Chapter 7
"Daddy, is that really Harry Potter?" were the first words that greeted the trios ears as they walked inside.
"Nymph, what did we say?" her mother gently chastised her as she tried to keep her daughters enthusiasm for their house guest at bay. "Why don't you say hello to your cousin instead?"
Sirius had to say he had in part been expecting this – after all, Nymph was still really only a baby herself at eleven. And discretion was not a trait the Blacks were known for was it? She had grown up with the myth of the Boy Who Lived.
Knowing that Sirius was going to have to greet the two of them properly, Harry reached out to Remus who took him in his arms.
"Ted, is it ok for you to show the little man where he can get a drink?" his wife asked and he nodded.
"Why don't we go through to the kitchen, Harry?" he said to the back of the lad's head which was now hid in Remus's shoulder.
"Sorry about the little one," Sirius said as soon as he knew the lad was out of ear shot, for he did not want him to know he was saying sorry for him – he hadn't really done anything wrong.
"Not at all, he has had a hard time of late, you told me that. As for you Mrs, what did I say?"
"I know mummy, but was just so excited to met him!" Nymph tried to defend herself.
"Shall I let you in on a secret?" Sirius said as he learnt down to her height. "So was I!"
That common link between the two of them sent a smile to Nymph face which told her mother Sirius was going to be quite something in his role of adoptive uncle. "But your mum was right to tell you not to come on to strong. He is a wee bit shy is Harry, you see?"
Nymphadora nodded. "I'm sorry - I didn't mean to upset him."
"I know and its fine but if he is a bit quiet when he is eating night and stuff, it isn't because he doesn't like you. It is because Harry's uncle and aunt made him sad when he was with them and so he doesn't know how to handle strangers to well at the moment – but it is not to going to be long until the two of you are not strangers if I have my way – so why don't we go find him?"
"Good idea."
Sirius had to admit, even if they had had a little hic cup already, he was still determined the night was going to go well and that was what the smile he threw his cousins way said.
He had a plan to make this Harry's new family.
"Is it this way then?" he said nodding the direction that he had seen his best friend take Harry.
"Yes," Andromeda nodded as she realised he did not really know his way about the cottage yet. After all, when he had been there before he had only sat in the living room with her.
She lead the way into a kitchen which was not a lot bigger than the one he shared with the boys back at the flat. When he thought of the wealth the two of them had been brought up when they were kids it made him laugh.
It had never made the two of them happy, had it?
Out of the five of them, only one now lived a privileged world and he wondered if it did make her happy. But then he knew it was no time to be thinking of the past. He had to look to the future with those he loved about him.
The chairs about the table had been pulled out and Remus sat in one with Harry on his lap. The lad was by the looks of it enjoying the cola he had been given and showed no signs of getting off Remus and did not even make a beeline for him when he came into the room.
"You alright?" he asked the boy nodded. "Good."
Before an awkward silence could get hold of the room Andromeda got the plates out of the cupboard.
"I take it every one is ok with burgers and chips tonight?"
"Yes, that is going to be just fine by the three of us, isn't it?" Sirius said as Harry nodded shyly.
"Nymph, why don't you go and get some of your schools things to show Sirius? I am sure he would be interested in the way things had changed since we were there."
"It has only been eight years, though it seems a lot longer." Sirius sighed softly but he kept his smile up as he reminded himself once more he had to think of the future. Before he had even said those words he saw his little cousin fly out the door to do as her mother had told her.
He wondered what she thought about Harry and what she had been expecting when her mother had said to her they were having Harry Potter over for tea.
Poor boy.
If that had been just one girls reaction then what the rest of their worlds going to be to him?
()()()
Harry seemed happy to get to bed all in all when they were back from Andy's. Even though he had in the end loosened up about the Tonks to a degree, Sirius had been able to tell all night he had not felt like himself. He had been put under pressure and the concerned god father could not help but wonder if he had been the one to put him there. Maybe it was all too soon and he was too eager to get his own life back.
He should be thinking of Harry more.
As soon as the lads head hit the pillow he was asleep it seemed and he looked happier there than he had been all night.
At least in the end little Nypmh had seemed to call down a little about him and asides her obvious klutziness, Sirius had an idea she was going to be quite a good sister figure to Harry. Though the girl herself seemed to be the first one to admit she was not the most natural student in the world, it was obvious she tried in everything she did and she was bubbling with enthusiasm for life.
Unless his judgement had been completely left behind when he had left jail he knew that, she was going to go far.
Leaning down he put a kiss on the boy's forehead and he could feel himself relaxing too. How was it he had been able to sit for five years? How had he wasted so much time? He should have been with him from the moment he had lost his mum and dad.
They were making progress together.
And he knew they were getting where ever they were going – or at least they were on their way.
Looking to the door, he saw Remus there looking at the two of them with a smile on his face and he wondered if he was thinking along the same lines as he was.
