Hey This actually goes with the poem Thirteen Years which you'll find in my authorprofile thingy. Please enjoy.
Title. Of baby powder and blood
Author. Ferality Red
Rating. PG-13 for mention of child abuse and death and Padfoot's foul mouth.
Warning. Spoilers for book 1-4 has nothing to do with book 5 except for some facts.
Disclaimer. I don't own any thing but the plot. And please R and R.
…… means thought
Out the guest room, checking another room to make sure the person inside was asleep and down the stairs, Sirius Black moved swiftly to his destination. He had to hurry or else the other occupant, and owner, of the house would wake up and forcibly toss him back into his room. If that happened his plans for that night would be foiled and he might not have the same type of opportunity that he had today again.
Who knew that Moony could be so violent out of his wolf form or such a mother hen. His most resent memory pertaining to those thoughts made him smile fondly. He didn't know what he would have done without his old friend to help ground him in real life. Remus was probably the only reason he had tolerated being manhandled about and told that he couldn't see his godson. Which irked him to no end.
The thought that he was innocent, while keeping him sane in Azkaban, did not help with his will to live. Whenever the Dementers left to allow the prisoners time to eat he had pulled the pictures of his only family he had left to his minds eye. A gentle scene of Remus sitting in a faded couch, his haunted face softened by his curved mouth and longing eyes. The tousled headed baby holding his attention curled trustingly against his chest.
It was the only memory he had that didn't rack his heart with burning blades. That precious moment giving him a reason to fight and a person to fight against, Peter Petigrew. Sirius snarled to himself, he had no time to be reminiscing about things nor did he want to be in a bad mood when he went to his next destination. Don't want to scare him by acting like Snape. Patting down his robe pocket to make sure he had the light sphere was still there. Sirius looked at the jeweled hair clip in his other hand and grinned. The pretty butterfly shape hide its real purpose. A good portkey is a inconspicuous portkey, Such good advise Mad-Eye. With that last thought he brought it close to his mouth and whispered the activation words. The next moment he was gone.
Landing by portkey was always a little disorienting. The fact that he felt like some type of weird fish that had been hooked and then dropped on board did not help matters. Looking around and recognizing were he was, was a relief. It was a bigger relief that not only was it dark out but there was no one about to see him arrive.
Changing into his alter ego and tossing one last nastolgic look behind him, he left the familiar ally in Magnolia Crescent and legged it down to private drive. At Padfoot's arrival he slowed as he neared number four, he could feel the wards surrounding the house reaching out to him, trying to feel him and judge him. Calming himself, the animagus called forth all that Harry meant to him, and stepped forwards into the power of the wards.
The magic slid over his fur, probing his intent and truthfulness before backing off. The process only took a few seconds leaving him with the vague impression that the wards were relieved that he was here. That's odd. But why would it be relieved that there was an intruder that could potentially take Harry from its care. Is it that he's not safe here? It disturbed him enough to hurry him along to find a way into the house. The search didn't take long.
Padfoot grinned in his doggy way as he looked at the window. It was barely open but it was enough for him to change back into his human form, pry his fingers under and then slid in, which he promptly did.
Sirius crept up the stairs without so much of a whisper of cloth, he had to thank a previous applied silencing charm for that.It wouldn't do for the occupants of the house to hear him and wake up causing all sorts of trouble. Though I wouldn't mind giving the Durselys a piece of their own medicine. Moony would be angry if he did though. Actually Moony was probably going to be angry with him anyway.
He shrugged inwardly at that one, it didn't matter, okay so it did matter but he planned on dealing with that later anyway. He passed one door without as much of a backward glance knowing it wasn't the one he wanted. The vague thought of , here piggy piggy piggy, flouted through his head.
The second one was though and he arched a dark eyebrow at the cat flap that was installed into the door. He knew the Durselys didn't have any animals. He would have smelled it earlier. Frowning he settled on opening the door rather then contemplating its oddness. The door yielded to him and he slipped into the room
The room was barely lit, the light of the waning moon giving enough to tell the rough features within. The one thing in the house that he gave any type of damn about lay quietly in a cot like bed halfway covered in thin looking sheets. Remembering the light sphere he removed it from his pocket and gave it 3 decisive squeezes. That out of the way Sirius found himself moving to stand beside the bed without much thought. A small smile accompanied his softened eyes as he looked down at his godson.
Sirius set the now light bulb bright sphere on the dresser next to Harry's glasses He perched on the side if the bed and just watched the teens shadowed face for a moment. Harry's hair had grown considerably since he had last saw him. At the moment it was splashed against his pillow in a unruly wave. It had to be at least mid back by his assumptions.
His attention went to Harry's face, more importantly the left side of his jaw. He leaned forward brushing fingers against what he had first thought was a shadow but in the light of the sphere it proved to be otherwise. Rage bubbled up inside but he shove it down, he had to keep in control, he had to take care of Harry first. Harry stirred under his fingers and opened his eyes. He smiled in a drowsy halfway asleep fashion. "Sirius?" The escaped convict smiled back and stroked the youngsters hair back from his face.
