Truths
By Neurotica
Eleven
Three days had passed since Harry had come to live with Sirius and Remus, and neither man could recall a time when they had been happier. Harry, though still oddly shy and withdrawn, was quickly becoming the best thing that had ever happened to them. Just his mere presence—whether he was sitting quietly eating dinner, watching television with Sirius, reading a book with Remus, or sleeping—made the two wizards smile and forget all the terrible things they had been through.
His time with the Dursleys had obviously created a deep impression on Harry—something Remus and Sirius were trying to work past without doing considerable damage to Harry's Muggle family, though Sirius had been tempted many times over the past three days.
Harry wasn't big on physical affection; he would become stiff or recoil completely, if Sirius or Remus tried to hug him or pick him up when he wasn't expecting it. This began to lead to questions of physical abuse by the Dursleys. However, Sirius and Remus had not noticed any bruising or scars (other than the one on his forehead) that would show proof of this. Good thing, too; Sirius was itching to show the Dursleys the many creative curses and jinxes he and James had learned in Hogwarts...
Over the past three days, Sirius and Remus spent most of their time recalling stories to Harry about the wizarding world (Diagon Alley, Hogwarts, the Ministry of Magic), the Marauders (minus a certain rat), and of course Lily and James. The two friends had made a silent agreement not to discuss Voldemort with Harry until he was a bit older; it would be easier to understand, even if it wasn't easier to explain. Sirius and Remus had no doubt that the Dursleys hadn't told Harry how his parents were murdered—and when they found out the lies he had been told instead, they were likely to explode.
Harry found all of their stories tremendously fascinating; after the second day of stories, he had begun to request certain ones—many of which pertained to Lily and James in particular. He was very interested in the wizarding world, which was why, on this day, Sirius and Remus had planned a special trip to Diagon Alley for Harry.
Currently, the new family was standing in the living room. Sirius and Remus were attempting to explain the finer points of Floo travel to Harry—Sirius wasn't doing a very good job at it, however.
"—but you don't need to worry about that, Harry," Sirius said. "I'll carry you."
Harry looked perplexed and frightened at the fireplace. Remus chuckled slightly at Sirius' lack of understanding that a five-year-old probably didn't need to hear about falling through the wrong grates and meeting up with wands pointed at your face as you stood.
"Sirius, I believe it was a bad idea telling him about that," Remus commented, trying not to grin at the memory.
"It might traumatize him." He walked to the mantle and picked up the jar of Floo powder.
Sirius' grin slid off his face. He knelt down to face his godson—the boy's bottom lip was trembling. "I didn't mean to scare you, Harry. I'm sorry," he said sincerely. "It was a fluke accident anyway; no one ever falls out of the grates, and besides, James pushed me." Harry didn't look reassured. "Okay, kiddo, tell you what: I promise you, Marauder's honor, that I will not let you go until we are safely in the Leaky Cauldron. Okay? And you can hold onto me as tightly as you need to. If you don't like Flooing, then we will Apparate on the way back, okay?"
Harry was still terrified at the thought of being pushed through a fireplace into some unknown place and having some stranger point a wand at him. But the past few days have shown him that he could trust Sirius and Remus. There was something familiar about the two of them—Harry just needed to figure out what it was. But it didn't matter at the moment; Harry knew that when Sirius said he wasn't going to let Harry go, he wouldn't. And that was good enough for Harry.
"Okay," he said to Sirius. He held out his arms to be picked up, and once he was in Sirius' arms, Harry locked his own arms around Sirius' neck—nearly cutting off the man's air supply—and buried his head in the crook of Sirius' shoulder.
Sirius reached out a hand to retrieve a bit of Floo powder held out by Remus—who was smiling widely at the sight before him—stepped into the fireplace, made sure Harry was tightly secure, and clearly said, "Diagon Alley!" before toss the powder to his feet.
