Disclaimer: The story is based on characters and situations created and owned by J.K. Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloosmburry Books Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros. Inc. No money is being made and no copyright is intended.

A/N: unbeta'd, also implied child abuse

October 31st, 1981

For as long as he could remember, Sirius Black always had some kind of sixth sense, a powerful gut feeling every time something bad was about to happen. It mercifully allowed him to stock on Calming Draught and Murlap Essence the first time – and all the times after that – he came back home after his repartition within Gryffindor, it kept him awake all those full-moon nights back in 1971 before he – they – knew Remus' secret, and it made him soothe and heal his crying, bleeding cousin the night Andromeda chose love over duty.

It's why Sirius kept pacing back and forth in his living-room, downing glass after glass, even though night hadn't yet fallen. Something bad was about to happen, he was damn sure of it and he didn't know who he could turn to if things took a turn for the worse.

A year ago, if someone had asked him whether or not he did have someone he could trust above anyone else, he would have grin smugly without bothering to respond. Now, however, he didn't know if he the answer still applied, because in the space of twelve little months, their lives took a turn for the worse and Sirius didn't know if their friendship would be the same after all this.

First of all, his best mate's son had been targeted by the most deranged wizard since Gellert fucking Grindelwald before his first birthday; sweet, shy Peter had turned into someone his seldom recognised these days with his sudden bout of panic attacks and mysterious disappearances; and Remus was… was doing some fucking thing, somewhere with someone for which he apparently couldn't fucking talk about. He couldn't even recall a time where their interactions didn't finish with an argument.

Oh well, he could. It was one year, three months and seventeen days ago. It was before Dumbledore and his grand master plan no one could know or ask about, but had to trust and obey because 'I would think that you above everyone else should understand that these people must be stopped at any cost, Sirius. They hurt children, Sirius,' the old coat had said, twinkle in his eyes, steel in his mouth.

As if he didn't know.

Trying to remember what his last talk with Moony was about, his wand vibrated, indicating that a half-hour had passed since he sent a message to Peter. Even though he knew without having to check, Sirius marched towards the only opened window and threw a cursory glance to see if his owl had returned. After a few seconds of silence, he allowed his anxiety to go through the roof.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck!" he muttered, angrily shoving his hands through his hair. What should he do? He wasn't supposed to go out since Dumbledore had forbidden him to patrol this week, because of a goddam incident last week, involving an alleged Death Eater (as if the Rowles weren't self-confessed bigot) and his wand. "Fuck all this, I'm goi-," he started, before a shimmering, silvery light shone from his bedroom.

Training kicking in, Sirius mentally reviewed all of his wards and found them untouched. Marginally relaxed, he carefully throw an Hominum Revelio and when nothing came from it, opened the door to see an imposing silver stag.

For one second, relief made him forgot the foreboding feeling he had been feeling all night long and he fell to his knees, half laughing. "Oh, thanks Merlin," the wizard declared dramatically. "If you weren't incorporal I'd kiss you right now." When a silence met his declaration and no sounds came from the Patronus' mouth, Sirius stopped laughing. Then, James' stag began closing the distance between them, not breaking eye contact with the dark-haired wizard for a second.

Stopping on front of the kneeling Black Heir the Patronus bowed his head, as if searching -ironically- for physical contact. Breathing hard, Sirius raised a shaky hand, and at the exact moment his hand made contact with the creature's snout, it dissolved in a pile of flickering light. When the last of them died on the floor, the room went dark. Night had fallen without anyone noticing, the silence almost unbearable.

In the wizard's head it was the exact opposite. He knew in his heart and mind what the disappearance of the stag meant, and he couldn't focus on a single thing beyond the maddening feeling of despair taking hold of him. That wasn't supposed to happen, they had taken precautions, all of them, no owls, limited interactions, even the Fidelius Charm with Peter as the Secret Keeper.

Sirius froze. Peter was the Secret Keeper. No one should have been able to bypass the charm without him telling them the exact location, which mean that he'd betrayed them.

All rationality fled his thoughts. Uttering a savage growl, he ran outside his flat, got on his motorbike and flew as fast as he could without killing himself. Soon, Godric's Hollows' light became visible, as well as a ruin oozing dark magic and death. As a Black, Sirius was well used to both of them. He began his descent towards the remains of the house and parked his engine outside.

The instant he passed the door, he was hit by the visions of James' corpse. His mind went blank for what could be a few minutes or a few hours, he couldn't tell. The only thing that broke through the barrier was the quiet, muffled cries of an infant, too weak to draw a lot of attention, but continual enough to give Sirius the strength to get up from the wall he didn't remember leaning on, and drag himself up the stairs to his godson's bedroom.

