Part 2
Chapter 4
Daycare
Sirius had made the biggest change in his life. Sirius gave up smoking completely. He didn't drink in front of Harry, and he tried his hardest not to get into fights. The hardest thing he would have to give up is his girlfriend, Tanisha.
He had met Tanisha on his way to work, one summer day, three years ago, before Harry was born. It was boiling hot outside, and everyone resulted in caring umbrellas to keep from getting a sun burn.
Tanisha was in her early twenties. She had was slim with a curve in her body. She dressed as if all she had wanted was attention from a man. She was standing on the corner a block away from Tipsy, looking hot, yet extremely sexy, according to Sirius.
Tanisha wasn't exactly a good girl. She wasn't the kind of girl that you would want to bring home to mommy. Since Sirius had no mother, he didn't care.
Tanisha was forever having money. She didn't exactly have a job, but a woman like her you could imagine what kind of job she had. Sirius, however didn't care, he too slept with his fair share of women while they were dating.
Everything had started to change when Harry was born. She rarely saw him unless you count the times you see him at work. She constantly called his house only to get the answering machine. But she was in a towering rage when he brought Harry to his house, two years ago.
She demanded that he got rid of the baby at once. First she used body language and gifts to get her way, but when he refused, she started to get ugly. She scratched up his car. She sent her boyfriends after him. She threaten to leave him. Each time she came to his house, he was nursing Harry. She had had enough, she dumped Sirius and said she never needed him in the first place. He hadn't heard from her in two years.
She stayed clear from Tipsy, and was found no where near Crescent Grove. Sirius didn't really care. He had much more important things to take care of.
Harry was growing up more and more like his father. Harry felt that Sirius was more than his godfather. He felt that Sirius was his best friend. Harry was like Sirius's shadow. Whenever there was a Sirius, Harry wasn't too far away.
Harry was learning new words and growing so fast. Sirius had decided it was time to find Harry a school to go to. They were going to go after Sirius picked up his check and went shopping.
It was four o' clock in the morning when he heard Harry's sweet voice.
"Siwius." he said. "Wake up. It's shopping day."
Harry loved to shop. They went shopping every two weeks, and every two weeks they would go to the same stores, and buy the same items. Except clothes. Clothes were always different. Harry favorite part of the shopping trip was going to the local toy store, Toys-A-Lot. Every shopping day, SIrius took Harry to Toys-A-Lot, where he would let Harry pick out one toy, and Sirius would buy a new video game.
Harry had climbed on top of Sirius's sleeping form and opened one of his closed eye lids.
"Siwius. It's shopping day. You said we would go shopping."
"Har, the store is open twelve hours a day. We can go later." he responded, having no idea how early it was.
"But I want to go now." Harry pouted. "You promised."
At these words, Sirius opened his eyes. He found himself at a angry, puffed face Harry. Sirius loved it when Harry got angry. He didn't of course want to make him angry, but Harry got his face he made when he was angry. His face would get all puffy, like a JigglyPuff would when it gets mad. It made Harry look more cute than angry.
Harry sat up in bed and took looked at the clock. It was four ten. Sirius had taught Harry how to tell time without reading a clock. When the sun was up, but Sirius wasn't, that meant to stay in bed. If the sun went down and Sirius said he was tired, that meant it was bed time.
Harry never gave Sirius a hard time. He always did as he was told, and didn't hesitate when he was told to do something. Something had to be wrong if Harry was breaking the way of the clock.
"Har, it's really early and I was asleep." Sirius said kindly. "What does that mean?"
Harry climbed off Sirius and stood on the floor. He knew he had did wrong.
"It means I have to stay in bed." Harry answered timidly.
Sirius knew something definetly wrong. Harry was staring at his hands, and Harry wasn't exactly a shy person. He was only quiet when something is bothering him.
"Why don't you go back to bed?"
"I can't"
"Why not."
"I did something bad. Now I'm going to get into trwouble."
Sirius didn't exactly spoil Harry. He was like a normal child. He got rewarded for his good doing, and was punished for his bad doing. Harry didn't like to get punished so he was always well behaved. Sirius never laid his hands on Harry, or did any mental or verbal abuse. He just got time outs and Sirius wouldn't talk to him. Having Sirius mad at him was the worst punishment of all.
"What did you do, Har?"
Harry took a deep breath. "IwasasleepandIhadthisscarydreamsowhenIwokeupIwenttogogetsomemilkandIsmashedyourmilkjug."
