The next morning, Harry woke up with the sunrise and leapt out of bed. He put on his glasses, dressed quickly, and fed Hedwig.
"Sorry old girl." he said. "You're still going to be stuck here, I'm afraid."
Hedwig gave him a playful nip as she accepted an Eyelops Premium Owl Treat from him. Harry put his hand on the doorknob and was about to open the bedroom door when he realized that the Dursleys would get suspicious if he seemed happy about the arrangement with "Mr. White." So he wiped the smile off his face, hunched his shoulders, and proceeded into the hallway. Uncle Vernon was sitting at the kitchen table, sipping his coffee and reading the morning paper. Harry gave an exaggerated sigh as he proceeded out the front door.
"Don't let Mr. White see you looking like that, boy!" Uncle Vernon shouted after him.
Oh don't worry, he won't. Harry thought with a private smirk.
Sirius/Felix had given them his address the night before: Eight Privet Drive, a short ways up the road. Apparently he had purchased the house from its Muggle owner and arranged an "accidental" meeting with Vernon.
The houses on Privet Drive were part of a development, and as a result they were nearly identical inside. Obviously someone had furnished the house for Sirius, since nothing looked unusual. His godfather sat at the table, reading the same newspaper as Uncle Vernon and drinking coffee.
The only difference was that he smiled at Harry when he saw him.
"That was brilliant." Harry said. "How did you fool them into thinking you're a Muggle?"
"Easy." Sirius said, grinning. "I cheated. Come on, I'll show you."
They headed down to the basement. Sirius turned at the bottom of the stairs, and Harry followed, but froze when he saw where his godfather was standing.
Sirius was standing in Number Eight's cupboard under the stairs.
Harry stood, frozen in place, staring into the dark nook. It had been two years since the Dursleys had grudgingly given him Dudley's second bedroom, and he hadn't seen his cupboard once in that time.
"Something wrong?" Sirius said with a look of concern.
"No! Nothing's wrong." Harry said with a start. He felt like all the air had been sucked out of the room.
How had he lived in there for so long?
Sirius opened the door, reached up, and pulled a chain attached to a bare lightbulb in the ceiling. Harry relaxed a bit when he could see that Sirius' cupboard contained only the normal detritus one would expect - a small Christmas tree, a pair of skis, and other things a Muggle might need to store.
Sirius reached down and opened a trap door. A ladder unfolded, and Harry followed Sirius down. A small room had been created under the house, and in it was a series of shelves that would have given Uncle Vernon an apoplectic fit. Sirius' regular clothes lay neatly folded on one of the shelves. There were also a variety of potions, a Sneakoscope, and a series of books on various magical subjects.
But the object that drew Harry's attention was a large, rune-covered stone basin. It was filled with some sort of glowing, insubstantial silver substance. Harry craned his neck to look inside as Sirius tapped his wand (which had appeared out of nowhere) on the rim of the basin and then slowly drew it back. A shimmering silver thread was now dangling from the end of his wand. Sirius moved the thread up toward the top of his head, and Harry's eyes widened as Sirius' head...absorbed it.
"It's called a Pensieve." Sirius said, grinning. "It contains memories - this one contains memories of Squibs who live in the Muggle world. It's a tricky business, though - the memories need to be refreshed from time to time."
"Where did you get Squib memories?" Harry asked.
"From an associate of mine - Mundungus Fletcher. When a witch or wizard needs to be set up with a life in the Muggle world - a rare occurrence, but it does happen - Mundungus has a group of Squibs that can help facilitate such an arrangement. He arranged for the house to be furnished as well."
"But this…" Sirius continued, reaching for a potion vial half full of golden liquid. "This is my secret weapon."
"A potion?" Harry said. "What does it do?"
"Felix Felicis." Sirius said, an almost dreamy look coming over his face. "Liquid Luck. A teaspoon with breakfast and you'll have a full day of the most amazing luck you could wish for."
"I thought it was kind of strange that you were able to pull all this off." said Harry. "I mean, no offense."
