Disc-... you already know the drill. This is fanfiction. Hence the name of the website.

His Boy

Chapter Seven: Mummy and Daddy

"Padfoot, can we look at pichas' of my mummy and daddy?" Harry asked as they ate dinner in the kitchen of their new house. Remus had ordered out for some pizza so that they could have a regular guy's night in. Harry had even been given a cup of root beer for the occasion, though Sirius wasn't going to be letting him drink soda too often. It would rot his teeth and he did need to drink lots of milk, but for tonight he figured Harry had gotten a good bit of calcium from their macaroni and cheese lunch and the cheese from the pizza. Harry was delighted by the way the bubbles erupted in his mouth as he sipped from his new little plastic red cup from a twisting twirling blue straw.

"Sure we can. Moony, didn't you say you had an album somewhere?" Remus nodded, chewing his pizza and swallowing before he spoke, wanting to set a good example for the mini-Marauder.

"Yes, I do. It's right up in my bedroom. I really think we should get some of them out of the album though."

"Why?" Harry asked, concern lighting his little face, his straw in his mouth, but he had swallowed and stopped sucking up his soda. Why would Moony want to take some pictures out of the album? Did he want to throw them away?

"Because we should frame them and put them up on the walls of course, Harry." Remus reached out with a napkin and rubbed a bit of pizza sauce off of Harry's little nose. "That way we can look at them all the time. I bet you'd like to have some pictures of your parents in your bedroom, wouldn't you?"

"Oh! Yes." Harry nodded, a grin lighting up his little face. He would like that very much, to be able to look at his mummy and daddy whenever he wanted. Remembering earlier, he reached a hand into his pocket and pulled out the picture Padfoot had found of his mummy, him, and his daddy's legs. He held it up proudly. "I already has dis one too! My mummy is really bootiful, see?" He offered the picture out to Remus who took it before it could get any grease from the little boy's hand on it. He smiled, looking down at Lily laughing.

"Yes, she was very pretty."

"Bootiful." Harry stated firmly, correcting him. Remus and Sirius chuckled.

"Right. She was very very beautiful, Prongslet." Padfoot nodded in agreement and Harry seemed quite satisfied with this answer. As far as he was concerned, his mummy as the most wonderful, beautiful lady on the planet and no one was ever going to tell him otherwise, especially not his Padfoot or Moony. They understood. Harry looked between the two of them, very pleased.

"When can we look?" Sirius smiled. Harry was getting better as asking questions, something that he knew he should be doing, even if he wasn't quite up to the average of his age group. Harry didn't ask too many questions, though, from what Sirius had read in a parenting magazine in the St. Mungo's waiting room, four year olds typically asked around four hundred questions a day. Literally. Because they were so impossibly curious about the world around them. He hoped Harry would start to ask more and more.

"How about after dessert?" Remus suggested as he raised his wand to clear up their dinner plates. Sirius got up and dug into the freezer, pulling out a tub of ice cream. Harry licked his lips. He'd never gotten much in the way of ice cream before, but he'd had a taste or two in his time enough to know that he was looking forward to dessert.

"Here Harry, I bet you'll like this." Sirius grinned, getting out a big glass. He poured the remainder of Harry's root beer into it and then added a little more until it was about half full. Then he scooped in some ice cream. Harry watched with wide eyes as the white creamy deliciousness floated on top of his soda. Sirius grabbed a can of whipped cream and sprayed it on top of Harry's float before Remus added a cherry.

Harry clapped, he couldn't help it. In his four year old mind, Padfoot and Moony had just created the most perfect looking treat on the planet. Sirius pushed it towards him and popped Harry's straw into it. The little boy sat high on his knees in his chair, sucking down more root beer, the ice cream getting stuck. He's face contorted with confusion and frustration as he sucked harder. Sirius laughed and offered him a spoon.

