PART TEN
December 31th, 1981, Blackfoot, Idaho, United States

Sirius was awake a heartbeat after the screams began. Since he'd taken to sleeping in Yuki's bedroom, in reality the screams were slightly muffled by walls. But to Sirius's ears, they were deafening.

Harry had seemed fine. For the first few weeks, Sirius could scarcely get through a night without rising three times to check to make sure the boy still slept soundly. He never made a peep. So soon, Sirius slept through the night. Then he moved to Yuki's room. But tonight, it happened. Sirius knew it would someday.

He thundered down the hallway towards the bedroom. Harry was in his cot, face screwed up and reddened from the effort of expelling the air from his body as loudly and frequently as his little lungs could handle.

He remembered these screams. Remembered how he'd cried as Hagrid carried him down the stairs, squirming and howling. It had only been his presence that had managed to calm him. So Sirius scooped up Harry and clutched him close to his chest.

"It's all right, Harry," Sirius cooed, wishing for all the world that the words were true. He stroked a hand down the trembling back. "Padfoot's here..." He lay back on the bed across from Harry's cot, keeping the boy close enough to hear his heartbeat. "I'm not going to leave you, Harry. Never, ever."

Small hands clutched at the blue and gold Puddlemere United shirt Sirius slept in. They were shaking slightly.

Sirius looked down and brilliant green eyes, shining with tears, were staring up at him.

"Mama go," Harry said softly, voice quavering, hoarse from his screaming.

Sirius nodded. "Yes Harry."

"Ever."

Sirius nodded again, his arms tightening around the tiny form. "Yes Harry."

His small lower lip quivered. "Dada go."

Sirius fought hard to swallow the lump in his throat and tears that threatened to spill. "Yes Harry."

"Ever."

The tears were now dampening Sirius's cheeks. "Yes Harry."

Harry reached up and ruffled his fringe. After a moment, Sirius realized he was rubbing his scar. "Bad go Mama Dada."

Sirius nodded. "Yes Harry." He wanted to hold Harry so tightly he could never leave him.

Harry looked into Sirius's fathomless grey eyes imploringly. "Bad?"

"Gone," Sirius insisted. "Mama and Dada made him gone."

Harry nodded, seeming to understand what Sirius was saying. "Bad go."

The shadow of a bittersweet smile appeared on Sirius's face. "Yes Harry."

"Ever?"

Sirius clutched Harry against him, burying his face in the unruly black hair. He thought back on the words he wasn't supposed to know. The words James had told him before they had driven him into hiding. The Prophecy about Voldemort and the one he marked as equal.

"Pa-foot? Ever?"

Sirius pressed a kiss to Harry's head. He was shaking. Dumbledore had warned them, time and time again. Voldemort was no more capable than any other wizard. He was simply willing to use powers no one could stomach. All manners of impossible deeds- even cheating death- were available to him. But Sirius couldn't tell this child that.

"Pa-foot?" Harry shook the front of his Godfather's shirt, trying to get his attention. "Ever?"

Sirius's heart clenched. He couldn't tell him the truth, nor could he lie. Sirius got up from the bed, forcing himself to smile brightly for his precious ward. "Let's go jump on Moony's bed, Pronglet!"

Harry cocked his head, confused by this sudden change in Sirius's demeanour.

Sirius forced himself to keep smiling. "You wanna jump on Moony's bed, Harry?"

Harry seemed to consider this before nodding. "Moony bed!" He proclaimed, finally releasing Sirius's shirt and thrusting his fist into the air. "Moony bed!"

Remus rubbed his neck, hazel eyes glaring at Sirius. "Was that really necessary last night, Padfoot?"

Sirius didn't answer Remus's complaints, his steely gaze focused on a spot on the kitchen table.

"Why in the world would you think it a good idea to jump on my bed with Harry?"

Finally, Sirius lifted his head to look at his friend, giving him a sad smile. "Because Prongs and Wormtail aren't here to do it with me anymore."

Remus flicked his wand at his neck and the muscles seemed to relax a bit, thought he still seemed to be a bit tender as he moved his head. "Still doesn't justify it."

"You sleep like the dead, Remus." Sirius's voice was almost accusatory. Because of Remus's need to sleep so deep, he hadn't heard Harry's cries. Yuki had been exhausted from dealing with JJ.

While he was fiercely protective of his Godson and could still be territorial about his lover or best friend dealing with him, Sirius would have given anything in the world to have not had that conversation with Harry.

