Author's Note: This takes place at the very beginning of Harry's third year, right after Sirius escapes from Azkaban. In this story, Lupin isn't supposed to be the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher until October, so none of the students know who he is yet. Sirius never saw the picture of Scabbers on Ron's shoulder in the newspaper; he only escaped because he couldn't stand being there any longer. As soon as he escaped, he came to Dumbledore, trying to convince him that he's innocent. Dumbledore is about 60% sure that Sirius is innocent, but no one else is convinced.
Harry and his friends will be in this story, but not until later chapters.
That's pretty much everything you need to know before you start the story. I hope I'm not forgetting anything. :P
"There is something I must ask of you. It is of utter importance and the outcome could severely affect the fate of the wizarding world. Lord Voldemort -" A few flinched at this, but Dumbledore continued on. "-is not dead. He has been planning to return to power for twelve years and I fear he is getting closer to reaching that goal. I assume you all have heard the legend of the Philosopher's Stone. I destroyed one of them years ago after Voldemort had tried to get his hands on it, but there is another in existence, another that he is after. I cannot be here to protect the Stone for I will be at an urgent meeting at the Ministry. I am trusting this task of finding and destroying the Stone to you. It will be difficult, with Death Eaters also searching for the Stone, and the dementors crawling about. But I have faith in you, faith that you will overcome any obstacles you will have to face."
"But why us?" Remus Lupin stood up. "And why now?"
"Because I believe that all of you are the most fit to accomplish this task." Dumbledore smiled, observing the people in front of him.
Remus Lupin, a prefect and wonderful student while he was at Hogwarts. Kingsley Shacklebolt, an extremely dedicated and strong Auror. Inkerus Laramin, another fine young Auror. Nymphadora Tonks, a young Auror and metamorphmagus. Koren Bones, a fine young Auror, also one of the only living descendants of the great Edgar Bones, who went down fighting Voldemort. Menal Meadows, another young Auror and descendant of Dorcas Meadows, who was also killed by Voldemort. Orin Malfoy, a young man ashamed of his family and trying to prove he isn't like them.
And lastly...Sirius Black.
Sirius lurked in the corner of the room, his face gaunt from the torturous years in Azkaban, his gray eyes dark and glassy. Although his cheekbones were sharper and his skin was paler from the long years of living in a cell with only scraps of food, Dumbledore could still see the person he was before, the handsome young man who liked to break the rules. It felt like an iron fist clenched Dumbledore's heart as he was torn between the memory of Sirius Black the Marauder, and the convict he was today.
Was Dumbledore making the right decision in trusting Sirius? Was his explanation true? Had the Potters changed Peter Pettigrew to the Secret-Keeper at the last minute? Or was Dumbledore making a grave mistake in allowing Sirius to be a part of this mission, to enter the school grounds?
"But why him?" Remus, usually calm and controlled, couldn't keep the hatred from his voice as he stabbed a finger in Sirius' direction. "He sold Lily and James to Voldemort! He can't be trusted! He's a traitor, a Death Eater, and he'll sabotage this mission!"
"It wasn't me!" Sirius shouted. "It was Wormtail, the bloody rat! I'd never, never, betray any of my friends," Sirius' voice broke as he added, "Especially James."
"While I do not trust Sirius Black, I trust your judgment, Professor Dumbledore." Kingsley said. "And if it means preventing Voldemort from rising to power again, I'll put up with Black." Kingsley turned to Sirius and said, "But I will be watching you closely, Black, and if you step out of line I will not hesitate to attack you."
"But why are we doing this now?" Orin Malfoy asked. He was a nineteen year old boy, tall and thin but still a bit muscular, with white-blond hair and dark eyes. Dumbledore knew that he was still undergoing Auror training and did not yet have his license, but he was highly skilled and excellent on defense. "All of a sudden?"
"Because there is no time to waste." Dumbledore answered. "I have reason to believe Lucius Malfoy will be coming to the school tomorrow night, probably pretending to visit his son, while searching for the Philosopher's Stone. Voldemort now knows the Other Philosopher's Stone is here, and he's sending all the followers he has to come find it. So you should expect all of the former-Death Eaters that aren't currently in Azkaban to appear on the castle grounds within the next few days."
"Can't you have them arrested by the Ministry?" Inkerus asked. He ran a hand through his dark hair and looked at Dumbledore with skeptical eyes. "I mean, if you know what they're up to, you can just call up the Ministry as soon as you see them and have them arrested. What do we need to do this for?"
