AN: I am so so so so sorry! Due to the combination of me turning the legal drinking age and having a ten page essay due it took me awhile to find time to write. But now I'm back and will try to not go this long without updating again.
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Harry would be lying to say that he wasn't nervous. He walked quietly next to Draco as they followed Severus up to the manor's front door. He had gotten the letter from papa saying that Sirius Black would be there waiting for them and that they had some other surprise. Harry wondered what to expect from the man. He had once been his father's best friends but he also had just spent over a decade in Azkaban. He knew very well that Black had been innocent but he still could have changed after spending so much time in the harsh environment. He looked up at Severus who gave him a reassuring smile. He was glad he had finally calmed down after the incident in the Chamber of Secrets. At first the man had been absolutely livid that Harry would do something so stupid as to go into such a dangerous place alone and Harry had thought for a second that the man was going to murder him. After Harry explained that he had no intention of going into the Chamber when he found it and that it was Lockhart's fault that he had found himself down there the potions master seemed to focus his rage on the injured professor. McGonagall had to banish Severus to his private chambers until Lockhart was escorted off school property. Severus was still upset with Harry for going off on his own but at least he was talking to him. He figured Harry had learned his lesson well enough from seeing papa's reaction, and he did. Harry had never felt more guilty in his life when Lucius had broken down into tears at the thought of him dying. He made a promise to himself to try to never bother his family like that again.
"Young masters! Master Snape," Dobby called as he appeared in front of the door. Draco ran up to the little elf and hugged him.
"It's so good to see you Dobby. I'm glad you're finally back home," he said with a laugh. Dobby looked so happy he was on the verge of tears.
"Dobby is happy to be back to serve his wonderful masters," he said in a shaky voice.
"Where's Lucius and Black," Severus asked.
"They are in the back. They wanted to enjoy the nice weather while they waited," Dobby explained.
Draco dropped his schoolbag by the door and grabbed Harry by the arm.
"Come on! I'll race you," he challenged.
Harry momentarily forgot all his anxiety towards meeting his long lost godfather and now legal co-caretaker and chased after the blonde. Even though in the air Harry could always beat Draco, the other boy was far faster than he was when it came to running and he ended up waiting by the back door for Harry to catch up. They opened it to see Lucius sitting comfortably at the intricately designed outdoor steel table with matching chairs by the massive garden. He seemed to be alone but Harry noticed a large black dog stretched out on a bench right next to the rose bushes. When did they get a dog? Was that the surprise he mentioned in the letter?
"Harry! Draco," Lucius called when he noticed the boys looking at him. They both took off and jumped into Lucius' awaiting arms.
"I missed you guys so much! Even though I just visited you," Lucius confessed.
"We missed you too dad. What's with the dog," Draco asked.
The canine in question had jumped off the bench it had been resting on and was walking over to them. Harry was startled as it shifted into a grown man with a nervous smile on his face. He was dressed in a plain, long black robe and he had medium length curly hair. He was very skinny but had broad shoulders. His skin was pale but it didn't look unhealthy. Harry couldn't help but feel that a short while ago this man probably looked very sickly.
"Hello Harry. I'm sorry we couldn't meet sooner but I'm your godfather Sirius Black," the man said holding out his hand. Harry took it and shook.
"Hello. I guess you already know my name. Um- so how are you doing now that you're free? It must feel really good," Harry commented lamely not really sure what to say. Sirius let out a heartwarming laugh.
"Hell yeah it does! You wouldn't believe how much of a relief it is to be away from that place. It's like waking up from a never-ending nightmare," he explained with a bright smile on his face. Harry smiled back at him. He had been worried that the man would have been distant and cold after all his years in Azkaban but he seemed to have recovered quickly.
"Mind if I take a closer look at you?"
Harry nodded that it was okay and the man knelt down in front of him and looked him over. Harry just stared back.
