A/N- The reason why it's so many updates so quickly is because on the other website its a good chapter ahead of this one.
Chapter 5
Harry woke up the next moring in a good mood. For one he wasn't at the Durselys this summer and for two he had the best night of sleep he had ever remembered. It was his first official day at the house and he couldn't wait to reconnect with his parents. After he had showered he made his way back to his room to get dressed, frowning at the state of his clothes.
He only had 2 sets of decent clothes, one set was courtesy of Ron and he had worn that yesterday, the other set was what he had managed to find in the lost and found this past year at school. Although how someone lost a pair of pants was beyond him, he was grateful for it. He dressed, grimacing at the rags at the bottom of his trunk, wondering if they would get a chance to visit Diagon Alley soon.
He needed clothes asap, the last thing he wanted was his godfather to see them, can you say embarrassing. Deeming his attire appropriate he pulled on his shoes before heading downstairs. He wasn't expecting breakfast to be on the table given the time, it was only just turning 7, but he should have guessed it would be given that he had met one of his house elves yesterday. As it was the table was loaded with the amount of food he was used to seeing at Hogwarts and he grinned before he eagerly took a seat.
He frowned as he realized something else, his godfather and Professor were no where to be found. Were they still sleeping in their rooms? Was he allowed to eat even if they weren't here? He wasn't sure of the rules of this house just yet and he didn't want to do something stupid and mess up before they got a chance to do anything. He licked his lips unconsciously as he sat there, his stomach growling in response as he refused to grab anything. He had to jerk back his hands a few times, annoyed with himself when he caught himself reaching for a piece of bacon.
It would be beyond rude to just eat when his guardians weren't here. Not to mention that was forbidden, he had learned that from staying with his relatives. Harry swallowed thickly before he forced himself to scoot back from the table and stand up. He knew it was easier to resist temptation when it was staring you smack dab in the face. As he made to move away from the table he froze when he noticed his Professor standing in the doorway with an unreadable expression on his face. Harry's eye's widened, his face taking on a deer caught in the headlights look.
Remus for his part was floored, he had woken up earlier when the boy did. His senses always made sure of that. He had initially followed the child to the kitchen as he figured he could at least keep him company since Sirius was still asleep. Which worked perfectly because Sirius needed as much rest as he could get it. He had been horrified and confused when he saw the boy sitting at the table but visibly refraining himself from eating. What had he been waiting for? And now he looked like he had been up to no good, but Remus knew that wasn't the case, what was going on?
"Oh...um G-good morning Professor," Harry stammered out, his heart thumping wildly in his chest. Had Remus seen him almost touch the food, was he going to be in trouble with the man?
Remus sighed as he shook his head, and walked further into the kitchen. "It's just Remus cub remember, " he told him gently.
Harry shook his head in denial, he had no idea what the man was trying to pull but he knew that wasn't correct. He vaguely remembered his Uncle pulling this trick on him and once he had called him by his first name(against his own judgment mind you) He had been thrashed severely. His Uncle made sure to beat into him, respect for his superiors, and elders. And he tried to keep true to that, well Snape didn't count, the bastard.
"Yes Harry, just call me Remus. I'm not your Professor anymore," he said kindly.
"No sir, I cannot do that," Harry said quickly.
"And why not?" Remus asked frowning slightly.
"Because..it's not right," he stressed out, unconsciously wringing his hands anxiously.
"Okay, well think of something because you're not going to be calling me Professor all summer," Remus told him with a smile.
"If you say so Professor," Harry replied softly.
Remus refrained from saying anything to that, as Harry seemed on edge as it was. "Why haven't you eaten?"
Harry froze, having not been expecting that question. "Because...no one was here," he stated carefully.
"That's fine actually, for breakfast that's okay. We're all going to wake up at different times. If the food is on the table in the morning and we're not here, there is no need to starve yourself. You may start without us," Remus informed him.
"Okay, thanks," Harry said happily as he retook his seat, at least he knew this rule.
Remus stayed silent, he was getting more bad vibes about the situation and he longed to talk to Sirius about it. But something was definitely not sitting right with him about Harry and he would no doubt get to the bottom of it.
