A/N: O.K., 'credit where credit is due' time, folks.
Unicorn Whisperer gets credit for sort of giving me the idea for this added chapter. As I said before, I felt that there was more I could do with this story than as it originally stands. To me, it moves too fast and misses some vital scenes. And sometimes in your reviews you ask legitimate questions that, should I not add chapters, would never get answered. Thus, this chapter came out of some things Unicorn Whisperer asked about, that, feeling the story didn't adequately deal with, I wrote this chapter to fill in the blanks. So, you guys can thank Unicorn Whisperer that the story is now one chapter longer than it was the week before.
Also, a quick word to you guys. Several of you over the course of these stories have stated you've been out looking for books with my initials on them. Whereas I appreciate the interest (really) in wanting to read some of my original work, I don't want to see anyone wasting their time. So let me give you some advice.
Stop.
I thought I mentioned this earlier, but maybe not. I haven't published a book in a few years. Books go out of publication in a few months these days. There are just so many of them, book stores switch them over every few weeks. So the chances you would be able to find anything by me rates somewhere between slim and nill.
Sorry. But please, continue to enjoy the ones I put up here.
Chapter Three 'A': Misunderstandings
Sirius stood on the side walk, bathed in the dim light of the street lamp on the corner as he stared in the window of the store he had paused in front of. Inside several store window display televisions were showing the late night news cast. The irritating little man who was the news anchor was just wrapping up his last story about the large, black dog who had been nearly caught stealing from a neighborhood convince store.
Sirius swore softly as he stared at the television screen.
"Just wonderful." He lamented finally. "After everything else, now I'm making the eleven o'clock news. So, are you proud of me, Harry?" He asked, turning the baby resting in his arms to face him. "Godfather Sirius made the news tonight. Now not only is half the country out looking for me probably, now their looking for Padfoot as well."
Sirius sighed quietly as he turned and headed off down the street towards the abandoned building he had found for them to stay in that night. He had hoped to get out that night and find them something to eat. But Harry had been fussy about things that evening and refused to go to sleep. So Sirius had hoped a little walk would put him to sleep. But the baby simply wouldn't cooperate.
Unfortunately, not being able to get Harry to go to sleep meant Sirius couldn't go out looking for food. And being unable to get them any supper wasn't helping with Harry's mood one bit.
Back at the abandon building, Sirius flattened out a cardboard box to give them some insulation off the cold, stone floor. Transforming into Padfoot, Sirius did his level best to get Harry to go to sleep, right down to allowing Harry to play with his tail for a good thirty minutes. But the baby continued to fuss over things and still won't go to sleep.
Blowing a snort of air out of his muzzle, Padfoot flopped his head down on his front paws in resolute surrender. It looked like it was going to be a sleepless night for everybody.
But after several minutes passed, Padfoot suddenly jerked his head up again, both ear pointed towards the door.
Soft footsteps echoed down the corridor.
Someone was in the building!
Padfoot got to his feet as Harry, who had been crawling over his back, rolled off of him onto the cardboard bed.
Well, being deprived of his bed as well as his entertainment, and having nothing to eat that night, was about all Harry could stand for one day. Without any preamble, the baby let out an ear spitting wail of distress.
Padfoot nearly jumped to the ceiling at the sudden cry from his godson. But almost immediately his head snapped back to the door.
"Heavens above!" A man's voice exclaimed from the darkness beyond the doorway. "Did you hear that, Maudy? That sounded like a baby!"
"Aye!" A young female voice answered. "I know a baby when I hear one, Garry. We best see what's up. Maybe they need some help."
Padfoot took a protective position over Harry as he positioned himself so all four feet encircled the baby. He easily could have transformed back into a man and tried to talk his way out of whatever trouble was heading their way. But he also had no idea what sort of trouble was heading their way. And maybe the trouble didn't want to talk.
As he heard the footsteps growing closer, he put on his most threatening face and waited to see what would happen.
Soon he saw a dim light enter the corridor, which grew brighter as it approached the doorway. A second later a young man stepped around the corner of the doorway holding a flashlight in front of him.
Padfoot gave a low, threatening growl as the light settled on him.
"Good........" The man's voice trailed off as he stared at the huge, shaggy, black dog. "Maudy! It's a dog." The man exclaimed in a hushed whisper.
"That weren't no dog we heard." The girl replied. "That was a baby."
The man redirected the light carefully as not to startle the animal.
"Oh, saints above!" He stated in a hushed whisper.
"What is it, Garry?" She asked, coming into the room behind the man, but stopping abruptly at the sight of the large canine.
"Maudy," the man stated quietly, "the dog's got the baby between his feet. He probably was....you know...hurting the baby. Now he probably thinks we're here trying to take his supper away from him."
A frightened hand went to the girl's mouth. "Oh! Garry, we have to get that little baby away from him."
The man waved the girl back behind him. "You go get some help. I'll stay here. Make sure he doesn't try and hurt the baby further." The man replied.
Padfoot back up a few steps, listening to the conversation and not liking it one bit. Backing up far enough that he now had Harry in front of him, Padfoot reached down and picked the baby up by his diaper and took a few more steps back.
"Garry!" The girl exclaimed in a terrified voice. "He's going to try and make a run for it! And he's got the baby!"
Padfoot heard the click of the switchblade coming out, even though he never saw the knife itself.
"He ain't taking that baby nowhere." The man declared defiantly.
Padfoot pulled back several more steps. Then he realized quite suddenly that the only thing between him and the man's knife.......was Harry.
