Orders to be Broken
Prologue
A/N: Inspired by this tumblr post howmuchpieisleft. /post /124436750446/copperbadge-resplendeo (remove spaces).
Disclaimer: I am not J. K. Rowling or Warner Bros. or Robert Galbraith. Do not sue.
The Halloween night was suddenly still and quiet, suspended in time as the world adjusted to the new state of things. The house in Godric's Hollow lay in ruins, shrouded in the deep velvety blackness of the sky. No stars shone down on the decrepit roof, and the moon hid behind clouds. All was silent, not even the animals were moving. Somewhere, deep within the ruins of the house, there was a small child, barely a year old, lying motionlessly, dazed by the commotion that had surrounded him only moments previously.
Out of seemingly nowhere, footsteps began to echo towards the house. They were heavy, and each one seemed to shake the already fragile structure that had once been a house. A great figure loomed out the darkness, his hair a shaggy mane that fell around his head, his eyes sparkling with held back tears. The man had to be at least eight feet tall, and he was searching for something in the rubble. He suddenly stood still, and produced a flowery pink umbrella out of nowhere, and waved it over the former house. The buried child glowed briefly, before floating out and into the giants' arms.
The silence was shattered once again, although this time more dramatically, by a motorbike screaming in through the sky to land in front of the house. The engine was turned off, and a young man leapt off, pulling off his helmet. His face was ashen as he fell to his knees in front of where the house had been, his expression heartbroken. A strangled cry echoed through the space, and the giant turned towards him.
"Sirius," he said, his voice rough but speaking gently, moving carefully towards the young man, whose head snapped up at once, producing a wand. The giant stopped short, raising the hand not holding the infant. "It's ok, Dumbledore sen' me ter get Harry."
"I can take him, Hagrid," Sirius said, standing up, and reaching his arms out for the child. "I'm his godfather."
"Dumbledore said he was ter go ter his aunt and uncle," Hagrid said carefully.
"To the Dursleys'? Fuck Dumbledore!" Sirius exclaimed loudly. The baby stirred against Hagrid's chest. "I'm his legal guardian, you can't let him go to those monsters!"
"Sirius, I'm sorry, I really am." Hagrid really did look sorry, but Sirius didn't care. He knew what would happen if his godson went to live with the muggle sister of his mother. He pointed his wand at Hagrid once again.
"Please don't make me, Hagrid," he said, with a voice far too old for his age.
"I'm sorry, Sirius," the giant said sadly.
"Stupefy!" Sirius called reluctantly. A bolt of red light flew out from the wand and struck Hagrid right in his chest. He looked confused for a moment, before rolling his eyes, and gently lying himself down on the floor, carefully avoiding jostling the baby, before pretending to snore.
Sirius moved carefully towards him, knowing, of course, that a simple stupefy wouldn't have knocked out a half giant like Hagrid. He could only hope that Hagrid didn't think that Sirius had been the leak in the Order and was laying a trap for him, but instead agreed that the child shouldn't go to Vernon and Petunia Durlsey. He scooped up the child, who burbled happily and reached his chubby hands up to grasp at his face. He smiled at the child.
"Support 'is li'il head, yer great idiot!" called Hagrid from the floor, as Sirius stood up. He quickly rearranged his hands, remembering the way Lily had shown him the few times he had got to hold his godson. He walked off towards the motorbike.
"Don' forge' ter burp 'im after a feedin'!" Hagrid called once again, as Sirius swung his leg over the sides of the motorbike, nestling the child safely within the magical wards of the bike, designed primarily to keep a younger, more carefree Sirius and his best friend (and occasionally his best friends wife) on whilst drunk. He kicked the bike into gear, and it started up, the familiar sound of the engine thrumming underneath him.
"An' make sure 'e sleeps on 'is back!" Hagrid yelled a final time, even his voice struggling to be heard over the sound of the engine, as Sirius flew off sharply into the night air, the baby safe with him.
Hagrid lay back down for five more minutes, just to be sure, before going to Privet Drive to tell Professor Albus Percival Wolfric Brian Dumbledore what had gone on at the Potter's house that evening.
Meanwhile, high in the sky, under a now shining moon, Sirius looked down into his young godson's eyes, seeing clearly, for the first time, the lightning bolt scar that was just sticking out underneath a shock of jet black hair. The baby smiled at Sirius and waved. Sirius smiled back, but didn't dare take his hands off the steering with him there.
"Hello, Harry," he said instead.