At exactly 2:40pm little Harry hurried his way into the parlour, a soft blue blanket trailing behind him – clutched tightly in a fist. In his other hand he swung his stuffed dragon which had not left his side since Tuesday when Sirius had taken him on his first trip to the toy shop, but that story is for another day. Today was Saturday, and he had been waiting and waiting for this day for absolutely ages! Granted, Harry's concept of time wasn't that great (he was barely two after all) so he was not well versed in the days of the week. Thus, when he had awoken this morning only to be informed that his guests would be coming today, he was excited beyond belief. But Harry's sense of time throughout a day was better than his sense of time throughout a week, so when Sirius had informed him that they would not be arriving until 3pm, Harry was not a particularly happy bunny.
"Good morning sunshine" Sirius spoke softly as he padded into Harry's room to wake up his little terror. They had decorated Harry's room on Wednesday after shopping for some supplies in Hogsmeade. Sirius had allowed Harry to choose most of the décor, though he had stepped in when Harry's initial thoughts were to paint the entire room in neon yellow. Instead they had negotiated a more butter yellow which Sirius found slightly less sickening at sight.
Harry had now been with him for a week and a half and they were gradually falling into a routine together.
So far Sirius had only contacted Molly and Remus, who was very happy to hear of Harry's new living arrangements and immediately accepted his invitation to the belated Christmas gathering. Remus was, of course, worried about Dumbledore's reaction to Harry's change of guardian and after a three hour floo call with Sirius, came to the conclusion that whatever the reaction may be, Harry and Sirius would always have his protection. It had been a touching moment for Sirius who, despite trusting Remus' loyalty and commitments entirely, had been feeling so isolated since discovering the potential betrayal of the Order. He had been surprised when he had not been immediately bombarded with aurors and Order members accusing him of kidnap due to Dumbledore's power in the Wizengamot, but he reminded himself it was best not to dwell on could be's. if Dumbledore had yet to contact him it was either because the man checked so little on Harry that he wasn't aware he was missing or that he knew but couldn't tell Sirius because that would reveal his betrayal, as Harry was supposed to be 'missing' anyway. Either way, Sirius hoped he could keep it quiet enough until he could seal a better guardianship with Harry and if not, move far away.
Harry rubbed two fists against sleepy eyes but still managed a bright smile for Sirius as the older man sat himself down on the Harry-sized bed which still managed to look huge in comparison to the boy. Sirius returned the smile, unable to resist a quick tickle to the exposed stomach where Harry's tossing and turning had caused it to ride up.
"We have a big day today champ" Sirius started as he lifted Harry into his arms, ready to get him some breakfast "hosting our own little shindig" he continued, chatting idly to the small boy as he made his way through the large manor.
"wha' do pa'foo?" Harry asked, after waiting patiently for Sirius to stop his nattering. Harry wasn't sure why, but Sirius seemed to think he was completely unaware of anything. Of course Harry didn't mind the constant nattering. In fact he found it rather fun, and sometimes Sirius would stop naming every colour they saw (Harry thought this was weird since surely Sirius was old enough to not need practice anymore) and instead tell him one of the Great Marauder Tales. However, Harry thought Sirius was the best thing that had ever happened to him as he would take Harry out to places he had never been before. Just yesterday he had taken Harry on a spontaneous trip to the Science Museum and Harry had been extremely impressed.
Sirius was beyond terrified. He had thought himself quite a whiz at muggle transportation since he and James often spent their summers drinking in Hyde Park, long before either of them could apperate. But what Sirius hadn't accounted for was the fact that now he wasn't travelling with a 15 year old but rather a 2 year old, and the London Underground was not well equipped for that age of traveller. In fact, Sirius concluded, the Underground wasn't really well equipped for anyone and it seemed there was a constant stream of people ready to knock him down. He reminded himself however that not long ago, he would have been one of the boisterous boys charging through the station too. Either way, he vowed he would not be taking Harry on the Underground again until he was at least fifteen, until then he would stick to the floo network.
Harry on the other hand was having an absolute blast. Who knew there were trains that went under the ground! He had never seen so many people in one place before, and they all seemed to be heading in the same direction. When Sirius forked off, away from the main stream of people, Harry was not very happy.
"go da' way!" Harry cried indignantly, pointing with one arm as his other clutched tightly to the collar of Sirius' coat. Sirius continued toward the platform he needed. He did however explain to Harry that the people were not going anywhere that would be more fun than where they were heading, which appeased Harry enough to comply with Sirius. He had soon forgotten that he had wanted to go a different way anyway and Sirius was relieved that he would not have to experience Harry's first tantrum in a public place.
Soon Sirius' fears were soothed as he hurried through the barriers of South Kensington tube station, careful to aim Harry so that neither one of them would be stuck on the wrong side. He had decided earlier that morning to take Harry to the science museum. He could distinctly remember an area called the Launch Pad, he was almost certain it was called that anyway, which was catered to kids. The whole room was filled with kid-sized experiments that attempted to teach children more advanced sciences. Since it was both fun and educational Sirius had thought himself quite the responsible adult for taking Harry, and he would not admit it was due to Remus' insistence that he do more with Harry than just play and be generally mischievous.
"Look at this one Harry!" Sirius announced in his voice reserved for hyping up Harry. He was pointing at a constellation telescope which, through the use of muggle TV – Sirius thought he heard somebody say Virtual Reality whatever that was – the telescope would teach kids where to find the different constellations. "You'll be able to find me on here" he added jokingly as Harry toddled over, panting slightly from excitement.
