5

Chapter Five

The house at Lia Nora took a month of remodelling to make it liveable for a family of three. Sirius shared his visions with Milly and she brought it to life with her powerful magic, just as she had done for Alphard many years ago. The house now had three rooms downstairs; the sitting room, a dining room and the kitchen, now equipped with four spider burners, a marble kitchen island and a mix of thrifted and newly bought crockery, cutlery, tableware, dishware, and serveware. The sitting room now boasted a full set of sleek leather couches, armchairs and footstools. Sirius kept Alphard's armchair by the fire, one of the small ways he chose to honour his uncle. A dining room was added next to the kitchen and had a fantastic view of the pond and the fruit trees. Sirius also decided on a powder room opposite the sitting room for guests to use.

The upstairs now had four rooms and two bathrooms, one ensuite. Sirius and Remus had one bedroom, Harry had another, and there was one 'guest room' which was really just Minerva's room. Sirius turned the computer room into a study for Remus. The computer was still there, Sirius had not yet discovered how his uncle had made it work, but he wasn't one to give up. The study also had several floor to ceiling bookshelves filled with Remus' and Alphard's personal collection. It was meticulously organised by Remus himself, using a fancy muggle system that Sirius already forgot the name of.

Sirius and Remus had designed Harry's room together. They had chosen a beautifully crafted four poster bed that he'd grow into, currently he only occupied about one fourth of it, and a full sized wardrobe made by the same craftsman. There was a big fluffy rug in the centre that they charmed to change colour depending on the weather. He had large child safe windows with maroon curtains and his own personal bookshelf. Harry's favourite part of the room was also the part Sirius and Remus were most fond of; a wall mural depicting Moony, Padfoot and Prongs. Sirius had painted and repainted it agonisingly for two whole weeks before Remy called him a talentless moron and had taken the brushes for himself, creating a beautiful masterpiece that touched Sirius so deeply he didn't have the heart to be angry at the insult. With help from Professor Flitwick, Sirius and Remus used several spells and charms on the mural so that it would come to life whenever Harry put his hands on it. Harry adored it. They spent the first night at Lia Nora curled up in blankets and pillows next to the wall in a cuddle train. Harry in Remus' arms and Remus in Sirius'. Moony, Padfoot and Prongs were sleeping nearby, curled up in a similar manner. They took turns telling Harry more stories about their adventures at Hogwarts before the boy fell asleep. It was the perfect end to their first day.

Minerva, Severus and Hagrid pitched in with photographs. Hagrid especially went above and beyond, owling their old school mates and even some strangers, managing to collect copies of photographs of Lily and James that were once thought lost forever in Godric's Hollow or Sirius' old apartment. Remus also found his old albums, previously hidden away because they were too painful to look at. They didn't cut Peter out of the photographs like Sirius wanted to, he was their friend once, and Remus wanted to remember the boy he had been, despite the man he grew up to be.

Harry helped pick which photos to frame and display around the house and Sirius had the pictures from his camera developed as well. Harry's favourite picture was of Sirius, Remus, Minerva and himself in front of Cnoc Cottage, taken the day they officially moved out. He had it displayed on his bedside table, along with a picture of his parents and himself when he was just six months old.

During the whole renovation period, Sirius learnt more things about the estate, like how there were monthly owl orders for sugar, salt, oil, and other common cooking staples delivered to the elves, paid for by, unsurprisingly, the vault that Alphard opened for him. The floo was also incredibly unique in nature, it accepted calls, could make calls and was actually connected to common locations like Diagon Alley, Hogsmeade, and less common locations like Mr. Jensen's old office and even to Grimmauld Place. It was, however, resolutely closed to entry from elsewhere. It took Dumbledore himself to help them change their floo network.

A week into living at Lia Nora, Sirius decided to go buy a pair of owls with the family. They left Remy and Milly to construct a small owlery to house them and flooed to Diagon Alley. The press had more or less been 'gently' wrangled into submission by the terrifying duo of Minerva and Amelia, and the family was able to appear in public without being bombarded with questions and cameras, a few people still pointed and gasped when they saw them but they were fortunately left alone. They walked in relative peace to the Eyelops Owl Emporium before bumping into someone Sirius hadn't seen for years, hand in hand with her son.

Narcissa Malfoy looked at them with wide eyes, taking in everything from Sirius' muggle clothes, their joined hands and Harry's scar. She pursed her lips and her gaze grew aloof, uncaring but not entirely hostile.

"Cousin…congratulations on clearing your name."

"Why thank you Cissa," Sirius said, his tone just shy of mocking. There was a brief tightening of her lips and furrow in her eyebrows before her apathetic mask slipped back on. Her son peered at Harry curiously, not listening to anything they were saying. Harry looked back, staring straight into the boy's grey eyes flecked with light blue.

"Wow…Your eyes are really pretty!" Harry said with a smile, making the boy blush pink. All the adults' eyes widened and soon Sirius and Remus were shaking with suppressed laughter.

"Your eyes are pretty too," the boy said. Harry grinned, which made the poor boy blush farther.

"Thank you! I have my mother's eyes."

"I'm Draco Malfoy, what's your name?"

"Harry Potter."

Draco gasped.

"The Harry Potter?"

"Yea but I'm just a normal kid," he said maturely. His fame was something Minerva explained to him one day at Lia Nora and he had taken to repeating the words she told him to others whenever they overreacted to his name.

"But…"

"If you let me call you Draco, you can call me Harry."

There was no understanding the logic of children.

"Okay, Harry." Draco said his name with awe but it felt a little different from the first time he said it. Harry was not just the famous Harry Potter to him anymore, but Harry whom he met at Diagon Alley. Harry much preferred it. He beamed at him, white pearls agleam.

"Nice to meet you Draco!"

Draco grinned back, face still flushed pink. "It's nice to meet you too."

"I…well…what a sweet boy you have, cousin."

"Oh Harry is the sweetest," Sirius agreed.

"It's nice to meet you Mr. Potter, my name is Narcissa Malfoy. I'm Draco's mother."

