Badgersoul

Chapter 2: Summer Fun

Chapter 2: Summer Fun

Pettigrew came over and is here to stay for the summer, much to my irritation. Dunno what about him makes me dislike him so much, I just know that something about him doesn't feel quite right... Anyway, James managed to get his hands on some mandrake leaves, so now the three of them can start the process of becoming Animagi. Looking forward to seeing what they'll be.

**

Life at the Den – as Leo had named their abode – was a lot wilder than Leo had first told Harry. There was hardly a moment of quiet around the house with the Blacks running around, and that's how they preferred it. Sirius avoided quiet since it gave him too much time to dwell on Azkaban and its cold, silent halls. Leo just liked to be loud and have fun. As a result, the two were often the center of attention, pranking and dueling each other around the house and on the lawn. Remus was okay with this until a week after Harry had come to stay with them.

At around two in the morning, Harry had awoken to rapid footsteps in the hallway and bright lights coming from under his door. With a frown, he put on his glasses and walked out the door to find Sirius and Leo dueling each other whilst holding cookie sheets in front of them like shields. Sirius was pressing onward, pushing Leo closer and closer to the top of the stairs that Harry was concerned he might fall over. Leo, however, was prepared. He dropped the cookie sheet behind him before jumping on it, sliding down the stairs as he and Sirius fired spells at one another.

Things were going well until Leo was about halfway down. He was focusing so hard on blocking Sirius's onslaught that he forgot to keep himself properly balanced. He wobbled and fell down the stairs, somersaulting backward as he did so. Remus ran out of his room at the loud noise as Sirius ran down the stairs to make sure he hadn't accidentally killed his nephew. He was immensely relieved to find the blonde laughing uproariously and joined in until he caught Remus's look.

Remus scolded the two furiously for their reckless behavior and – when he saw Harry walking down the stairs – for waking up everyone in the house. He tasked Leo with cleaning up the mess they had made while Sirius, who had turned into Padfoot and tried to run away to escape punishment, was sent outside until breakfast.

"If you're going to act like a poorly behaved dog, you can stay outside like a poorly behaved dog," Remus informed him, closing and locking the door behind him.

Leo felt bad about this so, in an effort to make it up to his uncle, he made some sandwiches while Remus and Harry were asleep and brought them out for him and Padfoot to share. They ate in the barn – which reminded Leo more of a stable than anything else – before falling asleep in a pile of hay. When Remus came to collect them for breakfast, he had to run back inside for the camera in order to capture the moment. Leo was laying half-curled, his arms wrapped tightly around Padfoot's neck and his face nuzzled into his fur. Apart from being adorable, Remus thought it would be a good thing to hold over the two incurable pranksters' heads in case they got too out of hand.

He woke the two up, smiling broadly when they blinked up at him blearily. When Remus informed them breakfast was ready, the two were wide awake and bolting for the house. They were already sat at the table with Harry by the time he walked in, digging into a mountain of pancakes, bacon, and eggs.

"So, any plans for the day?" Remus asked as he sat down in his spot.

"I was thinking of showing Harry the forest. Haven't explored it yet," Leo replied, crunching on his bacon.

"Wouldn't do that if I were you," Sirius replied, drinking his coffee. "Last time I was here, Cas and Rose had a pretty violent manticore roaming around in there."