Werewolf's first fight

"I can't believe how irresponsible you were being! Sneaking out of the castle?! While everyone was gathered to attend the Yule Ball? Couldn't you have taken your friends to the greenhouse if you wanted somewhere private and in the open air?"

Harry gritted his teeth at the endless lecture Sirius was giving him for the last ten minutes. 

And the greenhouse wasn't even outdoor, since it's a house.

Both Blaise and Theodore were sent to their common room with the promise of not a word out, which was fine with them as they won't be receiving punishment for sneaking out, and Alice and Frank had ran to the Great Hall to see their son. Harry still wondered the reason of their presence but didn't get to ask about it when Sirius took him out of hearing range to the privacy of the Hospital Wing and lashed out on Harry as soon as Rem closed the door behind them and cast some spells in forecast of the outburst.

In the first few minutes, Rem tried to intervene, but realizing that it only aggravated his friend, he hold his tongue and waited until it's finished, all the while sending apologizing looks to Harry.

Harry would have answered him back but he reckoned Sirius would find something to say about this too, so he kept his head low for now.

"Harry, are you listening to me? I'm being serious! Yes, Sirius! Moony had hinted there're underneath danger in the UK because there's some deranged fanatic of you-know-who still roaming in the country and you go do that stunt?!"

Seeing the man taking a breath to recover his diatribe, Harry finally opened his mouth and spout out his own tirade before it's too late. He ignored Rem's look, not about to decide if it was smart of him or not.

"You're the one who wanted me to stay because it's Hogwarts. And can we just call him Tom? It's getting ridicule to refere him by that moniker."

"Yeah, I insisted that you stay between the protections of Hogwarts! Not outside! Seriously, don't you see the danger it is to you?!"

"I can defend myself!"

"What about your friends? They're your age, you think they know as much offensive and defensive spells as you? Could you really be hold responsible if any of them were hurt because of you? There's rules to protect you children, we're not doing this to annoy you and make your life miserable! We're only telling you that with your security in mind!"

"Alright, I get it! Stop yelling at me!"

"I'm yelling because you're not listening! Do you want me to chant it to you?!"

"Padfoot, that's enough-"

"Well, it would have certainly be more appealing than being verbally assaulted when there's no direct danger! You're just being harsh for no reason!"

For some reason, those words angered Sirius even more.

"No reason!? Do you have any idea-"

"Sirius! Enough!" Rem shout louder even.

Everything stopped in the room and for a moment, they're all so silent that only their panting breath could be heard.

Sirius and Rem exchanged a curt look where a private conversation passed through and Harry felt the irritation raised in him again. If there was a reason to be that jumpy and touchy, he should be informed instead of being unfairly scolded. Sure, he snuck out the castle but it's not like they never did such thing either, they're the ones who revealed the passageways to him.

"Harry, we're only saying this for your safety. For some time, don't sneak out of the castle unless it's under the supervision of an adult. Hogwarts staffs are competant wizards who knew how to act if danger arise."

Harry looked at Rem for a long moment, studying his face in search of the truth, before nodding curtly. They're hiding something from him yet expected him to obey them like some well-behaved kid they never raised.

"How did you even expect to go back inside with all the passages being one-way? Were you going to show them through the Shrieking Shack?" Sirius spoke again, in a smoother tone, trying to fix his earlier outburst.

But Harry didn't let got of the scathe and let it seep out in his speech. "We were about to break into Honeydukes. I would never have betrayed your secrets like that."

"Yet, we found you there."

And Sirius was quick to respond to threats. Rem tensed, feeling the row was far from finished.

"I was just giving a tour to my friends and helping them destroy the ridiculous rumors around the dwellings."

"How is it not betraying the secret if you're trying to diminish the shack's infamous reputation? If they're not scared, they'll want to explore it and it won't be long before they discover it!"

"How is that a problem if it's not used anymore?! Even Hogsmeade townspeople must be aware there are no more scream every full moon!"

"Watch your tongue, prongslet!"

"What! I'm only saying the truth!"

"I'm done with your temper! You better change that attitude of yours, this is impossible to deal with!"

"You're one to talk, you act as immaturily!"

"I'm your guardian! I'm the one behind your education!"

"All on papers! And with your own attitude, people will be just saying that an apple doesn't fall far from the tree!"

"We did not raise you to be that impudent!"

"You did not raise me! You're not my dad!"

