Chapter 2: Harry
Finally the second chapter is out! Enjoy! And PLEASE review! I beg you!
Disclaimer: None of the characters or places or (maybe) the plot of this story is mine. And I don't own the description of the landscape exactly. It's J.R.R. Tolkien's. So don't sue me!
The water lapped against Sirius' tired, aching feet as he finally reached the desolate gray shore. His body was covered with gritty salt from the ocean water, but he felt much cleaner than he had when he was in Azkaban. The ocean, however saline it was, was better than the dank, filthy building of the wizard prison, where despair and anguish hovered ever in the air. Sirius pulled himself onto the beach in his Animagus form, shivering with cold.
Where do I want to go first? He asked himself, able to think clearly for the first time in years. Hogwarts is a long way away. I need food and shelter and drink. Of course! The nearest town. How could I be so stupid? But wait...where is the nearest town? Sirius yellow dog eyes roamed around the shore. Everything was gray, almost colorless, and only miniscule signs of life could be seen in the nearest vicinity. Hmmm...he thought. I guess I have to search then. With his rediscovered voice he heaved his body with a sigh and began to search for a nearby town or village. Damp gray sand stuck to his feet as he bounded across the coast with his broad paws. The land seemed to stretch on for miles without any sign of human life. It was a seemingly evil area near Azkaban, and Sirius searched hopelessly.
At last he found a small grove of trees where he could rest his weary body, which was still in dog form. He climbed into the forest, grateful for the shelter of the woodland where he could rest his weary body and not be on the lookout for Ministry wizards. As his eyes closed down in search of sleep, he remembered one last thought: Go and find Harry before you get to Hogwarts.
Sirius woke to a surprisingly bright day. At least, it seemed bright to him. It was, in fact, a cloudy, dreary day, and the ordinary human being would look out of their window and take it as an omen as a very bad day with its smothering cloud cover. After Azkaban, however, the fugitive felt as though the sun was covering him with heavenly rays. He transformed himself back into a human and stretched, waking up from a blissful and peaceful sleep. He thought for a moment and decided to first go in search of food.
After walking through the trees for a while (always under their shelter in dog form), Sirius spotted a rat run across the leaves on the forest floor. Instinctively the dog part of him ran after it hungrily. With a triumphant crunch his sharp teeth caught it in his mouth, and he devoured it greedily. His human side felt a little sick when he realized, with a shock, that he had just eaten a rat, but it was food, and for the present that was all that mattered. Now he started off in search of drink--or, more specifically, water. He was extremely thirsty and for the first time he recognized the disgust of having a body covered with salt water. For a long time afterward he could not bear to smell anything to do with the ocean. For the present, however, he knew he had to withstand the scent, and he walked out of the forest into the open land.
The land was covered with bleak, matted patches of grass. Occasionally a dead, withered flower could be seen here or there, as if the barren landscape had squandered its remaining will to grow. The great black dog flattened the grass with his paws as he wandered around the landscape in search of water. At least he found a thin, trickling gully. It was nearly dry. He lapped up some of it and started running north, as the thought suddenly came to him that he wanted to find Harry before he headed toward Hogwarts. He still had a whole month before the school year started, and the chance to see his godson should not be wasted.
When the day waned and finally came to an end, Sirius had run many miles north, stopping here and there for water and food (mostly rats.) The land gradually became better as he traveled, first turning into larger patches of grass and finally into broad fields and meadows. He slept in a field with the cover of wide stalks of grass, feeling a sense of relief for the rest. His more sensible state of mind told him he should travel by night and rest by day, but for now, his exhausted body begged for recovery. Day Two of his hiding had ended, and Day Three would come tomorrow.
For the next three days Sirius ran north, growing thinner and thinner and feeling more hopeless. Once or twice a kind farmer in the rural area in which he had been taking refuge would take pity on the starved, shaggy dog and give him a few morsels to eat, but most of the time he was either not seen or was simply avoided by the humans. At last, when a week had passed, he reached a Muggle village in Surrey in the evening. He turned onto a lane and found Privet Drive. It sounded vaguely familiar, but he could not recall where he had heard it from. His eyes swept over the neat row of Muggle houses surrounding the street with their opposite faces and he decided to hide in one of the resident's yards. Slipping around to the back of the house, he quietly made his way through the yard and lay down there silently, ready for a good nap.
Sirius woke suddenly to the sound of running feet. He started fearfully. Had one of the Ministry wizards caught him? He had been hiding safely for so long that he had almost forgotten the wizarding world. Quickly he walked over to the fence and roved the street with luminous eyes. He spotted a boy frantically running, panting with the effort of dragging a large trunk down the street. On top of the trunk was a cage carrying some kind of bird. The boy's face was heated as if with anger. Moved by a sudden instinct of familiarity, Sirius followed the boy two blocks away from where he had slept, trespassing onto residents' backyards. The boy stopped on an alley called Magnolia Crescent, collapsing on top of the trunk as if all his strength had given out. He turned around all of the sudden as if he sensed someone watching him. Almost instantly he spotted Sirius' bright yellow eyes and he fumbled with something in his hand--a long wooden stick. He muttered a Latin incantation and
the stick lit up. Sirius was able to see his face for the first time and felt suddenly as though he did not have a body.
The boy was Harry Potter, his godson, and he was running away from his Muggle relatives. Sirius longed to reach out to him, to hold him in a loving embrace. Before he had the chance to attract his godson's attention, however, Harry turned around and paid for a trip on the Knight Bus, which had suddenly screeched to a halt in the middle of the street. Sirius slipped back into the shadows, not without joy. For the first time in twelve years, he had seen his godson, Harry Potter.
