With Sirius having agreed to put Harry's Occlumency shields to the test, Harry made an even more sincere effort each night towards clearing his mind. Sirius always assisted him, and it certainly helped, but Harry thought he could probably manage on his own. Not that he minded his godfather's help.
The two weeks up until his sixteenth birthday followed a pattern that was nearly as structured as his Hogwarts schedule, but certainly more enjoyable.
He and Sirius rose around eight, perhaps a bit later if they felt like a lie in. They ate breakfast while still in their night clothes. Afterwards, usually around eight-thirty or so, they showered and dressed-Harry in either muggle clothes or casual robes, and Sirius in his standard wizarding robes. Depending on where they were in Advanced Potions-Making, Harry either read the next chapter for an hour, or reviewed the current one for a half-hour.
No later than ten, they retreated into the Black laboratory, where Harry would spend the next two hours, sometimes a bit longer, preparing the potion Sirius assigned. Lunch was usually around twelve, followed by a half an hour of reading with Sirius. Sometimes, it was silent but together, while other times, Sirius read aloud from a muggle leisure book for as a break for both of them. Even though Harry knew he was too old to be read to, he didn't mind. He loved the time with his godfather, who did excellent voices for the characters.
Around one, they headed to the study to practice non verbal spells for an hour. Sirius was keeping those lessons short for fear of wearing Harry out, and he had to admit to himself that an hour of focus on non verbal magic was still quite challenging. All the same, he could see an improvement. Harry had nearly mastered the Summoning charm, and Sirius promised they would begin dueling and Shield charms after that.
From two until six, Harry had free time, which he used to send Rom and Hermione owls, call them via Floo, and/or practice Quidditch. Occasionally, he took a short nap.
Then, there was dinner, followed by a trip into the Pensieve for at least one of Sirius's memories. He had just seen the one where he told Remus that they knew he was a werewolf, and the look on Remus's face when he learned that they would stand by him wasn't one Harry was likely to forget.
Harry felt like he was getting to know his dad, and the other marauders, pretty well. While they were only at the beginning of their second year at school, Harry could see that they were certainly prone to trouble, but also extremely protective of their own, and hadn't hexed anyone simply for being in their way. They also treated Snape with considerable restraint, given that he always seemed to be spying on them. Harry saw far less of his mum, but Sirius promised him that she would feature heavily in the later years, and afterwards.
After their trip into the Pensieve, they got ready for bed, and Sirius helped Harry empty his mind.
Weekends were the exception to this schedule. They still took a trip into the Pensieve, and Harry practiced clearing his mind before bed, but there were no lessons with Sirius. This was, in part, because Sirius wanted him to have weekends off during the summer holidays. Harry didn't think he was working too hard, but he did enjoy having two days that were entirely free time. He practiced Quidditch, read some of the other recreational books Sirius had bought him, reread "Quidditch Through the Ages," and played Chess with his godfather.
Another reason they didn't work on weekends were because of Order meetings. Harry, still underage, was not permitted to become a full member. Under his and Sirius's insistence, he attended all the meetings. Not that the two he had attended had been very exciting. Lots of arguing, for one thing, and complaining about how the Ministry was handling things. While everyone was happy that Fudge had been sacked, his replacement seemed to act more for the sake of seeming like he was doing something than catching Death Eaters and recruiting allies.
It was a bit depressing, really.
A few days before, Sirius had told Harry that since two weeks after the first night they'd agree to "count" would be his birthday, they would wait until the following day for him to try using legilimency against him. Harry was grateful for this.
Harry's party would be at Grimmauld Place. Mr. Weasley, having been promoted, was working all hours and would be unable to come. Mrs. Weasley, though, had asked if she could bring anything, and since Sirius knew that she would be offended if rejected outright, he suggested some biscuits. Harry had an inkling that she would arrive with more than that, but she knew that Sirius would be providing the cake. Besides the Weasleys, Hermione, and Remus Lupin, Harry had invited Neville and Luna, both of whom sent an owl back with a "yes."
The night before, when Sirius suggested that they head to bed to better enjoy the next day, Harry hesitated before agreeing. Sirius, of course, noticed.