"You know, when I first saw you coming out of that house, I thought I was looking at a distant memory of your father. You look exactly like him but from this distance I can see you have your mother's eyes," he commented in awe. Harry felt a swell in his chest at being compared to his parents. Even if he had no memories of them, he still missed them.
"Do you think, I mean if you have time, you could tell me about my father? Severus has already told me a lot about my mom but he says he doesn't know much about him," Harry asked. Sirius' smile grew even wider.
"Of course! I have so many stories about your old man and us marauders," he said happily.
"Marauders," Draco asked.
"Yes. James, Sirius, Remus, and Peter made up that group. They were the equivalent of the Weasley twins except they spent their first few years at Hogwarts as nothing but glorified bullies," Severus explained. Harry hadn't noticed that he had caught up to them. He was standing just outside of the back door. Harry had heard that Severus was bullied in school which was the main reason why he seemed to hate Gryffindors but it hadn't occurred to him that it was his own father and godfather that did it. He looked back over at the man in question who was now standing back up. Sirius' face grew apologetic.
"We did apologize for that didn't we? I know it doesn't take back the things we did but I was hoping that we could move past it all," he said in an almost pleading tone. Severus was quiet for a moment then nodded.
"Yes, I believe that is the mature thing to do. Besides, it's pointless to dwell on the past. I'm glad you're finally out and I'm sorry it had to take so long."
Sirius smiled again and accepted the apology saying that it didn't matter anymore now that it was all over.
"So dad, what's this surprise I heard about," Draco asked.
"Yes, I'm curious about that as well," Severus added.
"Ah," Lucius said clapping his hands together. "I almost forgot. You see, I was talking to Sirius after the trial ended and I realized that he really didn't have anywhere to go, so instead of having him rent a hotel room I offered him a place to stay here!"
Harry couldn't help but feel excited about spending more time with his godfather. He was looking forward to getting to know the man. He looked over at the shocked face on Severus. For a split moment it looked like he was worried but Harry couldn't really tell.
"Jeez, how many more people are you going to have live with us," Draco joked. Lucius chuckled a little.
"So, I'm sure dinner will be ready soon. How about we all move inside," he suggested.
XxxxHeeheexxxX
"So Harry, is it a relief now that you're not the only Gryffindor in the house anymore," Sirius asked trying to start a little conversation. Harry looked up at him.
"Well I'm not a Gryffindor anymore," he corrected. Sirius furrowed his eyebrows in confusion.
"What do you mean? Even though it's the summer holidays you're still a Gryffindor," he stated.
"No I mean I was in Gryffindor for my first year but then I was resorted into Slytherin."
Sirius stared at the boy in shock. How could James' son not be in Gryffindor? That made no sense. And why was he resorted after only one year?
"You see Sirius, it turned out that Dumbledore forced the hat to put Harry into Gryffindor so when we found out, the Board of Governors decided to cover it up by resorting Harry's entire year saying that the sorting hat had been jinxed," Lucius explained.
"I heard about that," Sirius recalled. "But I would never have thought that Harry would be in Slytherin. I don't think any member of the Potter family has been sorted anywhere other than Gryffindor."
Out of the corner of his eye, Sirius saw Harry look down with a somewhat sad expression. Shit. He didn't want to do anything to push his godson away after he had just met him again.
"I'm not saying it's a bad thing," he quickly added. "It's just surprising."
He relaxed when Harry seemed to recover from his previous insensitive statement. Sirius internally scolded himself. He knew he had a habit of just blurting out what he was thinking before considering other's feelings. He would have to watch himself so he didn't hurt Harry.
"So we should be asking you how you feel about being the only Gryffindor in this house," Lucius said trying to change the subject. Sirius looked around at the others at the table who were eating while silently listening to the conversation.
"Like I'm horribly outnumbered," he grumbled. Both Harry and Draco giggled. Sirius took this as a sign that he hadn't upset Harry too much.
"Oh," Harry said as if he just realized something. "You're awake."
