Harry Potter and TGTL: Fourth Year

by KappaIota

Sequel to Harry Potter and the Godfather that Lived. AU Fourth Year with Harry facing the Tri-Wizard Tournament, his first crush, Voldemort's return and an overprotective guardian. As with the original, will include teen discipline themes/adult language

46. Chapter 46

A/N Hello all! Two updates in a month! :)

I know the story seems like it's slowed down to practically a crawl, but I've always been clear that this is an exploration of the developing relationship between Harry and Sirius, and not really action driven. If you want something shorter and faster, there's plenty of other stories out there for you. We've all read a million fics about the Tournament itself, and that has never been the primary focus of my story. So if you like the day to day details of this small family, this is for you.

There is a lot going on behind the scenes here today, if you're paying close attention. Yes, I'm aware that Harry is acting out of character and there is a reason for that. More will be expounded upon in the future.

And for those who still need the warning after all this time, there is a spanking scene in this chapter as both Harry and Sirius are angry, upset and dealing with stressful things. So, be warned: Angst and Drama ahead! And the usual warnings that hate reviews will either be reported as harassment or just chucked into the virtual bin like trash. So please, don't embarrass yourself by writing them. Your agitation only amuses me.

That being said, there's also fluff and comfort.

Thank you to my readers and reviewers for your valuable constructive feedback. Thanks especially to the always lovely readwriterepeat2415 for her keen insights into my characters and her willingness to drag me back from the edge of bad ideas when necessary! She suffers through a lot of my nonsense before it's polished and published for your entertainment.

Enjoy!

***************HP*****************

The big yellow ball in the sky was bright, too too bright. Hurt his eyes as he wandered along the dirt line past the swings and two little girls kicking their legs going up higher.

Up, up, up!

The girls shriek, loud peals of laughter.

Boy doesn't like the swings. Too easy for Diddikins to push him off, face in the dirt smack!

And Diddikins is allllll the way over, far, far away climbing on the metal bars with one hand 'cause the other hand always has a chocolate candy in it.

Boy can't have chocolate candy. Auntie 'Tuna says 'No nice chocolate for little freaks, Boy'.

Boy has a stick.

That's what he does at the park. Lots of sticks there if he looks careful. And he tries them all, as many as he can find. But he hasn't found the right one yet.

The one that will do tricks.

Boy likes tricks.

Sometimes, if he closes his eyes real tight, he can see the Laughing Man's face.

The Laughing Man has naughty hair like Boy does and big, black spectacles around happy eyes.

Boy's naughty hair makes Auntie Tuna's face red when she brushes it. Sometimes she pinches Boy's arm and tells him to make the hair behave, Boy!, but Boy doesn't know how. He tries talking to it when he's alone in the cupboard.

"Please naughty hair" he says as nicely as he can, 'cause Auntie Tuna says good boys have good manners. "Please be good."

But it's naughty hair, so it can't be good.

All Boy can do is sit in his cupboard and rub his arm 'cause it gots big purple bruises from angry pinches and rubbing it makes it not hurt so much.

The Laughing Man had a stick that did tricks. He could light it like Uncle Ernon's torch or make Boy's toys dance. It made Boy laugh to see the toys dancing. Silly toys.

Boy wants a stick like that too. He doesn't have any toys now, but he wants the stick anyway.

So he looks. And looks. And looks.

Under the see-saw he sees a stick that might work. Boy grabs it, all covered in dirt. There's a bug who also likes it, but Boy wiggles the stick.

"No, bug." he says. "My stick."

But the bug can't talk back. He's just a bug.

Boy shakes the stick until the bug falls off. Not far to the ground. Boy isn't mean. He doesn't want to hurt the bug like Diddikins hurts Boy when he pushes him.

So Boy takes the stick and waves it around in the air.

"Do tricks!" he says as he waves.

But nothing happens.

Stupid stick. Shoulda left it for the bug.

Far, far away, Boy hears Diddikins crying.

Diddikins cries a lot. Even when he isn't sad. Auntie Tuna doesn't like it when Diddikins cries. She runs to him and always makes it all better.

Lucky Diddikins.

Boy's not allowed to cry. No chocolate, Boy and no crying.

No sticks either. Boy has to hide the sticks he finds at the park 'cause Auntie Tuna gets really cross when she sees Boy with sticks.

He tries to tell her that they can do tricks, but she calls Boy a "dirty little liar" and tells him to "stop making up foolish stories!"

She takes his sticks and breaks them and throws them away and she yells and slaps.

So Boy hides them.

Boy looks over at the slide and sees Diddikins and Auntie Tuna and another little boy with a lady who looks like a Mum.

At least, Boy thinks she's a Mum, but he doesn't know for sure. Boy doesn't have a Mum. He can only guess.

Boy drops the stick and leaves it for the bug. Maybe it's a bug stick and not a trick stick. That's okay. There's lots of sticks in the park. So Boy goes to look for another one.

The bright light in the sky hurts his eyes really bad. Sometimes Boy can't see very well. Things look all fuzzy if they're too far away from him. So he follows the dirt line to the trees where most of the sticks live.

There's a sound in the air and Boy looks up into the bright light and sees two birds chasing each other. They look like happy birds playing, just like kids at the park. That's what the sky is, a park for birds.

Boy wants to be up there too, playing with the birds, but he can't, 'cause he's a Boy and not a bird.

So he dances along the dirt line, arms out to the side like wings, looking up at the sky, not down at the ground. He doesn't see the rock until his shoe finds it and he falls flat on his chin Smack!

It hurts, hurts so much.

But Boy isn't allowed to cry 'cause it'll make Auntie Tuna cross and then Boy will have to stay in the cupboard forever and ever and ever. No more park and no more sticks.

That's when he hears a voice.

"What happened here?" The voice asks above him.

Boy holds his chin, red stuff like water slipping between his fingers and down Diddikins' old shirt as he sits in the dirt. He looks up and sees a fuzzy shadow in the bright light. It hurts to look too much, so Boy squints his eyes but he can't see anything but a brown shadow man surrounded by sunshine.

"Can I fix that for you?" Brown Shadow Man asks.

Boy doesn't answer. He's not allowed to talk to strangers and that probably includes Brown Shadow Mans in sunshine.

Brown Shadow Man comes closer and Boy can see he has a stick too! And it makes Boy so excited, because maybe the Brown Shadow Man can tell Boy where to find the sticks that do tricks.

Or maybe...he can take him to The Laughing Man!

That's what Boy wants more than anything. To see the Laughing Man again.

And Brown Shadow Man waves his stick, like Boy tried to wave his sticks, but this one does do tricks and then Boy's chin doesn't hurt so much anymore and the red water is gone from his hands.

Boy smiles a great big smile, showing off the gaps in his mouth where the wiggly teeth came out and he wants to ask Brown Shadow Man where to find the sticks, and if he knows where Laughing Man is, because Boy misses him so much.

"BOY!"

It's Auntie Tuna.

She sounds really, really cross and Boy gets that squicky feeling in his tummy, because when Auntie Tuna is cross she pinches and slaps and Boy doesn't get dinner. Just the cupboard, with the spiders that bite and dust that makes him sneeze. And it's dark in the cupboard and scary and Boy always feels lost and alone.

Frightened, Boy looks up at Brown Shadow Man to ask for help, but there's nothing there.

Just the bright light and birds flying in crazy circles.

No Brown Shadow Man and no Laughing Man and Boy wants to cry.

But he's not allowed.

"You horrid little beast! You're filthy!"

Auntie Tuna shrieks like the siren from the big fire truck at the station down the lane. She grabs Boy. Drags him up from the ground and pulls his arm. Feels like it might come off.

Diddikins is crying, big wet tears.

"Don't wanna leave, Mummy. Don't wanna!"

Auntie Tuna promises two new toys and it makes Diddikins so happy that he kicks Boy behind Auntie Tuna's back.

Back at Diddikins' house, Diddikins runs to Uncle Ernon and gets hugs and cuddles and more chocolate. Auntie Tuna hasn't stopped scolding Boy because Diddikins' old shirt is ruined.

RUINED! she says, yanking it off and throwing it into the bin in the kitchen. She tells Boy to go up for a bath, but Boy doesn't want to. He doesn't!

Bath time hurts when Auntie Tuna is cross. It's cold water and a brush with big bristles that scrapes his skin all red. It's slaps and pinches that bruise when Boy tries to get away from the hurt.

But Auntie Tuna pinches and pulls Boy by his naughty hair up the stairs anyway.

After the bath that hurts, Uncle Ernon drags Boy to the cupboard.

"No dinner!"

Uncle Ernon yells like the horn of a big lorry and he shoves and Boy tries to fight back, because he knows it's forever. Boy gets pushed, face smacking the floor and the door goes SLAM!

And Boy let's himself cry. Because it doesn't matter anymore.

It's already the cupboard and No dinner! and Boy howls until the light above him explodes like fireworks.

Maybe the rest of the lights in Diddikins' house explode too.

Then it's dark. So dark. Boy knows the spiders are coming to get him. They crawl and they bite and they sleep in his cot.

And Boy is forgotten about for a long long time.

His tummy is empty and it gets angry and aches and Boy can't open the locked door when he has an uh-oh, his pants wet and stinky, but there's no one around to care.

No Brown Shadow Man.

No Laughing Man.

No one.

**HP**

Harry woke up with a start, his body shivering and his sleep shirt damp with sweat.

He needed a minute to blink back the cobwebs, the details of the dream quickly receding through the cracks in his subconscious like an ebbing tide back into a vast dark ocean. Mind cloudy with fatigue, he doesn't remember what he was dreaming, but his stomach hurts and his head pounds and it makes him feel off kilter as he pushes his warm blankets off.

It's dark out, still night, when he looks out the windows, so he knows he hasn't been asleep very long. He gets up from his bed and feels the stiffness from all the transformations he did earlier. The repetition of bones and muscles shifting and moving has taken a toll, but he smiles anyway.

He loves his new form.

His room is enveloped in blackness, but he doesn't need to light a lamp. He knows his way around as he pads softly to his bathroom where he yawns as he uses the toilet and then goes over to the sink to wash his hands and face. It was a dream, not a night terror, so he's not disgustingly sweaty and gross and he settles for tossing his damp shirt into the hamper and dragging on a clean one from his wardrobe.

There's a niggling little feeling in the back of his mind that's making him feel funny. He's uneasy and disconcerted, and it's almost but not quite bothersome enough to have him thinking about going across the hall to his father's room. He knows Sirius wouldn't mind being woken up if Harry's not feeling right, even if they've only been asleep for an hour or so.

In fact, Harry's pretty sure that his father would be more upset if Harry didn't wake him up.

Papa would hug him and fuss, maybe make him some cocoa and then stay with him until he could sleep again. It's a nice thought, to know that he'd be taken care of, but Harry's okay really. He's not a child and it was just a dream.

Instead he climbs back into his bed, springing his wand from his arm holster and casting a Lumos as he reaches for the Seeker Weekly on his nightstand. He decides to do some light reading until his brain is quiet enough to try sleeping again. Papa would also make him rest all morning if he knew that Harry was awake at this hour, but he's already promised that Harry could try flying with his new wings today and Harry's too excited to miss it.

So he's just going to keep his mouth shut and not worry his father unnecessarily.

But despite his best intentions, he never does manage to go back to sleep, and he's bleary eyed and a bit irritable as the sun begins to climb in the sky.

So he forces on his happiest face before he goes downstairs, even though he's exhausted and his stomach feels funny and his head still hurts.

**********HP*************

Sirius tiredly rubbed his face as he descended the stairs on his way towards the dining room, his mind filled with happy thoughts of a large pot of coffee waiting for him there. If he didn't have such a full day ahead of him, he'd still be in bed catching up on the rest he missed because of their middle of the night animagus reveals.

He shuffled into the dining room, his eyebrows raising in surprise when he saw that Remus was already at the table, hunched over a cup as if he would hex anyone who came near it.

"Morning," Sirius grunted as he dropped into his seat at the head and dragged the coffee pot over to pour a cup for himself. "You look like I feel."

In response, Remus flipped him a rude hand gesture as he took a large swig of his own beverage.

"Remember when we could be out all night, get twenty minutes of sleep and a shower and then be wide awake for classes?" Remus grumbled, his eyes bloodshot and bleary.

"Work hard, play harder," Sirius reminisced with a nod, "and then die young and beautiful. That's how I always thought it would go for me."

Remus smiled wistfully. He remembered the young Sirius saying that since...well...always.

Neither of them ever thought that it would be James who would be the one to die young.

A soft pop! slightly startled the two men when plates with a Full English appeared before each of them. The scent of sausages wafted up to Sirius' sensitive nose and his stomach rumbled in desire. He immediately pounced on his breakfast like he hadn't eaten in a week and moaned appreciatively.

"Did the kids stay here last night?" Remus asked as he scooped up a forkful of baked beans. He'd left after an hour of the four little animagi changing back and forth.

"No," Sirius shook his head as he dipped a corner of his toast in the soft egg yolk. "Once I told them that they had to stop transforming before they got hurt, Hermione and Neville were too excited to tell Hugh, Jean and Augusta about their forms to stay, and, of course, Molly insisted that Ron come home with her too since the rest of the Weasley brood is still there."

Remus smiled, imagining how eager the teens would be to share the exciting news with their families.

"It's just as well," Sirius said as he rubbed his eyes. "I'd never have gotten Harry back to bed if the others were around. He was worn out, but too stubborn to admit it. The change takes a lot of energy in the beginning."

Remus hummed in agreement as he speared a sausage. "I'm sure. He'll probably sleep until tea time."

"Not hardly." Sirius snorted before swallowing down the last of his drink. "He absolutely refused to go to sleep until I promised him that he could practice with his new wings when he woke up. Which means, he'll probably be down any minute, if I know my son. He's lucky I'm the forgiving type."

Remus poured another cup of coffee for them both which Sirius took gratefully. Between the caffeine and the good meal he was slowly starting to feel human again.

"Why is that?" Remus asked curiously. "Did something happen after I left?"

"No, not then. He got a bit smart with me last night after we came home from the match," Sirius replied after swallowing a mouthful of mushroom and tomato. "So he was supposed to be grounded today. I told him no broom and that he'd have to do lines. But that was before the spell, obviously. When he begged to be allowed to try flying as the pegasus, I couldn't refuse him."

Remus frowned as he sipped at his cup.

"What?" Sirius asked, a tad defensive in his tiredness. "I know what it's like, to be excited about being a brand new animagus. Of course Harry wants to become familiar with his inner animal. Besides, I said no broom, not no wings."

Saying nothing, as he didn't want to provoke a row, Remus turned his attention back to his breakfast.

But Sirius knew his old friend better than to think that Remus was just going to let it go. Clearly, the other man had something to say, if the way his lips were pressed tight was any indication. Most likely he wanted to scold Sirius for indulging his son when Harry didn't deserve it, and he'd probably be cross all day if he wasn't allowed to get it off his chest.

"Let it out, Remus," Sirius said with a resigned sigh as he mopped up the rest of his eggs with a bit of toast. "You know you'll only rupture something if you keep holding it in like that."

Remus scowled, but his friend wasn't wrong.

It had been bothering him quite a bit lately with the way Harry seemed to be acting more and more sassy, and not just to Remus, but Sirius as well. He was beginning to fear that Sirius' tendency to spoil his son was going to the boy's head more than a little, and hearing that Sirius was not going to follow through on a restriction he'd handed out was only going to make matters worse.

After all, Harry was James' son too, and a lot of James' arrogance had come from the Potters indulging their much loved child.

"It won't kill Harry to have to wait a day or so to practice with the wings," Remus pointed out in what he thought was a reasonable tone. "He might start to think that all of his punishments are negotiable if you aren't consistent."

Sirius looked up with his eyes narrowed at the other man. He couldn't deny that the remark had stung a little, since it was probably true, but he also had his reasons and didn't exactly feel like he should need to explain them.

Although, he was apparently going to.

"Harry's life is so far from normal, I don't even know where to begin," Sirius said, shaking his head in frustration. "And a lot of what he has to go through, I can't do much about. So, from time to time, when I can, I'm going to make exceptions to the rules if I feel that it's something important."

"I understand that, Pads," Remus said placating, holding up a restraining hand. "But you have to admit that his cheek has been growing lately. I mean, just the other day he..."

Remus stopped, angry with himself that he carelessly allowed his annoyance to bubble up to the surface like that. He hadn't planned on mentioning anything to Sirius about the rude way Harry had behaved when Remus stopped in to check on him.

"The other day, he...what, Remus?" Sirius asked sharply. "If there is something about my son that I should know, I expect you to tell me. I don't like having only half the information in any circumstances, and certainly not when it involves Harry."

It was a fair position for Sirius to have, Remus had to agree.

No one was going to be able to curb Harry's increasingly disrespectful attitude except for his father. And Sirius tended to give Harry a rather long tether in regards to his behavior as long as it didn't involve his safety, so it was only right to make sure that he was in possession of all the facts in order to make an accurate judgement.

