220Sirius stared at the forlorn face and mentally cursed.
"Is there really nothing you can do, Sirius?"
The man shook his head, equally disappointed. "I'm sorry, kiddo. I'm stuck here for at least a week. The Healers refuse to budge. They claim that I'm 'not fit to leave.' Bunch of nutters if you ask me."
Sirius hadn't planned on spending his newfound freedom lying on a bed in St. Mungo's Hospital. But it was a mandatory procedure.
Harry Potter, his eleven year old godson had just completed his first year at Hogwarts. He'd reunited with the boy immediately after his acquittal and the two of them had hit it off.
When Harry was just a baby, he'd loved the little pup like his own. Now, he found that this hadn't changed one bit.
Normally, eleven year old boys were supposed be troublesome, snot nosed little brats. But Harry could only be described as adorable.
At least that was Sirius' opinion. He was polite, too well mannered and still quite shy around Sirius, despite meeting a couple of times.
Harry was Sirius' regular visitor. Now that his lessons for the year had ended, he came by almost everyday. The two of them would talk for hours together, eat lunch and then Harry would go back in the evening.
The boy had been elated when Sirius had offered him to come and live at Black Manor. He had surprised Sirius with an enthusiastic hug before returning to his shy sweet self.
"Can't I stay here with you? I could sleep on the couch."
The Hospital wouldn't allow anyone, much less a child to stay the night. "I'm afraid not, pup. I hate this just as much as you do. But it's just a week, kiddo. You won't even realise how time flew by."
Harry was very reluctant to return to his muggle relatives. Sirius had met the Dursleys once, years ago and he wasn't surprised. They were an unpleasant lot, completely against magic.
"You promise you'll come when you're out of here?"
Sirius couldn't help but smile at how young Harry appeared at that moment. "You have my word. As soon as I'm out of here, I'll come and pick you up."
Harry brightened up a little at the man's words.
The Healer dropped in and reminded the duo that visiting hours were over for the day.
"Come and give your godfather a hug." Harry complied and was engulfed by the warmth of the man's embrace.
Hugs were something he had never received as a little boy. So, when his godfather had hugged him for the first time, he was pretty sure he'd turned red. Now, he was getting used to them and relished the feeling.
Sirius pulled back and ruffled Harry's hair. "Don't you worry, pup. The week will be over before you know it. Seven days and you and I will be having the time of our lives."
But Harry couldn't tell the man just how miserable these seven days would be.
That night, Harry sat on his bed, unable to fall asleep. Tomorrow, he would have to return to the Dursleys. He was dreading it more and more.
After everything that had happened last year with the muggles, he knew exactly what to expect when he went back. The beatings would remain the same.
While he could scare Dudley away by pretending to do magic, he couldn't use the same trick on Vernon and Petunia. Since Lily had attended Hogwarts, Petunia knew about the underage rule.
His chores would increase, his portion of meals would decrease. Even if it was only seven days, Harry knew that it would drag out as much as possible.
When Sirius had offered to take him in, he had been beside himself with joy. He still was. He liked the man, a lot. Sirius was the first adult Harry was starting to trust.
But no matter how much he trusted Sirius, he couldn't tell him about what went on at the Dursleys.
He simply couldn't.
Harry hauled his trunk and cage out of King Cross Station as he trailed after the rest of his family.
He'd already bid goodbye to his friends before meeting the muggles. Needless to say, he had received a warm welcome from them.
Dudley had given him a less than gentle slap on the head, Petunia had sniffed at him disdainfully and Vernon had jerked his head towards the exit.
The ride back to Number Four, Privet Drive was uncomfortable. He sat with Hegwig's cage on his lap. The owl was clearly unhappy.
When they arrived, Vernon opened the car door and nodded sharply for Harry to come out. "Go upstairs, put your trunk and that beast in your room and come down, boy. Petunia and I need to remind you of some things."
Harry nodded silently. He had learned long ago that it was useless to argue with the beefy man.
He went to his room and put the trunk on the bed. He set Hedwig's cage on top of it. "Please be quiet, girl. I don't want Uncle Vernon to hurt you." He clutched the letter in his pocket.
Sirius had told him to give it to the Dursleys. It was regarding the guardianship and to inform them that he'd be collecting Harry in a week's time.
When he went downstairs, he found the couple seated on the sofa.