"Hullo," Harry said politely. "We're going to buy some owls, want to come?"

"That's very kind dear but we must be getting on, say goodbye Draco."

Draco frowned and looked at the ground.

"Bye Harry…"

Harry stepped forward, a little into Draco's space without crowding him.

"Can I give you a hug?" he asked. Draco looked up, surprised, then nodded with a small smile. The two boys hugged goodbye and parted. Once they were far enough, Sirius and Remus broke out into loud and uncontrollable laughter.

"Imagine the look on Malfoy's face when he finds out, oh Moony, I would pay to see it." He said in between breaths.

"What is funny?"

"N-nothing darling, nothing at all."

"We were just ah, recalling a joke that…Minnie told us the other day."

Harry looked at them suspiciously but accepted their explanations. Sirius and Remus took a moment to compose themselves. Once at the Emporium, the shopkeeper stopped what he was doing at once and rushed over to them with hands clasped and a simpering smile on his face.

"Lord Black, it is such an honour for you to visit my humble shop. How can I help you?"

"Just Black is fine. We're looking for some owls, a fast one and maybe a stronger one for heavier deliveries. And we only want to see the intelligent owls, they have to be tame and well behaved as we have a young child at home.""

"Of course sir, we have the finest selection here,"

The shopkeeper showed them a lot of owls and eventually they settled on a large female eagle owl and a beautiful male snowy owl. Harry had approved of them. Against Remus's better judgement, the boy had given each of them his hand to inspect. The eagle owl took a tentative nibble out of him and let him caress the feathers around her bill. The snowy owl had stuck his head under the outstretched hand and swivelled.

Their new owls were in their cages ready to go and they were finishing up their purchases when the shopkeeper gave him some unfortunate news.

"You don't have any owl treats?" Sirius asked, mildly annoyed.

"I'm sorry Mr. Black, the students near wiped me all out a few weeks ago, I haven't had the time to restock. All I've got are these plant based ones."

Sirius sighed and finished paying for everything.

"Come on, let's stop by the Magical Menagerie."

Sirius carried the owls and Remus followed hand in hand with Harry. They promised to get him ice cream from Fortescue's later, and walked into the small somewhat dingy Magical Menagerie opposite the parlour. Immediately after stepping inside, Harry winced and brought his hands to his ears. A cacophony of noise hit him all at once. Squeaking, squawking, jabbering and…whining?

"I'm sssso bored."

"Sssick of thessse ssstupid humanss."

"I wonder what'ss for dinner,"

"So many voices," Harry said, frowning. Remus looked apologetic.

"Sorry cub, want to wait outside?"

Harry shook his head. "I'm okay," Where were the voices coming from?

"Are there some people at the back?"

Remus frowned at the odd question.

"Pssst, sssmall human,"

Harry looked around to see who had spoken to him, but there were only the animals.

"Over here, next to the door,"

There was a small metal cage on a round table near the entrance. The bars were so thick it almost looked more like a box than a cage, but Harry could see a tiny snake through the thin gaps. It was white with black sickle shaped markings along its back and had bright almost red amber eyes.

"Ssso, you really can underssstand uss."

"Why are you out here by yourself and not with the others?"

"That human wants to sssell me to ressearchersss. You have to buy me."

"Researchers?"

"Foul humansss who will hurt me."

"But, that's horrible!"

"Yess, you have to take me home,"

"Remus, I want this snake!" he said, turning. Remus didn't think too much about Harry leaving his side to observe the creature in the cage. It had been hissing up a storm after all. But if his ears hadn't deceived him, Harry had hissed right back at it and now he was asking for the snake, the first thing he had ever asked them for.

"I…I'm not sure if you're old enough cub,"

"B-but, if we don't buy her, she'll be taken to bad people who hurt her! We have to take her home."

Was it true? Was Harry really a…?

"How do you know?"

"She told me, she said she doesn't want to be sold to researchers."

Remus sucked in a breath.

"Excuse me, ma'am, what were you going to do with this snake here?"

The shopkeeper looked up from her discussion with Sirius.

"Oh that? That's a defect that is. I was going to take it back to the lab. It was supposed to be a stinging adder but it's not violent at all, just lies about all docile. The only thing unique about it is its colouring."

"If we were, uh, interested in this snake, how much would you sell it for?"

"Remus?" Sirius looked at him questioningly, why did his Moony want a snake all of a sudden? Remus met his gaze and looked quickly to Harry. Harry was looking at the shopkeeper with pleading eyes, little fists clenched.

"Oh for Harry Potter I'll sell it to you for a discount! Five percent off ten galleons!"

Some discount…

"Hang on, Remus. Even if Harry wants it…a snake?"

"She won't bite me," Harry said.

Remus gave him a look that said quite plainly, 'we'll discuss this later just get him the damn snake' and so Sirius frowned but talked to the shopkeeper about what they'd need for the snake. Meanwhile, Remus turned his attention back on Harry and to his horror found the snake wrapped around Harry's hand.

"Harry!" He whispered furiously, "how did you even get the cage opened?"

"Perry helped me," he said simply, pointing to the little bowtruckle sitting in his pocket. It at least had the decency to look guilty before it slipped and hid inside Harry's cloak.

"For goodness sake Harry, you can't go around picking locks and touching dangerous animals, give her here."

"Remus wants to carry you because he thinks you're dangerous," Harry repeated with a small laugh.

"I am not dangerousss, but if your guardian feelsss better I will go to him."

Remus cast a panicked look at the counter but to his relief the shopkeeper wasn't paying attention, still talking to Sirius about all the enclosure. He held his hand out and the snake slithered on it willingly. He slid her into his pocket, worried that she'd suddenly strike and she went with an indignant little hiss.

"You could have at least warned her," Harry said with a pout. Remus took a calming breath then kneeled down to talk to Harry in a soft voice.

"Harry, she can't understand me, and I can't understand her."

Harry tilted his little head in confusion.

"But…she's a talking snake."

Remus shook his head.

