"It takes two to get one in trouble." ~ Mae West quotes

"One trouble with trouble is that is usually starts out like fun" ~ Unknown

Harry Potter: age 2
Melbourne, Australia, The World
1982

Night had long fallen out the outskirts of Melbourne, Australia, and almost everyone was at their chosen destination of home, bar, or with their friends/partner. One man, however, walked the empty streets. His shoulders were slumped, his head down and his walking unsteady, as if he would collapse right on the ground in front of him from sheer exhaustion.

He suddenly swerved to the right side of the street, wearily advancing a cozy, small house nestled comfortably between trees at the very end of the court. He approached it slowly, his keen ears listening attentively for any noises that would alert him to any danger lurking nearby. All was quiet.

He arrived at the door and instantly froze. From within the house he heard voices. There was a quiet, high-pitched giggling and a lower, older voice yelling in what was supposed to be a frustrated and angry tone but was really laced with amusement and pent-up laughter.

The soft glow of the exterior lights fell upon the man's head, and though his face was grey, scratches covered his tired body and he looked as if he had been to hell and back, Remus Lupin grinned.

He opened the door to find a sight that made him forget that there was anything bad in the world, that nothing in his life could ever be wrong. As it was whenever he saw them, Remus was ultimately happy with his life and the decision that he and his best friend had made a year earlier.

Two year old Harry stood by the staircase, giggling helplessly at the picture in front of him, and Remus couldn't blame him for laughing. Sirius Black sat the bottom of the stairs, marbles scattered at his feet and under his body. The vase that had been so carefully placed to the top of the table near the front entranceway lay broken on the ground, minuscule shards of glass strewn everywhere. On the once-creamy walls were long lines and drawings done in green paint, along with the occasional full, baby's handprint. That alone convinced Remus that the cause of the disastrous house was none-other than the hysterical toddler.

As the werewolf watched in amused silence, Sirius leapt to his feet and scooped Harry up into his arms. He brought the shrieking child right up to his own face and said,

"Really? Really? Is that the best that you can do? Well, young man, this is the proper way to draw on walls!" He propped Harry onto one hip and as the boy clapped his hands in glee, Sirius dipped his fingers into the can of paint sitting precariously on the edge of the starts and he himself began to draw on the walls.

"See, Pup, you have to use a huge glob of paint so that it will drip and make an even bigger mess, and also so that it's harder to clean up. Another thing is…"

Remus cleared his throat, knowing that it was probably not the best idea to have a two-year old know the secret art of wall drawing. Upon hearing him, Sirius became absolutely still. Harry peeked over his godfather's shoulder and once he saw Remus' face, he whispered loudly to Sirius,

"Uh-oh". Ever so slowly, Sirius turned so that he faced his friend. Remus simply looked at him with one eyebrow raised. Clearing his own throat, the animagus gently placed a protesting Harry on the ground and put his hands on his hips.

"Now you listen here, young man," he began in a loud tone, "that was a very naughty and bad thing to do. If you ever do anything like this again, it will call for some severe spanking, do you understand? Now go to your room!" Instead of cowering in fear or attempting to make his way up the long stairs to his room, Harry giggled some more and raised his arms to his partner in crime.

"Pa'foot! Pa'foot!" Sirius sighed and smiled, as if he had expected as much.

"Come on, little man. Let's get you ready for bed."

After putting Harry to sleep, Sirius descended the stairs just in time to see Remus give his wand a long wave. All of the mayhem that had been caused in the house righted itself instantly.

"You're lucky we can do magic, Padfoot, or else the muggles who actually live here would be in for one nasty surprise when they return home in a month." Sirius merely shrugged his shoulder and gave an impish grin.

"What do you expect, Moony? The Pup's a natural Marauder! We've got to encourage this kind of thing or he might turn out to be a goody-two-shoes!" Remus rolled his eyes to the heavens in a 'God give me strength to deal with two toddlers in one house' fashion before he retreated to the sitting room. About to crack a joke, Sirius saw the pensive and troubled look on his friend's face.

