Sorry for the delay guys, life got involved and kicked up a right fuss, as per usual! I hope you enjoy this nonetheless!
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"Do I look desperate?" Sirius asked, smoothing the front of his shirt over his pants. He had trimmed his beard and groomed his moustache into neat points.
"Are you sensitive to honesty at the moment?" Remus smiled, positive that he was tasting cologne in the back of his throat each time he inhaled. Sirius was always one for dramatics.
He narrowed his eyes. "I want to make an impression, for Harry, you know?" he half lied, brushing a loose curl from his face.
"Of course," Remus grunted, rustling the paper open. "I'm sure Harry will appreciate your cologne; very musky, real manly. Toughen them while their young kind of thing. "
Sirius grinned and chanced a glance in the mirror behind Remus' head. He did look good, if he was to be honest; in fact he looked handsome. He had the Black genes to thank for that, they always did have pretty offspring.
"You're going like that, right?" he affirmed, casting an eye over Remus' worn jeans and jumper.
The werewolf peeked over his newspaper with a challenging look. "I was actually hoping to borrow your scent. Mind if I try it?"
"You wouldn't like it," Sirius dismissed, brushing imaginary dust from his sleeves.
"I'll use that blue one you own; remember you bought it in Diagon Alley a while back? That one smelled irresistible," he purred and ducked behind the paper at Sirius' choked reaction.
"We don't want to overwhelm Harry with too many scents, Remus. Children are sensitive to things like that. I thought you would know better by now." He picked a lint ball from his trousers and flicked it across the room.
"Yeah, sensitive," Remus snickered, turning the page. "Why are you ready so early? It's 9am."
"I thought we could be there a bit early. What's that muggle saying?" Sirius mused, scratching below his chin. "Ah! The early bird digests the worm!"
"The early bird catches the worm." Remus rolled his eyes in disdain, folding the paper and stretched into the back of the chair. "Anyway, the second mouse gets the cheese, right?"
"What do worms and cheeses have in common, Remus?" Sirius scoffed, turning away to preen his eyebrows. "You're talking nonsense now."
"Sirius!" the tiny speckled, black haired boy squealed, breaking Mary Sue's grip and bounding down the garden of No.4. Sirius lowered himself enough to capture Harry in his arms.
"It's so good to see you again, Harry," Sirius laughed into the mop of black hair below his chin. "You look even taller than last time I saw you!"
"I'm growed up now," Harry declared, cocking his chest proudly. "My teacher says I've grown a whole centipede since Christmas!"
Sirius barked with laughter, ruffling Harry's hair and pushing himself up right. "A whole centimetre, squirt. Centipedes are these long, wriggly, slimy, billion legged potion ingredients. Bleugh!"
"Don't turn him against the subject so soon, Pads," Remus scolded, giving Harry a trusting wink. "It's good to see you again young cub." He leaned down to hoist Harry into his arms and then crossed the lawn to greet Mary Sue.
"Remus," she smiled, bending slightly at the knee. He hair was loose today and flowed majestically around her shoulders. There was a twinkle in her eyes; Remus wouldn't admit it while she was there, but she did have a very intriguing stare. He might mention later when he got Sirius home, just for fun. "You look so comfortable with a child in your arms," she said questioningly. " I'm sure you make a wonderful father!"
He chortled and shook his head. Women. "No, not just yet. I like to think that I'm still in my prime – young and free!" He cast a sidelong glance at Sirius whose attention had roused following that comment.
"Oh well then, perhaps you shouldn't leave it too long," she giggled, swiping at his shoulder gently. Her nails were marbled today, with a pink and silver design. Remus would have frowned at them if he hadn't been interrupted by Sirius.
"I've been trying to set him up for years," he announced, plucking Harry from Remus' arms. He beamed at Mary Sue, cocking his head enough to expose his neck. There was no sense in using his best cologne if he wasn't going to flaunt it. "Will you be calling tonight then? For that house inspection you were talking of?"
"No, Mr. Black. That will be a spontaneous visit," she said, staring at him steadily with no hint of admiration or flattery. "Before you go, there are rules."
