All the legal stuff, summery and notes are on chapter one.
Mini-Moony- chapter three
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As Remus suspected, as soon as Hermione got wind of Harry's plans for Aaron she put her foot down and exercised all of her authority to keep the boy in the hospital. Not out of spite, of course, but because of rules and regulations. There was nothing more important in the world of Hermione Granger than rules and regulations, and nobody, not even her best friend would go around that, not on Hermione's watch!
The next morning, as soon as he and Seamus finished their morning baking and opened the shop Harry packed some fudge and cookies and went to St. Mungo's. Remus had promised to drop by as soon as he could so that Harry could properly introduce him to Aaron. Looking into the room Harry was rather disappointed to find Aaron in the exact same position as he was yesterday and he truly hoped the boy remembered him, and more important, remembered him favourably.
Harry opened the door slowly, trying to be as quiet as possible so that he wouldn't startle the boy. He took another moment to watch and was quite pleased to see that Aaron has added yellow to his red and black colouring pens. This had to be a good sign, right?
"Hey little one." He said quietly. Aaron lifted his head from his work and his eyes immediately lit up at the sight of Harry. He dropped his pen and bit his lip uncertainly, not sure how to proceed, when Harry crouched down and opened his arms and Aaron flew into them. Harry lifted the boy up easily, swirling him around before he walked them both to an armchair in the corner.
"Did you bring me chocolate?" Aaron's voice was soft and timid and full of hope. Harry smiled and dug into his pocket,
"Of course I have." He said proudly and produced the parcel he brought from the 'Sugardust'. Aaron's entire body seemed to be beaming at the sight of the chocolate and he eagerly accepted the piece of sticky fudge Harry offered him. Harry watched in amusement as the boy started eating, gulping down the rich chocolate and giving out little pleasurable hums. Those hums could be really addictive, Harry realized, and he knew he'd have to tread extra carefully if he didn't want Aaron to end up weighing seven stones before the age of four.
"There's someone I want you to meet today," Harry started carefully, taking advantage of the fact that Aaron's mind was firmly on the chocolate, "He's a werewolf, like you." At that Aaron froze, his frame once more shrinking, and Harry wrapped his arms more tightly around the boy, "Don't worry, Remus is a very good man, he's not going to harm you. He's going to help you, alright?" Looking straight into Harry's eyes Aaron nodded slowly. Harry smiled broadly and dropped a little kiss on the boy's head. Aaron frowned, he didn't remember much apart from the horrible night when the bad monster attacked him, but this felt nice, being held securely in the arms of someone who was nice to him and cared for him. Gratefully he snuggled further into Harry's embrace and finished the last bit of his chocolate, licking his fingers studiously clean.
"Would you like me to read you a story?" Harry asked, trying to sound casual and on top of his game, but the truth was, he was as nervous as a first year before the sorting ceremony after talking to Fred and George. Aaron nodded vigorously and slid from Harry's lap and bounced to the shelves in the corner containing a verity of children's books, both muggle and magical. Harry watched as Aaron stood frowning and biting his lip trying to decide which story he wanted more, and couldn't curb the smile that was spreading on his face. He loved seeing Aaron happy, and he loved that he was making the boy happy. He wasn't very adapted to deal with small children- after all, the only experience he got was dealing with Cleo Snape and she was one of the easiest children he'd ever had the fortune to meet- luckily she'd inherited more from Tonks than just her metamorphmagus abilities. Aaron brought out all the nurturing that Harry didn't even knew he had in him, and more than anything he wanted to protect the boy from the world.
At long last Aaron reached for a book, pulled it out and returned to Harry, climbing back on his lap, while trying to keep his hold on the book. Harry took the book from Aaron, it was Doctor Seuss' classic 'Fox in socks'. Once Aaron was snuggled comfortably against him again, nibbling a cookie, Harry opened the book and started to read.
Remus walked into the paediatric ward in St. Mungo's, slipping in and looking around him, doing his best to avoid Hermione. He really didn't feel like dealing with her right now, telling him that he couldn't just waltz into her domain and start making a mess- stealing her patients was her exact wording and Remus decided he best avoid her altogether then get into another fight with the feisty young woman. The brainy Hogwarts student had morphed into a confident woman who wasn't afraid to butt heads even with former professors!
