BOOK TWO - Once Again, With Feeling

by Usernamenuse

Harry Potter starts second year hoping for a perfectly ordinary year, but the useless DADA instructor is just the beginning of his problems. He is armed with Older Harry's memories, but will it be enough? JKR owns Harry Potter. Smart Harry; Time Travel; Sirius Lives! Houses

2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

The next morning after breakfast, Piper popped Harry and Sirius to the Villa on a private Potter family property not far from Vico Equense. Harry was practically buzzing with family magic. At the ritual circle he had communicated his intent to charge the wards and the land in Italy and at the Paris apartment, explaining how long it had been since Potters had been there, and that Nobby had died due to lack of family magic in Paris. Harry had felt an almost overwhelmingly powerful wave of family magic at that point and felt the store of magic inside him grow. He would have assumed he was drawing it from the land if Fleamont hadn't explained about the ritual stimulating the growth of family magic in himself.

Whatever the source, however, Harry was serenely comfortable in his own skin and ready to take on the world when he first set eyes on the Potter Villa. They popped to the land side of the Villa so that Harry could access the property wards, and arrived at a gate in a plastered wall climbing with bougainvillea. Harry knew that the entire villa and grounds, including the cliff, cove, beach, and water for a distance out from the shore was entirely hidden by muggle repellant charms and within that also by Potter family wards. This being the case, Harry could see the villa, but at the moment, Sirius could not.

Leaving Sirius looking around bemusedly, Harry walked to where the Potter shield and now familiar 'ornamental' spike were impressed on a medallion affixed to the gateway. He put his hand on the spike and felt the familiar rush of Potter family magic. The welcome echoing from the property was still powerful, but did not have the deep, seemingly endless well behind it that Harry was used to from Potter Manor. He assumed that was a sign of the drain that had occurred over the years since the last Potter had visited. Harry stood there, communing with the Magic, until the welcome grew deeper and joyous before he removed his hand and turned to Sirius.

Sirius had the look of pleasure and nostalgia on his face he tended to have when Harry accessed the Potter family magic to any great extent, and was looking at Harry proudly. "I welcome Sirius Orion Black III to visit at any time, for any length of time, with me or on his own recognizance." Harry said, and watched Sirius's face blossom into contentment as he registered the wall and gate, as well as the roof and upper story of the Villa beyond.

A wide smile grew on Sirius's face as he and Harry stepped through into the sunny garden. There was a broad pathway from the gate through the garden, large enough to drive a carriage or car on, which led to a fountain in the center of the path. There the path split in two to curve around and circle the fountain, then resumed as a narrower walking path leading up to the villa. The day was already warm, and the freshness of the sea air could be felt even from where they were standing, not yet in sight of the sea.

Harry was suppressing older Harry's memories, to experience his own first time at the ocean, but he instinctively relaxed, soaking in the sun and the smell and sound of the sea. He heard a double pop as Mina and Bina appeared, delighted to see Harry and Sirius.

Piper would be staying during Sirius and Harry's visit as well, as he was a 'gentleman's elf' and was possessive about his duties. However, Mina and Bina were the property elves and would cook, clean and serve the female guests while Harry and Sirius were in residence.

The wide door to the villa bore the familiar Potter shield and Harry once again performed the ritual he had performed at the gate, permitting access to the villa itself. The entrance was grand, with marble floors, a curving marble staircase, and historic furnishings including a mirror with a gold gilded frame above a marble table set against the wall. However, Harry's eyes were immediately drawn through the entry and the rooms beyond to the turquoise sea, sparkling in the sun. Like a bee drawn to honey Harry walked through the entry and parlor to the glass doors leading to a wide piazza overlooking the sea. The beauty of the scene and view was stunning, and Harry could feel the family magic inside him swell spontaneously with pleasure and bone deep relaxation at the sight.

The villa was set on a cliff above a white sand beach, with steps and a winding path carved into the cliff face leading from the villa to the beach. There was a bell tower on a jutting outlook half way down from the villa to the sand. There were two large umbrella covered tables on the piazza and a scattering of lounge chairs with side tables all looking out towards the sea. There was no solid wall to block the view, only a magically tempered glass panel four feet high running the length of the piazza, with a gate opening to a walkway leading back to the garden and down to the path to the beach.

Harry sat down in one of the chairs facing the water and sighed with pleasure, looking up at Sirius who had been watching his first impressions of the Villa with a warm smile and soft eyes. "This is why I thought you'd do better with Italian as your language." Sirius said, somewhat smugly. "I could imagine you spending a bit of time here." Harry laughed happily, agreeing.

"It's wonderful." Harry leaned back, breathing in the Mediterranean sea air. Mina popped out with a chilled drink for each of them, which seemed to be made primarily of melon with a hint of mint, and with a mint leaf garnish floating on top. It was perfect, light and refreshing, and Harry and Sirius sat for a few minutes just taking in the view.

Finally, Harry became aware of Mina and Bina hovering hopefully, and realized they wanted to show him the rest of the villa. He grinned and looked at Sirius. "I see little reason to move, but I would like to see the rest of the villa. Do you want to come with or settle out here for a while?"

Sirius grinned, "I definitely want to be with you when you see the place for the first time." He said cheerfully, standing to follow Harry and the happy elves back into the building.

It turned out that the view from what Harry learned was the 'grand piazza' was deceptive as its angle of sight gave no clue to the remainder of the villa set back along the curving cliff. Beside the 'formal parlor' was a 'formal dining room' with crystal chandeliers and another glorious view of the sea. Beyond that was the kitchen, with an eat in area, also with views of the sea. Beyond that was the 'family villa'.

The lower floor of the 'family villa' was accessed either through the kitchen, or else through a hall leading from the foyer behind the dining room and kitchen. The hall widened into a beautiful window seat area with a view of the garden framed by bowers of bougainvillea, before leading to the salotto - a far more casual sitting room area than the formal parlor - with comfortable conversation groupings, a large fireplace and, always, gorgeous views of the ocean and cliffs. Glass doors led from the salotto to the 'family piazza.' One of the paths from the family piazza meandered to meet the path from the 'grand piazza' to the beach.

There was a 'card room' beside the salotto which had two walls of bookshelves, two pair of comfortable looking arm chairs grouped around a low table by a fireplace, small tables for four, and two matching writing desks facing out to the sea. A long window ran the length of the wall showing off the ocean view, but it was not a wall of glass as it had been in the salotto and in the formal parlor. Harry could see this would be a cosy place in colder weather when the smaller room size and greater insulation would keep in the heat from the fireplace. Between the salotto and the kitchen was a casual dining room, compared to the crystal chandeliers of the formal dining room. However, it was no less beautiful than the formal dining room, and in Harry's view was more inviting.

There were powder rooms dotted along the lower floor which had a loo and sink and one had a vanity as well (in the formal area), but there were no baths on this level. A back staircase from the salotto led directly to the family bedrooms and guest rooms, but they could also be accessed from the main entryway staircase by turning left, rather than right, at the top of the staircase. The first room off of the main staircase to the left was a sitting room with a fireplace, with the family bedrooms and guest rooms beyond that.

The formal part of the villa included three large guest rooms with adjoining baths. Two of these had views of the ocean and the third offered a partial view of the ocean from a side window with primary views of the garden, but had its own sitting room with a fireplace. Harry had initially assumed this was the master until the elves had led him and Sirius to the family living space. The master suite and two other suites in the family living area contained fireplaces, and there were three other guest rooms with baths besides that. The elves had already put Harry's things into the master suite, and had put Sirius's things into the other suite with primary ocean views.

In the villa, the wardstone was in the master suite sitting room, and Harry took the wardstone and added Sirius, patiently feeding his magic into the stone until it came back stronger than before and welcoming, indicating the villa wards were fully recharged. Harry loved the villa, and, as at Potter Manor, felt loved in return as the family magic swelled and rejoiced in his homecoming. Through all of this, Sirius watched Harry with a soft gaze, contentment practically rolling off of him in waves.

By the time they were done, it was almost time for Harry's Italian language treatment, so he and Sirius sat out on the family piazza, waiting to be called to the wards. The day was warm but they went without drinks for the moment as Harry wasn't supposed to drink for an hour before his treatment, part of which involved a potion, and Sirius, Harry was sure, wasn't drinking because he didn't want to drink when Harry couldn't.

It wasn't long before Mina popped out to tell Harry that 'his guest' had arrived and Harry and Sirius popped out to the gate to bring in the healer, Signora Medina, who would be performing the language treatment. They led her to the grand piazza, Sirius having said it wasn't common to bring strangers into the family area, but she was delighted with her work space and set up at one of the umbrella covered tables, suggesting Harry settle onto one of the lounge chairs. "You will sleep for a short while following the treatment which is part of the settling process. The entire language will not be available for your access for several hours. You should try not to use magic during that period of time, to better facilitate the settling process. However, by tonight you will be fluent in Italian!" Signora Medina beamed at Harry and Sirius. It was clear she loved her work.

Harry grinned back at her. The potion she gave him to drink after that literally made him gag, however. He glared balefully at Sirius whose amusement gave away that Sirius had failed to warn Harry on purpose to see his reaction. Harry's glare seemed to only increase Sirius's amusement, so Harry turned his attention to his healer.

The healer asked Harry if he was carrying or wearing any mind charms and Sirius said, "Your Heir ring." Sirius held out his hand for the ring, being able to hold it for Harry since Sirius was Head of the House of Black. Harry took it off and handed it to him, feeling somehow vulnerable. Until then Harry hadn't realized how much he unconsciously depended on the House of Black Heir ring's mind protections.

