Author's Note: Hi and welcome to another chapter. This is a transition chapter. My beta warned me there is a tissue moment in this chapter, as well as some stuff to laugh at. More true drama in the next chapter. Thank you all for reading and reviewing. MNF

Chapter 13:

Andi had told Harry he wasn't allowed to do any magic for three days. Harry disliked the rule, especially since he lived somewhere he could do magic now. Not that there weren't things to do; there were. On the first day Sirius, Remus, Harry, and Hermione went to the pictures. Harry had never seen a picture in a cinema before and wondered at the size of it. Remus had gone several times before, and therefore spent his time keeping Sirius in check. The man wondered at it all and continued to point to things the Muggles considered commonplace. Remus and Hermione had picked an espionage film about a Columbian drug gang in a war with the government of the United States. It was fast paced and full of action and both Harry and Sirius couldn't keep their eyes off the screen. After the movie, they went for dinner early and had pizza.

The next day, Sirius insisted that they visit the ZSL Whipsnade Zoo to see not only the non-magical animals but visit the only magical creatures park in the UK. This time it was just the two of them, and Sirius regaled Harry with stories of when Fleamont and Euphemia brought the then twelve-year-old James and Sirius to visit. They came back a few years later with Lily and Sirius talked about how they were nearly thrown out of the Muggle area. They did come in May when all the animals were randy, how was he not supposed to make jokes about the male elephant copulating with the female in the water feature of their enclosure? Harry loved hearing the stories of his parents and grandparents; Sirius did his best to make them feel close and like they were real.

On the last day of Harry's magical ban, they were running errands as Harry had a follow up appointment with Andi in the late afternoon. The hideous furniture and drapes would be disappearing from the library. The turquois, gold and lime green combination were arresting to the eyes. The carpet was a dark blue, and that was staying so all other choices would be based on it. Neither wanted to deal with what a trip to Diagon Alley would mean for them – people praising or hating them for what happened to Dumbledore – so they went to Harrods. Thankfully Sirius could have everything delivered to the Granger's coach house and no one would be wiser that it was for the manor instead. In the end, they chose a supple red leather sofa and two wingback chairs in a red, blue, and gold subtle stripe. The curtains were red with gold tiebacks. There was a large, well-aged trunk that Sirius liked for a coffee table and two other small occasional tables were purchased too, to round out the room. These would go with the long table that was already in place as a place to study.

"I hope Andi tells me I can do magic," Harry said to Sirius as they arrived in an alley near the Tonks' home.

"Whatever she tells you, you're going to follow it," Sirius said. "Your body has had a shock. Overpowered magic is like having lightning in your veins and there is no way to predict when a spell will go wayward. We're going to follow my cousin's instructions to the letter. Wouldn't want anyone suggesting I'm not a fit guardian."

"You're the best guardian I've had since I was one," Harry said in a wistful tone.

"Yes, well, the Dursleys are never going to play a part in your life again," Sirius said.

"We could have just let them implode, or maybe explode given the size of Uncle Vernon and Dudley. They were heading towards it."

"Harry, the injuries you sustained were illegal. The beating of children is wrong. The medical reports along with the Auror report turned into a Social Services report has gone a long way. Also, the Potter Steward has made some changes at Gunnings – did you know you owned a fifty-one percent stake in it? Yes, well, not only has Vernon been charged with theft from your account but he was charged with embezzlement. It's going to be a long while before Vernon is out of jail."

"What's happening with Dudley?" Harry tentatively asked. He personally thought the way his parents treated their own son was as bad as they'd treated him.

"Dudley is being taken in by an Aunt –"

"Please tell me it isn't Aunt Marge," Harry interrupted. "She's horrible. She treats people as if they were her dogs and she beats her dogs!"

"No, this is another aunt, her name is Coral and her brother had dismissed her as being a nothing because she teaches at a School for the Deaf in Manchester. She has three children, all adopted, and has been married to a deaf man for nearly twenty years. Her home is a loving, warm, and disciplined place that Dudley will learn some manners in." Sirius had heard all about Dudley from Harry and then read about him in the home reports. The boy was a menace and would only harden into something like his father if not stopped. They arrived at Andi and Ted's, and she began to do scans of his magic before he was fully in the sitting room.

