Chapter Five: One Step Forward, Two Steps Back
Sirius had never claimed to have the gift of foresight, but his prediction about the unholy hour at which Remus would wake him up could not have been more precise. From his point of view, anyway.
It was shortly past eleven when Remus entered their common bedroom. Daylight already filtered through the curtains for hours, but Sirius had dealt with that problem by burying his head under a rather large amount of pillows. Nevertheless, Remus could still hear him snoring softly.
Remus smiled. Somehow, he regretted waking Sirius when he was so peacefully asleep. He guessed that his old friend was not blessed with untroubled sleep every night. But on the other hand Sirius would sleep until doom's day if nobody woke him, and Harry was already waiting for his godfather to get up. Not that the teenager had explicitly *said* so, but Remus had taken the liberty to interpret his repeated and increasingly impatient glances towards the staircase as a sign that Harry was waiting for Sirius to wake.
Slowly, Remus sneaked towards the bed. He needn't have worried about moving without making a sound because Sirius wouldn't have heard him in his present position even if he had stomped towards the bed, but somehow sneaking make him feel so much more mischievous.
"Sirius. Time to get up."
No reaction. Well, at least now nobody could accuse him of not having tried the nice way.
The next thing he tried was pulling away Sirius' blanket. A rather short-lived struggle ensued, but though Sirius didn't wake up in the process he eventually gave up his grip on the blanket and instead snuggled closer into the pillows. And as Remus saw no chance to break his friend's iron grip on those, he had to resort to more drastic means.
With both hands he gripped the mattress and pulled it up abruptly. Sirius rolled sideward, and halfway towards the floor he woke up. His blue eyes widened in surprise, his arms automatically spread while his hands searched for something to hold on to, but before he even had the slightest chance to realize what was going on he had already hit the floor with a lout 'thud'. Remus winced a bit. If the impact on Sirius' head had been as hard as it had looked, then it must have been a rather unpleasant way for the dark haired man to discover that he had not been trapped in one of those dreams were you felt like falling, but that he had rather been indeed falling out of his bed.
"Ouch!"
Remus crossed his arms over his chest, a smug grin on his face, and watched as Sirius tried to find out what had just happened.
"Good morning, sunshine."
Remus knew exactly how much Sirius hated people who were cheerful 'so early' in the morning, something Remus couldn't understand at all. He loved being cheerful, especially in the morning. Okay, maybe he liked it even better since he had found out that it was one dead sure way to get the better of Sirius, but that wasn't the main reason. Well, maybe today it was. And besides, Sirius' definition of 'early in the morning' stretched until what most normal people called mid-afternoon.
Sirius looked at Remus and took in the smiling face and the entirely confident and happy way in which he was standing in the room, as if being awake before noon was the best thing in the world. He glared at his old friend and then he tried to find out exactly how he had ended up on the floor. Seeing his upturned mattress, Remus standing behind it, a smug grin on his face, Sirius got a very good idea of how exactly he had fallen down. He settled on glaring some more at Remus.
The werewolf only laughed and threw one of the pillows at Sirius' head.
"Don't
look at me as if I had tried to kill you, Padfoot. It's nearly noon and I thought you would want to spend
some time with your godson. Who, I might add, seems to usually get up between
eight and half past eight, just so that you know."
Sirius groaned and let his head fall back down at that prospect. Too late he
remembered that he was lying, not on his mattress, but on the bare floor of
Remus' bedroom. Too late to prevent his head from knocking quite painfully
against the floorboards. For the second time that morning.
Remus laughed and turned to leave the room.
"Get up, Padfoot."
Sirius called something after his friend which he surely wouldn't repeat in mixed company. Then again, he might as well have – this *was* Sirius, after all.
For
some moments longer Sirius remained lying on the rather cold floor of Remus'
bedroom and contemplated his possibilities. Problem was, he didn't really have
any alternatives except from getting up. Lying on the floor was uncomfortable,
and if he went back to bed, Remus would waste no time in waking him up again,
and Merlin only knew what cruelties he'd have prepared then. Sirius distinctly
remembered one time at school when a cauldron full of cold water had been
emptied over his head and he immediately sat up. Remus would have no bad
conscience upon repeating this procedure, but Sirius rather wanted to spare
himself that trouble.
He was awake anyway by now.
Slowly, Sirius climbed to his feet and made his way over towards the bathroom. Maybe the world wouldn't look as cruel as it did now if he only took a hot shower. After a bit of rummaging around in Remus' wardrobe he had found himself a clean shirt to wear today, and true to his friend's ever-prepared nature, Remus had laid out fresh towels for him in the bathroom. Well, Sirius had worse starts of the day before, many of them. Twelve years worth of them, but he preferred not to think about that now. Azkaban seemed ages away from here, in Remus' house in broad daylight.
But Sirius knew that it would only take a wrong word, the faint smell of sea-wind or merely nightfall to bring him closer to that dratted place again, closer than he ever wanted to be.
After he had taken the shower, Sirius indeed felt a lot better, ready to face the day that awaited him. At least he wasn't tired anymore, if that already counted for something.
Downstairs, he was greeted by the smell of coffee. Sirius had to suppress the onslaught of memories that threatened to surface as he remembered the many occasions when the smell of freshly made coffee had been one of the first things he'd noticed in the morning. It seemed there were some things Remus, too, had not forgotten over the course of the years.
But with a quick shake of his head, Sirius dismissed all the memories. If there was anything he really didn't want to deal with at the moment, then it was thinking about the last time Remus and he had been living under one roof. Not here, not now, not anytime soon if Sirius had a say in it.
He quickly entered the kitchen and found himself greeted by his broadly grinning godson. Sirius couldn't help but smile back. If simply his presence made Harry this happy, then maybe getting up earlier during the next days would be worth it. No, surely it would be worth it. Though Sirius could not imagine how exactly Harry managed to get up that early without being dead tired. After all, the kid obviously had not had extremely much sleep himself, not after that nightmare last night. But Sirius guessed that asking Harry this was not the world's best idea at the moment, so he went over towards the kitchen table, ruffled his godson's hair as a greeting, and sat down.
Sirius deliberately ignored the pointed glares Remus threw in the direction of his – or rather Remus' own – shirt and instead poured himself a cup of coffee.
"Morning,
Harry. Doing alright?"
The teenager shrugged and turned his attention away from the parchment in front
of him for a moment.
"I'm fine."