"Something wrong?" he asked, immediately.
Harry shrugged a bit, grinning sheepishly. "It's rather stupid, but I usually try to stay up until midnight the night before."
Sirius chuckled. "Everyone in your dad's family did that."
"Really?"
"Really. When I came of age, James wouldn't stop nagging me until I did the same." Sirius put an arm on Harry's shoulder. "Tell you what. It's a little after nine now. How about you get some shut eye and I wake you up at, say, ten to twelve?"
"Well, all right, but won't you be tired tomorrow?"
He knew how much the party meant to Sirius.
"We can have a lie in tomorrow. I was planning to have us skip lessons, as it is your birthday and all," Sirius promised.
Harry nodded. "You won't forget? To wake me up, I mean."
"I promise."
That settled, Harry got into bed, and Sirius sat beside him, reading a book with a modified version of the Lumos spell, so as not to bother him.
Harry woke up what felt like seconds later, to Sirius gently shaking him. Upon opening his eyes, he saw a small flame and caught the distinct whiff of chocolate. He could just make out Sirius's face.
"Happy birthday, pup!" he said, softly, reaching out to give Harry a hug. "Well, in three minutes, anyway," he added, lightning his wand and consulting his watch. Nodding at the table, he added, grinning, "Thought we could begin the celebrations a bit early, all right?"
Harry noted that there was a second cupcake on the table, but this one had no candle.
"Thanks, Sirius!" he said, brightly, hugging Sirius again.
As soon as the watch read midnight, Sirius floated the lit, fairly large, cupcake in front of Harry. He made it hover in the air directly in front of his face, and began to sing "Happy birthday!"
Harry, still smiling widely, tried to blow the candle out, only to realize it was a trick one. Sirius, chuckling, easily extinguished the flame with his wand.
Harry held the cupcake, chocolate with vanilla icing and decorated with candy snitches, as though it were made of gold.
"Thank you, Sirius! It looks great!"
Sirius grinned, grabbing hold of the one still on the table. "Wanted you to have something sweet to eat as soon as you woke up. Potter family tradition. Come on, dig in."
"All right," Harry agreed, taking a bite. "Wow! This is even better than your cake."
Sirius, leaning against the back of the bed, took a bite and nodded. "Not bad."
They ate in silence, and then Sirius vanished the paper wrappings. Harry edged a bit closer to his godfather, who wrapped an arm around him as he used the other to pull the covers back up.
"Thank you, Sirius," Harry whispered, curling up against his godfather as Sirius wrapped his other arm around him.
"My pleasure, pup. Sweet dreams."
"You too," Harry yawned.
Well past nine the next morning, they arose for the party. Harry, for one, felt a big more groggy than he thought he would have, but after a shower, he was certainly ready to enjoy his first birthday with Sirius and his first party. He dressed in one of his casual robes, which he vastly preferred over his old muggle clothes. Not only were they far more comfortable and allowed more ease of motion, Sirius and he thought he looked more grown up. He didn't think that letting Sirius hug him or take care of him was inconsistent with this desire-Harry could clearly see from his godfather's memories that affection from friends and family had no expiration date.
"Surprise! Well, in a way!" Sirius half shouted when Harry returned to their room, holding a very large pile of gifts.
"Sirius, you didn't have to...you're already giving me a party!" Harry protested, albeit half-heartedly.
He'd known that his godfather would buy him something-despite his protestations that he didn't need anything and the party was more than enough-but he was surprised at just how much Sirius had managed to order, gift wrap, and hide from Harry's detection. Not that Harry had been looking around...
"Yes, yes, I know, you're an amazing kid and don't need anything," Sirius retorted, tousling Harry's hair. "Now, go ahead and open your gifts, pup."
So, they sat down on the floor as Harry went through the numerous packages, easily surpassing the total amount of presents (including the non-presents from the Dursleys) he had ever received in his life.
