A/N: O.K.. A few things that need clearing up apparently from ya'lls questions (P.A.R. is from the south. 'Ya'll' is a perfectly good word. Leave me alone.)
First, The Bonds That Tie is an A.U. (Alternate Universe) story. A little 'what if' going on here, folks. That being, what if Sirius hadn't gone to Azkaban and ended up with Harry like he should have. Work with me.
Also, in this story, as of right now, Sirius might well be under suspicion by the ministry, but he hasn't been out-rightly accused of anything.
Third, there is not one, count them, not one single thing that carries over from any of my other stories into this one. This is a completely independent story.
One last thing.
P.A.R. is now pleased to announce she is no longer a member of the club with the fastest dwindling membership in the world today, 'Those People Who Have Not Seen The Harry Potter Movie'.
Yes, P.A.R. went out today and spent several hours of her life in a movie theater. What can I say? I haven't seen that much slashing since I started reading some of these stories. Honestly! Could they have cut that story any more if they tried?
Also I found Mr. Rickman's presence to be noticeably lacking in the film. Not, mind you, not that P.A.R. is a Snape fan. No, no. I just feel that an actor of Mr. Rickman's talent would have been far more utilized to further enhance and expand the use of the director's own vision for bringing together the manifestations of....ummmmmm......Oh, all right. P.A.R. is a Snape fan and she was severely disappointed!
Also, as for Mr. Rickman........., ohhhhhhhhhh myyyyyyyyyyyyy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Ohmyohmyohmyohmyohmy!!! Mymymymymymymymymymmmmmmmmm-mmmmmm goodness!!!!!! That...that needs to have a higher rating for adult audiences only! I mean...oh my!!!!!! Really! Honestly!!!! I mean...I mean.....I mean...., ahhhhhhhh, I mean, I'm sure Mr. Rickman is a very nice man and I hope he wins some type of award.
O.K.?
Thank you.
On with the story.
Chapter Two: Food And Shelter
Miles away from Privet Drive, Sirius sat on the stoop of an abandoned building. In his lap Harry lay quietly staring up at him, as though sensing the adult's unease.
When Sirius had entered the Dursley's house, the row with Harry's Uncle Vernon had started almost immediately, as soon as the Dursley's realized who, or better, what, Sirius was. Accusations flew fast and furious between the two men, with Vernon Dursley backing his family away from the man ranting in his living room.
But all Sirius wanted was the muggles out of his way. And since his mere presence seemed to frighten them senseless, he decided to play to that. Picking up his godson out of his playpen, Sirius pulled out his wand as he turned back to the Dursley's and asked Harry what he would like him to turn his uncle into.
That was all it took to send the two adults running from the house, the woman carrying her own over-sized baby in her arms.
"Stupid muggles." Sirius muttered.
A soft cooing caused him to turn to the baby he now held in his arms. A bright smile suddenly crossed his face. The first he had shown in months. "Well, now." Sirius cooed back at his godson. "What shall we do with you, Harry?"
The baby grabbed a tiny fistful of Sirius' hair and yanked.
"Owwww!" Sirius carefully pulled his hair back from Harry grasp. "Not the hair, Kiddo, OK? Godfather is very fond of his hair. Would like to keep it."
The baby smiled.
No matter how small, the smile got a beaming response from Sirius. "Well, there we go. You still know how to smile anyway. So, what do you say? 'Get the heck out of here' sound like a plan to you?"
The baby cooed softly.
Sirius headed for the back yard. "All right, Kiddo. Let's get out of here then before the bad ministry wizards show up and do something very unpleasant to Sirius."
Harry cooed softly again and pulled at the corner of his blanket. But as they stepped out the back door, Harry caught sight of Sirius finger resting on the blanket in front of him and, grabbing hold of it, yanked it into his mouth and happily began chewing on it.
"Oww!" Sirius pulled his finger free. He shook his head as he moved past the anti-apparation spells. "Gotta get this kid something to chew on." He told himself as they quickly disappeared into the night.
