Author's Note:

I'm sure that you've noticed that I've been incorporating memories into my story. I want to keep doing this when I can - memories of the Marauders, memories of Sirius' life -things that I want to know so I assume others want to know as well, LOL. When I want to know something, I have a desire to write it (shrugs).

I'd also like to give a shout-out to blvnk-art, who is my absolute favourite artist on tumblr and instagram. Not to mention her amazing blvnk-nsfw stuff, which is so hot and steamy and I'm in love with her art and her incredible talent. She has no idea who I am, but I am her adoring fan and her art inspires me. Anyway, off topic, but she wrote this amazing list of traits of James Potter and most of them I agreed with so much and had thought before myself on multiple occasions such as his love of Muggle music - specifically The Beatles and Elvis - playing the guitar, etc.. All stuff that I imagined myself and even used a few years back when I wrote Crazy Little Thing Called Love — my Jily story. But looking at her artwork, it's absolutely inspiring and beautiful and to be honest, it is now ingrained in my head as complete canon — especially the Hinny stuff. Anyway, off topic again, but in conclusion — James Potter loves the Beatles — so ergo in my HC, he wants to share that with his son.

DISCLAIMER: I don't own the lyrics; they belong to the talents of The Beatles.

I've been trying to figure out how I want Harry and Sirius to get closer; not just Harry bonding with Padfoot the dog - but with Sirius, his godfather - which means that Harry has to stop asking for Padfoot at night. I think that in this chapter, I got that. I think I finally managed to get across that Harry has realized that this is his home and he's comfortable there. He's excited to see Remus when he comes to visit and he's on a routine and he's happy; even when his past is still haunting him.

Also, well, my love of McGonagall and her relationship with Sirius — that in my head is 100% canon even though I have no proof of this — is vital. His respect and admiration for her and the way that he is working to keep her in his life as an important friend and confidant I think is very important.

Reviews and Comments: To Queen Helen: Well, I got on a roll, so yes, two chapters in one hour! Thank you for reading! To E-Dett: No Hedwig at this point in the story, no. She will make an appearance in a few years. You think Peter should be captured now and sent to Azkaban only to escape to help resurrect Tom? Interesting. More ideas are forming and I think this story will be quite long. To watertribegirl: Thank you! To DJDanger1: Thank you for binging the first fourteen chapters in one sitting! I hope you like where the story goes from here! To geekymom: Thank you very much! To POTTERHEAD frvr: I'm sure we will see more of Tonks' mischievousness here and there. Thank you! To coloredwords: Ha, you hope Sirius wooes the hell out of the healer. He's definitely going to try! And yes, I am excited for you to read about Sirius getting a puppy too! Thank you! To darkhk: Thank you so much! It will go on for a long while, I think. Thank you! To ObsessedWithHPFanfic: It is a shame Tonks wasn't home, but it's May so she is at Hogwarts. Thank you! To Guest: Thank you very much! Blvnk is definitely a huge influence as she is so incredibly talented! I really wanted to show Sirius and Remus raising Harry, so thank you very much for appreciating my attempt at doing so. Thank you!

Thank you very much for reading and please, please review!

Your reviews give me life! They give me inspiration! And they make me want to keep writing for more than just myself! Thank you!

CHAPTER FIFTEEN:

The One With Harry's First Nightmare

Sirius spent the rest of the week cleaning out the sun room at the back of the house. The sunroom had three walls that were all windows and he was thinking that it was the perfect place for Harry to have his studies with Remus. It was brightly lit, full of sunshine, and large enough for them to spread out if needed. Plus it was near the kitchen and had a view of the open back garden looking out into the forest.

After the first hour of Harry sneaking around into the room to watch him and trying to help out, Sirius agreed to let him. He did want Harry to get used to doing chores, but he was afraid to push it after seeing what Harry had suffered at the Dursley residence.

But Harry helped him wash the windows, laughing when Sirius held him up and put the rag on his back, dragging Harry across the glass as the child giggled in his arms. Sirius used his wand to get rid of the boxes of junk and found a long wooden table in the shed that he thought would be perfect for Harry and Remus to use. He bought two chairs to go with it and Harry helped him build the blackboard, asking questions as Sirius hammered the nails into the frame, letting Harry swing a tiny hammer as well and finishing off the work.