"She's a normal regular snake, or well, as normal as a magically bred snake can be. You being able to talk to her is an inborn gift. You're a Parselmouth Harry. Only snakes and serpentine creatures will understand you when you speak Parseltongue."

"But…I was speaking normally, didn't you hear me?"

"I heard you speaking Parseltongue,"

"How…how can I speak Parseltongue without knowing I can speak it?"

"Because it is an inborn gift, love, like how Dora is a metamorphmagus. You'll learn to do it more consciously in the future, but for now I need you to promise me not to talk to her until we get home, okay?"

"But…why?"

"I'll explain later," Remus kissed him on the forehead, "promise?"

"Okay, promise."

"Can I at least tell her? She might get hurt if I stop replying to her."

Remus smiled fondly at him and sighed.

"Okay, but do it quietly."

Harry leaned in a little to talk to the pocket.

"Remus says we can't talk until we get home, he'll explain later."

"Fusssy human,"

Harry held his hand and followed him to the counter where there was now a large enclosure filled with bags of substrate, boxes of owl treats and a couple of books on snake care. The owls were on the floor, looking extremely distressed because of the noise.

"Would you like the cage to transport her?" The shopkeeper asked.

"No, she's comfortable in Remus' pocket." Harry said. Sirius looked at Remus curiously but didn't ask any questions yet. After their purchases, Sirius shrank the tank and its contents and put it in his pocket before picking up the owls.

"Alright, time for some ice cream." Sirius said, but Remus shook his head.

"We'll ask Milly if she'll make us ice cream later, we need to go home."

"Remus what's wrong? You're kind of freaking me out."

"It's nothing…bad,"

"Right…Harry you don't mind?"

"Nope," he said, "I want to go home and talk to my new friend."

Sirius held his questions back until Lia Nora because of the look on Remus' face and they flooed home in a slight rush. Once inside their sitting room, Remus heaved a great sigh and sank into the couch.

"Mind filling me in now?" Sirius asked.

"Harry's a Parselmouth,"

"A Pars-" he looked at Harry in surprise who shifted his feet.

"Is it a bad thing? Remus told me not to speak to her outside." he asked, making Sirius shake his head violently.

"No pup, it's not. It's an incredibly rare gift. Merlin, you really are full of surprises."

He took a breath and smiled sadly.

"I think the reason Remus told you not to speak to her in public is because…some people are scared of that ability. It's associated with a dark wizard so they think whoever speaks it must also be a dark wizard."

Harry frowned, telling him he didn't fully understand.

"You know how we told you some people don't like Moony and me together because we're both men and that's why the law won't let us get married? Well, this is similar."

"So…the people who are scared are stupid?"

Sirius laughed and Remus chuckled.

"A little bit, so can you promise us that you won't talk to any snakes in public or tell anyone who isn't in our family that you can talk to them? At least for now."

"I already promised Remus," Harry said with a little sass, making Sirius roll his eyes.

"Can I come out now? Thiss human ssmellsss sscary,"

"He's not scary, but I'll take you out now."

"She wants out," Harry said, making grabby fingers to Remus' pocket where the snake had already poked its head out. Remus hesitated.

"What if she bites? Aren't adders venomous?"

"Uh, Harry, please tell your pet that under no circumstance is she to bite you or us, or the elves."

"Padfoot, will that really work?"

Sirius shrugged as Harry repeated what he said to the snake.

"Your guardians are fussssy, I won't bite anyone unless they harm me and I won't bite you at all, sssmall human."

"My name is Harry, what's your name? I forgot to ask you."

"I don't have a name, I think it is cussstomary for you to name me as my owner."

"Oh…then, what about Hedwig?"

"That iss acceptable, I like it."

"She said she won't bite anyone unless they harm her and that she won't bite me at all. Also, I just named her Hedwig! She said she likes it."

Remus begrudgingly handed Hedwig to Harry. The snake slithered around his wrist and up his arm, settling across his shoulders, her body half inside his shirt.

"How comfortable,"

"Oh god, she's so close to his face, Sirius…"

"Relax Remus, I'm sure it's fine."

Remus groaned.

"Lily is going to rise from the grave and kill us both for this."

As compromise was struck between Remus and Harry. Harry would only be allowed to take Hedwig out of her enclosure if an adult or one of the elves was present and in return, Remus allowed the enclosure to be set up in his bedroom. Hedwig's enclosure was put near the window, it was filled with an earthy substrate and had a large driftwood collected from the grounds. They also planted some grass and ferns to stimulate the natural habitat of a common adder, despite being unsure if she really was just a common adder with unusual markings. If Remus had to make a comparison, he'd say her colouring looked just like the feathers on a snowy owl. The actual owls that they had bought were also happily settled in their new owlery. Milly and Remy had gone all out in blending the new structure harmoniously with the rest of the buildings. The eagle owl was named Hypatia and the snowy owl was named Archimedes.

The first letter Sirius sent with the owls was to the Weasleys. He hadn't formally apologised for scaring their children and potentially traumatising poor little Percy, and he intended to make good on his promise to get Percy a new pet. He also sent off a parcel with pear cider and juice for the children. Their reply came with an ancient owl who made a spectacular entrance as it flew in sideways through the dining room windows, landing in a heap on the dining table and tipping over the sugar bowl.

"Good lord, whose owl is that?" Remus asked, using his wand to clean the sugar.

"Weasleys," Sirius replied. "Poor thing, he needs to rest in the owlery before flying back out."

The owl hooted feebly and passed out, Sirius asked Harry if he could carry him to the owlery. Harry was happy to do so and he scooped up the limp owl in his arms and took off out the glass doors. Sirius opened the letter and read.

Dear Sirius,

You needn't apologise about the incident, I understand why it had to be done, in fact I think we have to thank you for taking him away. I can't even imagine what could have happened if not for you. I'd like to say how happy I am that your name was cleared and you were released.

Offering to get Percy another pet is very kind, we might just take you up on that offer. What say you, Remus and Harry come over to the Burrow for lunch tomorrow? We can get to know each other and the kids can play.

