3

Harry started to cry again.

'Sirius?' interjected Dumbledore, sounding puzzled. 'Please explain.' At least Harry's side of their conversation had been too quiet for anybody but Sirius to hear.

Sirius looked up at him with wet eyes. He could not dry them – both his arms were busy holding Harry. 'They made him sleep in a cupboard,' he repeated, 'until I demanded to see his room. Then, they gave him his cousin's second bedroom – and don't try to explain that away, Albus. That's evil, plain and simple. They were never going to love him, he was never going to be treated acceptably in that house.'

Dumbledore sighed deeply. 'Are you certain?' His tone was defeated, almost apologetic, but the question nonetheless caused another wave of fury to hit Sirius.

He was only kept in his seat by Harry's weight on his lap. That did not stop his fists from clenching and his breathing becoming laboured, however. He was shaking but he did not want to shout when Harry was still shivering, clinging to him as if he was holding on for dear life. He could not explode, not now.

'He's not lying,' he managed to press out and even to his own ears, it almost sounded like a growl.

While Sirius was still trying to control his temper, Harry twisted in his arms, facing Dumbledore for the first time. Sirius had loosened his hold when Harry had started wriggling but he tightened it again when Harry pressed his back against Sirius' chest.

Sitting like this, Sirius was unable to see Harry's face but he could tell that he held his head high. 'Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon and Dudley don't like me but I think that Sirius does,' he said, his voice shaking ever so slightly. 'He's nice to me and that's why I want to stay with him.'

Sirius felt a wave of affection and pride for Harry. He was holding a future Gryffindor, there was no doubt about that. Standing up to Dumbledore was incredibly difficult, something most adult wizard dared not do. Harry was brave, he was determined, a fighter. The Dursleys had not broken him, had not managed to take away his hope. 'Of course I like you, Harry,' Sirius muttered into Harry's hair. 'Of course I like you.'

'It's not worth it,' he said to Dumbledore more loudly. 'I won't send him back there. The price is too high, Dumbledore. We'll find another way but I can't send him back, I just can't.' He would not stand for it. He would be dammed if he left Harry at the mercy of people who locked him in a cupboard. Whatever would come, even if Voldemort returned, he could not justify Harry suffering like this. There was a line and it had been crossed.

Dumbledore looked at the child intently and Sirius did not have to be a genius to guess that he was using Legilimency on him. He fought the urge to tell Dumbledore to stay out of his godson's head – if this was what it took to convince Dumbledore, then it was worth it.

Dumbledore ended his inspection of the boy with a nod. He held out a hand to Harry. 'I owe you an apology, Harry. I am deeply sorry. I was not aware of what transpired between you and your relatives.'

Harry looked up at Sirius for guidance. When he shrugged and nodded, Harry seized the old man's hand. Sirius doubted that he really understood what Dumbledore had been apologising for – he did not know that it had been Dumbledore who had placed him with the Dursleys. Still, that did not matter now. He would explain it to Harry at some point, maybe in a few years' time. He did not want to scare him today.

Dumbledore looked back to Sirius who was unsure whether he should show himself amicable or not. He knew that Dumbledore had had the best of intentions when leaving Harry with his only blood relatives but did that excuse that he had never checked up on him? Then again, Sirius had also assumed that Harry had found a home with them at first.

Sirius sighed and vowed to think this over some other time. He felt anger but he already had so much of that – at himself, the Ministry, Voldemort, the rat, the Dursleys… Did he really want to add Dumbledore to that list? For now, there were more important things to consider – namely Harry.

'I shall provide you with the best protection I can create,' Dumbledore promised. 'I will prepare and return in a few days. Until then, you should be safe. I assume nobody else knows that you are here?'

Sirius shook his head. He had used a Memory Charm on the muggle who had sold him the house after he had paid him. He would have forgotten all the details about the sale. Other than Moony, he had not given anybody the address – not even Dumbledore knew their current location. The Floo connection had been made in Moony's name. Nobody could trace Harry back to that, presuming someone tried, which was highly unlikely. Nobody outside the room knew that Moony was in contact with Sirius and that Sirius was in contact with Harry. That alone would be enough to protect them for a while yet, lost in the muggle world.

'Then I shall take my leave. I assume you will want to celebrate.' He got up and nodded to each of them in turn. 'Remus, my boy, it was good to see you again. Sirius, Harry, congratulations. I know you two will do very well together.'

Sirius nodded back and Moony stood politely. The old man vanished into the fireplace and left the sitting room to sink into silence.

Sirius stared at Moony, trying to grasp what had just happened. He had just taken on the task of raising Harry. Suddenly, he was terrified. What did he know about kids? He had already failed Harry, yesterday. That was not good. Harry deserved better.

'Padfoot,' said Moony, breaking him out of the budding panic. 'What would Prongs say?'

What would he say? What had he said? When he had asked him to be godfather, Sirius had – after the initial jokes – told him that he did not expect to be made godfather just because he was Prongs' best friend. "I'm honoured, mate, but pick someone who'd actually know what they're doing." But Prongs had laughed at him for that. "I want you, Padfoot. Lily agrees. We both know that nobody would love him more than you."

Prongs had known he would not be perfect – and in the end, he was probably the best Harry could do under the circumstances. He could not go back to his aunt and uncle, he could not be left in charge of other muggles, and Prongs had been right, no other magic person would be more dedicated in making sure Harry was safe and happy. Sirius would make sure of that.

He smiled at Moony and Moony smiled back. 'Congratulations,' he said.

Sirius looked at Harry who had been watching the exchange worriedly. 'Can… can I still stay?' he asked. 'Did you really mean it?'

Sirius nodded. 'I meant it.'

Harry watched him carefully, obviously looking to see if he was being honest. Sirius tried to convey what he was meaning to say without words and in the process, his eyes began to water again.

Harry lifted a little hand and wiped some tears away. 'You're not sad,' he stated.

Sirius shook his head. 'No, I'm not sad.'

Harry continued to watch him. 'You're happy,' he concluded.

Sirius nodded. 'Very happy.'

'Because… because… why?'

'Because you're staying with me now and I'm very, very happy about that.' He pulled Harry close again and the child curled into his chest. This time, he did not cling to him.

Sirius looked to Moony. 'Will you stay?' he asked although he already knew the answer.

'Of course,' answered Moony. 'What would you do without me?' he added jokingly.

'I have no idea,' said Sirius earnestly. 'I think I'll need you. We will need you.'

Moony nodded. 'I think I need you, too.'

Sirius agreed with that. "You've been lonely for a long time, haven't you?" was one of the questions he had asked Moony when he had first come to this house. Moony had nodded sadly. "And I should hate to be again," he had answered.

Also, they were beginning to get extremely soppy…

'And I can really stay?' asked Harry.

Sirius chuckled. 'Yes, you can really stay. In fact, you have to, now, 'cause I'm not letting you go again.'

Harry buried his face in his chest again and Sirius tightened his hold for a moment.

