Moon Blessed

Griphook paused, stopping his speech in midsentence when he felt his Floo flare-up. An emerald-eyed teen stumbled out of it, with his face expressing panic. His jet hair – which seemed to have a faint sheen of red under the fire's light, Griphook noted – was more dishevelled than usual.

"Oh, Jadeclaw! You're here too. That's great!"

Griphook shared a look with his colleague.

"What's the matter?" Jadeclaw asked.

The little wizard winced.

"Well, I desperately need your help. I may have a situation back home."

Griphook frowned. "What kind of situation?"

"The kind that involves me keeping a recent escapee of Azkaban to be in a forced sleep so as to keep him from running away in his unstable state?!" Harry Potter revealed with a sheepish grin.

"You've drugged him to sleep."

Jadeclaw shrugged. "You did the same."

Harry shrugged too, unable to deny it. "The man kept changing his mind and refused to listen," he explained. "I finally forced him to have some tea and may have forgotten to mention it had one excessive drop of calming draught."

Jadeclaw snorted.

"We fed him Veritaserum." Harry raised an eyebrow at the admission.

"What? We had to make sure he said the whole truth and find out whether he had any intentions of running after the rat as he called the traitor. Uncooperative patients are difficult to handle."

"Does he have such intentions?" Harry asked though he was pretty sure he knew the answer.

"Oh yes, Harrison. Very much. We are concerned that he may get up and run off after the traitor in his unstable state. Truthfully, I don't believe that's his main goal. He's mentioned he needs to protect you quite a lot of times. At the end of the day, his mind seems to have two self-made mantras. 'Kill the rat to protect my pup' and 'Protect pup'. As you can see, his intentions are not evil but neither are they good for him at his current state. But that's what dementors do to humans."

Harry sighed. "Then I suppose keeping him drugged till he is well is a good thing. But that will only work with his physical health for now. What to do with his mental state?"

"There are ways to help him. Getting him physically well would already help his mind. The body and mind are connected after all. One cannot prosper without the other being in good health. Along with that Occlumency, therapy, maybe even both could help to bring clarity to his mind and organize his thoughts and feelings. Much of it falls to time as well though we should be able to get him in a good state by the first half of the year, considering he is not crazy, to be honest." Jadeclaw turned to look at Harry. "You, most importantly, have to be a constant presence in his life until he has recovered at least. It has a high probability of doing him good."

Jadeclaw glanced at the report in his hands before continuing.

"As I was saying, he is not deranged as people might believe after such a long stay in that horrid prison. What he is, however, is depressed and disorientated. From what we have gathered, his childhood was not the best until he ran to your father's family, then he was part of the war where he lost the most important people in his life in one night and was never given the chance to grieve their passing properly. That was followed by him getting framed by a friend who turned out to be a betrayer and finally was left imprisoned unlawfully – another betrayal by the people he knew since they didn't believe in his innocence. And he was left in the company of creatures that made him relive his worst memories over and over.

Thanks to his animagus form, he managed to keep away most of the dementors' effects but, no matter how diminished the effects, what got through to him over the twelve years was damaging no less. Luckily, he can still think and act like a normal and healthy human. But he is not healthy at all. Right now, he is an almost broken man whose only link to sanity is his knowledge that he is innocent and his fierce need to protect his godson.

Frankly, the fact that he is not yet broken speaks only good things about him."

Harry winced. That hardly sounded reassuring to him. But he supposed Jadeclaw, as a citizen from a warrior race, would appreciate the tenacity. "Alright then, this will be a long ride uphill."

"Not necessarily."

Harry raised his eyebrow.

"As I said, he is depressed and disorientated but still functional. And while he wants to bring Pettigrew to justice, he was willing to cooperate a little with us when we said that you wanted him to recover which gives hope that he will cooperate in the future to get better.

The disorientation can be fixed up with good sleep and good food, along with your presence to ground him. His depression would be a harder battle but considering he has the clarity of mind to realize he is innocent, we can get him over the guilt he has. And now, with your presence to help and the lack of imprisonment with dementors, he will have the opportunity to grieve. So we have all the solutions. Yes, the ride is going to still be uphill but with good luck, it may not take a long time to get him back on track."

Harry nodded, somewhat feeling hopeful. "How bad is his physical health right now?"

"Not as bad as his mind. Extreme malnourishment, that's his main problem. We'll have to make sure he eats right and at the right times. He may skip meals due to being used to starving before eating in extreme once it gets too much, now that he has access to food. But it will be an unhealthy habit and would definitely not do him any good."

Harry who was reminded of the first time he went to Hogwarts, grimaced. That had happened to him until he had learnt to force himself to moderate by the time he was in his second year. Nobody had noticed his peculiar eating habits as he had distracted his friends with conversations.

"There are also some bones that are not healed right, from the war or the imprisonment, we are not quite sure. But they can be fixed easily. We should be able to get him to at least a healthy weight by the third quarter of the year with the right potions and care. We may still have to keep him drugged but that would hinder any progress on his mind if it causes him distrust at our actions or triggers memories of being locked up again in his mind."

Harry sighed. "How about keeping him at my home?"

Jadeclaw turned to look at the young wizard.

"My home is big enough for him to wander considering the woods surrounding it. We can have wards to keep him from leaving through using apparition, portkey or the Floo without anyone accompanying him. And preventing him from exiting the ground through perimeter wards should also be feasible. Also, I can stay with him which would help and I could arrange to have you or your Healer colleagues to come by often." Harry paused. "You could even stay there if you need, to be honest. I have enough rooms."

Jadeclaw nodded. "It is a plausible idea, though we wouldn't need the hosting unless you decide to attend Hogwarts. Then we'll need to watch over your mutt," Harry rolled his eyes at the description, "during the day. But the idea is much better than keeping him drugged twenty-four seven. You do realize though, the implications that this will have on your privacy?"

