1 Ch2: The Visit
Walking quietly down the stairs, Harry listened to the sound of Dudley's television set tell the whether and the news.
Harry jumped the last step and walked to the kitchen through the hallways that Aunt Petunia tried so hard to keep spotless. Stepping into the kitchen he looked around to find his Uncle Vernon reading the paper and eating toast. Uncle Vernon was a bull necked man with a red face and a long mustache kept trimmed daily. Sitting down at the table Harry was startled to see Aunt Petunia spring up from the ground where she had dropped half the pan of scrambled eggs. Aunt Petunia was the exact opposite of Uncle Vernon, bony, horse faced, and nit-picky.
Suddenly she smiled wickedly. "That was your share of the eggs boy, better make your own."
Harry, far too used to this sort of response, nodded and said cheerily, "Thank you! Now I won't have to worry about poisoning will I?" He ignored the evil looks given to him and instead began to hum a light tune as he cooked his pancakes. He knew they were too afraid to do anything especially after they found out about his godfather.
Dudley finally made his appearance almost silently. He looked rather diminished, like a big guy who suddenly lost a lot of weight. He used to be big, pudgy, and stupid. Now he was just big and stupid. Before Harry's fourth year, Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia put Dudley on a diet, which he wasn't too happy about, and it seemed that it actually did him some good.
He sneered quite openly at Harry and began his way to the kitchen to get some eggs when he suddenly stopped, screamed, and bolted from the room.
Surprised, Harry looked down at where Dudley had looked and saw a giant black dog outside the sliding glass door. "Sirius," Harry said happily, and runs to the door and opens it up. In walked the dog, calmly, and Harry hugged him.
"What is this mangy mutt doing in here?!" Uncle Vernon yelled, red faced. And before his very eyes the dog changed into a man. That was too much for Aunt Petunia who was already shaking because of her now dirty carpet. She jumped up with a little squeak and ran from the room white in the face. Uncle Vernon's eyes bulged and his mouth opened and closed like a blowfish.
"Hello Harry," said Sirius. "How are you. You look well and you certainly grew." Sirius was a big man with chocolate brown eyes, wild black hair, a scratchy voice and a welcome smile.
"I'm doing great! It's so good to see you!" Harry then finally realized that the Dursleys were stark with terror. He smiled faintly and whispered in Sirius's ear, "They think you really are a con else they wouldn't treat me so nicely."
Sirius's chuckle threw both Vernon and Petunia into even greater heights, Petunia mumbling faintly and Vernon's face rapidly changing colors.
"Hello. I'm Sirius, Harry's godfather. I gather from Harry's descriptions that you are Vernon and Petunia Dursley?" Vernon finally got some courage and nodded slowly.
The silence continued for several seconds until Harry said, "Would you like some pancakes?" Sirius nodded graciously.
"So…how are you?" Sirius asked politely while Harry went to get the pancake plate.
"Fine," grunted Vernon not wanting Sirius to get angry and do some magic. Suddenly, Petunia fainted from the enormity of it all and Vernon barely caught her. "I better…yeah," he said thankful for the excuse to leave.
Harry and Sirius smiled. It had been a while since they saw each other and Harry for one was happy to see him. But…
"What are you doing here Sirius? You're supposed to be getting together with the 'old crowd'. Readying for the coming dark days. I mean with Voldemort free, we'll need everyone we can get. And, and, and." Harry finally realized he was babbling and said again, "What are you doing here?"
"I wanted to give you your birthday present before I had to leave for a while. And because I have to be completely hidden away from all evil, I may not get another chance to give it to you. So anyway, here you go." Sirius pulled from out of his long cloak…a box that could never have fit under there so perfectly.
Harry, surprised, lifted slightly trembling hands and took the box with a small "thanks" to Sirius.
"Well? Don't just sit there! Open it up!"
Harry slowly slid off the ribbon and ripped off the paper then opened the box. Inside were three smaller boxes. 'Figures' Harry thinks.
He reached in and grabbed the largest box and opened it up. Inside was a large leather-bound book. On the cover it said 'The Journal of Prongs: Leader of the Pack'. Harry felt awe as he slowly lifted the cover…and found blank pages. He looked questioningly at Sirius who was wolfing down pancakes.
"The-pass-word is 'Lilly is so beautiful'. Kind of sweet huh?" and with that began wolfing more pancakes down.
Harry scratched his head and said the password and suddenly words appeared on every page describing life at Hogwarts and showing many pictures of prank scams and Harry's mother. It also showed a picture of The Marauders at school in their seventh and final year with all of Lily's friends as well. They all waved furiously at him except Peter Petigrew who by now must have been a spy of Voldemort's and looked rather sullen.
Harry was speechless but Sirius got the idea. "Go on. Two more in there."
So he picked up another box that was slightly smaller. He suddenly remembered the pocket knife he got for Christmas last year and pulled it out watching the smile grow on Sirius' face. Harry cut the strings and the tape holding the box together and opened it up.