The words acted like a whiplash. Both Sirius and Rem recoiled as if being burned and looked at him with hurt expression. Harry didn't step down and kept his head up, he said nothing wrong.

His dad would never act like this, he was the one to introduce him to the wildest creatures it existed and encouraged him to always open his arms for them, to understand them instead of judge them like everyone did. He would have been worried that Harry snuck out during dire time, sure, but would have told him why was it bad in the first place.

Something that neither of his guardians did, always keeping things from him and expecting Harry to act according to their own want. Expecting Harry to be like his father, their friend, James Potter.

"It's not about blood," Sirius spoke again, with a soft voice.

"You're still not any close to a dad to me. Rem did most of the job."

It wasn't Harry's purpose to put the two of them on a battle of a better father figures, but some things needed to be said. And Sirius got it quick enough.

"So, you're still mad at me for not being there for your first seven years."

Harry didn't say anything, his glare was enough.

"Harry, there were some tragic circonstance..."

Sirius stopped Rem from speaking for him with a raise of hand. It was his judgement, so his defences to make.

"I'm not going to use the excuse of how unfair life could be, I think you know more than anyone. I won't even tell you how Azkaban is the last place any person should be, except maybe Bellatrix Lestrange that did deserve her place there. I just want you to know that I didn't want to end there and be separated from you. I wanted to be there for you, Harry, you're my best friend's baby, I would have done anything for you."

Harry should feel affected, it was emotional and Rem certainly was reacting with watery eyes at the mention of their best friend. But it's all that, wasn't it? It's about James and not Harry.

"And why didn't you? Why did you go after the traitor instead of raising me like you should have? Why did you not denounce the scum of rat to the ministry for them to track that bastard of illegal animagus?"

"Oh, Harry, the thing was, it was in the midst of the war. Even though Sirius had denounced Pettigrew, I would have suspected him because he was last known to be the secret keeper of the fidelius charm, so it was- it was..."

Rem stopped trying to defend his friend when none of the concerned party was listening to him.

"But the secret keeper can't be forced to reveal the secret. He had to do it willingly! If you all knew that, why didn't Sirius stay as it? Were you going to reveal it anyone else than the Marauders? You could have stayed the secret keeper, be on the run if you ever fear of being tortured although it would be useless because it's not how the fidelius charm work! You could have only tell the secret location to Pettigrew, to Rem and none of them would have been able to reveal it to anyone else because you're the secret keeper! Instead, instead-...!" 

For long minutes no one talked. Both Sirius and Rem were too deep in their emotions to bring themselves to answer Harry and he was too angry to even feel sorry when he heard his godfather's hard breath.

"I was grief-striken."

"I was an infant, a freshly orphan!" Harry countered sharply. "I bet I was crying my lungs out. What did you do? You handed me to dad, you even gave him your most precious belonging of enchanted bike to him as if you did not expect to return. You were about to sacrifice your life in taking down the traitor, leaving me behind!"

"Harry, no- Sirius would never, he- Sirius, say something!"

Sirius did not say anything.

"You could have convinced Rem that you were not the secret keeper, to clear your name. You could have insisted to go with dad to keep me in security, checking if I would really be in safety because that's a delicate topic if I would have been given to my muggle aunt, don't you think? Tuna fish would have been pleased to raise me, she would love me so much me and my magic that reminded her of her disowned dead sister! But you didn't care about that, huh? All you were thinking was avenging your deceased best friend because you felt guilty-"

"Harry, please, stop."

Harry laid glassy eyes on Rem, who was not looking at him. His head was hung down and he's clearly crying, barely containing himself. Finally, Sirius spoke up.

"You think it would have been good if I was the one to raise you? That we would have been in a healthy relationship with you just losing your parents and me eaten by guilt, knowing that nothing would happen if I did not suggest the change of secret keeper? That, without my genius interferance, nothing would have happened because I would have kept my tongue even under the torture? Because I would die to keep the Potters safe."

"It's all about this, innit? Everything you do it's for James. There was never anyone else between you. There was Rem, you know, he's also part of your friend group. But you chose Pettigrew who betrayed you all without a second thought. Rem would also have died for the Potters, for you and for Pettigrew too, before anyone could know he's such a scaredy backstabber, you know. But you did not consider Rem because he was a werewolf and that with your Black education, you knew the hald-breed as mindless beasts."

