Sirius felt pleased by the way the visit with Neville had went. While he and Remus had held the less enjoyable experience of entertaining his mother, even that had gone reasonably well, given the circumstances. Frank Longbottom had been a couple of years ahead of them, and hadn't played Quidditch, so their interactions had been limited. While in the Order, however, the four came to know him and his wife reasonably well. Enough that James and Lily had made the Longbottoms alternative guardians were something to happen to Sirius.

Augusta had been a domineering mother to her only son. Her expectations had always been high, and it was a good thing that he met them. While he'd disappointed her slightly by not becoming Head Boy at Hogwarts, he remained Prefect for three years, and his marks would have rivaled James's and Sirius's had they been in the same year. His ten OWLs and five NEWTs were all given the mark of Outstanding. It was no surprise when he entered into Auror training and, following his excellent academic record at school, achieved extremely high marks.

Sirius and Remus knew all about this beforehand, but were treated to what Sirius thought was a rather inflated assessment of her son's accomplishments by his mother. After all, as Sirius told Remus later, whoever heard of an Outstanding Plus? Or completing Auror school in two years, rather than three?

Still, they listened politely and attentively, and Remus offered her extra tea and cakes and biscuits in what he later told Sirius was an effort to stagger her chatter.

"I just hope that Neville doesn't grow up thinking he has massive shoes to fill," Remus told Sirius, after the woman had left and Harry had been put down for a nap. "She's already concerned that the boy hasn't done any accidental magic."

Sirius sighed. "My mother was the same. Anything below full marks was cause for a stunning jinx, and I received the number of marks on my legs as the number of points below one hundred."

Remus made a face. "Well, that sort of punishment used to be quite common, but I believe most parents are steering clear of that."

"I certainly will," Sirius agreed, gazing at the sleeping Harry. "Merlin knows, you don't learn anything except to avoid being beaten that way."

They sat down in the kitchen. "Have you given any thought to who we should have over next, Padfoot?"

Sirius smiled. "I have, but I expect that we'll be doing the visiting, unless Andy wishes to come over."

Remus brightened. "I haven't seen her in months! Oh, Harry will love meeting her and Dora."

"Yes, and I thought it might be a good way to gently introduce him to Hogwarts. Not that I'll make him go, of course, but Nymphadora is twelve years old, and starting her second year in a few weeks," Sirius noted. "Andy told me in her last letter that her daughter, while very happy to be home for the holidays, loves it at school."

"I'm glad. I remember when she was just a small child," Remus recalled. "Twelve already, eh?"

"Closer to thirteen, actually. Her birthday falls a few days after Christmas. They celebrated with just the three of them last year, no other guests," Sirius noted. "Andy wrote that she loved it, and they'd likely do so again."

"I always thought it was difficult for those whose birthdays fell outside of the school year," Remus admitted. "Perhaps, if it occurs during the summer holidays, you can have a few friends over. But I was always happy that mine fell during the year."

"Me, too." Sirius made a face. "My birthdays at home were terribly stuffy affairs. The only high point was seeing Andy. Well, and the gifts," he added, with a laugh. "Half of my parents' friends gave me money, which my parents put into my vault, but the other half generally gave me some decent gifts. Not like the dress clothes and boots my parents thought were appropriate."

"You did a wonderful job with Harry," Remus offered, placing an arm around Sirius's shoulders.

Sirius smiled. "Well, it's not too difficult to guess what a five year old who just learned that magic is real would want."

This was true.

Sirius sent off a letter to Andromeda, offering an invite to his house. He was quite sure that she would turn the invitation around, but he had enough manners instilled in him to know never to invite oneself to another's house.

Even if they were family.

By the time his letter was off, Harry had risen from his nap. Sirius leaned over and gently took the small boy into his arms, and smiled when Harry nestled against him.

"Did you have a good rest?" Sirius asked, after a few moments.

Harry nodded, then yawned. "I had a lot of fun with Neville," he offered.

Sirius beamed. "I'm glad. We'll have him over again, and other boys your age. In fact," he added, "I just sent a letter to one of my cousins. Her name is Andromeda, and she also has a daughter."

"Is she my age?" Harry asked.

"No, she's rather older. Still very nice, though. She's a metamorphagus, which means she can change her appearance at will. She likes to play at it, make her face look like a pig." At Harry's giggle, he added, "She loves to show off with it, and when you meet, you can ask her to make all sorts of animal faces. And her mother and father are lovely. She won't be your mother, of course, as you'll be living here, but she's my family, which makes her yours."

Harry thought this over for a moment, then nodded. "Sirius? What shall I call her?"

"I don't know," Sirius admitted. "We'll have to find out when we meet her."

"When will that be?"

Sirius chuckled. "I don't know, puppy. I only sent out the letter today!"

Harry's face turned red. "I'm sorry."

Sirius held him closer. "Ah, I'm not angry at you, Harry."

"Thank you."

"For what?"

"For...for not being angry. And for letting me ask questions," Harry explained.

Sirius held him at arm's length, just for a moment. "Harry, love. You can always ask me questions." He paused, then added, "That rule about not asking them? Your aunt and uncle were wrong to make that. Just like they were wrong not to feed you enough, and to let your other aunt hit you, and nearly everything else they did to you. You--you can trust me not to get angry at you for something you don't know about. Do you understand?"

Harry frowned, just a bit. "A little. Does that mean you won't ever get angry at me?"

Sirius tried not to sigh. To promise that would mean breaking it, at least at some point. Besides, of the two of the Marauders, Remus was the more mild mannered.

"I promise you that I will try very hard not to, and that I will never hit you," he answered. "And if you do something you shouldn't, I will let you know before I become angry. How does that sound?"

Harry nodded. "Okay."

Sirius hugged him again. "Come. It's nearly time for dinner. And that means it's almost time for dessert! There are plenty of treats left over from tea."

Together, they walked into the kitchen.

Author's note:

Thanks again to all who have left kind words of feedback and encouragement. The next chapter will likely feature a visit to the Tonks.

I have been writing fanfic for other fandoms, including the wonderful TV show "Space Cases." If you have ever seen it--or even if you haven't and want to give my works a read--I would be very appreciative! One of my newer fics is a crossover featuring a Sorting of the characters (just a Sorting--they won't attend Hogwarts!).