He had to admit that Sirius knew him extremely well. There included several boxes of favorite sweets, accessories for his Firebolt (a new model had come out that summer, but as Harry had loved his "old" one too much to consider replacing it, so he supposed this was some sort of compromise) trick items from Zonkos, new quills, and, of course, practical books. Harry couldn't stop grinning, and feeling that he was being spoiled, even though Sirius kept insisting that he had restrained himself considerably.
"Since you wouldn't let me get you the new Firebolt, I showed considerable restraint, pup!" he said, laughing.
"It's the first gift you ever bought me. I can't just throw it away!" Harry said, not for the first time.
Sirius smiled, his face turning soft. "Second. I bought you a toy broom when you were a year old. Still have your mum's letter of thanks. I'll see if we can find it, one of these days. I recall that you destroyed a vase sent by her aunt with it." He grinned. "Also got you tons of gifts when you were a baby. Pretty much whenever I visited, I had something for you. That's why I was your favorite."
Harry laughed, and Sirius pulled him into a hug.
"You were a terrific flyer, even then. And I can't wait to come to your Quidditch matches this year."
"I'd love that, Sirius," Harry said, meaning it with every fiber.
"You know," Sirius added, "I was rather surprised to learn that you had been flying with a mere Nimbus 2000 when I broke out. You knew there were newer brooms, right?"
"I saw the Firebolt on display when I was staying at the Leaky Cauldron," Harry explained, "but I figured it wasn't worth emptying out my vault for."
Sirius looked amused. "Just how much did you think it was? The newest brooms are always priced highest upon their release, but they go down a bit after a few months."
"I didn't ask. It just said you needed to ask to find out. Figured it was way too much for me to afford," Harry recalled, with a shrug.
"Well, I paid just under six hundred galleons for it, so it was likely between seven and seven fifty when it first came out. As for being able to afford it, when your mum and dad and I set up your trust vault-as I was to take care of you if anything happened to them and ought to know-we figured you would take out at least a thousand galleons a year. You could have taken out two thousand, but then, the money wouldn't grow as fast." Sirius paused, then asked, "Pup, how much do you tend to take out each year? There was quite a large sum when we visited."
Harry shrugged, still digesting all this information. "Er, I just fill a money bag that the goblins provide."
Sirius chortled. "That's likely not even a hundred galleons! No wonder it looked like the money had multiplied at least ten times since I'd been there last."
"Er...sorry?" Harry shrugged again. "I always had more than enough each year for what I needed. Y'know, new books, robes if mine were too short, that sort of thing. Sweets from Hogsmeade and gifts for my friends for their birthdays and holidays," he added as an afterthought.
The truth was, Harry had always thought he had more than enough to go around, even if he didn't go spending it on the newest broom or other trinkets. It wasn't as though he'd grown up with his Dursleys giving him pocket money.
"Well, I can't say that your parents and I are disappointed by your restraint, but you certainly would have been able to buy a Firebolt. Not that I wasn't happy to be able to buy it for you for Christmas," Sirius added. "Especially after your old Nimbus was destroyed. I'd been a bit worried that the broom would be confiscated, but it was a risk I'd been willing to take."
They headed downstairs after Harry put the presents away in his room, taking two trips to do so.
"Hermione did tell McGonagall, since there wasn't a card or anything," Harry explained. "They took it away for test for jinks and stuff. When nothing came of it, McGonagall let me have it back. Just in time for our game against Ravenclaw, too!"
"Wise of her, though if she's even half the Quidditch enthusiast she was when I attended Hogwarts, I'm sure she was practically in tears at having to strip down such a great broom," Sirius observed. "Naturally, I wasn't trying to kill you, but that might have been something a Death Eater like Lucius Malfoy would have attempted. After Voldemort came to power again, at any rate."
"Maybe before, since he did give Ginny Riddle's diary," Harry pointed out.
It was a sobering thought.
Sirius had insisted that there would be no lessons that day, but he did add an extra memory in the Pensieve, which they viewed immediately after a more traditional breakfast, but one still consisting of all of Harry's favorite things.
Holding Harry's hand, Sirius spoke softly. "This is one of my favorite memories. I won't say more-I want it to be a surprise. You ready?"