Padfoot quickly ducked his head, giving it a good swing as he tossed the baby back between his front feet hard enough that Harry rolled into his back legs with a solid hit.
Satisfied that Harry was out of any immediate danger, Padfoot turned back to the man and bared his teeth again.
"Garry!" The girl cried. "What are we gonna do? We can't leave that baby here. He'll kill it for sure!"
The man turned briefly back to his companion. "I told you to go get some help!" He stated sharply. "I can't get the kid away from him by myself, now can I?"
Sirius listened intently to the conversation. A sudden hope started to grow in his mind as he realized the man was as afraid of him as he was of Harry being taken from him.
Hoping to use the man's fear against him, Padfoot suddenly arched his back up, bristled up his hair, hunched his massive shoulders, and let his mouth hang slightly open. Rivulets of Silva ran from each large canine as Padfoot growled low in his throat at the man before him.
To Padfoot's absolute delight, the man visibly paled at the sight.
"Oh saints above!" The man whispered. "This dog's got rabies."
Rabies!?
Sirius nearly transformed back in utter indignation at the suggestion. Ready to unleash a tirade on the man that he wouldn't know a dog with rabies if it was wearing a sign. Rabies, indeed. Didn't the idiot recognize an angry, not insane, dog when he saw one? But abruptly Padfoot realized that the man was likely more afraid of being bitten by a rabid dog than an angry one. With this in mind, the dog took several swiping bites at the man as he held the knife out in front of him.
The man took several rapid steps back. In his hasty retreat from the snapping jaws, he managed to trip over his own feet and landed on his back on the cement floor. But through it all he kept the knife held out in front of him.
Padfoot took several more swiping bites at the man, who waved his knife in front of him to ward off the massive dog. Then sensing a good opening, the dog reached between its front feet and grabbed hold of their small bag of supplies as well as the small bundle resting against its back legs. Pulling Harry out from cover, Padfoot took careful aim and with one massive leap, cleared his body over the man's and headed for the door. The only thing between him and freedom now was the wisp of a girl who had come in with the man.
Padfoot didn't see her as much of an obstacle and so he didn't give much thought to her, directing his attention on getting Harry out of danger. But as Padfoot ran for the door where the girl stood, she suddenly looked about in a panic, and, bending down, picked something up off the floor. With all her might the girl blindly swung her arm out in one last ditch effort to stop the dog as it ran past her.
The next sound Padfoot heard was the worst of his life. The baby being suspended from his jaws howled in pain and Padfoot could suddenly taste blood in his mouth.
Instinctively dropping the infant behind him, Padfoot swung about to meet the attacker.
The girl's eyes showed nothing but fear as she suddenly found herself staring into a jagged row of angry teeth. The large shard of glass in her hand fell to the floor with a deafening clatter as the dog growled very low in its throat. Behind him the baby wailed its pain again.
Looking up slowly, the girl found herself now looking into the eyes of the dog. Eyes that showed an all to human emotion of pure hatred.
But a sudden flash between them broke both their stares.
In an instant Padfoot realized that the man had stepped back into the fight and that, in the dim light, the knife had missed his muzzle by only a fraction of an inch as the man swung it at him. Pulling back, Padfoot grabbed the supplies and Harry once again in his mouth and made for the front door of the building. He completely ignored the cries of the two people behind him and just kept running. He had to get to somewhere safe where he could stop and check Harry. See how badly he was injured.
Padfoot lost track of how far he had run. The growing panic in his mind simply drove him on. He had to get as far from muggles as he could before he stopped to check Harry. But not knowing how bad the injury was, he didn't want to risk going to long before checking it. So eventually the second worry outweighed the first and Padfoot finally stopped in a small field outside of the town. Laying Harry down in the grass, Sirius quickly transformed back into himself and, lighting the tip of his wand, began checking over his godson for injury. He could still taste the blood in his mouth, and he was sure the injury had to be something significant.
But as he continued to frantically search the baby for injury, Sirius suddenly breathed a sigh of relief when he found the cut. It was on the back of Harry's left arm, and was really little more than a deep scratch. Just enough to cause it to bleed. Harry had evidently hit his arm against Padfoot's mouth right where the cut was, and that was why he had tasted the blood so easily.
With tears of relief in his eyes, Sirius picked Harry up from the soft grass.
"Well," Sirius commented as he started walking towards the bright lights in the distance of the next town, "you certainly gave godfather a bit of a scare, Harry."
Harry looked solemnly up at his godfather. He didn't like the sound of his usually comforting voice. All in all, he was still hungry. But food didn't seem forthcoming any time in the near future, despite how desperately he had tried to convey to the adult his need. And the events around him kept changing so fast, that at the moment he was just waiting for things to settle down. But now his comforting voice sounded so sad. Harry hated it when the adult sounded this way. Usually the voice was teasing, or playful, and sometimes even a little stern. But Harry hated it the most when it was sad. At those times, Harry didn't feel as safe and protected as he usually did in the man's arms. He tried to hold his tears back, since that only seemed to make things worse. Like when he cried in front of the other adults who would then yell at him. But he couldn't stop the feeling building up inside of him and soon one large tear rolled down his small cheek.
True to form, the distress in the man's voice came out loud and clear.
"Oh, no." Sirius pleaded quickly. "Not that, Harry. Anything but that. You know what that does to godfather."
Harry knew all too well. But he simply couldn't turn off his feelings with any success, and another tear brimmed over in the other eye.
"All right, all right." Sirius muttered to himself. "Think of something, Sirius. What would cheer him up?"