Thank you very much for the cider, it was very delicious and the children loved the juice as well. I hope you like the mince pies, they're Molly's speciality.

All the best,

Arthur.

Sirius gave the letter to Remus to read while he summoned parchment and quill.

"It would be good for Harry to make friends with other children." Remus said, folding the letter. Harry came back and Sirius gestured for him to come sit in his lap.

"What do you think about going to the Burrow for lunch tomorrow?"

"What's a Burrow?"

"It's the name of Mr. and Mrs. Weasley's house. They're a nice couple with seven children, although I think their eldest is at Hogwarts right now."

"Oh…" Harry looked a little nervous and Sirius couldn't blame him. Meeting a couple of people at a time was different to meeting a whole horde of children and judging from what he observed from his limited time there, most of them were rowdy and quite unmanageable.

"Will Dora or Susan or Draco be there?"

"Dora might, but Susan and Draco won't."

"It'll be alright, if you feel overwhelmed at any time, just come up to Remus or me and we can make an excuse and take a short break, okay?"

Harry smiled. "Okay…can I bring Hedwig?"

"No," Remus and Sirius said together. Harry pouted.

Sirius wrote a quick reply saying they'd be happy to drop by the Burrow around eleven and thanked them for the mince pies. He also told them that they'd be keeping their owl in their care until he was fit again and suggested that perhaps they let him retire already. The family went to the Burrow the next day with the floo. They brought some vegetables from the garden and the Weasley owl. Pandemonium erupted as they climbed through and Harry started. Four redheaded and freckled children crowded him, excited and all saying a lot of things at once.

"Harry Potter!" said a little girl in a green dress, pointing, in Harry's opinion, a little rudely at his scar.

"Wow you're really Harry Potter," said one of the twins. "Of course he is, Dad said he was," said the other.

"Hi Harry, I'm Ron." said Ron, the only one who was keeping a relatively respectable distance from him.

"Hullo Ron," he said shyly, gripping the straps of his bag.

"Children, that is quite enough!" came another hysterical voice. Molly ambered into the living room and picked Ginny up, but not before slapping her hand away to get her to stop pointing.

"Have you forgotten everything your father and I told you? Harry is not some poor creature to be goggled at!"

"Oh crap, sorry Mum, they tricked me saying they wanted to play hide and seek." said an older boy, around Dora's age. He pulled the rest of his siblings off Harry and smiled warmly at him. He had a kind face marred by more freckles than his siblings and Harry felt himself relaxing.

"Hey Harry, alright?"

"Alright."

"My name's Charlie, this is Fred and George, Ron, and that's Ginny."

"Hullo,"

"Goodness Harry, I'm so sorry for them. Arthur! They're here! Percy!"

Harry winced as the woman's loud shrill voice carried through the house. She put Ginny down and went to shake Remus and Sirius' hands.

"Molly, it's a pleasure to finally meet you properly." Sirius kissed her hand and she laughed, colouring.

"Some vegetables from our garden,"

"Oh you're too kind dear, thank you, these look lovely." She waved her wand and the basket floated into the kitchen.

"Molly, we're so sorry about what happened. It had to be done but…we should have planned it better and not involved the children." Remus apologised, handing her the owl. Molly sighed and gave the cage to Charlie, who opened it, letting the owl fly out the open window.

"Thank you for bringing Rupert back…and it's okay. The children mostly thought of it as some great adventure and you did rid us of that…that filth." She took a breath to calm herself.

"I'm just glad everything worked out."

"Us too," Sirius said with a smile.

"Ah, Sirius, Remus!" Arthur came in, hand in hand with a scared looking boy wearing spectacles.

"Come now Perce, it's okay, say hello to Mr. Black and Mr. Lupin."

Percy wasn't having it. He retreated behind his father's legs, and whimpered slightly. Seeing Mr. Lupin brought back terrifying memories of him pointing his hand at him and turning Scabbers into a grotesque man. Remus rubbed the back of his neck, feeling extremely bad at frightening Percy so much.

"Perhaps I should go home?"

"Nonsense," Arthur said immediately, "Percy, Mr. Lupin is a very nice man who helped us with a very big problem we didn't even know we had, we should be thanking him."

"No…" he mumbled, "Mr. Lupin is scary."

"Moony's not scary," Harry said immediately, peeking at Percy from the other side of Arthur's legs. Percy looked at the smaller boy, half in shock.

"Remus is brave and really nice and super super smart. He was a prefect at Hogwarts."

Percy looked at Remus with tentative respect at these words and Harry grinned, it was clear he was starting to reform his entire opinion of the man.

"Do you think I could be a prefect too?" He asked Remus. Remus chuckled and and knelt down so that they were eye to eye.

"A smart and sensible boy like yourself would no doubt make a wonderful prefect,"

Percy smiled tentatively, half his body now out of hiding, he cast a quick curious look at Sirius, who grinned at him and mirrored Remus' position on the floor.

"Hiya Perce, I'm real sorry about your rat, but if you want, I'll get you another pet, you can get anything you want, even a dragon!"

Charlie gasped.

"Sirius!" Remus and Molly said together, looking furious.

"Sorry, sorry. I'll get you a less dangerous and more age appropriate pet, how does that sound?"

Percy looked up at his parents, silently asking them if it was okay to accept such a thing. Arthur smiled at him kindly while Molly looked a little torn but she nodded.

"I…I'd really like a kitty…"

The children broke out in varying complaints, all clearly gunning for their brother to ask for a pet they wanted. Charlie lamented the loss of having a dragon in the house while Ginny and Ron whined about a crup. Their mother silenced them with a look.

"A kitty it is," Sirius said, ruffling Percy's hair. "We can go pick one out soon."

