Chapter 02
• Fleeing •
It wasn't as if Sirius didn't know what he was doing, he had been a father for several years now. Just... now he wasn't sure if it was the right time. Harry was still so young.
As Harry came bounding out of the school, alone, Sirius shook his head. When Harry approached he swept him up in a hug, "How is my little trouble maker today?"
In the distance, the playground filled with children. The same playground that Harry had just left to come out with Sirius.
Harry wasn't normal like the other kids. Ever since Sirius could remember he'd never really taken to being around other's. Likely, because he was never around people long or he always said or did something most of the other boys didn't like.
Sirius sighed at the thought, he wished he could have been a better father to Harry. James would have wanted Harry to have friends, to have a real life, to be more normal. He knew that he was doing the best he could, which wasn't the best that most could. It mattered not what he tried, Harry strayed from the others, most often preferring to be alone. Occasionally Harry thought that it might've been better for Harry to have gone to his aunts, maybe he would've made better friends even if the family didn't like him.
Girls were different, when Harry did play with other children, they weren't boys. The girls didn't mind having him around, they would sit in the grass with him, make crowns of flowers, and braid their hair while he just talked. Harry's own hair wasn't long enough to be braided, it never grew out that long. Even then, Harry didn't spend that much time with them. Most likely because Sirius, no matter how hard he tried, couldn't approve of Harry acting like a girl even at such a young age.
Together they had been hiding out as Muggles for several years, moving around all the time to avoid detection.
In the beginning, Sirius had looked around, trying to find someone to take care of Harry so he could try to clear his name. Over time he'd been around a good bit and spoken to a lot of people, but he could not find anyone he deemed worthy of taking care of Harry if he couldn't return. His name had been slandered in a short time, he'd even been given a reputation that was only peaked by Voldemort himself. Sirius wanted to free himself but he couldn't leave Harry because he was afraid there was no way to prove himself innocent especially with the corrupted ministry.
At first, it had been difficult. However, with time, Sirius had learned about taking care of Harry full time. They had lived in abandoned houses until Harry was old enough to go to school, and then Sirius had created identities for them and taken on the role of a proper father, working only when necessary. He took him to school and trying to get him interested in sports (though muggle sports were all very confusing to Sirius). He was always was near Harry, where he could get to him within moments.
Through the years they had never stayed at one place for more than a few months, the ministry always found them and they moved on again. Sirius was prepared, always, since the deaths.
The irony was that Peter was constantly the one in the lead, first through the door. Sirius hated him and thought it was an ironic fate that of all the people to come after him, it was Peter.
Each time they fled, Sirius found a new identity and hid deeper within the muggle world. And, each time it took the ministry longer and longer to find them. It was in part, because Sirius found himself understanding how muggles lived without magic. Sirius could never completely plunge into the muggle world, because of the possibility of them finding him. He had to be prepared to do what was necessary to keep Harry safe.
Lately though, they had been spotted quickly. Sirius knew it was because of Harry, he was randomly emitting magic, doing things he didn't mean to. Sitting across from the school before the lunch had begun, as was usual, Sirius had been trying to decide if he should try to teach Harry about magic. At such a young age it may be hard, but if he could then it would make things much easier. The more Harry saw, the more seemed to come from him. Sirius couldn't refrain from using magic, it was the only way he could keep safe. If Harry were to become educated in spells and charms, he might be able to control the magic in him that was emerging from him.
James's and Lily's wand were the only ones he had, his house had been scoured and everything had been taken before Sirius had got a chance to get back to it. Of course, the ministry had kept the wand he left with them, he knew they would do that. That night when Harry had fallen asleep Sirius had apparated back to the burnt house. He rummaged through the rubble and taken anything that might be useful to him, including Lily's wand.
Finally, Sirius came to the conclusion that there was only one option and he called Harry. "Harry."
Harry looked up at him, "Yes daddy."
