So, I have no idea what happened last week with the update. I'm guessing it wasn't just my update that was screwy, but I'm not sure. Thank you for the patience in waiting for ff to get back to me about the issue.
A couple warnings with this chapter: there will be emotions (it's Christmas, come on!), and a bit of character development for a few characters that I'm not sure everyone is going to agree with. Give it a shot :-)
Thanks to the time delay feature on the Room, break was quite a bit longer than usual, though it had never felt shorter. Every day Harry spent several hours in there, either reading or training. Thanks to the suggestions that he found in the book, he had started training physically as well. Most mornings found Harry running around the pitch and doing exercises that helped with his endurance and agility.
Sirius and Remus helped quite a bit when Harry was struggling with a spell that he hadn't learned yet. He was working ahead in Charms and Transfiguration, focusing on spells that would help him in duels, not that he would be ready to use them in that situation yet. He had learned over the summer that you only use spells that you know quite well during a duel, or risk making a serious mistake.
During the first week, Sirius recruited Remus to help with the Occlumency. "It's a lot harder when there are two attacks at once," Sirius told Harry seriously. "If you can't keep us out, that's fine, don't worry. I just thought this might be even better, because let's face it: Voldemort is a much better Legilimens than I am."
Harry nodded jerkily, though he was worried. He had never really told Remus anything about his past, Dursley or Hogwarts. Then he shook his head. If he was going to keep Voldemort out when the time came, he needed all the training he could get. "Alright, let's go for it."
Both wizards cast the spell, and Harry fought tooth and nail to keep his shields up, but it was hard to keep an eye on both of the invaders at the same time. After only a few minutes, Harry felt his shield fall and bit back a curse. At least he still had his 'bank vaults'. Sirius attacked one, and Remus another. Remus got through one first, but thankfully it was only his 'vault' of memories from classes. As soon as the images flooded them, the adults pulled back out as Harry dropped to his knees painfully.
"Again," he gritted out, ignoring their concerned looks.
They cast together again, and he kept the outer shield up a bit longer that time, but it did fall eventually. Thankfully, only Sirius had managed to get through another shield before Harry forced both of them out and rebuilt them.
"Nice!" Sirius yelled, then kicked himself when he saw Harry wince in pain. "You alright, kiddo?"
"Headache," came the answer. After a minute, he looked up. "Again."
Every day for the rest of the week, Harry, Sirius and Remus met up to work on Occlumency. Harry still spent the majority of his time reading or training, but Sirius made sure to be there often enough to keep him from losing it. It was similar to their time in France, that there was something fun nearly every day. For the most part, they ran around the forest in their canine forms, which Harry enjoyed immensely.
The night before Christmas Sirius asked Harry if he wanted to stay in his rooms, which Harry agreed to quickly. They spent their time laughing as Sirius told him about their sixth year Christmas at the Potter's and the trouble he and James had gotten into. Sirius smiled when Harry fell asleep at his seat by the fire and carried him to a spare bed.
Christmas morning, Sirius woke to a wonderful smell and threw on his robe to see what it was. He stood there, stunned when he saw the mini feast that was prepared.
Harry stood there, a bit nervous. When he had offered to cook, the house elves looked like he'd mortally offended them, so he asked if they would like to help. "It wasn't all me, but I hadn't gotten the chance to cook for you in a while, so I thought I would today."
Sirius gave him a hug. "It looks great, pup, thank you," he said meaningfully, and they sat down to eat.
Once the table was nearly cleared, they grabbed their gifts and brought them by the fire to open. Harry started with Ron's, which turned out to be a poster of Puddlemere United: the Quidditch team that Harry followed ever since Oliver joined them. He grinned when he saw Oliver himself grinning next to the other players, and Harry felt a certain amount of pride; this was the captain that had nurtured Harry's love for the game. The gift from the twins was 4 swamp kits and the 'Faux Reducto' armbands that Harry had suggested. When Sirius asked, he explained.
"That's brilliant!" Sirius enthused. "I can't believe no one else ever thought of that! Of course," he continued with a grin, "not everyone had their minds, including the Marauders."
Mrs. Weasley had sent her usual knitted sweater and fudge with a note saying they were going to release Arthur the next day and that he was welcome over for the celebration. Ginny had given him a book on famous leaders and their methods. Sirius had to jokingly pull the book away from him to keep him from devouring it right away. Hermione had sent a book about Arithmancy and its uses in creating spells, which Harry was nearly as excited about as his book from Ginny.
