low in his throat. At this rate, he'd lose his voice, but he couldn't believe the negligence of Harry from the Muggle AND Magical world! "You've never heard of these?" he asked wearily, handing the potions one to Harry.

Harry took the book and started flipping through it. His eyes lit up. "This explains so much!" he exclaimed. "I can see where I was messing up on so many of my potions! Is there one on Transfiguration?" he asked excitedly.

Sirius wordlessly handed him the Intro book, and watched in wonder as Harry was acting like a kid in a candy store. No, he was acting like Lily did every time she learned something new. But Harry was oblivious to Sirius's thoughts. "Oh, I wish Hagrid had let me get something like this!" he whispered, still flipping back and forth between the two, which were his two hardest subjects.

"Wait, Hagrid?" Sirius asked, confused.

"Yeah, Hagrid was the one that told me about being a wizard, he brought me my letter, and took me shopping for the first time," Harry said absently, still reading.

Sirius was getting a headache. While he loved the giant, he was hardly qualified to tell someone about the Wizarding world. As far as he knew, in over forty years Hagrid had never been sent to talk to a family, for obvious reasons.

"Alright, let's grab some of these books to take with us, I'm sure your mother would be thrilled at you reading her old texts," he said with a smile, imagining her happiness.

Harry gaped at the older man, then ran a reverent hand over the covers. "My mum's?" he whispered, eyes filling. He had a few things of his fathers, but had never held something that belonged to the wonderful woman who had given birth to him.

Sirius was the one who was confused this time, but it only lasted for a moment, replaced by heartbreak. "You've never had something of Lily's?" he asked, appalled.

Harry shook his head, still stroking the books. "No. I've got the cloak and the Map, which are the only things I have of dad's, but I've never had something of mum's."

"I'll be right back," Sirius said tightly, and Harry nodded, not looking up. Sirius walked to another side of the vault, making sure he was blocked by a few shelves, and started punching one of them. Everything from the past two hours was coming forth, and he had to get it out before he tried talking to Harry again. The obvious neglect and abuse from the Dursleys, Albus keeping his family's history from him, the fact that he clearly didn't expect much from himself with school, and now understanding why he had so many problems in classes; his godson was kept completely in the dark about everything, and Sirius only had two months to teach him as much as possible, and they still had a mission to complete for Albus. But he owed it to Harry, and to James and Lily, to do what he could to help Harry as much as he was able.

Finally calmed down some, he cast a quick healing spell on his knuckles so that there wasn't evidence of his outburst, and walked back to where Harry was pulling the intro books off the shelves.

"You sure she wouldn't have minded?" Harry asked somewhat timidly.

Sirius smiled and shook his head. "She would have been ecstatic about it. You probably would have gotten them when you were eight, you know," he said quietly.

Harry was thrilled. He had another thing of his father's, something from his family, and now a set of his mum's books. There were intro books on History, Potions, Charms, Transfiguration, Herbology, Astronomy, Wizard Travel, and Wizard Culture. Sirius conjured a bag to hold all the books in, and they climbed back into the cart.

Once they left Gringotts, they headed for Madame Malkins Robes, and got Harry fitted for casual robes and formal wear, which was different than his dress robes. Formal wear had the Potter crest on it, and Sirius almost had an aneurysm when he realized Harry had never seen his family's crest before. The big problem came when it was time to pay. Harry had pulled out his money bag, and Sirius stared at him.

"You think you're going to pay for all this?" he asked.

Harry stared at him for the millionth time that day. "What else would I do?" he asked.

"Well, your guardian is standing right here, so I would say that I'm going to pay," Sirius said.

Harry shook his head. "You don't have to pay for all this! I always pay for my stuff," he said, not wanting to be any more indebted than he already was.

Sirius shook his head this time. "I'm your guardian, Harry. Your vault is meant for pocket money, and also to help you after you finish Hogwarts before you find a job," he explained. Seeing that Harry was still resistant, he continued with a smile. "Besides, I have all that dough from the Ministry. Wouldn't it feel good to spend their money for yourself?"

Harry smiled slightly, and let Sirius pay. Their next stop was at Flourish and Blotts. For over an hour, they wandered through the shelves, and Sirius grabbed a few on learning Gobbledygook, and was surprised to find a few on French. He thought they would have to stop by a Muggle bookstore, and was glad that was one side trip off their list. He grabbed several on DADA, figuring they would come in handy, and then saw a few on Occlumency, and hurried to pick those. It was on the list of things for Harry to learn this summer. He knew that Dumbledore wouldn't tell Harry about the prophecy for fear of Voldemort finding out about it. But if Harry mastered Occlumency, he would probably be able to convince the headmaster to tell him. Harry needed to know, of that he was sure.

