Recap: Petunia thinks Sirius is not half bad. Vernon is cranky at the
wedding because of Petunia's growing interest in the wizard and because he
didn't sleep well, due to the love-making that went on in the room below
him. Sirius wants nothing to do with either one of them. Dumbledore shows
up at the wedding and offers Sirius a new job.
Disclamer: I think I keep forgetting to drop these in. They're all JK Rowling's characters. I simply borrow them to place them in situations we'll probably never see in the upcoming books.
The Reception - and Another Proposal
The early summer evening began to darken. The western sky still shone with the golden pink rays of the setting sun even as the eastern sky turned a rich, deep blue. The boldest and brightest stars began to twinkle. The music and laughter of the wedding guests receded as Sirius slipped away from the reception. Lily and James had just departed on their honeymoon, and the party was winding down. Sirius walked slowly through the elaborate gardens at the back of the Seddington Arms. His path eventually led him to an arbor heavy with wisteria. He had a lot on his mind.
The heady joy of the wedding, reflected in every glance that Lily and James exchanged, was mellowed by the certain knowledge of the death and destruction that lurked somewhere in the darkness. It was like the scent that appears during the last days of summer, when the sun is still strong and the days linger, but the crisp aroma of autumn wafts through the air, almost unnoticed. Dumbledore's proposal was a grim reminder of the real world. And Sirius knew in his heart that he would not hesitate to take on any task his Headmaster might give him, no matter the danger.
But, what about Remus? Could he keep these kinds of secrets from his lover? What sort of trust existed between them, if he acted according to Dumbledore's instructions, and kept Remus in the dark? He couldn't. It wasn't fair. To keep silent would be a betrayal. But, would it keep Remus safer?
He made a decision. He would go and hear what Albus had to say. He would keep that meeting a secret. But, afterwards, if he felt he should join Dumbledore's forces, they would have to accept that he would tell Remus what he was doing. Not the details, perhaps. But Remus deserved to know that Sirius might leave their flat one morning and die before nightfall.
A hand lightly gripped his shoulder. With a gasp Sirius spun around in mid- air. "Whoa, easy there," Remus soothed, taking a half-step back from the raised fists of his startled lover.
"Remus, for God's sake! Give me heart failure, why don't you?"
"Sorry. I didn't mean to sneak up on you." Glancing about, he made sure they were alone and then slid his arms around his slightly taller mate, enveloping him in a warm embrace. Sirius hugged him back. Staring into Remus' eyes, feeling their toasty warmth even as the light around them faded, Sirius blurted out, "We should say our own vows."
A vertical worry line appeared between the honey-brown eyebrows "Vows?"
"Yes, vows. Between you and me. I want to marry you, Remus."
With a mixture of exasperation and affection, Remus replied, "Are you daft? We can't get married. Wizard law doesn't permit marriage between members of the same sex, and, even if it did, we still couldn't. Not legally. I'm a werewolf, remember?"
Sirius shook his head impatiently. "I know, I know. I know all that. But, we wouldn't be doing it to comply with what's legal. We'd be doing it for ourselves. We'd stand in front of our friends and families and publicly proclaim our love for each other. That's what I'm talking about. Laws and regulations and notarized pieces of paper have nothing to do with how we feel. Why shouldn't we create our own celebratory ceremony?"
Remus drew breath to answer, but then paused. Sirius saw the sudden change of expression and knew that Remus had no logical response to his question. Rather, as they looked at each other, the werewolf's sinfully delicious lips slowly curved into a smile. Remus rarely had the power to resist those starlit blue eyes when they looked at him with that peculiar blend of earnestness, inspiration and affection, and tonight was no exception.
Smiling more broadly, he finally spoke. "Well, yes, why shouldn't we?" And then was completely nonplussed when his lover dropped to one knee, grabbed his hand and spoke with more seriousness than Remus had ever heard from him before. "Remus, without you, I am bereft. With you, I am complete. I love you passionately, completely, and endlessly. Will you marry me?"