Sirius never saw the dozen or more black robed figures that apparated just outside the line of the spells in front of the house. A flare of green light hit the wards straight on just as Sirius and Harry disapparated beyond the hedge in the back yard. Seconds later the house erupted in a violent explosion.
For several more minutes Sirius sat on the stoop as he thought over what to do next. He wondered if the Dursley's had even bothered to report to anyone that Harry was gone.
'Probably glad to be rid of him.' Sirius thought as he glanced down at his godson, who was now happily chewing on the corner of the sleeve of Sirius' robe. But for the life of him he couldn't think of why anyone would be happier without Harry around.
Sirius couldn't help but smile at the baby. He couldn't believe he actually had him. After months of sitting in Remus house, able to do nothing more than stare at his godson through a spy-glass, he was finally holding the tiny infant in his arms.
His godson was now his.
His responsibility.
His to care for.
His to love.
Sirius didn't think he could be any happier.
Thankfully, Harry had been fairly quiet up until now. But Sirius knew that was only going to last as long as he wasn't hungry or in need of being changed.
Sirius thought for a moment, frowning for the first time as thoughts of reality began to settle in. If he hadn't let his temper get the better of him, he probably could have simply asked the Dursley's for Harry and they would have gladly given him to him. But he had to make a show of it, and now the ministry probably had him tagged as some lunatic kidnapper. That certainly would put an end to his being able to get to any of his money. If he could only access a fraction of what was in his vault, he and Harry would be living in the lap of luxury by sunup. Instead, at the moment he wasn't sure where they would be living at sunup. Nor was he sure, suddenly, how he was going to take care of the tiny baby in his lap.
Sirius looked about him. It was still early in the Spring and it was raining nearly every day and night. Thankfully Sirius had remembered a good waterproofing spell that he had cast on the blanket Harry was wrapped in that could now also serve as a type of rain-poncho to keep the infant dry and warm. For his own part Sirius was dressed in a pair of jeans and thick boots, with a shirt on underneath his leather jacket. All of this Sirius had performed the waterproofing spell on.
At least neither one of them was going to get wet at the moment.
But there were still the other problems to deal with.
Sirius looked around the street and spied a small muggle grocery store that was open on the corner.
Places like that always had diapers and baby food, he told himself. And it shouldn't be too hard for Padfoot to acquire what was needed.
The only problem now was what to do with Harry in the meantime.
Turning around, Sirius tapped the lock on the door behind him with his wand and muttered the spell to open it. Lighting his wand he carefully crept into the old building.
The inside was much as he expected to find it. Old boxes and crates littered the floor here and there and a layer of dust covered everything. Opening one of the boxes, Sirius pulled some old, crumpled-up paper out of it and carefully laid his godson inside.
"All right, now, Harry," Sirius said as he made sure Harry was wrapped snuggly in his blanket, "we'll just wait for you to go to sleep and Padfoot will see about dinner."
Within a few minutes Harry had drifted off and Sirius seized the moment to gather supplies.
Placing a concealment charm on the box, Sirius transformed into Padfoot and hurried outside, closing the door after him with his paws and making sure that it was locked again with his teeth. Finally satisfied Harry would be safe for a few minutes, Sirius hurried off down the block towards the store.
For several minutes the large black dog sat on the curb watching as people came and went past the store. Streams of heated air formed into small clouds of puffed steam in the rain-chilled night air in front of the dog's face as he sat contemplating his plan. If his plan was to have any chance to succeed, he needed the worker inside to be distracted for a few seconds. And that required a customer. Finally, to Sirius' relief, just as he was starting to feel the cold through his fur, several people entered the store at once. Bounding across the street in between a few cars going past, Sirius hurried over to the store and nudged his way in with the last customer. Sirius quickly located the aisle he needed, but found himself presented with another problem. He needed food and diapers. But he could only carry one or the other in his mouth. And Harry probably needed milk as well. Sirius sighed to himself as he looked quickly around.
