Broken
By Neurotica
Ten
Two days after his arrival at Hogwarts, Harry Potter finally started to wake. Only Sirius and Remus were present after the child opened his eyes; Julia had very reluctantly gone to work. Dumbledore told her it would arouse suspicion if she was suddenly absent from her job.
"I think my ribs might bruise from that hug she gave be before leaving," Sirius said, examining said ribs as he and Remus went to the hospital wing.
Remus chuckled. "I wouldn't be surprised. Woman's a bloody vice-grip, I tell you."
Sirius dropped his shirt and stopped in the corridor, looking curiously at Remus. "What's a vice-grip?" he asked.
Remus smiled and rolled his eyes. "Nothing, Padfoot," he said, continuing on his way.
When they entered the hospital wing, it was to find Madam Pomfrey standing over Harry's bed. The scene immediately startled the two young wizards—had something happened to Harry during the night? Sirius paled, and Remus vaguely wondered how it was possible to get any paler than Sirius already was.
They reached Harry's bed and breathed an immediate sigh of relief. Harry was wide awake, sitting up in his bed, eyeing the Hogwarts nurse warily. "He won't let me near him with my wand," the Healer muttered quietly to them.
"That's because he doesn't know any better," Remus said quietly, approaching the child. "Hello, Harry. Do you remember me?"
Harry nodded slowly. "You're Mrs. Figg's friend, Norris," he said.
Remus ignored the snort from the man beside him. "Actually, Harry, my name is Remus Lupin. I was a friend of your mum and dad."
Harry's eyes widened. "You knew my mum and dad?" he whispered almost in awe.
Remus smiled sadly. "Yes, they were two of my best friends." He heard Sirius give a small, sad sigh. "Harry, I'd like you to meet another friend of mine. This is Sirius Black."
"Hello, Harry," Sirius said quietly.
Harry didn't reply, but studied Sirius curiously for a few moments. "I know you," he said quietly.
Sirius and Remus exchanged bewildered glances and the latter felt a pang of jealously, thinking Harry meant he'd recognized Sirius from five years ago.
"You do?" Sirius asked.
"Yeah... You saved me from Dudley the other day..." Harry said.
"You did?" Remus asked Sirius with raised eyebrows.
"As Padfoot..." Sirius whispered, his brow furrowing in thought. "But how did you recognize me, Harry?"
"Your eyes," Harry said simply. "You and that dog have the same eyes."
Sirius smiled. "We do," he said quietly. "What?" he added at Remus' look.
"Exactly how long were you on Privet Drive, Sirius?" Remus asked sternly, crossing his arms.
"How long were you on Privet Drive, Remus?" Sirius countered with a grin.
Remus rolled his eyes, shook his head, and turned back to Harry. Surely, a five-year-old would be easier to converse with than Sirius Black... "How are you feeling, Harry?"
"Fine, but..." Harry trailed off uncertainly.
"But what, Harry?" Sirius prompted.
Harry seemed to hesitate. "W-where am I?" he asked quietly as if he didn't know if he should have asked the question at all.
"You are at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Mister Potter," said a quiet voice behind Sirius and Remus. The two wizards turned to find Dumbledore standing directly behind them. "Hello, Harry, how are you?"
"Ah, this is Professor Dumbledore, Harry," Remus said in introduction. "He's the Headmaster of Hogwarts."
"Hello, sir," Harry said shyly.
Dumbledore smiled. "Hello, again." He turned to the younger wizards. "I've just come to see how our patient is fairing, boys."
"He's doing well, as far as we can tell, sir. But I think he wants answers," Sirius said.
"Well, the two of you are infamous with giving explanations, whether it be trying to get yourselves out of trouble after a rather extravagant prank, or something as simple as this," Dumbledore said, his eyes twinkling.
For a moment, Sirius and Remus looked at him incredulously. But Dumbledore only smiled and wished them a good afternoon before going about his business elsewhere in the castle.
"The man's mental," Sirius muttered, turning back to his godson.
