Cub, Wolf, and Dog

Chapter 2- First visit and realizations!

Five year old Harry Potter was in his bedroom, well, it was not really a bedroom, it was a cupboard located under the stairs of the house he lived in. He was lying on his back, trying hard not to cry at the pain he was feeling inside.

Even though he was a child, he knew something was wrong inside. He could feel the pain from a broken rib -maybe two- caused by an instant of rage his Uncle went through. Harry had lived with his Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon for most of his life, ever since his mum and dad had died in a car crash, or so he was told. He was sure that event he had being told was not true. If he sat and thought about it long enough, he could remember a high pitched laugh first and then a bright flash of green light.

Harry had always tried not to enrage his 'so-called family' for fear of being punished. The first time he was punished was two years ago. It was his third birthday and he had asked why he had not got any presents. His Uncle hit him then -punished him-, for the first time.

And from that moment on, he would be punished for everything; from the soundless noises to not getting his chores done, which brought him back to the present day, when he had just gotten over a case of chicken pox, and inadvertently he had passed it to Dudley.

So the punishment, this time, had caught Harry by surprise, when his Uncle Vernon hit him strongly on his small back, sending him to the coffee table, knocking off his Aunt's china cup and sauce. That had angered his Uncle Vernon even more, causing him to kick Harry on his side.

'No one loves me,' thought Harry as tears filled his emerald-green eyes, 'why does no one care? Am I really such a freak? Maybe some day someone will come, I just hope Uncle Vernon has not killed me yet.'

As the tears ran down his cheeks, he choked back the sobs of loneliness that he felt. Slowly, he cried himself to sleep again, wishing for someone to love him and rescue him.

Little did Harry know that at that precise moment, two men were at a local adoption office signing papers to be able to take him into a loving and caring home.

***

Harry woke up the next day to a dull throb to his side. It was Saturday, which meant Harry would be expected to do all his chores, put away his Aunt Petunia's grocery shopping and then probably get chased around the street by Dudley and his friend Piers.

Sitting up was a small struggle as pain raced through him. Eventually, the pain receded back and he was able to sit and wait for his Aunt Petunia to unlock the door.

'I wonder what they would get me to do today.' Harry wondered, even though he was forced to do most of the chores, he actually liked doing some of it, like working in the garden -it was always a plus- as he would not have to watch Dudley pig out or have his Aunt berate him about his untidy hair.

A shrill voice interrupted his thoughts, "UP! Come on get up!"

Then, the sound of a lock being unlocked. Harry bent forward and crawled out of the cupboard, trying not to cry or ask for any medicine from his Aunt. Standing up again was another struggle; it took him a minute to regain his breath. Resting his left arm across his stomach so no one could knock his side, Harry made his way into the kitchen.

When he entered the kitchen he saw his Aunt waiting for him beside the cooker and his Uncle Vernon and Dudley watching the morning news. Glancing at the T.V. Harry caught the final segment of the news bulletin.

"And the charges that were made against the infamous Sirius Black five years ago, have been dropped,"

The man looked strangely familiar to him, like he had known him a long time ago, 'no I don't know him,' thought Harry while starting the breakfast, 'and I wouldn't know anyone like that as I'm not known to anyone.'

"Hurry up!" commanded his Uncle Vernon.

"Yes, Uncle Vernon," replied Harry, meekly.

It took an extra five minutes for Harry to cook the Dursleys' breakfast. He was allowed only a bowl of cheep bran flakes that he did not like at all, but he was not allowed to say otherwise.

Harry was just going to go back to his cupboard when the doorbell rang, and Dudley charged into the hallway and yanked open the door.

"Yes?" asked Dudley, bluntly.

"Good day! Is this the Dursleys' house? We are looking for Petunia Dursley. We are here to see Harry," said one of the men outside the front door, with shoulder-length, black hair and blue eyes.

"Dudley, who is it?" called Petunia, coming into the hallway and spotting the two men that were standing in front of her door, she harshly cried, "Don't you dare to come into my house!"

"Now, now, Petunia, I don't think that is very polite" said one of the men.

"I will talk to you, freaks, anyway I like. Dudley take the boy and go outside."

An evil smile spread across Dudley's face as he practically dragged Harry away from the spectacle in the hallway where a storm was still going.

"Why did you refer to Harry like that'?" asked Remus.

"Because I do so," answered Petunia, "Now, get out of my house,"

"We cannot do that, Petunia," began Sirius, "You see, I have come to take my godson back to where he belongs,"

"Ah! So you have been released for real. Have you decided to keep the boy, then?" asked Petunia not bothering to hide her dislike.

"Only for the weekend," answered Remus, getting irritated by Petunia's coldness towards Harry.

