Harry rose from his nap feeling much better, and he could almost smell the food Sirius (or Remus) was cooking downstairs. He headed downstairs and into the kitchen, where Sirius was at the stove and Remus was at the table, a book in hand.

"Hello," he said, softly enough not to startle either adult, yet loud enough so that they would know he was there.

Remus looked up from the book with a smile, and Sirius pointed his wand at the stove, placing the food in a type of stasis. Then, he crossed the few feet to Harry and wrapped his arms around him.

Harry smiled, letting his head rest on his godfather's shoulders for a few seconds before standing upright. Sirius held him a bit tighter, and didn't let go until Harry did.

"Have a good rest, pup?" he asked, brushing some stray hairs out of Harry's eyes.

"Yeah, I feel loads better," Harry said, truthfully. "What are you making? It smells great."

"Steak and kidney pie, with ice cream for dessert," Sirius replied. "Oh, and baked potatoes."

"Baked potatoes?" Harry asked. "Not that I mind, but isn't that an odd combination?"

Sirius shrugged, turning back to the stove. "All get mixed up in your insides, anyway. Anyway, we rather felt like them, and these potatoes look like they only have a few more days before they go bad."

Harry nodded. "Can I help?"

"Take a seat and keep Remus company," Sirius ordered, although his tone was playful.

"That's not as strenuous as your job," Harry protested, but he sat down next to Remus.

Remus put a hand on top of Harry's. "It'll be our job to clean up his mess."

Sirius snorted. "Which, thanks to magic, you'll be finished with in less than a minute."

"Good thing we're wizards, then," Remus laughed, giving Harry an eye roll.

"What have you been up to while I was sleeping?" Harry asked.

"Talking, mostly," Sirius explained, with a chuckle.

"While Sirius attempted for the twentieth time to show me how to prepare the revised Wolfsbane potion without his help," Remus added.

"Twenty first," Sirius corrected, coming to the table with three plates of food, all hovering in the air.

"As you can see, it's going very well," Remus explained, with a self deprecating laugh.

"It's a hell of a potion to master," Sirius pointed out. "And, Moony, Potions was never exactly your strong spot."

"Don't I know it," Remus said, with a wince. "It's very kind of you to prepare the potion for me."

"You've only told me a thousand times." Sirius clapped a hand on Remus' shoulder.

"We'll keep trying, if you like," Remus conceded. "Perhaps after a few more attempts..."

Harry noted that Remus sounded dubious about this.

"Perhaps, the twenty-fifth will be the one that takes," Sirius grinned. "All right, eat up." In a voice that almost perfectly resembled Mrs. Weasley, he added, "Especially you, Harry dear. You're far too thin!"

Harry chuckled, and Remus did his best to hide a snort. They began eating, and all talk ceased as Harry focused on enjoying the meal. The house elves made excellent meals at Hogwarts, but Sirius' cooking was at another level.

As promised, Harry and Remus cleaned the plates, which was rather fun, what with being able to use magic. Harry would have enjoyed chores at the Dursleys a lot more had he been able to use magic, and not in the least because of their reaction. Especially Aunt Petunia.

"Something funny on your mind?" Remus asked, as he placed the last of the dishes in the cabinet.

"Oh, I was imagining how my aunt and uncle would have reacted if I had done chores like this. That is, if it was allowed outside of Hogwarts," Harry quickly corrected himself.

Remus chuckled. "I met your aunt on occasion. Can't expect it would have gone well."

"Probably not," Harry agreed. "But I only have to see them one more time."

Remus tentatively put a hand on Harry's shoulder, then, even more tentatively, placed his arms around him in a hug.

It felt a bit awkward at first, but wasn't as abrupt as Sirius' one-armed hug had been over a year ago. Before Remus let go, as soon as Harry comprehended that his former teacher was trying to reach out, he put his arms around the older man's frame. Remus held him a bit closer, and Harry felt himself surrounded, safe, by his former teacher. The scent was a bit different from Sirius, a bit like he had just showered, compared to Sirius' peppermint and cloves. All the same, it was nice, soothing, even.

Harry let go sooner than he would have with Sirius. He didn't feel quite as comfortable with Remus as his godfather, even if he had slept on one side of him after the Horcrux surgery. Remus might comfort him after a nightmare, and Harry would certainly trust him with his life, yet there wasn't the same level of closeness as there was with Sirius.