Sirius sighed, "Harry, how many times do I have to tell you? You know I'm not your real father, he died a long time ago at the hand of an evil man."
Harry nodded, "I know, but you're the one that raised me. You're my daddy now."
Sirius closed his eyes, it conflicted him inside to be called daddy. He knew he didn't want to be called that, it was his fault everything had happened. He wished he could take it back. But, at the same time when he was called daddy it gave him a feeling of pride, Harry may not be his son but he had raised Harry, kept him away from everyone that was evil.
"Ok Harry. I can accept that, for now. I have something to teach you about today. It's about you being different."
Harry nodded and smiled. "Do I get to do it like you can?"
Sirius knew what he meant, Harry had seen him transform on more than one occasion. His animagus form had saved them from capture in many instances. Though, it was getting difficult to carry Harry on his back now that Harry was six years old.
"Well, not yet. But you get to do other things."
Harry smiled happily. It took so little to make him feel good. Sirius smiled back at him. "Let's go then," he said, glancing back at the school. Harry wouldn't be going for a time, they would be moving soon if he was going to teach Harry magic.
Harry grabbed Sirius's hand and dragged him trying to get him to move faster as they headed back to their flat. Sirius only worked a bit here and there, he had been pretty well off before everything had happened. Now he didn't have it all, but he had been able to get a good deal of it through a very long and tedious set of paperwork and convincing through muggle banks. Of course, the ministry had traced it as quick as possible, but Sirius was long gone with the money when they finally did.
They had a bank account in one of his many names. It had been easy to get a hold of a few new identities when he reached the muggle world, most of the people that could do it were easy to identify. Now he had a list, several muggle documents to prove he was who they thought he was, Neal White, Jacob Green, Simon Black or any number of other muggle names. Harry knew some little things about that, he had enjoyed changing his name all the time, but still preferred to be called Harry by Sirius.
They reached the building and took the elevator to there flat. Sirius performed a quick check before entering into the room. He knew what an Auror did, what tactics they used, how they could find him. After all, he had been trained as one, nearly graduated from the training. Had things been different by only a few more weeks, he would have. This also meant he knew how to hide his magic and keep them off his trail for long periods of time. He needed to teach Harry how to hide his magic quickly, it would give them away soon enough.
Walking into the room Sirius pulled out James's wand and handed it to Harry. "You know what this is?"
Harry laughed lightly, "Your wand silly."
Sirius shook his head, "No, it was your father's wand, now it is yours. I can use another for now."
Harry looked at it as though it was a delicate object and slowly took it from his hand. "Mine? Does that mean I get to learn?"
Sirius smiled and nodded, "Yes Harry, it's time. You are a young man now and they are finding us too quickly because you're giving off too much power. We need to start to dampen what they can see, which means you have to learn some of the tricks of the trade."
Harry nodded, Sirius knew how happy he was. They had been dodging the ministry all Harry's life, he had helped on more that one occasion to ward off the Auror's. Now he would be able to help a little more. He knew everything that had happened in the past, how Sirius had been framed and how his parents had died. On occasion they would talk about it, but not often.
"Now Harry, I want to show you a basic spell. First though." He lifted his hands and performed a spell to insure that the flat would dampen any magic so people would not be able to find it. He reinforced the field nearly every day just as a precaution, it was supposed to last weeks but Sirius had learned that it didn't always last that long.
"Ok, now, hold the wand and say Lumos."
Harry held out the wand lazily. "Lumos."
It lit up brightly Sirius smiled, he picked this up pretty easily. "Now, Nox."
Harry rolled his eyes. "Nox."
The light flickered and was gone, Sirius felt extremely proud. For a six year old it was amazing he was doing the spell correctly his first time. Harry, however, didn't seem to think so. "Dad! I want to do something hard, that was too easy, I've been able to..."
