A/N: JKR owns all of these characters. I own the plot only. I'm of course
not rich and making no money off of this.
Chapter 2
Hello Hogwarts
The next four weeks were the most fun Harry had ever had in his life. He never thought that he would actually be glad that he was living on Privet Drive but now he was and he couldn't imagine anything better. This was better than being at the Weasleys. It was even better than being at Hogwarts. He was, for all intents and purposes, living with his godfather and he loved every minute of it.
Every morning at breakfast Harry and his great big black dog would go down to the Dursley's kitchen together. After one of the Dursleys would inevitably criticize Harry for bringing the dog, ("Get that ruddy mangy mutt out of here,") Sirius would growl at them and then resume his normal wizard form. After the first day, he would cover both of his ears waiting for the inevitable.
"EEEEEEEEEEEEKKK!!!!!"
Aunt Petunia would scream every time and most of the time she would faint from shock. Those were the days that Harry enjoyed the most, the times that she actually fainted from shock.
Instead of running to her, both of the male Dursleys would usually dive under the table in fright while Sirius and Harry would cackle with glee. Of course both Uncle Vernon and Dudley didn't fit under the table so Harry and Sirius would get to watch them jockey for position. Dudley was always the most frightened as his previous encounters with wizards had left him with a pig's tail --- on the first occasion --- and a tongue fit for a giant --- on the second occasion. Because of that, Dudley would usually get the jump on his dad and get the better hiding spot under the table.
After the morning ritual in the kitchen Harry and Sirius would really begin to have fun. Some days Sirius would enchant all of the cushions and pillows to attack the Dursleys for hours on end. On other days Sirius would make the three of them stay in the cupboard under the stairs. Some times Sirius would enchant the furniture and even the carpet to kick off Vernon, Petunia and Dudley so that they had to stand up for the entire day.
Harry was surprised to learn that Dudley was actually losing weight from all that he had been forced to endure. (Sirius had been enchanting cupcakes to hover just outside of Dudley's reach even when he chased them around the house.) On top of all the exercise he was getting (between the hovering cupcakes, being forced to stand up all day, and various other activities Sirius and Harry could dream up), Sirius had charmed some of the grapefruits in the house to force-feed themselves to Dudley. So even though Dudley could eat whatever else he could get his grubby little hands on, he was never hungry because he was always so stuffed with grapefruit.
Only after darkness fell and all of the shock and fun of that particular day would wear off, would Sirius finally use a memory charm to erase their memories so that he and Harry could do it all over again the next day.
Of all the many things in his life that he was grateful for (such as getting to know his godfather, discovering he was a wizard, and meeting the Weasleys) Harry was particularly grateful that his uncle had taken the next couple of weeks off for vacation --- Harry didn't want him to miss out on the fun. He especially didn't want to let Uncle Vernon off the hook.
There were no bounds to the fun they could have since Sirius was a fully- grown wizard and allowed to use magic. The ministry wouldn't get suspicious because they knew that Mr Weasley and even Albus Dumbledore would sometimes come to this house (and let's face it, Minister Fudge wasn't very concerned about Harry's safety since their last encounter). And if all that wasn't enough, Sirius had "procured" another wizard's wand who was extremely well respected in the community so that no one would challenge a little unusual magic --- if anyone even bothered to notice.
Some days Harry and Sirius would semi-torture the Dursleys more than others. He was impressed with his godfather's imagination and could easily imagine him becoming his father's best friend. He had learned many things in the last several days that he couldn't wait to teach to the Weasley twins.
Harry's favorite day of them all was when Sirius locked them all out of the house; he used magic to seal the doors and windows so that the only way in was for one of them to climb down the chimney. (Aunt Petunia was the only one that had fit so once again the two men had chivalrously elected her as the one to make the sacrifice.)
But most days weren't as eventful. They didn't want to push their luck and besides they were happier just getting the Dursleys out of the way and spending time getting to know each other. Harry was discovering new things about his godfather practically every minute.
He was finally starting to understand how this man was once his father and Professor Lupin's very best friend.
Sirius' torture of the Dursleys intensified after Harry had finally told him what it was like growing up on number four Privet Drive. Harry thought that Sirius looked madder when he found out all the years he spent living in the cupboard under the stairs than he had looked when he found Peter Pettigrew that night over one year ago in the Shrieking Shack. Harry was mortified to watch Sirius' face turn from outrage to a mixture of horror and pity when Sirius opened the door and looked inside the cupboard.