They continued looking, and something occurred to him. "Hey, Harry. What extra classes are you taking?"

Harry surprised him by blushing. "Divination and Care of Magical Creatures. Divination is completely useless, and CoMC is alright, but I hadn't been sure of what to take, so I signed up for the same things as Ron, figuring I would have help if I needed it."

Sirius nodded at the logic, and wished that Hogwarts had Career Advise in second year so that students had a better idea of what to sign up for. "Would you be interested in learning Ancient Runes and Arithmancy?" he asked "I'm not great at Arithmancy, but I could teach you the basics, and Remus would be only too happy to help later on. You would be amazed at the different magics that you can do when you know both."

For the first time, Harry felt excited about learning. But he hesitated. "You're already going to be teaching me so much this summer, I don't want to be a burden…" he said, and trailed off at the look of fury on Sirius's face. He shrank back slightly.

Sirius tried to school his features, but it was hard. It was only when he saw the flicker of fear on Harry's face that he was able to push down his anger. "Harry," he started tightly. "I want you to listen to me very closely for a moment. You could never burden me. With anything, you never could. You have been treated appallingly by so many people over the years I wouldn't even know where to start if I were to list it all. But please believe me about something. I want to teach you everything that I can. There are a few things that I do have to teach you this summer, but if there is something you want to learn about that I can teach you, I will do it. You deserve that much, at least." He finished his mini speech, and looked at his godson.

Harry was staring at his guardian, gaping. It was hard to believe everything he'd just heard, but there was a conviction in his voice that was hard to ignore. He swallowed past the lump in his throat and nodded, not trusting himself to speak just yet.

Sirius nodded to him and gave him a small smile, then they continued along the shelves. He pulled down the third and fourth year books and workbooks on Ancient Runes and Arithmancy. The last thing he grabbed was a large book on Wizarding culture, since he was going to be teaching Harry about what it meant to be the Lord of a Noble House. They took their large collection up to the counter, and Sirius had to convince Harry to let him pay again.

Once they left the bookstore, Sirius realized it was getting late. They still needed to see a healer, but first was dinner. They went to the Leaky Cauldron and ordered a large dinner, and Harry inhaled his. Sirius was glad to see that the teen would start to gain some weight now that he would be getting full meals again.

As soon as they were finished with dinner, they hurried over to Pomfrey's Potions and Cures. Harry was surprised to learn that the healer was the older sister of his school nurse Madame Pomfrey.

As soon as they walked in, Rose Pomfrey waved them forward with a smile. "Good evening. How can I help you gentleman?"

"Full checkup and the works for my godson," Sirius said, then continued, "and a calming potion for me." He remembered Rose from school, though she had been several years ahead of him, and he didn't want to blow up if he could help it.

Rose looked at him strangely, but nodded, handing him one from her apron. "Alright, would you like your godfather in the room, sir?"

Harry was startled to be referred to as 'sir'. "Just Harry, is fine, and yeah, he can come in."

"Alright, Just Harry, and godfather, come on in," she said with a laugh, and they followed her into a room. She immediately had Sirius seated in a chair by the door where he hurried to swallow the potion, knowing that he would need it for this part.

"Jump up here, Harry," she said, pointing to the bed. "Right, now take off your shirt so I can listen to your heart," she said, holding up her stethoscope. She did like using magic, but she refused to use it for everything, especially slightly nervous patients.

Harry hesitated, looking pleadingly at Sirius, who shrugged. "Harry, she needs to see if she's going to help us, okay?"

Harry nodded sadly, and pulled off his shirt with a wince.

Rose saw the emaciated look, being able to count Harry's ribs, and saw a few bruises along the ribcage and stomach. Then he turned, and she gasped. "Dear sweet Merlin," she whispered. The she got to business, grateful for the training that the emergency section at St. Mungo's had given her. "What else?"

Harry didn't say anything, his face was scarlet with humiliation. He rolled up his pant leg to show the swelling around his knee. Then he cleared his throat. "I also think I have a concussion," he whispered.

Rose bit her lip, wondering where to start. She gently tapped along his head with her wand for the concussion, and quickly healed it. The she went to his knee, and examined it for a few minutes. "This is a pretty bad contusion," she told him. "You must have an impressive pain tolerance to walk on this for so long!" she exclaimed. She set to work with healing it, then grabbed some potions and salves. "Drink these," she ordered, handing him a few.

"What are they?" he asked, quickly downing them.

"Concussion, pain, and nutrition," she said as she started rubbing the magical salve on his back, torso, and arms. "I'll be giving you two weeks' worth of nutrition potions. One a day," she ordered firmly.

