Thanks to all of the readers/reviewers, I really appreciate all of your comments. I'm not usually not one to thrive on reviews (Not that don't absolutely love getting them) but lately I think they've been helping me a lot. Thank you all so much!
The Edge of Forever
Chapter Eight: Complications
***
~Things I felt yesterday don't seem to matter anymore.~
Sirius leaned against the hard stone wall with something akin to horror piercing his heavily pounding heart. But whether that fear was all for the well being of his godson, he wasn't entirely certain. He wanted to believe that it was all for him, wanted to believe that Harry was all that he cared about right now, but part of him knew that he was worried about himself as well. Part of him knew that Remus was right and he couldn't risk himself to help the boy. Part of him knew that he was bound to be caught at any given moment if he stepped outside his friend's front door. But that part of him, he found, didn't really care.
Of course, Harry wouldn't be too pleased if that were to happen, he was after all on the run from the ministry in order to keep him safe. How would Harry feel if all of his efforts were in vain? Sirius didn't usually have the time to contemplate such things where Harry was at stake, he'd always just gone with his gut instinct, however foolish it might be...Like today.
Perhaps the interruption he'd gotten in the course of taking action was really for the best. Whoever was knocking so heavily on the door just above him was giving him the much needed time to think things through and formulate a plan. He just hoped that whoever it was wouldn't also be the ruin of those plans.
Glancing at the small widow on the other side of the basement, Sirius bit his lip. Could he fit through there if he had to? And even if he could, would he get through it fast enough? It didn't seem very likely, but if anything went awry it was the only escape that he had. But, now that he thought about it, the chances of escaping through there were rather slim. The walls all around him were enough to make anyone a bit nervous. The claw marks evident against the solid stone suggested that his friend kept some kind of monster locked down there as a pet.
No, there was no escape through there. If there was any possibility of anyone other than a very small child getting through the window it would have been boarded up long ago. Remus was very careful about his transformations, he'd never take a chance at hurting someone if he could help it. And that meant that there was no escape. Sirius was trapped.
The knocking died down then, and Sirius was surprised not to hear the mad rush of many armed ministry wizards flooding the house. In fact, he didn't hear anything at all. Was that a good thing or a bad thing? He wasn't sure. if someone was here for him they obviously weren't in as much of a hurry as he'd thought. Or perhaps they were questioning Remus? What was going on?
It was several minutes before he heard anything at all, and even then it only sounded like one or two people walking slowly across the room. It certainly didn't sound like anything to be particularly worried about, but then again, who was he to be making that decision?
"Padfoot?" He eventually heard from the top of the stairs, a thin stream of light making it's way into the basement. "Sirius, you'd better come up here."
Sirius furrowed his brow in confusion. Why was Remus acting so calm? It was strange, his tone seemed so casual, but did that really mean everything was all right? He briefly wondered if he should in fact go up there. What if his friend were under some strange spell? What if there was someone up there just waiting to get a glimpse of his face so that they could turn him in? Of course, if that had been the case they'd just have come down, wouldn't they? He was sort of trapped down there after all.
Still a bit cautious about what was going on, Sirius pushed himself up off of the wall and climbed the creaking steps slowly. But when he finally did enter the small kitchen again his eye's went wide at what he saw.
Or rather, who he saw...
"Harry?" He nearly gasped. The boy looked up at him, forcing a feeble smile to cross his tired face.
"Hi." He said, but it came out a bit awkwardly--Like they hadn't spoken in years--and Sirius frowned down at him.
"Harry, what are you doing here?" He asked, taking a seat across from him at the small wooden table.
Harry chewed his lip nervously. "It's kind of a long story..." He mumbled softly, trailing off, and lowering his gaze. He hadn't realized how hard it would all be to explain. For the past two days all he'd cared about was getting safely to his godfather, but now...How could he explain it all? How could he tell Sirius what he had done? "You see...I...."
"We know about what happened with the ministry." Remus said, hoping to move the conversation along a bit as the boy's voice faded once again.