Sirius thought for a minute, then suddenly a smile crept across his face.
"Oh, I know what will do it." He answered the baby's questioning look with a small smile.
As he continued to walk down the road, a soft lullaby began to fill the night air, followed shortly by the contented cooing of a small child.
The next night the tides seemed for a moment to turn for Sirius when Padfoot happened to sniff up a ten pound note in an alleyway.
Ecstatic at his good fortune, Sirius headed for a small local pub he had noticed in the area and ordered up a small glass of milk for Harry. All the baby had had to eat that day was a small crust of bread Sirius still had from their bag of dwindling supplies and a little water from a water fountain.
The barmaids all fussed like crazy over the baby. One managed to find an infant's cup in the back on a shelf and put the milk in it before offering it to Harry. But the baby only stared at the brightly colored cup for a few minutes without taking it.
"Go on, Jack. Take it." Sirius coaxed his godson.
'Jack' was what Sirius called Harry whenever they were in public since he had no idea if the police had released Harry's name to the public or not. And he had wanted a name that was as far sounding from Harry as possible.
Harry stared at the cup for a few more minutes, then turned abruptly and burrowed his face into Sirius' coat, enlisting a round of 'Awwww's' from the barmaids. But for Harry it was simply too much attention and too many people for his liking. He grabbed hold of his godfather's coat and pulled it around him to hide from view as much as possible, enlisting another chorus of 'Awwww's' from the barmaids. Sirius reached out and took the pre-offered cup and thanked the girl holding it with his most charming smile. The barmaids stood about watching as Sirius nudged Harry in the back with the cup, coaxing him out with a soft, reassuring voice.
Very slowly Harry peered back out from the folds of Sirius' jacket. It took several tries to get Harry to stay in view since, at the sight of all the faces peering at him and the chorus of 'Awwww's' every time he did anything, he wasn't very keen on abandoning the safe cave of his godfather's coat. But at the constant nudging and coaxing of the one person he knew and trusted, Harry finally reached tentatively for the cup. With Sirius' help, Harry brought the cup to his mouth and carefully sampled the contents. But within seconds the cup was suddenly upended by Harry as he sucked eagerly at the small opening, enlisting once again the round of 'Awww's' from the barmaids. A different girl quickly offered to refill the cup as Harry began waving it at the gathering. As she hurried off, several of the others began chatting with Sirius, who quickly realized that had the situation not been so desperate, this would have been a great set up. Baby's were babe-magnets, Sirius discovered. Half of the gathered barmaids were playing with Harry as he sat in Sirius' lap, while the other half were flapping their eyelashes at his godfather.
"Oy!" Came a sudden call from the bar.
The girls looked over their shoulders at the barkeeper.
"I'm not paying you girls to baby-sit." He called. "Get on with it now."
The girls loudly voiced their disappointment and slowly began drifting off back to the other tables as the one returned with the glass of milk.
Having learned quickly, Harry reached out two tiny arms for the cup as soon as he saw it. The barmaid obligingly handed the cup over to Harry's two eagerly grasping hands. The girl hung about for a little bit, talking with Sirius, until the barkeeper called her off as well.
"Well, how about that, Harry?" Sirius whispered to his godson as Harry again eagerly sucked down the glass of milk. "You, my little godson, are the world's biggest babe-magnet. They love you. Godfather will have to remember that when this mess is all straightened out. Take you out with him to bars. You think Remus will like that?"
Harry stared up at his godfather past the bottom of the cup. All that mattered to him at the moment was that milk kept coming out of the hole in the top of the cup. But that soon stopped and Harry stared down at the cup for a second before eagerly waving it in Sirius' face, managing one good hit on his godfather's nose with it to make sure he had his attention.
"You can't want more?" Sirius asked. "You've had two already."
Harry waved the cup enthusiastically, again whapping Sirius on the nose with it. And when that didn't get instant results, Harry turned about in his godfather's lap and began waving the cup in the air.
That had worked last time.
Sirius shook his head and waved to one of the barmaids, who practically apparated across the bar.
"Once more, little guy?" She asked in a high, cute voice as she wiggled a finger at the baby.
Harry happily giggled and reached out for the offered finger.
"I'm hoping he stops there." Sirius lamented. "I only....brought a ten pound note with me."
The girl waved him off. "Oh, don't even bother with it, Sir. The girls are seeing to it." Sirius looked up to see a few of the barmaids wave at him and a few others wink. Sirius gave them a small wave back. No need to encourage them with a wink, he told himself. Not with a baby around.
"So you just give this little man all he wants." The barmaid added as she took the cup Harry was waving at her.
Sirius suddenly put on one of his most charming smiles as he looked up hopefully at the barmaid. "I don't suppose," he asked quietly, "that we might have a small piece of bread that he could soak in that next cup? You see, we haven't gotten home in time for supper yet. Been a long day out in the country, I'm afraid. Poor Jack's famished."
The barmaid cooed at the baby. "Ohhhhh, is little Jacky hungry. I think we can get him a nice biscuit to go with his milk. Yes we can."
Sirius smiled his appreciation at the barmaid as she hurried off as Harry bounced happily in his lap. "Well, looks like you're getting your own supper tonight, Harry." Sirius whispered to his godson.
Harry didn't seem to mind. The pretty woman was leaving again. The last time she did that, she came back with milk. Harry waited in happy anticipation.
In a matter of minutes, sure enough, the barmaid was back. In her one hand she carried the same cup and a nice large biscuit for Harry, who quickly reached for them both as he began babbling off a string of syllables in anticipation. In her other hand she carried a large bowl that she sat down in front of Sirius.