Sirius hung the chalkboard up on the wall and then built the other side of the wall up as a bookshelf. It took him the entire week to finish the room, shopping for new light fixtures and school supplies with Harry's help. He had found it surprisingly fun and cathartic to do everything the Muggle way as Harry asked an endless stream of questions about what he was doing.

Harry had immediately become intrigued when Sirius had explained to him that they were building a classroom.

"Why?"

Sirius had just smiled at him, pulling the boy into his lap as they took a rest with some pumpkin juice and some cheese and crackers for a snack. "So that you can learn."

"Learn school?"

"Well, instead of going to a real school, Uncle Moony and I thought that you could learn here and Uncle Moony will be your teacher."

Harry had looked at Sirius in surprise. "Just Uncle Moony and me?"

"Yup, just the two of you."

"No other kids?" he asked in confusion.

Harry couldn't imagine a school without kids, but a school without other kids meant that he didn't have to try to make friends with them. It meant that Dudley wouldn't hurt them if they tried to be friends with Harry.

"No other kids. But don't worry, Harry, we'll find you some kids to play with eventually," Sirius told him with a smile as he watched his godson eat the snack that he had prepared.

That was something else that he hadn't considered either. Harry would need to be around other kids at some point; it wasn't a necessity as long as he kept people around Harry. He didn't want him to be shy and unsocialized with others, but he selfishly wanted to keep him to himself a little bit longer too.

Harry smiled up at Sirius. "I can't wait to learn in my new classroom, Uncle Padfoot."

Sirius beamed at him. "Me neither, little man."

~ ASC ~

By the time that Sunday came around, Sirius was even more anxious for McGonagall to come over and visit. He wanted to show off the small sunlit classroom that he and Harry had prepared. Remus had seen it the day before and had told Sirius that it was perfect. He had even made a list of books that he wanted to get over the next couple of weeks to use in the future.

But at one fifteen on Sunday morning, Sirius' excitement over the classroom and McGonagall visiting was pushed back because it was the first time that Harry had had a nightmare in the four weeks that he had been with Sirius.

Sirius' heart stopped in his chest when he was suddenly woke from a dead sleep in his dog Animagus, in his godson's bed, where he had continued to sleep most of the night — every night.

Sirius transformed back into himself as Harry screamed. He could see that he was still asleep, his little body writhed in terror as he moved around the bed. Sirius reached out to touch him and he screamed in panic again when Sirius' hands reached out to touch his body in an attempt to calm him and a surge of blue shot out and shocked Sirius.

Sirius immediately let go, dragging a hand through his own hair, his eyes wide in terror and his hair now standing up on end from the jolt that Harry had just given him. Merlin, the boy was powerful, he thought.

"Harry?" he called out calmly, trying to stop the fear from etching into his voice. "Harry, wake up, little man. Come on, Prongslet, wake up!"

It took him almost two minutes to pull the child from his nightmare. Harry's green eyes opened and the horror in them made Sirius' heart stop. He sat on the bed and held his arms out to the boy.

"It's okay, Prongslet, it was only a dream. It's okay."

Harry's wide eyes stared at him for a moment as if not processing that he was really there.

"Come here, Prongslet. I'll make everything okay," Sirius told him, still holding his arms out.

He wanted him to know that he was safe. And he wanted Harry to come to him, he didn't want to scare him - not with those green eyes already so wide in terror.

Harry continued to stare at him for a moment and then he moved into Sirius' arms, letting the man cradle him to his chest as he started to cry.

"Shh, it's all right, Harry, Uncle Siri is here," he murmured, kissing the top of his godson's head.

Harry's fingers clutched the front of Sirius' shirt as his tears soaked into the fabric.

"Tell me about your dream, Harry," Sirius told him, gently running his hand over the boy's back in concentric circles, kissing his cheek as they rocked back and forth. "It will make you feel better to tell me."

Harry shook his head, his little body trembling.

