Exchanging similar looks of mild foreboding, Sirius and Harry rose and began the walk downstairs. With Dumbledore having forbade them to be out of the house in the evening hours, eating out wasn't really an option. Aunt Petunia wasn't exactly a bad cook, although her meals were considerably healthier now, with Dudley on the school boxing team. She often prepared some kind of dessert for "her diddlykins", but the actual meal was focused on vegetables.
At least, she wasn't limiting Harry's portions to less than Dudley's.
If the food was disappointing, the atmosphere was almost unbearable. Not that this was any surprise to Harry. Sure, someone who didn't know any better might think that the fact that Sirius was a full grown wizard who could (again, confirmed by Dumbledore) use magic at his discretion would make the Dursleys on their toes. Not the Dursleys. They kept their more blatant insults to a minimum, arguably, but they still acted like Harry and Sirius had taken baths in animal excrement, or something just as vile, and were continually tracking the remains through the Dursleys' pristine house.
"More carrots, anyone?" Sirius asked, holding the plate of vegetables out.
No one answered, and feeling a little sorry for his godfather, Harry spoke up.
"I'll take some, Sirius," he offered, holding out his plate.
Sirius placed a portion onto his godson's plate, giving him a smile.
"Sirius," Uncle Vernon grunted under his breath, like it was a swear word.
"You too, Vernon?" Sirius offered, grinning, holding out the plate again.
"NO!" Vernon thundered, then silenced himself.
They ate for awhile in complete silence, and once the plates were all empty, Sirius politely asked Aunt Petunia if he could help with the dishes.
"Not if you're going to use-you know!" she snapped.
Shrugging, Sirius placed a hand on Harry's shoulder. "Ready to head upstairs, then, Harry?"
"Sure," Harry said, gratefully. Glancing at his aunt and uncle, he added, "Er, good night."
Uncle Vernon grunted again, and Aunt Petunia just glared at him.
Sirius practically steered Harry up the staircase, letting his polite manner drop as soon as they were out of earshot.
"It's a wonder you turned out as well as you did, with them for relatives," he stewed. "I can't believe you lasted for ten years with that!"
Harry shrugged. "I guess. I always knew that were horrible to me, but it's not like I knew anything else, y'know?"
They walked into Harry's room, but instead of sitting on the floor, Sirius steered Harry to the bed, where they sat down. Sirius' arm, Harry noticed, was still wrapped around his shoulder, as though he could protect him from the Dursleys and the unpleasantness of their world.
"I do know what you mean, Harry," he answered, softer. "You know a bit about how I was raised, although at least my mother and father believed that they loved my brother and me." He shrugged, slightly. "Their contempt was for those who didn't adhere to our pure-blood ideology. If it hadn't been for my cousin, Andromeda, I might have taken longer to doubt it."
"What was she like?" Harry wanted to know.
"She's still alive, pup." Sirius smiled at Harry, then, almost tentatively, put his free arm around him, pulling him into a hug.
"She is?" Harry pressed, resting his head against one of Sirius' shoulders.
"Well, they don't generally kill us traitors when they blast our names off the tapestry," Sirius chuckled. "She's older than me...which you've probably suspected, as you've met her daughter, Tonks. Andromeda was also in the Order the first time around. She looks, well, a bit like Bellatrix, only not as severe. Dark hair and all that. Much gentler than either of her sisters, at least on the outside. Then again, she was in Slytherin, you know. We were at Hogwarts for a few years together, even though I'd been sorted into Gryffindor and we had to make an effort to see each other. She was ambitious, and loved to read all sorts of books. She and Hermione would get along very well in that way."
Harry laughed. "Y'know, sometimes I'm surprised that Hermione didn't end up in Ravenclaw. She said that Sorting Hat had thought about putting her there. Then again..."
But, he trailed off, thinking of how he'd rejected the Hat's trying to persuade him to go to Slytherin.
Then again, given that Sirius' entire family before him had been in Slytherin, he might understand more than anyone.
Sirius gave Harry a squeeze, then turned his head a little, so Harry could see his face. It was full of understanding. "You don't have to tell me, if you'd rather not."
But Harry shook his head, realizing that he didn't want to keep this a secret from Sirius. "No, it's just...right after I found out I was a wizard, Hagrid took me shopping for my books and robes and stuff. While I was waiting to be measured, I met Draco Malfoy for the first time. He didn't see my scar, then, so he just assumed I was going to be a new student. He was kind of a prat, going on about how he wanted his father to get him a racing broom to smuggle in, and how he didn't think that muggle-borns should be allowed into Hogwarts. He asked what house I thought I'd be in, and I didn't even know about the houses. Anyway," Harry continued, "he really wanted to be in Slytherin, and when I asked Hagrid later, he said that all the witches and wizards who went bad had been in that house."
Sirius gave a little snort. "I'm the last to defend Salazar Slytherin's pure-blood obsession, of course, but I think we both know of at least one Gryffindor who went bad. 'Sides, I can't imagine there weren't at least a few Death Eaters from other houses, Harry."
Harry gave a little shrug. "I guess." He hadn't given it much thought before. "Well, when it was my turn to be Sorted, the hat told me that I would do well in Slytherin. I begged him not to put me there, and he put me in Gryffindor. In my second year, I sort of tried the hat on again, and he told me the same thing. That I would have done well in Slytherin. Dumbledore, though, said that my not wanting to be in that house was one of the things that separated me from Voldemort."
