Author's Notes: Yet another chapter done! Yay! This one is slightly longer than the last…enjoy!

A Fallen Angel

By chibi_tenshi

It was a stormy night. The wind was howling in from the west, the rain pattering down on the ground in sleets. Lightning flashed and thunder crashed. A hunched, hooded figure was hurrying up a narrow, winding path, its robes in disarray and flapping about flippantly with the gale that had built up. The majestic entrance gates of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry were looming in front of it, just about a quarter of a mile up ahead. Beside the figure was a large black dog, drenched to the skin in the rain, its tongue lolling as it jogged a little to keep up with the fast pace the figure had set.

Upon reaching the large, ornate gates, the figure pushed them open and hurried inside, anxious to get some form of shelter from the steadily worsening downpour. The dog shook the water out from its shaggy fur and onto the figure beside it. Bright eyes twinkling, it gave a doggy grin when it managed to elicit an outraged shriek from the hooded figure.

The figure allowed the cloak to fall from its back, reveal tousled brown hair and a weary face, though the chocolate brown eyes were dancing with mischief as he reached out to tackle the dog to the floor.

The dog gave a bark of surprise, landing hard on its side a great weight was thrown upon it. One would swear that it was laughing along with the man on top of him, playfully kicking out in an effort to get him off.

After a moment of lighthearted jesting, the man finally got up and brushed himself off. "Why Padfoot! You are balding! We have to get you to a vet soon…"

The said dog just growled in response, as if it had understood what the man was saying.

The two strolled leisurely down the corridor, a companionable silence between them, not that the dog could talk or anything. Soon, they reached the gargoyle guarding the Headmaster's office. "Hershey's Kisses," the man whispered softly to the statue, and it moved aside, revealing an ascending staircase that wound up to the office. The man and his companion stepped on the stairs, letting them bring them up the tower, too drained to climb after that exhausting journey back to Hogwarts.

The man knocked at the door and waited…and waited. He knocked again, but after a long while, still nobody answered the door. The dog, the one that seemed so humanoid, got impatient and started scratching at the door with its two front paws.

Finally, the door swung open, and an old, tired sounding voice came from within, permitting them access – "Come in!"

The two entered the room…even after so many years, the trinkets that decorated it never ceased to amaze them. The odds and ends that the various headmasters had collected over the past years from all around the world always managed to entrance them with their strangeness and intrigue.

Once the door was securely locked again, a small 'pop' sounded. The black dog disappeared, and a tall, filthy man took its place. He had long, dark hair decorated with some barely discernible streaks of gray, his fringe falling over his sky blue eyes. He had an almost gaunt face, the starting of some winkles were showing because of long days of travel without much rest.

The men looked towards Dumbledore with twin expectant gazes, both wondering what had cropped up that was so important that they had to abandon their mission and return to Hogwarts so soon.

What they saw troubled them. It was rare to ever see the supposedly omnipresent Headmaster so fatigued. He seemed to be brooding over something, the twinkle was gone from his eyes, and his figure was hunched over his desk.

At length, he looked up…and blinked, as if he had just noticed the two men standing poised before him. "My apologies. I forgot that you were in here, with you being so quiet and all. There, take a seat…" he gestured absently towards the two armchairs opposite him. "Would you like any drinks? Tea perhaps?" He waved his wand and conjured two cups of tea of out thin air and handed them over to the men, who had accepted the hot fluid gratefully. "How about some chocolate? Hershey's?" The brown haired man politely declined while the other reached out for the plate floating in front of him and tucked in greedily.

"Albus…" the brown haired man started. "Did something happen? Why did you withdraw us from the mission so urgently?"

