It was going to be a great day.
When Harry woke up that morning, he felt better than he had for some time. Finally, it was time to leave Privet Drive and move into Sirius' house.
Their house.
Harry had never been more excited by anything. Even the thrill he had felt the day he first left for Hogwarts did not compare to how exulted he was by the idea that, for the first time in his memory, he would finally be living in a home of his own.
A home where he would feel loved and wanted.
Somewhere he could invited friends to visit and spend the holidays instead of staying at school because the Dursleys didn't want to see him for Christmas or Easter anymore than he wanted to see them. Where he could have a bedroom that he could call his and only his, not the shared dorm room in the castle or the one on Privet Drive where he was constantly reminded that it was someone else's second bedroom.
Feeling practically giddy, he threw off his blankets he almost skipped into the bathroom to jump into the shower.
At his usual early morning perch at the counter, Sirius sat drinking a cup of coffee in quiet contentment.
I will be so glad to leave today.
As cozy as it may have been, dwelling-wise, to live in the expanded bedroom for the past two weeks, he was anxious to leave it behind them.
Harry needed the stability and comfort of a permanent residence and a normal family life and Sirius knew that he would be all too happy to live for the rest of his life without a repeat of the past few days. He was hopeful that once they were settled in and fell into a routine, Harry would relax and start enjoying his summer.
Sirius wasn't so old that he couldn't remember what it was like to be a boy that age. Harry needed to get outside and fly for hours, run for miles and spend time with his friends fooling around. All of that energy needed to go somewhere. Preferably somewhere non-destructive.
Well, we'll just have to see about that. He is Prongs' son.
He sighed audibly at the idea of being the one to find Merlin-knows-what blown up, ripped up or hung up around a house with a teenage wizard in it.
Karma, that's what this was. Karma.
He had a nervous feeling that all the mischief he had engaged in at Harry's age was about to catch up with him now that he was the parent. Glancing up from his paper, he heard the shower running in Harry's bathroom.
Well, someone is up terribly early this morning.
Apparently Sirius wasn't the only one excited to be taking their leave of Surrey, although he wasn't really surprised that Harry was already awake. The boy hadn't been lying on the sofa for twenty minutes last night before falling asleep. Even when Sirius had woken Harry enough to prod him into a sleepy shuffle so he could go back to his own room just before ten o'clock, Harry had not really been completely aware and his godfather almost had to carry his entire weight before getting him settled into bed.
So the boy certainly had plenty of rest last night.
Sliding his wand out of his pocket, he gave a small swish towards the wall behind him causing a dull diamond shaped knob to glow green. He wasn't sure how hungry Harry would be this morning if he was overexcited, but the concerned godfather wanted to make sure that breakfast was ready when the boy came out to the table. On cue, the counter filled with the usual morning feast followed quickly by Dobby, his big eyes gleaming, the Puddlemere scarf wrapped tightly around his neck. The man and the elf spoke briefly before the small creature bowed deeply and disappeared again.
A few minutes later, Sirius heard Harry come crashing down the hall and pinched the bridge of his nose.
Yes, he definitely needed to have a place to run off all of that energy.
Harry barreled into the kitchen and stopped short when he saw his godfather looking slightly annoyed. For a quick moment he worried that Sirius was still upset with him, but his godfather glanced up and smiled, his eyes twinkling with amusement. Once again, Harry realized just how happy he was to have Sirius in his life now. He made his way over to where his godfather was sitting and allowed himself to be drawn into gentle embrace. Hugging Sirius back, Harry leaned into the broad chest that was slowly filling out again and rested there contentedly for a moment, not caring that he was probably too old to be so thrilled with a morning hug.
To be honest, he'd been worried that his recent testing of the boundaries had damaged the warm relationship the two of them had building together. Obviously, Harry hadn't liked being punished, but on the whole it had not been too terrible compared to the much harsher and colder treatment he got from his detested relatives.
Long before he had fallen asleep last night the slight ache on his behind from the spanking had receded entirely. Even the foul taste of the mouth washing soap had lasted longer than any lingering physical discomfort.