'You were very brave, Harry,' he told him. 'Very, very brave.'

Harry did not react, which did not entirely surprise Sirius. He doubted that Mr and Mrs Dursley had ever given him any sort of compliment. Harry probably just did not know what to say, as his face remained hidden against the front of Sirius' shirt.

Sirius had seen the way those eyes had looked at him, in pure wonder and admiration, displaying long hidden fears and a desperate plea for protection and affection. He had taken on the task of not only raising a child but an abused child. There was not a single doubt in him that he had done the right thing but he did not know how to approach this. What would he need? Strict rules or freedom? A friend or a mentor in Sirius? Pampering or truth?

Besides, how would they live? The three of them could not completely hide away from the world until Harry was due to go to Hogwarts. Harry would need friends his own age, should spent what was left of his childhood happily.

'We need a plan,' he said to Moony. 'We have to decide what we want to do.'

'Do we need to decide tonight?' asked Moony mildly with a look at Harry. 'All of us are rather upset right now.'

Sirius nodded. Harry probably needed calm at the moment so he dropped the subject – for now. They sat, mostly in silence, each hanging on to their thoughts. Harry barely managed to swallow a bite of the sandwiches Moony made for them and instead remained safely enclosed in Sirius' arms. He had finally drifted off to sleep, obviously exhausted, but not without asking Sirius every few minutes whether he was still serious about letting him stay.

With Harry quietly snoring in his lap, Sirius finally decided to broach the subject of plans for the future. Moony noticed him trying to find and opening. 'Alright, what do you think we should do, Padfoot?'

Sirius had trouble picking one aspect to discuss first. 'It can't be just the three of us,' he said. 'We can't just all disappear. Besides, kids need other kids, don't they?'

Moony nodded. 'We probably shouldn't shout it from the rooftops that Harry is now living with you, though. But… well, of the people we know we can trust, of the Order, I can only think of one kid vaguely Harry's age.'

Neville. Moony had told him what had happened to Alice and Frank. Sirius had known that something had happened with them and that it had involved his most hated cousin but the full story had made him feel sick. Alice and Frank had been good people and friends of his. They had never been as close as the Marauders had been – Frank had been a year above them at school – but Lily and Alice had been sleeping in the same dorm at Hogwarts. They had also bonded over being pregnant during the war. Poor Neville…

Still, the child alone could not be their plan. He lived with his grandmother and Sirius had never been overly fond of her. Also, there was no guarantee that he and Harry would even get along. He sighed. 'It'll be muggle school, won't it?' he said to Moony. 'There's probably one in the village.'

Moony nodded. He looked more relaxed about this than Sirius felt. 'It'd be fine,' he tried to reassure him. 'Harry can blend in without any problems. We could make up some story – nobody around here knows us. He can stay your godson or you can pretend to be his biological father. You can say he's been living with you all along or the truth, that you've only just met. We'd have to discuss that in detail and ask Harry's opinion but I think the general idea is viable.'

'What if he doesn't want to go at all? I know that the kids at his old school bullied him.'

'You can decide that, Padfoot, not Harry. He's a kid, you're his guardian.'

Sirius looked down at the sleeping child in his arms. He knew that Moony had just named one of the things that he knew he was going to have problems with. Harry had been hurt so much – he did not think that he could force him. That would be a problem, of course. He would probably be too soft, too lenient. 'I think I'll need help with stuff like that,' he admitted.

Moony nodded severely. 'Not from me, I hope, Padfoot. I don't know, either.'

'You always know better than me, Moony.'

Moony gave him a sad smile. 'I try to remember what Lily would have done.'

Lily, yes, Lily… She would have known, of course. She had a sixth sense when it came to knowing what was right and wrong. 'I think it would be good if you could keep an eye on that,' he said. 'For Harry. Just… just tell me I'm being a thickheaded idiot or something. It's what Lily would have done…'

A small smile crept onto Moony's lips but his tone was serious. 'I'd do anything for Harry, you know that.'

'About that…' began Sirius. 'If… Just say that something happened to me. I'd like to make it so that he'd stay with you. I hate to think about it but I can't bear the thought over him ever going back to be with the muggles. And I know you'd be Prongs and Lily's choice, too.'

Moony shook his head. 'You can't do that, Sirius. The Ministry would never allow it.'

Sirius shrugged, biting back anger. He did not want to wake Harry. 'Screw the bloody Ministry,' he whispered. 'I'll tell Dumbledore, that ought to be enough. I want you to promise that you'd look out for him.'

'I'd do whatever I could, obviously, but it's not going to happen, Padfoot. He's had enough pain to last him a lifetime. From now on, he'll be fine.'

Sirius smiled sadly at that. He would like to believe that that was how the world worked but if he knew his luck, there was more trouble headed there way. At the moment, though, things were going all right.

He cleared his throat and changed the subject. 'What about stuff we need to buy? He'll need more clothes and toys and all sorts of stuff. And Dumbledore said…' Sirius did not want to think that he was buying Harry's affection.

Moony sighed deeply. 'That's a tough one. I know that Dumbledore had a point but I don't think you need to worry, at least not so far. Harry certainly does not seem to expect you to buy him things.'

'I… well, I would have preferred to give it to him as a bulk, like for Christmas, but that's too far off. We can't wait three months.'

Moony pondered silently. 'And if we do it in some kind of reward system?'

'I had thought of that – but it's stuff he needs, Moony, not luxuries. I don't want to make it seem like I'd deny him clothes. Besides, I don't think he'll misbehave. He's terrified that I'll send him back anyway. We won't need to use threats.'

'You're right, that wasn't a good idea.' He rubbed his face. 'This parent-stuff his hard, huh?'

Sirius chuckled. 'Yeah, tell me about it. I thought it was about making sure kids don't fall of broomsticks.'

They continued to discuss pros and cons of different plans for another few hours until Moony yawned loudly. 'Is that enough for today?' he asked. 'Because my head feels like someone played a rough game of Quidditch with it.'

Sirius shook his head. 'What are we going to do tomorrow? I'd love to let them stew but we ought to let the Dursleys know what's happening. We don't want the muggles to get suspicious. They might call those… those muggle-auror people to look for him.'

'Possibly.'

Sirius hesitated but Moony seemed to guess what he was going to ask.

'I'll go,' he offered. 'I know your temper. Best not take any risks.'

Sirius nodded. He would manage to stay calm somehow if he knew that Harry was at risk but Moony would do a better job of it, he knew that. 'Thank you,' he said. 'Now, I think it's time we went to bed.'

He watched Harry's relaxed face for a moment. When he got up, he did it slowly, careful not to wake Harry. He carried him upstairs and laid him on his bed without rousing him. He decided to leave him in his clothes, not wanting to intrude on his privacy. He pulled up the duvet, covering Harry to his chin, and kissed his forehead. 'Good night, Harry. I love you,' he whispered, quietly wondering whether he would be saying those words every day from now on.