Blaise had given him a set of vials of various sizes for potions with a note asking when they wanted to start brewing again. Susan had given him yet another book about Wizarding laws that her aunt had suggested. Anthony had bought him a few things that they could practice Runes on, including two kinds of wood, a small plane of glass, and a piece of fabric, which was said to be difficult to work with because the Runes needed to be stitched, not carved.
"What's all that about?" Sirius asked suspiciously.
Harry explained about their experiment with engraving Runes. At first, Sirius was upset that they had done it without a teacher's supervision, but he was thrilled with his godson's success. He also had a glint in his eyes that Harry was suspicious of, but he decided to worry about it later.
The next one that Harry picked up was a letter in a script he thought he recognized, but wasn't sure. With the letter was an invitation to a dueling competition during his spring break. Harry stared at it for a moment before passing it to Sirius and reading the letter.
Mr. Potter,
To say that I've been impressed this past term with your work would be an understatement. In addition, you duel with Mr. Zabini during your final DA meeting was impressive. I have spoken with a few old contacts from my dueling days, and have convinced one of them to include you in the tournament later in the term. You will find the invitation included. I wish you the best of luck.
In warm regards,
Professor Flitwick.
Harry was flabbergasted. He never would have thought that his sponsor would do this for him, and he was feeling very humbled. He turned to Sirius and passed him the letter as well.
Sirius read through it quickly and smiled. "The only person I knew of who ever received a letter for Christmas from him was your mother." He smiled sadly at Harry's suddenly wet eyes. "Though he's a wonderful man, he is very hard to impress, and you seem to have done it. I'm so proud of you."
Harry swallowed past the lump in his throat. "You think I'd do alright at the tournament?" he asked.
Sirius barked a laugh. "Kiddo, I can barely hold my own against you, and I've seen you take three of those dummies that are all at Auror in training. You'll do great."
Harry's fear turned to excitement. He turned back to his gift opening. There were only two left. Remus had sent him a set of books entitled Practical Defensive Magic and its Use Against the Dark Arts. Harry thumbed through them, thinking they would be great for the DA meetings.
The last one was Sirius's. There was a box, two books, and a folder of files. Sirius pointed to the box first. Harry unwrapped it to find a full set of engraving tools. Harry stared at it, then looked up at Sirius.
"I was going to show you during break, but you've already had experience," he said with a smirk on his face. "Feel free to ask me if you have any questions, though."
Harry nodded, then picked up the books. He unwrapped them to find a set of Potions journals. His brows dramatically rose when he saw that they belonged to his mother. He looked at Sirius with incredulity.
"I told you she was amazing at Potions," Sirius reminded him. "She worked on these during our seventh year and after the wedding. I found them in the vault, and figured you should have them. There's a few of the ideas she had for new potions that she never got to finish, plus corrections for some of the more difficult ones."
Harry unwrapped the last book, and laughed out loud when he saw that it was the Marauder Book of Pranks. Sirius warned him that a Marauder was now his teacher, so to be careful with what pranks he pulled. Harry grinned and agreed to keep a low profile as he flipped through it, finding it to be a record of all the 'successful' pranks that they had pulled over the years.
Harry finally picked up the folder. He was about to open it when Sirius stopped him. He looked up curiously, to find Sirius pale and nervous looking.
"Harry, if you don't want this, I will understand. It's just an offer, and I won't be upset with you if you tell me no," he said, no trace of humor on his face.
Harry opened the folder with shaking hands and found a lot of official looking documents. It took a moment of reading to realize what they were. Adoption papers. He looked up in amazement, too stunned to say anything.
Sirius was getting more nervous, so he did was he always did when he felt that way: ramble. "I understand that this is a huge presumption on my part. Not to mention, you'll be coming of age in a year and a half. I certainly don't want to make you forget your real father; James would come back to kick my butt if I did. I was just thinking that this way you would always have a parent with you, not that I…"
Harry stopped him with a frantic wave of his hand. He looked at the papers again, then back at Sirius, and back at the papers. Once his mind had caught up with his racing heart, he looked back at Sirius. "You really want me to be your son?" he demanded hoarsely.
Sirius bit his lip. "More than anything in the world," he said honestly.
Harry gently set the papers down and threw himself at Sirius. "Yes," he breathed, and held on for all he was worth.
Sirius held the trembling boy, but he was shaking as well. He had expected a lot of reactions, but this wasn't one of them. He held on as tightly as he could, and eventually they both sat back, Harry wiping the tears from his face. "Can I still call you Sirius?" he asked, looking at his hands.
