Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or Prince of Tennis!

...

...

"Thank you for coming," Sora smiled welcomingly.

Hari shifted a little nervously on her feet as she smiled shyly back at Seiichi's mother. She had just arrived at Seiichi's house and felt the butterflies in her stomach as she entered the house and met his parents.

Yes, she had met them before, but this was different. She hadn't really spent much time with them and being here like this… well, it was intimidating.

"Thank you for having me," she managed to say.

"Of course," Sora said and looked over at Seiichi. "Show her to the guest room she will use."

Seiichi nodded and picked up the bag again (he had dropped it while Hari had greeted his mum) and grabbed Hari's hand with his free hand.

She followed him up the stairs and down the hall until they reached a room on the right. He kicked the door open and walked inside.

"Here," he said. "You have a view of the garden."

"Nice," Hari said looking around. It was nice, a simple but nicely decorated room with a bed and dresser and desk. She saw a bookcase filled with books.

"My room is on the other side of the hall," he said. "Hana-chan's room is next to this."

"Okay," Hari said.

"Seiichi!" Sora called. "Why don't you show her around before dinner?"

Hari saw Seiichi roll his eyes, but he smiled.

"Sure!" he called back. "I guess she doesn't want us in a room together alone for too long."

Hari fought the blush but just nodded.

She followed him to his room and looked around curiously as she took in the large room. A double bed was in the centre of the room with a table at the end of it. It reminded her a little of how a room in an old house would be decorated with wooden furniture. He also had a lot of windows and natural light coming in. She saw the painting supplies on a desk and an easel by a window.

"Do you pain in here a lot?" Hari asked.

"Some," Seiichi nodded. "It's relaxing."

Hari smiled.

"Hey, Hari-chan!" Hana said excitedly as she came rushing into the room. "Okaa-chan told me you had arrived!"

"Hey, Hana-chan," Hari smiled despite feeling a little surprised by the reaction. She was used to her being sceptical and distant around her after all. "How are you?"

"I'm good!" Hana said. "I joined a drama group!"

"You did?" Hari asked.

"Yes," Hana nodded.

"Is it fun?" Hari asked.

"Mm," Hana grinned. "We are practising speech and pro-pron…"

"Pronunciation?" Hari asked.

"Yes, that! And my friend, Riko is also in it and…" Hana babbled.

"Calm down, Hana-chan," Seiichi laughed. "Hari-chan will be here until tomorrow so you don't have to tell her everything at once."

"But…" Hana scowled. "I want her to know!"

"Why don't you join us when your brother shows me around?" Hari asked. "I'd like to see your room too."

"Okay," Hana said.

...

Seiichi and Hana continued showing Hari around the house and watched as Hana practically took over the whole tour and demanded Hari's attention. He stood back as she showed Hari her room and took time in showing every toy she liked (there was a lot) and told the names of her dolls. Hari smiled and asked questions as she listened and didn't look like she was bored at all.

"Looks like they are getting along now," Sora commented making Seiichi turn slightly to look at his mother.

"Yeah," Seiichi said. "Hana-chan can barely stop talking."

Sora looked at him and smiled softly, "good. Now, I'll take her with me and let you and Hari look at your garden alone."

Seiichi blinked but smiled in relief. He wanted to show Hari his garden alone but didn't want to hurt Hana's feelings by asking her to leave. He felt a little guilty for feeling slightly ignored by his girlfriend at the moment because he wanted her and Hana to get along.

"Hana-chan," Sora called. "I need to go to the store. Why don't you come and help me?"

"Okay," Hana said after seeing the look in Sora's eyes. "I'll see you later!"

"Sure," Hari smiled. "See you soon, Hana-chan."

Seiichi watched as his mother and sister left the room before turning to his girlfriend. She met his eyes and smiled making him smile wider and felt a flutter in his stomach for some reason.

"So, um… do you want to see the garden?" Seiichi asked suddenly feeling nervous.

"Of course! I've been looking forward to that," Hari grinned.

He smiled relieved and took her hand in his feeling her squeeze it gently.

"It's still some flowers in it even if it's autumn," Seiichi said as he opened the door to the garden.

