PART 2

Chapter 9

Echoes

July 1993

Sirius sat in his cell in Azkaban, pressing his head hard against the wall. In his hand he clutched a picture of a family and on the shoulder of one boy was a rat. Not just any rat, it was Peter. Sirius knew he had to get out of this place. Peter was at Hogwarts with Harry, and Sirius had to protect his Godson. Though not much joy was in Sirius' mind anymore, he felt like he'd lost all sense of happiness ages ago, he still thought of Harry. He thought of all the times Harry had been around and he'd ignored him. Or all the times he'd begged James to go to a pub and was angry with the boy when James chose to stay at home with him. Then there was something else. Sirius was the baby's godfather, and someone else turned it down. Someone he must have loved, but he couldn't remember. He felt his mind start to cloud up again and pressed his head harder into the concrete wall. He had to get out; he was not going to die in this horrible place for something he didn't do. That stood out in his mind vividly. Peter. The rat. The one who would betray his best friends, and put Sirius in prison for the rest of his life. The hate dwelled in him. It was the only emotion he could feel anymore. Hate and despair. But he had to get to Harry. He had to get to Peter. If he could kill Peter at least he'd feel he was in Azkaban for a reason. His head started pounding and he realized as blood dripped into his eyes he was pressing his head too hard into the wall. He stopped and looked around the room. He could see a Dementor standing outside his door. He could hear the creek of cell doors being opened. It was time to eat. This was his moment. His mind was clearer now then it had been in years, he had to seize this opportunity and go, now. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, trying to focus on Harry, but realizing the memories of Harry were so far away he focused on his anger. The one emotion he could summon on command. He focused on Peter. The little rat living freely as Sirius was in this horrid prison for Peter's crime. His anger intensified and he transformed into a dog. A huge black dog, yet so skinny he was almost thin enough to fit through the bars. He saw a scabby old hand reach out for his door and open it. Sirius closed his eyes, took a deep breath and ran past the Dementor, thin enough to slip through the gap between the bars and the Dementor. The Dementor stopped and sniffed around. He seemed to know something had just happened, but what it was he couldn't tell. He dropped the food for Sirius on the ground and closed the bars, then went to get the wizard in charge. But by the time the wizard had gotten to the empty cell the big black dog was gone.

Sirius paddled his four paws across the water. Now suddenly his mind was unclouding. He still felt a sense of the chill from Azkaban, but it seemed like this water was warm. Warmer then anything he'd felt in years. He paddled harder, knowing now that if he stood a chance he would have to get as far away as possible. The farther out he got, the more came filling his mind. He heard laughter, though it took a minute for that to register in mind. The laughter seemed to be coming from a baby. It grew louder and louder the harder Sirius paddled. He could now see the baby in his head. A black haired boy who looked just like James. It was Harry. He was hearing Harry's laughter. The last thing he ever heard from Harry. He smiled. Realizing now how far he'd gone, he stopped, hoping to find something afloat to rest on. He looked ahead but saw nothing but dark water and dark sky. He looked behind him and saw in a distance a huge castle on a rock surrounded by water. That was the place Sirius had just spent 12 years in. The sight seemed to make the laughter in Sirius' head get dim. He turned and looked ahead and paddled his legs some more, focusing now only on the baby he heard in his head.

Sirius finally reached a rock and rested. The cold was starting to effect him, after the chill of Azkaban wore off. He sat on the rock, staring out at the sea. How much farther was it, he wondered? He had heard brooms flying frantically overhead a few miles back, no doubt the Ministry going to Azkaban. He needed to keep moving. Even a dog swimming in these waters was suspicious. But he was exhausted. The laugh from his godson had taken him this far, but his exhaustion was starting to get the better of him. Maybe he should just admit defeat. Maybe he could just jump in the water and sink to the bottom. Then a different sound came to his ear. It came from a man, someone he remembered only in agony and fear. The voice whispered to him at first. "Sirius, I love you." Then it got louder. He could hear the same voice in ecstatic groans. He knew the voice; he just had to try to remember the man. His heart ached. He was brought out of it by the sound of another broomstick flying over head. Luckily the wizard on it didn't seem to notice the dog sitting on the rock. Sirius jumped back in the water and swam, trying to get the voice back. Trying to place the man.