Harry shrugged. "He's family. I suppose I'll just have to learn to adjust to it. And I don't know if I can tell him about my...fish tendencies yet," he glared at Jadeclaw for snorting, "But hopefully when he is better, I can. I just –," Harry grimaced, "I just really hope he won't be a blind Dumbledore believer."

Jadeclaw shook his head. "Doubt it fish," he ignored Harry's glare, "He was quite resentful at the Order, especially its in-charge which just so happens to be one Albus Dumbledore. Most of the members knew him from a young age but still could not bother to even give him the benefit of the doubt. Apparently he heard one of the prison guards saying that he "finally showed his Black blood" to everyone. It made him mad, to say the least, that that was what people believed about him after years of knowing him. Maybe he will still get along with the others if the circumstances demand it. But trust, it won't be there. Definitely not as strong as before."

Harry nodded, staring at the sleeping form of his godfather. It felt highly surreal to him to have a godfather after growing up bring known as an orphan for so long. He bit his lip, worried over how the man would react to having to live with him when he woke up.

"Would he still be the same person I saw in my memories?" Harry thought. A moment later, he discarded the question, realizing the stupidity in it. "Of course not. This man has been through much since twelve years ago. He's obviously changed. I doubt he would be as carefree as he was once."

Still, Harry could not help hoping that he would be able to bond with the man without any problems. That he would still be willing to love Harry as unconditionally as he did before when Harry was just a toddler. It was wishful thinking, considering what the man had been through so far, but Harry's hope at having a family swelled within him again at this new opportunity that fate bestowed him.

"Don't get too caught up in your hopes. Keep the past in mind before trusting."

Harry glanced away from his godfather's peaceful form, cursing his own precaution for dampening his mood.

Jadeclaw cleared his throat, drawing Harry away from his conflicted thoughts. "You should also know this. His stay at Azkaban may have..."

Harry struggled to keep his yawn from showing as he stared at the clock that told him it was five minutes to nine. She was due to come at any moment and he doubted having him yawn would make the best impression. But the event of the past hours had really drained him and he had caught not a wink of sleep since yesterday.

Deciding it would be better for him to not risk falling asleep since he had to brave two meetings back to back, Harry took a few sips from the Pepper Up potion Jadeclaw had offered him before placing the quarter empty vial back into his satchel. He shook his head as he felt the potent potion working on him immediately. He really had to brew his own batch. Goblin-made ones were too strong for him even with his creature ability making him able to consume more than the average wizard.

The sound of footsteps had him sitting straighter. She was here. Harry readied himself for a tough meeting. This would be very different from the one he had with Lord Greengrass. And he was not yet sure how the woman perceived him what with the rest of her immediate family probably not liking Harry. He hoped he would be able to change that. He was tired of having his relations being strained due to people having kept him ignorant and pushing him away from his family – distant ones or not.

If he were to not be on talking terms with his family, Harry decided it would be on his own terms and judgments, not due to the perceptions and expectations others fed him. Hopefully, she would accept.

Also, recent revelations enabled him to have hope. If she had tried to help him before, no matter how discreetly, then it meant there was more to the displayed hatred that was shown. And Harry wanted to know the real reasons rather than the speculations and strong beliefs the wizarding world had fed him. After all, it was the wizarding world's strong beliefs that had left his godfather imprisoned without a trial so Harry could not place blind faith in them any longer.

It was truly going to be a long shot. He knew very well how many things would go wrong for him and her. The politics, the circumstances surrounding them both and especially her loyalty to certain things.

Harry grimaced, thinking back on his status as the Boy-Who-Lived, Defeater of the Dark Lord.

Yes, this was likely a mission impossible. But Harry would rather have tried and failed rather than never attempting and subjected to pondering 'what-ifs'.

He drew up his Occlumency shields – they were starting to improve, thankfully – and put on a neutral face.

A gasp had him looking up to see that she was at the entrance of the room. He locked gaze with blue eyes.

"Good afternoon, Professor. Thank you for taking the time to come."

Minerva McGonagall nodded her head. "Good afternoon, Mr Potter. Your letter gave me quite a shock. I very well could not miss this meeting after that."

"Ah yes," Harry cleared his throat, "I'll explain the matter if you permit," he finished politely.

McGonagall inclined her head. Drawing in a deep breath and bringing up his basic Occlumency shields, Harry started the elaborate lie he and the goblins had come up with, hoping against hope McGonagall did not see through it.

"As you are probably aware, near the end of the school year a few months ago, I was bitten by a Basilisk but was saved by Fawkes' tears. Well, my current problem takes root from that peculiar circumstance."

"Madame Pomfrey was very sure nothing would happen to you from that incident, Mr Potter. Are you sure?"

"Well, was she aware that neither substance was removed from my body?"

McGonagall frowned, confused. "You had Phoenix tears heal you, did you not?"

Harry sighed. "Well that's where you were wrong. The Phoenix tears counter the Basilisk venom, they do not destroy it. It heals my system as fast as the Basilisk venom destroys it or faster. That's the only reason I'm standing here right now."

Harry hoped his Professor did not see his sweating palms that he was currently fiddling with on his lap. He supposed her slightly paling countenance meant she believed him.

"How serious is it?"

Harry avoided looking at her. "Well, um, something happened while I was staying with my," Harry paused, "relatives." He looked up at McGonagall. "I'm sure you know all about pushing Harry-the-freak into the sea, don't you Professor? You were there to go on the Harry Hunt from what I gathered at the meeting with the Headmaster." He didn't fake the anger and resentment he felt, though he was slightly guilty at aiming it at his Professor when he really was just resenting his relatives.

McGonagall closed her eyes. "Yes, I was, Mr Potter. And I'm sorry I didn't notice the signs."

Harry shrugged. She was not the first to have not noticed.

"Well," he continued on, ignoring McGonagall's guilt-stricken face in the fear that he may cave in and just say the truth, "After my very loving cousin decided to show me the wonders of a turbulent sea, I had a bout of accidental magic in my desperation to survive. I really don't know how to swim, you see. But ever since then, my medical condition started popping up. And I'm afraid that's the most I'm willing to share without a magical oath. ma'am." Harry stated.