What he had been genuinely concerned with was having Sirius look at him so disappointed again. That would have been what really would hurt. But here they were, just as they had been before, good humor restored.
As Sirius held his godson close he sadly realized, as the boy's slight frame clung to him, that Harry had been so deprived of physical affection growing up that he positively craved it. Holding him a bit tighter, he vowed that the boy would be hugged, and often. Sirius knew, if anyone did, how a lack of physical affection from your parents left a hole inside of you that so deep and so large that you could feel positively hollowed out.
Harry need him to be better than that. To make up for the years of neglect and abuse. And Sirius swore on the graves of his beloved friends that he would be everything Harry needed from a parent.
Sirius could tell just by the tight grip that Harry had on the back of his shirt that the boy needed a little more assurance that all was forgiven after the rough couple of days they'd just had, so he he didn't rush to pull away. From all the stories he'd heard from Albus, Harry had always been quite an independent boy who never relied on anyone, but that didn't mean that he wasn't still a child that needed security and comfort from the adults in his life.
Just because Harry had been forced to grow up too quickly didn't mean that he shouldn't have his basic emotional needs met.
With a hateful shrew like Walburga for a mother and an abusive bastard like Orion as a father, Sirius hadn't known what it mean to be loved and cared for at home either at Harry's age. It had only been when he started spending his time away from school at the Potter home that he'd finally seen how real, loving families should act.
James' parents had completely and utterly adored their son and hugs were given freely and often without pause or shame. And once Sirius had been unofficially adopted into the family, the same affection was given to him.
It was strange at first, to be treated with warmth and love instead of hatred and pain. An entirely different way of existed that he hadn't really understood until he was the beneficiary of it.
So he worried that his godson suffered from the same deprivation and reservation that Sirius had at that age. Feeling that he needed to be strong and aloof just because he'd never been given the choice to be otherwise. He wasn't about to fuss over Harry so much that the boy became completely soft, but he was going to make sure that his godson knew comfort and love from his arms and that he'd always have a place to come to in times of distress.
Harry didn't need to feel alone anymore.
After a moment he felt the boy start to squirm just a bit so he pushed Harry back a little and brushed stray wet hair away from his face.
"Are you ready to leave?"
"Absolutely," Harry replied, his eyes suddenly bright with anticipation. "When do we go?"
"We should be all set by noon time. I've already asked Dobby to meet us there for lunch."
"Brilliant."
Harry threw his godfather an enormous smile, pleased with the early departure. He almost felt like he might just be seconds away from actually breaking out into an awkward sort of dance.
"But first," Sirius said sternly, spinning the boy around and giving him a gentle shove, "breakfast. Go eat. You'll need your strength to do all the packing and carrying."
Harry turned his head back, a horrified expression on his face.
"What?"
At the surprised and indignant tone, Sirius held his glare for a second before throwing his head back and letting out a bark-like laugh.
"Just kidding."
"Not funny," Harry scowled.
After they had filled their plates and returned to the table, Sirius picked his newspaper up again. He read for a few minutes before letting out an angry huff. Slapping the pages closed and threw it on the table.
"What's the matter?" Harry asked, concerned to see his godfather in such foul temper.
"That Rita Skeeter woman ought to be fired. Another article today suggesting that my acquittal was the result of a large amount of gold changing hands. She's also been a nasty piece of business and I'm sure she's just testy because I refused to be interviewed by her. I have half a mind to.." he stopped, seeing the stricken look on Harry's face. "Well, no matter. It's just tabloid rubbish."
Sirius was really angry and considering his past with Rita he was of half a mind to apparate straight to the offices of the Daily Prophet and remind the woman of just how powerful a wizard he really was.
Although he had no sentimental attachment to the Black family name in general, Sirius was a very proud man who always going to be fairly prickly about his innocence questioned for so many years and he didn't particularly want to see his own name sullied any further than it already had been.
