So… yeah. I said I was trying to make the last chapter mistake free… and wound up typing "You-Know-Why"
I suck.
Plus, apparently addresses (web site or e-mails) don't show up in fics or reviews and I've really no idea why. :-
Anywhoodle, Draco's maturity (as pointed out) has been a problem for me this whole fic… though the distance between Draco and Nott, and Harry, I wrote in part because Draco has a tutor (Dobby) plus enjoys reading (though mostly books on sports and animals) and Nott is a bookworm, unlike Harry who gets little in the way of education, care or reading material. Also, Nott is being shown as rather smarter than the average cookie – JKR describes him as 'clever' and I figure he was that way for a while. As for getting along with Hermione… well, we'll see. :)
To address another question that's come up a couple times, yes this will go through Hogwarts. So, it's going to be pretty long.
Also, I will try to include all the characters I introduce as much as possible, but keep in mind that until they're at Hogwarts and in second year (since Luna is a year younger) seeing everybody in one chapter will be a rare occurrence. Plus, the chapter focuses will be shifting a little more away from just Draco – though there still will be lots of him.
Ah, enough talking. On to the story.
Harry looked up at the man and got the strangest feeling of déjà vu. The name, Sirius Black, sounded so familiar yet distant, like a song he might have heard a long time ago and could only remember a snatch of melody. The face was dark and just a bit rugged but it was comforting and he didn't feel afraid at all. Rather, he felt almost as though he was at home for the first time in a very long while.
"You're… Mr. Padfoot?" He asked hesitantly, just to confirm what he thought he'd heard.
"Yes I am, Harry. And I'm something else. I don't know if you know this, but I'm your godfather."
"Godfather?"
"Yeah…" Sirius gestured. "Come on, kid, I've straightened up the living room if nothing else. We can go there and talk, OK? I'm sure that you must have a lot of questions."
Harry followed him into the next room and Draco paused, looking at Sirius for a cue to follow. The man nodded at him.
"And you can come too Draco."
Sirius wanted to be alone with Harry but he figured that being with a boy his own age might set Harry at ease a little. It would be easier to trust Sirius too if he had someone else to reassure the boy that he was neither a traitor nor a murderer. The three of them sat down in a room adjacent to the one they'd just come out of, with yet another fireplace. This one burnt a cheery orange and there were a few plush chairs. Sirius sat down in one, Draco sat on the floor near the chair and Harry, upon Sirius' offer, sat upon the man's lap.
"I know this must be confusing Harry, but let me tell you that I mean you no harm."
"I know," said Harry, positive of this fact if uncertain as to how he knew. He simply did.
Glad that the boy trusted him for now, Sirius relaxed.
"So, I'm sure you want to know why we've brought you here. As I said, I'm your godfather. Up until now I've been prevented by… circumstances… from taking a bigger role in your life, but I want to make that up to you now. I know you're going to find a lot of this hard to believe – but you already know about magic from the letters, so that's out of the way at least," he reasoned, as much to himself as to Harry.
Harry nodded.
"Yeah… so all those accidents…"
"Accidental magic. It happens to kids quite often until they learn how to control their magic and have different, more constructive, outlets for it. And I'm glad you never told anybody – Muggles, especially like your Aunt and Uncle, wouldn't easily understand or be nice about it."
There was another nod, since Harry knew by now what Muggle meant.
"You see Harry… your mother and father – no matter what you were told – died fighting an evil wizard. I should have taken care of you but… I was betrayed. By someone I thought I was a friend. I was set up for a crime and made to look guilty… I got sent to prison but broke out and I've been on the run since, while you got sent to the Dursley's. And I know you might hear a lot of bad things about me Harry.
But trust me – they have it wrong. I can't tell them that because I can't prove it, not just yet. But trust me – trust Mr. Padfoot – when I say that I care about you and that Draco and I are both here for you, to help make your life better until we can get you out of that awful place for good. OK?"
Harry's face was distressed by the story and he fidgeted.
"Why did you friend betray you? And what happened?"
"It's pretty… gruesome to tell. But I guess he betrayed us because he was afraid. He didn't ask us for help though; he simply sold us out," said Sirius with a frown.
Beside him, Draco had a similar glower.
Harry paused to consider this and as he thought about it, a look of comprehension dawned on his features.
"You're the black dog!"
Sirius looked at him, amazed.
"I never told you I was an animagus…"
"I remember a black dog… a big black dog… and other things too…"
Sirius grinned.
