A Sirius Summer

19th August 1995

Harry sat back wiping the sweat off his forehead with the back of his hand leaving a grease streak behind. Cabin fever had set in over the past few days so Sirius had snuck him out to the coach-house earlier that morning before heading back to run interference and give Harry a few hours of quiet.

The engine of the second bike had been nothing more than pieces when Sirius first shown it to him, but with some careful cleaning charms and the couple of manuals Sirius had lent him, Harry now had a half assembled engine sat in front of him.

Creaking from the old wooden door announced the arrival of his father. Harry waved blindly, his focus still on the clutch that was currently in three pieces at his feet.

"How are you getting on?" Sirius asked, taking a seat on one of the upturned boxes that scattered the floor.

"Made some progress," Harry held up the clutch, "Can't figure out how to get this back together though."

"Try chapter eighteen of the manual. I think that was what I used when my clutch went spongy." Sirius suggested summoning a cloth and some metal polish. Harry nodded and the two settled into a relaxed silence each working on their respective bikes.

"I wish I could take the bike to Hogwarts and keep tinkering there." Harry said with a sigh placing the now repaired clutch back into the box of parts.

"If I thought for a second you could get away with it then I would encourage you." Sirius said solemnly. "You are almost a different person out here, it's nice to see you so relaxed."

"You know how claustrophobic the house can get, especially with everyone around." Packing the tools away with a flick of his wand, Harry took a seat on the footstep of the box-carriage.

"You have the spell-crafting book. Take the same approach as you do with the bike." Sirius advised. "Find a space that no one can disturb you and make sure you have a couple of hours just focusing on something you want to do for the fun of it."

"Finding somewhere quiet in the castle that isn't out of bounds is almost impossible." Harry snorted.

"Now that is not the attitude any son of mine should have" Sirius admonished with a grin. "I am sure that you are able to stick your bed curtains closed and put a silencing charm up?"

"I can do the silencing charms, our beds are charmed to not allow the curtains be stuck closed." Harry sighed.

"You mean not a single bloke in your dorm has figured out how to get around that yet?" Sirius looked aghast. "I am disappointed in the standards of my old house."

"It's not like any of us get up to much." Harry shrugged

"Well I will teach you the charms. It is good to be able to get away completely sometimes." Sirius said putting away his things and banishing the now dirty cloth to the basement. "Now come on it's lunch and we don't want Mrs Weasley yelling at us again."

Grinning Harry followed Sirius back to the darkness of the main house. It definitely would not do to get in trouble again.

--- --- ---

Remus had taken Harry down into the basement after lunch, showing him into a side room that he had never noticed before.

"Severus is usually the only order member willing to be in here, but as he is currently out enjoying his own holiday I thought we could take control of the space for today."

Harry snorted, trying to imagine the snarky potions professor enjoying anything. With a glare from Remus, he schooled his features and instead looked around the potions laboratory. It was very different from the classroom lab he was used to at Hogwart's. Instead of portable burners set up on battered old benches, there were several brewing stations embedded in the marble counter-tops. Wooden shelved lined the walls filled with cauldrons and other brewing equipment. At the far end of the room several cabinets stood, their glass fronts showing them to be filled with vials of ingredients.