Chapter Five August 11, 1985
A/N I want to say thank you to all my reviewers. You guys have all been so great, and it really helps with inspiration. Warnings for mentions of child abuse, mild slash, (small displays of affection and innuendos only) and for Sirius' foul mouth.
Harry read until he fell asleep. He loved his Mum's books. There was so much to learn in them. He had always loved to learn. He didn't wake up until Aunt Petunia banged on his cupboard door.
"Up freak!" she snapped, "get up and make breakfast! You're late! Again!"
Harry jerked awake at his aunt's voice and scrambled out of the trunk. Glad that she never opened the door anymore. Only Uncle Vernon did, and only when he thought Harry needed...punishment. "I'm awake, Aunt Petunia," he said as he quickly got dressed.
"Finally!" she snapped.
Harry dodged her swinging hand and scrambled into the kitchen. He wasn't lucky enough to dodge Dudley's fist as it rammed into his stomach, though.
"Where's my breakfast, freak?" shouted Uncle Vernon, ignoring the way he gasped for air after Dudley's punch.
Harry said nothing as he headed for the stove, where the bacon was already frying.
After breakfast was done, instead of giving him his chore list like usual, Aunt Petunia gave him a gallon of water, a half block of cheese, some crackers, a half loaf of bread, some sliced ham, the rest of the bacon, (cooked) and a jar of peanut butter.
"Why so much, Pet?" asked Uncle Vernon, frowning slightly, "freak doesn't deserve all that good food."
"We're taking Dudley on that trip before school starts, remember?" she said as she passed a large can to Harry, "we'll be gone two weeks. By the time we get back, most of this stuff would spoil."
"Give him everything that could spoil then," he snarked, glaring Harry's way, "better to waste it on a freak than waste it completely."
"All right Vernon," she said as she headed back to the fridge.
"And you, take the stuff to your cupboard." Vernon said, shoving him in that direction.
Harry had to hide his face in the can to avoid the ear-splitting grin he wore. Unfortunately, he was still grinning slightly when he came back to get the rest.
Vernon grabbed him by the arm and shook him hard, "what are you grinning about, freak? You think because you got some extra food, you won't get your rightful punishment?" He shook his fist in Harry's face threateningly.
"N-no Uncle Vernon,"
"Good," said Vernon, punching him in the stomach,"take this stuff to your cupboard so we can leave."
Harry took the food his Aunt shoved at him and ran to the cupboard.
As soon as he heard the front door slam, he practically jumped into the trunk. He ran around for several minutes, jumping and screaming "No more Dursleys! Two whole weeks!"
When he calmed down, Harry went back up to his cupboard and listened. Hearing nothing, he opened the door and ran to the kitchen. He grabbed everything he could and took it to the trunk. After he put it on the Copier Shelf (as he called it) then he brought it back and grabbed more. Once he'd done all the food, he went around the house and duplicated everything he could move. Once he was done, he made a large breakfast, and sat in front of the fireplace with a book.
…
Albus Dumbledore smiled at the professors who had returned early. He loved this time of year, after the professors came back but before school started. The castle was quiet, but you could feel a tingling in the air, as if the castle itself was anticipating the students' return.
He sat in the great chair waiting for the evening meal to appear. Before it could, several owls flew in and dropped newspapers in front of every professor. Why was there an extra edition? He thought, what could have happened?
He got his answer when he picked up his copy, and the screaming headlines nearly made him drop the paper in astonishment.
SIRIUS BLACK INNOCENT!
and
IMPRISONED WITHOUT TRIAL, HOW COULD THIS HAPPEN?
Marched across the front page. He scanned the articles with trepidation and growing dread. How? How had they discovered this? And who? I covered my tracks. No one should have been able to help Black. He continued to read the articles in astonishment and a little fear.A letter to the Wizengamot? Damn you Lily Potter. He knew it had to be her, he'd had the rest of the Order under his thumb, but she had always been difficult. And even more so after Harry was born. Damn Muggleborns, why do they have to question every damned thing? Now I have to rethink most of my plans. Can't let Black get the boy, Harry had to remain abused. He was so lost in thought, he hadn't noticed the professors' reactions.
"How could this happen, Albus?" Minerva asked, hand to her chest, "how could we have believed it of him?"
"A letter to the members of the Wizengamot," Filius read, "didn't you get one, Albus?"
"Most likely," he said barely suppressing a frown, "I receive so much correspondence that it's likely buried on my desk."
Everyone nodded as he politely excused himself, he had plans to make.
…
Harry read for hours, taking a break only to eat and use the bathroom. When it was getting late, he put down the book and explored the rest of the trunk. He had seen the kitchen, bathroom, and the library in one compartment. Now he looked around to see what else there was. In the next compartment, he found a large flat, with 5 bedrooms, each with its own bathroom, a large living room with a telly and stereo, (He wondered how that worked, Mum's books said that most Muggle devices didn't work well around magic) a small library with even more books, three small study\offices, and a:GIGANTIC kitchen. Each room had a bathroom.
