It was a hot summers day when Sirius Black re-entered 12 Grimmauld Place for the first time in over 15 years.

The weather did nothing to dispel Sirius's mood; on the contrary, he found it typical that the sun was shining on the day he entered his new prison.

For that was how he saw his childhood home. A different alternative to those many years of Azkaban, yet confinement all the same. This house brought fourth his bad memories as effectively as any dementor he had ever encountered and they all came flooding back to him as he stood in the dark, dusty, entrance hall, unable to step foot any further into this hateful house. His house.

He tried to mentally shake himself free of his depressing thoughts. Remembering his last exchange with Remus when he had discovered the news of Sirius's return to the UK...

"I know you never thought you would return to that house, but it's not the same Sirius, you're not the same." he'd told him over the fire.

"Yeah, sure" Sirius had replied sarcastically. "I'm so much better off now than I was at 15."

"Sirius, stop" Remus had replied sharply. "You're going to be at the heart of the fight" and then seeing Sirius look of scepticism, even through the flames he had continued "For Merlin's sake, you're house is being used for headquarters!"

It was strange, having Remus be the optimistic one. It was almost as if their roles had reversed from their school days and Sirius didn't like it one bit. He ached for those carefree days where he and James would tag team to cheer up Remus after a full moon. These days, Sirius barely recognised himself.

He didn't want Remus to know this though. His friend has enough to contend with and he knew Remus at heart would always be a worrier. So he replied "Yes, I know Remus. I just need a few days to get my head around it and I'll be fine."

Not convinced, Remus persisted anyway, "And Harry, think of Harry. You're going to be closer to him, available to help him when he needs you. Dumbledore even said he can come and stay at headquarters eventually. "

At the thought of his godson, a real swell of emotion grew in Sirius's chest and for once, it was positive. He felt a wave of pride and joy at the mere though of Harry; but listening to him retelling his experience with Voldermort only a few days ago in Dumbledore's office had brought home how much danger Harry was in. If Sirius had to stay in that godforsaken house to do what's best for Harry, then he knew he could do it.

"You're right. Doing the best thing for Harry is all that matters", and he had meant it.

Sirius used those words to give him strength now as he moved through his house. It was strange really, the love he felt for Harry. He never thought he would be the type to be responsible for a child. Even all those years ago, when Lily and James named him godfather, though he accepted readily, in truth it was from a position of friendship to them both, rather than actually understanding and accepting any real responsibility for Harry. He remembered Lily teasing him that being a godfather could be practice for the day when he had a family of his own. He had promptly shut down that notion. "Sirius Black is not a family man" he had declared, adding that he couldn't possibly settle down with just one person "just think how unfair it would be to everyone else who would miss out on my charm and skill" he had thrown a wink Lily's way then, earning a smack from her and a jelly legs jinx from James.

He meant it though, he wasn't the type to settle down then and even now, some 15 years later, he knew it to still be true. He had plenty of flings, a handful of relationships but he never found anyone who could truly bring him to a stop and make him settle down, and kids, forget it. Sirius Black was not paternal.

But, somehow, now when he thought of his godson, he knew he would be here for him, no matter how much misery he, Sirius, had to suffer in the process.

Sirius continued his musing as he wondered through the house. Stopping occasionally to peer into the rooms and assess how much work was needed to make the house habitable, the answer: a lot! Thankfully the Weasleys would be arriving soon and Molly would no doubt take charge.

He paused at the door to the room which he knew contained the family tapestry. He hated that thing. Knowing he was blasted off, with his uncle, his cousin and countless others who weren't deemed worthy of the "Noble and Ancient House of Black".

Would he feel satisfaction looking at the spot where he used to be, or would seeing the names of his family just make him fall deeper into his unsavourable mood? He decided not to find out and charmed the door shut before moving into the Kitchen, to hopefully find a bottle of firewhiskey and to help loose himself for a few hours, away from his dark thoughts of the past.

AN.Hello all, and thank you for taking the time to have a look at this introductory chapter. I've been a fan of fanfiction for many years but this is the first time I have took the plunge and published anything of my own. I have the first 30 chapters mapped out so keep an eye out for updates which will come thick and fast!

This story will mainly be canon compliant and hopefully our beloved characters will remain in character too - please do flag if I get this drastically wrong!

I do love the idea of Sirius being a father, so this is my take on one of those stories. I really can't imagine it would be easy for Sirius though, so this is going to be a long, hard, journey for him - rest assured. And it's going to be made all the more difficult by the fact that his daughter herself is far from perfect and has a few dark and dangerous secrets of her own!!