He shut the cupboard without looking twice. "I'm ready to go Sirius" He nodded to his relatives; there really wasn't much to say. Sirius grabbed his hand and led him to the door. His relatives never moved from the couch still too scared to move, Harry couldn't help the chuckle that escaped him as they closed the door behind them.
"Welcome home Harry, this is Grimmauld Place."
Harry looked around; surprised Sirius would bring him here. Sirius must have caught his look because he smiled sheepishly, "I know it's not much to look at but it's a safe place for us to live, I was hoping we could redecorate together and make it our own."
Harry beamed up at him, "That'll be great Sirius, can I pick out colors?" Sirius grinned "Of course buddy. Come on let's go to the kitchen." Walking through the hallway Harry noticed that although it was still gloomy it was clear of all cobwebs and looked generally clean.
They both sat down at the table and were served dinner by a new elf. "Harry this is Misty, she's our house elf, Misty this is Harry he'll be living here from now on as well."
"Nice to meet you Misty" said Harry
"Nice to meet you Master Harry, welcome home" with that she popped away.
Looking at Sirius questionably he asked, "Sirius, what's house elf?"
"Merlin Harry, I forget how new this would be for you. Did those relatives not tell you anything of the magic world?"
Harry looked down as if ashamed. "When I did abnormal things they got angry, they said there was no such thing as magic. The only reason I know anything of it at all is because someone recognized me when I was in London with Mr. Johnson. I didn't ask much because the man looked weird," At Sirius's questioning look Harry smiled timidly, "I thought he was wearing a dress." Sirius chuckled, "but he did mention he was heading towards The Leaky Cauldron in Charrings Cross. So the next day Mr. Johnson dropped me off at the bookstore next door, he couldn't see the Leaky Cauldron so I knew it had to be the right place. Once there I followed a family through the wall and made it to the bank. Once I stepped in one of the goblins recognized me and took me into an office and helped me through the process of acquiring the Potter ring." Both of Sirius's eyebrows shot up, but he stayed quiet and made a gesture as if to say continue.
"Then Garuk told me I had access to my vaults and I could get emancipated if I wished to. I didn't have anywhere to go so I said I didn't want to yet but we signed everything anyways so that if I ever wanted to, all that had to be done was to submit the paperwork. I got the Potter ring but Garuk recommended that I don't claim lordship of the Potter line until I start Hogwarts or until I read up on it more, saying that it would bring me to much attention and I wouldn't know how to handle it. Well anyway, they gave me this wallet," Harry pulled it out of his pocket and handed it to Sirius, "and I went to the secondhand shop got some clothes and a pair of boots, then I went to the bookstore got some books," Harry looked up, "do you want me to show you?" he managed to rush this all out giving off the impression of an excited kid telling someone of his adventures.
Sirius looked a little overwhelmed but seemed determined to hear the rest, "I can see them tomorrow Harry, how about you tell me the rest of your story."
"Well there's not much more to it, once I finished I had everything I needed but it was getting dark. So I went into the Leaky Cauldron and asked the man in charge if there were somewhere I could stay for the night. He got me a room and set me up with dinner before I went up. Have you ever had pumpkin juice? It's really good." Sirius nodded with a smile on his face.
"I think it's my new favorite, well I went up and went to sleep, the next day I had breakfast, with some more pumpkin juice too. Then went to the bookstore next door and asked them to order me a cab. Then I got home, three weeks later you showed up." By the end he was jumping in his seat, while there were some drawbacks to being a kid again, he decided that since he's stuck with it he might as well enjoy it.
It looked like Sirius was taking everything in and debating on what to say. "Ok Harry, I guess it's time we talk, let's go to the living room? Misty can you bring some tea for me; do you want anything to drink Harry?"
"Hot chocolate?"
"Coming right up master Harry?"
"Thank you misty." Misty gave a little squeak, and popped away looking bewildered. Maybe Dobby wasn't so odd after all.