Sirius was about to ask the boy what he was talking about when a snake poked its head out from under this sweater. Seeing the creature wrapped around his godsons neck, Sirius shot up out of his chair causing it to clatter onto the floor. Harry raised his hands desperately in the 'calm down' motion. Lucius and Draco began to laugh while Snape covered his mouth but Sirius knew he was snickering at him.
"It's okay. She's my friend," Harry explained hurriedly. Sirius took a few seconds to calm down before retrieving his chair from the floor and sitting back down. He definitely didn't expect Harry to have a snake familiar but he supposed it was appropriate for a Slytherin.
"I'm assuming it's not poisonous," he said wanting to make sure.
"Oh no. She's an Aesculapian snake and she was born on Hogwarts property so she's kinda the opposite of poisonous," Harry explained. Sirius just gave him a blank look.
"Harry, they don't cover Aesculapian snakes in Hogwarts and you're talking to a guy who's never voluntarily walked into a library," Severus commented. Sirius growled t him. Harry gave a small snicker before continuing.
"Because she was born on magical grounds she absorbed the schools magic as a baby so she became a magical creature. Aesculapians have special healing abilities and live a long time but since she's still young her venom only works as an anti-venom against other snake bites."
The last statement triggered Sirius' memory. He remembered Lucius rambling about Harry being bitten by the basilisk in the Chamber of Secrets but someone saved him.
"Wait, so this is Euryale?"
The snake looked over at him as if it recognized its name, which it probably did since it was a magical creature.
"Yeah, I believe I mentioned her before," Lucius recalled.
"Yeah but you skipped out on the her being a snake part. She's the one that saved you in the Chamber of Secrets," Sirius asked. Harry nodded.
"That's an amazing snake."
Harry looked over at her then back to him.
"She says thank you. Oh, and she wants food."
Sirius was confused again. Did the snake have a telepathic power too?
"Oh I guess I never mentioned the other little detail about Harry," Lucius realized. He looked over at Harry. "Well, I guess you can tell him. It is your news to share after all."
Harry shifted a little in his seat.
"Well, Mr. Black," he started.
"Please call me Sirius. It's just sad if my own godson feels he has to use my last name," Sirius corrected.
"Oh, well Sirius," Harry started again. "I'm a parceltongue. I guess that's one of the reasons why I was placed in Slytherin house."
Sirius sat there and stared at the boy for a little bit. Parceltongue? Now that was really strange. Why would a member of the famous Potter family, who are rumored to be descendants of Godric Gryffindor himself, have a trait that Salazar Slytherin had? Things like that were usually passed down through family but James had never said anything about it, and it seemed like something his late best friend would have mentioned. He knew Harry couldn't have gotten it from Lilly since both of her parents were muggles and she was the start of her family's magical line, but then again, maybe she wasn't. It could have been possible that one of her parents was actually a squib or maybe a grandparent and therefore the gene had remained dormant. It was an interesting theory. He would have to look into it. Or more likely have someone else do it for him since he was useless when it came to research of any kind.
"Sirius?"
Sirius snapped out of his thoughts and looked around at everyone. They seemed to be waiting for some kind of reaction from him. Harry was looking worried.
"I'm sorry," Sirius apologized. "I was just thinking about how he could have gotten a trait like that. It's very rare."
"Yes I've heard that," Harry commented.
"I bet it must be cool. Have you ever thought about using Euryale for pranks? I bet you could scare the hell out of girls," Sirius laughed.
"Don't teach him things," Snape snapped. Sirius stuck out his tongue at the other man.
"I don't think she would appreciate it if I asked her to do stuff like that," Harry chuckled.
"I'm surprised Fred and George haven't already asked you about that," Draco commented with a giggle.
"Who said they didn't?"
XxxxHeeheexxxX
Lucius smiled to himself as he poured himself some tea. The day had gone very well. Harry seemed to really like Sirius and the two were getting along quite splendidly. He had been worried about what Sirius' reaction would be to Harry being in Slytherin but he seemed fine. He also didn't freak out when Harry told him he was a parceltongue. Lucius was glad Sirius had gotten over that animosity towards Slytherins that many Gryffindors seemed to have.