The smile faded from Remus' face, perhaps because all his emotional energy had rushed to fill his heart to bursting. Fighting to speak around the lump in his throat he answered with just one whispered word. "Yes."
Then he hauled Sirius to his feet, swept him into a tight embrace and kissed him, a kiss like the gift of gentle, drenching rain to a parched land. Sirius' arms held him tight, as if seeking to meld them into one body. They stood close for a long time, their lips and tongues exploring each other's mouths like the first time, as if it was all new to them. Breathless, they finally parted, eyes sweeping over each other's faces, reassuring themselves that, yes, Sirius had asked, yes, Remus had answered and, yes, they were in complete agreement.
The muted sound of voices from the reception brought them back to themselves. Remus whispered, "Let's go back in, say goodnight to whoever's left, head to the hotel and go to bed."
As they started walking back through the gardens, now deeply shadowed by dusk, Sirius pulled Remus close once more. "Just one more kiss." It didn't even occur to Remus to resist.
Vernon and Petunia stepped out into the garden for a breath of air before he took her home and headed back to the hotel. All things considered, Vernon had rather enjoyed himself. The food was good and plentiful, and he had managed to keep a proprietary hand on Petunia during most of the festivities. His authoritative air had finally driven off that beastly best man. His rival for Petunia's affections had kept away from her once Vernon claimed her on the dance floor, although the man had danced at least twice with every other woman there. 'Busy selecting his next victim, no doubt,' Vernon mused silently. Well, he'd not get anywhere near Petunia.
Vernon slipped Petunia's arm through his own as they walked silently along the path. The fresh air felt good; the nighttime insects were chirping their primordial song. But there was an undercurrent of some other sound, something Vernon found uncomfortably familiar. There! Those tones! Those voices! Those men! The same ones he had heard last night from the room below his! And they were here, in the garden, moaning and sighing and doing God knows what. With a wave of his hand he warned Petunia to be quiet. Her head swiveled uncertainly back and forth on her neck, like an elderly, and somewhat deaf turtle.
Together they crept closer to the muted voices. As they reached a break in the hedges they stopped short, speechless, at what they saw.
It was he. Sirius Black. Both Vernon and Petunia would recognize that tall form, those well-balanced shoulders, anywhere, even in the darkened garden. He was with someone; someone with one arm clutched tight around his lower back, the fingers of the other hand buried in the long, dark hair. Someone wearing an identical tuxedo.
It was all too much for Petunia and Vernon. "OOOHHHH!!" They both uttered the same strangled cry, eyes wide in titillated horror.
The two men separated slightly, both turning to face their interlopers. Sirius smiled at them, "Oh, hello. Nice night for a stroll in the garden." He drew the other man close to him. They saw it was another member of the wedding party, Remus Lupin, who leaned against Sirius, his arm still wrapped tightly around the long, lean figure.
"Well! I never." Vernon sputtered incoherently, his face rapidly turning a mottled purple that rivaled the deep jewel tones of the sky. "This.this is disgusting! Immoral! Filthy!" He pushed Petunia behind him. "And to think that Petunia had to.to.touch you!"
Sirius' expression turned slightly wicked. "Be happy my intentions towards her were never less than pure."
Petunia uttered a mewling cry and then her lips thinned in a rictus of repulsion. "I only agreed to be in this wedding to make my parents happy! Oh, it's bad enough that my precious sister is such a freak, but, now, to find out her friends are.are."
"Gay." Remus supplied, in his calmest, most rational voice.
OOHH!!" With one more outraged huff, Vernon and Petunia scurried back to the safety of the reception.
"Oops," Remus muttered insincerely. He and Sirius eyed each other, both clearly wondering how much trouble they had just set loose, and both not really caring. They burst into laughter and Remus chortled, "Do we or don't we use a silencing charm tonight?"
"Well, if we don't, I'm sure Vernon will be pounding on our ceiling or having the manager break down our door. On the other hand, if we use one, then he'll think he's scared us straight, so to speak."
"Oh, let him think what he wants. *I* don't want any interruptions, as I intend to make love to you until daybreak."