"Well," Remus began cautiously, "I popped in over here, just like you requested, and Harry got quite shirty with me when I asked him where he was going. You hadn't mentioned the Burrow in our conversation, and Harry wouldn't have been the first boy to take advantage of his father's absence to get up to a little mischief."

That, both of the men knew perfectly well, having done much the same themselves on several occasions.

"It was my mistake," Sirius replied, nodding. "I ought to have sent you a message letting you know that plans had changed. I just wasn't in a particularly good frame of mind that morning and not thinking clearly. I'm sorry for any confusion about that."

"That, and you wanted to make sure that I ran into Dora," Remus growled, still a bit annoyed over the subterfuge, even if they'd had a marvelous time at dinner together.

Sirius gave him a smirk but didn't deny anything as he sipped at his coffee.

But going back to his point about Harry, Remus let out a small frustrated sigh. He knew it would probably just be easier to drop the subject and let it go for another day, but to be honest he was growing concerned about what he saw as an increase in Harry's overall disrespect.

When Remus had gotten to know James' little doppelgänger at Hogwarts, he'd seen occasional flashes of the boy's temper, but since Harry had come to live with Sirius full-time, he'd been a much happier child. Lately, however, his disposition seemed to be taking a bit of a turn for the worse, and Remus couldn't help wondering if it was because Sirius was overcompensating for Harry's horrible childhood.

He'd been hell bent on indulging his son's every whim for months and excusing a lot of the boy's disrespect as adolescent mood swings.

The last thing Remus wanted for Harry or for Sirius was a regression in Harry's attitude, since it could very well be a sign of a larger problem.

"My point is that it hasn't happened just the once, has it?" Remus pointed out. "Not two minutes ago you told me that you'd grounded Harry for being smart with you too, and it's not like it's the first time he's done it recently. It seems to be becoming a bit of a habit with him."

Sirius scowled slightly at the implication that his son was a regular troublemaker. Harry was, in his opinion, no better or worse behaved than any other high spirited teenager, and Sirius wasn't going to come down hard on the boy every time he got just a little bit cheeky.

And who was Sirius to judge? Or even Remus for that matter?

The Marauders had been the kings of mischief in their teen years.

"Look," Sirius said, folding his hands patiently in front of him, "when he comes down, I will ask him what happened and I will make sure that he apologizes to you if he was indeed rude."

"It's not like he's going to admit to it, Sirius," Remus replied with a frustrated sigh. "You didn't see how sharp he was with me. And how many times did we lie to get out of trouble in school?"

"He won't lie to me," Sirius stated firmly. "It's one thing to bend the truth with a professor about giving the Slytherins tails, or with Filch when he caught us smuggling in dung bombs. But Harry respects me. He'll be honest if I ask him."

"He won't be honest with you because you spoil him, Sirius," Remus testily pointed out. "You didn't even reprimand him for sneaking out of the flat, for Merlin's sake!"

Sirius' eyebrows lifted as he threw his friend an incredulous look. It seemed that Remus was just a little more put out by that incident than he'd let anyone believe.

"Is that what this is about?" Sirius asked with chuckle. "Because, for one thing, I did reprimand him if you remember correctly, and for another, he apologized to you and you said that you accepted it. Or have I made the wrong assumption?"

"No," Remus denied, shaking his head. "I accepted his apology, but if you remember correctly, that wasn't his only transgression that day. Or don't you count the strop he thew that morning at breakfast?"

"And I reprimanded him for that too!" Sirius said hotly. "What would you have me do, Remus? Shove bamboo spikes up his fingernails every time he's a little cheeky?"

Remus rolled his eyes over his friend's theatrics. Sirius had always tended to blow things just a bit out of proportion.

"All I'm saying is that scolding Harry doesn't seem to be working," he explained calmly. "He keeps testing the boundaries, just a little bit more every day, and what doesn't seem like big deal now might become a bigger deal later if the boy thinks he can always just do as he pleases and get away with it."

"Maybe you should just let me parent my son," Sirius rebutted, his gray eyes smoldering, "while you try to figure out how to be Harry's fun godfather instead of the one always on his back. Perhaps all this tension between you two recently isn't solely his fault."

Remus drew back as if he'd been slapped, Sirius' words stinging him sharply. Was that really what was going on? Was some of his annoyance with his new godson of late because Remus was failing to connect with the boy as a godfather as easily as Sirius had?

It wasn't a pleasant thought to have, but as Remus poured himself another cup of coffee he wondered if he really ought to take a closer look at his own interactions with Harry.

The two men ate quietly together for a few minutes until the sounds of flapping wings caught their attention. Xerxes flew in and dropped a pile of post at Sirius' side consisting of a few letters and the morning edition of The Daily Prophet. Mostly responses to correspondence that Sirius had initiated, as usual since normal post owls couldn't access the chateau. But right behind him, Cicero was flying a slower pace, due to the amount of post he was weighed down with. The young owl flew crookedly to the head of the table and, if he'd been able to, he would have practically groaned in relief when Sirius quickly divested him of the rather large pile.

"Merlin," Remus said, looking a bit shocked at the amount. "Where on earth did all of that come from?"

Humming absently, Sirius began to sift through all the envelopes, an uneasy feeling that he couldn't quite identify beginning to swirl in his belly. An envelope marked Urgent had Grayson Abbott's return address on it, so Sirius grabbed that one first and used the clean butter knife from Harry's place setting to slice it open.

"Um," he began as his eyes quickly scanned the letter, "A lot of these are from the box I opened for Ministry correspondence at the post office in Diagon Alley. That's part of the reason for the new owl. I expected an increase in communications, and since Xerxes is well known to be mine, I wanted another owl that was a little more nondescript in case it was intercepted."

It was a good idea, Remus thought as he sipped at his coffee. Sirius had gone to a great deal of trouble to maintain their privacy and security here on the estate, and it was rare, but not unheard of, for post owls to occasionally be targeted.

"Damn," Sirius swore as he ripped open another envelope, this one from Archie Brown. "Damn, damn, double damn."

"Don't let Harry hear you," Remus teased with smirk as he reached for the Prophet. "He'll scourgify your mouth."

Sirius gifted Remus with a rude hand gesture as he finished reading Archie's letter which annoyed him just as much as Gray's had.

A few seconds later, Remus was swearing just as colorfully as he read the front page headline. He quickly shoved it in front of Sirius who, after glaring at the abruptness of his friend also read the headline and immediately looked sick.

Former Professor Declares

Hogwarts Too Dangerous For Our Children to Attend!

By Rita Skeeter

The Dashingly Handsome Sirius Black, former professor of Astronomy at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry

and adoptive father of Harry Potter, the infamous Boy-Who-Lived has made it known to certain members of the Wizengamot that the school is far too much of a danger to the safety and welfare of its students under the current administration

So much so, that Mr. Black refused to allow Mr. Potter to keep attending there, and then took the extraordinary step of founding his own school in order to ensure his son's safety.

No one is more concerned about the potential jeopardy to the students than this reporter. After all, if Hogwarts is not safe for the vanquisher of You-Know-Who, then what chance do the other children have to protect themselves in an environment where the staff seems unconcerned about all of the strange occurrences taking place over the past four years?

It's time for the parents of all Hogwarts students to demand answers and the first things they should know are...

Sirius finished reading the article and then slammed the paper down on the table.

There, in bold lettered black and white on the front page of the bloody Prophet was his conversation with Gray and Archie practically word for word.

Sirius was going to kill one of them.

Or maybe both.

He was still deciding.

Furious now, he began ripping open another handful envelopes and was horrified, but not particularly surprised, when they all had more or less the same content.

Sighing in frustration, Sirius slapped the ninth letter down onto the table and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"I knew I should have waited for the next session to talk to those two big-mouthed imbeciles," he said, shaking his head. "Bloody Gray and Archie seem to have half of the Wizengamot looking to school their children here instead of sending them back to Hogwarts on Monday."

Remus choked on his coffee and let the cup clatter noisily onto the saucer. "You're joking."

"Do I look like I'm joking?" Sirius growled at him, his eyes narrowed and snapping. "Silly me, when I left our lunch, I thought the three of us agreed that our focus would be on improving Hogwarts, not abandoning it. And I'm going to creatively murder whichever one of them told that bint Skeeter about our talk. She's going to work the parents up into a mob with this tosh."

"You had to know that it was a risk," Remus pointed out cautiously. "When you told them about your fears and concerns, you had to think that they would feel the same as you do and not want their children there anymore."

Sirius rubbed his face as he took a few deep cleansing breaths.

"I did know, yes, to some extent," he admitted reluctantly. "But I thought I could trust them, stupid me. And I honestly also thought that if it really came to that, it would wait until the new term. We're only two months away from finishing this one. It's madness to consider withdrawing their children at this late stage. After all, there probably isn't another bloody basilisk in the pipes at the moment, and I didn't even tell the boys what our curriculum is. We could be teaching the children nothing but Dark Arts and Ballroom Dancing here, for all they know."

"Is there really a difference between those two things?" Remus asked with a smirk, trying to break the tension.

Clearly Sirius didn't find his comment amusing by the way he glared at his friend as if he was thinking of how quickly he could turn Remus into a goat.

"Okay, fine," Remus said apologetically. "But let's assume that there's a group of parents who want their children to join us just for the safety we could provide them, regardless of what we teach. You of all people should realize that everyone knows that the Blacks are legendary for having the best wards around their properties, so why wouldn't they think that our school is Hogwarts without the Mountain Trolls in the bathrooms? Would you even want them here? After all, the whole point of starting this school was so that you could be sure that Harry was safe. Wouldn't increasing the student body increase the risk?"

"Of course it would!" Sirius shouted abruptly. "I knew we could trust Harry's closest friends, so I was happy to have the other three here, but there might be families who secretly support Voldemort and who are only looking for ways to cause my son harm."

Sirius raked his fingers through his hair as he leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes. His head was beginning to ache monstrously as his mind whirled with the implications of what he was being asked to do. What Harry was being asked to do. What Remus and Molly were being asked to do too, really. Not to mention the nightmare of trying to figure out the logistics of housing and educating more children.

He really was going to kill Archie.

Or Gray.

Or Both.

"Well, there's your answer, then," Remus said reasonably. "Let those families that want to leave start their own school, just like you did. It's not your responsibility."

"But not every family has the time or resources to do what I did," Sirius countered as he pinched the bridge of his nose. "Teaching their children at home, yes. But start another school completely? Supplies cost, Moony. Room and board for each child costs. Salaries for professors cost. I'm happy to do it for Harry, but I'm wealthy. How do the families that are not well off manage it? Doesn't it make me a bit of hypocrite if I say that Hogwarts isn't good enough for my kid, but I won't lift a finger to help other children stay safe?"

"You can't have it both ways, Sirius," Remus warned, shaking his head. "Either your priority is keeping Harry hidden away and secure here, or you gamble that one of the students you let in, or their parents, aren't doing it with the intention to cause harm."

It was an honest assessment, but Sirius wasn't exactly receptive to it at the moment, as his head was spinning with problems that had no good solutions.

"Thank you, Remus," he snapped, "that's been very helpful."

As he dug through the pile of post he found an official envelope from the Ministry also marked URGENT. Which seemed to be the word of the day in his household. Sirius swore again in three different languages as he ripped it open and read the single sheet of paper it contained.

"Well, that's just delightful," he growled as he threw the letter down on the table. "I'm being summoned to an emergency session of the Wizengamot tomorrow morning. I'm sure everyone is just going to be thrilled about my part in today's bloody news headlines!"

"Good morning!" Harry called out happily as he bounced into the dining room. "It's sunny and clear outside, Papa! Can we go right out now?"

Sirius was beyond agitated from the abruptly bad turn his morning had taken, so unfortunately for Harry his father wasn't quite in his right mind at that exact moment. His son's loud exuberance only grated on Sirius' already sensitive nerves, which meant that his reaction was far more sharp than he would have meant it to be otherwise.

"Young man," he barked, "were you rude to Remus the other morning when he so kindly came over here, at my request, to check on you?"

Harry's steps faltered and he stared in wide-eyed surprise at his father. The question definitely caught him off guard for a few seconds before anger took over his emotions. He threw a blistering look over at his godfather, unaware of the fact that it had just proven to Sirius that Remus had been telling the truth.

His son wouldn't be so visibly agitated if he wasn't guilty.

"I wasn't," Harry denied angrily, lying directly to his father's face.

Sirius fumed.

He'd just made a big deal to Remus of asserting that Harry wouldn't lie to him, and not even ten minutes later, Harry bloody lied to him. Today was certainly not the day for his son to make poor life choices.

"Well, Remus says otherwise," Sirius retorted hotly, "and I have no reason to doubt him. So you can forget about transforming today, and you can also be grounded for two days instead of one, since apparently I'm not the only one you've gotten smart with this week."

Harry's face went red with fury as he watched his exciting plans for the morning vanish like a puff of smoke.

"But that's totally unfair!" he cried in outrage, hurt beyond measure by what he saw as his father siding against him and breaking his word. "I didn't do anything wrong, and you promised!"

Sirius slapped his hand down on the table so hard that the coffee cups rattled and it startled his son who jumped a bit but maintained his angry stance anyway.

"It's completely fair," he countered with a scowl as he struggled to keep his temper in check. "Now, you will apologize to Remus. You will sit down and have your breakfast, and then you will immediately go into the school room and write your lines if you have any wish to be in the air at all this week."

For just the briefest second, Harry considered storming out in a huff and stomping back up to his room to wait until his father wasn't acting like a deranged lunatic, but he knew that it would probably only get him into even hotter water than he already was, so he forced himself to choke down the betrayal he felt by his godfather tattling before turning to him.

"I'm sorry you thought I was rude to you, Remus," he said as politely as he could through gritted teeth, "even though I really wasn't," he couldn't help tagging on quietly at the end.

Remus quirked an eyebrow at the unapologetic apology as Sirius' eyes narrowed at his son.

"That was, at best, a conditional apology," Sirius growled at the unrepentant child, "and, at worst, a wholly insincere one. Try again, harder this time, as I assure you that my patience with your attitude is very thin right now and getting thinner by the second."

"I can't give a sincere apology for something I didn't do," Harry protested angrily, as he crossed his arms. "I don't know how to do that!"

"Then you can go plant your nose in that corner until you figure it out," Sirius replied testily as he pointed to the corner closest to where Harry was standing. "I'm sure inspiration will come to you in time."

His son's eyes flared in disbelief, his mouth gaping open like a fish out of water, but Sirius maintained his steely gaze as he irritably drummed his fingers on the table.

"I'm waiting, Harry James," he warned sternly.

"The corner? Are you kidding me?" Harry squawked. "I didn't do anything! Why are you being like this?"

"Sirius," Remus interjected quietly, worried that his friend's anger had more to do with his morning mail than his surly son, "perhaps now is not the time..."

But Sirius was annoyed and stressed and he simply wasn't having it from either of them. He turned quickly from the staring contest he was having with Harry to level Remus with a glare.

"Well, you can't have it both ways, Remus," he said sharply, echoing the other man's own words from earlier. "Either I reprimand Harry for his behavior, or I don't. And you, young man," he growled as he turned back to Harry's furious stance, "will do as you're told, and do it quickly, or else. You do not want to test me on this."

The dark tone in his father's voice should have had the boy jumping to obey, but Harry was overcome with too many emotions at the moment to think clearly.

His incredibly good mood had been destroyed in a flash. He was upset with Sirius for breaking his word about letting him fly today, angry at Remus for tattling on him, hurt beyond measure that his father was clearly taking Remus' side over his and more than a bit embarrassed about being harshly scolded in front of his godfather.

With his arms crossed tightly over his chest, the boy stood there and glowered, shaking his head.

"No."

Both of the men sitting at the table were gobsmacked by the boy's response. Harry could be sassy at times, he wasn't normally outright disobedient like this. It took Sirius a few seconds to be able to form words, he was so shocked by his son's belligerence.

"What do you mean no?" he demanded, narrowing his eyes at his obstinate child. "I'm your father and you will do as you're told, Harry James. This is your very last warning, and I promise you that you will not like what comes next."

In all fairness, if it had just been Sirius and Harry in the room together, Harry would have already shuffled off to the corner. He wouldn't have been happy about it, but he would have obeyed his father and gone just the same, whether or not he was in the wrong.

But a little voice inside his head was telling him that he shouldn't let Remus have the satisfaction of seeing Harry get punished for something he didn't even do, so, stupidly, he held his ground. Far too busy feeling righteous at the moment to realize just how deeply he was digging the hole he was getting himself into, and absolutely sure that Sirius would see how strongly Harry felt about his position and back down.

Teenage boys weren't always terribly bright when it came to situations such as this.

"I didn't do anything wrong, so I'm not going to stand in the stupid corner" Harry stated decidedly, his voice strong with conviction. "I'm sorry Remus thought that I was being rude, but I wasn't. In fact," he continued angrily as he turned to glare at his godfather, "he was being rude to me by keeping me here longer than necessary because he didn't believe me when I told him that I had your permission to go to the Burrow. It's not my fault he just assumes that I'm a liar."

"Perhaps it was just my misunderstanding then, Sirius," Remus tried to intervene, despite being taking off guard by Harry's accusation.

