Pleasant Dreams

Chapter 2 – An Outing

"Happiness is a by-product of an effort to make someone else happy."

/Jacob/\Harry\

Sirius bounced on the balls of his feet impatiently. He ignored the amused look from Remus and focused on the stairs, boring holes into the steps. Thirty minutes. He had been waiting thirty agonizing minutes for Harry to be ready for a trip out. Biting his lip, Sirius wondered if Harry perhaps slipped in the shower and fell and hit his head hard and was bleeding on the floor as he thought of this. His horror must've etched across his face because a moment later Remus was barely preventing him from rushing up the stairs and saving his precious godson from the evil shower floor.

"Stop, Moony, I have to go save Harry!" he protested, attempting to wriggle out of Remus' strong grip.

"Save him from what, Sirius? Having a long, relaxing bath?" Remus asked, his eyebrow arched in disbelief.

"He could've slipped and hit his head and he might be bleeding or need some medical care!" Sirius exclaimed. "I'll check on Harry, you Floo Madame Pomfrey and tell her to be ready with Blood Replenishing potions, some Bruise Salve—"

"And perhaps something for your wild imagination?"

Remus and Sirius turned towards the stairs where Harry was standing with his arms crossed over his chest and his eyebrows raised to his hairline. They stared at each other for some time before Remus suddenly let go of Sirius, causing the ex-convict to let out a startled yelp as he crashed to the floor. He threw a withering glare at Remus as he stood up and righted himself. "Ready to go?" he asked Harry as if he wasn't imagining his godson's tragic fall in the shower mere moments ago.

"Are you okay?" Harry asked hesitantly, eyeing Sirius warily.

"Peachy," Sirius said, waving his hand dismissively. "Everything's perfection; absolutely astonishing. Moony, stop grinning at me and help me find my coin purse."

Harry glanced at Remus, who seemed to barely be holding in his snickers, and stared back at Sirius. "Coin purse?" he asked with the smallest hint of a smile on his lips.

Sirius blushed. "Yes, well, it keeps my Galleons easily accessible," he defended. "Moony, why aren't you helping me?"

"Because we've already looked for your coin purse, found it, and placed it in my care until we reach Diagon Alley," Remus replied breezily. "You don't remember?"

Harry giggled lightly at Sirius' blushing face and shook his head as he walked towards the kitchen. "I'm going to get a drink of water and then we can leave."

Sirius waited until Harry disappeared into the next room before he began to lightly smack Remus on the arm repetitively. "You let me embarrass myself," he whined indignantly. "How could you let me do that?"

Remus chuckled heartily. "Relax, it was only in front of Harry."

"That's even worse!"

When Harry returned, Sirius quickly masked his embarrassment and led the way to Diagon Alley. The trip there was fairly uneventful, though Harry would sometimes look at his godfather and randomly snicker. Sirius was torn between feeling happy that he had managed to not only put a smile on Harry's face, but also make him laugh, and feeling embarrassed that he had made such a fool of himself. He settled for happy since he was sure that this was more-than-likely the first time Harry had been even a little happy since the end of the Tri-Wizard Tournament.

Surveying his godson out of the corner of his eye, Sirius realized that Harry looked better than he did before he took a shower. His eyes narrowed slightly as he subtly recognized a light covering of magic surrounding Harry's body. Having been an Auror for years before his unfortunate incarceration, he could tell when someone had on a glamour. It took him a moment, but from the feel of the magic, he could determine that the magic wasn't regular Wizard magic, but house-elf magic.

His eyes widened at the revelation and he sneaked a peek at Remus. Remus glanced back at him and Sirius discreetly nodded his head in Harry's direction. The werewolf took a brief moment to look over Harry before his eyes widened and he shared a sad, knowing glance with Sirius.

Sirius took a deep breath to calm himself before he grabbed Harry's hand. "We're going to Gringotts first," he murmured softly in his godson's ear. "And then we'll just buy whatever we want, okay?"

Harry cracked a tiny smile at Sirius' words and nodded his head. "Shall I get some money from my vault?"

"Nonsense!" Sirius exclaimed as Remus pulled out his wand and tapped on the bricks that led to Diagon Alley. "I'll be buying whatever you want. I have too much money and not enough desire to spend it all on myself."

Harry bit his lip. "Are you sure? It's really no trouble for me to go to my—"

"I'm not listening to your arguments!" Sirius covered his ears and shook his head, peeking at Harry through his lashes. "I'm buying, and that's final! One more word about it and I shall also take you to Muggle London and buy out the entire city!"

Harry laughed silently and nodded his head. "Alright, you win," he murmured. "For now…"

Sirius did a little victory dance, hoping to keep Harry in a happy mood. They walked into Diagon Alley together, ignoring the whispers of Sirius truly being the Devil Incarnate and corrupting their precious Boy Who Lived. Harry began to look uncomfortable and Sirius absentmindedly wondered if he should whip out his wand and try to live up to his horrid, murdering reputation thirteen years ago.

"Ignore them," Remus said softly, glancing at the two raven-haired wizards. "They aren't worth it."

"I know," Harry replied quietly. "Still, I hate it when they stare. It's like I'm a piece of meat and they're very hungry."

"I can turn them into meat if you'd like," Sirius said hopefully, subjecting Harry to his puppy dog eyes. He knew they worked; he could practically hear the wistful sighs of surrounding witches and wizards.

"Maybe you should," Remus decided, glaring at everyone who so much as looked at Sirius lustfully. He snaked an arm around the animagus possessively.

Harry shook his head and smiled at their antics. "Let's hurry to Gringotts," he said, abruptly changing the subject before Sirius had time to entertain his idea. "I'd like to go to Flourish and Blotts and get something to read."

"Ew." Sirius scrunched his nose. "Learning is such a legal burden. Moony will take you there; I'll get us some ice cream."

Remus and Harry shared a look and laughed. "How about we split up?" the werewolf suggested. "I'll take Harry to Flourish and Blotts while you go to Gringotts. We can get that ice cream later."

Sirius thought on it. He didn't really want Harry to see the dreamcatcher until he was able to inspect it and make sure it wouldn't cause his godson more damage than good. "If it's okay with Harry," he said reluctantly.

Harry shrugged his shoulders and offered the man a small smile. "It might make things easier for you," he replied softly. "That way I can satisfy my legal burden, you can go to Gringotts, and you can meet us at Flourish and Blotts when we're finished. This way, you won't have to wait for us."

Sirius smiled at Harry's logic and rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "Yeah, that sounds like a smarter way of doing things," he said with a grin. "Alright then, I'm off. I'll be back in thirty to forty-five minutes."

Remus nodded at Sirius as he placed his hand gently at the small of Harry's back and led him towards the bookstore. Sirius watched them go with a smile, happy that he had lifted Harry's spirits and that he had Remus on his side. He felt more confident that they could actually help Harry get better, and it excited him.

He was going to really get his godson back.