Growing Up

Part 83.

"Hey, Moony?" Harry walked out to the kitchen and sat up on the barstool. His hunter green eyes followed Remus around the kitchen until his attention was met.

"What's up?"

"Can some friends come over today? The ones I was telling you about the other day?" Harry carved the lines in the counter with his fingernail nonchalantly. He watched Remus turn around with his black mug in his hand and waited for an answer.

"Sure." Remus tried to not sound too excited in fear of scaring him off. Harry had friends, sure, but usually it was that they were never quite important enough to bring over. He continued, "Who are you inviting?"

"Just two friends. You'll meet them when they get here." He hopped off the chair and turned on his heels, walking back to his room before snatching a quill off the coffee table. "Hedwig!"

"What a stupid name." Sirius walked out mumbling. He held Athena in one arm and his grey coffee mug in the other, the cat tranquil and still in his grasp. Athena squinted her eyes and rested her head on the tattoo of a treble clef on Sirius' outer wrist.

"Let the kid have his fun, love. There was a number of things I thought were stupid about you in our day." Remus leaned against the counter and stared at the fridge at a drawing pinned to it. It was one they had kept for years; a messy sketch of Padfoot in charcoal pencil, his tongue lolling to the side complimenting his tilted head. He smiled at the signature in the corner.

"You didn't think i was stupid."

Remus turned and stared blankly, his eyes refocusing.

"You did?"

"I sent my owl!" Harry chimed from his room, the sound of a book falling accompanying it. Harry groaned and picked up the book. "They're at Ron's house, they should be here soon."

"Ron." Remus repeated. "Last name, Bambi?"

"Weasley." Harry said back at a lower volume.

"He's a Weasley? Sirius, Harry is friends with a Weasley."

"Are you? I loved the Prewetts. They had a lovely sister." Sirius set his coffee mug on the table and set Athena down gently on the armrest of the couch, grinning at her small paws reaching to stretch. The kitten's white fur contrasted neatly against the grey couch as she purred.

"Prewetts?"

"Andromeda knew them in her years."

Harry cleaned up the parlor as they watched, his hands full of miscellaneous items that he had left around. He frowned at Sirius' cigarette smoke and waved it away as he tidied.

***
"I'm Hermione Granger." The girl held out her stiff hand, gesturing. She had a bright smile on her face and her eyes twinkling in the afternoon light on the porch.

"Miss Hermione, lovely to finally meet you." Sirius shook the hand in front of him that was much smaller than his. It didn't happen often, the size comparison. He smiled through his teeth at the sight of it, even though she was just a girl. Remus wouldn't have tried to introduce himself if she hadn't persisted, his palm the size of her entire hand. The two were invited in and  made quiet noises about the house they walked into

Ron chewed off a piece of taffy and began, his words gargled from the sad attempt to chew.
"I'm Ron. Ron Weasley, Sir. I mean, Sirs? Or, professor? I-"

"They get it, Ron." Harry giggled at Ron's flushed expression, his eyes darting from Remus to Sirius then back again.

"I love your class, Professor. I'm highly interested in protection charms, I think I'll need them around Harry."