Sirius gripped the boy's chin and forced him to look him in the eyes. "You can call me anything you want, Harry," he said seriously. "This won't change much, and certainly not anything between us. After everything that's happened since I was freed, all I know is that I want you to be my son."
Harry didn't even try to stop the tears this time. After all the years of abuse he had endured growing up, he thought that having a godfather was the best thing in the world. Having that godfather love him back was more than he thought he'd ever get. However, for said godfather to say those magic words 'I want you to be my son' caused the little orphaned boy that was still in the world weary teen to bawl with happiness. "I'm sure that James would be thrilled," he croaked. He didn't want to use the word dad, though the thought was just confusing right now. Of course, he wasn't ready to use it for Sirius yet, but the truth was, he was now Harry's father. Well, almost.
Harry grabbed the papers and a quill. When he saw the one that came with the papers, though, he blanched.
Sirius stopped him. "The Ministry requires it unless we go there to sign them. It's your choice, I just wanted to save you from the press mobbing you just yet."
Harry nodded at the wisdom and shook off the negative thoughts. "It's just a few signatures," he said bravely. Then he thought for a moment. While he truly loved Sirius as a father, was he ready to give up his Potter name?
Sirius saw the problem immediately, and had a solution ready. "If you want," he offered quietly. "You could use a hyphenate. You could go by Potter-Black."
Harry grinned at the idea and nodded. "That sounds great." He signed his name four times, trying not to wince as the Blood Quill cut his hand.
When he laid the quill down, Sirius was ready with a cloth soaked in Murtlap essence. "This should help," he said, quickly wrapping the hand. He smiled when he saw Harry relax in relief.
Harry grinned at him. "This was the best gift you could have given me."
Sirius shook his head, but retained his happy nature. "On the contrary, I think it was yours to me."
"How about you agree to disagree," Remus said from the doorway, a happy look on his face. He smiled wider when Harry ran to him and gave him a hug. "Congratulations, Harry Potter-Black," he whispered in the boy's ear.
Harry pulled back and told him thanks, then motioned to Sirius to open his own gifts. Remus and Tonks had given him a cloak made from dragon hide, so it was resistant to most curses. Hermione had sent him a coupon for a book at Flourish and Blotts and a note thanking him for his time.
Harry looked at him curiously. "What did she mean?"
Sirius laughed. "With how busy you've been in the Room lately, I was giving her some help with Runes. She's quite brilliant at them."
The Weasleys had given him a box of sweets, a set of pranks from the twins, and his own Weasley sweater, which he smiled at when Harry told him that meant he was now part of their extended family.
He got to Harry's gift and paused. He caught Harry's nervous look and sent him a reassuring smile. He opened it carefully and found a leather bound album. With trembling hands, he opened it. There were a few pictures of Harry growing up – they looked like Muggle school pictures. Then came the moving pictures from his years at Hogwarts. He felt something at the very end, and flipped past several pages, making a mental note to look at them later, and found a few vials tucked on the last page. He looked up curiously.
"They're the memories I use to fuel my Patronus," Harry said quietly. "I know you've seen a lot, but they've mostly been bad ones, and I wanted to show you some of my favorites. The recent pictures were taken by a Gryffindor a year younger than me who loves photography."
Sirius stared at the book. It was one of his biggest regrets that he hadn't been there for Harry growing up, and that he had missed so much. He had seen Harry nearly every day for the first year before they went into hiding, then only a few times third and fourth year.
He looked back up at Harry, who was looking pale and nervous about his reaction to the gift. He gently set the album down and gave him a tight hug. "You couldn't have given me a better gift," he told him quietly.
Harry smiled. He'd hoped that Sirius would like it, but he hadn't been sure. Then he looked up at Remus. "Thank you for the books," he said meaningfully. "They'll be great for the DA."
Remus smiled. "Not a problem. Thank you for the wand holster, it's wonderful." Then he turned to glare at Sirius. "And the charm was completely unnecessary, you know."
Sirius barked another laugh. "It was and you know it." Seeing Harry's confused look, he elaborated. "Tonks and I pitched in to get Remus a new set of robes and a couple shoes. We charmed them so that only he could wear them and couldn't give some of them back."
Remus spluttered. "It wasn't a few robes. It was a new wardrobe!"
Harry was clutching his stomach laughing at them bicker. Sirius smiled, as he loved seeing his godson-his son- in such high spirits. "Moony always had a hard time accepting gifts," he mock whispered.
