DISCLAIMER: I do not own anything related to Harry Potter. I do not receive profit for this piece of writing. I write this purely for the joy of writing. All familiar characters/creatures are owned by J.K. Rowling and her publishing company. I do not wish to offend any person with this piece. Thank you.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Did you like the very formal disclaimer? I sure did! Any way I hope that this chapter is to your liking!! Thank you so much for all the reviews! And once again everyone thank JadeSullivan for graciously agreeing to be my beta! On with the story!

Chapter Six: Potatoes and Night-time chats

Sirius sat in the living room thinking over the events of the day. He vaguely wondered if his tiny godson was still asleep or not. The toddler had been up in his room for a good two hours after they got home. Harry had fallen asleep during their train ride home. Sirius decided that Harry should be used to traveling in both the muggle and wizarding way. It was important that Harry not become too reliant on magic. When they finally arrived back at their little cottage, Sirius had carried Harry upstairs and tucked him into bed, leaving the door cracked so the boy could call if he needed anything. Suddenly, a groggy voice called from the stairway.

"Siwrius?" Harry called out.

"I'm here, Har bear," Sirius called back. An instant later, the sound of Harry shuffling down the stairs filled Sirius's ears and the man smiled.

"Whatcha doin'" Harry mumbled blearily once he had entered the living room.

"I was just sitting here thinking about you and waiting for you to finish your nap."

"Oh." Harry rubbed the sleep out of his eyes, while he yawned hugely.

"Come here, Prongslet," Sirius said, opening his arms so that Harry could climb up onto his lap. Harry came over and allowed himself to be picked up. As he snuggled in his godfather's arms, Sirius kissed Harry's wild black hair. "Did you have a good nap?" he whispered into the boy's ear.

"Uh huh," Harry mumbled back. He nuzzled his face into his godfather's chest.

"Are you hungry?" Sirius asked after the two of them had been sitting quietly on the couch for a good five minutes or so. "It's about time for dinner."

"Otay," Harry replied quietly, obviously still sleepy.

"I was thinking that we might try some steak and potatoes. How does that sound?" Sirius asked, tilting his head to see Harry's face.

"Dat sounds dood!" Harry said nodding.

"I thought you might feel that way," Sirius replied chuckling.

Sirius hoisted himself up and set Harry on his feet as he headed toward the kitchen. Harry followed close behind. The tot traced delicately along the wood grain of the table as he watched his godfather busy himself about the kitchen. The man grabbed all the food he needed to make the delicious meal. Harry looked around the kitchen and suddenly felt a little left out. He walked up to his godfather and tugged on the man's pant leg.

"Sirius?"

"Yeah, kiddo?" Sirius replied, questioningly. Harry looked a little bit upset.

"Tan I help? Pwease? I won't do nothin' bad! Pwomise!" Harry stated quietly, still unsure of his ability to ask questions freely.

Sirius thought for a moment. "Yeah okay, kiddo. Do you want to stir the mashed potatoes?"

"Yes!"

Sirius handed Harry a wooden spoon and the bowl of potato flakes and milk. Harry, determined to make Sirius proud, began stirring the two together carefully. Sirius smirked at the intense look on Harry's face. The boy looked up at his ginning godfather and cocked his head in confusion. Sirius pulled a grave expression and cocked his head as well, mocking the child. Harry tried to quiet his giggles, but found it nearly impossible. He laughed. Sirius chuckled right along with him and Harry soon found that cooking didn't always have to be a chore. It can be fun too.

Harry continued to giggle while he mixed the potatoes. After a while the concoction began to thicken and it was harder for little Harry to stir. Suddenly, his hand slipped and smacked right into the mashed potatoes. He was in for it now, and he knew it. Sirius raised his hand and Harry cringed, waiting for a smack for upsetting the food. Then he felt his hand being pulled on. Harry looked up as Sirius plucked Harry's hand out of the mashed potatoes and too his lips. Sirius kissed Harry's tiny hand and nibbled playfully at them before bringing the toddler to the sink and rinsing his hands off. Harry was shocked. He hadn't even received a scolding. The man smiled down at him and Harry smiled back. He had a family!

Together the two of them had dinner ready in thirty minutes. Sirius cut a small portion of steak up for Harry and gave him a dab of mashed potatoes and glass of milk. He wanted to start small so Harry didn't overdo it and make himself sick. He made a plate for himself and set the two plates on the table, giving Harry permission to tuck in.

"Finish this first and if you're still hungry after, you can have more, okay?" Sirius told Harry. "And don't forget to use your fork."

"Otay," Harry agreed as he lifted the fork, determined to show Sirius that he could follow directions.

Sirius smile approvingly as Harry lifted the fork in his tiny hand. Maybe I should get him some forks that are his size, so he can learn to control it better, he thought. He reached across the table and ruffled the little boy's hair fondly. Harry giggled.

The rest of dinner passed without consequence. Afterwards, Sirius gave Harry his nourishment potion, rubbed the salve on his wounds, and had the boy pick out a book they had gotten in town. The boy rushed to comply. It was during the toddler's brief absence that Remus fire-called.

"Oh! Hey!" Sirius cried. "You nearly scared me out of my wits!"

"Sorry, I was just wondering how the healer visit went," Remus replied, biting his lip in an amused way at startling his best friend. Just then Harry came back into the room, carrying a book on dragons.

