6

Chapter Six

"Bye Mrs. Harris! Bye Avery, bye Emily! Bye everyone,"

"See you next year, Harry!"

"Have a nice break!"

Harry waved to his friends and teachers from nursery school with both hands, grinning widely. Sirius was waiting for him outside while some of the other parents eyed him warily. Harry didn't really understand what problem they had with his godfather's tattoos and piercings, he thought they looked cool and they promised he could get some once he turned seventeen. When Sirius saw him, his entire face lit up and he opened his arms for Harry to jump into, which he always did.

"Merlin Harry, you're getting really heavy! Might have to start putting some feather charms on you before I break my back."

"Ssh, we can't mention magic in front of muggles," Harry said, his finger over his mouth. Sirius laughed his bark like laugh and put him down.

It had been two years since Harry started living with Remus and Sirius. Harry was turning five soon, almost about to graduate from nursery school and enter primary school, Sirius could hardly believe it. Sirius knew Lily wanted Harry to receive muggle education before Hogwarts but it wasn't easy at first. For one, they had no idea what to list as their address, Remus hardly thought Lia Nora, Forest North of Scotland would suffice. In the end, Sirius bought a small apartment in London to serve as their address for all of their muggle related ventures like some of Remus' jobs and Harry's school. It was a modest two bedroom, one bathroom with a small living room and kitchen and they only ever used it to host Harry's muggle friends. The fireplace was, of course, connected to Lia Nora and it was where they were currently headed.

"Your birthday is coming up soon, what do you want as a present?"

Harry hummed and stroked his chin in thought, a habit he picked up from Hagrid. "I don't know, I don't really want anything."

"Oh come on pup, you say that every time! Let us spoil you."

Harry giggled.

"But you do spoil me, Uncle Severus says that's why I never want anything."

Sirius resisted the urge to say 'Uncle Severus can piss off' and shook his head instead, clutching his heart in mock offence.

"Your Uncle Severus accuses us too unfairly!"

Harry laughed.

"I don't really want anything…except, it would be nice to have everyone at Lia Nora for a party."

"Harry, is that even a question? Of course we'll have everyone over for your party! It's great that your birthday is during the holidays,"

Harry pouted and kicked the ground lightly. Harry's first birthday living with Sirius and Remus was a big one. They wanted to compensate for the fact that he never had a birthday party before or even had his birthday acknowledged. Hell, he didn't even know when it was. Lots of people came round Lia Nora for the celebration, the Weasleys, the Tonks, Amelia and Susan, Harry's Aunt Minnie, Aunt Poppy, and Hagrid. Severus, Draco and his mother were also invited but Narcissa felt it best not to join the larger party and instead arranged something sweet and intimate for the five of them the next day at the muggle park. Severus had skipped out on any merriment all together, owling him his present. Harry didn't fully understand why they couldn't be there with everyone, when he asked them they just shifted uncomfortably and Narcissa said, in a vague and unhelpful way, that they weren't on the 'same side'. This year, he had a loose promise of seeing his friends, Avery and Emily from nursery school for his birthday, it was difficult to arrange something as his birthday was over the break but Sirius and Remus promised him that if he did want to have a party with them they would arrange it. Harry wasn't sure if he wanted one with just them. It was difficult to become close to them when he had so much to conceal, it felt dishonest and made him guilty for effectively lying to them.

"I guess but…Draco and Uncle Severus probably won't join us and my friends from nursery school can't either, because of the stupid ministry law."

Sirius looked at him sympathetically and squeezed his hand in an attempt to comfort. Harry squeezed back and gave him a smile to let him know he wasn't very sad.

They reached the apartment and stayed a few minutes, just long enough for Sirius to cast the customary cleaning charms to keep it dust free, then flooed home to Lia Nora. Remus was still at work. After bouncing around several short term muggle and wix jobs, Sirius decided to make an extensive list of viable entrepreneurial jobs for Remus as he knew his Moony would prefer something with more security. In the end, Remus was quite taken with one of his ideas; a freelance dark creature vanquisher. Somehow his being a dark creature himself reassured wizards and witches of his ability to do the job and as they wouldn't be in contact with him for very long, it was perfect. He slowly built up a good reputation for being reliable and efficient and was able to turn it into a small business; employing other downtrodden members of the wizarding world. His staff now consisted of another werewolf by the name of Niamh Flaggen, a fellow victim of Fenrir Greyback, and an old house elf named Daly who had been freed against his will and left for sure death if Remus hadn't hired him. Sirius himself had taken up being a half-time house husband, half-time investor and businessman. With Mr. Jensen's help, he had been able to expand the businesses that Uncle Alphard left for him and even taken to investing in up and coming markets in both the wizard and muggle worlds.

Sirius sat in thought on his favourite chair as he pondered the possibility of having everyone over for a party like Harry wanted. Harry was upstairs putting his bag away and retrieving Hedwig from her enclosure. He supposed the most feasible was to have them all gather at a muggle location but Sirius wanted Harry to have the best party and it would have been a little sad to have one without any magic. Harry came back into the living room and clambered onto his lap, Hedwig wrapped around his neck and arm.

"Pads, watch this,"

Sirius looked at him curiously.

"Hedwig, table."

Sirius raised his brow, wondering why Harry was speaking in English. The boy had more or less mastered speaking Parseltongue on command and not just as a reflexive reaction to seeing a snake. To his surprise, Hedwig untangled herself from Harry's body and slithered onto the coffee table, upper body straight into the air like a meerkat.

"Harry…have you been teaching Hedwig English?"

"Yea! Isn't it cool? She understands simple words. Sentences are harder."

"Hedwig, to me."

Hedwig slithered back and wrapped herself around him, holding him a little tighter than usual.

"Why can't we jusst talk normally? I can't even speak your human language."

"I told you, if you understand it, it means we can talk outside without anyone knowing I can speak Parseltongue."

"You shouldn't be afraid of hiding a part of yourssself."

"I'm not afraid…I'm keeping it a secret so that it can be my hidden trump card."

Hedwig made a rasping hiss, which Harry had now come to understand was a snake's version of a laugh.

"Like a true snake,"

"Is this so that you can talk to her outside?" Sirius asked. Harry nodded.

"That's very smart," he ruffled his hair, "you're becoming quite the little brainiac."

"I was half raised by Moony, it was only a matter of time." he replied cheekily.

Sirius laughed loudly.

The floo flared to life and they both turned to see Remus' head in the fireplace, looking haggard and worn.

"Going to be late today lads, I'm sorry."

Harry frowned and climbed down to sit in front of the fire.

"Are you okay Moony? Do you want us to bring you some food?"

"We can make your favourite, steak and potatoes."

"Thank you Harry, Padfoot, but I'll be fine. I'd rather eat comfortably at home. Don't wait up for me."

"I'm sorry, that's non negotiable," Harry said sounding very similar to Sirius, "we're going to wait for you to come home and then watch you eat then tuck you in."

Remus laughed softly.

"Sometimes I forget who the child is in this family," Sirius said, shaking his head.

Without missing a beat, both Remus and Harry said 'it's you' causing him to pout childishly and proving their point.

In the end, Remus and Sirius decided on two parties; one with everyone, including Draco, his mother and Severus at Lia Nora and one with just the kids, muggle ones included, and a few adults to reign in the chaos at the park. The next step was to talk to Severus and Narcissa and tell them to get over themselves and come to the damn party, for Harry's sake. It took several fights between Severus and Sirius and staredowns with Narcissa but ultimately Harry's puppy dog eyes wore them both down and they agreed to come to the party. Harry was ecstatic.

Milly and Remy loved decorating Lia Nora for visitors. After Remy got over his initial aversion to most things wizard and accepted that the frequent visitors to Lia Nora weren't out to destroy it, he developed a need to show off the forest to everyone who came. Harry loved watching them at work, waving their hands and fingers to trim the worst of the overgrowth and weave magical balls of light into the trees. He had been banned from helping out for the day because it was his birthday, it didn't matter how many times he said he liked helping out they turned him away and told him to go play. None of his friends were there yet so he had taken Hedwig for a stroll in the garden. She slithered beside him, taking in the sights. It wasn't common for them, normally she preferred wrapping herself around his arms, shoulders and neck but she had said it was a nice warm day and so Harry just walked beside her.