"Just forget it Sirius" Harry mumbled.
Sirius looked down at Harry. "Forget it? I think not. They locked you in here for weeks at a time or maybe more. They will pay for their actions. We should --- "
Harry didn't want to dwell on this. He'd rather just enjoy this time with his godfather. He decided to try again so he interrupted his godfather before he really got going on his tirade. "Please, Sirius."
One look into his godson's eyes made Sirius' resolve fade away. He decided to save the matter for another day in the distant (though not too distant) future and to leave Harry out of it.
Harry spent the next few days living his own version of Heaven. They would lock the Dursleys in one of the bedrooms leaving the rest of the house for themselves. Harry particularly enjoyed watching Sirius try to use Muggle gadgets that he had never seen before. There could be no doubt that Sirius had come from an entirely wizarding family. He couldn't even do the most basic of Muggle tasks.
"Stop laughing at me," Sirius demanded one early afternoon.
"I can't," Harry replied between fits of giggles, "you're too funny!"
So far Sirius had: put bread with peanut butter in the computer in an attempt to heat up his snack, used a can opener on a jar of pickles (not realizing the lid unscrewed), hexed the telephone when its ring startled him as well as the teapot when its whistle startled him, yelled at the television set to turn itself on (not knowing how to use the remote), set the microwave on fire trying to heat up cookies in an aluminum package, and flooded the bottom floor of the house (not knowing how to turn off the water in the bathtub).
Eventually though, even Harry had to admit (albeit grudgingly) that Sirius was starting to get the hang of living like a Muggle.
Just as Harry was starting to believe that this time with his godfather was real and not some wonderful dream, it all came abruptly to a sudden end.
One day in late July, Ministry of Magic wizards showed up unannounced on Privet Drive and it was only Aunt Petunia's nosiness that saved the day. Being locked in her bedroom, she mostly spent her free time staring out the window snooping on her neighbors.
Sirius and Harry heard her wailing through the locked bedroom door one afternoon. After sharing a quick glance, they ran up the stairs at top speed to see what had happened. Harry could feel a knot forming in his stomach as he reached the master bedroom containing the Dursleys. He was pretty sure he already knew what she was looking at. He was silently blessing the anti-apparition wards that he knew Dumbledore had put up long ago.
"More people like you!" she shrieked as they opened the bedroom door. Harry didn't need to look out the window to know precisely what was happening. He turned to his godfather. With a wink goodbye, and a quick pat on the shoulder, Sirius was reaching deep into his robes searching for something and then he was gone.
BANG
They heard the front door blow open and some shouting from downstairs.
The next thing Harry knew, the Ministry wizards had surrounded him and were bombarding him with questions like ---
"How long has Sirius Black been here?"
"Do you know where he went?"
"Did he threaten you?"
"What did Black want here?"
"Did he tell you where he was going?"
"Did he hurt you?"
"Did he mention You Know Who?"
"Did he go back to his master?"
Harry's head was spinning. Just as he was trying to decide how to answer these insulting and overwhelming questions a phoenix appeared in the room bearing a letter addressed to one --- Mr Harry Potter --- Middle of the Dursley master bedroom. He read it straight away.
Dear
Harry Potter,
I have grave news for you.
It appears that Sirius Black has
been sighted around your neighborhood.
I don't need to tell you the ramifications of that.
If he makes contact with you or if you sense anything
out of the ordinary, just hold wand hand up in the air, say
"Lackeone" and you will find yourself safe once again, if only
temporarily. With warmest regards, I remain your humble Headmaster.
Professor Dumbledore signed off with a smiley face and his customary signature.
If Harry didn't know better, he'd swear that the smiley face at the end of the note winked at him. Before he had time to think twice, he raised his wand hand into the air (thankful that he carried around his wand even though he didn't use it very often if at all in the summer) and said "Lackeone." He was only mildly surprised to realize that he was no longer on Privet Drive but rather --- in --- Hogsmeade.
As he appeared in a rather secluded section at the end of town, he realized that he was not alone. He was alongside the increasingly familiar black dog and, also unsurprisingly, the other person was the author of the note -- - Professor Dumbledore!