Again, Sirius didn't really believe Harry, but again, he decided to keep silent about it until a moment to talk about it would present itself. To be honest with himself, Sirius didn't know how he should recognize a good moment to talk to Harry about what seemed to be bothering the kid, he only hoped he would.
"What are you doing there?"
Sirius gestured at the parchment that was lying in front of Harry, some notes scribbled on it in what appeared to be quite a listless way. Again, Harry shrugged.
"That
History of Magic essay I was talking about yesterday."
Sirius nodded and went over towards the fridge to make himself some breakfast.
"Ah, I see. Urgh the Ugly, Simon the Smurf and one of their entertaining Goblin Rebellions."
Harry looked at him as if he was a bit out of his mind, then turned his eyes at Remus.
"I thought you said it was Dad who had made those up."
Remus chortled.
"He did. But…well, some of us weren't as creative as he was, so we had to use his ideas."
Harry nodded, understanding on how his father and his father's friends had managed to get through school. Come to think about it, not much unlike he and Ron were doing in Divination, now.
"I guess the fact that there were four of us writing about goblins named Urgh and Simon, Binns thought that they had really existed." Remus shrugged. "I really don't know, but somehow we managed to get through seven years of History of Magic that way. Not that I want to give you ideas, of course."
Sirius waved around dramatically with his toast.
"No, if you need those kind of ideas, come to me."
Remus glared at him.
"You want to encourage Harry to cheat?"
Sirius lifted his hands, palms up, in the universal 'Can't help it'-gesture.
"I'm not his professor, after all. And – correct me if I'm wrong – neither are you."
The words had left Sirius' mouth before he had even thought about them, an old habit that had created problems more often than Sirius cared to remember.
He saw Remus flinch visibly at the remark and mentally slapped himself. Remus had loved teaching at Hogwarts and though he had resigned instead of being fired, Sirius knew how much he regretted it. Well, he *should* know how much his friend missed teaching at Hogwarts, and he should have kept his big mouth shut about it. But now it was too late, and he had said it.
Sirius looked up at Remus and tried to read from his face ho much his remark had hurt his old friend, but if there was something Remus had learned to the degree of perfection then it was not letting his face show his emotions. Remus looked completely indifferent and busied himself with preparing tea. On the first look, nothing appeared to be wrong with him, but Sirius knew that he had either hurt or annoyed him.
"No, you're right. I'm not his teacher."
Probably both, hurt *and* annoyed, if the tone of Remus' voice was any indication. And if Remus was still anything like he had been as a teenager, his voice was mostly the only indication of his current mood. Sirius sighed. This was just great, just as if everything that could possibly go wrong did just that.
Harry watched the two men with concerned interest. He had already had a strange feeling about them yesterday, just as if they weren't comfortable in each other's presence, and today this gut feeling only turned stronger. But Harry didn't understand it, not in the slightest. From what he knew about Sirius and Remus, he would have guessed that they enjoyed each other's company, especially now that they knew the whole truth about what had happened all those years ago. But exactly the opposite seemed to be the case, and Harry didn't know what to make of that development.
Of course, it was not his place to interfere into Sirius' and Remus' affairs, but he couldn't help and be curious.
For a while the kitchen was silent, the only sounds being the boiling water on the stove and the rustling of a newspaper page being turned. Sirius was reading the sports page of the Daily Prophet while Remus had buried his face in the news pages. Both men didn't look up from their reading for quite some time, until Remus finally took the boiling water from the stove, poured it into the teapot and retreated into his study. Harry followed him with his eyes, then looked at Sirius. If his godfather had seen Remus leave, he didn't show it, and neither did he react to Harry's questioning gaze, so the teenager decided not to pursue the matter any further. Maybe Sirius and Remus had been fighting about something yesterday evening, who knew. He'd have to wait and see how those two behaved.
Sirius finished his breakfast and his paper and only then he looked up again, smiling at Harry.
"Okay, kiddo. Any plans for today? We could go swimming later, if I'm not much mistaken I've seen a lake on my way over here."
Harry nodded.
"Sounds fine to me. But I want to get started with this essay, so maybe we could wait till a little later?"
Sirius shrugged.
"Whatever suits you, Harry. It's not as if I had a tight schedule to keep."
He smiled at Harry and got up, putting his dirty plate into the sink. For the millionth time since he had escaped from Azkaban, Sirius wished he had a wand. Once or twice on his flight he had considered stealing one, but in the end always had decided against it. It wasn't the act of stealing as such that had bothered him, though it wasn't something he'd liked to have done, but the fact that somebody else's wand would not have worked well for him, anyway. Small spells were no problem for a good wizard, no matter which wand they used, but more complex spells or even duelling could be ridiculously dangerous with a wand that didn't fit exactly. Now, Sirius considered himself quite a good wizard, without bragging about his skills, but he wasn't stupid. A wand wasn't of any use for him if he couldn't completely rely on it to function, and because somebody else's wand would never fall into that category, Sirius had given up the idea of stealing one some time ago.
But unfortunately, Sirius couldn't just go to Olivander's and get himself a new one.
A knock on the front door interrupted his musings. Confused, he looked up at Harry, silently asking whether his godson maybe knew who this could be. But Harry seemed just as puzzled as Sirius himself was, so he guessed that Remus hadn't told him to expect a visitor, either. From the hall, they could hear Remus leave his study.
"I'll get it."
Sirius changed into Padfoot, just in case that somebody decided to visit who didn't need to see that Remus was hiding escaped convicts in his house. Which would be the bigger part of the wizarding community, with only very few exceptions. But then again, the greatest part of the wizarding community didn't usually visit Remus. Sirius positioned himself in the kitchen doorway, whether consciously or not placing himself between Harry and whoever it was who had knocked at the door.
They both could hear the front door being opened and then Remus said something. Another voice answered and Sirius immediately changed back with a relieved sigh. A moment later, Remus came into the kitchen, followed closely by Albus Dumbledore. Sirius stepped towards him and shook his hand.
"Good morning, Albus."
"Ah,
Sirius. Good morning. It's good to see that you've arrived here safely. And
quite early, if I'm not mistaken."
Sirius nodded.
"I arrived yesterday morning. I was a bit lucky on my journey here, was able to spare some time."
Remus returned into the kitchen with the pot of tea and gestured Dumbledore to sit down.
"Please Albus, take a seat."
Dumbledore complied and sat down on the opposite side of Harry. With a twinkle in his eyes, he greeted the teenager.
