15

Author's Note - Whoa. It's, uh, been a while, huh? /winces/ My most sincerest apologies my darlin's . I don't really have an acceptable reason nor excuse and… /shakes head/ I'm sorry. Really really sorry. I mean, it's disgraceful, it's been forever and I hope that I haven't been abandoned by once loyal readers cause… a lot of these new people I've been put on alert for don't review /sheepish grin/.

Look on the bright side. It's only been, err, about three months? That's certainly not the longest I've kept you all waiting. I think. Hehe. Umm…

Let's just… move on, okay? Pretend that was a bad nightmare…

So anyway!

You want to know what I think is funny? That even though Harry is like, four, people are already thinking about who he may or may not be paired with. I mean, so am I, but I'm the author. You guys are amusing /smiles/. As it is, I'm not sure who little Harry will be paired with eventually (I just know he's going to have a crush when he gets to Hogwarts /wink wink/), apparently there's a bit of debate whether or not this will be slash and I'm thinking about putting up a poll. For Remus, well, I already pretty much had that thought out, not that it will be anytime soon or particularly in-depth.

About this chapter… Okay! I confess! I'm a fraud! I know nothing about other countries! I'm a uncultured American swine who's only information comes from a quick google search. I didn't go on my high school spring break trip to Rome the year before last and all I know about the place is that they sell really cool postcards with pictures of fountains on them (did I ever say 'thank you Romey' for that?)! I'm sorry! So any inaccurate information in here… well, heh, my bad?

Chapter 15

Harry grinned widely at the city below him. From the balcony he could see the people walking pass and riding on the little motorized bikes Remus had pointed out when they arrived late last night to the Italian city. There was a pleasant hum in the air of talk and laughter and Harry could hardly wait to go out and see the sights. He'd never been anywhere besides his and Remus' home in England, Hogwarts which was in Scotland and Gran's house in France. While that was certainly more than he'd ever expected while living with the Dursley's this was Rome! It was entirely different from being home, visiting Madam Poppy and Mister Severus or staying with gran. This was just him and Remus in a foreign country with no other friends or family around them. Uncle Levi said that they were going to be two men, out in the world with only the clothes on their backs to defend them from the harsh elements! Of course he was exaggerating and had been promptly swatted by Maribell on the back of the head, but still. It was an exciting adventure and Harry couldn't wait to explore.

"Already up cub?"

Harry turned from his place on the balcony to look back into the room he and Remus were sharing. The man gazed blurry eyed at him from the bed. They were staying in one of uncle Levi's flats here and though there was plenty of space, when they'd gotten in last night Remy had been so tired he only had the energy to fix up one of the rooms so he and Harry had shared a bed.

Harry nodded happily and ran back into the room where he made a running jump for the bed so he could pounce on his sleepy father. He giggled wildly when Remus caught him easily and proceeded to tickle him. "Going to attack me were you?" Remus asked playfully, his voice still deep from sleep but his eyes alight with humor.

"N-no!" Harry laughed and after a few more moment of torment, was released from the wriggling fingers. "Wh-what are we- going to- do today?" Harry gasped out and Remus smiled and shrugged.

"I thought we could just get use to the neighborhood. We'll walk around, go in a couple of shops. I've been here to visit Levi before, I'm sure that there are a few you'll really like."

"That sounds like fun!" Harry exclaimed and Remus ruffled his hair in amusement. He still marveled at how open Harry had become since he'd taken the little boy in.

"That it does, but how about we get all washed and dressed first. I'm afraid you smell a bit like the airport, cub." Remus laughed when Harry pouted at his comment but without a word of protest the boy got obediently off the bed to go get his back pack which had his toiletries and a change of clothes. Remus watched him a bit sadly. Well, some things never changed.

(O)(O)(O)

Remus looked curiously around the flat as Harry took his bath. After making sure the little boy would be fine, he decided to see how much damage had been done since last he visited. You could never be sure with Levi. But the five bedroom penthouse apartment was just as nice and obnoxiously large as it was when he'd last been here when he was 15 and Levi 19 and going through his 'Roman phase'.