"You can always tell me anything, Prongslet," Sirius murmured reassuringly, dropping another kiss to the top of the boy's head. "It will be okay, I promise. You are safe here, little man. Uncle Padfoot's here."

"I… I was in my cupboard," he began, his voice barely a whisper. "Dudley was hitting the door and yelling so Uncle Vernon pulled it open and made me come out. Dudley told him… my teacher's hair turned blue. Dudley said that I did it, but I don't know how it was me!"

A magical sign, Sirius thought, he had wondered how many Harry might have had and how much it had contributed to the way his relatives had treated him because of the fear they held for something that they didn't understand.

"Blue hair and she was so mad. My teacher screamed when she saw that it had turned blue. She never blamed me for it, but Dudley said it was my fault. Uncle Vernon made me tell him why I had done it. I told him I didn't know how I did it. He… he hit me so hard in my tummy I fell over. He yelled at me to stand up and then he hit my tummy again. When I started to cry, he yelled at me. Freaks don't cry. Freaks don't belong. Freaks don't matter," Harry repeated bitterly, the venom in the words clutching Sirius' heart like a vice.

The way that Harry had repeated the words like a mantra told him that they were words he heard more often than anything else.

"He hit me in my tummy again and I threw up all over the floor," Harry said, his voice a little louder now, but still soft as if he still was dreaming.

Sirius continued to rub his back, not speaking. He didn't want to interrupt him.

"Aunt Petunia gave me a bucket so I could scoop up the puke with my hands. It smelt bad and I threw up again — on my clothes. Aunt Petunia yelled and said I was an ungrateful filthy little freak. She dragged me upstairs to the bath and made me get in. The water was cold and I sneezed, but then she pushed my head under the water. My throat hurt and I couldn't breathe. I choked, but she kept pushing on my head and," he snuggled closer, resting his face over Sirius' heart as he spoke, his warm tears soaking through Sirius' shirt.

"Then there was a crash and Aunt Petunia screamed. I choked on the water when she let go and when I looked up, the mirror was broken and there was glass all over the bathroom. Aunt Petunia said it just blew up and she hit my cheek so hard I fell back into the water. Uncle Vernon said only freaks make stuff blow up and that no one would ever love an ungrateful freak like me. He pushed me back under the water and then he picked me up with his hand on my neck and he squeezed — and it hurt — and then he threw me into my cupboard and I hit my head on the wall. He locked the door and said if I made a peep he would beat me bloody. It was so dark, I couldn't see and my tummy rumbled, but they didn't let me out. All day and I… I had to go pee and they didn't let me, so I peed in my cupboard. The next day my tummy hurt, but Aunt Petunia said that I was too ungrateful for food and it was dark and scary and I was all alone! I was all alone!" he cried, trembling again as his voice became slightly hysterical now. "I called and called for you, Uncle Sirius, but I was locked in the cupboard!"

"Shh," Sirius crooned, realizing now where the horror had come in. He had become trapped in his memory, calling for Sirius, but the nightmare had held him in too tightly. "I'm here, Prongslet, I'm right here. I'm not going anywhere. I promise."

"It was so dark," Harry cried, the tears rolling down his cheeks. "And I hurt all over, but they wouldn't let me out. I couldn't get out!"

"Shh," Sirius continued to croon, his arms cradling the boy as he rocked back and forth in his spot on the bed.

Harry was still crying and trembling, but the fear seemed to have subsided a little. He hummed quietly under his breath and when he recognized the tune of the song, he smiled to himself and began to gently sing as he moved, leaning back against the headboard and pulling the blankets up to wrap around both of them as he sang.

"There's nothing you can do that can't be done, nothing you can sing that can't be sung, nothing you can say but you can learn how to play the game, it's easy. There's nothing you can make that can't be made, no one you can save that can't be saved, nothing you can do but you can learn how to be you in time, it's easy. All you need is love, all you need is love, all you need is love, love; love is all you need," he sang, smiling as Harry relaxed against him a bit.

