Somewhere Safe Chapter 8

Harry heard Sirius and his parents. No, that didn't feel right just yet. James and Lily. He could hear them talking in the other room. Harry had stayed in his room under the pretense of settling in. They didn't press. He wasn't going to unpack since he was going back to Hogwarts on Monday. There wasn't anything he could do to decorate either.

He just sat on his bed, staring at the closed door. The words were jumbled. Only the sound of their voices made it through. He kept telling himself that this shouldn't be so scary. Fighting a basilisk, that had been scary. Facing dementors, that had been scary. Meeting some people in a casual gathering should be normal.

The sound of the Floo jumped him from his thoughts. More voices joined in. They sounded familiar. He couldn't place them. Harry took a couple of deep breathes. It was better to just get it over with.

Harry exited his room. The living room, lounged, whatever, was set in the center of the level. Couches, a couple of desks, and a large table were set around the space for casual gatherings. It looked well used. A book or two were resting in various spots, a muggle chess set was in the middle of a game, and there was a shelf of boardgames he didn't recognize.

He came to a sudden halt as he saw the people gathered before him. If there was one thing that Harry had not expected to encounter, it was Severus Snape laughing with James Potter. The man looked completely different. His shiny black hair was slicked back, similar to Draco, but with a bit of tussle to is that made it look more natural. The usual black robes were replaced by a two-piece muggle suit, still black, and he was smiling.

Harry had to forcefully shift his attention from Snape to the other men in the group. Remus Lupin was healthy, a bit on the brawny side actually, but had the same haircut which made him look like a dashing homeless man. Finally, there was Peter Pettigrew. Like Snape, the man was hardly recognizable. He had a gentle smile on his face and was talking to Lily. The man was still on the chubby side, but he lacked the rat-like appearance of his counterpart.

The group went silent as they saw him.

"Sweet Morgana." Snape whispered.

Lily slapped him on the shoulder.

"Hello." Harry managed to force out.

"Sorry about that." Snape blushed and cleared his throat.

Snape. Blushed.

"It's strange for me too." Harry rolled his eyes.

"This." James stepped away from the group to stand beside him. "Is Harry."

"Hello. Again." Harry gave a small wave.

"None of that." Sirius shook his head. "We'll take it slow so everyone can get to know you. Do you play cards?"

"Exploding snap?" Harry offered.

"Poker." Sirius gave him an almost feral smile.

"I've never played." Harry shrugged.

"Pads." Lily warned him. "You are not fleecing my son." She paused, looking over at Harry.

He gave her a small smile.

"I'll teach him with chips." Sirius replied. He either purposefully ignored the awkwardness or was just really excited to teach him. "Come along you lot. A game of cards is the perfect way to get to know each other."

Sirius produced a deck of cards from somewhere on his person.

"No." Peter scoffed. "We are not playing with one of your decks."

"Fresh box." Lupin nodded in agreement.

"I happen to have a deck of cards." Snape offered.

"Provided by Lily." Peter added.

"Not me?" Snape asked.

"Vegas." Lily said it like this was a familiar argument.

Snape and Sirius muttered. James was smiling broadly.

"Vegas?" Harry asked.

"Summer of sixth year." Sirius began. "We decided to take a muggle tour across the pond."

"None of that." James cut in.

They all settled in at a spot at the table. It was something they did was ease that came from actions repeated too many times to count.

"I'll tell you when you're older." Sirius whispered as he passed by Harry.

"And then I'll tell you what really happened." James chuckled.

"We'll start with the basics." Sirius sat across from Harry at the table. "There is usually a buy-in for a game. This sets the base amount for each player to start with for betting. Since we're just playing for fun, we'll do chips."

James handed out a stack of chips to each person. There were a few different colors.

"Red is one-hundred. Blue is twenty. White is ten. Green is five." Sirius explained. "We usually go with a five-hundred buy-in. Two red, five blue, ten white, and twenty green. This is important for family gatherings."

Lily scoffed.

"This." Sirius held up a coaster sized wooden chip. "Marks the dealer. We don't usually have a dedicated dealer, so this marks who will be giving players the cards. Cards are handed out clockwise. The two players directly left of the dealer have to put in a Blind. This is a small bet before the cards are dealt so that each hand has a pot to win. Other games have a big and small blind, but we just go with a five for player."

Lily opened two decks of cards and began to shuffle.

"We'll start with Five Card Stud. Dealer gives each player five cards, shocking I know. The first three are face up so everyone can see, the last two are only for you. There is a round of betting after each card is dealt. You can either check, raise, call, or fold. You can only call Check if you're the first to play, this means you're abstaining from betting. If the player before you call check, you can continue, raise, or fold. Continuing the check doesn't add anything to the pot and serves to move the game along. With me so far?" Sirius paused.

"I think so." Harry nodded.

"Raise, means you place or increase the pot." Sirius continued. "You cannot check if the player before you choose to raise. You can call, which meets the amount, or fold, meaning you give up on that hand."

Harry nodded again.

"Now, once all the cards are dealt the round of betting begins." Sirius explained. "Only you know the two cards you're holding. You have to decide if you're going to stay in the game, raise, or fold. This is where the game really starts. It's just as much about reading the other players as it is actually playing your cards."

"We discovered this is an amazing way to learn Occlumency." Peter added.

Harry looked at him, raising his eyebrows. It was a lot easier to see this Peter as a different person. They looked almost nothing alike.

"It's a mental magic that works in defending your mind from influence and intrusion." Peter clarified. "Learning how to play poker helps build the pathways. Controlling your emotions, bluffing, and reading the other players if a wonderful foundation."

"It also means that your opponents can't cheat by reading your mind." James scowled at Sirius.

"It was Flappers idea." Sirius shrugged.

"It was not." Snape snapped but it lacked any anger.

"Vegas?" Harry looked to James.

Lily and James nodded.

"That's part of it." Lily sighed. "Back to the game."

"That's the basics." Sirius said. "We'll play the first few hands with all the cards face up. That way we can show you how things work."

With that the game started. The first few hands were focused on Harry learning the game. They explained the combinations of cards, did a few mock-showdowns, and shared their personal strategies. Harry was distracted enough learning the game that he found conversation flowing naturally.

"One day, I was walking, and I found this big log." Snape said as he placed down a bet. "Then, I rolled the log over and there was this tiny stick. I was like 'that log had a child'."

Harry stared at the man, trying to figure out what the hell that meant.

"That." Snape scooped the chips in the center of the table to his spot. "Is a technique where you draw attention away from the game. It's meant to interrupt focus."

"I would say that worked." Harry shook his head.

"It works especially well if you time it right." Snape continued with a smile.

"Let's get the chips set again." Lily said. "Then we can try a few hands for real."

A wave of her hand reset the chips in front of each player. They settled into another game. The night continued on with the Marauders teaching him a few other versions of poker. They also made sure to explain the differences between the house rules and standard rules. It wasn't until Harry was getting ready for bed that he realized they hadn't asked about his world, or he about this one, but he felt like he knew each of them for years.

Harry drifted off to sleep with a smile on his face. Those questions would come another time. Today had been about connecting. It had worked wonders. They were indeed clever.