Preventative Measures

 

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Chapter 36

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Beta'd by the most wonderful, amazing and stupendous Tenchi. Woman, you are the best and love you for all you do for me!

With help from Lynn who works with me when it comes to flow, continuity and other issues.

 

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Just a reminder of what's on my profile: reviews complaining or whinging about the lack 'o sex in stories will get deleted. If you want a smut-filled romp, you need to find another story to read.

 

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Waiting until Sirius and Harry took a seat then started their breakfast, Remus launched in. “We have a bit of an odd area to schedule with both of you.” Seeing Sirius motion him to go on and Harry paying attention, he pressed forward. “The backyard is done, so we want to get the warding up. Severus cleared his schedule for the morning to make sure he could be here. We also managed to get Alastor and Bill to help as they are masterful with warding. Between all of us, we can not only get the wards up that we need and add in any other protections, but set up other bits required for dueling. We may not get another chance to have the help anytime soon, so I took it upon myself to agree.”

“That's fine and I have no problem you agreeing. As this is something we need, we'll tackle it this way. I'm sure that, between all of us, we can get it set up how we want it,” Sirius told him honestly, happy that it was something they could get out of the way.

“Severus is picking up the required equipment this morning so we'll have all we need.” Remus explained, sipping at his tea. Smiling, he glanced at Harry who was not only paying attention, but eating as well, then added, “He's also getting a miniature Quidditch set for the yard. It only has one ring and the balls, but we thought it would be nice.”

Seeing Harry grin at that, looking enthused, Sirius chuckled, “Good! We can have some fun that way. Maybe get Fred and George over here before they have to go back to school then recruit a few others and have a couple games.”

“A good idea,” Remus nodded. “We just though Harry might like it to smack balls around since he won't get to go out much.” Smiling once more, he added, softly, “And he's picking you up a broom, Sirius. We didn't think you'd object to that.”

“Not at all,” Sirius told him, grinning bigger, giving Harry a nudge. “We can organize some games on the weekends. I'm sure Bill would like to play. I know Tonks does. Some others probably will also. It'll give us something to do and you can fly.”

“I like it,” Harry said, still grinning. He hadn't gotten the chance to fly or play with Sirius yet, but wanted to. This would be perfect.

“I have my old broom, so I'll join in as well. Though it's not as fast as the newer ones, I'm sure I'll put in a good showing,” Remus told them, still smiling, adoring Harry's enthusiasm. Changing topics, he said, “We got all the paperwork from the teachers for the classes. Severus and I will take that on over the next couple of days. We won't have to do all of it, of course, just enough to get us started. Once we get the basics in place, we'll have you look it over, Sirius, to see if you want anything changed or added, then we'll get the whole schedule up and going, posting it in here. Severus also made the suggestion, and I think it's a good one, that we put up a sign up sheet for volunteers here in the kitchen with a list of what we need help with. That way we can work accordingly with who can do what. Though we can take most of this on ourselves without a problem, there are some in the Order that are very good with other areas, such as Bill. He had to take Runes and Arithmancy. Him helping with the part we are looking at would be a huge aid.”

“We'll do that as the start of term moves closer,” Sirius agreed, pushing his now empty plate aside for the elves to take care of. “Anything else we need to worry about?”

“Not that I know of,” Remus told him. “We just wanted you aware for obvious reasons and that it's going to take all of us, including Harry, to set up what we need.” Glancing at Harry once more, he added, “And Severus said he needs to pull the two of you aside at some point today as he has those ointments for you. From what he said, it won't take long. It's just that he has to explain when to apply them and the spell for the one, nothing more.”

“That's fine and not a big deal,” Sirius said, happy the man managed to find something that would work. The sooner they started on that area, the better off they'd be. Refilling his cup after emptying it, he said, “I want to get with the two of you once everyone clears out to set up a trip out of the house. We've been cooped up here since you lot went to court, so I think we need to get out. There's something I want to do anyway and we promised Harry trips to the shoppette. What I want to do will take a few hours, so I want us prepared. As it's not something among our kind, sit’s not as bad and we won’t need more bodies, so the four of us will be fine.”

“That's fine and we'll make arrangements. I think a trip out of the house will do the both of you good.” He said with a smile. Sobering up once more, he said, quietly, “Albus and Poppy go before the panel in a couple of days. So, we'll hear the results of that. Severus told me Albus is concerned, but not overly worried.”

