Thank you, Jessica and mjacobbubbles, for beta reading this chapter.

MorganD is the one who first used "Puppy" as Harry's nickname, and is kindly letting me use it for this story.

If anyone wants me to respond to their reviews, please include your email address, since does not allow authors to respond to their reviewers anymore.

Chapter 5: Harry goes to school

Sirius had been reluctant to let Harry go to a muggle school. He felt that most of the concepts that he would be learning (science, for instance) would be next to useless in the wizarding world. Most children from wizarding families learned what they needed to know at home. Since Sirius had no job; he would have been content with doing the same thing.

Unfortunately, some way or another, it was discovered that Harry was living at Number Four, Privet Drive. Shortly after Harry's fourth birthday, Sirius received some information about Reception, which was not obligatory but highly recommended for children turning five years old.

Sirius had received the information in the mail just three weeks after Harry's birthday. The letter stressed that although Reception was not required, it was strongly encouraged. Dudley would also be starting that year, but he had gone to Nursery School the year before.

Sirius decided that since Harry would have to start year one in a year, regardless of what he, as Harry's guardian, thought was necessary, Sirius might as well send Harry in a year 'early', when most of the children started going to school.

Sirius, being a pure blood, had never been to a muggle school. He figured that they were most likely easier than Hogwarts, since it was mostly memorizing facts and concepts and making connections between said facts, opposed to learning how to concentrate and channel your powers and energy to create or change matter.

In the end, Sirius agreed to send Harry to this Reception. Harry was excited about meeting new people, but was not happy to hear that he would be in the same class as Dudley.

Sirius and Harry had a long talk the night before Harry would start his first day at Hedgeworth Primary. Sirius had explained that Dudley would probably try to be mean to him, and he could not let him get away with this behavior. Harry could use any form of magic Harry saw necessary, but he was not to be made a victim.

Of course, Sirius also added the stipulation, that magic was supposed to be used only in extreme circumstances. He really didn't need to tell Harry this, but Sirius thought it would be better to say it now and avoid any future problems.

"I'll take you in on your first day," Sirius promised Harry as he tucked the boy in bed. "I won't leave until you say I can. I think you'll have a lot of fun," he reassured gently to the anxious child.

Harry didn't answer his godfather as he hugged Sirius goodnight. He was very nervous…but also very excited.

Sirius took longer than Harry to get ready the following day, which was saying something. They both wore muggle clothes, which Harry was used to, but Sirius found uncomfortable (compared to his usual wizard robes he was used to). He had rarely worn muggle clothing before; his mum would have set the clothes on fire, with him in them, no doubt, and after Hogwarts, he had lived completely in the wizarding world. Even during the winter, he and his friends just wore extra thick, extra long socks and robes which they would enchant to stay warm.

Sirius drove Harry to school on his motorbike. It was meant to fly, of course, but it also worked very well on the ground. Sirius had neglected to tell Vernon how they were traveling, but he imagined that it would have been worth it, just to see the look on his pudgy face.

Harry held onto Sirius tightly as they drove to school. It was only ten minutes away, so they were at Hedgeworth within no time at all.

It was as opposite to Hogwarts as was possible to be. There was a playground, which made the school look somewhat happy, but the building was completely rectangular and everything was painted dark brown. There were long, wide steps at the middle of the building and two giant doors that Sirius assumed were where the kids were supposed to enter. Having already filled out the paperwork, Sirius and Harry had no choice but to go in.

Sirius kept an arm around Harry's shoulders as they walked, hoping that his godson didn't share his overwhelming sense of fear.

Harry's classroom was on the ground floor. It was right from the main office, so Harry would be able to find it without too much trouble. Sirius saw that there were two classrooms called Section 1 and Section 2, but he already knew from registration that Harry and Dudley were both in Section 1. Of course, the entire school did have recess together and ate lunch together, so Harry would still be able to meet kids from the other class.

A woman was making various notes on the board. Her hair was brown, straight but not pin straight. She was smaller than Sirius but hardly petite. Her clothes (a brown, bulky sweater and an ankle length grey skirt that flared out widely) made it hard to see if the woman was overweight and trying to hide it, or underweight and trying to look heavier. Sirius could not tell what her face looked like because that part of her body was facing the board.

He approached the woman, holding Harry's hand the entire time.

"Good morning."

"Good morning." The woman turned around. Her face was not exactly ugly, but there was no mistaking this woman for a model. Sirius was good at guessing ages of people, but grew stumped when he saw this teacher. Her eyes were grey; her mouth was wide, and her lips were thin. She could have been as young as thirty or as old as fifty.

Sirius hoped, for her sake, that the teacher was a young looking fifty year old, opposed to a drained thirty year old.

"I presume that you are the teacher here?"

"That is correct. I am Mrs. Horsfield. I teach Section 1 of the Reception program. Mrs. Swildor teaches Section 2."

Her voice was crisp and strict.

Much too cool to be teaching such a young group of children, Sirius told himself.

"My name is Sirius Black. My godson, Harry Potter, is supposed to be in your class."

Her eyes narrowed. Sirius was not sure why, but perhaps this woman was one of those people who thought that parents should stay out of all teachers' business. The woman peered at the list. "Yes, I can see that this is in order." She turned toward Harry and spoke very clearly and rather firmly. "My name is Mrs. Horsfield. Mr. Potter, please take a seat at the desk that says your name."

"Yes, Mrs. Horsfield," Harry whispered.

Although the woman's voice was not exactly unkind, Sirius had taken a disliking towards her. He put an arm on Harry's shoulder as though to stop him from moving.

