Author's Note: Mentions of self-harm. Please be safe and know that you matter and you are loved.

Dumbledore is a bit OOC because I made him grandfatherly. I think he is a really complex character in canon and I can see the whole spectrum of Dumbledore from being a twinkle-eyed grandfather, all the way to a manipulative, all for the greater good man who is traumatized by his past. I wrote him as a grandfather in this story because it better fit with my storyline.

Also, I am not a psychiatrist or a psychologist so please excuse me if I use any diagnoses or label the wrong way. I do have various mental health training that I've sought out on my own and through my job as a teacher, and I am informed and I strive to stay educated on mental health as well as deal with my own mental health issues (I mean I'm writing this story so, of course, I do). If there is an error, always feel free to contact me.

Finally, I would really appreciate any reviews! Thank you, lovelies :)

LunePrimus, you are amazing at reviewing. Thank you!

Sorry for the long author's note, but here you go!

Harry awoke the next day with something cold and wet on his face. He quickly realized it was Padfoot.

"Ugh, Pa'foo', ge' off." He mumbled, trying to push the dog away.

Padfoot barked and pounced on the bed, licking him some more. When Harry didn't move he grabbed the covers with his teeth and yanked them off the bed, pulling them off.

"Padfoot!" Harry said, uncomfortable, opening his eyes.

Padfoot jumped off the bed and became Sirius, opening his curtains.

"Rise and shine, Prongslet!" Sirius said cheerfully.

Harry rolled over and looked at the clock. "Dadfoot!" He whined. "It's 7 am!"

"I'm well aware. I'm not much of a morning person either, but I'm getting you up! Come on, we're out the door in less than 10 minutes." He said.

Harry stiffened. "We're leaving?" He asked fearfully.

"Yes, but don't worry. No one will see you. It is 7 am on a Sunday, after all. We'll be outside. Dress warm, but still be able to move around." Sirius explained, trying not to give it away.

"Okay," Harry grumbled, rolling out of bed.

Sirius seemed pleased at this and left the room, leaving Harry to change.

Harry changed into clothes he would wear for Quidditch and staggered outside of his bedroom, still waking up.

Remus was sitting in his armchair, sipping a cup of tea. Sirius was standing near him, chatting. He beamed when he saw Harry.

"Ready?" He asked.

Harry couldn't help but smile a bit at his godfather's excitement and eagerness.

"Yes, Dadfoot." He replied.

Sirius led Harry out of the castle and onto the Quidditch pitch.

"Quidditch?" Harry asked, noticing the lack of brooms.

"Not yet, first, we're going to jog a couple of laps and stretch," Sirius explained, starting to jog.

"Ugh, you're as bad as Angelina!" Harry moaned.

"C'mon Harry! You're not going to let your old godfather beat you, are you?" He teased.

Harry sighed and rolled his eyes, but began to jog and catch up to Sirius. They jogged around the pitch twice before Sirius got on the ground and began to stretch, Harry following him.

"You better stretch before you break something being so old." Harry teased him, a mischievous smirk on his face.

Sirius gasped. "Oh, Harry! You wound me!" He said, putting his hand to his heart.

Harry rolled his eyes and reached over to lightly slap his godfather on the arm before stretching.

When they finished stretching, Sirius summoned their brooms to them, which he had already brought down to the pitch.

When they got up in the air, they both flew a few lazy laps before coming together again at one end of the pitch.

"Now Harry, I want you to fly as fast as you can from one side to the other. When you get there, turn, take a breath, and fly back as fast as you can." Sirius said, well, seriously.

"As fast as I can?" Harry asked, making sure he was hearing Sirius right.

Sirius nodded.

"You've never wanted me to do that." He said, still stunned.

"Well, now I do. As fast as you can, as hard as you can." He stated.