Shore came not soon enough. Sirius climbed up the rocks to land and shook himself off. It was dark and he looked up at the moon. There was something about it. The moon was half. It seemed like it was beckoning to him. Then he heard the voice again. The groans of ecstasy. His mind was trying to tell him who the person was, but he couldn't place it. He was too tired to think of much more at this moment anyway. He saw a group of large trees and flopped down under them. Tomorrow he would find Harry.

~@~

"Remus," Arabella Figg opened the door to her home. Remus leaned in and kissed his old friend on the cheek.

"I heard you lost Henry a few years ago. I'm sorry. How are you holding up?" Remus held on to her hand.

"I've been getting along alright," she smiled.

"Minerva comes by on occasion when Harry is over and checks on him. It's easy for her to do as a cat. I think sometimes Dumbledore doesn't trust me."

"Oh, I'm sure he does, he just would like a second opinion," Remus stopped a moment then continued, "That's why I'm here."

Arabella motioned for him to come in and got him some tea. "So I trust you've heard about Sirius then?" She called from her kitchen. Then walked out with a small red teacup.

"Yes, Dumbledore wants my help, though I don't know how much help I can give him." Remus took a teacup from her and sipped.

"You don't give yourself enough credit, Remus. I think you are one of the best people to help get Sirius. After all, you knew him better then anyone else," Arabella looked at him through narrowed eyes.

Yes, Remus thought, he did. And it still troubled him. It still bothered him that he missed the companionship of Sirius, a murderer. He missed being near him. He felt guilty that on dark lonely nights he could imagine his arms around him. Yes, he knew Sirius better then anyone else. And what did that say about him? He could fall so desperately in love with someone who took every friend Remus ever had. He shook the thought out of his head. "Well, at least I get to teach. I can't wait to see Harry again, it's been years." Remus smiled.

"He's a lovely boy, Remus. Much like his mother." Arabella poured more tea into Remus' empty cup.

"Has Dumbledore asked you to help catch Sirius," Remus asked, feeling a bit uncomfortable with the topic. He had not been allowed to see Harry after the death of James and Lily, even though he was still helping protect him. Dumbledore felt the less he was around people from his parents past, the better off he would be. But Remus was going through a hard time many years back. His parents had just passed and he had never felt more alone in his life. Fortunately for him, Arabella owled out of the blue and asked how he was. When he told her she insisted he come to visit one day when Harry would be by. After much debate he conceited, and when Harry was 4 years old, Remus got to see him. Though only briefly, for less then 10 minutes, it still made everything else seem better.

"Dumbledore wants me to keep an eye out here, in case Sirius decides to turn up on Privet Drive." Arabella said.

"Well, he wouldn't be that dumb would he?" Remus asked.

"I don't know. When someone is desperate they will do just about anything. Terrible thing it is that he turned so bad," Arabella said into her cup, distantly.

"Yes," Remus replied, feeling the guilt.

~*~

The sun was burning into the black dog lying under the trees. He woke, hotter then he'd been in years. Maybe if he were a man he'd be sweating, but as it was his tongue was dry and he was panting hard. He stood up and walked to the huge sea he'd just swum across and drank. The water was salty, but it offered him a little relief. He turned at looked at the land before him. He had no idea where he was, and for that matter, where Harry was. Hagrid Harry told him was going to live with his aunt. That must be Lily's sister. He tried to remember her name. All the clouds in his mind were starting to thin out. He could picture him and James. They were laughing. Sirius smiled. In his mind he saw another person. His smile dropped. It was Peter. Now the animal in Sirius burst out. All he could see for 12 years was Peter. He only heard the bad things he'd said. He only could remember the painful things. But he remembered Peter. He hated Peter. He took off in a run toward the land, still not sure where he was going, but knowing it was farther from Azkaban and closer to Peter.

Hours later Sirius reached a small town. It looked beautiful and green unlike any Sirius could remember seeing. He stopped in a large field and rested. He was starving. He wished he had his wand, but they took that just before they committed him to Azkaban. This would make things very difficult on him, as he was never very good with wandless magic. But he had to do what he could. He was still uncertain where he was, and his hunger was growing, so he stood up and walked into town. It looked like a tourist attraction. He saw many Muggles; speaking different languages and all dressed differently. Though in Sirius' opinion all Muggles dressed odd. He walked down a large hill and saw in the distance castles. He had a sneaking suspicion he knew where he was, but he hoped he was wrong. Northumberland was very far from where he suspected Harry to be. It wasn't that far from Hogwarts, though, he thought. Maybe he could just go to the forest and wait for Harry. He shook his head, clearing it and heading down toward the shops, hoping to find some remnant of food and maybe even get a chance to hear where he was.

