AN: I am dedicating this chapter to Bottlebrush since she has reviewed both of my stories and she was the one who requested that I do this story next.

AN 2: Thanks to a few reviews, I have been reminded to point out something. This story does not take place in the modern world. It takes place in the 1600s. About the time Columbus was discovering America. There are no modern cities of the type we are accustomed to. The only major differences are 1. The clothes. I hate the clothes people wore back then. 2. The language. I never got the hang of how people spoke back then. Hopefully that clears things up.

Disclaimer: This is the only time I'll put this up. I do not own it. The only thing I own is the plot. And the OC character who will appear in later chapters.

Sirius kicked at a branch and had to duck out of the way as it snapped back towards him. Of all the times he had run away from home for a while, this was the first time he had run into the forest. As it was his first time by himself in the forest, Sirius had quickly gotten lost. Now he was simply wandering around, trying to find a trail or something he could use to guide himself out of the forest. Not that he was having much luck with that. He seemed to be wandering deeper into the forest.

After what felt like hours of walking, Sirius stumbled upon a stream. While it was good that he had found a source of water, it didn't exactly help him figure out how to get out of the forest. There was no stream that came from the forest anywhere near his village. Looking up, Sirius was surprised to notice that there was a boy by the bushes on the other side.

"Hey." Sirius called out.

The boy was startled and dropped something. He spun around and Sirius could see that he looked to be about his age. He was wearing a green t-shirt and jean shorts. From this distance, the only thing he could make out of the boy's physical appearance was the light blonde hair.

"Who are you?" The boy demanded.

"My name is Sirius." Sirius answered, moving closer to the river. "Who are you?"

The boy ignored his question and asked another. "What are you doing here?"

"I got lost." Sirius admitted.

The boy smirked. "Obviously. There aren't any paths that lead here so in order to find your way here, you had to have wandered from the path."

"Or never started out on one." Sirius countered. "Do you happen to know what the time is?"

The boy looked up at the top of the trees where glimmers of sunlight pushed through the thick canopy of leaves enough to light the forest.

"About noon."

Sirius was surprised. "Really? I thought it was much later than that."

"First time in the forest?"

"By myself."

"You look like you haven't eaten anything." The boy observed.

"Not today." Sirius said.

"Why don't you come on over? There are plenty of berries over here and they'll make a decent lunch."

Sirius surveyed the river. For a forest river, it was surprisingly fast. It didn't look safe enough to just wade into. It would likely knock him off his feet and carry him away before the boy had a chance to help him. And Sirius couldn't see any stones to jump across either.

"Er, how exactly do I get across?"

"Follow me."

The boy began to walk upstream and Sirius, having no other options, followed him. They walked in silence for a few minutes and then the boy stopped abruptly.

"There." He said, pointing to a spot in the water.

Sirius cautiously approached the river and saw four flat stones sticking out slightly. The water rushed over and around them, making them slick.

"Don't worry. It's safe. You just have to be sure to land in the middle. It'll help if you move quickly." The boy advised.

Deciding that he had nothing to lose, Sirius backed up a few steps and ran forward. At the last second, he pushed off from the ground and to his surprise, landed right in the middle of the first stone. Remembering that the boy had said to move quickly, Sirius leaped to the next stone, followed by the third, then the fourth, and then he found himself on the other bank.

The boy smiled. "That was pretty good for a first try. Anyway, come on. The bushes are back here."

Feeling accomplished at having made it across the slippery stones, Sirius hurried to keep up with the boy who never once slowed down. In no time at all, they reached the area where they first met. Just as the boy promised, there were several bushes full of blueberries. Sirius felt his mouth begin to water at the thought of food.

"Have a seat. I've already picked some berries. There in that basket over there." The boy pointed to a basket nearby on the ground. "I'm going to get something. Be right back."