Moony had been watching from the door, a smile on his lips. Sirius walked up to him and then turned around, leaning against the doorframe. They watched Harry sleep for a while. It was an odd sensation, knowing that he would be staying until he was all grown up, which seemed like a very long time away. The thought was both elating and terrifying. He could see the same emotions on Moony's face.

This, he realised with a start, had to be how it felt like to become a parent.

...

Sirius was woken early by a crash downstairs. His brain needed half a second to catch up with what had been happening. He jumped out of bed and sprinted down the stairs three at a time. He found Harry in the kitchen, green eyes staring up at him petrified, a pile of shards that had probably once been plates on the floor.

'Are you okay?' he panted.

Harry nodded, his lips tightly shut. Sirius exhaled in relief. He drew his wand and cleared up the mess before daring to step closer – he was barefoot. Harry retreated as he approached, eyes wide, still mortified. There were bacon and eggs on the kitchen surface next to the stove where butter was melting in a frying pan.

'Were you making breakfast?' Sirius asked, stunned.

Harry nodded again, this time looking at the ground, making himself as small as possible while still standing up. He was expecting to be told off – or worse. Sirius hated to see him like this, waiting for a blow. Those bloody muggles…

'That's very nice of you,' he said, keeping his tone light, hiding his anger. 'Come on, I'll give you a hand.' He moved aside the chair that Harry had pushed in front of the cabinets to reach the dishes and pulled out three new plates.

He handed the plates to Harry who took them, stunned. He hesitated for a moment and then carried them over to the table before returning for cutlery. Sirius swirled the fat around in the pan.

'Do you want to wake Moony?' he asked. 'We can eat together.'

Harry nodded again and hurried from the kitchen. Sirius deposited the bacon and the eggs into the pan and filled the kettle. It was almost boiling when Moony and Harry returned. 'Coffee?' he asked and got a nod in return. 'And Harry, what would you like? Hot chocolate?'

Harry nodded, still silent.

'Great. Could you fetch me the milk from the fridge, please?'

Harry obeyed while Sirius reached for another pot to heat the milk in. Harry also handed him the cocoa without prompting. How did he know where everything was? Sirius would have taken longer to find it and he had lived here a lot longer than Harry.

Moony sat down at the table and rubbed his eyes. It was not even seven o'clock yet.

Harry remained dutifully next to Sirius, waiting for further tasks. Wanting to make Harry feel useful, he had him carry Moony's coffee over with the reminder that it was hot and that he had to be careful. Harry did not seem to need the warning, though. Moony thanked him with a smile.

'Did you sleep well, Harry?' asked Moony.

Harry nodded again, seemingly still unwilling to speak. He seemed to be waiting for an explosion that Sirius knew would not come.

When they had all sat down, Sirius decided to cut to the chase. He needed to put Harry out of his misery. 'Harry, listen…' he began but Harry interrupted him.

'Sorry, Sir,' he squeaked, his voice high in panic. 'I'm sorry, I didn't mean to break the plates and I swear I'll be good from now on and…'

'Harry!' Sirius cut across him. He did not want to hear the apology. 'Listen.'

Harry fell silent instantly, shrinking in his seat.

'You're not in trouble,' said Sirius, quieter now. 'I'm not angry with you. I know you didn't break the plates on purpose, did you?'

Harry shook his head.

'Well then, why could I be angry? You didn't do anything bad. On the contrary, you were doing a very nice thing, making breakfast for us.'

Harry stared at him in disbelief, astounded by this line of reasoning, but eventually seemed to decide to give Sirius the benefit of the doubt. He nodded and dropped his gaze to his food, starting to poke around in it with his fork.

Sirius decided to give him a break and instead turned to Moony. 'I don't really look old enough for people to call me "Sir", do I?' he asked. It had felt very wrong to be addressed like that by Harry and he hoped that he could keep it from happening again by making a joke of it.

Moony smiled but some tension remained in his face. He seemed to understand what Sirius was trying to do, however, and played along for Harry's sake. 'I hate to tell you, Padfoot, but you've gotten old.'

'Not that old!' complained Sirius, pretending to be offended. 'Moony, tell me I don't look that old!'

'You don't look that old,' repeated Moony tonelessly.

Sirius gave a satisfied huff and took a first bite of his toast, watching Harry from the corner of his eye. The boy was still poking around in his food but he seemed to have relaxed a little. Still, he would wait another few minutes before broaching the subject he had wanted to talk about.

Moony caught Sirius' gaze and nodded encouragingly. It was comforting to think that he did not reckon that Sirius had messed up too badly.

'Harry?' Sirius asked finally. 'Moony and me were talking last night. We agreed that we need some rules be we weren't too sure because we've never lived with an eight-year-old before. Do you think you could help us?'

He had decided on that when he had been lying awake in bed the night before. He was not planning to enforce them strictly but he wanted something he could actually work with. For the last few weeks, Sirius had been sleeping when he was tired and eating when he was hungry – that could not continue with Harry around. He would need to be at school on time.

'Rules?' asked Harry apprehensively.

'Like when you should be in bed,' suggested Sirius. So far, bedtime had always been a problem. Sirius doubted that Harry had gotten enough sleep during any of the nights he had spent here. 'What do you think would be a good bedtime?'

Harry blinked at him. 'Me? I get to decide?'

'As long as it's reasonable,' qualified Sirius. 'I think maybe one in the morning would be a little too late, don't you? When did you and your cousin usually go to bed?'

Harry's face became defensive at the mention of his cousin. 'At…' he began tentatively. 'Aunt Petunia sends me to my cupboard after dinner unless I have chores to do. Dudley watches the telly until half past eight or sometimes nine.'

Sirius' stomach churned at the mention of the cupboard but he decided not to address it just now, staying on topic instead. 'Well, then maybe we can make it so that at half past eight you get ready for bed. Would that be okay?'

Harry nodded instantly. 'I can also go to my room earlier so I don't bother you,' he suggested.

'This isn't about you bothering us,' said Sirius, biting back anger. 'This is so you get enough sleep.'

Harry's eyes fixated him again and Sirius could tell that he did not quite believe what he had said. He did not know how to change that. It seemed unlikely that further reassurances would help so maybe he would have to wait. Harry would have to get used to it at some point, right? He would have to realise sooner or later that Sirius and Moony were nothing like Vernon and Petunia Dursley.

Moony flicked his wand to summon a quill and a piece of parchment.

1. Harry gets ready for bed at 8:30pm,

he wrote down. Harry watched apprehensively.

'Good,' said Sirius. 'What else?'

Harry shrugged and looked down at his breakfast again, hiding his face.

'I know one,' said Moony and leaned over to whisper something in Harry's ear.

'I thought they are rules for me?' Harry asked, astounded.

'Rules for all of us,' Sirius clarified. 'So, what did Moony suggest?' He had not been able to hear.

