Three days after Harry's birthday saw Harry and Draco spending more time together. Currently, they were snacking on scones at the dining table.
"When is your birthday, Draco?" Harry posed before taking a bite of his scone.
"June fifth," the blond said happily. "I'm first!" Harry smiled.
"Yeah." They continued eating. "What is your favourite colour?"
"Green because it's for Slytherin, a house at Hogwarts," Draco explained. "My parents were in Slytherin. Your parents were Gryffindors, a different house."
"What colour are they?"
"Red."
"But I like green because Amazon says that my mum's eyes were green."
"And my eyes are silver and we have Slytherin eyes because your eyes are green. Slytherin colours are green and silver."
"Are there more houses?"
"Ravenclaw, and they're blue and bronze. Hufflepuff, and they're yellow and black."
"Red eyes are for mean people." Draco nodded.
"They look scary, but people have blue eyes and black eyes." They finished eating. I brought some toys. Do you want to play with me?" Harry grinned.
They went to Harry's room and Draco took out a shrunken box of miniature figures of famous wizards. He took out a figure of a tall, thin man with an aquiline nose, pale skin and steely-grey hair. The figure sported a surly expression.
"Why does he look grumpy?"
"Grandpa Phineas worked too hard. Mummy says to love him."
"But he's dead?" He looked very old.
"But we can talk to him in his picture."
More figures emerged, a tall, broad-shouldered man with bright blue eyes and bright red, shoulder-length hair, among them. It flowed out from under a shiny, black wizard's hat. Harry thought that he looked very cool. The long, sweeping robes in red added to the aesthetic. Harry posed the figure to walk towards a different figure that Draco was using.
He wore emerald green robes, had dark eyes, and a thin build. While the other had a full, short, red beard, he had a long, thin, pointed silver beard.
"His picture?"
"Yeah, pictures move."
"Okay, and he looks like he has monkey fingers," Harry observed, pointing at the fingers of the figure Draco was holding.
"No, he doesn't," Draco opposed. Laughter erupted from the doorway.
"Not going to lie, I think Harry's right," Lucius said.
"But Daddy, you love him!" Draco protested.
"I was sorted into his house, but I don't know him because he's dead and has been dead for nearly a thousand years. Our view of him and the others are a bit more subjective."
"What does that mean?" the blond asked.
"It means that we can see him better because we don't know him. The only things we know about him are the things from books," Narcissa explained.
"And that's different from knowing Harry or other people because they're with us and can change while the people you're holding can't change and will forever be the same even though they live through the traditions that are kept by us."
"Okay," the pair responded, slightly uncertain as they didn't quite understand. A figure in bright purple robes walked on its own accord towards Harry. His silver, half-moon spectacles were sliding down his thin nose. Harry slid them back up and then turned it around to send it the way it came.
The adults snorted, grinning at the small detail even when the children didn't understand the significance.
"Well, Harry doesn't like Dumbledore either," Amazon whispered. They couldn't hide their glee. Their happiness allowed Harry to do something he'd never been able to do.
"I wish I was like Draco. I want my parents." The three adults exchanged looks. "But I love Amazon! He's the best!" Lucius and Narcissa looked at the older man beside them.
"Harry insisted that I have one because you all have one, but I didn't because I can't do magic," the man explained. "I told him that if I turned into an animal, it would be a Maned Wolf, which lives in South America, the home of the Amazon River and he thinks that I'm amazing." He smiled fondly at the last part.
"He's right, Uncle Amazon," Narcissa said, smiling. "You are amazing and we're sorry that no one gave you a nickname to include you more. It's sad that we didn't notice."
"Sometimes, it takes a different perspective to find a different angle," Amazon reminded. "We're blinded in the way we grew up to see the world."
"But!" Lucius began.
"But nothing, Lucy," the other cut his protest. "Not you, Ivory," he added as the Armour Leopard sauntered in.
"Her real name is Lucy?" Harry cut in.
"Lucretia!" Ivory supplied in a dark alto voice that was deep and slightly raspy. The pair of boys giggled.
"And my name is Lucius," Lucius added.
"And I thought Lucy was a girls' name," Harry stated. Narcissa smiled.
"There's a first time for everything," she replied.
"But why were you laughing when Harry didn't take Dumbledore?" Draco asked.
"It's hard to explain, but to put it simply, he's the reason why Harry isn't with his parents," Marius said calmly. "He's wielded power for far too long."
