It's amazing really, that after all this writing I still don't own Harry Potter.

Chapter three

A week after coming home Harry was found sitting on his bed. Even though he knew that Dobby was stopping his post, he was still depressed he wasn't getting any mail. He didn't even get a letter from McGonagall. He needed contact with his friends. Not even Sirius could pull him out of his funk. What hurt worse, was knowing that he couldn't write to his friends. Dobby would most likely try to stop those as well.

Not even the prospect of animagus training could keep Harry's mind off the fact he wasn't getting any mail. Remus wasn't to happy about the training but he couldn't overrule Sirius when it came to Harry.

Another thing that was bothering Harry was the fact that the Dursleys weren't in jail. How had Dumbledore gotten them out? How was he able to convince them to take Harry back? Surely, he knew that the Dursleys were going to be horrible to him if he lived with them. Just thinking about it made Harry's head hurt.

Also, there was the fact that Sirius called Harry his son. This confused Harry to no end. He knew that he loved Sirius but he wasn't sure if he could call him dad. Why had he done it? Was it an accident? Did he really feel that way about Harry? He didn't know what to think. He couldn't even ask Sirius what it meant.

A weird but good thing was the absence of Kreacher. Apparently, Sirius never called him back to the house. For all Harry and Sirius cared, the house elf could have died and no one had noticed. Well Remus didn't care either but he didn't think that the elf was dead. His absence made the house a much cheerier place to live.

Tonks was another unusual thing in Harry's life. She truly was like an older cousin to Harry. To make this clear to Tonks that she was family, he was an annoying little brat towards her. In return, she would tease him. The thing that Harry didn't understand was her behavior towards Remus. She acted weirdly around him ever since the day that they all went out to get Neville his wand. He was still debating whether or not to tell her the truth about the whole coming back to change everything because she gave him a wishing candle.

Only thing that was constant in Harry's life was the fact Remus was predictable. After Harry's first day back at Grimmauld, Remus had given up on trying to cook. For that, everyone was grateful.

But that also meant that Sirius was in charge of what they were going to eat. He could come up with some unusual meals. The one rule that Harry hated that Sirius had was that he had to eat everything that was put on his plate. Even with all the food he had at Hogwarts, he was too thin for Sirius liking. So was Remus for that matter. They both were aware that their portions were a lot bigger than Sirius' were. It was amazing how much weight he gained in less than a year. Right now, it was dinner time.

"What did you make today?"

"Lobster rolls, tomato and cucumber salad, corn on the cob with lime-chive butter, and for our dessert raspberry crumble tart." Sirius gave Harry a short bow as he presented his food.

"Lobster, Paddy. Isn't that a bit..."

"What?"

"I've never had lobster before and I don't know if I want to."

"You know the rule Harry. You have to gain at least six kilos before you can even think about going to Ron's this summer."

The rest of the summer passed like that. Harry's mood really didn't improve as his birthday approached. He had no idea how he was going to deal with Dobby. The only thing that was on the bright side was that he wasn't going to get into trouble with the Ministry. He had been using magic all summer. He knew he couldn't at Ron's but that was a small sacrifice that he had to pay in order to spend time with his friends.

Sirius was one to take full advantage of every situation. The fact that Harry could use magic didn't go over his head. So he arranged for Harry begin learning how to duel. No one in the house would forget the first lesson.

FLASHBACK

"Harry, what's the most difficult spell that you know?"

"The Patronus Charm."

"When did you learn that? I didn't even attempt it until after I left school.

"Remus is — er— was going to teach it to me in my Third Year. I kinda had to. You know Dementors were at the school because they were after a mass murderer." He gave him a cheeky smile. "Do you want to see it?" Before Sirius could answer Harry had his wand drawn.

The look on Sirius face couldn't have been described as shock because that would be putting it too mildly. He never thought he would ever see Prongs again, and there he was prancing in his drawing room. Harry quickly ended the spell when Sirius looked as though he was hypnotized. His eyes were blank.

"Let's get on with the lesson." Sirius put an arm around Harry's shoulders to let him know he was okay.

END FLASHBACK

Training was strenuous during the following weeks. Remus thought that Harry should also learn Muggle self-defense. That added to Animagus training tired Harry out so much that he was in bed by twenty hundred hours. He also wanted to sent aside a part of the day to write. Something about writing just felt right.

He also had homework. Remus wasn't about to let Harry do it at the last minute. He knew all the answers and how to write each essay to perfection. He just didn't want to do it. He was going to have to help Ron anyways so why not wait to do it with him. It only seemed logical to Harry. Unfortunately, Sirius agreed with Remus on this one. The adults also refused to help because he already did this and shouldn't need help.

All in all Harry's schedule was full. He couldn't wait for August when he could take a break. Well, an almost break. He still had to do his physical training while at the Weasleys and his Animagus meditation. It was a lot easier since he already knew how to clear his mind. But it took a lot of time out of his day.

Though, one day when Tonks came over, they gave Harry a break from his busy schedule. Actually, Remus forced Harry to relax.

"Come on Harry. You have to have some fun. It is summer. I'm going to take you shopping. Trust me, you'll love it." A black-haired amber-eyed Tonks said while pulling Harry towards the door.

"You know that I hate Muggle shopping. If it weren't for the poor competition you'd lose your spot as my favorite cousin."

"Poor competition indeed. Draco Malfoy isn't my favorite cousin either. I've met him once when he was six. I was just out of school and at the Ministry applying to become an Auror. Uncle Lucius brought that brat along and they both just started to order me around. I know Uncle Lucius recognized me because I was in my natural form and I look just like my mother."

"At least you didn't have to live him for fif- ten years. Dudley 'big D' Dursley is just as bad or worse than Draco. I bet that by the time that he's fourteen he'll be as wide as he is tall. I remember, when we were about five, he and his new friends would chase me around the schoolyard. They called it Harry Hunting."

"Your teachers never noticed."

"Of course they noticed. When they asked Petunia and Vernon about it they never got honest answers. After a while they just ignored it."

They shopped for several hours. Tonks pulled into store after store. He had no idea where she kept all of her extra energy. It was like she had one too many coffees and was starting another one. By the fourth store Harry was exhausted. Then...

Harry was absentmindedly looking in the window of a Muggle bookstore. He saw the perfect gift for Hermione's birthday in September. He knew that she would love it. The red and gold leather bound cover was exactly her style. He knew exactly what spells he was going to put on it. He pulled Tonks in the store and purchased the book without a word. She gave him a questioning glance but he ignored her. This left Tonks very unhappy with Harry.

To make Tonks even more curious Harry dragged her to a gift store to get emerald green gift-wrap. She was dying to know who he was going to give the book to.

"Umm.. Harry, what's..."

"Not telling."

"But..."

"No, Tonks."

"You're no fun. Did you know that, Pronglet?"

"I know." He gave her a smug smile that she always saw on Sirius. It was creepy how much to two were alike. He was like Remus as well. Harry was the bookworm jokester. Tonks felt as though her would was in colossal danger of collapsing and there was no way to stop it. Not that she wanted to.

Harry just kept smiling as Tonks badgered Harry about the gift. She knew he wasn't telling but this was her cousin and she had the right to annoy him.

A/N I know, way too much filler but it was needed. It was transition from Kings Cross to Harry's birthday. I also needed some Tonks Harry bonding. What better way to do that than shopping.

Btw I left a small clue too what Harry's animagus form is going to be. Let me know if you spot it. It's really small.