Chapter Three: Too Late

" 'Ello young Remus," One peasant said over the fence separating their lands.

"Hello, yourself, Sirius. Marvelous day it is." Remus began, dropping his hoe to the side of the wooden fence.

"Ay- marvelous since there is no bloody king in sight!" he laughed.

Remus sighed. "And barely an peasants as well. Why do we remain, Sirius?"

"That bloody king. Taxed us folks into poverty. Killed those without a cent. Killed those with a cent if they didn't obey his order."

"So why do we stay?"

"Hope, Remus, hope. Eventually someone will kill the bastard and run this place right. Ol' Ruebus down by the forest agrees. I'm sure him and the rest of the town would kill him themselves...if they weren't so intimidated."

Remus nodded, then gave him a quizzical look, "What makes you so sure?"

Sirius grinned, "Let me tell you something...I know the king of Scotland. Great, brilliant man he is. Saved his mother from pickpockets. She was down in the town and I was traveling. Saw a man reach into her bag so I jumped him. Ay, James was so grateful. He said that if anything ever happened to him, or his wife, I'd be the one to take care of their son...should be about 4 now."

"I don't understand, Sirius."

"And that son, Harry, he is the key! He is the nephew of the bastard here. Once he is of age he can kill that blasted king- take the treasure- and reunite this land with his heritage. Then we can live once more!"

"Ay, just 14 more years of hell then?" Remus sighed, picking up his hoe again and heading back towards his unfertile land. Sirius silently nodded and turned to head back to his own run down hut. Suddenly a sound of a dog's bark interrupted their steps. They both stopped in their tracks and made their way to the canine that was still barking wildly in the road.

"What is it, mutt?" Sirius asked the dog while ruffling the fur on the top of its head. "I've always been able to communicate well with dogs." He grinned.

"I as well. Perhaps once that Harry arrives we can form sort of a dog club," Remus laughed.

"Ay!" Sirius turned back to the hound. "So do we have some strangers coming our way?" he asked, noticing the dog barking in the direction of the hills.

"Appears we do," Remus began. "I see some horses, men, and...a child."

'''Sirius got up from the dirt road. "A child? Do your keen eyes fool you?"

"No, they are working as good as ever. I see a child in an elder's lap."

"Odd..."

"They're coming closer. Could they be dangerous?"

"With a child?"

"Perhaps a hostage"

"True...come, we shall watch it from my hut," Sirius said with a hint of anxiety. They both headed towards the house, yet not letting their eyes leave the path.

They entered the old 2-room hut. Rags lay on the ground and spoiled food decomposed on the 3 legged table with a piece of a broom for the fourth leg. Sirius motioned for Remus to follow and they knelt down by one of his windows; tall enough to se outside, but short enough to not be seen. They kept quiet as the horses approached.

"Bloody hell.!." Sirius quietly exclaimed.

"What?"

"It can't be..."

"What?" Remus asked again impatiently.

"It's Albus-"

"Who?" Remus asked, cutting him off.

"The Potter's advisor...and in his arms is the young prince Harold!"

"Why would they be here with such a large trail of servants?"

"And where are Lily and James?"

"They carry such somber faces," Remus began. "Do you think..."

"No" Sirius breathed. He was not only trying to convince Remus, but himself as well. "No..."

"Come, Sirius. We will follow them and find out the truth."

So, the two men followed the trail left by the troop of horses and the Potter's men. They kept far behind, so not to be seen since this town was known for its robbers and criminals. Dursley had taxed people so badly that some would hide in alley ways and tackle whoever came their way. Peasants begged for some sort of jail or prison but that would involve money; money the Durlsey's hands gripped tightly. He did have a sort of torture chamber within castle, but that was only to be used for those who went against him. But luckily for these criminals, they weren't stealing from His Highness- No, they were just stealing from those as poor as themselves. Sirius and Remus didn't want these strangers to the land to think they were of that kind so they kept their distance throughout the trip, although staying close enough no to loose the trail of the horses.

"Looks like they're going into Dursley's castle..." Remus whispered to his companion. Sirius nodded as the drawbridge lowered and the men made their way into the castle grounds. Silently, Sirius ran from the deserted alley way, to a nearby tree, then straight into entrance of the castle, unseen by guard or peasant. Remus took a deep breath and did the same, almost caught by the guard who assumed he had been a stray dog.

Both men reached the main door into the castle, breathing hard, their hands on their knees. They snuck behind a large wooden barrel so not to be seen by the servants. "We…should've…just…stayed…at home" Remus panted.

"No," Sirius whispered loudly. "I need to be sure…they cant be dead. They just cant."

"Oh, alright" Remus agreed, and they slowly rose to make sure no one saw them . Of course no one could see them though; all of them had their eyes closed in pain from the labor and most were too busy with their work to make conversation, let alone look up. Dursley had a saying. "All work is to be done by sunset-or it has not been done at all." Then, he would send that servant to the torture chamber the next day, just to make sure they understood.