Sensing his discomfort, Signora Medina reminded him that she had taken a Healer's Oath, and that healers performed much more invasive procedures every day. Harry knew that Sirius had already vetted the provider and would never have let them near Harry's mind if Sirius hadn't been absolutely confident in their services, so he nodded and smiled, leaning back and relaxing so that Signora Medina could perform the necessary charms and procedures. The process took nearly an hour and by the end Harry was having trouble staying awake. He thanked Signora Medina but left Sirius to escort her to the wards, as he fell into a deep dreamless sleep.

When Harry woke, he saw Sirius sitting at one of the umbrella tables, looking out at the sea and drinking what looked like orange juice, with a pitcher and another glass sitting on the table beside him. Harry sat up and reoriented himself.

Sirius noticed the movement and looked at Harry, then smiled. "Glad to see you woke up. I was just starting to think about having lunch on my own."

"You should have." Harry protested, feeling guilty, but Sirius just waved it away.

"It isn't one yet. It was just almost noon when the healer finished your treatment so I was already starting to feel like I could eat something." His lips twitched. "You won't have had that problem. As I recall you don't want to put anything in your stomach too soon after taking that potion, in any event." His eyes were laughing.

"Never mind, starve for all I care." Harry said grumpily, but his own lips twitched as well. "You could have warned me." He accused, but there was no heat in it. Sirius just grinned at him and didn't even respond.

Harry got up and stretched then walked out from under the shade of the veranda realizing how hot it had gotten for late June. "Italian weather versus English weather, remember." Sirius said, guessing his thoughts, and Harry nodded. He had never been to another country before, of course. "Do you want to go out and start learning to swim after lunch?" Sirius asked.

"That sounds wonderful." Harry said, looking at the turquoise ocean and white sand on the beach below.

Mina and Bina, noting that Harry was awake and taking it for a signal, started setting up lunch. They brought drinks and chilled sliced melon, an antipasto platter the two of them would never finish and a loaf of crusty bread, which the elves sliced half way with magic before popping back into the villa, leaving Sirius and Harry to serve themselves. Harry tried the orange juice instead of automatically opening the bottle of butterbeer by his plate. "Mmm." He said with appreciation.

"Freshly squeezed. The sun makes the oranges very sweet." Sirius agreed, taking another swallow of his own orange juice. "The elves plan to serve pasta after this, and then tiramisu after that, just so you know. This is your first meal here. They aren't going to let you off this easy."

Harry, who had been about to load up his plate with the antipasti hesitated and took smaller portions. "Thanks for the warning. I remember the first few meals at Potter Manor. I could barely walk away from the table."

The food was delicious and the melon provided the perfect counterbalance to the meats and cheeses, mushrooms, olives and artichoke hearts. Harry would have been more than happy to fill up entirely with this course, but didn't want to disappoint Mina and Bina who had had no one to entertain for ten years. Even so, had the pumpkin tortellini in brown butter sage sauce not been so amazing, Harry was sure he'd have had difficulty eating more than a few bites.

As it was, being careful not to fill up on bread, Harry managed to make what he thought was a respectable showing. He did tell Mina and Bina that he and Sirius were going swimming, however, and told them he'd enjoy it more if they could eat the tiramisu after swimming rather than before. They seemed content with this compromise and Harry made sure to say how wonderful everything, particularly the melon and the pasta were. Sirius had warned him not to praise everything indiscriminately, because the elves judged his preferences from his reactions, and he was going to see more of those dishes he praised the most. He had truly liked everything, but the sweet chilled melon and the tortellini with brown butter sage sauce had been his clear favorites.

After that, Harry and Sirius changed into swim things and loose shirts and walked down the path to the beach, stopping briefly at the bell tower overlook for a different view of the beach and of the villa on top of the cliff. "You will probably want the elves to pop you back up." Sirius said, "And you'll want to offer that to your guests, but after that meal I thought a walk would do us good."

Harry nodded, agreeing completely, and also happy to see the path and bell tower up close. It was a beautiful day, the view could hardly be better, and anyway, they were walking downhill.

When they reached the sand, they saw two lounge chairs as well as another umbrella table with chairs were set up on the beach. "Did the elves just do this?" Harry asked. "I would have sworn they weren't here when I was looking at the beach from the piazza."

Sirius smiled. "I'm sure they did. There," Sirius pointed behind Harry, who turned and saw a small structure which had a pair of outdoor shower heads along one wall sitting above the water line, against the cliff and out of view from the villa. "That's the bathhouse. The back part is a storage room. There used to be a couple of kayaks in there with oars as well, that James and I took out sometimes when we were too young to apparate." He smiled at a memory. "Once we were over seventeen, we still swam here and enjoyed the beach, but if we were off somewhere it was usually somewhere with more people our age."

Harry smiled, always happy to hear Sirius's memories of growing up with his Dad. He and Sirius had discussed what Harry would call Sirius after the adoption ceremony. Both thought 'Dad' referred to James Potter but Harry felt quite comfortable calling Sirius his father. Since that sounded oddly formal, however, he usually called Sirius, 'Sirius' or 'Padfoot', but introduced him as 'my father.' Regardless of what names were used, neither of them were in any doubt that Harry was now Sirius's son.

Harry put his shirt on the back of one of the chairs at the table and his water shoes, which he had worn on the path, under it, and saw Sirius was doing the same. "OK, how are we going to do this?" Harry asked. His only experience with swimming had been one time while he lived at the Dursleys when a mobile water tank had been set up near their school for a week. He had stood in line with the 'underprivileged youth' after school to learn basic swimming skills. Unfortunately, he hadn't been able to go for more than the first lesson of holding onto the side of the tank and kicking to raise your body to the top of the water than going a few lengths and back with a paddle board to practice kicking, because Dudley had found him out. The Dursleys were furious that he would let others see him taking benefits for poor people, but he had figured that for all the money the Dursleys spent on him he was poor. Certainly no one questioned why the skinny kid with the ratty rucksack dressed in too large hand me downs was in a line meant for underprivileged youth. There was no going back for further lessons after the Dursleys found out, though; he'd spent the rest of the afternoons that week locked in his cupboard.

He looked around at the private beach and up at the Potter Villa on the cliff and huffed with laughter, shaking his head in disbelief. Things were certainly different now.

"Something funny, Henry James?" Sirius asked, his eyes warm.

"Just... how much my life has changed. A year ago, I didn't know I was a wizard and basically had nothing and no one, and now I have a father and a private villa in Italy... I wasn't sure I'd ever get a chance to learn to swim, much less all the rest of it." Harry immediately wished he hadn't said anything, because Sirius's expression turned grave and his eyes unhappy, remembering Harry's life before.

Sirius noticed Harry's reaction to his expression and cursed himself, smiled, and said cheerfully, "Well, you are going to learn to swim, right here and right now and from the best instructor ever!"

"Mmm. And how many other people have you taught?" Harry asked, amused, then smirked when Sirius gave him a dirty look. The exchange did dispel the Dursley clouds and restore the joy of being together on a private Italian beach, however.

"All right," Sirius said when they reached the water's edge, "first let's just get used to the temperature of the water. It's actually kind of warm, but since the day is hot, it is going to feel a bit cold."

And it did feel cold at first as Harry and Sirius waded out letting the shore waves break against their legs. The cove and natural bay generally kept the larger waves from reaching here, so the surf was low. They were easily able to walk through it to where the water rose and swelled but would allow them to swim - once Harry learned how. Harrys shoulders cleared the water, but Sirius cocked his head. "I guess I have a young adult's memories of how deep the water is here." He said. "It's higher on you than I was thinking. Still, it's fine, as long as you can stand in it."

Sirius ducked under the water and back up, then so did Harry, following his lead. Sirius pushed his longer hair back from his face and grinned. "It's better to do it fast. It's actually refreshing, not cold, once you are properly in it. It's just the contrast to the hot air that is surprising." Harry nodded, already finding that to be true.

Then Sirius had Harry lean back and learn to float, which didn't take long. Harry had a natural sense of balance in the water and found riding the water to be not unlike flying in terms of balance. Sirius then taught Harry to tread water, so he had a way of staying up if he got tired. Harry was able to do this without much trouble as well, although at first, he did tend to drift and would have to walk back to their starting point - once finding himself in water too deep to stand and panicking briefly before his kicks propelled his head above the surface. He didn't say anything, but Sirius could tell from his expression that that hadn't been fun, and walked them both closer to the shore.

They went out of the water for a break after about an hour, and Mina, who must have been monitoring them, popped down with a pitcher of the melon and mint drink she had served when they first arrived and two glasses. She asked them if they wanted their tiramisu now, but Sirius said he'd rather wait until they weren't in the sand, so they stuck with the drinks and the beautiful scenery on the beach.

After their break, Sirius had Harry demonstrate his treading water, and then showed him how to transform that into a dog paddle. "It may not be fancy, but it keeps you up and you can get somewhere, and for your first day, I think that's pretty good!" Sirius said. Harry beamed at him, enjoying not just the swimming lessons but the nonstop positive attention. He still wasn't used to it.

"Maybe you are a great instructor." Harry said, generously, with a grin.

"Maybe?" Sirius challenged in mock outrage, but Harry just grinned wider. Harry assumed older Harry must have had some familiarity with swimming because what he had done that day didn't feel entirely novel, and Harry grasped it quickly. However, older Harry clearly must not have spent as much time in the water as dancing, because Harry would definitely need to learn on his own to progress further.

Sirius smiled back. He loved seeing Harry so relaxed and happy. They stayed in the water for a while with Harry able to now 'swim.' Finally, Sirius said they could start learning the crawl the next day, but that for now achievement deserved celebration. And that he was getting hungry.

Harry laughed happily. He was getting hungry too. They left the water and rinsed off the excess sand and salt at the outdoor showers by the bathhouse, then pulled on their shirts and shoes and called Piper to pop them back to the Villa for proper showers before dinner.

