Author's Note:

As for puppy names, I decided on Marauder, having written this a few days before geekymom suggested it — but still take the credit as it's an adorable name, so thanks!

Also, we all knew that I was somehow going to incorporate a few of everyone's favourite characters and here's how I'm starting that off. I hope you like it.

Reviews and Comments: To geekymom: Thank you! To coloredwords: Sirius definitely is always looking out for Remus. I love writing platonic Wolfstar. They are best friends and brothers and I adore them! To 15: Thank you! I love finding out that people who read my earlier stuff are still excited to hear from me! To Claire Fraser: Thank you! Yes, I love the Potters adopting James' friends as well.

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 NINETEEN:

The One Where Harry Meets An Excellent Secret Keeper and Her Brother

When Harry's actual birthday came around, Sirius and Remus took him out for the day. Remus had thought that it was a brilliant idea to spend the morning at the London Zoo. Harry was fascinated by the animals and he held tightly to Remus and Sirius' hands as they walked through looking at all of them. For lunch they ate at a bistro and then Remus bought Harry an ice cream cone which he ate happily as they headed to the theatre.

Sirius remembered the first time that he, James, Remus, and Peter had gone to the movies and had loved every second of it, he wanted Harry to experience it too. It had been Remus' idea to go one summer before fourth year. Sirius and James had never been before, but Peter and Remus loved films. He wanted Harry to have the same feeling of excitement.

Remus had suggested seeing The Great Mouse Detective being that it was a children's movie, but Sirius was insistent that they were seeing Top Gun as it looked so cool. They loaded up on snacks and took Harry inside, sitting him between them. Harry loved the film, his eyes wide and his bum on the edge of the seat (Remus had to carefully whisper a charm to stop it from flipping the child back and trapping him into place) but he loved it.

After the movie, Sirius suggested that they go shopping so that Harry could pick out one gift to get on his actual birthday. Harry had simply stared at him in surprise, but they went to a toy store in Muggle London and Harry chose a case of Legos. When they got back home, Sirius and Remus spent almost three hours helping Harry build the biggest castle with all of the Legos in the case.

It had been the best birthday ever, Harry had insisted while Sirius ushered him to get into the bathtub that night. As he climbed into his bed, he was still gushing in excitement about the day as the puppy jumped up, licking Harry's face and making him giggle.

The puppy snuggled up next to Harry. "I'm glad that you had so much fun, Birthday Boy."

Harry grinned widely. "It was the best! Thank you, Uncle Sirius!"

Sirius smiled, leaning forward to kiss Harry on the forehead. "You are very welcome. What would you like to hear as a bedtime story tonight, Prongslet?" Sirius asked, climbing into the bed next to Harry and stretching out next to him, leaning back against the headboard. He put his arm around Harry, who sat next to him, his head resting back against Sirius' shoulder, the puppy on his other side.

"Tell me about my mummy and daddy," he asked, his voice almost a whisper.

Sirius smiled, handing Harry the stuffed doe and stag. "Lily and James, they were two of the best people I ever knew." Harry snuggled the animals in his arms, looking up at his godfather eagerly. "Lily was one of the smartest witches in school, if not the smartest. She was witty and funny and not to mention sassy. She was so talented at Potions and Charms, they were her best subjects. All of the teachers loved her. James was really smart too. He hardly ever needed to study, stuff just came naturally to him. He loved Transfiguration and Defence Against the Dark Arts. He was funny and he always had a smile for everyone."

Harry smiled up at him as he spoke and Sirius grinned.

"One time, Harry, just after you were born. You were maybe two months old," Sirius said, remembering the moment clearly with a smile. "I popped in to visit and your dad was sitting on the couch, his guitar in his lap and he was playing 'Free Bird' and you were just staring up at him in wonder. Your mum came in and she walked over, kissing your dad and he changed the chord and started singing to her. She got this look in her eye and she kissed him again. They were so in love. You could see how much they loved each other in the way they were. But your dad loved to play the guitar and he loved The Beatles more than anything. He loved Elvis Presley too and BB King. He was big into music, Muggle music specifically. He was always singing, his foot always tapping or bouncing to some internal beat."