Lucius wasn't sure when the hatred between the houses had started but it seemed it was becoming a problem in recent years. The housing and point systems were created to inspire friendly competition between students but it seems to have become something that was used to define you as a person. People would judge one another based on what house they had been sorted into years after they had left the school. It almost made Lucius want to work to get rid of the whole system altogether but he knew it would never happen.
Lucius took another sip of his tea and leaned back into his chair. He had already said goodnight to both boys and was now trying to relax himself before bed. A knock on the door caught his attention and he called for whoever it was to just walk in. Severus came in wearing a black pajama robe over dark gray pajama pants. His hair was wet so Lucius figured he had just had a shower. He also had a serious expression on her face.
"It's too late to have that kind of face my friend," he teased. "Would you like a cup of tea?"
"Yes I'll take some. I actually wanted to discuss something with you," Severus accepted.
Lucius poured another cup and handed it to the younger man. He waited quietly while Severus inhaled the sent and sat down in a chair opposite of him. He had a feeling this was going to be a conversation about something personal because Severus was taking his time to gather his thoughts. If he was going to talk business he would have just dived right in. It was somewhat cute how uncomfortable he would get when he had to discuss his personal feelings.
"Lucius, I wanted to talk to you about Sirius and his living here," Severus started. Lucius nodded for him to continue. "Look, I know you've just got out of such a horrible marriage and I know you're going to want to find someone you can date and really fall in love with, which I fully support, but I think you should watch yourself around Sirius."
'Oh,' Lucius thought to himself. 'He must think something's going on between me and Sirius because I invited him to live with us.'
"Look, I know it seems kind of suspicious that I invited him here but I had very legitimate reasons why I did it. He has been locked up for years so I was worried about how he would act after being thrown into public so I figured if he lived here he could slowly venture out and get used to how things have changed. I also wanted Harry to be close to his godfather and it's a lot easier to have both of his legal guardians living together instead of them fighting over custody issues," he explained.
"No, I agree it was a smart decision and I figured nothing had happened yet, but I know how much of a flirt you are when you're away from other people, and I've heard a lot of how Sirius is from Lily," Severus said looking somewhat stern. Lucius suddenly felt like a young girl getting a 'stay away from bad boys' lecture from her father.
"I didn't know Sirius was gay," Lucius commented. "I mean he flirts a lot with me but I figured he was just teasing."
"He's bisexual, and I'm just concerned about you. I know that you're trying to hide it but I can see you're fragile when it comes to… matters of the heart. Sirius is a very good man but from what Lily used to tell me there is no denying that he's a bit of a player," Severus clarified. Lucius raised an eyebrow.
"You mean he cheats?"
"Well no. Not that."
"He plays the field? There's nothing wrong with that. It's actually healthy to date around until you find the type of person you want to have a relationship with," Lucius stated knowingly.
"Lucius he's never been in an actual relationship," Severus blurted. Lucius stared at him for a moment.
"What? What do you mean by that?"
"I've heard this from both Lily and James just after they were married. They said they were both concerned about him because he only ever has sex friends. He'll hang out with a man or woman to get to know them, they'll have sex for a few months, and then he'll get bored and move on to someone else. He doesn't do it on purpose but it seems he forgets to inform the other party of his intentions sometimes and they end up heartbroken," Severus explained with a concerned expression.
Lucius couldn't deny he felt a little disappointed but he was glad he found out now before he started to really feel something for the animagus or even worse, after having sex with him. Lucius always thought of sex as an extremely sacred thing, yes it was fun and it felt amazing, but the thought of doing it with someone he didn't really love or who didn't love him was painful.
"I see. Well thank you Severus. If he tries to start anything I'll simply tell him what I think of the situation and how I feel about 'sex friends'. I'm assuming he wouldn't lie to me about actually liking me to get me into bed."
Severus shook his head.