When he was toweling off from the shower, Harry realized his skin prickled just a little from too much sun, too fast, despite the sunscreen charm Sirius had performed on both of them. It wasn't actually painful, but his skin felt sensitive to fabrics and Harry found himself reaching for a silk shirt he rarely wore. It felt wonderful on his skin, and he decided he might need more shirts like that, at least for Italy. When he joined Sirius on the family piazza, he found they had both dressed similarly, slacks and loose, silk shirts. They grinned at each other, and Harry slipped into a chair.

Sirius was drinking a glass of chilled white wine, which Harry had rarely if ever seen him do, but then, the whole feel of this place was different. Harry asked for and got a cold butter beer and Mina brought out bruschetta to munch on as a first course. Sitting on the piazza with Sirius, eating a leisurely dinner in the early evening golden hour, Harry felt a deep-seated contentment. He smiled at Sirius, who smiled warmly back.

"What?" Sirius asked.

Harry shook his head. "Just happy," he said. Sirius's eyes softened and his expression became even warmer.

"Glad to hear it. This place is good for that." Sirius said. Harry nodded, continuing to smile as he cut another bite of his osso buco.

After dinner they had the tiramisu they hadn't gotten around to before dinner. It was wonderful, and Harry said so, but asked if for lunch or dinner the next day they could try some Italian ices. He thought that would go perfectly with the warm weather, particularly after one of the still heavy meals the elves were serving them. Mina was delighted and said absolutely they could have Italian ices now too! Harry had to explain that he was full, now, but he would look forward to trying them - tomorrow. When Mina popped away with the dishes, he looked up to see Sirius smirking at him. "Oh, I'm sorry, I should have asked. Would you like me to call her back and ask her to get you an Italian ice?" Harry asked cheekily, knowing Sirius was just as full as he was. Sirius just laughed and shook his head.

After dinner Harry started to find himself nodding off. "I don't know what's happening, it's really early, but I am so tired." He finally said.

Sirius nodded. "From the language treatment. It's all been going on in the background so you haven't noticed, but you've been assimilating an entire language. Get some sleep. In the morning we can go into town and you can try out your new language skills."

Harry brightened, remembering he would now be fluent in Italian, and got up to head to bed. He made a detour to hug Sirius on the way in since it really was still early, and Sirius wouldn't be going upstairs for a while yet. "Good night."

"Sweet slumbers, Henry James." Sirius said pulling Harry's head down to drop a kiss on the top of his head. When Harry walked back into the villa Sirius turned back to watch the stars begin to come out in the darkening sky over the sea, nursing a measure of brandy and memories.

-o0o-

Harry slept dreamlessly, as far as he was aware, and woke with the sun shining in his face, but the air felt like early morning. He walked through the double glass doors onto his balcony that overlooked the sea and watched the pelican and seagulls on the rocks below the cliff. Harry felt happy and home. He smiled. Turning, he saw Hedwig on the perch just inside the doors to the balcony, but she was sleeping. She had flown from England, after all. He walked over and stroked her feathers softly, waking her.

Harry had brought a large store of stunned mice and owl treats because Sirius had suggested it, given that owl were not water birds, the coast except for wizarding enclaves was overbuilt making game scarce, and Hedwig would prefer to not journey far from her wizard to hunt. Harry lifted out a stunned mouse to gauge if she would rather sleep than eat - and no, he had her entire attention. He waited until the mouse started wriggling as she preferred, then held it for her - snap! And now there was just that tail she would forget for a while hanging out of her beak. He smiled and praised her, watching Hedwig puff up proudly. Harry held out an owl treat and she eyed it for several moments before leaning in for it, so he knew she was now more tired than hungry. With a soft 'welcome to Italy, girl,' he turned to let her sleep and turned to wash up for the day.

However, at that moment a flash of fire brought Fawkes, who must have sensed that Hedwig was getting treats through the familiar bond. This drew a look both from Harry and Hedwig, the latter of whom shuffled on her perch to turn her back to Fawkes in clear disdain of firebirds who didn't put in the effort to fly. Harry smirked but reopened the box of mice, pulling out two for Fawkes, who was bigger. "Hello to you too, show off," he said, fondly. Fawkes snapped up the mice then flew to Harry's shoulder, since Hedwig was sitting pointedly in the square middle of the perch, leaving no room for a bird of his size. After grooming Harry's hair and receiving some scratches, however, Fawkes flamed away, apparently having just been checking in for a snack and attention.

After showering, Harry went in search of breakfast and from habit walked to the kitchen. When he entered, Bina popped in. "Wouldn't Master Harry rather be eating on the piazza?" Bina asked.

Harry smiled. "I didn't know what the routine was for breakfast here. Eating on the piazza sounds great, though!" Bina beamed at him.

When Harry reached the piazza, Bina had had time to serve fresh squeezed orange juice, and some small pastries covered in sugar that Harry had never seen before. She stood there, still beaming. "Be Master Harry wanting sausage or bacon? There always be sausage and bacon here!" Harry just knew there was a story behind that, and was pretty sure Sirius could tell him what it was. "Sausage sounds lovely, and tea, please." He said, picking up one of the sugary pastries to try. It was delicious.

Harry poured orange juice knowing from the day before how good orange juice was here, and wasn't disappointed, sipping freshly squeezed orange juice and looking out over the sea. When Bina popped back with his sausage, he gave her a brilliant smile when he thanked her. "Thank you, this is wonderful. Everything is wonderful!" he said with a laugh, "I love it here!" Bina apparently did have a higher watt beam and Harry had just found it. But truly, who wouldn't love it here? He could easily see why Sirius had known he'd want to visit regularly.

Harry finished breakfast and tore himself from the view, walking into the card room to check out the books on the shelves. There were several written by muggle authors which made Harry think of his mother, and made him smile. He had just started looking through the other shelves when he heard Sirius coming down the stairs and followed him out to the piazza. Apparently, this was where you were supposed to wait for breakfast, at least in good weather.

"Good morning!" Harry said, sitting down as Bina took Sirius's order for breakfast, then shook his head when she asked if he wanted anything. At Sirius's questioning eyebrow, he said, "I've just finished. I only wanted company, not food." Sirius's face brightened and Harry felt shy, but smiled back before averting his gaze to the view.

"You thought we'd go into town today?" Harry asked, eager to explore and try out his new language, as Bina brought Sirius the same things Harry had eaten, but much more of the sausage, and only two of the small pastries. Sirius smiled and nodded as he put a bite of sausage into his mouth, recognizing the eagerness. Harry settled back in his chair in companionable contentment, his gaze drawn again to the ocean.

"The town near here, Vico Equense, is a pretty place, and not too touristy - or wasn't when I was here before. I understand it is still not as easy to get to for most muggle tourists, unless they hire a car, but I haven't been here in ten years myself, and a lot can change in ten years. We may or may not spend much time there when your friends get here, since they won't be here long and there are a few things in the area they will likely want to do. Plus, we don't know if the Grangers have scheduled Pompeii separately or are hoping to see it while they are here."

Harry nodded. They had discussed some of the places near the villa when they were planning their trip. He had told Sirius he wanted to see Pompeii, but Sirius had suggested they wait and see how the trip went. In Sirius's opinion Pompeii was definitely worth seeing, but since Harry owned a villa in the area, he could also choose what time of year to visit. Since it was crowded in the summer they could visit in off season, instead, although it was a popular enough destination that it was never really empty. On the other hand, it truly was a marvel, even with tourists, and they always could come back if they tried it and it was too crowded. Unlike several other tourist destinations there was no 'wizarding equivalent' to Pompeii with lower attendance. So, if the Grangers hadn't made other plans to see it, they would go to Pompeii together once Hermione and her parents arrived.

When Sirius had finished breakfast, he took Harry by the hand, as they were going to side along apparate to Vico Equense under a notice me not charm. Sirius had said it was just too crowded and the streets too narrow to be sure of not being seen popping there with a house elf, unless they were dropped far enough out of town that they'd be hot and sweaty by the time they actually got there. They'd be more likely to be able to pop back since then they could wait for the right moment to do it. Harry was not fond of side along apparation, but he only had to do it rarely so he wasn't going to complain. He did wonder, out loud, when his own magic would be sufficiently mature to apparate on his own.

Sirius laughed. "That's right. You know how, don't you? Well, putting aside that apparation without a license is usually illegal except in an emergency..." Harry smirked and Sirius grinned, reaching out his hand for side along apparation. "With all the family magic you channel, I wouldn't be surprised if you could manage a lot sooner than others might. However, splinching is so nasty, you'll want to be sure you can channel the power before you try."

"That's what I thought. But older Harry, back when..." he said vaguely, as they appeared in a doorway in the Italian town of Vico Equense and Harry fought down nausea, grimaced, then continued as they moved out into the street, "...He thought of going somewhere and, um, testing his strength. So, there must be other... things that take the same strength that I could do to make sure I have the ... strength to... do what I want." He shrugged sheepishly as Sirius' eyes twinkled mischievously, watching Harry struggle to convey what he wanted to say without using words like 'magic' and 'spells'.

They passed a young couple holding hands, who were looking in a window of a shop and Sirius made a quick motion with his hand. Looking down, Harry just saw the tip of Sirius's wand before Sirius casually used his other hand to unobtrusively push it back up into his holster through the fabric. "Privacy spell." Sirius said with a grin. "Although, James and I used to be able to hold some pretty decent conversations using doublespeak like you were doing. Now people will only hear a mumble like they are just not close enough to understand what we are saying. I will have to remove it if we go somewhere we actually want to speak to people, though, like a shop."

Harry nodded. "Thanks. What other spells take the same power as apparation?"

