The next day, Harry mentioned in passing that Cinderella had been made into a movie. He immediately wished he hadn't, because Sirius insisted on watching it.

"Have you watched a movie before?" Harry asked warily.

"One," Sirius told him happily. "I watched Back to the Future with Barbara. Loved it!"

"Okay, well, this isn't like Back to the Future," said Harry exasperatedly. "This movie is for girls, Sirius. It's a Disney movie."

"Oh yeah!" Sirius's face lit up. "Barbara mentioned something about that! She said she watched all of them when she was a little girl—we can invite her too! We can have another movie night!"

Harry groaned. But then again, if he was to teach Sirius about the Muggle world, watching animated movies was as good a place to start as any, he supposed.

…

Barbara came over to the new flat one hot August afternoon to have the movie viewing party, which she had readily agreed to. (Remus, the established Secret-Keeper, had very, very reluctantly disclosed the secret location to her, although he warned Sirius that if they broke up, Sirius was going to have to move and Remus would never tell any of Sirius's girlfriends a single thing again.) Barbara brought popcorn and picked up the movie at the library on the way.

In the end, Sirius liked the movie the best. Barbara watched it with a sort of nostalgic smile on her face, and Harry just wanted it to be over, but Sirius seemed to be thoroughly enjoying it. He said Cinderella's family did remind him of the Dursleys, and Gus the mouse reminded him of Peter Pettigrew because he was such an idiot. Some of it he didn't quite understand, but he laughed and cheered, put his hands up to his mouth in fright, yelled in anger, and he even thought it was romantic when Cinderella and the Prince fell in love. Predictably, his favorite part was the fairy godmother part, although he couldn't say much with a Muggle in the room.

"That's silly, isn't it?" Barbara commented. "Turning the pumpkins into a carriage and all that? Only in movies."

The corners of Sirius's mouth twitched, and he and Harry carefully avoided each other's eyes.

"Wow, that was great!" Sirius said enthusiastically after the movie, as Harry took to rewinding the VHS. "It was almost as good as when we watched Back to the Future, wasn't it, Barbara?"

"I never thought I'd meet a grown man who liked Disney movies, but I guess I was wrong," Barbara said, grinning. "We can watch more sometime, if you like."

"No need to invite me, though," said Harry quickly. "I'm not really into Disney."

"Most boys aren't," said Barbara, nodding. "I was glad you agreed to watch this movie with us. It really brings me back. Like I said, I watched all of them as a girl."

"How many are there?" Sirius asked.

"Oh, there are a ton of them," said Barbara. "Probably like two hundred. My most recent favorite is The Little Mermaid, but Beauty and the Beast is supposed to come out in November. It's about an arrogant prince who gets turned into a monster, and he can only become human again if a girl falls in love with him. You can come and see it in the cinema with me, if you want."

"Sure!" Sirius beamed. Harry smacked himself in the forehead.

"Well, 'bye," Barbara said sweetly, kissing Sirius on the cheek and leaving, taking with her the flowers he had conjured up for her, as well as the VHS.

"Harry," said Sirius quickly, "what's the cinema?"

"It's just a place for watching movies," Harry explained, resisting the urge to face-palm again. "You buy your snacks, sit down and watch the movie. She just asked you on another date, basically."

"Oh, good!" said Sirius. "Sounds fun. But anyway, there was something I wanted to show you…"

Harry watched, and his mouth dropped open as Sirius conjured up a pumpkin—and then Harry knew what Sirius was going to do.

Sirius used his wand to lift the pumpkin into the air, like the fairy godmother had, and enlarged it, then—with a flick of the wrist—there was a white carriage, just like in the movie, right in their drawing room.

"See?" he said, Banishing the carriage and laughing at Harry's expression. "I can totally be your wizard godfather."

"I know you can," said Harry, and he started laughing too.

…

The laughs didn't last for long, however. Several hours later, Sirius found a letter in his mailbox ("Muggle post") from Mr. Glacier, informing him that the Dursleys' court date had been set up for August 26, 1991, and that they had better get a move on with the tests. Harry had been nerve-stricken ever since. It was awful setting up the appointment, especially because Harry learned that he was going to have to have his physical in the hospital.

"Okay, now…" Sirius and Harry had a phone in their new flat, but Sirius was still practicing with it. Currently, Harry's godfather was on his knees, holding up the receiver and staring blankly down at the keypad; Harry was standing up, his heart pounding against his chest, blood pumping in his eardrums. "How do I work this thing again?"