As Sirius held Harry and kept singing he realized that the last time Harry would have heard this song was when James had sung it, rocking baby Harry to sleep in his arms. James was a huge Beatles fan and he would sing this particular song to his son almost all of the time to calm him down. James was by far the more talented singer, but Sirius had a decent voice.

He remembered one of the first days that he had gone to visit James and Lily after Harry had been born. Lily had answered the door, smiling at him and giving him a hug as he came inside. Her red hair was in a messy braid down her back and she was wearing a Gryffindor Quidditch tee shirt and jean shorts.

"Sirius! Lovely to see you!"

"Hi, Lily, you're looking lovely," he told her, handing her the gift of two large Honeyduke Chocolate Bars that he had brought with him.

"Liar. I'm a mess right now," she told him as she put a hand to the messy braid her hair was in. "Chocolate, how sweet of you!"

He shrugged. "It was Remus' idea, so you can thank him. He said that babies get all of the attention and sometimes the mum needs a little treat for herself."

Lily's eyes welled up and she hugged him tightly. "That's the sweetest! Sorry, my hormones are still a little out of whack and sometime I can't stop the waterworks," she told him on a laugh. "James is upstairs in the nursery with Harry. I'm going to take a shower — much needed."

Sirius smiled and watched her head off to the bath so he made his way upstairs to the nursery, smiling when he heard his friend singing. He stood outside of the door, out of view from James who was sitting in the rocking chair, holding his two-week-old-son in his arms. His finger was clapped tightly in Harry's little hand and he was smiling at his son as he sang and Harry was staring up at him wonder.

"There's nothing you can know that isn't known. Nothing you can see that isn't shown. There's nowhere you can be that isn't where you're meant to be, it's easy. All you need is love, all you need is love, all you need is love, love; love is all you need."

He turned his head to kiss Harry's small head and Sirius stepped into the nursery as James looked up at him.

"Starting him off with the Beatles early on, eh Prongs?"

James smiled, standing up with the sleeping child, kissing his cheek tenderly, and gently laying him down in the bassinet. "Can never be too early. He likes it when I sing to him. So far I've been alternating between 'All You Need is Love,' 'I Will,' and 'Blackbird.' He likes to hear me sing."

He carefully crept away from the sleeping baby and gestured for Sirius to follow him down into the living room. He flicked his wand and the room suddenly filled with the soft sounds of Harry breathing.

"What the…?"

"Baby monitoring charm," James explained, grinning at his friend. "So, what have you been up to, Padfoot? It's been almost a week since I've seen you!"

Sirius shrugged, stretching out on the chesterfield and dragging his hand through his locks as they fell around his face. "Not much. Figured I'd give you and Lily some time with the new baby, get a routine down… like singing to him."

"You're just jealous because I can sing better than you."

Sirius grinned at him. "You can sing well, that's true. Probably could have been famous if you made an effort at it. Lily still love it when you play the guitar for her?"

James smiled. "Of course. I've played for Harry once too. He becomes very calm when I sing to him."

"The Beatles, every time?"

"Mostly," James said with a grin. "What did you think I was going to go all conventional and sing 'Lavender's Blue Dilly Dilly' or 'Hush Little Baby' when there are so many amazing songs by The Beatles to sing?"

Sirius laughed. Babies may change people he realized but not where it counted. "Never. You rock out to the Prongslet, Prongs."

"I will." James had said simply.

Sirius knew that James sang to Harry almost every single night before he went to bed and he had wondered if on some conscious level, when he had started to sing The Beatles' lyrics to his godson, if Harry had remembered his father singing to him and had felt comforted by that just as much as by Sirius holding him. He hoped so. He hoped that James was here now, watching over his son and knowing that Sirius was doing everything he could to calm him and to show him how much he loved him.

He continued to sing and Harry relaxed more and more against him and then Sirius felt himself calm down when Harry had finally fallen asleep.

~ ASC ~

Sunlight flashed before his closed eyes and he opened them. He hadn't remembered falling asleep himself. He felt the shift of the tiny body still snuggled close to him, his head resting over his heart and he smiled. It was the first time that he had comforted Harry as himself at night, not as a dog. Harry had been completely relaxed and trusting of the man holding him and not the dog.