He immediately continued, fearing again that she might just give an oath, which would create the problem of Harry having to come up with more lies.

"Basically, to explain without giving away many details, my magic is currently not acting as it should with the two substances in my body. I've already developed some allergies I'm very certain I did not have before," Harry relaxed at the partial truth he had uttered. Jadeclaw had had a sudden epiphany after the full moon incident and brought in new materials to test Harry's body's reactions to them. It had been a bizarre experience, to say the least, with Harry not remembering much unless he used Occlumency.

"And well, I can't say I'm really inclined to come to Hogwarts, especially considering the dangers I've been exposed to in the past two years while I was in that school. And unless it can be arranged for me to come and go at my convenience for whenever my healer calls, I doubt my stay at Hogwarts will be safe for me or approved by my healer."

"That can be arranged. You are permitted to leave Hogwarts due to medical or family emergencies."

"Would the Headmaster interfere?"

McGonagall sighed, "He can't. I'll make sure he doesn't."

Harry frowned. "I'm not really sure I'm convinced, Professor. Besides maybe Hermione and Ron, there are not many good memories for me there."

Harry knew in his heart that this was not true. There had been many things he had enjoyed at Hogwarts despite the majority of its fickle-minded students dampening his time there from time to time. But he was trying to make a point.

"I mean the entire school turned on me during the Chamber of Secrets incident and none of the staff did anything about it. You just let it happen." Harry ignored McGonagall's flinch, unable to feel guilt at the statement. It was true. "It's not really the most trust-inspiring environment when you condone bullying, even encourage it if Snape's behaviour says anything. Compared to that, I can just stay home and hire private tutors to teach me fairly and adequately. And I'd still be able to sit my OWLs and NEWTs. Why should I come back, Professor?"

McGonagall sighed.

"I'm sorry, Mr Po – Harry," McGonagall corrected herself. "I truly am. You are right. I have failed you as a teacher and a Head of House, as have most of the staff. And I really should have done a better job at keeping an eye on you and the rest of my lions. But I'm ashamed to admit, I didn't realize how bad things were going on with your experience with the students." McGonagall sighed. "It's not a good reason, and I definitely don't mean to use it as an excuse. I'm sorry Harry. As for why you should come back – I'm sure Hogwarts has given you not just Hermione and Ron, to be happy about, yes?"

Harry averted his gaze, unable to meet McGonagall's eyes.

"Private tutors can get you doing well in your studies, no doubt in that, Harry. But a school with peers your age is going to be vital for your growing up. Friendships you make are going to be an important part of your life. And Hogwarts can give you that. I'm sure you know that. I've seen you make friends with many people, though Hermione and Ron are undoubtedly your closest friends.

And I promise to have the staff do a better job of watching out for the welfare of the students. I'm sorry if we failed you but I assure you my colleagues don't ignore the student population. But I suppose we failed to see one of the obvious case that needed our help.

And as for your Potions professor. I will have a word with him, though I doubt it is necessary at this point."

At Harry's frown, McGonagall clarified, "For all his faults, there is one thing Severus will never tolerate, Harry. And that is child abuse." Harry raised his eyebrow in scepticism. "Yes, he acts like a bully towards any child not in Slytherin, but that is mostly a façade." McGonagall hesitated, as though unsure if she should continue. "He became a spy near the end of the war due to a certain incident. I can't tell you what it is since it's not my story to tell. But as you are quite aware, You-Know-Who is not dead. In the chance that he returns, Severus would still need to be able to retain his spy status. That's why he coddles the children whose parents support You-Know-Who and pretends to be vile to everyone else. And well," McGonagall hesitated again.

She sighed.

"Back in school, your mother and he were best friends. Something that caused your father and him to have many disagreements as they didn't like each other and didn't like the other being close to Lily. Your father, especially," McGonagall seemed apologetic in her revelations, "Was not the nicest to Severus who had his own problems to deal with without the added complications your father gave him."

Harry did not need to think much to understand the implication.

"He was a bully." The truth left a sour taste in his mouth.

McGonagall sighed. "Not to the majority. He pranked a lot with three other friends of his time. And often the pranks were harmless and funny. But when it came to certain students who were very mean and rude themselves to others, the pranks were embarrassing. And when it came to Severus," McGonagall sighed again, "He was extremely infatuated with your mother since he first saw her but Lily would not spare her glance due to his immaturity. She hated him at first you know?"

Harry kept a stoic face, though he was drinking in the story with a thundering heart. McGonagall seemed to understand despite his lack of reaction.

"So I suppose he was extremely jealous when it came to Severus' closeness with Lily. And it reflected in his pranks. They were often very mean to Severus."

"Was he ever punished?"

McGonagall sighed. "Yes. But I don't think they were harsh enough, to be truthful. Detentions scrubbing cauldrons and writing lines hardly broke these kinds of issues.

One day, while your father was agitating Severus, it caused him to let his anger at Lily who was nearby. He said terrible things. His friendship with Lily ended then and there due to his mistake.

It caused Severus to resent your father even more."

"So he takes it out on me, who looks like a carbon copy of James Potter?"

McGonagall stared at him for a moment, head tilting barely to the right before she muttered something under her breath. Harry thought it sounded something like "Not so carbon a copy anymore" which left him confused.

"The truth is, no."

Harry frowned in disbelief.

"He acts as though he is taking out his grudge on you because he is expected to do so. He has never forgotten that you are Lily's child, Harry. And if there is one thing you can be certain about, it is that he would never hate you as long as you are Lily's child. He loved his only best friend too much to ever resent her son, especially with how much it was known that Lily adored you."

Something about the way the professor said it had Harry's mind speculating more about his father and potions professor's rivalry when it came to his mother but he didn't dare ask about the matter. He was fairly sure McGonagall would not answer.

Silence descended between them, not uncomfortable but not quite pleasant either. McGonagall broke it.

