Disclaimer: Everything and every character belong to their
respective rich owners. I am poor and own nothing. . . not even
Terence the snowy owl. . . because it is owned by Hermione!
A/N: well, I don't really have much to say. . .just want to thank the few reviewers who bother to review. Thank you! . . . Sirius appears ,finally, in this chapter. Also, I can no longer bear with the title of this story. . .it seem more and more silly. . .so it is now called 'It brings us together'
A/N This chapter is revised. No significant changes but certain mistakes were corrected. Credits again go to Rawiya!
Chapter Four Grinning Padfoot and Tremors of Emotion
Harry couldn't make out what Sirius was doing at the front door, but after a minute or so, something - apparently a dog's paw - scratched on his bedroom door. Harry quickly ran to the door, opened it - and then wished he hadn't as the giant black dog leapt on him. The force knocked him down and collided with the floor with a crash. As if it wasn't enough, the dog did not get off him after they landed on the floor and it licked Harry furiously. Harry could hardly breathe under the weight of the giant dog and the licking was highly ticklish.
"Hey! S. . . stop that!" Harry said between fits of laughter. He'd been fighting hard not to laugh out loud so as not to wake up the other occupants of the house. Thankfully Aunt Petunia had been away that night on a trip to London with her high school friends. Aunt Petunia would surely have been awakened by all these noises, because she was not a deep sleeper. On the other hand, nearly nothing could wake up Uncle Vernon and Dudley when they were sleeping.
After a moment of struggle, the dog finally decided to get off Harry. Harry couldn't help but had a sneaking suspicion that the dog was again grinning all the time. Nevertheless, he got up from the floor with a slight difficulty as he had to first catch his breath, then he rushed to the bedroom door to shut it. By the time he turned around, the dog had already been replaced with his godfather.
They just stood there studying each other. What Harry noticed about Sirius was that his cleanly shaven cheeks had filled out, and his shoulder- length black hair was tidier. What he wore was a pair of jeans and a black shirt and they suited him perfectly though Harry had never seen him in Mmuggle clothes. The grin still lingered on his much younger and handsome face.
Harry felt oddly warm at heart at such a sight. The meetings between Sirius and him were often filled with anxiety and tension, usually both had loads of things to worry about. They never had the chance to talk about more family-like things, or ever hugged for the matter. So Sirius' previous display of open affection startled Harry quite a lot. But it didn't really matter as Harry, for the first time ever, felt that both of them were completely at ease at each other's presence. It somehow made Harry believe that he was many steps closer to the Sirius Black before Azkaban. . . but not there yet. .... "So, Sirius, living with Professor Lupin did you good?" said Harry, who couldn't help but grin back at Sirius.
"I'm sure Remus would be very pleased to hear that."
"You acted like a hyperactive dog."
"Really? Did I? I just hope that would cheer you up. . . and I succeeded, didn't I?" Sirius stepped closer to Harry, his expression seemed more serious. "I thought that you would be asleep at such an hour and I intended to come again tomorrow night. So why are you not sleeping?" said Sirius, eyeing the bags under Harry's eyes warily. Harry had grown taller, but it somehow made him looked thinner. . . or had he really been thinner than before?
"I was sleeping. The noise made by the drunken girl woke me." That was not entirely lying. He did nearly fall asleep. Harry knew he could and should trust Sirius and tell him the things that have been bothering him. Maybe he just didn't want anyone to know that how weak he actually felt. . .
Sirius had not shown if he noticed Harry was not telling the truth. "then. . . how have you been doing?"
"I'm fine."
Pause.
"Maybe not that fine." Harry's gaze lowered to the floor. All the raging emotions that had been carefully locked were threatening to escape. Cedric. Voldemort. Wormtail. His parents. No, Harry told himself, he would not break down in front of his godfather. It was supposed to be a cheerful reunion. . . he would not ruin it. . .
Sirius watched as Harry battled his inner emotions. A great sadness engulfed him upon seeing the agonized expression on Harry's young face. Sirius could see that Harry was trying very hard not to let his pain be shown. The poor boy did not want Sirius to worry about him! Even if he himself was in such great pain. . . Sirius' regret in not being present in Harry's life was then more painful than ever. His regret in trusting that filthy rat and causing the death of his dearest friends - Harry's parents - nearly tore him apart. But it was not the time for him to grieve.
In a swift motion, Sirius crossed the room and took Harry in his arms, embraced him tightly for a moment, then rubbed his back gently as Harry started to shiver. No tears came.
"It's ok, Harry. It's ok to cry." Harry shook his head while burying his face deep into Sirius' loose shirt. He wrapped his arms tightly around Sirius. There is no need to cry anymore, thought Harry silently. You are here already.
