AN: I've been told that the story is slow-paced. This is intentional. I wanted to take my time building the relationship between the characters and setting up the plot. I have already foreshadowed some future events. I feel like I shouldn't be doing this, but I'll let you know that the plot started moving in chapter 10.

That being said, not all fics are about action and killings from the start. Some fics focus on relationships, others on angst or fluff, others are weak-to-strong types of fics and so on. Maybe this just isn't your type of story. That's okay; there are nearly 1 million HP fics out there. Go read something else.

As for those of you who enjoy the fic, here is the new chapter. If you want to see the two pics that I attached to this chapter, you can read it on ptr on, at /grumpwolf. Don't worry, you do not have to pay anything for this chapter and the previous ones.

Chapter 8 - Sirius

The first day of Christmas was a rather quiet affair, with the Potters and Sirius unpacking their presents, feasting, playing board games, and shooting fireworks together with their neighbours.

The second day of Christmas, however, was completely different. As early as 10 am, their living room became crowded as no less than 5 people stepped out of the fireplace one after another.

"Welcome to our humble abode!" Fleamont greeted them in a jolly voice. "Haha, Edward! I'm glad you could make it!"

"It's great to see you, Mr Potter. Thank you for having us over!" a tall and handsome middle-aged man wearing a blue Irish cap answered and took the old man's hand in a firm handshake.

His wife, a posh-looking woman with long brown hair and wearing a luxurious black fur coat, also stepped forward and took Fleamont Potter in a hug. She also hugged Euphemia right after.

After greeting the two of them, Fleamont greeted the next guests.

"Mr and Mrs Granger I presume?" Mr Potter said as he shook the man's hand.

"Thank you for inviting us," said Mr Granger. He was a cleanly shaven, intellectual-looking man in his 40s. "I'm David and this is my wife, Claire."

Claire, a middle-aged woman with curly, dark brown hair, blushed when Fleamont took her hand and kissed it politely.

At that moment, a large black dog burst through the doors of the living room and charged at the two Grangers, barking loudly. Despite his rather frail physique, Mr Granger instinctively stepped in front of his wife to protect her from the dog.

The black dog suddenly let out a yelp courtesy of Euphemia, who had cast a Stinging Hex at his butt.

"I cannot believe you, Sirius! Cease this immediately!"

To David's and Claire's shock, the large black dock transformed into a tall and handsome man with shoulder-length dark hair and blue eyes.

He laughed as he raised his hand for a handshake, apologising half-heartedly.

"Hope my little joke didn't scare you too much, haha! I'm Sirius Black. Nice to meet you!"

Still reeling from surprise, Mr and Mrs Granger didn't reply right away. By the time they came to their senses, the fireplace behind them lit up with a green flame once more, and a pink-haired girl came out of it flying as if she had been thrown by someone. She was just about to collide with the Grangers when Sirius whipped his wand out and cast a Freezing Charm, stopping her just in time.

Matthew and Harry started laughing at the clumsy young woman who was now being levitated in mid-air by Sirius, and they were joined by their grandparents too. By now, it was a running gag in their family that Nymphadora Tonks would stumble or crash into something at least once a day.

⁂

Two hours later, David and Claire were still looking in amazement at every bit of magic they saw. Currently, they were sitting together with the Potters and the Tonks at a large table in the kitchen, having lunch, and their eyes would frequently wander to the dishes that were washing themselves in the sink or to the House Elf, who kept bringing them new dishes and took away the used plates with Levitation Charms. It was as if they had suddenly been thrust into a Disney movie. They had gotten a small taste of what Wizarding World was like in Diagon Alley, but they had never seen anything like it in the present.

Unlike her parents, after getting over her initial shyness, Hermione quickly made herself comfortable and started talking with Matthew and Tonks. The pink-haired woman immediately became the target of her questions once Hermione found out that she was an Auror.

"How many NEWTS did you need to become an Auror? What type of exams did you have to pass? Was it difficult?"