"You are a talented student, Harry. I don't wish to lose you. It's never easy to accept for a teacher that she loses a student, no matter the circumstances. You can really do wondrous things if you apply yourself more to your studies. And I speak on behalf of your other teachers when I say we will regret not having to teach you if you leave. You are one of the promising students we have. You have much work to do on your theory side of the work, but practical work and embracing the magic you perform? You are one of the best.

Hogwarts can help you. And I promise to do a better job. We can make arrangements for you to leave whenever it is needed for you, and such. Would you consider trying again?"

Harry debated internally.

On one hand, he had to look after Sirius' health and his freedom. His "fishy tendencies" as the goblins and him now called it were also a cause for concern. Living in Hogwarts every day was a high risk, considering Hogwarts was home for children and teenagers who were often clumsy and rough. If one of his dorm mates even woke him up with Aguamenti just once, Harry's secret would be out within seconds.

But on the other hand, he really liked Hogwarts despite everything. The castle itself was something he felt weirdly connected to, what with its homey feel and its soothing magic. He would sorely miss it and its diverse inhabitants no matter what he said. And he did not want his new mer abilities to cause him to hide from others. He would not be able to enjoy his life that way, no matter how much of an introvert he was at heart and Harry wanted to live his life well, now that he had control over it.

And there was also the case of the rat. He would be with Ron in the castle if Harry could not get to him by the end of this summer. He had unfortunately promised Ron and his siblings that he would help them get their school supplies so that they could spend more time on their vacation as a family. (Mrs Weasley had owled the money over and mentioned casually in the letter to not spend outside the budget. Harry had the sense to not push on the sensitive matter despite wanting to help the Weasleys.) He had volunteered the help since he knew how much Mrs Weasley missed having all her family together at the same place. It had been an act of goodwill then but now, Harry regretted slightly that he could not contact Ron sooner. So now, the chances of him capturing the darn rat during the summer were slim.

"But what about Sirius?" he thought desperately.

Harry knew Sirius was not too terrible in his mental health that he would need Harry's constant presence every day. But a part of him also wanted to be there for his godfather and get to know the man better. And a tiny, tiny part of him was also afraid that somehow his time with Sirius had a time limit like most of all the happy incidents in his life, no matter how illogical the thought was in reality. Nobody knew Sirius was with him, and the goblins had already prepared all the necessary precautions as Harry had asked. He was worrying unnecessarily but he could not help it.

"Harry?"

Harry startled out of his train of thought.

"Oh, um" he cleared his throat. "Sorry Professor, I was thinking. Well, before I make my decision, you should know that as of now, my Healer wants me to come for daily reports." Harry refrained from specifying for how long the supposed "daily reports" would continue. "He's still running some tests and verifying the results while working on a possible antidote. That would mean that if I choose to come back, I will possibly not be staying at Hogwarts for the evening and night after the end of my lessons. I will need to be let back to Gringotts."

"Gringotts?" McGonagall asked, confused.

"Oh," Harry refrained from slapping his forehead. "Sorry, I forgot to make it clear. My Healers are not from St Mungos. Rather they are from Gringotts. I was not very comfortable with how people usually gawked at me rather than treating me normally. And the goblins are really nice and professional."

McGonagall nodded, though her brows did rise slightly at Harry's description of the goblins. Harry found himself feeling slightly annoyed that she was surprised before remembering that the goblins were never nice to other witches and wizards. So really, he couldn't blame her surprise.

"It is possible to have that arranged, as I mentioned."

"It may affect my Astronomy lessons, however."

McGonagall frowned. "That is unfortunate, but since this is your health matters, I suppose we'll have to forfeit the night lessons. We can make alternate arrangements, of course. Lunar charts and such can be used and I can have Aurora tell you what will be covered during the day time. It will require more effort on your part, however," McGonagall stated sternly.

Harry nodded. "I understand. I'll be more applied in my studies this year onwards. I –," Harry licked his lips, feeling uncomfortable at sharing the personal information, "Um, at the Dursleys, they didn't like it when I got better results than Dudley." Harry didn't dare look at his Professor. "So I've always made it a habit to not try during tests though I do study the material." He looked up to see McGonagall's lips were pursed and looked back down at his fingers, which were resting on his lap. "The habit stuck through when I came to the Wizarding World and by the time I realized you did not owl the Dursleys the end of the year results, well, the image stuck and I was not sure on how to break it."

"Has Mr Weasley's presence added to the uncertainty?"

Harry glanced up, cheeks heating up at having been caught. McGonagall sighed.

"I'm not pleased but I can't be angry at you either for it's not your fault. But I expect this to not continue anymore, Harry. You are to give your best, no matter who says what. And don't be afraid of Mr Weasley's reaction or even Miss Granger's if you happen to best her sometimes." At Harry's incredulous look, McGonagall smiled. "It's possible. There are students who are better than your female friend in certain subjects, though what makes Miss Granger often come out on top, is her ability to keep all her subjects at a high standard, even if they are not at the very top. Few manage that as well as her. Though please do advise her to not be too ambitious that she forgets her own health."

Harry nodded. He would do that even without McGonagall asking. He looked back at his Professor when he heard another sigh.

"Don't be afraid to lose friends in your life, Harry. It happens sometimes. Certain people who come into our lives may not stay for long, no matter how close they may have been. It's part of life. Instead of fearing that outcome and changing yourself to avoid it, be your own self and embrace those who stick around to accept you as you. Those who leave are simply not made to be a part of your life. It may hurt to have them leave, but take in whatever good things they may have taught you while you knew them and then focus back on those who still stayed with you. That's how you make the best of the relations that come into your life. And at the end of the day, Harry, it is your life. Don't waste it away by playing to others' expectations. Live it to your happiness though do be a decent human while you're at it. Don't go making others miserable for your happiness. Now, that won't be right."

Harry gave a small smile at the speech. It was slightly embarrassing to have been given advice on life but Harry supposed he needed it.

"Thanks, Professor."

"You're welcome."

Harry twiddled with his thumbs. "I suppose, I was lying when I said I wasn't inclined to come back. I would miss a lot of things at Hogwarts. You would be one of the Professors I'll miss a lot," Harry confessed quietly.

