Disclaimer: I solemnly swear that Harry Potter belongs to the amazing JK Rowling and that I am most definitely up to no good.
Previous Chapter Summary: Sirius finally gets his trial and much to the astonishment of magical Britain, and the chagrin of the Death Eaters, is found not guilty of all charges. Harry finds a Unicorn in trouble in the Forbidden Forest and finds out that she is actually another of his familiars. His happiness diminishes somewhat when he learns that he won't be able to fully bond with Jaidynn until she is full grown but is heartened by the fact that he can visit her every weekend.
A/N: I would like to apologize profusely for the long delay in posting this new chapter. I have been having major computer problems since Christmas and it was hard for me to be able to get on long enough to type up what I had written down. I hope things go a bit more smoothly from here on out but I can't make any promises but please know that I have not abandoned this story.
"Harry, are you listening to me?" Hermione asked with a note of irritation in her voice. She had been talking for a solid 5 minutes before she realized that Harry hadn't uttered any kind of verbal response to tell her he was listening to a word she said. It wasn't the fact that he wasn't paying attention to her that upset her, rather the fact that she would have to repeat her theories on the merit of using Transfiguration in dueling all over again.
Harry looked up from the notebook he had been writing in and blinked owlishly at her for a moment before adopting a sheepish look. "Sorry Hermione, you're idea about magical parchment enchanted to read spells cast by a specific person's wand kind of set me on track to an idea for something I've been working on since the summer." He apologized, hoping his admission would activate her curious nature and divert her anger.
He and Hermione were currently ensconced in a back corner of the library pouring over defensive texts on dueling as well as charms and enchantments. They had been working on the report Perenelle had asked for regarding the dueling club they wanted to start next year during their free time. Hermione, having much more time on her hands than Harry, had accumulated a wealth of knowledge and notes on the subject but seemed to be having trouble on how best to organize everything according to each students year and the obvious differences in skill and abilities. They were supposed to be throwing out ideas for various points she was getting stuck on but Harry had gotten sidetracked somewhat.
Harry's hope won out and the look of annoyance transformed into one of curiosity as she slid over a seat so she was directly in front of him across the table. "Oh, and what are you working on?"
"Well over the summer when Nick and Nell were telling me about some of the laws of the magical world, Nick mentioned that it was against the law in Britain for underage witches and wizards to use magic when not at school. I thought that was kind of silly and asked how they were supposed to practice spells and such if they couldn't do magic and they simply said that the time was used for studying theory and the like instead."
Hermione nodded her head in understanding. "That's true. I asked Professor McGonagall what kind of homework they give out during the holidays and she said that the majority of it is essays since we can't work on the practical aspects while outside of Hogwarts."
"But that was my problem with it." Harry admitted. "It seems kind of idiotic to have us learn all these spells during the school year and then make us go months without being able to even practice them or try and learn any new spells for our next year."
"I see what you're saying Harry, but that law was put in place due mostly to Muggle-born witches and wizards getting caught doing magic around relatives and sometimes even out in public, thus inadvertently breaking the Statute of Secrecy." Hermione explained, she didn't like the law anymore than Harry did but she could understand why they had felt the need for it.
Harry waved a hand in front of his face impatiently. "I know that but nearly every country around the world deals with the same thing and only a handful of them actually have a law in place that bans underage witches and wizards from being able to do magic. Nell mentioned that the ones that do seem to be the countries that still have a dim view of Muggle-borns and Half-bloods so they simply don't see the need to work on a way around it. When I asked her what Muggle-borns had to do with it she explained that the Ministry can only detect magic used in the area of someone underage, not who actually cast the spell, so wizarding parents can let their children use magic if they want without the Ministry being any the wiser."
Hermione's mouth dropped open in astonishment. "But that's…" She practically shouted before remembering where they were and lowering her voice. "That's so unfair. The students whose parents don't mind breaking the law can practice magic all they want and have an advantage over those who can't use it during the summer and holidays."
"That's exactly what I said when she told me but she said that it's part of living in such a prejudice society and the Ministry just doesn't care enough to take the time to try and find a way to fix it."
After fuming silently for a minute or so, Hermione calmed down enough to remember what had started this conversation in the first place. "You said you were working on something?"
Harry beamed and nodded vigorously. "After that I started thinking about a kid in my old school bragging about a miniature keyboard his parents had bought him for his birthday so he could practice playing the piano until they felt he was ready for a real one. I asked Nick and Nell if anyone had ever thought about making a type of practice wand that those underage could use to practice spells but neither of them had ever heard of such a thing and even if it did exist, it would still go against the law for underage magic. Then I asked if they could come up with something like it but that would take the law into account." Harry stopped and paused for dramatic effect.
"Well, what did they say?" Hermione exclaimed and swatted Harry on the hand when he didn't continue immediately. If there was going to be a wand invented that she could use to practice spells over the holidays, she wanted to know about it.
"They said they couldn't." He said bluntly, rubbing the back of his stinging hand but continued before Hermione's face could fall further into disappointment. "But that they would help me in doing so."
Hermione looked deeply confused at hearing that. "They want you to invent this practice wand? But you hardly know anything about magic."
"According to Nell, that would actually work to my advantage since I also don't know the limitations of what magic is capable of, therefore I won't let anything hold me back. Nick disappeared into his workshop and emerged holding a blank journal which he handed to me and told me to carry around at all times so that I could jot down ideas whenever they came to me, not just ideas about the wand but anything and everything else that popped into my head." Harry tilted his head to the side in thought. "Now that I think back on it, it kind of seemed like they were challenging me."