"I'm afraid I can't just have them arrested, no." Dumbledore sighed. "They've been found innocent by the Ministry years ago, so they're no longer legally considered criminals. And most of them have children at this school, Slytherins mostly, so if they were seen they could use the excuse of visiting their children, like Lucius. Them being here wouldn't be considered a crime by the Ministry. So you see why the Ministry can't help us here, and I've chosen you all to do this task for me."
"Sirius," Dumbledore said to the man brooding at the back of the room. "I do hope that I'm not making a grave mistake in trusting you. I believe that if you are telling the truth and you are not a traitor or a Death Eater, then you will be a valuable asset to this group and can play an important role in this mission. Please do not disappoint me."
Addressing all of them, Dumbledore continued. "I ask that you do not let yourselves be seen by any of the students. I think it will worry them if they see Aurors wandering around on the grounds. And Sirius, this goes triple for you, for obvious reasons."
Sirius grumbled something about being falsely accused while Remus glared at him, hatred and anger radiating from him. Tonks bounced on her toes eagerly, Orin looked determinedly ahead, Inkerus and Kingsley murmured to each other, Koren and Menal were silent.
"Where is the Philosopher's Stone, anyway?" Menal asked.
"That, I believe, is covered in the letter of instructions I have left you all." With a wave of his wand, pieces of parchment appeared on appeared on all of their chairs. Dumbledore stood up and crossed the room toward the door, preparing to leave. But as he was reaching for the doorknob, he turned back and added, "Oh, and one more final warning to you all: there will be others looking to destroy the Stone as well. You will most likely encounter them on your mission, and I do hope you will be able to work together."
"What others?" Koren asked, alarmed. "Are they Dementors? Other Aurors? Rogue Death Eaters? We need more information than that!"
"You will find out in time. But now I must go." Dumbledore said as he exited. "Good luck to you all."
--xx--xx--xx--
"NO! NO! NO!"
Sirius jumped off his motorbike before it even touched the ground. Pushing open the gate, he ran toward the destroyed home of his best friend. He could hardly see past the smoke; it burned his eyes and blurred everything. The roof of their house had caved in, the front door was gone completely, nothing left of it but a fringe of splinters along the door frame that suggested the rest of the door had exploded inward. The inside of the house looked no better, Sirius noticed. There were scorch marks from misfired curses on the walls, all the furniture was buried in the rubble. Charred debris of their belongings were strewn everywhere.
"JAMES!" Sirius screamed. The crackling sound of a ceiling about to collapse answered him. He jumped away just in time as bits of the ceiling crashed to the floor where he once stood. "LILY!"
A lump formed in his throat. They had to be okay, they had to have gotten out alive. There wasn't a Dark Mark over the house, so that had to mean no one was killed, right? It had to be a good sign...
Sirius was about to make his way upstairs when he stumbled over something. With a cry of horror he realized it was a body. The body of his best friend since childhood, James Potter.
His chest constricted. He fell to his knees in the ashes and debris and suddenly, the smoke wasn't the only thing burning his eyes anymore. The tears that were welling up in his eyes began to sting. He refused to blink them away. He couldn't close his eyes. All he could do was hold the cold hand of his best friend and sob.
"No, no, no! James!" Sirius wept. His shoulders shook violently as hot tears tracked down his cheeks. "I'm so sorry! I'm so, so, sorry! Its my fault! I - I did this. I'm sorry! Oh, no! James!"
James was handsome even in death. His face was so youthful, only twenty one years old. His glasses lay crushed a few yards away. Sirius placed a hand on the face of his best friend - no, his brother. Sirius bit his lip so hard until he tasted blood and let the sobs rack his chest. Memories of sneaking out at night with Moony, pulling pranks on other students, tickling the giant squid, roaming the Hogwarts grounds as animagi at night all played inside his head. The best friend he ever had was dead in front of him.
Dead. Never coming back. Probably died trying to protect Lily and Harry...
Lily and Harry! The thought of them smacked him in the face. What if they were alive? It wasn't likely, but it was still possible. Sirius dashed up the stairs and threw open the doors to the bathroom and the master bedroom. Seeing nothing but rubble and smoke in those rooms, he tried the last door at the end of the hall. Harry's room. With a terrifying feeling of foreboding he ran inside.
Lily Potter lay crumpled on the floor, her features still etched into an expression of horror. Her eyes were bulging and her mouth was wide open. Sirius' knees buckled and he fell to the floor in front of her. Lily was dead. That meant Harry was dead too. Sirius wanted to scream but he couldn't make a sound. Too suffocated by grief and pain to be angry, all Sirius could do was close Lily's eyes with his hand so she could rest in peace, and stuff his fist in his mouth to stifle his sobs.
