Author's note: You should probably read parts 1 & 2 before this or some of it won't make much sense. Obviously this is AU.

"If you would just try them I am nearly certain that you would like them," she urged in a gentle voice.

Harry's nose scrunched up in a disgusted fashion as he looked down at the small pile of fried tomatoes. He liked raw tomatoes just fine, but when fried they reminded him of a pile of gooey troll bogeys.

"Such a face," James laughed loudly. "You would think we are serving you goblin dung."

"They look slimy," Harry replied with a serious face.

"One bite," Lily pressed. "If you don't like them after you try them I promise you will never find them on your plate again."

"You heard your mother, one bite," James said in a tone that he reserved for the rare occasion where he had to deliver his words in a way in which they would not leave room for argument.

Harry gave his parents a pitiful look as he poked the small pile of food with his fork once more.

"Hey there," James said, his voice now its normal gentle nature. "We talked about this remember? You gave me your word that you would start trying new foods."

It had been a constant struggle for the past few years. Somewhere around the age of five, Harry had become quite the picky eater. Lily was forever planning their every meal around what her son would or would not eat. Now at eight years of age, his parents had decided that it was time to at least try and persuade their only child to broaden his taste palate.

Harry sighed as he cut the smallest bit off of the large tomato.

"That a boy," James smiled as he watched his son bring the fork to his mouth.

James and Lily waited with bated breath as Harry bit the tomato off of the fork and slowly chewed.

"Well?" Lily asked as her son swallowed.

"It's good," Harry admitted as he quickly cut a much larger piece of the tomato.

James smiled widely as his wife breathed a sigh of relief.

A wide grin overtook Lily's face as she watched Harry quickly eat the rest of his food. "What time is Sirius coming over this evening?" She asked her husband.

"Sirius is coming over?" Harry asked excitedly.

"Long after you are in bed I'm afraid," James relied before taking a bite of his dinner.

"Can I wait up to see him?" Harry asked. "Just to say goodnight at least?"

"Absolutely not," Lily shook her head. "You will see him tomorrow for Sunday night dinner."

It was a tradition that Lydia had insisted upon when her two boys moved out years ago, and Charles had shortly joined her in that as well. Regardless of what else was going on, she wanted both of her boys every Sunday by three sharp for dinner. She had presented the idea firmly, as though she had expected resistance, but there had been none. The tradition was easily a favorite of both James and Sirius, and with time, had grown to include James' family. And, if asked Harry and even Lily would answer that Sunday was their favorite day of the week.

"No fair," Harry decided in a soft voice.

"Sorry Love but your mum is right. It will be late when he gets here and he and I have some important business to discuss. However I am sure that tomorrow you could talk him into a game or two of Exploding Snap."

"I'm sure that he could talk Sirius into practically anything," Lily commented causing Harry to grin.

Harry loved his parents deeply but he was sure that there wasn't another human on the planet that he felt the same way about that he did about his godfather. Sirius was coolest adult that he knew. Of course he adored Remus who often brought him brilliant books about Quidditch and told him amazing stories about Hogwarts. And he liked Peter who never showed up without some sort of sweet for Harry. Peter always acted as though everything Harry did was absolutely brilliant. He cheered loudly as the child soared around his backyard on his broom and often said that Harry was exactly like James.

Sirius was different though.

Sirius didn't have to spoil Harry with material items, even though he typically did. His presence and attention was enough to thrill the child. He never spoke to Harry sternly or got upset with him over anything. He always made Harry feel as though he had come to see him and that talking with his parents was just something he did to be polite. He told Harry amazing stories about the things he and his dad would do when they were young. He encouraged him to push himself to try new tricks on his broom. He taught him spells despite the fact that Harry wouldn't be allowed to hold a wand for nearly three more years. When his parents said no to something, which was rare, Sirius either persuaded them to change their minds or joked with Harry about how unfair they were. He never treated him like a child, but like a friend.

Harry adored his godfather and his godfather adored him.

"Look at the time," James said jumping up from the table. "I have to be going." He leaned over and placed a single kiss on his son's head before Lily stood. Turning to his wife he kissed her lips gently.

"Be safe," she instructed in a voice that gave little room for argument.

"I shall be home in a few hours," James replied. He was always careful not to make promises to her that he knew were close to impossible to keep. He looked down at his son giving him a small grin. "Take care of your mum for me okay?"