"Have you heard about the new choir in town?" An elderly woman asked an elderly man.

"No, do tell," the man replied. Sirius cocked his head and listened, trying to be inconspicuous.

"The Burwick-upon-Tweed Children's Choir. It's quite fabulous," the woman said.

Sirius stopped listening. Burwick-Upon-Tweed, damn, he was in Northumberland. He walked a little farther until he came to a restruant. It smelled delicious. He walked around the back of the building and sniffed around. Something smelled good. It was coming from the bin in the back. He walked over to it and sniffed some more. Luckily he was as big as he was; he could just drop his head in and pull out whatever it was. And it was a piece of meat. It was delicious, though raw. He didn't care; he hadn't eaten anything like that in years. He sat and quietly chewed the delicious steak to the bone, then decided to take the dog thing all the way and gnawed on the bone. His mind cleared and he heard an echo.

"There are too many secrets."

"Why don't you just say what you're thinking?"

"Is it you? Are you passing information to Voldemort?"

"How can you even think that? Think what you are accusing me of."

"You're not denying it,"

Sirius knew the conversation; he'd replayed it over and over in his head in Azkaban. He remembered seeing the hurt in a beautiful man's eyes. Then another echo came to him, even more distant. The groans of ecstasy. "Oh God Sirius". It was the same voice. It was Remus. Had he really said those horrible things to his lover? Sirius wondered if he really deserved what he got in Azkaban. He shook his head and recalled the laughter he'd heard as he left Azkaban. The small child he remembered seeing. Now there were more memories coming back to him. A black haired boy looking up at him. His green eyes full of life. Harry. He smiled. His Godson. He would soon see his Godson. A second wind came to Sirius. He was going to see Harry at his Aunt's house; he couldn't wait until the start of school. He jumped up and ran down the road.

Sirius climbed in the back of a truck carrying sheep and lay silently among the pack. His head rested on his legs when he heard the driver of the truck yell to the passenger, "We have to get there soon. It's the 31st you know."

Sirius picked his head up. The 31st? That means it's Harry's birthday. He would be 13. Sirius tried to remember what James looked like at 13. He imagined Harry would be quite similar. He squinted his eyes and thought. Then more echoes. "Can you say 'Uncle Sirius'?" He heard laughter. It sounded like three people were in the room with him. Was Remus one? He could only guess. "Padfoot, he's only three months old. He can't say anything yet." The memory made him feel warm, feel happy. Emotions that were still very new to him. He put his head back down in his lap and tried to remember more. "We want you to be his godparents," he could hear James say. It was so frustrating to Sirius. He couldn't remember much. And he desperately wanted to.

Miles later the truck stopped, and Sirius jumped out. The sun had gone down and it was starting to get dark. He'd had enough rest on the truck, managed to gag down some sheep food, which was probably one of the worst things he'd ever eaten, and felt that now he could go a while longer by foot. He still didn't know where he was, but he knew that once he got to London it would be easier for him to find his way to Harry. He strained his memory again, trying to come up with the name of Harry's aunt. His feet carried him toward the light that told him a town was nearby. There he could tell where he was and possibly get some food. He still tried to remember as his legs ran. Lily. What was her maiden name? He could see her now. He could see her vivid auburn hair and her bright green eyes. They used to tease her at school, he remembered. They chanted something. What was it? Silly Tilly Lily Evans. He heard the echo. Evans. That was it. Lily and her sister had a similar name. He tried to remember as he entered the bright lights of the town. People were bustling around the streets. He strided down the street then stopped as an image in the store window caught his view. He remembered Lily talking about these objects. Televisions they were called. This television had a picture of Sirius on it. His heart dropped. They had the Muggles looking for him? Fear coursed through his veins. What would the Dementors do to him if they caught him? He couldn't bear to think of it. But as if he were back in Azkaban the thought overcame him and he couldn't control it. He had seen it happen to numbers of prisoners in the 12 years he was there. The Dementor would lower his hood. Sirius never saw their faces, but he could see the backs of their heads as the Dementors performed the infamous Kiss. The back of the head was crusty and looked like one giant scab. He shuttered at the though. He had to keep those memories out of his head. He was not in Azkaban anymore, and if he could keep his head straight, he wouldn't ever be there again. He tried to think of something more pleasant. His parents. But the only thing that came to his mind was seeing his father's body in the field where James and Lily got married. He stopped, feeling overwhelmed by his pain again. Something that hadn't happened since he'd left Azkaban nearly 24 hours before. He had to stop running; he had to get his mind under control again. He panted deeply. Maybe it would be best if he just stopped for the night.