"I'm sure it's great," Hari said.

Seiichi watched as she looked around and guided her to the rock path he had designed.

"Wow… beautiful colours," Hari said. "That's the best part of autumn…"

"Agreed," Seiichi said.

"Is that cherry trees?" Hari asked.

"Yes," Seiichi said. "Too bad it's not the season for them now."

"Mm," Hari said. "Did you design this?"

"I had help," Seiichi said shyly.

She glanced at him, "but you did most of it?"

"Yes," Seiichi admitted. "Also had help with the planting. I couldn't do everything on my own."

Hari smile was proud, and he felt his cheeks warm and suddenly felt the need to look away before he did something embarrassing.

They continued and Seiichi showed some of his favourite spots in the large garden and the pond with koi fish.

"Aw," Hari said. "Pretty."

Seiichi grinned. "I think so to."

"It's peaceful here," Hari said after a while and leaned against his side and she felt her head rest against his shoulder. They stood by the pond and just watched the fish and the colours.

"Mm," Seiichi said.

"You're really talented at this," Hari said after a while.

"Thank you," Seiichi said pleased by her praise. He wanted her to like it, wanted her to think it was nice. He knew it wasn't a common hobby for a boy his age to have, but he had always found peace in the gardens.

"A friend would have loved seeing this garden," Hari commented. "He loves plants and could talk about them for hours."

"Oh?" Seiichi didn't want to move. Having her leaning against him like this was perfect.

"Yeah, he would love to ask you about all of the plants here that are common for Japan and how you managed this," Hari said sounding fond.

"Sounds like someone I would get along with," Seiichi said.

"Yeah, Neville would like you," Hari said.

"So not threaten me?" Seiichi asked amused. "Or think I would hurt you?"

"Nah, Neville is calm and collected," Hari said. "Probably the calmest person I know. He can get angry, but it takes a lot. He's someone who gives a person the benefit of the doubt."

Seiichi realised that she never really talked about her friends from before she moved to Tokyo. Well, other than the ones he had met, but not really that much about them either.

"Tell me about your friends?" he asked.

Hari was silent for a moment and Seiichi wondered if he had asked something he shouldn't have. He opened his mouth to take it back when she answered.

"Hm… well, you met Ron and Hermione," she said. "And Fred and George, of course."

"Yeah," Seiichi said even though he knew she wasn't expecting an answer.

"Come on, let's sit down," she said and moved to a spot and sat down not caring about the dirt. Seiichi smiled slightly as he followed and smiled wider when she scooted closer to him and allowed him to put his arm around her shoulder.

"This good?" he asked.

"Yeah," Hari smiled. "So, Ron and Hermione are my best friends there. Ron was the first friend I got, we met on the train going to the school and became friends right away. Hermione… well, we used a little more time before we became friends but when we did… I knew I had a friend I could trust."

"They seemed nice," Seiichi said.

"Mm," Hari hummed. "Neville is another friend. He is quiet and shy, but truly kind. I always felt like I needed to protect him, but never managed to do so completely."

She frowned slightly and he glanced at her.

"Seamus and Dean are both good guys even if we never were that close," Hari said. "They shared a dorm with Ron along with Neville, so we spent some time together. Dean is a football nut, he loved West Ham and is a good drawer. He once drew a banner for me to encourage me when I was nervous about a school game. It was nice."

"Sounds nice," Seiichi said.

"Seamus is Irish and proud of it," Hari said with a small smile. "He would always try to mix something together to make rum, though it always failed. Don't ask me how he thought he was going to make it, I have no idea." She couldn't really say that he did it with magic and made everything explode…

Seiichi laughed with her.

"So, you had dorms?" he asked.

"Yeah," Hari said. "I shared a dorm with Hermione, of course, and Lavender and Parvati. They are nice enough but liked to gossip a little too much for my taste. But we get along well enough. But we would sometimes stay up at nights talking. It was nice."

"Attending boarding school sounds interesting," Seiichi said.

"I guess," Hari said. "For me it was nice, I loved it. I know it was harder for Hermione and Ron who had families they missed. It is tough for 11-year olds to suddenly be away from your parents for months at the time… I know Lavender and Parvati also missed their families…"

"You… didn't?" Seiichi asked hesitantly.