"Harry! Dora is here!" Sirius called from the house, hands cupped around his mouth. Harry gave him a thumbs up and scooped Hedwig up. She didn't bother burrowing in his sleeves.

"Is that the girl who can change faces?" Hedwig asked.

"Yes,"

"Wotcher Harry! Happy Birthday!" Dora said with a smile when he entered the house.

"Thanks, Dora."

She ruffled his hair affectionately.

"Hiya Hedwig," she said, stroking a gentle finger along her back.

"Hello," Hedwig hissed. She often liked responding to others of late, ever since Harry taught her a few words.

Dora giggled.

"It's like she's saying hi back,"

Harry masked his snorting with a cough.

One by one the children and their families started showing up. After Dora were the Weasleys who crowded around him like usual, congratulating him and shoving presents into his arms. Bill ruffled his hair like Dora, Charlie hugged him despite Hedwig still firmly around his shoulders, Percy gave him a fond lecture about the wonders of growing older, the twins promised not to prank him for the entire week and Ginny hugged him around the middle. Ron was so excited about his present he didn't even wrap it, just brought it right up to Harry's face for the boy to look at.

"Look, Harry!"

Harry looked and smiled widely. The present was a framed magic picture of Harry and Ron eating ice cream in Diagon Alley then waving to Sirius behind the camera. The frame had been decorated with colour card cutouts of crudely shaped snakes and snitches.

"I love it, thanks Ron."

Ron grinned, proud of himself.

"I developed the film myself and everything! Sirius showed me how."

Well, that explained the smudges.

"Looks fantastic," Harry said.

The children helped Harry carry the presents to the dedicated present table but Harry put the picture on the coffee table so that it wouldn't get broken among the pile of presents. They set up a board game station in the living room to have something fun to do while awaiting the other guests. Susan and Amelia arrived shortly after, they both wished him a happy birthday and Amelia joined the adults in the dining room while Susan came to sit next to Harry and watch him finish his game of gobstones with Ron and Ginny. Some of the adults had just joined the kids in the sitting room with snacks and drinks when the floo roared to life once more, bringing with it Severus, Draco and Narcissa. Harry got to his feet at once.

"Hullo Draco, Uncle Sev and Mrs. Malfoy!"

Severus' face twitched as usual, a knee jerk reaction to being called 'Uncle Sev', as if Uncle Severus hadn't been bad enough. He could feel the penetrating stares of Amelia, Molly and Arthur and wanted nothing more than to climb back through the fireplace but Harry's green eyes were sparkling and he kept his groan of discomfort from escaping his lips.

"Many happy returns," he said instead, patting the boy lightly on the head. Harry smiled and gestured to the kitchen.

"Remus said he wanted to see you when you arrived."

Severus thanked all the deities and higher beings of the world for Harry's consideration and accepted the out he gave him. He nodded curtly to Amelia and the Weasley couple before retreating to the safety of the kitchen. Harry reigned in a snigger at Uncle Severus' less than subtle escape and instead pulled Draco into a hug and accepted the gentle shoulder squeeze from Narcissa.

"Happy birthday Harry," Draco handed him a neatly wrapped package, along with the lumpier package from his mother.

"Happy birthday dear,"

Harry smiled and brought them into a group hug and thanked them for the presents. He took their hands and went to introduce Mrs. Malfoy to Ms. Bones and the Weasleys first.

"This is Ms. Bones and Mrs. Weasley and Mr. Weasley! This is Mrs. Malfoy, she's Draco's mum."

"How do you all do?" Mrs. Malfoy said with a polite smile. They all said hello back in varying degrees of friendliness and awkwardness. Fortunately for Narcissa, she was rescued by the arrival of her cousin and sister, whom she had rekindled a friendly relationship with thanks to Sirius.

"Cissa! I'm so glad you made it."

Sirius kissed Narcissa on her cheek and ruffled Draco's hair, making the boy complain. Harry laughed and helped him fix it, dragging him away to sit with the children on the floor.

"Everyone, this is Draco! Draco, meet everyone, that's Ron, Ginny, Susan, Fred and George, Bill, Charlie, Percy and you know Dora."

Draco gripped his hands and arm tighter, half hiding behind him.

"Hullo," he said nervously.

Everyone said hello back but remained where they were to let Draco become more comfortable without being crowded. Dora was the only one that approached him, given they'd already seen each other, and she pinched his cheeks and changed her hair to match his.

"Wotcher cousin! Nice of you to join us."

Draco grumbled and rubbed his slightly pink cheeks. The children went back to their respective games, and Harry pulled Draco to sit with him. Draco was extremely nervous. Harry had been his first real friend and he didn't want to upset him by saying the wrong things about his friends. His father thought everything bad about the Weasleys and had no trouble relaying his thoughts about their status in the wizarding world to his son. Draco didn't really know what to think of them, they seemed alright enough so far although some of them looked quite scary like the little girl who kept glaring at him for some reason. Not one to take aggression without returning it, he glared right back and clutched Harry's arm tighter. She started and flushed, it made him feel strangely triumphant.

"Draco, you're squeezing me harder than Hedwig," Harry whispered in his ears with a small laugh.

He let go, a little sheepishly, and brought his hands to his lap.

"Have you ever played gobstones before, Draco?" Susan asked with a smile, handing him some stones. He rolled them in his hands and shook his head.

"We'll teach ya,"

They played several rounds of gobstones in which Draco lost spectacularly. His competitive spirit came out and his unease was forgotten in the haze of indignance at losing so badly.

"This isn't fair," he mumbled. "You all have been playing this much longer than I have."

Ron snorted.

"A sore loser," he teased. Draco flushed.

"I'm not a sore loser! I bet you are though,"

"Am not!"

Harry privately agreed that Ron did tend to be a sore loser sometimes but chose to keep quiet.

"If we played chess I bet I could win," Draco said confidently. He played chess with his mother all the time and she had called him a natural born prodigy.

"Oh it's on, I'm super good at chess, you're going down!"

Harry wondered briefly if it was such a good idea to let his two headstrong friends compete one on one like this but the twins were already cheering them on and bringing them to the chess table, shoving Percy out of the way who fumed and stormed off into the kitchen, but not before Harry could give him a apologetic glance.

"Animals, the lot of them!" Percy said huffily to Remus in the kitchen. Remus laughed good naturedly, patted Percy on the shoulder and handed him a cup of apple juice.

"What are they doing now?"

"Ron and that Malfoy kid are playing chess,"

"Oh dear,"

Remus exchanged a glance with Severus who looked constipated.

"Not going to end well," he confirmed. "Draco is extremely competitive and prideful about chess."

The chess game exploded with Draco saying unsavoury things to Ron in retaliation to losing. Ron had practically goaded him into it throughout the game so Harry felt they were both mutually at fault. He told them so along with saying that if they couldn't get along then he wouldn't hang out with either of them. It was a brave bluff. He liked them both too much to really follow through, but he was hurt and he wanted them to be friends as well. They settled on a half baked truce instead, which was good enough for the first day. The party started in earnest when Minerva and Dumbledore arrived. Sirius, Remus and the elves had set up tables outside filled with all sorts of foods and soon everyone was eating and relaxing on the grounds. A feeling of euphoria and pure happiness bloomed within Harry as he looked around him, seeing all his favourite people gathered at his favourite place to celebrate him. He had more or less grown out of his insecurities from his time with the Dursleys but sometimes it crept up on him when he least expected it. Now though, that feeling had been blown out of the water as he felt the love and affection from his family and friends pour out in spades.

After playing and eating outside, they went back to the living room, piled together on the sofas, chairs and floor while Harry opened all his presents. With his reputation for loving to learn, most of his presents were books. Poppy got him a basic healing spells compendium, Hagrid a book about magical creatures (naturally), Bill, Charlie and Percy went in together on a copy of one of their favourite novels about a travelling wizard bard, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley got him a children's cooking book, Uncle Severus' present was confiscated by Remus because it was a book on how to identify and combat common poisons and he felt Harry was far too young for such a thing. Amelia and Susan gave him an enchanted rucksack, charmed to be weightless and carry more than it looked like it could, the Tonks gave him a few muggle Zig Saw puzzles, Milly and Remy made him a beautiful set of figurines, a doe and a stag artfully constructed with twigs and vines, Dumbledore got him some wildly patterned socks, the twins and Ginny had woven a couple of bracelets out of string which he put on right away, showing it off to everyone, Minerva and Sirius had just smiled mysteriously and said they would give him his present later. Narcissa's lumpy package turned out to be new smart and sleek dress robes, he thanked her though he didn't really know when he would get the opportunity to wear it. Draco's present was the last of the pile and he opened it carefully.

