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CHAPTER TWELVE:

The One With the Library Card

By the end of the second week, Harry and Sirius were settling in with each other quite well. Harry was willingly reaching for Sirius, wanting to be held and cuddled and not flinching whenever he moved close to him. He was starved for affection and attention and Sirius had every intention of giving him as much of each as he could. They'd settled into a fairly good routine of breakfast, playing outside, lunch, nap time, more outside fun whether a walk into town or out in the backyard, cooking dinner, bath time, followed by story time, and then bed.

The only problem was bedtime.

Every night, Sirius would finish the story and Harry would beg him to stay in his dog form. And every night, Sirius caved. He'd transform into his dog Animagus and let Harry snuggle up against him. Once Harry fell asleep, he'd sneak out and finish up his own tasks before going to his own bed. And within two hours, Harry would wake up and cry out for Padfoot. Sirius would transform once again and end up spending the rest of the night in dog form snuggled with the child.

He explained this to Remus that Sunday as Remus put together a pot roast for them for dinner after spending the day playing football with them in the yard.

"I don't know what to do about it, Moony," Sirius told him, brushing his hair out of his eyes. "He's napping now and he's fine during the day, but when it's night time, he wants me there in my Animagus form."

Remus nodded, looking pensive as he chopped carrots. "Well, you did re-introduce yourself as the dog first and he immediately trusted you as such; he feels comfortable with the dog. Maybe he feels safer. You already said that he doesn't like the dark and even with the fairy lights, he feels calmer once you climb up into the bed with him as a dog. He feels protected."

"I don't want to do anything that's going to deter him from trusting me," Sirius admitted, taking a deep drink from the pint that he had poured himself when Harry went down for his nap. "But I also really want to sleep in my own bed, as you know, me."

Remus chuckled, moving to the sink to slice the potatoes that he had washed. "That's understandable. As someone who used to have pretty frequent nightmares myself, especially after a hard transformation, cuddling with a big friendly dog always made me feel safer. You make him feel protected, Sirius — that's what dogs do."

Sirius smiled as he remembered how many nights he had let his friend cry all over his fur after a gruelling night of the full moon. "I know." Then his eyes widened and he looked up at Remus in awe. "That's it, Moony! I should get him his own dog!"

"Wow," Remus said, turning to look at his friend. "Padfoot, that's a lot of responsibility for a five year old!"

"He's going to be six in a few months time and really think about it, his own puppy! He could sleep in his bed every night; he'll guard him and play with him. I think that it would be good for him. It would give him someone else to trust in his life. Someone else to love. Someone else who will love him unconditionally. Think about it."

Remus was quiet for a minute but then he nodded. "You know it's not the worst idea." When Sirius grinned, he held his hand up. "But, how are you going to be with another dog in the house?"

"I'm not actually a dog, Moony - despite years of joking that I'm a better dog than a man. I love dogs." He stood up, heading into the living room to find parchment and ink. "I'm going to write to Healer Castellanos and see what she thinks. We were talking about his mental state of mind and I think this is a great idea, but a professional opinion is always good too, right?"

Remus nodded, smirking at his friend. "And this would of course have nothing to do with the fact that this Healer Castellanos is, I quote: 'One fine bird.'"

Sirius rolled his eyes. "Moony, Moony, Moony, how many times must I tell you, finding a bird attractive does not mean that I'm smitten. I just want her advice on the dog idea, that's all."

"Uh-huh," Remus said, turning back to the potatoes. "Let me know what she says."

But Sirius was too busy scribbling away to respond.

~ ASC ~

Sirius was meeting Dumbledore at Hogwarts the next morning to discuss the progress on Harry's guardianship. Remus had agreed to stay with Harry as Sirius didn't think bringing him to Hogwarts was a good idea. It was the first time since that first morning that Remus would be alone with Harry and he found himself rather looking forward to it.

In the two weeks that Sirius had Harry, Remus had only seen him twice. That first day and then yesterday afternoon when the three of them had played football and he had made dinner for them. But even in that two week span, Remus had noticed a difference in Harry.

He no longer flinched when Sirius came towards him. He was accepting of Sirius touching him, of picking him up, and of almost everything that Sirius did. His bright green eyes would follow Sirius around the room, almost in adoration. Remus wondered if it was combination of the complete trust that Harry held for the dog that Sirius turned into as much as for Sirius himself, but the trust was there.

But it wasn't yet there for Remus.