“I hope they slap the ever lovin' shite out of the both of them,” Sirius snarled, eyes flashing slightly. Shaking his head, he sighed then asked, “Is it all the charges on Albus or just the one that relates to Poppy as well? Do you know?”

“From what Severus said, all the charges when it comes to Albus. I don't know more than that,” Remus admitted. “Severus might know more or can find out. Maybe Lucius will know.”

“I'll get with Lucius to see what he can find out for us,” Sirius said, making a mental note to do just that.

“So we know what's going on, you might want to put a bug in his ear to see if he can attend. As this isn't something where the court is shut, only Harry's name would be kept out of any reporting, he can attend. We wouldn't want to chance going ourselves, of course, but he might so we can get an understanding of what is said.”

“That I'll do,” Sirius told him, voice taking on a determined bent. “Either that or send Snape over there with that message. The more we know what goes on, the better off we'll be.”

“I do agree,” Remus nodded. “Otherwise we're only going to get the Prophet's spin or what Albus says about the matter.”

“Oh yes, we need someone there that hears it directly,” Sirius sighed, planning to see what Snape wanted to do. “Anything else we need to know? Or that's going on?”

“That's all I know other than there is probably going to be a big meeting next week. At least I heard it mentioned by Bill when I talked to him this morning. I'm assuming it's about those memories. I'll see what I can find out or if Severus can. Then we'll go from there. Other than that, just worry about today and who's here.” Looking at Harry, he smiled then added, “I don't think those two are anyone to worry about. It's doubtful they will say anything to you about the mess.”

“Probably not,” Sirius said, slipping an arm around Harry and holding him close after his godson finished eating. “I'll make sure we stick together so you don't feel stressed about it.”

Leaning against Sirius, Harry nodded, happy with that. As he sipped his juice, he began asking about what they would be doing so he knew what to expect since this wasn't something that he had done or seen before.

 

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Pulling the plug, letting the water start to drain out of the tub, Sirius leaned back with a groan. It had taken them most of the day to put up everything, so he was a bit sore from some of it. However, it was all in place, with the best wards that they could get up. That was good. Holding Harry close as the water drained, planning to get out of the tub so they could get dressed, he asked, “Anything in particular you want to do tonight? We don't have anything planned.”

Leaning back against Sirius, holding Elliot, Harry sighed, “Can we refill the tub and just soak for a while? With some really hot water and maybe some bubbles? That would feel good.”

“That is a damned good idea,” Sirius said, grinning. Waiting for the dirty water to finish draining, he then replugged the tub and began to fill it again, making sure to add plenty of bubbles. Sighing as the hot water began swirling around them, he said, “This was a good suggestion. I think we'll stay here for a while.”

Setting the tub toys moving, things like ships, animals and that, then seeing Elliot go after them, roaring loudly and attacking, even diving under the water to get them, Harry leaned back, smiling. “I like this,” he told Sirius softly.

“So do I,” Sirius told him, wrapping an arm around Harry. “Is it warm enough? Or do you want it a tad hotter? I vote for hotter myself.”

“I think hotter is good,” Harry told him, keeping an eye on what Elliot was doing, grinning slightly.

“Hotter it is,” Sirius chuckled, casting a charm on the water to not only heat it up, but keep it at that temperature. This was great. The tub, though it looked like a standard Muggle claw-foot one, had an enlarging spell on it so it was huge once you were in it, about the size of the Prefects tubs at Hogwarts. Which meant they had plenty of room to muck about if they wanted to. Holding Harry close, he kissed him on the side of his still wet head and asked, “That good?”

“Perfect,” Harry said with a contented sigh, grinning as he moved the toys around with his wand. Getting comfortable, he set his wand aside then sunk down in the water a bit more, eyes sliding shut. “I think we need to do this more often.”

“We do,” Sirius agreed. He was going to remember this. Normally, they just took a bath and nothing more, maybe a bit of mucking about with Elliot while they cleaned up, but he adored this.

“I have a question,” Harry said, not opening his eyes.

“What's that?' Sirius asked, wondering what it could be about. He didn't think it was something overly serious as they were just relaxing and Harry didn't seem tense.

“How did you and Daddy Lucius get together? I know you said it was while you were all in school, but haven't mentioned just how,” Harry inquired. He had been curious about that since all this started and just hadn't thought to ask.

