Arc I: part I
When Sirius opened his eyes, the first thing he saw was a wooden ceiling. He straightened himself up in his bed and leaned his back on the headboard, breathing heavily. His eyes wandered around him to discover that he was lying in a cozy single bed, in a small, warm room with a wooden ceiling, a wooden floor on which an old red carpet was spread, and a pair of slippers next to his bed. He couldn't tell for sure how much time he had been sleeping nor how he ended up in this place. However, thinking about where he was a few days ago, he wouldn't mind staying locked up in this room for the rest of his life than going back to that cold, dark cell.
He stretched his arms up his head as he yawned. Then, he closed his eyes, trying as hard as his brain allowed to remember how he had arrived there...In his cell back in Azkaban, he remembered transforming to his dog form when the dementor opened the door, bringing him that pork vomit they call "food," and he took advantage of that opportunity to slip out. He stealthily crossed the prison corridors, refusing to let fear interpose between him and his freedom or to get caught, Then, prudently he went down, floor by floor until he finally reached the main gate, sneaked under the fence, then threw himself in the freezing water of the North Sea.
He didn't have his escape planned; he was lucky he got that far from his cell and without drowning. How much time had passed since he broke out? Hours? Days? They must certainly have noticed he wasn't there anymore, so he could only assume that the entire Auror office and bounty hunters were tracking him down ... Yet, here he was, comfortably installed in this small room. And to his surprise, no kind of measure had been tasked to restrain his movement nor to prevent him from using magic.
Sirius lifted his blankets, sat down on the bed's edge, then put the slippers that had been put on the floor next to his bed. He stood up and walked slowly, trying his best not to make any noise, toward the shutter window. He opened the curtain to let the light through and took a look outside. Perhaps he could identify the place he had landed at, only the landscape exposed to his eyes from the window was utterly unknown to him. He had an unobstructed view of a long sand beach from his window, large expanses of white sand where a lonely wooden boat was moored.
He stepped back from the window and looked around; Sirius was aware that he had to be careful, so he engaged in examining the room he woke up in, looking for clues that might enlighten him and alleviate his preoccupation. Pictures were hanging on the wall, pictures now that he was looking at them closer, were immobile contrary to those widely seen in wizarding homes. The house was therefore inhabited by Muggles... They were old pictures of a young man in his twenties, posing in front of a fishing boat, along with other men his age in what looked like a military uniform in front of a large metal box with several wheels and a tube coming from it, smiling to the camera. At the bottom of the picture, was carved on a small bronze frame, a date:06/06/1944.
Taking another look around him, examining the furniture, Sirius didn't think there was more to learn from the place. So, instead, he looked hesitantly at the door, doubted for a moment, trying to guess what was waiting for him on the other side. He couldn't help imagining the worst scenarios, was almost convinced that it was all nothing but a hallucination, nothing more than an illusion and that the moment he touches the doorknob, he would find himself back in that cold cell reliving the most painful moments of his life, events that he would have sworn having completely erased from his mind. He shook his head...No, Azkaban didn't drive him crazy; unlike all the others he heard screaming for days until they shut up for good, so he couldn't fall now. Sirius walked towards the door, carefully turned the doorknob, and opened the rooms' door trying all his best not to make the slightest noise.
The moment the door opened, the smell of roasted beef came to tickle his nose, reminding him of how much hungry he was. He started strolling in the corridor, exploring, letting the wonderful smell guide his footsteps. Was he really in a Muggle house? ...Following the scent, he found himself walking down narrow wooden stairs, to arrive in a living room where a fire was lit in front of a cozy sofa and two armchairs facing each other. He quickly located the source of the smell; he stopped on the kitchen door frame where a man was busy in front of the oven...Sirius knocked timidly on the door and a second later, the man turned to face him and smiled warmly at him.