Remus could feel the big green eyes following him as he moved around the house. Remus was careful to always stay within his eye of sight, to not move too quickly, or do something that would startle him in any way.

It wasn't that Harry was uncomfortable around him, Remus could see that he was okay to be around him. He liked the stories that he told and he was always very polite, but he didn't laugh or smile the way he did with Sirius and Remus wanted that to change as soon as possible.

Sirius had just left and Harry had moved to the couch in the living room, his stuffed dog held tightly in his arms and his bright green eyes watching Remus.

"So, Harry, what would you like to do today?" Remus asked, sitting down on the couch next to him.

Harry shifted just slightly away from him and shrugged.

Remus smiled warmly at him, trying to ignore the ache in his heart at the thought of Harry moving himself away, even only a little. "Is that Padfoot in your arms?"

Harry nodded, smiling.

"Aren't you going to talk to me today, Harry?" Remus asked him, still smiling. "If I don't know what you want to do, how are we supposed to have fun together?"

Harry bit his lip and then he spoke softly. "I like your stories, Uncle Moony."

Remus did love stories and sharing them with the adorable little boy in front of him was one of his favourite past times. Then he grinned to himself. He had the perfect idea.

"I have an idea, Harry. Would you like to go on a little adventure for stories with me?"

"For stories?" Harry asked, his eyes wide.

Remus nodded. "Yes." He stood up and offered his hand out. "Do you want to come with me?"

Harry stared at him for a moment and then he placed his hand in Remus' and stood up. "Okay."

Remus pointed to the fireplace. "We're going to have to use the Floo to get there. Uncle Sirius said that you like the Floo."

"It spins!" Harry exclaimed, grinning.

Remus grabbed the notepad on the top of the fireplace and scribbled a quick note to Sirius letting him know that they would be back before dinner and then he smiled at Harry, bending down and holding his arms out. "Come on then."

Harry's eyes stayed on his as he let Remus pick him up, the dog still snug in his arms. He was shifted onto the man's hip and he wrapped his arms around him, the stuffed animal smushed between them as they stepped into the fireplace.

"Hold on tight, Harry."

Then there was a whoosh and they appeared into The Leaky Cauldron. Remus dusted both of them off, said hello to the barman, and headed out to Muggle London with Harry still in his arms.

"Have you ever ridden the tube, Harry?"

Harry shook his head as Remus carried him down to the subway station, placing his money in the slot and leading him towards the train in the London Underground.

"It goes very fast," Remus told him as they took their seat on the train.

There was only one seat available so Remus carefully sat Harry on his lap, keeping his arms around the boy's waist.

Harry was looking around at the people in interest. A very large man came through the doors and shoved his way through the crowd. Harry stiffened and he moved closer to Remus, turning his head into his chest.

Remus gently ran his hands along his back. "Shh, it's okay. You're safe with me, I promise."

Harry looked up at him, his bright green eyes grateful and Remus smiled at him.

"Look, here we go!"

The train started to move and Harry's eyes flew to the windows, trying to see the objects as they flew by. They were on the train for less than ten minutes before Remus stood up, holding Harry on his hip as they headed out of the station and headed to the Paddington Library.

Remus put Harry back on his own feet as they stepped inside the library, holding his hand out so that Harry would take it, smiling when the small hand fit into his own.

"This is a magical place full of stories. It's called a library, Harry. Have you ever been to one before?"

Harry shook his head, his eye wide as he looked around at all of the books.

Remus smiled. "This is the place of thousands of stories. Come on; let's go see what we can find."

Harry nodded and eagerly followed him to the children's section. Remus took a seat on the floor in front of one of the shelves and gestured for Harry to do the same. Harry sat down next to him and folded his hands into his lap.

"You can look at any book you want. Which one appeals to you, Harry?"

Harry's eyes fell onto a hardcover book with green writing and he pointed to it.

"Go on," Remus urged, smiling when Harry slowly and carefully pulled it down from the shelf as if it was made of precious glass. He showed it to Remus with a smile. "The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame," Remus read.

"There's a frog fishing next to a… rat and a… a…"

"Badger," Remus supplied with a smile as Harry carefully opened the book, coming across a full picture of a little house and a map showing the forest.

"There's a mole too and he's wearing an overcoat," Harry told him.

Remus smiled. "He sure is."

Harry held the book out to Remus. "Can you read it to me, Uncle Moony? Please, Uncle Remus?"