"Mmmmm, that sounds like heaven. And just think. While we're drowning in each other, Vernon will be up there all alone, with only his clammy, but chaste heterosexual hands to give him comfort."
"Please! That's not a pretty picture."
"What picture would you prefer?"
Remus pressed against him, and began describing the vision in his mind, using his hands to lightly stroke the objects of his fascination. "Waves of long, black hair against a snowy pillow. Pale blue eyes flaming like torches with lust and love. Tanned, muscled arms and legs reaching up to wrap themselves around me. And, of course, a big, hard, beautiful cock demanding attention. Lots and lots of attention."
"Stop! Enough! Let's get out of here!"
Epilogue - Seventeen Years Later
The stifling silence of Privet Drive seemed almost unnatural as Sirius cut the engine of the motorcycle. Night was falling as he walked along the driveway, catching the admiring glances of several local teens. The boys were staring at the bike; the girls were staring at him. Remus was right. He could still turn heads, in spite of the lingering physical effects of prison.
He needed to gain weight and recapture the sleekly powerful muscle tone he once had. To be truthful, he needed to regain some of his magical skills, too. There were some advanced spells he simply couldn't remember and others he had trouble performing. He'd be in deep shit if cornered in a dark cave by more than two Dementors. His Patronus was a shaky, pale, almost formless blob, rather than the brilliant, blazing comet it used to be.
But, these neighborhood kids knew nothing of magic. What they saw was a darkly attractive man, dressed in black jeans, black boots, and black leather jacket over a white tee shirt, who rode a powerful bike. If they only knew how powerful, Sirius thought with amusement.
He rang the doorbell at 4 Privet Drive. A very rotund teen opened the door, staring mistrustfully at Sirius. "Who is it, Dudley?" came a man's voice from the living room beyond.
"A biker," replied Dudley, his porcine eyes rolling back and forth between the stranger in the doorway and the motorcycle in the driveway.
"Good evening," Sirius said pleasantly. "I'm here to see Harry Potter." Dudley abruptly stepped back, his eyes taking on the look of a deer confronted by a wolf.
"There's no one by that name here!" The man from the living room barreled into the hallway, stopping short when he got a good look at the stranger at his door. In the meantime, Petunia Dursley came in from the kitchen and also reared up suddenly at the sight of Sirius. Footsteps sounded from upstairs.
"Petunia, Vernon, it's a pleasure to see you again." Sirius said politely, edging past Dudley and into the hall. "I'm here to bring Harry to live with me."
"Sirius!" yelled Harry happily as he clattered down the staircase. He gave a warm embrace to his godfather and a sharp glance at his uncle. "I *told* you he'd come and get me tonight."
"Hello, Harry. Is your trunk still packed?"
"Yes. It's upstairs. I'll get it."
"Drag it to the top of the stairs and I'll reduce it for you."
Unaccustomed to being ignored in his own home, Vernon pushed between the two wizards. "Just what do you think you're doing? You can't barge in here and expect to take my nephew away!"
"I'm his guardian as well as his godfather, Vernon. You have no legal right to keep him here."
"If you think for one minute that I'll let my nephew be dragged off to live with a.a."
"Poof? Queer?" Sirius smiled an icy, deadly smile, a smile Harry had seen stop Snape dead in his tracks. It caused a line of sweat to spring up on Vernon's brow. "I see you're still more homophobic than wizard-phobic."
"We're just trying to protect him from bad things. We've always done right by the boy," Petunia broke in, moving to stand shoulder to shoulder with her husband. "Even though he's not normal, we've given him everything he needs - food, shelter, clothing."
Sirius exploded into twisted laughter, a sound as harsh as metal tearing apart. "Oh, yes, that's all any child needs! Enforced diets, hand-me-down clothing, lies about his parents, ridicule and punishment because he's different than you. I notice you didn't mention love, or tenderness or affection."