McGonagall's eyes softened.

"I'm still not happy with Professor Snape's attitude, despite your clarifications, Ma'am. I'm sure professionalism can be an excuse for him if he needed to explain why he was neutral to students while at Hogwarts. Dumbledore can demand that from him. Whatever the reasons, I don't think his attitude is justified. Especially when it borders on bullying sometimes."

Harry sighed.

"But that aside, I still do wish to attend Hogwarts. I'll owl you the time I'm expected to reach my appointments. I'll try to come back to sleep at Hogwarts if possible but it's highly not likely. I'll inform you if I do come back so that I won't have to disturb anyone though."

McGonagall nodded. "That's reasonable I suppose."

"And also," Harry licked his lips. "I want to drop Divination."

At McGonagall's inquiring look, Harry elaborated. "I took it mostly because I followed Ron. I was never told of what the different subjects meant and how they may impact me or anything as I did not have much knowledge on the matter. But over the past few weeks, I've learnt Divination won't help me at all, considering I don't believe I have a lick of Seer-ness in me. And the theory aspects, I can learn myself if need be."

McGonagall nodded. "Alright. Students are allowed to change your electives within the first week of school starting if they do not find it suitable for them. Since you are telling me this earlier, it makes it even easier to change your subjects' combination. What would you like to replace it with?"

"I would like to take Ancient Runes and Arithmancy if you'll permit it. I know they are two subjects, not one but I really am interested in both. I've been reading up on them and it's really intriguing. Well Runes mostly, but I was advised that Arithmancy would act as a complementary subject to it. I'm willing to put in the effort. I promise."

McGonagall looked at him for a few moments, before giving a rare smile. "That's really good to hear, Mr Potter."

McGonagall conjured a parchment and quill, writing down a few things before handing the parchment over to Harry.

"I'm going to need you to sign this to give me a written request to change your electives. It's a formality," she explained. "You are really going to need to work hard if you want to achieve decent scorings in your exams, however. Don't forget that."

Harry nodded, giving a small smile in return. "I'll be giving my best, Professor."

"Well then, I suppose this draws us to the end of this meeting. I'm happy you are choosing to continue at Hogwarts. I'll see you on the first of September, Mr Potter."

Harry nodded, before remembering something important. "Wait! Professor I –," he rummaged in his satchel, missing McGonagall's inquiring look. Finding what he needed, Harry slid a small parchment towards her. "This is my permission slip for Hogsmeade trips. I was hoping if you were willing to be my accomplice in a prank against the Headmaster?" Harry asked innocently.

At McGonagall's deadpan expression, Harry continued, "It's harmless, really. He just won't be able to see whose signature is at the bottom of the page, which should make him frustrated."

McGonagall glanced at the slip in question. Her eyebrows rose. "Lord Greengrass? That's unexpected."

Harry shrugged. "Actually that's not the prank at all. I was hoping that you would lie if he requested for you to tell him whose name was at the bottom."

"And who exactly do you want me to say is your supposed guardian, Mr Potter?"

"Fluffy the Cerberus," Harry replied without batting an eye. That was seriously going to cause the old man some serious headache.

McGonagall rolled her eyes, muttering something that sounded suspiciously like "Of all the things to joke about" but her lips quirked upwards just slightly.

"I'm really relying on your acting skills over here professor, and it'd be appreciated if you could get others into the prank to make it more believable," Harry stated, expressing an exaggerated solemness.

Shaking her head at him, the professor asked, "And just how long do you want this to last, Mr Potter?"

"Oh, I'll leave that to you, Professor. I'm sure you have your own frustrations with your old boss. Feel free to use my prank as an outlet for that unhappiness. In fact, tell that to anyone who helps you with the prank." Harry stated cheerfully.

McGonagall sighed.

"I hope for your own sake this pranking habit does not continue at Hogwarts, Mr Potter."

She stood, giving him a nod before heading to the door to exit the room.

"Oh and Mr Potter –"

Harry looked up to see his Professor facing him from where she stood one step away from the door. Her left hand was resting on the handle while her right held her wand.

"I hereby swear on my magic and life to never reveal the secrets of one Harry James Potter unless he gives his explicit permission to do so or unless it is to save him if the circumstance demands it. I swear this for whenever he chooses to reveal them to me. So I vow, so mote it be by magic's creed."

Harry watched in surprise as a golden glow encompassed him and his Professor.

"Professor I –"

"Whenever you feel comfortable, Harry, even if it such a time never happens," McGonagall interrupted him gently. "I can understand if it doesn't. But just so you know. I am willing to be there for you. I failed at it for the past two years due to my own faults. I promise it won't happen again."

And with that, Harry was left sitting alone in the room, his gut churning with guilt at the lies he had to tell his Professor despite the good reasons he had to do so.

But something inside him warmed as well, as he revelled in the care in his Professor's actions.

"How did your meetings go?"

"Relatively well," Harry answered Griphook, "I was surprised how well it went overall in the first one with her. The only thing that leaves me unhappy is the lies I had to tell in my second meeting with Professor McGonagall."

"Would you rather just tell her about your fish tendencies and about you harbouring a wanted criminal at your home?"

Harry looked away. "I know there are good reasons for the lies but it doesn't make it easier."

"Are you saying you've never lied before?" Griphook deadpanned.

Harry scoffed. "Of course I have, you twat. But most of the time, it was to people I didn't care about and for survival. This time, while it kind of still is about survival, well, I can't say Professor McGonagall is someone I don't care about. She's one of the nicer teachers I've had. It feels wrong to lie to her."

Griphook rolled his eyes. Harry shrugged. "Just saying."

"I can understand why you are feeling guilty but honestly, you have been moping about for the past hour, fish!"

"I do not mope!" Harry defended.

"Then what have you been doing, sighing at my office desk for the last sixty minutes?"

"Just admiring your office desk," Harry said with a straight face. "It's a really lovely desk. Very well polished."

