Still carrying Harry in his arms, Sirius headed into the restaurant. Harry seemed happy enough to be held by his new guardian. He didn't squirm around in his arms, or try to get down. Rather, he had his arms wrapped around Sirius' neck with his body along one side. Sirius wondered if he was truly comfortable that way, or if he was too scared to protest. They certainly had a lot to learn about each other. Back when Lily and James had been alive, Sirius had visited almost every day, and knew Harry's moods nearly as well as his parents. Now, almost four years later, the child certainly looked a lot like James had at that age, but he was far more quiet and reserved than Sirius would have expected.

Or, perhaps not. Sirius hadn't broken into the house at any point of his nearly four-year long investigation, but he could (when he tried) see almost as well as Padfoot as he had as a human, and a stray dog following a boy or family around attracted far less attention than a grown man. Well, grown enough. He was only twenty-five, after all. Not even half as old as some of his former teachers at Hogwarts. He and James and Remus had all had their fun even while the war was going on. It was a good thing, really, that it wasn't a teacher or grandparent who would be raising Harry. All the same, Sirius was worried about his puppy. Harry was so quiet, so scared. He knew it would take time to get him used to living with him. But, after all, Harry had chosen to live with Sirius, which meant all of his work to achieve guardianship had not been in vain.

Still holding Harry against him, Sirius looked around the large room. Being in the middle of the morning, it was rather busy. He noted that the building was smaller than Hogs Head or Three Broomsticks, although the large number of people there must speak highly of the quality of the food. He received a few stares, likely because he was wearing his wizarding robes, but didn't care a bit. Like many wizards, Sirius had gone through a period of flirting with muggle clothes, but that had been short lived. With the exception of a leather jacket, he only wore robes. Sure, he could use a spell to make them look like regular muggle clothes, just as he could have bought a suit to meet the Dursleys. As for the latter, after what he'd seen as Padfoot, he had no desire to make their meeting easier on them. As for the former...well, it was not strictly against the rules to dress as a wizard in muggle company, and most people would forget about him by the time their food digested.

In spite of the crowds, they didn't have to wait for long. Perhaps, it was because there were only two of them. When a female waiter saw Sirius carrying a small boy, she gave him a friendly smile and seated them at a small table intended for two. This rather presented its own potential problem. Sirius had hoped that they would be able to sit next to each other, but the size of the table meant that Harry would either have to sit on his lap or across from him. Fortunately, when he set the boy on the ground, he didn't seem to mind, and immediately headed to the chair across from Sirius.

"I know you're not hungry," Sirius began, once they had both taken their seats, "but you might change your mind when you see how good the food is. So, how's this idea? I'll order for me, but I'll order a lot, more than I could possibly eat." James would have called Sirius out on this, as the two of them could easily eat for a small family, but he would have simply grinned had Sirius made such a claim in public. "And then, if you want any, you can dig in. Eat whatever you like. If you're not hungry, still, or don't see anything you want, no harm done. Or," he added, "if you see a picture of something on the menu that I didn't order, and you decide you want it, I can get that."

Harry nodded somberly at this speech, and Sirius had to wonder if the child had ever eaten out before. Likely not, given how the Dursleys had treated him. The boy wasn't starving, but he certainly needed more food than he'd been given over the last three years. In light of that, the Dursleys certainly wouldn't have "wasted" money taking their nephew out to eat. Realizing this, Sirius felt a spark of anger, but held it down, knowing that everything was bewildering enough for his godson as it was. He needed to make things easier for him, not harder.

Reaching across the table, he gently placed his right hand over Harry's.

"There's no need to be scared, Harry. I promise," he said, softly. "I won't hurt you."

Harry took a deep breath, nodded again, and managed a smile, which Sirius returned with a larger one.

Sirius kept his word and ordered plenty of food, but kept his choices to ones he thought Harry would like. Eggs, bacon, toast, and pancakes. In case the child didn't like his food to touch (James had been particular about his eggs not touching his bacon), he asked the same smiling waiter for different plates for each dish. With an understanding nod, she smiled and promised that she'd take care of it.

When the food arrived, he arranged everything to be in easy reach of his new ward. Harry perked up, relaxing a bit as he took tentative bites from each dish, then helped himself.

Sirius noticed, as he ate, that Harry ate quickly, as though expecting the food to disappear. Still, he showed some restraint, no doubt fearing punishment if he ate too large of a mouthful at once, or too quickly. He kept glancing up at Sirius, at first, likely wondering if his new guardian would reprimand him. Sirius simply smiled at Harry as he ate his own meal, taking care to leave most of the food for the child, especially the pancakes and eggs, which apparently were his favorites.

Not that Harry left anything untouched. Sirius saw that while he ate a full piece of toast, he liked the bacon almost as much as the eggs. He'd make a note of this when he served him breakfast in the future.

Once the plates were more or less empty, Sirius paid the bill and left with Harry. He held his hand as they left the diner, and while Harry's steps were much slower than Sirius', he did not ask to be picked up again.

"Sir? Sirius?" the child asked, after they were in the sunshine.

"Yes, Harry?" Sirius encouraged, smiling.

"Where are we going?"

"To my house. It's quite a ways from here, so we're going to use a form of transportation called Apparition." Sirius knelt down in front of Harry. "I need you to hold my hand, and we will disappear and then reappear inside of my house. It will feel very strange, and might even hurt, but it will be over in a few seconds."

The child looked scared. "Like a needle?"

Sirius frowned. "Not exactly. I am sorry, Harry. I am not explaining it well, but it is very hard to describe. What I can tell you is that you are safe, and it will be over in a few seconds. Okay?"

Harry nodded, still looking fearful, and Sirius held his hand tightly.

"Good. Now, close your eyes," he instructed. "On the count of three. One, two, three..."

Sirius had been Apparating for the better part of a decade, so it felt like second nature to him. He only vaguely remembered when it had felt foreign and unpleasant. When he glanced at Harry, though, his face was much paler than he had ever seen, and there were tears in his eyes.

The tears fell and turned into sobs before Sirius could pick him up and comfort him.

"I know, I know," he soothed, holding the boy close to him. "You were very, very brave and I am so proud of you, Harry."

"R-really?" came the small voice from within his robes.

Sirius lifted Harry up so he was staring the child in the eyes. Lily's eyes.

"Yes. Very, very proud," Sirius answered, with a smile. "And it's all over now. Do you feel all right?"

Harry seemed to consider this. "I feel funny."

Sirius had expected this, and withdrew a piece of peppermint candy from his robes. He removed the wrapper and handed it to Harry.

"This will help," he promised.

Harry's face brightened at the treat, and his face slowly returned to normal as the peppermint entered his mouth. Sirius continued to hold him, gently running a hand through his hair, and began to walk around the parts of the house he used, softly telling Harry where everything was.

Before soon, Sirius realized, Harry had fallen asleep.