The man in front of him, at first sight, must have been in his sixties. He had his white hair cut short, was well built, with strong arms that suggested he had spent quite a time of his life engaged in a physically demanding lifestyle. Sirius quickly recognized in him the young man on the pictures in the room upstairs. The man spoke first :
" You came at just the right time! I was just about to go upstairs to wake you up. I couldn't let you miss this little piece of art.." He said showing him the roasted beef, in a language that Sirius recognized as French.
Sirius never had the chance to learn any other language. So, he smiled politely at the man and said with an unsure voice:
"I am sorry, sir...I didn't understand what you said..."
The man's eyes widened. "Oh! I see...My bad then, I said I was about to come to check on you and see if perhaps you would like to join me for lunch," he said, smiling at him" please take a sit!" he said, pointing at a chair near a wooden table in the center of the kitchen.
Sirius smiled back at him and sat on the chair he was directed to. They both stayed silent while the man set the table; he put a dish of roasted beef with fried potatoes in front of Sirius before serving himself the same thing. Sirius's eyes went from the man to the food, and the man didn't fail to notice his hesitation.
"You should eat it while it's hot, you look like you have been starving. Don't worry, we will talk later..." He said. " My name is Ryan, by the way."
"I'm Siri...Evan. My name is Evan, nice to meet you." Sirius said.
"It's nice to meet you as well, Evan," Ryan said, nodding at him.
They ate in silence; Ryan couldn't be more right about Sirius; he was indeed starving; he finished his dish quickly under Ryan's amused gaze, who gladly served him another round. After they both finished eating, Ryan led him to the living room where he sat in one of the two armchairs near the fire, a drink in his hand. Sirius sat nervously on the other armchair facing Ryan.
"So... Evan, what's your story?" Ryan asked.
Sirius anticipated that this moment was eventually going to pop up; he dreaded it. This man had most certainly welcomed him into his home, but he was far from suspecting that he had before him an escaped wizard from the world's best-guarded prison. Sirius knew he had already come very far; he couldn't allow himself to make a mistake that would bring him back to the starting line. If he risked telling him the truth, the man would definitely get scared and alert the Muggles authorities, so he would be willing to bet his vault at Gringotts that the Aurors office had an eye kept on the reports the Muggles were receiving. After a moment of silence, he decided to answer, improvising little by little, building up a story, using the small pieces of information he gathered since he woke up upstairs.
"I... I'm in France?" He asked, faking a surprised tone with his voice.
"Where else would you be? Brazil?" Ryan asked." Yes, you are still in France, not far from Cherbourg, in Normandie, to be more accurate."
"Oh...I see...I have drifted that far south..." Sirius whispered.
"Drifted from where if I may ask?" Ryan asked.
"Sure... I was spending some time in Plymouth...I was pushed by some friends into trying kitesurfing, always wanted to, even if it scared me a bit. I guess I wasn't very prudent with the wind so I must have gone too far and ended up losing control...I don't remember much, to be honest."
Ryan took a sip from his drink and looked at Sirius with a deep gaze, and said:
"You've been lucky then, stupid, imprudent but luck anyway...Going by yourself...With no supervision at all... You could have drowned in the sea"
"Yes, I was... Ryan, how can I thank you? You saved my life..." Sirius said smiling at Ryan.
Ryan smiled back at him, placed his glass on the coffee table, leaned back comfortably on his armchair before answering:
"Well... You could start by cutting the crap and tell me what really happened to you. Because, my friend," he said, pointing the finger at him," You do not look like the kind of man who's that stupid...To my eyes, you seem to be the kind of man who went through some harsh events, judging by the effort you are actually pulling to hold your tears.
Ryan did not seem to be upset by Sirius' failed attempt to lie. Quite the opposite, in fact, he kept looking at him warmly and seemed to encourage him to open to him. Sirius hesitated for a moment, stayed silent, looking at his knees, before raising his head towards Ryan and speaking in a small voice.
"I apologize...Yes, I lied...I'm just ashamed...I did...I did things I'm not proud of...I betrayed my friend, they trusted me, and I betrayed them...They got hurt because of me, and there is nothing I can do about it...I couldn't live with the guilt, so I just tried to put an end to it." Sirius said before breaking into tears, his face hidden in his hands. He couldn't stop sobbing...He never had the chance to cry nor mourne. So, one could, he would have to remember the good memories shared, but how could anyone remember any happy memory in a place such as Azkaban.
