Hello everyone :-)

Thank you very much for your reviews. I had two very detailed reviews by guests, so I'll have to reply here.

To the first guest who left me a lovely, long review: I thought about where Sirius' things had ended up, even in the books. Sirius did not have them – he had nothing but the clothes he wore when he escaped Azkaban. It seems unlikely that Remus would have had them, at least to me, otherwise the mirror would have found its way to Harry sooner (I doubt Sirius would have kept it to himself during GoF if he had had access to it then). They might have been at the Ministry, and Kingsley might have "stolen" them to give them back – but it seems unlikely that Sirius would have had a letter from three months before his arrest on his person (a letter from Lily, by the way, not James) and since Sirius did not have a trial, I doubt that further evidence was collected, i.e. his flat was searched. My theory is that his personal belongings were at Grimmauld Place, that Sirius' parents took them after he was arrested. That's the best explanation I can think of. I don't know if there are other theories out there, or what the general opinion is on that, so I'm open to ideas.
I did not mean to say that Sirius doesn't know he appears threatening. I meant that he does not like that people feel the need to be scared of him, for the exact same reasons you listed, that it is a trait running in his family.
Thank you very much for your review.

To the second guest who left me an even longer review: I think Sirius is willing to take Harry in but that he also sees the possibility that he might not be the best choice (that's what the long internal monologue in chapter three is all about, really). In the first chapter, he thinks that Harry is with a new family, one that would be better at providing a healthy environment to grow up in. By the third chapter, he is mainly worrying about security, which is a valid point even though that tends to be forgotten. Voldemort found James and Lily even when they used the Fidelius Charm (which is about the highest level of security there is), the Death Eaters got into Hogwarts to kill Dumbledore, they broke the protection around the Burrow at the wedding, and Grimmauld Place was compromised, too. In the books, it did not make much of a difference because Harry was almost off age by the time Voldemort became powerful enough to be a real threat but had everything happened a year or two earlier, having a safe house at Privet Drive would have been a real bonus. So, it's not so much that Sirius is not ready or not willing to take Harry but that he knows there are other factors to be considered.
Even in the books, Molly accuses Sirius of seeing too much of James in Harry – as far as I can remember, she says, 'He's not James, Sirius' in the kitchen at Grimmauld Place. That was what I was referring to, not Sirius' terrible last words in the movie. You say that in GoF, Sirius acts like a parent to Harry and I agree that he does but in OotP, he does the exact opposite, egging Harry on. Hermione picks up on that, saying something along the lines of 'Don't you think he might be trying to live through us?' (Quoting from memory, sorry). So the makers of the movie did not make that problem up, it does have a foundation in canon even if it is a lot less pronounced. In the end, it doesn't really have a big impact on my story, it was just an example of a problem Sirius would have had in canon but not in my ff. I can imagine it's a lot easier to become a parent to an eight-year-old than to a fifteen-year-old.

To everyone else and especially jkwhedon1919: Thank you so much, for your feedback and for being so very kind and lovely. :-)

-oOo-

He ended up not seeking out Dumbledore again. What news had he to tell? His suspicions had been confirmed, Harry was being mistreated, but that did nothing to refute Dumbledore's point. Living with Petunia Dursley provided Harry with a safe refuge. If Voldemort came back in a few years' time, would Harry thank him for robbing him of the only truly secure protection? Everything else could be broken – as Lily and James' death made so painfully clear.

It was a dilemma, and Sirius hated it with every fibre of his being but what was he to do? He could not simply walk in and whisk him away but he could not simply leave him to be abused, either. If Sirius continued to threaten the muggles, he hoped he could force them to treat them relatively decently but whatever he did, Harry would never be happy with them. The question was whether this was too high a price to pay for his safety or not. Sirius could not tell, could not even theorise until he knew exactly what was happening, and it did not seem as if Harry would tell him any time soon.