Sirius looked at him with confusion. He hadn't heard a word the boy had said. He could tell he was afraid because Harry spoke very fast.
"Slow down." Sirius said. "What happened."
"I had a nightmare and broke your milk jug." he then looked at his feet. "I'm sowrry."
"It's okay, Harry. It was an accident. It's not like you threw the jug on the floor."
Harry shook his head. "But you told me not to touch glass and I did it anyway."
He was right. Sirius always told him not to touch glass. He was afraid Harry would cut himself, and he would hate to see Harry in pain. He also hated to punish Harry. He decided to let this punishment slide, so he found a way around it.
"Why didn't you wake me up to get a glass of milk?"
"You told me not to wake you up."
"But you woke me up to go shopping."
"I'm sowrry." Harry said again.
"Well, you apoligized, and I forgive you."
"You do?" he said, sounding relieved.
"Yeah, and I'm sorry I told you not to wake me up."
"It's okay. Siwius? C-can I have a hug?"
Sirius opened his arms, and Harry flung himself into them. They hugged each other tight. Sirius loved giving Harry hugs, it meant that Harry loved him and trusted him. And to Harry a hug meant loved and comfort.
"Why don't you go back to bed?"
"I can't. Can I sleep in here with you?"
Sirius thought for a moment before saying, "of course you can."
It was nine o' clock when Sirius and Harry woke up. They had breakfast, showered, and dressed. Sirius usually had one of the neighbors baby sit Harry while he was at work, but since they were going shopping today, he decided to bring Harry with him.
Sirius' boss, Apollo Johnson, didn't exactly mind. Some times he brought his own daughter to work, to keep Harry company. Apollo's daughter was two years older than Harry, but they got along just fine.
Since they were going shopping after work, Sirius decided to take his car. They arrived five minutes early.
Tipsy was the best bar in town. It was a bar big enough to fit a house in. Everyone loved this place. The drinks were affordable. The lights and decorations were very classy. And everyone just loved the service. There were everyday bar fights, of course. At this particular bar, you had to be careful of what you say and do, because it might result in getting your ass kicked.
Sirius and Harry walked into the bar where it was already crowded. Sirius placed Harry behind the counter, and went to change into his uniform.
Harry was to sit quietly and still while Sirius did his work. SIrius would check on Harry every hour making sure that he was okay and had everything he needed.
Harry loved coming to Sirius's job. He loved hearing everyone's conversation, even if he didn't understand them. He watched as two men argued with each other over there wives. He listened to a woman tell a group of men all about her boyfriend. Even the occasional drunk would come and offer Harry a beer.
"Hey, Buck." he was saying. "L-look at this. . . at this. . . small little bastard."
"Ain't he. . . the . . . yeah he's small." answered Buck. "Reckon he wants a. . . a. . . beer."
"Yeah. You. . .er. . .wanna beer, lil fella."
Unfortunetly, Sirius heard what they had said.
"Get the hell away from him you sick bastard." he yelled. "If I ever see you anywhere near my godson, I'ma bust a hole in your face."
The good news was that Harry didn't get a chance to find out what a beer was. The bad thing was that Harry had learned two new words. Both coming out of Sirius's mouth.
Just when Sirius thought the day couldn't get any worse, it did. Harry had seen sixteen fights. Four people making out on the table, and someone pulling out a gun.
By the end of Sirius' shift, he was on the verge of snapping. He quietly excepted his check and was on his way out of the door, when his boss spoke to him.
"Hey, Sirius. Why don't you stay for a joint?"
"I don't smoke anymore."
"I know you don't do drugs, but you can at least light a cigarette."
"I don't smoke anymore."
Apollo was already tipsy, so he wasn't going to take 'no' for an answer.
"Boy, the store isn't going any where. Sit down and smoke."
"I SAID NO!"
Apollo took a large gulp of beer before standing up. He staggered around the counter. HIs eyes were blood red and he was wobbling horribly. A dog would have had a easier time standing up on two legs than he did.
"I will not be spoken to like that." he slurred. "I let you work here for the last three years. I paid you money. Without me, you would be on the street."
"I don't need your money." Sirius yelled. "I never did need your money. I made it fine on my own since I was little."
"You filthy little liar. You need my money and you know it."
"Oh, yeah."
Sirius went into his wallet and withdrew his check. He then slowly began to tear it piece by piece by piece. When he finished, he stuck the bits of pieces in his wallet.