"What's an Auror?" Hermione's father asked.

"Wizarding Law Enforcement," Tonks replied while stuffing her face with food.

"Nymphadora, mind your manners!" Andromeda admonished her sternly.

"Sorry, Mum, Grandma's cooking is just too good! And I told you to call me Tonks!"

"You can think of her as a policewoman in Wizarding World," Ted Tonks explained to the muggle couple while his wife and daughter got into one of their small but frequent verbal arguments.

"She may look like a slob, but she's actually amazing. Don't let appearances fool you," Sirius told them, grinning all the while.

"Hey, what's that supposed to mean? I can look and act ladylike any time I want! I just don't see why I should do that when I'm with my family!" Tonks said, and to prove it, her unusual, pink hair lengthened and became raven black, and her face took on some pronounced aristocratic features. She also took a napkin and started tapping her mouth with it elegantly. Alas, that facade only lasted for a few seconds before breaking, and she returned to eating like before. She just wasn't that sort of person.

⁂

One hour later, the Potters and their guests all went outside, and Fleamont pulled out a magic carpet that started floating 15 centimetres above the ground.

"Well, hop on! What are you waiting for?" the old man said merrily, and he was the first to step on it.

"Honey, is this safe?" Claire asked. "Are we really going to fly with this?"

In contrast to his wife, who was sick with worry, David couldn't be any more excited. Pulling onto Claire's hand, he stepped onto the flying carpet courageously.

While the Potters, the Tonks, and the Grangers got on the flying carpet, Sirius, Nymphadora, and the teenagers got on their brooms.

"Hermione, you have to stick closer to me when we're flying," Matt said.

"But we're not flying yet," the girl answered in a small voice.

Sirius sniggered as he watched a red-faced Matthew invite Hermione to get on the same broomstick as him. "Listen to him, Hermione. You have to wrap your arms around his waist and hold tightly."

The two children could not look at each other anymore because of his teasing, their faces becoming even redder than before.

"Ah, puppy love," Sirius said wistfully and chuckled.

"Is that how mom and dad were at their age too?" Harry asked, his voice filled with amusement.

"What? No way! Lily hated James' guts when they were children! Haha!"

"Really?!"

"For James, it was love at first sight. But Lily didn't make it easy for him. It was only in their 6th year, towards the end, that they became a couple."

Hermione and Matt shared a broom while Harry, Tonks, and Sirius were all riding separately. As for the rest of the adults, they were on the magic carpet.

Soon, they took flight, and the Grangers exclaimed in awe as they gained altitude. Thanks to a charm cast by Andromeda, everyone on the magic carpet was shielded from the cold and strong winter winds, allowing them to admire the sights unbothered.

Leaving it to Fleamont to lead their small tour, Sirius drove his broom to fly next to Harry.

"Matt has already gotten a girlfriend. What about you, Harry?"

Harry chuckled. "You're making a mountain out of a molehill. They can't even hold hands without blushing."

"Don't avoid the question," Sirius insisted, grinning at him.

"I don't know. I've got better things to do than chase after girls."

"Booo!" Sirius heckled him and shoved him playfully with his broom.

Harry shoved him back, and soon the two of them started chasing each other through the skies. Their acrobatics in the air became a highlight of the trip for the Grangers, but not only. The Tonks were also on the edge of their seats as they watched Harry perform blood-pumping moves in the air, spinning, looping, and rolling in a way that they had rarely seen before.

"Damn Potters, and their talent with flying!" Sirius said in chagrin, giving up after a while when he saw he couldn't catch his godson from behind. "Say, Harry, how about you come to work for me when once you graduate? Seeker or Chaser, whichever position you want on the team, it's yours."

A Sonorus-amplified voice rang at that moment.

"Sirus! Stop trying to fill his head with your stupid ideas!"

It was Euphemia. She wasn't pleased with him, to put it lightly.

