Chapter Ten: Dreams

Summary: Tenth chapter. Thirty-nine to go. That about sums it up.

The next several days seemed to past disappointingly fast to Harry. Sirius no longer spent his days trying to stay out of the way as much as possible. Suddenly he was much more visible around the house. The largest part of this change Harry noted was that Sirius didn't practically disapparate out of any given room the minute Arabella walked into it. Instead, he now positively beamed wherever she came into a room. And he never seemed to miss the chance to give her a quick kiss or a light peck on the cheek whenever the opportunity arose. Since they first met, Harry couldn't remember a single day in his presence that he had ever seen Sirius look even half as happy as he was now.

For Arabella's part, it seemed to Harry she was as pleased with the change in the living situation as Sirius was. Although she wasn't as exuberant or open about it as Sirius tended to be, she definitely seemed a good deal less tense around him now. She even willingly accept his kisses with a small smile, occasionally giving him a half-serious slap on the shoulder if he got 'too exuberant'. But it was almost always delivered with a smile or a light giggle.

As for Sirius' warning that people who lived together sometimes argued, Harry was beginning to think Sirius and Arabella were the exception to that rule. To him they both seemed happiest in each other's company. And whether by plan or accident, they also seemed to spend a great deal of their time just so. Not that Harry minded, since for as much time as they seemed to spend together, they never failed to include him whenever possible. Whether working out in the garden, or simply sitting on the sofa at night watching television, his godparents seemed to strife to make each activity a family affair.

And that was just how Harry was starting to picture his new-found relationships. 'Family'. And although he knew it was ultimately his godparents decision how things would end up for them all, Harry never denied himself the right to hope for the future. A hope that brought with it a certain amount of guilt when he thought about his parents. He often felt almost disloyal to them for picturing someone else in their roles. But, he reminded himself each time, Sirius and Arabella were the two people his parents had chosen themselves that they wanted him to be with in the event something happened to them. And so Harry tried not to let his feelings of betrayal to his parents cloud his hopes.

One of the biggest 'family affairs' that Harry had come to look forward to the most each day was supper. For all Sirius' moaning and whispered warnings to Harry about Arabella's cooking skills, Harry thought she was remarkably good at it. Every meal was practically a catered affair as Arabella seemed to go out of her way to prepare something special. Apparently trying to out do the dinner the night before each time. And to Harry, this was no easy task to take on. He doubted even one of Aunt Petunia's dinner party's could have come within a step of what Arabella would call a 'simple home-cooked meal'. And it wasn't that the meals she had served before that weren't good. Now she just seemed to be putting a extra bit of effort into each one.

The first night Harry was simply dumbfounded at the display of food that covered the kitchen table when he came in for dinner. He and Sirius had been out painting the back fence when Arabella had called them in. All afternoon Harry's mouth had been watering at the smells coming from the house. When he stepped into the kitchen he was greeted by a large chicken sitting on a tray, surrounded by potatoes, vegetables, and stuffed with dressing. A large salad sat next to it and a basket of rolls on the other side. Dessert had been a thickly frost, chocolate pan cake that he and Sirius had continued to work on as all three of them sat watching television that night.

At each meal Harry positively stuffed himself. He was actually starting to worry with much more of Arabella's cooking he might catch up to Dudley weight-wise. But the sheer pleasure of each meal was too much to pass up by cutting back. So Harry made a deal with himself that he would indulge himself during the summer and cut back during the school year. He also noted that the more he ate, the happier Arabella seemed. She was always tugging at his shirts, commenting that he was too thin for a teenage boy. And so Harry was happy to oblige her and try to fatten up a bit on her cooking.

A little over a week after Sirius had moved in, Arabella had gone off to town to do some shopping. She had stated at breakfast that she had found a new recipe that she couldn't wait to try out. While Sirius groaned and fell face first on the table, Harry looked happily expectant at what might be greeting him at the table that night.

He certainly wasn't disappointed. The meal turned out to be a somewhat spicy stew which was absolutely delicious. Even Sirius gave it more than his usual praise, which caused Arabella to nearly blush with pride. Harry even caught the unmistakable scent of the stew that night as they watched television, Sirius having snuck back into the kitchen for a late-night-snack bowl from the leftovers.

Later that night Harry slowly trudged up the steps towards his room. He felt like that evening he had even managed to out-do even how much he usually ate. Peeling off his cloths he slipped into his pajamas and fell into bed. He tried to think over what he was planning on doing the next day, but sleep fogged his mind too much and soon he fell asleep.

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It was close to one in the morning when a high pitch scream tore through the house.

