*Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. I never have and never will.*
A/N: So, here it is. Chapter one of a story that has been a long time in the making. I don't know how often I'll be able to update due to my busy schedule, but I thought you all would like to finally have the first chapter. Oh and I guess I should go ahead and warn you that this all starts on a very certain Halloween and you might want tissues if you're a hard core Jily shipper. Yeah, well, I hope you enjoy it, and I'd love it if you all would review!
Sirius Black knew that something was wrong when he arrived to check on his friend Peter Pettigrew that Halloween night. He was supposed to be hiding out in a muggle neighbourhood in Bristol, but when Sirius arrived at the house, it was empty and abandoned. It was obvious that no one had been there for days, and that alone worried Sirius the most. There were enchantments on the house that would indicate if someone had broken in, but all signs indicated that Peter had walked out of his own volition. They all knew there was a traitor in their midst, but he would have never guessed that it was Wormtail.
"Homenum Revelio," Sirius muttered with a little flick of his wand.
Nothing happened.
"Bugger," he muttered, and dashed outside and mounting a motorcycle that was waiting in front of the house.
Seconds later, he was in the air, flying through the night, not bothering much to stay in the cloud cover. He had bigger worries at the moment than being seen by muggle children out trick-or-treating.
When he arrived at Godric's Hollow, Sirius saw the worst sight imaginable. The cottage was practically demolished and completely visible. His stomach dropped. He was too late. They were gone. For a moment, his spirits lifted as he saw a figure emerging from the debris, but as he landed, he realised that this person was definitely male and much too big to be James. It was Hagrid.
The second the bike touched the ground, Sirius leaped off and dashed desperately towards the house and into the ruins.
"James! Lily! Harry! Prongs?" he cried out as he frantically searched through the wreckage.
When he entered where the living room used to be, he was confronted with the last thing he ever wanted to see. The lifeless body of his best friend and brother by everything but blood lying on the ground.
"No!" he screamed, falling to his knees. After a moment, a large hand dropped onto his shoulder.
"It's horrible ain't it?" Hagrid's voice announced, trembling.
"Why? Why them?" Sirius sobbed.
"Don't know," Hagrid sniffled.
"W-wait, what about Lily and Harry? Not them too," he forced out, still staring at James's body in shock.
"He got Lily too," Hagrid managed to say.
"Wh-where is she?" he asked, choking back a sob.
"Upstairs, in the nursery," was all Hagrid said before Sirius tore himself away from where James lay and dashed upstairs only to fall to his knees again at the sight of Lily's body sprawled on the floor of Harry's nursery.
He managed to lift his gaze to the empty crib in the room, snapping him out of his shock momentarily.
"Hagrid, where's Harry?" he screamed down the stairs. "He's not here! They must have taken him! We have to go!" he continued to scream, dashing down the stairs and towards where the door used to stand.
"Sirius, wait!" Hagrid called just as the bundle, which Sirius had not seen in Hagrid's arms, began to cry. "He's righ' here," Hagrid explained over the cries.
"Oh Harry," Sirius sobbed and rushed forward to take the bundle from Hagrid. "Hey Prongslet, it's me, Uncle Padfoot. Shhh," Sirius said to the little baby still in Hagrid's arms.
The crying stopped almost immediately.
"Let me have him Hagrid. I'm his godfather," Sirius insisted.
"Order's from Dumbledore. I'm ter bring him ter number 4 Privet Drive in Surrey," Hagrid explained.
"Fine, then let me come," Sirius pleaded.
"I dunno," Hagrid started to say.
"Please," Sirius begged. "You can even hold him and take my bike. Just let me come! I can't leave him," Sirius sobbed out.
"Oh I guess so. Come along then," Hagrid said, mounting the nearby motorcycle with baby Harry still in his arms.
"What about the bodies?" Sirius asked bluntly.
"Someone from the Order is comin' along ter get 'em. Moody I think," Hagrid told him. "Now if you're comin', get on."
Sirius barely fit on the bike behind Hagrid, but he did his best and held on tight. They took off and soared into the night sky. As they flew over Bristol, Harry fell asleep, and Sirius realised that he would have to explain and prove to Dumbledore that he wasn't the secret keeper. Until then, Dumbledore would believe that he, and not Pettigrew, was the traitor responsible for the deaths of two of his best friends.