Harry shrugged, not going to argue with them. "Well, you don't have to tell me twice," he said. Harry got situated on his broom and took off. He got more and more power and reached the other side. He stopped somewhat slowly, compared to how he was flying. He took a few breaths and sped back to Sirius.

Sirius smiled at him as he stopped by him. "Good. Keep going. Keep doing that until I tell you to stop." He said.

Harry nodded, taking another breath and flying off.

He kept speeding down the pitch. He quickly made his turns sharp to stay the fastest he could go. He even went diagonal across the pitch, just trying to get more speed.

Harry had never gone this fast, ever. He put his whole power into it. He felt like his soul was leaving his body. He didn't focus on anything else except putting all his speed and power into flying. He flew and flew and flew.

At one turn, Harry was about to fly off again, but a hand was firm on his shoulder and held him back.

Harry whipped his head to the hand and relaxed when he saw Sirius. Harry panted, catching his breath.

"S-sorry. I forgot you were even here." Harry admitted between his pants.

Sirius gave him a small smile. "That's okay. I just want you to catch your breath right now. Come on, fly next to me. We're going to go slow and let you catch your breath."

Harry nodded, flying next to Sirius. They took a very slow lap, Harry catching his breath as they did so. Neither Harry nor Sirius said anything, just enjoying the slow lap.

"How do you feel?" Sirius finally asked when they were stationary.

"Good. That was, well-" Harry said, not knowing the words he wanted to use but knew what it was like.

"Like a release?" Sirius supplied.

"Yeah. Harry agreed.

"Good." Sirius smiled.

After a moment Sirius asked, "Okay, now I wanted to know if you want to toss the Quaffle around?"

Harry nodded, "Yeah, I'd like that." He agreed.

Sirius flicked his wrist and his wand came into his hand. He swished his wand and the quaffle came onto the pitch.

Sirius and Harry flew apart and tossed the quaffle around, sometimes hitting it with their broom.

Harry and Sirius both did tricks, trying to outdo each other.

Eventually, Sirius had the Quaffle go back to the ground and told Harry to fly around the pitch one more time with him.

When they were done they flew back to the ground, both sweaty.

"That was fun, Dadfoot. Thank you so much!" Harry said a genuine smile on his face.

Sirius felt his heart warm. "Oh, I am so glad. I had fun, too. We should do this more often." Sirius said.

"Yeah, yeah we should." Harry agreed.

They carried their brooms back into the castle and made their way to the Marauder Quarters. They still didn't run into anyone, which Harry was grateful for.

"I'm going to take a shower. Thanks again, Dadfoot!" Harry called, setting his Firebolt down and making his way to the bathroom.

Sirius set his broom down and collapsed on the couch, smiling wearily at Remus.

"It sounds like it went well," Remus commented, an eyebrow raised and smile on his face.

"Oh, love it did! Harry seemed to respond to it well. He told me he had fun and he smiled!"

Remus smiled at that.

"He joked around and you know what he even told me?" Sirius asked excitedly.

"What?" Remus asked, smiling at his husband's excitement.

"He liked flying fast. I mean, Remy, he flew really fast. But he told me that it helped and he couldn't think of the word, but anyway, he felt like it was a release!" Sirius said, almost cheering.

"That's very good to hear," Remus said genuinely.

"Honestly, though, Pads, do you think Harry should fly fast like that by himself? I didn't see how fast he went. Would we feel comfortable letting him do that without supervision?" Remus asked, genuinely wanting to know what his partner thought.

Sirius deflated a bit and ran his hands through his hair.

"I mean, it's better than what he has been doing, but he went extremely fast. I wouldn't want him by himself when he was angry or hurt. I can't even imagine him going faster, but I'm sure he would." Sirius admitted.

"Good to know. Also, Sirius, I am so glad Harry feels good after this and took it so well. I don't want to. burst your bubble, but I do want to remind you that it is a process and just because Harry did well today doesn't mean he always will." Remus explained.