Once again, Harry's head exploded with tons of questions that he promptly voiced. "Where are we? Is everything ok? How did you two get here? How did I get here? Who was at the Dursley's house just now? How did they know about Sirius?" And on and on they poured out of his mouth before the Headmaster chuckled gently and put a stop to his questions.
"Now, now, I know you have lots of questions --- even more than I could have imagined," Dumbledore began holding his hand out in a gesture of mock surrender, "but let's get to Hogwarts and discuss this over a hearty meal, shall we?" Sirius and Harry, unable to get used to the usual summer starvation diet of carrots and grapefruit (that was what Aunt Petunia prepared every morning before Sirius and Harry went downstairs) as well as Hermione's sweets, didn't need telling twice.
Sirius entertained Harry on the walk up to the castle by chasing butterflies and trying to bark out a few popular songs. Harry was poking fun at his inability to carry any semblance of a tune until Sirius began nipping at his heels. Dumbledore, as usual, just seemed to be enjoying the company of his student and former student. Before long, the trio reached Hogwarts and sat down to eat and discuss matters at hand.
The Great Hall was completely empty except for three place settings at what was usually the Gryffindor Table. He didn't know how the Headmaster or the House Elves or whoever had known that three and only three people would be dining but he was glad for a chance to speak freely with Sirius and Dumbledore.
Once Harry sat down and starting eating all the delicious Hogwarts food, he had forgotten about all of his earlier questions. Dumbledore asked Harry and Sirius a few questions but all he got for his trouble was either a nod or a shake of the head or even the occasional grunt from one of the two wizards. Dumbledore chuckled and waited patiently commenting occasionally on the appetite of younger wizards (he had long since finished his supper).
"The House Elves will be most pleased to have you two staying with us I think. They have been complaining as of late that there hasn't been enough work to keep them occupied during the summers. I daresay that the two of you can rectify that or perhaps," Dumbledore continued with a chuckle, "Either or you alone could fill that void."
Harry and Sirius smiled at his comments but continued eating with ferocity. Sirius acknowledged his words with a quick wave of a drumstick earning him another of the Headmaster's chuckles. Dumbledore made more small talk but eventually fell silent when he found no takers. Soon they all three lapsed in to silence and it wasn't until both Harry and Sirius were working on their fourth plates that the conversation picked up again.
After chatting for a while, it became obvious to Harry that his Headmaster knew of his company this summer as well as his visitors at the end (as he had suspected all along but the Headmaster never gave up anything so you were never really certain about anything with him). Dumbledore really didn't answer any of Harry's questions about Voldemort and dark activity although he evaded them quite deftly without ever refusing to answer them. Sirius still wasn't talking much as he was too busy eating enough to make up for a year or two or even fourteen of nearly starving. Finally, when it was clear that Harry and Sirius were finished (at least were finished with the main courses), the food disappeared and was replaced with a scrumptious looking variety of desserts as well as clean plates and bowls.
Sirius laughed aloud for seemingly no reason at all. Harry glanced at him questioningly recalling something Hermione had once did to him when she suspected he might have gone insane.
Reaching one hand up to feel his forehead he asked, "What's going on Sirius?"
"Imagine you cousin's face if he could see this spread instead of his favorite Lean Cuisine Grapefruit Edition for supper."
Harry also burst out into laugher like his godfather. Even Dumbledore permitted himself a slight chuckle.
Harry and Sirius quickly entered into an ad hoc contest to see who could eat more pie and ice cream. By mutual consent, the Headmaster was the impartial judge.
"AAAAAUUUUUGGGGGGHHHHHHH!!!!"
Harry jumped to his feet. "What's wrong Sirius?"
"Ice cream headache," Sirius answered sheepishly while messaging his temples with both hands.
Harry guffawed into his bowl.
"It's nothing to laugh about," Sirius whined watching Dumbledore and Harry with a keen eye. In the end the pie and ice cream eating contest was declared a draw (Harry thought Dumbledore had called it in consideration of Sirius' health) and both young wizards decided that they wanted to go to the kitchens to congratulate the chefs.
Before they left the Great Hall, Dumbledore told Harry that he was to remain at Hogwarts with Sirius until term began. He told Harry that his old belongings (and his owl) from the Dursley's house would find their way here and that he and Sirius could go later to Hogsmeade to get his school supplies required for the upcoming year. Dumbledore wouldn't tell him exactly why.
