Harry wasn't sure how long he slept. When he opened his eyes, he saw the back of a book directly in front of him.

He hadn't thought he had made much noise, but Sirius immediately put the text aside.

"Sleep well?" he asked, and Harry could feel the affection in his voice.

Harry nodded, trying to shift to a sitting position. To his relief, Sirius let him without trying to help. Good. He wasn't ill-or a small child. As much as he loved the hugs and affection, Harry was nearly sixteen and could move on his own.

Most of the time, anyway.

Sirius did place an arm around him, which Harry welcomed. In fact, he let himself curl into Sirius, who responded by giving him a light squeeze.

"How long did I sleep for?"

"Almost three hours."

It had certainly felt like it.

"Will it always be this draining? Non verbal spells, that is?" Harry asked.

He hoped that he didn't sound like he was complaining or, worse, whining. He was grateful that Sirius was willing to teach him, and it sounded like he would need all the help he could get in the following year. Still, he didn't fancy nearly passing out on a daily basis.

"Shouldn't. I, er, pushed you too hard earlier," Sirius said, his tone sheepish. "When your dad and I began, when we were taking breaks with reviewing for our OWLs, we only worked in twenty minute increments. Made our way up to an hour. When I checked my watch, I saw you and I had passed that in the first day." Sirius winced. "That was irresponsible of me, and I'll pay more attention next time. And before you protest that you can handle it-please don't, all right? It's good to test your limits, but not to the point of exhaustion on the first day."

"It was that bad?" Harry asked, even though he knew the answer.

"Pup, you were practically asleep on your feet!" Sirius wrapped his other arm around him, and gave Harry a gentle squeeze. Harry let out a contented sigh, and Sirius smiled at him. "You'll trust me with this, all right?"

Harry grinned, a bit cheekily. "I dunno. Didn't you just say you let me nearly collapse?"

Sirius retorted by tickling Harry along his sides, eliciting peels of laughter and a great deal of squirming as he tried to escape.

"Hey!" he protested, trying (and failing, he was sure) to look affronted.

"Sorry," Sirius answered, hugging him, but not hiding a smirk.

Harry returned the hug, then allowed himself to relax against Sirius.

"I trust you," he said, softly. "I mean, with teaching me and all. Not so much about not killing me from tickling!"

Sirius snorted. "Death by tickling, eh? That would be an embarrassing way to go!"

"Mmm."

Harry leaned against Sirius's shoulder, and his godfather let both arms rest around him. They remained like that for a bit, until Harry noticed the book Sirius had set aside.

"What were you reading?"

Sirius wordlessly summoned the book, floating it in front of Harry with the cover facing him. "One of the books I bought for you. Remus had suggested it when we were at Hogwarts, for recreational muggle reading in between studying for our exams. The fact that my parents would have been furious for me if they knew I read muggle books just added to the appeal." He paused, just for a second, then added, "Shall I read you some?"

Even though Harry knew he was far too old to be read to, his experience of being read to had consisted of overheard snatches of picture books-usually about cats and other engines-when Dudley had been small. In his cupboard, he had almost been able to make out half the story if he listened carefully, and the television wasn't on.

"All right," he said.

Sirius removed one hand from Harry long enough to open the book. "I'll start from the beginning. 'In fairy-tales, witches always wear black hats and black cloaks, and they ride on broomsticks. But this is not a fairy-tale. This is about real witches.' Now, pay attention, pup," Sirius added, with a grin.

Harry lay his head on his shoulder. "I'm listening."

Sirius's voice got a bit tired after the first chapter, so they decided to continue before bed.

After another quiet dinner consisting of steak and kidney pie, Sirius and Harry decided to use the Pensieve. The basin was larger than Harry had remembered, and had it not been for Fawkes's ability to carry very heavy loads, it likely would have taken at least a dozen owls to carry.

Dumbledore had enclosed instructions for its use, but Harry thought he would have been able to tell Sirius what to do, having seen Snape extract his own memories.

"I've never used one before," Sirius said, after reading the short letter. "I know what to do, now, but what will you see when we enter the memory?"

"Just what happened, according to what you recall, I think. I didn't see what Dumbledore or Snape was thinking at the time when I saw theirs. Only the scene, 'cept I was there, too. Kind of. It was like I was there, only it's in the past and no one can see or hear me," Harry tried to explain.

