Mon Ange

Chapter Three: Selection

When Harry woke on the morning of September first, it was to the delicious smell of cooking bacon and a buoyant laughter coming from downstairs. He smiled lazily and slowly opened his emerald eyes, squinting slightly at the bright morning sun shining through his window. He buried his face into his pillow and groaned quietly when he arched his back, consequently making quite a few quiet 'pops'. He sat up slowly and yawned widely, tears forming in the corners of his eyes as the action went on longer than it was probably supposed to.

Warm, bare feet connected with cool hardwood floors and the body connected to them shivered slightly before it moved across them with ease and grace.  He padded to his closet and pulled out the clothes that he had prepared before heading down to the washroom for a shower.

Fifteen minutes later he quickly dressed into his clothes before drying his hair with a wave of his hand. He looked in the mirror for a moment, criticizing his simple outfit. A simple dark grey knitted shirt with a black summer military jacket over it and he paired it with comfortably tight black skinny jeans and his favorite black dragonhide boots, that were still waiting to be put on. He smiled in approval after a few minutes, making a small comment in his head that wizards fashion was much better than muggles at the moment, and then turned to head downstairs.

His feet produced light thumps as he trotted down the staircase gently, pausing at the bottom to watch his parents interact in the kitchen. Sirius was sitting on top of the counter with a lazy smirk on his face as he spoke in low tones to Remus, who was moving around the kitchen in a graceful dance and leaving tasty treats in his wake with a smile.

Harry stepped into the room and the wooden plank creaked quietly under his foot. Both heads of his parents snapped toward him and bright grins tore over their faces. Sirius jumped down from the counter as Remus finished what he was doing before quickly turning of the stove and coming over to the young brunet as well.

"Good morning pup," Sirius gave a ruffle of Harry's hair and revived a light glare and in return, the usual routine, and Remus, once he got closer, pushed Harry's hair back to kiss his forehead softly before pulling back with a warm, tender smile.

"Breakfast is ready Bambi," Harry's heart warmed at the rarely used nickname and he nodded before making his way to sit on one of the barstools. It was mostly silent as the trio ate, none really wanting to discuss what was inevitable. It was only when Sirius got up to put his plate in the sink that the silence was broken by Harry's soft whisper.

"Do I have to go?" Sirius dropped the plate with a loud clatter and both of his dads heads snapped towards him, bewilderment and confusion covering their faces.

"What do you mean pup?" Harry wrung his hands anxiously and lowered his eyes to look at the table.

"I don't want to go. I can learn everything from you guys. I won't have to worry about whatever Dumbledore wants to do or constantly look over my shoulder." Remus and Sirius shared a look before they walked over to the young boy.

"Harry, you're going to be fine." Remus said reassuringly as he placed his hands on the brunets soldiers and locked gazes. "Nothing will happen to you."

"Yeah and if anything does, you can show that bastard your rather large repertoire of spells, eh?" Sirius chipped in with a vindictive smirk.

"Sirius!" Harry snorted as Remus gave the Animagus a disapproving look that was ruined by the malicious glint in his eyes. The other male only gave him a smirk before turning back to their ward.

"Everything will be fine, if anything seems off you owl us immediately. Understood?" Harry nodded but didn't feel any of the cold dread leave the pit of his stomach. He pulled his guardians into a warm hug and smiled when they immediately encircled him with their arms. He took a deep breath and held onto them for a few moments longer before he pushed them away slightly. They looked at him worriedly and Harry gave them a small, nervous smile before heading back upstairs to finish getting ready.