"I know, but you did say you don't think he's depressed like you." Sirius pointed out.

"I did say that, and I truly do believe it. I don't think he'll deal with the depression forever, but it's not good right now and I suspect it'll be a long road ahead of him. I wouldn't be surprised as an adult if he has a bad day or two a year, triggered by something. We both know that Harry's gone through more than most. It seems like a PTSD depression more than a Major Depressive Disorder." Remus said, thinking out loud.

Luckily, Sirius was able to follow the therapist's ramblings.

"Whatever you say, I'm just glad this went well. Just tell me what to do, doc." Sirius said.

Remus smirked, setting down his tea. "Oh, I'll tell you what to do alright." He said, heading over to his boyfriend on the couch.

Sirius saw that glint in Remus' eyes. 'Oh, this would be fun', he thought, before his husband was on top of him.

When Harry emerged from the shower, he went to his bedroom and changed before venturing out into the sitting room. He was very surprised to see that it was empty. He heard the shower going and assumed Sirius was showering after their workout. He peeked in their bedroom and saw that it was empty.

That would mean...

Harry blushed a bit but smirked. This wasn't the first time he was aware of, well, something happening.

He was honestly relieved that they weren't so out of their minds concerned about him that they could still care about each other. He had the fleeting thought of harming himself but pushed it away. He didn't want to scar his fathers for life. He knew if he did this now, their relationship with each other would never be the same and he certainly didn't want that.

Harry thought to himself, 'hmm, what would Prongs do?'

He came up with a few ideas, many of which included somehow pranking the bathroom door when it was opened. Harry decided with a much more subtle approach that was, well, rather Slytherin of him, and decided to just wait it out. He felt like his dad, James would approve of this method right now.

Merlin, he hoped he was making his dad proud.

Harry pushed away from the thought and grabbed his Transfiguration textbook and decided to read his required chapters while he was waiting.

He was able to read a whole chapter before his parents came out of the bedroom, both still having wet hair from the shower.

"Oh, hi there. Did you have a good shower?" Harry asked, smirking.

As embarrassed as the men were, they were so relieved that Harry still had his sense of humor. As unfortunate as it was for them, this wasn't the first time Harry had figured out what was going on.

"Oh, uh, hi, Harry." Remus stumbled, trying to get a hold of himself.

"You cheeky pup!" Sirius said, lunging towards Harry.

Harry jumped up before Sirius could get him and ran around the kitchen. Harry knew he could outrun Sirius, but especially with Harry being as weak as he was, he could not outrun Padfoot.

Padfoot tackled him and pinned him down before licking him all over and then becoming Sirius who tickled him until Harry begged for mercy.

Sirius eventually gave in and unpinned him, leaving Harry catching his breath. "The marauders always win, Harry. I thought you'd learned that by now." He teased him.

"I'll take that as a challenge," Harry said, getting up.

"You do that," Sirius said, lovingly goating him on, winking.

Remus just shook his head at the two of them. "Merlin, what am I going to do with you both?" He moaned.

"Make our brunch!" Sirius supplied, going over to his husband.

Remus only glared at Sirius, who smiled widely at him.

"It's a wonder his ego fits in this room!" Remus said to Harry in a stage whisper as he went to the kitchen.

"Ooh, I'll get you for that!" Sirius said, walking towards him.

"Haven't you already?" Harry asked, just adding fuel to the fire.

"Harry James!" Sirius gasped before tackling and tickling them again.

Yeah, Harry will be alright. It'll take a while, but there is hope.

After brunch, Remus, Sirius, and Harry went back to the sitting room and played some rummy (his mom taught Sirius and Remus how to play). Harry couldn't remember the last time they just played cards. Remus and Harry won once and Sirius won twice before they stopped playing, as Sirius was strutting around the room announcing he was the king of rummy.

"You are such a prat!" Remus said, throwing a pillow at him.

"Yes, but I'm a loveable prat," Sirius said, hugging his husband.