The furniture and walls were impeccable though mostly white with the large entry way and partially carpeted floors making it look very homey. The view from the front window had, much like the balcony, was lovely too with it looking right down on Piazza Venezia (1). Remus smiled slightly. At least his brother had good taste. He was sure Harry would like it here for however long they stayed, the plan was a month but one never knew. The culture that could be found here was something Maman never tired of and she wanted her grandson to know it. She was of course an upstanding Frenchwoman but sa Italie would always have her heart. It was where she'd met her first husband after all. She always said "Sa Italie, pas chez elle, mais son cœur." (2)

Remus paused in his examination of the apartment at that thought and sighed moving over towards the table by the door where he had spotted the phone when they'd first arrived last night. He should give Maman a call to let her know they arrived safely or risk the wrath of her descending upon him. Because he decided to sleep last night he was already several hours late and she was sure to be in a right state. Maybe she'd take pity if he told her how happy Harry was?

(O)(O)(O)

Harry couldn't help but gape at the sheer size of all the buildings around him. Besides Hogwarts they were by far the biggest structures he'd ever seen and they weren't built by magic. He ignored Remus' amused gaze as he dragged the man by the hand through the biggest winding streets he'd ever seen trying to get a look at everything. "Harry, slow down, cub. We'll be here for a while, you'll get a chance to see everything."

"But Papa! We have to see everything!" Harry insisted and with a chuckle Remus tugged the little boy to a halt and kneeled down in front of him.

"How about this, we go find somewhere appropriate to have breakfast and then I'll take you to a museum nearby that Levi mentioned?" Remus grinned when Harry's eyes widened at the prospect.

"Really Papa? I've never been to a museum before."

"Of course," Remus chucked as he stood. "Now lets go find somewhere to eat, I'm starving and you haven't eaten since yesterday and that was airport chain restaurant food, something I'm sure your Gran would be horrified to hear if she ever found out." Harry giggled and they started walking again at a much more leisurely pace with him following Remus this time.

"Can we maybe find a place where the menu is Italian?" Harry asked almost shyly. "Gran says I can work on my reading while I'm here and it'll be easier because people are always speaking it around me. I only know how to say a few things from her and I can hardly read Italian at all."

"Don't worry," Remus smiled at his sons determination to learn, Severus would be proud. "I doubt finding something written in Italian will be hard." The little raven haired child blushed at that but smield sweetly nonetheless as they wandered the somewhat crowded streets. While feeling a bit nervous with so many people around Harry was definitely better than he would have been had Remus taken him on this trip a year ago. The childe was still at times painfully shy and insecure but he was beyond comfortable with Remus and had faith that the man would keep him safe regardless of what environment they were in.

It didn't take long for them to find what Remus deemed a suitable place and Harry promptly agreed when he didn't spot a single English word in sight. The café they'd came upon was simple in looks and called 'Paola' which Remus found instantly endearing as he took it to mean that it was named after someone. When they entered it was to find it about half full with young people or people like themselves, an adult with a child or children, and a very colorful menu on a board up on the wall behind the counter.

Remus and Harry sat at a table towards the more quite side of the room and only had to wait a moment or so before a cheerful girl swept over and started speaking rapidly in Italian. Harry blinked but listened intently at the fluent exchange the girl and Remus had. She seemed amused for a moment before she turned to look at him.

"Ciao," she said happily. "Tuo padre dice che sono imparando l'italiano?" she continued in a slower manner than she had with Remus and Harry quickly brought forth the few words and phrases he knew and easily matched it to what she'd said as her sentence had been simple enough.

"Sì, signora," he said carefully and with a nod. "Ma io non sono molto brava."

The girl grinned widely at him. "Nonsenso," she said with a firm shake of her head. "Nonscence," she repeated in lightly accented English to which Harry looked at her in surprise. "You're accent is wonderful, piccolo." She winked conspiratorially at him before she turned to Remus and they started up once again. Harry stayed silent watching them though inside he was beaming. Gran had said his accent was good to but she was Gran so she was biased. It made him very happy that he could draw such a compliment from a real Italian woman and settled back happily to see what things he recognized on the menu as the girl wrote down whatever it was Remus had ordered from them. She left and came back only a few minutes later carrying a tray balanced expertly in her hands. With a smile she placed a croissants and a dish of fresh diced fruit on the table along with a glass or orange juice in front of Harry and what the boy assumed was coffee in front of Remus.