Arabella nearly threw Sirius into the wall as she flew out of her room and headed in the direction of the scream, which had come from her godson's room.

"Harry!" She cried, bolting into his room with Sirius in close pursuit. She didn't particularly care what she might be running into. A room full of Deatheaters or even the dark lord himself. All that drove her was that she had to get to her godson, her worst fear centering on the sight of an empty bed. But Arabella stopped short at the sight that did greet her.

Illuminated by his bedside lamp, Harry sat leaned over in his bed, his face in his hands as he rocked back and forth.

Arabella recomposed herself quickly as she rushed over to the bed. Sirius came in behind her, his wand out, scanning the room for any danger, but found none. He quickly joined Arabella, who had seated herself on the side of Harry's bed and had him wrapped protectively in her arms as she whispered softly to him, promising him everything was all right.

Harry had wrapped his arms as tightly about her as he could and buried his face in her shoulder. His whole body was shaking as though the air around him was suddenly freezing.

"Harry, " Arabella coaxed gently, pulling him back and turning his face to her. "What is it? What's wrong?"

Harry shook his head and buried his face back in her shoulder. Arabella turned a pleading look to Sirius as she tightened her arms about Harry.

Sirius sat down next to Arabella and gently caressed a hand over Harry's head. "Harry, please," he said softly. "Tell us what's wrong. Let us help."

"You can't," came the anguished response. "How can you? You can't fight dreams anymore than I can."

Arabella cast a worried glance at Sirius, then turned back to Harry, gently stroking his hair and back, trying desperately to calm him down.

"Do you want to tell us about it?" She asked softly. "It might help to talk about it."

Harry shook his head. "I don't want to remember it." He slowly pulled back from Arabella's embrace, quickly wiping his eyes as he seemed to gather himself together. "Truth is, I usually don't. Just the feeling it leaves behind. Just a cold, horrible feeling." Harry turned to the sheets, staring blankly at them. "I remember sometimes, at the Dursley's, I'd wake up with the same feeling. But it wasn't like I could go to them and say anything. So I'd just sit there in the dark...and wait for the sun to come up. I hated it. For nights afterwards it seemed I hardly slept. Afraid I'd have the same dream again."

"And did you?" Arabella asked kindly.

Harry shook his head. "I only have them about once a month or so." He suddenly looked up at his godparents, looking very embarrassed. "Oh...I'm sorry, Sirius...Arabella. I didn't even think. I woke you up, didn't I?"

"It doesn't matter, Harry," Sirius assured him. "All we're concerned about is that you're all right."

Harry nodded quickly. "I'm fine."

Neither Sirius nor Arabella failed to miss the forced smile on Harry's face. They both knew their godson was trying so hard to hide his fear. Trying not to worry them. To desperately keep up the brave front he so often showed. Not unlike most fifteen-year-olds who would never want to admit to being scared. Arabella was trying to think of a different angle to approach from when Sirius tapped her lightly on the shoulder.

"It's late, 'Bella. Why don't you go on back to bed?"

"What about you?"

"I'll make sure Harry's all right, then go to bed myself, all right?"
Arabella started to protest, but suddenly caught the look in Sirius' eyes, asking for her trust. Sighing to herself, Arabella leaned over and gave Harry one more reassuring hug, then kissed him on the forehead before she got up and left the room.

"You don't have to stay," Harry commented as his godfather took Arabella's place on the side of his bed.

"I know," Sirius said. "I'm choosing to. Just for a while."

"For what?"

Sirius sighed quietly. "Maybe you think you're too old to have someone sit here and try and keep your nightmares away. And heaven knows if I thought it would help, nothing in this world could make me leave. But," Sirius added with a soft smile, "I think you'd hate the idea. And maybe rightly so. It'd drive me nuts, I know, having someone sitting in my room all night. But," he said, getting up off the bed, "maybe you wouldn't object to someone a little less intrusive."

Before Harry could ask Sirius what he meant, the form of his godfather disappeared, and in its place stood the large, shaggy black dog.

Harry smiled at the dog in the lamp light, who stood patiently waiting for Harry's decision.

Harry quickly scooted over under the cover and made enough room for the dog to jump up on the bed and situate itself on it's stomach next to him.

As soon as the dog settled down on the covers, Harry rolled back over and draped one arm around its neck, burying his hand in its thick soft fur. The dog gently licked his face, then laid his head down on the covers.

Harry smiled broadly at the black pile of fur lying next to him.

"Thanks, Sirius," he whispered.

The dog wined softly, thumping its tail against his legs a few times.

Sirius listen for some time to Harry's breathing. After a half-hour or so it slowly fell into the rhythm of sleep.

