Chapter four: Decisions
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Sounds of laughter filled Harry's ears as he sat quietly on a large rock on the opposite side of the pond, watching the families walking around and feeding the ducks. Harry was watching a family of four near the edge of the pond.
There was a mother, father, daughter and a son. The mother was down at the little boy's level and they were throwing pieces of bread into the water for the birds. The little girl was on her father's shoulders, watching the ducks swimming around and pointing to one every so often. Harry smiled sadly at the family.
Since Harry was far away from the main area of the pond, he took out a cigarette and his lighter. Harry sighed as the smoked escaped from his mouth and nose. He shifted uncomfortably on the rock and stretched his back very slowly; it had been a rough night.
"Hey." A voice from behind Harry said about ten minutes later.
Harry, not looking up at the person replied, "Hey."
It was Ben, Harry could tell by the voice. Ben had a very soothing, deep voice. His voice almost made you feel relaxed and calm, like you didn't have a care in the world. Harry moved over a little to make room for Ben to sit down, still keeping his gaze at the family. As Ben settled down on the right side of Harry he said, "Thanks."
"No problem." Harry said and offered Ben a cigarette.
"No thanks." Ben said, "I've started running again so smoking won't really help improve my timing, it will just slow me down, thanks anyway though."
"Suit yourself." Harry said as he pulled out another one for himself and then put the pack of cigarettes back in his pocket.
"So," Ben asked, "What are you doing out here so early? It's only ten in the morning."
Harry just shrugged, "Don't know, what about you?"
"I was going for a run." Ben replied and Harry just nodded. Ben asked, "Are you alright?"
"I'm fine." Harry replied. Ben just nodded and the two sat quietly for a little while, watching the people around the pond.
"I think I was afraid of ducks when I was little." Harry said out of no where
"What?" Ben asked with a smile
Harry shrugged and murmured, "Just a memory I think, or maybe it was a dream, I'm not really sure. Some reason, I just remember being afraid of the ducks when I was little."
"Well you aren't anymore so I guess that is the important thing." Ben said, not really sure how to reply to shut a strange outburst.
Ben looked at Harry strangely and asked, "You sure you're alright? You seem a bit off today."
Harry turned his head and looked at Ben. Ben grimaced as he saw a large bruise on the left side of Harry's face, along his jaw line. Harry just nodded and said, "I'm fine."
"Where did you get that?" Ben asked, pointing to the mark
Harry just shrugged and looked back across the pond. The family he was watching had moved away from the pond and had settled themselves on the grass.
Ben asked, "Was it your uncle again?"
Harry didn't answer. He never actually answered when Ben would ask him this question, and Ben had asked him many times before. Ben just sort of figured everything out for himself after a while. It wasn't uncommon for Harry to show up places with strange bruises and false stories on how he had gotten them.
Ben looked down to the ground and picked up a small rock. He threw it into the water and watched it ripple out in the pond, "Harry, if things at home aren't great I could always talk to my dad for you. He could help get you out of there if you want."
"It's alright. I don't need help." Harry said
"He's helped other kids before, you know, its his job. He could find you another family. I mean, you'd only have to be with them a short time since you go away to that prep school most of the year. It would be safe than your uncle's house."
Harry had told the gang that he went to a prep school most of the year when they asked him about why they had only seen him around the area unless it was summer.
"I'm fine, really, I am." Harry reassured
"I mean, I know you don't have another relative you can really go with, so I just though that, well, you know, if you ever need anything, you don't have to be afraid to ask."
"I know." Harry said, "Thanks, but I'm really alright. It doesn't happen very often."
Ben just nodded and silence fell between them for a moment. Harry looked up at Ben and said, "I have a godfather."
"You do?" Ben asked with a raised eyebrow, "I didn't know that."
"He wants me to move in with him." Harry said, not really knowing why he was telling all of this to Ben. Maybe it was because he trusted Ben or even looked up to him. Harry wasn't really sure.
"Are you going to?"
"I don't know. I only met him a few days ago. I don't know him that well. He was my dad's best friend, apparently. They went to school together when they were younger." Harry said
"What is he like? Is he nice?"
"So far. He bought be hot chocolate the other day and we talked for a bit." Harry said and then asked, "What would you do?"