"A fair number, actually. It is just that apparation has more disastrous consequences to the caster if you fail, so you have to get a license. A disillusionment charm, full transformation into an animagus form, a Patronus..." seeing Harry's head snap to look at him, Sirius raised an eyebrow. "Don't tell me you can cast a Patronus."

Harry hesitated. "Not really, not when I first got to Potter Manor, anyhow. And older Harry hadn't been able to apparate the day before. But I cast an outline of a Patronus that flickered away pretty fast when Fleamont tricked me into doing it without thinking about whether I could. He was trying to test how much of older Harry's memories I had." Harry explained to Sirius's raised eyebrow. "Fleamont said my technique was all there, I just needed to channel the power. So, I can use that to test when I have the power to apparate?" He turned the last statement into a question, checking.

Sirius nodded. "Should be able to. Many fully qualified wizards can never cast a Patronus. Do you know how old older Harry was when he first cast it?" He watched the telltale signs as Harry pulled up a memory from older Harry, looking horrified, and Sirius grimaced. He should have guessed that the occasion would have involved dementors, and not a classroom setting.

Harry grabbed for Sirius' hand and Sirius looked at him in concern. At eleven, that was not something Sirius expected from Harry, particularly anywhere they might be seen. He squeezed Harry's hand, then Harry took it back, turning pink. Sirius shrugged away Harry's embarrassment.

"If you were remembering dementors, I'm the last person to think worse of you for wanting human contact."

Harry looked at Sirius in dismay, remembering he had been with dementors for ten years. Having just experienced the memory he had, this hit home in a new way. Noticing Sirius's expression start to look self-conscious Harry turned to look at the waterfront they were about to reach. "You were there." Harry said. "You had escaped from Azkaban as Padfoot and the Ministry had staged dementors at Hogwarts..." Sirius started in horror. "They had found us on the grounds and were swarming. There must have been a hundred of them." Sirius pulled Harry aside and embraced him, hard. When they pulled apart, the few people who had glanced their way saw their faces and looked away. Clearly a father was giving his son much needed comfort.

"How old were you?" Sirius repeated.

"Him, not me. But thirteen." Sirius's eyebrows skyrocketed. "I know that's unusual." Harry said and Sirius laughed.

"Unusual doesn't cover it. But in that case, you might physically be able to apparate at any time now, given all the family magic you are channeling this time around that older Harry never had access to."

Harry nodded momentarily downcast thinking of all older Harry had missed. "Well, I'll try casting a Patronus when we get back to the villa," Harry said, looking around at the pretty seaside town built on the side of a steep hill.

Sirius nodded and took his cue, looking around to see the changes in the town over the last ten years. It was a bit more touristy, but not all of that was bad from a visitor's point of view. It was a tad glossier, and more accessible. Probably more expensive. Sirius, personally, preferred it as it was before, but then it had been his and James' hang out summers, and the memories involved more than just the location.

Sirius was surprised when Harry stopped and looked into a shop window to see it was a clothing shop. "Do you need clothes?" He asked, amused.

Harry hesitated. "Sort of. That silk shirt I wore last night felt good after being in the sun, and it's the only one I have. I was thinking I might like a few more. I don't wear them in England, but here..."

Sirius nodded. "Good thinking. Neither of us really have much weather appropriate clothing. Nor beach clothing, come to that." They walked into the air conditioned shop and felt the relief already, although it couldn't have been more than ten or so in the morning, and wasn't really hot yet.

They moved past the displays by the door, mostly tourist oriented impulse buy items, and a shop assistant approached them.

"Good morning!" he said with a smile, having noticed them pass the tourist selection without a glance. "Are you looking for anything special?"

Sirius smiled back. "We both need some warm weather clothes, and beach clothes. Why don't you start with my son while I look around?" he asked, smirking as Harry, who had wanted just the opposite, gave him a look.

The assistant turned his smile to Harry. "Do you have any silk shirts?" Harry asked, and looked at the bright patterns on the shirts near the door. "Solid colors, maybe?"

The salesman laughed. "Ah, you speak Italian! Yes, the summer visitors like those but we have a full line. Let me show you."

He led Harry back deeper in the shop, to racks of clothes in youth sizes. Harry followed him after taking a moment to realize that he had been speaking Italian.

"Do you know your size?" the assistant asked, pulling out a blonde silk shirt that looked exactly like what Harry wanted. Harry shook his head and reached for the shirt the shop keeper was holding. "That looks a bit small." The man said as Harry held it up. The assistant pulled out another shirt, the same shirt in light blue and a similar one in cognac. Harry really liked those and he smiled, handing back the shirt in his hand. Noting this, the man handed Harry the new shirts and after replacing the first shirt on the rack, began to look for other shirts Harry might like.

"They don't all have to be silk." Harry said. "It just feels really good after a day in the sun."

The man smiled. "It does. These are nice in the sun as well," he said, holding another silk shirt, long sleeved and black this time, and pulling a short sleeve, cream colored shirt of a gauzy material from the rack.

Harry nodded thoughtfully. "Let me try these." He said, taking the new shirts as well. Then, cheekily, with a glance at Sirius who had been keeping an eye on the exchange, he said, "Maybe you can help my father while I'm trying these on." Sirius's lips quirked. He already held two shirts of his own in his hand to try on, but he accepted the salesman's help graciously as Harry headed into a changing room.

Harry liked all the shirts but thought maybe he had enough for right now. When he came out of the changing room, Sirius had gone into one. Harry handed the salesman the shirts and said "I want these, but that might be all the shirts I need. I do need another pair of swim trunks and maybe some shorts. Definitely, I need trousers to go with that black shirt. I don't really have anything that would work." In fact, Harry had a very limited range of muggle clothes now that he thought about it, and while his wizarding 'muggle clothes' would probably pass well enough to get by, if he was going to be spending much time in the muggle world, he could do with more clothes. "And maybe shoes to go with the black shirt and trousers I get." He added.

The assistant was already looking for more clothes for him but smiled. "For shoes, you might need to go to another shop," He said, "but I can direct you to a good one. We don't really stock shoes, just those, for summer visitors." He nodded his head towards the limited display of flip flops and water shoes near the door.

In the end, Harry bought the shirts and a pair of heavy silk pants which paired perfectly with his new black shirt as well as a belt. He didn't find swim trunks he wanted there, but he did already have some, so that wasn't an emergency. Sirius had found several things he liked as well.

When they walked out of the shop with their packages and into the sunshine it was considerably hotter than it had been when they had walked in. "Do you need anything else?" Sirius asked.

"Some shoes to go with the shirt and slacks I bought. More swim trunks, but they aren't absolutely necessary." Harry said. "I might be able to get by with some shoes I have, but they're... a different kind of shoe and it might not look right." Sirius hadn't yet reapplied the privacy spell and he grinned, understanding what Harry was saying. "There's a shoe store up the next road not far from the waterfront, from what the shop assistant said."

Sirius nodded, and noticed Harry looking at some people walking with ice cream cones. "Then maybe some lunch, followed by gelato?" He asked with a grin, watching Harry's face light up. Sirius was still smarting over not having taken Harry out for ice cream at Florean Fortesque's in Diagon Alley for far too long, and had realized that Harry just didn't suggest outings for himself, unless Sirius directly asked. "You know, we're only here for a couple of weeks. If you see something you want to try, be sure to let me know." Sirius said.

Harry looked at him in some surprise and Sirius squashed down an impulse to do some muggle baiting in Surrey, and smiled. Harry nodded. "All right," he hesitated, looking out on the water.

Sirius followed his gaze and saw a tourist parasailing dock with people out above the water hanging from a parachute while being pulled by a speedboat. Definitely new in the last ten years. He laughed. "That looks like a blast." He said encouragingly, loving how Harry's face changed from diffidence to eager happiness. "Maybe after the Grangers leave, unless they'd want to join us?" he suggested "We didn't really dress for it, today."

Harry nodded, pleased. "Sounds perfect." Hermione and her family would be arriving the next day, which would drive their activities for a few days. "Hermione isn't really big on heights, though. So probably after they leave."

Harry was able to find the shoes he needed at the store the shop assistant recommended, and they found a spot secluded long enough to call Piper and give him their packages to bring to the Villa. Having freed themselves of their burdens, Harry and Sirius returned to the shore to find a good place for lunch with a view of the waterfront.

The first couple of places that looked good were cafes with outdoor seating that catered to people in bathing suit coverups and board shorts. However, these had lines stretching out the door as everyone tried to have lunch at once. Harry looked covetously at the board shorts, realizing that if he had some of those, he could go parasailing and not have to change before lunch. Some places, anyhow. Sirius saw the direction of his gaze.

"Those do seem like the things to wear if you're doing water activities, don't they?" Sirius asked. "At least for you. I might be too old to get away with that," he said with a slight shrug.

Harry looked pointedly at a group of middle age men wearing board shorts standing in line with their wives to enter one of the cafés. He could tell it was a poor choice of examples though as Sirius's dirty look told him plainly that Sirius would not be caught dead looking like that.

Harry ducked his head, snickering and looked around for another example. Sirius was only thirty-two, and by this point had fully regained his striking good looks. Fortunately, examples weren't in short supply, and Sirius, looking around himself, nodded in agreement. "After gelato." He said, watching Harry beam.

They found a fancier restaurant with outdoor seating which had neither board short wearing patrons sitting at the tables nor a line to enter. Sirius looked at Harry to check his reaction and received a smile and a nod, so they walked inside. The air conditioning made them consider staying inside to eat, but the breeze on the waterfront kept the patio relatively pleasant, and Harry and Sirius had not yet had enough of the ocean to prefer inside seating.