"Grazie," both Harry and Remus thanked her and with a wide smile she moved to help some others who had just come in. Harry guessed that because of the cool weather outside that many people wanted to eat inside the pleasant warmth rather than at the pretty tables outside.

Remus watched curiously as Harry examined his breakfast but the boy voiced no complaints about the unusual morning meal for him and bit into on of the croissants, a bright smile crossing his face as he tasted it and continued to eat heartily. Remus smiled behind his mug of his exceptionally strong cappuccino that if Maman wasn't his, well, maman, he didn't think he would be able to drink, glad that his son was embracing these small differences and hoped he would continue to do so.

(O)(O)(O)

The day passed in a more pleasant way than Remus had expected. Much to his chagrin he realized the museum that Leverett had recommended was the National Museum of Venezia Palace, a wonderful place he remembered from his own teenage years when visiting with maman but not somewhere he really thought would be interesting for Harry. But, as he should have known, Harry was interested in everything and was excited at the prospect of going to his first ever museum and was even more so when he learned it was famous so they'd went and had a most spectacular time if Remus did say so himself. He spent most of it letting Harry drag him around to whatever he was curious about and the child didn't disappoint by coming across some very interesting things to which Remus read the descriptions and histories out loud and in English.

Harry listened intently to everything Remus said carefully read along with Remus memorizing the Italian words so that he could become familiar with how they sounded and were spelled. The left in the late afternoon and lunch was purchased from a curious truck that was parked on the side of the street. Remus told the bemused boy that they were what were typically called street vendors and they made whatever it was they served right there on the spot. Harry never seen something like that even though Remus said it was common enough in most places but he went with it with nothing more than a shrug and ate the hotdog Remus purchased for him happily. Remus also purchased him something called a Gelato which he said would be for after dinner.

As the walked back to uncle Leverett's house Harry couldn't stop smiling. This was the most amazing day he'd ever had and he'd had a lot of amazing days between playing with Remus, studying with Maribell, cooking with Gran, going to work with Levi and going shopping with Lianna. Not to mention all the times he'd been allowed to play with his friends, something the Dursley's would have never condoned. Today almost topped it all!

Remus glanced down at the smiling boy who clutched his hand and felt more warmth than usual spread through him. He was glad that Harry had had such a great day and he'd had fun too, just being with his son was enough to make him happy of course but he hadn't been back to Italy in so long it was just amazing to see the place again. Being able to be with Harry during the boy's first experience with the beautiful country just made it all the better.

"Papa?" Harry asked suddenly and Remus concentrated on the here and now. "Yes cub?" he answered pleasantly. "I'm sleepy," the boy admitted. "Can we go home for a bit?" "We're heading back now," Remus smiled. "You can take a nap and I'll finish unpacking and plan out something fun for us to do tomorrow." "Okay Papa!" Harry agreed and they continued on their way in silence until they reached the flat.

The walk was short and quite and once inside Remus helped Harry shed his outer clothes and made sure the boy was comfortable in the bed before leaving him to nap. Remus couldn't help but grin at the way Harry's eyes closed immediately upon his head touching the pillow. The poor childe must have been to excited or nervous to sleep much last night.

Remus shook off the sleepy feeling he himself was experiencing and eyed their bags distastefully. As the responsible adult he was he didn't have the luxury of taking naps anymore. Sometimes he really hated that.

He gathered Harry's things and proceeded back into the hall to have a look around. The place had five bedrooms, though one had been converted into an office (for what Remus didn't know, it wasn't like Levi did a lot of work when he was home, much less abroad),and it was up to him to find pick one for his son that he was sure Harry would like. The one across the hall was quickly deemed too small and the one next to that had an odd smell to it. Remus frowned at the scent that he couldn't place but shrugged it off- with Levi one could never know. That left the bedroom at the opposite end of the hall from Remus. Not ideal considering Harry's ever present weariness of being too far away from Remus but it had the same beautiful view of the streets outside as Remus' did and that would have to compensate.