Traveling through the flames and small space was no walk in the park when one was carrying a five-year-old, but somehow Sirius managed. He bent his knees in anticipation for the abrupt stop that was sure to come, and seconds later, felt his feet hit solid ground with a dull thud. Sirius stumbled out of the fireplace, increasing his grip on Harry so he wouldn't fall out of his arms. When he finally got his footing, Sirius looked down to see a pair of green eyes shining back excitedly.
"Can we do that again?" Harry asked eagerly.
Sirius chuckled and grinned. "Later, kiddo."
A whoosh came from the fireplace behind them, signaling Remus' arrival. He looked slightly sick—Sirius remembered that his old comrade didn't particularly care for traveling through fireplaces. He stood up straight, dusted off his robes, became sure he wasn't going to be sick, and looked at the two figures in front of him.
"Well?" he asked.
"He loved it! Can't wait to do it again," Sirius said with another grin.
"Damn," Remus muttered. He had hoped he would be able to Apparate home. "I think I will find an alternative route for the return journey," he said, rubbing his stomach.
Sirius laughed and turned around. "Suit yourself," he said, looking around at the Leaky Cauldron.
The place was full for a Sunday afternoon; witches and wizards sat by themselves or with their families enjoying the pub's drinks and meals. Sirius knew that he alone inside the Leaky Cauldron was enough to turn a few heads, and maybe run a few people out of the place, and he was not looking forward to seeing the reactions to him carrying Harry Potter.
Speaking of his godson, Sirius smiled as he watched Harry examine their surroundings with excitement. Teapots were floating of their own accord to awaiting customers, dust rags were wiping the bar clean, and there was a hag in the corner that seemed to catch Harry's attention. He began to squirm, but Sirius wasn't going to release him just yet.
Sirius looked at Remus, both thinking the same thing: they needed to get to Diagon Alley before someone noticed them. "Come on, let's get out of here," Sirius muttered out of the corner of his mouth. "I don't want to stay here too long." Remus nodded and led them to the door leading to Diagon Alley. They managed to get through the Leaky Cauldron without incident and found themselves in the quite unremarkable brick courtyard.
Harry looked around, thoroughly confused. Remus and Sirius had told him how amazing Diagon Alley, but Harry didn't see what all the fuss was about.
"Sirius," Harry said looking around at the trash bin in the corner, "where are we?"
Sirius didn't answer, but instead, grinned. "Mr. Moony, if you would be so kind..."
Remus grinned back, retrieved his wand from his robe pocket, and tapped a series of bricks—three up, two across. He stepped back next to Sirius and Harry.
Harry watched with wide eyes as the bricks began to move, finally forming an arch tall enough for Remus to stand on Sirius' shoulders and not bump his head. Harry stared, amazed, at the cobblestone streets packed with shoppers carrying packages of all shapes and sizes. Owls flew during broad daylight; Sirius and Remus told Harry they did this, but it was still fascinating. There were shops that had things Harry hadn't even heard of lining the streets all around them.
Sirius and Remus looked at Harry with identical grins.
"Welcome, Harry," Remus said, "to Diagon Alley."
Harry continued to stare unblinkingly at his surroundings. "Wow," he breathed.
Sirius laughed and hoisted Harry up on his shoulders so that the small boy could see everything over the heads of the shoppers. "Well, let's get going! If you want to see everything, it's going to take all day!"
Remus followed as they made their way to Gringotts Bank; the two wizards knew they would be spending a lot of gold today—especially if Remus allowed Sirius to spend any amount of time in Quality Quidditch Supplies and the old joke shop the Marauders had practically kept in business in their school days.
Sirius' and Remus' smiles began to fade as quickly as they had come. They hadn't even made it halfway to the bank before the whispers and stares commenced.
"Is that Sirius Black...?"
"...and... Merlin's beard! Harry Potter!"
"...in the hands of a Death Eater. The Ministry must be mad to allow that!"
"...said he's innocent..."
"Fudge is an idiot! They don't lock people in Azkaban for twiddling their thumbs!"
"...a murderer with that darling little boy. I wonder if he knows the truth..."