Harry laughed at the now red Remus, but decided to take pity on him and change the topic. He hid a grin as he thought of what to do. He transformed and tackled Remus to the floor. Remus groaned, shoving the wolf off of him. "I thought one mutt was bad enough," he teased.
Harry crouched low and growled. Remus remained unfazed. "Please, Sirius would do that all the time," he said. Then Sirius transformed into Padfoot and joined his son in growling at his friend.
Remus laughed long and hard at the sight, not quite the reaction they were going for. "You really do look like family there," he told them softly.
Still in their forms, the two canines exchanged a look, then tackled Remus to the ground and started licking him all over his face and neck.
"Alright you mangy mutts, get off me!" Remus yelled, but was grinning.
The two Animagi transformed back, laughing hysterically. Remus tried to glare at them, but he couldn't hold it for long, and ended up chuckling himself.
Harry looked at the time, and was shocked to see that it was nearly time for lunch. "You guys want to head to the Great Hall early?" he asked.
When they both nodded, all three left the and made their way to the meal, enjoying the sight of the Hall's decorations. Harry was about to head over to the Gryffindor table as he'd been doing over break, but then he realized for the first time that there was only one person at the Slytherin table. "I'm going to sit over there," Harry told them, pointing.
Sirius looked at the lone figure and frowned, but nodded. "Go for it."
Harry just nodded and walked over. "Hey, Nott, mind if I join you?" Harry asked.
Theodore Nott looked up him them and shrugged half heartedly. "Why not."
Harry's frown deepened. He had gotten to know Theo, as the Slytherin was Blaise's good friend, and not one of Malfoy's cronies. This apathetic Theodore was new, and it made Harry slightly nervous.
He stayed quiet for a while though, and both wizards started eating quietly. "Did Blaise go home for break?" Harry asked, realizing that he didn't know.
Theo shrugged again. "He hadn't planned on it, but he got sick after the last DA meeting and his mother insisted. He hadn't wanted to, since she just got married again and he doesn't like the guy, but it's hard to say no to her."
Harry nodded, and they went back to eating. It was a tactic that Sirius had used against him on more than one occasion: stay quiet and wait for the other person to say what was on their minds. It worked on Harry more often than not, and he was going to try it against Nott.
Sure enough, as they were finishing up their second helpings of the meal, he spoke up. "Why have you been sitting with us?" he demanded.
Harry looked up from his plate. "A few reasons," he admitted. "At first it was just to make the DA go smoother if I knew a few people from other houses. Then I got to know quite a few more people, and realized how much I could learn by getting to know more students."
"But why the Slytherins?" Nott continued.
Harry stared at him. "Did you not listen to my speech on the first day of the DA?"
Nott shrugged. "I figured you said that just so there would be no fights. You've certainly never shown any desire to get to know us before."
Harry felt a bit bad. "That's because I thought the same thing that a lot of Gryffindors do, that you're all evil. It wasn't until I started thinking about it logically that I realized how ridiculous it was to think that."
"But look at our families!" Nott said louder, not realizing that a certain adult across the room was looking at him sadly. "So many of our families are Death Eaters, and so many of us are expected to become that when we graduate, it not sooner! Our house has turned out more Death Eaters than any other two combined!" he cried, nearly hysterical.
Harry bit his lip, knowing that he needed to calm down the Slytherin, but not knowing how. He decided to go again with logic, as it seemed to have worked in the past. "I think that's more a self fulfilling prophecy than anything," he said honestly, and Nott looked at him, confused, and beginning to calm down.
"How do you mean?" he asked.
Glad that he had the other boy's attention, Harry continued. "I mean, everyone in this school has held to the belief that Slytherin pumps out Death Eaters, and has been thinking that for fifty years at least! So we shun you, and you have nowhere else to turn but to what we assumed you were all along."
Nott put his elbows on the table and his head in his hands, pulling on his hair.
Harry was getting truly concerned. "What's going on, Theo?" he asked, using the teen's nickname in hopes that it would help the boy open up a bit more.
Nott kept his head down. "I turn 16 next week. I was supposed to go home during break to receive my Mark and join the Dark Lord. But I don't know if that's what I want anymore," he whispered. "Blaise has been great, letting me know that he's behind me either way, but I would be the first person in my family to refuse service to the Dark Lord. I would be disowned. Though if I join, I could die. I've been thinking a lot about this ever since I joined the DA, but I have no idea what I'm going to do!"
Harry's heart broke as he listened to the other boy's plight. While he was glad that the DA was serving the purpose he had intended it for, he hated the idea that it was causing him so much pain. Then he had a sudden flash of inspiration. "Theo, I know someone who could understand completely where you're coming from. Can I go get him?"