"You do?" He asked quickly. He was beginning to feel slightly ill.
"Yes." Remus said shortly, tossing him a copy on that morning's Daily Prophet. "It's all in there."
Harry's jaw dropped as he gazed down at the two faces staring up at him--One, of course, being his own and the other belonging to the confused man across from him. 'Partners in crime?' Shaking his head slowly and taking a deep breath, Harry read on.
**The Boy Who Lived is a legend in his own time, writes Rita Skeeter, Special Correspondent. Only thirteen short years ago he saved the wizarding world the greatest threat it had ever faced when, at the tender age of one, he defeated the Dark Lord. Though he can hardly be expected to remember any of what happened on that fateful night it has not stopped him from using his past to benefit his future. Over the years he has only become more and more famous, but should such fame be so freely bestowed upon someone so young? Fame is something that can change even the strongest of people, let alone one so troubled as the young Mr. Potter.
Far more interesting, however, are those that Harry associates himself with. Famous as he is, he seems to think himself above those who should fear criminals and murders. As was stated in a previous Daily Prophet article, Potter has found friends in Giants and Werewolves, but those aren't the only sketchy characters he seems to have taken a liking to. For instance, his relationship with convicted murder, Sirius Black.
Black, as most know, escaped from Azkaban Fortress nearly two years ago. He had been serving a life sentence for allegedly killing thirteen people with a single curse (twelve muggles and one wizard) when he mysteriously attained his freedom. He was one of the strongest followers of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, and in fact was a key player in the deaths of James and Lily Potter, Harry's deceased parents. So why has Harry, of all people, been in contact with him?
An owl written by Potter was intercepted by the Ministry of Magic the day before last, addressed to none other than Sirius Black. Do to the nature of the letter (Which I am not at liberty to discuss) the Ministry believes that this wasn't the first time the two have been in contact. The Minister of Magic himself has taken control of the investigation, having brought the boy in for questioning of his own accord.
"When I first came in I found him poking around behind my desk." Said a very frustrated Cornelius Fudge. "And when I questioned him he was very rude and refused to explain anything. He seemed rather protective of Black. Suspiciously so."
In an interesting turn of events, Harry disappeared that very night after his audience with Fudge. His muggle uncle was hurt in the processes of his escape. It isn't clear yet whether Harry was kidnapped by Black in a drastic attempt to save himself or if the boy is actually in league with the deranged mass murderer. Fudge has a theory on the matter that might help it all make a little more sense.
"They're obviously trying to cause chaos." He explained during an interview yesterday. "After talking to Potter, I believe that they're working together. Trying to make everyone think that You-Know-Who's returned or some such nonsense. Yes, there have been attacks, but who's to say that it wasn't Black himself? It's all a conspiracy if you ask me."
A Ministry aid, who wished to remain anonymous, added that "He [Potter] really seemed to think You-Know-Who was back in power. I've never heard anyone mention the Dark Lord's name so casually before."
After talking to the Minister, and others, it may be safe to assume that Harry is in fact using his fame to frighten the wizarding world into believing that something more sinister is behind the recent attacks. However, this has not yet been confirmed.
(Everything written in this article is based on interviews with the Minister of Magic as well as several other Ministry officials, and contains none of my own speculation. Therefore I cannot be held personally accountable for anything that my not be completely true.)**
"I can't believe her." Harry said softly, reading over the article a second time, allowing the edges of the paper to crumble under his shaking hands. "She always finds a way. Some loop hole..."
"Who?" Remus asked the clearly disgruntled teen.
"Rita Skeeter!" He nearly exclaimed. "She let Fudge do all of the speculating for her."
"I take it your not a fan of Ms Skeeter?" Remus said knowingly. After everything he'd read in the Daily Prophet last year, it was really no wonder.
Harry stifled and bitter laugh at the other's question. "Hardly." He replied, finally setting the wrinkled parchment down. Oh, Hermione was not going to be happy when she read this!
"How did this happen, Harry?" Sirius said, joining the conversation rather abruptly.
