5 years later
"Damn! How does this thing work?" James yelled out in frustration, slamming his fist on the top of the television. "Harry!" he shouted at the top of his voice. "Get down here and help me with this stupid thing!"
He waited patiently a minute, expecting the messy haired six year old to run down the stairs and coming to his father's aid, but that never happened. And James was quickly running out of patience.
"He's probably playing on the third floor again," James muttered angrily, searching the lounge room for anything of use. He was in the process of pressing the buttons on the remote control when he heard a strangled scream from the kitchen. James only had enough time to wonder if Harry had decided to wander downstairs when the strangled cry came again, more audible this time.
"James!" Sirius' panicked voice came to him.
"I'm in here!" James called out, starting to bang the remote control against the back of his hand.
Sirius rushed through the door, looking flustered and bothered. "I've got a problem," he stated.
"Don't we all," James muttered impatiently.
"I went to Moony, but he just laughed at me, I couldn't get an answer out of him," Sirius explained hurriedly.
"What is it, Padfoot?" James asked, clearly annoyed.
"Ok, get this. A couple of months ago I went over to this girl's house," Sirius glared pointedly at James.
"Oh…OH!" James gasped. "Sirius, you need to settle down. You're twenty-six for Merlin's sake."
"I know, I know," Sirius waved away the problem and focused more on the troubling issue. "Anyway, she came to me this morning…with a baby! A baby James! She's asking for compensation."
James stared at his friend for a minute, before bursting out laughing. Sirius looked on with increasing anger and confusion.
"What?" he demanded. "What is it?"
James bit his tongue in an effort to refrain from further laughter. "Sirius, do you remember when Lily was pregnant with Harry?" he asked.
Sirius nodded, a small smile creeping on his face, but immediately stopped when he remembered the supposed seriousness of the situation.
"Okay, well do you remember how long Harry was in there for?" James mocked thoughtfulness.
"I dunno," Sirius shrugged. "She was pretty big the last four months…oh," he grew red. "It takes more than two months, doesn't it?"
"Good job, Padfoot," James laughed. "Once again your intelligence amazes me."
Sirius growled but his eyes were betraying him. "What's your problem anyway?" he asked, as James stopped laughing and returned to beating the remote control against his hand.
"This damn TV won't work," he snapped.
"You've had this TV for three years and you don't know how to work it?" Sirius asked incredulously.
James blushed. "Harry's the one who uses it, not me," he explained. "I just thought I'd see what he's so hooked onto."
"Why don't you just use your wand?" Sirius asked, pulling out his.
"Put that back, would you?" James hissed. "He could come down anytime."
"Calm down," Sirius said, but put away his wand nonetheless. "You should tell him now anyway. He's old enough."
"But Dumbledore…"
"What's Dumbledore going to do?" Sirius demanded. "He can't exactly take away Harry anymore and Moody can barely run let alone walk anymore after that last battle, so there's no chasing after us."
"That's true," James admitted, twirling the remote control with his fingers. "And I'm running out of excuses as to why our plates and glasses keep blowing up."
"Exactly," Sirius encouraged. "What does Dumbledore matter?"
James was about to open his mouth to answer when someone beat him to it.
"Who's Dumbledore?" Harry stood in the doorway; his eyes looked at them curiously behind his rectangular glasses.
"Harry!" cried Sirius, a grin in place. "It's about time you came down to say hi to me."
"Who's Dumbledore?" Harry queried again.
"He's….uh…he's a…"
"A shoe manufacturer," Sirius exclaimed spontaneously.
"A shoe man-a-fact-er?" Harry asked in a way that made James and Sirius smile.
"Uh, yeah," James said, raising an eyebrow at Sirius. "We're thinking about buying new shoes from Dumbledore's."
"I've never heard of him," Harry said suspiciously.
"He's new," Sirius said. "You better pick up on it soon, it's the latest craze…thing."
Harry stared at Sirius for a minute. "I heard you shouting before," he said, grinning.
"You're too curious for your own good, you know that?" Sirius teased, grabbing Harry around the waist and pulling him into a bear hug.
"Wait a minute," James interrupted his voice stern and dangerous. "You heard Sirius yelling, but you didn't hear me."
Sirius let go of Harry and Harry was forced to look at his father.
"Were you deliberately ignoring me, Harry?" James asked, hurt and anger evident in his voice.
"No," Harry replied, going red in the face. "It wasn't that."
"Then what was it?" James demanded of his six-year old.
"Dad, something weird happened in my room just before," Harry explained and Sirius and James exchanged looks.
"What happened?" James asked urgently. "Nothing blew up did it?"
Harry shook his head slowly. "What does it mean when your walls keep changing colours?"
"What!" James and Sirius cried in unison.
"It keeps changing from red to blue and back again," Harry explained nervously.
"Crap!" James cried and ran out of the room. Harry turned to a worried looking Sirius.
"I didn't do anything wrong, did I, Sirius?" he asked, looking guilty. "I didn't mean to, I swear. It just happened. I tried to make it stop, but it just kept on changing."