"The ice cream won't go up your straw, Prongslet. But you can eat it this way too." Harry took the spoon and dug into his treat happily, munching away at the whipped cream first. He devoured it, saving the cherry for last. Remus and Sirius ate their own floats and watched in astonishment that such a small person could consume so much so quickly. And as Harry sat back, he didn't even look the least bit ill.

"That was yummy!" He beamed up at them, laughing, his face sticky with ice cream. Sirius scooped him up, snuggling him.

"I'm glad you liked it. Now let's get you cleaned up a bit while Moony goes and gets that album, alright?"

"Ok!" Harry laughed as Padfoot held him close to the kitchen sink so that he could help him wash his hands.

Once Harry was clean of sticky ice cream, he and Sirius went to sit on the couch in the living room with Remus who had a big leather bound album in his hands. Harry sat between the two men and Remus placed the album in his lap so he could get a good look at the pictures.

Harry pulled the album open eagerly and his jaw just about dropped. Here were his mummy and daddy! Over and over again, picture after picture! He squealed, pointing to the first one. His daddy had his arms around his mommy and was peeking around her shoulder from behind. They were both wearing long black robes and were standing in front of a stone wall. James Potter looked quite like somebody had clubbed him over the head, not able to believe his luck at having gotten his true love to finally say yes. But Harry didn't see that bit, all he saw was his mummy and daddy, smiling up at him happily and swaying back and forth. "Look! Padfoot look! It's Mummy and Daddy! It's dem!"

"Yes, Prongslet." Sirius laughed, feeling a bit of pain as he looked down at the pictures. He missed his friends dearly, but put an arm around the product of them… the precious little boy that was cuddling up to his side. Harry turned the page, completely immerse in the album like it was the most interesting bedtime story he had ever been able to get his little hands on.

They spent half an hour on the couch, just silently looking at the pictures before Harry got up his nerve, stopped biting his tongue and broke one of the Dursley's rules. He asked a question about his parents. "Can you tell me a story about dem?"

"A story?" Remus asked curiously, grinning at Sirius who grinned back. "I think we can tell you more than just one story. We have loads if you want."

"Really!" Harry couldn't believe his luck. Loads of stories about his parents? He would have been content with just one! He wriggled excitedly, turning his head to look up at Remus and then Sirius expectantly.

"Well, let's see…" Sirius began, prodding his mind. He decided to start with something simple, something Harry could truly appreciate. "Hmmm… Well… Once upon a time there was a beautiful woman with dark red hair and very green eyes."

"Mummy!" Harry laughed.

"Yep! And she was in love with a very handsome man with tons of black hair that stuck out all over the place, hazel eyes, and glasses."

"Daddy." Harry stated satisfactorily, happy to be able to use their names at last. He had never before been allowed to do that.

"And when they were nineteen years old, they decided they loved each other so very much that they wanted to get married. And so the woman wore a very beautiful white dress…" Remus flipped through the pages of the album until he got to James and Lily's wedding photos. Harry laughed. "And the man wore stunning long black robes. They were married on a sunny day in a little church in a sweet little village called Godric's Hollow. After the wedding, the moved into a very pretty cottage with a big garden in Godric's Hollow."

Sirius turned the page to the picture of James standing proudly on the doorstep of the little cottage that Lily had fallen in love with while she had her arms thrust out to the side, spread wide and high as through to saw 'This is it!" They watched the picture for a moment, watching as James pulled the keys out of his pocket and dangled them above Lily's head while she jumped for them, wanting to go in. Sirius chuckled and Harry seemed concerned for a moment until his daddy gave his mummy the keys and they went into the cottage. Remus turned the page again.

"And not long after that, they got the biggest, best news anyone could have gotten. They were going to have a baby." A very pregnant Lily smiled up from where she was leaned against a tree in the front yard, her arms wrapped lovingly around her stomach. Harry looked at her curiously. The other pictures of his mummy didn't have her with such a big tummy, but he also remembered that sometimes at his school, the other children would announce they were to be getting a new baby and that their mummy's had always been quite fat right before the baby would come and then after it came, they wouldn't be so fat anymore. Harry wondered if this had been the same case with his mummy, but he decided he'd ask later. He wanted to hear more of the story.