"That makes sense." At Harry's nonplussed look, she explained. "Both of the Flamels are inventors of a sort, Professor Nick with his Alchemy and Professor Flamel with her spell-crafting, and they are used to thinking outside the box as it were. They are just trying to bring out your creativity and encourage you to look at things in different ways. My parents used to do the same with me but with puzzles and such. My dad still randomly asks me riddles to try and catch me off guard sometimes."
Harry decided that Hermione was probably right. "That does seem like something they might do."
"So what have you come up with for the wand?"
He looked down at his journal full of his nearly illegible handwriting and smiled. "I think I'm about ready to present my idea to Nell." Hermione bounced excitedly in her seat and looked at him expectantly so he decided that there was no harm in seeing what she thought about it first and started explaining from the beginning. "It was kind of slow going at first, I had the result of what I wanted but couldn't figure out how to go about reaching my goal. It took me some time to realize that instead of focusing on the wand as a whole, I should think about each problem individually.
"I started with the Statute of Secrecy, which I know goes hand in hand with underage magic but I thought it would be easier to figure that part out first than it would the other. I researched the laws, trying to find anything that would help and came up with a few things that didn't really work out. Then an idea came to me after overhearing an argument during one of our study sessions between Blaise and Dean about Dean's muggle watch. You remember?" He asked.
"Yes, Blaise thought it was a very nice watch until Dean told him that his mum had sent him a mechanical watch from the muggle world when his digital watch stopped working shortly after he came to Hogwarts, then Blaise started arguing with him on how wizard watches were superior even though at a glance he couldn't tell the difference."
"Exactly. The advantage of a wizard watch is the enchantments placed on it to keep it from breaking or falling off but take it into the muggle world and nobody would be able to tell that it was a wizard watch since it works and looks the same as a regular one right? So the wand could be made to look like an everyday muggle toy wand to anybody who looks at it and when a spell is cast, instead of a jet of light, the tip of the wand merely lights up green or red to let you know whether the spell was cast successfully."
"Oh Harry, that's brilliant." Hermione said and noticed his cheeks turning slightly pink at her praise.
"Thanks." He said and ran a hand through his messy hair. "The next bit was harder and I delved into everything the library had on wand lore. I learned that no matter what wood and core are used to make the wand, even if the core is a Troll whisker, each one is designed to help channel a witch or wizard's magic. So the traditional wand was obviously out of the question and I had hit a wall until you mentioned the enchanted parchment.
"What if the wand was made with standard wood and enchanted to recognize the spells incantation and wand movement, sort of like preprograming. That way, the magic isn't coming from the person but is contained in the wand and enchanted items don't set off the Trace charm. In addition to green for correctly cast spells and red for incorrect, maybe the tip could also glow purple if the incantation was right but the movement wrong and blue if the movement was right but the incantation wrong…." Harry trailed off as he began to ramble his thoughts out loud and noticed Hermione hurriedly packing up the table. "What are you doing"
"We need to go see Professor Flamel immediately. I want to see what she has to say about your idea." She said and pushed a large stack of books in his direction before walking off with her own. "Hurry up and put those away and we'll meet back at the library entrance."
As they made their way up to Nicolas and Perenelle's quarters, they were continuously stopped by their friends either individually or in pairs and Hermione, being as impatient as she was to continue on, invited them all to follow them if they wanted to know why they were in such a hurry to see the Flamels. The much expanded group of eight finally made it to the 4th floor and Hermione knocked impatiently on the door until Perenelle answered. She looked surprised to see them all standing there but quickly overcame it. "Hello everyone, what brings you here?"
"Harry has something he wants to tell you Professor and it's really important." Hermione rushed out. "May we come in?"
"Of course." Perenelle replied and held the door open for them. Once Nicolas had joined them and they were all seated with cups of tea, Perenelle asked. "Now, what did you want to speak about?"
"Well, the thing is," Harry said hesitantly and started fidgeting with his journal. "I think I might have come up with a workable theory on the practice wand we talked about over the summer."
Blaise opened his mouth to ask what the bloody hell he was on about but closed it quickly when Hermione threw him a fierce glare.
Perenelle set down her tea and looked at him in bewilderment. "Already? We weren't expecting you to figure it out that quickly." When she saw the uncertainty crop up in Harry's eyes she hurried to reassure him. "I'm not saying you haven't figured it out sweetheart, just that it was a rather difficult challenge and the fact that you might have figured out how to accomplish it already is amazing. Why don't you tell us what you have come up with?"
Harry began telling them an abridged version of the explanation he had given Hermione along with how he had gotten started working on the idea for the sake of the rest of the group who didn't know what was going on and became more and more confident as he saw the twin smiles begin to spread across the Flamel's faces the more he explained. When he was finally done, Perenelle clapped excitedly and looked just as thrilled as Hermione had, if not more so.
"That is very well done Harry." Nicolas said.
"Oh yes!" Perenelle beamed. "The idea is absolutely brilliant."
"Thanks." Harry said grinning from ear to ear.
"You really came up with a possible practice wand that underage witches and wizards can use Harry?" Tracey asked from where she sat on the love seat she shared with her two childhood friends.
"I think so. If Nick and Nell can get it to work that is."
"We won't know until we try." Perenelle said and got up to fetch her own journal and a quill.
"What do you mean?" Hermione asked.