"Wow…"

It was a crystal ball on a wooden plinth, inside were swirling black mist and thousands of sparkles. Harry recognised it to be constellations.

"Do…do you like it?"

"Of course I do, thanks Draco!"

He pulled the boy into a side hug and squeezed for good measure.

Draco and Ron's presents held the honour of being placed on one of his bedside tables, and he looked at them fondly from his position on the bed. Everyone had gone home by now, both lunch and dinner eaten. Minerva was spending the night there as she often did during the holidays and he had been instructed to wait in his bedroom while Minerva and Sirius got their 'super secret surprise present' ready.

"What do you think it'll be?" he asked Hedwig.

"Perhapss a nice juicy rat," she joked. Harry snorted.

The door opened, making him perk up from his new healing book and he smiled as Sirius, Remus and Minerva came inside. Sirius was hiding something behind him, it must have been small because Harry couldn't see it at all.

"Come sit here cub," Remus said, patting the mat. Harry scrambled out of bed and sat in Remus's lap. Minerva sat on a chair while Sirius joined them on the floor, they exchanged a glance before Sirius pulled out the object from behind him with a flourish.

"Taa daa!"

It was a book.

Okay…not quite what Harry was expecting about a 'super secret special surprise present'.

"It's a book." Harry said curiously, taking in the plain cover. Sirius waggled a finger.

"Ah, but it's not just any old book Harry, this was written by Minnie and yours truly, it's a guide on how to become an Animagus, tailored specifically for you."

Harry's eyes went wide as saucers.

"Really? Does that mean you're going to let me-"

"Yep! This baby'll guide you every step of the way, I even put in a few anecdotes from when your father and I were trying, and Minnie put in some of hers too. Of course, we'll both be here as well to help you through. It's going to be tough and take a long time but we figured with your tenacity it's as good a time as any to start."

Harry jumped up and did a happy little jig to express his excitement.

"This is so cool! When can we start? Now? Lets' go!"

"Slow down," Minerva said chuckling, "there's plenty of time tomorrow, tonight we'll just read you the first part then it's right off to sleep with you."

Harry pouted but was wrangled into submission when Minvera floated him into the air, making him giggle and surrender. Remus and Sirius joined him in the bed while Minerva read to him from the chair, he vaguely remembered trying to resist sleep before giving up entirely and snuggling into Remus' chest. As promised, Sirius and Minerva started Animagi training the next day and although he'd never mention it to anyone for fear of making them feel bad, their present was definitely the best.

~.~

Harry was seven when the Ministry of Magic legalised same sex unions. Despite the wizarding world being notably more old fashioned in a lot of aspects than the muggle world, homosexuality was never quite as ostracised as dangerously as it had been in the muggle world due to a lot of famous and powerful wix who were known to be inclined, like Dumbledore, Bridget Wenlock and even Merlin himself. The knowledge kept most prejudice at bay, only ever being present in, unsurprisingly, ancient pureblood families and those associated with them. The night that the news was announced, Sirius and Remus ended up proposing to each other under the stars, something Harry had proudly arranged to happen when they had come to him privately and showed him the ring they got for the other. He suggested that the stargazing spot on the roof of their house was a perfect place to do it and laid in wait under his invisibility cloak to witness the happy event. He was scolded for it, but it was worth it.

Their wedding was to be held in the fields near Minerva's house. After much deliberation, Sirius and Remus ultimately decided on an autumn wedding so that there would be something to look forward to in October. They had a classic wedding arch decorated with snapdragon because Sirius was a sucker for puns and Remus was a sucker for Sirius. White wooden chairs were laid out for the guests to watch the ceremony and a little ways away were a few marquee tents with dining tables and chairs for the reception. Sirius watched the last of the decorations being set up and tweaked by Hagrid and the elves from the window in his room. He and Remus had been put in separate rooms to 'honour an age old tradition' of not seeing the bride until the wedding. Sirius felt it was stupid, especially since he and Remus were going to be walked down the aisle together by Minerva and would be seeing each other soon anyways, but he had to admit, the wait made him a little excited, despite already knowing what his Moony would be wearing. They had picked out the robes together with Narcissa, who along with Sirius was the most knowledgeable about fashion.

With three short raps, someone knocked on Sirius' door and then opened it. Remus stood in the doorway, looking downright sinful in the perfectly tailored black robes and slicked back hair and Sirius had a brief thought of calling everything off just to have his Moony right there in Minerva's guest room. His heart leapt to his throat and he could feel his eyes watering from the sheer vision before him.

"Merlin Moony, warn a guy before you show up looking like this."

Remus chuckled, coming forward and wrapping an arm around his shoulders and waist.

"I did technically knock."

Sirius hummed, bringing his hands to caress the back of his fiancé's neck.

"You look incredible too…sweetheart."

Sirius laughed and kissed him on the cheek. The pet name had started off as a joke but it quickly became one of his favourites. Sirius placed both his hands on Remus' face and took his time remapping all of the scars and the faint dusting of freckles, enjoying the closeness.

"I love you Remus,"

Remus' light green eyes shimmered with emotion.

"I love you too,"

Several more knocks came from the door, making them look away from each other.

"Are you decent?" Harry called, making them laugh.

"Yes you cheeky brat,"

Harry opened the door and beamed up at them. He was wearing similar robes as theirs and looked positively adorable with his little green bowtie.

"Aunt Minnie said we're starting soon, are you ready?"

Remus smiled and placed a hand on Harry's head.

"Yes, we're ready."

Harry clenched his fists in excitement and hugged them both around the middle as tightly as he could with his short arms. They returned it bringing their hands to rest on his back.

"This is the happiest day of my life," Harry muttered into their chests.

"Isn't that our line?" Remus said with a laugh.

"People can share a happiest day,"

"Don't sass us at our wedding," Sirius said heartily.

Harry let go only to take them each by the hand and lead them downstairs where Minerva was waiting. She had her handkerchief ready, knowing she wouldn't survive this event without it.

"Well, don't you two clean up good," She said with a smile, eyes already shimmering.

"Don't we?" Sirius said with a smirk, making her laugh and shake her head.

The rest of their wedding party was waiting outside the house. Andromeda was Sirius' best maid, Severus was Remus' best man, Milly and Remy were their groomsmen, Draco and Dora the flower children and finally Harry the ring bearer. Dumbledore was already underneath the arch, ready to officiate.

"Shall we?" Minerva asked as Andromeda handed Harry the rings back. Sirius and Remus looked at one another, both smiling at the same time.

The walk down the aisle proceeded quite traditionally. Draco and Dora went first with the flowers, followed by Milly and Remy then Severus and Andromeda. When it was Harry's turn, he looked back to Remus and Sirius who were now standing on either side of Minerva, they gave him an encouraging smile and Harry grinned back before setting off, holding the rings tightly. As he passed down the aisle, he saw many familiar faces, the Weasleys, including the older children who got special permission to attend the wedding, Mr. Tonks who was filming, Mrs. Malfoy who mostly had eyes for her son, Ms. Bones, Susan, Poppy, and Hagrid, who had a whole two rows to himself. There were also many people who he didn't really recognise. After he got to the front, all observations of the guests ceased as he looked at his favourite people following the path he took. Sirius and Remus had matching lovesick grins, making eyes at each other from over the top of Minerva's head. Minerva looked exasperated but Harry knew she couldn't be happier. They reached the arch and Minerva kissed them both on the cheek before standing next to Dumbledore with Harry on his other side.

"Welcome to this blessed and happy event!" he said with gravitas, spreading his arms outward. "It is my greatest honour to officiate this wedding for Sirius and Remus, two people who have been through terrible tests of time and came out to the other side with optimism and hope for the future. They have built a beautiful life together in the past few years, and I know I speak for everyone here when I wish them many more joyful years to come."

