Sirius thought that riding a hippogriff would be like riding an Abraxan. He had plenty of practice with those large winged horses and so he thought he wouldn't have much trouble with Buckbeak either. He had been running ever since he'd escaped Azkaban and the adrenaline would keep him through it all.
He wasn't quite right.
A hippogriff was different from an Abraxan. Not quite as wide for one and there was a gentleness to their flight, the soft rustle of the wings against air, the slight whoosh as they pushed down to gain altitude and the calm that came from the soar. It made for a strange sort of lullaby and the adrenaline Sirius was banking on drained out of him quick. Pettigrew had been lost but Harry was safe, Remus was safe and for the first time in more than a decade he had his friends again.
Sirius had never told anyone this but the hat had fought tooth and nail to put him in Hufflepuff. Oh he had the Gryffindor courage, that was for certain, but only for those who had earned his loyalty. Harry in his easy forgiveness had earned it, Hermione with her own unerring loyalty to Harry had earned it and Moony, well, the less said the better. Knowing that his friends, his family were safe were all he needed and the rhythmic sound of the wings put him fast asleep...
Which was not wise.
Hippogriffs weren't owls. They didn't have the magical honing powers the birds did and Buckbeak without Sirius to guide him and returned to the place he called home. With his steer asleep the hippogriff turned and headed straight back to Hogwarts.
Some places Sirius just knew without seeing, hearing, anything. Places where he had spent so much of his time that the magic inherent in them had become part of him. So he knew before he woke that he wa sin the Forbidden Forest. How many times had he woken just like this after a full moon run next to a Remus who was exhausted, James who would sleep talk of Lily Flower and the traitor's snores. It wasn't the same of course, he smelt dung on the air, the sound of hooves on the ground and knew before his eyes opened that he was in the Hippogriff paddock and with a start he woke up completely.
The last thing he remembered he was seeing the seas near Scotland, having flown hard and fast. But here he was again and the relief sweeping through him was almost painful. A simple disillusionment charm and he was off, walking to the castle that was his true home.
There were no sounds of children this time, Hogwarts was empty and devoid of its students. Sirius had never been here when term was over and could feel how different the magic was. The castle longed for its students and the laughter they brought. IT remembered him, evidently, because he could feel its magic sweeping over him in a wave of warmth and before he knew it Hagrid's hut was in view.
Did he know the truth? Had Dumbledore or Harry told the half giant that he was innocent? He turned to his animagus form and made his way tentatively towards the hut, still wondering.
He didn't have to wonder long.
"Sirius? That you?" Hagrid all but boomed as he caught sight of him and by the jovial expression on his face, he knew well that Sirius was an innocent man. He opened the door to his hut and jabbed a thumb, telling Sirius silently to come in and he did. Fang looked up from where the lazy dog was lying down before going back to his nap and a barking laugh left him. "Come on now, let's have ourselves a cuppa like on two legs, lad."
If a dog could blush than Sirius was probably a glowing magenta but by the time he turned human he was sure his pallor courtesy of Azkaban was back.
Hagrid poured a generous cup of tea and handed it to him. Sirius, who had been living off small animals he hunted, felt truly human for the first time in years and nearly sobbed in relief and despair for what he turned into.
"Easy there lad, it'll be fine." Hagrid patted him as gently as the gigantic man could and a wet laugh left Sirius. It was easy to forget that while Hagrid was a friend, he was also a fairly old man who'd seen a lot in his long life. Sirius wasn't the first person he'd comforted although he might have been the first Azkaban escapee Hagrid had extended his courtesy to. "You're home now."
Safe, happy and at peace for the first time in more than a decade, Sirius broke into sobs.
He was home.
Harry hadn't heard from Sirius in some time. He had thought the man would send him something as soon as he was safe but it was two days since he'd left Hogwarts and yet, nothing.
On dawn of the third day into his summer break, an owl descended upon the house and Harry's spirits rose. He ripped into the letter eagerly, desperate to know if his godfather was safe but his enthusiasm dulled momentarily as he found a letter from Hagrid instead.
But it was odd. Hagrid had never written to Harry so quickly into the holidays. And he certainly hadn't ever written letters of so many pages. Why, there were feet upon feet of parchment and it put to mind one of Hermione's longer essays. Was something wrong?-, Harry wondered.
When he flipped through the pages quickly he saw it was all in Hagrid's large, roughly rounded handwriting and his concerns grew. What could possibly have made Hagrid write so much?
The first few lines were typical Hagrid and he glossed over them quickly, the rest was, oddly enough, an essay on hippogriffs. And Harry who had last seen a hippogriff when his Godfather flew away on one began reading more carefully and found something odd.
"-Reckon the damn Dursleys are being a solemn lot as usual, up to no good." It read and Harry's heartbeat quickened. His wand was out and touching the parchment immediately and for a moment Harry paused.
Would it count as Underage magic? But it wasn't a spell that Harry was using, was it?
Did he dare?
He thought of Sirius and the last year. Thought of the dementors and how Sirius and the hope of living with him was the only thought happy enough that had let him fuel a patronus that kept a hundred dementors at bay.
Of course he dared. He wasn't the son of Prongs for nothing.
He lowered the tip of his wand to the parchment quickly and before the courage left him he said the words, "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good."
And Hagrid's handwriting disappeared and it grew blank. Harry stared at it in dismay, worried that he had done something wrong. Was it not a code then? Had Hagrid really just sent him an essay on Hippogriffs?
"Prongslet, finally, the letter reached you!-"
As the words bloomed over the pages Harry laughed, delirious in his relief. He hadn't mucked it up after all.
"—Our favourite Hippogriff lost his way I'm afraid and I ended up right where I began."
Sirius was in Hogwarts? Harry was torn between being happy for his godfather and sheer unadulterated jealousy. The former won out when he realised that his godfather was now safe and close by. And with Hagrid watching over him Harry didn't have to worry quite as much about him and he could start getting better.
It had taken a while but Harry had understood that Sirius wasn't quite all there. Seeing Ron in the hospital wing for so long because of him had drove home that point rather quickly, thirteen years of dementor exposure, not to mention spending so much of his life as a dog had left Sirius a bit addled and he needed help. Harry couldn't think of a person more suited to do that for Sirius than the gentle giant Hagrid.
"—Hagrid tells me you don't know much about James and Lily so I've tried my best to tell you everything I can, careful Harry all your father's dirty little secrets are on these pages-"
Harry could have cried. He was finally, finally going to get to know his Mum and Dad.
"—reckon it'll do me a bit of good too, remembering happy times."
He hoped it did. Maybe he could help somehow, there might be something in the library, right? He could see if there was anything about helping people with depression and maybe do something for Sirius.
"—when you're done with the letter just say Mischief Managed and it'll go blank."
But why would Harry possibly want to do that? And lose all the tales of his parents?
"—I put a charm on the parchment so anything you write on it I'll get on my copy."
That was bloody brilliant! He could send Hedwig out to give letters to Hermione and Ron and still talk to Sirius without waiting for her to come back! The letters to Hogwarts took much longer than the others anyway so this saved him so much time too! He could talk to Sirius anytime he wanted!
"—and when you run out of empty space just say Mischief managed again and it'll clear right up. It's called a Protean charm, you learn it in your NEWT classes. If you want I'll teach you all about it."
Hermione was just going to die of jealousy and Harry was beginning to realise that really, he had the best godfather ever.
"—But first we have some fun. Now I first met your father on the Hogwarts Express, the prat was going on and on about Quidditch-"
And for the first time in his life, Harry realised that he was going to have a bloody brilliant summer while still stuck at Durzkaban.