He felt her tense slightly, but she didn't pull away.

"No," Hari said. "I… My aunt and uncle was never a family to me… So, it was freeing to be able to leave and be away from them. But I know that if I had to go to a boarding school now, I would miss my family. I would miss Ryo-chan and Ryoga-nii, and Otou-chan and Okaa-chan."

Seiichi felt sad for her. He knew she had a rough past, but he didn't like thinking about her liking boarding school because it got her away from her aunt and uncle. That wasn't right and she deserved so much better than that.

"I'm sorry," he said. "I shouldn't have asked."

"No, it's fine," Hari said. "I want you to know."

She liked telling him the good parts about her schooling even if she couldn't share details. The bad parts… well, she wouldn't go into that now. Not yet at least.

"Good," he said. "I want to know everything about you."

She was silent for a moment again and he wondered (again) if he had said something wrong.

"I want to tell you everything," she finally said, "and someday you might know."

He frowned confused but didn't push but filed it away for later. It was driven out of his mind when she leaned up and kissed him. He pulled her closer as he deepened the kiss.

...

"Hey, Hari-chan!" Marui grinned and waved when Hari and Seiichi reached the street court. She had agreed to go and meet his friends while she was there. They still had some time before the party later that afternoon.

"Hey," Hari smiled.

"How are you?" Nio asked.

"I'm good," Hari said. "You?"

"Good," Nio said. "Have you heard from your twins? They had fun pranks."

Hari snorted, "not much, no. But yeah, they have fun pranks. At least sometimes."

"Oh?" Nio said. "I would love to hear more about that."

"Please, no," Yagyu said making Hari laugh. "Good to see you again, Hari-chan."

She greeted the others and noticed that Kirihara kept in the background looking uncertain and sad. She glanced at Seiichi and saw that he wasn't looking at Kirihara at all.

"So… are you ready for nationals?" Sanada asked.

"I guess," Hari shrugged. "Haven't thought too much about it yet."

"It is getting closer, though," Yanagi said.

"Mm," Hari nodded. "It is."

"It would be fun if we met in the finals again," Jackal said.

"Though this time we will win," Marui smirked.

"We'll see," Hari laughed. "It would be fun, though. And Sei-chan can play too."

"Yes," Seiichi smiled when she looked at him.

"Is Tezuka back by then?" Sanada asked.

"He should be," Hari said. "I don't know, though."

She saw Kirihara walk further away and kept bouncing a ball as he didn't look at them. She noticed the others glance at him and look a little conflicted but said nothing. She looked at Seiichi for a moment.

"Sei-chan?" she wasn't sure how to bring it up or what to say. This was their team and she didn't want to interfere but she had a feeling that this was because of her.

"What?" he asked blankly.

Hari sighed, "why are Kirihara keeping his distance?"

She noticed the uncomfortable looks and how they shifted on their feet.

"Um…I'll just…" Marui mumbled and walked away and soon the others followed him and picked up some rackets.

Hari turned her attention back to Seiichi who refused to meet her eyes or show any emotion on his face.

"Sei-chan?" Hari asked again.

"He hurt you," Seiichi said after a moment.

"Yes," Hari said. "I know, but why are you shutting him out?"

"He hurt you," Seiichi said again looking at her. "That's not okay."

"Hey," Hari said. "I know you are upset that I was hurt, but it was a game and…"

"Are you defending him now?" Seiichi demanded. "You're the one who said that his playstyle is wrong!"

"And I still think that," Hari said calmly. "I have been thinking about it a lot and realise that not everything is black and white. Kirihara-kun on and off the court are different, and with help, he could really reach his potential without resorting to that kind of playstyle."

"But…"

"You're the one who said that he has more to struggle with something," Hari said calmly.

Seiichi frowned.

"Have you talked to him?" Hari asked.

"Not really," Seiichi admitted.

"Sei-chan;" Hari reached out and took his hand in his. "I know you care about me and that you were upset when I got hurt."

"Upset?" Seiichi repeated incredulously. "I was more than upset! Hari-chan, it was my fault. I misjudged him and thought he would play fair when it was against someone he liked!"

