AN Disclaimer Harry Potter belongs to JK Rowling I own nothing. This is fanfiction, I make no money out of this whatsoever. Now that's out of the way...

Chapter 20

Life in Potter Manor quickly settled down into a regular schedule. The first several weeks had been a bit of an adventure for both of them, Sirius as he came to grips with his history and living with a permanent reminder of the friends, no family he'd lost, for the Potters had been his family more than the Blacks had ever been. Harry was invaluable there, the bond allowing his child to know precisely when he needed something to cheer him up and gradually the ache had receded. It had not left, and he was a fool if he though it ever would but it was bearable.

He had thought he had come to terms with his grief while they had lived in France, and in a sense he had, he had accepted the death of Lily and James but being in the manor had been a bit of a blow as he had been faced constantly with memories of the years he had spent here with James and it had taken time to come to terms with that. But he was managing and he knew that he had almost won.

Harry had also had several adventures although his thankfully had been a lot less troubling than his Pa's. The large manor and grounds with the myriad of passages and strange rooms that were hidden in a whole variety of interesting places were perfect for a young boy to explore and he had spend many blissful afternoons getting as familiar as possible with the manor and getting lost and found again.

And then there was the farm itself. Despite the fact they had lived in a small town in France, Harry still hadn't have much contact with a rural existence and often, when there wasn't a downpour Harry could be found down at the farm, either in the stables with the horses or out in the orchard and fields with the cows and sheep. The Potter's had two horses, both large Shire horses which pulled the ploughs in the fields and did the other heavy pulling required on a farm. For a boy who had grown up with cars, trucks and tractors the idea that you would need a horse to pull a plough was a little puzzling but Harry loved that they did on the farm because otherwise he wouldn't have any horses to visit and attempt to ride – it was lucky that the two animals were large and placid and that a house elf was always on hand should the 'Young Master' do anything too silly or dangerous!

Harry was also still in contact with his friends from France, a fact which surprised Sirius though perhaps in hindsight it shouldn't have. Harry had been writing to Remus with remarkable discipline for a child for several years now and it was only to be expected that he had transferred that to his friends. Still Sirius would be surprised if the contact stayed for that long, regardless of how disciplined Harry was with letters he knew how hard it was to keep contact, especially for children who didn't see either other often, and were at the stage where they were growing up and their paths were diverging.

The lessons were coming along well, Sirius was over the moon with Harry's progress in defence, he was certain his child had a talent in that field, and that combined with the martial arts and dodging practice he had done while they lived in France would make him a formidable fighter in time, and he was sure that his child, even with what he knew now would be easily able to defend himself and win against all the current first years and most of the second years and hopefully by the end of the year he would be able to hold his own against most of the third and fourth years, not defeat them but to be able to hold his own for long enough for someone to get help and for the fight to be stopped or sorted out by a teacher.

Hopefully it would also be unexpected and Sirius knew all too well that sometimes it was the ability to do something unexpected, or to be able to defend yourself when nobody thought you were capable of doing so could buy you precious seconds, and it only took a second to activate a portkey or call an elf. He hoped with every fibre of his being that he was being overprotective, that Harry would never need what he was teaching him but in his heart he knew that that hope was false.

It hadn't just been the ministry he had run from, although they had been the greatest danger for them at that point. He knew far too many death eaters had walked free and Peter was still out there somewhere. They were safe where they were and once Harry was out in the Wizarding World he would be a target, but as much as he longed to he couldn't hide Harry away forever. The world would come looking and Harry would grow up and take the freedom that had be denied him, and when that happened he would be at a disadvantage if he hadn't been part of that world, if he didn't have any friends, if he didn't have social interaction and being at a disadvantage could get his child hurt or killed.

So as much as it hurt and worried him, Sirius was forced to acknowledge that it would be best if Harry went to Hogwarts. He would be damned if he let his child into that vipers nest without as much protection as he could offer him and a failsafe way to ensure he got home again in the holidays and summers but Harry would go to Hogwarts. And seeing as the Wizarding World had no idea that Sirius had him if the reaction of Ollivander was anything to go by, Harry would be safe from them, and he would learn and grow and Sirius would protect him from the Death Eaters and Dumbledore.

Nobody would think an eleven year old boy would be a danger, and although he knew that Harry would always be famous at Hogwarts he would have the opportunity to be normal and do what was expected of him. Frankly he knew his child would be in more danger if he didn't turn up, people would ask why, would begin to look and sooner or later they would make and mistake and they would be found. As long as things appeared to be normal Harry wouldn't be bothered hugely, and he would be around to ensure that when Harry was bothered it could be sorted quickly. He was reminded of an old saying he'd heard once, the best place to hide a tree is in the forest.