"Huh?" Harry furrowed his brow at the man, caught off guard by his godfather's sudden change of subject. Remus looked at the two expectantly.
"How did this-" He took up the paper in his hands for emphasis. "-happen?"
Harry opened his mouth to speak, but soon realized that he wasn't quite sure of what to say. They were back to that awkward conversation they'd been having when Sirius had first arrived in the room. What did they want him to say? He didn't have to tell them about the owl now, but that wasn't the only thing that had bothered him before. It really was sort of difficult to explain, especially when he wanted to leave it all at a half truth. He didn't particularly relish the idea of telling them about what had happened with his uncle. Could he really trust Sirius not to go after Vernon if he told the truth? He sighed, lowering his gaze to escape the other's inquiring stares and, for now, said nothing at all.
"Harry?" Sirius prompted him a bit more urgently. He needed to know what was going on. Both of their lives could be at stake here. He just needed to understand.
"Harry?" Remus put in, when after several minutes his friend's question remained unanswered.
"What happened?" Sirius asked again, his tone was beginning to sound almost desperate. "Just tell us, we wont-"
"I screwed up, OK?" Even Harry was surprised to hear himself speak, that much was evident in his bewildered face. He had fully intended to remain silent until he could come up with a more roundabout way of explaining it all.
Sirius was taken aback by the boys harsh tone. There was more to this than he was letting on. "Harry," He said his name softly, gently. "Why did you send out an owl like that?"
"I don't know." He was still mildly surprised to hear himself talking, his eye's remaining downcast and confused. "I was just kind of upset." He tried to explain, it was a flimsy excuse and he knew it. "I'm sorry."
"Were you upset with me?" Sirius asked.
"No!" Harry replied quickly, glancing up at him then.
"What made you write that owl?"
"I wasn't thinking, OK?"
"What made you so upset that you weren't thinking, Harry?"
If at all possible, the frown on Harry's face deepened. "My uncle was just being a jerk..."
"I was under the impression that your uncle has always been a jerk." Remus joined the conversation once again, and Harry sighed.
"Look, this isn't important right now. All that matters is keeping Sirius and I from getting caught! Who really cares why I did it? I did, and I'm sorry! That's it!"
"Harry, we just want to understand-"
"Understanding wont change things!" He cut his former professor off, getting quickly to his feet. "Who cares what happened to me? That's-"
"I care what happened to you!" Now it was Harry's turn to be cut off, a very grim Sirius now standing before him. "The ministry's making you out to be some kind of criminal here, all because you've been in contact with me. Because of me you ran away and left yourself completely vulnerable to Voldemort. You could have been killed, Harry! You should have been safe, back at the Dursleys-"
"I wasn't safe at the Dursleys!"
The room was completely silent for a moment, Harry's words hanging in the air like some unlucky insect, caught in the silky fibers of a black widows web, waiting to be digested.
"What?" Sirius' asked, his tone only made calm by the confusion behind it.
Harry groaned inwardly, leaning on the wall behind him for support. How could he be so stupid? It was almost like he wanted to make things worse, he certainly was good at it. It was out there now though, it would only be a matter of time before they figured it all out. He'd written that owl because he thought his uncle was going to kill him. There, would that make them happy? Was that what they wanted to hear? Would that make things better? Harry chewed his lower lip and raked a nervous hand across his weary face. He didn't want to tell them, but, much to his displeasure Harry found that his mouth wouldn't quite cooperate, and that a sudden need to explain things was quickly overwhelming his need to remain quiet. Keeping secrets was no longer an option he had.
"All right, you really want to know what happened? Fine." He said this with a defeated sigh, barely allowing himself to gaze up at the two. "My scar started hurting, and I started screaming. I ruined breakfast and mentioned Hogwarts, and I got smacked around a bit. I let it get to me a little more upset than I should have, and I guess I wasn't thinking too clearly cause I can't really remember what I put in that Owl. It's not that big of a deal."