"Good morning, Harry. Ah, doing your homework, I see. Very responsible way to spend the holidays, though I have no doubts that Sirius will know how to distract you from your work if necessary. I trust this arrangement is after your liking?"
Harry nodded.
"Yes, Professor. I had no chance to thank you for
all that you've done for me."
Dumbledore just raised his hand and gestured for Harry to stop.
"That's perfectly alright, Harry. Now, the reason
why I'm here, besides making sure that nothing is amiss here, are the emergency
arrangements."
Remus sat down next to Dumbledore with his own cup of tea and watched his
former headmaster attentively. Hearing the word emergency, Harry's eyes had
widened remarkably.
"Emergency? What emergency?"
"Nothing to worry about. Right now, only we here in this room know that you are here, Harry. But that doesn't mean we can afford to be lax concerning the precautions. If Voldemort finds out that you are here, we need to have a plan how to get you out of here if the house is attacked."
Harry nodded at Dumbledore's words, but there was a notion of doubt in his face. If it wasn't for him, this would not be necessary. Sirius and Remus could very well live without all those precautions, if he wasn't staying here.
Dumbledore, however, didn't notice Harry's sudden change of mood, but pulled two wooden boxes out of his robe pocket and put them on the table.
"There is an anti-apparition ward around the house in a one mile radius, in addition to the wards you have already set up, Remus. It can only be taken down from my office. You should keep your fireplace password-guarded from now on and change the password every day. Just to make sure.
And in case something goes wrong despite all precautions we've taken, and should the improbable case of an attack occur, I've prepared two portkeys."
He indicated the two boxes he had placed on the kitchen table.
"As Hogwarts castle is warded against portkeys, at least if they're used to travel into the castle, they are set for Hogsmeade. They should transport you right in front of the Three Broomsticks, so that you can floo over to the castle. My advice would be to keep one portkey here and one upstairs, but that's for you to decide, of course."
Remus and Sirius both nodded, and seemed to think for a moment. Then, without saying a word, Sirius pushed one of the boxes over to Harry, who frowned in confusion upon this.
"What…?"
Remus interrupted him before he could even finish his question.
"Put that one in your bedroom, Harry. On the bedside table, or somewhere else where you can reach it easily at night."
Harry put a hand on the box, but shook his head.
"But…why? I mean, if the portkey is in my room, how are you going to get out if something happens?"
Sirius caught Harry's gaze and held it, his face unusually serious.
"Harry, those portkeys are mainly for *your* protection. Remus and I are much more experienced in case of an attack, or should it come to duelling. If something happens, it's our job to hold them off until you are safe, and then we'll come after you. I want you to keep that in mind. If something happens, I want you to take one of the portkeys and go to Hogwarts as fast as possible. Do not delay yourself because of Remus and me, okay?"
"But…"
Sirius shook his head.
"No buts this time, Harry. Promise me."
For a long moment, Harry stared at his godfather, then finally he nodded.
"Okay, I promise."
"Thank you, Harry."
The teenager still didn't look as if he liked the idea of taking one of the portkeys solely for himself, but by now he knew better than to argue with Sirius. His godfather and Remus seemed to agree on this – as strange as this sudden harmony might seem after this morning's tension – and Harry didn't stand a good chance in this argument. He might not like it, but he had no other chance as to comply.
Remus meanwhile placed the second portkey on the kitchen counter, leaving the decision where to place it for a later moment. It was Sirius who finally broke the silence.
"Albus, what exactly happened at the house of Harry's relatives? Remus told me about the attack, but I have to admit that I don't really understand everything that happened."
Dumbledore nodded and slowly stroke his beard.
"Unfortunately Sirius, neither do I. Fillius and I have spent all day yesterday searching for an explanation, but there wasn't much we could come up with. All we know is that the wards that should have alerted the Ministry and me had been disabled before that night. As to the how and when, we can't say yet. They haven't been breached, they've been disabled, just as if they had been taken down by me. Only that *I* did no such thing."
The old man shrugged and for a short moment Dumbledore looked his age.
"Either Voldemort has some very good charms
experts in his ranks, or – and that's what I fear – he himself has grown far
more powerful than we all thought. He didn't go to Privet Drive himself, but
somehow he managed to take those wards down nevertheless. And if blood
protection magic doesn't stop him anymore, it's about time that there are
wizards around to actively protect Harry."
Harry had not understood everything his headmaster had said, but one of
Dumbledore's last sentences had made him look up.
"Is it…could it be that Voldemort was able to breach the wards because he took my blood when…"
Harry's voice broke and he didn't finish his sentence, but the three other men in the room immediately knew what he was talking about. The rite during which Voldemort had resurrected himself by the use of Harry's blood. The night of the Third Task, just after he had ordered the death of Cedric Diggory.
Dumbledore sighed.
"That at least is the only explanation that I have at the moment. At the Dursleys, you were protected by the strong wards, by protective magic based on blood relations. But now that they don't seem to be an obstacle for Voldemort anymore, we need to actively protect you. Sirius and Remus are more capable of protecting you than your aunt and uncle are, and you should not worry too much about it. As I said, nobody knows you are here, so there is no reason for you to worry."
Harry nodded, though his face told quite clearly that he wasn't entirely convinced of what Dumbledore had said. As much as Harry enjoyed living with Remus and Sirius, and as much better as it was compared to living at Privet Drive, Harry didn't like the way what his headmaster had said sounded.
People were in danger because he was around. That as such was nothing new, but before he had either been at Hogwarts or at the Burrow, both surrounded by wizards, or at Privet Drive with his aunt and uncle, protected by strong wards. Only now, with Dumbledore's portkeys lying here in front of him and the knowledge that they were needed because of him did Harry become aware of just how much danger his presence created for Sirius and Remus. And especially Sirius really didn't need more worries, he had enough to do with taking care of himself.
Harry's big problem was that he didn't really have any other place to go, so staying here with Sirius and Remus was his only possibility.
He was, however, pulled from out of his thoughts by Dumbledore, who obviously didn't have finished what he had come here for. The ever-present sparkle in his eyes grew even stronger when the older wizard turned towards Sirius.
"However, Sirius, you will surely agree that you are not sufficiently equipped for any kind of magical activity."
Sirius frowned a little, but then slowly nodded.
"If you want to remind me that I don't have a wand, then you're right. Something which I've had to deal with every day for the past thirteen years."
