Hey everyone,
This chapter is going to get quite emotional. It is going to cover something that I wrote about in chapter 9 and that I have completely forgotten about ever since. And the fact that I forgot about it two chapters ago makes me feel pretty stupid. Yet at the same time, this gives me more time to flesh out what Harry has been doing while he was stuck in the Shrieking Shack. And I intend to make it obvious that our boy has not been sitting still these past few months.
Not at all,

Venquine1990

Chapter 25
The Light Of The Past

25th of December 1995
Shrieking Shack, Scotland
Harry's POV

"That – was – AMAZING!" Sirius says as he flops down on my bed on his back with his arms spread out wide. I snicker as the man had been really drawn into the movie right as Ariel tried to escape from the shark. After that he had been constantly commenting and encouraging Ariel and the others. He was also reluctantly agreeing and disagreeing with King Triton at the same time and he had been really cursing Ursula and her minions.
I had even heard a few Latin curse words I hadn't even known existed up until this point, but I had kept quiet about this. And the only time that Sirius would not be commentating was during the songs. Yet he wouldn't be watching the movie at these points, but at me while I sung along. And while I felt a little self-conscious, the look of pride on his face really helped. I had been a little out of breath at the end of Ariel's reprise of the song Part of your world, but otherwise fine.

Sirius looks up at me and asks: "And Muggles make these?" I nod at him and say: "Yeah, they've been bringing out masterpieces like this every year since 1989. This was their first, though the one that followed already seems on the verge of disappearing into obscurity. It's a sequel to a movie from back in the forties and while the graphics are pretty great, the story and characters just aren't as incredible as those in the other movies of the past half-decade."
Sirius sits up and asks: "And you have them all?" I nod and say: "Yeah, Vernon buys them for Dudley the minute they release and the last one, when it was in theatres, won several awards." I go to sit next to the man and with a large grin on my face, I say: "To be honest, I've been watching that one at least once a week since Dobby found out about Muggle technology and the Fidelius charm." To this Sirius breaths out loudly and says: "If that one's anything like this one, I can see why."

I grin at the man and say: "It's better. You know Hamlet, right? This is that story, but then with savannah animals. And the main protagonist and antagonists are lions." To this Sirius wants to rush back to the video room, but I yell: "Sirius wait, I set myself the schedule of only one movie a day." The man pouts, but then he shrugs and says: "Fine, I can wait." I grin at him and a small part of me feels like starting to sing one of the songs of the other movie.
But I refrain from doing so and then I remember something. I hit myself on the head and notice that this makes Sirius tilt his head in confusion. "I completely forgot. I practiced this spell specifically for this occasion and I forgot!" I yell the last word and this time I am the one to flop down on the bed. But I don't do it with a sense of ecstasy, but in annoyance. And a groan of self-loathing escapes my throat as I land as well.

Sirius comes to sit with me and asks: "What do you mean?" I sigh, sit up and get off the bed. I move over to stand with my side to the man and then turn my focus back to the whole event of a few minutes ago. I focus deeply on the look of pride on Sirius' face when he heard me sing and on how great it felt to see him look at me like that. I feel my grin from before returning and feel warmth fill me up from within, the warmth going through every fiber of my body.
I pull my wand and state: "Expecto Patronum!" Sirius gasps and I smile at him before casting the spell again. And just like a few weeks ago, the two stags merge together before the Patronus changes and becomes the silvery, glowing, ghost-like apparition of my father. Sirius gasps and dad and I both smile at him. But then dad turns to me and says: "Son, I appreciate your efforts, but you need to stop trying this spell of yours."

The man's words startle me and dad runs a hand down my cheek as he says: "There is only one way that our line can bring the dead back to the land of the living and this isn't it. You're safe now, but if you keep this up, you will incur his wrath. And he is worse than Riddle, Harry. Worse than Riddle could ever even hope to be. There is a reason why Riddle fears him. So I ask you, my son, please, let this be the last time you cast this spell."
I look at the apparition of the man and wonder who he could be on about. Yet I can't help the sense of fear that overcomes me at the notion that this person – or being, I feel is more appropriate for some reason – is bad enough dad doesn't even feel comfortable mentioning him by name. As if it's a universal taboo to say this being's name without his permission or something. But then I remember why I practiced this spell and say:

"Dad, I'm not doing this for me, I'm doing this for Sirius." Both men look startled at this and I shrug as I say: "Yeah, I miss you and mum on a daily basis, but – after three instances of being so close to getting you back, only to have you ripped away from me again? It kind of makes it easier for anyone to make peace with the loss, with the knowledge of what you'll just never have, no matter how much you might want it."
The two look at me, pain and pride mixed on both of their faces, which looks a bit weird on the face of a humanoid Patronus. I turn from dad to Sirius and say: "And besides, I lost you guys long before I could gain proper memories of you both. But Sirius, he lost you after ten years of friendship and he never got the chance to grief, to say a proper goodbye. That's why I worked on this spell. To give him that chance. And – I know it's Christmas and all, but – it just felt – right, you know?"

