"I knew it, Remus, didn't I tell you? They were beating him because of me." Sirius whispered, feeling utterly depressed. After their talk, Sirius had floo'ed Harry back to their new home while Remus stayed to explain the details to Albus for the trial against the Dursleys. Harry was tired, he was still sore from his injuries and was emotionally exhausted after the day, so Sirius had shown him his new room, then tucked him into bed. Harry had resisted, not wanting to be treated like a baby, but Sirius insisted on it. Harry had missed out on a loving childhood, and Sirius wanted to give it to him as much as possible, even if it meant both of them would have to swallow their pride for the good of the other.

"It's still not your fault, Sirius. Harry didn't know they would respond that way to the idea of you, there was no way he could have known or prepared himself. All that matters is that you're innocent, Harry's here, and the Dursley's are going to pay. We've been over this, he doesn't blame you. Ask him when he wakes up-"

"Ask me what," Harry said, standing in the door in his pajamas.

Sirius smiled and walked over to him. "Did you sleep okay?"

"Yeah, ask me what?" Harry asked again, giving his godfather a look. He knew Sirius was stalling because Harry had pulled the same trick before.

Sirius sighed and walked back over to the couch in the sitting room. "It's… nothing, Harry."

"Your godfather is emotionally tormenting himself because he believes he's at fault for your treatment at the Dursley's." Lupin said, turning to Harry.

Sirius glared at his friend, but Harry stared wide-eyed at his godfather. "You… what? Why? No, Sirius I don't think it's your fault at all."

"Maybe not directly, Harry, but it's complicated." Sirius sighed and patted the couch beside him, motioning for Harry to sit down. Harry complied and looked up into his godfather's gray eyes. "If I hadn't sought revenge on Peter, I wouldn't have been chucked into Azkaban. I could have been there for you, at least to visit every once in awhile. Then, I get out of Azkaban, and I leave you again. And it's the thought of me that terrifies your relatives so much that they resorted to beating you. I don't know what their motivation for it was, but I know that it had to do with me."

Harry shook his head. "No, Sirius, they were terrible regardless. They believed I was a freak and they treated me as if I was one. It's not your fault at all, I promise. I don't want you to think it is," he pleaded.

Sirius nodded, but looked away, clearly not accepting it but not wanting to argue. Harry sighed, but then leaned into his godfather, resting his head on his shoulder. Sirius tensed for a second, before realizing what was happening. He threw an arm around Harry and pulled him closer. "I love you, Sirius. I don't think I'd be able to say that if I truly believed you were the reason my parents were dead or the reason my uncle wanted to murder me. It's not your fault, okay?" Harry said, looking into the kind gray eyes again.

Sirius felt close to tears, but he simply nodded against the boy's head and smiled gently.

Remus smiled at the two men in front of him. They almost looked like father and son, sitting together like that. "Alright you two, enough of the mushy stuff."

Sirius smirked and threw a pillow at him. Remus growled in response and Harry laughed. "Oh, you think that's funny, do you?" Remus said with an evil smile, and walked over to the couch Harry and Sirius were sitting on. He threw Harry over his shoulder and spun him around, while Sirius barked his own laugh and Harry yelped at being lifted.

"Remus! Put me down," Harry said with a laugh, pounding his fists against the werewolf's back.

"Hm, I don't know. I think Sirius and I need to teach you a thing or two." Remus said, winking at Sirius as he headed back towards the den. Sirius followed, playfully grabbing Harry's hands to keep him from struggling out of Remus's grasp. Remus threw Harry down on the couch in the den, then both men stood in front of him, daring him to say something.

Harry smirked up at them. "Okay, now that that's over." Before he could stand up, Remus had him pinned. "Ugh, Remus! What are you doing?"

"Hmm, Harry, I thought you were stronger than this. It's almost too easy." Remus said, smiling down at the struggling boy.

Harry was confused for a second, almost frightened at the turn of events, when he realized what his guardians were doing. Summoning every bit of strength he had, he pushed forward and pinned Moony. Sirius laughed at that, "Dang Moony, you've got almost a foot on the kid and at least fifty pounds, that's the best you can do?"