Sirius didn't continue, but for a moment turned his eyes onto the surface of the kitchen table and rubbed his neck with his hand, eyes distant and deep in thought. Though neither Remus nor Harry had spent much time with Sirius over the past year, both instinctively knew what kind of thoughts had to be going through his head at the moment. Neither of them would ever be able to understand what exactly Sirius had been through in Azkaban, but both knew that whatever it had been, it would never leave Sirius again. And, as this moment proved, it didn't take much to bring the memories back.
Dumbledore as well did not interrupt Sirius' moment of losing himself in thought, and indeed it took only a couple of moments before Sirius raised his head again, rubbed across his neck once more and smiled slightly at his former headmaster.
"There's no chance for me to get my old wand back, is there?"
Dumbledore shook his head.
"No, unfortunately not. It was snapped directly after you were arrested."
Sirius nodded, his face grim.
"Pity. It was a good wand, I really liked it."
Upon remembering his old childhood wand, Sirius' expression turned to a fond, but far-away smile. Remus couldn't help but smile along as he remembered all the mischief they had caused during their time at school, and even Dumbledore could not hide his smile behind the grey curtain of his beard.
"Oh yes, I remember it, too. Dragon heartstring, if I'm not much mistaken, and of dark wood. Good for Transfiguration, which caused a couple of Minerva's grey hairs if I might let you in on this. And I am still convinced that it was exactly this wand that turned the hair of the Slytherin Quidditch team red and gold when they won the cup in your second year."
"Third year, and they had earned it. Snape had cheated against Hufflepuff." Sirius automatically interrupted. A moment later he realized that he had walked straight into Dumbledore's trap, but at least he had the decency to blush upon it. Dumbledore just waved him off.
"You only confirmed what everybody believed straight from the beginning, Sirius. And besides, it's long lapsed by now. But, to get back to the starting point of this conversation. When I was thinking about the protection for this house, I remembered your wand and what happened to it. Well, to make a long story short, I paid my old friend Mr. Olivander a visit and he happened to have something stored that matched my description nearly perfectly."
Remus had guessed for a couple of minutes already where this conversation was leading, and now that Dumbledore pulled a slim and long box out of another pocket of his robes, he couldn't help but grin at his friend's dumbstruck expression. It seemed as if Sirius really had had no clue what Dumbledore had been leading at. Even now, as his former headmaster pushed the box over in front of him, he just stared at it and shook his head.
"But…Albus, is that what I think…?"
Dumbledore smiled.
"Just open it, Sirius."
Which Sirius did, with somewhat shaking hands. Inside the package was a dark wand, polished and shining new. Sirius looked at it like a child on Christmas Day.
"That's…"
"12 ½ inches, ebony with a dragon heartstring. Excellent for transfiguration and duelling. It's very close to your old wand and should work reliably. Don't be so shy, try it out."
Sirius felt like an eleven year old boy in Olivander's shop again as he carefully took the dark wand from the box and lifted it. It even looked just as his old one had done, minus a couple of scratches in the wood that had come with years of usage and duelling. When he took it in his hand, warmth seemed to radiate from it and some random sparks left the tip of the wand.
"It really feels similar to my old one."
Sirius shook his head in disbelief. Only half an hour ago he had thought about how much he missed having a wand, and now he even held one that seemed to fit him nearly perfectly. He turned his eyes at Dumbledore again.
"Albus, I can't ever thank you enough. I don't know what you told Olivander, but this is…this is perfect. Thank you."
Dumbledore smiled and nodded.
"No need to thank me, Sirius. Really not.
Especially with your legal status it would be suicidal to walk around without a
wand. You might need to practice a little, though, to get a feeling for
it."
Sirius laughed dryly.
"Albus, after thirteen years without a wand I'd say I need to practice before I think about trying anything more difficult than 'Lumos', just so that I won't accidentally blow up Remus and Harry when I first try to use this wand. But it should not take too long, at least I don't hope so."
All of a sudden, Sirius jumped to his feet and turned towards the door, grabbing Harry's wrist on the way.
"Come on, kiddo. Let's go outside and do some magic."
"Erm, Sirius, I'm not really allowed to do magic, you know…"
Sirius just waved him off.
"The Ministry won't even realize that, not with all the wards around here. And you don't need to do anything if you don't want to."
Shrugging, Harry allowed himself to be dragged away.
In the doorway, however, Sirius once more turned around.
"Thank you, Albus."
He didn't only mean the wand, and everybody in the room knew that. Dumbledore just smiled.
"As I said, Sirius, you're perfectly welcome.
I'll drop by in a couple of days again."
"Bye Albus."
"Good bye Sirius, Harry."
"Bye Professor."
Harry didn't manage to say anything more, because Sirius had already dragged him out of the kitchen and towards the back door, leaving Remus and Dumbledore alone in the kitchen.
They were already in the back garden when Harry managed to free himself from Sirius' grasp.
"And now?"
Sirius sat down on the grass and scratched his head with the wand, thinking very hard as it seemed. Then he shrugged.
"I guess I'll try all the spells I can remember. It's been quite some time since I've done any magic, so I guess there will be a lot of things I have to practice."
Harry nodded.
"Wouldn't it be better if you had a spell book?"
Slowly, Sirius nodded.
"Yeah, I guess. But I don't really know how useful yours would be, fourth year level isn't exactly what I'll need when it comes to duelling Death Eaters. Hmmm…I think Remus should have a spell book we could use."
Sirius already wanted to get up when Harry gestured him to remain seated.
"Don't bother, I wanted to fetch my broom anyway. I can ask Remus for the book, while you get acquainted with that wand."
The last part was said with a rather large grin into Sirius' direction, and before his godfather could protest, Harry had already closed the door behind himself.
On his way through the living room, Harry heard Professor Dumbledore and Remus talk in the kitchen, and though it wasn't something he usually did, something told him to slow down and listen to the voices that filtered into the living room.
"…that he'll be in his office between ten and eleven and would appreciate it if you came then."
Dumbledore's voice was followed by Remus' laugh.
"I think Severus used a different choice of words when he told you that."
"He did indeed, but I'd rather not repeat what exactly he said."
"Albus, it might sound unbelievable, but by now I know which of Severus' words I have to take literally and which not. He's not all that hard and cynical as he likes to present himself."
Dumbledore chuckled lowly.
"Whom are you telling this, Remus. But I'll tell him that you'll drop by for the Wolfsbane tomorrow morning."
