AN: Hey everyone I'm looking for a beta please let me know if you're interested
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.
The next morning Harry woke up feeling a bit disoriented. It took him a minute to recognize the room and where he was at. When he did a small smile came to his face, it was a good way to wake up. In a brand new bed in his own room, life was good. He wasn't sure what time Remus would wake up so he figured he would get his morning stuff done now before he showered. He spent his thirty minutes meditating and another thirty getting familiarized with his core. He spent less time finding his way there and more actually handling his magic not doing much with it besides pulling on it, guiding it away, bringing it back, and then doing it again. Not a big step but enough to start showing him what was needed to start guiding it to his hands. Tomorrow would be his first attempt, he wasn't planning on doing anything with it but keep it right on the surface.
Fifteen minutes later he was showered, taken his potion, and greeted Misty. He sat down in the living room with the Wizard Etiquette book and a tea brought by Misty. While other things interested him more he figured now that we was living in the wizarding world he really should start reading up on it. Early on in his reading he had already seen things he could implement without much of fuss.
Courtesy requires return of all greetings, servants included.
When being introduced to a lady, a gentleman should delicately pass lips over the knuckles.
A true gentleman tips their hat to greet a lady, opens doors, and always walks on the outside.
It is customary to wait until everyone is seated at the table to begin eating dinner.
Arriving on time means arriving ten minutes prior to the time prescribed time.
Notes of gratitude should be sent out within two days of receiving gifts.
He was glad to be reading up on this. While some things seemed foolish, some just seemed like good manners and common courtesy. But of course it seemed like they went from one extreme to the others. How did it make sense that
A gentleman may take two ladies upon his arms but never may a lady take the arms of two gentlemen.
That one made his laugh, what made it look improper? This sounded like something from the Victorian era. Hell it was probably where they got it from. He was still chuckling when Remus walked in.
"What's so funny Harry?c"
"Moony have you ever read a book on Wizarding Etiquette?" He asked as he put up the cover of the book for him to see.
"Did you know that a gentleman may take the arms of two ladies but a lady can never take the arms of two men? Doesn't that seem a like a ridiculous double standard to you?"
"I guess it does to us now, but you could also see it as families trying to keep traditions and customs they grew up with alive. Imagine you grew up with these views and then you see the new generations not only not following them but mocking them as well. How would you feel? Some seem extreme but a lot of them are a very respectful way of addressing others.
Harry though about it, it made sense, still backwards, but could see the reasoning behind it. He knew there were flaws but maybe there could be a way to combine both views? That was something that he wanted to give more thought to in the future.
"How about we go and wake up Padfoot?" Moony said
Harry eagerly jumped up "Let's go"
"Wait a minute Harry, pass me those two pillows on the couch" With a wink he brought out his wand and transfigured them into masks, one was of a bear and the other was of a tiger. He gave one to Harry and kept the other for himself.
"Ok Harry once in his room we'll kneel on one side of his bed, I'll start poking him, the minute he wakes up you roar while I growl. As soon as he realizes it's a prank I want you to start running to the kitchen, I'll be right behind you. Make sure to be seated with your face as if nothing happened."
"Wicked, let's do it" Harry could barely contain his giggles.
They snuck to the side of the bed; honestly there was no reason to be so quiet Sirius looked like a really heavy sleeper. While Remus was tapping him Harry was eagerly waiting for Sirius's eyes to open. When they finally did, Harry and Remus jumped up and roared loudly. Sirius literarily jumped up and rolled off the bed. Remus and Harry were cracking up, tears were coming out, and when they looked at Sirius he looked about ready to throttle them so they made their escape. They could still hear Sirius yelling as they made it to the kitchen. When they sat down they looked at each other and started laughing again. When they could hear Sirius's steps approaching Remus did a shushing sound and made a great deal about maintaining a straight face.
Sirius walked in with an obviously fake angry face. Harry couldn't contain his grin as he said,
"Good morning Padfoot, breakfast?"
The corner of Sirius's lips went up.
"I hope you know this is war Moony, pup, you'll be given leniency this time but after that you're free game."
Both Harry and Remus chuckled when Sirius sat down and started eating his breakfast as if nothing happened. Once they were done, Sirius and Remus shared a look and then turned to Harry.