He smiled as he remembered how often they'd be sitting in the common room or study hall and James' foot or fingers would be tapping to some beat that only he could hear and when you'd call him out on it, he'd suddenly belt out whatever song he was mentally rocking out too.

"When we were fourteen, your dad and I once snuck out of school and went to London to see The Rolling Stones in concert. Auntie Minnie was so mad when she caught us sneaking back into the school. We had detention every night for a month. But it was worth it," he said with a grin. "Bloody fantastic concert. When we saw Queen the next year though, it was even better. Your dad always wanted to see The Beatles live and I remember when we were fifteen, your grandfather showed us a memory that he had gotten from someone he knew and Jamie and I were able to watch The Beatles play at Shea Stadium in New York in 1965. It was the greatest concert ever according to your dad. We felt like we were there."

Harry smiled at him. "Uncle Padfoot, was my dad a good singer?"

"Yes, he was. He had a really great voice. He used to sing to you all of the time. Do you remember?"

He vaguely remembered a dream where he had heard a man singing to him so he nodded. "Sometimes, I think so."

Sirius kissed the top of Harry's head. "He loved you so much and your mum too. They loved each other and they loved you more than anything in the whole world. They would be so proud of you. I know they're watching over us, checking in from time to time to make sure that I'm taking good care of you. They loved you. I don't want you to ever forget that."

Harry smiled up at him. "I love them too."

Sirius kissed the top of Harry's head again with a smile. "All right, Prongslet, I think that's enough story time. He reached over to rub the belly of the sleeping puppy next to him. "I think it's time for you two Marauders to get some sleep."

He stood up and Harry grabbed his hand.

"Yes, Prongslet?"

"Marauder."

Sirius' eyebrow rose in question. "Yes?"

"Why were you and Uncle Moony and Dad called that?"

Sirius grinned, moving to sit down on the bed again. "That's a good question, Harry." He tucked Harry back in and smiled. "Me, your dad, Uncle Remus, and Unc — Peter," he corrected carefully trying not to grimace at the name. "We were all friends in school since our first year. We fancied ourselves being a popular gang and thought it would be rather brilliant to have our own name; something spiffy and unique to us. We ended up calling ourselves the Marauders."

"Why?"

"Well, marauder means to roam about or to search for plunder or treasure. It's a special name for rogues and we fancied ourselves as being vagrants of the castle. But it was actually Auntie Minnie that gave us the name."

"She did?" Harry asked in surprise.

Sirius smiled as he remembered fondly the day. "She did. It was right at the beginning of our second year, end of September. Jamie and I had just gotten detention for making all of the Slytherin robes scream in terror when they saw one of the students in our year, a boy named Snape. It was hilarious, but McGonagall knew that it was us at once as we had already kind of made a name for ourselves in the troublemaking department and she marched over to our table at breakfast, arms crossed in front of her. It had actually been your Uncle Remus' idea, but she didn't need to know that. Anyway she looked at us sternly and simply said, 'It is only September, can't you four marauders just behave for one year?' We loved it and after she gave us our punishment and took away house points, we agreed that we should call ourselves 'The Marauders.' So we did."

"I like it," Harry told him, smiling. "Marauder."

Sirius grinned at him. "Me too, Prongslet."

Harry smiled. "That's his name, Uncle Padfoot. He's a Marauder like you."

Sirius smiled, scratching the puppy behind the ears. "Marauder it is." He reached for the collar the puppy wore and gently etched the name into the bronze tag with his wand. "Now you and Marauder need to get some sleep." He kissed Harry's forehead with a smile. "I love you. Goodnight, Harry."

"Love you too," Harry yawned, turning to snuggle into the puppy. "Goodnight."

Sirius left the door open a little and he made his way downstairs. Marauder was a great name for the puppy, he thought. In fact, it was perfect.

~ ASC ~

Harry was sitting on the swing that Saturday, kicking his little legs out in front of him as he swung higher and higher above the ground. Remus had brought him to the park to play that afternoon after they had gone shopping at a local bookstore in a nearby town called Ottery St Mary.