Breakfast passed by quickly, Sirius hadn't woken up to join them and Remus wasn't the least bit concerned. He needed his rest as he had told the child. As it was he and Harry went looking around the Manor as he was sure the child could find something to occupy his time when the adults had to do something. And he was right, when just off the kitchen was a Potion's lab, and Remus saw that Harry surprisingly looked eagered to try it out. As they went to checked out the place, Remus took in the obvious excitement on the boy's face and shook his head.
"Now Harry, I only have one rule about this lab. You can make potions and anything else you want as long as they aren't dangerous. However the rule is you cannot do any of that, if I or Sirius are not down here with you. So many things can go wrong with Potions, and we don't want anything to happen to you," Remus told him seriously.
Harry sighed loudly, the man really worried too much. "I'm almost 14 sir, I know how dangerous potions can get," he told him trying not to get too annoyed with the over-protectiveness that came with guardians f. This was all new and a tad annoying if he was being honest.
"Exactly, your still a child and potions is a very dangerous subject. I will not budge on this subject Harry and if I find in anyway that you disobeyed me, you will be punished," he promised him.
"Yes sir," Harry grumbled out as he went to check out the ingredients cabinet to see what was in store. He wasn't stupid and wasn't at all eagered to learn just what his punishment would be.
~**~*~*~A Few Days Later*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
A couple of days went by and soon found Harry ignoring Remus's warnings about being in the potion's lab alone as he headed to it. He wasn't worried about the man catching him as it was the about 2 days until the full moon and Remus was still in bed sleeping. Harry felt a bit guilty about taking advantage of the man's weakness but it was fair. They were staying in his house and he wasn't allowed in the potion's lab without an adult.
He was almost 14 years old, he didn't need a babysitter. What he wanted to do was prove that this upcoming year to Snape that he wasn't a dunderhead. He had seen the man around a cauldron and he was brilliant and Harry couldn't help thinking that he might want to do that.
It would be easier to succeed in potions if said greasy git wouldn't be breathing down his neck just waiting for Harry to fail. How in the heck was he supposed to learn with that type of pressure over him? The man made it impossible for him to even grasp anything but the basics of potion making. He had grabbed a potion's book he found in the library and walked in the lab and closing the door behind him. He knew the house elves wouldn't rat on him unless he was in danger and as he didn't plan to do anything dangerous his secret would indeed be safe.
Harry took a seat on a stool and looked through the book for a potion that seemed interesting. He found himself getting enthralled with a shrinking potion, already imagining the things he could get into if he was small. It was a 5th year potion but as he was going into his 4th year he didn't think it mattered all that much. All that mattered was following the directions and he was sure he wouldn't muck that up.
Making sure the page was marked he headed to grab the cauldron and the ingredients to make the potion. He would show Remus that he wasn't a baby and that he could do this. Harry took a breath before he started working on the potion; working more diligently then he had ever done before.
As he made sure to slice the ingredients the correct way, he didn't realize that he had to constantly stir the potion. There was a spell to enchant the rod to make it so but it wasn't taught until this upcoming year. It was of no consequence that when he got near the final step it was a deep burgundy red instead of the lavender purple it should have been.
Harry sighed in agitation trying to see where exactly he went wrong. As he moved to dump the cauldron out, he tripped on one of his unlaced shoes and down he went onto the stone floor. He landed with a hard thud, with the cauldron splashing its contents on him. As it was still fairly warm, he found himself unconsciously screaming as the potion burnt into his skin, before his eyes clouded over with darkness and he knew no more.
Sirius bolted up out of bed as he heard the ear piercing shriek echo around the manor; who he recognized to be Harry. Grabbing his wand from under his pillow he ran out of his room intending on heading to Harry's room with he was stopped by a house elf.
"Little Master is not in his room," Winkle said wringing his hands in agitation.
"Well where is he? Is he hurt?" Sirius as panic welled into his chest.
"He's in the potion's lab, he tripped and the cauldron he was carrying fell on him. Miffy is with him now, but something is wrong with young master," Winkle replied in a rush.
"Fuck, take me to him," Sirius demanded as he held out his hand, his heart beating frantically in his chest. Merlin he hoped his godson was okay.
"Right away Master Black," Winkle replied before grabbing the man's hand and disappearing with a pop.
Sirius found himself blinking rapidly trying to adjust to the barely lit lab, his eyes on the boy who was lying on a bed that probably wasn't there in the first place. He could see Miffy healing the burn wounds on him, but he was sure something else was wrong. He couldn't put his finger on it, but he could swear that Harry had shrunk. The boy was already small to begin with but now he didn't even look like he could pass for 11. Was he seeing correctly?