"Now…I understand you have prepared some vows for each other?"

Sirius nodded and cleared his throat. He took Remus' hand in his and squeezed gently, already feeling a little choked up.

"I still think this is stupid," he began, making Remus chuckle. "I mean, I've told you all this so many times anywhere and everywhere even our son has gotten sick of hearing it." Harry laughed with the rest of the guests.

"Remus…I love you so fucking much. I want to care for you and be with you and raise Harry with you until we're old and grey and have to be pushed around in wheelchairs. I will support you in everything you do, and above all, I will always, always be your friend."

Remus brought a hand to wipe the tears that had fallen from Sirius' eyes, letting his hand rest on his cheeks. Sirius nuzzled into it with a small smile.

"When you reentered my life those years ago, you gave me a life worth living. You filled my days with light and laughter. You brought Harry back to us, back to where he belonged. You-" Remus paused to take a shuddering breath and Sirius brought them closer, hands wrapping around his waist. Remus rested his forehead against him and opened his eyes.

"You are the shining star in my darkest nights…"

Sirius smiled and sniffed, fresh tears falling freely down his face. Remus didn't bother wiping them this time, and let it pool between his palm.

"My, how corny, Remus."

"You love corny,"

Sirius laughed.

"I do."

Dumbledore dabbed at his eyes with a white handkerchief before putting it away and smiling warmly. They nodded at him to confirm the end of their vows.

"Now, the rings."

Harry walked forward and handed them the rings. His own eyes were prickling with tears and they started to fall when Remus and Sirius knelt and hugged him tight, pressing kisses to his face.

"We love you so much pup,"

"Love you too, now, go get married." Harry said through a blocked nose from all his tears.

They laughed and Sirius pinched his cheek lightly.

They exchanged the rings, both simple gold bands and waited with bated breath for the final moment of the ceremony.

"I now pronounce you husbands, you may kiss your groom."

Sirius pulled Remus closer with hands on his waist and kissed him fervently. Remus hummed happily and wrapped his arms around his shoulders and upper back, completely eliminating any space between them. People cheered and sent off celebratory sparks, among them, Harry was the loudest, whooping and jumping into the air. They pulled apart and Sirius stared into those beautiful light green eyes knowing he'd only fall deeper as time passed.

"You're legally mine now," he said grinning, "Mrs. Black."

Remus huffed.

"Does that mean you're my Mrs. Lupin?"

"Oh you bet your sweet arse I am, forever yours."

They kissed again and again and for once no one stopped them like they usually did.

The reception was in full swing by the time they came to their senses. It seemed everyone saw fit to abandon the love sick couple at the altar and start celebrating without them. They walked hand in hand to the tents and met with Dedalus Diggle first, who congratulated them heartily and shook their hands. All old members of the Order of the Phoenix had been invited, along with Remus' staff, Mr. and Mrs. Jensen, a few of Sirius' business associates and friends, some Hogwarts professors, Kingsley and Anthony, practically everyone they knew and liked were there to celebrate their marriage and it made Sirius grin so hard it hurt. They greeted more people and took a lot of pictures. Sirius was inspired by several muggle weddings where they laid out several disposable cameras at the tables for guests to use and snap their own shots, candid or otherwise. They found Harry at the kids table, positively beaming with happiness rivalling their own, it was there that they lingered the longest, mostly because Harry insisted on feeding them some of his food knowing they hadn't eaten anything yet.

Sirius was in his element, as if weddings were his natural habitat. The glow in his demeanour burst forth with even more brightness when it was time to dance and Remus found himself in his arms and on their feet dancing away to all of their favourite songs. Remus' smile never left his face even as he had to take a break, he watched his husband, his husband, dance with Harry, Minerva, Andromeda, Narcissa, Ted, and even Dumbledore at some point, making the old man chortle delightfully and blush pink. Remus found himself back on the dance floor several times, dancing with Harry, Minerva, Sirius of course, and also Severus because it wouldn't be a Marauder wedding without making Severus extremely uncomfortable, Remus had to admit, that was partly why he picked Severus to be his best man.

When they sat down to eat, Sirius looked over to the two empty seats next to them at the table and smiled sadly at the placards. Lily Potter and James Potter. Harry had placed the doe and stag figurines that the elves made for him next to the cards. It touched a core part of Sirius' heart, the ache rushed to the surface but it was somehow…good. It told him that they were people worth loving, worth knowing, it reassured him that they would never be forgotten, not by him or Remus and definitely not by Harry. Remus threaded their fingers together and Sirius cried freely.

"I wish they could have been here," he whispered. Remus nodded into his shoulder and Sirius felt a dampness seep through.

"James would have probably cried more than anyone," Remus said, making Sirius laugh through his sobs.

"He would have probably made a dumb best man speech that would have had us in stitches."

"Lily's would have made us cry."

Sirius turned and buried his face in Remus' shoulder. They held each other silently, letting the sounds all drain and fade away as they remembered their friends. Sirius wasn't sure how long they stayed there embracing each other but after a while they both looked up to glasses clinking, someone wanted to make a toast. Harry stood on his chair, clutching a sheet of parchment. He met their gaze and grinned shyly. The boy cleared his throat and took a deep breath theatrically, making some laugh.

"I would like to say a few words to my fathers,"

Sirius tried valiantly not to start crying at that, he wanted to be able to see Harry give the rest of his speech.

"Mum and Dad would have loved to be here…and I think they are," he patted his chest, right over his heart. "I know that they're really happy for you, like I am."

Sirius' restraint from crying did not hold up.

"I know you technically got married today, but to me, you have been married for four years already,"

Several people laughed, Sirius and Remus included. Sirius had to wipe the tears that were obscuring his vision. Harry had to pause and do the same. He felt a lump in his throat that made saying his next words a little difficult.

"Thank you for being the best fathers ever, I…I love you two a lot,"

"Oh Harry,"

They rose from their table to pull Harry into a three way hug. The boy hugged back, clinging on tighter than usual, Sirius couldn't help but to cover his face in kisses, trying to convey his love as much as he could.

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

When they pulled away, Harry wiped his tears and grinned at them.

"You're my role models for a lot of things, including love."

Sirius grinned. "Got an eye on anyone in particular?"

Harry flushed and shook his head. "Geez Pads, I'm seven years old, of course I don't have someone like that. I just mean like you know, for the future."

"Anyone would be lucky to have you cub, just remember that communication is key."

"And that's not just in romantic relationships either,"

"Okay okay, you already gave me this lecture,"

Sirius pinched his cheek.

"Part of being a kid is to hear your parents repeat themselves, deal with it."

Molly and Arthur offered to watch all the children so that the rest of them could take advantage of the temporary wards set up for the wedding and party late into the night. Harry was picked up around noon the next day by Sirius, Remus and his Aunt Andy. All the children currently attending Hogwarts had already returned to the castle and Andromeda was going to house sit Lia Nora and take care of Harry while Sirius and Remus went on a quick honeymoon. It took a stubborn child and an even more stubborn mother figure to convince them to go on the honeymoon at all. They had been planning to skip it, worried about leaving Harry alone for long for the first time.

"Will you really be fine Harry? Why don't you come with us?"

"Remus I'm fine really, you should go have fun."

"But…the thirty-first is just around the corner…"

"You'll be back before then, we'll go visit Mum and Dad together like usual."

"But-"

"Sometimes I feel like you need me more than I need you," Harry said with a laugh.

Sirius shook his head with a smile.

"That's eerily correct."

Harry pulled them both into a hug and they hugged back.

"It's really really fine so you two should hurry before you miss the portkey or Minnie's going to lecture you again."

"Yikes, we can't have that can we."

"Remember Harry, if you need us at all, anything at all you send an owl straight away with Hypatia or Archimedes, okay? And we'll come right home."

"Yes, Mum, I got it. Just go and have a good time."

Remus pinched his cheek for his sass.

"Honestly…just go already, he'll be fine." Andromeda said behind Harry. They finally left, making her sigh loudly.

"Sweet Salazar you'd think they'd be going away for months with the way they were acting."

Harry giggled.