Harry turned to his friend. "You said it yourself Hermione, I don't know a lot about magic. Sure we have learned some spells and theory these past months but nothing about spell creation or enchantments. The agreement was that I come up with the idea and Nick and Nell come up with how to implement it."
As they all nodded their understanding, Perenelle began writing furiously while speaking out loud at the same time. "So let's see. We'll need to figure out how the wand will store each spell as well as how to differentiate if it was cast correctly. Hmm, I don't think enchantments will do for the spells themselves." She turned to her husband. "Perhaps runes instead?"
Nicolas tented his fingers and sat back in his chair as his vast knowledge of Ancient Runes ran through his mind and after several moments of intense silence, the beginnings of a rune array that might do the trick began to formulate. "It will take some time but I believe I could make it work."
"What exactly would you be able to do with the runes?"
"Well once the runes have been etched onto the wand, each spell would have to be cast with it and the incantation along with the wand movement will be stored within. The rune array would need to be sealed afterward so that the person using it won't replace the information by mistake. It will be able to determine if the spell was cast correctly but as to causing the tip to light up, that would have to be done separately and preferably with a spell so as not to run the risk of hampering the runes effects."
"Excellent! I think I can handle that part but I'm not entirely sure I'll be able to do much more than allow it to glow green if the spell is cast correctly." Perenelle said and looked apologetically at Harry.
"That's all right. Even that little bit would be good enough for me." Harry said.
Perenelle merely nodded and jotted down a few more things before closing her journal and smiling at Harry. "Nick and I will start working on this immediately as well as order some wood for the wands. Once all the kinks are worked out we should be able to have a prototype ready in no time."
"Just one?" Hermione and Daphne asked simultaneously with much disappointment.
Both Flamels laughed as they looked around and saw that all of Harry's friends looked disappointed.
"Well, perhaps we could make a few and have certain individuals test them out as it would help us get better results." Nicolas said and looked to his wife with a devious smile. "Who do you think we should get to test the wands dear? Perhaps we could ask around and see if anyone is interested."
Perenelle smothered a laugh as she noticed that the 1st years looked ready to surge to their feet in protest. "Oh I don't know Nicolas. Maybe we could…"
"We'll do it!" Hermione interrupted enthusiastically and everyone shook their heads in agreement.
Nicolas looked at her in bewilderment. "You guys? Oh but you wouldn't want to do that would you? No no, we had better pick another group."
At hearing that, Hermione actually did leap to her feet to protest but Neville grabbed her arm and pulled her down so he could whisper in her ear. When he let go she looked at the Flamels accusingly. "You were just trying to wind us up."
"Guilty." Nicolas confessed. "Sorry about that Hermione, we couldn't help ourselves."
"So you'll let us do it?" Blaise asked before Hermione could.
"Of course we will. We will keep you updated on the progress but we would appreciate it if none of you told anyone else what we are working on. We don't know how long it will take and we don't want to be inundated with people wanting to volunteer to test the wands." Perenelle said.
"What does inundated mean?" Hannah asked.
"Overwhelmed." Hermione answered.
"Precisely." Perenelle said. "Now why don't you all run along and find something fun to do."
As they all filed out the door Susan piped up. "Oh, we could have another snowball fight!"
"What, so you guys can gang up on us again?" Neville asked.
Harry thought back to the morning, a little over a week ago, when he woke up to a very pleasant frozen lake scene reflected in their enchanted windows and discovered shortly after that the change was due to the now snow covered lawns of Hogwarts' grounds. The excitement of the several feet of snow dwindled quickly though, as they had to walk through the drafty corridors and journey across the icy grounds to get to the greenhouses. This did not however, keep himself and his friends from joining in an impromptu snowball fight started by Fred and George Weasley one day after classes had let out and Harry, Neville, and Blaise soon found themselves ganged up on by the larger group of girls and were utterly defeated in short order.
"Don't be such a sore loser Longbottom." Daphne said and threw her nose in the air. "Just because our strategy was better than yours."
"Some strategy." He muttered but since the girls now seemed bent on having a snowball fight they each made to separate into their respective groups so they could go to their dormitories and bundle up for the freezing cold outside. "This isn't going to end well!"
The other two males agreed with his parting words wholeheartedly but were given no choice as they were nudged and pushed by the girls to hurry up. This wasn't going to end well at all.
OoOoOoO
"Finally." Blaise said as he flopped down onto one of the seats in the compartment they had snagged for the train ride home. "I am so ready for the holidays."
"Tired of us already Blaise?" Tracey asked as she sat to his right and Daphne and Hermione to his left near the window. Harry, Neville, Susan, and Hannah were seated across from them and even though there were eight of them, there was plenty of room for all of them to sit comfortably as the compartment seemed to expand on its own to accommodate them all.
"Quite the contrary, you guys are the only thing that has made staying at Hogwarts bearable."
"We get to learn magic! How could you not like being at Hogwarts?" Hermione asked, scandalized.
Blaise looked at her with amusement dancing in his eyes. "Hermione, only you could enjoy all the homework they make us do. I like the classes well enough but just thinking about all of those essays makes my hand hurt."
"Speaking of homework, we really should get it over and done with so we don't have to worry about it while trying to enjoy Christmas." Their bushy haired friend suggested and frowned when all she got was groans in return.
"Let's just enjoy our freedom for a bit first Hermione." Harry said from where he sat directly across from her.
She crossed her arms and huffed. "Fine. What are everyone's plans for the holidays?"
