AN: Thanks to everyone who has reviewed! The wonderful, warm, fuzzy feelings I get inside when I read them help battle the cold winds of writer's block (amid other things)! Thank you!

Chapter 4

"Bloody cold out there, isn't it?" Ron asked Harry as soon as he stepped inside the door of 12 Grimmauld Place.

Harry shrugged and then stopped as the candles flickered as if in a tumultuous breeze.

"What's that?" Tonks asked as she unwound the muffler that lay around her neck.

Harry clutched Monster a little tighter as he whined slightly. He could feel faint tremors move through the house, flowing from one room to the next. Harry stayed still as the rest of the house moved quickly to secure the building.

"I think the house missed you, Siri," Harry whispered to Monster when the foyer was emptied of all but them.

Monster let out a small grunt.

As he did so, a movement sounded to Harry's left. He looked over in that direction to find Mrs. Black glaring at Monster as he lay in Harry's arms. Her glare turned to disgust as her attention moved to Harry.

"What is that, half-blood?" Mrs. Black demanded to know.

Harry sneered at the woman as he felt a deep-seated resentment bubble within him. Here was one of the people who had, essentially, abandoned Sirius because he refused to think like them.

"Answer me, boy!"

Green eyes turned to glare at the woman from where they had been resting thoughtfully on Monster.

"You will be quiet, *Mrs. Black,* when it pleases me."

The woman in the portrait opened her mouth just as Tonks walked back into the foyer.

"Harry?" the metamorphamagus asked. "Why didn't you go into the kitchen with Ron?"

Harry shrugged, even as he continued looking at the portrait of Sirius' mother.

"Harry? Har... Harry! Did you do that?" Tonks flew into the kitchen. "Moody!"

Monster yipped in Harry's arms, distracting him.

"Siri?"

Monster barked, as if reprimanding him for using that name just yet.

"Potter, just what did you do?" came Moody's voice, accompanied by the thunk of his wooden leg. Behind him were a passel of Weasleys and Snape.

All of them stopped suddenly when they caught sight of Mrs. Black's portrait. Sirius' mother's mouth was wide open and her fists were banging on an invisible shield. And there was not even a whisper of a sound coming from the painting.

"Harry!" Mrs. Weasley seemed to come around first. "What did you do?"

He shrugged. "I just told her to be quiet."

"A likely story, Potter," Snape said, snapped out of his stillness by the obvious chance to bait Harry. "And do you think that mutt will replace your mutt of a godfather?"

Monster growled as best he could is his puppy voice. Harry held on tight to him as Monster practically lunged at the slimy-haired man.

"Already a protector?" Snape sneered.

Harry opened his mouth, ready to rip into his potions professor himself, when the front door opened to reveal two jovial Weasley twins and harried looking Remus.

"Harry!" the twins cried. "You wouldn't believe what we've come up with in honor of your birthday!"

Remus rolled his eyes and came over to Harry. Leaning in, he said, "the headmaster will be arriving sometime tonight, but it will probably be pretty late."

"It's okay," Harry whispered. "We can do it in the morning."

"And what - " Snape started to say.

Moody stopped him. "Let's get Potter settled so Molly can feed us. Some of us have things to do tonight instead of talking."

The others filed out, leaving Harry, Remus, and Monster.

"Are you doing okay, Harry?" Remus asked as he gave Monster a scratch under his chin. The puppy leaned forward. "You always did like that spot."

"You coming up, Harry?" Ron called down the stairs. "You get your own bedroom since Fred and George are staying at the Burrow!"

Mrs. Weasley's voice came from down the hall, "RONALD WEASLEY!"

"Sorry, Mum!"

"Come talk to me later, okay?" Harry asked as he started up the stairs.

Remus nodded. "After dinner, all right?"

"Sure."


Sirius was very tempted by the idea to turn back into himself and scare Snape for what he had said to Harry earlier. At the moment, though, he was too comfortable to move. Harry still held him in his arms, even as they rose from the table. He'd gotten a few choice tidbits from Ginny, who'd taken the seat next to Harry in order to avoid Snape. 'Smart girl, that,' Sirius thought as he licked chops one last time. 'I hope she'll eventually cook like her mum. She'd be a catch for someone.'

"Hey, Harry," Ron said as the two sixteen-year-olds climbed the stairs an hour later. "Where did you find Monster?"