He thought about the things that Harry had told him last night and he suppressed his anger. He wanted to know what was going to happen to them; what repercussions they would be facing for how they had treated such an innocent and sweet child, but at the same time — he was afraid to find out. He already knew that if they weren't as harsh as he wanted them to be he might not be able to stop himself from making them so. And Harry needed him. He wasn't going to do anything to hurt his godson and him not being there would definitely not be in Harry's best interest.

He wasn't going back to Azkaban.

He shifted slightly and Harry stirred, rubbing his cheek against Sirius' chest. Sirius gently rubbed his hand over his back. Harry snuggled into his embrace before he blinked owlishly, looking around half asleep.

"Good morning, Prongslet," Sirius said to him, smiling warmly. He reached over to grab Harry's glasses and gently slid them onto his godson's face.

Harry's green eyes focused on him through the lenses and he smiled. "Morning, Uncle Padfoot."

Sirius sat up, lifting Harry with him and sitting him on his lap. "Did you sleep okay?"

Harry nodded. "Uh-huh. Can I have breakfast?"

"You bet. What do you want to eat for breakfast this morning?"

"Pancakes and bacon," Harry said with a grin.

Sirius chuckled, standing up and sitting Harry on the bed as he did so. "Sounds great. Let's go to the toilet first and then we'll go make some. I'll show you how to make them with fresh blueberries."

Harry grinned widely and Sirius watched him hurry into the bathroom. He was going to be all right; he might not even remember having the nightmare, but he was going to be okay.

They would both be fine.

~ ASC ~

McGonagall arrived by Floo that afternoon, dusting herself off as she stepped into the living room, looking around the room in mild interest. She smiled when she saw Sirius sitting on the couch.

"Sirius, thank you for inviting me over today."

Sirius grinned at her and ushered for her to take a seat. "I wanted to be settled in a bit before I did so, but you were definitely getting an invite."

McGonagall sat down in the armchair and smiled at him. "Where's Harry?"

"Having a nap," Sirius told her, glancing at the clock. "He should be up in the next half hour."

McGonagall smiled. "Already have him on a schedule, look at you the proud papa."

Sirius shrugged, grinning. "He's an amazing kid. And he's really anxious to meet you today. I told him that when he woke up from his nap we'd have a guest over."

"How are the two of you doing, adjusting to each other?" she asked, her eyes taking him in.

Sirius Black was still a very good looking young man. He sat before her in white-washed blue jeans with holes in the knee and a white muscle shirt. He had one leg crossed over the other, his feet were bare. His hair hung just so, parted to the left and perfectly around his face. The silver hoop and the diamond stud in his left ear gleaming. His face was covered in dark stubble that suited him, made him look slightly dangerous. His toned arms were covered in tattoos, hints of more beneath his shirt and he wore a set of dog tags around his neck. He looked the part of the handsome young rebel - twenty-six and dangerous - but he had a heart of gold and was now taking on the responsibilities of being a full-time parent.

McGonagall had to admit that she was more than impressed in him doing so. It was a lot of responsibility especially for someone who had thrived on avoiding responsibility all of his life. And spending almost five years in prison must have made him thrive to be even less responsible: To be wild and rebellious, and to live the life that he had deserved to be living all of those years that he had spent trapped with the Dementors.

Sirius smiled at her, stretching his arms up over his head. "We're doing pretty great, I think. He finally really trusts me, Minnie. He actually trusts me. He had a nightmare last night. Part nightmare, part memory actually, and he woke me up screaming. I couldn't touch him because it only added to the horror and panic that he was experiencing. It took me almost two minutes to wake him, which was terrifying to me — the longest two minutes of my life! Once I finally woke him, he just clung to me, and I was so relieved that he was awake that I just held him and I sang to him. We fell asleep like that. I woke up this morning with him cuddled over my heart and it felt right."

McGonagall's eyes were sad. She couldn't understand how anyone could hurt a child so badly that he had nightmares about it. "Did he tell you what he was dreaming about that was so terrifying for him?"