Harry's brow was furrowed deeply. "Witchcraft?" he said, looking at Remus for an answer.
Remus nodded. "Magic," he said simply.
Harry averted his eyes to the white blanket covering his lap, muttering something that sounded to Sirius like "no such thing as magic."
"What do you mean, Harry?" Sirius asked gently.
"Er, Sirius," Remus interjected as Harry opened his mouth. "Perhaps you should wait a bit for this conversation... You and I need to talk first..."
Sirius only raised an eyebrow at his friend. "Actually, I would like to hear it from Harry," he said coolly. "What makes you think there's no such thing as magic?" he added to the child.
"Uncle Vernon said so," Harry muttered. Sirius' jaw clenched, and his face grew slightly red. The child's eyes grew wide. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you mad," he added hastily.
"It's all right, Harry," Remus said, shooting a glare at Sirius. "He's not mad at you."
"Never," Sirius said, calming himself immediately.
"Harry, why don't you rest for a bit? Sirius and I will come back and talk to you later. Is that okay?"
Harry nodded. "That lady... she had a stick..."
Remus smiled. "That's Madam Pomfrey, she's a nurse. The stick she had was a wand. It will make you feel better," he explained.
"Okay," Harry said, still sounding unsure. "When will you come back?" he called as Sirius and Remus made to leave.
"Soon, Harry, very soon," Remus assured him.
Harry seemed satisfied by this answer, so Remus continued to drag Sirius out of the room by his robe. Once the large oak doors were closed, Sirius turned on Remus. "What the hell did you do that for? I wanted to talk to him!"
"I know, but there are a few things I need to tell you about Harry first. Arabella Figg and I had a long conversation about him last week," Remus said, his face not betraying anything.
And so they talked. Remus told Sirius what Arabella told him about Harry. How the Dursleys told everyone that Harry's parents were killed in a car crash, and how they were good enough to take him in as a baby when he had no one else. He told Sirius about how Harry knew nothing of the wizarding world. He told him about how Harry was treated by his relatives as if the past two days weren't a good enough example. He told him about how Harry never had any of his own things—he got his cousin's secondhand clothes that were too big for him.
Neither of them knew, however, where Harry had slept since his arrival at Number Four. If they did, not even Remus would have been as calm as he appeared, and Sirius would have cursed more loudly and colorfully than he had.
As promised, the two wizards returned to the hospital wing after lunch to visit Harry. They explained to the child about their world, what Hogwarts was, and how magic wands worked. By the end of their discussion, Harry seemed fascinated, but reluctant to admit it.
Finally it was discovered by a bit of digging on Sirius' part that Harry was nervous about going back to his aunt and uncle's home—he'd be in loads of trouble for not coming home when Dudley did. Sirius, keeping his temper in check as best he could, told him he wouldn't ever have to go back to his relatives. He would live with Sirius and Remus and their friend, Julia.
When Harry very shyly asked why they wanted him to live with them, Remus explained in terms he hoped Harry could understand about the roles of godparents. Harry, they hoped, understood what they were trying to say, and most importantly, that he would never have to see the Dursleys ever again.
Just before dinnertime, Madam Pomfrey shooed the two wizards out of the hospital wing, telling them Harry needed his rest.
The two friends found themselves lacking an appetite after the conversation with Harry, and decided to go for a stroll across Hogwarts grounds. Just as they exited the castle, they spotted Julia and Hagrid, the Hogwarts groundskeeper, heading for them.
"Hey, boys!" Julia called as she approached. Hagrid stopped in his tracks and stared as Julia rushed into Sirius' arms.
"S'true, then?" Hagrid muttered, approaching Remus. "He's really innocent, is he?"
"Yes, he is," Remus said quietly, still trying to get used to the fact himself.
Hagrid beamed. "Always knew it, I did! Knew you couldn't be as bad as everyone was sayin', Sirius!"