His world crumbled around him, just like the ceiling.
Lily, beautiful Lily, always kind and brave and smart, who James pined over for years and loved with all his heart, was dead. Harry, innocent Harry wide-eyed Harry, who looked so much like James yet had Lily's brilliant green eyes. His godson who was only a year old, never even got to experience life, had been viciously murdered by Voldemort.
Rage tore into him like a blade. It burned in his veins and made little dots appear in front of his eyes. He was so overcome by this rage and his grief that he was about to be violently ill...
"Sirius?" A familiar gruff voice said.
Startled, Sirius looked up. Though his vision was cloudy and the smoke was thick in the air, he could see Rubeus Hagrid standing in the doorway, Harry in his arms.
Sirius rubbed the tears from his eyes and looked again. Hagrid was still there and so was Harry. Voldemort had been after Harry all along. So why would he kill Lily and James but leave Harry alive? It couldn't be true. Sirius was seeing things. Harry couldn't be alive, it was a hallucination.
"Sirius!" Hagrid cried. "Oh, Sirius, its jus' awful! Lily 'n James dead! Professor Dumbledore sent me here right away, ter come get Harry! Miracle he's alive, it is! Almos' did'n believe it when he told me You-Know-Who was dead! But its true!"
"Pa'foot!" Harry said groggily.
Hallucination or not, it didn't matter. Sirius unsteadily rose to his feet and crossed the room toward Hagrid. As he got closer, Sirius realized that Harry was there in perfect clarity, very real and very much alive. Relief washed over him and a tiny shred of joy was awoken inside him: Harry is okay. He's alive. My godson is alive.
Hagrid realized what Sirius wanted and handed Harry over to him. Sirius held Harry to his chest and tried not to break down again. When he realized the poor kid was shivering, he held him closer. Sirius ran a hand through Harry's messy hair and buried his face in it. Harry was an orphan now...
Harry pulled his head back from Sirius' chest and tried to turn around to look at the floor, where Lily's body was. Sirius immediately pulled him closer and shielded her body from view. He wasn't going to let Harry see that. But then Sirius noticed for the first time that there was something different about Harry's face.
Apart from the ashes and grime, something else was odd about his face. There was a cut carved into his forehead in the shape of a lightning bolt, surrounded by dried blood. This struck Sirius as extremely strange. So Voldemort hadn't left him alone. Harry had been hit with a powerful curse, which was the only way this strange wound could be there. But what curse was he hit with?
"Hagrid, how did Harry get this scar? Why is he alive? And what are you doing here?" The questions tumbled out of Sirius' mouth before he could stop them.
In his arms, Harry whimpered and dug his nails into Sirius' neck, trying to cling to him even closer. Sirius' heart broke at the desperateness and dependency he felt when Harry clung to him. Sirius was all Harry had now.
And Harry's all I have, Sirius realized.
"It's okay. Its alright." Sirius lied in what he hoped was a soothing tone, rubbing Harry's back gently. He wasn't sure what he was supposed to do or say. Lily would have been able to calm Harry down in a heartbeat. She would have done something like rub his head or whisper soothing words and Harry would instantly relax. Or maybe it wasn't what was being done, it was a matter of who was doing it. Shaking off these thoughts, he turned to Hagrid and said, "You need to explain this to me! What happened? Why did Harry survive?"
"Professor Dumbledore sen' me here to come get Harry. Tha' scar righ' there, tha's from the Killin' Curse! You-Know-Who tried ter kill em'! He killed Lily and J-James" Hagrid's gruff voice cracked as he continued on. "but when he tried ter kill Harry, the curse rebounded! You-Know-Who is dead and Harry lived! With nothin' but tha' ruddy scar! Wouldn' a believed it, mind, if Professor Dumbledore hadn' told me himself!"
Sirius' head was reeling. Hagrid was barking mad. Voldemort hit Harry with the Killing Curse...but it rebounded and killed Voldemort instead? That wasn't even bloody possible! Sirius wildly looked at Harry's face, staring at the scar, suddenly desperate to know what exactly had happened. The cut wasn't very deep but it was bloody and it must have been painful. The blood from the cut had started to dry up, but a few drops still dripped down his face onto his eyelids. Sirius was deeply disturbed at seeing his one-year-old godson's face dripping in blood. He felt like he was going to be sick all over again.
"Sweep?" Harry spoke softly. His huge green eyes stared up into Sirius' gray ones. "Sweep? Mummy sweep?"