"Hmm." Sirius sounded thoughtful. "Being Sorted there might have raised some eyebrows, and you'd see a lot more of Snape than you'd want. 'Course, that might have worked out in your favor. Being a Slytherin, he'd have to be at least half decent to you, even if it nearly killed him to so." Sirius chuckled. "Harry, I don't think that you would have suddenly turned evil just because you were sorted there. Had it happened that way, that is."
"What would you have thought? When we met later?" Harry pressed, suddenly needing to know.
Sirius shrugged. "Good question. My first reaction probably would have been that Snape would have had a few laughs at your dad's expense."
"Maybe, my dad at his, too," Harry guessed, grinning.
Sirius chuckled. "Probably. 'Course he been alive, he would have been concerned for you, spending that much time with Snape."
"I'm glad I'm in Gryffindor," Harry decided.
"Yes, you're very much a Gryffindor, Pup," Sirius laughed.
Before Harry could answer, Hedwig flew in through the open window. There were no letters attached to her tonight, but she gave Harry a quick, affectionate nip before returning to her open cage.
That night, a familiar nightmare visited Harry. He was back in the graveyard with Voldemort and the Death Eaters, Cedric's dead body by his side. His hand began throbbing as Wormtail sliced it open to give to his master, but unlike in the previous renditions, Cedric's body became Sirius's. Except, his godfather was alive, and upon seeing Harry tied up and bleeding, rushed over to him. Then, the burst of red light hit him...
Harry woke up in a sweat, screaming out loud before he could stop himself. The Dursleys mostly ignored his nightmares, but Dudley would hear him...Then, Sirius was there, hands on his shoulders at first, before joining Harry on the bed and holding him as though he was a small child instead of nearly an adult.
"He got you," Harry whispered, once he'd calmed down enough to speak.
He was aware that he'd grabbed onto his godfather's robes, and forced himself to let go.
Sirius held Harry to his side with one arm, and began running small circles along his back with the other. "Who did?"
Harry shrugged. "One of the Death Eaters. I didn't see who. J-just the red light."
There had been red light at the Department of Mysteries. Sirius had been stunned, and Bellatrix had turned her attention to...Harry couldn't remember who. Sirius hadn't died, hadn't fallen through the veil, although he'd come within inches of it. That had been another one of Harry's nightmares.
Sirius gave Harry another squeeze. "I'm still alive, Harry. Voldemort and his cronies aren't going to get me that easily."
"You-you can't go up against them, again!" Harry begged, his breathing going rapid.
Sirius placed both hands on Harry's shoulders. "Shh. Easy, easy, puppy. Deep breaths, okay? I'm not going anywhere. I'm right here," he soothed.
With a nod, Harry tried to follow his godfather's advice. It helped, some. As did the fact that Sirius was still alive.
It had been just a dream. Harry had learned, not through Snape's pitiful attempt at teaching, that Voldemort's visions couldn't be trusted.
Would have been easier if Snape had just told me this, instead of trying to break into my head week after week, he thought, savagely.
The Potions master had probably enjoyed it, though.
Harry forced himself to take several more deep breaths. Sirius, he noticed, had fixed the blankets around him, as though he planned to remain with Harry that night.
"Y-you don't have to..." Harry began, sure his face reflected his embarrassment at being mollycoddled.
"Just in case you get another bad dream, I want to be here," Sirius answered, giving Harry's shoulder another squeeze. "Easier than getting up from my toasty bed and running in to check on you."
He gave Harry's hair a tousle at the second part, so he must be teasing.
"Well, all right," Harry relented.
He lay down, pulling the blankets over him. Then, Sirius wrapped his arms around him. Tentatively, at first, Harry relaxed against him.
"Er-good night," he spoke, facing his godfather.
"Night, kiddo," Sirius answered, holding Harry more tightly.
As Harry felt himself drift off to sleep, he almost wished he could have remained awake for a little longer.
Author's note:
Ample study of the first three Harry Potter books didn't reveal the size of the bed in Dudley's second bedroom. While Harry's second envelop containing his letter from Hogwarts calls this room the smallest bedroom, which would imply that a bed larger than a twin might not give Dudley enough room for all of his discarded toys, I am also taking into account Dudley's large size. It seems fairly consistent with his upbringing that he would want a bed large enough to sleep in comfortably in a room he would never use for such a purpose, and his parents would agree to this. Moreover, Ron calls Harry's room large, and the Dursleys are fairly affluent, so it could be that the smallest room in their house is still rather large. In any event, for the sake of my universe, Harry sleeps in a full size bed when he's at the Dursleys, which makes the ending scene in this chapter more comfortable for Harry and Sirius.
This isn't a Harry/Sirius fic, but I do plan on including more hugs and bonding between the two than were present in the books. Harry might be nearing sixteen, but he hasn't had a real parent for ten years of his life, and is pretty much starved for affection on that end-which is clear when Mrs. Weasley hugs him at the end of GoF.
Also, if you've read any of my other fics, you know that hugs are pretty much a given, so it would be against my writing style not to include some with Harry and Sirius throughout this work!
If my characters allow it, I plan to have Harry and Sirius talk more openly about the events of the past as the chapters evolve. I'm still trying to build this world, and JKR is a VERY hard act to follow, so I hope you will bear with me!
As always, reviews are MUCH appreciated!