Harry nodded, having recognized the tastes of the first two, and agreed to her terms on the nutrition potion.

Rose finished up and washed her hands. Then she turned to glare at Sirius. "I want to know who did this, and I want to know now," she seethed, now that her job healing the boy was done.

Sirius stood. "I do not know how he got them, but I know he was injured by his Muggle aunt and uncle, whom he had been living with until today," he told her.

"I'm going to need their names and addresses. I cannot let them get away with this," she told him in a whisper, knowing that Harry wouldn't agree to it.

Sirius had already foreseen this, and had the information written down, and slipped it to her. "Thank you," he said, and his hand went for his money bag.

She waved him away. "No payment, not for this. I was undoing a dreadful wrong, and I won't accept your money."

Sirius smiled at her and thanked her for the extra potions, and the two wizards left the shop.

"Thank you, Sirius," Harry said, looking down.

"Harry, this is what a guardian does. I understand that you might be confused, never having a halfway decent guardian, but that is changing, I promise you."

Harry nodded at him, and the two made their way back to the Leaky Cauldron. Sirius checked his watch, and realized how late it had gotten. "Listen, how about we stay here tonight, since we do have a lot to talk about, and we set out tomorrow?"

Harry nodded. He wasn't happy about the talk, but he did have a lot of questions about the mission. All he knew so far was that it was out of the country.

The two checked into a room, and they brought up their trunks and all their purchases. For the first hour, they organized Harry's trunk, making room for his new robes and books. Sirius told him to keep certain ones out, that they would be the first ones they'd go through the next day.

Finally that was finished, and Harry looked his godfather in the eyes. "So, what is this mission?" he asked seriously.

Sirius sat on the bed opposite him. "First, you have to understand what is going on in the Ministry, since I'm guessing you couldn't get the Daily Prophet at your uncle's?"

Harry shook his head. "Vernon threatened to shoot the next owl that came to the house."

Sirius clenched his hands in anger again, then continued. "Well, firstly, Fudge was ready to deny that Voldemort had returned."

"WHAT?" Harry exploded.

"I know. He didn't think you word was enough. But after they questioned Peter under Veritaserum, they had to admit the truth. But now, they are nearly as bad. Since there haven't been any attacks or disappearances, Fudge is saying that Voldemort is still very weakened, and that the Ministry has everything under control."

Harry was fuming. "Weak? How can Voldemort be weak? How can Fudge be so stupid?"

"All very good questions. So, the next thing you need to know is that Dumbledore during the last war, had a group called the Order of the Phoenix. This group was dedicated to fighting Voldemort no matter what. Your parents, Remus, Peter, and I were all part of it. Now, Dumbledore has resurrected it and started recruiting. What is needed more than ever is allies. Remus is trying to convince the werewolves to join, and Hagrid the giants."

"So what are we doing?"

"We are headed to Beauxbatons to speak with the Assistant headmistress. Madame Maxime is with Hagrid right now, and the Assistant Headmistress has been in charge for the last year, because of the Tri Wizard Tournament. If we can ally with another powerful school, it would be a great asset, especially if they listen to us and not the Ministry about the danger posed. If there is time, we'll be going to another school in Spain as well, but I'm not sure if we'll have the time before you go back to school. Also, we have to go by the Muggle way, since all international magical travel is being carefully watched right now, and we don't want anyone to know that you've left the country. The Order is making it appear that you are still in England right now."

"Why are they doing that?" Harry asked, confused.

Sirius pulled out a battered copy of a book and handed it to him. Harry looked at the cover. The Art of War by Sun Tzu he read. "That is a very old Muggle book on war. It is one of the most influential books written on the subject, despite the fact that it's short. There are a lot of tactics and strategies that have survived through the ages, and one of them is what we are employing to protect you: that when you are far, appear near; and when you are near, appear far. Basically, it's confusing the enemy, make sure they don't know what's going on. This way, if the Death Eaters are looking for you, they are going to be concentrating on England, while we are safe in France."

"Brilliant," Harry said, gently looking through the book.

"Yep. That's going to be one of the books I want you to read, as it'll give you a fresh perspective on war, since you've never lived through one, thank Merlin."

"What else am I going to be learning?" Harry asked, putting the book down for now.

"A lot. Let me tell you that you are going to be put through your paces on everything. Every night, I'm going to be teaching you Occlumency." Seeing that he was confused, Sirius continued. "Occlumency is the art of shielding your mind from what the Muggles call 'mind reading'. I am not the most accomplished on Occlumency, or Legilimency which is the art of reading the mind. But I can teach you everything that I know on the subject, and I bought a few books to help. You'll be learning this for a few reasons. The most important is the connection that Dumbledore believes you share with Voldemort."