"I love you." He said to the little boy as he kissed his forehead. Harry turned into him, cuddly toy still under his arms. In spite of all he had been through Harry was turning out to be maybe the most affectionate lad either of them had ever met.
Getting up, Sirius sighed. He wasn't sure if was a happy or a sad one but there was something him making him sigh. He was happy and sad all at once he guessed. And there was always going to be that feeling in him because no matter how much he loved tucking Harry in at night, he knew he should do it once a week only. The other six nights, Lily and James should be there to do so. He was a bachelor and he had lived through the war, when two parents who needed to live had not. It wasn't fair.
But then life rarely was.
"He did well tonight," said Remus as Sirius shut the door gently behind himself. They both had a smile on their face.
"Yes, he did. I was worried for a moment when we got there that it was all a bit much too soon but he proved me wrong."
"He has a bit of a knack for proving people wrong, doesn't he? If they say it can now be done then that lad in there just goes ahead and does it as if it was a walk in the park." They both knew it had been a bit harder than that but the effect was the same.
Harry was an amazing lad.
"I think he gets it from his dad." Remus muttered and Sirius nodded. Determined not to meet his eye for fear emotions were going to bubble over, Sirius passed Remus and walked into the kitchen.
"I think I am going to have a cup of tea and then I am going to turn in for the night."
"Sounds like a plan – I'll join you."
He nodded as he put the kettle on for the two of them.
"Nymph seems as if she is a great kid too, doesn't she?"
Remus nodded. "She does."
"I hope we are going to see a lot more of them all. If I can get Harry used to her then Andromeda suggested that maybe he can make some friends in the Weasley family. You remember Molly and Arthur doesn't you?"
"Only vaguely."
"Well, somehow they are my cousins too," he said with a shrug as he tried to work out how but then gave up. "The point is they have a legion of kids. It will be good for Harry to be about them."
"Do you not think it might be a bit too much for him?"
"I am not talking about anything soon. Only when he is ready for it."
Remus wondered how long it was going to be until he was ready to really start meeting people and going out. It was going to take time but he knew it was going to come none the less.
But then he had to put that to the back of his mind for he knew they were soon going to have a much more pressing worrying.
As Sirius looked at him he knew what was on his mind.
"I can go out alone; you stay and look after Harry. He has to come first."
In every other circumstance, he did agree with him. But Sirius was not going to allow Remus to out on his own for the first full moon since he had been back. God only knew what Moony had done to himself since he had had to be on his own once more.
"That is not going to be necessary." He said so sure was he that he was going to get out with him. He missed the full moon escapades he had had with the others when they had been so young. They really did belong to another life time though.
"But if he wants you to be here with him then you should be."
"I know but the least we can do is ask him. He might be ok if we were to leave him with Dumbledore or Andy," he said, doubting the latter though even as he said it. She had been kind to him but he had not been too warm to her and he got the feeling it was going to be a bit of time before he trusted her and Ted.
Of course, they had the option of waiting for him to be asleep and then going – but what if he were to wake up in the night? Harry would be terrified.
He did not want to lie to him.
No, he would not do that. The last thing in the world he was going to do was risk the trust that was between himself and his god son. He was just going to have to convince the lad he was going to be fine if he was left with Dumbledore.
()()()
The professor had to say he was delighted when he got the note that asked him to look after Harry for the evening – part of him had fully expected it because of the time of the month but the other half of him had said that he was the last person in the world that Sirius was likely to leave his treasured god son with but clearly that was not the case and he was grateful for it.
He did want to be part of the lives.
But even when he got the letter he knew it really was still an 'if'. Everything depended on Harry.
()()()
"Hey buddy, can I talk to you?" said Sirius as he came into the living room to find Harry lying on his stomach with his toys all lined up about him. He had had a look of concentration of his face when he had first got to the door way as he had been moving his toys about.
It had been a magic moment for the godfather to see him playing – just like any other child.
He was becoming a boy once more.
As soon as he said those words, he saw the smile fade and a worried look on the lads face.
"Have I done a bad thing?"
The fact that he still assumed that he had done something wrong was something that still made his god father angry and something he knew he was going to have to change. No lad should have to live in fear like that. And besides, Harry was the best behaved child he had ever met. He doubted he could do any wrong even if he should want too.
"No, this is nothing to do with you but I need to ask you something. You're not in any trouble at all," he said as he sat down next to him and put an arm round him but he did not feel his godson relax in to it as he so often did.
"Do you remember Professor Dumbledore?" asked Sirius.
Harry nodded. He had not seen him much but he knew he had been the one who had come to get him from his aunt and uncles.
"And do you remember when I had to go out to Andromeda's that Remus stated here to look after you?"
Harry nodded.
"Well next week, Remus is going to have to out for the night but you see when he does he wants me to go with him, so do you think it would be ok if Dumbledore were to look after you for the night?"