Once they were sitting down with drinks in hand, Sirius started "Harry, what exactly do you know about your parents' deaths and why you ended up with the Dursley's?"
"Not much, until I met that man I thought my parents had died in a car crash, at least that's what the Dursley's said," Sirius looked ready to explode so Harry continued on before he could, "after having gone to Diagon Alley I read the books so I understand a little bit more. A bad wizard came to our house and killed dad and mum, something happened and apparently I defeated him. After that I was sent to the Dursley's" here Harry put on a sad face.
Sirius took a drink of his tea, "Harry before you were born there was a wizard that went really bad and liked to hurt people. His name was Lord Voldemort. See there are three kinds of wizards, do you know the difference between pure-blood, half blood, and muggle-born?" Harry nodded.
"Anyways Voldemort believed that muggle-born wizards should not be a part of the wizarding world. He wanted to get rid of them. There were wizards who believed in the same thing and became his followers, they were known as Death Eaters. When they hurt people they would put a mark in the sky called the Dark Mark. As the dark mark was seen more often in the sky and people started disappearing people became very afraid. Voldemort and his followers attacked anyone who resisted against them. Whole families disappeared either by going into hiding or because Voldemort targeted them. People were fighting but it seemed hopeless, Voldemort just kept gaining power. Are you ok so far Harry?"
Harry nodded not even having to pretend being a bit overwhelmed. He never expected someone to be this honest with him at eight. But Sirius understood that Harry deserved to know how his parents died no matter what age. They were his parents and he deserved to know what kind of world they lived in and also to be able to truly understand their bravery as they fought for what they believed in. Respect for Sirius went up considerably.
"Keep going please, I want to know, but can I ask questions after?"
Sirius stared at Harry as if gauging the truth of his words, with a nod he continued.
"Your parents, our friend Remus, another friend named Peter, and myself were all part of a group who was trying to fight Voldemort's forces. After you were born information came that Voldemort was going after the Potters. Your parents wanted to make sure you were protected so they decided to go into hiding. They used a charm, called the Fidelus that hides the location of a house. Only one person holds the secret and unless that person tells you the location you won't know where it's at. At the time there was a spy in that group but no one knew who it was, close friends started to mistrust each other. I started doubting Remus even though we had been friends for years and I planted doubts in your parents' heads. When the time came to pick a secret keeper your parents chose me. Harry, I thought it was too obvious, everyone knew that James and I were like brothers." Harry could see that Sirius was having trouble holding it together but trying hard to continue. He grabbed his hand hoping he provided some comfort.
"I thought I had come up with a brilliant plan, we would tell everyone that I was the secret keeper but secretly switch to Peter. No one would suspect Peter; he was always the weakest and most cowardly of the four. All through Hogwarts we protected him from others. Your mother was the only one to doubt the plan but your father and I convinced her it was for the best. Death Eaters would chase after me and leave Peter alone making you guys safer."
"On Halloween night, a week after the charm was performed, I had gone to Peter's house and it was empty, for some reason I had a bad feeling and felt I should go check on you guys. When I got there the house was basically destroyed, Lily and James were already dead. I knew then that Peter had betrayed us. Hagrid was already there holding you, saying he was going to take you to Dumbledore. At the time I didn't think anything of it, I knew you were safe and I was so consumed in my anger that I went chasing after Peter. I found and confronted him, he screamed that I had betrayed Lily and James, and before I could curse him he made an explosion and killed twelve muggles and disappeared. I was arrested and taken to Azkaban, never given a trial; nobody thought I needed one because as far as everyone knew I was the secret keeper and had just finished killing twelve muggles and Peter. I was never given the chance to give my side of the events."
Harry was looking at Sirius wide eyed. Sirius continued, "A few weeks ago new evidence was brought that allowed me to finally be questioned and then freed. And that's where we're at now."
Sirius fidgeted, nervously and looked at Harry. "So do you have any questions?"