"Part memory like I said. I told you those Muggles that he was living with severely mistreated him," he said and she nodded in acknowledgement. "It was something they did because he accidentally did magic. He's a powerful child. From just the glimpses I've had into his past, he's turned a teacher's hair blue and exploded a mirror. I'm sure there's been others, but even those are pretty extreme cases of underage magic."

McGonagall nodded. "It sounds like fear forced them to the surface as well. Fear is a motivator for magic, but not always; sometimes one's fear suppresses their magic and sometimes it magnifies it."

Sirius nodded, fiddling with the dog tags around his neck as he thought about it. The only times Harry had shown magic so far had been when he had been scared so McGonagall's logic made sense.

"The son of James and Lily Potter is bound to be powerful. He jolted me last night when I tried to wake him; felt like I'd been zapped by a current — and the first night I gave him a bath, he made a water tornado that shot me straight in the face. Both times he was afraid. He's powerful already."

"Yes, he is," McGonagall said, her eyes wide. "I imagine that he will be even more so when he gets older. Sirius, what are those tags you wear? I remember you having them years ago too and I've always wondered."

"These?" he asked, letting them drop out of his hands. "A running gag between James and I. He bought them for me for my seventeenth birthday. They say: Padfoot's Pride, if found please return to Moony or Prongs. Then the second tag reads: When he annoys you, put him in the doghouse."

McGonagall chuckled. "Very entertaining."

"I've never taken them off and they didn't take them from me when I was imprisoned, something I was incredibly thankful for. It just makes me feel close to James. I like to keep that with me," Sirius told her, smiling.

"As you should."

The Floo roared to life and Sirius looked up in surprise when Remus stepped out, dusting himself off.

"Hi, Padfoot. Oh, hello, Minerva," Remus said in surprise as he stood in front of the fireplace.

"Hey, Moony, didn't expect to see you until Tuesday."

Remus nodded, wiping ash from his sleeves. "I know. I just wanted to drop off that book list I was telling you about and I was going to see if you wanted me to make something for dinner, but you have company."

"Oh, you can definitely stay and whip up something for dinner," Sirius said on a laugh.

Remus grinned. "I'm going to make myself a cup of tea then. Minerva, would you like one?"

"Oh, right, host and all that," Sirius said with a grin. "Sorry Minnie."

"I would love a cup of tea, Remus, thank you. And it's quite all right, Sirius."

As Remus headed into the kitchen to make tea, McGonagall smiled at Sirius. "I'm glad to see that Remus is helping you with meals. Are you not much of a cook?"

"Not much as in barely at all. I can do breakfast — mostly, and I can warm stuff up, but otherwise cooking is most definitely not my forte," he told her with a laugh. "But I'm trying to learn and Harry helps me. He has a surprising knack for it and stops me from making anything too disastrous. He might be the chef in this family when he gets older."

She chuckled, crossing her legs in the chair. "So, your letter mentioned that you were thinking of homeschooling Harry?"

Sirius nodded, crossing his own legs. "Remus is going to teach him. I spoke to my cousin Andromeda about what she taught Dora. Remus and I spoke a little about it last week: About his skill level and what kind of things he should learn. But I thought hearing your thoughts were definitely important." He stood up, holding his hand out to her. "Come see what Harry and I did."

McGonagall accepted his hand and let him lead her into the sunroom off of the kitchen and living room. She smiled when she saw the bookcase and the chalkboard and the table all set up.

"Sirius, it looks wonderful! It's warm and inviting. I think you've made a wonderful environment for Harry to learn in."

Sirius' neck flushed red a little from her praise. "Thanks. We worked hard at it and obviously we will be adding lots of books to the shelf and Remus will put together what he needs. Maybe we can cover most of this wall with Harry's schoolwork. It's going to be great."

She followed him back into the living room and sat back down. "I'm honoured that you'd think of me, Sirius, but what you decide to teach Harry before he comes to Hogwarts is entirely up to you. Reading and writing are obviously important but subject wise, Harry will learn the important things when he comes to Hogwarts."

"Uncle Sirius?" a small voice asked as Sirius turned in his seat to grin widely at the messy haired boy rubbing his eyes with one hand as he clung to Prongs and Lily in his other arm.