Remus rolled his eyes but returned the affection. Harry shook his head and sat back in his seat.

"So, Harry," Remus began a moment later.

Harry stiffened. Oh boy, this didn't sound good.

"We would like to talk to Professor Dumbledore today about what is going to happen to Professor Umbridge. We also think it would be good for you to talk to Professor Dumbledore about what happened." Remus said.

Harry squirmed in his seat, uncomfortable with that idea.

"You don't have to, we just think it would be a good thing," Sirius said gently, not wanting Harry to retreat back into his mind.

"I-I don't know yet," Harry replied honestly after a moment.

"That's fine, Cub. It's all up to you." Remus reminded him.

Harry nodded and chewed on his lip.

"We were thinking of leaving soon, what works for you?" Remus asked.

"I guess I want to get ready, but I don't want to just sit here and wait around. It will just stress me out." Harry said.

"Yeah, that makes sense. I'll tell Albus we'll be around soon, whenever you're ready." Remus said.

Harry nodded and stiffly stood up before walking back to his bedroom. He changed his clothes to look a little more appropriate and went to the bathroom where he brushed his teeth. He tried to flatten down his hair with his clammy palms, but no such luck. He went back out to his dads, looking much more nervous than he was before.

"Cub, it's all going to be okay. You're not in trouble and no one is mad, okay?" Remus assured him.

Harry nodded and wiped his palms on his pants. "Are we walking or flooing there?" Harry asked quietly.

"Flooing, we thought that might be better," Sirius said.

Harry nodded and followed his fathers over to the fireplace. Sirius went first, then Harry, and finally Remus.

Here goes nothing.

When they arrived in Dumbledore's office, Remus made sure Harry stayed on his feet when he walked through the floo and dusted the soot off of him.

When all three had arrived, Dumbledore smiled warmly at them "Welcome, I'm glad to see you three." He said.

"Hello, Professor," Harry said quietly, not able to look the professor in the eye.

Professor Dumbledore carefully eyes Harry before looking at Remus and Sirius.

"Professor Black and Lupin, I was wondering if before we talk about Professor Umbridge, I might have a word alone with Mr. Potter."

Sirius and Remus looked at each other, silently communicating before they turned back to the headmaster. "We don't have a problem with it, but it is ultimately up to Harry," Remus said, not wanting to decide for him.

Harry thought for a moment before nodding, "Sure, Professor. I can do that."

"Splendid! Professors, if you would like to go speak to Professor McGonagall, I'm sure she'd be happy to see you. She's in her office right now. I can tell you when we are done and all three of you can come back here for our conversation about Professor Umbridge." Professor Dumbledore said.

"Professor Dumbledore, have you told Professor McGonagall about the blood quill?" Sirius asked.

"I have not, no." Professor Dumbledore replied. Although the topic was a solemn one, his eyes twinkled a little, knowing what Sirius was thinking.

"Would you mind if we prepared her, Sir, before the meeting?" Sirius asked again, trying to stay calm.

"Please, inform her." Dumbledore. said, smiling.

"Thank you!" Sirius said before practically pulling Remus out of the room.

"HA! We get to see the wrath of Minnie firsthand!" Sirius was heard saying, practically giddy.

"Sirius! This is serious!" Remus was heard telling him.

"I'm Sirius!" Sirius was heard saying faintly before a louder "Ow! Moony!" was heard due to the smack Remus gave Sirius on the head, which, in all honesty, was to be expected for that remark.

Both Harry and Dumbledore had smiles on their faces from that exchange.

"One wonderful thing about Professor Black is his spirit. Something we all can admire." Dumbledore mused, turning his attention back to Harry.

Harry nodded, not sure how to reply to that.

"Sit, down, please, Harry." Professor Dumbledore said.

Harry sat down and Professor Dumbledore surprisingly did not sit behind his desk but instead took a spot near Harry.