"Well, my parents mentioned going on vacation in one of their letters but Dad couldn't get off work so we will probably spend the majority of it with the Bones' like we usually do." Hannah said and Susan nodded her head in agreement.
"My mum and I are going to Switzerland with her new boyfriend." Blaise said. He saw Daphne and Tracey's look of excitement and with a roll of his eyes cut in before they could even ask. "Yes, I will bring you back some chocolate." They both let out squeals of joy and hugged him so hard he couldn't catch his breath until they finally let go.
"Switzerland is famous for its chocolate." Hermione said wistfully. Her friends had found out early on that she was a closet chocolate addict, which she blamed on her dentist parents for not allowing her to eat sweets when she was younger.
Blaise had already decided to get the girl a large box of assorted chocolates for Christmas but knew that he wouldn't be able to send it to her to open in front of her parents. He had planned on giving her a smaller present for Christmas then surprising her with the box of chocolate on the way back to Hogwarts but now it would be too cruel to make her think she wasn't getting any. "How about I bring you all back some chocolate." He said and turned down all the offers to give him money to pay for it. He didn't really like his mum's new boyfriend, who went out of his way to try and impress her with all the money he threw around, so figured he would at least get something out of him and his willingness to part with his Galleons.
"Gran doesn't really like traveling so we will probably just stay home most of the time, though she did say that the Flamels invited us over on Boxing Day." Neville said once they had all calmed down.
"Really? What about Christmas or do you like to spend it with just the family?"" Harry asked.
Neville shifted uncomfortably before saying. "We have other plans for Christmas."
"What kind of plans?"
"Just plans. I don't really want to talk about it." He replied evasively.
"Oh come on Nev…" Harry tried but was cut off.
"I said I don't want to talk about it!" Neville said angrily and his face had gone completely red. There was silence in the compartment as everyone was startled at the sudden outburst from their quiet friend.
"All right then mate, I was just curious. You don't have to bite my head off." Harry said, somewhat angry himself at his friends outburst though he didn't know why.
"Well I said I didn't want to talk about it. You should have let it go." He argued.
Harry opened his mouth to say something else but Hannah spoke over him. "That's enough you two."
Neither boy responded but turned away from each other and sat in silence. It took a while but the others eventually started up an awkward conversation while the two friends attempted to ignore each other. An hour later, the silent treatment was still going strong when Cedric decided to pay a visit to their compartment and picked up on the tension right away.
"Hey guys, what's going on?" He asked and noticed all eyes turn to Neville and Harry.
"Harry and Neville had a little… tiff and now are refusing to speak to each other." Daphne explained when nobody else said anything.
"Oh, and what seems to be the problem?" He asked and held up a hand when Daphne made to answer. He gave her an apologetic smile and turned back to the boys. "Harry?"
Harry turned startled eyes to him as if just noticing him for the first time and realized that Cedric expected him to answer his question. He took a deep breath and told him what had happened. "We were talking about what we were all going to do over the holidays and when Neville said he had plans for Christmas I tried asking him what kind of plans but he refused to say so I asked again and then he yelled at me for it."
"Is that true Neville? Cedric asked and Neville, who was absentmindedly petting Sage and staring at the floor, merely nodded his head. Cedric sighed and came to sit in between Daphne and Hermione so he was facing both of them. "There really is no reason for you two to be fighting, especially around Christmas time."
"I just wanted to know what my friend was doing for Christmas." Harry said petulantly.
"I get that but it was obvious that Neville didn't want to discuss it and you should have respected his wishes. He may have a very good reason for not telling you that you're not aware of but I'm sure he will tell you when he is ready."
Harry still felt upset that Neville had actually yelled at him but knew that Cedric was right. He bit his lower lip, looked at his friend and saw the hazel blue eyes shift from the floor to him.
"I'm sorry I yelled at you!" Neville blurted out before Harry could apologize and went back to staring at the floor. "It's a family thing and I'm just not ready to talk about it yet."
Harry's shoulders sagged and the anger bled away to guilt for getting mad at his friend since it was obvious that the subject made Neville uncomfortable. "I'm sorry too mate, I shouldn't have pushed."
Neville turned to him and they gave each other uncertain smiles before looking around at their other friends, who looked relieved that the quarrel was over.
"Now that that's done with." Daphne said with a roll of her eyes and turned to Cedric. "What brings you here?"
"I just wanted to check up on you guys."
"Thanks Cedric, I think we'll be fine now." Harry said.
Cedric gave a nod and stood up. "Good, you two are friends and you are bound to have disagreements but remember that good friends are hard to come by and you shouldn't let something so silly come in between that. Now, if I don't see any of you before we reach the platform I hope you all have a Happy Christmas."
A chorus of Happy Christmas followed him out of the compartment and there was another bought of silence, this time due to embarrassment on the two friends part at the stupid argument and they weren't sure what they should talk about now.
Hermione decided to help them out. "So Harry, what are your plans for the holidays?"
"Well Nick and Nell are going to take me to St. Mungo's to visit Sirius the day after tomorrow and Sirius mentioned meeting another one of my parent's friends named Remus Lupin. Other than Neville and Mrs. Longbottom coming over on Boxing Day though, I don't think we have anything else planned." He answered.
"Oh, that will be nice. You finally get to meet your godfather. I still can't believe all that happened to him, the poor man." Hermione said.
"Yeah, I'm kind of nervous to meet him though."
Susan spoke up. "You shouldn't be Harry. From what you said about him from his letters he seems very excited just to be able write to you and I'm sure it will be the same when you meet him."
