Chapter 5
Severus Tobias Fucking Snape!
How dare you bully a child, you fucking hypocrite! James Potter's sins are not Harry's! If you keep bullying a FUCKING CHILD, I will tell the Dark Lord you betrayed him to Dumblefuck!
Raven
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Harry and Reg sat down to eat. "I'm so glad I finally found you," his father admitted. "I've been looking for you for years. Stupid Dumblefuck," he muttered. Harry choked. "Please, I want to know what happened to you."
Swallowing, Harry set down his sandwich. "Well, I, uh... I grew up with my aunt Petunia."
"She married, right?" Reg asked, frowning a little. "Dursley, right? Venom?"
"Vernon," Harry corrected. "They have a son, Dudley."
"And they hurt you?" Reg asked, eyes flashing in protective fury.
"...yeah." Harry said quietly.
"Why don't you start with when you got your letter to Hogwarts?" Reg said. "You must have been so excited."
"Not really," Harry admitted. "I didn't know what Hogwarts was. I wasn't able to read my letter, Uncle Vernon ripped it up before I could."
Reg's eyes flashed. "Then how did..."
"They kept sending letters," Harry explained. "More and more until about fifty came down the chimney a week later. My uncle panicked and dragged us across the country to different hotels, but the letters followed us. Finally, he brought us to a really old cabin in the middle of a huge lake. That was when Hagrid came; he told me about Hogwarts and Dumbledore. He took me shopping."
"He sent Hagrid?" Reg exclaimed. "And why did he just keep sending letters instead of checking up on you?!"
"I don't know," Harry admitted. "I really like Hagrid, though."
"A teacher, preferably a Head of House, are required to give Firstbloods and Muggle-raised wizards a brief explanation about the wizarding world and help them navigate Diagon Alley but not buy things for them," Reg stated bluntly. "It's part of the school charter."
Harry sighed. "Well, he bought everything for me. He also removed something from Gringotts for Dumbledore. I didn't realize until later that it was the Sorcerer's Stone."
"Which one?" Reg asked. "There's three right now -- the Flamels have two, and an American witch has the third."
"But -- but the Chocolate Frog card-" Harry sputtered.
Reg rolled his eyes. "You based your entire knowledge off a Chocolate Frog card?"
"Uh... actually, no. Hermione had a giant book that said that Nicolas Flamel was the only known maker of the Sorcerer's Stone," Harry remembered.
"'Was?' He's still alive," Reg told him. "I buy potions ingredients from his shop."
Harry stared at him. "So... that probably wasn't the Stone."
"No," Reg said flatly. "Tell me about your first year."
So, Harry told him. He told him about Quirrell, who was being possessed by Voldemort. He told him about the troll. He told him about Quidditch. He told him about his friends, Ron and Hermione. He told him about Fluffy and Norbert. He told him about the Mirror of Erised. He told him about fighting Voldemort and saving the fake Stone. He finished with Dumbledore telling him that the Flamels were going to die.
Reg looked calm, but Harry could sense his fury, and his magic was all over the place. "That... fucking... manipulative... asshole," he said very softly.
Harry frowned a little. But the more he thought about it, the more he realized Reg was right -- Dumbledore had orchestrated the whole thing.
"What about your second year?" Reg asked, taking a deep breath. "Surely it was better than your first."
Harry laughed bitterly. "Actually, it was probably worse."
So, he told Regulus about diaries, house-elves, Petrifications, the Chamber of Secrets, and a Basilisk. When he told him about being bitten, Reg snatched Harry up into his arms, almost knocking their plates off the counter.
"How the fuck are you alive?" Reg croaked into his hair.
"Fawkes, Dumbledore's Phoenix," Harry explained, his voice muffled, as his face was pressed into Reg's shoulder. "I'm fine, Dad."
"Being abused and manipulated into fighting Dark Lords is not fine, Fawn," Reg muttered. He took a deep breath and released Harry. "You know what, this is not happening a third time," he said sharply. "I'm going to apply for the Defense Against the Dark Arts position."
Harry blinked in surprise.
"This year, you will keep out of trouble and focus on your schoolwork," Reg said sternly. Harry nodded quickly. "Eat, I'll have your things sent from the Leaky."
"Okay, Dad."
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Reg had only been gone for a minute when the door to the store opened. There was a loud woof. Harry started.
The door to the apartment opened, and a huge black dog entered. He looked skinny, ragged, and exhausted. It looked as if it hadn't had a bath in months. It jumped when it saw Harry, eyes widening in shock.
"How did you get in?" Harry asked curiously, setting down his sandwich and heading over. "Hey, you're that dog that was at Little Whinging."
His ears flattened against his head, and he looked down.
"I'm not going to hurt you," Harry said quietly, gently petting the dog. "Do you have a home?"
The dog shook his head.
"Wow, you're a smart dog." Harry paused. "I should probably wait for Dad to get back, but I've never been allowed a pet..."
The dog looked confused.
"Let's give you a bath," Harry decided. "Do you want some of my sandwich first? You look hungry."
The dog took one look at the sandwich before wolfing down the rest of it. Harry giggled. "Yeah, hungry. Come on, boy, I think there's a bath in here...."
Harry had never given a bath to anyone besides himself before, but it was fun -- and messy. The dog wouldn't sit still and kept splashing water everywhere. Harry was soaked and covered in suds three minutes in, but he was laughing.
"Harry? Where are you?" he heard Reg call from the front room. "And why is there dirt on the floor?"
The dog froze in shock.
"In here!" Harry replied, casting the dog a confused look.
Reg opened the door to the bathroom. For a moment, he just blinked, taking in the scene.
"Harry," he said finally, "why are you washing my brother?"
"Your what?" Harry asked in alarm. The dog curled in on himself.
"That's Sirius' Animagus form, Padfoot," Reg said dryly. "Sirius, what the fuck?"
The dog transformed, and soon a very gaunt-looking man sat in the tub.
"Reg, Fawn," said Sirius Black hoarsely. "Long time, no see."