Almost immediately the smell of stew made Sirius' stomach growl loudly.
The girl giggled. "Just as I thought." She said with a smile. "I figured if the little guy hadn't eaten, neither had his father."
Sirius quickly pulled back from the bowl. "That's very kind of you." He said quickly, before his resolve broke completely. "But I told you, I only have...."
"Don't worry about it." The barmaid said in a hushed whisper as she leaned over the table with a smile. "Consider it a fair trade for getting to serve this little cutie." She added, pinching Harry's cheek.
Sirius smiled his thanks again, although inwardly he cringed.
"Sorry about that, Harry." Sirius said after the barmaid left and as Harry took a bite of his biscuit after Sirius dunked it in the cup of milk after he took the lid off. "Looks like you were the one who had to work for our supper tonight."
Harry stared up at Sirius with his to large green eyes, happily chewing away on his biscuit.
Sirius did his level best not to attack the stew like a starving man. Inbetween bites he would take Harry's biscuit and dunk it in the thick stew broth so Harry had a little something more that night then just bread and milk. For Harry's part, he seemed to take an instant liking to the stew. And as soon as his biscuit was finished, stood up precariously in Sirius' lap and began dipping his hand into the bowl, which he would then lick off with a contented smile. When Sirius had finished the larger bits of food, Harry had quickly dragged the bowl to the edge of the table and, with Sirius' help had plastered it over his face and eagerly began licking out anything that remained. As soon as Harry licked the last of the contents from the bowl, and Sirius placed it back on the table, one of the barmaids who had been watching with a great deal of amusement, came over with a small rag and help Sirius clean the baby up, whose face had a considerable amount of broth on it. Thanking her for her help as she left, Sirius scooted his way to the edge of the seat, leaving the ten pound note behind as a tip. But he suddenly found the exit from the booth blocked by a tall, thin, extremely pretty young woman.
No, pretty wasn't quite the right word. The woman was absolutely gorgeous. Tall, slender, well shaped legs disappeared up under a short but tasteful, black skirt that ended wrapping itself around a thin waist. A pale, long sleeved, blue shirt took over from there as it folded itself over a well-proportioned upper torso. The crowning end of the combination was a flawless face, framed by raven black hair.
Sirius stared up at the woman for a few seconds before recovering himself.
"Was there something I can do for you?" Sirius asked in a falsely pleasant tone. He wasn't in the mood to be held up by one more eager date-seeker. He already felt he and Harry had stayed far too long at the pub.
"One might asked you that question?" The woman purred in a silky smooth voice.
"Pardon me?" Sirius asked.
"If you came in here looking for a place to stay, I'm afraid you'll find them all booked up." The woman tilted her head towards the stairs of the pub. "But I already have a room upstairs, and I'm not opposed to sharing."
Sirius considered the statement as he mentally looked himself over. Granted, he hardly looked like a vagrant, (days of being able to get a free shower every time it rained will do that for you.), but he didn't look fresh as a Spring day either.
'Merlin's Beard!' Sirius thought. 'Talk about being forward about things.'
"You'll have to excuse me," Sirius commented flatly, "but my wife is waiting for my son and me to return home. We're late getting back."
"You're not married." The woman stated back in the same flat tone, not moving to get out of Sirius' way.
"And you would know this because...?"
The woman gestured to Sirius' left hand. "No ring. Unless, of course....," she added, "...you took it off. In which case I would guess we're both pretty much here for the same reason."
Sirius now looked genuinely shocked. "In case you didn't notice, I'm here with my son!" He pointed out irritably. "And I think he's still a little young to be learning things like that!"
The woman turned her head and gave the baby a look Sirius didn't consider even remotely friendly. And apparently neither did Harry as he wiggled his way deeper into Sirius' jacket under the woman gaze.
"And such a cute little thing he is, too." She said with a small smile.
Sirius edged towards the end of the seat. "And if you'll excuse us, we'll just be on our way."
"Are you sure you won't reconsider the offer, Mr. Black?" The woman asked in the same silky smooth voice, that, although she seemed to barely whisper it, carried more than enough volume to be heard.
Sirius managed somehow not to look at all surprised by the woman knowing his name.
"I'm sorry." He replied in a low, almost menacing voice. "My name isn't Black."
"And your 'son's' name isn't Harry." The woman replied. "Yes, I know."
"Look," Sirius stated coolly as he got to his feet, forcing the woman to take a few steps back, "I don't know who you are, but I'm taking my son home now."
"And where would that be tonight?" She asked, making no further move to get out of Sirius' way. "Another abandoned building? A park bench? A field?"
"Now you listen to me," Sirius stated in a low, threatening growl, "I don't know what you think you know about me or my son...."
"I know very little about you, Mr. Black." The woman replied as she reached down and pulled up the sleeve of her shirt. Sirius glanced down as she held her arm up slightly, wrist up. Burned into her skin was the figure of a skull, a snake protruding from its mouth. "But the dark lord knows a great deal."
Sirius froze on the spot.
A Deatheater.
How in the name of heaven had they managed to track him this far from London? Even the ministry apparently had no idea where he was at the present time. But some idiot Deatheater had managed it? This was not good.
"Don't look so abashed, Mr. Black." The woman answered his furrowed brow. "It took me days to locate you again once you left London."
"I'm honored." Sirius replied flatly.
"You should be. Not many people can elude me as well as you have. You've been quite the naughty boy, making me work so hard to find you."