Casting a Sonorus of his own, Sirius responded in kind:

"Why is it stupid? I own Appleby Arrows! He'll never be mistreated there, and his salary will be three or four times higher than whatever he may earn as a greasy potioner in a dingy dungeon."

It was a common subject of debate in their house. Sirius often tried to entice Harry to become a professional Quidditch player, bemoaning the fact that his "god-given" flying talents would go to waste otherwise. Meanwhile, Harry's grandmother recognised his skills with Potions and wished for him to continue in that field instead.

Harry never took anyone's side during those arguments because he was not concerned about his future career. To him, improving his skills and becoming stronger was the most important thing. Choosing a career and finding a job were trivial matters to him, in no small part due to the fact that his family was wealthy.

⁂

With the coming of the evening, it was time for the Grangers and the Tonks to say goodbye and return to their homes.

Thanks to the House Elf's earnest efforts, the mess left behind by the large number of guests was cleared in less than half an hour.

While Matthew and his grandfather were in the middle of a game of wizarding chess and Euphemia was watching them intently while sipping on a cup of tea, Sirius made a discreet sign for Harry to follow him outside.

"Grab your coat and let's go out for a walk."

Other than the lights coming from people's homes and the few gas lamps illuminating the main street, the hamlet was mostly covered in darkness. Considering how cold and how late in the evening it was, the streets were deserted.

Sirius and Harry were all alone as they walked down the snow-covered alley, loud crunching noises being heard with every step they took.

"Your grandparents told me about what happened two months ago at Hogwarts," Sirius began. "They told me how some Slytherins messed with Matthew and how you sent them to the hospital."

Harry did not lose his composure.

"They're just speculations. They have no proof it was me."

Sirius chuckled and pulled Harry's beanie over his eyes as he rubbed his head.

"Sometimes, you're so much like James that it's scary."

While they were joking around, a group of small silhouettes appeared on the street in front of them.

"Goblins?" Sirius muttered, and his hand went to his wand. "What are Goblins doing here, on this day, and at this hour?"

Pitt-Upon-Ford was a small Wizarding Hamlet in Northern Scotland. Frankly put, it was in the boonies. It made no sense for Goblins to be there, and on the night of the second Christmas Day no less.

"Maybe they're loan sharks," Harry said in a quiet voice. "Look at them. They're armed to the teeth."

The six Goblins were all wearing silver armour that clanked with every step they took, and various weapons were strapped at their waist or on their back: swords, axes, and daggers.

Not all the Goblins in Great Britain worked at Gringotts. Some were independent merchants, others were enchanters or blacksmiths, while others were dabbling in shady activities such as gambling and loaning businesses.

"Whatcha looking at, wizard?" one of the Goblins barked at Sirius, who was scrutinising them. "You wanna have a piece of me?"

"Move along, prick," Sirius sneered at him and gestured with his wand to shoo them away. "And I suggest you take your hand off your sword unless you want me to remove it for you."

The one who appeared like the leader of the group of six Goblins stopped his comrade from escalating the situation any further.

"We have no quarrel with you, Sirius Black," said the Goblin leader. "We are merely passing by."

At the mention of his name, the other five Goblins stiffened.

"I see that my reputation precedes me."

"It's not every day that someone kills 12 Muggles, tortures one of his friends to insanity, and gets away scot-free," the Goblin leader said in a tone that made it hard to guess whether he was praising Sirius or insulting him.

Not waiting for an answer, the Goblin said something in Gobbledegook to his comrades and they all walked away.

Harry and Sirius watched them until they disappeared from view to make sure that the Goblins would not turn back and attack them from behind, by surprise.

"So, what were you saying before those Goblins came?" Harry asked, bringing the conversation back on track.

"Ah right. It was about what you did in school. Hold up, don't get all defensive now. I'm not here to scold you, you know?"

"You aren't?"

Sirius stopped and put both his hands on Harry's shoulders, turning him so that they were face to face.

"Listen to me, Harry. Never let anyone tell you that you were wrong to protect your brother. Never."