Harry looked to Moony who nodded encouragingly. 'Padfoot has to make breakfast every Sunday,' he mumbled, repeating Moony's words.

Sirius laughed. 'Okay, if Moony makes breakfast every Saturday,' he retorted.

Moony laughed. 'Fair enough. Harry, do you agree?'

Harry nodded shyly.

2. Remus makes breakfast on Saturdays

3. Sirius makes breakfast on Sundays

'There we go, we've each got one now,' said Moony happily. They fell silent.

'Harry, look at me for a moment,' said Sirius.

Harry lifted his head obediently. He was still scared, Sirius could tell.

'I want you to tell me the truth, okay?'

Harry flinched and averted his eyes for a second but then nodded.

'What did your aunt and uncle do to punish you?' He knew that he was pushing, pushing him quite hard, but he wanted this over with. He simply could not bear the thought that Harry was afraid of him. The assumption was so ridiculous that Sirius would have laughed about were it not for the fact that it caused Harry so much pain.

Harry instantly looked away. He remained silent for a while but Sirius waited for him to speak. When he finally did, his voice was tiny. 'Shout at me. Hit me. Lock me in my cupboard. Not… not give me food.'

Sirius nodded to Remus who scribbled dutifully.

4. Nobody shouts

5. Sirius and Remus never hit Harry

6. Sirius and Remus never lock Harry in

7. Harry will always have food when he is hungry

Harry blinked at the list confusedly.

'Listen,' said Sirius, catching his gaze. 'I will never hurt you, do you understand? It's my job to protect you from being hurt.'

Apart from the fact that the notion of inflicting pain on Harry felt as wrong as anything could, he dared not even imagine what Prongs would do to him if did. He had a feeling that – dead or not – Lily would somehow manage to hex his balls off, and rightly so.

Harry looked down at his breakfast again, not answering. This seemed to be an even bigger problem than Sirius had anticipated.

'If you just believe one thing I say, let it be this – I will never, ever hurt you. I'll try not to shout at you but I don't think that I can promise that I never will, but I certainly know that I will never hit you. I'll swear it on your father's grave.'

Finally, Harry gave a short nod. It was not more than a little twitch of his head and he was still looking at his plate but it was enough for Sirius, at least for now.

'Let's finish that later,' he said to Moony who nodded his understanding and pushed the piece of parchment aside.

It had been a start, no more than that, but it was something. Assessing that this was as much as could be expected of this strategy for now, Sirius moved on.

'Harry, we were also wondering whether you might like to go to a different school that's closer to here,' Sirius told Harry. Sirius reckoned that this was the only way forward, making plans, long-term plans that involved Harry and would hopefully reassure him that he was here for good. It did not take a genius to realise that Harry was still dreading that Sirius would change his mind and send him back after all. 'You don't have to. If you want, you can stay at your old school but I think it would be nice to be able to walk there and you might get to know other children who live around here. What do you think?'

Harry considered his answer carefully. 'I wouldn't have to be at the same school as Dudley?'

'No, you can be at the nearest primary school. I think there's one down in the village, or if there isn't, in the next village. But it would be the same school all kids from around here go to.'

'And nobody would know me?'

Sirius could not tell whether his tone was apprehensive or hopeful. 'Nobody. But I'm sure you'd make friends quickly.'

Harry shrugged, pushing the last of his foot into his mouth, and swallowed. 'I think that'd be fine.'

Sirius considered to pry further but decided against it. He was already being quite demanding. 'Okay, very well then. I think we ought to get you enrolled today, okay? We'll have to take you out of your old school. We could do that after breakfast, right?' This question was aimed at Moony who nodded. 'Good. Harry, why don't you get changed?' Harry was still wearing his clothes from the day before.

Harry nodded silently.

'And take a shower, while you're at it,' added Moony. Sirius instantly felt guilty again, seeing as he had completely forgotten about that. 'Can you do that on your own?'

Harry nodded again, slid off his chair and left the kitchen. As soon as he was out of earshot, Sirius groaned and buried his face in his hands. 'Dammit, I could kill those bloody muggles. Did you hear him?'

'What you're doing is all the more important.'

'But how do we deal with this?'

Moony sighed. 'I'm sorry, Padfoot, but I think you probably have more experience in that area than me.'

Sirius shook his head. 'My father didn't start beating me properly until I was older. He's been hearing that stuff for all his life. They denied him food – no wonder he's so tiny. What would Prongs say, Moony?'

Moony remained silent for a minute. 'He would know it's not your fault. You were in Azkaban, Padfoot. What could you have done? And look at the difference you have made in his life in just a fortnight.'

Sirius concentrated on breathing. Moony had a point. He could not change the past – he could only try to be better from now on. That only marginally improved his mood, though. 'So what do I do?'

Moony shrugged. 'I'm no expert. I'd say reassure him. He'll thaw eventually – he already has in some respects. He hugs you. He comes to you for help. That's amazing, seeing as he hardly knows you. He knows that you're true to your word even if it'll take some time to convince him completely. And I'm pretty sure that he loves you.'

Sirius could only blink at this. 'Well, I… I think I'll go get dressed as well,' he said and fled the kitchen. He could not bear to cry in front of Moony again – he felt like he had done nothing but that for days. He bumped into Harry in the hall upstairs and without further ado hugged him tightly. 'I'm proud of you,' he told him.

Harry hugged him back.

'You're quiet today. I know everything is very confusing at the moment but it'll get better soon, I promise. We'll need to go see your old school and your new school before lunch but then we can spend all afternoon playing. Does that sound okay?'

'Yes,' muttered Harry.

'Good.'

By the time Sirius had had a shower and gotten dressed, Harry and Moony were playing Exploding Snap in the sitting room.

'Look at that,' said Moony when he entered. 'Finally he's ready. We were wondering whether you'd ever turn up again, weren't we, Harry?'

Sirius stuck his tongue out at him, which made Harry giggle, which in turn made Sirius smile. It was the first time Harry had laughed since the previous afternoon. It was so good to hear.

'We should apparate,' he said. 'We won't all fit on the bike.'

Harry looked less than thrilled but did not complain. They left the house and Sirius apparated them to a thicket of bushes a few dozen yards down the road from the school that he knew well from his week of watching Harry. It was a little past nine, school had just started and a few harassed looking parents were herding their kids into school while a larger number of adult left the building at a more leisurely pace.

'Can you take us to the Headmaster's office?' asked Sirius and Harry nodded, leading the way. He guided them into the school and along a few corridors that were plastered with pictures and other artwork, all obviously made by kids. There were pegs along the walls, bearing nametags. Sirius had never been in such a place.

As they rounded a corner, they suddenly found themselves mere yards away from Petunia Dursley who was talking to a secretary. The latter looked past her and her eyes found Harry. 'Well, Mrs Dursley, he looks quite healthy to me.' The secretary's office was a glass cube with an open window, overseeing the corridor. In the back, a door with a brass shield indicated the entrance to the Headmaster's domain.