"Oh no!" exclaimed Petunia, "If you take the boy away, he stays with you, I do not want him back in my house again!"

Taking a step forward, Remus warned, "We will do what we must, Petunia. 'That boy' as you refer to, is more ours than he ever was yours!"

"You got that right," muttered Petunia before shouting, "BOY!"

Harry was sure that Dudley was going to hurt him even more than his Uncle Vernon did. Luckily for him, he was saved by his Aunt Petunia's call. Running fast, Harry went back into the hallway where he saw the two men standing there. One of them had long, black hair and blue eyes, and looked as though he had not been eating much again-like himself-. The other man had short, light brown and grey hair, and his face looked as if he was feeling some pain inside -maybe he had an Uncle too-.

"Yes, Aunt Petunia?" asked Harry, a little confused.

"These two men want to take you away for the weekend," said Petunia in a very cold voice, "So, get going."

Harry could not believe it. Although he did not know the men that had come for him, he had some -hunch?- inside that they were going to be nice to him, so he felt strangely happy, although he was sure that if he did jump for joy he would probably get more hurt. Smiling, Harry waited for one of the two men to tell him their names.

Kneeling down so he could see Harry's emerald-green eyes properly, Sirius introduced himself, "Hello, Harry! My name is Sirius Black." He then pointed to Remus and introduced him to Harry, "This is my friend, his name is Remus Lupin,"

"Hello, my name is Harry Potter," replied Harry with a smile.

"Yes, we know," chuckled Sirius, "We were friends of your mum and dad before they died."

Something flashed in Harry's mind, like a memory. He could see the two men standing near him, with something in their hands. The memory ended as quickly as it had started, but two words he must have heard before, came back to Harry; Padfoot and Moony.

A small smile bosomed on Harry's face, "I remember you both,"

"You do?" asked Remus, surprised.

"Just now," began Harry, "After Mr. Black introduced himself, I remembered my first Christmas, I think," explained Harry shyly, clutching his side as the pain returned after talking so much.

Remus immediately noticed that something was wrong with the child. There was a sense of pain about Harry, and he watched curiously as he saw Harry's left arm shift slightly. If he thought about it, no, he could not, but it seemed to him that Harry could not move his left arm at all. He made a note of telling Sirius about this later.

"Well, now that we have introduced ourselves, why don't we get going?" suggested Sirius, noticing that the silence had lasted too long.

A smile blossomed over Harry's face again, as he answered quietly, "Okay,"

"Don't you want to get your things?" asked Remus, curiously.

Harry looked down at the carpet, shamed-face, and shook his head; no, he did not want to show the two men where he slept, or where he was locked away when he was behaving badly.

"It is alright Harry. We have plenty of things for you back out our house," added Sirius lifting his godson's face, so he could look in to his emerald eyes.

The front door opened again, and Vernon Dursley walked through the door. His eyes narrowed as he saw the two strange men talking with Harry or 'the boy' as he liked to call the five-year old.

"What are you doing in my house, talking to that freak?" questioned Vernon, dangerously quiet.

Harry did not miss the dangerously low sound of his Uncle's voice; it was the voice that he always used when it was time for his punishments. Harry immediately stiffened and prayed that Sirius did not notice.

"What did you call Harry?" asked Remus also in a dangerously low voice.

"A freak. I called him a freak," answered Vernon. "Do you have any problems with..."

Before he could finish, two wands were pointing at him. One was pointed at his throat -held by Sirius- whilst Remus pointed his wand at Vernon's eye level.

Harry watched in horror and curiosity, all at the same time. How could two sticks of wood hurt Uncle Vernon? thought Harry.

"Ever call my godson a freak again, and you will be sorry," threatened Sirius.

Godson! thought Harry, wow someone actually cares for me! Brilliant! But what happens if I go with them, and they are both the same as Uncle Vernon, but instead of locking me away under the stairs, they lock me in a basement!

The very thought of what might happen next scared Harry to the core, and even though he wanted to say that he was scared, he did not say anything at all because -from his own experience- it was not good to complain or to just say something. When you do something like that, you pay for it.

"Fine," muttered Vernon frightened, eyeing the wands.

"We will take Harry now," added Remus.

"Just hang on a second," blurted out Vernon, "I need to give the bo-uh- Harry something that is in the kitchen,"

"Make it quick!" instructed Sirius, not suspecting anything suspicious at all.

Harry practically ran into the kitchen with his Uncle, following him with an odd smile on his face. Once they were left alone, Remus cast a silencing charm on the hallway so no one could eavesdrop.

"Something is seriously wrong, Sirius," began Remus, walking close to Sirius, speaking in a low, worried tone.