"Screw you! I quit!" he shouted, and left the building with a trembling Harry.
Sirius was still mad when they arrived home ten minutes later. He apologized to Harry before putting him down for a nap.
I shouldn't have quit. He thought, as he taped his check back together. Now I have to find a new job, and school.
As Sirius taped his check together, he thought long and hard for a job he qualified for. Since he didn't finish school, or had no intentions of finishing it, his choices were limited. He wasn't good at cooking, so he couldn't work in a resturant. He wasn't that good with handling money, so a cashier's job was off limits. He didn't like cleaning for other people, so he wasn't going to be a janitor. And with Harry, there was no way he could get another job at a bar.
Sirius' thoughts were interrupted when there was a knock at the door. The minute he left the room, little Harry Potter came in.
"Siwius. I'm hungee." he said.
Harry looked around the empty room. Sirius was no where in sight. There was no sign of food either. The only thing that was on the table was piecies of paper, that Harry mistake for candy. Harry reached for a piece a paper, and placed it in his mouth. It had no taste to it, but it was all that was out. Harry continued to eat the paper piece by piece until it was gone.
When Sirius came back into the room, he noticed something different about it. He couldn't put his finger on it. It was Harry's voice that made him realize what was missing.
"That paper needed more seasoning." Harry said.
Sirius realized that Harry had just eaten his entire check. The next time Harry went to the bathroom, his check will literally go down the drain.
"Why did you do that?" Sirius asked calmly.
Harry suddenly became interested in his hands.
"I know you heard me."
Harry still ignored him.
"Harry, look at me while I'm talking to you."
Harry looked up. He thought Sirius was going to punish him.
"I'm going to ask you one more time. Why did you do that?"
"I was hungee." Harry answered timidly. "We didn't go shopping like you said we would. You promised. You lied."
Sirius knelt down beside Harry, who still thought he was going to get punished. Harry slowly backed away.
"Harry. . ."
"No." Harry whined. "I don't want a time out. I want you to pick me up."
"Come here." but when Harry moved, he said "I won't give you a time out. I promise."
"Your going to take me to my room and leave me there."
"Harry, you didn't know. I'm not going to punish you against things you didn't know."
Harry moved a few paces closer. He was close, but not close enough for Sirius to touch him. If Sirius lied about going to the store. He was going to lie about the punishment.
"Harry, the reason we didn't go to the store is because I had no money. And with no money, I can buy no food." when Harry hesitated, he said. "Is there anything I can do to make it up to you?"
Harry thought for a minute and nodded.
"Can we go search for a school?"
"Of course we can."
That afternoon, they went searching for the perfect school for Harry, and the perfect job for Sirius. Sirius had found three jobs, two of which he turned down, and one that Harry turned down for him.
"Why can't I be a cop?" he joked, as they walked down the street.
"Their job's to dangerous."
"So what? Danger's my middle name."
Harry laughed. "No it's not."
"Okay, that's enough searching for jobs. Let's look at some schools."
They tried six public schools, three private schools, and a catholic school, but none of them seem to suit Harry.
It was six o' clock when Sirius suggested that they go home and try again, when Harry noticed a red building. A woman with blonde hair and a slim figure was hammering a sign to the door. Sirius thought that the woman looked gorgeous in her tight blue jeans and tight red shirt.
Sirius noticed a gold braclet on her wrist and several gold rings on each hand. She had two large gold hooped earrings dangling from her ears.
"What's that sign say, Siwius?" Harry's sweet voice, brought Sirius back to reality.
"Sesame Street Daycare. Open five day's a week. From six a.m. to six p.m."
"What's a daycare?"
"A daycare is a place where you come to learn and have fun." answered the woman with blonde hair. Now that they were closer, Sirius could see that she had baby blue eyes. She must have been listening in their conversation as they were walking.
"Hello." she said. "Are you interested in my daycare?"
"Yeah. Harry and I have been looking all day for the perfect school."
"How would you like a tour of my daycare before you make a final decision?"
"Can we Siwius?"
"Sure."
The woman led the way into the building. The building from the outside was small, but the space inside was huge. Harry's mouth fell wide open at the sight of all the toys and games. To him it looked like a small version of Toys-A-Lot.
They stood in a lobby that held a desk to sign in and out, a computer, and a stack of notices to the parent. The lobby led to three different directions. to their left was a small room, which held a computer and more games and toys that older kids can play with. Games that were too complex for Harry.
"That's the after school room." the woman explained, when she noticed Harry was staring into the room.
