Harry and Sirius sat, both nursing their cups of tea in the dark kitchen. Harry's eyes looked dull and haunted, and Sirius would do anything to make them sparkle again. He pondered on what to ask him; there was so much he wanted to know about his godson's life. There was so much he dreaded knowing, too, Harry's time with the Dursleys being a prime example. The guilt of knowing he was the reason the boy had been left there for all those years killed him. But he knew that in order to help Harry heal, he would eventually have to learn everything.
But right now, he had to make Harry comfortable. So he started simple by asking, "Harry, tell me ... what's your favorite subject in school?"
Harry looked up from his tea, genuinely surprised that someone, let alone an adult, was asking him this. "Um," he started, "well, I loved Defense Against the Dark Arts last year when Professor Lupin taught it."
Sirius's interest was piqued at once. He was extremely curious to know what his friend had been like as a teacher. "What did he teach you?" he asked.
Harry launched into a detailed explanation of everything he had learned in his third year, his eyes seeming to lose some of their haunted look as he did so. Sirius started to smile; he had never heard Harry say so much at one time. He couldn't help but burst out laughing when Harry told him about the boggart-Snape wearing Augusta Longbottom's clothes and the hat with the vulture on top. The laughter was contagious, and Harry joined in.
Sirius felt a swell of happiness - the sound of Harry's laugh was amazing, and he wanted to make sure that laughter stayed intact. A swell of pride rose up within Sirius for the only friend he had left. He and James had always thought that Remus would be a fine professor, and he had proved that to be true.
Then, Harry spoke of Remus teaching him the Patronus Charm, because he'd been having so much trouble with the Dementors. A wave of overpowering guilt swept over Sirius when he remembered the sight of Harry falling off his broom at that Godforsaken Quidditch match when Dementors had glided onto the field. He'd been in the stands in his dog form that day, and Sirius told Harry as much. "I wanted nothing more than to run to you," he said emotionally. "I couldn't believe what I was seeing. Thank Merlin for the Arresto Momentum spell." Despite his current problems with Albus, this was one thing he owed the man a debt for.
"I know you were there that day. I saw you just before the Dementors came," Harry admitted. "And it's okay. You don't need to feel bad for not being with me. I mean, I got my Firebolt because you saw what happened."
"I had to make it up to you somehow, kiddo," Sirius said softly, reaching across the table and taking Harry's hand. "And I didn't realize you saw me."
"Yeah, I did," said Harry. "And I remember seeing you when I ran away from the Dursleys at the beginning of the year. I didn't understand why I kept seeing this big black dog turn up in strange places."
"I'm sorry I scared you that day," said Sirius, flashing back to the time he had seen Harry dragging his trunk away from Number Four Privet Drive, looking very unhappy. Slowly he asked, "What happened during that incident? Why did you run away?"
Fortunately, Harry opened up about the situation, explaining how Aunt Marge had said those awful things about his parents. Sirius adopted a furious look as he heard the abominable things the woman had said. "What an evil creature," he hissed as Harry finished.
"Yeah," Harry agreed, looking angry as well. "And she wouldn't stop saying that stuff. It all got too much, and I couldn't help myself. My accidental magic started acting up, and I ..." He looked down, embarrassed. "I blew her up like a balloon. The Accidental Magic Reversal Squad had to come and put her right."
"You did WHAT?" said Sirius, doubling over with laughter. "No need to be embarrassed about it, kiddo. Serves her right, she deserved it! Your father and I would have done the same, only we would have done it on purpose." A huge smile lit his face as he continued to laugh. Marge Dursley had certainly gotten what was coming to her. Once again, to his delight, Harry started laughing too.
.....
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