"No. For the most part he's pretty straight forward about that stuff. From what James tells me he hated it when people would get confused and get hurt when he stopped seeing them. He'll respect your response and he probably won't act awkward afterwards," he said thoughtfully.
Lucius nodded and gulped down the rest of his tea. He suddenly felt very tired. Severus finished his own tea and bid him goodnight before he left. Lucius shut the door after him and leaned against it. With a heavy sigh he walked back to his bed.
XxxxHeeheexxxX
Sirius happily ran through the grassy field that stretched over the Malfoy lands. He loved to exercise in his dog form. Not only was it more enjoyable but it still worked his regular form's muscles. This had been an amazing summer. He had spent almost the entire time with Harry and Draco as well. He had been ecstatic to celebrate the boy's birthday with him. He hadn't done that since he was born so in honor of that fact he bought him a new broom just like he had back then. It was the latest model of course. Sirius didn't often go for the expensive stuff but he made an exception when it came to brooms. He had wanted to go flying with them but he didn't feel strong enough yet. He had also spent a lot of time with Lucius.
The blonde had explained to him after Sirius started living at the manor that because of his status in wizarding society he had been forced to act a certain way in public but while at the manor he acted completely different. It explained his peculiar attitude changes and Sirius understood the pressure that pureblood children were put under by their parents to act a certain way. His own had tried the same with him, except it didn't work. Sirius promised Lucius that he would not to tell anyone how he really acted when no one was looking. He didn't want to do anything to hurt his new friend. Lucius had become very important to him over the last few months. He had given him his freedom back as well as a home and he had taken such good care of his godson when Sirius wasn't able to. He was eternally grateful to Lucius for all he had done and had made a promise to himself that he would one day pay him back.
Sirius slowed down his pace as he made his way back to the manor. In his dog form, he could smell breakfast being laid out. Most likely Severus was already there. He seemed to be a morning person like he was. Sirius hadn't expected to get used to living with his old bullying victim so quickly but after they managed to put everything behind them it all fell into place. Sirius didn't mind the other man but he still wasn't friendly. Not because he used to be a Slytherin, Sirius had forced himself to throw away all his previous beliefs about people who cane from that house after Harry turned out to be one of them, and it also didn't have anything to do with their past. It was just that Severus was way too serious and stand-offish. In other words, their personalities didn't match at all. But the one good thing was that they seemed to come to an understanding about how to work together to take care of Harry. They had discussed the situation the day after the three had returned from Hogwarts.
XxxxFlashbackxxxX
Sirius sat down at the small table in Severus' personal potions lab. The open window behind it provided much needed relief from the fumes of the potion his old classmate was working on. Sirius decided that this conversation would be a lot less confrontational if one of them was working on something else during it instead of them both sitting down and facing each other like it was a formal business meeting. Severus was working on some kind of healing potion that Madame Pomfrey had asked him to make for the hospital wing.
"So, I guess James and Lily decided we needed to work together to take care of Harry," Sirius started uncomfortably. He hated big conversations like these.
"Yes, that is what the will stated. That and they left everything to Harry who will get it all when he comes of age. The only thing he can access now is a small vault with enough money to get him through school plus a little extra. I have the key to it hidden in my things," Severus explained not looking up from his work.
"He's been using that to pay for his school things?"
"No, I figured it was my duty as his guardian to pay for that myself. That vault hasn't been touched."
"Well, I guess now it's our job. You've done an excellent job with Harry but now I want to do my part as well," Sirius explained.
"Yes, so how would you like to do this? Like a divorced couple? I'll be in charge of Harry during the school since I'm there with him and you'll be in charge during the summer? Or did you want to do a every other week thing and split the holidays," Severus suggested.
"First of all, don't ever refer to us as a couple again. No matter what kind," Sirius said with a shudder.
"Very well," Severus said in an annoyed tone.
