DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harry Potter. I hope I didn't disappoint anyone… sorry…
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I have had a really terrible day… but I would like to thank everyone for reviewing… It really did make me feel better. It's just I don't really have time to message everyone individually this time. Anyway I hope you guys enjoy the third chapter.
Chapter Three: Expected and Unexpected Meetings
"Harry, a friend of mine is going to come over today," Sirius told the boy once they had gone downstairs. "His name is Remus. He's really excited to meet you."
"He's donna meet me?" Harry asked.
"He sure is. But first I have to explain some stuff to you, okay?"
"Otay."
"Come sit with me on the couch, kiddo."
Harry followed Sirius to the couch and tried desperately to clamber onto the cushion. But it stood so high from the ground that Harry's little legs couldn't push him up high enough. He struggled a bit until Sirius was incapable of watching Harry suffer any longer. The man reached down swiftly and tugged the boy up gently by the back of the overall straps.
"Tank you!" Harry said panting. He laid his head on the back of the couch in exhaustion. Sirius smiled at the tender act of innocence.
"Harry, do you know what happened to your parents?" Sirius asked, deciding that he should just get the painful part over with.
"Y-yes."
"You do?"
"Yeah… dey died in a cawr cwash. Dat's how I dot my thcar," Harry told him, holding up his bangs to expose a thin lightening bolt scar on his forehead.
"D-did your aunt and uncle tell you that?" Sirius asked with a sigh. He was trying desperately not to go straight over to the Dursleys and turn them all into roaches squish them—something he had been contemplating since the day he had seen Mr. Dursley pinning Harry to the wall.
"Uh-huh."
"Well… T-that's not true, kiddo. They lied to you," Sirius tried. 'How do you tell a three-year-old boy that his parents were betrayed and murdered?'
"S'not?"
"No… your parents didn't die in a car crash, Prongslet. They were m-murdered…"
"Wassat?"
"Oh… um… murdered is when someone kills someone else…"
"Why… would you does dat?"
"Uh… you know how I took you to see Hogwarts?"
"Yeah! It was a stool fowr magic!"
"Right, magic! Well… you'll go there someday… because you're a wizard."
"I is?"
"Yes you are… So am I… But… There are good and bad wizards out there, pup."
"Were da dood tind wight?"
"Yes. We're the good kind… But… There was a wizard… named Voldemort that was the very bad kind and… He didn't like your parents at all… Well, mostly he didn't like your father, James–"
"My daddy's name were James?"
"Y-yeah, kiddo. And your mum's name was Lily…"
"Wow!"
"Anyway–"
"Oh! Sawy fowr innerupting…" Harry hung his head apologetically.
"No, no it's okay, kiddo. I'm not mad!"
"You isn't?"
"Well… I'm not mad at you. You haven't done anything wrong, okay?"
"Otay…"
"Oh, right! Back to the story. Voldemort didn't like your dad because he was an extremely amazing wizard… But he wouldn't join Voldemort because he was bad… James fought against him… Then after you were born, your mum and dad wanted to keep you safe… So they hid. But he found them anyway And… He came to the house… James d-died to save you and your mum… And your mum died to save you… It's important that you understand that your mum and dad loved you so much."
Harry's bright green orbs filled with watery tears as he listened to the real story of what happened to his parents. As soon as Sirius finished telling the disheartening tale, Harry broke into a fit of sobs. His godfather knew that Harry wouldn't be able to handle the rest until he was older, so he stopped there, holding the boy in his arms. The toddler didn't understand. Why would anyone ever kill another person? It didn't make any sense. Why would Voldemort want to be bad? Why would anyone want to be bad? Why?
"Shh," Sirius breathed soothingly to the little boy. "It's all right now…"
Harry hiccupped out the rest of his sobs and looked at his godfather miserably. "Are dey evar donna tum back?" he asked innocently.
"N-no, puppy. They're not… But you can always have them in your heart… And… I'll be here for you… always."
"Was you deir fwiend?" Harry sniffled.
"Yes… Your dad was the best friend I ever had, kiddo," Sirius said, his own voice cracking. "He was like a brother…"
"Oh…" Harry really couldn't think of anything else to say. He merely couldn't come up with any words that went with that "oh."
"And when you were born your parents made me your godfather. And I promised them that if anything were to happen to them, I would take care of you. And I always will, okay?"