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"The nerve of that woman!" Sirius complained, rounding the corner out of Private Drive. "How dare she suggest that I would do such a thing!"
"You have to admit that your attire today suggested otherwise," Remus smirked, wrinkling his nose when he took another whiff of the suffocating cologne that ponged from Sirius' neck. They had Harry between them, holding one tiny hand each to prevent him from falling as he vaulted over the cracks on the pavement.
"So I'm to be victimised for wanting to look neat?" snapped Sirius, readjusting Harry's over-night bag on his shoulder and then scowled ahead once more.
"You were not victimised, for goodness sake – Harry don't stamp on snails, please – and if it's any consolation to your pride, I think you'd do a grand job of picking up a woman like that," Remus said when they stopped by the bus stop.
"I would never bring some stranger around, Harry," he snipped, petting the boys head. "And that woman should be ashamed for even thinking I'm that type." Sirius tucked his hands under Harry's arms and lifted him onto the wall he had been attempting to climb, securing him with an arm around his waist. "And my pride is fine, thank you very much."
"Why are you pink?" Harry asked, raising a tiny palm to rest it against his uncle's cheek.
"I'm not pink, Harry," he grumbled, deepening another shade and leering over at Remus.
"Yeah you are! Your face is even pinker now!" Harry declared, bringing his free hand to rest against Sirius' other cheek and squashing his uncle's face into a fish like pout.
"Shtop laughin' Wemus," Sirius mumbled mid squash and then plucked Harry's hands away with a soft smile.
"THE BUS IS HERE!" Harry bellowed, bouncing against Sirius and attempting to scramble off the wall. His little feet couldn't climb onto the roaring bus quick enough and he tripped against an elderly lady's trolley, ignoring her scolding comments as he hoisted himself up the stairs of the double decker, leaving Remus to apologise and Sirius to struggle with the ticket machine.
"Look we're driving!" Harry laughed, holding the railing on the front seats and peering out the giant windscreen. Sirius chuckled and sat next to him, making the appropriate sounds of gas pedals, air breaks and opening doors each time they stopped. They passed the journey to Grimmauld Place with laughter, talks of the evening ahead, and Sirius even managed to entice a young couple into a rendition of the 'The Wheels on the Bus'.
"Home at last," Remus huffed when they arrived, kicking the door open and hanging his keys on the hook. "Don't forget to ward the door, Sirius."
"Harry, do you want to do some magic?" Sirius asked, kneeling down and producing his wand from the leg of his pants.
Harry's eyes widened and he nodded, mouth agape and gaze fixated on the slender piece of wood between his Uncle's fingers. Harry loved coming to his Uncle's house for a lot of reasons: he got hugs and kisses, cuddles and snuggles in bed, Sirius played rough and tumble with him and Remus read him stories; but what he always looked forward to most was being allowed to play magic with Sirius.
"Don't give him the wand, Sirius," Remus groaned, unbuttoning his cardigan. "You saw what happened with the curtains last time."
"Rubbish," Sirius scoffed, placing Harry's hand over his own much larger one.
"I can do it, Uncle Remus!" Harry assured, bouncing on the tips of his toes with urgency.
"Move your hand with mine then, Harry, and we'll make sure this old dust bucket stays safe," said Sirius, muttering the incantations quietly while Harry spewed his own nonsense; he beamed up at Remus when the wand emitted a stream of red sparks.
That evening, the trio nestled together on the plump sapphire couch in front of the television. Remus sunk into the cushions, legs stretched and ankles crossed; his right hand rested against Harry's small stripy socked feet, which were perched on top of his hip. Every now and again, Remus would dip his fingers into a bowl of popcorn that he balanced on his legs and crunch noisily; he couldn't recall happier times than these.
Sirius leaned into the back of the couch, his feet perched leisurely on top of the coffee table and his left arm squashed behind Harry's back, whose head was resting against his leg. The small boy's gentle snores made him smile and in that moment, when it was just the three of them – no Dursely's, no social workers, no Dumbledore – Sirius wished he could freeze time and remain there forever.
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Let me know what you think and thanks for being here!
To come: Severus tells us a bedtime story, chaos commences over a bucket of toys and Lucius likes to gamble.