Here, the renowned Headmaster hesitated a little, as if considering how to broach a delicate subject. "Well…as you know Remus, Severus had been helping us spy on Voldemort ever since his recent rebirth…and um…he found out just a few weeks ago about Voldemort's planned attack on Privet Drive…"

"WHAT?!" He was rudely cut off by an agitated bellow from his left. "How did Voldemort find out about where Harry was living during the summer? I thought you said there were protection spells and wards surrounding the place? What about Harry? Is he safe? We have to go and get him! Before Voldie reaches him…" the dark hair man continued his rant, getting out from his comfortable position on the chair and began pacing around the room in a distressed frenzy.

He only stopped when Dumbledore held up his hand and said, "Now, Sirius, calm down! The Dark Lord had not known that Harry was residing there…it was just a random attack on the muggles. And Harry is in the Hospital Wing right now. We had managed to evacuate all the residents from the neighborhood before the attack…but that is not what I called you here to talk about…"

Here, he paused again…"As I've said, Harry is in the Hospital Wing right now. Severus had gone to the Dursleys' home to personally fetch him back to Hogwarts. The problem is, we found him…hurt…apparently, he had been…abused by his relatives. There had been evidence of………rape. He just confirmed it when he woke yeste-"

Sirius, who had stood frozen at the beginning of Dumbledore's explanation, suddenly came back to live and leapt at the door, screaming, "The BASTARDS! The damn atrocities! How dare they?! HOW DARE THEY!!! I'm going to beat them into a bloody pulp! I'm going to make minced meat out of them! I'm going to hex them so bad that their descendents would feel it!!! Then, I'll KILL them!!! I'll Avada Kedavra them on the spot! I'll…"

At this, Remus was shaken out of his stupor and he tackled Sirius to the floor. "Cool down you idiot! I'm not going to let you do such foolish things! Imagine how Harry would feel if you were thrown back into Azkaban for using the Unforgivables?"

"But they raped him! They bloody raped my godson!!! No one harms Harry and gets away with it! Especially not those pathetic excuses of muggles! Let me go damn you! LET. ME. GO.!"

"Petrificus Totalis!" a bright red light issued from the Headmaster's wand and Sirius fell limp onto the floor. Remus heaved a sigh of relief.

"I was afraid that he would act like that," muttered Dumbledore, looking into Sirius' murderous eyes. "Calm down Sirius! The Ministry's Child Protection Council had taken the Dursleys into custody! You will only get yourself captured again if you just broke in and slaughtered them," he tried to reason with the obstinate man on the ground…but he (Sirius) refused to budge. "Besides, Harry needs all the help and support he can get. Imagine what it would be like for him if you went and got yourself killed? What if he blames himself for it? He'll be the one that suffers in the end Sirius…" At this, Sirius finally lowered his eyelids in defeat, and Dumbledore released him from the body bind.

He quickly climbed off the floor as said, "Fine…they'll live for a while more…but if I ever get my hands on them, they are so going to suffer!"

"Sirius…" said Remus warningly.

"Remy!" Sirius whined. "They tortured Harry! You can't possibly expect me to let them off when I see them!"

"Sirius…" Remus repeated, with that You'd-Better-Listen-Coz-I-Know-How-To-Make-You-Regret-It look.

"Alright alright…I'll let Harry decide what to do with them! Happy?! Now, can we go and see him?" he looked pleading at the Headmaster as he said this.

"Of course, Sirius," replied Dumbledore with a slight smile. He waited till Sirius had transformed back into his animagus form before opening the door and leading them to Harry's room in the hospital wing.

***

"I am warning you…don't get him too overexcited," said Pomfrey, before she left the men to their own devices.

Sirius immediately leapt onto Harry's chest, causing him to emit a startled and pain-filled 'oompfh!', and before Sirius could even react, strong hands plucked him away from his godson and half-threw him across the room. He looked up to see the 'Greasy-haired Git' scowling down at him, and had to suppress the urge to tackle him onto the floor. It wouldn't do to hurt that man after that truce the Headmaster had forced out of them just a few weeks before after all…

Seeing that the Headmaster had already warded the rooms with locking spells and silencing charms, he transformed back into his human form and glared at the Potion's Master. "What the hell did you think you were doing? Throwing me halfway across the room like that! …"

He would have continued ranting had Snape not interrupted, "Black, while I am sure that Azkaban did nothing to help your horrendous eyesight, surely even you would have noticed that Mr. Potter is currently not in the condition for being jumped on by Grims that weigh far more than he does…" All this was delivered in a smooth, silky tenor, and it left Sirius stricken with horror at the harm he must have done to his godson.