Sirius nearly started laughing at the worried and guilty look on Harry's face, but kept his humour to himself.
"It's alright, Harry," Sirius said in a voice to calm Harry. "It's nothing."
"But dad looked really mad," Harry whimpered. "I didn't mean to make him upset."
Sirius walked over to his godson and dragged him to the couch. "Harry, what were you feeling before the walls started changing colours?"
Harry shrugged. "Angry," he admitted.
"Why were you angry, Harry?" Sirius encouraged gently.
"Because I wanted to paint the walls blue, but dad wouldn't let me," he muttered, looking down at his lap. "He said the whole house had to be red."
Sirius grinned down at his magical godson, never so proud in his life. Although Harry's inability to control his magic was an increasing worry, Sirius couldn't help but feel immensely proud that Harry was showing magical abilities that some wizarding children couldn't even master at the age of ten. But Harry, although shaky, was performing magic, without him knowing and Sirius was more than just proud. He was ecstatic. There was no doubt in his mind that Harry would be a powerful wizard, thinking much more past the Prophecy. He was James and Lily's son wasn't he?
Sirius was so deep in thought, that he hadn't noticed that Harry was tugging on his sleeve.
"Siri?" Harry was looking up at him pleadingly. "Is there something wrong with me?"
Sirius stared blankly down at Harry. This boy needs to be told, he thought decisively. But he knew he wasn't the one to tell him.
"There's nothing wrong with you, Harry," Sirius assured him, ruffling up his hair.
"But…but things keep on blowing up when I'm near and just now…" he trailed off, traces of tears shining in his eyes. "Siri, I think there's something wrong with me…there has to be. It's not normal."
Sirius sighed and wiped away a stray tear running down Harry's face. "What did dad say?" he asked.
Harry shrugged. "Dad says it's just accidents," Harry said, obviously thinking otherwise. "But it happens at school too. And the other kids call me a freak."
"Who?" Sirius demanded, going into over-protective mode. "Give me their names!"
"No!" Harry cried. "No! Don't do anything Sirius!"
Sirius' brow furrowed at the desperation in Harry's voice. "Why didn't you tell me before?" he asked. "Does dad know?"
Harry shook his head hurriedly. "Please don't tell him Sirius!" he cried. "He'll get mad! Please Sirius."
Sirius glared at his godson, who seemed to cower under his gaze. "I'm won't tell him, Harry," he promised. "But if it doesn't stop and I find out about it, you're dad is going to hear about it, am I clear?"
Harry nodded, unsure where his fun loving godfather had gone, but noticed, somewhat uncertainly, that Sirius seemed to deflate.
"Harry, you know that you're not a freak," Sirius said gently, but firmly. "You are normal. Perfectly normal. There is nothing wrong with you."
Harry wasn't entirely satisfied, but nevertheless nodded his head. Sirius smiled and pulled Harry closer into a hug. They only pulled apart when they heard footsteps. They both looked at the entrance of the room expectantly, Sirius with an amused grin and Harry with a worried frown. James walked in, looking deeply satisfied with himself. Harry leapt off the couch, mistaking his expression for something much more serious, and launched himself around James' waist.
"I'm sorry, dad!" Harry cried, letting the tears fall freely and wetting James' clothes where he had buried his face. "I didn't mean to, I swear."
James, caught by surprise, stood there, his hands by his sides, letting the small boy cry in his shirt. He looked up at Sirius, who was wearing a humorous grin.
"I didn't know it would happen, I swear dad!"
James laughed and wrapped his arms around Harry's head. "I know, Harry," he chuckled. "It wasn't your fault."
Harry looked up, tears streaming down his face. "But…but didn't I do that?" he asked.
James shook his head. He already had planned his excuse, quite ingenious if he thought so, himself.
"It was the lighting, Harry," he said, feeling confident. "The lighting was playing up. No need to worry."
"But you were so angry," Harry said, wiping the tears away. "I thought…"
"I was angry because it shouldn't have happened," James explained. "The electrician did a shoddy job," he growled, but underneath he was congratulating himself.
"You should sue him, James," Sirius said, smirking from behind Harry.
"Yeah, sue him, dad!" Harry yelled.
James glared at Sirius. How could he sue an electrician that didn't exist?
"Uh…I can't," James stuttered.
"Why not, James?" Sirius encouraged, grinning widely.
"Harry, how does this thing work?" James asked hurriedly picking up the remote control, hoping Harry would be distracted. He was granted his feeble wish.
Harry, his tears now completely dry, took the remote from his father's grasp and started pointing at each button.
"This is for the VCR," he explained. "This is fast-forward and you press this little button when you want to eject the video from the VCR."
"Stop being smart and tell me how to put on the damn TV," James said impatiently.
Harry laughed. "You press this red button that says 'power', you think you can handle that?" he asked in mock concern.
James scowled and grabbed the remote from Harry's grasp.
"Get out of here and sweep the kitchen," he growled.
"That's Mrs. Figg's job," Harry skulked.