If it was just a matter of himself and his own reputation, he would fight it out with the vile woman publicly, but now he had to think about Harry too. Anything Sirius did or said would also affect the boy and his godson had enough unwanted notoriety of his own to contend with. Sirius simply couldn't bear to see the boy targeted by the conniving bottle blond and the other rabid jackals at the Prophet just because of his own temper.
With his godfather's mood so stormy, Harry's eyes had dropped to the table and he was picking at his food. Feeling bad for losing his temper, Sirius reached out and lifted Harry's chin up, giving the boy a large grin.
"Hey. Don't let this upset you. It's really no big deal," he winked and then tapped on the rim of Harry's breakfast plate. "Eat," he commanded as he took the pitcher of pumpkin juice and refilled the boy's glass.
Knowing that it was his own fault for ruining the previously jovial mood, Sirius could have kicked himself. He needed to remember from now on to think about what it would do to Harry, hearing about such an awful, torrid story, before he opened his big mouth. Reluctantly, Harry picked up a piece of toast and began to nibble on it half-heartedly, but before Sirius could say anything further, they were both startled by the loud crack that preceded Remus' entrance into the kitchen.
Remus was scowling as he held a large square envelope with the Ministry of Magic's seal on it. He walked over to their table purposefully and threw the piece of creamy stationary in front of Sirius' plate.
"Good morning, Padfoot," he said, a bit cross. He glared at Sirius' confused look and then turned slightly to Harry, his expression softened a bit. "Good morning, Harry."
Used to his friend's tendency to be melodramatic and overreact, Sirius rolled his eyes and half reluctantly, half indulgently reached for the envelope. Opening it at leisure, he scanned the parchment inside, gave a small snort and then threw the contents back on the table.
Harry was staring at him, concerned. A letter from the Ministry of Magic wasn't something to scoff at. Seeing the boys unease, Sirius picked up the parchment with a smirk and handed it to him before leaning back in his chair and nonchalantly sipping his coffee. With slightly shaking fingers, Harry turned his attention to the letter and read.
Dear Mr. Black,
You are informed that this morning, at approximately seven o'clock, members of the Ministry of Magic's Magical Reversal Squad were dispatched to Number 4 Privet Drive, Little Whinging, Surrey. There they were required to remove two sets of pig ears and tails that had been hexed onto one Vernon Dursley and one Petunia Dursley.
It is requested that you refrain from making additions of an animal nature to Muggles in the future.
Very truly yours,
Mafalda Hopkirk, Improper Use of Magic Office
Dropping the letter on the table, Harry looked up at his godfather questioningly while Remus continued to glare. Nonplussed, Sirius averted his eyes away from them and continued to sip his coffee as he answered their unasked question.
"Well, I did warn them against trying to open the door."
As the hall clock chimed noon, Harry stood in the living room of the transfigured bedroom and looked around for the last time until next summer. It had been a comfortable temporary home, but just as he always was when it came to his stay at Privet Drive, he was glad to be leaving. Their trunks were packed and already on their way to the new house. Sirius stepped into the room and, moving to stand next to his godson, he fondly ruffled Harry's messy hair.
"Ready?" he asked, eyes twinkling with mischief again.
"Yes," Harry replied, a small smile on his determined face. He reached to take his godfather's outstretched arm and a second later found himself in the constricting tube of apparition.
When the tube spit him out, Harry landed painfully knees down on a large soft lawn. His mind was spinning and his stomach was so queasy that he silently blessed Merlin that he'd been too excited to really eat much of anything. He took a few large gulps of air and found himself being hauled to his feet by his godfather's large hands underneath his arms.
"Alright there, Harry?"
"Erm..yeah, I think," Harry answered, shaking his head to clear it and trying hard to steady himself.
Sirius put a cool hand on Harry's flushed cheeks and forehead, a frown on his face. With his mind clearing, Harry gave his overly concerned godfather a small smile to ease his worries.
"I'm fine, Sirius. Really."