Harry nodded, and they jumped into the Pensieve, now both near experts.
It was, Harry saw immediately, the first full moon after the marauders had become animagi. While Remus had still felt the excruciating agony of the transformation itself, he enjoyed playing with Padfoot, Prongs, and Wormtail so much that he didn't injure himself once. When he turned back, Madam Pomfrey was very surprised at the lack of injuries (he only needed the standard pain reliever for the transformation to and back). The memory Harry watched had no words, because animagi could not communicate that way while in their animal forms, but Harry could feel their playfulness and happiness.
They all believed it had been worth the effort it took to get them to this point, as well as the risk of punishment if discovered. Being underage, it was extremely unlikely that they would go to Azkaban, but expulsion would be nearly as devastating to the marauders and their families.
Both Harry and Sirius wiped away happy tears as the memory ended, and Sirius held Harry tightly in his arms as they both sat on the couch for nearly a half an hour.
"Thank you, Sirius," he murmured. "That was brilliant."
Sirius didn't answer, or not in words. He just held Harry even closer, running a hand through his hair.
Since Sirius had prepared the cake the previous evening, although he still wouldn't let Harry see it, all that was left before Harry's friends came over was to decorate the kitchen. Even doing so the muggle way wouldn't have taken much time, and thanks to their magic, it took less than a minute.
Less than five minutes after everything was ready, the guests began arriving via Floo powder. It was deemed the safest way, what with Harry's friends still underage and unable to Apparate. Although Hermione and the Weasleys arrived first, Luna appeared almost seconds afterwards, wearing robes of tie dye, and Neville in bright blue robes.
"Harry!" Hermione greeted, running to give him a hug that nearly knocked him over. "How are you? Are you having a good holiday? Everything looks incredible!"
Harry hugged her back, grinning. "Hey, Hermione. Everything's been going great here."
As Hermione turned to Sirius, Ron came over to clap Harry on the shoulder, grinning. "Happy birthday, Harry! Blimey, mate, everything looks way better than it did last summer."
"Not having Kreacher or Sirius's mum's painting around helps a lot," Harry noted.
"Yeah, what happened to them?" Ron asked, looking around. "Wait, don't tell me you put his head up with the others?"
Harry shook his head, hiding a laugh. "Naw. Sirius gave him a bunch of orders not to talk, and sent him to work at Hogwarts. Dobby's keeping an eye on him. He's also under orders that if he breaks any of his commands, well, then, he would need to...er, join the others. Oh, and Sirius made me his master as well, so if I need him at school, I can call him. Not that I plan to do that. The less I see of that elf, the better. You know, what with him nearly getting Sirius killed."
Ron nodded in understanding. "And the portrait of Sirius's mum?"
"It's still around, but not in a place where we go. I think it's charmed to be indestructible, but at least we don't have to listen to her yell whenever we cross the entranceway," Harry explained. In a hushed tone, he added, "It's amazing Sirius is as great as he is, with a mum like that."
Ron shrugged. "Yeah, well, family's not everything. I mean, you grew up with the Dursleys, and you turned out all right," Ron noted. "Anyway, I'm just glad I don't have to tiptoe around her."
So was Harry.
Mrs. Weasley was next to say hello. While she didn't nearly knock Harry over with her hug, he was sure she almost crushed his ribs. What was it with females and forceful hugs, anyway? Still, he appreciated the thought, especially as she had been the first person since his parents to hug him.
"You look wonderful, Harry, dear," she praised, letting him go and holding him at arm's length. "Those robes truly suit you, and you look so happy!"
Harry grinned. "I am. Really happy, Mrs. Weasley. Thank you."
"I just brought a few things for everyone to eat. I know your godfather made the cake, so I didn't want to compete. I do have a pie, some biscuits, like he asked, fudge brownies, and a few other odds and ends," she explained.
"That's really great. No one can say no to your cooking, Mrs. Weasley," Harry told her, and meant it.
It was true, since he'd certainly eaten more than his fair share of it. Then again, he'd spent two summers nearly starved by the Dursleys, and while she didn't know the extent of it, she'd always bemoaned that he was too thin.