But Harry could tell by the look on his godfather's face that he thought it was a big deal. A very big deal. "That bastard hit you?" He asked slowly, the calmness in his voice making the question all the more intense. Sirius stared at the boy severely, allowing his eye's to wander over the ghost of a bruise still lingering just below his right eye.
Harry paled considerably as he stared back the other, he knew this was going to happen... "It was nothing. I shouldn't have made him mad."
"I'll kill him!" Sirius exclaimed so suddenly, that both Harry and Remus started at his words. "You were supposed to be safe there! I'll teach that miserable muggle to-"
"Sirius, no!" Harry said desperately, garbing the other's arm before he had a chance to go anywhere. "It's not worth it. They are not worth you going back to Azkaban. Your not going after them. I wont let you!"
"Who's says they'll catch me? They never have before." Sirius whirled on him, his pale eye's an odd mix of bitter loathing and lingering fear. "If everyone's going to think I'm out there killing innocents and causing chaos I might as well deserve it, right?"
"You can't!" Harry protested pleadingly. "Sirius, just leave it alone. It doesn't matter anymore. I'm fine."
"It does matter, Harry. More than you realize."
"No, it's fine! Just forget it!"
"It's not fine!"
"It is, Sirius! I am!"
Remus just stood back for a moment, watching the two bewilderedly. Seeing them arguing like that was all most surreal. For the past year they had wanted nothing more than to put the past behind them and get on with their lives. To be the family they both so desperately needed. The sad thing was that both of their arguments were for the benefit of the other. They wanted only to protect each other. It was their nature.
Of course he was nearly as upset as Sirius about the situation with the Dursleys, he was just significantly better at hiding. He was very good at hiding things.
It was his professor side that felt the need to analyze the situation so. He, as somewhat of an outsider, could see both sides of their conflict.
Sirius had never been a subtle man, he could never just stand back when someone he cared about had been wronged. And who was more important to him that Harry? He, understandably, wanted to get revenge for what had happened to his godson, but he never thought things through. It had gotten him into trouble in the past, and would most certainly be a great flaw for him in the future.
Harry, who'd had a difficult life since he was a small child, was better adapted to dealing with things. He was a strong kid and could get over even the hardest of things if he was just given a bit of time. Something bad had happened to him, and he'd generally put it behind him. He knew that he had more important things to be thinking about. All that mattered to him now was that his past problems didn't affect Sirius' future.
But then again Remus had never known the boy to be so impulsive as he'd been lately. Writing angry letters, using magic on muggles...Perhaps he couldn't see things as clearly as he'd previously thought. Either way, there was one thing that he was sure of, and that was that this argument could not be allowed to continue. It had already gone on far too long.
Getting to his feet and taking a few cautious steps forward, Remus put himself between his fighting comrades. "You two have got to stop this." He said giving them both a very serious glance.
The argument was cut off abruptly, but only Harry had the good sense to remain silent.
"Remus, you heard what he said." Sirius exclaimed, gazing up at his friend. His eye's held a stubborn glint that the other had seen far too many times before. "You can't just expect me to sit back and-"
"That's exactly what I expect you to do." Remus told his friend, with a strong hint of finality. "That's what we're all going to do. We're going to sit back, and think things through and come up with some plan that wont get anyone killed in the process."
Sirius looked as though he was going to say something else, but the glare he was receiving from his friend just then was enough to shut anyone up. Even someone as worked up as him.
Harry looked at his former professor with the utmost relief. Just looking at the boy's pale face a moment ago was enough to tell Remus that the argument he'd just been involved in was taking more of a toll on him than anything the Dursleys could ever hope to dish out. The boy gave him a tiny smile of gratitude, reclaiming the seat he'd occupied only moments ago.
Sirius, though lacking a great deal of his godson's relief, did the same.
