THE STRANGE MAN

Harry turned on his camp cot, disturbed by the noises coming from outside the cupboard door. He knew he wasn't supposed to come out during the night, but curiosity overtook him. He winced as he stepped off his bed; his ankle had not fully healed yet, after Uncle Vernon had slammed it in the door last Thursday. He opened the door just enough for his little eye to peep through. He saw a strange man standing in the spotless living room. The man was tall and had black curly hair to his shoulders, but his face was hidden by his cloak. The strange man was yelling at Uncle Vernon

"…..You asshole, where is Harry. Tell me…."

The strange man's words sounded familiar, but he couldn't remember where he'd heard them before. But he knew somehow that this man was good and wanted to help him. Uncle Vernon was stuttering

"You…You…get outta my house…or I'll…um…call the police…yeah…I'll call the police."

The Man pulled a long stick from beneath his cloak and pointed it at Uncle Vernon, who stumbled backwards, terrified of that stick, but Harry had no idea why. Uncle Vernon tripped over an armchair he made a last effort of trying to get this man out of the by running over to him and shoving him over. Even though Sirius was weak and exhausted from his 3 years in Azkaban, he had a certain fire inside of him that would not be contained until he found his godson. Petunia laid an arm on her husband

"Dear…..please…..just let him see the boy"

Her voice shook as she spoke. Sirius turned to face Vernon who was as red as Petunia was pale. The anger radiated out of Vernon.

"Your wife's smart" growled Sirius; giving Petunia a smirk. "Now where's the boy"

"He's…..he's…he's" Uncle Vernon stammered, not willing to give the truth "He's…..not….yours…he's ours and you can't take him."

At this Harry cried at the top of his lungs "I'm here lemme out, pwease lemme out"

He heard loud banging footsteps clunk towards him. Then the door creaked open revealing the strange man's face. Harry let out a cry and backed up against the wall. Afraid that the man would be angry for yelling in the middle of the night.

The man then spoke his voice kind "it's all right Harry I'm not going to hurt you, come here"

Harry moved slowly towards the man coming to a stop two feet from him, cautiously watching the man's hand.

The Strange man spoke again "Hello, Harry my name is Sirius but you can call me Padfoot".

As he waited for an answer he gazed upon the toddlers little body that was littered in scars, cuts and grazes. He was wearing a torn shirt that hung on him loosely exposing his malnourished and skinny frame. He had a severely swollen ankle and a large gash across his cheek.

Harry plucked up his courage and spoke quietly "why are you here…sir".

"I am your Godfather Harry, when you were born your parents asked me to look after you if anything ever happened to them" he paused "that's only if you want me to…of course".

Harry looked into the man's face "I can come wif oo…oh yes pwease….weely"

Harry didn't quite believe the man's words. These words and tone were so foreign to him. He didn't know whether to trust it.

Sirius answered "Really, come here."

Harry stepped forwards as Sirius wrapped his hands around the little boy he had wanted to see for so long, Harry tensed as the man's arms wrapped around him. At that moment a very-purple-in-the-face Uncle Vernon came to Harry's doorstep. Sirius sensed this, he turned around and punched Uncle Vernon in the face as hard as he had ever hit anything in his life. Uncle Vernon stumbled but did not fall.

"That's for keeping Harry under the stairs and…" He stepped forward and punched him again, which sent him reeling backwards "this is for James and Lily….now get out of my way".

"I…I demand you get out of this house now, I don't want any of your sort in here any longer"

The bruises were starting to appear on either side of his face. Which made him look even more comical.

"No shit, Sherlock" Sirius countered with a smirk

He picked Harry up placing him on his hip and stalked out the door. By the time he had reached the end of Privet Drive, Harry was already fast asleep, drooling down the back of his shirt. What would he tell Harry when he awoke. He probably wouldn't remember anything that had happened.

'Well, we'll have plenty of time for explaining….he doesn't need to know too much now. As long as he's safe and healthy it'll be fine.'

Sirius smiled and kissed the little boy's forehead before apparating into 12 Grimmauld place knowing it would be easier having him asleep than having to explain what was going to happen.

Sirius walked through the front door to find an extremely shocked Remus and Dumbledore waiting in the living room. He couldn't tell whether they were shocked at him leaving at such short notice or the state of Harry. Judging by their open-mouthed expressions he suspected the latter.

He gave them a 'don't mess with me look' before disappearing up the stairs. He carried Harry up to the least 'scary' bedroom which was he and Regulus's old playroom. Being careful not to wake Harry, Sirius placed him under the covers before brushing the hair out of Harry's eyes and kissing his forehead.

"Goodnight, my little Prongslet"

But as he leant back he saw a lightning shaped scar on the right side of his temple. Certainly the Dursleys couldn't have given him such a prominent scar? Then what had?

He wandered down the stairs to see that Dumbledore and Remus had left. He let out a sigh; glad he didn't have to face them. He could imagine their faces. Dumbledore would have kept a calm, even-tempered voice and Remus would have had a look of apprehension. Sirius let out a soft chuckle.

He had his Prongslet.