Seeing scallops in wine sauce over rice on the menu, Harry ordered that, remembering the bacon wrapped scallops Marta made, which he enjoyed. Sirius ordered a fish entree with a glass of white wine. He suggested a fruit drink Harry wasn't familiar with for Harry, which turned out to be sweet but refreshing, and cold, which was a huge selling point. Harry enjoyed sitting on the patio eating the excellent food, watching the parasailing and people on the waterfront, and thinking how he would never have had this experience if he still lived with the Dursleys.

After lunch Harry and Sirius got their own cones of gelato, which they ate wandering through the town. They both then bought board shorts, but now it was hot. The water looked inviting, but knowing they had a better, less crowded place to swim, Harry and Sirius moved away from the waterfront to find a place where they could call Piper and be popped back to the villa to continue Harry's swimming lessons.

That night Harry and Sirius both wore new silk shirts to eat a late dinner on the piazza after a large lunch followed by a lazy afternoon and early evening of swimming and breaks on the sand. Looking out at the sea and the darkening summer sky, they then set up a chess board and played, planning possible activities with the Grangers, until it was time for bed.

The next morning Harry was up and showered bright and early, knowing the Grangers would be arriving around 10, after they checked out of their hotel in Rome. Piper and Mina were waiting for the Grangers to call around that time to pop them to the property wards.

Harry was surprised when Sirius joined him before Bina even brought his breakfast out to the piazza. "Since guests are arriving." Sirius said in explanation as he sat down at the table with a smile. "What are you having?"

"Bacon, eggs and toast and orange juice." Harry said as Bina popped out with tea and a basket of a different kind of pastry from the type she had served the day before. Harry waited for his breakfast, but Sirius picked up one of the pastries after he had poured his tea. After ordering sausage and eggs from Bina, Sirius took a bite of the pastry with evident enjoyment on his face. "The pastries here are so good I tend to eat them instead of toast." Sirius said.

Harry nodded. "I can see that. I've just had more sweets the last couple of days than I am used to. It won't last, I'm sure." He said, with a smile.

Sirius smiled too, and leaned back in his chair with his tea, looking out at the ocean and the few puffy white clouds in the deep blue sky. Harry noticed that Sirius had a different kind of relaxation about him here and remembered that Sirius associated cold with dementors. They should visit Italy during winter holidays, Harry thought.

Mina popped out with their breakfasts and Harry turned to that immediately, being ravenous. He mentioned that to Sirius.

"Sea air." Sirius said. Then he gave what passed for a shrug with Sirius, a slight upwards twitch of a single shoulder. Harry smiled into his orange juice. "At least that is what your grandparents used to say. It can't just be the exercise because we get that fencing and dueling. In your case it still might be partly the effect of the language treatment."

"Thank you, again, for that." Harry said, "It was brilliant being able to speak to people in town in Italian."

Sirius smiled, pleased. "I'm glad you're enjoying it."

They had finished their breakfast, and were nursing second glasses of orange juice when Bina popped back to the piazza. "Mina and Piper be getting the Grangers." Bina said. "I be bringing you to the wards when they arrive."

Harry and Sirius exchanged glances and put down their orange juice knowing it was a matter of moments, not minutes before their guests would arrive. They moved to give Bina their hands.

When they arrived at the outer gate to meet the Grangers and Mina and Piper popped away with their bags, Harry could see the Grangers doing a double take looking at Sirius. Hermione was focused on Harry, however. "Harry! You've gotten sun!" Hermione said cheerfully, giving him a hug and turning back to her parents who were exchanging greetings with Sirius.

"You look so well!" Mrs. Granger said to Sirius.

Sirius laughed, "Less like a cadaver, you mean?" he grinned at Harry who realized that the Grangers, not having seen Sirius since winter holidays, were amazed at the change in his looks. Six more months of good food and care and exercise had wrought miracles, Harry realized, assessing Sirius with his head cocked to one side. Sirius laughed again, this time at Harry. "Pass muster, Henry James?" he asked affectionately.

Harry nodded. "You do look good. I see you all the time so I haven't been thinking how you'd look to people who haven't seen you for a while."

"Are you two related? By blood I mean?" Mr. Granger asked curiously, "I can see some similarities, now."

Both Harry and Sirius laughed and Hermione rolled her eyes at them. Her father looked at her for an explanation. "Sirius blood adopted Harry, which is a magical thing, but the physical changes from that are barely noticeable. Harry's hair is a bit darker and his eyelashes may be a bit longer, is all I can really tell." At her father's raised eyebrow she explained, "Blood adoption magically adds a parent to the child's parents, there actually is a genetic change, but the physical traits usually don't change much if at all."

"I took a before and after picture in the same clothes so I could see," Harry said, noting that Sirius was looking at him with interest along with the Grangers. "It's mostly the color of my hair and my eyelashes like Hermione says, but my cheek bones have popped a bit, as well." Hermione studied him and nodded, and Sirius beamed.

"But yes, we are related apart from the blood adoption." Sirius answered the initial question. "Most old wizarding families are related, and Harry's Dad and I were second cousins. His Dad and through him Harry already had a good share of the Black family looks from that." Sirius smirked at Harry, reaching towards him. "You may have gotten more of the color, but you definitely still have the Potter hair."

Harry laughed, dancing away to avoid Sirius's hand to his hair. Harry's self-conscious glance towards the Grangers reminded Sirius that they weren't alone and he pulled his hand back. "One raving beauty in the family is enough." Harry retorted cheerfully, then smirked at the look Sirius shot him.

"Your Dad wasn't exactly chopped liver." Sirius protested with amusement.

"But next to you, people won't be looking at me." Harry said, still cheerful, turning towards the shield on the gate to let the Grangers through the wards.

Sirius huffed. "Your Dad used to say that, but really, he was just so wrapped up in your Mum he didn't pay attention to other girls, so of course he didn't get as much attention."

Harry turned back to him with a laugh, not having heard this before. "But you did pay attention to girls?" he teased.

Sirius grinned unrepentantly. "You would not believe." He said, "There was a period in my life when I was pretty indiscriminate." An outraged noise from Hermione behind Sirius made him flinch and Harry snickered, mercifully putting his hand on the spike on the shield, drawing the Grangers' attention to the appearance of Potter Villa. Harry welcomed the Grangers for their visit over the next few days and opened the gate to the garden.

"How lovely, Harry!" Hermione said with delight, bouncing through the gate into the garden as soon as the gate was open.

"It truly is lovely." Mrs. Granger agreed, following her daughter. Mr. Granger gave Sirius a smirk, still tracking the prior conversation, and got a sheepish one shoulder shrug in return before Mr. Granger followed his family, Harry and Sirius behind them.

Harry looked around. He and Sirius had been spending their time on the water side of the villa, so far, but the walled garden really was beautiful as well, full of shaded nooks and climbing bougainvillea and hand painted tiles on the wall and fountain. "It is nice." He agreed happily.

They walked past the fountain to the front door and Harry welcomed them through the wards, the door opening in front of them.

"Oh!" Mrs. Granger exclaimed, putting a hand over her mouth. Hermione and Mr. Granger were no less impressed and the three of them followed the same path Harry had done upon first entering the villa - walking through the parlor to the grand piazza doors. "May we?" Mrs. Granger hesitated, her hand on the door.

"Of course." Harry said, getting pleased grins as the Grangers moved out onto the grand piazza.

"Oh, Harry!" Hermione said in pleasure, sitting down at one of the tables and looking out at the ocean. "You must spend all of your time out here!"

Harry laughed, and the Grangers looked at him, surprised. "We spend most of our time in the family wing." Harry said. "There's another piazza there. But you are welcome to come out here any time you like while you're visiting."

"There's a separate family wing?" Hermione asked this being enough to get her out of the chair she had looked like she never wanted to leave a few moments before.

"The Potters entertain formally in this area." Sirius explained, holding the door open as they walked back inside, then closing it behind them. The Grangers looked around, taking in the museum quality furnishings.

"And marble, Harry," Hermione teased, "Isn't that a bit Malfoy-esque?" Her parents smiled, remembering their introduction to Potter Manor.

"Bite your tongue." Sirius joked with a shudder. "Italy and marble go together like jam and bread. But I'm sure the Malfoys would find some way to make it ridiculous if they had a villa here." He grinned at Harry. "What they have is a chateau in France. The family came from France originally, you know."

Harry hadn't known, but a chateau in France did sound like what he had heard of the Malfoys. "Peacocks?" he asked.

"Lots and lots." Sirius agreed cheerfully, leading the way to the family wing.

The salotto clearly met with approval by the Grangers. Hermione started to sit down in one of the armchairs then changed her mind and went to the piazza door, stepping outside with the rest following her. She walked nearer to the rail and looked down, and Harry could tell when she saw the path to the beach. Hermione looked along the waterfront in the cove and turned back to Harry, her hands on her hips. "A private beach?" She asked.

Harry grinned, shrugging slightly "Well, my family has had this place a long time." Hermione laughed, shaking her head. "We could eat lunch down there if you wanted to go swimming now. We had planned to have it up here, if we're here, and go swimming later when it's hotter, but the elves could pop the food down there as easily as out here."

"If you wanted to go anywhere today, now would be the time to do that before it gets hotter." Sirius said, "But we're happy to spend the day here and on the beach as well."

"There's also this one wizarding beach Sirius told me about that you might at least want to see, it has pink sand."

"Oh! I've read about that! But it isn't a wizarding beach although there might be a wizarding beach near it. It's called Spiaggia Rosa, but you can only look at it from a boat - its protected." Hermione said.

Harry and Sirius exchanged grins. "That's a muggle beach on the same island," Sirius said. "There are wizarding anti muggle wards on wizard beaches, of course, to protect the Statute of Secrecy. The wizarding beach can be accessed by wizards and those traveling with wizards - like Diagon Alley."