"You try then," Remus said, grabbing Sirius by the hand and yanking him down on top of them. Soon the three of them were in an all-out wrestling match, Sirius and Remus against Harry, and Harry was surprisingly holding his own well. However, it was two against one, and before Harry knew it, he was laying on his stomach on the carpet, breathing heavy, while Sirius kneeled against his back, pinning him down.

"Say 'godfather,' Harry." Sirius said, ruffling the boy's hair.

"Ermph… no." Came the muffled response.

"Fine," Sirius said, eyeing Remus playfully. Then be prepared to be subjected to an act that may or may not rid you of your dignity."

"Gerroff," Harry mumbled, trying his best to push up against the dead weight on his backside.

"Resistance is futile, little prongs. Now, as I was saying, this act will solely depend on whether or not you are ticklish." At that, Harry stopped squirming. Sirius looked over at Remus. "Should I take the silence to mean 'No, Sirius, I am not ticklish'?"

Harry shrugged. "I durno. Gerroff."

Sirius turned to Remus, shrugged, and then began to prod at Harry's ribcage. Harry let out a howl of laughter, which soon turned into panting and pleading with his guardians to stop and let him breathe. Sirius climbed off his back to keep from suffocating him, and eventually Harry turned over to try and fight off his attackers. He didn't realize, however, that this was a mistake. Remus began to tickle his stomach and soon Harry was laughing himself senseless. When the two finally stopped, Harry laid on the floor and continued to giggle. Sirius and Remus leaned back against the couch and watched him with smiles on their faces.

When Harry could finally talk again, he turned to them. "Don't you dare do that again," he said with feigned confidence.

"Or what?" Sirius said, grabbing his arm and pulling him between the two. Harry rested his head on Sirius's shoulder and smiled up at them. "That's what I thought," Sirius said, smiling back down at him. "Can you believe it, Remus? Our chosen one, reduced to a helpless mess with just a little tickle torture." He barked out a laugh as Harry smacked him against his chest. Sirius grabbed his hand and kissed his palm, smiling down at him. "Don't be cross, it's just a bit of fun." He said chuckling and pulling his godson closer.

Remus stood up and stretched, and Sirius nudged Harry. "Hey kid, he's just as ticklish as you are. Go for it." Soon they were on the ground again, but this time with a new target.

"Har-Harry," Remus said through his own laughter, "Siri must have forgotten to mention that he was the most ticklish Marauder of us all."

Sirius yelped as his godson turned on him, and yelled "traitor!" at Moony while attempting to get the upperhand again. The three went on like this for the evening, before heading to the kitchen to make dinner. It had only been a day, but already Harry was having the time of his life. He was so happy to finally have a home.


The days leading up to the Dursley's trial were tense for Harry, but he was also happier than he had ever been. Sirius and Remus took time out of there days to spend with him, for no reason other than that they wanted to. At first it had caught Harry off-guard, and he had insisted that he didn't need to be babied. Sirius made it evident after a day or so that he didn't have any say in the matter, and Harry succumbed to his guardian's love and care.

They both tucked him in at night, and Harry would often wake up to Snuffles at the foot of his bed or bouncing on his chest. Harry also discovered that he wasn't made to cook any of the meals - Sirius caught him making pancakes early in the morning and pulled him away from the stove so quickly Harry almost dropped the food. Although Harry had been annoyed at first, he secretly liked not having to do anything like cook or clean; granted, he didn't make much of a mess in the first place, but it was nice to be able to wake up and enjoy the day.

However, this refreshing change didn't stop the looming trial that was haunting him, nor the nightmares that went along with it. One specific nightmare haunted him worse than even the ones involving his scar. Voldemort had Sirius and was torturing him in this strange room. Harry watched in horror, unable to do anything to save his beloved godfather, as Voldemort killed him. He let out an anguished cry, but then, then scene shifted. Voldemort was no longer present, but in his place was Harry's Uncle Vernon, kicking him and yelling at him for ruining their pristine reputation. Harry sobbed, and desperately wished Sirius or Remus were around to stop him. All of the sudden, though, Harry had woken up.

Panting heavily, Harry took in his bedroom, which Sirius had decorated in Gryffindor colors, and calmed down enough to get up. He wasn't sure where to go, but knew his chances of going back to sleep were slim.