"Then maybe you should try not lying!" Sirius bellowed at his son, ignoring Remus completely. "Have you thought about that?"

Harry sucked in a sharp breath, his father's words feeling like a slap in the face.

"I'm not," the boy responded a bit more forcefully, as he felt his eyes beginning to sting. "Why are you taking Remus' word over mine?"

"Because Remus didn't lie to me," Sirius pointed out succinctly. "I asked you a simple question and you lied right to my face. Don't play games with me, young man. I know when you're being dishonest."

"Perhaps we should all just take a moment to calm down," Remus advised as he watched the increase in ferocity between father and son.

This situation was now threatening to turn very ugly if cooler heads didn't prevail, and he simply didn't think that it was a hill that anyone needed to die on. Neither Sirius nor Harry looked like they'd be giving in any time soon and Remus was feeling more than a bit guilty for bringing it up in the first place.

Sirius didn't appear to hear him, however, as he sat at the end of the table and stroked his beard in thought. The only sound in the room was Harry's shaky breathing as he struggled to maintain his facade of outrage. Privately, Remus thought the boy was probably more likely scared and hurt deep down as he waited for Sirius to say something, and a full minute passed before Sirius finally nodded to himself.

"Corner," he repeated sternly as he pointed. "Now. And your grounding just got pushed to three days."

"No," Harry said again, shaking his head and fighting frustrated and tired tears. "I won't do it. Why aren't you on my side? I didn't do anything wrong."

Remus groaned at the boy's stubbornness as he leaned back into his seat and massaged his left temple. This wasn't going to end well.

"Well," Sirius said, his tone deceptive and almost conversational, "because you keep disobeying me, for one. So now it's a week. Corner!"

"You're barking mad!" Harry shouted, wiping his left eye which had begun to leak against his will. "I'm going back upstairs until you take a potion or something and start seeing clearly again."

But the boy didn't immediately carry out his threat.

Harry stood where he was, eyes wounded and pleading as he waited a second to give his father a chance to realize how awful he was being. He didn't like quarreling with Sirius. It gave him an upset stomach and a pounding pain in his head. But he also wasn't going to back down either. Not this time.

Remus sat silently, as if he were an observer at a tennis match, waiting for the next volley.

He didn't have to wait too long.

"Right, then," Sirius said calmly before getting up out of his chair and striding determinedly over to his suddenly apprehensive son.

Harry tried to take a step back as Sirius reached out to grab him by the arm and spin him around, but Sirius was quicker, and before the boy even knew what was happening, his father swatted his rear end. Harry yelped in surprise and tried in vain to pull free but Sirius just tightened his grip and then smacked again.

"When I tell you to do something, young man," Sirius scolded angrily, "you do it. Obedience is not optional."

"Sirius," Remus called from the table, "don't you think..."

Whipping his head around, Sirius leveled his friend with a hot glare.

"Don't Remus," he warned angrily. "You wanted me to be more firm with him and sometimes this is what that looks like."

The admonishment took Remus aback and he pressed his mouth shut. Clearly his interference was just going to make the situation worse.

Returning to the task at hand, Sirius shifted Harry so he could see his son's face. Harry was blushing furiously and fighting angry tears as he stared daggers at his father.

"You're only making this far harder than it needs to be, Harry James," Sirius scolded sternly. "Now, you can either march your little backside over into that corner on your own, or I can make you wish that you had. So, what do you think?"

Harry's lower lip was wobbling as he struggled to not cry in front of Remus. He'd already been smacked in front of the man, but bursting into tears with him in the room would really be humiliating. Like a wounded animal caught in a trap, he made the time honored decision to lash out at the thing that was hurting him.

"I think I really hate you sometimes," he shot back, momentarily gratified by the look of pain that his words put in Sirius' eyes. "That's what I think."

"Harry James!" Remus chided sternly as he stood from his seat. "Do not speak to your father like that!"

Harry threw his godfather a smoldering look, so hot that it was a miracle it didn't set the drapes behind Remus on fire and he thrashed in Sirius' hold in another attempt to be set free, but Sirius was ready for it and held him steady.

"I'm handling this, Remus," Sirius said sharply as he turned Harry back towards him.

The boy's angry words made Sirius feel like he'd just been stabbed in the heart. How a parent survived being told by their beloved child that they hated them was a mystery to Sirius because the pain of hearing it come out of Harry's mouth was excruciating.

But despite his current anguish, he wasn't going to let a little emotional blackmail stay his hand. Regardless of how much Harry's words had hurt, the boy still needed to be reminded that his father was to be obeyed and respected.

"You're certainly entitled to how you feel," Sirius managed to choke out around the lump lodged in his throat. "But that doesn't change the fact that I've told you to do something and you're not obeying me, or even trying to give me a good reason why you shouldn't. That's simply unacceptable."

Harry didn't have an answer for that, so he settled for glowering at his father with his arms crossed and stubbornly not moving even one inch closer to that bloody corner.

Seeing the determination set on his son's face, Sirius strengthened his own resolve. It was like trying to break a wild stallion, he mused for just a second, and immediately almost wanted to laugh over the idea. In a way, his son was sort of a wild stallion now, so maybe Harry's willfulness shouldn't be such a surprise.

"Remus," Sirius called out, never taking his eyes from his son, "Harry and I need a few minutes alone, if you don't mind."

At the table, Remus rose quickly from his seat and strode over to them, feeling horrible for both Sirius and Harry since it was readily apparent that this might not end well.

"I'll just make myself comfortable in your study until you're ready to discuss this morning's news, shall I?"

Sirius merely nodded and Harry pursed his lips and narrowed his eyes at his godfather as he made his way towards the door. Without another word, he shut it closed behind him.

With Remus gone, some of the stiffness in Harry's shoulders melted away, and maybe the boy would have been more amenable now that it was just the two of them alone, but Sirius was done playing games with his son. He reached out and took Harry by the shoulders.

"What is going on with you this morning?" he asked, utterly confused as he attempted to push down his annoyance in order to get a straight answer from his son. "This isn't like you, Harry James."

If Harry had been less tired and in a more rational mood, he would have realized how ridiculous he was behaving and also recognized the chance Sirius was giving him to calm down and tell his father why he was so out of sorts. But sadly, Harry was too irritable, angry and hurt over what he saw as his father's betrayal by siding with Remus over his own son to be rational.

"Maybe you should just sod off," the boy spat out hatefully, as he struggled in his father's grip.

Sirius' eyes flared, and what little patience he'd tried to scrape together was gone in a flash. Whipping out his wand he cast a scourgify on his bratty kid and then held Harry firmly by the shoulders while the spell took its course. His son glared daggers at him as he sputtered and choked, but Sirius met the boy's angry stare with a determined one of his own.

"I'm so exceptionally disappointed in you," he said, shaking his head. "Your behavior this morning has been nothing short of atrocious."

Harry's stomach did an unhappy little flip hearing that as the mouth washing spell ended. He might be angry with his father at the moment but deep down he genuinely hated to disappoint Sirius. It was ten times worse that having him mad at him. Having never had a parent that took any real interest in him before, Harry lived for Sirius' approval usually, which only made him even more upset than he currently already was.

But with how greatly he was out of sorts at the moment, and without the ability to see the situation clearly from Sirius' perspective, he still didn't feel particularly guilty about his actions since his arrival in the dining room. As far as his muddled mind was concerned, it simply wasn't fair for Sirius to reprimand him for something he didn't do in the first place.

Which is why, when Sirius started to physically tug him towards the corner, Harry dug his heels in again and resisted.

"No!" the boy yelled angrily as he tried to wrench his arm out of his father's grasp. "This is stupid! You're completely barmy if you think I'm standing in a corner for anything. Stop treating me like a sodding toddler."

"Then stop acting like one!" Sirius growled as he held on to his wiggling son who was thrashing like a fish caught in a net.

There was no question that Sirius was physically stronger than his son, but Harry's blind anger at the moment was so great that it gave him just that little bit of extra strength that he needed to be able to pull free from Sirius' unyielding grasp.

Which he actually managed to do, for about two seconds, accidentally kicking his father hard in the shin in the process.

Sirius grunted in pain, masterfully biting back a string of profanity that would have definitely left a lasting impression on his son. He lunged and grabbed Harry's shoulders and then spun the boy around to face him.

"What in Merlin's name has come over you today?" he roared as he gave Harry shoulders a shake. "Are you possessed or something, to be acting this way?"

Harry's breathing was erratic, first coming in short pants and then deep breaths as he glared hatefully at his father.

The boy was furious and mortified and devastated, all in equal measure as he was held at arms length. His enraged face was flushed hot and his backside still smarted a bit from the earlier smacks.

He wanted to throw punches, but he also wanted to sob like a baby.

There was a part of him that wanted to destroy all of the nice furniture in the room and another part that just wanted to burrow himself into Sirius' chest and be held. A part that was horrified that he'd told Sirius that he hated him. Had actually kicked his father, too, even as another part of him wanted to do it again and again.

All of him was confused.

Even after kicking him, Harry wasn't showing any sign of being the least bit remorseful, which made Sirius even more angry.

He really began to give serious consideration to the idea that perhaps Remus was right in saying that he'd been indulging his son just a little too much, especially if it was turning Harry into a child that could act this way.

Harry had always just seemed thrilled and grateful for everything Sirius lavished on him, whether it was love or material items, but maybe, just maybe, there was more of James and Sirius in Harry than Sirius had originally thought.

Because, let's face it. At fourteen, the two Marauders had been arrogant little berks as well.

Which is why Sirius knew that ultimately Harry wasn't going to cooperate.

Sirius was a talented wizard with a number of spells up his sleeve.

A simple Incarcerous would easily bind the kicking little bronco that was his insolent child. But he wasn't going to use harsh magic to discipline his son. It was one thing to cast a Scourgify for foul language, since the spell itself was quicker and much more mild than making Harry hold a bar of nasty soap in his mouth, but it was another thing entirely to use a spell to physically restrain his son.

So, Sirius decided to make his point the Muggle way.

Without further ado, he wrapped his arms tightly around Harry's torso and then proceeded to bodily haul the protesting boy the couple of feet to the corner and deposit him in it.

"Now, it's two weeks," he warned his squawking son as he held him facing the dark mahogany wood. "Move out of this corner before I say, and it will be a month. Is that what you want, Harry James? A month with no broom, no wings and an early bedtime every night?"

"I want you to leave me alone!" Harry spat out angrily through some residual soap bubbles as he shrugged his shoulders out of his father's grip. Hot tears of frustration and embarrassment were streaming down his flushed cheeks that he refused to let Sirius see. "Just go away and leave me alone."

Deep down, Sirius hoped that his son's hateful words were nothing more than the boy's bruised ego talking, but it still wounded him to the core to have his child speak to him like that. Not that Sirius hadn't said the same, or worse, to Orion on occasion, but that was an entirely different kind of story, so maybe it didn't really count.

But Harry wasn't actively trying to get away anymore, so Sirius crossed his fingers and hoped that this little rebellion, or whatever it was, had finally come to an end.

"Fifteen minutes," he said to his son's slouched back. "and when I come back, we will both try to be a little more calm. You'll sit down and have some breakfast and then you will quietly go and write your lines. Understand?"

Harry didn't feel like talking at the moment as the tears continued to slide down his neck, so he just nodded his head instead of giving Sirius the Yes, sir, he was most likely looking for. Thankfully, he father didn't push for it.

"I'll be in my study for a bit. More than happy to listen to you if you decide you want to give me a civilized explanation for this new attitude of yours."

Sirius waited until Harry acknowledge him with another nod and then he silently left the room. Losing his battle with tears badly, Harry hugged himself and began to deeply sob for reasons that he couldn't even begin to understand.

Now more exhausted than ever, Sirius stalked into his study, ignoring Remus' judging look as he strode over to his desk chair, dropped down into it and tiredly rubbed his eyes.

"I'm not sure that was entirely helpful," Remus chided him in a low voice.

Already feeling like dung, Sirius didn't even open his eyes to look at his friend to respond. He had a crying child in the next room, a blinding headache coming on and a mountain of decisions to make and he simply wasn't in the mood to have his parenting choices questioned for even one minute more this morning.

"You know, Remus, it's very easy to comment on Quidditch from the sidelines," he said sharply, pinching the bridge of his nose, "but very different when you are actually playing in the match. Talk to me after you and Dora have your first sprog and we'll see just how much your perspective on parenting practices changes, hmm? As you might have noticed, disciplining my son isn't always as simple as you seem to believe it to be."

The words stung, but Remus couldn't deny them. Of course it was different to be the actual father of a headstrong teenager rather than just the godfather or his professor, and Remus' warning had been just as much about protecting Sirius from the fallout as they were about protecting Harry.

But with everything else going on at the moment this probably wasn't a conversation for today. He'd wait to bring it up again when the tension in the house was less palpable.

"I never said it was simple, Padfoot," he clarified as he stirred the tea that Bicky had brought him while he waited. "Just occasionally necessary."

Sirius looked up at his friend and glared with his bloodshot eyes.

"I'm sorry," Remus said, holding up a hand in apology. "When it comes to how you parent Harry I will try harder in the future to keep my opinions to myself."

It wasn't exactly what Sirius wanted to hear. He actually did value Remus' input from time to time.

Today just wasn't one of those days.

"Shall we just focus on what I should say during the Wizengamot session?" Sirius suggested instead.

Relieved, Remus nodded, and for the next fifteen minutes the two wizards brainstormed strategies and tactics.

Albus Dumbledore was certainly not going to be pleased with this morning's lead story.

When the clock in the entry hall chimed the quarter hour, Sirius wearily stood from his desk.

"I need to get back to Harry," he said with a resigned sigh. "Maybe get some breakfast into him. Although I'm sure eating is the last thing he wants to do right now. He's probably spent the last fifteen minutes thinking of ways to creatively curse me into oblivion. Not that I'd have been any different in his position."

Remus looked up and saw the apprehension on his friend's face and grimaced.

"Sirius, I'm sorry if I'm responsible for the quarrel you two had," he began sincerely. "If I'd had any idea how badly it would go..."

Shaking his head, Sirius put a hand on his friend's shoulder.

"I don't blame you, Remus. Harry should not have been rude to you. Or lied to me. Or really anything else he did. That's not your fault."

Remus nodded, feeling slightly better but still guilty. "I'll wait for you to finish up then. Molly should be here in an hour or so."

Sirius let out a deep exhale, thinking about the commotion Molly would cause when they started discussions on increasing the student body. It was a thought for later. He simply didn't have the mental capacity to even ponder it right now.

When he stepped back into the dining room, Harry was leaning heavily in the corner and sniffling and Sirius' heart broke just a little more. He was sure that his son had gotten almost no sleep last night with all the excitement and he was probably starving to boot. Just those factors alone could wreak havoc on a boy's temperament

He took a deep breath and gently placed a hand on Harry's shoulder.

"Come sit down now, please."

When his son dutifully turned around, Sirius could see just how red the boy's eyes were and he wanted badly to hold his son and comfort him, but despite Harry's tears, the boy still looked furious as he ducked his shoulder away from Sirius' hand, so it was doubtful that his son would allow any affection at the moment.

"Come," he said again, as nodded in the direction of Harry's his usual seat at the table. Fortunately, Harry quietly obeyed without argument.

Moving slowly, Harry gingerly slipped into his seat at Sirius' right hand. Seconds later, a bowl of porridge topped with a warm cinnamon apple compote appeared in front of him. It reminded Sirius that the house elves were always finely attuned to what was going on in the chateau and they had obviously noticed that their young master might not feel up to tucking into a heavy breakfast right now.

A pitcher of mango juice also popped onto the table and Sirius reached over to pour a glass that he set in front of his son. Harry's eyes were downcast as he obediently picked up a spoon and scooped up some of the cereal and began to eat.

There was absolute silence in the room for a few moments as Sirius patiently waited until the boy had swallowed a few small bites before trying to speak to him again.

The very last thing he wanted right now was to say the wrong thing that would just get his son's back up even further, since he really didn't think he had it in him to have another row with his child. There was a chance that their home was about to go under a huge upheaval and Sirius would need peace between them to have the long and frank discussion necessary with his son before he could commit to anything.

All the guilt trips from all the wizarding parents in the world weren't going to sway Sirius into accepting more students if Harry didn't want to.

"Do you want to talk about what just happened in here?" he asked, his tone genuinely concerned. "Because I'd really like to know. I confess, I'm simply flabbergasted."

He watched as Harry choked down the spoonful he had in his mouth before lowering his hand back down to the table. Again, the boy didn't say anything, instead opting to simply shake his head.

During his time in the corner, Harry's anger had abated a bit, but it was still simmering just below the surface. He was beyond angry at his father for breaking his word about flying this morning and punishing him further, and even more so for embarrassing him by doing part of it in front of Remus, especially when it was all because of him in the first place.

The absolute last thing Harry wanted to do was talk about it.

Ever

"Very well," Sirius said resignedly. "We can leave it for a bit, but we are going to discuss it at some point today. I'm trying and failing to see a reason why you would behave like that, but obviously there must be one so you and I are just going to have to figure it out because I don't want this happening again."

