The next week or so was amazing for Harry, and he never missed an opportunity to let Sirius know it. Sirius said that he did not understand why, as the place was such a dump (although he had been making more of an effort now that Harry was living there), but Harry insisted that it didn't matter.

"Honestly, Harry, I don't know why you love this flat so much," said Sirius. "The place is hardly better than my cell in Azkaban."

"Quite frankly, my dear Padfoot, I don't give a darn," said Harry, who was jumping on the bed. Sirius laughed out loud, because that was exactly the sort of thing James probably would have said.

That was the truth, though—Harry didn't need a mansion. He loved being roommates with Sirius. It couldn't be any more different than life with the Dursleys. When he lived with the Dursleys, Harry would awaken to Aunt Petunia's rapping on his cupboard door; he would have a few minutes to get dressed in Dudley's old clothes, then she would force him to help her cook breakfast while Uncle Vernon and Dudley both slept in.

With Sirius, he woke up to his own circadian rhythm, and since he was an early riser, this worked out quite well. Sirius was usually up by the time Harry was, and now Harry had his own new clothes to pick from. Once they were both dressed and ready, they would cook breakfast together, laughing at Sirius's lame cooking skills, Harry teaching Sirius how to make some of the breakfast dishes he had learned while making breakfast for the Muggles.

After breakfast on Privet Drive, Harry would try to get out of the house, usually down to the old playpark, before Dudley's friends came over. Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia were all too glad to get him out of the house. If they weren't leaving Harry to his own devices, they would often give him work to do, letting him know that he wouldn't eat until he finished, and the food was never enough.

But with Sirius there was always a lot to do. He liked to have fun. They bought a TV to keep in the flat, so they could watch it like they had at the Dursleys'. That was good for when they wanted to relax a little. Other times they would explore London, which was one of Harry's favorite things to do. They would walk to the nearest train station, which was conveniently close to Sirius's flat, and it would take them to comic book stores, ice cream stores, bookstores, toy stores—the city had pretty much everything. Harry enjoyed eating at an ice cream shop where instead of putting the toppings on top of your ice cream, they put the toppings inside of it, which was a whole different experience, and the spoon even changed color when you dipped it inside the ice cream. Sirius thought that was possibly some kind of magic, but Harry explained that it was actually science, which was kind of what Muggles had instead of magic. The spoon could simply tell when you dipped it into something cold. One of Harry's favorite evenings out was when he and Sirius had hit a family-friendly karaoke bar in the heart of the city; they had treated the crowd to a spectacular performance of "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" (true, Sirius didn't know the song very well, but repeating "awemoweh" over and over again while Harry belted out the rest wasn't so hard).

Sirius and Harry went out a couple of times for dinner, and other times, Barbara came over and cooked dinner for them, which was always delicious. Harry was starting to…well, not like her, maybe, not yet at least, but she was becoming less annoying. At least she had stopped giving him hugs, which he appreciated, and she had apologized for calling him by the wrong name. Not only that, but Harry did feel that the flat could have used a woman's touch.

When the day was done, Harry would usually take a long, hot bubble bath in Sirius's bathroom, although he couldn't stay in there too long, as the flat only had one bathroom. Then he and Sirius would stay up, talking in the total darkness about whatever they wanted. Harry was shocked one night when, as soon as they got into bed, Sirius informed him that they would be able to move into the new flat tomorrow.

"Oh," said Harry, and he couldn't help but feel a little disappointed.

"Why so glum?" Sirius asked, putting his hands behind his head and staring straight up at Harry. "Don't you want to get out of this crappy place?"

"Number Four, Privet Drive was a crappy place," said Harry. "But this place is great, even if the hallway does reek of cigarettes, even if the traffic is bad, even if there are only two rooms, even if you do stink a little at cooking."

"I resent that," said Sirius, although he was laughing.

"The most important thing is that I'm living with you, and as long as that's true, I'm happy," Harry told him. "I like having you as a roommate. The only thing I don't like is that you never let me take the floor."

