Disclaimer: If I really owned them, do you honestly think that Voldemort would have lost the war? Seriously though, do you want to hear my whinging about how I DON'T OWN THEM?


Title: Concrete Angel

Pairing(s): EC/HP, Few Cannon & Other

Warning(s): Grand timeline changes. Please don't bother me with it. Yes, I know the timeline is wrong, but I manipulated it for a reason. Jacob will still be two years younger than Bella but Harry will be one year younger than Bella and a little less than half a year older than Jacob instead of five years older than Bella and seven older than Jacob should it be cannon. There will be some abuse and character death. So be forewarned. I might change the genre later, but I really don't know where I'm going with this at the moment.

Summary: Sirius held Harry for what was supposed to be the last time that night. Bared down with the blame of the Potters' death, he runs to the only family he has left…Billy Black...In Forks, Washington USA.

x.X.x

~*~*~*~ Like a Bird ~*~*~*~

x.X.x


x.X.x …Like a bird…like a bird… x.X.x

He stood in a daze.

His hair whipped around his head in a broken halo. It was as if the world just stopped her spinning and let all the winds she left behind catch up. How'd he end up here? Tears found their way to the eyes already lined with lines of laughter and smiles; now lined with weariness and sadness. He knew that he could be stronger, but he didn't want to be strong tonight.

The night was flaxen like the dust kicked up after a storm or childish tumbling on the dirty ground. The ruins of a once beautiful house stood imperiously before the yellowed clouds; burning with a passion that no man could ever recreate alone. The flames roared with a brazen vigor; whispering the sounds of past laughter into the blackened sky; taking with it, the life of those who lasted not nearly long enough.

The Aurors had arrived. The Order had come. It was all in vain as the ground shook with a force great enough to bowel even the sturdiest man to the ground. The second floor of the once beautiful white house had collapsed. People were yelling and screaming out orders. A hand landed on Sirius' shoulder and shoved him forward. He couldn't hear what they were telling him. The flames were slowly dying; their dance slowing to small bursts with the wind.

A light flashed and there was James standing in the doorway, waving at him to come inside. The house looked like it always had. The outside was a pearly white and the front hall was a soft slate yellow-gray. The wooden floors shined with the light reflecting off of them. Lily always kept her house spotless. She always liked the shine that the muggle way of cleaning left behind. It was something she would never give up, just like cooking. In the background he could see Lily standing there with little Harry, waving at him. Harry was smiling, his green eyes glittering with happiness. Another flash and it faded.

"Move it Black! Check for any survivors!"

Sirius felt as if he had gained a before-denied access to his limbs and was propelled forward with the command. There had to be someone alive in here! James was a trained Auror and Lily…well Lily could hold her own in a duel. They couldn't be dead, they would never—! Lily was a monster when it came to Harry's safety. Voldemort would have been the one who was running away in fear. Anyway, Lily was training to become a Healer.

Pulling at fallen wood, Sirius felt something cut into his hand. The pain just refused to register in his head as he continued to dig through the rubble. Jagged rocks were pulled from their places and splintery wood was yanked from their hiding. Sirius could hear someone speaking to him and from the corner of his eye he could see Albus standing there with Remus. His werewolf friend was saying something to him. Something about blood…Sirius ignored him and continued to dig frantically.

"James! Lily!" Somebody was yelling…was that him? He sounded so far away…

"Sirius," Remus grabbed hold of the bloodied hands, "They're gone Siri…James and Lily are gone."

Sirius pulled his hands from Remus' grasp and continued to plow through the mess, "Harry! What about Harry?!"

Yanking out a plank of fallen wood, Sirius heard a creaking sound. A gust of dusty air blew into his face. Yes! There had to be some sort of space in there! If there was even a small chance of Harry living, he wouldn't let it fly from his grasp. A small baby blue blanket came into view only moments later. It was shredded, a long strip of it leading under the unstable, precariously sitting cave.

"Harry…?" A small cry answered him, "Here!" Sirius called, "He's here!"

Blue robed Aurors surrounded the spot and began casting safe spells. Remus gently tugged Sirius away from the small opening, giving the Aurors a chance to extract the boy safely. He pulled Sirius into his arms, tucking the dirt matted head beneath his chin as the taller man slumped in relief and sadness.

"He's alive," Sirius whispered, "He's alive."