Since they had rested for a few minutes, Harry and Sirius called for another plate of desserts. After the tray of sweet tarts had been emptied not once but twice, Dumbledore had just one more thing to say.
"Harry, strictly speaking, you're not supposed to know about this for another couple of weeks so please don't tell anyone on me but I thought that under the circumstances you might like to know ahead of time. Oh and by the by, I'd especially appreciate it if you didn't tell Professor McGonagall that you already know when she tells you later."
As was often the case, Harry had no idea what the elder wizard was talking about. As the Headmaster of The Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry turned to leave the Hall with the usual twinkle in his eye, he handed Harry his Prefect's badge for the upcoming year.
Sirius could only beam at Harry and think how glad he was to at least be here for this moment in his godson's life considering all the other precious moments that he had missed.
Harry was turning the badge over and over in his hands studying both sides. He just stared at the Prefect's badge for a few seconds before smiling slightly and looking up at Sirius.
"Wow. I didn't really expect to be made a prefect. After all, my Potions grade is dreadful. I suspect that Snape would fail me if Dumbledore didn't interfere. My Divination grade is usually bad too. The rest of my grades are good but not as good as Hermione's."
"Well Harry if Hermione Granger was the standard then Hogwarts would find itself very short on Prefects this year. You're well rounded. You play Quidditch. You have a good head on your shoulders. You have the respect of your classmates. You have top marks in Defense Against the Dark Arts and there was something else --- what was it --- it's on the tip of my tongue --- what could it be --- there was something --- what could it have been --- it's coming to me --- oh yeah --- you defeated Voldemort almost every year that you've been here. Congratulations Harry." Sirius was hugging Harry again. Although the feeling was unfamiliar, Harry found that he liked it a lot.
As they broke apart, Sirius noticed Harry examining the back of the newly acquired badge with his eyebrows knitted together. "What's wrong Harry?"
"It's no big deal. It's just that there's writing here on the back of the badge Sirius but it's too small and I can't make it out." Harry offered up the badge for Sirius to be able to see it.
"Oh is that all? I thought it was something important. Just set it down on the table and put an enlargement spell on it."
"You know," Harry began after smacking himself on the forehead, "Sometimes I think that you're smarter than you look." And then he quickly ducked as Sirius went to cuff him upside the back of the head.
After doing as Sirius had suggested, Harry realized that it was engraved with all the previous owners from the last 100 years. He scanned the names until he found the one he was looking for, "James Potter."
"My dad was a Prefect??!?"
"Haven't you heard that before Harry? He was made one in his sixth year. I think it was his OWL results that did it for him. Your mum and dad were Head Boy and Girl in their time."
"Yeah I guess I did know about the Head Boy and Girl thing I just never put it together enough to realize that they were Prefects too. I thought you didn't have to be a Prefect to be Head Boy or Head Girl."
"You don't I guess. Most folks are but it doesn't matter. But in any case James was made a Prefect at the beginning of our sixth year."
Harry didn't say anything. He stood there staring at the badge and fingering it over and over again.
"Harry, what's wrong?" Sirius asked not only because Harry had mumbled the last sentence he had spoken aloud but also because he was looking down at the floor rather dejectedly.
"Nothing."
"Come on Harry. You can't fool your godfather. I'm too smart." Sirius added that last sentence while wearing a huge grin on his face.
Harry finally smiled up at him and said, "It's just that I hate how little I know about my mum and dad. I think I know less about them than most of the staff does. Even Snape knows more about them than I do."
"Is that all that's wrong Harry? I thought it was something big. We can fix that easily. Do you want me to tell you some stories about them?"
"Yes please!" Harry was smiling from ear to ear. He couldn't believe he hadn't asked Sirius before. After all, they had had time on Privet Drive but Harry had never thought to ask.
"All right but first we need to get prepared."
"Prepared? Prepared how?"
Sirius smiled widely and called, "Follow me."
Sirius led Harry back to Hogsmeade so they could stock up on Butterbeer. On the way back to Gryffindor Tower they also stopped by the kitchens to load up on snacks. (Only Sirius went in because as much as Harry liked Dobby and the rest of the House Elves he didn't want anything to take time away from his godfather telling him stories about his parents.)
They spent the rest of the evening and well into the night talking about Harry's parents and the four Marauders. It was one of the best nights in Harry's life.