"Wormtail!" A scream came from two cells down. "You set the Dark Lord up, Wormtail." Sirius tried to push his head through the bars to see whom it was, but the bars were too close together. He leaned closer. Then he heard, "Black, we will get you. We will kill you." It was a menacing sound. It was the Dementors, hundreds of them coming toward his cell. "No, I didn't do anything," Sirius shouted. "You killed Lily and James." He saw someone in front of the Dementors. It was Remus, his wand drawn. He looked like he was about to attack. "You killed them," Remus taunted. The Dementors were close behind Remus. He stopped at the bars of Sirius' cell and now Sirius could see it wasn't Remus at all, it was James. "You did this, Sirius. We're dead because of you."

"No," Sirius shouted. Still the hundreds of Dementors closed in on his cell. They walked through the bars, as if they weren't there at all. Sirius looked up desperately to the Dementor. "I didn't do it," he shouted. The Dementor raised his hood and Sirius saw what was under it. He awoke with a start, hearing barking coming from his mouth.

It took Sirius a few minutes to realize where he was, and why he was covered with fur. He looked up at the dark sky. It was still night, but he wasn't tired anymore. He looked around, scared. Still thinking he may only be dreaming and will wake up in Azkaban.

He started walking again; there was nothing else for him to do. He hadn't eaten in hours. He had to find someplace to get food. Maybe he should have gone the other way from Northumberland. He was so much closer to Hogwarts then. But it was too late for that now. "Keep your head, Sirius," he told himself in barks. He headed toward even brighter lights, a city perhaps? He hoped, maybe it was London. Could they have gone that far already? He tried to remember his way around London. He had lived there, he remembered. Now, once again, what was Lily's sister's name? It was sort of similar to Lily. Was it Jill or Milly? Milly, he thought. Melly Potter. She was dead. She was 13 when she died. Damn, why couldn't he keep these terrible memories out, just for a moment so he could think? 13. That's how old Harry was now. He had to hurry to see Harry. He wouldn't let his Godson die at 13 the way Melly did.

The lights in the city were getting closer. He tried to remember what London looked like at night. Sketches, vague images came to his mind, but he still wasn't sure he could recognize it now.

After what felt like miles, his legs ached. The sky was pink as the sun was coming over the horizon. He reached a newsstand in the outskirts of the city and read on the newspaper, The Manchester Post, his heart sunk. He was only in Manchester. He was miles from London. It would take him days to walk there. Sniffing around, he decided he'd better find some food before the sun completely rose.

Two long days later, Sirius arrived in London, panting and out of breath. He hadn't been able to catch another ride and found that at night he tended to make more mileage, since he wasn't being gawked at by passersby. Once in London his mind swirled again. Lily Evans, he thought. What was her sister's name? He seemed to recall Lily shouting about her sister once, but he couldn't remember what she'd called her. Some sort of flower, he remembered. Rose. No. Lavender. No. Jasmine. He couldn't remember. Think, Sirius, he shouted to himself.

"Petunia," a woman on the street said to a young girl. "Petunia, get over here and keep up with me." The little girl trailed behind her mother.

Petunia. That was it. Petunia Evans. No, wait, that wouldn't be her last name. She was married. Sirius remembered that Lily was crushed at not being invited to her sister's wedding. He had to remember her married name. James spoke of his brother-in-law sometimes. Called him by his last name. Sirius closed his drooling snout and sat on the grass. His mind was clearer then it had been in years, yet still too cloudy. He tried to clear his head. Tried to only remember the conversations he had with James.

"It's a caterpillar. Watch, I'll make it do a cartwheel." A 5 year old James Potter sat in the grass next to an 5 year old Sirius. Sirius couldn't help but smile.

"Sirius, look. Wow." Sirius remembered James holding on to his shoulder as he first saw the Hogwarts Express their first year.

