"I hope you'll pardon the mess." Petunia said stiffly as she turned on the lights in her living room.

There were two men with her, one of whom was holding her sleeping nephew, and an older woman. She placed her own sleeping son on the sofa and pulled a blanket over him. The other men did the same with the baby they were holding and the woman silently gestured for them to go to the kitchen.

They had come straight to Petunia's home not long after the botched will reading. McGonagall had escorted Petunia and her son out of Gringotts and Diagon Alley. Remus and Sirius had caught up to them just in time to apparate to her home. Now was as good a time as any to sort out with finality who Harry would be staying with.

"Dumbledore sent me a letter, you know." Petunia said quietly. The four of them were seated at the dining table with mugs of the strongest tea Petunia had in her kitchen. "He said Harry should be with me for his own protection."

McGonagall grimaced. "Guardianship should have been transferred to both Sirius and Remus. I'm sure the will would have mentioned this as well had we not took an early leave of absence."

"My name has been cleared. I'm the sole heir of the Black family fortune. They might not grant guardianship rights to Remus legally with him being a werewolf but they'd be idiots not to grant it to me." Sirius replied. "James and Lily trusted us. Harry belongs with us."

Petunia suddenly appeared rather affronted. "Lily and I might have had our differences-"

"That's putting it mildly. You hated her!" Sirius interrupted.

A waspish expression took over Petunia's face. "I did hate her. I did. But she's dead and her son was given to me to care for. I ruined the relationship I had with my sister, yes, but if it's all the same to you, Mr. Black, I would rather not do the same thing with her son."

Remus used one hand to squeeze Sirius's arm tightly under the table and gave an understanding look to Petunia. "Of course. We all care for Harry. We all want only the best for him. What we should be doing is figuring out a way for us all to have a part in his life."

"I taught you well, Remus." McGonagall said. "Whatever you decide, do not let Albus Dumbledore attempt to persuade you otherwise. You are Harry's family. Now, if you'll excuse me I am due back to the school for a class." She rose from the table and bid them all goodnight before stepping into the backyard. Moments later a soft popping noise was heard and she was gone.

"I propose we alternate weeks with Harry," Petunia said eventually. "We will exchange him on Sunday evenings promptly at 5pm. He may spend the holidays with you if that is your choosing. As he gets older, if he wishes to spend more time with you then he shall. Especially if he…" Petunia trailed off, lost in past memories.

Sirius's face hardened. "He will be a wizard, Petunia. Are you prepared to raise another child that is likely to have various incidents of accidental magic?"

Remus's hand squeezed tighter on his arm in warning. "Sirius, I think we—"

"Mr. Black, if you have an issue with me, I believe now would be the time to reveal it, don't you? You should know better than anyone how short life can be."

"Fuck you."

"Sirius!" Remus chastised the other man and his eyes flashed dangerously before he turned to face Petunia. "It's been a long day. Perhaps we should get some rest and...talk about this in a few days. Petunia, would you be alright keeping Harry until then? Sirius and I need to get a few things for the apartment for when Harry's with us."

Petunia nodded stiffly. "Yes, of course."

Not a minute later, Petunia heard a familiar soft pop from the backyard and promptly began to cry into her hands.

The apartment was quiet as the two of them sat up in bed. Sirius was resting his head on Remus's chest while the other man was writing a list of things they would need to take care of Harry.

"He'll need his own room, of course. And he's still fairly small so perhaps a crib that can be converted into a bed as well." Remus mumbled to himself absently.

Sirius, however, was lost in his own thoughts. Hearing James and Lily's voices at the will reading and seeing Harry search for them even though they weren't there had absolutely destroyed him. He was attempting to make sense of the injustice of it all. They had loved Harry with all their hearts. They had done everything they could think of in order to protect him only to be betrayed by someone they had considered family. And as if that wasn't enough, Dumbledore had taken it upon himself to place Harry with the one person he was related to who despised magic and all things to do with it. And that person wanted Harry in their life too.

"Petunia Dursley shouldn't be anywhere near Harry." Sirius said bitterly.

Remus sighed and closed the notebook. "She is his blood relative, Sirius. More than that, she said she wants to have a relationship with him, a better one than she had with Lily. She deserves that chance. You should know better than anyone how people can change for better or worse. If she is willing to care for Harry, she deserves a place in his life."

"And what will she do when his magic-"

"Have you forgotten that she grew up with Lily? She knows what will happen. And if she needs to lean on us at times to help, we will. That is the end of it." Remus replied firmly, his tone leaving absolutely no room for argument.

Sirius felt appropriately chastised. He didn't say anything else for another twenty minutes as his mind raced with ways to ensure Harry would be able to be with him. Sirius's claim for guardianship over Harry would be airtight, especially given the Ministry had arrested and almost falsely convicted Sirius of planning James and Lily's murders. They'd be willing to do anything to keep Sirius from filing a lawsuit against them. James and Lily's will explicitly stated that Sirius and Remus were to be Harry's guardians. While the Ministry wouldn't allow Remus sole guardianship, an exception could be made if-

"We should get married." Sirius sat up and took Remus's hands in his own. The man looked at him as if he had grown two extra heads. "My family might have been a deranged pack of racist hyenas, but our money and our name are still incredibly powerful in the wizarding world. All I have to do is make a sizeable bribe and-"

Remus pulled his hands away and brought them up to Sirius's face, one hand gently covering his mouth. "Sirius," he breathed out. "Of course, I'll marry you. But not like this. That isn't a decision you make from a place of cornered fear!"

"It isn't fear, Remus. It's the only logical-"

"Sirius." The other man interrupted again, more firmly this time. "We get Harry back first. We can worry about the rest later. When we get married, I don't want it to be a means for an end to something. I understand you're panicking but Harry will be fine. We will be fine."

He hated that Remus was right. His proposal to Remus had come from a place of fear. But that didn't make it any less genuine. He was only trying to make sure Remus had just as much guardianship over Harry as Sirius did. But he supposed marriage meant something else to Remus. And if the other man was in no hurry to do it, Sirius shouldn't be either. Harry. That was who they needed to be concerned with.

"You're right," Sirius eventually said in an uncharacteristically quiet voice. "Of course you're right."

Remus pulled him close, wrapping his arms tighter around him before leaning his head against Sirius's. "It's hard. I know it is. All of this is so incredibly hard. But we are going to do what James and Lily asked of us, what they expected of us. We will love him and raise him as our own. But we cannot do that alone. Petunia wants to be there and she will. Besides, she already has her son and we'll need to lean on her a lot these next few months. Just...let her be there. The worst is already past us."

Sirius nodded quietly. "Yeah."

"And while I don't want to marry you just yet I have a consolation prize I think you'll be happy with for now, Sirius." Remus replied.

The other man sat up slightly, a curiously deviant expression on his face. "Do you?"

Remus rolled his eyes and laughed. "Mind out of the gutter, if you please."

Sirius made a big show of groaning and sighing in a resigned fashion. "Fine, fine. What is this consolation prize?"

"Let's get out of this fucking apartment and move into Potter Manor."