If he hadn't seen how the Goblins scampered away at the name of Sirius, Harry would have been a lot more surprised by his intensity currently because normally, his godfather was an affable and laid-back man. But now he was reminded that Sirius wasn't just a jokester. He was reminded of the fact that Peter Pettigrew was still in St. Mungos, in Janus Thickey Ward, unable to even eat or drink on his own.

"O-Okay."

"James was like a brother to me. I knew him better than his own parents knew him, so I can tell you with utmost certainty that your father would be proud of you for how you're taking care of your brother."

For a few moments, Sirius' hands were clasping his shoulders so hard that it was almost painful.

But Harry couldn't speak. His parents were his weak point. Always had been. Hearing his godfather say so seriously that his father would be proud of him made a node appear in his neck.

"Your brother has many enemies, Harry. And you've seen it last year too, haven't you? Voldemort is not dead yet. Moreover, those who used to serve him are still alive, some of them walking free."

Harry nodded. To this day, the sight of Voldemort's pale face and red eyes growing from the back of Quirrel's head still haunted him in his sleep sometimes.

"He will never stop coming for Matt. He will never stop hunting him down. He will never rest until your brother is dead."

Sirius paused for a few seconds before continuing:

"I will always be on your side. Always. I failed James and Lily once. I won't fail them again. I won't fail you and Matt. I will protect you with my life. Anything you ever need, don't hesitate to tell me."

Harry nodded again, not trusting his voice to speak.

"But I can't be next to you and protect you 24/7. You're especially vulnerable when you're at Hogwarts. . . that's why you have to be strong. You have to be strong and alert. You have to protect your little brother."

"Yes. I'm doing everything I can to get stronger," Harry said, his voice hoarse.

He cleared his throat and looked away for a brief moment, blinking a few times so that he would not tear up.

"I know you are," Sirius said in a gentler voice and patted him on the shoulder. "Listen, your grandparents don't want you to know this, but I believe you are old and mature enough to understand it now. You deserve to know it, all the more so after what happened last summer. . . You've ever wondered why Matthew survived?"

"What are you talking about?" Harry asked, a bad feeling creeping up in his heart.

"Thousands, maybe hundreds of thousands of people have died to the Killing Curse over the course of history. Why is it that Matt survived? I'm sure not only you but many other people asked themselves that question before. Why did the Killing Curse not work on him? What's so special about Matthew Potter?"

"You see, not long after Matt was born, a prophecy was made. . . "

⁂

Sleep eluded Harry that night. His mind was replaying the words Sirius had told him like a broken record, on repeat.

"The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches... Born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies... and the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not... and either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives... The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies..."

He sat at the edge of the bed with his head in his hands and his elbows on his knees.

'Why did my grandparents want to keep me in the dark about it? And why didn't Sirius tell me about it sooner?'

He was grateful to Sirius that he had told him the truth about Matt and Voldemort, but, at the same time, he was also frustrated.

'If I had known, I would've put even more time and effort into studying and training. . .'

Harry had always known that Voldemort would return one day, but he had not been aware of how dire the situation truly was. He had not known that there was a Prophecy that stated that neither could live while the other survived.

'I would've gotten a Time Turner if I had known. It would've doubled or tripled the amount of time I had.''

Due to how dangerous they were, Time Turners were strictly controlled by the Ministry of Magic, but there were ways to obtain them illegally too. Just like he had obtained his second wand, the one without a Trace on it, he was sure he could have gotten a Time Turner too. Almost anything could be obtained on the black market as long as the money was enough.

He stood up and began pacing around the room.

'I'm not strong enough. It's not enough. I can't protect Matt like I am now.'

His victory over Marcus Flint and his two goons had not inflated Harry's ego at all because those three were just students and not a particularly bright bunch at that. His little duel against Professor Flitwick had shown Harry that he still had a long way to go until he reached the level of the old and experienced wizards.

Speaking of Flitwick, the Charms Professor stopped tutoring Harry after what he did to the three Slytherin boys.

