Chapter 5: Welcome to My Flat, Sirius
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Ow, my hands hurt. I might have to take a break, or my muse might push me. We fight a lot.
Hphphp
"There are a few questions I have to ask first," said Harry as he got more comfortable in his chair. He felt this was going to be a long conversation, if not an intense one. He really didn't know these two men really well, but he trusted them to a point. They were the closest thing he had to family other than the Dursleys. And the less said about those people the better.
"Oh? And what would those be?" Remus asked, settling into the couch further. He crossed his legs and leaned back. He put his hands on his knees and just got more comfortable.
"Well, first I'd like to talk to Sirius," the teen said, looking to where the dog was sniffing around the kitchen, like he was looking for crumbs. As if Dobby would ever leave any.
Dobby was trying to shoo the dog off, but he wasn't having any luck.
"Snuffles, get your arse over here, your godson wants to talk to you," Remus stated in a loud tone, which made Harry making shushing motions. Until Remus held up his wand and pointed to the door, reminding him he used magic to dampen the noise.
Harry gave a sigh of relief that he would not be disturbing his landlady. He didn't want to get on her bad side on his first day here. Or at all for that matter.
The large black dog came over and transferred into a man. Sirius Black stood up and took a seat on the other chair. "What do you need, Harry?" he asked with a wide grin.
"What's your house like?" Harry asked, wanting to know what he was getting into before he committed to anything.
Sirius thought about telling a lie for a moment then thought better of it. He was brutally honest when he said, "It's a dump. Well, Molly Weasley and her hoard are trying to clean it up, but it's a dump. They're not making much progress. It's like the house is fighting them every step of the way," he finished, thoughtfully.
It was Harry's turn to get thoughtful. "Why do you live like that? Why don't you have a house elf? I mean you're a rich man, don't most purebloods have a house elf?" he asked, having heard that from Dobby. They had talked about it a few times over the last few days.
"Well, you have to consider that I've been on the run for quite some time," his godfather stated, giving him a look. "I wouldn't have one. Well, I do have one, but he's kind of a berk. He doesn't do anything but go around grumbling all day about not wanting to pander to the blood-traitors and such. Useless fucker," he grumbled under his breath.
Harry heard him though and looked at Dobby, who had a weird look on his face. He turned back to his godfather and said, "Oh, I've never heard of a house elf doing that. Is there anything else I should know before I decide?" he asked, thinking he already had, but wanted more information.
"Well, I hate it there. I'm pretty much a prisoner. I'd love it if you came, but I can't stand the place. It's my childhood home," Sirius said with so much hostility that Harry was shocked.
"You want me to come to a place where you're a prisoner? Will I be allowed to leave if I come?" the teenager asked, looking as bitter as Sirius felt. He looked at Remus, who was remaining calm.
"Come to think of it, probably not," it was the dogman who answered, also looking at Remus.
"Then I think I'd rather stay here," Harry said, defiantly. He looked around the flat and liked what they had done.
"You will not be safe here, Harry," said Remus, finally deeming to jump in.
"But I paid for this place. I paid almost 150 galleons just to set this up. And that's not including groceries and all the other paraphernalia I had to set up," Harry argued, waving his arms around extravagantly.
"I understand that, Harry, but you're just going to be so vulnerable here with Voldemort and his Death Eaters running around," said Remus, trying to be the voice of reason as usual. He did have a point, but Harry was a stubborn teenager.
"Can't we set up wards and such?" Harry asked, thinking they had magic, they could do things like that.
"I'm sure we can," said Sirius, nodding his head contemplatively. "I know I can set up some pretty wicked ones," he added with an evil grin. He was a Black after all. The ones he knew were deadly.
Harry brightened, he could stay here and have his freedom and maybe Sirius would come and visit him. "Well then, let's just do that. I don't want to give up my freedom to be in some stuffy old house that's a bigger dump than this place. You could come and visit me like you are now, and maybe bring Ron and the others," he said, bouncing up and down. "But it would have to be after the bookstore closes. Miss Maggie doesn't like the store to be disturbed."
"Well, you are an adult, so I can't force you to go anywhere, but Dumbledore is not going to be happy," said Remus, shaking his head. "I don't think Molly will let Ron out of the house. The twins are of age, so they might leave now and again," he added, smiling wickedly.
"I can stay here as a dog as a sort of protection for him," Sirius said, getting that evil grin again.
"You are a wanted man, Sirius. That's not safe," said Remus.
"Oh, hey, Sirius," said Harry like he just remembered, "I've got a solicitor and she's trying to get you free right now. We're gonna split the bill, you and me." He was bouncing in his chair really excited about it.
