Harry should have slept well that night. The day had been as good as he could have hoped for, after all. Yet, perhaps it had been thinking about Dudley, because when he dreamed, he saw Aunt Marge, and Aunt Petunia, and Dudley, and then there was the dog who had terrorized Harry...

He must have let out a scream, because his throat ached, and when he opened his eyes, he was aware of Sirius holding him. No, not just holding him, but rocking him back and forth like he was a small child, instead of months away from being of age. Harry felt slightly embarrassed, just for a moment, before swallowing hard and leaning back into his godfather.

Sirius continued to hold Harry to his chest him with one arm, and rubbed his back in small circles with the other. He murmured something not fully distinguishable about how Harry was all right, that he was safe. Harry felt his throat burn-he must have really been screaming-and as tried to swallow again.

"I'm sorry," he croaked out in a whisper.

"Don't be, pup," Sirius reassured him. "Must have been some nightmare, huh? Want to talk about it?" Harry nodded, and Sirius gave him a reassuring smile, then turned to Remus, who was standing at the other side of the bed. "Moony, can you fetch us some tea? And hot chocolate?"

"Yes, of course," the werewolf murmured, sounding sympathetic. He placed a hand on Harry's shoulder before vacating the room.

"I'm sorry," Harry rasped again, then tried to clear his throat.

"Harry," Sirius chided, lightly, now holding him with both arms encircling him. "You have nothing to be sorry about."

Harry just leaned his head against his godfather's chest, absorbing his warmth and his comfort, and if it weren't for the images from the dream or the soreness in his throat, he thought he could almost try to fall asleep.

Almost.

"I won't press you, but if you want to talk, I'm here," Sirius said, his voice soft.

"I-I think I do. Want to talk, I mean. After my throat doesn't hurt so much," Harry rasped.

"The tea will help with that, pup. Remus makes a great tea, with lemon and honey," Sirius assured him.

After a moment, Sirius reached over to hand Harry his glasses.

"Thank you." He pulled at one of the blankets, and perhaps anticipating his needs, Sirius let his hand drop from Harry's back to secure the covers around him.

He continued to hold Harry close to him, and for several moments, he just tried to relax. Enjoy the closeness and the warmth of Sirius and the blankets. He could almost fall back asleep, and he knew that Sirius wouldn't mind, that he would still be there in the morning.

Except for the images from the nightmare that kept entering into his mind. Harry tried to ignore them, but they were persistent. Maybe, like confronting a Bogart and transforming it into something funny, it would help to tell Sirius what had happened. As long as his godfather promised not to enact vengeance until after Harry was seventeen. Preferably, not at all.

Before Harry could decide, Remus had returned with the drinks on a sturdy tray. Six mugs, three containing tea and three with hot chocolate. Harry carefully lifted one of the teas and drank slowly. The hot, soothing liquid tasted good, and went down easily. He took another sip.

"Do you want to sit down, Moony?" Sirius asked, half teasing.

After a quick look at Harry, who nodded and tried to smile, Remus gingerly sat down on the other side of Harry.

He took another sip of tea before speaking. "I dreamt of Aunt Marge."

Sirius held him closer, and Remus placed a hand on his shoulder.

"You won't hurt her, will you? Please? I don't want you to go to Azkaban. Either of you," Harry said, his voice quiet, but not strained.

"I promise," said Remus, squeezing Harry's shoulder, and casting a look at Sirius.

"I promise, pup," Sirius answered, holding Harry even more tightly in his arms. "No matter what she deserves, for your sake, I won't do it."

Harry began at the beginning. He told the two older wizards about Marge's early visits. How each time, physically or emotionally or both, she hadn't left Harry unscathed. How she was worse than the Dursleys, who generally limited their criticism of his mum and dad, and wanted Harry out of their sight. Unlike Aunt Marge, who wanted him there to insult and mock and as good as say that he should have been killed at birth, along with his parents.

Then, he told Sirius and Remus about her latest visit. How he'd tried to strike a deal with Uncle Vernon to sign his Hogsmeade permission form (although, he realized, there had never been a chance his uncle would have signed it) in exchange for good, normal behavior during the whole week his sister was there. How he had almost made it, until the last night.