When he approached the room Aaron was in he could hear Harry's voice, full of laughter and answered by enthusiastic childish giggles as Harry read aloud,
"When a fox is in the bottle where the tweetle beetles battle with their paddles in a puddle on a noodle-eating poodle, THIS is what they call...
...a tweetle beetle noodle poodle bottled paddled muddled duddled fuddled wuddled fox in socks, sir!"
Remus slowly opened the door, peering behind it to see Harry and Aaron sitting on an armchair, reading 'Fox in socks' together and laughing their heads off. Remus smiled and let himself just observe for a while, not wanting to disturb the happy scene. If he had doubts before as to whether this was a smart move or not, they were all gone now. There was no way Harry was going to give up on that boy and seeing them together like that, Remus realized he didn't want to give up either. Just the look on Harry's face was making it all worthwhile.
"Hi." He said carefully as soon as Harry closed the book. Two pairs of eyes turned to the door, one still laughing and twinkling and the other darkening with fear and suspicion. Remus tried to quench the disappointment that was coursing through his body at Aaron's reaction. He had truly hoped that Aaron would accept him, but he knew at the same time that it wouldn't be easy. Harry's arms instinctively tightened around the small boy when he felt Aaron's body tensing. Leaning forward he whispered in the boy's ear,
"Aaron, remember I told you about Remus? This is him. He's here to meet you." Gesturing for his spouse to come nearer Harry turned the boy in his arms, gazing intently into Aaron's blue orbs, "Remus just wants to be your friend, as much as I do, alright?" Remus kneeled next to the armchair and reached out his hand,
"Hello, Aaron, it's really nice to meet you." Aaron looked at the open and slightly nervous face before him and let go of his fear. After all, the other man seemed as nervous of him as he was of the man. He sank further into Harry, seeking warmth and security from his friend and extended his small hand towards Remus. Remus breathed out a sigh of relief and shook Aaron's hand gently. The two smiled tentatively at each other, while Harry watched them, practically beaming.
"Tell him about the book we've been reading." Harry encouraged Aaron, and the boy took the book from Harry's hand and showed the cover to Remus,
"It's a fox, and he's got blue socks." He told Remus smiling widely, still finding the joke funny. Remus grinned wide, part in relief and part in genuine joy at the look on Aaron's face,
"Yes, you certainly don't see this sort of thing every day…" The two shared another grin, this one more easy and carefree. Remus shot a quick glance at Harry, who was positively glowing with happiness and leaned in toward Aaron, lowering his voice in a conspiratorial manner, "How about we all split this place? We could go have lunch in Diagon Alley before we have to bring you back here." Aaron's eyes grew like saucers at hearing that, being outside… He hasn't been outside since… since that night… and now, now he was going to go out and have proper lunch with his new friends!
"Are you sure we can do that?" Harry whispered to Remus, and the older man winked at him,
"Sure, why not? Hermione knows he's going to be with us, and we'll bring him back before tea time." Harry bit his lip, as much as he wanted to take Aaron out, he really didn't want to get in trouble with Hermione. When Remus saw the hesitation on Harry's face, and the rapidly clouding face of Aaron he reached an executive decision, "Look, we'll leave Hermione a note and my wand as collateral, ok?" Out of excuses to refuse Harry nodded slowly and both Remus and Aaron whooped happily.
"Should we invite Sirius?" Harry asked as the three of them stood inside the elevator, going down to the hospital's lobby. Aaron was holding tight to both Harry and Remus' hands, looking around him wide eyed and excited at the adventure,
"Not unless you want to scar the boy for life…" Remus answered easily, "We'll introduce Aaron to everyone when the time is right." Both of them nodded, the 'right time' would not be until they've brought Aaron home with them and signed all the papers, making the boy legally theirs.
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A/N: BTW- if any of you have ideas they'd like to see portrayed in this story, you're more than welcome to send them to me. I promise to consider them with the outmost seriousness and if they fit with where I think this story is going, I'll be sure to add them (credit and all).