"Speaking of Moony," he said instead, "how'd your furry little problem go?" Remus didn't even crack a grin at the childhood name for his lycanthropy, and Sirius knew that something was seriously wrong.

"I ran into Dumbledore," he stated abruptly. Sirius had been in process of sitting down, but upon hearing Remus' words, he missed the comfy chair by a mile, lading instead on the hard, wooden floor on his backside.

"While you were changed?" he yelped in shock.

"No, no Sirius! After!" Sirius relaxed, letting out a huge gust of air in relief. "I ran into Dumbledore a few days after my change," Remus continued, "and he thinks that he knows what happened Halloween night last year." Sirius' face instantly closed over, his eyes becoming dark with pain and sorrow. Remus, too, felt overwhelming sadness wash over him, as he always did whenever that night was mentioned. He shook the feeling off, focusing on the important news he had to share.

"He somehow knew that Harry's still alive, and has a theory for how he defeated Voldemort." Sirius snapped himself out of his sombre thoughts and listened intently as Remus described Lily's sacrifice.

"The Professor does, however, think that you're guilty, as does the rest of the wizarding world." Remus finished, watching his friend closely for his reaction. Sirius only shrugged his shoulders, already knowing that in everyone's mind he was a mass murderer. Instead he digested the rest of Remus' story carefully.

"Harry survived the killing curse cast by the most powerful dark-wizard in history because of love?" he questioned, as if to make sure that he had it right. Remus nodded once, still a little disbelieving himself, but he hadn't finished talking.

"Dumbledore thinks, and I agree, that Voldemort is going to come back. Until then, he asked me to keep my ears open in to the underground for news of any kind."

"The werewolf underground? Merlin, Moony! And you said yes?"

"I'll still check in with you and Harry every couple of months, but this could really help all of us out in the future and I―what was that?" A short, small symphony of snapping twigs sounded outside of the house, causing both men to leap to their feet and draw their wands.

Cautiously, they advanced to the nearest window. Before either of them could even see through it, the front door burst open in a bright flash of red light. Thrown into action, Sirius and Remus both sprinted up the stairs, sending jinxes and hexes behind them furiously as they went. They reached Harry's room at lightning speed. The little boy was awake and sitting up in his bed, his emerald eyes wide with confusion and fear, but he didn't make a sound. Grateful for this, Sirius raced to him and pulled him out of bed and into his arms. Holding on to him with all of his might and grabbing Remus' shoulder, the three disappeared.

The Aurors of the Ministry of Magic had been right behind the two men on the stairs, but they reached Harry's room only in time to see them vanish into thin air. The three of them would never return to that house again.

"There is no personal charm so great as the charm of a cheerful temperament." Henry Van Dyke

"Luck is not chance - It's Toil - Fortune's expensive smile Is earned" Emily Dickinson

Harry Potter: Age 4
Fredericton, Canada, The World
1984

Downtown Fredericton was as busy as the small city could be during non-tourist season. The shop windows were lit up with bright, neon signs and products being shown off for the arrival of spring. The alleys had all been cleaned out by the heavy rains and only consisted of large puddles and the endless drip, drip, drip. One particular alley right in the middle of downtown was no different than the rest of them. People passed it with not a glance, used to the dark, mysterious passageways that were always empty.

Suddenly, a loud "pop" filled the air, and many of the Frederictonians jumped before glancing around to try and spot the idiot who owned the backfiring car. No one paid any attention, or even noticed that that a particular alleyway was no longer empty.

Sirius Black huffed in annoyance and frustration as he paced the cobblestones, furiously calling himself every foul name he could think of. Four year old Harry watched with unblinking emerald green eyes, used to his godfather's odd ways. Instead of moping and worrying about him, Harry looked to the entrance way to alley and saw a man enter it and walk right towards them with a purpose. Harry grinned up and him and his Uncle Moony reached down to affectionately ruffle his messy hair before confronting his friend.