"Harry, while your scans show your magic is settling, it is still very much in flux. Your level remains exceptionally high, and I'm worried even the simplest of spells will cause you problems. You can begin doing magic, but please go back to your first-year spells and work your way up to the more difficult ones. I'll check you again in two weeks. I have also made an appointment for the goblins to look at your scar and remove whatever that is from you. You'll see them in two days at ten in the morning." Andi explained. Harry made to speak, but she cut him off before he'd begun. "I will be there with you, as will Sirius as your guardian." Harry nodded, anxious about what the goblins would do to him.

Andi assigned some nutrition potions and instructions about his dietary needs and then they left. Harry was quiet as they walked to where it would be safe to Disapparate.

"Would you like to tell me what's on your mind, or are you just going to brood over it?" Sirius asked Harry once they were home.

"Oh, sorry, I, er, I'm just nervous about the goblin thing," Harry said quietly. "I'm also concerned about what it's going to mean with my magic being different. Am I going to have to relearn everything?"

"No, but you are going to need to master a different level of control than you'd had to before," Sirius explained. "Come on, there's no time like the present to start working on your control." Sirius led Harry to the library and picked a rather thin tome from the shelf. "If I recall my first year, which was nearly twenty-four years ago, one of your first Charms is Wingardium Leviosa, correct?"

"Yes, it was. Ron kept pronouncing it wrong and Seamus blew his feather up," Harry said with a smile.

"Your first year was infinitely more interesting than mine was. I just received daily Howlers from dear old Mum. Anyway," Sirius said, changing both his voice and mood, "please levitate that book. Try to use as little magic as possible."

Harry nodded, then took a deep breath and did the spell. The book levitated so quickly and with such force that it slammed into the ceiling and was stuck there. Thankfully he'd missed the crystal chandelier and the beautiful circle of intricate moulding wrapping around it.

"Okay," Sirius said while trying to dislodge the book from the ceiling with his wand. He was having no luck. "Perhaps we should practice outside, and with something soft." He grabbed a pillow from the orangery, the bright yellow, orange and neon green psychedelic pattern was going to disappear soon anyway, and carried it out to the yard.

"Now, when you try this time, think about making it hover at about five feet," Sirius instructed, and Harry tried. It shot into the air to the point where the gents couldn't see it. When Harry cancelled the spell, it plummeted down. "Again."

After nearly fifteen tries, Harry was able to make the pillow – looking much worse for wear – hover at eye level, and he could gently bring it back down. They moved on to producing a light on the end of his wand and putting it out, after nearly blinding them both.

"What are you doing out here?" Hermione asked when she left her patio to investigate. She'd been reading her fourth year texts ahead, before school started.

"We're working on my magic. I'm still overpowered."

"Ah," the girl answered. "What spells are you working on?"

"We are working our way through first year. He's mastered floating things and turning his wand on and off," Sirius explained.

"How long have you been out here?"

"About three hours," Sirius said. "You should see the new decoration we have in the library."

"What?" Hermione asked while Harry glared at his godfather. "Wait, you've been doing three solid hours of magic and you're not worn out?"

"They're only first year spells, Hermione," Harry answered.

"But it's three hours of work, especially if you were overcasting them to begin. You should be magically exhausted."

"She's right, and we're going to take a break. I need to go in and make dinner."

"You cook?" Hermione asked, startled at the idea.

"Not well. Remus is a better cook than me, and I understand Harry borders on a gourmet chef. But I can make two dishes – lamb stew and spaghetti bolognaise. We are having the latter."

"That sounds delicious. Mum and Dad have their clinic open late tonight, so we'll have a take-away when they come home," she explained.

"If you want to eat earlier, you're welcome to eat with us," Harry said. Hermione looked at Sirius for confirmation.

"It's as much his house as mine, and you are always welcome," Sirius stated.

"Thank you and I accept your invitation," she replied.

"Excellent. Maybe you can come help when I'm working my way through spells tomorrow. I think I'm getting the hang of all this extra magic, maybe," Harry said, not feeling all that confident.