"Lily Evans. She's incredible," James said. He could now remember them staring across the Great Hall watching the beautiful auburn haired Gryffindor sitting next to her Slytherin boyfriend. "That Snape's a git," he said annoyed.

"It's complete. Are you ready?" James voice echoed. Sirius could remember them sitting in a circle on the floor of their dormitory. Remus sat nervously on the bed. A ball of a jelly like substance was in his hand. He could feel it. It was cold and sticky. Sirius looked at Remus and said, "I'm ready." Then popped the jelly in his mouth. Once he swallowed it he looked around at James. Then thought as hard as he could of an animal. Next moment, Sirius was a huge black dog. James was pleased, Peter was a little startled and Remus was worried. But Sirius just felt like he'd accomplished the greatest feat any wizard could do.

Sirius shook his head. These were great memories, but he needed to help Harry now. He pulled his hind leg up over his head and scratched an annoying itch behind his ear.

"That bloody prat, Dursley. He won't even let Lily phone her sister." It just popped into his head. James voice echoed once again, this time giving Sirius the information he was searching for. He jumped up. Dursley. That was it. Petunia Dursley. Now all Sirius had to do was find a directory, figure out how to make his paws turn the pages without looking too conspicuous and find Harry. That sounded difficult. Maybe Sirius could risk taking on his human form for a brief moment, just to check the directory. If he waited until it was dark. He thought about it. Would it be worth going back to Azkaban? He didn't want to remember that horrible place. It seemed every time he thought of Azkaban another memory he'd tried so hard to recall went back into the vault, where Sirius had to try to retrieve it. But there was no other way. He had to risk it.

He sat in the grass in a park in London and watched the Muggles. Amused by their lives and the devices they used to get around. He even saw one man shouting into a device that he held up to his ear. It looked like a thing Lily had in her house to talk to her parents when they weren't there. He strained again to remember what it was called. Oh yes, a lellytone. No, that wasn't right. A telephone. He smiled. Now that he had Petunia Dursley ground firmly in his head, he could afford to remember more, and he was rather enjoying it.

"Sirius," came the echoed shout of his best friend Remus when they were 16. "Look. I got more OWLS then anyone else in the class." Sirius remembered. Remus had to take the OWLS a week later then the rest of his classmates, because the day they were scheduled to take them in the 5th year was the day of a full moon. And since it took sometimes until late at night to finish the OWLS, they couldn't risk it. James was done before anyone else and managed to meet him for the transformation before Sirius and Peter got there a couple hours later. Sirius remembered the excitement Remus felt at having done so well, and then the sadness he felt at realizing it didn't really matter. "It's not like I can do anything anyway. Who will hire a werewolf, even if he did get top OWLS?" Sirius felt Remus' injustice. He put an arm around his shoulder and said, "Well, whatever happens, you know we'll always care about you, right?" It was uncommon for Sirius to be sentimental like that, but for some reason it seemed right. Remus looked at him and smiled. "Thanks," he said. Then, as if it were something he did everyday, Remus kissed Sirius. Sirius pulled away uncomfortably. "Sorry," Remus said, looking at his feet. "Don't know what came over me." He started walking down the corridor back to the dormitory. Sirius just pretended he didn't notice. But whenever he needed someone near him, he knew from that moment on Remus would be there.

"Harry, no. Harry, come back here." A small boy was climbing up a large rock. He seemed not to notice the red haired woman yelling for him. "Harry, please, come back." She yelled again. The boy reached the top of the rock and turned back to face the woman who was yelling. But it wasn't the face of a little boy at all. It was the most terrifying face anyone could imagine. It was scabbed and decaying.

Sirius shot up from his sleep, whimpering. He wondered how long these dreams were going to last. Looking around, noticing it was night he got up.

He came to a newsstand about twenty feet from the gate of the park and stopped. He looked at a newspaper. Sirius Black still at large. And there was a picture of him. He felt more nervous, but he knew he had no choice. He walked down the street until he saw a phone booth and looked around. The street was not busy, but there were some Muggles on it. He couldn't transform here. He looked behind him and saw a dark alleyway. He entered it.

A minute later, a disheveled Sirius Black adorned only in horribly torn robes, emerged from the alley. He looked around nervously. It seemed nobody acknowledged him. That was fine, he didn't want to be seen. He casually walked to the phone booth and picked up the phone. How do these things work? He wondered. He'd seen Lily's, but he'd never seen her use it. Well, you talk into it, he remembered.

