A/N: Hey all! Here's the new update to Raising Harry! So I went and read the new Harry Potter book. I think I've read better fanfictions! Sure, I loved Draco and Scorpius, but too much of it was awful...

Well, now that that's out of the way...enjoy!


Sirius let out a bark of laughter as Harry poked at the pancakes with his fork. "It's safe to eat, mate. They won't kill you. Put some syrup on them, they'll taste even better."

"'Kay." Harry reached for the syrup, but Remus scooped it up.

"I'll give you some. It's too heavy for a little boy like you." The werewolf carefully poured a small amount of syrup on the stack of pancakes and pushed the plate back to the toddler. "Here you go. Do you need help cutting it up?"

"Pease," Harry replied softly. He watched as Remus cut up his pancakes, green eyes focusing on the knife. Once the man finished, Harry happily began eating. "Mmm."

"Good to hear that my cooking skills are as good as ever," Sirius commented. "The connoisseur approves."

"Yes, taking advice from the two-year-old." Remus patted Harry's head and began to serve himself food. "Severus owled me this morning. We can join him later this afternoon to see Prince Manor."

"I have meetings with the goblins and other business people today. You two go see it, I trust your judgment on the matter." Taking a bite of his own breakfast, Sirius turned to his godson. "You behave yourself with Remus, okay, Prongslet? No pranks just yet."

"He's two, Sirius. He can't prank me."

"That's what you think. He's pranked me before, when Lily and James were...around." He cast a quick look at Harry, who was engrossed in his breakfast. "Anyway. Are you sure you can handle him?"

"I've taken him out alone before. I always manage." Remus took a deep sip of coffee, savoring the rich taste. "I have to admit, I never thought you would ever be able to cook this well."

"What, you doubted me?" Sirius clutched at his heart in fake shock. "I can't believe you, Moony! To think that my own friend turned on me!"

Harry giggled at his godfather's antics and Sirius ruffled his hair. "You like that, don't you? You like when Uncle Moony's a meanie to Uncle Padfoot."

"I highly doubt he even understands what's going on. Finish eating, Harry, and then maybe we'll go out." Remus turned Harry's attention back to the pancakes and looked up at Sirius. "Are you alright with my going off with Severus?"

"There's no reason for me to worry. He appears to be telling the truth. My Padfoot instincts have never been wrong before," Sirius remarked. "I've always been wary of Peter. Maybe I should trust my instincts more often."

"Then we'll trust them."

HPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHP

Severus looked at the bundled up child in Remus's arms. "It is not that cold here."

"It's colder than what Harry would be used to. I also don't know what the Dursleys did to him, so for all I know his immune system could be compromised." Remus adjusted Harry to rest in a more comfortable position. "He doesn't seem to mind wearing the hat, coat, and scarf, so I suppose he's okay with it."

"Petunia...abused him?" Severus questioned slowly.

"Yes." The werewolf watched the man carefully. "Harry was being kept in a cupboard under the stairs and bullied by his cousin when Sirius and I went to get him."

"They will pay." The Potions Master turned on his heel and started back up the path from Prince Manor before Remus grabbed his arm. "What? I am going to go make them pay for what they have done to Lily's child."

"You can join Sirius and I. With you in the picture we can probably start thinking of ideas tonight, even. Perhaps after Harry goes to bed?" At Severus's short nod, Remus let out a sigh of relief. Having to control Sirius was bad enough. He wouldn't be able to handle both of them at once. "How about the manor now?"

"Fine. Follow me." Severus stalked up the path, Remus following hot on his heels with Harry in tow. "I have never been here, although I know that it has been vacant since my grandfather's death. The manor was hidden under the Fidelius charm and could not be found until I, as the new Secret Keeper, received the note from my grandfather. I do not know if he had house elves, so the state of the manor could be...less than optimal."

"It would still be a better choice than my flat, especially since both you and Sirius have decided to join the Harry-raising team." As they came up to the doors, Harry began to struggle in Remus's arms. "Do you want to go down?"

"Yeah." Once he was on solid ground the toddler walked up to the door and turned to the two men. "Open?"

"He is certainly a curious child," Severus remarked, opening the door while grabbing Harry's hood to keep him from running inside.

"It's better than how he was yesterday. He's usually like this, but yesterday he was quiet and inactive." Remus knelt down and met Harry's green gaze. "You can't run away from Uncle Severus and I, understand?"