"And second, I think the reason James and Lily wanted us to both be Harry's guardians is because they wanted us to work together. I think if we split up our time with Harry it would just be hard on him," Sirius said thoughtfully. As much as it had been a shock when he first found out, the more Sirius thought about it, the more he realized that he would be lost if he had to take care of Harry on his own. He needed someone's help and who would be better than the best friend of the boy's mother? Even if he didn't personally care for the man, for Harry, Sirius would fight to make this work. He owed the boy that, and much more.
Severus made a thoughtful humming sound as he began crushing up a powder with a mortar and pestle. Sirius was impressed that the man could still make potions while thinking about something so serious. He could barely make a decent potion using all of his concentration.
"I agree but I don't think we can just discuss everything in one sitting like this. I suggest we discuss things as they come up and during the school year I will send you regular letters of Harry's progress so you don't feel left out because I'm there with him and you're not."
"That sounds like a good plan but I think there are some things we can discuss now," Sirius agreed.
"Such as?"
"What time do you have Harry going to bed?"
"The same time Lucius sends Draco to bed. About nine o'clock. It's a good time for a boy his age and it would cause arguments if the two boys' bed times were different. Especially since they live together," Severus stated examining the powder in the mortar.
"That seems fair. You don't have him study over the summer holidays do you?"
"No he does that himself. He doesn't reread his schoolbooks but he reads extra spell books and other things like that. After spending all those years in the muggle world he likes to learn about magic," Severus explained adding the powder to the potion while mixing it.
"I guess if it's voluntary it's okay," Sirius mused.
"Is it really that big of a deal if he studies? He's a student. That's what he's supposed to do."
"Yeah, at Hogwarts, but this is his vacation. He's supposed to be relaxing," Sirius argued.
"He relaxes well enough. Is there anything else you want to talk about," Severus asked.
"Not now. I'll get back to you if I think of something," Sirius answered standing up to leave.
"Oh, and by the way, I'm very impressed on how mature you're being. I'm sure Harry will be much happier with the situation now that we've come to an understanding."
Sirius thanked Severus before leaving him to his work.
XxxxFlashbackEndxxxX
"Good morning Sirius," Lucius mumbled from his spot at the outdoor table. Sirius stopped and morphed back into a human so he could greet the politician. He seemed to be having tea and scones outside. There were some extra cups so Sirius sat down and helped himself. The table overlooked the massive garden that was now shining in the morning sun from the dew that had collected overnight. It seemed like a peaceful place to have breakfast.
"What's the matter? Did my angel wake up on the wrong side of his cloud," Sirius teased. Lucius' mouth twitched like it wanted to smile but he kept his face neutral. Sirius had taken to calling Lucius by the nickname when others weren't around. He didn't want Harry or even worse Draco to hear and get uncomfortable.
"I have a long day of meetings ahead of me. It's hard to be peppy when you know your about to have your ass kissed by over a dozen ministry officials looking for favors," Lucius sighed.
Sirius gave the stressed man a sympathetic pat on the shoulder. He wished he could do something for him. Unfortunately, he didn't know much about politics despite being the head of the Black family and therefore expected to take some kind of role in the Ministry. It seemed that all the heads of wealthy and historical families were expected to be politicians of some kind. Sirius watched as Lucius gave him a half hearted smile. He supposed he could at least try to get rid of the man's tension.
"If you want, after you get back I could kiss your ass in a way that you'll love," he whispered seductively. Lucius' face bloomed a very lovely shade of red.
"Um… thanks but I'm not interested in that sort of thing," he mumbled shyly.
"Really? Because your blush says otherwise," Sirius teased poking Lucius' cheek.
"No, I mean, I do go that way but… I just don't go for casual sex," Lucius stumbled over his words. Sirius' eyes widened and he retracted his hand.
"Oh, you're a romantic. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable," he apologized. Lucius shook his head.
"I don't mind a little harmless flirting but I just thought I should make that clear," he explained. Sirius nodded his understanding. It was okay if Lucius felt that way, Sirius was just going to have to come up with another way to help the man release tension. Perhaps drinking, he thought to himself.