Theo shrugged, back to feeling apathetic. "I don't care," he breathed, letting his head fall onto the table.
Harry nearly tripped in his haste to get to the Gryffindor table, where Remus and Sirius had chosen to sit instead of at the Head Table, and Remus was entertaining all of them with a story about the Marauders. Sirius looked up as he came over, and rose out of his chair.
"Continue on, Remus," he said with a smile, but it didn't reach his eyes.
"Can we talk?" Harry whispered urgently.
Sirius just nodded and led the way out of the Great Hall. As soon as they were far enough away to avoid being overheard, he turned to his son. "What's going on?" he asked seriously.
Harry bit his lip, wondering where to start. "Theo is the son of a Death Eater. Well, at least one, I don't know about his mother. He's also a member of the DA. The problem is that he was supposed to go home over break to get his Mark, but he doesn't know if he wants to anymore. He doesn't want to follow Voldemort, but is afraid of being disowned by his family." Harry took a breath, and looked at his father. "I was wondering if you would talk to him. If anyone understands what it's like to be in that situation, it would be you."
Sirius nodded, thinking about it. "I can't sympathize completely, but I certainly do understand his situation. I'll talk to him, don't worry about it."
Harry sagged in relief. "Thank you, Sirius," he said softly. "He's a good guy, and I really wouldn't want to lose him to the Dark side."
Sirius just gave him a small smile and walked quickly over to the Slytherin table while Harry made his way over to the Ravenclaw one.
"Hey Lisa," he said quietly. "Happy Christmas."
"Happy Christmas to you, too," she said, looking at him closely. "Are you alright?"
He shrugged. "I'm not sure. I've been doing the right thing with the DA, right?" he asked, for the first time questioning what he was doing.
Lisa smiled as she looked at him, putting down the book she had been reading. "Harry, I've known very little about you before this year. I always thought you were this strange kid that loved to attract danger. Then you start the DA and teach everyone that sometimes you have to look deeper to understand people. You've helped bridge the gap between the Houses that has been there for generations. That's not even counting what you've taught us spell-wise."
Harry smiled a bit. "Thanks, Lisa. What are you reading?" he asked to change the subject.
She held up the book. "Les Mis. It's a…"
"Classic French novel, written by Victor Hugo," Harry said quickly. "French or English?" he asked eagerly.
She looked at him strangely. "It's in French. My parents are spending the holiday in Paris and sent this to me for Christmas."
"Est-ce que tu parles francais?" he asked, a grin spreading across his face.
"Oui," she responded, eyebrows raised. "When did you learn French?" she asked.
"Over the summer. I spent about a month there with my godfather," he told her. He wasn't sure when people would know that Sirius had adopted him, but he wanted to let his closer friends know first. They continued to speak back and forth in French for a short while, until Lisa stopped, looking at him.
"Your accent," she started, thinking hard, "I'm going to guess south of France?"
It was Harry's turn to raise his brows. "How did you get that?"
She giggled slightly. "My family lived in France for several years before we moved back to Britain."
Harry just nodded. He was about to say something else when he saw Sirius walk over to him. Harry excused himself and stood, walking over to the older man.
"Do you have any calming draughts in your satchel?" he asked quietly.
Harry nodded. "It's up in the Tower. Where should I meet you?" he asked quickly, wanting to do what he could.
Sirius smiled slightly. "Our rooms. If it's alright with you, I was going to let Theo rest in your room, if that's alright."
Harry nodded again. "That's perfectly fine. He hasn't been sleeping, has he?" he guessed. Sirius just shook his head. "I'll meet you there with my satchel."
With that said, he hurried to leave and ran up to his dorm room to grab his Potions satchel, then hurried to his godfa-his father's rooms. He gave the password and walked in. He saw Theo on the couch, eyes very red and still looking slightly frantic.
Harry pulled out one of the calming draughts he'd made. It was a fifth year potion that they hadn't gotten to yet. In fact, it was nearly always taught in sixth year because of how complicated it was to brew, but Harry had worked on it until he was sure it was alright. "Here you go, Theo," he said softly, uncorking the vial and handing it to the Slytherin.
Theo just jerked his head in thanks and threw it back. He slumped slightly in the couch and Sirius walked over. He helped the young man to the guest room, which was the room Harry usually stayed in.
Harry sat hard on the couch. What a break! First the attack on Arthur, then the prophecy, now this. It was hard to believe that most students right now were just worried about their OWLs. He looked up when Sirius came back. "How is he?"
