Old Adventures

Sirius usually left Harry at the Weasleys when he visited Remus during the night of and after the full moon. It was safest that way. Even though the wolfsbane potion made Remus harmless as a wolf, they both agreed that it just wasn't something Harry should see. He knew the basics and felt that this general knowledge was enough for the young boy.

Now that Harry was ten, though, Sirius thought it was important for Harry to see what went on. Moony had been, in some ways, another victim of Voldemort, having been bitten by Fenrir Greyback.

Granted, this was before Voldemort's height of power, but Greyback had been on Voldemort's side from the beginning, and could have well been acting on his orders even then.

They used floo powder, of course. Shortly after Harry's birthday, Sirius had seen some problems presented with side-along Apparition (squirming children could have parts left behind) and bribed/bullied Vernon into converting their electrical fireplace into a normal, wood burning fireplace. Petunia and Dudley voiced that they liked this more after the project was complete, and it had never occurred to Vernon that Sirius and Harry would be able to use it for transportation. Sirius kept his supply of floo powder in a small box under his bed, and warned Harry never to do so much as touch it unless he gave his expressed permission.

Also unknown to Vernon was that Sirius had had the fireplace hooked up to the floo network. Strictly speaking, muggle homes were not allowed to be connected to the system, but here Dumbledore had used his influence and pointed out to the Ministry that because Sirius and Harry lived in the house, it was not a true muggle house. After all, sometimes muggle homes with witches or wizards found themselves in need of this transport and communication, and aside from charging a large fee, the ministry made no objection about the connection whatsoever.

Part of the problem associated with communication or transportation via floo powder was, of course, the possibility of uninvited guests. In Harry's case, especially, the Ministry had feared that former Death Eaters would use this entrance to their advantage. Once again, Dumbledore proved to be an asset, explaining that protection around the Dursley house had already been given, and it prevented Harry from being harmed from dark wizards without exception.

The Dursleys remained painfully oblivious to the argument and in moments like that, Sirius wondered if they were exceptionally unaware or determined to avoid seeing magic at all costs.

After all, when Oscar Ordthige came to measure the fireplace, wearing wizard robes and an oversized blue hat, surely Petunia or Vernon would have said something…

Sirius supposed that he was grateful for their noninterference.

Sirius now finished packing his clothes with Harry's, and a spare bottle of the potion made by Snape himself for the following month, and zipped the bag shut.

"Harry! Are you ready?" he called through the open door.

"Almost," Harry called back from inside his room.

"Quiet up there!" thundered Vernon, creating more noise than the two wizards combined.

Neither wizard answered him, being completely used to this kind of treatment, but Sirius rolled his eyes as he removed the suitcase from his bed.

Sirius dragged the suitcase downstairs and waited by the fireplace for Harry. A few minutes later, a smaller than average boy came down the stairs lugging a bag on his back with considerable difficulty.

"Ready to go, puppy?" Sirius questioned, facing Harry. He grabbed hold of Harry's suitcase, and groaned. "What'd you put in here, rocks?"

"Bludgers," Harry replied. Seeing Sirius' startled face, he added quickly, "Just kidding."

"It's not a joke," Sirius grumbled as he dragged the bags to the fireplace. "Ruddy bludgers…they could kill you. Want to hurt someone, just unleash a bludger and hide."

Harry snickered at the mental image this created. "That's a sad way to die."

Sirius grunted, mostly because he had run out of breath. He removed some of the green floo powder from his pocket and held it towards Harry.

"Go on," he nodded. Seeing Harry's hesitation, Sirius added, "I'll take care of the bags. Just go on ahead of me."

Harry sighed, still not touching the powder. "Can't we use your broom?" he complained.

Sirius shook his head. "Not in broad daylight, puppy. And I can't stand the Knight Bus. Stan scares me and Ernie can't drive for all the gold in the world. Muggle and wizarding. Come on. You'll do fine."