A pause followed and Harry had already started to move towards the door when Dumbledore spoke again, his voice suddenly without all former mirth.
"How are you doing, Remus?"
Harry frowned. Why should Dumbledore ask Remus this question, especially in
such a serious tone? From what Harry knew there wasn't anything except from the
approaching full moon that should be a reason for concern. But judged from the
lengthy pause that followed this question, Remus knew that Dumbledore had not
only asked about his health. After some moments, he answered.
"I'm fine, Albus."
Harry could nearly hear Dumbledore shake his head.
"Somehow, I don't believe you, Remus. You're not comfortable with the arrangements, and that's obvious."
Harry swallowed hard. Was Dumbledore talking about him? Somehow, that was the only answer Harry could think of, but if Remus didn't want him and all the problems he dragged along with himself around, then why had he agreed to have him here?
He heard Remus sigh behind the door, and for some more long moments that was the only sound emitting from the kitchen.
"It's…it's just difficult, Albus."
"I'm sorry if I caused you problems by what I asked of you, Remus."
"No, no Albus, it's alright. I knew that it would not become easy, and I can understand your reasons for asking me to have him here. It's the only place where he is really safe right now, and I had even been looking forward to it. But now that he's here…I don't know what it is, but it's difficult."
"I'm sorry, Remus."
A chair was scratching across the tiled kitchen floor as its occupant, presumably Remus, got up and as Harry guessed leaned against the counter.
"It's not your fault, Albus."
Remus' voice sounded muffled, as if he was holding his face in his hands.
"But there's nothing you can do about it, Albus. Right now, it's all about getting through the rest of the holiday. If we're lucky for once in our lives, then we'll catch the rat sometime soon and Sirius gets declared innocent. Once this happens, it'll get a lot easier. As soon as he's free, he and Harry will have their own life to live."
He laughed harshly.
"You see Albus, it's no real problem. All we need is a miracle or two, and it'll all get better."
"You know that if there is anything I can do…"
"There is nothing you can do, Albus. That's something I'll have to go through myself. But thank you, nevertheless."
"I should be going now. I'll drop by once more before full moon, and if you need something else, please let me know."
Harry heard Dumbledore and Remus get up and chose this moment to stride towards the door and into the kitchen as if he hadn't been eavesdropping for the past five minutes. As a result, he nearly ran into Remus, but that only underlined the impression Harry wanted to give. Remus smiled at his clumsiness.
"Harry, can I help you any? Or did Sirius' magic practice scare you away?"
Harry looked up at Remus and from the genuine smile he gave Harry, the teenager guessed that Remus was unaware that his confession to Dumbledore had been overheard. Which didn't do anything to lessen the painful knot that had formed in his stomach during the past minutes. Remus didn't want him here, didn't feel comfortable with him around, but nevertheless he bore with his presence. Because of what, Harry could not guess. Maybe Remus felt it was his duty towards Sirius and, even more, towards his long deceased school-time friend who had happened to be Harry's father.
Remus' smile didn't falter, but Harry was surprised that his obvious confusion and self-consciousness upon Remus' presence didn't seem to show on his face. Or maybe it did, and Remus was just too preoccupied with his own thoughts on that matter to realize it.
Suddenly, Harry realized that his godfather's friend was still waiting for an answer.
"Erm…no, I was just going to fetch my broom. But we were wondering whether you had a spell book he could use for practice? He said mine wouldn't help him any."
Remus smiled and nodded.
"I guess it wouldn't. But I should have something for the two of you,
maybe even something for duelling practice, then you wouldn't need to just sit
by and watch. And it could be helpful training for you as well. I'll look for
them, I'll just bring Albus to the door."
"Erm…thank you, Remus. Bye Professor."
"Bye Harry."
And before any of the two men could say something more, Harry dashed upstairs, his mind still buzzing with the conversation he had overheard. If Remus was as uncomfortable with his presence as the conversation he had overheard made him guess, then Harry asked himself why he was still so friendly towards him. Maybe he was doing Sirius a favour, for the sake of their old friendship?
Harry knew that he would not find an answer to all those questions, not right now and possibly not anytime soon. He'd maybe know better if he watched Remus a bit more closely during the next days, now that he knew what his former Professor was really thinking. It might give him the answers he was seeking, but Harry wasn't so sure whether he would like those answers.
It was strange, really. For most of the past two years, he had thought of Remus Lupin just as his teacher, even though he had known that the werewolf had been one of his father's best friends. Only now Harry was slowly beginning to see him as everything else that he was: another link to the past, to the parents he had lost. Remus had been his father's friend, he was his godfather's best friend and he was somebody who might have become something between Harry's friend and maybe even some kind of parental figure for him.
Harry hadn't expected that Remus' rejection would hurt him as much as it seemed to do, not after such a short time. But matter of fact was that it did hurt him. A lot.
By the time Harry had reached the top of the stairs, he forced himself to stop pondering on these thoughts. They only hurt, and right now he didn't want to deal with that. Later, tonight maybe, when he was alone in his room, but not now.
Upstairs in his room he grabbed his Firebolt from the corner and ran downstairs again. Again, he nearly ran into Remus as the older man left his study and tried to enter the kitchen.
"Oops, sorry Remus."
Remus smiled and waved him off.
"That's alright. Here, I found a spell book for Sirius to use. I'm sure I also have some on duelling, I'll bring one out as soon as I find it."
"Thanks, Remus."
Not staying longer than necessary in his former professor's presence, Harry dashed outside again. Sirius was standing at the far end of the garden, his wand pointed at Remus' herbal garden in a very threatening way. At least Harry would have considered it a threat had it been his nurtured and cared for plants. Upon seeing Harry leave the house, Sirius gave up his attempt on whatever spell it had been he had tried and turned towards him.
"There you are. I had already thought Remus had held you in his study, forcing one of his lengthy lectures about his books on you."
Sirius smiled as he said this, so Harry guessed that he wasn't all that serious about what he said. But he surely would not tell his godfather that he had indeed been kept by Remus and what he had been saying. No way would he tell Sirius that he had been eavesdropping.
"Erm…no, but it took Remus some moments to find the book. He said he'd also find us something on duelling."
"Ah, good. It might be good for you to learn some more average duelling as well, just in case. But maybe we should wait until I'm a bit more practiced in wand usage again."
Sirius took the book from Harry and began leafing through it, after a quick search settling on one chapter to start with. For the rest of the afternoon, Sirius went through the contents of the book, trying spell after spell from basic transfiguration up to rather advanced concealment and defence spells.
