Smoke filled the air around the ruins of the Potter cottage in Godric's Hollow, not that any of the muggles noticed it under the many enchantments hiding it from sight. Unbeknownst to anyone there had been a great battle earlier that night that had determined the fate of an entire world, along with that of a small boy. It was lucky that some of the enchantments were still holding, otherwise they might have heard another battle raging. This battle was different however. It was not a confrontation of enemies but friends and instead of determining a world's fate it focused on the future of the now crying child.
Sirius looked up in despair at the half-giant holding Harry bundled up in his arms. Hagrid wouldn't budge when he'd set his mind to something. He was like a mountain: immovable and almost impossible to wear down.
"Hagrid, I'm his godfather," he repeated for what felt like the tenth time. "Lily and James wanted me as his guardian. Please don't do this."
"Professor Dumbledore said he'd be safest with the Dursleys," replied the big man stubbornly. "He'll have good reasons. He always does."
"Petunia hated Lily, Hagrid!" shouted Sirius, tears of frustration pouring down his face. "She won't change her spots for anything. Don't you remember Lily's wedding? She called her a freak on what was meant to be the happiest day of her life!"
Hagrid looked uncomfortable, but was obviously unwilling to back down. "The professor must have a good reason for wanting Harry with the Dursleys! We may not understand it, but you'll have to accept it!"
The words made him wonder for a moment, but he shook his head and glared at his old friend. "No! I bloody well will not!" yelled Sirius. "I am not losing my only link to James and Lily to a bunch of ignorant muggles!"
"And what's wrong with muggles?" asked Hagrid dangerously, grip tightening around his large pink umbrella.
"Nothing usually, but these bastards are like the Malfoys minus the magic. Can you imagine how much they'll resent him? He'll be a bloody pariah Hagrid!"
"Nonsense! Dumbledore wouldn't let them!" Hagrid looked seriously affronted. "He knows what's best for Harry. Quit trying to stop me Sirius. You know you wouldn't be able to anyway."
Sirius stared at the big man standing in front of him, seething. Hagrid was right. There was no way he could win a fight with the half-giant. Sirius remembered the one time he'd seen a Death Eater had tried to take on the colossal figure. Hexes and curses had flown at him as he protected a muggle family with his bulk, but none had affected him. He remembered how Hargid had blocked the few dangerous curses with his umbrella, before he sprinted at the woman and grabbed her by the throat. Sirius could still remember the sickening crunch when Hagrid had slammed her hard into the ground with enough force to break her back. That couldn't have been a pleasant death.
Sirius stood shaking, the anger and grief inside him building with nothing to inflict them on. He couldn't take Harry yet if Dumbledore had plans for him, not with Hagrid standing in his way. He was sure the man meant well, but couldn't he see what he was doing. Maybe he should go get Peter, the slimy bastard and come back for Harry later. He was certain he had enough power to push that through. No, wait. Peter didn't matter right now. Harry did. He could get him away from Hagrid. It would just take intelligence.
"How are getting to the Dursleys?" he asked, hoping he looked heartbroken enough for Hagrid not to realise he was planning something.
"I've got an oversized broomstick on me somewhere," said Hagrid, frowning. "Probably need to lash a basket to it somehow so Harry doesn't fall off. Got some twine on me somewhere." At this point the big man gently the bundle in his arms on the side of the couch not reduced to rubble and splinters and began to go through his many pockets.
Wordlessly Sirius seized the opportunity. Casting a summoning charm at the blanket and praying it wouldn't leave the baby behind, he ran for the door, catching the bundle mid-flight.
"Sirius!" yelled an angry Hagrid, going for his umbrella. "What the hell do you think your doing?"
"Taking care of my godson!" called Sirius, blasting a hole in the wall and sprinting for his motorbike. He could hear the thundering sound of Hagrid's long legs behind him, quickly reducing the distance between them. Blasting a hole in the stone wall surrounding the property, Sirius quickly turned and cast a complicated spell at the bush to one side of the hole. Apparently all that time studying the magical properties of the Whomping Willow had not been for naught, for the bush tore its way out the earth and rushed Hagrid, tangling around his arms and legs.
Hearing Hagrid's cursing, he knew he needed to hurry before the man tore himself free. Gently placing Harry into the side-car of his bike, Sirius cast warming and securing charms onto the blanket and Harry for good measure. Mounting the bike, he gunned the engine. He felt the magic kin in and suddenly he was airborne, the wind whipping at his hair as he flew towards London. He could not hear Hagrid's angry and bewildered cries for him to come back.
HPHPHP
Sirius had battened down the hatches at 12 Grimmauld Place, only letting Remus and Alastor Moody in to see Harry and ensure he was alright. Alastor had been surprisingly understanding of the entire affair, considering the fact he had gone against Dumbledore. Then again, Alastor and Albus's relationship had always been based on mutual respect, not worship.