Ben shrugged, "Truthfully I don't know what I would do. But you know what I think you should do? I think you should test him out. Maybe spend a weekend with him or something. Get to know him a little better. See if it works out for you."
"That's always an option. I'm sure he'd agree to it and everything." Harry agreed
"I think anyone is better then your uncle and that you really have nothing to lose by getting to know him better. It certainly gives you more living options."
"True."
Ben sighed, "I would really think about it, Harry. I should probably get back to running; I'm not going to get any faster by just sitting around all day."
Ben stood up and it had just occurred to Harry that Ben was dressed in track pants and running shoes. "See you later, Harry."
Ben walked away and Harry called out, "Hey, Ben?"
Ben turned around, "Yeah?"
"Thanks."
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"Hey kiddo, how'd you get that beauty?" Sirius asked as Harry came into view and he saw the mark on Harry's face.
"Oh," Harry smirked, "I slipped on the kitchen floor and hit my face into the counter. It hurt like a bitch."
"I can imagine."
'Good.' Harry thought, 'He bought it.'
Harry, by this time, had been pretty good and making up lies on how he acquired strange bruises. Normally everyone believed his stories. The key was looking them in they eye when you told them, that way they knew that he wasn't lying. The only on who actually saw past his charade was Ben.
"So, what are your plans for today?" Sirius asked as he looked around the park.
"I have to meet some friends later tonight, but I'm not doing anything right now." Harry responded
"Brilliant, do you feel like doing something then?"
"Okay." Harry said, "What do you have in mind?"
"Well," Sirius began, "We could go into town and walk around for a bit or-"
"Do you live near here?" Harry cut Sirius off, "I mean, I've seen you here a lot for the past few days so are you here because of me or do you actually live close by?"
Sirius smiled, "I don't live too far from here, but I guess I'm really not that close. I've been staying nearby for the week just so I could see you. I've to go back home at the end of the week. It's part of the deal."
"What deal?"
"The deal I made with Dumbledore about you possibly living with me?"
Harry gave Sirius this look of utter confusion. Sirius sighed, "Do you know the main reason you live with your aunt and uncle?"
Harry shook his head. Sirius said, "I didn't think so. Since your aunt shares the same blood as your mother, the blood of your mother protects you. It keeps you safe. You're safest with you aunt because she has your mother's blood as well. Does that make any sense to you?"
"Sort of." Harry said
"When your parents died, your mother sacrificed herself for you. She wanted to protect you. It's very, very old magic, Harry. By doing so, she created this sort of bond to you, a bond that Voldemort can't touch. Since your aunt and your mother are from the same blood line, your aunt's blood holds a protection to you as well. That's why you are safe with the Dursleys, Voldemort can't touch you their because of the blood bond. Get it?"
"Yeah." Harry said, "But if I'm so safe with them, how would I be able to live with you? We aren't related by blood. You wouldn't have that level of protection, right? Why would Dumbledore ever consider me living with you?"
Sirius snorted, "Oh, trust me, he is dead against it. Technically, since I am your legal guardian, I have every right to make you come and live with me right now and Dumbledore wouldn't be able to do anything about it."
"So why don't you just make me come with you?" Harry questioned
"Well, it was part of the deal." Sirius said, "I didn't want to force you to come live with me because you didn't even know me and I'm sure the whole idea would have freaked you out. I also have to consider your safety. And for you to be safe with me Dumbledore would need to place a special protective ward on my house. So Dumbledore and I made a deal that I would have about a week or so to get to know you and if you felt comfortable with me then you could move in with me."
Harry thought about this for a moment, "What if I still didn't feel comfortable with you by the end of the week?"
"Then you wouldn't live with me. I'd still be able to see you if I wanted to, but you wouldn't live with me. Dumbledore really wants to keep your living situation as is." Sirius said sadly
Harry nodded as he and Sirius started walking around the park in silence. Every so often Sirius would glance at Harry when he thought that Harry wasn't looking. Harry saw that Sirius was going to put a hand on Harry's shoulder at one point, but he thought against it and pretended to scratch his head instead.
As they were walking past the playground area of the park, Harry saw the little girl and boy from the pond. Their father was pushing them on the swings. They were smiling and laughing, it made Harry feel a little sad that he'd never gotten to share an experience like that with his parents.
