Disclaimer:  This fic is very similar to J.K.'s books; I just changed the characters a little bit. 

~*~

Chapter One

~*~

"Up!"  There was a short rap on the bedroom door.  A girl, no older than 10 years, opened her eyes.  She sat up and looked at the door, as if she didn't know what was going on.

There was another rap, only this time it was longer.  "Aren't you up yet?" came a stern voice.

"Yes, mother," the girl said.  She heard her mother leave the hallway to go down the stairs to the kitchen.  Hannah Dursley slowly got out of her very small bed and opened the door to her room.

Hannah's big sister, Danielle, had gotten the bigger of the two bedrooms besides the master bedroom.  She never got to pick out her own clothes, as they were all hand-me-downs from Danielle.  All of her toys were ones that she either got for Christmas or her birthday use to be Danielle's toys that she claimed were broken or she didn't play with anymore.  Her parents had always told her that when she was very young, she and her aunt and uncle were in a car accident.  Her aunt and uncle had died, and Hannah had come out with only a scar that was left on her forehead in the shape of a lightning bolt.

"Come on, Hannah!  It's your turn to tend to the bacon.  Besides, it's Danielle's birthday so I want everything to be perfect," her mother yelled from the kitchen.

"Coming!" Hannah yelled back.  Hannah walked downstairs but was rudely shoved out of the way by her older sister who had just run down the stairs to get to her birthday presents.

Hannah walked into the kitchen and tended to the bacon on the stove.  It really was Danielle's turn to do it because Hannah had just done it the previous day.  The only reason why she was doing it was because Hannah didn't want to know what her father would do to her if she didn't.  In the past, when Hannah didn't do something what she was told, her father had hit her or punished her by telling her she had to stay in her room for the rest of the day with no meals.

'You know, I never see Danielle get this kind of treatment,' Hannah thought to herself every time her father would punish her.

"There's only 34 presents here!  Last year I got 35!" Danielle complained.

"Dani, don't you remember?  Your aunt Marge is coming over later today and you know she'll have at least ten presents for you this year," said their father as he walked in the room.

Hearing this, Hannah groaned.  She never really liked Aunt Marge.  She was what Hannah considered one of the most annoying relatives she had.  She always talked about her pesky dogs and usually brought one along with her whenever she came to visit.  In fact, she was almost as annoying as the Dursley's neighbor who babysat Danielle and Hannah whenever their parents went off to a party or something.  Mrs. Figg always made them look at pictures of her many cats.  Hannah knew that her sister detested Mrs. Figg as much as she did.

Hannah's father looked at her and asked, "You remember what happens since it's Danielle's birthday, right?"

"Yes, Dad.  Since its Danielle's birthday, I have to get the door when Aunt Marge comes and not talk unless someone is talking to me."

"Good.  I taught you well."  Her father pointed up the stairs.  "Now go change out of those raggedy clothes and put on a dress for your aunt Marge or something nice."

Hannah once again did as she was told and went upstairs to her room to change.

~*~

Many miles away, there were two men discussing a certain girl.  These men were Sirius Black and Remus Lupin.  (A/N:  btw, Sirius was never convicted of murder because they caught Peter aka Wormtail before he had a chance to cut off his finger and escape.)

"Sirius, why don't you go talk to Dumbledore about it.  He's the one who said it would be best for her to say at her aunt and uncle's until she was old enough to understand," Remus said.  Remus was a grown wizard who had attended Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.  Currently, he was a professor at Hogwarts, teaching the Dark Arts classes.

"But, if Dumbledore says yes, then, what if I'm not a good parent?  What if she doesn't even remember me?  What would she do?  How would she react?" Sirius questioned himself.  Apparently, he wasn't sure of anything at that moment.  He kept on rambling off questions, asking if he would be good enough to be a parent, etc.  Eventually, Remus settled him down.

"Sirius, if you keep on questioning yourself, you will be a bad parent for sure.  Now go talk to Dumbledore about it," Remus suggested.

"Alright," Sirius replied.  He walked over to the fireplace in the room and picked up a box that was located on the mantel.  He opened it up to reveal a fine powder.  He took a pinch and threw it into the fire in the fireplace.  Stepping into the now emerald green fire, Sirius yelled, "Hogwarts!" and he disappeared into the fire.

~*~

Many more miles away, the same man stumbled out of a fireplace in the office of Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.  Albus Dumbledore was known as one of the greatest wizards of his time.

Sirius looked around the office to see if Dumbledore was around.  Not seeing him, he seated himself in a very comfortable looking chair to wait for Dumbledore.

About five minutes later, an old man with a long silver beard walked into the office via the door.

"Sirius, what can I do for you?" he asked.

"Good morning, Albus.  I came to talk to you about my goddaughter."

"Ah, yes.  What about her?"

"Well, I was just wondering…" Sirius trailed off, not knowing what to say.

"…if you could become her legal guardian, like her parents wanted?" Dumbledore finished for him.

"Yes."  Sirius got up from the chair and stood beside Dumbledore.  "Is it possible for me to go retrieve her and bring her back to my place?  That way, when she comes to Hogwarts next term, she can be around grown wizards and learn from them.  Remus talked to me about it and suggested that I come to talk to you first."

"Yes, Remus was very wise in saying that.  You know why we wanted her to stay with her aunt and uncle in the first place, do you not?"

Sirius nodded and said flinching, "Voldemort."

"Precisely.  We put up special barriers around their house in order to keep her safe from Voldemort," Dumbledore explained.  He went on.  "If you really are anxious to be a good godfather, then I suppose it would be possible for us to put those barriers around Black Mansion too."

Sirius suddenly started acting like the little kid that was inside of him, his eyes widening and mouth open in awe.  "Really?" he asked with his eyes still wide.

Dumbledore chuckled at the view and said, "Yes, really.  Now go home and prepare an extra room for her.  I will allow you to go retrieve her tomorrow.  The barriers will be down by 12:00 noon."

"I don't need to prepare an extra room.  I've had it ready for quite a long time. I have been waiting to see my little goddaughter for some time.  I haven't seen her since the night…"  He trailed off yet again, thinking of that horrible night.

"Yes, well, I must warn you of something before you leave," Dumbledore mentioned as he saw Sirius's face, deep in thought about October 31, 1981.

"What's that?"

"The barriers will only be down for two hours.  You must retrieve her within those hours or you will have to wait even longer to bring her back to Black Mansion.  However, I will be keeping up the apparition ward, just for safety, so you will have to walk the four blocks to Privet Drive and back again."

"Yes, I understand.  I should go back now…Remus must be wondering if I was held up by now.  Thank you, Albus.  I will let you know when she's at Black Mansion."  With that, Sirius went over to the fireplace and tossed a pinch of the same powder he had used before into the fire.  When the fire turned green, he stepped in and yelled, "Black Mansion!" and disappeared, leaving Dumbledore alone in the room.

"That girl is one lucky kid, to have Sirius Black for a godfather," he said to himself before going to his desk to do some paperwork.

~*~