"What is it?" asked Sirius concerned.

"It is Harry," answered Remus, "he is in pain and if you watch him carefully he does not move his left arm from his side,"

Furrowing his brow, Sirius replied, "Are you sure?" Remus nodded affirmatively, so Sirius continued, "I think once we get home, we should talk to him about it, until then we stay quiet,"

"But you must remember, Sirius that Harry does not know us well, and he seems to be afraid of something. Remember he is just a child," replied Remus.

Sirius just nodded. Thinking about it, he had not seen Harry move his left arm from his side either. Something was definitely not right in the house where Harry lived and the sooner he left, the better he would feel.

Meanwhile, in the kitchen, Harry was cowering as his Uncle approached to him. Vernon pulled Harry's arm away and squeezed his broken ribs.

"If you tell them anything boy, you will feel more than just a broken rib, is that understood?" asked Vernon.

Harry gasped, then answered breathlessly, "Yes... Uncle Vernon..."

Vernon smiled once more and with one small push, Harry was pushed into the kitchen's cupboard. Harry fell to the floor still gasping for air, it took him a full minute to re-gain his breath and to recede back the pain.

Standing up, Harry wobbled slightly on his shaky legs, before returning to the hallway where the two men were waiting to hopefully take him to a loving home. But Harry knew not to get his hopes high, if he did, they would only be dashed.

"Ready to go, Harry?" asked Sirius.

"Yes," answered Harry quietly.

"Come on then," replied Sirius.

Holding out his hand, Sirius expected Harry to quickly latch on like any normal five year old would, so he was surprised when Harry hesitated, then walked past him and walked to the door. Sharing a confused look with Remus, Sirius shrugged and followed Harry out of number 4 Privet Drive.

The trio walked down Privet Drive in silence, Harry was just following the two older men, trying to ignore the digging sensation in his side. Remus and Sirius did not know what to say. It had been five years since they last saw Harry and that was a long time.

Finally, they came to a stop, in an alley that separated Wisteria Walk and Magnolia Crescent. Checking to make sure no one was coming, both Sirius and Remus pulled their wands back out.

"Now Harry, I know this will be a lot to take in straight away" began Sirius kneeling again to Harry's height, "but trust me, you won't come to any harm. I will need to pick you up so I can apparate you to your new home, okay?"

Apparate? Thought Harry before answering, "Okay,"

"Good lad," praised Sirius smiling, "Ready Remus?"

"Yes. I will see you in a minute," answered Remus and then a 'crack' was heard and Remus had vanished.

Harry was shocked, how did he do that? asked Harry to himself before he could finish the thought, he had been picked up by Sirius. The sudden movement caused Harry's ribs to scream in protest but all Harry did was to put his arms around Sirius' neck and held on to him.

"We will be home in a second," said Sirius.

Then, with another 'crack', Sirius had also apparated at his home. Harry did not know how, but one minute he was in an alley way and the next he was in a kitchen painted in a pale yellow colour.

Sirius sat Harry down on a chair. Then took his own seat besides Remus. There was a plate of Tuna fish and cucumber sandwiches on the table, as well as a pitcher of nicely cooled Pumpkin Juice.

"Now, Harry," began Remus, "I am sure you are wondering what is going on, so we shall explain it to you the best we can."

And explaining they did. They explained him everything about themselves as well as Remus' Lycanthrope -Harry had quietly said that the werewolves only existed in fairytales- but once Remus had explained it a bit more, Harry realized that he was indeed a werewolf, and that he was not making it up.

Then Sirius went on to explain how Harry's parents had died; that they were murdered and not killed in a car crash like Harry had been told. He also told him about how he went after Pettigrew and how he did not have a trial until just a month ago, when Pettigrew was uncovered by the Weasleys family, and therefore he had been proven innocent. He did not, however, care to elaborate on his time in Azkaban; after all he did not want to give the child nightmares.

Last but not least, they both told him that he -Harry himself- was famous for destroying the most feared dark wizard of all time: Lord Voldemort. He had somehow deflected the killing curse that was supposedly unavoidable once it had been cast at you. When Harry asked 'how?' Sirius gave him a honest answer:

"I do not know, but something stopped him that night. The scar on your forehead is proof that you were touched by his evil curse."

Finally, they told Harry what his parents were like. As they finished talking, the kitchen lapsed into silence. Harry had so many thoughts running through his head that he thought his head might just explode. Forgetting about his bad side momentarily, he reached forward with both hands to grab his beaker of juice. When he pulled his arms back, pain raced through him causing him to spill it all down his top. Oh no! thought Harry.

Jumping up Sirius said, "Not to worry Harry, let's get you a clean shirt. There are some upstairs,"

"I am sorry," apologized Harry, hoping and praying he would not get hit.