"Aurors?" he inquired. Sirius gave him a short nod before spitting out,

We had just gotten back from the grocery store and saw them swarm the house from the street. Grabbed Harry, apparated to our forest meeting spot, waited a day and a half, then came here and we haven ft had anything to eat since then and Harry's probably exhausted and starving and I'm-"

Remus lifted one finger to his lips to quiet his mindlessly rambling friend, and motioned towards Harry who had one ear cocked towards them, trying to catch what they were saying. Instantly, Sirius fell silent, not wanting his young godson to know his worries, but it was too late. Harry knew that they had no food, and no money to buy any. Making his decision, he made his way to the entrance way to the alley.

They argued quietly amongst themselves, trying to figure out what they were going to do. Sirius quickly glanced over his shoulder to make sure that Harry wasn't listening to their conversation, and his head created a slight wind as he whipped it right back around to look at the empty spot where Harry had once stood, but he was gone.

With a shout to alert Remus to it, Sirius set off at a run into the Downtown. Reaching the actual streets he glanced around, his eyes searching frantically for his godson. But the moment he looked to the left, he spotted him with no trouble at all.

Harry was talking earnestly to a middle aged muggle couple a little down the street. As Sirius watched, the man grinned while the woman threw her head back and gave a loud laugh. Remus joined his friend at observing them and both men fs jaws hit the ground when the strange man chuckled before reaching into his pocket and pulling out a wad of bills and handed them over to the little boy. With a quick, easy grin, Harry threw his arms around them both for a moment before he ran towards the two men watching shocked.

Wordlessly, Harry held out the newly received money, proudly grinning, to Sirius, who stared at him as if seeing him for the first time. Slowly, he reached out to take the money, looking at Harry all the while. Then, he paused, looking instead at the money filling his hand. Processing that it was fifteen dollars cash, he suddenly let out a loud whoop before charging to the nearest convenience store.

Remus shook his head at his friend's antics before he knelt to the ground so that he was around the same height as Harry.

"Pup, what did you say to those nice people? Why did they give you money?" Harry looked around, before leaning in to Remus.

"I told them," he whispered, as if it was a huge secret, "that Paddy cut his pocket open showing me a magic trick and all of his money fell out and that he said that if I found some of his money, he'd buy me an ice cream cone...and that I really like ice cream! I asked them if they'd picked up any money off the street."

Remus stared down at him incredulously. "And they had?" he exclaimed, and Harry simply shrugged.

"I guess so. They gave me some money and told me to go get all the ice cream I wanted. Can we, Moony? Please?" Moony continued to stare at his young charge before he very slowly began to shake his head, a smile creeping up past his lips.

"Pup," he began, "you are the luckiest person I'll ever know."

"A farewell is necessary before we can meet again, and meeting again after moments or a lifetime is certain for those who are friends." ~Richard Bach

"A beast does not know that he is a beast, and the nearer a man gets to being a beast, the less he knows it." ~George MacDonald

Harry Potter: age 5
Wellington, New Zealand, The World
1985

Rain fell heavily from the sky, the dark menacing clouds letting loose the torrents that they had been holding back for so long. The stars and the moon were completely hidden by the opaque sky and the only light that filled the shadowy night came from the old streetlamps. Still, people wandered the streets, some by choice and some by the simple fact of having nowhere else to go. Sirius and Harry were two of those people.

"Paddy," Harry began in a half-way resigned voice, "do I have to? Why can't I just stay with you?" Sirius sighed and shook his head ruefully, sending crystal like droplets of water soaring from his shaggy hair and onto a disgruntled Harry.

"Pup, we've discussed this a million times! We've been on the streets here for eight weeks now! If either of us gets any skinnier than we are now, we'll end up being invisible from sideways on!" Harry snickered softly at the mental image, and Sirius felt that his job was becoming a little easier. "Moony really needs some help, but there's not a chance that you're walking into a pack of werewolves! Plus, since there's no chance in hell that I'm leaving you on the streets alone, this is our only option."

Harry sighed, and Sirius' heart broke a little more. They both looked mournfully up at the sign swaying and creaking in the wind and could just make out the words.