For a while Harry watched him, surprised that re-learning all those spells didn't seem to be all that difficult for his godfather. Truly, sometimes it took him long moments to remember the correct pronunciation, or the right wand-movement, but once he had filled those gaps performing those spells was no problem for him. Harry didn't know how this was with really tricky spells, but if today's progress was any indication, he would soon be back to his old standard. Whatever that had been, Harry mused.
While Sirius was occupied with his re-found ability to perform magic, from time to time also with getting lost in his thoughts when a particular spell evoke memories of times in the past when he had used it, Harry watched him attentively. After an hour or so he remembered the Firebolt that was lying next to him and flew around the yard and garden in lazy circles.
Usually, flying helped him clear his mind when something was bothering him, but today it did not. Remus' words echoed in his mind again and again, he just could not forget what he had heard. Harry was so lost in his thoughts that it took him some moments to realize that Sirius was shouting and waving from the ground, trying to get his attention. Harry shook his head as if to clear his thoughts and flew his broom towards the ground again.
Sirius smiled when he saw the confused look on Harry's face.
"You have to be the first person I've ever seen daydreaming while flying a broom."
Harry grimaced and scratched his head.
"I guess I sort of drifted off up there. Flying helps me to think."
Sirius nodded.
"Yeah, I know. Your father always did the same when we were still at school."
He gestured Harry to put away his broom and pointed at the basket to his feet with the wand.
"Remus went to Hogwarts for his Wolfsbane, and from how I know him he won't be back till early afternoon. He said something about spending some time in the library while Madam Pince is on holiday. He made us something to eat and I thought we could maybe go for a walk and have a picnic later on. Remus said the area is really secluded so we shouldn't meet anybody who might recognize me, so I thought it would be a good idea."
Harry smiled, long and genuinely. Being away from the house, from Remus and all those weighing thoughts about this morning's events sounded like a brilliant idea to him, and he told his godfather as much.
"Alright then, let's go."
Sirius grabbed the basket and the both set off towards the field that began behind the garden fence.
Whatever they had planned, it definitely didn't end out in a nice long walk. For maybe twenty minutes they were strolling around the fields and the small forest in the proximity of Remus' cottage, but soon the smell of roast beef from Remus' picnic basket made them search for a good stop for a break. They found it on the slope of a small grassy hill. Nearly all the way on top of the small hill stood a large old oak tree, and Sirius and Harry lost no time in plundering the basket as soon as they had sat down. They both kept relatively silent during their lunch, and also afterwards.
For some long moments both enjoyed the warm but not unbearably hot summer afternoon in companionable silence, legs stretched out in front of them and their backs against the sturdy trunk of the old oak tree.
Their walk seemed to have ended here seemingly in mutual agreement, and both Harry and Sirius knew that they had not only come here to enjoy the view of the area around them.
Sirius had realized, of course, that ever since this morning something seemed to be bothering Harry, something that went deeper and was far more acute than whatever it was that was causing the teenager's nightmares.
Sirius had deliberately waited for the right moment before, the right moment to ask his godson what was weighing on his mind, but now that this moment seemed to have come he asked himself what good it would do.
Whatever it was that Harry was seeking, be it comfort, assurance, guidance or advice and help in finding solace, Sirius didn't know whether he could give it. What did he know about all this, he with all the wrong decisions, false advice, hurt and, in the end, dead friends who had trusted him in his past? Sirius himself had been wrong far more often than he had been right in the past, and if he allowed James' son to make similar mistakes it would be another position on his long list of failures. He'd be damned before he allowed that to happen.
"Sirius?"
"Hmm?"
"Can I ask you something?"
"Sure."
"But I want an honest answer."
Inwardly, Sirius sighed. Even if it was 'merely' the truth Harry was asking of him, he didn't know whether he could give his godson that, as little and natural as it might seem. Not the whole truth at least, if Harry was asking about him and Remus. Not now, not anytime soon. Heck, he himself didn't know what it was about him and Remus at the moment, how could he tell Harry? He only hoped that it was something entirely different the teenager would be asking.
"Sure."
Harry seemed to hesitate for a moment even despite Sirius' reassurance, but it seemed to be because he was searching for the right words more than anything else, because after a moment he spoke.
"This is all because of me, isn't it?"
Sirius frowned.
"What do you mean?"
Harry sighed.
"The anti-apparition wards, the passwords, the portkeys, Dumbledore, you
and Remus worrying about emergency plans, *that*."
Sirius nodded slowly, then, remembering that Harry didn't look at him and therefore could not see him, spoke aloud.
"Yes, it is. It's for your safety, mainly. But why do you ask that?"
Nervously, Harry fidgeted around with some stands of grass in his hand. Instead of answering his godfather's question, he posed one of his own.
"Why do you do it?"
Sirius frowned and turned slightly, so that he was able to look into Harry's
face. The teenager didn't seem to notice, he had his gaze locked straight ahead
on something Sirius could not see.
"Why we do take all these precautions? You know that, Harry. We want to keep you safe. And I'll gladly learn a couple of passwords and keep a portkey nearby if it helps keeping you safe."
Harry shook his head.
"No, not that. Not really. What I mean is, why do you and Remus keep me here? It causes only problems and inconveniences, it brings both of you in even more danger than you're in without me. And…well, I mean, neither of you really knows me.
Fifteen years ago, you promised your best friend to take care of his child in the unlikely case that neither he nor Mum would be able to, you maybe babysat me a couple of times, and fifteen years later you find yourself in the danger of becoming Voldemort's next victim just because of me, a person you don't know except from all those memories from over a decade ago.
Why do you do that? You don't need to keep your promise to Dad, not under these circumstances. I'm sure that when he asked it of you, he didn't have a future as the number one on Voldemort's killing list in mind for me."
Sirius did his best to keep his surprise and shock from showing on his face, but it was a tough struggle to do so.
"You think that I only try to take care of you
because I promised James? That I do it because I consider it a duty? Consider
*you* a duty?"
He was not able to keep the tone of surprise and disbelief out of his voice,
but it seemed to be lost on Harry anyway. Harry only shrugged and still refused
to look at Sirius, but he nodded. For some long moments, silence settled
between the two of them while Sirius searched his mind for a possible answer.