Harry sighed. "You're right, I just can't help it you know."
"Hey I have an idea." Tracey said into the comfortable silence that followed. "Why don't we try and all get together sometime during the holidays? Blaise, when do you get back from Switzerland?"
"I think the day after Boxing Day."
"That's good. Maybe we could see if our parents will let us meet up for New Years."
"That would be fun but whose house would we go to or were you thinking about meeting at like a restaurant or something?" Hermione asked.
Tracey thought about it for a second. "I think meeting at someone's house would be more fun. We could even make it a sleepover."
Hannah squealed in excitement. "I want to do a sleepover!"
At that point, the girls began talking all at once and making plans for New Years Eve while the boys sat quietly watching them, occasionally answering with a simple yes or no when asked a question as Neville had found out the hard way that that's all they really wanted when asking for their input. They were just getting into ideas on what food they should have when the compartment door opened to reveal the trolly witch.
Things began to settle down after they had eaten their lunch and Hermione finally got them to start working on their homework. It actually helped to pass the time because before they knew it, the train was slowing down as they reached the platform. Goodbyes and hugs were given all around when they finally debarked from the train and went their separate ways.
"Make sure to write me and let me know how the meeting with your godfather goes." Neville said as they made their way to their guardians.
"I will." Harry promised. "He seems pretty funny and outgoing so I'm sure it will be interesting."
"Hello you two. Did you have a nice trip?" Perenelle asked when they stopped in front of them.
"It was ok. The girls were busy making plans for us all to get together, possibly for New Years, and then Hermione forced us to work on our homework." Harry said.
The Flamels chuckled and Mrs. Longbottom's lips twitched.
"Well at least you won't have to worry about it over Christmas." Nicolas said.
"And a New Years party does sound like a good idea. Let me know what the girls say and I can get in touch with everyone's parents to see how they would like to go about it if they agree." Perenelle said.
"It is getting rather late and we should get going." Mrs. Longbottom broke in. "It was nice to see you all again. Do you have everything Neville?"
Neville made sure Sage was secure in his carrier before giving a nod as they made their way to the apparition point. "Bye Harry, I'll see you on Boxing Day."
"Bye Nev, Happy Christmas." Harry said as he took Nicolas and Perenelle's hands and Hedwig dug her claws into his shoulder slightly to get a better hold for the jostling ride and with a pop they were gone.
OoOoOoO
Harry walked slightly behind and to the right of Nicolas and Perenelle, gripping Gabriel's eagle feather tightly to try and calm himself as he followed them down the 6th floor corridor that led to Sirius' private room at St. Mungo's. He was very nervous about finally meeting his godfather, despite the many letters they had exchanged in the last month, and deciding that the feather wasn't helping he chose to take a stronger hold on his new photo album instead. Perenelle had let him purchase it with his own money while they were shopping in Diagon Alley for Christmas presents yesterday after she had mentioned that Sirius might enjoy looking through the many pictures he had taken during his first semester at Hogwarts and their Egypt trip. He had spent the entire rest of the day and far into the night picking out which pictures he thought would be best, even going as far as to label each one.
'What if he doesn't like me?' Flashed through his mind for what seemed like the hundredth time in that day alone. 'Are godparents even allowed to dislike their godchildren? What if Sirius dislikes me so much that he decides he doesn't want to be my godfather anymore?'
Similar thoughts continued to whirl around inside the raven haired boy, the inner turmoil causing him to unconsciously slow his pace, but before they could overwhelm him entirely Nicolas stopped in front of a door and wasted no time in knocking, then pushing it open when an excited greeting for them to enter was heard on the other side.
Harry had to be physically pushed from behind by Perenelle to get him through the door that Nicolas was now holding open for them but he planted his feet firmly on the ground when he was finally inside and stood his ground, refusing to move another inch, as he stared at the gaunt man sitting up in the pristine white hospital bed just 6 feet in front of him.
Harry couldn't have known that Sirius had actually filled out quite a bit in the last month or so while under the care of the Healers at St. Mungo's but he was still months away from being declared fully healthy, both physically and mentally. Why, just that morning, he had woken up to a nightmare of epic proportions, but instead of waking violently and finding no solace in the Dementors swarming around the halls of his prison cell, he was shaken awake by his old friend Remus Lupin, who immediately fed him a Calming Draught before sitting down beside him, waiting patiently for Sirius to wipe his tears and get over his embarrassment enough to talk about it.
The truth was, that Sirius had been doing much worse mentally when he first got there than anybody originally thought he would but that all ended when Remus stormed in two weeks after he was admitted, looking more haggard than Sirius had ever seen him from the recent full moon. Once the happy greetings and apologies were out of the way and the Healer informed the shabby looking man about Sirius' lack of progress in actually talking about his problems, Remus wasted no time in whacking him lightly on the back of the head.
"Ow!" Sirius yelped, causing Remus to roll his eyes at his friend's dramatics since they both knew he hadn't hit him hard enough to hurt. "What was that for?"
"Because you're being stubborn and refuse to cooperate with your Healers."
"They want me to talk about my feelings Moony. Feelings are for ninnies!" He said vehemently and glared at his old friend.
"Well that is one of the dumbest things I have ever heard you say, and that is saying something considering. Everybody has feelings Padfoot and you refusing to talk about yours is going to keep you from getting well enough to see your godson any time soon." Remus retorted, unconcerned by Sirius' attitude while the medi-witch checking his vitals backed away slightly, having experienced a few of Sirius' outbursts when he got too upset.