'Meh. Not that his lessons were of any use to me. He didn't show me even one spell I didn't already know. Mastering the basics? That might be good for someone who has the whole life ahead of them, not me.'

Harry didn't have the luxury of time. He could not afford to take it slow and build his skills gradually over the course of a decade or two. He needed power, real power, and he needed it fast.

⁂

The rest of the winter holiday passed in a flash. Faster than either Matt or Harry would have liked, the 3rd of January arrived. It was time for them to return to Hogwarts.

Luckily for them, thanks to their grandfather being one of the governors of the school and pulling some strings, Harry and Matt did not have to go all the way to London in order to travel back to Hogwarts by train. Instead, Harry and Matthew Floo-ed to Three Broomsticks around 6 o'clock in the evening and drank warm butterbeer as they waited for the train to arrive in Hogsmeade.

Ever the popular one, the Boy Who Lived was swarmed by more than a dozen of his friends once the train arrived. Harry watched him with a smile on his face; it warmed his heart to see his little brother smile like that.

'Don't worry, Matt. I'll protect you.'

Only a week passed since Sirius told Harry about the Prophecy. His words were still ringing in his mind vividly.

Once the Thestral-pulled carriages arrived at the station, Harry levitated his trunk in and climbed inside too.

'I have to get to the Knockturn Alley as soon as possible,' he thought while fastening his blue, Ravenclaw muffler around his neck and putting on the hood of his travelling cloak to shield himself from the cold.

The shaking of the carriage alerted Harry to the arrival of another person. It was a tall and thin boy with pale skin and androgynous facial features.

"Un, 'ello, 'Arry," the boy said timidly.

His sombre thoughts about the Prophecy vanished like a miracle when the memory of discovering Florent's secret came to the front of his mind. He had almost forgotten about it during the holiday, but now that he was back, his embarrassment returned anew.

"Hi."

The awkwardness in the air was so thick, you could cut it with a knife.

"Did you 'ave a good 'oliday?"

"Yes, it was great. You?"

"Same for me too," Florent looked down, and his face flushed a bit as he pulled a small package from his backpack. "Um, I wanted to give you this."

"What's this for?"

"Think of it as a late Christmas present."

"Oh, thank you," Harry said. "Sorry, I didn't prepare anything for you. I didn't—I thought. . ." he didn't continue his words.

"Can I ask you something? Could you please keep what 'appened before the holiday between the two of us?"

Fleur spoke so fast that Harry almost couldn't understand her. Little did he know how many times had she practised saying that sentence before they met again. . .

Harry scratched his nose.

"Of course. I'm not the type to go around gossiping."

"Thank you, 'Arry," Florent said before turning around and bolting towards his carriage, where Simon, Elora, Luna, and Elspeth were waiting for her.

'Great. I had forgotten about his guy. Just what I needed now,' Harry let out a groan.

He didn't hate the French boy, but he was always uncomfortable in his presence, doubly so now, after what had transpired between the two of them before the winter holiday.

He cleared his mind and took in a deep breath, filling his lungs with the clean, cold air of the evening. He pushed the thoughts of Florent away and started thinking about his future course of action.

⁂

On the first night that he arrived at Hogwarts, Harry pulled out his second wand before casting a Disillusionment Charm on himself and a Silencing Charm on his feet. Then he snuck out of the Ravenclaw Tower. It was long after the curfew. Other than the professor on patrol duty, everyone was asleep after gorging themselves with food at the welcoming feast, even the Prefects.

It was the perfect moment for him to infiltrate the Restricted Section of the Library.

Nevertheless, Harry remained cautious. He alternated between casting the Human Presence Revealing Spell and the Animal Presence Revealing Spell every 15 seconds to map out his surroundings.

'Vile cat,' he cussed when his Animal Presence Revealing Spell showed Mrs Noris' silhouette glowing in the distance.

Luckily, it was not headed his way.