"Mrs. Figg has a day off today, Harry," James reminded him.
"But I hate sweeping," Harry grumbled.
"But you get to hold a broom," Sirius said excitedly.
"There's no fun in a broom," Harry said grumpily, walking out of the room.
Sirius gasped as soon as Harry walked out and flopped down on the couch.
"James, did you hear that?" he wheezed. "Did you hear that?"
"Hear what Padfoot?" James asked, studying the remote carefully as he pressed the 'power' button.
"Harry said brooms are no fun," Sirius said, sounding panicky. "James, there's something wrong with Harry."
"There's nothing wrong with Harry," James said, turning down the volume when a large woman started to talk about her son's issues with the law.
"James, he said brooms weren't any fun," Sirius said, placing a hand to his heart. "How could he say that?"
"Sirius, he's just a kid and all he knows of a broom is that it is used to sweep," James sighed. "He doesn't know anything yet."
Before Sirius had a chance to respond to anything else, they heard the front door crash open and soon Remus' shouts were recognisable.
"James! There's been another attack!"
James and Sirius looked at eachother before sprinting outside into the hall where Remus was standing stock still, white as ever, staring at a small figure at the entrance of the kitchen. Harry was staring at Remus wide eyed.
"Are we being attacked Remmie?" he asked in a scared voice.
James stepped forward.
"I thought I told you to sweep, Harry," he said sternly.
"Are being attacked, dad?" he asked his father.
"No, you're not being attacked, Harry," Remus assured him.
"But you said…"
"I said you have to sweep," James said. "Go on."
Harry turned to Sirius, his eyes full of fear. "Siri, are we in danger?" he asked.
"We are not in danger!" James said, starting to raise his voice. "And if you do not start sweeping soon I will show you some other uses for a broom."
Harry's eyes widened in fear as he looked up at his glowering father.
"We're not in danger, Harry," Sirius said softly to him, seeing as how he was close to tears again. "Just do what dad says."
Harry nodded and turned around, walking back into the kitchen, under the penetrating glare of James.
"James, that was not fair," Sirius said. "He's just a kid."
James ignored Sirius and addressed Remus. "What's this about someone being attacked?" he asked.
Remus shook his head. "Let's talk about this in the lounge," he said, shooting the kitchen furtive glances.
James nodded and walked into the lounge followed by Sirius and Remus. When James had figured out how to switch off the TV, Sirius closed the door and all three of them were seated, James tuned towards Remus.
"Who was attacked?" he asked. "Who attacked them?"
Remus looked nervous. "Werewolves," he said, shame filling his voice.
"What?" Sirius asked, stunned. "When?"
"Just an hour ago," Remus explained. "I wasn't there, but there are some pretty bad casualties."
"Where did they attack?" James asked hurriedly. "Was it close?"
"It was at the Ministry," Remus said. "Three werewolves. Moody got in the middle. He lost an eye."
"He lost an eye?" Sirius choked. "That was it?"
"It was a misguided spell," Remus explained. "Someone was trying to defend themselves and got Moody instead."
"Who else was hurt?" James asked quickly.
"They got a few Ministry workers," Remus breathed. "A few died. They were the ones who sustained the most injuries. There are a few new werewolves and some just got away with minor injuries considering, like Moody."
"This is horrible," Sirius muttered. "Do they know who did it?"
Remus sighed. "No, they don't," he answered, regrettably. "All known werewolves are to be cross-examined."
"Remus, they don't suspect you do they?" James asked, a brotherly protection flaring up inside of him.
"I am a werewolf," Remus sighed. "I'm a suspect."
"What about Dumbledore?" Sirius asked. "Can't he do anything?"
"What can he do?" Remus snapped, running a hand through his prematurely greying hair. "The Minister could have been in danger."
"You mean Fudge?" James spat out with disgust. "You mean he wasn't bitten?"
"You sound disappointed," Remus said dryly. "He was out on some official business."
"What a shame," Sirius muttered and in a louder voice he said, "You'll be fine, Remus."
Remus shrugged. "If they think I did it, there's a good chance I could be terminated."
"Well you didn't do it," James said fiercely. "So there is going to be no termination. I'll see to that."
Remus smiled briefly at his two fiery brothers. "James, maybe you should talk to Harry," he said. "He seemed upset."
"He'll be fine," James said. "I want to hear more about this attack."
Sirius glanced at James. "Then I'll go speak to him," he said walking out of the room.
Author's Notes: Okay, so I've been lazy…but my computer crashed if that helped! This is a pretty slow chapter and I would like to make some things clear. The first, I'm Australian so I write in an Australian dialect. If I spell or write something Australian and it annoys you I am sorry! Really I am! I'm trying really hard to pick up a few British sayings. Secondly, I have to comment on how I portrayed Dumbledore's character. I know a few of you have said that it just didn't go well or it ruined the story or something or other, but it's on the net now and I can't do anything about it. I don't intend to write Dumbledore as a manipulative old man anymore, trust me.
Please review, it puts a smile on my face! Thanks!