Harry was going to ask if they could sleep on it but he didn't want to dwell on this conversation any longer. Harry had made his peace with the death of his parents, he still mourned the parents he wished he had but accepted nothing could be done. Looking at Sirius, it was obvious that this was still fresh in his mind; being sent to Azkaban right away gave him no time to properly mourn. It would be cruel to make him keep talking about this.
"What happened to that Peter man?"
Sirius frowned, "I'm not sure Harry most people believe him dead but that's because they assumed I killed him. There's a chance that the blast got him but I can't know for sure, he hasn't been seen in seven years."
"Is Remus still your friend?"
It looked like it pained Sirius to answer, "As soon as I was cleared I was sent to St. Mungo's, to get healthy again. I was weak and a little messed up in the head. I had to recuperate before I was allowed to get you and that was my main priority. Once I got better I went for you. I truly hope me and Moony, that's Remus' nickname, are still friends but the last we saw each other I thought he was a spy and he thought the same of me. I'm not sure how long it'll take to make things right again but he was a good friend to your parents and deserves to see you as well. I hope I can make peace and have him move in with us. He's a bit more responsible and has got more common sense than I do, plus it gives us a prank victim." Sirius said with a mischievous smile. "Maybe he can tutor you as well and we can continue your schooling here rather than in the muggle world, that way we can combine it with some wizard stuff you should know before going to Hogwarts, but we'll decide that later." Sirius smiled trying to lighten the mood.
Harry allowed a small smile to appear but wanted to plow through this conversation.
"What happened to all of Voldemort's followers? Are they all in prison?"
"No Harry not all of them went to prison, some went into hiding, and some claimed that they were innocent and let free even though they weren't. Most are keeping quiet, without their master they don't have much power. But some might want revenge, and because you're the one who defeated their master you would be a target. That's the reason why we just have to be a little more careful than most. We'll go over rules later but at least you understand why we moved here."
Harry nodded, "Do you know why he came after us?"
"I'm not sure; the Potter's were a powerful and public family on the light side. It might have been that he wanted to deal a blow to the light side, but we can't know for sure. The only one who probably really knows is Voldemort." Harry looked at Sirius carefully, it looked like he was being honest, whether his parents knew the prophecy or not it seemed like Sirius didn't.
He figured that this was about enough questions for now so he decided to ask his last one. Taking on a bashful look he asked, "Do you have a picture of them? And will you tell me about them sometime?"
At this question Sirius beamed "Of course Harry, I can tell so many stories about them. I knew your father best but I also knew your mother. Moony used to study with your mother so he might know her more. I'm pretty sure I have pictures in my old room somewhere; as we're cleaning the house I'm sure we'll come across them. If I can't find any I'll make sure to ask old friends ok?"
"Perfect Padfoot, perfect." With that yawn he found himself being led to the master suite that he and Sirius would share for the night.
-oOo-
Next morning Harry woke up early, turning over he saw that Sirius was still in deep sleep. Grabbing a change of clothes he went to bathroom to shower and get ready for the day. Before he left the restroom he took his potion and then went to the living room.
It was only 6:30; he knew that Sirius was not an early riser so he figured he probably had about two hours before he got up. He spent the next thirty minutes meditating. He was happy that he was getting better at clearing his mind. He managed to do it six times in those thirty minutes. He would give himself two more weeks to try and speed it up a bit more before moving on to the next step.
Today was going to be his first attempt at reaching his core. Focusing inward he felt small tendrils of something slightly glowing white. It felt as if very thin strands were flowing in him. As he started following them he knew he was heading in the right direction, they started feeling a little thicker and looked brighter. He knew he had reached his core when he was feeling sensations of love and happiness, it was warm and inviting almost like the feeling he got from Fawkes song but different. It was difficult to describe but if felt wonderful. How he wished he had someone to talk to about this, he wanted to find out if this was how everyone's core felt. Maybe later he could compare with Dumbledore.