"Do not worry," repeated Sirius, "Moony will clean it up, come on, little one."

Sirius helped Harry get down from his chair, and up the stairs to the first floor landing. They came to the first door on their right. Opening the door, Sirius led the way in and instructed Harry to sit on the four poster bed whilst he got a clean shirt.

Harry looked around the room and noticed there were posters of Quidditch teams. Harry had no idea what Quidditch was but it certainly looked fun to him. Then, there were pictures of his parents smiling and waving at him, and then there were books on shelves.

"Take your shirt off," instructed Sirius, interrupting Harry's looking around.

It was only then he realized the implications of taking his shirt off. He will see my side, thought Harry in horror, he cannot see my side cause then he will find out I am nothing but a freak, and then he will start hitting me. Tears welled up in Harry's eyes but he refused to let them spill over.

Noticing that horror was taking over Harry's eyes, Sirius tired to reassure him, "Harry, if you stay in those wet clothes you will catch a cold. Now, come on I promise I won't hurt you."

Cringing at the thought of what Sirius might say, Harry started to unbuttoned his shirt -which was very big for his size-, he did so very slowly and then, fear pounding through his heart, he took it off.

Nothing could have prepared Sirius for the next realization. He did not know why Harry was so reluctant to take his shirt off before but the answer was now clear, right in front of his eyes. The child's body was all swollen and showed some small purple marks. There, on the left side of his rib cage, just below where his arm had been resting, there was a large blue, purple bruise obviously the size of Vernon's fist.

"Harry how did you get that?" asked Sirius nodding at Harry's side.

Looking down at his feet, Harry mumbled, "I walked into a door."

Sirius could not believe his ears. Harry was lying about getting hit which meant only one thing. This has been happening for a long time, thought Sirius shocked, and obviously he has been hit so much he is frightened about what I might do. Bloody Dursleys have a lot to answer for.

"Harry," began Sirius gently, "I cannot help you unless you tell me the truth. My dear child, you can trust me"

Harry now completely refused to even answer to his godfather. If I tell him that Uncle Vernon did it, then Uncle Vernon will somehow find out. Thought Harry. Somehow his Uncle Vernon always found out about things, no matter how hard Harry did not answer and lied about it.

"Right, you just wait there. I will be back in a second," commented Sirius, with a smile.

Walking out of the bedroom, Sirius strode to the top of the stairs. Then as loud as he could he shouted, "REMUS!"

Not five seconds later and Remus was standing besides Sirius on the landing.

"What happened?" asked Remus, urgently.

"It's Harry," answered Sirius, "he has been hit,"

"Hit? How do you mean hit?" asked Remus, a feeling of dread creeping into the pit of his stomach.

"Come, see for your self," answered Sirius.

Both men entered the bedroom. Remus sucked in a gasp when he saw the blue, purple bruise and that the young boy's ribs were sticking out at a funny angle indicating they were broken.

Harry was still looking at his feet, staring at it that hard that had he actually been trying to cast a charm it would have not only worked twice over it but it would have been very powerful. He seemed to be ignoring the two men.

Stepping forward, Remus asked kind-heartedly, "Harry, how did you break your rib?"

"It's broken!?" spluttered Sirius shocked.

"Yes, he has one or two broken ribs," answered Remus, "And unless Harry tells us exactly how it happened we won't be able to help him."

There was a small sniffle and then something was mumbled incoherently from Harry who still had not looked up.

Sirius sat beside Harry and asked, "What did you say?"

"My Uncle," repeated Harry, melancholically quiet.

"Why did he hit you?" asked Remus, sitting the other side of Harry.

Still looking at the floor Harry answered, "Because I got chicken pox,"

"Is that all?" pushed Remus.

Remus knew he should not try to push Harry into talking, but he knew that if they were going to get Harry out of the house quickly, Harry needed to trust them.

Shaking his head Harry answered, "No,"

"Harry, I will ask you again 'why did your Uncle Vernon hit you'?" repeated Remus.

"Because I passed the chicken pox to Dudley," answered Harry.

Smiling Remus replied, "Well done, Harry. You have done really well in telling us the truth. Now, I will try to mend your ribs but it will be painful."

Nodding his head, Harry braced himself for some pain and he was totally surprised when Sirius made him lean on him. Harry did not protest at the contact, as pain raced through him again and he gasped for air.

Rubbing small circles on his godson's back Sirius whispered, "Calm down, Harry. It will be over soon,"

"Ready?" asked Remus taking out his wand, seeing Sirius nod ,he recited the spell in Latin, "Ossis fissi curat! -heal all broken bones!-"

At first, nothing happened, and all Harry could feel was a warm sensation. But the sensation started to become hotter and painful.

