A/N: TADA! I'm so proud of how quickly I'm updating. Seriously. xD Speaking of which, Sirius makes his debut in this chapter and so much is explained! I hope you all like this. This is where things really get rolling. In fact, I think I may eventually up the rating on this to M but there won't be any smut for a long while yet. Sorry y'all.
Warning: Mild yaoi action towards the end, and not between Harry and Draco. ;)
Disclaimer: I do not own. All rights go to the amazing J.K. Rowling.
Enjoy!
Harry wanted Draco Malfoy. He wanted him bad. He couldn't stop thinking about the cute blonde the whole walk up to the castle. He had even surprised himself with his rather risqué flirting. His head snapped up when he heard his name being called.
"Here we Harry, your home for the next four years." Dumbledore said softly. Harry's emerald green eyes widened as they took in the massive castle. He could almost feel the magic thrumming through the air and pounding in his veins. The beautiful structure almost seemed to be calling to him. He could feel the pull on his core and he let the feeling wash over him, all his worries about, well, everything felt like they were being flushed out. He sighed and the professor gave him a knowing smile, his eyes twinkling brightly behind half-moon spectacles.
They walked through the gates in companionable silence, neither willing to break it. Dumbledore pushed open the big wooden doors and Harry's jaw dropped. The room was massive. Four big long tables took up the majority of the space, above each a banner with a crest, which he assumed stood for the four houses. Upon closer inspection he realized that the bird on the letter that he thought was a raven was indeed an eagle. He shrugged at his mistake and took note of a long table at the front that was sitting prestigiously on a raised platform. His eyes roamed the room and he looked up. He almost did a double take, his eyes widening in disbelief. The ceiling…well it didn't look like there was one! He figured it must have been charmed for it resembled the beautiful Scottish sky. The sky was a gorgeous cornflower blue with big, puffy clouds. It was an incredible feat of magic and he mentally commended whoever came up with the idea.
"Mr. Potter it is a pleasure to meet you." His eyes snapped forward to see a severe looking woman, her grey hair pulled into a strict bun. "My name is Professor McGonagall-" But that was as far as she got before a handsome looking man with wild black hair and teary blue eyes burst into the room.
"Where is he?! Where is my godson?!" The man shouted looking around frantically. His eyes stopped on Harry and he raced over enveloping the teen in a strong hug, sobbing into Harry's hair.
"Oh god, Prongslet." He said before pulling back to get a good look at the boy in front of him. Harry was suddenly bombarded with memories. A fluffy black dog licking his face. A black haired man tossing him in the air and catching him. Harry was frozen, unsure what to make of the memory or the situation. The man in front of him smiled broadly.
"Let me get a look at you." He said. Harry just stared at him in confusion.
"Sir, do I know you?" He asked. The man's face fell and he sighed as if he almost expected the question. Professor McGonagall seemed to have collected her thoughts for she cleared her throat and pulled the tall man off of Harry.
"Harry, this is your godfather, Sirius Black." She said stiffly.
"Godfather?! GODFATHER?!" He shouted angrily turning around to face Dumbledore. "You mean, all the time I spent with my horrible aunt and uncle, I could have been growing up in a perfectly normal home with my Godfather?!" Harry was furious. How could they! They had no idea what his awful relatives had put him through. Sirius cleared his throat.
"Ah, if I may?" He said nervously. Dumbledore nodded and Harry crossed his arms expectantly over his chest. "Until June I was in prison. No, don't say anything, let me finish. I was wrongly accused of selling out your mum and dad, my best friends, to Voldemort. The night they died, I went straight to the house. I found it in complete ruins and Hagrid was already there, you sleeping in his arms." He paused and wiped his eyes. "I went inside and I saw their bodies. You see, the house was under this charm. The Fidelius Charm hid the house from anyone who didn't know about it. The people being protected can't leave or else it wears off. There is always a Secret Keeper, the only person allowed to tell others where the house was.
"We let everyone think I was the Secret Keeper, but in reality, at the last second we switched it to our…faithful friend Peter Pettigrew. At least, that's what we thought. That rat was in league with Voldemort. He had become a Death Eater and betrayed us. He sold them out to Voldemort. So when I saw the ruins of the house, I told Hagrid to take you and my bike to Dumbledore. I hunted down Pettigrew and found him in the middle of a muggle street. I attacked him, it was stupid but I was blinded by grief and rage. Then, he loudly proclaimed that I had betrayed Lily and James. He cut off his pinky finger and blew up the street. He turned into a rat and ran into the sewers. Aurors were on the scene in an instant and I was dragged kicking and screaming to Azkaban prison." At this point Sirius' voice had grown soft, full of remorse. Harry looked at him and nodded, thinking over the things he had been told and feeling pretty foolish for jumping to conclusions. Of course there was a reason he hadn't been raised by his godfather.