To the right held a classroom, with three circular tables, a bookshelf, cots for sleeping, and a teacher's desk.
"This is the classroom for the three and four year olds."
Up ahead was two bathrooms, one for the girls, one for the boys. And another hall which you couldn't tell where it led off to.
The woman led Harry and Sirius around the corner, near the classroom, and they was in another hallway. Up ahead was the kitchen, and to the right was another hallway, where they could see another classroom. But, the woman did not lead them that way, she led them into a door where you could see the laundry room and a small office.
She led the way into the office, which held a desk, computer, fax machine, copy machine, and three chairs.
She sat down behind her desk, and motioned Sirius and Harry to take the seats in front of her desk.
"Lolipop?" she offered, when they were all seated. Harry had chosen a red lolipop, but Sirius declined.
"Allow me to properly introduce myself." she began in a business like tone. "My name is Rachel Jackson and I am the director of this daycare. You are?"
"Sirius Black and Harry Potter." answered Sirius, as Harry sucked on his lolipop whether than listen.
"Okay. We're more than a place to play. We take the education of our kids very seriously. They not only learn how to write, recognize colors, and count, they learn to spell, read, and do math. They are taught manners through games, and they will be in a friendly, healthy, and safe enviroment. You with me?"
Sirius nodded. He thought that this was a perfect school. They learned more than the basics, and it sound like a good opportunity for Harry. It sounded like a great school, but where there was a great school, there was a great amount of money.
"Exactly how much is this going to cost?" he asked.
"Well there are the certain fees to be paid." said Rachel reaching into her desk. "There's a nutrition fee, books fee, field trip fee, supply fee. . ." as she spoke she began to search her desk. ". . .a fee fee."
"A what?" it sounded to Sirius as if he was paying a fee for everything. The way these fees went, was going to need a fee to pay a fee.
Rachel found what she was looking for. A thick packet of papers, which she handed over to Sirius. Sirius glanced at the packets, then back at Rachel, to the packets, to Harry, and then to Rachel again.
"This should explain any quesstions that you may have. If you have the time I'd be happy to go over the packet with you. Would you like to go play a game Harry?"
For Harry had finished with his lolipop and was now fiddling around with the papers on Rachel's desk.
Harry nooded his head, and left to explore the rest of his daycare.
Sirius had paid no attention to the conversation, and had no idea that Harry had left the room, he had been reading the packet and adding up the cost of Harry's education which was. . .
"FIVE HUNDRED POUNDS!" he exclaimed. "It cost two hundred just to get Harry into the school. And that's two hundred a month."
"But look how low the fees are."
"It doesn't matter how low they are. Five hundred punds is five hundred pounds. Do it look like I'm made of money?"
"It'll be easy paying five hundred pounds. Since you read colomn B, I take it you don't have a job."
"It's a good thing I don't. I would have been paying twice that amount." he then sighed. "Nothing never goes right for us. First I lose my best friends, then I lose my job, now I can't even get my godson into a decent school."
Rachel watched as Sirius through the packet down and palced his face in his hands. From the looks of it he had a very tough life, and there was more of him that meets the eye. He needed a job, Harry needed a school, and she needed another teacher. But could he be the answer to this problem. If she gives him a job, he would get a fifty percent discount, a check, and Harry would get an education. For her it meant less work.
With her mind made up she pushed the packet back toward Sirius. "You know, there is one thing you could do for me." she continued when Sirius looked up at her. "If you became a teacher here, you could get a fifty percent discount."
Sirius didn't look pleased as she inspected him to, instead he lowered his eyes and stared at the leg of her desk.
"I can't be a teacher. I never finished high school." he muttered.
"That's alright. You know your shapes and colors right?"
"Of course. I'm not stupid."
"Then you can teach the three and four year olds, and I'll take the five year olds."
Sirius stared at her with amazement. "You really want me to work for you?"
"Of course. We'll be partners." she said merrily. "So do you want to work for me?"
Sirius considered this for a moment. Of course he wanted the job, but it was so hard to trust people, but he needed a job, and Harry needed a school. He decided to let his guard down a little and trust her. After all, she was pretty.
"Okay." he said. "When can I start?"
Author's note: Thanks for the reviews. I know that the story takes place in England, however I'm not from England so I don't know much about it. So I'm going to go half and half. Sorry it took me so long to put this chapter up, but I've been busy enjoying my summer after finishing high school. I deserve a rest! See you in the next chapter.