Cautiously, the men pulled open the doors and made their way into the castle, following the Potter group by about 8 meters. Sirius gazed at the walls with a look of disgust. "Bloody ugly bastard, he is…" he whispered to himself. Remus gave him a slight punch in the side to remind him they couldn't be heard, for now they would be in a worst position if they were caught, than before. The Potters entered the chamber where Dursley greeted them rudely. The two men quickly hid behind a tapestry, able to see out of some of the holes worn from years of moths and bugs. They stood silent and leaned in to hear every word said.

"I was right-it was Albus…so that boy…he must be young Harry…"Sirius thought out loud. Remus, still fearful that they could be caught, stepped on his foot. He muffled Sirius's scream with his hand, but he removed it to cover his own mouth in shock as the truth was revealed: Lily and James were dead. Sirius gulped blinked his eyes clean of the tears. "No…" he breathed. Remus didn't quiet him this time.

Dursley's cruel laugh filled the corridors at the news of their death. Remus was holding Sirius back by the shoulders so he would attack the overweight king. "Let me go!" he whispered loudly, struggling to loosen himself from Remus's grip. "J...James was like a brother to me! After I saved his mother, we became true friends, I…I need to save Harry. I cant have Harry being raised by these bastards. He deserves better. It would have been James's greatest desire to have his son raised by a true friend,, rather than a git with a brain the size of seed. Let me go!"

"I'm sorry, Sirius. Please, we don't know yet if Albus is giving the child to Du-" he trailed off as he heard the king's announcement:

"Yes, I'll take the bloody child"

"No…" Sirius sighed. He turned to Remus and sighed once more. "They're going to put that child through hell. Remus, if you could have only seen the way he loved me, then maybe you would understand what I must do…" [A/n: a brotherly love- not a slash!] And with that, Sirius tore out from the tapestry and into the center of the room as Dursley mumbled "I should hope not" and eased into his throne.

"Who is this man?" the king roared, gesturing at Sirius with his bloated hand.

"I am the rightful guardian to this child," Sirius announced boldly, picking up the four year old and holding him in his arms. "I am Sirius Black."

"Sirius Black?" Albus questioned, staring at the ragged man before him. "You…you saved James's mother. You…you two were the best of friends."

"Yes. He told me I was to be the godfather of his ch-"

Dursley's harsh laughter cut him off. "You? A peasant? Ha! No peasant could raise a child properly, let alone one of royal status, no matter how much lower than me it is."

Albus knew this was true. It had crossed his mind many times and each time he faught back saying 'it could be done.' But it could not. A child needed food, clothing, love. At least Dursley had two of the three…

"See? Even the old fart here agrees with me, eh, Albus?"

He silently nodded and turned to Sirius, "I'm sorry. I'm sure James would have wanted it this way but…it cannot be done." He slowly removed Harry from Sirius's hands slowly and placed him into the arms of one of the female servants who stifled a sob.

"See that, Black? I won. I won like I have won the times before. I may get the kid, but I also get the money and the servants and the land! And you, Black, you know what you get?" King Veernon bragged, his face red with pleasure.

"Nothing from you I hope" Sirius spat.

"Oh, I'll give you something, peasant." Dursley turned to his guards. "Lock him up in the dungeon for stepping foot upon my royal grounds."

Guards from no where rushed to Sirius and grabbed his arms tightly, keeping him from moving about. Another guard noticed something out of the corner of his eye. He cautiously walked over to one of the tapestries and pulled it back to reveal another peasant, half in shock, half enraged.

"Well, look here. Another one. Him too, Sir?" the guard asked, smirking.

"Ay! Of course. That Black needs a friend since his other one died!" Dursley laughed, his face growing more crimson as the guard gripped Remus's shoulders and shoved him in the direction of a open hall.

"Let's go! Let's go!" The guards urged the peasant on as they pushed them down the corridor which grew more dark as the main throne room became farther away. The only light came from the torches mounted on the now bare walls. Their orangey light reflected on the metal of the hollow knight suits lined against the wall and illuminated the stones.

"In here!" a guard shouted throwing the two men into a darkened chamber. He spoke as the other guards attached the peasants to the wall with metal chains, the single window giving them enough light to see what they were doing. "Now, you're going to be in here for, well, an eternity or so." he snickered at his joke. "So prepare for the worst. Meals are bread and water- Served once a day. Nighty night!" he laughed and the other guards did the same as they left the two peasants in the dungeon.

It wasn't the most pleasant place to be. Dark and damp with a mildew smell clinging to the back of their throat and making their eyes water. White skeletons scattered the dirt ground and became the home to spiders and rats. The single window was barred and barely let any light into the morbid chamber.

Remus sighed, not even bothering to struggle with the metal clamps around his wrists, keeping him suspended two feet above the ground.

"Yes, Remus?" Sirius moaned, turning his already stiff head to face his companion.

"Next time: ignore the dog."

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A/n: Yes, eventually Hermione will come…chapter 6 though according to how I planned this. The next chapter will be where Ron comes and then chapter 5 is where Tessa comes. Then Hermione. Hope that's alright.

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And please review!!

Really…

Note: written BEFORE the fifth book.