Hari pulled him into a hug and felt the tension in his body before he relaxed into her.

"It's okay," Hari said. "It's not your fault, Sei-chan. I don't blame you, okay? I never did so you need to stop blaming yourself for what happened. And Kirihara… well, he needs help."

Seiichi sighed into her shoulder.

"I know," he mumbled.

...

"Hey," Hari said as she walked up next to Kirihara.

He jumped and looked at her startled before looking over her shoulder to where Seiichi was talking with Sanada.

"Hey," he said without smiling.

"How are you?" Hari asked.

He glanced at her again before he shrugged but didn't say anything.

"You shouldn't talk to me," Kirihara said. "Captain wouldn't want you to."

"You don't want to talk to me?" Hari asked.

"That's not it," Kirihara frowned. "I just don't need Captain to be more upset with me."

"He won't," Hari said. "I said I wanted to talk to you."

"Why?"

"Why not?" Hari shot back.

"I hurt you," Kirihara said looking away.

"Mm," Hari hummed. "You did."

"I…"

"Kirihara-kun, why do you play like that?" Hari asked.

He blinked and looked down with a pensive frown.

"I don't know."

"You sure?" she asked.

"I… I just… I want to prove that I'm worthy," Kirihara said so quietly that Hari almost didn't hear him. He looked pained and so…young.

Hari looked at him, "you don't need to play like that to do that. You are worthy without it, Kirihara-kun. You are a talented player and a nice guy and funny."

He frowned.

"I…" he said but trailed off.

"Look, we had a fun match before the injury, right?" Hari asked and he nodded. "That's what I really like about tennis. To find the matches that make me have fun and challenge me. I had to work really hard against you, Kirihara-kun. It was fun."

She reached out and patted his shoulder.

"Try to find that and give it a fair shot," Hari said. "You will find that winning games when you play fair is much more rewarding. And… give Sei-chan a chance to process things. He'll come around, okay?"

Kirihara nodded and watched as Hari walked back to her boyfriend. He knew that she was right but at the same time he still felt the need to prove he was worthy by crushing everyone else. It was the only thing he knew…

"You okay?" Yagyu asked.

"Fine," Kirihara mumbled.

"He'll come around," Yagyu said. "Hari-chan seems to be trying to get him to change his mind."

"Why?" Kirihara asked. "Why would she do that? I… I hurt her."

"You did," Yagyu agreed. "And I don't know why. She might just be the forgiving type, or she sees something in you."

"What could she see in me?" Kirihara asked looking over at Hari who was now standing beside Seiichi having taken one of his hands in hers. She was laughing at something and Seiichi was smiling.

"That's for you to find out," Yagyu said gently. "We've told you before that you go too far in your games, and this time it brought consequences for Yukimura. It was lucky it didn't ruin his relationship with Hari-chan."

Kirihara nodded. He needed to think. He didn't want to ruin Seiichi's relationship with Hari, he liked that she made him smile. He liked Hari and didn't want to see her hurt. She never seemed nervous around him like others did, not even at their game or after the game. She had seemed calm and soothing. He almost wished he could curl up and have her comfort her. She was warm and he felt cold.

...

"Did you have fun with your friends?" Kouki asked when they got back home.

"Yeah," Seiichi said, and Hari nodded.

"So, you get along with his team, Hari-chan?" Kouki asked looking at Hari.

"Yes," Hari smiled shyly. "I like them at least."

"They like you too," Seiichi said glancing at her. "If it was up to them you would transfer schools and join our team."

"Really?" Hari asked surprised despite herself.

"Of course," Seiichi said. "You should hear them talking sometimes."

Hari smiled, "well, too bad I like my own team so well, then."

"It really is," Seiichi said but his smile showed he was teasing.

Kouki smiled as he watched them, "that's good."

"Hari-chan!" Minoru interrupted as he came rushing into the living room. "You're here!"

"She arrived before you did," Seiichi said.

"Hey, Minoru-chan," Hari smiled. "How are you?"

"I'm good," Minoru said. "Did you get here earlier? You could have come with us, you know."

"I know, but I wanted to have more of the day to spend together with Sei-chan," Hari said.