Well, desperate times called for improvising, he told himself.
Grabbing a package of diapers in his teeth, Sirius tried to nonchalantly head for the door. But as he passed the loaves of bread on the shelf, he made another grab and then broke into a run. Thankfully, one of the customers had just opened the door. Sirius sprinted out the open door and took off down the street. A few shouts from customers echoed after him from the store, but no one attempted to follow him. From what he could tell, the store owner wasn't even aware of what had happened.
Sirius didn't stop running until he got back to the abandoned building. And his anxiety didn't abate until he had Harry back in his arms and he knew he was all right.
Finding an old plastic bag in the rubble, Sirius stuffed their supplies into it. He then gathered Harry up into his arms and quickly fled the building. It wasn't a good idea, he reasoned, to stay in the area, just in case someone had seen him. But it was still early in the evening and finding another abandoned building to sleep in shouldn't be too hard. In a few days he would try to contact Remus and see if things had settled down enough that he could bring Harry back there without risking the ministry trying to take him away. Once he had Harry settled somewhere safe and protected, he would go to see Dumbledore and explain everything. Surely now he had a viable argument for keeping his godson.
An hour later Sirius managed to find what he felt was a suitable place for them to spend the night. The inside of the building wasn't very clean, but it was shelter from the elements.
Once inside Sirius managed to get Harry to eat part of a piece of bread and changed him before settling him down for the night.
Transforming back into Padfoot, Sirius laid down next to his godson. Harry quickly curled up against the warm body and sighed contentedly as he lay against the soft fur. Sirius watched his godson for a few minutes, then curled his bushy tail around until it covered the baby. Eventually he laid his head down on his paws and settled off into an uneasy sleep.
It was late in the afternoon when Remus answered the knock at the door to his small cottage. He had been sitting in his front room before the fire thinking over the events of the past days. Trying to make some sense of them.
Why had Sirius had to act so rashly? Why couldn't he have listened and waited? Waited to see what Dumbledore had to say. What he would suggest they do.
Well, the answer wasn't really all that hard to discern. It was because he was Sirius. Protective. Impulsive. Reckless. Sirius.
And now he was somewhere outside the safety of Remus' little cottage....with Harry.
At least Remus prayed that Sirius was the one who had Harry.
The muggles said they had last seen Harry in the stranger's arms. And he had told them he was taking the baby.
Harry had to be with Sirius.
He had to be.
When Remus opened the door he was greeted by a well-dressed young man who looked for all the world to Remus like a salesman. He was about to tell the young man that he wasn't interested in anything when the man spoke first.
"Mr. Lupin?" He asked with a friendly smile. "Mr. Remus Lupin?"
Remus studied the young man for a moment, then judged there was no harm in admitting to the inquiry.
"That's right." Remus answered with a less than friendly expression. "And who exactly might you be?"
"Mr. Jeffery Calyer, at your service, Sir. I'm with the Ministry of Magic. I've been sent to asked you to come with me back to the ministry, Sir. There's a certain matter the ministry would like to discuss with you."
Remus stood for a moment, then stepped back to let the man in. Ministry members at the house. Now his day was complete.
"And what 'matter' might the ministry want to discuss with me?" Remus asked, trying to sound as unknowing as he could. But he well knew there was only one matter the ministry would want to talk to him about.
"This would be involving the where-abouts of Mr. Sirius Black, Sir. We understand he was a friend of yours. Was staying at your house here before the alleged abduction of the Potter infant."
Remus frowned at the statement. "I have no idea where Mr. Black is." Remus stated, a bit too defensively, he was sure.
"Oh, no, Sir. You misunderstood." The young man quickly replied. "It's not that we think you know where he is at the moment. It's more a case of your helping us find him."
"And why would the ministry think I can find Sirius?"
"Well, Sir, you were friends. He was living here for several months. You must know him fairly well. The ministry is hoping that you might be able to shed some light on where he might be. Perhaps even assist in bringing him......."