Sirius wasn't entirely convinced, but this was too precious a moment to waste. Holding Harry by the shoulders, he slowly turned the boy around and lifted his right had to gesture at the sight in front of them.
"Well, in that case, take a look at your new home Harry. Welcome to Celestial Court."
Harry's eyes widened until they were almost as big as saucers and, for a moment, he forgot how to breathe.
In front of them stood a stately mansion, reminiscent of a French chateau. It was four stories tall with sparkling windows gleaming down at them too numerous to count. A black gracefully gabled roof twinkled gem-like in the noon-time sunshine. The gravel path in front of them wended its way across the elegantly manicured lawn and circled around a large fountain comprised of four moving cherubs spitting water as they frolicked in the bath. On the front of the house there were two staircases that curved into an arc until they met at the large double door with two suits of armor stood, one on each side of the entrance.
The sight of all of this completely overwhelmed Harry and Sirius watched his godson eyes drinking in his new surroundings and laughed softly.
"Well, what do you think of the house?"
Gobsmacked, the boy looked up at him with wonder in his eyes.
"How many people are we meant to be living here with?" Harry questioned in wonderment, his breath ragged, his eyebrows raised high. At his words, Sirius laughed again, truly delighted.
"It's just for us, Harry. I swear."
Putting an arm around his godson's shoulders, Sirius began to lead him towards the front door. As they passed the fountain, one of the cherubs cheekily leaned over and spit water on the back of Harry's head.
"Hey, watch it!" the boy cried irritably, scowling as he noticed his godfather laughing again.
"They are snarky little blighters, Harry. Don't mind them."
Walking onward, they made their way to the stairs and climbed them to the door. As they approached, the suits of armor came to life and simultaneously crossed their swords, blocking entrance to the house. Clearing his throat, Sirius addressed them.
"Sirius Black and Harry Potter requesting entry to Celestial Court."
Immediately, the metal knights withdrew their weapons and stood aside, saluting respectfully as the two wizards passed into the now open doorway.
Sirius looked down at his godson's amazed face and explained.
"They are here to help protect the house from invasion. There is a pair of them stationed at each main entrance. They have been charmed to allow you, myself, Remus and Dumbledore only. Once we get settled, we can add whatever guests you would like to the permitted list. Now that we are in residence here, you won't have to keep asking for permission. They will recognize you automatically."
Clearing his throat, Harry couldn't keep himself from sounding impressed.
"What would they do if it was someone not on the permitted list?"
"Well, assuming that whomever it was had managed to slip past Dumbledore's wards, highly unlikely I assure you, they would fight", Sirius answered as casually as he could.
"Fight?" Harry asked dubiously.
"Kill."
The boy's eyes widened even further. This news bothered him because of the underlying violence to it, but he shook it off quickly. He wanted nothing to ruin this day.
Making their way into the entrance hall, Harry gazed in awe as he took in the marble columns and massive staircase. On each side of the hall were double French doors leading to twin parlors. The ceiling of the entrance hall was enchanted to look like a perfect sky and the chandelier hanging from it was a moving replica of the known solar system, each planet rotating appropriately and gleaming brightly like stars. At the far end of the hallway was another door that looked like it went back outside.
Harry looked up at his godfather in amazement. Suddenly, he gave a quick start as if just remembering something.
"May I go see my room now? Please?"
Sirius laughed heartily and nodded his head.
"Of course, but I think you may be disappointed. I'm not much in the way of creatively decorating the bedroom of a teenage boy. Up the stairs, second door on the right."
Excited, Harry bolted for the stairs and raced upwards. Skidding to a halt in front of the door, he threw it open and looked inside. To his utter amazement, his room was an exact replica of the wonderful one that Sirius had transfigured for him in his old bedroom at the Dursleys.
"I did it intentionally, you know," Sirius said, having come up behind him quietly. "I thought, if the bedroom in Surrey looked like the one you have here, it would be easier for you to stand going there at the start of the summer next year. Maybe it would feel a bit more like home." He paused and shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know. It was just a thought."