"Harry we wanted to discuss the talk we had yesterday. Go over some of the things that happened in Diagon Alley. Is that ok?" Harry nodded.
As they made their way to the living room Harry felt prepared for these questions, he kept in mind that everything he did was with the knowledge that he would be questioned later. Nothing was really unbelievable, random luck yes, but not impossible. They had obviously talked about it before because Remus didn't look confused.
"Ok Harry, who's Mr. Johnson and why would he leave you alone in downtown London?"
"Umm… Mr Johnson is the custodian in my school, he asked if I wanted to help him out during the summer and make some pocket money. We were already in London when I asked him so he did. I told him my uncle would pick me up so he thought nothing of it." Harry just shrugged his shoulders not really understanding why this question was being asked. He didn't quite understand that it was not normal to have an eight year old out and about alone.
"Harry that's one thing we have to address, from now on if you want to go anywhere you have to make sure to ask us and we'll take you. We're not going to cage you in, but we have to make sure we know where you are and safe. Do you understand?" Remus said trying to be nice but stern as well making sure that Harry knew this was not up for negotiation.
"So I can still go places but one of you will come with me?" Harry said to make sure. Receiving nods he shrugged as if to say ok.
They both smiled pleased that he wasn't putting up a fight. They turned and gave each other a look that Harry could not interpret; it seemed this was the part of the conversation they wanted to get to.
"You mentioned signing emancipation paperwork when you went to Gringotts. We wanted to know why and if you wanted to get it destroyed now that you are with us. Are you planning on getting emancipated when you're older?" Sirius said both nervous and sad.
Harry was shocked; he never considered how his godfather would view this. Harry thought about what he was going to say, he didn't want to destroy the paperwork but didn't want to hurt their feelings either.
"When I heard that I could get emancipated I was ecstatic. My relatives and I didn't get along very well so I was going to use that to get away. I wasn't ready yet so I wanted to do some research into schools, houses, and general wizard stuff to see if I could actually do it on my own. The goblins informed me of my status in the wizarding world. How I was a very popular figure and others might use me to further themselves along. Because of this they encouraged me to go ahead with the paperwork in case I ever ran into problems I would have a way of protecting myself." He fidgeted in his seat. "I would really rather have you guys looking out for me, it's nice to have someone to turn to. But at the same time I would like to have a backup plan. I can honestly say that I don't plan on ever submitting the paperwork but if a situation ever came up I would make sure to discuss it with you guys first and the three of us can decide if it's the best course of action. If there is a better option I would easily go with something else. But even if it did I would hope that it didn't mean that I would have to leave here. I really do like knowing I have a home where I'm welcome."
Sirius and Remus stared at Harry probably going through everything he had just said.
"So you don't plan on leaving here?" said Sirius, with a slight smile on his face.
Harry looked horrified, "Of course not, it's just it's nice to have a safety net. I hope I never have to use it, but what if one day I have to and it's not ready? Apparently there are powerful people out there who could be dangerous to me, not necessarily with violence but by using me for their interests rather than my own. I would like this to be something that nobody knows about and used only as a last resort. Also, I don't mean to hurt you because you both seem like truly nice people, but I've really only known you for two days, and while I hope this works out I need a safety net. Do you understand?" Harry said pleadingly.
Remus seemed to have a sad face but it didn't look hurt, more upset of the fact that Harry had reason to be cautious. Sirius just seemed to accept it and almost understand, probably thinking back to his own family and wishing he had had the same option. Harry was glad they understood because he would not get rid of that paperwork. With people like Fudge, Malfoy, and Dumbledore around he needed some leverage. To have Lord Black behind would be a big help but there was only so much Sirius could do. But if need be Lord Potter and Lord Black not to mention Gryffindor and Slytherin would be a force to reckon with. He didn't mean to lump in Dumbledore with Malfoy and Fudge but just like the other two Dumbledore would want some control over him even if it was just to send him back to his aunt to replenish the blood wards for the 'greater good' of course.
"Alright then moving on, so you want to be Lord Potter when you get to Hogwarts?" They both didn't seem to care either way; it seemed as if they just wanted understand.
"Yeah, I figure get it done right before so that I get it out of the way early on. I would like to have some time to adjust being and treated as a lord before I actually start having real responsibilities." Harry said with a shrug.