A few minutes later, he arrived at his destination. Normally, there would be some ghosts patrolling the Library at night but, probably because it was the first day, the coast was clear.

Still, as a precaution, he cast a Caterwauling Charm on the entrance door. If someone arrived in the Library, be they ghosts or living beings, he would be alerted right away.

With that taken care of, he headed straight towards the Restricted Section. Not daring to get careless, he cast a Silencing Charm on each shelf before starting to search for books, making use of a low-powered Lumos Charm that was only bright enough for him to barely decipher the titles written on the covers.

It took Harry more than one hour of searching to find the books that he was looking for. In the end, he found them:

Animagus Transformation

Ancient Rites

Moste Potente Potions

"Geminio!" he whispered.

He could cast most spells nonverbally already, but he wanted to make sure that he did not botch the charm.

A few moments later, three identical copies of the books he had chosen appeared out of thin air.

He put the original books back in place and then slipped out of the Library with his copies in tow.

Becoming an Animagus had never been on Harry's to-do list before. He had thought of it as a high-risk, low-reward endeavour and, more importantly, a very time-consuming one. But his godfather had changed his perspective on the matter a few days ago, during the holiday.

It had started off with Sirius saying that Harry should follow in the footsteps of his father and become an Animagus too, to which Harry scoffed, claiming it would be a waste of time.

Sirius showed him exactly how wrong he was by challenging him to a duel.

'It's still up to luck if I'll get a useful form or not. But it's worth a shot.'

The way Sirius had seamlessly transformed into a dog and then back into a human to dodge his spells had left a deep impression on Harry. As a dog, he was far faster and more agile than a human. Furthermore, he could be dangerous or escape even without a wand too if he were to end up getting disarmed.

'The first step of becoming an Animagus is to hold a Mandrake Leaf in my mouth for one entire month, from one full moon to the next one. I better do this before getting the Time Turner. Besides, it'll take some time to acquire one. . . As far as I know, only the Ministry of Magic has them.'

He put the books into his trunk and cast the most powerful Locking Charm he knew before getting back in bed.

'Wait a minute. . . how the hell am I supposed to hold a Mandrake leaf in my mouth for an entire month?!'

How would he eat? How would he brush his teeth? How would he talk to others or answer a professor's questions in class?

'How did Dad and his friends do it?'

He was so curious that he couldn't fall asleep. Unable to hold it in, he got out of bed again and cast another Disillusionment Charm on himself before leaving the dorms. This time, he headed straight towards the Owlery. He was going to write Sirius a letter and ask him about it.

AN: If you're interested in joining my Discord server, you can do it at /x7xdd53WqE. It is a small server for now, but I am active there if you have any questions.

If you wish to support me, you can find Chapter 9 and Chapter 10 ahead of schedule, on ptr on, at /grumpywolf.

⁂

Check out my other Harry Potter fics and HP crossovers:

- [Back? Not Really]: time+dimension travel Harry Potter fic, Harry/Fleur pairing. Complete.

- [Emissary]: Harry Potter/Justice League (Harry Potter/Power Girl pairing)
- [The Nexus]: Harry Potter/Nier Automata (it is a time travel, Sci-Fi, post-apocalyptic fic)
- [Ashwinder]: Harry Potter/Warframe (it is a time travel, Sci-Fi, post-apocalyptic fic)

PS: If you are also a fan of Naruto, I have quite a few other fics for you:

- [Samsara]: Naruto/Bleach (my newest fic, Naruto/Rangiku pairing)
- [Orcbane]: Naruto/World of Warcraft (Naruto/Sylvanas)
- [Hope in Ruination] Naruto/League of Legends (Naruto/Ahri)
- [Eclipsed]: Naruto/Justice League (Naruto/Starfire/Supergirl throuple)

- [The Renegade]: Naruto/Konan fic. Complete.
- [The Fox and the Hare]: Naruto/My Hero Academia (Naruto/Mirko pairing). Complete.

Until next time!