Suddenly the porridge wasn't sitting so well in his stomach, and Harry ignored the unhelpful little voice that was now telling him that it was probably the guilt over the way he'd spoken to his father rather than anger upsetting it. Unable to eat another bite, he just sat and stirred his cereal under his father's watchful eyes for a couple of more minutes until Sirius accepted that the meal was over.

"Are you done with that?"

Harry swallowed hard again and nodded as he pushed the bowl away. Words were just not his friends right now as he had a sneaking suspicion that he wouldn't be able to control his tongue if he allowed himself to speak out loud.

The half eaten bowl vanished, and Harry's morning vitamins appeared. He gave a brief thought to ignoring them and decided that it wasn't worth it the argument. He popped them in his mouth and swallowed them down with a gulp of the mango juice as Sirius flicked his wand to summon a roll of parchment that he then handed to his son.

"Two hours in the school room, young man," he said sternly as his wand wrote a long line of words at the top of the parchment. "I'll be back in my study if you need me. I have some matters to attend to this morning, and I'll also likely be meeting with Remus and Mrs. Weasley for a bit as well. But all of that can wait if you decide that you're ready to talk."

Harry nodded again without looking at his father as he rose from his chair. He started to leave, but Sirius stood from the table as well and called his name, so he stopped.

"I know it doesn't feel like it just now," Sirius said softly, more than a hint of sadness in his voice, "but no matter what goes on between us, even if I sometimes need to be firm with you, remember that I love you very much."

Harry's breath hitched as the words hit a sensitive spot in his heart. He was still angry with his father, furious even. But despite his current ire, he did love Sirius fiercely too and the upset tone of his voice was enough to make his son turn around. For the first time since everything started, Harry really looked into his father's eyes.

Sirius looked like he felt every bit as badly as Harry did himself.

It wasn't that Harry didn't know just how hard it was on his father to have to discipline him, but the boy couldn't help the rage he was feeling over the unfairness of it. A large chunk of it was directed at Remus, since it was pretty clear that he'd been instrumental somehow in Harry's reprimand, but most of it was for Sirius for not believing in his son.

For his part, Sirius knew that Harry had to be feeling a little raw at the moment. And maybe in his own upset he hadn't handled things in the best way, but it's not like he ever expected his son to be that belligerent. He'd tried to be reasonable at first, but Harry had dug in his heels, so Sirius really had no choice.

And while he might have forced his son into the corner, he wasn't going to force Harry to accept affection. Harry had to want the comfort that his father was more than happy to provide after such a turbulent morning and, to be perfectly honest, Sirius was fairly sure that his son didn't want that right now, but he opened his arms in invitation just the same.

Seeing Sirius offering a hug almost made Harry go over to him, but this time he just couldn't. He loved his father very much, but right now Harry didn't particularly like him. He turned back around and walked out of the dining room without a word.

Watching his son's retreating back made Sirius' chest ache, but he nodded to himself and then gathered his things.

He had a lot to think about.

**********HP**********

Ron stepped out of the floo into the front parlor of Celestial Court and brushed some soot from the front of his shirt as he followed behind his mother making her way towards Sirius' study. Once there, Molly knocked on the door and then let herself in without waiting for an invitation.

"Good morning all," she said cheerily as she bustled over to the empty chair in front of Sirius' desk. "Ron's come over with me to say hello to Harry while we're meeting. That's all right, isn't it Sirius?"

Sirius and Remus gave each other an exasperatedly fond look over the witch's forthrightness before Sirius nodded.

"Yes, I suppose," he said hesitantly, "but Harry and I had a bit of a row this morning, so he's on restriction, Ron. He's in the school room writing the lines I've set for him. You can join him as long as you don't stop him from doing his work. Otherwise I'll have to ask you to occupy yourself elsewhere."

Ron nodded quickly. He'd seen Sirius get angry before, so he wasn't going to do anything to upset the man or get Harry into any more trouble.

'Yes, sir," he said. "I won't be a bother, I promise."

"Go on then," Sirius agreed, nodding his head towards the door. "He didn't each much of his breakfast either, so he's probably hungry by now as well. I'll bring some sandwiches in for you both in just a moment."

Ron scurried out of the room quickly before Sirius changed his mind and walked down the long corridor towards the former library that was now their school room. He'd grown to like Celestial Court a lot. Not just because of all the fun they'd had there since Harry and Sirius had moved in, but because it was where Ron had finally started to actually enjoy his classes.

He'd liked Hogwarts well enough, but it had been more because of the excitement of finally being there after years of his brothers talking about it. His professors, for the most part, were fine but they didn't really excite him about magic the way Sirius and Remus had, and he loved having the chance to spend every Sunday back at the Burrow with just himself and his parents.

It had made him a much happier person all around, really.

Like it usually was during the day, the school room door was open when he arrived, and he could see his mate hunched over his normal desk, his quill steadily scratching the parchment in front of him.

"Hey Harry!"

Startled, Harry turned around and frowned when he saw Ron walking towards him.

"Hey," he said irritably looking out the door past Ron. "You can't be here, right now. I'm already grounded, and I'll be in loads more trouble if Papa sees me talking to you."

"Nah," Ron shook his head and then dropped into his own usual seat next to Harry's. "It's alright. Sirius said I could hang out with you while he's talking with Mum and Remus."

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a bag of Bertie Bott's offering it to Harry who refused before shoving a peppermint bean in his mouth.

"There's something going on with Hogwarts," he continued conversationally, spitting slightly as he gobbled a couple of more beans, "Mum wouldn't tell me anything until she talked to Sirius first, but she let me come along to see you. Charlie took the twins to Diagon Alley to buy them both a birthday present, since he wasn't here for their party last week, and of course they didn't invite me, even then I'm their brother too, and Ginny got sent over to Auntie Muriel's for tea because Mum wants to make sure that Ginny inherits her goblin made tiara. Which means she's going to a nightmare to deal with when she comes home because she can't bloody stand Auntie Muriel any more than the rest of us can. Monday can't come soon enough."

During Ron's little rant, Harry rolled his eyes as he concentrated on his lines. His mate could talk endlessly for days if not interrupted, so he was used it.

The twins had turned seventeen right at the start of the Easter holiday and were now of age, which was rather terrifying for their parents considering that the mischievous boys no longer had the trace on them. Molly and Arthur had thrown them a small family party that Harry and Sirius had also been invited to, but the big celebration was going to be held in the summer, when both Bill and Charlie could get time off from their jobs for a proper visit.

On Monday, the twins and Ginny would return to school for the rest of the term. Harry knew that Ron loved his siblings, but he was also clearly at the point where he was ready to see them off. Mrs. Weasley had been a bit more weepy about it the last couple of days.

"Those your lines?" Ron asked, gesturing to the parchment Harry was working on.

"Yeah," Harry sighed. He looked over at the clock on the wall. "I've got another half hour to go before I can stop."

Leaning over, Ron read the phrase that Harry was writing over and over again.

'It was wrong to call my father an unreasonable tyrant since, by definition, tyrants are not known to be reasonable people.'

"Did you really say that to him?" Ron asked in shocked disbelief.

Harry scowled and nodded.

"He was being an arse about making me come home so early after the match," the boy groused, momentarily forgetting that Ron got dragged home with his parents much earlier than Harry did. "So he grounded me and told me that I had to write these stupid lines today."

"You called Sirius an unreasonable tyrant?" Ron clarified carefully, "and all he did was ground you and make you write some lines?" He was absolutely gobsmacked over the nerve of his friend. "Do you have any idea what my Mum would have done to me if I said that to her?"

Harry squirmed guiltily for a brief second before returning to his work as Ron flopped back in his chair shaking his head.

"I mean, the walloping alone would have been the stuff of legends," he mused, his eyes wide with horror. "They'd write about it in history books as a warning to children for generations to come on why they should behave themselves. People would sing songs about Molly Weasley and her Wooden Spoon of Doom. There would be- "

"I get it, Ron!" Harry snapped angrily as he gave his friend a glare. He didn't need to be reminded of how strict Mrs. Weasley could be with her own kids.

Ron's eyebrows shot up into his forehead at Harry's scowl. "All I'm saying is that you're bloody lucky that Sirius is your dad instead of..."

"If you think he's so great," Harry interrupted sharply as he slammed his quill on the desk, "then you can have him!"

His heated outburst shut Ron right up, his blue eyes going wide in surprise. Harry never talked about Sirius like that. Ever. Ron knew better than anyone just how much his best friend adored his adoptive father.

Harry blinked rapidly, his own hostility shocking him as well as he fidgeted in his chair and averted his eyes so he wouldn't have to see the look of disapproval on Ron's face.

What neither of the boys knew was that their conversation had been overheard by a man holding a tray of sandwiches and butterbeer in his hands just outside the door. His face was twisted in pain and he looked to be barely able to stand on his feet. Without a word, he placed the tray on a nearby table and silently walked away.

"That's not on, Harry," Ron said shaking his head. "I love my folks, but Sirius is brilliant. You've told me so a million times yourself."

Harry was bitterly regretting his heated words, but he just couldn't make himself say it out loud. Sirius was brilliant, the best really, and maybe if Harry wasn't so angry at him at the moment, he would have remembered that little fact much more clearly.

Instead he pursed his mouth into a frown and returned to his lines, ignoring the little voice in his head telling him that he wasn't much of a son.

***********HP************

Sirius was mentally preoccupied as Remus and Molly discussed problems and logistics.

His eyes were staring out the large window next to his desk as he fiddled with a quill, not paying any attention to either Remus' cautionary concerns or Molly's enthusiasm. The only thing he could think about were his son's painful words, and even though he was fairly sure that it was just Harry being a temperamental teenager, they'd hurt just the same.

"Sirius," Remus called, wanting his opinion on possible scheduling. "what do you think about having two groups of classes instead of one? Sirius?"

"Hmm?" the distracted man answered after a long pause. "What was he question?"

Molly shot Remus a frustrated look and he shook his head and held a hand up to stop her from making a comment that might hurt his already upset friend even further. She didn't know what had happened in the dining room this morning, and Remus wasn't about to be the one to tell her.

"I was saying," Remus said patiently, "what would you think of splitting the kids up into two groups instead of trying to teach them all at the same time? It would mean that you and I taught classes every day, which I don't mind. We don't know yet whether or not any of them will take the Muggle classes with the Grangers, so it shouldn't really affect Hugh and Jean at all."

"I know that Ronald is benefiting from the smaller class size," Molly pointed out. "Maybe some of the other children would as well. You have room for how many here again?"

Sirius ran a hand down his face as he returned his full attention to the conversation and considered Molly's question.

"Well, if the children all had a single room, then we could accept twenty more," he decided after doing a mental calculation. "I don't think Harry would mind too much if Hermione and Ron moved back into their old rooms in the family wing, so with Remus in the main guest wing suite, there are twenty other spare rooms. Of course, if they share, then we could house up to forty more, but I think that's far too many for our purposes here."

"Agreed," Remus said, nodding his head. "It's not that we couldn't physically or academically accommodate forty other students, but no matter how you slice it, there's still just Sirius and I here full time to keep order. We'd be mobbed, even with occasional help from you and the Grangers, Molly."

Sirius also nodded as he rubbed his eyes. "Exactly. So the question becomes, who do we take? Do we stay with just fourth years and instruct them all together, or do we consider letting half of them be from another year group. Maybe Ginny's year, Molly?"

Molly couldn't help feeling excited over the prospect of having both of her youngest children with her regularly. And as much as she equally loved her twin boys, Fred and George were of age now, and she doubted that they'd leave Hogwarts even if she tried to make them.

"Which do you prefer, Pads?" Remus asked, making sure his tone emphasized to Molly that it was ultimately Sirius' decision to make.

"Honestly?" Sirius replied hesitantly. "I'd prefer they were all fourth years. Not just because a lot of them are already friendly with Harry and the other kids, which would make the transition easier on everyone, but also because it would be less disruption to their academics if we didn't have to come up with another class syllabus on the fly."

"I thought the same," Remus admitted. "There are only two months left in the term. It's already going to be hard enough to make sure they're all ready for their exams as it is."

Molly's lips pursed into a frown as she saw the chance to have Ginny stay home slipping away, but Sirius wasn't indifferent to her wishes.

"I can't speak for Remus," he said to the visibly upset witch, "but I'd be more than happy to do independent study with Ginny if you want to bring her here. It doesn't have to be all the third years that want to come for us to do that much."

His offer brightened Molly up considerably. "I'll discuss it with Ginny and Arthur when I get home. That would be lovely, Sirius. Thank you."

"So we're agreed then?" Remus asked looking at the two of them in turn. "This is something we're going to commit to?"

Sirius shook his head as he leaned back in his chair. While time was of the essence, there were still considerations to make.

"I can't agree to anything until I discuss it with Harry first," he said firmly. "While it would impact all four of the children here currently, this is Harry's home. His security and safe haven. If he's not comfortable having so many other students around, I will not try to talk him into it."

"That's fair," Remus agreed. "After all, when you first came up with idea, it was just going to be Harry alone. It's evolved awfully fast."

"I also want to wait until I see what happens at the emergency session tomorrow," Sirius continued as he frowned. "This may be a completely moot point if Dumbledore tries to stop the other children from coming."

"I wish you would try to get along with Albus a little more, Sirius," Molly scolded. "He's such a good man and he really cares about the school."

With how little regard Sirius was currently holding Albus, these were dangerous waters she was treading in, and she knew it.

But she also had a hard time keeping her opinions to herself when she knew how much Albus cared about Harry.

Personally, she thought that Sirius had completely overreacted by withdrawing Harry from Hogwarts, but even she had to admit that the mischievous boy was very safe here at Celestial Court, and Ron had practically become an entirely new boy recently. His grades were much higher and he was a joy to have around the Burrow on Sundays when it was just the three of them.

"You both would be giving up a lot of privacy," Remus reminded Sirius, wisely changing the subject before the other two got into a fight. "For instance, that little skirmish this morning wouldn't have played out the way it did if there were twenty other kids roaming the manor witnessing it all."

"What exactly did happen, Sirius?" Molly asked curiously. "Is everything alright?"

Sirius narrowed his eyes at his old friend, even though he'd grudgingly admit that it was a safer topic than Albus bloody Dumbledore.

"Nothing, really," he replied quickly. "Harry and I just had a regular, garden variety father-son row. It's all sorted now."

On another day, Molly might have pushed the issue, but something was telling her that it would be best to mind her own business on this particular topic, which was really rather hard for her to do. She did, however, have another concern she'd wanted to address during their meeting, so she decided to focus on that instead.

"You might need to put aside one more of those rooms in the guest wing, you know," she said pointedly. "It's all well and good now with just Hermione living over there, but if you're going to accept say another nine or ten girls, then you'll really need a woman to watch over them."

"Why is that?" Sirius asked in surprise. "The houses at Hogwarts are co-ed, and they only have one head for each. You don't think that Remus and I can handle the new children if necessary?"

Molly rolled her eyes over just how dense men could be sometimes. Honestly, it was like raising two more children.

"Yes," she acknowledged, "but the staff at Hogwarts are equally split, so if a student has a more sensitive issue that they want to talk over with someone their own gender, they have options. Who would the girls go to? I mean, I could floo over if asked, but would that be enough? I don't live here."

She had a point, but Sirius wasn't sure he had the answer she was looking for.

"There's always Jean," Remus pointed out. "She's got a teenage daughter, so certainly she could be helpful if necessary? I'm sure she wouldn't mind."

"Oh, Jean's a lovely woman," Molly agreed quickly, "but she's a Muggle. There are going to be things she can't help with. Which one of you wants to teach contraception charms to a fourteen year old girl?"

Remus choked on the sip of tea he'd just taken, while Sirius' face drained of all blood.

"Couldn't we just send the girls home to their mothers for a weekend if it becomes necessary?" Sirius asked in a strained voice. He'd barely been able to get through the talk with his own son.

"My point, gentlemen," Molly continued as if she hadn't heard him, "is that sometimes teenage girls need a woman around that they can approach. Finding one willing to live here and help out should be a consideration before giving your final answer. Unless, of course, you only accept male students?"

"No," Sirius said immediately, shaking his head. "Part of the reason I'm considering this madness at all is that Harry is desperately in need of socialization with girls his own age that aren't Hermione. It's been one of my biggest concerns about our school since the beginning."

Molly was warring between pushing for only male students, since she knew how much her Ginny fancied Harry for herself, and acknowledging that Ron was also in the same boat. Since it didn't appear that he and Hermione were going to renew their relationship, Ron really needed the chance to spend time with other girls as well.

"I agree with Sirius," Remus said as he nodded. "The children are doing splendidly so far, but it really would be better for them to have regular interactions with more of their peers. But I also agree with Molly, in that we need more adults. Especially for our Thursday afternoon outings. Or would we consider suspending them for now?"

"That is a very good question," Sirius admitted, looking thoughtful. "While I may eventually be comfortable having other children here, since the estate is under the Fidelius, I'm not so sure that I'd want such a large group to have advance notice of our movements when were are out and about. All it takes is one slip of the tongue..."

He didn't need to finish. Remus was nodded along with him and Molly had a vaguely horrified look on her face. The measures Sirius had put in place to protect Harry, as well as the other three, would go flying out the window if they were off the estate grounds.