Sirius nodded, then read over the note. "Says here I just think of the memory and point my wand at my head. It will get extracted, and I put it in the basin."

"Right, and you can do it more than once." Harry shrugged. "I don't know if there's a limit. Snape did it three times, so I suppose you can do it for at least three memories? But, maybe it depends on how long the memories are?"

"I suppose we can start with one," Sirius decided, putting the note in one of the pockets in his robes. He held his wand at his head, and the silvery mist came out. He placed it inside the basin, which began to shimmer.

There was no sign of the basin being nearly full.

"We place our heads inside, now," Harry said, turning his gaze away from the basin.

"Count of three?" At Harry's nod, Sirius began, "One, two, three!"

They lowered their heads, and immediately, the scene changed.

Entering a memory with someone else was quite different than being by himself. As he nearly collided into Sirius, Harry saw that his guardian was quite solid.

"Ugh! Sorry!" he apologized, stepping back to give Sirius time to get his bearings.

"No trouble, pup," he answered, almost absentmindedly. "Blimey..."

They were at King's Cross, and there was Sirius. He looked much younger than he had during the OWL exam, but he still had the great looks, the near perfect hair. It was shorter than before. Not a close shave or anything, but still, shorter than Harry's when he had entered school (or now). He wore the Hogwarts uniform, and his hand was being held by a woman who looked like a dark haired version of Narcissa Malfoy. A great beauty, even with a look of disdain on her face. Had Harry not seen her portrait, he might have thought she was annoyed at the loud crowds.

"Now, Sirius," she began, her voice softer than the one of her portrait, but no less imperious.

She was, however, interrupted by a loud noise coming from the train. The younger Sirius looked rather relieved by this, but quickly schooled his features.

"Dear Mum was about to give me a lecture on good behavior as befitting a Noble House, I'd warrant," came Sirius's voice from beside Harry. "I was thanking my lucky stars that we had to board just then."

Harry gave Sirius a tentative smile, and Sirius wrapped an arm around him in response.

"Come, then," his mother said, as though she had not been holding his arm. Then, she added, sternly, "Face me."

Sirius obeyed, and his mother withdrew her wand. Harry tensed for a moment, expecting the worst, but she only used it to remove a few wrinkles from his daily robes, and again to straighten his already tidy hair. Sirius looked as though he was trying not to cringe.

"Much better." She placed a brief kiss on his forehead, and then gave him a very brief hug. "Now, Sirius, I expect that you will comport yourself as befits your station. In addition to making appropriate friends, you are to receive full marks in all your classes. If you wish to spend the holidays at school, let us know by the end of December. Otherwise, we shall see you in a few months. Come, Regalus," she added, turning her gaze to a smaller boy who looked very much like Sirius.

Regalus obediently stepped forward and took her hand. "Goodbye, Sirius," he said, solemnly.

Sirius shook his brother's hand. "Bye, Reg. I'll send you loads of owls."

Regalus brightened a bit, and his mother's lip tightened, but she made no further remarks.

"Mum never liked casual behavior, especially nicknames," Sirius explained, his voice a bit strained. "I would have gotten a stinging hex on the knees had I not been about to board the train."

Harry winced at this knowledge. "I'm sorry."

Sirius just gave him a squeeze.

They followed Sirius onto the train, where he passed several empty compartments before seeing one with Harry's dad. Across from him was Lily-he was sure-and a sallow faced boy with stringy hair.

"Sirius, is that...?"

His godfather laughed. "Wait and see, pup."

"Hey. Any room in here?" Sirius asked, holding his trunk in one hand like it weighed nothing...which, was probably true.

The boy Harry was sure was his father brightened. "Sure."

The other two, the girl with tear stains on her face, just gave brief nods.

"I'm Sirius Black," Sirius said, extending his hand.

"James Potter," Harry's dad answered, taking it with an easy smile.

"First year?" Sirius asked, plopping down next to James in a manner Harry was sure his mum would have hated.

"Yeah. Can't wait. I don't have any older brothers or sisters who have been, but my mum and dad have told me loads of stories. What 'bout you?" James asked.