"Trust me," said Sirius, "I have had much worse sleeping conditions than this. It's no problem."

"Then it's great," said Harry. "I love how every night we get to stay up late talking, and I know I can tell you anything, ask you anything. One of the stricter rules in the Dursleys' house was that I wasn't allowed to ask questions."

"Well, you are allowed to here, because that's the way we learn in this household," Sirius declared. "But anyway, even if we won't be sharing a room anymore, I'll still be in the next room over. If you've ever got something you want to talk to me about, just bring it up over dinner or catch me before bed, that's all…Why? Is something the matter?"

"No…well, yeah," Harry admitted. "Now that my aunt and uncle have lost custody, that means we have to settle against them. And that means I have to get those horrible court-ordered physical and psychiatric exams. I keep having these awful dreams about it."

"Like what?"

"I dreamed that I had a heart attack and died in the hospital, for one thing," said Harry. "It was based on this medical show I saw where a criminal was in the hospital and he was having a heart attack, and then he tried to escape, so a cop tasered him, and the taser set his heart right again. But I just dreamed about the heart attack."

"What's a taser?" said Sirius interestedly.

"Do you know what electricity is?" said Harry.

"Not really," Sirius told him.

"Okay, well…" Harry sighed. "It's what makes the TV and the phone work. But the taser is full of electricity, too. And cops use it on criminals when they resist arrest."

"Oh," said Sirius. "We just Stun them."

"Whatever," said Harry, a bit impatiently. Sirius's curiosity about the Muggle world did amuse him, but right now he would have liked some reassurance about his fears…unless they would soon be realized. "I still don't know exactly what's going to happen."

"They just have to gauge how badly you were treated, which is what the court wants, and to be honest, I want to make sure you're okay anyway," Sirius said calmly. "They'll need to do blood tests and check your heart and breathing and reflexes and all that. I'm planning on asking the doctor to prescribe something to help you catch up in the growth department, too. They'll check your eyes to make sure your prescription is up-to-date, which it probably isn't. They'll check for cracked and broken bones, too, and yes, you will have to get some booster shots. I'm also planning on taking you to St. Mungo's to get your magical vaccines."

"Magical vaccines?"

"Yes," said Sirius. "Vanishing sickness, dragon pox, that sort of thing. Again, you were immunized as a baby, but you're very late for your booster shots. Anyway…except maybe the shots a bit, none of that is going to be painful, and all of it is basic stuff. They're not going to be doing open-heart surgery or anything."

"What about the psychiatric exam?" Harry continued.

"That's easy," Sirius told him. "You just have to cooperate with the shrink and answer his questions, that's all. It'll be a child psychiatrist, and they're quite used to working with people your age."

"I'm not a child," said Harry.

"Child psychiatrists work with pre-teens, and even regular teenagers, too," Sirius told him. "Not just little kids. When they go to college they probably have to take, like, 'Teenagers 101' or something."

"Yeah, maybe." Harry smiled a little, thinking about what it would be like to take a class on teenagers. "I bet a lot of parents wish they could take that class too."

"I'm sure," said Sirius, leaning up on one elbow and looking up at Harry, his untidy dark hair falling into his eyes and around his shoulders, brushing against the typical several-day-old stubble on his face. "But remember, now that you're in my custody, you're safe. I would never let anything hurt you, Harry."

"You know, Sirius, Dudley wasn't much into fairy tales, so I didn't hear any at home, but there was a book in my preschool called Cinderella," Harry began. "You've probably never heard of it—"

"Never," said Sirius.

"Well, long story short, it was about a girl whose parents loved her very much, but they died, and she got stuck working for her horrible, evil stepmother and her two bratty stepsisters. Meanwhile, the King is looking for a girl to marry his son, so he holds a ball and invites all the girls in the kingdom. Well, Cinderella wanted to go to the ball too, so she asked her evil stepmother…"

"And she said no?" asked Sirius, who was listening with interest.