"Oh!" Hermione and her mother exchanged delighted looks but then her mother looked troubled.

"But Hermione says the muggle beach is closed to the public to protect the beach from environmental damage. Doesn't allowing the public on the wizarding beach cause environmental problems?"

Sirius shook his head, "You are forgetting that wizards have preservation and vanishing charms, and places like that have wizards and witches hired specifically to sweep the property every night and perform vanishing charms. More often, if needed."

"Brilliant!" Hermione said. "I definitely want to go there!"

"Do you have plans of what you specifically would like to see while you are here?" Sirius asked. "I know you only have a few days."

Mr. Granger looked at his wife and daughter who hesitated. "We're flexible," Mrs. Granger said, "But if it works into the schedule, we'd like to see Pompeii. We didn't realize how much there was to see in Italy until we got here and started putting our itineraries together. But we'll definitely be coming back again, and we can see it then if it doesn't work out."

Harry and Sirius exchanged looks and Sirius shrugged one shoulder. Mr. Granger raised his hand. "Would you not have gone if we weren't here?"

Sirius was looking at Harry, so he said, "Sirius said it gets pretty crowded in the summer. We were thinking we might go for a short while early in the day and then go back another time for a more in depth visit, since I have this place and we can come here off season."

Mr. Granger nodded. "That sounds perfect, we'll get a quick look and then come back next trip to really spend time there." Hermione and her mother nodded, apparently satisfied.

"Then we should do that tomorrow morning, since it's your only full day." Sirius said. "We can go to the pink sands beach on Budelli Island today, if you like, and have lunch there, then come back here to spend the rest of the day and really swim. The water on that part of Budelli Island is pretty briny. That's why the beach is pink, from all the dead sea creatures. The beach here is nicer for swimming, once you get past the part where the sand is not pink." He smirked and everyone else grinned at him.

"I'm sure we can 'make do' with white sands and turquoise water." Mrs. Granger said with good humor.

Sirius and Harry gave a brief tour of the family wing then took the Grangers up to their rooms so everyone could change for Budelli Island. Harry and Sirius put on their new board shorts and Harry wore his new gauze short sleeve shirt. When they met with the Grangers in the salotto, Hermione and Mrs. Granger appeared to be wearing bathing suits under summer dresses/coverups with sandals, and Mr. Granger was wearing shorts and a polo shirt with a webbed belt and boat shoes. He had clearly decided that he wasn't swimming with the dead sea creatures and could wait to change into bathing clothes until they got back.

"Oh, good." Hermione said when she saw them. "I wasn't sure people would be wearing muggle fashion."

"Pretty much every wizarding place that is casual will have some people - at least kids - in muggle fashion." Sirius said. "And things may have changed in ten years, but I'd never wear wizarding bathing clothes. Harry's Mum used to say they looked like Victorian bathing costumes from the late 1800's. She used to ask, wasn't the wool itchy, and wasn't it uncomfortable when it got wet. And the answer is: Yes, and yes."

The Grangers laughed.

"But wizards have drying charms." Harry pointed out, not planning on wearing a wizarding bathing costume, ever.

"Yes, but they still look ridiculous." Sirius said, and Harry grinned at him, then called the elves who took their hands and popped Harry and the Grangers to the apparation point on Budelli Island while Sirius apparated. As soon as they arrived, Harry and Sirius moved aside and the Granger's followed them, but curiously.

"We have to clear the apparation point for the next people." Harry explained to the Grangers as a couple apparated to the spot where they had just been standing.

"Ah, crowd control." Mr. Granger said with amusement, at the same time that Hermione said "Like a chair lift." They couldn't see the pink sand from where they were standing, but they could see the backside of a building with a large deck which contained tables under umbrellas, and they walked towards that. Sirius paid the admission, since it was in sickles, and they walked into the building, which had a restaurant, bathrooms and a sundries store. They passed right through onto the deck facing the sea.

The beach was gorgeous, a true shell pink. Few people were in the water, and those who were, were only wading at the sea edge. However, a number of younger children and young adults accompanying their children sat on blankets or towels on the sand or built elaborately charmed castles by the water's edge. A few of the older visitors did in fact wear bathing costumes which looked as if they had come from the turn of the nineteenth to twentieth century, but most of those gathered with the young children on the sand wore wizarding versions of muggle beach clothes or actual muggle clothes, although Harry didn't see any bikinis. That made sense, he reflected, since clothing witches wore tended toward modest in general, by muggle standards.

There were also tables that could be rented on the sand that came with umbrellas, and Sirius led them to one of those. Sirius stood by the table. "You will probably want to walk around. Why don't I order us all drinks to hold our table and catch up with you?"

The Grangers looked amenable but when Harry said he'd wait with Sirius and would catch up with them, too, they all waited and ordered drinks for the table before venturing further. When the waiter took their order he put a numbered flag on a stand on the table, which indicated it was occupied, and designated where their order with that number was to be delivered.

As they walked out on the atoll, Harry noticed a middle age couple under another umbrella with a boy about his age. He caught Hermione's attention. "Doesn't that boy go to Hogwarts?" He asked.

She looked and nodded. "He's a Slytherin, I think," she said.

"Zambini, I think his name is." Harry said, catching Sirius's interest, and Sirius turned to look at the family. "Do you know them?" Harry asked.

Sirius shook his head. "I know of them. They are another neutral family Greengrass has been mentioning to me as being people we might be able to work with on some Wizengamot measures. I don't know much about them socially." He hesitated.

"But?" Harry asked.

But Sirius shook his head again. "I don't like to gossip and I've never met the family, myself." Mr. Granger nodded approvingly. "And in any event, it would have no bearing on the son."

That just made Harry more curious, but he'd been gossiped about plenty himself, and he dropped it. He glanced back at the boy though, and saw the boy was looking at him as well, so he smiled and nodded politely. He thought the boy looked surprised before giving him a smile and nod in return. Harry's smile warmed before he turned back to his companions. Andromeda and Daphne were in Slytherin. They weren't all bad.

After walking around for several minutes with Mr. Granger taking some pictures with a 'mechanical camera' so the magic wouldn't interfere, they went back to the table. Sirius offered to shrink the camera so Mr. Granger could put it in his pocket until he wanted it, and Mr. Granger accepted the offer, looking surprised, then picked up the resulting doll sized camera with a bemused smile and put it into his pocket.

Their drinks had been delivered while they were away so Harry, Hermione and Mrs. Granger drank cold blended fruit drinks and Sirius and Mr. Granger had ale while they looked through the menu.

Unsurprisingly, the menu leaned heavily towards sea food, and they ordered fried calamari for the table as a starter, then Sirius and Hermione had cioppino, Harry tried a spicy shrimp and vermicelli dish while Hermione's parents both had a linguine plate with grilled swordfish and anchovy sauce. To his surprise, Harry thought the swordfish linguini looked the best when the food was brought out, but his shrimp pasta was fine as well.

It was getting quite warm by the time they were done with their main courses, so all of them except Mr. Granger had dishes of gelato, with lovely amaretti biscuits on the side of the plate, while Mr. Granger 'spent his calories' on a second cold ale.

When they had finished Harry asked the Grangers if they wanted to walk around some more or go back to the villa and swim, and they all opted for swimming. They were very appreciative of the treat to have seen the beach and said the food was excellent, but swimming was a major draw as the day got hotter.

The Potter elves popped them back to the salotto and everyone went up to their rooms to freshen up, and, in Mr. Granger's case, to change into swim clothes. Harry changed into water shoes from the sandals he had been wearing earlier. Then he went downstairs and met up with the others in the salotto to walk down to the beach.

They stopped at the bell tower part way down and Mrs. Granger exclaimed again at the beauty of the view. "I guess this gives you somewhere to take a break on the climb back up." She said cheerfully.

Harry confessed, "So far, we've asked the elves to pop us back up each time and of course, Sirius can apparate. It's just been so hot."

Mrs. Granger nodded and Mr. Granger looked quite pleased at that arrangement.

"And it doesn't hurt the elves." Hermione double checked.

"They're in essence using Harry's magic, at this point." Sirius said, "And it doesn't hurt, does it Harry?" he asked with a grin.

Harry rolled his eyes but shook his head. "Not at all." Harry said, giving Sirius a dirty look, which didn't dent his humor in the slightest. In fact, Sirius smirked at Harry's reaction.

The elves had set up an umbrella table and chairs on the sand, and there was a chill charmed pitcher of ice water with glasses as well. "The water here is ok to drink?" Mr. Granger asked, to be sure.

"The wizarding water is." Sirius said, "It is conjured, so it is pure. I don't drink the water in town, although as a wizard it probably wouldn't hurt me much." Mr. Granger nodded and poured a glass of water.

Hermione was taking off her sundress/coverup and Harry removed his shirt and put it on a chair, while the adults apparently decided to stay in the shade at the table for a bit. Harry and Hermione headed to the waves and walked out, Harry ducking down when they got past the surf to get the cold shock over with. But Hermione drew out the agony, easing into the water an inch at a time while Harry watched her with a grin. "It's a lot easier if you just do it all at once." He told her.

She sighed, and finally gave in, ducking under and coming back up with her hair greatly diminished in girth and looking very different. "I know it's easier in my head, but it seems so hard when it feels cold!" she said, splashing him when he laughed.

"Two can play that game." He warned her, and she splashed him again so he swiped his whole arm in the water creating a wave that swept over her head.

She came up blinking and laughing. "OK, you win!" she said cheerfully, and he grinned back at her.

"Is it safe to come in?" Sirius called from the shore, as he stepped into the waves.