And that was what he intended to do. He'd hide Harry in plain sight, just another child at Hogwarts, albeit a famous one and he knew the pureblood elite paid little attention to their children, except to teach them about their world and their family's standing within it. His parents had been exactly the same, subscribing to the position that children should be seen and not heard and they paid little attention to their children until they reached OWL level and that would protect Harry. He would be ignored as a child by those who would do him harm until he was old enough to defend himself.

It was ironic really he thought. They would refuse to see Harry as a danger until he had received enough training to actually be a danger and their inaction would mean that when they started to move against him they would be unable to. Harry would be able to defend himself and would have friends and allies in the Wizarding World who would be able to support him. He would deal with Dumbledore, and keep him safe from that angle but whatever happened he swore to himself that his child would be safe.

Harry stared at him, a curious mixture of excitement and fear pulsing across the bond. "We're doing what?" the child whispered, emerald eyes wide as they regarded Sirius with nothing less than unadulterated shock. "We're going to Diagon Alley puppy," Sirius told him tenderly, carding his fingers through the child's messy mop. "I've talked to Ollivander and he's going to let us floo into his shop and then we are going to go and explore the Quiddich shop and a few other places. It will be fun little one."

But Harry was already shaking his head, "You'll get caught Pa," he cried, "I don't want to lose you!" Instantly Sirius sank down onto his knees and opened his arms, Harry flew into his embrace and Sirius held him tightly pressing a kiss onto his child's forehead. "You won't lose me Harry," he murmured comfortingly, "Nobody but Remus knows about my animagus form and he isn't in the country at the moment. We've been to Diagon Alley before and nobody has ever suspected a thing," He could fell that Harry was beginning to believe him but he continued to speak quickly and softly. If he was going to go to Hogwarts with him Harry needed to be sure that their ruse would not be discovered.

"And anyway Harry, even if someone suspected I was an animagus I've invented something that will prevent them from transforming me so they wouldn't be able to show it was me. You will put your contacts in and we'll cover your scar with a bit of makeup and you'll wear a cap to hide your hair. Nobody will recognise you and you will get to spend some proper time in Diagon and experience some of the good things about living in Britain."

"Okay." The agreement was softly spoken but Sirius could sense that his child did believe him and he was glad for that. He didn't want to confine Harry to Potter Manor for the rest of his life, even though his instincts were screaming for him to do so he knew it wouldn't help his child in the long run so he ruthlessly suppressed them. Harry needed to be a normal child, to experience the world he would have been raised and lived in if it hadn't been for that thrice damned Halloween.

Sirius pulled him close once more, feeling Harry relax into the embrace before straightening and reluctantly releasing him. "Go and put your contacts in," he instructed quietly, "Then come back and I'll deal with the makeup and the cap." He received a nod before Harry sped down the corridors, his socked feet slipping and sliding on the wooden floors.

About half an hour later Harry was ready and Sirius had triple checked the collar and the collar tag he was going to wear. The anti-animagus revealing spell he had placed on it was the strongest he had been able to cast as he had placed it on the metal tag. From his testing he knew it would withstand over 100 castings of the spell and it would be able to resist multiple castings of up to twenty simultaneously.

They were going to floo into the back of Ollivander's shop, Sirius would have to floo in human form but he had be owling Ollivander for several weeks now and the man had readily agreed to make sure that they had the floo address to his back room which was closed to the public and to speak to them before they went into the Alley as well as letting them use the floo once more when they were heading home.

Sirius led Harry over to the fireplace and taking a handful of powder he stepped into the fire, Harry standing next to him as Sirius made sure he kept a tight grip on his shoulders. Harry was a little old for him to be flooing with Sirius, but seeing as the child had never flooed before and their situation was a little precarious Sirius did not intend to take any chances that Harry could get lost or that they could be separated.

"Ready?" He asked quietly and he saw Harry's determined nod. He released the powder and the next second later they were gone to reappear in Ollivander's back room. Sirius instantly found himself hanging onto Harry for dear life to prevent the boy from catapulting headfirst out of the grate. It appeared that he would have to give his child lessons on flooing when they got back to the manor.

He pulled them both back onto a level footing before stepping out of the grate, with one wave of his wand the ash and soot vanished and he turned to the figure of the wandmaker. "Thank you for allowing us to use your floo Garrick," he said politely, but the old wandmaker just shrugged him off.

"It was nothing," he said, waving the thanks away, "You provided me with the greatest challenge of my career and I have enjoyed our correspondence immensely. It has been so long since another wizard has asked me to help with regard to the creation of new spells and frankly I find your projects fascinating." Sirius smiled at the man's sincerity and he had to admit that Ollivander had been a tremendous help when it had come to the spell creation. The man's knowledge was astounding not to mention the fact that he was well versed in many aspects of old and ritual magic which had proved invaluable. Sirius could certainly see why the Unspeakables had been desperate to discover some of his knowledge.

