Snapshots: Interludes

July 1991

Sirius didn't know if it was the soft sound of the shower running in the bathroom, the strange dream he'd been having about a duck in a jockey outfit and the Grand National horserace, or if it was...whatever it was that was poking his upper arm repeatedly. Opening one eye, he stared at the culprit: Harry was standing by the bed in his pyjamas, finger poised to poke him again, and a thick yellow envelope made of parchment clutched in his other hand. Behind his glasses, the boy's emerald eyes shone and a flush crept across his cheeks. With a yawn, Sirius sat up, stretching, and scooted over.

"What's the matter, Harry?" he said, patting the bed beside him. He stifled another yawn as the boy clambered onto the bed and handed him the envelope.

Sirius smiled at the address (Mr H Potter, Second Bedroom on the Left) in neat green ink and flipped it over, fingers drifting over the wax seal on the back. He handed it back to the boy and ruffled his hair. "Came this morning, did it?"

Harry nodded, pulling his knees up to his chest. "With the other owls. I was watching the telly when they came." He sighed and looked up at the bathroom door as the water shut off behind it. "You and Remus got something too."

Sirius frowned but wrapped an arm around Harry, rubbing the boy's back comfortingly. "Aren't you going to open it?"

Harry looked up at him, meeting Sirius' eyes. "What if I didn't get in? What if they don't want me at Hogwarts?"

Sirius chuckled. "Harry, what makes you think they don't want you there?"

"What if I'm not magic like you and Remus?" he said, inching closer to Sirius.

"Then we'd love you still the same," Sirius said, kissing the top of his head.

Harry made a face and scrubbed at the spot, laughing nervously. With a shy glance up at Sirius, he said, "Will you open it for me?"

"I think it'd be better if you did, Harry," Sirius said. He looked up as the bathroom door open, steam slowly billowing out. He smiled when Remus appeared in the door way, hair wet, pyjama bottoms still slung low on his hips, t-shirt clinging to his chest.

Remus returned his smile and mouthed "What's wrong?"

Before Sirius could answer, Harry noticed Remus and held the letter out towards him. "Moony," he said, drawing out the nickname, "will you open this for me, please?"

Remus chuckled and crossed his arms casually over his chest. "I think Padfoot's right--you should open it yourself."

Harry grimaced and stared at the letter in his hands for a long, quiet moment. Finally, with an aggrieved sigh, he broke the seal on the envelope, took the letter from it, and glanced up at Remus nervously. He took a deep breath before starting to read the letter aloud:

"Dear Mr Potter,

We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment. Term begins blah blah blah," he trailed off, a grin spreading across his face.

"I got in!" Harry said, staring up at Sirius. "I'm going to Hogwarts!"

"See there?" Sirius said, rubbing Harry's upper arm comfortingly. "You were worried for nothing."

"I guess so," Harry said solemnly and stared down at the letter in his hands.

From the doorway, Remus cleared his throat. With a smile evident in his voice, he said, "What do you want for breakfast, Harry? I think that since you've been looking forward to today for so long, you should choose."

"No yucky eggs, with the yellow all gross and runny, like Padfoot likes?" Harry asked, ignoring Sirius as he feigned offence next to him.

"No disgusting eggs," Remus said, winking at Sirius.

Sheepishly, Harry asked, "Can I have toast?"

"Just toast?" Remus asked, pushing away from the doorframe and crossing to the bed. Leaning down, he kissed Sirius quickly before ruffling Harry's hair. "Are you sure that's all you want?" he said, sitting and nudging Sirius over.

Harry sighed and calmly folded his letter up before he placed it back in its envelope. "Yes. I'm not that hungry. Do you want me too fix you toast too, Moony?"

Remus leaned forward and regarded Harry for a moment. "No thank you, Harry. I don't want anything besides cereal and a nice cuppa."

"Do you want me to put the kettle on for you?" Harry asked quietly, unfolding his gangly legs and crawling off the bed.

Sirius watched Remus as he frowned and laced their fingers together. After giving Remus' hand a squeeze, he turned back to Harry, who was staring at their interwoven hands and looking ready to burst into tears.

