A/N As usual, a great big thanks to all the reviewers! You guys spur me on! I know that it seems like maybe Harry and Sirius are acting a bit too clingy, but they have only had a couple of months together as a family and it is something that they have both been yearning for for a long time. I think they both would be reluctant to give it up just yet.
In time, it will happen, but not for a good while. I'll be addressing all the fourth year events in canon as well as adding a few curves of my own.

Thanks again for taking the time to read!

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Feeling unusually light and happy, Harry loped along with Ron and Hermione to breakfast the next day. When they arrived at the Gryffindor table, they took their usual seats and began pulling food towards their plates. Ron noted with satisfaction that Hermione seemed to have gotten over her aversion to food as she generously spread jam on her toast. Teasing her about it, she just waved him off with a cagey proclamation of "There are other ways."

Harry munched contentedly on a sausage as his eyes scanned the head table. At the far end, he caught his godfather's attention as he sat between Hagrid and Moody. Sirius winked at him and indicated that he should look down at his plate. Dropping his gaze to the table, Harry saw that three colorful pills had appeared beside his goblet of pumpkin juice. Recognizing them immediately as the vitamins he had been given each morning at Celestial Court, he rolled his eyes and popped them in his mouth, making a very big show of swallowing them for his godfather's benefit. Sirius caught the sarcasm in the boy's enthusiasm and burst out laughing, to the confusion of the other professors at the table. At his own table, Harry caught the perplexed glances of his two mates and shook his head.

"Never mind. Just Sirius being Sirius," he smirked. It never failed to amuse him, or secretly please him, every time his godfather did something so paternal like insisting on good nutrition. Anyone who knew him outside the house would never have believed that Sirius Black had actually grown up. Amazing what instant fatherhood did to some people. Well, that and twelve years in Azkaban.

Across the table, Ron was going over their schedule for the day. To their dismay, Astronomy was not on the list and Harry felt a pang of disappointment at not being able to attend his godfather's class on their first day back.

"Still can't believe he's going to be teaching Astronomy of all things," Harry stated in a bemused voice. "Who would have thought?" Ron joined him in shaking his head at the strange choice of curriculum. Hermione gave both of them a hard glare before huffing loudly and slapping her hand on the table.

Practically choking on a bite of toast, Harry let out a strangled cough before groaning, "What?"

With her eyes set angrily at the two boys, she shook her head. "Honestly, aren't the two of you ever going to read Hogwarts: A History? I mean, really, after three years, aren't you the least bit interested in the school you attend?"

The boys gave her matching looks suggesting that they did not have any plans to read the bulky tome she swore by regularly and she seethed in frustration. Composing herself, she gave each of them a death glare before deigning to explain.

"The Black family has traditionally been very generous in their support of the study of Astronomy at Hogwarts. All of the equipment we use during our classes was donated by Sirius' family, and the massive upkeep of the tower is paid for with a grant that they have been providing for centuries. They say that the reason that the tower is off limits except during class time is because the Blacks have several rooms in the tower where they keep all manner of dark objects used to study star patterns. Things used for a very dark form of divination. They believe that their power should be equated with the powers of the universe at large."

Seeing that the boys were suitably impressed with her revelations, she chose to continue, slightly smugly. "I don't suppose that it has ever caught your attention that all of the Blacks are named after stars and constellations, has it?" Harry shook his head, suddenly very aware of how little he had bothered to learn about his new 'family'.

"Well, Sirius isn't like that," he defended vehemently. "He doesn't believe in all of that pure blood, all powerful nonsense."

Hermione patted his hand comfortingly. "Of course he doesn't. I'm just telling you why he would naturally have a large knowledge of astronomy in particular. I'm sure his family had him studying everything about the subject his entire life."

Grudgingly, Harry admitted that it made sense. He just hated to think that Sirius was being forced to do something that his despised family made him do, especially if it was to help watch out for Harry. Sirius had never mentioned an affinity for astronomy but, upon thinking about it, Harry couldn't believe that he had been so blind. Their house was named Celestial Court, for Merlin's sake. Everywhere he looked, there was some fixture with a star/planet decor design about it. Harry had just never really given it much thought. At the time, he just assumed that Sirius' Uncle Alphard had been, well, a little one track minded in his housewares.

With a start, they realized that they were about to be late for their first class. Downing the last gulps of pumpkin juice and grabbing their school bags, the three of them hastily made their way down to the greenhouses for double Herbology. Although they arrived a couple of minutes tardy, Professor Sprout, the round, good natured, perpetually dirty professor, just gave them a small glare as they rushed to their places around the table before clearing her throat and resuming her morning lecture.

Afterwards, an entire class period was spent collecting bubotuber pus for Madam Pompfrey. Nearly choking on the overwhelming scent of petrol that the gloppy liquid emanated, Harry was happier than usual when the class came to an end.