Ginny was next. Wearing bright blue robes that didn't look as worn as some of Ron's secondhand robes, she looked nice, especially with her shiny hair nearly to her waist. To his surprise, she gave him a hug, but it was brief and didn't leave him gasping for breath.
"Hi, Harry. How's your holiday been?" she asked, brightly.
"It's been great. How's yours?"
"Pretty good. Lots of schoolwork, though, since I have my OWLs this year. Hermione and Mum won't stop reminding me about how important they are, and Phlegm-that's our nickname for Fleur-keeps saying how France has the better system, because they take them after their sixth year," Ginny said, with a shrug.
"And they take their NEWTs the following year?" Harry wondered.
"Maybe they don't take them at all. I wouldn't mind only having one set of tests to study for, personally," Ginny laughed.
"Yeah, there's something to be dreaded when the tests begin with Nastily Exhausting," Harry agreed, "though I suppose we'll be ready enough when they arrive."
"Yeah, maybe. So, you been having a good holiday with Sirius?" she asked. "I suppose you must be having a blast. Ron's thrilled not to have homework this year."
"It's been great. Hey, are you getting to play any Quidditch? You still want to go out for Chaser?" Harry asked, steering the conversation in a safer direction.
"Oh, sure, Ron and I have been practicing loads. D'you know who McGonagall is going to choose as captain?"
Harry remembered that Angelina Johnson had graduated the past year. "Er, maybe Katie or Alicia, if they still want to play? They've been there the longest, I reckon."
"Ron reckons it will be you, because McGonagall wanted to make you Prefect, but Dumbledore chose Ron instead." She shrugged. "Guess we'll know in about a month. Oh, there's Luna!"
And she disappeared to say hello to her friend in Ravenclaw.
Fred and George came over next, even though Harry found out quickly that they had moved out of the Weasley home.
"Business is booming, and it's all thanks to you!" Fred told Harry, clapping him on the back.
Harry sent a furtive glance in Mr. Weasley's direction, being the parent nearest to them, but he and Sirius and Mrs. Weasley were busy setting up the "odds and ends" that Mrs. Weasley had baked (or, enough food to feed everyone three times over, plus leftovers), and seemed to hear nothing about it.
"I'm glad!" Harry told them, and he meant it. "Where's the shop? Maybe, Sirius and I can stop by."
"Ron, Ginny, and Hermione are all going once they get their school lists. Why don't you figure something out with them?" George suggested. "'Course, you can get anything you want, no charge. Sirius, too. He and Remus are sort of our heroes."
"I couldn't do that!" Harry protested.
"You gave us our start up, Harry," George pointed out, reasonably. "It's only fair you should get to see how the merchandise is."
"Yes, it's bad business, otherwise," Fred insisted.
Knowing that there was no point and protesting, and seeing their logic, he nodded.
"Say, did you hear that Snape's no longer teaching Potions?" he asked them.
"Yeah, Ron told us when he got your owl," Fred answered. "Good riddance, I say."
George was less certain. "I don't think he's gone for good. Dumbledore didn't keep him around all this time just to sack him. Did he tell you who's going to be the new Defense teacher?"
Harry shook his head. "I thought it was going to be Slughorn, but Sirius told me he was his old Potions teacher. He sort of...collects people, but he can't be as bad as Snape, or Umbridge."
"We asked Mum what we was like. She said she didn't really like him, because he didn't see much in Dad, but..."
"I mean," George said, lowering his voice to a near whisper, "Dad's smart and all, but you can't really blame Slughorn. If he was as muggle obsessed back then as he is now..."
"...Collecting plugs and the like, you'd think he was bonkers if you were his teacher of anything 'cept Muggle Studies," Fred finished.
"Sirius has been tutoring me in Potions," Harry volunteered. "He's really, really good. We're using the book he used, 'cause he thinks it will be the same one, but he's made a bunch of changes to improve the potions. I'm getting loads better."
"D'you know if you still have to get an Outstanding to take his class?" Neville asked. Turning red, he added, "Oh, hello, Harry. Sorry-happy birthday!"