Sirius looked at Harry again; who had shut his mouth as if he was saying something wrong. Sirius repeated the words in his head, then looked down sternly. "Harry, you've been able to do that for how long?"
Harry looked guiltily at Sirius, he knew he wasn't supposed to use the wand unless he asked Sirius first. "Since I've been using the wand."
Sirius looked even more displeased, "And how long have you been using the wand? I haven't ever seen you using it."
Harry looked down at the floor. "Since London. When we escaped there I heard the spells and I tried them. I couldn't really do them at first, but I did them over and over and over until I could. You caught me before but I made you forget."
Sirius was startled. "You... since London? You could barely speak then. And forget, how did you make me forget?"
A coin found its way to Harry's hand and started rolling back and forth over the top of his fingers. Sirius knew he was extremely nervous; the coin was something he only did when he wasn't thinking about it or nervous. "Obliviate."
Sirius took a deep breath, he didn't enjoy being mad at Harry, but this was absurd. "When did you learn that charm?"
"In London, I told you. When we were getting away you made that man forget when he caught us."
Sirius felt really warm inside, he wasn't angry anymore, he was proud. Harry could already do magic, it was so natural for him like he was born to do it, he was using magic from the time he could speak.
Then Sirius wondered if he could do anything else. "I'm not mad Harry, just surprised. Tell me, what else can you do?"
Harry smiled and looked up. "Really you're not mad?" Sirius shook his head.
"Ok. Well, I know a lot though," Harry said happily. "I watch you do all you're spells all the time. I read too."
Sirius glanced over at the far bookshelf. They had happened across a few books in there travels and Harry had insisted they keep them. He'd always wondered why, shrinking them and taking the books when they moved hadn't been hard. But they had lost several books when they had had to escape and Harry always hated it.
"Ok Harry, what else can you do then?"
Harry pointed his wand at a pencil on the desk. "Wingardium Leviosa." His hands flicked and the pencil lifted off the desk. Sirius watched it as it floated, with Harry very much in control, right over to him and dropped in his hand.
Sirius was more exited than anything else right now. It was amazing what Harry could do, the spell wasn't too difficult, but to control it so well - "Show me everything you can do," he said, enjoying watching Harry use magic.
Harry grinned wider than before. He knew Sirius was happy with how much he could do. He also knew as well that particular spell was nothing really difficult. One of the books had showed him how to move from one place to another. It had taken him several months to get it right but now he could do it without thinking hard. He would save that until the end though.
It took a few hours to go over everything, Sirius was so proud of Harry. He also realized it was no wonder they had been found easier. Later, he needed to teach Harry how to suppress the magic outside the immediate vicinity. The flying charm had been entertaining, Harry hadn't perfected it at all (which was no surprise Sirius couldn't either.), but was still able to get himself to fly around the room, bumping into everything, but that didn't matter.
Harry was sitting across the room now, he called for Sirius's attention. "There's one more. I don't know though... I think it's a bad spell."
Sirius looked up, he knew that Harry had been hiding something. He was mischievous just like his father, always the best for last. "Go ahead, I can reverse anything you can do," he nodded his head and watched as Harry disappeared. He gasped, what had gone wrong? There was a tapping on his shoulders and Sirius turned around and struggled for breath, falling out of his chair in the process.
"You... You can apparate!" he choked, his jaw almost touching the floor. That was impossible.
Harry looked at him confused. "See it's bad... I told you."
Sirius suddenly had a notion, if he could, he must have been able to do it before. "How long have you been able to do that?"
Harry's confusion went away and now he looked guilty again. "Since Bath."
Sirius knew all of he sudden, they had been able to track them. That was why there had been a series of narrow escapes around that time, they hadn't seemed to stay in one place for more than a couple days. Harry had been apparating, probably practicing, they could have easily traced him. Harry had also probably made this connection. "Did you stop doing it?"
Harry nodded slowly. "The Aurors kept finding us really quick when I did it."