Slowly due to slight fatigue Remus unpacked Harry's clothes, refolding them and putting them away neatly in the dresser. Like the rest of the flat, Remus had to admit that it was nicely decorated and had to wonder if Levi had been the one to decorate it. His brother, though the hotshot ministry ladder climber he was, was by no means as coordinated as he would like to think. Remus had slight suspicion that it wasn't until well into his teen years that Maman had even stopped laying out clothes for him and that was only because the woman refused to go back into the pigsty Leverett called a room. No, the place had probably came pre-decorated.

After Harry's clothes went the boys few personal items he brought with him which, of course, consisted of Maurice and what was left of the stationary set Poppy had given him what seemed like ages ago. Along with those were a few of the child's favorite books and small toys Remus had prompted him to bring so he wouldn't be board out of his mind when they were spending quite nights inside.

Satisfied that at the very least Harry would be able to find all his things easily enough Remus went back into his bedroom where the raven haired boy was still sleeping. Once again he began to unpack though much more quietly this time so as not to wake his son. His things went into their proper place quickly and with one last tempted glance at the sinfully comfortable bed he left the room. It was still early evening but he figured it would be a good idea to start on dinner.

He spent several mildly irritating minute looking through the cupboards and while pleased that Levi had taken the time out to have the place fully stocked for them, he hadn't bothered to get a very large verity of cooking utensil's. Not that Remus should have been surprised, the other man practically lived off take out when not living with Maman. He knew how to cook some, yes, but much like Maribell believed such work was better left to others (he hadn't used the word minions but Remus was sure that's what he meant).

After pulling out what he had to work with, Remus decided to prepare one of the few Italian dishes he knew; he may as well let Harry experience all of the culture. It took only a moment to decide on Boiled Fish, Pesce Lesso. It was easy enough and wouldn't take too long. He himself wasn't all that fond of fish but Maman had made enough times during his childhood that he was confident he could remake the recipe with having to reference any directions.

The next hour passed in relative silence, the only noise being made was of Remus preparing the main dish and then putting a preservation charm on the strained broth, he would use that maybe tomorrow to prepare a Lenten cabbage broth. By the time he was finished it was growing dark outside and he was able to hear the distinct noises of Harry moving around in the other room as he got himself up from his peaceful nap.

The boy appeared in the kitchen almost ten minutes later as Remus was setting out the table looking like he'd washed his face if his slightly damp, flushed cheeks was any indication. "It smells good, papa," the boy smiled in praise and Remus winked. "I bet you it taste even better," he whispered conspiratorially making Harry giggle.

That night as they sat down to dinner, though they were in a different place far away from what Harry had come to know as home, Harry felt very pleased, happy and content, to be able to be there with Remus.

It's short. Really, really, really painfully short. Like about a little more than 5 pages. I hate that. But, I sort of figured, you guys would prefer one short chapter over waiting the extra week or so it'll take me to write the next one. However, having got pass this horrifyingly terrible writers block, the next chapter might not be a whole week coming. So… yay? Um, in the mean time, if you like slash, my sorta new story No Day But Today is apparently pretty good. Hehe… yeah…

(1) I totally just looked up flats for sale in Rome and this was a lovely one I came by, you can see it here at:

h t t p : / / w w w . r i m o n t g o . c o m / f o r - s a l e / e u r o p e / i t a l y / 1 9 E 2 0 5 /

(2) Return of the google translator! It's supposed to say:

"Her Italy, not her home but her heart."

"You're dad says you are learning Italian?"

"Yes ma'am, but I'm not very good"

By the way, I made a little note to you all on my live journal (which is where you will be taken if you click the homepage link on my profile). It's for anyone who is concerned about the amount of OC this story has. It was a concern brought up a LONG while ago (obviously) by a reviewer that I wanted to address but didn't wan to make a terribly long authors note, so… yeah.

Love you all, hitori

Oh, and it passed without me knowing but this story's birthday was this month! My baby just turned two!