Remus smiled, surprised at the way that Harry had interchanged his name. "I'd be happy to. But before I do that, let's keep exploring for more books." He took the book from Harry and placed it on the ground next to them. "Because do you know what the amazing thing about a library is?"

Harry shook his head. "No. What?"

"You can pick as many stories as you want and we can bring them home and read them."

"I can take them back to Uncle Padfoot's house?"

Remus nodded, smiling at him. "You can take them home and then after you read them, we can bring them back and you can trade them for new stories. What do you think?"

Harry's eyes brightened. "Let's find more stories, Uncle Moony."

Remus grinned. "Sounds like a good idea to me."

Thirty minutes later, Harry had made his way around the library with glee and Remus was holding ten books in his arms. He smiled at the excitement in Harry's eyes as he realized how many books that he would be taking home with him.

Remus led him to the front desk and they signed up Harry for his very own library card. Harry stared at the card with his name on it in awe and thanked the lady when she handed it to him.

"Your son is so polite," the librarian said to Remus.

"Oh, he's not —"

"And so well behaved," she continued with a smile. "I hope you enjoy your stories, Harry because having fun isn't hard when you have your very own library card."

Harry beamed at her as Remus thanked the librarian, placing the books in his bag and taking Harry's hand in his own.

"Where would you like to go next, Harry? Are you hungry?"

Harry shook his head. "May I please have a drink of water?"

"Absolutely," Remus said, smiling. They headed to small coffee shop in the station and Remus pointed at the menu boards. "You can have anything you'd like, little Prongs. You can have water or chocolate milk or maybe some juice or some lemonade? What would you like?"

Harry stared at him in wonder. "I can choose?"

Remus nodded, taking his wallet out of his back pocket. "Of course you can."

"Chocolate milk please," Harry said with a smile as they approached the counter and Remus ordered two small chocolate milks and added two chocolate biscuits along with it.

He led Harry over to one of the tables and they took their seats. He opened the milk and put a straw in it, handing it across the table with the biscuit and smiled.

"I'm a big fan of chocolate myself," he told him as he broke off a piece of the double chocolate biscuit and took a bite. "And this is chocolate paradise."

Harry licked his lips, breaking off a piece of the biscuit to try it and he smiled. "Mmm, chocolate paradise."

Remus chuckled as he opened his own chocolate milk. "So Harry, do you like living with Uncle Sirius?"

Harry nodded, his eyes wide. "He's nice. He turns into a big black dog. And he plays with me and he makes Sirius' Grilled Cheese Perfection. He smells like a forest."

Remus smiled at the description. Sirius did often smell rather woodsy and a bit like leather. It was a mix of the soap he used and the jacket that he always wore and Harry obviously found it soothing.

"He's pretty great. He's my best friend."

"Uncle Sirius said my dad was his best friend." Harry told him as he reached for another piece of biscuit, looking to Remus to make sure that he was allowed.

Remus pushed the biscuit towards Harry with a smile. "We were all best friends. Me, Sirius and your dad. I've known them since I was eleven years old. How do you like your room?"

"It's big! And I have my own bed with a red blanket with a lion on it. Uncle Padfoot said its Gryffindor. And there's a poster on the wall of people flying on broomsticks and it moves!" Harry told him, bouncing in his chair as he spoke. "The picture moves, Uncle Moony!"

"It does? Are you sure?" Remus asked him, finishing up his chocolate milk and pushing the rest of the biscuit towards Harry.

Harry nodded eagerly. "It does! Uncle Padfoot said that he was going to show me how to fly on a broomstick, but I have to get bigger first."

"It sounds like you are making it a home," he said, smiling. "I'm glad to hear it. Maybe sometimes, you can come visit me at my home."

"Why?" Harry asked curiously.

"Well, so we can play and have fun together like we did today."

"Okay." he said with a smile. Harry finished his biscuit and drank all of his milk and then looked at Remus beneath his lashes, a small smile on his face. "Uncle Moony?"

"Yes, little Prongs?"

Harry's grin widened at the nickname and then he looked more serious as his fingers picked at the jeans that he was wearing. "Is Uncle Padfoot going to keep me forever?"

"Keep you forever?" Remus asked, his eyebrow raising in question. "What do you mean by that, Harry?"

Harry shrugged, his eyes looking up at Remus. "He won't send me back?"

Remus sighed and gestured for Harry to come close to him. "Come here, little Prongs."

Harry hopped off of his chair and moved to stand in front of Remus.