Petunia whirled around and hastily retreated when her eyes found Sirius'. He had grabbed Harry's shoulder and squeezed it for support, taking a deep breath himself. If he hurt her, he would be arrested again and Harry would have to go back to her. He could not do that to him.

'Harry is in my charge now,' he told her.

Petunia nodded, pale faced. 'Take him,' she hissed in a defiant tone that did nothing to hide her fear. 'Pity you didn't do so years ago. Nothing but trouble, the freakish brat.'

Sirius felt fury boil up inside his chest but the fact that Harry was trembling distracted him. He turned him around and knelt down, finding his gaze. 'I love you, Harry,' he told him, speaking the first words he could think of to make him hurt less.

Meanwhile, Moony was advancing on Petunia. Sirius saw enough of him from the corner of his eye to know that he, too, was at the very end of his patience. An angry Remus was very rare and all the scarier for it.

'Lily loved you once, Petunia,' he told her, just the hint of a growl bleeding into his tone. 'I hate to think what she would say about you today. I hope that you are ashamed of yourself, and deeply so.'

Petunia apparently had no answer to that and remained silent.

Moony turned around to look at Harry whose gaze was still locked with Sirius'. His eyes seemed to drink in the sight of him.

'Do you want anything from your old house, Harry?' asked Moony.

Harry did not answer, probably distracted.

'Harry?' prompted Sirius gently. 'Is there something from your old house that you want?'

Harry shook his head.

Moony faced Petunia again. 'Then this is farewell, Petunia. I hope for your sake that we never meet again.'

Petunia huffed and rushed past them, around the corner, and disappeared.

'I love you, Harry,' repeated Sirius to the still silent child in front of him. Harry threw himself into his arms and Sirius grabbed hold of him. He was crying now. Sirius kissed his head. 'You shouldn't listen to her,' he implored. 'She doesn't understand. She is just jealous of how happy we can be together.' He knew that Petunias words would still hurt. They had hurt him, too.

He made his decision at that point, though. He would not show animosities towards Petunia and Vernon Dursley in front of Harry. He needed to be calm, to be safe. He wanted Harry to trust him and he would not achieve that by being rash and unreasonable. He could not expect Harry to confide in him if he got furious every time. He thought about the rules Moony had written down earlier. No shouting. That would include not swearing about Vernon and Petunia Dursley.

Instead, he would reassure Harry, would tell him that the Dursleys had been wrong but not that they had been evil, however true that may be. In time, Harry would hopefully come to realise just how despicably they had acted, once he had something to compare them two. Maybe then, Sirius could offer to go back and hex them senseless but for now Harry was more important. Revenge could come later.

'You'll be fine, Harry. I promise.'

Moony was now speaking to the secretary who had been watching the exchange in astonished silence. 'We would like to withdraw Harry from this school,' he told her, once more in his normal, calm voice.

She hesitated for a moment and then handed Moony some forms that he began to fill out while Sirius was still comforting Harry. He himself took comfort in the fact that this was definitely the last time that old bitch had hurt him.

'You don't ever have to come back,' he told him. 'We'll leave and you don't ever have to see any of them again.'

The whole thing was over rather quicker than it should have been with the aid of a little Confundus Charm. Sirius had to sign something, they were handed some paperwork and left the school in a hurry.

Sirius decided that it would be best to allow Harry some time to calm down before taking the next step. He knew better than to try enrolling a shaking and red-eyed child at a new primary school, especially if their story was going to be rather dodgy anyway. Instead, they returned home.

Sirius realised that he had tried to do too much. He should have stopped at making the list of rules and sending Moony to let the Dursleys know that Harry would not return to them. Dragging him to that school where his aunt had shouted at him had been a grave mistake.

It took Sirius hours of careful coaxing to get Harry to get out of his shell once more. It was only at lunch that he finally managed to make him laugh – it was only a small giggle but it was something. After they had their food, Sirius decided to go out into the garden once more. He did his best to make a fool of himself. It was a pity that his dog form was not available to him but revealing it now would do more harm than playing with a dog would make up for.

Harry remained rather timid all the way to the evening but the fear disappeared from his eyes. The intensity of the change in him had taken Sirius by surprise. He could only suppose that being confronted with the reality of the change had knocked Harry off his broom. Still, whatever it was, Sirius grudgingly accepted that he could do nothing but be kind to Harry in order to fix it, at least for now.

When the time came that had been set for Harry's bedtime, he went upstairs without so much as a prompt from Sirius or Moony to get ready for bed.

Sirius looked in on him a few minutes later, holding a storybook. Moony had been out earlier, looking around the village and shopping. He had returned with the information that there was a primary school about fifteen minutes on foot away from the house. He said that the village was pretty – Sirius had not been down himself yet but that would change tomorrow – and that the people had been kind. He had bought some books for Harry.

'Would you like a story?' he asked. Harry nodded. They sat parallel to the short side of the bed, Sirius' feet dangling off the side. Harry leaned against his shoulder as he read, listening carefully.

'We could make this one of the rules,' he suggested when he had finished the first chapter and was tucking Harry in. 'Me or Moony will read you a story if you are in bed on time. Would you like that?'

Harry nodded sleepily. 'I like you reading to me,' he mumbled, 'I like you, Sirius.'

Sirius smiled. 'I like you, too, Harry,' he said and kissed him on the forehead. 'And remember, if there's a problem, just come and get me, alright?'

Harry nodded again, his eyes closing. 'Thank you, Sirius,' he mumbled, already half-asleep.

'You're welcome.'

Downstairs in the sitting room, Moony was waiting with two glasses and a bottle of firewhiskey. Sirius took a big swig before talking. 'You said it'd get easier. I don't know about you but I found today more difficult than yesterday.'

'It was. Still, we made a big step. It's now official that he won't be returning to Little Whinging. He can start to forget now.'

'We're doing things too fast.'

'What's the alternative? You were right in keeping him here straight away. It would have been wrong to send him back there even for one day, our encounter this morning should have made that clear for all eternity. Still, Harry has a lot to get used to. In time, he will. You just need to be patient.'

'I've never been good at patience,' muttered Sirius.

'You can learn for Harry. You kept your anger in check this morning. I thought that was rather impressive. When she started talking, I expected to have to drag you off her.'

'You would have if it weren't for Harry. He needs me.'

Sirius wanted to hex them badly, but he had a lot to lose by doing so, the most delicate thing being Harry's trust. He might rejoice at revenge being taken in his name but there was also the risk that Sirius would appear threatening to him. What had happened this morning with the broken plates had told him that Harry was already afraid of him on some level already. He had no interest in reinforcing that.

He could of course sneak out and hex them without Harry even knowing about it but he could still get into serious trouble for that. Being arrested was not an option at the moment, not when he needed to be there for Harry. Also, he had no desire whatsoever to be locked up again, not ever. Maybe they could work something out in time – the Dursleys were not going anywhere.

'That's my point,' said Moony. 'You can be patient if Harry needs you to be.'