Orphelinat

Whare pani

Orphanage

Sirius pulled Harry against his own soaked body in a last, quick hug. "I know, Pup," he murmured, "it's hard for me, too." He felt Harry's small arms tighten around him as if they would never let go. They stood there in the rain, the man and the boy, simply holding each other. Eventually though Sirius pulled away, knowing that it was for the best.

"Go on then, I'll see you in month or two," he said roughly, trying to conceal how much sadness he was really feeling. Harry nodded reluctantly and broke away from the embrace as well. He hoisted a small bag over his shoulder before he held his head up high and marched confidently towards the ominous and dark building where he would be staying. Sirius watched as he approached the door, but turned and strode away before Harry knocked. Heading in two different directions for a while, Harry to the orphanage and Sirius to a werewolf den, neither of them said goodbye.

Two months later…

Sirius stepped out from the shadows, blinking as he let his eyes grow accustomed to the bright light of the day. Glancing around, he quickly spotted Remus who, feeling a pair of eyes focused on him, raised his head to meet his friend's gaze. Sirius started towards him, nodding at the men and women the he passed.

With Voldemort gone, many of the werewolves had been at loss for what to do with their lives. Many of them had not willingly fallen under Fenrir Greyback's command and when Remus showed them a way out, offering his help, dozens had agreed. With Sirius' help, they had managed to build what resembled a small, native village in the middle of the woods, a sanctuary for those who needed it.

As his friend neared, Remus could tell by the look on his face what was going on.

"Thanks for all that you have done, and tell Harry that I'll visit soon." Sirius froze, but then gave a sheepish smile.

"That obvious?" He inquired ruefully, shaking his head at his predictability. Remus laughed.

"You've been pacing around and doing your jobs at lightning speed for the past week or so; I knew that you would be leaving soon to pick Harry up. Now get going!" Sirius gave Moony a quick, manly, one-armed hug before he expertly transformed into Padfoot and ran off in search of his Godson.

Sirius looked around, amazed at how much the sun could change the way a city looked. The City wasn't a barren, dark place filled with pain and suffering… instead, it was simply a city, filled with the good and bad of the world. And yet Sirius looked up at the building in front of him; it hadn't changed out bit. It remained eerily quiet for an orphanage, all the windows were firmly shut and there were no signs of any children anywhere.

Slightly worried and fighting down the bad feeling in the pit of his stomach, the man started towards the door, his head cocked slightly as he attempted to use his animagus senses in his human form. Instantly, his hearing, seeing and smelling became enhanced, but while he could sense children, none were in sight. Giving into his concern, Sirius reached the door slightly out of breath from his quick running and didn't waste a moment to knock on the door. He waited a few seconds before he heard a noise that comforted him: the quiet pitter patter of a young child running down stairs. Smiling in his relief, Sirius looked down as the door opened and froze.

It had been a child indeed who opened the door, but it was the eyes of an adult far beyond his years who looked right back at him. The little Asian girl in the doorway stared at him fearfully with glassy eyes and a large bruise on her face. Sirius' relief fled his mind, setting it once again into fear. He reached down to tilt the girl's head so to see her bruise better, but the moment he lifted the hand, the little girl flinched away, squeezing her eyes shut in terror.

Sirius reeled back in horror. The girl had moved to her right, turning her face so that the man could clearly see that the bruise on her face was shaped as a perfect handprint. Calming his panicking mind, Sirius swallowed heavily and knelt down beside the trembling girl.

"Hello," he said in a quiet voice reserved for frightened young ones, "that's a nasty bruise you have. Does it hurt a lot?" The child looked up at him, still shaking slightly from fear. Sirius gave her a small smile, hoping to comfort her. "I'm not going to hurt you, little one." She didn't look completely convinced, though she visibly let her shoulders relax.

"I'm looking for a little boy who is here," Sirius continued in the same tone of voice, "who's a little taller than you are, with messy black hair and bright green eyes… do you know him?" For a moment she didn't move, causing Sirius' breath to halt for a moment in panic before he forced himself to remain comforting and kind before he frightened her again. Then, her head moved slowly up and down.