Sirius nodded and realized that they had probably watched that too, they had to leave. "Harry, we have to go, they can trace you when you apparate. We can talk about this later."
Harry nodded; he had caused them to get into trouble again and knew it. Sirius flicked his wand and several things were packed into a trunk, which he shrunk and made weightless. "We need to go again. Where shall we go to this time?"
Harry pulled out a map of England they had. There were several small red marks that showed where they had been. He had been deciding where to go lately and he had to choose again. "How about Birmingham?"
Sirius smiled, "Birmingham it is. I wonder how much different the schools will be," he said with a smile. Harry always wondered that very thing. Sometimes they changed very little, sometimes a lot.
They both left the apartment quickly and headed for the train station.
When they got to the station, Sirius took Harry into the restroom and handed him a piece of candy. Harry knew what it was and didn't want to take it, it made his insides feel bad. Grudgingly he popped it into his mouth and watched in the mirror as his hair changed color. His eyes shifted to a bright blue and his scar faded away. Sirius had explained it once before, it was a something called a 'glamour' charmed candy. It would make the person look different for hours on end sort of like a costume that you put on. It was really fun accept that he hated the feeling it gave him.
Harry smiled at himself and brushed back his long hair. Sirius had wanted to cut it but he didn't want to, he liked Sirius's long hair and was trying to mimic it, though his hadn't ever got very long.
Sirius paid for the tickets and then got on the train, when he had found an empty compartment he took one of the chocolates and popped it in his mouth, his hair and eyes also changing. Both were now brown.
Harry sat quietly in the compartment and wondered what life was like for a normal person. Even being young he watched people walk by and knew he wasn't like them at all. It wasn't just that they were always on the run either, or magic. Deep inside he knew that he was different from all of them.
Being on the run he never had any real friends. So he watched people as they walked by and he studied them, he tried to think like them, but it never worked. Someday he'd have friends, he knew it. One day he'd find people more like him.
•
Another couple years passed, Harry progressed through training almost as fast as Sirius could teach him. It didn't take long before Harry was eight and asked the question. One of those questions Sirius didn't want to have to answer, he knew there were worse and more difficult questions but this one was still too complex.
"Sirius, can I become an animagus yet?"
It was an innocent question. Harry was always so innocent about everything.
Sirius had been pondering the question for a long time. It would probably be much easier to escape with another animagus, as long as he wasn't too conspicuous. He still hadn't come up with the answer for himself, deep down he already knew he would do it. He had been purchasing the supplies needed one by one and even trained Harry to do some of the things that were needed. Harry was ready, Sirius wasn't.
They were sitting in a flat in London again, it had been several years since they had been in London, so it was safe to return as long as it wasn't near the same place. Harry had been going to school until the holiday and still hadn't enjoyed it. He wanted so much to be a real wizard and not have to deal with anything that was muggle. Sirius made it known that to 'know how to be a muggle' was a great survival trait, it had kept them alive after all. He wondered how long Harry could endure being on the run as they were.
Sirius had thought, more than once, about leaving him with someone, perhaps the Longbottoms, or the Figg's. He knew both of them and wondered if they would take Harry in and treat him right. Of course he would find out how famous he really was, and would barely be able to get out without be strangled by some wizard who wanted to get to know him.
Sirius decided to help him become an animagus, he was ready, and he only had a short time before Hogwarts, that's when Sirius could leave him, allow him to lead a life not on the run. "Harry, I believe it's time."
That was all Harry needed, he pounced on Sirius, "Thank you, thank you, thank you."
•
Harry was just about 10. Sirius counted down the seconds until his birthday and then tackled him, rolling him off the bed. "Harry, guess what?"
Harry looked at him groggily, "we have to leave again?"
Sirius grinned, "No, it's your birthday silly."
Harry rolled over in bed. "Well, it can wait a few hours can't it?"
Sirius laughed. "Only if you can sleep through an ice-cold bucket of water."