'I don't know what he needs, that's the problem.'

Moony sighed. 'He needs someone to show him that he is loved. You've done nothing but that all day.'

'He's hardly spoken all day.'

'He's overwhelmed and understandably so. You heard how that woman talked to him. I doubt that he can remember someone telling him that they love him.'

...

Tuesday started a little later than Monday. When Sirius got up, Harry was in his room reading the book that Sirius had left on his nightstand the previous evening but jumped out of bed eagerly when Sirius asked him if he would help preparing breakfast. Sirius turned up the volume of the radio to maximum and started to sing along – admittedly quite badly, as he did not know any of the songs. Harry watched him in confusion for a minute or two but eventually started to grin at the performance.

Sirius had always had a knack for making people laugh but Harry was proving a challenge. This ate away at his ego and was particularly troubling because he felt that Harry ought to be the one person he should be able to cheer up. Still, it seemed that today was going better than yesterday so that was something.

When a bleary-eyed Moony shuffled into the room a little later, they both simply grinned and waved at him, any verbal communication barred by the noise level. The mood was better than it had been the previous day, over breakfast and while getting ready to leave the house. No broken plates, no fear in Harry's eyes.

They would be walking into the village and connect the trip to the school with getting to know their new hometown. That was all that Sirius had set as their objective for the day, seeing as he had tried to pile on far too much the day before. He was not going to make that mistake again.

Harry walked between Sirius and Moony, taking in his surroundings with interest. There was not much to be seen except fields and the occasional tree or other shrubbery.

'It's not very central,' Sirius admitted. 'Wizards like to keep their privacy so that the muggles don't notice any kind of magic that might be going on.'

Harry shrugged. 'I don't like Privet Drive. Everything looks just the same.'

Sirius chuckled at that. He agreed with the sentiment. 'So, do you think you'll be okay with going to the new school?' Harry had answered the question the previous morning but even then, he had been less than enthusiastic and yesterday's events might have changed things.

'Yeah,' said Harry, his voice perking up. 'Maybe I'll find someone to play with if Dudley doesn't beat them up for talking to me.'

'I'm sure you will,' said Sirius, once more deciding not to go into detail about way Harry had been treated. He knew that if he tried to reassure him, he would do nothing but upset Harry further. Once they had a routine going, once Harry was convinced that he was here to stay, he would try to make him open up about what had happened. For now, telling him that things would change in future would have to be enough – he could not do everything at once, no matter how badly he wanted to.

'Harry, do you remember when I was talking to Dumbledore? We were saying that we need to make sure that nobody finds us.' Harry had no idea why he needed to remain hidden and Sirius was planning not to tell him until he asked. The thought of telling the boy that Voldemort had tried to kill him and that this still put him in danger today was almost too horrible to contemplate. He would not lie about it, of course not – but he was not keen on telling him any sooner than was needed.

Harry nodded.

'Well, I was thinking that you could use a different last name at school so nobody knows who you really are. You could be called "Evans" instead of "Potter". That was what your Mum was called before she married your Dad. Do you think you could do that?'

Harry pondered this for a moment and then shrugged. 'That's okay, I think. I just have to remember not to forget.'

'That's good,' said Sirius relieved. It would save them quite a few Confundus Charms. While he doubted that any Death Eater would ever think to search the muggle education system for a Harry Potter, it was better to be safe than sorry. "Harry" was popular enough not to stand out. It would have been even safer to use just any surname but he thought that Harry might have fewer problems if he was connected to the name in a real way. The last thing Sirius wanted was for him to stop being a Potter.

He had been mulling it over and decided that they would stick to the truth about everything else. Harry needed time to acclimatise and he was pretty sure that he would show some odd behaviour beyond simply settling in at a new school. Anyone who talked to him for an extended period of time would come to the conclusion that there was something off about his home life so Sirius did not want to claim that he had been raising him all along. He had considered putting himself down as Harry biological father but even if that was only for the sake of the muggles, it felt like an insult to Prongs. Also, that seemed like a good strategy if he wanted Harry silent and withdrawn again – they were already moving at a terrifying speed.

As they entered the village, Moony quietly pointed out what he had so far found out about it. There were a handful of little shops along the main road and lining the market place in front of the church. They passed a café and a pub, too. Moony had been right. It was a nice place, quiet and probably a little boring. That was a good thing, though. After all those years in Azkaban, space to breathe was very welcome.

Harry had been hopping from one tile of pavement to the next, avoiding the cracks, but he froze when Moony announced that they were approaching the school. This building was older than the one that had housed his previous school. It lay silent at the moment as classes had started quite a while ago and all the pupils were inside. It was small, Sirius estimated less than half the size of South Whinging Primary, but the schoolyard covered easily three times as much area.

They entered and followed a little sign indicating the way to the Headmaster's office. Here, too, the halls were lined with artwork of dozens and dozens of kids. It was a decidedly friendly place but even so, the sound of their echoing steps in the empty halls gave Sirius had the familiar sensation of being in a place where he was not supposed to be. Harry tentatively reached for his hand and Sirius squeezed Harry's gently in return, very glad that he was actively seeking comfort.

They reached their destination, the secretary's office, and were instantly invited in when Sirius knocked. A middle-aged man with a kind, round face and messy, dirty blonde hair smiled at them. 'How may I help you?'

'We would like for young Harry here to attend this school,' explained Sirius, placing a hand on Harry's shoulder.

The smile on the secretary's face widened. 'Please excuse me for one moment.' He got up to knock on a door leading off the room. He was called inside and Sirius could only hear muffled voices. It only took a few seconds for the man to re-emerge. 'Please, go on through.'

Sirius ushered Harry forwards but Moony remained where he was. 'I'll wait out here,' he explained.

Sirius frowned at him and shook his head. He assumed that Moony's reasoning would be along the lines of the fact that he had no connection to Harry other than being friends with Sirius. That did not entitle him to play a role in getting Harry enrolled at the school but he could still support Sirius. 'Come on. If you don't, what's the point of you tagging along in the first place?'

The Headmistress was a short and rather plump woman in her fifties. She wore bright red, round glasses and a matching necklace and bracelet. Her hair had once been dark brown but grey streaks ran through it now, and it had been tied into a loose bun. She wore a cardigan knitted out of thick, grey wool. She got up to greet them and offered her hand to Harry first. 'I'm Mrs April, the headmistress,' she said.

Harry shook her hand. 'I'm Harry P… Evans,' said Harry correcting himself. 'Nice to meet you, Ma'am.'

'Nice to meet you, Harry.' She turned to Sirius who shook her hand, too.

'Sirius Black,' he introduced himself. 'I'm Harry's godfather.'

'Nice to meet you, Mr Black.'

Moony shook her hand, too. 'Remus Lupin.' It was obvious that he was still reluctant to be in the room. Mrs April gave him a look but did not ask questions.