"Have you really? She's taken my case? How did you manage that?" the escaped man said as he started bouncing too.
"I just went into her office and told her what was going on and she's more than happy to take it. Here's her card," Harry said, digging into his pocket and handing Sirius the card.
"This is great. And she really thinks I have a case?" the dogman asked, reading the name on the card. "This is awesome." He felt like a kid getting a new broom.
"Yeah, she said she can get you exonerated and without evidence. If you didn't have a trial," the teen said, happy to see his godfather so happy.
"No, I didn't have a trial," Sirius said, ecstatic that he was going to be free, just like that. "I just wound up in Azkaban."
"Well then, you can be a free man within a couple of days," Harry all but yelled, ready to get up and do a jig.
"Now I really want to stay here with you, so I can go with you next time you see your solicitor," Sirius said, ready to join him.
"That's great," Harry said, then his face fell, and he looked at the door again. "I'm not sure how my landlady will feel about me having a large black dog. We better go talk to her first." Miss Maggie was a nice lady, but Sirius was a huge dog.
"Alright, let's go do that," Sirius said, nothing was going to get him down.
"You transfigure back, and we'll go down and talk to her," Harry said, getting off his chair and going to the door. "Remus, I don't know what we're going to do about you. I told her I didn't have any other relatives so I can't tell her you're my uncle." He burned that bridge, so he'd have to come up with something else. The truth maybe.
"Why don't you let me worry about that?" Remus said, though he was at a loss too.
"Alright then."
So, the three of them went downstairs, two as humans, one as a dog. Maggie was sitting behind the till, and she saw them come down and she was scared to see the very large dog at first until she saw that it was simply walking beside Harry. "Oh, my dear, that is a very large dog," she said, putting her hand on her chest like she was afraid of Snuffles.
"Yes, ma'am. He won't bite you. Snuffles is a very nice dog," Harry said, keeping his hand on Sirius's collar.
"Whatever are you doing with such a large dog?" Maggie asked, eyeing them warily. She just knew she wasn't going to like this.
"This is my teacher, Mr. Lupin, and he has asked me to watch Snuffles for him for a while. He's going out of town you see. He doesn't know anyone else who can watch him. He'll be gone for the rest of the summer," Harry stated, looking like a lost kitten.
"That is a very small apartment for such a large dog. Are you sure you can handle it?" she asked, looking dubious. The dog came up to Harry's waist. How was he going to walk it?
"Yes, ma'am. Snuffle's is very well trained," the teenager said, patting Sirius on the head.
Sirius sat and let his tongue hang out of his mouth, doing his best to look harmless.
"I will have to charge you a pet fee," she stated, giving in to the kitten eyes.
"Yes, ma'am. How much?" Harry said, sighing a deep sigh.
"That'll be an extra £150, dear," she said reluctantly. She knew the boy was on a budget, but dogs were destructive.
Harry let out another huge sigh and said, "Yes ma'am. Can I get that to you tomorrow, ma'am?"
"Yes, dear. I will be right here, of course," Maggie stated, giving him an endearing smile.
"Thank you, ma'am."
With that, the two humans and one dog went back upstairs to discuss what they were going to do. Sirius turned back into a human and sat on the chair. "Harry, why do you live in such a dingy place?" he asked, looking down his nose at the small flat.
"You is not being calling this place dingy. We clean this place up really good," said Dobby, glaring at the pureblood like he had been slapped.
"Yeah, we worked really hard to get this place clean," said Harry also glaring at his godfather for insulting Dobby's hard work. Sure, it had only been a few snaps of his fingers, but still…
"What I mean is, why do you live in something so small when you can live in something a bit more extravagant?" backtracked Sirius. He hadn't expected them to get so belligerent.
"Oh," said Harry, feeling a bit sheepish. It was a tiny flat and he was quite rich. Sirius would know that. "That's because I only have 500 galleons a month. The goblins won't give me more than that," he added, looking at his parchments on the kitchen table with his carefully worked out budget on it.
"Why do you only have 500 galleons a month?" asked Sirius, though there was a vague memory in the back of his mind. Azkaban must have snuffed it.
"It was in my parents will," Harry said, tilting his head at him.
"Oh, that's right, I remember that clause," the dogman said, snapping his fingers. "Something about your ancestors being a bit too extravagant when they were left with the full amount of the vault. I thought it was funny at the time, but now I can see it's not so much when you have to live so frugally as a teenager."
"I'll get by," said Harry.
"I'm sure you will," said Remus, giving him a gentle smile. "You're a very capable young man." He remembered how well he did in school and him wearing his cousin's castoffs.