Percy smiled and thanked both Sirius and Remus. Molly also thanked them and told them to make themselves at home while she fixed some tea and snacks. Harry got up to help immediately and she swooned and called him a sweet boy before pointing to her wand and saying she had all the help she needed. Remus and Sirius fell into an easy conversation with Arthur, who was fascinated with their muggle fashion and the kids gathered in a loose circle on the floor. Harry started becoming more open as the day progressed. Charlie doted on him like he was one of his younger brothers, as did Percy although he felt a little pompous when doing so. The twins made him laugh as they pranked almost everyone, only Sirius and Remus were able to give as good as they got. Ron was the one that felt most like a friend, perhaps because they were the same age. He was a little insensitive at times, but always apologised for it and Harry was impressed with how much he was able to eat. Ginny was bright and cheerful, if a bit rough. She kept tugging him this way and that, showing him her toys and arguing with her brothers. After lunch, they played a few rounds of kiddie Quidditch in the backyard and ran around with Padfoot. All the children except Charlie and Percy were knocked out by nap time and they slept spread out in the living room in varying positions. Harry was asleep next to Ron, their little hands clasped together. It was so adorable that Sirius actually went home to get his camera. When it was time to go, Harry was quite sad but they all promised to meet again soon and Sirius suggested taking the kids to muggle London for Percy's kitten and making a day trip out of it. Arthur was more excited about it than any of his kids.

~.~

A parcel came for Harry one day, delivered by a distinguished looking eagle owl. It flew in through the open dining room doors and landed gracefully on the back of Harry's chair before dropping the parcel into his lap. The parcel was wrapped in brown parchment, tied with string, and sealed with a dark blue wax seal. Harry thanked the owl first, holding a bit of his scrambled egg for it to eat, but the owl eyed him disdainfully and instead took off without a backwards glance.

"How rude," he said in a tone similar to Minerva and popped the egg in his own mouth before looking at his mail.

"Who's it from, pup?" Sirius asked, sipping coffee.

"I don't know," he carefully peeled the wax seal off and unwrapped it. To his delight, he found two letters inside and a box of expensive looking chocolates. He picked up the letter that appealed to him first, it was light blue with beautiful golden patterns and he recognised his name written in the same golden ink. He showed it off to his guardians with an excited smile and Remus reached for the parchment and string to inspect the wax seal.

"Malfoys," Remus said, eyebrows raised. "Harry hold on a second,"

But Harry had already opened his letter to read, despite not being able to do so very well yet, and Remus and Sirius whipped out their wands so fast it startled Harry into dropping the letter.

"I'm sorry Harry but, it doesn't hurt to be precautious."

They went through several spells to detect if any nefarious curses had been placed on the parcel or its contents but it seemed to be clean.

"All good Harry, nothing is cursed."

Harry frowned and clutched his letter.

"Why would it be cursed? Draco sent it to me."

"Draco might be a nice boy but his father certainly isn't. I don't know about Cissa, can't figure that damn woman out."

Remus helped Harry read his letter. Between Remus and Minerva, he had two very competent and patient teachers and was steadily becoming quite proficient at reading.

Dear Harry,

I would like to invite you to dine with mother and me at the Malfoy Manor, please come to the address in mother's letter as soon as you are available. Included are my favourite chocolates from Brussels, I hope you like them.

Hope to see you soon,

Draco

The advanced language suggested he had help writing this, as well as the clumsy and shaky handwriting. Remus surmised he must have copied it visually from an example and chuckled. Harry looked at the poorly written words and his eyes shone with excitement. He had been wanting to see Draco again but didn't know how to ask Sirius or Remus. They had the most strange reaction when meeting him and his mother in Diagon Alley. It was clear they must not be on very good terms with Draco's family but he really, really wanted to see the other boy again.

"Can I…go?" Harry asked, unsure. Remus and Sirius exchanged uneasy glances.

"Maybe, pup."

"Padfoot, the second letter is for you, from Narcissa."

Sirius grumbled and took the letter while Remus allowed Harry to eat a piece of chocolate which was very delicious.

Dear Cousin,

If you have chosen to open this letter instead of tossing it straight into the fire, I hope you'll read until the end of it. Draco has been talking and asking about Harry non stop, wanting to see the boy with the, I quote, pretty green eyes.

I beg you please put me out of my misery and let the two children see each other and have a relationship. We should put aside our differences for now while I still have my sanity.

Lucius will be out of the country next week and I do hope you and your partner can bring Harry around for lunch.

Love,

Narcissa

The corners of Sirius' mouth quirked up as he read the letter. It reminded him of the old Narcissa, his cousin whom he had not wholly hated because of her sardonic and sarcastic quips. She was fun, funny, at least until she married Malfoy and became that respectable pureblood matriarch to sire heirs and preach racist sewage. He gave the letter to Remus to read while he pondered the possibility of an amiable relationship with Narcissa. He supposed it was possible, they could ignore that her husband served a murderous megalomaniac and let the boys be friends, for what good would come from sowing seeds of hatred into the new generation? He caught Remus' eye after the man finished reading the letter. They exchanged a small smile, silently communicating their thoughts and feelings to each other.

"Sure Harry, we can go see Draco, but I'm not stepping one foot inside Malfoy Manor."

Sirius wrote a reply to Narcissa while Remus helped Harry with his. He thought it would be better if the boys met again at more neutral grounds and suggested a park in muggle London. Harry could hardly contain his joy. He told everyone who would listen that he'd be seeing Draco again soon, which mainly consisted of everyone at the house, including the elves, Hedwig, Perry, the water pixies and a very surprised Minerva and Severus, who came over for dinner that night.

"Is it really okay for the boys to be friends?" Minerva asked quietly. She took a quick glance at Harry, who was hissing away at Hedwig while pouring over his favourite book; Animagus; Transformation or Transfiguration. Remus shrugged.

"I honestly don't see why not, Harry could be a good influence on him."

"And what if the Malfoy boy is a bad influence on him?"

"Unlikely," Severus said, taking a sip of his tea, "the boy is still mostly untainted by his father's views. Moreover, do you really see Harry tolerating any kind of hate speech?"

"I agree with Snape, Harry would never let Draco run his mouth and still stay friends with him."