"Okay," Minoru said. "Did you know that I played against Ryoga-sensei yesterday?"

"No," Hari smiled fondly at the younger boy. "I didn't. How did it go?"

"He won," Minoru sighed. "But it was fun."

"That's what matters," Hari said.

"Do you play him a lot?" Minoru asked curiously.

"Not a lot," Hari said. "I wish I could play him more often, but it's not easy to find the time."

"Have you beaten him?" Minoru asked.

"No," Hari sighed. "And he's smug about it too…"

Seiichi smiled, "he's a strong player, right?"

"Mm," Hari nodded. "He could go pro if he wanted."

"And he doesn't want that?" Kouki asked curiously.

"Not yet," Hari shrugged. "He said he didn't want to leave home yet."

She knew it was because he had just gotten his family back again and didn't want to leave them again so soon. She liked that he wanted to stay close for now even though she knew he would leave at one point. She tried not to think about that.

"Hey, Hari-chan," Kasumi smiled in greeting as she entered the room as well and her husband was right behind her and waved at her with a wide smile.

"Hey," Hari smiled back.

The dinner was served, and Hari sat between Seiichi and Hana at the table. The dinner was fancy and low-key at the same time while the conversation flowed easily around the table. Hari was included in a way that made her feel warm and welcomed despite being on the outside of this family in many ways.

Seiichi would glance at her from time to time and smile making her stomach flutter as she caught his eyes.

When the dinner was over, they moved to the living room and Hari was dragged to a chair by Hana and pushed down before she climbed into her lap. Hari blinked surprised as she glanced down at the younger girl who seemed perfectly at home in her lap.

"Seems like she's won over," Kouki laughed seeing his daughter claim Hari and giving her brother a smug look.

"It was only a matter of time," Sora smiled.

"Presents!" Hana exclaimed.

"You know it's Okaa-chan who's getting the presents today," Seiichi said as he sat down on the seat on the sofa closest to Hari.

"It's still fun," Hana said.

Hari watched as Sora opened her presents and took time to thank everyone as she did and examine them. She liked how she complimented Hana for the clearly homemade present and the honest happiness she seemed to feel as she examined it. It was something Hari hoped her own mother would have done. She swallowed thickly.

"Thank you, Hari-chan," Sora said when she opened the gift from her. "I really like these books."

Hari smiled shyly hoping she wasn't blushing too much. Seiichi had told her that his mother liked to read, and Hermione had helped her find the books (or she had researched some titles and let Hari know).

"Good," Hari said. "I hope you liked them."

"I'm sure I will," Sora said.

Seiichi reached out and squeezed her knee and she smiled as she met his violet-blue eyes.

"Good haul this year too," Ryouichi said when Sora finished. "Not too bad to turn a year older, eh?"

"Ryouichi!" Kasumi scolded.

Sora rolled her eyes but smiled. "Not too bad, no."

...

"Did you have a good time?" Rinko asked when Hari came home.

"Yeah," Hari smiled. "It was fun."

"Did he try anything funny?" Nanjiro frowned.

Hari rolled her eyes, "no."

"Hm," Nanjiro hummed suspiciously. He hadn't approved of her going to visit Seiichi overnight, but Rinko had overruled him and said it was okay. She had talked with Sora first on the phone, though.

"That's good," Rinko smiled ignoring her husband. "I'm glad you got to spend some time with him and his family."

"Me too," Hari said. "I liked getting to know them."

She walked up to her room then and put her bag down by the door before walking over to Hedwig and stroking her feathers.

"Hey, Hedwig," Hari murmured.

Hedwig cooed and ruffled her feathers slightly before she affectionately nipped at Hari's fingers making Hari smile before walking over to the bed and falling down at it.

She had really enjoyed her time at Seiichi's. It wasn't often they got the chance to spend so much time together uninterrupted or at once. It had been two perfect days.

"So, you're back," Ryoma said making Hari look toward the door (she hadn't closed it) and saw her brother standing there watching her.

"Obviously," Hari said.

"Ha-ha," Ryoma rolled his eyes. "You missed out on hanging out with Kikumaru-senpai yesterday."