"Sirius?"
"Yeah?"
"Do you know anything about ducks?"
"Ducks?" Sirius though out loud and made a strange face, as though he was thinking really hard.
Sirius face then lit up with a huge smiled, "I don't know much about ducks Harry, but, I can't believe I even remember this, when you were little, your parents and I took you to this little park that had a pond. There were ducks in it and James kept trying to get you to pet one of the baby ducks, but you wouldn't go near it. You were afraid of it, you were only a year old or so, but it was so funny. The baby duck took one step near you and you screamed right in James' ear, it was great. Lily was afraid that you were going to have a duck phobia because of it. She kept yelling at me because it was my idea to take you there in the first place. She kept going on about how I had traumatized you for life."
Harry gave a smile at the story. Sirius asked, "Why an interest in ducks anyway?"
Harry shrugged, "Just wondering really."
"Oh."
"So you knew me well when I was little."
"I did." Sirius replied, "I'd watch you when James and Lily would go out for dinner sometimes. I'd see you at least once a week. I remember when you started talking. Your first word was daddy; only, you said it to the wrong person. I thought James was going to kill me. He spent the entire week trying to get you to call him daddy."
"I assume that I eventually did." Harry comment
"Yeah," Sirius smirked, "Your father actually bribed you at one point with cookies. He was so frustrated about you not calling him daddy. I think you might have even pointed to him one time and said 'man'. Your mom thought that was really funny. He even thought that you were doing it on purpose and that you hated him. He was literally jumping for joy when you called him daddy."
"That's the first time I ever heard storied about when I was a baby." Harry said
"I can imagine that. Your mom and your aunt weren't ever really close so I don't think your aunt ever saw you after you were born. I think the only time I ever met your aunt was at your mom's wedding. She wasn't even married to your uncle at that point."
"I'm surprised she even went." Harry admitted, "She hates magic. They all do."
Sirius nodded, "I actually think your grandparents forced her to go. She and Lily never really got along once Lily started Hogwarts. My guess is that she was probably jealous of Lily. Your grandparents were really proud of your mom. They thought that it was really cool to have a witch in the family."
"They sounded like nice people." Harry said
"Oh they were. I always liked your mom's parents, they were always really nice. Harry, you would have loved your dad's parents. They died before you were born, but you would have loved them. Frank told the best stories. Your father got his sense of humor from Frank. Your grandmother was the best cook in the entire world in my opinion. Ella always had a warm smile; she always made you feel welcome in her home."
"You knew them well, then?" Harry asked
"I lived with you dad for a while, so yeah, I knew them well. I was sort of like their second son. After I graduated Hogwarts I got my own apartment, but I always was invited to your grandparents whenever I wanted."
"Why did you live with my dad? Did you get kicked out of your house or something?"
"Not exactly. My parents were total bastards. I come from a long line of pure-blooded wizards. I'm sure you've met a good amount of them at Hogwarts. They think that they are better then most just because of their family name. My parents were pure-blooded maniacs and after a while I just couldn't deal with them so I left home when I was sixteen. Your grandparent let me stay with them. They didn't mind at all, they loved having me there."
"You really hated your family enough to want to leave forever?"
"Yeah."
"Why, did they beat you or something?"
The question startled Sirius a little, he hadn't expected it. "No, they weren't very physical like that, I mean, they'd slap me once in a while I guess, I can't really remember. Verbal abuse was more common with them. They weren't the nicest folks. James gave me credit for leaving; he thought it was a brave thing to do. They disowned me after that, not that I really cared. I was just glad that I had a friend like James who helped me out of a crappy situation."
Harry just nodded. So Sirius had not had the best home life either. They had something in common beside James and Lily. They walked around for a little while longer before Harry spoke again, "Sirius?"
"Yeah?"
"Do you really want me to live with you?"
"More than anything." Sirius said truthfully
"What if I did move in with you and things didn't work out?"
Sirius looked confused, "What do you mean?"
"I don't know. What if we got on each other's nerves? Then what? We'd be stuck with each other and that would fucking suck."
Sirius thought about this for a moment before replying, "Well, what we could do is, you could come stay with me for the weekend. Sort of test things out. See how the situation will work. If you want to go back your aunt and uncle, that's fine. I mean, I'm sure you'd miss them a lot if you were gone, so moving in with me would be something you'd need to really think about. I'm sure they'd miss you terribly too."