His first instinct was to tell Harry that what he had asked was complete and utter nonsense, to tell Harry that he was no duty for him, that he was…and then he didn't know how to continue. Only now did he realize that he had never thought about his reasons for why he would and did go any lengths to protect Harry. It had just seemed natural to him to do so, he had never thought he'd need to voice a concrete reason for it.
"It isn't as simple as that, Harry. Yes, I do see it as my duty to protect you, because that's what I promised James and Lily. Which is a vow even you can't relieve me of."
Sirius saw Harry's shoulders slump down just a tiny fragment, and though the teenager didn't show any other reaction Sirius knew that his words had hurt Harry. But he wasn't finished yet with what he wanted to say.
"I can only imagine what it has to look like from your point of view. For as long as you can remember, you've been dealing with everything on your own, simply because you didn't have anybody to turn to. And all of a sudden, at the age of fourteen, you're confronted with not one, but two practically complete strangers who tell you that they care about you, just because they knew your parents and just because they knew you when you weren't even old enough to talk properly."
Harry nodded in silent agreement.
"But there is more to it, and though I can only speak for myself here, I think Remus feels similar about it.
Let me tell you one thing, Harry: You are badly mistaken if you believe that neither your father, your mother nor I knew what the possible consequences could be when they named me your godfather. The case that neither James nor Lily would be there to take care of you anymore wasn't as unlikely as you might think it was. Your father was on top of Voldemort's most wanted list for a couple of months shortly after you were born, that's why they went into hiding in the first place.
James knew that Voldemort and the inner circle of the Death Eaters would have loved to see him dead, he knew that they were actively trying to hunt him down. He had arrested too many of their most important members to be ignored, and after he and his unit managed to catch the Lestranges, two of Voldemort's favourite and also most dangerous Death Eaters, it seemed to become more urgent and personal for Voldemort to kill him. Both your parents and I knew very well that if I agreed to become your godfather, and if I promised them to take care of you should something happen to them, that it was something that was very likely to happen. That's why they asked me to do it, that's why they took precautions for that case in the first place.
Harry, I didn't become your godfather because I thought it would be nice to have a little kid around to baby-sit from time to time, a kid whom I could spoil on his birthdays and on Christmas but about whom I would not have to care or worry otherwise.
I became your godfather because I knew, because I had
seen with my own eyes, how much your parents loved you. To James you were the
single most important person in the whole wide world, and he'd have given anything
to keep you safe from harm. When he asked me to become your godfather, he
placed the care for your wellbeing in my hands for the case that he died, and I
vowed to James that I would do no less than he would have done to care for
you."
Sirius looked up at his godson, but Harry still refused to meet his eyes.
"Harry, I promised my oldest and best friend whom I loved like a brother to take care of the one person who meant more to him than anybody else in the world. I promised him because I knew how important it was for him to know that you were taken care of. And whether you like it or not, I'll fulfil that vow to James or I'll die trying. I won't go away, even if you tell me to."
Before he continued, Sirius scratched his head, and once more messed up his ponytail in the process.
"And all that I've said so far makes it still
seem as if I try to take care of you because I feel I owe it to a dead
friend."
Again, Harry nodded. Again, without looking at him.
"But the reason why it's more than just a sense of duty for me is…well, let's say that it took me only a couple of meetings with you to realize why you were so special to your parents.
Harry, within *days* after your birth I fell for you, and I fell hard. We all did. It didn't take long until everybody, Remus and me included had hopelessly fallen in love with you. There were times when Remus and I were trying to *force* James and Lily to go out, just so that we could baby-sit you. Lily was constantly making fun of us, because we found a reason to 'just drop by' every day. You were just as important to me and Remus as you were to Jamie and Lily. We all loved you, and we still do. We wanted to keep you safe because we couldn't stand the thought of you being hurt, and that has remained just the same until today."
Harry just shook his head, still staring straight ahead. His refusal to look at Sirius was slowly angering the older man.
"I'm not a baby anymore, Sirius. What you've said
might be right about the child that I was then, but I'm nearly fifteen years
old now. Fourteen of which you haven't seen me, Remus hasn't seen me. I've
grown up, I'm not a small toddler anymore. So how can you say that it's still
the same like back then for you? You don't know me, don't know what kind of
person I've become. Do us all a favour and don't mix up your idealized memories
of the good old times with the present, that won't work."
Sirius was taken aback by that response. He had thought that Harry was
searching for reassurance, was waiting for him to tell him how much he truly
cared, but he had not been prepared for a teenager who wanted to hear that
there was no reason for Sirius at all to care for him. But that was what Harry
wanted to hear, at least it seemed to be the case at the moment. Sirius was
torn between the urge to hug Harry and to never let go, and to grab his
shoulders and shake some sense into him. In the end, he did neither because he
guessed that Harry would not have appreciated either alternative. So again
Sirius settled on the verbal approach.
"You're right that I didn't know you until we
slowly got to know each other over the course of the past year. We still don't
know each other well. But I guess I know you well enough to tell you that
you're a lot like James, and sometimes you remind me so strongly of Lily that
it's close to being scary."
Sirius saw that Harry wanted to say something, but he held up his hand and
gestured him to stop.
"No, let me finish. That you're like your parents isn't what I wanted to tell you. Truly, you remind me of them, and not only because you look so much like James. But though I can find a lot from your parents in you, there's also a lot which doesn't remind me of them at all. A huge part of you is…well, it's just *you*. It's what *you* have experienced over the past fourteen years, what influenced *you* and what made *you* the person you are today. And it's that part I'm interested in.
I've already known a James Potter and a Lily Potter, I don't need to try and find them in somebody else. What I want to know is who Harry Potter is, what kind of person the small kid I was so in love with has become. It's *you* I'm interested in and not the memory of your father, Harry.
I want to get to know you, I want to catch up on everything I missed when I could not be there for you as I promised to be. That is the more important reason why I can so easily accept the minor inconveniences your presence might cause."
Harry didn't stare at some point far off anymore, which at least was an improvement, but by now he had begun to find his hands seemingly extremely interesting. His voice was very low as he spoke.
"And what if you don't like the person you
discover?"
Deciding that they had played enough question and answer for today without
really looking at each other, Sirius put a hand on Harry's shoulder. As he had
expected, this movement made the teenager turn his head, and one look on
Harry's face told Sirius that he was struggling to keep his inner turmoil in
check. Sirius smiled at him in what he hoped was a reassuring way and squeezed
his shoulder slightly.
"Don't worry about that, kiddo. I think I like that person very much. It might be easier to show you, though, if you would only let me in."