"None taken whatsoever." Sirius said, putting the vial down. "Felix doesn't actually make things happen or force people do things, it just…helps you notice opportunities. In one day I bought this house, Lakeside Construction, and befriended your aunt and uncle."
He put the vial down and turned back to Harry, a mischievous grin on his face.
"Now I will warn you, young Gryffindor - since I know you are already wondering how you could use such a wonderful substance to make all your dreams come true - this substance is toxic in large amounts, deadly if brewed incorrectly, and must be used sparingly lest one become dangerously overconfident - a condition which Gryffindors need no help with in the first place."
Footsteps clattered above, and someone began to descend into the secret room.
"Madam Pomfrey!" Harry said.
"Madam Pomfrey is staying with me to aid in my recovery over the summer." Sirius said. "Officially, she's my housekeeper."
"Unofficially, he's going to be cleaning up after himself." Madam Pomfrey said, winking at Harry. "Just checking on you, Sirius. You need to have some lunch." She handed him a plate with a corned beef sandwich on it.
They walked upstairs and Sirius showed Harry the rest of the house while he ate. It was decorated perfectly - nothing too flashy, nothing out of place, nothing to even suggest its occupant was anything short of a normal, average person.
"This bedroom is for you." Sirius said, gesturing at one of the guest bedrooms when they reached the second floor. "I don't know that you'll be able to stay here overnight much, but I wanted you to know there was a place for you."
His very own room. The fear from before was gone, pushed out by a tide of happiness that threatened to bring on tears. Harry choked them back and managed to thank Sirius, though his voice was almost a croak.
"Now." said Sirius. "Let's keep up appearances for your aunt and uncle, shall we?"
With a mischievous twinkle in his eyes, he led Harry outside to the Audi parked in the driveway, which Sirius was able to drive thanks to the Muggle memories he had absorbed.
"How were you able to buy the house? Was the family that lived here planning on moving?"
"No, but I was able to change their mind when I offered them double the market value for their home." Sirius said, grinning.
"But that must have cost a fortune! I hope you used money from my vault." Harry said. A knot had formed in his stomach. He couldn't let Sirius bankrupt himself just to be closer to him.
"I most certainly did not." Sirius said.
"But how can you afford all this?"
"My Uncle Alphard left me a very generous inheritance when he heard my dear mother had disowned me. He never could stand the old bat. Now that I'm a free man, it's mine to use as I please. My foray into Muggle culture has barely made a dent in it."
Harry relaxed somewhat for the rest of the ride, which took about an hour and ended in London, until they pulled into a parking lot with a sign that read "LAKESIDE CONSTRUCTION".
Harry's jaw dropped as they pulled into a parking space with a small sign that read "Felix White - Owner". "You bought a construction company? I thought you made that part up!"
Sirius shrugged. "Well of course. The illusion has to be complete."
They got out of the car and went inside, stopping at the front security desk in the lobby. The plump middle aged man who sat behind it smiled when he saw Sirius.
"Morning, Mr. White."
"Morning, Frank. I need a visitor's badge for my godson Harry. I'm going to be showing him the ropes this summer."
The man nodded and handed Harry a badge labeled GUEST attached to a lanyard. Harry clipped it to the top of his pants.
"He looks like a smart young lad." said Frank, smiling at Harry. Harry blushed - normally, when he was out in the Muggle world with the Dursleys, he tried to stay as invisible as possible. In fact, he had instinctively positioned himself so that Sirius was between himself and Frank.
"I should hope so. I wouldn't be godfather to just anyone." Sirius winked at Frank and the man chuckled.
Sirius bypassed the elevator and made for the stairs. They walked up to the third floor, which consisted of clusters of identical cubicles with a handful of offices along the outer wall. Sirius' was the largest. It was divided by a partition into two sections - the back section was Sirius' office, and the front section was for his assistant, an attractive young woman with chestnut hair. She smiled at Harry as he walked in.