"The man and the lady were so very happy that they were going to have a baby and they just couldn't wait to meet him. Do you know who that baby was, Harry?" Sirius asked curiously, looking down at the little boy who smiled up at him, showing all his teeth.

"Me?"

"You betcha!" Remus laughed and turned the next page, continuing the story. "They had a little baby boy who they named Harry James Potter and they loved him sooooooo much."

Harry gasped as he gazed down at the next picture his eyes wide. His mummy and daddy were standing close together, his mummy holding a tiny black haired baby and both of them were looking down at the baby so… so… kindly. Like how Padfoot looked at him or Aunt Petunia looked at Dudley. Like they LOVED the baby.

"That's you, shortly after you were born." Sirius nodded, pointing to the baby in the picture. "And here you are, a bit bigger." He pointed to the next photo, of the baby sitting up in his mother's lap who was sitting in Harry's daddy's lap. In the following photos, the baby seemed to grow. He was in a high chair, on the couch sleeping on his daddy's chest, being chased by his mummy through the garden, and all three of them huddled up on a big bed with a large book in front of them that Harry instantly recognized as the dragon book he loved so much.

Harry was quiet for a few minutes, looking down at the pictures. He patted them and sniffled a bit, trying not to cry but not able to help it. He missed his mummy and daddy a lot. Sirius hugged him closer, stroking his hair back from his head as they turned the page again. And there was Padfoot! Harry's eyes grew big. And Moony! Moony was holding tight to Harry's hands, helping him stand, and Sirius was crouched down, beckoning him forward. Harry watched as his baby self, with the help of Moony, toddled across the floor to Padfoot who scooped him in and tickled him just like he had done earlier. Harry rubbed his nose dry and looked up at his godfather and Remus.

"And the man and woman had two friends named Padfoot and Moony who loved Harry very, very much and would always come to visit him." Sirius laughed, looking at a photo of Harry laughing his head off in his high chair, a bowl of smashed something or other on his head, dripping green down his face while Sirius himself, was laughing, looking as though he'd been hint a few times in the face by the same substance. Harry smiled at this and they continued turning pages until they got to the end of the album, a picture of Harry dressed as a very puffy and impossibly adorable little puffskein, his mother cuddling him like he was the most precious thing in the world while James tickled him. Sirius frowned and looked at Remus. The werewolf must had gone through the house and found Lily's camera after the attack, because the photo must have been taken the day James and Lily had died. Looking at his friend's face was all the confirmation Sirius needed.

Harry was frowning, not liking one bit that they had reached the end of the album. He had liked looking at the pictures of him with his mummy and daddy the best, and there were a lot of them, but not as many as there were of his mummy and daddy together. He sighed. "And den the mummy and daddy and baby got into a car crash and the mummy and daddy died and the baby had to go live with his mean aunt and uncle who didn't like him very much."

"What did you say Harry?" Sirius asked concernedly, looking down at the little boy. "A car crash?"

"Yeah…" Harry said, looking quite confused. His aunt had told him that his mummy and daddy had died in a car crash and then to not ask questions. "Dat's why they're not here."

Sirius sighed, looking at Remus who nodded. There was going to be no easy way to go about this but Harry had to know the truth. It would be bad for them to lie to him and then have him find out about it later when he went to Hogwarts. He would never trust them again. Making a mental note to pay back the Dursleys for lying and treating his godson so horribly, Sirius took a deep breath. "Harry, your parents didn't die in a car crash."

"But that's what Aunt Petunia said happened." Harry shook his head, turning the album back to the first page so he could look at more pictures of his mummy a daddy.

"She lied, Harry. That isn't what happened at all, not even close. Your mummy and daddy didn't need a car, because they could travel by magic, just like we did earlier in the fire place."

"But…." Harry pondered, so full of confusion now. "Den how did they die, if they wasn't in a car crash?"