This was only Harry's third time traveling by floo powder. After the first time, he nearly retched on Sirius' robes as soon as they reached their destination (the Burrow), and coming back was not much better. It was probably just motion sickness, though, because shortly after both trips, he was fine.

Harry took a small pinch of the powder and tentatively faced the fireplace. "Canis den!" he called, facing the fire.

Sirius had thought up the name for Remus' small house.

Sirius waited a few seconds before following Harry, partly out of concern and partly due to the fact he was carrying the luggage. He was used to this type of travel and hardly noticed as the different houses swept past them. He rose from Moony's fireplace as though it were second nature, pausing only to grab hold of the bags. Once they were in no danger of burning, he looked around the room for Harry.

Harry must have done everything correctly because his pale face appeared next to Remus' smiling one. Moony reached for the bags as Sirius started stamping the soot from his feet onto the old rug Moony had placed for such occasions.

"Welcome, Padfoot," he said, giving his friend a hug.

Sirius hugged back, hiding a sigh. Remus looked no worse than usual, but also no better. His eyes looked out of focus and his cheeks were sunken. Even his hair seemed greyer than usual. It was because of Sirius' generosity that he had access to the recently developed wolfsbane potion, but even though Remus claimed it removed the pain of the transformation, he certainly did not appear any better than just before he did when he transformed naturally.

Still, Sirius had to think of Harry, who had never seen his uncle this way before. Harry was standing slightly apart from the two adults, legs shifting as they always did when Harry felt nervous. Sirius' sympathy turned to Harry. He had never been around a sick person before, and despite knowing Remus almost as well as Sirius, he looked like he felt out of place.

Sirius released Moony from the hug and turned to Harry, putting a hand on his shoulder. "Feeling okay?" he asked, and Harry nodded.

Remus smiled as he turned to hug Harry. "I've never much liked floo powder myself," he said, wrapping his arms around the boy. Harry came almost up to his shoulders and Sirius could see him hug back, looking grateful.

After releasing Harry, Remus beckoned towards a worn couch and two worn chairs, both dark brown and, as Sirius and Harry knew from experience, extremely comfortable.

"Sit down. I'll make some tea," Remus smiled. "Harry, is your stomach all right?"

"Tea's good," Harry replied, managing a small smile as he sat down on the couch.

"Yes, but I'll make it," Sirius intervened. "Moony, you should be resting, not on your feet."

"As though boiling water is slave labor," Moony replied, eyebrows raised. "You worry too much."

Sirius snorted. "Sit down. Talk to my godson…I'm sick of him." He winked very obviously at Harry, who snickered.

Before Remus could object further, Sirius pushed him into a chair and left the shabby den, heading for the kitchen.

As he prepared the tea, he could hear Harry and Remus talking about Hogwarts. "You'll be getting your letter within a few months, I expect," Remus was saying. "Are you excited?"

"Yeah, but kind of nervous," Harry replied. "Sirius is always going on about how smart my mum and dad were. He expects a lot."

Remus laughed softly. "Did he tell you about how much trouble he and your father got into? Not that I was entirely innocent…however, between the two of them, I'd say they set a record for detentions, points taken away, and expulsion threats." Sirius could hear him smile. "They were always in some kind of trouble. I'm quite sure McGonagall would have been happier if they had been a bit more average in their class work and their ability to make trouble."

As soon as the tea was finished, Sirius expertly poured it into three chipped cups and absentmindedly reached into the third drawer for Remus' chocolate biscuits. The werewolf was a chocoholic, and proud to admit it. The only thing he claimed to dislike about Sirius was that whenever he visited, he ate most of it.

"Are you corrupting my godson, Moony?" Sirius asked with a mock angry expression on his face. "Defacing the name of Potter? Insulting the work of the great marauders?" He shook his head dramatically. "Harry, ignore him. He speaks blasphemy. We were always loved and adored for the mischief we caused. We kept Filch on his toes, after all." He sighed melodramatically. "I never thought you'd be the one to betray us, Moony."