“Believe it or not, it was Cissy,” Sirius laughed, shaking his head. “It's not complicated, really. We all were protecting her from our first year, something she kept secret. About our third year, it looked like the marriage between the two was almost a sure-fire bet because their families wanted to arrange it, so she finally let him in on the secret. It built from there with her encouragement. By our sixth year, we were lovers, almost exclusively. He had a few others as did I. The marriage contract between the two was signed, so they were going to get married after graduation. We were fairly compatible, actually. I had plenty of girlfriends, of the temporary kind, but preferred the lads by that time. He was the same way. Cissy didn't mind, knowing where his leanings were.”

“It just clicked with us because we had so much in common. We were both Purebloods that were disgusted by our families. We would both be considered Blood Traitors because of our leanings. The difference was that he really couldn't do much and had to hide it, while I distanced myself from my family. So, we understood each other better than many did, despite being opposite in so many ways. That made what was there easier on us as we understood what plenty of others wouldn't and could talk to each other about it.”

“By the time of our last year, things were looking plenty bad when it came to the war. He was being forced into that end by his father and I was looking to go into Auror training. After school he married Cissy. Our relationship continued on. It was then he began to spy for us, hoping like hell what he passed along could assist in stopping the mess. As he did that, we protected him the best we could, giving him warning of some stuff that was coming that could have ended up with him being caught. We just pressed on from there with the relationship. Though it wasn't an exclusive thing, it was one of those kinds that we tended to gravitate towards each other. By the time of the end of the war, it was more than that. Even when I was in Azkaban, it continued. Lucius did everything in his power to make it as easy on me as he could. We couldn't get too many messages to each other, but we did a few times and he used connections to do all he could for me. Once I escaped, we picked it back up. Cissy approves, obviously, and likes that we're together. I think her thought process on it is that we're suited for each other as we have so much in common when it comes to bits. That and we're happy with it.”

Taking that in and thinking it over, Harry nodded. “Not many knew?”

“Very few,” Sirius admitted. “Your dad did. So did Remus. Peter never did, thankfully. That was from Lucius' end as he didn't like or trust him. Cissy, obviously. That was it. The only other one since then was Snape. Lucius told him once we settled in here.” Stopping, he grinned then said, “I'm sure it blindsided him to no end when he heard. However, I also know that Snape liked it because Lucius could give us all kinds of information we can't get elsewhere, even from Snape. I'm sure that softened the blow. He's been good about it since he was brought into the secret. We're thankful for that as Lucius said he wasn't sure how he would react.”

“Severus is good at rolling with the punches,” Harry nodded. Thinking over what he was told, he asked, “It's an exclusive thing now, isn't it? We haven't talked about that. I just assume it is with all that's involved.”

“It is,” Sirius assured him, giving him a squeeze. “Though I haven't asked, I'm sure that Lucius had plenty of lovers while I was in Azkaban, something I honestly didn't care about. Since I escaped, we decided that there won't be any others. Well, until we added you in, but that was something we agreed on before I said something to you. It's just—it clicked. There isn't anyone else we found that has the chemistry we have together, so we'll go with it. Cissy seems to think we're good for each other and loves the idea. That helps as she doesn't let us get stupid. We've—I don't know where it's going as we haven't talked about it, but we're together for the duration of whatever it is. And you're with us.”

Smiling, Harry nodded, not sure what to say. Thinking it over, he said finally, “You both get along well and it seems like a good relationship.”

“It always has been for some reason,” Sirius shrugged. “We do get along. Despite what he has to show to most, Lucius finds what I do funny, as you've seen. We can relax around each other, something he doesn't get to do with anyone but Cissy and Draco. He has to put on so many airs that I think he likes part of it for that reason because I honestly don't give a shite about any of that crap.”

“He isn't what I always thought he was,” Harry admitted. Then, grinning, he added, “He does have a great sense of humor. You don't get to see it much, but it's there. And he's—well, it's getting easier to talk to him.”

“Like I told you when we started; he's not what he has to show. I do know he adores you. He's not one that comes out and says that in such a way, but he will in others. And he's said that. He cares and worries about you, just like he does me. So, we both get spoiled rotten,” Sirius chuckled, giving him a squeeze.

