Chapter 16

It took a while for Harry to find Charlie's house again, especially since he was on foot and Charlie didn't pick him up at the airport. But Harry didn't expect for the man to, since neither one suggested it, and Harry didn't mind walking. Well, he did after the sole of his feet started to ache.

Finally, the small, unkempt house came into view, making Harry happy that he'd finally be able to sit down again once inside.

Harry went onto the threshold and knocked, waiting for the man that looked like his house (mostly unkempt and a bit dirty) appeared behind the screen of the door. A cheerful smile crossed both faces, and the door swung open.

The man, Charlie, clamped his hand down on Harry's shoulder hard. "Nice to see yah again, jovem!" Charlie said cheerfully, practically pulling Harry into the house. "Seems like a millennium, eh?"

"Yeah," Harry agreed, thankfully sitting down on the couch next to the kitchen table and chairs. "Thanks again for letting me stay here for a while, Charlie."

"'Course, dunt mind a bit," Charlie said, sipping on something from a steaming mug. "If I may be so bold," he started, "what are yeh doin' 'ere?"

"Well …" Harry started. "It's mostly because I'm in an … argument with Sirius."

"Ah," Charlie said, nodding his head understandingly. "Yer father. Well, I can't blame yeh, Harry! I used to have disputes with my father too!"

"My godfather," Harry corrected. "But this was a pretty big argument. I can't ever go back there."

Charlie continued nodding. Then he froze, his eyes widening. He opened his mouth, his lips making an O.

"What's wrong?" Harry asked carefully.

"Well, yah see …" Charlie started uncomfortably. "After you called, yer father—sorry—godfather called a bit after. I didn' know … I told him, yeh were comin' 'ere. He's, uh, pro'lly on his way here righ' now."

Harry's mouth opened. "What? He's coming here? Why would he do that?"

"Pro'lly concerned fer yeh," Charlie replied. "I mean, yeh ran 'way all the way to Wisconsin, eh? I know yeh mean a lot to yer godfather, an' he means a lot ter you."

Harry shook his head, trying to clear it. "I can't believe he's coming all the way to Wisconsin to see me … or get me."

Charlie shrugged, finishing the liquid in his mug. "Like I said, he cares fer yah. I'm abou' positive he'd do anythin' fer yah. You want some coffee, there?"

Harry shook his head. "I'm fine. D'you mind if I go to the guestroom to lay down for a while?"

"Be my guest," Charlie said, then chuckled. "Whoops, guess yah already are, ain'tcha?"

Harry grinned thinly, going to the guestroom that was becoming so familiar again. He lay down on the bed, looking up at the ceiling. If Sirius was following Harry, going all the way to Wisconsin, what about Allyson?

-

Harry barely glanced up when he heard somebody enter the room. When the person spoke, Harry shot up, staring.

"Sirius."

His godfathers name didn't come out a question, as Harry thought it might. He knew that Sirius was coming to Wisconsin, but seeing him just made Harry shocked.

Sirius stepped forward. "Hi."

Harry scowled, laying back down. "You come all the way to Wisconsin just to say hi?"

"What do you want me to say?" Sirius asked.

Harry turned his head to look at Sirius, then after a silent staring contest Harry finally shook his head and said, "I don't know. What are you going to say? Where's Allyson?"

Sirius went over to Harry and sat on the edge of the bed. "I am so sorry, Harry. I never meant to hurt you like I did. I should've believed you when you said that you didn't trust Allyson or something, but I didn't. And after what she did to you—"

"So you believe me now?" Harry said, glancing at Sirius.

"Of course," Sirius replied with a sigh. "I don't know why I didn't in the first place. Can you forgive me, Harry?"

Harry studied his godfather before he answered. "How can I forgive you, Sirius? After those fights we had and the things we said? After you proposing to Allyson without telling me? After you don't believe me after everything I said?"

Harry stood up, glaring. "After she does this—" he held out his wrists where the long, red lines were. "—and you don't believe that she did it and not me? Do you really expect me to forgive you?"

Sirius shook his head. "No."

After Harry took a few minutes to calm down, he sat down next to Sirius. "Neither do I," Harry continued softly. "But somehow I do."

"What?"

Harry gave his shoulders a small shrug. "I don't know why, but I do forgive you. Maybe not completely yet, but … I do."

Harry sighed. "And I guess I'm sorry for coming all the way to Wisconsin."

Sirius grinned. "You guess?"

Harry nodded. "I guess. I mean, you're getting married to Allyson and I don't want to be anywhere near her. So I was going to come to Wisconsin … and stay here. Forever, I suppose."

"I was," Sirius corrected, and started to elaborate after Harry's confused look. "I was going to marry her. Not anymore."

"You're not?" Harry said, his eyebrows rising in surprise.