'Please, sit down,' she said instead and gestured for them to take a seat in front of her desk as she lowered herself back into her own chair. 'Now, why are you changing schools, Harry?'

Harry seemed a little struck at being asked a question and Sirius was, too. He had expected that all or at least all important questions would be addressed to him.

'I… I…' Harry stuttered, obviously confused as to what he was supposed to say. Sirius had the urge to intervene but noted that Mrs April was still watching Harry. She was not only after the answer but also wanted to see how Harry would react. He was squirming, looking to Sirius for directions. He shrugged and tried to smile encouragingly. 'This school is closer to where we live,' Harry said finally.

Mrs April smiled at him. 'You moved, did you?'

Harry nodded.

'What year are you in?'

'Year four.'

'Good.' She smiled again and turned to Sirius. 'When would you be looking for Harry to start?'

Sirius hesitated. He did not know when Harry would be ready to go to school.

'You will need to take him out of his old school first,' Mrs April helped him along.

'Yes, we did that yesterday.'

'Oh,' she said surprised. 'So this would be immediate?'

Sirius nodded. 'Sort of…'

'Usually, we receive a few weeks' or at least days' notice,' she said pointedly. 'It makes things easier. Why didn't you check with us when it was clear you were going to move?'

'It happened quite suddenly,' said Sirius truthfully. He did not want to go into detail. He was still not entirely sure what version of events he wanted known. He wanted to tell the truth, yes, but how much of it?

She sighed. 'Well, you're lucky. We still have capacities for year four. Three of the pupils left over the summer holidays, so the class is currently very small with only eighteen students.'

Sirius nodded and tried to look contrite but was not sure if he managed to pull it off. It was not an expression he used often, and his heart was not in it. It was after all not his fault that he had had no time to sort things out. Still, he did not want to get off to a bad start.

'We will need contact information for his old school so we can ask them to forward his file,' she said.

Moony cleared his throat and reached into his bag for said file.

Her eyes widened. 'You are not supposed to have that,' she told them with obvious anger but her expression smoothed out as soon as she flipped open the file and her eyes scanned the first page. There was a Confundus Charm on it to make her forget that she had not received the papers in the usual way, curtesy of Moony.

There were several reasons why Sirius had been keen to take the paperwork. Firstly, he had not wanted to let it lie around, protected only by muggle locks, and secondly, he would not have been able to enrol Harry with a false name if the schools would be in contact. This way, he had merely changed Harry's surname on paper and the deed was done. To the muggles, it would look as if Harry Potter had simply vanished, a welcome effect.

Harry frowned at her sudden change in attitude and looked at Moony questioningly. He shook his head gently, telling him not to ask just now.

While they sat in silence, the bell rang and around them, a low rumble of chairs being pushed back and then footsteps and kids' voices in the corridors began to swell up. It seemed to be break time.

'Well, this seems to be in order,' said Mrs April after a few moments. She frowned a few times as she read and Sirius knew why.

One of the teachers had noted that Harry was "disruptive on a regular basis", something that Sirius found very hard to imagine. So far, he had not witnessed Harry as much as rolling his eyes in terms of disrespect or disobedience. He had not asked Harry about it, though, and hoped that she would not, either.

'That would be all from me for now – unless you have questions?' she asked.

Sirius shook his head.

'Wonderful,' she gave them a smile. 'Keith will go over the details with you, and give you a few forms to sign. Harry can stay here after break and get settled in.'

Harry froze, panicked, his eyes finding Sirius in a silent plea for help.

'He won't start today,' said Sirius determinedly. He had told Harry that they would get him enrolled, not that he would have to go to class. He was not going to break his word.

Mrs April looked like she was about to argue but she, too, took note of Harry's expression. It was obvious that the suggestion filled him with horror. She sighed. 'This is exactly why we like to know in advance, so that this sort of thing does not happen,' she scolded Sirius. 'But I think we can make an exception.'

Harry relaxed into his seat.

'However,' she continued, 'I expect him tomorrow morning, on time.'

Sirius hesitated. He was not sure that Harry was ready yet. He had been toying with the idea of keeping him at home for another few days, to give him a chance to acclimatise.

'It is the law,' the headmistress insisted with a cool glance at Sirius. 'And waiting does not help,' she added more gently. 'Usually, it everything gets more difficult as time passes. If you keep him at home for an extended period of time, it will only mean that he has to readjust again when he finally does start school. I also doubt that he will be able to calm down if his first day at a new school is looming over his head.'

Sirius found himself agreeing with her reasoning. Once Harry went to school, all the new things were over with and he could start to settle in. Also, it was not as if there was the possibility of him attending his old school for another few days of weeks by means of making the transition less abrupt. Harry had already found himself in a completely different environment.

'Alright,' he gave in. 'Tomorrow. Is that okay, Harry?'

Harry nodded instantly and Sirius was unable to tell whether he meant it or was simply uttering what he thought Sirius wanted to hear. He knew that he would not get an honest answer out of him and vowed to see whether he was okay tomorrow morning. If he was not, he would simply keep him at home. What was that woman going to do about that? As a wizard, Harry was not required to attend a muggle school at all. He would not even be breaking the law.

'Good,' said Mrs April with a smile at Harry. She stood and they followed her lead. 'I shall fetch Mr Clark,' she told them as they once more entered the secretary's office. 'He is teaching year four. Harry, you can go meet your new classmates and see where your classroom is, just so you know what to expect tomorrow.'

She left the room and Keith, the secretary, opened a drawer to pull out a stack of paper. 'Take a seat.' He walked Sirius through the most important parts while Moony filled out a form with all of Harry's data. Sirius was just scribbling his name at the bottom of the last form when the door to the corridor opened once more and Mrs April returned with an elderly man whose eyes were magnified by his thick glasses. He did not look like much but Sirius knew better than to judge people by their appearance. He was very well spoken, as Sirius would find out in the next few minutes, and observant. The latter could be both a good and a bad thing.

Mr Clark smiled around the room and shook Sirius' hand first.

'Sirius Black, nice to meet you.'

'Likewise.' He turned to find Harry who had been sitting next to Sirius and listening quietly. He slid of his chair and took the hand that was offered to him. 'I'm Mr Clark. I'll be your form teacher here.'

'Nice to meet you, Sir. I'm Harry.'

'The pleasure is all mine, young man. Mrs April told me you will start tomorrow?'

Harry looked to Sirius for confirmation and then nodded.

Mr Clark then shook hands with Moony who had gotten up when he had entered. 'Remus Lupin,' he introduced himself.

Mr Clark nodded and smiled politely, even if a little puzzled. His eyes darted back to Sirius but he did not ask for the missing connection between Moony and Harry he was obviously wondering about. He turned his gaze back to Harry. 'If you like, I can show you around the playground and make sure that you know where you need to be tomorrow morning when the bell rings. You can also say hello to your new classmates while we're at it.'

Harry nodded again but took a step toward Sirius at the words.