"I never thought that-"

"You didn't?"

"I wouldn't have become animagus if I-"

"Did you want to become animagus by yourself or was it James who insisted? Would you have betrayed Rem's secret if you really considered him a friend?"

A couple of gasp were knocked out from both men. Sirius threw a worried glance to Rem.

"You told him?"

"Rem did not. He didn't even show me any incriminating memories about you during your Hogwarts time. Sev did."

"That Snivellus!"

"Yes. It was exactly after you called him that that Sev thought about returning the favor. Remember that day I brought the diadem and heard about the affectionate nickname for the first time? I asked his memories after, he was nice enough to only give me moments of dear Lily. Then, he slipped out that James and his merry band of furry friend weren't very nice to him, though he had some tough time to find anything damning about him when he had to admit that James Potter did save his life from a rampaging werewolf because the black dog was the one who told him how to access the Whomping Willow."

A beat of silence passed. But Harry wasn't done, his next words were still full of spite.

"Funny how things unfolded when you're emotional enough to talk about it."

Even funnier when it all started because the adults wanted to prevent Harry from leaving the school grounds for his security without telling him what's the sudden set off that triggered it.

"We shouldn't have left you with Snape, he hold some old grudge against your father."

"Not just him. And obviously, it's not one-sided either."

"You don't get it! That man is a death eater! He was probably trying to broke your mental by turning you against us!"

"Are you even listening to your own words?"

"He's not an ally! He's the enemy, bet he's actually playing double by pretending changing side!"

"You also thought Pettigrew was harmless and suspecting Rem. Because he was a werewolf. Did you also lost your mind when I became one? Lost your shit and thought I should ne be trusted of any vital information?!"

"What are you talking about? You're not making any sense!"

"I can't, can I? Not when I'm withdrawing half of the infos, huh? How is it to taste your own medicine?!"

"We're not hiding anything from you!"

"You are! You literally refused to tell me what freak you out seeing me outside of Hogwarts! As if you never snuck out when Tom was in ascension!"

"That's not the same, why can't you understand?!"

"Maybe because I'm not James? Do you expect me to get any of your whims? Why do you always act like you see someone else than me?!"

"I never say you are you father!"

"Great because I'm not him! I would never be him and I will never be the replacement of the man you love so much! If it displease you, you can leave-"

"Who do you take me for? That I'm gonna stand and give back my badges?! I'm not some entitled git you take me for!"

"No?! You're certainly not acting much for a stand-in guardian!-"

"Enough, you two! Stop talking, both of you!"

Before even letting Harry time to take his breath back to unleash another loads of accusation, Remus took him by the shoulders and begged him, eyes gleaming amber.

"Harry, please, calm down, you're not thinking of what you're saying, you're under the influence of the moon. Sirius, you know how the full moon impacts our mood, that we can barely have a respite to concentrate. Can we please take the night for everyone to calm down and think again about the conversation? Can we, please?"

When Remus looked back at Harry, the boy had to think about how much of the amber of his iris was reflecting in his own two eyes. When he tried to unclench his fist, he noticed how his claws had grown and were digging in his flesh, showing how deeply affected he was by the whole thing.

Harry focused on the pain of piercing his own body and fixated his eyes on the growing bead blood that eventually dripped down from the expanding pool in his palm to avoid looking to Sirius' direction. He also tried to concentrate on the pression of Remus' hand on him, to see if he was maintaining him on place or pushing him out of the Hospital Wing and to freedom. But when the man healed him with an episkey with worried eyes, Harry forgot everything he was thinking and clung on the sensation of being treated and wished really hard it could have extended to his broken heart.

"Alright, Harry, let's go to bed for tonight, OK? We'll talk tomorrow."

Only then did Harry noticed they were out of the room and walking to the Entrance Hall and Harry came to a halt so sudden it alarmed the man.

"I won't be joining the school carriage tonight. I'll spend the night with Ron and Nev, I'm sure no one'd mind, it's the holidays."

"Alright, fine. It's good for you to spend the night with your friends. I'm just- I'll go see professor McGonagall to see if she could find something for me and- for us and-"

"Are you mad at me?"

The hand on him tensed and tightened briefly before withdrawing.

"No, I'm not, I just never thought you'd think any of that..."

"Disappointed, then?"

The answer came even faster than before. "No, no, just surprised-"

"Good, because I was thinking of everything I said. Have a good night, Remus, I'll see you two tomorrow."