Remus didn't answer his friend and closed his eyes. Instead he held him tighter in some sense that maybe if he held him like this, then this would all be a dream and when he opened his eyes, everything would go back to being normal. Sirius was no killer. He didn't betray the Potters. He couldn't—wouldn't—believe that. All the signs pointed to Sirius as the culprit though and this hurt more than the werewolf would admit. He believed in Sirius, but it was so hard to refute the facts that were stacked against him.

"Got 'im!" Hagrid's booming voice echoed across the lot.

The sound of the small area caving in followed these words. Remus held tighter to Sirius, preventing him from turning to the sound. He trembled in the werewolf's arms, letting Remus know just what he was thinking.

"He's fine."

"I want to see him…"

Before Remus could protest, Sirius had pulled away from him and had caught sight of Harry; his beautiful, gorgeous, godson. Sirius moved forward to get to Harry. Aurors surrounded the man, newly named convict, and restrained his hands, snatching his wand away.

"What's going on?!" Sirius whipped his head to look back at Remus who refused to meet his eyes, "Moony…?"

An Auror drew Sirius' attention when he began to speak, "Sirius Black, you have been charged with the murders of one James Potter and one Lillian Potter nee Evans. The penalty, by law, is a life sentence in Azkaban Prison."

"What?!" Sirius struggled, breaking free of the Aurors' hold. He managed one arm free, blasting the other with stray, uncontrollable magic from his free hand, "Albus?" Dumbledore turned away, pretending not to hear his name be called, "Look at me Albus!"

Dumbledore turned just as Sirius caught up to his stride. "Mr. Black."

"I didn't do it Albus. You know I didn't do it!" Sirius raged.

"I…I cannot dissuade their decision. I have already tried."

"So you're willing to let them throw me into prison without a trial? A trial that already happened before this even took place?!"

"Now, Sirius," the Headmaster chided, "You must understand…"

Sirius' shoulders slumped. He knew. Dumbledore knew. Dumbledore knew that something would happen and still…and still he would allow Sirius to rot in Azkaban. Then…what would happen to Harry; his beautiful little Harry? The only relatives that any of them had that would take in the boy were dead. Lily had family even if it was only her sister Petunia.

The thing that skewed that picture was that Petunia hated anything and everything that had to do with her sister Lily. She would most definitely not accept a child of Lily's womb that could possibly have extracted Lily's…what had she called it…freakishness? Sirius could already imagine the horrors that she and her family would put Harry through. Surly this wasn't where Albus planned to send Harry?

"Give him to me."

"Sirius?"

"Just…give him to me."

Albus looked over at the devastated man in worn blue Auror robes. Instead of charging after Pettigrew like Albus knew he wanted—like Albus wanted—he had stayed behind to dig through the ruins to find his godson of only barely a year. His hands were bloodied and shaking, testament to the digging he had done to find the boy.

Hagrid was looking uneasily at Sirius. He was one of the many who thought that Sirius had betrayed the Potters, but who, besides Sirius himself, was there to refute that fact? The only people who would have known for sure were already dead. Eying the broken man once again, Dumbledore nodded his head to Hagrid.

Let Sirius hold the child.

This would be the last chance he'd ever get to do so.

x.X.x …Like an island you can't reach…. x.X.x

Bright green eyes stared up at Sirius through Lily's lashes. Dust settled on the soft wild locks of James' hair, brushing it a light brownish color. The rosy color of Lily's cheeks was smudged lightly with the dirt from the air. Lily's lips formed a bubbly smile beneath a mixture of her and James' nose. Harry had a nose all his own. Sirius' hand curled around Lily's fingers; the hand Harry had wrapped around his finger. Smiling, Sirius leaned down to kiss the soft skin.

"You look just like James and Lily Beautiful-gorgeous." Harry gurgled happily, "Yes, I know, but I got to leave you…with Dumbledore…" As if sensing Sirius' sadness like his own, Harry began to whine and Sirius briefly wondered if Harry attached himself to Sirius as a baby to a mother. Tucking the small body to his chest, Sirius began to tell Harry a story.

"You know, your mother was an awful cook; James old me often enough. He used to tell me that the only person who got food 'fit for a king' was you. Lily would always warm your milk to perfection, often leaving dinner to overcook or in some cases: burn. Maybe it was just me, but I believe he was exaggerating to some extent. She was bad, but not that bad…She was so good with you Harry. I don't think I've ever seen her so happy since the day you came out of her belly."