"Now you listen and listen well, boy. I don't care what they taught you in that awful school and what other freaks you met. Under my roof, you shall obey our rules, no matter how old you are."
Harry took out the letter from his pocket and held it out to Vernon. The man snatched it from him. "What's the meaning of this?"
"It's from my godfather."
"Godfather? You don't have a ruddy godfather, boy. You don't have anyone."
"You're wrong, Uncle. I do have a godfather. He just so happens to be my legal guardian."
Husband and wife stared at each other nervously before tearing open the envelope. They quickly read through the contents and glanced up at Harry.
"It says here that he will be coming to pick you up on Saturday? This Sirius Black, he's taking you in? The name sounds a bit familiar." Petunia sniffed, apparently appalled at the thought of another freak in her precious neighbourhood.
Harry nodded, failing to hide his glee. He couldn't wait to get out of here.
"Well, until your godfather comes, you still live here, don't you? You eat our food and sleep under this roof. You follow our rules. Is that understood?"
Harry nodded, already hating being back here.
Vernon wasn't satisfied. "I asked, is that understood?"
"Yes, sir."
"One more thing, boy. Whatever freakishness that you did over there better not happen in here. Any attitude or insolence from you, I will take care of it. You've been warned."
Despite his restraint, Harry flinched. He knew exactly what 'take care' meant. The Dursleys were definitely furious about what had happened last year.
Although Harry had been at Hogwarts for the past year, he was still all too familiar with the sting of the belt and his Uncle's heavy hand.
"Out, now. We expect dinner by eight."
And so his chores began.
Harry winced as he scrubbed the dishes. His left ear was throbbing an angry red, thanks to Vernon's temper.
The past few days had been rough but not unbearable. So far, he had managed to get away with nothing more than a few slaps to the face or at the most, a whack with his Aunt's pan. According to Vernon, his misdemeanours were laziness, freakishness and his general existence.
That morning, he didn't know how it had happened, but he'd overslept. Consequently, he hadn't been able to wake up in time to prepare breakfast.
Vernon, who was already in a fine mood because of some problems at work, had barged into Harry's room and he was harshly roused by a glass of ice cold water in the face.
The walrus of a man had twisted Harry's ear viciously and dragged him downstairs before pushing him into the kitchen.
He had hurriedly gotten to work, all the while holding back his tears.
They weren't tears of sadness.
It was anger, pain, frustration and utter misery.
So now, here he was, doing the dishes. After this, he would have to work on the garden.
Three days more to go. Just three more days.
There was a knock on the door. Petunia was the one who answered it, since Harry was inside and Vernon and Dudley weren't at home.
He couldn't here who his aunt was talking to. "Harry, come here!"
That was funny. None of the Dursleys ever called him by name. Frowning, he washed and dried his hands and went to the door.
His jaw nearly dropped in surprise.
"Remus?"
The man was standing at the door with a pleasant expression that contrasted Petunia's stricken one.
"Hello, Harry. I just dropped in to ask if you were up for a visit."
"Visit?"
"Yeah. Sirius is bored out of his mind. He wanted to know if you would want to co—"
"Absolutely! Let's go." He didn't even bother to look at Petunia. He couldn't wait to see his godfather. He had missed the man more than expected.
He didn't dare to look at Aunt Petunia's face since he was sure she'd be livid. "Get out of here, boy. Be sure to return before your Uncle arrives."
What she really meant was: If you're late in preparing tonight's dinner, Vernon will skin you alive and I will let him.
Harry didn't bother replying. He was just so happy that he'd get to see his godfather. He raced back inside to grab his jacket.
When he came back downstairs, Remus was standing in the living room, much to his Aunt's terror. "Your Aunt was kind enough to let us use her fireplace."
Harry knew that the woman was far too terrified to open her mouth and say no. Having used the floo a few times before while visiting Sirius, he had grown accustomed to it.
Ignoring the nasty glare being sent his way, Harry accepted the floo powder from Remus and stepped inside the fireplace. "St. Mungo's Hospital, third floor!"
He reappeared in the familiar place and only a moment later, Remus reappeared next to him. "I need to get going now. I'll be back in the evening to drop you back to your Aunt's house. Will you be able to find Sirius?"
Harry nodded confidently. He found Sirius' room easily and went inside. His face brightened when he saw his godfather. The man was leaning against the cabinet and talking to a nurse.
