Work Text:
Harry Potter’s life had turned upside down three months ago and it had only gotten better since. Moony and Padfoot had taken him away from Aunt Petunia and the three of them now lived in a house called Grimmauld Place. The five year old still had nightmares from his time about his aunt and uncle but his black shaggy dog was there with him whenever he woke up in a fright.
Life was good but the three of them were still adjusting to their new dynamic. Harry simply didn’t understand that he didn’t have to do all the chores anymore. For two weeks him and Moony were in a silent competition to see who would wake up earlier to make breakfast for everyone. Harry did it because he thought he had to, and Moony was trying to wake up before the boy to make sure he wasn’t the one serving the whole house. After a long talk, they decided to make breakfast together, after all some responsibility was good for the five year old and it would give them quality time spent together. Kreacher took care of all the other meals.
Harry still didn’t understand how and why he wasn’t responsible for all the chores, but Moony and Padfoot were very clear that he was welcome to help, if he wanted to. So he prepared breakfast with Moony, helped Kreacher clean the house, and helped Padfoot with the greenhouses. Some days the five year old still woke up not believing this was his life and that Moony and Padfoot really intended to keep him. He was scared they might get tired of him and send him back to Petunia, so he was careful about settling down and getting used to this life.
It was christmas morning, and they had been up late eating a delicious christmas feast and watching the telly last night. Harry slowly went down the stairs to the kitchen, with a permanent yawn in his face. He had no idea what time it was.
“Good morning, cub,” Remus said from the stove, when he saw Harry walk into the kitchen.
“Morning Moons,” Harry replied with a small smile, walking to the stove. “What do you need me to do?” He asked worriedly, realising almost all of breakfast was ready and that he didn’t help.
“Can you set the table?” Remus requested, passing his hand through Harry’s messy curls.
“Done,” the little boy said and ran towards the plate cupboard.
The two of them had just sat down when Sirius stumbled into the kitchen, still sleep tousled, wearing an old band tee with holes and low hanging pyjama pants.
“Good morning,” he said with a yawn, dropping into his preferred chair and pulling a mug already filled with coffee towards his mouth.
“Morning,” the two already seated answered, sharing a look followed by a giggle. Sirius truly wasn’t a morning person but always found his way downstairs to have breakfast with his godson and partner.
“How’d you sleep?” Remus asked. Sirius murmured something that sounded like a positive affirmation and Harry answered a muffled good in between his mouthful of beans and toast. Remus considered chastising both of them but decided against it since it was christmas morning.
The three of them fell into their comfortable routine, Sirius washing the dishes, Remus drying it and Harry putting it away. On the first couple of times that Sirius had to do the dishes, he complained that they were magical or that Kreacher could take care of it. But quickly came to realise the peace that the simple ritual brought to their little family. Although Kreacker did complain that he was the one that should be taking care of it, they settled for the old house elf cleaning the rooms and making their beds while they took care of breakfast and he begrudgingly accepted. Remus stubbornly always left a breakfast plate in stasis on top of the stove for Kreacher.
They made their way to the living room. A couple of weeks back, they had put up a massive christmas tree with all sorts of decorations up. But there had been no gifts under the tree, unlike the Dursley’s tree that always had gifts under it as soon as it was put up. However, Harry didn’t care for christmas presents. He had a family that loved him, clothes that fit him, and his own bedroom. He was scared that it was all a dream but he would enjoy it while it lasted and he didn’t need anything else.
When Harry looked at the tree, he saw the bottom of it was covered with presents. And he let out a small wow at seeing it, not even the Dursley’s had this many presents under their tree. Remus and Sirius must’ve loved each other so much, Harry thought to himself.
“The red ones are yours, pup,” Sirius said, throwing himself on his preferred armchair while still balancing his mug, which had been refilled twice.
“What?” Harry asked, wide eyed.
“The red ones are yours,” Remus said, placing a hand on Harry’s shoulder. “The blue ones are Padfoots, and the green ones are mine,” the werewolf explained their present packing categorization.
“For me?” Harry asked, once again, looking at all the red boxes under the tree, there were at least a dozen.
“Yes, pup,” Sirius said, motioning for Harry to come closer to him. When Harry was settled on the arm of the chair, Sirius started to explain. “It’s a lot, but we missed four Christmases so we’re making up for it. The red ones with the dog wrapping are from me, the ones with the moons are from Moony, the ones with the antlers are from your dad, and the ones with the flowers are from your mum.”
“But…” Harry started, unsure of what he was even saying. “For me? I don’t deserve it.”
“Oh cub…” Remus said, approaching the pair and kneeling in front of Harry. “You deserve the world,” he continued through a wet smile, cupping Harry’s cheek. “And I’m so sorry that you ever thought you didn’t.”
“We’re gonna spend every day making sure you know it, Harry,” Sirius added, taking Harry’s other cheek on his hand.
Harry looked up at his adoptive fathers with wide emerald eyes filled with tears, his bottom lip shook. He was overwhelmed and didn’t even know how to deal with it.
“I love you,” he settled on telling them.
“Oh pup,” Sirius broke out of his stupor first. “I love you, we love you, more than anything in this world.”
“More than anything,” Remus repeated, kissing the top of Harry’s head to hide his own tears. After Greyback turned him, his childhood went downhill, and he understood what Harry felt. He wished his cub had never felt like this. “We got you.”
The three of them stayed huddled together on top of an armchair that did not fit all three of them, Harry and Sirius' forehead were touching, Harry’s legs over Sirius’ and Remus huddled over the two of them, all three of them quietly crying for all that had happened.
“Presents?” Sirius asked, trying to change the mood.
“Yes,” Remus answered, stretching back to his full height and drying his tears with his jumper sleeve then doing the same for Harry.
Harry huddled on Sirius’ lap, not wanting to leave him, and Remus sat at their feet, leaning on the armchair and slowly summoned presents from under the tree to his hand. To not overwhelm Harry, each two he summoned for the messy haired boy, he summoned one to himself or Sirius.
By the end of their gift opening, there were three brooms on top each other leaning on the corner, books piled all over the room, a potions kit, some wizarding toys, jumpers for Moony, some dog treats as a gag gift for Sirius, a Potter family heirloom necklace around Harry’s neck, and a massive knitted blanket.
Exhausted by their emotional morning, the three of them huddled on top of the new blanket in front of the fireplace for a morning nap.
Kreacher walked into the room to clean all the gift wrapping, and couldn’t help but take a picture of the shaggy dog, small boy, and scarred man taking a nap on top of each other.