Five minutes later, Harry was sobbing into Sirius' shirt, as the rib bones pulled themselves into their right positions, and healed quicker than they were supposed to.

"How long does it last?" asked Sirius as he felt Harry go stiff again, pain racked his small frame.

"Another couple of minutes and he can rest, then" answered Remus, trying to stay optimistic.

But it was hard for Remus to stay optimistic when he himself had gone through the same thing and knew how painful the healing spell was. He had been ten years old when he had had a particular bad transformation, and he had badly broken his right leg. His mum had to perform that healing charm and it was agony. He had actually cried out for ten minutes, something he would not normally have done unless he was transforming.

About ten minutes later, Harry's side returned to its normal colour but Harry had not stopped crying.

It was like a dam had broken in Harry's heart, he was not crying just because of the pain. He was crying for all the times he had been hit, all the times he felt lonely and for all the times he just felt unloved.

"I thought you said it would only last ten minutes?" questioned Sirius concerned.

Shrugging, Remus answered, "Well, his skin has turned back to normal. Everything is fine physically. I think all you can do is to comfort him."

Feeling completely helpless, Sirius continued to comfort the distraught five year old child. Meanwhile, Remus left the room and went downstairs to get Sirius and himself a drink, as he was also feeling helpless against Harry's cries.

As Harry began to feel tired, his cries turned into small sobs. He yawned, then snuggled up to Sirius, and let himself fall to sleep with the feeling that -for the first time in over five years- someone truly cared for him.

Looking down at his godson's face, Sirius noticed that the child looked somewhat glad, and even though his face was red and puffy, and he hiccupped occasionally, he was fast asleep.

Sirius gently carried Harry and placed him under the bed covers, careful not to wake him up. Smiling, he kissed the top of Harry's head, took off the child's glasses, and quietly left the room, leaving the door ajar just in case Harry woke up and felt momentarily frightened.

Sirius made his way downstairs and into kitchen where he found Remus and a cool drink waiting for him. He sat down, took a sip from his glass and muttered his thanks.

"Has Harry fallen asleep?" asked Remus.

"Yes, he finally fell asleep," answered Sirius, "I don't think he was crying just because of the pain..."

"Why do you say that?" asked Remus curiously.

"It was the way he was crying, from within, so loud, so hard, so painful. I think he was crying because of something more than his broken ribs, answered Sirius in a concerned tone, "You could have warned me about that spell, though,"

Remus sighed and then said, "If I had told you how the charm exactly works you would have never let me do it,"

"Remus, I had trusted you my life and Harry's anyways. I would have liked to know what was going to happen in order to help you both to deal with the pain and healing process," Sirius said with deep honesty.

"Look, Sirius; that is a very painful and complex charm that should only be used in a special case in which the bones needed to be healed straight away," explained Remus, wincing at his own memory.

"You are familiar with that charm, aren't you?" asked Sirius, it was more a statement than a question.

"Yes, I knew of it when I was ten," answered Remus before adding, "At least, we realize now that Harry needs us more than ever to get him out of that house,"

"Yes, you are right," said Sirius, "The Dursleys will have to pay for what they have done to him, that is for sure. I will not let them get away with hurting Harry!"

"I know," replied Remus calmly, "but you have to keep yourself sharp, Sirius, remember that Harry has to go back there for a few days next week,"

"I do not understand why. I want him to stay!"

"Because, I do not know how this new potion will affect me," answered Remus, "If the potion is a complete mishap, I would be dangerous for both of you while if it is good, then I will keep my mind and I will not hurt any of you. If this potion works, Harry can stay here next time but if it doesn't, he will have to go back to the Dursleys for one day each month."

The potion that Remus had agreed to test was something called the 'Wolfsbane'. Apparently, it would let the person keep his or her mind when transforming into a werewolf. However, if the potion did not work, it would make the werewolf more dangerous and more vicious.

"Fine, but I think that Dursleys should be given a taste of what Harry feels like," replied Sirius maliciously.

"I agree," agreed Remus looking at the clock he added, "Look it's six why don't we get something to eat then call it a night?"

"Yes, alright," answered Sirius.

Both Sirius and Remus made themselves some soup and bread for dinner, and then around ten o'clock, they went to bed. Harry was still fast asleep in his new bedroom, dreaming of what tomorrow might bring thanks to his two new guardians.

***

The next morning, Harry woke up at around nine. He opened his eyes, and notice everything was blurry -as someone had removed his glasses-. When did I fall asleep? asked Harry to himself, trying to make sense of it all. All of a sudden, an image appeared in his mind; someone did something to heal his ribs while a sharp light of pain went through his body as he listened to his own crying and then, he was comforted by Sirius until finally he fell asleep. A small smile crossed Harry's face as he pulled back the covers to see his healed side.