He grinned when he saw Harry. "Hey, kiddo!"
That one greeting was all it took. Harry almost flew across the room and threw his arms around his godfather's waist. He wasn't sure how or why, but one traitorous tear fell from his eye.
He felt Sirius ruffle his hair as the man often did before strong arms wrapped around him. "It's brilliant to see you, pup."
The nurse had excused herself by the time Harry pulled back. He was embarrassed by his childish behaviour but he didn't regret it. That one hug had made him forget all of that day's unfortunate events.
Sirius mentally frowned when Harry sat down next to him. Something was different about the boy. He couldn't quite place it but it was definitely there.
"How's the house coming along?" Harry asked.
"The house elves finished cleaning it yesterday. We can move in as soon as these Healers let me out of here."
Was that relief on Harry's face?
For lunch, Sirius asked his own house elf to get some food for Harry since the hospital only took care of their patients' welfare.
The gesture was a simple one, not even worth noticing. But for Harry, it was the nicest thing anyone had ever done for him.
Although the two of them did nothing but talk and play a game of exploding snap, Harry couldn't remember the last time he'd enjoyed himself so much.
And as one often does while having fun, Harry lost track of time. Before he knew it, it was already seven o' clock which meant the end of visiting hours.
As if on cue, Remus walked in. Harry groaned and threw his head against Sirius' shoulder.
The man smiled fondly at the child next to him and pulled him close. "You can come back again tomorrow, pup."
Harry nodded and wrapped his arms around Sirius, burying his face into the man's shoulder, now a little more comfortable with the hugs.
Sirius cupped the back of Harry's head with one hand and waved his new wand over him with the other, without the boy noticing anything.
Remus raised a questioning eyebrow at him but he simply shook his head, indicating that he'd explain the next day.
"Goodnight, pup."
"Night, Sirius," Harry grabbed his jacket and left the room with Remus, all the while hoping that he could have stayed. Hell he was willing to sleep on the bare floor if that's what it took.
Sirius knew that he'd done the right thing by casting a Protection spell on the boy. If anything went wrong, he would be immediately alerted.
That nagging feeling that something was wrong had gotten the better of him and so, he'd cast the charm.
When Remus and Harry stepped out of the fireplace at Number Four, Privet Drive, his stomach twisted uncomfortably at the sight.
His Aunt shrieked while Dudley screamed like a baby at the spud den roar of the fireplace. Vernon sputtered, clearly shocked and scared.
He opened his mouth to say something obviously nasty and threatening, the fireplace roared again and Remus came out this time.
Vernon wisely shut his mouth at the sight of the man.
The newcomer smiled genially at him and held out his hand. "You must be Harry's uncle. I'm Remus Lupin."
Vernon didn't shake the hand. He wasn't about to touch another freak and sully himself. He was too much of a coward to to say anything to Remus so he merely nodded and that was about as courteous as he would get.
Remus' smile faltered. He turned to Harry. "I'll see you in the morning, Harry. Goodnight."
And then, just like that, he turned on the spot and was gone with a loud crack. All three of the Muggles screamed, shocked by the events that had just occurred.
But it didn't take very long for that shock to turn into rage.
Harry watched with a growing sense of dread as his Uncle's face became redder by the second.
He was in for it now.
"How dare you, boy! After all I warned you! You dare bring a freak into my good home!"
"He's no—"
Slap!
It was harder than Harry had expected. He cupped his left cheek, eyes watering from the sting.
"Quiet! Not another word from you! I've had enough of your impudence!"
Slap!
The next blow was dealt to the same cheek with equal force.
"Do you remember what I had told you when you came back from that blasted school?"
Harry remembered all too well.
"You skip your chores! You bring freaks into my house and you think I'll let you get away with it? I'm going to beat that insolence out of you if that's what it's going to take!"
And so it began.
I'm evil and heartless, I know that.
This story was a request from a user on Wattpad.
Next chapter: the Dursleys are going to get their arse kicked by my favourite Marauder!
R&R!
Also check out my other stories: My Godfather, Scars and Black. The first two are Sirius and Harry family fanfics while Black explores the darker side of Sirius Black.
By the way, how many of you watched the Crimes of Grindelwald trailer? I fell in love the moment the video began!
And me being the sucker for bromance that I am, I'm so hoping for some bromance between the Scamander brothers.