"Matilda Brown. It's an honor to meet you, Mr. Potter." she said, offering him an impeccably manicured hand to shake as they passed her desk. Harry surreptitiously wiped his palm, which had suddenly begun to sweat, on his trousers and shook Matilda's hand.
"She's a muggle-born." Sirius whispered. "I need someone to actually run this company for me." Then he turned to Matilda and raised an eyebrow. "You never said it was an honor to meet me."
Matilda raised an eyebrow right back at him. "Noticed that, did you?" She winked at Harry, who blushed.
Sirius chuckled and he and Harry walked into his office, which had a large oak desk with a leather office chair behind it and two smaller straight back chairs in front. There was also a couch, a set of bookshelves, and a fireplace. along one wall.
Sirius used his wand to get a fire going, removed a handful of Floo powder from an urn on the mantle of the fireplace and tossed it in, and then got in and said "The Burrow!"
"Mail for you, Sirius." Molly Weasley said as they stepped out of the Weasley's fireplace. She cocked her head toward the kitchen table as she stood by the stove scrambling eggs. Sirius picked up an envelope addressed to him from the kitchen table and opened it using a letter opener he grabbed from the mantle. He quickly scanned the letter while Harry sat down and helped himself to eggs and toast along with Hermione and the rest of the Weasley clan.
"Well, it appears I have a job," he said, putting the letter down.
"A job?" said Fred, who was eating breakfast at the kitchen table. "What do you want one of those for?"
"Yeah, I thought you were filthy rich." said George, who was sitting next to him.
"It's not for the money." Sirius said. "I'd just like to be able to keep an eye on my godson when he's at school."
"You got a job at Hogwarts? Will you be teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts?" Harry asked, excited at the prospect of another teacher for that class who was competent.
Sirius chuckled. "I'm afraid not. My spellwork has gotten better since my release, but I'm still almost fifteen years behind the latest advances in Dark Magic."
"Well, what then?" Fred asked.
"I'll be helping Hagrid with Care of Magical Creatures."
"That's wonderful!" said Hermione.
"You should have tried to get Filch's job so we could be rid of him." George said.
"Or Snape's." Harry said.
Ron looked at the twins with a confused expression. "I thought for sure you two'd be more excited to hear he'll be at Hogwarts.."
Fred and George looked confused. Then comprehension dawned on Ron.
"That's right! You don't know who he is, do you?
The twins looked at each other, and then at Ron.
"Who am I?" Sirius whispered to Ron.
"He's one of the Marauders." Ron said.
"How do you know about the Marauders?" Sirius asked, as the twin's jaws dropped.
"From your map!" Fred said. "Which one are you?"
"Padfoot." Sirius said with a smile. "So someone liberated it from Filch?"
"We did," said George. "We'd like to think we're carrying on the Marauders tradition in some small way. And we've passed it on to Harry."
"Excellent!" Sirius said. "Harry, I have complete faith that you and your friends will use it in a manner befitting the spirit of Gryffindor house."
A warm breeze from outside wafted into the kitchen as Professor Lupin entered. There were dark circles under his eyes, and he was paler than usual. He brightened when he saw Harry and Sirius, however.
"Hey, speaking of jobs, Professor Lupin still has one." said Fred.
"Yeah, that doesn't seem right." George replied. "He taught Defense Against the Dark Arts-"
"-and those Professors tend to meet gruesome and hilarious ends." Fred finished.
In all the excitement regarding Sirius' pardon, Harry hadn't had time to realize that Professor Lupin had managed to hold on to the Defense Against the Dark Arts position. He couldn't wait to see what was in store for year four.
"Well, I hate to disappoint, but I won't be teaching Defense." Lupin said. There was a chorus of groans from around the kitchen. "Professor Dumbledore had already lined up another teacher. I was only under contract to teach for one year. I think you'll find his replacement quite interesting." Lupin said with a mischievous smile. "And highly competent," he added quickly. "But I will still be at Hogwarts."
"Well, what job do you have then?" Harry asked, trying to conceal his disappointment.