Hermione laughed, "Yes, we've ceased hostilities." She assured him. Sirius smiled as he moved through the water, then performed an elegant surface dive when he got to the outer surf, bobbing up just feet away from them.

"You'll teach me to do that." Harry insisted and Sirius grinned, pushing his hair out of his face.

"Of course."

"To dive?" Hermione asked, confused, "Or..." she trailed off as Harry shook his head.

"I didn't know how to swim, at all." Harry said. "Sirius has been teaching me, but we've only been here two days."

Hermione looked angry, then smiled. "Well, you swim very well for only two days." She said, looking at him treading water. "I would never have guessed."

Harry grinned. "It's not fancy, but I can stay up and move around," he said. "I'll work on the rest over time."

Hermione nodded, her expression darkening again. "It's not worth it, Hermione." Harry said gently, then when she looked surprised, he added, "Plotting against the Dursleys. I promise you that if they could see how I'm living now, that would be the best possible revenge."

This time Hermione smiled honestly. "Living well is the best revenge." She quoted.

"Exactly." Harry smiled, "And I am living very well."

She grinned, "You really are." She agreed, waving her arm to take in the cove and the villa.

She then turned to where her parents were entering the water, but Harry, turning towards Sirius, saw him look at Harry speculatively. Then, when he saw Harry watching, Sirius gave him a big smile. "You're plotting." Harry accused him, and Sirius shrugged one shoulder.

"There's not a chance I'm giving them a pass, Harry, so don't even start. But you do have a point about how irritating it would be to them to know how well you're doing."

Harry shivered. "I'm not sure I want them to know anything about me," he protested, his voice tight. Sirius looked grave, then nodded.

"I'll discuss with you anything that would impact you before I do it." He promised, but the steel in his voice suggested Harry's reaction had increased rather than decreased Sirius's determination to address the Dursley's custody of Harry.

Harry looked at him narrowly, fully understanding how much wiggle room that gave Sirius, then sighed and decided to try out the crawl Sirius had been teaching him the day before. Hermione saw him swimming and swam up beside him with a side stroke, keeping pace. She smiled at him. "You can't blame him Harry, my parents would have anyone who treated me like they did you in jail, or dead. Parents are like that." She said reasonably.

Sirius grinned. "Yeah, parents are like that, Henry James!" he said cheekily.

Harry responded by aiming a wave of water at his head. Sirius ducked under the water then laughed when he popped back up and said "You really do not want to start that."

Harry looked at Hermione. "Well, maybe not when there's so much possibility of collateral damage, but we'll still be here in three days."

Sirius laughed again, delightedly. "Yes, we will."

After a few hours on the beach and in the water, they showered off the sand at the outdoor showers attached to the bathhouse. Then Harry called the elves to pop them to the villa for real showers and to change for dinner on the piazza.

Harry was on the piazza reading a book on defense spell 'chains' when the Grangers joined him before dinner. He put down his book and stood up when they arrived, earning a smile from both of the females.

"Sirius is at Pompeii arranging our tour for tomorrow." Harry said, "He won't be long." He saw the disgruntled look on Mr. Granger's face. "Is something wrong?"

Hermione and Mrs. Granger laughed. "Daddy just wanted to pay for things on the muggle side," Hermione said, "since we've enjoyed so much of your hospitality, here and over winter holidays."

"Well, we thought we'd go to lunch in a restaurant after Pompeii and before Herculaneum, if you guys wanted to." Harry said diplomatically.

"I'm definitely taking us to lunch." Mr. Granger said, looking somewhat mollified.

"We're going to Herculaneum the same day?" Mrs. Granger asked in surprise.

"We were going to discuss it with you. We don't have to, but Sirius is lining up a tour just for us five with an archeologist for nine in the morning at Pompeii, or as close to then as he can get it. He said that will give us an overview and the highlights and some background that would make us appreciate Herculaneum more as well. If we just do that much tomorrow, we can leave the crowds there and go to Herculaneum which is smaller but not as crowded, and look around for a couple of hours, then come back to cool off in the ocean before dinner. If you wanted."

"There isn't all that much at Herculaneum is there?" Mr. Granger asked just as Sirius apparated onto the piazza.

"Actually, there's almost more there." Sirius said, "At least it's more concentrated and better preserved."

"Because it was hot ash there." Hermione confirmed to her father. "But rocks fell first in Pompeii and destroyed all the roofs and most upper stories of buildings." She looked at Sirius who nodded. "Pompeii is a lot larger, and it has the body casts made from where people died and the cooler temperature of their bodies left spaces in the ash in the form they were in when they died. So, archeologists pumped plaster into the spaces and made casts of people's last moments."

Mr. and Mrs. Granger nodded. "That must really bring home what happened there." Mrs. Granger said.

"Yes, it does," Sirius said, "but so do the skeletons in the boat houses at Herculaneum where people were hoping to catch a boat to flee the town and got caught there. They're a bit more grim than the body casts, in my view, because it is the actual people you are looking at."

The Grangers looked surprised. "I wasn't aware of skeletons." Mrs. Granger said, looking at Hermione.

Hermione shook her head and shrugged. "We weren't talking about going there this trip, so I only read what came up when I was looking into Pompeii," she said.

Mr. Granger grinned "Hermione's our historian. She researches where we are going as a matter of course, and her mother and I get a free education out of it."

"Herculaneum still has most of its second stories, even some original wooden balconies. And some of the stores still have fittings." Sirius said. "There are more paintings and mosaics..." he shrugged. "It's smaller but definitely worth seeing. Particularly since magical travel takes so little time between the two sites."

"Well, that sounds like a plan, then." Mr. Granger said, "And I'll take the group to lunch after Pompeii."

Sirius grinned. "Well, thank you. That sounds excellent. And there's no need to stay around Pompeii to eat. A lot of people eat on site, but the restaurants near there still get pretty crowded around lunch time. We can play it by ear, tomorrow. I just wanted to get the tour set up because there will be a huge crowd there in the morning and you would have a hard time booking a same day tour and taking it without waiting for hours. And the line for tickets without a tour is even worse."

"We appreciate your sparing us that experience." Mr. Granger said dryly with a sour look on his face.

Hermione laughed. "Lines are the part Daddy really doesn't like about traveling." She said, as Marta popped out with an antipasto platter and a basket of cut bread to start the dinner service.

-o0o-

The earliest tour Sirius had been able to book had been for 9:30 in the morning, which Harry privately suspected Sirius preferred in any event. Breakfasted, sunscreen charmed and Mr. Granger with his camera returned to size, they were popped to a spot not far from the gate entrance, with the elves first scouting an empty location. The tour guide was waiting inside the gate with a card on a lanyard around her neck that they had been told would identify her. There were numerous other tour guides, some gathering much larger groups, and many people discovering that the next available small group tour wouldn't start until the afternoon. They were all very glad Sirius had anticipated this the day before.

"I feel badly for them." Hermione said in a low voice as a disappointed family made its way towards the long ticket line instead of booking a tour when they found there wasn't one to be had until afternoon.

"There are ticket scalpers who will go up to the people in line and offer them tours." Sirius said. "They are more expensive, and usually not as good because the scalpers are rarely actual experts in the field, but they make their living here, so they can know the site pretty well, if you're lucky." Hermione nodded. "Those are the people you saw selling tickets and tours outside of the gate." Sirius added.

"I did wonder why we didn't go to one of those." Hermione said with a smile.

The site walk was interesting to Harry, with intriguing highlights amid a lot of rubble and half destroyed walls. Harry didn't spend much time plotting the less obvious courtyards and layout, knowing he'd get better preserved examples of that at Herculaneum. However, he listened with fascination to their guide describing the eruption of Vesuvius and quoting Pliny the Younger's contemporary account of escaping a nearby town with his mother at 18 years of age while Pliny the Elder perished during attempted evacuation of friends from the doomed city of Pompeii. The final words of the quote particularly struck him: "…darkness came on once more and ashes began to fall again, this time in heavy showers. We rose from time to time and shook them off, otherwise we should have been buried and crushed beneath their weight. I could boast that not a groan or cry of fear escaped me in these perils, but I admit that I derived some poor consolation in my mortal lot from the belief that the whole world was dying with me and I with it."

The guide pointed out places where ash mold of bodies and artifacts now in the museum had been found, and pictures of the casts of those bodies and artifacts were posted at the sites. The still preserved mosaics on the bottoms of pools in the inner courtyards, the paintings and the walls of the still standing structures gave a glimpse of what life had been like before the destruction.

As one less gripping highlight of the lifestyle of Pompeii, they walked through a reconstructed bordello with multiple cubicles for 'entertaining clients.' This might have been more embarrassing to Harry given the mixed crowd and the description of the use of artifacts in each little cubicle room, but the rapid fire questions by both Hermione and her mother kept the discussion at the paleontology level.

Harry exchanged a glance with Sirius, who was clearly amused, then grew wary as Sirius's eyes turned speculative looking at Harry. Harry quickly moved to catch up with Hermione, suspecting that look bode him no good.

After they left Pompeii, which the Grangers said they would definitely come to visit again - when there weren't so many people - the elves popped them to a small village on the Amalfi coast, which wasn't part of the Granger's itinerary this trip. They looked around and found an upscale but casual restaurant on the waterfront, and ate on the deck, looking out at the small brightly colored boats bobbing at anchor. It was a comparatively cool respite from the walk through Pompeii, and the food was every bit as good as the view.

After Pompeii, the group's visit to Herculaneum seemed far less crowded, and was also fascinating. As Sirius had told them, it had better preserved examples of what a wealthy town had been like in Roman times, and one could easily imagine the people had just left. After a somber view of the interior of the boathouses at the waterfront the group moved to a private location and called for the elves to pop them back to Potter Villa for cold drinks and a change into swim clothes.