"I think you should go to Hogwarts." Sirius said after a moment of quiet thought. As usual it only took him a few minutes of reflection to realize that he was being far too rash in his judgment. As much as he wanted to go strait to Privet Dr and pound Vernon Dursley into the ground, he knew that it would hardly make his godson's life any easier. He hadn't been there to protect Harry in the past, but he'd be damned if he let anything happen to the boy now. Not when this whole thing was really his fault. He should have known better than to put Harry in a situation where he could be linked to the evil, murdering, Sirius Black.
"What? Why should I-"
"It's not safe for you to be out in the open like this." Sirius reasoned, staring at the boy protectively. "Dumbledor'll keep you out of harms way-"
"Like he did at the TriWizard Tournament?" Harry hadn't meant for it to come out so accusatory, but he guessed that it was how he really felt. He'd let himself believe that with Dumbledore around there was no reason to be afraid. That within the boundaries of Hogwarts castle he was well protected and safe. But after what had happened at the end of the year he wasn't nearly so sure. If Voldemort had found a way once, what was to stop him from doing it again?
"Sirius is right." Remus said at the short silence that followed the boy's disturbing question. "No, being at Hogwarts doesn't mean that nothing can happen to you, but it is less likely. And besides, the ministry wont find you there if Dumbledore has anything to say about it."
"No." Harry shook his head thoughtfully. "Sure Dumbledore can keep me hidden, but what's going to happen at the start of term? He can't hide me forever."
"Well, you can't stay here." Sirius said, pretty much thinking out loud. "It's only a matter of time before they think to look here for you."
"Then you can't stay here either." Harry reminded the man darkly. "We could go somewhere together. I'll just have to hide out with you for a while."
"You can't." His godfather shook his head slowly, dark locks of hair falling over his pale eyes. "Harry, it would never work. I don't want you to have to go through that-"
"I'm already going through that."
"No, Harry. Half the reason I haven't been caught is because of Padfoot, and that wont work with you."
"Oh yeah."
"Are their any muggles you could stay with? The ministry might not think to look for you so much outside the wizarding world." Remus asked and Harry nearly found himself laughing bitterly at the question.
"Only if I want to get arrested again." He replied sardonically, lowering his gaze.
"What?" Both men exclaimed.
"They put me on the muggle news." He explained with a sigh. "If anyone recognizes me they wont hesitate to call the police."
They all went back to thinking at the boy's troubling revelation, Harry most of all. Gazing sadly at the two already burdened men, he furrowed his brow in a sullen sort of confusion. How could he have done this to them? After everything that they'd done for him, after all they'd gone through...They had enough things to deal with without worrying about him. If Sirius hadn't been directly involved in his latest crisis he doubted he would have brought them into this at all.
There was no easy way out of this. Even if he wanted to he couldn't hide forever, and as much as he hated to admit it, Sirius couldn't either. Especially now. Nothing short of proving his godfather's innocence would put an end to this. Nothing short of finding Wormtail and presenting him to the ministry on a golden platter. But now that he thought of it, would that really be any harder than anything else they had the option of going through?
"What if we got the ministry to believe that your innocent?" He asked Sirius pensively. His godfather raised an eyebrow.
"Actually, Harry, that's kind of what I've been trying to do for the past two years." He reminded him incredulously, his eye's clearly asking 'Are you serious?'
"Yeah, but maybe if I was there it would be easier." The boy said, at that very moment forming a very dangerous, and very difficult plan in the back of his mind. He'd thought that no one could fix this, but the more he mauled over it all he realized that there was one among them who could change things now. The very same one who'd screwed it all up to begin with. It could work... "Wormtail is always with Voldemort right?"
The result was instantaneous.
"Don't even think it!" Sirius exclaimed, catching on rather suddenly. "No! It's out of the question."
"But-"
"Harry, it's a stupid idea."
"You haven't even heard me out."
"I don't have to hear you out, I know what your thinking and the answer in no." Sirius' gaze was very final, but Harry still looked as though he were about to protest it. "No!" He said again as the boy began to open his mouth. "You want us to use you as bait. Well, it's not going to happen."
"But how else-"
"Think about what your saying, Harry." Remus cut in. "What you're suggesting is suicide. For both of you. Getting yourselves killed is hardly going to make things any better."