"Well, Harry…" Sirius sighed, lifting him up into his lap. He would go for the simple version. Harry didn't need to know all of the more grisly facts yet, but he deserved the truth. "Not that long ago, a few years actually, the wizarding world, our world, was in the middle of a big war. There was a big bad mean man who didn't like people who weren't witches or wizards, what we call Muggles."

"Muggles?"

"Mhm. They don't have any magical powers like we do. The bad man was called Voldemort. He wanted all witches and wizards to treat Muggles badly, but we didn't want to. Even though Muggles are different, they're still people and they don't deserve to be treated badly. So, us good guys, decided to fight Voldemort and his followers. He didn't like that. Your mummy, daddy, and I were Aurors, that's kind of like um…"

"Police men." Remus added. He'd taken Muggle Studies back in school, so he had retained a bit more knowledge about Muggles than Sirius ever had.

"Ooooh." Harry nodded, understanding this comparison. "So, you and my mummy and my daddy caught bad guys?"

"That's right, Harry, very good! So, Voldemort didn't like us one bit and on Halloween, when you were just one year old, he went to your house…" Sirius gulped, bracing himself for the words that no four year old or any child for that matter, or any person, should ever have to hear. "He… he…"

"He made my mummy and daddy dead." Harry stated, having caught on to what must have happened. He was four, but he wasn't stupid. Angry, he slipped off of Sirius's lap and stomped his foot. "I hate Voldienert!"

"Voldemort. And yeah, we hate him too. But… after… after he did that." Sirius continued. "One of his curses backfired on him, and he was killed too."

"Good!" Harry nodded satisfactorily, glad that that mean old Voldiejerk had been killed. Especially since he had killed his mother and father. "So, den I hadda go live with the dumb Dursleys. Why didn't you come and get me sooner, Padfoot?"

Sirius sighed, leaning back against the couch as Harry climbed back up into his lap. "I would of if I could have Harry, but see, there was another bad man, named Peter. And he was a real rat. He was supposed to keep your mum and dad safe, but he told Voldemort where they were. Then he told everyone that I did it instead and I got put in jail."

"Like when Dudley breaks his toys and tells Uncle Vernon that I did it so I get in trouble?" Harry asked, frowning and not liking the sound of this Peter guy at all.

"Exactly like that, Harry." Sirius nodded, glad his godson had something to compare his arrest to. He didn't want him to think he was a bad man because he had been in sent to jail wrongly accused. "But a couple days ago, somebody captured Peter and made him tell the truth. So they let me out of jail, and then I came and got you as soon as I could."

"I'm happy you did." Harry stated after a few minutes of silence, burying his face against his godfather's chest. He snuggled against him happily. "But… Why didn't Moony come get me? Was he in jail, too?"

"No. Moony's not your godfather, so they wouldn't have let him take you away." Sirius explained simply. It was way too soon to let Harry in on the werewolf secret. Maybe when he was a bit older and only when they absolutely were required to do so. He would notice after a while, that Remus would look paler around the full moon and probably the howling in the night when he was to be locked in their back shed to wait out the night. He and Sirius were not looking forward to this in the least, but hopefully, if they reinforced the shed magically and maybe cast a muffling charm upon it, Harry would never have to be the wiser to his second favorite person's condition.

"Oh." Harry frowned at this, but seemed to accept it. He sat up after a minute, picking the photo album back up. "What pichas' are we gonna put on da walls?"

"Hmmm… why don't you pick out the ones you want to have in your room first? We can put some of them on the wall above your bed and maybe frame on for your table, how about that?"

"Ok!" Harry turned the pages brightly, wondering which pictures he should chose. Eventually he settled upon the one of his mummy and daddy in front of the stone wall, of him with them in his Halloween costume, his mummy chasing him in the garden, sleeping on the couch with his daddy, and of course the one he had kept in his pocket all day. He also picked the one of them reading him a bedtime story, only he wanted that one in the frame, liking it best. As he picked them, Remus removed them from the album carefully, peeling back the plastic and getting each picture unstuck from the sticky backing of the album pages.

