Harry waited a few more moments, trying to gain his composure. He knew there were only two options, continue to hide like a coward and be found and killed, or face Voldemort and fight to the death. He was sure it would lead to his death, but at least he would die the way his parents did - bravely.

"Fine," Harry said, standing up and facing Voldemort. "Have it your way."

He attempted a quick disarming curse before dodging a killing curse. The two continued on like this, Harry feebly attempting to defend himself and Voldemort shooting unforgivables.

"Don't touch him, he's mine to finish!" Voldemort shouted after the third killing curse narrowly missed Harry and hit a death eater in the chest. A blinding flash of golden light stopped the duel for a few seconds and Harry felt his heart stop. Standing in between Harry and Voldemort was none other than Professor Dumbledore and Sirius.

Harry made to run to them, but felt himself go stiff as dark ropes tied around him again. Sirius looked fiercely at the person who assaulted his boy, and he felt his rage bubble up at the man he was face to face with. "Peter…" Sirius mumbled, stepping forward to finally avenge his fallen brother. Dumbledore rounded up all the other death eaters, stunning and tying them up easily, leaving him dueling with Voldemort.

Sirius felt rage boiling up inside of him at his one time friend - sweet, quiet Peter. What happened? Why did he betray Lily and James? The unanswered question brought his anger to an unfathomable level, and the only thing that kept Sirius from ripping the rat to shreds was his godson's howls of agony near him.

Harry was screaming, begging his father to leave the graveyard. He wanted, no needed, Sirius to get out of here and take him with him. Voldemort would torture and kill them all, and Harry couldn't bare to watch his father die. Cedric, a boy he had hardly known well, was bad enough to endure; Harry couldn't imagine the agony he would be in if he saw Sirius fall limp, unmoving…

Sirius made a quick decision - noting Dumbledore's fight with Voldemort, Sirius stunned Pettigrew and ran to his boy. He undid the magical bindings and picked Harry up, cradling his brave son in his arms. "Harry? Baby, tell me where you're hurt, I want to help you." He whispered gently as Harry continued to call out, practically in hysterics.

"Not… hurt bad-" Harry rasped out between his wails, clinging to his father's robes and burying his face against his chest. Taking in the familiar scent of Sirius's aftershave, Harry slowly began to calm down. "We gotta… get out of here…"

Sirius nodded, his face pressed against Harry's black mop of hair. "We can't leave without Dumbledore, but you're safe now baby. Daddy's got you, it's going to be okay."

Harry continued to sob while clawing at his father's shirt for dear life, as if trying to prove to himself that he really was alive and in Sirius's arms - that this wasn't some cruel joke of Voldemort's. Sirius's reassurances, however, were like a slap in the face; sure, Harry was safe with his father now, but what about Cedric? Mr. Diggory probably doesn't even know that he will never get to hold his child again.

"Cedric dead…" Harry rasped out against Sirius's chest in between his heart-wrenching sobs. "All my fault…"

"No… no, Harry, it wasn't your fault." Sirius whispered soothingly, tucking Harry's face into the crook of his neck and holding him closer. "You didn't know this would happen, you were just trying to be fair. You're a good person, Voldemort's not. That's why he's dead, baby. None of this will ever be your fault."

A bolt of joy shot through Harry as he registered Sirius's terms of endearment - you're safe now baby, daddy's got you. Harry meant so much to Sirius that he was calling him the most vulnerable and bare of endearments. Harry relished in this, knowing that he should be embarrassed by Sirius's proclamation of love for his son, but also feeling immensely grateful that he finally had someone who loved him, someone who was worried sick when he found out he was missing, someone who risked everything to save him. This happy thought even masked his guilty feelings over Cedric's death, though did not get rid of them by any means.

Harry pressed closer to his father, no longer fighting the desperate sobs that claimed his body or his deep desire for affection. He needed Sirius now more than anything; he felt broken beyond repair as the night's memories flashed again before his eyes.

Sirius's heart wrenched in his chest with every sob Harry let out, and he wrapped his arms tighter around his child. He was so relieved that they had gotten there on time, that his precious boy was safe and that they would go home soon. He continued to whisper gentle reassurances to Harry, wanting desperately to calm his son, but knowing that he only saw the tip of the occurrences his poor boy had been through.

So involved was Sirius in trying to ease Harry's agony, that he didn't notice when Dumbledore walked over to them. "Voldemort's fled, Sirius. Let's go back to the castle so I can alert the aurors of the death eaters here and… well, I need to talk to Harry."

Sirius's breath hitched as he looked down at his son's tear-stained face. "Dumbledore, he's in no state to talk-"

"Now's not the place, Sirius. We'll talk at Hogwarts, let's grab the portkey." Dumbledore said, gesturing towards the accursed cup.

