Chapter ten

As Sirius watched Harry, Lily and James, he knew Harry still felt a little uncomfortable with them, but he also knew that with time, he would realise how much he loved them.

'Harry, listen for a minute. I know this is hard on you right now and we understand that. It was on me when I was explained everything, told we had to stay away from you so you could finish Voldemort then have a normal life. But imagine what Lily and James went through, they had a son they loved more than their own lives, but they had to give him up, give you up to save you. Every day they felt the pain of having to do that, every day they would see or hear things about you and couldn't do anything to help no matter how much they wanted to. I felt the same after I was told what was going on.'

'I get that Sirius, I do. I might not have done what you did, what any of you did, but I do understand it and imagine how hard it would have been to give up your baby. But you have to understand something, yes, I wanted to know my parents, and I do love you, but to me, you're strangers, Mr. Weasley told me to take my time, get to know each other which is what I am going to do. But please have some patience with me. This is a lot to take in, that you're here, alive, something I did wish for all my life. But being an adult, going through all that shit, I'm very independent and I like to do what I want. I'm not used to having anyone tell me what I could do or what I couldn't do.'

'We know son and we do understand. So we can take as much time as you want, let's do what Arthur Weasley suggested, just like what we have been doing. Let's get to know each other, try to be friends before we try to be a family. Even though we watched you in secret for years, we see you as our son even if we had nothing to do with your life. You knew nothing, so for you this will be harder and take you a while to feel comfortable with us.'

'So why don't you three men talk, I'm going to start dinner,' Lily stepped closer to Harry, 'Would you mind if I kissed you Harry?'

'Um, no, I don't mind mum,' Harry gave her a smile then felt her lips on his cheek, so he gave her a hug.

'Thank you, now I'm going to start dinner.'

'Let's sit down Harry, make yourself at home, since technically it is your home. I'm not saying you have to live here or even think of it as your home. We would love for you to live with us, but as you said, you're used to being alone. We just want you to feel comfortable here and with us.'

'Yeah,' Harry, James and Sirius sat down, Harry made sure to sit next to Sirius, 'When I saw this place for the first time, I tried to imagine living here with you. I felt the pain of what had taken place, of what I lost. I even cried down at your headstones, Hermione held me. This is so amazing but so unbelievable, but I do want to get to know you dad, and mum, I really do. It's just going to take time.'

'We know Harry, so take as much time as you want. Now when we were at Hogwarts, I heard the name Longbottom and that tall boy that was one of your friends. Is that Frank and Alice's son?'

'Yeah, Neville, he's a good mate, but so different to what he used to be like. Hermione, Ron, Ginny, Neville and Luna, I'm not sure if you noticed the blond girl. But those five are my closest friends, the ones I trust over anyone, well apart from Sirius. They have never let me down, they never turned their backs on me when so many others did, even friends. I have others friends but I keep a bit of emotional distance between us. That's what I meant about trust, who I can and can't trust. Hermione, Ron, Ginny, Neville and Luna I do, with anything including my life, even if I don't tell them a lot. Once I have that trust, I think I will be able to relax more around you.'

'Okay, since we do know what had taken place when everyone turned their back on you and Albus, it does make more sense. Yes, I noticed a pretty blond girl, she seemed to be staring off, or lost in her own mind. I wasn't sure what to make of her.'

'Luna's on the strange side, but one of the best people you could ever met and a good friend. When Sirius died, blimey I have to stop saying that,' Harry reached over and took his hand, 'Since you're not dead.'

'I'm not Harry, but go on with what you were saying,' Sirius squeezed Harry's hand.

James sat there staring at Harry as he looked at Sirius. Every look Harry gave Sirius, every smile, even every touch showed more than what Harry was letting on. James had watched his son a lot over the years, but he recognised some of his own personality in Harry, so he realised why Harry seemed so close to Sirius, but Sirius had no idea.

'Okay, after I thought you died, Ron and Hermione kept trying to help me through that. I wouldn't let them and only for the reason neither of them had ever lost anyone close them then, not at the time. One day I was in the forbidden forest, watching the thestrals and trying to think about a life without you. Luna stepped beside me, she often went in to see the thestrals. We never said anything at first, but that was us, comfortable with the silence. Then she mentioned losing my godfather, I instantly stiffen, I did not want to talk about it. But she told me her mother died when she was nine, I think it was nine, young anyway. I realised she could understand, so I started talking to her and it actually helped. I appreciated Luna's compassion and her understanding. So from then on I made sure everyone knew that she was a close friend and I made sure I wouldn't let anyone call her Looney, which everyone did then. After that, well after everyone knew Voldemort was really back, no one ever called her Looney again, except the Slytherin's, but none of us gave a shit about them.'

'Actually you make sense Harry, she did know what you were feeling, so she could understand more than your other friends. You said Fred died, so Ron now has an understanding of what you were feeling.'

'Yeah, he does and he finally understands why I wouldn't talk to him about Sirius. They liked Sirius a lot and they did feel the loss, I think more Ron than Hermione. Ron thought Sirius was the best, Hermione thought Sirius was a bad influence on me.'

'I can believe that as Lil has said that about me and Sirius, he's a bad influence, but the best friend you could ask for.'

'Thanks Prongs,' Sirius grinned.

'Alright you three, at the table,' Lily called and waited until her husband, son and Sirius sat down, 'If you're a little paranoid, I'm sure Sirius will taste your food first to make sure it's safe.'

Harry gave his mother a smile but he did roll his eyes at her, 'I'm sorry about that, but since Sirius does trust you it helps me trust you, so no, I'll be fine and it looks good.'