Harry took his pictures and headed upstairs with them, Sirius and Remus following after him, the latter with a roll of Spellotape. Harry climbed up onto his bed and dropped his pictures onto it. He chose one and then placed it against the wall beside his bed. Remus took it, put tape on the back and then stuck it to the wall where Harry wanted it. They repeated the process with every picture except for the last one, for which Sirius produced a small red, heart shaped frame that Harry smiled at. He knew hearts meant love, and seeing his mummy, daddy, and him sitting inside a heart made him feel extra special and happy.

Harry yawned sleepily, rubbing at his right eye under his glasses. He looked over at his window, it was already dark out. It must be quite late for it to be dark out since it was summer time.

"I think it's time for bed, Harry." Sirius smiled, lifting the little boy up off of his bed and setting him on the floor. "Why don't you pick out a book to read tonight?" Harry nodded and wandered over to the bookcase in the corner, looking through them curiously. He finally decided on one with a picture of a big dog on the front and carried it over to Remus. He liked the way Moony read, giving the characters voices, though he did also enjoy when Padfoot read to him.

Padfoot helped Harry into his lion pajamas and the three of them settled down on the carpeted floor, Remus reading the book this time upon Harry's request. The little boy swayed drowsily where he sat, rubbing at his eyes, but not wanting to miss any of the story. "Harry, we can finish the book tomorrow, why don't you get into bed now?" Padfoot suggested when they were about halfway through the book and Harry nodded, climbing into his bed. He took of his glasses and set them down beside his framed photo and music box.

Padfoot pulled up his covers, tucking Harry in just the way the little boy liked, the man's black hair tickling his face. Moony wound up the music box and opened it, letting the light out and the music begin to play. He gave Harry a hug. "Good night, mate. I love you."

"Good nigh', Moony. I love you, too." Harry smiled sleepily at him and Remus left, turning the light off as he did so.

Padfoot bent down and kissed Harry's forehead as he always did when putting Harry down for a nap or to bed for the night. He smiled at the little boy. "Good night, Prongslet. I love you."

"I love you, Padfoot. Good nigh'." Harry snuggled down in his bed and watched as Padfoot got up and left the room. He looked up at his ceiling, smiling at the stars that were glowing there. Even Dudley didn't have glowing stars on his ceiling. He rolled over and looked at the pictures on the wall of his mummy and daddy and him, dim in the light from his music box, but still visible. He smiled and rolled onto his other side, looking at his framed picture and the dancing couple in the music box. He felt… satisfied. He knew a bit more about his parents, and if he asked again tomorrow, maybe Padfoot and Moony would tell him another story about them. "Good nigh' Mummy. Good nigh' Daddy. I love you, even if you is dead."

…..

Harry was running, his feet moving as fast as they could. He could see his mummy and daddy up ahead down the asphalt that marked the road of Privet Drive. They were yelling something, and he ran faster, trying to catch up to them, but he couldn't quite make it. The closer he got, the further away they went… "Wait! Wait! Mummy! Daddy! Come back! Wait!" He collapsed, his little body exhausted from all of the running. And suddenly, there was high pitched laughter, a flash of green light, and his mummy and daddy disappeared completely. He screamed.

Harry sat bolt upright in his new bed, his little chest heaving as though he'd just run a thousand bajillion miles. His heart was pounding. That dream had been so… so… scary! The light from his music box had gone out when the song had ended and the stars glowing on the ceiling had lost their glow for now. The room was too dark, but Harry was used to being in the dark. He wasn't as afraid of it as other kids were, having spent so much time in the dark little cupboard under the stairs that it was nearly impossible for him to be afraid of it. Only, here in this new place, after that scary dream, he was kind of scared of the dark. But he was more frightened from his dream.