"Thanks, Neville!" Harry smiled. "He'll take anyone who got an Acceptable or higher. I asked him via owl, because I got an E."
"I got an Acceptable. Maybe I'll take it, then. Gram knows I want to take Herbology, and I did really well in that, but she also wants me to take Transfiguration and I only got an E. I got an E in Charms, too, but she says that's not worth bothering with." Neville shrugged. "I'll ask her before the term begins."
"What do you want to take, Neville?" George asked, kindly.
"Herbology, for sure. Other than that, I don't have much I'm interested in continuing. And NEWTs are supposed to be practically impossible. But I can't just continue with only one subject, so I'll probably do Defense, since I got an E, and try for Transfiguration," Neville answered, with a shrug.
"We studied for three NEWTs and it wasn't so bad," Fred encouraged.
"'Course, we didn't actually take our exams," George added, with a grin. "And what a great exit we made!"
Harry chortled. "Peeves took you seriously. He made her life awful, and the rest of the teachers didn't lift a finger to help. Thanks for doing that, by the way."
"Our pleasure," they answered, with mock bows.
After saying hello to Luna, who immediately went on to ask Sirius if he'd ever been in a musical band, things started to settle down as Sirius gathered everyone around the table. It was even more festive than Christmas, and Sirius looked happier than ever.
As soon as everyone was seated, Sirius remained standing, and he cleared his throat.
"I'm not one for speeches, and I don't want to embarrass Harry too much, so I'll keep it short," Sirius began. "This is the first birthday celebration I've been able to throw for my pup, and I sure hope it's not my last. And while we're facing dark times, I just wanted to thank you all for being here, and to Harry, who's the most unselfish, loving, and brave wizard I could ever have the honor of being a godfather to. Harry," he added, staring Harry straight in the eyes, "I know how proud your parents are of you, and how much they love you. So, er, let's all enjoy this great food and celebrate Harry's sixteenth birthday. To Harry!"
Every adult toasted their wine-Harry and the others toasted with butter beer-and Harry felt a warm and bubbly feeling fill him that he knew had little to do with the warm drink making his way to his stomach.
Remus Lupin arrived a bit later, but there was still plenty of food and cake for him. His hair looked more grey than before, and Harry thought he might have lost some weight, but his robes were neat and without any patches. Even though, his expression was grim. He started to talk about disappearances, but Sirius and Mrs. Weasley were both on the same page: this was a birthday celebration, and they could discuss unpleasant news some other time.
Harry, seated between Harry and Ron, wouldn't have minded to hear some information, but he was also glad to enjoy the party. He knew it mattered more to Sirius than to him, as Harry was used to his birthday being ignored to such an extent that it felt strange to be the focus of everyone's attention, but he appreciated Sirius trying to look out for him.
After about half the cake was finished and a third or so of Mrs. Weasley's contributions to the party, people began to depart. Harry made plans with Ron and Hermione to go to Diagon Alley for their books once they received their lists.
Everyone said goodbye, giving Harry hugs and pats on the shoulders, as well as wishes for a happy year and hoping to see him again soon.
Harry hugged Sirius after everyone was gone, thanking him for the party and the toast.
"It wasn't too much, was it?" Sirius asked him. "I hadn't really planned it out, but I wanted to let everyone know how much this meant."
"Not at all. It was brilliant," Harry assured him, grinning ear to ear.
They hugged again, and after they separated, Harry noticed a pile of presents on one of the tables.
"Sirius, you didn't buy me more gifts, did you?" he asked, giving his godfather a bewildered look.
Sirius chortled. "It's tradition in both the muggle and wizarding world to give the birthday recipient a gift, pup. You've heard of that before, I hope?"
Harry shrugged. "I didn't expect anything, really."
"Obviously." Sirius chuckled. "Come on, the festivities aren't over, yet."
"I hope they left their names, so I can write thank you notes," Harry said, crossing over to the table.
"Even if they didn't, which is unlikely, the magical trace will be on their gift," Sirius assured him.
"But," Harry frowned, "there was nothing like that when you got me my Firebolt."