"That's very nice of you, Harry," he said slowly, ignoring Remus' shocked glance at him. "You just go downstairs and start on your breakfast, all right? Moony and I'll be down in a minute."

The boy looked up from their clasped hands and met Remus' eyes. He swallowed hard and nodded. "Okay."

Turning slowly, he started for the door dragging his feet. Remus and Sirius watched him leave and Remus let out the breath he had been holding when the door carefully shut behind him.

He grinned, edging closer to Sirius and kissing him. "Your breath is absolutely horrid, by the way."

Sirius chuckled. "What do you expect this early in the morning?"

Remus half-smiled and started to rub the back of Sirius' hand with his thumb. "I don't know...." He sighed. "Harry's been like this all week, hasn't he?"

Sirius took a deep breath and brought Remus' hand to his lips, kissing each of his knuckles in turn. "Since last full moon. When I went to pick him up at the Weasleys', he was sitting by himself in the front room with his rucksack all ready to go, just staring at that clock of theirs. He barely talked to me, and you know how he acted when he got home--he's been like your shadow since."

"You don't think it has anything to do with starting at Hogwarts, do you?" Remus asked quietly. "Because I can't think of anything I did to make him act this way.... It's like...like I'm going to just disappear if he lets me out of his sight."

"I don't know, Moony," Sirius said. "He shouldn't be too worried with Ron going. Maybe he's just going through a phase?"

Remus snorted.

"Or not. Tell you what," Sirius said, "I think this can't go on for much longer. Why don't we go on downstairs and see if we can find out what's bothering him?"

"Fine," Remus said and started to get up. "You want anything for breakfast?"

"I'll fix myself something in a minute."

Remus smiled and turned his cheek as Sirius leaned in for a kiss. "And you're going to brush your teeth before you do anything else. I can deal with Padfoot's breath most days--but Merlin, Sirius!"

Sirius frowned. "Is it really that bad?"

Remus tried to keep a straight face as he answered. "Like something died in your mouth."

"You wound me, Moony," Sirius said, faking a sniffle and pretending to wipe a tear from his eye. He smiled as Remus rolled his eyes and started for the door.

Humming something that had been playing nonstop on the wireless for the last two weeks, he walked into the bathroom. He grabbed his toothbrush on autopilot and wet it, dispensing toothpaste from the tube and making quick work of his teeth. With a cursory glance in the mirror, he left the bathroom, still humming as he made his way downstairs to the small kitchen.

He smiled at Remus, who was already sitting at the table with a bowl of corn flakes, and quickly grabbed himself a bowl from the cupboard and poured his own bowl. He winked at Remus as he sat down beside Harry.

Remus smiled and grabbed a letter lying on the table in front of him. He passed it to Sirius. "It's from Dumbledore--he wants to know what we've got planned now that Harry's starting Hogwarts."

Quietly, almost inaudibly, Harry asked, "What is going to happen now? Is everything going to change?"

Sirius sighed and glanced at Remus, waiting for him to say something, but the man simply frowned.

"Yes, Harry. Things are going to be a bit different. Is that all that's bothering you?" Sirius asked the boy, who had barely touched his toast.

Harry stared at Remus, eyes shining with unshed tears. More quietly than before, he asked, "Is everything going to change? Please tell me?"

Remus glanced at Sirius and took a bite of his cereal before answering. Calmly he said, "Some things are going to change, Harry. Like we told you before, we're moving back to London. Living here was--"

"Why do we have to move? I like it here. It's close to Ron and school," Harry said angrily, tearing his piece of toast in two. "And what about your jobs?"

"Harry, we told you we were moving to Grimmauld Place last year," Sirius said, leaning back in his chair and running a hand through his hair.

"I thought you hated it there," Harry countered, glowering at his godfather.

"It's better than trying to find a flat big enough for all of us," Sirius said slowly. "Moony and I are thinking about cleaning Grimmauld Place up and selling it--who knows what bloody Dark things my family has lying about."

"Why aren't we moving this summer?"