But he was more excited now to be at the park even though it was almost dinner time and there were no other kids playing there. He loved the feeling of being on the swings and to be able to go as high as he could. He almost felt like he was flying. He waved at Remus who was talking to a white-haired man by the bench that he had met in the bookstore. Remus was asking him questions about the British Monarchy, one of the books that he had been looking for her. The man was a secondary school history teacher and Remus had soon found himself in an interesting conversation with him about teaching Harry history. Harry had gotten bored waiting for him to stop talking to Mr Shelby, so they had continued the conversation across the street in the park.

Remus waved back at him and he grinned, slowing down and jumping off of the swing in joy, seemingly to float in the air for a moment, soaring before gravity took over and he rolled as he hit the ground and Marauder barked happily running towards him in glee.

He grinned at Remus, who's eyes looked like they had practically bugged right out of his head at the sight of Harry jumping off of the swing. Now he was staring at Harry with a mixture of pride and relief on his face which made Harry smile back at him.

Harry wandered over to the sand box, letting his hands scoop up the sand and watch it slowly roll down his skin and back into the sandbox. It looked like someone had recently been playing in it from the indents and the grooves in the sandbox. There was a teenage boy standing by the tree at the end of the park talking to a teenage girl who was laughing at something he had said. The girl's laugh reminded Harry of Tonks who had been coming over once or twice a week to hang out with him. She was fun. He liked it when she came over as she always made him laugh.

He dusted himself off and hurried up the rope bridge, laughing as Marauder eagerly followed him into the wooden castle in the middle of the playground. He belly crawled into the tall tower, lifting himself up through the hole by the fireman's pole, reaching down to lift Marauder up into the tower with him and stopping in surprise when he saw the tiny girl curled up there.

He had thought that he would be alone in the castle.

She had fiery red hair and freckles on her nose and her eyes were a dark chocolate brown as they stared at him in wonder. Then she merely threw her arms around him and hugged him tightly in lieu of greeting and planted a kiss right on his lips.

"Hi!"

Harry looked at her, feeling rather startled to be hugged and kissed by this random girl he didn't know, surprised by the feeling of warmth it gave him. "Er, hi."

The girl hugged him a second time and then she greeted the puppy even more enthusiastically as he eagerly licked her face in greeting. She hugged him and scratched his belly and Harry grinned.

"He likes you."

"He's beautiful! What's his name?" she asked, giving his belly a long rub that made Marauder's tongue hang out happily.

"Marauder."

She grinned, giving him one final pat and then put her finger to her lips when they heard the sound of someone's voice outside. "Shh, I'm hiding."

"From who?"

Her dark brown eyes twinkled in mischief, "I buried his journal in the sandbox."

"Why?" Harry asked, cocking his head to look at her in curiosity.

The little girl grinned widely. "To hide it, silly boy! Charlie wanted to see it so, I took it. He wants to know all about Anna. But it's none of his business!"

Harry nodded, still not quite following. "So, you stole it so Charlie couldn't read it?"

She grinned, giggling. "But it's in the sandbox where I hid it."

"Is Charlie your friend?" Harry asked, wondering if she was hiding then who was looking for her. He had only seen the two teenagers talking nearby.

She shook her head. "Brother. I'm Ginny and I'm going to be five soon!"

"Harry," he said smiling back at her wide grin. "I'm six."

He scratched his forehead and her eyes shot to the lightning bolt scar near where he was scratching and they widened.

"Harry Potter?"

"Yes," he said in surprise as Marauder yipped and nosed him in the leg.

She was in his arms again hugging him closely as Marauder barked happily and tried to butt his way in between them rather unsuccessfully. "I'm sorry about your mummy and daddy."

The words surprised him. He knew that his parents were dead. He wondered about them sometimes, but he didn't really think about them. He hadn't in a while he realized because of Sirius and Remus. He had a home and he had someone who wanted to take care of him; who loved him like his parents would have. And Sirius and Remus were always willing to tell him stories about them whenever he asked.

Harry hugged her back, jolting when she kissed his cheek before pulling away and Marauder immediately made himself comfortable on Harry's lap.

Ginny smiled widely at him and offered her hand out. "Come on; let's go get the journal. I think he's coming."

