AN: Here it is everyone, the last chapter. I hope everyone likes it and remember, this is the last chance to Review!

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Chapter 13: A Change of Scenery

The next two weeks passed quickly for Harry and Sirius. They both met with Dumbledore, permanently changing Harry's living arrangements to Sirius' place (After placing even stronger protection wards on the house). Remus stopped by often for dinner, letting them all just relax and enjoy each others company.

Over the week Harry wrote to Ron and Hermione for the first time all summer, telling them about how he was living with his godfather (He left out the bit about why he moved in with Sirius, not wanting his friends to know about the abuse). Ron and Hermione were both shocked to hear how Sirius Black, ex-murder, was the godfather to The-Boy-Who-Lived, but they were glad to here that Harry was okay. Ron was even more shocked at the fact that it had been his brothers that actually caused Sirius' name to be cleared. Who knew that years of sibling squabbling would actually lead to the discovery that their pet rat wasn't really a rat after all?

Ron and Hermione told Harry about their summers through their letters. Ron was on vacation in Egypt and Hermione was in France with her parents. They both were eager to see Harry before school started and were already making plans to meet in Diagon Alley later in the summer.

On July thirty first, Harry spent his birthday with Sirius and Remus, they decided that it was best to just have a small celebration between the three of them; it had been a rough summer and the idea of being surrounded by a bunch of people didn't really excite Harry at the moment. He liked the idea of taking things easy and having a quiet party. And although his party was small, it was easily the best birthday Harry had ever had. Sirius bought Harry a bunch of new clothes and gave him his knife, knowing how much Harry liked it. Remus gave him a set of books about Quidditch which he loved. Hermione and Ron sent him their gifts, Hermione got him a Broomstick Servicing Kit and Ron sent him a Pocket Sneakoscope. For the first time all summer, Harry was starting to feel like himself and was looking forward to seeing his friends again.

Harry and Sirius were getting to know each other better, mostly discussing little things like favorite foods and Quidditch, making up for all the years they spent apart. Harry learned that Sirius' favorite color was dark blue and that he had a fear of hiccups (He became afraid of them after reading an article about a man who had hiccups for seven years straight). He found that his godfather loved cook and wanted to be a chef at one time. Even though he had only started cooking again once he was freed from Azkaban, Sirius hadn't lost his touch and the food he made was great.

Harry, with much encouragement and support from Sirius, threw away his cigarettes, finally deciding to kick the habit. Because of the amount He had been smoking over the summer, his nicotine addiction was stronger than he realized, making him slightly irritable when he was going through the nicotine withdrawal. Sirius was able to bring Harry out of his sour moods by telling amusing stories about his days at Hogwarts (Many including Sirius and James sneaking around at night with the aid of a map Sirius and his friends had created) or by telling a few jokes, instantly bringing a smile to Harry's face.

Harry couldn't remember when he had been happier. Being at Sirius house was doing wonders for his nerves. He was less edgy and much more relaxed. Harry was still jumpy around physical affection and would tense up a bit when Sirius would surprise him with a hug. They both knew that it would take time for him to stop associating psychical contact with abuse; so far Harry was progressing nicely and was becoming less tense with the idea of the surprise hugs. In a way, Harry found them comforting.

When Thursday arrived, Sirius and Harry decided to take a trip back to the Dursleys to pick up Harry's things. He was a little nervous about going back, even though he knew it was just going to be a quick trip to get his stuff. Sirius saw that Harry was feeling apprehensive about the situation. He did his best to reassure his godson that everything was going to be fine, and although this did seem to help a little, Harry was still worried.

They arrived at the Dursleys around one in the afternoon. Luckily Vernon was out in town with Dudley and his sister who had come to visit during the week. If he had been home Sirius would have probably transformed him into a slug then stepped on him. Petunia stayed away from Harry and Sirius, taking refuge in the kitchen while they were packing up Harry's room.

They quickly packed up Harry's room, placing a few books and clothes into his school trunk, Sirius then shrunk it with a flick of his wand and placed it in his pocket for easy traveling. With one final glare at his aunt, Sirius and Harry left the house, not looking back as they closed the door behind them.

Sirius got on his motorcycle and put his helmet on. Harry was about to get on when a voice called out to him.

"Harry!" It was Ben. He was walking down the block with Taylor, holding hands. He waved at Harry, smiling brightly.

Harry turned to Sirius, "I'll be right back."

"Okay." Sirius said, eyeing the Ben and Taylor warily.

Harry walked over to Ben and Taylor, noticing how different they looked. Ben's face had healed since the last time they he seen each other and was no longer swollen. He was dressed nicely wearing a red button up shirt and nice jeans. Taylor also looked different. Harry almost didn't recognize her at first. He black hair had been dyed a light brown color. Her face was fuller than before and brighter. Her hazel eyes were more carefree, as though she had gotten a good night sleep. One thing Harry noticed is that they were happy, both smiling. He also noticed how friendly they seemed towards each other. Some things had obviously changed over the past week.