Ryan stood up and sat on the couch next to him, patting him on his back.
"There is no shame for a man to cry...Don't hold your tears, Evan... I am sorry for what you went through. Seeing you like this; I can only imagine how difficult it must have been."
Sirius wiped away his tears and nodded his head. He took a deep breath to calm himself before turning to Ryan.
"Thank you...I needed to...the events followed each other at an incredible speed, and I never had time for...I needed this. Thank you." he said gratefully to Ryan," I won't bother you any longer, I will be on my way."
Ryan laughed at what Sirius said," To go where? ...find a cliff to jump from?...No you are not going anywhere, Evan...You'll stay here as long as it takes until you get better... And you are going to get better, trust me."
Sirius looked incredulously at Ryan before speaking; the last time he was openly welcomed somewhere was James's parents.
"You are offering me to stay? Are you sure?" Sirius asked, hoping it would be the case; he was in dire need of rest as the time spent in Azkaban had washed him out. He seriously needed some quality rest before he could use his magic, especially as he didn't have access to regenerating potions or even a wand.
"Of course, I'm serious! Why not? " he said, standing up and walking out from the living room.
"But... We just met!... Aren't you afraid?... I could Robb you...Or I could be a killer..." asked Sirius.
Ryan stopped at the door frame and turn his head in his direction, smiling at him.
" You are none of that, Evan, and you know it...I believe that we were meant to meet...For some reason, we were met to find each other." he said before adding, his face closing," And there is nothing of value here you could take, except my experience witch I will gladly share with you... My life left me years ago, so you'll be killing no more than an old empty carcass " pointing a finger at a cabinet in the corner of the room, where rested a woman's photograph next to a flowerpot. "Anyway, feel free to make yourself at home, Evan, you know where your room is, and dinner is at 8 pm. If you'll excuse me, I'm late for my nap," he said before leaving the living room.
Alone in the living room, stunned by what was happening, Sirius slumped down on the armchair where he was sitting and rubbed his face with his hands. He began to think of Ryan's words. Were they meant to meet? Sirius wasn't the kind of man to leave anything to fate, he didn't believe in fate anyway, but he had to admit that landing in a man's home, as welcoming as Ryan after drifting from the North Sea was enough to rethink his beliefs. He turned his eyes to look at the altar that Ryan had settled to honor his late wife; that was something James would have done if Lily had died before him.
Ryan had gone through a pain Sirius could relate to, the grief following the loss of someone who meant the world, so maybe he was right when he said that his experience could be a great help. Thinking about James, the image of a mini-James came to him. Harry, the only family he had left. The one whose memory of, made him find light deep in darkness and gave him the strength to fight back the dementor's powers.
Hagrid had told him he was to be sent to his aunt; those were Dumbledore's orders ... To bring Harry directly to Dumbledore... It was undoubtedly because Dumbledore was firmly convinced about Sirius' guilt. He believed him to be the traitor, and Sirius knew he could only blame himself. If James agreed not to tell a word to Dumbledore, Lily instead thought it was better to include Dumbledore in the plan, but Sirius and James took her out of it. Did she see something they missed in Peter?
Sirius could live with the idea of the entire world believing him guilty of the worst crimes, but the only thing he couldn't handle was not being there for Harry. Not seeing him grow up. It made him rabid, but at the same time, he knew it was for Harry's sake to be far from him.
Petunia and Lily didn't get on, but Harry had nothing to do with it. Petunia and her husband would definitely take care of him and raise him in a loving home. Now, he remembered Lily saying that Petunia had a son the same age as Harry. So, the two would grow up as brothers and be inseparable the same way James and Sirius did.
Yes, Harry would be better off with his uncle and aunt; they would give him what at this moment Sirius could never do. Not forgetting that Remus would regularly visit, take him to Quidditch games and will tell him all about his parents. For the time being, Dumbledore knew better. Sirius had to get back on his feet, find a way to prove his innocence, and become the godfather Harry needed.