He was a bit surprised, then, when Remus briefly put an arm around his shoulders, gave him a slight squeeze before letting go.

Sirius was the sitting room, lounging on the couch, and the Pensieve was in front of them. It seemed to be a permanent fixture there, although Sirius had told Harry that it could be folded up and moved without any difficulty.

Harry sat down on one side of him, expecting Remus to take the other side, but his former teacher sat down next to him. Not that he sat particularly close-there was several inches of space between them-but it was a surprise that he'd chosen to be near Harry instead of his best friend.

Sirius reached out with one arm, placing it around Harry's frame. Almost instinctively, Harry leaned himself next to his godfather. Sirius chuckled, removed a blanket from above the couch cushions, and wrapped it around all three of them. He pointed his wand at the fireplace, and a great fire appeared, sending heat towards all three of them.

"Mmm," Harry murmured, placing his feet under the blanket.

Sirius chuckled. "You're easily pleased."

"How could I not be? Homework's finished, you're here, and there's a great fire," Harry said, with a laugh.

"You sound like your father," Remus observed. At Harry's look of confusion, Remus elaborated, "He always loved a fire."

"Even in the summer?" Harry asked, with a grin.

Sirius tousled his hair. "Nights can be cold, especially outside. We had plenty of bonfires during our holidays."

"Would you tell me about one?" Harry murmured, letting his eyes close as Sirius' hand carded his hair.

"Of course."

Sighing a bit, Harry sat up straight, putting a hand on the top of his head. "I'll fall asleep if you keep that up, Sirius."

Sirius laughed, then removed his hands from Harry's head, then wrapped the arm holding Harry a bit more securely. "How's this?"

"Relaxing, but not like I am about to fall asleep," Harry determined.

"Good. Now, Remus, if you have anything to add..."

"I will," Remus promised, softly, moving a bit closer to Harry.

The story took place during the Marauders' first summer after classes, right before their second year. James had invited all of them over for a week, and as luck would have it, the full moon had been the week before. Remus, then, had completely healed (physically) from his transformation, and he wouldn't have another for almost three weeks. Unlike some of their other outings and get togetherness before the others had become animagi, he could participate fully and enjoy the festivities like any twelve-year-old wizard.

It was a rather simple story, really. Four close friends spending an evening in front of a large fire near the edge of James Potter's parents' property, accompanied by Harry's grandparents, sitting in front of the fire and telling scary stories. The older Potters even cast spells on the fire so it changed colors and formed faces to match with the stories.

Harry listened, transfixed, as Sirius and Remus took turns telling him about the night.

"We went to bed late, and your dad's parents allowed us to sleep in, as it was a holiday," Remus recalled. "The next night, we asked to sleep outside."

"Did you use sleeping bags?" Harry asked.

"There were two. The Potters enlarged them so that two could fit in comfortably. It was me and your dad, and Remus and Wormtail," Sirius explained. "Your father, like you, had very cold feet."

Harry snickered. "Did he wear extra socks?"

"Nope, and he was rather wicked because he would keep poking me with them, as though they were giant monsters!" Sirius grinned.

"It was rather amusing, because while Your dad loved giving foot rubs," Remus recalled, "his own were quite ticklish."

"What Moony means," Sirius explained, with a large grin, "was that you could barely touch his foot with your hand without him bursting into laughter. Sounded like a four year old girl, he did.

"Which I learned that night, and made note of it, and almost broke my nose on various occasions as a result," Sirius explained, with an affectionate eye roll.

"Ouch!" Harry winced. Then... "Wait, if you were doing it on purpose..."

"He started it!" Sirius objected. "The prat kept shoving his freezing feet on top of my warm ones. Self defense, it was." Sirius turned to Remus. "Remember that James also had very ticklish ears for a spell?"

Remus huffed a laugh. "In the middle of your becoming animagi."

"Is that right? Well, that makes sense," Sirius allowed. "I had the most unbearable itchy back for at least two weeks. Your dad would scratch it for me, sometimes for over an hour at a time, but it was the worst when we were in Potions. Felt like I couldn't concentrate on anything except that."

Harry winced, then hugged his godfather. "The same time as my dad's ears were ticklish?"

"Yeah, well, not exactly the same time, but close enough. Your dad got the better end of things, let me tell you. I expect it's because he became a stag and I became a dog. You know how they are with flees. Cats, too," Sirius mused.