For a moment, the boy seemed to freeze. Part of Sirius had known he had only been alright with Remus going out he had been there. And he did not know Dumbledore the way he knew them.
Remus was as much a surrogate parent as he was and he could see the conflict in Harry's eyes and what he was putting him through and he knew he had to stop it. He had expected too much of Harry. He had only just got used to the two of them and when they were with him, he clung to them to make sure they were never going to leave him.
And so to ask the boy too say he was going to be ok when nether of them were there already he knew was unfair. He had asked him to let him go for the night for selfish reasons.
He knew as he looked in to the lad's eyes part of the reason he wanted to go to relive his own youth. That was when he had had everything he had ever wanted. A family of his own.
But then what was he thinking? He still had that and it was so much better for the fact that Harry was the centre of it.
"Padfoot –" begun Harry and he looked as if he was torn between trying to be brave and saying what he wanted too. That it was too soon and if one of them was going to then he had to have the other with him. He wanted one of them to be the last face he saw before he went to bed and Sirius knew for Harry there was no one else in the world able to fill the space he and Remus had in the lads heart and it was unfair to expect any one else too.
Sirius shook his head and he cut him off but he kept a smile on his face. Harry was a good boy for trying to be brave enough to go the night without one of them already but Sirius was not going to allow it. He had to be sure.
It was like the dinner – he was not going to risk the bond they had between the two of them.
Bending down he kissed the boy on the forehead. "But you know if you wanted me too, I can stay and we can have a boy's night in, just the two of us."
Harry nodded and it was clear just how much more comfortable he was with that plan than he had been with the idea of both of his beloved guardians leaving him.
It seemed as if it was going to be another lonely full moon for Moony.
()()()
When it came to it though, as he and Harry played games, Sirius felt guilty. When he had got out of jail, Remus had been back by his side straight away. He had been a good friend to him.
And he knew when he got back in the next day he was going to be covered in scratches bruises and they were going to have to find a way to tell Harry that he was ok; everything was alright. But he knew when the next full moon came in all good faith he was not going to be able to stay behind.
He felt sick all night for Remus.
But no matter how much he had wanted to deny it, when he had been young he had been born a Black and that meant he was able to hide his emotions when he wanted to so he did not think his god son picked up on the way he was feeling.
But one trial came after another when you were a parent and he knew he was going to have to get used to it.
()()()
When Remus morphed back he had to lay on the ground for a moment and get his breathe back. He was used to it, but it still hurt.
It seemed another life time ago when he had fun when he had been transformed. He remembered when he had been a lad and he had been with the boys. When Sirius got out, he had hoped that time was going return to him.
But not yet it seemed. He did not resent it, he knew what a nervous lad Harry was and how much he needed Sirius to be there for him. But he had to admit to himself that there were times when he needed his best friend too.
And that had been one of them.
He wondered for just a moment what his life would have been if he had not been bitten when he was so young but he had learned long ago that such thoughts were going to get him nowhere. They were not going to change the fact he had been. Nothing could do that.
But at least when he did get to the flat, he was going to have two people who were there who loved him. He loved going home.
But he knew he was going to have to try and get a bit patched up before he did go back to the flat for he was not going to let Harry see him in the state that he was in then.
He would scare the lad witless. He knew that was the worst possible thing he could do at that moment.
Even though it was not usual practice any more, he apparated up to Hogwarts where he knew Pomfrey would care for him and help fix his appearance.
Of course, when he got there though she was unwilling to just patch him up and let him go on his way - that had never been her style and he did not think it was ever going to be – he had been under her care to many times to think that.
When she did insist that he had a rest before he went on his way though, he did not protest. He found it nice to be on his own in peace and quiet for a moment. The pain relieving potion he had been given did its job very well and he found he was able to rest. It was all he ever wanted to do after full moon.
With a few Concealing Charms he was not quite sure he was going to be able to go to his home as a new man but neither would Harry be scared witless with any luck – something he often appeared to lack.
One day he knew they were going to have to tell him the truth over his condition. Harry was going to notice that he went out once a month.
But then that was a bridge he was going to have to cross when he came to it and not before.
Lying back, he shut his eyes. He did not think he had ever been so grateful to Dumbledore for all he had done for him because he knew that was where all this stretched back too. He had been a little werewolf boy who had not had a hope in hell of a decent life until he had met the professor who literally turned his life about.
Dumbledore had done a lot of good for a lot of people. He had been so angry with him since they had got Harry back for the way that the lad had been living, he had nearly forgotten the good he had done for him and he knew that was something he should not do.
He had a lot to be grateful for and since he and the other pair had found one another he knew that went for them as well as it did him.
He had been about to try and catch forty winks for he knew Harry was going to want some attention from him when he did get in, when he heard a pair of footsteps approach his bed.
"Headmaster." he said as he reopened his eyes and yet was shocked by whole found there. It was not Dumbledore.
"Snape."
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