After studying the telescope for quite some time "Where's you?" Harry asked innocently, eliciting a bark of laughter from Sirius. Sirius bent down to Harry's height and pointed out the constellation 'canis major' though he explained it as the Dog Star so Harry would understand better. Harry was rather impressed with the fact that Sirius had managed to get his own star, and a little disappointed that he wasn't a star too. Sirius tried to explain that he had been named after the star and not the other way round, but it was a difficult concept for such a young child to grasp. Luckily a great sense of reflexivity is also a trait of the very young and after spotting the large bubble display, Harry was suitably distracted.
Harry thought about all the great things he had seen yesterday as Sirius busied himself preparing breakfast. Sirius had decided to go with a simple breakfast of toast with fluffy eggs and a small fruit salad each on the side. Molly would be coming over later with Arthur and the boys to have a belated Christmas celebration together considering the not-so-happy vibes that were present just weeks ago.
"There you go pup" He said, placing Harry's breakfast in front of the child as he took his own seat opposite. Harry happily began picking at his fruit salad, small fingers dunking into the bowl as he searched for a grape, then a blueberry, then a strawberry.
"Harry, use your spoon kid" Sirius said, picking up the spoon he had placed next to Harry's bowl and holding it out to the small boy.
"No t'ank you spoon pa'foot" the little boy replied with a small shake of his head, smiling impishly and returning chubby fingers in search of another blueberry.
"No thank you?" Sirius exclaimed, a wide smile on his face at the cheek of the small child "Harry, you pick up your spoon and eat" he continued seriously, for he knew Remus would scold him something terrible for encouraging Harry to eat like a slob. Harry, with all the mischief of a small toddler, did as he was told. In his left hand, he clutched his spoon while he used his right hand to continue his strawberry hunt. Sirius laughed good naturedly at his little tyke, standing to clear away his own bowl and get himself some scrambled eggs.
"Alright" laughed Sirius, "but you're on your own when the eggs come" he called back to the little imp. Harry simply grinned back, plopping another berry in his mouth. As Sirius came over with both their plates of eggs and toast, he couldn't resist a quick tickle to his imps chin, eliciting a giggle that warmed Sirius' heart.
After breakfast, Harry had requested some outdoor playtime which Sirius had happily obliged him with. They had spent the best part of an hour romping in the garden, Sirius as Padfoot, while Harry happily chased after him and vice versa. Though Sirius hadn't obliged him in order to tire the child out, it had proven a good method for ensuring Harry took his afternoon nap. So, after a lunch of ham and cheese sandwiches, served with carrot sticks (Molly had told Sirius to give Harry more vegetables), Sirius was able to put Harry down quite easily for a well-needed nap before the Weasley clan arrived.
It was now 2:45pm and Harry had awoken from his nap and excitedly planted himself on the sofa in front of the fireplace to await his guests. Sirius had told him that he would be meeting some other little boys, ones that might want to play games with him, and he had never had friends like that before! In fact, he didn't really know any little boys his age save Dudley, and he certainly didn't like playing games with Dudley. They always involved Harry getting hurt, and that turned out to be not so much fun. Harry hoped these boys would like to play games that Sirius had shown him like chase, tag, catch, and even make-pretend! Fifteen minutes passed as Harry pondered all these wonderful things he could do with his new friends, he didn't even notice Sirius come in and take the seat to his left. He was broken out of his reprieve only by the sudden bustling of people being herded through the floo. There were more kids here than there were at the park! Harry was naturally overwhelmed, sidestepping to partially hide behind Sirius' legs, who had risen to greet Molly and Arthur.
"Hello Molly" Sirius smiled as he shook the friendly matriarchs hand "and hello Arthur" he continued, taking the friendly man's hand also "I hope you're both well".
"We're very well, thank you for having us all" Molly replied, secretly hoping her boys would behave while at Sirius' house.
"And how about yourself Sirius?" Arthur asked, "Any news on Remus' latest mission?" he continued, earning a sharp glare from Molly. She did not think it prudent to discuss Order business in front of such little ears, especially considering the nature of the missions Dumbledore had Remus doing.
"We're all quite well" Sirius replied with mirth, Molly certainly wore the trousers in their relationship, and she wore them well. "I'm sure Remus will return with good news soon" he added meaningfully, though it did not appease either adult for it meant Sirius had not heard from him since he'd left over a week ago.
While the adults cryptically exchanged Order information in an attempt to disguise as much as they could from the children, said children had grown bored and decided to entertain themselves. Charlie and Bill, thinking themselves too old for childish games, had engaged instead in a rather animated conversation about the various secrets of Hogwarts while Fred and George scouted the room for any potential pranks. Noticing this, Molly sent them both a firm glare, silently warning them to behave, and the two boys surprisingly decided to join their brothers' conversation instead. With four of the boys suitably distracted, Harry felt confident enough to approach the smallest boy, who looked about the same size as himself.
"Hi, I Hawwy" he said, standing just out of arms reach for he had not gotten over his shyness completely.
"Hi, I Ron" the boy returned smiling widely at the dark haired boy who, in toddler terms, was now his friend.
Harry returned the freckled red-headed boy's smile and said simply "wanna pay twains?"
"ooh yeah" replied
Sirius glanced toward the corner of the room where one dark messy head of hair popped briefly out of the toy box, closely followed by one ginger head of slightly less messy hair. He couldn't help the surge of happiness he felt at Harry's new friendship, especially when it happened to be a Weasley. Although Sirius had not interacted much with the Weasley family throughout his school days, he now considered them an extension of his small family. In fact, he thought as he watched the two boys play, they had become just as important to him as the Potters had been.