Padfoot and his Pup

9. | Watching Over You

"It's alright, pup. You're doing great. That's it, just like that. " Sirius encouraged the little five year old who gave him a shy smile. It was heartwarming to see the child actually smile after two whole weeks of tears and fright. The man held out his hands and helped Harry walk a bit more. The broken ankle had almost healed fully and the healer had said that it was alright to start walking again.

Harry winced slightly as his foot bent momentarily but determination replaced it quickly. Two weeks back, when Sirius had rescued him, the child had a broken ankle, two broken ribs, a black eye, whip marks across his backside and a twisted wrist. It had taken every bit of Sirius' self restraint to not obliterate those bloody muggles right there.

The relatives had been severely taken care of. Vernon and his wife were rotting in muggle prison while their son had been sent to live with his Aunt Marge.

"Yes, perfect." Sirius said as he pulled the tiny form into his arms, holding the boy securely. Harry tensed out of habit before relaxing. "Don't worry, pup. I'll never hurt you." Sirius had lost count of the number of times he'd said those words in the past few days. But, he didn't care. He'd say them every five minutes if only to eliminate the boy's fear.

Harry had decided within the first four days itself that he liked this man. Although he was still quite afraid of him, he liked a lot of things about him. For example, Sirius gave really good hugs, his voice was nice and soothing and that wasn't even the best part. Harry had lived with him for a while and not once had the man— his godfather hit him! That was the part Harry loved the most.

"Does your foot hurt very much now? Does anything else hurt?" That was another thing that was strange about the man. He kept asking about Harry's health like he cared about him. He'd learnt long ago to never lie to an adult and so he told the truth. "M-My leg is better and my eye also doesn't hurt that much S-Sirius."

"That's good. But?" He knew there was more. "My chest aches a little sometimes." He stated hesitantly. "Mmhm. Don't you worry, little one. We'll make it all better." Sirius reassured him. And Harry believed him.

"Pup, is there anything you want to do after lunch?" Sirius asked as he led the boy to the table. "Can I colour a little? I promise I'll put away everything once I'm finished. Please, Sirius." It hurt the man that Harry pleaded so much for something so small. He picked the boy up and kissed his forehead. "Of course you can."

*******

"He did that?" Harry asked, his eyes widening. "Oh he did. He wouldn't stop calling her 'little red' until she agreed to kiss him." Sirius said, a nostalgic smile on his face as he remembered his best friend's idiotic antics. "Why did she hate the name so much?"

"I don't know actually. Your mum wasn't all that tall. In fact, she was quite short." Sirius said. "But she was taller than me?" That was the next innocent question. Chuckling, Sirius wrapped his arms around the boy. "Much taller than you. But, I know you are going to grow real tall, aren't you?"

"Mmhm. Then, I'll really be a big boy." Harry replied. "I'm sure you will." Said the man. "So did she kiss him?"

"My, my. You are a curious little one, aren't you? Yes she did. And I swear, James walked around with that dazed smile for nearly a week." "He sounds funny." Harry said. "Oh he was. Now, it's getting late and you need to be in bed."

"But I am in bed." Harry replied with a small grin, pointing towards his pillow and the black plush dog in his arms. "And you are a very good boy, but I am feeling incredibly sleepy. I promised I'd make those snitch shaped pancakes so I need to get some sleep. So do you, pup."

"Okay. But you'll tell me more tomorrow?" Harry asked, using his strongest weapon: large green baby-like eyes. "You bet. Now, goodnight, sleep tight." Said Sirius as he brought the comforter up to Harry's chin. "Goodnight, Sirius." The boy said as he giggled a bit. "Goodnight puppy mine. I love you."