"Oh?" Hari blinked. "I didn't realise that was the plan."

"It wasn't," Ryoma shrugged. "But it turned out that way. He won a meeting with a girl-group and was really excited about it. Though, he was frustrated when we kept showing up and ruining his perfect day."

"I see," Hari said. "Well, I guess I missed out."

"You want to come and play tennis with me?" Ryoma asked.

Hari pushed herself up more on the bed and considered it. She needed to do her magic homework and finish a book report for her literature class. But she also wanted to spend time with her brother since it had been a little while.

"Okay," Hari said. "But only for a little while since I have homework."

"Okay," Ryoma smiled pleased.

Ryoga joined them too and the three of them played for an hour before Hari excused herself to do her homework (even if she didn't want to). She left them at the shrine and walked back to the house.

...

Meanwhile somewhere in Russia…

...

Sirius groaned as he shifted back to himself and felt his muscles protest. He had stayed as a dog for too long and had been going further than he should in one day. He wasn't as young as he used to be anymore.

He wanted to turn back and go to Hari again. He missed her, but he told himself that it was unsafe and that he would only place her in danger.

It was harder to leave her this time. Back at Hogwarts, he had been so mixed up by finding Wormtail (finally), then seeing and talking to Hari again after spending so much time just watching her from afar (he wasn't a stalker, okay?), and then reuniting with Remus again…then losing Wormtail, Remus turning into a wolf, the dementors and then the escape and having to leave Hari again. It all had seemed so unreal but also so much like a dream.

And what could he offer her? He had to run again, and it wouldn't be safe to take her with him even if he wanted to. Besides… he had thought she was happy at Hogwarts with her friends. He had thought she had belonged there, so he had left.

Now… he had gotten to know her more and felt like he had a shot at being in her life for real. He watched her with her friends and family and saw how happy she was and content. He wanted to be a part of it.

But he had to leave… he hated that he was a danger to his own goddaughter. He should be there for James' girl.

"Padfoot," a familiar voice said, and Sirius turned to see Remus standing in the doorway to the small cabin.

"Moony," Sirius smiled.

Remus came over and pulled him into a hug and Sirius smiled slightly as he hugged his old friend back.

"How are you?" Remus asked when he pulled back.

"Alright," Sirius said. "Why did you ask to meet?"

Remus had sent him a letter asking for a meeting. Sirius knew it was a risk, but his friend had sounded like he really needed it and he knew that Remus wouldn't ask if it wasn't important. So, he had agreed. He had missed Remus, though.

"I thought it best to see you," Remus said looking nervous.

"Everything okay?" Sirius asked concerned noticing how tired Remus looked. He was looking more ragged and exhausted than the last time Sirius had seen him, and his face showed clear signs of age.

"Been looking for Hari," Remus admitted. "It's been…"

He trailed off.

Sirius felt a stab of guilt go through him as he observed his friend. He shouldn't have realised that Remus would be out there looking for Hari too. He cared about her as well, Sirius knew that, and he hadn't said anything.

Well, he had thought about it but Hari had not really given him a clear answer as to whether she wanted him to know or not. He could understand in a way because Remus was loyal to Dumbledore, but he was loyal to Hari as well. Hari was James and Lily's girl and that meant something.

She was theirs.

But would he be loyal to her and not tell Dumbledore? Dumbledore had done a lot for Remus… Sirius felt bad for not knowing what Remus would do.

"Right," Sirius said.

Remus smiled tiredly. "I was… wondering if you had seen the papers lately?"

"Papers? No…" Sirius said. "I haven't exactly been in any wizarding districts."

"I thought so," Remus nodded. "I brought this to you."

He tossed a few papers on the table in front of Sirius and he blinked when he saw the headlines:

SIRIUS BLACK – A MASS-MURDERER OR WRONGLY IMPRISSONED IN AZKABAN?!

FUDGE – THE MINISTER OF MAGIC OR MALFOY'S PUPPET?

Sirius gaped.

"What?" he said reaching for the paper with his name on the front cover. That didn't seem like the normal stuff written about him since his escape.

"Yeah… that was published recently," Remus said. "It is… very well informed."

...