*************HP**************

The clock in the entry hall chimed and Harry put his quill down with a huff. He'd been writing his lines for exactly two hours now and he was just simply done. Pushing the parchment away from him, his hand was all cramped up from holding the quill for so long and his stomach was upset from the words he'd been told to write.

He didn't particularly like being reminded of how rude he'd been to his father.

"Are you done?" Ron asked, blinking sleep out of his eyes. He'd gotten tired of his one way conversation while Harry was doing his lines and had actually fallen asleep at his desk. It wasn't the first time that had happened when Ron was at school, although it was the first time he'd done it at Fulminare.

"Yeah," Harry sighed in annoyance. "My hand feels like it's about to fall off."

"I'm starving," Ron announced grouchily as he stretched and looked around the room. "Didn't Sirius bring those sandwiches in?"

Harry frowned, not knowing what his friend was talking about. "What sandwiches? No one's come in here."

Not that Harry was hungry, since he felt a bit queasy from guilt, but thinking about it, he was sort of surprised that his father hadn't done something to make sure that Harry had been given a snack. Sirius always took pains to make sure that food was available to his son.

"He said he was going to bring us some sandwiches when he told me I could join you in here," Ron replied with a shrug. "Maybe he got busy and just forgot. Do you think we could go to the kitchen and get something? Or are you not allowed to leave this room?"

"I'm not allowed to leave the house when I'm grounded," Harry grouched irritably, as he stood from his desk, "but I can go where I want inside. C'mon, then."

The boys made their way out of the school room, but stopped short when they saw the platter of sandwiches and drinks just outside.

"Oh," Ron said curiously as he perused the tray. "These are probably for us. Rotten luck though, egg and cress. Not my favorite, but they'll do"

Harry looked down at the sandwiches as Ron stuffed half of one in his mouth.

Egg and cress were Harry's favorite, but Sirius hadn't even come into the room himself to bring them. He'd just dropped them off outside without a word to his son.

If asked, Harry couldn't tell you why he got so angry about that. It wasn't as if he wanted to see or talk to his father in the first place, but he still was upset that Sirius was avoiding him.

"Bring those, if you want," Harry said crossly as he made, what was unfortunately for him, another incredibly stupid decision. "We're going out."

"Whaa?" Ron asked with a mouthful, grabbing three sandwiches and a couple of the butterbeers and following after his friend who was striding determinedly towards the back doors. "Wher' e gon?"

Before Ron could catch up with him, Harry was out the doors and stomping away in the direction of the cave. He didn't even respond when his best friend repeatedly called after.

"Slow down, Harry!" Ron panted as he ran. His legs were longer than Harry's but Harry'd had a lifetime of dodging Dudley's gang and it gave him a bit of an advantage in speed when he wanted.

Swearing colorfully to himself and building the rage he'd been harboring all morning back up into a proper burn, Harry decided that it was absolutely rubbish that his father forbid him to transform without his supervision.

He'd done it loads of times last night with no problem, and both of his fathers had done the entire process on their own, so who was Sirius to tell Harry that he needed to be watched?

In fact...

Taking a deep breath, Harry concentrated, found his pegasus' heartbeat inside of himself and felt the ripple of change come over him. One minute he was an angry boy storming across a grassy field and then next a magnificent stead running at full gallop towards the cave. The handsome black horse shook his head as he found his stride, his long silky mane and tail flowing behind him.

"Bloody Hell," Ron groaned, stopping where he stood long enough to effect his own change. Seconds later, the Jack Russell terrier took off like a shot after the speeding equine.

*************HP************

Well, if that's all for now, gentlemen?" Molly asked as she gathered her things. "I'd like to get back since the others are due home shortly. You'll let me know how tomorrow goes, Sirius?"

Sirius nodded as he messaged his temples. "Thanks for your help, Molly," he said sincerely. "It's going to be interesting to say the least."

"I'll just pop into the school room and collect Ronnie," she nodded, pulling on her cloak. "Would you all care to have dinner with us tonight? I'm making a lovely leg of lamb."

"Thank you, Molly," Remus declined politely as he poured Sirius and himself another cup of coffee, "but I already have plans."

Sirius took the cup gratefully and shook his head. "Harry's on restriction, so no for us as well. Say hello to Arthur for me."

"Alright," she said with a smile as she bustled towards the door. "Ta ta now."

"Merlin, that woman has an incredible amount of energy," Remus said wearily as he collapsed back into his chair. "No surprise, I suppose. You don't have that many children and not become a world class athlete keeping up with them."

Sirius allowed himself a small smile at the comment. He did admire Molly quite a bit when he didn't want to wring her neck.

"I've got enough trouble just keeping up with the one," he said tiredly, running a hand down his face. "Maybe I'll send Harry up for a nap now that Ron's going home. I could use one myself to be honest."

"I'm sure your fourteen year old will be more than willing to go up for a nap in the middle of the day," Remus replied with a snort. "You have met Harry, haven't you?"

Sirius was just about to gift his oldest friend with a few very choice words when Molly came rushing back into the study.

"Sorry to bother," she called out with a wave, "but the boys aren't in the school room, Sirius. Would you know where they might have gone? We really need to be on our way."

"They're probably up in the sitting room the kids like to use," Sirius said sitting up properly as he opened his desk drawer. "Let me just take a look."

He extracted the Sprog Map and tapped it to reveal the estate, focusing on the chateau itself so they'd know which room the boys were in. But, to Sirius' fear and annoyance, neither Harry nor Ron were in the house.

"Damn!" Sirius growled as he slapped his hand on the desk sharply.

His abrupt reaction startled both Remus and Molly, who were then further shocked when Sirius disapparated right in front of their eyes. Molly sucked in a sharp breath as Remus leaned over to check the map himself.

"They're outside the cave," he told her with a deep sigh. "Which means they're probably transformed."

Molly's eyes narrowed as her face went red with fury. "They wouldn't dare!" she growled. "We told them that transforming alone was not allowed yet!"

But Remus merely shrugged, knowing exactly just how well teenage boys could listen sometimes.

********HP**********

The black pegasus was furiously flapping its majestic wings without much success. The young horse whinnied and snorted as it tried to force itself into the air, but to no avail.

Close by, the terrier was trotting along the ground, his nose to the grass as he explored the various scents, learning to differentiate between them. When a soft breeze passed by him, he picked up his head and scented the air, getting a whiff of an approaching familiar odor.

For a brief second, he was pleased with his progress at scenting, until he realized just how well and truly he and his friend were buggered.

Through a break in the trees, an enormous black Grim came storming towards them. It barreled down on the terrier, growling ferociously and making the smaller, younger pup submit before turning it's attention to the pegasus. Unlike the terrier, the pegasus tossed its head, refusing to come to heel despite the menacing posture of the Grim.

In one fluid second, the Grim shifted into an enraged wizard. He released his wand from its holster and cast two rapid fire spells at the younger animagi, instantly transforming them back into foolish boys.

Harry and Ron were laying flat on their backs on the ground, a bit dizzy from the accelerated change.

"Have you both completely taken leave of your senses!" Sirius roared as he glared at the boys.

Ron gulped, his face pale white with fear as Harry glowered angrily next to him.

"We're perfectly fine," Harry shouted rebelliously. "We don't need to be supervised like infants!"

"Young man," Sirius seethed, thisclose to putting Harry over his knee right where he stood, "you are so far away from being fine that I don't even know where to begin! I was very clear, was I not, that none of you were to transform without my presence for at least a week!"

Harry got up from the ground and balled his hands into fists as he jutted his chin up at his father.

"That's complete rubbish!" he yelled loudly as he stood his ground. " When you did this, you were all totally alone and nothing happened to any of you. You're just being ridiculous because you need to have COMPLETE control over EVERYTHING I DO!"

"Harry," Ron warned quietly, hoping to get his friend to calm down before they get into even more trouble, "we should just..."

"That's called being your father!" Sirius roared back, his face red with fury.

Taking two steps closer to Sirius, Harry's hands shook with emotion as he shouted back. "NO! That's called being my WARDEN!"

A fierce rage blazed through Sirius over the utter insolence of his son and his entire body was vibrating as he fought to restrain himself before he viciously lashed out at his kid. So dark and threatening was his face that Harry flinched when his father stormed towards him.

The brief flash of fear in his child's eyes was enough to bring Sirius back to his senses and when he reached out it was to grab both Harry and Ron by the arm as he turned on the spot and apparated them all back to the house.

***********HP************

Sirius checked his watch for the third time. It been half an hour and two calming potions since he sent Harry up to his room and now it was time to stop putting off the inevitable and deal with his problem child.

Why Harry had to pick today of all days to start his rebellious phase in earnest, Sirius didn't know. It was simply dumb luck, he supposed. Or maybe things wouldn't have escalated to this point if the morning hadn't started off so horribly in the first place. It didn't really matter in the grand scheme of things.

Whatever the reason, here they were.

Sirius' abrupt arrival back at the chateau with Harry and Ron gripped tightly in his hands had preceded ten very loud minutes of angrily scolding parents and a vocally defiant Harry.

Poor Ron had kept his mouth shut tight, but it hadn't saved him from Molly's wrath as she dragged her youngest son towards the floo by his ear. The rest of them could hear her already beginning to smack Ron before they even disappeared into the green flames.

Sirius had banished his own monster child to his room to await his ire and Harry had stomped up the stairs loud enough to be heard throughout the entire house. Now the significantly calmer but no less angry father had a job to do.

He got up from his desk and took a minute to stretch out the kink in his back. He could carry Harry easily enough if he needed to, having done so on more than one occasion, but it was a different matter altogether when the boy was fighting him on it. Harry's squirming while being toted to the corner like a sack of rebellious potatoes had wrenched Sirius' spine just a bit, and he was sure that he'd need a pain potion before bed if he was to have any chance at all of sleeping comfortably.

Having procrastinated enough, he sighed audibly as he left his office and began to make his way upstairs to the family wing where his son was surely waiting on tenterhooks for his arrival. It wasn't fair to make Harry fret and stew any longer than necessary, just because Sirius had needed time to calm down and get his head together before addressing his son's continued poor behavior.

Quite frankly, Sirius was at a loss, and he dearly hoped that after the unpleasant business was finished, he could somehow reach his son enough to get Harry to explain just what had been going through his head today. He normally enjoyed such a close relationship with his son that their current distance was extraordinarily disconcerting.

Among other things, it was giving Sirius real pause in thinking that expanding the little school was a good idea. Perhaps, Harry still needed more individual attention from his father if he was going to be regularly exhibiting these streaks of inexplicable anger?

It was definitely a concern.

Frankly, Sirius just hoped that he was blowing this all out of proportion and it was nothing more than his son having a bad day.

Except...

It hadn't been just the one day, as Remus had so helpfully pointed out earlier. Maybe Harry was finally processing some of the trauma he'd been through in his young life by acting out. Was is possible that the boy had simply had enough of all the stresses and worries and he was just done trying to be a good kid when bad things just kept happening to him?

If that were the case, it might not be such a bad idea to have a conversation with Ted Tonks. Thinking back on conversations from long ago, if Sirius remembered correctly, Ted had been required to take some psychotherapy classes as part of his overall healer training, and Sirius knew that Ted could be counted on to be discreet if he needed to ask his cousin-in-law a question or two.

He couldn't take Harry to St. Mungos. There were far too many busy body types in the wizarding world who would just love to have gossip on the infamous Sirius Black and Harry Potter. Thankfully, they had a trusted family member that could be relied upon to keep their secrets.

Arriving far too soon outside his son's door, Sirius racked his shoulders back and used his knuckles to rap twice before letting himself in. Harry was sitting in the middle of his bed, back against the large headboard and knees drawn up to his chest. The boy didn't look up when his father came into the room. He just continued to stare ahead, lips pressed tightly together as if he was forcing himself to be silent.

It wasn't the best start to this conversation.

Undeterred, Sirius walked over to the bed and took a seat on the edge, his hands folded casually in his lap. He'd prefer to not start out being confrontational if he could help it.

"So," he began in a conversational tone, "would you care to tell me why you thought sneaking out and transforming was a good idea? When you knew perfectly well that you weren't even allowed outside today full stop, let alone to transform unsupervised. You could have been very hurt."

"But I wasn't," Harry replied matter-of-fact, still staring at the wall across from him. "I can transform just fine on my own. It doesn't even hurt anymore"

"That's not the point," Sirius said sternly, shaking his head. "I give you rules for a reason, and it's not up to you to decide which ones to obey and which ones to ignore. I'm telling you right now, Harry James, this new attitude of yours isn't going to fly around here. So I suggest you give it up, and quickly."

Harry scoffed as he turned his head away from Sirius' direction. "You're such a hypocrite."

The derisive tone and words immediately inflamed Sirius' smoldering temper and he drew back in shock.

"Excuse me, young man?"

"I said," Harry repeated, turning so he could look directly at his father, "you're a hypocrite. You never asked anyone's permission to become an animagus, and you certainly didn't ask for permission to transform. You did just as you pleased. That makes you a hypocrite."

"No," Sirius replied hotly, narrowing his eyes at his mouthy kid, "that makes me lucky. We didn't have anyone who would have been willing to instruct us, like I did for you and the others, and our friend was suffering alone and he needed our help. So we took an enormous risk and fortunately nothing bad happened, although the possibilities terrified us all so badly that we practically wet ourselves before taking the potion."

Harry tried to turn away again, but Sirius reached out and grabbed his chin to keep his attention.

"Don't you realize how dangerous it is?" he said, his anger beginning to rise. "Haven't I told you several times about the wizards and witches who tried the transformation, only for it to go horribly wrong? Would you want to be the boy that spent the rest of his life walking around with two hooves where your feet should be, while half a wing hangs out of your back? There are no magical cures a bad transformation, Harry James!"

Jerking his chin out of Sirius' hold, Harry looked away, staring out the window where the sun was shining. It would have been a perfect day to be in the air, he thought bitterly.

"So who's idea was it," Sirius asked sternly, his patience quickly ebbing away. "To defy me like that. Yours or Ron's? Be honest, please."

"Like you'd even believe me," Harry said with a humorless snort as he shook his head. "You've already called me a liar more than once today."

"Well," Sirius began pointedly, "can you look me directly in the eye and say that you weren't being dishonest earlier this morning? Because I really don't think that you can."

Sirius watched as Harry kept his gaze averted, although he could still see the boy's eyes blinking rapidly.

His son really was such a horrible liar, and he had several tells that let Sirius know whether or not Harry was being truthful. All things considered, they might have to work on that some day, just to keep him safe in a tight situation, even if it made Sirius' job as a parent harder.

"That's what I thought," he said sharply, after it became clear that his son couldn't make eye contact. "So answer my question, please. You? Or Ron? Because Mrs. Weasley was looking murderous when she put Ron in the floo and I don't want her reprimanding Ron harsher if she believes him to be the instigator because you practically walk on water in her opinion."

Harry flinched and his jaw tensed angrily over the implication, but Sirius wasn't going to back down on his accusation. His words of warning had been nothing but the truth and both of the boys could have been seriously hurt.

"It was me," Harry finally admitted truthfully as he turned to narrow his eyes at his father. "You promised to let me fly today, and then you broke your word. It wasn't fair."

Sirius frowned and took a deep breath. He was sure that had been the case, but there was a small part of him that had been hoping that his son was just following along to his mate's foolish plan instead of outright defying his father. Taking out his wand, he cast a quick patronus informing Molly of Harry's guilt, just in case it might save Ron's bum a little bit.

"You're right," Sirius agreed, placing his wand away and bringing a look of astonishment to his son's face. "It wasn't fair. Because you need consistency, and I should never have lifted your grounding in the first place, since you clearly didn't deserve the consideration. But rest assured, from now on you will serve every minute of a restriction, regardless of any extenuating circumstances."

"But that's...that's," the boy stammered, his eyes wide with indignation.

"Completely fair," Sirius finished for him, his eyebrow raised in annoyance. "I've been letting some of your behavior go unchecked recently, and it's obviously set a bad precedent since you seem to think that there's no need to obey me anymore if you don't feel like it."

"I don't think that," the boy protested vehemently. "You're just unreasonable sometimes."

The affronted accusation was so absurd that Sirius couldn't help the chuckle that came out. Especially considering the lines his defiant child had spent two hours writing.

"And you're not the first boy that ever thought that about his father," he said, shaking his head, "but it's not going to change how we do things around here. Speaking of which..." Sirius stood and motioned for Harry to do the same before tapping one of the throw pillows on Harry's bed and turning it into a paddle. "I believe you know what happens when you endanger yourself."

Although it had been clear when he was sent to his room that this is where things were headed, it didn't mean that Harry was going to take it without a fight.

He furiously shook his head, his lips pressed so tightly together that they were white. If Sirius thought that Harry would willingly go over to him and get his arse beaten, then he had another thing coming.

"I'm quite at my limit of being told no by you today, Harry James," Sirius warned impatiently. "You have until the count of three to get up and come stand here in front of me, or I promise you that it will only make matters worse. One."