"I don't remember how to use the phone," said Harry.

"Yes, you do," Sirius said impatiently.

"No," said Harry firmly, "I don't."

"Harry James, you are acting like a child," Sirius told him sharply. "I've told you—there is absolutely nothing to be afraid of. Just show me how to work this goddamn thing."

"Or what?" said Harry, crossing his arms and turning away.

"Or wha—Harry, dial the phone right now! I'm doing this for your own good!"

"Make me." Harry could hardly stand how bratty he was being, but he couldn't help it. For some reason, he was feeling quite prickly today.

"Maybe I will!" Sirius said hotly. "How would you like me to—to wizard-ground you?"

"What's that?" Harry couldn't help but look around at him, his interest peaked slightly.

"It means that wherever I decide you aren't allowed to go, I can block you from going there using magic," said Sirius stiffly. "But I don't want to do it. So just cooperate with me."

"How is that a punishment?" said Harry stubbornly. "I don't even go anywhere unless it's with you."

"I can block you at Hogwarts, and you're going there in about a fortnight."

For a moment Harry considered just bending down onto the floor and helping Sirius dial the phone. But it was as if something else had possessed him as he angrily pulled the phone cord out of the socket and stormed off to his room, slamming the door so hard he thought he heard a chunk of plaster fall down through the walls.

Sirius and Harry hadn't actually gone furniture shopping yet; Sirius had bought Harry a new bed, and until they did go shopping, Sirius had the same bed he'd been using in his old flat. Harry felt slightly guilty as he sat down, knowing that Sirius could have made him use the old bed, or even just not given him a bed at all…In fact, he didn't feel a little guilty, he felt a lot guilty, completely ashamed of himself. Why had he acted like that? Sirius had done so much for him. If it weren't for Sirius, he would probably be sitting in a cupboard right now.

How could this day could have possibly gone so wrong? Harry drew his knees up and buried his face in them, his hands grabbing his hair. He could feel tears burning in the corners of his eyes now, and the thick lump in his throat, the one that comes before crying. After his eleventh birthday, he had felt like he was neither a child nor a teenager…but he sure felt like a child now, like a stupid, overemotional toddler who had thrown a fit over nothing. He didn't feel grown-up at all, but since he wasn't even sure if he wanted to feel grown-up yet, it just made him confused and more miserable than ever.

It must have been at least an hour or two before Harry heard a quiet knock on his room door. His head was still hidden from sight, and his face was wet from his silent tears.

"Go away," Harry mumbled. He didn't want to talk to Sirius right now.

"Harry," said Sirius.

"Leave me alone."

Sirius didn't answer. He opened the door to Harry's room (which was much bigger than his room at Number Four, Privet Drive), shut it behind him, and sat on the bed. Harry felt Sirius's hand touch his shoulder. For a moment there was silence, then—

"You know, Harry," said Sirius, "I would quite appreciate it if you would try to talk things through with me, as opposed to just slamming your door in my face. How do you suppose that makes me feel?"

"Angry?" Harry was still hiding his face in his hands, because he didn't want Sirius to see his tears. Sirius couldn't possibly feel any worse than Harry did…could he?

"No, not angry, Harry," said Sirius, taking Harry's hands off of his face and pulling him into a hug; the now-familiar Old Spice scent reminded Harry that he had forgotten to put on his own antiperspirant again (he was still getting used to remembering to do it every day). "Disappointed? Maybe a little. Upset, certainly…But mostly I'm just worried about you."

"Why are you worried?" said Harry in a small voice.

"Because you weren't acting like the Harry Potter I know," Sirius told him. "I mean…I'm your godfather, and I want to do what I can to help you if something's wrong."

"Everything is wrong," said Harry, his voice rising slightly in pitch. Even though he knew it wasn't really true, and that he was most likely overreacting, it felt good to say it.

"What do you mean?" Sirius sounded like he was absolutely vying for patience, and he needed it, for that was when Harry finally started to cry, clinging as tightly to Sirius as he could.

"I-I-I d-don't want to g-get those s-stupid exams!" Harry wailed. "I don't w-want to have another c-court date with the Muggles! I-I don't want to b-be a total f-fail at magic! I-I d-don't w-want to be picked on b-by all these n-n-new kids and t-teachers I d-don't even know!"