"I see no other students seated," Sirius replied.

Her eyes narrowed. "They will be, presently."

"In addition," Sirius continued, acting as though he hadn't heard the teacher, "you will refer to my godson as Harry, not Potter or Mr. Potter. He is, after all, only four years old."

"Mr. Black, you will find it quite standard—"

What Sirius wanted to say was, "I don't care a whiff about your standards. Harry is going to a family school as soon as he turns eleven, and the only reason he is even here is because of the damn government!"

His actual words were more neutral. "He is four years old and very quiet. I insist that you call him by his first name. I am sure that I am not the first guardian to request this."

"Oh, very well," Mrs. Horsfield huffed, looking quite put out. "Harry, please take your seat."

Sirius hoped that he sounded gentler when he took Harry's hand and said, "Come on, puppy, let's see where you're supposed to sit."

Harry nodded, rather wide eyed. The woman was nearly three times his height, and a good deal wider than he was.

She must seem very intimidating to such a young child, Sirius mused idly.

Sirius wanted to console Harry, to tell him that this woman was just a muggle and he shouldn't worry about her. He would not raise Harry the way that he had been raised. But he had never been in a position where he had to take orders from muggles.

Once they were out of hearing distance, Sirius muttered, "That woman is a monster."

Harry giggled, though rather reluctantly. "She's a little strict."

"You'll have worse professors at Hogwarts, but she has no right acting that way towards you. You're only four years old, after all."

Upon finding Harry's seat, Sirius bent over and gave the tiny boy an enormous hug. He brushed Harry's hair away from his face.

"I'll be back to get you as soon as school is over. If you don't like it, though, then remember to hex Mrs. Horsfield," Sirius added, mock sternly.

"Okay," Harry giggled.

Sirius left a few moments later with great reluctance. He hoped, though in a half hearted sort of way, that no one could see the tears that building up in his eyes, threatening to spill down his cheeks.

Damn muggles, he thought. Them and their rules…

Sirius spent most of the day reading and pacing. He also cleaned up Harry's room a few times. His bed had never been the same since Sirius had enlarged the legs; the wood seemed rough and unstable.

It seemed like forever before it was time for Sirius to leave to pick Harry up. When he arrived, he was still ten minutes early.

After waiting several hours, ten minutes may not seem like such a long time, but for Sirius, it felt like an eternity. At last, he saw Harry walking down the steps, his backpack swung around one of his shoulders. He was talking to a girl with curly brown hair and large glasses. Dudley was a few feet away from Harry and he was conversing with a few other heavyset boys.

"Harry!" Sirius called, waving one of his arms.

Harry said something to the girl and then ran at Sirius' bike. He was grinning widely.

Sirius jumped off the bike so that he could give Harry a bear hug. He couldn't wait to hear about Harry's day.

"How was it?" he asked, as the small boy nestled against his stomach.

"Fun," came the muffled reply. "Mrs. Horsfield taught us the alphabet. She says we're going to start learning numbers tomorrow, and then we're going to learn how to read soon."

"Make any friends?" Sirius questioned excitedly.

Part of Sirius hoped the answer was no that Harry would always remain his puppy and he would never have to share him with anyone else. The logical part of Sirius knew that this was irrational and Harry would always love him. Besides, it was important for Harry to socialize with kids of his own age.

"A couple," Harry replied, letting go of his godfather. "Not Dudley's group, though."

"I wouldn't expect you to," Sirius laughed.

He scooped up the small boy and secured him in the motorbike. As they made their way home, Harry chattered about some of his new friends and what they had done in school that day. He even announced, excitedly, that they had homework.

"What do you need to do?" Sirius questioned his eyes on the road but his attention on Harry.

"I have to draw a picture of my family," Harry explained. "We're supposed to color it in and then Mrs. Horsfield is going to hang them up in class. She says that we should all have a mummy, a daddy, and maybe some brothers or sisters."

His voice seemed to shake a little at that. Harry didn't know why he didn't have parents. Maybe, before then, he thought that just having Sirius was normal. Now, he would be exposed to a bunch of kids who had a mum and a dad. Probably no godfather, though. Harry would start to miss his parents. Would Sirius be enough for him?

These thoughts ran through Sirius' brain at lightening speed.

"You're special," Sirius replied, smiling. "You have me."

Harry giggled.

"Are you going to put your aunt, uncle, and cousin in the picture?" Sirius asked.

"I don't know," Harry replied. "Maybe."

Sirius didn't know what to say. If Harry included his blood relatives, he might have to explain why his godfather lived with them. Harry barely knew that he was a wizard, and of course, his teacher would just think it was an overactive imagination. On the other hand, Dudley was in his class and the school knew that they were cousins. Dudley was too young to understand the Dursleys' insistence that Harry was not a member of their family. He could let it slip.

There would be problems either way.

Harry ended up drawing Sirius in the middle of his page, with him, his mum and dad in the sky, and the Dursleys on a far edge of the page. Sirius did not know exactly what Harry told his class about his living situation, but since there were no notes from Mrs. Horsfield and no tears from Harry, he assumed that the school hadn't asked too many questions.

For once, Sirius Black was in agreement with Vernon Dursley: In many cases, one should just keep his mouth shut and not ask questions.

All in all, Harry liked school. It gave him a chance to be with other kids, ones his own age (since Sirius claimed that he was not a grown up). When they got together on weekends, though, it was usually at the park and not Number 4, Privet Drive.

Petunia would not have Harry's friends visiting his house, messing up her precious clean kitchen floor.