When Sirius and Remus returned three days later, Harry wondered how they would fare without him when he eventually had to go to Hogwarts.

~.~

Sirius, Minerva and Remus had an informal bet between them regarding Harry's animagus transformation. Sirius, ever the believer, bet that Harry would achieve it in three years like James and he did. Minerva, ever the realist, bet that he'd probably have to be at least in his third year before being able to do it. Privately, Remus agreed more with Minerva but since he had to choose something different, he placed his bet on nine years old.

He didn't think he would win.

It happened on Christmas Eve morning. The house at Lia Nora had been decorated to the nines, and the wireless was playing carols and love songs. Remus absent mindedly hummed along to them as he sat by the fire, reading a novel, Minerva sat nearby on Uncle Alphard's chair, going through some students' tests and Sirius was in the kitchen fixing breakfast. Small footsteps thundered down the stairs.

"PADS! PADFOOT COME IN HERE!"

Harry came barrelling into the room, face flushed and excited.

"Who's in danger?" Sirius said seconds later, wand in hand and ladle in the other, his 'kiss the chef' apron untied and hanging loose off his neck.

"What on earth is warranting all this shouting?" Minerva said crossly, putting her papers down. Harry grinned widely then closed his eyes and scrunched up his face in concentration. Remus blinked, and then there was a black puppy on the floor right where Harry had just been standing, surrounded by a pile of clothes.

"YESSS! HE'S A DOG! SUCK IT MINNIE!" Sirius laughed maniacally and picked Harry up, spinning him. Harry yipped excitedly and Sirius put him down before joining him as Padfoot. Remus watched astonished as his husband and their child ran around the living room chasing each other, his brain still unable to process what he was seeing before him.

"I…I…" Minerva seemed similarly at a loss for words. Harry came to her, pawing at her robes to be picked up. Once placed on her lap, she stared into the familiar green eyes and smiled fondly.

"My, but you are really astounding, our hard little worker." She scratched behind his ears and he preened, tail wagging from the praise and the attention.

"Can you turn back?"

Harry nodded and in a second, he was back to normal again, only naked. Remus stood to wrap a blanket around him and Harry, despite his chattering teeth, grinned so brightly that Remus couldn't help smiling along with him.

"Exceptional Harry, truly spectacular. You very well might be the youngest animagus in the world."

"I st-still c-can't get th-the whole clo-clothes thing,"

"You'll get the hang of it, blimey Harry, an animagus! At your age! James and Lily would have been so proud." Sirius said after he turned back. He cast some warming spells as Harry wanted to keep his clothes off, having full intentions to try transforming again. He did after a while and they inspected his form as he sat on the sofa, blankets piled high on his back.

He almost looked like he could be Padfoot's offspring, but his black fur was scruffier than Padfoot's and wavy, especially the areas around his joints. One of his ears was still floppy but the other stood tall, and Remus couldn't help but run his hands through the soft fur there. His eyes were obviously green, the exact same shade as his human counterpart and there was a uniquely shaped patch of white fur on his forehead, where his scar was.

"Is he a dog or a wolf? He looks quite wolfish." Sirius asked curiously, inspecting his paws and his mouth. Based on the size of his paws he reckoned Harry would become a big dog, like him.

"Hard to say, we'll have to wait until he grows up."

"He…he will grow right? This isn't it or anything." Remus asked, unsure.

Harry whined at the possibility and started whimpering.

Minerva laughed.

"Yes, I'm sure his form will grow as he does."

They made Harry transform back after taking lots of pictures and spent the rest of the morning celebrating his achievement after sharing the news with the elves. Their small party of five spent an intimate Christmas at Lia Nora. The rest of the day was spent playing in the snow and building snow angels and snowmen. After lunch, Remus took an adorable picture of Sirius, Minerva and Harry in their animagus forms curled up by the fire, asleep and serene. Harry was most excited about Christmas morning the next day because of the presents. But unlike most children who were excited about receiving presents, he was excited about giving them and seeing the look on his loved ones' faces as they unwrapped the gifts. Because of this, their gift openings were a little out of the ordinary where Harry insisted on everyone opening his presents for them first. He was practically vibrating with energy as they all sat down around the tree. Minerva went first and Harry retrieved his present from under the tree and placed it into her lap.

Minerva teased him by unwrapping the parchment slowly, chuckling to herself when he whined. It was a small handmade mug with a crude painting of her animagus form wearing a witch's hat. Underneath were the words 'The Best Purrfessor'.

"You get an O for your work on the mug, but I'll have to settle on a P for the less than original pun,"

"Dammit I knew I shouldn't have listened to Pads,"

"Excuse me, it's a great pun."

"I like it a lot Harry, thank you." She patted his cheek affectionately and he grinned.

Remus went next, opening a box of novelty chocolates, handmade by Harry with help from Sirius. He shared one of them with Harry who refused at first saying it was his present, before giving in because it was chocolate. Sirius laughed loudly at his present; a cheesy Christmas themed muggle shirt that said 'Happy Howlidays' complete with a print of a dog wearing a Santa hat. After Harry's quirk was satisfied, the boy finally ripped into his own presents, and the adults into the rest of theirs.

Because becoming an animagi had been achieved through Harry's blood, sweat and tears, he was eager to share his new ability with his friends. Everyone he told were bewildered beyond measure and although Percy confirmed that he wasn't actually the youngest animagi in the world it was still an incredible feat of magical accomplishment and Sirius insisted on a party to celebrate it. Harry wanted to keep his form a secret from the rest of the world, content with just his family and friends knowing, so everyone was asked to respect his wishes which they were all happy to do, some even affronted at the very idea of betraying his trust, like Ron and Draco. Remus was extremely proud of Harry but he would soon regret it as his achievement opened new doors of magical exploration and he found his son often stealing his and Sirius' wands and persistently asking them to teach him common spells. Harry's over eagerness had Remus wondering if Hogwarts would have its best student yet, or its most annoying.

~.~

"I can't believe our little Prongslet is off to Hogwarts already," said Sirius for the fifth time that morning. They had just arrived at Kings Cross station in their car. In Harry's opinion, he felt that it was a little stupid of them to go all the way to London just to take a train back to Scotland when they could have driven from Lia Nora or even flooed but he supposed taking the train was all part of the experience.

"It feels like it was just yesterday when he was running around the grounds of Lia Nora, picking up stray bowtruckles and returning them to their trees." Remus said, wiping an invisible tear from the corner of his eye. Harry bit his lips to keep from laughing as they unloaded his trunk and onto a trolley, placing Hedwig's travel enclosure on top of it.

Sirius sighed dramatically against Remus. "Our baby is abandoning us, Remus!"

Harry rolled his eyes.

"It's not like I'll be gone forever, I'll be back for the holidays."

They looked around for curious muggles and when the coast was clear, casually walked through the barrier between Platform nine and three quarters.

"Wow…" Harry breathed. It was his time seeing the Hogwarts Express and its gleaming red exterior.

"Right Harry, we still got a bit of time, come on."

They sat at one of the benches and Sirius put an arm around him. Harry leaned in for the hug.

"We've got something to give you, to make the separation easier."

"For you or for me?" Harry joked.

"Oh for us of course," Sirius replied.

Harry snorted but said no more as Sirius pulled out a small mirror with a chain attached to it.

"Just say one of our names into the mirror and we'll appear on the glass."

"That's so cool."

"We've got the other mirror so…call us every night, okay?"

"Once a week,"

"Five times a week."

"Twice a week."

"Every other day,"

"...Okay…you know I'm going to miss you lots too right?"

He hugged them both, one after another because it was hard to hug them both while sitting next to each other.

"We'll miss you too Harry."

Harry tucked the mirror into his rucksack so he wouldn't lose it and sat in contemplative silence for a while.

"What are you thinking about?"

"I…I don't know, its stupid."

"If you don't want to tell us you don't have to but whatever it is I'm sure it's not stupid." Remus said kindly, putting a hand over his.

"It's just…Uncle Sev has been really weird lately and I'm worried I did something and he doesn't like me anymore. It's going to suck when he starts avoiding me at school."

"Oh Harry, Severus is just…"

"He's being a giant prat and I ought to go hex his bollocks off."

"Sirius,"

"What? It's true."