"Harry, with the moons, tying up everything at our jobs, packing the house up, and getting you off to Hogwarts, we don't have time," Remus said.

"But why not wait until next summer, then? I can help you," Harry said, shifting as he tucked his foot underneath himself.

"Harry, after your parents died, Dumbledore and the Order set up everything here for us quickly," Sirius explained. "All the enchantments on the house end soon. We have to keep you safe."

"Why? Voldemort's gone, isn't he?"

Sirius watched Remus close his eyes and rub at his temples. "He just...sort of disappeared, Harry, that night....None on really knows if.... But his followers are still out there."

"Like Peter?"

"He's in Azkaban."

"Then what do you have to protect me from?"

Sirius cleared his throat before Remus could answer. "Harry, not all wizards are good, and some of those Bad Wizards who followed Voldemort weren't punished like Peter was. They got away with all the bad things they did by saying they'd been cursed or threatened. That's all bollocks, and Moony and I know that, and it's important that you know it too. Some of them might want revenge for Voldemort being destroyed. We can't take a chance with your safety, Harry. Dumbledore's agreed to perform the Fidelus Charm--remember that one? -- on Grimmauld Place. You'll be safe there when you're not a Hogwarts."

Harry glared at him. "What about your jobs? What'll you do about money?"

Sirius dismissed him with a wave of his hand. "I inherited everything when my mother died. I don't need to work. And if I did, it certainly wouldn't be as a cop again." He made face. "I don't even think I could handle being an Auror again."

Harry leaned forward. "What--"

"Harry," Remus said tersely. "Will you please tell us what exactly is bothering you instead of beating around the bush?"

Harry looked down at the floor, studying the pattern on the tile and worrying his bottom. "Mrs Weasley said something the other full moon."

Sirius groaned. "What now?"

"I wasn't supposed to hear it.... She was talking to Mr Weasley...."

"If it bothered you, Harry," Remus said tiredly, "you need to tell about it so we can fix things. Can you do that for me?"

Harry looked up at him and slowly nodded, a tear sliding down his cheek. Wiping his noise on his pyjama sleeve, he turned to Sirius and asked, "You're not going to leave Moony are you?"

Sirius' jaw dropped. "If that's what Molly said, Harry, I can bloody guarantee you she's wrong." He met Remus' eyes. "Harry, I'd never leave Remus. Why was Molly talking about that?"

Harry sniffed and slid from his chair. He ran to Remus and, throwing his arms around the werewolf's neck, sobbing.

"Oh, Harry," Remus sighed, pulling the boy onto his lap and rubbing his back. "I'm not going any where. Do you want to tell me and Sirius what it is she said?"

Sirius cleared his throat and scooted his chair closer to wipe Harry's tears away. "Please?"

Harry shifted awkwardly, too big to be held, and sniffled. He wiped his nose on the back of his hand and hiccoughed before answering. "Mrs and Mr Weasley were in the kitchen. Everyone else was supposed to be in bed--Fred and George were up to something in their room, I think, though--and I went down for a g-glass of water and I heard her talking about you and Remus. Mrs Weasley said t-that Remus could get a job after 'things went back to normal.'" He took a ragged breath and looked up at Sirius. "Then she said that you wouldn't Remus around if you...you had to s'port him."

He started to sob again, brushing Sirius' hand away from his cheek and burying his face against Remus' chest.

Sirius took a deep breath to steady himself. "What did Arthur have to say?"

"H-he said she was being r-ridiculous," Harry said, voice muffled. "Then s-she to him h-he was the one who was being ridiculous and...and..." he trailed off, shoulders shaking and arms tightening around Remus.

"Arthur was right, Harry," Sirius said quietly. "Molly's a bit of a hypocrite if she thinks that. I'm happy as long as you and Moony are happy. The only way I'd ever voluntarily leave either of you would be if I knew you'd be safer without me. But I wouldn't ever do that if I had a choice. I love you and I love Moony--no matter what Molly says. She doesn't understand these kinds of things, Harry."

Harry turned his head slightly to look at Sirius. "Why can't she just leave you two alone? Doesn't she know how you feel?"