A/N – Please: it's my first day; tell me what you think both the good and the bad.
Chapter 2
Hello Hogwarts
The next four weeks were the most fun Harry had ever had in his life. He never thought that he would actually be glad that he was living on Privet Drive but now he was and he couldn't imagine anything better. This was better than being at the Weasleys. It was even better than being at Hogwarts. He was, for all intents and purposes, living with his godfather and he loved every minute of it.
Every morning at breakfast Harry and his great big black dog would go down to the Dursley's kitchen together. After one of the Dursleys would inevitably criticize Harry for bringing the dog, ("Get that ruddy mangy mutt out of here,") Sirius would growl at them and then resume his normal wizard form. After the first day, he would cover both of his ears waiting for the inevitable.
"EEEEEEEEEEEEKKK!!!!!"
Aunt Petunia would scream every time and most of the time she would faint from shock. Those were the days that Harry enjoyed the most, the times that she actually fainted from shock.
Instead of running to her, both of the male Dursleys would usually dive under the table in fright while Sirius and Harry would cackle with glee. Of course both Uncle Vernon and Dudley didn't fit under the table so Harry and Sirius would get to watch them jockey for position. Dudley was always the most frightened as his previous encounters with wizards had left him with a pig's tail --- on the first occasion --- and a tongue fit for a giant --- on the second occasion. Because of that, Dudley would usually get the jump on his dad and get the better hiding spot under the table.
After the morning ritual in the kitchen Harry and Sirius would really begin to have fun. Some days Sirius would enchant all of the cushions and pillows to attack the Dursleys for hours on end. On other days Sirius would make the three of them stay in the cupboard under the stairs. Some times Sirius would enchant the furniture and even the carpet to kick off Vernon, Petunia and Dudley so that they had to stand up for the entire day.
Harry was surprised to learn that Dudley was actually losing weight from all that he had been forced to endure. (Sirius had been enchanting cupcakes to hover just outside of Dudley's reach even when he chased them around the house.) On top of all the exercise he was getting (between the hovering cupcakes, being forced to stand up all day, and various other activities Sirius and Harry could dream up), Sirius had charmed some of the grapefruits in the house to force-feed themselves to Dudley. So even though Dudley could eat whatever else he could get his grubby little hands on, he was never hungry because he was always so stuffed with grapefruit.
Only after darkness fell and all of the shock and fun of that particular day would wear off, would Sirius finally use a memory charm to erase their memories so that he and Harry could do it all over again the next day.
Of all the many things in his life that he was grateful for (such as getting to know his godfather, discovering he was a wizard, and meeting the Weasleys) Harry was particularly grateful that his uncle had taken the next couple of weeks off for vacation --- Harry didn't want him to miss out on the fun. He especially didn't want to let Uncle Vernon off the hook.
There were no bounds to the fun they could have since Sirius was a fully- grown wizard and allowed to use magic. The ministry wouldn't get suspicious because they knew that Mr Weasley and even Albus Dumbledore would sometimes come to this house (and let's face it, Minister Fudge wasn't very concerned about Harry's safety since their last encounter). And if all that wasn't enough, Sirius had "procured" another wizard's wand who was extremely well respected in the community so that no one would challenge a little unusual magic --- if anyone even bothered to notice.
Some days Harry and Sirius would semi-torture the Dursleys more than others. He was impressed with his godfather's imagination and could easily imagine him becoming his father's best friend. He had learned many things in the last several days that he couldn't wait to teach to the Weasley twins.
Harry's favorite day of them all was when Sirius locked them all out of the house; he used magic to seal the doors and windows so that the only way in was for one of them to climb down the chimney. (Aunt Petunia was the only one that had fit so once again the two men had chivalrously elected her as the one to make the sacrifice.)
But most days weren't as eventful. They didn't want to push their luck and besides they were happier just getting the Dursleys out of the way and spending time getting to know each other. Harry was discovering new things about his godfather practically every minute.
He was finally starting to understand how this man was once his father and Professor Lupin's very best friend.
Sirius' torture of the Dursleys intensified after Harry had finally told him what it was like growing up on number four Privet Drive. Harry thought that Sirius looked madder when he found out all the years he spent living in the cupboard under the stairs than he had looked when he found Peter Pettigrew that night over one year ago in the Shrieking Shack. Harry was mortified to watch Sirius' face turn from outrage to a mixture of horror and pity when Sirius opened the door and looked inside the cupboard.