Sirius gave the woman a decidedly unfriendly smile. "You have no idea how 'naughty' I can be."
The woman only smiled up at him. "Maybe later, Mr. Black. Right now, we have business outside."
"I don't remember any business outside." Sirius replied, thinking as fast as he could while he stalled the woman about how to get Harry safely away from the danger.
"Mr. Black," the woman stated firmly, "would you like to step outside, or would you like for me to announce to this pub full of nice muggles just 'who' you are? Believe me, they all know about the man who kidnapped a child from it's relatives. It's been all over the news for weeks now. You're quite the eleven o'clock news story. Now, do you really want to take your chances with the muggle police, or with me?"
Sirius paused for a minute more. But he honestly saw no alternative at the moment but to do what the woman wanted.
Getting to his feet, Sirius slowly walked towards the door of the pub, delaying each step as much as he could so he had some time to think. Some time to try and formulate a plan. But the harder he tried, the more futile the effort seemed to be. At the present he saw no escape, and so decided the best course of action was to wait for the chance to present itself.
Once outside, Sirius turned back around to face the woman, holding Harry as close to his body as he could to keep him from any harm.
"All right." Sirius said. "Now what?"
"Well, that's entirely up to you, Sirius." The woman purred at him.
Sirius wondered when they got to a first name bases between the booth and the door of the pub.
"Really? Then I'm all for you going your way and me going mine, Miss......?" If the woman knew his name, he felt it was only fair he knew her's.
"You can call me Katlin." The woman gave him a tight lipped smile. "And you're terribly amusing, Mr. Black. Do get into the car, please."
Katlin.
Sirius rolled the name around in his mind several times. The name raised a number of flags, but he just couldn't place where he had heard the name in relation to any Deatheaters.
Waving the thought off for the moment, Sirius turned around to see a small, red sports car parked at the curb.
"Awfully small for three people." He commented.
"I assure you, we'll all fit just fine."
Sirius sighed quietly to himself and carefully climbed into the car with Harry. The woman came in after him, nudging him over with the tip of her wand.
"All the way over, Mr. Black." She instructed.
Sirius look affronted. "What? I don't get to drive?"
"You don't know the way."
"I'm good with directions."
The woman nudged him again. "Would you like to see how your little godson fairs twice against the killing curse? Or better yet, we can see just how immune you are to it."
Sirius sighed again and moved over to the other side of the car.
"And don't bother with the door. It's locked magically." The woman was quick to point out.
Sirius tried the door just the same, which was indeed locked.
"So," Sirius asked as the woman settled in behind the wheel, "too much to asked where we're going?"
"That's of no importance right now, Mr. Black."
"It is to me. Although I can pretty well guess. Deatheater Central?"
"My orders," the woman stated with a touch of annoyance in her tone, "are to take the child to the dark lord."
"So Voldemort can kill my godson once and for all?"
"Black, Voldemort does not want to hurt the child. The Potter child is very special. The dark lord sees that now. He wants the child safe, and unharmed."
"Then why bother with the car? Why not just apparate us all there?"
"Because I doubt you would let go of that child long enough for me to apparate him to Voldemort."
"I can apparate with my godson on my own."
"Oh, look," the woman stated with a pleased smile, "another reason! She started the car and pulled away from the curb. "I'm no fool, Sirius. Even with every tracker and direction spell on you we could think of, I don't doubt for a minute that you could break free in mid-apparation and escape. This way, I can keep my eye on you....and your little godson. Besides," she said pleasantly enough, "the drive will give us some time to talk."
Sirius couldn't for the life of him think of what he would want to spend heaven only knew how much time talking to a Deatheater about, so he remained silent. Maybe the drive was also to serve as an interrogation session.
Sirius sat and waited for the questioning to start, but for the majority of the drive the woman said nothing. All the better to Sirius, since the silence gave him time to think. All in all, the fact that they were moving wasn't bad. It got them a free trip far from where they had been. Somewhere Sirius felt they needed desperately to be. The problem was how to get out of the car before they got to their destination, and how would he know when they were close?
Lost in his thoughts, Sirius snapped back to the present when the car abruptly pulled off the road and came to a stop.
"Well, now, Mr. Black," the woman said as she shifted the seat to face him a bit better, "suppose we have that talk now?"
Sirius didn't answer the woman, but only stared back at her as he again moved Harry closer in to his chest, waiting to see what was coming and what opportunities or danger it presented.
The woman suddenly softened her tone and her expression.
"Look, I know what you think of Deatheaters."
"Then shame on you for being a lady and having thoughts like that." Sirius replied flatly.
The woman sighed loudly in the close confines of the little car. "Now listen to me, you fool. Things can be very pleasant or very...unpleasant for both you and your little godson. Which they are depends solely on you. Now, Voldemort at the moment wants only the child, not you. You are valuable to him, no doubt. The child trusts you and that makes you important."
Sirius turned quickly to Harry, shaking a tiny hand as it grabbed for his finger. "Why, thank you, Harry." He stated.
"As I said," the woman went on with a small touch of annoyance in her voice, "Voldemort at first only wants the child. After that...." The woman smiled coyly at Sirius, "I suppose you.....would be...well, turned over to whoever Voldemort chooses to give you too." She added, the smile becoming much more seductive. "And Voldemort will owe me some reward for bringing him the child. Do you see where I'm going, Mr. Black?"
"Consolation prize?" Sirius asked.