He disappeared behind the bushes and Sirius flung himself on the ground next to the basket. He reached in and scooped out a handful of berries, wasting no time in putting some in his mouth. His eyes widened. These were the best damn blueberries he had ever tasted. Sirius quickly stuffed the rest of the handful in his mouth and reached in the basket for another.

"They're not going to disappear you know."

The boy appeared from the trees right next to where Sirius was sitting. Sirius jumped. He hadn't heard the boy approach and wondered how he was able to get around so quietly. The boy was carrying a small bag. Sitting down, he reached inside it and pulled out a large loaf of bread. He broke it in half and offered half of it to Sirius.

"Here, it tastes better with bread."

Stunned, Sirius took the bread and bit of a bite. To his surprise, the boy was right and the berries tasted a lot better with the bread. As he chewed on the bread, Sirius remembered that he had no idea who the boy was.

"What's your name?" He asked as he swallowed the food.

The boy appeared to be considering if and how he wanted to answer the question. Several minutes passed by in silence. Sirius, for once in his life, was content to wait and be silent. It wasn't until they were nearly done with their lunch that the boy answered.

"You can call me Night."

Sirius couldn't help it. He started laughing. The other boy, Night, looked offended.

"It's not really funny."

Sirius clapped a hand over his mouth in an attempt to stop laughing. He really didn't want to make the other boy leave.

"I'm sorry." He said with a slight hiccup. "You see, my last name is Black, the color of the night. It's like a sign that we're meant to be friends or something."

Night looked appeased. "Oh, well. In that case, it is kind of funny."

Night looked up at the sky. "It's getting late. I need to finish picking the berries and get going."

Sirius leaped to his feet. "I'll help you."

Night tried to wave him off. "No, you don't have to."

Sirius was firm. "Yes I do. You were kind enough to share the berries you had already picked. The least I could do is help you pick berries to make up for the ones we ate and gather the rest."

The other boy gave in. "Fine. You can fill up the basket we ate from."

Eager to help after the boy had helped him Sirius leaped to his feet, snatched the basket, and quickly got to work filling it. Night got to his feet and pulled another basket out from behind a tree and set to work filling it.

For a while, the two boys worked in companionable silence. Eventually though, Sirius started to wonder how he was going to get out of the forest and back home. He certainly had no idea which was to go and knowing his luck, would likely wind up even more lost than he already was. Perhaps Night knew how he could get out of the forest.

When both baskets were filled, the two boys turned to each other.

"Do you know how I can get out of here and back to my village?" Sirius asked.

Night cocked his head. "Which village are you from?"

"Godric's Hollow."

Night smiled. "I know where that is. Follow me and I'll take you back to the path that leads to your village."

He turned and headed back up the stream towards the place where Sirius had crossed it. Night wasted no time in leaping across the stones, making it look easy. Sirius followed, albeit, a lot clumsier than Night.

Once they were both across the river, Night turned and led the way straight into the forest. He never once stopped or seemed to be confused as to where he was, making Sirius think that he probably lived here in the forest. After ten minutes of walking, they reached a path and Night stopped.

"If you follow the path that way" He said, pointing to the right, "You'll reach the edge of the forest and your village."

"Thanks." Sirius said.

Instead of following the path, he hesitated for a minute, looking at his new friend.

"Is there a way we could see each other again?" He asked in a rush.

Night blinked and considered the question. After a moment, he smiled.

"Sure."

He took out a knife and carved a line into a nearby tree.

"Whenever you want to visit, simply follow this path from your village until you find this tree. Then leave the path and walk straight behind the tree. You'll eventually reach the place in the river where the crossing stones are and you travel downstream from there. I'm usually in that clearing around noon every day. So you can find me there."

Sirius felt a sense of relief. He would be able to visit the other boy and find him without getting lost.

"Well, I guess I'll see you around Night."

"Bye Sirius."

An: Let me know what you think of my latest story. I always love hearing from readers. The next chapter probably won't be up until next weekend since I have a week of college to get through.