“That he does,” Harry laughed. “I've gotten more presents from him than I have in my entire life.”

“That's Lucius. He's done it with me as well, with all kinds of things. Most I keep up here, but others, like clothes, I just let people think I bought,” Sirius told him. “As I told you before; it's his way of showing affection. We just accept it as such and press on.” Seeing Harry nod, he changed topics and asked, “How is it you and Snape decided you liked each other? I've not ever heard. Even Remus said he doesn't know, just that it was there when he started teaching. We all assumed that he wouldn't like you because of James.”

Laughing, Harry shook his head then admitted, “It started out that way! He was just—well, you know him. For a month or so, it was bad. Then I went to him to ask a question about something I found in a book in the library for an essay he had us doing. He was his normal snarky self. Well, I kinda' did that back, saying something like I just asked for help as I'm finding contradictory information, so if he didn't want to actually be a teacher and help me then I would go elsewhere. It came down to him saying if I was wasting his time that I would get docked points then he asked for the book. Of course, I handed it over and explained what I was having a problem with. It just went from there because I did find something odd that he hadn't seen. We spent an hour talking about it, with him answering questions I had. Later on, he told me I was the only Gryffindor that got a perfect grade on the essay. Then it just built from there.”

“I would go down to ask questions after that when I had problems and end up staying to study, something he offered. While I did that, we would sometimes talk about all kinds of bits. He's really the only one that wanted to listen to me about so much and gave great advice. I mean, Professor McGonagall doesn't do that with any of us. We just went to her if there was a problem of some kind. Even then, we didn't get much. And he was good about it. He—well, you know him—it took time, but we started a relationship I really liked. If I had problems or needed time away, I went to him. He really helped, though most wouldn't believe it. We just decided to make it look like everyone would expect and pretend it was a detention. By the second year, it was even better.”

Taking that in, Sirius nodded. “Odd way to go about it, but if it worked, it did.”

“It did,” Harry nodded. “You don't have any idea how much he helped with so much. Like the bit with the Stone. I went to him for that. Dumbledore was gone, so he grabbed McGonagall. The two of them were there when Quirrell came out of that trap door with the Stone. It was just sheer luck that the idiot grabbed me and disintegrated. Severus was able to hold off the spirit of that that evil git so he couldn't hurt me. It was the same with the basilisk. I went to him when I realized that what I was hearing was a snake talking in the pipes. He was the only one that knew I was a Parselmouth.”

“How did he find that out? A few know now, but it's not common knowledge.” Sirius asked, curious. These were things he didn't know about. He knew the relationship between the two stretched back to the first year, but not the details of so much.

“It was odd,” Harry told him. “He had a snake down in the lab to milk it for the venom some of the upper years needed for an assignment. I could understand it, of course, and started talking to it. I didn't realize that I was hissing.” Stopping, he chuckled, grinning, “You should have seen the look on his face. It was a riot! I've never seen him that stunned in my life. It was kind of an 'oh, shite' look. Thankfully, he's calm enough that he explained what it was and told me to keep it to myself. If I hadn't, there could have been real problems. Even Ron and Hermione didn't know at that point.”

“He was right to do that,” Sirius told him softly. “That could have caused huge problems. Did Albus know?”

“No,” Harry told him with a shake of his head. “Severus wanted to keep it secret. It wasn't until after the basilisk that he told Dumbledore. He tried all he could when the two of us figured out it was a basilisk. It was just a case of I ended up being drawn in despite everything.” Lowering his voice, he added, “When he found out I got bit, he was beside himself and made sure to check everything. And he was just irate that Dumbledore didn't send me to the infirmary right off.”

“I don't blame him there,” Sirius told him honestly. “I would have been kicking arse if I had been there at the time. You needed checked first, not what happened with Albus.” Quietly, he said, “And Lucius told me that he was horrified when he found out you had been drawn into it. That was never his intent, Harry.”

“He explained part of that to me when we talked the first time that one night. I believe him. From what he said, he had no idea that diary was causing the problems,” Harry told him.

“He didn't. Lucius wouldn't do that. And he had appearances to keep up. He told me that when he encountered you that you were still filthy and had obviously not been seen by anyone.” Sirius sighed. “That bothered him.”

“I didn't think about it at the time, honestly. It was just—normal for what was going on,” Harry sighed.