They stood without saying a word to each other, simply contented to feel each other's comforting presence. Harry was really grateful that he could finally understand how it felt to have a father. . . to have someone who cares about him.
Finally Harry decided that their time together was precious and perhaps they should start doing other things. He pulled away from their hug and motioned Sirius to sit on the bed.
"How are you then, Sirius?" as soon as the question left Harry's mouth, he suddenly realized something. He couldn't believe that he was so stupid as to forget something so important!
"Hey, wait. Why are you here? What do you think you're doing? This place is probably being watched by the ministry! You may be seen and caught! What if the aurors are coming now? You should - "
"Relax, Harry." Sirius interrupted with a slightly amused expression. "I know better than to come here unprepared. And with the noise you're making, you would properly wake up the Muggles." Sirius spat the word 'Muggles' with distaste, apparently thinking of the inhabitants of this house.
Harry watched in confusion, then in horror as Sirius pulled out a wand from his pocket. He should not do magic here! The ministry surely could detect if a spell is performed and may even know it is Sirius. The house would be swarmed with aurors before Sirius could even open his bedroom door! Harry wanted to warn Sirius not to do any magic when Sirius raised his wand, pointed it towards the wall and muttered a spell.
"NO!" Harry yelled, then quickly covered his mouth with his hand, realizing his stupidity in making such a loud noise.
"You don't have to be worried. I've done the silencing spell on this room. We can sing karaoke in here and the Muggles would still be sleeping soundly!" Seeing the expression of anxiety on Harry face, Sirius really felt a bit funny, but he was also touched at Harry's concern over his well being. . .which, in his opinion, he clearly didn't deserve. "But- " Sirius held up his hand to stop Harry. "Dumbledore knows of my visit. Nothing done in this room would be detected by the Ministry."
Harry let out his breath as relief washed over him. "Don't ever scare me like that again! Why didn't you tell me earlier? I thought I was going to have a heart attack. . . "
Sirius ruffled Harry's messy hair with a teasing smile. "It never occurred to me that you could be so touchy.you nearly are as touchy and fussy as Lily - " he stopped abruptly. Then he studied Harry's expression carefully. Harry seemed surprised at Sirius' sudden stop in speech, but then noticing Sirius' intense gaze; he smiled faintly to assure him that it was alright.
"It's ok to talk about my parents, you know. In fact I'm eager.very eager to know about them because I know too little about them. If you told me I think that it'd be just like knowing them myself. . . but I'm afraid that it'd be too painful for you to think about them."
"No," Sirius shook his head and took Harry's thin hand into his own large and warm hand gently, "it's not painful to think or talk about them anymore. . . at least not as painful. I've kind of worked it out with Remus in the last mouth. It did make us laugh to think of all the brilliant and plainly stupid things we've done in the past."
Sirius' eyes then stared into the space, memory after memory flashed in his mind. Smiling slightly to himself, he continued, "Or day filled by playing pranks on the Slytherins and teachers, discovering and roaming all the secret passageways in Hogwarts, running wild in the forest, flirting with those stupid girls, and being outwitted by those beautiful and clever girls just like your mother." Sirius grinned, apparently very fond of those memories. "We were young, naïve. . . and brave. Thanks to that stupid bravery, we achieved so much and also made terrible mistakes. This bravery, willingness to try and discover is somehow lost on us now that we are older. Opportunities are thus also lost. . . "
He turned to peer out of the window. Harry remained silent, slowly digesting what Sirius was saying. Without looking back at Harry, Sirius said, "you have to do something without thinking only of the consequences, after all."
Harry squeezed Sirius' hand gently. "Hermione would not agree to that. . . but that's the spirit of Gryffindor." Both of them laughed knowingly. It felt so good to see Sirius smile so often. A smile suited his handsome features far more than the grimace and pain.
"We've been a little bit distracted." Sirius patted his godson's shoulder to get his attention back. "so. . . honestly , how do you feel?"
"I feel better now that you are here with me," seeing Sirius' doubtful expression, he added, "yes, I've been having nightmares for weeks. Yes, I don't have much appetite. Yes, I often think of that night. . . but now I think I'll be able to get pass these. I'm willing to at least try. As long as I've you, the Weasleys, Hermione and Hargrid."
Harry looked at Sirius in the eyes until his intense gaze softened. "And don't forget that you also have the support of Remus."
"Remus?. you mean professor Lupin?"
Sirius chuckled at this. "Professor Lupin. I still can't adjust to the idea that he had been a professor. He has it in him, doesn't he?"
Sirius' smile suddenly froze and his face darkened in concentration.
"What's the matter?" Harry asked, alarmed at his sudden change of mood.
"Many people. . . at least ten are coming this way."