With a flick of his fingers, Sirius made the door to the closet under the stairs spring open. The Dursleys all gasped and took a step back as Sirius stalked by them to stare into the confined space. His eyes snapped back to the Dursleys, the menacing smile replaced by an even more bone-chilling impassivity. "I cannot stomach the thought of people trapped in small, enclosed spaces. I spent twelve years in a prison cell for a crime I did not commit. My godson spent eleven years in a prison that you created for him. And you have the gall to stand there and tell me you've given Harry everything he needs? And that this perversion of familial duty is a better environment for a boy than for him to live with a pair of men who love each other, and who also love him as if he were their own son?"
No one said a word. Sirius abruptly turned and started to follow Harry up the stairs.
Vernon started forward. "Now, wait just a min-" His words choked to a stop in his throat as Sirius whirled to face him, one hand raised.
"I'm only going to say this once, Dursley. If you lay one finger on me or on Harry, I'll put a whole series of hexes on you that will take months to wear off. I'll give you donkey ears. And make you suffer from loud, continuous flatulence. And cause your skin to break out into painful, oozing sores wherever your clothing touches it. Would that help your career at Grunnings?"
Vernon only gaped at him.
Sirius said quietly, "I asked you a question, Vernon."
It killed Vernon to respond, but he did. In a hoarse whisper he said, "No, it wouldn't help my career." His eyes fell.
Dismissing the Dursleys from his attention, Sirius bounded lightly up the stairs to where Harry stood by the trunk, Hedwig's cage in his hand. "Turn Hedwig loose, Harry. She can fly with us."
Harry's eyes lit up. "Fly? You mean it? We're going to fly on the bike?"
"Remus is anxiously waiting for your arrival and it'll take too long to get home if we have to stay on the roads. Once we're out town, we'll take to the air."
Grinning from ear to ear, Harry released Hedwig out the window. Sirius put the cage on top of the trunk and, with a several quick motions of his wand, said, "Reducto." The trunk shrank to the size of a wallet, and the cage to the size of a key. Sirius stuck them both into pockets of his jacket.
They walked down the stairs to where the Dursleys still stood motionless. "Oh, Harry.these are for you," Sirius said, fishing something out of another pocket. Muttering under his breath, the objects in his hand suddenly turned into a leather jacket the color of deepest mahogany and a helmet of a metallic version of the same color.
"Thanks!" Harry slipped on the jacket, took the helmet and, cocking his head, looked at Sirius.
With the merest twitch of an eyebrow, Sirius asked, "Is there anything you want to say to your relatives before we leave?"
Harry dug into the pockets of his jeans and came up with a piece of paper that he handed to Petunia. "I'm going home, where I belong. Here's my new address, if you should ever need any help from the wizard world." He paused. "I know I should say 'Thank you,' but I can't. I'm sorry."
Petunia suddenly stepped forward. Sirius tensed, not sure if she meant to embrace Harry or strike him, but she stopped short. The muscles in her face trembled and she finally spat out, "Harry, if you leave with that man, don't ever come back and darken our door again! You could have grown up like Vernon, like a good man, a decent man, but, if you want to throw it away and go live with *him* then all I can say is 'Good riddance.'"
Harry's emerald green eyes sparkled warningly. "A good man? A decent man? Aunt Petunia, I'm going to live with someone who's a better man than Uncle Vernon can ever hope to be. I should have lived with him from the start. Everyone would have been happier."
No one responded. Without a backward glance, Harry and Sirius left. Harry held on to Sirius' waist as the bike accelerated down the street. The roads they followed soon led them to sparsely populated areas. Finally, they were alone, rolling fast down a country road. Sirius turned his head back slightly. "Ready, Harry?"
"What do I do?"
"Just hold on. It'll feel something like flying a broom."
With a powerful lift, the bike sprang into the air. The bike suddenly went silent, although Harry could still feel the thrum of its engine between his legs. They climbed high above fields and forests. Harry could see occasional lights in windows of the few houses down below. He didn't know why, but the stars seemed brighter tonight. He caught a glimpse of Hedwig's form off to their right, keeping pace with them. He felt lighter than air and happier than he could ever remember being.