"I'll be helping Hagrid with Care of Magical Creatures along with Sirius." Lupin said. "Professor Dumbledore suggested that the incident with Malfoy and the hippogriff could, perhaps, have been avoided if there had been more people keeping an eye on things."
"It also could have been avoided by Malfoy not being a complete git." Sirius said. "Harry told me the whole story."
"Sirius!" said Molly. "You shouldn't encourage them to talk about other students that way."
"That ship has sailed, Mother." said Fred.
"Indeed, it's barely a dot on the horizon." said George
"Speaking of a dot on the horizon, I believe we have a guest." said Fred, squinting at something outside. A small dot in the sky was growing ever closer. Someone was approaching on a broom.
"Ah, that should be the Surprise Guest." Sirius said, rubbing his hands together.
"Who is it?" said Ron through a mouthful of bacon.
"Your new Defense Against The Dark Arts Tutor." replied Sirius.
"TUTOR?" Ron said. Flecks of bacon sprayed over the table. "But it's summer!"
"Yes, and you've had only one competent Defense Professor in the last three years. It's about time you lot caught up. I would have asked Moony, but I asked him to help with another project." Sirius said. "You'll recall that I told you that my family was mostly Dark Wizards - well I've inherited the family home, and it's chock-a-block full of Dark artifacts. He's safely disposing of them all, and it's probably going to take the whole summer."
"So who's the tutor?" Harry asked.
"Oh, I'll let him introduce himself." Sirius said, grinning.
Slowly, the broom and its passenger lowered to the ground. The man onboard the broom was hidden under a large black traveling cloak. He dismounted, threw the hood of the cloak back, and Harry gasped when he saw his face.
It looked like it had been carved from a block of wood by someone who was in a bit of a hurry. It was criss-crossed with scars, and a large chunk of the nose was missing. But it was his eyes that drew Harry's attention. One was small and beady, and the other one glowed electric blue. Harry realized it was an artificial eye, a flat piece of stone or metal held to the man's head with a series of straps. An animated image of an eye was visible on it; it blinked along with his real eye and was constantly on the move, turning this way and that - even backwards.
"This is a prank, right?" said Fred. "This is a classic Sirius Black Marauders type prank. That's what this is."
"No." said Sirius. "That is Mad-Eye Moody."
"Yeah, but he's…mad, right?" said Ron, shifting uncomfortably in his seat. "That's what everyone says. I mean, it's in the name."
"It's just a nickname." said Sirius with a dismissive wave of his hand. "Mad-Eye taught me everything I know about being an Auror. He'll be an excellent tutor."
Mad-Eye dismounted the broom and began walking up the front path. A dull clunk echoed with each step, and he walked with a pronounced limp.
"He, err, looks like he's absorbed more than a few hexes." George said.
"That's because he's fought more Dark wizards than anyone else." Sirius said. "I can't count the number of times people cursed his name in Azkaban."
"Still, perhaps someone else could teach us how to dodge?" Fred said.
Moody rapped loudly on the front door, making everyone flinch.
"Well, I'm ready to begin." Harry said, wolfing down the last of his breakfast. Once he had recovered from the initial shock of seeing Moody, all he could think of was learning Defense from an actual Auror. After all, if Sirius had picked him, how bad could he be?
"You're another one." Ron said. "It's not even noon!"
"You could all do to take a page from Harry's book." said Percy, entering from the living room. He was wearing perfectly pressed dress robes. "Your O. aren't that far off, you know."
"Fred and I plan on getting by on handsomeness and charisma." George said. "Ron, on the other hand, had better start cracking some books."
Ron ignored the twins. "Where have you been hiding?" he grumbled to Percy. "And why do you have dress robes on at this ungodly hour?"
"I'm wearing dress robes because today is my first day working at the Ministry. And I was in the living room perusing the employee's handbook. You'd best not get used to staying up until all hours, Ron. When you graduate-"
"Changed my mind, I think I'm ready to start now." Ron said, standing up and pushing his chair back.