Harry's tiny fingers curled into Sirius' robes and hair, gently pulling, "Pa'foo'?"

Chuckling, Sirius untangled the hand in his hair, "I often told Lily that I would take you somewhere far away one day to meet the 'sane' part of my family. I promised her: this Christmas, I'd take her to meet them. James would tag along just for the ride. He had his hands full with protecting you, you know. He loved you that much…We came up with the passports and everything. We were going to go by muggle transportation so that no one from the Wizarding World would be able to track us. You know, 'once a wizard, think like a wizard for all time?' Well…I guess that was more of what Lily thought, but I'm not saying that it was wrong. Lily was a brilliant witch. "

The tiny hands reached up again, this time to pat Sirius's cheek. Harry babbled out some nonsense that Sirius couldn't understand but, for a moment, he could almost swear that Harry was telling him something important. Perhaps it was the Black inbreeding that led him to believe it…or maybe he was just too depressed to care.

"I can't understand a word you're saying," Sirius chuckled softly, "would you care to elaborate?"

For a moment, Harry looked just like an indignant Lily. He had the most adorable pout on his face, although Sirius would never mention this out loud to anyone. The yawn that was produced ruined the indignant look on the tiny baby and the breath tickled some of the hair on the older man's face. This made Sirius smile.

In a short distance, only the Order members who know what was going on had stayed behind. That left only Severus, Remus, Dumbledore, Minerva and Hagrid. The Aurors that would take Sirius into custody were standing at a distance, setting up a perimeter presumably, if Sirius tried to escape. Although Sirius might try to escape, the run-down man looked anything but strong enough to escape—not one to twenty fully trained Aurors.

Hagrid shuffled restlessly. The groundskeeper really didn't know the full story, he just knew that he had to take Harry and take him to the location that Dumbledore planned. He was kind of disappointed that Sirius would betray his closest friend. He'd known James and Sirius in school and the two were inseparable…how could Sirius ever do such a thing? Just looking at the way Sirius was holding Harry and whispering to the child made Hagrid wish he could rethink taking the baby away though. Harry was, after all, supposed to go to Sirius should anything happen to the Potters. It wasn't really fair that Sirius didn't get a trial, but it wasn't his place to go against Dumbledore.

Both Minerva and Severus, surprisingly, were adamant about Albus taking the child away from Sirius. It wasn't that Severus suddenly grown to like the Black, but he really didn't see why the boy, Lily's son, had to be taken away and given to muggles. He knew firsthand how horrible muggles could be to magical children, especially when it came down to Lily's sister. Minerva was just really a stickler for the rules. She knew for a fact that Sirius had not betrayed the Potters. He was stupid, but he was not that stupid. After all of her years teaching him, she knew that he would rather die for his friends than give them away. She hated the fact that an innocent man was going to be thrown in jail and that Harry would go to horrible people.

Remus glanced at Dumbledore briefly before returning his gaze back to his longtime friend. He didn't know whether to believe Sirius or Dumbledore for the man never led him astray. Sirius was gently chatting with Harry like the baby was actually forming sentences and talking back. It was cute and sad at the same time. It showed how much he loved his godson and it also showed how hard it was on the man to let him go. Remus had grown up with Sirius. He'd known the boy come man since they were eleven. How had things gone so far downhill?

"Take Harry, Remus. It is time."

The werewolf felt his heart clench at those words. Had it really come down to this? Was there no other way? Remus didn't answer as his feet began to move of their own accord. If Padfoot was innocent, then surly it would have some to light before all of this, right? It could not have been anyone else. James didn't trust anyone else that much—Sirius was like his other half.

Remus's feet carried him till he was standing right next to Sirius and one babbling Harry. His chest constricted when he heard the half-conversation, "Sirius."

For a man who has never cried so much in his life, Sirius sure had a lot of tears right now. In fact, he had more than enough to share for him and Harry both, "I don't want to Moony…he's all I've got left…"

"It has to be done Padfoot. You're a convicted murderer…" Remus spoke the last words with a heavy heart, "Harry cannot stay with you."

"I-I can't…" Sirius buried his sobs in Harry's small, soft tummy.

Harry whimpered and softly slapped his hands against Sirius's head, "Ma no…ti…"

"I'm so sorry Harry," Sirius hugged the babe tighter, "I'm so sorry!"

Almost as if Harry knew, he began to wail, "No bai!"