Harry looked up at Severus. "Unca Sev?"

"Yes, I suppose I do not have a choice about this." He gave the toddler a dirty look. "Uncle Sev, indeed."

"Your name is difficult for a two year old to pronounce, Severus. Cut him some slack." Peering down the hall, Remus tried to see what was down the dark passage. "Shall we explore?"

"That would be what you marauders do best." Severus led the way down the long hallway, the moth eaten carpet crumbling beneath their feet. "I did not think it would be in such terrible condition."

"Neither would I. Your grandfather had house elves, didn't he?" Remus asked. "House elves usually take care of the house even after the owner has died. This...doesn't look like they did."

Severus shook his head. "I believe my grandfather sent them to Hogwarts. In his will he warned me against Albus Dumbledore, saying he had suspicions that the man was not as good as he said he was. The elves were meant to spy on the Headmaster until I called them back to Prince Manor."

"Oooooh," came Harry's voice from ahead of them. The two men looked down and realized that the toddler had slipped away from them while they were talking. They exchanged a quick look, then Severus began to race down the hall, Remus hot on his heels. "Big."

Remus just barely had time to come to a stop before he crashed into Severus, who'd paused suddenly in the doorway. "What is this?" He asked in awe.

They stood in a ballroom, one that had certainly seen better days, but a ballroom nonetheless. Crystal chandeliers hung from the ceiling every couple of feet, most still intact. The area at the end of the room for musicians still had several sheets of music lying on the tiled floor, as if they would be back to pick them up in a few days when they realized it had been left behind. On the opposite side of the room was the dais for the Prince family and close friends, the table listing down in the front due to the splintered legs. The heavy tapestries on the walls hung thick with dust, their colors muted from prolonged exposure to the sun.

"This...it looks abandoned." Remus took Harry's hand to keep him from running into the room. Some of the crystals had fallen to the floor and shattered, making the room a danger to the toddler. "I can't imagine what the rest of the house looks like."

Severus nodded slowly. "I agree. I believe I will have the house elves come back - "

A loud pop! interrupted him as six house elves appeared in the room. "Master Severus has returned?!" the oldest one, a female, said shakily. "It has been many years since Wilma has had a real master. She will start making the manor good for Master Severus!"

"You are all my elves?" Severus looked around at the group with wide eyes. It took a lot to surprise him, but he hadn't thought his grandfather had this many house elves. It took magic to support house elves, a lot of magic. To have six house elves...his grandfather must have been very, very powerful.

"Master Eric was having more house elves, but theys not around anymore." A small male elf hung his head. "Hogwarts is not being good for elves."

"I see that." His black eyes flashed. The elves were bound to Hogwarts herself, not to Albus Dumbledore, but even then, Hogwarts could not support that many elves at a time. When it came to the choice between powering the wards or giving the house elves the extra power they could use, the wards took precedence, as they should. Albus was the one who either didn't or wouldn't understand that. "You will be here, in the Manor, from now on. You will no longer be working in Hogwarts. If I do not have the power to support all of you, tell me and I will see what I can do to resolve that problem. For now I would like you to restore the house to its former state, before it fell into disrepair. Am I understood?"

"Yes, Master Severus, sir!" The first elf dipped her head and popped away. One by one, the other five elves followed suit.

Remus looked on with wide eyes. "I suppose we should get out of their way, then."

"I would assume that would be a good idea. We have much to discuss, starting with the blood sample I took from Black last night." Severus exited the room, black robes swirling around him as he walked. "You may join me in my house for lunch, if you wish."

"That would probably be the best idea. Should we pick up takeaway?"

"I believe I am a decent enough cook that neither of you will die," he remarked drily. "There is no need for takeaway."

"Then let's get going. I want to know what you've discovered. You still live in the house in Spinner's End?" Remus lifted Harry in his arms so that they would get out of the manor faster. "If so I can Apparate there with Harry."

"Yes, I am still in Spinner's End. Once we're out of here we can Apparate. I do not know what the exact wards on the manor are and I would prefer not to have to explain to the mutt why you have been swallowed up by the floor."

Remus rolled his eyes. Apparently this was Severus's attempt at a joke. A rather dry one, but still a joke nonetheless.

Once they got out of the bounds of the manor they Apparated away to Severus's house.