Harry laughed a little.

"He…might just be a little embarrassed about having you at school now, you know how much of a big softy he is afterall, he has a reputation to upkeep."

"You mean the reputation of being a scary and biassed professor?" Harry had heard countless tales from the older Weasleys, who still didn't believe their eyes whenever they saw Severus outside of school at Harry's birthdays. He had always laughed at their stories, thinking them to be exaggerated.

"I'm sure he'll come around, if he doesn't by Easter, I'll give Padfoot full permission to go hex his bollocks off."

"Harry! Over here! Sirius, Remus!"

The family of three turned to see the Weasleys standing near the train.

"How are we doing Harry?" Mrs. Weasley said pleasantly, pulling him into a hug. "I made you a sandwich."

"He has two parents, Molly, you don't have to make him a bloody sandwich, we know how to pack lunch."

Molly pursed her lips and Harry winced a little. Over the years Molly and Sirius' relationship had festered into a feud like hostility. Molly disapproved of the way Sirius raised Harry and Sirius felt it was none of her damn business. There were other reasons too, like all the 'bad influences' she claimed he had on her children, she blamed him for encouraging the twins' pranking, Bill's piercings and Ron's swearing. If her husband and children weren't friends with Remus and Harry, Harry knew they'd already be cutting each other out of their lives.

"Really Sirius, not in front of the children." Remus said quietly.

Sirius sighed and grumbled out a reluctant apology to Molly, helping Harry stuff the sandwich into his bag. The twins barrelled past the awkwardness and pulled Harry into a headlock, ruffling his hair and pinching his cheeks. He cried out in laughter and called for Ron to help him, but it only resulted in Ron joining in and tickling him.

"Stop, stop! Ron you traitor!"

"I'll help you Harry!" said Ginny, her hands immediately joining in the fray, somehow she made it worse.

Remus saw the silent plea in Harry's eyes and chuckled.

"Alright, that's enough, we wouldn't want an injury on your first day." he gently pulled Harry from out of everyone's grips.

The train whistled, signalling for them to board and Harry hugged Sirius and Remus again. They returned the hug and knelt in front of him afterwards, eyes shimmering.

"Are you sure you wouldn't like Archimedes or Hypatia with you? We can send one of them when we get home."

Harry shook his head.

"I don't want to separate them, it's fine. We've got the mirror and if I need to send any owls I'll use the school ones."

Sirius took a deep breath in and cupped Harry's cheek.

"Alright baby, remember our deal. Every other night."

Sirius hadn't called him baby in a long time, hearing it tugged heavily at his heartstrings and he held back with all his restraint not to cry. He was sure there was at least one nosy photographer looking for a scoop and he refused to start school with the Prophet headlines 'Harry Potter Cries at Train Station.'

"Every other night," he repeated, grinning. They hugged again and Sirius kissed every inch of his face and Remus his forehead. He kissed their cheeks in return then walked up to the train.

"I'll miss you! Love you!"

"We love you too!"

Harry walked down the train alone, the Weasleys were still talking, and he found an empty compartment for himself. Ron opened the compartment door just as Harry lifted his weightless trunk to store away in the overhead storage area.

"Stupid mum,"

"What's wrong?"

"She kept wiping away at my nose, dirt or something, bet it's red now."

"It's not, you've still got some dirt actually."

Ron grumbled as Harry wiped it away gently with his handkerchief.

"Where do you reckon Draco is?"

Harry shrugged, taking Hedwig out of her travel enclosure. She wrapped herself around his neck and his arm, coming to rest on his shoulders like usual.

"Probably keeping up appearances with the rest of the purebloods. He'll show up, don't worry Ron."

Ron sputtered, face red.

"I'm not worried about that prat,"

Harry laughed. It was one of his greatest joys to tease Ron about Draco. They had a rocky start but had agreed to become friends for Harry's sake. They often pretended they didn't enjoy each others' company but Harry knew better.

Harry spotted Sirius, Remus, Mrs. Weasley and Ginny on the platform from their compartment and he waved at them happily, Ron joined in after a while, pointing to his nose to let his mum know it was clean now. She gave him a thumbs up. The train started moving after that and soon his Moony and Padfoot were out of sight.

"Thiss room isss moving."

"Yea, it's a train. Remember when I told you about trains? It's taking us to Hogwarts."

"Hogwartsss, the school?"

"That's right."

"Surprisssed you're not ussing that barbaric fire travel."

Harry laughed.

"I'm still not used to that," Ron said with a smile.

Ron and Draco had found out about Harry being a Parselmouth quite recently. They were at the Burrow degnoming the garden or rather Harry and Ron were degnoming the garden while Draco hung around being useless when they stumbled upon a large snake.

"How dare you!" was the only warning she gave before going for Ron's leg, Harry was just able to move him out of the way in time. The other two boys started panicking and stepping furiously which made matters worse.

"Filthy humanss, get away from my eggss!"

She lunged again, this time sure and true. Harry leapt in front of Draco and extended a hand out.

"Please wait!" he cried in Parseltongue. She halted mid strike, eyes now fixed on him.

"You sspeak our tongue."

"Yes, please don't bite my friends."

She hissed furiously.

"And why shouldn't I? They desstroyed half my nessst and almost trampled my eggss."

"I know and we're all very sorry about it, if you let me, I can get your nest fixed and move you and your family to a safer place."

She considered it for a moment.

"Just fix my nesst and never come back."

"Alright, if that's what you wish."

He took out his new wand and performed a repairing charm on the nest then dragged his two friends away. Ron and Draco had been stunned into silence and went almost limply, once they were a safe distance from the snake, Harry put his hands in his pockets and shuffled on his feet. Part of the reason he listened so well to Sirius and Remus telling him not to reveal his ability was because he was scared. Scared that his friends might abandon him or think him a dark wizard and leave him behind, or worse tell the press and become the centre of a huge scandal. He knew rationally that Ron and Draco would never do any of those things to him, but his heart feared it all the same.

"So um, I'm sorry for not telling you... It's just, well, not really something to go harping on about is it?"

"You... Are you really a Parselmouth?" Ron said, astonished. Harry nodded. More silence followed this question and Harry got increasingly more anxious.

"So do you two think I'm a dark wizard now? Shall I go find some new friends?" His joke produced the desired effect and Ron spoke.

"Of course not mate, you're you. Talking to snakes is just like a language, right?" Ron shrugged, "hey do you think you could teach me? What was it you hissed just now?"

Ron made a pretty accurate hissing sound, saying something close to the effect of 'wait, sammy'.

"Wow, that was great Ron, I reckon I could teach it to you. I mean, if Hedwig can learn English I'm sure you can learn Parseltongue."

"You taught Hedwig, English?" Draco said suddenly.

"Er well, she can understand it."

Draco shook his head in exasperation but he looked at Harry with an amused expression, eyes twinkling.

"You're an insufferable git," he said. "You should have told us sooner."

He smiled and lunged forward to pull them both in a hug. They grumbled and complained, mostly about having to be close to the other but Harry ignored them and hugged tighter.

A knock and a violent opening of the compartment door brought him back to the present. He looked into the doorway to see a very imposing looking girl around his age with bushy brown hair and a timid boy hidden half behind her.

"Have you two seen a toad? Neville's lost one!"

Ron shook his head but Harry stood and approached the boy. They both gasped, probably now having seen his scar, but he ignored it and smiled kindly at Neville.

"Can you tell me what the toad looks like?"

Neville's eyes bugged for a short while before the description of the toad came out in nervous splutters. Harry stepped out into the hall and took out his wand. Neville watched him curiously while the girl eyed him sceptically. Ron also came to stand in the doorway so Harry gave him a cheeky grin and his friend rolled his eyes. Ron used to feel inferior to Harry's magical ability, he still did sometimes, the boy had become an animagi at nine years old for Merlins' sake, it was a difficult and inevitable feeling for a young child to feel towards a friend of the same age, especially after having similar circumstances at home where his brothers had achieved so much notable excellence. But Ron had more or less come to terms with it, especially after knowing and seeing just how hard Harry worked and studied to be able to do all of this at a young age.

Harry closed his eyes and concentrated hard on the image of the toad then waved his wand in the precise practised movement.