Harry nodded proudly. Whenever his dad had to go out he always left Harry with the same instructions. It made him feel quite grown. He knew that most of his friend's dads would instruct their sons to listen to their mothers and he loved that his dad never did. It would have been a pointless reminder anyway, Harry always minded his mum. The last thing he wanted in the world was to give her any reason to punish him. He had succeeded in doing so only once. He had been seven and had been spending the night at the Burrow with his best mate Ron. The two of them had somehow gotten into their heads that sneaking out to fly in the middle of the night would be a good idea and his mum had firmly dissuaded him from ever trying something like that again.

"Is he going to another meeting?" Harry asked after he heard the fire place roar to life in the parlor.

Lily nodded as he swallowed a mouthful of food.

"Ron says that there is a war starting."

"Did he?" Lily asked hoping that her tone had stayed neutral. "Where did he hear that?"

"From Fred and George," Harry answered honestly. He trusted his parents. They were never ones to turn around and get his friends into trouble. "I think they heard from Bill."

Lily was silent as she ate another bite of her dinner.

"So is there?" Harry asked. "A war starting I mean."

There were few moments in her life that Lily regretted the way in which she and James raised their son. They had rarely lied to him about things going on in the world around them or in their own home. They enforced few rules and treated Harry with respect. "It seems as though one may be starting," Lily answered honestly despite the fact that the last thing she wanted was her child sitting up at night, his mind heavy with worries. "Voldemort and his followers seem to be gaining some power and those of us that do not agree with it are prepared to fight back."

"Because he hates muggles right?" Harry asked after taking a drink from his glass of pumpkin juice.

"That is a big part of it," Lily replied. "He doesn't fancy anyone who isn't pureblood."

Harry made a face at these words as he ate the last bite of his dinner.

The pair sat in silence for a moment before Lily cleared her throat. "Alright bath for you."

"I'm not dirty," Harry replied.

"You were out flying nearly all morning," Lily retorted. "I can still see a smudge of dirt on your cheek from then."

Harry grinned at her words. "I can have tea with you after?"

"You may. I want you to make sure your scrub under your nails though and behind your ears. Be sure to actually dry yourself before putting on your pajamas too. They aren't meant to stick to your body."

Harry playfully rolled his eyes before placing his hands on the table and pushing his chair backwards. "Can we have those chocolate biscuits with our tea please?"

"I suppose we could," she replied pleased that they were discussing biscuits rather than war.

Harry rolled onto his side. He leaned his head over the side of his bed in an attempt to hear the conversation going on below him. He knew that his godfather was there. The sounds of the floo had alerted Harry the moment the man had entered the house nearly fifteen minutes prior.

Harry really had tried to obey his mum and go to sleep two hours ago when she had tucked him in. However sleep hadn't come easily and after hearing the floo he had given up on the idea completely.

He knew that his mum was asleep or at least close to it. He had heard her walk down the hall and the sound of her bedroom door closing over an hour ago.

Carefully and as quietly as he possibly could Harry sat up. His sock clad feet touched the floor before he slowly pulled himself to a standing position.

He walked slowly, careful to avoid the spots that caused his floor to creak. Once at his bedroom door he gripped the doorknob and turned it slowly.

A moment later he stepped into the upstairs hallway.

Just as he had thought, his parent's bedroom door was tightly closed. No light shown out from under it.

He tiptoed down the hallway and then crouched down at the top of the staircase.

"I've talked it over with Lily a hundred times, it makes perfect sense," James said. "Peter being our secret keeper is a far less obvious choice than you."

Harry sat down on the top step causing it to creak softly. He held his breath as he prayed that no one else had heard it.

"It does make perfect sense," Sirius replied. "When Peter arrives I am sure that he will agree. Protecting each other right now is the most important thing."

There was a long pause of silence causing Harry to slip down one more step. He was sure that they had lowered their voices and that getting a bit closer would help him to hear them once more.

"We're still doing dinner tomorrow night then?" Sirius asked.

"Mum is insistent that we do. It's nice though, a bit of normalcy at least."

"Now I am positive that you are supposed to be in bed young Sir."

Harry felt his stomach drop at the sound of his mum's angry voice behind him. He quickly stood up and turned to face her. He looked up at her with a pleading face. "Mum I can explain," he whispered. "Really I can."

"Harry James," the stern voice came from below him.

Harry turned to his side, his back now pressed against the wall, as he looked down the stairs to see his father at the bottom of them.

Harry opened his mouth in an attempt to explain himself but before he could get a single word out his father was up the stairs. He took him gently by the arm, peeling him away from the wall.

"Back to bed with you this instant," James said sternly as he led his son past his wife and down the hall towards his bedroom.

It wasn't until they crossed into Harry's room that James let go off his son and landed the same hand that had been gently holding him not so gently across his backside.