"Is that the reason why you were reading that book on Wizard Etiquette?" Asked Remus
"Well yeah, I don't want to have a title and then not know how to act. This way I can focus on learning proper etiquette and can try to implement some of it at Hogwarts and in the public. But if I don't to do something correctly or accidentally insult someone I'm still in that grey area."
Here Sirius chuckled, "Well if it's pureblood customs you want to learn then I can focus on that. If there is one thing I know how to do is be a Lord. My family taught me since I was a child. I can start teaching you manners and customs. Maybe even get you a dancing partner because every Lord should know how to dance. The ladies will love it." Sirius added with a wink.
Harry simply smiled, "I would love that Sirius."
"Ok moving on to another topic," it was obvious Sirius wanted to get out of this whole politic talk, "why did you need to buy clothes from a secondhand shop?"
"Well my aunt used to give me Dudley's old clothes to wear. While I have nothing against hand me downs Dudley is very big so they don't fit me correctly. I needed some decent stuff to wear with Mr. Johnson. Also my relatives are kind of greedy so I didn't want new clothes and risk them finding out I had money." Harry said with a shrug.
Sirius nodded, "Ok we'll make sure to make a trip and get you and Moony some decent clothes, including some of those dresses you prefer pup." Sirius smirked at a scowling Harry. He scowled harder when he heard Remus chuckling.
-oOo-
After that talk the rest of the week went by pretty smoothly. They went back to Diagon Alley and all three got new wardrobes. Sirius got them some brooms and got an account wallet for Remus and added Harry to his account, telling Harry to make sure and pull money from that Sirius's account rather than his own.
The only rule was that any big purchases had to be run by one of the adults first. Harry had no problems agreeing with that, anything he wanted but didn't want them to know about would be spent from his account instead.
One special stop was done almost at the end of the trip.
"Sirius, do you think I could get a pet?" Harry used his best puppy dog eyes and apparently they were good ones because they made their way to the shop.
Eeylops Owl Emporium was their first stop hoping to find Hedwig, Harry was sad that she wasn't there yet, he would make sure to get her when they went back to Hogwarts. He wasn't sure how long she had been in the shop before Hagrid had bought her. Remus ended up buying an owl either way.
They went to Magical Menagerie next and Harry saw a black kneazle kitten. The kneazle automatically raised its head when Harry walked in; when Harry saw it he knew that it was his. He saw two problems though, he still wanted Hedwig and he wondered if the kitten would have a problem with Remus.
Well he wasn't the son of marauder for nothing; he would figure out a way to get two pets into Hogwarts. Crookshanks, was able to deal with a werewolf so this cat should too. When Harry picked it up he saw it was a boy and started petting it.
"Boy, I want to take you home but you will have to behave with a dog and a werewolf in the house." He didn't really expect an answer but got a lick in the cheek anyways.
He was talking to the store owner when Sirius and Remus came in.
"What do you have there Harry?" Remus said with slight apprehension.
"I found a kneazle, can I get him?" He pushed the cat towards Remus before he could answer knowing this would be the real test. Luckily the cat went into his arms and just snuggled there. Remus looked quite shocked but smiled nonetheless.
"Well I see no problem with it, Padfoot?" Sirius was smiling as well.
"Sure sure let's get everything we need and get out of here then."
Together they got a cage, food, a couple of bowls, a bed, and a collar.
Once Harry was home he decided to name his kitten Apollo. There was no reason behind it beside the fact that he liked it. And so they're little family of three became four.
-oOo-
There had also made a trip in the muggle world. They ended up going to the mall where Harry introduced them to the arcade.
Sirius seemed to be the best at racing games and would cheer loudly whenever he won. Harry won when it came to shooting games. When Harry won over Sirius for the third time in a row he threw a fit and banged the rifle against the game. A quick reparo later it was decided that maybe they should move on to the next one. For some reason Remus seemed absolutely addicted to the claw game and wouldn't get off it. Harry found it funny that he was the one that had to drag out the two adults in order to go somewhere else.
"Come on Sirius it's time to go and Remus is probably going to need our help to carry the stuffed animals he won." Sirius pouted as if he wanted to object but Harry cut in "come on Sirius I want to go to the toy store." Sirius grinned and nodded.