"You want me to help you capture my friend?" Remus asked in a very low, even tone.
"No, Sir. Not capture exactly." The young man stammered a bit under Remus' glare.
"Then explain it to me." Remus pressed on.
"Well, Sir," the man stated, "at this point in time the ministry simply wants to question Mr. Black about the incidents at...." The man whipped out a small notebook and flipped through the pages quickly, "....at Number Four, Privet Drive, Sir. Mr. Black was the last person who was established to be at that location. There is, therefore, a very good possibility that Mr. Black, having been at the location, might have seen those responsible for the unfortunate events there and be able to help in identifying them."
Remus gave the young man a small, tight smile.
"Try again." He stated past the smile.
"Sir?"
"Try again. Why does the ministry want to talk to Sirius?"
"Sir?"
"Why does the ministry want to talk to Sirius? And I would appreciate the truth this time."
The man snapped the little notebook shut and stuffed it back into his pocket.
"It's much just the way I explained it to you, Sir." The man replied. "Mr. Black was at Number Four, Privet Drive the night of the unfortunate events at that location. We have established that fact through interviews with the muggles of that location. We know that Mr. Black went to that location to abduct the infant, Harry James Potter, from the care of his relatives, Mr. and Mrs. Dursley."
Remus remained silent rather than contest the reason Sirius went to the Dursley's. Better to hear what they think than try and convince them they're wrong.
"To be quite frank with you, Sir, we aren't really sure what to make of Mr. Black's actions or his possible state, based on what the muggles told us."
"State?" Remus asked.
The man paused for a moment. "Muggles said he was ranting like a lunatic, Sir."
"A lunatic?" Remus raised his eyebrows.
"Muggles said he was accusing them of all sorts of things. Said Black even threatened them with his wand. Said he told them if they mentioned a word of his being there to anyone he'd be coming back. They say that's why they didn't tell the muggle policemen about the Potter child being in their care. Said they were afraid. Can't say as I blame them."
"Really?"
"Well, Sir, think about it." The man's voice dropped to a confidential tone. "I mean, if Black was responsible for destroying that house, that would be an awfully good deterrent, won't it? Show the muggles what a little magic can do."
"Sirius would never have done such a thing."
The man continued in the same tone. "Really, Sir?" The notebook came back out and the man flipped it open once again. "Our reports state that Mr. Black wasn't exactly acting.....like himself."
"You were watching my house?" Remus asked in a low tone again.
"Keeping an eye on things, Sir. Nothing more." The man explained. "But reports show that Mr. Black never once, in several months, Sir, ever left the house." The man snapped the notebook shut and stuffed it again into his pocket. "Now, Sir, would you say that was normal behavior for Mr. Black?"
Remus stood for a moment, lost in thought. Not over what the man had said, but over what it had led him to remember. It wasn't so much that Sirius never left the house that bothered Remus suddenly. It was what Sirius had been doing while he was in the house. A behavior that had become so common place, that Remus suddenly began to wonder if he hadn't mistaken it for normal.
All Sirius had done...for months....was sit on the sofa and stare at his spy-glass.
At his godson.
"Mr. Lupin?"
Remus snapped back to the moment.
"Is everything all right, Sir?" The man asked past a curious expression.
Remus rubbed his eyes. "Not a lot of sleep lately." He stated convincingly. Though it wasn't entirely not the truth.
"Just the same, Sir," the man went on, "even past whatever state Mr. Black may be in due to past.....circumstances, there is still the very real concern over the fact that whoever was responsible for whatever happened to that young child's parents, may very well still be after the boy himself. Which leads to the possibility that said person or persons are now after Mr. Black and the child. And if Mr. Black isn't....." The man voice trailed off as he searched for the right words.
"Playing with a full deck?" Remus offered.
"...quite himself," the young man answered politely, "you would have to agree, that would give the aggressors a slight advantage."
Remus considered the man's statement. A look the young ministry member didn't miss.