He arrived at his house, his head whizzing with all the unanswered questions. He told Moony all about the day and they continued to discuss all the implications into the early hours of Sunday morning when exhaustion finally caught up with Sirius and he fell asleep.

He woke up at noon to find that Moony had made lunch. Sirius forced himself to eat two helpings, as he always did these days. He was painfully skinny still and he resented that. He wanted to get back to looking the way he had before Azkaban even though he knew that there was little chance of achieving that. He had aged and that could not be undone – but he could regain his strength and get enough sleep. He had started on both frontiers the day he had been moved from Azkaban to the holding cell at the Ministry. He had shaved and cut his hair before the trial and had been forced to do so quite radically. His hair was short now, hardly an inch long, shorter than it had ever been, but there had been no way of untangling the matted mess on his head, certainly not without a wand.

Harry was being pushed out of his mind by the fact that it was a full moon. They spent the rest of the afternoon putting every security spell and enchantment they could think of on Moony's room. They reinforced the door, barred the windows and blacked them out, removed what little furniture there was and made sure to put up spells to soundproof the room.

Moony was nervous but grateful. He had suggested several times that Sirius did not actually have to stay with him but Sirius had told him flat out that he was being ridiculous. He had spent dozens of full moon nights with Moony, tonight would not be any more dangerous, and they knew that. Nonetheless, they both felt that the times of roaming around outside were over. The risks had not increased but their awareness of possible consequences had. Life in Azkaban was the best that could happen to Moony should something go wrong, not to mention what it would do to his conscience should he bite or kill somebody. So, locking themselves in it was.

Despite Moony's anxiousness, the night was positively boring. Sirius' presence was enough to calm the werewolf down, at least enough for him not to bite himself or try to rip out the floorboards. In the early hours of the morning, both of them curled up on the floor and dozed off.

Sirius was the first to wake, once more just before lunchtime. He yawned and stretched, still in his animagus form and took in the room. Moony had changed back and now lay curled up and naked on the bare wood. Sirius sighed and after turning back into a man, swiftly conjured a thick blanket to cover his friend with. The transformation was exhausting and Moony would be sleeping for most of the day.

He dragged himself into the shower and then to the kitchen. Now that the full moon was done with, his thoughts returned to Harry and without Moony present to cheer him up or distract him, he grew restless.

There was something fishy about those muggles – he knew that for a fact now. Dudley was obviously subject to preferential treatment but there was more to it than that. Harry was being bullied by his cousin and his aunt and uncle had, at least until two days ago, taken no steps to stop that. Harry was terrified of his uncle and the reaction he had shown when Sirius had tried to intervene made him assume the worst.

Sirius knew that he had scared Vernon Dursley but he was a man with a temper, one that might forget the possible consequences of his actions in a moment of anger. The more he thought about it, the more worried Sirius became for Harry's wellbeing.

He made lunch – steaks, boiled potatoes and steamed vegetables. Moony had prepared the steaks the day before. They just needed to be fried. The potatoes and vegetables needed to be chopped and cooked, no more than a little salt and pepper needed as seasoning. This more than exhausted Sirius' skills as a cook. The pot with the potatoes boiled over and the carrots were still a little hard when the broccoli was becoming mushy but to Sirius' relief it was all edible enough. Moony would not be picky, anyway. He would need food when he woke up, no matter what.

However, when Sirius sat down to eat, he could barely swallow a bite. He had a picture in his mind of Harry cowering in front of his uncle who had his hand raised to strike. He pushed his plate aside and paced up and down the kitchen, finally reaching the conclusion that he would not find peace until he checked.

With that resolution, he scribbled a hasty note to Moony, explaining where he was going and that he was simply going to wait and watch, that there was no need to worry. There was not, at least if Harry was fine. It was almost time for school to finish, so he would simply wait for Harry to leave the building. He would be in his animagus form that Harry did not know about yet. Nobody would suspect a thing even if there was a stray dog around.