"Daddy," Harry whined in response as he quickly hurried into his bed in an attempt to get his bum out of the line of fire.

"Absolutely not," James shook his head firmly. "We have talked about this eavesdropping habit of yours and I believe we agreed that it would stop did we not?"

Harry nodded as he hastily brushed a single tear from his cheek.

The swat hadn't hurt, not really. It was unusual though. His parents had rules that he was expected to follow and there were consequences to those rules but it had been quite some time since they had to be enforced.

"What Sirius and I discuss in private is absolutely none of your business," James said in a voice sterner than Harry was used to. "Am I clear?"

Harry quickly nodded hoping that his dad could see his action despite the darkness of the room. He didn't trust himself to speak without bursting into tears and in his opinion he was far too old for such a thing. Especially with his godfather right below him, he would be absolutely mortified if Sirius saw him crying over something so minor.

"This is your last warning," James said seriously. "If I catch you or hear of you eavesdropping again I will turn you over my knee for a proper spanking."

Harry blanched at the threat. His dad had only spanked him a handful of times in his life and he had absolutely no desire to experience it ever again.

"I won't," Harry promised in a soft voice.

Silence enveloped the dark room before James leaned over and placed a kiss on his son's forehead. "Good night," he said in his normal gentle tone. "Sleep well."

"Night dad," Harry replied.

He watched as his dad turned and walked out of the room, shutting the door behind him.

Without his consent his right hand traveled down to his bum and attempted to rub the sting out. He couldn't understand how earlier that morning he had fallen off his broom without shedding a tear yet his dad swatting him made him want to burst into a million tears.

He was thankful that his dad hadn't really lectured him or smacked him until they were in his room. He knew that had it happened on the staircase or even in the upstairs hallway that Sirius would have heard every last word. It didn't matter that Harry knew that his grandfather had disciplined both his dad and his godfather, if Sirius heard him getting into trouble he would be more ashamed than he knew how to handle.

Two weeks ago he had been scolded by his mum in front of his godfather. Harry had blushed nearly as red as Ron's hair but if Sirius had noticed he hadn't said anything. Harry had loved his godfather even more after that, an act that he wasn't even sure was possible.

Harry yawned as his bedroom door opened once more. Quickly he propped his upper body up on his elbows. A wide smile took over his face as he made out his visitors features despite the darkness.

"Harry James," Sirius said in a mock stern voice. "What is this I hear about you eavesdropping on a private conversation?"

"Sorry," Harry giggled. "I'll never do it again."

"See to it that you don't," Sirius went on as he wagged his finger at the child. "Next time I will be forced to hang you by your toenails from the ceiling for such misbehavior."

"Are my toenails long enough for that?" Harry asked in a curious voice.

"I will use a spell to make them grow and then hang you up there," Sirius threatened before he reached over and ruffled the boy's hair. "It's nearly midnight Bean," he said in a gentle tone. It was a nickname that only Sirius called him. From the time Harry could eat solid food he was obsessed with beans on toast for breakfast. Sirius would always joke with him that one day he was going to turn into a bean himself. At some point the joke had turned into a nickname. "Get some sleep," Sirius continued. "You'll need it if you plan on having a hope of beating me at Exploding Snap tomorrow."

"Can I ask you something first?"

"Anything," Sirius agreed with a grin.

"What's a secret keeper?"

Sirius felt his heart skip a beat at the question. The smile that had just been on is lips quickly vanished. He and James had hoped that Harry hadn't heard their conversation until after they were done discussing that particular topic.

"Sirius," Harry said in a soft voice after a moment of silence. "Are you mad that I asked that?"

"Not at all," Sirius quickly replied. He felt annoyed with himself that he had let his true feeling show. "It's…it is an immensely complex spell that involves concealing a secret inside of a single living soul. Information is given to this secret keeper and then it is impossible to find out unless the secret keeper tells someone."

Harry's eyes grew wide at the explanation.

"You must make me a promise though Bean. You must promise me that you will never tell anyone what you overheard tonight. Can I trust you to do that?"

Harry nodded quickly. "I promise," he replied feeling absolutely thrilled with the idea that his godfather trusted him with such information.

Sirius leaned over and placed a kiss on the boy's forehead. "I know that I can trust you."

A wide smile spread across Harry's face.

"Alright now to bed with you before your dad scolds me for keeping you up," Sirius chuckled.

Harry moved his elbows causing his head to hit his pillow.

Sirius took a hold of the boy's quilt and pulled it up over his shoulders. "I'll see you tomorrow," Sirius promised. "Love you kiddo."

"Love you Sirius."

TBC...