“I know,” Sirius told him, giving him a squeeze. “Which is what's leading all of us to believe there is something up with Albus when it comes to you. That was just one of many clues.”

 

“Oh, yes,” Harry told him with a shake of his head. “I didn't see it at the time, but I started to later on.”

Shifting back to the topic of Snape, he said, “Remus said he realized very quickly the two of you were close. I think that was because he was trying to get to know you.”

“By the third year we were,” Harry admitted with a nod. “Severus was one of the few people I trusted to talk to. He was really good about it, too. By then, he made it very clear that if I needed time away, to talk, somewhere to cool my temper down, anything, I was to send him a message and we would then encounter each other so he could assign a 'detention'. That's what we did. And you don't know how much that helped with all I was dealing with.”

“With what we know now that was going on, I can only imagine. And I'm thankful he did,” Sirius told him honestly.

“He's the one that old me who the Marauders were and all that after I got the map from Fred and George. They wanted me to go into Hogsmeade since I didn't have permission, so they gave up the map. I didn't go, but took it down to Severus. When I showed it to him, he explained who you all were and was just fascinated by it. And he wanted me to keep it so I could use it to stay safe. In fact, he insisted that I check it here and there to make sure, then told me if I saw anything off to come to him with it. That's what happened with you.”

Now intrigued, as he had only heard part of that story, Sirius asked, “What did happen? I mean, Remus and I got part of it, but not all.”

“I couldn't sleep one night and was looking at the map when I saw Wormtail's name. That was just—I didn't know what to make of it. So, I grabbed the cloak and went to find Severus. It showed him on patrol, so that was easy enough,” Harry explained. Grinning, he said, “When I caught up to him, the first thing out of his mouth was that if this was a foolish stunt of some kind or for something stupid, I was getting a real detention.” Hearing Sirius laugh at that, he pressed on, “Then I showed him the map and the name. In fact, the name was very close to us. While we watched, it passed right by. All we saw was Scabbers, though, obviously. I recognized the rat because of the missing toe and bald patches. It was then that Severus, who was just white as a sheet, said we needed to grab Remus as he might know what was going on.”

“I don't think he knew, until afterwards, that we had managed to become Animagus in school,” Sirius told him. “That was a smart move, though.”

Pressing on, Harry told him, “I was under the cloak, all but glued to his back, when he found Remus. He then just manhandled him into a room. It was funny as Remus was just sputtering as Severus dragged him by his robes into a room he knew had no paintings. The look on Remus' face was a riot. I'm sure he thought Severus was going to hurt him or something.”

Laughing as he envisioned that, Sirius shook his head. “Poor Remus probably did! He had to have been envisioning the worst.”

Grinning, Harry told him, “Once inside and with a ward up, Severus had me pull off the cloak then showed Remus the map before explaining what was going on. As Remus looked at the map, he could see Wormtail's name. He was—he just stood there and stared at it, eyes wide. Finally, he explained the Animagus bit with all of you. When he came across with the fact that you were the big dog, I put it together with what I saw of you and Crookshanks. It was then Remus said he thought he knew where you were, so we went to talk to you.”

Sirius smiled at that part. He remembered it well. Though stunned and wary when Remus showed up in the Shrieking Shack, there was some relief that his old friend was there. Remus had made it clear he knew he hadn't killed Peter and wanted to know what happened. It was then he called for Severus, telling him that there was someone he wanted him to meet. That had him seriously on edge until Snape came in with Harry. At the time he hadn't known what to make of it, as he remembered what Snape had been like, but Harry had been so comfortable with him. Snape had stood there with his hand on Harry's shoulder the whole time, reassuring him. They had even taken time to go to the kitchen and get him something to eat. While he ate, with Harry sitting by his side, he had explained what went on with Peter. For the first time since that awful night, there were three people that had believed him, something that felt wonderful. Especially since one of them was Harry. “How in Merlin's name did Ron and Hermione get involved in the mess?”

“That I'm not entirely sure of,” Harry sighed. “I know Ron did because Scabbers was his pet. It happened after Remus went to get Dumbledore and McGonagall. All I know is the two were there in the castle when Peter ended up transformed back because of that spell before something caused a diversion and he escaped. That's it. Then Dumbledore sent you off on Buckbeak as we had no way of hiding you.”