Inside was a wizard watch and a cell phone. He looked questioningly at Sirius.
"The phone is bewitched so you can talk to anyone you want from miles away and it would be like you were standing in the room next to them. So if the muggles treat you badly just call me up and I'll get Dumbledore to get you out of the house immediately. The watch was your grandfather's Mr. Robert J. Potter. It was passed down from grandfather to grandson for many a generation. He'd have wanted you to have it." Harry just smiled.
Pulling out the last box, he felt something jingle. He quickly opened it up and found keys.
"Keys? What are they for?" he asked.
"Why for your new car of course!" Sirius answered.
"CAR?!"
"Yup."
"Wow," Harry said in astonishment. "Where is it?"
"On the driveway. Come on, we'll go see it!" So they walked through the hallway and out the front door and saw a brand new BMW Z3 sitting on the driveway, it's jade green coat gleaming in the sunlight.
"It's got charms cleared by the Ministry of course. It can fly, has an invisibility booster and a transport button. That doesn't mean it can Apparate. It means you push it and it shrinks to the size of a toy car. One other thing: the trunk has been stretched to allow for the transport for more than one person's belongings as I know Ron will be wanting a drive."
Harry heard this and stored it in his brain as he opened the door and slid on the leather seats and felt the storage compartments and the wheel. He fiddled with the buttons a bit and suddenly a thought came to mind.
Wheeling around to Sirius who was smiling he said, "I can't drive. I was never taught."
"That is the good thing," said Sirius. "You will be taking driver's ED every day for the next month at the DMV down the street. Have fun."
Harry ran up and hugged his godfather. "Thank you so much!"
"Not a problem Harry. Not a problem. But now I have to leave. Dumbledore wouldn't be happy if I stayed too long and I really have to go."
"OK Sirius. Keep safe for me alright?"
"Sure Harry. No problem. By the way," he pulled a black piece of parchment out of his cloak. "It's the Marauders' Map. Dumbledore figured you needed it, but only gave it back after thoroughly checking its paths. He promised not to tell any of the teachers the paths that weren't already known." He smiled and said, "Oh and Reamus says hi." And with that he disapparated on the spot leaving Harry smiling wide enough for a truck to drive in. He was going to learn to drive! What will Dudley think?
After admiring the car for a bit, he found the transport button pushed it and watched the car rapidly shrink to the size of a muggle Matchbox car, put it in his pocket, and walked cheerily into the house.
Walking quietly down the stairs, Harry listened to the sound of Dudley's television set tell the whether and the news.
Harry jumped the last step and walked to the kitchen through the hallways that Aunt Petunia tried so hard to keep spotless. Stepping into the kitchen he looked around to find his Uncle Vernon reading the paper and eating toast. Uncle Vernon was a bull necked man with a red face and a long mustache kept trimmed daily. Sitting down at the table Harry was startled to see Aunt Petunia spring up from the ground where she had dropped half the pan of scrambled eggs. Aunt Petunia was the exact opposite of Uncle Vernon, bony, horse faced, and nit-picky.
Suddenly she smiled wickedly. "That was your share of the eggs boy, better make your own."
Harry, far too used to this sort of response, nodded and said cheerily, "Thank you! Now I won't have to worry about poisoning will I?" He ignored the evil looks given to him and instead began to hum a light tune as he cooked his pancakes. He knew they were too afraid to do anything especially after they found out about his godfather.
Dudley finally made his appearance almost silently. He looked rather diminished, like a big guy who suddenly lost a lot of weight. He used to be big, pudgy, and stupid. Now he was just big and stupid. Before Harry's fourth year, Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia put Dudley on a diet, which he wasn't too happy about, and it seemed that it actually did him some good.
He sneered quite openly at Harry and began his way to the kitchen to get some eggs when he suddenly stopped, screamed, and bolted from the room.
Surprised, Harry looked down at where Dudley had looked and saw a giant black dog outside the sliding glass door. "Sirius," Harry said happily, and runs to the door and opens it up. In walked the dog, calmly, and Harry hugged him.
"What is this mangy mutt doing in here?!" Uncle Vernon yelled, red faced. And before his very eyes the dog changed into a man. That was too much for Aunt Petunia who was already shaking because of her now dirty carpet. She jumped up with a little squeak and ran from the room white in the face. Uncle Vernon's eyes bulged and his mouth opened and closed like a blowfish.
"Hello Harry," said Sirius. "How are you. You look well and you certainly grew." Sirius was a big man with chocolate brown eyes, wild black hair, a scratchy voice and a welcome smile.
"I'm doing great! It's so good to see you!" Harry then finally realized that the Dursleys were stark with terror. He smiled faintly and whispered in Sirius's ear, "They think you really are a con else they wouldn't treat me so nicely."
Sirius's chuckle threw both Vernon and Petunia into even greater heights, Petunia mumbling faintly and Vernon's face rapidly changing colors.