"NO!" Harry shouted out, his voice raspy. Sirius almost dropped him out of shock from his son's outburst.

"What is it, puppy?" Sirius asked, pulling Harry closer.

"We can't leave… without Cedric," Harry whimpered, attempting to lean out of his father's embrace and go towards his fallen peer.

Sirius tightened his arms around Harry and kissed his head. "Of course we can't. I'll grab his arm, you just stay right here where you belong and don't worry about anything right now, okay? It will all be over soon."

Though Harry's heart felt heavy and he dreaded facing the hundreds of students at Hogwarts, he smiled a little at Sirius's words and snuggled into his father's embrace. Right where I belong, he thought happily, before he reminded himself of Cedric and choked on another sob.

"Sirius, perhaps I should be the one to deliver Mr. Diggory. I'm afraid it will look very suspicious if an ex-convict is seen carrying a dead body." Dumbledore offered, reaching over to pick up Cedric.

Sirius nodded and picked Harry up, walking over to Dumbledore. "Alright. One, two, three!"

The two men grabbed the portkey, each holding brave, honest, and intelligent boys that didn't deserve their fates.


Harry felt more than saw Sirius and Dumbledore land back at the quidditch stadium. Immediately there were gasps and whispers of "are they dead?" and "what's happened?" Harry heard Mr. Diggory's anguished cries and they broke his resolve even more - he couldn't stay here.

Sirius realized this too. "Harry, keep your face pressed against me, I'm taking you to Dumbledore's office." Harry did as he was told and tried to stifle the sobs that were racking his body as his father carried him out of the arena.

Halfway to the castle, Harry couldn't hold it in anymore - he felt as if he were suffocating.

Sirius heard his boy's sobs and kneeled down on the grass for a moment to try and comfort him. "Harry, baby, it's okay. I'll get you some dreamless sleep soon and some food. Daddy will take good care of you, okay? You're so brave, son. I'm so proud of you, my wonderful boy." He continued to whisper these reassurances to Harry, but this time Harry wasn't calming down. Now that he knew he was safe in his father's arms, he didn't have the resolve that he had in the graveyard - all the memories were crashing down on him.

Sirius was getting desperate - he didn't want anyone to leave the arena and see his son like this, they needed to get moving. However, he didn't feel that it would be a smart decision for him to try and carry Harry when he was so distressed. So, he did the only thing he knew to do to calm his boy down: "When I am down, and oh my soul so weary. When troubles come, and my heart burdens me. Then I am still, and waiting in the silence. Until you come, and sit a while with me."

He pressed Harry to him as he sang, enveloping the boy in as much warmth and love as he could muster, knowing that his mother's song would be the only thing to calm him. Sure enough, Harry's sobs turned into hiccups as he nuzzled into Sirius.

"You raise me up, so I can stand on mountains. You raise me up, to walk on stormy seas. I am strong, when I am on your shoulders, you raise me-" Sirius's voice stopped abruptly as he fell backwards. Harry tried to scream, but found that his voice was gone. He reached out to hug Sirius, silently begging the man to get up and keep singing to him; he needed him. He felt a hand grab his shoulder and jerk him upwards, practically carrying him back to the castle. Harry tried to scream and claw his way back to Sirius, but it was no use - whoever his kidnapper was, he was strong.

Once he realized that he had no choice, Harry attempted to get a look at his attacker. "YOU!" He mouthed out, still unable to speak.

Mad-Eye Moody looked down at him with his magical eye and frowned. "Calm down, laddie, we're just going back to the castle. Dumbledore asked me to take you, he needed to see Sirius." He said the last part with a wicked grin that made Harry's heart do somersaults. Harry looked back at his limp father on the ground and felt tears come to his eyes. Please be okay, he thought to himself, still attempting to fight the grip Moody had him in, knowing that this was a trick. Dumbledore wouldn't do this, he wouldn't ask Mad-Eye to hurt Sirius so he could "talk to him." Harry didn't know where he was going, but one thing was for sure - the night wasn't over, it was only beginning, and it looked to be a pretty bad one.

A/N: There will be lots of cliffhangers for the rest of this part of the story ;) Also I did purposely make Harry a lot more emotional in this part compared to in the books, but Sirius and him are so unguarded with one another, Harry's not trying to keep up the "Boy-Who-Lived" mantra around him. I think he feels comfortable breaking down like this in front of his father, and that's why he does. In the book, Sirius and Harry, though close and open with one another, aren't as close as I have made them in this story. It doesn't necessarily mean I'm trying to make Harry a weak character, I want him to be strong and brave (And you'll continue to see that in this story), but I also want him to be open and unguarded with Sirius, so that's why I made him have a breakdown in this one: Once he was with his father and knew he was safe, the memories came rushing back and it literally was too much to bear at the moment. Anyway, thanks for reading, and please review!