"Who? Charlie?"

Ginny shook her head as she slid down the fireman's pole and Harry followed her, carefully holding Marauder in his arms, just as a loud voice yelled out, "Ginevra! What did you do with it, you little minx?"

Ginny giggled and hid behind Harry, holding his hand tightly in her own.

The angry voice had scared Harry. When people got angry, bad things happened. But Ginny wasn't scared. She just kept giggling and then a tall figure stood over them. His fiery red hair was the same colour as hers and he wore it a little long and shaggy. Harry realized that he was the teenager who had been with the girl.

"Did you bury it?" he demanded, his arms crossed in front of him.

He looked at Marauder in surprise when he barked at him.

Ginny giggled again, moving around Harry and holding her arms up to the young man who simply picked her up and kissed her cheek. "I was hiding it from Charlie."

"Uh-huh," he said, shaking his head. "You're a little mischief maker, little one. But I love that you keep all of my secrets for me." He kissed her cheek again and he smiled at Harry. "Who's your friend, Ginny?"

"That's Harry Potter!" she exclaimed, her eyes wide. "He's nice."

Harry smiled sheepishly, putting his hands in his pockets as Remus approached them.

Remus put a hand on Harry's shoulder and smiled at the teenage boy who was still holding Ginny. "Hello."

The redhead smiled at Remus. "Hi, my sister was just causing trouble. I'm Bill and this is Ginny."

"Remus," Remus said, extending his hand. "Harry, did you make a friend?"

Ginny jumped down from Bill's arms and hugged Harry tightly again. "You come to my birthday!" Then she simply held her arms out to Bill again so that he would pick her back up.

Harry simply beamed at her and Remus smiled at Bill. "Looks like they both made a new friend. When is her birthday?"

Bill smiled. "The eleventh of August, but we're having her party next Sunday. Harry would be more than welcome if he wants to come. Is he really Harry Potter, The Boy Who Lived?" he asked, looking at Harry with interest.

Remus smiled. "He's really a six-year-old-boy, but yes, his name is Harry."

Bill flushed in embarrassment. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean… it's just, he's become rather famous, you know? My parents even tell Ginny his tale as a bedtime story; about how he saved the world from You Know Who. It's sometimes hard to believe that a child is the one who really defeated him."

"I know," Remus said still smiling. "I just want him to have a normal childhood."

Bill nodded. "Well, he's most welcome at The Burrow, as are you. It's on the tenth. Be there at one. We're just five minutes away in Ottery St Catchpole."

Remus smiled warmly. "We'd be happy to come."

Bill smiled brightly. "Good, I know Ginny would be disappointed if she invited a new friend and he didn't show up at her birthday."

Remus smiled back, taking Harry's hand as they headed away from the park. Harry looked back to watch Ginny point to the sandbox, giggling madly again when Bill started to tickle her before they dug out the journal that she had buried.

"Can I go, Uncle Moony?"

Remus smiled warmly, watching the way Harry's eyes stayed on the tiny girl who was being tickled quite incessantly by the tall boy and they were both laughing like loons.

"To her birthday?" At Harry's eager nod, he smiled. "Of course, you can. We'll have to get her a birthday present."

Harry grinned widely. The feel of the small girl with her arms wrapped around him had left a warm feeling inside of him. His lips and cheek were still tingling from where she'd kissed him. He had never had a friend before. He let Remus pick him up and he side Apparated back to the house, clinging to Remus and holding a squirming Marauder tightly. He didn't like Apparition quite as much as travelling by Floo and he was pretty sure that Marauder didn't like it either.

Sirius was waiting for them when they got back and he grinned widely, hugging Harry tightly as he ran into his arms. "How was your time in Ottery St Mary? Did you guys buy any books?"

"Harry made a new friend," Remus said as he closed the front door behind him. "A pretty little redhead named Ginny."

Sirius grinned widely, greeting Marauder who was jumping eagerly for attention at his feet. "A girl, eh? And a redhead at that, he really is Prongs' son."

Remus chuckled. "I think we have eons before we have to worry about that, Padfoot."

Sirius laughed, putting Harry back on his feet. "I picked up some pasta in London on my way back. There's a warming charm on it, but let's go eat."