For a moment, it looked like Sirius was going to jump out of his hospital bed and attack but he simply sat there for a long moment, clutching his sheets in a death grip and struggling to overcome the emotions whirling around inside of him. They had been all over the place since things had settled down after the trial and only the Mind Healers had dared try to approach him to calm him down when he got into one of his moods.
Finally, he slumped down in his bed and sighed heavily. "I really do want to see Harry." He admitted and looked at his friend worriedly. "Will you help me Moony? I don't want him to see me like this."
Remus lay a hand on his shoulder and smiled. "Of course I will. The first step in overcoming a problem is admitting you have one and while you do have several, I think this one is enough to be getting on with for now. Though I'm not sure we can do anything about that ghastly face of yours in the long run."
"Says you!" Sirius replied in mock anger. "How about your appearance eh? You look like you've been sleeping outside in the street." He had meant it as a joke but he didn't miss the look of shame cross the werewolf's face before it was wiped away and Remus threw another friendly insult at him. Well, Sirius would just have to figure out how to help his old friend without embarrassing him and making it look like charity.
His progress took a leap as Remus came to visit him every day and sat with him as he talked to the Mind Healers about "feelings" and he was overjoyed when Healer Byrne informed him that if he kept up the steady progress, then he could have other visitors come the Christmas holidays.
So here he was, getting his first glimpse of his godson in a little over 10 years and he couldn't believe how much he looked just like a miniature James. He took in the raven hair, the spiffy glasses, and the emerald green eyes that were looking at him in uncertainty, then he noticed the death grip the boy had on what looked to be a photo album and Sirius let a large smile grace his features as he realized that Harry must be just as nervous as he was about this meeting and tried to make him feel more at ease.
Harry gave him a tentative smile in return before taking a cautious step forward. "Hello."
"Hiya Harry! It's good to finally see you in person." Sirius said and beamed as Harry took a few more steps toward him. "You know, you look so much like your dad when he was your age. Except your eyes, you've got your mum's eyes."
Harry's smile grew wider as he took the final steps to reach the bed. "I might have heard that once or twice." He said and jumped slightly when Sirius let out a barking laugh and the man opposite Harry chuckled, catching both of their attention.
"Oh right, Harry this scoundrel here is mine and your parents good friend Remus Lupin. Don't let his appearance fool you, he is really a big softy so feel free to prank him as often as you like. I know I certainly do."
Remus gave his old friend an exasperated look before smiling warmly and holding his hand out to the youngster. "It's very nice to meet you Harry."
"You too Mr. Lupin."
"None of that now. Sirius said that he told you about our little nicknames?" He inquired and Harry nodded. "Then you can call me Remus or Moony, whichever you prefer."
"Thanks Moony." Harry replied, deciding that he liked the soft spoken man already, and turned back to Sirius. "Pranks?"
"Don't tell me you don't do pranks." Sirius asked and looked absolutely horrified when Harry shook his head no. "No pranks? Moony, oh sweet Merlin whatever will we do?" He wailed and practically threw himself at his friend.
Remus pushed him away, grabbed the hands that were clawing at the front of his robes and pinned them lightly to the bed. "Don't be so dramatic Padfoot. This could actually be a good thing." He said and smirked in Harry's direction. "This way we can teach him everything we know from scratch."
"Ha! You're absolutely right." Sirius said and rubbed his now free hands together in anticipation while Nicolas and Perenelle exchanged slightly amused, slightly worried looks from where they stood quietly off to the side.
"Your going to teach me how to pull pranks?" Harry asked with a grin.
"Well of course we are! No godson of mine is going to go through life without pulling at least one prank… a month." Sirius declared and looked at Harry with glee. "First rule of being a prankster Harry, never take anything seriously unless absolutely necessary."
Remus coughed slightly, garnering their attention. "I believe the first rule is to always have an alibi."
"Oh rubbish, your rules are so boring Remus." Sirius chided. "No no, it's best if he went by my rules instead, he'll have more fun that way."
Harry looked back and forth between them with a bemused expression. "You each have your own set of rules?"
"Boy do we. We used to argue all the time over them, though James' rules and my rules were pretty similar in nature, Remus' rules are all about not getting caught and planning ahead." He rolled his eyes. "Super boring but I must admit that he was the one that kept us out of trouble more often than not. Always the level headed one he was… and still is."
"What about you." Harry asked.
"Me? Oh I was the wild one, always had to be the center of attention and play the biggest pranks. You're dad was similar when we were younger but as we got older he toned it down somewhat. He refused to admit it but we all know that it was so he could try and get the favorable attention of a certain green eyed girl." Sirius said and waggled his eyebrows playfully in the direction of his godson when he started to laugh. "Peter on the other hand…"
It was like someone had cast a spell on Sirius. One moment he was relaxing in his bed and the next he was sitting up, ramrod straight. His face had morphed into a mask of fury and his eyes had a mad gleam in them. "That filthy traitorous rat!" He yelled and let out what sounded like a deep growl from deep in his throat. "He…"
"Sirius!" Remus snapped with as much authority in his voice as he could muster to bring his friend back to reality.
They had learned early on that even mentioning Peter's name was like a trigger that would sometimes send the man into a rage. Luckily, this episode was much milder than his last, which had resulted in his bedside cabinet being tipped over, shattering the glasses and jug of water that had been sitting on it along with the lamp, a chair flying across the room, and a busted lip for the medi-wizard that had gotten too close. The Healers had ended up having to petrify him and force a Calming Draught down his throat before he came back to himself and started apologizing while also cursing himself for not being able to control himself.