Elated, Sirius had to fight to keep calm. "That's wonderful! Could you bring him to me? I'm a family member." Once more, the girl nodded before she turned around and disappeared entirely from his sight. He took the liberty of giving the house a once over, disgusted at what he found. Everything was completely neat, no dust upon the tables, the windows still exuded the strong smell of glass cleaners and nowhere at all could he see children or toys. Then, he heard a faint thud behind him and footsteps in quick succession. He whirled around just in time to see a small figure barrel into him and envelop him in a hug. There would never be a time when Sirius did not recognize the look or the feel of his godson.

Sirius fell to his knees, firmly holding Harry to him, but then held him back to get a good look at his face and his happy smile faded in a flash. Harry was just as thin as he had been when they had parted, his bottom lips had been split in two places as well a large bruise forming stealthily on his right cheekbone. Practically shaking in rage, Sirius made to stand up but froze when he sighted something else. With shaking hands he reached out towards Harry's neck, but as the girl before him had, Harry flinched away. Sirius stilled completely and almost stopped breathing. Harry quickly realized his mistake and, knowing his godfather would never harm him, murmured a quiet, "sorry." His heart breaking, Sirius' hands continued their path to Harry's throat and pulled his shirt collar away to reveal to hand-shaped bruises on either side of his neck.

To Sirius, the whole world went on pause; nothing moved, and nothing made a sound. All that he was aware of was his own thoughts flying through his mind.

Someone has hit Harry. Someone has scared Harry. Someone has tried to strangle Harry. It went over and over in his head, filling him with a rage and disgust that he had not felt since James and Lily had been murdered. He hadn't been able to do anything for them, but he could do something for Harry now. He rose to his feet, an icy expression covering his face; a cold fury that had Harry stepping back in momentary fear, but the animagus didn't notice. Suddenly, a new voice filled the air.

"What the hell is going on here? I told you all to shut up! You'll be sorry!" A man stumbled down the stairs, his fists flying wildly around, searching for a victim. Harry began to tremble, fear spreading through him from his fingertips to his ears and right down to his toes. Sirius finally became aware of his surroundings, and the moment he saw his godson's reaction, he knew that this was the man who had hurt him.

He stepped forward, his expression one of ice. The man in front of him didn't seem to notice, his bloodshot eyes seeking out his prey. Finally though, his glassy eyes fell on Sirius, and even in his drunken state, he knew that he should be scared. Harry stared up at the man who had raised him with both awe and terror, never having seen such a look on his godfather's face in his life. Slowly, Sirius took a step towards the man, and then another until he was practically nose to nose with him. Then, he opened his mouth.

"Who. Are. You." He forced out past gritted teeth, angry at the fact that he had to speak to this scum. The man cowered for a moment, before puffing out his chest and attempting to be brave.

"I am Andrew Smith," he slurred, trying hard to sound intimidating, "and I own this place. Now you the hell are you?" Sirius' eyes flashed the moment that his suspicions were confirmed. Knowing that he had the right man, his hands came up in clenched fists and tugged at the man's collar. Andrew Smith yelped as he was thrown forcefully against a wall, and his hands clambered to his throat where they found another pair of hands. Andrew stared up into the stormy eyes of a furious Sirius, and knew that he had made a mistake.

"I am the guardian of a boy here," Sirius hissed menacingly, "and I'm not happy with how you treated Harry!" Andrew's eyes darted behind Sirius, catching a glance of Harry's scared face. The man scoffed.

"Who, that little bastard? He's nothing but a son of a―" He never got the chance to finish. Sirius growled and his fist came up and violently connected with Andrew's nose, successfully breaking it. The wounded man slumped against the wall. Releasing him completely and preparing to administer more pain, Sirius pulled his arm back.

"Paddy?" The animagus froze, and turned around to see Harry staring at him, his big eyes opened wide and innocent. "Paddy," the little boy continued, "let's go. Please take me home." Heart breaking, Sirius let go of his rage and turned his back on the man. A crowd of children had gathered behind him, some of them staring at him with awe and happiness in their eyes and others with dread that they might be next; Sirius was alarmed to see that Harry was part of the latter, though he seemed to shake himself out of it.