"You're going to do fine, Harry," said Sirius, rubbing his godson's back. "I mean it. I don't know where you keep getting this idea that you're going to be a terrible wizard. You've done magic already!"

"B-But never on p-purpose!"

"I know, but…" Sirius sighed. "Nobody knows how to turn a teacup into a tortoise on their first day, whether they're from a pureblood family like your dad's or a Muggle family like your mum's….Think of your school. Aren't there some kids who are better at spelling than they are at math? Kids who are better at art than they are at sports?"

"Y-Yeah," said Harry, wiping his eyes. "So?"

"So it's no different at Hogwarts," said Sirius. "Everyone has a best subject. Mine was Care of Magical Creatures. James loved Transfiguration, and Lily was great at Charms. Everyone's best at something, see?"

"Well…maybe," Harry said, sniffing. "But what will I be best at?"

"I suppose we'll just have to wait and see," Sirius told him, tousling his hair. "But there are a whole bunch of subjects. I'm sure Muggle Studies would be a breeze—you know all the answers, probably even better than the teacher."

"Won't the teacher be a Muggle-born like my mum?"

"Not necessarily," said Sirius, "and even if he is, after seven years of Hogwarts, Muggle-borns are exposed to so much magic and Wizarding things that they basically become indistinguishable from purebloods and half-bloods. They eat the same foods, have the same habits, live in the same places, even think the same way. They very rarely marry Muggles, they marry other witches and wizards, and they have magic babies, and those babies grow up and go to Hogwarts too, and then they're just another magic family. There are purebloods who will stink at magic, and there are Muggle-borns who will be great at it. Just you wait."

Harry paused, pondering this, then finally said, "Sirius, I-I've never been to the hospital before. Except when I was born, I guess."

"What?" Sirius looked confused again. "Why would you need to go to the hospital for that? Last time I checked, a baby isn't an injury."

"Yeah, but…" Harry sighed. "Don't most women have babies in hospitals? My cousin was born in a hospital—wasn't I, too?"

"That must be another Muggle thing," said Sirius, laughing. "No, in our world there are special walk-in clinics for that. They have Healers specially trained to deliver babies. So you were born in a Birth Clinic. We have hospitals, too, but they treat things like spell damage and animal bites and things like that."

"I've seen babies being born on Aunt Petunia's soap operas," said Harry, "so that's how I know. It looks pretty painful."

"Oh, it's not so painful if you're a witch…or, well, so I hear," Sirius told him, grinning. "When you were born, the Healer just gave Lily a potion to make things nice and painless, and then Moony and Wormtail and I waited in the reception area for a long time. Then James called me in first, and I got to hold you in my arms, an adorable baby with a little tuft of messy black hair and big, bright green eyes. I gave you your gift, and that's when James told me I would be your godfather."

"What was my gift?"

"I got you a custom-made onesie that said 'I Solemnly Swear I Am Up To No Good' on the front, and 'Mischief Managed' on the butt."

Finally, Sirius had gotten Harry to laugh. Just the thought of him as a tiny, newborn baby, wearing a onesie that said "Mischief Managed" on the butt, was enough to get him up out of the dumps.

"Wasn't my mum angry?" said Harry, once he had finished laughing.

"I think she was, a little, but after you tried it on she admitted that it did look sort of cute, and that you would probably throw up on it soon anyway," said Sirius. "She was pretty calm throughout the whole thing, actually—it was James who was nervous. When I got into the delivery room one of the lamps had been shattered and a chair had been Transfigured into a duck."

"Accidental magic," laughed Harry, looking at the picture of his dancing parents on his nightstand and picturing his father being so nervous about his impending parenthood that he almost lost control of his powers.

"Well, he was a really young dad, and you were his first baby." Sirius shrugged. "It is usually the fathers who do the accidental magic during the births they attend."

There was a very long pause, during which they both watched the photo intently.

"I wish he was still here," said Harry softly, not taking his eyes off of the photo, but leaning into Sirius again. "So he could bend down and hug me the way you do. So I could hear these stories from him, too…see him turn into Prongs…ask him if…if he's proud of me…I don't think he would be."

"Aw, why not, Prongslet?" said Sirius, squeezing Harry's shoulder.