Remus was highly enticed to stun the whole lot of them. Wonder what they would say if they knew Harry Potter also lives with a werewolf, he wondered bitterly.
Sirius' hold had visibly tightened around Harry's legs and he was glaring at everyone they passed. Harry was looking down at Sirius with a confused, thoughtful expression.
"What are they talking about, Sirius?" Harry whispered. "How do they know me?"
Dammit, Remus thought. So much for a quiet day out…
"Nothing, Harry. Don't listen to them," Sirius muttered tersely as he walked up the stairs to Gringotts quickly.
They entered through the bronze doors and into the marvelous marble hall. Goblins were on their stools helping customers exchange Muggle money for wizard gold and vice versa, weighing diamonds and jewels bigger than Harry's hand, and counting stacks of bronze, silver, and gold coins. Harry had forgotten the people in the street—momentarily—and stared at the short, ugly creatures.
Seeing the questioning look on his face, Remus whispered, "Those are goblins, Harry."
Sirius muttered so that only Harry could hear, "Ugly little buggers, aren't they?" Harry giggled softly.
They walked to a free goblin writing on a piece of parchment. Sirius cleared his throat and the goblin looked up. "Help you?" he grunted.
"Yes. I need to make a withdrawal from vault seven-one-one please."
The goblin studied Sirius for a moment, then, with a quick glance at Harry, he growled, "Key?"
Sirius held Harry's ankles in place over his shoulders and dug through his robes, finally finding his key. He had decided to move all the contents of the Black family vault to his own; though there were some strange things in the Black family vault, the vault itself gave Sirius nightmares. Sirius wasn't happy or proud of the amount of gold he had acquired—he would happily pour it all in Remus' vault, but he knew Remus would never allow that.
The goblin took Sirius' key and examined it. "Everything seems to be in order, here," the goblin said. "Bob!"
Sirius raised his eyebrows to Remus. Bob? he mouthed.
Remus shrugged his shoulders with an amused look. Goblins were strange little creatures...
"You need to go to your vault, Remus?" Sirius asked conversationally as they followed Bob to the bank carts.
Remus shook his head stiffly and muttered, "No," staring straight ahead of him. Sirius sighed as a cart stopped in front of them. Bob stepped in first, then Sirius with Harry in his lap, and finally Remus.
With a jolt, the cart took off.
The Lupin family—though purebloods until Remus' father married his Muggle mother—was terribly poor. Remus never had new robes (his mother always bought them secondhand), new school books—he barely had any books at all, which was why he spent most of his time at Hogwarts in the library—or a shiny new racing broom (Remus still rode an ancient Comet 60 that his father had given him when he was twelve), and he never once complained about it. But Sirius had always believed Remus deserved more than he had. Work had been incredibly hard to come by for the werewolf once he graduated. The Ministry wouldn't even consider hiring him, and the odd jobs that he'd held let him go after he'd missed so many days every month.
It wasn't fair, Sirius knew, that Remus, being the amazing wizard he was couldn't even get a job washing dishes due to unjust wizarding prejudices.
After a fast winding cart ride—during which Harry tried to lean over the side after he saw something that resembled dragon fire; Remus and Sirius pulled him back and held him in his seat for the remainder of the ride—they stopped in front of Sirius' vault. All four occupants stepped out and followed Bob to the vault's door.
"Why don't you go on in, Sirius, and I'll keep an eye on Harry," Remus suggested.
Neither wizard had any idea what kinds of evils were transferred from the Black family vault. Besides the galleons, sickles, and knuts, there were strange possessions that belonged to Sirius' family—some of which, Sirius was sure, actually breathed.
Bob took Sirius' key and opened the door.
"Wish me luck," Sirius said with an expression Remus didn't recognize as he walked in the door.
Remus chuckled and knelt down beside Harry. "So what do you think of Diagon Alley, Harry?" he asked.
Harry turned to Remus from where he'd been trying to see over the rocky canyons and smiled. "It's really neat," he said eagerly, though his smile faded rather quickly.