And Remus knew that his pup was serious because he never called him by his full name since the day they first bonded after Harry got orphaned and taken by Rubeus Hagrid.

 

Next day came soon enough since the fight took place late at night.

Harry came down from the Gryffindor tower where none of his friends could have gotten anything from him and were wondering if him sneaking out with Blaise Zabini and Theodore Nott ended on a sour note. Though it was the case, Harry refused to give them the reason to find anything to blame on the two Slytherin when it was mostly Harry's fault.

If he never cast the patronus charm, he would never have been find out and the fight wouldn't have occured.

Who was he fooling?

The fight would have happened anyway, it was about time they both talked it out. Ever since this summer, Sirius' attitude was grating on Harry and he had since found it hard to keep up with the man's expectations and wishes for their shared life. If the man was only keeping up with him because he was the son of a dead man for a keepsake, they better cut it off before they could hurt each other more.

Today, they took the office of Gryffindor's head as private place to discuss because some people stuffed their stomach to overdose during yesterday's feast and were now filling madam Pomfrey's work place. Professor McGonagall gave them a look but otherwise left them to their affair and closed the door behind her without a word.

A tensed silence immediately filled the room and Harry was studying both men with a too calm gaze, making Remus really uncomfortable especially after hearing his last couple words. But Sirius was still sporting a reluctant look and it was only the nudge his old friend gave him that he smoothed it out before pulling out a package from under his robe.

"Here, Harry, this is your Christmas present."

Harry took the package and put it on the desk without glancing back. For his part, he pulled out his wand but placed it soon against his side to show he meant no harms.

"I also have a present for you, Sirius. I thought for a long while to what could please you but only came to one conclusion after yesterday's talk. I give you the Potter's name."

The reaction took a little to long to come.

"I don't get it."

"You said you love the Potters more than anything and got housed by my father's parents, considering them your own. Despite them loving you as much, they never proposed to adopt you, probably because you were already in age and didn't want to ask too much of them. Sadly, none of them are here today to tell me not to do it, so I'm adopting you to the Potter family, you can now finally rejoice to be part of this household like you wanted so much. Now, I think the magical adoption is quick affair that's possible with only witness, right? Remus could do it."

"Hang on, slow down a minute, Harry. Is it a joke? Are you punishing me for what happened yesterday?"

Harry stopped his movement in raising his wand to perform whatever charm there's need to cast for the adoption to be legal and looked apathetically at the man. He wondered what went mislead because it was, in everyway, a good thing for Sirius.

"As I said, it's a gift. You wanted it so much, didn't you? It's yours now, what's the issue?"

"You're giving me, magically, a family name, yours, just like that? After yelling slander and accusations against me just the day before? What's the drawback?"

"I take the Black name."

"Excuse me."

Harry let a few seconds pass to let the info register. The shock quickly turned to aberration and Harry felt the swearings coming before it's even blurt out.

"Harry, are you saying this because you're hurt that we didn't tell you what's our commotion about? If that's it, we apologize to hide it from you, we really didn't want to worry you for nothing. We thought that if you stay inside Hogwarts' protections, you have nothing to fear but when we saw you outside it was the panic that pushed us to react so violently."

"There's no need to beat around the bushes, Moony! Before coming to Hogwarts, we were at St Mungo and we just heard that Crouch jnr. vanished from the facility's guard. That's the same death eater who tortured the Longbottoms to madness and they were coincidentally there yesterday for their regular check up. Naturally, we all panicked as we thought the man escaped to target you kids since the auror send him there to be used as lab rat to heal magical injuries, one that he was the cause! Imagine our scare when we saw you outside of the school's protections after just hearing that such a dangerous man was in the wild!"

Harry thought about it and recalled what Neville told him about his parents' presences on the school grounds. They didn't tell him anything either, only prentending to miss him because he wasn't home for the holidays which became unbearable after dropping off by St. Mungo for their regular check-ups. And although they had to leave quickly enough when professor Snape saw them exchanging greetings with Luna, Neville was more than happy to have them for the night.

The version wasn't too far from what Sirius just said, so it must be the truth, and Harry found it adorable that the Longbottoms chose to do their check-up exactly on the day Neville chose to stay in the school. He was also quite envious of his friends because his parents reacted the way they should have when they were worried, but then again, Harry was the one who snuck out the castle so maybe he's the only one to be blamed.