Despite the fact that Sirius had seen their bodies, it was still difficult for him to believe that they really were gone and that Peter had betrayed them all. If anyone, he thought maybe Remus, a thought that he was now ashamed of, but he never suspected Peter. It was terrible. This war was ruining their lives. The only thing even partially holding Sirius together was the fact that Harry was alive. He didn't know how or why, but thankfully he was.
Flying the bike to Surrey rather than apparating took much longer, but since apparition wasn't good for babies and Hagrid couldn't anyway, it was a necessity. Therefore, it wasn't until the next night that they finally arrived in Surrey. Harry, exhausted from the previous day's events, had slept most of the trip. They landed on a little street full of identical houses. All the streetlights were out but two figures could be made out standing in front of one of the houses.
"Ah, Hagrid, how are you?" Dumbledore asked as they approached.
"Got 'im right here sir," Hagrid said. "Young Sirius Black insisted he come too," he added as Sirius's form appeared from behind Hagrid.
"Sirius," Dumbledore said drawing his wand yet still extremely calm, "I am going to have to ask you to please hand me your wand."
Immediately, Sirius did as Dumbledore asked before beginning to speak. "I swear it wasn't me. I convinced them to switch to Peter at the last moment. I thought no one would expect… but he was… and now they're dead … you can't take Harry… my responsibility… all my fault…" he sobbed.
"Albus, maybe this is not the place for this conversation. He'll wake the muggles with all the racket he's making," Minerva McGonagall suggested as Sirius fell to his knees still sobbing out apologies and explanations.
"I quite agree," Dumbledore said over the loud cries. "Hagrid, if you would so kindly take Mr. Black's bike and bring Harry to Hogwarts, I will accompany Sirius to my office. Minerva, if you would meet us there please. And Hagrid, when you arrive, please take Harry to Madame Pomfrey to be checked for any injuries," Dumbledore told them calmly.
"Yessir," Hagrid said, gently carrying Harry back to the bike and flying away.
Professor McGonagall dissaparated with a loud crack seconds later, and then Dumbledore turned to Sirius who was still crying, having finally broken down.
"Sirius, if you will please pick up your wand and take my arm, I will side-along you to Hogwarts," Dumbledore told him.
Sirius wordlessly picked up his wand and did as he was told. With a twist they were off, never to see number four Privet Drive again. Like always, it felt as if he were being squeezed through a very tight tube, but at the moment Sirius couldn't bring himself to care. Moments later, they appeared outside the gate at Hogwarts where the caretaker, Argus Filch was waiting for them.
"Headmaster," Filch said as he opened the gate.
"Thank you Argus. Hagrid should be arriving at some time tonight. He will not need you to open the gate for him however. Has Professor McGonagall returned yet?" Dumbledore asked.
"Yes sir. She arrived a minute before you did."
"Thank you," Dumbledore said again, guiding Sirius along with him.
Filch closed the gate behind them, giving Sirius a nasty look. Having any part of the Marauders back in the school couldn't be a good thing in his opinion.
Dumbledore led Sirius up to the gargoyle that served as the entrance to his office where Professor McGonagall was waiting for them.
"Minerva, would you please alert Poppy of Harry's impending arrival. I need to have a conversation with Sirius," Dumbledore told her.
"Of course," she said briskly before heading back down the hall from which they had just come.
"Sherbet Lemon," Dumbledore declared to the gargoyle, causing it to reveal stairs to his office. "Come along," he said to Sirius who was still standing at the bottom as he started to ascend.
At the top of the staircase was a room filled with bookshelves, tables holding shiny gadgets of every type, portraits of past headmasters, and most notably a grand looking phoenix. Dumbledore, before taking a seat at his desk, pulled out his wand and wordlessly conjured a plush armchair for Sirius who plopped down into it the second it appeared. He was exhausted from all the events that had gone down in the last two days and would love to sleep, but right then he needed to explain himself.
"Sirius, from what I was able to make out from your babbling at Privet Drive, I understand that you claim that James and Lily switched secret keepers without informing me. Because of the fact that you are here and Harry remains unharmed, I am willing to hear you out, only however, if you consent to taking veritaserum.
"Anything," Sirius rasped out.
"Alright then," Dumbledore said before wordlessly summoning a bottle. "Would you like some tea to take it with?"
"Just give it to me," Sirius insisted, taking the proffered bottle, popping out the cork, and taking a sip before returning it to Dumbledore's hand. He wanted to get this over with.
"Are you Sirius Black?" Dumbledore asked to confirm that the potion was working.
