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Harry was in the middle of reading for Potions when Sirius awoke with a shout. The older man jackknifed upright on the couch, his wild eyes darting around the room before finally settling on Harry.
"James…"
"Harry." Harry winced even as he firmly corrected Sirius.
Sirius flinched and looked away. Several moments later he cleared his throat. "This is the secret room?"
"Yeah. It can become anything you want or need."
"And I wanted the Gryffindor Tower?"
"I wanted it. The room provides whatever the first person to call it requests." Harry shrugged uncomfortably. "Gryffindor Tower was my first home."
"Mine too" Sirius admitted before turning his attention to Harry. "It really hasn't changed."
"Why were you interested in the right curtain?"
Sirius smiled. His eyes were still and deep set, his face was gaunt, and his hair was a scraggly mess. It was scary. And oddly bittersweet. So Sirius told Harry stories about the Marauders – obviously minimizing Wormtail's part in the proceedings wherever possible – and Harry listened attentively and laughed in the right places. Then the room provided snacks for them while Harry told Sirius about passing his O.W.L.s.
"Already?" Sirius squinted at Harry. He fished a battered envelope out of his robes. It was the envelope in which Harry had mailed the pictures to him. "I thought you were still in your first year? Or did I lose track of time again?"
Harry shrugged uncomfortably. "I took them early so that I could get emancipated. That way I wouldn't have to go home to my muggle relatives."
"So you don't need me."
"I do." Harry said, perhaps a bit more intensely than he intended. But there was no way that Sirius Black was going to slip away from him twice. "Just because I wasn't going back to the Dursleys, doesn't mean I have anywhere else to go. And as far as I know I don't know anyone who wants me not The-Boy-Who-Lived."
Sirius flinched but nodded. "Except me."
"Except you. You're the only adult I've met so far who wishes that there was never any reason for that stupid title."
Maybe he was laying it on a bit thick but Mrs. Weasley had yet to meet him properly and Draco's parents probably had plans for him. Hell, Albus Dumbledore had plans for him. Hermione's parents, while pleasant and genuinely without ulterior motives, had always maintained a distance from him in the original timeline. Frankly Sirius, Remus, and the Weasleys were the only adults who had wanted Harry for Harry in the original timeline and even that was a bit suspect over all.
"You need me."
"Yes I need you."
And Harry did need Sirius, just not in the way that he let Sirius believe that he was needed or even in the way that he was once needed. Harry was a little over eighteen. Sirius was not far past twenty-two in terms of life experiences. Maybe this time around Harry could be some of what Sirius needed too.
While Sirius was taking his afternoon nap, Harry wrote him a note saying that he would be back in the morning and headed to dinner in the Great Hall. As usual, Harry had dinner with Gryffindor and dessert with Slytherin. After dinner Harry walked back to Gryffindor Tower with his friends. He played a couple of rounds of Wizards' Chess with Ron, a few rounds of Exploding Snap with Neville, Lee Jordan, and the Weasley twins, and studied next to Hermione for a couple of hours.
When Harry and Ron headed up to the dormitory for bed, they found a grim in Ron's bed, tangled in the blankets.
"Why is there a dog in my bed?" Ron's gaze turned accusatory. "Harry! You conjured a grim! In my bed!" Ron paled. "A grim…" Ron shouted and flailed backwards, inadvertently slamming the door shut and trapping himself in a room with Harry and a grim.
"Ron! He's just a dog!"
"Just a dog! Harry, grims only show up before someone dies and he's in my bed! My Uncle –"
Sirius transformed back into his human form. Naked and tangled in the blankets.
"This was my bed when I was at school."
Ron made a squawking sound and started fumbling for his wand.
Harry grinned. Already this meeting was more fun than the first one in the original timeline.
"Ron, meet my godfather Sirius Black."
Ron stopped fumbling. "Oh. Well. Your godfather. That's okay then. Nice to meet you." He glared at Harry. "You forgot to mention that he was an animagus."
Harry tried to look sweetly innocent. "Oops."
Ron shot him a disbelieving look.
To distract Ron from ranting in front of Sirius – and sooner or later there would be a rant – Harry said, "I really like your idea to dye all the Slytherins' hair red and gold. What color should we do the 'Puffs?"
Ron blinked then smirked evilly. But it was Sirius' ghastly smile that brightened Harry's evening. There was the sound of a familiar step on the stairs. Sirius only had a moment to change back into Padfoot before the door burst open again to reveal Dean and Seamus.
"Ron there's a bear in your bed."
"It's Harry's dog."
Both boys turned to stare at Harry. Harry shrugged.
"He missed me so he came to find me."
"Where did you get a dog like that?"
"My muggle aunt breeds dogs. Why?"
"He's brilliant!"
Padfoot woofed happily and hopped off of Ron's bed to lick Dean's face enthusiastically. It was probably a reward for having the good taste to like him.
"What his name?" Dean asked as he laughed.
For a moment Harry suffered from an acute case of vertigo. Then he grinned and shrugged.
"Padfoot."
"Padfoot?" Seamus yelped and edged away from the dog. "Are you sure he's not a grim?"
Harry grinned. "I named him for one of the patron saints of mischief-making."
Ron snorted. The other two boys groaned theatrically.
"I'm not sure I want to ask" Dean said.
"Can you not prank Gryffindor this time?" Seamus demanded.
"Who said I had anything to do with those other pranks?"
Seamus rolled his eyes and muttered something unflattering under his breath. Harry pretended not to hear him.
"You can bullshit the rest of the school" Dean said calmly. "But we live with you. Everyone in Gryffindor Tower knows something's up between you and the Weasley twins."
"Just imagine how much fun it would be if we did a spot of mischief together."
Dean, Seamus, and even Ron paled.
Later Harry was arguing with the face in the back of Quirrell's head when an odd noise made him lose his train of thought. He stopped arguing to listen for it. Of course Quirrell took the opportunity to stuff the last treacle tart into the extra face's mouth. There! Again! A sort of whimpering sound. Harry turned away from the teacher only to find himself in the forbidden forest at night. Padfoot had collapsed and the Dementors were closing in on Harry, Padfoot, and Hermione. Padfoot whined and turned back into Sirius. Sirius whimpered again. There! That was the last time – the last time Harry had heard – heard –
Harry jerked awake.
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Want to know what happens next? 100+ advanced chapters await you on Patreon! Be the first to read what others will have to wait for. Join the community and read ahead today!
(P).(A).(T).(R).(E).(O).(N)
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