Remus rolled his eyes. "We always got into trouble, even when it was your idea or James'. Granted, Harry, they were the best years of my life, but I'm not sure Hogwarts is up to something like that so soon."

Sirius snickered. "They'll have to be. Puppy's going to be learning from the masters of mischief, so he'll be able to avoid being caught. That's the trick, Harry," Sirius added, handing him a cup of tea. "Never get caught."

Remus coughed loudly, as though to cover a snort. "Of course, after awhile it won't matter, because whenever something goes wrong, they'll blame you, even if you had nothing to do with it," replied Remus, reaching for a cup. "At least, I presume that you weren't there when Filch's hair turned red."

"Of course not!" Sirius looked outraged. "We meant to turn it green. Only reason it turned read was because someone" he glanced meaningfully at Remus "misread where it clearly said 'the root of Alphsdash' and found a root of Alfdash. Didn't bother to tell him what it was for—think we said it was extra credit for Potions. For whatever reason, we couldn't get it and Remus could…or so he thought. Anyway, we were mortified at the result," he explained. "Red was a dead giveaway that it was a Gryffindor, while green would have led old Filch to think it was Snivellus messing with his potions again."

Harry laughed, but Remus shook his head.

"They never let me forget it," he sighed. "For months, they'd wait until my back was turned and turn something of mine green. Including food."

"Well, you never made that mistake again, did you?" replied Sirius, as though that settled it.

The other marauder raised his eyebrows. "There was enough between you and James to go around. In any event, I did share some of the blame, most of the time."

"Yeah, well, the fact remains that you never served a detention in all your years at Hogwarts."

"A record, I suppose," the werewolf replied dryly. "Besides, I have reason to believe that you and James communicated revenge upon those who caught you during the detentions you claim to despise."

"Well of course, but they could never prove anything." Sirius turned to Harry, grinning broadly. "We were always in different ones." He turned to Harry and explained, "For some reason, the teachers didn't trust us together. Fortunately, James found a way around it."

"What did he do?" asked Harry, interestedly. Despite his unease about leading another generation of marauders, along with receive the top marks his mum and dad earned so easily, Harry was quite anxious to hear the rest of the story.

"A two way mirror," Sirius announced proudly. "I still have them. Small enough to fit into your pocket, easily Vanished—once you get to that, of course—from the suspecting eyes of teachers. James and I would talk throughout the length of our detentions, and they could last for hours."

"Especially when some of the professors caught on that you enjoyed polishing trophies or disemboweling toads a bit too much. Not to mention the fact that they heard you talking to yourself," Remus interjected. "Sirius overestimates his own brilliance. To hear him speak, you'd think the school was filled with dimwits."

"Thus speaks the Marauder who never got in trouble, Harry," Sirius chortled, patting Remus on the head.

"Sirius, you're the dog, not me," Moony frowned.

Padfoot ignored him. "If you can, be like him," Sirius instructed with a grave expression. "Cause mayhem and havoc while hiding behind an innocent and sincere face."

"Just don't try any fancy moves on your broom before taking at least one flying lesson," Remus cautioned, staring meaningfully at Sirius.

Sirius glared at his best friend. "I meant to fall off that one time.!"

"So you say." Remus turned to Harry. "He went on for the next week or so about how he meant to land on his knees, break the kneecaps, and need both legs healed," Remus replied dryly.

Sirius had no retort for that. "I think it's time you had some rest, Moony," he decided. "I'll fix you lunch, but I want you to take a long nap. In your bed. No reading," he added briskly, sounding as stern as Madam Pomfrey. "Harry, you watch him and make sure the patient obeys me."

"What, precisely then, am I allowed to do?" Remus complained, getting up from the chair and walking towards his messy bed.

"Talk to Harry. Sleep. Daydream. Think," Sirius supplied as he edged towards the door.

"I think your godfather reversed our ages, Harry," Remus whispered as Sirius left the room.

"I heard that!" came the voice from the hall.

Harry and Remus snickered.

Later that day, Remus awoke from a long, dreamless nap and saw that Harry had fallen asleep on a faded couch near him. Sirius must have covered him with a blanket after Remus had fallen asleep.