He willingly closed his eyes at the sight of Lily, but it didn't stop the image from impressing itself on his retina. Finally he reached the tiny cradle and took Harry in his arms, quieting his sobs. Instantly, Harry rested his tiny head into the crook his godfather's neck, searching for a comfort he's been denied for hours.

Sirius' eyes were filled with tears. "Oh, Harry," he wept soundly, caressing the baby's soft hair. "What are going to-"

A loud voice cut through the unnatural silence. "Sirius, yeh're here?"

Drawing his wand silently, he followed the sound of what he supposed was Hagrid's idea of indoor voice. Revealing himself, he found Hagrid standing outside the front door, looking quite relieved to see him. "Oh, good ye got Harry! I was worried when I saw someone inside the house sneakin' 'round an' then I saw yer motorbike" he trailed, worry evident in his tone.

Sirius cut him before he could launch into a speech. "Why are you here?"

"Err- Dumbledore asked me to go get Harry an' brin- 'im- ter 'is family," he stopped suddenly, eyes crinkled. "I shouldn'ta say tha'."

His family. James and Lily were dead, Charlus and Dorea too, his only living relatives were… Hell, no. Hell. No.

Narrowing his eyes, he said painfully calm. "Harry will certainly not be living with the Dursley, Hagrid." The guilty silence that followed enraged him further. "Have you met that beast of a woman and her fucking husband? They're the worst kind of Muggle, they hate anything even remotely associated with magic. They'll be awful to him!"

"Professor Dumbledore sai-"

"I don't give a flying fuck about what that old man wants, I won't give him up to be raised by that harpy!" Sirius yelled before lowering his voice when Harry began to fuss. "Shh, Harry. Don't worry, no one will take you away from me, not even Dumbledore."

"They'll be wards ter protec' 'im Sirius, an' this is 'is fam'ly. Ye can't take tha' decision by yerself," Hagrid replied confidently.

"Will they be wards against them too, or does Dumbledore still consider that a few sweets and a hot chocolate later, all his good in Dumbleland. He can understand that you're angry but 'my hands are tied, Sirius. I am merely an humble wizard, and your parents have a lot of influence.'" Sirius close his eyes in a feeble attempt to block the memories and inhaled Harry's scent to feel something other than bitterness. "I won't give my godson to Albus, because I know that he'd build his greater good on the back of a broken child if he thought it was what it took to achieve his goal."

Half a second later Hagrid fell on the ground like a stone and told himself it was the last time he trusted Sirius Black with a wand in his hands.

Remus was standing next to the only window of his kitchen, a mug of cocoa in his hands. Since the bite, night time had been difficult, now, however, with Dumbledore's assignment it went from bad to worse, especially because it didn't have anyone he could turn to. His latest interaction with Sirius felt like eons ago and he was the last Marauder he talked to, with James in hiding and Peter... he didn't really what Peter was doing.

Sighing, he swallowed a mouthful and tried to get the wolf to be calmer. The restlessness had begun a few hours ago and it worried him. The next full moon was in eleven days, therefore he wasn't feeling its effects yet, and only a few things could unsettle the wolf. None were pleasant things. Finishing his drink, Remus left it on the counter and was heading for his bedroom when he heard it. It was still low, probably in the distance but he could perfectly hear the distinct hum of a motorbike. The smile formed itself without he could stop it.

A few seconds later the doorbell rang and Remus nearly ran towards the door. Just before he opened the door he schooled his features in something more neutral. The man in front of him was looking into the distance and looked like death warmed over. "James and Lily are dead," Sirius said as a preamble.

Remus choked on his spit. "What have you done?" he whispered, horrified by the implications of his best friend's statement. Without meaning to, his voice grew louder and louder by each seconds. "THEY TRUSTED YOU, TRAITOR!"

"IT WAS PETER!" Sirius yelled back. "We-we changed at the last minute without telling anybody, I thought-I thought I was too obvious and no one would think it was him, but I stopped by his hiding place and he wasn't there. No one had been at his place for at least a few days." The wizard looked haggard for a moment. "He is the traitor."

At this words, Remus deflated and stepped on the side to let Sirius enter. Closing the door he steered his best friend towards the kitchen and his bottles of Firewhiskey. Busying himself with the drinks to stop his hands from shaking, he noticed his friend hovering at the door. "What's wrong Sirius?" Except the obvious, he thought.

"I did something, Remus. Something rash and I need your help."

For the second time in less than ten minutes, Remus asked him what he had done. The dark-haired wizard opened his mouth and closed it a few times, no sounds coming out of it. Steeling himself for the reaction, he drew a deep breath and, twirling his wand, casted a spell. Suddenly, as a an unnatural bump appeared under his coat, Remus could hear a second heartbeat, much softer than his or Sirius' and fluttering like a bird.

Sirius slowly unzipped his jacket and unveiled, soft, black baby hairs, followed by a orange and blue onesie. "Well, I've kidnapped Harry."