Before they went to Remus they asked the attendant for a plastic bag. While Harry was packing up all the stuffed animals Sirius was talking Remus out of another game. Harry chuckled but didn't want to get involved, the whole situation was ridiculous but he knew he would always think back of it fondly.
When they were outside Harry turned to Remus.
"Do you know if there is any way to make muggle electronics work in a magical household?"
Remus thought of it, "I know that there are stones that can suppress the magic in an area to a level low enough that it can power muggle electronics safely. The smallest area would have to be about the size of a bedroom. You also can't use magic in the room or you'll mess up whatever electronics are in there. They came out in America a couple of years ago but are quite pricy so it's not available to the general masses yet."
Harry and Sirius looked at each other as if thinking about the possibilities. Sirius asked the next question.
"When you say pricy, do you mean pricy purchase but easily manageable with my funds or something that will break my Gringotts account?"
Remus chuckled, "Of course you could afford it Sirius, you're filthy rich."
"Sirius, what about if we get a room like this and set up a game room?" Harry said enthusiastically, "We can custom order games like the ones from the arcade, buy a TV and a few game systems. It can be like our relaxing room. We can even get movies. What do you think?"
Both Sirius and Remus looked intrigued. While both adults were discussing this Harry was thinking about what a wonderful business idea this could be. He was already contemplating setting up a shop in Diagon Alley that specialized in contacts and maybe include glasses. They could hire someone to run it and have Remus or hire someone else to research spells that could be applied to them to enhance them.
But with these stones they could open an arcade shop and place it in Hogsmeade. Having an arcade in Hogsmeade would bring in a killer profit on the Hogsmeade weekends. Having one in Diagon Alley would be beneficial too but he needed to see how much it would be. He would have to do some research on both topics and show them to Sirius and Remus. Harry was sure they would go for it if he said he was thinking of his future. The best part would be Remus could do most of the work starting it up, so when they made him a partner he wouldn't object. Remus could have an income coming in and his pride wouldn't be hurt. While things were ok now Harry was sure Remus wouldn't want to be living off of someone else for the rest of his life.
By the end of the day it was agreed that Remus would owl this company and order enough stones to cover one of the downstairs bedrooms. Before leaving the mall they went to the arcade store and managed to get the information for a company that sold these videogames.
When they had been in Diagon Alley they had set up a mail box which accepted both muggle and wizard mail. When you got muggle mail it would forward it to your wizarding address and vice versa. Because of this they added their names to various stores mailing address to continue ordering things by mail.
Overall it had been a very good weekend.
-oOo-
On Monday they started making more plans.
After breakfast Remus sat Harry down and told him he had a tentative schedule for him. His schooling would be from 8:00am – 3:00p.m and then handed him the schedule.
Monday – Friday (Remus)
8:00 – 9:30 – Reading and Writing
9:45 – 11:00 – Math
11:15 – 12:00 – Magical History
12:00 – 12:30 – Lunch
12:45 – 2:00 – Potions, Herbology, Charms, Transfiguration, Defense of the Dark Arts (one each day of the week)
2:15 – 3:00 – Foreign Language
Sunday (Sirius)
7:00pm – 8:30pm – Wizarding Etiquette
Harry saw was happy with this especially when he was told that they wanted to put him in some kind of sport. Harry said he wanted to do Karate. He always thought something like that would be useful and fun but didn't have the means before. Remus made note of it and said he would look into it.
Once that talk was done the rest of the day was considered a free day. Harry spent time outside with Sirius being 'introduced' to flying. In the meantime Remus went through Harry's bookshelf and added any books that would be needed for his lessons from the library so that they would be prepared.
-oOo-
By mid September they had establish a good home life. Harry's lessons were working out really well. Harry felt like he was learning a lot of stuff he didn't know before. Remus was helping Harry work on his penmanship which was already improving from what it was at seventeen. As far as the magical subjects of course he wasn't learning practical stuff but he would be learning what each subject was and why it was useful. He was also making sure to establish himself as a smart kid that tended to pick things up quickly so that they wouldn't be shocked when he went to Hogwarts.
The most useful and interesting one was wizarding etiquette with Sirius. Not because he was a better teacher but because it was all new to him. It was also fascinating to see Sirius in a different light. When sessions began Sirius would almost transform into the Lord that he was. He also started making Harry change some of his mannerisms when class was going on. While he didn't want Harry acting like all the time he understood that it was useful for him to know these things.
