Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. Nor do I make any money off this story. Everything you recognise belongs to J. K. Rowling.

Chapter I

The First Mission

"No Black will ever die on my watch again. I will fight for my family till the end. I will lead my house back to where it belongs."

It was during moments like these when Lord Arcturus regretted the words he had spoken fifty-nine years ago upon becoming lord of the Noble and most Ancient House of Black. However, there was nothing he could do now. A promise was a promise and Blacks stayed true to their word. Sighing, the aged man rubbed his face with a calloused hand and turned back to his grandson.

"Sirius, do not be so rash. Think this through," he said pleadingly. It was no use. Sirius, at age thirty-three, was a man. Lord or not, Arcturus had no power over him.

"I did think it through, grandfather. It is not as dangerous as you make it out to be. When you were my age, you took the Lord's ring, led your family into battle and went on a killing spree to conquer the rest of the pure-blood houses. I'm fairly certain taking my godson from a suburban Muggle area is far from life-threatening."

"The sole difference being that I knew how to use my brain and you don't. You simply lack the craft and stealth it takes, Sirius. There is nothing more to the subject. Look at the facts – you've got noallies, no supporters, no one believes in your innocence and you're all over the news."

"I'm going," Sirius said, narrowing his eyes. "If you wish to join me, I most certainly will not object, and not just because you can take my fortune away with a flick of your wand." He added the last part jokingly, winking at his grandfather to lighten the tense atmosphere between them. Arcturus didn't smile. The jest was half-hearted and they both knew it.

"Take Pollux with you; he can help," Arcturus said with a defeated sigh. "And try not to maul the Muggles like wolves."

Sirius mockingly saluted the aged lord and called for a house elf. "Donny, go find Pollux. He's probably drinking himself to unconsciousness somewhere in the basement." Once the elf had left, Sirius turned back to Arcturus and smiled sadly. "I quite missed this lot," he admitted. "Not Irma... But it's nice to be with family without having to worry about Mother slicing me to bits in my sleep. And if the ministry really can't find me here until Callidora can find a way to clear my name..."

Arcturus smiled softly. "Indeed," he said. "Be good with Irma; she's had an arduous life."

Sirius sniggered. "Yeah, being married to Pollux is quite challenging, isn't it?"

"Do shut up," another voice sounded from the doorway.

Sirius turned around, a smile still plastered upon his handsome features, and looked at Pollux, who's silvery hair shone brightly in the firelight. Pollux had the angular face, the long, thin nose and the slate grey eyes all male Blacks were graced with at birth. "But unlike the rest of you," James Potter would use to joke, "he's quite the charming bloke."

Sirius smiled fondly and stood up. "Ready?" he asked.

Pollux nodded. "You know where Harry Potter lives, then? Good. Do you have a plan?"

"Typical Muggles, these people," Sirius said distastefully. He didn't particularly mind Muggles, but suburban families that thought themselves significant because of their fancy houses and advanced technological appliances irritated him. "We'll pretend we're the new neighbours and, knowing Petunia, she'll invite us for tea. We act all charming and polite and then let Harry in on the plan. At the end of the tea time, we run."

"Could be worse," Arcturus said, wincing slightly.

Sirius nodded sharply; this was the closest his grandfather would come to complimenting him. Glancing at Pollux, the two men Apparated to Privet Drive.

"Locate Petunia Evans," Sirius said immediately. His wand spun in his hand, pointing toward the supermarket. The young wizard offered his companion a wicked grin and they followed the wand's point.

"I'll casually look at the cabbages and bump into her. I don't think any of them recognise me as Sirius Black. I mean, I actually look human now. And we're talking about Muggles. In Little Whinging. You can't get any thicker than that."

Pollux grinned in appreciation. "You're learning, lad."

"I went out to a Muggle pub last night disguised as a Frenchman," Sirius replied bluntly. "I just don't like this particular place."

They headed toward the supermarket where Sirius carelessly picked a basket and busied himself with the vegetables on the shelves. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Petunia's glance at him with what she was hoping could be considered a fair amount of subtlety. But Sirius had grown up with Blacks; no Muggle or wizard would ever be as silent and elusive as Narcissa or as cunning as his father.

Sirius kept picking out carrots and lemons until he ran into the horse-faced woman. "Pardon," he said immediately, offering her a charming smile.

Petunia narrowed her eyes at him. "I haven't seen you around. Are you new here?" Her tone was supposedly friendly, but her posture showed only curiosity and hunger for information for her next gossip meeting.

"I am," Sirius said, fighting to keep the smile on his face. "Name's Henry. Henry Sage." He nearly winced at the name he chose for himself.

"Petunia Dursley," the woman said, smiling. "Would you like for us to meet each other properly over tea tomorrow?"

"It would be my pleasure," Sirius said. "Thank you for the offer."

"I live in 4 Privet Drive," Petunia informed him. "Is midday all right for you?"

"Perfect," Sirius said, smiling. "My friend –," He motioned toward Pollux, "and I will see you then."

Petunia bid him goodbye and they went their separate ways. Sirius waited anxiously for the next day when he would see the Muggle woman again. He had made up an entire back story for himself and Pollux, knowing the Dursleys would interrogate them. When midday finally came, he rushed Pollux to the Dursley residence.

The door was opened by Petunia. Sirius could see a large glob of fat sitting at the table across his equally large father. He nearly gagged in disgust. Outwardly, he only smiled. "Mrs Dursley," he greeted cheerily. "Thank you for welcoming us into your lovely home! It's been a rather big change from our last residence, of course. We didn't quite know how to work everything out until we came across you."