"You could take his power away, Daddy," Draco proposed.
"We'll work on that, Dragon," Narcissa promised her son.
A broad grin lit up Harry's face. "Dragon!" he cried, leaning over the mess of magical people on the floor, to hug his friend.
"Mummy!" the other, pouted with an eye roll. However, he hugged Harry in return. When they broke up, Harry's expression had changed to a contemplative one.
"Amazon?" Harry asked.
"Hmm?" the man answered.
"On my birthday, when I was going to sleep, my lights blinked," Harry said.
"They blinked?"
"Yeah, five times, and they turned off right after I went to sleep."
"Has it happened since?" Harry shook his head.
"Just tell me if it happens again." Harry nodded in agreement. He, then, returned to Draco and they played together for a while longer before Narcissa announced that they must go.
"But!" two wet pairs of green and silver eyes whined.
"And the honeymoon period is over," Lucius whispered to the other two. Marius winced. They had slowly incorporated Harry into sleeping at their house when the Dursleys were worse to him on the occasion that he hadn't gone by the time he had been whisked off to Amazon's house in the mornings.
"You'll see each other soon," Narcissa promised them both. The pair grasped one another's' hands and held on tight.
"I'm glad that you're getting along, but we need to go home," Lucius said as patiently as he could, trying to gently pry their hands apart. He could use magic, but he was afraid that it might accidentally hurt them, so manually was the best option.
Marius watched as the pair fought to stay together. It fascinated him as he was witnessing the cementing of a crucial bond between them.
Not even his own siblings had been that loyal to each other in such a way. "Aha!" Lucius shroud out triumphantly as he slipped his hand into his son's own.
However, Harry grasped onto Lucius' other hand. A sigh escaped Narcissa's lips as it was her turn. It was only slightly easier as it was one-sided this time. The trio moved out of the room and down the stairs as Harry chased them. They were outside before the boy could touch them. With a blink of an eye, they were gone.
Defeated, Harry dropped into the grass and cried. A soft smile appeared on Amazon's face. He scooped up the distressed toddler.
"That's so sweet, Harry," he said warmly. "It's amazing to have a best friend. However, I think that some animals would really like to spend some time with you."
"I don't want any animals," Harry grumbled. "I want Draco." They went inside and went into Harry's room, where Mozart and Ivory were laying on the floor side by side in the few moments they got along.
"Ah, see, Harry?" Marius pointed out. "They want to be with you." The little boy wriggled out of the man's arms as he spotted a small, lone cat in a corner observing the scene. It had reddish-brown fur with black spots that were prominent on the body, but less so on the leg, head, belly, and tail.
The boy stomped over to it and proceeded to kick it. Marius gasped. The ocelot yelped. "Harry!" he yelled in shock and in pain. It came out a bit strangled.
"What do you say to Locelot?" Marius admonished. He was met with defiance. Then he sent him a look of exasperation as Locelot slunk out of the room.
Hours later, when Harry had been getting ready for bed, he tracked down Locelot. The cat was sitting on the windowsill in the front of the house.
"Hi," he greeted quietly.
"Hi," Locelot responded. Harry came up beside the ocelot and sat cross-legged on the window seat under it.
"I'm sorry," the boy apologised.
"I forgive you," the cat responded. "Human or not, none of us have a right to take our anger out on others. It is okay to be angry, but we can't hurt others to display our anger, alright? There are better ways to work through our anger and other emotions." He hopped off the windowsill to sit next to Harry. "Also, if I had been in your place, hanging out with my new best friend and then they had to go, I'd be angry too." He nuzzled the boy's face gently. That caused him to giggle. "Anyway, it's time for you to go to bed." Harry stood up, his small fingers buried in Locelot's fur, softly scritching the spots behind his right ear and between his shoulder blades.
He purred happily as he slowly slunk up the stairs, forcing Harry to follow him to bed. Harry whined in disappointment.
"Harry?" he asked in concern.
"You're so tiny that most animals and everyone in their human forms could pick you up and hold you and I'm too small to pick you up!"
"Someday, Harry," he promised. "That time will be here before you know it. In the meantime, I'll enjoy being bigger than you."
He pulled back the covers and the little boy climbed in. Then he replaced them and curled up next to him, his head resting lightly on Harry's stomach.
"I'm sorry, Locelot," Harry said behind a yawn. "Night, Love you!" Locelot purred at those words. Every time Harry said them it reminded them that they were doing something right. This little, green-eyed wonder would grow up loved no matter the cost. It would be ensured as if their lives depended on it.
