Padfoot and his Pup

15. | Meeting the Godfather- Part I

Sirius stared at the forlorn face and mentally cursed.

"Is there really nothing you can do, Sirius?"

The man shook his head, equally disappointed. "I'm sorry, kiddo. I'm stuck here for at least a week. The Healers refuse to budge. They claim that I'm 'not fit to leave.' Bunch of nutters if you ask me."

Sirius hadn't planned on spending his newfound freedom lying on a bed in St. Mungo's Hospital. But it was a mandatory procedure.

Harry Potter, his eleven year old godson had just completed his first year at Hogwarts. He'd reunited with the boy immediately after his acquittal and the two of them had hit it off.

When Harry was just a baby, he'd loved the little pup like his own. Now, he found that this hadn't changed one bit.

Normally, eleven year old boys were supposed be troublesome, snot nosed little brats. But Harry could only be described as adorable.

At least that was Sirius' opinion. He was polite, too well mannered and still quite shy around Sirius, despite meeting a couple of times.

Harry was Sirius' regular visitor. Now that his lessons for the year had ended, he came by almost everyday. The two of them would talk for hours together, eat lunch and then Harry would go back in the evening.

The boy had been elated when Sirius had offered him to come and live at Black Manor. He had surprised Sirius with an enthusiastic hug before returning to his shy sweet self.

"Can't I stay here with you? I could sleep on the couch."

The Hospital wouldn't allow anyone, much less a child to stay the night. "I'm afraid not, pup. I hate this just as much as you do. But it's just a week, kiddo. You won't even realise how time flew by."

Harry was very reluctant to return to his muggle relatives. Sirius had met the Dursleys once, years ago and he wasn't surprised. They were an unpleasant lot, completely against magic.

"You promise you'll come when you're out of here?"

Sirius couldn't help but smile at how young Harry appeared at that moment. "You have my word. As soon as I'm out of here, I'll come and pick you up."

Harry brightened up a little at the man's words.

The Healer dropped in and reminded the duo that visiting hours were over for the day.

"Come and give your godfather a hug." Harry complied and was engulfed by the warmth of the man's embrace.

Hugs were something he had never received as a little boy. So, when his godfather had hugged him for the first time, he was pretty sure he'd turned red. Now, he was getting used to them and relished the feeling.

Sirius pulled back and ruffled Harry's hair. "Don't you worry, pup. The week will be over before you know it. Seven days and you and I will be having the time of our lives."

But Harry couldn't tell the man just how miserable these seven days would be.

*****

That night, Harry sat on his bed, unable to fall asleep. Tomorrow, he would have to return to the Dursleys. He was dreading it more and more.

After everything that had happened last year with the muggles, he knew exactly what to expect when he went back. The beatings would remain the same.

While he could scare Dudley away by pretending to do magic, he couldn't use the same trick on Vernon and Petunia. Since Lily had attended Hogwarts, Petunia knew about the underage rule.