They all looked at Sirius like he was mad, Severus included.

"Have those fleas finally messed with your brain or did you actually say something worthwhile just now?"

"Sod off Snivellus,"

Minerva rolled her eyes at the immaturity.

"And what of…this?" she gestured to Harry speaking in Parseltongue. "It wouldn't be good if Lucius gets wind of it."

"He did alright at the Weasleys, I'd like to keep my faith in him."

"At least he does not possess a need to show off, unlike some people." Severus said pointedly.

"And at least some people wash their hair,"

"A weak comeback Black, you're losing your touch. Parenthood has made you soft."

"Do my ears deceive me or was that actually a compliment by you?"

"Of course your arrogant arse would interpret it that way,"

"Men, do act your age. I'll hex you both if Harry starts saying arse because of you." Minerva warned. Remus shifted guiltily and felt it better left unsaid that Harry had already said arse two days ago and it definitely wasn't because of Sirius or Severus.

When Milly heard that they'd be going to the park she insisted on packing them a picnic basket to take with them. Harry helped her pick some cucumbers, tomatoes and other fruits and vegetables from the garden and was invited inside the elves' house to make the food with her. The family's relationship with the elves was a little odd, if Sirius had to describe it, he would say it was almost like having an overindulgent grandmother and a grumpy grandfather. They weren't their servants, not by a long shot. The elves had their own schedule, their own space, and were stubborn to a fault about certain things, like with the picnic basket. Being around their height, Harry was able to fit in their house easily and had Hedwig wrapped around his upper arm, hidden beneath his shirt. She had been craving more warmth lately as the weather grew colder and Harry obliged happily.

"Ssmellsss good, what are you making?"

"Chicken pie,"

"Any for me?"

Harry asked Milly if he could feed Hedwig some raw chicken and she cut it into small chunks for him but strictly forbade him from feeding her with his hands.

"It is dangerous, child," she said, "no matter how gentle she is being, accidents happen. Feed her on the floor, there's a good lad."

"Deliciousss, tell your elf friend thanksss for me."

"She says thanks for the chicken,"

Milly smiled and shook her head fondly as the adder slithered back up under Harry's shirt.

Harry had fun spending the whole morning making food for the outing with Milly. They made ham and cucumber sandwiches, chicken pie and scones with homemade pear jam. Milly also packed some freshly baked plain bread, cut fruit and veggie sticks, and a few bottles of cider and juice. With a few minutes to spare before flooing to London, Harry picked some wildflowers. He took special care in selecting all the beautiful blue ones for Draco and a few yellow flowers for Narcissa. The water pixies helped him tie the small bouquets with twine and vines and when Remus came to call him, he showed off his gifts proudly.

"Look Moony! Flowers for Draco!"

Remus smiled and waved his wand over the boy, cleaning the dirt and mud off him. "That's very kind Harry, I'm sure Draco will love them. Now come along, say goodbye to the pixies."

Sirius and Remus did a final check before flooing, searching Harry's body like strict airport personnel. They couldn't take any chances with him as they'd be going to the muggle world. Harry had already brought a bowtruckle into Diagon Alley without their knowledge once, it could not happen again. Once they were satisfied that there were no magical creatures hitchhiking on their child, they flooed to the Leaky Cauldron. There were some staring as always but it was only for a short while as they crossed the threshold of the pub and into muggle London. Harry walked with a spring in his step, humming a song Remy often sang to him. He felt positively giddy when he spied the pale blonde hair shimmering in the sunlight as they approached the park.

"Draco!"

Draco turned and smiled shyly. "Hi Harry,"

His stomach fluttered with anticipatory nerves and despite having told his mother about all the things he wanted to say to Harry, he found himself frustratingly tongue tied in the boy's presence. It didn't help that his face was unnaturally flushed, making him embarrassed.

"I picked some flowers for you," Harry handed him the blue flowers. Draco took it with wide eyes.

"And for you Mrs. Malfoy."

"How thoughtful, thank you dear." Narcissa said with a smile, "Well Draco? What do we say?"

Draco couldn't speak. His heart was beating fast in his chest as he looked at the flowers in wonder. Harry shifted his feet, confidence gone as Draco remained silent.

"You can just throw them away if you don't like them…" He said sadly, looking at the ground. That seemed to finally snap Draco out of his thoughts and he stamped down his foot, affronted at the mere suggestion that he would ever do anything so thoughtless about Harry's gift.

"I'm not throwing it away, I love it…thanks Harry."

Harry stopped fidgeting and smiled. Narcissa watched them with mixed emotions, she was fond of Harry, the boy was clearly sweet and good natured and he seemed to like Draco very much, which showed taste and good judgement of character. She was worried however, that her son might be a little too taken with his new friend. Of course she'd be the last mother on Earth to abandon her son for difference in inclination but she'd be lying if she said she wished it for him. It was no doubt a difficult and turbulent path, filled with many heartbreak and disappointment.

"You're thinking too much," Sirius said, sitting beside her on the park bench. "They're only three."

Narcissa heaved a great sigh, not even asking him how he knew what she was thinking. It must have been obvious with the way she looked at the two boys and how they interacted with each other shyly and tentatively.

"I suppose you're right."

A tense silence fell over them and Sirius glanced at Remus with betrayal in his eyes as the man chose to busy himself with the kids and avoid the awkward social situation with Narcissa instead of suffering with him. Narcissa seemed to be at peace, content to watch her son play without speaking to him but Sirius was about to burst from the awkwardness, he was never one to sit still.

"We uh, brought a picnic basket, mind helping me lay it out?"

Narcissa regarded him with a raised eyebrow and rose to her feet gracefully, her robes swishing with the motion, because of course Narcissa Malfoy didn't abide by ministry dress codes in muggle areas. Sirius stood with her and they wordlessly started spreading out the blanket and the food near a large tree that provided partial shade.

"This is quite a spread, did you make this yourself?"

"Harry made it with one of the elves."

"...what a peculiar activity for a child,"

Sirius pursed his lips.