Sirius read the articles over and over not really processing the information in it.

"How does she know this?" Sirius asked finally looking up at Remus. "Did you tell her?"

"No, I didn't," Remus said. "I honestly never thought about talking to a journalist about your case."

Sirius frowned.

"There's been a lot of talks," Remus continued. "The Ministry is in an uproar trying to settle everything. They can't keep it quiet and people are asking questions they find difficult to answer."

Sirius blinked, "they believe this?"

"I think a lot of them do," Remus said thoughtfully. "It helps that it isn't written by Rita Skeeter. Karen Dillon is known for her serious work ethics and her pieces are always professional. "

"Huh," Sirius frowned thinking hard. "But who…?"

He stopped short. Hari? Could she have talked with a journalist? Was that possible? But…

"There's not a lot of alternatives, really," Remus said looking at him and Sirius knew he suspected Hari as well. "You have no idea about who could have talked to her, Padfoot?"

Sirius wanted to tell him. He really did, but he wanted to be sure first and he wanted Hari's permission. He needed it.

"Not at this moment," Sirius said.

"Hm," Remus said.

...

Sirius managed to get some privacy when Remus went to bed. It was close to a full moon so he was tired. Sirius grabbed his mirror as he walked outside the cabin and sat down on the steps pulling his jacket tighter around himself seeing as it was colder in the Russia wilderness.

"Hari Potter," he said into the mirror. It didn't matter that she had changed her name, the mirror would find her anyway and it was strange for him to think about her as anything but a Potter.

"Sirius?" her sleep-filled voice said and soon her face showed up in the mirror. It was clear that she had been sleeping and he felt a fond nostalgic smile cross his face taking in her messy hair. She was so much like James… "Do you have any idea about what time it is?"

"Sorry, Hari," Sirius said. "I forgot about the time difference."

She yawned and moved, making him believe she was pushing herself up so she was sitting up.

"What is it? Is everything okay?" Hari asked.

"Everything is fine," Sirius reassured her. "I'm safe."

"Good," Hari said.

"I met Remus," Sirius said. "He's here."

Hari was silent for a moment.

"Oh, really?" she finally asked.

"He has been looking for you, Hari," Sirius said. "He's exhausted."

Hari looked a little guilty, "he would tell Dumbledore."

"Not necessarily," Sirius protested. "Hari, please, he is my best friend and he really cares about you. I do think you would come before Dumbledore for him."

"Make him promise not to tell Dumbledore," Hari said after a moment. "I do… want to talk to him again, Sirius. I just…"

"I know," Sirius smiled. "I promise, I will make sure he won't tell Dumbledore."

"Okay, I trust you," Hari said.

"Oh…and one more thing," Sirius said.

"What?" Hari said.

"Did you talk to a journalist about me?" Sirius asked.

The silence was answer enough and Sirius felt his heart beating wildly in his chest.

"You did," he said. "Hari Potter! Do you know what kind of risk you took?!"

Hari huffed, "it was worth it."

"Hari… what if she told someone about you?"

"I didn't meet her in Japan, Sirius," Hari said. "I met her in Germany."

"Germany?" Sirius blinked confused.

"I travelled there with my team," Hari said. "We were visiting Tezuka. Hermione helped arranged it. She is the one who has had the mail correspondence with Dillon. I just met her in Germany to talk."

"Still…" Sirius frowned. "I don't like the risk you took."

"I still say it was worth it," Hari said. "Look, it should be known that you never had a trial. If enough people start asking questions, then the Ministry can't hide anymore. I didn't know Dillon would take it as far as she has, but it's good. It's time everyone in Britain stops being sheep and start to realise that their Ministry isn't flawless and actually care about what's going on."

Sirius blinked speechless as he stared at Hari's reflection in the mirror. She looked defiant and stubborn, much like Lily did when she had made up her mind about something.

"Seems like people are starting to ask questions," Sirius finally said. "Remus said they had. That's why he wanted us to meet. He wanted to show me the articles."

"I see," Hari said.

"Why didn't you tell me you were going to do this?" Sirius asked.

"I thought you would try to stop me," Hari said.