They spent the late afternoon swimming in the cove then gathered, showered and refreshed, on the piazza for the Granger's second and last evening at the villa.

"Thank you so much for your hospitality here." Mrs. Granger said. "We would have never been able to do this much so pleasantly on our own, and your villa and beach are like something out of a dream!"

"We're really glad you could come." Harry said, pleased, as always, when guests enjoyed Potter hospitality.

Sirius nodded. "It's great for Harry to have someone his own age here for a while, and you are easy guests to host - you like everything!"

The Grangers all laughed at that. "What's not to like?" Mr. Granger asked rhetorically. "It's going to be hard going back to busses and lines, after this experience!"

Sirius smiled and Harry beamed. "So, what do you want to do with your last morning tomorrow?" Sirius asked.

"Anything." Hermione and her mother said at the same time, then laughed.

"Pompeii was the one thing we were hoping to get in if we could." Mrs. Granger admitted. "And you know the area better than we do, Sirius, what would you recommend?"

Sirius hesitated. "Well, I've been planning around what I would most have liked when I was eleven," he said. The Granger adults nodded and took their glasses of wine from Bina as she popped out with a tray of drinks. "That means I've left the casinos and night life mostly for other trips although Harry and I will probably take in a few restaurants for dinner. But there are museums and cathedrals we will sample at least to some extent so I don't feel like an irresponsible parent, if you wanted to do that sort of thing tomorrow morning."

"What would you recommend?" Hermione asked shrewdly, and Sirius grinned at her.

"I'd recommend the blue grotto on Capri." He said, "Since you ask." At Mr. Granger's perking up, Sirius continued, "It's another thing that is better seen by magical travel in my opinion. Otherwise, you spend half of your time just getting there." Mr. Granger beamed.

"We had museums and cathedrals in Rome and the Vatican." Mr. Granger said with satisfaction at the proposed itinerary. "Not counting the one today for Pompeii, where we just looked in briefly."

"And we will have more in Florence." Mrs. Granger said in a warning tone.

"Exactly. So, something different tomorrow morning would be great." Mr. Granger was positively smug, making the rest of them laugh.

"How much time do we have tomorrow?" Sirius asked.

"Well, if we get into Florence before four, we can store our bags at the hotel and look around the city, but we can't check in before four. We have the morning through lunch, easily." Mrs. Granger said. This met with approval.

The next morning, the elves popped the five of them to the Isle of Capri near to steep steps which led down the hillside to the waterfront, where they hired a small boat to take them into the grotto. Alessandro, their guide, pulled upwards on a rope attached to the stone wall of the grotto entrance to force the boat deep enough in the water that neither Sirius nor Mr. Granger were at risk of hitting their heads on the stone above as they slipped under the cliff face and into the grotto. Alessandro was friendly and charismatic and joked with Harry that he needed to teach his 'girlfriend' to speak Italian as well as he did. Seeing that this amused Sirius, Alessandro suggested he could introduce Harry to a nice Italian girl who spoke Italian already, then roared with laughter when Harry turned bright red. Harry's glare at Sirius, who found this hilarious, carried enough real anger that Sirius straightened up and shook his head at Alessandro who amiably shifted the conversation. Hermione could easily tell she was involved in the conversation somehow, from all the looks sent her way and she demanded to know what was so funny. Finally, Harry had to say he'd tell her later, so she would drop the subject.

The grotto was gorgeous, with the light filtering up through the water and lighting up the entire cavern with a warm blue glow. The guide told them it had been used in ancient times as a water temple, and that the statues found there had all been taken away long ago. They circled around inside and Mr. Granger took pictures to his heart's content before they emerged for Alessandro to meet his next group of patrons.

Harry, Sirius and the Grangers were then popped to Marina Grande, Capri's largest town, where they walked around and looked through the shops near the water before going to a restaurant with bright blue painted tables on a deck overlooking the water for lunch. Mrs. Granger and Hermione had seen some holiday wear they wanted to try on while they were walking the town, so instead of staying at the restaurant after their main course, the group walked to a chiosk and each got an orange or lemon granita - an Italian ice - to eat as they wandered. None of the men felt the need to go into the boutiques while the Granger women were trying on clothes, instead contentedly eating their granitas outside as they took in the views of the beautiful island.

When Hermione and Mrs. Granger had finished shopping, the group found a secluded spot and the elves popped them back to Potter Villa. Harry, Sirius and Mr. Granger sat on the piazza drinking cold drinks while the shoppers packed their new purchases. When the Grangers gathered on the piazza for goodbyes, Hermione threw her arms around Harry in a hug.

"This has been absolutely wonderful!" She thanked him and Sirius. "Your villa is amazing, and we got to do so much!"

"And yet it will still prove to be the most relaxing part of the vacation." Mr. Granger agreed with a grin.

"We were happy to have you." Harry said, "You'll have to come again." This prospect seemed to make the Grangers even happier, as they each took the hand of an elf and were popped off to Florence.

Sirius turned to Harry. "They seemed to enjoy themselves." He said, "And they are nice people."

Harry nodded happily. "Thank you for doing so much. You were really having to do the host work, since I've never been here before."

Sirius smiled. "Well, that's to be expected. You aren't even twelve yet. But I'm happy to do it, and it's all stuff I'd have wanted to show you sooner or later." He stretched in the hot Italian sun, looking out at the sparkling water. "Did you want another swimming lessen today?"

Harry beamed at him. "Sounds perfect! I'll get changed and meet you back here."

Harry made it to the piazza before Sirius, whom Harry could hear talking to someone by floo as he passed Sirius' suite. Harry looked down at the water and thought how nice it would be when he could apparate himself up and down to the beach. This reminded him that he had been going to try his Patronus to see if he could yet channel enough magic to apparate successfully. He realized with pleasure that he now had many happy memories to choose between, and thought of the adoption ceremony and how the Potter magic had felt, blessing Sirius's adoption of Harry as his son.

"Expecto Patronum!" He called, channeling the happiness from the memory. Immediately, a vibrantly glowing silver blue stag leapt from his wand and ran along the pavers of the piazza.

Harry heard a choked, "Prongs!" behind him and turned as his Patronus walked up to Sirius and nuzzled its nose into Sirius's chest, before stepping back, looking at Harry for any instructions, and fading away.

"Sorry!" Harry said, looking at the tears on Sirius's cheeks and the look of wonder on his face. "I didn't know you were there. I should have warned you..."

Sirius was shaking his head and walked over to pull Harry close, kissing his hair. "Don't apologize." He said, fervently. "That was wonderful." He dabbed his face with a handkerchief Piper had brought him, since Sirius had changed to swim clothes. "Did you know your Patronus was your father's animagus form?"

Harry nodded sheepishly. "I knew when I tried to cast it the first day I woke up at Potter Manor. I told Fleamont it was. I just haven't thought about my Patronus since then except as something I couldn't do yet. The only time I saw it, it was just an outline and I was mostly just disappointed it wasn't the full Patronus."

Sirius laughed with just a touch of hysteria. "For a not quite twelve year old to cast a fully corporeal Patronus is absolutely amazing." He hugged Harry again.

"So does that mean I can apparate?" Harry asked, this having been his reason for casting the spell.

Sirius took a deep breath, still pulling himself together. "Well, let's think about it. Are you drained after casting that?"

Harry took stock of himself, then shook his head. "Not at all." He said with a grin. "I guess I really am able to channel more magic. Although," He said, thoughtfully, "it's probably part that I have so many more happy memories too."

"May I ask which one you used?" Sirius asked, and started to take it back when Harry turned pink, but Harry shook his head.

"When you adopted me and the Potter magic blessed it," he said, shrugging one shoulder and looking out over the ocean, his face still pink. When he looked back, Sirius had tears in his eyes again, but the look he gave Harry was so joyous and tender, Harry was glad he had told him. Harry shrugged and looked away again, though.

Sirius cleared his throat. "That is definitely a Patronus worthy memory." Sirius agreed. He became business like. "So, are you sure you remember how to apparate?" he asked.

Harry nodded, thinking of the process, and apparated to the other side of the piazza.

Sirius tilted his head back and gave Harry a sour look.

"Uh, you didn't mean for me to do it then?" Harry asked sheepishly.

"No, I didn't." Sirius said dryly, but then smiled. "Come closer, I don't see any missing bits but sometimes parts of eyebrows or fingernails can be overlooked."

Harry walked over and Sirius made a big deal of checking Harry's eyebrows and ears and fingernails until Harry rolled his eyes and snatched his hand back.

"Since I'm emancipated, shouldn't I be able to get an apparation license?" Harry asked.

"I honestly don't know." Sirius said. "I always thought of the requirement as being one of age, but seventeen is the age a wizard typically becomes an adult, so possibly emancipation will satisfy it. We could ask Ted." Harry nodded. "So, now do you feel at all drained?" Sirius asked, and Harry shook his head. "Did you want to apparate down to the beach?" Sirius asked.

Harry looked over the rail at the path to the beach. "I don't mind walking down, if you don't. It's a nice walk and it makes the water that much better when we get there. I'll apparate back though."

Sirius nodded, "OK, just remember to check in with yourself to see if you are feeling drained before you do, the first few times." Harry nodded, grinning happily. Sirius shook his head, but looked proud. "Well done." He finally said, and Harry's grin, if possible, grew wider. "It's legal to apparate without a license on private property on the Continent." Sirius said. "I'm not sure about England, though. It never came up."

"But it came up on the Continent?" Harry asked cheekily.

"Well..." Sirius gestured to the beach below sheepishly as if that were self-explanatory, and Harry supposed it was.

"We'll ask Ted." Harry said, confidently, and Sirius nodded smiling, as he opened the gate to the beach path.