He walked down to the kitchen, not surprised to see a lamp was on. When he entered, he saw his godfather, looking disheveled and exhausted. Nonetheless, Sirius smiled when he walked in and gestured to a mug of hot chocolate on the table where Harry usually sat.

"I woke you," Harry said, more of a statement than a question.

Sirius gave him a knowing smile, then patted Harry's chair expectantly. "So, what's got you up this late pup?"

Harry smiled at the term of endearment, then sighed. He took a sip of his hot chocolate, wrinkling his nose once he tasted it. "Did you put brandy in this?"

Sirius winked at him, then pushed again. "What was your dream about, Harry?" This wasn't the first time they had done this. In fact, it was becoming almost a ritual. Without fail, whenever Harry had a nightmare, Sirius was downstairs, waiting for him with hot chocolate. Harry almost wondered if Sirius had put some sort of charm on his room to alert him to Harry's nightmares.

"This one was bad," Harry whispered, looking down at his lap.

Sirius put a hand on his shoulder and gave it a squeeze. "I can't help if you don't tell me."

Harry nodded, but didn't lift his eyes from where they rested on his thighs. "Well, it started out with Voldemort and-and," Harry sighed and looked away, attempting to gain his composure. Sirius waited patiently, noticing how distressed his godson seemed to be.

"Voldemort had… you. And, he killed you. I watched it and couldn't do anything." Harry mumbled, regaining his composure enough to talk. "Then, it morphed into something else. Once you were gone, I was back at Privet Drive, and Uncle Vernon was there…" This time Harry did not continue, and looked back towards the stairs.

"Oh Harry, there are wards here. I'll be fine and you will never leave me. Okay? You will never go back to Privet Drive. Besides, Dumbledore believes Voldemort is still at bay, so try not to let that worry you. Your scar hasn't hurt again has it?"

Harry shook his head, but did not meet his godfather's eyes. "I know you'll be okay, but…"

"You don't want to think about my death?" Sirius said questioningly, eyeing his godson.

Harry nodded. "You're one of the best things that's ever happened to me, I can't lose you. You're…"

"I'm what, Harry?" Sirius said gently, looking at his godson with concern.

Harry took a deep breath and met his godfather's kind gray eyes. "You're the closest thing I have ever had to a father. I can't lose you." Harry's voice cracked and he returned his gaze to his lap.

Sirius froze for a second, contemplating Harry's words. He slowly stood up, and put a hand on his godson's shoulder. "Come on puppy, let's go upstairs, hmm?"

Harry nodded, and followed his godfather. Sirius walked upstairs to his own bedroom, Harry trailing behind apprehensively. Sirius looked back when he reached the door and smiled. "Nothing will attack you in here, come on."

Harry obeyed and walked past Sirius into the room. Sirius sat on the edge of the bed and motioned for Harry to sit beside him. When Harry hesitated, Sirius smirked at him. "Harry, how many times do I have to tell you that there's no shame in being shown affection. You said I'm the closest thing you have to a father, let me show you how much I care for you."

Harry sat beside him on the bed and looked up at him. "What kind of fourteen year old boy spends the night in his godfather's room? I'm pathetic, I can't even get through the night without having a nightmare."

Sirius pulled him close to his chest and kissed the top of his head. "Harry you have nothing to be ashamed of, you aren't weak. If you don't feel comfortable staying in here tonight, I understand. I just thought it would help you sleep better if you had another person with you."

Harry accepted the hug and then shook his head. "It would help a lot probably, I'm sorry Sirius. I'm just really glad you're okay." He choked out this last part and Sirius realized how hard this dream had hit his godson.

"Shh, puppy, it's okay. I'm not going anywhere. You're stuck with me, okay?" He said gently, rocking Harry back and forth until his breathing calmed. When Sirius was sure Harry was asleep, he laid him down in the bed and pulled the covers up to his chin. He knew the trial was coming up in a few days, and Harry would have to face his uncle again. He was worried for his godson, but knew that they had to remain strong if justice was to be served. He slowly climbed into the other side of the bed and gently pulled Harry up under his arm protectively.

At least he had been right about one thing: Harry didn't have anymore nightmares that night.