Sirius frowned and wondered what he was trying to say. When he realized Harry was looking over his shoulder at Lily's body on the floor, an iron fist clenched his heart. His entire body went numb.
"Sweep, Pa'foot? Mummy sweep?" Harry repeated. "She a sweep?"
Sleep, Padfoot? Mummy sleep? She asleep? Tears leaked out Sirius' eyes. He closed them for a moment and in his mind he saw James lying dead in the rubble downstairs, saw Lily crumpled and broken with her eyes bugging out, like she was still horrified, even in death. The longer he kept his eyes shut, the more they burned, and Harry wouldn't stop asking, "Sweep? Pa'foot? Mummy a sweep?"
And finally Harry said something that made Sirius scream internally: "Wake hew up!"
Wake her up.
Sirius shook his head, I can't wake her up. No one can.
"Sirius," Hagrid said. Sirius was shaking uncontrollably; hands trembling, knees shaking so hard he felt like he was going to collapse. Hagrid noticed this and placed a hand on Sirius' shoulder, trying to comfort him. Sirius had his eyes squeezed shut and was trying so hard not to fall to the floor; he barely noticed Hagrid had taken Harry from his arms. By the time he had noticed, it was too late.
"I need ter take Harry ter Professor Dumbledore. Its his strict orders." Hagrid said.
"No! Give Harry to me, Hagrid. I'm his godfather. I'll take care of him." Sirius choked.
"Sorry, Sirius, bu' its Professor Dumbledore's orders. Hope ya' understand." Hagrid sighed.
"Want Pa'foot!" Harry protested and then coughed. His small voice sounded hoarse and raspy; it must have been from the smoke. It wasn't good for Harry's health, being in this house. It could damage his lungs. Harry croaked, "Pa'foot!"
Hagrid sighed sadly as he carried Harry down the destroyed hallway to the stairs, Sirius following closely behind; his thoughts swirling in confusion, grief, rage and panic. Lily and James were dead. It was Wormtail's fault. How did Harry survive? Why did Dumbledore want Harry? Where is Hagrid going with him?
"Mind if I borrow yer motorbike, Sirius? In a bit of er' hurry." Hagrid asked.
"Go ahead. I won't be needing it anymore." Sirius said, grief numbing his entire body so he couldn't even think of what he was doing.
Sirius nodded and allowed Hagrid to climb onto the motorbike that was parked by the side of the house. The smell of smoke was making his head spin and he didn't want to think about any of this. He wanted to curl up on the ground and maybe just die for a little while. James and Lily's faces were engraved on the space behind his eyelids. Every time he closed his eyes he saw them.
"Hagrid," Sirius said as he followed him over to the side of the house. The sky was thick and opaque with clouds, the wind was sweeping dead leaves across the ground. "Where are you taking him?"
"Professor Dumbledore says to take im' ter Privet Drive, Little Whingin'."
"WHAT?!"
"Its Professor Dumbledore's orders, Sirius." Hagrid said as if that explained everything.
"To hell with his orders! Lily wouldn't even acknowledge those people as family! They hate magic! They're horrible people!" Sirius yelled. "You can't take him to them! They're second on the list of people Lily and James would never want Harry to live with, Voldemort being number one on that list!"
Hagrid had already pulled on the helmet and the engine roared to life. Harry was tucked inside one of Hagrid's massive pockets, and the motorbike lifted into the air. Hagrid wasn't going to listen, and Sirius was out of energy.
"Sorry 'bout this, Sirius." Hagrid said. "But Dumbledore knows what he's doin'."
Sirius nodded meekly, barely taking in anything Hagrid had said. The loss of Lily and James was cutting into him like a physical wound, it felt like he lost a limb. A part of himself had been torn away. And as the motorbike lifted into the air, carrying Hagrid and Harry farther and farther into the sky until Sirius couldn't see them anymore, another part of himself tore away.
He staggered across the lawn, through the front gate, down the street, having no idea where he was going. No matter how far from the Potters' house he was, the smell of smoke stayed. Every time he closed his eyes, there was James, lying motionless in the rubble, and there was Lily, eyes bulging in horror...his best friends...gone forever. He barely noticed the cold or the wind as he wandered from town to town, his thoughts going around in a circle. Nothing mattered. It felt as if there was nothing left in this world worth fighting for anymore. Nothing mattered...nothing left here. Nothing worth fighting for.
How many pieces can be torn away from a person until there's nothing left underneath?
Sirius had the feeling he was about to find out.
--xx--xx--xx--