"She used words comparing my mum to a dog. Called her a bad egg. Said that Dad was a drunk." Harry swallowed hard. "She kept going on and on about them. I lost control. Somehow, I inflated her. She flew up to the ceiling, and then out the door. I was still so angry, I left."

Sirius and Remus had never looked so angry, but Sirius was holding Harry in his arms, and Remus was holding his hand, tightly.

"The magical accident department or whatever it's called came and fixed her, but I was long gone by then. I thought I was done for. I had broken the law, might be headed for prison. I thought I could go on the run if I had the rest of my money. I took the Knight Bus, see, but Fudge found me first, and said it had all been sorted," Harry concluded. "Even now, I get so angry when I remember what she said..."

"I don't blame you a bit, pup," Sirius reassured him. "Had it been me, I would have tried to hex the ministry from setting her right."

Harry and Remus both laughed at the image of Sirius going after the ministry officials.

"We saw each other that night, although I thought you were the grim," Harry recalled. "Well, later on, anyway, once I knew what they were."

Sirius tousled Harry's hair. "Now, pup, I may have been a mangy dog with possible fleas-"

"Possible? You most certainly had fleas!" Remus protested.

Sirius ignored him. "But I would never have hurt you."

"What would you have done? If I hadn't run and summoned the Knight Bus?" Harry wondered.

Sirius considered this for a moment. "I hadn't thought much beyond trying to get a glimpse of you. I suppose, I would have tried to lead you to a safe place, while still as Padfoot. Maybe broken into an abandoned cottage or something. Gotten you a place to sleep, then become human and try to make myself look less scary."

Harry nodded. "You did look...well, like you'd been away from humans for awhile."

Sirius chortled, then hugged Harry tighter. It was a good thing the mug was empty, or it likely would have spilled all over the covers. Rolling his eyes Remus retrieved it from Harry's hand.

"Oops. Sorry, pup. Well, yes, being away from humans...that's a certainly polite way of putting it." Sirius smirked. "Anyway, after a very long bath or shower, I reckon I would have seemed only half as scary to you. Then, I expect that I would have explained everything about that night."

Harry thought it over, trying to imagine how he would have reacted a few years ago. Probably, he would have been elated to hear that he had a godfather, and that might have made him believe in Sirius' innocence almost immediately. Of course, the story had convinced Harry back when he had spent nearly a year thinking that Sirius had betrayed his parents. But without having thought that beforehand? Just meeting Sirius and hearing everything?

"I think I would have believed you. Especially if you had known about Wormtail's missing toe," Harry concluded.

"I reckon we could have contacted Dumbledore, gotten a hold of Wormtail. He'd have been forced to transform, and under veritaserum, he would not have been able to lie," Sirius mused.

"I could have testified that he was an animagus, too," Remus put in, "even if I had not yet come to believe in your innocence."

Sirius nodded. "He'd have been given the Dementors Kiss immediately, especially since he would change into a bloody rat at will. No cell in Azkaban would have contained him."

"Even though we don't have the death penalty in the wizarding world, why do we have the Kiss?" Harry asked. "It's more or less the same thing, isn't it, to the person who gets it?"

Sirius shrugged, holding Harry a bit closer to him. "I don't reckon most of the Ministry's rules make a lot of sense when you examine them too closely. Mind you, no muggle system of government is without at least a bit of corruption and inconsistency, but I rather think that the Ministry makes some of the more corrupt of the muggle ones look decent."

"The threat of expulsion simply for performing magic outside of school is a law I've never seen the logic behind," Remus added. "Oh, certainly, a witch or wizard shouldn't show off in front of muggles, but that's easily enough remedied through a memory charm."

"Not to mention," Harry pointed out, "that it's only really enforced if you're muggle born or, like me, live with them."

"Yes, and once you're an adult, they likely don't care whether you use it in front of muggles, just so long as you don't hurt them," Sirius added. "Lily used a few spells in front of her sister on occasion, so she told us. Nothing harmful, of course."

Harry yawned. The ways of the ministry were certainly mysterious and inconsistent. Hermione, likely as not, would try to get a job within the ministry and try to reform it, but Harry had no desire to work in politics. Although, of course, there might be a bit of that if he became an Auror.

"Ready to try to go back to bed?" Sirius asked, gently.

