Harry sprinted as fast as he could up the stairs. He still couldn't believe he was acting this way. He should be able to be out of his godfather's sight for a few minutes without freaking out, shouldn't he? What's wrong with me? he wondered. Why am I acting this way?
Harry slowed down when the door came into view, the last thing he needed was for Sirius to know that he needed him so much. Where he got the notion from he wasn't sure.
Harry got his breathing under control before he opened the door. Sirius was on the edge of his seat, looking as though he was anxious about something. "I'm back," he said, a smile gracing his lips.
Sirius looked up and visibly relaxed. He smiled at his godson. Harry was surprised at the love he saw in his eyes. Ron and Hermione also looked up when he made his presence known. They smiled at him. Harry walked in and sat down next to Sirius. He wondered what they would be doing for the rest of the day. There wasn't much to do at Grimmauld Place, so he asked, "So, what are we going to be doing for the rest of the day?"
Ron was about to say something when the door opened and Harry turned. He saw Ginny standing in the door with a big smile. "Harry. How are you? I haven't been able to talk you, yet," she said.
Harry smiled back. "I'm alright, I guess. How are you?" he asked.
Ginny smiled, "I'm fine," she said. Harry took a good look at his friend. Harry had started thinking of Ginny, not as Ron's sister, but as one of his good friends. She walked over to Ron and Hermione and sat down. "Hello, Sirius. You all right now?" she asked.
Sirius nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine," he said.
Ginny nodded. "So, what are you guys going to do today?" she asked.
Ron was about to say something when the door opened again. This time Remus came through the door. He smiled knowingly when he spotted Harry, "Hello, Harry. I thought you would be up here already," he said.
Harry was confused for a moment, but then it hit him like he had punched him in the stomach: he had run through the kitchen while they were still in there. His eyes widened slightly as he remembered. He hoped that Remus wouldn't say anything else, but his wish didn't come true because Ron had to ask why he would have thought that.
Remus' smile faltered a little, but was still smiling, "Well, Harry went into the room with Dumbledore, then after a little while, he walked out. He shut the door behind him, then ran like a bat out of hell up the stairs," he said.
Harry was mortified, how could Remus say that, now Sirius would know how he reacted when he was out of his presence. He was trying to think of an excuse but he felt his face heat up under the pressure and ended up stuttering. He stopped then said, "I have to go to the bathroom."
He ran out of the room, his face burning. He heard Remus swear and say, "Harry?" in a very upset tone. He knew that Remus felt bad for saying what he did, but it didn't keep Harry from being upset that he said it at all.
He ran into the hallway and down the hall to the bathroom. He was so embarrassed at what had happened. When he got into the room he locked the door behind him and walked over to the sink. When he looked at his reflection, his face was a light shade of red. He looked down at the counter and sighed. He wondered how Sirius was going to react to what Remus had said. Would he understand? Would he make fun of him? There were too many thoughts in his head, but he didn't need to worry very long, for there was a knock at the door. Harry started, hoping it wasn't who he thought it was. Apparently his luck wasn't good today.
"Harry?" came the voice of his godfather.
"Hold on," he said, hoping that he would take the hint and leave. No such luck.
"Harry, are you alright?" he asked.
Harry sighed; sure he was fine, just humiliated. "Yes, I'm fine, I'll be out in a minute," he said, just to get him off his back. He didn't know how he would react when he saw Sirius. But he didn't have long to wait on that either, because the door started to open. He wheeled around and saw his godfather standing there with a sad look in his eyes. Harry started to panic, what was his godfather thinking of him?
Harry's face started to heat up again. "What are you doing, Sirius? I could have been going to the bathroom!" he said.
Sirius smile sadly. "Harry, how could you when your voice was coming from over by the sink?" he asked.
Harry looked over at the sink and then at the toilet, oops. "Well…" he stopped, he didn't know what to say. How could he tell Sirius that he freaked out when he wasn't with him? He didn't want to see the look of horror on his godfather's face. But he didn't have long to think, because Sirius started talking again.
"Harry, what's wrong? Are you all right?" he asked worriedly.
Harry was looking at the ground. He couldn't tell Sirius that he needed him so much. He felt like that was a weakness that he would exploit for some reason. He knew Sirius would never do something like that, it was an irrational fear, where it came from he wasn't certain.
Sirius sighed, he walked over to his godson and placed one hand on his shoulder and then put the other under his chin and pushed up so his godson would be looking at him. He saw the love in his eyes but also there was apprehension, for what, he didn't know. "Harry, what's going on in that head of yours?" he asked.