"I'm sorry for breaking things in your office the other day, Sir," Harry said quietly, looking down.

"Ah, do not worry. All was quickly repaired. It is of no consequence." Dumbledore replied lightly.

Harry nodded his thanks but continued looking down, embarrassed and ashamed.

"Harry." Professor Dumbledore said softly, the tone of his voice catching Harry's attention and causing him to look up. It was kind, gentle, loving, and yet firm enough to reach out and grab the teenager from his thoughts.

"Harry, I want to talk about the other day. Now, while we do that, I am going to step out of my role as your headmaster right now. I'm not here like that. I'm here as someone who loves you, child. I'm here as your granddad."

Harry felt tears come to his eyes, not expecting this. He quickly blinked the tears back and looked up. "O-okay." He said timidly.

"Now, we can talk about the blood quill when your dads are here unless there is anything you'd like to tell me without them?" He asked.

Harry shook his head. "No, Sir."

"Alright." Dumbledore began softly, "The other day you said that your dads broke their promise to you, and then you showed me your arm. They did not, as I'm sure they have told you, tell me anything about that. I want you to be able to say whatever you want about that. I want you to know that I love you and am proud of you no matter what."

Harry was quiet for a minute before speaking, "I didn't want to tell you because you always tell me how strong and brave I am. I don't want you to think less of me." He said, not looking at the headmaster.

Dumbledore gently grabbed Harry's chin and brought his emerald gaze to meet his blue one. "Harry, nothing you can do can cause me to love you less and this is certainly something that does not change how I view you. I still see you as a brave, strong, and resilient young man. You've seen more horrors in your short life than adults do their entire lives. Struggling to cope with that is not weak, Harry, it is human. And I know you are human. You have a deep capacity to love and that is something truly remarkable. That huge heart you have also means you can hurt, and hurt deeply. I am so sorry you've been so hurt, my boy." Dumbledore said.

Harry couldn't stay stoic anymore. He launched himself at his granddad and started to cry into his robes. "I-I'm sorry!" he sobbed, "I am just so hurt and angry and confused and there's just too much!" He explained.

"Oh, Harry, oh child. You are safe. You are loved. I've got you." Dumbledore murmured. He rubbed Harry's back, soothing him.

Harry wasn't sure how long he stayed there, but he eventually pulled away, wiping his face with his sleeve. "'m sorry, Grandad." He apologized, seeing what he did to his elaborate robes.

"Harry, do you really think this would bother me?" He asked. He swished his hand and his robes were once again pristine.

"Now, what can I do for you? How can I help?" Dumbledore asked.

"I-I don't know. I might miss a few classes." Harry said, worried.

"Harry, do not worry about that. I think your granddad may know someone in Hogwarts who might be able to excuse you." He said, winking.

Harry gave a smile. "You know, I've missed this, talking to my grandad." He admitted.

"And I've missed talking to my grandson," Dumbledore said, pulling him into a hug again. "How about this? We can meet every week or two and be together. We can talk, have tea, play games, do homework, whatever you want. And during that time, I'll be your granddad, not your headmaster. How does that sound?" He asked, hoping Harry would like the idea.

Harry shot up from his grandfather's chest, "Really?" He asked, searching Dumbledore's face for any kind of a lie.

"Really." Dumbledore agreed.

"I'd love it!" Harry said, launching himself at the old man again.

They hugged before Harry pulled away again. "This wasn't a reason I, you know, did what I did, but it was really hard this year when you weren't talking to me. You weren't even looking at me until I was in your office with my dads. I was hurt." Harry admitted.

Professor Dumbledore sighed. "And for that, I truly apologize. I know things are only going to become more difficult with the war from here on out and I was hoping that if I distanced you a bit it would be easier for the both of us. However, it seems as though the opposite effect was had for both of us."

"I guess you're human, too." harry said, referencing what he told him earlier.