"Yes," Sirius responded curtly.
"Were you James and Lily Potter's secret keeper?" Dumbledore asked calmly. "No, I convinced them to switch to Peter Pettigrew because no one would expect it. I never would have guessed that the little rat was the traitor," Sirius stated, muttering the last half.
"Now, why were you at Godric's Hollow tonight?" Dumbledore then asked.
"I was going to check in on Peter, but he wasn't where he was supposed to be and it was clear that he left without a struggle," Sirius explained. "I was worried and went to go warn James and Lily, but when I got there it was too late," he choked out, his words becoming sobs.
"I see," was Dumbledore's only reply.
"No you don't!" Sirius shouted at him. "My best friends are dead because I convinced them to trust the traitor! I came up with the plan to put our trust in that prat! If I had just been the secret keeper none of this would have happened! It's all my fault, and you can't possibly understand!" he half yelled half sobbed.
"As it may be Sirius, I know plenty about making bad plans. However it is not your fault. You couldn't have known that Peter was the traitor," Dumbledore stated. "I should have seen it! I was beginning to suspect Remus, of all people, when in reality it was the one person I was so sure it wasn't! You know what, I'm going to find him and kill him. He deserves to die for what he did," Sirius announced furiously, standing and clutching his wand.
"Now be reasonable!" Dumbledore cautioned.
"I am!" Sirius growled. "He all but killed them himself and I will find him."
"Sirius," Dumbledore said loudly and sternly, causing Sirius to pause his ranting, "you have Harry to think about. Earlier, you seemed quite eager to fulfill your role as godfather. If I am mistaken though, he can go live with his aunt and uncle as previously planned."
"No, no I want him! Harry cannot be forced to live with Lily's horrid sister and her whale of a husband," he declared.
"Well then you can't be in Azkaban for murder and take care of Harry at the same time," Dumbledore said, overlooking the rude comments about the Dursleys.
"I guess you're right," Sirius muttered, sinking back into the chair.
"Yes, now, would you like to know what happened last night?"
"Please," whispered Sirius. "You already know of course that Mr. Pettigrew betrayed their location to Voldemort. From what I have been able to determine, along with the rest of the wizarding world, Voldemort came with the intent to kill James, Lily, and especially Harry. He succeeded with James and Lily as you know, and from what Alastor has told me, by the placement of the bodies and some sensory charms he preformed, we can deduce that James was killed first, and Lily was attempting to protect Harry upstairs. After killing them, Voldemort proceeded to try and kill Harry. However, for reasons I am not yet completely sure of, the curse rebounded. Voldemort lost his power, and for now he is gone. I do not expect him to return anytime soon, however I do not believe, as many do, that he is dead. And as of now, that is all I know," Dumbledore explained.
Before Sirius could reply, an eagle patronus flew in and announced in a voice Sirius recognized as belonging to Madame Pomfrey, "The child is fine. There are no injuries other than a lightning bolt shaped scar on his forehead. He is sleeping now." After it finished speaking, the patronus faded away.
"So Harry really is the kid from the prophecy," Sirius mused. "But how? Voldemort stopped by a baby? It makes no sense."
"I know that this is all very confusing, however right now, we have something more important on our hands. Would you and Harry like to stay at the castle tonight? I imagine you must be quite tired after the night you've had. We can leave discussing the future to tomorrow."
"Yeah, that would be great," Sirius replied.
"Alright, then I recommend we go fetch Harry from the hospital wing. You can stay in Gryffindor tower tonight if you wish or I can make other accommodations for you."
"That will be fine. I can just transfigure a cot for Harry," Sirius yawned as he stood up.
Dumbledore followed suit and the two of them walked silently to the Hospital Wing until Sirius remembered something he had forgotten to ask earlier.
"Sir, would you mind if I used one of the school owls? I need to write to Remus," he explained.
"Of course Sirius. I can imagine that he would appreciate knowing that it was not you behind the unfortunate events of last night. If you would like, I can even write a note for you to include containing proof that you are in fact telling the truth," Dumbledore suggested.
"Thanks, that'd be great," Sirius managed to force out before he yawned again as they approached the familiar doors to the hospital wing.
"Poppy," Dumbledore called as they entered, "is it all right if Sirius takes young Harry? They will be spending the night at the castle."
"But Albus—" she started to say as Sirius walked over and sat on the bed where Harry was sleeping and cradled him in his arms.