"Just forget it Sirius" Harry mumbled.
Sirius looked down at Harry. "Forget it? I think not. They locked you in here for weeks at a time or maybe more. They will pay for their actions. We should --- "
Harry didn't want to dwell on this. He'd rather just enjoy this time with his godfather. He decided to try again so he interrupted his godfather before he really got going on his tirade. "Please, Sirius."
One look into his godson's eyes made Sirius' resolve fade away. He decided to save the matter for another day in the distant (though not too distant) future and to leave Harry out of it.
Harry spent the next few days living his own version of Heaven. They would lock the Dursleys in one of the bedrooms leaving the rest of the house for themselves. Harry particularly enjoyed watching Sirius try to use Muggle gadgets that he had never seen before. There could be no doubt that Sirius had come from an entirely wizarding family. He couldn't even do the most basic of Muggle tasks.
"Stop laughing at me," Sirius demanded one early afternoon.
"I can't," Harry replied between fits of giggles, "you're too funny!"
So far Sirius had: put bread with peanut butter in the computer in an attempt to heat up his snack, used a can opener on a jar of pickles (not realizing the lid unscrewed), hexed the telephone when its ring startled him as well as the teapot when its whistle startled him, yelled at the television set to turn itself on (not knowing how to use the remote), set the microwave on fire trying to heat up cookies in an aluminum package, and flooded the bottom floor of the house (not knowing how to turn off the water in the bathtub).
Eventually though, even Harry had to admit (albeit grudgingly) that Sirius was starting to get the hang of living like a Muggle.
Just as Harry was starting to believe that this time with his godfather was real and not some wonderful dream, it all came abruptly to a sudden end.
One day in late July, Ministry of Magic wizards showed up unannounced on Privet Drive and it was only Aunt Petunia's nosiness that saved the day. Being locked in her bedroom, she mostly spent her free time staring out the window snooping on her neighbors.
Sirius and Harry heard her wailing through the locked bedroom door one afternoon. After sharing a quick glance, they ran up the stairs at top speed to see what had happened. Harry could feel a knot forming in his stomach as he reached the master bedroom containing the Dursleys. He was pretty sure he already knew what she was looking at. He was silently blessing the anti-apparition wards that he knew Dumbledore had put up long ago.
"More people like you!" she shrieked as they opened the bedroom door. Harry didn't need to look out the window to know precisely what was happening. He turned to his godfather. With a wink goodbye, and a quick pat on the shoulder, Sirius was reaching deep into his robes searching for something and then he was gone.
BANG
They heard the front door blow open and some shouting from downstairs.
The next thing Harry knew, the Ministry wizards had surrounded him and were bombarding him with questions like ---
"How long has Sirius Black been here?"
"Do you know where he went?"
"Did he threaten you?"
"What did Black want here?"
"Did he tell you where he was going?"
"Did he hurt you?"
"Did he mention You Know Who?"
"Did he go back to his master?"
Harry's head was spinning. Just as he was trying to decide how to answer these insulting and overwhelming questions a phoenix appeared in the room bearing a letter addressed to one --- Mr Harry Potter --- Middle of the Dursley master bedroom. He read it straight away.
Dear
Harry Potter,
I have grave news for you.
It appears that Sirius Black has
been sighted around your neighborhood.
I don't need to tell you the ramifications of that.
If he makes contact with you or if you sense anything
out of the ordinary, just hold wand hand up in the air, say
"Lackeone" and you will find yourself safe once again, if only
temporarily. With warmest regards, I remain your humble Headmaster.
Professor Dumbledore signed off with a smiley face and his customary signature.
If Harry didn't know better, he'd swear that the smiley face at the end of the note winked at him. Before he had time to think twice, he raised his wand hand into the air (thankful that he carried around his wand even though he didn't use it very often if at all in the summer) and said "Lackeone." He was only mildly surprised to realize that he was no longer on Privet Drive but rather --- in --- Hogsmeade.
As he appeared in a rather secluded section at the end of town, he realized that he was not alone. He was alongside the increasingly familiar black dog and, also unsurprisingly, the other person was the author of the note -- - Professor Dumbledore!