'Your godfather can come along, of course,' Mr Clark added, recognising the signs.

Sirius nodded and looked to Keith. 'Were we finished?'

'Almost. I was going to walk you through the list of equipment Harry will need.'

'You can tell me,' offered Moony. 'I can meet you outside in a few minutes.'

Nobody argued with that and Sirius and Harry left the room after Mr Clark who checked his watch. 'There isn't much time so I'll only walk you through the most important things,' he told them. He showed them the schoolyard where several dozen kids were running around busily. Harry watched them apprehensively.

The bell rang and everyone started moving towards the school building again. Sirius, Harry and Mr Clark let most of them pass before following. They stopped in front of a bright red door with a poster to which the letters "YEAR 4" and a class photo had been stuck. Inside, things were moving but they quietened down when Mr Clark entered. 'Settle down, please,' he said. Kids moved to their seats and pulled out exercise books and pencils. It took a minute for the room to fall silent and by then, all eyes were on Harry and Sirius who were waiting in the doorway. Harry was tensing up and made a move as if to grab Sirius' hand but changed his mind. Sirius assumed he did not want to be seen holding hands. He placed a hand on Harry's shoulder and squeezed it gently. Harry leaned into him.

'Now, before we begin, I would like to introduce you to Harry, who will be in our class from tomorrow. Say hello.'

'Hello, Harry,' the class chorused and a few children giggled uncomfortably.

'Hello,' mouthed Harry almost inaudibly.

'Harry, you will be sitting with Benjamin.' Mr Clark indicated to a dark haired boy who as of yet had a table to himself. He grinned self-consciously at Harry but did not seem displeased to have a new neighbour assigned to him. The corners of Harry's mouth twitched upwards almost unnoticeably as he smiled back.

For a moment, it seemed as though Mr Clark was going to address Harry again, probably to ask him to introduce himself with a bit more detail, but his pale face seemed to convince him otherwise. 'I think that will do for today,' he said to Sirius who found himself wholeheartedly agreeing. 'We shall see you tomorrow,' he said to Harry. 'We are looking forward to having you.'

They left, retracing their steps back to the main entrance. Outside, Moony was already waiting for them. 'So, do you like the school?' he asked Harry.

Harry nodded as a response. 'I like the playground. There're eight sets of swings.' He seemed genuinely relieved at the moment, almost at peace. He had relaxed the second they had stepped out of the building.

Moony smiled at him. 'So, I think we'll need to go into London for you shopping, Harry,' he said.

'Do you think we could do that today or will that be too much?' added Sirius. 'We can go home and play if that'd be better.' He was not going to be forced to send Harry to school tomorrow. He could go out shopping with him tomorrow and Harry could have his first day at school on Thursday. Sirius did not mind that.

Harry watched him carefully. It was strange to him that his opinion mattered, Sirius could tell. 'We can do whatever you want,' he gave the exact answer Sirius did not want to hear.

'No,' Sirius argued, trying not to sound confrontational, 'I'm asking if you are okay with going shopping. I don't want you to feel… uncomfortable.' He could not think of a better word. As he spoke, he realised that he was pressuring Harry again, the exact thing that he had not wanted to do. Harry was not going to say that he wanted to go home, he realised that now, but he could not force him to do just that after Harry had said that he wanted to go out shopping, not if he wanted him to think that his words counted.

Harry shrugged. 'I'm fine.'

Sirius watched him, pondering his dilemma. He did look fine, calm but not scared. Moony shrugged at his questioning look and Sirius sighed. 'Alright, let's go shopping,' he declared, vowing to himself that he would stop talking himself into dead ends.

'Alright,' Moony jumped in. 'Harry, could you have a look at this list and tell me what you already have?'

Harry obediently consulted the sheet of paper that Moony handed him. 'I have most of the writing stuff,' he concluded. 'But some of it's broken because Dudley always kicks my bag around.'

'We'll have to get you new things, then,' said Sirius and decided there and then that he would simply buy everything on the list. Nothing that Harry already owned would be in good condition – he knew that without having to look at it.

They apparated to the alley opposite the Leaky Cauldron that was often used when wizards wanted to reach Diagon Alley via apparation. They did not acknowledge the presence of the pub, however, and instead headed down Tottenham Court Road and away from magic eyes.

To their surprise, Harry told them that he had never been in London before. He was as amazed by the big city as Sirius but he did know his way around muggle stores better than either adult. They spent the rest of them morning in the shops and then went for a lunch of fish and chips.

In addition to the new uniforms, Harry was also equipped with more everyday clothes. He was obviously not a fan of shopping – which eight year old boy was? – but he was on perfect behaviour, so much so that the shop assistant commented on it. He stared at Sirius with wide eyes when the cashier announced how much his new clothes had cost. When Sirius handed over the money without hesitation, he stammered his thanks, blushing.

'Harry, when you need something, I will buy it for you,' Sirius explained. 'That's what I'm here for… well, amongst other things.'

Moony chuckled at that but Harry blushed further. Sirius once more pretended not to notice. He was sticking with his hope that Harry would get used to things and really, he could not do more than tell and show him.

Moony quietly suggested offering to buy Harry some more books, to read himself as well as listening to at night. Sirius did so gladly and together they picked a whole stack of books. None of them involved the magical world but since there were so few witches and wizards, literature set in their reality was rather difficult to come by at any rate and while there were a good number of legends and fairy tales, there were no books for kids as such.

They stopped at a toyshop, too, where Sirius claimed that he wanted to buy some games for himself. He asked Harry's opinion, wondering whether he would get through with that. Harry was clever, after all. Still, it seemed that either Harry had not picked up on it or decided not to comment as they left the shop with a big bag of boardgames.

They returned home hungry and exhausted and after a hasty dinner of sandwiches, Harry climbed the stairs to get ready for bed without complaint even though it was still more than an hour before his bedtime. He fell asleep while Sirius was reading him a chapter of one of the new books.

Sirius collapsed on the sofa downstairs. 'Who'd've thought that buying stuff could be so exhausting,' he groaned, his eyes closed. He had assumed that accompanying Prongs to get dress robes for his wedding would be the most straining shopping tour he would ever have to endure.

Moony agreed with a yawn. 'It went well though, didn't it? The school seems decent enough and we have at least partially solved the problem of how to buy Harry what he needs.'

Sirius sat up straighter and rubbed his face. 'I suppose. The whole school thing is also more complicated than I anticipated. I assumed we'd just tell them that he'll attend that's it.'

Moony sighed. 'Muggles tend to be more involved in their kids' schooling,' he told him. 'Also, Hogwarts students are older. You've never been to any other school, have you?'

Sirius shook his head. 'I just hope he gets along with the other kids. He should, shouldn't he? He's a nice kid.'

'He'll be fine. I think all the bullying was because his cousin initiated it. Harry gets a clean slate and he knows it.'

'From your lips to Merlin's ears,' muttered Sirius, forcing his eyes to remain open. He was not yet done for the day.