Remus reached out to take Harry from Sirius's relaxed grip when Sirius decided to suddenly tighten his hold and turn away, "Please…Moony, just…just give me a few more minutes….I just need a few more minutes…"

"I can't do that Sirius. Harry has to go now." He took a deep breath, "You…you have to go now."

"No bai! Ma bai!" Harry waved his little fists into the air.

"I'm sorry…I'm so sorry…" Sirius half-sobbed, half-mumbled, "I couldn't save you…"

Harry's feet kicked at Moony's hands as he reached forward again. Didn't he understand? Sirius needed him! "Moo'y…no…moo'y no…"

"I'm so sorry that I couldn't protect you…"

In all of his years, Remus Lupin had never quite felt so hurt. While it wasn't by the actions of Sirius, or the magical injuries, it was by his own actions. While reaching out to Harry once more, a magical surge as big as the one that brought down the Potters house, was let loose—enough to level the entire village of Godric's Hollow.

The Aurors had looked ahead and set a perimeter, but weren't really prepared for what had happened next. It prevented Sirius from escaping…and it also prevented the release of pure magic from escaping. The only ones left standing were Sirius and Remus.

Said werewolf looked around at the devastation around himself. The man that was once his best friend was standing with a whimpering Harry cradled to his chest. Remus honestly couldn't tell you what he wanted anymore had anyone asked. At that moment, instead of seeing a man and child, he saw a desperate soul holding onto its last strand of hope. Sirius turned away from Remus and began to walk away.

Lupin lifted his wand in a shaky hand and fired off a random spell. He wasn't sure that it hit, but with that spell, it felt like the last of his magic left him. Truly, Sirius Black was a strong man to have done what he did… and Lupin found that couldn't even have stopped this battered soul if he wanted to.

"I'm…so sorry…I couldn't protect you…"

There was nothing but the wind to answer his hushed whisper and suddenly, the world went black...

x.X.x …I know I'm stronger than you think… x.X.x

William Black.

He found the number in an old leather bound book that was stashed away in his old potion's room at Grimmuld Place. Tucked away in a small corner, Sirius pulled out a phone. This was one of the many skeletons in the Black family closet. He didn't mind it so much since it was rather convenient right now. Better than risking Gringotts or muggle streets alone anyway. The Blacks were a narcissistic and twisted family with dark secrets that would very well break them down.

"Alright men! Spread out! You four: go check upstairs! The rest of you: check the ground floor and below; he couldn't have gotten that far!"

He tucked Harry tightly to his chest. He was glad that Harry knew the importance of being quiet at the moment, since he hadn't made a peep since they had apparated away. Above them, footsteps and voices clearly rang out. It must be the Aurors or the Order. It didn't really matter, either way he would find himself in Azkaban if either of them found him. He just wanted to protect his baby more than anything.

Yes. Harry was his now. He couldn't exactly tell you when the thought struck him, but it did. And he wasn't ready to give it up. Call it the Black insanity from too much inbreeding if you will. Call it depression or guilt, but it didn't matter at all now. Harry was his and he wasn't going to give him up. Harry was his son now. Sirius believed this so much that he could almost envision himself giving birth to Harry.

"You three: check the basement! I want every millimeter of this place combed for that traitor!"

Sirius breathed in Harry's sweet baby sigh as he held the receiver up to his ear. He dialed in the eleven numbers from the page he ripped from the book. He made sure it was a clean tear so no one could track him. Still, he decided to incendio the book to eliminate the fact that they would ever get their hands on it.

Three rings were all it took before the phone was answered. The voice on the other side was groggy and rough, like the person had just woken from a restless nap. Sirius could also hear a baby whimpering in the background.

"Hello?"

For a moment, Sirius wasn't quite sure what to say. So long had it been since the last time he heard that voice. So long it had been since he saw the face that matched the voice. What should he say? How would the voice react?

"Hello? I'm going to hang up…"

"Wait…please…" Sirius whispered.

"What? Who is this?" Came the gruff reply.

Sirius forced a broken chuckle, "You don't remember me Billy?"

"Who is this? What do you want? I don't want—!"

"Surely even you can place my voice. After all, you used to tease me about it mercilessly whenever I went to visit."

A long pause and a bit of shuffling was heard on the other end of the line, "Hmm…Sirius…? Sirius you old sod! I haven't heard from you in a long time! How's it been? How is England?"

"I…Bill—" Sirius swallowed the lump in his throat as his voice cracked.

"Sirius? What's wrong? You sound awful."

