by Nichole
Harry Potter was a six-year-old boy and it wasn't that he had a vast amount of knowledge on six-year-old boys, but he'd read the books with Lily—of course it had been him to read the books with her, James and Sirius were too busy arguing over who would buy Harry his first broom—he knew that they did not typically sit on benches outside of shops for extended periods of time.
There was a group of children just down the way, eating melting ice cream cones and laughing loudly. Harry sat on the bench and swung his feet—his shoes were too big and slipped off at the heel so they hung there by his toes—and only looked that way once or twice from the corner of his eye.
Remus smiled halfheartedly with understanding.
The biggest (fattest, roundest, meanest) of the other children was Harry's cousin, he'd looked in on Harry enough to know this. The Dursley boy was a well known joke amongst Order members who knew where Harry was; who walked by the house just to catch a glimpse of the Boy Who Lived.
Remus, of course, watched Harry for other reasons, for half made promises and the way he hadn't been named godfather but as good as. Godmother, James had joked until Lily told him if he didn't watch it he'd be the one shaking up with Sirius and Remus would be the one helping her raise Harry.
When the other boys started toward Harry—led, of course by the littlest (though not by much) Dursley—Harry and Remus both tensed. Before he knew what he was doing he'd crossed the street.
Harry looked up from his shoes when Remus sat beside him then looked away again quickly, down the street where the band of boys had paused. A few seconds passed when they all looked to Dudley to see what to do, they turned around and went for more ice cream.
"Hello," Remus said finally.
"Hello," Harry replied quietly. Shy like James had never been, no matter how alike they looked.
"I'm Remus." He held out his hand.
Harry smiled when he shook his hand and said, "I'm Harry."
"It's very nice to meet you, Harry." Though it wasn't, actually, the first time they'd met. Hadn't he held Harry only hours after he'd been born? With James and Sirius in the background too stunned to bicker for once and Lily grinning brightly?
"It's nice to meet you," Harry replied, stilted and odd. Not something children usually said to adults. It made him feel grown up.
Remus smiled, then looked past Harry and down the street again, to the group of boys now shoving each other. None of them shoved Dudley. Harry followed his gaze before looking back at his shoes. He started kicking his feet again.
"They don't seem a very nice sort, do they?"
Harry shook his head and looked up just long enough for them to share a smile. "Dudley, the biggest one, is my cousin. He's… not nice at all."
"I'm sorry to hear that." Another smile, quicker, secret and meaner. "Tell me, is he actually wider than he is tall or does it only look that way from here?"
He laughed. "Almost, I think. Aunt Petunia says he's a growing boy."
"Certainly he's growing, but in the right direction?"
Harry laughed again, short and quick; it made Remus smile wider. Lily's laugh and Lily's eyes, but otherwise looking just like James. They settled into quite for a moment, but Harry was looking at his face like most children did these days.
He let his thumb graze the scar that ran across his cheek. "I have a rule, Harry, wherein anyone who wants to know about them must ask." The words were softly spoken, softly smiled upon.
"I-" Harry blushed and looked back at his shoes; then, again, at Remus. "Did it hurt?"
"At the time."
"I have a scar, too," he said, lifting up his fringe to show and then letting it fall again. "I like it though."
"Well, it's much more handsome than mine." Remus paused, then asked, "Did it hurt?"
"I don't remember. I was just a baby. My aunt says I got it from a car crash. How'd you get yours?"
"I got these scars," Remus said, before pausing to consider how to answer. "A few years ago, my mates were all gone away, and I was left alone with an animal that I had not been alone with for quite some time. The animal, as it turns out, missed his mates as well."
"Did they come back?"
"No," he smiled. "No, they're still away." Remus let his eyes drift again to the boys down the way. "I never had anyone to play with when I was your age. So it was something of a surprise when I picked up with that lot. They liked pranks and I liked to read, but we managed mostly, helped each other even. But eventually, Harry, you learn that being alone is sometimes better than your other choices."
"What do you mean?"
"What I mean to say is that it is probably better to be sitting outside the shop by yourself than to be in with that lot. It may not seem it now, Harry, but anyone who doesn't like you for your clothes being too large isn't worth being your friend. And one day you'll have lots of people who are. It'll be better for you then."
"Yeah?"
"Absolutely," Remus promised.
Harry smiled and looked over in time to see his aunt exit the store. She gave him an unhappy look and snapped, "Come along then, boy, I haven't all day."
Remus whispered so only Harry could hear, "I promise."
Sliding off the bench and moving to follow his aunt, Harry paused. "I think your scars are cool, too." When he'd caught up with Petunia Dursley he turned around to wave at Remus and mouthed, "Bye."