"Hey." Ben said nervously.

"Hi." Harry replied, not meeting Ben's eyes.

"Do you think I can talk to Harry alone?" Ben asked Taylor.

"Sure." She nodded then turned to Harry and said, "It was nice seeing you again, Harry."

"You too." Harry said, looking back up at her as she walked away from the two, giving them some privacy to talk.

"So," Ben cleared his throat, "how have you been?"

"I've been alright." Responded Harry, timidly.

Ben nodded. He gave Harry a small smile. "You look different." Ben said, taking in Harry's appearance. He wasn't wearing his usual hand-me-downs from Dudley but a nice dark blue jacket and a white tee-shirt. Harry's jeans weren't baggy and actually fit him nicely.

Harry rubbed the back of his neck. "Thanks. My godfather bought me some new clothes the other day." Harry paused and looked at Ben again, observing the changes in the older boy. "You and Taylor look different too."

"Yeah," Ben said, rubbing the back of his neck like Harry had, "we've been pretty good, staying out of trouble and whatnot. She made me go shopping with her yesterday and we bought some new stuff."

"Her hair looks nice. I like it better than the black." Harry comment, looking over at Taylor. She was standing next to Sirius, both of them talking about their love of motorcycles.

"That's what I said also." Ben beamed. "I told her how I liked her hair better when it was lighter so she dyed it to something less dramatic."

"Have you guys been spending a lot of time together lately?" Harry asked.

Ben grinned. "Yeah, well, we're dating now; doing stuff together comes with the couple territory."

"Really. When did that happen?"

"Last Thursday."

"So she left Brock then…" Harry said, more to himself then Ben.

Ben nodded. "Yeah, we aren't exactly hanging around with Brock anymore. He's a dick, you know. She was sick of him treating her like crap and I was tired of dealing with him. I've got school to worry about and Taylor is starting to get her act together and it's easier to do that without Brock and all his bullshit."

"I'm sure Brock was thrilled about that." Harry replied sarcastically. "Taylor was one of his better customers, so were you."

"I'm not doing any of that crap anymore. Neither is Taylor. She started going to these meeting things to help her clean up her act and stuff. I was really proud of her, it was her own decision too; her parents didn't force her to go or anything."

"I guess Brock will need to find new people to sell crap to then."

"Well, Brock isn't exactly selling much of anything right now." Ben snorted.

"What do you mean?" Harry inquired, raising an eyebrow.

"Brock was busted by the cops a few days ago." Ben explained.

"Are you serious?" Harry gaped.

Ben nodded then gave Harry a sly smile. "Yeah. Let's just say that the cops got a mysterious tip from an anonymous person about some of the things that were going on involving dear old Brock."

Harry stared at Ben in disbelief. "You ratted him out? Why?"

Ben pulled his eyes from Harry's and looked towards the ground. "The other day when you said that I should have said something to my dad but I didn't because I was covering my own ass-"

"I didn't mean to make you feel bad about that, I was just upset." Harry broke in.

"No, you had every right to be upset. You were right. I could have stopped everything but I didn't because I was protecting myself. I couldn't stop thinking about what you said though." Ben chuckled softly, "What you said just kept replaying in my mind. I was losing sleep over it because I felt so guilty. So, I talked to Taylor about it and we decided that we could let the cops know what was going on with Brock without them actually knowing it was us who told them. We made an anonymous call to them."

"So what happened to Brock?" Harry asked.

"The cops got warrant and they searched Brock's house. The found tons of illegal drugs and arrested him. He's supposedly going to spend some time in jail for it unless he can pay a rather large fee."

"Wow." Harry said, "I never expected that to happen."

Ben nodded and took a deep breath before speaking again. "Harry, I'm really sorry that I didn't say anything to my dad. You could have been killed or something. You never should have been put in the position you were in and I'm really sorry and I just hope that you can forgive me."

Harry could tell by the look on Ben's face that he truly was sorry. But Harry didn't blame Ben. Harry knew that it wasn't Ben who had gotten him into the situation. If Harry had been in his place, chances are he wouldn't have said anything either.

Harry nodded and pierced Ben with his emerald eyes. "Ben, it isn't your fault. I'm not mad or anything. I don't blame you. I never did blame you. I was just upset the other day. I was my fault that I got into the situation in the first place. If I hadn't been so stupid then none of it would have happened at all."

"It wasn't really your fault either. It was Brocks." Ben pointed out.

Harry nodded in agreement. "It was a little of everyone's fault I guess."

"But mostly Brocks." Ben smirked, making Harry snort in amusement.

Ben grinned at Harry then looked towards Taylor who was still talking to Sirius. "So, that's your godfather?"

Harry looked towards Sirius and smirked. "That's him."