Harry rolled out of bed and was standing in seconds. Sirius had threatened before, and followed through. "I'm up Siri'. What do I have to be up this early for?"
Sirius laughed again. "I thought you might want to play with your present before dawn, you can't be out on it during the day."
Harry's eyed lit up, he knew what he was getting. "Did you really?" He looked across his room at a long package. Sirius had done it, Harry had a broom. "Can you teach me how to fly?"
Sirius grinned, "I can teach you the basics. I was never very good at it though. Your father was always the Quidditch master."
Harry only took a moment to rip open his present. It was a top of the line model of course, a Nimbus 2000, barely even out on the market. "You got it!"
Sirius smiled, "yeah, now let's go try it out."
Harry took it in his hand and ran outside. It was still dark, but that didn't matter. He knew the area by heart, they had been living there for over almost two years now and Harry had a tendency to wander around in his free time. There were other wizards lived near and had done his best to avoid them. But it wasn't always so, one of the nearby families had a little girl that had caught Harry a few times. He had always had the glamour candy so she didn't know who he was. Sometimes, she played hide-n-seek with Harry until her brothers came, then they would demand to know where she had been. They never caught Harry though, he was too quick for them.
He ran all the way to the little strip of land that was encompassed by tree's he had seen the boys playing Quidditch here on more than one occasion and figured it was safe as long as he wasn't out while they were there. Sirius followed behind Harry.
When they got to clearing Harry turned back to Sirius. "Now, how does it work?"
Sirius laid out the broomstick gently, "there are several steps. Before you ride you need to know that on a broomstick movement is what guides it. If you lean, it will lean with you. Your hands are the primary controlling mechanism. You hold it like this," he demonstrated sitting on a broomstick and holding the front. "Don't grip it to tight, make sure you have control of it."
Harry rolled his eyes, he had read about riding a broomstick before and just wanted to test it now. Sirius saw this and shook his head. "Ok, first you need to be able to call the broomstick," he stepped back a little and held his right arm out. "Up!" The broomstick wiggled for a moment and then slowly rose to Sirius's hands.
Harry watched and the nodded. He wanted to try now. Sirius switched places with Harry and watched him carefully. Harry held out his hand over the broomstick. "Up!" it came straight to his hands without a moment thought.
He smiled at Sirius and swung his leg over the broom. It felt just right. He pulled up slightly and felt the broom pull him into the air. He smiled and leaned forward, dashing about the clearing for several minutes. He finally stopped and came back down. Sirius was grinning. "Harry, you're a natural, just like your father."
Harry beamed, it felt good to have Sirius complimenting him, it hadn't happened in a while, just work, work, work. He did admit it wasn't difficult, just tedious sometimes. He looked up at the sky, the sun was coming up and they needed to get back soon. Harry found himself turning around, someone else was there. He spotted a lock of red hair just over one of the bushes and immediately knew who was there. He turned back to Sirius and motioned for him to be quiet then got back on the broomstick. He moved away into the trees, then circled back around behind her. "Virginia."
She jumped up, more surprised that he was behind her than actually being there. She looked at him and gasped, "Harry?" He smiled then remembered, he hadn't taken his candy before they left that morning, he was normal. Her eye's locked onto his forehead. "You're not Harold Black, you're Harry Potter!"
His hand darted to his head and he groaned. "You can't tell anyone. They'll go after Sirius."
Sirius was still standing in the clearing bewildered at what Harry was doing. She looked at him, "You mean he's not bad?"
Harry shook his head. "No, it wasn't him that sent Voldemort after me," Ginny gasped at the mention of the name. Harry wasn't sure why she had gasped, it was Voldemort, what did it matter? "Anyway, Peter Pettigrew was the one that gave me and my parents away."
Virginia shivered at the mention of Voldemort. She was staring when she finally decided something. "Ok, I can keep a secret, but you have to do something for me."