"That's because I didn't put my hands on it. I ordered it through the catalog, pup. Even used your name-except, bought it with my money. I couldn't very well go into a store without getting stormed by a thousand Azkaban guards," Sirius reminded him, gently.
Harry recalled that bit from the letter, which he still had with all of the letters from his friends. "That's right, I guess I forgot."
"It happens to the best of us. Anyway, that was a valid question." Sirius shook a box wrapped with silver paper. "Bet this one's chocolate."
It was chocolate, a container from Honeydukes, and from Remus Lupin. Fred and George sent an assortment of yet-to-be-released joke products from their store, Ron gave him a book about rare Quidditch trivia, Hermione sent him a stunning eagle quill, Mrs. Weasley knitted him another sweater (green with a Snitch that must have been charmed to appear and disappear throughout the sweater), Ginny a small box of toffee, Neville a sneakoscope, and Luna a dreamcatcher. Harry decided to write the thank you notes tomorrow, and to use Hermione's quill for hers.
Sirius gave him another hug when he mentioned this, and after they helped themselves to another one of Mrs. Weasley's fudge brownies, Sirius offered Harry another "trip into the Pensieve," which he was happy to accept.
This memory, fittingly, was of James's sixteenth birthday party, which included Sirius as a member of his family. A small affair, it contained the marauders as well as James's parents, and it was the first time Harry had seen his paternal grandparents up close.
"They're not still alive, are they?" Harry asked afterwards.
Sirius shook his head. "They lived long enough to see your dad engaged to Lily, who they loved."
"It didn't matter to them that she was a muggle born?"
"Only that she was a good person and he was happy," Sirius answered, simply. "They'd choose that over a pure or half blood who he didn't love, no doubt about it."
Harry wondered what his mum's parents had thought of James. He must have changed a lot from the jerk who hexed Snape, but unless Sirius had been at that meeting, he wouldn't know. Since Aunt Petunia had said that they had been proud of Lily being a witch, they were likely happy that she had married a wizard. It occurred to Harry that had Mr. and Mrs. Evans not died, they would have raised him. Dumbledore had wanted him raised in the muggle world, not knowing he was famous, but by people who knew enough to explain his accidental magic and what had happened with Voldemort.
He knew he would have been happier with his mum's parents, too.
"Ready for bed?" Sirius asked, starting to stand up.
Harry nodded, stretched, and hugged Sirius. "Thanks for all this, Sirius."
Sirius held Harry close and pressed his head against his. "It was my pleasure, pup."
A/N:
Before the fourth Harry Potter book came out, there was a rumor about the release of a new racing broom called the "Firebolt 100." This turned out to be false, and the only new broom that we learn about throughout the series is Ron's Cleansweep. Given the release of the Nimbus 2000, Nimbus 2001, and Firebolt racing brooms within a year of each other, I rather think that this is not unlike the muggle world's release of new technology (cars, iPhones, etc.). While I'm hardly a student of economics, I also believe it's reasonable that the prices on the newest item are highest immediately after the release, perhaps diminish a bit in the months that follow, and then fall considerably after the next newest product in the line comes out. After all, you might be willing to spend 200 galleons on a new Nimbus 2000, but when the 2001 comes out for 300, surely the old 2000 would drop considerably. Same, I believe, with Cleansweeps, Firebolts, and any other popular model.
Harry's belief that he couldn't afford the Firebolt is due in part to a slight scarcity (or frugal) mindset and also, of course, a plot point. Harry knows that his Nimbus is great, has never lost him a match, and his desire for the Firebolt COULD (although he doesn't KNOW) set him back a lot financially. Buying one on his own would mean that, unless the broom had been the one destroyed by the Whomping Willow, he wouldn't have "needed" Sirius to buy him a new one. It also wouldn't have provoked the further arguments between Harry, Ron and Hermione. Most importantly, it wouldn't have further established Sirius as someone who didn't just want to avoid getting caught and sent back to Azkaban, but someone who loves and makes an effort to know Harry and provide him with gifts-basically, the rich family member buying fancy presents for their favorite child trope.