The next morning, Locelot woke slowly, warm sun rays penetrating into his skin. He opened one bleary eye and stretched.
"Morning, Harry," he greeted sleepily. Harry extracted his arms out from around the cat. "You give wonderfully warm hugs."
The five-year-old smiled. "Thank you!" He went into the bathroom to wash his hands for breakfast. "Are you coming, Locelot?"
"Only if you share some peanut butter with me," the feline answered.
"Oh, ok!" Harry agreed readily. They came down the stairs, a plate of eggs, peanut butter on toast, and some fruit were set on two plates. There was orange juice in front of the plates as well. "And there's peanut butter," Harry announced.
"Oh, good!" Locelot said happily.
"Morning Harry, Locelot," Amazon said.
"Morning," the pair answered as Harry sat down and Locelot hopped up onto the table.
"Here," Harry offered, scraping a bit of peanut butter off his toast to Locelot. He licked it off Harry's finger in contentment.
"Thank you!" he said in a grateful tone.
"Uh-huh," the toddler responded, taking a bite of that same toast. Marius smiled.
"That's sweet, Harry," the man complemented.
"I don't like it when people don't share," the boy explained.
"Me neither," the other agreed. "Oh, and Harry?" Green eyes lifted up to meet him in acknowledgement. "The Dursleys' are your guardians, but would you like me to be instead?" The toast in Harry's hand slid out of it and landed back onto his plate unnoticed.
"For real? Like on paper?"
"On paper." The man pulled out a thick stack of paper and pointed to a small, neat signature in black ink. Marius Phineas Black.
"What about me?" Harry asked.
"Nothing, Harry," Marius replied. "We gave Children Protection Services evidence of the Dursleys' being unfit. Now, it's getting them to sign the papers that would relinquish their rights to your custody."
"That's it?" the boy asked hopefully. "Can I come with you when they sign them?" Marius nodded.
"Of course!" he affirmed readily.
"When?"
"We can do it now, if you would like," he offered.
"Okay," was the cheerful response. "I want Polaris to come too."
"I'll come with you if you want me to," Polaris concurred, walking up to the table in his long, lolloping strides.
"Don't let them get me," he pleaded vulnerably.
"They won't!" the canine promised as he allowed a deep growl to creep into his firm tone.
"We've got it, Uncle Polaris," Marius chided. "We don't need more drama." Locelot's face was adorned with the expression that said that he wished he was human, so that he could laugh.
"Padfoot's more dramatic than I am," Polaris protested.
"Polaris!" Marius admonished. A thick silence followed Polaris' slip up. The tension followed them to the Dursleys' house. The trio clambered up the stairs to stand on the stoop as Marius did the honours of ringing the doorbell.
There was a thump followed by heavy footsteps near the door. Vernon opened it, revealing his grumpy expression. He'd gotten even larger in the last month as well. "Have you come to return the freak?"
Polaris growled angrily. "No," Marius said mildly. A smile brightened his features as he manoeuvred his way past him. "In fact, I would like you and your wife to sign these papers; I'd like to be his guardian instead."
"Oh, right," Vernon recalled. He remembered a Child Support Services agent coming to his house to talk to them. Petunia was already at the table, a pen in her hand, signing the papers. Vernon came up behind her to take his turn.
Once Vernon took his turn, a knock sounded from the door. It was Petunia's turn to answer the door.
"Mr. and Mrs. Dursley, you are hereby arrested for child abuse and child neglect as well as child endangerment," a police officer stated firmly. "Oh, and monetary theft."
"It's our money!" Vernon exploded.
"It was," the officer corrected, brown eyes beseeching. "It was yours to take care of Mr. Potter."
"He is a freak!" the obese man retorted.
"He's a human," the police woman shot back. Petunia hissed at her husband. "And that's why you're coming with me."
"But what about Dudley?" Petunia asked tentatively.
"We've found someone who is willing to take him in," she supplied. Dudley had been watching the scene unfold in terror. His large, blue eyes met Harry's green eyes, which he sent the other a sympathetic look. "Now, let's go." Petunia stared into Harry's eyes, drinking in the shade of green they were, reminding herself of the sister she once had. The Dursleys' left, Vernon fighting while Petunia and Dudley went quietly.
"Let's go home," Marius said, coming out of Number Four with Harry and Polaris in tow. Harry smiled. He wouldn't see them ever again.