Finally the second chapter is out! Enjoy! And PLEASE review! I beg you!
Disclaimer: None of the characters or places or (maybe) the plot of this story is mine. And I don't own the description of the landscape exactly. It's J.R.R. Tolkien's. So don't sue me!
The water lapped against Sirius' tired, aching feet as he finally reached the desolate gray shore. His body was covered with gritty salt from the ocean water, but he felt much cleaner than he had when he was in Azkaban. The ocean, however saline it was, was better than the dank, filthy building of the wizard prison, where despair and anguish hovered ever in the air. Sirius pulled himself onto the beach in his Animagus form, shivering with cold.
Where do I want to go first? He asked himself, able to think clearly for the first time in years. Hogwarts is a long way away. I need food and shelter and drink. Of course! The nearest town. How could I be so stupid? But wait...where is the nearest town? Sirius yellow dog eyes roamed around the shore. Everything was gray, almost colorless, and only miniscule signs of life could be seen in the nearest vicinity. Hmmm...he thought. I guess I have to search then. With his rediscovered voice he heaved his body with a sigh and began to search for a nearby town or village. Damp gray sand stuck to his feet as he bounded across the coast with his broad paws. The land seemed to stretch on for miles without any sign of human life. It was a seemingly evil area near Azkaban, and Sirius searched hopelessly.
At last he found a small grove of trees where he could rest his weary body, which was still in dog form. He climbed into the forest, grateful for the shelter of the woodland where he could rest his weary body and not be on the lookout for Ministry wizards. As his eyes closed down in search of sleep, he remembered one last thought: Go and find Harry before you get to Hogwarts.
Sirius woke to a surprisingly bright day. At least, it seemed bright to him. It was, in fact, a cloudy, dreary day, and the ordinary human being would look out of their window and take it as an omen as a very bad day with its smothering cloud cover. After Azkaban, however, the fugitive felt as though the sun was covering him with heavenly rays. He transformed himself back into a human and stretched, waking up from a blissful and peaceful sleep. He thought for a moment and decided to first go in search of food.
After walking through the trees for a while (always under their shelter in dog form), Sirius spotted a rat run across the leaves on the forest floor. Instinctively the dog part of him ran after it hungrily. With a triumphant crunch his sharp teeth caught it in his mouth, and he devoured it greedily. His human side felt a little sick when he realized, with a shock, that he had just eaten a rat, but it was food, and for the present that was all that mattered. Now he started off in search of drink--or, more specifically, water. He was extremely thirsty and for the first time he recognized the disgust of having a body covered with salt water. For a long time afterward he could not bear to smell anything to do with the ocean. For the present, however, he knew he had to withstand the scent, and he walked out of the forest into the open land.
The land was covered with bleak, matted patches of grass. Occasionally a dead, withered flower could be seen here or there, as if the barren landscape had squandered its remaining will to grow. The great black dog flattened the grass with his paws as he wandered around the landscape in search of water. At least he found a thin, trickling gully. It was nearly dry. He lapped up some of it and started running north, as the thought suddenly came to him that he wanted to find Harry before he headed toward Hogwarts. He still had a whole month before the school year started, and the chance to see his godson should not be wasted.
When the day waned and finally came to an end, Sirius had run many miles north, stopping here and there for water and food (mostly rats.) The land gradually became better as he traveled, first turning into larger patches of grass and finally into broad fields and meadows. He slept in a field with the cover of wide stalks of grass, feeling a sense of relief for the rest. His more sensible state of mind told him he should travel by night and rest by day, but for now, his exhausted body begged for recovery. Day Two of his hiding had ended, and Day Three would come tomorrow.
For the next three days Sirius ran north, growing thinner and thinner and feeling more hopeless. Once or twice a kind farmer in the rural area in which he had been taking refuge would take pity on the starved, shaggy dog and give him a few morsels to eat, but most of the time he was either not seen or was simply avoided by the humans. At last, when a week had passed, he reached a Muggle village in Surrey in the evening. He turned onto a lane and found Privet Drive. It sounded vaguely familiar, but he could not recall where he had heard it from. His eyes swept over the neat row of Muggle houses surrounding the street with their opposite faces and he decided to hide in one of the resident's yards. Slipping around to the back of the house, he quietly made his way through the yard and lay down there silently, ready for a good nap.
Sirius woke suddenly to the sound of running feet. He started fearfully. Had one of the Ministry wizards caught him? He had been hiding safely for so long that he had almost forgotten the wizarding world. Quickly he walked over to the fence and roved the street with luminous eyes. He spotted a boy frantically running, panting with the effort of dragging a large trunk down the street. On top of the trunk was a cage carrying some kind of bird. The boy's face was heated as if with anger. Moved by a sudden instinct of familiarity, Sirius followed the boy two blocks away from where he had slept, trespassing onto residents' backyards. The boy stopped on an alley called Magnolia Crescent, collapsing on top of the trunk as if all his strength had given out. He turned around all of the sudden as if he sensed someone watching him. Almost instantly he spotted Sirius' bright yellow eyes and he fumbled with something in his hand--a long wooden stick. He muttered a Latin incantation and
the stick lit up. Sirius was able to see his face for the first time and felt suddenly as though he did not have a body.
The boy was Harry Potter, his godson, and he was running away from his Muggle relatives. Sirius longed to reach out to him, to hold him in a loving embrace. Before he had the chance to attract his godson's attention, however, Harry turned around and paid for a trip on the Knight Bus, which had suddenly screeched to a halt in the middle of the street. Sirius slipped back into the shadows, not without joy. For the first time in twelve years, he had seen his godson, Harry Potter.