Harry was standing a little uncomfortably behind Sirius. He knew that Ollivander wouldn't betray them or hurt either of them in anyway but after so many years of being on the run from the magical world and knowing full well what would happen if his Pa was ever caught had made him wary. The old wandmaker glanced over at the child, a slight frown setting on his face as he saw how the boy was half hiding behind the figure of his godfather. Crouching down to the child's level he addressed him directly,

"Hello there Harry," he said quietly "How has that wand been performing for you, Sirius has told me you are getting very adept at using it." Harry flashed a quick look in the direction of his godfather, receiving a slight smile in return. "It's very nice," he replied politely, "It makes is much easier to cast spells and its really good at defensive spells and jinks!" His voice had risen during that sentence as some of his wonder and excitement grew in his voice, overpowering the initial wariness. Ollivander let out a delighted chuckle at the boy's enthusiasm. "I'm glad to hear that," He replied, "That wand is one of the finest that I ever crafted and it had a particularly affinity for defence. It certainly sounds like it is serving you well." He straightened, pleased that the child had lost some of his fear, and then turned to Sirius.

"You said there was a matter you wanted to talk to me about," he said seriously, "Something too dangerous to put in a letter?" Sirius nodded, his thoughts immediately turning to the problem he needed to talk to the wandmaker about, even as his fingers rubbed gently through his child's hair in a silent message to wait patiently for a couple of minutes.

"Yes," he replied quietly, "I know you originally took the bond to be familiar in nature, so would such a deception stand for those who were not versed in the old magics or is it something that could be quickly exposed by a spell?" He paused for a minute then he spoke again, "I suppose what I am really asking is how bonds such as these are detected and how would one differentiate between them or could this bond be taken for a familiar bond if they lacked knowledge of such bonds?"

Ollivander's eyes narrowed and he started to pace as his mind flicked rapidly through the options. Eventually he spoke, "There is certainly a spell used to identify bonds, however it is so old that I am almost certain that I am the only one who is aware of its existence, and that if it were used the Old magic has been forbidden for so long that they knowledge it would reveal would be all but incomprehensible so I doubt that is any danger to you."

He paused before he continued, "I know there is a spell which is usually used to detect familiar bonds, however I know that only looks for and responds to the presence of a bonding of whatever form, rather than an actual familiar bond but as the knowledge of other bonds has been lost to the vast majority of wizards if faced with a positive response for a bond between a wizard and a magical animal a familiar bond is the only sensible conclusion so on that front you are safe."

"Onto the aspect of actually seeing the magic, very few have the gift and again I am likely to be the only one in that group who knows of the existence of other bonds, let alone being able to recognise it! So on that front you are also secure, and if you do encounter another with the gift and they recognise the bond they will know like I did that it would never allow you to hurt him."

"I cannot say whether magical creatures would be able to detect the bond for what it really is," Sirius grimaced at that, he knew full well that the bond could be recognised by magical beings, or at least goblins and house elves however Ollivander's next words removed a large portion of that worry. "But considering how our Ministry views non-human sentient species I don't hesitate to say that any creature who recognised this would not be believed or trusted by the Ministry so you are safe from that angle!"

Sirius let out a breath he hadn't realised he had been holding. Most of this he had rationalised himself however it was comforting to hear it from another source, and he was relieved to hear Ollivander's verdict on the aspects he hadn't actually known himself. It meant that his plans for going to Hogwarts with Harry disguised as his familiar would work and he was unlikely to be discovered which made the whole situation a lot more hopeful because at least if he was at Hogwarts he'd be able to deal with the problems that might arise and for those he couldn't handle such as potions or spells he was in the middle of working on a protective amulet that would alert him to the presence of any potions in food and drink and he'd be taking the potions and materials necessary to nullify them if any were detected.

They chatted for a few more minutes but it wasn't very long before Sirius decided that they needed to go out into the Alley before the crowds could get too large. He fastened the collar round his neck but just before he transformed he turned to Ollivander, "Once I've transformed could you cast the animagus reversal spell on me please? I know the charm passed all the testing but still it is better to be safe."

Ollivander just nodded his agreement and a second later the large black grim took his godfather's place. Harry watched with baited breath as Mr Ollivander pointed his wand at his Pa and the silvery white of the animagus reversal spell shot out of it. He trusted his Pa with his life and he knew the man would not do anything to hurt him, and that including taking risks that could see him back in Azkaban but seeing the spell just flash white when it impacted with the black grim went a long way of dissolving his fears. His Pa's disguise was now perfectly safe.