"You can remember our animagus forms! I'm the dog, your father was a stag, Remus was a … wolf" he mumbled incoherently, still too nervous to tell them the whole truth, "and Peter…" he frowned. "Peter was a rat," he finished.
"Sure was," Draco piped up.
"So I do know you…" Harry marveled. "It felt like I did when I saw you… I did!" He grinned.
Sirius gave him an affectionate hug.
"You do. And now that we've got a little time… we can talk about anything. Anything you'd like, anything at all."
Never had Harry gotten the chance to talk openly and freely with another, not since he'd been at the Dursley's home. So for hours he asked about his parents, the magical world, the school called Hogwarts, the things that magical children did and many other questions. Sirius told him about how his father and mother met and hated each other at first and then gradually fell in love. He told him about many of the adventures that the Marauders had while they were still in school and of the marvelous pranks they played, many of them on a fellow student named Snape – or Snivellus as Sirius preferred calling him.
Even the mundane parts of their world were interesting to Harry. He learned all about the house colors and what kinds of robes they wore – though the idea of dress robes didn't sound extremely appealing – and what subjects he could take. The Sorting Hat and the process of getting a wand particularly fascinated him. It was amazing to think that something could know about you instinctively, even the things you couldn't see yourself. He wondered what kind of wand would want to choose him and where the Hat would place him when the time came. Sirius heartily recommended Gryffindor, though he refrained form saying too much about Slytherin, just in case Draco did end up there.
When Sirius told him about Quidditch, Draco joined in an enthusiastic explanation of the game and told Harry about what great fun it was to ride a broomstick and play wizarding games and tromp about the woods at home. He described in great detail the animals and things they would find in there and the fun that could be had with some of them, like Tywyll.
Sirius very deliberately chose to tell them both about the Forbidden Forest and the two grinned in unison, the same idea occurring to them both at the same time. As the time wore on they got hungry, but Harry didn't want to stop asking questions so Draco ran into the kitchen and grabbed a few sandwiches and things of pumpkin juice that Sirius had prepared before hand. He walked in on their continued conversation.
"So Draco gets taught by a house elf?" Harry asked, taking some of the food.
"Yes, he's cared for in part by an elf named Dobby."
"Whoa. Do you have an elf?"
Sirius grimaced.
"Unfortunately. His name is Kreacher… and he's quite the malevolent little beast."
"House elf?" Draco asked suddenly. "Where is he?"
"Locked upstairs. There's a portrait of my mother he keeps throwing open… and each time he does it starts yelling obscenities at me and telling me that I'm a disgrace to my family."
"But why would your mum do that?" Harry asked, totally nonplussed by then at the discussion of a talking portrait.
The man sighed, having known that the discussion they were about to have was inevitable. Yet, it was disappointing all the same.
He told Harry about how Muggles were disdained and how pure blood was valued by some wizarding families more than anything else. He told him about the idea of being a blood traitor and of the large prejudices that still remained in the wizarding world, even in modern times. Draco found himself unaccountably embarrassed as he thought about Harry Potter himself being a 'mudblood' and thinking about some of the comments his own father made.
Harry looked at him, confused.
"But… that's stupid!"
"I know, Harry. But sometimes, that's the way people think."
"I'm not stupid! Not because my mum was from Muggles!"
"I know Harry. I know. But that's the way the world is sometimes."
"Well the world is stupid," Harry retorted with a frown.
"Hey now," Sirius said, tousling his hair. "Don't get so worked up about it. Some people take it more seriously than others, but lots of wizards and witches are OK about things like that. There's a lot of good in our world too. You just have to give it a chance and watch out about some people."
Harry looked at him wistfully.
"Do I ever get to see the world? Outside I mean… like, a wizarding place that's not a house?"
Sirius smiled.
"Sure you will. We just have to take a few precautions, but we should be just fine."
"Cool! When do we go?"
"Well, not today." He gestured towards a clock on the wall. "Do you see what time it is?"
"… Eleven?"
"That's right. Eleven at night. Past time for young wizards such as yourself to be tucked into bed."
"But Sirius… I wanna hear more about Hogwarts and stuff!"
"We have lots of time Harry… tomorrow?"
He sighed but only a little. He was, after all, used to obeying his aunt and uncle without complain, though Sirius was obviously much more lenient to say that least.
"OK."
"You too Draco."
He led the boys up to a room, treading carefully.
"Remember, I've only managed to clean up a couple places, so don't go anywhere else besides where I show you. It might not be safe; you could both get really hurt."