Harry's eyes flared for just a second at the idea that his father was actually counting. Sirius didn't count. The very idea enraged the boy even further, and he simply continued to shake his head as he held his father's steely gaze.

"Two," Sirius said sharply, now crossing his own arms, mirroring his son's position. "You're making a very big mistake, young man."

Harry dug his heels in even firmer. Sirius was being ridiculous about it all. He'd pulled much more dangerous stunts when he was Harry's age, so who was he to punish Harry for anything?

"If I get to three," Sirius threatened sternly, "then I'm trading this paddle for my belt. And if I have to come over there and get you, you'll get another spanking before bed tomorrow and again the day after. This new attitude of yours is simply not on. It ends right now."

At that, Harry's mouth gaped wide open as he blinked incredulously, but he didn't move a fraction of an inch closer.

Sirius was thoroughly put out by his son's continued disobedience, especially since he really had no desire to chastise the boy even more harshly that he already was. He held his breath, hoping that his pig headed son would just capitulate already as the two of them had another staring contest. Angry green orbs flashed at stormy gray until, finally, Sirius had no choice.

"Thre..."

"Okay, fine!" Harry barked, slapping his hands down on the bed before he got up and stomped over to his waiting father. He crossed his arms and glared at Sirius, who was inwardly thanking Merlin for the obstinate boy finally showing a hint of common sense.

"This is probably as much my fault as it is yours," he told his fuming son as he sat down on the edge of the bed. "I've obviously been far too lenient with you lately if you think it's okay to behave like this."

Harry scoffed as he shook his head. Sirius was always scolding him for something, so why the man thought he went easy on Harry, the boy didn't know.

Sirius held his hand out expectantly and Harry scowled as he ripped his glasses off and practically thrust them at his father, who then put them off to the side for safekeeping before turning back to his son.

"If you're upset, or angry about something, you can always come talk to me instead of being disrespectful," Sirius lectured as he reached out to pop the button on Harry's jeans. "And it will never be okay to put your life in jeopardy."

Suddenly realizing what his father was doing, Harry squawked and tried to stop him, but Sirius smacked his hands away.

"You lost your right to keep your trousers on when you made me count," he said sternly as he looked up at Harry's incredulous face, "and when I use the paddle, your pants will be joining them."

Hearing that, Harry started to pull away again, but Sirius ignored his struggles and efficiently dragged Harry's jeans down to his knees before tipping the boy over his lap. He raised his hand and brought it down sharply on his son's wiggling bottom.

"Settle down!" he scolded impatiently. "You've more than earned this, and you'll only make it harder on yourself if you keep fussing."

Harry seethed in his father's hold as he gathered up a wad of blanket in his clenched hands and buried his mouth in it to keep from crying out. He wasn't going to give Sirius the satisfaction.

Once Harry stopped fighting, Sirius took a deep breath and began to steadily spank his son, making sure to thoroughly cover every inch of the small backside.

As he did, he thought about the fact that the last time Harry had been properly spanked was during their trip to the island, and it really hadn't been all that long since then. But at least on that occasion Harry had been genuinely remorseful for his transgression, not the angry little brat that he'd been all day today.

It made him wonder once again if Remus was right in his assessment that Harry's behavior was taking a downturn and Sirius wasn't doing enough to address it.

A lot of James' and Sirius' foolishness had been corrected by time spent over their Dad's knee, and Sirius would have never behaved the way Harry had when he was living with the Potters. Charlus simply wouldn't have stood for it.

For the next two minutes, Sirius firmly smacked Harry's bottom over his white cotton pants. His son was breathing raggedly into his blanket, the boy's shoulders hitching from smothered whimpers as he endured his punishment. It broke Sirius' heart to hear the muffled sounds of his son's distress, knowing it was by his own hand, but as the boy's father he had an obligation to make sure that Harry learned his lesson.

When Harry finally let out the deep sob that he'd been struggling to hold in, Sirius took that as his cue to finish up.

He hooked his thumbs in the waistband of Harry's pants and quickly slid them down to join his trousers and then picked up the paddle. By this point, Harry's rear end was already a warm pink, so at least Sirius wasn't going to have to paddle him very hard in order to leave an impression. He preferred to not spank Harry with his pants down at all, but, unfortunately, this was one of the times when he felt that the offense was large enough that the added step was necessary.

He could feel Harry stiffen in anticipation, so Sirius tightened his hold around his son's waist as he raised the paddle and brought it smack down on the center of Harry's squirming bottom.

"Ow!" the boy cried out tearfully as the sting blossomed on his bare skin making him struggle to get away. "I'm sorry, Papa! Okay? I'm sorry! Please."

Sirius winced hearing his child's plea, and he wished he could stop, he really did. Harry's tears always threatened to wreck Sirius completely, but he couldn't allow himself to be dissuaded.

His son might be showing a bit of remorse now that he was getting paddled for his attitude, but he still was going to be taught a firm lesson on what was acceptable and what was not, just like every other child at some point.

"You have thirteen more coming to you, Harry James," he warned in a strangled voice as he secured his hold. "Then we're done. Not a minute before."

Another small sob came out of his boy that made Sirius feel like he'd taken a cutting hex to the chest, but he gritted his teeth and raised the paddle again.

Listening to his son's distress was agony for Sirius. Harry was already crying hard when they were only halfway through, and Sirius had to steel his heart completely in order to finish up. By the time the fourteenth smack fell, his son was a mess of tears and snot, sniffling pitifully into his blanket.

"If you had just listened in the first place," Sirius scolded sadly, as he reached over to gently tug Harry's trousers and pants back up for him, "none of this would have happened. Why you keep choosing to make matters even worse for yourself when there is absolutely no reason for it, I have no idea."

Harry gulped noisily, his throat clogged as he whimpered when Sirius drew his clothes up over his tender backside. Feeling miserable, he lay limply across his father's lap and sobbed for another minute, hiccoughing and brushing away the tears still streaming from his eyes as Sirius rubbed his back.

But all too soon, Harry's pride had him squirming to get up and Sirius released his son so he could stand on shaky legs, his fingers fumbling to refasten his jeans as he took another deep shuddering breath. Sirius stood as well and he reached out to draw Harry into his arms but, for the second time that day, Harry shied away, taking a step back as he folded his arms across his chest.

His son wasn't looking at him, but Sirius caught a glimmer of regret on the boy's face anyway and he understood. There had been times when he hadn't wanted Charlus to comfort him right away either.

"That's okay," he assured his son, not missing the look of pain that flashed through Harry's wet eyes. "Take all the time you need. I'm going to my office to work for a bit, so that's where I'll be when you're ready."

Harry turned away from him, his shoulders beginning to shake and Sirius knew that his son needed a few moments to sob in private and collect himself. Nodding sadly, he turned to take his leave.

"I love you, Son," he said quietly as he opened the bedroom door. "I'm here when you're ready to talk about whatever it is that's bothering you."

Sirius softly closed the door behind him, leaving Harry to stare at it longingly.

It hurt him to refuse Sirius' offer of comfort, but he was feeling too upset and angry and just mixed up in general. Another few tears were dripping down his right cheek as he moved back towards his bed and crawled onto it, laying on his belly as he hugged one of his large pillows.

For a while, he just lay there, gazing out the large windows where he could see the tips of the tallest hoops of his Quidditch pitch. The bright blue sky where he could have been flying all day under other circumstances.

Even in his misery he was honest enough to admit that he'd been a right git today, and his father was more than entitled to be cross with him. And now his rear end was throbbing, reminding him of just how stupid he'd been. There was probably no chance he'd be able to sit without fidgeting by dinnertime.

His Papa had offered to help with what was bothering him, but honestly Harry didn't even know what it was himself. He had no idea where all of this rage was coming from, so it wasn't as if he could explain it, even if he wanted to. All he knew was that the dream he'd had just before waking up this morning had disconcerted him badly enough to put him in a foul mood all day, and it wasn't the first time that happened either.

Lately, there'd just been something lurking in the back of his mind, hiding in the dark crevices where he couldn't see it or decipher it in any kind of recognizable or meaningful way. It wasn't the same as the night terrors he had which were still raw and vivid in his mind when he woke up. These were more just a feeling, leaving him off-kilter and touchy.

Most of the time he could simply brush it off and go about his day.

He had a wonderful life now, so there wasn't much to be upset over, really. Harry had a loving father who absolutely doted on him. A beautiful home where he knew he belonged and never felt like a guest.

And he had friends, good friends. Friends that were more like family. Like the family he should have grown up with instead of the awful people who did raise him for ten miserable years.

Yes, there were still troubles and darkness and worries in his future, but he wasn't forced to handle it alone. Not anymore.

So there really was no reason for him to be so irritable and sensitive.

As he lay on his big soft bed, cozy and comfortable in the wonderful room that Sirius had made for him, Harry's angry wall of defenses started to crumble and the tide of guilt began to wash over him.

He'd acted horribly. Said some truly terrible things to his father and was every bit of a brat as Dudley ever was.

Harry's face burned as a deep feeling of shame overwhelmed him.

Reaching a hand behind him, he sniffed a little more as he gingerly rubbed his sore bum. Sirius hadn't been playing around with that paddle that hurt so much more on bare skin than it ever did over pajama bottoms.

Today wasn't the first time that Harry had been far too mouthy for his own good. There had been several times over the years living with his aunt and uncle that he hadn't been able to hold his tongue, even knowing that he'd end up locked in his cupboard. That had been different, because Harry hated them and at least he got some pleasure out of mocking his relatives before he was punished.

But he loved his father, more than anything in the world, and that just made all the cruel things he'd said to Sirius even worse.

Harry badly needed to apologize to his father, because Sirius was most likely drowning in his own guilt from having to punish his bratty son in the first place, but he couldn't just yet. He wasn't ready to look his father in the eye and admit that he was wrong, even though Harry knew without a doubt that he was.

At the moment he was too worn out and tired. Overwhelmed and just physically and mentally exhausted.

Sirius would understand that Harry needed some time, because Sirius always understood. Which only made the guilt worse.

Unable to face it any longer, Harry tiredly closed his eyes and let sleep take him.

**********HP*************

Sirius was reading over Minerva's note for the second time when he heard the tentative knock on his office door. He knew immediately that it was his son, because he knew all of Harry's unique noises and movements. That's just how it was with parents and their kids. He breathed a sigh of relief that his boy was coming to him, as it probably meant that there was a good chance to clear up all the tension between them, which Sirius desperately longed for.

"Come in, little one."

He used the endearment intentionally, so that Harry would be reminded that his father always loved him and was no longer cross with him in the hopes that it made everything just a little bit easier.

When Harry crept inside the door, his eyes were still troubled, his jaw set firm, but his color was better and the dark circles around his eyes were gone. Sirius could tell right away that the boy had gotten some much needed rest for which Sirius gave a silent prayer of thanks.

Harry was holding the rolled parchment for his lines in his hands as he hovered in uncertainty by the door. His eyes skipped towards Sirius and back down to the floor a few times, as if he were uncertain of just how welcome he was in his father's presence at the moment. Sirius hated to see that. His boy should never question how much he was always welcome and wanted.

"Hey there, kiddo," he said gently.

Sirius stood from his desk and smiled at his son before holding his arms out, this time hoping that Harry didn't want to refuse them. A wave of relief passed over the boy's face as he let out a shuddering breath before walking quickly over to Sirius and flinging himself in his father's embrace.

"I'm sorry, Papa," Harry mumbled into Sirius' shirt as his father stroked his hair. "I'm so sorry."

"I know," Sirius said, shushing his boy as he gently rocked him a little. "I know you are. It's all over."

Harry closed his eyes and burrowed a little further into Sirius' chest, content to seek the comfort and shelter he desperately needed in the first place he'd really ever found them. Sirius held his son close, whispering words of love and assurance to his upset child as they just stood there together for a moment.

Sirius kissed his son's head and soothed him as Harry clung to his father like a little koala bear. The boy quietly repeated heartfelt apologies that were shushed away with assurances of forgiveness. The last thing Sirius wanted was for his child to be weighed down with unnecessary guilt. Harry had misbehaved and paid the price. That was the end of the matter as far as his father was concerned.

Eventually, Sirius coaxed Harry over to the fireplace where, with a tap of his wand, he transfigured the two wing-back chairs into a sofa and then sat down, pulling his son with him. After almost a full day of shunning him, Harry didn't seem to want to leave his father's arms any time soon, so Sirius didn't try to make him. He leaned back against the cushions and shifted Harry slightly so the boy was snuggled more firmly against him.

"Do you want some cocoa?" he murmured softly as he rubbed his son's back. "It might make you feel a little better."

Warm cocoa sounded exactly like what Harry wanted and he nodded his head, not caring how childish he looked at the moment. He'd been needing this hug since they first started quarreling this morning and he was in no hurry to leave it. Fortunately, Sirius seemed to understand perfectly.

At Sirius' summons, Bicky popped into his office with a tray of cocoa and some chocolate biscuits. She put the tray on the table in front of her wizards and then popped back out again. Sirius didn't move to pour the cups, patiently waiting until his son wanted to break contact.

It took a few more minutes before Harry's teenage pride made him sit up and pull away from his father's warm arms. He was blushing pink and Sirius pretended to ignore it as he leaned forward to pour Harry a cup of the cocoa that he pressed into his son's hands along with a biscuit. Together, they quietly sipped their beverages until Harry finally spoke in a small voice.

"I'm really sorry, Papa," he apologized again, keeping his eyes on the floor. "I don't know why I acted like that. I swear, I don't."

"I believe you," Sirius assured him gently. "Are you alright?"

Harry glanced up and saw his father looking at him pointedly and he understood what Sirius was referring to. He shifted a little, his bum still a bit sore, but he nodded.

"Yeah," he said quietly. "I'm okay. Just feeling kind of stupid, really."

"Well," Sirius said with a knowing look, "I think every young boy who acts foolishly feels like that. Especially after they have to pay the piper for it. I know that I did. Your Dad did too."

Harry glanced up at him. It did make him feel better to know that he wasn't a worse son than either of his fathers.

The two of them sat companionably for another couple of minutes while they sipped their cocoa until Harry's stomach rumbled and broke the silence. He really hadn't eaten much all day and Sirius immediately notified the kitchen to prepare dinner.

While they were waiting, he took the opportunity to broach the sensitive topic that they'd been dancing around so far, since it really did need to be addressed if they wanted to avoid another episode like today.

"Harry," he began carefully, "I know you don't want to talk about it, but I'm afraid we must. Because I don't want to see you go through another day like today. You really have me worried."

Shifting uncomfortably, Harry swallowed hard as he look around at anything but his father.

"I don't know what to say," he admitted helplessly. "I just...felt off. And angry. I don't even know why."

"Angry at me, you mean," Sirius prompted gently. "It's okay to say that. I'm not cross with you for it. Honestly, I'd like to know what I did to upset you so badly."

Harry shrugged, his face pinched. "I can't explain it, really. I mean, at the time, it just seemed like you were against me and it made me absolutely furious. But you weren't wrong," he admitted, finally looking up at his father. "I was lying to you when I said I wasn't rude to Remus. He was right to be upset too."

Sirius knew that this is the direction the conversation needed to head in. Whatever was going on with his son had started with his antipathy towards his new godfather.

"Did something happen between you and Remus," he asked carefully. "Something that I don't know about? Something specific he did that upset you, maybe, that you didn't think to mention to me? Because I thought we had this settled before the adoption ceremony, but it doesn't seem to be going away."

"I don't know," Harry said in mounting frustration, as he shook his head. "I mean, I can't think of anything. It doesn't make any sense, Papa. I just get so angry at him when he's around and I have no idea why."

Well, at least he's admitted it, Sirius thought unhappily as he struggled to understand. Something was going to need to be done about this. If for no other reason than to figure out where Harry's anger was coming from.

"I'd like to talk to Ted about this," he said gently to his son. "If that's alright with you. He may have some ideas on how we can figure out what's going on."

"Ted Tonks?" Harry asked skeptically. "Do you really have to? What could he do about it. This is sort of private, Papa."

"I think I do have to," Sirius answered as he wrapped an arm around his son. "And I know it's private, little one. That's why I suggested Ted. He's had a bit of psychotherapy training, and I know he can be trusted to give us some advice on what the problem might be and keep it to himself. He's family, and sometimes, when you're too close to a problem, you have trouble seeing it and need an outside perspective. Understand?"

"I suppose," Harry agreed reluctantly as he idly traced the silver rim of his cup with his finger. "But I'm not sure it's such a big mystery why I was angry this morning. Remus tattled on me to you, so it's pretty obvious to me."

"That's true," Sirius conceded, "but it doesn't explain why you were rude to him the other day. Unless it's because he's dating Dora and you fancy her?"

He looked at his son pointedly, making Harry blush as he threw himself back against the cushions with a groan.

"Oh, Merlin," the boy said, throwing a hand over his face. "You knew about that?"

"I'm your father," Sirius said matter-of-fact. "I know everything."

Harry peeked through his fingers and gave Sirius a disbelieving scowl. Sirius simply shrugged and gave his son a wink.

"Well, it doesn't matter anymore," Harry said, sitting back up. "I'm definitely over it. She's downright scary when she wants to be."