Now he knew why it took control and focus, you could easily get trapped there it was almost addicting. It appeared to be about the size of volleyball, he started feeling around it just to get familiar with it. He pulled a little of it away and saw that it started to replenish itself. It wasn't instantaneous but it wasn't slow either. It explained why someone needed to rest when they became magically exhausted. It would allow your body to focus only on refilling its core. He knew that cores also got bigger as you age until you reach your magical maturity. The more you use it while you're developing the bigger it will get. Hopefully the fact that he's starting a little earlier and using more powerful magic will help him with that as well.
When he felt his alarm go off he pulled away, he was slightly out of breath but he felt exhilarated. Harry wasn't sure what to do next; he didn't want to do his reading until he had a more private place. He wished he had brought his other bag down, he could have read some of the other books. He finally decided to go to the kitchen to see if he could keep Misty company for a while.
When he walked in it was empty, he knew he could call her but didn't want to wake her if she was asleep. He really wished he had some cards with him. Finally he grabbed his wallet and asked for ten pounds in singles. (I'm trying to say like ten 1 dollar bills, not sure how it works in England though) He sat at the table and started folding and shaping them into rings. He had picked this up in school a while ago as a time waster, usually he would use paper but he didn't know where it was kept here or if there even was any. He made five rings to fit his left hand. Once that was done he decided to make little triangles to play finger football with. Thankfully when he was done with his little footballs Misty showed up.
"Master Harry what are you doing up so early? Is there anything I can get for you?"
"No I'm ok Misty, I tend to get up early, and I was lonely so I decided to come down here, is it ok if I just sit here with you? Or hey if you have nothing to do yet, you wanna play with me?"
"Misty can play but I'm not sure how, if Master Harry teaches me how I will."
Harry grinned, feeling silly for getting so excited over having someone to play with.
"Ok you put your hands up in the shapes of an L and a backwards L making a goalpost…."
It was a very surprised Sirius who walked in to a paper triangle flicking his forehead, and a house elf with their hands in the air cheering. He looked at his godson and saw that he was looking back at him with a mixture of surprise, amusement, and flicker of wariness.
"Master Sirius we be sorry, we were playing a game and didn't hear you come in" the elf scrambled out of her seat trying to reach the stove, to start breakfast probably.
"I am so sorry Sirius we were playing and I didn't see you before I had flicked the football. I got up early and was lonely so I asked Misty if she would play with me. Is that ok?" Harry said while fidgeting slightly, rationally he knew his godfather wasn't going to do anything but what else do you say when you hit someone on the forehead?
Sirius smiled brightly.
"Don't worry about it pup I was just caught by surprise, Misty you can play with Harry anytime you want I won't ever get upset. I prefer you playing with him than him getting into some mischief" Sirius said with a wink at Harry. With Sirius's response Misty smiled brightly and gave a slight bow.
"Would you and Master Harry want breakfast now?"
"Yes please, breakfast sounds great" turning to Harry "How long have you been up Harry?"
"I got up around six" said Harry amused at his godfather's astonished face "I used to have some morning chores and then made breakfast for the Dursley's so I'm in the habit of having to get up early."
He could tell that Sirius was upset so he kept going, "I know you're not like them Sirius but I couldn't sleep any more so I came down here so I wouldn't wake you, but I didn't know what I'm allowed to do or not do so I just spent it playing a game and making rings." Showing off his rings with a proud face.
"So show me this game you were playing, were you winning?" Sirius couldn't help the laugh when he saw a smirking house elf and a pouting boy.
"No, she was beating me by six, but we'll start over, here let me show you."
They played with Sirius losing spectacularly until Misty served breakfast.
After breakfast Sirius gave Harry a few options on what they could do for the day. Since it was their first day together they could spend it out just getting to know each other and having fun. Cleaning and decorating the house. Going to see Remus. Or going to Diagon Alley to go buy Harry basic stuff like clothes, toys, and some books.