Griphook raised an eyebrow, unimpressed. "I'll give you five seconds to get out of my office and cease disturbing me, fish."

"But – "

"Five."

"Grippyyyy!"

Griphook's arm twitched to his blade. "Four."

"I don't want to!"

"Three."

"You are evil."

"Thanks for the compliment. Two."

"Come on. I haven't satisfied my annoy-Griphook quota for the day yet! It's only been an hour!" Harry spoke hurriedly.

"One" Griphook grasped his blade, left eye twitching at the little wizard's nerve.

The Floo burst into flame, swallowing an emerald-eyed child as Griphook's hand relaxed and his face bore a smirk.

"Works every time," he thought.

Harry stared at the scene before his eyes, wondering again how this was his life.

"Stop it!" Harry shouted, making his way to where his yellow umbrella – the one that could belch snow instead of fire – was chasing after his godfather, belching snowballs at the man as the said man ran across the ceiling of the living room. Its fellow umbrellas seemed to be watching the show. Harry refused to think about how it was even possible for umbrellas to watch without eyes. "You're going to get him hurt! And what have I said about belching snow or fire or rain in my house?"

Harry shook his head as the umbrella skidded to a stop and hopped frantically from the room, following after its "friends" that had already abandoned it when Harry's voice rang across the room.

Why, oh why, did he buy those things?

Harry looked up from the ceiling, staring at his godfather. It took him a moment to realise the man was not smiling as he first believed. Since the man was upside down, Harry realised his "smile" was actually a frown.

"Sirius, why the hell do you have my 'no-gravity' shoes on? I told you not to touch anything!"

The man gave a whine, seemingly unable to talk. Harry noticed he was slightly green in the face too.

Not wanting to risk having the man hurl his lunch on him, Harry moved away, levitating a few cushions from the sofa under his godfather before shouting out, "Just say "shoes, off!" and you will come down!"

A thump and a groan later, he found himself helping his escaped godfather to his feet. "You better take those off now. They go back to normal after 60 seconds."

Harry stifled a smile as he watched Sirius scrambling to untie the laces, conveniently forgetting to mention the part that the shoes turned back to normal after 60 seconds of the wearer saying "Shoes, on".

"Ah, the entertainment you get from a good prank," he thought.

Harry set the honey tea in front of Sirius, rolling his eyes at the man's wariness of it.

"Relax, it's not drugged."

Sirius raised an eyebrow. "It's difficult to believe that, considering it's coming from you, pup."

Harry shrugged. "You deserved it the last time, Sirius."

"I did not!"

"You did. You were about to run off with a half-cooked plan."

Sirius looked away. "I can't stay here with you freely without getting my name cleared pup. I'm going to have to hide sooner or later if somebody comes to visit you."

Harry rolled his eyes.

"For your information, Sirius Orion Black," Harry ignored Sirius' deadpan expression at him mimicking a parental tone, "This house's location and its inhabitants can only be disclosed by me to others. The only reason you were able to see it was because I may have invited you over unknowingly in your animagus form. You were not even supposed to have been able to find me, but I didn't realize that strong family bonds would still manage it," Harry stated.

"Anyways, the goblins have attached new wards to counter that loophole along with precautions against other animagus about a good ten hours before you were moved back into my home. And as for visitors, well I don't plan on anyone – and I mean ANYONE – finding out where I live, no matter who they may be. Even close friends are forbidden. So you don't need to worry about hiding. In fact, this place is the best place for you to recover without fearing the Ministry finding you."

Sirius did not look pleased by the explanation. Harry sighed.

"You can't go looking for the rat."

Sirius looked indignant. "Why not?"

"It's too risky for you. The entire wizarding world is on the lookout for you. And you'll have to rely on Padfoot to get into Hogwarts, which would make it even more difficult for you to capture the rat, considering you can't cast spells while in your Animagus form." Seeing Sirius' red face, Harry knew he hit the man's plans spot on. "It's too risky for you, Sirius. There's a dementor's kiss on sight order on your head. Do you really want to risk that? Risk losing your soul and letting the rat roam free for revenge?"

Sirius looked away. Harry wondered slightly if him having this conversation with Sirius was a good idea. He was no therapist and these were delicate matters. But he could not stop now that they were already talking about it.

"Is this to do with you thinking it is your fault my parents were murdered?"

Sirius whirled back to look at him, eyes wide and damp.

"Yes!" he yelled, voice raw with pain. "I don't think it pup. I know it! I made them switch keepers. I trusted Peter when I knew there was a spy amongst our group and was never sure who it was! I had as good as sold them to the Dark Lord! I killed them in the end with my stupid insistence on my brilliant plan to keep them safe!"

Harry looked at his panting godfather, sensing the slight increase of magic surrounding the man as his magic responded to his grief.

"Look me in the eye and say it."

"What?" Sirius looked confused.

"That you killed my parents. Look me in the eye and say it. You've been avoiding my gaze."

"I...I k– kil–"

"Come on Sirius." Harry cut in sharply. "Look me in the eye and say it!"

Sirius looked away again.

"You don't believe in it Sirius. You don't truly believe you killed them. You can't. You said it yourself last night. You would rather die than kill them."

"But I –"

"You trusted in the wrong person, just like my parents," Harry interrupted. "You trusted in a friend you knew and so did my parents. They trusted Peter just as much as you did. They would not have let him be the keeper otherwise, Sirius. If you killed them by letting Peter be the keeper, they killed themselves by doing the same thing."

Sirius looked away once more.

"You know it's not your fault that Peter betrayed them. Betrayed you. Stop saying you killed them because you feel guilty for not protecting them better. Guilty that you trusted in the wrong person. You did what you thought best to protect them. Besides, if your way of thinking meant you are the reason why my parents got killed, it means I would be the main culprit for my parents' death."

Sirius' head swivelled up with too much force, his face expressing horror at the thought. "What? No! Harry!?"