The animagus stared at them, not willing to leave them in an abusive household. He approached them calmly and slowly, quickly making his decision. He held out his hand to Harry who, giving a small smile, firmly grasped it in his own.

"I was really scared." The confession was so quiet that Sirius barely heard it, but it was enough. He squeezed Harry's small hand gently.

"So was I," he assured, "but I will never let anything like this happen to you ever again. You know that, right?" And Harry's smile widened, because he did know that. He and Sirius were together again…nothing could ever go wrong.

That same day, later on in the evening, police officers arrested a man confusedly wandering the street with a sign on his back that clearly read:

I am a drunk and I run an orphanage. I have been abusing the children there both
physically and emotionally for 15 years. I belong in prison.
Please arrest me and force me to bear the consequences.
Signed, Andrew Smith

They went to the orphanage to find the children, and found them all calmly sitting in the living room with their belongings (very few) packed neatly and talking to child service officials. Only one was missing, but the moment that the officers asked about him, the children simply smiled.

"He who controls others may be powerful, but he who has mastered himself is mightier still" ~ Lao Tzu

"As soon as there is life, there is danger" ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

Harry Potter: age 6
Renton, United States of America, The World
1986

Any visitors to 158th Court South-East Renton would believe that the neighbourhood was crawling with giggling, adorable young children and rowdy, fun-loving young men. As it was, the neighbourhood wasn't. So the visitors would curiously ask the people what was creating the ruckus, and those people really wouldn't have much to say. The neighbours were all used to the laughter and sound of things breaking that sometimes filled the air. Most were often very bothered by it, though two weren't, but then they were the ones who caused it.

Sirius Black ducked, narrowly missing a red beam of light that zoomed and instead hit the lamp behind him.

"Not quite, Harry. You've got to say 'Expelliarmus', not 'Expellyermus'. And next time, don't point it at me! But otherwise, great job! Wand movement was perfect!" Sirius coached encouragingly, trying to decide for the umpteenth time if it was wise to let six year old Harry use his wand. Harry nodded, trying to get over the feeling of wrongness that seeped from his godfather's wand, and tried the spell again.

"Expelliarmus!" he yelled for what seemed to him the millionth time that night, but it paid off. A small flash and the short, wooden pole held by an upside down mop went flying to the other side of the room and the mop skidded back a few feet before falling to the ground.

"Hah-ha! Look at you, doing real magic at your age!" Sirius crowed, proud that Harry could do a second year spell before he even hit the double digits. "We can stop now, if you want." Harry lowered his wand arm, letting out a relieved sigh as he did.

"When can I have my own wand, Paddy? This one makes me feel all funny." Sirius simply smiled knowingly at him and gave him the same answer that he always did.

"When you're old enough. What do you say to a walk in the woods before bed, eh Pup? Tire you out for a good night's sleep?" Eyes lighting up at the prospect of the woods behind the house, Harry ran off to find his shoes. The moment that he was out of the room, Sirius' expression changed. It darkened, becoming worried. He glanced down at his watch and cursed at the late time.

"Where are you, Moony?" he murmured, before Harry rushed back into his view, all set to go. Sirius instantly developed a grin on his face that was only semi-fake. "Come on, Pup! Let's go get tired and covered in mud!"

Half an hour later…

Sirius smiled softly to himself, looking down at the nearly-asleep Harry. The boy was dead on his feet, but he determinedly marched onwards, like he did in any situation. No matter what, he always kept going even though all he wanted to do was stop. For all the years that they had travelled, starved, fought, Harry had learned at least one thing: survival.

"Paddy?" Harry questioned, stopping quite suddenly and refusing to move, "There are people at our house." Instantly, Sirius was alert, gazing into the distance worriedly and drawing his wand at the same time.

"Merlin, you've got good eyes!" Harry grinned triumphantly before his face turned serious again. Quickly thinking, Sirius knew that Harry needed to leave, but also that Remus could arrive at the house any minute… maybe was already there… with the aurors. There wasn't any time for complex strategies or plans. He herded Harry to a patch of bushes at the edge of the forehead and motioned for the boy to crouch down. As soon as Harry did, Sirius stood up.