I wonder if I'm allowed to go down to get a drink thought Harry, pulling on the clean clothes that had been left at the bottom of the bed, maybe if I just quickly go down then come back up they won't hurt me.

After getting dressed in clean clothes that fit properly, Harry walked across the room quietly and eased the door open in case it squeaked. Breathing a sigh of relief when it did not, Harry walked out onto the landing, neared the stairs and quietly climbed downstairs. He was feeling happy while getting to the bottom of the stairs; he had never felt that confident walking up and down the staircase. Looking around, he noticed that he was standing in a somewhat small living-room with one well-worn two-seat sofa and one blue chair. He also noticed that there were pictures hung on the wall, pictures that showed Harry's parents as well as Sirius and Remus. There was also a bookcase and a stone hearth fireplace, which definitely looked like home to Harry and nothing like the Dursleys' living-room, which was constantly clean.

Harry took one last glance around and turned around, waking straight to the kitchen where he suddenly stopped dead. There they were, Sirius and Remus, talking quietly to each other; they both looked up as Harry entered.

"Good morning, Harry," greeted Sirius, "Come and sit down."

Harry hesitated for a split second before taking a seat at the table. A plate of eggs, toast and sausages were placed in front of him.

"Eat up, Harry," encouraged Remus

"Can I?" asked Harry without thinking and with a deep look of amazement.

At the Dursleys, Harry was only allowed a bowl of soggy cereal and if he was good, the Dursleys would allow him to get the left-overs, which was mostly nothing anyway.

"Yes, Harry you can," answered Sirius.

"Sorry," mumbled Harry, digging into the sausages with gusto.

The way Harry was digging into his food made Remus and Sirius realized how bad the situation really was at the Dursleys for the child.

Harry could not believe it. He was actually having a proper breakfast that was not made of soggy cereal or left-overs. And most importantly, he had not been punished for getting up and entering in the kitchen on his own intentions -not because he was forced to do it by his Aunt-.

The smile on Harry's face seemed to brighten up the whole kitchen at the same time it also brought a smile to Sirius' face.

"What are you going to do today?" asked Remus, taking his plate to the sink.

"I am going to show Harry a few things," answered Sirius, "You are quite welcome to join us,"

"Maybe later. I have some things to do first," Remus replied pointedly.

He had to go and see the potion's master -the one that discovered the wolfsbane potion- in order to make sure that it was the right-sized portion for him.

"Okay, take care," said Sirius before adding, "I still do not like the sound of some stranger trying to get you to test a potion though," admitted Sirius with a little concern.

"I know," agreed Remus, "See you later, Sirius. Bye Harry,"

"Bye," replied Harry with a smile.

None of the young men had expected Harry to reply at all, therefore they were very surprised not only by his reply but also by his smile.

Not saying anything else, Remus grabbed his cloak and left the place, leaving Sirius alone with a very cautious five year old.

"So, what would you like to do today?" asked Sirius.

Hesitantly, Harry answered, "Can I ask you something?"

"Yes, of course you can. What do you want to know?" replied Sirius.

Harry wanted to find something out.

"Which one of you two is Padfoot and which one is Moony?" asked Harry.

Smiling, Sirius answered, "I am Padfoot and Remus is Moony. How do you know our nicknames? Did you.... remember something about that?"

"Yesterday," answered Harry, feeling relieved that no one had hit him for asking, "Why?"

"Why what?" asked Sirius.

"Why them nicknames?"

"Oh. Well, let's see. Remus, he had an accident when he was a child -he was bitten by a wolf, which led him to become a werewolf.- Since he was alone when that happened -his transformations- your father and I decided to look for a way to be with him whenever he transformed, so he would not feel alone at all. That way we became animagus. Do you know what an animagus is?" Harry nodded in amazement. "No? Well, an animagus is a wizard who can transform into an animal that is best suited to his inner-self. Do you understand what I have explained?" Harry agreed with his head. "And that is how I became Padfoot," explained Sirius.

Feeling a little more confident, Harry dared to ask, "Can I see you in your animal form?"

"Yes, sure, you can!" answered Sirius with delight.

Sirius stood up and saw Harry flinch slightly at the sudden movement. Smiling reassuringly to Harry, he quickly did the spells in his head and transformed into Padfoot. Harry let out a small chuckle when he witnessed his godfather's transformation; he saw Sirius standing now as a big, black dog. Harry got off the chair and kneeled on the floor besides the dog. Stretching out his hand, Harry rubbed Padfoot's ears, and soon Padfoot's tail began to wag which caused Harry to laugh out right.