"You said it yourself yesterday. Voldemort was after me due to some prophecy. My parents were probably just an inconvenience to him. The reason they were killed was due to my being born and being a target of the evil git. So that would mean I got them killed by being born, Sirius. Do you believe in that?"

"No! Harry! That's stupid!" Sirius crossed the space between them, pulling his godson into a fierce hug. Harry stilled, not expecting the sudden physical contact. Sirius did not seem to notice. "They loved you. They would never have thought that. It's Voldemort's fault, not yours. He killed them! Not you! Your parents loved you to death, pup! Don't ever think that!"

Sirius seemed to have gone into a panic at Harry's words.

"Lily and James had never been happier than when you had been born! Even when it was during the midst of the war and even when they knew Voldemort was after you, they never let anything dampen their joy at having you! Yes, it caused them to be paranoid over your safety but all they could ever think about was you! They would put themselves in front of a hundred Dark Lords if it meant keeping you safe pup! It's not your fault!"

Harry was not sure if he was to slap his head at his godfather's disability to apply the same logic for his own person or to feel touched at his care.

"Why don't you believe that the same applies to you?"

"What?"

"That my parents' deaths were not your fault but Voldemort's and Pettigrew's?"

"I – "

"Do you really think my parents would blame you for what happened, Sirius?"

Silence filled the room. Harry waited, sensing such matters could not be rushed.

Sirius sighed, somewhat defeatedly.

"No. I know, logically, pup, that I'm not at fault." His voice cracked. "I know that James would prank me endlessly for the guilt I'm feeling if he were still alive. And Lily would probably whack me in the head with that especially thick Charm's tome she owns," Sirius let out a choked sob, "I'm sorry, pup. But every single time I just kept watching their cold bodies in my mind and I was always there, unable to do a single thing to help. It was the same thing over and over again. And I was so useless!"

It took Harry a few moments to realize that this was what Sirius had experienced under the dementors.

"Over and over again. Useless. And at the end of the day, I kept thinking, it wouldn't have happened if I had just chosen to be the Secret Keeper. So what if Voldemort would have hah easily known who was the Potter's true Keeper? At least Lily, James and you would have been safe!"

Harry sighed, drawing his arms up to return Sirius' hug.

"Well, let me tell you this. You are being stupid. Sirius, it's Pettigrew's fault Voldemort managed to find me and my parents because he decided to give up the secret to them. And then it was Voldemort's fault that my parents are dead. He chose to kill them. He committed the act. You did not do it."

Harry looked up to meet his godfather's tear-streaked face. "My parents won't ever blame you for it." Harry paused, wondering if the next part would help at all, considering he was not close to the man. "I don't blame you, I never have. Not even when everyone told me to the first time I heard about your supposed betrayal. So stop blaming yourself. Please."

Harry rested his head onto his godfather's chest, tightening his arms around him and feeling a spark of warmth when the gesture was reciprocated.

"I've missed your presence for twelve years. I don't want to keep missing it anymore. I want to spend time with my godfather. And I want you healthy and happy while you do it.

You won't manage that if you don't try to recover or if you run after rats when it's too risky, Sirius. I promise to catch the rat, without putting myself at risk. I promise to get you your freedom, Sirius.

I can do it. I have all the means to do it without getting into trouble or harm. But you have to trust me, first. Please just trust me on this, Padfoot. I won't let you down," Harry tightened his arms again. "Not like the others. I promise."

He missed how Sirius closed his eyes at the words and how tears poured down the man's face. But the returned tightening of arms around him told him what he needed to know.

"Ok pup," the man whispered hoarsely. "I'll trust you on this decision."

The two remained in that position for a while longer, taking comfort in the presence of the other in that vulnerable moment, each unknowingly promising to take care of the other in their hearts.

Harry avoided the betrayed look Sirius was shooting him, as he shouted a hurried "Good luck!" at the man before flooing away to Griphook's office.

"I can't believe you sent Fradgrot over!" he exclaimed to his account manager, once he managed to catch his footing. The horror was still etched onto his face.

The goblin in question gave an innocent grin. "What's wrong with Fradgrot, fish? He's the best on Occlumency and also a trained healer amongst us goblins on human health too. He'd also be able to help you with your lessons."

Harry stared at his first goblin friend. "You did it on purpose, you evil creature!"

Griphook smiled once more. "Prove it."

Harry glared at the goblin. "I'm going to set Lady Akigla on you," he muttered.

Griphook narrowed his eyes, scoffing. "You haven't even gone to speak to her Highness since the moon spell incident, fish."

Harry reddened as he remembered said incident, which Griphook picked up on. Unfortunately for him, the goblin seemed to be a genius in figuring him out even with Occlumency shields in place.

"You remembered, did you not?" Griphook asked, a smirk forming on his face.

Realizing he was in for relentless teasing now that he did not have the cover of having been under spell, Harry did what any sensible person with a lick of self-preservation for their dignity would do. He turned and ran out the door, cringing at Griphook's deep laughter that followed his departure. It sounded like a cackle to his overactive imagination.

Honestly, why did all his embarrassing moments have the evil twat as a witness?

Harry let out a deep breath.

"Alright," he thought. "I can do this. The key is to have control, like Griphook mentioned. I must focus on controlling my own emotions. Discipline is key."

With that, Harry drew his Occlumency shields to the maximum, raised his arm in preparation and –

Opened the door of the peculiar shop that stole his heart a few days ago.

Chanting "no buying anything except what I came for" over and over in his brain, the little wizard walked up to the quirky old lady he had befriended.

"Hello Auntie Lyria!"

The old woman, now dressed in orange-black robes and decorated with accessories that seemed to have a theme of skulls, roses and ice-creams looked up from where she was reading a book, evidently having ignored the chime of the bell when Harry entered the shop. Her silver-blue hair was done in an elaborate bun with a long polished stick holding the hairdo in place. It took Harry a moment to register that the stick was actually her wand.

"Harrison! How lovely of you to come back! How have the rascals been behaving?"