Leaning forward, he shouted, "This is soooo cool!!"
Sirius threw back his head and laughed.
END
Disclamer: I think I keep forgetting to drop these in. They're all JK Rowling's characters. I simply borrow them to place them in situations we'll probably never see in the upcoming books.
The Reception - and Another Proposal
The early summer evening began to darken. The western sky still shone with the golden pink rays of the setting sun even as the eastern sky turned a rich, deep blue. The boldest and brightest stars began to twinkle. The music and laughter of the wedding guests receded as Sirius slipped away from the reception. Lily and James had just departed on their honeymoon, and the party was winding down. Sirius walked slowly through the elaborate gardens at the back of the Seddington Arms. His path eventually led him to an arbor heavy with wisteria. He had a lot on his mind.
The heady joy of the wedding, reflected in every glance that Lily and James exchanged, was mellowed by the certain knowledge of the death and destruction that lurked somewhere in the darkness. It was like the scent that appears during the last days of summer, when the sun is still strong and the days linger, but the crisp aroma of autumn wafts through the air, almost unnoticed. Dumbledore's proposal was a grim reminder of the real world. And Sirius knew in his heart that he would not hesitate to take on any task his Headmaster might give him, no matter the danger.
But, what about Remus? Could he keep these kinds of secrets from his lover? What sort of trust existed between them, if he acted according to Dumbledore's instructions, and kept Remus in the dark? He couldn't. It wasn't fair. To keep silent would be a betrayal. But, would it keep Remus safer?
He made a decision. He would go and hear what Albus had to say. He would keep that meeting a secret. But, afterwards, if he felt he should join Dumbledore's forces, they would have to accept that he would tell Remus what he was doing. Not the details, perhaps. But Remus deserved to know that Sirius might leave their flat one morning and die before nightfall.
A hand lightly gripped his shoulder. With a gasp Sirius spun around in mid- air. "Whoa, easy there," Remus soothed, taking a half-step back from the raised fists of his startled lover.
"Remus, for God's sake! Give me heart failure, why don't you?"
"Sorry. I didn't mean to sneak up on you." Glancing about, he made sure they were alone and then slid his arms around his slightly taller mate, enveloping him in a warm embrace. Sirius hugged him back. Staring into Remus' eyes, feeling their toasty warmth even as the light around them faded, Sirius blurted out, "We should say our own vows."
A vertical worry line appeared between the honey-brown eyebrows "Vows?"
"Yes, vows. Between you and me. I want to marry you, Remus."
With a mixture of exasperation and affection, Remus replied, "Are you daft? We can't get married. Wizard law doesn't permit marriage between members of the same sex, and, even if it did, we still couldn't. Not legally. I'm a werewolf, remember?"
Sirius shook his head impatiently. "I know, I know. I know all that. But, we wouldn't be doing it to comply with what's legal. We'd be doing it for ourselves. We'd stand in front of our friends and families and publicly proclaim our love for each other. That's what I'm talking about. Laws and regulations and notarized pieces of paper have nothing to do with how we feel. Why shouldn't we create our own celebratory ceremony?"
Remus drew breath to answer, but then paused. Sirius saw the sudden change of expression and knew that Remus had no logical response to his question. Rather, as they looked at each other, the werewolf's sinfully delicious lips slowly curved into a smile. Remus rarely had the power to resist those starlit blue eyes when they looked at him with that peculiar blend of earnestness, inspiration and affection, and tonight was no exception.
Smiling more broadly, he finally spoke. "Well, yes, why shouldn't we?" And then was completely nonplussed when his lover dropped to one knee, grabbed his hand and spoke with more seriousness than Remus had ever heard from him before. "Remus, without you, I am bereft. With you, I am complete. I love you passionately, completely, and endlessly. Will you marry me?"
The smile faded from Remus' face, perhaps because all his emotional energy had rushed to fill his heart to bursting. Fighting to speak around the lump in his throat he answered with just one whispered word. "Yes."
