*Disclaimer* I don't own Harry Potter or the characters or anything from it. Don't shoot me, I'm innocent. ****

Once upon a time, in the land of happiness….not.

            Actually, at 12 Grimmauld Place, lived Sirius Black. Convicted of a murder he did not commit, Sirius was forced to banishment for years. It wasn't too lovely, not being able to leave Grimmauld Place, the horrible old home of his wretched mother, but he figured it could be worse. After all, he could still be at Azkaban. And it wasn't like he didn't have visitors from time to time, like his best friend Remus Lupin, and godson, the famous Harry Potter. Thank God, for the Order of the Phoenix, for two reasons, one, so he could alienate himself from Kreacher, his horrible house-elf, and his mother's portrait, two, so he could feel of some use in life. Although his state of criminal record prevented him from really doing anything to the benefit of the Order, he felt glad enough to offer some service. Rather, he used the Order to his own service at times, for company instead of just help.

            "Accio butterbeer," he muttered, hoping for something to lift his spirits. Yes, he was feeling a bit lonely, what with Harry at school and no Order meets. If only that awful Umbridge woman would have left Hogwarts alone; now Sirius couldn't even contact Harry. He felt lonely, and decided to rest awhile…was he tired…

Sirius awoke abruptly from a horrible dream in which Harry planned on risking himself to save Sirius…from what? What could possibly get Sirius right now, should he stay at Grimmauld Place? He thought of it so much he did not realize an unfamiliar owl poking at his arm—forget poking, more like jabbing painful beatings into it—struggling to get his attention.

"What? What is it?" Sirius asked, not really looking for a spoken answer, but the owl seemed to understand anyway. As he placed a letter upon Sirius' bed, the owl continued its attempt at ripping Sirius' arm apart until he finally picked up the letter to read.

"D—this is from Dumbledore!" He stopped to read the letter.

URGENT

Sirius—

I regret to say that I have been banished from Hogwarts and am forced to take refuge. I bid your help and shall be coming at eighteen hours. We shall meet soon.

—Dumbledore

            "Oh my—I—I can't believe that—that hag, Umbridge!" Sirius exclaimed furiously, scribbling a not of his own.

Sir Dumbledore—

Your presence is always welcome. I shall prepare a place for you.

—Sirius

As he glanced at the clock, he realized he had less than an hour to prepare. He searched frantically through the giant house he barely knew—after all, he had been banished after the news of his entering Gryffindor. There were thousands of rooms he perhaps didn't know of or remotely remember. But he had a room in mind, now if he could only find it…Ah! And there it was, in a spot it had never once been before. Yes, Dumbledore would like that room; it never remained in the same spot twice. Good place for hiding though.

As soon as he had prepared the room, as if it had been known he was just finishing, Sirius heard Dumbledore make an entrance.

"Sirius! Sirius Black? It is I, Dumbledore…are you around?" the familiar voice called, searching for Sirius.

Like a schoolchild running excitedly up the stairs on his first day, Sirius raced down the steps and through the hall to welcome the old man, no doubt the greatest wizard of all time, standing at the entrance next to Remus.

"Ah, yes, Dumbledore….very pleased to be of a service…." He cleared his throat. "Eh-hem, that is, perhaps these circumstances are not a time to be rejoicing of pleasure, sir."

"No worries, Sirius, all is well shall we be out of harm's way."

Remus cleared his throat, "In other words, all is well shall we be far, far away from Umbridge?" he joked.

"She means well….." Dumbledore spoke in an assuring manner.

"Means well?" Sirius wondered, open eyed. "How can she mean well, she rid the school of the most important way of protection it had—"

Dumbledore interrupted, "There, there, Sirius! No need to alarm yourself. We shall see what shall become of Hogwarts in no time," he paused. "As for now, I believe a few butterbeers shall come in handy to lighten the mood," he continued as they entered the kitchen. "Accio! Accio!" he passed full glasses to Sirius and Remus and they drank…they drank to success, shall it ever return.

That night, Sirius lay awake of his restlessness, unable to shut his mind of all events. What seemed like hours to him turned out into being only a few minutes, hidden by the night. Yes, he had always been a man of energy…but why now?

Because you're worried about Harry, a voice inside told him. And was he? Yes, a bit, perhaps more than a bit, really. He had never any children of his own; perhaps he was a lonely old crackpot searching for a family through Harry, a thought that occasionally ran through his mind. And yes, James was his best friend, of course he would care for Harry, he would do the most parenting he ever could for that boy! So it was only natural to be preoccupied with worries.

As he tossed once again, returning to his original sleeping position in a turn, he set his mind to ponder…he knew Voldemort was out there, and he knew Voldemort would eventually set out for Harry, (that was inevitable), the only question was…when? Would Sirius be there to protect him, just as Harry had done nearly two years before? If so, could he protect him? He would give his life in fulfilling his promise…the one promise he would sacrifice himself to keep.

He must have fallen asleep around four in the morning, because when he awoke at seven he was still exhausted. But it was no use. Something seemed to be forcing him to get less and less sleep. Perhaps it was stress, perhaps it was something else. No use adding more worries.

He slumped down the stairs slowly, still half asleep. "Good mawwwwwwwwwwwwwwwn," he yawned sleepily. "Excuse me, good morning, sir," he said to a feasting Dumbledore he found in the kitchen. "Did you sleep well?"

"Of course, Sirius," came the reply. He laughed, "But in the morning I left the room to use the toilet and could not make my way back in quite some time! Hehe, I expect it must have moved itself in the meantime. So there I was, standing in my sleeping robes searching here and there for that one room! I hope you do not mind me running about."

"No, sir, not at all," he chuckled, "That happens to me all the time; I'm sorry for the inconvenience," Sirius replied, and at that moment Remus entered the room, seemingly without much rest, as he also had a yawning spell.

"Good morning, sunshine," he said as he took a seat. "What's cooking?"