Sirius blinked a few times as if coming out of some sort of trance and looked around him. Remus had a death grip on his shoulder, which for a werewolf was guaranteed to leave a bruise, and Nicolas and Perenelle had rushed forward with wands drawn and stepped protectively in front of Harry, who had backed away from the bed when he had started yelling. A medi-witch poked her head into the room to check on her patient after being alerted to his vitals spiking but Remus waved and shook his head to let her know that everything was all right so she backed out again quietly.
"Oh Merlin." He whispered, leaning forward so he could see his godson better. "I'm sorry Harry, I didn't mean to lash out like that. I can't help it sometimes and I don't always realize what I'm doing."
Harry stepped around Nicolas and Perenelle at seeing the sadness in Sirius' eyes and went back to the bed. "It's all right Sirius."
"It's really not but thank you Harry. I shouldn't have even said his name, I just got caught up in the moment I guess." Sirius said and noticed again the album that he was holding onto. "What's that you got there?"
"It's a photo album. Nell said that you might like to see the pictures that I took over the summer and at Hogwarts so I put them in this in case you did." Harry explained and set the album down on the bed.
"Of course I want to see them." Sirius said picking up the album and tilted it slightly so Remus could see it as well.
He opened it up and the first picture to show was of the Flamels and Harry standing in front of the cottage with the fairies and despite the label beneath letting them know that it was taken right before their trip to Egypt, Harry began telling them all about the picture and how it was the first one with his new camera.
He continued doing this as they flipped through the album and even if the two men had wanted to stop him they wouldn't have dared considering how excited Harry got each time they turned the page to reveal a new picture. It took almost an hour to get through the pictures of the summer and Harry showed no sign of slowing down, especially when he began telling them all about his new friends and classes at Hogwarts.
They had just gotten done looking at the pictures of Harry and his new familiar Jaidynn when they turned the page to reveal a group of students in the black and yellow colors of Hufflepuff on one side and Ravenclaw colors on the other. "This is all of the first years in Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw. I managed to get a picture of all the first years from each house, though Malfoy and his friends gave us a hard time about it until Professor Vector, their Head of House, managed to convince them to do it in the end." Harry explained.
Sirius chuckled at hearing that and turned the page again to show a group wearing Slytherin colors on the left and the red and gold of Gryffindor on the right. He was just about to move on when he caught a slight movement on the shoulder of a red-headed boy that was grinning into the camera. He looked closer and saw a mangy looking rat perched on the boy's shoulder and immediately recognized him.
A deep growl emerged from Sirius' throat as he fought to control his anger. "Pettigrew." He all but snarled.
"What?" Remus asked in surprise and pulled the album towards himself to get a better look. It didn't take him long to see what Sirius had seen and a deep anger swelled inside him as he recognized the rat as well. "I don't believe it."
"He's alive Remus. That filthy traitor has been alive this whole time." Sirius said.
Nicolas and Perenelle had come over at that point and Nick asked. "What are you two talking about?"
Remus could see Sirius trying to control his anger so grabbed the album and brought it around the bed so they could see it properly. "Something we never told anybody was that James, Sirius, and Peter learned how to become Animagi in our 5th year. James was a stag, Sirius a black dog, and Peter a rat. We saw him in that form so often we would recognize him anywhere and that rat sitting on the young red-headed boy's shoulder is definitely Peter."
"That's Scabbers." Harry said. "I overheard Ron saying that he had been in the family for years."
"Does Ron have a last name?" Remus asked.
"Weasley."
"The Weasleys huh?"
"This isn't going to be good for them when it gets out that they were harboring a murderer in their home for years and never realized it." Perenelle said with a look of worry.
"There is nothing we can do about that. We must let Madam Bones know as soon as possible so they can apprehend him." Nicolas said and turned to Sirius, who had managed to calm down somewhat. "So you are not registered with the Animagus Registry?"
Sirius shook his head. "We figured it would be better during the war if nobody knew that we were Animagi so didn't register and I haven't really had the chance since I got out."
"We will speak to Madam Bones about it. Even if they wanted to charge you, you have already spent more than enough time in prison to cover being an unregistered Animagus so perhaps they will just have you pay the fine instead." Nicolas said.
Sirius looked somewhat doubtful about that but they needed to let the Ministry know that Peter was alive so paying a small fine was worth it in the end. "Make sure Madam Bones is the only one you tell about him. I figure he went into hiding not just from the law but from the Death Eaters too since he was the last one to see Voldemort alive, so if they find out where he is they may try and capture him themselves before she can get to him."
"Padfoot is right." Remus said. "And that would be bad for the Weasleys as the Death Eaters wouldn't care who they hurt trying to get to him. They would probably consider it a bonus if they hurt or even killed any of them. "
"We will be careful." Nicolas promised.
Harry stood silently to the side as the adults spoke, not really knowing how to feel. He was angry at hearing that his parent's betrayer was still alive and had been hiding comfortably for years while his godfather suffered in prison but also pleased that the traitor would finally be captured and made to pay for his crimes.
Perenelle noticed Harry's silence and reached over to run a hand through his hair, causing him to look up at her. "Are you all right sweetheart?"
The others heard her question and all eyes turned to him as he thought about it. "I think so. It's a lot to handle so suddenly but at least he won't get away with it anymore."