"Otay," Harry said wiping the tears out of his eyes roughly.
Just then, the fireplace filled suddenly with bottle green flames and out stepped a man that Harry didn't recognize. The man looked pale, thin, a bit drained. However, the new face smiled congenially, coating the worn features with a fresh mask of youthful amusement. His eyes were a smoky amber at first glance, but in the light they would turn a honey golden. He had mousy, sandy brown hair that was somewhat long but pulled neatly into a low ponytail, leaving only the man's bangs hanging in front of those strange, golden eyes. And at the moment the man was eyeing Harry in a peculiar way.
"Hello there, Harry," the man said. "My name is Remus Lupin. And the last time I saw you… I think you had just turned a year old."
"Remus, here, was a good friend of your parents too, Prongslet," Sirius told his new charge.
"Rwelly?" Harry asked intrigued.
"I sure was! How are you liking it here with old Padfoot?"
"I am not old!" Sirius interjected. Remus rolled his eyes at Harry, who giggled.
"He's just trying to make himself feel better. Anyway… Look how big you are!"
"I is?" Harry said. "I tot I is wittle."
"Well you're much bigger than the last time I saw you. How old are you now? Three?"
"Uh-huh… I turneded three a wittle bit ago…on da tirti-furst"
"Really? The thirty-first, huh?" Remus smiled. "What did you do for your birthday? Did you have any friends come over? Maybe eat some cake?"
For some reason, unbeknownst to Remus (of course Sirius understood, only he didn't have the same reaction), Harry burst into a peel of laughter. 'Why on earth would I get a birthday?' he thought.
"What's so funny, Harry?" Remus asked.
"I don't det a birfday, silly," he stated, around little giggles. "Only Dudley dets to have a birfday."
"You don't… get… a birthday?" Remus was confused. "Well, why not?"
"Betause I'm an undratmul fweak… That's what Uncle Vewrnon says…"
"That isn't true!" Sirius said, pulling Harry close to him in a fierce hug. "Everything those people ever said to you is wrong. You're not ungrateful, and you most definitely are not a freak!"
"I isn't?" It was Harry's turn to be confused. Why didn't his aunt and uncle like him then? There had to be a reason.
"No you're not," Sirius replied gently.
"Oh."
"Hey, Harry?" Remus's voice sounded.
"Yeah?"
"I have something for you… Why don't you stay in here play with this while I go talk to your godfather, okay?" Remus said pulling a little dragon set out of his pocket. "They do everything a real dragon does, except breathe fire, because I bought the child- safe set," he told Sirius.
"Whoa!" Harry said amazed. His eyes were sparkling with excitement. He took the little box from Remus. "Tank you!"
"You're welcome, cub."
Harry started playing with the tiny dragons, while Sirius and Remus went into the kitchen.
"What the hell?" Remus said once they were out of earshot. "What did those people do to him?"
"I don't know fully, but when I went to pick him up, Dursley had him pinned… by the… throat… and he was going to hit Harry with a belt… I wanted to… I wanted to murder him… But… how I could let Harry see something like that… So I told them to go to the other room and took Harry away from there…" Sirius was livid. That much was clear.
"You did the right thing by leaving. If you had killed them, you could have been sent back to Azkaban. Think about how that would hurt Harry," Remus said. "He's really taken a liking to you all ready."
"Yeah… But I want to make them pay," Sirius said. "You should have seen the bruises on him. I saw them when I gave him a bath… It was terrible…"
"What are you going to do?" Remus asked. "They can't go completely unpunished!"
"I don't know… I think I'll have to take them to court," Sirius replied running a hand through his wavy, black hair.
"What's wrong with that? They'd at least get seven years."
"I know… But I don't know if I want to put Harry through that… I mean he's been through enough… Without the muggle 'po-lease' questioning him right and left."
"Yeah… but that's the only way you'll see justice." Remus claimed. "…Well without being chucked into Azkaban."
"I know, I know," Sirius sighed. "I'm going to do it… I just don't like it."
Suddenly, there was a shrill shriek from the living room. Sirius and Remus bolted into the room. What they found almost sent Sirius into a rage. There in the middle of the room was the tall, greasy-haired potions master, Severus Snape. He was towering over the tiny toddler with a stern, disgusted look on his face. The little boy, however, was curled up, and his eyes were wide with terror. Tiny model dragons were running wildly around the youngster.