As Julia and Sirius released one another, Hagrid thumped the wizard on the back, nearly knocking all the wind out of him. "Er, thanks... Hagrid," Sirius coughed. "Good to see you, too."
Hagrid invited them over for tea before they left the school and said he had things to do. Julia and Remus hid grins as Hagrid almost knocked Sirius to the ground as the half-giant congratulated him one last time.
"So what have you two miscreants been up to while I've been slaving away at the Ministry?" Julia asked, taking an arm of each wizard as they walked to the lake.
"You tell her..." Sirius said to Remus, collapsing under a beech tree, pulling Julia down with him.
Three days later, Harry was declared completely healed by Madam Pomfrey and was allowed to leave the hospital wing. Sirius and his godson spent their days exploring the castle, and trying to avoid a certain Potions Master. Remus spent his days trying to locate Wormtail. He felt Sirius deserved to have some fun, so he and Dumbledore took care of the search. So far they hadn't found any leads, but neither wizard would give up.
Their fifth and last night at Hogwarts was spent on the Quidditch pitch. Sirius decided it was time Harry learned to fly. Julia had kindly asked the Hogwarts house-elves to prepare a picnic dinner for them, and they still had food left over, even after Sirius ravaged the basket. Remus and Julia sat in the Gryffindor stands as the sun set over the mountains and watched Sirius' and Harry's battles with the school brooms.
"He's good with him, isn't he?" Julia asked, watching Sirius hold Harry on the shaky Comet 25.
Remus nodded. "He is," he said. "He always was good with Harry. James couldn't always get the kid to stop crying, but Sirius could."
Julia smiled fondly. "Yeah..."
"Julia," Remus began, not wanting to break the peace. "Dumbledore and I were wondering... Has anyone at the Ministry asked you about Sirius?"
"Few times, actually," Julia admitted quietly, still watching the happenings on the pitch. "Fudge called me into his office the other day to question me. Of course, I told him I had no idea where Sirius was—which wasn't a complete lie; Sirius could have been anywhere in the castle at that time—" Remus laughed and Julia grinned.
"The dementors are increasing their search, Fudge said," Julia continued, her smile completely gone. "They-they've been given permission to K-kiss him if they find him..." The last sentence was barely audible.
"They won't find him," Remus assured firmly. "Everything will work out fine, you'll see."
"But what if we don't find Peter? Sirius can't stay indoors for the rest of his life; he'll go mad!"
"He won't have to stay indoors for the rest of his life, Julia. He has Padfoot as a disguise, doesn't he? He'll be fine. At least he has us, right?"
Julia nodded slowly. "Yeah, I suppose," she said quietly, looking out on the pitch. She started to laugh when Sirius' broomstick bucked him off. He'd been trying to show off in front of his godson, and apparently the broomstick didn't appreciate that.
"Sirius'll make a good dad," Remus said suddenly.
A smile began to grow on Julia's face. "He's still a child himself, even after five years in Azkaban."
"That's true," Remus conceded. "I think that's what will make him such a good father. Look at James; we all thought he was just a big kid, and I'm sure you can recall Lily's shock when she realized how good he was with a newborn."
"Oh yeah, I remember," Julia said with a laugh. "I'd think you'd make a good dad too, you know," she added, nudging Remus' shoulder with her own.
"Me?" Remus asked with a small disbelieving laugh. "I think I'll have to disagree with you there, my dear."
Julia rolled her eyes. "I mean it! We just need to find you a woman who has no loyalty whatsoever to the Dark Side," she said matter-of-factly,
"That'd be a nice change," Remus said darkly. "I'm in no hurry, Julia. I'm still trying to get used to the fact that my best friend isn't a mad mass murderer."
"It'll happen," Julia assured him. "You two will be back to normal before you know it."
"OY! Moony, Julia! Time for dessert!" Sirius yelled from the Quidditch pitch, adjusting Harry on his shoulders and carrying their broomsticks.
Remus and Julia rolled their eyes at one another and raced down the stands, trying to get to picnic basket before the bottomless pit called Sirius ate all the cake.