At the same time, London:
When Kingsley pushed open the Muggle shop front door, the sound of a bell hanging over the door announced his arrival and a young man sitting on the counter reading a magazine raised his head to look at him before leaving the counter to greet him with a big smile. Looking closely at the shop, Kingsley deduced that he must have been in the right place; it was full of objects that Muggles call "electronics." All along the wall were televisions of all sizes and different brands; in the middle, shelves were displaying cameras and other items whose possible function was utterly unknown to him. Once in front of the young employee, he took the videocassette out of his pocket.
"Hello, sir! Welcome to Ritcher sounds! I'm Kevin, how can help you today," said the employee smiling wildly at him.
"Hello." Said Kingsley." I came across this at my grandparents' house during a move; I think it contains a video of a wedding, but the video's quality is terrible. Is there any way to improve it?"
Kevin looked at the videocassette, unsure of himself.
"Probably... My coworker might know better," he said before yelling, " HEY CRIVEY, COME OVER HERE!"
A second later, another boy of the same age rushed out of the back shop, greeted Kingsley politely before turning to his colleague.
"What's the matter, Kevin?
Kevin handed him the videocassette " This gentleman would like to know if you could do something to improve the quality of this."
"Er...Maybe..." he said" Let's go to my office and see what we can do about it," he said to Kingsley.
"The back shop is not your 'office' David..." said Kevin, rolling his eyes.
David ignored Kevin and gestured to Kingsley to follow him into the back shop where a small desk was set up, a small television, and a rectangular device that seemed to be connected to the television by a sort of thin black rubber rope. They stood in front of the desk, and Kingsley watched the young man slip the video cassette into a slot in the device. A moment later, the video appeared on the television.
"So, you're one of us?" said David
" I beg your pardon?" asked Kingsley,
"You know what I'm talking about..." said David with a wink.
Kingsley raised an eyebrow at him. Did this man know about wizards and magic, or was he talking about something else...David added:
"There is no reason to hide it or be embarrassed... Paranormal events are a reality, in the United States they take it very seriously, there are tv shows about it..."
Kingsley smiled, false alert," So you believe in ghosts?"
David looked behind his back, making sure the other boy wasn't around.
"Believe it or not, mate...But I do...Just the other day, I was in my brother's house babysitting my nephew, Colin." he whispered to him. " I tucked him in his bed, did everything the right way for once, only, I forgot his teddy bear on the dresser...When I came back later to check on him, I swear to god that he was cuddling his teddy bear."
Kingsley smiled, no there is no poltergeist in your brother's place, but he should expect a letter from Hogwarts in the next ten years.
"Who knows...There are many things still to be studied," said Kingsley
David seemed satisfied by his answer, " Yeah, you get it!"
Kingsley nodded at him and looked back at the television, " So, is there something you can do about it?"
"Yeah, I'll try something ...But, you'll have to leave it here, I have a few ideas. However, I don't guarantee anything." He said, " I'll need a week, is it okay for you?
Kingsley wasn't okay with it at all; capturing Sirius Black was a top priority. Every moment outside Azkaban represented a substantial danger for the entire population.
"Can you speed it up?" he asked.
David pondered for a moment before replying, " Listen...Let's say a week tops, but if I get it done before, I'll ring you? Deal?"
Kingsley wasn't satisfied, but he didn't understand how muggle technology worked, so he was forced to believe him.
"Fine, I leave you my contact details, " handing him a business card." please call me as soon as you have something."
David took it from him" No problem, I'll get started as soon as possible and contact you as soon as the job is done."
Kingsley nodded before leaving the shop, smiled at the irony that would be if a muggle ended helping solve a case involving death eaters...Perhaps the Ministry of Magic should consider working with Muggles on a more regular basis... For the moment, Sirius Black had given no sign of life; maybe he drowned...After all, even during summer, the North Sea was frozen and agitated...
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