"Hey, Prongslet, how was your nap?"

Harry pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose and nodded. "Good."

Sirius smiled at him. "Come here, Prongslet. This is the guest that I was telling you would be here when you woke up, do you remember her name?"

Harry walked over to where Sirius was sitting on the couch and turned to smile at McGonagall. "Hello, Auntie Minnie," he said softly, climbing up into Sirius' lap.

"Auntie Minnie — did he just…?" At Sirius' wide grin she laughed. "Sirius Black, you have to be joking?"

Sirius laughed as Harry smiled at the two of them.

"What's so funny, Auntie Minnie?" Harry asked, his eyes moving between McGonagall and Sirius.

McGonagall smiled warmly at Harry and shook her head. "Nothing, Harry. It's lovely to meet you. You look just like your father."

"Except for the eyes," Remus said as he stepped into the living room carrying a tray of tea and snacks. "He has Lily's eyes."

Harry jumped off of the couch and hurried towards Remus, hugging his leg as he placed the tray down. "Uncle Moony!"

Remus chuckled and picked up Harry. "Hi, little Prongs, did you have a good nap?"

"Yes. I had a dream about singing."

"Singing?" Remus asked in interest. "Were you singing?"

Harry shook his head as Remus took a seat on the couch, pushing Sirius' legs off and sitting Harry between them. "No. A man with messy hair and glasses was and he was playing a guitar."

Sirius' eyes whipped to his godson's face. He had stirred up memories last night; memories of James Potter singing to his son. He was incredibly pleased with himself at the thought. "What was he singing, Harry, do you remember?"

"No, but it was nice." He eyed the tray Remus had placed on the coffee table with interest. "Can I have a biscuit?"

"May I have a biscuit, Harry," Remus corrected, smiling.

"May I have a biscuit, Uncle Remus?"

Remus grinned and handed a biscuit to him. "Of course."

Sirius was watching Harry carefully and he seemed to catch himself, smiling and turning back to McGonagall. Harry just happening to have a dream about his father singing to him and playing the guitar wasn't merely a coincidence. Sirius had jogged an early childhood memory for him and he was ridiculously pleased with himself. He wanted Harry to remember the good things no matter how tiny and insignificant they were. Not having memories of the two people who loved him more than life itself was tragic and he hoped that he could remedy that in any way possible no matter how small.

Harry finished his biscuit, his eyes on McGonagall. "Do you have a little boy, Auntie Minnie?"

McGonagall looked taken aback by the question and Remus snorted into his tea, coughing.

"S-s-sorry," he choked, catching his breath and glaring at Sirius.

"No, Harry, I don't have any children. I'm a professor at Hogwarts."

"What's Hogwarts?" Harry asked her.

"It's a school where you learn magic," she said with a smile.

Harry's eyes were wide. "Learn magic? Like what Uncle Padfoot and Uncle Moony do?"

"That's right," she said, smiling warmly. "When you get older you'll come and learn too."

"But not now," he said, his eyes on his two uncles as if concerned that he was being sent off to some school of magic that very day.

Remus shook his head, finally controlling his coughing fit. "Not yet, no. You go to Hogwarts when you turn eleven."

Sirius smiled at Harry. "Harry, there was something else that you wanted to ask Auntie Minnie, wasn't there?"

His eyes were twinkling in mischief and Remus was looking between Harry and Sirius in mild amusement and horror.

Harry smiled widely, hopping off the couch and approaching the chair where McGonagall was sitting. "Auntie Minnie?"

"Yes, Harry?" McGonagall asked warily.

The boy in front of her was absolutely adorable, but the way that Sirius' eyes were twinkling in anticipation, she was ninety percent positive that the next words out of his godson's mouth were going to be something that only Sirius Black would come up with.

Harry looked up at her for a moment, biting his bottom lip before he spoke. He smiled sweetly at her and she felt her heart soften. "Uncle Sirius says that you can turn into a cat."

"He's right, I can. I'm an Animagus."

Harry nodded, understanding the term and smiled at her. "So, does that mean you have a litter box?"