Disclaimer: I do not own or have any rights to Harry Potter.

I hope you enjoy this story that I got from katie13 (yes another one) that she said that she had never put up on this site.

Chapter 19

Sirius gave Harry his best, reassuring smile and said friendly, but firmly: "If I say that it is meal time, then you eat."

Harry frowned slightly and started to draw small patterns on the bed covers. "No," he mumbled, defiantly, looking surprised at his own daring.

Sirius frowned and tilted Harry's chin up with a finger. "Harry, you have no choice," he said, sternly.

Harry held his gaze for a few moments, then sighed and dropped his head. "Alright." He said in a small voice.

Sirius smiled and ruffled Harry's hair affectionately.
"Good." And with that, he picked Harry up again and carried the now unresisting child downstairs and into the kitchen.

He put Harry into his chair and sat down beside him. Anne and Jim were already sitting in their seats and smiling at Harry. They all had noodle casserole for lunch.

Sirius was just talking to his grandmother about their shop, when suddenly- splash- a noodle hit him on the head. Sirius whirled around and saw that Harry had thrown the noodle and was currently laughing at him.

Seeing that his godson was happy, Sirius had to hold back a smile, even though he really wanted to tell Harry off.

"Having fun, kiddo?" he asked, slightly sarcastically.

Harry grinned widely, though there seemed to be a flicker of nervousness in his eyes. "Yes!" He declared.

Anne saw that Sirius was about to become really angry and said was afraid that it might traumatize Harry even further. She put a soothing hand on his arm and said, "Sirius, you have to admit that it was funny."

Sirius frowned and pouted a little, looking very much like a five-year-old. "No, it was not!" he said, not caring if he sounded like a petulant child.

Harry had by now realized that he had done something wrong and had stopped laughing. "Padfoot!" he said in a small voice.

Sirius' head snapped up. "You remember!"

Harry shrunk back a little under Sirius' intense stare.
"Padfoot….." Harry was beginning to fear that he had really angered his godfather.

Sirius sighed when he saw Harry's dejected expression and spoke in a softer tone of voice.
"Harry, stop playing with your food." Sirius said sternly.

Harry pouted a little and threw another noodle at Sirius, but missed. The noodle landed next to Sirius' plate.

"No!" Harry said.

Sirius sighed as he looked at the noodle on the table. He hadn't thought that taking care of a small child would be this taxing.

"How about we make a deal, Harry?" Sirius asked.

Harry looked interested, though he obviously tried not to show it. "What kind of deal?" he wanted to know.

Sirius had to hold back a grin when he realized that he had practically already won. "You don't play with your food anymore, and I will tell you a story about your parents." He said.

Harry thought for a few minutes. On the one hand, playing with his food and annoying his godfather was fun, but on the other hand, Harry didn't want Sirius, the man he loved and trusted so much, to be angry with him and he desperately wanted to know more about his parents.

Yes, Harry decided, the advantages definitely outweighed the disadvantages. Harry grinned and stuck out his hand: "Deal."

Sirius shook Harry's hand formally and then turned back to his plate: "Good, and now we eat."

It was only then that he noticed that his grandparents were laughing so hard that they had tears of mirth streaming down their cheeks.

"Oh god, Sirius," Anne gasped out, "When are you going to learn?"

Sirius had to grin: "Soon." He declared.

Jim smiled and wiped the tears off his cheeks, "That's true," he smiled.

Sirius threw his grandfather a startled look.
"What are you two thinking and talking about?" They had always (playfully) told him that he was a hopeless case in these kinds of situations before.

Anne and Jim glanced at each other, nodded, and turned back to look at Sirius.

"Anne and I are leaving for Japan this summer." Jim declared, smiling at his wife.

Sirius was so startled that he dropped his knife onto his plate. "But- why?" he sputtered.

Anne smiled. "That's easy," she told her grandson, "Because you and Harry need to spend some time alone."

Sirius frowned. "That's true, but he needs others around who care about him, too!" Sirius didn't understand why his grandparents had to leave now, of all times!

Jim sighed and put down his fork. "We know that, Sirius-" he said, but Sirius interrupted.

"But then, why?" He was starting to feel very frustrated.

Anne smiled at the look on Sirius' face and put a soothing hand on his arm. "So that you will learn on your own, Sirius," she said, looking Sirius intently into the eyes. "That's very important."

Sirius dropped his gaze. He knew that Anne was right, of course, he couldn't always depend on them when it came to Harry. "You're right," he said softly.

Jim and Anne just smiled, and each of them gave both Sirius and Harry a hug.

Then, they left the room, silently, but there was nothing that needed to be said.

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