“Understood,” Sirius sighed. Shaking his head, he told Harry, “That whole bit—yeah, I'm now thinking there was something shady about it. You three saw most of it, of course, but so did Snape and Remus. Someone, somewhere, could have done something.”

“I told Severus that later,” Harry grumbled. “He admitted something seemed off, but also understood. With how Fudge is, it's doubtful it would have done any good.”

“There is that,” Sirius admitted with a sigh. Giving his godson a squeeze, he told him, “It got me away. That's all that mattered.”

“True,” Harry grinned. “And you were safe. That's all that really mattered to me.”

Kissing Harry on the side of the head, Sirius told him, “You know, I think for as much as he's helped you, you've helped him as well. He didn't used to be this way.”

Smiling, leaning into his godfather, Harry said, “He told me that he promised mum he would protect me. He's done that very well. I like him and understand why he and mum were friends for so long.”

“We all make big mistakes when we're younger. He did, I did, your dad did, all of us. I think your mum would see it that way now and would forgive him for the slip he made. Especially with how he is with you.” Sirius told him softly.

“I told him that, too,” Harry nodded. “I think he's great. He's done so much for me and helped, that I can't see where she would have stayed mad. I mean, last year he spent hours helping me when it came to that tournament and the visions. He even had Draco come in so we could figure out what I might need to know to protect myself.”

“He did good there, too.” Sirius told him with a nod. As he knew about the part with the tournament, he asked about the other, “What did he do about the visions? I know you were getting them, then they just seemed to stop.”

“Occlumency,” Harry told him, looking over his shoulder at Sirius. “I told him when I went back to school what I had gotten when it came to those, so he thought it best I learn. Those fake detentions were used to teach me. I haven't gotten them since, thankfully. My scar hurts when the evil git is around, but I don't get the visions anymore.”

“Good!” Sirius said, relieved. “I was wondering why you haven't had any.”

Chuckling, Harry said, “Dumbledore doesn't know Severus taught me. He's not told him. It's stayed between us.” Sobering up, he said, “That bit after the cemetery—he was just—he had me come down to talk to him the next day. You know what Severus is like; he just doesn't show much emotion, other than anger. That was the first time I saw him seriously worried. He had me sit and talk to him for a couple of hours about what happened. I'm sure part of it was he wanted to know what went on as he hadn't heard. Another part, though, was he wanted to make sure I was fine. One of the things he made sure I knew was that I wasn't to blame myself for any of it.” Lowering his voice, he told Sirius, “I was. My thought was if I had just made a run for that cup, Cedric would be alive. Severus made sure I knew that I wasn't to blame.”

“You aren't,” Sirius told him with a firm tone. “None of that was your fault. That evil arsehole is the one that is. The same with Peter. The memory we saw from court makes that very clear, Harry. You couldn't do anything.” He was glad Snape had thought of that and talked to him.

“I know,” Harry sighed. “You can't help but feel that way at times. It's just—you know.”

“I do,” Sirius assured him, giving him a squeeze. “Trust me. I've done my share of self blame over the years for so much, wondering what I could have done differently.”

Nodding, Harry looked down, holding Elliot when the dragon stopped attacking the toys and crawled up his chest. “He was really worried and had me come down to talk to him once a day until I went home. That and we were both wondering what in the hell was going on. I mean, the bit in the infirmary when he sent you off. That actually had him really upset.”

“Why?” Sirius asked, confused about that. “Someone needed to tend to that task.”

“He said that I needed you more than you needed to do that. That someone else could have done it. That upset him and he said he wondered what was up.” Harry explained. “Honestly? I would have rather have had you there than Mrs. Weasley. You would have made sure that we had time alone so I could talk to you. Everyone was around when she was.”

Taking that in and thinking it over, Sirius' brow furrowed. At the time, he went with what happened. Now? He could understand what Harry was talking about. “He was right. That—yeah, there was something off.'' He admitted with a sigh. Looking down at his godson, he gave him a squeeze, knowing the memory of that cemetery had to still be a problem. Changing topics slightly, he asked, “Did those talks with him help? I know it couldn't have been much before you left for the summer. How did you deal with it when you went home? And is it still bothering you?”

Looking down, holding Elliot close, Harry sighed then shut his eyes. “When I got to Privet Drive, I was having nightmares about it. Apparently pretty bad because Dudley heard me talking in my sleep, so it had to be loud.” Shaking his head, he growled, “I got called a faggot over that as he thought Cedric was my boyfriend.”