A trip down to Hagrid's for their Care of Magical Creatures class yielded an introduction to Blast-Ended Skrewts. Nasty little buggers that looked like shell-less deformed lobsters and had dangerously sparking tails. Trying to set a good example, the trio were persuaded to try and feed the disagreeable...whatever it is that they were...but all attempts were fruitless. The miserable creatures didn't seem to have mouths and were decidedly more content to attempt to sting whatever students were in reach. The fact that they reeked of the smell of rotten fish didn't help Harry's stomach settle any more and he was not exactly looking forward to lunch when he, Ron and Hermione trudged back up the hill towards the Great Hall.

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Harry knew he shouldn't be laughing.

Sirius was scolding him (as well as he was able to anyway, under the circumstances) and he had every right to do so, but Harry still thought that the whole thing was just so bloody hysterical that he couldn't help himself. But, bent precariously over the back of the sofa in Sirius' sitting room, with the comfortable future of his backside in immediate jeopardy, one would have thought he would have been able to control himself a little better.

It had all been completely unintentional.

After a quick late lunch, very quick in Hermione's case as she just shoved some food in at a faster-than-Ron pace and charged off to the library, Ron and Harry made the dismal ascent to their afternoon Divination class. As usual, Professor Trelawney tried very hard to assure the entire classroom that Harry was, indeed, in grave danger.

"Blimey, mate. You should be a walking corpse by now from what that nutter says," grumbled Ron to his friend's amusement as they beat a hasty retreat after the lesson concluded. Harry rolled his eyes. For whatever reason Sybil Trelawney had decided that his life should be forever hanging in the balance.

"What was she talking about today? 'Beware of foul fowl?' What the bloody hell is that supposed to mean?" Harry griped as they plodded down the large staircase.

Walking to Gryffindor tower to relieve themselves of their books and bags, they saw Sirius hurrying down the corridor towards the Astronomy tower. Behind him, a large gaggle of infatuated seventh year girls swarmed in his wake, desperately vying for his attention. The pained look on his face made it clear that, while as a seventh year boy Sirius Black would have happily grown extra arms to accommodate all the pretty young witches trying to throw themselves at him, the thirty-five year old professor and parent felt a little unnerved by all of the unwanted attention.

Moving as briskly as he could without being outright rude, Sirius was almost comical in the speed in which he was accelerating towards them. Harry and Ron stopped to watch the spectacle unfold in front of them, a fit of the giggles only being completely suppressed by the merciless glare in the man's eyes that threatened bad things to those who mocked his predicament.

The light mood was ruined by Malfoy who shoved a copy of the Daily Prophet under Ron's nose. A less than flattering photo of Ron's parents taken in front of the Burrow was on the front page and it was inspiring Malfoy to make rude comments regarding Molly's larger than average girth. A verbal battle of insults began, culminating in Ron charging towards Malfoy, murder on his mind.

As the larger Gryffindor plowed menacingly towards the small blond Slytherin, he was thwarted by Harry attempting and succeeding in pulling him back. Enraged, Draco drew his wand and shot a hot searing hex at Ron's head, missing him by a fraction of an inch. Hissing, Harry grabbed his wand and cast a spell to transfigure Malfoy into a little pink bunny. A favorite new trick of his that he had learned over the summer during his extra lessons.

No one saw Alastor Moody enter the fray casting a spell of his own to transfigure Malfoy into a white ferret. No one saw Sirius either, as he flung himself in the middle of the spells in an effort to deflect anything from hitting Harry. Sirius was able to deflect the ferret hex easily, but he wasn't quick enough to dodge Harry's at the same time. With a poof!, where before his tall dark haired godfather had stood, now sat a little pink rabbit that Harry would swear was glaring at him. Can bunnies glare? was the first thought that came to the boy's mind.

He gulped audibly at the colossal mistake he had made, compounded even more by the fact that the gaggle of seventh year girls were cooing over the cute little pink ball of fluff even more than they were when it had been Professor Black. Raising his wand again, Harry attempted to re-transfigure the bunny back into his godfather.

Fate was not kind to him today. As Moody was yanking Malferret up and down like a yo-yo, much to the amusement of Ron and several other bystanders, Harry's attempt to rectify his own transfiguration gone wrong ended up changing the pink bunny into a half pink/half blue rooster that was now squawking extremely angrily. The entire courtyard burst out laughing at both sights and Harry found himself unable to keep a straight face. Especially as Moody had now dropped Malferret down the front of Goyle's pants and Sirooster was clucking like crazy.