"That's fine. I'm glad you didn't get too offended. I'd hate to have my little angel mad at me," Sirius joked trying to lighten the mood. Lucius looked over at him and gave him a small smile. Sirius felt his heart quicken a bit but figured it was because of the energy boost he was getting from the tea.
"How could I stay mad at my little puppy," Lucius teased back. Sirius gave a light hearted laugh and took a big bite of a scone.
"Anyways, I'm glad you're getting along so well with Harry. You guys have been spending a lot of time together," Lucius commented.
"Yeah," Sirius agreed. "We have a lot to catch up on."
"Well, enjoy this while it lasts. Before you know it they'll all be back at Hogwarts."
Sirius couldn't help but give a canine-like whine at Lucius' sad tone. The other man chuckled at the reaction.
"I'm sorry. I guess I'm being a bit of a downer this morning. You don't have to mind me."
"Do you get lonely when they're gone," Sirius asked even though the answer was plain to see. Lucius nodded at him.
"Their first was almost unbearable but half of that was because the manor was under the control of a malevolent demon. Your cousin," Lucius explained when he saw Sirius' confused look. "And last year was also hard. It kinda felt like I was getting left behind but at least I could distract myself with your case."
"I guess I don't even have to be physically present to be distracting," Sirius grinned. Lucius laughed and shook his head.
"Listen I'm actually really glad you're going to be here from now on. It'll be nice to have a friend around instead of me drowning myself in work," Lucius said with a brilliant smile.
"Surely you have other friends. I'm sure people would be tripping over themselves for a chance to hang out with the great Lord Malfoy."
Lucius shook his head.
"All my life, I've been forced to act cold and distant towards others. My father was insistent about drilling it into my head how behaving like I wanted to was shameful and disgusting," Lucius explained. Although he was talking about something so sad, his face remained passive. Sirius wondered if he had put on his mask again. "So now I have major trust issues towards people. I have a hard time revealing who I really am. So it's hard for me to get along with others. Severus has been my only true friend."
"How do you plan on getting a lover if you can't even make friends," Sirius asked before he could stop himself. He regretted it the moment the last word left his mouth. Lucius suddenly looked like he was about to cry.
"I-I suppose you're right. It might be impossible for me," he said quietly.
"No it's not," Sirius said loudly startling Lucius. "You're an amazing man and anyone would be lucky to have you as a lover. You just need to work hard to get comfortable letting people see behind that stuffy, uptight mask of yours."
Lucius' eyes narrowed and he gave Sirius a sarcastic thanks.
"I mean it. I'll help you. I know plenty of places you can go to meet people. Some of them are really relaxed and low key. They're perfect for romantics like you."
"I'll bet you know a lot of places."
"I know a lot of men too."
"Are you a man whore?"
"I prefer the term lovable."
"I'm sure you do."
"I am lovable!"
To prove his point, Sirius transformed into his dog form and jumped down from the chair. He had done this several times when he had to apologize to Lily for making some tactless comment. He sat down in front of Lucius who looked down at him curiously. He lifted one of his front paws as if it were hurt to make himself look vulnerable and let out a soft whine. Lucius' eyes widened.
"Are you begging," he cried incredulously. Sirius bowed his head a little and looked up. "I'm not falling for it."
Sirius let out another whine. Lucius wasn't moving. He was going to have to go for his killer move. He walked a little closer to Lucius and placed his head in his lap and looked up at him with his saddest puppy eyes. This time, it was Lucius that made a whining sound.
"Okay I take it back you are adorable," he said with a manly squeal as he wrapped his arms around Sirius' canine body.
XxxxxxxxxxxxxxX
AN: How was that? Okay, so since there is no prisoner of Azkaban it is useless for me to cover third year and I will be skipping most of fourth year as well. (Obviously I will include the graveyard scene since it is pretty important.) Again I apologize for the lateness of this chapter. Until next time. Heehee. Bye!