"How is he?" Sirius asked rushing over to the bed.
"Young master is alright, Miffy is helping him," Miffy replied as she rubbed burn salve on the child's body.
"What was he making?" Sirius asked as he gently ran his hand through Harry's hair.
He was so angry with his godson and he was definitely getting in trouble for this but at the moment he just wanted him to wake up so he could hug him before yelling him for being so irresponsible. He stilled as he realized he sounded like a parent, but he welcomed it and didn't try to push it away. The little boy had long ago wormed his way into Sirius's heart and he wasn't letting the little bugger go without a fight.
"A shrinking solution, but he went wrong somewhere," Winkle replied as he pointed at the still open book, not to mention the unused ingredients still on the table.
"He didn't swallow anything did he?" Sirius asked with dread in his stomach.
"No he did not," Miffy replied before stilling. "You don't need to drink the potion for it to work," she said as her wide eyes caught the child on the bed shrinking before her very eyes.
"What's happening to him? Harry?!" Sirius yelled as his godson shrunk from the small 13 year old child he was to that of a small child, who looked in his opinion to be about 3 or 4 but he couldn't be sure.
He couldn't think of anything, as he was sure his godson was shrinking out of existence and he felt so powerless to stop it. He wasn't sure what happened, but the next thing he knew his body was swaying as he blacked out a few seconds later.
When Harry woke up, he wasn't exactly sure of where he was, only that it was early morning as the sun was peeking through the window to the right of him. He was in the biggest bed he had ever been in, with a man with black hair he could vaguely remember seeing once before, laying down next to him. The man seemed to be sleeping, so he didn't want to wake him. He turned his head to see another man sitting in a chair by the bed.
This man had brown hair wa slumped down in hi arm chair and Harry mused that had never seen someone look so tired while they slept. He didn't know where his relatives were and didn't really care. The last thing he remembered was his Uncle promising to punish him after he turned his teacher's hair blue. He still wasn't sure how he managed to do that, and why they blamed him.
At the moment, he was only focused on one thing and that was the pressure in his small tummy. He grimaced as he looked around, he didn't know where the bathroom was in this house, nor if the people who lived here would let him use it. He knew he couldn't hold it very long especially after waking up after a nap and whined a little bit trying to get the black haired man's attention who was lying next to him.
"Siw, pwease wake up," Harry whined as his hand snaked down underneath the cover to hold himself.
He frowned as he reached over to shake the man, hoping he wouldn't regret this. He would never do this to his Aunt or Uncle, but Harry felt rather safe at the moment; though he couldn't figure out why.
Sirius twitched but he didn't wake, as Harry shook him. He didn't know it but his godfather had been slipped a calming draught laced with a sleeping potion as when Remus had found him he had been hysterical. He would wake up; it would just take a little bit more then gentle prodding to do it.
Remus for his part was jilted out of his doze to find himself looking at wide, fearful green eyes staring back at him.
"Hello Harry," Remus said kindly so as not to startle the poor child, still unable to believe what he was seeing.
"How do you know my name?" Harry whispered frightened as he pushed himself back against the headboard fearfully.
"I was friends with your parents," Remus explained kindly.
"Weally?" Harry asked in disbelief, the fear in his eyes were quickly replaced by curiosity.
"Yes really," Remus confirmed with a soft smile.
Harry was about to ask what his mum was like when he suddenly had to bend at the waist as he remembered just what he was doing. He didn't have time to sit here and talk, not unless he wanted to end up wet in a few minutes.
"Harry are you alright cub?" Remus asked sitting up instantly, thinking the potion had another side effect, even worse then the de-aging.
"I hafta go potty," Harry exclaimed desperately as his eyes flashed back up to the man.
"You have to what?" Remus asked in confusion, trying to decipher what the hell the child had just said.
"Potty, I hafta go potty now," Harry repeated as he squirmed on the bed.
"What do you mean?" Remus asked, not at all familiar with the term Harry was using.
It wasn't really a surprise as his only friends had been murdered and thrown in jail. His known state as a werewolf, made everyone either shun or fear him. He hadn't had the chance to be around young children and though they would be looking for an antidote for this mishap he would enjoy it while it lasted.