Once again, Harry's head exploded with tons of questions that he promptly voiced. "Where are we? Is everything ok? How did you two get here? How did I get here? Who was at the Dursley's house just now? How did they know about Sirius?" And on and on they poured out of his mouth before the Headmaster chuckled gently and put a stop to his questions.
"Now, now, I know you have lots of questions --- even more than I could have imagined," Dumbledore began holding his hand out in a gesture of mock surrender, "but let's get to Hogwarts and discuss this over a hearty meal, shall we?" Sirius and Harry, unable to get used to the usual summer starvation diet of carrots and grapefruit (that was what Aunt Petunia prepared every morning before Sirius and Harry went downstairs) as well as Hermione's sweets, didn't need telling twice.
Sirius entertained Harry on the walk up to the castle by chasing butterflies and trying to bark out a few popular songs. Harry was poking fun at his inability to carry any semblance of a tune until Sirius began nipping at his heels. Dumbledore, as usual, just seemed to be enjoying the company of his student and former student. Before long, the trio reached Hogwarts and sat down to eat and discuss matters at hand.
The Great Hall was completely empty except for three place settings at what was usually the Gryffindor Table. He didn't know how the Headmaster or the House Elves or whoever had known that three and only three people would be dining but he was glad for a chance to speak freely with Sirius and Dumbledore.
Once Harry sat down and starting eating all the delicious Hogwarts food, he had forgotten about all of his earlier questions. Dumbledore asked Harry and Sirius a few questions but all he got for his trouble was either a nod or a shake of the head or even the occasional grunt from one of the two wizards. Dumbledore chuckled and waited patiently commenting occasionally on the appetite of younger wizards (he had long since finished his supper).
"The House Elves will be most pleased to have you two staying with us I think. They have been complaining as of late that there hasn't been enough work to keep them occupied during the summers. I daresay that the two of you can rectify that or perhaps," Dumbledore continued with a chuckle, "Either or you alone could fill that void."
Harry and Sirius smiled at his comments but continued eating with ferocity. Sirius acknowledged his words with a quick wave of a drumstick earning him another of the Headmaster's chuckles. Dumbledore made more small talk but eventually fell silent when he found no takers. Soon they all three lapsed in to silence and it wasn't until both Harry and Sirius were working on their fourth plates that the conversation picked up again.
After chatting for a while, it became obvious to Harry that his Headmaster knew of his company this summer as well as his visitors at the end (as he had suspected all along but the Headmaster never gave up anything so you were never really certain about anything with him). Dumbledore really didn't answer any of Harry's questions about Voldemort and dark activity although he evaded them quite deftly without ever refusing to answer them. Sirius still wasn't talking much as he was too busy eating enough to make up for a year or two or even fourteen of nearly starving. Finally, when it was clear that Harry and Sirius were finished (at least were finished with the main courses), the food disappeared and was replaced with a scrumptious looking variety of desserts as well as clean plates and bowls.
Sirius laughed aloud for seemingly no reason at all. Harry glanced at him questioningly recalling something Hermione had once did to him when she suspected he might have gone insane.
Reaching one hand up to feel his forehead he asked, "What's going on Sirius?"
"Imagine you cousin's face if he could see this spread instead of his favorite Lean Cuisine Grapefruit Edition for supper."
Harry also burst out into laugher like his godfather. Even Dumbledore permitted himself a slight chuckle.
Harry and Sirius quickly entered into an ad hoc contest to see who could eat more pie and ice cream. By mutual consent, the Headmaster was the impartial judge.
"AAAAAUUUUUGGGGGGHHHHHHH!!!!"
Harry jumped to his feet. "What's wrong Sirius?"
"Ice cream headache," Sirius answered sheepishly while messaging his temples with both hands.
Harry guffawed into his bowl.
"It's nothing to laugh about," Sirius whined watching Dumbledore and Harry with a keen eye. In the end the pie and ice cream eating contest was declared a draw (Harry thought Dumbledore had called it in consideration of Sirius' health) and both young wizards decided that they wanted to go to the kitchens to congratulate the chefs.
Before they left the Great Hall, Dumbledore told Harry that he was to remain at Hogwarts with Sirius until term began. He told Harry that his old belongings (and his owl) from the Dursley's house would find their way here and that he and Sirius could go later to Hogsmeade to get his school supplies required for the upcoming year. Dumbledore wouldn't tell him exactly why.
