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Chapter 2: Settling In

Harry settled in quite quickly in the house of his father's childhood. He felt a bit awed by the size of it all. Even looking round at this house, Harry felt slightly out of place, that he was standing in the house, knowing this was where his father had grown up. He could hardly believe it. All this time it had been here…wherever here was.

On the first evening Harry found some belongings and went rummaging round the attic. There were clothes and old spell books; cauldrons, practically everything that was needed in a Wizarding home, however the one thing Harry hadn't countered on was seeing a ghost.

He had been rummaging through an old box when someone had drifted through the floor beside him. He let out a shout of shock and confusion for the spirit resembled the looks of his father, but slightly older and few less features of James.

Harry stared wide-eyed at him, as did the spirit.

"James?" the spirit asked.

Harry looked totally shocked but then got his act together. He shook his head. "I'm not James; I'm Harry."

It was this that made the spirit look confused. "I don't remember my grandson being named Harry…or was he? I don't remember. I haven't seen him in years."

Harry gasped. This ghost was his great-grandfather but why hadn't he passed onto the other side like his parents and grandparents. He stammered: "I'm Harry Potter, James' son." He hoped that this statement would make the ghost realise this.

The ghost turned its eyes on Harry identifying each feature that he recognised. "Yes…the hair…so like James…and Christopher. You must be. There's no mistake. Definitely…"

Harry nodded. "You don't know what happened then?" he asked attentively.

"No," the ghost replied, "where is James?"

"He's dead," Harry said, a lump in his throat formed, "He was killed by Voldemort when I was a year old."

If the ghost could have paled, Harry was sure he would've done, however the ghost eyes widened. "He couldn't have been. He was such a sweet boy. He didn't deserve it."

"Excuse me?" Harry asked, "Who exactly are you? Why aren't you passed on?"

The ghost looked at Harry. "I am Harold Potter. My son is Christopher and his son is James, your father. I didn't pass on because I was afraid of death. I didn't want to leave the world so I willed myself to stay and watch over the Potter's. Obviously I have been unable to do so." He looked sadly at Harry. "I must go."

Harry watched enthralled as the ghost left the attic. He was all but stunned.

"Sirius," Harry asked, "did you know that a ghost lived here?"

Sirius looked up from scanning the Daily Prophet. Harry had not said anything to him about the ghost until that morning, and though he was pleasantly surprised, he was not shocked either. "Harold is still here?"

"You know him?" Harry said, his eyes widening.

"Yeah, he was here when James was a kid. Remember I used to come to this house with James a lot over the holidays. I avoided my family the best I could."

"What was he like? I mean, when I saw him last night, he thought I was James, but then I told him that James was dead and I was his son. I don't think he could take it in."

Sirius sighed. "Harry, Harold is a ghost. He didn't pass on; he was afraid of death. He watched your father grow up, got attached to him, and you, Harry, he doesn't know who you are. He never new you existed. He was bound to react badly to the news. I'm sure he'll come around. He has lots of advice when you need it."

Harry nodded, understanding. He took out his wand and conjured up some breakfast, and sat down at the table, picking up a piece of toast and buttering it, followed by Jam. "What's on the front page?"

His Godfather held up the paper. "Us."

The front page of the Daily Prophet had two separate photos. One was of Sirius after the trial smiling happily and the other was of Harry, looking a bit lost. Both pictures moved either winking or waving. The headline was in big, bold letters and would catch anyone's eye if they stared in that direction: BLACK WINS CUSTODY OF POTTER BOY.

Harry read through the article, his grin widening. This is what he read:

Yesterday afternoon the custody case of Harry Potter was held. Since his parents death Harry Potter, 'the-boy-who-lived' has been forced to live with his Muggle relations who despise magic. Shortly after the conviction of Peter Pettigrew, and the freeing of Sirius Black, it was said that Black was planning on gaining custody for Harry Potter until he was eighteen.

The custody trial was held and the opinions of Sirius Black and Harry Potter were analysed. Potter's Muggle relations declined to comment as no one knows where they are. The Minister of Magic ruled in Black's favour and has now become the official guardian of Harry Potter.

"I feel that these two people have been through so much that they deserve a chance to get to know each other," says Mr Arthur Weasley, acting Minister of Magic. "It is time that the magical community listened to Albus Dumbledore. Not paying attention has cost us many lives already in this war."

We witnessed yesterday an outraged crowd of Witches and Wizards alike as they attempted to overrule the ruling. It seems that some of the community do not see how any good to come of this.