Harry stared at the man in shock, who didn't know what potty was! Everyone had to go potty sometimes. He whimpered as he tried to pull the covers back, but he was tucked in.
"What is it cub? How can I help?" Remus asked standing up looking at the child in concern.
"I hafta go potty wight now!" Harry all but yelled, effectively waking up Sirius who was next to him.
"Merlin, why are you yelling so close to my ear? Moony would you shut the kid up and take him already," Sirius said grumpily as he placed the pillow over his head.
"Padfoot that's Harry. And I don't know where exactly to take him," Remus said frowning as he looked at his friend. "What's wrong with him?" He asked getting worried now.
Sirius rolled his eyes, though the effect was ruined by the fact that he had a pillow smashed in his face. "Moony; are kidding me?" Sirius asked dryly.
"About not knowing what potty means? How could I? I'm an only child, and I have no experience with children younger then 11," Remus said frowning, as he took in the distressed look on Harry's face.
"I'm gonna potty on mysewf," Harry announced before bursting into tears.
"Remus take him to the toilet," Sirius said ripping the pillow off his face as he stared at his godson. He was quickly making sure he wasn't hurt, and thankfully he wasn't but Sirius wasn't blind to see that Harry was in a right state.
"So potty means the toilet?" Remus said reached down and hurriedly picked up the still dry child.
"Basically, or in this case I'm pretty sure it means wee," Sirius said glad to note the bed was still dry.
Remus nodded before turning and making a beeline for the bathroom, making it there in record time. He set Harry on the floor, unsure if the child needed help or not. He watched him all but yank off his bottoms before trying to get onto the toilet. Remus frowned as it was just too tall for the de-aged Harry to do so.
"Let me help you…" Remus started before he stopped as the strong smell of urine suddenly penetrated his sensitive nose. He quickly pinched his nose shut to look at the small child accidentally peeing on the floor.
"I'm sowwy, I was howding it fowevew and I couldn't anymowe," Harry wailed as he had an accident all over the bathroom floor. He couldn't believe how close he was to the toilet and yet here he was peeing all over the floor.
Harry was horrified, he hadn't had an accident since he was four. He was a big boy now, and he had messed up the man's clean bathroom. He only hoped that the man wouldnt be too angry with him. He flinched slightly as he looked up and saw the man holding his nose, and he sniffled sadly. It was going to be just like with his relatives then huh?
"That's quite alright Harry, accidents happen," Remus said calmly as he took a small breath and removed his fingers from his nose. He could see the way the boy was looking at him and he didn't want Harry to think that he was disgusted with him. He was sure at this age that Harry didn't know about his affliction.
"I'll cwean it up, I pwomise," he said hurriedly hoping to save himself from punishment.
"There's no need, I'll do it," he said easily as he pulled out his wand and gave it a wave. The mess in the bathroom was soon cleaned up and Harry's clothes were once again fixed. He noted the child in question had yet to say anything in regards to that and when he turned to face him, he himself froze. Harry looked afraid, and he didn't know why.
"You'we a fweak too," the little boy whispered out fearfully. He didn't know if this was a good thing or a bad thing.
"A freak? I'm not a freak Harry, and neither are you," Remus said sternly.
"But you awe, you did a fweaky thing!" Harry said his eyes wide, he know what he saw.
"Oh Merlin, the Durselys were wrong, whatever they said. What I did was magic and that is not a freaky thing," Remus said firmly, trying to keep his anger in check. He had known something was off with Harry regarding his relatives these past few days, but the boy had brushed it off.
"Magic isnt weal!" Harry shrieked out before he tore out the bathroom, intent on hiding. He was going to be in so much trouble when his Uncle Vernon found out about it this.
Remus for his part was floored and it took him a minute for his brain to catch up with everything that just happened and by then Harry was gone. The manor was huge and he knew that the child could be anywhere. Sighing he quickly hurried back into the bedroom where he had left Sirius to find the man, stretching.
"Where's Harry?" Sirius asked as he slipped on his house shoes.
"I'm not sure, I said something about magic and he flipped out, and ran away," Remus said quietly, feeling wretched as it was.
"Damn it, Hagrid had said something about his ignorant relatives telling him nothing of magic," Sirius said frowning as he pulled out his wand.
