It Meant Family

12th of February 1994

"I knew what it was like to be haunted by the ghost of a self one wished to be, but only half-sensed." - Zemi: A New Spelling of My Name, Audre Lorde

Hogwarts, Scotland

Usually, in the mornings before his Quidditch games, Harry preferred to sleep in as much as he could, but with the nerves regarding the hovering Dementors, he'd asked Remus for an emergency Patronus lesson. And in fear of having his godson drained before the game, Sirius argued the lesson should be without the Boggart-Dementor which he thought was wise.

Harry'd left Ron a note letting him know where he was and that he'd be back before lunch as he snuck out of the Gryffindor Common Room before any of the other boys was awake. He ate a quick breakfast and rushed to the Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom where Sirius and Remus waited for him playing a game of Exploding Snap, he walked in with a smile as his godfathers laughed at a card exploding.

He took off the maroon velvet cloak Sirius had bought for him the previous summer, which had already started to feel short on his legs, placed it on a desk and rolled up his sleeves, revealing the wand holster on his left arm.

"It suits you." Said Remus looking at him.

"Thanks." He replied. "Neville said he bought it from a witch in Castletown near where he lives."

"It makes that Herbology book you gave him seem rather boring." Teased Sirius.

"I think Neville would beg to differ." Harry shot back. "He's been obsessed with that book." He pulled his wand out of the holster. "Should I start?" Remus nodded and he pulled the memory to the forefront of his mind. "Expecto Patronum." His Patronus was getting bigger and brighter each time he practised and hovered firmly next to him.

"Perfect." Said Moony. "Now we're going to practise keeping it going while you focus on other tasks."

"So I can use it to sleep?" He asked, eager.

"Yeah."

"Good," Harry smiled, "because that Dreamless Sleep Potion is losing the effect." He told them. "This week Madam Pomfrey's almost tripled the dose I started with."

"Alright then," Nodded Sirius, as if he was about to undertake a critical mission, "let's start with a round of Exploding Snap."

Harry won the first round of the game and Remus won the second, but Sirius won the two that followed, all while the Patronus stood strong. They then gave him an impromptu quiz with questions about History of Magic, Defence Against the Dark Arts, Quidditch, Potions and 1970s muggle pop culture, which he thought was entirely unfair and borderline cheating. The harder the questions got and the harder he had to think to answer them, the smaller the Patronus became, but it was only when Remus challenged him to a long game of Wizard's Chess that it finally faded.

"Knight to F3." Smiled Moony. "Check."

"It's an impressive start." Remarked Sirius as the final wisps of the spell disappeared in the air.

"I guess." He responded disappointed, still looking at the game. "Queen to D6." He called. "Check mate." He turned to look at where his Patronus had been. "I'm not even close to getting it to last the whole night." Remus looked up at him kindly.

"This is a high level, complicated spell." He told him, putting the chess pieces away. "You've done in less than two months what takes most adult wizards a year to accomplish."

"But-"

"Harry, this is magic some wizards never learn." Padfoot said softly, placing a hand on his shoulder. "And you, at thirteen, have nearly mastered it."