The game room had also been set up. A week after the trip to the mall Remus had already ordered and received the magic suppression stones. He realized why it was pricy, the room that they were using was a cleared out bedroom and it required six stones, he could imagine a bigger room. They set it up with a TV and systems in the back of the room. Making it comfortable with a sofa and a couple of bean bag chairs. They ended up getting quite a few video arcade games. Sirius insisted on at least three racing ones, Remus got the claw game and filled it with sweets from Honeydukes, Harry asked for a few shooting games, some fighting games, and he had to get Pac-Man to complete the set. It became the favorite room for the three.
Harry had finished both of his potions as well and was very happy with the results. He looked like a healthy boy now. Luckily the adults attributed it to the change in diet and environment, that and they probably didn't think much on it. Harry had been enrolled in karate, it was once a week and quite fun. He was still a complete beginner but he could see how this would be helpful for his body and for future encounters plus it got him out of the house and with kids his own age.
His occlumency was progressing nicely; he was organizing his mind now. He had ironically used the Dursleys' house as his mindscape. While he hated that place, Dumbledore had ingrained it in him that while the blood wards were up it was the safest place for him. He organized all of his future knowledge into his cupboard, memories of the times with the Dursleys in his aunt's room. Anything from this timeline that he wanted private would be in his old room. The two less guarded places would be the kitchen and the living room. The kitchen would keep memories that he would prefer to stay private such as his 'initial' meeting with Sirius but if seen wouldn't reveal anything important. The living room would hold what he wanted others entering his mind to think he was thinking. Almost like a censored look into his head. He didn't want Dumbledore to know that he knew occlumency so if he looked into his mind and only managed to see current thoughts it could be explained as him being a natural occlumens whose barriers were there but not fully developed yet.
Wandless magic was where Harry was thriving. He had already managed levitation. It was difficult because he was trying to do it all with just intent, he wasn't using wand movement or saying an incantation. It was making it harder but he wanted to master that technique. He knew that these weren't the usual steps but he would rather take a bit longer doing it this way rather than learning it the easier way and then go back and try it silently. He wondered if they originally taught kids to do it this way not telling them it was easier another way would they be able to learn it at eleven. He knew that the most difficult part was mental.
The book on goblins was also quite interesting, it helped him understand them a little more. He was going to ask Remus if there was a book on Gobbledegook. He wasn't planning on learning the language but he wanted to learn some of the key phrases, at least greeting and goodbyes. Now that wandless magic and occlumency were at a practicing phase he wanted something else to read. He was going to move onto magical creatures. While he liked Hagrid he definitely wasn't the most thorough teacher so he would focus on more of the details. Organizing his memories would take a while so he would focus on creatures before he moved onto building up some barriers.
Apollo was a constant companion; he was quite smart and seemed to understand what was going on around him. Harry wondered what the odds were that both of his pets seemed unusually intelligent. Apollo was rarely seen away from Harry. If Harry was in his lessons he would lay on the bed quietly in the room, if he was in the game room he'd find a spot either on the sofa or on one of their laps.
Harry started thinking back to a conversation he had about two weeks ago.
They were in the game room watching Home Alone, when it was over they turned it off and looked at Harry.
"We need to talk to you about something Harry" said a nervous Remus.
"Do you know what werewolves are?" said Sirius jumping right into it.
"Only what I've seen in movies, you know the whole full moon turn into a wolf thing. Are you telling me that they're real?" Harry said putting on an astonished face. He didn't want Remus to think he already had some horrified view on it. Not good or bad just surprised.
Remus nodded, "Yes Harry they exist, werewolves are made when a person is bitten by a werewolf on the full moon. On the full moon they turn and need to be secluded because they tend to lose themselves to the wolf and are dangerous"
Here Sirius cut in obviously not liking how Remus was explaining it. "Harry, werewolves are normal people who turn into a wolf on the full moon. They are only a danger if let loose around humans, most stay in the forests or cage themselves in so that they won't be a risk to someone else. Just like people there is good and bad, once someone is bitten they decide how to deal with their condition. Bad people turn into bad werewolves good people try their best to not hurt others, especially since they were probably attacked themselves. Do you understand so far?"
