Chapter Sixteen

Sirius slumped back onto the bed and flopped on the pillows, "that….was….exhausting." he yawned.

"Still tired?" asked Remus.

"Mnnmmn hmmm," mumbled Sirius, "aren't you?"

"Yes," said Remus, "but you did put away five cups of coffee."

"Uhhh huhhh,"

"Wow," chuckled Remus, "if you're this bad now, I'd hate to see you at Christmas!"

Sirius sat up, "what do you mean?"

"It's a tradition for kids to wake their parents at the crack of dawn."

Sirius' eyes got wide, "really?"

"Yeah, sometimes even before." said Remus, " thought you would have heard about it."

"Are you KIDDING?" Mum would've hexed me raw! I don't think even Reg would've gotten away with that one!" Sirius said.

"I figured that," Remus said, "but Harry will be excited. And he will wake up early. And so will we."

Sirius looked horrified.

"Padfoot, you're going to be a morning person whether you like it or not."

Sirius flopped back on the pillows, "all for Harry," he sighed and smiled fondly, "all for the pup."

Remus smiled and clapped him on the back, "welcome to parenthood."

Sirius only smiled.

Albus smiled as he sat at the head table for the Welcoming Feast. The Sorting had been finished and he began the feast. He watched contentedly as the plates filled and the children dug in. He ate his food and thought about his plans. He couldn't wait for young Harry to start Hogwarts. Then all my plans will come to fruition, he thought. As he made his usual start of term speech, he contemplated the one person who could put a stop to his plans; Sirius Black. Dismissing the students to their common rooms, he went off to bed, still pondering the situation. He had written, "now that young Harry had started Muggle school, he was only free on Saturdays," and had asked Black to "give him a week or two to give Harry time to adjust and to let me set up the meeting." But that's only a temporary fix, thought Albus, I'll have to contact the Dursleys this week. They need to make the boy say he wants to stay there. If Black thinks that even the slightest thing wrong, he'll remove the boy. I can't let that happen. Albus sighed, Sirius Black being free was turning out to be just as big a pain as he thought it would be.

…..

Two days passed peacefully, then on the third day, they heard a chime that warned someone was knocking on the cupboard. Sirius and Remus emerged to find Petunia holding a letter with two outstretched fingers, as if it would explode.

"What's this?" asked Remus as she thrust the letter at him.

"It-it just appeared on my kitchen table in a burst of fire, " said Petunia, "It's from that Dumbledore person."

"Thank you for showing it to us," said Remus, "let us read it and come up with a plan. We'll talk to you afterward."

"All right," said Petunia as she walked back to her kitchen.

Remus and Sirius looked at each other and went back into the trunk. Entering the living room and sitting together on one of the couches, Sirius took the letter and read aloud;

Dear Petunia,

I am sorry to contact you this way, as I said there would be no contact until Harry's Hogwarts letter. However, I feel the matter is urgent. A friend of the Potters' who had been missing for some years and presumed dead has suddenly emerged, and he believes that he should raise Harry. As I said in my first letter, having Harry under your care is the only way you can gain protection from your sister's murderer and his followers. Also, this man, Sirius Black, is not quite mentally stable. I fear what would happen if he believes Harry is being abused. If Harry even hints that he would like to live with Sirius, not only would the protection be gone, but I believe that Sirius would see it as a sign of abuse and take drastic action. Please be sure that Harry is suitably prepared, and write a reply with an appropriate date and time. When you are ready to reply, say the word 'Fawkes' and my phoenix will appear.

Yours truly,

Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore

Headmaster Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Order of Merlin 1st class, Chief Warlock, Supreme Mugwump National Confederation of Wizards

Sirius snarled, crumpling the letter, "stupid old bastard! I'd like to show HIM fucking mentally unstable!"

Remus retrieved the letter and smoothed it out, "calm down, Padfoot, as much as I want to let you," he sighed, "hell, as much as I want to HELP you, that won't help us. More importantly, it won't help Harry."

Sirius slumped, "I know. What do we do about this?"

"Hmmmm," said Remus thoughtfully as he rubbed his chin and reread the letter, "I see two possibilities."

"What?" asked Sirius, perking up a little.

"Well, for one…."

Sirius howled with laughter, gasping through his hysterical laughter, he could only manage one word, "brilliant!"