Harry shook his head, and in doing so making Sirius's hand remove it's self from his chin. How could he tell him? He didn't even know where to begin.
Sirius sighed again, removed his hand from Harry's shoulder and pulled the teen into a hug. Harry wrapped his arms around his godfather, who gave him a gentle squeeze. Harry felt a smile come across his face; he was safe, and with his godfather. He didn't know how long they stood there like that but eventually he felt his godfather give him a small pat on his back and pull away. Sirius was smiling as well.
"So, what was it about Remus' statement that has you so upset?" Sirius asked.
Harry sighed. "Nothing," he said. Knowing that Sirius knew he was lying through his teeth.
Sirius sighed. "Harry, I know why you were upset by Remus' comment. Though you should know that I am the same way. I was that way with Remus as well when I came back," he paused. "When I think on it, Remus was that way as well. We couldn't stand to be out of each other's sight for two minutes," he said.
Harry looked up at Sirius. "Really?" he asked. Harry was happy that he wasn't the only one who felt like this. He didn't feel so embarrassed now.
"Yeah, don't worry about it. Both of us will get over it, soon enough," he said. "Though I love your company, you do know that, right, Harry?" he asked.
Harry smiled. "Yes, Sirius. So do I - I love your company, too. It was just…so hard while you were gone. It was hard, not having you around to talk to any more," he said, looking back at the floor.
Sirius smiled. "Come here, kiddo," he said, moving towards Harry.
Harry smiled and walked over to his godfather and threw his arms around him, thinking how glad he was that he was back. He wished that he could just stay this way forever. Though he knew that would never happen, he was just content to stay here for as long as he could. But, one thing was for certain, he was definitely getting addicted to these hugs!
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They both walked back down the hall and into the room where their group was. When they walked through the door Remus was quick to get up.
"Harry, I-"
Harry shook his head, "It's alright Remus, no harm done."
But Remus continued, "No it isn't alright, I never should have said that. It was your business and I never should have done what I did. Forgive me, Harry? I was stupid, I'm sorry."
Harry saw that Remus was indeed sorry, and could hear the desperation in his voice. "It's alright Remus, I'm in a forgiving mood today," he smiled, trying to get Remus to feel better.
Remus smiled back, though still upset at himself for telling Sirius what had happened. "Sirius could I talk to you really quickly outside?"
Sirius looked at Harry, who nodded slightly, though hardly noticeable to anyone else in the room. "Sure, Remy," he said.
Remus cringed. "Ugh, Sirius you know I hate that name!" he said.
Sirius smirked. "But we always used to call you that."
Remus glared. "No, my mother used to call me that," he said with another shutter. "You call me 'Moony', and you don't look like my mother."
Sirius smiled. "Well, are we going outside or not, Remy?" he asked putting special emphasis on the last word.
Lupin sighed. "Why my mother had to say that…" he said in a whisper to himself, everyone chucked. "Okay, fine, before I wish I hadn't asked," he said walking to the door.
Sirius smirked, and held the door open for his friend. Once Remus was out of eyesight Sirius turned around, smiled wide, and with a wink, closed the door.
The laughter that had built up exploded, the three kids in the room laughed their heads off.
Once outside, before the two men could take one step they heard the three teens laughing hysterically. Sirius turned to a now red looking Remus. He smirked at his friend who glared back in response.
Remus started forward and walked into the next room down the hall. He walked in and Sirius followed behind and shut the door. He saw Remus take out his wand. Oh, no, he's going to curse me, Sirius thought, but Remus just put silencing charms on the room. Remus turned to face his friend.
"Listen, you remember the idea I had about the memories?" he asked Sirius, who nodded in consent. "I have been thinking. Since you're on the run you can't very well go to Diagon Ally and buy a pensive. And I really don't want to go out, I'd rather stay here and spend some time with you and Harry. So, I was thinking we should ask Dumbledore if he wouldn't mind going and buying it for us."
Sirius smiled. "Okay, that sounds good. We could start thinking of what memories to put in. But, for now, why don't you go and ask Dumbledore and tell him I will pay him back later."
Remus nodded his head. "Ok, you go back to your godson, and I'll be back," he told Sirius, as he took the charms off the room.
"Hey, Moony," Sirius said, as his friend walked out the door. Remus turned around. "I'm sorry about earlier. I only did that because you were being a git," Sirius told his friend.
Remus smiled lightly. "That's fine, Sirius. Just don't do it too often."
Sirius smirked as he went to the left and up the stairs, and Remus went to the right and down the stairs.
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