"That's going to scare him then, you should put it away," Remus told him softly.
"I need to preform a point me spell. And anyway Moony, he's got to get used to magic. He can't be afraid of who he is," Sirius pointed out before quickly hurrying out the room.
Remus nodded and shook his head, allowing Sirius to handle this. He had other things they needed to have taken care of. He headed down to the potion's lab, he hadn't had a chance to do it earlier as he needed to take care of Harry and Sirius but now was just a good as time as any. Quickly scavenging what little potion he could into a vial, he closed it and placed and unbreakable charm on it, before hurrying back out.
He needed to know if Harry had been brewing correctly and how long the effects this potion might have on him. And as much as he hated to go to the man he was discreet and they needed that, in the case of the boy-who-lived. Quickly writing a note informing his friend where he was going, he flooed to Headmaster's office in Hogwarts intent on getting to Severus. He was sure anyway that Sirius would be able to handle Harry.
It didn't take long for Sirius to find Harry, he had taken refuge in a closet in a random room. After reassuring the boy that he wasn't in trouble and not about to punished the little boy finally crawled out from his hiding spot. Sirius knew they needed to talk, to see how old the boy was and see if he could figure out all of this. Something wasn't settling in right with him, in regards to Harry's behavior and he didn't like it.
"So Harry, how old are you?" Sirius asked conversationally.
"I'm fwive," Harry said proudly.
"Oh wow, your a big boy then," he replied with a bright grin trying to put the child at ease.
"Yeah I am, I go to school too," Harry told him happily.
"That's good, listen Harry I need to talk to you about something. Now don't run away as I'm not going to hurt you and there is no wrong answer to this question. Why do you think magic isn't real?" Sirius asked carefully.
"Because Aunt and Uncle always say its not weal," Harry replied easily.
"What if I told you that they were wrong and magic is real?" Sirius pressed.
"I don't know, is it because of dat fweaky thing that Wemus did wiff his stick?" Harry asked softly.
"Yes, but what Remus did was magic. It wasn't a freaky thing, as he isn't a freak. And neither are you for that matter," he informed him.
Harry gave him a skeptical look, looking at the man almost blankly. He was sure this was some kind of trick. Growing up with the Durselys, meant that imaginative stuff meant a beating if he ever talked about it. "How do you know for suwe?" He asked softly.
"Because you're parents Lily and James were my best friends, and you are their son. You are not a freak, none of us are," Sirius said firmly.
"You we're fwiends wiff my pawents too?" Harry gasped out in disbelief.
"Yep, James was my best friend. And I'm your godfather too," Sirius said proudly.
Harry stared opened mouth at the man, unsure of what godfather was but feeling strangely elated nonetheless. "What does dat mean?" He asked eagerly, feeling at ease.
"That you get to live with me from now on,you never need to go back to your relatives," Sirius promised.
"Coow!" Harry cheered out before he covered his mouth with his hands worriedly. "Sowwy!"
Sirius only laughed. "It's fine kiddo. I'm never going to get mad at your for being overexcited," he said easily.
Harry couldn't believe it, he hoped this all wasn't a dream. Because if it was he never wanted to wake up.
"Remus went to go take care of something so it's just you and me right now. Now I'm hungry and I can bet you are too," Sirius said conversationally.
Harry bit his lip worriedly as he gave a small nod, unsure of himself again.
"Good, let's go eat. One of your house elves have probably gotten breakfast already ready for us," Sirius said cheerfully.
"Elves awe weal too?" Harry asked with a gobsmacked expression.
"They are, and they're very nice," Sirius told him easily.
Harry nodded slowly, trying to take it all in. He held the man's hand tightly as they headed into the kitchen. He didn't see anyone once they got there, just a lot of food on the table and his eyes bugged out. How many people were eating?
"They always go overboard, at leat you know here you will never starve," Sirius said watching the boy's face carefully.
Harry's eyes took on a surprised look. How had Sirius known about that? He didn't reply to to is, simply bounced in his seat as he let his godfather set him in his chair. He sat on his knees watching hungrily as food was loaded onto his plate. "Fanks!"
"You're welcome, now dig in kiddo," Sirius said as he served himself and sat down to eat.
Harry did just that, wishing with all his heart that this wasn't a dream. He ate heartily as he chatted with the man, knowing he could definitely get used to this.