************************************************************ Want to know what will happen next? Go on to REVIEW then.
A/N: well, I don't really have much to say. . .just want to thank the few reviewers who bother to review. Thank you! . . . Sirius appears ,finally, in this chapter. Also, I can no longer bear with the title of this story. . .it seem more and more silly. . .so it is now called 'It brings us together'
A/N This chapter is revised. No significant changes but certain mistakes were corrected. Credits again go to Rawiya!
Chapter Four Grinning Padfoot and Tremors of Emotion
Harry couldn't make out what Sirius was doing at the front door, but after a minute or so, something - apparently a dog's paw - scratched on his bedroom door. Harry quickly ran to the door, opened it - and then wished he hadn't as the giant black dog leapt on him. The force knocked him down and collided with the floor with a crash. As if it wasn't enough, the dog did not get off him after they landed on the floor and it licked Harry furiously. Harry could hardly breathe under the weight of the giant dog and the licking was highly ticklish.
"Hey! S. . . stop that!" Harry said between fits of laughter. He'd been fighting hard not to laugh out loud so as not to wake up the other occupants of the house. Thankfully Aunt Petunia had been away that night on a trip to London with her high school friends. Aunt Petunia would surely have been awakened by all these noises, because she was not a deep sleeper. On the other hand, nearly nothing could wake up Uncle Vernon and Dudley when they were sleeping.
After a moment of struggle, the dog finally decided to get off Harry. Harry couldn't help but had a sneaking suspicion that the dog was again grinning all the time. Nevertheless, he got up from the floor with a slight difficulty as he had to first catch his breath, then he rushed to the bedroom door to shut it. By the time he turned around, the dog had already been replaced with his godfather.
They just stood there studying each other. What Harry noticed about Sirius was that his cleanly shaven cheeks had filled out, and his shoulder- length black hair was tidier. What he wore was a pair of jeans and a black shirt and they suited him perfectly though Harry had never seen him in Mmuggle clothes. The grin still lingered on his much younger and handsome face.
Harry felt oddly warm at heart at such a sight. The meetings between Sirius and him were often filled with anxiety and tension, usually both had loads of things to worry about. They never had the chance to talk about more family-like things, or ever hugged for the matter. So Sirius' previous display of open affection startled Harry quite a lot. But it didn't really matter as Harry, for the first time ever, felt that both of them were completely at ease at each other's presence. It somehow made Harry believe that he was many steps closer to the Sirius Black before Azkaban. . . but not there yet. .... "So, Sirius, living with Professor Lupin did you good?" said Harry, who couldn't help but grin back at Sirius.
"I'm sure Remus would be very pleased to hear that."
"You acted like a hyperactive dog."
"Really? Did I? I just hope that would cheer you up. . . and I succeeded, didn't I?" Sirius stepped closer to Harry, his expression seemed more serious. "I thought that you would be asleep at such an hour and I intended to come again tomorrow night. So why are you not sleeping?" said Sirius, eyeing the bags under Harry's eyes warily. Harry had grown taller, but it somehow made him looked thinner. . . or had he really been thinner than before?
"I was sleeping. The noise made by the drunken girl woke me." That was not entirely lying. He did nearly fall asleep. Harry knew he could and should trust Sirius and tell him the things that have been bothering him. Maybe he just didn't want anyone to know that how weak he actually felt. . .
Sirius had not shown if he noticed Harry was not telling the truth. "then. . . how have you been doing?"
"I'm fine."
Pause.
"Maybe not that fine." Harry's gaze lowered to the floor. All the raging emotions that had been carefully locked were threatening to escape. Cedric. Voldemort. Wormtail. His parents. No, Harry told himself, he would not break down in front of his godfather. It was supposed to be a cheerful reunion. . . he would not ruin it. . .
Sirius watched as Harry battled his inner emotions. A great sadness engulfed him upon seeing the agonized expression on Harry's young face. Sirius could see that Harry was trying very hard not to let his pain be shown. The poor boy did not want Sirius to worry about him! Even if he himself was in such great pain. . . Sirius' regret in not being present in Harry's life was then more painful than ever. His regret in trusting that filthy rat and causing the death of his dearest friends - Harry's parents - nearly tore him apart. But it was not the time for him to grieve.
In a swift motion, Sirius crossed the room and took Harry in his arms, embraced him tightly for a moment, then rubbed his back gently as Harry started to shiver. No tears came.
"It's ok, Harry. It's ok to cry." Harry shook his head while burying his face deep into Sirius' loose shirt. He wrapped his arms tightly around Sirius. There is no need to cry anymore, thought Harry silently. You are here already.