“Arsehole,” Sirius snarled, giving him a gentle squeeze. Sighing, he said, “Don't let it bug you. It's just a name that means nothing and shows he's ignorant.”

“It's not that easy,” Harry told him softly. “I accepted what I am long ago. Most don't know, of course, but the ones that do, like Severus, it doesn't bother. It's just being called that that bothers me and it caused problems. I was dealing with so much that I didn't need that on top of it.”

“No, you didn't,” Sirius said, holding him close. Kissing him on his still wet shoulder, he told him, “Dudley is just ignorant. Nothing more.”

“I know, I really do,” Harry told him softly. Shaking his head, he told him, “It's just hard because of what I've heard all my life. Severus helped, he really did. Talking to him before I went home for the summer made it to where I could deal with it. It's still just hard.”

“Harry, that would be difficult on any of us. It was hard to watch the memory. I can't imagine what it was like living it. As we didn't see all of it, I can only imagine how bad the rest was.” Sirius told him softly, making sure to hold him close. “And if you need to talk, I'm here. If you don't feel you can do that, we'll get Severus. As he knows the whole history and has talked to you before about it, I'm sure that he will do it again if you need to. I won't get upset if it's him you want to talk to.”

“I've got a handle on most of it I think,” Harry told him, petting Elliot, looking down. “There are just times it's harder than others.”

“With everything you're dealing with, I can only imagine,” Sirius told him softly. “You've had so much tossed at you that it has to be hard. Very hard. I think that everyone understands that and that you are having problems. You're strong, Harry, all of us know that. To even survive what you have without going mad is amazing. And it's a testament to just how strong you are. Just because you're strong doesn't mean there aren't problems. We all have those, too. It just proves you're human. And if you start having issues, come talk to us. It'll go no further. You have my word on that. All you have to do is say something. If you don't want to talk, say something and we'll sit in the chair for a while.”

Thinking that over, Harry gave a slow nod. “I can try. We'll see. It's something I can usually deal with on my own.”

“You don't have to anymore,” Sirius told him gently. “Those of us close to you are here to help. If you don't want to talk, we can sit in the chair and you can let your Daddy hold you until you feel better. Or we can just come up here and lay down so you can hold Elliot.” Stopping, he thought it over for a few moments then said, “I think we need to work on the other comforting behaviors to see if it will help.”

Looking over his shoulder at Sirius, Harry said, “That's still hard to even think about.”

“I understand,” Sirius soothed, giving him a squeeze. “We'll try. That's all.” Not wanting to go more into that yet so Harry didn't tense up, he said, switching back to the original topic, “Remind me at some point to thank Snape for taking such good care of you. Now I understand better why you like him so much.”

“He's great.” Harry told him with a smile. “I know many don't like him. Hermione and Ron don't, that's for sure, but I do. We always had to act a certain way when others were around, but I knew that's what it was. He took good care of me. Those detentions were great. He let me either do my homework or we would sit and talk about all kinds of things. He made sure I knew how to defend myself. Stuff like that. I think Draco is the only other one that gets to see that side of him while he's at school.”

“I think so too,” Sirius agreed with a nod. “No one would suspect he could be like that with anyone. It's strange, but I like it. He's been a huge help with this mess.” Lowering his voice, he added, “He really does care about you. That's obvious to me and Remus. Now I understand why, I think.”

Smiling, Harry looked at Sirius over his shoulder then said, “I really like him. He was the first person that actually seemed like he cared about me.”

“At least that you knew of,” Sirius added, kissing him on the head again. “I agree with something you once said; that he doesn't get enough credit for all he does. You're right.”

“He doesn't,” Harry told him.

Looking down at his godson, Sirius told him, “We're going to have to do this more often. I think it's the first time we've talked about some of it.”

“It is,” Harry nodded. Quietly, he then added, “And I like it.”

“So do I,” Sirius admitted. “I didn't know most of what you told me. All I had heard was bits and pieces from you and others.”

“I had been curious about you and Daddy Lucius since I heard you were together,” Harry told him, holding Elliot close as the dragon snuggled up to him, roaring softly.