That was what he did. He apparated to Little Whinging a few minutes to three and transformed into the big black dog. He loitered by the school gates, hidden between a few bushes. He watched Petunia walk towards the school just after he had arrived and a few minutes later, she re-emerged with Harry and Dudley.

Harry seemed completely fine and unharmed. There were no bruises on him, nothing funny in the way he walked or held himself, and he did not seem upset or scared. He was okay, Sirius told himself, breathing out in relief. He had been worried about nothing.

Dudley was grimacing, aiming kicks at little stones and twigs on the ground. Harry was bemused, watching his aunt carefully. She was looking harassed. 'I told you,' she snapped and Sirius' dog ears picked up on her shrill voice easily, despite the fact she was thirty yards away. 'We decided that you need new clothes. Now stop asking questions.'

Harry remained silent but Dudley began to wail. 'Why does he get something? I want new things, too. I want a new Gameboy – mine broke. And the new game, Piers has it and it's great.'

'I know, Diddykins,' said Petunia, her voice sweet and soothing now. 'And I'm going to get you one first thing, and two new games, how does that sound? You can play while we pick out clothes for him, what do you say?'

Dudley scowled again but nodded. Sirius gave an unheard growl at the tone in which Harry was spoken to and about.

Dudley and his mother continued to chat as they walked off along the road, Harry trailing a few steps behind them. Sirius followed at a safe distance, not wanting to be spotted. They were making their way to the town centre, all the while ignoring Harry. Sirius had to leave them in the end, knowing that he could not enter any store without attracting attention. He decided that this was going as well as could be expected and resolved to check in on Harry the next morning.

Moony was up and tucking into his food when Sirius returned. He seemed worried at first but when he saw that Sirius was in a good mood, his expression changed to a mixture of annoyance and amusement. 'Is this what happens when I'm not constantly there to keep you in check?' he asked.

Sirius shrugged and let himself drop into a chair. 'I got worried – and don't tell me there was no reason for that – but he's okay. Still, I'll go check again tomorrow. I don't trust those muggles.'

Moony sighed but dropped the matter. 'Thanks for lunch,' he said after a pause, a more serious tone in his voice. 'Eat yours.' He gestured to Sirius' almost untouched plate from earlier.

Sirius chuckled. 'You sound like Prongs' mum. What's next? Telling me to tuck in my shirt and go to bed on time?'

Moony smiled. 'Someone has to.'

Sirius shrugged, knowing that there was truth to his words. He drew his wand and reheated the contents of his plate. They ate in silence for a bit.

'Thank you, Sirius,' said Moony finally, 'for last night. I haven't had a transformation that… It's always been a lot harder since…' He did not finish the sentence but he did not need to. They both knew very well about the time when Moony had last had company for those nights.

Sirius shook his head. 'Don't thank me, Moony. You'd do the same for me.'

Moony nodded severely. 'Still,' he said quietly. 'I think I only really began to understand what I had in you and Prongs until after you were gone. Ten years with you… I think I'd gotten used to the fact that people can like a werewolf. Somehow, it seems like in the real world that doesn't happen too often.'

'It's their loss,' offered Sirius the one sentenced they had used to cheer up Moony time and again, whenever anti-werewolf articles appeared in the Daily Prophet or someone casually mentioned over breakfast that "they're just monsters" or "it's irresponsible, I'd kill myself rather than risk infecting others".

Moony smiled sadly. He, too, remembered. 'Somehow, that's easier to believe when you're thirteen. These days…'

'Remember what we used to say at school?' Sirius interrupted him. 'We'd get the bloody Ministry to change. We'd waltz in there and get rid of the prejudice and corruption, and one day, you'd be Minister for Magic, like you deserve.'

Moony nodded and even thought the corners of his mouth twitched upwards he did not quite manage to smile.

'And Prongs would still want me to do it, I know that,' insisted Sirius, determinedly sounding more cheerful about that than he actually felt. 'And Lily… can you imagine what she'd do to you if she saw you just now?'