Green eyes bore into blue ones, and Sirius just hoped that he had gotten through to Harry. Though he doubted it. Sirius might not have been very experienced when it came to raising a teenager, but he wasn't dumb, either. Fourteen years of neglect couldn't be made forgotten by some warm words and a hand on the teenager's shoulder. When Harry didn't answer, but also didn't take his eyes off his godfather, Sirius decided that it was time to break the silence.
"It would already be a start if you didn't shut me out anymore. You don't need to feel that you have to make out everything on your own, you know?"
Harry nodded, albeit slowly, then he tore his gaze away from Sirius and leaned back against the tree trunk, his hands subconsciously drumming a rhythm on his thighs.
"May I in turn ask you a question, Harry?"
Harry hesitated for a moment, then nodded. It wasn't as if he could stop Sirius
from doing so, anyway.
"Alright."
"And you promise to be just as honest as I was?"
Harry swallowed, but nodded again.
"Why did you ask me that question? Why do you think that Remus and I - and yes, I did realize that you ware talking about *both* of us - just have you here because we think it's our duty?"
Harry didn't answer that question at first. He saw no way to tell Sirius that he had been eavesdropping on what Remus and Professor Dumbledore had been talking about. And even if he told his godfather that he had overheard that conversation - after all, it hadn't *really* been his fault that he had heard it, only that he had stayed for as long as he had done - it might have consequences Harry didn't want to provoke.
If Sirius believed him, then he'd surely tell Remus about it, ask him to explain his behaviour. Then Remus would think that Harry was sneaking around and overhearing his private conversations, only to tell their contents straight to Sirius. And his godfather would be on Remus' side, or - even worse - he'd be angry with Remus. And if there was something Harry really didn't want then it was causing even more problems for the two adults. Especially since they *had* already been behaving strangely yesterday. No, there was only one condition under which he could tell Sirius about what had been bothering him.
"Harry?"
Harry sighed and looked at Sirius' shirt, not daring to look up any further, let alone his eyes.
"Only if you promise me that you won't tell Remus about it."
Sirius frowned at this, but after a moment's hesitation he nodded.
"Alright."
Harry took a deep breath and tried to collect himself.
"Earlier, when I went into the house to get the spell book and my broom, I...I happened to overhear Professor Dumbledore and Remus while they were talking. I didn't mean to, honestly, but once I started listening to them, well, I just didn't stop. Remus...well, he didn't say it directly, but he said that he wasn't comfortable with the way things are at the moment, though he had believed he would in the beginning. That for him it was all about getting through the holiday for now, and that he hopes Wormtail will be found soon so that you can take care of me on your own."
Sirius sighed and closed his eyes, for the moment left speechless.
"Fuck."
Then he hit the back of his head against the tree
trunk a couple of times, as if to underline his point.
It took him maybe half a minute to collect himself enough to speak again.
Harry watched his godfather curiously, but didn't dare to interrupt his thinking. He had said his part, now it was up to Sirius to do or say something. When he finally did so, it absolutely wasn't what Harry had expected.
"Harry, though I can only guess what exactly Remus and Albus have been talking about, I *know* that he wasn't talking about you when he said that. Harry, Remus likes you. A lot. There's just no reason for him not to want to have you around. I know that for a fact."
Harry frowned.
"But then who was he talking about?"
Sirius raised his eyebrow and sighed.
"Well, I guess he was talking about me."
In his initial shock at that response, Harry didn't even realize that there was a slight note of disappointment and hurt in Sirius' voice when he said that.
"About *you*? But...why? I mean...I always thought you were...why?"
While Harry was desperately trying to process this latest piece of information, the little wheels inside of Sirius' head were turning at full speed as well, even if for much different reasons. Harry would want to know why, and while Sirius knew that he couldn't tell him the whole truth just yet, before he himself knew what their present situation was, he also knew that Harry hated being told half-truths and part-lies. Well, in this situation it couldn't be helped, Sirius only hoped that the teenager would understand it once he finally got to know what had once been between Remus and Sirius all those years ago. He just had to understand why Sirius was so reluctant to talk about it at this point of time.
"Why? Well Harry, there are still a lot of things Remus and I need to talk about. We didn't have any personal contact ever since that night in the Shrieking Shack over a year ago, and ever since then there have only been sporadic letters exchanged between us. We still need to once and for all talk about...well, about everything that happened all those years ago."
"That you suspected each other of being the traitor?"
Sirius nodded.
"Yes. That and the whole story of the Secret Keeper switch, how Peter could betray us so easily, why we came as far as suspecting each other, but never told each other openly of that suspicion, why I went after the rat that night instead of staying and proving my innocence, why Remus believed I was guilty."
Sirius breathed deeply.
"Basically we both know the answers to all these questions, we just need to speak them out, I guess. To finally chase away all those ghosts from the past. I think that's why Remus feels uncomfortable with the situation. At least that's why I do."
Harry nodded.
"And you can't talk about it because I am here."
It wasn't a question, but Sirius resolutely shook his
head.
"No, you're not to fault for anything. Once reason surely is that I've
only been here for slightly more than a day. The other is that we're both too
scared to make the first step. It's ridiculous, really, but it'll be alright
given time."
He looked up and grinned at Harry.
"Don't worry, kiddo. We won't ruin your entire holiday with being moody around each other."
"That's not the point, Sirius. I just wished there was something I could do."
Sirius shook his head and waved him off.
"No, that's something Remus and I have to make out on our own. But don't worry, we will soon. I'll see to it. You really don't need to worry yourself about something that doesn't have anything to do with you."
Harry shrugged again, showing that though he was still not completely convinced of what Sirius had told him, but that he grudgingly agreed his inability to do something to help at the moment.
Sirius looked at the sky for some moments, then he lifted himself off the ground.
"Let's leave, Harry. It's early afternoon, and if we still want to go swimming we should leave now. It's still a bit of a walk to the lake."
He stretched out his hand to the still sitting Harry and pulled him to his feet.
"The lake is within the wards?"
Sirius shrugged.
"I guess so. I don't think it was farther away than a mile, and even if it is, we'll feel the signatures of the wards when we're about to cross them. And if it is outside of the wards, then I guess Remus will have to live with us turning his back garden into a swimming pond."
He ruffled across Harry's hair and set off down the small hill, not leaving Harry any chance but to follow. His godson willingly complied, the prospect of a nice swim in a lake exactly what he needed to make his day.