"No, she actually said yes," Harry told him, "as long as she'd finished her chores first. So she finished her chores extra fast but then realized she didn't have a dress. So she made one…but then the evil stepsisters ruined her dress so she couldn't go to the ball."

"How could they!" gasped Sirius, looking scandalized.

"Yeah, I know," said Harry. "But here's the part you'll like. Cinderella is crying about not being able to go to the ball, and that's when her fairy godmother shows up and turns her pumpkins into a carriage that will take her to the ball, and she turns all the mice into horses—"

"They have a rodent infestation?" said Sirius. "I thought Cinderella was supposed to be doing the housework for this place."

"The mice are her friends," said Harry impatiently. "They helped her sew the original dress that was ripped up by the stepsisters. But anyway, after the fairy godmother does all of that, she gives Cinderella a beautiful new dress to wear, and everything looks perfect."

"And?" said Sirius, confused.

"Well, when the teacher read us the book in preschool, Cinderella's story kind of rang a bell if you know what I mean, but I never had anyone in my life who reminded me of the fairy godmother." Harry rolled onto his back and grinned at the ceiling. "Now I do."

"Oh…" Harry watched Sirius grin as the words sunk in. "Thank you, Harry."

"In the story, the fairy godmother is the one who comes along and makes things all better for Cinderella," Harry continued. "That's what you did for me, as my…as my wizard godfather, I suppose. How cool is it to go to the zoo as a miserable, lonely kid, and then discover you have a wizard godfather?"

"Well, if the fairy godmother is anything like me, she was happy to do those things for Cinderella, because she loves her and will love her forever," Sirius replied. "How did the story end, anyway? Did she get to go to the ball?"

"Yeah, she did," said Harry, laughing at how Sirius actually enjoyed the story. "She met the prince at the ball, and married him. Of course, I could do without marrying a prince."

"Well, maybe at Hogwarts you'll find your princess," Sirius said teasingly.

"No way," said Harry, who hadn't thought about this, truthfully. Of course there were girls at his school, but most of the time, the boys and girls didn't play together. The boys would usually play kickball or Freeze Tag while the girls played hopscotch or skipped rope. Besides, Harry had spent his school years singled out and alone, so he hadn't interacted with boys or girls much. All he knew was, he didn't feel any differently for the girls at his school than he did for the boys, and he definitely couldn't imagine kissing any of his female classmates. He patiently explained all of this to Sirius, who seemed to find it highly amusing.

"Just you wait," he said, letting out his familiar bark of laughter. "In a couple years, I'm sure some witch your age will have you under her spell."

"Oh, ha-ha," said Harry.

"I could turn pumpkins into carriages and mice into horses, though," Sirius said thoughtfully, after a pause. "It's pretty easy."

"Easy?"

"Well, you won't be doing it your first day at Hogwarts, but it's hardly O.W.L. level."

"What's that?" Harry asked.

"Ordinary Wizarding Levels," Sirius explained. "They're tests you take in your fifth year that determine which classes you take in your sixth and seventh years."

"Oh, so it's sort of like a GCSE, then," Harry told him, remembering the tests British Muggles had to take in high school.

"What the bloody hell is a GCSE?" said Sirius.

"Nothing that would concern you," Harry replied, laughing and taking note to teach Sirius more about the Muggle world someday soon. Harry was learning more about the Wizarding world from Sirius, but it seemed that Sirius was learning from him, too.

…

The next morning dawned bright and sunny. As soon as they were up, Sirius and Harry packed their things into many boxes, which had been conjured out of thin air; Sirius shrunk them magically and put them all into Harry's suitcase. Before they stepped out into the cigarette-smoke-filled hallway for the very last time, Harry looked around the studio, feeling a little sad. It didn't take long, as there wasn't much to look at.

"What's the matter?" said Sirius.

"Like I said, Sirius, it's not about the flat," said Harry. "It's about the memories. So many happy things happened here…so I'm going to miss it, that's all."