Harry asked if they could clean his room go visit Moony and then clean the library. That way tomorrow they could go buy furniture and stuff for him to decorate with. After that they can start focusing on the rest of the house.
Before Sirius could answer Misty came up, "If Misty can make a suggestion master?"
"Of course Misty go right ahead" said Sirius.
"You go visit your Remus while I clean room and library. When you get home you can move furniture and paint walls and then start to organize library. I'll make sure no dust or dangerous objects are in rooms before Masters go in."
Harry looked at Sirius with hopeful eyes; as much as he wanted to get stuff done or go and have fun, he really missed Moony too. He wanted the three of them to be family. He loved them both and Remus deserved the comfort and love of a family as well.
"Ok pup wait here while I make a floo call to find out his address."
Harry had a second cup of pumpkin juice while he waited for Sirius to come back in. As they walked out the door Sirius said, "We'll be taking the knight bus Harry, it'll take us right to his address" and with that he stuck his wand out.
-oOo-
Remus had led a very lonely life for the last seven years; he lived in a little cottage that he had managed to purchase for himself throughout the years. It wasn't much but it was home.
All that time he had gone from job to job never being able to keep one for a long period of time because of his condition. He tended to stay in the muggle world where they didn't know of it which at least gave him a chance. He had gotten lucky in his latest job; he was a book stacker in a library. It was a part time job with decent pay, and flexible hours. He didn't need much so it let him lead a simple but comfortable life.
After that devastating night seven years ago he had segregated himself off. Making trips to the wizarding world maybe twice a year and reading the Daily Prophet only when he had a little extra spending money, and because of his latest job he was able to do so recently.
This was how he had found out about his old friend Sirius Black. He couldn't believe Sirius had been in Azkaban for so many years while being innocent. Remus had never doubted that he was guilty; he felt so ashamed of himself for not giving him even the chance to explain. He wanted so badly to talk to his old friend, but felt he had no right to, not after deserting him like that.
This is why he was so shocked when he opened the door to see Sirius and a boy who had to be James's son. He stood frozen in front of them, shocked at seeing two people who he had longed to see for so long. Nobody said or did anything for about two minutes. Finally Harry couldn't take it anymore.
"Padfoot, is this him? What's wrong? Should I poke him?" Harry whispered to Sirius knowing full well that Remus would be able to overhear.
Remus came out of his shocked state and looked down at Harry who seemed frustrated with the lack of activity. He almost blushed when he saw Sirius trying to stop himself from laughing, he must have looked ridiculous.
"Sirius, Harry please come in, take a seat"
As they sat Sirius cleared his throat, "Harry this is Moony the man I told you about, Moony I thought you might want to see Harry again."
With tears in his eyes Remus spoke, "It's very nice to see you again Harry, I'm not sure you remember me but I used to know you when you were a baby."
"Hi, Sirius was telling me stuff about you, he said you were friends with my mum, and he said you would tell me stuff about her. My dad too, so will you? Do you want me to call you Remus or Moony? Sirius doesn't care what I call him but he prefers Padfoot." He looked at him with expectant eyes.
Remus laughed at the enthusiasm that only a child could pull off. Before he could answer though Sirius spoke up, "Is there another room where Harry can wait? Maybe with a book or something while we talk?" Seeing Remus nod he turned to Harry "Pup I need to talk to Moony for a bit, let's go choose a book while he makes you a drink and then you can wait in the kitchen until we're done talking, is that ok?" Receiving a nod, Remus led them to his collection of books which was pretty impressive considering his financial status. Harry looked around not sure what to get but luckily Sirius found The Tales of Beetle Bard for him.
"Here Harry these are like the bedtime stories in the wizarding world, you'll enjoy it."
After handing it to Harry they made their way to the kitchen, Remus was waiting there with a glass of pumpkin juice, he wondered if it was a guess or if Sirius had told him.