The semi-timely arrival of Professor McGonagall didn't promise anything good for anyone involved. She was easily able to restore Draco to his blond pompous self, albeit with a heavy detention from Moody for his cowardice in hexing someone with their back turned. Unfortunately for Sirooster, Harry's spells had gone horribly wrong and Minerva was only able to restore most of him. He was human again, but he had a large pink and blue rooster crown affixed to the top of his head and every other word seemed to come out as a squawk. He wasn't comforted by the Transfiguration professor's strong assurances that he would be back to his regular self in an hour or so when the spell wore off.

Sirius, having gone scarily quiet, sauntered dangerously over to where his godson was trying desperately to control his giggling. He did not say a word as he grabbed Harry, none too gently, by the scruff of his neck. Seeing his mate's godfather in a mood as black as his name, Ron croaked out a promise to Harry to take his things back to the dorm, watching in horror as his friend was forcibly marched by the irate man in the direction of the Astronomy tower.

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Sirius should have just kept his mouth shut. Harry was already fearing whatever his godfather had in mind for him as they stalked towards the tower. Unfortunately, Sirius had decided to start the lecture on the dangers of randomly casting spells without knowing what the outcomes would be.

Holding firmly to the boy's neck as he marched him forward, Sirius' voice was dripping with fury. "Do you know SQUAWK! what could have SQUAWK! happened if you had SQUAWK!.."

He took a deep breath and tried to compose himself. Harry was biting down on his cheek to keep from laughing. It didn't take a genius to figure out that laughing at his godfather's predicament would only bode worse for himself.

"It is incredibly SQUAWK! dangerous to cast a SQUAWK! spell if you SQUAAAAAWK!..."

It was too much. Harry burst out laughing and could not stop even as he was prodded up the stairs to their quarters. Sirius threw the door open and pulled the hysterically laughing boy in behind him, slamming the oak panel shut with a loud bang.

Sirius was livid with his godson. The giggling little bugger couldn't even stop his fit long enough to look remorseful. "Young man, if you SQUAWK! find this so SQUAWK! amusing, I'm sure I can SQUAWWWWK! figure out a way to SQUAWK! sober you up SQUAWWWWWK!"

Harry was practically on the floor by this point. Patience gone, Sirius decided that a few smacks on laughing boy's backside would work wonders on improving his contrite disposition. He took Harry by the arm and resolutely bent him over the back of the sofa. Even knowing what was coming couldn't get Harry to control his hysterics. Grabbing the throw pillow on the seat in front of him to hold onto, he had come to the decision that a sore bum was absolutely worth the price for watching his godrooster in action.

He mentally steeled himself for the punishing sting as he sensed his godfather bringing down his arm but, to his surprise, he felt just a light swish of air. Turning around, he saw that Sirius' smacking arm had turned into a pink and blue feathered wing, most likely in mid swing. Harry collapsed in a fit of laughter so intense he wasn't even making sound anymore, tears streaming down his face in merriment. Sirius hauled him back to his feet and wordlessly pointed (with his good hand) to Harry's room. Not wanting to push his godfather, Harry collected himself enough to obey the silent command, wiping tears from his cheeks as he went. Sirius sat down at the small table, scowling viciously, to wait for the miscast spell to end.

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An hour later, all of Sirius' rooster parts had vanished and, upon trying his speaking voice, found that he no longer squawked. He stood up and calmly walked over to the little monster's bedroom door. He knocked once and then entered.

Harry had come to his senses fairly early into his banishment. Sirius had been trying to protect him and Harry, acting rashly, had only made the situation worse. He was now properly in fear of his godfather's wrath. So, when Sirius walked in, he gave the man his best sad look. Sirius saw him sitting meekly on his bed, big green eyes looking pleadingly at him. "I'm really sorry, Sirius," the boy apologized earnestly.

Sirius let out a large huff. "I'll bet you are." He walked over to the bed and sat down next to Harry who visibly tensed. "You are going to be punished, young man," he said sternly as he forced Harry to look him in the eye. "Randomly casting transfiguration spells is nothing to mess around with. Someone could be terribly hurt or even killed by reckless spell casting."

Harry dropped his eyes to the floor, finding great interest in the pattern of the throw rug to the side of his bed. "Yes, sir," he whispered very quietly. He did feel bad. Not only had he mucked up the spells, but it had been embarrassing for his godfather and then, to top it all off, he couldn't stop laughing about it. He waited tensely for Sirius to justifiably pull him over his lap and finish what he had tried to start, but his godfather got up again.

"I want six feet of parchment outlining the dangers of using Transfiguration by Monday," he ordered sternly. Harry looked up and blinked rapidly, waiting for the other shoe to drop. "I did not teach you this summer to use those spells in a childish school fight. You have to be smarter and more careful than this, Harry James."