"Because she means well and doesn't quite know how to go about it, Harry. But she is right about me having trouble finding a job in the Wizarding World," Remus said and Harry looked up at him quickly.

"Why?" the boy said, a solitary tear sliding down his cheek. He glanced at Sirius, who was watching Remus.

Remus wiped the tear from Harry's cheek. "Because I'm a werewolf. Most wizards and witches are still quite...medieval when it comes to us."

"But you're not bad," Harry whispered. "You've just got a...a..."

"Furry little problem," Sirius said, half-smiling. "That's what your dad called it while we were at school and there were other people around. The thing is, Harry, not all werewolves are good--"

"Like Voldemort?"

"I wouldn't go that far," Remus answered for Sirius, "but some like to hurt people just because they can. They live like mangy dogs--underground and in packs, if you want to call it that."

"Moony here isn't your average werewolf, Harry," Sirius said grimly, placing a hand on the boy's shoulder.

"Do you have superpowers?" Harry asked, perking up. "Because that'd be brilliant it you did."

Remus chuckled. "No, Harry. Most werewolves don't try to live like wizards, and as far as I know, I'm the only one to go to Hogwarts recently. Dumbledore was kind enough to let me come to school, granted a few precautions were taken, after my dad pleaded with him."

"Oh. So wouldn't that just make you all the more qualified for a job?" Harry said with a sniffle.

"There are people at the Ministry who'd do anything--and I do mean just about anything--to keep people like me, people who are different, from having a say in our world."

"It's been all over the Prophet lately," Sirius said, voice barely above a whisper. "Some bitch named Umbridge is trying to get so more legislation pushed through at the Ministry, though it seems to be more in the, erm, early stages of deliberation."

"And that means Moony'd have a hard time getting a job?"

"In our world," Sirius said, looking up at Remus.

Harry looked up at him too. "What did you do before...before my mum and dad died?"

"I did a lot of work for Dumbledore," Remus said. "We all did, Harry. Well, your dad and Sirius got it through their heads they wanted to be Aurors. Your mum worked at the Ministry for a while, too."

"What did Dumbledore have you do?"

Remus bit his lower lip before answering, thinking. "I was spying on the other werewolves when I wasn't doing research on the Dark Arts. Before that I did a bit of tutoring."

Harry was quiet for a minute, staring blankly past Sirius at the refrigerator. "Why did you study the Dark Arts? I thought they were bad?"

"Because you can't fight something if you don't know what you're up against," Remus said and kissed the top of Harry's head. "Any more questions?"

Harry sighed. "Why does everything have to change?"

"Because you're growing up," Sirius said, standing and stretching. With a grin, he added, "It's inevitable, I'm afraid."

Harry stared up at him before standing up and walking back to his chair. Picking up his Hogwarts letter, he asked, "When are we going to get my school things?"

"Your birthday is in, what, two weeks?" Sirius said, moving to stand behind Remus and massage his shoulders. "Is that alright?"

Harry half-smiled and nodded. "Will we have to go into London?"

"Yes," Sirius said, smiling. "We can go for your birthday if you like?"

Harry rubbed at his eyes, sniffling wetly. "What about cake?"

Remus smiled. "We can still have cake after we finish up. It wouldn't be much of a birthday without cake, now would it?"

Harry smiled slightly and shifted his weight from one foot the other. "'M sorry for crying."

"Don't be, Harry," Sirius said. "It lets the world know you're hurt. Don't ever be sorry for that, Harry."

"But boys don't cry."

"That's bollocks. I think you know that already."

Harry stared up at Sirius, studying his face before dropping his gaze to Remus. "I'm going to just...just go upstairs," he said, motioning towards the kitchen door with his letter.

"All right," Sirius said, keeping an eye on Harry as the boy slowly left the kitchen, head bent and feet shuffling. As soon as he heard Harry's footsteps on the stairs, he let out a sigh and ran his hands down Remus' arms , forehead resting against the top of Remus' head. "I thought this godfathering business was supposed to be easy."

