Harry Potter belongs to JK Rowling
It had been months since the Potters had seen Sirius and they were missing him. James seemed out of sorts and even Lily seemed down. But it was Harry who missed him the most.
He had the habit of climbing onto the living room window sill and pressing his face against the glass, looking out into the street. Every time a dog went past the Potter's cottage, Harry would shout "Pafoo!"
"No, Harry it's not Pafoo," Lily said sadly one evening. "And get down from there."
Lily picked Harry up and he squirmed in her arms, desperate to get back to the window.
"The poor lad misses his Godfather," James said, conjuring smoke rings much to Harry's delight. He stopped squirming and reached out with his tiny hands, trying to grab the smoke rings.
"You miss him too," Lily said with a wry smile as she sat Harry down at James's feet.
"Yeah," James sighed, running a hand through his messy hair. "I miss not being cooped up in here while our friends are out there risking their lives fighting him."
He sent out another smoke ring before patting Harry on the head and getting up and leaving the living room. Lily heard his heavy footsteps ascend the stairs and she closed her eyes fighting back the tears threatening to fall.
It had always been hard on James being cooped up in this cottage with a baby who was always on the go. But James was strong and he did it for their son.
It didn't help that Dumbledore had James's Invisibility Cloak meaning that he couldn't partake in any excursions and James's transforming was out of the question as a Stag in the village would draw a lot of unwanted attention.
"Daddy sad," Harry said, looking up at Lily with those big eyes of his and jerking Lily out of her thoughts.
"Daddy misses Pafoo as well, Harry," Lily said, scooping Harry up in her arms. "I think it's time Mummy should do something. Do you think I should write a letter to Pafoo?"
Harry looked at Lily and a sweet little smile appeared on his face.
"Yes," Harry said and Lily chuckled.
The day started like any ordinary day. James was entertaining Harry by conjuring smoke rings with his wand for Harry's entertainment. Meanwhile, Lily was out in the front garden, scanning the street.
Sirius replied and said he would be more than happy to visit them. James's mood had soured and she was desperate to find a way to cheer her husband up.
A roar filled the air, making her jump and a motorbike appeared in the sky, slowly falling before it landed in the street and came to a stop. The man turned off the engine and disembarked the bike. Lily ran up and hugged him.
"Thank you for coming all this way to see us, Sirius," Lily said.
"My dear Lily, I wouldn't miss a chance to see my three most favourite people in the world," Sirius said, returning the hug.
"James and Harry both miss you," Lily smiled. "And Harry seems to think that almost every dog is you."
Sirius let out a bark-like laugh.
"Well, I think it's time for him to meet the real thing," he said, a grin slowly appearing on his face.
Harry was getting bored of the smoke rings and was more interested in the cat that was curled up on his favourite chair. James couldn't help chuckling at the hard stare that Harry was giving the cat; Harry was so much like his mother sometimes.
The front door opened and James looked round to see Lily enter the living room with a big black dog. James stared at his wife and then the dog and felt himself grinning from ear to ear.
"Harry, who's that to see you?" James asked.
Harry looked up at James and then to the doorway where Lily was standing with Sirius. Harry's face lit up with a big grin and Sirius wagged his tail.
"PAFOO!" Harry exclaimed and Sirius let out a loud bark which made the cat jump and run out of the living room.
Sirius bounded forward which made Harry giggle. He allowed Harry to hug him before turning back into a man and crouching down to level his face with Harry's.
"Have you been good, Harry?" Sirius asked.
"Yes!" Harry said happily and Sirius gave him a dramatic frown.
"Why?" he asked and Harry giggled hysterically.
"Blimey, Padfoot," James said, still grinning from ear to ear. "It's good to see you, mate."
"It's good seeing you too, Prongs," Sirius said. "Lily said that you were all missing me. I hope you're not going stir-crazy being locked up in this cottage."
"Maybe a little bit," James said with a sheepish grin. "But seeing you makes it easier."
"Pafoo," Harry said, holding a ball. "Fetch!"
Harry threw the ball and Sirius transformed into a dog again and caught it for Harry.
They spent the next ten minutes playing together with Harry throwing the ball for Sirius and James and Lily smiled at Sirius playing with Harry and the sounds of his constant giggles.
"Look how happy he is," Lily gushed.
"Harry looks pretty happy as well," James said with a grin.
Lily smiled and rolled her eyes at her husband.
Sirius continued playing with Harry all day in his dog form and the cottage was filled with the sound of Sirius's barks and Harry's giggles as one baby and his dog played together. When Harry got bored of throwing the ball for Sirius, they played tug of war. Lily had to move all of the ornaments out of the way.
They played all day and eventually, Harry had had enough of playing with Sirius and was cuddled up fast asleep on the sofa with Sirius still in his dog form. Lily gently picked Harry up and carried him into his room as Sirius transformed back into a man.
"You look a bit worse for wear, mate," James said, grinning at Sirius's dishevelled hair.
"Your son has your energy," Sirius chuckled as he got up and stretched. "I ache in places I've never ached before."
"He's got Lily's as well," James grinned as Sirius ran a hand through his hair. "No wonder you look worn out."
"My hair's all sticky now," Sirius muttered and James laughed as Lily came back down the stairs.
"It was lovely to see you today, Sirius," she smiled.
"You have a very sweet disposition as a dog," James said with a sly grin. "You might want to consider making the change permanent."
Sirius let out a bark-like laugh.
"I'd like to see you try and live with the fleas," he said as he made his way to the hallway. "They're murder. So, are you planning anything for Halloween next month?"
"We're just going to have a quiet night in," Lily said. "Harry's too young to understand what Halloween's about."
"Why don't you come over again?" James asked. "Harry loves seeing you and it was great seeing the two of you playing together."
"I can't," Sirius said sadly. "I'm on duty for the Order."
"That's a shame," Lily said, looking disappointed. "I hope you can visit us at Christmas at least."
"I'll see what I can do," Sirius said as he opened the front door. "Take care, you two. Try not to get too stir-crazy, Prongs."
"Take care of yourself, Padfoot," James said. "And stay alive."
James and Sirius looked at one another and the two of them felt as if they were on the precipice of something extraordinary and it would be the last time that they would see each other.
The moment passed and James gave Sirius a fierce hug, dismissing the notion from his mind. He knew that Sirius could be reckless, but he had made it this far.
"Everything will be alright, Prongs," Sirius said as if to reassure himself. "They don't suspect that Peter's the secret keeper and they haven't found me yet."
"Peter will never let us down. James said fiercely. "I trust him with my life like I trust you and Remus."
"I'll do my best to repay that trust and win the war for you. And Harry," Sirius said as he let go of James and hugged Lily. "Have a good Halloween. See you at Christmas."
Sirius let go of Lily and with a final glance at his two best friends, walked to his Motorbike, climbed on it and rode off into the night.
As the motorbike disappeared, James wrapped an arm around his wife, the pair of them counting down the days to Christmas.
Thank you for reading.