Chapter Nine

When Mooney's Away Padfoot Will Play.

Sirius was lying on the sofa, watching a show on the Telly, ever thankful that Remus had figured out how to make it speak English when the fire started flashing purple, a sign that someone was waiting to me granted access. He glanced down at the sleeping child on his chest, he had only been asleep for twenty minutes or so, he hated to wake him up, but Remus wasn't back from the moon phase yet. He sighed and stood, gently laying Harry on the sofa praying that he would stay asleep.

He put his head in the fire to see Melanie smiling back at him. He smiled and pulled away before waving his wand to allow her to pass through. She came through seconds later, brushing the soot from her jeans and shirt. Her eyes fell on the sleeping child so she whispered her greeting.

"I thought Remmy was bringing you through in another week or so." He said, glancing around at the toys that littered the sitting room.

"This is not official, by any means, and if it was, the least of my worries it the devastation that a one and a half year old can inflict on a house." She giggled.

He smiled in relief. "Have a seat, would you like some tea or anything? Remus likes coffee, French thing I guess. But I have that too."

"Tea would be lovely." She replied as she sat in an overstuffed leather armchair.

Sirius glanced nervously at Harry.

"I won't let him roll off, I promise." She said. He chewed his lip in response. "I won't steal him either." She said with a smile.

He sighed and left the room to gather the tea, returning faster than she had expected with a tray laden with tea, crumpets, biscuits and a beaker cup of what appeared to be milk for Harry, who was still sleeping away.

"He seems content." She said nodding towards Harry.

"He is getting there, he is talking a bit more, and he will play some now. He still just sits and stares off sometimes, and we have yet to make him understand that when you leave you are going to come back. He is set on mummy bye, daddy bye, everybody bye. Though he didn't scream like a banshee when I took him from the house to go to story hour today." He replied.

"Sirius Black knows when story hour is?" she chuckled in disbelief.

"I do in fact, this was our second visit. We now know where the children's park is and the zoo, though it is too cold to go there, we have also found the bookstore and the library, and someone showed me the muggle gym. Kind of the muggle equivalence of the Auror training room. I am going to get Remus to watch him so I can go…If Harry will let me out of his sight that is. I don't think I have used the toilet alone since he got here, or slept alone. He goes with me everywhere, I have a new respect for mothers everywhere. A few mummies in town have taken us under their wing and showed us around the village."

"I just bet they have." She said with obvious amusement. "He is being rather clingy heh?"

"Yes, I am surprised he is even still asleep on the sofa. If we are in my bed he is in my arms, he naps on my chest. I went out and got this brilliant pram that you can run with…You would think it is biting him the way he acts if I sit him in it." He sighed as he readied his cup of tea.

"He's been through a lot. He has to be scared." She replied as she stirred cream into her tea.

"Speak of the wizard." He muttered as Harry started to stir and sat up.

Upon realizing that he was no longer in Sirius' arms he began to cry. Sirius sat his cup down and pulled him into his lap.

"I was right here mate, not far enough away to cause a panic." He said, tracing circles on Harry's little back.

"Siwi." Harry whimpered.

"Still right here." Sirius sighed. He looked up at Melanie with a painstaking look. "I went ahead and put all of the playpens in storage, he has a meltdown if you even put him near one. He did sit on his little bed in his room. Though it was only so he could mess up the blankets I think."

"You are probably right. Blankets are much better when they aren't tucked in neatly you know."

Harry suddenly seemed to realize that someone new was in his home and he sat up and turned to look at her before sticking his thumb in his mouth.

"He never sucked his thumb before. I tried to stop him but then he replaces it with a crayon so I just figured that the thumb is better."

"I don't think it will hurt him to suck his thumb, and it makes perfect sense, think about it, no one can take his thumb away like everything else did."

"I guess, but Lily would have a fit."

"I am sure if she were here it wouldn't even be a problem." She said with a sad smile.

"Oooooh." Harry suddenly said.

"You see the biscuits don't you." Sirius mused.

"Mmmm num, num biblahbiblah." He jabbered.

"Don't tell your uncle Remus." Sirius said, stealthily handing the toddler the gingersnap.

Melanie stayed for dinner with the pair and Sirius was quite happy to see Harry take to someone that wasn't himself. He even let her take him upstairs and change his nappy without Sirius present. More importantly, Sirius got to pee alone. Twice! They were both gathering the toys in the sitting room, while Harry pulled the ones they had already placed in the basket back out.