Harry didn't bat an eye at the old woman's way of addressing the animated furniture he had bought. "Like the rascals they are, ma'am. Sometimes I have to eat my snacks seated on the gravity-less tables and chairs installed on my ceiling to avoid their running about."

Lyria chuckled.

"I also had my godfather over recently. He had a wonderful time getting acquainted with the snow belching umbrella and the gravity-less shoes," Harry informed with a snicker, thinking over what poor Sirius had been through.

Lyria shared his amusement, understanding what must have happened. "Well, what can I do for you today, lad?"

"I was wondering if you had something here that could fulfil a need of mine. Or if you could customize the item for me."

Lyria raised her eyebrow, swinging her legs from where she was perched on her table.

"I need a cage that can grow with its inhabitant's size. It needs to be unbreakable and impervious to outside magic except for mine. It also needs to disable whoever is stuck inside from doing magic, unless that person is me."

Lyria's expression grew serious. "You want to capture someone lad? Will this involve someone getting hurt?"

Harry knew the woman was one who would never use magic and her talents to harm others. Most of her products, no matter how crazy and dangerous they seemed, were truthfully layered with runes to never attack its owners in a way that caused harm. So far most of his umbrellas had only chased him and serious when they were getting playful. And they would always stop when Harry demanded. He had yet to key Sirius into the animated furniture's "obeying system". He wanted to enjoy his entertainment for a while longer before he gave Sirius the ability to stop his rowdy furniture.

"I can't guarantee it. But who I plan to catch is a traitor. A traitor whose betrayal has been keeping me from spending time with the one direct family member I have left by magic's creed. I've recently gotten information that the traitor is well," Harry hesitated, unsure if he was revealing too much. "Well, the traitor is an animagus. And I have the information on his whereabouts. I have the backup I need to capture the man but no means to keep him captive from his elusive form. That's why I need that cage. And I only know you when it comes to making unconventional but useful and powerful things." Harry looked at the lady in the eye. "I'm willing to give you a wizard's oath to promise I won't harm him unless I am left with no choice. But I can't guarantee no harm will happen considering the complexity of the situation."

Harry searched the woman's eyes, looking to see if she would agree. "Please. I need to bring the traitor to justice or I'll never be able to spend time with the only family I have left unless I were to hide them. And I promised I would help get them their freedom."

Lyria was silent, staring at the wizard child in front of her for a long while before she answered. "Alright. I'll trust you on this, little lad. I can get it done to perfection in three days, though it may require a drop of your blood after completion to sync it to your magic's will."

Harry nodded. Against his nature, he went and gave the woman a small hug.

"Thank you," he said, letting his gratitude shine in his eyes. "This means a lot."

The old lady gave his head a small pat. "Nothing to it, lad. Now, do you want to purchase anything today?"

Harry gulped, strengthening his Occlumency shield and repeating his new mantra in his head.

"No buying anything unless you need it. No buying anything unless you need it. No buying anything unless you absolutely need it."

A mischievous gleam entered the old woman's eyes. "I have a new line of products…" she trailed off.

Harry cursed internally.

Harry Potter sighed in defeat as landed on his butt in the middle of his living room. He felt the treacherous weight of his new purchases weigh him down in his left pocket. Oh, how his own will betrayed him. He sighed once more.

A snicker had him glaring at his new housemate.

"Git," he muttered.

Sirius, unrepentant shot back that he deserved it for leaving him alone with the meanest goblin he had ever met. Harry smirked, rising back onto his feet.

"So how was the therapy session?" he asked, bent on irking the man.

"Horrible," Sirius shuddered. "The little green monster is evil."

Harry's smirk grew. "Maybe I should invite him over more then."

Sirius gave him the stink eye, "Don't you dare pup! An hour and a half per two days until you leave for Hogwarts! After that, it would be a whole half a day for every weekday until you came back home in the afternoon from school. You promised!" Sirius paused. "Also you've got to tell me how you got old Minnie to let you leave school like that!"

Harry shrugged, deciding that the latter part may not be the best thing to reveal to Sirius yet considering it would entail him retelling his second year's adventure. "That's for me to know and you to never find you. And I really don't know Sirius..." Harry trailed off with a smirk, purposefully not revealing his own trepidation at Fradgrot's teaching. "I never did say I would not invite goblins over occasionally. When I said nobody was going to know about my location it didn't cover the goblins. They already knew since before you came."

It was true. Griphook had demanded to know where he lived after he had taken off once his meeting with Dumbledore had ended. The surly goblin had lectured Harry about his disappearing act until Harry had begged for him to stop, promising that he would not repeat the act. It had been touching again to have seen the goblin's care. And Harry often wondered how, if the Wizarding World was not so prejudiced, those amazing creatures could have helped so much in the magical world's growth. Some of the goblins' works on healing and warding were simply more advanced and efficient than what wizards and witches had created.

Sirius gasped in mock horror, placing a hand on his chest in exaggerated disbelief before shouting "You little conniving liar!"

Then the man was launching himself at Harry, tickling the little wizard mercilessly.

Harry flinched slightly, startled by the unexpected contact before melting into hysterical giggles, missing the realization that dawned on Sirius' face. It was soon followed by a pang of sadness that was masked immediately as Sirius continued tickling his godson.

"What do you say, pup?"

"Can't breathe!" Harry choked out, tears forming in his eyes at having laughed too hard.

"Will you apologize to your poor, poor godfather for your deceit?" Sirius asked in mock seriousness, not ceasing his tickling torture.

"Yes! Yes!" Harry wheezed.

Sirius stopped, looking at Harry with a solemn and expectant look that was way too exaggerated. "Well?"

Harry, still bent over his stomach, took in deep gulps of air, steadying his breathing before straightening to meet Sirius' gaze with an equally serious look.

"I apologize, dearest godfather that I deceived thou," Harry started in a regretful expression, "And that thou were dumb enough to fall for it."

Harry took off running before Sirius could process his words. He let out another bout of laughter as he heard Sirius shout an indignant "Hey!" a moment later.

Perhaps he did not have to worry so much on bonding with Sirius after all.