Harry shook his head, "What is it?"
It only took a second Virginia grabbed him and kissed him firmly. He had never been kissed before and though hadn't thought much about it didn't mind it one bit, in fact, it felt pretty good. When she let go she smiled extremely shyly. Harry was bright red and stuttering. Sirius suddenly appeared over the bushes. "Harry, what are you..."
He noticed Virginia and stopped. His eyes darted to Harry and then back to Virginia. "Bloody Hell."
Harry had never heard Sirius swear before, well, once when he had gotten inches from death while an old death eater was chasing them. Virginia pulled Harry in front of her as if protecting her from Sirius. Harry looked at Virginia and back at Sirius, "It's ok, she said she wouldn't tell."
Sirius looked at Virginia for a long time. "Ok, I suppose you know who I am, and who Harry really is. Who are you?"
Virginia smiled. "My name is Virginia Weasley, Ginny for short. Harry calls me Virginia, you can call me Ginny, that's what I prefer," her eyes darted down to Harry who was grinning. He remembered when she had told him to call her Ginny, he wouldn't deny her the pleasure of him calling her Virginia though.
Sirius grinned, "Ok Virginia."
Harry grinned again, he knew it, Sirius was just the same as him. Harry loved to tease girls, but they also enjoyed being around him, he figured they were more mature and easier to handle than most guys, in school most of his friends (what few he had had) had been mostly girls. They didn't however enjoy it when he pulled pranks, which he had found himself enjoying.
Virginia clamped tighter on Harry, she was pretty angry. He remembered the first time he had called her Virginia, he had gotten a good reaming. "I PREFER GINNY. I do not enjoy being called Virginia, Harry can call me that because he's special."
She clamped her hand over her mouth as if she'd said something wrong. Sirius's grin grew wider. "Special, huh? In what way? You two were pretty busy in these bushes before I made it over here."
Ginny turned so red, her hair almost lost its brilliance. Harry smiled, "she just kissed me."
Sirius laughed lightly, "of course."
Virginia turned and looked out towards the field on the other side of the clearing. "Harry, I have to go. I want to tell you, my older brothers are looking for you. They read my journal last night when I left it out before dinner," she started to turn red again. "They found out I had been talking to you and swore they would find you and make sure you left me alone, that's why I came out here so early, I hoped you would be here before they came."
Harry looked at Sirius. "Siri' we have to go home then."
Virginia grabbed Harry's hand before he left. "Harry, can I come over sometime?"
Harry looked at Sirius and then back at Virginia, he didn't mind, Sirius might though. It had been a long while since anyone had figured out where they were, they had been very careful. Sirius shrugged his shoulders. "I don't mind."
Harry grinned. "Ok, we live over there," he pointed out a small house that sat alone just on the other side of a hill a good distance away. "Be careful no one else comes with you. Everyone is still looking for Siri'."
Ginny nodded and Harry and Sirius took off.
When they entered the house both quickly set about checking the house, it was a natural thing now, they did it whenever they walked in the place. Sirius then moved over to a chair on the far side of the room and sat down. He covered his face. "I should have obliviated her," he moaned.
Harry walked over to him. "No, she'll not tell, I believe her."
Sirius looked at Harry and shook his head. "I don't know woman well, they're so damned confusing." He looked over to the far wall and then back at the door. "Girls will always get you to believe them, they're good at that. Anyway, I didn't get much exercise out there. Want to go for a run?"
Harry nodded, he had done a lot more than Sirius but wasn't at all tired. He could use a good run. They walked back out the doors again and Sirius lept and changed in mid air. Harry laughed and dropped, changing into his form. Sirius was always trying to make it look fancy, but it was so simple.
It looked odd, seeing a large wildcat dashing through the forest next to a huge black dog. Anyone that saw them would shake their heads and upon looking back and not glimpsing the animals would swear they were seeing things.
• Edited 2004.09.18 •