Sirius found himself leading his three friends down to Hagrid's Hut the next day. He figured this would be a good day to be gone as Remus did not seem happy with him, and Harry had been eager to learn more about what the monster dog was hiding. Besides, Hagrid's hut wasn't technically out of bounds, as it was still within the wards of the school.
Sirius knocked on the door of the small stone cottage and waited for the gruff groundskeeper to answer.
"Sirius Black!" the giant exclaimed as he opened the door. "I had heard yer were little again. You look just like ye did all those years ago!"
"These are my friends, Hagrid," Sirius introduced. "Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger and Harry Potter."
"Blimey! Guests!" Hagrid smiled enthusiastically. "Come in, come in, I'll put the kettle on."
The four found themselves seated at a large, rough table. They looked around at the various ropes, traps, and other contraptions lining the walls of the cottage, some well-used and some dusty with disuse. Sirius felt the nostalgia wash over him in this place; it had been one of his favorites as a student. Hagrid had a way with students, particularly Gryffindors, and he was always a soft, easy adult for them to come to when they needed it. Hagrid never scolded or corrected, he had just always been there.
"I just made some rock cakes this morning," he smiled at them, putting several lumpy, grayish cakes on a plate. "I got them looking just like rocks this time, didn't I?"
"You certainly did," Hermione answered politely. "I've never seen rock cakes before."
"Well, they're an old family recipe," Hagrid beamed. "Here, I'll get your your tea so you can dunk them, they're better that way."
Each child soon found themselves with a large mug of overly-sweet tea placed in front of them. Sirius remembered the rock cakes with a grimace, but showed the others how to eat them by not just dunking them but soaking them in the sweet tea so that they could be bitten without hurting your teeth.
"So what brings you out here, my boy?" Hagrid asked Sirius, crunching away on his rock cake happily.
"You were always so kind to me as a student here," Sirius told him. "I wanted to, well, renew our acquaintance. And when I found out that my friends didn't know you I invited them along. I hope you don't mind."
"Mind?" Hagrid echoed happily. "I love company, my boy! It gets lonely sometimes out here, I'm tickled you dropped by!"
"Then tell me how the animals in the forest are doing," Sirius asked, sipping his tea. "Catch me up on what I missed."
The children spent the next half hour hearing all of the updates about the centaurs, unicorns, acromantulas, and everything else that roamed around the forbidden forest. Sirius saw the incredulous looks on his friends' faces as Hagrid described Acromantulas as if they were adorable puppies.
"Bless me, Sirius, but some of those Acromantulas are coming up so cute," he gushed about them. "Ol' Aragog is pleased as punch at how big they're getting. And since I've told them what varmits to feed on, they've been clearing the place out of screwts and all sorts of nasty creatures. Right useful, those Acromantulas."
Hermione and Ron, remembering how close they'd gotten to been fed upon by an Acromantula, gulped and looked pale.
"We had some Acromantula in the castle Halloween before last," Harry explained. "They were quite fearsome creatures."
"Dead smart too," Hagrid smiled. "Bless them, such sweet creatures. I heard that you three bested one as just little tykes. Well done, that, many second and third years couldn't do it."
"We were dead lucky," Harry told him, smiling. "I did some accidental magic that helped, too. And then my dad came to the rescue."
"I heard ye'd been adopted by Professor Snape," Hagrid looked at Harry carefully. "How is that going for ye?"
"He's great!" Harry smiled. "He's strict, though. That bout with the acromantula cost me a pretty sore bottom. WIth a ruler, too."
"Professor Snape is strict, Harry, but he's always been fair as much as I can see."
"He is," Harry assured him. "He's never smacked me when I didn't deserve it. I got it the other day too, but this time with just his hand. Sirius talked us into going into the third floor corridor."
"The third floor?" Hagrid asked, his rock cake forgotten.
"Yes, Dumbledore had forbidden it, do you see," Harry said nonchalantly, sipping his tea. "So we wanted to see what was there. We opened the door and there was a giant three headed dog!"
"You saw Fluffy?" Hagrid asked, incredulous.
"Fluffy?" Ron squeaked, paling. "That thing's name is Fluffy?"
"It was quite a dog," Harry continued, glaring at Ron. "I was surprised it was in Hogwarts, it must not like being chained up like that."
"No, she don't like it," Hagrid admitted. "I go and visit her as much as I can, and sometimes I let her out for a run after the students are in bed."
"She must be guarding something really important to make it necessary to use Fluffy," Harry commented. "And to keep her locked up like that."
"What she's guarding is between Dumbledore and Nicholas Flamel," Hagrid replied, eyes narrowing at Harry. Then, realizing his error, said, "I shouldn't have said that."
"Who is Nicholas Flamel?" Harry asked.
"You youngsters stay away from that stone!" Hagrid told them. "It causes nothing but problems, ye stay away until Dumbledore can destroy it. I shouldn't have said that."
"It's okay, we're safe," Harry told him, smiling. "It would take someone very stupid to get past Fluffy."
"It would," Hagrid agreed, looking discontent. "Poor girl, I hope she doesn't have to be there long."
"Me too," Hermione answered. "It has been so kind for you to have us to tea."
"Please come back soon," Hagrid told them, looking wistfully at the clock and realizing that they needed to head to dinner. "I love having young 'uns about."