There had been the one tricky point before all of that could happen. Sirius had found himself pinned to the wall and dosed full of Veritaserum the moment he had let the through the door. They'd both shocked when they learned that Peter had been the secret keeper and Moody had rushed off to the office to ensure Crouch put out an arrest warrant on the rat. That had all ended in tears unfortunately; Peter's surprising skill with dark curses and cornered position had left four aurors dead in the street with a further three in St Mungos for intensive care. Sirius was shocked. He'd suspected Peter of cowardice but never direct violence.
In the chaos of the hunt for Peter no-one had bothered to protect the Dursleys. They were left forgotten until the ministry detected magic at their residence and rushed their to find Petunia and Vernon Dursley lying twitching on the floor, their minds gone to the cruciatus curse and little Dudley Dursley lying dead in his cot, a look of absolute fear frozen on his face. The dark mark had been flying proudly above the muggle neighbourhood, forcing the obliviators to chase down and stun most of the muggles before the word spread. When Moody had told him this Sirius felt sick. What if Harry had been there. He would have been killed as well as that young boy. He was so caught up in his own horror he almost missed the fact that Alastor was crying.
They eventually caught the Death Eater involved in the attack; his own cousin, her husband, brother-in-law and Bart Crouch Junior made a right spectacle of themselves in front of the Wizengamot before being dragged away. One morning he'd opened the door to find Rita Skeeter standing outside looking for a juicy interview. He'd threatened to sue her into bankruptcy and bribe enough people to make it stick if she tried anything and enjoyed the horrified look on her face as he'd slammed the door shut.
After several weeks he finally had a look at all the mail he'd been receiving. He'd angrily burnt ever message he'd received from Dumbledore before he could calm down and actually open any of them. Slowly he'd replied to all the people he knew and filed forms in response to the Ministry and Wizengamot's requests. They weren't taking Harry from him, that was for certain and he knew exactly how to prevent it. For the first time in his life he was glad to be a Black.
Eventually Sirius had invited over the Longbottoms and the Tonkses, since their letters had been becoming more and more concerned. Alice had been so glad to see her godson safe and sound she'd cried and suddenly Sirius had felt terrible. He'd been so worried about Harry's safety he'd forgot there were other people who cared too. Remus had eventually come over a few days later and asked him the question he'd hoped he wouldn't. The look of betrayal on the werewolf's face when Sirius had confirmed they had suspected him of being the traitor was incredibly painful. He just hoped that time would heal the breach. Moony was still coming to see Harry, so at least he hadn't left his life completely.
HPHPHP
A younger Sirius would have been amazed at how paranoid Sirius became over the years. Harry rarely went out in public and when he did it was in part of a trusted group, like the Tonkes or the Longbottoms. Sirius had relied on his income to allow him to home-school Harry until Ted and Andy had put their foot down after seeing how morose Harry was and berated him for trapping the boy. Sirius had reluctantly agreed to send Harry to a very good muggle school, only warming to the idea when he saw how happy he was.
Harry knew he stood out as a little odd. He was a wizard in a classroom-full of muggles. His parents, who he did in fact know a lot about, were dead war heroes and the man who'd betrayed him was still there. Added to that was the sense of paranoia his godfather had instilled in him. He stood apart from the rest of the students, though he was liked well enough and only ever made a few friends. Even so Harry was a happy boy. He joined the track and field team and found that he was very good at soccer, though he much preferred quidditch.
His friends were always slightly outcast. There was Hermione Granger, loud and bossy but very clever and Sabrine Ali was about a quiet as you could be without being mute. The teachers always commented to Sirius at Parent-Teacher Interviews that it was odd considering Harry's general popularity but Sirius eventually could see why his godson had become their friend. He felt a little like he was on the outside looking in and could see something of himself in them. The main difference was that he chose to be on the outside.
More years had gone by and the world had changed and eventually Harry got his Hogwarts letter. Sirius was a little surprised when he'd found out Hermione had received one too. Apparently her parents had been very careful to hide her magic in the fear that it would make her even more of an outcast. She'd ended up going along to Diagon Alley with Harry, Sirius and the Longbottoms. Her parents clearly found the entire experience very strange and were extremely alarmed when he'd snapped at Ollivander for scaring the children.
Eventually the day was over and they'd gone about their way. Sirius found himself seeing Harry off on his first trip to Hogwarts, wondering where the time had gone. He'd hugged his godson goodbye and watched as he boarded the train with Neville and Hermione. He had to wonder what kind of boy the Wizarding World was expecting. It probably though they were getting a young James, boisterous and a troublemaker. Sirius thought that was probably exactly what Snivellus was expecting. He just hoped that the reserved, slightly paranoid boy they would actually be seeing wouldn't feel pressured to be something he wasn't. Then again, Harry had his own strength. He'd do fine.