Chapter eight: the importance of being Harry

Sirius looked up in surprise as James and Lily burst into the room, a very dusty and pale Harry between them. Remus actually jumped in shock, bumping the chessboard much to the disgust of the chess pieces, which shouted admonitions and blew raspberries at him as they struggled to regain their original places.

"What happened?" Sirius barked as James shoved Harry almost angrily onto the couch. His godson huddled there, not even trying to protest the way he was being treated, which gave Sirius a very funny feeling. Whatever Harry had done, or not done, Prongs was on a rampage about it, and from the looks of things sweet Lily wasn't in any mood to intervene. The way Harry cringed spoke of a long association of being manhandled and targeted with misdirected anger, which was yet another mark on the Dursley's already black record.

"Diagon Alley was attacked!" James burst out, and Remus frowned while Sirius made a startled noise.

"What! Who? Was anyone hurt?"

"Some minor injuries, nothing fatal," Lily spoke up from where she was pacing, obviously as frustrated as her husband.

"Are you all right, Cub?" Sirius asked gently, and his godson nodded without looking up, obviously unwilling to elaborate. Their Cub never wanted to own up to feeling unwell or having been injured, something that made Sirius determined to keep a close eye on him when it came to post prank care.

"Not that he did what he was told," James snarled and started relating the attack. When he came to the collapsing chimney Remus hurried to check Harry over despite Lily's assertion that she'd already checked her son for bruising. The werewolf chose to remain on the couch with his arm around the silent teen while Sirius listened with astonishment to Harry's part in the defence of Diagon Alley.

"Why are you so angry?" he asked when Prongs finally wound down, "From what you say, Harry has done really well. He got Ginny to take the children to a safe place and he didn't expose himself to direct attacks. It's not like he called the Death Eaters to personal duels."

"Sirius, he and Weasley fought as well as any Auror! In fact until we saw who had been casting from their location, Lily and I thought it was a pair of off duty Aurors casting!" James said at the top of his voice. Sirius grinned proudly at Harry, who grinned back; just as pleased to hear this bit of praise, though James surely didn't mean it that way.

"Wipe that smile off your face!" Lily snapped, "Where on earth did you learn to cast like that? You and Weasley shouldn't have been able to manage half of what you did!"

"Experience," the answer was saucy, though the tone was not. Sirius could see that they were rapidly coming to the point where Harry's past could no longer be completely glossed over or concealed. From the look in his godsons eyes Harry realised that as well. Even Moony sighed and squeezed Harry in quiet but affectionate commiseration.

"Sit down, you two," Sirius decided to take charge a bit, "We've got a lot to talk about."

He glanced at his godson, and the very real fear he saw had him holding his arms out without second thought, gratified that Harry chose to abandon Remus on the comfortable couch and squash into his roomy armchair instead, rather like a child being protected from a scary monster. It was an indication of how rattled Harry was and Remus followed the teen over, plonking himself onto the arm of the already overcrowded chair. Between them, Harry was wrapped in warm arms and sheltered from the confusion and frustration blowing around the room. The part of Sirius that wasn't worried about his godson was proud that he was allowed to comfort the child that was so used to comforting himself.

"Its alright, Cub," Sirius said gently. Harry hadn't had much experience with worried parents, and what Sirius took to be perfectly normal anxiety, Harry was evidently reading as anger, "No one is in trouble here. We have to tell your parents about your past sometime, and now is as good a time as any, hmm?"

"You haven't done anything wrong, Cub," Remus added in a gentle voice and Harry shrugged, before squaring his shoulders and turning his head towards his parents. Sirius was not surprised to notice that the rattled teen didn't look anyone in the eye as he started with Hagrid delivering his letter for Hogwarts and ended with the duel at the Ministry just a few months ago.

He noted that his godson didn't say anything about the Dursley's, his life before Hogwarts, or his summers after Hogwarts. That was something that worried him, as he had more than half a notion that Harry had been in for a bit of abuse there. It was something that would have to be addressed later, though, as they all had more than enough to deal with between his duels with Voldemort at the age of eleven and the slaying of a basilisk when he was only twelve.