The young wizard could feel Pollux smothering a laugh. Petunia smiled broadly and beckoned them in, asking them to sit down. Pollux pointedly ignored the two large men near him. They disgusted him. Muggles, he thought. I don't know what I expected.

"I don't believe we've met," Mr Dursley said. "Vernon Dursley. Director of Grunnings Drills."

Sirius furrowed his brow. What were drills? Masking his confusion, he took Vernon's hand and introduced himself.

"And you, sir?" the enormous man asked, looking at Pollux.

"William Whittaker," Pollux said. "It's a pleasure, Mr Dursley. You manage Grunnings, then? Very intriguing."

Sirius was beginning to notice that everything was horribly off-plan. Harry wasn't present. That meant he had to manipulate Petunia into talking about him and suddenly steer the conversation to that.

As expected, Pollux charmed the Dursleys with fascinating tales of his youth as a captain and numerous laughs and jests. Sirius added to the atmosphere with vague stories about his son and nephew, the former of which was supposedly a soldier in the army, while the latter was a politician.

"I met with the lovely resident of Number Six," Sirius said finally. "He spoke kindly about you. I see what he meant when he said Dudley was the finest boy in the land. Charming young lad, that one is. I was also told you have a nephew who goes to a school for young... criminals."

Pollux sobered up and looked at Petunia with mock melancholy, ignoring Vernon's sneer. "Mrs Dursley, please. We did not wish to offend you. It's just – Ma'am, I've got a young grandson. His name is Geoffrey and I thought he was an incredible young gentleman until recently. He's changed, doing all sorts of wild things... I thought maybe..."

"You want to send him to St Brutus's?" Petunia asked lightly.

Pollux pretended to observe the inside of his water glass, turning it aimlessly in his hand. "Indeed. He's a nice lad, really, I just thought he needed some shaping up."

Vernon cleared his throat. "We do have a nephew there. Troublesome boy. We got landed with him when his parents died. We've taken good care of him, of course. Treated him like our own son, but bad blood is bad blood. You can't change that."

Sirius clenched the the chair's armrests furiously. "Does he live here with you?" he asked through gritted teeth.

"He isn't here," Vernon said quickly. "Out. With friends."

Sirius hummed. "Shame. I looked forward to speaking with him. Would you mind telling me where the privy is, Mr Dursley?"

"Upstairs, second door on the right."

Sirius nodded sharply, glanced at Pollux and headed upstairs. He scanned the doors, trying to guess which one belonged to his godson. Finally, his eye caught a padlocked one with a cat flap at the bottom. Jerking back violently, Sirius unsheathed his wand and barged in. Harry was lying on the bed, curled up in a fetal position with a ragged blanket thrown carelessly over him. He was shaking and occasionally letting out low moans of pain.

Sirius rushed to the young boy's side. "Harry," he whispered, shaking him gently.

The boy groaned and shrank back into himself. "Not now..." he muttered. "Hurts..."

"Harry," Sirius repeated gently. "Wake up, now. I'm taking you to safety."

The small boy opened his eyes and almost immediately jumped up. "W-Who are you?" he demanded.

"My name is Sirius. Calm down, now. Everything is all right. I'm your godfather, Harry. I'm here to take you from Privet Drive."

"You're lying!" Harry roared, now fully awake. He reached into his pillowcase, pulled out his wand and pointed it at Sirius with a trembling hand.

Sirius made no move to disarm him. "Listen to me," he said calmly. "I was a friend of James and Lily..."

"Why should I believe you?" Harry asked, swallowing audibly. The man was lying. He worked for Voldemort. I have to escape, Harry thought frantically. He had to warn someone; anyone.

"Harry," Sirius said again. "I'm trying to help you. I would have come sooner, but I was not granted custody." Taking a deep breath, he began explaining about Peter's betrayal and Azkaban. "I'll swear it on my magic. I'll make an Unbreakable Vow. Anything you want, Harry."

Harry looked confused. What was an Unbreakable Vow? He was certain the man – Sirius was mad. How had he even got to Privet Drive?

"I would never betray James and Lily like that," Sirius said hoarsely. "Here –," He unsheathed his wand and handed it to Harry. "You can hold on to this if you want. You have my wand and I'm unarmed."

"How did you get here?" Harry asked cautiously, grabbing the wand.

"I tricked your aunt thinking I'm the new neighbour. Needless to say, I was instantly invited to tea."

Harry remained silent. "Why would I go with you?" he asked finally.

Sirius sighed. He had been expecting that. Harry wouldn't want to leave his home for a man he had never met. A man who had been labelled a deranged mass murderer by the government.

"Because I can protect you better than your aunt and uncle can," he said bluntly. He wanted to get this over with. "Because it's what your parents wanted."

"Do you serve Voldemort?" Harry blurted out.

Sirius rolled his eyes. "Were you even listening to me five minutes ago? I fought Voldemort. I caught his followers, protected his enemies..."

Harry nodded slowly. He considered the man for a moment. Sirius had been a friend of his parents and he was innocent of the crimes he had been accused of. He had risked his safety to get Harry. He was opposing Voldemort. Harry sighed and ran a hand through his hair. Make up your mind, he told himself sternly. "So... I can come with you?" This was it. There was no going back now.

Sirius smiled. "Until we get out of the house, you have to call me Henry. Just do it, no questions."

Harry frowned in confusion, but nodded nonetheless. The two wizards descended the stairs. In the living room, Pollux had petrified Vernon and Petunia.

"Ready, Sirius? Good. Let's go."

"Did you Obliviate them?" Sirius asked. At Pollux's nod, they exited the house and Apparated to Black Manor.

"There we are," Pollux said proudly. "Black Manor. In you go, then."