This time, Moony laughed. 'She'd threaten to hex me if I didn't stop moping.'

Sirius nodded. 'So, we do it for them. Both of us. We'll do everything they didn't get a chance to do. We'll work hard and only stop when every last bloody pureblood supporter has been thrown out of the stinking Ministry with a good Blasting Hex up the backside. And before all that, we'll plant dung bombs in the Minister's office, Gringotts and the Headmaster's office at Hogwarts and go down in history as the two biggest pranksters the world has ever seen.'

Moony burst out laughing at the final words but the sound was soon swallowed by his tears.

'Together, Moony,' continued Sirius, fighting with a shaking voice himself now. He held up a hand, his elbow on the table as if wanting to arm-wrestle.

Moony mirrored his pose and grabbed his hand. 'Together,' he confirmed. This was like the vows that had made to each other at Hogwarts, back when there had been four of them. They had been naïve and young but Sirius had succeeded in evoking enough enthusiasm to recreate the feeling.

'I solemnly swear that I am up to no good,' they said together and grinned at each other through their tears. Sirius was filled in equal parts with youthful elation and grief. Prongs was missing – as was the rat, though he did not like to admit that to himself. Prongs would have liked this, would have made a speech ten times better than his, would have teased them about their bloody tears… But he was not there, would never be again, because a monster had taken him.

Still, Sirius had meant what he said. He would make Prongs and Lily count, would make them proud so that if they ever met again, he could look them in the eye. And the first step to that was Harry.

He continued to watch Harry on his way to and from school, all the while staying out of sight. This worked well until Wednesday afternoon. Petunia had picked up only Dudley. Gathering from what Sirius had overheard, they were visiting a friend of hers. Dudley did not seem thrilled by the prospect but let himself be dragged along with the promise of cake and an extra treat if he was good. Harry was instructed to go home and wait for his uncle to come back from work, who would then open the door for him.

Harry was walking slowly, no doubt wanting to shorten the amount of time he would have to spend sitting in front of a locked door, and Sirius followed him. He heard and smelled the boys before Harry noticed them. They cornered him easily, all four of them bigger than Harry. They were the same ones Sirius had scared off the day he had first met Harry.

'How are you, Potty?'

Harry backed against a row of hedges, pale and silent. Sirius took the chance to come closer unnoticed, running along the back of the hedge, out of sight of the kids.

'Stolen a uniform, Potty?' asked one of the boys, the tallest with short-cropped blonde hair. He stepped forwards with an arm outstretched. The other children laughed but before he could touch Harry, Sirius had pushed himself through the twigs next to Harry. Harry did not spot him at first, his eyes fixed on the bullies, but all of their attention was suddenly captivated by Sirius.

'What's that?' asked another boy. 'Trained a mutt, Potty?'

Sirius growled, showing his teeth and everyone except Harry who had nowhere to go unless he wanted to jump into the arms of his attackers took a step back.

'It's just as ugly as you, Potty,' sneered the first boy.

'Do you think it's rabid?' asked a boy with dark hair. Sirius growled in his direction. 'Look at those teeth. Maybe we should get out of here…'

The first boy hit him on the back of the head. 'Don't be such a wuss, Gordon.'

'Yeah, don't wet your pants, chicken!' said the last boy, the one with a face like a rat, although he, too, was eyeing Sirius cautiously. 'It's just a dog.'

Harry remained silent, motionless. He was obviously hoping that he would be forgotten about but no such luck. The first boy returned his attention to him, cracking his knuckles. 'So, freaky-potty, what will it be first? Piers, Gordon, hold him!'

The two of them made to move forwards but instantly halted when Sirius growled again. They exchanged a hesitant glance.

'We could do it tomorrow, Malcolm?' suggested Gordon.

Malcolm, the first boy, glared at him and shoved him aside none too gently. 'You're such a poof, Gordon. Run home to Mummy!'