Harry felt his cheeks and neck burn like fire from the scolding. Now he felt really miserable. He would have preferred getting a smacking over having to receive the sharp rebuke. With his head hanging down low in shame, he couldn't see that Sirius' face had dissolved into a more gentle visage. Looking down at his contrite godson, Sirius could tell that the message had sunk in.

There was no need to go any further and Sirius felt relieved that he had been forced to rein in his plan to dole out a few smacks. It was a punishment to be used sparingly and, after all, it was only the first day of classes. He didn't want Harry to regret wanting him here at school already. The long essay would certainly be more effective in teaching Harry what he had done wrong today.

"Come along now. It's time for dinner and I want to hear about how the rest of your first day back was," he said very kindly. Harry lifted his head back up and saw his godfather smiling sincerely at him. It made him feel both warm with affection and guilty for acting like a prat. Deciding to focus on the positive, he got to his feet and followed Sirius to the table for their first 'family dinner' at Hogwarts.

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Harry was scraping the bowl that had contained his favorite rhubarb crumble and his godfather poured him another glass of milk. Dinner conversation had been light and casual. In between bites of roast chicken and potatoes, Sirius had shared with him the surprising news that he actually had enjoyed teaching. Harry didn't come out and say it, but from his summer lessons, he could see that his godfather was a natural in education. Harry couldn't wait for his own class the next day to see what it was that put such a large smile on his godfather's face.

Harry had lightly broached the topic of the Blacks that Hermione shared with him that morning, including the rumors of hidden dark objects in the tower. Sirius frowned for a minute and then lightened up just as quickly.

"I don't know if the rumors are true or not, actually. When I arrived here on the first night and was sorted into Gryffindor, my parents stopped speaking to me, more or less. They never told me about any hidden objects."

Harry, feeling badly for the way his godfather's family had treated him, gave him a small sympathetic smile. After all, Harry had plenty of personal experience with disapproving relatives.

"I'll tell you what though," he said suddenly in a fit of inspiration, "if you want a way to earn your allowance here, you could help me tidy up all the small rooms around the tower. They're absolutely disgraceful!" He winked mischievously at the boy. "Of course, you don't have to. I'll buy you whatever you need and maybe even a few of the things you can't possibly live without," he smirked slightly, "whether or not you want to take on chores. I'd understand if you just want to concentrate on school work."

Harry's face lit up enthusiastically. He thought it would be brilliant to get to go hunting through old Hogwarts treasures. "No, I would really like that," he effused. "You don't have to pay me though." Then inspiration hit. "Could I ask Ron too? You could give him my allowance instead." Ron had been muttering unhappily about not being able to get Hermione a proper present for her birthday that was coming up in a few weeks. Maybe, if Sirius agreed to this, Ron could earn the money and not feel like it was charity. He was very proud, after all.

Sirius looked at his godson with incredible fondness. Harry had such a big heart and he was a fiercely devoted friend. Sirius' chest swelled in pride. "Of course you can," he agreed. "And I'll be happy to pay both of you. It's going to be quite a big job." Harry beamed at his godfather's continued understanding and generosity. Sirius glanced at the clock over the mantle and sighed resignedly.

"It's getting late. You better get back to the dorm. I'm sure you have homework already." Harry nodded reluctantly. "Yes, sir. I have to do a chart for Divination." He stood up and went into his room to collect his robe. Coming back out and heading towards the door, he leaned into Sirius' offered embrace.

"See you tomorrow, Professor," he said cheekily. Sirius just smirked and kissed the top of his head. "Just behave yourself. I don't want to have to give you detention," he teased. Harry rolled his eyes. "Yeah, like you never had any as a student," he huffed sarcastically. Sirius feigned an innocent expression as he watched Harry start down the winding stairs. "I have no idea what you are talking about." Harry snorted and gave him a backhanded wave as he ran down the rest of the way.

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Ron was waiting up for him as he climbed into the portrait hole and entered the common room. "Alright, Harry?" he asked worriedly. Harry nodded easily as he flopped down on the couch next to his mate.

Ron breathed a sigh of relief. All evening he had been feeling guilty about being responsible again for getting Harry into trouble. "Harry immediately calmed his fears. "He's making me write six feet on why transfiguration can be dangerous." Seeing Ron start to tense again, he hurried to reassure him. "He wasn't mad about the fighting. I just have to do the essay because I mucked when I used the spells. He's right. I really messed them up. He was pretty mad about the laughing, though," he admitted with a grin. "I almost really caught it for that," he smirked, remembering the feathered wing.

After a moment, Ron collapsed into a fit of laughter. Catching Harry's confused look, he explained between breaths. "Beware of foul fowl, Harry!" It took Harry a moment to catch on, but when he finally did, he burst out laughing as well.

Ignoring the stares of the other students, the two mates fell against each other in uncontrollable merriment for several minutes.