Ollivander smiled in satisfaction as he saw the spell give off a negative reading. Sirius had told him all about the testing of course but it was satisfying nonetheless to see it working with his own eyes. He smiled when he saw the young boy relax, although he noted that the child never actually let go of the dog's fur. He had observed in all their interaction that the child was very attached to his godfather and he could easily see that the boy would be devastated if anything were to happen to him. He knew part of it had to be due to the bond, due to the way they had used and developed the emotion bond the two of them were connected in ways it was almost impossible for anyone else to understand but he also understood it went deeper than that. Sirius Black was the only father the child had ever known and he doted on him, and Ollivander could see that the child adored him in return.

With a wave of his wand he unlocked the door that connected to the main body of his shop, he hadn't wanted to take the chance that anyone had opened the door by accident when Sirius had still been in human form. Such an occurance would be more than dangerous and he was not going to let an innocent man be given over to the dementors. He was too aware of the Kiss on Sight order that had been given and he would not be the one to hand an innocent to such a terrible fate.

Harry looked around Diagon Alley in wonder. He hadn't really been paying much attention the last time he'd been here, he'd been far too frightened to look around, worried continually that his Pa was about to be recognised and taken away by the Ministry but now he knew that his Pa couldn't be recognised he couldn't stop staring.

It was a few days after Christmas and snow blanketed the ground and the window displays sparkled. It was completely different from anything he'd seen in the muggle world as strange signs creaked from rusty old poles, which sparkled as the sunlight caught the edges of the frost and the windows were filled with a blinding array of goods, all with their own magical properties and purposes. It was a brilliant, wonderful and strange world and yet he knew it was the world he belonged to and even though he didn't linger on the thought he also knew that there was darkness lurking in the shadows. In the deaths of his parents, in the fact it was Padfoot not his Pa that was accompanying him but these thoughts were pushed away as Padfoot began leading him gently in the direction of Eyelops Emporium.

They had come to Diagon Alley for two things, firstly an owl and a broomstick. An owl was something that could not be purchased by owl or perhaps strictly speaking house elf order as keeping an owl inconspicuously in a muggle town had been impossible and while Sirius knew he could have ordered a broomstick by owl order he wanted his godson to have the opportunity to look at the broomsticks before they ordered for one. Sirius knew that unlike an owl, it would be extremely difficult for Harry to purchase a broomstick without arousing suspicion.

They entered Eyelops and Harry's mouth fell open. Having been raised in the muggle world he had never seen an owl up close and suddenly he was faced with hundreds in close proximity to each other. There was not much he could do aside from stare. He knew he could chose one that would be used for both Sirius and him until his Pa got his freedom but he hadn't a clue where to start.

He was broken out of his thoughts when he heard a cheerful voice behind him. "Need any help there sir?" Harry spun round and came face to face with the saleswoman. He swallowed hard as he wondered what to say, he'd never been put in this position and despite the fact he knew that she would not recognise his father he was still more than a little jumpy.

A sudden flood of reassurance and love flowed across the bond and cut through his worry like a knife, pushing it away. "Yes please," he answered politely, "I'm looking for a good post owl but I don't really know what to look for..." He trailed off, looking down at the floor in embarrassment but the witch just chuckled kindly.

"Not to worry, you aren't the first muggleborn I've seen that doesn't know what to look for in an owl. I'm guessing you want a way to keep in touch with your family when you go back to Hogwarts next term?" Harry just nodded, not bothering to alert her to their cover story. If the woman already had a ready-made cover in her head there was nothing for him to worry about, it would just make him that much more forgettable if she didn't think there was anything unusual about him.

His nod seemed to have been completely sufficient as she patiently talked him through the owls, explaining the different types and which ones would be best for what jobs and how easy they were to look after. It took nearly an hour but eventually he chose a beautiful snowy owl. She had explained that Snowy owls were the most intelligent type of owl and he also thought she was beautiful.

When he shyly pointed at her he felt Padfoot nudge his hand with his nose and he felt his Pa's approval race across the bond. It was with a beaming face that he bought her along with a wide variety of products that would help him care for her. He left the shop with one hand tangled in Padfoot's fur and with the other holding firmly onto the cage containing a large snowy owl.

They stopped off at the Quiddich shop of course. Harry spent nearly another hour staring at the brooms on display but it hadn't taken Sirius more than ten minutes to spot the broom he would be ordering for his child. While Harry had looked around the entire shop with great interest he had spent the majority of the time gazing longingly at the broomstick in the window.

But the crowds were beginning to swell and although Harry had mainly conquered his fear of being in a wizarding area with his Pa, large crowds were not something either of them were prepared to handle so with a last longing look at the broomstick Sirius gently led his child back to Ollivanders and a few minutes later they were spat out of the floo, closely followed by the new owl into Potter Manor.

Hi there, hope you all enjoyed it and for those who celebrate it, Happy Easter!

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