Sirius shrugged as he took a seat next to him on the couch. "He's scared, exhausted, confused. Apparently his father sent him a Howler this morning in lieu of a gift, though he did get a few presents from his mother."
Harry winced in sympathy. Having never had family before, he'd never had to worry about Howlers, but he could remember the one that Ron had gotten in second year. "I wish there was something I could do for him," he confessed quietly.
Sirius smiled at him. "You did, pup."
Harry looked at him and scowled. "Yes, I gave him a draught. And yes, I asked you to talk to him. I mean something bigger."
Sirius put a finger under Harry's chin to look him in the eyes. "If it weren't for the DA, he would be Marked right now," he told Harry seriously. "You've shown him that there are other options out there other than joining Voldemort. That is beyond huge, Harry. If I remember correctly, that was what prompted you to start the DA."
Harry looked down. "I know, and I'm glad that it's helped him so far. I just feel bad that this morning, I was granted the wish that I've made every birthday since I can remember." Harry hadn't planned on telling Sirius this, but it just slipped out. "I've always wished for a loving parent, someone there for me no matter what I do. And this morning, you gave that to me. Now I see someone who is my age and his family turned on him."
Sirius's breath caught. He always felt his heart shatter when Harry shared anything about his childhood, but he felt better that he had done so much when in truth, he felt like he'd gotten more. Then he smiled sadly. "You sound so much like James, there."
Harry's head snapped up. "What do you mean?" he asked.
"When I ran away and went to your dad's, he said that exact thing. That he wished there was something more he could do for me. And I get that you and Theo aren't nearly as close as James and I were," he said quickly, forestalling Harry's protest. "You still helped him. Keep being there for him as a friend, and if he needs a place to stay over the summer, we can talk after your OWLs."
Harry stared at him, unable to believe his ears. "You would let him stay with us, even though we barely know him?"
Sirius nodded, eyes completely serious. "Get to know him. He seems like a good kid who's caught up on the wrong side of this war. If there's anything that we can do to help anyone this summer, I'm willing to do it."
Harry didn't respond, but pulled his father into a hug. "Thank you, that means a lot," he said quietly. They sat quietly for a while before Harry got a bit restless. "I'm going to the Room. Let me know when he wakes up?" he asked.
Sirius just nodded. He wished that he could spend Christmas with Harry, just relaxing and enjoying the day, but he knew that Harry needed to release some energy. He also knew he couldn't leave Theo to wake up alone in a strange room. "I'll see you soon, then," he said, trying hard to mask the sadness he was feeling.
Harry saw it, though. "I'll be back in a bit," he promised and grabbed the book that Susan had given him, then hurried to the Room to release some pent up anger and to read for a bit.
Not long (by castle standards) after he'd secluded himself in the room, the door opened, and Hermione came in. "Harry!" she exclaimed, seeing him sitting in an armchair, reading a book. "I've been looking everywhere for you! Is this where you've been nearly all break?"
Harry nodded, and thought of another chair for Hermione. "Yeah, I've been trying to get a lot of practice and reading done during break. How's your Christmas been?"
She scowled slightly at him. "Nice of you to ask. I've barely seen you at all!"
Harry bowed his head, feeling guilty. "I'm sorry, Hermione. There's been a lot going on, and I've been needing to think about a lot."
She softened slightly. "Just don't shut me out, alright? You know you can talk to me about anything."
He nodded. "I know, and thank you. I haven't been meaning to push you away, I just need some time to think."
She nodded, knowing that she wasn't going to get any more out of him. "Happy Christmas to you, too, then," she said, much brighter this time. "Thank you for the New Theory of Numerology."
He grinned. "You kept talking about it when you were helping me with Vector's work, I figured there was a reason for that. And thank you for the Arithmancy spell book."
She smiled. "I saw you looking at it when we went to Hogsmeade, so I hurried to grab it."
They talked for over an hour, and Harry felt better than he had before. Harry stood, stretching out the kinks in his back. "I should get back. I'll see you at the feast, alright?"
She nodded and gave him a hug before they left, heading in different directions. Harry walked into the rooms to find Sirius setting up their chess board.
"I hope you aren't thinking about asking me to play with you," he warned from the doorway.
Sirius smiled, glad that he'd come back fairly quickly. "Come on, just a few games?" he tried.
Harry sighed dramatically. "Fine, I guess my ego can take getting creamed a few times."