"Just leave em' he is just going to pull them right back out first thing in the morning." Sirius sighed, standing and pointing to the stairs. "Harry are you ready for a bath?"

"BAF!" Harry said, true excitement on his face.

Melanie laughed, "I think that was the most excited he was all day."

"I think he just likes to make a mess and get me all wet." Sirius said darkly.

"I am sorry I have to miss that." She said with a grin.

He laughed as he picked up the now bouncing toddler. "You are welcome to stay for bath time if you like, though I have to warn you, you will need your wand."

Her face broke into a true smile and she laughed, "I don't want to impose."

"No imposition at all, I would much rather see him get your shirt all wet than mine." Sirius teased, some of his flirtatious charm jumping back into him in the moment.

"I am sure." She chuckled. "What do you think Harry? Do you think your Uncle Sirius needs help giving you a bath?"

"BAF!" he shouted joyously, hitting Sirius about the head.

"I really shouldn't, what with being your caseworker and all." She said, looking at her hands.

"How long are you my caseworker for?"

"They will stop monitoring after the first 6 months, you will be on your own after that." She replied. "Though again, today wasn't official by any means, I just wanted to check on the pair of you. Call it a vested interest if you will."

"Well then, I guess Harry and I will take a rain check on the bath time and we will see you in a couple of weeks, officially that is."

She nodded and smiled at his nonchalance about it. Sirius always had such an easy way about him, it made you want to be around him. "I will floo myself out, you two have a good night, and don't forget your wand."

Sirius nodded and patted his back pocket, indicating that he had it on hand, as he walked up the stairs.

"Look at that Harry, you had her eating out of your hand." Your daddy would be so proud.

0o0o0o0o

"Ok, are you ready? You have to get the snitch. Get the snitch." Sirius said as he levitated the tennis ball.

Harry toddled after the ball, knocking furniture and toys aside as he ran for the ball, screaming and laughing the whole way. He had been levitating this ball for the last hour, and as far as he is concerned, as long as Harry was happy he wasn't worried about anything else. He looked around at the mess the sitting room was in, toys everywhere and random odds and ends thrown about. There was a blanket on the sofa where Harry had napped that day. He thought about walking down the park in town, it was around three, there would be some mum's there. He smiled, Harry had proven to be a great asset in getting women.

"Harry do you want to go outside for a walk today? We can go to the park."

"No, no bye." Harry said adamantly as he snatched the ball from the air after climbing on the coffee table.

'What if the snitch comes too?" he asked, motioning towards the yellow ball.

"No, no bye." Harry said simply.

"How about for a chocolate biscuit?" Sirius urged, laughing as Harry ran over, eyes alight.

"Go bye!"

"That's what I thought, come on kiddo, let's get your biscuit and go bye."

0o0o0o0o0o

Sirius walked back into the sitting room, looking around at all of the randomly colored boxes strewn about.

"This is a mess." He declared, looking over at his cousin who was artfully throwing tinsel on the tree she had stationed in front of the window.

Andromeda turned and smiled, her own dark hair falling in curls down her back.

"This is Christmas with a child." She replied, nodding towards Harry and Sirius' 9 year old second cousin who was currently helping Harry wrap himself in red ribbon.

"Hey little bit! Are we decorating you too?" He said with a laugh.

"Haweee present." He said with a big grin.

"Oh, you are a present." Sirius exclaimed.

He lifted the boy into his arms and pretended to weigh him, "this is an awfully heavy gift Dora what could you have gotten me? Hmmmm, it is heavy…and…" he lifted Harry and shook him all about, Harry cackling with glee as he did so. "It makes a really fun noise when you shake it…" he poked him in the belly several times, eliciting more giggles, "it seems to be squishy…Do you think it is ticklish Dora?" he asked, looking up at her, his face a perfect mock question.

Nymphadora shrugged her shoulders, her lime green hair bouncing about as she did so. "I don't know, it might be. We could always check." She said with a grin.

Sirius nodded. "We should do that I think." And they both commenced in tickling the little bow wrapped boy until he was laughing so hard his couldn't breathe properly. "Alright, I can't wait, I am opening it now, I can't wait till Christmas." Sirius said dramatically, ripping the ribbon from the baby. "WOW It's a…It's a…"

Harry jumped up and held up his arms. "Isa Haaaawweee!" he squealed, making all three of his co decorators laugh merrily.

Sirius lifted him up and held him tight. "It is the best present ever, just what I always wanted. I love it so much!" he said kissing Harry all over his wiggling face.