"Um, is anyone there?" Sirius said, startled by his own voice. He hadn't used it in months. It sounded odd to him. It was hoarse. But there was nothing on the phone line. He looked at the device hanging on the side of the booth. It had numbers three to a row in four columns. He punched one number. Luckily for him, it was the zero.

"Directory," a voice came into the phone.

Sirius jumped at hearing it. He was embarrassed that he startled so easily these days. "Um," he said again, still not used to his voice. "I need an address to a Petunia Dursley." He tried to sound as normal as he could, but failed miserably.

"We have two Petunia Durlsey's in the London area. One in Surrey and one in Canterbury." The lady said in a Cockney accent.

"Can I have both please," Sirius asked. He then realized he had no way to remember both.

The lady rambled on. "4 Privet Drive in Surrey. And 125 North Chamber Street in Canterbury."
"Thank you," Sirius said into the phone. He repeated the numbers in his head, hoping to remember them. The line went dead after a moment and Sirius put the phone back on the cradle. Then he slipped out of the booth, this time getting a strange glance from a man walking by. He walked back to the alley and transformed back into the dog. Well, that went smoothly, he thought.

Now, which place should he try first? Well, Surrey was sure a lot closer then Canterbury, so he'd try that one first. However, he could see the clock on a wall shop, and realized it would be daylight soon. He would make better progress if he traveled after a meal, so he'd better just wait a few hours until the restraunts opened, rummage through some garbage and then find Harry.

The sun was just going over the clear horizon, and Sirius could see ahead for miles. It was hot and sticky. He panted wishing more then anything at that moment that he could find a puddle of water. He stopped about a mile away from Privet Drive and looked at a map that was posted inside a bus portal. A red arrow pointed to the spot he was, and it looked like Privet Drive was east. He sat and rested for a moment, his legs aching from walking all day. He would see Harry soon, he hoped. But thoughts kept nagging at him. There was a possibility Harry wasn't there anymore. There was a possibility he wouldn't come outside for a while, so he'd still have to wait. But at least he was close. He hoped. He only prayed he didn't have to walk clear to Canterbury after this. He closed his eyes for a brief moment. And then came more echoes.

"I can't let you go now," James voice called.

"Uncurse me, dammit. I need to help you."

"Mortificus," he could hear James voice call. Then he heard retched screams. These were sounds he'd heard in Azkaban. Sounds that were only too familiar to him. Sounds of pain suffered by his friends and family.

Sirius sighed and stood up, walking east toward Privet Drive. The street looked amusing to him, all the houses looked similar. All the yards were neat. It looked like a place Remus would love—very green and clean. But it made Sirius uncomfortable. Too much order for him. He was looking for number 4. He walked along the sidewalk, trying not to be noticed, but failing. A little girl ran inside her house when she saw him. He must be a frightening animal to a child. He was rather large and unkempt.

He stopped in front of a house with a number 4 on it. The house looked just like all the others ones. It was white with green shutters. He walked around to the backyard. Did Harry play back here, he wondered. He felt anticipation at the idea that his godson lived in this house, or at least he hoped his godson lived in this house. He heard a noise and hurried into a hedge in the yard. The hedge was barely big enough to cover him. He hoped he wasn't noticed. The dog pound was not a place he wanted to end up either.

A large round boy came outside. Sirius heart sank. That wasn't Harry. He was sure of it. He was at the wrong house. He had to walk all the way to Canterbury now. He growled.

"Harry, Harry, where are you?" Sirius heard the shout from inside the house. His ears perked up. He could have sworn the man's voice said Harry. He was at the right place. He wanted to run to the window and peek in. He started to venture out of the bushes when the other boy went inside, but then was met by a horrible creature. A small dog, spoiled looking. Sirius glared down at the ugly British Bulldog. He let out a vicious bark and the dog ran the other way. Sirius couldn't help but laugh a little, but still though maybe it would be better if he stayed hidden, at least until dark.

When the sun had disappeared, Sirius trotted to the front of the house. He walked close to the window and tried to peek in, but all he could see were two very fat adults. Surely that wasn't Lily's sister? Lily was thin and beautiful. These two people looked like overgrown sows. Then a thin, lanky, not attractive woman came into the room. She was standing in front of someone, but Sirius couldn't see whom. The persons black hair was showing over her shoulder, but Sirius couldn't see his face. Was this Harry? He hoped. He would get to see Harry in a minute. He could hardly wait. But then the same boy he saw in the yard earlier that day appeared in the window and startled Sirius. He drew the blinds, and Sirius couldn't see anymore.