"Will you sit with me?" Remus asked him. Harry nodded and Remus picked him up, sitting him on his knee. "Uncle Sirius and I… we both love you so much. You are the most important little boy in the world to us. We want you to be safe and to be happy and we would never send you away. Never," he promised him.

Harry was staring at him, eyes wide and Remus leaned down and gently kissed his forehead. Harry flinched, but then he threw his arms around him and hugged him fiercely. Remus hugged him back, blinking back tears.

"Thank you," Harry said against his shoulder.

"You're welcome, little Prongs. What are you thanking me for?"

Harry kept his head on his shoulder as he spoke. "You don't want to send me away."

"Never," Remus said with a smile. "I love you and Uncle Sirius loves you and we will always be there for you. Always."

Harry pressed his lips to Remus' cheek and gave him a small smile. "Slooch, Uncle Moony."

Remus laughed. "That's what you used to say when you were a baby. But I loved your slooches then and I love them now."

Harry reached up and tentatively brushed his fingers across the faded scar on Remus' left cheek. "You have a big scar."

Remus nodded, letting out a slow breath. "I have a lot of scars, Harry."

Harry touched the one on Remus' eyebrow carefully. "And another one here," he said. "Look, I have a scar, too!" He pushed his own hair back to show Remus the lightning bolt on his forehead.

Remus smiled at him. "Yes, you do." He leaned in and pressed his lips to the lightning bolt, smiling.

Harry beamed at him and kissed the scar on Remus' cheek. "We're the same!"

Remus bit lip as it trembled. This little boy, this precious little boy was beaming at him and Remus felt his heart expand with love. He would never let anyone hurt him ever again.

"Yeah, little Prongs, we're the same."

And then he wrapped his arms around the child and tried not to cry.

~ ASC ~

When Sirius arrived back at the house, he saw the note from Remus and smiled. He had no idea where Remus had wandered off to but he hoped that he was enjoying his time with Harry. He knew that Remus wanted to get to know him just as much as Sirius did. Remus had given Sirius the time he needed to try to spend time with his godson, not to mention that Remus had been picking up double shifts at the Muggle book store he worked at lately. Sirius had barely seen him and had been relieved when he had offered to babysit while Sirius finished up the final paperwork.

Harry officially belonged in his care now and the relief that he had felt when he handed over the paperwork had been instant.

Harry was home.

He stepped into the kitchen to grab a drink of water just as the owl flew through the open window.

Sirius gave him a treat from the box in the cupboard, filling a bowl with water and watching as the owl drank eagerly before he took the letter. He recognized the medical coat of arms and smiled. He hadn't expected to hear back from the healer so soon.

Dear Mr Black,

I am very glad to hear that Harry has opened up to you in terms of the suffering and neglect that he endured in the hands of his last guardians. As to you inquiring about getting him a pet, specifically a dog, I think this is, in all actuality, an amazing idea.

Studies have shown that animals often help bridge a child's emotions. By trusting the animal, it helps them to trust the people as well. A puppy would be a pet Harry could trust and grow with. If you are indeed serious about this decision — my brother's dog is pregnant — and he would be more than willing to give you one of the puppies. The dogs are golden retrievers, which are actually great dogs to help with anxiety. They are fiercely loyal and loving and would be great for Harry to have. But there are many other kinds of dogs that would work the same: Labrador retrievers, terriers, boxers, pugs, etc.

If you have any other questions or concerns please let me know.

Althea Castellanos

St Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries

Paediatric Healer

The healer agreed with him. And it looked like she even had puppies coming soon that he could choose from. Sirius glanced at the calendar with a smile, a little over two months until Harry's sixth birthday. He grabbed a fresh piece of parchment and began to respond, a smile on his face.

Dear Althea,

Thank you for that fast response! I knew you'd agree with me about the dog being a good idea. Well, I hoped you would which amounts to the same thing. I am definitely interested in the golden retriever puppies. I know that they are great dogs and if you have puppies being born soon I am even more intrigued. Harry's birthday is the 31st of July and I was thinking that it might be a great present for his sixth birthday.

I'd like to surprise him. Any chance that I can meet the momma pup? How soon until the puppies will be born?

Thanks again for your help.

Sirius

He sealed the letter and held it out to the owl, who was eagerly drinking water from the bowl. She flew over and held her leg out for him to attach it. Sirius stroked her wing and smiled.

"Thanks girl."

He watched the owl fly out of sight and smiled to himself. He couldn't wait to see the look on Harry's face when he gave him a puppy.

And he couldn't wait to tell Remus his idea.