"Snape!" Sirius snapped. "What are you doing to him!"
"I believe the correct question would be what is this brat is doing to me!" he retorted.
"I don't believe towering over the child is necessary, Severus," Remus replied calmly, but one could still hear the acid in the words.
Snape stepped back away from the boy with a sour expression imprinted on his face. He sniffed indignantly.
"Harry, c'mere, kiddo," Sirius said gently. The little boy scurried over to the man and hid behind the tall legs, peering out from behind them. 'Sirius will protect me,' he thought to himself.
"Now what is this all about, Snape?" Sirius asked coolly. "Why are you here?"
"I am here to inform you that the headmaster wishes to speak with you this evening at eight o'clock. And, you are to bring the boy. Whatever it is that you will be discussing somehow involves him. Therefore, Professor Dumbledore believes it's best to bring the boy along."
"Is that everything?" Sirius asked bitingly.
"Actually it is," Severus sneered. "However, I couldn't help but notice that your young charge is undoubtedly going to be as spoiled as his father. He's already nearly identical to him. You must be so proud."
"Actually we are proud of him. And you have no idea what he's been through, Snivellus, so I suggest you keep your comments to yourself! And how dare you insult James in front of him! He's his father!" Sirius barked.
"It's better if the boy grows up knowing the truth. James Potter was an arrogant, hypocritical, idle, egotistical fool!"
"What's arrobant and hyponitimul mean?" Harry asked tugging lightly on his godfather's robes.
"I'll tell you in a minute, kiddo," Sirius said to Harry smiling. Then he turned back to the potions master, eyes blazing. He opened his mouth to retort but Remus beat him to it.
"HOW DARE YOU! This boy had to lose his parents at the age of one and you… you want to put his father down? What the hell is wrong with you?" Remus snarled. His kind, amber eyes had turned a dangerous gold. "I know you didn't like James, Severus, but I didn't think you'd sink that low. He may not have been nice to you, but you weren't exactly a peach to him either! James was a good man! No matter how much you hated him, he always did what he thought was right for the common welfare of everyone! So, don't you dare insult his memory, especially in front of Harry!"
Silence.
Everyone was stunned, except maybe Harry, who simply appeared confused. Remus was usually the calm, collected one, the one to think now and act later. But now it was obvious that Snape had struck a nerve. Remus was rampant. His eyes were a golden-yellow and his upper lip was pulled back in an almost wolf-like growl. Snape decided to step down from this row. He was stubborn, but he was smart enough to not go in against a livid werewolf. He slunk back into the fireplace and flooed back to Hogwarts without saying anything to the family threesome.
Remus sucked in a deep breath, his eyes slowly transforming back into their deep, amber color. Once he was calmed, he turned to Harry, seeing as Sirius was still gaping at him, kneeled down next to him, and said, "No matter what that man may say or show you, your father was a good man. He was a fine friend, okay?"
"Otay," Harry said, confused, but agreeing anyway. Remus smiled and stood back up, glancing at Sirius's face. His mouth was wide open and his eyes popped.
"You gonna be all right there, Padfoot?" he asked.
"What? O-oh y-yeah… yeah…" Sirius replied. "Harry I don't want you to worry about those things he said. All of those words are rude and you shouldn't say them, okay?"
"Otay," Harry agreed. It was then that he realized he had to go potty. "Um… s-sir?"
Sirius choked in surprise at the title. He knew Harry had called him that before but he was sure he had told Harry to call him Sirius or Padfoot. The title of "sir" made him feel old. "Y-you don't need to c-call me that, k-kiddo," he coughed.
"O-oh… otay… um… b-but… um… I dotta doe potty… Tan I doe?"
"Of course you can. Remember, I told you that you don't have to ask that —you can just go. Do you want me to help you wash your hands?" Sirius replied.
Harry nodded, "Tank you, sir – I mean Sirius." Then he took off up the stairs to use the bathroom. Sirius followed, smiling to himself. That kid sure knew how to make his day.
Remus watched as the two of them climbed the stairs, catching the small, loving smile that played on Sirius's mouth. 'I think this is going to save both of them.'
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Okay… well it wasn't the best chapter, but I hope you enjoyed it… Please read and review… I'll try to respond to these ones… Sorry… : )