"Why don't you ask Harry," Sirius said. "Harry, Remus wa – "

"AH!" Harry screamed, terrified. "Sirius, det him out!" The boy began to sob loudly in fright. "Det him out!"

"Harry," Sirius soothed. "Calm down, Prongslet. The fire isn't hurting Remus."

"What?" Harry sniffled, confused. Sirius gathered Harry into his arms, cradling him.

"You know how we go through the floo?" Sirius asked. Harry nodded. "It's just like that, but instead of going all the way into it, Remus just put his head through."

"Rweally?" Harry asked wiping his eyes. "He's not detting hurt?"

"Nope," Remus said from the fire place. "Not one bit, but I'm sorry I scared you, cub."

"It's otay."

"I just wanted to ask you how your healer visit went this afternoon."

"It was dood!" Harry told his honorary uncle. "I even dot a lowy fowr bein' dood!"

"Really?" Remus said smiling. "Good boy!"

"Tank you, sir," Harry replied smiling back sheepishly.

"I'll fire-call you later, Remus, I promised Harry a story and it's almost time for him to go to bed," Sirius said to Remus with a look that clearly showed that they had much more to discuss. Remus nodded and bid Harry goodnight.

Sirius and Harry watched as Remus disappeared through the fireplace and the emerald flames turned crimson again. Sirius opened the picture book of dragons that Harry had picked out, and by the third page, Harry had fallen asleep in his godfather's arms. Carrying Harry up the stairs, Sirius threw back Harry's covers and laid the boy gently in his bed before tucking his blankets around him and planting a kiss against his warm forehead.

"Goodnight, Harry," he whispered he slipped through the open door, leaving it cracked like always. Then, he headed down the stairs to fire-call Remus.

"Hey!" Remus said in greeting as his friend's head appeared in his hearth.

"Hi," Sirius replied. "I just need to talk to you about the healer visit."

"Why? Is something wrong with Harry?" Remus asked, suddenly worried.

"Well no," Sirius replied. "Not really. I mean it's nothing too terribly serious. I just found out the extent of what those muggles did to him. That's all."

"How bad is it?"

"Well they didn't feed him very well and he had terrible cuts and bruises on him, especially his backside."

"Well, when are you putting them to justice?" Remus asked.

"After what I saw today, as soon as possible!" Sirius told his friend.

"Good. They should pay for what they've done!" Remus replied. "They should consider themselves lucky. If James and Lily were here those muggles would be dead by now, or worse."

"I've failed them, haven't I?" Sirius said miserably. "I promised to keep their son safe no matter what. And I couldn't even do that!"

"No. Sirius, this isn't your fault. What could you possibly have done? You were in Azkaban! There is no one to blame but those blasted muggles," Remus told his friend sternly.

"You're right," Sirius sighed. "As always."

"Well it's been a long day," Remus said smiling. "You should get some sleep, and we can discuss the proper course of action in the morning."

"Yeah… okay," Sirius replied. "I'll talk to you tomorrow, Moony."

"Goodnight."

"Goodnight." Sirius pulled his head back through the grate and sighed deeply. It had been a long day. However, he knew that tomorrow would be an even longer day. Tomorrow he would have to visit the Dursleys. And he would definitely have to bring someone with him to keep him from murdering the family. Then again, he would also have to find someone to look after Harry while he was gone. Remus would probably come with him to see the muggles, so who would watch Harry? Dumbledore maybe? Well, who's to say the old coot has time to watch a three year old. This was going to be harder than he thought. A little voice broke through his ponderings.

"S-Sirius?" the little green-eyed toddler whimpered from the doorway.

"Harry?" Sirius questioned gently. He noticed the child had been crying. "What's the matter? Why are you crying?"

"I-I h-had a b-bad d-dweam…" the boy sputtered, a new wave of tears spilling from his lids.

"Come here, Prongslet," Sirius murmured, opening his arms. Harry shuffled sleepily into his godfather's embrace. "What was your dream about?" the man asked once they curled up onto the couch.

"Uncle Vewrnon…" the boy mumbled back. "He was yellin' at me fowr burnin' da bweakfass…"

"Okay, well there's no need to be scared," Sirius softly whispered. "Your uncle isn't here. He'll never hurt you again. I promise."

"O-o-otay…" Harry replied trying to stifle his yawn unsuccessfully.

Sirius began to run his fingers through Harry's thick, unruly hair as the toddler drifted back to sleep. Sirius then lifted the child gently and carried the boy to his room. He started to lay the boy into the toddler bed when Harry opened his eyes suddenly and grabbed on tightly to Sirius.

"N-no!" Harry cried, frightened.

"Harry, you need to go to bed, pup," Sirius whispered gently.

"Wanna stay wif you," Harry sniffled, groggily.

"Okay, I'll let you sleep in my room with me tonight. Is that okay?"

"Uh-huh…"

Sirius lifted the boy back up and smiled at down at his little squirmer in dragon pajamas. He walked down the hall and into his own room, where he transfigured his clothes into pajamas and curled up into the bed with his tiny godson.

Harry was asleep in minutes.

A/N: Okay, it wasn't as long but it came sooner right? I think I'm going to have the Dursleys in the next chapter! Woo Hoo! It's time for some serious Sirius-butt-kickin' session!! I have a feeling that Remus is going to have some trouble stepping in… Dun, dun, DUN!! R&R pwease!