"I hope they feed him to the Dementors." Sirius growled and Perenelle threw him a disapproving look. "What? He deserves it after everything he's done. I would do it myself if I thought Remus would let me escape from here."
"As much as I would like to help you, I think charging into the Weasley home to apprehend Peter would only result in people getting hurt as we both know that he would start firing curses the moment he saw us." Remus said.
Sirius folded his arms in a pout but knew his friend was right, Peter had already demonstrated his willingness to take lives if it meant his escape and Sirius didn't want to put any of the numerous Weasley children in danger.
Harry looked at Remus and voiced a question that had been nagging him since the discovery. "How come you aren't an Animagus Remus?"
The man looked surprised at the question before he began fidgeting uncomfortably. "Well…"
Sirius let out a barking laugh and grinned at him. "I told you you would have to tell him sooner or later Moony. Come on then, he isn't going to mind."
Remus looked at Nicolas and Perenelle and was taken aback by the encouraging smiles they gave him since he knew he had never told them and that his friends wouldn't have done so. It took him a second to remember their advanced age and that they probably figured it out based on his behavior from when he knew them from the war. He turned back to Harry and smiled slightly at the curiosity burning in the emerald green eyes. "Well you see Harry, I'm a werewolf so I don't actually have an Animagus form."
That was surprising to Harry. He hadn't read a lot about werewolves but what he had read made them sound ferocious and mean, the complete opposite of how Remus seemed to be. It was obvious that the man was uncomfortable telling him and it dawned on Harry that he was embarrassed and worried about his reaction. "So you turn into a wolf once a month?"
Remus nodded his head. "Yes, I can't control the transformation like Animagi can but werewolves aren't really a danger to other animals unless provoked so your dad, Sirius, and Peter studied to become Animagi once they figured out what I was so that they could keep me company every full moon."
Hearing that made Harry very proud of his father and godfather. He threw a grin at Sirius before turning back to Remus. "Well, Nick and Nell promised to help teach me how to become an Animagus but they are making me wait until after Christmas so I could get used to school and everything. Maybe once I learn, both Sirius and I could keep you company."
Remus wasn't sure why he had expected any less from the son of one of his best friends and he cleared his throat. "I would like that very much Harry."
"You know Remus, since I started at Hogwarts I have only been brewing simple potions with my students and the few clients that I kept. I have been looking for a more complex potion to brew and I think the Wolfesbane Potion would be just the thing I've been looking for, though I would need someone to use what I make so it doesn't go to waste. Would you be willing to help me out?" Nicolas asked as nonchalantly as he could. He knew how much the man disliked any thought of charity.
"I couldn't do that Nick, the ingredients for the potion are very expensive and I couldn't afford to buy it from you."
"Come now, I wouldn't allow you to buy it from me even if you did have the money. I think we could be considered friends and friends help each other out don't they?"
When Remus didn't answer right away Sirius intervened. "Oh come on Moony, it's a great offer and you know it. Besides, you convinced me to live at my parent's old place once I get out of here and I'll be damned if I'm going to live there by myself. I want to be sure that your not going to go on a rampage through my ancestral home one full moon, no matter how amusing it would be to watch it."
Remus knew full well that Sirius was trying to manipulate him and had already fallen for it once when Sirius asked him to take a look into the state of his home at Grimmauld Place. His first trip had resulted in him being attacked by the crazy house-elf that was supposed to be taking care of it and Sirius had to call the elf to him to command him not to harm any of his visitors in any way. The second trip revealed that Kreacher had not in fact kept the house up at all in the 6 years since Walburga Black had died and when he informed Sirius of the state the house was in his friend immediately offered him the job of clearing out the house for him since Remus was the only one he trusted not to steal his things.
Sirius was being much more forceful this time around but Remus realized that the offer really was too good to pass up. "Very well, I would appreciate it very much Nick. Thank you for the offer."
"You're welcome." Nicolas replied. "Now I think we should be going so we can inform Madam Bones of our discovery."
"Yes, the sooner we get that done the better. We will be sure to come and visit again on Christmas day." Perenelle said and stepped forward to give each man a brief hug.
"Excellent, I can't wait. Oh and tell Madam Bones to inform the Weasleys that I will reimburse them for the loss of their pet rat with any animal Ron Weasley chooses." Sirius said and grabbed Harry for a hug once Perenelle pulled away.
"I'll be sure to do that." Perenelle promised.
"Be ready for your presents on Christmas." Harry said as he let Sirius go and hugged Remus as well.
"You don't have to do that Harry." Remus said smiling.
"I know but I want to." The raven-haired boy replied and picked his album up.
"Well, expect presents of your own when you get here and have fun on your holiday."
Nicolas shook both men's hands and began to lead the way out of the room. Harry turned as they got to the door and waved goodbye to them, getting enthusiastic waves in return.
"Well, that went quite well don't you think?" Remus asked as he sat down in the chair next to the bed that was now permanently reserved for him.
"Yeah, he's a great kid." Sirius replied and lay his head down on his pillows. As wonderful as it was to see his godson again, the emotional upheaval that the visit had brought had worn him out and he was asleep within moments.
As Sirius' soft snores filled the room, Remus smiled and picked up the book he had been reading on and off while staying with his old friend. He was tired as well but was used to the symptoms that came before each full moon and hadn't wanted to miss the visit with Harry. There were still a few hours left to him before he would have to leave to get ready for his transformation that night and though it wouldn't help him today, he was looking forward to the Wolfsbane Potion in the future.