"Most women are," Sirius assured his son with a laugh. "That's what makes them so fascinating and wonderful at the same time."

Harry shook his head. "Thanks. But I think I'll pass, if it's all the same."

"You just need more exposure to the fairer sex," Sirius said, smiling as he affectionately pushed Harry's unruly hair away from his forehead. "In fact, how would you feel about expanding our student body?"

"What?"

Harry sat up straight, his eyebrows up so high they practically touched his hairline.

For the next several minutes, Sirius explained the situation about the Prophet article and all the letters he'd received from parents who wanted to move their children to the school at Celestial Court. Harry was very quiet while Sirius spoke and it made the concerned father a little worried that his son wouldn't want the intrusion in their home, but might be too accommodating to admit it.

"Whether or not we do this, is entirely your decision, Harry," Sirius assured his son. "You are my first, second, third and last priority. If this would make you uncomfortable in any way, or if you simply don't like the idea of sharing our house with even more people, I support your decision one hundred percent."

"No," Harry said, shaking his head in a bit of daze. "Actually, I kind of really like it. I mean, Hermione, Ron and Neville are great. They're my best friends. But it would be even more fun to have others around too. It would really be like a regular school then."

Sirius nodded, as he felt the same. In a way, it was almost like giving Harry Hogwarts without being at the castle. With a bigger student body they could have more group activities, and maybe Harry would get over some of his shyness by being around other students besides his closest friends who tended to socially shelter him just a bit.

"It would be a big change," Sirius warned. "This is still your home, first and foremost. I want you to always have a place where you feel comfortable and secure."

"I know," Harry said, nodding. "I think it would be fine. We'd keep the family wing just for us though, right? So we could have privacy?"

While Sirius and the others had briefly talked about Ron and Hermione moving back into the family wing to make room for two more students, Sirius firmly put paid to that idea with Harry's question. It wasn't worth it to deprive his son of that bit of privacy if it made him more comfortable.

"Yes," he decided with finality. "It's only for you and me. You'd always have a place to escape to if all the girls started to chase you around."

Harry smirked as he rolled his eyes at his father's foolishness. He knew that Sirius was only teasing him, but he felt better knowing that there would still be a bit of a homey feel to the chateau, even if they added more occupants.

"Good," he said with relief. "It's just that sometimes..."

He trailed off, giving his father a questioning look that said he hoped Sirius knew what he was trying to say. It didn't take a genius to guess that Harry wanted to make sure that he wouldn't be overheard and embarrassed if he got into more trouble like he did today.

"I know," Sirius said with a nod. "I'd like a bit of privacy too. I'm getting too old for all the noise and chatter of you young ones."

His son gave him a soft smile as he took another sip of his cooling cocoa. Sirius leaned over to tap it with his wand to warm it back up and Harry whispered his thanks.

"It's not just that, you know," the boy continued after a moment. "It's...it's the night terrors I still have, and sometimes lately I've been having other dreams."

Now on heightened alert, Sirius sat up fully.

"What kind of other dreams?" he asked, his brow furrowed in worry. "Why haven't you told me this before?"

Harry shook his head as he fiddled with the rim of his cup.

"It didn't seem like a big deal really," he said with a shrug. "I don't even remember them when I wake up. It's not like the terrors. I don't scream or anything."

Sirius winced and his stomach felt a bit queasy over the notion that they apparently now had a classification system for the things that kept his child from sleeping soundly at night. It made him feel rather a failure as a father over his inability to provide his son with peaceful rest in his own bed.

"How often is this happening, little one?"

"Not much really," Harry confessed shaking his head. "Just once in a while."

He thought hard for a moment and then nervously glanced up at Sirius, whose blood pressure had just risen from the look of hesitation on his son's face.

"Umm..to be honest," Harry began quietly, "I probably should tell you that I had one this morning. I think, maybe, it kind of...well...I just didn't feel like myself when i got up. Just out of sorts I guess."

"I see," Sirius said as calmly as he could, wondering what new trauma his child was going to have to deal with. "You really don't remember what it was about?"

"No," Harry replied, shaking his head firmly. "Just a feeling. It just agitates me sometimes. So when I came downstairs and you asked me about what happened with Remus, it seemed like you were picking on me and maybe that's why I got more angry than I might have another time."

"I'm sorry if you felt like that," Sirius apologized sincerely, still feeling a large measure of his own guilt. "Truthfully, I wasn't in the best mood myself when you came down, and I'm sure that it didn't help things very much either."

It did make Harry feel a little better to hear that and know that Sirius' cross mood hadn't been entirely his fault. Not that he should have been so disrespectful to his father in any case, but still.

"Could we not talk about it anymore right now?" Harry asked quietly. "I really just want to stop thinking about it all for a bit."

Of course Sirius wanted to explore this further, but he could see the emotional fatigue on his son's face, so he agreed.

"Promise me that you'll come and get me the next time it happens," he said gently. "No matter what time or whether or not it upsets you. I want to know. Okay?"

"Okay."

Lolly popped in and announced dinner, and Sirius and Harry rose from the sofa and walked together to the dining room, Sirius' arm around his son's shoulders. Harry always seemed to need a bit more physical affection after being punished and Sirius was always happy to give it.

Sitting down, they tucked into a delicious meal of roast beef with all the trimmings, Harry hungrily cleaning his plate and taking seconds while Sirius told him a story about James breaking most of his mother's best china with his antlers when Sirius dared him to transform in the dining room of Potter Manor during the first summer holiday after they took the potion.

"He really was horribly clumsy at first," Sirius reminisced with a laugh. "You know, we were only your age when we transformed as well, so James wasn't quite a full grown stag yet. Just a young deer with these knobbly spindles for legs and hooves that slipped terribly on the wooden floors. So, he tripped on a bump in the carpet and his antlers went right into the china cabinet and wrecked the lot. It was a frightful noise."

"What happened then?" Harry asked, his eyes wide in surprise.

"Well," Sirius said, smirking, "your grandmother came running in to see what all the commotion was about before we could try to repair anything. Fortunately, James was able to transform back before she saw him, but when she saw the mess she was furious. It was all goblin made. Wedding gifts to her and Charlus from the Black family because we Blacks do love our pricey accoutrements," Sirius said with an eye roll. "So James tried to convince Mum that it was some kind of a Greek tradition to break plates to ward off bad spirits, but she wasn't particularly amused."

"I'll bet," Harry said with a giggle. "Did he get in trouble?"

"We both did," Sirius replied with a nod. "Mum and Dad always just assumed that we were in partnership together anytime something destructive happened. They weren't wrong, of course."

Sirius laughed, real full laugh that he needed after a long day. He was happy to see Harry join in as well.

"Anyway, " he continued smiling, "After Mum fixed everything, James and I had to write lines for an entire afternoon about wilful and wanton destruction of property and later we got sent to bed early without pudding. That's what really upset your Dad. He always had a bit of a sweet tooth."

Sirius looked at Harry fondly, since they boy had inherited that particular trait from his father.

Harry was quiet for just a moment, ducking his head as he cheeks went pink, before he peeked mischievously through his fringe.

"Would you send me to bed without pudding?"

"Never," Sirius vowed, clutching his chest in fake horror. "What kind of monster do you think I am?"

The two of them shared a smile for just a few seconds before Harry's face fell and he looked down at the plate in front of him that now held a large slice of raspberry tart.

"I'm sorry," he whispered quietly. "About earlier. Papa, I'm really, really sorry that I told you that I hated you."

Sirius smiled sadly at his poor boy. The words had hurt at the time, but he knew better than to think that it was how Harry really felt.

"I didn't mean it," Harry said looking back up at Sirius with misery written all over his face. "I swear. I was just angry."

"I know," Sirius assured him quickly, holding out his arms when it looked like Harry might cry again. There had been far too much of that today already. "I know. Come here."

Harry sprang up from his chair and got pulled onto his father's lap, not caring that he was definitely getting far too big to be held that way. All he cared about was that he could bury his face in the crook of Sirius' neck while his father hugged him tight.

Sirius didn't mind the growing weight of his child either. As far as he was concerned, if Harry was still small enough to be put over his knee for punishment, he could sit on it for comfort. Harry was getting older, and it was likely possible that this might be the last time he'd allow his father to hold him like this, so Sirius was going to enjoy it while he still could.

"I want to tell you another story," Sirius said gently, as he patted and soothed his upset kid. "I think you know that Godric's Hollow is home to both Magical and Muggle residents, don't you?"

Harry nodded as he rested his head against Sirius' shoulder, in no hurry to move anywhere.

"Well," he continued, "the summer we were fifteen your Dad had been upset because your Mum wouldn't answer any of his letters. He'd really begun to fancy her then, you see, and James wasn't the type who was used to being rebuffed by a girl."

Sirius smiled and shook his head, remembering how gobsmacked Prongs had been that his usual charm wasn't working on the beautiful Lily Evans. It was the first time he'd seen his brother-in-all-but-blood genuinely interested in a girl, instead of just looking for a bit of a flirt.

"So," he went on chuckling, "he decided that we should go to the village and sneak into the pub for a few drinks to ease his broken heart. I had been fighting with my own parents just before I arrived at the Potters and wasn't in such a great mood myself, so of course I agreed. And even though we were more than a couple of years short of proper, enough gold changed hands with the bartender for us to get piss drunk."

Harry sat up a bit and gave his father an incredulous look, but Sirius just pulled him back against his chest.

"Now, don't let that give you any ideas, young man," he warned. "It didn't work out very well for us as you're about to find out.

Harry rolled his eyes, but he got comfortable again as Sirius went on with his story.

"After a few hours and far too much lager for a couple of stupid boys," Sirius said shaking his head in wonderment, "we had the bright idea of flying home on our brooms, even though we could barely walk. Your Dad was okay, since he'd always been the better flyer, but I crashed straight into a huge tree, fell a great distance to the ground and knocked myself out cold. It scared James, because my head was a bit bashed in and apparently there was blood everywhere. He flew back to the manor in a panic and got Mum since she had some healer training."

"Were you hurt really badly?" Harry asked worriedly, making Sirius smile because he'd obviously survived, but the idea of him being hurt upset his sensitive son.

"Nothing a couple of days in St. Mungo's couldn't sort," he assured the boy with an affectionate squeeze. "I was right as rain in no time, which was unfortunate since your granddad was furious with us. He waited until I was all healed up and back home, and then he walloped both of us good and took our brooms away for the entire summer holiday."

Harry shifted on his still slightly sore bum and hummed in sympathy, knowing how devastated he'd be if his Papa took his broom away for an entire summer. That would be awful.

"I respected your granddad a lot," Sirius continued, a sad note of wistfulness in his voice, "and I hated to disappoint him. I'd taken horrible beatings from my own father and never shed a tear, but I cried my eyes out after getting spanked with Charlus' belt because it upset him so badly to do it. I vowed that night that I'd never do anything again to make him that cross with me."

Swallowing hard, Harry sniffed a little, because he knew exactly how Sirius felt. He snuggled closer to his father, wordlessly offering him another apology for all the strife Harry had put him through today. Sirius leaned down and dropped a kiss on Harry's head, rubbing his arm in comfort.

"But James," he said sadly, "well, James was furious after it happened. Really, I think he was just upset from days of worrying about me in hospital since it had been his idea to go in the first place, but after Dad was done with us, James looked at him and said that he hated him and would never speak to him again."

"That must have made Granddad very sad," Harry said quietly, his face wracked with guilt as he surreptitiously twisted his fingers in the cuff of Sirius' shirt.

"It did," Sirius admitted, hugging Harry just a bit tighter. "Very sad, because he loved both of us so much. But Dad just looked at James and said 'You may think that right now, Son, and that's okay. Because I know you'll think on it differently tomorrow, and I'll love you no matter what'. And he was right."

Harry looked thoughtful for a moment before he wrapped his arms around his father and hugged him and Sirius just closed his eyes and gave thanks for this amazing boy who meant the entire world to him.

Yes, they had their ups and downs, but they were so lucky really.

The clock chimed half past seven and Sirius sighed.

"And now, young man," he said firmly, as he patted his son's back. "I think it's time you went upstairs for a bath. You're in bed by eight o'clock remember."

Harry groaned and threw his head back dramatically, making his father smile.

"Do I really have to?" he whinged. "It's so early and I'm still on holiday. Plus, I slept, like, half the afternoon already."

Sirius hummed thoughtfully as he stood, pulling Harry up with him.

"Remind me again, Harry James," he said casually as he flung an arm around his son and led him out of the dining room, "you are grounded, are you not?"

Harry sighed and reluctantly nodded his head. "Yes, sir."

"And what time do you go to bed when you are grounded?"

Sirius stopped walking and put a hand next to his ear, pretending not to hear well. Harry rolled his eyes.

"Eight o'clock," the boy admitted reluctantly as he trudged towards the stairs.

"That's what I thought," Sirius agreed with an exaggerated nod as he walked along with his son.

Harry stopped short, a horrified look on his face as he thought of something. "You're not going to ground me when the other students are here, are you? Because that wouldn't be fair if I'm the only one who has to worry about that."

"Certainly not," Sirius said, shaking his head. "Just as long as you behave yourself, you'll never have to worry about being grounded. After you serve the two weeks you've already been given, that is."

He quirked an eyebrow at his son who didn't find his father's sense of humor very humorous.

"Ha ha," Harry muttered with a scowl. "You're a real wit. Do you know that?"

Sirius chuckled at his affronted child as he tousled Harry's hair affectionately. "I am, aren't I."

They climbed the stairs together, Harry not bothering to hide his pout over being put to bed so early. But he wasn't going to fuss. He'd done enough of that today already.

"I'll tell you what I am going to do," Sirius said as they paused by Harry's bedroom door.

He put his hands on Harry's shoulders and looked directly in his son's brilliant green eyes as Harry looked up at him worriedly.

"I'm going to let you train with your wings during your grounding," Sirius said cautiously. "You're confined to the house for the next two weeks, so you're not allowed your broom, and you're absolutely not allowed to transform without me present. But I will take you out to practice with your wings for one hour every day. We caught a very lucky break that you were able to take the potion so quickly, and it would be a shame to waste time when you could be learning."

Harry jumped at his father and threw his arms around Sirius. "Thank you! Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

Sirius smiled as he held his son. He was incredibly relieved that it appeared that their day would be ending a lot better than it had started.

"Alright," he laughed, pushing Harry towards the door. "Into the bath you go. I'll be in to check on you before I leave."

Thinking of McGonagall's letter, Harry frowned worriedly. "What do you think she really wants?"

"I imagine she wants to talk me out of taking more students," Sirius admitted candidly with a shrug. "It was bad enough for Hogwarts' reputation when I took you out. If other children start leaving the school in favor of Fulminare, the Ministry will be pressured into some kind of action. Remember, they fund Hogwarts, so they have an obligation to ensure that the students are safe and being given a quality education."

"Can the Ministry interfere with us?" Harry asked, concerned. "Do they have any say over what you do?"

"No," Sirius assured his son as he opened Harry's door and ushered him through. "Fulminare is certified by the ICW as a privately funded academy. The British Ministry has no jurisdiction here. Now, go on. I'm going to change and then be back in a bit."

While Harry was taking his bath, Sirius went to his room to put on a nicer set of clothes to meet Minerva. As much as he detested acting the role of a meticulous pure-blood, he couldn't deny that it had a sort of intimidating effect on people. There was a frightful elegance to Sirius when he was attired as the head of the Black family instead of as just another average wizard, and he found that he enjoyed the advantage in potentially contentious situations.

Harry was already in his bed, hair damp and scowling, when Sirius returned at precisely eight o'clock to tuck him in. He couldn't help the smirk the sight of his grumpy fourteen year old prompted as he strolled over.

"I shouldn't be gone too long," he promised as he leaned over and kissed Harry on the forehead. "I've asked the elves to keep watch over you, since I didn't think you'd appreciate it if I had Remus come and stay."

Harry grimaced, but he didn't deny it, and Sirius sighed inwardly. It was a problem to be worked on for sure. He made a mental note to pop in and see Ted after the Wizengamot session.

"I don't need a minder," Harry groused irritably.

Sirius raised an eyebrow at his kid, giving the boy a stern look that reminded Harry that he hadn't exactly been well behaved today.

"You do, if I say so," he said in warning. "Besides, if there's a problem here, then Dobby or Bicky can find me much quicker than anyone else. They also know that you're to be in bed, so no wandering around once I've gone."

"Can I at least read for a while?" the boy asked plaintively as he begged with Lily's eyes. Sirius could see a rather large book on the bed next to him. "I'm not the least bit tired anymore. I'll just lay here and go mental."

Sirius knew he shouldn't give in, but he understood. If Harry hadn't had his long nap just a little while ago, it would have been a different matter. But he couldn't see the harm in letting his son read for a bit as long as he was tucked up in his bed.

"A half hour only," he agreed, "then it's lights out. I mean it, Harry James."

"Yes, sir," Harry said with a happy nod as he pulled the book towards him and opened. "Thanks, Papa."

Sirius tousled his son's hair and then made his way towards the door.

"Good night, Son. I love you."