"Hardly." She practically purred. "And this way you don't have to worry about your little godson seeing anything inappropriate. It'll just be you....and me. A nice meal....a warm bath....and a nice warm bed. Doesn't that sound better than wandering the streets, or even better than a dark cold dungeon cell?" The woman gave Sirius another tantalizing smile.
"Well." Sirius cleared his throat. "A good meal...a warm bath.....and a pretty lady. Considering the alternatives, that's an offer that's hard to turn down."
"No one's asking you too."
"And Voldemort.....your master....he doesn't want to hurt Harry?" Sirius asked with a sudden note of genuine concern, edged with suspicion in his voice.
The woman shook her head quickly. "I swear to you, as a Deatheater." She promised. "This child survived a killing curse. Voldemort wants to know why. He feels that this child is very special. That he could grow up to be an extremely powerful wizard. And such a child needs to be guided properly. Have the right teachers. The right...parent." She added, giving Sirius a softened look. "You think the ministry is going to let you keep this baby, Sirius? They'll take him away from you. Want to know themselves why he survived. You'll never see this child again once they have him. But Voldemort has no desire to take Harry away from you. The baby needs a father. Someone he knows and loves. Someone he trusts. You could be the father to one of the most powerful wizards of our time. And Voldemort would be most pleased if you were to....raise Harry right. Make sure he understood things. How the world is. How people are. I'm sure you would do very well raising your son, Sirius." The woman moved up against him slightly. "And there would be so many nice, fringe benefits for you." She purred again. "The dark lord is very good at rewarding those who serve him properly. You could asked for...anything......and he would give it to you."
Sirius studied the woman for a moment, a small amount of sweat on his forehead. 'This woman could make you sweat if you were standing before the open door of a freezer', he thought. Slowly Sirius turned to his godson. "Well..., now, Harry," he said carefully, "I...I don't want you thinking poorly of me, all right. But you have to understand......," Sirius turned to the woman for a minute and looked her over again, then turned back to Harry, "...sometimes things aren't just black and white. Good and bad. Sometimes you have to take other things into consideration."
"Listen to your father, Harry." The woman purred at the baby as she leaned over Sirius' shoulder, stroking his arm through his sleeve.
"And sometimes," Sirius went on in a slightly less steady voice, "you just have to...do things that, while others may think they're wrong, you still have to do them because.....well, at the moment, it just feels like the best thing in the world to do. And you might even enjoy it, even though others say its wrong. And there's nothing wrong with that. Sometimes bad things feel really good. All right? So," Sirius stared right into his godson's eyes, "you just don't think any the worse of me for what I'm about to do, O.K.?"
Without a second's hesitation Sirius rounded in his seat and hit the woman square in the face.
"Now," Sirius stated firmly to his godson as the woman slumped unconscious back in her seat, "Harry, that was wrong! Very, very wrong! But...," Sirius quickly laid Harry on the floor of the car and pulled out his own wand and unlocked the door. He ran about to the other side of the car, and, depositing the woman on the side of the road where she couldn't be seen, jumped back in on the drivers side. Quickly he started the car, and putting Harry back up on the seat as he strapped the baby in as best he could, he turned back to his godson. "...sometimes you just have to look at the whole situation, Harry."
The small sports car pulled quickly back onto the road and sped off into the night.
Late in the night Remus sat sprawled out once again in his large, over-stuffed recliner. The day had been spent at the ministry, answering a long list of questions that were supposedly going to help locate Sirius and Harry.
Sighing to himself, Remus picked up the remote control and turned on the television set. He cringed as the sight of the same newscaster from before greeted him. But thankfully, Remus noted, he didn't seem as cheerful as he had been the other night.
"And now we have a story that's a continuation of one we brought you before." The newscaster stated soberly. "Earlier we reported a large, black dog had been nearly caught by a neighborhood store owner. The dog, it appeared, had been stealing from local stores. Now it appears that the dog was spotted again by a vagrant couple when they went into an abandoned building in Telser, a small town miles from where the dog was last spotted."
Remus' eyes snapped open.
"But this time, the couple reported, the dog had a baby with him. The couple reported that they had been attracted to where the child was by its cries. When they found the baby, they told police it was lying in front of a large black dog that matches the description of the one that had been stealing from the local stores in Delshion. The man told police they tried to get the baby away from the dog, but that it savagely attacked them, grabbed the baby in its mouth, and ran off. The man reported as well that he believes the dog to be rabid."
"Rabid?" Remus questioned suddenly, remembering what the ministry member had told him they thought about Sirius' state of mind at present.
"Police are currently instigating a search of the area for the dog and the child," the newscaster went on, "and the public is asked to immediately call their local authorities if they have any information that may help the police locate the baby or may know who the child is. In other news...."
But Remus was no longer watching the newscast. Instead he was crouched in front of his fire, tapping it hastily with his wand.
A young witch's face appeared in the fire.
"Yes, sir?" She asked pleasantly.
"Get me Mr. Calver, right away." Remus stated. "Tell him its Remus Lupin. And its urgent. Tell him....," Remus paused for a moment as he thought, "...tell him I think I know where we'll find Sirius Black."
Q&A
Ya' (perfectly good word) know, maybe its just my imagination, or the over-inflated ego I've been getting from you guys, (you're such GOOD reviewers), but it seems to me that since I started doing this, there are an awfully lot more of them coming up in stories. Hmmmmm, nice to think I started a trend. But the truth of the matter is, I got the idea from someone else. So I guess I can't go there.
Oh, 'who', by the way? From audiaa2 and her story Veracity. I do, in fact, credit her with this trend, and also highly recommend her series.
