AN Disclaimer Harry Potter belongs to JK Rowling I own nothing. This is fanfiction, I make no money out of this whatsoever. My Beta reader goes by the pen name of parselmagic. Now that that's out of the way...
Chapter 1 – Realizations
Sirius felt immensely better the following day. He had reached the island a little past 3am, ensured the wards were keyed to him only, now they would only allow himself, Remus and Harry access and rebound the house-elf, thankfully Nixie was sensible unlike his parent's old house-elf which sometimes seemed worse than his mother and that was saying something. Nixie had been overjoyed to have a Master she could serve once again and had taken a large amount of persuasion to stop her from marching him upstairs and forcefully putting him to bed. Still the nervous energy that had sustained him throughout the flight had burned itself out soon after and he had only just managed to stagger upstairs and collapse onto a bed still fully clothed, his exhaustion so complete he even slept free of nightmares.
The next afternoon found him sitting in the (now spotlessly clean) study and staring out the window absorbed in his thoughts. He had risen just after noon and a shower, a change of clothes (thankfully his uncle's robes were not too large) and a solid meal had done wonders for him and he now felt human once more. As he stared out across the ground his thoughts turned to his godson. The previous night had been a whirlwind of emotion but still something felt off, he frowned slightly as he skimmed through the memory once more. There. It was something he had asked Harry and it was the reply that was sending feelings of unease through him.
"if you wanted a ... a different home...'
"Of course I want to leave the Dursleys! Have you got a house? When can I move in?"
Sirius doubted that Harry could remember when he had played with him as a baby, so to Harry's mind they had only met about an hour previously and Harry had only known about his innocence for about half an hour yet here he was agreeing to live with a man he hardly knew and he appeared genuinely happy and eager to do so. Sure, Harry knew that Sirius was his godfather and hopefully he had seen that Sirius cared for him but still it was a little disconcerting. Worry began to bubble within him, what had happened to Harry to make him so eager to accept the invitation?
Worry filling his clear grey eyes, Sirius began scanning his memory in earnest searching for anything and everything relating to his godson. Harry was short, both his parents had been taller than him at his age and when he had thrown him out the way even in the midst of his fear he had registered that Harry was thin, too thin, even with his school robes on and in the brief contact he had been able to feel his ribs. That wasn't normal, it wasn't right. And most importantly of all he could remember when he had first set eyes on his godson. At the time he had thought nothing of what Harry was doing, he had been more concerned with Harry himself but now he thought back on it the worry increased tenfold. Harry had been on a deserted street at night with his trunk fully packed, Sirius could remember another almost identical set of circumstances when he was sixteen but that time he had know where he was going, Harry had just looked lost. There was no doubt about it, Harry was running away but was not running to anywhere, he was just escaping. Putting all the pieces together Sirius could see where this was leading and he didn't like it one bit.
It had taken a lot to force him out of the door and from what he had seen of his godson Harry was definitely brave. Therefore something must be seriously wrong to force him to take that step, particularly with a 'dangerous' escaped convict on the loose. A little tidbit of information was niggling in the back of his mind, "Dursley," where had he heard that name before? Suddenly the answer hit him in the face, Petunia Dursley, Lily's sister, the one who had abhorred all magic and her husband was if anything even worse.
The truth hit him like a wave and he almost felt sick. His godson, his precious, precious Harry had been abused by the filth he called relatives. They must have starved him, or at least not fed him enough, Sirius didn't like to think what else they had done to make him so eager to escape. His thoughts drifted to his own childhood and the event that had finally forced him to leave, he could remember the curse far too clearly and the pain he had felt as his own parents had put him under the Cruciatus. That thought brought him up short. Those people, those animals hadn't hit him had they; they hadn't dared to raise a hand to strike his pup? Sirius was on his feet, a roar of fury exiting his throat as he recognised the very real possibility that his Harry had been beaten by his relatives.
Tears began pooling in his eyes. He had failed James and Lily, when he had suggested they swap secret keepers. He had failed them again when he had pursued the rat instead of taking Harry and caring for him like he had promised he would when he became godfather. But most of all he had failed Harry. He had got himself thrown in Azkaban and condemned him to an abusive childhood at the hands of his Aunt and Uncle. Tears began to fall thick and fast as he murmured, "I sorry pup, I'm so, so sorry."
Gradually Sirius pulled himself together even though it felt like an icy hand had clamped itself around his heart. He had failed Harry for the last twelve years and he was not going to fail him now. He knew he was the named guardian but as a convict there was no way he could take care of Harry legally and if he tried to without clearing his name he would be kidnapping his godson. Whilst that solution appealed to him however Sirius knew that if he tried to do that the moment Harry had to return to Hogwarts the game would be up and he was not prepared to lock his godson up just because he wanted to take care of him. No he had to do it legally and that meant proving his innocence.
Sirius sighed, that would be almost impossible without the rat. No, he mentally chided himself, think Sirius, for once in your life think, there has to be a way to prove your innocence. You have to, for Harry. The thought of the abuse his godson must be suffering at the hands of his relatives gave Sirius a new sense of determination. He would find a way because he had to. He was not going to fail Harry a second time.
Sirius closed his eyes as his agile mind began to flip through potential ideas. Although he often hid it, both him and James Potter had been in the top five students in the year, behind Remus and Lily of course and when he decided to think he would often come to the right solution.
Dumbledore came to mind almost immediately. As the Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot he would be able to call for a trial and get him acquitted. The idea was gaining momentum in his mind, in fact he was on the verge of sending a letter to request that exact action when another thought occurred to him. Dumbledore had been the Chief Warlock during the war yet he had not pressed for a trial for Sirius even though he ensured Death Eaters such as Snape got a trial. And the previous night, although he had believed Sirius's story he had not put him under his protection as he could due to his position or ordered that Sirius was to be tried before he was subjected to the Dementor's Kiss. He hadn't helped him. It was almost as if he didn't want Sirius in the picture but there was no reason for that unless, oh.
Realization swept through him. Harry. It had been on Dumbledore's orders Harry had been taken to the Dursley's even though Sirius was not in Azkaban at that point and Sirius knew James and Lily had gone into hiding due to a prophecy concerning Harry and Voldemort. Dumbledore did not believe that Voldemort was dead so it made sense that he was keeping the boy in a position he could influence him, for the Greater Good. After all if it took one child's unhappiness and one innocent man locked up in Azkaban to save hundreds of lives, it would be for the Greater Good that those two suffered. Sirius also knew there was probably another aspect, he could see the man cared for Harry and after all Petunia was a blood relative, there was the fairly likely possibility that the house there had blood wards that kept Harry safe from Voldemort. But not, he thought as he clenched his fists, from those monsters called relatives.
Letting out his breath explosively Sirius leaned back into his chair, dropping the quill to the desk. He couldn't trust Dumbledore, but that had been his best idea. Frustrated he dropped the quill to the floor and dragged his hand through his messy hair. He was out of sensible ideas but there was one person who might be able to help. With the fiasco last night he would bet hundreds of galleons that Remus had resigned. With a small smile beginning to slip across his features he reached for the quill and began to pen a letter to Moony.
Chapter 1 done, sorry there's not much action so far, it gets better I promise. Review if possible. Chapter 2 up in the next few days or week.