Harry smiled, his eyes soft with affection. "I love you, too. Be careful."

"Always," Sirius promised before closing the door behind him.

*********HP*************

The Three Broomsticks was fairly lively when Minerva arrived. Not that she was surprised.

It was well after the dinner hour, which meant that it was prime time for the locals of Hogsmeade to come in for a pint and a gossip. A quick glance around the room had her finding Sirius already there, in command of a table in the corner, as far from the noisy bar as possible. He nodded at her in greeting and she swiftly threaded her way through the crowd. A hello here, a quick nod there.

Minerva still had several acquaintances in Hogsmeade from the few happy years she lived in the little village with her dear Elphinstone. An all too brief period of marital bliss between turmoil and heartache. After his untimely and very premature death, she'd thrown herself completely into her work, and her love for the school and the children who attended there somewhat made up for the other gaps in her personal life.

Which is why she needed to meet with Sirius and try to understand his motivations for the chaos he was creating.

As she approached his table, he stood to his full height and moved around to pull out a chair for her. His manners and carriage were impeccable, she couldn't help observing, just like the Pure-blood raised wizard that he was.

There had been a time during Sirius' years at Hogwarts, with the non-stop mischief and the rebellion against his family, when she hadn't thought that the young man would put much stock in the traditional ways, but then she had to correct herself and remember that the Potters had been just as Pure-blooded as the Blacks, only minus the bigotry, and they were the ones Sirius truly called family.

Everyone knew just how much Sirius adored Charlus and Dorea, not to mention James who practically shared a soul with Sirius they were so close. Which is why it had come as such a shock to them all when Sirius was arrested for betraying the Potters that Halloween night.

If only they hadn't all been so numbed by the horrors and tragedies that came in wartime, it might have all been so different.

Maybe then someone, maybe even Minerva herself, would have had the presence of mind to question Sirius' inexplicable guilt before that poor young man was sentenced to a lifetime in Hell itself.

The guilt of knowing what her apathy had cost one of her favorite former students was overwhelming at times, and yet Sirius had never once rebuked her and had always shown nothing but grace and manners in her presence.

It was also why she had requested this meeting. Determined to not drop the ball once again. To not misunderstand him or vilify him without very good cause.

"Thank you for meeting with me, Sirius," she said as she settled herself into her seat.

"Always my pleasure, Minerva," he responded politely as he also sat back down and nodded his head at the beverage in front of her. "Gillywater, if I remember correctly?"

She smiled, touched by his thoughtful gesture. "Yes, thank you. Even though I probably shouldn't. I still have work to do when I return to the castle."

A quick glance showed her that Sirius himself had nothing but a glass of water in front of him, and she wasn't sure if it was because he didn't care to indulge in anything stronger or if he was simply hesitant about drinking anything that he didn't pour himself. The auror training in him would have him being very cautious in a potentially risky setting.

That same training had him smirking since he obviously could discern her thoughts about it.

"I'm afraid my nightly glass of Firewhiskey will have to wait just a bit longer," he said with a chuckle. "I also have far too much to do this evening. As I'm sure you can imagine.

She could, easily enough since, she knew all about the emergency Wizengamot session tomorrow. But before they got to the crux of the matter, she had another question she needed to ask him.

"How is Harry doing?" she asked sincerely. "He's very much missed at school. You all are, really."

Sirius' eyes tightened just a fraction, almost too little to really notice, but Minerva had made a living out of observing her students.

"Harry is very well, thank you," Sirius responded coolly, as he folded his hands on the table. "He's home, safe and sound in his bed."

The unspoken implication that Harry would not be as safe and sound at Hogwarts was as clear to her as if Sirius had shouted it from the top of the highest mountain.

They stared at each other, having a wordless conversation about the boy they both cared for, before Minerva spoke again.

"Sirius, what on Earth were you thinking? she asked in compete disbelief, her distinctive brogue heavy in her upset.

"I'm afraid you're going to have to be a bit more specific than that, Minerva," Sirius said with a wry grin. "I think a great many things, often."

She narrowed her eyes at the young man, subtly reminding him of exactly who he was addressing. They may have been on the teaching staff together this past year, but Minerva was still the formidable witch who had kept the young Marauders in line.

Well, most of the time anyway.

"You know perfectly well," she said sharply, "Your crusade to cause a mass exodus from Hogwarts in favor of your own school."

The slightly derisive way she said school, as if what Sirius had created was some sort of prank, rankled him more than a little. Fulminare, despite its microscopic size, was still a serious and proper place of education regardless of what Minverva McGonagall thought.

"I'm afraid you have poor information," Sirius responded coolly. "I haven't been recruiting, as we were quite happy with the way things were. It's the families of those students who have approached me. They are the ones you should be asking."

"And that article in the Prophet?" she said skeptically. "What was the purpose of that, if not to cause disruption? I have been at Hogwarts for the entirety of the time frame that Miss Skeeter references and, despite her reputation for salacious gossip, it is shockingly accurate in the details of the events that have taken place. Someone with a greater than average knowledge of Harry's involvement in each of them obviously shared the information with her."

Sirius raised an eyebrow as he smirked and shook his head. "I find it curious that your issue with the article is who shared the information with Rita, and not the content itself. You do realize how mad that is, don't you?"

"I never said that the content did not disturb me," she rebutted sternly. "As it would happen, I have been very vocal in my objections with Albus over the years about those very issues."

"Just not enough to do something about it," Sirius challenged with snort. "In the end, you went along with whatever he wanted. I'm afraid that's what bothers me, Minerva. The policy of total complacency on the part of the entire staff."

He could see the older witch begin to fume from his accusations, but he wasn't about to back down.

"As it happens," he said as he leaned back in his chair, "I didn't speak to Rita. Although rest assured that I will find out who did. But at the end of the day, the article was not false, and the parents have a right to be concerned."

"It's a dangerous game you're playing, Sirius," Minerva said in warning. "Enough pressure by scared parents who react without knowing the whole picture and Hogwarts could cease to exist. Do you really want that for your alma mater? The place that you considered your home at one time? What of the children there now that might be in a similar position that you were in? Where do they go?"

Sirius shook his head. "It was never my intention to close Hogwarts down, I assure you. When I decided to take my place in the Wizengamot, it was with the intention to take measures to strengthen the school, not weaken it. I want Harry to go back and enjoy it like I did. Like James and Lily did. I just don't see that happening with the way things are now."

"Albus works very hard to ensure the safety of the students," she insisted. "Sometimes, there are circumstances beyond his control that..."

"I doubt very highly that they were ever out of his control," Sirius refuted darkly. "As we speak my son is in training for his life. Again. If you think about how Harry's participation in the Tournament came about, you just might agree with me."

Minerva was aghast by the accusation. For Sirius to think that Albus would have anything to do with Harry's name being drawn out of the Goblet...

"Are you insinuating that Albus was responsible for Harry's name being drawn?" she said in thorough disbelief.

Sirius shook his head. "No. I'm stating quite plainly that he promoted the tournament with the intention of it being another test of Harry's powers and skills. He doesn't see my son as a young boy. He sees Harry as a necessary means to an end. I won't stand for it."

"That's absurd," she scoffed. "Albus cares for Harry very deeply."

"Perhaps he does," Sirius conceded with a shrug. "But that doesn't mean that he's not willing to sacrifice my son if necessary. I fought in the war with Albus, Minerva. I've seen him do a great many things with the bigger picture in mind."

She was speechless as she sat across from him and took a bracing sip of her drink. Sirius could see that he'd unnerved her, and he imagined that it was because she knew that he spoke the truth.

"I understand that you have a long history with Albus," Sirius conceded, "but couldn't it just be possible that your loyalty and trust in him is blinding you to what is truly happening right under your nose?"

"I have always put my students first, Sirius," she shot back. "And I take extreme exception to anyone who would declare otherwise."

Sirius pursed his lips and rubbed his thumb around the lip of his water glass as he carefully considered his next words.

"Does that include Harry?"

Minerva pulled back as if slapped. It was a horrible accusation to make, especially considering how fond she was of young Potter.

"It most certainly does," she asserted fiercely. "As you well know, I have gone to great lengths on more than one occasion to protect him."

"Maybe from some of Severus' harsher detentions," Sirius acknowledged with an eye roll, "or from ordinary mischief. But not against the truly dangerous things he's had to face. My son is lucky to be alive after three years of care at Hogwarts without an adult intervening on his behalf."

"Harry is not the only student in my charge," Minerva retorted hotly. "He's one of many, and I have a duty to them all equally. He's also not exactly the most well behaved young man. Much like a couple of other boys I could name."

Sirius laughed humorlessly. "And yet he's the one that keeps having his life put in danger for the safety of the school! Or, should I say, he's the one that Albus keeps putting in danger for the safety of the school."

"You cannot possibly believe that?" she asked in horror.

"Oh I believe a great many things," he assured her. "I believe that the entire wizarding world has sat back and allowed the great and powerful Albus Dumbledore to make decisions about lives that he had no business making. Just because of who he is."

"Is that what this is about?" Minerva asked candidly. "Your anger with Albus. You blame him for the years you spent in Azkaban, don't you?"

"Do you really think me so petty?" Sirius bit out, his eyes flashing furiously.

"I think you're hurt," she responded. "That someone you looked up to and trusted didn't come to your aid when you needed him. But you forget Sirius, that Albus had reason to think that there was a darker side of you than you led people to believe."

Her words hit him like a stunning spell and his face went first completely white and then angry red. For just a split second, she feared him.

"We were children," he said sharply. "And Severus had already chosen the dark path. Despite what he said later, he knew exactly where we were going that night and exactly what he would find there. He was just too stupid to think that he could actually be killed, and he's damn lucky that James was the better man."

"Yet Albus forgave you, and he let you stay," she reminded him. "Even when he should have expelled you. He knew what your parents were like, and he knew that Hogwarts was the safest place for you. He works tirelessly to keep the school safe for its children."

"Is that why he allows a Death Eater to live there?" Sirius asked. "If he wants them safe?"

Minerva frowned. "Severus has been a valuable and trustworthy member of the staff for years."

"I was referring to Karkaroff," Sirius replied innocently, shaking his head. "But it's interesting that your train of thought goes right back to Snape. Severus is a marked Death Eater, and yet you and Albus embraced him and welcomed him into the school and put the education and safety of impressionable children in his hands without hesitation. All while condemning me in your minds after years of my fighting against Voldemort and his ilk. "

His words hit a mark with her, he could tell. It wasn't that he blamed her exactly. Just that she'd been blinded once before.

"But although I was young," he continued, not wanting to dwell on his own past misery, "I was an adult. I'd made my choices. But Harry? Harry was just an innocent baby when you and Albus left him on that doorstep. With those people. Never bothering to check on him all those years. So you'll have to forgive me if I have reservations on just how committed you are to the safety of children."

"There was nothing we could," she sputtered. "It wasn't safe to keep him in our world with so many who wanted to hurt him. He needed to be protected."

Sirius' eyes were pure fire as he stared at her and took a deep breath to maintain his calm. It wasn't easy.

"My son has scars other than the one on his forehead," he growled angrily. "Deep, deep scars that you can't see on the surface. Those people were so horrible that to this day he's still uncertain about his place in my life. No matter how much love I give him or how many times I reassure him that he's my son and he's wanted, he still has trouble believing it because of how badly his own family treated him."

"Albus made the choice he thought best at the time," she defended weakly, her own personal guilt starting to creep in. She'd had many reservations about the Muggles herself.

"And now I have made mine," he nodded. "I wasn't planning on expanding my school, but the more I think about it, the more I believe that it's a necessary step. Perhaps things will change around the castle if it's not the only option. I, for one, know that I'd send my students home if they were being petrified in the corridors."

She flinched. It was a low blow, perhaps, but not an untruthful one.

"I'm sorry to disappoint you, Minerva," Sirius said sharply, "but I'm not the loyal follower that I was as a young man anymore. I don't owe my life to Albus Dumbledore. And I certainly don't owe him Harry's. If other parents agree with me as well, well that is their right."

With that, he stood and placed a generous pile of galleons on the table before pulling on his cloak.

"And to be perfectly frank," he continued, "as long as we're being brutally honest, I would worry more about what will happen to the school next year, once he's gone. I have a feeling many more minds will see things my way when Dumbledore is no longer the head of Hogwarts."

Minerva's jaw dropped as she realized that Sirius knew about Albus. It was a painful eventuality that she hadn't been able to force herself to face yet.

He nodded once at her in parting and then strode across the crowded pub floor and out the door.

As she sat with her half-finished drink in front of her, Minerva couldn't help thinking that she might just agree with him.

*********HP**************

Sirius trudged up the stairs, his mind heavy with thoughts.

The problem was that he actually respected Minerva, despite her failings, and had no desire to cause her any pain. Merlin knew that he was very far from being a perfect individual, and it was lunacy to project some kind of moral high standard over others than he couldn't adhere to himself.

Many mistakes had been made in the past, and he couldn't fault her loyalty and devotion to a person that had always impressed and inspired her.

But Sirius was a father now, first and foremost, and it gave him a profoundly different outlook on life than he ever would have had otherwise. As a single young man, he had willingly gone along with the notion of acting in the best interests of "the greater good", but that was a lifetime ago.

Now his focus was, and would always be, on the best interests of his son, and his son alone.

He understood clearly where the other parents were coming from, and it strengthened his willingness to open up their school to a few more. These children were the future of the wizarding world, and really, Sirius couldn't see what he could possibly do that was more important than caring for and educating the next generation.

He was a father and a teacher now and, to his immense surprise, he found that he genuinely loved both roles.

Speaking of which...

As he pulled off his outer coat and draped it over his arm, he quietly twisted the knob on Harry's bedroom door and peered inside. He could see the black tuft of Harry's hair sticking up against the mound of pillows, the warm blankets drawn all the way up to the boy's chin. Sirius smiled, his heart bursting with affection for his kid.

Softly, he padded over to the bed, the glow of the moon reflecting pale blue light on his son's face as Harry slept. The large book that he'd had in bed with him earlier was propped open next to him, and Sirius reached down to close it and place it silently on the nightstand next to Harry's glasses. There was just enough ambient light in the room for him to make out the title.

Stargazing For the Ages

by

Theodosia Pickering

Sirius smirked, because it was a reference book that he'd given his son last summer when they first moved into Celestial Court in the hopes that Harry would develop a fondness for Astronomy. He hadn't seen his son read it since then, so it was nice to know that Harry still cared for it instead of it being buried somewhere at the back of the boy's clothing cupboard.

Reaching out, he ran a fond hand gently through Harry's tousled hair, pulling back immediately when his son began to stir. Sirius sighed, annoyed with himself for not taking better care to avoid disturbing his son's rest.

"Papa?"

Harry's drowsy mumbling was barely comprehensible as the boy wiggled into a semi-consciousness and Sirius leaned over to press a kiss on his warm forehead.

"Shhh, go back to sleep," he whispered as he smoothed out the blankets around Harry's shoulders.

But Harry was already blinking rapidly, his huge green eyes attempting to focus in the pale light as he sought out the comforting silhouette of his father standing there.

"Everything okay?" the boy asked groggily, licking his dry lips as he shifted to face Sirius more.

"Fine," Sirius assured him in a hushed voice. "Everything's fine, kiddo. Back to sleep now."

Wanting to take his leave before Harry woke up fully, Sirius turned to go, but was stopped by his son's tired voice.

"Papa?"

"Yes, little one? What is it?"

Harry was now fully awake and staring at him, so Sirius stepped back over to the bed and took a seat on the edge as he carded his fingers through Harry's fringe.

"I wanted to tell you that I picked my animagus name."

"Did you?" Sirius asked, his head tilted in curious surprise. "Already? That didn't take long."

Smiling, Harry muffled a yawn behind his hand and nodded. "I've had an idea for a while," he confessed sheepishly. "I just needed to go through the transformation to pick the right one."

"I see. So what did you decide on?" Sirius asked intrigued.

It had taken almost a month for him to settle on Padfoot. It hadn't been his first choice either. James was the one to make the suggestion after the Grim had left a muddy trail of paw prints on the floor of their dorm room that looked rather intimidating if you didn't know where they'd come from.

For just a few seconds, Harry pursed his mouth into a bit of a frown, as if he was hesitant to share his selection with his father. But then he flicked his gaze up to Sirius and said:

"Equuleus."

Sirius couldn't help the sharp breath he inhaled. He was shocked, touched and moved all at once.

"The Little Horse," he said, once he was able to make his voice work again.

Harry smiled a soft smile as he looked down at his blanket and nodded.

"I just thought that," he began to explain shyly, "if I had been born your son, I would have had some kind of astrological name like all the other Blacks. Some sort of constellation, maybe. So it just seemed right, somehow, that a part of me shares in that tradition."

He looked up at his father, silently pleading for approval, as Sirius blinked back emotional tears.

"I love it," Sirius assured his son, bringing a smile of relief to Harry's face.

Sirius leaned over and scooped Harry into his arms.

"I love it very much," he said again as he closed his eyes and held his son close.

Harry leaned his head against his father's shoulder and snuggled in his warmth, happily feeling more like Sirius' son than ever.

**********HP**********