“There are still lots of topics we can talk about so we can understand bits,” Sirius said, smiling. He was now planning to spend time in the tub each night just talking. He had adored this more than Harry knew. It also gave him some insight into some of what his godson dealt with. That would help. Reaching up and rubbing a thumb over Harry's cheek, he chuckled, “I think we're going to have to get you a razor and teach you to shave. The hair removal spells aren't something you want to do on your face. Besides, teaching you to shave is something I want to do.”

“That's something else I would like,” Harry admitted.

“We'll plan on that when we go out for the other things,” Sirius told him, leaning back. Sighing contentedly, he said, “We might be pruned when we get out, but this feels great.”

“Is there a spell to make the water bubbly, like in a hot tub or something like that?” Harry asked, curious about that.

“I don't know,” Sirius admitted, brow furrowed. “We might want to look into that, though, as it sounds great!” That was now something he was curious about as well and would see what they could find.

 

---

 

Bolting upright, Sirius looked around, rubbing his eyes, not sure what woke him. Panting heavily, he glanced at Harry and realized that's what it was. His godson appeared like he was in the middle of a nightmare of some kind.

Without thinking about it, Sirius lay back down and curled up next to Harry's backside, holding him close. Stroking Harry's sweat soaked hair, he soothed, hoping Harry could hear him, “It's fine, Harry. I have you. Daddy's right here.” Feeling Harry tremble, hearing him whimper softly, he continued calming him the best he could, hoping it helped.

Grabbing his wand without letting go of Harry, Sirius cast a Tempus then sighed. It was almost two in the morning. They had gone to bed not long after their bath and Harry seemed fine. In fact, after the talk they had, he seemed in a really good mood and like nothing was bothering him. So, Sirius wasn't sure what brought on the nightmare. And he hoped that he hadn't triggered it in some way by some of the questions.

Shaking his head, he held Harry close, feeling him tremble in his sleep. Now he wasn't sure what to do. Waking him seemed like a good option, but he wasn't certain that was the right way to handle this. Wrapping his other arm back around Harry, still holding his wand, he soothed, “I'm here, Harry. Daddy is right here with you. There's nothing to worry about and no one can hurt you if I'm here. You know I'll protect you from everything.” Starting to rock the two of them the best he could, he sighed as Harry kept trembling, muttering in his sleep. As he couldn’t understand any of the words, it didn't give him a clue as to what the dream might be about.

After several minutes of doing what he was with no effect, Sirius sighed. Shaking his head, he cast a lightening charm on Harry then slid out of bed. Gently, he picked Harry up then carried him over to the rocking chair. Sitting down, he covered them both with the blanket, making sure it was tucked around Harry, then began to rock. As he did, he talked softly to the now whimpering Harry. If this didn't calm the nightmare, he would wake him.

Shifting around, Sirius kept rocking, looking down at Harry. Somewhere in him Harry must have realized what was going on, as he curled up tightly to Sirius' chest, one hand clutching onto the blanket. “You're fine and I have you,” Sirius soothed, stroking Harry's head with his free hand. “Daddy is right here.”

After rocking for a while, Harry finally let out a soft sigh and seemed to relax. Looking down at his godson, Sirius waited to see if whatever nightmare had Harry in its grips was over or if it was just a lull in it. Continuing to rock, he waited to see if it would start again. When Harry began to breath deeper, his grip on the blanket loosening, Sirius held him close then stood. Carrying Harry back to the bed, he laid him down, leaving the blanket over him. Sliding into bed behind him, he curled back up to his backside and wrapped an arm around him, holding him close. As was normal, Harry pressed back against him. Good.

“I have you, Harry, so nothing will hurt you. Daddy will stay here all night. There's nothing to worry about.” Sirius soothed. Eyes sliding shut, he sighed. He hoped this was an isolated incident. However, he was pleased that the chair helped. Somewhere, even when asleep, Harry must have felt what he was doing and reacted to it. That was good.

Lying there, starting to slide to sleep, he remembered what Snape had said about nightmares that might come because of the approaching court date. The following day he would see if Harry remembered and go from there. If it was the start of what Snape talked about, he was going to have to come up with something that would work. Because Harry hadn't had nightmares since coming to stay, at least that he knew about. So, he was wondering if this wasn't the start. He hoped not, but would prepare just in case. All he hoped was that he had enough in place to be effective. Because he didn't want Harry to have to deal with what might come from this.

Sighing softly, he relaxed, starting to drift away, holding Harry close as he did.

 

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