"Is it ok if I borrow this one? Padfoot picked it out for me."
"Of course Harry, if you like it and don't finish it you may also take it home" Remus said with a kind smile on his face. He settled down on the table and opened the book.
"I'll be in the other room if you need anything, don't be afraid to ask, we'll come back when we're done ok?" Harry nodded already reading the book.
He was curious to what was going on in the other room but figured it was private, and honestly he knew they would forgive each other so what was the point of invading their privacy.
Later, Harry wasn't sure how long but probably about an hour, Sirius and Remus came back in, and this time the atmosphere was a much happier one.
While he was glad they had made up he was tired of sitting there, his butt was numb and he was anxious to get up. When they walked in he jumped up.
"Finally you guys are done, are we going back now?" Turning to Moony, "Are you ready to go, Sirius said you and me are in charge of the library."
Obviously Sirius hadn't brought up the fact that he wanted Moony to move in with them because Remus looked completely shocked. Sirius smiled sheepishly at Remus and jokingly glared at Harry.
"I hadn't gotten that far yet Harry" Sirius sighed he was about to sit down before Harry yelled
"WAIT!" Both Remus and Sirius looked startled and looked around as if there was a danger nearby.
"Sorry" Harry looked down embarrassed "it's just if we're gonna talk some more can we go to the living room. I've been sitting here for an hour and my butt is numb."
Both Sirius and Remus laughed but made their way to the living room nevertheless.
Once seated, Sirius started the conversation.
"Moony you need to move in with us" well nobody ever said that Sirius was subtle.
It seemed like Remus thought the same thing because although it looked like he had some objections ready he looked amused as well.
"Before you say more let us talk, first of all we need a teacher for Harry here unless he wants to go back to his muggle school" When Sirius gave him a questioning look Harry frantically shook his head. There was no way he wanted to go back to where Dudley was; also it would help him have an excuse for being advanced once he got to Hogwarts.
Remus was watching the interaction with a raised eyebrow but said nothing. Seeing Harry's response Sirius gave a nod and continued.
"Second I'm man enough to know when I need help. I wish I could say what kinds of things are appropriate for a child but I'm not quite sure, it would be nice to have someone else there to make sure I'm not doing wrong by my godson." Harry looked at his godfather carefully and noticed that there was real worry there. Harry never considered that Sirius would be worried about this but it warmed his heart to know someone was putting him first.
"Third and most important is we're all the three of us have left. We've all been through hard times and we deserve to have family now. From now on we can know that we can count on each other, I'm worried about teaching him stuff but I know that you can take care of that. You might be worried about money but you should know I can take care of that. Will your pride really stop you from being there for me and Harry? I'm here admitting that I need help from you, can't you do the same?"
Both Harry and Remus looked dumbfounded, Harry was amazed that Sirius could be so serious and deep about something. He was about ready to punch Remus if he tried to say no. He figured he could throw salt to the wound.
"You don't want to come live with us Moony?" I should get an Oscar for this. Harry made his eyes water, and bottom lip quiver. Changing to contacts had definitely been a great idea; Harry knew that he looked adorable right now. He looked at Sirius to find him sporting the same face without the lip quiver. I have got to study that man. Looking back to Remus he knew they had won.
Putting his hands up as if in surrender he said, "Ok ok, let me pack a bag, Sirius you can get someone else to pick up the rest" Harry and Sirius looked at each other and smiled. As soon as Remus turned his back Sirius winked at him and smirked mischievously, Harry couldn't help it when the same smirk appeared on his face.
"How are you going to move all of his stuff Padfoot?"
Sirius shrugged "We'll have one of the muggle companies come and pack his stuff up; once it's done we'll have Misty pick them up. As long as we take his books today it should be fine, everything else could pass as muggle."
About half an hour later Remus came in with three duffle bags. Two were filled with books and one with clothes. "I heard your conversation and I packed up my books as well, I only had one wizard photo which is packed as well, everything else should be fine."