He rushed to his bedside and kneeled down beside it, muttering his apologies while stroking Harry's hair.

"Oh my god! I'm so sorry Harry! Did I hurt you? Are you alright? Should I get Pomfrey to check on you? Do you…"

"I'm fine Sirius," Harry answered weakly. "Just a little…winded, that all. I'm okay, really. Madam Pomfrey just likes to over exaggerate things a little. Most of the cuts had healed already…it's just a few bruises here and there. I should be able to get out of the Hospital Wing by tomorrow."

"Nonsense! You are to stay in here until Pomfrey gives you leave, young man! And that would be a few days yet! Now, be a good boy and rest…" Remus said.

Harry looked like he was about to protest, but he settled back into bed at Remus' stern gaze and changed the subject. "So…how was your mission in Russia?"

So, Remus started telling him about their experiences, just to stop Sirius from dragging the topic back to the Dursleys and upset the boy. Soon, Sirius took over, since Remus wasn't really one for talking. He went over all the little quirks and weird things they saw, like how some cult mistook him for a real Grim and started worshipping him, or how a woman chased Remus around a whole town when she saw him 'abusing the poor doggy' when he was really just trying to help Sirius pull off some leeches stuck on his neck…(Remus retaliated by saying how a little girl had tried to buy Sirius from him, wanting the said 'cute little doggy' for her pet)

Soon, the conversation had Harry clutching his stomach as he attempted to control his laughter.

Snape stood behind the shadows in a corner, his lips almost turned up to a half-smile as he watched Harry. It had been a long time since he last saw the boy looking so carefree. And though he would rather die than to admit it, he silently thanked the two men.

Soon, it was time for them to leave. Harry looked downcast for a while, but he forced himself to brighten up, not willing to ruin the day with his mood. Sirius promised that they would come and visit as soon as they could, and reminded him repeatedly to watch his health. Remus just stood beside him, conveying all his concern and love with a simple smile.

After they had left, Harry let his mask fall. He laid back on his bed, not noticing the figure that loomed up beside him. He started when he heard that velvety voice, "Do not despair. They will come back, for they care about you. What's important now is that you recover as best you could, and ease their worries and concern. Sleep…"

Harry let the voice wash over him, soothing and comforting him like the gentle waves of the calm sea…and he fell back into dreamland…

***

TBC

(2144 words)

N.B. Siri and Remy took some language lessons /before/ they went to Russia…you really can't expect them to spy if they don't even understand what they were hearing do you? Also, Poppy knows about Sirius…she had to, since they needed a mediwitch to take care of him whenever he got hurt.

Incase you don't know what Hershey's is, it's a kind of chocolate…the most delicious ones I've ever tasted. My favorites are the cookies and cream one! *yum*

Kirachan – Yay! I made someone cry! Finally! That was the whole point for that few chapters you know…I feel like killing the Dursleys too…

BlackRose1356 – I have a unique style of writing? Really? I'm flattered! You just made my day! I was afraid that this would turn out more or less like other Harry abuse fics…*grins*…and I know I'm never too original in the first place. I have about zero creative juices…

Moonblade – I know my mechanics are weak. Also, I've never been good at descriptive, so I left out a lot of details. I was going to revamp the whole thing once I actually finish the fic. And about the POVs…did I really do that? Could you point out the chapters please?

Thank you all for reviewing! And thanks to all those that provided info on Siri's and Remy's hair and eye color! More reviews please! REVIEWS make me warm and fuzzy inside!