Sure enough, Sirius won all of their games, but Harry was grinning. He felt bad for leaving Sirius earlier, especially only a few hours after they had filled out the adoption papers. They were about to set the board up for another game when a voice caused them to turn around.
"Wow, Potter, you suck at this game," Theo said, leaning against the doorway.
Harry grinned. "Yeah, I know. You'd think I'd be better by now, but nope. Maybe I'd do better against you?" he though aloud.
"You can try," Theo smirked, his Slytherin side showing as he tried to hid the emotions that had been blatant earlier in the day.
Sirius got out of the seat he'd been in to let the teen sit. He grinned as he watched the two teens play a few games, and was happy to see Harry doing a bit better, only losing two of the next three games.
It seemed no time at all had passed, but then Sirius realized that it was time for the feast, so he stopped them before starting a new game. The three put away the game and hurried for the Great Hall.
The Headmaster had once again gotten rid of the House tables in favor of one large table for everyone staying. Remus and Sirius sat with the teachers this time, and Harry with Hermione. He found that she was going to the Weasley's the next day as well. They would be leaving together after breakfast.
As soon as the meal was finished, Theo thanked them for their help and went down to the dungeons, declining their offer to let him stay with them. Snape had been glaring at them all throughout the meal, wondering why the current and former Gryffindor were talking so much to one of his snakes. He knew that Theo was going through a hard time right now, but he doubted Black and Potter would be able to do anything to help.
Sirius asked Harry to stay another night in their rooms instead of the Tower, and Harry quickly agreed. When they walked into the sitting area, there was already a fire going and a plate of cookies and a teapot waiting for them.
Harry chuckled, knowing that Dobby really must like him to go through all that after making the feast. He sat down and poured two cups, preparing Sirius's the way he always liked, and bit into a cookie.
Sirius was sitting down, wondering where to start, he fiddled with his teacup for a while, until Harry finally sighed.
"Unless you are telling me that you changed your mind about this morning, I don't think you need to be worried about talking to me," Harry said calmly, though his heart was racing. He really hoped that his joke wasn't the truth.
Sirius smiled slightly. "I would never change my mind about that, pup," he reassured. "Oh, what the hell. There are a few things that I was going to bring up earlier, but then everything with Theo happened, and I didn't get a chance to."
"Okay," Harry said slowly.
"Now that I've adopted you, I would like to name you my heir and heir to the Black title and fortune."
Harry was shocked. He should have expected that, but just getting a father was shocking enough. "So we'll be going to Gringotts, then?" he asked, looking down at the Potter heir ring that he always wore.
Sirius smiled. "Yes, as well as the Ministry. I know that news of this will leak quickly, so there's really no rush. We can even wait until your summer break if you would like."
Harry nodded. It made sense to wait until after his OWLs were finished with. "Thank you, Sirius," he said meaningfully. "What else was there to talk about?"
"Now that I am technically your father, I've had to give up my title as godfather. As you father, I have the right to name anyone to be your new godfather; however, you are old enough to make the decision on who you want to be there for you should anything happen to me before you reach your majority."
Harry shuddered at the thought of losing Sirius so soon after taking his name. But the question at hand was rather simple. "Is there some ridiculous law against making Remus my godfather?" he asked. Though he had read some of the book Susan had given to him, he hadn't gotten to the section on 'magical creatures'.
Sirius smiled as he shook his head. "No, there isn't. James chose me because he and I were a closer than him and Remus. So you are sure about this?" he double checked, pulling out the form.
Harry grinned. "I would love for Remus to be my godfather. Now, you even think about leaving me any time soon, and I will have James and Lily kick your ass for me," he vowed.
Sirius chuckled, though his eyes were watering. "I know it's not a pleasant topic, and I certainly don't plan on leaving you until you are old and gray. However, I just wanted to make sure that in the event that something does, that you would not return to the Dursleys."
Harry scowled. He hadn't given them much thought, and really didn't want to. He shook his head to clear it from the unpleasant thoughts and forced himself to smile. "Does he have to fill out some of the paperwork?" he asked.
Sirius nodded. "Yeah, a few forms, and so do you and me."
"Do you think he'd be able to sign them tonight?" Harry asked. The thought of having to return to the Dursleys made him a bit more anxious to finalize everything.
"Yeah, I think he'd still be up. I'll Floo him and ask," Sirius told him before kneeling in front of the flames.