Grabbing one of the bags Sirius started walking to the door; Harry grabbed the book and did the same with Remus following behind. By the time Remus locked up the knight bus was there and they took off.
-oOo-
When they got home they had some lunch, made introductions with Misty and headed to Harry's room. Walking in Harry was practically bouncing. He might have gotten the Dursley's spare bedroom last time but he's not sure he ever thought of it as anything other than Dudley's spare room. He never got to decorate it or really add any of his personality to it, but this room would be completely his. Today was only a small step but it was the beginning to it becoming his.
Walking in, it totally gave of the impression of the Black family; it was so dark and gloomy, he knew why Sirius had wanted to redecorate.
"Do you like any of this furniture Harry?" Asked Sirius, with a slight grimace "Remember that if you want to keep anything that's ok but if you don't we'll just put it into one of the guest rooms since we have to get a few of those ready anyways."
There wasn't much he liked it was all too dark, "Can we just start all over?"
"Oh thank Merlin; I was hoping you would say that, I can't stand any of this furniture" Sirius let out a deep breath, while Remus just chuckled.
As Sirius started shrinking stuff Harry made sure to keep a fascinated face on, it really wasn't all an act, Harry loved watching magic when it wasn't used just for fighting and surviving. Too much of his focus last time was on what he could use for a fight. He turned to Remus.
"What spell are you using Moony?" Remus looked at him and answered "Reducio"
"Wicked" Harry said with a smile, "How do you do it?"
Remus scrutinized Harry, "You know you're not allowed to do magic yet right?"
"I know Moony; I just want to learn how it's done. I wouldn't want to get in trouble with the Ministry." Giving him his most convincing smile.
"I suppose" Remus didn't looked convinced but showed him anyways.
Once everything was shrunk it only took them one trip to clear the room. The room definitely needed a paint job.
"Do you have any idea how you want to decorate the walls Harry?" Remus asked
"Sort of, on one wall I wanted a dragon flying over a lake with the 3 of us riding it. To the right of that I want a forest with a wolf coming out of it howling at the moon, only one because my bed will be covering up that wall. On the right of that wall I want the lake to show again with a unicorn drinking from it while it' s young is looking up at the moon. On this one that should be facing the bed I want my name and the Potter crest under it, no stars and rose vines leading out of it. Is that possible?"
He looked up at Remus and Sirius they looked at little gob smacked but Remus answered anyways "Yes Harry, there is a street vendor that will draw up your design, then all we have to do is put an engorgio charm to make it the size of the wall and put a sticking charm on it."
Sirius cut in, "Why don't we just get rid of the furniture in the library and not worry about more yet so we can make a quick trip to Diagon Alley. We've got about 3 ½ hours before dinner so it'll give us some time to get your wallpaper and order the furniture. What do you guys think?"
Harry and Remus both nodded. After quickly getting rid of the furniture in the library which consisted of sofa, two recliners, and a coffee table they took off.
They showed Harry how to take the floo powder, and of course he ended up on the floor, red faced, in the Leaky Cauldron. He had to figure out what he was doing wrong. Sirius was cracking up.
"Aw Harry, you got that from your dad, we'll teach you how to do it properly, I taught your dad the same thing, he never looked graceful but he stopped ending up sprawled on the floor." Remus said while Sirius chuckled in the background probably reminiscing.
They made their way in to Diagon Alley and went down to the street vendors, to the one who did the drawings. He reminded Harry of one of the caricaturists' that's on the beach promenades.
Sirius left to buy some stuff while Harry was describing what he wanted. Remus stayed to observe, or take care of Harry, however you wished to view it, Harry preferred the former. It took about an hour to get the designs ready. The man really was brilliant. The base picture was done with a spell and then adjusted as Harry directed, same with the colors. By the time Sirius came back it was to a happy Harry with his wallpapers in hand.