Harry laughed slightly - a good noise to Monster's ears - and said, "he followed me home on my birthday."

Ron grinned. "Better than what those Muggles ever did, huh?"

Monster growled at the thought of the Dursleys. He was just glad that Harry was away from them for another year. He settled down as a hand rubbed his ear, the fingers lightly roughed enough for him to know it was Remus.

"Ready, Harry?" the older man asked.

"What?" Ron asked.

Harry sighed.

"Harry and I need to talk about a couple of things that happened at the Dursleys. We want to figure out what Professor Dumbledore needs to know now and what can wait until later," Remus explained.

Ron nodded, his face showing his confusion. "Okay. We'll talk tomorrow then? 'Cause I was wondering who you thought was going to captain the quidditch team now that Angelina's gone." The red head's shoulders were slightly hunched in disappointment. He brightened a little as he said, "Hermione will be coming tomorrow, so maybe it'll be better this way."

Harry laughed, shaking Monster a little bit. "Yeah, Ron. That would be great." He turned towards Ron as they stopped at the red head's bedroom door. "Have a good night, Ron."

Ron smiled, "Good night, Harry. Professor Lupin."

"It's Remus, Ron."

" - R - Remus. Night, Monster."

Sirius gave a little yip before going silent in embarrassment. He wasn't very fond of this size because of such noises - he was used to having a booming bark as Padfoot. Well, he'd rather sound *young* that dead, so he would live with it.

As Remus shut the door to Harry's room, Monster jumped out of Harry's arms and transformed into Sirius. "Ah!" he sighed in relief as he stretched.

Remus shook his head as he sat down at the foot of the bed. Sirius looked at Harry, who was digging in his trunk for something.

"Did the trip go okay?" Remus asked as Sirius sat down in the small lounge chair.

"Pretty good," Sirius answered. "A little chilly, though."

"Yeah," Harry said as he straightened from his trunk. He held out a shirt to Sirius. "You might want to change your shirt before Professor Dumbledore gets here. Sirius. I don't think it'd be good for his health." A cheeky smile accompanied this statement.

Sirius opened his robes and looked down at his shirt, having forgotten which one he'd put on. No, Dumbledore would not like his 'Snivellus Sucks' t-shirt that he had transfigured from one of Dudley's when he'd realized his needed a clean shirt. Sirius looked at the shirt Harry held out to him. Modeled after the Marauder's Map, it read: 'Moony, Padfoot, and Prongs, Jr., Magical Joke Purveyors Extraordinaire.'

"Prongs, Jr.?" Remus asked, leaning over to read the front of the shirt.

"Only until I get my own nickname," Harry said as Sirius grinned over at him.

Sirius nodded, quasi-folding the shirt before laying it on his lap. "That's one of the things we - Harry and I - wanted to talk about with Dumbledore. I think it would be a good idea for Harry to become an animagus for protection."

Remus frowned thoughtfully. "That would be good to see if you can do that, Harry. Plus, because your father was an animagus, it raises the chances that you can manage the transfiguration successfully. It might even shorten the length of time needed if McGonagall helps you."

"Would she help?" Harry asked as he settled himself on the floor near the head of the bed. Sirius wondered if he was part cat - having been thinking what animal Harry would become - by the way he sprawled bonelessly on the floor.

Remus nodded in answer.

Sirius looked at the two on the other side of the room. It was quite similar to a memory of twenty years ago, when the Marauders hung about the dorm Sunday evenings, catching up while pretending to finish their homework. He shook himself of the memory, determined not to fall into the trap of thinking Harry was James. As he'd learned over the last couple of days, there was a lot more of Lily in her son than just the color of her eyes. Yes, Harry was almost the spitting image of his father, but the likeness went no further than physical.

"Siri?" Harry asked, truly bringing him out of his thoughts. "Did you want to sleep in here or in Remus' room?"

He shrugged. "Any further word on when Dumbledore will get here?"

"No," Remus said. "The last we knew - and he as well - was that the last of the meetings/ceremonies wouldn't get out until mid-to-late evening. Even if he apparated directly here from France, Dumbledore would get here around midnight."

"Too late," Sirius said, "considering how much we have to discuss."

Harry yawned suddenly, as if proving the point. Sirius tried to hide his smirk and failed.

"Time for bed, I think," Remus stated as he stood. "I'll come get you when Molly starts breakfast - if not before - and we can find out when to talk to Dumbledore."