"He seems cool. I like the motorcycle. I wish my godfather had a motorcycle." Ben Joked. "He seems like a good guy, he's listening to Taylor's babbling so he must be really nice then. Most people would have told her to shut up by now."

"Yeah, he's really nice." Harry said, giving Ben a small smile. "I'm going to live with him from now on. That's why I'm actually here today. We just came to tie up a few loose ends with my relatives."

"That's good, Harry. You needed to get away from your uncle." Ben said and Harry just nodded in agreement.

They stood silently for a moment before Ben spoke. "Does he treat you well? I mean, I'm sure anything is better then living with your aunt and uncle, but are you happier with him? You always seemed so down all the time…"

Harry looked back over at Sirius who was letting Taylor try on his helmet, making them both laugh in amusement. Harry half smiled. "You know, I am happy. Sirius is really great. I can talk to him about stuff. I trust him, even though I haven't known him that long. I've never really trusted anyone before."

"I'm glad that things worked out for you. For both of us really." Ben said then sighed. "So, this is it then? This is the last time you'll be around here?"

Harry nodded. Ben gave Harry a sad smile. "It will be weird not having you around."

"It will be weird not being here." Harry said truthfully, it wasn't until now that he had actually stopped to think that this was the last time he'd ever see the Dursleys.

"It's probably for the best though. It will be better for you to be away from here."

Harry nodded. Ben smiled sadly. "You take care of yourself, Harry."

Harry smiled back. "I will."

Ben nodded and nudged his head towards Sirius and Taylor and smirked. "We should probably get over there and save your godfather from Taylor. She can be a bit chatty."

Harry snorted at the comment as he and Ben walked back over to Sirius and Taylor.

"Hello." Sirius said as they approached. He smiled at Harry and asked, "Ready?"

Harry nodded as Taylor went to stand next to Ben, their fingers threading together. Ben squeezed her hand gently as he said to Harry, "See you around, Harry."

Harry just smiled and nodded. With a final wave, Ben and Taylor turned away and continued walking down the street, holding hands.

"Who was that?" Sirius asked as Harry climbed onto the motorcycle.

"That was Ben."

"He seems like a nice kid. His girlfriend really liked my bike." Sirius grinned.

"Yeah, they're both really nice."

"So, you ready to go?"

"Yeah." Harry said.

And with that, Sirius started the engine and drove down the street away from the Dursleys, neither of them looking back as number four Privet Drive faded out of sight.

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The sunset crept into the window of the kitchen, providing the room with the last hours of daylight. Sirius stood at the stove, making some soup for dinner. The smell of freshly baked rolls came from the pan cooling on the countertop.

Harry leaned against the kitchen door frame, just watching his godfather cook, the aroma from the soup and rolls making him feel hungry. Harry slowly walked into the kitchen, his bare feet padding on the cool floor, hands in his pockets as he went to stand next to his godfather.

Without saying a word, Harry awkwardly wrapped his arms around Sirius' waist, resting his head on his godfather's chest. Sirius stopped cooking and returned the hug, surprised at the sudden embrace. He gave Harry a small smile as his godson pulled away.

"What was that for?" Sirius asked, ruffling Harry's hair, making it even messier.

Harry shrugged. "Nothing, just wondered what it felt like."

"How'd it feel?"

Harry chuckled as he rubbed the back of his neck, "A bit awkward."

Sirius let out a bark-like laugh and pulled Harry back into a one armed hug, using his other hand to stir the soup. He looked down at Harry and smiled. "Still awkward?"

Harry smirked. "Not as much as before."

They stayed like that for a while, Harry resting his head on his godfather as Sirius kept a comforting grip on Harry. It would take time to heal their pasts and to make the pain fade away. It would be a bumpy road for them, after all, two strong personalities are bound to clash occasionally, but they knew, they had each other and that would be enough for them to overcome anything that came their way.

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THE END!

AN: A Change of Scenery is now officially complete. I hope everyone liked the last chapter. It tied up a few loose ends that needed to be dealt with. I'm really happy with how this story went. Wow, I feel so accomplished because this the first story with chapters that I finished.

Okay, I'm sure everyone is wondering about a sequel. I will be writing a sequel after all. I have a pretty good idea of what I want to do in my sequel. I just have a few things I need to work out (mostly dealing with Voldemort stuff and a few other details. I need to decide how close to the books I want to stay or if I want to do my own thing with it). So if you want to know when the sequel will be up you can check my profile which is updated regularly, it will have some sequel info up shortly. Or, you can put me on your author alerts or email me from time to time.

Once again, thank you to everyone who read the story and reviewed. Special thanks to glory boots, batman sporks, -loose lips sink ships-, and gatermage who review practically every chapter.

Thanks to all who gave me ideas for things they would like to see in the sequel. That always helps in the writing process. Anyway, thanks again to everyone and please review.

Until the sequel,

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