"Accio Trevor,"

A big greenish brown lump came hurtling at him from one of the compartments, causing several to shriek and gasp. Harry caught Trevor expertly then handed him to Neville who looked at him with awe inspired eyes.

"Sorry about using a spell like that, he looks a little winded." he pointed to the toad who did look quite put out.

"Here, why don't you use this for the journey?"

He went inside the compartment to retrieve Hedwig's travel enclosure and gave it to Neville.

"A-are you sure?"

"My snake is really tame and prefers to be on me anyway so I won't need it, it's enchanted so he won't be able to escape again until you open it."

"Thanks a lot Harry, I mean uh...sorry I didn't mean to..."

Harry smiled and scratched the back of his head. It was common for people to address him by his name before he even introduced himself, he was used to it by now but it was nice to be apologised to about it.

"Thanks for apologising, I am him though, Harry Potter I mean," he smacked his head from how stupid he sounded while Ron cackled with laughter.

"Shove off Ron,"

"You're really Harry Potter?" the girl asked and without waiting for an answer she extended her hand.

"I'm Hermione Granger."

He shook her hand and she continued speaking very fast and all in one breath.

"That spell you did was amazing, I've never even seen it in any of our first year books. Did someone teach it to you? Or did you read it somewhere? I've learnt a few simple spells myself but they're all from our course books, was there some extra reading I forgot to get? Oh I do hope not!"

Harry subtly exchanged a glance with Ron and Neville.

"I'm sure you didn't forget anything. I grew up with magic and practically begged my parents to teach me some spells before I even got my own wand. Don't worry, you'll catch up soon enough."

She took this as an invitation to sit down to continue talking. Harry shrugged at Ron and gestured for Neville to sit as well. He listened patiently to Hermione's rambling and politely told her when she was crossing the line with some of her questions. This flustered her, he wondered if she had ever been refused answers to her seemingly unending quest of knowledge and information. The compartment door slid open again and Draco took in the sight before him and sniggered.

"So it's true what they're saying all over the train, Saint Potter saved a toad."

Harry rolled his eyes and pulled Draco down to the seat with a strong grip around his wrist. Draco went with an undignified yelp and fell practically into his lap. Ron laughed.

"Stupid oaf, let me go."

Harry let go and Draco fell into the seat next to him, cheeks flushed and a scowl on his face.

"Insufferable, the both of you,"

"Come now Dwaco waco, don't be upset."

"I will end you, Potter,"

Ron laughed so hard he doubled over clutching his stomach, head falling onto Harry's thigh. Draco smacked him, causing Ron to yelp.

"Prat," He got back up and rubbed at the red mark on the side of his forehead.

"You deserve it Weasley,"

Hermione and Neville watched the exchanges before them with astonishment. It was clear that the three of them had been friends for a long time to be so familiar and affectionately (?) violent.

"How long have you three been friends?" Hermione asked, never one to hold back her questions.

"We're not friends," Draco said at the same time as Ron while Harry said "like seven, six years now maybe? Five for Ron and Draco."

"Blimey, that's long," Neville said.

"Can't believe I've been suffering your company for that long, Weasley,"

"I'm the one suffering."

"I don't mean to offend..."

From what little Harry had known about Hermione in the past hour it was likely she would offend.

"But you don't seem to like each other very much."

Harry laughed.

"Don't worry Hermione, we like each other plenty."

Harry wrapped his arms around their shoulders and planted a loud kiss on Ron's cheek, making the boy splutter and rub at it furiously. He then looked at Draco with a mischievous expression.

"Harry, no," Harry hesitated for a split second but Draco was smiling slightly, face still flushed so he went all in. Draco shoved him playfully afterwards but Harry caught the smile that lingered on his face. Being raised by Sirius and Remus made him an extremely tactile and affectionate person, he loved pulling his family and friends into hugs and kissing their cheeks. Of course he knew there were those in his circle that expressively disliked such abrupt displays of love, like his Uncle Severus and there were also those who pretended to hate it but didn't mind at all, like Percy and Ron. Draco was a little harder to figure out, he certainly pretended to have a problem with it, sometimes Harry was unsure if it was a front or his true feelings, he figured the reason it was so confusing was because the blonde kept changing his mind about it.

Hermione still eyed them warily, likely not believing that their odd relationship could be friendship. She let the subject go though and focused on Hedwig.

"I thought we were only allowed to bring cats, owls or toads."

"I've got special permission,"

"Is it because you're Harry Potter?" Hermione asked, making Ron laugh. Harry blushed and scratched his nose.

"Nah nothing like that, you just have to submit a behavioural test for any special animals you want to bring. Anyone can do it."

"But is it not venomous and dangerous?"

"How rude," hissed Hedwig. Hermione started.

Harry stroked her head to calm her.

"She's perfectly tame and won't bite anyone. On the off chance she does, it'll be because she's threatened and the off chance that the person who threatened her isn't a git, I always carry antidotes on me and I know all the spells to heal any snake inflicted injuries."

Hermione pursed her lips.

"She's very beautiful," Neville said, giving him a small smile and cutting through the tension. Harry beamed at him.

"Thanks!"

"I like that boy," Hedwig hissed. Harry laughed.

When the food cart came he bought some sweets to share and explained to Hermione all the different quirks and enchantments they all had.

"Thanks Harry," Nevile said politely, "do you want the cards?"

"Sure, thanks."

"Cards?"

"Each chocolate frog comes with a card of a famous witch or wizard. Damn, Dumbledore again."

"This is fascinating," she said, abandoning the struggling chocolate frog in her hands to look at her card.

"Oy!" Ron said through a mouthful of food as her chocolate frog jumped out the open window.

"Oh dear! I'm sorry Harry!"

But Harry just laughed with Draco and Neville.

"If anyone gets Agrippa I'm willing to trade." Ron said, opening a box of cauldron cakes.

"Here Hermione, you can start collecting if you like,"

"Thanks Harry."

Throughout the journey, various people stopped by their compartment. Susan, the twins, Blaise, a boy whom Draco met on the train and technically shared a compartment with and Percy who nagged at them all to clean up their mess and go change. Percy's departure also brought Hermione and Neville's as they had to return to their compartments. Draco was already in his school robes and so he turned the other way while Harry and Ron changed.

"I don't see why you have to be embarrassed, we're all blokes here." Ron said to Draco later, "you looking away makes it weird."

"I'm sorry if I don't want to gaze upon the hideousness that is your body Weasley, I'd rather keep my lunch down."

Ron flipped him off, an action he learnt from Sirius to his mother's greatest displeasure.

The rest of the train ride was more peaceful, Ron took a whole bench to himself while Draco laid his head in Harry's lap and read a book, ignoring their conversation about 'inferior Quidditch teams'. At some point, Hedwig decided Draco was warmer and curled up in his sleeve, making it bulge and sag.

When they arrived at Hogsmeade station, Harry started looking around for Hagrid and he heard him before he saw him.

"First years! First years over here!"

Cupping his hands around his mouth, he called loudly.

"Hagrid!"

"Harry!"

Harry took Draco's hand and waded through the sea of pointed hatted students, Ron following close behind.

"Alright there, lads? We've got a bit of a rough journey so stick close and watch yer step."

"Sso cold," Hedwig said, moving her head deeper into his underarm. He giggled from the ticklish sensation.

"Sorry Hedwig, we'll be in the castle soon."

"Food?"

"Yep we'll have food too, Remus packed you a nice fat rat for the week."

"Deliciouss."

Draco shivered next to him so Harry took off his scarf, the one Hagrid made for him back when he was a kid and wrapped it around his friend. Harry couldn't see Draco's face become red in the darkness.

"You alright?"

"Take it back, you'll catch a cold."

"Don't worry, Sirius sort of slapped on all sorts of warming charms and stuff on my robes, I'll be fine."

Draco hid part of his face with the scarf. He could hear his heart beating loudly and traitorously in his heart and he hoped Harry wouldn't hear it.

"He gets more warmth and I don't?" Hedwig hissed.

"You're literally in my sweater!"

Hedwig did her weird laughing hiss which told him she was just taking the mickey out of him.

"You are very fond of your mate,"

Harry flushed.

"Don't call him that,"

"Why not? You do."