"I'd love to do that," she said with a happy smile.

Later that night, while the house slept, there was one who wasn't pleasantly in dreamland, but instead in a swirling vortex of hate, aggression, and deep-seated fear.

"What a worthless being you are," a feminine voice said. "Honestly, can't do the simplest of tasks without messing it up."

"I tried," the boy said. "It's just too much for me!" A hand swung at him and hit him so hard across the head the boy saw stars.

"It's not too much," the voice complained. "I could do this at your age."

"I'm sure it's easier if you have no soul," the boy thought, although chose not to even mutter.

"Try it again!" The boy tried and failed. Another whack, this one against his spine.

"Why was I cursed with you?" the voice said. "If you can't manage this, I will bring in someone who will motivate you. Someone who accomplished this a year younger than you are now."

"Please, Mother, I don't want to curse this poor creature," Sirius cried out, but his mother turned her wand on him. He screamed as her curse hit him.

"That's what elderly house-elves are for, boy, to use them until they die. Either you use the curse on Knobbin, or I will make sure it's used on you," Walburga Black said with cackle.

"Mother, please!" The eight-year-old Sirius cried.

"Very well," she hissed, "Bella darling, please come here. Your cousin needs to learn a lesson."

"Gladly, Auntie Walburga," Bellatrix Black said in a cloyingly sweet voice. "Crucio!"

Sirius awoke with a start, his breath coming in heavy pants and his hair matted against his face in sweat. He had no shirt on and the sheet clung heavily to him.

"You okay, Sirius?" a small voice asked from the doorway. It was then that the man looked up to see his son.

"Bad dream," Sirius croaked out, still trying to get a hold of himself. "You have one yourself?"

"No, but I heard you, and I was worried. Did you know Remus isn't here?"

"No, but there are nights…he's still wrestling with his nature and living with you," Sirius shared while patting the bed next to him.

"He lived in a castle full of teens for nine months, but living with one has him worried?" Harry asked.

"Ah, but he didn't love the castle full of teens. He loves you and would hate to hurt you," Sirius explained. They were quiet for a long moment that had begun to feel awkward.

"You want to tell me about your dream?" Harry asked. Sirius raked his fingers through his damp hair and groaned.

"My childhood and yours were very similar," he began his tale. "The Blacks, at least when I was young, were a strange and insular bunch. We weren't always, we used to be one of the proud pillars of wizarding society; like the Potters were. My mother, and to a lesser degree my father, were taken by Voldemort. Yes, I say the name too. I remember him, he was charismatic, engaging and could have charmed the claws off a cat. He still looked somewhat human the first time I met him, although I think I was only five or six. He looked less and less so as we met after that.

"My mother started bringing us up in the Dark Arts from the time we could wield any level of magic, I'd say I was three. She'd give us wands from dead family members to practice with. Thing was, we weren't learning simple levitation charms or how to light an empty room. We didn't even learn tooth cleansing charms or bed-making ones –"

"There's a bed making charm? Can I learn it?"

"In the morning. Anyway, mother taught us to curse each other and the house-elves. My nightmare was about the days she wanted me to use the Cruciatus Curse on Knobbin, our old house elf. I wouldn't do it; he was on death's door and didn't deserve it. That's when she brought my cousin in to curse me and then hold the poor elf under so long that it murdered him."

"This obviously wasn't Cousin Andi?"

"No, it was Andi's older sister, Bellatrix. She was rotten to the core from birth, I think, and my mother loved her for it. Eight years older than me and jumped at the chance to hurt anyone. I never blamed Andi for getting away as soon as she could. Thank the gods and goddesses that Bella is locked up in Azkaban and they will never let her go free."

"So, she was doing horrible spells like that as a child?" Harry asked, aghast.

"She was, and it is the stuff my nightmares are full of. Now, I am calmed down and feeling better. Why don't you go off to your room and go back to sleep. I'll put a Silencing Charm on my room, so I don't wake you up again," Sirius suggested.

"No. We're a team in this, Dad, we wake each other up if we have bad dreams," Harry said. Sirius smiled at him and nodded.

"Good night, Harry."

"Good night, Sirius."