Gordon remained where he was, relatively untouched by the insults, making Sirius conclude that this sort of argument was a regular occurrence.

Malcolm stepped towards Harry now, unfazed by Sirius' growl and his bared teeth. 'See, it won't do anything!' he declared, taking another step, his arm outstretched to grab Harry.

Sirius took that as a signal, leaping forwards. He snapped, deliberately missing the boy's hand by an inch or so. The Malcolm jumped back, tripping over his own feet, and landed in a puddle. All the other boys had taken off at a run, leaving their leader to fend for himself. He pushed himself up and ran after his friends, sending a trail of muddy water flying behind him.

Harry had been watching in silence, and when Sirius turned to face him, he, too, looked as if he was considering legging it. Sirius cowered and gave a high-pitched whimper. That was submission and everything he could do in this form to tell Harry that he did not have to be scared.

Harry seemed to understand and relaxed a little but was still eyeing him carefully. Sirius whimpered again and took a careful step forwards. Harry tensed but remained still and Sirius nudged his knees with his nose. Harry giggled and Sirius wagged his tail happily in response.

Harry petted his head that was about level with his own. Sitting down, Sirius' eyes would be higher than the child's.

'You almost bit Malcolm, Doggy. He was really scared of you.'

Sirius was not quite certain what he heard in his voice. He believed to make out relief and awe but also fear and what he thought was a trace of a bad conscience. Sirius shot his head forwards and let his teeth snap shut just next to Harry's hand, once, twice and finally a third time. The boy watched with interest.

'You didn't really want to bite him,' he concluded. 'It was just pretend?'

Sirius nudged his knee again.

'They haven't done that for a while now. Sirius said they mustn't do it and then Dudley told them that, too. Dudley is scared of me now.'

He was very lonely, Sirius realised upon hearing the words. He had nobody to talk to.

'I need to go home, Doggy, otherwise someone will tell Aunt Petunia that I wasn't waiting for Uncle Vernon like I should and then she'll be angry with me.'

He set off along the road again and Sirius followed on his heels. Harry seemed surprised at first but then quickly accepted his new companion. When he sat down on the step in front of the door, Sirius rested his head on Harry's feet. Harry giggled again.

'You are a nice doggy. Are you lost? I wish I could keep you but Aunt Petunia doesn't like dogs. She hates when Aunt Marge comes to visit with Ripper. He's a dog, too, but not a nice one. He chased me up a tree once…' He paused, pondering. 'Aunt Petunia doesn't like pets. I don't think she likes anything much, except Dudley and cleaning.'

Sirius laughed, something that he had been told always looked rather goofy when he was a dog. Harry seemed to think so, too, as he grinned at him.

'I think that Sirius would like you, though. Sirius likes a lot of things – motorbikes and ice cream and flying… I like those things, too. He likes Moony – that's his best friend – but I haven't met him yet. He didn't tell me but I know he doesn't like Aunt Petunia or Uncle Vernon or Dudley but I think he likes me. I'm not sure why. I know he liked Mum and Dad. He was really sad when we were at their grave.'

Sirius gave an involuntary whimper at the memory. This form was not good at hiding feelings, one of the disadvantages. Harry extended his hand and scratched Sirius' ears.

'He's really nice. Uncle Vernon said he'll lose interest in me eventually because I'm just a burden on everyone. I hope he doesn't. He promised that he wouldn't and he says that he does what he promises. He did come back last weekend when he said he would, and he made it so Dudley didn't break my motorbike again, and he made Aunt Petunia not take my book away.' Harry paused and when he began to speak again, he sounded more pensive.

'He said he'll come back every weekend if I want him to but I want him always to come back and that's a long time, isn't it, Doggy?'

Sirius licked Harry's hand to show affection. The child pulled a face. 'Ugh, that's slimy,' he said but promptly grinned. That was a definite advantage of being with kids – they did not tend to mind slimy, sticky, muddy or smelly, all of which Sirius regularly was in his dog form.

