Harry Potter and the Potter Grimoire

Chapter 17: Time to breathe Time to grow

Sirius sat on the bed of his Hogwarts room and watched his Godson sleep. Harry was curled on the couch, looking every bit of his fourteen years old. Harry slept soundly as a male child who was exhausted should, with as much surface area taken up as possible. It was a shift of the other occupant of the room that took Sirius' attention from the young man.

Remus shifted in the chair that was situated beside the couch. With Harry sleeping, there was few options to sit, with this chair being possibly the worse. If he could only find the lump that was digging into his left buttock, he would be set-

"Moony, lets go for a walk." Sirius whispered just loud enough for a man with his... abilities to be able to hear. Remus looked over as he slowly rose, mainly to keep the creaky springs of the chair silent, to see Sirius walk silently towards the door, wand comfortably along his side. Remus watched the man's body language, as it would warn him much before anything else if Sirius was angry.

Sirius stood in the doorway, outlined by the light of the area and waved Remus to hurry. He smiled softly at his godson as his friend slipped by him into the hall. His last image before shutting the door was Harry shifting over in his sleep.

The two Marauders walked through the halls of their alma mater, remembering the times when two others joined them in chaos making. Finally, they came to an unmarked door on the fifth floor, two floors below Gryffindor Tower. With a tap of his wand, Sirius unlocked the door that dozens had attempted to open for over a decade. Both men slipped into the room and shut the door as the lamps lit by themselves.

Four massive chairs sat in a circle around a table. Along the west wall was a large fireplace, with a mantel of moving photographs. The east wall held a giant chalk board, with dozens of diagrams, notes and along the top left corner, a scoreboard. The wall the held the doorway was covered in shelves, some of which held books, some random items like dusty jars, small toys, Dark Detectors such as a sneakoscope and a small Foe Glass were nestled together. Along the back was a nook where on the far end was a bunk bed that had two hammocks tied to the corners and attached to hooks on the walls.

The two men settled into the soft chairs around the table. Sirius raised an eyebrow when there was no dust that puffed up.

"Last year I popped in, gave a quick cleaning and warded the door to know if you were using this room." Remus explained softly.

Sirius flinched slightly at the reminder of last year. While it all worked out, his crazed attempts of killing Wormtail was not how he envisioned Harry meeting him. He sighed slightly and looked at his oldest living friend. "What made you come back?"

"I'm the Gryffindor head of house, and the history of magic professor now. In order to live in the castle, you must be either invited by the Headmaster, or be employed here." Remus spoke firmly, ignoring the tightening of Sirius' jaw.

"Remus. Answer the real question. Why did you come back to Harry?" Sirius growled.

Remus slumped slightly, his upright posture softening into a slouch. "I nearly killed him Sirius."

"You didn't so stop beating yourself up about it."

"What's there to stop me from succeeding next time Sirius? I am a mon-" Sirius cut him off with a swift silencing spell.

"Listen here Moony. It is time for a choice. I don't really care if you want to think you are a monster. We both know that isn't true. What I do care a lot about is that you are waltzing into his life. If you think for a moment that you can walk in, pretend to care, and then walk out as soon as it's difficult, then don't bother." Sirius stood up midway through his rant and advanced slowly towards Remus. "I love you like a brother Moony. So please, do not make me have to protect my godson from you."