"Good night, Remus," Sirius grinned at his friend.

"Good night," Harry echoed, almost cutting himself off with another yawn.

"Good night," Remus said, closing the door behind him.

Harry yawned again.

"Why don't you change while I make my bed?" Sirius suggested.

Harry turned to him as he pulled his shirt off. "Why don't you just make the bed bigger, Siri? I don't mind, and it won't look as weird if anyone opens the door."

Sirius looked at him blankly for a second as he watched the play of muscles under Harry's skin as he reached for the pants he used for sleeping in.

"Siri?"

He shook himself, realizing he'd just been checking Harry out. Taking a deep breath to try and cleanse his thought, he said in a semi-blank tone, "I'll do that, then." Harry gave another look and dropped his pants. And Sirius was hard put to keep his jaw from dropping and eyes boggling. It took all his years of getting away with things at Hogwarts to save him from terrifying Harry.

"Should I..." he trailed off again. Sirius swallowed and tried to purify his thoughts with a picture of an enraged Lily and James. "Should I be Monster?"

Harry slid into the soft, cotton pants. "No. We should have enough warning if somebody knocks for you to change if you have to. But if you want to, go right ahead." He looked over at Sirius. "You going to get ready?"

Sirius slowly nodded and forced himself to get off the bed. He quickly enlarged it and shucked off his shirt. Twisting, he reached for the shirt Harry had gotten out for him.

Cool fingers on his midsection stopped him cold.

"Sorry for startling you," Harry said behind him. "I just noticed that your ribs aren't showing like they were a couple of days ago."

He turned to face Harry. "You noticed?" he asked, his voice cracking slightly under the pressure of the fingers till on his ribs. He took a deep breath and the fingers left.

"Yeah," Harry answered as he twisted and turned down the bed.

While he wasn't looking, Sirius shuddered at the warm tendrils of something - he wasn't going to call it desire - ran through him. He took a gulping breath and dropped his pants. Swiftly changing into a modified pair of Harry's old pajama pants, he turned to find Harry already in bed. The position he was in meant that Sirius would have to crawl over Harry.

Steeling himself, Sirius quickly climbed over Harry.

"Sorry, Siri," Harry apologized in a small voice.

"No..." Sirius swallowed as he brushed up against Harry, trying to get into bed. "No problem."

Sirius lay as still as he could once Harry turned off the light. He tried to be quiet as he listened to Harry's breathing as it settled into a slow and steady cadence. Letting out a deep breath and knowing Harry was asleep, he berated himself for his earlier dirty thoughts.

He wondered just what the reaction would be if Harry ever found out he had had - was having - lustful thoughts about if. Or if Remus found out. Or, horror of horrors, Molly Weasley suddenly knew what he'd been thinking half an hour ago. Harry was his godson by James and Lily's appointment. True, he hadn't exactly been involved in his godson's upbringing, but still.... It would cause problems galore for both him *and* Harry, who was innocent of all of it.

Sirius rolled over to look at the wall, trying to get away from his thoughts.

When he had first broken out of Azkaban, all he had thought about was protecting Harry from Wormtail. That first glimpse of him had settled some of the turbulence within him, as the thirteen-year-old had rummaged through his trunk. He had looked so much like James it was uncanny, because when he'd been little, Harry hadn't really looked like either of his parents, but for his hair and eyes. It had heartened him in his cause by getting that quick look. It was enough to power his journey up to Scotland. Yes, revenge against Wormtail for what he had done played a big part in that, but Harry was always number one in his thoughts from that moment on.

It hadn't been until this past year, when Harry had arrived at 12 Grimmauld Place angry at the world, that Sirius had been forced to change his way of thinking. All of a sudden, here was a strong boy who acted nothing like his father - as much as Sirius wished it to be - and more of an adult who has really never known just who he is.

He had been pained when Harry had admitted his didn't know what he wanted to do when he got out of school. Sirius secretly thought that Harry didn't exactly think he would survive his seventh year at Hogwarts. And that was probably true with knowing the prophecy.