The next compartment was a storage area. The one after that was a HUGE 'outdoor' space. It was a large place with grass. The 'sky' was blue with a few puffy clouds and a soft breeze was blowing. There were small notes in every room that explained either what it was or some features. The note for the outside space said that the wards in this place made the weather. That he could plant anything, and there was a special fertilizer that would make Muggle plants grow really fast. There was a small storage shed with tools, fertilizer, and a shelf full of seed smiled as he headed to a bedroom. This is going to be fun!
…
After the press conference, Remus took Sirius to his cottage. He made a quick dinner and they sat at the kitchen table.
"Sorry to hear about your parents, Moony," said Sirius, "they were good people."
"Thanks, Padfoot," Remus said, smiling sadly, "yes they were."
Sirius nodded, "so where's Harry? Is he at a friend's or something?"
"What do you mean?"
"You have Harry, don't you?" Sirius looked confused, "he was supposed to go to you, wasn't he?"
Remus laughed bitterly, "honestly Sirius, do you think the Ministry would give a child to a werewolf? Especially The-Boy-Who-Lived?"
Sirius made a face, "really? That's what they're calling him?"
"Yeah," said Remus, making a similar face.
Sirius put his hand on Remus' shoulder, "I'm sorry, Moony."
"Me too, Padfoot."
"Do you know who has him? Did Dumbledore tell you? He at least lets you visit him, right?"
"Slow down Padfoot," Remus said, "in order, yes, no and no. I know who has him, but Dumbledore never told me. In fact, he said I couldn't visit."
"WHAT!" Sirius shouted, jumping up.
"Calm down, Pads," said Remus, pushing him into the chair, "he said the blood wards would keep out dark creatures."
"That's low," Sirius growled, "couldn't you at least write- Wait a damn minute! Blood wards? That should only be possible if…..NO FUCKING WAY! That old bastard did NOT put Harry with Lily's bitch sister!"
Remus nodded gravely, "he did."
Sirius jumped up again, "NO FUCKING WAY! I'll strangle that old bastard with his own beard! AFTER I rip it out by the fucking ROOTS!"
Remus stood, "calm down Pads, that won't get us anywhere. Padfoot SIT DOWN!" he grabbed Sirius' shoulders and pushed him forcefully back into his chair.
"How can you be so calm?" Sirius asked, "our pup in their hands. Lily's sister HATES magic, and the fat pig she married is worse!"
"Trust me Padfoot," Remus said, eyes flashing a steely amber, "I am FAR from calm. I just know that kicking the old bastard's ass into next year, as fun as that would be, won't get us anywhere."
"Then what else can we do?" Sirius asked.
"I don't know," said Remus, sitting down, "they might give him to you, but with me in the picture…."
"Don't think that way Moony, we'll think of something. I'm Lord Black now, that's got to be good for something."
Remus got an evil smirk on his face, then he jumped up and ran to the living room. When he heard banging and cursing, Sirius got up and followed.
"Moony, what the-"
Remus stood up, banging his head on a bookshelf, but grinning like a loon.
"I knew I had it somewhere!" Remus laughed as he brought a battered book to Sirius. Sirius looked confused, "Moony…" he said slowly, "how is a book on pureblood law going to help us get- " he cut off in mid sentence, grinning evilly
"You figured it out, didn't you?" asked Remus, grinning just as evilly.
"More like I remembered those stupid lessons."
"Well, do you have any ideas?"
"Not how we can get Harry, but how we can keep him."
"Getting him is no problem," said Remus, smiling mischievously, "like I said, I know who has him. More importantly, I know where they live."
"No one can keep a Lord from his Heir, or the Lord's chosen spouse."Sirius said lowly, removing a small box from his jeans pocket, "I had this in my pocket when they took me to Azkaban. Just waiting for the right time I guess. They gave it back with the rest of the stuff I had."
"Sirius what-," Remus turned around.
Sirius went down on one knee, "Moony- Remus, I've loved you for a long time," he pushed a hand nervously through his hair, "I know this isn't the most romantic place but-" he opened the ring box in his hand, revealing a beautiful diamond engagement ring, "will you marry me?"
He had barely finished the question before Remus had him in a tight hug, and kissed him fiercely. When they finally broke apart, panting for breath, Remus laughed, "does that answer your question?"
Sirius grinned, looking dazed, "if that's not a yes I don't know what is," he said as he slid the ring on Remus' left finger.
"So," asked Sirius, "do you want a wedding? Or should we just do the oaths?"
Remus smiled and looked at his ring, "I don't need a wedding. You are enough for me."
"You'll have me either way," he took Remus' hand, "are you sure?"
"Of course."
Sirius smiled, "let's get started."
"In the morning."
"Moony-"
"No, Padfoot. You are exhausted still from Azkaban, and the moon was last night. We both need sleep."
"Moony, I'm so sorry I-"
"Had no way to keep track of the lunar calendar and no reason to remember anyway," Remus interjected before Sirius could finish.
"What do you mean, no reason?" Sirius asked, wrapping his arms around Remus, "you're my reason.
Remus just smiled up at him, "let's do the oaths tonight."
Sirius grinned widely, "that would make this our wedding night."
Remus grinned and turned toward the bedroom, Sirius following closely. They wouldn't be getting much sleep that night, that was for sure.
Then again, he wasn't complaining.