Recoiling his hand, Harry just sat on the floor, not laughing anymore but thinking. This magic thing seems really complicated. I wonder if I can do it. Sirius said I could but what if he was just lying to gain my trust?

Harry was startled out of his thoughts when Padfoot transformed back into his human counter part. Sirius' blue eyes expressed concern when he looked at Harry. He felt worried when he noticed that Harry seemed to recoil into himself, all of a sudden.

"Harry, are you alright?" asked Sirius apprehensive.

Shaking away his thoughts, Harry answered, "Yes, I was just thinking,"

"Can I ask you what were you thinking about?" asked Sirius carefully.

"Magic,"

"What about it?" asked Sirius curiously.

"It seems com... compla... complated," answered Harry, struggling with the word.

"Complicated," corrected Sirius, "It is not that bad as you soon will come to see,"

"What would happen if I were not magic?" asked Harry.

"You are magic," answered Sirius with a smile, "Look, your mum and dad were top of the classes at Hogwarts. If you were not magical at all, then I would say you are not Lily and James' son,"

"How do you know if you are magic, I mean, magical?" asked Harry.

Sirius smiled slightly as Harry became less hesitant in asking his questions. It also seemed that Harry's five year old curiosity had been re-awakened, and so far it was not wavering.

"For children like you, something sometime will end up in accidental magic, it could happen at a moment when you feel scared or upset," explained Sirius.

A thoughtful look crossed Harry's face as he tried to remember if anything strange happened around him before, and it had! He remembered looking at the pictures in one of his Aunt's magazine when he went to turn the page over and he accidentally ripped the page; he felt so scared as to what would happened to him that he had wielded it back together, and surprisingly, it looked as if it was never ripped.

"See, you are magic," commented Sirius, seeing Harry's thoughtful look, "Harry, why don't we get off this cold floor so I can show you pictures of your parents," suggested Sirius.

"Okay," agreed Harry happily.

Getting up, Harry dusted himself off, then followed Sirius into the living room. Grabbing a photo album from the shelf, Sirius sat down on the sofa and beckoned Harry over.

Again, Harry had a split second of hesitation, but after that he had a cheerful smile on his face and sat down next to Sirius, who opened the album up, catching Harry by surprise and making him to nearly fall off the sofa.

"T-t-the p-p-pictures! They m-m-moving!" exclaimed Harry, his eyes nearly bugging out his head.

Chuckling, Sirius replied, "Sorry. I forgot to mention that wizarding photos move,"

"Oh!"

They spent the whole morning looking through the photos of Harry's parents, and of James, Sirius, Remus and Peter.

It was about half past ten when Harry had found himself sitting in Sirius lap, adding his own opinions to the photos, which was something he would never even consider doing at the Dursleys' house.

With each minute that passed, Sirius and Harry were becoming more and more closer. Harry had finally felt comfortable around Sirius, feeling less and less hesitated. At the same time, Sirius was beginning to feel happy with one thought -it could be possible that Harry look up to him as a father figure.

Around a quarter to twelve, Sirius noticed that Harry's input about the pictures had stopped. He looked down and saw his godson sleeping, his face relaxed and content. Very carefully, Sirius closed the photo album and took the child in his arms to gently carry him up. Then he walked a few small steps near the couch, where he laid Harry down. Sirius summoned a fleecy, deep purple blanket and draped it over his godson removing his glasses.

It was less than ten minutes after laying Harry down when Remus walked into the kitchen, closing the front door with a rather loud bang.

"Shush!" hissed Sirius.

"Sorry," apologized Remus, looking in on Harry, he added, "He looks a lot like James doesn't he?"

"He looks like James," answered Sirius sighing, "but he isn't like James. Harry is like someone completely different from the baby we knew,"

"What is so different?" asked Remus, sitting down and taking a sip of Sirius' tea.

"He is too cautious. He did not say anything while he was awake. He did not talk or shared his thoughts, he didn't even ask questions about his parents or us -questions he probably has!" explained Sirius.

"How did you manage to get him to open up?" inquired Remus, curiously.

"I just kept talking to him, asking him questions," answered Sirius, "He is the most caring, lovable, funny little boy. I do not see how the Dursleys could hate him,"

"Well, he is just five years old Sirius and he probably is not used to sharing his thoughts. You noticed it last night; the Dursleys have not been good to him." Shrugging, Remus replied, "It is like the pure bloods hating muggle-borns or wizards hating werewolves,"

"You know that's not always right, Harry doesn't hate you and he knows of your lycanthrope," pointed out Sirius.

"I know but Harry hardly knows me," countered Remus.