Harry sighed and looked away. Remus was right. He was always right. A fact that was becoming more than a little annoying. "All right, so it was a stupid idea." He admitted regretfully. But as he let his eye's wander over the two men sitting across from him still trying to figure something out he had to wonder, was there really anything else they could do?
The frown on his face deepened considerably as he went over it all once more. No, he decided mournfully. There was no other way.
Too bad he'd never be able to pull it off...
***
A/N: OK, that parts done. Were the characterizations still ok? *Crosses fingers* Is Harry still the same Harry he's been throughout? I've gotten a few comments about him being different from the way most people write Harry because he's not so meek and depressed, and I kind of like it that way. But keeping him like that is going to get a bit harder as this fic goes on. But, hey, here's hoping ^_^
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zorra: Thank you! Yeah, Harry can't stay there. That's the sad part. And I know what you mean about keeping track of HP stories. It really can be difficult!
Starlette: I'm really glad you think I did ok with Sirius! 'Twas a bit worried there :) The ministry is frustrating. That's mostly 'cause Fudge is such a knockout minister of magic! Dumbledore wont really have a big part in this, but he will definitely be involved. Thanx for reviewing!
wonder: Thank you! I'm so glad your enjoying this, and that the last chapter was all right! That part at the beginning was really fun to write. I'm such a little Remus nerd sometimes :) Most times...*Grins* I guess Sirius would go crazy like that. Of course, he's a bit nuts in this chapter too, and probably most of them from now. I'm gonna have to work on calming down a bit, I think. I love Sirius and Remus too! They are such great characters, I'm so glad you think I did ok with them! Thanx again!
Kanashimi: Yep, Harry's finally there! Took forever, but there he is. Yes, Remus would be a bit of trouble if the ministry figured out that he was helping them, but he doesn't seem like the type to worry about himself in that sense. Dumbledore wont help them as much as you might think, but he will be there. Thank you for reviewing!
Gryffindorgurl987: Thanx! I'm glad you're enjoying this! I try not to take too long between updates, but sometimes I get a bit...err...I dunno, but hopefully I wont take to long with the rest of this :)
A.Dee: Sirius has a tendency to do some dumb things when it comes to Harry :) I too am glad that he finally got to Sirius and Remus! Thanx!
Silver Angel: Was that really that bad f a cliffie? Sorry 'bout that! It just seemed like a good place to stop. Well, you know how Sirius and Remus have reacted so far. No ones come after Harry just yet, but the sure will be if he sticks around. Thank you for reviewing!!
Lee Lee Potter: I'll try not to beat myself up so much, I just worry about what I'm writing sometimes. Most times -_-;; I'm glad Sirius' reaction seemed realistic enough! Thank you for reviewing! I'm glad you like this!
Calen: Yeah, he's finally there. Thanx!
naughtynat: Thank you!! I'm really glad you like this! You put it on your favorites list? Wow thanx!
Camel Socks: Yep, they're finally together! I love the Marauders too! Especially Sirius and Remus! They're definitely among my favs! Thanx again!
ninerings: I'm glad you like how I wrote Harry! I don't think that he's nearly as weak as he seems in a lot of fics, and I was really trying to get away from that!
WeasleyTwinsLover1112: Yeah, the knight bus would have made it easier, but that would have been way to easy! Plus, he might have been caught if he rode it. Not that he wasn't caught anyway, but still ^_^; Thank you very much!
padfoot1979: Thank you! I'm glad you like this! and that my characterizations of Remus and Sirius were ok! No, things definitely wont be easy for Harry now! Things just keep getting worse. Plus Harry is beginning to think somewhat...dangerously...
Saya-Sato: You like my Sirius? *Grins* Thank you! I'm glad you think this is somewhat original. And don't worry, any review I can get makes me very, very happy! Thanx again!
Dark Blood AKA hermionegranger: Thanx again for reviewing! I'm glad you think I did all right on it!