When the confusion of falling into the veil had cleared somewhat, all Sirius had thought of - *could* think of - was that Harry must be devastated. Here Sirius had vowed to be with Harry and be his family and then he was gone just like his parents before him. Then came Harry through the darkness of the veil, looking like an avenging angel and his mother on a tear all rolled up into one, and being the one to rescue *him.*

That first night, Harry had clung to him in his sleep, as if his subconscious was making sure he was truly there. That everything was all right now and he could rest. Harry had told him later that that had been the first night since the fight in the Ministry that he'd been able to sleep the entire night through. Sirius had silently wept inside with despair at the admission.

Now, though, he was lying next to Harry and back to where he'd begun. And why tonight, of all nights, had he suddenly been struck with Harry as a young man and not as the godson he'd known?

Thus began a vicious cycle of naughty thoughts and self-remonstration for those thoughts.

The first tendril of light creeping under the door was what first alerted him to someone approaching the room.

"Harry!" he whispered in the other's ear. "Someone's coming!"

"Hm?" Harry half woke up as Sirius swiftly changed into Monster.

Footsteps approached quietly. The door was pushed open with a soft click. It swung around to reveal Molly Weasley. The red headed woman looked quickly at the bed.

"Did I wake you, Harry?" she asked as he sat up.

Harry shook his head as he petted Monster on the head. Sirius didn't know whether to lean into the touch or not, considering the thoughts he'd been having all evening.

"What time is it?" Harry asked, sleepily.

"Six o'clock, dear. Remus asked me to get you up while he went to go pick up Fred and George."

"Oh. Is Professor Dumbledore here yet?"

Molly nodded. "He got in around two. I know you and Remus wanted to talk to him, so I'll start some breakfast for you."

"Thanks, Mrs. Weasley."

The redhead shut the door and her footsteps receded down the hallway.

Sirius changed back once he jumped onto the floor.

"Siri?"

He looked over at Harry, who looked adorable - *adorable!?* - with sleep lines from the pillow across his right cheek.

"Did you get any sleep last night?"

Sirius shrugged. "Couldn't sleep, really." He turned and grabbed his trousers. He pulled off the pajama pants and stopped. Turning around, he asked, "Do you think I could get in my room without getting noticed this early in the morning? As much as I appreciate borrowing yours, well, Dudley's really, I liked my boxers better."

He looked at Harry, whose face was bright red. "Harry? You okay?" He looked down and saw everything was were it should be, thank Merlin for nothing to indicate his thoughts were still firmly in the gutter concerning Harry.

"Harry?"

Harry shook his head. "I'm alright," he said in a strangled voice. "Just realized something. That's all."

"You sure?"

Harry nodded. "I'm fine."

Sirius just looked at him for a little longer. He wasn't sure what had just happened, but he knew he wouldn't find out exactly what did for a long time.


Harry splashed his face with cold water as soon as the door shut on the bathroom. God, he was such an idiot.

He really hadn't thought about Sirius' reaction last night when he'd touched him. But then he found out that the older man hadn't slept last night. And all of a sudden he starts talking about his boxers while wearing a pair of Harry's.

And Harry suddenly realized Sirius was a man.

And Cho Chang had been replaced by an escaped, wrongly imprisoned convict twenty years older than him in his fantasies.

Harry had sworn time and time again that the world was out to get him. This proved him right all along.

He went through his ablutions mechanically, thinking about all that had happened last night. Oh God, he touched Sirius last night. What must he think? Harry hadn't meant anything by it at all, just that he'd been so surprised by the sight of Sirius' ribs not showing. Even when Harry had brought him back, there'd been some ravage left from Azkaban. And there was no way Aunt Petunia's cooking put that much meat onto Sirius' bones. Oh, shouldn't think that.

And what about his crush on Cho? Even if *that* was dead, what did this mean?

"Harry?" came Ron's voice on the other side of the door. "You gonna be in there all day? 'Cause Mum told me I have to take a shower before breakfast an' I'm hungry!"

Harry had to laugh in spite of the situation and almost choked on his toothbrush. He spit his toothpaste out quickly and opened the door. He found his friend holding his rumbling stomach.

The redhead laughed himself and pointed at Harry's face. "You might want to wash you face, Harry. Snape would say you're rabid and'll have to be put down."

Harry ducked back inside to look in the mirror and saw he still had toothpaste in a circle around his mouth. Grabbing a towel, he hurriedly wiped his mouth and chucked it over the towel bar.

"All yours, Ron," he said as he dashed out and down the stairs. All thoughts of Sirius, well, weird thoughts of him, were pushed aside as he heard Monster yipping and Remus telling him to stop barking at Snape.