"Yea well, it sounds strange when you say it."

Hedwig said nothing more and he was thankful. They followed Hagrid to the boats where they finally stopped holding hands. It was so natural for them both that they weren't even aware of the action until Ron slapped them. Harry retaliated by holding Ron's hand and making kissy noises near it, causing Ron to pull a comically exaggerated disgusted expression. Harry looked at the castle in wonder as it came into view. He'd heard stories and seen some pictures of the grounds but there was nothing quite like seeing it for the first time from afar, standing impressively in all its glory. Once they were inside, Hagrid brought them over to wait outside the Great Hall.

"I'll see yer later Harry," Hagrid said, clapping a large hand on his shoulder. He stroked Hedwig's chin affectionately then entered the Great Hall leaving them all behind.

"Well, this has been great but I need to go mingle." Draco said, taking off his scarf and handing it back to Harry.

"See you,"

Draco went to stand with Blaise and Pansy, who Harry understood to be one of the friends his father had 'selected' for him. Draco told him they had met a few times as children and he didn't find her completely abhorrent. There were also two rather out of the ordinary burly boys who came to stand on either side of him. Harry tried not to feel his loss too deeply, Draco had certain expectations to continue pretending to follow for his father's sake.

"Which house do you think you'll be in?" Ron asked him nervously. Harry shrugged.

"I don't know, all four of my parents were in Gryffindor so that's probably a safe bet. Uncle Severus once said I'd make a decent Slytherin though and Remus said I might just make it for Ravenclaw. Aunt Poppy reckons I might get Hufflepuff."

"You can't just answer all four houses to my question."

Harry laughed and put his arm around his shoulders.

"Well we'll never know until we know, right? I'm sure we'll be fine in any of the houses,"

"First years?" a familiar voice asked. Harry turned to see his Aunt Minnie. He beamed at her.

"Hi Aunt Minnie!" He said. A few of his classmates murmured interestedly. Hermione in particular.

"Potter, that is no proper way to address me here." she said curtly.

"Oh I'm sorry, Professor Minnie,"

He could tell she was trying not to smile at his cheek.

"We'll brush up on your manners later," she said.

Minerva explained the concept of the houses to the first years then led them into the Great Hall. It was larger than Harry expected it to be and he looked at everything in awe. He was aware that mutterings and gossiping had begun the moment they all laid eyes on him but he ignored them and focused on the hat that Minerva had placed on a stool in front of everyone. It sang about the houses and their core values then it was time for the sorting.

"When I call your name, you will step forward, sit down and place the hat on your head to be sorted."

If Harry had to be honest, he did have a house preference. Deep down, way deep down, he wanted to be in Gryffindor like his Moony and Padfoot, his mother and father, and his Aunt Minnie. It felt a little bit like carrying on a legacy, and having more to connect to with his mum and dad, something that 'ran in the family'. When his name was called, deafening silence fell upon everyone as they all hushed and held their breaths. He thought it was rather stupid, how invested they all were in someone else's house, even if that someone was Harry Potter. He took a subtle deep breath in before walking forward and putting the hat over his head, it covered half his eyes, shutting out the view of nosy students.

"How astonishingly curious." the hat said in his mind after a few seconds. "Let's see, a good mind, extraordinary magical talent, strong devotion to your loved ones, boundless courage and a nice thirst to prove yourself...it's been a while since I've seen someone harbour so many qualities at such a young age."

He wondered what the hat meant when it spoke once more.

"It means you would do well in any house, most particularly Gryffindor or Slytherin."

Well, if it was a choice...

"GRYFFINDOR!"

Harry let out a little laugh as the whole hall cheered. He sat down next to Neville who gave him a little thumbs up and seconds later the twins engulfed him in hugs and head rubs. He beamed up at the staff table, meeting Minerva's eyes. She was smiling, eyes shining with pride. Her expression alone cemented his decision in picking Gryffindor and he couldn't wait until they got to the dorm rooms so that he could mirror call Sirius and Remus and tell them. After the over-exuberant cheering died down, he watched the rest of the sorting, pleased and honestly unsurprised when Ron joined him in Gryffindor. He met Draco's eye across the hall when the sorting ended and the blonde pointed up to the Gryffindor tapestry and pretended to vomit. Harry laughed.

"You two have a really weird relationship." Fred mumbled.

"Wow, you're saying that? You whose best friend is someone who looks just like you? Narcissism much?"

Harry yelped as Fred grabbed him around the shoulders and rapped his knuckles harshly against his head.

"Alright, alright! I'm sorry," Harry said laughing. Fred let go after a theatrical kiss to the top of his head.

"Never pick a fight you can't win, little brother." George said sagely.

During dinner, Harry met the other Gryffindor boys who he would be sharing a dorm room with and he became closer with Neville who was a little timid but had a lot of interesting things to say. More than once he was able to catch Minerva's eyes up at the staff table but Severus resolutely ignored him. It annoyed him quite a lot and he debated confronting him or letting Padfoot follow through with his promise. In the end, he remembered what kind of a person his Uncle Severus was, and decided on giving him his space for now.

"Harry, do you know Professor Mcgonnagall?" Hermione asked enthusiastically.

"Yep," he said, stressing the 'p', "she's sort of like my aunt." And third parent, his mind supplied.

"That's so lucky! She must have taught you many things." Harry thought about his animagus and laughed.

"She sure did, one big thing in particular."

Ron snorted beside him.

"What big thing? Can you teach me?"

"Er, no sorry. I'm not good enough at it to teach,"

Hermione dropped it, thankfully, and turned her questioning onto Percy, who was more than happy to oblige. After dinner and arriving at the dorms, Harry set up Hedwig's enclosure next to his bed then washed up and went back into the common room, mirror in hand. There were only a few small groups of older students still meandering about so Harry was able to pick a private corner to call his parents.

Sirius and Remus' faces appeared in the glass just like Sirius said it would and he smiled broadly at them. They were leaning against the headboard of their bed in matching pyjamas.

"Hey Harry, back at the dorms now?"

"Yep, guess which house I'm in?"

Without waiting for their reply, he turned the mirror to face the Gryffindor Lion tapestry above the fireplace.

"Yes! My boy, a Gryffindor!" Sirius brought the mirror closer to his lips and the glass faded to black as Harry heard the kisses come through.

"How do you like everything so far?" Remus asked after Sirius pulled away.

"Well, aside from all the blinding red everywhere, it's really cosy."

Remus laughed.

"Everyone in my dorm is really nice and I got Ron too so that's good. How are you two holding up?"

"Your Padfoot cried for a whole hour after getting home." Remus said.

"Oh like I didn't catch you looking at all of Harry's pictures."

Harry grinned as they continued to bicker about all the things they did because they missed him.

"I miss you two…a lot. Wish Hogwarts wasn't a boarding school."

Sirius smiled.

"I used to be thankful that it was but now I want to demand they change the system."

Harry laughed.

"Maybe we can vouch for weekend visits, use your Harry Potter rights,"

"Ew, please don't," Harry said, "the last thing I need is someone hearing the word 'Harry Potter rights'." he shuddered for effect. Sirius and Remus smiled understandingly at him.

"Has anyone given you any trouble?"

"Not yet, something to look forward to." Harry said sarcastically.

"Well, just remember the spells we taught you."

"For self defence."

"...right, self defence."

"Pads,"

"What?"

"What did you teach him?"

"Nothing! Nothing bad,"

"Sirius!"

Harry laughed.

"I should probably turn in, good luck Pads,"

"Traitor,"

"Good night Harry, hope you have a good first day tomorrow."

"Good night Moony, good night Padfoot."

He kissed the mirror like Sirius had done and with a wave the call ended. His dorm mates were all fast asleep when he returned and he slipped under his own covers, hissing a quick goodnight to Hedwig. Harry left his home that day for Hogwarts, but he was determined to make his own meaningful memories as his parents had done, and have a great time learning all that he wanted while proving to the whole world that Harry Potter was more than just the Boy who Lived. He went to sleep dreaming of warm days spent at Lia Nora running around on the grounds with Padfoot, desperately chasing after him with his short puppy legs while Remus laughed.

No matter what happened to him, he knew he always had his Moony and Padfoot.