Normally Draco would have been curious, but the tone in Sirius' voice told him that he had better obey that order. After all, there could be dark magic items about in a house like Grimmauld Place – he fairly expected there to be – and those were nothing to be messed around with, as his father told him repeatedly.
At the top of the steps and a bit down the hall was a room with two beds, already nicely made. Sirius tucked them both in and said goodnight before heading off to his own room to get some rest.
In the dark, Harry pulled up the covers and enjoyed the feeling of an actual comfortable bed. It wasn't what Draco was used to, but compared to what Harry normally got to sleep in it felt wonderful.
"You know Draco…" he whispered.
"Yeah?"
"I have the coolest godfather ever."
With that he drifted off to sleep. Draco, however, stayed away some minutes longer, staring at the ceiling. He had wanted to meet Harry very badly and he was glad that Sirius was finally getting to know Harry. Things were as they should be, he thought, and he wanted to be happy that his friend was happy.
But as he looked at Harry's restful form in the dark, he worried, just a bit, about his relationship with Sirius. After all, now that he had his godson… what if he didn't want to be with Draco anymore? How could a boy he'd only come to know through being in hiding fill the spot of a godson? Draco bit his lip and tried to push away those thoughts and get to sleep.
He didn't mind Harry. But a little part of him fretted over the idea that Harry might mean a division between him and the man he'd come to see as an older brother and a good friend.
Sirius tried to get some rest after the day of explanation. He hadn't thought they'd take so long talking, and it wasn't a bad thing, but they did have to push back their trip to Diagon Alley back. He was also very much relieved that he'd managed to find a wand in the old place and that Harry had believed him; he'd forgotten how long polyjuice took to make – potions was one of his worst subjects – and the wand probably shouldn't be used for a spell like Obliviate. A few simple charms would have to do the trick.
Things in general had gone better than expected but the thought of taking him out into public – even charmed – made even Sirius a bit nervous. He felt a rush of adrenaline and smiled.
There was, after all, a thrill that came with danger.
Nott looked through the books in his father's study feverishly, until his eyes were dropping.
"When is an animal… not an animal…" he whispered to himself.
There were several possible solutions but each seemed to end in one of three ways.
One, the dog was simply a dog and had been ill or something and what Draco was doing was unrelated.
Two, the dog was needed wherever Draco was going and had gone on ahead. Which really didn't make much sense, since that would involve a third unknown entity whom Theodore wasn't sure existed.
Finally, the dog was a human enchanted in some way – charm or potion or the like. He felt this might be the strongest possibility. The dog was always unusually well-behaved and seemed to understand Draco's orders, though there was no magical kneazle-like animal that fit the dog's description. Outward, it seemed to be a normal animal.
Yet a charm or potion could only last so long and who would be casting it? The only other way was if the wizard was an animagus – but no such animal was listed in the registry Nott had checked.
'So either the first choice is right… or the wizard's unregistered… or very clever at getting re-charmed… probably one of the first two. But who wouldn't register and why not and what business would Draco have with that person?'
By then Theodore was confused and tired. It was time to go to bed anyway; his father was taking him out shopping the next day. That did not mean, however, that he wouldn't be thinking about the conundrum.
It actually gave him a thrill; he did love Arthur Conan Doyle's tales and he felt a bit like the famous Holmes himself. It did vaguely upset him, however, that Draco hadn't seen fit to tell him right off the bat. Harry had gotten to go but he hadn't…
Harry. Nott frowned. The wonder boy, the boy savior… Well, who wouldn't want to know a boy like Harry, even if he was a bit quiet from having lived with Muggles? There was prestige in having a friend like Harry and he would certainly be exciting to be around.
Maybe… Maybe Draco didn't want a boy like Nott, who didn't like Quidditch but liked libraries instead, for a friend anymore. After all, it wasn't as though they had many interests in common. And given how much Harry seemed to enjoy flying, he was probably just like Draco. They would probably get along famously, no doubt about it.
So then where did that leave him? He thought about it on his way to bed and got to sleep only after restlessly shifting. He liked books; but he also liked having a friend to talk to, even if he did goad him into doing crazy things. But already he was being shut out.
Would he still have that friend, or was Harry going to be Draco's new best friend?
He wasn't sure he wanted to know the answer.
A bit of jealousy all around… and I think fewer errors. I hope.
Well, that's it for now – and I promise, more Luna AND more in-depth Sirius soon! Hope you enjoyed and please leave a review with your thoughts, whatever they may be! Feedback is very encouraging – and encouragement means more chapters, sooner. :) Thanks!