Harry snorted at that last comment. Sirius had no idea about what the Dursley's thought about him. Harry said, "I think we should give things a try. I could be good for me, you know, give me a change of scenery or something."
"I think it's a great idea. I mean, we'd have to speak to your aunt and uncle about it first and make sure it would be okay with them."
"Trust me; they'd be glad to get rid of me."
Sirius gave Harry a questioning look and Harry quickly said, "I mean it would give them one less person to worry about. Having two teenagers in the house can be kind of demanding."
Sirius just raised and eyebrow, "Right. Well, we can talk to them tomorrow. I'm sure they'll want to meet me. I mean, you've told them about me, haven't you?"
"Yeah, of course I have." Harry lied
"Okay then, that's settled. I'll come and talk to them tomorrow."
"Right, tomorrow."
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When Harry reached the little rock sight something was different. Everyone seemed very tense. Brock and Ben kept sending each other looks. The entire group seemed like they had just had an argument about something.
Candy and Taylor were glaring at each other. Candy was sitting next to Brock, so whatever they were fighting about; Taylor obviously hadn't agreed with Brock and thus was pushed to the side to make way for a more obedient girl.
Max and John seemed a bit off as well. Max was sitting next to Taylor and John was against a tree by himself.
"Hey Potter." Brock greeted, "Where have you been? You're late."
"Yeah, sorry bout that. I fell asleep." Harry lied. Ben was looking at Harry nervously and Harry just sent him a confused look back.
"Harry," Brock said with a grin. Harry was startled, Brock never called him by his first name before, "how would you like to do me a small favor?"
"How small?" Harry asked suspicious.
"Brock don't-" Ben began but Brock cut him off
"Shut the fuck up, Ben." Ben went quiet and looked towards the floor with a furious look on his face. Taylor looked between the two guys and for the first time, Harry had thought that he saw fear in her eyes.
Brock turned back to Harry and smiled, "What are you doing this weekend, Harry?"
Harry looked at Ben who shook his head behind Brock's back. Harry said, "I'm staying with my godfather for the weekend. I'm not going to be here."
Ben let out a sigh of relief and Brock narrowed his eyes at Harry, "What time are you expected back?"
"After ten at night." Harry lied, he wasn't really sure when he'd be home
Brock clapped his hands, "This works out great, I don't need you till midnight."
Ben, Max and Taylor all looked worried again. Candy and Brock smiled and John just looked back and fourth between the group.
"So Harry? Can you do me a favor?" Brock asked
"What's in it for me?" Harry asked and Brock's smiled dropped. Harry had realized he asked the wrong question. Brock got a strange look on his face, as though he was trying to decide whether he wanted to kill Harry or just laugh the comment off.
When he had finally come to a conclusion he reached into his pocket and pulled out a bag and threw it to Harry, "That's what you get. And maybe I'll throw in a few bucks your way too."
Harry looked at the contents of the little bag. It was pot. Harry looked confused. Brock never gave away free pot and he never offered money as well. Whatever he wanted Harry to do must have been big and it must have been bringing in a lot of money for Brock.
The group looked at Harry with intense interest, waiting for his reply. Ben's face was worried but at the same time he was furious. He looked as though he wanted to beat the crap out of Brock.
Harry looked at Ben and saw the look on his face. He knew that Ben wasn't happy, but at the same time, he couldn't avoid Brock's eyes, talking him into this deal without a single word. After a moment Harry finally spoke, "What do you want me to do?"
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AN: another chapter completed. Hope you all liked it. So the gang is starting to get interesting and Harry has agreed to go spend some time with Sirius. Remember, things might start to get better, but before they do, they normally get a little worse. Please read and review.
I'm just curious, if you were to make something happen in the story from after this point what would it be. I'm basically writing this on impulse but I still have a good idea of where I am going, but I am always open to suggestions. Thanks.
Just something to keep in mind: When I think of Sirius I think of a person who acts on impulse. Sirius is the type of person who would over react to situations in my opinion. So far he has been really laid back ands he's just sort of taking everything in, but that doesn't seem much like Sirius does it? I smell a breaking point somewhere along the line…