A/N: Even though this should be Harry's point of view, it made more sense for the storyline to continue with Sirius.
While Harry slept, Sirius and Remus made short work of the rest of the sandwiches, then started a game of wizards Chess. Each wizard warned their players to speak quietly, for fear of waking Harry, and they generally obeyed.
"Do you think he'll be all right?" Remus asked, after capturing Sirius' bishop with his knight.
Sirius couldn't hold back a sigh. "I hope so. I wasn't going to tell him so soon, but I expect it would have been rather upsetting regardless of when Harry found out." At Remus' nod, he continued, "I meant what I said, about being willing to teach him at home. Of course, I am sure he'll change his mind long before then. We'll tell him stories, have him meet some of his classmates."
"I'm sure he'll be have done so long before it's time for him to go," Remus encouraged.
Sirius didn't doubt it, but the look on Harry's face wasn't one he would be likely to forget.
They played three games-Sirius won two of them-before Harry woke up, just as they were setting up for a fourth.
He heard Harry stretch and saw him rise from the corner of his eyes. Abandoning the game, Sirius turned his attention to his child.
"Hey, puppy," he murmured, brushing some hair out of Harry's face. "Did you sleep well?"
Harry nodded, looking up at Sirius shyly. "Can I sit in your lap?"
"Of course you can. Do you want to stay under the blankets?" At Harry's nod, he scooped the child up and placed him on his lap. Harry snuggled in close, letting out a yawn. Sirius continued to stroke his hair, which elicited a contented sigh from Harry.
With a free hand, he set up the Chess board, and Remus followed his lead.
Sirius wondered if Harry was too young to learn how to play the game, but decided that even if he didn't understand most of it, it wouldn't do any harm for him to watch.
"What are you playing?" he asked, craning his head forward to look.
"Wizard Chess," Remus answered, with a smile. "It's like real Chess, except the players talk to you."
"Oooh!" Harry breathed. "Can I watch? Please?"
Sirius grinned. "Of course you can!" After a moment, he realized that Harry had probably never played Chess before, nor-upon seeing how the Dursleys spent their free time-would he have seen it played. "Would you like me to explain it to you?"
"Yes, please!"
Sirius began to walk Harry through the game, watching as he took in everything. He watched Sirius and Remus play with something like awe, which made it rather more difficult for Sirius to trounce his best friend.
Of course, he still managed without too much difficulty.
After that, the two adults took turns reading to Harry, and he even sat on Remus' lap while he read to him. Sirius prepared dinner, and they headed into the kitchen to eat it when he announced that it was ready.
Harry, Sirius was happy to see, finished everything and nodded, albeit a little shyly, when Sirius asked if he wanted seconds.
"I wasn't allowed more than one helping before," he said, rather matter of factly. "Aunt Petunia said there might not be enough for Dudley."
"That's your cousin?" Remus asked, gently.
Harry swallowed the mouthful of food he had taken, then answered. "Yes, sir... I mean, Remus."
Remus, who was sitting next to Harry, placed a hand on his shoulder in a reassuring manner, earning a smile from the child.
"There's no rule about not taking seconds here, puppy," Sirius reassured him. Slyly, he added, "Given how fat your cousin is, such a rule would have been better for him."
Harry giggled, covered his mouth at first, and then removed his hands.
"Or your uncle Vernon," Sirius added, teasingly, and Harry nodded through his laughter.
"You're a dreadful example, Padfoot," Remus chided.
"Perhaps, but you haven't seen them," Sirius retorted.
"Aunt Marge was very large, too," Harry recalled, but he wasn't smiling anymore.
"Who's she?" Sirius asked, not following Harry's example and speaking as he chewed his food. He swallowed, then added, "Excuse me. I don't have as good table manners as my godson."
"You're forgiven," said Remus, rather wryly. Turning to Harry, who had fallen silent, he asked, "Harry? Who's Aunt Marge?"
Harry looked like he might cry. "She's Uncle Vernon's sister. Two days before you took me away from them, it was Dudley's birthday, and she was at his party. She said all sorts of mean things to me, even meaner than Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon." Here, Sirius had to restrain himself by not making his hands into fists. "Then, when we were playing Musical Statues at Dudley's party, she hit my leg with her cane."
Sirius inhaled sharply. Well, that certainly explained why his leg had been so red. Painful, too, even after at least a couple of days after the event. Perhaps it might not have been so bad with muggle treatments, but Sirius knew better than expect that Petunia or Vernon had provided any.
At least, Harry had known it was wrong to hit a child.
Sirius rose from his seat, and walked over to Harry. He crouched down in front of him, so he was nearly at eye level with the child. Carefully, he put his hands on Harry's shoulders.
"I am so sorry that that cruel, mean woman did that to you, Harry. You know that she shouldn't have hit you, right?"
At Harry's nod, Sirius pulled Harry into a hug, and gently placed his head against his chest. Harry hugged back for awhile, and then let go. Sirius followed the boy's lead, releasing him, and carefully brushed some hair away from his face.
Then, they resumed their dinner, although a bit more solemnly than before.
Sirius had purchased some muggle games before Harry had arrived, so he suggested that Harry take his bath and then they could pick one to play. Harry readily agreed, and Sirius thought that part of the reason was that he was no longer afraid of Sirius giving him a bath.
"Do you want me or Uncle Remus to give you a bath?" Sirius asked.
Harry looked from Sirius to Remus. "You," he said, looking at Sirius.
He'd expected as much. "Can Uncle Remus watch? So he knows how to?"
Harry nodded, a bit warily. "Okay."
The bath went well, although Sirius did not wash Harry's hair again. It was still clean from the previous night, and Sirius wasn't entirely sure how often kids' hair needed shampooing. The shampoo bottle might say...
All the same, Harry did need some help in the tub, and remained still as Sirius washed his body with a soft wash cloth, while Remus looked on, observing what Sirius did.
"Do you want to play with some toys?" Sirius asked, smiling at the happy child in the sudsy water.
But Harry shook his head.
"All right, then I'll rinse you off and you'll be ready for a board game!" Sirius said with enthusiasm.
Harry giggled. "I have to put on my pajamas, first!"
Sirius raised his eyebrows in mock confusion. "You do?"
"Yes!" insisted Harry, through peels of laughter.
A few minutes later, pajama clad and after brushing his teeth without any help from Sirius, Harry and Sirius headed to his bedroom, where Remus had several games set out.
Harry peered at them with interest, but ended up choosing Connect Four. Sirius thought this was a good choice-very easy for a near five year old to grasp. Not that Sirius had ever played. Remus read out the directions, which turned out to be a slight expansion of the title of the game.
They let Harry win half of the time, but he was starting to get the hang of it around the fourth game. When he could no longer hide his yawns, Sirius suggested that they go to bed.
"Will you stay with me?" Harry asked, getting under the covers.
"Of course. I'll stay until you fall asleep and I will be here when you wake up," Sirius promised, joining Harry under the covers. "But it is rather early for me to sleep, as I am not five-" Harry giggled. "-So Uncle Remus and I are going to talk a bit after you go to bed. If you wake up and I am not there, just call me, and I will be there immediately. Sound good?"
Harry nodded, snuggling against Sirius. "Good night, Sirius."
Sirius kissed the top of Harry's head. "Good night, puppy. Sweet dreams."
Up next: A trip to the park, and magical jigsaw puzzles?
All constructive comments are most welcome!