"He's being raised to respect others and look beyond superficial differences."

Narcissa ignored the jibe and looked at the children again.

"...I didn't know you had house elves."

"They're not house elves, and it wasn't really a choice. They just…happen to live there."

Narcissa's regal mask dropped in favour of looking at him with the most emotion he'd seen on her since they were teenagers. She was confused at his odd statement and Sirius relished at finally ruffling her feathers. He took the opportunity to let her stew in it by calling the children and Remus to come sit and eat.

"Come on Draco, you have to taste these pies I made with Milly,"

"Who's Milly?"

Harry tilted his head. "Milly is Milly," after he observed the continued confusion on Draco's face, he elaborated. "Milly is an elf that lives near us, she's really good at cooking and magic and growing plants."

"A house elf lives near you? Not with you?"

"Elf," Harry corrected him, "Milly and Remy get upset if you use the 'h' word."

Draco looked at him with furrowed eyebrows and turned to his mother for explanation. Narcissa however was just in the dark as he was so she looked to her cousin with an inquisitive eyebrow. Sirius considered how much to tell them.

"We share a forest with two elves that have continued living in the old way."

Understanding dawned on Narcissa's face.

"How curious, I've never met a free elf before, let alone one that has been unbonded their entire life."

"I'm surprised you know about how elves used to live,"

"Well cousin, there is such a thing as reading, you might try it sometime."

Remus disguised his laugh as a cough after Sirius shot him a glare.

"Dobby wants to be free too, but I couldn't free him because I'm not seventeen yet," Draco said sadly, "and father won't let him go."

Harry frowned. Dobby must be a Malfoy house elf, he couldn't understand why Draco's father wouldn't just let him do what he wanted.

"Harry, most elves have been magically bound to serve families until they are freed. Only the head of the family can release them from their servitude."

"I know that, Remy told me," Harry said, "but why doesn't your father just free him if that's what he wants?"

Narcissa shifted uncomfortably.

"Let's not continue asking Draco and his mother these questions, it is a discussion for later, okay Harry?" Remus said placatingly, putting a hand on Draco's shoulders. They boy had looked tense and worried from Harry's words.

"Okay…Draco, you have to try the sandwiches too, I picked the cucumbers myself."

Draco brightened and took the sandwich from Harry, making all the adults sigh with relief.

"Does he always ask such profound questions?" Narcissa asked, delicately butering and spreading jam on her scone.

"Sometimes, he really keeps us on our toes and makes us reevaluate our prejudices."

Narcissa chuckled.

"I'm sorry for asking you that question," Harry said to Draco quietly. "Do you not like your father?"

Draco frowned, making Harry panic. "You don't have to answer that if you don't want to."

"It's okay…father is father. He doesn't really play with me much."

"That's sad."

Draco shrugged.

"I have mother, and when she's busy Dobby always plays with me. He's fun, not like the others. They're so boring."

Remus handed them some juice and they moved on to lighter topics, discussing all the creatures and pets they had at home. Narcissa was surprised by how much she enjoyed herself. There was no need for her to be excessively courteous or regal. This wasn't a gathering with other important and well connected witches where she had to be Lady Malfoy and pretend to care about the political scene. Here, she was just Cissa, just Draco's mother and by the time the boys had finished eating and got up to play again, she was fully relaxed. Remus proved to be a most amiable companion. He had dry humour and wit, and was well read and intelligent, her cousin had chosen well. She told them as much, smiling when the two men flushed red and glanced at each other with undeniable affection. Signs of approaching bad weather unfortunately led them to end their outing sooner than they all would have liked. The boys hugged goodbye in front of the floo, Draco clutching his flowers in between them. Narcissa shook hands with Remus and Sirius and she told them she would write.

"That wasn't abhorrent." Sirius told Remus once they got home. Remus rolled his eyes and kissed his boyfriend on the cheek.

"You loved it,"

And he did.

~.~

Harry had always known Sirius and Remus to be happy, gentle, incredibly loving and affectionate people so he was a little confused about their sudden change in disposition when the last few days of October rolled by. He noticed it the day he got back from staying with the Weasleys; his family of choice that month for the 'Moony nights' as he called it. Remus seemed more worn out than usual and didn't leave his bedroom for days. Whenever Harry visited him, he was asleep and the boy didn't have the heart to disturb his Moony. Sirius almost seemed normal, but Harry noticed the man tense and space out at odd moments and spending a lot of his time as Padfoot, curled up by the fire. His Aunt Minnie, Uncle Severus and Aunt Poppy seemed to come over much more often, with a vague pattern, and fussed over him more than usual, looking strained and sad, though they tried to hide it.

On the night before Halloween, Harry had enough of being left in the dark. He grabbed his Aunt Minnie plush for courage and knocked on Sirius and Remus' bedroom door. A tired looking Remus opened the door and smiled at him before letting him in.

"Had a nightmare?" Sirius asked, pulling him onto the bed and hugging him. Harry shook his head. Remus joined them on the bed and kissed Harry on the forehead. It was almost like having them back, but something was still clearly wrong.

"You're sad," Harry said, "and…I'm sad because I don't know why you're sad."

"Oh pup, we're so sorry." Sirius kissed his temple.

"The truth is…tomorrow is the anniversary of your parents' deaths."

"...Oh,"

"I'm sorry we forgot to tell you, it's…it's difficult for us, we lost so much that day. As did you."

Harry frowned and looked down at his plush in thought.

"Can we go see them tomorrow and bring them lots of yummy food? I want to tell them all about our house and my friends. If I say it loud enough, they might hear me."

Remus' eyes shimmered while Sirius gave a watery laugh beside him.

"That sounds great pup, let's do that. That sounds really really good."

His voice broke around the end and he cried freely. Harry wrapped his little arms around his head and stroked his hair. Remus leaned into his side and Harry wrapped his arm around him too. Remus would have felt embarrassed about being coddled by a three year old but it felt nice to be held by his soft, innocent, sweet little hands. The three of them fell asleep together that night, mourning for those they lost but with the comfort of knowing that they still had each other.