Before Sirius could say something else, he was interrupted by the sound of a yawn that came from the living room. Harry was sitting in the couch, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes.

"Well, good afternoon, Harry," called Sirius, smiling.

Harry looked up and saw the blurry outline of Sirius and Remus, who were sitting in the kitchen. Harry reached his glasses, put them on and them went to the kitchen.

"How long have I been sleeping?" asked Harry, groggily.

"About half an hour," answered Sirius, checking the clock on the wall, "Would you like something to eat?"

"Could I have a ham sandwich?" asked Harry, quietly.

"Of course, you can," answered Sirius.

Sirius got up and told Harry to sit whilst he made some sandwiches. It was a good moment for Remus to get to know Harry better.

"What did you and Sirius do this morning then?" asked Remus, breaking the silence.

Smiling brightly, Harry answered, "We looked at photos of my parents, and guess what?"

"What?" replied Remus, trying to keep a straight face at Harry's enthusiasm.

"They move!" exclaimed Harry.

Sirius had trouble not to burst out laughing. When he had first showed Harry the photos, Harry kept asking how they were moving since they were not images in a TV.

"Do they?" asked Remus, in a dramatic tone.

Nodding, Harry answered, "Yes! Everyone kept waving at me until they went back to doing what they were doing,"

"Did you enjoy looking at the photos, Harry?" Sirius asked while placing a plate of sandwiches in front of them.

Digging into the sandwiches, Harry answered, "'ally sitting,"

"What?"

Swallowing the piece of bread, Harry repeated, "Really 'xciting,"

"You mean, exciting," corrected Sirius.

Nodding his head, Harry just went back to eating his lunch. Once he finished, a thought struck him. If Sirius can transform into a dog and it is black I wonder what colour Remus' wolf is. It was a random thought but it was something that Harry would like to know.

Gathering up his courage, Harry asked, "Remus?"

"Yes,"

"What colour is your wolf?" asked Harry, quickly.

"Colour?" asked Remus astounded. Harry just nodded, "Um... I'm not sure I would say grey. Why?"

"Well.... I um... thought it would... be brown like you hair," answered Harry reserved.

"Sorry to disappoint you, Harry but I have been a werewolf for so long, it will more than likely be grey because of my age," explained Remus.

"Oh!" replied Harry.

Finishing off his drink, Harry sat back against the chair feeling rather full. He would never get a lunch like this at the Dursleys only breakfast and dinner.

"What would you like to do this afternoon?" asked Sirius, finishing his lunch.

"Well, you cannot take him outside, Sirius it looks like it's going to rain," said Remus.

"I don't know," answered Harry.

"How about a game of Exploding Snap?" suggested Sirius.

"Sploding Snap, what is that?" asked Harry, intrigued.

"Exploding," corrected Sirius, "It is like a muggle snap but every time you get a pair it explodes," explained Sirius, beaming like a child in a candy store.

A look of amusement passed over Harry's face as he replied, "Okay. Can Remus play too?"

"Well, I would love to Harry, if that is what you want," answered Remus, pleased that Harry showed signs that he also wanted to know him better.

The three of them got up and went into the living room. Remus dug out a pack of 'Exploding Snap' cards and dealed them out.

They spent the rest of the afternoon playing and laughing hysterically. Harry had gotten scared the first time the deck went up, but he soon got use to the explosions and thoroughly enjoyed playing the game. He also learnt that Sirius kept trying to cheat by looking over his shoulder at his cards, which had annoyed him so much; he eventually ended up next to Remus.

In the time that Harry was playing the game, he got to know Remus a little better, feeling at ease to ask Remus many of the questions that were running through his small head. He was feeling ecstatic that he now had two 'father' figures to look up to.

After a dinner of potatoes, carrots, Yorkshire pudding and beef they went back into the living room, where Sirius and Remus told Harry about their time at Hogwarts and about everything they used to do together.

By half past eight, Harry was leaning rather heavily against Sirius' shoulder; he was exhausted as he had never been since this was the first time he had so much fun in just one day.

"Harry, are you tired?" whispered Sirius, gently.

Nodding, Harry answered, "Yes,"

"Come on, let's get you to bed,"

Harry got up, said 'night' to Remus and went up to bed. He got undressed and climbed into 'his' bed taking off his glasses and snuggling down for the night.

"Goodnight," whispered Sirius.

"Night," mumbled Harry, sleepily.

Just as he was falling unconscious one thought struck his mind, someone does care; now I have a family, and with that lingering thought Harry smiled and fell asleep.

Afterwards, the two men were also exhausted. They never realized how much work there was to keep an energetic five year old happy and entertained. However, they were confident about something: no matter how much work it would mean to raise a child, they would not change it for the world.