"Because today I was very rude to his best friend." Harry started to cry again, and he turned his face away. It was so embarrassing, all of it. One minute he'd been laughing at the thought of himself in a Marauders' Map onesie, the next he was crying again. "Even after you've b-been so nice t-to me…"

"Oh, Harry…" Sirius gathered up Harry and hugged him tight. "I knew your dad well, and he would understand. James had bad days too."

"He d-did?"

"Of course," said Sirius gently, waiting for Harry to cry himself out. "Everybody does. He and I did have our fights sometimes, you know…but we always made up, because that's what friendship is about. That's what love is about. At the end of the day, when you really love someone, the small things don't matter so much."

"I'll bet my dad was never barking mad like you must think I am," Harry mumbled, making sure to wipe his eyes on his hand; Sirius would probably get angry if he got any more tears on his shirt.

"Barking what?" Sirius looked bewildered.

"Barking mad," Harry repeated, still feeling mortified by the scope of his behavior today. "I was angry with you, then I was ashamed of myself for it, then you were telling me a story and making me laugh, and…and then I started stupidly crying again."

"You've dealt with a lot this summer and there's still more to come," Sirius told him. "Not everything was bad—I mean, you're not living in a cupboard anymore. But I know it can still be overwhelming."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, you're not 'barking mad'," said Sirius. "You're just at a complicated time in your life. But it'll get better. Everything's going to be all right."

"Listen, the Muggles never took me to the regular doctor," said Harry. "I'm starting to wonder if this lawsuit is even worth it."

"Harry, I really don't want to make you do anything you don't want to do," said Sirius. "But the court date is already set up, and the court has already ordered the tests, and…well, even if this wasn't all going on, I would still want to set up a doctor's appointment to make sure you're healthy. You are going off to boarding school soon."

"I'm healthy," said Harry firmly. "I am! It's just…those medical dramas are kind of scary."

"I don't know much about TV, but I'm pretty sure they exaggerate things for the viewers' entertainment," said Sirius. "The bloke that got his heart fixed by your Muggle police shocking him? Totally fake."

"No, it's really true! There's electricity in the body, like in the heart and brain and stuff," said Harry. "We're learning about The Human Body in Science. Our last unit before summer vacation was on the cardiovascular system."

"And what else have you learned?"

"Muscles, bones, lungs, and brain, in that order," said Harry. "We learned about tearing ligaments and getting osteoporosis and how bad smoking is for your lungs. You know, in some of the pictures you've shown me, I've seen you smoking, Sirius. Do you know how bad that is for you?"

"Well, I stopped, didn't I?" said Sirius defensively. "Besides, everybody was on something in the seventies. People thought it was cool."

"There's nothing cool about the way the hallway of your old flat smelled."

"You know, Harry, they say you've got Lily's eyes, but you've also got her sass," Sirius told him, grinning. "Very kind woman, but still, she had quite a mouth on her. And she didn't approve of the smoking either. Every time I'd light up in front of her, she'd put it out with some water from her wand."

Harry smiled for a moment, then sighed. "Look, Sirius…just wizard-ground me."

"What?"

"I deserve it," Harry explained. "I really did act like a git."

"Oh, Prongslet, don't worry," said Sirius, putting his arm around Harry. "I think we can let this one slide. You're just under a lot of stress, that's all. The point of punishment is that you learn your lesson, and I know you have."

"It was wrong for me to take my stress out on you," Harry insisted. "I know you're just trying to help."

"Hmm…how about you just aren't allowed to have any dessert tonight, and then we'll call it even?" Sirius suggested.

"Sounds good," said Harry, giving Sirius a rather watery smile and making to stand up, but Sirius pulled him back down.

"Listen, Harry," Sirius said, and this time he truly did look, well, serious. "I know you kind of surprised yourself with the mood swings earlier. But I want you to keep in mind that you have nothing to feel ashamed of, okay?"

"I-I don't?"

"Nope," Sirius told him. "Almost everybody goes through mood swings. They're normal. And like I said, your life has been pretty stressful lately…Trust me, everything's fine."

Harry thought about this for a moment, and it did make him feel at least a little better.

"Thanks, Sirius," he said.

"No problem," Sirius replied, standing up. "Tell you what...if you help me dial the phone and schedule the physical, we can make spaghetti and meatballs tonight. I'll boil the pasta and you can roll the meatballs."

"Okay!" Harry suddenly realized then how hungry he was, and the two of them headed for the phone.