Then he hauled Sirius to his feet, swept him into a tight embrace and kissed him, a kiss like the gift of gentle, drenching rain to a parched land. Sirius' arms held him tight, as if seeking to meld them into one body. They stood close for a long time, their lips and tongues exploring each other's mouths like the first time, as if it was all new to them. Breathless, they finally parted, eyes sweeping over each other's faces, reassuring themselves that, yes, Sirius had asked, yes, Remus had answered and, yes, they were in complete agreement.
The muted sound of voices from the reception brought them back to themselves. Remus whispered, "Let's go back in, say goodnight to whoever's left, head to the hotel and go to bed."
As they started walking back through the gardens, now deeply shadowed by dusk, Sirius pulled Remus close once more. "Just one more kiss." It didn't even occur to Remus to resist.
Vernon and Petunia stepped out into the garden for a breath of air before he took her home and headed back to the hotel. All things considered, Vernon had rather enjoyed himself. The food was good and plentiful, and he had managed to keep a proprietary hand on Petunia during most of the festivities. His authoritative air had finally driven off that beastly best man. His rival for Petunia's affections had kept away from her once Vernon claimed her on the dance floor, although the man had danced at least twice with every other woman there. 'Busy selecting his next victim, no doubt,' Vernon mused silently. Well, he'd not get anywhere near Petunia.
Vernon slipped Petunia's arm through his own as they walked silently along the path. The fresh air felt good; the nighttime insects were chirping their primordial song. But there was an undercurrent of some other sound, something Vernon found uncomfortably familiar. There! Those tones! Those voices! Those men! The same ones he had heard last night from the room below his! And they were here, in the garden, moaning and sighing and doing God knows what. With a wave of his hand he warned Petunia to be quiet. Her head swiveled uncertainly back and forth on her neck, like an elderly, and somewhat deaf turtle.
Together they crept closer to the muted voices. As they reached a break in the hedges they stopped short, speechless, at what they saw.
It was he. Sirius Black. Both Vernon and Petunia would recognize that tall form, those well-balanced shoulders, anywhere, even in the darkened garden. He was with someone; someone with one arm clutched tight around his lower back, the fingers of the other hand buried in the long, dark hair. Someone wearing an identical tuxedo.
It was all too much for Petunia and Vernon. "OOOHHHH!!" They both uttered the same strangled cry, eyes wide in titillated horror.
The two men separated slightly, both turning to face their interlopers. Sirius smiled at them, "Oh, hello. Nice night for a stroll in the garden." He drew the other man close to him. They saw it was another member of the wedding party, Remus Lupin, who leaned against Sirius, his arm still wrapped tightly around the long, lean figure.
"Well! I never." Vernon sputtered incoherently, his face rapidly turning a mottled purple that rivaled the deep jewel tones of the sky. "This.this is disgusting! Immoral! Filthy!" He pushed Petunia behind him. "And to think that Petunia had to.to.touch you!"
Sirius' expression turned slightly wicked. "Be happy my intentions towards her were never less than pure."
Petunia uttered a mewling cry and then her lips thinned in a rictus of repulsion. "I only agreed to be in this wedding to make my parents happy! Oh, it's bad enough that my precious sister is such a freak, but, now, to find out her friends are.are."
"Gay." Remus supplied, in his calmest, most rational voice.
OOHH!!" With one more outraged huff, Vernon and Petunia scurried back to the safety of the reception.
"Oops," Remus muttered insincerely. He and Sirius eyed each other, both clearly wondering how much trouble they had just set loose, and both not really caring. They burst into laughter and Remus chortled, "Do we or don't we use a silencing charm tonight?"
"Well, if we don't, I'm sure Vernon will be pounding on our ceiling or having the manager break down our door. On the other hand, if we use one, then he'll think he's scared us straight, so to speak."
"Oh, let him think what he wants. *I* don't want any interruptions, as I intend to make love to you until daybreak."
"Mmmmm, that sounds like heaven. And just think. While we're drowning in each other, Vernon will be up there all alone, with only his clammy, but chaste heterosexual hands to give him comfort."