"Look, Sir," he pressed on in a less forceful manner, "all we looking for here is to first and foremost make sure everyone's all right. Safe and sound and all that. Setting aside your feelings of us, Mr. Lupin, you have to admit that your friend and the child could be in a great deal of danger. Wandering the streets. Out in the open. There are still some rogue Deatheaters about, Sir. Likely looking for that little baby. Looking for the person who destroyed their leader. And anyone who's with him. We just want to make sure we find them first. That's our main concern. After that we'll look to straightening the rest of it out. But first we simply want to make sure everyone is under the right protection."
Remus stood silently in the door for a few long minutes. Frighteningly enough, the man was suddenly making very good sense. The Deatheaters that were left would likely be looking for Harry. And if Sirius wasn't.....quite himself, he wouldn't be much use at protecting the infant. And if anything were to happen to Harry while he was in Sirius' care, whether he would have been able to stop it or not, Sirius would never be able to forgive himself. That would be something that would certainly drive him right over the edge. And all the ministry wanted was to talk to Sirius. To question him. They had done that before and Sirius had been released.
Remus worked over the pros and cons in his mind as quickly as he could. Finally he turned back to the young man with a very tired stare.
"If you'll give me a minute, I'll just get my coat." He said slowly, heading towards the hall closet.
The young man gave him an overly friendly, tight-lipped smile. "Take your time, Sir." He replied quietly.
Q&A
For Family Life:
Teva Arsen: '*'. That's the gold star P.A.R. is giving you because you mentioned her favorite line in the whole story. Arabella's line "I'm really more of a dog person."
Actually, if you noticed, (and I must say you were very good at catching things in the story), the fact that Harry was walking in on Sirius and Arabella nearly every time things were...getting interesting...was sort of a running joke throughout the story.
Some people liked the fact that Harry wasn't the 'continuous hero' in the story and others did not. So, as you said, to each his own.
Chapter Forty was really difficult to write for me. Not for the content, but simply because I had no idea at the time how I was going to have things work out.
You are so becoming one of P.A.R.'s favorite reviewers. Why? You like Snape and Analisa. I didn't get that many comments on her and was a little disappointed. I thought she made the perfect.....colleague...for Snape.
I'm glad you enjoy my stories. Such a nice reader who reviews. P.A.R. likes you!
If you read my bio page, which a lot of people do for some reason (Folks, it ain't that interesting), I refuse to post stories that aren't either finished, or are reasonably close to being finished. (Slight variation there from what the bio page says). I hope you're enjoying The Bonds That Tie and will continue to review.
By the way, you got some stories out, right? I think I recognize the name of some I've read but didn't revi.....ahhhhhh.......Oh! Look! Isn't Mars bright tonight?
For Fever:
AJaKe: Thank you, thank you, thank you. I always appreciate a favorable review and hope to see you on some of my other stories.
Nicola: As I have stated before, there is very little danger of seeing slash in my stories at present. Especially Snape and Lupin. I have a relationship worked out there that I intend to extend to other stories and changing it would be a bit confusing for my readers I think. Therefore I have no plans to do so. Although to some the relationship may seem a tad 'close', I can assure you, it is not slash.
Mystical Witch: I am sorry to have to inform you, there are no further chapters to Fever. Thirteen was the last chapter to that story. However, characters and certain plot aspects are being continued, not sequeled (I know that's confusing.), in the sequel to Family Life, tentatively titled Family Relations, which is currently in production which contains mostly Harry and Orion, and for a good reason, darn little Sirius.
For The Bonds That Tie:
Good reviewers! Good! Good! Good!
Awwwww, you make P.A.R. so happy!
O.K.. A few things that need answers.
Katy: I get a lot of this and it has me somewhat puzzled. No, no sequel to Fever. Exactly where would I go with it? I thought I wrapped the story up pretty well.
Now, if what people are asking for is a continuation of the story line with Orion Black, yes, it does sort of roll over into the sequel to Family Life, currently in production. Not the story line itself, mind you, but some of the concepts of Fever are there. Other than that, I'm sorry, but I have no intention of sequeling Fever.