"Likewise. My younger brother's expecting me to tell him all about it, too," Sirius said, with enthusiasm.

They talked a bit about what they'd heard about the castle and the horror stories about Filch. Suddenly, the boy Harry thought was Snape tried to cheer up the other girl, telling her they were going to Hogwarts. Which Harry thought was a rather silly thing to say-they were on the train-and judging by Sirius's snort, he felt the same way.

Then, the boy told the girl she'd better be in Slytherin, and that's where things started to fall apart.

James called Snape Snivellous, which struck Harry as a bit strange since he hadn't been crying, so Snape and Lily (to Harry's disappoint) left the compartment. Harry felt an urge to follow them, but even if he hadn't been with Sirius, he knew he wouldn't have been able to. Not unless Sirius had followed them, and he didn't think he would.

The tension eased after Snape and Lily left. Enthused by Sirius's desire to join his house, he told him all about what his father had told him about Gryffindor. Sirius returned by bashing what he knew of the Slytherin house.

"'Course, they're not all Death Eater wannabes," Sirius added at one point. "My older sister is in Slytherin, and she's as nice as they come. She even started seeing a muggle born in Hufflepuff, but swore me to secrecy. Our family would burn her off the tapestry if they knew."

"And they did," Sirius added, a bit grimly. "Ted's one of the nicest and most loyal people you'd meet, next to your dad and Remus, but all they saw was someone with 'inferior blood.'"

Sirius quoted the last two words.

The scene changed to his Sorting, and while the hat berated him for wanting to go against family tradition, he got his wish and was placed in Gryffindor.

The memory concluded with the two meeting other first year students at the feast, including Lily who snubbed him, and Remus and Peter, who had not been sitting with them on the train, but conversed with them at the feast. The night ended with the school song led by a younger Dumbledore, and the trip to the Gryffindor common room.

Harry felt himself and Sirius gently ejected from the basin. Sirius placed his wand into the basin and retrieved his memory.

"That was great, Sirius," said Harry, meaning it. "Thank you!"

Impulsively, he threw his arms around Sirius, who chuckled and pulled him close.

"I'll show you at least one every night until you leave for school. Sound good?" Sirius asked, running a hand over Harry's hair.

Harry nodded, letting go of Sirius. "Thanks," he said again, a bit softer this time.

He couldn't quite hide a yawn, and even though it was a half an hour before he usually went to bed, Sirius gave him a knowing look.

"What do you say we turn in? You can stay with me, and I will help you with clearing your mind, if you like," Sirius offered.

Harry had been a bit fearful of nightmares, especially seeing the eleven year old Snape practically in person, so he nodded.

"Your room, or mine?" Sirius asked as they made their way up the staircase.

"Yours," Harry decided.

He liked the idea of sleeping in the room containing pictures of his father and his friends on the wall.

After changing into a pair of pajamas, Harry brushed his teeth in Sirius's adjoining bathroom. The room, like many in the house, was as large as the Dursleys master bedroom. Instead of one or two sinks, there were five.

"Sirius? Why are there five sinks?" Harry asked, seeing this for the first time.

"Why not?" Sirius retorted, playfully. "I might wish to brush in one sink and spit in the other. And Merlin forbid I should shave in the same sink I wash my face in. We aren't lowly commoners, Harry."

Harry snorted. "Must have been quite an adjustment, sharing a bedroom and a bathroom with others at school."

"My parents prepared me for this indignity, so I was merely disgusted rather than traumatized," Sirius chuckled. "I was able to adjust."

Still smiling, they headed over to the bed. Sirius tucked the covers over one side of Harry, and sat next to him, running his hands over his hair.

Harry didn't think he would ever get tired of this.

"Imagine a place or memory or person where you felt completely safe," Sirius began, speaking softly. After a minute, he asked, "Do you have that?"

Harry nodded, feeling his eyes start to close. "Being here, with you," he murmured.

Sirius smiled. "Feel the same way, pup."

Sirius continued to walk him through the steps, letting Harry immerse himself in that moment. In the complete safety, security, and love that he felt, and that he knew was returned.

Harry fell asleep secure in Sirius's arms, and he had no nightmares that night.

Next up:

Harry wants to progress to the next stage of mastering Occlumency, but Sirius has his own hesitations.