Sirius knocked on the door slowly, hesitantly. Remus croaked out, "Come in," before relaxing back into the pillows. A lot of his belongings, including his feather bed, had been given to him by Sirius at some point, but unlike the Weasley hand me downs, they were still in good condition. Remus had argued against Sirius' generosity at first, but Sirius would have none of it. He had insisted that he had more than enough money to live on and Remus needed the things more than Sirius did. Remus had finally agreed around the time that Sirius managed to gain custody of Harry. He told himself it was because Sirius had enough to worry about and he'd do whatever he could to make life easier for his friend. Deep down, he was truly grateful and fully intended to repay his friend's kindness.

Sirius was now placing a bowl of chicken noodle soup by his desk. Upon seeing Remus' open eyes, he grinned.

"Afternoon, sleeping beauty," he teased.

"Where do you learn all of these muggle fairytale references?" Remus replied, raising an eyebrow.

Sirius snorted. "Whatever we say about muggles, they have better children's books than the ones in our world. Even if the pictures don't move."

Remus smiled. "If you say so," before letting loose a large yawn.

"Aww," Sirius crooned, "is Remie tired?"

Remus shot his friend a withering look. "Quite funny, Padfoot."

Sirius retrieved the bowl from the desk. "I brought some food for you. Don't worry," he added, seeing Remus' pained expression, "I won't try to feed you."

"I imagine you'd spill the contents over my head," Remus retorted, taking the bowl gratefully.

"Now be a good boy and drink it all up," Sirius teased, ruffling Remus' hair.

"Yes, Dad."

Sirius snickered and then sighed. "Seems like just yesterday he was throwing up on me. He's growing up way too quickly. As soon as he leaves for Hogwarts, I'll only see him for a couple of months out of the year. Then he'll be gone for good, no doubt working at the Ministry as an Unspeakable or something else just as important."

"You have months before he leaves, Sirius," Remus replied gently. He took another sip of the chicken soup. "That's plenty of time, and I'm sure you'll make the most of it. Besides, you'll see him for the Christmas and Easter holidays."

Sirius sighed. "I'm hoping to come up to Hogwarts for those," Sirius confided. "I'd rather have Harry spend as little time with the Dursleys as possible."

Remus nodded. "Think Dumbledore would approve?"

"I don't know if it's ever been done, but I can't see why Dumbledore would say no. But I'll wait until Harry settles in before talking to him about it. He might want to spend the time with his friends."

Remus shook his head. "You're his godfather, and after not seeing you for several months, I'm sure that Harry would be thrilled to have you spend some time at the school. I think he'd enjoy that."

"I hope so," Sirius sighed. "Well, you need to get some sleep. You need it, with the full moon."

Remus nodded, handed Sirius the empty bowl, and pulled the warm covers over his head. Within minutes, he fell asleep.

In the other bedroom, Harry was trying to read but kept getting distracted by the talk Sirius and Remus had held earlier.

He loved his dad, but he was afraid of living up to his image. Sirius seemed to worship James, and Harry believed that whatever he did, he'd fall short. He didn't want to be a troublemaker…not yet, anyway. He just wanted to go to school, make friends who didn't treat him like a freak or a celebrity because of his scar, and make good marks.

Besides, for all he knew, Hogwarts may not have even let him in.

A/N: Thank you so much for all of your reviews. I was floored by the amount of feedback I received from the last chapter. Your enthusiasm means a great deal to me and is part of the reason I'm still working on this fic. :)

We're getting to the end of the pre-Hogwarts era, so rather than putting all seven stories in one, I'm going to separate each year into a different story. They'll all be called "An Alternate Route", but year one will be "An Altnerate Route, year one" (or something along those lines that's clearer).

I think it will be easier for new readers, and me, to have eight stories with about 20 chapters apiece than one story with a few hundred chapters. So, "An Alternate Route" will be ending within the next couple of chapters, but please keep a lookout for the continuations!