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Mr. Black's face had seemed to crumble almost immediately, but Harry felt that he had made the right decision. Was the man really his god-father? And if he was, why was Harry only now hearing from him. No one had told him he had other 'living' family members, aside from the Dursley's.
So why now?
He was probably passing through town and decided to visit the 'orphan boy' on the side.
Besides, Harry would be old enough to move out of the orphanage and live on his own in less then two years.
On the other hand, he hated to see Dumbledore's sad eyes following him wherever he went. The old man had already asked Harry a couple more times, yet Harry still refused. It was only when Dumbledore had, once again, asked Harry to come with him to his office that things changed.
Harry was worried for a moment that the man was back and Dumbledore had sold him out, that he had been adopted, but the office was blessedly empty.
"Harry, I think we need to talk."
Those were words no teenager, no person, ever wanted to hear, and Harry was instantly on edge.
"Harry, I'm not mad at you. I do understand, but I really think you should reconsider your decision. It would be the best for the both of you."
Harry couldn't resist snorting. "So he's convinced you. Who is he anyway? No one has mentioned him to me." He knew it came out a bit harsh, but it needed to be said.
"He's a man that's been through a great deal, as have you, and is currently in a lot of pain. I can't tell you why he hasn't been there for you, why it seems he's never tried to know you. Only he can explain that to you, Harry. I do know some of it, as I did run a background check. I honestly believe he's come here to do right by you." Dumbledore stared into the boy's eye, which showed him nothing. "He quit his job to move here, Harry. To see you." The old man knew he was trying to send the boy on a guilt-trip, and was doing it without remorse.
Mr. Black did that for him? Harry seemed to think for a moment, staring at the carpet below his feet. He did trust Dumbledore, kind of, but...
"Please, Harry."
He could tell the old man would plead with him, until he said yes. But he didn't know if he could. "Maybe." Harry finally answered, exhaling as he said it. "I'll think about it."
"Thank you." The old man smiled at him, making Harry feel a bit more at ease.
"May I leave?" Harry asked and got up after the man nodded; he had a paper to write and he hoped the little kids hadn't taken his books to draw in again.
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/I hate him!/ It was the first time those words had ever been directed at the kindly elder.
A couple of weeks later, after it had became apparent to Dumbledore that Harry was not going to give an answer any time soon, Harry came face to face with Sirius black.
"Harry." The man just said, quietly.
Unfortunately, the boy did run this time. Thankfully, for Sirius, he hadn't run farther than outside. At first, he had thought to run after Harry, but decided that wouldn't make things any better and searched for his as calmly as possible. However, inside, the man was frantic.
Sirius had no idea how to handle this. Harry had run from him! He didn't understand it, but he did honestly did want to know Harry and regretted being there while Harry was here, alone.
He was going to change that.
It didn't take long for Sirius to find Harry; the orphanage wasn't that big. The boy was found near the edge of the property, half leaning, half slumped on the fence. Sirius took another step forward, causing a trig to snap. He saw Harry's eyes widen for a moment before he did finally fall to the ground.
"What do you want?" Sirius heard the quiet, angry, words.
"I just want to get to know you."
"I don't see why, there's nothing to know. You don't need to be here, sir." Harry silently pleaded that the man would go away.
Sirius was taken aback for a moment, but decided to continue. "I don't know what you mean, but I really do want to be here," the sad man pleaded.
"Why. I haven't even met you. I've never even heard of you!" he almost yelled.
"Look Harry." The man suddenly turned slightly stern, almost desperate, causing Harry to further tense. "I can guess that you've been through a lot of shit. Well, I have too. I would rather not talk about it right now, maybe eventually, but now it's still to fresh. I do understand you not wanting to spill your guts to a someone new, but I am being honest. You are the last person left that I have left and I would like to call you family. I didn't even know that you were alone all these years Harry, else I would been here sooner, regardless of whatever problems I was having. Honestly, I didn't know you were alone." After that he did the last thing Harry expected. The man lunged forward and a terrified Harry had no place to go; the fence trapped him. However, instead of striking him, Sirius... hugged him?
Harry did manage to calm down, but only enough to say "Please, don't touch me."
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Sirius came back to visit every couple of days, even after that nearly horrifying experience, which Sirius couldn't begin to understand. Thankfully for Dumbledore, Harry no longer protested against the man's presence, at least not much.
He didn't say much when Sirius was there, but would occasionally respond. Sirius didn't try to hug Harry again, although he wanted to. He was quickly starting to care about the boy, and as more than a distant relative. Sirius was starting to almost think of the boy as his son, after a while, one he had never known. Not quite there yet, but he was close. There were still occasional incidents where something he would do would seem to scare the sixteen-year old, sometimes bad enough that Harry would walk out the room. It was usually when the older man moved the wrong way. Sirius knew that when this happened, it was not likely that Harry would come back.
Still Sirius held back his questions and worries, from both Harry and Dumbledore. He just hoped that Harry could trust him eventually.
Sirius had also wondered if he was the best person to be taking in Harry, a teenager, something he had no experience with, but quickly decided that there really was no one else. And besides, Harry didn't quite seem like the average teen; Sirius didn't really see the boy giving him any Sirius trouble, at least not intentionally.
Overall things seemed to be going well, except Harry still never gave any clues that he would welcome adoption. This was Sirius' largest worry. What if Harry never allowed Sirius to adopt him? He would just have to keep come here, to the orphanage, until Harry told him to get lost or until they both walked out.
Sirius' prayers were answered on day when he showed up and was immediately sent to Dumbledore's office upon arrival. The old man was there behind his desk, grinning like a fool, and Harry was sitting in a chair across from him. The boy looked more pale than normal, almost sick looking, but there were papers in his lap.
Adoption papers.