The two have huge grins on their faces by this point, but then Sirius sighs and says: "Harry, you are one incredible young man – but you're wasting your time and your energy." I look at the man startled and feel glad that I am no longer in control of the Patronus. As I feel sure that the man's words and my shock would have, otherwise, made the being fade from existence. The man smiles at me, tears in his eyes and he says: "When I said goodbye to you in November, I did the same with them.
I just didn't realize it right away, because I was so focused on the fact that I had just lost another chance to be there for you. But after a few days and a few talks with Tonks and Molly, who had really grown more understanding after the whole debacle of a meeting between Ron and the Order, I had my epiphany. And would you believe that it came when Molly actually apologized for that argument we had when you first came to London?"

The man laughs at this, but I don't as that argument and the way it ended still really bothers me, especially what Mrs. Weasley said before the argument was put to a stop by Lupin and Mr. Weasley. The man stops laughing and stares at me. And after a second his confusion gets replaced by understanding and after that gratitude. Then the man sighs and turns from me to my dad. And while dad had crouched down when he talked with me, both men now stand up tall.
Sirius approaches dad and I feel tears of excited relief start to fill my eyes as I watch this unfold, a great sense of honor filling me. I also squash the teeny-tiny voice that whispers that I shouldn't be here. The two men stand in front of each other for several minutes and while neither says anything, they remind me of the Weasley twins. The look in their eyes says it all. A conversation is passing between the two, without a word being said.

And Sirius is the first to make a move after about three minutes. He gives a solemn nod and dad's grin broadens at the sight of this. The two then strongly embrace each other and I feel like I should be able to compare this to the pictures in my photobook. But while I do have a few pictures of Sirius and dad together, they strangely enough don't really compare to what I see before me. And then I realize why. In those pictures, dad and Sirius still had goofy, childlike grins on their faces.
Those grins aren't present right now and the way the two hold each other really speaks of how much they have matured, which is quite interesting as dad has been dead for over a decade. "Huh, I guess that means that, whether or not a person ages physically when dead, they can age otherwise. Interesting." I can't help but think as I watch the hug take place. And while I do feel the tears running down my face, I don't really feel like wiping them.

Then the two part and dad turns to me while Sirius steps back. Dad walks over and he hugs me as well. And while I can definitely feel the sensations that normally come off a Patronus, I also feel all the emotions that dad tries to convey through his hug. And this time I ignore the analytical part of my mind as I just happily drown in the warmth, the love, the affection, the care and the pride that dad's form radiates through his embrace.
But then dad whispers four words that I had never expected to hear, even if a very small part of me had been growing that same belief over the past few months. "He's your father now." Dad whispers and before I can respond in any way other than tensing up, the apparition fades and I am hugging air. My eyes are wide, my body is tense and my arms are bend around something that isn't there. But then something is there and it takes me a second to realize what it is.

It's Sirius. And as the man hugs me, I make another realization. The conversation between the two men, the one they held just by how they gazed at each other. It was dad asking Sirius to take over where he left off, to not just be my godfather, but to truly take me in as his own. And Sirius, despite everything I have gone through, despite the fact that I am in hiding and he is free to go wherever he wants whenever he wants, accepted.
New tears run down my eyes at this and I whisper: "And now my dream came true." Sirius lets out a soft laugh and whispers back: "And so did mine, kiddo. So you'll let me part of your world?" To which, while I want to laugh at how corny and ridiculous this whole thing might seem, I can't help but admit: "Sirius, ever since you came back into my life, you have been basically the center of my world. You – you are almost more my world than anyone else – bar Ron and the other Keepers, that is." Sirius laughs and says: "Naturally."
But then he pulls away just enough that I look him straight in the eye and he whispers four words. And just like dad, these words astound and astonish me, they make tears run down my face and they fill me with a warmth unlike any, even the warmth that naturally comes from a Patronus. "Thank you, my son." And my only response is pulling the man back in for another hug as I let new tears, tears of unbeatable joy and love, run down my face.

Merry Christmas, Harry!
And YES, I have plans for that little thing that James hinted at. I know that, a few chapters ago, it was the Goblins that found and cleansed the whole thing, but they are not going to treat this thing the way that Canon-Griphook treated the Sword of Gryffindor in Deathly Hallows. Also, it won't actually be Harry who will make use of this object. He will have to be involved, but only at first. After that, someone else will do the job for him.
Also this chapter might have been short and I might not have done a lot to show what Harry does during the day, but I plan to keep Sirius there for the whole winter break, so expect another chapter with them sometime soon. Unfortunately before we get to more of the good stuff, we first need to deal with the bad. On the other hand, the sooner I can end the whole Umbridge storyline, the cleaner I will feel.
Yuck,

Venquine1990