If Remus raised Harry

Untitled Part 4

Harry felt, relieved, terrified and confused, all at the same time. Somebody was going to take him away from the Dursleys and he was thrilled, but would this man really be a better guardian? Harry knew what to expect from his Aunt and Uncle, but this was a complete stranger. As well as that, he couldn't believe that this man really wanted to adopt Harry, in fact he already had adopted Harry, as McGonagall told him this morning. She had explained that Remus was a close friend of his parents, and certainly who they would have wanted to take of him, but it had been felt that he would be safer with muggles. Harry was fairly certain that he would be sent back as soon as this man realised what a terrible child he was. He had been told his entire life that he was worthless, and nobody would ever want him, so if this man did, it must be because he didn't know Harry yet. That was what he presumed as he sat in McGonagall's office waiting to meet his new guardian who would take him for the weekend so that they could get to know each other.

Remus was sat in his living room, preparing to go and get Harry. He couldn't believe he was now going to be the parental figure to somebody, but he was certain he would do his best, and at the very least that would be an improvement on his life with the Dursleys. His spare room had been set up for the young boy, with a quidditch bedspread, and a new wardrobe. It still looked quite bare, as Remus thought that Harry might like to decorate some of the room himself, with photos, or posters or whatever else he liked. He glanced at the clock on the wall and saw that it was time to leave, so he took a deep breath, and stepped into the fireplace.

When he reached the fireplace in McGonagall's office, he came face to face with the spitting image of his old friend. Remus knew that Harry had always looked like James, but with Lily's eyes, he had known him as a baby, but seeing him now, at the same age James was when he and Remus first met, the likeness was even more obvious. Then he noticed how terrified the poor boy appeared. It wasn't surprising to Remus, not after what he'd heard of Harry's past, but it felt odd, that the child of two of his best friends, was frightened of him.
'Hi Harry,' he said trying to sound calm, and unthreatening, so as not to scare him further, 'Are you ready to go?'
'Yes sir,' said Harry failing miserably in his attempt to sound confident. He had no idea what to expect from this man, he was just now seeing him, for the first time in almost ten years (and he didn't exactly remember this man from when he was a child) and now he was expected to just leave, and go to this stranger's house.
'Alright then, we'll travel by floo,' said Remus.

After he'd had a quick chat with Professor McGonagall, Remus took Harry back to his cottage, wanting as much time to bond with the boy as possible. He showed Harry round the majority of house, then stopped outside the final room.
'Would you like to go in first Harry? This is your room.'
Harry opened the door, expecting to see a cupboard, or something not much bigger, but instead found a moderate sized room, with a double bed in the centre, as well as a wardrobe and a chest of drawers.
'This is my room?' Asked Harry, shocked that he would be given something so nice.
'It is, and you're free to decorate it however you wish. I left the walls fairly bare, in case you had photos or posters that you wanted to put up.'
'Thank you sir, it's amazing.'
'I'm glad you like it Harry, although you don't have to call me sir, Remus is fine.'
'Oh, sorry'
'It's not a problem Harry you didn't know'

Harry didn't really know how to respond to that. He was used to doing things wrong, but he certainly wasn't used to being told it was ok. Remus seemed to realise this, and told Harry he would give him some space to unpack, and then to come down to have some dinner. Remus decided it would be best to have a more relaxed evening, just some dinner and a movie, and then they had all of Saturday and Sunday for more serious matters, like getting to know Harry properly, and discussing with him, exactly what this guardianship situation would entail, as it seemed to him, that the uncertainty was probably part of what was making Harry so nervous.

So he cooked Harry toad in the hole, an old favourite of Lily's that she had taught him to cook, and then let Harry choose from his vast muggle movie collection before sending him to bed at 9:30, with far less protest than he would have expected from an 11 year old. As much as he didn't want to deal with constant whining, Remus hoped Harry would get to a point where he was slightly less compliant, because at least that would be a sign that he was no longer as frightened of Remus. However they had plenty of time to get there, and Remus was sure that once Harry got more used to him, and saw that he was safe now that he was away from his muggle relatives, Harry would become far more like James was at that age. And Remus would always be there, to show Harry that he was loved no matter what.