Harry looked up at his godfather's insecure face and his heart swelled again with love for the man who cared so much for him that he would go to the trouble of doing such a thing. Throwing his arms around him, Harry rushed to assure him.
"I love it, Sirius. It's brilliant."
Harry released the greatly pleased man and took another look at the room that he could now truly call his. It was amazing how identical it was, right up to the exact photographs in the exact places. Then he got a bemused look on his face and turned to his godfather again.
"I like the different charms on the windows here though. The other windows just showed the weather and grass. I like this one with the Quidditch pitch."
Sirius' face took on a mischievous grin. "Oh, did I forget to tell you about that? These windows aren't charmed. That really is our backyard."
The look his godson gave him was priceless. He didn't even seem to take a breath as he turned in a blur and thundered back down the stairs. Running like a maniac, Harry dashed to what he hoped was the exit to the backyard from the entrance hall and threw the doors open. In the distance, he clearly saw what could only be an actual Quidditch pitch complete with a small scale stadium.
True, it was not even close to regulation size but it was a Quidditch pitch!
In his backyard!
"I bought you a Quidditch set too, so you could practice over the summer. You can invite your teammates here to use it too if you like."
Harry had jumped in surprise when he heard Sirius' voice behind him. That man could be really silent when he wanted to be. He turned to his godfather once more but he didn't move to hug him or give the profuse verbal thanks that had set the tone of the day so far. Harry looked at Sirius with a face so full of pure joy that the man thought he himself would start to cry from happiness. Choking up, Sirius cleared his throat and put an arm across the boy's shoulders.
"Um, alright. Let's go in for lunch. You haven't eaten a thing yet and you must be hungry by now."
"But, can't I go see the pitch first?" Harry asked, a little pleading, a little whining in his voice that made his godfather smile. Sirius reached down quickly and, before Harry knew it, he was caught up in a fireman's hold around the tall man's shoulders and was being hauled back into the house.
"Nope. Lunch first, Quidditch later. You need your strength if you want to go flying all afternoon."
Harry groaned but allowed himself to be carted like a child into their new home.
***********HP***********
"Harry, please stop that. You are giving me a headache!"
The chastised teen gave his godfather an apologetic look and put his fork back down on the table. For the past twenty one minutes Sirius had repeatedly asked him to stop fidgeting. First Harry had been bouncing his right leg up and down against the table. Then he had drummed the fingers on his left hand in an irritating staccato on the fine linen table cloth. Finally, he had picked up his previously unused fork and began to tap in repeated patterns on the plate that still held the vast majority of the lunch he had shown no interest in eating.
Sirius' nerves were officially on the edge. Putting his head in his hand he sighed heavily.
"Harry, you need to eat. Until you consume at least half of your lunch, you can forget about going outside. Now, be a good boy and do us both a favor."
Harry gave him a glare for the good boy reference and began to shovel the steak and kidney pie into his mouth at an indelicate pace.
"You don't need to eat like a barn animal either. Slow down or you are going to choke!"
Sirius' reward for that comment was an even more disgruntled glare. Refusing to be drawn into a row on such a happy day, Sirius threw down his napkin and took a deep breath.
"Alright, fine. I'll let it go this one time, but you are not going to make a habit of skipping meals to go out to the pitch."
Harry brightened immediately and started to get up from his chair before his godfather grabbed him by the arm and sat him back down.
"Wait! I have not excused you yet." Glare. "There are rules that you must agree to about the house and the pitch."
Indignant but unwilling to argue, Harry crossed his arms and waited for Sirius to continue. The man hesitated a moment, giving Harry a pointed look clearly telling him to check his attitude and the boy dropped both his arms and the glare. Seeing Harry comply, his godfather took a deep breath and began his explanation.
"Alright now. You need to know that Celestial Court has belonged to my family for several generations. The most recent owner was my Uncle Alphard. He left it to me in his will along with quite a bit of gold. My entire family was furious with him because I was nothing more than a blood traitor. He was kind to me towards the end, but he was still a Black through and through mostly and he enjoyed some unusual and dangerous hobbies. I think I told you enough about the Blacks that you have some idea what could be found around here."