They stood without saying a word to each other, simply contented to feel each other's comforting presence. Harry was really grateful that he could finally understand how it felt to have a father. . . to have someone who cares about him.
Finally Harry decided that their time together was precious and perhaps they should start doing other things. He pulled away from their hug and motioned Sirius to sit on the bed.
"How are you then, Sirius?" as soon as the question left Harry's mouth, he suddenly realized something. He couldn't believe that he was so stupid as to forget something so important!
"Hey, wait. Why are you here? What do you think you're doing? This place is probably being watched by the ministry! You may be seen and caught! What if the aurors are coming now? You should - "
"Relax, Harry." Sirius interrupted with a slightly amused expression. "I know better than to come here unprepared. And with the noise you're making, you would properly wake up the Muggles." Sirius spat the word 'Muggles' with distaste, apparently thinking of the inhabitants of this house.
Harry watched in confusion, then in horror as Sirius pulled out a wand from his pocket. He should not do magic here! The ministry surely could detect if a spell is performed and may even know it is Sirius. The house would be swarmed with aurors before Sirius could even open his bedroom door! Harry wanted to warn Sirius not to do any magic when Sirius raised his wand, pointed it towards the wall and muttered a spell.
"NO!" Harry yelled, then quickly covered his mouth with his hand, realizing his stupidity in making such a loud noise.
"You don't have to be worried. I've done the silencing spell on this room. We can sing karaoke in here and the Muggles would still be sleeping soundly!" Seeing the expression of anxiety on Harry face, Sirius really felt a bit funny, but he was also touched at Harry's concern over his well being. . .which, in his opinion, he clearly didn't deserve. "But- " Sirius held up his hand to stop Harry. "Dumbledore knows of my visit. Nothing done in this room would be detected by the Ministry."
Harry let out his breath as relief washed over him. "Don't ever scare me like that again! Why didn't you tell me earlier? I thought I was going to have a heart attack. . . "
Sirius ruffled Harry's messy hair with a teasing smile. "It never occurred to me that you could be so touchy.you nearly are as touchy and fussy as Lily - " he stopped abruptly. Then he studied Harry's expression carefully. Harry seemed surprised at Sirius' sudden stop in speech, but then noticing Sirius' intense gaze; he smiled faintly to assure him that it was alright.
"It's ok to talk about my parents, you know. In fact I'm eager.very eager to know about them because I know too little about them. If you told me I think that it'd be just like knowing them myself. . . but I'm afraid that it'd be too painful for you to think about them."
"No," Sirius shook his head and took Harry's thin hand into his own large and warm hand gently, "it's not painful to think or talk about them anymore. . . at least not as painful. I've kind of worked it out with Remus in the last mouth. It did make us laugh to think of all the brilliant and plainly stupid things we've done in the past."
Sirius' eyes then stared into the space, memory after memory flashed in his mind. Smiling slightly to himself, he continued, "Or day filled by playing pranks on the Slytherins and teachers, discovering and roaming all the secret passageways in Hogwarts, running wild in the forest, flirting with those stupid girls, and being outwitted by those beautiful and clever girls just like your mother." Sirius grinned, apparently very fond of those memories. "We were young, naïve. . . and brave. Thanks to that stupid bravery, we achieved so much and also made terrible mistakes. This bravery, willingness to try and discover is somehow lost on us now that we are older. Opportunities are thus also lost. . . "
He turned to peer out of the window. Harry remained silent, slowly digesting what Sirius was saying. Without looking back at Harry, Sirius said, "you have to do something without thinking only of the consequences, after all."
Harry squeezed Sirius' hand gently. "Hermione would not agree to that. . . but that's the spirit of Gryffindor." Both of them laughed knowingly. It felt so good to see Sirius smile so often. A smile suited his handsome features far more than the grimace and pain.
"We've been a little bit distracted." Sirius patted his godson's shoulder to get his attention back. "so. . . honestly , how do you feel?"
"I feel better now that you are here with me," seeing Sirius' doubtful expression, he added, "yes, I've been having nightmares for weeks. Yes, I don't have much appetite. Yes, I often think of that night. . . but now I think I'll be able to get pass these. I'm willing to at least try. As long as I've you, the Weasleys, Hermione and Hargrid."
Harry looked at Sirius in the eyes until his intense gaze softened. "And don't forget that you also have the support of Remus."
"Remus?. you mean professor Lupin?"
Sirius chuckled at this. "Professor Lupin. I still can't adjust to the idea that he had been a professor. He has it in him, doesn't he?"
Sirius' smile suddenly froze and his face darkened in concentration.
"What's the matter?" Harry asked, alarmed at his sudden change of mood.
"Many people. . . at least ten are coming this way."
************************************************************ Want to know what will happen next? Go on to REVIEW then.