Remus chuckled. "He's just scared about starting over. This is town has been his whole life so far--moving to London on such short notice and starting at a new school is enough to make anyone nervous."

"And what about what Molly said?"

"And that was the catalyst." Remus paused and took a deep breath. "She's right, you know. I can't get a decent job."

Sirius laced the fingers of the left hands together. "I'll take care of you, Moony. You don't have to--"

"But I want to work, Sirius. I don't want someone to pity me." He turned in his chair to face Sirius. "I don't want to be a...kept wolf."

Sirius stared into his eyes. "I don't pity you, Remus. I never have. I love you and want you to be happy." He smiled and kissed Remus. "And helping me clean up that hell hole I grew up in is going to be a job in itself. I could really use some help."

"How well does it pay?" Remus asked with a grin.

"It doesn't," Sirius said lightly, "but it does come with a few perks."

Remus raised an eyebrow. "Such as?"

"Such as favours of the sexual kind and...and...well, that's all I can think at the moment, but I'm sure there are other benefits too."

Remus leaned in for a slow kiss. "That sounds rather intriguing, but I still don't want to be dependent on you for everything."

Sirius sighed and reached up to brush Remus' fringe from soft amber eyes. "Moony, I want to do this for you. Why won't you let me?"

"Because I want to show the Ministry I'm not content to be a second-class citizen. By getting a job, no matter how demeaning or ill-paying, that's the best way I know how to do that."

"If they had a choice, Remus, they'd round up every one not like them and do Merlin knows what to them."

"You don't know that."

"Neither do you."

Sirius opened his mouth to retort, but stopped himself and ran a hand through his hair. "I think I should go talk to Molly about this. I am sick and bloody tired of all the shit she tries."

"She's only doing what she thinks is best," Remus said quietly, finally letting go of Sirius' hand.

Sirius snorted. "Then I suppose we should be married to nice broads we don't give a damn about, all because she thinks we're confused and that Harry should have a mum?"

Remus looked away and stood, picking up his and Harry's plates before walking to the rubbish bin. With a quick flick of his wrist, he tossed the boy's uneaten toast away and sat the dishes in the sink. He placed a hand on each side of the basin, looking straight ahead out the window into the front garden. "I don't want to fight about this. She's just trying to look out for him. I don't agree with her either, but we're not perfect either. All we can do is be there for Harry when he feels like the whole world is against him. He's just a kid, Sirius. And apparently it's taken a slightly dysfunctional village to raise him."

"And a redheaded one at that," Sirius muttered, walking up behind Remus and wrapping his arms around him. "I'm going to go upstairs and change and then take bike over to the Burrow. She needs to know she upset Harry."

"She didn't mean too, Sirius." Remus turned to face Sirius, leaning against the sink as the other man placed a hand of either side of his hips.

"I know," Sirius said, chastely kissing Remus. "Do you want me to pick up anything while I'm out?"

"I can't think of anything," Remus said quietly, resting a hand on Sirius' forearm. "When'll you be back?"

"Depends on how much Molly shouts," Sirius said, smiling when Remus chuckled. "I meant what I told Harry--I'll never leave. Not if I had too. And then I'm not even sure I could."

"I know."

"I love you."

"I know. I love you too."

Sirius kissed him again, long and slow, as if trying to prove his words with that simple, familiar gesture. When he pulled back, he stood there a moment longer, watching Remus watch him as the sun spilled in through the window.

"I should probably go now," Sirius said quietly, reluctantly taking a step backward.

"You might want to tell Harry where you're off to," Remus said, looking at the clock on the far kitchen wall. "I don't think I could handle a repeat of this morning."

"Me neither," Sirius said. "We're not done talking about all this, are we?"

"No. I don't think so," Remus said, folding his arms across his chest.

"We can talk about it after Harry's asleep tonight if you'd like. I'll see you in a bit then," Sirius said and smiled wanly before turning and walking to the door. He stopped just before he left the room, looking back at Remus. He smiled again, deciding to bring back a box of Remus' favourite chocolates before finally starting upstairs to change clothes and face the woe that was Mrs Weasley.