Anyway, on with the Q&A.
For Diamond:
ME: Yeah, kittens are cute, right? Well, they also grow up into CATS, of which I have two. (Had a third, named Charm. Get it? Three's a charm. Decided domestic life was not for her. Current address, the swamp I live in.) Anyway, let me clue you in to something. Cats do make wonderful pets....of their owners. Go get some fish. They're easier. (Have those too, by the way.)
Honestly, cats are great. P.A.R. loved her children very much. One day I'm sure I'll turn into the old lady on the street with all the cats. (Oh, wait! I think I'm already there. Let me check. I'm old. I'm a lady. I live on a street. I have cats. Yup! I've arrived! *sigh*.)
RioRaptor: I'm glad you liked it. Another satisfied customer. Actually, Diamond was one of my favorites to write.
For Fever:
OSTIA: Look, I gotta ask. Does the name stand for anything? I mean, you people asked me about mine. Turnabouts fair play, right?
Anyway, yes, Fever was suppose to be only twelve chapters long, but, as Chapter Thirteen's title said, it was added since I had some promises to keep.
Orion Miller: Wull?
I hope you thank your parents for naming you that.
She-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named: There you are! Thought you left.
I hope you beat your sister to Book 5. Someone inadvertently spilled the beans to me about the whole mystery in Book 3. I felt very cheated. That was a fairly major story arc. Oh, well. I'm glad you enjoyed it. Glad you're back.
For The Bonds That Tie:
hello: Yes, Family Life is being sequeled in an upcoming story called Family Ties. Everyone got so interested in Sirius' rarely mentioned and never seen older brother, Orion Black, I had to get him into a story. He is featured quite prominently in Family Ties, and in that story's sequel as well. But I haven't decided if I'll take it any further than that. Unfortunately, it is a fairly long story and will take a bit of time to get it out. I'm aiming for some time in the Spring. At the very least I'm trying to beat Ms. Rowling (or is it Mrs. now?) to publication. Since when Book 5 comes out I feel my readership will fall off drastically.
The shower is turning out to be very little fun indeed. Part of the first grouting attempt failed and we had to re-do it. Second attempt to grout today. It would probably help if I had a clue as to what I was doing.
Voltora: THAT"S it? Get out a Thesaurus! Come on. You can find some more.
Just kidding, of course. Thank you for such kind words of praise.
The Bonds That Tie is a multi-chapter story, so there is certainly more on the way.
I hope you enjoy it.
Me: Nope, Unicorn Whisperer got the gold star last week. Sorry.
I think this one qualifies as 'longer'.
Lady FoxFire: This delivery is to inform you that under the laws of the existing penal codes you are hereby being sued for 'Having A Thing For Sirius'.
Now get out of my way! I have a TON of these things to deliver! *Summons Server hurries off.*
Lin-z: Ohhhhhh, questions! P.A.R. likes questions.
So much so, that she asks them herself. Ummmmm, do you mean why don't they stay in one place, or why don't they stay in a 'better' place?
They don't stay in one place because Sirius figures someone is looking for them. Either the ministry or the muggle police men. After all, he did kidnap a baby. That's gotta be against the law! (Keep in mind, Sirius has no idea what else the ministry is looking for him for.)
Why don't they stay some place better? He has no money. Granted, that wasn't laid out in the story, but Sirius won't access his vault currently for fear of being caught if he tries. Fear of being caught for what? See above paragraph.
How long is The Bonds That Tie? Now that's a good question. As you can see from this chapter title, the story's length is a fluctuating thing, depending on good suggestions. I mentioned once already I felt I could do more with this story than it's current chapters, and thus am subsequently adding chapters. How long will it be? I wouldn't suspect much longer than Fever.
Messy living conditions, huh? I have yet to meet the person I couldn't teach the meaning of those words.
Kiara O. Lawrence: P.A.R. is soooooooooooo sorrrrrrrrrry! She will make it up to you. Just have to think of how.
No one's reviewing your story? Heavens, we are having a bad week, aren't we? I'll see if I can get to it. Just remember, P.A.R. reviews honest, not nice.
Sorry, I only post once a week now because my job is interfering with my real life.
Purple Ink: An English Essay on THREE WORDS? What kind of an assignment is that? Newscasters tend to annoy the whatsies out of me. Especially the ones that try to be cute. I hate that. I want my news straight, folks, not delivered amid cute remarks. But when I wrote that scene, that's just the remark I could see Lupin making to that statement. Mind you, he hasn't been getting lot of sleep lately, he' suffering from insomnia, he's worried about Sirius and Harry, and he's got the ministry to contend with. The man's bound to be a bit cynical.
The Bonds That Tie will run just slightly longer than Fever, or maybe a bit more. (See Lin-z's answer.)
I'm very pleased I'm in your 'favorites' list. I've actually heard from quite a few people that I've made that list elsewhere as well. Thank you.
Zimmy Russell: I hear ya! Hate the stuff myself.
Now wait a minute. Did you or didn't you say there was a kitten at the beginning of the Grinch movie? Don't play with P.A.R. like that. She loves cats.
Worried about Harry and Sirius last time? Heavens, where are you now? And this is just the dark before the storm.
To keep you updated on the Jolt Cola search. I'm still working on that. I'm drinki....errr....looking into them as fast....ummmm.....as soon as I can.
Wolf!
How's life treating you?
My best yet, huh? Thank you. But weren't you the anguish lover? You should just naturally love this story.