What could he say? That he was a convict on the run? That some madman tried to send his son to deplorable muggles? Sirius let out a choked sob.

"I…they—they're gone Billy…!"

"Who—your friends?"

"I don't know what to do! I didn't do it—you have to believe me…I didn't do it…"

"What? Boy, you've got to calm down; I don't even know what you're talking about!"

"I didn't do it…I tried…I really did…but they're gone now…"

"Are you talking about that man you brought with you the last time you visited?"

"They're going to take him away…I've got to go now…they're going to take him away…"

"Dammit! Now hold on a minute Sirius Orion Black—!"

The rest of the sentence was cut as Sirius put down the phone. He cast a light sleeping charm over Harry and pulled the blanket over his head. He looked at the paper in his hand once more and committed the address to memory. He cast a small incendio on the paper and set it down next to the phone. Casting another spell at the phone, he reached over and clutched a portkey tightly to himself and Harry.

He waited.

A small click on the other side alerted Billy to the cut connection. He held the phone for a few more minutes before he replaced the receiver back into the cradle. Something terrible must have happened to cause his cousin to break like this. Never had he heard the man sound so bad in his life. Not even when Sirius was laid out with the Wizard's Flu could you hear his laughter stop ringing. What could have happened to cause the man to fall so hard?

A small tug on his pant leg pulled him from his musings. He looked down and spotted his son all covered in a sweet-smelling, sticky goo. As he picked the overactive child up he smiled, "Let's go find out whatever they gave you this time, hm?"

x.X.x …Like a bird or an island you can't reach… x.X.x

He was sitting on his front porch having a smoke when it happened. A sudden flash; gone as quickly as it had come and a body falling straight to the ground. Now, Billy Black wasn't an overly suspicious man, but when it came to someone arriving like that on his property, then he had found every right to be.

Only wizards and witches ever arrived by portkey. The telltale crack of apparation was not heard, so he could only assume that a portkey is what it was. But wizards never kept up with their squibs, so who could have landed not half a mile from his house?

Billy rose from where he sat when the body made no further moves since it hit the ground. He thought about Sirius's phone call earlier that day and quickly made his way over. Could it be? But why? What happened to drive that man this far? When he entered the tall grass, he searched the grounds…but nothing was there.

Turning back, Billy went inside.

Sirius rolled over and threw off the old cloak covering himself and Harry. Harry had not woken at their departure and still slept during their arrival. The ragged man sighed. Harry's face was bunched up in discomfort as he slept. Standing, Sirius felt a wave of dizziness sweep over him. Maybe he used too much magic back at Godric's Hollow…

Moving unsteadily over the terrain, Sirius trekked up to the small house that he remembered from his childhood. It was red and black with a white porch on the front and a smaller one out back. The house was small, too small for all of them to live comfortably, but if anything, Sirius had to get Harry in there—where it was safe. No matter what.

Leaning heavily against the door jamb, he knocked. It took a while, but a light flickered on in the window by him and the door opened. Tuscan, sun-kissed skin came into view. He followed the arms, chest, shoulders and raven black hair to a very familiar face.

The person in the doorway dropped whatever he had in his hand and stumbled forward. He couldn't believe his eyes. The man looked so worn for wear. His hair was matted with dirt and god knows what else. The robes he wore, for that's what they were, were torn asunder and hung in shambles here and there on the bruised and bloodied form.

The baby in the man's arms looked dirty, but unharmed save for the deep cut on its forehead. The tiny face was scrunched in discomfort but nothing else looked out of place. The arms around the babe tightened and Billy raised his eyes back towards the haggard face of the man on his front porch. The man swayed a little.

"…Sirius?"

"Billy…I…"

"Well? Get inside this house boy! You'll catch your death out there!"

x.X.x

TBC

x.X.x


A/N:

I know, I know. I shouldn't start something new with Silent Witness out but I was feeling kind of put out with that one. I'm currently facing a block and don't know where to go with chapter four. It's weird because I have half of chapter four, but already I have five completely done.

Ah, anyway. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I had this story running around my head for the better part of the month and finally decided to write it down. While I was surfing FFN, I came across AbNaGbEyL's profile and stumbled across her "Harry Black" challenge.

I decided that even though I was going to write before I found it, the credit all goes to her for that challenge actually encouraged me to post. You guys should go check it out of you have time. I might choose a few of her other challenges as well. They're really good for if you're in a rut.