Juliana Black: Darn! Forgot to mention that. But it's in the Authors Notes this time. Yes, A.U.! Alternate Universe story.
Yup. Once a week. P.A.R.'s gotta earn a living, ya' know. And she dang (perfectly good word) sure ain't doin' it by writing, since she's wasting her time writing fanfictions right now.
Second?
SECOND?!!!!!!!!
(Go to your room!)
kyra aku riddle: O.K..
Wolf!
How's it going?
What's LotR, Wolf?
You know, I'm a bit perplexed. Why are people insisting on seeing Harry's being taken and the Dursley's house being blown up as one event? And here I thought I was being fairly obvious that the two events did not happen together. There was some time in between them. Oh well, as you know by now from this chapter, they were two separate occurrences and one had absolutely nothing to do with the other really (well, sort of, I guess).
Angst, huh? Boy, are you in for several weeks of pure heaven! This story will grab you by the neck and just keep slapping you almost to the end. You're just going to love it!
Wait a minute! You don't write angst, do you? (Gotta go look at your author's page again).
Lin-z: Awww, thank you.
VMR: As you know by now, no, Sirius was not responsible for what happen to the Dursley's house. And I'm pretty sure I know where the next questions are coming from, so go ahead, people. (i.e: How were the Deatheaters able to blow up the house with all the protection spells on it?) Am I right?
Abbsiegail: Because I didn't want him to?
Rats, that one never works.
O.K., better reason. One of the worst things writers have to contend with is a frustrating habitual habit of forgetting that the reader doesn't know everything we do. It is mostly due to this fault that things (such as mentioned in your review), get left out. In the story, as you'll recall, Sirius was taken in by the ministry and questioned. I would assume the question of the secretkeeper and such was brought up in the line of questioning. I just left it out, assuming everyone thought the same way I did.
Make Sense?
Leandra: '*' Gold star to you, dear! Yes! Harry being taken and the Dursley's house being destroyed were the acts of two separate people!
Why didn't Sirius tell anyone Peter was the secretkeeper? See above answer.
I don't know that it would make life any easier for Sirius. He's still the ministry's number one suspect in James and Lily's deaths.
The Bonds That Tie is an A.U. and will not line up with J.K. Rowling's story line in any way but characters.
Zimmy Russell: O.K., guys, we have a deal here, remember? Every Sunday. P.A.R. can't do more than that right now.
Still looking into the Jolt Cola thing.
As you know from this chapter, Sirius is the one who took Harry, who is now in his godfather's loving, albeit some what haphazard, care.
Teva Arsen: Awwww, there we are. One of P.A.R.'s favorites. Such a nice long review. Such good questions.
Ummm....why did Sirius escape what?
The Ties That Bond is an alternate universe story. It follows canon up to the deaths of James and Lily (There's a short distance!), then veers off sharply in another direction.
I write horror-fantasy, science-fiction, and a little mystery.
I think I was a bit harsh about saying some people have a problem with the fact I won't post stories that aren't finished or aren't nearly finished. The people that appreciated it far outnumbered the one's who didn't.
As I've said before, I feel I have a certain commitment to anyone who takes the time to read my stories. Among them are finishing them. I share you frustration in that I have started a number of stories that really got my interest only to find the author's never post again.
People, this is horribly frustrating! Please, be courteous to your readers. Finish what you start.
Ewwww....P.A.R. hopes she does none of the above.(a-d).
Ohhhhh, no, no, no. Say it as often as you like. Honestly, you people have no idea how much I look forward to getting on fanfiction.net every day and reading your reviews.
A.E. Lupin: (And the award going out to the most unpronounceable name is.........)
Just kidding. But heavens, ya' gotta admit, it's a mouthful!
Yeah, few more chapters.
Kiara O. Lawrence: P.A.R. is sooooooooooooo sorry!
Specialer? Sounds like a perfectly good word to me!