'Lily is a wonderful cook Harry, I'd say as good as Molly,' Sirius said.

'Thank you Sirius, it's nice to get a compliment from you, doesn't happen very often.'

Harry chuckled at Sirius' scowling face before they all started eating. Sirius kept the conversation light, talking about things he did at Hogwarts, what James did, even Remus. Harry laughed a lot listening to the stories and realised how different their time at Hogwarts was to his.

'I think the only time I really laughed, I'm talking side aching laughs was with what the fake Mad-Eye did to Malfoy.'

'Okay, we have to hear this,' James said giving Harry a smile.

'Well, like always, Malfoy had a go at me, I had a go back, but as I turned to leave, he was going to curse me. Mad-eye was watching and turned Malfoy into a ferret, with pure white hair like Malfoy's hair, then he started to bounce him all around the place before putting him down Crabbe's pants. Cedric and I was rolling around laughing until McGonagall came up and realised what had happened and changed him back, spoiled our fun,' Harry gazed at Sirius because he was doing his bark like laughter again, something Harry loved to hear and had missed so much.

'You said Malfoy, that would be Lucius Malfoy's son?' James asked as he watched Harry watching Sirius.

'Yeah, Draco, I might not like the little shit, but he never really wanted to be part of all that. He was why Snape gave me that detention when the game for the cup was on. I confronted Malfoy in the bathrooms about something and we duelled. I ended up using this spell on him that I had no idea what it did. It was one Snape invented called sectumsempra. I found Malfoy lying in a pool of his own blood, dying, luckily Snape came in, did some spells over him before taking him up to the hospital. I was in shock that I could do something like that to anyone, well, anyone that wasn't Voldemort.'

'I know that spell Harry, Snivellus tried to use it on me and Sirius. We were always too fast for him though. That was why we used to levitate him all the time.'

'Well George, the one with the ear missing, that's the spell that took his ear. We know now Snape never meant to hurt George, he was trying to save Remus and the death eater moved as Remus and George moved, he got hit in the ear.'

'I was telling your parents a bit about the Weasley's, how Arthur loves all muggle things.'

'He's obsessed with muggle stuff, his shed's great, has all this stuff like microwaves, old tv, stereo's, he takes them apart to see how they work then puts them back together. He had this old car, he put a flying charm on it. That thing is still running around the forbidden forest after it rescued me and Ron from Aragogs family.'

'Who is Aragog?' Lily asked.

'Hagrid's pet giant spider, he died, but he had a large family and they were going to eat me and Ron. Poor Ron though, he's scared to death of spiders and these things were huge. I'm used to spiders, I'd find them in my clothes or on my mattress in the cupboard.'

'You mentioned a cupboard, please tell me about that?' Lily asked.

Harry sighed but nodded, 'Until I was eleven they made me sleep in the cupboard under the stairs. It had a small thin mattress on the floor and one blanket, that was my room, where they locked me up all the time. I only got the room upstairs when the Hogwarts letters started arriving. Vernon hoped it would make me forget about them, it didn't. He still put a lock on the door, bars on the window and a small flap in the bottom of the door.'

'I'm going to murder that bastard,' James said savagely.

'What was the flap for?' Lily said as she wiped a tear from her cheeks.

'To pass food through, if they remembered. When I was twelve, I was locked in there for ages, I think just over a week. Ron, George and Fred flew their dads car there because everyone was worried, no one had heard from me. Ron hooked a chain to the bars and pulled them off, Fred and George used an old muggle trick and picked the lock, they went downstairs to get my trunk, it was always locked up. We were just climbing into the car when the Dursleys came in. But we got away and when Ron told his mother what he'd seen about me being locked in, she was going nuts because they flew the car, Ron was trying to calm her down. She made me have four helpings of breakfast. I hadn't eaten in two days at that point, so I stuffed myself silly,' Harry could see angry or shock on the three faces, then his mother had her arms around him, crying into his shoulder. Harry was a bit stunned at first, but he sighed and hugged her back and saw Sirius give him a nod. They stood there holding each other and Harry waited until his mother stopped crying, 'Think of this mum, I never have to see them again but if I did, I'm an adult wizard now and I'm allowed to use magic whenever I want, and I'm pretty good at it too.'

'You are, you are powerful my beautiful boy. But if I ever seen them, any of them, they will see what I can do and no one will stop me.'

'Oh Lily's spoken, she has a temper that wife of mine,' James gave his son a smile and a nod. 'I'd really love to keep talking, getting to know you Harry, but I'm sure you're tired. Now you don't have to, but we'd like you too. We have your old room, it's to suit an adult, if you want to stay?'

Harry noticed Sirius gave him a very small nod, 'What about you Sirius?'

'I'll stay, there's a room here I used quite often.'

'Okay, then I'd like to stay, I'm enjoying getting to know you.'

'That settles then, come on, I'll show you to your room,' Lily and Harry walked up the stairs then opened the door, 'This was your baby room, but we changed it a lot over the years. To a boy's room, then a young teenage boy's room, until it now looks like an adult's room that would suit a man.'

'Why did you change it so often?'

'We kept hoping he would be gone and we'd have you back with us.'

Harry hugged his mother again, 'I wish it could have been years ago, but we can get to know each other now.' Harry slowly let his mother go and stared into her eyes, his eyes.

'Yes, we can, you look tired, why don't you get some sleep because we do have a lot to keep talking about. You need to know us and we need to know you,' Lily kissed Harry's cheek, 'Good night my beautiful boy.'

'Good night…mum,' Harry gave her another smile then stepped into his old room, closing the door behind him.