Through out the recital none of the adults dared to speak, let alone move lest Harry stop talking. When he was done, the teen hid his face on his godfathers' shoulder, and the tremors Sirius could feel running through Harry's body had him worried. Before anyone could break the silence that had fallen, Ron Weasley opened the door and Harry bolted for it, managing to not quite run into his friend who stepped aside and let him out, closing the door again as silently as he'd opened it.

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James looked rather grim, and Lily was staring at the floor with fixed attention. Sirius was well aware that the Dursley's had yet to be addressed, but was willing to let that lie for now. Moony stooped from his perch to wrap him in a hug, and Sirius kissed the nearest bit of grey hair.

"Poor Cub," Remus sighed, "I never realised how alone he felt."

"We haven't exactly been in a position to help him," Sirius pointed out, "I've been on the run, you're banned from the school because of your curse… it just hasn't been possible for us to be there."

"Why hasn't the Headmaster done more to keep him safe?" Lily burst out, "Why didn't he help Harry more?"

"Lils, he has a thousand students to oversee," Remus sat up, "And our Cub has a talent for trouble. He inherited that from us, I'm afraid."

"Us?" James spat the word, "There is no us! Lily and I are his parents, not you two!"

Sirius felt as if cold water had been thrown over him and from Moony's flinch, the werewolf felt the same. The two surviving Marauders had gotten into the habit of thinking of Harry as theirs. Once Sirius had learned to look beyond the face of his old friend to the person beneath it, he had come to cherish Harry as much as he would his own child. The fact that Harry seemed to be 'parent proof' only allowing Molly Weasley to act for him in that role hadn't diminished the way Sirius and Remus felt. They'd tried at first to just be mentors, but to know Harry was to love him, and Harry's love for them was clearly visible, even if it had never been named.

"Now look here," Sirius frowned, "Don't take your anger out on us, Prongs! We've as much to do with Harry as you two do now…"

"And where were you when he needed you?" James yelled. The unfairness of that accusation hit Sirius like a slap to the face and his temper ignited even as Remus reached out a hand to contain him.

"Azkaban," Sirius yelled back, "I was locked up for twelve years for getting you killed! While our so called best friend slept in Harry's dorm and Moony wandered the fringes of society without a friend or a knut to his name, I was locked in a small cell in the coldest hell you can imagine for twelve years! And you were dead!"

There was a sudden silence and Sirius got up, tugging Moony up with him. Moony had quite a tight grip on his hand, and Sirius took a moment to rub their fingers together in sympathy. His lover hated arguments and bad atmospheres, part of the curse of the Wolf.

"If you want to point the blame at me, go ahead," Sirius said more quietly, "But my godson is as much my responsibility as yours. I won't just abandon him so your pride is appeased."

Sirius led the way out, ignoring the sudden step James made as if to stop them from leaving. They all needed time to calm down and think, and now was not the time to lose sight of the fact that Harry needed them all if he was to fulfil the prophecy that he had recounted in a low voice at the end of his tale.

Once outside, Remus led the way, and they found Harry in his room, huddled facedown on his bed with Ron sitting beside him, one hand clutching the redheads so tightly their skin was white from it. Remus made a pained sound and leaned down to hug Harry, with Sirius joining them a moment later. He included Ron in the hug, recognising that his godsons less than horrified reaction to the sudden knowledge that his godfather was gay probably had a lot to do with the unnamed attraction that Harry was harbouring for the Weasley that he was clutching so desperately.

"'M sorry," Harry slurred, and Sirius whapped him on the head gently.

"That's enough of that," Remus said softly, "Never apologise for being the best you can be. Your parents are incredibly lucky to have such a talented and smart son. Don't you forget it, Cub."

"Anyone who says otherwise will be answering to me first and Mum second," Ron added, and Harry snorted, stirring and eventually sitting up, having to squirm around to do so as Sirius was hindering more than helping, the light of mischief in his eyes. Moony joined the game, and when Harry protested with a wordless noise Ron joined in as well, the three of them picking on the green eyed teen, who retaliated. Things went downhill very quickly, and only calmed down when Moony fell off the bed with a yelp and Padfoot pounced after him in concern.

"Serves you right," their Cub announced, though he got up and helped his godfathers mate up off the floor.

"What in heavens name are you boys doing?" Molly's voice from the door was the perfect seal to the mood, and Sirius grinned in relief that Harry had once again recovered his good spirits, even while the mother of seven told them all off impartially.

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