"Does this mean you're going to be eating with me?" asked Harry, suddenly worried he didn't have enough food. "Or are we gonna have to get you dog food?" That might be an issue too.
Sirius barked with laughter and said, "I'll be eating with you."
"Shite. That means we're going to have to get some more food. I only budgeted enough to feed myself," Harry said, looking toward the kitchen and seeing Dobby fretting with his hands.
"Don't worry Harry, I can pay for myself," said Sirius, who had no problems spending money.
Harry went to the kitchen table and grabbed his budget list. He went back to his chair and looked it over. "Good, because I've already spent my allotment this month. With what we're paying for you, that means I only have about 55 galleons left."
"How did you blow 445 galleons already?" Sirius asked, knowing Harry had only been out of school for two days.
"I had to pay for the solicitor, I had to pay for rent, I had to pay for utilities, and I had to pay for groceries. That stuff adds up very fast. And most of those come with deposits," the teenager almost wailed. It had been a long two days and all it seemed to do was sap money out of him. Was it going to be like this every month? Was this what it meant to be an adult? If so, adulting sucked.
"I see," said Sirius, taking the list and seeing where Harry had indeed spent all his money. A good portion of it went to this flat and the solicitor.
"Have you never rented before?" Harry asked, looking at his godfather queerly.
"No, I went straight from my parents' house to your grandparents' house," Sirius said, still reading over the budget, trying to see where he could help without coming across as giving him charity.
"Well see, all that stuff adds up really quick. And I still have to get through the rest of the month," Harry said, grabbing the list and going over it once again. He could see his godfather was going to offer him money, but he needed to learn this shite on his own. Maybe he needed to get a job. He wondered if Miss Maggie was hiring.
"I'm sure you'll be okay, Harry," said Remus, once more trying to be the calm in the storm.
"At any rate, Sirius is going to stay here. Remus, are you gonna tell Dumbledore about me?" Harry asked, hoping that the man wouldn't.
The werewolf got a very strict look on his face and said, "I'm going to have to, Harry. It's part of my job, I guess you could say, as being part of the Order of the Phoenix. If I don't tell him, we'll have to search for you and I'm not going to play that game." He looked at Harry with a look that said he wasn't going to argue with him.
"Well, can you just tell him I'm not missing, and you know where I am?" the teenager suggested. That way the old man wouldn't have to send out search parties.
"No, Harry, that would be irresponsible of me," the werewolf said with a sigh.
"Fine. Can you tell Ron to send Hedwig to me? And bring Sirius some clothes because I'm sure if he goes back, they're going to lock him in there again," Harry asked, wanting to have his owl back. He didn't know where he was going to put Sirius's clothes, but they'd find somewhere.
"Yes, I could do both of those things."
"Thanks, Remus, you're the best," said Sirius.
"At any rate, I'd better get back before Molly throws a wobbly. She's not going to be happy that you're gone, Sirius, but I'm sure she'll get over it," the werewolf stated.
"We're going to have to figure out where you're going to sleep," Harry said to Sirius, looking around the one-roomed flat. There wasn't much room for the three of them, but they'd have to make due. "Dobby's already got the closet, much as I hate him sleeping in there. I've got the bed. I'm sure we can find a rug or something for you to sleep on, Sirius."
"Yeah, I'll be alright, Harry. When I sleep as a dog, I can sleep pretty much anywhere," the other man said, looking at the floor in front of the couch where a nice rope rug was situated. It looked comfortable enough for his dog form.
"That's great news. It's not a very big flat, but we've got places where you can sleep. You can sleep on the couch; I have no problem with that. Just try not to make it stink too much," Harry said, wrinkling his nose. He hated it when Ripper, Marge's dog, came to visit his aunt's house. That dog stank.
"Don't worry Harry, I know how to take a shower," Sirius said, barking with laughter.
"Ew, wet dog smell," Harry said, making a face like he was smelling wet dog already.
"It's not like that," the other man said, laughing some more.
"Anyway, I'm going to be on my way," said Remus, getting up and going to the door. He hated to leave Sirius here, but the two of them would be okay. He and Sirius would put up some wards tonight when he came back with Hedwig. They'd do the whole store. The old woman downstairs would have the safest muggle shop in London.
"I'm sure I can be expecting a visit from the headmaster very soon," said Sirius, cheerfully. He was still happy that he was going to be freed soon. He got up and walked his friend to the door. Harry followed them.
"I'm sure I can be looking forward to it too," said Harry with a heavy sigh. Sirius came up to him and put a hand on his shoulder.
"Of that you can be sure," said Remus as he walked out the door.
"So, what do you do for fun around here?" asked Sirius, looking down at his godson with a mischievous grin.