"So, you were just thrown in prison without trial?" Harry finally asked. Sirius nodded. "But if Pettigrew just up and disappeared, how did you get out of prison?"
"When your father, Peter, another close friend named Remus Lupin and I were in school, we created this map of Hogwarts. It shows everyone in the building and where they are. Even some," his voice dropped to a whisper. "secret passages. Well anyways, the Weasley twins came into possession of the map and saw his name on the map. They were perplexed, why was a dead man's name on the map? They showed it to Dumbledore. They found him in rat form pretending to be their pet rat Scabbers. They turned him back and gave him Veritaserum, a truth potion, and soon found out the truth of what happened that night. I remember it so clearly. The minister himself graced my lonely prison cell, falling over himself with apologies. I almost thought the Dementors had gotten to me when he told me I was to be released immediately and given something to eat. I was given quite a bit of money for every year spent in prison. So here I am, Defense Against the Dark Arts professor." He finished, a fond look on his face. Harry pondered this and turned to Dumbledore, a sheepish look on his face. Dumbledore held up a hand, a small smile gracing his features.
"No need for apologies, m'boy." He stated simply. Harry shut his mouth and nodded.
"So does this mean I can come live with you, Professor Black?" Harry asked his voice laced in hope. He may have grown to like his cousin (the feeling was mutual on Dudley's end) but his aunt and uncle were still horrid. Sirius' face split into a wide grin and he pulled Harry into another tight hug.
"I would like nothing more, pup." He said. "And call me Padfoot, everyone else does anyway." Harry snorted, but returned the hug nonetheless.
"Why do they call you Padfoot?" Sirius pretended to ponder the question before turning into a large black dog that vaguely resembled the Grim. Harry grinned as Sirius turned back into a human. "Brilliant." He breathed out. He laughed happily as he realized that for the first time, he would actually have a family that gave a shit. He hugged his godfather tight and sighed in content as the strong, wiry arms came around him in return and smirked slightly when he saw Professor McGonagall trying to hold back tears. He heard the front doors open and turned around to see a worn out looking man. The man had three claw-like scars across his face and his clothes were unkempt but not dirty. He had a world-weary look about him and his tired looking golden eyes widened as they landed on Sirius. He dropped his belongings and ran towards him. Harry stepped out of the way and his jaw-dropped as Sirius caught the man in his arms, the two locked in an intimate kiss. Professor McGonagall turned a bit red and looked away as if to give them some privacy.
"Damn, Moony. I missed you too." Sirius teased, but his eyes held love and passion for the man in his arms. The man playfully slapped Sirius' chest and he chuckled weakly. He pulled away and turned to face Harry.
"Hello Harry, long time no see. Last time I saw you, you were just a little baby. I'm Remus Lupin." He said, holding out a hand. Harry was snapped out of his shocked state and graced the man with a timid smile. He shook the scarred hand.
"S-sorry about that Headmaster. I may, ah, have been a bit excited." Remus stumbled out, his cheeks a brilliant shade of pink. "I came as soon as you told me Sirius was out of prison. Though I see my favorite cub seems to be here as well." They spent the next few hours catching up and Harry learned so much about his parents and the Marauders. He learned how Remus and Sirius had fallen in love in their fourth year and how his mother hated his father until seventh year.
Harry sighed contently as he sleepily followed the Headmaster to a guest room. He noted the password to the portrait, and wondered why he was even surprised that the paintings moved and talked. Dumbledore showed him inside and bade him goodnight re-enlarging Harry's belongings and school supplies. Harry nodded when Dumbledore told him that his uniform would be delivered to the school as they hadn't had time to pick them up. As soon as Dumbledore left, Harry kicked off his socks and shoes. He stripped down to his Batman boxers and crawled under the sheets. He promptly fell asleep after, where he stayed asleep through the whole night, his dreams plagued by a certain blonde-haired beauty by the name of Draco Malfoy.
A/N: So? Did you like? Drop me a review with any comments, concerns or ideas. I do love constructive criticism, but flames will be used to bake some kick-ass cookies. Next chapter should be out soon. I do not have this all written out, I come up with chapters as I go but pretty soon I should have an outline.
Xoxo,
JustWriteforYou