"Excuse me, my animagus form has no flees!" Sirius protested, clearly affronted.

"Because we made you take a bath once a year," Remus retorted.

"Do you still?" Harry asked, ducking as Sirius lightly cuffed him on the head.

Then, Sirius pulled Harry into a tight hug, wrapping both arms around his frame.

"I tried last month," Remus answered, dry. "I believe I got more wet than he did."

"So you're saying that bathing Padfoot is a two-person job?" Harry laughed.

"For your information, it was more like three. That was when we were in school. And it was truly awful. James would perform the full-body bind until I was in the tub, and then all three of them would dump at least a pound of this awful smelling shampoo on me. Even used conditioner, just to humiliate me," Sirius complained, still hugging Harry.

"That's awful!"

Harry tried to hold back a laugh, but the image was too much. Remus grinned at him.

"I'll show you a memory tomorrow, if you like."

Harry positioned his body to he could see Sirius. "Do you mind?"

Sirius groaned, but it was a good natured one. "Oh, all right."

They sat there in companionable silence for a bit, with Harry maneuvering himself out of the rather restrictive hug and resting against Sirius, with one arm around his side. Sirius began to made small circles along Harry's neck, beginning just where his hairline ended. It felt nice, but with all the talk of dogs and scratching, he felt his back begin to itch.

"Sirius?" Harry asked, tentatively.

"Yes, pup?"

"Would you mind, er, scratching my back?" he asked, almost shyly.

Sirius chuckled. "Sure. I'll have to take off your shirt though, so let me know if you get too cold."

Harry nodded. "Thank you."

Sirius gave him a squeeze. "I'm happy to, pup."

Harry did feel a slight chill once the barrier of the shirt was gone, but Sirius positioned the blanket so it covered Harry's chest.

"Hmm, lay down...you'll feel more comfortable that way. Hang on..."

After some more maneuvering, Harry lay near the edge of the couch, which was wide enough for his height and then some, and Sirius covered all of his body except his back with an extra blanket. Then, he set to work.

Just as how Harry had never had a back rub or a foot rub before Sirius, he had no memory of anyone scratching his back. If he had experienced an itch, he simply scratched it or, if it was in a place too hard to reach, he ignored it until it went away. Dudley, having been extremely overweight until he'd turned fifteen, would have gone to Aunt Petunia for this, and she'd always been happy to comply.

"Is my Diddums hurting?" she would ask, or some variation of it.

Harry thought that Dudley looked like an unattractive cat when Aunt Petunia scratched his back, but now, he was sure that the expression on his own face had similarities. It was a good thing that his face was mostly unseen, with his head propped up by his elbows.

Just like when Sirius gave him a back rub, he had this uncanny, perhaps instinctive, ability to know what Harry needed at any given moment. Perhaps, it was something that he shared with his dad (well, minus the ticklish feet). He lay completely still, aware of his breathing becoming light, as Sirius' fingers traveled over his back, then his shoulders, then his neck, and his spine.

The latter was almost like being tickled, and Harry took a sharp breath at the beginning.

"Easy, easy, I won't hurt you," Sirius murmured, removing his hands from his godson's back. "But if you're uncomfortable, let me know, and I'll stop."

"I'm wary of being tickled," Harry admitted, facing Sirius.

"I won't tickle you on purpose. If you feel uncomfortable, I'll stop," Sirius promised.

"All right," Harry agreed, laying down again.

Sirius went to work again, and Harry let out a contented sigh as he scratched along his spine. Was this how a car or dog felt during a good scratch? It was as relaxing as when Sirius rubbed his back, just in a different way.

He let himself relax completely, felt his eyes close. He might have fallen asleep, because the next thing Harry knew, Sirius was tucking him in, not on the couch, but back on the bed they shared. His pajama shirt was off, and he felt the softness of the sheets against his skin more acutely than before. The blankets felt heavy against his frame, warm. Then, Sirius was holding him close, gently positioning his head against his chest. The blankets were suddenly more secure against him, and he instinctively nestled against Sirius.

"Thank you," he half whispered.

Sirius brushed some hair out of his face, then held Harry more securely.

"You're welcome. Sleep well, pup."

Up next: more nightmares, and Hermione has an idea that requires the use of Harry's invisibility cloak, the map, and the library.

Constructive comments are always welcome!

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