DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harry Potter, he belongs to J.K Rowling and if you are reading this and think any different then St. Mungo's should be your next port of call.

Summary: AU. Fraught with worry seeing his Godson, Harry James Potter arrive in the grounds of Hogwarts holding the body of Cedric Diggory, Sirius Black goes to find his Godson. This leads to confrontations, revelations and a set of events that will forever change the course of the world. The question is, where do some people find the strength to do what is needed?

AN: Hi all, This is my Third Fic. It will only be 15-20,000 words so buckle up and prepare yourself for the ride of a lifetime!

Strength in Sacrifice

Chapter 1: Faked Appearances

To say that Sirius Black was not that happy with the current situation was like saying that the Chudley Cannons were not that bad of a Quidditch Team. Just minutes ago he had watched his beloved godson, Harry James Potter, the fabled Boy-Who-Lived return to Hogwarts clutching the Tri-Wizard trophy in one hand. The other one though was holding an arm attached to the body of the other Hogwarts champion Cedric Diggory, the Hufflepuff boy was undoubtedly dead whilst Harry looked distraught and shaken by events unseen to Sirius.

Throwing caution to the wind, Sirius made his way out of his hiding place in the shadows and started to trot his way over to his godson's position, all the while in the disguise of his trusty animagus form of Padfoot. Padfoot, a big black dog, was thankfully only known to a few as Sirius was an unregistered animagus and twelve years in Azkaban meant that he didn't use the form much in the public eye.

Sirius Orion Black is a wanted murderer in both the Wizarding and Muggle worlds yet the fact remains that he never committed any of the crimes he was accused of. Betrayed by friends and manipulated by enemies, an innocent man spent twelve years in Azkaban Prison in the company of the Dementors, the foulest creatures to walk the world of man. Now the first ever escapee, Sirius's innocence is only known by very few with the two most important people being his godson and the Headmaster of Hogwarts and most powerful light wizard, Albus Dumbledore.

Making his way stealthily through the panic ridden crowd, Sirius was only twenty feet away from Harry when his godson was led away by Alastor "Mad-Eye" Moody. Moody, a legendary Auror who was famous for catching the highest number of Dark Wizards in recent history, he once captured six Death Eaters single-handed. Due to the amount of enemies he gained Moody was also known for being the most paranoid man in the wizarding world.

But something piqued Sirius's suspicion. Why was Moody taking Harry away from Madam Pomfrey when the boy obviously needed medical attention? Why was Dumbledore looking around like he had lost something? Then there was something about Moody that smelled familiar. The smell that had not been near him for a long time, one that had reminded the dog animagus of Azkaban Prison. A smell that had abruptly changed one night, weeks before the prisoner had died.

"No," Sirius thought desperation and denial running through his head, "It can't be. He never could have fooled Dumbledore for that long…"

But Sirius was sure and without another thought took off towards the castle, his safety be damned, following the still fresh scent of his godson. Missing the flash of light that he narrowly avoided entering the castle and again as he ducked through a tapestry, Sirius ran faster than human legs could carry, he ran as if his life depended on it. In and out of secret passages, Sirius found his path led to the Defence against the Dark Arts corridor where the scent of his godson was very strong. Changing back into his human appearance, Sirius pulled out a wand that he had managed to steal off a drunk in Hogsmeade. With that he stealthily made his way towards the Defence Against the Dark Arts Classroom and the teacher's office beyond where his sharp canine hearing detected voices.

Just hearing seconds of the conversation was enough to convince Sirius that his instincts were correct. With a wave of his hand, a blast of Pure Magic disintegrated the door and Sirius jumped into the room wand raised and shouted:

"Blasot!"

A powerful blasting curse hit Barty Crouch Jr., who was still in his guise of Alastor Moody before he could utter a single word. The man, whose wand had been pointed threateningly at Harry flew back off his chair, hit the stone wall with a loud "crack" and slumped to the floor motionless.

Stunning Crouch again for good measure, Sirius had barely pocketed his wand before his godson had literally tackled him in a hug. Holding him tightly, Harry began to mumble incoherently into his Godfathers chest.

"Sirius…Moody…fake…Crouch…cup…Portkey…graveyard…blood…ritual…Wormtail," at the mention of the traitors' name Sirius stiffened.

Whispering soothing words, Sirius managed to quickly calm Harry down so that he could talk and think rationally. Harry quickly told his Godfather about Moody being Barty Crouch Jr. and how it was him that entered Harry into the Tri-Wizard Tournament. Then Harry briefly proceeded to inform Sirius about the Third Task and the subsequent events that followed before he uttered two words in a choked tone that chilled Sirius right to the very core.

"He's back."

Sirius knew that Harry was speaking about the monster Voldemort, a wizard that Harry had vanquished at the age of one. Harry became the most famous wizard in the world that night when he became the first person ever to block the Killing Curse, effectively rebounding the curse back onto Voldemort who became less than a ghost, his body destroyed.

"It'll be alright Harry, tell me the rest later," Sirius said as Harry went to open his mouth to speak again. "Let's get you to the Hospital Wing; Dumbledore will know what to do."

Pocketing Crouch's fallen wand, Sirius stunned the man again for good measure and taking Harry by the shoulders, the pair began to make their way to the Hospital wing.

They had barely managed to get three steps down the corridor when they both heard heavy footsteps rapidly approaching them from behind. Preparing to turn and fight, a familiar voice shouted:

"Padfoot!"

Sirius relaxed temporarily knowing that the voice belonged to Remus Lupin. However seeing the look on his friends' face and his dishevelled appearance Sirius was back on his guard in an instant.

"Don't have long Padfoot!" Remus gasped still out of breath, "Aurors and Dementors are here for you, and somebody saw Snuffles and recognised him!" Remus was speaking quickly, furtive glances around the corridor told Sirius that his friend was not joking. But he was not finished yet, "they also want to question Harry too. Dumbledore gave me this. It's a Portkey to my house, he said that he will come and get us as soon as he deals with the Ministry, "Remus explained hurriedly pulling a Chocolate Frog card of Morgana Le Fey from inside his robe pocket.

Sirius didn't particularly like the idea, Harry needed medical help plus the fact that the mere mention of a Portkey had sent Harry shivering but as many more footsteps, probably Aurors, began to be heard in the distance, Sirius turned to his Godson.

"Harry, it'll be fine, you have to trust me. I wouldn't ever let anyone harm one hair on your head as long as there is breath in my body. Do you trust me?" Sirius implored, looking his godson right in the eyes, matching his loving look measure for measure.

"Yes, I trust you Padfoot, I just don't want you to get hurt. He's said that he will be more powerful than before in no time. What if Dumbledore can't stop him? Just go Sirius, leave now, I'll delay them. Go!" Harry selflessly pleaded to Sirius; the footsteps came closer with each second that passed.

"Don't worry about me Harry, I have a few tricks that I picked up over the years. I should be worrying about you not the other way round. Now come on," Sirius replied reaching out and touching the Portkey that a decidedly nervous looking Remus held in his hand. He was rewarded when seconds later Harry reached out a shaking hand and touched the Portkey.

When Harry's hand came into contact with the card Remus whispered:

"Portus," With a crack the trio left Hogwarts, just five seconds before the footsteps sounded in the corridor where they had just been standing.