"Yeah, I don't reckon I'll have another nightmare so soon." Harry managed a smile. "Thanks."

Sirius pressed a kiss on the top of his head. "No thanks needed, pup."

Remus left the room, taking the tray with him, and Harry tried to get comfortable under the covers. Sirius kept his arms around him secure but not restraining, and carded Harry's hair with one hand. Slowly, he felt relaxed enough to fall asleep.

There were no more nightmares that night.

He rose next to Sirius, or rather, wrapped in such a tight hug that it was a small wonder he could breathe, much less move with any amount of freedom. In spite of himself, Harry smiled. If any Death Eaters or muggle aunts found their way to Grimmauld Place, they would have to get past Sirius' iron-clad grip to deal with Harry.

"What's so funny, pup?" Sirius asked, glancing down at Harry.

"Oh, I, er, didn't know you were up," Harry said, a bit sheepishly.

"Sensitive ears," Sirius explained, grinning. "Heard your snickering."

"Was I that loud?"

"Like I said." Sirius smirked at Harry. "Sensitive ears."

Oh, right.

"Just thinking that it wouldn't be easy for any attacker or Death Eater to get me, you know, like this," Harry explained, looking down at himself.

"Yeah, I reckon they'd have some trouble with the vice grip I have on you," Sirius snickered. "You can breathe all right, I see."

All the same, he loosened his arms so that he was just holding Harry.

"That's a bit better," Harry admitted, leaning against Sirius' shoulder.

"I forget my own strength, sometimes. If I'm ever hurting you, let me know."

"You never have, but I will," Harry promised.

Sirius tousled his hair. "I love you, kid, and I'd do anything to keep you from getting hurt."

"I love you, too."

The words felt strange. Neither one of them had spoken them with any regularity. Sirius showed his love, of course. In the beginning, simply by being there for Harry. More lately, by affection as well as being there. Then again, Harry imagined that Sirius offering Harry a home was a sort of admission of love, and one that Harry had reciprocated, even if he'd believed his godfather to be a murderous traitor less than an hour before. Perhaps, knowing that Sirius had escaped prison to protect Harry and loved his parents enough to give his life for them meant more than hugs and saying, "I love you."

Still, hugs and saying it were nice as well.

They remained in bed for a bit, enjoying the warmth of the blankets and it being early on a Sunday, with no homework left. Harry would return in the afternoon, perhaps in the evening, but there was nearly a full day ahead of them.

"Will you really let Remus show me the memory of him and Dad and Wormtail giving you a bath as Padfoot?" he asked.

Sirius gave a put upon sigh. "There are several to choose from, but I am sure I know the one Moony has in mind. And yes, you can both have a laugh at my expense. It's rather a shame that it's only my animagus form that can be bathed. A stag and a werewolf would hardly be so tolerant to such an indignity, and Wormtail would have drowned in a few inches of water. Pity, that. But no, I have to catch fleas, and need baths before I scratch myself to death."

"I'm...sorry," Harry managed to get out, before bursting into laughter.

"I can tell," Sirius said, but he grinned.

Remus rose a few moments later, and the three of them headed downstairs for breakfast, all still clad in their nighttime apparel and dressing gowns.

"How's your kitten getting along?" Remus asked, as Sirius passed him and Harry blueberry muffins.

"Tuxy? He's doing great. Really playful," Harry said, with a grin. "Taken to Crookshanks as well."

More than once, he'd returned to the Gryffindor common room to find Hermione's cat giving him a cat bath, or the two curled up together near the fireplace. Since Tuxy was approximately one fifth the size of Crookshanks, if that, it often looked like the older cat had swallowed him up in her fur.

"Good cat, Crookshanks. Extremely clever, and helpful to me when I was hiding out," Sirius recalled. "She's at least part kneazle, you know."

"We didn't, not until later," Harry answered, truthfully. "Really, Ron and I just thought she had in in for Scabbers."

"From what I recall, Crookshanks certainly sounded like the instigator," Remus reminded them. "Didn't she try to attack him as soon as she saw Ron's rat? More than once?"

"Yeah, and since we didn't know Scabbers was Wormtail, we figured that Crookshanks had it out for Scabbers, or at least, that Hermione didn't care enough to keep Crookshanks away from him," Harry explained.