Once done there the three took off to the furniture shop. It wasn't what Harry had pictured; he was expecting a big warehouse looking store with a lot of furniture on display, apparently not. They had a catalog and if you wanted to see something they would get it out of a trunk and enlarge it, if you wanted it they shrunk it back up so you could take it with you. Pretty convenient.
The three of them started looking but Harry wasn't sure what he should get. With a few pointers he ended up with a full sized bed, he made sure it didn't have any kind of canopy, with a black frame. They also got a nightstand, a small dresser, a desk and a small bookshelf and a black rug. Harry didn't see the point of getting anything else when he had the rest of the house to do other things in. Last thing he was going to do was stay in his room when he could be spending time with Remus or Sirius. Sirius also ended up getting him a quidditch themed toy box. It really was pretty cool. Remus recommended plain black picture frames that he could decorate later on his own. Also so that if they found any pictures he could put them up right away.
They weren't sure what color they were going paint the library so it was making it hard to pick what kind of color or what kind of furniture to get. The three couldn't agree on anything. Finally Remus said that it should be mostly up to him and Harry to pick it out since Sirius would never really be in there. They took a vote and Sirius lost. They ended up picking out two lazy boys and a sofa that fit about three people comfortably all a rich chocolate brown color. In addition was a nice coffee table and they figured all the furniture could be placed around the fireplace. Once finishing they ended up taking a copy of the catalog home so that they could make the orders from home. When they got home they set up Harry's room, at least the decorating part was done, and they could get stuff like clothes, toys, later.
They were sitting at the table all obviously tired eating their dinner when Sirius gave a side look at Remus and then turned to Harry.
"So, does anyone actually like decorating?"
Both Harry and Remus shook their heads; as they went through the day they realized that it really wasn't much fun. Sure decorating your own room is fun enough but after that you tend to lose interest. Especially if the three decorating are two single men and an eight year old boy who would rather be out and about doing something else.
"Ok so here is what I propose, now that Harry's room is done and we've got the catalog I'll focus on my room, Remus focuses on his, we're both doing basic wall colors so it'll only be a simple spell. Plus we'll get done much quicker if we work separately. We pick out one of the model living rooms from the catalog and order that. All I really care about is that it doesn't look so dark in here so we'll lighten up the walls, same with the library. Remus will pick out a few books that Harry can keep in his room until we're sure the library is clear of anything dangerous. Remus will be in charge of the library but can take his time going through everything and organizing it how he wishes. The kitchen is ok but we'll let Misty change whatever she wants since it's mostly hers anyways. Any other rooms we'll lock up until we go through them but we can do that whenever. It will also allow Misty to clean them at her own pace rather than rushing. "
Harry was relieved, he wanted a home but it really was a lot of work.
"That works for me Padfoot, it's Wednesday today we'll make sure we have our rooms and the living room done by Friday, that way we can enjoy our weekend. On Monday I'll have an outline of Harry's lessons ready so we can start to develop a schedule."
With a nod to Remus, Sirius turned to Misty who was washing dishes, "Did you hear all that Misty?"
"Yes Master Sirius"
"Are you ok with decorating the kitchen?" She gave a nod. "Remember there is no hurry for the rest of the house. At your own pace start cleaning downstairs and move up. Until you've gone through a room make sure they stay locked and that they can only be opened by either Remus or I. As you clean a room, change the wall color to a lighter one. It doesn't matter what; it'll let us know that room is ok to go into. Also pick out a room and make it your own. You can take furniture from any of the old rooms, take Moony's old furniture, or take a look at the catalog and let me know so we can order it. I'll never give you clothes unless you wish it but I will give you money so that you can buy clothes and whatever else you may want. You got to keep yourself looking good for any of those male elves that grab your fancy."
With that they left a blushing elf in the kitchen and made their way to the living room. Remus pulled out a book while Sirius taught Harry how to play gobstones. After about an hour of this they all went to bed. Harry going into his own room for the first time.