Chapter Text
Knocking on Harry's door frame lightly, Sirius hesitantly peaked his head in, looking towards his godson. "Do you mind if I come in?" When Harry turned and nodded, he took a few steps in, looking around. It was the typical room of a thirteen year old Gryffindor. The wallpaper and bedding were Gryffindor colors and matched well with the cherry wood floors and Quidditch wall decorations. It was easy to see what Harry's life was like looking around at his room, but it didn't show the hard things.
"I didn't want to just barge in." Sirius said quietly, moving now into the room and closing the door a little behind him. But not too much as to make Harry nervous. "I wanted to see how you were holding up. This couldn't have been an easy last few days. Or year, really. So much new information at once"
"Not anymore then you." Harry said quietly, turning towards him fully now and pulling his legs up beneath him. "I kept thinking about that while I was up here. About how you had sat in a cell for twelve years, completely innocent, and I had no idea." He let out a long breath then, obviously frazzled. "Remus...he never said anything bad about you. All these years, he always told me that he wanted me to come up with my own opinions of the past. I think part of him always knew that you were innocent, but the rest of him didn't know what to do about it."
"There was nothing he could have done." Sirius whispered now, touched that Remus had respected his memory and resisted the opportunity to talk bad about him. "Even if he had known for sure I was innocent, it would have been worse, as no one would have taken his word for it, unfortunately. I wish he wouldn't blame himself."
Harry shrugged then, tracing the lion on his bed cover with his finger. "It's how Remus is and always have been. You get used to it."
A smile came to Sirius's face then dispite himself. "Yes, I agree with that - that you get used to it. Speaking of, you've spent more time with Remus than I ever have. What's your life been like here? Do you like it? Does Remus treat you well?" Sirius was almost positive he knew the obvious answer to the question, but he wanted to hear it from Harry. Wanted to see that he had a happy life and that the sacrifice they had all made for him was worth it.
Harry's smile challenged Sirius's and beat it as he looked up. "That's a daft question, isn't it? Of course I love it here. It's been different these past few years while I've been at Hogwarts. But Remus teaches there now too, so we are hardly ever apart. I like it...I like spending time with him."
"What do you do? You and Remus, in your spare time?" Sirius asked, curious now and marveling at how easy this was. He took a seat in a small, red and cold arm chair by the door, watching as Harry thought through all of his experiences with his adoptive father.
"Quidditch, mostly." Harry said with a thoughtful look. "But Remus doesn't enjoy it very much. Says that flying makes him nervous. So, besides that, we play Chess and he teaches me magic I'm not learning in class, or stuff I might be learning next year. For example, this year, he taught me how to produce a patronus."
Sirius raised his eyebrows in surprise then, knowing that it was a great feat for a third year to be able to produce a patronus. "And, knowing that Remus is a good teacher, I assume you can now. What is it, if you don't mind me asking?" He wondered vaguely if it was a wolf, which he thought would be appropriate. Remus had obviously taken good care of him.
"A stag." Harry said, and a sad smile came over Sirius's face as he said it. "Remus says that was my Dad's animagus. He told me the story about how you, my Dad, and Peter all became animagi for him, and I always thought that was very brave of all of you. And very impressive. I want to become an animagus someday. Do you think you could help me with that sometime?"
Sirius's smile widened then, surprised. "I could try, yes. Of course, I'd probably need to talk to Remus about it, as you're a little young, but I don't see why you can't try. As long as your supervised and don't try to transform too early, it isn't too dangerous. You've already mastered the Patronus, I wouldn't be surprised if you learned this quickly too. You're very bright."
"Thank you." Harry said, feeling a mix of embarrassment and pride swell up in him suddenly at his words. "I guess I haven't really had time to talk to Remus about all of this...to ask the questions I have. But are you staying here with us?" He asked quietly, looking torn about how he felt about it.
Shifting uncomfortably then, Sirius had known these questions were coming and now hoped he would have the right answers. "I know that I may be staying here for awhile, but if you don't want me to, I won't. How do you feel about it?" He was positive that he didn't want to do anything that made Harry feel uncomfortable.
Harry looked hesitant then and was very quiet as he looked down into his lap. It was obvious he wasn't sure how he felt about Sirius or the situation surrounding him and that the change would be something to get used to.
"You do know that I would never want to replace your father." Sirius cracked a nervous smile then. "Either of them. I know Remus means a lot to you and I don't want to try to get in the middle of that. But I'd like to be here for you. If you would let me...I would like to do whatever I can to make up for lost time."
Harry was quiet for a moment, still staring down at his lap. "Well." He said, looking up at him now with a thoughtful look. "Theres a lot more room in this house then you'd think. I think Remus would like if you stayed." He paused then, shifting in his seat. "And I think I would too."
Sirius couldn't help the relieved smile that touched his features then as he felt hope rush over him. Also, pride swelled up as he realize just how well Harry had been raised. He had to remember to thank Remus again for doing such a good job when Sirius wasn't able. "Thank you, Harry. I really appreciate that. I look forward to getting to know you better."
Sighing now, he stood, gesturing towards the door. "Do you think that we should go find Remus? You still need to eat." When Harry nodded, the moved out of the room and Sirius closed the door behind them.
There were still many questions he had and he was sure Harry had some as well, but they would have to wait. It was nice to know that he had all the time in the world now.