"The behavior would have convicted Crookshanks had Scabbers not been a regular rat," Remus agreed, making a face.

"Yeah, I reckon that we all wish now we'd let Crookshanks go ahead and take him to you," Harry said, glancing at Sirius.

His godfather put a hand on top of Harry's. "How could you have known? Only one of us would be made the connection. Street rats do get into fights, even the wizarding kind. I don't hold any of you accountable."

Remus looked reflective. "Looking back, I'm rather surprised that Wormtail didn't consider me an enemy. Certainly, he faked his death to hide from you and Hermione's cat, but he must have heard from the students that I was teaching at Hogwarts. I suppose he concluded that I wouldn't have known about his missing limb, and wouldn't be inclined to say anything had I suspected it."

"Rather hedging his bets, wasn't he?" Harry noted, swallowing his bite of muffin. "Although, he did end up faking his death and running away, so he might have thought it was a clear escape."

"Didn't run far enough, though, did he?" Sirius answered, darkly. "If I ever get my hands around him...pup, you'll let me this time, right?"

Harry considered. If it was in battle, yes. Then again, Wormtail likely wouldn't show his face unless there was a battle going on.

"Yes," he finally agreed. "Just don't go looking for him, all right?"

Sirius placed a hand on top of Harry's. "I won't. I promise."

As planned, they passed the morning in front of the pensieve, seated on the large couch in the sitting room. The memory of the marauders trapping Sirius to give him a bath gave the three of them tears of laughter, even though Sirius insisted, on numerous occasions, that what his friends had put him through was cruel and inhumane.

"You even used cat shampoo!" Sirius protested, watching the scene unfold. "The indignity! The horror!"

"They were out of the dog shampoo in Hogsmeade," Remus reminded him, only for the third time.

"Yes, and it was intended for treating fleas," Harry added, with a grin.

Sirius shuddered. "Cat shampoo!" he grumbled.

The second bath scene that they viewed did feature Remus using dog shampoo on Sirius, but there was just as much growling and shaking himself off as before. By the time the bath ended, Harry felt more sorry for Remus than his godfather, who was nearly covered in shampoo, including on parts of his face.

"I'm sorry, but you deserved it," Sirius told him, giving his shoulder a squeeze.

"Next time, I'll help," Harry promised, earning a dark look from Sirius. "When's that?"

"Oh, likely around April. That will be when you have your Easter holidays, so I expect you'll be too busy studying for your exams and completing your school assignments," Remus answered.

"That gives me plenty of time to plan my escape," Sirius told Harry in a stage whisper.

"Do you get fleas all that often?" Harry wondered.

Sirius shrugged. "They're damn painful once you have them. I reckon that a bath is the best way to prevent them, even if it's an inhumane form of torture."

"Do you ever wish you'd become another animal?" Harry asked, learning against his godfather.

Sirius wrapped an arm around him. "I reckon I could have done a lot worse. A bird would have been nice-I would have liked to fly. But we were doing it to help Remus, and a dog was a lot better for that end than a bird. You know, keeping him under control and all that. Birds might have excellent eyes, but dogs have a wonderful sense of smell and are distantly related to wolves. Moony could trust me."

"Have you ever given any thought to it?" Remus asked, with a smile. "Becoming an animagus?"

Harry shrugged. "Not really. You don't get to choose your form, do you?"

"No, it's very much luck of the draw," Remus agreed. "All that effort, and you could end up becoming a bug."

"That's what Rita Skeeter became. A ladybug," Harry noted.

"You told me," Sirius said, and he grimaced. "I can agree with the second part matching her personality, but hardly the first."

Harry certainly couldn't make any objections there.

When Harry returned, Hermione greeted him with a request.

"Would you mind if I borrowed your invisibility cloak? And your map?" she asked, in a bit of a rush.

"Sure, but why?" he asked, wordlessly cleaning the soot from his robes.

"She won't say," Ron explained, giving his girlfriend an amused look. "Don't think I haven't been trying to get it out of her."

To Harry's surprise, Hermione glanced around the common room, and nodded at the dormitories. "This way!"

Author's note:

Another cliffhanger, yup!

The next chapter will include Hermione's plan, but I can't very well say what it is here, now can I? :)

All constructive reviews would be most appreciated!