Aramanta Muffin commented: "I cannot believe for one instant that that man is innocent. He shouldn't be allowed custody of a child like that! Especially if the parent in question was once a Death Eater!"

More information inside…Reported by Ellis Parker

Harry was laughing by the end. "How can they think that you are a Death Eater?"

Shrugging Sirius answered. "I guess its because of Bella. They all know that she is one, why not count me as one to? Actually I'm not bothered. All that matters to me is that I get to finally keep my promise to James: let you have a proper home for once."

Harry couldn't help but smile.

As the first few days went by Harry noticed a change in his Godfather. Sirius was far more lively and bouncy then he had ever seen him. Far more talkative and even began telling Harry about all the wonderful times he had been in the house and it had ceased to amaze him. Harry learnt more about his father then he had ever done before in his life in the space of a few hours!

On his fifth night Harry was visited by a strange dream but he didn't know whether it was a memory or a dream or just one of Sirius' stories. The dream in question was about James and Sirius. They looked young – probably around fifteen – and both of them were happy and laughing. Though Harry had never seen a picture of them as young as that he somehow knew that as the dream progressed it was a memory. When he woke he lay in bed smiling. Seeing another memory like that pleased him. Just like at Godric's Hollow, he could see memories of what had happened in this house years ago. The house was alive.

When he went down to breakfast he found Sirius waiting for him. He looked really pleased about something.

"What have you got know?" Harry asked.

"Dumbledore came and brought this over." He led Harry over to a small door that led under the floorboards. Harry descended into the darkness, lighting his wand. Sirius followed.

As he got to the bottom, Harry felt his heart begin thumping. "Is that what I think it is?" he breathed.

Standing upright was a Veil. Harry turned questioningly at Sirius. "I didn't know a Veil was hidden here."

"It's not. It was originally at Godric's Hollow, at a place where Dumbledore knew where it was. He thought it would be best if it was brought here. That way you don't have to alternate between two locations. You can visit James and Lily whenever you want."

"I'm going through now." Harry said, and before Sirius could stop him, he thought of a happy memory and stepped into the Veil.

Like the other times, James and Lily were waiting for him. They were both smiling.

"Mum…Dad." He whispered.

The two spirits walked towards him, and Lily laid a hand on her son's shoulder. "We really miss you Harry. We wanted to watch you grow and become powerful. Looking at you now, we would be proud of the Wizard you have become even without us."

"We are very proud of you, Harry," James emphasized.

"I know," Harry began, "I just wish, if I could turn back time, I would go back to the night and tell you not to change the Secret Keeper. I would have told you to escape and run away, to Dumbledore, and maybe then I would have had a family. I don't have one now, even though Padfoot is trying his best to help being the protective father I need. He's not the same without you, though, dad." Harry felt a rush of emotions pass through him as he said 'dad' to James.

"We would have done anything to remain with you but our tale was at an end, and yours was to begin." James replied.

"We wish we could be here with you, in the real world, but you Harry have kept us alive. We are thankful for that."

"The portal is always open for you. We will be waiting." James said.

Harry gulped. This was hard and he didn't know why, but he knew he couldn't stay here forever. "I…have to go."

His parents nodded in understanding.

"Go, but come back, only when you feel ready to face us." Advised Lily.

"We will wait." James answered.

Harry took a deep breath, walked towards the door on his right and stepped out of the Veil, and back into Potter House.

TBC

I know it is short – again – but it'll get better. I'm hoping to explore the bond between Harry and Sirius. As there is not much going on in this story (THERE is a PLOT, but a very SMALL one!) but character development then please don't expect too long chapters. They will be probably this length for a while until very near the end.

Review Responses:

Galadriel Evenstar: I'm glad you liked it. Here's the next chapter!

Phoenix Friend: I'm happy that you liked the first story and decided to read this one. I hope it'll live up to your expectations! Hope that you enjoyed this chapter!

Phoenixtears: I hope you enjoyed this chapter and are looking for more!

LunaShadows: Yes, after so many years Harry and Sirius finally get to live together. More Sirius in the next chapter. We'll learn exactly what he went through in the last story - so it'll be very dark.

Moon Lace: The Sequel is here - finally! I thought it would be nice for Harry to live in his father's childhood home…it's memories for Sirius to, and as you know, Harry still has visions even though its not Godric's Hollow. Thank you for reading and reviewing. I hope you enjoyed this chapter.

The next chapter will be up, I think, on Tuesday, or maybe Monday.