Wolf's one of your reviewers, huh? Sounds like we got a writers/reviewers group going here, people.
I'll have to go look into your story.
Whisp!
How're ya' doin'?
Ya' know, I'm gonna get to some of your stories. I swear.
Everybody lives happily ever after? Yeah! Right!
Ummmmmmm......I'm not sayin' nothin' more on that next one.
Marie Potter: P.A.R. are the initials of my pen name.
Dumbledore's True Love: Yeah! Another of my favorites!
Yes! Rootbeer counts!
I absolutely love this question. Don't asked me why. I just do. Probably because it's so long. I love long questions, long reviews,.......
Anyway.
A little legal background. Under the law, (U.S. law), Sirius has less of a claim to Harry than his blood relatives, the Dursley's. Dumbledore really had little to do with saying who Harry would go to. I don't doubt for a minute he probably had his hand in it somewhere seeing to it that things went to way that would benefit(?) Harry the most, but if Sirius had gone to court against the Dursley's for custody of Harry, he would most certainly have lost. So, yes, Sirius could be denied custody of Harry. A godparent has very little legal right to a child against the claim of a blood relative.
Ummmmm...don't remember anything about the will in the books. (Don't think I said anything about one in my story either, did I?) But again, even if James and Lily had stated clearly, in black and white, in their will, that Harry was to go to Sirius if anything were to happen to them, the Dursley's could still contest it and likely win.
Actually, the ministry is keeping a watch on Sirius....or was.
Yeah. It's kind of pathetic, ain't it? But it's just that kind of a story.
That is deep! You can just color me impressed! I guess the spy-glass does contain some of the same qualities as the Mirror of Erised.
Now come on! How could anyone even remotely expect that Sirius would see his godson being out-right abused and not do anything about it?
O.K. with me? I love answering theories and guesses. I find them usually refreshingly challenging.
Lotesse: Ah! The future English teacher strikes again.
Actually, there was a reason this story came out so soon. That'll come out later. About two weeks, to be exact.
I'm sorry. I'll try to be 'endlessly amusing' in another story, O.K.? I thought A Dog's Day qualified.
The Bonds That Tie is an A.U. (alternate universe) story. Sirius has already been taken in by the ministry and questioned, but was released basically for lack of evidence.
Currently Sirius has no idea if Peter had anything to do with James and Lily's deaths or not. Nor will it likely be addressed in this story in any great detail. Yes, yes. I know that Peter was the secretkeeper and therefore it's sort of a given he had something to do with what happened to James and Lily, but currently the little rat is keeping a low profile.
Why would Sirius obey the ministry? Why wouldn't he? He's got everything as good as he can get it for the moment. (Not the way he wants it, just as good as he can have things for now). Also, Sirius isn't quite.......how to say it nicely...........'functioning' right now. I mean, you know, 'all the lights are on, but nobody's home'. What snaps him out of that is seeing Harry being out-rightly abused by Uncle Vernon.
I think you're retaining your sanity quite well. You still asked some of the most in-depth and interesting questions I get.
Liz Skywalker: Sorry. Only on Sundays due to time restrains.
LauraBlade: I'm glad you're enjoying the story.
I'm glad you like Harry the way I write him. Some people do. Some do not.
Actually, for a baby, I think he has a lot of character.
All right, I'll keep posting until it's done. So remember, we have a deal.
All reviews are as of 01132002. If I missed you, I apologize. If you need an answer to a question, please repost it with a note that I missed you.
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O.K., just a general posting here, folks. Just a little suggestion from the author. I don't mind flames. As far as I'm concerned, you can't be any worse than my editor, and you're welcome to try. So, flame away.
There is one thing I do take exception to, however, and that is please, please, please, do NOT threaten the author. I take GREAT exception to this type of review. Whether in fun or being completely serious, it bothers me when people write something that is outrightly hostile, directed at me. And it will get you ignored. So please, I won't do it to you, don't do it to me.
Thank you for letting me vent.
See you next week.