"Please! That's not a pretty picture."
"What picture would you prefer?"
Remus pressed against him, and began describing the vision in his mind, using his hands to lightly stroke the objects of his fascination. "Waves of long, black hair against a snowy pillow. Pale blue eyes flaming like torches with lust and love. Tanned, muscled arms and legs reaching up to wrap themselves around me. And, of course, a big, hard, beautiful cock demanding attention. Lots and lots of attention."
"Stop! Enough! Let's get out of here!"
Epilogue - Seventeen Years Later
The stifling silence of Privet Drive seemed almost unnatural as Sirius cut the engine of the motorcycle. Night was falling as he walked along the driveway, catching the admiring glances of several local teens. The boys were staring at the bike; the girls were staring at him. Remus was right. He could still turn heads, in spite of the lingering physical effects of prison.
He needed to gain weight and recapture the sleekly powerful muscle tone he once had. To be truthful, he needed to regain some of his magical skills, too. There were some advanced spells he simply couldn't remember and others he had trouble performing. He'd be in deep shit if cornered in a dark cave by more than two Dementors. His Patronus was a shaky, pale, almost formless blob, rather than the brilliant, blazing comet it used to be.
But, these neighborhood kids knew nothing of magic. What they saw was a darkly attractive man, dressed in black jeans, black boots, and black leather jacket over a white tee shirt, who rode a powerful bike. If they only knew how powerful, Sirius thought with amusement.
He rang the doorbell at 4 Privet Drive. A very rotund teen opened the door, staring mistrustfully at Sirius. "Who is it, Dudley?" came a man's voice from the living room beyond.
"A biker," replied Dudley, his porcine eyes rolling back and forth between the stranger in the doorway and the motorcycle in the driveway.
"Good evening," Sirius said pleasantly. "I'm here to see Harry Potter." Dudley abruptly stepped back, his eyes taking on the look of a deer confronted by a wolf.
"There's no one by that name here!" The man from the living room barreled into the hallway, stopping short when he got a good look at the stranger at his door. In the meantime, Petunia Dursley came in from the kitchen and also reared up suddenly at the sight of Sirius. Footsteps sounded from upstairs.
"Petunia, Vernon, it's a pleasure to see you again." Sirius said politely, edging past Dudley and into the hall. "I'm here to bring Harry to live with me."
"Sirius!" yelled Harry happily as he clattered down the staircase. He gave a warm embrace to his godfather and a sharp glance at his uncle. "I *told* you he'd come and get me tonight."
"Hello, Harry. Is your trunk still packed?"
"Yes. It's upstairs. I'll get it."
"Drag it to the top of the stairs and I'll reduce it for you."
Unaccustomed to being ignored in his own home, Vernon pushed between the two wizards. "Just what do you think you're doing? You can't barge in here and expect to take my nephew away!"
"I'm his guardian as well as his godfather, Vernon. You have no legal right to keep him here."
"If you think for one minute that I'll let my nephew be dragged off to live with a.a."
"Poof? Queer?" Sirius smiled an icy, deadly smile, a smile Harry had seen stop Snape dead in his tracks. It caused a line of sweat to spring up on Vernon's brow. "I see you're still more homophobic than wizard-phobic."
"We're just trying to protect him from bad things. We've always done right by the boy," Petunia broke in, moving to stand shoulder to shoulder with her husband. "Even though he's not normal, we've given him everything he needs - food, shelter, clothing."
Sirius exploded into twisted laughter, a sound as harsh as metal tearing apart. "Oh, yes, that's all any child needs! Enforced diets, hand-me-down clothing, lies about his parents, ridicule and punishment because he's different than you. I notice you didn't mention love, or tenderness or affection."
