Pre-story author's note: Thanks to my (one) reviewer. And to the people who've added me to their favorite stories, or author alerts, YOU'RE HOT!. I found a couple (stupid grammatical)

Chapter two – When Harry Met Remus

When Harry returned from the neighborhood quincaillerie and let himself into the small 4-½ apartment, he returned to the sight of his newfound guardian making out with of all things, another guy. Harry was shocked beyond his wildest beliefs. He stood at the front of the quaint living room gapping like a fish out of water. It was then that his vivid green eyes gazed upon one of the many books that filled the flat. Never going back: A history of Queer Activism in Canada.

'Hmmm' thought Harry, 'a book on the gay rights movement?'

He continued to look around the books and found book upon book on gay rights, law, and Canadian politics. When he glanced at the newspaper clippings he saw photos of Sirius and the mysterious-making-out-with-his-newfound-guardian guy together. At protests, outside of courtrooms at the Palais de Justice, he started wondering about what Sirius was doing with his life?

Just then he heard someone clearing their throat, looked up and saw his godfather looking at him, just wondering how long Harry had been there. Harry, who was completely unsure of how to handle the "situation", said something that neither himself, Sirius, nor MMOWHNG guy would forget for a long time.

"What the fuck are you? Some kind of … FAGGOT!" The moment Harry said this, he instantly regretted it, the look on Sirius' face made his heart break. He never knew that someone could convey so much hurt, ...pain, ...disappointment in one look. Sirius ran out of the room, the guy – 'no the man' Harry's thought corrected – who was with him went after him.

Harry returned to his room to (a) paint his room, and (b) not unpack his things because he was sure he'd be kicked out after what he said. So Harry found some old newspapers in a blue recycling bin, opened up his teal paint and painted, and painted, and painted. The walls however were not your standard four walls painted the same color top to bottom, he started by painting the ceiling in the teal, and then painted the walls, all but the last two feet. Where white met teal, 'bubbles' circled the white, making the two combine in a pleasant, calming way.

But sadly, painting did nothing to help curb Harry's belief that he was yet another stereotypical self-loathing homophobe. He did know however that he had to keep his homosexuality a secret from Sirius, he didn't want him to know. He knew that it lead to his godfather either telling him how much his parents would be ashamed, or how those self-loathing homophobes are the worst of them all.

When Harry was done with his moment of self-loathing and self-doubt, he realized how incredibly tired he was, so he fell asleep in the room, letting the fumes from the paint take over.

The next day Harry awoke to Sirius standing at the door, peering in. Harry started to apologize, but his godfather would hear nothing of it.

"Harry, I don't want you to apologize if you don't mean it. But I want you to meet someone". Harry sleepily told Sirius that he would come out once he was dressed, and that's exactly what he did. In Dudley's oversized hand-me-downs he left his bedroom and made his way to the small kitchen. There he found Sirius, breakfast, and MMOWHNG guy.

Sirius started, "Harry, I want you to meet someone, he's very special to me. And one day, when the government accepts that us faggots have the same rights as everyone else, we will be married, but until that day comes, he's still my boyfriend, lover, partner, whatever you want to call him. He's my Remus". The little speech almost, not quite, but almost brought tears to Harry's eyes. He wished that one day he would be so incredibly in love with someone to say that he wanted to marry them. But he knew that would never happen because his life was so incredibly surrounded in secrecy. No one knew – save for that one councilor – that he was gay. And even they didn't know everything about him. No one did.

But Harry meekly said "hi" to Remus, and asked Sirius exactly what he did. He discovered that Sirius was on the executive of the Quebec section of the New Democratic Party (NDP). Furthermore, he was director of the LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender) commission. He fought for the equal rights of non-straight persons in Quebec, and in Canada. At times he was a highly publicized person. Whenever an issue revolving around gay rights sprung up, he was mentioned. His training as a lawyer, practicing both common and civil law was indispensable. He was a key figure in the wording of the Quebec Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms, more specifically in Chapter I.1.10, which specifically states that discrimination based on sexual orientation could be punished in court.

When Harry asked about his schooling, since he was a long way away from his suburban high school, Sirius told him he would be attending the Alma matter of himself, Remus and his parents, Hogwarts Academy. Hogwarts – they explained – was a small private school in the Plateau-Montreal area, on rue Laurier in an old Catholic church. He further explained that Hogwarts was not a religious school, but today was more for families that either wanted a world class education for their children in a less expensive setting than the traditional private school, as well as a more open environment. The school was very open towards children of interracial, homosexual and other non-traditional settings. It was almost like the perfect place for a kid to gain an education.

Author's notes: So, all the stuff about the Quebec Charter of Human Rights and Freedom is pretty much correct (I'm not sure when sexual orientation was added, but it's there, google it). Furthermore, the position that Sirius has in the NDP (a real political party) is real (I don't know if it existed in 1996 though). Also, I was thinking and Harry should be 16 at this point, so let me say this now: he has an early birthday and the story starts in August. Also, the book I mentioned is very, VERY interesting. I wrote a term paper on the spread of the gay rights movement in Canada last year and used it as a source. It's very good. Also PLEASE REVIEW. I LIKE REVIEWS, THEY MAKE ME FEEL LOVED!

Translations

quincaillerie – hardware store