"I heard your reasons. Now, to the adoption-"

"Why do you keep saying that? Can't you stop being stubborn for a damn minute and see our point of view?"

Rage boiled succinctly in Harry's veins and he wondered belatedly if his eyes took that ambery color for that split seconds where his emotion took the upperhand. But quick enough, he calmed himself by taking a low and discreet breathe.

Remus said he only spouted out those hurtful words due to the full moon? To show them he was being clear mind and absolutly sincere, he had to stay even and in control. Harry was in perfect mental condition when he said he wanted to severe his ties with the Potter name and take the Black name.

"I told you I heard your reasons, I also got it. But how is the magical adoption a terrible thing? You get to be a Potter like you always wanted to be and abandon the name you loathe so much. I'm not banning you of my existance, I'm just taking your name in exchange."

"Why do you want to take this vile name?"

"I want the possession of the residence in France."

"And you're not banning me from your life!"

"Did I say I will forbid you the entrance? I did not say I will put the house under fidelius, now, did I? You know the address and are free to come in as a Potter, like Remus is free to live in since you introduced the place to us five years ago. You're the one who said you hate the Black and everything related to them, so I will take the house to relieve you and in return, you got everything belonging to the Potters, I think they had some properties somewhere in the UK, if not, they had quite the load of money in their vault that will belong to you as new master of Potter name. It's a win-win situation, really."

Sirius had to think about what Harry was proposing him and Remus had to turn every sentences of his in his mind to catch any loopholes, none could find anything to counter his justification that seemed fair.

"And why do you want to abandon the Potter name? Isn't it some cruel joke you're doing it to me?"

Harry looked at him straight in the eyes.

"You seem to act like I don't deserve the name and I truly think you are right. After all, I never met James Potter and his family, I do not think I could keep on using this name anymore. Before you start acting up again, I love you, Sirius, but it's because I love you that I have to tell you that you're wrong."

He stopped to take a breath and was pleased that no one tried to retort something in the meantime. He realized it was because both men were too shocked by his confession to even think of saying anything.

"Yes, I love you. Both of you, so much, and with all my heart. Despite our fights and the last one being quite something, you have to know that I won't stop loving you just for that. Sirius may think that I resent you for having a terrible idea, thirteen years ago, but all's done and I tend to put it on the Black madness for any of your slip of judgement."

Like getting violent as first reaction, having bigot thoughts and the likes.

"Remus may say that I'm acting rashly, I promise you I'm not. It had to be done. Sirius loathes the name stuck on him because of his pedigree, I'm uncomfortable to take on mine because I have no intention of staying there. Do not fear of me doing a mistake, I'm not. You're scared that I won't have anything to sustain me? I have the Philosopher's Stone to provide any needs. You think I cannot deal any adult matters like taking care of nosy neighbours as underage? I dare think you two will be still living under this roof till I turn seventeen, otherwise I can still put the cottage under fidelius. You think I could use the Black name for something vile and damaging? Any of their vault at Gringotts got emptied and the share split between the Tonkses, Weasleys and Longbottoms, so I can't take anything and won't even go any close to Gringotts because, again, Philosopher's Stone. Do not worry, I thought about everything, those are not empty words."

The silence stilled because despite everything and any attemp to retort, Harry did covered any area deemed of talk about. And since his first days in France, Harry insisted to be registered as French wizarding citizen to be known openly as werewolf, so he technically did not need any of Potters' thing that stayed on British grounds. Probably since the start, Harry had chose to spend his life in France and rather anywhere else than his deceased parents' home country.

"So, now, to process the magical adoption."

In the end, they had to ask professor McGonagall's aid so she could be the witness and told them about her knowledge from her time working in the Ministry of Magic, department of Magical Law Enforcement no less, so quite her area of expertise. Despite all her apparent questions on her look, she only did what was asked from her after seeing everyone's solemn look. Besides, it was other people's business and as stranger, she had no rights to interfere.

"Don't worry, professor, we're still Potter and Black and Lupin. It's just happened that the las member of one changed into the last remaining adult of the other. And it's not really a British matter as we're all part of the French wizarding community. Not that it would changed anything for the Black family as they start off by being a French family anyway."

Truly, nothing they did could even impact the British wizarding world, after all, Harry would return to France before the end of the school year.

He still had his brevet to take and pass.