"Stay here." he ordered in a firm voice and ran off to the house. Harry huffed in frustration, having no patience to simply sit around and wait while his godfather was in danger. The once-sleepy boy was very much awake and the wheels and gears of his mind were whirling as fast as lightning. Suddenly, they all came to a halt as he made his decision. Having had no intention of staying put in the first place, Harry felt no qualms for, not for the first time, ignoring his godfather. He set off at a quick pace, following the footprints that Sirius had made minutes before him, heading towards the house.

Sirius jumped to the left as a curse was sent directly to his head but flew by the constantly-moving man harmlessly. Without missing a beat in the deadly dance, he dropped to the ground and rolled in the opposite direction, effectively confusing his opponents. Once out of range of their hexes and spells, Sirius lifted himself from the ground a little and peered through the smoke that filled the house that had been his home. As far as he could tell, Lupin wasn't nearby; a fact that made him both happy and scared. Moony wasn't there to be hurt or killed, which made the possibility that he could be hurt or killed more and more likely. He thanked Merlin though that Harry was safe.

A creak to his right alerted him to the fact that he wasn't alone. Quickly, Sirius sent two spells towards the noise and a groan and a thump followed in their wake. Sirius stood to see an Auror he didn't recognize sprawled unconscious on the ground with four very conscious Aurors behind him with wands pointed at Sirius. Giving the room a quick once over, the animagus cursed to discover that he was surrounded with no way out. Sirius gave one feeble attempt to apparate away, but the anti-apparation wards held strong. Grinning maliciously, one of the Aurors spoke.

"We finally caught you, Black. You've got nowhere else to run. Stupefy!" His eyes rolling backwards into his head, Sirius fell to the ground. A high pitched shriek was the last thing he heard.

"Paddy!" and then, everything went black.

The Aurors all turned in confusion and surprise to see a young boy in the doorway. His eyes were wide and glassy with forming tears and his lips remained parted as if he was readying himself to scream again. Momentarily too shocked to intervene, they remained motionless as the child ran to the murderer they had just stunned. The little boy fell to his knees beside Black and tears began to fall from his bent head.

Snapped out of his stupor, one Auror cautiously walked towards the odd pair but he hadn't even taken two steps before the boy's head snapped up. Though his cheeks were wet, his face was hard and his eyes positively gleamed with fury.

"You hurt him!" the boy spat out, his voiced filled with hatred. About to inform the boy that he knelt beside a murderer, the poor Auror didn't even open his mouth before the floor beneath his feet began to shake menacingly. A heavy wind picked up inside the house, causing lamps to fall to the ground and break, pictures to come off the wall of shatter into a million pieces. Floorboards and walls creaked dangerously above all the noise with cracks appearing in the ceiling above them. The Aurors all moved about, confused and terrified at the mini-hurricane that enveloped them. They yelled spells that were not identifiable over the noise of the wind and did nothing to help anyways. All through the chaos, the young boy held firm, watching the disaster with seething eyes while nothing seemed to harm him or the man he knelt beside. Dodging falling objects and stumbling across the moving room, the wizarding police made for the door only in time to see large pieces of the ceiling fall in front of it. Screaming and moving out of the way, they did not even have time to think of one spell to remove the offending objects from their path before all of the aurors fell to the floor, unconscious.

Instantly, everything quieted and stilled for a moment before a large thud occurred and the front door flew from its hinges across the room. A lone man entered the house, his frantic eyes taking in the damage: fifteen Aurors and one man down and a single, little boy staring calmly at him. Then, as he watched, the by smiled tiredly at him.

"Hey, Uncle Moony." Then Harry joined his godfather on the ground in a dead faint.

Hey everybody! Wicked, here. Hope you enjoy the official first chapter! :D

Disclaimer: I am not J.K. Rowling.

Thanks to my beta, xxTunstall Chickxx, for another great edit! You rock!

~Sensus Scelestus