"I guess I see what you mean," Sirius said slowly. "I'm still welcome to live in my old family home if I ever want to. But I don't ever want to, because of the memories the place holds."

Harry nodded.

"But look," Sirius continued. "We can make even better memories in our new place. And it's much bigger, too, remember…Three bedrooms, two bathrooms, one drawing room, and one kitchenette."

"Yeah, you're right," said Harry; he let Sirius put an arm around his shoulders, Sirius pulled their one suitcase packed full of miniscule boxes, and they left the old flat behind.

The journey on the motorcycle didn't take very long at all, since the new flat was also in London, just in a different area. In short, it was a much better area. The shops nearby were more expensive, there was less graffiti, there were no homeless people to be found. There was a playpark nearby that looked much newer than the one in Little Whinging—it looked more like the playpark owned by Harry's old public school. The ground was made of some sort of squishy material, instead of cement, and the equipment was plastic instead of rickety aluminum.

Sirius had also snagged a parking spot for this flat, just like he had for his old one. The interior of the apartment was beautiful. The fountain was golden and shaped like a mermaid; the water came out of her mouth and poured into her hands. There were still mailboxes all along the walls, like at the old place, but the carpet didn't have any weird stains and there was a TV above the reception desk.

"Before we go see the room, do you want to explore a bit?" Sirius asked, grinning.

"Yes, please!" said Harry, grinning.

They toured the whole of the building's downstairs, which had a lot of things to interest Harry. There was an exercise room, a pool, a convenience store, and even a restaurant. They learned where the laundry was and where the fire exits were. They ate brunch at the restaurant, then Sirius got his new keys at the front desk and they finally went up to their floor. Sirius let Harry press the 20 button on the elevator. When the doors opened, Harry ran out into the hallway and looked out the window. Sirius snapped his fingers, feigning impatience, but he was laughing so much at Harry's excitement that it hardly mattered.

"Wow, look at this, Sirius!" Harry called excitedly.

"We are high up, aren't we?" Sirius agreed, looking down at the street below, hands in his jeans pockets.

Harry had never been this high up in a building before. Sirius's old flat had been on the seventh floor, and even so, that building had only had ten floors. From this new height, everything was so small.

"It's like the view I get when we're riding on the motorcycle," Harry said breathlessly.

"Still missing the old flat?" Sirius asked wryly.

"Not so much." Harry grinned.

After they were done looking out the window, they finally entered the new flat; their room number was 208. It was completely empty inside (Sirius was going to get some of his old things out of storage, and buy some new things as well), but it was huge!

Harry ran to the kitchenette, which had a stainless steel fridge, clean, non-sticky hardwood floors, and wooden cabinets. There was a glass chandelier on the ceiling. There was room for a big kitchen table as well, and there was a door, not just a doorway. There was even an island. Sirius's old studio could have fit into the drawing room alone. There was room for a couch and the new TV, and probably some bookshelves, a coffee table and other things too. Off the drawing room was the half-bathroom, where there was a glass shower and one sink and new gleaming, spotless mirror. There were two bedrooms, both about the same size. The full bathroom was in between them. It was much larger than the half-bathroom; there were two mirrors and two sinks; the countertops were granite, just like in the half-bathroom. The tub was huge and it had a Jacuzzi in it. Both of the bedrooms had walk-in closets.

"I can't believe this place is only 2500 pounds a month!" Harry said happily, loving the way his voice echoed throughout the brand-new flat. "It's wonderful!"

"It'll be even better after we furnish it," Sirius reminded him. "Think about that…I'm sure there will be tons of pictures of your parents in the storage unit where they put everything in my old flat after I was arrested. We can keep that stuff, and I was thinking maybe we could donate my old furniture and get some brand-new stuff for this flat?"

"Sounds great," said Harry, and the wind was knocked out of Sirius as Harry grabbed him tightly in a hug. "Oh, thank you, Sirius…this is the best place I've ever lived in. Cinderella's fairy godmother hasn't got anything on you."