"What is it, Harry?" Remus asked, his brow furrowed in concern.
Harry sighed a far too heavily for a five-year-old. "Those people. What did they mean about Sirius? How did they know my name?"
Remus closed his eyes. They didn't want to do this for a few more months at the very least. Sirius knew they would have to tell Harry about his time in Azkaban, about how the rat had framed him and betraying Lily and James to Voldemort. And him... Voldemort was at least a day's worth of talks. But not this soon...
"Well, Harry," Remus hesitated, trying to phrase it correctly, "there are some people who believe certain things about Sirius. None of those things are true, but those people on the streets don't want to believe it's not true."
Harry looked confused. "What kinds of things?"
Remus winced. "Some people think that Sirius did something—bad—a few years ago. Those same people still think he did that bad thing; that's why they were talking about him."
"But... if he didn't do the bad thing, why do they think he did?" Harry asked innocently.
Remus looked at Harry sadly. Because, Harry, most people are ignorant bastards who wouldn't know the truth if it hit them in the head like a bludger. "I really don't know, Harry."
Harry looked at the vault door Sirius had disappeared through thoughtfully. "I don't think Sirius is bad," he said simply.
Remus smiled and ruffled Harry's hair as Sirius came out of the vault with a leather pouch full of jingling coins.
Sirius grinned at them. "Well, what are we waiting for? We have a whole alley to explore!"
Harry grinned right back, and ran to the cart, eager to get the ride started again.
Remus held Sirius back. The latter's smile slid off his face at the look on his friend's face. "What?" Sirius asked quickly.
Remus sighed. "When we get back home," he said quietly, but clearly, "we need to have a long talk with Harry."
That was all Remus said, but Sirius understood the meaning behind it. His stomach was suddenly full of lead. Sirius nodded heavily, Remus nodded back, and the two went back to the cart silently.
Once out of Gringotts, Sirius led Harry by the hand through most of the Diagon Alley shops. They visited Flourish and Blotts (Sirius bought Harry some children's picture books with recommendations from Remus), the Owl Emporium—it took the adults a full hour to drag Harry out of there—a children's clothing store which stocked Muggle clothes as well as wizard robes and cloaks (they purchased a whole new wardrobe for Harry—they would burn Dudley's old ones later), Quality Quidditch Supplies, and Gambol and Jape's Joke Shop. Remus was separated from Sirius and Harry by a group of, by the looks of them, third years from Hogwarts. Sirius exited the shop with a large package that gave Remus a sense of impending doom. Their last stop for the evening (the sun was setting rapidly), was Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor.
Remus and Sirius watched in growing amusement as Harry quickly ate his chocolate and peanut butter ice cream. He was a sticky mess; ice cream covered his shirt, hands, mouth, and somehow, the back of his hair.
After he finished his treat, Sirius performed a quick cleaning charm on Harry and led him and Remus back to the Leaky Cauldron. Once inside, Sirius stopped abruptly. "Moony, I forgot something. Could you watch Harry for a minute? I'll be right back." And without another word or a backwards glance, Sirius dropped their packages on a table and ran back to Diagon Alley.
"Where's he going?" Harry asked curiously.
With an amused sigh, Remus replied, "Merlin only knows, Harry. There is just no telling with Sirius."
During Sirius' absence, Remus entertained Harry by shrinking everything they'd bought so that it would all fit into their pockets. Fifteen minutes later, Sirius returned to their table empty-handed.
Remus raised his eyebrows. "Did you forget something again, Padfoot?"
Sirius grinned mischievously (Oh no, Remus thought). "Nope," he said airily. "Are we all ready to go? Got everything shrunk? Great! Remus, see you in a bit."
With that, Sirius picked Harry up and headed for the fireplace. Saying Remus' address, the two disappeared in the whirl of green flames.
Remus stared at the now empty and dark fireplace, shook his head with yet another heavy sigh, and Disapparated from the Leaky Cauldron with a small pop.
He didn't know what was awaiting him at home, but Remus dreaded it.