Harry went upstairs to wash up and Sirius turned to Remus. "So, a redhead, eh?"

Remus grinned. "Yes, a redhead. She's turning five next week and Harry was invited to her birthday next weekend. I told him he could go. She was with her brother who extended the invitation to us."

"Where is the party?" Sirius asked, leading Remus into the kitchen to scoop out some pasta for Harry.

"Someplace called The Burrow in Ottery St Catchpole. I've never heard of it, but I'm sure that it can't be that hard to find. They're wizards as the girl recognized Harry by his scar."

Sirius nodded as Harry came back downstairs, hands freshly washed and took a seat at the table. He eagerly dived into the pasta with meat sauce.

Sirius smiled at his godson. "So, Harry, tell me about your new friend?"

Harry smiled widely. "Her name is Ginny. She hid her brother's journal in the sandbox. She has red hair and brown eyes and she hugged me and kissed me right on my mouth!"

Sirius chuckled. "First kiss already and from a redhead at that."

Remus rolled his eyes. "Don't start, Padfoot."

Harry only grinned at them. "She kissed my cheek too. Marauder liked her. She said she was sorry I didn't have a mummy and a daddy. She was nice."

Sirius looked sad for a moment. "She knew you were Harry Potter?"

Harry nodded as he ate. "She saw my scar."

Sirius sighed, leaning back in his chair. "Harry, remember how I told you that a dark wizard had killed your parents, but that when he tried to kill you, he was… he disappeared?" At Harry's nod, he continued. "People all over Britain tell your story. You are the little boy who made the big bad disappear; people feel safe again. They call you The Boy Who Lived."

"Oh," Harry said, looking pensive for a moment. "Because I didn't die like my mum and dad?"

"Yes, Harry, exactly."

Harry was quiet for a moment. "So, everyone knows that I don't have a mummy and a daddy?"

Sirius smiled at him, looking at Remus and they both moved in and kissed Harry on either cheek so that he was squeezed between them like a sandwich, making him giggle. "Your mummy and daddy will always love you, but you have me and Uncle Moony and we will always love you too."

"And we will always be here for you no matter what," Remus told him smiling.

Harry smiled at them, hugging them both. "I love you, Uncle Siri. I love you, Uncle Remus."

Remus' eyes widened and Sirius grinned back at him as they both sat back down to finish their meals. He understood how his friend was feeling. Hearing Harry say those three little words meant more than he could possibly explain.

After dinner, Harry helped Sirius clean up the dinner dishes, standing on the stool as he carefully dried their plates and forks. Sirius helped him put the dishes back on the shelf as Remus took Marauder outside to pee.

Marauder was investigating a nearby bush in curiosity and Remus jumped when he saw the figure move out from behind the house.

"Nymphadora, you scared me!" Remus exclaimed, placing a hand over his heart. "What are you doing here?"

Tonks shrugged, moving over to scratch Marauder behind the ears. "I had some Transfiguration homework for a project to finish at Charlie's house and thought I'd stop by on my way home."

Remus' eyebrow rose. "Does your mother know that you just wandered off from a friend's house?"

Tonks rolled her eyes, popping a large pink bubble before she spoke. "I'm not a little kid and I used the Floo to get here. Sirius told me that you were outside. Charlie's little sister was all excited because she met Harry Potter at the park. Mrs Weasley thinks her daughter is hallucinating slightly, I think."

"Weasley? Arthur Weasley?"

Tonks shrugged, taking a seat on the bench. She wore a purple plaid skirt and a black vest with a black jacket over her shoulders. Her hair was in a high ponytail today and her black boots reached her knees. "I think so."

"I didn't catch Ginny's last name when we met her at the park this afternoon," Remus told her as Marauder finally peed and was now running around the yard, barking playfully at the butterfly that was flying near his head. "Arthur Weasley I've heard of though. I believe he does something concerning Muggles at the Ministry. And his wife, I think that she may have been a Prewett, I went to school with her twin brothers and I seem to remember their sister marrying a Weasley."

"Don't know," Tonks told him, hopping off the bench. "Did Harry choose a name for that adorable puppy yet?"