"Hey little one" The silence after Sirius's reply was comfortable. Sirius watched him doze off then fall under into sleep once more. Is he suppose to be this warm? He frowned at the heated skin, it was actually to hot for his liking. He turned away for a moment to pick up the light sphere before moving back to his godson. He gave it three squeezes, the first one turned it of, the second squeeze set it on low and the last put it on medium. Bending over the bed he ran the light along Harry's exposed limbs.
He trembled silently in barely restrained anger as bruises around his wrist were shone be the light and a large dark masses stretched across his shins. Face, wrists, shins and that's what I can see, damnit! More people I need to kill. I'm going to need to make a shitty hit list or something so I can remember them all. Sirius's dark humor wasn't helping him so he moved into action..
So with a shake of his head he deactivated the light sphere and repocketed it. As he gathered up his godson he spoke low soothing words to Harry when he stirred but did not wake. Must be exhausted if he didn't wake up when I picked him up. Damn and it seems I wasn't kidding when I said little one was I? He's a fucking light weight! As he back out of Harry's room he gave it one last disgusted look before heading downstairs to his entry point.
He badly wanted to hurt someone, instead he focused his attention on getting back home instead of his godson. He knew that if he thought to deeply into things he wouldn't be able to control himself. Once at the window he balanced precariously and swung one leg over and then the other. He ended up sitting on the sill with Harry cradled on his lap while Sirius hunched over him so he could fit into the window as he leaned out of it. He slid out into the garden as smoothly as possible so not to jostle his godchild.
Adjusting Harry he set out to get out of the shielding that stopped portkey influence that hampered his return trip to Remus's. The wards surrounding the house didn't even protest as he walked out of them. Moving swiftly, he didn't even try to hide like on the trip to number four instead he walked on the side walk. He knew even if someone saw him carrying Harry, assumed he had kidnapped the child and called the local authorities. He would be long gone by the time they get here, besides it was still night time so the chances of someone seeing them was lowered. Thank Merlin.
By the time they were out of the shielding they where several streets away, and since he had basically retraced his steps, he was right back where he started, the ally in Magnolia Crescent. It was probably the closest Remus could have gotten to Harry's house with the shielding and wards all over the place. Ahh, that ally holds many memories. I have a feeling I'm going to see more of this place than I want to. Since no one had stopped him or his charge and so far, not even the faintest sound of a car or siren, Sirius figured him self home free for once.
He looked down at the bundle in his arms, he wanted to get Harry out of the chilly outdoors. Feeling sentimental he spoke to Harry. "We're almost there Em. Don't worry." Ducking into the ally he shifted around and pulled out the hair pin turn portkey. Sirius pressed it lightly against Harry's cheek bone, trying to avoid the bruise, he spoke the activation words and hoped for a safe and relatively quiet landing.
The landing wasn't that hard, compared to other thing he had done in his life, and the landing could of been quieter if he had his way but Harry slept on and there was no tell tale noises from upstairs. Sirius had counted Remus being tired still from the full moon three nights ago making Remus a heavy sleeper. Gah, now I'm going to feel guilty for taking advantage of Moony when he's not at his best. Though he knew that when his old friend was at his best or at least better he was going to be reamed inside and out for this. Though he couldn't exactly understand how someone could sleep deep enough to use a portkey and stay that way, he was glad. He didn't want to explain things yet.
Moving as soundlessly as he could, which was pretty quiet considering the silencing charms on his robes. Sirius considered his options and opted on taking him upstairs and settling Harry into his bed.
Sirius swallowed and trembled as he lay his precious godson down into the sheets. The emotion he had suppressed till now strangled the air out of his lungs. He wasn't just upset over the fact that Harry had some bruises, they could have been from a scuffle with another kid, it was the fact that Harry had been hurt period and that he wasn't there to help. Though he doubted that some of the bruises had come from a child. His decision to take Harry had been quickly made but not lightly or with out some thought behind it. Harry, Remus and himself had been owling letters at each other at a ferious rate since the end of Harry's third year at Hogwarts.
At first it was just to let each other know that the other was alive and well but the letters had gotten longer and had turned into some type of life line to them. The letters were now usually several feet long know telling stories of times long passed or what one of them though about something, most of the time though it was just telling each other about how much they cared. Harry's replies were some times lengthy and other times incredibly short but he got the feeling that the Harry Potter that everyone else thought he was wasn't who he really was. Him and Remus had always been good at reading between the lines and when him and Remus had read Harry's letters they had worried for his well being.
Harry's letters never came out and said that things were wrong, it was usually the opposite in fact, Harry was always saying he was fine. But it was little things he said that worried him, it hadn't taken him long to figure out that Harry down played his troubles. The Durselys diet, how they didn't like Harry, the overload of chores, their very anti-magic view and the hints that they encouraged their son to hurt his godson. It also worried him that Harry didn't see how wrong their treatment toward him was. His increasing worry had grown until tonight had happened and now his godson was safely where he could look after him.
Sirius scrubbed at his face and sighed. He needed to calm himself and sleep, knowing the best way, he changed forms before hopping gently as he could and curling up next to Harry's side. He let his fatigue take over and he dreamt. Of chasing after a dark haired little boy with blood instead of tears through a carnage filled field and the soft whiff of baby powder as he tried to catch him.
Thank you for reading Of Baby Powder and Blood! I must thank Nina for translating this into German! Thank You! Please RandR and enjoy the rest of the story.