Harry nodded, understanding immediately.
"So there are two rules you must follow. One, you are free to roam around at will inside the house. This is your home now and I want you to feel comfortable. There are quite a few rooms that you are free to enjoy yourself in and use to entertain your friends when they visit. But, there are some rooms on the upper floors that you may not enter under any circumstances. You will know these rooms by the blue glow around the door frames. You will avoid these at all times. Do you understand?"
Harry nodded casually, but Sirius was insistent.
"I need a verbal answer, please."
"Yes, sir."
"Okay. Now come with me."
Getting up from their chairs, Sirius led Harry back out into the entrance hall and opened a door to the back of the stairs. Putting his arm inside, he fumbled for a minute and pulled out an item that was distinctly a broom. Harry's eyes lit up immediately as he reached for it.
"My Firebolt!"
"Of course. What did you think happened to it."
The humor had returned to Sirius' voice as he watched his godson lovingly assess the condition of the broom he hadn't been able to use in quite some time. Opening the set of French doors behind them, Sirius led the boy out into the backyard and stopped him at the end of the gravel pathway.
"Do you see that grove of trees over to the far left of the pitch? The ones with the multicolored flowers."
Squinting slightly, Harry looked to where Sirius was pointing and found a large grouping of tall thin trees in rows. They looked almost like they were spinning around and they all sported large blossoms of rainbow hue.
"Yes, I see it."
"That is Arboria Malifica. You are never to go anywhere near it. It can be very dangerous to even stand in front of the entrance to the grove. If I had my way, it would all have been chopped down, but it is impenetrable. One of my ancestors had a very sick sense of humor. If I catch you within twenty feet of it, I promise that you will spend the rest of the summer too worried over the sad sorry state of your backside to even care about not being allowed to fly anymore. Do you understand?"
Harry blinked in surprise as the stern tone in Sirius' voice left no room to doubt his words.
"Yes, sir. I understand," Harry assured him quickly. Sirius' face relaxed and he gave his godson a quick hug.
"Okay, then. Go, have a good time. Stay within the wards and be back in time for tea."
Harry didn't need a second invitation. Straddling the Firebolt, he tore off into the sky, blissfully relishing the pure joy of flight.
After that, it had taken all of Sirius' patience to deal with a fly-happy teenager at mealtimes that day. Harry had flown back in time for tea, sweaty and windblown, and had asked, nay begged to be allowed to stay in the air. Reminding him that today was a special occasion, Sirius had indulgently handed him an egg mayonnaise sandwich and let him return to his broom.
Hours later, the boy finally returned, filthy dirty and exhausted but utterly content. Repulsed by his sad hygiene condition, his godfather had ordered him upstairs for a bath before dinner.
When Harry had come back down, he was clean but clearly exhausted and ready for bed despite the early hour. Too tired to even eat, he obediently picked at his pot roast, his eyes starting to droop. Sirius smirked and finally took pity on the boy and excused him from the table. Promising to be up in a minute to wish him good night, he watch the tired figure trudge upstairs.
When he reached Harry's room, the door was still ajar and Harry was just settling under the blankets. Sirius crossed over the thick carpet and sat down sideways on the bed. Affectionately, he brushed Harry's hair from his face and took his glasses for him, setting them down on the nightstand. It was obvious that Harry was fighting to keep his eyes open.
"Are you happy here?"
"Yes, very much, " Harry answered with genuine feeling. "I never thought I would have a real home period, let alone one like this. And it's not just the house."
Smiling ruefully, Sirius nodded.
"Neither did I. I'm glad, Harry. Having you with me makes me happier than I can ever tell you."
"Me too." Harry's eyes closed and he began to drift off.
Sirius leaned over and kissed the top of the boy's head, his hair still slightly damp from his earlier bath.
"Welcome home, little one. I love you."
"Mmmhmmm..."
Harry slept.