"Marauder," Remus told her with a smile.

Tonks smiled back at him. "Perfect!"

"Yeah, it's a pretty great name." Remus told her, smiling. "I see that you decided to add a darker pink to your hair. It looks nice."

Tonks blushed. "Thanks. Mum says the pink is too punk looking, but I like it."

Remus smiled at her. "It is a little punk, but that's what makes it look good. You have the colouring to pull it off."

She blushed harder, tripping over a small rock and her eyes widened when Remus caught her in his arms before she could fall over. "Thanks. I'm always so clumsy."

"You should be more careful. I wouldn't want you to hurt yourself."

She beamed at him, a little disappointed when he let go of her arms. "I won't. Thank you."

Sirius stepped outside with Harry who ran to Tonks happily and hugged her. Tonks smiled at Remus before she gave Harry her attention and they took turns tossing the Frisbee across the yard at Marauder.

Sirius wiggled his eyebrows at Remus. "Could see her blushing from the kitchen window, were you flirting my dear, Moony?"

Remus' face flushed. "Flirt — Sirius! She's thirteen! I would never!"

Sirius chuckled, slapping his friend on the back and leading him over to the two lawn chairs they had on the patio. "I'm just teasing, calm down. She fancies you."

"What?" Remus spluttered, his neck flushing now. "Don't be ridiculous."

"I'm not," Sirius said with a grin. "She does. Andy noticed it as well. She said how it seems like Tonks wants to spend all of her free time over here with you and Harry."

"She loves Harry," Remus said stubbornly as he watched her throw the Frisbee rather impressibly as Marauder barked and yipped in his attempt to beat Harry to the toy. "She loves to spend time with him."

"True," Sirius said. "But she also usually pops by when I'm not here."

Remus' mouth opened in surprise. "Well — you… you're usually out and about and she's here when I'm teaching Harry. That's just a coincidence."

Sirius rolled his eyes. "Moony, you're sexy in her eyes, deal with it. It's just a crush. We all had them. Remember when I was in love with Rosmerta?"

"Did you ever stop?" Remus asked him, making him laugh.

Sirius grinned wickedly. "On my seventeenth birthday, I snuck into Hogsmeade to get some Firewhiskey from Aberforth, right? But I popped into the Three Broomsticks first to tell her that it was my seventeenth birthday. She was what, twenty-three, twenty-four at the time?" At his friend's nod, he grinned. "She told me that she had some beer in the back I could have to celebrate. I followed her into the store room and we snogged."

Remus' mouth opened in surprise. "You never told us that!"

Sirius shrugged, grinning widely. "We really, really snogged. I think she was a bit embarrassed and made me promise not to tell anyone."

"Did you only snog?" Remus asked, his gold eyes on his friend's now.

Sirius' grin widened. "That time."

"Sirius!" Remus exclaimed with a laugh. "How long did this go on? How on earth did you keep this a secret from us?"

He grinned, stretching his long legs out in front of him. "About three times before she said we had to stop. Let's just say I spent a lot of time sitting on the floor in front of her while she held onto the top of the shelf in the storage room."

Remus laughed. "Not that you complained."

"Not once," he said with a grin, licking his lips at the memory. "But seriously, our little Tonks has the hots for you."

"I'm twenty-six, Sirius, she's thirteen. I think that she's a bit delusional."

Sirius grinned. "The heart fancies who the heart fancies. And hey, obviously you're not going to do anything because she's a child, I just wanted to let you know since you're probably the most oblivious person on the face of the planet when it comes to that sort of thing."

Remus looked offended. "No, I'm not."

"Okay, oblivious isn't the right word, denial is better. You always assume you're wrong because no one could possibly like you, 'oh no, I'm a lonely young man who turns into a terrible beast, no one can ever love or want me.'"

"Shut it," Remus said, scowling. "I don't sound like that."

"Do too," Sirius told him, smirking. "Anyway, be mindful of her is all."

Remus let his gaze fall back across the yard on the pretty young girl and he nodded. The last thing he wanted was to hurt her feelings. But she was only thirteen. She had to realize that he wasn't interested.

"I will, Padfoot."