Harry continued to talk to the dog, mostly about school. Some of it, Sirius had heard before but he listened carefully. It was a rather one-sided conversation, obviously, but Harry seemed happy to be able to talk to someone, even if it was just a dog. It ended suddenly, when a car pulled into the driveway.

Harry became tense. 'You better go, Doggy. I don't think Uncle Vernon will like you.'

Sirius got to his feet. He was tempted to snarl at Vernon Dursley but there was no real point in making him angry. He licked Harry's hands again and nudged his knee to say goodbye. By then, the engine noise behind him had died. He backed away, making sure to give the car a wide berth.

'What have you dragged to our home now, boy?' asked Vernon, squinting at his nephew.

'Nothing. He followed me. He's leaving now, see?'

Sirius remained where he was, a few yards away, determined to see the scene end peacefully.

'You didn't give it food, did you?'

'No, Uncle Vernon. I didn't give him anything.'

'And you won't in future. Mutts,' he spat. 'You give him something once and they'll occupy your house waiting for more. Bloody leeches…'

'Yes, Uncle Vernon,' said Harry.

'Ah, well.' The man huffed and unlocked the door. 'You go to your room. I don't want a sound out of you, understood?'

'Yes, Uncle Vernon.' With one last look at Sirius, he ducked into the house. Sirius waited where he was, listening. He could make out footsteps. Heavy ones stomped off, away from him, probably to the kitchen. The lighter ones climbed the staircase. Upstairs, a door was opened and closed again. Then, things were silent. Sirius decided that Harry was safe, and that him hanging around would only make his uncle angry. He disappeared around a corner before turning back and apparating home.

Sirius dutifully accompanied Harry on his way to and from school every day that week. In the time he did not spend running around as a dog, he worked on the house with Moony. There were still bits unfinished but it was comfortable to live in now. He even asked Moony to get his sitting room fireplace connected to the Floo network although he was not certain why. There was nobody he was in contact with except Moony, who lived with him, and Harry, who was unable to use it, but hopefully that would change in time. It would come in handy when all of the Weasleys would visit around Christmas for the dinner he had promised them and Dumbledore had authorised a connection to the Headmaster's Office at Hogwarts, just in case.

He had not told Moony about what Harry had confided in the black dog. It had been private, not even intended for Sirius' ears. He could not change what he had heard but he would not pass it on.

On Friday morning, Harry hung even further back behind his aunt and cousin than usual. Petunia had protested at first but Sirius had growled at her and she had left it alone.

'Sirius is picking me up this afternoon, Doggy,' Harry told him excitedly. 'That's why I've got my rucksack. I'm staying with him all weekend. That means I won't see you again till Monday but you'll be okay, won't you?'

Sirius nudged Harry's knee, as he always did when meaning to say yes.

Harry smiled. 'That's good. I'm really excited. I'm going to see Sirius' house and I'm going to meet Moony, too. I hope he likes me. I've never had a sleepover. Is it very weird to sleep somewhere where you haven't slept before? Aunt Petunia had to pick up Dudley once because he got scared when he stayed at Piers'. I don't think that's going to happen with me 'cause Sirius is much nicer than Piers. They wouldn't pick me up anyway. Sirius would probably take me home if I asked him but I won't. If he thinks I don't like him, he might not come back for me again.'

Sirius wanted to reassure Harry desperately but there was no way of doing that in his animagus form. He thought for a second about changing back but that would probably do more harm than anything. Just listening was probably the best he could do for Harry at the moment.

'Why do you think he invited me? Do you think he'll invite me again after that?' He paused, deep in thought. 'I don't really understand Sirius – but he's nice to me. It's nice to have someone who's nice to me.'

-oOo-

So, end of chapter four. I'm not a massive fan of this one because it jumps around so much, but I needed it. It's a bit shorter that the last two, but the next one will be longer again, I promise.

Tell me what you think! :-)

DFTBA!