Dumbledore smiled, astounded at the boy's capacity to forgive.

"Now, one last thing," He said seriously, "if you feel like you need to harm yourself again, you go to someone. My door is always open for you, always. I don't care if it's past curfew or if I'm in a meeting with the Minister of Magic himself, you come and get me, understood?" He said, gazing over his spectacles.

Harry nodded, "Yeah, thanks Grandad," he said quietly.

"Now, I believe your dads are trying their best to restrain a very angry witch and we'd better help them," Dumbledore said, a smile on his face.

Harry nodded, smiling as well.

Dumbledore didn't have to send a note, knowing very well that they were outside the door, trying to keep Minerva away. He looked at the door, unlocking it, and Minerva McGonagall came bursting through the door, Sirius and Remus behind her looking ragged.

"ALBUS DUMBLEDORE YOU SURE HAVE SOME EXPLAINING TO DO! DID YOU HEAR WHAT HAPPENED TO MY GRANDSON!" She cried, marching into his office and going to his desk.

Dumbledore shut his door and locked it, putting up a silencing charm.

"Ah, Professor McGonagall, please sit down. You too, Professor Black and Lupin."

Harry had to smile at Professor McGonagall calling him her grandson. She hasn't slipped once and she must be really angry to do so.

Professor McGonagall saw Harry sitting there and went to him, "Harry, I am so sorry." She said, putting her hand around him and holding him close.

"It's okay, Grandma Min," Harry said, dropping all formalities. He was with four of the closest people to him.

Minerva only squeezed tighter at the term of endearment and shot Albus a scathing look.

She held on a moment longer before saying, "Now, please tell me how you weren't aware of what was going on with all of your gizmos and what in Merlin's name are we going to do about it!" She said, her voice deadly low.

Dumbledore sighed, facing Minerva's wrath was never easy.

"There were lots of rules set up when the ministry came into Hogwarts. I had no control or say. However, we are going to do something about it. While I could not tell her what to do, she was still expected to follow Hogwart's procedure and, of course, the law itself. I'd like to hold a staff meeting, but I want to make a plan, first." He explained.

"Albus, Severus found out the other day. Perhaps he should be here as well?" Remus asked.

"Excellent idea, Remus," Dumbledore said, his eyes twinkling. "I will call him right now!" He said, getting up.

Minerva looked at Remus as if he had grown a third head, "Excuse me?" She whispered.

"Minerva, if anyone knows how we can punish her, it's an ex-death eater," Sirius said, knowing what Remus was thinking.

Minerva smirked, "How very Slytherin." She said approvingly.

Severus was rather confused when called by Albus, but didn't show it. He came through when the headmaster called for him and saw the group that was gathered in his office. "May I ask what we are all doing here?" He drawled, pausing at the headmaster's desk.

"Please take a seat, Severus. We are here to make a plan about Professor Umbridge and the blood quill." Dumbledore said.

Severus did as he was told, taking a seat in an armchair.

"Now, first, we know she can no longer continue working here. How can we successfully get her out of the office?" Dumbledore asked.

Harry tried to pay attention, really. He wanted to know what was going to happen to the pink toad and he was finally, finally being told some information. The problem was, Harry was also really tired. He remembered hearing about Ted Tonks, the lawyer, Wizengamont, and Snape using his Slytherin connections in the ministry. He didn't remember much more because he was leaning on his grandmother, asleep.

The conversation probably lasted an hour and all of the participants were happy with what their plan was. They noticed Harry was asleep about 20 minutes into the conversation but didn't wake him. They knew, in all honesty, it was probably better this way. They'd fill him in later, but he just needed to rest.

Sirius picked Harry up at the end of the conversation, thanking Minerva quietly (who was absolutely loving how close Harry was to her, not that she'd say it out loud), and carried Harry to the fireplace and back to the Marauder Quarters.

All would be well.

Well, at least until they told him who would be with him on Sunday evening.