With a flick of his fingers, Sirius made the door to the closet under the stairs spring open. The Dursleys all gasped and took a step back as Sirius stalked by them to stare into the confined space. His eyes snapped back to the Dursleys, the menacing smile replaced by an even more bone-chilling impassivity. "I cannot stomach the thought of people trapped in small, enclosed spaces. I spent twelve years in a prison cell for a crime I did not commit. My godson spent eleven years in a prison that you created for him. And you have the gall to stand there and tell me you've given Harry everything he needs? And that this perversion of familial duty is a better environment for a boy than for him to live with a pair of men who love each other, and who also love him as if he were their own son?"
No one said a word. Sirius abruptly turned and started to follow Harry up the stairs.
Vernon started forward. "Now, wait just a min-" His words choked to a stop in his throat as Sirius whirled to face him, one hand raised.
"I'm only going to say this once, Dursley. If you lay one finger on me or on Harry, I'll put a whole series of hexes on you that will take months to wear off. I'll give you donkey ears. And make you suffer from loud, continuous flatulence. And cause your skin to break out into painful, oozing sores wherever your clothing touches it. Would that help your career at Grunnings?"
Vernon only gaped at him.
Sirius said quietly, "I asked you a question, Vernon."
It killed Vernon to respond, but he did. In a hoarse whisper he said, "No, it wouldn't help my career." His eyes fell.
Dismissing the Dursleys from his attention, Sirius bounded lightly up the stairs to where Harry stood by the trunk, Hedwig's cage in his hand. "Turn Hedwig loose, Harry. She can fly with us."
Harry's eyes lit up. "Fly? You mean it? We're going to fly on the bike?"
"Remus is anxiously waiting for your arrival and it'll take too long to get home if we have to stay on the roads. Once we're out town, we'll take to the air."
Grinning from ear to ear, Harry released Hedwig out the window. Sirius put the cage on top of the trunk and, with a several quick motions of his wand, said, "Reducto." The trunk shrank to the size of a wallet, and the cage to the size of a key. Sirius stuck them both into pockets of his jacket.
They walked down the stairs to where the Dursleys still stood motionless. "Oh, Harry.these are for you," Sirius said, fishing something out of another pocket. Muttering under his breath, the objects in his hand suddenly turned into a leather jacket the color of deepest mahogany and a helmet of a metallic version of the same color.
"Thanks!" Harry slipped on the jacket, took the helmet and, cocking his head, looked at Sirius.
With the merest twitch of an eyebrow, Sirius asked, "Is there anything you want to say to your relatives before we leave?"
Harry dug into the pockets of his jeans and came up with a piece of paper that he handed to Petunia. "I'm going home, where I belong. Here's my new address, if you should ever need any help from the wizard world." He paused. "I know I should say 'Thank you,' but I can't. I'm sorry."
Petunia suddenly stepped forward. Sirius tensed, not sure if she meant to embrace Harry or strike him, but she stopped short. The muscles in her face trembled and she finally spat out, "Harry, if you leave with that man, don't ever come back and darken our door again! You could have grown up like Vernon, like a good man, a decent man, but, if you want to throw it away and go live with *him* then all I can say is 'Good riddance.'"
Harry's emerald green eyes sparkled warningly. "A good man? A decent man? Aunt Petunia, I'm going to live with someone who's a better man than Uncle Vernon can ever hope to be. I should have lived with him from the start. Everyone would have been happier."
No one responded. Without a backward glance, Harry and Sirius left. Harry held on to Sirius' waist as the bike accelerated down the street. The roads they followed soon led them to sparsely populated areas. Finally, they were alone, rolling fast down a country road. Sirius turned his head back slightly. "Ready, Harry?"
"What do I do?"
"Just hold on. It'll feel something like flying a broom."
With a powerful lift, the bike sprang into the air. The bike suddenly went silent, although Harry could still feel the thrum of its engine between his legs. They climbed high above fields and forests. Harry could see occasional lights in windows of the few houses down below. He didn't know why, but the stars seemed brighter tonight. He caught a glimpse of Hedwig's form off to their right, keeping pace with them. He felt lighter than air and happier than he could ever remember being.
Leaning forward, he shouted, "This is soooo cool!!"
Sirius threw back his head and laughed.
END