Sirius shook his head for confirmation. "Yeah, I'm not. Listen, Harry, I feel so horrible for the way I've treated you. I want you to know that I'm always going to be here for you. I love you, Harry."

Harry smiled thinly. "I love you too, Siri. Er … how about we stay here overnight? Then in the morning we'll go back home?"

"Sounds good," Sirius said, standing up. "I'll go see if Charlie has anything we can eat."

-

The next day, after Harry and Sirius's plane had landed, they noticed Remus waiting for them.

"Remus," Sirius greeted once they approached Remus. "Did you … erm … take care of Allyson?"

"Sure did," Remus replied with a nod of his head. "She didn't even know who I was."

Sirius looked relieved. "Good." Glancing sideways at Harry, Sirius put a friendly arm around Harry's shoulders. "Let's go home."

-

"SIRIUS!" Harry yelled, his hand resting on the doorknob. Summer vacation had just started a few days ago, which Harry was thankful for. No more schoolwork for a while. Hermione, on the other hand, might be a bit disappointed in that—but he knew he and Ron definitely weren't.

"What?" Harry heard Sirius yell back.

"I need some money," Harry said. "And since you have all of it, can I borrow some?"

Sirius's head peaked out from the kitchen. "Are you going to run away to Wisconsin with that money?" he questioned suspiciously.

"No," Harry replied, giving Sirius a look. "Please? We need groceries, don't we? How else am I suppose to get them?"

"Oh, right," Sirius said as he fished around his pocket. His hand finally surfaced with money in it, and he handed it over to Harry. "Spend it wisely," he cautioned. "Buy a lot of frozen pizzas and chocolate, OK? Especially those frozen pizzas."

"Got it," Harry said. "Deluxe?"

Sirius's brow furrowed in thought. "Um … yeah. With cheese."

"All pizzas come with cheese," Harry pointed out.

"Yeah, but I want one with extra cheese," responded Sirius. "So a deluxe frozen pizza with extra cheese."

"Meaning a deluxe frozen pizza and a block of mozzarella cheese, plus some other stuff …"

Sirius turned his head around as Remus called something out from another room.

"And a few salads, Remus says," Sirius said with a roll of his eyes. His voice lowered. "But only buy one. We don't need all those salads in the house—"

Sirius sighed as Remus called something else out.

"Fine. Two salads."

Sirius sighed again.

"Three!"

Harry grinned as Sirius threw his hands up in the air.

"Fine! Buy three hundred thousand salads! HAPPY, REMUS?"

"Very!" Came Remus's reply. Sirius spun around, his hands falling down to his sides.

"Great," Sirius muttered. "My soufflé is ruined."

"You're soufflé?" Harry repeated, his eyebrows raised. "You tried to make something?"

Sirius scowled. "Yes, I did. So? What's the problem with that?"

"Well … you're not exactly the best cook," Harry said gently. "No wonder the soufflé you tried to make is ruined. Why not get Isabella to make one if you really want one? She's a good cook. Whenever we want to make something we usually get her to make it."

Sirius cast a disappointed glance at the soufflé. "It just … deflated."

"Be thankful that you didn't put the house on fire," Harry said as he opened the door. "Or yourself, for that matter."

"Hah," Sirius said sarcastically. "Very funny. You should be a comedian. Don't forget the chocolate, either, Harry!"

"I won't," Harry called on his way out. He shut the door behind him. As he went down the sidewalk, he noticed that there were a bunch of trucks in front of one house. As he went further, he noticed that the house was Allyson's.

Just as he realized that, Allyson came out of the house with a huge box in her arms. Her hair was tied up in a messy ponytail, and she wore jogging pants with a light t-shirt on. Her eyes fell on Harry, and she gave a small smile and a nod of her head.

As Harry continued down the sidewalk, he couldn't help but smile to himself. He had his family back, and the person that had threatened to break up that family was gone. Everything was perfect again.

He whirled around as he heard somebody calling out his name. Sirius came running up, looking out of breath.

Sirius took a few seconds to get his breath back before he spoke. "I … forgot to tell you … to pick up some milk, too."

Harry stared at his godfather. "Milk?"

Sirius nodded, wiping his forehead. "Yeah. Milk. We don't have any left, and … I forgot to tell you. Hey — did you see that Allyson's moving?"

Harry nodded. "Yeah."

He still couldn't believe that Sirius had chased him just to remind him to pick up milk at the grocery store. He returned Sirius's smile as his godfather turned around and ran back.

Yep, Harry confirmed himself as he resumed walking. Everything was good again.

End.

-

A/N: Thanks so much for sticking with me through this story! I really appreciate all the reviews this story has gotten! Sorry for the late posting, but I finished it last night and got distracted from posting it. So here it is. The last chapter, and I really hoped you enjoyed it.

The Sequel The Existance of Reality is now up and running!