Harry looked up, frightened. "There's a connection? You mean he could read my mind?"

Sirius nodded. "There is a strong possibility. Which is why this is so important. From what we know so far, it is just a theory, and not even Voldemort is aware of it yet. But there are some things that we can't risk telling you. This isn't because we don't want to, but because it's a risk that we can't take just yet. But if you can become a proficient Occlumens, I may be able to convince Albus to start telling you things."

Harry nodded, as it all made sense. He felt slightly dirty, though, that he had a possible connection with the darkest wizard ever. He vowed to work hard at this. "You said that was the main reason. What else?"

"Learning this also helps with controlling your emotions, and organizing your mind. You can learn a lot more because your mind is a lot more organized."

Harry nodded again. He was looking forward to being able to learn more, as well as controlling himself. "Alright, Occlumency every night. What else?"

Sirius chuckled at the 'go for it' attitude that Harry was showing. "Portkey creation. Now, portkeys are regulated by the Ministry, but unless they know about them in advance, they cannot detect their usage. Since you can't Apparate yet, portkeys are the next best thing. Later on in the summer, I'll start you on Animagus training."

Harry's eyebrows shut up. "Really? Like you and my dad? You'd really teach me about that?" he asked excitedly.

Sirius smiled. "Of course. While I do think that it will be a nice way of learning to defend yourself, depending on your form of course, it'll be a nice break. And since we are going to France, I'll be teaching you French."

Harry's eyes were shining slightly at every word his godfather was saying. No one had wanted to do this much for him before in his life.

Sirius noted the slightly wet eyes staring at him, but chose not to comment on it just yet. "Once we are in France, things will get easier, since they have much more lenient underage magic laws. There, you only have to be thirteen to do magic during the summer. So once we are in France, we'll be working on catching you up on the magic centric classes like Charms, Transfiguration, and DADA. Until we get there, you are going to have your nose in the books, learning as much as you can."

Harry nodded vigorously. If this had been earlier in the year, he would have moaned at the idea of so much work, but now that he had such a good tutor, he couldn't wait to get started.

"Now, I know this all seems like a lot of work, and it is. Which is why we're going to be setting aside a lot of time for me to regale you with the stories of the Marauders, and the early romance of James and Lily." His eyes softened. "It's clear that you know very little about your family, and I'm going to change that. I have so many memories about this family that it would be remarkably selfish of me not to tell you any of it."

Harry was smiling so widely that he thought his face would crack. This was a dream come true, every word that Sirius was saying. "And what do you want from me?" he asked, coming back down to earth. After the years of 'nothing is free', he was a little wary of accepting so much without there being strings attached.

Sirius looked at him. Part of him was surprised by this question, and part of him had expected it. After all, the teen didn't understand being bought something for no other reason than Sirius wanted to. He sat forward slightly, knowing that this was going to be one of the most important discussions the two would have.

"Harry, all you have to do is work hard this summer. The list I've given you is only the tip of the iceberg, so to speak, and I'll be teaching you anything and everything I can think of. What I'm expecting out of you is not for you to cook for me or clean for me, or anything those horrific relatives of yours insisted on. Your job is very simple. Learn all you can, pay attention to everything around you, and above all else, keep yourself alive," he emphasized the last three words. "I don't know much about your years at Hogwarts, but from what little I was able to glean from various people, you've had far too many near death experiences. Your job is to get through this war alive. If you can do that, I will be the happiest I've been since you were born. I love you so much, kid, and all I want is to see you happy without this war hanging over your head."

Harry was sitting in near shock. This was too much, on top of everything he'd heard and done that day. Then he realized that he was crying, and stood up quickly, going to the window. As soon as his back was to his godfather, he swiped his cheeks. "No one's ever told me that before," he whispered, but Sirius heard him.

"No one?" Sirius asked, staying where he was. He could tell that Harry needed a few moments.

Harry shook his head. "No one. I remember at the end of second year, Hermione asked if my relatives would be proud of everything I did that year, and I just laughed and told her they would be furious that I hadn't been killed yet."

Sirius realized how hardened Harry's heart had become over the years, at least in regards to himself, since the boy was so caring about everyone else. "Well, let me tell you something kiddo, I'll be telling you that every day for the rest of your life, so you'd better get used to it."

Harry laughed, and turned around, finally getting himself under control. "So, I take it one of the things that I could do is to tell you about all the adventures we've gotten into at school?"

Sirius smiled. "That sounds like a good idea."


Another chapter down. Oh, and I don't own The Art of War! I hope this chapter wasn't as cliched as I was worried it would be, but I think I managed to make it original enough.