"I would," Sirius huffed. "Thank you, Hari. I appreciate you caring about me, but I don't want you to put yourself at risk for me again. It's not your job to protect me."

"I care about you," Hari said looking down and he could see the blush in her cheeks. "I just want to see if we can find another way to give you the freedom you deserve."

Sirius felt touched by her words and smiled warmly almost feeling like his old self again as he met her green eyes.

"I need to sleep," Hari said and yawned. "I have school in a few hours."

"Sure," Sirius said. "Goodnight, Hari."

"Night," she said and ended the connection.

...

Sirius stayed outside for a little longer until the cold made him go back inside the cabin. He lit the fireplace and sat down in front of the flames letting them warm him as he watched them flicker and burn.

His mind was working overtime. He trusted Remus. So why did he hesitate when thinking about telling him where Hari was? Would he tell Dumbledore?

No. Sirius didn't believe he would.

"Padfoot?" Remus' voice interrupted his thoughts.

"Hey, Moony," Sirius said looking over his shoulder. "Sleep alright?"

"I did," Remus smiled still looking tired but at least his eyes had a little more life in them now. In fact, Remus was watching him with those calm eyes of his. It made Sirius flashback to his schooldays for a moment to when he would watch him and James like that and make them feel guilty for something they had done. Sirius couldn't remember exact instances at the moment, his memories were a little fussy since his stay in Azkaban.

"You okay?" Remus asked. "You only got like this when you were considering something important. Like a prank with James."

"Pranks are important," Sirius defended himself making Remus smile.

"So?"

"I need you to promise me something," Sirius said making his decision.

"Promise you what?" Remus asked.

"You can't tell Dumbledore what I'm about to tell you," Sirius said so seriously that Remus frowned.

"Why not?" Remus asked.

"Because I don't trust him," Sirius said.

Remus frowned deeper. "Why don't you? I thought…"

"Look, I know Dumbledore has done a lot for you, Remus," Sirius said getting up agitated and unable to sit still any longer.

"He allowed me to attend Hogwarts, he made it possible for me to make friends," Remus said. "Of course, he has done a lot for me! He gave me a job when I needed it and made it possible for me to meet Hari and know her."

"I know," Sirius said. "But he always has his own agenda. Why did he wait until Hari was 13 before letting you see her? He was the one who told you to stay away from her before then, right?"

Remus frowned again. "He said it was unwise to interrupt her life with her aunt and uncle, and that she needed to have stability with them. And you know the Ministry would have stopped me from being a part of Hari's life as a child."

"Dumbledore could have arranged something," Sirius said. "He never should have had a say in what Hari could and couldn't do anyway. He's not her guardian."

"He…"

"He isn't! I am her magical guardian, and you should have been when I was in Azkaban! James and Lily wanted it that way!" Sirius interrupted.

Remus was silent but Sirius could tell he was thinking hard about what Sirius had said. Sirius paced the floor while trying to calm down, he felt his hands shaking.

"And he could have introduced you to her when she entered Hogwarts when she turned 11 if that had been his reasons," Sirius finally continued. "When she learned about the magical world and was reintroduced to it; why didn't he let you meet her then? It would have been logical and expected for you to be allowed to see her again then. She would have found support earlier, and a connection to her parents that she longed for."

"I…" Remus trailed off. Yes… he had wondered why he couldn't meet her when she came to Hogwarts for the first time. He had asked, but Dumbledore had said no. Why had he said no?

"Look, I just need you to promise me that you won't tell him," Sirius said. "He can't know this. He can't."

Remus swallowed before he slowly nodded.

"Okay, I promise not to tell Dumbledore," Remus said.

"A Marauder's promise, Moony," Sirius said. "This is more important than anything else."

"A Marauder's promise, Padfoot," Remus agreed.

Sirius watched him for a long moment before he opened his mouth to start telling him the story.

...

...

AN: What do you think? XD

Hope you like it!

If you are familiar with the anime then you might have noticed that I'm skipping something from the anime. The filler part where they train to play against the American team and the games against the American team won't be in this story. I just don't feel like adding it. It doesn't fit with what I want for the story. I'm sorry if someone is disappointed by my decision, though!

Thank you for reading and supporting the story! XD