Harry nodded, "So it depends on the person whether they're a danger or not?"
Remus answered this time, "Somewhat, when they transform they lose their minds and can't control their actions. It's before you transform that you take the proper precautions against it. It's the person in them that decides what limitations to give."
Harry shrugged, "Ok it doesn't sound so bad, as long as they are careful it doesn't really matter then."
Here Remus let out a breath and Sirius grinned.
"Harry I wanted you to know that I got bitten when I was a young boy," He paused seeing Harry's eyebrows raise in surprise, but when no questions were asked he kept going, "I've been transforming in the basement here. We made sure that the bars were secure and also put wards on the cage and the door to make sure I stayed in. I also take a potion that helps me retain my mind during my transformations; Sirius also stays with me as Padfoot since I won't attack animals. We've made it as safe as we possibly can to not risk you Harry but you needed to know what I am and I needed to make sure you're comfortable with it. If you're not, don't worry I can move back to my home but I'll still continue to teach you, or we can get you another tutor if you feel safer. Whatever you decide is fine."
Harry felt saddened that Remus still felt people would turn away from him because of his condition. "You would leave?" Harry said with a devastated face, "I don't want you to leave Moony, you've already transformed while living here and nothing has happened. If anything I'm safer now that I know because I can make sure to stay in my room during the full moon. One night a month is no reason for you to consider leaving. Anyways if Sirius is down there with you and you manage to get out then he can hurt you enough to stop you before you do anything. It sounds as if you guys have barrier after barrier after barrier. The odds of something happening are very small, so I don't really care."
Sirius jumped up and smacked Remus in the back "See I told you it would be alright Moony, you worry too much." He went over to pick up Harry. "Pup you're the best, I knew you wouldn't care but he didn't want to feel as if he was lying to you." He leaned into Harry's ear and whispered "He's one of them honest werewolves."
After that they stayed sitting down and started to talk about the marauders and how they became animagus to keep Moony company. This brought up some of their pranks and they even mentioned how the marauders map got confiscated by filch. This gave Harry an idea but didn't want to act on it yet.
-oOo-
Initially Harry thought that when he managed to move in with Sirius it would be constant pranks, going out, having fun. While he was very happy to be living there he realized how much the three were adjusting.
Sirius tried his best to remain the outgoing joking prankster he was known as but sometimes he would daze out and stay quiet for a few moments. While he was much better than before it was obvious that he was still recuperating. It was rather naïve of Harry to think that seven years in Azkaban could be dealt with in a couple of months. He just wasn't aware of it last time because he saw so little of Sirius. It almost made him happier seeing this going on. He hated that Sirius had issues but he was glad that he was dealing with them. It wasn't going to happen overnight but it would get better.
Remus was used to being lonely and on his own that sometimes you could tell he got overwhelmed. Almost as if he didn't know how to deal with the people around him. You could tell he was happy but so much changed overnight that he still adjusting.
Harry was probably adjusting the most. First he was dealing with the fact that even though key events would still happen the same, they way they got to them would change. For example, he wasn't sure whether to allow Hermione to be attacked by the troll. But he knew that if he didn't their friendship might change since that is what cemented their friendship last time. Harry also wanted to stop Draco from becoming a Death Eater, he knew Draco wasn't really just misguided. He wanted others to be able to approach him and not think him biased. To achieve this he would have to pull away from Ron a bit, Ron was very close minded in the beginning, he needed to grow up a bit first. Then there was Ginny, he realized that his Ginny was no more. It saddened him to think this way but it had to be, he couldn't go into this life with expectations, he wasn't the same boy she fell in love with the first time. He wasn't going to be the shy, nervous, naïve boy. All these things plagued his mind but he didn't want to make any decisions yet.
Also he had always been independent, always trying to do things himself, but now he had two adults who constantly hovered. He hoped this would diminish in time but for now they were always around. While he hated it at the Dursleys he had gotten used to a lot of time alone to just think. He also wasn't used to not having chores, he sometimes got jittery and while the game room helped, he constantly got scolded my Misty for trying to help. This habit was one he hated; he hated feeling like it was his job to do everything and take care of himself rather than depend on others.
He hoped time would help all three. At least they had a good schedule to keep them on track until they adjusted further.