Sirius sighed quietly to himself, realizing with some small annoyance the predicament he had gotten himself into. He found it very difficult to sleep as Snuffles. He could simply never seem to find a comfortable position. But if he moved, he'd likely wake Harry up, and that simply wouldn't do at all. So, sighing to himself again, he was resigning himself to a long sleepless night when the door to the room opened with a soft creak.

Sirius raised his head, both ears pointed forward. But his stance relaxed when he saw Arabella stick her head in the room and looked over the situation. With a pleased smile she glided soundlessly over to the bed and crouched down next to Sirius' side of it. She reached up and scratched him affectionately between the ears.

"There's a good dog," she cooed softly, careful not to wake Harry.

Snuffles growled.

Arabella lightly kissed the end of his nose, earning herself an immediate response as Snuffles quickly licked as much of her face as he could before she pulled back.

"Ewwww," she hissed quietly. "Do you have any idea how disgusting that is when you put it into context?"

The dog cocked his head to the side, staring at her past two wide, black eyes.

"Would you do that to me as a man?" Arabella pointed out.

Snuffles pulled his lips back. If a dog could smile, this was the exact response Arabella's question got.

The gesture earned Snuffles a light slap on the nose.

"You're disgusting," Arabella chide gently, getting to her feet. Leaning down, she pecked Snuffles affectionately on the end of the nose again. "I'll see you both in the morning then."

Sirius watched as she swept soundlessly out of the room again, then laid his head back on the bed and waited for the sun to rise...five long hour from now.

Early the next morning Arabella came into the kitchen to find Sirius sitting at the table, his head resting on folded arms.

"Trouble sleeping?" She joked softly.

"In order to have trouble sleeping one would have had to have actually slept." Sirius replied in an irritated grumble, never raising his head off the table. "But the more important point," he added in a lighter tone, "is that Harry slept like a log the rest of the night."

Arabella paused long enough to kiss the top of his head as she went by. "You would make a wonderful father, Sirius."

Sirius reached up and grabbed Arabella by the waist and pulled her about until she fell into his lap. "And you would make an equally wonderful mother, 'Bella." He replied, but quickly winced as his hold on her slackened slightly.

"Sirius?" Arabella asked with a note of concern. "Are you all right?"

Sirius gave her a small smile. "Neck cramp." He explained.

Arabella smiled as she wrapped her hands about the back of his neck and began to gently rub the muscles. "Oh, that's easy to fix."

Her efforts were almost immediately rewarded as Sirius laid his head back against her ministrations, practically purring his contentment.

The neck rub soon turned into a neck nibbling that was rapidly progressing into something more when Harry walked into the kitchen.

"Geez! Would it help if I wore a bell?" He exclaimed, covering his eyes and proceeding to walk through the kitchen with his arm stretched out in front of him.

"It might," Sirius replied as Arabella quickly wiggled out of his lap and straighten her robe.

She quickly grabbed Harry's wrist and guided him over to the table. "Very amusing, young man," She reprimanded him lightly. "What would you like?"

"To be assured of never coming downstairs and seeing that again." Harry answered her with a wide grin.

The comment earned him a light slap on the back of the head. "I'm not taking any cheek this morning," Arabella warned. "What would you like for 'breakfast'?"

"Eggs, please." Harry answered quickly, reaching for the cup of orange juice as Arabella handed it to him.

"Sirius?"

"Eggs are fine, 'Bella." He replied.

Just then a large Tawny owl flew in through the window Arabella had just opened, a large satchel stuffed with rolled up papers slung around her neck. She landed on the kitchen table, reached into the satchel, and pulled out a copy of the Daily prophet. The owl waited for Sirius to take the paper, then stuck out one leg with a small coin bag attached to it. Sirius quickly patted himself down, then turned to Arabella.

"'Bella," he asked with a slight touch of embarrassment, "Could you please? I haven't got so much as a single coin on me."

Arabella sighed with a smile and reached into a jar on the counter and pulled out several coins. As she dropped them into the owl's purse, the Tawny gave Sirius an appraising stare as she looked him up and down.

"What?" Sirius stated firmly at her. "My money's in my robes upstairs."

The Tawny looked him up and down once more with her haughty stare, then walked to the edge of the table and took off, soaring easily out the open window.

"Great," moaned Sirius as he shook out the paper and quickly hid behind it, "I've been looked down on by a paper owl. Perfect start to the day."

Harry giggled slightly.

The corner of the paper dropped suddenly.

"Did I miss something funny?" Sirius asked his godson.

Harry shook his head. "It just seems to me," he added, "that it's more like just the start of another normal day in the Black, Figg, and Potter household."