Defeated, he plopped down in the grass at the side of the house. How long was he going to have to stay there?

~*~

Remus sat with his eyes closed and his head rested on the back of a chair. His thoughts were fluttering back and forth. He could see a black dog walking down Harry's street. He tried not to worry, he knew Sirius couldn't attack Harry at his Aunt and Uncles house. He thought about talking to Arabella again. Telling her to keep a look out for Harry. But he couldn't tell her Sirius was animagus. They had sworn to each other years ago that they would never tell anyone. Lily only found out by accident when she was following the boys out to make sure they didn't get into too much trouble. After the prank they'd played on Snape the year before Lily didn't seem to trust their mischeif. Lily had sworn not to tell anyone as well, and even offered to become animagus herself. "What would you transform into?" He remembers James asking with admiration in his eyes.

"A butterfly," Lily spread here arms out as if they were wings.

"Yeah, Remus would tear you up in two seconds," Sirius laughed.

(indent) But in the end, James fear of the impending war and his obsessiveness to keep her safe, stopped them.

Remus sighed, trying hard to see if he could tell the dogs intentions. He'd always been able to sense others' thoughts and intentions, a sort of sixth sense. But he'd never told anyone, and he never really understood what it meant until a few years ago. He'd been the best student in Divination when Sirius had the worst time with that class. Three years ago he started honing it. But still, nobody knows. It was not believable to be a Seer to most wizards. He wasn't sure how accurate it was anyway, since he never sensed anything about Sirius going bad. Maybe he was too emotionally involved in Sirius. He was too blinded.

He sighed again and tried to see the dog. His mind was blank now, though. He opened his eyes and saw his tawny owl sitting on the table, a note clutched in his claw.

"You should have made a noise, I had no idea you were there," Remus said to the bird. Feeling lonely these days, he often talked to his owl. He pulled the note out of the bird's claw, gave him an owl treat from the cupboard and went back to his chair. He pulled the note open. It read:

Remus,

Harry has been taken to the Leaky Cauldron where Tom will look after him. He had a mishap at his aunt's house and will be spending the rest of the summer there. We have several wizards who will be keeping an eye on him, unknown to Harry.

It would be beneficial, however, if you could ride on the Hogwarts Express on September 1st, just as an extra precaution. Be at platform 9 ¾ at 11:00. If this won't work for you, as I know it's the day after the moon is full, please owl me immediately.

Dumbledore

Remus looked at the letter. He couldn't help but worry now. Harry was gone from the protection of his Aunt, gone from the watchful eye of Arabella. He would be on the Hogwarts Express even if he had the worst transformation ever. He owed that to Harry.

"She has the most amazing eyes," James voice echoed in Sirius' head. He smiled. It was so comforting for him to hear James after so long. "They were just glaring into my soul." Sirius remembered blushing when sixteen-year-old James told him this. "And it wasn't the same as with the other girls, Padfoot, it was incredible. It was like we were made to fit together." Sirius remembered he thought James was just a raving loon when he was talking like that, but now it seemed he once felt that way about someone. Could it have been Remus? Part of him hoped not, because he had said horrible things to Remus. But part of him hoped he at least shared that feeling with someone. He did love Remus, but was it in a different way he loved James? He wished he could remember. He was a little upset when his thoughts were disrupted by shouts from inside.

"COME BACK HERE." A large voice yelled. "COME BACK HERE AND PUT HER RIGHT."

Sirius tried to peek through the gap in the curtains and caught a glimpse of what looked like a large balloon with arms and legs floating on the ceiling.

"She deserved it. She deserved what she got. You stay away from me." A voice from a younger voice shouted.

Sirius perked his ears. Could that be Harry? Then he put it together and if he could, would have bellowed with laughter. Harry had blown this woman up. He was James' son. He'd have been proud. Then the door opened.

"I'm going. I've had enough." A young dark haired boy ran out the door carrying a trunk and a snowy owl. Sirius' heart lept. James? He sunk back in the bush trying to hide, but still needed to see the boy. He flashed his emerald green eyes in the direction of the bush and then Sirius knew. This was Harry.