Since they had rested for a few minutes, Harry and Sirius called for another plate of desserts. After the tray of sweet tarts had been emptied not once but twice, Dumbledore had just one more thing to say.
"Harry, strictly speaking, you're not supposed to know about this for another couple of weeks so please don't tell anyone on me but I thought that under the circumstances you might like to know ahead of time. Oh and by the by, I'd especially appreciate it if you didn't tell Professor McGonagall that you already know when she tells you later."
As was often the case, Harry had no idea what the elder wizard was talking about. As the Headmaster of The Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry turned to leave the Hall with the usual twinkle in his eye, he handed Harry his Prefect's badge for the upcoming year.
Sirius could only beam at Harry and think how glad he was to at least be here for this moment in his godson's life considering all the other precious moments that he had missed.
Harry was turning the badge over and over in his hands studying both sides. He just stared at the Prefect's badge for a few seconds before smiling slightly and looking up at Sirius.
"Wow. I didn't really expect to be made a prefect. After all, my Potions grade is dreadful. I suspect that Snape would fail me if Dumbledore didn't interfere. My Divination grade is usually bad too. The rest of my grades are good but not as good as Hermione's."
"Well Harry if Hermione Granger was the standard then Hogwarts would find itself very short on Prefects this year. You're well rounded. You play Quidditch. You have a good head on your shoulders. You have the respect of your classmates. You have top marks in Defense Against the Dark Arts and there was something else --- what was it --- it's on the tip of my tongue --- what could it be --- there was something --- what could it have been --- it's coming to me --- oh yeah --- you defeated Voldemort almost every year that you've been here. Congratulations Harry." Sirius was hugging Harry again. Although the feeling was unfamiliar, Harry found that he liked it a lot.
As they broke apart, Sirius noticed Harry examining the back of the newly acquired badge with his eyebrows knitted together. "What's wrong Harry?"
"It's no big deal. It's just that there's writing here on the back of the badge Sirius but it's too small and I can't make it out." Harry offered up the badge for Sirius to be able to see it.
"Oh is that all? I thought it was something important. Just set it down on the table and put an enlargement spell on it."
"You know," Harry began after smacking himself on the forehead, "Sometimes I think that you're smarter than you look." And then he quickly ducked as Sirius went to cuff him upside the back of the head.
After doing as Sirius had suggested, Harry realized that it was engraved with all the previous owners from the last 100 years. He scanned the names until he found the one he was looking for, "James Potter."
"My dad was a Prefect??!?"
"Haven't you heard that before Harry? He was made one in his sixth year. I think it was his OWL results that did it for him. Your mum and dad were Head Boy and Girl in their time."
"Yeah I guess I did know about the Head Boy and Girl thing I just never put it together enough to realize that they were Prefects too. I thought you didn't have to be a Prefect to be Head Boy or Head Girl."
"You don't I guess. Most folks are but it doesn't matter. But in any case James was made a Prefect at the beginning of our sixth year."
Harry didn't say anything. He stood there staring at the badge and fingering it over and over again.
"Harry, what's wrong?" Sirius asked not only because Harry had mumbled the last sentence he had spoken aloud but also because he was looking down at the floor rather dejectedly.
"Nothing."
"Come on Harry. You can't fool your godfather. I'm too smart." Sirius added that last sentence while wearing a huge grin on his face.
Harry finally smiled up at him and said, "It's just that I hate how little I know about my mum and dad. I think I know less about them than most of the staff does. Even Snape knows more about them than I do."
"Is that all that's wrong Harry? I thought it was something big. We can fix that easily. Do you want me to tell you some stories about them?"
"Yes please!" Harry was smiling from ear to ear. He couldn't believe he hadn't asked Sirius before. After all, they had had time on Privet Drive but Harry had never thought to ask.
"All right but first we need to get prepared."
"Prepared? Prepared how?"
Sirius smiled widely and called, "Follow me."
Sirius led Harry back to Hogsmeade so they could stock up on Butterbeer. On the way back to Gryffindor Tower they also stopped by the kitchens to load up on snacks. (Only Sirius went in because as much as Harry liked Dobby and the rest of the House Elves he didn't want anything to take time away from his godfather telling him stories about his parents.)
They spent the rest of the evening and well into the night talking about Harry's parents and the four Marauders. It was one of the best nights in Harry's life.
A/N – Please: it's my first day; tell me what you think both the good and the bad.