Ohhhhh, good. I created an irresistible character! (O.K., technically, 're-created'. But you get the point.).
Boy! Lot of questions. P.A.R. likes you!!!
True enough, Sirius needs to come down to earth and realize he's got some problems. He's painting himself into one very small corner and things aren't looking to get much better. And they definitely can't keep living like they are. After all, babies need a lot more than just food, diapers, and a fur rug to sleep on. And it isn't even winter yet!
By the way, yes, I have read Lord Of The Rings, but it was ages ago. I remember very little of it.
Marie Potter: Maybe.
Actually, you and me need to have a chat after the next chapter or so.
No, no. Nothing bad. It's just for certain reasons I don't want to answer you just yet.
Lotesse:
English Teacher!
Good Lord! I missed you last time too?! What was going on with me that night?
I know a week is a long time, but work is starting to interfere with my personal life right now. Sad, isn't it?
O.K., I can see your point. But Sirius is sort of in a little funk at the start of this story. I mean, his best friends were just killed, he feels he is in some way responsible, and where he was sure he would get custody of his godson, the one bright shining moment in all of this for him, even that is snatched away from him. That, and he's a few ants short of his picnic. He's just not up to kicking anyone's butt right now, I'm afraid.
What!!!!!? No....no........no sparkle????!!!!!!! *P.A.R. gets misty for a minute.* O.K., so I can't hit 'em out of the ball park all the time.
Harry's actually got a lot to do in this story. But keep in mind I have to follow the child labor laws. So I can't have him working too much.
You think Remus is protective now, you haven't seen the werewolf get protective.
The sequel to Family Life is being worked on currently. I generally work on several stories at once. That way, I can switch off when I start getting bored with one. Currently I am working on about four of them. The sequel to Family Life, Family Ties, should be out sometime in the Spring. It will be followed probably in the Winter by the sequel to Family Ties. (Yeah, sequels to sequels.) Family Ties will likely be fairly long. But the sequel to that will likely not be that long.
Uninitiated?!!!! Ha! I read Lord Of The Rings in high school. And trust me, that was a while ago. But hey, nice endorsement!
So, did Lord Of The Rings win anything?
I kind of thought Harry reaching up and grabbing the muzzle of an obviously agitated dog without the slightest hint of fear was kinda cute.
No, the ministry does not know about Padfoot. And it's unlikely Remus will tell. (That could lead to some embarrassing questions, no?)
I'm glad you liked the news anchor scene. It was actually sort of a last minute add on. And as you saw in this chapter, he was back again, though a little more solemn.
Weekly provider of top-notch fanfiction? Ohhhhhh, I think I like that title. I don't know how deserved it is, but thank you.
Unicorn Whisperer: Wow! You win the gold star again. Why? Because P.A.R. used your idea....sort of. (See Author's Notes.) Anyway, you got credit for giving the idea for this chapter. Isn't it amazing what one little off-handed comment can evolve into?
A&P? Good Lord! Are there still A&P's out there?!
Alliteration? That word has more than three syllables! What are you, woman? An English Teacher!
Just to set the record straight (because so many people seem to think he was there), Peter was not one of the Deatheaters that attacked the Dursley's. He simply doesn't have (in my opinion) the magical strength to have broken through the wards.
Dumbledore's True Love: Oh....., you were so going to get this weeks gold star. But Unicorn Whisperer got it first. I'm sorry. You were going to get it for poor humor appreciation for the newscasters play on words.
I'll see what I can do about the poems. I am starting to try and read and review a few stories.
Hayleyhedwig 11: Oh, I was doing just great last week, wasn't I? First I missed Kiara, (again), and now I missed you as well. I must have been half asleep or something.
The Jolt Cola thing is no real mystery. I'm just trying to help Zimmy Russell find Jolt Cola in Florida.
A 'free' Sirius? Keep in mind, this is an AU story. Sirius hasn't been officially charged with anything yet.(Oh, O.K., he kidnapped a baby, but he hasn't been charged with that yet.)
Without Remus' help, it's unlikely the ministry would have a lot of luck tracking Sirius. That's why they came to Remus for help.
Actually, I don't think Remus is the one nearing a breakdown.
I did warn you, you wouldn't find my initials anywhere unless you know what you're looking for. (See the author's notes.).
Yeah, good old Remus. He isn't in any danger.....yet.
I'm glad you liked Family Life so much. Why, oh why did so few people catch that line? I thought it was too cute, and a way-big foreshadower.
Family Life is indeed being sequeled. I'm working on that one right now. However, it is fairly long, so I'm not expecting it to start posting until sometime in the Spring.
Sphinx: So, you're Zimmy's friend, huh?
Now let me asked you something. If I have an idea for a story, why would I give it away? Hmmmm? Now, 'sell' has some possibilities.......! Just kidding of course. Unfortunately, I'm working on so many different projects right now I'm afraid my ability to come up with story lines is being stretched a bit thin right now. I mean, look, I'm pilfering ideas from Unicorn Whisperer, for heaven sake!
Nagini: First of all, you changed your name?!!!!!! That confuses P.A.R. so badly.
Next. *Gives reviewer a stern look.* It's dragging out??????!!!!!!! ROOM! NOW! NO SUPPER!
This is a special response going out to Kcarke, who, in the story(?) Recommended Reading List, put my name down as one of the authors they would recommend to be read in their review of that story.
Thank you.
By the way, whatcha got against Diamond and A Dog's Day? You didn't recommend them.
O.K.! Did I miss anybody THIS time? Heavens, please slap me and tell me if I did.
See you next week.