Suddenly the fire lit up green and Remus stumbled through.

"Wow, it looks like a Christmas tree exploded in here? Did we let Sirius too close to boxes with his pranking supplies or something?" he joked as he shook the sandy hair from his eyes.

He held his hands out for Harry, this had been the first he had been back since the full moon. Harry was looking at him in astonishment. Sirius handed him over, leaving the innumerable sticky backed bows clinging to his head, much to Dora's delight.

"Moo Moo go bye?" Harry said, looking at Sirius and then back at Remus, confusion etched on his face.

"That's right, and I came right back again." He said, plucking a purple bow from his head and looking at it quizzically.

"Is there a reason that our little boy is covered in bows?"

Sirius chuckled "I opened my Christmas gift early." He said with a grin.

"Isa HAAAWWWEEEEE!" Harry yelled again, as Dora had spent the last 15 minutes teaching him.

Remus burst into laughter "That is a wonderful gift! Well done Nymphadora." He said with a wink. She scowled.

"Not that name, anything but that name." she growled, "Just, how bout Tonks? Just call me that." She said.

He laughed, "All right then, Tonks it is. Come on little miss, why don't you help me get this present unwrapped while Sirius finishes up with the decorations."

The little girl nodded and followed Remus and Harry upstairs.

Harry and Dora were sitting under the Christmas tree with several of Harry's books. Dora was reading them to him while he pulled the decorations back off the tree.

"Sirius, I am beyond positive that when I left here we had three packs of chocolate biscuits." Remus said, looking through the cupboard.

"No, no I don't think we did." Sirius said, looking at his fingers.

Remus narrowed his eyes and looked into the sitting room.

'Heya Harry!"

"I Haaawwweeee."

"I know you are." Said Remus with a grin, "Who ate all the chocolate?" he asked, his hands in the air.

Harry mimicked him, his hands by his ears in a full shrug. "Mmmm num num cocala" he jabbered.

Remus turned to Sirius arms crossed. "I may or may not have used them as bribery to get him to talk, or to sit in the pram, or to brush his teeth, or you know, the random trade out for a crayon…" Sirius shrugged.

"For the love of Merlin." Remus groaned "It doesn't matter, dinner is ready anyways."

He walked in and picked up the toddler before sitting him in his seat and placing the steak and kidney pie in front of him. Harry pulled a face and looked at Sirius, holding out his hand expectantly.

"Just eat your food." Sirius hissed.

"Come on cub, you like steak and kidney pie, I know for a fact that you do." Remus said, nudging the plate closer.

Harry shook his head adamantly, holding out his hands to his Godfather. "Cocala." He demanded.

"You are a tattle tale. You are going to grow up to be a Slytherin." Sirius sighed sadly, shaking his head.

Harry made another face, "Eeewwwweeeee, no no no, no no no, no smyvefffvnnfnn" he said.

Sirius nearly choked on his food, Andromeda had to pound on his back.

"I can't believe you taught him that." Remus said, frowning at the pair.

"That was not me, I did not do that." Sirius said, laughing. "I really wish I did, but it wasn't me. I would take credit for that in a heartbeat."

Remus looked at Harry and frowned. "Harry, Uncle Sirius said no Slytherins?" Remus said, faking excitement to entice the boy.

Harry poked at his food, as if contemplating if he should eat or not. "Bad, Bad dadddaadddeeeee, no no no smyvefffvnnfffnnnn! No no no dadadadadeeeee. No amie no!"

Sirius roared in laughter again. "You have a very smart daddy." He said, shaking his head at James' attempt to presort his son before he was even two. "Leave it to James to start Hogwarts training early."

"No amie no! No amie no!" Harry said happily, tentatively licking the food off his finger. He shook his head and held out a hand again :Cocala!" he demanded.

"Great job there Uncle Siri." Remus grumbled as Sirius snickered. Who knew a habit could be taught in a week?

0o0o0o0o

Remus was giving Harry his bath that night, as he hadn't been home to properly play with him in more than a week. He looked up to grab the towel from the shower curtain rod, where it was hanging above his head, when he noticed a suspicious brown goop on the ceiling.

"Sirius." He called as he walked into Harry's room, carrying the wrapped up baby.

"Hhmmmm." Sirius said as he pulled his auror sweatshirt on over his head.

"Do I even want to know why there is mud on the bathroom ceiling?"

Sirius flushed and turned to leave the room. "No, no you do not."