Remus and Sirius rallied again. Together with Harry, they made a few of Lily and James' favourite dishes and set off to Godric's Hollow. They flooed to the nearest point; an inn on the outskirts of the town that served both muggles and wix then walked to the cemetery. The funerals and the burials two years ago were managed by Dumbledore and Minerva as Remus was too distraught and deep in grieving. Lily and James were buried together, like they wanted, and Harry stared at their names while feeling something stirring in his gut. He didn't think it was wholly sadness, he wished his parents were alive, naturally, but unlike the time when he was with the Dursleys wondering if he had anyone at all who loved him, he was here with his parents' two best friends, two fantastic people that he loved with his whole heart. Remus and Sirius took out the containers of food that they made, along with some fruits from Lia Nora. Harry set the flowers he picked for them on the base of the tombstone, next to the food and stroked the engraved words, taking in each letter of his parents' names.

"Hullo Mum and Dad," he said, a little breathlessly, "I'm here with Moony and Padfoot. We brought all your favourites, including Grandma's curry."

He sat on the ground, thumbs twiddling nervously. Remus and Sirius held each other, crying silently as Harry talked to his parents. He told them about his friends, the elves, the pixies and the bowtruckles. He talked of Hedwig and how he was a Parselmouth and how much fun he had talking with her. Then he told them about Lia Nora and how much he loved everything about it.

"So…you don't have to worry, Mum, Dad. I'm not living with Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon anymore. I have Moony and Padfoot, and…" he looked at them and they smiled warmly through their tears.

"And I love them very much."

Before he knew what he was doing, he stood and ran to his adoptive fathers and leapt into their arms. They hugged back, almost desperately, and all three of them cried, holding each other in the chilly autumn air.

"I really love you," he repeated. To him, Remus and Sirius were the first parents he ever knew, they came into his life and saved him from the Dursleys and loved him unconditionally. They taught him what love was, how it felt to be part of a family, a real family. They were his one and only, Pads and Moony.

"We love you too, pup, so so much."

After a long embrace and collecting themselves from crying, they lingered at the graves for several moments longer, Sirius and Remus having their own things to say to their friends. After packing the food back up, they walked to the house that Harry once shared with his parents. Harry wanted to go, and despite not being quite ready to face the ghost of what once was, they obliged as the boy deserved to know where he spent the first few years of his life. Harry started as they came upon the house, half of it was destroyed, broken splinters wood and crumbling stone. It seemed to have been left untouched, a symbol of the events that transpired on the night he lost his parents, even the welcome mat remained, half covered in fallen leaves.

"It's…scary." he said, clutching Sirius' hand tightly.

"We don't have to go in if you don't want to pup," he said, gripping it right back.

"...Maybe just, just the outside."

"Alright,"

Harry walked as close as his courage took him. He peered inside the house; the entrance had clearly been obliterated, giving him a clear view of the life he would have had if things were different. It was a little hard to tell what colour everything had been once but Harry could see the extensive collection of pots and pans, a record player, and overlapping rugs covering most of the floor. There were several picture frames on the walls and floor, most shattered and burnt which broke his heart and made him thankful for the pictures he did have. Suddenly, he was filled with an urge to go inside and go through everything. He wanted to see if any of the cookware survived and wanted to take it home if they did, he wanted to look at every picture frame and every shelf and cabinet and search for items that could be worth bringing home, so that he'd have pieces of his life before the tragedy. His hand slipped from Sirius' grasp and he walked forward. He barely registered them calling after him as he walked up the steps of the house.

"Harry, wait, please!"

"Let us cast some protections first and move away the rubble or something!"

A firm hand grabbed his shoulders before he could cross the threshold into the house and he was flung over Remus' shoulders like a sack of potatoes.

"Honestly, that impulsivity of yours is so like James, did you not hear us? It's dangerous, the house could come down any second."

"I'm sorry Moony, I just really wanted to see if there was anything ok and not broken."

"I know how you feel, Harry, but please for our sake, I implore you to develop a sense of danger."

And so Harry continued dangling from his shoulders, a little disgruntled, as Remus and Sirius went around the house casting spells and lifting and moving large pieces of floor and ceiling away.

"Alright, you can put him down now Remus, I'd say it's pretty safe now,"

After Harry was put down, he looked to his fathers for permission first before going inside. They followed behind him, feeling a little tense and overcome with emotion. They helped him look for anything he might want to take home, there wasn't much at all but Harry enjoyed hearing about all the times Remus and Sirius spent in the house with his parents, something they started telling him after a while. Harry listened fondly, glad they were finally smiling again. In the end, they came out of the house with a copper pot, a pair of stag and doe plushies with one of the horns singed off and their best discovery; a quilt blanket that had been made by his great grandmother. They were sure there was more to be found, but it was starting to rain so Remus and Sirius put up several weather repelling charms over the house and they walked back to the inn to apparate.

Milly helped them clean the quilt thoroughly then it was placed on Harry's bed. Remus and Sirius didn't know much about the quilt or his great grandparents so Harry humoured himself with his imaginations and theories about the quilt based on the embroidery and colours. Remy fixed the plushies, putting the loose stuffing back inside and sewing it up, Harry kept the stag as is, choosing not to replace its horn. It was a battle scar he called it, and they also became his new bed companions along with the quilt. Sirius thought Remus might feel left out, so he transfigured one of the couch cushions into a Moony toy for Harry to add to his collection. They tucked him in that night, surrounded by Lily, Prongs, Padfoot, Moony and Minnie, under the big, warm quilt. Instead of reading one of his books, they told him of the first time they met Lily and how his father had fallen in love with her at first sight and how they used to tease him that there was no way she'd like him back. Harry wanted to ask them if they'd think he'd ever meet the person he would spend the rest of his life with but his own yawn cut him off. Remus stroked his hair gently, lulling him further into sleep and with a kiss from Sirius on his forehead, he was off, dreaming of pale blonde hair and beautiful grey eyes flecked with blue.