"Sirius is the boy's godfather and will be taking care of him for now on, so unless there is a medical reason for Harry to remain in the Hospital Wing," he trailed off, making the end a question.
"No sir, however are you sure it is quite wise for Sirius Black of all people to take care of the boy?" she whispered.
"I am quite sure of my decision Poppy. Now, if you would let Sirius take the boy, I am sure he would like to get some rest seeing as he has not slept for almost two nights," Dumbledore explained, ending the subject.
"Well I suppose. Mr. Black, you are free to take Harry. Just be careful," she instructed.
"Of course. I wouldn't want anything to happen to him," Sirius replied, standing up and heading for the door. "Oh and I'll be needing the password to Gryffindor Tower if I plan on getting in."
"Ah yes, it's Treacle Tart, and here is your note to include in your letter to Mr. Lupin. Goodnight Sirius," Dumbledore called, handing him a small piece of paper as Sirius walked out, still carrying Harry, with a nod and the slightest hint of a grin on his face.
"Well, Prongslet," Sirius murmured to a sleeping Harry as he walked to the tower, "I guess it's just you and me now. But don't worry. Uncle Padfoot is going to take care of you, and you may even get to see Uncle Moony tomorrow," he managed to say before yawning hugely as he arrived at the portrait of the fat lady.
"Password," she requested.
"Treacle Tart," Sirius said before yawning once again causing the portrait to swing open and reveal the entrance to Gryffindor Tower.
It took him a bit to maneuver through the hole while securely holding Harry, but once he finally got inside, Sirius smiled softly as he looked around. Here was the place he first felt at home. Yes his friends were missing, but it was nice to be back. He could almost pretend that James and Remus were upstairs and that Peter had never betrayed them all.
"Come on then Prongslet. You want to see where your dad, Uncle Moony, and I lived while we were in school?" he asked Harry, who was beginning to wake up, as he deftly climbed the boys' staircase to the Marauders' old dorm.
When they got there, Sirius managed to transfigure one of beds into a cot for Harry, laid him down, and finally coaxed him back to sleep. After he assured himself that Harry was definitely asleep, Sirius sat down at his old desk which he had barely used, pulled out some parchment and a self-inking quill from the pockets of his robes, and began to write.
Moony,
It wasn't me. I swear. I convinced them to use Peter instead of me. I never thought that the prat would betray them, honest. I still can't believe they're… Yeah well, I have Harry now. Dumbledore's had him checked over, and Poppy said he's fine. Yeah, I'm at Hogwarts. Listen, mate, I'm sorry. I'm sorry I doubted you, and I'm sorry that until now you lost three of your best mates rather than just two. It's still my fault for convincing them to switch to the little traitor, but at least you can know it wasn't my actual doing. I'd never betray James and Lily. You know that. I just… I can't believe it. I went to Godric's Hollow and saw them Moony. I saw them, lying there not breathing or blinking or anything. It was awful… I'll still be at Hogwarts tomorrow if you want to come talk or see Harry. I'm sure he'd love to see his Uncle Moony. I just don't know what I'm going to do Moony… Harry's my responsibility now and I don't know what I'm going to tell him when he cries for his mummy and daddy. Anyways, I've put a note from Dumbledore with this to validate my claims. I hope you believe me anyways, and I hope to see you tomorrow, mate.
Padfoot
After penning the last line, Sirius was about to pass out from sleep deprivation, but he wanted to get the letter sent. He knew Harry was safe here, but being unable to let him out of his sight, Sirius picked up the little boy, the letter, and Dumbledore's note before heading to the owlery. When he arrived, dead on his feet, Sirius tied the letter and Dumbledore's note to the leg of the nearest owl and told it to take the letter to Remus Lupin. He stood there for a moment, watching the owl disappear into the night sky before making his way back down the stairs and to Gryffindor Tower.
When he went to lay Harry back down in his cot, the little boy began to stir.
"Dada?" he gurgled.
"No, Harry, It's Uncle Padfoot," Sirius whispered with tears forming in his eyes.
"Pafoo?" Harry repeated.
"Yeah, it's Padfoot. Now go to sleep Prongslet. Night night," Sirius said softly, stifling a yawn, and moments later, Harry nodded back to sleep.
This prompted Sirius to seek the comfort of his own bed. He kicked off his shoes and burrowed underneath the blankets of his old four-poster bed before falling asleep almost immediately.