"Hello. I'm Sirius, Harry's godfather. I gather from Harry's descriptions that you are Vernon and Petunia Dursley?" Vernon finally got some courage and nodded slowly.
The silence continued for several seconds until Harry said, "Would you like some pancakes?" Sirius nodded graciously.
"So…how are you?" Sirius asked politely while Harry went to get the pancake plate.
"Fine," grunted Vernon not wanting Sirius to get angry and do some magic. Suddenly, Petunia fainted from the enormity of it all and Vernon barely caught her. "I better…yeah," he said thankful for the excuse to leave.
Harry and Sirius smiled. It had been a while since they saw each other and Harry for one was happy to see him. But…
"What are you doing here Sirius? You're supposed to be getting together with the 'old crowd'. Readying for the coming dark days. I mean with Voldemort free, we'll need everyone we can get. And, and, and." Harry finally realized he was babbling and said again, "What are you doing here?"
"I wanted to give you your birthday present before I had to leave for a while. And because I have to be completely hidden away from all evil, I may not get another chance to give it to you. So anyway, here you go." Sirius pulled from out of his long cloak…a box that could never have fit under there so perfectly.
Harry, surprised, lifted slightly trembling hands and took the box with a small "thanks" to Sirius.
"Well? Don't just sit there! Open it up!"
Harry slowly slid off the ribbon and ripped off the paper then opened the box. Inside were three smaller boxes. 'Figures' Harry thinks.
He reached in and grabbed the largest box and opened it up. Inside was a large leather-bound book. On the cover it said 'The Journal of Prongs: Leader of the Pack'. Harry felt awe as he slowly lifted the cover…and found blank pages. He looked questioningly at Sirius who was wolfing down pancakes.
"The-pass-word is 'Lilly is so beautiful'. Kind of sweet huh?" and with that began wolfing more pancakes down.
Harry scratched his head and said the password and suddenly words appeared on every page describing life at Hogwarts and showing many pictures of prank scams and Harry's mother. It also showed a picture of The Marauders at school in their seventh and final year with all of Lily's friends as well. They all waved furiously at him except Peter Petigrew who by now must have been a spy of Voldemort's and looked rather sullen.
Harry was speechless but Sirius got the idea. "Go on. Two more in there."
So he picked up another box that was slightly smaller. He suddenly remembered the pocket knife he got for Christmas last year and pulled it out watching the smile grow on Sirius' face. Harry cut the strings and the tape holding the box together and opened it up.
Inside was a wizard watch and a cell phone. He looked questioningly at Sirius.
"The phone is bewitched so you can talk to anyone you want from miles away and it would be like you were standing in the room next to them. So if the muggles treat you badly just call me up and I'll get Dumbledore to get you out of the house immediately. The watch was your grandfather's Mr. Robert J. Potter. It was passed down from grandfather to grandson for many a generation. He'd have wanted you to have it." Harry just smiled.
Pulling out the last box, he felt something jingle. He quickly opened it up and found keys.
"Keys? What are they for?" he asked.
"Why for your new car of course!" Sirius answered.
"CAR?!"
"Yup."
"Wow," Harry said in astonishment. "Where is it?"
"On the driveway. Come on, we'll go see it!" So they walked through the hallway and out the front door and saw a brand new BMW Z3 sitting on the driveway, it's jade green coat gleaming in the sunlight.
"It's got charms cleared by the Ministry of course. It can fly, has an invisibility booster and a transport button. That doesn't mean it can Apparate. It means you push it and it shrinks to the size of a toy car. One other thing: the trunk has been stretched to allow for the transport for more than one person's belongings as I know Ron will be wanting a drive."
Harry heard this and stored it in his brain as he opened the door and slid on the leather seats and felt the storage compartments and the wheel. He fiddled with the buttons a bit and suddenly a thought came to mind.
Wheeling around to Sirius who was smiling he said, "I can't drive. I was never taught."
"That is the good thing," said Sirius. "You will be taking driver's ED every day for the next month at the DMV down the street. Have fun."
Harry ran up and hugged his godfather. "Thank you so much!"
"Not a problem Harry. Not a problem. But now I have to leave. Dumbledore wouldn't be happy if I stayed too long and I really have to go."
"OK Sirius. Keep safe for me alright?"
"Sure Harry. No problem. By the way," he pulled a black piece of parchment out of his cloak. "It's the Marauders' Map. Dumbledore figured you needed it, but only gave it back after thoroughly checking its paths. He promised not to tell any of the teachers the paths that weren't already known." He smiled and said, "Oh and Reamus says hi." And with that he disapparated on the spot leaving Harry smiling wide enough for a truck to drive in. He was going to learn to drive! What will Dudley think?
After admiring the car for a bit, he found the transport button pushed it and watched the car rapidly shrink to the size of a muggle Matchbox car, put it in his pocket, and walked cheerily into the house.