Gulping and deciding that he did not want to be alone, Harry climbed out of his bed and wandered out into the hallway, toting his lion along with him. He slipped into the dark hallway and frowned, realizing he had not explored the house past his bedroom. Taking a deep breath, he went to the fourth door that he knew was neither bathroom nor playroom. He opened it slowly, peeking into the room. There was a big bed in the room, along with a dresser and some other things that he couldn't quite tell what they were at the moment.

Harry made his way for the bed, knowing that either his Padfoot or his Moony must be the big sleeping lump in it. He climbed up onto the bed and crawled under the covers, snuggling up to whichever man was sleeping in the bed. He took a deep breath, feeling safer now, and his nose was filled with the safe and familiar scent of his Padfoot. He snuggled closer, burying his face against the front of Padfoot's pajamas and hugging his lion close. He didn't want to wake Padfoot up, in case he got mad. He knew Uncle Vernon hated being woken up when he was trying to sleep.

Padfoot stirred, sensing that he was not alone and opened his eyes, looking down at the little boy who had come to curl up in his bed. "Harry? What's wrong? Why aren't you in your bed?"

"I… I… I hadda bad dream." Harry admitted after a minute, gulping and hoping that Padfoot wasn't mad. He didn't sound mad….

"Oh. What was it about?" Harry told him, shuddering as he remembered that awful laughter and green light.

"Do you have dreams like that often?" Sirius asked, hugging Harry close. He knew all too well that the green light was probably an old memory of the Killing Curse. And the laughter, that had to be Voldemort. What kind of bastard laughed when trying to kill a one year old boy?

"Sometimes. I dun like dat green light or that laughing, Padfoot." Harry nestled himself deeper against his godfather, hugging his lion tighter. Just remembering it made him feel scared, but he was safe now. His Padfoot would protect him from the bad things.

"That sounds awful. I want you to tell me whenever you have bad dreams, ok Harry? That way we can try and see what makes them better." The little boy nodded, feeling much better already now that he knew Padfoot wanted to hear about his bad dreams. It made him feel like he actually cared what Harry dreamed about.

"Can I stay here with you?"

"Yeah, but tomorrow we're going to try you sleeping in you own bed again, alright? In your nice red lion bedroom with the pictures of your mummy and daddy. You like your room, right?"

"Mhm. I like it lots." Harry nodded again. He did want to sleep in his own room… He liked his bed with the lion blanket and the pictures of him mummy and daddy and his music box. It was a really neat bedroom, and he was quite pleased it was his. But he was afraid of having another bad dream, so he would stay with Padfoot until tomorrow.

"Good. Then we'll try again tomorrow. Now, it's really time to be going to sleep for little boys and big men." Sirius kissed Harry's black locks and cuddled him closer, wanting to try and help keep away anymore of those awful dreams. He had bad dreams himself, about Azkaban, but maybe with Harry here, they would go away? He sure hoped so, though he didn't want to become reliant on his godson to keep his bad dreams away. He would have to deal with that on his own. "I love you sooooo much, Harry. You are my favorite person in the whole wide world."

"I am?" Harry asked, his whole body filling up with glee at this.

"Yep. Now get some rest."

"You're my faborite person too, Padfoot." Sirius's heart welled up and he kissed the boy's head again, laughing and holding him just a little closer. He would probably never have children of his own, but at least he had his precious Harry. This sweet little boy helped make life worth living.

"I'm glad. Good night, Prongslet." But Harry had already fallen asleep, feeling safe and secure wrapped in the arms of his godfather.

-squeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee- I just love this chapter so very much. And I just love Harry's thing for trains, so I've even asked my mum for a working toy Hogwarts Express for my birthday. She thinks I'm crazy and doesn't understand it, but she'll get it for me anyway... and we can use it around the tree at the holidays too. So it's actually kind of conventional. I won't explain it to you guys, you're reading HP fanfiction, you already understand. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter even half as much as I enjoyed writing it. It was a blast! Lemme know what you thought, I love hearing your opinions and suggestions! And if you've read my Little Lily story, you already know what a puffkskein is, if you don't, look it up. They're adorable!

With much love and squealy girliness,

S.Q.O.