Harry knew his parents were dead. He wasn't entirely clear on the concept of it, but he knew they were somewhere he couldn't be. And he knew someone had tried to put him there.

Children always had dreams about a nightmare man trying to get them. Real fathers could assure them the nightmare man could not get them. But Sirius could make no such claim to Harry. The nightmare man was real. The nightmare man had tried to hurt him. The nightmare man might try to hurt him again.

Harry seemed utterly unfazed by the night previous. He was clutching tightly to the broom given to him for Christmas to replace the one lost in Godric's Hollow. It had been purchased by Frank, who sent it to Andromeda, who sent it to Yuki's sister Kei, who sent it to an associate of hers in Taipei who sent it to her cousin in San Francisco who had it sent by Muggle post to their home. Nearly all of Harry's waking moments were spent holding tightly to the broom. He was now running around the house with it.

"Not in the house, Pronglet!" Remus called out.

Harry slunk into the kitchen, knowing when Moony was willing to say something he was doing was wrong, it was definitely serious.

"I'll take you out on it later," Sirius promised, ruffling his hair. "Why don't you draw a picture for my letter to Andi?"

Harry looked at his broom for a moment. He then looked to Sirius. Then back at his broom. He then looked to Moony, who nodded encouragingly. Finally, Harry handed the broom over to Sirius and held his hands above his head. "Andi draw!" Harry declared, marching out of the room as if he were a soldier, kicking his legs out in front of him. "Andi draw!"

Yuki entered the kitchen, her hair still slightly damp from her shower.

"Glad you're back," Sirius said, tilting his head to accept a kiss from his lover. He then peered into JJ's bassinet and tickled his son's stomach. "Someone was just starting to make 'Mama, I'm hungry' noises."

Yuki scooped up JJ and smiled at him. "Is Blue Jay Bird hungry?"

"Hey," Sirius held up a finger at Yuki before wagging it. "You're not going to do that!"

"Do what?" Yuki asked innocently as she adjusted her shirt to let JJ nurse.

Sirius snorted and gave her a disbelieving look. "Don't act all innocent with me, Miss Maeda. You're trying to indoctrinate him with Ravencrap."

Yuki blinked before looking to Remus, then back at Sirius. "...I called him Blue Jay Bird."

Sirius gestured emphatically with his finger. "I read between the lines and I call indoctrination!"

Yuki rolled her eyes. "Just which one of us bought both the boys matching stuffed lions named Godric for Christmas?"

Sirius straightened himself up. "That's different!"

Yuki shook her head as she smoothed down JJ's hair. "How is that different?"

Sirius grinned cheekily. "Because Gryffindor's really cool."

Yuki's mouth hung open for a moment while Sirius just smirked at her. She raised her free hand to gesture to the child at her breast. "If I wasn't nourishing your child right now, I'd kick your skinny arse until you bled blue and bronze."

"You know, for someone who is so proud of her house, you were a crap Ravenclaw," Sirius teased.

Remus nodded, his expression of mirth one nearly matching Sirius's. "He's got a good point. You were far too brave, very often impetuous..." He cast a sly look to Sirius. "And you slept with Padfoot, which is about the stupidest thing anyone- and many ones- has ever done."

"Hey!" Sirius protested. "You're supposed to be on my side!"

"I take the shots I can," Remus countered dryly. "They are few but devastating."

Sirius gave Remus a punch in the shoulder. "Wasn't that many girls," he groused.

Yuki looked down fondly at her son. "Just because the Sorting Hat took a good while deciding where I was supposed to go due to overlapping ideology does not make me any less proud about where I ended up."

"The Sorting Hat did take its time with me too," Remus said with a nod. "Who knows where Har-"

Remus stopped. He realized it first, but Sirius and Yuki were but a moment behind him. One by one, their mirthful expressions became morose and sullen.

It was Sirius who finally voice the mutual realization, "They're not going to get to go to Hogwarts, are they?"

"The Headmaster hates us," Remus whispered.

"We really all that fond of him either?" Yuki questioned. "You're the one who heard what he said, Remus."

Sirius rubbed his temples. "Guess the House Pride doesn't amount for crap."

Harry ran into the room, holding up a red piece of construction paper. On it was a yellow scribble. "Andi draw Grrrrr!" He thrust the paper into Sirius's hand and screwed up his face. "Grrrrr RAWR!" He curled his hands as if to create clawed paws. "Grrrr RAWR!"

AUTHOR'S NOTES: Harry might come off as a little advanced for his age, but I was trying to tie that into his "he's got part of Voldemort inside him" thing, hence the date he realizes his parents are gone.