While Harry waited, he pulled out the book of laws and continued reading. He was up to the creation of the Wizangamot, how the members were chosen, and how it was run. He was only able to get through a few pages before the door to their rooms opened, and Remus stepped in. Though a lot of the fireplaces in Hogwarts allowed Floo communication, they did not allow Floo travel. The only exceptions were the Headmaster's office, the Infirmary (in case someone needed to go to St. Mungo's) and if a teacher had their fireplace connected through the Ministry, thought that was rare.
"Hey, Harry," Remus greeted when he walked in.
"Hey, Remus," Harry said, putting the book down. He looked at Sirius, who just nodded encouragingly. "Why don't you have a seat? There's something that we wanted to talk about with you."
Remus looked a bit confused, but sat. "Alright, what's on your mind?"
Harry looked over at Sirius again, and accepted the forms that were needed. "Well, as you know, Sirius adopted me this morning," he started, and smiled when Remus' face lit up again. It was clear that the werewolf was quite happy for them. "Well, that means that he's no longer my godfather. I need a new one." He set the forms down on the coffee table that was between them. "Remus Lupin, would you be willing to be my godfather?" he asked.
Remus looked at the forms to hide his shock. Part of him was hoping for this, but he never would have expected it. His status as a werewolf had caused him to be slightly more apathetic the older he got. His hands trembled slightly as he set the forms back down. "Are you sure about this?" he asked, just to be sure.
Harry smiled widely. "There's no one better," he said firmly. "I know that really it's just a formality," he said hurriedly, not wanting the professor to be worried about taking care of him. "I come of age in a year and a half, and Sirius has no immediate plans on dying," he said firmly towards his new father.
Remus nodded. "I understand, and I'm truly touched, Harry." He signed the line, feeling quite fulfilled. "This is going to make a ruckus at the Ministry," he warned.
Harry looked confused as Sirius sighed. "What do you mean? It's legal for a werewolf to become a godfather, right?"
Remus sat back and watched as Harry and Sirius both signed the paper, and then it vanished; it would reappear at the Ministry. "It's not illegal," he corrected. "They've never created a law for this, because they assume that no one would ever ask a monster to be a godfather."
Sirius went to stand up, but Harry beat him to it. "Never call yourself that again, Moony," he seethed. "I've known a lot of monsters in my life: both human and nonhuman, Muggle and magical alike. I can say with complete confidence that you are not a monster!"
Sirius fought to contain his grin. He and James had been working on Remus' self esteem for years, but it had clearly come back when Sirius was in Azkaban. He was pleased to see that Harry was going to continue to work with Remus about that same thing.
Remus was in shock again. While he knew that Harry was not prejudiced at all, he never would have thought that his new godson would be so adamant. He just nodded mutely, and Harry sat back down, breathing hard.
"Sorry about that," he apologized. "I know what it's like to think something negative about yourself for years. Sirius has been getting on me about that for months."
Remus just nodded again, then accepted the cup of tea that Sirius passed him. He wanted to press for details, but knew that now wasn't the time. Their conversation took a much lighter tone, and the three wizards talked late into the night, and Harry was the first to fall asleep in his seat.
Sirius looked over at him, his features softening with love. "He looks so much younger when he's asleep, doesn't he?"
Remus chuckled. "He does. There's times that he seems so much older than 15. I have to say, I nearly mistook him for James there when he went off on me."
Sirius laughed quietly. "Tell me about it. Though I have to say, I see so much of Lily in him, it's kind of crazy."
Remus nodded. "He got the best of both Lily and James. And now you."
Sirius started. "What do you mean?"
"If you knew both of you, it's clear that he's starting to act somewhat like you," Remus explained.
Sirius shuddered theatrically. "Bite your tongue! I hope that he never acts like I did back then."
Remus chuckled again. "Very true, I wouldn't want to deal with another teenage version of you and James."
The two friends chuckled as they remembered the good old days and their fallen friend. As Sirius began to fall asleep as well, he prayed to whatever beings were listening that he would not join James for quite some time.
So, I kind of wanted another 'Sirius' currently attending the school, and Theo seemed like my best bet. Again, not much was done with his character in canon, but I thought that someone who is close friends with a neutral family might be a bit more hesitant to join the DE.
I won't apologize for the adoption, though, because that was always going to happen in this story, as was Remus as the new godfather, because Sirius would know better than anyone else how short life can be during a war, and want to make provisions for Harry just in case.
I know I put in a tiny disagreement between Harry and Hermione, but that seemed to fit rather well. Harry now has the prophecy hanging over him and would want to spend all his time training, but since he won't tell Ron and Hermione why, they're confused. Plus, most of his free time was spent with Sirius.
Lastly, the competition will be included later on :-)