On Saturday, July 30th, 1994, Harry and Sirius were sitting on a white Ashley Furniture sofa in the living room around two in the afternoon when Sirius turned to Harry and said, "Harry I have something I want to show you. Follow me to my room."

Harry did as he was told and in a minute and a nanosecond Harry and Sirius were in Sirius's old bedroom.

Sirius opened a drawer on a black mahogany desk in the room and retrieved what looked like a piece of paper with some writing on it.

"Harry, " said Sirius seriously, "This is a letter that your mom wrote to me late in her life, just after your first birthday. I promised you awhile back that I would show you this letter. The time has come for me to fulfill that promise."

Sirius handed the letter to Harry, who felt a solemn sense of foreboding as he took the letter from Sirius and began to read.

Dear Padfoot, thank you, thank you, for Harry's birthday present! It was his favorite by far. One year old and already zooming along on a toy broomstick, he looked so pleased with himself, I'm enclosing a picture so you can see. You know it only rises about two feet off the ground, but he nearly killed the cat and he smashed a horrible vase Petunia sent me for Christmas (no complaints there). Of course, James thought it was funny, says he's going to be a great Quidditch player, but we've had to pack away all the ornaments and make sure we don't take our eyes off him when he gets going. We had a very quiet birthday tea, just us and old Bathilda, who has always been sweet to us, and who dotes on Harry. We were so sorry you couldn't come, but the Order's got to come first, and Harry's not old enough to know it's his birthday anyway! James is getting a bit frustrated shut up here, he tries not to show it, but I can tell - also, Dumbledore's still got his Invisibility Cloak, so no chance of little excursions. If you could visit, it would cheer him up so much. Wormy was here last weekend, I thought he seemed down, but that was probably the news about the McKinnons; I cried all evening when I heard. Bathilda drops in most days, she's a fascinating old thing with the most amazing stories about Dumbledore, I'm not sure he'd be pleased if he knew! I don't know how much to believe, actually, because it seems incredible that Dumbledore could ever have been friends with Gellert Grindelwald. I think her mind's going, personally!

Lots of love,

Lily.

Harry stood frozen still after he'd finished reading the letter. He felt every emotion in the book at once, with the end result being half ecstatic joy and half terrible sadness, just as when he'd seen his parents in the Mirror of Erised.

"M-my mom really w-wrote th-this?" said Harry weakly.

"Yes, she did, " said Sirius quietly, "I really appreciate the acknowledgment Lily gave me in this letter for your birthday present and I also really appreciate the thought Lily showed by sending the picture as well. Lily was not only a singularly gifted witch, but an uncommonly kind woman. Unfortunately, I think the picture is lost, but I will make an effort to find the picture tomorrow while you're at your birthday party. I can't promise that it will turn up, but I do promise to show it to you if it does."

"Do you know if the toy broomstick referenced in this letter was my first ever broomstick?" Harry asked Sirius.

"It was!" confirmed Sirius proudly.

"That's awesome!" replied Harry radiantly, "You were the one who bought me my first ever broomstick AND my best ever broomstick. That's just super cool!"

"It is!" agreed Sirius a nanosecond later, "And the cat mentioned is a cat you've met."

"Swirl?" guessed Harry.

"Considering recent events, I can see why you'd guess Swirl, but you are wrong."

"Mrs. Norris? I sure hope not, " said Harry wryly.

"Nope, " said Sirius, starting to grin a little bit, "One more guess?"

"One of old figgy's cats?" guessed Harry without much confidence.

"No, " smirked Sirius, "The cat in question is Crookshanks!"

"Crookshanks!" piped up Harry, "Crookshanks once belonged to my mom and dad! That would explain how he knew you, why he was willing to help you, and why he is affectionate towards both of us!"

"Exactly!" beamed Sirius.

"That's so cool!" said Harry cheerfully, "My bestie's pet cat was once my mom's and dad's pet cat!. Oh, of course! When Hermione bought Crookshanks, the witch in the pet shop said he'd been in there for "ages". Well, "ages" must have meant twelve years. Armed with the intelligence of being part kneazle, Crookshanks knew that his owners had died and that therefore there was no one left to feed him. He found a pet shop to take him in until someone wanted him again."

"That's exactly what happened, " said Sirius matter of factly, "The twelve years in the pet shop were a lonely time for Crookshanks, but still, he's alive."

"Not unlike yourself, " realized Harry.

"After James and Lily died, I didn't think I'd ever be able to find any joy in life again, especially given my role in their deaths. But taking you in as my ward has actually brought some joy and cheer back to me. "

"James and Lily would be proud of how you're fulfilling your duty as godfather, " Harry told Sirius meaningfully.

"I've never known a person who appreciates his or her friends more than you, Harry, " said Sirius proudly, "Seeing how you interact with Hermione and Ginny is priceless. If I may ask, how do you feel about your two best friends both being girls?'

"That doesn't matter at all, " said Harry fiercely, "There are no boys or girls, only people. The only difference between a boy and a girl is the pronouns used to refer to them."

"Good for you for having that anti sexism attitude and being gender blind, " said Sirius approvingly.

"Did you ever play Quidditch yourself?' Harry asked Sirius.

"No, " said Sirius simply, "It was always James who was the Quidditch Player. I love flying though."

"I was a TOTAL natural on a broomstick in our first flying lesson!" said Harry happily, unable to resist putting a bit of a boastful tent in his voice.

"The same held true for James, " revealed Sirius brightly, "The apple didn't fall from the tree at all."

"It's actually totally believable that Dumbledore would have been friends with Grindelwald, " realized Harry, "Lily can't have been expected to know this at the time, but Dumbledore had a LOT in common with Grindelwald. "

"The Dumbledore who was besties with Grindelwald is the true Dumbledore, " said Sirius firmly, "Dumbledore as the white champion of the light is an act."

"That's clear now, " said Harry simply.

Not much more was said after that, both Harry and Sirius were not in the mood to discuss Wormtail in any form.

A few minutes later, Sirius piped up, "Tomorrow is your fourteenth birthday. I will be sending you off in the morning and coming to pick you up in the evening. I won't say any more right now, but your big birthday party will be taking place in a magical bubble that only witches and wizards under the age of twenty can enter. I KNOW that you're going to love what's been planned for your birthday."

"I know I will, " said Harry confidently, "But how will you get me there if you can't enter?"

"I can go to outside of the bubble, just not enter it, " explained Sirius.

"Looking forward to my birthday party tomorrow then!" smiled Harry.