"We have detention tonight," Sirius told him. "After dinner. For visiting Fluffy."
"With Snape?" Hagrid laughed. "I heard he always gave the worst detentions. Don't wear yer good clothes."
"We should go," Sirius stood up with a quick smile.
"Before ye go, Sirius, I was wondering if ye could help me with something outside real quick."
"Okay," Sirius shrugged, following the giant and then looking back at his friends. "I'll be right back," he told them.
"Remus is raising you?" Hagrid asked as soon as they were out of earshot of the others. "I can't see this as a good thing, Sirius."
"He's fine," Sirius shrugged, looking away.
"I know you boys," Hagrid told him. "I know you better than anyone. I'd have thought ye'd be better off with Snape raising you."
"Snape!" Sirius objected. "He hates me."
"Well, at least you'd know where you stood," Hagrid told him. "Is Remus really being a father to ye?"
"What is a father?" Sirius asked with a shrug. "My father barely knew me, and I was always dead scared of him. Remus is better than that."
"Ye've seen Ron with his parents, and Harry with Professor Snape," Hagrid told him levelly. "Is that what you have with Remus?"
"No," Sirius admitted, looking away. "I'm, well, I'm difficult. I keep screwing up, I'm angry all the time. I'm not sure why Remus would even agree to be my guardian."
"You were his best friend," Hagrid told him, his enormous eyebrows bunching together. "Why wouldn't he?"
"He didn't care before," Sirius said, unexpected tears coming to his eyes. "When I went to prison. He didn't care. James was his best friend, not me. And I took James away."
"There, there," Hagrid told him, patting his huge hand against Sirius' small back. "Try hard not to be too hard on Remus or yerself. At the time that it happened, well, the ministry showed all of us the pensieve memory of you confessing. It was so hard to believe. Dumbledore said that you must have just cracked under the pressure, maybe had some sort of psychotic break."
"I guess I did look pretty guilty. I said it was my fault because it was my fault - I talked them into changing their secret keeper. I thought they would be safer."
"Not your fault," Hagrid told him gruffly. "But try to forgive us that should have found out more. Nobody was more broken up about it than Remus."
"So I feel betrayed by him and he hates me," Sirius sighed.
"It sounds like you have some things to work out is all," Hagrid assured him.
"He doesn't like me," Sirius admitted, tears flowing freely now. "He likes Padfoot, the boy who he knew twenty years ago. Me? I'm an obligation he feels for what Padfoot did for him."
"That can't be true!" Hagrid protested.
"It is," Sirius assured him, furiously wiping his tears. "He only ever interacts with me if he feels he should, he doesn't really care about me. He just ignores me, and then punishes me when I'm too naughty."
"He doesn't hurt you, does he?" Hagrid asked.
"Not really," Sirius admitted. "Not like when my father would cane me. But in some ways I would rather be caned by my father! Last time it was awful."
"Tell me," Hagrid said, his voice concerned.
"He didn't listen to me," Sirius tried to explain. "It wasn't the spanking itself; that I probably deserved. But I had just called Snape Snivellus . . ."
"You didn't!" Hagrid gasped.
"I did," Sirius confirmed wryly. "Apparently I have a death wish or something. Anyway, Snape floated me upside down to remind me of what I used to do to him, and then threatened to spank me if I ever said it again. Then Lupin agreed that Snape could, and then he took me away and spanked me with a ruler."
"It sounds like you were a bit scared," Hagrid recognized.
Sirius nodded. "I had all these feelings about being nearly eaten by Fluffy and then being hung upside down - anger, fear, and I also felt some shame for what we had done. I wanted to talk to Remus, but instead he just told me what I did wrong and said I had ten seconds to get over his lap and take my punishment or he'd put me in a body bind."
"I can see why that was hard," Hagrid nodded. "It sounds like he doesn't know what he's doing."
Sirius nodded, feeling even more miserable. It would be easier if it were malice like his own father had towards him, but Sirius suspected that his friend just didn't know what he was doing.
"Can I talk to Dumbledore about this?" Hagrid asked. "I don't know what to do, and I feel like there needs to be a wiser head than mine helping you."
"I don't want to get Remus in trouble," Sirius told him softly.
"I don't think it's a matter of getting in trouble," Hagrid told him. "But I think Remus might need some help."
Sirius nodded, sniffing. "You can tell him," Sirius agreed reluctantly.
"I'm glad you found your way down here," Hagrid told him, patting the boy's back more firmly. "And it was good of ye to bring yer friends."
Sirius squirmed a bit, sorry that it had taken them wanting to get information in order for him to come visit Hagrid in the first place. "I had forgotten how we used to talk," he admitted to the giant, looking up into his soft brown eyes with vulnerability. "I have trouble remembering how it used to be."
"Well, I'm glad you did," Hagrid told him. "And it doesn't have to be how it used to be - I'm happy to get to know the new Sirius Black too."
"I'm not that much different," Sirius protested.
"How could you not be?" Hagrid argued. "And maybe that's everyone's problem. You are not Padfoot to his Moony anymore, lad. It's like yer both fighting so hard to be what you were - but ye aren't. And Remus isn't who he was either. Maybe you both need to find a new way."
